As there seem to be a lot of questions and misinformation swiriling around about the death of Archimandrite Michael Graves I had asked the Administration of the Synod for a few bits of info as a means to get the truth out there to confront these lies. What is posted below is a few letters that were sent to others who were also seeking info.
Many of the names have been changed to protect those who do not wish to have their info spread throughout the internet. If you have any further questions you can feel free to ask and i will see what I can do to get the best answers for you.
In Christ,
Juvenaly Martinka
December 16, 2004
Dear XXXXXXX,
May God Bless you!
Thank you for your good letter and your concern for newly reposed Fr. Michael Graves' mission in Haiti.
I am sure that you are aware that the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church is the persecuted Church of Russia that exists in opposition to the apostate Moscow Patriarchate established in 1943 by Stalin as an agency of the atheist Soviet Government. You are also aware, I am sure, that when Stalin created this false church and hierarchy this was the first time in Church History that the God hating persecutors of the Church actually sought seminary education, put on clerical robes, were ordained to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate and served among the faithful Orthodox with the sole intent of persecuting the pious Christians they ostensibly served. And, further, you are aware that these false clergy and betrayers of Christ used the Church to gather information among the faithful through confession and participation in their community life for the sole purpose of propagating atheism and neutralizing anti Soviet sentiment and political movements. Further, I am also sure that you are aware that this same "Soviet Church" now called the "Moscow Patriarchate", not only served the government as a neutralizing force among the Soviet citizenry, but, it was also developed as an international diplomatic agency whose "clerical appearance" allowed it to gain access to foreign citizenry and governmental agencies that was being denied Soviet diplomats, agents and seculars who traveled abroad.
The point is that our churches and faithful live to confess the Holy Orthodox Faith and spiritual life undefiled by compromise, ecumenism and the apostasy of World Orthodoxy. The natural consequence of our confession of faith is that our faithful in Russian are mostly Catacomb Christians who have had the courage to come out of the catacombs since the Soviet Government's turn toward democratic reforms beginning in 1991. Those of us who are part of the ROAC abroad have identified with the ROAC because of its confession of faith and spiritual life. If we wanted honors, money, retirement funds, health insurance and general material abundance we would have stayed with World Orthodoxy. We rejected this and chose to stand among the impoverished faithful.
As a matter of fact, the first time I had contact and communicated with Fr. Michael Graves was less than two weeks before his reception into ROAC and the first time I
met him in person was on the evening of his reception into ROAC. However, it is also true that I did promote his reception. This was done solely on XXXXXXXXX’s recommendation and long-standing relationship with Fr. Michael. After his reception into ROAC Fr. Michael stayed with my family and me for ten days. You need to know, and, I can tell you with certainty, that Fr. Michael freely chose to enter ROAC solely on the basis of confession of faith and spiritual life. He was grievously convinced that his former jurisdictions had ceased to be the Holy Orthodox Church and that he had to flee them for his own salvation. Fr. Michael also knew that we had absolutely nothing to offer materially, and, we offered him nothing. Finally, he knew that his decision would effect his donors and that he might lose their loyalty. In fact he mentioned you by name and in very kindly terms, but was nevertheless very concerned about whether you would continue to help his humanitarian efforts. Having aired these considerations, not simply about you, but many others that helped him, he emphatically and courageously embraced a pure confession of faith and spiritual life above material concerns. We pray that God will honor his faith and reward him with the Glory of the Eternal Kingdom of God. The sad and tragic reality is that Fr. Michael did not manage things in Haiti in a way that developed local leadership, nor, did he develop alliances abroad that could function in this capacity. Why God took him at this critical time in his missionary and humanitarian work is a mystery that transcends my poor understanding. However, this is what happened in fact.
In your thinking about how we might reorganize things to serve the Haiti mission and humanitarian endeavors, you need to know that those of us in ROAC in North America are very few in number. In fact, there are only seven clergy that are able to serve the Divine Services and there are only two parishes that have church buildings. Moreover, the communities that surround these two parishes are very small.
While I do not speak for the whole church at large, I can speak for this parish and assure you that before we start sending people abroad for missionary work they need to develop and mature in the service of the Holy Church and the Apostolic Spiritual life. I am sure that you can understand that it would be reckless to send Orthodox Christians, whether clergy or lay, to foreign and fundamentally pagan lands where they would necessarily contend with the principalities and powers of evil without fully developed spiritual and material resources to support their efforts. Moreover, while it is difficult for many to understand, we in North America need to proclaim the Gospel to the people in our own neighborhoods who have never heard about the life giving Holy Orthodox Church and Faith and the necessity to confess the Holy Faith in this age of Apostasy and Ecumenism.
In this parish, we are preparing ourselves and those around us for this endeavor so that we can properly preach the Gospel, teach the Orthodox Faith and way of life and develop clerical and lay succession for the future. While I understand the tragic material and spiritual needs in Haiti and throughout the whole world, I wonder which is worse. Is it worse for a rich man to die without the Gospel, outside the One
Holy Catholic Church, or, is it worse for a poor man to die without the Gospel, outside the One Holy Catholic Church? As I recall, in the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus who was impoverished in this world fared better than the rich man with regard to the eternal Kingdom of God.
While I had wanted to avoid telling the shameful story of Fr. Michael's sister Ann for reasons of discretion and to avoid personal pain and public scandal, I think that I need to explain a few things to you. On three occasions during the ten days in July, 2004, that Fr. Michael spent here at my house, he spoke with great pain and agony about how his sister had defrauded him of that share of his inheritance which was based on the sale of his mother’s valuable house, which she owned debt free. In fact, he sought my counsel on whether it would be morally and spiritually right before God to seek legal assistance in taking from his sister what rightfully belonged to him. When he left here he had not yet decided what he would do. Sadly, these are the facts concerning Fr. Michael’s sister.
If these were the only facts that I had concerning Ann Meile I would look for a way to preserve a good opinion of her, however, there is more you need to know.
About 9:30 AM on November 24, 2004, Fr. John Lewis from Florida called me to tell me that his dear friend Fr. Michael had very unexpectedly reposed. He was able to provide me with Ann Meile’s telephone number in Florida and I called her to introduce myself and to learn from her about what arrangements would be made for Fr. Michael’s funeral. During that conversation I politely advised her that Fr. Michael must have an Orthodox funeral and that he must not be cremated. She assured me that she understood his convictions from first hand conversation and that her sister and she would meet these obligations.
Ann Meile then told me that they would be bringing Fr. Michael’s body back to the United States so that he could be buried in New Jersey. She further told me that she would notify me about the arrangements so that I could have the clergy of our Church perform Fr. Michael’s funeral. In addition she gave me the phone numbers (609-953-7600 & 609-410-3316) of the funeral home in New Jersey so that I could keep in touch with them about the funeral arrangements while she and her sister were in Haiti. She also told me that as soon as her sister, Linda, from Santa Fe, NM, arrived in Florida she would be leaving for Haiti. She told me that they hoped to leave late Thursday November 25 or early Friday, November 26. Finally, she told me that she did not think that it would be possible to bring Fr. Michael’s body back to the US before the beginning of the week of November 29th – December 4th.
On Friday evening, November 26, I called the funeral home in New Jersey that she said would be handling Fr. Michael’s remains and they informed me that they had received notification from Mr. Robert Loubeau in Haiti that everything had changed and Fr. Michael’s remains would not be coming back to the US. They also told me that they
knew nothing about the new arrangements. I asked the funeral director in New Jersey if they knew how I could contact Mrs. Meile and he did not know. I then asked if they could give me contact information for Mr. Robert Loubeau in Haiti. I was given a telephone number and an email address. At this point I made several attempts to call and was unable to reach anyone. I then wrote an email to Mr. Robert Loubeau and asked for information about the funeral.
On Saturday, Mr. Robert Loubeau wrote an email, which I received late in the afternoon. He informed me that the funeral would be on Monday Morning at 9:00 AM and that he did no know how to contact either Mrs. Meile or her sister Linda. I also tried calling Fr. John Cadet several times and there was no answer at the house or school. In addition I called many times to the number of the Rev. Randal Chabot-Stahls and no one answered there. On the other hand, I did get Fr. John Leonidas on the phone and he said that he was staying away form the funeral and arrangements. He told me that they were not being made and performed according to Orthodox practice.
As you can see, given the late hour and without any word received directly from Ann Meile (who had my email and telephone numbers) concerning the arrangements, it was impossible to get a flight late Saturday evening to travel from Ipswich, Massachusetts to Haiti for a 9:00 AM Monday morning funeral. Moreover, I had word from Fr. John Leonidas, that, even if I were able to get to Haiti for this event the “funeral” was going to be an ecumenical service, an event in which I would not have participated. Therefore, it was decided that it would be better to stay away and do a proper Orthodox funeral when Fr. Michael’s body was returned to the US.
However, this is not the end of the story. On Monday evening at about 9:30 PM I called Mrs. Ann Meile in the hope that she had arrived home and that she would have information about the arrival of Fr. Michael’s body. Mrs. Meile answered the phone, she sounded exhausted and shared her grief and I properly consoled her. She told me that the three days spent in Haiti were a living horror. When I asked when Fr. Michael’s remains would arrive in the US Ann Meile told me that they were tied up in paper work in Haiti and that she did not know when these problems would be resolved, but, she hoped it would only be a few days.
On Wednesday morning I received an email from Ann Meile which I believe was also sent to you. In this email Ann Meile says: “I could no longer go around and around with the emails and the questions about his remains, burial etc. And then when XXXXXX emailed me about kissing him, that took it over the top. I spoke with my aunt and cousins regarding the cremation and they are in agreement with Linda's decision. I too have come to accept this. I know in my heart that this is NOT what he believed as we had discussed it many times.”
As you can see Ann Meile is admitting to me and to all of us that care about Fr. Michael and his proper burial, that she and her sister had cremated Fr. Michael’s remains prior to leaving Haiti. And, that she had been lying to me and to all of us about
this. While she had her reasons, which she goes at great length to explain, Ann Meile proceeded with the cremation with the full knowledge that she had broken her eternal trust with her brother, Priest Michael, for what amounts to a few dollars, even though he had given all his monetary means to others. This becomes particularly sad in light of the fact that Fr. Michael assured me his sister owed him many thousands of dollars from his Mother’s estate.
As you may recall, XXXXXXX, you made this conciliatory remark to Ann Meile in response to this same email: “Until I received this message, I did not know that the funeral service in the sense of one leading to burial or cremation - as opposed to a memorial service or the Trisagion prayers - had taken place. I am sure this decision was well motivated by loving concern and was a fair response to the facts.”
You also said in this email: “I personally am offended by nothing which you have said or done, for I know that you have acted in an emergency with all due care and with a sister's love for your brother.”
Likewise, the facts which you note concerning Fr. Michael’s cremation and “funeral”, apart from your consoling comments, first became certain knowledge to me and my brother clergy in ROAC North America from this email. On Thursday morning at 10:00 AM, November 20/December 3, 2004, three priests of our church, pious readers and laity gathered in the Church of St. John the Russian, Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA and solemnly chanted the Divine Service of the Holy Orthodox Church for the peaceful repose and proper burial of the Pious Orthodox Priest, Archimandrite Michael Graves. May his memory be eternal!
But that is not the end of her shameful behavior. She also says in this same email: “Not one person offered money toward the funeral fees burial etc. There were no donations from Haiti even though there is a rich Orthodox Arab community. What was done was what could be paid for by "pooling" our money.” The reality is Dear Father, Ann Meile had my phone numbers and she had my email which she freely used when she decided some explanation was necessary. I did not hear from her even one time about needing funds to bring Fr. Michael back to the US, which is something I could have arranged --- prior to, but not after his cremation. It is a fact that she did not inform me of the need for funds to bring his body back to the US and she could have done this herself, or, through the funeral director in Haiti or in New Jersey. Once again she is found to be lying to us and anyone who will listen.
Now, let us continue on with our presentation of the facts. On December 3rd, 2004, I received an email from Ann Meile directed to me personally, in which she stated that she and her sister “were under the impression that you (i.e.Fr. XXXX) would be in Haiti on Sunday prior to the funeral. We were waiting for word that you were coming. When we did not hear from you we asked the Episcopal priest to conduct the service. It was
conducted with an Orthodox priest, Episcopalian, Roman and Methodist. It was a beautiful and kind service.
Now, I think you know what I am going to say about this disingenuous email. This is the first open admission by Ann Meile that Fr. Michael had not received an Orthodox Funeral as previously agreed, even though it would have been “hypothetically” possible in light of there being an Orthodox priest at the service. And, finally, here we have it: Mrs. Ann Meile is blaming me and by implication ROAC and our Holy and God-fearing First Hierarch, Metropolitan Valentin, for her scandalous behaviour, which frankly offends me only in as much as it reflects on those whom I love. And, this would have remained unspoken had I not received your email today.
Let me conclude by relating one other event. On December 2nd, 2004, I received a phone call from my dear friend XXXXXXXX who is a professor in Santa Fe, NM. He told me that he had “by chance” met a woman whom he knows and she had, only a few hours before, been to Ann Durham’s (Fr. Michael’s other sister) gallery in Santa Fe. This woman told XXXXX that Ann had told her that her brother Fr. Michael Graves had been murdered in Haiti and that she and her sister had just gotten back from dealing with his affairs. She freely offered the information that she had his vestments, icons and other church items with her in Santa Fe. This woman further told XXXXX that Linda Durham said she was going to give these things to the Antiochian Priest in Santa Fe. XXXXXX, being a good friend and a Reader in our Church, called me immediately on his cell phone. I instructed him to contact Linda Durham to see if she had the Holy Chrism, Antimins and Holy Vessels from Fr. Michael’s church. (It had been reported to us from Haiti that these items were missing.) XXXXXX did as he was asked and could not reach Linda Durham that day, however, he left messages at her gallery and home. In the meantime, I emailed Ann Meile and implored her to intervene on our behalf and have the church items in Linda Durham’s possession given to ROAC rather that to the Antiochians as Fr. Michael no longer belonged to them.
Ann sent me the following email:
Dear XXXXX, Until the Will is submitted for Probate nothing can be done with any of the personal items from our brother. I have located the Will and have requested another verifiable copy from the attorney that prepared it. All of the items from the church are still in Haiti. I believe my sister has one plain burgundy cassock. You most certainly have not attacked me or caused me any pain. You have been kind, and I hope you will be understanding. Linda and I were under the impression that you would be in Haiti on Sunday prior to the funeral. We were waiting for word that you were coming. When we did not hear from you we asked the Episcopal priest to conduct the service. It was conducted with an Orthodox priest, Episcopalian, Roman and Methodist. It was a beautiful and kind service. Any items that were in the church building have been stored. Any personal items of Stan’s have been discarded, donated or passed on to the young men who lived in the house. Some of the furniture was left behind for the landlady in order to help satisfy his debt. Right now it looks as if there is close to $35,000 in debt left by my brother. I am working with Dr. Mears in California to help raise funds.
I will contact my sister and see if she has heard from XXXXXX. Ann
Well, my Dear XXXXXXX, you do not need to be a clairvoyant Elder to read between the lines and see the manipulation and deceit of this message. As I explained above, for the first time Ann Meile admits that Fr. Michael did not have an Orthodox Funeral, she further asserts, as I said above, that this sad fact was my fault and therefore our church’s fault, and, finally, she attempts to “raise money” as an implied condition for gaining access to the “stored” items which, as you know belong to the Church, its clergy and people. However, let me finish my previous thread.
Several days after XXXXX contacted Linda Durham in Santa Fe, she returned his call and reported that she had in fact given all of the Church items to the Antiochian Church in Santa Fe. There you have it, two different accounts concerning the disposition of Fr. Michael’s icons and church things from two different people who are both Fr. Michael’s sisters. But that is not the end of things! Moments ago I learned that Ann Meile is selling Fr. Michael’s pectoral cross, Chalice and Communion kit on ebay. My word, this woman must be a legal wizard, she was able to get Fr. Michael’s will probated and move to the sale of his possessions in just a few short days. When I inquired about the disposition of the church items she answered on Dec 3 that she had not yet obtained a verifiable copy of his will and had not submitted to for probate and on December 13th, she sold Fr. Michael’s chalice. I guess the courts work quickly in Florida. See
(http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 6137440034)
Let me conclude by saying that there is more scandal perpetuated by Fr. Michael’s sister that I could share with you in this letter, but, having made my point, I see no purpose in this.
For now ROAC will attempt to discern what is going on in Haiti with the Orthodox Church Life that Fr. Michael established there and we will try do what is right for them within the capacity of our own circumstances.
Perhaps you should begin rebuilding the humanitarian effort in Haiti by obtaining Fr. Michael’s email address book and his snail mail address book and send a general appeal to those who have supported him in the past. I am sure that Mrs. Ann Meile can help you with this as she told me that she has these records in her possession. On the other hand, has it occurred to you that she is trying to raise money for herself on the good and honest name of Fr. Michael? This is what people in Haiti have said is occurring and I am inclined to believe it and will act accordingly.
Thanking you for you kind letter, I remain,
Yours in Christ,
Fr. XXXX
PS. Please notice below the most recent emails from Ann Meile
From: AMeili@aol.com
Date: 2004/12/17 Fri AM 05:30:26 GMT
I will see that any leases that are in the name of the Orthodox Church go to the ROAC. He left no money, Fr XXXX said he would come to Haiti to assist and he did not. No one notified me. If you are part of the ROAC then the ROAC is clearly responsible for anything that was billed to the Orthodox Church.
If you do not step up and take responsibility then you are hardly Christian. The ROAC accepted Fr Michael into their church and thereby they accepted responsibility. Perhaps some of the money that Met Valentine had sewn into his clothing when he left the US could be of more use to settle the church bills in Haiti.
Yes, Fr Michael was cremated, and only at the absolute last minute. There was no money to bring his body back to the USA. He left no money, I am now reduced to selling all his personal items, icons, vestments, chalices and patens to attempt to make enough money to pay the bills. You see, I am a Christian and I will find a way to pay off his responsibility. But, I will not pay off the responsibility of the ROAC. Ann Meili
XXXXXXX's response to me December 19, 2004
From: XXXXXXXXX
To: Fr. XXXX
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 1:28 AM
Subject: Your extensive reply
Dear Fr XXXX,
This is a VERY brief response. The main point is your following:
For now ROAC will attempt to discern what is going on in Haiti with the Orthodox Church Life that Fr. Michael established there and we will try do what is right for them within the capacity of our own circumstances.
As far as I am aware Mrs M, this is NOT what AROC intends to do; & I have the impression that she has had either a negative response or silence from Fr Andrei.
I also understand that she had indicated Dec 25 as a final date for any indication of interest to be made. So I suspect that if there is any desire from AROC to have the furnishings of the chapel, icons, vestments etc, that should be clearly stated to her now. If they are removed from Haiti - as they appear to be - they can only be returned to AROC in a Haiti sitation if there is some response from AROC now. Please do what you can re this. Please reinforce what you had said to me in the passage I cited by a direct msg to Mrs M. Make it formal & straight to the point. She is that kind of person. But, above all, make it inescapably obvious.
In regard to the alleged murder. I am prepared to believe this allegation ; since much the same was hinted at by Mrs M. I think you need to consider some points re the disposal of the body in connexion with this allegation.
Assuming there was a murder, it is not known how our friend was killed. BUT the ambient temp of Haiti is well designed for the onset of decay processes at a steady rate. It seems that there was a significant delay btw the actual murder, its notification (to Dr Mears, I understand, in CA) & the response fr Mrs M. I.e., no one in Haiti did anything useful except to find a way of avoiding action or concealing guilt.
Mrs M refused to allow an autopsy. The plan was indeed to repatriate the body; but one of her early msgs to me indicates an enormous figure (over $5,000) re the costs of preparation, storage & transport costs to the US. If the decay argument and the costs argument had the additional purpose of preventing a forensic examination fr taking place, & if cremation - of course - destroyed any evidence of cause of death, that avoided scandal at least. If AROC's man had bn the subject of a crime report with whatever kind of speculation added, what then? This would certainly have been a risk re any autopsy.
N.B. The false priest Barnabas threatened some years before to kill Fr M, & his actual assault on Fr Joshua Ana & Fr M is a matter recorded by the US embassy at the time.
I will write further later today or Monday. Let us pray to the Lord....
With every good wish,
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Fr. XXX’s Response to XXXXXXX
December 19, 2004
XXXXXXXX,
Please note:
Fr. Michael told three times that his sister had defrauded him of his inheritance from his mother's estate. You undoubtedly believe that Fr. Michael was an honorable man and so do I. If you doubt my truthfulness I can send the affidavits of two others her were present and you can speak with Fr. John Lewis.
On December 3rd, 2004, when I approached Ann Meile about the Church's possessions that she had stolen from the Chapel in Haiti and worse from the Orthodox Community in Haiti (don't worry I was proper and discrete in my request) she sent this email.
Dear Father, Until the Will is submited for Probate nothing can be done with any of the personal items from our brother. I have located the Will and have requested another verifiable copy from the attorney that prepared it.
All of the items from the church are still in Haiti. I believe my sister has one plain burgundy cassock. You most certainly have not attacked me or caused me any pain. You have been kind, and I hope you will be understanding. Linda and I were under the impression that you would be in Haiti on Sunday prior to the funeral. We were waiting for word that you were coming. When we did not hear from you we asked the Episcopal priest to conduct the service. It was conducted with an Orthodox priest, Episcopalian, Roman and Methodist. It was a beautiful and kind service.
Any items that were in the church building have been stored. Any personal items of Stans have been discarded, donated or passed on to the young men who lived in the house. Some of the furniture was left behind for the landlady in order to help satisfy his debt. Right now it looks as if there is close to $35,000 in debt left by my brother. I am working with Dr. Mears in California to help raise funds.
I will contact my sister and see if she has heard from XXXXXX. Ann
Now, XXXXXXX, after I had sent my letter to you yesterday I heard that Fr. Michael's pectoral cross was for sale on the internet on Ebay. So, I searched Ebay for "Pectoral Cross Orthodox" and found it. In addition if you click on the feedback number in the upper right part of the Ebay page you will see that Ann Meile put a chalice up for sale on December 8th and sold the chalice on December 13th. Amazing, between the third of December and the 8th of December she has 1. obtained "another verifiable copy" of Fr. Michael's will, 2. submitted it for probate, and, finally, 3. she received a judge's order that she can sell the personal items. Dear Father, I live in the USA and I have handled a number of estates and I can assure you that this time line is not a legal possibility. I can only conclude that she must understand that the things she is selling belong not to the estate but the church and Haitian people she robbed.
It has been proven over and over again that Ann Meile is a profoundly dishonest person.
In Christ, Fr. XXXXX.
P.S. See below.
(Please note that the full listing did not come over to Word)
Ornate Religious Chalice Item number: 6137440034
Bidding has ended for this item. (dannyw is the winner).
US $100.00 (Reserve met) Dec-08-04 17:33:03 PST Dec-13-04 17:33:03 PST
10 bids (US $1.00 starting bid)
Seller information
annm ( 1315)
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/annm
Hollywood, FL
United States