I suppose it should be stated at the outset that I am no longer Orthodox, but used to be a rather zealous convert (in fact, not even Christian).

Given the much I’ve seen thrown around about Bp. Benjamin, I have to say I hope the rather anti-gay stance he and his diocese have eventually bites them in his rear end. I remember seeing a letter back in 2008, signed by four or the Orthodox bishops in CA (I don’t think the ROCOR bishop was on there) coming out in favour of Prop 8. Well, given the stuff I’ve seen him accused of…well, it makes me think that the Church is full of BS when it comes to gender and sexuality.

“Stan, a small quibble: the “first mention” of the deposition of +Jonah came not from +Jonah himself, but from http://www.romfea.gr and was then subsequently picked up by http://www.ocanews.org.”

George, romfea.gr reported that +Jonah was leaving his role as Metropolitan, but (in the translations I’ve seen) made no mention of +Jonah being deposed. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but so far as I can tell, +Jonah himself was still the first to introduce that topic into conversation.

O Kyrios!

It is hard for any statement to calm the waters when you and your fellows at OCATruth are constantly fanning the flames.

If you didn’t mean to mock Bp. Benjamin, just whose call to “stop the gossip” were you mocking in lines two and three of your second paragraph of “More Developments Nephew” post on your blog?

Fr Yousuf

1. If you’re going to accuse someone of active homosexuality, I’m unsure how a voting record or an obituary supports it. Ohio has banned gay marriage and does not acknowledge those performed elsewhere. At one time, it was quite common for males to share quarters. I think college dormitories and U.S. armed forces still operate that way.

2. Do you have a link that shows OCANews.org mentioning, in an editorial position, that Jonah was at risk of deposition? I can’t find one. The editorial comment in Comment 47 at http://tinyurl.com/6bw29fh makes clear that deposition was not under consideration. Romfea.gr (http://tinyurl.com/6ke8d34 or http://tinyurl.com/5u3xf52 ) is clearly sketchy in its details. Is the cabal behind Romfea.gr?

3. There is no proof at all that the Holy Synod is trying to do anything nefarious or uncanonical at all. (They can’t ask one of their own to request a leave of absence? They can’t meet privately to address serious concerns?) Of what do they need to repent, exactly?

you know that I very much respect your ideas. However, I must ask: what exactly is it that +Jonah did that was criminal, immoral, uncanonical, or unethical?

As for the leaked e-mail, the fact that it came from Bishop +Tikhon means what exactly? What about Faith Skordinski’s e-mail in which she openly mocked the entire Holy Synod, and the other one in which she implicated Fr Garklavs in doctoring the SMPAC report?

None of the above e-mails may hold up in a court of law, but they do paint a dismal picture of backstabbery, ineptness, and all-around bad faith, all in the service of getting HB removed.

Please understand, I know mistakes were made. We all make mistakes, but +Jonah’s mistakes do not rise to the level of hatred exhibited towards him.

As to “public evidence of a culture war,” I agree with you, there is none. There are however the assertions by ocanews that many were upset with HB for “unilaterally signing” the Manhattan Declaration. Since then, the WaPo article has highlighted the “culture wars” within American Orthodoxy.

More to the point, the fact that this tumult has opened severe fissures within the OCA precisely across cultural lines indicates that there has been a long-simmering dispute that has now been brought out into the open.

At the risk of sounding simplistic, you could say that we feel it in the air at present.

I’m sorry, but the statement put out by Bishop Benjamin is inoccuous and has done nothing to calm the waters. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good as far as it goes and should be sufficient because it’s concerned with spiritual matters, but my earlier criticsm stands.

I would say that this statement would pack more “oomph” had it ended with these words: “…caused by me.”

I must however take umbrage with your assertion that I “mocked” Bishop Benjamin. When did I do so?

In regards to your demand of a statement from the bishops, Bp. Benjamin made one and Bp. Mark the adminstrator of your diocese made one, and as far as I can tell, other than mocking Bp. Benjamin, you have taken no notice of them.

In fact Bishop Benjamin actually said, “I ask your prayers for both the Metropolitan and the Holy Synod and I ask your forgiveness for the
disturbance that has occurred in the peace of the Church.”. You found fit to only mock.

Fr Yousuf