Harry Coin

Ed. Harry Coin, an occasional commentator on AOI published this editorial on Orthodox News recently.

By Harry Coin | July 6, 2009

The people who consider the church a ‘home near home’ come with the expectation that it is a place where the right thing happens most of the time, and the higher the authority the more often the right thing happens. If that isn’t the case, then even if people come at first, they won’t stay or come consistently since we all know the sort of experience where the wrong thing happens takes much less work to find, or finds us whether we want it or not.

Nobody older than 14 expects any gathering of people to get it all right all the time. The whole matter of survival much less growth for our Orthodox church turns on whether there is or isn’t a tolerated culture of leadership misdoing, while accepting the expected individual stumbles.

The historical time is over when the leadership can put on grand clothing and be accepted as if they lived as they would have people think during visits and occasional services. Much as in the days of the village where everyone lived so closely with one another they knew the main points of the truth of matters, the modern cell phone cameras and internet and so on has closed the ‘anonymity and impersonalisation gap’ opened during the 1900’s. No more will the future support ‘rock star’ bishops who gain moral authority only by their seeming during infrequent visits. Continue reading →