“[M]ilitant Fundamentalist Protestantism nationwide” is a reaction to the “Militant Fundamentalist Secularism-Statism” worldwide that is the ethos of the Pelosi-minded party. Be careful what you wish for. By the way, PO’F, what is your little “o” big “O” dichotomy?

Finger-shaking? Moralizing? Actually I’d entrust my freedom of religion, and the non-establishment of religion, to Speaker Pelosi before I would to her opposite number. Reciting the Constitution on the floor for Fox News cameras is one thing; obeying it quite another, as we have seen alot from the party of her opposite number in the last 30 years. More to the point, I entrust the freedom of Holy o/Orthodoxy in this land more to her party than to the one that all but establishes militant Fundamentalist Protestantism nationwide.

Re: there are a lot of skeletons in the Phanarian closet

Yes, there certainly are…but the way to defeat all of this nonsense is to rise above it, and show that the “Church of the First 15 centuries” still works.

This was the real tragedy of the OCA, not the money. They (the OCA) blew the opportunity to demonstrate that an autocephalous church, operating NOT under the millet system of the Phanariots, but rather under the rules of the “Church of the First 15 Centuries” could work…run circles around the Turkish inspired nonsense. And when they failed, it gave the churches of the Old World (and their New World apologists) the opportunity to say, “this is an improvement?” and “show me the difference.”

The way to defeat all of this nonsense, in my opinion, is to ignore it and do the right things…right here in America. Act as if the EA does not even exist…put together the necessary coalitions, a coalition of the willing, and begin to ACT like THE Church in America. Don’t ask permission, don’t argue with them, don’t act like lapdogs, don’t even take their phone calls…just go and DO…and prove that “Locally elected bishops, sitting in synod” means a vastly different and improved version of Orthodoxy…that it works just as the Church Fathers knew it would. A combination of traditional Orthodox ecclesiology and the time honored American management system of “ask for forgiveness, not permission.”

At the end of the day, they, all of these Old World patriarchates, are irrelevant. Their offspring in America will be extinct as the dinosaurs long before they stop arguing about “proteia”. After all, that’s really what the Krindatch study pointed to…obfuscating as they tried to making it.

And as far as “enlightened leadership”..I still say it makes all the difference. Look at the situation: we have a young, humble, spiritual (albeit inexperienced) metropolitan, whose greatest fault may be that he works like the Energizer bunny trying to resuscitate his jurisdiction, and thinks out loud a little too often for some.

On the other hand, they have…hmmm…..fill in the blanks with your own adjectives….

It’s just like a business…build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. In our case, the “better mousetrap” was developed for us 1800 years ago, we are just reclaiming the practices.

What could be easier?

Best Regards,
Dean

It won’t be pretty, it won’t be as quick as I’d like to see, but just maybe by prayers, pressure and presistence, something good will come of it.

Just a sample of +Basil’s work load: Oversees (actually oversees) a diocese (in his hands it is an actual diocese) of 50+ parishes that covers a geographic area larger than the Louisana Purchase (2 to 3 Englands?) and is the Vicar of the Western Rite as well. In my home parish he is working with us to establish an Orthodox Classical School and many other plans in the fledgling stages. He invites and supports lay involvement in everything without ceeding control to the $$ alone. Could not be a better man as the Secretary. He is off on his first round of parish visits for 2011 starting today. He has little assistance but approaches everything with a spirit of joy and thanksgiving. In the meantime he has time to pray for his people (and his people’s people) and not just in a prefunctory way.

But maybe you all know those things about him. If the EA does not progress, it won’t be because of him. He needs our prayers, our input and our friendship.

George,

I used to be an Episcopalian. In that church, we called it Episcobabble. Very polite, very procedural, very little accomplished on the ground.

Dean:

It is not “enlightened leadership”. Nor is it a “lack thereof”. This is truly Byzantine. Does anyone seriously think the timing of the release of the study (and I am not questioning the study, only the timing) done by Alexei about the numbers was an accident? When I saw it, I was not surprised. When I thought about the timing, I thought “You are not ready, my chidren”. The Athenegoras Institute is under the direct control of the EP. Why was a study of other countries not commissioned? Forgive my cynicism but there are a lot of skeletons in the Phanarian closet.

Secondly – does it strike anyone else as just a wee bit ridiculous that it took the EA 7 months to establish a website (we had a Facebook one up same day as the Assembly), and almost 8 months for the first meeting of the secretariat?

Meanwhile, the British EA has committees up and operating, has completed their second meeting, and appear to be forging ahead with a third.

Could the difference be “enlightened leadership” or lack thereof?

Best Regards,
dean

Newspeak, George. The EA decides but the Chairman (General Secretary? to use a Soviet term) decides what they will be permitted to decide. It’s quite clear = Turkish (Greek? Serbian?) coffee is now to become a filtered coffee. EP to us: “You wanna be American Church? Then you drink American filtered coffee. I am the filter. It’s all about ME!”

Here’s the cartoon, by the way:

I think I’ll write to Pelosi to introduce a bill that no one by Federal law can be an Orthodox bishop of an American Church if that person is a Turkish citizen. Heck, she would probably think it was constitutional!

The Byzantine games have got to stop.