"In like manner [to Mr. Oliver Herbel], Mr [Terry] Mattingly has no Orthodox formation either. This is no small beer. Many of the recent konvertsy are ordained or begin commenting before they have a chance to acquire the Orthodox mindset. It takes nine months for a child to grow in the womb… you can’t rush it. It is the same with faith. It takes at least five to seven years for it to take root after one’s reception. No one should either begin commenting or go to seminary before this process is complete. Note well that the Renovationists rush people through the system, which means that there are many who are distorted permanently by this… just as children born prematurely often have permanent birth defects or handicaps. You can see this not only in Messrs Herbel and Mattingly, but also in Rod Dreher, Stephen Freeman, Joseph Honeycutt, Frederica Matthewes-Green, “Gavriil”, the “Ochlophobist”, Christopher Orr, “John” of Ad Orientem, and Mark Stokoe. Indeed, there are very few ethnic voices on the Orthodox ‘Net writing in English. Yes… all of the meaty stuff is in Russian, Greek, or Serb. Yes… the stuff written in English is mostly pseudo-Proddie drivel. We have a responsibility to get the grounded point of view out there in English… this site is an attempt to do that."If "konvertsy filth" include Fr. Stephen Freeman, whose posts at Glory to God for All Things are often a source of light for me, Fr. Joseph Honeycutt, who is a priest regardless of my non-enjoyment of his blog, Matushka Frederica Mathewes-Green, whose engagement with pop culture always makes for good reading, Mark Stokoe, who has pushed so hard for accountability within the OCA, respected bloggers Christopher Orr of the Orrologion, Gabriel of Of Information and Belief, and John of Ad Orientem, and my favourite blogger, the Ochlophobist, who alerted me to this abominable post, then all I can say is that I want to be konvertsy filth too. It looks like a fun group* of people to hang with.
"[quote from Terry Mattingly] [...] This illustrates how the konvertsy filth think… they are in rebellion against the Church"
--- Stan, aka Barbara-Marie Drezhlo, Voices From Russia
*Sadly, I am not familiar with Rod Dreher, Fr. Oliver Herbel, or Terry Mattingly. On the basis of their association with the above, looks like I might like them too.
-V.
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Edit: I have since read Ad Orientem's excellent treatment of Stan/Vara's vitriol:
However, [...] there are circumstances where silence is not a moral option. There is a danger of scandal in permitting someone who, in one of those truly delicious ironies in life, has been suspended from the Holy Mysteries by the Russian Church to pass herself off on the web as a reputable source for anything relating to Orthodoxy. I can not imagine what any non-Orthodox inquirer would think if they stumbled on that site. Had I seen it in the early stages of my journey to Orthodoxy, I am fairly sure it would have stopped me cold in my tracks.So there you have it. Voices From Russia features the bigoted, vitriolic non-Orthodox writings of an American man passing himself off as a Russian, Orthodox woman.
-V.
12 comments:
Rereading what I have written:
"Voices From Russia features the bigoted, vitriolic non-Orthodox writings of an American man passing himself off as a Russian, Orthodox woman."
I considered removing some of this, particularly the bit about a man passing himself off as a woman... in the interest of avoiding an ad hominem and keeping to my principle that I weigh a person by their public actions and words (not by that which I cannot see or which I hear secondhand). I did a quick google search on Barbara and found that she has publicly identified herself as an MTF (male-to-female) in a relationship with a guy, but quibbles about whether she/he is transgendered, transsexual, or whatnot. The point is, the material is public, from his/her own hand, and demonstrates a willful putting of him/herself outside Orthodox tradition (on the grounds of homosexuality and self-mutilation).
Apparently, on her say-so she is in communion with somebody, so she may technically pass herself off as Orthodox. However, her contempt for convert Orthodox writers and her despising of Orthodox tradition speak louder to her being non-Orthodox.
Whether he is Russian or American of Russian descent is largely immaterial.
-V.
Terry Mattingly's name rang a bell. I looked him up and here's a link to his archive of writings "On Religion".
http://www.tmatt.net/
Thanks, Les.
-V.
She must be hitting, at times, where it hurts.
Converts should not blog about Orthodoxy. That's minimal common sense.
Just ran across this now (late, I know). Please do feel invited to visit my blog. I cannot say whether I deserve to be included amongst those mentioned. I think the others have well established themselves and there are good reasons to read their writings. As for me, well, I am who I am, for better or worse, and I pray God will ultimately purged me toward the better.
Frontier (Fr. Oliver):
Just checked out your blog. I enjoyed your series on Fr. Irvine. (A link to the story on the Archimandrite would be beneficial.)
You are welcome to visit any time you want.
Anonymous:
Hitting someone where it hurts is not meritorious, particularly when the weapon of choice is calling someone "filth."
As for your assertion that it is common sense for converts not to blog about Orthodoxy?! This is silliness. Online diaries (web logs, or blogs) are not councils, canons, or typika. They are the digital equivalent of coffee hour. And like any coffee hour, we have the choice of chatting with whomever we choose. Silence is not enjoined on those new to the faith, nor should it be.
-V.
... A blog is nothing more than open conversation. It is not a catechism.
-E.
I had the pleasure of hearing a recent paper by Fr. Oliver on Saturday. Sadly I did not get to meet him as he was unable to make it to the conference but it was a very helpful, nuanced paper which illuminated several aspects of the meaning of Holy Tradition.
I have seen the buzz saw blog you're referring to and it is a most unfortunate work - sad, weird and bitter.
V
I came across your post because I really wanted to know about the author of Voices from Russia. While I clearly understand your fear of parts of your post being perceived as "ad hominen" attack on Stan.
As someone who was born and raised in the former Soviet Union I can assure you that Mr. Drezhlo has no clue how is/was it like to grow up under the communism. He seems to be trying to reconcile the Communist past of Russia with Orthodox Tradition- which is pretty hard to do.
He also claims to be fluent in Russian. But a quick look into his so called translations tells an entirely different story- his Russian is worse than my English or he purposely puts spins and his own bias into his "translations".
He lives lie in every respect of his life. He also chooses to spread lies using a blog. As fellow Christians it is our duty to admonish him.
So I do not think there is any hint of "ad hominen" attack in your statement- unless of course it was your intention, which you clearly stated it was not.
What kind of nonsense is it that converts should not blog about Orthodoxy? Many of the Orthodox priests in the US are converts. According to Anonymous, none of them should blog?
Why don't converts just leave their Tea Party hate at home, and keep it out of the church?
tea party hate? well if you mean culture wars about morality, I'm afraid canonical Orthodoxy, as distinct from and opposed to popular ethnic Orthodoxy with all kinds of deviations from the canons in practice and minimal catechism, you got it backwards. If you mean the baptism of libertarianism and laisse faire as Christian economics and politics, that is another matter.
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