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This particular blog entry has certainly generated a lot of controversy. It is my official opinion that Metropolitan Jonah is the best first hierarch of the OCA to date. He is certainly not a saint and he is an inexperienced bishop. That being so I still listen to his lectures on various topics and I enjoy it very much. Very few people have anything remotely negative to say about him. What we have from this contributor is the flip side of the coin. The Devil's Advocate is not out to get Metropolitan Jonah and has nothing against the man himself. The truth is always found somewhere in between the two extremes of positive and negative. The purpose for leaving this entry in place despite all of the controversy is not to irritate people or to run them off but to show a different perspective that is not normally shown. There are many other highly complimentary posts regarding Metropolitan Jonah in the archives of this blog.
Proceed reading with caution, this entry offers a difference of opinion.
Article removed at request of the author.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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8 comments:
I am scandalized that someone would dare challenge our dear Metropolitan's thinking. Shame on you.
Dear Anonymous,
It is a GREAT STRENGTH of The Orthodox Church that we as laymen have the ability to question our hierarchs. If we lose that then we are no better than Papists! Remember Metropolitan Jonah is not infallible and he is not a pope!
Goodness gracious, shame on YOU for having belittled The Devil's Advocate's right to question a bishop.
While I don't completely agree with all he has to say I agree with some of it.
Personally I believe that Metropolitan Jonah is on the right track more so that his predecessors. It seems to be that everyone is thinking it and he's just saying it.
Bravo for the historical issues you raise with accuracy. Your post holds true, except for your misanthropic and unnecessary homophobic attacks, as if all heterosexual Orthodox are mature, as if our heterosexual members aren't saying/doing things that are vastly inappropriate. By those you skew your own testimony. In all, a fair critique once your personal, traditionalist sentiments are weeded out.
Who is this "Devil's Advocate" fellow? His lack of historical accuracy and writing style suggests a high school drop out who probably is a closet member of one of those fringe "orthodox" cells. Have you considered banning him from your blog?
This posts reminds me of the pharisees who attempted to catch our Lord in His words. I think there is a spirit in which honest Christian critique can be done, but the tone in which this is written is entirely bitter and sectarian in its spirit.
I'm unsubscribing, brother.
In all this is a very good and valuable post. The author's critiques are accurate, surely to trouble most dedicated to hierarchic inerrancy. Yes, Jonah played bait-n-switch with dates and facts. Jonah knows the days of the OCA are numbered, and the EP will receive all under its wings. But this author did nothing but express his opinions which is the glory of the American freedoms we have.
Agreed with Jason. Metropolitan Jonah has been in full retreat since he was forcefully confronted by the representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who basically threatened to break communion with the OCA over Met. Jonah's provocations.
Met. Jonah's series of "monumental" speeches are the playing of the last cards in the OCA deck, face-saving strategems designed to thrill the home OCA crowd.
The Moscow Patriarchate will not go to bat for the OCA. Whatever happens in America, the Moscow Patriarchate will always have its Exarchate in America (MP and ROCOR parishes).
The EP jurisdictions, GOARCH Plus, will remain separate from the OCA.
It seems like Met. Jonah is hoping against hope that the OCA and the AOCA can merge if only to get membership numbers in the GOARCH range. It's not going to happen.
The Patriarchate of Antioch and Metropolitan Philip learned their lessons from the recent and current OCA debacles and have strengthened their hold on their parishes in order to prevent the same things from happening to them.
Met. Jonah's "great humility" schtick is getting very old.
I have one word to say about +Met. Jonah's speech and that is basura.
I have nothing against the man what so ever. I thank God that I am not male, and will never have the millstone around my neck of being ordained a priest. I believe that he was backed into a corner and spat forth basura in a reaction to something that was said to him. It is a perfectly natural human reaction to stimuli.
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