By Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America
Dr. Tony Fauci is back in the news over the mRNA shots. Internal text messages have revealed that Fauci was privately concerned about the potential for mRNA to cause miscarriages. Writing to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Fauci texted on 25 Jan 2021, “I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of…Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
Despite those private “theoretical” misgivings, just days later, Fauci publicly asserted that the mRNA jabs were safe during pregnancy. “[I]f you look at the literally — literally — tens and tens and tens of thousands of women who have been followed by the CDC who were vaccinated when they were pregnant, there’s no indication whatsoever that there’s any increase of any adverse issues in a pregnant woman who was vaccinated compared to a pregnant woman who wasn’t vaccinated…It’s really one of those things that’s kind of not a close call. It really is pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated.”
Safe and effective, even during early stage pregnancy. That was the mantra repeated to pregnant women by everyone from the public health officials to doctors to politicians to Christian leaders. As a result, millions of pregnant moms received an experimental gene therapy at the most vulnerable time in their babies’ lives.
It turns out, as Fauci suspected, the mRNA jabs were dangerous for babies. Many of them died. Many more were severely injured.
The raw numbers from a June 2021 study from The New England Journal of Medicine, that tracked 3,958 women who received the vaccine before and during pregnancy (the group was a mix of Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna recipients), revealed that 82% of pregnant women getting an mRNA shot in early pregnancy had suffered a miscarriage. This number could actually be inaccurately low. Sasha Latypova, former pharma and medical device R&D executive, argues that the miscarriage rate among pregnant women vaccinated prior to 14 weeks gestation was an astounding 430% higher than normal:
Observed true rates of miscarriage with miscarriage in mRNA vaccinated women increased ~4X (by 430%) in women vaccinated before 14 weeks of gestation. Normal miscarriage risk varies by week of gestation, rapidly plummeting after ~11 weeks. Normal miscarriage risk ins >10% prior to 6 weeks and ~5% for weeks 7-11. After week 11, the risk is only 0.6%. Therefore, the weighted average for pregnancy loss for the entire 39 weeks is ~1.6%. In vSafe data, the women enrolled in the first trimester (1224 total) should have experienced only ~20 pregnancy losses total, at any time during pregnancy. Instead, the CDC has recorded 104 miscarriages from that group, just in the first 6 weeks, exceeding the total expected by at least 4X!
Note: Ignore the 82% number that is being strawmaned and “debunked” on the internet by cyber op shitheads like JikkyLeaks Trolls.
I have provided the information in this article to Senator Ron Johnson as an input to his open investigation into Tom Shimabukuro and other CDC/NIH officials hiding and destroying safety signals of the covid shots, and he has acknowledged the receipt.
The mRNA damage was not limited to just babies dying in utero. Pfizer’s own trial in 324 vaccinated pregnant women revealed 100% increase in lower Apgar scores, 80% more neonatal jaundice, 70% more malformations, and 310% more anomalies with developmental delays. Further studies confirmed mRNA transfer across the placenta, causing spike expression in fetal tissues, mRNA in breast milk; and even reverse transcription in human cells (posing genomic integration risks).
In this interview, Dr. James Thorp, an OB/GYN and maternal fetal medicine specialist with a specialty for high-risk obstetric patients, details the horrors he has witnessed among newborns injected during pregnancy with the mRNA jabs:
Dr. Thorp says one “well-known” hospital had EIGHT babies in the neonatal ICU suffering from the same rare, life-threatening birth defect at the same time. He ran the numbers on this happening by chance, and the odds were 1 in 10 trillion.
THORP: “I saw a significant increase in fetal malformations of virtually every organ system.” “There literally were cystic hygromas (a fluid-filled sac in the head or neck), cardiac malformations, diaphragmatic hernias.” “Diaphragmatic hernias are very rare malformations. And I won’t mention which hospital, but there was a hospital that’s well known to me and to you. At one point in time, the neonatal intensive care unit had eight infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.” “Now, you can run the numbers on that… but it’s one in several trillion—10 trillion.” “I saw severe placental abnormalities that I’ve documented and published.” “Severe growth restriction, blood clots in the mother and in the fetus. Seizure-like activity in the fetus, in mothers as well. There were multiple thrombotic events, both in the fetus and in the mother.” “Premature labor and delivery, premature death in the babies that were born. Increased risk of death.” “Substantial increase in babies that went… to the neonatal intensive care nursery.”
The government-medical-pharma establishment knew there were significant risks. Yet, the approved and platformed “experts” told pregnant women the jabs were “safe and effective” for them and their babies.
Before we move on, let’s make one thing abundantly clear. mRNA aside, the entire concept of vaccination is inherently flawed. All pharmaceutical products carry potentially severe risks. However, if used to treat actual illnesses, the potential rewards of using them can outweigh those potential risks. That is a decision each patient must make in an informed, rational manner. By contrast, vaccines are pharmaceutical products injected into healthy people in the hope that some future benefit might ensue. Vaccines risk current harm to healthy people to prevent a disease they may never come in contact with, or might easily recover from if they do. It is extremely difficult to justify vaccination for most individuals on a cost/benefit basis. This is why the risks associated with vaccines are always downplayed and covered up. Unless the vaccines are “risk free,” the cost/benefit equation rarely tilts in favor of vaccination. The public is, therefore, intentionally misled to believe vaccines are magic cocktails that are completely different from all other pharmaceutical products.
One MD blogger gave a concise explanation of why the medical-government-pharma complex must cover up the risks of vaccines (emphasis mine):
For example, because vaccines are “risky but necessary,” the medical profession and government, again and again, concluded that they needed to tell the public all vaccines were “safe and effective” as the potential injuries a mass vaccination campaign would cause were outweighed by “necessary” benefit the vaccines could offer. As such, examples can be found again and again of severe injuries being systematically covered up for the “greater good” (e.g., the earliest documented example I know of this happened in 1874 with the smallpox vaccine) and health authorities concocting the same set of excuses we’ve seen since smallpox as to why those vaccines failed to prevent the diseases they were supposed to.
Since the risks of most vaccines (detailed here) far outweigh their benefits, a mass-vaccination paradigm can only be sustained by censoring the evidence of harm — and then citing that manufactured silence as proof of safety. Over the decades, more and more has been done to conceal those harms. For almost a century, severe neurological injuries after vaccination were routinely reported in the medical literature. Now vaccine injuries are censored, and it is nearly impossible to publish anything critical of vaccines in a “reputable” journal.
Fauci suspected early on that the mRNA injections were a threat to women and their babies. The data confirmed it. The “public health” establishment further knew that vaccines, in general, make little sense, especially for healthy females of child bearing age and their unborn children. Yet, all of officialdom, throwing caution to the winds, encouraged everyone to get the shots.
If they had admitted the truth about the threat to babies, it might have undermined confidence in the “public health” establishment and resulted in much dreaded “vaccine hesitancy.” Better to sacrifice a few babies, than to face that horrible outcome. Right?
I am going to let society deal with Fauci and all the other “public health” villains. In this article, I want to remind everyone of some our own Orthodox Christian Vaccine Villains. Many Orthodox bishops, priests, researchers, doctors, and podcasters pushed Orthodox Christians to conform to Covid “protocols,” and to take the Covid shots. Multiple Orthodox bishops were even photographed rolling up their cassock sleeves to get injected with mRNA. This was obviously done in an effort to encourage others to do likewise. The message from most official “Orthodox” sources was crystal clear – real Orthodox Christians get the jab.
Orthodox Christian Bishops posing for pictures getting the mRNA vaccines to encourage everyone, including pregnant women, to do likewise.
Truly an almost overwhelmingly sad state of affairs.
However, even in the hall of shame that is Western Orthodox leadership, there are still five individuals that we wish to call special attention to. Four of these Orthodox Christians used their medical credentials to encourage vaccine compliance. One used his bishop’s miter. My goal in singling these villains out is not revenge, but prevention. As the newly approved mRNA flu vaccine makes clear, Big Pharma is still very much in the experimental gene therapy business. More shots, and possibly more mandates, will be forthcoming. Further, there is no indication that any of these influential Orthodox Christians have moderated their pro-vax stances in the slightest. My goal is to expose how wrong they were before, in the hopes that no one listens to them, or anyone like them, next time. Because there will always be a next time. Which is why the term “villain” is not used lightly. How else to describe someone who used professional credentials, and the title “Orthodox Christian,” to convince people to willingly take a pharmaceutical product that did so much tragic harm to innocent people of all ages?
First, let us discuss the joint efforts of three Orthodox women from the medical establishment. In March of 2021, Public Orthodoxy ran a piece called Which Vaccine Should I Receive? The primary goal of the article was to call attention to a document published by the Orthodox Theological Society in America (OTSA) written by Drs. Hermina Nedelescu, Catherine Creticos, and Gayle Woloschak. Their document purported to provide answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Covid-19 vaccines.
Who are these women? Their short bios from the article are provided below:
Dr. Catherine Creticos
Medical Director of Clinical Research at Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago and Chief of Infectious Diseases at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago
Dr. Hermina Nedelescu
Scripps Research / Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (Graduate Theological Union)
Dr. Gayle Woloschak
Professor of Radiation Oncology at Northwestern University
Those are some heavy-duty credentials, don’t you think? As a writer, I became aware of their FAQ because information from it was being quoted by Orthodox clergy. I wrote a response to it in March 2021. I don’t want to rehash my response, but I do want to focus on FAQ Number 20 concerning pregnancy:
20. I am pregnant, can I get the vaccine?
Answer: We have no reason to suspect any risk from the vaccine to patient or fetus/child. There is known risk of COVID, which is higher in pregnant patients than in non-pregnant patients. There were women in the vaccine trials who became pregnant (23 in the Pfizer study, 13 in the Moderna study) with no complications or adverse effects reported. Moderna did study pregnant rats and postpartum rats and found no negative effects on fetal/embryonic development. ACOG (the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) recommends the mRNA vaccines be made available to pregnant women but stops short of a blanket recommendation.
In summary, there is no strong safety evidence but no evidence of harm either. There are plans to include pregnant women in upcoming trials.
Pregnant women should discuss vaccination with their physician.
Three Orthodox “experts” in 2021 told pregnant women that while there was “no strong safety evidence” there was also no proof of any harm either. So the recommendation, in a document dedicated to getting everyone to take the shot, is for pregnant women to talk to their personal physicians. Personal physicians, who at the time, were operating under strict CDC guidance that the shots were “safe and effective” for every human being on the planet. The message really boils down to – just get the shot. How many innocent lives were lost as a result of this “Orthodox Christian” recommendation? How many innocent people were irreparably harmed? God alone knows. However, given the scale of the carnage caused by the shots, it is quite likely that the number of victims of this advice is substantial. Especially since (as mentioned earlier) this document influenced clergy who were acting as spiritual fathers to pregnant women.
These three women will bear the weight of their “professional advice” before God. When dealing with an experimental treatment with no long-term record, especially when innocent babies are at stake, the first rule of medicine should always be “do no harm.” Not, “We’ll consider it safe for vulnerable babies in early stages of gestation until someone proves otherwise.” That “advice” is a complete inversion of medical ethics. Tragically, one that was promoted by far too many Orthodox clergy.
The FAQs document is still up. The article on Public Orthodoxy promoting the FAQs document is still up. There is no indication that any of these women have learned anything from the mounting evidence of harm over the past 5 years. This is lamentable, but understandable, as all of these ladies are part of the medical-government-pharma complex. As Upton Sinclair famously observed, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”
Credentials do not ensure that someone is actually giving you the best advice. Especially when others, with equally impressive credentials, are saying the exact opposite. Belonging to the Orthodox Church does not ensure an “expert” actually cares enough about people to tell the truth.
Bitter lessons, but ones that also apply to our next villain.
Related Articles:
Ancient Faith Radio put Dr. Ryan Sampson Nash on Fr. John Parker’s program not just once, but three times, to convince everyone to “get the vaccine.” Fr. John Parker opened the first podcast by encouraging the listener to “trust” a scientist like Dr. Nash. An Orthodox RN, writing for Orthodox Reflections, wrote this about Dr. Nash’s self-proclaimed expertise and his professional advice:
So what constitutes being an expert? Dr. Nash was interviewed in this podcast because he is considered an “expert” in vaccine knowledge, but by what standards? His background is bioethics and palliative care, with a focus on oncology. Dr. Nash mentions knowing about ventilators, but that was not discussed any further. The aim of palliative care is to provide patients “relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness” and “to improve the quality of life” (Mayo Foundation, 2017) for patients. This is one of the most bewildering moments for me personally, knowing him as a palliative care doctor, as to why he would encourage someone to take a medicine that has so many unknowns and can cause significant harm and premature death.
Also, Dr. Nash refers to consulting with leading experts (without specifying whom he is referring to). He did not define what he considers a leading expert, but also accused other physicians (whom he did not specify) of saying “questionable things.” How do we know someone who is being interviewed to answer questions about COVID-19 vaccines, who is not an epidemiologist, not a microbiologist, not a virologist, not even an infectious disease doctor, is not just another physician saying “questionable things?”
In his appearances on the podcast, Dr. Nash downplayed the connection of the vaccines to aborted fetal cells. He, thereby, actively worked against the willingness and ability of Orthodox Christians to use religious exemptions to avoid taking the vaccines. Dr. Nash also downplayed the efficacy of God-given natural immunity, in favor of promoting vaccine-acquired immunity.
Dr. Nash encouraged Orthodox Christians, including pregnant women, to take an experimental pharmaceutical product about which we understood very little. Ancient Faith Radio and Fr. John Parker gave him the platform to do it. It was a particularly low point for Orthodox media, clergy, and doctors. His opinions did not go unchallenged. Here and here are responses from Orthodox medical professionals to Dr. Nash’s appearances.
Dear reader, you might want to remember this incident next time Ancient Faith asks you for a donation. We should be aware enough of “Orthodox” wolves in sheep’s clothing to think twice before funding them.
As noted, plenty of Orthodox Bishops pushed the jabs. However, one Orthodox bishop stands above all the rest in Vaccine Villainy. That would be Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Archdiocese. Because the jabs were “safe and effective” against a “pandemic,” few employers and governments accepted exemption requests on the basis of medical conditions (such as pregnancy). However, most institutions did accept religious exemptions. The mRNA jabs were inextricably linked to aborted fetal cells. A fact that should have made any Orthodox Christian think heavily before taking one, even if he or she truly believed the jabs were actually “safe and effective.” Orthodox Reflections was one of the leading resources helping Orthodox Christians avoid the moral taint and physical harms of these injections.
However, while untold thousands of Orthodox Christians (including pregnant ones) were struggling to get religious exemptions, Archbishop Elpidophoros was busy trying to cut their legs out from under them. Elpidophoros took to multiple channels to declare that the Orthodox Faith could not be used as the basis for a religious exemption. A position we, among many others, roundly rebuked him for.
Nominally Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros posting on X in an attempt to prevent Orthodox Christians from legally obtaining religious exemptions to the mRNA jabs.
Archbishop Elpidophoros was involved in the decision to mandate the vaccines at Holy Cross, the Greek Archdiocese Seminary, even though there was no legal requirement to do so. Just one example how, throughout the “pandemic,” Archbishop Elpidophoros enthusiastically went above and beyond what any government or agency was even demanding. Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Elpidophoros even gave the developers of the mRNA jabs, including Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, the Athenagoras Human Rights Award in 2021. By the time the award was bestowed, undeniable evidence had already begun demonstrating the manifold dangers of the injections.
Nevertheless, Elpidophoros beamed with pride as he presented a human rights award to mass murders.
Dr. Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer; Dr. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech; and Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, MD, Ph.D., Founding Scientist, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, being honored for their organizations’ efforts in developing Covid-19 vaccines by Archbishop Elpidophoros and Patriarch Bartholomew.
In a 2022 interview, Elpidophoros reaffirmed his supported for the jabs:
Q: You have been clear from the outset on the matter of the COVID vaccination: Yes to vaccination and no to exemption on religious grounds. So do you believe that there is no contradiction between science and faith? Can the two coexist?
A: Not only is there no contradiction between faith and science, but there is absolute harmony. Science is God’s gift to humankind; it is the gift of knowledge through which each of us discovers the miracle, the wealth, and the diversity of creation. And in all of these, we discover the God, Creator Himself.
Trust TheScience™! Either Elpidophoros has the intellectual gifts of a gnat, or he is one of the most corrupt “Orthodox” bishops alive today. The prohibition on Orthodox Christians getting religious exemptions to vaccines is still up on the Greek Archdiocese Website:
Although some may be exempt from the vaccination for clear medical reasons, there is no exemption in the Orthodox Church for Her faithful from any vaccination for religious reasons, including the coronavirus vaccine. For this reason, letters of exemption for the vaccination against the coronavirus for religious purposes issued by priests of the Archdiocese of America have no validity, and furthermore, no clergy are to issue such religious exemption letters for any reason.
It is a very good thing that under American Constitutional Law, you do not need the support of any religious official when filing for a religious exemption for any vaccine. Your conscience and your faith are what matter, not what Elpi and his ilk have to say.
So there you have some of the top Orthodox Vaccine Villains. None of them has apologized or asked for forgiveness. Regardless, this article was not done in a spirit of anger or retribution, but of watchful remembrance. In a recent article on Orthodox Reflections, Fr. Zechariah Lynch reminded us that, concerning all things Covid, forgiving and forgetting are the not the same thing:
The world looks for people to crucify and blame, but in Christ Jesus we are healed through forgiveness and truth. Remembrance is not for retribution but for reconciliation and healing. If the world is going to be healed to any degree, it seems to me that Christians have the opportunity of leading the way. Let the forgiveness and healing start in the house of the Church, the house of the Lord.
We can forgive the Orthodox Vaccine Villains for our sakes, not theirs, but there is no requirement to either forget their misdeeds or to ever trust them again.
[…] Folks who should not be trusted after the covid jab lies, https://orthodoxreflections.com/mrna-miscarriages-and-orthodox-christian-vaccine-villains/ […]
The Bitter Truth – A sermon by Metropolitan Augoustinos of Florina
My dear friends, we need to acknowledge the bitter truth: the Orthodox Christians who are struggling to uphold the faith are very few. The vast majority of the faithful are progressively distancing themselves from the Orthodox Faith.
I will say something that I have never said before. You may think it egotistical, but I will give you the criterion-the scale, if you will-to weigh today’s bishops, priests, the clergy in general, and the theologians. What is the scale? What is the criterion of the [good] priest? Is it to have enjoyable services, with beautiful chanting and sermons with erudite content and syllogisms that make some young women teary-eyed? What is the criterion of the good bishop and the good priest during these difficult years?
The criterion of the good bishop and priest is the fighting spirit, the boldness [to confess the truth]. It is that very thing that the Apostle Paul said: “yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. If you see an Archbishop or a Metropolitan or a Bishop or a priest or a theologian who does not suffer persecution but rather enjoys the honor and the adoration of all, then to him the word of Christ finds its full application: “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you”; you should know very well then that such a person is not on the right path. He boasts of being Orthodox, but he is not willing to counter the demonic currents and the spiritual avalanche that threatens to destroy the world. The true Orthodox priest goes against these [ungodly] currents.
Athanasius the Great all by himself, like another Atlas, held on his shoulders the entire Orthodox Faith. Mark of Ephesus was only one person, and yet he held in his hands the entire truth of Orthodoxy. The same holds true for sacred Photios of Constantinople.
Orthodoxy’s victories did not come about with numbers, but with faith [the few, or the one, together with the Truth, thereby constitutes the majority]. A faithful Archbishop, a faithful bishop, a faithful priest, and a mere lay person are worth more than the entire world. So let us not lose heart as we witness the vast betrayal of the Faith all around us.
I suggest to you one thing [in the midst of all this seeming abyss of confusion]: don’t tell me that this or that [cleric] is good, or that theologian is excellent, or that this one is a great commentator and that other one opened an academy of Plato and is a fantastic orator; instead evaluate him and see if he has a single spark from Mark of Ephesus the Eugenikos, a single spark from Photios, a single spark from Cerularios or if he has a single spark from Papoulakos, (the illiterate monk who took on the entire world [by single-handedly renouncing the godless education and false lights of Europe and organizing thousands of faithful behind him]).
I say these things as one who has a very deep awareness of the seriousness of my position as a Bishop and as a Hellene, a position of immense responsibility indeed. We are ready to sacrifice everything [for our Faith]. I dare, perhaps for the last time from this pulpit, to declare the following. All of you who love Christ, all of you who love the church: we have the Panaghia [the Most Holy Theotokos] with us; we have on our side all those who have struggled in the past and who continue to struggle for our Holy Orthodox Faith.
All those who are with the devil, let them shut their mouths and leave us alone. Their cowardice is their very devil: their flatteries are full of the devil, along with all their lame intellectual arguments, aiming to dishearten a handful of people who are struggling and who are being tortured and persecuted for the Faith of our Christ.
+Augoustinos Metropolitan of Florina.
Partial:
https://www.orthodoxwitness.org/author/augoustinos-kantiotes/
Book: Metropolitan of Florina Augoustinos Kantiotes, THE CHRISTIAN IN THE END TIMES, 2nd Edition, 2008, pp. 39-41
Archbishop Averky, on the Holy Prophet Elijah and the Antichrist:
Brothers! It has never been such a cunning time, in which people so excel at deception, falsehood, craftiness and lies. It is necessary to be extremely vigilant, especially attentive and cautious in one’s approach to them, in order to not be tempted by enticing words, and not get entangled in the nets of Antichrist. Do not trust anyone who comes to you with any flattering proposals whatsoever, or with lucrative promises, even if it is a person clothed in spiritual garments, if you know that they are close to some dubious or obviously anti-Christian organisations, if they entertain friendship with the enemies of Christ, and especially – if they receive money from them, whatever the plausible excuse.
The time has come now, when more than ever before, you need to carefully distinguish who of the bearers of the high calling of Pastors of the Church of Christ is indeed serving Christ, and who has already sold himself to the servants of the coming Antichrist. By this, instead of serving Christ, they serve the Antichrist. You need to distinguish, in order that you not be found following a wolf – even one dressed in sheep’s clothing—instead of a true Pastor.
Particularly dangerous pastors among such false shepherds are those who preach a need for peace with everyone, under the pretext of “non-condemnation” and “Christian love and forgiveness”. Let us remember that the peace with the Antichrist (as with his servants) is already a betrayal of Christ – and hence enmity against Christ!
…
Brothers! If you hear of anyone who relates to preaching on the approach of the Antichrist, the Second Coming of Christ, the end of the world and the Last Judgement with mocking, with an ironic smile on his face, or with anger and irritation, then know that you are dealing with a person who, one way or another, has been drawn in by the servants of antichrist, to involvement in preparation for his speedy arrival and reign on earth. Beware of such people, as destroyers of our holy faith and the Church!
Do you really think the Orthodox Church is immune to predatory sexual abuse by clergymen like what was exposed in the Catholic church half a generation ago?? Think again. No only has it happened, its probably is still going on, but, now I think since the COVID debacle, they are laying low; the folks are watching. They are extremely opportunistic in their strategies in taking down any and all church organizations, and, they will wait for years or even decades until an opportunity presents itself.
How do I know egregious things have happened? I have seen it, but, if the victims are unwilling to come forward, there is no case in the public court of opinion nor a legal court. As far as the Catholics, they are all the better for being exposed. All–at least some–of parish bulletins that come out every Sunday posts a hotline for the abused. They had to clean house in order to maintain any form of credibility. But, its rampant in all denominations, and even some Protestant non-denominational churches and has been for many years, its nothing new. However, the blowup in the Catholic church has made everybody aware.
We must understand, Satan targets the most holy institutions before anything else, and his goal is to always take it down from the inside–same with governments. In these last days of this age, God has given Satan access to try men’s hearts. But, its not meant for our demise, but to make sure we stand of the firm foundation of Christ. Everything that can be shaken must be shaken so the unshakable may remain.
So, this is how they work. When the most recent Archbishop of Canterbury was accused of child trafficking, (Go figure, if he did it, it was because somebody put him up to it so they could have leverage on him.), I asked myself, “What did he do to p_ssoff the overlords?” Sure enough, when he resigned, the accusation stopped. Now, moving forward, they installed a woman. It was the plan all along, and the former Archbishop was reluctant to comply.
Now, think for a moment about Elpi. Have you noticed how quickly he jumps into photo-ops with LGBT? Have you noticed, he denies the right of the Orthodox for a religious exemption? (but, not in fact, but lemmings do as they are told). Do you not see what is happening? They got a lot of dirt on this guy, and, no doubt, he could be criminally prosecuted, and, with their resourcefulness, they could just make stuff up and it would be all over the media in minutes, not to mention the witchcraft side of things, which is a whole dimension by itself. Now, here is another question, how much grief in that arena connects back to the EP, on the payroll of the US state department? How is any bishop labeled “Ecumenical Patriarch” anyway? Is it not all just a slick sales-job to create fake authority in people’s minds?
As for the victims, the perpetrators know their craft well. Victims are so severely traumatized, they dare not– under the threat of death– speak out. And, many come into split personality–its a survival mechanism where the extreme painful part of their life, is fully segregated from the normal, so they can even function on the most basic level. Our own government did extensive research into how to split a personality by trauma under the DARPA program; but, some crafty practitioners have been doing it since ancient times. I met a woman who as a child was subjected to such abuse, and as an adult–even after years of exorcism and counseling–was still not normal. My own mother, counciled with multiple women subjected to these things over some 30 years. Its been going on for a very long time, and in no way have the Orthodox any immunity.
Here is another of their strategies; when an asset is no longer useful, when an asset becomes a risk of exposure, they move him out. I really think this is what happened to bb. This cannot be proven, but it sure fits the pattern. He had been exposed–on this site–and became more of a liability than an asset. They can be taken out of office, when the folks start asking the right questions regarding compromises from the Faith once handed down. As for the GOA, I think that ship is lost. But, a life boat might be useful right about now. There are still a lot of faithful folk over there.
Perusing the hundreds of FB photos, I saw nothing but staged theater. They are extremely image conscious. When have you ever seen–for real, or a photo-shoot–any hierarch, take off the vestments, put on some overalls and go plant flowers around the temple. When, have you seen any of them do anything even remotely associated with Jesus washing his disciples feet? That, my friend is the true spirit of Christ, and they are parallelized to do such glorious things by their hubris, and their fear. They are cripples, to place themselves under their people to lift them up. I pity them, but, the hell they submitted to, was of their own making, not mine, not yours. And I sure would not bet any child’s future on that. Find a parish with an honorable priest.
So, how do you sort a priest from a predictor? Its almost impossible, because everything on the outside looks normal, they know the praxis by heart. Often they are the one’s who perform every praxis in the book. They have an ability to feign the Faith to perfection, yet, have no conscience in committing atrocities. It takes Holy Spirit discernment, and eyes wide open, with no delusions of how being Orthodox brings some exemption to this plague. I did notice one thing: small children do not easily go to them, and they show no natural love of children, themselves. But, as soon as I say something…. And, make no mistake, the good clergy out there will be targeted. They might send in a whore, or badger him into submission in things obviously not Orthodox. Your surest defense is Holy Spirit discernment, and knowing YOUR FAITH–its not theirs, its yours–well enough to spot any deviation. Yes! one Faith, one hope, one baptism, and one spoon! Yeehaaa! Ain’t it a great day to be alive!
Let’s cut to the chase in a few matters.
While, indeed, a true Sacrament of the Church, confession can easily be abused on different levels and even become a license for a predator. I have seen, witnessed, and experienced horrific things. That is not to deny the validity of the Sacrament, but, as C.S.Lewis put it, “The higher the angel, the more demoniac when it falls.” (The Great Divorce). Know this, every holy thing can be weaponized in the wrong hands; the same scalpel that can excise a cancer can cut your throat.
In the modern world, the over emphasis on confession–in some places– makes for a co-dependent Christian; while it should become a stepping stone to Theosis, too often it stops there, and becomes a stumbling block to progress–something required of all of us. When was the last time your confessor heard your confession, and before giving the absolution, told you to go home and ask God about what to do? Only when the priest says, “I have no answers for your problem” can one look only to God for relief and rightly discern the Lord’s Fatherly dealings in his life, that are peculiar to him/her. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth”, not a man, learn to trust Him.
Let’s look at some history. Originally, all confessions were public. If a man cheated his neighbor, or his wife, he confessed it in front of the whole Church. In fact, a watered down version of this still exists in both the Catholic and Anglican liturgies and it predates the modern Orthodox mode. Originally, confession–as we know it–was used for those excommunicated and then re-membered (I got this factoid in the Ss Cyril and Athanasius Institute–Thank you Met. Irenea). The abuse seems more prevalent in those Russian versions, where you are expected to confess every bad thought, which then becomes a form of voyeurism for the confessor. But, of course, often the confessing person, says only what he/she wants the confessor to hear. So, its flawed both ways. Yet, I have confessed and experienced the release that comes, it is powerful and therefore should be used with great discretion, not make it too common where it becomes just another form of check the box, on one’s to-do list.
As a general rule (again I thank Met. Irenea), if you cannot get over a sin by going to God and the offended person (if there be one), by all means take advantage of the Sacrament, that’s why its there. Confess when you really need to and it will become much more meaningful, and if all is well, not less than once a year (again, Met. Irenea).
Likewise, the whole “spiritual father” thing is also very easily abuse. I have witnessed, where the confessor puts himself between a woman and her husband–I know of at least two instances of women where the wife no long looked to her husband for any spiritual counsel–any council of any kind. Often, the husband becomes, jaded toward the priest, because the priest has more influence over his wife than he does. I know of women who have told their husbands, the confessor said to do this or to do that, and the decisions were affecting the whole family and the husband had no say so. When does a confessor tell a woman to go home and serve her husband as unto Christ, as St Paul said. (no doubt, some do this, but, some do not).
Yet, the abuse goes both ways. There are folks, mostly women who chose a confessor half way across the country, where they must go and spend days (a week in one case, yeah, dad cooked dinner every day for the kids) there…..think about it, really, what could go wrong? Paaaa..leeez, just because I was born early in the morning, does not mean it was yesterday morning. Why not confess to the local priest? (Oh, I guess, I already answered that). In the more retro-thinking Anglican circles–those seriously trying to recover the early church–, all–all means all– women confess to an elderly woman in the church–usually a deaconess, but, not always–, and a priest can thereafter declare the absolution without knowing any details. That would be the proper use of a deaconess, not anything regarding the altar. How can any woman divulge deeply private matters without gaining an inordinate attachment to the priest——its NOT possible. Women’s emotions are hard wired to connect emotionally to a man, and most of that through talking (have you noticed?). And, how can any priest, hearing a woman’s deepest sexual actions, imaginations, or whatever not become aroused himself forming his own attachment? Are we not playing with fire? And, I have seen some carnage. No doubt, every Sacrament operates with grace beyond human ability, but not every priest works with it, and so, some guidelines should exist.
Please hear me out. I am not saying to dispense with these things, but, rather use them more judiciously. When a god-son’s wife came to me asking, “Do I need to get a spiritual father?”–everybody was bragging they had a spiritual father and parishioners were conscripting spiritual fathers because it was a, “everybody else is doing it, what’s wrong with me?” thing. I replied, No, when God ordains it, it will just happen, and I should have added, and your husband will fine with it. In reality, a woman is better off with a spiritual mother. Women just understand women’s problems better than men (any married woman not figure that one out?). Why should every father have veto power over who his daughter dates/courts? Because the father knows himself, his own temptations, weaknesses, and obsessions. A man can far better discern a man and his motives because he is a man. Likewise, a woman can discern the motives of another woman, because she knows cloth she is cut from. By nature women are a bit sly (do they always say what the mean?), and a wise older woman sorts this quickly. Men almost never sort it. Hope my bloviation helps somebody.
My prayers for you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, may He richly bless you with ever growing revelation from on High in the ever unfolding Holy Mysteries of the Church. And to her majesty I pray for all Orthodox women: may the Holy Ever Virgin Mother of God impart to you her meekness, spirit of submission, wisdom, the endowment of inner beauty, and Grace in all things. And, may the holy angels protect Orthodox men and women everywhere from all forms of deceptions, abuse, malfeasance for His name’s sake. And now, I pray our most merciful Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, that every imposter be exposed, every hidden sin be reveal, that every demon be exercised, and that the faithful clergy be established in their offices in peace, prosperity, and fruitfulness. Amen.
Just by reading this excellent article, it brings me sad memories about that time. It was nothing short of war against the populations of the world including us. The vaccines were like ammunition and the guns were the syringes. Even the swab testing has been a disgusting experience with potential damage to the sinuses. In addition to such a monstrous development on the medical side, the grotesque behavior of the fellow church people was astounding.
All of the sudden, one can realize how any group can be morally demolished by the few useful servants of the persecution. The church environment was something Kafkaesque where some were adding pressure above and beyond the normal required prevention. The doctors in the parish, of Syrian ethnic background, were the most abusive fighting the priest to increase the pressure on the parish. Dissatisfied by the priest honest response and a good standing, they disappeared from the life of the parish.
After that national circus freak show was brought to an end, with a total hypocrisy, and no responsibility for perpetrators, people in the church who were seeing each other like a living death on two legs, were showing that fake cheerfulness. After all that low in the church who had a myriad of martyrs, at least for me and my wife, the parish life has never been the same. It had left on us with memory and emotional scars. We still attended that church until recently when the priest retired, and we moved on to a different church.
On the other hand, if anyone is more opposite to the level of an Orthodox martyr, or a saint, that is the Archbishop Elipidophoros. He is in a continuous competition with himself on what is his new, worse deed than the last one.
An admirable summing-up of the dangers of mRNA vaccination of pregnant women.
Of the effects on women who fall pregnant after vaccination, the jury is still out.
Elpidophoros and his crew would do well to ponder upon the words of St Paul:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:
for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 [KJV]
This is an excellent article reminding us of who cannot be trusted. Fr. Z is right! Forgiveness and trust are two very different issues. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”
That these egregious moral failures are still posted says everything you need to know. Nobody is without mistakes in this life, but the honest man will do what he can to right his mistakes; the dishonest man never does–just keeps on doubling down on his error.
I endured the masks, and the spoons, but, with statements about safe for pregnant women, I went off the rails, my confidence was destroyed for our hierarchs. My first alarm was liability. After spending nearly 20 years in the insurance industry, I understand liability. When a clergyman hands out medical advice, he is holding himself out as a doctor–because in the tort system, only doctors give medical advice, because only doctors have the correct training and E&O insurance. Without a license, it’s illegal; this is actually criminal activity–they never gave any disclaimers to cover the butts.
As for the St. Tihkon’s fiasco, Dr. Nash was the best they could do?? Really? I am encouraged, how many good doctors would not touch it with a 10ft pole, none with the right credentials for sure. This was really scraping the bottom of the barrel, or maybe something that slithered out from underneath the barrel? So, St Tihkon’s gave infomercials for multi-billion Dollar drug companies, without getting paid?? Doing so and getting paid, would be stupid (the evidence against the shots is damning), a fools errand; but, doing it without getting paid is a special-kind-of-stupid…..or…..there is something else going on there…Ummmm, wonder what that might be.
Then, after thinking through our priest’s own public endorsement (memory eternal–yeah, how would I even be able to forget?): “Want to know what the Church thinks about the vaccines….go to such-and-such web site….” I realized something is not right….something is seriously wrong; because NOBODY speaks for the “Church” without universal and adjudicated agreement; and, the last time that happened was the 7th Ecumenical Council. That’s what the Orthodox have been running on ever since, nothing was changed until COVID. He bragged publicly, he got the shot. Everyone I know that got the shot/s got COVID, in fact it killed a dear friend of mine that was in that parish.
But, it did not end there. As I was walking toward the temple (I was there to mow the grass on a weekday), I saw a sign affixed to the door. Before I got close enough to read it, I was joking inside like this, “Oh, here we go, now we Orthodox have our own “Wittenberg Door.” (I might have the gift of sarcasm.) The sign said that due to COVID, the church was closed until further notice. The Church never closed her doors…through epidemic, through wars, through communism, but, now? Must have been some sort of portend of things to come. So, here we go.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3808960799142528&set=a.3808966745808600
Why are they wearing diapers on their faces? (Read the FB comments. The Orthodox folks are not that stupid.)
Seeing what Elpi does in public, I shudder to think what he does in private. This man is surreal. Nothing since Julian the Apostate comes even close. This whole episode with the GOA is something out of the Twilight Zone. No doubt for some, its a horrific nightmare. All of a sudden, I come to like Rod Serling. He had the perspective that the bizarre happens to normal folks.
Do you remember writing about the Church door sign in this piece, John Lee?
https://orthodoxreflections.com/is-an-orthodox-reformation-coming/
Yes, Sir, I do. And, the further I go along, the more it becomes 20/20.
Thank you so much for this. We were locked out of our parish for not being compliant to the scam. However, we were very, very fortunate to be introduced to a Priest of Blessed Memory Father Alexander Poshyvajlo. Father reposed at age 92 and is survived by Matushka Anna. He would tell us that he wanted to depart this life while serving a Liturgy. Father served right through Covid. There are still heroes of the Faith out there.
By the way, the Greek Metropolitan may not be the only Hierarch under the “First without Equal” who may be tainted.