The Zen of Tikhon- what is the sound of one pedal moving backwards?

The metaphor of back-pedaling invokes the imagery of a bicyclist furiously trying to avoid his inevitable descent. But, pedaling a bike requires two pedals, not one. And so now Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald), having been called on revealing confidential pastoral communications and the contents of a confession on Monomakhos, in the process insulting his predecessor, a well-respected clergyman and retired Archpriest of the OCA, and an Episcopal candidate. His response:

·         Implying the identities of those involved was needful because his posting was a Polish Joke (the retired Archpriest in question is Polish). Without identifying the parties we would never know that it was an attempt at ethnic stereotype humor.

 

Well, ethnic humor is a good reason for anything.

·         While originally saying that the alleged impediments referred to deserved exclamation marks because they were of a candidate for the episcopacy, he now says that the matter was settled by bringing it to the attention of Metropolitans Theodosius and Herman.

If it was settled, then it didn't need to be brought up again, did it?  He didn’t need to specify the ‘learned Archimandrite,’ did he?

·         Then he compares the general knowledge that sin is confessed in confession with revealing specific details of a specific confession from a confidential document in the DOW files.

I know he is an intelligent man. If he is fooling even himself with this strained comparison, it is pure willfulness.

Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald) shows little regard for the fact that he is not supposed to use the confidential records of his previous office as fodder for his comedy routine. He is not the rightful keeper of those documents, and even now he could not walk into his old office and see them at his leisure. These are the property of the DOW, not him.

He certainly ought not to offer the names of people who have come to him for confession.   Despite his own indulgence in self-pity for being advoided by the other Bishops, one can only wonder why he hasn’t figured out by now that the other hierarchs of the OCA might not want their communications with him to end up as ammunition for his virulent internet postings.

It was good enough reason for Mark Stokoe to be removed from the Metropolitan Council.  After all, how can the other members work with someone who is so interested in revealing their confidential communications?

We all act differently when we are being watched, and so we tend to guard our mouths against saying things too over the top.

If these are the kinds of remarks Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald) in his more guarded, public moments, one can hardly imagine what thoughts he must indulge in when in private.