The Hole in the Conspiracy Narrative

As those of you who are following the ‘Conspiracy Against Metropolitan Jonah’ being strung along, there is a curious piece of the story that is missing.  Let us examine this for a moment.

Here are the main points of the Conspiracy Narrative:

-- Mark Stokoe is a homosexual seeking to bring the OCA in line with the  Episcopal Church when it comes to homosexual immorality.

-- Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) is against such immorality.

-- Stokoe has manipulated the Metropolitan Council and the entire Holy Synod against Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), preparing for the compromise of the OCA’s morality.

-- All those who do not unquestioningly support Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) are part of this homosexual conspiracy.

-- You must either support Stokoe or Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen).

This is obviously a simplistic outline, but outlines are by nature without nuances of meaning.

Now, here’s a the problem with that narrative: Bishop Matthias (Moriak).

On August 9^th, Bishop Matthias (Moriak) unceremoniously fires Mark Stokoe from the Metropolitan Council, directly citing his activities on the internet  as unacceptable.  Here’s the message Stokoe got from Bishop Matthias (Moriak)-

Membership in the Metropolitan Council and the Diocesan Council are privileges and honors bestowed upon those who should be examples of faithful living and the promoting of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether we are clergy or lay people, we are to be examples of living the Orthodox way of life.

In the months that I have been administrator of the diocese and now its archpastor, I have observed the divisiveness and the promoting of gossip that your website “Orthodox Christians for Accountability” provides. It is not a healthy vehicle for the Church. It has hampered Pan-Orthodox unity, and it has encouraged those who disrespect the clergy and the Church to express their distain and sometimes outright hatred for the Church, the hierarchs, the clergy and its faithful.

As the archpastor of this diocese, I can no longer tolerate the existence of this website being administered by a member of the Metropolitan Council and Diocesan Council. Your representation on these Councils leaves the impression, whether correct or not, that I approve of your website, and I do not! You once even wrote on your website when someone was criticizing you that “you had your bishop’s blessing to be on the Metropolitan Council and Diocesan Council”. At this time, I am removing that blessing. Upon the reception of this letter, you are hereby dismissed from serving on the Metropolitan Council and Diocesan Council. Alternate members will assume your positions for the remainder of your terms.

It saddens me to do this because I do see the talent and abilities that you possess that could be helpful to the Church. Unfortunately, you cannot serve two masters! You cannot serve the Church in these capacities while providing a website that is counterproductive to Church life.

The final straw that “broke the camel’s back” for me was when you printed a lengthy article promoting homosexuality, written by an anonymous author. That article was a complete distortion of the Church’s teachings and twisted the canons of the Church to justify its position. If that isn’t bad enough, the author did not have the courage to put his name on the article. It appears to me that if someone cannot reveal themselves in the light, they are coming from darkness.

I can only hope and pray that someday you yourself will realize the harm this website brings to the Church and you will decide to close it down. The time has come for us to work together for the glory of God and His precious Bride, the Church!

It looks as if Bishop Matthias (Moriak) is pretty unequivocal on the matter of homosexuality.  Yet, he is not mentioned by Conspiracy Theorists as a supporter of Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen).

 

Why is this?  The narrative that one must either be for one ‘side’ or the other rests on the assumption that the conflict between the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) on the matter of homosexuality and its acceptance or rejection by the OCA, and more broadly on “culture war” positions.

 

The fact of the matter is that the conflict really has little to do with homosexuality: Bishop Michael (Dahulich) is another hierarch who speaks unequivocally on the matter (most of us have already read his diocese’s resolution), and yet he is part of the Synod that is attacked, counted as an ‘enemy’ of Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) by the Conspiracy Theorists.

Tolerance towards homosexual conduct (including the absolute perversity of transsexual surgery and the mutilation of one’s body!) is incompatible with the Church, period.  Stokoe’s active homosexuality makes his candidacy for any office of the Church a no-go, but it does not necessarily make him a liar.  He’s been right on facts more often than not, since no one really questions the fact that both Metropolitans Theodosius (Lazor) and Herman (Swaiko) were morally impaired when it came to money.

 

But, the situation is far more complicated than Metropolitan Jonah versus Mark Stokoe.  The Fabulous Four (Bishops Tikhon [Fitzgerald] & Nikolai [Soraich], Fr. Joseph Fester and Bob Kondratick) are not backing Metropolitan Jonah out any commitment to heterosexuality.  After all, the indiscretions Bishop Nikolai tries to pin on Bishop Benjamin (Peterson) did not bother them enough at the time to prevent them from recommending Bishop Benjamin for consecration!  None of the Fabulous Four ever had a reputation for standing up to immorality.  Rather, Bishop Tikhon (Fitzgerald) loves to drop hints about the sins he witnessed but never did anything about.

We must look beyond the political veneer and see what is happening underneath. 

Only when we see Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) leading the Holy Synod by engaging his brethren will we see the real ‘cleaning’ that needs to take place in the OCA, in such places as SVOTS, New Skete and other stavropegial institutions that need to be reformed.