At the General Assembly of the Antiochian Convention in Palm Desert yesterday, His Eminence Metropolitan Philip said he was aware that information from our clergy meeting was made public on the internet. He then, unexpectedly said this is a good thing. This is how we should do things. We should conduct all of our affairs "under the sunlight."
Outside the General Assembly, one of the priests who was at the Clergy Meeting on Tuesday, approached me with his concerns: that the public sharing of information from a private meeting, to him, was an affront to that privacy and a kind of disrespect, even a betrayal of trust, toward our brothers among the clergy. He was unaware that I was one of the priests who through various means (email, blogs, telephone, spoken conversation, etc...) made some or all of the contents of that meeting known. I leveled with him though. I told him I did post a report for the purpose of informing my parishioners and family who are keen to know what is happening in their Archdiocese. However, I respect my brother's opinion. In fact, kissing his right hand, I share his opinion, myself.
The St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood of the Diocese of Wichita, my own diocesan Clergy Brotherhood, knows very well the words of St. Silouan of Mt. Athos, "Grace proceeds from all that is good, but above all from brotherly love."
I posted the account precisely because of my love for my fathers and brothers in Christ. Now I have removed it for the same reason. This blog is not ocanews.org. It's not a "church news" site. There are probably enough of those at the moment.
So, to any priest or hierarch I have offended by my candor with regard to our recent Clergy Meeting, forgive. And may Christ our God be thus well pleased.
Please continue to pray for the accomplishment of God's will at the General Assembly of our beloved and God-protected Archdiocese. As His Eminence said when the Convention opened, "We are here to do God's work."
May it be blessed to God's greater glory.
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1 comment:
It's kind of a shame as they were well written, and there was nothing there that was scandalous. I support your decision to remove them in love, however.
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