Upon this account, therefore, O Bishop, endeavor to be pure in thy actions, and to adorn thy place and dignity, which is that of one sustaining the character of God among men, as being set over all men, over priests, kings, rulers, fathers, children, teachers and in general over all those who are subject to thee; and so sit in the Church when thou speakest as having authority to judge offenders. For to you, O Bishops, it is said:” Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

That It Is a Dangerous Thing To Judge Without Hearing Both Sides, or To Determine of Punishment Against A Person before He is Convicted.

Be gentle, gracious, mild, without guile, without falsehood; not rigid, not insolent, not severe, not arrogant, not unmerciful, not puffed up, not a man-pleaser, not timorous, not double-minded, not one that insults over the people that are under thee, not one that conceals the divine laws and the promises to repentance, not hasty in thrusting out and expelling, but steady, not one that delights in severity, not heady. Do not admit less evidence to convict any one than that of three witnesses, and those of known and established reputation; inquire whether they do not accuse out of ill-will or envy: for there are many that delight in mischief, forward in discourse, slanderous, haters of the brethren, making it their business to scatter the sheep of Christ; whose affirmation if thou admittest without nice scanning the same, thou wilt disperse thy flock, and betray it to be devoured by wolves, that is by demons and wicked men, rather not men, but wild beasts in the shape of men – by the heathen, by the Jews, and by atheistic heretics. For those destroying wolves soon address themselves to any one that is cast out of the Church and esteem him as a lamb delivered for them to devour, reckoning his destruction their own gain. For he that is “their father, the devil, is a murderer.” He also who is separated unjustly by thy want of care in judging will be overwhelmed with sorrow, and be disconsolate, and so will either wander over to the heathen, or be entangled in heresies and so will be altogether estranged from the Church and from hope in God, and will be entangled in impiety, whereby thou wilt be guilty of his perdition : for it is not fair to be too hasty in casting out an offender, but slow in receiving him when he returns; to be forward in cutting off, but unmerciful when he is sorrowful and ought to be healed. For of such as these speaks the divine scripture: “Their feet run to mischief; they are hasty to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace they have not known. The fear of God is not before their eyes.” Now the way of peace is our Savior Jesus Christ, who has taught us saying: “Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given to you; ” that is, give remission of sins and your offenses shall be forgiven you. As also He instructed us by His prayer to say unto God : ” Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” If therefore, you do not forgive offenders, how can you expect the remission of your own sins? Do not you rather bind yourselves faster, when you do not really forgive? Will you not be confronted with your own words when you say you forgive and do not forgive? For know ye, that he who casts out one who has not behaved wickedly, or who will not receive him that returns, is a murderer of his brother , and sheds his blood, as Cain did that of his brother and his “blood cries to God,” and will be required. For a righteous man unjustly slain by anyone will be in rest with God forever. The same is the case of him who without cause is separated by his bishop. He who has cast him out as a pestilent fellow when he was innocent, is more furious than a murderer. Such a one has no regard to the mercy of God, nor is mindful of His mercy to those who are penitent, nor keeping in his eye the examples of those who, having once been great offenders, received forgiveness upon their repentance. Upon which account, he who casts off an innocent person is more cruel than he that murders the body. In like manner, he who does not receive the penitent, scatters the flock of Christ, being really against Him. For as God is just in judging of sinners, so is He merciful in receiving them when they return. For David, the man after God’s own heart, in his hymns ascribes both mercy and judgment to Him.

On Accusations, and the Treatment of Accusers

Concerning Accusers and False Accusers, and How a Judge Is Not Rashly Either To Believe Them or Disbelieve Them, But After an Accurate Examination.

It is the duty of the bishop to judge rightly, as it is written, “judge righteous judgment;” and elsewhere, “why do ye not even of yourselves judge what is right?” Be ye therefore as skillful dealers in money: for as these reject bad money, but take to themselves what is current, in the same manner it is the bishop’s duty to retain the unblameable, but either to heal or, if they be past cure, to cast off those that are blameworthy, so as not to be hasty in cutting off, nor to believe all accusations; for it sometimes happens that some, either through passion or envy, do insist on a false accusation against a brother, as did the two elders in the case of Susanna of Babylon, and the Egyptian woman in the case of Joseph. Do thou therefore, as a man of God, not rashly receive such accusations, lest thou take away the innocent and slay the righteous; for he that will receive such accusations is the author of anger rather than of peace. But where there is anger, there the Lord is not; for that anger, which is the friend of Satan – I mean that which is excited unjustly by the means of false brethren – never suffers unanimity to be in the Church. Wherefore, when you know such persons to be foolish, quarrelsome, passionate and such as delight in mischief, do not give credit to them; but observe such as they are, when you hear anything from them against their brother; for murder is nothing in their own eyes, and they cast a man down in such a way as one would not suspect. Do thou therefore consider diligently the accuser, wisely observing his mode of life, what, and of what sort it is; and in case thou findest him a man of veracity, do according to the doctrine of our Lord, and taking him who is accused, rebuke him, that he may repent, when nobody is by. But if he be not persuaded, take with thee one or two more, and show him his fault, and admonish him with mildness and instruction; for wisdom will rest upon an heart that is good, but is not understood in the heart of the foolish.

-St. John Chrysostom

[When I said],”If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.” I meant it was terrible to desire, not the work, but the absolute authority and power.

I think a man must rid his mind of this ambition with all possible care, and not for a moment let it be governed by it, in order that he may always act with freedom. For if he does not want to achieve fame in this position of authority, he will not dread its loss either. And if he does not fear this, he can always act with the freedom which befits Christian men. But those who fear and dread deposition from this office endure a bitter slavery, full of all kinds of evil, and cannot help often offending man and God.

But the soul ought not to be in this condition. As in war we see soldiers of fine spirit fighting eagerly and falling bravely, so those who have come to this administration should be ready either to be consecrated to the office or to be relieved of it, as befits Christian men, knowing that such deposition earns a crown no less than the office itself.

For when anyone has this done to him because he will not submit to anything which is unbecoming or unworthy of his position, he procures a greater punishment for those who wrongfully depose him, and a greater reward for himself. “Blessed are ye,” says our Lord, “when men shall reproach you and persecute. you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven.”‘ This is surely true even when anyone is expelled by men of his own order, either through envy or to please others or through enmity or any other wrong motive. But when he gets this treatment from his enemies, I do not think any argument is needed to prove how great a benefit they confer on him by their wickedness.

So we must be thoroughly on our guard against ambition and examine ourselves carefully.

—St. John Chrysostom

Sometimes the temptation for men to seek ordination in Christ’s Holy church can be born out of a desire for honor or power. That is why it is safer for Bishops to come from the monastic rank of the Church. They have a much better possibility to handle temptation for earthly glory and power having been previously formed on the foundations of ascetic spirituality. Bishops are celibates because they usually were monks. The pressure to act more like a Byzantine King rather than like “Christ the Servant,” is more (it seems) than most can handle. Some hierarchs manage to keep the way of humility in their leadership.

St. John Chrysostom writes: “But no one will always endure the strain; for fearful, truly fearful is the eager desire after this honor. And in saying this I am not in opposition to blessed Paul, but in complete harmony with his words. For what says he? “If any man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.” Now I have not said that it is a terrible thing to desire the work, but only the authority and power. And this desire I think one ought to expel from the soul with all possible earnestness, not permitting it at the outset to be possessed by such a feeling, so that one may be able to do everything with freedom. For he who does not desire to be exhibited in possession of this authority, does not fear to be deposed from it, and not fearing this will be able to do everything with the freedom which becomes Christian men: whereas they who fear and tremble lest they should be deposed undergo a bitter servitude, filled with all kinds of evils, and are often compelled to offend against both God and man. Now the soul ought not to be affected in this way; but as in warfare we see those soldiers who are noble-spirited fight willingly and fall bravely, so they who have attained to this stewardship should be contented to be consecrated to the dignity or removed from it, as becomes Christian men, knowing that deposition of this kind brings its reward no less than the discharge of the office. For when any one suffers anything of this kind, in order to avoid submitting to something which is unbecoming or unworthy of this dignity, he procures punishment for those who wrongfully depose him, and a greater reward for himself. “Blessed,” says our Lord, “are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake; rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven.” And this, indeed, is the case when any one is expelled by those of his own rank either on account of envy, with a view to the favor of others, or through hatred, or from any other wrong motive: but when it is the lot of any one to experience this treatment at the hand of opponent, I do not think a word is needed to prove what great gain they confer upon him for their wickedness.”

“those who will deny men freedom first attempt to deny them truth. Yet truth can never be fully repressed, for it is not a fact or dogma, but a Person.”

Source: Dennis Engleman -Ultimate Things-

As a favor to an acquaintance, posting this link to an article from AGAIN Magazine VOL. 21 NO. 1 Winter 1999 [here]

Again is publication within the Antiochian Archdiocese.

February 7, 1955 – January 12, 1999

Michael J. Russell was born in San Francisco, California on February 7, 1955, to parents Bob and Lenore Russell. The family moved to Carbondale, Illinois, where Michael graduated from Carbondale High School. He was an outstanding athlete and captain of his football team as well as a talented actor who starred in his high school plays.

Michael married Wendy Freitag and moved to Hawaii from 1976 to 1978. It was in Hawaii where Michael was “tagged” with the nickname “Madness” because of his reputation to surf the “Pipeline” at times when no one else would dare to do so on the north shore of Oahu.

The Russell family moved to Santa Cruz, California in 1979 and attended Bethany College. At that time, Michael’s spiritual search led him to the Orthodox Christian faith, in which he was ordained a Deacon in 1987. The parishioners of his church loved to see him serve and hear his beautiful voice during the Divine services in the San Lorenzo Valley. Michael is the father of daughter Megan and two sons, Justin and Jared.

For 18 years, Michael owned and administrated his successful business, Michael J. Russell Hardwood Floors, while teaching the trade to his eldest son Justin. “Deacon” Michael, as he was affectionately known, was the loving husband and friend of his wife of 22 years. This powerful man with his famous “bear hugs” and ready laughter will always be remembered by all those who knew him, whether at church, work, or play.

Having passed from this life at 43 years of age, vitality, joy of life, and with the strength of a bear, leaves behind a legacy of friendship, love, and faith in God. Along with his wife and treasured children and parents, Michael leaves three brothers, Bob, John Patrick and Matthew, six godchildren, and a huge family which extends beyond his relatives. Everyone knows that if you met Michael, you liked him. If you knew Michael, you loved him. May his memory be eternal!

The parish in Ben Lomond, CA was then the largest parish of the Antiochian Evangelical Mission. In 1997, it was a parish of about 1500. Saturday Vespers had about 200 attendees. The entire congregation sang as the choir. It has a K-12 school, a world class choir, a hospitality house (for visitors), programs for teens, and a publishing house, Conciliar Press, which the evangelicals brought with them. The parrish allowed a highly respected spiritual father from Mount Athos to visit them and to hear confessions and give guidance. People began to fast and pray more. The hierarchy of the Antiochian Archdiocese then forbade any Antiochian clergy or faithful to go for a confession to a non-Antiochian priest. Their practice of having a complete round of daily services, with Matins, Liturgy, Vespers, and everything else, all well attended, was considered bizarre and no longer normal. Moreover, they had some unusual liturgical customs and Russian customs in their services. Certain Arab ladies in the parish got the ear of the local Bishop and started demanding that the thing was getting out of control; a new leadership had to be installed at Ben Lomond. The hierarchy instructed them that no Russian music was to be used; all music had to be from the simplified Antiochian music packets. Eventually, there was a huge parish meeting and the parish petitioned Metropolitan Philip to release them to the OCA (Orthodox Church in America). In response, the main priest who had years before started the parish from scratch and all clergy who were felt to support him, got a sudden fax from Met. Philip saying they were all defrocked immediately. They appealed to the decision to an Antiochian trial council. Then they were all excommunicated, some for a minimum of five, some for a minimum of three, years. The majority of them were treated as lepers. The building, all property, the school, all the bank accounts, were seized by the Archdiocese. The original parishioners became scattered, confused, and priestless. The court decisions came in in favor of the Archdiocese. However, the remaining small congregation hadn’t been the primary financial backing, and couldn’t support the church as it was. It abandoned the school entirely and gutted or abandoned other things, and began selling property. The OCA eventually received a large number of the faithful, on condition they keep quiet, likewise forbidding OCA clergy from discussing it. The Jerusalem Patriarchate received the rest. The Antiochian Archdiocese considered suspending relations with both. To this day, there is an atmosphere of watchfulness over parishes becoming too much like Ben Lomond had been. The clergy remained persona non grata for years, even after the imposed period of excommunication, and some died as such. Recently, the rest were received back into the AOA or elsewhere. The remainder of the parish is still there, but it’s not what it was. Nothing in the AOA has been like it since.”

This is a slight revision of a text written originally in 1998.

May 25, 1950 – October 23, 1998

Born on May 25, 1950 in Shrevport Louisiana, Terry Clark Somerville was the eldest son of Willis Jay and Margie Somerville. His brother Scott was born four years later followed by his sister Marsha. The Somerville family moved to southern California in 1963 when Terry was 13 years old.

The energetic and talented Terry quickly adapted to California social life. He made many friends and excelled in baseball, football, and track at Placencia High School. Terry was elected Student Body President his senior year.

During his high school years Terry began his spiritual search through contact with Youth For Christ International and became a student leader in Young Life Club his senior year. After graduating from high school in 1968, Terry attended Redlands College and spent his summers as a counselor at Redwood Camp, Mount Hermon. His second summer on Redwood Camp staff, Terry met co-counselor and future wife Judi Hopsen of Gilroy, California. They were married on May 15, 1971 at Mount Hermon.

In 1973, terry and Judi moved to Mount Hermon to join the Conference Center staff. The following year they helped found a very active Young Life Club on the SLV High School campus. In 1975, Terry became one of the primary leaders of the Christian Community Church, Felton, CA, which later became Sts. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church, Ben Lomond, CA. In 1987, Terry Somerville was ordained to the priesthood of the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Terry served tirelessly as the Youth Pastor as well as highly efficient administrator. Each year, Fr. Terry took a large group of high – schoolers to Tiajuana, Mexico, where they would build small houses, from the ground up, for pverty stricken Mexican families and assist in numerous tasks for Project Mexico Orphanage. He took the youth on visits to homes for the aged, sponsored monthly Senior Dinners, and numerous other activities to put love into action with his youth. He constantly filled the gap for busy parents trying to raise their teenagers in the Valley. Fr. Terry was a Board member for six years with Valley Churches United and served as its Ministers Contact. He was activly involved with the local Crisis Pregnancy Center. Fr. Terry also served as a guest lecturer and high-risk education aide at SLV High School and coached SLV Senior / Major Baseball for three years.

Fr. Terry wrote many published articles as well as co-authoring a goundbreaking book titled Missing From Action. The popular book resulted in Fr. Terry traveling across America holding seminars for men.

Everyone who knows and loves Fr. Terry can warmly remember him being as one who was equally comfortable with a hammer in his hand as he was with the Bible. Only God knows the countless acts of love he gave towards his church and community without neglecting his wife, Judi, and five children, Shannon Hardenbrook (23), Rachael Hagler (20), Gabriel (17), Benjamin (15), and Elizabeth (12), and grandson Nektarios (5 mo.).

Amidst family and friends singing sacred hymns and prayers, Fr. Terry passed from this life shortly after partaking of Holy Comunion.

Sunday August 30.1998

They worshiped together under the same gold dome for decades. Not anymore.
They are a church divided. What started as differences over litugical style
at the St Peter and St Paul’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Ben Lomond has
snowballed into a bitter dispute over power and money. The imbroglio has led
to massive dissension, ex-communication of priests, and uncharacteristic
visits by sheriff’s deputies as members squabbled over ownership of icons. It
has pit godchildren against godfathers, and neighbors and friends against
each other. In one case, a husband and wife are on different sides. The
struggle has even spilled into the courts and resulted in a ruling that says
the church’s roof and the rest ofits buildings no longer belong tothe
parishioners and priests who poured over 1$ million into the property over
the past two decades. The court battle ended last week with the smaller,
so-called loyalist faction backed by the New Jersey-based archdiocese
winning. In a case that raised constitutional, property rights and seperation
of church-and-state issues, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Samuel
Stevens ruled that the church off Highway 9 and its rellated properties
ultimately belong to the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North
America. “It’s really sad,” said Sophie Majmudar, a Ben Lomond resident who
grew up in the church built now worships elsewhere because of the court
order. “All our tithe money has gone into this property.” But even the
winners weren’t cheering when the judge reached his verdict. “There is no
great joy that we went tocourt,” said the Rev. David Barr, who was appointed
to serve at the church in the spring after 10 of the longtime preists at the
church were banished. “It’s a tragic division,” Barr said. “No one feels
vindicated.” The schism has left more than 300 Orthodox Christians without a
house of worship. The group made up about 80 percent of the St Peter and St
Paul membership. But because they chose in February to remain loyal to the
clergy who defied the Archbishiop, they,too,elected to seperate from the
Antiochian Orthodox Church, a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church based in
Damascus, Syria. According to court documents, the dispute began brewing last
year when members of the local clergy disagreed with the wishes of the
archbishop, known as Metropolitan Philip. “Ten of the twelve priests at the
the church and more than half of the deacons did not agree with the
archbishop’s proposed changes, which ranged from where the priest stood and
the style of singing to shortening the service,” members said. To the
so-called dissidents, the changes amounted to a move away from the more
traditional, conservative style they had been practicing for years. “He (Met.
Philip) wanted to make it more compatible with American culture,” Majmudar
said. “American people don’t want to stand for hours. THey want to get home
and watch their football games.” To the so-called loyalists, the proposed
changes boiled down to simply following the orders of the head of the church
they chose to join. “What mattered to me was having a loving spirit and order
under the bishop,” said the Rev. Kent Washburn, one of the two priests who
decided to stay with the Antiochian Orthodox Church. In February, the larger
group of parishioners and clergy requested a split. The priests asked to be
“released” from the Antiochian Orthodox Church so they could start another
parish under the Orthodox Church in America, which is more aligned with
Russian practices. But instead of getting “released”, some of the priests
were ex-communicated while others were suspended from the priesthood. The
disciplinary action, which is under appeal to the church’s Spiritual Court in
Syria, came after the priests openly defied the archishop in February. The
act of defiance came after the archbishop announced he was transferring one
of the priests, a founding father of the Ben Lomond church, to Chicago. “We
knew it was not a routine transfer,” Majmudar said. “They just wanted him
oout of the way.” At a Feb. 12 meeting, a priest, who was one of the leaders
of the dissident faction, publicaly criticized the auxiliary bishops and the
archdiocese. According to court documents, he also refused to obey the
archbishop’s order to have a dean of the region chair the meeting. Within two
days, that priest and the priests aligned with him were immediately ejected
from the priesthood – a move which made any other branch of the Orthodox
Church leery of accepting them. If a branch such as the Orthodox Church in
America welcomed the so-called dissidents, they were at risk of being cut off
from the powerful – and rich – archdiocese. As a result, the dissenting
priests and the majority of the congregation that supported them, felt almost
churchless. But the dissidents believed the Ben Lomond sanctuary they had
acquired and renovated with their own money and hands still belonged to them
and they refused to give up their church. The roots of the Ben Lomond church
date back to the late 1970’s when several local evangeliccal parishes joined
together. They later bought the church building at 9980 Highway 9, joined the
Antiochian Orthodox Church, and erected the gold dome that has become the
church’s defining feature. On the Saturday that the archbishop disciplined
the priests, members of the dissident group wrested control of the church
property by changing all the locks. So on the next day, the day of worship,
no one conducted services there – not the ex-communicated priests nor the
ones who were locked out. Instead, parishioners got onto Highway 17. One
group headed to an Orthodox church in Saratoga and the other to a church in
Cupertino. And in another ironic twist, perhaps instigated by a heavenly
power, the sparring sides were forced to wait together as a road crew cleared
a toppled tree off the highway. “Instead of worshipping together, some rotten
tree fell over the highway and we were caught in traffic,” Washburn said.
“There we were looking at each other, shaking our heads ruefully, to see
ourselves in such a state.” For weeks, the dissidents would not let the
loyalists back into the church. Then Metropolitan Philip and the archdiocese
went to court. They successfully convinced a judge to order the dissidents to
let the loyalists back into the church. Then, on March 13, they sued the
leaders of the dissident group, claiming the church property belonged to the
archdiocese and not the local church corporation. The property in dispute was
worth morth than $1.5 million , attorneys in the case said. It included the
gold-domed sanctuary, classrooms for a 100-student parochial school, a
fellowship hall, an office building in downtown Ben Lomond, a barn, two
houses for the priests and a small publishing company. The case, which went
to trial last week, featured testimony from canonical experts, leading
theologians, and specialists in church and constitutional laws. Attorneys for
the archdiocese contended the Ben lomond church properties implicitly fell
under the control of the archdiocese when the group elected to join the
Orthodox Church. “It is an indivisible part of the whole church,” said James
Hyde, a San Jose attorney. The dissidents “have a right to leave, but they
can’t take the property with them.” Attorneys for the dissidents argued that
the local church never signed any papers handing control of the property to
the archdiocese. “It doesn’t say anywhere in the record that it was being
held in trust for the archdiocese,” said Austin Comstock, a Santa Cruz
attorney. “They bought some of these properties even before becoming part of
the archdiocese, and they bought it with their own money.” After a three day
trial, the judge issued his ruling, Aug 20th, agreeing with the plaintiffs.
Upset over the decision, members of the dissident group went to the church
that same day and tried to grab vestments and icons they firmly believed
belonged to them. A sheriff’s deputy was called out to help settle the civil
dispute. Several days later, someone in the dissident group again tried to
take an icon. Deputies were called out a second time, and then the loyalist
group changed the locks to the church.

BRIEF SUMMARY: Due to the legal and ecclesiastical conflicts at
Saints Peter & Paul Orthodox Church in Ben Lomond, the St. Theophan
Academy, which serves students from first grade through high
school, is in urgent need of financial assistance in order to
continue its operations for the fall academic semester. This is
one of the few grade 1-12 Orthodox schools in the country, and
enrollment of 50-60 students is expected when school begins in a
few weeks. To make a contribution, see the information at the end
of the following letter.

Dear friends,

Some of you have been following the controversy surrounding Saints Peter
and Paul Orthodox Church in Ben Lomond, California, for the last six
months. One of the “untold stories” behind this tragedy is the status
of the parish school which has served many of the children in the parish
for the past seven years.

Realizing the need for an alternative to the secular public education
system, families in the parish worked together to establish a school
that would not only give an excellent academic education to their
children but would also instruct them in the Orthodox Christian faith.

The academy began teaching a combination 6th/7th grade class and then
gradually expanded, year by year, to the point where it now includes
first grade through high school. The academy is staffed by the
principal, Wendy Russell, and nine teachers: two teachers for grades
1-2, one teacher for grades 3-4, grades 5-6, grades 7-8, and four high
school teachers for math, science, history, English and Spanish.
Enrollment last year was approximately 75 students, mostly the children
of families attending Ss. Peter & Paul Church.

Earlier this year, a tragic church split divided the parish, with about
two-thirds of the clergy and parishioners petitioning to leave the
Antiochian Archdiocese. The reasons for this upheval need not be
recounted here, as they have been extensively documented elsewhere. . . .

The Antiochian Archdiocese then sued the local parish corporation which
held title to the church property, and on Thursday, August 20, a verdict
was handed down by the Santa Cruz County Superior Court, in which the
Archdiocese was awarded control of all of the property, bank accounts,
and so forth.

The principal, all of the teachers, and the families of about 60 of the
75 students in the academy were among the majority of parishioners on
the losing side of the court case.

Because the school had been run by the parish, all of the academy’s
classroom space, office space, school supplies, curricula, office
equipment, desks, books, computers, and bank account were among the
property turned over to the Archdiocese. Neither the Archdiocese nor
the minority group in the Antiochian parish which gained control of all
this property has indicated any intention of continuing the academy.
With the beginning of the school year approaching quickly, Wendy
Russell, the principal of the academy, submitted a request to the parish
council of the Antiochian parish, requesting the use of the facilities
for 2-3 months until alternative arrangements could be made to
house the academy elsewhere. This request was rejected. Negotiations
are still taking place to determine whether the academy will be
permitted to retain any of the curricula and school supplies.

Meanwhile, school was originally scheduled to begin next Monday.
However, this will be impossible, as the school now has nowhere to meet,
no curricula or school supplies, and no money to pay teachers’ salaries.

Parents are determined, however, that, regardless of what happens with
the parish, the academy must survive.

The current plan is to delay the start of school by 2-4 weeks in order
to work out all of the necessary details. Office space in the San
Lorenzo Valley is expensive. It appears that for the coming academic
year, the school will operate “satellite classrooms” in the homes of
parents who can volunteer a garage, living room or attic. Parents have
been asked to pay tuition several months in advance if possible in order
to provide some up-front operating funds.

This is only the third time in my life I have ever written a
“fundraising letter” asking for money. I believe that this academy is a
worthwhile endeavor, not only for the parents and children here who have
benefitted from it, but also for Orthodox education in general. It is
one of the few Orthodox academies in the country. Over the years, the
parish has received phone calls from people wanting more information
about the academy and about how they might start a similar school in
their own parish. This academy is indeed a “bright light,” and it
should continue. Although I do not have children in the academy myself,
I have enjoyed driving and chaperoning for academy field trips, playing
with kids on recess at the church grounds, and attending last year’s
graduation ceremony.

After the court’s verdict last week, some of you asked me how you might
contribute to help us. This would be an excellent way. I have just
made a donation to help ensure the academy’s survival, and I hope that
others will join me in this effort.

Checks to support the academy may be made out as follows.

Payable to: Orthodox Christian Fellowship
Memo field: St. Theophan Academy

Mail to: Mark Swearingen
St. Theophan Academy
245-M Mount Hermon Road #102
Scotts Valley, CA 95066-4045

Now for the legal fine print: the California corporation that held title
to the property was named Ss. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church, Inc., and
had a board of directors consisting of Fr. John Hardenbrook, Fr. Thomas
Lindsay and Fr. Terry Somerville. The result of the court’s verdict is
that the board of directors retains the corporation itself and the same
tax ID, but loses all of the assets of the corporation to the Antiochian
Archdiocese. Until such time as a new parish can be established under
another Orthodox jurisdiction, the name of the corporation has been
changed to “Orthodox Christian Fellowship.” (Yes, I realize that there
is an Orthodox college campus ministry that goes by the same name, but
no one asked my opinion about the name change. However, the corporation
has its own tax ID that is independent of the college ministry, so the
money will be used for the purpose for which you designate it.)

Because the church office has also been turned over to the Archdiocese,
I am asking that contributions for the academy be sent to my own home
address. I will ensure that these checks are given to the correct
person, deposited to the correct account, used for the correct purpose,
and that you receive a tax-deductible receipt.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours in Christ our true God,

— Mark Swearingen

Self-Ordained, Non-Canonical, E-mail Historian
of the Ben Lomond Crisis