Morguntov's Chronology

Dear friends:

According to Wikipedia "New York State chief judge Sol Wachtler was famously quoted by Tom Wolfe in The Bonfire of the Vanities that "a grand jury would 'indict a ham sandwich,' if that's what you wanted."

To those who are not very familiar with the legal process, a grand jury is a handpicked group of citizens, usually with few if any members who have legal training or experience, who have the power to charge people with criminal offenses based on a presentation by the prosecutor alone ... with no input from the accused and no participation by a judge! DAs have been known to choose this route when they have a weak case they want to push for political or other reasons, and want a quick and easy indictment without being exposed to either true public scrutiny or the oversight of a judicial officer. What Wachtler was suggesting is that such an indictment is hardly a predictor of guilt or the strength of the prosecutor's case, and often implies significant weakness.

That's more or less what I think is going on here just now. I'm approaching the 32nd anniversary of admission to the CA Bar, and I just shake my head at all the ignorance, naivete, special pleading, rumor-mongering, self-fulfilling prophecy and wish-fulfilling etc. that passes for wise deliberation and adjudication here, (to say nothing of Christian love).

A non-canonical "True" Orthodox bishop, doubtless with many axes to grind as to leaders and jurisdictions less "True" and "Orthodox" (don't forget the capital letters) posts a concatenation of "facts," interpretationa, innuendos, and allegations in a foreign language. It contains obvious flaws and mistakes. To say nothing of us lacking access to key documents and/or the opportunity to cross-examine proponents of the documents and put them into context while examining the demeanor of witnesses who are under a searchlight. not just reading out their pre-mixed, hind-sight-based, and self-serving explanations.

From its translation Mark then cherry-picks the parts that "prove" the conclusion he has assumed, rings the bell, and expects us to salivate just like Pavlov's famous, and very well trained, dogs. Or to indict, and even exceed our powers by convicting, that poor ham sandwich, if you prefer less metaphor mixing.

Proverbs 18:17 says "He that pleadeth his cause first seemeth just; but then his neighbor cometh and searcheth him out." Twinned with Christ's pointed teachings about judging others by different and sricter standards than we want applied to ourselves, I should think the current rush to judgment might possibly slow to a walk or even a stroll.

This situation is so rife with red-flags that an experienced evaluator of cases spots right off the bat. A whole glaring category of examples: letters allegedly signed in final version, allegedly sent and/or never received for starters. Especially where it is so obvious that the alleged signers, senders and receivers had very, very good reasons to have wanted to make or not make a record favorable to their interests. And the Russian-American lawyer's transparent efforts to see to it that the issues get too complex to sort out without the kind of protracted brouhaha nobody wants.

And then phone calls, visits to airports, and the alleged examination of the Archimandrite's lower intestines by foreign doctors who conveniently seem to be able to link his distress to the exact date of the Church's action against him!!! I think this whole exercise bears more than passing (pun intended) resemblance to that colonoscopy, and we shouldn't be surprised that Mark, having chosen the equivalent of looking there with that particular tool, sees what he thinks he sees .... and tells us to see.

And the entirely unproven assumption is that if the OCA had the leader it deserves (!!!) none of these anomalies would be presented, and all armchair observers would, through the magical wonders of "transparency" and "accountability," be in a position to comfortably judge it all neatly, cleanly and remotely, at first or second blush, over the internet. Makes the old time "trial by newspaper" not seem so bad after all!

I reiterate what I have said before. There is real evidence that, measured by some important criteria, Met. Jonah finds it difficult to lead well and consistently. There is other evidence, which Mark et. al. prefer to ignore or spin, that the Metropolitan is doing and saying important and difficult things for the good of the Church.

How hard it must be for him and those others with the responsibility to figure out and move in the right direction. I don't think we will help them do it by participating in the creation a new hue and cry atmosphere here over this obviously murky Moscow mess.

Mark loves the credit (and he deserves real credit from which I do not mean to detract) for promoting positive change. His current position is that a huge mistake (by others, of course, which he privately opposed and warned against), an improvident rush to judgment, resulted in His Beatitude's elevation three years ago.

Momentarily adopting for the sake of discussion the idea that it was a groundswell mistake (without actually taking that position), I don't think Mark takes adequately into account his own role in creating of that giddy post-Herman atmosphere of muckraking Reformism, founded on the enshrinement of transparency and accountability (of others) as the Cardinal Christian Virtues, that led to the supposed "new broom sweeps clean" mistake he now regrets. And if he and we are out of touch with even the possibility the atmosphere that led to any such mistake three years ago was laregly fostered here, then how can we consider the possibility that new forms of rush-to- judgment are creating another bad atmosphere that will make the decisions that lie ahead harder - or even impossible - to make correctly?

love,

Fr. George

(Editor's note: Because, Father, as the Church teaches, one can always repent and correct one's mistakes. Having fallen, we need only to recognize we are on the floor, ask for God's help in getting up, and try to rise. He will not abandon us. Perhaps the way forward this time is not to attempt to run helter-skelter, only to fall again; but rising, learn how to just stand for awhile to allow the head to clear, before setting off...)

I wish I had written that! Much wisdom and grace!