100
edits
Changes
→The World Hates the Disciples
::I think that one thing we need to avoid in this controversy is the tendency to demonize one side or the other. The monks aren't perfect (as I trust they would admit), and neither are the monastery's critics. I think some people would have a hard time thinking that the monks are wrong about anything, though. Likewise, some people want to take an alarmist tone that totally passes over the role some of the criticized practices play within Orthodox tradition. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}
:::This has been pretty much my point. The strictness of Athonite practices and the vigor with which it is expressed may be subject to misinterpretation in our culture. Likewise, the strong discipline under which the newly-admitted to a monastry live may be misinterpreted. Such discipline is actually not as unusual as some might think, even in Western (non-Orthodox) monasticism. The problem appears to be that nobody wants to bother to explain anything. Concern is automatically interpreted as rebellion, and austerity as totalitarianism.
::Father, The links to the video in question are at the top of this page. Many monks, bishops and saints suffered similar attacks, e.g., the trial of St. John Maximovitch in public court [http://saintjohnwonderworker.org/trial1.htm]. --[[User:Arbible|Arbible]] 15:15, February 10, 2006 (CST)
