ST. VLADIMIR’S SEMINARY APPOINTS ROMANIAN SCHOLAR AS ACADEMIC DEAN

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Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie

On July 20 it was announced that “St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) has appointed Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie [first name: yo-noots] to the position of academic dean. The Seminary’s Board of Trustees selected Tudorie, a native of Romania, on July 18 after the Academic Dean Search Committee had narrowed down the list of possible candidates to two. The announcement concludes an extended and carefully-undertaken search process that began at the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.”

We recommend that you read the full announcement here. We draw your attention especially to Dr. Tudorie’s impressive Curriculum Vitæ.

A number of factors in Dr. Tudorie’s appointment appear to give cause for optimism:

  • First among these is that it comes at the end of a proper search that lasted almost a full year.
  • Second, he brings to his new post a scholarly, teaching, and publishing record that seems hard to match in someone as young as he.
  • Third, a significant portion of his work focuses on dialogue, so important to our readers and writers at Orthodoxy in Dialogue. Geographically, linguistically, and culturally, Romanian Orthodoxy has long seen itself as a “natural bridge,” so to speak, between the Christian East and the Christian West. We hope that Dr. Tudorie evinces as much openness to dialogue within the Orthodox Church as he has shown toward other Christian traditions. 
  • Fourth — and we express this as a hope — if Dr. Tudorie brings to Orthodox scholarship in America something of the spirit of Father Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993) of thrice-blessed memory, his presence and work at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and in the broader intellectual landscape of Orthodoxy in the Western Hemisphere can portend nothing but good. Father Stăniloae’s unvanquished optimism toward life and the inherent goodness of all things human — despite unimaginable personal sufferings at the hands of the Communist regime — compelled him to engage positively with the political, philosophical, cultural, and social currents of the 20th century. More than once in his writings, Father Stăniloae affirms the activity of the Holy Spirit in the multiple sites of human progress taking place in the “secular” world.

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ST. TIKHON’S SEMINARY APPOINTS INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN HOMOPHOBE AS DEAN

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The Very Rev. Archpriest John E. Parker III, DMin

On July 5 it was announced that “[t]he Board of Trustees of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA, has named the Very Rev. Archpriest John E. Parker III, D.Min., as the new Dean of the school.” The announcement (available here) mentions that he wrote a ThM thesis at St. Vladimir’s Seminary entitled “The Sanctity of Chastity: An Orthodox Approach to Homosexuality” and that his parish — “well-known for its warm, southern hospitality” — hosts the meetings of Sexaholics Anonymous, “especially devoted to freeing men from slavery to pornography.” Three paragraphs later we read, “He has given talks and retreats… internationally in Finland and Greece.”

This appointment raises a number of concerns and questions which Orthodoxy in Dialogue finds necessary to share with our several tens of thousands of readers around the planet.

The first and perhaps most obvious question is this: Why did St. Tikhon’s not conduct a public search for such an important position as that of dean? The second is related: What qualifications of Father Parker’s make him such an overwhelmingly compelling choice as to make a proper search superfluous? The third question: Why is the outgoing dean said to despair that he doesn’t even recognize the Church anymore?

Of all the worthwhile extra-ecclesial organizations to which a parish church might rent or lend its meeting space, why Sexaholics Anonymous in Father Parker’s case? Have a look at the website: a “sexaholic” is defined as anyone who masturbates or has sex with someone other than his or her spouse. The word itself and its astonishingly broad meaning imply a psychological or psychiatric disorder — rather than a focus of Christian ascesis — for which there appears to be no support from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, or the Center for Disease Control. The Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t even recognize the word. 

Father Parker took the fast track to ordination following his fast track conversion to Orthodoxy: Read More


FEMINAZI TOENAILS, THE NOXIOUS ODORS OF FEMINIST FEET, AND ENDING THE CONVERSATION WHEN YOU DON’T LIKE THE WAY YOUR WIFE TALKS TO YOU by Priest Joseph Gleason

On July 14 we published “St. Paul on Marriage” in response to Father Joseph Gleason’s terrifying distortions of Christian marriage. Some ten hours later he posted an apparent rebuttal entitled “Unconditional Respect from Your Wife.” The irony is lost on no one that a website subtitled “Christian Renaissance” should host his ruminations.

We do not use the word terrifying lightly: an Orthodox Christian therapist working on his PhD in clinical psychology—and whose research examines the relationship between psychological attachment, religious fundamentalism, and authoritarianism—has stated to us that Father Gleason’s false “theology” sets the stage for men pathologically insecure in their masculinity to abuse their wives and children on any number of imbricated levels.   

Gleason frames his dangerous views as “notes to Protestants from an Orthodox priest,” and imagines that adding “Rostov the Great, Russia” after his signature lends him some sort of mythic authority as emanating from “Holy Mother Russia.” He concludes his two pieces on marriage with the following:

Are you a Protestant who disagrees with this article? …[I]f you are…willing to listen, then I will gladly have a conversation with you.

“Willing to listen”…he demands the same kind of unquestioning deference from his readers as he does from his wife. To whom does Father Gleason listen? Does he realize how much of an outlier he is among Orthodox who write on marriage?

We urge Orthodox hierarchs, pastors, and lay theologians to join us in protecting women and children by responding on the pages of Orthodoxy in Dialogue or elsewhere. 

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Love is supposed to be unconditional. So is respect.

The Bible teaches clearly on this subject. Unfortunately, many Protestant teachers are liberal cucks and uppity battleaxes who chafe at God’s requirements for marriage. These folks claim there is no hierarchy between husbands and wives, and that a wife should only respect her husband if he deserves it. Sitting at Rachel Held Evans’ feet and clipping her feminazi toenails would be more preferable to some people than simple obedience to the Apostle Paul…. 

Thankfully, the ancient Christian faith—Orthodox Christianity—is a breath of fresh air. This ancient breeze blows away the noxious odors of feminist feet, making them a distant memory. For 2000 years, the Orthodox Church has consistently taught that wives owe respect to their husbands. Unconditionally. Read More


UCR QUEER & TRANSGENDER STUDIES IN RELIGION CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PROPOSALS

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UCR Queer & Transgender Studies in Religion Conference

Call for Proposals

UCR Conference on Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion

February 22-24, 2019

University of California, Riverside

Proposals are invited for the inaugural UCR Conference on Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion. While this new and increasingly established subfield is rooted in the field of religious studies, it is inherently transdisciplinary and proposals are welcome from scholars in all fields, regardless of rank or institutional affiliation. In addition to paper proposals for approximately 20-minute presentations, we also welcome proposals for complete panels, workshops, artistic presentations, and other creative formats.

Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words (plus headers and any references), along with a bio of 150 words or less, to Melissa Wilcox, melissa.wilcox@ucr.edu, by August 31, 2018. For sessions involving more than one presentation, such as a panel proposal, please send an abstract of the session plus abstracts for each presentation (each abstract should be no more than 250 words). For sessions involving more than one presenter, please send a bio of 150 words or less for each presenter.

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