One day at Oxford in 1982, I asked my tutor, Bishop Kallistos Ware, what Orthodox thought of the Catholic liturgy as reformed by Paul VI. Sensing immediately where I was coming from, he replied that Orthodox had mixed feelings: they mostly approved of things like the use of the vernacular and the restoration of the cup to the laity as returns to an older tradition. They were less impressed by innovations like celebration facing the people.

I agreed with him then and now. Almost forty years later, I still think he was right. A little of my personal story will serve to give context to the reflections that follow. As an adolescent, I encountered Latin liturgy (in the new rite) and it drew me, uninspired by the vernacular liturgy which took its place, to considering priesthood. I was just too young to remember the old Latin Mass, but when Archbishop Lefebvre became notorious for rejecting the post-Vatican II reforms, I acquainted myself with the older rites and fell in love with them. Read More

The following email, with the above subject header, was received from wire465@protonmail.com this morning at Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s email account. This is typical of the dozens and dozens of messages tweeted to our Twitter account and editor Giacomo Sanfilippo’s personal Twitter account since we reported on the Trenham v. Sanfilippo lawsuit. This kind of messaging is directed not only at Mr. Sanfilippo personally, but at every LGBTQ Orthodox Christian, seeker, and inquirer. One wonders if this is the only kind of spirituality Mr. Trenham is capable of inspiring in his followers and supporters.

Hey faggot you’re a an absolute loser and you’re going to burn in hell for being a sodomite. You’re not an Orthodox Christian, you can’t be gay and orthodox Christian, you absolute fool. God willing you’re going to get sued until you are bankrupt. People join the Orthodox Church specifically because it doesn’t support sodomites and child rapists with AIDS like you and your fag friends. Fucking loser. Go fuck yourself you fucking fudge packer, have fun in hell for being a fag.

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Addendum 9/6/22: We plan to publish a report on the outcome of this lawsuit some time during September 2022.

Orthodoxy in Dialogue has a record of publishing commentary on publicly accessible texts and videos produced by members of the Trenham household and outside sources. These include Trenham’s profile by the Hatewatch Staff at the Southern Poverty Law Center for “one of the more virulently anti-LGBT speeches” (full video here) at the May 2016 World Conference of Families in Tbilisi, Georgia. See the extensive Josiah Trenham: The Scandal section in our Archives 2020-21.

On Monday, July 19, 2021, pursuant to a court order allowing service to be effected by email, LiMandri & Jonna LLP of Rancho Santa Fe CA delivered a Summons and Complaint to Orthodoxy in Dialogue editor Giacomo Sanfilippo on behalf of plaintiffs Josiah Trenham, Catherine Trenham, Orthodox Christian Ministries, Inc., and St. Andrew Orthodox Christian Church (Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese) of Riverside CA, where Trenham serves as parish rector. The complaint demands a jury trial for ten (10) allegations.

With many thanks to host Nathan Ormond of Digital Gnosis.