I’m sure I would feel the same if I met him. God bless him.
Clergy & Monastics Abbot Tryphon of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery (Vashon Island, WA)
Was that meant to be shared? (Many consider a text message to be private). For the response, I don’t understand how it clarifies the previous statement in any way. Unless it is drawing a parallel (re: baptism) to the statement in the previous video that said the traditional Catholics have a real Eucharist? If so should I take it as extending this “reality” regarded for the Traditional Roman Catholic Eucharist to include the baptismal mysteries of the Roman Catholics as well ? It’s hard to tell.
Did he know you would post his response publicly? It's reasonable to assume he did not, so let's not share private communications of anyone here without their explicit consent. Read the subforum guidelines that I just updated today:
Guidelines for the Orthodox subforum
Below are guidelines for using this subforum. Last edited: 9/3/2021. How to conduct discussions involving active Eastern Orthodox clergy Use caution to not turn this subforum into a gossip corner where we critique and nitpick, even if we have valid concerns. Be very thoughtful before posting...
I would like to point out that St Augustine said some things that weren't accepted by the Church, but we still consider him a saint. I have been following Fr Tryphon for several years. He sometimes says a few things of his personal opinion that isn't always well received, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have grace. Let us pray for him.
This is true. If we wrote off a person after they say one thing we believe to be wrong eventually we would write off everyone but ourselves (often we think we’re 100% correct). One also can’t just write off a whole group (e.g. GOAA, OCA, ROCOR) Wherever you go, there are issues of covidianism, ecumenism, secularism (so many problems) and there is no perfect group people among the militant element of the church because we have not been perfected yet. We do have to pray for each other and ask for mercy on our Church and fellow orthodox Christians. Because whatever happens good or bad to the Church and those who are in it also effects you and me because it’s a body.
Let’s all just give Abbott Tryphon the benefit of the doubt. Most of the complaints about him are nitpicking, and we are not a faith of nitpickers. The Abbott is a wise elder in Christ and I’ve profited spiritually from his sermons.
Abbot Tryphon, like all of us, deserves the benefit of the doubt, that is, when something is vague or can be interpreted in multiple ways (one pious, one impious), we ought to stick to the better, but it does seem here like he's been rather unambiguous on the view in question, so that it is not nitpicking. These issues are not worth saying too much about with reference to him, though, since many here look up to him as a fatherly figure, and one should not commit regicide against one's father, nor tolerate those who seek to do so. This is just basic, simple piety.
I do want to say something about St. Augustine, and the Fathers more broadly, however. Although it is true that, as Fr. Seraphim Rose said, St. Augustine emphasized certain things too much (in terms of the powerlessness of the human will), we should not, as St. Photios says, reveal the sins of our Fathers. It is not clear to me, actually, that St. Augustine ever departed from Orthodox teaching, but rather that there are definite ambiguities in his works that can be interpreted in a manner that is not Orthodox. As St. Athanasius writes, the Fathers are inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that they are preserved from error (read his defense of St. Dionysius for St. Athanasius's view of error in the Holy Fathers).
You might rightly say that the Fathers were not always Fathers, and that there are examples of the Fathers changing their mind based on correction, but note that on the whole, they are always seeking and tending towards the truth. And indeed we should never consider ourselves worthy to correct them. If we are told of one of their teachings, it should be received as the words of God Himself, and if we find we misinterpreted it, or that the teaching seems unlike that of the other Fathers, we should be silent, and perhaps acknowledge the possibility of our misunderstanding even when it seems apparently false. This may sound strange, but we should treat the Fathers as infallible since who will set himself above the giants and rulers of the heavens? This is a pious disposition, in my mind. Too often do we glibly say "the Fathers are not infallible," with one breath, then go on to say whatever thoughts or reasonings issue forth from our sullied minds.
For a good summary on how the Fathers regard alleged errors in other Fathers (basically they read them as not errors usually), see “Patristic Hermeneutics.” Most of the quotes are in Greek, which is dumb, but the summaries are useful.
I do want to say something about St. Augustine, and the Fathers more broadly, however. Although it is true that, as Fr. Seraphim Rose said, St. Augustine emphasized certain things too much (in terms of the powerlessness of the human will), we should not, as St. Photios says, reveal the sins of our Fathers. It is not clear to me, actually, that St. Augustine ever departed from Orthodox teaching, but rather that there are definite ambiguities in his works that can be interpreted in a manner that is not Orthodox. As St. Athanasius writes, the Fathers are inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that they are preserved from error (read his defense of St. Dionysius for St. Athanasius's view of error in the Holy Fathers).
You might rightly say that the Fathers were not always Fathers, and that there are examples of the Fathers changing their mind based on correction, but note that on the whole, they are always seeking and tending towards the truth. And indeed we should never consider ourselves worthy to correct them. If we are told of one of their teachings, it should be received as the words of God Himself, and if we find we misinterpreted it, or that the teaching seems unlike that of the other Fathers, we should be silent, and perhaps acknowledge the possibility of our misunderstanding even when it seems apparently false. This may sound strange, but we should treat the Fathers as infallible since who will set himself above the giants and rulers of the heavens? This is a pious disposition, in my mind. Too often do we glibly say "the Fathers are not infallible," with one breath, then go on to say whatever thoughts or reasonings issue forth from our sullied minds.
For a good summary on how the Fathers regard alleged errors in other Fathers (basically they read them as not errors usually), see “Patristic Hermeneutics.” Most of the quotes are in Greek, which is dumb, but the summaries are useful.
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Thank you all for being gracious. It looks like we can come to some reasonable conclusions here if we put our heads together.
Precisely. This is a point that Abbot Tryphon emphasizes in his teaching. He even admits that there were some things that he didn't agree with in Orthodoxy when he converted, but he resolved to keep him mouth shut in such cases. Over time God works on us and changes our hearts and minds.
I think his point on ecumenism isn't that it is not a problem, but that it doesn't pose the existential threat that it did back in the 70's when organizations such as the World Council of Churches was more prominent and people such as St. Justin Popovich were defending the Faith against ecumenism energetically. Regarding the gay roommates, it does seem like that would be a potentially compromising situation.
I tend to agree with this statement. We can say that the sacraments of non-orthodox confessions are completely devoid of grace and we wouldn't be wrong, however there might be some nuance that could be added to that statement. For example, if I was trying to lead a Roman Catholic to the Faith, I wouldn’t lead with this argument.
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Abbot Tryphon being forced to step down from his role as police and fire chaplain for Vashon Island for not submitting to the "vaccine". Lord have mercy on the abbot, who has been beaten, mocked, and now fired for his faith, and may we find the strength to follow in his footsteps.
Lord have mercy!
The good news is that he is standing up for the truth and not buckling under preassure to take the vaccine. He is being a good example for us all.
His local police department and fire department is much worse off without his spiritual guidance though. What a shame. I can only imagine what good he was able to do in their employment.
I’m encouraged to see he is not backing down on this issue and that he is also posting his anti jab views on his AFR blog.
I just saw that too and was coming here to comment. Very sad ! We all know who the buck stops with (the “content” person) at AFR if true.
I will certainly be boycotting Ancient Faith from now on.
Has Father Stephen Damick Young said anything in regards to the vaccine?
