In order to understand Father Hopko, you must first go back and understand
Father Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983), his original mentor.
Father
Alexander was in possession of that great fallacy I’ve noticed among those who
“woke up” across the traditions, namely, that whatever crossed his mind
was correct, because he was enlightened. In his case, this meant what seemed
good for the church. Thus, since it looked weird and nontraditional for women
to serve in the altar (though they were recognized as ordinarily intelligent in
the Twentieth Century everywhere outside the church doors) they were thus
banned from being priests forevermore, and this was, conveniently, found in the
Bible by Father Alexander. And because he had a personal aversion to
same-sex love (though I suspect he was one of those rare individuals for whom
sex was no big deal) he found that prohibition in the Bible too, though I
suspect he also may not have found it, if that’s what he wanted to see. He was,
among other things, a Russian who did not understand himself to be the big fish
in the small pond that he was. Part of this had to do with growing up in
the small Russian emigre community in Paris, and part of it just had to do with
his own stupidity. In any case, he decided to go in the evangelical direction,
in which Russia was already heading, taking the American Church along
with him, and the American Church followed him, like they always
did.
Father Hopko
rightly realized that something extraordinary had happened to Father Schmemann,
and was of that first inner circle generation that thought everything Father
Schmemann said was right (he was on that famous Schmemannite Octet, that
included Fr. Lazor, David Drillock, and Fr. Doumouras) and needed
to be defended. Their first mistake was not looking to themselves instead
of him.
Add to this
the fact that Fr. Hopko BELIEVED the panentheism he taught and you’ll see why
he was so dangerous.
Panentheism
is, basically, the thing that is supposed to make Christianity better than
other “religions.” It has evangelical origins, though you can also read
the book of Hebrews and see it, but it was taught to us as though it were in the
creed. It is the notion that “God” is completely other than us (a lie) even as
he is everywhere. It allows for god to have occupied a human body two millennia
ago, to do some magic tricks to prove it was really him, then to die but not
really. And if you believe in him the right way, you are saved from the
punishment/death you so obviously deserve. That is evangelical theology
in a nutshell and it is bullshit.
But Fr.
Hopko bought into this, hook, line, and sinker. And he was, for a time,
dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
He was, in
fact, an evangelical through and through, having been brought up that way in
small-town upstate New York, where to be Orthodox was to be weird and you had
to distinguish yourself in some way, and theologically was as good a way as
any. And he welcomed with open arms the evangelicals who have now taken over
our church and it’s seminaries. He, along with Father Schmemann, Father
Meyendorff, and Bishop Philip Saliba, thought the evangelicals were innocent
reformers. As anyone who knows them can attest, they are NOT innocent.
And now,
Father Hopko, and his little book, CHRISTIAN FAITH AND SAME-SEX ATTRACTION,
which goes back to Fr. Schmemann’s unassailable pronouncement, will be used as
a “proof-text” for the evangelicals who have now taken over our church
forevermore. As it digs ever deeper into evangelicalism. And the real
church goes underground.
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