Thomas Hopko (1939-2015)

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.