- Nov 26, 2019
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Who drove to a monastery with a truckload of loaded firearms? The evidence only shows that Scott had a gun.
Forgive me, I made a slight error, in that he was armed with two firearms and a knife. As soon as you questioned this report, I immediately reviewed the incident to see if either of us was in error, and it turns out we both were; I unwittingly and to my regret overstated how armed Scott Nevins was, probably based on a conversation I had about the incident on another Orthodox forum which is now defunct, whereas you understated the extent to which he was armed, based on certain online narratives which I have reviewed in fact-checking this.
This being said, I will say that our mutual error does not have a material bearing on the case, since the essential facts remain: Scott Nevins drove to the monastery with multiple weapons, but was blocked at the entrance and then followed a short distance by the night watchman, and then tragically killed himself.
However even bringing two guns and a knife to a monastery in the dead of night, only to reverse direction when obstructed by the night watchman’s SUV, is an extremely alarming course of events. And it was wrong of him to shoot himself, if he was of right mind, but it appears that he was deemed by ecclesiastical authorities to be insane.
By the way I believe I mentioned this previously, but the night watchman was very amiable and I enjoyed his company, particularly when I became alarmed by the antics of an unstable pilgrim in the men’s dormitory (on my next visit I have been advised to request a private room; I visited in the peak season and thus got stuck downstairs). He was a police officer before leaving the secular world.
It is very important to be as accurate as possible on line, because rumors and slander can result.
I agree, and it would appear that we both failed in this respect, but fortunately not in a material capacity. I overstated, and you understated, the number of weapons in his possession. Insofar as I overstated his weaponry, I regret doing so and beg forgiveness.
As for Elder Ephraim if he did in fact have two refrigerators with imported cheese, and wine daily, this would prove he was a fake.
No it wouldn’t. Cheese is permitted Orthodox Christians throughout much of the year, including today, and also to those who have a medical exemption from fasting. As far as consuming wine is concerned, I only saw him drink water, and there was no odor of alcohol on his breath, however, at a number of monasteries throughout the world, the monks do consume alcohol on a daily basis. For example, the least strong of the beers made by the Trappist monasteries in Belgium are consumed by the monks. Historically they consumed enkel (single) which was also served to Belgian children at school during meals, since until relatively recently, in most of the world wine and beer were safer to drink than water.
I will say that the food served at St. Anthony’s was amazingly good, consisting of a seafood soup among other things, with various rolls, and fresh figs (the delicious kind grown in the Southwest US which are not crunchy, as they are not pollinated with fig wasps), this being in the summer when the figs were ripe. There was also a continual supply of Greek Delight of different flavors on offer, at no charge, in the bookstore. Life, during my week at the monastery, was very simple; looking back on it, I felt like I had been restored to my youth, including the very activity of periodically going to the bookstore for candy. And there were many families there. The entire experience was a blissful respite and I was invited to spend another week, but at the time I was dealing with a crisis, and stupidly I declined. Nonetheless, Elder Paisios was extremely helpful.
I don't know what to believe. There's no proof that the person who made these claims was even the real Scott Nevins.
Well, I hope it wasn’t, because it was material of a disturbing nature. However a remark by an Archbishop suggests that they may have regarded him as insane; I should seek to find out if he received an Orthodox funeral, since these are available to suicides who are insane, but not to those who have their faculties intact and end their lives with full sanity. Indeed, if I recall it is handled like how those who willingly opt for cremation, as opposed to those who are involuntarily cremated, are handled, with only the Trisagion Prayers available in the former case, but a full Orthodox funeral available in the latter case.
Presumably, if someone elects for euthanasia, for instance, that would constitute a case where one was sane and opted for doctor-assisted self-murder, which I have no doubt is a major reason why the Orthodox Church rightfully joins all other traditional churches including the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant churches in opposing euthanasia.
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