[MadMark]

Dear Marian,
Thank you for your clarification, which points out the ignorance of my remark. Sometimes, even in every day discourse, we make statements out of hand, with bravado and false knowledge, igniting a fire storm as I just did.

Effie, I am sorry about my unpleasant memories of Greece, but they caused me a lot of pain at the time, for I remember how excitied I was to go to a predominantly Orthodox nation, only to be treated so badly and so consistenly, in almost all parts of the country. Only in Thessaloniki did I find people to be more kind and welcoming.. When I was there in l998, it seemed like a modern prosperous European nation, having lost some of its small country atmosphere, but I will say, I found the people more accustomed to us foreigners, and my stay, all too brief, was more plesant. I am sorry for my outburst, but reacting simply as an American, I am experiencing a lot of pain right now -the Iragi war has caused us to be hated by so many people all over the world, and it is not a pleasant feeling. watching the War, and the present looting and anarchy, lack of food and water, and the wounding of innocent citizens is extremely upsetting for all Americans, except for Mr. Rumsfield, who should have been retired years ago. He is too anxious to destroy other nations,and that is not what is in our hearts. We sincerely wanted to help the Iraqi people. but our armies moved too fast, and we overlooked all the suffering such a quick war would cause. I am sorry, I am just very upset by all of this.

I am a Russian Orthodox Christian for over thirty years, more than half my life. but I also am very much an American, and I love and cherish my country as much as you do Effie, and I suffer when we as a nation are misunderstood and condemned by those whom we have helped so many times over the years, and when I visit another country and am treated badly just because I am an "American," and not a person.

If I had my choice as to where to live, I would move to Rome tomorrow, for I have never loved a city in the whole world as I do that ancient center of the world. I loved the Romans, who were so gracious and joyous to share their wonderful city with me. In my short two week stay, I got to know waiters, resterauters, a bishop, shop keepers, a convent of nuns, two tour guides, and an opera singer. I attended a canonization st St. Peter's, and was offered a seat in third row, dircetly in front of the Pope, but declined, saying I had to go to Liturgy at the Russian church, but was invited to tour part of the Vatican Plalace at a later date. Whenever I was in the Vatican Museums, I was treated with respect, and many Catholic Pilgrimage groups knelt and asked my blessing, even when I told them I was Orthodox - one pious nun said, "But Father you look so much like a priest!" It was an amazement to have two hundred Argentinian pilgrims piously kneel to receive God's blessing, which I imparted to them in Latin, the ancient and beautiful language of Rome. My heart longs for that city, its air, its beautiful structures, its musuems, it delicious food, its multitude of churches, beautiful music and its lovely people...There is a Small Russian Orthodox community there near Santa Maria Maggiore, and I was received as a brother by the young priest from Moscow and his kind and attentive parishioners.

So many of us can see that our government again has made a diplomatic blunder, offending its friends and allies, it is our biggest weaknes, but we as individual citizens do the best we can; but we do, as did I make mistakes. I had no intention of offending anyone - I really was not thinking.

Fr. Averky