Teófilo de Jesús (Vivificat, June 14, 2011) writes:
Brethren, according to the blog Titus One Nine, hosted by the Reverend Canon Doctor Kendall Harmon, Fr. Al Kimel, who once was an Episcopal priest, and then was received in the Catholic Church, has again moved and this time to Eastern Orthodoxy. Apparently he was ordained last Pentecost Sunday as a Western Rite priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). Father Kimel was a frequent commentator and a guest writer here in Vivificat, and once had his own, highly-regarded blog.
Rev. Harmon writes: "For those of you who may not know, Al is the former rector of Holy Communion, Charleston, S.C. In 1998 it was written about him:
Father Alvin Kimel, Jr. became the 15th rector of the parish in November 1996. He is a scholar and accomplished liturgist. His efforts include an emphasis on improving music to complement the choral Eucharist and to generally raise the beauty of worship. Father Kimel is a superb teacher from the pulpit, in the classroom, and by published worship aid always available in the Church. He is well on his way to a successful ministry and the future of the Church of the Holy Communion looks bright.
"A number of years later, Al wrote about himself:
Al Kimel... was a parish priest in the Episcopal Church for twenty-five years. He has published articles in the Anglican Theological Review, Sewanee Theological Review, Interpretation, Scottish Journal of Theology, Worship, Faith & Philosophy, Pro Ecclesia, and First Things. He has also edited two books: Speaking the Christian God and This is My Name Forever. He began [the blog] Pontifications in March 2004 as a way to reflect on the meaning of the Church and to invite others to share in these reflections. In June 2005 he entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. On 3 December 2006 he was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church. He is currently serving as the lay Catholic chaplain at Kean University in Union, New Jersey."
[Hat tip to Sean Fagan]
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ReplyDeleteHe leaves the Roman Wife he married for life and gets a fake "divorce" in order to wed a Russian Girl. Well, Divorce-odoxy seems perfect for him.
ReplyDeleteAnd he was ordained on the holy feast of Pentecost, no less. What an insult to the Holy Spirit to commit apostasy on that day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very sad occurrence, but pity the abandoned more than the abandoner. What can we do but pray that the Holy Spirit becomes for Kimel not the Comforter but the wind that fans the fire of a guilty conscience? There but for God's grace go we. Lord have mercy.
On the one hand, this can be looked at as the fruit of pursuing the separated brethren with too lusty an appetite for mere "numbers".
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, what exactly are these waffling souls being converted to? An "orthodoxy" that varies from one diocese to another, like that silly gum that changes flavors as you chew it.
Kimmel spent years in searching prior to converting to RC from Episcopalianism. A very thoughtful guy. And theologically restless. I was always stunned by the volume of theological reflection he cranked out on his blog. I don't really view Orthodoxy as "apostasy," and once a priest, always a priest I thought. Both the Church's and his own short term loss in some different ways, I'd argue. But God draws straight with crooked lines, and the institutional Church is a huge challenge to faith. Simply because O's organization is less in the news and not as easy to follow [and wince over], apparently less prone to making less foolish media miststeps, maybe it makes faith for him more possible . Heavy shades of Rod Dreher. As long as Rome as we know it insists on the post V2 paradigm of equivocation and allowing Sister Joan and Fr. McBrien to make appearances inplaces like a Bishop Weakland Center, I can't be too judgmental here. Benedict XVI might be the most nuanced teacher ever, and Weigel might score testy TV points chasing non middle-roaders, but sometimes I wish the former were a bit closer to Bernard Fellay and the latter was a lot closer to Fr Brian Harrison. I simply think it is easy to imagine Kimmel having honest difficulties post-ordination, and maybe not finding easy help on that score. Just sayin...
ReplyDeleteVery sad -- but not really a surprise to me, as I was concerned when, so soon after his reception into the Church, he was saying things about the doctrine of limbo that gave one pause. (The International Theological Commission's study on limbo did no one any favors.) It should have been a time for him to become theologically grounded in the Catholic faith and the Roman Catholic ethos, not to be presenting theological disquisitions.
ReplyDeleteAnd he has joined a communion that takes the Toll Houses seriously. Oh the irony.
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