ABBOT TRYPHON

Videos leave queer community feeling vulnerable, targeted

Our LGBTQIA+ Community has been targeted.

Abbot Tryphon of the Monastery of the All-Merciful Saviour here on Vashon Island has been posting hateful videos on social media regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. His recent video included businesses and homes on Vashon where gay pride flags are flying and preaching the evil of pride.

Tryphon has a large following all over the country and our queer community is feeling very vulnerable because his words have the potential to incite hate crimes. His actions are hateful and intolerant and should have no place in our community.

Doreen Higgins

Videos cause unease in island community

Living on a rural, progressive island between Seattle and Tacoma has many perks and creates a sense of ease and safety for most of us living here.

That was shattered for me recently, when Abbot Tryphon decided to film pride flags at residences and businesses on the island with an overlay of hate speech, using Bible quotes about the sin of pride and purposefully conflating and misunderstanding pride.

After cries of outrage from the community, the videos from this month were taken down and a short apology was posted, which was perceived as a “too little too late” by many. It’s created a sense of unease and a rift in our peaceful little community.

Certainly, this man is entitled to freedom of speech, although it is difficult to understand how one who says repeatedly that it is not his place to judge anyone else preaches against being “woke” (aware of social inequalities and injustice), advises staying away from news media as much as possible, claims that “they” and “them” pronouns are used in the scriptures by demons and states that Christians are not bigots if they do not recognize the legitimacy of gay marriage, because they oppose transgenderism and don’t want transvestites teaching in public schools and libraries.

He says it’s not his business to judge and that he loves everyone — but it is his business when government legitimizes gay marriage and transgender people. So it’s not his business except to ensure that there are laws against it?

He accuses the Western mentality of demonizing Christianity, and yet it is he who demonizes LGBTQIA2S+ folks by saying that pride (represented by the pride flag) is the source of all evil. It is appalling but, unfortunately, not surprising.

Terry Warnock