Goodbye, Monastery Icons. Where do I go from here?

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I told a trusted priest about this and he agreed with what was said earlier. He blessed the items I already had. He had heard from a priest who ministered to former drug traffickers who told him they had their contraband ritualized by a warlock or witch prior to shipping to the US. That way, the addicts would stay addicted.

Anyway, I found an article expose on MI and printed it for the benefit of the trusted priest.

Joe
 
I hope I am not derailing the thread, and if necessary am willing to receive PMs for an answer, but can someone tell me what the controversy exactly is with Monestary Icons? I have not found the answer by reading this thread.
 
Hmm, every bit of searching I come to on the internet all points to this one article as its source and nothing independently verified apart from it. Who exactly is Fr. Anthony Nelson and what is his credibility?

I ask this not as a skeptic or to indicate that people are wrong to be concerned, but to do my best to research the truth of the issue.
 
Monastery Icons history is well-known and documented in multiple threads on both the Byzantine Forum and OrthodoxChristianity.net, the 2 busiest Eastern Christian fora on the net; it doesn’t depend on Father Anthony’s article - accurate though that is.

Both my friend, prodromos and I have written extensively on it, John’s posts appear at OC.net and mine at both of the above sites. Additionally, we have both written here on the topic - altho I’m unsure if any of the threads here are among those currently available or are all archived.

Many years,

Neil
 
Irish_Melkite said:
Monastery Icons history is well-known and documented in multiple threads on both the Byzantine Forum and OrthodoxChristianity.net, the 2 busiest Eastern Christian fora on the net; it doesn’t depend on Father Anthony’s article - accurate though that is.

Both my friend, prodromos and I have written extensively on it, John’s posts appear at OC.net and mine at both of the above sites. Additionally, we have both written here on the topic - altho I’m unsure if any of the threads here are among those currently available or are all archived.

Many years,

Neil
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That’s fine. Like I said I don’t want to imply people are overreacting. Just I have been burned by false rumors in the past and I wanted to make certain I am not doing so again before making a decision on this.

My apologies if it came across otherwise.
 
See

here

it’s a difficult topic to search on fora b/c the most obvious search terms - monastery and icons - are so common and this and the other two fora have notoriously poor search engines.

Many years,

Neil
 
Irish Melkite…

I saw you had a PDF link ( 2005 Annual Report - Sacred Arts Foundation) on that site but the file was reported damaged when I tried to open it, do you have a better link for it?
 
Who exactly is Fr. Anthony Nelson and what is his credibility?

I know Fr. Anthony personally, and I can assure you he’s quite trustworthy.

Furthmore, I know two people who were once associated with this group, and their stories are consistent with his.
 
Arnobius said:
Irish Melkite…

I saw you had a PDF link ( 2005 Annual Report - Sacred Arts Foundation) on that site but the file was reported damaged when I tried to open it, do you have a better link for it?
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Amobius,

It appears that the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office has revamped its filings site. Go here and you can view the filings - from inception to present. The corporation was administratively dissolved at one point for failure to file, but has since remedied that issue.

A quick glance at the 2007 Annual Report shows that nothing has changed from my earlier observations in the post at ByzCath’s forum.

Many years,

Neil
 
Yes, the evidence seems undeniable. Thank you for your taking the time to explain it to me.

I guess the next step is to have the icons blessed per the advice on the site (the ones I have were family gifts) and cease ordering from them.

A lot of confusion out there as there is also a “Foundation for Sacred Arts” which is a Catholic group that seems to come up as the #1 Google search.
 
NoPlaceLikeRome said:
Is it possible to buy icons or copies of icons from Brother Claude’s abbey, does anyone know?
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Irish_Melkite said:
NPLR,

The Abbey has a bookstore, but doesn’t appear to be set up for on-line sales and there isn’t any indication on the site as to whether the Brother’s icons or copies of them are for sale. I do know that the original purpose of them was for the Abbey’s Byzantine chapel - which still exists, but is not used regularly to serve the Divine Liturgy as far as I am aware.

I’d suggest a phone call to the bookstore - its number is on the Abbey’s website.
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NPLR,

I just remembered that Brother Claude’s icons are available through www.printeryhouse.org, which is operated by another Benedictine Abbey.

Many years,

Neil
 
I am so pleased I came across this thread! I regularly receive their catalogs and actually almost made a gift purchase from them! Thank you so much for making me aware of this. It seems that the Eastern Catholics know this, but the Western ones need to be made equally aware. Peace be with you!
 
Though I do have a question after more delving…

I came across this post at phatmass forums where an individual contacted the company and received this note in return:
Dear Friend,
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Thank you for contacting us. About ten years ago competitors and enemies of Monastery Icons perpetrated the spurious information cited in Fr. Nelson’s letter, in an attempt to compromise the business of Monastery Icons. Fortunately the sacred arts ministry of Monastery Icons was not harmed by this attempt, and most people recognize the letter for what it is: a bizarre conglomeration of lies, fantasy, and misinformation.
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Further, Sacred Arts Foundation acquired the Monastery Icons sacred art collection three years ago. The Monastery no longer manufactures the icons nor does it own the Monastery Icons business. The icons from Monastery Icons are not blessed with any rituals, “occult” or otherwise. Thank you again for your interest. If you have any further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.
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Sincerely
Richard
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Monastery Icons
Customer Service
1-800-729-4952
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Monasteryicons.com
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Another concern that I have is that the business website states that they are located in Ohio yet Sacred Arts Foundation has annual reports filed in Missouri?

This information has been floating around the internet apparently for years. So has a lot of other information which has been proven to be false. Anyone have a definitive word? Or just more internet information?

Thank you,

Kelly
 
kell0618 said:
Though I do have a question after more delving…

I came across this post at phatmass forums where an individual contacted the company and received this note in return:

…

Another concern that I have is that the business website states that they are located in Ohio yet Sacred Arts Foundation has annual reports filed in Missouri?

This information has been floating around the internet apparently for years. So has a lot of other information which has been proven to be false. Anyone have a definitive word? Or just more internet information?
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Kelly,

OH is the location of their PO Box - effectively an order fulfillment site. Businesses are not uncommonly incorporated in states other than the one in which they principally do business. As an example, thousands of businesses are incorporated in tiny Delaware solely because that state has statutes which are particularly favorable to corporations them. The vast majority of those firms do not have a physical presence in Delaware nor are they required to do so, provided that they have a registered agent there - an individual who agrees to accept legal service on their behalf. In this instance, corporation fees in Missouri are dirt cheap, making it a good place in which to incorporate.

You will note that the named directors of the SAF in the Missouri corporate filings are the same persons affiliated with the former MI and that the address in CA for SAF in those filings is identical to that for George Burke’s temple, ashram, whatever. Do you really think that it’s realistic that a business called SAF would buy MI and that MI’s former owners would then incorporate a business that they would name SAF? And, if they did, and you were SAF, would you not immediately drag them to court for some type of trademark infringement?

And, a search of the records of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office for documentation as to “foreign corporations” - those doing business in the state, but incorporated elsewhere - shows
Sacred Arts Foundation, a Missouri corporation, with the California address reported above (showing Monastery Icons as its California name), and a registered agent in OH for purposes of its business functions there.

The records of the California Secretary of State’s Office also confirm that a Missouri corporation known as Sacred Arts Foundation does business in CA, from the same address. The search results url will not return from a link - go to California Business Search - enter Sacred Arts Foundation in the search box and click the resulting link for Sacred Arts Foundation that has John Weber as its registered agent for process.

While I applaud your wish to be assured that no one is unjustly accused, these are public records which document all that has been reported, the e-mail from “Richard” notwithstanding.

Many years,

Neil
 
Thank you so much! Spread the word, people! It seems the Eastern folks know the information, but the Western folks need to read the memo! I have recycled any catalogs I have. Our Catholic school makes money off the recycled paper. 😉
 
Jguerra said:
Now that I read for myself about the dubious origins of the above-captioned vendor, where can I safely purchase icons, incense and other such religious items without fear of supporting pagan causes?

Private messages welcome.

Joe**

You can always buy from a Seminary. If you do, ask them if they have Sofrino icons. Sofino is a company in Russia. They make glorious icons that are offered at super reasonable prices. And I do mean super reasonable. I don’t have many icons (I have a habit of giving mine away) but most of what I do have are Sofrino. They are pretty, they are priced right, and therefore I get them gifted to me and I also buy them and gift them.
I would also check Eastern Monasteries, see what they offer.
I agree with you in supporting parishes, monasteries, seminaries and not buying from the many many many secular websites that import Russian/Greek products which often include icons.
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