https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituar ... em-8131891
This is where he got elements to write this "gay" sounding relationship thing in his article:
But in the obituary which prompted his interview:"He and Smith had met in Jerusalem, apparently in the 1940s, and reunited in 1951, when Smith took a year’s research leave from Brown. Madjoucoff accompanied Smith to monastery libraries around Greece, and in August 1952, according to passenger manifests, they boarded the SS Excambion together, in Piraeus, for an 18-day voyage to Boston. In Providence, Smith found Madjoucoff an apartment around the corner from his. But shortly after Brown told Smith that his time there was up, Madjoucoff changed his last name, married a woman he’d met through his church, and moved to the suburbs."
Sabar changes the chronology to "sexualize" the relationship. From:His father remained in Jerusalem where he served the Orthodox church. Atanas immigrated to the USA in 1952 with sponsorship from his life-long friend Prof. Morton Smith, then professor of theology at Columbia University who he met in Jerusalem. Upon entry to this country, Atanas decided to change his last name from Madjoucoff to Salem to reflect the city of his birth. He soon moved to Providence, RI and acquired the nickname Tony.
1. change of name when Atanas enters USA then
2. move to Providence RI
In Sabar's manipulated chronology
1. entry into USA
2. Morton Smith "setting him up in an apartment" in Rhodes Island "around the corner from him" [= sexualized trope, what Parisian men do for their mistresses]
3. name change with an apparent change of sexual identity [homosexuality to heterosexuality]
I bet there is more subtle massaging of the data to fit the narrative. No way this guy is gay. Have already talked to a few people. He was a refugee. He need a sponsor. What do people imagine? It's crazy. Look at the obituary again:
The idea that Morton Smith used his sponsorship to get sexual favors from this guy is a joke.In 1948, he fled the war along with his mother, siblings and bother-in-law seeking refuge in Lebanon. His father remained in Jerusalem where he served the Orthodox church.
