Greek Monks Who Thought the Letter to Theodore was in the Mar Saba Monastery Before Morton Smith Arrives

[Secret Alias]

The title of the thread is " Greek Monks Who Thought the Letter to Theodore was in the Mar Saba Monastery Before Morton Smith Arrives"

[Secret Alias]

Kallistos believed the book and the manuscript were in the library before Morton Smith. Seraphim acted as if the book and the manuscript were in the library before the discovery of Morton Smith.

[Secret Alias]

If the list of books was authoritative someone would have consulted the list of books and realized the book didn't belong in the library. They didn't worry about the book not being on the list because they knew list wasn't authoritative. Morton Smith catalogued 489 books. There are about 100 books on that list.

[Peter Kirby]

The title of the thread is " Greek Monks Who Thought the Letter to Theodore was in the Mar Saba Monastery Before Morton Smith Arrives"

To what end? Maybe we can make a calendar with all these Greek monks. Call it the Monk of the Month?

[Secret Alias]

There's many lines of argument. One the list of books was ignored by everyone associated with Mar Saba. The list is obviously irrelevant because neither Kallistos nor Seraphim were troubled by the lack of presence of the book on the list. But it's worth noting that from 1958 - 1990 the book was regarded as properly residing at Mar Saba. Surely that's worth noting. Kallistos was the official librarian of the Jerusalem Patriarchate from 1973 to let's say 1990. Before him was another librarian. Seraphim was a leading elder at Mar Saba from 1939 - 2000ish. In contradiction to all the claims about the manuscript not belonging in the library, the people most associated with the library and record keeping at the library seem to have accept that it belonged there.

[Secret Alias]

Had I not made this thread I wouldn't have known now would anyone know that the monk who was demanding the book reside at Mar Saba alongside the 100 books scattered on the floor and what must have been the empty shelves of the library was also there the day Morton Smith discovered the manuscript and almost two decades earlier. Knowledge has an in itself value. There's no justification needed for saying "hey I discovered something." It is also valuable in exposing those who refuse to consider new evidence.

[Secret Alias]

Did you know that the official librarian of the Jerusalem Patriarchate from 1973 - 1990 considered the Letter to Theodore to have been written before Morton Smith got there? It is only because I preserved Quesnell's papers that we know that. Today I discovered that Seraphim, the monk who tried to retain the manuscript at Mar Saba in 1976, was there when Morton Smith discovered the manuscript or he was on vacation in Las Vegas. Little bits and pieces. It all comes down to fragments.

[StephenGoranson]

If Seraphim was somewhere at Mar Saba in 1958, that does not solve the question.
Again, nobody claimed to know the Letter before 1958.

[Peter Kirby]

Knowledge has an in itself value. There's no justification needed for saying "hey I discovered something."

Alright.

[Secret Alias]

If you were a monk went to your monastery and claimed to find a copy of the Marquis de Sade's 120 days of Sodom and you had only 100 books in your library and you lived in the middle of the desert with nothing to do, I don't think you'd be fighting over keeping this copy of 120 days of Sodom.

1. there weren't 100 books in the library
2. the discovery didn't surprise the monks.