Equal Opportunity Offender: The Authenticity Side Misrepresentation

[Secret Alias]

This is what I think the letter Tselikas probably says (I am not sure about the change from "without doubts about its authenticity" as in Smith and Landau because there is an unknown letter at the beginning of a word but I can't see it being anything other than an alpha even though it doesn't look like an alpha)

THE GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM
CENTRAL LIBRARY

GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE
P. O. BOX 19632/633
JERUSALEM – ISRAEL

The undersigned archimandrite Kallistos, librarian of the Central Library of I.K.[unknown initials] received from the Monastery of the holy father Savvas the holy the book named “Saint Ignatios letter” (1 page ?) published at the University of Amsterdam – 1646, bearing at its end a handwritten letter referring to the name “Clementios Stromateos” and addressed to someone named Theodoros, unpublished and disputed as far as concerning its authenticity. The book was transferred from the above-mentioned monastery to be added to the collection of Saint Savvas manuscripts.

Jerusalem June 18th [Iulian]/5 [Gregorian] 1976

Reception witness
(-) Illegible
Archimandrite Meliton The receiver
(-) Illegible
Archimandrite Kallistos – Librarian
Illegible round stamp

My assumption are as follows:

1. Since Kallistos wrote the letter he means "disputed as far as concerning its authenticity" to mean it is, as his stated position in 1983, a pseudepigraphon transcribed in the 18th century, and not with respect to whether or not it was forged by Morton Smith.
2. Kallistos read something about the letter and the presence of heretics in the monastery in a publication, likely Nea Sion, which was the basis for this assumption, as again stated to Quesnell in 1983.
3. Seraphim viewed the document as part of the libary and so Flusser, again from Quesnell's reporting in 1983, was demanding the manuscript stay at Mar Saba.
4. The manuscript was placed on the shelves of manuscripts at Mar Saba by the same letter we are discussing so even Kallistos viewed the letter as an "authentic" i.e. pre-Morton Smith manuscript which belonged with the other manuscripts of Mar Saba.

[Secret Alias]

The real question in this letter (and the reason why perhaps Tselikas didn't translate it) is that Kallistos here with his "disputed as far as concerning its authenticity" is pointing to the same source as his statements to Quesnell in 1983. There must have been a discussion of this text in Nea Sion or perhaps another publication which led Kallistos to his stated 18th century copy of a pseudepigraphon in the name of Clement position. Someone wrote about to Theodore in a written publication in Greek. This must be tracked down.

[Secret Alias]

The Greek word here is likely αμφισβητούμενη "disputed" which implies a dispute.

[StephenGoranson]

SA interprets "disputed as far as concerning its authenticity"
as "authenticity."
Typical.

[Secret Alias]

I am only bringing Kallistos's meaning in 1976 in line with his stated opinion in 1983 to Quesnell. Even for this honesty I am not given credit. You've never done anything close to this.

June 1, 1983:

Librarian (Charistos [in Greek letters]) says come back Monday from 8:30 to 11:30 am
see the ms. Sophia found it &
brought it from Mar Saba 10 years ago (c.)
Feels sure that it is 18th c. old
Says there were heretics, heretical schools
often at M.S. and this is fragment [sic] in part in part of a Hapousi (?)
to one of their books. He does not think it is from S. Clement. He remembers someone noting in some publication that some did report seeing this in the 16th ? 17th ? century
He does not want others to come with me to work on the ms. He is not worried that the ms. is used for anti-Xtn [anti-Christian] propaganda.

[Secret Alias]

I don't see you don't recognize the nobility and honesty in disagreeing with Smith and Landau's misrepresentation of what the certificate says. I did this voluntarily as part of the search for truth. The "dispute" is clearly in Kallistos's mind related to the question of whether it is by Clement or a pseudepigraphon. The certificate is signed by Kallistos seven years before he told Quesnell the above listed information. Clearly the only responsible reading of the certificate is found in Quesnell's handwritten notes.

[Secret Alias]

And I am not sure that my reading is correct. Smith and Landau might have gotten a better copy of the certificate from the Patriarchate and made sense of the first letter of the word I rendered as αμφισβητούμενη. It doesn't look like an alpha, even the accents are wrong (notice in the original certificate there are accents on the first letter and not on the ύ) - but what else could the word be? I am only trying to be truthful. And truthfulness and the search for truth led me to disagree with Smith and Landau even though what they are proposing is close to checkmate for authenticity. You should display this sort of honesty once and a while.

[StephenGoranson]

I have written about pros and cons imo concerning the G. Smith/Landau book.

[Secret Alias]

Not this though.

[Secret Alias]

This is how the academic discussion of the authenticity or forgery SHOULD be conducted. With all participants seeking after the truth rather than cheap and ultimately meaningless victories.