The current situation regarding the sexual abuse crimes of Matthew Williams is tainted by Matushka Elizabeth's past callous and sinful response to the reported rape of Carole Stephen's daughter. Had she acted then, her own daughters may have been spared, and the then Deacon Matthew Williams would never have become Father Matthew Williams.
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| Delivered to Met. Hilarion 2018 |
JTO's 7-year effort to see spiritual and legal justice in the matter of the reported rape of the 15-year-old Stephens girl, can only be complete when Elizabeth confesses her knowledge and involvement at the time the mother, Carole Stephens, confronted them by letter and by phone. For the full story, read the 2018 JTO article, which was originally presented to Metropolitan Hilarion of ROCOR before posting on JTO:
JTO sent a request for comment via email to Elizabeth Williams before posting this article:
Elizabeth,I am Nathan Lee Lewis, the editor of the Journey To Orthodoxy blog (JTO).I am working on an article in response to your December 2024 letter sent to various parish members.In the 2018 JTO post, Rape and the Holy Man, Carole Stephens claims that both you and your husband had a phone conversation with her after she became aware of the sexual abuse of her daughter by Matthew.In her account, she says, "I confronted the assaulting couple. The deacon had been ordained a priest of * St. Tihkon's Russian Orthodox Church in Bristol, TN in [the] interim. I wrote them for an explanation. They proceeded to harass my daughter at school and beg her to keep me off of their backs...Father Matthew called me and tried to set up a meeting and begged forgiveness...Elizabeth did say that she should have known better than to have a teenaged girl in her home. Matthew did say that if it made me feel any better, Elizabeth almost left him for the incident. I told him that he should love his wife all the more. They reminded me of all that they had done for me in the past and Elizabeth did say that her husband does a lot of good for people as a priest. They offered to do something for me financially. He was evasive about dates, location of the crime, and to what extent (how many times did it occur?) as I was asking point blank questions. They begged forgiveness over and over but were non-specific. Of course they wanted to avoid prosecution."Did this conversation happen, and if it did, is the content of the conversation accurate? Were you aware of the allegation of sexual misconduct of your husband at that time?I am offering you this opportunity to comment on and correct any wrong information. If you respond promptly, I may include your comment in the article. If you choose not to respond, I will release the article as it is.Thanks for your consideration,Nathan Lee LewisJTO Editor
Elizabeth did not respond.
The following is the JTO commentary inserted into Elizabeth's letter.
Be prepared. At this point in this sordid and sinful saga, JTO is pulling no punches. If you demand mercy and sympathy for Elizabeth, that can be found in prior JTO posts or the above paragraphs. It will not be found here:
From: Elizabeth Williams (email omitted)
Date: Wed, Dec 25, 2024, 11:38 PM
Subject: Truth
To: Elizabeth Williams (email omitted)
My beloved brethren in Christ,
The time has come for me to speak openly to you, as you deserve. Thus far, this has been my family's own personal Golgotha. [JTO: No, Elizabeth. This is not nor has it ever been your "family's own personal Golgotha." You are leaving out Carole Stephen's personal Golgotha and that of her daughter. Theirs was the death of innocence and the crucifixion of the soul of her daughter. It is time for the church to "speak openly to you as YOU deserve."] And yet our beloved church family has entered into it, and I pray that we can all grieve together, not falling into rancor, not battling against one another. [JTO: The local church has entered into it partly because of your desire to protect your husband for his sexual crimes. Your clarion call is 20+ years too late. If the church was truly beloved by you, you would have informed Hilarion years ago. It is the height of hubris for you to present yourself only as a victim when you are partly the cause. Now you seem to want to be seen as the mother hen gathering around your children. In the past you allowed a wolf to devour another woman's child. Your goddaughter needed professional and spiritual help back then. You cared only for your own. How did that work out for you? How are your children doing? "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, that will he also reap."]
I am writing this because I believe that we all share a single goal of protecting the Church and the faithful, and especially the innocent and vulnerable. [JTO: Elizabeth! Was your 15-year-old goddaughter "innocent and vulnerable"? Carole Stephens: "I confronted the assaulting couple. The deacon had been ordained a priest of * St. Tihkon's Russian Orthodox Church in Bristol, TN in [the] interim. I wrote them for an explanation. They proceeded to harass my daughter at school and beg her to keep me off of their backs...Father Matthew called me and tried to set up a meeting and begged forgiveness...Elizabeth did say that she should have known better than to have a teenaged girl in her home. Matthew did say that if it made me feel any better, Elizabeth almost left him for the incident. I told him that he should love his wife all the more. They reminded me of all that they had done for me in the past and Elizabeth did say that her husband does a lot of good for people as a priest. They offered to do something for me financially. He was evasive about dates, location of the crime, and to what extent (how many times did it occur?) as I was asking point blank questions. They begged forgiveness over and over but were non-specific. Of course they wanted to avoid prosecution."]
To begin with, I have not and will never coerce or shame a victim into silence. [JTO: Parse words much? Carole: "I found [a]out the truth around the time of [sibling's] high school graduation... He (Matthew) would never answer. Then I typed out an e-mail. It took me 3 months to send it. Right away, I got a response from [daughter], for they had harassed her by phone to get me off of their backs... Matthew was only willing to call me when the letter hit the metropolitan's office...but later called [daughter] and convinced her to lie to the metropolitan's investigator..."]
The lies and allegations against my children and myself are out of control. These claims are that I never reported the sexual abuse to the hierarchy [JTO: Still talking about your own children, but you did not report the previous crime of your husband, did you? You do not get to publicly defend yourself and tout your good conduct and clear up the "lies" directed to you until you confess your previous lies and failures to report. Carole and your 15-year-old goddaughter...remember them?] are exposing both me and my children to huge slander [JTO: slander "the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation." Is this not what you have caused to occur to Carole Stephens all of these years? Is this not what you are doing in this very letter?] and further damaging our family and our parish. People are already so unwound due to the allegations [JTO: "allegations"? The use of this word by you at this point is clearly obfuscation. Honesty and transparency would dictate you say, "due to my husband's failure or crime, or how about his sexual abuse of little girls.] against Fr Matthew; believing that their matushka made no efforts to protect the parish (and her own children) is already causing chaos to abound. [JTO: Blaming and rebuking others for reacting strongly, and at times wrongly, to the chaos you and your family caused is not well received by many.] I write this not just to defend myself against these terrible accusations, but also to provide some much-needed truth.
I have followed my beloved spiritual father of twenty-seven year's direction throughout this period of sorrows and betrayal. [JTO: What did your beloved spiritual father say when you told him that your husband had raped your 15-year-old granddaughter? You did tell him, didn't you? If you didn't, you are exposed as a liar. If you did, your spiritual father is exposed as aiding and abetting and failure to report a felony crime. The only other option is to dismiss Carole and her daughter as liars. Which is it?] It has been excruciatingly painful for me to remain dumb in the face of those accusing me of lies, [JTO: Kind of like the pain Carole has endured? Now, you are asking publicly for sympathy. Sympathy is most often offered after contrition and repentance.] and even more so in the face of those just wanting to know the truth; however thus far this is what I have been instructed to do by my spiritual guide. [JTO: Now he is your spiritual "guide", not your spiritual father? This is an unbiblical, cultic term. "Spirit guides are non-physical beings who help you find your way in life, make decisions, and navigate obstacles. They communicate in symbols, signals, and dreams. A spirit guide can take many different forms, from ancestors and departed loved ones to spirit animals, angels, and deities. Even in Orthodoxy a spiritual father does not dictate or take control of your life or free will. YOU must obey the Holy Spirit first and always. Was Father Matthew Williams someone's spiritual father? It is somewhat perilous to put your soul in the hands of any man!] My family’s salvation, and that of all of my dear parish family is my greatest desire.
The clergy (aside from Fr Joseph, who was un prepared and ignorant of all of this) are so removed from the suffering of our people, and don't seem to grasp what is occurring in our community. Aside from his moral failings, [JTO: Of course, you meant alleged moral failings, didn't you?] Fr Matthew strove to be ever attentive to the suffering of our people, and we all were accustomed to his care. This makes the abandonment all the more devastating, as the faithful are not being cared for in the ways in which they were accustomed to being cared for. [JTO: Fr Matthew was a deacon who lied or hid his felony sexual crimes (rape of a minor) from a Bishop to be ordained a priest, partly because his wife thought his ability to "do a lot of good" superseded the sin. Is this the "care" you are so piously presenting here? Look what you have wrought!]
I pray that this information will help clarify the situation, and put a stop to the mass hysteria. I am sharing with you some facts regarding this situation in order to clarify matters regarding my family so that you may better understand the timeline and to debunk [name removed for privacy]’s malicious lies and slander. [JTO: Will you afford Carole and her daughter the same? Debunk the "malicious lies and sander" they have had to endure. Apparently, your timeline does not go back far enough.]
I must clarify that Nadya Loban was never harmed in any way by Fr Matthew.
[Name removed for privacy] made up and spread these lies after having it confirmed by Nadya’s sister (and herself ) that they were complete fabrications. At this point, the harm that has been done to Nadya has been from people gossiping and spreading lies about her. The initiator of these lies snd slander (whose name will be withheld for privacy) knew absolutely nothing firsthand, and made up everything he said about my family and many others based on rumors, third and fourth hand, and also outright lies. His motives I will leave up to him to explain. God help him! [JTO: God help you!]
It is in fact true that some of my daughters were harmed by their father in the past. [JTO: "in the past"? This is obvious attempt to downplay the current and lasting harm that both you and Matthew caused.] I have chosen to remain silent on the specifics of this situation out of respect for privacy and out of propriety. There was no rape involved. [JTO: Such good news, because that would be worse would it not? Ask Carole and her daughter.] Learning about this abuse is the reason that I removed my husband from my home in mid September, as cited in my letter to the hierarchs. In regards to others outside my family potentially harmed by Fr Matthew, I am not in a position to speak for them, and it is up to them to report any misconduct to the clergy or other authorities at their discretion. [JTO: Again, with the obfuscation. "potentially harmed"? They have reported--for years. You ARE in a position to speak for them and should have spoken as far back as 2004. You knew of the rape of your goddaughter by your husband and now you want to be praised for removing your husband from your home in September of 2024? 20 years too late. ]
Earlier this week after various parishioners reported lies and slander about me, my care for my children, and the condition of my home to the Department of Social Services, I willingly allowed social workers into my home to investigate my family, and have been cleared of all personal charges of negligence. The social worker commended me for swiftly removing the perpetrator [JTO: "swiftly"-- "Occurring suddenly or within a very short time." It took you 20 years to act swiftly... and remember, JTO is in possession of emails written to the JTO Editor by your son-in-law that shows he reported his concern about Matthew's sexual abuse in the home to your Bishop in 2019. Can you say you were totally unaware of this even then?] from my home and my children’s life, changing my locks, and reporting him to church authorities immediately.
I sent my initial entreaty to the Metropolitan on October 30 after having been in contact with Fr [removed for privacy] regarding the abuse (to no avail) since late September, having learned from my daughter of the misconduct earlier that week while out of state. [JTO: "misconduct"? Someday these children will see such obfuscating words and demand an answer of you for your conduct. "Mom, why did you say that what daddy did to me was just misconduct, and why didn't you remove him before it happened? Ask any sexual abuse counselor the validity of this statement.]
I would encourage you all to only believe accounts if you hear them from THE source, not someone’s idea of a “reliable source.” [JTO: So, aren't Carole and her daughter also THE source? The Rape and the Holy Man article contains documentation from THE source - the daughter and the mother's emails where they discuss the "fool around" event. "If a secretly disturbed married man can fool around with a girl..."] Otherwise they are rumors, and should be ignored. Unfortunately, there are people in our midst who are spreading lies which harm our beloved parish, and more specifically, my family. [JTO: ...and the Stephen's family?]
I ask for your prayers, and for your forgiveness. [JTO: Forgiveness comes after repentance and confession. You have done neither in the case of your direct involvement in the coverup of the rape of your goddaughter...have you?] How I wish that so many things could have been different. [JTO: So do Carole and her daughter.] God has allowed, and now we can only go forward [JTO: You can only go forward when you have faced the past. Anything else is continued secrecy and coverup. There will be no peace if you continue to ignore the peace of the ones you have participated in harming.] trusting that in His wisdom He will care for us. I still believe that we can heal and go forward as a community.
Holy Hierarch and Confessor Tikhon pray to God for us! [JTO: Asking prayers of a Confessor while refusing to confess? Elizabeth, the state of your soul is at stake. "If you will confess YOUR sins he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse YOU from all unrighteousness." Your healing, and that of your family will only begin when you totally humble yourself before Him and care more about the life another more than you do of your own...even to your own detriment. CAROLE STEPHENS AND HER DAUGHTER.]
May God hear our prayers and our weeping for one another, and send us consolation, healing, and renewal. [JTO: Amen. Does that include your goddaughter who was reportedly raped in YOUR home by your husband? Is she even in your thoughts when you offer prayers such as this? "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to an agreement with your accuser quickly ["swiftly"], while you are with him on the road to court, otherwise your accuser may deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will absolutely not get out of there until you have paid the very last quadrans."]
In Christ,
Matushka Elizabeth
Would cps commend a mother for reporting to church authorities? That doesn’t add up.
ReplyDeleteInb4 the Williams yes men comment without reading your analysis of her letter
ReplyDeleteSomething something, heretic, something something, you’re a bad person and are going to hell for gossip, blah blah blah you’re a mean and have a vendetta against the Williams.
Etc etc how dare you victim shame, even though that’s what Elizabeth did to the Stephen’s family,
Yadda yadda yadda, I believe all women but only if they hold a title of value like Matushka, or Father.
If your first thought is to report your pedo husband to a church and not the cops, this is sad for the children.
ReplyDelete