Questioning some of allegations leveled against Father Paisius

To the Editor,

I was astonished to read Sam Dank’s comments in the March 23, 2015 article in the Kodiak Daily Mirror (Father Paisius deposed, defrocked as priest.) With a tone of supposed authority he said that Fr. Paisius is not coming back to Alaska. How can he be sure? There are a lot of people in Kodiak, the villages of Kodiak Island and in other parts of the state who want to see him and his family stay.

I find Dank’s comment that “the church says he’s a bad dude” crass and disgusting. Perhaps his priest should have a talk with him about propriety.

I was a volunteer English teacher at St. Innocent’s Academy when many who made the allegations against Fr. Paisius, including Dank, were attending. Dank seemed to be a very happy, contented student. He seemed grateful to Paisius for encouraging him to use his musical and acting talents by allowing him to get involved with the Kodiak High School drama club. Paisius encouraged Dank and other students to volunteer at the local public radio station.

Dank’s father, who is also a priest and a musician, was a special guest at the Academy. During Dank’s time at the Academy he often talked about his appreciation for the Academy and how it was helping him grow spiritually.

Through an arrangement with Fr. Paisius and his assistant, Dank and fellow students spent several days at Katmai Wilderness Lodge in the summer of 1999 while I was cooking there. In our conversations, Dank often spoke highly of his education at St. Innocent’s.

On one of his final days in Kodiak, Dank, Paisius and I had tea in the Academy office. As I recall, Dank thanked Paisius profusely for what he had done for him. Vividly remembering that day, I find it hard to believe that Paisius has become such an ogre in Dank’s eyes. I am not trying to minimize the serious allegations that resulted in Paisius’s termination as a priest, but if Sam Dank is a “star witness” to his alleged brutality; then I must question at least some of the charges that have been leveled against him.

— Mike Rostad