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+ Emmanuel Lemelson

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+ Emmanuel Lemelson <elemelson@outlook.com>


Tuesday, July 14, 2015 12:18 PM
'Copeland, Rob'
hope this helps...

Rob no problem happy to help (if it is a help?)

it was good to speak about religion and Xtianity so much over the last few days something that is not generally
or widely known is that in the early church (both east and west) Priests (or Presbyters [elders] as they were called
in the early church) maintained lay vocations outside of their priestly ministry for example Saint Paul was a
tent maker, Christ himself a carpenter, and the Apostles fishermen etc. (vocations they continued after their
commission).
Far from the pastoral busy work often associated with contemporary clergy, the chief duty of the priest has
always been and continues to be, as steward over the sacraments.

A great many were indeed wealthy beginning with St. Peter and continuing with some of the more well-known
saints (St. Nicholas, etc.) and because of their wealth were able to give much to the poor (the supreme capital
allocation decision).

This continued well throughout the development of the early church and beyond the patristic period and in
indeed continues to this day (although it is the exception rather than the rule) there is no theological basis
precluding the clergy from participating in any legitimate, ethical lay vocation the reasons for the shift in
dependency on the community has nothing to do with Dogma per se. There has been a resurgence of Priests with
lay vocations in Greece in recent years for example as the church in Greece has had to continually cut Priests
salaries, because of austerity measures (in Greece, unlike the US, clergy are paid by the state).

Needless to say, the Priest, out of obedience always seeks the blessing of his Bishop to maintain a lay vocation
however, where the church does not pay a priest, it is impossible the Bishop would withhold such a blessing
particularly to the married clergy that have familys to support. In the Latin Church were virtually all of the clergy
are celibate, financial concerns are obviously simplified. Indeed when discussing the present / subject lay vocation
with the Metropolitan he had only two questions the first was do you receive pay from the church? To which the
response was no and the second question was do you have a family to support? To which the answer was
obviously yes.
The Gospel is replete with the clear message that 1) capital is not our own [that is to say we are merely stewards]
and 2) it must be wisely allocated the combination of these two principles is Doxological while there are many
examples from scripture, Mt. 25:14-30 sums it up nicely.

It has been a blessing to have such a Bishop (for almost gave up the work in security analysis just before ordination
but was dissuaded by the bishop) the lay vocation made possible (often missionary in nature) service to the
church from Hong Kong to the hospitals in Athens, to Lugano where no priest had been regularly available for
some 40 years without a lay vocation, none of it would have been possible indeed the only personal criteria
has been to go where there is the most need and there is no shortage of dioceses and parishes which simply
cannot afford a priest it seems unimaginable, that the faithful would be deprived of the holy services, and the lifegiving mysteries of the church on account of simple budgetary issues. How freeing if a priest can choose based on
the spiritual needs of the faithful instead of his personal fiscal requirements.
The idea that the Priest or Presbyter was dependent (financially) on the community of the faithful was something
of a later innovation leaving the question, why should the priest not participate in vocations of a somewhat more
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sophisticated nature, particularly where it permits a platform, a veritable pulpit if you will (gr. Amvon, )
to reach so many? Could the voice of the religious leadership perhaps be of some unique value? Is that voice not
louder when it is participatory, vs. purely academic / theoretical?

You also asked if perhaps had been a bit hard on some companys in the short reports but it seems the only time
Christ showed anger in the Gospel was towards the money changers in the temple courtyard (Mt. 21:12-13, Jn.
2:13-17, Mk. 11:15-17) interestingly, he disrupts business and makes sweeping condemnation of the religious
system (a condemnation that is just as easily applicable to todays Orthodox Xtian church as it is to Wall Street and
its religion), yet He remained untouched. The money changers provided liquidity and commercialized [that is to
say, made profane] that which was sacred. The capital markets have a sacred component as well, is so far as a
bond of trust exists between the source of the capital and those charged as stewards (there is an orthodoxy Ben
Graham does little more than update the ancient fables of Aesop, and the message of the Gospel into a
contemporary language that could be more clearly applied), yet it is often profaned by the promotors who seek to
increase liquidity for obvious reasons
It is a sincere hope and prayer, that far beyond any work in security analysis, will be remembered first and
foremost as having made some small (and God willing, enduring) impact on the life of the church no matter how
unlikey the means or outward appearance

PS - The psalm quoted to you while enjoying the fruit in the backyard was psalm 140 [a psalm of David] O Lord, I have
cried to thee; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to thee. Let my prayer be set forth before
thee as incense; the lifting up of my hands [as] an evening sacrifice. (Gr. , ,
.
, (could anything be more beautiful?)
By a Davidic standard, Jewish tradition indicates prayer [that is to say talking] to God indeed much of the way
Orthodox Xtians glorify God in liturgical practice is derived directly from that same Jewish tradition.
Warm Regards,
+ Rev. Fr. Emmanuel
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From: Copeland, Rob [mailto:Rob.Copeland@wsj.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:15 AM
To: + Emmanuel Lemelson
Subject: Re: RE:

Definitely, thank you so much for all your time. I'm going to go through these last few emails back in New York
tomorrow...you have a lot of good suggestions on people who might have an interesting perspective.
Thank you again for taking the time,
Rob
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 14, 2015, at 9:49 AM, + Emmanuel Lemelson <elemelson@outlook.com> wrote:

Rob one other thought came to mind there is another perspective that of investees

For example LCM has been building a stake in GEOS (currently own about 5%) maybe speaking to
CEO Rick Wheeler would be of value?
Warm Regards,
+ Rev. Fr. Emmanuel
CONFIDENTIALITY
The information contained in this electronic message is intended for the exclusive use of the
addressee(s), and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you have received this message in error and any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or
copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender
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From: + Emmanuel Lemelson [mailto:elemelson@outlook.com]
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 10:02 PM
To: 'Copeland, Rob'
Subject:
Dear Rob,

was just thinking the work in public securities has been an amazing opportunty to reach a huge
number of people (far beyond what a Priest could possibly reach just in a parish) many have become
friends if it makes sense, perhaps can also share the names and contact details of a random sampling
of perfect strangers who have gotten to know over the years who have usually reached out in one
way or another to LCM after reading research reports
If you are interested, happy to share some names and contact details
Warmest Regards,
+ Rev. Fr. Emmanuel
CONFIDENTIALITY
The information contained in this electronic message is intended for the exclusive use of the
addressee(s), and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you have received this message in error and any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or
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copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender
and purge this message immediately without making any copy.

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