Metropolitan Vlachos and the Tollhouse Theory

REPLY:

I am not certain to what degree Bishop Hierotheos Vlachos supports the toll-house myth and to what degree it would just be politically imprudent for him to say otherwise. It would be a very controversial topic in Greece at this time.

It is true that I have considerable respect for Despota Hierotheos. He is instrumental in helping to dispel the dark shadow of Augustinianism from Greek theological thought, in the face of the attempts of such sects as the Kyprianites to spread these errors and the Gnosticism that goes with them. On the other hand, I was quite surprised and disappointed that Vlachos could give credence to various "dreams," many based on stories of unknown origin, and often referring to anonymous "dreamers." To found or even attempt to substantiate any theological proposition or teaching on such dreams is really quite shocking. It is particularly dismaying when it comes from a person writing about psychotherapy, because the kind of dreams related both by Vlachos in his work and in most of 19th century Russian spiritualism (so-called spirituality) can be heard from a hundred people in any psychiatric hospital. When we did not know much about dreams or the way the mind works, dreams might have been some mysterious phenomena which could be thought to always mean something. People will always refer to some great prophet of the Old Testament in an attempt to justify accepting "the dream of a certain pious older woman in the province of Tobolsk" (etc), and turn this dream into a dogma of the faith. In fact, we are not even certain of the nature of the dreams referred to in those special events in the Old Testament, but they invariably occurred in relation to holy prophets who were especially called and sealed, and they were always specific interventions by God in unique circumstances. Everyone dreams. When we dream, we do so within the framework of cultural expectations and what we have been taught to believe. This is why so many Western mystics will certify the doctrine of purgatory: they visited purgatory in "dream visions," or they knew of some "pious older woman" who dreamed about someone in purgatory. In fact, the pagan Greek myths about hades were all testified to by the dreams of "pious older pagan women" and pagan mystics. These same kind of dreams and "dream visions" were reported in pagan Greece, and the details are often nearly identical to the fantastic collection which unfortunately appears in some Christian literature. People's dreams are shaped by their learned expectations and, often, by some story they encountered during any given day. We know the dynamics of dreaming far too well now to be duped into accepting the huge repertoire of often contradictory dreams and would-be dream visions that fill (and pollute) a large segment of our religious literature with often contradictory, and sometimes just plain silly, "doctrines."

On the other hand, many of the so called dreams and visions are clearly the hallucinations of people who are clinically mentally ill. In former times, when these things could not be explained, people with illnesses such as schizophrenia were either stoned to death, burned at the stake or canonized. Joan of Arc, for example, received both honours. When we look at stories such as As One of the Ancients or Beloved Sufferer (both by St Herman Press), we see examples of severely mentally ill persons being taken as holy elders or spiritual mothers. It is always amazing to see how many people are willing to allow their spiritual agendas or religious ideas to be set for them by people who are clearly operating under the burden of severe mental illness. Often the "dreams" that are referred to as verification of some idea or teaching are clearly hallucinations, and sometimes could even be traced to ergot toxin in the rye grain that was such a staple of the diet in many places (ergot fungus on rye grain is the source of LSD). We will repeat what we have often said before: a spirituality which could be treated with psychotropic medicines cannot possibly be authentic or meaningful.

I think the main thing that distresses me about Bishop Hierotheos' writing is precisely his introduction of just such dreams into his text. Studying psychotherapy, he should know better. Nevertheless, Vlachos is a major theologian and a great intellect, and he deserves the utmost respect. As to the toll house myth, I do wish he would study the material more closely, and I would like to have an opportunity to discuss it with him personally. I believe that a careful examination of the matter would change his mind - if, indeed, he actually does give credence to the story of the toll houses as an "after death experience."