By Mariam Ibrahim
Edmonton Sun
October 6, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Edmonton+born+archbishop+takes+leave+amid+abuse+allegations/3632558/story.html
| Archbishop Seraphim Storheim |
EDMONTON — The sister of an Edmonton-born and raised archbishop who is the subject of an ongoing police investigation into claims of sexual abuse says she will stand by her brother until the allegations are proven true.
Archbishop Seraphim Storheim — who has worked in churches in the Edmonton area — requested a leave of absence from his position as the Canadian head of the Orthodox Church in America after Winnipeg police launched their investigation in sexual abuse allegations dating back nearly three decades.
His sister, Dianne Storheim-Hill, says the allegations are totally out of character, and she has faith her brother’s name will be cleared.
“We stand by him 100 per cent,” Storheim-Hill said. “His life has been totally for other people, not to hurt them, but to help them.”
A statement posted Sunday on the website for the Orthodox Church in America — which has an estimated 700 parishes and other institutions in North America — confirmed Storheim’s three-month leave.
“I have blessed the Church’s office for review of sexual misconduct allegations to work in conjunction with the Canadian police authorities and to comply with the Orthodox Church in America’s policies and procedures to obtain the necessary information needed to bring about a proper resolution,” Metropolitan Jonah said in the statement.
While in Edmonton as an Anglican priest, Storheim spent two years at Christ Church in Edmonton and four years at St. Mary’s in Ponoka. He later converted to the Orthodox Church and became a monk.
Storheim-Hill said she last saw her brother in Victoria this past July for a meeting of the Orthodox Church in America’s Archdiocese and council.
“People love him so much they lined up in a very long line up to receive a goodbye hug from him,” she said. Storheim-Hill said her brother is respected among the church community in Edmonton, adding she has received emails and phone calls of support since news of the allegations broke. “I’ve had friends who are not in the church talk to me today, and they don’t believe it either,” she said. “It’s just so out of his character.”
She said she won’t believe the allegations unless they’re proven “beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
According to SNAP Orthodox, an American advocacy group for abuse survivors, the claims involve two men who allege the abuse happened in the early 1980s, when the pair visited Winnipeg as 10-year-old boys. Storheim — born Kenneth Storheim — served as rector of Holy Trinity Sobor in Winnipeg between December 1984 and June 1987, according to an online biography.
In a letter posted on SNAP’s website Tuesday, the organization said the abuse claims came to the attention of the church more than 20 years ago.
SNAP criticized church officials in the statement for what it said were delays in coming forward with complaints. Co-founder Cappy Larson said the organization forwarded information they’d received to Winnipeg police about three months ago.
Storheim has not been charged with any criminal offences in the case.
According to his biography, Storheim was ordained as a priest in New York in 1979 and later became a bishop in Edmonton in 1989. He became the archbishop of Ottawa and Canada in March 2007. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968.
The Orthodox Church in America is thought to have a membership over one million and is the 24th largest Christian denomination in North America.
Contact: mibrahim@edmontonjournal.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.