the totally bogus claim that the Simonides references were deceased individuals!

Steven Avery

Administrator
CARM
https://forums.carm.org/threads/the...tigations-by-kevin-mcgrane.21098/post-1621884

THE CONSTANTINOPLE REGION - The Ending of this Kevin McGrane Paper as Objective Scholarship
Another interesting point is how this almost-research did NOT search out the Simonides references in the home base region of Constantinople. (And Kevin McGrane does not demonstrate any interest in filling this lack.)
There were connections with:
Anthimus, who was at Paris Island, a major part of the narrative!
Constantius met with Simonides at Constantinople (also Michael Fotiadis Markonis, connected to Simonides)
John Prodromos - coffee-shop, Galata, at the Golden Horn, had perused the manuscript
Papa John Prodromos, who had a church east on the coast in Trebizond
Anthimus was very much alive, barely a word.
Constantius had recently passed in 1859, but there should be lots to check in the Archives and with those involved about 20 years earlier.
And finding the coffee-house and the church should be extremely easy for the locals.
Zero effort made.
Germanus (and his subordinate) and Hilarion (1810-1886) were also in that narrative, we have to handle them separately, as they were given some uneven discussion by McGrane in the Athos section. They were both likely alive.
Pavel the Russian monk and Dionysios the calligraphist and Procopius Dendrinos had passed and of course Benedict, although Kevin is still stuck in 100-year-old mode with a gentleman who does not fit the Benedict biography.
(On Kallinikos we wait for the Aussies to release the correspondence from Simonides they are holding back.
Callistratus, Gabriel, Nicander and Niphon we will put aside for now, but they likely add to the living total.
So we have covered most mentioned by Simonides.)
Anyway, the claims:
p. 41
First of all, it turned out to be impossible to interrogate the persons to whom Simonides refers in his testimony, for they all have long since passed away.143
143 ... Simonides only mentioned the names of those whom he knew could never be contacted, and he studiously avoided giving the names of any who could be contacted.

is a total deception.
Definitely refuted by Anthimus, almost surely by John Prodromos, and very likely by Hilarion, Pavel and Germanus.
Likely others as well, like Nicander and Niphon.
This omission of living people mentioned by Simonides and the two false conclusions above ends any pretense of objective scholarship in this writing. It also feeds into the ho-hum TNC conspiracy theories! :)
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Also omitted by Antonin Kapustin (if he knew the Tischendorf 1862 writing that mentions the names) and by Kevin McGrane:
the questions involving the writings and siggies on the Sinaiticus manuscript:

Hilarion and Dionysios
linking Sinai and Athos.
They could have easily checked the writing.
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Also, we have the only mention by McGrane of Constantius (typo with Constantine) and Anthimus, the curious:
p. 43-44
Despite this, however, at the request of Benedict, the elder Prokopios (and not patriarchs Anthimus and Constantine, with whom Simonides did not have, and could not have had, any relations at that time) interceded for Simonides before Countess Edling and A. S. Sturdza; for 'daskal' Prokopios was known to the Countess.

ADDED: this is a quote from somebody.

This is a typical Kevin McGrane circularity disaster.
He would have to explain why he thinks that Simonides could not have any contact with Constantius and Anthimus.
However, nothing.
(Nicolaos Farmakidis is very good on this, even placing Simonides and Michael Fotiadis Markonis (b. 1775) as meeting with Constantius in 1841. Without pushing the Sinaiticus manuscript connection.)
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Overall, this effort reminds me of the recent search for truth about the Hunter Biden laptop.
51 intelligence agents, names included all told us it was Russian disinformation
No real details, nothing to support their theories, but .. 51 agents must be impressive!
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Steven Avery

Administrator
p. 41
First of all, it turned out to be impossible to interrogate the persons to whom Simonides refers in his testimony, for they all have long since passed away.143
143 ... Simonides only mentioned the names of those whom he knew could never be contacted, and he studiously avoided giving the names of any who could be contacted. He added to his deception, trying to make it appear more credible and reasonable, by stating the many of the persons he mentioned were likely still alive, though he knew for certain that they were not.

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