SPECIAL REPORT: The Support of Convicted Abuser Alexis Rosentool in the Russian Orthodox Community in Melbourne
A detailed analysis of the activities and tactics of the Rosentool Support Network in Melbourne Victoria.
Our Australian readers would know that there exists a historical rivalry between the two great cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Mostly the focus is on positives - who has the better cultural scene, coffee or better weather. But there are also the negatives like the activity of organized crime groups where Melbourne is the clear winner. When it comes to the support of convicted pedophile priest Alexis Rosentool however, many would be surprised that it’s not Sydney that takes the top prize, but Melbourne as well.
At the heart of the Melbourne Rosentool support network is none other than the rector of the Pokrov Cathedral and one of the most senior Russian Orthodox clerics in Australia, the Very Rev Fr Nicholas Karipoff. In recent weeks, Pokrov Truth has spoken with many Russian Orthodox faithful from Melbourne, including parishioners from Pokrov Cathedral itself who have confirmed that Fr Nicholas is indeed an loyal and passionate supporter of Alexis Rosentool.
Coincidentally, Karipoff also happens to be a close relative of other leading Rosentool supporters. He is related by marriage to the recently suspended Sydney priest Fr Boris Ignatievsky, and is the uncle of Cabramatta Pokrov parish council secretary Mark Ganin, all of whom are Rosentool loyalists. In his early years as a clergyman, Fr Boris Ignatievsky served at Pokrov Cathedral under the direct tutelage of Fr Nicholas Karipoff. Meanwhile, the Abbess Anna (Karipoff) of the Presentation Sisterhood in Bungarby, is Fr Nicholas’ sister and is also said to be sympathetic to the fallen monk. Rosentoolophilia runs deep in this family.
In the last 2 weeks several documented contacts have been made by The Pokrov Truth editorial team with the Parish Council of Pokrov Cathedral and Fr Nicholas’ support team, giving him an opportunity to clear the air, once and for all about his position now that Alexis Rosentool has been convicted by a court of law. This of course is quite a reasonable request in the circumstances. People are entitled to know what their priests think about such a major criminal case affecting people directly in their community. After all, the victims are also part of their community.
Unfortunately all of these contacts and requests for comment have been met with the usual silence we have come to expect from Team Rosentool. There has not even been an acknowledgement of any of our contacts, let alone any comment. Nobody wants to say anything and everybody hopes that it will all just go away. Which of course it won’t.
Our Melbournian sources have revealed that Fr Nicholas Karipoff:
Has had a long, association with Alexis Rosentool and has been a visitor to Rosentool’s remote hideaway at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery near Bombala NSW.
Has a high regard for Rosentool’s spirituality, mastery of the works of the Holy Fathers and the next-level strictness of his ascetic lifestyle.
Has led molebens (prayer services) at Pokrov Cathedral for Rosentool supporters and even commemorated him during the Litany of Fervent Supplication in the middle of the holy liturgy. We are told that this practice stopped after several outraged parishioners objected and threatened to leave the church if it continued. One irate parishioner rightly pointed out that if Karipoff had his priorities right, it’s the victims that he should be praying for, not the perpetrator.
When hearing of the arrival of police at the Rosentool compound at the beginning of the police investigation, made an urgent mercy dash, several hundred kilometres to Bombala, together with the Deacon Alexander Abramoff. One could imagine that at this time Fr Nicholas may have been extremely anxious that his mentor and friend Rosentool, had finally been apprehended and that the truth of his crimes would be revealed for the whole world to see.
Had suggested to new converts to Orthodoxy in Melbourne, that they could visit the Rosentool monastery in Bombala to get a more intimate experience of the Orthodox Faith.
The Rosentool Supporters Website fralexis.org
One of the major platforms of the pro-Rosentool activists in Melbourne was a website called fralexis.org. The site was anonymously run although insiders have told us that it was members of the Pokrov Cathedral parish that were directly involved in its creation and maintenance. More detailed analysis of metadata freely available online indicates it was hosted by the same webhosting service that happened to also host the official website of the Pokrov Cathedral. Most web hosting service can give you a package deal on domain names and it’s possible this was done via the church’s main account. While this of course may be a fantastic coincidence, we’ll let our readers decide what they make of such a curious link.
As part of our investigation for this story, a former Pokrov parishioner that has now left the church over the scandal, spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. She revealed that when she began to express concerns she’d heard about Rosentool , fellow Pokrov parishioners directed her to fralexis.org. She told us:
“They were extremely friendly and engaging, reassuring me that the allegations against Rosentool were entirely false and part of a conspiracy. They presented the picture of a kindly old staretz (elder), a Christ-like figure who was being persecuted and martyred for his faith. When I asked them about the victims they flatly told me there were none and that it’s all just fiction. They then directed me to the fralexis.org website and told me that Fr Nicholas knows about, and supports it, but he just can’t say so openly. I now see that I was being manipulated and my unease about this evil man was fully justified. I now realize that Rosentool is a monster.
Further investigation by Pokrov Truth led to another former Rosentool supporter from the Melbourne community, agreeing to share the contents of this website. Following below are some of the pages of the site showing the lengths that some of Fr Nicholas Karipoff’s community went to, to manipulate public opinion and pressure the ANZ Diocese about the now convicted child predator:
The homepage focused on presenting Rosentool’s suspension as “unjust”. However just like every other non-argument put forward by his supporters, most of the site is just empty rhetoric with no factual argument with real evidence as to why his suspension is wrong or why he is actually innocent. Most of the time it’s just “The Vibe of the Thing” sentiment presented in the beloved Australian film “The Castle”. In some instances, there are even outright falsehoods put forward including a claim that there was “no clearly defined process for resolution”. In actual fact, all due process was being followed both by the Diocese and the police who conducted a long and extremely thorough investigation.
If anything, the Australian and New Zealand diocese and Archbishop George need to be commended on acting swiftly and responsibly in suspending the predator and bringing fair and responsible sanction upon him. Indeed, Archbishop George’s handling of this ongoing crisis has been outstanding and he has proven himself to be a strong & loving pastor and leader of the Australian Russian Orthodox Community.
Also, as with everything related to Rosentool, despite their obvious passion, none of the activists behind the website, or any of the correspondence they produced, ever contains a single name. This alone tells you a great deal about the network in that just like the paedophiles they support, their members fear exposure or the possibility of being identified. They prefer to do their business in the darkness of the lightless fire of Gehenna “Where worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:48) One would think that if these people were so sure of the innocence of their guru, then they would proudly put their name publicly to his defence. But they are all cowards and not then, and especially not now, has a single Rosentool supporter from Melbourne gone public with their support. Now especially there is just the sound of silence all around.
The “Timeline” page of fralexis.org is pictured above. It provides an interesting insight into events as seen from the supporters side. Amongst the curiosities, we see that in May 2021 Rosentool apparently presented a “strong defence”. But where is this strong defence? Why didn’t they publish this defence if it was so “strong”? And whatever defence he had, it quite obviously did not stand up to the scrutiny of the mountain of evidence against him and the deliberations of a jury in the NSW District Court.
The Communications of the Rosentool Supporter Network
One of the great things about the fralexis.org website is the wonderful insight it gives us into the mentality and tactics of the Rosentool supporters. One of the first things that clearly stands out from the collection of statements and letters below, is that this was indeed a highly organized operation that had the support of some very educated and articulate people. Given what we know of Fr Nicholas Karipoff’s views on the matter, it may not be far fetched to speculate that at the very least, he may have provided a level of guidance to the site’s authors. This is especially the case when it comes to matters pertaining to the ecclesiastical procedures and conventions that only a senior clergyman could know about.
To give a detailed analysis of the many legal and procedural aspects of the various communications below, is beyond the scope of this present article (although we may cover this at a later time). What is clear though, is that over time, the tone of the Rosentoolites is always manipulative and goes from being simply pleading and emotional to outright hysterical and accusatory. By the January 2021, there was already criticism of Bishop George and by December of the same year, this had progressed to character assassination and outright accusations that he was prejudiced and dishonest. As always, these statements were anonymous. If in fact Karipoff, or any other clergy had a role in drafting these communications to the ruling bishop, then this would amount to nothing short of insurrection. In any case, the hidden hand is clearly visible.
The Documents
February 2020 - Rosentool Supporters Petition to Metropolitan Hilarion
May 2020 - Public Statement from Rosentool Supporters
June 2020 - Rosentool Supporters’ Letter to Metropolitan Hilarion
September 2020 Rosentool Supporters’ Letter to Bishop George
January 2021 - Rosentool Supporters’ 2nd Petition and Letter to Metropolitan Hilarion with Grievances Towards Bishop George of Australia. Their frustration grows.
November 2021 - Rosentool Supporters’ Statement of Accusation of Bishop George and the Ecclesiastical Court in Australia. Peak Frustration They Weren’t Getting Their Way.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the Rosentool supporter network, was, and remains, a highly organized and secretive community. As evidenced by their communications, these are not people acting on reason and factual evidence but driven by cultish, fanatical loyalty to their guru. Many observers have commented that they may even be suffering some sort of mass psychosis and most certainly from cognitive dissonance. It’s possible some of them may be people who deep down know the truth, but simply do not want to admit that they were wrong all these years. For them it would be too much psychologically to make this admission and repent of their mistake. As Christians, we must do our best to help these sick people and persevere in bringing them back to reality.
As for those clergy that continue to support Rosentool after his conviction, the Judas-Priests, however, there can be no mercy or tolerance. Whether their support for him is through overt statements like those of Fr Boris Ignatievsky, or by the cowardly silence of many others who are afraid to speak up. These men are meant to be our spiritual leaders, our guides and protectors and speakers of the Truth of Christ. When they stop being these things and defend and apologize for paedophiles, they betray Christ, His Holy Church and their parishioners. They also then forgo the great responsibility of their priestly ordination as well as the normal respect that should be afforded them. They then simply become fraudsters in cassocks who must either resign or be defrocked and removed from their posts for the shame and evil they have brought, and continue to bring upon our community. There is no place for them among us. May the Lord have mercy and deliver us from such people and from the present time of trouble.
The Inquisition Cometh. Truth Will Be Restored.
Boosting truth
This exposé is a vital step toward ensuring that those who enable abuse are held accountable, reinforcing the importance of transparency and integrity in addressing systemic wrongdoing. Despite knowing the charges laid against Rosentool, Fr. Nicholas Karipov and other Melbourne clergy actively encouraged parishioners—along with their children—to visit Bombala, in direct violation of the court-imposed bail conditions. How can someone who stands before the holy altar support such a monster and send potential victims to a convicted abuser?!