Reader Daniel has just learned that Fr. Herman died yesterday, 6/30/14.
And, May God have mercy upon his soul!
Herman Podmoshensky [born name, Gleb] and Fr. Seraphim (Rose) were the original co-founders of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, California
See Internet Sobor article
Brief statement:
This overly kindly version of his life, mainly the part about how and why he was defrocked by ROCOR, and what he did after that, is not the true or full story. This is an overly sympathetic version of the hard unpleasant facts, [ a cover-up version], of a self-appointed 'elder' who in severe prelest/delusions, and in immense pride, rebelled against the church, his lawful bishop, and against monastic norms, and thus, he caused much harm to many many souls.[ with the many good things that he did indeed accomplish]. He created a vicious schism in this Western ROCOR diocese, and slandered his biggest friend, our Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev). He had to be defrocked, as he would not REPENT or admit his many wrong doings and grievous sins] But instead, he refused all discipline and instead made his insane schism, especially in cahoots with the strange sect, 'The Holy Order of Mans' connected to that vagante 'Met. Pangratios Vrionis'.[ a defrocked New Calendar Greek priest, who made himself a 'bishop'].
This overly kindly version of his life, mainly the part about how and why he was defrocked by ROCOR, and what he did after that, is not the true or full story. This is an overly sympathetic version of the hard unpleasant facts, [ a cover-up version], of a self-appointed 'elder' who in severe prelest/delusions, and in immense pride, rebelled against the church, his lawful bishop, and against monastic norms, and thus, he caused much harm to many many souls.[ with the many good things that he did indeed accomplish]. He created a vicious schism in this Western ROCOR diocese, and slandered his biggest friend, our Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev). He had to be defrocked, as he would not REPENT or admit his many wrong doings and grievous sins] But instead, he refused all discipline and instead made his insane schism, especially in cahoots with the strange sect, 'The Holy Order of Mans' connected to that vagante 'Met. Pangratios Vrionis'.[ a defrocked New Calendar Greek priest, who made himself a 'bishop'].
Also, he secretly accepted the MP, and served together with Pat. Alexis, receiving an award from that man.
Herman totally lost control of the passions of his flesh, [ his main spiritual problem] and he taught others, that such a licentious false way of monastic life, was...alright, acceptable in Orthodox practice and monastic life.[ as long as it was hidden from view].
He and Abbot Panteleimon (Metropoulos] in Boston, were very alike.
As one, among the many, whom he deeply hurt and wounded, and slandered and maligned and columniated against, [because I reported, IN ORDER TO STOP HIM, with a number of others, his terrible misdeeds and harm to souls to our Archbishop Anthony]. I can only say now: MAY ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE MERCY UPON HIS SOUL, FORGIVE HIS MANY SINS, and help me to forgive him!.... I still cannot totally forgive him.
He never apollogized to me, nor asked my forgiveness. He needed to.
I am unable to say or sing, 'Memory Eternal' for him.
His nickname for me, after he left ROCOR, to his many past deluded zombie like cultic followers, who thought that he was 'our living saint', was: 'That scum Everiss!'. This he repeated over many years to many.
God only knows how many souls, he drove away from Orthodoxy, and even from God.
He even has caused some to disparage Fr. Seraphim, [who himself was a sincere true ascetic and priest].
And for his immortal soul's sake, I hope that he truly repented before he died. Only God knows that.
But his dark bitter memory to me, is not one of blessedness, but quite the opposite, sad to have to say.
He was the classic false-elder, a dire personage that he warned many to avoid. Yet, he himself was a prime example, as it turned out.
Reader Daniel Everiss
from Internet Sobor
Yesterday, June 30, in the United States at age 80 reposed a monk of the Serbian Orthodox Church, formerly abbot of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Herman (Podmoshensky), reported " Russian folk line "cleric ROCOR/MP priest Andrey Rudenko, who knew the deceased.
The name of Father Herman (Podmoshensky) is well known to all fans of the Holy Royal Martyrs, to promote feat which he did a lot. He was a colleague and friend of the now well-known in the Orthodox world, theologian and journalist Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose). Magazines they published "The Orthodox Word" and "Russian Pilgrim," since the Soviet era were distributed in Russia, and were popular among intellectuals interested in the history of the Russian Church, and Russian spirituality.
Give rest, O Lord, to thy servant, the deceased monk Herman and by his prayers have mercy on us sinners.
Curriculum Vitae (based on "Wikipedia")
Father Herman (in the world - Gleb D. Podmoshensky) was born in 1934 in Riga, Latvia. His father was arrested and exiled to Vorkuta, where he died of starvation. Around 1942 he moved with his mother to Germany, and then in the U.S., where he miraculously found faith in God.
In 1962 he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville. He served as a reader in the Orthodox churches in the United States. In 1963, together with his friend Eugene Rose with the blessing of Archbishop John (Maksimovic) founded in the United States St. Herman's Orthodox Brotherhood, which actively engaged in missionary activity.
In March 1964, together with Eugene opened near the Cathedral in San Francisco a book shop "Orthodox books and icons", which became the center of Orthodox education. Since 1965, together with the publication of the journal which also wase engaged Eugene and St. Herman's Orthodox Brotherhood «The Orthodox Word» («The Orthodox Word").
After the death in 1966 of Archbishop John (Maksimovic) on behalf of the Brotherhood together with Eugene he collected information about miracles wrought by prayer request of St. John. Subsequently, these records made the book "Chronicle of honoring Blessed John."
In the summer of 1967, Gleb and Eugene were able to buy a plot of land a few miles from the small town of Platina in Northern California, where in 1969 the monastery was founded by the St. Herman Brotherhood (later the brotherhood was converted into an official monastery). 14 (27) October 1970 he was tonsured with the name in honor of the Gherman [ Of Alaska] canonized in the same year, Herman.
In 1976 he was elevated to the priesthood. In 1982 he is mentioned as Abbot, rector of St. Herman desert' [Pustina] in Platina (California, USA). Then the monastery acted in publishing.efforts. The brethren desert served two other communities: the Church of the Icon of the Theotokos "Surety of Sinners" in Redding (California, USA) and a chapel in the name of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Holy Virgin in Woodbourne (Ore., USA).
In 1980 he participated in the bottom of the New Valaam monastery on an island in Alaska, Spruce.Island. In total, he participated in the creation of seven monasteries across America.
With the passing of the 1982 Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) in the monastery began fermentation and trouble. This led to the fact that the decision of the Spiritual Court of the Western American Diocese of June 16, 1988 Abbot Herman (Podmoshensky) was defrocked for violating a variety of canonical rules. Many people who knew German abbot believed the accusations against him contrived and defamatory. [Fr. Herman maintained a false claim of innocence, claiming that he there had been a conspiracy against him.]
Unwilling to acknowledge the deprivation of dignity, together with the inhabitants of the Platina brotherhood, he resigned from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and was accepted by Pankraty (Vrioniosom) in a non-canonical jurisdiction "of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Missionary."
In 1990 he resumed publication of the magazine "Russian pilgrim," which was published in the pre-reform spelling, becoming its editor in chief.
In 2000, in connection with a scandal, he resigned as abbot of the monastery. Realizing the abnormality of staying in schism, the brethren of the St. Herman desert [Pustina], began seeking ways to resolve their status. In November 28, 2000 was adopted the brethren of the monastery in the chat into the Serbian Orthodox Church. Ruling Bishop John (Mladenovic) recognized defrocked former abbot Herman legitimate.
In recent years, lived in retirement at St. Seraphim monastery near Minneapolis as a simple monk. Being seriously ill, did not stop missionary service, he wrote books.
Comments from Internet Sobor re: Fr. Herman
See Internet Sobor article
http://internetsobor.org/istoriia-rptcz/istoriia/rptcz/istoriia-rptcz/umer-lishennyi-rptcz-sviashchennogo-sana-gleb-podmoshenskii
# Link to some history of Gleb- — Rd. Daniel 01.07.2014 18:59
# May God Forgive Him! — Rd. Daniel 01.07.2014 17:44
This report is not the full story of his life, nor is it the truth.
Herman (Gleb) Pomoshensky, did indeed accomplish many wonderful things. I personally knew him and Fr. Seraphim.
But, little by little, Herman gave way to the lusts/passions of the flesh, His pride in being a highly respected, staretz/elder, grew and grew. Many young people looked on him and called him, 'our living saint'.
Thus, he harmed many weak souls, because he was not a saint, not at all.
And he showed many signs of some long term mental unbalance, from his tortured and chaotic childhood in soviet Latvia.
When he was called to give a defense for himself to our Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev), he refused to speak the truth or to repent.
He ended up having to be defrocked from ROCOR, and then he lead a bizarre schism, with himself as its head. He joined himself and his brotherhood to the strange cult, 'The Holy Order of MANS', and also under the vagante 'bishop',"'Met. Pangratios Vrionis". Later his own brotherhood rejected his control, and fled for refuge to the Serbian Patriarchate.
Regretably, I personally know too much about him, as I have suffered much abuse from him and his followers, because I told the truth to our Vladyka Anthony.
I hope that before he died, that he truly repented before God.
But for myself, I cannot say or sing, Vechnaya Pamyat for him.
He lead many astray and he caused a terrible schism in this western US ROCOR diocese.
His memory to me and to the many others he harmed, is a dark unpleasant remembrance.
He spent much of his confused life, in severe prelest/pridefu l delusions, thinking of himself as if he were 'a saint'.
Boston Abbot Panteleimon (Metropolous) and he, were two of the same type.
Rd. Daniel Everiss
# RE: Умер лишенный в РПЦЗ священного сана Глеб Подмошенский — иеромонах Никандр 01.07.2014 13:10
В книге "Не от мира сего" он как то принижает значение о. Серафима , рисуя его идущим под своим чутким руководством. Также Герман имел какую то странную неприязнь к епархиальному архиерею , архиеп. Антонию . Почему ?
# About Vladyka Anthony (Medvedev) and Podmoshensky- — Rd. Daniel 02.07.2014 17:44
Yes, originally, Vladyka Archbishop John Maksimovich, gave Herman and Seraphim his blessing to form their brotherhood,
but then died and went to Heaven.
It was Vladyka Anthony who totally supported, blessed in every way possible, and who ordered the Russian flock in San Francisco to help Platina monastery...for many years, with money, with materials, with their labor to build things there, etcv. I myself drove up to Platina much food donations[ donated by Russians in San Francisco]. and even some bells, from San Francisco.
Vladyka Anthony ordained both fathers, and anything that they requested of him, HE GAVE them!
He was their biggest friend and supporter on earth!
BUT, when Herman was called by him to come down to San Francisco, and give his response/defens e to the many testimonies against him,[ about a year or so after Fr. Seraphim's passing] Herman refused, and started to label Vladyka, as 'the Devil'.
Even so, Vladyka Anthony gave Herman more than two years, before he had to suspend him, while the Synod in New York ordered him to defrock Herman, much earlier.
At the beginning of that whole scandal, Vladyka Anthony TOTALLY...was on Herman's side, and he suspected a KGB plot against his "holy Igumen".
Vladyka Anthony said: "How could an Igumen do such terrible things!? IMPOSSIBLE! This must be a KGB plot!".
But, Herman would not repent or tell the truth.
So, he constantly slandered Vladyka, and proclaimed him as evil, and a servant of Satan, etc. and one who wanted to destroy his monastery, etc.
He also taught his brotherhood and his followers, [ mostly converts] , that ROCOR was an evil church, because it [the ROCOR bishops] had persecuted his Vladyka John earlier (all exaggerated LIES!].
These were all total lies of a very in- prelest deranged PROUD man, Herman Podmoshensky.
May God forgive him!
Rd. Daniel
I was a witness of all this, so I know what I speak of.
# About Fr. Seraphim and Herman- — Rd. Daniel 02.07.2014 19:12
They both were monastic brothers, but Fr. Seraphim put himself under the obedience of Herman, for his humility sake. Yet, both confessed their sins to each other. Fr. Seraphim was the sincere
ascetic struggler, a man of a very high intelligence, who knew a number of languages (in the church services, he could slip from Slavonic and back to English, without him even knowing any difference, he saw people and life, from a spiritual view, not a worldly or political one.
Fr. Seraphim saw himself as a sinful pilgrim, struggling with the passions of his flesh, JUDGING NO ONE BUT HIMSELF, and he always wanted to end up in the Heavenly New Jerusalem, with Our Lord and His saints. He did not belong in this world.
Herman was a man of this world, a self proclaimed, 'missionary'.
Fr. Seraphim did not seek or want, the praises of people, but Herman did.
Poor Herman, became envious of the real virtues of his monastic brother, and that people respected him.
Fr. Seraphim suffered because he knew of at least some of the secret sins of his brother, but....he refused to condemn or judge Herman, and he kept silence, publically.
However, there is evidence that Fr. Seraphim planned on leaving Platina monastery and his brother Herman, had he lived into another year, as he had had enough of Herman's
unrepentant life, and of Herman constantly making excuses for his sinful ways, etc.
When Fr. Seraphim died, and I was at his all night vigil over his coffin, and funeral on the following day, Herman was totally out of his mind with remorse and guilt and weeping and self-accusation , kneeling down many times at night, in front of the coffin and trying to tell Fr. Seraphim, that he was sorry, etc.
Fr. Seraphim had been the stronger one, the true monastic, and when he departed, Herman was like a ship with no rudder or captain at the wheel.
I can still see Fr. Seraphim's smiling peaceful face in his coffin.
MEMORY ETERNAL to a truly ascetic monastic struggler, Fr. Seraphim, and may he indeed be with the Saints in Heaven.
I firmly believe, that he is there.
Fr. Seraphim never spoke evil against Vladyka Anthony or our ROCOR.
But Herman, threatened to "get a gun and shoot Vladyka Anthony" , [ which threat was recorded on a tape-recorder], when he refused many times to come down to see Vladyka Anthony and give his version of matters, etc.
Fr. Seraphim never spoke evil against ANYONE!
He carefully followed the old monastic rule to: "Be hard on yourself, but easy on others".
Herman's unrepentant life, that is what hurt and sickened him.
I was a witness to all of this, so I speak the truth.
Furthermore, I have hard evidence,[ gathered from different sources] that Fr. Seraphim was not guilty of the sins of his brother, as some foolish people who did not know him, have wrongly imagined.
Fr. Seraphim was, an angel in the flesh.
Rd. Daniel
# But, We should not make 'saints' out of sinners! — Rd. Daniel 04.07.2014 01:46
Gleb Podmoshensky was a remarkable man. He had an energetic charism, and vitality and bright intelligence and many talents. Everyone who met him, loved him instantly. He loved to be around people. He saw himself as a persecuted elder, like those of the Northern Russian monastic tradition, [the so-called, 'Non-possessors']. He believed that all bishops, tended to normally.... persecute righteous elders, [as with Vladyka John Maksimovich... and as with himself too]. He did not trust or like bishops, except Archbishop John Maksimovich. In his life, he accomplished many things, some good, some bad. But, he made cultic schism, he presented himself as a wise spiritual staretz, a teacher of Orthodoxy, he gathered many around him, in a bizarre personality cult, especially here in America, most especially young people, both naive converts and grand-children of Russian emigrants and others. He mislead many, into harmful ways. He drove a number away from Orthodoxy and from even God. He made his own personal war on our ROCOR church and set himself up, as his own church. He created a cult around himself, as do many schismatics and heretics of all past ages, or of these current times also.
Many of these confused people still think of him as a saint.
I predict that soon they will paint icons of him! and pray TO HIM.
Therefore, now at his passing from this world, we should indeed remember his good deeds, PRAY FOR HIS SOUL, but because of the tremendous evil that he also did, we dare not overly praise him, or elevate him as some sort of a prophet-saint.
HE WAS NOT A SAINT!
However, many will see him as a saint. That is why I give my testimony about him.
And those, as myself, who speak the truth about him, we are vilified and made to seem as liars.
Long ago, making an oath and kissing the Gospels and the Cross, in front of Vladyka Anthony (Medvede v), I gave my own personal sworn testimony, as did a number of others.
I KNOW OF WHAT I TESTIFY. And, I DO NOT LIE!
But I do not hate Herman, I feel profound sorrow for him.
He and I were close friends, long ago.
He had serious mental and spiritual unbalance.
In human affairs, there is a common tendency to... overly glorify the departed, and to brush over or ignore OR DENY their faults, and in some cases to even proclaim them as some sort of 'a saint'.
In this case of Herman (Gleb) Podmoshensky), only those who personally closely knew him [and who suffered from him] and who have been in this Western US ROCOR diocese for many many years, as I have, can possibly know the full truth about him, good and bad.
Others, only hear pros or cons, [gossip] from the mouths of others, and they do not know the full story.
He will no doubt be buried at Platina Monastery.
May God have mercy upon his soul!
We need to avoid false elders, and false prophets, in these terrible End times. (Fr, Herman himself, taught this warning!)
Gleb Podmoshensky, was among these false elders.
Rd. Daniel
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WARNING: In these various renditions, [some quite odd] there is much mistaken information and a lot of biased opinions. They are a mix of truth and error. But, there art a number of interesting and valuable photos.
So, reader, beware!
Rd. Daniel Everiss
According to Portal-Credo.Ru, Monk Herman Podmoshensky, former ROCOR abbot and former colleague of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, died on 30 June at age 80. Fr Herman (in the world, Gleb D Podmoshensky) was born in 1934 in Riga. In 1962, he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary (ROCOR) in Jordanville NY USA. Along with Eugene Rose (who later became Fr Seraphim), he founded St Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina CA USA. In 1970, he received monastic tonsure with the name Herman. In 1976, he became a priest. In 1982, he committed serious ascetic and canonical violations. According to Alexei Young and some other visitors to the monastery, before his death, Seraphim Rose cursed Herman. In 1988, the ROCOR Holy Synod defrocked Abbot Herman Podmoshensky for violating a variety of canonical rules. Unwilling to acknowledge his deprivation of dignity, together with some of the monks at Platina, he left the ROCOR and joined the Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of America. In 2000, after a new scandal, he resigned as abbot of the monastery. In 2000, the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church brought the monastery brotherhood under its omofor, ergo, ruling Bishop Jovan Mladenović recognised the defrocked former abbot Herman as legitimate. In his last years, Herman lived in retirement at St Seraphim Monastery near Minneapolis MN USA as a simple monk.
30 June 2014
Portal-Credo
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Fr. Herman hurt a lot of people. Some quite directly. Others were caused to stumble just from learning that Fr. Herman was a pervert. The more someone looked up to him the more devastating it was for them, – for some the damage seems to be for life. The sorry condition of Platina today is not entirely Fr. Herman's fault, but he is at the root of it. I look at Fr. Seraphim and all I can do is sympathize and apologize – Fr. Seraphim was betrayed, and the betrayal continues today...
ReplyDeleteI forgive Fr. Herman for his failings towards me. I managed to survive thanks to my priest Fr. Gregory, who knows Fr. Seraphim and was not snowed by Fr. Herman. But there are others who have not fared as well. We can only hope that Fr. Herman did finally repent before his end, even if in secret. May God have mercy on his soul and remember his good works, especially memorable are his earlier works when Fr. Seraphim was there to keep him in check.
How do we know when we have truly forgiven someone? Especially in the case where the offender never asked for forgiveness?
ReplyDeleteTo make it real for me, I imagine myself standing before God with my offender. My offender is being judged and there are demons holding a list of accusations against him. I have been called as a witness to this hearing. The demons have utter delight in each accusation they have managed to collect against my offender, and they have not overlooked a single misdeed.
The demons read down the list. Most of the accusations are mumbled, but a few of them I hear clearly and recognize as sins my offender did commit during his lifetime. My offender stands there in terror. It is pitiful. Finally the demons come to the offense my offender committed against me. A demon reads the offense and points to me as a witness.
Now, it is clear where the offense came from: the demons took advantage of his human weakness to injure/kill his soul and caused him to sin against me.
No, Lord, I will not witness against the accused. I forgive him his offense against me. I will not help the demons drag a soul to hell.
In this imaginary scene, which is really real, I can be assured that I do forgive my offender. Forgiveness does not mean I have to let him hurt me again, nor do I have to let him back into my life. And this is true whether he has repented or not. Forgiving him does not mean I TRUST him – even people who have repented can't always be trusted not to repeat the offense (such as the wife-beater).
What forgiveness means is that I don't hold anything against him, and I don't want him punished for what he did to me. Not only do I not want him punished in this life, also I don't want God to punish him in eternity. But I still might greatly desire that the offender be STOPPED, especially if they are repeat offenders continually hurting people. But wanting them stopped is not the same as wanting them punished.
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Now, with that in mind, that I might want the offenses to STOP...
For a number of Fr. Herman's victims, the offense hasn't stopped. Not completely. It is still a devastating memory. It is a permanent stumbling block causing a lifetime of confusion, paranoia, depression, inability to trust people. But the worst, the hardest for the victims to bear, is the people who believe Fr. Herman is innocent and that they (victims) are lying. In this sense the injury first caused by Fr. Herman years ago is still injuring the victims. And this has the effect of confusing for them in their minds the issue of "total" forgiveness.
Those who had been involved with this man are still out there---I had attended a parish in Eugene Oregon, which has now become St. John the Wonderworker, with Fr. David Lubliner and Daniel MacKay. MacKay assaulted a parishioner and Lubliner told her it was her fault because she had not been following his advice in orthodox lifestyle....then proceeded to groom the unstable MacKay for taking over his church...likely chosen because he was unquestioning about the strange culty behaviors exhibited, and rather fell for them. Lubliner used manipulative cult-leader tactics to control people, as did Gleb. I watched as Gleb stroked MacKay's hair and told him longingly how special he was. MacKay thusly became an instant devotee of Gleb. Lubliner groomed MacKay in the ways of their illegitimate cult-like version of orthodoxy....and he apparently now practices as leader of St. John the Wonderworker church, though he did not graduate from seminary. Lubliner had never set foot in a seminary. The cult holds themselves above the rules when convenient. I am sure Gleb's many other protogees are out there parading as real orthodox servants, so be careful.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteSt. John's in Eugene is in the world-orthodox Serbian jurisdiction, same as Platina.
When I first moved to Oregon in 2005 I visited (1x only) St. John's in Eugene for St. Nicholas' feast day. I instantly sensed the HOOM in that parish. Fr. David said that yes, they were x-HOOM, but also had become a good balance/mixture of new converts, cradle Orthodox, and different ethnic groups. But to me, the HOOM was salient and all too familiar.
About 2 years later a young woman (X.W.) from Eugene started coming to our ROCOR(MP) parish in Corvallis, and she had some serious complaints against Fr. David – not just that he was a cult-leader but that he had done some truly un-pastoral and unChristian injustice to her personally as well. I sympathized with her and believed her. She was spiritually very unsober, but only a psychopath would use that as an excuse to abuse her.
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There is another Orthodox cult in Oregon: Fr. Seraphim Cardoza in Rogue River. Also ROCOR-MP. Also one in Walla-Walla, Washington, – St. Silouan's, also ROCOR-MP. Neither of these cult-parishes have anything to do with HOOM, though.
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Not attending a seminary can actually be an advantage especially these days... The education at St. Tikhon's is a world-orthodox indoctrination and the education at Jordanville is a MP indoctrination. (Traitor Laurus of sorry memory rewrote the entire Jordanville curriculum after Abp. Averky reposed.)
Fr. Gregory Williams never went to seminary. He read assigned materials from his synod (Metr. Philaret). He humbly submits to the Church services and the Holy Fathers. His son, though, who graduated Laurus' Jordanville seminary, fell for the ROCOR-MP union, making his education absolutely worthless and even harmful.
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I noticed recently that a website – orthodoxaustralia.org – is calling Fr. Herman "Blessed". This goes beyond ostrich head-in-the-sand... It suggests demonic-assisted delusion.
One thing I've taken away from my experiences with psychopaths/cults is that the very first time you see a red flag FORCE yourself not to ignore it or excuse it. Get out as fast as you can, and you can this way break the "spell". If you hesitate and start making excuses then it gets harder to get away. Get out while the gettin' is good RIGHT AWAY because things WILL NOT get better. Later you will be grateful you did, because in hindsight you will see more clearly what it was.