“hoo boy ... where to begin ... I’ve never heard of, nor used the word ‘metropolitan’ as title for a man ... that’s the first thing that grabbed me.”
Okay, so you don’t know much about the history of Christianity? It’s a very, very old title that is very commonly used among the Orthodox.
“secondly, I found it unusual for a man recently exalted to ask someone else to convey a message FOR him”
He has assistants and friends, and it would be better coming from a friend or assistant. So?
“lastly, you”
Me?
“seem to be initiating a prayer ‘in the name of’ .. Our father and Metropolitan Joseph ... which to me is blasphemy.”
You shouldn’t rely on your own understanding of this because you are clearly in the wrong in that understanding.
“I am no Catholic, but I am a born again Baptist Christian (I added Baptist to give you a clue as to why I remarked what I did)”
The Baptist part is not an essential part since there are educated Baptists who actually understand these things.
Rather than berating our fellow Christian Freeper knarf, you should be gently explaining to him those points of Orthodox practice and history that he or she seems to lack.
And—as I am now doing—you should invite knarf to come to a Divine Liturgy at a nearby English-language Orthodox parish on a Sunday in July. “Taste and see”!!!!