Re: Rt. Rev. Michael (Mikhail) Itkin
Date : Sat, 11 Aug 2001 17:40:40 EDT
I knew Reverend Itkin and knew him well.
He lived in San Francisco in a rooming house and his bedroom was his oratory, office, sitting-room, bedroom and everything else.
He was a nasty vicious, evil person who did not care whose feelings he hurt or how he went about it. He changed the name of his church like you would change underwear.
He rode around in old Cadillac hearse, was a short man, had bad teeth and sponged off of most people he knew.
He is dead, his ashes are scattered in the courtyard of Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, San Francisco.
Most people did not like him and he liked to start trouble whenever he could. He frequently pontificated at seedy gay bathhouses and was into S&M. Some liberals think he was a saint. He did help with the gay liberation movement both in NY and in San Francisco but even there he was not liked but had some respect for the work he did among the gay population of SF and LA.
The most memorable event I can recall is: I was in a meeting and Reverend Itkin was trying to get his point across, nobody paid attention to him, so he stripped all of his cloths off and jumped up on the table and said "Now will you listen to me".
He had a mouth worse then a truck of sailors.
You asked for this and this is the most honest thing I can say about Michael Itkin.
At the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, a man wrote a thesis on Reverend Itkin, I suppose you can obtain it through interlibrary loan.
I hope you were not looking for a saint or hero because that was not Reverend Itkin.
ABOUT SAINT MIKHAEL OF CALIFORNIA
