Questions Answered...Mostly!

I recently posed some questions to the Bishop on his blog, in comment form.

The comments have been deleted, but were subsumed into his blog entry, "From DNA to Demons".

Let's have a look at some of his responses.

Firstly, he absolves himself of making the claim that he is the descendant of Lord Byron:

The claim that I am connected to the poet by blood is not mine; it is that of my forebears, supported by Byron scholars, chief among whom is Professor Leslie A Marchand (see Acknowledgements in Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know). Their claim is my legacy.

Yet, in his unpublished memoir, Stray Ghosts, he writes:

Nonetheless, I was conceived during October 1943, as the war in Europe prepared to reach its climax. Thus, nine months later, came into the world “the great, great, great grandson of the famous poet, through an illicit liaison between his lordship and a maid at Newstead Abbey.” [The Highgate Vampire, British Occult Society, 1985, page 123.]

The citation from The Highgate Vampire: The Infernal World of the Undead Unearthed at London's Famous Highgate Cemetery and Environs (London: British Occult Society, 1985) is particularly interesting for its incompleteness.

You see, the actual sentence in the book is prefigured with, "According to a family legend".

Next up is his refusal to disclose other members of the World Union of Vampirologists.

The only mention I have seen of this elusive, apparently global organisation is in Manchester's entry in the 2004 edition of International Who's Who of Authors and Writers (p. 366), in which, under "Honours", the group is referred to as, "World Union of Vampirologists and Exorcists".

Indeed, this seems to be the only allusion to its very existence.

Try googling it. You'll see what I mean.

Coupled with Manchester's refusal to disclose the names of any of its other members, and we are left with a very troubling picture.

Next up, is whether or not he received any payment for the publication of his article, "The Kirklees Vampire" in The Unexplained 38 (1992).

He maintains that he wasn't "the beneficiery" of the payment. "Any sum would have been donated to Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi."

To supplement this altruism, I should mention that a note in The Highgate Vampire (1985) says that, "All proceeds from this book will be contributed to the Church of the Holy Grail".

In this light, I should also disclose that on Good Friday, 1973, Manchester lead the foundation of the Ordo Sancti Graal for "the restoration of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Great Britain."

This, in turn, lead to the founding of the modern incarnation of Ecclesia Apostolica Jesu Christi, which is presided over by...The Right Reverend Seán Manchester, O.S.G.

Now, onto the matter of speaking on the Bishop's behalf.

I've frequently said (read the comments here) that "Demonologist" (TFO) does not have this right. Manchester backs up my assertation when he says:

Nobody is authorised to speak in my stead. This does not preclude friends and associates coming to my defence, which choice is theirs to make and not mine to deny.

This is especially amusing in light of VRS member, TFO, saying, "You have no no way of knowing whether what I do has the "authority" or not of Bishop Seán Manchester."

He then answers my query about his thoughts on Matthew 5: 39-44, saying:

Without wanting to take this passage out of context from the entirety of what Jesus Christ is recorded as having said, I feel it nonetheless crucial for those who follow Him.

For the record, here's what the verses say (King James Version):

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

In light of the "feud" between Manchester and Farrant, his response is quite poignant.

The Bishop stopped answering my questioned at number 8, stating, "TO BE CONTINUED WHEN TIME ALLOWS ..."

As quoted by Manchester, he's the rest of what I asked:

8. Do you disapprove of my username, "The Overseer", and, if so, do you approve of its use by a VRS member who appropriated it "in protest"? 9. In the first edition of "The Highgate Vampire" (1985), why was there no disclosure that the photographic depictions of Luisa were actually those of a model? And, why did you choose to employ a model to recreate "scenes" with Luisa, in the first place? 10. In 1973, you founded the Ordo Sancti Graal. Yet, in the first edition of "The Highgate Vampire" (1985), you refer to yourself as "not pre-eminently religious" and "a secular person handling consecrated material as a protection against hostile psychic forces, I am practicing 'white magic'." What happened in the gap between you founding a Christian order and engaging in the occult (like the necromantic summoning of Luisa, as detailed in the same book)?

I eagerly look forward to the answers for those questions, as well.