ORTHODIXIE ... Southern, Orthodox, Convert, Etc.

Reflections on the last 40 Years

– Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko
Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
September 27, 2008

Membership in the Orthodox churches in North America in the past forty years has radically decreased. There are probably about half as many people in the churches today as there were four decades ago. It also seems that most adults who attend services in Orthodox churches today are “holding the form” of Orthodox Christianity while “denying the power of it” (2 Tim 3.5) as they ‘pursue happiness” according to “the American dream” as devotees of “the American way of life.”

Concerning the churches’ clergy during the past forty years, I believe that the task of finding, educating, appointing and supporting suitable candidates for the clergy, especially the episcopate, remains the greatest challenge in all Orthodox churches in North America today just as it was four decades ago when (as my friend, the late Fr. John Psinka would say), “few were called and all were chosen.”

Having stated the “negatives” — greatly reduced membership, inept leadership, nominal participation and widespread use of the church for secular purposes – the spiritual achievements in North American Orthodoxy during the past forty years are amazingly many and spectacularly significant. They were accomplished by a relatively small number of people, mostly converts to the Faith, people born abroad and clergy children. They are so remarkable that I am persuaded to call the past forty years a “spiritual springtime” for Orthodoxy in the United States and Canada.

I will comment on the accomplishments as I see them. They are not yet a bountiful “blossoming.” But they are a promising “planting” capable of producing, in due time, a rich harvest of spiritual fruits, including, we may hope, a company of committed and competent bishops, priests, deacons, monastics, church workers and lay leaders for the coming generations.

Eucharist Communion & Inter-Orthodox Cooperation

We are delighted first of all to note that although divisions among the Orthodox of North America in separate ecclesiastical “jurisdictions” still persist, no ethnic groups have warring church parties within themselves anymore, and none is at war with any other. With the exception of a few tiny “old calendarist” and “traditionalist” groups, Eucharistic Communion now exists among all of the Orthodox churches in North America. This is a marvelous blessing, for which we must be boundlessly grateful.

Though structural and administrative divisions continue to exist among the Orthodox in North America, cooperation and interaction for educational, spiritual, missionary and philanthropic purposes has never been greater and more effective among a relatively small number of fervently committed faithful in all the churches. There is still much to do in this regard. We have just begun. But what has already been achieved, thanks to the infusion of zealous converts into the Church, the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and the possibilities that now exist for communication and interaction among committed Orthodox Christians in all parts of the world, is truly amazing. The hopes that this engenders among us, with the challenges that it presents, are overwhelmingly positive.

Liturgical Reform & Renewal

The past forty years has witnessed an amazing liturgical renewal in all Orthodox churches in North America. This renewal has been so deep and extensive that I am moved to call it a “revolution,” and not merely a “renewal.”

Four decades ago, the practice in most Orthodox churches in America was to have a Sunday and Feast Day Divine Liturgy with choirs and cantors singing in old country languages, and to have baptisms, weddings and funerals performed as “private services” for the “customers” who ordered them from their priests who were often considered as parochial “employees.”

Lenten services were not those prescribed in the Lenten Triodion. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was virtually unknown. Holy Week for the great majority consisted of the Great Friday Matins with the Twelve Gospel readings on Thursday evening, one service on Great Friday itself, and the Paschal Procession and Matins, with the Sunday morning Divine Liturgy on Holy Pascha. A good number of faithful people attended these services. But few understood much of what was going on, except in an pietistic and emotional way.

Lay people received Holy Communion but once or twice, or at most four times, a year, either with Confession required before every act of Communion, or no Confession at all. This situation still exists in more places that it ought today, but virtually every Orthodox “jurisdiction” in North America now has a growing number of committed members demanding and experiencing a much fuller and deeper liturgical life, including regular participation, with proper preparation, in the Holy Mysteries. And almost all of the new mission churches, with plenty of the old established ones, are “liturgical wonders” compared to what existed in almost all churches forty years ago.

Preaching and teaching, especially Sunday and Festal sermons and parish educational programs, are generally better prepared and more effective than they were forty years ago. There are more educated preachers and teachers nowadays who work at their craft, virtually all of whom can function with some measure of competence in English. But, sad to say, it seems to me that the majority of preachers and teachers are still poorly prepared and do not work very hard, if at all, to improve their products. This is tragically sad since the resources to produce first rate sermons and classes are virtually boundless today compared to what was available four decades ago.

The past forty years has witnessed an explosion of liturgical resources and materials. Competent translations of virtually all liturgical services and offices are now readily accessible. (You just have to know how and where to “go on line” to get them.) Excellent liturgical books are available, with texts and rubrics. Music from all the various Orthodox traditions is also readily available, with many excellent renderings in English. Iconography has also come into its own. Excellently crafted reproductions and excellent originals done by truly talented artists now abound. Beautiful new church buildings are being constructed. Many societies and organizations now exist, such as PSALM and HEXAMERON, where those involved in liturgical matters meet, discuss, work together and also, of course, disagree and argue a bit, for their professional improvement and the spiritual benefit of the faithful people who profit from their labors. Time will tell how all this works itself out, and what lasting spiritual fruit it will bear. But the amount of people and the number of activities and projects in this critical liturgical area of church life is truly significant and gratifying.

Publications & Resources

When I entered the seminary fifty-one years ago one could count all the books about Orthodoxy in English on one’s fingers. Forty years ago there were a bit more educational resources. Today there are more publishers and publications, books, journals, educational materials and audio and video recordings in English than can possibly be counted, let alone carefully read and listened to. The quality and content of these publications, of course, varies greatly – as do that of the music and icons and architecture already noted, but products of highest quality are available to inform, instruct and inspire their users in the truth, goodness, beauty and power of God.

In recent years we also have radio and television programs in many parts of North America with serious and relevant content and quality. We think of Ancient Faith Radio and Come Receive the Light and Orthodoxy Now, and other such programs and projects.

Theological & Spiritual Education

Theological education in North American has never been better organized, presented and accomplished, with more and better qualified teachers and students, than it is today. And there has never been more effective cooperation among those engaged in this crucial work. Competition and mutual criticism still exist, as is to be expected. This is not surprising, and is even quite beneficial when done with love and respect.

The competence and cooperation among the greatly increasing number of Orthodox scholars in North American theological schools and institutes, and, more and more, in colleges and universities, has never been greater and richer. The Orthodox Theological Society in America, now more than thirty years old, is a splendid witness to this wonderful achievement, as are other gatherings of scholars in various areas and disciplines.

It may also be noted that among the most marvelous facts of the last seventy years of American Orthodox history (the one dearest to my heart) is that no major disagreement or animosity ever occurred during this whole time between the faculties of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Crestwood, NY, our first graduate theological schools in America. And today harmony and good will exists among all of our Orthodox theological seminaries in the US and Canada, without exception.

Virtually every Orthodox church in North America today has some sort of educational program to instruct people of all ages in the Orthodox Faith, and not simply to introduce them to a language and cultural heritage of an old world country. Plentiful and dependable materials and resources exist for these programs produced by the Orthodox Christian Education Commission and the various jurisdictional and diocesan educational departments, as well as our Orthodox theological schools and publishing houses. This work was just beginning forty years ago.

In addition to parochial and diocesan educational programs, a number of full-time Orthodox schools (such as our Three Hierarchs Eastern Orthodox School in Pittsburgh) have been established. This work, once again, is largely being done by small groups of extraordinarily courageous and gifted people in a fully cooperative “inter-Orthodox” way. Forty years ago no such schools existed.

Until just a few years ago there were virtually no supra-parochial or supra-diocesan activities for American Orthodox high school students that were not of a solely social, cultural or athletic character. Now there are such programs, almost all of an inter-Orthodox nature, whose purpose is to deal directly with the spiritual lives of teen-agers in order to assist them in seeing themselves, their studies, their vocations and their relationships in the light of Christ and the Gospel. Foremost among such activities is the CrossRoad program located at Hellenic College/Holy Cross in Brookline, MA in which qualified Orthodox students from all over the country, from all Orthodox “jurisdictions,” are brought together for strictly spiritual reasons (though they also have a very good social time while they’re at it) under the leadership of well trained and carefully selected teachers and counselors. Other programs on more modest (and less well-organized and well-funded) levels also exist for this purpose at our seminaries, and at places like Project Mexico. There are sure to be more of them as time goes by.

The greatly increased number of church camps and summer programs for children and young people, first among which is the oldest, largest and best organized camp at Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA must also be noted. Leaders of these camps, most of which are operated in the highest professional manner, regularly meet to share their knowledge and experience. The fruits of these camping efforts are already visible in the relatively large number of church leaders that they have already produced.

Mentioning Antiochian Village, one must also mention the rather large number of retreat houses and conference centers that now exist in virtually all of the Orthodox “jurisdictions” in North America. Forty years ago there were almost none.

The wonderful work of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) must also be noted at this point. The OCF exists to serve Orthodox students and young adults in all aspects of their spiritual lives. The Fellowship was extremely strong and influential on American campuses forty years ago under the leadership of Jim Couchell, later Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthas (now retired) who as a priest edited the Orthodox Observer newspaper and directed the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. The OCF movement all but disappeared in the 1980’s and 90’s when huge numbers of my generation’s college age children were lost to the Church. It has now reemerged, renewed and reorganized, to do marvelous work among the Orthodox young people of my grandchildren’s generation.

Mission & Evangelism

Mission and evangelism are now a normal part of Orthodox Church life in North America, at least rhetorically and theoretically. All committed church members speak about mission and evangelism, support it and do what they can to promote and enact it.

The Orthodox Christian Missionary Center (OCMC) now exists as a central and essential part of American Orthodoxy. It grew out of the missions department in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese that originally resulted from the vision and labors of Fr. Alexander Veronis in Lancaster, PA. This effort then merged with efforts in other churches, particularly the Orthodox Church in America and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, especially after the entrance of large numbers of missionary-minded Evangelical Christians into the Church. Indeed, the “becoming Orthodox” of the majority of members of the “Evangelical Orthodox Church” (EOC) led by its small band of courageous “bishops” is among the highest points in North American Orthodoxy in the past twenty years. Indeed, the entrance of the “Evangelicals” into Orthodoxy and the coming of monastic life to North America (which we will soon mention) may be the most important events of this time when one observes the impact that they have had on the Church as a whole. All honor and glory are due to those who made it happen.

The remarkable work of St. Herman’s Brotherhood in Platina, CA must also be mentioned at this point. In addition to its extraordinary achievements in translating and publishing marvelous books on Orthodox spirituality in English, the Brotherhood’s hard work resulted in many converts to the Orthodox Faith, including a company of zealous men and women from the Order of MANS whose impact on church life in all “jurisdictions” greatly exceeds its relatively small number.

Social & Charitable Work

In addition to the OCMC and the OCF that function under the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (the consultative body known popularly as SCOBA that was formed more than forty years ago) the amazing work of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) must be noted. IOCC provides millions of dollars in various kinds of material aid to millions of needy and suffering peoples of all religions and cultures in all parts of the world. Forty years ago such an organization could hardly be imagined. God bless the faithful Orthodox Christians who founded and continue to sustain this work until today.

May God also bless the large number of charitable and philanthropic works that are sponsored and conducted in virtually all Orthodox dioceses and parishes today. Most of these good works are done quietly and modestly, again by relatively small groups of highly committed people; but they are being done. And there are also many more organized and extensive philanthropic and charitable activities as well. We are delighted to note just a few of the more prominent ones.

The largest shelter for homeless people in San Francisco, for example, is run by Orthodox Christians, several of whose leaders were once in the Order of MANS. Raphael House is located in two large apartment buildings in the heart of the city. It has impressive quarters and facilities, and carries on many projects. Over the years it has served tens of thousands of people in need of housing, guidance, inspiration and direction in countless ways.

St. John the Merciful House in Toronto, Canada that does similar work on a more modest level, with greatly fewer resources, must also be mentioned for its heroic labors on behalf of the poor and needy.

Project Mexico founded by Greg and Margaret Yova, with its offices in San Diego, has already built close to 200 houses for families without adequate places to live in Mexico. The Project also operates an orphanage for homeless boys on a beautiful ranch in Rosarito, with a beautiful chapel and full-time Spanish-speaking priest, Fr. Michael Nassir. The Project’s most powerful and far-reaching service for North American Orthodoxy as a whole is the opportunities that it provides for thousands of Orthodox Christians, mostly younger people, from all over the United States and Canada (and other countries as well) to engage in “hands on” work among the poor and needy. Those of all ages who have availed themselves of these opportunities testify with one voice that their lives have been radically changed by the experience.

Short term missionary and philanthropic work is also sponsored by the OCF and OCMC and other organizations providing opportunities for American and Canadian Orthodox people to engage personally in a great variety of missionary and philanthropic activities at home and abroad, in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Special attention should also be given to the various ministries outside the church in which Orthodox people are engaged. Orthodox priests have served with distinction for decades in the military, several attaining to very high rank and standing. Priests and deacons, as well as qualified lay people, have served, and are still serving, as full-time and part-time chaplains, spiritual counselors and social workers in hospitals, schools and mental institutions.

Particular mention must be made of clergy and laity involved in the several prison ministries that now exist in the United States and Canada. An organization of Orthodox Prison Ministries composed of experienced leaders in this delicate work provides direction, resources and coordination for the efforts of the volunteers who dedicate themselves to this demanding ministry that includes regular visits to prisons, care for families with members in prison, and assistance to prisoners who have completed their time of incarceration.

Orthodox priests and lay people are also now found in directing and supporting roles in such Christian social agencies as Covenant House and Catholic Worker and Church World Service. Orthodox Christians are now also deeply involved in various “pro-life” and “anti-abortion” organizations and movements such as Orthodox Christians for Life. Diocesan and parish groups and local organizations that provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless and care for unborn and new-born babies and their parents, especially women who resist the evil of abortion, must also be noted.

Mention must also be made of organizations such as Orthodox Women in Healing Ministries and the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychiatry and Religion that serve to facilitate continuing education, inspiration and inter-action among Orthodox people engaged in various kinds of healing services.

Attention must also be given to the international Orthodox Peace Fellowship led by Jim and Nancy Forest who were well-known forces in North American spiritual and moral life long before they joined the Orthodox Church with their children. The OPF has an office and a significant number of active members in the US and Canada who work for peace among human beings in a variety of ways through a variety of activities.

And surely the organization for inter-Orthodox unity and collaboration on all levels of church life and work, Orthodox People Together, led by Demetra Jacquet and Phil Tamoush, deserves our grateful remembrance for what it has accomplished in so many different ways in past decades.

Forty years ago virtually no philanthropic organizations existed in North America, not even in informal fashion in parishes for the churches’ “own people.” It is tragically true that many Orthodox in the United States and Canada remain ignorant, indifferent or plainly opposed to philanthropic and charitable activities, especially when they are done for the benefit of people who are not members of the Orthodox Church. But a wonderful beginning has been made which, by God’s grace, will produce an abundant blossoming in coming years not only for “our own people” but for all of God’s people, without qualification or discrimination.

We must remember at this point that though an unconditional commitment to Orthodox Christian doctrine and morals, with total responsibility for Orthodox Church teaching and practice, is obligatory for participation in Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church (and, indeed, in all of the Church’s sacramental mysteries), the Church’s charitable and philanthropic services must be available to everyone - whoever, whatever and however they are - without condition or qualification of any kind whatsoever. For when it comes to the “love for humanity” upon which our “good answer at the dread judgment seat of Christ” will depend, no human being can be excluded from our acts of love in Christ’s Name.

Presence in American Life

Orthodox clergy and laity have always been involved in formal and informal organizations and activities dedicated to overcoming misunderstandings and divisions among Christians and non-Christians, and to fostering cooperation among people where such is possible and desirable for the good of everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. Among the too many to name who served with great distinction and responsibility, and much pain and little praise, in this challenging and gravely misunderstood work is certainly Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky. This remarkably courageous and dedicated man labored in many different functions and positions in this thankless work, even holding, for a time, the presidency of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.

Note must also be taken of the modest, yet not insignificant, presence of Orthodox people in public life outside church circles.

While a sprinkling of Orthodox believers were known in academic circles over the last half century — scholars like Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, and Fathers Florovsky, Schmemann, Meyendorff and Harakas, and Professors Arseniev, Fedotov and Geanokopoulos, and in the sciences, physicist Fr. John Turkevich (Metropolitan Leonty’s son) and geneticist Dr. Theodosius Dobzhansky — the impact of committed Orthodox Christians in American public life has been virtually non-existent. Except for Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Church (whose photo on the cover of LIFE magazine with Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s some people my age still deeply cherish), hardly any other practicing Orthodox Christian has been publicly recognizable in American society in the past forty years.

Things are not much different today. But there are some notable exceptions.

For example, the late Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan of Yale University, whose becoming Orthodox was widely noted in intellectual circles, served as President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was voted one of the 200 foremost Americans on the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the Library of Congress.

The poet Scott Cairns, a convert to Orthodoxy, has been called “one of the best poets alive” (by Annie Dillard) and “perhaps the most important and promising religious poet of his generation.” Nicholas Gage (a priest’s grandson), author of the best-selling Eleni, and other writings about Greek and Greek-American life, has also achievement prominence in the American literary world. Fredericka Matthews-Green, also a convert to the Church, has received numerous honors and awards as one of the best popular spiritual writers in America. David Bentley Hart, who joined the Orthodox Church as a college student, is now hailed in the scholarly community as among the best, if not, indeed, the very best, of contemporary Christian metaphysical thinkers and writers.

Serge Schmemann (Fr. Alexander’s son), among his other honors, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his journalistic achievements as an international correspondent for the New York Times. And George Stephanopoulos (Fr. Robert’s son) who served in the Clinton White House is now a distinguished TV newscaster, talk show host and political commentator. Thus we see a few faithful Orthodox Christians in America becoming publicly known for their professional accomplishments.

We can also be deeply grateful and gratified that such talented converts to Orthodoxy as Peter Gillquist, James Bernstein, John Anderson, Matthew Gallatin and Fredericka Matthews-Green have written books about their “very American” journeys into the Church, while countless others have shared their stories in various books, journals and magazines. Such autobiographical literature aimed primarily at a readership outside Orthodoxy did not exist even twenty-five years ago.

And we may, of course, also recall that the most famous Orthodox Christian in the world in the last forty years, who was perhaps also the world’s greatest literary figure of his time, lived in Cavendish, Vermont from 1977 to 1994 – the late Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

Monastic Life

Among the most spectacular achievements in North American Orthodoxy during the past four decades is the establishment of an extraordinarily vibrant monastic life. Forty years ago there were very few monasteries with extremely few members. Today well over a hundred monastic communities of men and women exist in the US and Canada. Most are not large in numbers. But many, even of the smaller ones, have dedicated monks and nuns who provide full monastic liturgical worship (for the most part in English) in beautiful settings, with opportunities for silence and personal prayer, and for spiritual instruction and counsel. The members of these monasteries are mostly foreign-born men and women and converts to the Faith. Only a very small number are “cradle Orthodox.”

(Indeed, if we would take away the converts, the foreign-born and the children of clergy from among our clergymen, seminarians, monastics, missionaries, cantors, musicians, iconographers and philanthropic church workers, there would hardly be anyone left!)

Time will tell how deeply rooted the many new monasteries are in genuine Christian ascetical life, and what “fruits worthy of repentance” (to use St. John the Baptist’s expression, Lk 3.8) will blossom from them over time. But one thing is for sure: Orthodox monasteries for men and women with differing numbers, styles, facilities, properties and traditions are here to stay in North America for the foreseeable future. We rejoice in them, and thank God for their presence, witness and good work among us such as we are experiencing here today at the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City.

Sacrificial Giving & Philanthropy

All the good things we have noted (and those we have overlooked by fault of mind and perception, and not heart or intention) have happened in North American Orthodoxy because people – still relatively few in number — have made them happen, not only the people engaged in the various services and actions, but those who have contributed to them financially. None of the things mentioned above could have been done without money and material support. And so we rejoice finally to note, with deepest gratitude, that in recent years almost all Orthodox parishes and dioceses in America have vibrant stewardship programs, with planned giving, reasonable budgets and careful reporting. And we note as well, when this has failed to be the case, even on the highest levels of ecclesiastical life, God’s faithful people have stood firm in their opposition to mismanagement and misbehavior, and have demanded transparency, accountability and reparation for immoral actions, with therapeutic (and not punitive) treatment for those guilty of wrong-doing.

In addition to these good and gratifying achievements, one more point must be noted in regard to money. In recent years a number of the wealthiest and most generous supporters of Orthodox Christian life and work in North America have meet in carefully prepared meetings to consider how best to distribute their resources for the greatest spiritual benefit of the greatest number of people. This relatively recent happening may, in some sense, be the most marvelous miracle of all in the last forty years of North American Orthodoxy: wealthy Orthodox Christians sacrificially sharing their wealth for the glory of God and the good of God’s people in a directed and organized manner! As the saying goes, it “doesn’t get better than that,” especially when we remember the Lord’s teaching about the danger of riches.

And so, in this regard, and in general, our very last word concerning the past forty years of North American Orthodoxy is that it has proven without a doubt that “with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26) for those who strive to keep God’s commandments and to do His will according to their respective callings, means and abilities.

To our Lord, and to all His faithful co-workers, be unending gratitude and glory!

We look to the future of Orthodoxy in North America with confidence and hope, even as our societal and ecclesiastical conditions continue to sadden us and tempt us to despair. The spiritual achievements of the past forty years that have been accomplished in the most difficult circumstances, fragile and humble though they be, afford us every good reason to do so.

– This address was given at the 40th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Chapel at the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, a monastery for women in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, September 27, 2008.

Thanks to FWD from Lee Kopulos; this reflection and more available HERE.

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Adam's likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thy image in its place;
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the life, the inner man;
O, to all thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Heavenly Adam, life divine,
Change my nature into thine;
Move and spread throughout my soul,
Actuate and fill the whole;
Be it I no longer now
Living in the flesh, but thou.

Good stuff, this.

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This week's Orthodixie Podcast features "news" from around the country (sponsored by e-Hierarchy dot com) -- and this week's Person of the Week.

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

(Or listen right here.)
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In Istanbul the great marketplace is jammed. Arm in arm the shoppers come, jostled, impeded and pressed forward by the throng. Noisy and competitive, it's a fluid masterpiece of diversity and the side-by-side offering of similar products and services. An observer might notice a few things:

Beans and lentils piled to dangerous heights get more attention than beans and lentils in half-empty bins.

Precious items like saffron and caviar become more precious when put into fine and delicate packaging.

Kebabs, chestnuts and olives get more attention when they are actively moved around.

Turkish delights get more interest in shops where there is a greater variety to choose from.

Moving a big bag of Turkish coffee to the front of a shop shows something about the shopkeeper's attitude.

Passersby learn to respect the restoration of shoes when they watch cobblers at work.

The distinctive and pleasantly memorable odour of bread is advertising enough for this product.

Shopkeepers who appear to be friendly and seem to have a lot of friends appear to be more prosperous.

People become hungry when they see the lamb being energetically sliced on the spit.

Melons, pomegranates, cabbages and all manner of eggs are snapped up because they are fresh.

There is a movement toward the Anatolian tomatoes because the word has gone around that they are now in season.

Workers and shopkeepers who appear to be busy tend to be truly busier than those who are relaxed at their work.

People flock to certain produce because other people are flocking to it.

Some customers show off to their friends by buying extreme numbers of peppers and pimentos.

Some customers try to show good will and personal well being by paying the highest of asking prices.

Ottoman carpets are at their most appealing when you get your hands and feet on them.

Bonitos and mullets are most acceptable when they are still actively flopping.

Both the fishermen and the fish mongers are persistent and put in long hours.

The most desirable stuff is often tucked away at the back of the shop.

Best regards,

Robert


This post is part of a bi-weekly email from artist Robert Genn -- used by permission.

To find out more, or to subscribe, go HERE.

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The Person of the Christ:
The Early Context of the Savior
by Daniel Fanous

When putting together a large and complex puzzle, one must begin by defining the margins. It’s often tempting to lump together whole sections that obviously fit, yet without being moored by foundational definitions these portions may often be set aside and forgotten. In the end, lacking time and zeal, a puzzle that remains unfinished is, without a doubt, even more puzzling. For many, the Old Testament’s relation to, and revelation of, the Christ may be just as daunting. As with a difficult puzzle, it helps to have a friend.

Enter a beautiful puzzle titled The Person of the Christ: The Early Context of the Savior, a book which the author, Dan Fanous, dedicates:

To my friend

Who is this friend, you may ask. No puzzle here, dear reader, the answer is clear: it is you. You are invited to meet this Person within his own culture, his own place and time.

“If there is a Truth, if Truth is absolute, then humanity knows no purpose except to know that Truth. Men have sought this Truth from the beginning of time, some have found it, most have not. Yet, it remains the one thing needful, the sole underlying reality of our lives. To know this Truth, and not self-conceived notions of truth, we must turn our minds, hearts, and eyes to a time in which the Truth was revealed” (p.1).

“Some two thousand years ago, a Man lived and died. A Man most blessed, a Man most glorious. Mysterious, He shall be called, known only as the One. The One lived among a chosen people, the elect” (p.1).

“If the One is of the ‘chosen people,’ if His life is theirs, then it is only through His people that we may dare to approach His mystery. It is through their customs, their hopes, their lives that we may come to know the One. We shall see that they are our people, and their hopes are ours” (p.3).

In setting out on this journey, Fanous encourages us to put away all preconceived notions so as to meet the Man, the One, within His own context, saying: “It is not my purpose to give you an exhaustive history for I am no historian, but rather I endeavor to provide for you an accurate story in which a world is shaped” (p.7).

Thus, beginning with Abraham, we work our way forward through an earthly kingdom, the split of a kingdom into North and South, and the messianic expectations found within an exploration of the Davidic line.

Delving into daunting but fundamental subjects such as the Shekhinah of God and messianic attributes of prophet, priest, and king, Fanous keeps the historical details flowing, making sure to remind us of where we have been lest we get lost and lack direction, not knowing where we are going. Readers, from Old Testament scholars to those ill-versed in history, will appreciate his simplifying and collating the facts leading up to the advent of the Messiah.

Key to the value of this book is the filling in of the puzzle pieces concerning words and concepts often mentioned in Scripture, yet which many readers fail to comprehend. For instance, concerning Samaria and the Samaritans, Fanous gives a concise and helpful history of their differences with the “chosen people” going back to the division of the kingdom, which eventually result in definite distinctions between the “holy” and the “unholy,” Jews and Samaritans (p.28).

Then there’s all those glossed over sections of canonical Scripture (deemed boring by the likes of Martin Luther), such as Maccabees. These are covered with ease by Fanous; they combine to form a section of the puzzle that, lacking proper placement, would distort the whole, leaving it incomplete.

One of the most helpful features of The Person of the Christ is the connection of pieces concerning the Saducees, and the Pharisees. No matter how full your current understanding of these groups, Fanous’s assembly is complete, perceptive and clear. Rather than linger, however, the author does this in a manner that keeps leading, over and over again, to the One.

“Let not our hearts’ be weary, for this is one and the same journey to the One. For the One meditated on Torah, the One lived Torah, the One was Torah. How shall we proceed, how is it that we are to understand this Law, and by necessity those who expound this Law? For I propose that there is a mystical dimension to Torah, a dimension that is forbidden to us, forbidden till the very moment we understand it in the light of the One” (p.69).

First, the Sadducees --

“It was not a simple matter of the scribes dividing into two schools: one of the Sadducees who were an exclusive priestly aristocracy, and the other of the Pharisees who are lay constituent interpreters of Torah” (p.71).

Key to understanding this distinction is a quote by Jacob Neusner:

“The Pharisees claimed that Scripture and the traditionally oral interpretation were one. To the Sadducees such a claim of unity was spurious and masked innovation” (p.73).

Fanous then goes on to tell of how the Pharisees may have become a distinct faction during the period of the Maccabees “in a response to the laxity towards Torah by the secularized high priests who were the political leaders of the nation” (p.78).

Thus it is that:

“… the fundamental distinction of their teachings, not of sola Torah as the Sadducees, but rather the ‘tradition of the elders,’ a discerning of the spirit in the ‘letter of the Law,’ so that it may be applied in each and every action of life” (p.81).

[Notice the parallels with Patristic Tradition.]

Not only did the Pharisees believe, unlike the Sadducees, in the resurrection of body and soul, they also held that those who did good would live again and those who’d done evil would be “detained in an everlasting prison.” Fanous points out that this understanding is due to their emphasis on the entirety of the Scripture and the “tradition of the elders” (p.82).

Thus, it would seem clear; the teachings of the One were compatible with the teachings of the Pharisees. Furthermore, being invited to the home of a Pharisee -- on a Sabbath, no less (Luke 14) -- indicated friendly terms. Fanous goes one step further, indicating that they may have first shared Sabbath worship together (p.85):

“This is not surprising, for the teachings of the Pharisees were not at odds with the fundamental teachings of the One” (p.86).

For me, one of the more fascinating revelations in this book concerns the Sanhedrin. From the outset of Chapter 4, one can see much more than a mere piece of the puzzle. When it is explained that the Sanhedrin was a group of seventy plus a leader, “an assembly for the direction of the people, so that the people may come to know the God that was known by their fathers” (p.99), it is difficult not to let the mind stray ahead to the ordering and sending of The Seventy in the New Testament (Luke 10). Fanous explains that, regardless of when the word Sanhedrin came into use, or what it means, “… the result is the designation for a group of men who were chosen to lead the people to ultimately know the God of Abraham …” (p.100).

Shadows of the Church fall greater still on passages such as this one:

“The Sanhedrin then becomes an assembly of elders … which in the early first century A.D., was primarily of two parties, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, the former of which ruled through the authority of the high priest. However, as to how or for how long a member was to remain in the Sanhedrin, we are unsure. All that is known is that to be a member one must be ‘holy,’ a legitimate Israelite, and that the process of admission involved the laying on of hands” (p.102).

Now, on to the One --

“The One can not simply be known, rather we must ascend in order to know Him, and He must descend. This path we do not tread alone, for many have come before us, each partaking as far as they were able. Each ascending to the Presence of God, so that they might know Him. For to know Him is not a matter of searching and studying texts, but rather seeking the One who lies within the text. It is only through this encounter with the One within the texts that we will know Him” (p.111).

From here, Fanous proceeds to the holy name, the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) --

“How is it then that we may come to know this God of the fathers? For the ancients to know a being, one was required to have knowledge of its name. A being, be it an object or a subject, a thing or a person, could not be known entirely till its name was known. We shall meet with this matter later, but for now suffice to say that knowledge of a name is the entrance into the knowledge of that which is indicated by the name. From this we see that God could not be known, till His Name was known. What then is His Name?” (p.114).

Fanous leads us, following Moses, to the Presence of God, the Shekhinah, in the burning bush, and the revelation of the ‘I Am who I Am’ … (p.115).

And yet, it is not that simple, there are more pieces to this part of the puzzle and the author both cautions and encourages us:

“As we tread the path of revelation, the movement that was ordained by God in the scriptures, we must digress for only a short time to explore the matter of the method. Bear with me, for this method is invaluable in tracing the revelation of God through the scriptures …” (p.116).

“We are led in this movement of revelation to the One, for it is the One who shall reveal to us, in fullness, He Who Is. For only by the Infinite may we perceive the Infinite, for through His ‘Light we see Light’" (p.137).

“How is it that I said that we may only see the Light of the Infinite through the Light of the One? Have we not spoken of the One as a man? If the One is a mere man, then how can the finite reveal the Infinite? We speak words of great trepidation and awe. For our words no longer echo logic, for that which is Divine must be reconciled with that which is human. The Infinite must dwell among that which is finite. I speak of the Shekhinah. Let us hurry, for the time of the mystery is near” (p.137).

I shall not unveil all of the author’s words in this revelatory section; yet, a selection of puzzle pieces is provided here:

“Whether an intermediary or the objective essence of God, there is consensus within rabbinic literature that the Shekhinah descends to dwell among men: imparting Divinity to humanity. This descent, whether it be as a unique identity or not, finds movement within God, that is, it is the full Divinity that is acting. According to the Talmudic writings, the Shekhinah descends to the Garden of Eden, it descends to prevent the building of the tower of Babel, to judge Sodom and Egypt, to part the Red Sea. The Shekhinah descends upon Mount Sinai to reveal the glory of God, it is the presence within the pillar of cloud of fire; it dwells in the sanctuary, and in the Ark of the Covenant. Subsequently, men are not left alone, but rather being the ‘chosen people,’ God dwells among them in His Shekhinah. God thus is near to His people” (p.141).

I must say no more about this, lest I prematurely solve the puzzle before you, other than to say that the place of the Shekhinah in relation to the One is both obvious and surprising.

From there, Fanous moves to the final section of the book on the Messiah: “To the majority of the modern followers of the One, the [Messiah] is a simple being, He was expected, He came, He conquered” (p.149).

But, Fanous cautions --

“The [Messiah] must be understood backwards, but He must be lived forwards. To understand the [Messiah], we must look at the development of the messianic concept, thus we must seek out its root and follow its development, for in this development lies the knowledge that dictates our faith in the future messianic age. To meet the One, we must understand this past that forever indicates the future” (p.153).

Therein, in a nutshell, is the reason for this wonderful exposition, The Person of the Christ, written by Dan Fanous for his friend. To tell more would be as unbecoming as a man merely recounting his own puzzle assembly; for the beauty of a puzzle is personal. Also, this is not a puzzle that a friend finishes and proudly frames, displaying for all to see. Rather, friends of the One will want to pull this one down again and again to disassemble, digest, and reassemble. I believe, if I may, you’ll also want to share The Person of the Christ with your friends.

The Person of the Christ is available -- HERE.

More - here.
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VATICAN CITY, 18 OCT 2008 (VIS) - In the Sistine Chapel at 5 p.m. [Saturday], the Holy Father presided at the celebration of first Vespers of the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, marking the participation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in the work of the current Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The ceremony, which was attended by more than 400 cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people, began with a few brief words of introduction by Benedict XVI.

In his English-language talk, Bartholomew I highlighted how this "is the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch is offered the opportunity to address a Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, and thus be 'part of the life' of this sister Church at such a high level. We regard this as a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit leading our Churches to a closer and deeper relationship with each other, an important step towards the restoration of our full communion".

"It is well known that the Orthodox Church attaches to the synod system fundamental ecclesiological importance. Together with primacy, synodality constitutes the backbone of the Church's government and organization. ... Therefore, in having today the privilege to address your Synod our hopes are raised that the day will come when our two Churches will fully converge on the role of primacy and synodality in the Church's life, to which our joint theological commission is devoting its study at the present time".

"We have explored", he concluded, "the patristic teaching of the spiritual senses, discerning the power of hearing and speaking God's Word in Scripture, of seeing God's Word in icons and nature, as well as of touching and sharing God's Word in the saints and sacraments. Yet, in order to remain true to the life and mission of the Church, we must personally be changed by this Word. The Church must resemble the mother, who is both sustained by and nourishes through the food she eats. Anything that does not feed and nourish everyone cannot sustain us either. When the world does not share the joy of Christ's Resurrection, this is an indictment of our own integrity and commitment to the living Word of God".

Following the Patriarch's talk, the Pope thanked him for his words assuring him they would be studied and examined by the Synod. "This too was a joyful experience", he said, "an experience of unity, perhaps not perfect but real and profound. I thought to myself: your Fathers, whom you quoted widely, are also our Fathers and ours are also yours. And if we have shared Fathers how can we not be brothers?"

Thanks to FWD from Fr Miguel Grave de Peralta; Vatican Information Service - Source

Pic Source (and another news story)
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I almost hate to update the blog, knocking this post (which is garnering lots of comments, 55 to date) from top billing. But, on googling "Orthodox Church" in the News category, the following announcements popped up from Ohio. I just found the juxtaposition striking and amusing. The Orthodox are always a little behind current trends.

Brandon Piety of XXXchurch.com will be the guest speaker at the Malone Chapel service at 10:05 a.m. Monday at the Johnson Center for Worship and Fine Arts, 2600 Cleveland Ave. N.W., Canton.

XXXchurch.com is a Christian anti-pornography Web site that tries to help people avoid pornography addiction. It was launched in January 2002 when founders Mike Foster and Craig Gross set up a booth inside the Las Vegas Adult Expo to promote the site and an alternative to porn. Members of the unique church group set up booths at America's biggest porn conventions to help people break free from the influence of the multi-billion-dollar pornography industry.

Later on down the list was this --

Orthodox Christian Women of Akron — Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 129 S. Union St., Akron. Book club starting Monday at 10 a.m. First book discussed will be Saint Nectarios-Saint of Our Century. 330-658-6255.

There was this, too --

St. George's Orthodox Fellowship Centre — 3204 Ridgewood Road, Copley Township. 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday. Building for the Future, a fundraiser for Abstinence the Better Choice Inc. Speaker is Dr. Rozario Slack. Hors d'oeuvres and dinner provided. 330-864-1359.

Source

Image by Ringo Starr (source)
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Okay, a note to all my Roman Catholic friends: Please stop sending me this news report! :)

Orthodox Delegate Speaks of Pope as Sign of Unity
Says Tired Society Demands United Christian Voice


VATICAN CITY, OCT. 12, 2008 - A representative of the Orthodox Church who addressed the world Synod of Bishops spoke of the Bishop of Rome as a sign of unity among Christians.

Archimandrite Ignatios Sotiriadis, fraternal delegate from the Orthodox Church of Greece, spoke Saturday to the synod, which is focusing on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

His address brought more applause than any other intervention in the first week of the synod.

"Your Holiness," he said, "our society is tired and sick. It seeks but does not find! It drinks but its thirst is not quenched. Our society demands of us Christians -- Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans -- a common witness, a unified voice. Here lies our responsibility as pastors of the Churches in the 21st Century."

"Here," the Orthodox pastor continued, "is the primary mission of the First Bishop of Christianity, of him who presides in charity, and, above all, of a Pope who is Magister Theologiae: to be the visible and paternal sign of unity and to lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and according to Sacred Tradition, with wisdom, humility and dynamism, together with all the bishops of the world, fellow successors of the apostles, all humanity to Christ the redeemer."

"This is the profound desire of those who have the painful longing in their heart for the undivided Church, 'Una, Sancta, Catholica et Apostolica,'" he concluded. "But it is also the desire of those who, again today, in a world without Christ, fervently, but also with filial trust and faith, repeat the words of the apostles: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!'"

Source
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Following up on this story ...

Ending a three-day summit, the Orthodox leaders also declared their desire to advance dialogue with other Christian churches as well as the interfaith dialogue with Jews and Muslims.

A declaration issued after Sunday prayers said the Orthodox churches had reaffirmed their "unswerving position and obligation to safeguard the unity of the Orthodox Church ... by settling any problems that arise from time to time in relations among us with a spirit of love and peace."

The meeting was held at a time when the Russian and Ukrainian churches are locked in a dispute over the Ukrainians desire for independence from the powerful patriarchate in Moscow and shake off centuries of Russian influence. The Ukrainian church now answers to the patriarchate in Moscow.

The declaration by the senior clerics - including Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II - spoke of the need of "surrendering ... nationalistic, ethnic and ideological extremes of the past."

"For only in this way will the word of Orthodoxy have a necessary impact on the contemporary world," the clerics said.

Sunday’s statement also denounced the global financial crisis as a result of "manic profiteering and corrupt financial activity" and called for an economy combining "efficacy with justice and social solidarity."

It urged Orthodox churches to focus on efforts to protect the environment and highlighted plans to form a committee to study issues of bioethics, "on which the world awaits the position of Orthodoxy."

The story and participating patriarchates - HERE.

Russian Patriarch Alexiy II made a rare trip to Turkey to attend the event since the 1900s, and co-celebrated mass with other Orthodox leaders.

Relations between him and Bartholomeos have been strained in the past as some Churches in former Soviet countries such as Estonia have broken away from the Russian Orthodox Church and sought to pledge their allegiance to Bartholomeos instead.

Bartholomeos, an ethnic Greek but a Turkish citizen, presides over a community of only several thousand Greek Orthodox in Turkey, a Muslim country.

More HERE.
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I don’t know about you, but this whole election thing, international politics and economy, Economy, ECONOMY stuff has just turned my mind to mush. So, I promise I will not talk about politics or money.

For some, this week’s podcast may not even sound like it’s about religion in general or Orthodoxy in particular. Rather, it may serve as a bit of a diversion from the day to day. Because, ladies and gentlemen: It’s fall, it’s October, and this episode is all about ...

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

Listen here now.
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If you've got the time, take a listen to this.

If you don't have the time, listen anyway.

(About half way through - Molly Sabourin punched me in the belly. I mean, she hit a little too close to home. But, that's just me. Who knows, though I wasn't listening for it, maybe she said something about for you?)
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[W]ith a sense of our Church's obligation before God and History in an age when the unified witness of Orthodoxy is judged crucial and expected by all, we invite and call on you fraternally that, with the approval also of our respective Holy Synods, we may proceed to the following necessary actions:

1. To advance the preparations for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, already commenced through Panorthodox Pre-Conciliar Consultations.

2. To activate the 1993 agreement of the Inter-Orthodox Consultation of the Holy and Great Council in order to resolve the pending matter of the Orthodox Diaspora.

3. To strengthen by means of further theological support the decisions taken on a Panorthodox level regarding participation of the Orthodox Church in theological dialogues with non-Orthodox.

4. To proclaim once again the vivid interest of the entire Orthodox Church for the crucial and urgent matter of protecting the natural environment, supporting on a Panorthodox level the relative initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

5. To establish an Inter-Orthodox Committee for the study of matters arising today in the field of bioethics, on which the world justifiably also awaits the Orthodox position.

The full address.

Image Source
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Funny. It was Fr Charles Caldwell at Nashotah House who first introduced me to the spiritual warfare involving the Passions and the Virtues -- PALE GAS, even -- and he was an opera lover who'd married an opera singer. (I dedicated Defeating Sin to him.)

Now this.

On another note, and please forgive me here, I heard a really bad joke the other day.

Ready?

Q. What's the difference between an Episcopal Bishop and an Orthodox Bishop?


A. Lipstick

Anyway, that's a bad segue disguised as an introduction to GetReligion's new sword wielder, Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans. Though it might be painful, depending on how you look at it, you'll find one of her first offerings here.

(Please, when you repeat it, do not attribute that joke to me. After all, it's only aesthetically true. :)

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The other day I met an honest to goodness Orthodox Christian Anarchist.

I’d bought a newspaper in hopes of solving the Crossword Puzzle and scanning the Comics. I was leafing through the other sections when, in the Classifieds, I found the following job listing:

OCAL: Orthodox Christian Anarchist at Large seeks willing accomplices …

This was followed by an 800 number – stating that there were representatives available in all areas.

What the heck is an Orthodox Christian Anarchist? I wondered.

Curious, I called the number.

“You have reached the world-wide headquarters of Christian Anarchy; if you are Protestant, press one; Roman Catholic, press two; Orthodox, press three …”

So, I pressed 3.

“Welcome to Orthodox Christian Anarchy. Please leave your name and a phone number and one of our representatives shall return your call.”

I lied, I said my name was “Curtis” and gave them the church phone number, and then I hung up.

Silly.

I probably shouldn’t have done it but, after a few days, I forgot all about it.

A week or so later I entered the church office just in time to hear the secretary saying: “Sir, I’ve told you three times already and I’ll tell you again, we do not have a Curtis here …”

I stood staring at her paralyzed. I motioned for her to put him on hold.

I said, “Oops, he may be looking for me … it’s a long story … see if he’ll give you a local return number, address or something.”

She did and he did … and then, I didn’t know what to do.

I watched as she scribbled down a street address.

Oh my.

Well, curiosity got the best of me and, long story short, I dressed down to shorts, a sport shirt, Birkenstocks, and dark glasses and headed over to ...

The Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

References: Antagonists in the Church and One Flew Over the Onion Dome.

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Forgive me; I rarely post these forwarded things. But, ever so often comes one worth a read.

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car backed out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so ...

Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed (garbage-free) day.

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