To the Ends of the Earth

I usually don’t comment on what I post, but this time I think I should add a caveat as there seems to have been a lot happening behind the scenes that isn’t readily knowable.  And what is knowable only raises more questions.  I don’t mean to cause scandal by pointing these things out, but only to say that the internet is only as good as the information posted, and to say that our new brothers and sisters in Guatemala could use our fervent prayers, and perhaps other support if possible.

First there is the matter of why the EP received this group, rather than the OCA. Even just a few months ago, in December, 2009, Met. Jonah of the OCA spoke in an interview, found here, about the Guatemalans.  In January, OCA News reported that Bishop Benjamin and Fr. Michael Oleksa of the OCA had travelled to Guatemala for further discussion.  And now, only two months later, it is announced that the EP has received the group, and the current role of the OCA in this, if any, is unknown.

One can guess, from the website of the apparently newly-created General Secretariat for Pan-Orthodox Ministries of the EP’s Metropolis of Mexico, that the EP received the Guatemalan group out of their perceived mandate to care and evangelize the non-Orthodox world.  But this doesn’t explain the role, current or past,  of the OCA.

In addition, there is the matter of Fr. Andrew, the priest who received this group, and who heads the St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Theological Institute, based in Puerto Rico.  From an announcement made in August, 2009, found here, it appeared that Fr. Andrew and the Institute were both under ROCOR, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Lastly, there is the question of numbers.  Below, it is reported to be 500,000 new members received into Orthodoxy, with another 800,000 ‘seekers.’  But in January, the OCA News report mentioned above only said 50,000.  But either way, these are astounding numbers.

I don’t know what exactly these apparently inconsistencies mean, nor do I want to publicly speculate.  I hope that the OCA, or the relevant members of such, will continue to be involved in receiving and catechizing the Guatemalans, as I don’t know how one person, Fr. Andrew, is going to be able to properly care for this entire group.  Indeed, may this reception be a means for pan-Orthodox co-operation, and may great fruit be borne.

As with any conversion, baptism and chrismation are only the beginnings, and so our new brothers and sisters will need much time, prayer, and assistance as they mature in the Faith.  May God grant us to help them in this as we are able.

After months of catechetical and pastoral follow-up, the Archiepiscopal Vicar, the Right Reverend Mitered Archimandrite Dr. Andrew (Vujisić), traveled to Guatemala in January 2010 and received Msgr. Andrés Girón and Msgr. Mihail Castellanos of the independent Iglesia Católica Ortodoxa de Guatemala (ICOG), into the Orthodox Church. At that time, guidelines were also established to facilitate the reception of the ICOG’s 527,000 members, which are overwhelmingly indigenous. The former ICOG has 334 churches in Guatemala and southern Mexico, 12 clergymen, 14 seminarians, 250 lay ministers, and 380 catechists. It also has an administrative office on 280 acres, a community college and 2 schools with 12 professors / teachers, and a monastery on 480 acres. Fourteen students from Guatemala are now enrolled in the St. Gregory Nazianzen Orthodox Theological Institute Licentiate degree program.

In February 2010, the Right Reverend Mitered Archimandrite Dr. Andrew (Vujisić) returned to Guatemala and met with clerics and others who assist in the Church’s pastoral work and outreach. He discussed mission and ministry priorities, and economic development with Msgr. Andrés Girón and Msgr. Mihail Castellanos. He met and encouraged the faithful who collaborate in the diverse ministries in Guatemala, visited schools and institutions, and spoke at length with seminarians regarding matters related to the Orthodox faith, especially the importance of the development of an Orthodox phronema, praxis, and liturgical life. His Right Reverence inspected places of worship, liturgical vessels, vestments, etc. in order to assess the needs of the Church in Guatemala. Twelve full sets of vestments for Priests were given to Msgr. Mihail Castellanos. Catechisms were distributed to the lay ministers and catechists.

In his talks with the clergy and faithful of the ICOG, the Right Reverend Mitered Archimandrite Dr. Andrew (Vujisić) reiterated the message of St. Paul: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your nous (mind), that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12: 1-3). He stressed the importance of formulating an Orthodox worldview through prayer, fasting, repentance, struggle against sin and overcoming the passions, participation in the Holy Mysteries, and the reading the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers. His Right Reverence conducted impromptu question and answer sessions everywhere he visited. Interest and excitement permeated the discussions.

The Right Reverend Mitered Archimandrite Dr. Andrew (Vujisić) also visited Holy Trinity Monastery (Antiochian Orthodox Church), where he held lengthy discussions with Abbess Inés and Mother María, and later prayed at the magnificent monastery Church, where he blessed the Russian iconographers of the Prosopon School of Iconology. He traveled to Guatemala City and visited the orphanage, Hogar Rafael Ayau, meeting, embracing, and blessing the children, and later having lunch with them. He held meetings with ‘Orthodox seekers’, who represent another 800,000 souls, regarding the straight and narrow path of reception into Orthodoxy. His Right Reverence will return to Guatemala after the Holy and Great Pascha of the Lord for follow-up meetings and discussions.

Source: American Orthodox Institute Blog

An interesting video from the Orthodox communities of East Africa. The youtube blurb declares that “This video, taken by OCMC Executive Director Fr. Martin Ritsi, highlights the Orthodox Church in East Africa. The growing East African communities have welcomed many missionaries and mission team members serving through the Orthodox Christian Mission Center in St. Augustine, Florida.”

Hat Tip: Fr. Gregory Edwards, in his post about a parish visit in Greece by the metropolitan of Tanzania, found here.

Although the Orthodox Church has a relatively small congregation in this country, it has a long and colourful history in the Czech lands. It was the Orthodox Saints Cyril and Methodius who first brought Christianity to this part of the world when they converted Great Moravia in the ninth century, and Moravia was actually the place from where Orthodox Christianity later spread eastwards to Ukraine and Russia.

Although the Czech Lands subsequently aligned themselves with Rome, their links with the Eastern Church were revived in the fifteenth century, when the reformist Hussite movement initially sought to join the Greek Orthodox Church before this plan was eventually thwarted when Constantinople was conquered by the Turks in 1453.

Centuries later, when democratic Czechoslovakia was founded after the First World War, many Czechs were attracted by the pan-Slavic nature of the Eastern Church and took advantage of new religious freedoms to convert to Orthodox Christianity. Lots of churches were built and the congregation swelled to around 145,000 people before the outbreak of World War II.

The Church suffered greatly during the Nazi occupation, primarily because Bishop Gorazd, the head of the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia, allowed those who assassinated Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich to shelter in the Orthodox chapel on Resslova Street in Prague. When these resistance fighters died after being discovered by the Nazis, the occupants quickly set about taking reprisals against the Orthodox Church. Altogether, 256 priests and laymen were rounded up and executed, including Bishop Gorazd, who has since been declared a saint.

Church life did not recover from this crippling blow until after the war, when it began to revive slowly. Moscow made the Czech Lands and Slovakia an autonomous patriarchate in 1951 and this was formally recognised by Constantinople in 1998.

Today, the Orthodox congregations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia still remain canonically unified even though the countries have gone their separate ways politically. Although today’s congregation in the Czech Republic is relatively small and only numbers around 30,000 to 50,000 people, masses are well attended and the church is attracting a lot of new members.

The Czech and Slovak branch of the Orthodox Church is currently headed by the Czech-born Archbishop Krystof. He says that many people have become interested in religion here since the fall of communism and that quite a few have been attracted by the very traditional nature of the Orthodox liturgy: “A lot of new people are looking for a new connection with Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox way is mystical and traditional. For this reason a lot of people are coming to the Orthodox Churches to pray and to seek the ‘old Christianity’ in our country. They are looking for a church with the old traditions and with some mystery.”

Igor Strelec is one Czech who has converted to Orthodox Christianity. He says that the church’s historical links to this country – stretching back to the time of the Great Moravian Archibishop Methodius in the ninth century – was one of the things that appealed to him.

“I feel like I’m continuing the tradition of Methodius and of our Hussite movement and Bishop Gorazd. I am proud that I come from the Czech Republic, where the Orthodox Church began in Great Moravia and then spread eastwards to Ukraine, Russia and other countries. It’s a proud part of our history.”

Archbishop Krystof says that the church has also been making inroads in the Czech Roma community: “We have a lot of projects with gypsies in the Czech Republic. We have built a Roma community with a Roma priest. It is the first time a member of the Roma community became a priest in the whole Czech Republic. For this reason it is very auspicious for us. The Roma priest is very active and the Roma [Orthodox] community has a future here.”

Besides new Czech converts, the Czech Orthodox Church’s congregation has been boosted by new arrivals from other countries. These include a number of Greeks who have moved here to conduct business since the Czech Republic joined the EU, but they mostly comprise guest workers from the states of the former Soviet Union.

Archbishop Krystof says that although this increase in numbers is welcome, the fact that new arrivals come from different traditions also poses a challenge in terms of maintaining unity in the Czech and Slovak Orthodox church: “There are more new Orthodox believers coming from the former Soviet Union – from Russia and Ukraine. For this reason we have more and more members. This is very nice for us but we have to create some sort of solidarity between them, not just for the original Czech believers but to try and ensure spiritual care for all our believers.”

Another challenge for members of the Orthodox Church is that its calendar is out of synch with the Catholic Christian calendar that prevails here. As a result Orthodox churchgoers have to adapt to public Christian-based holidays like Christmas and Easter being celebrated here on different days to those of their own church. Igor Strelec, however, says that instead of this being a problem, he and his fellow Czech co-religionists can enjoy the best of both worlds: “For me and my family – and I think for most Orthodox families in the Czech Republic – this is not a problem because we have twice as many celebrations. We celebrate both Christmases. I must say that we celebrate Christmas according to the Czech calendar like every family here because we love this celebration. And then we celebrate according to our Orthodox calendar in a more religious manner.”

Any religion in this country also has to face up to the highly secular nature of Czech society, which means that most faiths have to contend with a lot of indifference in this country or even suspicion. Archbishop Krystof, however, says that this issue has been overstated. He maintains that many Czechs are in fact open to the idea of religion and that the Orthodox Church has an opportunity to prosper in their midst: “I have to say that Czechs are a people without a church but they are not without faith. Everybody from the Czech population has some faith, but it is not connected with any church, regardless of whether it is Western, Eastern or Protestant. We have our own kind of faith but we are not people without faith. The Czechs are a people without a church. We just have to find the right church. That’s the main issue.”

Source: Radio Czech (where you can also listen to this as a podcast in English)
Hat Tip: OBL Orthodox News
Icon is of New Martyr Bishop Gorazd, by Jana Baudišová.

Commemorated March 17

The great Apostle and Enlightener of Ireland, St. Patrick, was born to a noble Roman family of Gaul or Britain in the year 387. At the age of 16 he was carried off by Irish marauders and sold as a slave to an Irish chieftain, who put him in charge of his sheep. Six years later, after the prompting of an angel, the saint fled to Gaul where he placed himself under the spiritual direction of St. Germanus of Auxerre. For 18 years he prayed and struggled and studied and was often granted a vision of Irish children calling out to him: O holy youth, come back to Erin, and walk once more amongst us.”

Celestine I, the Bishop of Rome, commissioned St. Patrick to bring the people of Ireland into Christ’s one, true fold, and so during the summer of 433 he and his companions arrived in Ireland. They were immediately persecuted by the Druids and other pagans, but the saint’s meekness and wonderworking, as well as his God-inspired ability to preach the Gospel, resulted in the conversion of many thousands. In particular, St. Patrick had to do spiritual battle with the Arch-Druid, Lochru, who, by the power of demons and through many incantations, tried to maintain his influence on the Irish. On one occasion Lochru, like Simon Magus, was able to levitate himself high into the air In a display of sorcery; but the moment St. Patrick knelt in prayer, Lochru fell to his death. This was the beginning of the end for paganism on that island. The Orthodox Faith was victorious on that Easter Sunday when the saint explained the doctrine of the Holy Trinity using a shamrock with its single stem and three leaves.

After receiving Holy Anointing, St. Patrick departed to the Lord on March 17, 493. As he lay in state for several days, a heavenly light shone around his body.

Source: Orthodox America
Icon: Aidan Hart
Further information and links are available through the excellent blog Logismoi, here.

Commemorated on March 16.

Saint Pimen the Fool-for-Christ and Anton Meskhi (of Meskheti, in southern Georgia) lived in the 13th century, when the Mongols were regularly invading Georgia. The entire country, and the Church in particular, languished under the yoke of Mongol oppression. The Georgian people were once again faced with a terrible choice: to preserve their temporal flesh or attain spiritual salvation. Most would not yield to the temptation of the enemy and chose instead to die as martyrs for Christ.

At that time a monk named Pimen, a fool-for-Christ, labored in the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. His ancestral roots were in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. Pimen rebuked kings and condemned the unjust and immoral acts of the nobility. The pious monk Anton Meskhi labored with him.

Enlightened by divine grace, the fathers recognized that the Georgian people were following their king’s poor example. Thus, the monks began a struggle for the spiritual salvation of the nation’s people that demanded the censure of the king.

In addition to their labors of foolishness and censuring of kings, the saints preached Christianity among the Dagestani.[1]

For their great spiritual achievements and struggles on behalf of godly purity, the Christian Faith, and the spread of the Gospel among the Dagestanis, the Georgian Church has counted Pimen the Fool-for-Christ and Anton Meskhi worthy to be numbered among the saints.

Tropar
Filled with theological wisdom and bearing the yoke of foolishness- for-Christ, O Holy Saints Pimen and Anton the Georgian Sun, pray to God for us!

Source: The Lives of the Georgian Saints, found electronically here, or in print from St. Herman of Alaska Press, here.

Unfortunately for us English speakers, this video is in Greek. However, if you skip past Met. Nektarios speaking, there are several pictures of the Orthodox around Asia. It is worth a view. It also looks like the Metropolis, under the name omhksea, has posted a few other videos on Youtube as well.

If anyone reading this is fluent in Greek, a translation of what Met. Nektarios is saying would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Source: Orthodox Mission-Ορθόδοξη Ιεραποστολή

He succeeded in forming his own music band in the era when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were at their height, and they called themselves The Flies. From the halls of the School of Business Science at the University of Melbourne, he moved on to singing beside Mick Jagger in fulfillment of a dream. Now he is found in Africa as a missionary.

How did this Greek, Themi Adamopoulos, come to choose to help the needy? Why did he renounce fame in order to seek a more peaceful yet sacrificial existence?

Themi was born in Egypt to Greek parents and raised in Melbourne, Australia. He was a child of the 60′s and once went to his mother saying “religion is the opiate of the masses” giving her a taste of his Marxist views. His pious mother was terrified by his confession and upon hearing it made the sign of the cross and turned to prayer before her iconostasis.

Regarding Themi’s views on religion and God during this time, he says:

“Like any ‘normal radical’, I believed that there was no God. I was very much affected by the Nietzschean ‘God is dead’ school, yet I could not see my way past the following contradiction: on the one hand, I held to the critique of rationalism, the idea being that there is only a myth of rationality and that at bottom everything is subjective; but on the other hand when it came to God I applied rational critiques. That was my philosophical contradiction. The perspective I had, then, was the traditionally Marxist view that there was no God and that Christianity was basically “the opium of the masses”, a tool of the bourgeoisie to oppress the proletariat by the myth of the kingdom of heaven.

“I was drawn into this spiritual radicalism. I wanted to know more about this new frontier. Was it true what Nietzsche, Russell and the logical positivists had told us, that there is no God? Was it true what the Marxists told us, that the only reality we could know was political reality? I personally was drawn towards exploring these questions. In a way the New Left had its scouts to seek out the new frontiers of reality and existence, and then to report back and say, ‘Hey listen! This is good! We need to incorporate a spiritual dimension into our Utopian society of the future.’ So in a way I appointed myself a spiritual scout to go and find out what exactly this was all about. I began, then, to experiment with my concepts of reality, questioning everything and seeing whether or not there were truths in Buddhism, in Hinduism, and in Christianity. I would therefore go to Hare Krishna temples and Hindu shrines, I would explore transcendental meditation, and I would even read St. Augustine’s City of God and the Bible.”

At the time Themi was in the first year of the School of Business Science at the University of Melbourne, though he did not complete his studies for this major. Political Science and Philosophy were more reflective of his interests at the time, as he revealed in his interview for Neos Kosmos.

Parallel with his student life, he began adding little by little toward his brilliant career in the area of music. Being influenced by the music of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he formed the group The Flies.

He said of this period in his life:

“I thought that after ‘beatles’ had so much success, why not ‘flies’? The climate was right and we took advantage in the extreme. We had great success.

“We put on concerts in all of the larger cities in Australia, always in jam-packed concert halls. The pinnacle was when we were invited to play with the Rolling Stones in their first tour of Australia in 1965 at the Palace Theatre. Being right there next to Mick Jagger…it was unbelievable, but true!”

The band The Flies included Themi Adams (as he was then known) on bass, John Thomas on guitar, Hank Wallis on drums, and (originally) Ronnie Burns as lead singer. The following account provides an interesting picture of the band:

“[The Flies] were one of the very first bands in Melbourne to catch on to the new ‘beat’ style and gained attention as ‘Victoria’s top Beatle-alikes’, even down to their matching suits and very long mop-top hair. A shambolic, noisy bunch at the best of times, the quartet achieved considerable popularity on the booming Melbourne dance circuit, with a repertoire of Brit-vasion standards from the catalogues of The Searchers, The Hollies and Herman’s Hermits and others, along with some of the ‘bluesier’, more raucous Beatles numbers like ‘When I Get Home’ and ‘You Can’t Do That’.” (Paul Culnane, “Ronnie Burns”, from the Milesago website)

Fr. Themi goes on to explain:

“During this period I came under the influence of popular music. It was the time of the English pop music explosion and I formed a group in my spare time imitating the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. We became rather successful. In fact, in a sort of curious way I pride myself in having belonged to the first long-haired group in Australia, long hair being then the symbol of the new revolution of the youth. We produced records, we even had Top 10 hits, and we had a fan club – I would get letters every day, with messages written on the envelope such as: ‘Postman, postman, don’t be slow! Be like Themi: go, man, go!’ We would practice in the garage of Ronnie Burns’ mum’s house; I even met Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum.”

Of course, his fame did not detract from his concern for the social issues of his day. He took part in the mobilization of young people to stop the war in Vietnam, he was concerned about human rights and the protection of those in jeopardy, he supported the women’s rights movement, and he studied intently different religious beliefs trying to find an answer to the existential questions which troubled him.

“The discovery of Christ came during this period of experimentation, consciousness-alteration, and self-analysis. Eventually, I underwent what you might call a ‘Christian mystical experience’. But I wasn’t looking for it, and by inclination I would’ve preferred a Buddhist kind of explanation of reality, as that would have fitted in much better with the culture and trends of the day. But I found that this Christian experience was overwhelming, and I really had no choice in the end but to be honest to myself and to what I was feeling even though it might not have been so popular among my peers. So, through these ‘mystical experiences’, I came to believe in Christianity as the authentic road to God and the ultimate truth.

“Given my background, I immediately turned to my peers on the New Left with the pronouncement that Christ is the truth. This, however, did not go down too well with them! But I was coming from the perspective that this was a genuine discovery, just as we had discovered, say, the writings of Marcuse or Nietzsche or Marx. But at that time Christianity was equated with the Methodist Church of Australia or the Church of England or with churches that had a history of oppression, and Christianity was also associated with such things as holy wars and crusades. So I was really out on a limb, but I didn’t let go. For I had found a side of Christianity that seemed to be ignored – viz., the existential, mystical and sensitive side of Christianity.”

“In 1972 I abandoned everything – academic career, titles, aspirations, dreams – and returned to Orthodoxy. I saw the works of Mother Teresa and despite my university position which provided a good salary, I felt poor, very poor.

“I began then a new life. Having the baggage of my academic past, I began to study theology. I received my degree from the Catholic theological school Corpus Christi. Then with the guidance of Archbishop Stylianos I studied at Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston. At the same time, I studied Hebrew and Ancient Greek at Harvard University. Then I received my Doctorate in Theology from Princeton University and returned to Australia where, from 1988 until 1998, I taught at Saint Andrew Theological School in Sydney, while also teaching theology and the Coptic language (an ancient Egyptian language) at the University of Sydney.

“As an academic, I had a future. I was not however content. I was following the work of Mother Teresa and I was made aware of an enormous void within me. I was not with the poor. I did not need to struggle in the least for myself. Inside of me grew a desire to be near the poor and to do whatever possible to make their life more humane. I felt that all my education lead to this path. This was the essence. I then sought the blessing from His Eminence to begin a mission in Africa.

“In 1999 I began my work in Kenya at the command of His Beatitude the Patriarch of Alexandria and all of Africa, Peter, after I was consecrated a deacon, priest and then archimandrite. There the first Orthodox college was founded which is called the Orthodox Teacher’s College of Africa.

“I believe that education is the greatest weapon mankind has in life. If you want to help your fellow man, teach the skill to fish and do not just give him a prepared fish. At the college we are preparing young people to become teachers at the preschool and elementary levels. In the installment of such programs we are also introducing the branch of Sociology.”

The next step in the enormous undertaking of the mission he has before him is “to build a preschool and elementary school for the very poor children, who are not able to go to school because their feet are bare and their stomachs empty.”

He is quick to provide for the children as much as possible things such as clothing, shoes and food (in no particular order), and next in importance is the welfare of the women. Fr. Themi says: “Women are the greatest victims in Africa. They are the heart of the family. The man if he is able has two or three wives and produces children with all of them. The woman is the one selling her body for a piece of bread, so that her children might not suffer from hunger. For this reason I opened a Sewing School, where the women learn a trade and earn their bread honorably.”

From Kenya, in 2007, the new Patriarch Theodore, who followed closely the work of the mission and the humanitarian Fr. Themi Adamopoulos, gave to him the order to go to West Africa, to Sierra Leone. There a civil war lasting a full twelve years had destroyed the place, and has left the most horrific scenes. Children mutilated, faces and bodies disfigured, people who live on the streets and breathe their last breath there. Death is part of the their daily life. It “lives” there beside them and among them.

“There we are building a village for 100 disabled people who begged on the streets, and the police pursued and persecuted them everywhere. We started with the Church of Saint Moses the African in the region of Waterloo, then a trade school of carpentry and sewing, and then homes, a clinic and a school. In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, we founded the first school for 1,200 children which has 60 teachers. Next year we will create an Orthodox college for the poor. There are children who have merit, but they do not have the means to go to even Elementary School. We ought to help”.

The women in the prisons of Freetown are those who grab his constant attention and he will care for their rehabilitation after their discharge. “If they do not have a respectable job, it is not possible for them to not end up again there. So I make sure they can have a sewing class inside of prison and upon their release I give them a sewing machine.”

His next step was to give arms and legs to the amputee children: “It is the most horrible sight, the most tragic victims of the war. By next year I hope to open a clinic where artificial hands and feet will be provided for thousands of children and youth to give them a new life and return back to them their dignity. Today they are begging and are harassed by the police.”

This great work is supported financially by two large philanthropic organizations in Australia, “Paradise Kids for Africa” and “Light of the World Australia”, which has commissions in all of the cities in Australia for the same purpose.

Also, in Greece, specifically in Thessalonica there is great support from the Christian Brotherhoods. One of them is “Saint Kosmas Aitolos”.

It is too bad Fr. Themi isn’t the famous idol he once was to his fans, because the work he does now is far more significant and deserves much more praise and support.

“Now after a lifetime of experiences this is who I am. A servant of the Most High God and a Servant and Apostle to the Poor and Oppressed.”

Source: Mystagogy
Video: American Orthodox Institute Blog

Τhe video that we are presenting here is a shocking documentary about the horrors of the civil war that has plagued the African country of Sierra Leone for 12 years, making it the poorest country in the entire world.

Within this turmoil, the Orthodox Mission has embarked on its own activities, with Archmandrite Fr. Themistocles Adamopoulos in charge, opening up a brighter horizon of faith, hope and love. With his sacrificial love, this Missionary is offering everything possible by way of material needs, and at the same time offers everything he can from a spiritual aspect – in other words: Christ!

It is our duty as Christians to support this significant endeavor, in every possible manner – both material and spiritual.

And also:

In an earlier post I wrote about Orthodox missionary Fr. Themi titled, Fr. Themi: The Atheist Rocker Who Became an Orthodox Priest and Missionary In Africa . In that post I also mentioned the successful Orthodox mission to Sierra Leone which is lead by Fr. Themi. I want to remind my readers during this holy lenten season to support Orthodox missions.

I have been informed that Fr. Themi is seeking supporters for his mission both in the United States and worldwide. This can be done by sponsoring $10 a month (or more) by going to www.paradisekids4africa.org.au and clicking on the “Ezi Donate & Sponsor Worldwide” link. There you can sign up with your Credit Card. All funds are in AUD (Australian Dollars) so $10 is $8 to $9 USD (United States Dollars). So far in the US they receive $170 a month; more is needed to make this mission even more successful. All donations go to the charity, all workers are volunteers, and no one gets remunerated in any format.

At the website, one can read more about this important ministry to the orphans of Sierra Leone, where your money is going, and sign up for the free newsletter. I also encourage everyone to check the various videos on Youtube at the website www.youtube.com/user/pk4a.

Please pass along this information.

Source: Mystagogy, from here and here.

The following are a few thoughts by Fr. Michael Oleksa, written after the recent Metropolitan Council meeting of the OCA. They were first printed by Mark Stokoe, at OCA News (that’s Orthodox Christians for Accountability), and the ‘editor’ referred to is him.

(Editor’s note: During the recent Metropolitan Council meeting Fr. Michael Oleksa, Chancellor of the Diocese of Alaska, spoke about the role of the clergy and laity in the Church. At the request of many present – hierarchs and delegates – Fr. Michael was asked to put his extemporaneous remarks in the form of a public letter to the Metropolitan so that his comments could be considered by a wider audience. Here is that letter, printed with permission of the author.)

“Your Beatitude!

Most Blessed Master, Bless

Your Beatitude asked me to write some thoughts and reflections on the situation of our Church, of Orthodoxy in the New World, to continue thinking about who we are and what we are doing, and perhaps where we’ve been and should go. I have no pretensions to being a learned theologian, still less in any way adequate to offering any “brilliant insights” or “ultimate solutions,” to anything. But since Your Beatitude asked me, I am writing this morning, the day after our Metropolitan Council sessions adjourned, to offer some observations on our history and the work that lies before us as Church.

With the arrival of St. Herman and the Valaam monks at Kodiak in 1794, the holy task to which the Mission devoted itself has been to bring Orthodox Christianity to Americans in North America. Initially, the “Americans” meant the indigenous Alaskan tribes, but this was later expanded to include immigrants who came to the New World seeking a permanent home in the USA and Canada. Later still, the Mission also welcomed additional communities, both indigenous and immigrant in Mexico, into the Household of Faith. Never, not even when the majority of parishes were Slavic and Eastern, did the Metropolia lose sight of its Alaskan (origins and identity as “Nasha Missiya,” as Metropolitan Leonty of blessed memory used to reflect), as a continuous mission to North America and Americans.

Following the Council of the Church in Russia at Moscow in 1917-18, where the former bishop “of the Aleutian Islands and North America,” Tikhon (Bellavin) was elected Patriarch, the American Mission attempted, perhaps more intentionally than anywhere else, to implement the decisions of that council, particularly embracing the concept of “sobornost,” (catholicity as conciliarity) specifically by organizing itself in a conciliar structure, with parish, diocesan and church-wide councils, a pattern instituted by St. Patriarch Tikhon before his return to Europe.

The ninth century genius of the Greek missionaries, SS. Cyril and Methodius, presented the Slavic Orthodox the opportunity to develop this concept of catholicity as conciliar, from the translation of the Symbol of Faith, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, stating that we believe in “edina, svyataya sobornaya i apolstolskaya Tserkva–one, holy catholic-as conciliar, apostolic Church. The notion that the Faith, preached by the Apostles and delivered to the Church is proclaimed and preached by the ordained clergy, bishops and priests, but is defended by the whole People of God, who remain responsible for it, was reaffirmed by the Eastern Patriarchs in their reply to the Pope of Rome in 1848. The whole Body, the whole People of God are the guardians of the Faith, not just the professional theologians or the hierarchy. Thus, in a certain way, the whole Orthodox Church has affirmed its commitment to catholicity as conciliar.

The commitment to offering the Orthodox Faith, to opening the Orthodox Church to all peoples of North America, and to a polity of conciliarity in its governance and decision making structures at the parish, diocesan and continental levels, characterize and define the particular identity of the Orthodox Church in America.

The process by which the Metropolitan Council and its Strategic Planning subcommittee is employing to develop a church-wide consensus on the identity, condition and future development of the OCA exemplifies this continuing commitment to conciliarity. Each successive draft of the Strategic Plan has been edited, augmented, and reconsidered following hours and even days of discussion. In fact, the process by which each level of the Church becomes engaged in this task may, in the long run, prove to be more signficant and potentially transformative–healing and uniting the faithful, the parish clergy, and the hierarchy–and fosteringa renewal of faith, of mutual trust and respect, and ultimately of love, out of which our evangelical mission flows.

What is unique to Orthodox mission? What lies at its source? Where is its “heart”? Over twenty years ago I was invited to reflect on this for an issue of the International Review of Mission, published by the World Council of Churches. I entitled the essay, “Overwhelmed by Joy,” and wrote in an uncharacteristic first-personal way, of my luminous Paschal experience of love, joy, peace, during Holy Week and culminating at the glorious Bright Night of the Resurrection vigil at St. Vladimir’s when I was a college student. I don’t have to explain to any Orthodox Christian who has shared this encounter with the Risen Lord, for indeed there are no words. But I am certain that many of us know exactly what this experience is, though we seldom speak of it, even to each other. There are those unexpected moments when the significance of what we are remembering and celebrating simply overcomes us.

We can do nothing to instill or incite it. It is not deliberately sought or induced. But it comes: the overwhelming sense of joy, love and peace which passes, precisely, all understanding. The only sadness one can feel after such moments pass, is that there are those who have never known such encounters. And it is the inward compulsion, the burning desire to share this experience, this encounter with others that inspires and impels us to declare what our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, our hands have touched–the reality here, in this world, of the age to come, the Kingdom of God revealed and accessible, the eternal present in time, the ineffable and uncontainable with us and in us.

For us, as Orthodox, this experience is offered to us in and through the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. We must say to the whole world, and for our mission, to all North America, “Come and see!” For this invitation to be at all successful, I believe our public worship must embody three elements. First the services must be intelligible to anyone who attends. This means the use of whatever language predominates in that location–Unangan Aleut in the Aleutian Islands, Tlingit in Sitka and Juneau, Yup’ik Eskimo in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Slavonic for Eastern European immigrants, Greek for Greeks, Romanian for Romanians, French in Quebec, Spanish, Mayan and Aztec for the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Guatemala. And if we look back on the last half century, we realize that this is precisely what we have attempted to do. The entire liturgical heritage of the ancient Church is now available in English and daily published on our website. We cannot do mission in “unknown tongues,” but we are truly “pentecostal” in the great number of languages and cultures employed in our churches across this continent.

Second, our Tradition must be explicable. We cannot expect visitors or even our own people to understand intuitively the meaning of our worship. Its foundations are ancient. Its texts are Biblical and patristic. The structure may be difficult to discern. Full participation with understanding requires more than an intelligible translation: we need to teach and preach, to explain and more, to challenge those who have ears to hear with the substance, the eternal truths of our Faith. There should never be a service, no matter how brief, without a few words of instruction. Woe to us all if we do not preach the Gospel!

Thirdly, our services must be as solemn and beautiful as possible. Beauty and Truth, in our Tradition, are intimately linked. I realize that we can be rightfully criticized for perhaps exaggerating, for over-emphasizing this dimension to the exclusion of other Christian duties, but the necessity of beauty cannot be neglected. If our goal, our mission, is to witness to the Kingdom of God which has come upon us, to testify to our encounter with the Risen Christ, iconography, architecture, music and even landscaping are essential components of our witnesss to the world. We need art, as well as words, that is “adequate to God.” And if a parish, no matter how humble, celebrates its services in an intelligible language, with regular and meaningfull preaching, in an environment of artistic beauty and solemnity, it will, at least liturgically, be adequate to the mission of the Church–to offer Paschal Joy to all who enter and, with attention, participate in its worship. The rest, the encounter, the experience of the Risen and Triumphant Lord, is up to God.

In this sense, I believe Orthodox religious education must be fundamentally distinct from other Christian approaches. The goal of our church schools must be to inform and equip our children to participate meaningfully and attentively in the Liturgy and the liturgical life of the Church. For if they simply attend with some knowledge and “eager anticipation” of the coming Feast, and observe the cycles of fasting and fulfillment in joy, as their (often illiterate) ancestors did, they will know that overwhelming Joy into which we have baptized them. Simply knowing the biblical stories and commandments is not sufficient to bring a person into the Church and retain them as a committed Orthodox Christian. One “good” Pascha will.

And from this encounter, this conversion, we can anticipate an overflow of precisely that very love, joy and peace, the Presence of Christ, which will impel that person to acts of mercy, kindness, charity and generosity, to the love of God and neighbor which are the natural fruits of such a conversion. Preaching “good works” without this experience may have some positive influence, but we are doing very little more than the local chapters of the the Red Cross or the Rotary Club. Christ did not command us to make improvements, to raise living standards, to lobby for political reforms, necessary though these may be. He revealed to us His Kingdom and He insists that we reveal and proclaim it. We are not here, ultimately, to transform this world into God’s Kingdom: there is no biblical evidence that the world will evolve gradually to some better, higher “improved” condition and finally metamorphasize into God’s Reign. In fact, Christ expresses some doubt whether or not He will even find faith on earth when He returns. We have no confidence in some evolutionary upward progression by human effort. The Kingdom will simply come as a decision and act of God. All we can do as witness to it and prepare for it. Our acts of charity and outreach, like all our evangelical efforts, are inspired and energized by Paschal Joy.

Returning to the work of the Strategic Planning committee and the final document the entire Church will produce, I might contradict somewhat what I just wrote: the final product may be of some lasting importance, depending on how the Church in North America develops. We may be unique in our commitment to clergy and laity cooperating in the administration of the Church, in our focus on conciliarity. The medieval tendency toward aristocratic and even autocratic structures had its impact on the Church which imitated, in many ways the top-down, lord to servant, social organization of their societies. In this system, the bishop sits as prince and the clergy his immediate servants, the laity as peasants with no voice or responsibility except obedience. Our recent tragic experience in Alaska with a hierarch who attempted to impose this sort of understanding as canonical and traditional there, however, indicates that conciliarity has become endemic among us, not only among Alaska Natives but across the entire Church. When a few heroic Yup’ik clergy defied specific orders from their bishop as detrimental to the well-being and salvation of their flocks, dozens and eventually hundreds of others supported them. The Holy Synod was initially reluctant to intervene, but the whole church, clergy and laity, rose to their defense. Confusion, hesitation and even betrayal of our own highest ideals did not prevent the whole People of God from expressing their love, their commitment, their dedication to precisely the identity of the Orthodox Church in America as essentially conciliar and missionary. Alaska represents the missionary foundation of the Church in North America, and in defense of its fundamental missionary identity, affirming its conciliar nature, priests and laity and ultimate the entire hierarchy eventually spoke “with one heart and one mind.”

Much has been said about the internet and its use in Church life. Some consider this technology inherently evil, others see it as a great blessing. The internet is a human tool. It can certainly be used diabolically. The power of words of language, can be powerful and poisonous. But like any human tool, any invention or technology, it can also be put to positive and effective use. Like a knife or ax, the internet is neutral–neither good nor evil in itself. It’s goodness or wickedness are not in the object itself, but in the use to which human beings will put it. And we should note, with gratitude, that the instant communication that emails permit, the proper use of the internet, saved Alaska.

When our final Strategic Plan document is adopted, I hope it will be a milestone for us and for Orthodoxy in the New World. I expect it to be an historic statement that, for however long it survives, whether that be five years or five thousand, there is in America a fully canonical and historical Orthodox Church, a community that has sought to adapt Orthodoxy to the new conditions and to face the challenges of modern life, structuring itself in a conciliar fashion to bring Orthodoxy to America, for Americans. Whether this vision, by the Grace of God, spreads and inspires other Orthodox communities in this hemisphere or the other, whether it endures or disappears temporarily, I have no doubt that, if this is the work, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our continuously evolving Strategic Plan, will have lasting meaning and significance for Orthodox Christians yet unborn. That is my hope and prayer.

Ancient Byzantium’s flag, adopted by other Orthodox nations and incorporated into the flag that flew over Alaska for 127 years, depicted a double-headed eagle, representing the two dimensions our Greek Orthodox forebearers understood as complimentary and necessary to the proper governance and well-being of society, Church and State. In that era, of course, the State was but one person, the Emperor or Tsar. The Church was represented by its Patriarch, and the ideal of harmony, the “symphonia” between him and the secular ruler was envisioned as the ideal balance of responsibility and authority in the Empire. There were, of course, situations in which the Emperors sought to impose their will, even their theology on the Church, particularly during the iconoclastic controversy. In Russia, there was a time when the Patriarch dominated secular as well as religious life. There were frequent conflicts between the two “heads,” but the symphony they were intended to produce remained the ideal.

Part of the process of adaptation to the new circumstances of life without an empire, without an emperor requires the Church to find another benefactor, a replacement for the role fulfilled by the Imperial government in its affairs. And who serves that function in a democracy. If in an autocracy an autocrat did, then in a democracy, the demos must. The place of the Emperor has been taken by O Laos tou Theou, the People of God.

(Editor’s note: Emphasis not in original.)

I realize this concept requires deeper theological and canonical reflection and elaboration, but I would submit that as the Church, changing only to remain the same, as Father Alexander Schmemann so often declared, adapts to the new conditions in a new society, she needs to recognize that without an Emperor to support and defend her, must rely on the Laos collectively to fulfill the necessary role of the Tsars. The bishops of the old world were not educated in law, engineer and architecture, finance and accounting, medicine, education, mathemetics, biology, or physics. They relied on the expertise the government and court could provide. Today these areas of expertise are the offering the laity bring to the Church. While understanding and accepting, welcoming and rejoicing in the hierarchial leadership of the bishops as archpastors and teachers, the guardians and embodiment of the Orthodox Tradition, the laity also have their responsibilities and functions within the Body, just as St. Paul wrote so many centuries ago. As the Strategic Plan develops therefore, we expect that these basic principles will not only be further defined and articulated but exemplified by the very process we seek to follow in our discussions.

And to be conciliar is not simply to decide by majority vote, as “Roberts Rules of Order” suppose. In this respect, we need to consider whether this format is altogether appropriate for our purposes. I have no problem with the “order” it imposes, the need for speakers to be recognized by the Chair, for motions to be filed and for voting to occur. But if we are committed to conciliarity, the Rules will need to be adjusted first to insist, not just permit, that everyone be given an opportunity to contribute to the discussion. This requires the Chair to call upon all those who have not spoken to speak before any vote has been taken. This seems to me to be a simple but necessary adjustment. And the opportunity to reconsider a decision should be more easily and widely offered. A narrow majority is not consensus. If, because some participants are more vocal or simply more agile or successful in securing the Chair’s attention, they dominate the conversation, it is incumbent on the Chair to allow those who move less quickly or who speak more softly, an equal opportunity to express their views. In particular, women should not be deprived of their voice because the men are speaking faster or louder, not deliberately or consciously of course, but simply because different cultures and even genders within cultures have different patterns of speaking, especially in public. In a multi-cultural and international Body, these variations must be taken respectfully into account.

Well, Your Beatitude, those are my immediate thoughts and reflections as we conclude this extraordinary week. I think we should all rejoice in each other, delighting in the gifts God has given each member of the Holy Synod and to each member of our Council. They listened with respect and patience to each other this week, appreciating that everyone present sincerely loves God, loves Jesus Christ, loves His Church. If we can enlarge this circle now to include more clergy and laity, in the parishes and dioceses of North America, if we can bring the quetions and challenges we face before the entire People of God, and with the same respect and love hear their voice, our Church will heal and regain her strength, her voice. And then we will, in whatever canonical governing structure, have the renewed commitment to our mission, bringing the Joy of Pascha, the Reality of the Kingdom of God and His Righteous, to the people of this continent which we also deeply love.

In Christ,
the unworthy archpriest
Michael Oleksa

Source: OCA News

The Inter-Council Presence’s commission on relations with non-Orthodoxy and other religions held its first meeting on 4 March 2010 at the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. It was led by the DECR chairman, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

The commission membership also includes Metropolitan Vladimir of Kishinev and All Moldova, Metropolitan Chrysostom of Vilnius and Lithuania, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia, Archbishop Feofan of Berlin and Germany, Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun, Archbishop Augustine of Lvov and Galicia, Bishop Alexander of Baku and the Caspian, Archimandrite Kirill Govorun, Archpriests Vsevolod Chaplin, Vladimir Silovyev, Maxim Kozlov, Hegumen Philip Riabykh, Archpriests Alexander Abramov and Andrey Novikov, Rev. George Roschin, Deacon Maxim Plyakin, Mrs. A. Averyanov, V. Burega, Yu. Maximov, A. Maler, and Ms. M. Neliubova.

Opening the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion said that the basic task of the commission was to work on areas suggested by the Inter-Council Presence’s presidium. The commission is to assess the present state of inter-Christian dialogue and to consider such issues as the practice of accepting non-Orthodox believers in the Church, the Moscow Patriarchate’s dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, non-Chalcedonian Churches and Protestant denominations. It is also to deal with such questions as the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in interreligious and inter-Christian organizations, the ROC’s attitude to mixed marriages and other issues.

The participants exchanged opinions on how the discussion should be organized and recommendations made to the plenary Inter-Council Presence.

It was agreed that the commission would work in three working groups on inter-Christian relations, practical problems involved in relations with the non-Orthodox and on interreligious dialogue.

Source: DECR