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Clergy-Laity: ‘a changing of mentality and attitude’
By John Couretas | July 18, 2008
Just back from Washington where I attended the 39th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. This was my first Clergy-Laity and I am glad I went. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, in his keynote address, went beyond the theoretical to actual application when he developed the theme of the Congress: “Gather My People to My Home.”
Any effort for a serious application of our theme must begin with a changing of mentality and attitude. We must change from an exclusive and all absorbing focusing on our parish to an awareness of the existence of people outside of our Parishes, Metropolises and Archdiocese. People who have the right to know what we know as the truth of God, to taste the joy of participating in our ecclesial community, and to experience the blessings we experience to be with God as we are by being Greek Orthodox Christians. The area of our focused action should gradually be enlarged by including those who are outside, by being concerned with those who are waiting for the brother or the sister who will bring them home. Offering the shelter of God to the homeless souls should be part of the care and action of our parishes, should be indispensable part of our mentality, attitude and vision, and also should definitely be a central item of the basic education cultivated by the Church.
The Archbishop also appealed for a greater outreach to the unchurched and Orthodox Christians who have drifted away from the Church, including “non-connected” interfaith couples. He said it was time to offer youth “a real role in the life of the community” and pointed to the Orthodox Christian Fellowship which now has 270 groups in an equal number of Colleges and Universities. And, refreshingly, the Archbishop called for “proper and adequate resources, in the forms of books, DVDs, CDs and printed material.”
He closed his address by asking Congress attendees to think about those outside the fold:
Jesus Christ speaks about other sheep that are not of this fold, but He has to bring them also. And they will hear His voice. Who are these other sheep that are not of this fold? And how are they going to hear Christ’s voice?
One Response to “Clergy-Laity: ‘a changing of mentality and attitude’”
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July 22, 2008 | 7:14 am
Sorry, but the Archbishop’s words fail to stir me except to exasperation. The insights he has are so patently obvious as to mean nothing. They were easily recognizable to me when I first became Orthodox 20 years ago and have been trotted out in various formulations over and over again in the 20 years since. Nothing will be done until the laity do it. I can almost guarantee that anything with real innovation and substance will be fought up and down the hierachy and across the land.
Also when, WHEN are folks going to get it that if you are not already ‘Greek’ Orthodox, no one cares about the Greek part while many that are care far to much about the Greek part and too little about the Orthodox part. It remains one of the biggest stumbling stones for accomplishing what he says should be done–reach out to others. If you want to be Greek Orthodox, go to Greece. Same with any of the other ethnic adjectives we display so prominently to keep us from having to actually engage the land and the culture we live in, to keep us from really having to become Orthodox or allowing anyone else to. We are nothing but Pharisitical hypocrites on the march. This from the man who when offered the opportunity to offer up prayer at the beginning of both the Republican and Democrat national conventions last time, gave prayers that any ecumenist would have been proud of. He didn’t even mention the Holy Trinity, God forbid that he offend anyone!
And how wonderfully condescening of him to ‘offer a role’ to the youth. Sounds like he wants to throw a sop the some different form of life. Just the sort of idea that will forever keep our young people on the outside looking in gradually drifting away. He dosen’t get it. Its just more of the same spineless, visionless pap that our bishops continue to hand out while they cow-tow to worldly leaders and follow the money and the prejudices of those who have it.
The only different attitude and mentality we have to have is to decide to love one another and this country IN CHRIST, in whom there is no Greek nor Jew (or Russian or Romanian or Serb, or Syrian or American), no young nor old, no male nor female (this is not a plea for a female priesthood BTW). We have to actually live Orthodox Christian lives not just pretend to as we stuff our stomachs with ethnic food, our pockets with filthy lucre, and our souls with hubris.