Dn. Panagiotis Hanley

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 388

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 394

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 400

Hierarchal Assembly – Dn. Panagiotis Hanley – Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey | June 27, 2010 | HT: Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL)

Protodeacon Eric Wheeler’s editorial was mind-boggling and quite surprising. His conclusions and arguments were all over the map and quite inaccurate. That old world mentality, which he spoke of, is what has kept the Orthodox Church throughout the world from becoming a protestant church. Fast food spiritually is what I call it. Get in, get out, and get Jesus! That old world mentality has kept Orthodox Christians throughout the world away from that pit fall; with some exceptions of course, that I am sure my critics shall point out. That old world mentality is what we call Tradition in the Orthodox Church with a capital ‘T’. This is a mindset that has served Orthodoxy well since the Church was founded. It is found in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, as well as throughout the Holy Scriptures, and is so ancient in fact; it has its roots in Judaism, where Christianity originated from, and then grew in to the True Faith. It is not something to simply be discarded because we are in the United States. That idea, if it can be called that, has always baffled me.

I am not sure if this first meeting of Hierarchs of the Church was historic or not. To be honest I think we should let the Hierarchs do their job, meet, and put their plans into action, before we jump on the pessimistic band-wagon, and declare that after one meeting the “solution” is all wrong, or seems wrong. How ridiculous is that!?! The solution is all Byzantine they say! Well, if that actually were the case, then someone will have to point out what is wrong with that to me. The Byzantine Empire in all actuality was the most successful period in the Church’s entire history! This is a historical fact! There is no debating that point! We could learn a great deal from the Byzantines if we actually studied their history, instead of bashing the Greeks, to include: their society, their culture, their language, and most importantly the Orthodox Faith. Prot. Dn. Eric should also take note of the life of the Church in Russia under the Tsars who followed the Byzantine example, and saw enormous growth in the Church of Russia under their rule. Eventually, their efforts would nurture the growth of the Russian Fathers of the Church who spread Orthodoxy to America in the first place, and began what eventually became, the OCA. But we could not possibly benefit from a Byzantine solution could we?
Continue reading →