Month: July 2009

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Russia Today: Patriarch Kirill’s Trip to Ukraine

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Patriarch Kirill in Ukraine

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A lot of news, in the mainstream press and on Orthodox sites, about Patriarch Kirill’s current visit to Ukraine. The best analysis I’ve seen so far is from Andrei Zolotov Jr. of Russia Profile. Zolotov says that Kirill and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew “appear to have reached some agreement on Ukraine, which has not been revealed to the public.” From the article:

For an outsider who is not familiar with the intricacies of Ukrainian history, it is not easy to understand the complexity of the church situation in Ukraine. Over the centuries, the heirs to Prince Vladimir’s baptismal font have repeatedly found themselves in different states and different Churches, while the numerous wars that have rolled over this part of Europe inevitably turned out to be civil wars for the ancestors of those who make up the people of Ukraine today. It was only within the framework of the Soviet Union that Ukraine’s current borders were set. When the Soviet Union disintegrated and Ukraine became an independent state, a complicated and as of yet unfinished process of forming a united Ukrainian nation began. There are few other places in the world where the religion factor would play such an important role both in the day-to-day life of the people and in the identity of the nation. That is in Ukraine, the Church is an object of colossal political pressure, often directed at breaking the spiritual and historical ties. As a result, the Orthodox Christians in Ukraine are presently divided into at least three church groups and live next door to Greek Catholics, or Uniates, — Christians who abide by the Byzantine Rite while belonging to the jurisdiction of the Vatican.

Patriarch Kirill repeatedly emphasizes that he is coming to Ukraine with a pastoral visit, to worship on the holy sites of this land and pray for the unity of the Church, for the unity and well-being of the Ukrainian people, who are presently living through a difficult economic and political crisis, and for the unity of all nations tracing their history back to the Kievan Rus – and that is not only Ukrainians, but Russians and Belorussians as well. The Moscow Patriarchal See identifies itself as a successor to the ancient Kievan See. It is not a political visit, Church officials say. The Patriarch is coming to his flock. Continue reading →

Postcards from Greece: Phyletism

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On a new Postcards from Greece, Fr. Peter Alban Heers explains the heresy of Phyletism, which means placing one’s ethnic identity above the Orthodox faith.

Fr. Peter shares with us his ten years of experience of living the Faith and serving the Church in Greece, and in particular the ancient Church of the Thessalonians. On visits to parishes and monasteries, and in interviews with clergy and laymen, Fr. Peter, as an American convert, introduces us to the ancient practice of the Church in Greece in terms and ways we can readily understand and apply to our contemporary way of life.

Listen here:

A Word for Parents

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The Anti-Gnostic reports on a lecture given by Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America last night at Atlanta’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation.

Asked what advice [Metropolitan Jonah] would give parish priests, he again quoted a Russian father who told parents to pray for their children ten times as much as they speak to them. This prayer will become contagious through the community. His former abbot has prescribed a rule of two hours daily private prayer for the brothers in addition to their four to six hours of public prayer and worship.

He recommended all Orthodox study the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, as in really read it, take notes, get a commentary and track down the Scripture references, etc. He called it the sum of all Orthodox dogma.

Orthodoxy and Obama’s conscience clause

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A friend sent me an email earlier today. Search Google, he said, with the terms conscience rule obama catholic bishops and conscience rule obama orthodox bishops and then compare the two.

Not very impressive. (Actually, the AOI blog article on Abp. Demetrios’ awkward praise of Pres. Obama ranks first in Google, but that’s beside the point.) It got me to thinking.

If there is ever a need for Orthodox unity, the time is now. The authority of the Orthodox moral tradition far exceeds our numbers, but that authority has to be exercised. As long as we remain disunited our voice is muted and the culture does not receive the direction it needs. The Catholic Bishops understand this, just as they understand that the life issues are a matter of not only personal life and death, but cultural life and death. That is why they are ready to use their authority to clarify these issues and, if necessary, offer moral resistance. It is time for us to step up too.

Apart from the GOA, the Orthodox jurisdictions are consistent in their defense of life. We certainly could — and need — to do more, but there is really no confusion about what the tradition teaches. Met. Jonah, like all the OCA primates before him is a leader at the March for Life. The AOA published a stellar essay in The Word (Orthodoxy and the Unborn Child .pdf), a few months back with clear teaching on abortion. The cover featured an icon of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth with Jesus and John the Forerunner in-utero. Powerful stuff. I have to assume all the other jurisdictions teach the same thing although they don’t have the public prominence of the “Big 3.” The GOA, as we know, stays silent on these issues for fear of offending the liberal politicians they need to cultivate; an odorous off-shoot of the Hellenism-Orthodoxy confusion that afflicts the leadership.

Imagine if we had a functioning synod of Bishops who understood the workings of American culture and who could speak to these issues with the clarity that the Orthodox moral tradition provides. We might actually make a difference. We certainly would be lighting a candle for those looking for light.

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