Whom do we trust? Certainly there are many good bishops and priests. Got to know the teaching of the Holy Fathers and the saints! Otherwise we go around aimlessly, lost like many in the inflation of denominations that are out there.

Yes, it is reliance on God, but we have to know were to find God. The Holy Spirit is with us until the END. Hearing the Holy Spirit it is simply listening to what the saints said.

http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/sermon_st_seraphim.htm

During the same time, the catherdrals of many of the bishops who signed on to the ‘Unity’ were empty until they recanted.

Yes the flock will dwindle, but that is not all the bishops fault. We each have the choice don’t we?

I know two things about God, He forgives and His love never waivers.

I know one thing about myself, despite God’s love I find ways to ignore Him and go my own way with unhappy results. I cannot honestly expect anything more of anyone else. Nice to get it, but I cannot expect it.

I know two things about the Church: 1) the Gates of Hell will not prevail against her; 2) she has always been a mess, never unified or at peace

There have been essentially three ways of dealing with the observed state of the Church over the centuries 1) legislate and enforce laws; 2) Go do your own thing; 3) do the best to follow Christ in the midst of the world

In all the scandals, controversies, whinning, complaining, anger, hurt and distress that exisits in us who are members of the Church it seems we usually favor 1 or 2. They don’t work. They merely distract us from working out our salvation by loving God and loving our neighbor.

Shoot, I love to complain and pontificate, God forgive me, but I’m painfully coming to the conclusion it is a disease. If we love Jesus and His Church the best thing we can do is confess our own sins and pray for our priests and bishops. By praying for them out of love, IF we are called to witness to them, we will be able to do so out of that love and humility which alone produces change.

If we live the life of the Church to our utmost, our witness will be vibrant, strong and effective. If we don’t, we are just adding to the problem. I know I have an unhappy tendency to substitute my own thoughts for obedience to God.

As much as I’d like to get bent out of shape about the actions of my Patriarch Ignatius, I sort of agree with Met. Philip, it doesn’t really change anything. It certainly has nothing to do with my salvation or anybody else’s that I can see.

Yeah, Met. Jonah is in the soup. If he relies on God, it will be a good, healthy soup that will feed many. If he relies on himself and the ways of man, the soup will sour and be spoiled. Same goes for the rest of us. This is the way it has always been in the life of the Church.

I am not suggesting fatalism, simply reliance on God to take care of His Church and us. Then the actions we need to take will be clear and we will have the strength to take them. Persecution and martyrdom is the most likely result of any such witness by the way.

“Lord God of Hosts, be with us, for we have none other help in time of sorrow but thee. O Lord of Hosts, have mercy on us”

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad it it.”

“Met. Joseph is a wonderful man, a pastoral bishop with great insight. (Paraphrased) All the bishops will have to die before any further progress toward Orthodox unity is made. That basically means every single bishop we have now plus all of the various Patriarchs and Metropolitans in the old countries. Lone exception: Met. Jonah (many years)”.

What the Patriarchs and Metropolitans in the old countries are doing make the job of Met Jonah close to impossible. Christ is in charge and we’ve been told that His Church, His flock will be little before His Second Coming.

The Church has always been in a mess, full of sin and disharmony, heresy and an occasional apostate. We’ve argued with our brothers and sisters from day one been subjected to horrendous persecutions with more to come. Yet the Church is still here, union with Christ in the Church is still possible, obedience to the teaching of the Church still a necessity. Our task remains the same, love our enemies and each other, love God. Pray, fast, repent and give alms. Witness to the truth when God calls to that witness.

The odds of having good bishops is always small, no matter how they are selected because our falleness. That is why our allegience and faith is in Jesus Christ, not the bishops. St. John Chrysostom said at one point that the majority of believers in the Church were a millstone around her neck. Not much has changed. Saints are the exception. I’m certainly not one. Should be ask for, even demand the best from our bishops? Of course, but we can only do that if we take care of our own business first.

O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen

1. Parhriarch Ignatius gaining control over the AOCNA (looks like Met. Philip does the job for him).
2. A policy of the Greekification of the GOA
3. Patriarch Daniel of Romania is pulling the strings (also called diplomatic efforts) to gain control over Romanian Orthodoxy in America. The unofficial version of the effort is:”like it or not, all at once or piece by piece Romanians must to go under patriarch Daniel’s omoforion”.

4. Met. Kiril is doing about the same thing.

What is next? An all-Orthodox council where all the above leaders are one mind? Changing cannons and “modernizing” the Church?

The Antiochians seem to want to repeat the years of turmoil that followed the retirement of Archbishop Iakovos. Recent decisions show they have learned nothing from this time history.

Does anyone know with certainty how the Metropolitan is elected in the AOCNA? It should trouble us all if this process is not crystal clear and known to all.

The patronage culture that surrounds the Metropolitan will be very hard to overcome and the transition in leadership may be a profound period of strife in the Archdiocese. It could be a period of revolution and renewal or it could be Archbishop Spyridon Version 2.0

As I said, it is no accident that this is taking place at the outset of Lent.

Richard

As for any phyletists (read: big-money guys) and tribalist parishes, they can stay the AOCNA. I believe the majority of the Antiochian bishops and parishes would join the OCA.

I want to apologize if I was a little hot under the collar with you. You blog post is certainly not a reflection on you personally.

I have seen so much horror in the Orthodox Church that it is only by God’s grace that I have been able to endure.

Sometimes, I feel my spiritual journey to analogous to Capt Willard going up river in the movie Apocalypse Now.

Christ endures, miracles are real and in the midst of despair God’s grace fills the empty spaces. In the midst of the proverbial horror I have seen these things are true.

In the meantime, there is still the dream of one united American Orthodox Church. It is a worthy struggle for which people will have to suffer to achieve.

Until then, Lets continue out journey up the river.

the authority of diocesan bishops has been steadily chipped away at since it was established in AOCNA.

Andrew says:

I hate to say it but Metropolitan Philip talks a good talk but the silence of Englewood on this earth shaking move raises serious questions about Antioch’s commitment to American Orthodoxy.

Looks like more and more people say one thing while their actions prove the contrary. Talks about American Orthodox unity and actions to undermine it.

Andrew, I understand your despair …. Yes, looks like He who has the gold makes the rules!
This is becoming more and more obvious. We need to be fidel to the Gospel and to the teachings of the Holy Fathers and not so much preocupied by what the world calls succes.

This is the future for many churches beautiful on the outside but hollow on the inside for the Holy Spirit will not be there

Rather, what I intend to suggest is that we cannot assume that because we have come to Orthodox Christianity for reasons of faith that it’s going to be some kind of Platonic ideal which will not have to struggle with worldly concerns. I think what’s happening right now is a pretty clear demonstration that this is not the case, that the biggest donors are only going to let things go in a certain direction so far before they drop out of the game, and that from their perspective, they’re not wrong to do so. That’s known as “calling a spade a spade,” I believe, but I’m also trying to be compassionate towards those things and people I’m identifying.

By virtue of what the American system is, the so-called “marketplace of ideas”, everything by default is for sale. This is not a statement of how I think things should be, a statement of how I think Christians or the Church should act, or a statement that somehow I think all of these concerns should override the Gospel and the Saints. I think I’ve made it clear enough that I don’t think these things. However, if we as Orthodox Americans actually wish to engage the culture, we have to acknowledge that this is how the culture we’re trying to engage constructs certain things, and figure out how to evangelize within that framework. That will mean subverting the culture at some point, but before we can do that we have to know what we’re subverting.

I’ve described nothing in my blog post that I have not seen with my own eyes. I’m by no means saying I like it; rather, I’m saying, if we don’t like it, here’s how we probably have to solve it.

Richard

Your blog post is horrible. It paints a depressing portrait of the body of christ where our clergy and church are for sale.

He who has the gold makes the rules?

What about the Gospel and the Saints?

Do we want a Church that so easily manipulated by the snares of this world?

If we look at the potrait you paint all we see are empty churches that may be beautiful on the outside but are hollow on the inside.

Now more than ever we need an American Church free of foreign influence and money. A Church that is not for sale.

Mother Teresa is right its about fidelity not success!