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Orthodoxy and Evangelism

Posted on by Fr. Peter

I have written on this topic before, but I thought it deserved a little more attention in the light of an essay that has recently been written.

In the essay, the author writes about the loss of Metropolitan Jonah, the former head of the Orthodox Church in America.  I agree that this was a shock to American Orthodoxy, but Orthodoxy is and has to be larger than one person.  Yes, Metropolitan Jonah was a breath of fresh air.  He spoke the way bishops are supposed to speak.  He told the truth without any concern for the political fallout, and that is how bishops are supposed to speak.  But if we roll up the sidewalks, so to speak, because he is gone then we are not following the example that he set for us.  We need to learn from what he did and continue, we must continue to preach the truth in a society that is only interested in hearing what they want to hear.  We need to move past this and get back to our message, and we need to continue to work to bring America to Orthodoxy, that is the legacy of Metropolitan Jonah.  He charter the course for us and we need to continue his mission.

One of the realizations I have come to recently is, Orthodoxy is for everyone but not everyone is ready for Orthodoxy.  We are calling people to live a life that most people cannot live because society does not want them to live that way.  Our American culture calls us to a life of hedonism.  American culture calls us to live how we want to live without regard for the consequences.  Our culture tells us it is someone else’s fault, not our own and so we have a whole generation that feels they are entitled to an education, health care, employment, food, housing etc. and they do not have to work for it.  Not exactly what our country was built upon.  And thanks to the many churches that want you to feel good about yourself, we have an American theology that back all of that up!

Enter Orthodox into that picture and the culture will not only clash but smash into each other at a high rate of speed.

If you are a long time reader of these pages you know that a majority of my ministry takes place in the Social Media.  I consider myself a social media missionary or a social media evangelist, why? because that is where people are.  The fascinating thing is, some of the more difficult conversations I have had with people have been people who are Orthodox and have been Orthodox since birth.  Part of the problem American Orthodoxy has is, we have done a terrible job teaching our people what the Church believes.  That blame falls squarely on the clergy.  That’s right, we clergy are at fault!

In a recent Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio, Fr. John Parker was speaking to the assembly in the Diocese of the South of the Orthodox Church in America.  Fr. John is the chairman of the department of missions and evangelism and travels around the country speaking on these topics.  He presented a very basic strategy for evangelism, and I will summarize here.  I suggest you listen to the entire podcast.

1.  Preach Jesus Christ, not Orthodoxy.

I would suggest that we Orthodox need to evangelize ourselves before we can ever hope to evangelize anyone else.  We are more driven by large numbers of people in our Churches than we are with the quality of those people who come.  Are we challenging our people to move past what they think the Church teaches to what it actually does?  The message of Jesus is not everyone is the same, no the message of Jesus is if you want to get into heaven you will follow Him!  And his way is challenging, it’s a Cross, and it has cost people their lives for more than 2,000 years.

Archbishop Dmitri, of Blessed Memory, knew what it took to being America to Orthodoxy, and let us never forget that is what we are doing, he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It has been my experience, and I am guilty of this myself, we preach Orthodoxy when we need to be preaching Jesus Christ.  We need to accept everyone where they are, without conditions, as Jesus did.  Jesus welcomed everyone and He made them feel loved.  He instructed them that their lifestyle was not in concert with the message He was preaching, but he loved them and accepted them until they were ready to change.  He did not force them to do anything.  He presented the message, pointed out where they were off the mark, and then gave them time to see it for themselves.  This is what Archbishop Dmitri did, he just loved people!

We Orthodox get so hung up on the rules of the faith we miss the beauty of it!  We are so concerned about what we can and cannot eat that we miss the beauty of why we give those things up.  We need to talk about love, we need to preach that God loves everyone, regardless of what they have done, and we need to help them get back on the road.

I cannot say this enough, the work of the Church is healing and purification of the people.  The Church is where we come for healing of the passions so we might attain communion and unity with God.  The Church is the hospital for those who are sick with sin and the bishops and priests are the healers of the people of God.  However, people will only come to the hospital if they feel they are welcome.

Several time in the Scriptures, the Pharisees challenge the followers of Jesus because He is sitting and eating with sinners.  Jesus response is always the same, He has come to preach to those who need Him, he makes them feel welcome at His table, and we need to do the same thing.

How do we Orthodox Evangelize?  We evangelize by how we live our lives, we evangelize by loving and welcoming everyone.  I always say that the Orthodox Church is open and inclusive, this does not mean that we accept your behavior, but you are welcome to come and feel the love of Jesus.  You are welcome to come and lay your head on His chest, and you are welcome to come and transform your lives!

2.  Serve all of the Services you can as often as you can.

Orthodoxy is not an intellectual faith it is experiential.  When Jesus called His apostles He just told them to follow Him.  He did not say, “here read this book and then come to the town hall on Sunday, and I will tell you what it means.”  No, he just called them to follow him.  That is what we need to do.  Serve Vespers, Matins, and them many other services that we have in Orthodox even if a few people come.

When I came here to this Church more than eight years ago, I started serving Vespers on Saturday night.  For many nights, it was just the cantor and I, but slowly over time more and more people started to come.  Does everyone come, no, but a good number do.  I have just started to serve a weekday Liturgy at 7:00 in the morning.  I don’t get many, but I do get people to come.  Fr. John says in his talk that he has found that the people in the Church are more at peace when the services are being served, even those who are not there.  We are called to pray so lets pray!

3.  Clergy wear your cassocks!

This is an interesting one and one that has been debated amongst my fellow clergy for a long time.  Wearing that cassock is a poster board for good and for bad.  When I walk around town wearing my cassock I get some pretty strange looks.  Someone walked up to me on the street once and asked if I was a Muslim, I pointed to the BIG gold cross around my neck!  But then we had a conversation.  Did the person come to church?  No, not yet.  I have prayed with people at the supermarket and post office as well as on the street, that is Evangelism and the love of Jesus!  Do not be afraid to wear your cassock off campus, but be prepared because people will approach you.

4. Offer hospitality.

This one is not always easy.  Some of our communities have been so closed for years it is difficult to open them up.  I don’t suggest this to be critical but just to point it out.  I cannot count the number of times people have told me they do not understand why someone who is not Greek, Russian, Romanian etc. would convert to Orthodoxy.  Again we have done a poor job teaching the faith to the faithful!  When someone new comes to the Church we need to welcome them, don’t overwhelm them, but welcome them.  Show them where to sit, offer to sit with them and show them through the service.  But this requires that people come to Church on time.  New people will come to a church as early has 20 minutes before the time Church starts.  They come to get the lay of the land, and they will not, as a common rule, walk into an empty Church.  People need to be on time to Church to welcome the newcomer.

The Church needs to have a time for fellowship after the service.  This is so crucial to the development of a healthy parish.  People need time to be with each other.  Remember, we come to Church to work out our salvation, and that does not just happen in the Church during the service.  The coffee hour is as much a liturgical celebration as the Liturgy is.  Jesus always broke bread with people and had conversations with them over a meal.  We need to follow that example.

Do you have liturgy book for visitors, a weekly bulletin with information on what is going on, a monthly newsletter, if not consider starting one.  It is not expensive and is an excellent tool.

5.  Prayer!

Prayer should be number one on the list, but we need to pray.  We need people who will pray for those people that God has already called to come to our Church.  We need to pray for each other, and we need to pray for the clergy.  If we do not pray we will never make it.

The last point I will make is about your online presence.  The internet is the new phone book.  People come to the internet to find a church.  I am amazed at the number of Churches that do not have a web page or the ones that have not been updated in years.  Many visitors have come to St. Michael because they found us online.  Your Church needs a website, and the website needs to be updated.  There needs to be an email address for people to contact you, but you need to respond and respond within 24 hours of them sending the message.  Your service times need to be right up front on the first page, at the top.  Don’t make people hunt for it.  And the Church address and directions as well as a phone number.  But if someone calls and leaves a message, call them back!

The bottom line in all of this is America needs what we Orthodox have to offer.  We need to call Americans to Orthodox, the Orthodoxy that is just that orthodox.  We do not need to remake the Church to fit American culture, we need to preach the timeless message of Jesus, the message that the Orthodox Church has been preaching for 2,000 years.  Get back to basics and call the people to faith and show them the love of Jesus.  The rest will follow.

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Sermon ~ Letting Go

Posted on by Fr. Peter

The Reading is from Matthew 19:16-26

At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, “Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you call me good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

A person accidentally slipped and fell off a cliff. On the way down he grabbed hold of the branch of a tree and remained suspended there. He started praying as he had never prayed before: “Lord, save me! Lord, Lord!”

Suddenly the Lord answered, “Yes?” the man pleaded, “save me, Lord!”

“Have you attended Church?” asked the Lord.

“Yes, I did whenever I could, but I promise never to miss if you will save me.”

“Have you kept the ten commandments?”

“Yes, as much as I could. I promise to obey them to the letter if you will save me.”

“Have you said your prayers every day?”

“Yes, Lord, but just get me off the side of his cliff and I’ll be the best praying man in the world.”

“Have you given generously to the work of my Church?

“Yes, I think I have, but I’ll give even more generously in the future. Just get me off the side of this cliff.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes, Lord, of course I trust you – completely.”

“Then let go of the branch.”

How many of us would let go?

We have been talking over the last few weeks about increasing our spiritual life and the prescription, if you will, for doing just that letting go.  I like to use the image of the room where we keep all of those things that hurt us or have hurt is over the years.  We lock them up tight where no one can see them, and we don’t have to deal with them.  We walk by that room each, and every day but we keep right on walking. But are we willing to let go?

The Gospel today is one of the most misunderstood and dare I say misused Gospel passage.  This is not the Gospel of redistribution of wealth.  This is not the Gospel of Jesus hates rich people.  No this is the Gospel about letting go.  Letting go of those things that keep us from true worship that keep us from true discipleship that keeps us from truly following the Son of God!

At the start of the story, we do not know anything of this man other than he is a seeker.  He has come to hear what Jesus has to say because he is interested.  Maybe he has heard something from a friend of his that there is a new preacher in town, and you just have to hear what he is saying.  Maybe he has heard of miracles, and he wants to see one, who knows what brought him to Jesus on this day.

He asks Jesus what he has to do to enter eternal life.  Jesus asks him if he has obeyed the commandments, and the man answers “Which?”  I can just see Jesus, “Which?”  Faith is not a buffet, we have to accept and follow them all, we don’t get to pick and choose.  Then just to be sure, Jesus lists them.

Don’t Kill
Don’t commit adultery
Don’t steal
Don’t bear false witness
Honor your father and mother
Love your neighbor as yourself

The man responds, I have done all of this, what do I still lack?  In this instance, he opens himself up and asks the crucial question.  He is saying I have followed all of the rules, I follow the commandments, I fast like no one else (and I like to tell people about it) I come to church every Sunday, I cross myself right, I wear the right clothes, I make my tithe, I do all of this, what do I still lack, as if I could lack anything.  And Jesus asks him, to you trust me?

But hold on, I just checked the text that is not what he said, Jesus told the man to go and sell all he had and give it to the poor.  The man was rich, and Jesus said to sell everything, Jesus hates rich people!

For the man in the story, all of his possession were like the branch the man was holding on to who fell off the cliff.  His possessions were like those things in that room we don’t want to talk about.  His possession was like his pride that keeps us from forgiving someone who hurt us 20 years ago.  His possessions are like thinking we know better than God when we choose what things to follow, and the ones not to follow.  His possessions are what is holding him back!

Jesus knew this about the man.  He knew that this is what was holding him back.  It could have been something basic like, go and put that food in the fridge and follow me, but for this man, at this point, it was his riches.  We have to remember that Scripture was written at a particular time for a particular people.  Yes it applies to us today, but the challenge is we have to consider that meaning , and sometimes it is hidden or not as straightforward as we may like to think it is.  Jesus said to the man, “go and take care of whatever it is that is keeping you from truly following me.  Take care of that, then come and follow me.”

When the young man came to Jesus seeking answers to his questions, Jesus knew what was holding him back.  Jesus knew that the man was a slave to his possessions, and that is why He told him to go and sell all that he had, to free him from his slavery.  As Jesus watched the man walk away, he said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

What Jesus is saying here is that the man had made a god out of his possessions, and it had enslaved him, and it was going to be extraordinarily difficult to let them go.  We never hear of this man again so we have to assume that he could not do what Jesus told him.  We have to assume that he continued his life as it was before.

How many of us want what Christ has to offer us?  How many of us want that peace, assurance of eternal life, and the forgiveness that come with being a follower of Him.  How many of us want this but don’t want to let go of our false gods, our hurts, our sins, the things that keep us back.  How many of us, like the man who fell off the cliff, place conditions on our faith, Lord if you save me I will believe!

We are being asked today, “Do you trust me?”

We respond, “Yes Lord, we trust you.”

“Then let go. Let go of the demons, let go of the death that is within you.”

In prayer, our response needs to be, “Lord, I let go trusting that You will bring me back to life.”

General

25 August ~ St. Hilda, Abbess of Whitby

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Abbess of Whitby. Born in Northumbria in 614; died at Whitby in 680.
Hilda was a grandniece of King Edwin of Northumbria and daughter of Hereric. Hild is her correct name and means “battle.” Both she and her uncle were baptized by Saint Paulinus at York in 627, when she was 13.
She lived the life of a noblewoman until 20 years later she decided to join her sister Saint Hereswitha at the Chelles Monastery as a nun in France. In 649, Saint Aidan requested that she return to Northumbria as abbess of the double monastery (with both men and women, in separate quarters) in Hartlepool by the River Wear.
After some years Saint Hilda migrated as abbess to the double monastery of Whitby at Streaneshalch, which she governed for the rest of her life. Among her subject monks were Bishop Saint John of Beverly, the herdsman Caedmon (the first English religious poet), Bishop Saint Wilfrid of York, and three other bishops.
At the conference she convened in 664 at Whitby abbey to decide between Celtic and Roman ecclesiastical customs, Saint Hilda supported the Celtic party. Nevertheless, she and her communities adhered to the decision of the Council of Whitby to observe the Roman rule and customs. Her influence was certainly one of the decisive factors in securing unity in the English Church.
Hilda became known for her spiritual wisdom and her monastery for the calibre of its learning and its nuns. Saint Bede is enthusiastic in his praise of Abbess Hilda, one of the greatest Englishwomen of all time: she was the adviser of rulers as well as of ordinary folk; she insisted on the study of Holy Scripture and on proper preparation for the priesthood; the influence of her example of peace and charity extended beyond the walls of her monastery; ‘all who knew her called her Mother, such were her wonderful godliness and grace’.
Saint Hilda is represented in art holding Whitby Abbey in her hands with a crown on her head or at her feet. Sometimes she is shown (1) turning serpents into stone; (2) stopping the wild birds from ravaging corn at her command; or (3) as a soul being carried to heaven by the angels.From Here

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Let the Fire Fall

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Fr. Lawrence Farley
From www.oca.org

by Fr. Lawrence Farley

Permit me please to share with you the words of an old Pentecostal chorus: “Let the fire fall, let the fire fall, let the fire from heaven fall. We are waiting and expecting; now in faith dear Lord we call. Let the fire fall, let the fire fall. On Thy promise we depend. From the glory of Thy Presence let the Pentecostal fire descend!” It’s not the greatest of lyrics, and I am not suggesting we that should sing it as a troparion in our Orthodox worship, but it does express something profoundly Orthodox nonetheless—that spirituality is built upon experiencing the Pentecostal Spirit.

Pentecost is at the heart of our Faith, and our life as Orthodox Christians begins with experiencing the power of the Pentecostal Spirit. That is, it begins with Baptism, and as our Lord said, that Baptism is not simply a Baptism with water (as was the Baptism of Saint John the Forerunner), but also a Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Shortly before His Ascension, our Lord told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, “for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). These words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered together in one place. “Suddenly,” Saint Luke reports in Acts 2, “there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributing themselves and resting on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” It was this experience that the Forerunner predicted when he said that the Messiah would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). This fiery Baptism was not just for the disciples who sat in that upper room. It is for us as well. As Metropolitan Kallistos Ware wrote in his classic, The Orthodox Church, the Church is “a continual Pentecost.”  The Pentecostal experience which the disciples received is the same experience offered us today through Holy Baptism and Chrismation.

Our progress in faith depends upon our continually receiving the inflow of that Spirit. This is what Saint Seraphim of Sarov meant when he said that the goal of the Christian life was the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit in our baptismal initiation, but that is just the beginning. We are meant to be continually and continuously filled with the Spirit, over and over again, as we live the Christian life participating in the sacramental mysteries of the Church. This should come as no surprise to us. When we say our morning and evening prayers, we begin with the Prayer to the Holy Spirit. Part of this prayer says, “O heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life: come and abide in us…” The Spirit came once upon us at our Baptism; we pray that He may continually come and abide in us every day after. Our goal is to acquire more and more of Him, to stand in the place of prayer and penitence and expectation long enough for the fire of heaven to fall.

That is what all our fasting and prayers are about—the preparation of our hearts so that the Spirit may come and abide in us with all the fire of God’s love. That is what the Eucharist is about. Read the prayers again, and count the number of time the Holy Spirit is mentioned throughout the Liturgy. Listen to what the celebrant says when he begins the Anaphora: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!” “And the communion of the Holy Spirit”—the Greek word here for “communion” is koinonia, participation, sharing. As the lituriologist Robert Taft reminds us, the thought here is not so much of the sharinginspired by the Holy Spirit, but rather of sharing the Holy Spirit Himself—it is the Holy Spirit which we share. The priest prays for this again during the Anaphora, asking that the Eucharistic Gifts “may be to those who partake for the purification of soul, for the remission of sins, for the communion [or sharing] of the Holy Spirit.”  Through receiving the Eucharist, we partake of the Holy Spirit.

I have always been drawn to Pentecostalism. But not (I hasten to add) the Pentecostalism of which I see so much today, and which seems to consist largely of a name-it-and-claim-it health and wealth gospel, and of loud “praise bands.”  The true Pentecostalism is that which yearns for the heavenly fire, which longs for the flame of God’s Presence to burn brightly in our hearts, consuming the dross of our sins. The true Pentecostalism yearns to stand in one place until the fire falls, and then to sing, “We have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit!” The true Pentecostalism is Orthodox Christianity. Orthodoxy is not primarily and fundamentally a matter of icons, and candles, and brocade. These things are not ends in themselves, but simply means to the end, the end being “the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.”  We forget this at our peril.

The next time you say your prayers and ask the Heavenly King to “come and abide” in you, remember Pentecost. Remember what it really means to be an Orthodox Christian.

About the Author

Fr. Lawrence Farley, formerly an Anglican priest and graduate of Wycliffe College in Toronto, Canada in 1979, converted to Orthodoxy in 1985 and then studied at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.  After ordination he traveled to Surrey, B.C. to begin a new mission under the OCA, St. Herman of Alaska Church.  The Church has grown from its original twelve members, and now owns a building in Langley, B.C. The community has planted a number of daughter churches, including parishes in Victoria, Comox and Vancouver.

Fr. Lawrence is the author of many books including the Bible Study Companion Series,  Let Us Attend: A Journey through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, and A Daily Calendar of Saints. He has also written a series of Akathists published by Alexander Press, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications.

Fr. Lawrence has a podcast each weekday on Ancient Faith Radio called Coffee Cup Commentaries, and writes monthly forSounding, the blog of Orthodox Christian Network. He has given a number of parish retreats in the U.S. and Canada, as well as being a guest-lecturer yearly at Regent College in Vancouver. Father lives in Surrey with his wife Donna; he and Matushka Donna have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. He regularly updates his blog, “Straight From the Heart.”

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The Holy Altar

Posted on by Fr. Peter

There really is no more sacred place in an Orthodox Church than the Altar where the Liturgical Services are celebrated.  When a Church is built, the altar is consecrated by the bishop with holy oil and relics of the saints are placed in the center of the altar.

On the Holy table is found the book of the Gospels as well as a cross that is used for blessing the people.  At the back of the altar is the Tabernacle where the sacred body of our Lord is placed until it is needed to be brought to the sick.

The altar is so sacred that only the ordained clergy are allowed to touch it or to place or remove items from the altar.  This is not just a simple table but a very Holy and Sacred table.

At the Orthodox Cathedral of St. John in Eagle River Alaska the Holy Altar was set on fire recently.  This is a horrible act of vandalism that I am having a difficult time trying to grasp.  Perhaps it is related in some way to the sentence of the Punk Rock group in Russia or perhaps it is just another indication of the growing hatred toward traditional believing Christians.

Looking at the picture, posted at the top of the essay, it is clear that the person who did this knew exactly what they were doing.  Upon close examination it is clear that the Icons that adorn the Holy Gospel Book have been gouged out and the glass top has been broken.  An interesting item to notice is the red communion cloth is still intact with the outline of the blessing cross on it.

I pray for the person or persons who did this despicable act of hate and I pray for the community in Eagle River, Alaska that will have to deal with this hatred in their community.  My soul is greatly disturbed by this senseless action.

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Resources for those Interested in Orthodoxy

Posted on by Fr. Peter

I am always on the hunt for resources to help people get a better understanding of the Orthodox faith.  However, I am always a little skiddish in suggesting resources as Orthodoxy is not an intellectual faith but a experiential faith.  The only true way to understand the Orthodox faith is to experience it.  Come and see us and you will understand us.

At the end of June a new podcast premiered on Ancient Faith Radio.  Approaching the Wardrobe is a podcast with the purpose of introducing the inquirer to Orthodoxy and introducing the Orthodox to those who are in search of the Church.  Jeff Wisniewski is the host and a convert to Orthodoxy and shares from his own experience and his own journey home.

I have listened to the first two episodes and so far I am impressed.  If you have a chance give it a listen.

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Orthodox English Translation

Posted on by Fr. Peter

When St. Herman and the other monks from the Valaam Monastery brought the Orthodox Faith to North America they brought that faith in the Russian language.  They soon translated the Divine Liturgy into the language of the local people in Alaska to make it easier for them to understand.

In the early days of the Orthodox Church here in North America, there were very few text, if any, available in the English language.  It was impossible for people, who only spoke or understand English to find any books or even attend a Divine Liturgy.  Up until about 20 years ago that was still the case.  Today, however, thanks to the efforts of many people English speakers have a abundance of volumes available to them.

One of those early translators was Isabel Florence Hapgood.  Isabel was born in Boston in 1851 and studied Germanic and Slavic languages specializing in Orthodox liturgical texts.  Isabel was educated at the Oread Collegiate Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States.  Another famous graduate of this school was Laura Spellman, future wife of John D Rockefeller.  In 1865, she transferred to Miss Porter’s Finishing School in nearby Farmington, Connecticut.

Due to the knowledge of Russian and other Slavic languages she was involved in the dialogue between Eastern and Western Christians.  Isabel traveled extensively through Russia from 1887 until 1889.  She stayed for a time with Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy.  She was in Moscow when the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917 but was able to return to the United States.

During her time in Russia, she discovered Russian choral singing and developed a fondness for it.  She felt a desire to make these texts available to the English speaking world.  In 1906, the first edition of The Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic (Greco-Russian) Church appeared.  She was given a complete collection of Russian Liturgical books in Church Slavonic by Archbishop Nicholas of Alaska and Archbishop Tikhon provide personal advice on the translation.

A second edition was found to be necessary due to the practical use of the first edition.  The Romanian Archdiocese, of which I belong, has recently completed a multi year translation and preparation of the Romanian/English Liturgy book for use in our parishes in North America.  Part of that process is to use the book to see if the language works.  One does not simply translate the Liturgy from one language to another a sense of poetry has to be used.  Keeping in mind that the Liturgy is sung, it is essential that the words are able to be sung.  It is no surprise that a second edition was needed.

Isabel sight the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon on the second edition her translation and that was granted on November 3, 1921.  She considered the preparation of this work to be a gift of love, and for her many years of work, she received a $500 honorarium.

One of the interesting aspects of this story is that Isabel Hapgood never became Orthodox.  She spent years working on the text that has become one of the mainstays of English Language Orthodox Service Books, and she never converted.  I find this a fascinating aspect of her life.

Isabel passed from this life on June 26, 1928 and is buried in the family plot at the Rural Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.  The photo used with this essay is of the family plot.

My friend, and fellow blogger, Fr. Greg and I paid a visit to the Rural Cematery to visit the grave.  Fr. Greg has been there before and has blogged about it here.  We noticed that the grave stone is weather worn, as most sandstone markers are of that age.  I remarked that I think the Orthodox here owe it to her memory to see about restoring her stone and to remember her in some way.  As we were walking around we came across the Ellen Rogers Kennedy Memorial Chapel and we were honored with being able to view this chapel.  It is a replica of an old English Chapel, and we both thought that maybe next year on the Anniversary of her death we would hold a liturgy in that Chapel using her translation.  Either way, I do believe that we have some responsibility in caring for this grave.

The sad part of this story is that Isabel and her contribution to American Orthodoxy have all but vanished from the history of the American Church.  She gets a footnote in some books and essays written, and in some circles, she is scorned and called Halfgood because they disdain her translation.  However, we must never forget that at a time when little or nothing was written in English about Orthodoxy, it took the efforts of a non-Orthodox to translate the liturgy into English.  In my mind, Orthodoxy in the English speaking world owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Isabel Florence Hapgood.

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Theotokos our Mother and our Model

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Theotokos of Great Grace

As an Orthodox Christian, I have a deep devotion to the Mother of God.  The Theotokos takes a prominent place in our Churches and also in our spiritual life.  However, she is not more important than her Son.  In Orthodox Iconography, the Theotokos is never depicted by herself.  She is always depicted with her Son, and she is always pointing towards Him as he is the way, the only way, for our salvation.  Because of her sincere answer to the Angel Gabriel she not only became our Mother but our model of how to live this Christian life.

In the opening verses of the Gospel of St. Luke we are introduced to a young girl whose life was about to change.  Visited by the Angel Gabriel Mary was asked to give birth to an extraordinarily unique child.  Still a child herself, by modern standards, Mary said yes and became the Theotokos, the Birth-giver of God.

There is much we can learn from the Holy Theotokos if we just reflect on her life.  She asks a sincere question when the Angel comes to visit her, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  The Angel answers her with the words, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you…”  To that Mary responds, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word.”  This unassuming young woman said yes, and that yes would change the world.

Mary’s response, from a position of faith, is the highest obedience to God.  The Incarnation of Jesus was made possible by the free response of all of humanity in the person of Mary.  The first woman, Eve, disobeyed God and now Mary obeys His will in her life.  As Eve closed herself off from the love of God, Mary opens herself by her faithful response and we need to do the same.

The third Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus in 431 affirmed the title of Theotokos.  The Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, advocated the term Christotokos, or Birth-giver of Christ as he believed that Mary only gave birth to the humanity of Christ and not His divinity.  St. Cyril of Alexandria opposed this view because to him, and others, it was unacceptable to separate the two natures of Christ.  The council affirmed the title of Theotokos and the theory of Nestorius was proclaimed a heresy.

The simple answer of Mary to the Angel is the natural answer that we need to make to God each and every day.  We need to say, as she did, “let it be done to me according to your word.”  We need to walk in the light of God, and we can only do that if we are submitting to and being obedient to His will for us.

Her yes was a leap of faith for she had no idea what was to come next or even her family would believe her.  She answered yes, with a sincere faith and trust that she knew that God would take care of her.

It is the same with us.  We need to answer yes to God with a simple faith, the faith of a child, that trusts God enough, and we put our whole life in His service and walk in His will.  This is not easy to do, and we have the Theotokos as a model.  With an enormous amount of faith and trust, she said yes.

The Theotokos brought the Son of God into the world in a real concrete way we in turn need to bring Christ to the world by the way we live.  I have mentioned before that being Orthodox is not easy, and it is not just another denomination or a belief.  Orthodoxy needs to be our life and it needs to form and transform that life just as the yes of the Theotokos formed and transformed her life.

At the Crucifixion Jesus gave care of his mother to the Apostle that he loved, St. John.  Scripture tells us that St. John took her into his home and cared for her for the rest of her life.  Tradition tells us she was with the Apostles and others on the Day of Pentecost and was an inspiration to them in their ministry.  The Church commemorates her death on August 15th a one of the major feast days of the Church, and all of the Apostles were present, with the exception of St. Thomas at her repose.

The Theotokos is an example to us of a sincere and genuine belief, a faith that gave her the ability to say yes when asked to do an extraordinary thing.  She can be our guide on our spiritual journey if we seek her guidance.  Take time to mediate on her life and on her yes.

The Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

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Acts of God

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Over the weekend it was announced that the extremely large Ponderosa fire, presently burning in California, was coming very close to the Monastery of St. John of San Francisco in Manton.  Along with that news came the revelation of some shenanigans going on at that same monastery in an incendiary email posted by my friend George at his website.  After reading all of the comments, 54 at the time of this writing, I left the following comment (presently awaiting moderation):

I maybe way off base here but all of this “God caused the fire” stuff sounds a lot like Pat Robertson’s assertion that God caused the Hurricane that hit New Orleans years ago. I’m sorry but my Orthodox theology does not teach any of this. Yes God is calling his children to repentance, He has been doing that since Christ was Crucified. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of us and it shows us just how much God loves each and every one of us.

If you follow that logic through, and someone has pointed this out already, and the monastery is spared then you have no other conclusion then to say that God approves of everything going on there because he spared the monastery. Sometimes things just happen! Is it random, yes. Is God calling us to repentance, yes. All we can do is monitor our own sins and take care of that. Get your life right with God.

If these allegations are true then they need to be brought to light and I thank the man who had the courage to write the email and I thank George or publishing it. These are the types of things that the faithful need to know about.

This is also an example of why we need a faithful hierarchy and true and authentic monasticism! But we cannot have either if we do not have true and faithful parishes. The Church begins and ends with the local parish. If the local parish is not healthy the Church will not be healthy. If the priest is preaching heresy then the Church will be filled with heretics. We need to get back to the basics of our Orthodox faith. We need to call everyone to true repentance. When is the last time your priest preached about confession? How many priests hold regular confession times or is it by appointment! PLEASE!

Confession is a fundamental aspect of our spiritual life, meeting with a spiritual father on a regular basis is a fundamental aspect of our spiritual life, not festivals and dancing ad language classes, that is all nonsense! We are where we are because we have allowed it to get there. We allow bishops to send to the old country for priests, why because we do not promote vocations in our Churches. We do not pay our priests a living wage and so they are forced to take on other occupations just to survive, and we treat them like crap!

We all, and I include myself in this as well, need to take a long hard look at ourselves and our interior life. When was the last time we have been to confession, really gone to confession and not some quicky before Liturgy on Sunday morning? I will confess it has been a little more time than I like and that is my issue. But we need to call all of us back to repentance and reconciliation. We need to pray for our Bishops, priests, deacons, monks, and nuns everyday! We need to pray for each other! We need to ask for the intercession of St. John of Shanghai for the American Church. We need to stop all of this jurisdictional nonsense and get to what the Church is really about, loving God and loving our neighbor that is what is important. We involve ourselves in way too many earthly cares and we should, like we pray at the Liturgy, lay aside all the earthly cares of life.

Sorry to ramble and vent but this has disturbed me. We are trying to found an authentic monastic work here in New England and we struggle each day to try and make this happen. Each time another thing like this comes to light it damages the Church and monasticism. Please pray for me and for our work here in New England. Hey, we are looking for a few good men! 😉

God bless all of you, and may St. John of Shanghai pray for us!

A funny thought I had, that I did not add to this comment, is that God’s aim would be better I would think.  If he wanted to get our attention I think He would have struck the monastery and contained there fire there, why get others involved?

My point is this, why do we think that God only speaks to us in a natural disaster?  Yes, God is calling all of His people to repentance and reconciliation that is the message of the Gospel, but God loves us, He sent His son to prove how much He loves us, and He is not bent on destroying us.

Why is it that we cannot see God speaking through say a sunrise or a sunset for that matter, or through the words of a stranger who says something nice to you just when you need it?  Why can we not see God speaking to us through the Divine Liturgy when we offer the sacrifice for all of us, and why can we not see, and hear, God speaking to us in His Holy Scriptures?  And the ultimate, for me anyway, we can we not see God speaking to us in the smile of a child?

God is constantly speaking to us we just need to listen?

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