Ronnie Lee Gardner

Posted on by Fr. Peter
You may not have heard of this man before reading this post, neither did I until he made the news recently. He is scheduled to be executed by firing squad in Utah at 2:00am on June 18th. I did not even know that this was possible in the US anymore. Another surprising thing is he chose this form of execution as is the case in Utah. Oklahoma is the only other state that executes by firing squad.

As an Orthodox Christian I find the death penalty an abomination. A civilized nation does not need to execute people anymore. We have the ability to keep people incarcerated for life and regardless of what people think,the death penalty is not a deterrent for killing. I cannot imagine someone about to kill someone stopping and saying, oh wait, I might get the death penalty. All of us were created in the image and likeness of God and have the divine spark that goes along with our creation. We do not have the right to end a life at any stage of its development. From conception to it NATURAL end we say.

I also cannot believe it is a very full proof way of executing someone. What if they all miss? I read somewhere that they only get one shot, no pun intended, at you. If they fail your done, back to your cell for the rest of your life.

The Supreme Court of the USA has denied his stay so he will face the squad at 2am. He is a convicted murderer and needs to pay for his crime. Killing him is another crime. Pray for him, for the his family, for the family of his victim and pray for those who will carry out the order to murder him on our behalf.

Justice yes, vengeance no.

Small Town Politics

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I do not often make comments on this blog about the political happenings in the Village but I fell compelled to speak up about this one.

Earlier this year the Superintendent of School announced she was going to retire at the end of the school year. The end is in sight and the search is on. The School Committee formed a search committee made up of school committee members, parents, etc. They were charged to bring four names back to the School Committee for consideration. After the “nation wide search” they returned three names of qualified people to serve the school system.

Soouthbridge does not have the best of school systems and Dr. Hanley has done a wonderful job trying to put things back on track. It would appear the more high school students attend high school at either the local vocational school or one of the other districts in the area. Two weeks ago the high school graduated 69 kids. The population of this town hovers around 17,000. I have seen stats that say when the graduating class began 9th grade there were more than 120 in the class. It has been said that some dropped out, and other moved on. 69 graduated. We are in the process of building a new school and maybe that will help maybe it wont we can only wait and see.

I serve on the School Committee of the regional vocational school. Southbridge has the largest portion of the student population somewhere around 300 in the 9th – 12th grade. There are 10 towns involved and the budget is pretty high with no frills mind you just good old education and a lot of hard work by the administration and faculty. The rooms are over crowded and the like the most of the kids graduating will go on to college. In fact one of them was appointed to a maritime academy in New York.

Okay, back to Southbridge. The School Committee was nit happy with the names submitted so they added a fourth name. The present principal of the high school. I know this man, and he is a supporter of some of the things we do here at the church but two years ago he was the band instructor at the high school and now he is under consideration to be superintendent. He is the odds on favorite to be named, and the thing that makes me mad is that the School Committee is not even making a secret of the fact that he is their choice.

He applied and was not considered by the search committee so there has to be something there. The other three have pretty good credentials. One is a superintendent is a large school system in New York, one is an assistant Superintendent here in Massachusetts and one is the principal of a large regional school and has been so for a long time.

This past Saturday interviews were held with all four candidates. I was not there but I know of several people who were. They all said that all of the candidates did well but the golden child was not stellar. He had no concept of the budget process or what he would do in the future. In fact one report was that he would stay the course. Not good if you ask me. After the meeting this candidate was seen out and about the town with several members of the School Committee and it is well know that he is friends with several of them as well.

Qualifications of the candidates here.

I am all for promoting from within but only if the person in qualified. This should be about more than rewarding a friend or giving the job to a guy that will do what the school committee wants him to do. If they want to run the school then they should have applied for the job! As a member of a school committee I have complete confidence in the job that the administration of the school is doing. Do I question them, yes, do I tell them how to do their job, no. If I did not have confidence in the job they are doing, I would seek to replace them.

June 29th is the Town Election and there are several write in candidates and June 30th is the meeting of the School Committee to make a decision. If you live in this town, and care about it, let them know how you feel. The old boy network needs to end, and it needs to end soon. Make your voice heard at the ballot box and at the meeting.

17 June ~ St. Etheldreda

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Abbess of Ely (679)

Queen of Northumbria; born (probably) about 630; died at Ely, 23 June, 679. While still very young she was given in marriage by her father, Anna, King of East Anglia, to a certain Tonbert, a subordinate prince, from whom she received as morning gift a tract of land locally known as the Isle of Ely.

St. Wilfrid was her friend and spiritual guide, but it was to him that Egfrid, on succeeding his father, appealed for the enforcement of his marital rights as against Etheldreda’s religious vocation. The bishop succeeded at first in persuading Egfrid to consent that Etheldreda should live for some time in peace as a sister of the Coldingham nunnery, founded by her aunt, St. Ebba, in what is now Berwickshire. But at last the imminent danger of being forcibly carried off by the king drove her to wander southwards, with only two women in attendance. They made their way to Etheldreda’s own estate of Ely, not, tradition said, without the interposition of miracles, and, on a spot hemmed in by morasses and the waters of the Ouse, the foundation of Ely Minster was begun. This region was Etheldreda’s native home, and her royal East Anglian relatives gave her the material means necessary for the execution of her holy design.

St. Wilfrid had not yet returned from Rome, where he had obtained extraordinary privileges for her foundation from Benedict II, when she died of a plague which she herself, it is said, had circumstantially foretold. Her body was, throughout many succeeding centuries, an object of devout veneration in the church which grew up on her foundation. One hand of the saint is now venerated in the church of St. Etheldreda, Ely Place, London.

From here

17 June ~ St. Botolph

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Abbot of Icanho (in East Anglia) (680)

‘Saint Botolph was born in Britain about the year 610 and in his youth became a monk in Gaul. The sisters of Ethelmund, King of East Anglia, who were also sent to Gaul to learn the monastic discipline, met Saint Botolph, and learning of his intention to return to Britain, bade their brother the King grant him land on which to found a monastery…

Hearing the King’s offer, Saint Botolph asked for land not already in any man’s possession, not wishing that his gain should come through another’s loss, and chose a certain desolate place called Ikanhoe. At his coming, the demons inhabiting Ikanhoe rose up against him with tumult, threats, and horrible apparitions, but the Saint drove them away with the sign of the Cross and his prayer. Through his monastery he established in England the rule of monastic life that he had learned in Gaul. He worked signs and wonders, had the gift of prophecy, and “was distinguished for his sweetness of disposition and affability.” In the last years of his life he bore a certain painful sickness with great patience, giving thanks like Job and continuing to instruct his spiritual children in the rules of the monastic life. He fell asleep in peace about the year 680. His relics were later found incorrupt, and giving off a sweet fragrance. The place where he founded his monastery came to be called “Botolphson” (from either “Botolph’s stone” or “Botolph’s town”) which was later contracted to ” Boston.”‘ (Great Horologion)

From here

17 Sunday ~ St. Alban

Posted on by Fr. Peter
First Martyr of Britain in Verulamium (c. 209)

He was a soldier in the Roman army and, according to the venerable Bede, was brought to faith in Christ by a fugitive priest to whom he gave shelter. The saint exchanged clothes with the priest, allowing him to escape and ensuring his own martyrdom. Some writers, including St Bede, place his martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian (286-303)

Saint Alban’s tomb was venerated as early as 429 by St Germanus of Auxerre. The town of Verulamium is either his home town or the place of his martyrdom; near it a monastery was founded, around which grew the English town of St. Albans.

From here

English Liturgy

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Recently, The Roman Church approved a new translation of the Mass in English. It has taken years to get into publication and it will be another year or so I believe before it is in actual use in the local parish. One of the changes will be the phrase, “and also with you.” This will be changed to “and with your spirit.” I understand this is more in line with the original Latin.

So this brings up the question of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom that we use in the Orthodox Church. In North America, we do not have a single translation of this Liturgy. Some churches use the old English with the thees and thous and some use a more modern English. one of the things I hope comes from this new Episcopal Assembly is indeed a single English version of the Liturgy. But that is not the reason for this post.

Like many of you, I have been to and served many Liturgies in many different churches over the last 6 years of my priesthood. one of the things that irks me more than anything else is liturgical abuse! The most common abuse is cutting things out of the Liturgy itself. Now I am no liturgical theologian but my guess is the creator of the Liturgy wanted certain things done.

As an example, after the sermon, which belongs after the Gospel by the way, there is what is known as the Litany of Fervent Supplication and then three prayers of the faithful. I have been to many parishes where these are removed from the Liturgy all together. In fact, the version of the Liturgy one could purchase from the Holy Cross Press does not even include these litanies. I believe this to be wrong and would call this a liturgical abuse.

One of the come answers to the question of why these are removed is for time. We do not want to keep them too long so we remove certain things. Well let’s remove communion that would really speed things up! Liturgy is timeless and it should not matter how long it takes. It seems to me that if people cannot give up an hour and half, that is how long my average Liturgy is, once a week then we have bigger problems.

I have also been to come churches where the choir or the chanter drone on and one, maybe we need to look at the music to see if we really need to make 5 minutes to sing an amen! Yes I have timed it!

The Liturgy of the Orthodox Church is beautiful and should be said with reverence and dignity. All parts of this should be included, yes including the Catechumens that I know most priests skip. Liturgy is important and needs to be served correctly.

Herb Garden

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I have been planning now for several months to put in several raised beds for veggies and what not here. I have yet to do this although I am getting very close. Perhpas this weekend I will get them built.

However, I have started the herb garden on the stairs near the house. It is very small this year and perhaps it will grow larger as the years go on. Today I planted the following:

Basil
Dill
Chives
Parsley

Maybe I will plant more latter on. I also bought 6 pepper plants, Green Bell Pepper Plants and I have 6 tomato plants to put in as well.

Do This in Remebrance of Me

Posted on by Fr. Peter
This is the text of my sermon for the 3rd Sunday After Petecost. I had intended to record it but I forgot to press record. So here you go.

Last week we spoke about what church means from the point of view of the individual, you, me, all of us. What makes us Orthodox and how to we stay that way. If you remember I read from the Statutes about the definition of what it means to belong to the Orthodox Church.

1. Fulfill your financial obligation
2. adhere to and live your life in accordance of the faith of the OC
3. faithfully attend the Divine Services
4. partake regularly in the mysteries of the church to include confession and communion
5. be obedient in matters of faith
6. be an effective witness and example of the Orthodox faith and traditions to all people.

That’s how we practice our faith on the personal level but Orthodoxy is not a personal private faith, Orthodoxy is a faith that is lived in the open. We do not have private masses or private church functions, we are open and inviting.

Our worship is corporate, in other words we do it together. When we come to the Liturgy, any Liturgy, we are not there for ourselves we are here for each other. This is not a time for personal prayer it is a time when all of us, the church, prays together. We do not sit alone in the corner, or the back of the church as the case may be, and pray alone and for our own intentions, no we pray for all.

We pray for:
1. Peace for ourselves
2. salvation of our souls
3. peace in the world
4. for our church, and those who are here
5. for our bishops
6. the country
7. for our town
8. favorable weather, and abundance of God’s gifts for us
9. those who travel
10. deliverance from all danger

Except for the first prayer, none of the rest are just for us, we pray for everyone, literally everyone, Orthodox and non Orthodox.

The very word church means a gathering, and assembly. To the early Christians this meant a gathering to realize and to reveal the Church. We take that one step further we this is a Eucharistic gathering, a place where we break bread together as community. Not as individuals, but we do this communally. No one of us can celebrate the Eucharist alone, I cannot celebrate the Eucharist alone, and neither can you. We do it together, it is not my Liturgy but ours communally and in community. Notice the words union and unity in there.

In the opening lines of the Divine Liturgy we say, In Peace, Let us pray to the Lord. We need to be at peace with one another and ourselves before we can be an effective witness for Jesus Christ in the world.

Scripture tell us, if we bring our sacrifice to the altar, and we have something against our brother, go and reconcile yourself with your brother before you bring your sacrifice. We need to be at peace with each other because all of us, worshipping together in one voice and one mind, make the building the church.

The Eucharist should not be seen as an individual responsibility but as the sacrament of the assembly and therefore the Sacrament of the Church. All of us are con celebrants of the Eucharist, not me alone standing here saying the words, but all of us standing in the presence of God praying the words together, that is why you have the liturgy book so you can pray along with me the words of the Liturgy. We are not merely an audience but all of us are in fact the actors of the Divine Play taking place before us and we all have our part to play.

The very word, amen, that we say at the end of all of the prayers, seals the pray and you give your assent to the prayer with your amen. Your amen to the end of the priestly prayer binds us together in the act of worship. The prayers of the Liturgy, with the exception of the lone prayer the priest prays for himself, are prayed for all of us on behalf of the entire church gathered around the world. We are but a small part of a very large gathering.

All of there prayers have as their content, our praise, our repentance, our thanksgiving, our communion, “unite all of us to one another who became partakers… in the communion of the Holy Spirit” as the liturgy tell us.

We do not come as individuals to the Church, the miracle of the church assembly lies in that it is not the “sum” of the sinful and unworthy people who comprise it, but it is the very body of Christ. When we gather we no longer gather for ourselves but we all make up a part of the very body of Christ, it is a mystical experience. We sit in a temple not just another building. At the consecration of this church, the entire building was consecrated with the holy oil, not just the altar, but the walls and the floor, all of it, we sit in the presence of the Holy One, we are not just in some auditorium preparing to see a play, we sit in the very presence of the Living God, the creator of all, our Creator and sustainer of our very lives. We defain the Holy when we enter for other reasons other than to worship together!

We are the Church, we make it up, Christ abides in His members and the Church does not exist outside or above us, but we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Christianity consists not in the bestowing on each the possibility of “personal perfection” but first of all in the calling and commanding Christians to be the Church – “a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen race (1 Peter 2:9) – to manifest and confess the presence of Christ and His kingdom to the World. The holiness of the church is not our holiness, but Christ’s, who loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify her… that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:25-27).

The Eucharist then is not one of the 7 sacraments of the church, or one of the services of the church, but the very manifestation and fulfillment of the Church in all her power, sanctity and fullness. Only by taking part in it can we increase in holiness and fulfill all that we have been commanded to do. The Church, when gathered in the Eucharist, even when it is limited to two or three, is the image and realization of the body of Christ, and only those gathered will be able to partake because they manifest him by their very presence in the community.

Your presence in the community manifests Christ as we gather in his name and for worship of him. We fulfill his command to take and eat, take and drink and by this action we become partakers of the one body and blood of Christ and take him into our lives and bring him out into the world.

We are not the audience but the actors. It is time to do and not just be!

Orthodox-Catholic Consultation Examines Steps to Unity

Posted on by Fr. Peter
NEW YORK CITY – The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation continued work on a new agreed statement during its meeting at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, June 1-3. The meeting was co-chaired by Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh and Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans.

The title of the draft statement is “Steps Towards a United Church: A Sketch of an Orthodox-Catholic Vision for the Future.” The document briefly outlines the history of divergences between Catholics and Orthodox, especially with regard to the role of the Bishop of Rome in the Church. It also outlines all that the two churches share and notes that overcoming differences has become a matter of urgency. The text also reflects on what a reunited Catholic and Orthodox Church might look like, the ecclesial structures needed to facilitate such unity, and the questions that remain to be answered if such a reconciliation is to take place. Work on this text will continue at the next meeting.

Members also continued their study of primacies and conciliarity in the Church with emphasis on the theological significance of the Orthodox autocephalous churches. Dr. Robert Haddad, Sophia Smith Professor Emeritus of History at Smith College in Northampton, MA, presented a study entitled, “Constantinople Over Antioch, 1516-1724: Patriarchal Politics in the Ottoman Era.” Father John Erickson, former Dean and Professor of Canon Law and church history at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, presented a paper, “The Autocephalous Church.” A Catholic reaction to these two studies was provided by Father Joseph Komonchak, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Participants also considered recent events in the lives of the two churches with particular emphasis on the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America that had taken place in New York, May 26-27. Given that the new Assembly of Bishops will replace the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), it is anticipated that the new Assembly will become the official Orthodox sponsor of the North American Consultation.

In addition to the co-chairs, the Consultation includes Orthodox representatives Father Thomas FitzGerald (Secretary), Dean, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA; Father Nicholas Apostola, Pastor, St. Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury, MA; Father John Erickson, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Ph.D., Willard Prescott and Annie McClelland Smith Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; Father James Dutko, pastor of St. Michael’s Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Binghamton, NY; Paul Meyendorff, Ph.D., Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY; Father Alexander Golitzin, Professor of Theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee; Robert Haddad, Ph.D., Father Robert Stephanopoulos, Pastor Emeritus of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New York; Father Theodore Pulcini, Associate Professor of Religion at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Father Mark Arey, Director of Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Faith and Ecumenical Relations , Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, (staff).

Additional Catholic members are Jesuit Father Brian Daley (Secretary), Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana; Thomas Bird, Ph.D., associate professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY; Sylvain Destrempes, Ph.D., faculty of the Grand Seminaire in Montreal; Father Peter Galadza, Kule Family Professor of Liturgy at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Ottawa; Chorbishop John D Faris, Pastor of St. Louis Gonzaga Maronite Church, Utica, New York; Father John Galvin, Professor of Systematic Theology, The Catholic University of America, Washington; Father Sidney Griffith, Professor in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, Catholic University; Father Joseph Komonchak, Monsignor Paul McPartlan, Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism at Catholic University; Father David Petras, Spiritual Director and Professor of Liturgy at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Pittsburgh; Sister of Charity of Leavenworth Susan K. Wood, Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology at Marquette; Vito Nicastro, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Archdiocese of Boston; and Paulist Father Ronald Roberson, Associate Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, (staff).

Since its establishment in 1965, the North American Consultation has now issued 23 agreed statements on various topics. All these texts are now available on the SCOBA Website at http://www.scoba.us/resources/orthodox-catholic.html
and the USCCB Website at http://www.usccb.org/seia/orthodox_index.shtml

Mosque at Ground Zero

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Recently it was announced that a group of Muslims wishes to build a Mosque at Ground Zero. I think this is a a bad idea not simply because it is a Mosque but because I do not think we need a church of any kind there at all.

My question however is this, if the Orthodox Church, or Catholic Church or any other Christian Church asked to build a house of worship on the site would there be the same amount of outcry? I understand that Americans to not trust Muslims and we think they are all terrorists. I will also admit that Muslims also do not help themselves by not speaking out and decrying the terrorists when they do their thing. I will also remind you that there have been countless Christians who have done similar things in the past, one think of the guy who blew up the building in Oklahoma City.

I always like to see if we can get to the root of the problem, so I ask again, is it that we do not want to see a church there or we do not want to see a Mosque there? In America we have the freedom to worship as we see fit, to include not worshipping at all. I understand the symbolism of having a Mosque at that site of all sites, but why to we object? What is the reason for our objection? If it is because of hate, that is wrong and the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to love our neighbor.

I think I could buy the symbolism as a reason to not want the Mosque there, but I would rather we just say we do not want any sort of House of Worship on the site and be done with it.

What are your thoughts?

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