A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 26 - Tuesday, June 29th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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A Letter from inside the Greek Gulag, Part II Dear Editor, Greetings in our Savior. Recently, I attended the Hellenic College/Holy Cross graduation ceremony where Archbishop Demetrios declared, "you are now leaving with your hands full of wealth...now share the wealth." With these paternal exhortations, my heart was fired with the Holy Spirit and filled with zeal to share the saving knowledge of Christ. This was, after all, the wealth of which he spoke, right? The wealth of Jesus Christ that has been safeguarded to the Church and is continually made manifest through her Sacraments and other Holy Traditions with steadfast regard to the prevailing cultural and linguistic environment in which the Body of Christ may find itself. However, I was soon proved wrong as I listened further. As Archbishop Demetrios continued, my heart sank, "what we have as Orthodox and Hellenes is always for distribution and not for ownership." With this phrase linking Orthodoxy and Hellenism, I once again felt the crushing reality of what it means to be a convert to Greek Orthodoxy in America. His words implied that to become a "real" Orthodox Christian requires that I lay aside my own native culture and embrace what the Archbishop has made equal to the truth of Jesus Christ. What am I to do now? After all of this time spent here on the "Holy Hill", I still consider myself an American (perhaps more so than when I arrived). I have certainly not embraced Hellenism nor have I mastered Modern Greek. Does this mean that I am now a heretic in the eyes of our hierarchs? I have not perfected Greek dancing. Can I still receive the precious Body and Blood of our Savior? Must I be able to address the audience in both English and Modern Greek like our keynote speakers at graduation? I cannot nor can I stomach that devilish Greek concoction of wine and pine resin or eat cooked squid. Because of this, will I now be cast into the Outer Darkness? When I entered this school some time ago, I would have said "no." But, in light of the comments at graduation and the prevailing ethos here at Holy Cross, I better find my dancing shoes, take some Pepto-Bismol, and find a bright flashlight very soon, because we have just entered the dark, smoky cloud where Orthodoxy and Hellenism have collided in a fiery spectacle. Unfortunately, the future of the Church and countless potential converts stand to be showered with the burning debris. Please, let me state once again that I write only out of deep concern for our Church. I love and respect every human person regardless of race, language, or ethnic affiliation. I also respect the magnificent culture of the Modern Greek state. It is without doubt a curious blend of Ancient Greek, Eastern Roman, Slavic, and Ottoman Turkish culture that in many ways parallels our own American experience. I would certainly never advocate that the Greeks abandon their unique culture in favor of mine. Moreover, I would certainly not advocate the adoption of English as the liturgical language in Athens or Thessalonica or that they learn American folk dancing. Instead, let us strive for the fulfillment of those glorious words of St. Paul in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Please pray to the Holy Trinity that we move beyond the distorted reality of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and fulfill the missions of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Nicholas of Japan, and St. Herman of Alaska here in our own backyards. Until next time,
Love in Christ |
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