A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 31 - Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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“Celebrating the Orthodox Faith”: A Pan-Orthodox Success! “Celebrating the Orthodox Faith” launched off the first annual pan-Orthodox conference in the greater Bridgeport area. The conference took place on Saturday June 12th, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. We were blessed with extremely learned and well-known speakers for the conference, such as Father Nick Apostola of St. Nicholas Church and Holy Cross Seminary and Father John Behr of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Other speakers included Father Noah Bushelli, a recent graduate of St. Vladimir’s Seminary and recently assigned as pastor of St. Nicholas Antiochian Church in Bridgeport, CT, and Father Vladimir Aleandro and Father Deacon John Zarras of Christ the Savior Mission Church in Woodbury, Connecticut. Father Noah gave an excellent presentation on “The Church as Spiritual Hospital,” in which he referred to the writings and works of St. John Chrysostom as a guide for turning to the Church in time of spiritual sickness and need. He was followed by Father Nick’s candid talk on what Parish Councils need to do to bridge the administrative and spiritual bodies of the Church. One solution he offered is that people need to attend Parish Council meetings and General assembly meetings in the same frame of mind in which they attend the Liturgy. Unfortunately, Father Nick pointed out that we are far from doing so in many parishes -- and that needs to change in order for them to serve their purpose as a holy institution. After lunch, Father Vladimir and Father Dn. John gave an excellent presentation entitled, “The Vision of Mission.” In this talk, Father Vladimir and Father Dn. John suggested the ways that we can all be missionaries in both exemplary and active ways. To end this magnificent and spiritually uplifting day, Father John Behr gave a remarkable speech on “Challenging the Past.” In this talk, Father John, a resident Scholar at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, NY and well-published author, captivated us with his uncanny ability to make us look past all of the unimportant and superficial struggles we engage in on a day-to-day basis and to concentrate on that which is important and that which will help us to focus our lives, Father John elaborated on how the world, and our culture in particular, is currently so obsessed with our own pasts and the current fad of the question of identity, when the real question we should be asking ourselves is how we see ourselves in relation to Jesus Christ. He says that our past is important to us as Orthodox Christians not to figure out who we are, but only to carry on the dynamic and living tradition of concerning ourselves with Jesus’ identity and our relationship to him. Following the presentations, the audience engaged in questions and answers for all of the presenters. There was talk for a few weeks afterward about the success of the conference, and I know that I myself, along with others I had spoken to were, for lack of better words, on a spiritual “high” for a few days following the conference. It was incredible to see all of these people and area clergy (about 150 people throughout the day) come together to eagerly learn about the faith. As a college professor, I am invited to present at many conferences yearly, nationwide and occasionally overseas. One night, while sitting at my computer after having just returned home from presenting a paper at a literary conference in New York City, I thought to myself, it’s a shame that we never have Orthodox conferences in this area, one where laity and clergy are all invited to attend. The next day, I called Father Demetrios Recachinas, Pastor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and asked him if we could organize a Pan-Orthodox conference at his church. Because of his dedication and never-ending energy, he naturally said yes and offered to help co-chair the event. I called Father John Behr and he accepted the invitation to be the keynote speaker for the event. I then called other clergy who so willingly offered to give spiritual advice and presentations at the conference. All of the clergy offered their services free of charge so that we could charge a minimal entrance fee of five dollars to cover expenses. At this moment, I felt extremely lucky to be an Orthodox Christian, not only because of the incredible generosity and dedication of the clergy I worked with during this conference. I believe these men spend just about every free moment they have on helping as many people as they can. I also felt extremely honored to be part of such a dedicated laity who voluntarily attended the conference in the name of the Orthodox faith. As Nick Cook, one of the parishioners from my church said to me the next day, “Why did we wait so long to do something like this? We have such a gem here and we need to hear about it and get it out there.” I agree with his words one hundred percent. As Orthodox Christians, we need not necessarily eliminate our cultural identity, but we certainly need to look beyond it as our defining force. As Father John Behr has said, it is not “Who am I?” that we should be asking ourselves because this limits our view and traps us within ourselves, emotionally, physiologically, and most importantly, spiritually. But rather, we should be asking ourselves the question that Jesus asked His apostles which was, “Who do you say that I am?” And if we keep focused on this question, everything else falls into place. Identity becomes much easier when we put it where it belongs: in God’s hands. At next year’s conference, we will designate some time to workshops on “Marriage and Family,” “Raising Children Orthodox,” “Orthodox Hymnology,” and Concerns for Orthodox Teens in Today’s World,” where laity can pick their topic of choice and engage in interactive and smaller group discussion with clergy on important issues interweaving the faith with our everyday lives. As Co-Chair of the Pan-Orthodox Conference Committee, I would like to first and foremost give thanks to God for blessing this conference and making it possible. Next, I would like to thank my husband for once again being unselfish while I ventured on another project. I would like to give thanks to the clergy who presented and attended, all of the laity who attended and special thanks to Father Recachinas, co-chair of the committee for all of his hard work and time, the Pan Orthodox Conference Committee members who worked so hard, Dr. Chris Savides, Eva Vaniotis, George C. Fatsi, and Peter Nictas (our sound man). Thanks to the Pan-Orthodox Choir who sang so beautifully at Matins and later at the conference, organized by Elizabeth Thompson and directed by Michael Hritz. Thanks to Jamie Todeasa, the cameraman, the Women’s Council of Greater Bridgeport, an incredibly dedicated and hardworking group of women, and the secretaries at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. Thanks to the youth from St. Nicholas Church, to Fabco, Inc. and all those who volunteered services and food for this day making this event a success. The tentative date for next year’s conference is set for June 11th, 2005.
Gale Bellas Papageorge, Ph.D. |
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