A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 36 - Tuesday, September 7th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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I was very surprised by Judi Vrahas's piece entitled "My Perception of the 37th Clergy/Laity Congress." Actually, her first paragraph is what caught my attention. Here's what she said: It began with a Hierarchical Liturgy done exclusively in Greek, the only time the common language of the people was used for the duplicating of the Our Father and Creed, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios began his sermon in Greek and finished in the common language of the representatives from the Parishes throughout the United States. Having attended seven Clergy/Laity Congresses I don't recall that this was the common Practice. I had the good fortune to be part of this liturgical assembly, but my recollections are distinctly different. Here is an exerpt from my blog that was written that same day.
This morning's
Divine Liturgy was, by far, the BEST such
celebration I've ever been to in my life! OK, so
maybe I've only been to 10 or so, but it WAS the
BEST! The planning committee really did a fine job
of setting up the ballroom. Except for the chairs
we were sitting on, it honestly looked like a
church. And it was as low-key as one of these
Liturgies can be: the Archbishop, 6 Metropolitans,
6 Priests, and 4 Deacons. It was only about 2 1/2
hours in before I remembered that it was an "event
liturgy" and not a normal (albeit big) Sunday
Liturgy. The Archbishop's sermon was unbelievably
good. It was strictly concerned with the Gospel
reading (Mt 14:14-22), although the connections
between his message and the Congress were
absolutely clear. And the language was notable in
and of itself. He began in Greek with the
requisite byzantine greetings and salutations and
then he meditated on the phrase "esplagchnisthe ep'
autois" (he "had compassion on them") and how we
need to have mercy on those around us, those in
physical need (especially), but also spiritual
need. Then he switched to English for the entirity
of his main message. Bottom line, the Disciples
acted reasonably and responsibly, looking at the
factual, tangible needs of the people (they were
in the wilderness and they needed to eat and there
wasn't a visible source of food). But in their
very responsible evaluation of the situation, they
overlooked the one factor that is of the utmost
importance: Christ. His basic point (as I
understood it, at least) was that in the coming
deliberations, don't discount the power of Christ
to achieve creative, unexpected outcomes. I feel compelled to write on this topic for a few reasons. First, as Associate Professor of Eastern Orthodox Studies (Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute / Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA) with specialization in Liturgical Studies, I know it's helpful to have access to different perspectives on the same gathering. Second, the "language issue" can be rather volatile, and I was very favorably impressed with how much English His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios, used; I take it as a sign of sensitivity to the realities of ministering to a Greek-American Church. Third, liturgy is about much more than ecclesiastical politics, it's about proclaiming and celebrating God's saving acts. I honestly believe that this Divine Liturgy realized that very well. I suppose that people will always remember the same thing differently, but my memories of the Clergy-Laity in general -- and the Opening Divine Liturgy in particular -- are overwhelmingly positive. I hope that your readers who were not in attendance will be open to a more optimistic report.
John Klentos
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