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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Finding Jurisdictional Unity on the College Campus By Jim King Recently I re-read the book, Metropolitan PHILIP, His Life and His Dreams, and was again struck by the Metropolitan’s unwavering vision for jurisdictional unity in North America. He talks about Orthodoxy being the best-kept secret in America due to our failure to understand the missionary dimensions of the Church. What he means by the missionary dimensions of the Church is that unless the Orthodox Church unites as one jurisdiction in America, we will continue to hold hostage the truth which is the Orthodox Faith. Speaking to this missing missionary component of the Church, Fr. John Meyendorff, of blessed memory, writes in his book, The Orthodox Church, Its Past and Its Role in the World Today, that the union of the various Orthodox jurisdictions will assure the progress of Orthodoxy in America by rising above any ethnic and/or nationalistic limitations that hinder unity. Fr. John goes on to say that when this happens, the Church will have the capability of exerting a missionary element. The burning question regarding jurisdictional unity then becomes how and when? I submit that at the grass roots level unity already is happening. Where, you ask? This missing unifying element spoken of by both Metropolitan PHILIP and Fr. John Meyendorff may be found on college campuses across America. Since the 1940’s, Orthodox college-age men and women who have desired to learn more about their Faith as well as worship and fellowship together have been gathering regularly at various colleges and universities throughout the country. That may not sound overly unique, exciting, or out of character on the surface until we look at who has been attending these gatherings over the years and realize the lasting impact left on those who have participated. Never once in over fifty years has jurisdictional unity been an issue with these college students gathering together as Orthodox Christians. For that matter, never has anyone established boundaries that would hinder curious college students of other religious backgrounds from glimpsing at the fullness of the Christian Faith that is the Orthodox Church. All this was done without compromising the teachings of the Church or its liturgical practices to entice students. On the contrary, there has been an effort to use worship as an opportunity to share the richness of the Orthodox Faith with fellow students. Many blessings have resulted from the uncompromising and evangelical spirit that has existed on campuses. This grass roots effort has led many college students to deepen or rediscover their Orthodox Faith, leading some to discover callings to clergy and lay leadership in every Orthodox jurisdiction throughout the country. In addition, man non-Orthodox Christians and even non-Christians have discovered the ancient Christian Faith and converted to Orthodoxy. Many of these new members as well are serving the Church as both clergy and lay leaders. The long history of Orthodox campus ministry has indeed been rich and fruitful, culminating recently in another attempt to unite jurisdictionally under the re-established presence of the Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA). As was attempted in the early 1970’s, SCOBA has once again initiated a national office of campus ministry by the name of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). This time it consists of three staff members managing three offices across the country. The single goal of this effort is to ensure the permanent presence of the Orthodox Church on college campuses across the country. This will allow any student, orthodox or not, the option to discover the blessed Orthodox Faith given to us by Christ and passed down to us by the Apostles.
Make
no mistake—the missionary work of the Church is
occurring at the grass roots level. As long as
Orthodox college students continue to grow in
their Faith, learn and worship together,
fellowship with each other, and share their Faith
with others, this missionary work will continue
and the rewards will become greater and greater. |
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