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Published by the
Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, May 2005
ARCHPASTORAL
REFLECTIONS - MAY 2005 |
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Our consideration of the family as a vital source
of spiritual sustenance for its members is
enriched by our contemplation of our role as
leaders in the vital area of family care. As we
have discussed in previous reflection pieces,
parents who emphasize prayer, love, and holiness
within the home enable their children to navigate
the experiences of life while strongly rooted and
secured in their faith. In this regard, the
leadership role of parents within the family is
integral, and absolutely indispensable.
Though the leadership role of parents is vital for
the cultivation of healthy families, it is equally
pressing to consider family situations where
parents are either absent from the home or are
incapable of providing adequate or loving care to
their children, as is sadly seen today in many
cases. Here, it is appropriate to recognize and
value the care that is offered to families by
extra-parental sources, such as communities of
faith, and also state and charitable agencies.
As Orthodox Christians, we ourselves constitute a
community of faith that is vital to the spiritual
well-being of families. As we gather in prayer
within our homes and as we come together with
other families for worship in the local parish, we
are called to be sensitive to the needs of our
brothers and sisters by offering to them our
unfailing love and support. More than this, we are
called to be leaders in the offering of care to
others who are in need. Through expanding the
adult educational programming in our parishes,
through intensifying our ministries of care to
children in need, and by continuously engaging the
elderly members of our communities, every parish
has the potential to serve as a local community
leader in the field of family care.
Yet we must also continue beyond the parish level
in developing and expanding our ministries that
focus on the particular needs of families. One
example of such a ministry is our Archdiocesan
Center for Family Care, which supplies people and
society at large with a much needed demand for
leadership in the vital area of family care. Other
examples of family ministry include institutions
like St. Basil Academy and St. Michael’s Home
which, respectively, serve the needs of
disadvantaged children and the elderly.
Each of these ministries speaks to our tremendous
potential as Church to offer a dynamic, creative,
and meaningful leadership in the vital area of
family care. The diversity and direct impact of
these ministries prompts us to consider some
essential questions that cut to the core of our
Orthodox Christian identity as servants of
Christ’s Gospel: Should not all of our ministries,
on parish, Metropolis, or Archdiocesan levels, be
recognized objectively as models of family care?
Should not we as Greek Orthodox Christians aspire
to be leaders in the field of family care among
other denominations, communities of faith, or
state agencies in contemporary America?
It is fitting that we consider these questions as
we contemplate our vocation as Orthodox Christians
to offer the love of Jesus Christ to others, and
specifically to families in need. As a Church that
gathers as a family, and as families that
constitute what St. Paul termed the “Church in the
home,” this calling to offer love and service to
families is a particularly integral aspect of our
Orthodox Christian identity that is worth our
cultivating, cherishing, and sharing.
It is my heartfelt prayer and exhortation as we
experience the joy of the Paschal season that we
may reflect more intensively upon our role as
leaders in the vital area of family care, and that
we may draw inspiration from the Risen Christ, who
abides with us and strengthens our capacity to
expand and intensify our ministry to families
everywhere as we lead them to eternal life and
everlasting communion with Him.
+DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America
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