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Published by the
Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America,
August 2005
Archpastoral
Reflections - August 2005 |
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Our series of
reflections on the family coincides this month
with the end of the summer season and the
beginning of the school year. This is a
remarkable time of activity that naturally leads
us to consider vital elements in the cycle of
our family lives. Among these elements is the
role of the family in maintaining a steady
Orthodox Christian learning environment for our
children in the midst of an advanced
technological society.
Our careful consideration of this role is very
important. Expanding information technologies
and the growing presence of a constant broadband
Internet stream in the home and the workplace
have saturated our lives. Our reliance upon
online technology is redefining approaches to
business, education, law, science, personal
banking, news, entertainment, relationships,
marriage, religious devotion as well as our very
notions of security, property, and identity.
Many of the effects of our technological age are
welcome and positive, though we must acknowledge
that some are confusing and, at times, even
unsettling.
As we consider these unavoidable and
reconfiguring aspects of our information age,
there is a corresponding challenge in
understanding the role of the Orthodox Christian
family. In response to a perplexing and
unfamiliar environment, some parents and
guardians in our society advocate an extreme
approach to child-rearing, one that aims at
restricting unreasonably the social relations of
the child with others and with any form of
external stimuli. Such an approach may have the
unintended result of blocking the growth and
adaptability of the child. On the opposite
extreme, some parents may neglect to place any
additional and necessary safeguards upon their
children as they are exposed to unfiltered
information that is changing the world.
In regard to these and all matters, the way of
our Orthodox Christian faith is a way of
balanced discretion, prayerful reflection, and
godly discernment. In this manner, the role of
the family must be to provide children with
moral instruction, shelter from harmful stimuli,
and a prayerful environment that emphasizes
faith in God and reliance upon Him. At the same
time, a responsible family must work to equip
children properly with the technological savvy
they will need as emerging Orthodox Christian
adults in a world that will indeed ask much of
them. The responsibility of the Orthodox
Christian family to function as a learning
environment for our children that emphasizes the
integration of faith with knowledge must remain
clear, particularly in consideration of the
ambiguities of our age.
Certainly, the role of the family in the midst
of an advanced technological society is a
subject that could command the devotion of an
entire volume or series of volumes. This month,
however, this subject can serve as an important
centerpiece of discussion and reflection in your
own families during an active and opportune time
of the year. Our world is complex, fast-paced,
and constantly changing, and the duties that are
asked of parents and guardians today to
safeguard and equip their children are no less
challenging. As Orthodox Christians, we have the
additional responsibility to perfect our
childrens learning with the indispensable
element of faith. It is my prayer that you may
approach this responsibility with every
confidence both as a sacred and welcome joy, and
that your family may "grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
(2 Peter 3:18).
+DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America
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