О которых не молится ни один из верующих

Original English Text

Прерванная традиция

Мы с женой православные уже 34 года, но мы оба из неправославных семей, и поскольку за эти годы мы потеряли родственников, мы стали часто использовать Акафист за упокой усопших. Этот Акафист возносится за всех умерших, как православных, так и неправославных, христиан и нехристиан. Он особенно возносится за тех, кто умер при трагических обстоятельствах, таких как самоубийство. За тех, кто умер без покаяния, тех, кто умер в юном возрасте и т. д. Я нашёл в нём большой источник утешения.

Но есть в этом Акафисте одна строка, которая напоминает трагедию иного рода. Заключительная молитва начинается так: «Боже духов и всякия плоти, смерть поправый и диавола упразднивый, и живот миру Твоему даровавый! Сам Господи, упокой души усопших рабов Твоих...» И далее следует длинный список категорий усопших, о которых молятся, и среди них мы молимся «о всех, кто повелел и просил нас молиться о них, о которых нет молящегося из верующих...»

Когда я молюсь этими словами, я не могу не думать о многих пожилых россиянах, которых я знал на протяжении многих лет, у которых нет потомков, которые были бы активными членами Православной Церкви. Хотя они и происходили из семей, которые сохраняли веру на протяжении многих веков, эта длинная череда верных христиан пришла к трагическому концу, когда они не смогли передать веру своим собственным детям и внукам.

Как это происходит?

В случаях, которые я наблюдал на протяжении многих лет, проблема, как правило, заключалась не в том, что родители не пытались передать им Веру. Они водили своих детей в Церковь. Они пытались научить их Вере так, как они сами ее получили от своих родителей. Проблема была в основном в двух вещах. Во-первых, я думаю, что они недооценили некоторые токсичные аспекты американской культуры, особенно в том, что касается государственного образования в Соединенных Штатах. И эта проблема свойственна не только русским, но иммигранты в целом более склонны считать, что наши школы на самом деле нацелены на предоставление хорошего образования, и они часто не осознают, насколько враждебно школы стали относиться ко всему, что хоть отдаленно напоминает традиционное христианское мировоззрение. Но другая проблема — это неспособность понять, что их дети, как правило, вырастут, не понимая русский язык так же хорошо, как их родители, а следующее поколение, как правило, вырастет, вообще не понимая русского языка. Не говоря уже о церковнославянском, который даже носителям русского языка трудно понять, если они выросли, не посещая богослужений.

Когда русские отправились в Китай после большевистской революции, они смогли основать русские колонии, которые в значительной степени воспроизвели лучшие аспекты русской культуры, но это стало возможным благодаря тому факту, что ни один китаец не считал их или их детей китайцами, даже если они родились там и могли говорить по-китайски как местные жители. Америка, с другой стороны, является очень гостеприимной культурой, и к людям, которые являются иммигрантами, но становятся гражданами и принимают Америку, уже относятся как к американцам. И их дети, следовательно, вырастают, считая себя американцами, и все остальные тоже думают о них как об американцах. Но вместе с этой гостеприимной чертой американской культуры присутствует много тонкого давления, направленного на ассимиляцию. Хотя страны Западной Европы более гостеприимны к иммигрантам, чем раньше, у них нет ничего похожего на ту динамику, которая есть у нас здесь. Следствием всего этого является то, что семье очень трудно поддерживать использование языка, отличного от английского. Я не против семей, пытающихся сохранить передать своим новым поколениям второй язык. Мы делали это в моей семье. Моя жена китаянка. Наши дети выросли, говоря на китайском языке. Мои внуки также растут, говоря на китайском языке. Однако моя младшая дочь не говорит на китайском так же хорошо, как моя старшая дочь, и мои внуки вряд ли будут говорить на нем так же хорошо, как их родители.

Я, конечно же, надеюсь, что они будут говорить на китайском так же хорошо или лучше, и я думаю, что стоит приложить усилия, чтобы плыть против течения и воспитывать детей, говорящих на втором языке, потому что это значительно облегчит им изучение любого другого языка в будущем. Но реальность такова, что это требует больших усилий, и большинство семей вообще не будут прилагать усилий, необходимых для передачи второго языка. Не говоря уже о том, чтобы вырастить детей, которые понимают этот второй язык так же хорошо, как носитель языка.

Когда я стал православным, я состоял в приходе, где говорили по-английски, за исключением редких ектений или праздничных тропарей на славянском. Но когда мы с женой вернулись в Хьюстон, где мы и встретились, единственным приходом РПЦЗ во всем штате Техас в то время был приход Св. Владимира, где в Литургии в основном использовался славянский язык. Если бы это был первый приход, который я посетил до того, как стал православным, не уверен, что я бы обратился. Просто потому, что было бы трудно следить за службами на языке, которого я не знал. 

Но, приняв веру, мы пошли туда, и в какой-то момент я преподавал в классе воскресной школы. К тому времени я немного выучил славянский и подумал, что будет полезно научить детей некоторым основным славянским фразам из служб. Я начал с того, что спросил их: «Знает ли кто-нибудь, что означает «Господи, помилуй»? Никто из них не знал. А если вы не знаете, что означает «Господи, помилуй» (что значит «Господи, помилуй»), то вы, скорее всего, ничего не знаете по-славянски.

Моя семья посещала церковь Святого Владимира около шести лет, и за это время я начал замечать закономерность. Дети добросовестно приходили со своими родителями, но когда они становились подростками, я начинал видеть их только изредка, если вообще видел. Очевидно, они становились достаточно взрослыми, чтобы сопротивляться посещениям церкви, и их родители в конце концов уставали и переставали заставлять их ходить. Я знаю семьи, которые ходили в церковь не пропуская служб, и во многих случаях их дети также добросовестно посещали церковь, но их внуков, как правило, мы уже не видели в храме. Были некоторые исключения, но эти исключения были редки.

Вот, собственно, почему я так упорно стремился основать приход с преподаванием на английском языке. У меня были собственные дети, о которых нужно было заботиться, и я отказывался смотреть, как мои дети растут, не понимая служб, и увидеть, как они уходят из Церкви, когда я больше не смогу заставить их ходить в Церковь. А так, слава Богу, все мои потомки — активные православные христиане, и я сделаю все возможное, чтобы так и оставалось.

Это верно, что проблема токсичной антихристианской культуры, которая стала доминировать в Америке, может быть причиной отпадения некоторых детей от Веры, потому что вы можете наблюдать, как это происходит по всему религиозному спектру в стране. Но когда вы видите, что к третьему поколению от церкви отходят почти 100% детей, то проблема заключается не только в токсичной культуре. Я думаю, это можно объяснить только тем, что многие из наших приходов не смогли перейти на использование английского в качестве основного языка на богослужениях.

Что нам с этим делать?

Проблема иммигрантских церквей и языка не является уникальной для православия. Когда я встретил свою жену, она посещала китайскую баптистскую церковь. И китайские баптистские церкви столкнулись с теми же проблемами. Они существуют, потому что есть китайцы, которые не говорят на английском как на своем родном языке, и поэтому, естественно, хотят ходить в церкви, где службы проходят на их языке. Но эти церкви пришли к пониманию того, что второе и третье поколения их членов не будут хорошо понимать китайский язык, и если они хотят выжить, им придется начать переходить на английский (см. «Этнические церкви добавляют английский для 2-го и 3-го поколений», Baptist Press, 2019).

Русская Православная Церковь Заграницей, членом которой я являюсь уже более трех десятилетий, достигла большого прогресса в использовании английского языка за то время, что я в ней нахожусь, — большего прогресса, чем я мог бы надеяться в 90-х годах. Но у нас все еще есть приходы, которые упорно продолжают использовать исключительно славянский язык, и это проблема. Это проблема не только потому, что это препятствие для людей, которые могут захотеть обратиться в веру, как это сделал я, но это проблема даже если бы единственной нашей целью было удержать детей русских в вере их родителей. Я не думаю, что каждый приход должен быть в первую очередь сосредоточен на привлечении новообращённых, хотя считаю, что все они должны быть приветливы к ним. Однако самой первой целью каждого прихода должно быть передать веру своим собственным детям. И если бы РПЦЗ удалось сохранить хотя бы половину детей, которые родились в ней после Второй мировой войны, мы были бы гораздо более большей церковью, чем сегодня. На самом деле, если бы не новая иммиграция, многие наши приходы давно бы закрылись.

Как минимум, я думаю, что каждый приход должен проводить половину служб на английском языке. Другое решение этой проблемы — проводить параллельные службы, одну на английском и одну на славянском. Те приходы, которые это делают, также проводят объединенные службы, и поэтому дети, растущие в таких приходах, будут слышать службы на английском языке, по крайней мере иногда, и, таким образом, по крайней мере, будут знать, что есть возможность проводить службы на их родном языке. 

Наш приход был основан как англоязычный, но поскольку у нас сейчас много русских и украинцев, мы проводим славянскую литургию раз в месяц по субботам. Если бы не было другого прихода РПЦЗ в зоне досягаемости, я бы, вероятно, чувствовал себя обязанным хотя бы немного использовать славянский язык в наших регулярных службах. Я полностью понимаю желание русских молиться на языке своих сердец, и христианская любовь должна побуждать нас стараться быть уступчивыми друг другу, но любовь к нашим детям также должна побуждать нас подходить к этим вопросам такими способами, которые, скорее всего, действительно сработают как в сохранении веры наших детей, так и в общении с теми, кто еще не является православным вокруг нас.

Я не виню приезжающих сюда русских иммигрантов-мирян за то, что они не понимают необходимости использования английского языка на наших богослужениях, но те из нас, кто прожил здесь достаточно долго, чтобы увидеть, к чему это привело за последние 75 лет, должны начать поступать иначе, чем мы делали раньше. Потому что мы уже знаем, что приходы, использующие исключительно славянский язык, — это верный путь к потере наших детей для Веры. И нет ничего важнее, чем предотвратить это, не повторяя ошибок прошлого в будущем и наблюдая, как лучшая часть еще одного или двух поколений наших детей уходит из Церкви. 

Обновление: Обновление: Кто-то прислал мне текст проповеди святителя Николая (Велимировича), которая имеет отношение к вопросам, затронутым выше. Эта проповедь была произнесена где-то между 1946 годом (когда он прибыл в Соединенные Штаты) и 1956 годом (когда он скончался), и поэтому он сказал эти вещи по крайней мере 68 лет назад, но они показывают, что даже тогда эти проблемы возникали и нуждались в решении. Вот, в частности, что он говорит ранних иммигрантах, которые принесли Православие в Соединенные Штаты:

«Увы, последнее из этих старых православных поколений быстро уходит. Их сыновья и внуки, их дочери и внучки теперь выходят на поле. И это новое поколение родилось в Америке. Они хорошо говорят по-английски, но мало или совсем не говорят по-гречески, по-сербски, по-русски, по-румынски, по-сирийски или по-албански. И неудивительно: они учились в американских школах, многие из них служили в армии США, они выросли в соответствии с американскими стандартами жизни, их сердца не разделены между двумя странами. Они по природе американцы и намерены оставаться американцами. Соответственно, у них есть некоторые требования по отношению к Церкви своих отцов.

Они хотят, чтобы английский заменил национальные языки в церковных службах. Они желают слышать проповеди на английском языке. Это законное желание. Наши мудрые священники каждой национальной православной церкви в этой стране уже проповедуют как на английском, так и на своем национальном языке. Они находятся в трудном положении в настоящее время, поскольку они должны, с одной стороны, быть внимательными к пожилым людям (старым поколениям мам и пап), которые плохо понимают английский, а с другой стороны, они готовы отвечать желаниям и нуждам молодых поколений. В этом вопросе я думаю, что эволюция лучше революции, поскольку Церковь является матерью и старых, и молодых» (Святитель Николай Велимирович о Православии в Америке и его будущем).

None Among the Believing

Русский перевод

Failed Handoff

My wife and I have been Orthodox for 34 years now, but we both come from families that were not Orthodox, and so as we have lost family members over the years, we have come to use the Akathist for the Repose of the Departed a lot. This Akathist prays for all who have died, both Orthodox and Non-Orthodox, Christian and Non-Christian. It specifically prays for those who have died under tragic circumstances, such as suicide, those who died without repentance, those who died in their youth, etc. I have found it to be a great source of consolation.

But there is one line in this Akathist that brings to mind a tragedy of a different kind. The final prayer begins: "O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the devil and given life to Thy world!  Do Thou Thyself, O Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants...." And then it runs through a long list of categories of the departed that are being prayed for, and among them, we pray "for all who enjoined and asked us to pray for them, for whom there is none among the believing to pray for them..."

When I pray these words I cannot but think of many elderly Russians I have known over the years who have no descendants who are still active members of the Orthodox Church. Though they came from families that maintained the faith for many centuries, that long line of faithful Christians came to a tragic end when they failed to successfully pass on the faith to their own children and grandchildren.

How Does This Happen?

In the cases that I have observed over the years, the problem has not generally been that the parents made no attempt to pass on the Faith. They took their children to Church. They tried to teach them the Faith as they had received it from their own parents. The problem has been primarily two things. First, I think they have underestimated some of the toxic aspects of American culture, particularly as it has affected public education in the United States -- and that is a problem that is not unique to Russians, but immigrants are more prone to assume our schools are actually focused on providing a good education, and they are often unaware of how hostile they have become to anything remotely like a traditional Christian worldview. But the other problem is a failure to understand that their children will generally grow up not understanding Russian as well as their parents, and the next generation will generally grow up without understanding Russian at all -- not to mention Church Slavonic, which is difficult for even native speaking Russians to understand if they did not grow up attending the services.

When Russians went to China after the Bolshevik Revolution, they were able to establish Russian colonies that largely reproduced the best aspects of Russian culture, but this was made possible by the fact that no Chinese would think of them or their children as Chinese, even if they were born there and could speak Chinese like a native. America, on the other hand is a very welcoming culture, and people who are immigrants, but who become citizens and embrace America are already treated as being Americans, and their children consequently grow up thinking of themselves as American, and with everyone else thinking of them as Americans too. But along with this welcoming feature of American culture comes a lot of subtle pressure to assimilate. Though western European countries are more welcoming than they used to be to immigrants, they do not have anything like the same dynamic that we have here. The consequence of all of this is that it is very difficult for a family to maintain the use of a language other than English.

I am not opposed to families trying to pass on a second language. We have done that in my family. My wife is Chinese. Our children grew up speaking Chinese. My grandchildren also have been growing up speaking Chinese. However, my younger daughter doesn't speak Chinese as well as my older daughter, and my grandchildren are not likely to speak it as well as their parents. I hope they do as well or better, and I think it is worth the effort to swim upstream, so to speak, and raise children to speak a second language because it makes it a lot easier for them to learn any other language down the road. But the reality is that this takes a lot of effort, and most families are not going to put forth the effort necessary to pass on a second language at all, much less are they likely to raise children who understand that second language as well as a native speaker.

When I became Orthodox, it was in a parish that used English aside from doing an occasional litany or festal troparion in Slavonic. But when my wife and I moved back to Houston, where we met, the only ROCOR parish in the entire state of Texas, at the time, was St. Vladimir, which used mostly Slavonic in the Liturgy. Had that been the first parish I visited before I became Orthodox, I am not sure that I would have converted... simply because it would have been hard to follow the services in a language I did not know. But having embraced the Faith, we went there, and at one point I taught a Sunday School class. I had learned some Slavonic by this time, and I thought it would be helpful to teach the children some basic Slavonic phrases from the services. I began by asking them "Does anyone know what "Gospodi pomiluj [Господи, помилуй]" means? None of them knew. And if you don't know what "Gospodi pomiluj" means (which is "Lord, have mercy"), you most likely don't know anything in Slavonic.

My family attended St. Vladimir for about six years, and during that time, I began to see a pattern. Children would faithfully come with their parents, but when they hit their teens, I would begin to see them only infrequently, if at all. Evidently, they got old enough to fight going to Church, and their parents would finally be worn down and stop making them go. I know of families that were in Church without fail, and in many cases, their children likewise were faithful in their attendance, but their grandchildren were generally nowhere to be seen. There were some exceptions, but those exceptions were rare.

This was, as a matter of fact, why I pushed as hard as I did to establish an English language parish. I had my own children to be concerned with, and I refused to watch my children grow up without understanding the services, and to see them walk away from the Church when I was no longer able to make them to go to Church. As it is, thanks be to God, all of my descendants are active Orthodox Christians, and as long as I have anything to say about it, I will do what I can to keep it that way.

While it is true that the problem of the toxic antichristian culture that has come to dominate America can be blamed for some of the children who fall away from the Faith -- because you can see this happen across the religious spectrum in this country. But when you see something close to 100% of the children falling away by the third generation, that is not just the toxic culture that is the problem. I think this can only be explained by the failure of so many of our parishes to transition into using English as a primary language in the services.

What Should We Do About It?

The problem of immigrant churches and language is not unique to Orthodoxy. When I met my wife, she was attending a Chinese Baptist church. And Chinese Baptist churches have had to navigate the same issues. They exist, because there are Chinese people who do not speak English as their primary language, and so naturally want to go to churches that have services in their language. But these Churches have come to realize that the second and third generations of their members will not understand Chinese well, and if they want to survive, they have to begin transitioning into English (See "Ethnic churches add English for 2nd & 3rd generations," Baptist Press, 2019).

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which I have been a member of for more than three decades now, has made a lot of progress, when it comes to using English, during the time I have been in it -- more progress than I would have dared to hope for back in the 90's. But we still have parishes that persist in using Slavonic exclusively, and this is a problem. It is not just a problem because it is a barrier to people who might want to convert to the Faith like I did, but it is a problem if the only goal we had was to keep the children of Russians in the Faith. I don't think every parish needs to be primarily focused on reaching new converts, though I think they should all be welcoming to them, but the very first goal of every parish should be to pass the faith on to their own children. And if ROCOR had managed to keep even half of the children that were born into it since World War II, we would be a much larger jurisdiction than we are today. In fact, were it not for new immigration, many or our parishes would have closed a long time ago.

At a minimum, I think every parish should be doing half of the services in English. Another solution to this problem is having parallel services, one in English and one in Slavonic. Those parishes that do this also have combined services, and so children growing up in parishes like that would hear the services in English at least some of the time, and so would at least know that there was an option for having the services in their primary language. 

Our parish was established as an English language parish, but since we have a lot of Russians and Ukrainians now, we do a Slavonic Liturgy once a month on a Saturday. Were there not another ROCOR parish within a reasonable drive, I would probably feel obligated to do at least some Slavonic in our regular services. I completely understand the desire for Russians to want to pray in the language of their hearts, and Christian love should compel us to try to be accommodating of one another, but love for our children should also compel us to approach these questions in ways that are most likely to actually work in both preserving the faith our children, and reaching out to those who are not already Orthodox around us.

I don't blame Russian immigrant laymen who come here for not understanding the need for using English in our services, but those of us who have lived here long enough to see how this has played out over the past 75 years should start doing something different than we have been doing, because we know that parishes using Slavonic exclusively is a recipe for losing our children to the Faith, and there is nothing more important than preventing that by not repeating the mistakes of the past into the future, and seeing the better part of another generation or two of our children walk away from the Church. 

Update: Someone sent me the text of a sermon by St. Nikolai (Velimirovich) that is pertinent to the issues addressed above. This sermon was delivered sometime between 1946 (when he arrived in the United States) and 1956 (when he reposed), and so he said these things at least 68 years ago, but they do show that even back then, these issues were emerging, and were in need of being addressed. He says in part, speaking of the earlier immigrants who brought Orthodoxy to the United States:

"Alas, the last of these old Orthodox generations is rapidly passing away. Their sons and grandsons, and their daughters and granddaughters are now coming to the field. And this new generation is American born. They speak good English but little or no Greek, Serbian, Russian, Rumanian, Syrian or Albanian. And no wonder: They attended American schools, many of them served in the US army, they have grown in conformity with the American standard of living, their hearts are not divided between two countries. They are naturally Americans, and they intend to remain American. Accordingly, they have some demands respecting the Church of their fathers.

They want English to replace national languages in church services. They desire to hear sermons in English. This is a legitimate desire. Our wise priests of every national Orthodox Church in this country are already preaching in both English and in their respective national tongue. They are in a difficult position at present, for they have on one hand to be considerate of the elderly (elderly generations of Moms and Pops) who do not understand English well, and on the other hand they are willing to respond to the desire and need of the younger generations. In this matter I think evolution is better than revolution, for the Church is the mother of both the old and the young" (St Nikolai Velimirovich on Orthodoxy in America & Its Future).

Romans Chapter 1 & 2

We are currently doing a study of the Book of Romans via Google Meets, which I intend to post to our parish channel on YouTube. Unfortunately, I didn't hit the record button for the last session, which went back over a few things from chapter 1, and then covered chapter 2. Here is a summary of a few things covered in that session:

In our first session, we discussed the fact that St. Paul is largely concerned with the problem of the relations between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. In the second session, I pointed out how the expulsion of the Jews from Rome under Claudius probably forms the backdrop of this problem. Suetonius records that Claudius ordered all the Jews to leave Rome, because they were rioting over a certain "Chrestus." This most likely means that the Jews in Rome were having violent disagreements about whether Jesus Christ was the Messiah. So while all the Jewish Christians, including Ss. Priscilla and Aquila (cf. Acts 18:1-18), were gone, the Roman Church became a Gentile Church over night, but when Claudius died, the Jews were allowed to return, and so Jewish Christians, who had been running things in the Church would likely have had some difficulties adjusting to a now Gentile Church. We know from the final chapter of Romans that St. Paul knew many of these Jews, and no doubt heard about these problems from them, and so this was at least in large part the occasion for St. Paul writing this letter.

I also went back and talked a but about Romans1:17, because I was side tracked in first session, by my microphone problem, and so forgot to point out a few things.

Romans 1:17 says: 

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

This is a quotation from Habakkuk 2:4, which neither follows exactly the Septuagint or the Masoretic Hebrew text.

The Hebrew text of Habakkuk 2:4, as we now have it, reads:  

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith" (KJV)

The Septuagint Greek text reads:

"If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith" (Brenton LXX).

One other thing I pointed out is that one could translate the Hebrew text as the NET Bible does: 

"Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness." 

St. Paul phrases the text in such a way that it could be taken in both senses -- that the righteous is justified by his faith, and by God's faithfulness. And it also could be understood to encompass both that the righteous man is justified by faith, and by being faithful. We will be getting into this in more detail later, when we talk about the relationship between faith and works.

On Romans Chapter 2, I have preached three sermons which cover some of the same ground I covered in session 2:

To the Jew first, and also to the Gentile (Romans 2:1-11)

Conscience (Romans 2:12-16)

Circumcision of the Heart (Romans 2:17-29)

You can also read St. John Chrysostom's Fifth and Sixth homilies, which cover Romans 2.

Should Orthodox Christians Vote? Two Contemporary Saints Answer

 

I often hear Orthodox Christians who are understandably frustrated with our political system make statements like: "Why should I vote? What difference does it make?" We have two contemporary saints that comment on the subject.

In the biography "Saint Paisios of Mount Athos," by Hieromonk Isaac (which I highly recommend), we find St. Paisios dealing with similar comments. When asked how to vote, he would say:

“Vote for the one you believe it is best; the one who loves God and our country.” 

But when he would hear the answer: "They are all the same, Father." he would reply:

"Well, look here. All olive trees are the same; all of them are affected by the same disease called dakos. However, some are affected 100% by it, others 80% and others 50%. Since we are in need of olive trees, we have to look for the ones that are affected the least. When we go to vote, we should always bear in mind two things: a) how much the candidate loves God and is thus a conscious member of the Church, and b) how much he loves his country and look solely after its interests and not his own. If someone uses another criterion to vote, he is acting out of self-interests and is not behaving like a true Christian. Later on, divine justice will allow him to pay for his mistake."

When this quote has been cited, the response some make is that we live in a Non-Orthodox country, and so don't have people who love God, like St. Paisios is referring to. But this brings us to the second contemporary saint who commented on this subject, and said almost the same thing, but was speaking about American elections. The Elder Ephraim has not been officially glorified yet, but he undoubtedly will be. Back during the 2008 presidential election, a group of people asked him how they should vote. A person who knew the Elder (whom I know well and consider a trustworthy source) said that the Elder told them that they should vote for John McCain. Several people became very indignant because they favored Obama, and so they began to point out all the bad things John McCain had done. Then he said:

“Look, they both have horns, you have to vote for the one with the smaller horns.”

John McCain was a very flawed candidate. He was a neocon who supported many wars that brought death and devastation to many people around the globe. However, he did have a pro-life record in terms of his votes related to abortion, and that is perhaps why the Elder considered his horns to be smaller. The choice in that election was certainly not a slam dunk question, but the Elder taught people to vote, and what criteria they should use.

Not everyone is going to agree who has the smallest horns in an election, but we should pray that God would give us the wisdom to make discerning choices. 

In order to vote, you of course need to register to vote. Which you can do online. Prior to an election, if you live in Harris County, you can view the ballot ahead of time, and then do your own digging to determine who to vote for. Personally, I use voter guides put out by pro-life Christians, such as the Link Letter, or the Houston Area Pastors Council. I don't always go with their recommendations, but especially in primaries, where there are many candidates that I don't know anything else about, these voter guides give me some idea of how to sift through the options.

If you live in Harris County, you can also find where you can vote in early voting, or on election day by going to Harris Votes. If you live in one of the surrounding counties, there are probably similar websites run by your county clerk's office.

One other thing to consider, if you don't think it matters who you vote for, consider how different states and counties reacted to the Covid lockdowns. Some closed business and churches, and had very repressive policies... some even preventing people from sitting on their own porch. Obviously, it mattered a lot then, and it didn't just matter who was in the White House, which is why you should pay attention to local elections, because in many ways those officials have a lot more power over your daily life than anyone in Washington, D.C.

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev on Interracial Marriage

 

“…all mankind originated from a single root. All men are brothers not figuratively, but literally. Hence, all attempts to develop racist or nationalistic theories are utter foolishness. All nations came forth from the hand of the One Creator. All of them are under His care, and no one will escape from His Judgment. Hence, all attempts to introduce various prohibitions against interracial or international marriages or interaction are not pleasing to the Creator, except for the purpose of preventing joint rebellion against God (for example, modern globalization)” (Priest Daniel Sysoev, A Chronicle of  the Beginning: From the Creation of the World to the Exodus, (New Jersey: Daniel Sysoev Inc., 2023), P.  259).

Stump the Priest: "Indeed He is Risen!" or "Truly He is Risen!"?

 

Question: "Why do some Orthodox respond to "Christ is Risen!" with "Indeed He is Risen!" but others say, "Truly He is Risen!"? Which one is correct?"

Both responses are perfectly good translations of the responses in Greek and Slavonic. But "Truly He is Risen!" is most likely based on the Greek response, and "Indeed He is Risen!" is most likely based on the Slavonic.

The oldest English Orthodox text of the Paschal services that I have been able to find actually differs slightly from both. The Service book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, which was translated by. Isabel Hapgood, and was originally published in 1906, and then published in a corrected edition in 1922, uses the phrase: "He is risen indeed!"

In Greek, the response is Alithos Anesti! (Αληθώς Ανέστη!), and the most natural translation of the Greek word "Alithos" would be "Truly." However, in Slavonic the response is Voistinu Voskrese! (Воистину Воскрес!), and the word "Воистину" has the prefix, "Во" which means "in" followed by "истину" which means "truth." So you could translate it literally as "In Truth," but "Indeed" is probably a more elegant way to translate it. In any case, that is how Isabell Hapgood translated it, and although we did not keep her phrasing exactly, it probably influenced the form we now commonly use.

I hope someone writes a good book on the history of English translations of Orthodox liturgical texts, because you can see that usage has evolved. For example, Hapgood translated "Theotokos" as "Birth giver of God," which is a good literal translation, but most English speaking Orthodox today simply use "Theotokos," which has been in English usage as theological term since at least 1868. On the other hand, it is interesting that Hapgood's translation of the Paschal Troparion ("Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life") is what is most commonly used today. So over time, what seems to work best in English bubbles to the surface, and we settle on particular translations.

How James 2:18-24 Parallels Romans 3:27-4:22 According to James Dunn

Yesterday I participated in a discussion with one other Orthodox person and two Protestants on the question of Justification, and in particular, about whether the Scriptures teach the Protestant doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone (Sola Fide).

One point that I raised was the parallels between Romans 3:27-4:22 and James 2:18-24, according to  the Protestant Biblical commentator Dr. James D. G. Dunn, who as it turns out was a Wesleyan Biblical scholar, though I bought his commentary on Romans, I simply bought it because I knew many consider it to be the best Protestant commentary on Romans. Here is the chart that he included in his commentary, laying out the parallels, which he of course discussed in far greater detail:

                                                                 Romans           James

Issue posed in terms of faith and works  3:27-28            2:18

Significance of claiming “God is one”   3:29-30            2:19

Appeal to Abraham as test case              4:1-2                2:20-22

Citation of proof text – Gen 15:6           4:3                    2:20-22

Interpretation of Gen 15:6                      4:4-21              2:23

Conclusion                                              4:22                 2:24

 (James D. G. Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary: Romans 1-8, vol. 38a (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988), p. 197).

The fact that James 2 so closely and precisely parallels Romans 3 and 4 cannot be merely coincidental, and so what we have is St. James commenting on what St. Paul wrote -- not to contradict St. Paul, but to correct a misunderstanding of what St. Paul was saying. And so when St. James says "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:24), he is directly contradicting the notion that St. Paul taught justification by faith alone. He did teach that we are justified by faith, but not by faith alone. Rather, as he says in Galatians 5:6, true faith is faith that "works by love," or as St. James also says, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (James 2:17).

What Dunn and many of the Fathers who comment on Romans point out is that St. Paul was not talking about "works" in general, as Protestants have generally taken it, but he is dealing with Jews (both those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and those who did not) as having a privileged position with God because of their adherence to the Law of Moses, and the ceremonial aspects of that Law in particular. His point in Romans 3 and 4 was that it is only on the basis of faith in what Christ did for us on the Cross that anyone is saved, and not on the basis of "the works of the law," which was the observance of the rules and rituals of the Mosaic covenant. He was not arguing that we are saved by "Faith alone," regardless of whether we are faithful to God's commandments, as they are properly understood in the light of the Gospel.

Texas Monthly Hit Piece on Russian Orthodoxy in Texas

Note: The article in question is so over the top that I considered not responding to it directly, but I think the people in my parish, and people who have been part of the parish in the past, or will become part of it in the future will need to understand what happened with this article, and what to make of it.

Sometime last year, Meagan Clark Saliashvili contacted me about whether I would agree to be interviewed for an article she was writing for Texas Monthly on the growth of Orthodoxy in Texas. Meagan is an independent reporter who is a convert to Orthodoxy, married to a Georgian man, and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. I was not unaware of the liberal bent to her past reporting, but I hoped since she was a recent convert that she would be honest and sincere, even though I had reasons to doubt she would be. However, I figured if she was going to write a hit piece, it probably wouldn't matter whether I spoke to her or not, and speaking to her might help. 

As it turned out, the article was not about the growth of Orthodoxy in Texas at all, but was in fact an extremely biased attempt to paint me, my parish, and other Orthodox Christians as racists, conspiracy theorists, and authoritarians. However, the fact that I did talk to her, and allowed her to visit my parish resulted in her putting in many details that contradicted much of what she was trying to accomplish. I am not sure if these things were included in the original version of the story or not, but I was contacted by a fact checker from Texas Monthly (a first from any news outlet I have ever interacted with) and pointed out to him a number of relevant facts that did in fact appear in the article as published. On the other hand, I did not anticipate how this would negatively impact some people in the parish, and that is my biggest regret about agreeing to this.

The extreme bias of the article did not take long to appear, however. The title of the article is itself one of the most ridiculous titles I have ever seen in my life: 

"Inspired by the Confederacy and Czarist Russia, “Ortho Bros” Are on the Rise: A Houston-area priest is part of a group of religious leaders and media figures who draw followers interested in conspiracy theories and authoritarian government."

Of the hundreds of inquirers I have encountered over the years, most of them would not have known what "Czarism" even was or how to pronounce the word when they first began coming to my parish. And discussing the Confederacy is something I don't bring in at all to my discussions about the Orthodox Faith with such inquirers. What I teach and preach is the Tradition of the Church, what it means to be an Orthodox Christian, and how to draw closer to God -- and that is what is in fact drawing people into the Church.

Apparently, to Meagan, thinking that the COVID lockdowns were a bad idea makes one a conspiracy theorist. But those she cites as authorities on Orthodoxy believe in conspiracy theories, such as the idea that Putin and Trump conspired to steal the 2016 election. And while Orthodox Christians are free to have their own views about how the government ought to be run, most of the people I encounter believe that the government we have right now is already too authoritarian... they are hardly begging for more. 

Why put all of that into the title? To make sure people who just read the titles know that Russian Orthodox Christians are scarry bad people.

Secondly, just look at the photo of me that they used for this article. My Church is a very well-lit Church. When this photo was taken, not only was the Church bright with natural light, the photographer had a lot of additional lights shining in my face. The fact that they made the picture so dark was clearly intended to communicate that this article was about something sinister.

The way words were used throughout the article were consistently designed to paint a negative picture of me and my parish. My parishioners don't walk into Church, they "shuffle" in. I don't wear vestments when serving; I wear a "cape." The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia did not reunite with the Church inside of Russia in 2007 because the issues that kept us apart were finally resolved; it was "at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s request." 

I lived through the time before, during, and after the reconciliation of the Russian Church in 2007, and it did not happen because Putin requested it. He had no pull over those outside of Russia. This was an issue that had been on the table for years, and it happened because the time for it to happen had come, and both sides wanted it to happen.

Somehow my sermon on the day that Meagan visited, which was about the slaughter of innocent Palestinian civilians, and the Church's traditional understanding of itself as Israel in contrast to Protestant Dispensationalists who are cheering on the slaughter of Palestinians because of their bad theology, but which nevertheless called for us to not hate other people, was portrayed as if it were mere political commentary, to which my parishioners just nodded along to in some unthinking way. I would invite those who haven't heard that sermon to listen to it, and to judge for themselves.

Meagan suggested that I have people in my "orbit" that are "white supremacists." I have asked her to name them, because if she could point me to anyone who actually held such views, I would want to make sure that their bishop knew about it and dealt with them. But so far, she has named no one, but the smear remains.

She described my spiritual journey into Orthodoxy in ways that were dismissive. I would invite anyone interested in the facts to read my article on the subject: A Pilgrim’s Podvig.

I am quoted as saying: "I think the reason there’s been this big influx since the lockdowns is a lot of people have a sense that things are going in a very bad direction quickly, and they’re trying to grab on to something firm." But then Meagan editorializes, and writes "For Whiteford, that something firm is often certain aspects of traditional Southern culture."

This is not at all true. That something firm is the Orthodox Faith. Anyone who has read what I have written and heard what I have said would know that this is what I was referring to, but instead Meagan has to distort what I was saying so she can shift the focus to what she wants to talk about and further distort things.

She writes:

"During a recent talk in North Carolina, he spoke of the spiritual benefits of agrarianism and asserted that the legacy of the Confederacy has been misconstrued—he believes the Civil War wasn’t primarily fought over slavery. “Bad things happened, and we should never defend those things,” he noted. “But it would be the height of ingratitude for me to throw my ancestors under the bus, particularly when I don’t have any reason to believe that they did anything that they understood to be wrong, at least not in a grossly immoral way.”

The talk that I gave was entitled "Southern Agrarianism and Moldova." I think Meagan thinks that "agrarianism" has something to do with the Confederacy or white supremacy, but it doesn't -- it's a much broader concept. When the Texas Monthly Fact checker called me, he asked me about this, and I pointed out that Southern Agrarian writers came to prominence in the 1920's and 30's, but that the best known contemporary Southern Agrarian writer is Wendell Berry, who is often thought of as an environmentalist. Perhaps the article would have been even more distorted if I had not pointed this out, but that still seems to be her underlying assumption. In that talk, I mentioned the Confederacy only once, while talking about the racial diversity in the South, when I pointed out that the last Confederate general to surrender was Stand Watie, the chief of the Cherokee Nation. But as the title of the talk suggests, the focus of the talk was to discuss the lessons we could learn from Moldova, which is an Orthodox country with a largely agrarian culture. I would suggest that those who would like to listen to my talk, listen to it in its entirety.

But when Meagan says that I "asserted that the legacy of the Confederacy has been misconstrued—he believes the Civil War wasn’t primarily fought over slavery. “Bad things happened, and we should never defend those things,” he noted. “But it would be the height of ingratitude for me to throw my ancestors under the bus, particularly when I don’t have any reason to believe that they did anything that they understood to be wrong, at least not in a grossly immoral way," she is again misrepresenting what I said. Fortunately, the comments she is alluding to were from the question-and-answer period, and you can listen to what I actually said in context here:

You can listen to another comment from the question-and-answer period that was along similar lines, by clicking here.

I don't think that the Civil War was fought for the purpose of abolishing slavery, and I say that for historical reasons that I have laid out before. If I am wrong on the facts I point to, I would be happy to have someone correct me and provide me with the evidence to the contrary, but there are many historians who have reached the same conclusions I have. And yes, I don't support destroying historical monuments and artifacts, because that is what Bolsheviks do -- not people who care about history. No one has to agree with me. My position on this is not a matter of Orthodox Dogma, to be sure. I don't hate anyone because they come to other conclusions on the matter. I believe in being tolerant of other people's opinions. 

Further on, Meagan wrote:

"It’s difficult to determine how many of St. Jonah’s congregants are in accord with Whiteford’s ideology and how many are devoted to the church for more traditional reasons. But it was clear that fringe ideas, including conspiracy theories, are welcome, from anti-vax stances to prepping for apocalyptic scenarios."

What is odd about this is that Meagan has not provided any evidence that I have an ideology, much less that I have imposed it on anyone else, nor has she described what that ideology might be. I would be very interested to learn what that ideology is supposed to be, because I believe ideological thinking of any sort is wrong in principle, and is contrary to a Traditional Christian Mindset. People in my parish hold a wide variety of views on a great many topics, and I don't tell them what they can or cannot think as long as they don't advocate for something contrary to the teachings of the Church. I have people who are very conservative, but I also have people who are politically on the left. Again, I believe in being tolerant of other people.

The article suggested that I somehow support the establishment of a monarchy in the United States. I have never suggested any such thing, as you can see from this answer I gave to a question on the subject: Why Monarchy Won't Work in America.

Meagan made mention of an "anonymous Reddit user who in 2020 posted a call to burn down the “misogynistic xenophobic homophobic St Jonah Russian Orthodox Church.” (Nothing seems to have come of the threat, which Whiteford speculates may have been planted by the FBI.)" 

She makes it sound like this terrorist threat against my Church was no big deal. But let me quote from a review I did of Sarah Riccardi-Swarz's book which tried to portray members of ROCOR as being Putin's fifth column in the United States:

"In June of 2020, my parish had a serious terroristic threat from someone who referred to our parish as "St. Jonah Russian Orthodox Church," despite the fact that we never use "Russian" in the name of our parish, though we make no secret about being part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. When that happened, I called the FBI, as well as the local Constables office. The local authorities were very responsive, but the FBI never called me back. I mentioned what had happened to a Protestant minister I know who is fairly well connected. He contacted our Lt. Governor, and he called the FBI. Only then did I get a call back, but in the end, they did almost nothing to track down the person who had made these threats, though he had an online profile that should not have been hard to track down, and he was certainly living in this area. This year, on Old Calendar Annunciation, I finally received a visit from an FBI agent (nearly two years later), who began by mentioning what had happened in 2020, and who said that they just wanted to make sure everything was OK, given tensions around the war in Ukraine. He asked if I would agree to talk to him, and I did. His line of questioning had almost nothing to do with the safety and security of my parish. It was all about what contacts I may have had with the Russian Consulate in Houston, whether the Russian government had any influence over my Church, and things of that nature. Recent history has shown that you don't have to actually be guilty of anything for the FBI to put you in jail. So obviously, this attention is unwelcome, though it would have been nice if they had been more interested in my parish in June of 2020. 

I have speculated that perhaps the guy who made this threat was an FBI asset that was trolling to see who would respond to his call to burn my Church down. I entertain that possibility only because it would have been shooting fish in a barrel for the FBI to have tracked this guy down, had they any inclination to do so, but they didn't, and so the question is why didn't they? I don't claim to know the truth about what happened, I only know that it is very odd as it is.

Then Meagan talks about a specific family in my parish and introduces that paragraph with "Not everyone who comes to Whiteford’s church is looking to get involved in political or ideological battles." I was told by the family that spent about three hours talking with her, they talked about homesteading and homeschooling, and the Faith, but that Meagan kept trying to get them to talk about politics. They told her that they don't come to Church to talk politics, but it was Meagan who kept bringing the subject up in the first place.

The fact is no one has come to my parish looking to get involved in political or ideological battles, except perhaps Meagan herself, but the way she words this suggests that this family is exceptional. They are not exceptional in why they have come to my parish, nor in why they have stayed.

It is a shame that a person who ostensibly is an Orthodox Christian, and who assured me that she was doing an article to talk about the growth of Orthodoxy in Texas decided to instead use the occasion to attack people she doesn't agree with. 

The day after this article was posted people in my parish were contacted by a scammer claiming to be me, who was wanting to get access to our parish directory. We don't know what this person's intentions are, but we can reasonably assume that the intentions are not good. When you vilify Russian Orthodox Christians, and paint them as Putin stooges, who are somehow associated with white supremacists despite wanting to establish a Spanish speaking parish, co-authoring statements against racism and preaching sermons about how we can't hate people, unhinged people might decide to do something that results in real people getting hurt. I hope that people like Meagan will keep their responsibility for that kind of reaction in mind in the future.

Deaconesses, Female Deacons, and the Agenda of the St. Phoebe Center

 

St. Phoebe, the Deaconess

On February 2nd, 2024, Ancient Faith Radio held a discussion about deaconesses, which was a documentary by John Maddox, interspersed with discussions between Fr. Thomas Soroka and John Maddox, and which eventually included callers, included me, among a few others.

There are a number of people whose opinions I respect who thought that the discussion was giving a platform to feminists with an agenda. Personally, I thought it was a mostly useful show, and found the full unedited interviews that John Maddox did with the various guest on the documentary to be even more revealing. Some of the interviews were more interesting than others, but in the description box on YouTube, you can select which interview you want to listen to, which makes navigating this more than 10-hour compilation manageable. 

This show reminded me of the kind of shows that Kevin Allen (of blessed memory) used to do on AFR. The only difference being that he probably would have had Fr. Patrick Mitchell on with someone from the Phoebe Center for Deaconesses, and would have moderated an informal debate designed to let people hear how the two sides compare with each other. 

I think both the shorter show and the full-length interviews make a very strong case against the push for deaconesses, and apparently the Phoebe Center for Deaconesses thought so too, because no sooner was the show over than they were claiming to have been victimized by the show, and the discussions which it sparked.

What Complicates This Discussion

There are several questions that complicate this discussion: 1. What were deaconesses, and how did they function? 2. If the office was restored, what would that look like? 3. Why did they cease to be a living part of the life of the Church and should that office be restored? 4. Is there an agenda behind the push to restore deaconesses? So let's take a look at each of these questions:

1. What were deaconesses, and how did they function? 

We know that deaconesses were celibate women 40 years old and above. They eventually became associated with female monasticism. They certainly assisted with the baptism of women adult converts -- because the practice of the early Church was to baptize everyone in the nude, and obviously this required that adult women be baptized outside of the viewing of men. So while a priest said the words of the baptism from behind a screen, a deaconess performed all of the functions, such as the anointing with oil, the triple immersion, the robing, the chrismation, and the tonsuring. 

In addition to this, we know deaconesses took communion to women who were sick. They also maintained order on the side of the Church in which women were praying during the services. They also, at least in some places formed a choir and sang parts of the services, antiphonally, with the male choir.

There is some debate about whether deaconesses qualified as minor clergy (analogous to readers and subdeacons), or whether they were part of the major orders of clergy (such as deacons, priests, and bishops). There is some good evidence that they were classed closely with deacons, in terms of rank, but this may or may not have been how they were viewed from the beginning, and in various places.

2. If the office was restored, what would that look like?

Without question, deaconesses did not function in the same way as male deacons. This is a key point upon which much confusion arises, because people like the folks at the Phoebe Center are pushing for deaconesses to be ordained on the same basis as male deacons -- and so with the same age limit of 25 and older, no requirement for celibacy, and the same liturgical functions as male deacons. The problem with this is that this is not restoring the ancient order of deaconesses -- this is the establishment of something entirely different. Were they actually calling for the restoration of deaconesses as they once existed in the Church, there would be a lot less controversy on this subject. But speaking of "restoring" deaconesses while actually promoting the introduction of something novel is not accidental sloppiness -- it is a marketing strategy.

In the discussion on this issue, someone pointed out that the Phoebe Center was engaging in the "Motte-and-bailey fallacy." This occurs when someone conflates two positions that share some similarities -- one which is more easily defensible, and one which is not -- and then go back and forth between these two conflated positions, depending on their need to retreat to the more defensible position, or their desire to push the indefensible position. I think this was an insightful observation. When people attack their push for women to function as male deacons, they appeal to the evidence for the ancient order of deaconesses, without ever actually engaging the merits of the criticisms of their far less defensible agenda.

3. Why did they cease to be a living part of the life of the Church and should that office be restored? 

It seems to me that the decline in adult conversions and thus the lack of need for deaconesses to fulfil this most important role was the biggest factor in the decline and eventual disappearance of deaconesses. The fact that they ceased to exist very early on in the Western Church was probably a factor too. I think it ultimately doesn't matter so much why this happened as it does that it did in fact happen. That this order ceased to exist is good evidence that it was no longer needed by the Church, and so those arguing for the restoration of deaconesses have the burden of proof that there is a need for it now. But again, if they were actually talking about restoring deaconesses as they once actually were, it would not be that controversial.

For example, about an hour from Houston, there is a Greek convent. The abbess is a very holy woman, and were she made a deaconess, I certainly would have no reason to object. But the fact is, as an abbess, she already can function pretty much as a deaconess use to function. She cannot now commune in the altar, but she can do pretty much everything else. Even bringing communion to other nuns could be done when there was a need (such as when no priest is available because of the isolation of the convent), with the blessing of her bishop.

I have not asked the abbess for her opinion on this question, but I suspect that if I did, she would not be in favor of restoring deaconesses. I say this because when you look at who is pushing for restoring deaconesses, they are almost always academics.* Serious and experienced monastics that are vocally supporting the restoration of deaconesses are as scarce as hens' teeth. 

4. Is there an agenda behind the push to restore deaconesses?

The evidence that those pushing the "restoration" of deaconesses have an agenda was made very clear if you listened closely to the full interviews. This is seen by the fact that they conflate restoring deaconesses as they once were with introducing women deaconesses that function like male deacons, but that is far from the only evidence.

John Maddex made a point of asking each of the advocates for "restoring" deaconesses whether or not they would agree that women should never be ordained as priests and bishops, and without exception, they all either dodged the question, or eventually acknowledged that this "could" happen since "women deacons would inevitably lead to a conversation about ordaining women priests." John pressed for them to affirm they were not going to go on to push the ordination of women priests and bishops, because he pointed out that if they took the position that this was impossible, this would relieve a lot of the concerns people have on this issue, but not one of them was willing to provide any such assurance, and that is clearly because they have no intention of stopping with women deacons. You will hear the same question being asked, and the same essential answer in the interviews with Dr. Carrie Frederick Frost, Dr. Valerie Karras, and Dr. Helen Theodoropolous. In each case, this question comes close to the end of the interview. In fact, if you compare all three interviews, they all answer controversial questions in ways so similar that it sounds like they all have agreed upon talking points.

You can see the sleight of hand at work on the Phoebe Center website. They have a FAQ page, and one of the questions is "Does the St. Phoebe Center promote the ordination of women to the priesthood (i.e. the episcopos or presbytery)?" And the answer provided is "No, ordination of women to those offices is not part of the Orthodox Christian Tradition and the St. Phoebe Center does not promote this." This answer at first glance sounds like they are opposed to the ordination of women as priests and bishops, but they are careful to not say that. They say it is not part of our tradition... but that doesn't mean they think it is impossible, because if they did think that, they wouldn't refuse to say so. All they say is that "the Phoebe Center does not promote this." But that is because it is part of their talking point strategy. In fact, Dr. James Skedros of Holy Cross Seminary (who did not seem to be an enthusiastic advocate for the "restoration" of deaconesses, but he certainly is not opposed to it, and he has been involved in Phoebe Center discussions on this issue), said that those advocating the "restoration" of deaconesses "recognize [the need] not even to bring up the topic" of ordaining women as priests. It is important to note that this is merely a marketing strategy, and has nothing to do with taking a principled position, being honest, seeking the Truth, or striving to be faithful to the Orthodox Tradition.

Of the interviews of those who best opposed ordaining women deacons, I would recommend listening to Dr. Edith M. Humphrey, Presbytera Dr. Eugenia Constantinou, Khouriah Frederica Mathews-Green, and Dr. Mary Ford.

My Part in this Discussion

I did not intend to call in to this show, but in the chat discussions on YouTube, there were many people who said that AFR should have me on to discuss the issue. Eventually, Fr. Thomas Soroka asked me to call in -- he even sent me a private message. So I did call in. You can listen to my call here, but we got cut off, and I had to call back in twice. 

In my call, I began by pointing out the dishonest use of the phrase "restoration" with relation to what they are promoting, when in fact, they are promoting something entirely different from a restoration. At the end of my call, I made a comment that the Phoebe Center folks took exception to, and claimed was somehow unfit for the ears of women to hear. AFR eventually edited my comments, in a likely vain effort to make the folks at the Phoebe Center happy, but you can listen to the unedited comments by clicking here. This is what I said without editing:

"One other thing I would say quickly about the Phoebe Center, is they say, well, we’re not pushing for women priests, we’re only talking about deaconesses, and I’m very tempted to use a very crass reference to what guys often try to do to pressure women when they’re out in the back seat of a car, but you know, you say I just want to go this far, but no further, but once you get there, then what happens? I don't trust that kind of an argument. I don't think that is where they want to stop, and some of them have openly advocated for women being ordained as priests. We've seen this before. The slippery slope is a real thing, when you have people who intentionally grease it, and we just need to be really on guard."

When I said that I was "tempted to use a very crass reference," what I in fact went on to say was not the crass reference I was tempted to use. I instead toned it down to keep it acceptable for mixed company. Pretty much everyone above the age of 15 knows what I was talking about, and anyone under that age was not likely listening anyway. I think it is an apt analogy. The point is, like the guy in the back seat of a car, they know that saying what they really want is not going to get the desired result, and so ask for something short of that... with every intention of pushing to go beyond that point once they get there. It is obvious that they really want women priests and women bishops, but they know saying so plainly would get them nowhere.

The faux outrage over what I said is especially rich given that many of those expressing that outrage are also are pushing the LGBTQP agenda and would never object to that agenda being pushed on kids in school, nor would you likely hear them expressing outrage over gay pride parades in which men expose themselves to children and engage in lewd public acts in their presence.

If I had been able to hear Dr. Edith Humphries interview before I called in, I might have simply referred to this a "sleight of hand" tactic as she did, so that they would not then be able to avoid dealing with the substance of my criticisms, and instead deflect attention by clutching their pearls, and by unironically appealing to pre-feminist notions that women are too fragile to hear such things said.

Before my call, there was a young woman who called in and who said that God had called her to be a deaconess, and asked what she should do about it. Fr. Thomas Soroka's answer was very pastoral, but he did not say that she should be made a deaconess in the end. And so somehow this very pastoral answer was later referred to as being unkind. The woman who called in has published articles on this subject, and when you put your thoughts out there publicly, people do have a right to express contrary opinions. Also when you claim God has told you something, people also have a right to question whether this was really God, or just symptoms of self deception. There were people who made some unkind comments elsewhere about her. I certainly don't defend being unnecessarily harsh with anyone. But the faux outrage that was expressed in this case was another example of having a double standard. You can't contend that women are so strong and tough that they can do anything a man can do, while at the same time act as if anyone who contradicts a woman and makes her feel bad is a "big fat meany!" One of these two views may be a correct way to view women, but both cannot be true in the same universe. 

In any case, here is what I have to say on the subject in a forum in which I have more time to lay out the case:

Now if the folks at the Phoebe Center actually agree that women can never be ordained as priests or bishops, because this would be an unthinkable violation of the Orthodox Tradition, I will gladly make a public apology in response. But I won't be holding my breath in the meantime. They won't say that, because clearly that is where they want to go next, and "restoring" deaconesses is a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.

* This point was made in the full interview with Khouriah Federica Matthews-Green.

See also: 

Sister Vassa on the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood

Stump the Priest: Altar Girls?

Stump the Priest: The Churching of Boys vs. the Churching of Girls

Moldova Pilgrimage, Part 5

A statue of Mother Safta Brâncoveanu in front of the main Church in the Văratec women's monastery. 

Click here for Part 1.

Click here for Part 2.

Click here for Part 3.

Click here for Part 4.

On Thursday, August 18th, we packed all of our stuff back into the van, because we would be heading back to Moldova before the day was over, but we had two more stops planned in Romania first.

We went to the Văratec Monastery first. It was founded under the guidance St. Paisius Velichkovsky, and was associated with the Agapia women's monastery which is nearby. Agapia is much larger.

The interior of the main Church in the Văratec Monastery

One interesting icon I noticed was this one, which was on the western wall, and part of the icons depicting the last judgment:

I can't make out the inscription, which was small, not clear, and probably in Romanian, but it was very similar to an icon I saw at the Old Rite parish in Erie, Pennsylvania, which had an English inscription. Assuming these two icons are modeled on the same original, the inscription on the scroll held by the angel says something like "Because of your fornication you are denied entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, but because of your charity, you are spared the torments of hell." I have never seen an icon like this elsewhere, but would be interested in learning more about it, if anyone has more information.

Next we went to the Agapia women's monastery. It was impressive because of its size and the number of nuns I saw there. Iryna Teodoreanu, who lives in Houston, but has many friends who are nuns in the monastery made sure we were given a tour. 

Agapia

There is a very impressive museum that we were guided through by Nun Nicoleta, who speaks English very well. We had a lot of very interesting discussions as well, but I noticed my phone was vibrating, and then saw that Constantine had sent me several messages saying that Elena wasn't feeling well, and that we needed to leave. So unfortunately, we had to cut our visit short. Elena was very pregnant by this time, but up until now had been able to keep up with all the walking without any signs of it being a problem, but we quickly started making our way back to where the van was parked. After she had a chance to rest, and drink some water, she was feeling better, but we thought it was probably a good idea to start heading back to Moldova.

Crossing the border back into Moldova was less of an adventure than was our crossing the border into Romania. We wanted to make it back to Sălcuța in time to celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration on the Old Calendar (keep in mind, Romania is on the New Calendar, Moldova is on the Old). We made it back home, but I don't think we made it back in time to attend the evening service. 

On Friday morning I was taken to Church early, so I could attend Matins, before the hours and Liturgy. When we arrived I noticed Fr. Nikolai was talking with another priest. It turned out there were a group of pilgrims from Kiev, who had gone to Bulgaria, but their van had broken down, and Fr. Andrey was hoping to serve the Liturgy there. I noticed Fr. Nikolai had him show his paperwork, and I think this was to make sure that he was a priest under Metropolitan Onouphry (the legitimate Ukrainian Orthodox Church), and not under Epiphoney, the head of the US sponsored schismatic Ukrainian Church.

Since Fr. Andrey was serving in Slavonic, I did all of my parts in English. This may have been the most international service this village parish had ever seen. Again, it was very hot in the Church, but we all survived. After the Liturgy, we all were invited to Fr. Nikolai's home for a festal meal. We also got to see Fr. Sergei's home, which was very close by. We had conversations going on in Russian, Romanian, and English, with various people translating to help the non-trilingual people. Before we left, we took some pictures. 

From left to right: Fr. Nikolai, Constantine, Fr. Gregory, myself, Fabi, my wife, Matushka Margareta, Elena, Fr. Sergei, and I believe that is one of Fr. Sergei's daughters.

After we got back from what was a truly wonderful afternoon, we needed to get ready to head out to visit another of Elena's aunts and uncles, Pelaghia and John, in Cantemir, which is close to the border with Romania, but a bit south of where we had crossed back and forth previously. Elena was doing the driving, and we were going a bit faster than usual to try to make it there by a reasonable hour. We were going up and down hills, and rounding corners this way and that, such that by the time we got there, I was feeling more than a bit queasy. Uncle John is Moldovan, but was a veteran of the Soviet Army, and prefers to speak in Russian, and so we were again having a trilingual conversation, but a pleasant one. After breakfast the next morning, we headed back to Sălcuța for one final time. Loaded up all of our things, and said our goodbye's to Elena's family, and then headed to spend the night in Chișinău, so we could catch our flight early on Sunday morning. We did a reader service back in the apartment we stayed in, and got up early to do our final packing.

Constantine and I loaded the van with all the luggage, because we had too many bags to fit everyone and the luggage into the van, and so the plan was for Elena, my wife, and Fabi to catch an Uber to the airport. However, Elena discovered that she could not find an Uber driver on Sunday morning, and after much waiting and hoping, finally, she stopped a car with a young man and asked if he would give them a ride to the airport. He was a random stranger, but in this country that places such a high value on hospitality, she was not disappointed, even in the capital city.

Once at the airport, we had one final bit of drama when we were trying to board the flight. The agent for the airline asked Elena if she had a new doctor's letter stating she was able to fly in her advanced state of pregnancy. She didn't have such a letter, because we obviously had not been back to Houston, but they said the previous letter was no longer valid. However, this time the agent helped her out, and just suggested she might want to wear a jacket that would make it less obvious how far along she was, so that she didn't get any hassles when we had to catch our connecting flight in Istanbul. When we got to Istanbul, we found such a jacket, and had no further problems for the remainder of the trip.

I was looking forward to being able to visit the various churches and monasteries we visited, but I was not expecting to have this trip being a life changing event, but having a chance to see a largely agrarian Orthodox country up close really was a revelation. Even though Moldova is a relatively poor country, they are the richest country I have ever been in, when it comes to their faith, their culture, and the strength of their families. We have a lot we could learn from Moldova.

The following is a video of a talk I gave last September that reflects on what I learned from this trip.

What is Christian Marriage?

Me and my wife with my daughter Catherine, and son-in-law Benjamin Dixon

The following sermon was given on May 7, 2023, at the wedding of my daughter Catherine Whiteford and my son-in-law Benjamin Dixon, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Marriage was established by God in Creation. Although many people get confused as to what marriage is these days, I can guarantee you 100 percent of the people here have a male father and a female mother and only one of each. That's the basis for all human life. God made it the very root and foundation of society, and in a healthy society most people would be born from parents married to each other and live in a stable home. The more that ceases to be the norm, the more unstable society becomes.

That's why it's all the more important for us as Christians to be committed to marriage, because each marriage is like one thread in a big, woven cloth. You might pull one string out without messing up the whole garment, but if you keep pulling out strings, one after and another, pretty soon the whole thing unravels. Marriage is that important.

Christian marriage is something in addition to that. In the Gospel reading, we heard about how Christ took natural water–which is good in of itself and made by God at the time of Creation–and how, when He blessed it, He turned that water into wine. God takes what He already blesses from Creation in terms of natural marriage and makes it into something else. It's not just an avenue through which life comes forth and we produce future generations, nor just the basis of society. It's also the path by which you can save your souls.

A husband and a wife in a Christian home are to be committed to each other in such a way that when one person is weak, the other one is strong. If you have to drag the other person across the finish line of life into heaven, you do that, because you are that committed to the relationship. 

It's not just important for you, but also important for your children. It's difficult for children to see parents who don't get along, particularly if it was those parents who taught them the Faith. They can reasonably ask, "if my parents taught me the Faith but they couldn't keep the marriage together, then what good is it?"

We as parents need to be good models of what it means to be Christian parents, even if it's difficult. The thing is, there are always going to be times that are difficult. There will always be times in your marriage when you think, “I made a big mistake, I don't know about this, this is not going well.” But the thing is, if you remain committed to it–and both of you remain committed to it–you will be able to stand firm. 

How do you get that kind of blessing from God? You do what the Virgin Mary said to the servants in the Gospel reading: “Do whatever He tells you.” And then they took that water to Christ and He blessed it, turning it into wine. If you do whatever Christ tells you to do, then you will have no problems between each other, your children will be blessed, and society around you will be blessed because they can look to you as an example of a Christian man and woman. 

May God bless you.