Growing in Wisdom

Our good friends at the Journey to Orthodoxy blog posted a fantastic entry about how increased wisdom can lead us to change our minds on certain topics. His post is meant to show Protestants that, though they are now certain of sola sciptura, sola fide, and other doctrines, so once was he. But "to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant," as one can find fewer and fewer examples of Protestant ideals the further one goes back — and one has not gone far at all before they disappear altogether. If one is honest, upon drinking history a bit deeper, he will change his mind to reflect what he has learned.

His choice of video illustrates his point brilliantly:



Read his whole post. This was a great insight.

A Byzantine Word About Uber-Byzantines

A word on Convert Fanaticism Syndrome^TM from the Orthodox England website:

Then there are the people who have been attracted to the Church through a discovery on holiday. I call these people 'Holiday Orthodox'. Their attraction is often not actually to Christ, but to a foreign and exotic culture - the more exotic the better. Living very humdrum lives, the Orthodox Church gives them something to dream about, usually their next holiday in Crete or wherever....

Then there are the people who come with their own agenda, often 'know it alls', who have read every book under the sun, but still have no idea of the letter A of the Christian ABC. And they come with demands which they wish to impose! 'Yes, I want to join the Orthodox Church, but only on condition that it has first been 'reformed' and 'modernised''! 'Yes, this is good, but I want to add in some Western hymns before the Canon'!, or 'I will only join the Orthodox Church when it has the same Easter as my Aunt Susan who is a Methodist'!, or 'Everything is perfect except that you use too many candles. Take away the candles and I will join the Orthodox Church'. 'I will only be Orthodox if you have an icon of St Francis of Assisi'! 'I will join the Orthodox Church on condition that everybody votes New Labour and goes on holiday to Tuscany'! [Or, "Have you seen the Missal I've put together? It's so much better than the approved Western Rite Orthodox...."- BJ] These are perhaps extreme examples, but they are all real examples. They are all examples of a lack of humility. No priest should receive such people into the Church for the simple reason that they do not love and accept the Church and Her Master Christ...

The attachment to externals can extend to foreign clothes, language, food and folklore. I remember in one Russian church in Belgium, you immediately knew who the converts were; the men had nineteenth-century Russian peasant beards and the women wore dowdy long skirts and seemed to be wearing tablecloths on their heads. You knew who the Russians were because they dressed normally. In a Greek church here, there were two priests, a Greek and a convert. You immediately knew who the convert was because he wore huge wide-sleeved robes and an enormous chimney-pot on his head. The Greek just wore an undercassock.

In another Russian church, the Russians always spoke about singing, Christmas and Easter, but the 'converts' (and that is what they were) spoke about 'chanting' and 'The Nativity' and 'Paskha'...

Some people can be so full of themselves! Some people can be very self-important and very puffed-up. They will first tell you - if you let them - their detailed life-stories and then all the latest gossip about Priest X, Bishop Y, and then Jurisdiction Z. Even though they do not know the ABC of the children's Faith. The thing is though, that Christianity, and that is what we are about, is about none of these things....

A Question from Finland: "Mass" or "Liturgy"?

I was interested to get this e-mail from a writer in Finland:

Q: Do the western rite orthodox use the term "mass" or "liturgy"?

It's quite sad that the western rite isn't in wider use. I'm considering joining in the Orthodox Church and I'm accustomed to western masses. I wish the Church of Finland would also have a western rite...

A: Thank you so much for your question! I will try my best to answer you, but let me begin with this: if a Western Rite is not available, please don't let that deter you from joining the Orthodox Church. We are Orthodox first and celebrants of a canonically approved expression of Orthodoxy second. The Orthodox Church is your heart's home; I hope you'll investigate it carefully, whether you have the ability to worship in the Western Rite or not. And you might always prays Western Rite prayers in your home; the Monastic Diurnal and Monastic Breviary Matins are available from this distributor, and you can download St. Tikhon Rite Matins and Vespers (with music) here.

The answer to your question is, yes: the Eucharistic service in the Western Rite is called both "Mass" and "Liturgy." True, the term "Mass" is more common in the Western Rite and "Divine Liturgy" more common for the Byzantine, but one may hear the Western Rite service called the Divine Liturgy — e.g., "The Liturgy of St. Gregory," "St. Tikhon's Liturgy." Technically, the Orthodox Missal is the approved text of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, and it uses the term "The Mass according to the Rite of Saint (Gregory/Tikhon)." My own preference is to call the Western Eucharistic service Mass and the Byzantine Liturgy, but I'm ambivalent either way.

One sometimes finds both terms used for the Byzantine rite, as well. For instance, the Byzantine service book Divine Prayers and Services by Fr. Seraphim Nassar (sometimes lovingly called "the five-pounder") regularly uses the term "Mass" instead of "Liturgy." (It also refers to Lent as "Quadragesima"; confusing, since that term, and all "The Gesima Sundays," have another meaning in Western liturgics.) Yet this book is still used by the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. Undoubtedly, some Carpatho-Russians, OCA members, and others continue to use the term "Mass" for the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

There should be little concern about which term we use: both are ancient. What no one should countenance is the common misconception that the term "Mass" is some kind of post-Schism Roman abuse that Orthodox Christians should never utter except when adjoined with the word "anathema!" The Catholic Encyclopedia gives some background on the term: "The word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604)." In fact, St. Ambrose of Milan used the Latin phrase in a letter to his sister, Marcellina (Letter XX).

I'll let Fr. Michael Keiser have the final word, through this quotation from his book, Offering the Lamb: Reflections on the Western Rite Mass in the Orthodox Church:

The two names that are most commonly used among Orthodox Western Rite to describe the Eucharistic gathering are the Mass and the Divine Liturgy. I do not think one is necessarily more appropriate than the other, but it is important to understand that the Mass is not a late Roman Catholic innovation, but an Orthodox designation that was used by Orthodox Christians for centuries prior to the schism between the East and the West...What a blessing it would be if we could rejoice in the richness and diversity of Holy Tradition, as expressed in the names we used for the holy and common action that forms the center of the Orthodox Christian life: the Mass, the Divine Liturgy, and all the other words and rites that remind us of the rich tapestry that is the experience of the universal and True Faith. (pp. 8-10, 10).

(P.S.: I'm truly sorry it took me so long to answer, and I'm sorry for posting your comment and your question here. Usually, I just post one or the other. I'm humbled that you asked for my poor response. Thank you for stopping by this blog; we hope you'll return regularly. And please keep us informed about the Church in Finland!)

The Assumption vs. Assumptions

Among some Orthodox, especially among new members of the Orthodox Church, there seems to be an impression that "the Fathers" never deviated from one another in any detail. Thus, by reading one father or one group of fathers, one may comprehend all of Orthodoxy. This is an oversimplification and runs the risk of denying the Fathers' humanity. Yes, they were great lights, and all are worthy of study, but they must often be read in view of one another.

The Feast of the Dormition/Assumption, whose octave falls today, is one case in point. Like many other feasts, the practice moved from the East to the West, and some Western fathers had questions about it. Two in particular were St. Adamnan of Iona (d. 704) and the Venerable Bede (d. 735). The former wrote in De Locis Sanctis, "on the right side of it [the lower church] is the empty stone sepulchre of St. Mary, in which for a time she rested after her burial. But how or when or by whom her sacred body was raised from that sepulchre, or where it awaits the Resurrection, it is said that no one knows certainly." The Venerable Bede echoed his questions.

Yet this Feast is celebrated by East and West, attested to by many Fathers. I don't say this to diminish either saint, especially the Venerable Bede. But there are some who will find a doctrine eluded to by one writer and run with it as far as they can, or who read a certain Byzantine term was used one time in a missal in a far-flung corner of the continent, and thus this is transformed into "our ancient Western heritage." But scattered individual uses, liturgical or doctrinal, are by definition idiosyncratic and, at times, simply wrong. This should serve as an antidote to our relying too heavily upon any one saint or geographic congolomeration of saints, in whom there may be error, and encourage us to rather lean upon the whole testimony of the fathers and the mind of the Church.

Audio: A "New" Ex-CEC Member on "True Convergence"

It had been nearly eight months since its last update, so I wondered if it had died out, but thankfully the "True Convergence" podcast has come roaring back to life. You can now hear: True Convergence Episode #6, recorded two weeks ago. The new episode features the testimony of Noel Gnotti, a former member of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, now a member of St. Anthony's Orthodox Church in San Diego, California. Also on this episode is Fr. Patrick Cardine, of St. Patrick Antiochian Orthodox Church (Western Rite) in Warrenton, Virginia, a longtime friend of the newly chrismated Noel. We also hear from Matt Cuthberton of St. John the Theologian Orthodox Church in San Juan Capistrano, CA. (Matt has just opened the Byzantine chant site: chantbootcamp.com.)

As with all the previous episodes, this is well worth listening to, especially for CEC members, charismatics, or evangelicals considering the Orthodox Church. (You can get a a run-down of earlier shows here.) Noel's words about being a "professional Christian" are touching (and convicting). The guests also discuss such topics as:

• Developing a less "casual" view of truth;
• The Convergence Movement's hidden pitfalls: syncretism and self-deception;
• The deep theological content of Orthodox services;
• How charismatic "revelations" are commonplace in Orthodoxy;
• True Convergence occurs within the Orthodox Church;
• What holds us back from pursuing truth; and
  
• Satisfying spiritual hunger.
  

You can download all the episodes here.

So, Two Pictures Are Worth 2,000 Words....

I know the blog entry was some time ago, but I couldn't forget those pictures of St. Gregory the Great's parish being changed from this to this. The images showing Fr. Alford and his congregation laboring to construct a reverent WR Orthodox church out of a former Pentecostal meeting house got me thinking. You could see these two pictures as graphic representations of the transformation of so many former evangelicals from Protestants into Orthodox Christians. It reminds me of this cartoon, actually. (Or read the archives of this blog.) No one can say how many, but over the last several decades, thousands have become Orthodox, either Eastern or Western Rite. This number includes not a few charismatics, perhaps not unlike the group that formerly owned St. Gregory the Great's building.

One striking aspect of Orthodoxy, both Eastern and Western Rite, is the palpable sense of God's presence that our architecture, our sacred space, conveys. This is not always obvious in the architecture of our souls. Because of our sins, whether "cradle" or "convert," Eastern or Western, we desperately need to change from within. This is not merely rearranging the deck chairs (though some saints had a high level of sanctity from infancy); for most of us, it is a major refurbishing. At various stages in our renovation into the image of Christ, our souls may look like this and even this. Someone may look around at the refuse and think to himself, "Things were better before I started this undertaking; all I've done is destroy the condition of my soul. At least before, everything was in its place." Yet we know if the inner man is to become what our Lord wishes it to be, if we are to persist in following His commandments, more renovation must take place, messy and unfamiliar as things sometimes become.

This difficulty is compounded by the fact that, not only can this stage of growth be mistaken for destruction, but a period of destruction can also confused for this stage of growth. This is most true when one destroys his previous background's tradition and replaces it, not with the Lord's commandments, but with self-confidence and his own wisdom. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Prov. 16:25). This person may seek to avoid the clear moral teachings of Orthodoxy, but constructing with a faulty moral blueprint, however well reasoned, will lead only to chaos, artifice, or disfigurement.

More often, he tries to remake the Church in his own image. Such a person knows the Church's teachings but finds he has a much better idea. He has culled ancient (and often long-dead) canons, divorced them from their context, and insisted "true" Orthodox follow them. Or he has strung together a series of liturgical texts that run in a cadence he rather likes and may (or may not) have come from pre-Schism times, and so insists the Church must bless and allow him to use it; after all, he is merely "returning" the Church to her foundations. They begin to ponder: "Perhaps the Church has not considered...Perhaps I was converted for the very purpose of helping the Church discover (or 'rediscover')...." He has been given immense wisdom and insight, engaged in "monumental undertakings," and his light was not made to be hid under a bushel. He cannot! He will not!

However, the Church has a way of shrugging off proud suggestions and self-congratulatory "scholarship" (and often such "scholars" have no scholarly credentials to begin with). Thus, the person becomes angry, frustrated, and his superior canonical or liturgical knowledge (conveniently) allows him to indulge his anger and hatred of the Church herself. He alone (or with a group outside the Church) has preserved the fulness of Church tradition, which the Church has rejected. If She has done this, she must be opposed to...the Church! How apostate, even Satanic, the Body of Christ becomes in their reasoning! Somehow, in making this case, these people cannot understand who might motivate them to attack the Body of Christ in such a way. If such people join a canonical Orthodox Church, they may no longer be members of their former denominations. They become "Orthodox" in name but rejected the Church's plan for constructing their lives. They destroyed their former background and built a self-directed shack in its place, them helpfully placed a plackard advertizing them as "Orthodox" in the front...the better to discredit the rest of us.

There is no place for self-guided morality or canons. And so it is with the Western Rite, as implemented by canonical Orthodoxy. In matters of liturgics, as in matters of our theosis, there is no room for Do-It-Yourself schemes. Following our own preferences will introduce chaos into what should be a well-ordered system. And as those who know construction will attest, problems with one part of a structure affect other parts of the edifice, as well. Soon, our moral, sacramental, and prayer lives are built on self rather than Christ. We turn our churches, and our souls, from this to this.

We have much work to do to turn our soul into an abode worthy of the Lord; or rather, none of us is ever worthy. God has given us the remaining time of our lives to bring these boards, bricks, and mortar into proper arrangement, and the Church has given us the blueprint of our soul's moral, ecclesiastical, and spiritual construction. Rather than debate and gainsay it, exalt our own "scholarship," let's merely, humbly, anonymously go about following it. Yes, we may at times be confused by new doctrines we have learned that contradict our previous affiliations, moral standards higher than our habitual practice, a prayer regimen arranged differently than those we celebrated. But if we persist, we clear away damaged or rotten boards, build an unshakable foundation, and rearrange parts of our building that the blueprint tells us are sound but out of place. In time, this building comes into order. On the way, we would do well to make ours the supplication of that ancient prayer from the Gelasian Sacramentary, which is included in the Orthodox Missal's "Prayers Before Mass":

Purify our consciences, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy visitation: that our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, when He cometh, may find in us a mansion prepared for Himself, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

From the Mailbag: Western Rite Missions in England?

Q: Your Western Orthodoxy blog shows in its entry for July 16 a clergyman censing the congregation at a ROCOR Western-Rite liturgy in London.

On the assumption that the London in question is London the capital of the UK rather than London, Ontario, Canada, I should be interested to know if WR liturgies are a regular occurrence in London and who organises them.

I am an Anglican with a long-standing interest in Orthodoxy and who is needless to say unhappy with what is going on in Anglicanism at the moment.

I assume that you are the author of the blog, if not please congratulate him from me on splendid piece of work.

A: Thank you for your kind words about my poor, unofficial blog. The liturgy was, indeed, held in the UK rather than Ontario (although there is a ROCOR monastery not far from London, Ontario, as well). The celebrant of the Mass in London, Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery, recently addressed the issue of Western Rite missions in Great Britain. Here's what he wrote:

In the aftermath of the Church of England's General Synod decision to go right ahead with bishopesses, and of the shambles that Rowan Williams has managed to make of Lambeth, it is timely to say out loud to Church of England laity, that there is an alternative to the pseudo-leadership of the papacy. The Pope is neither the only nor the best way for members of the Church of England to go!! How many Church of England people realise that the Western Rite was first authorised for Orthodox use specifically IN ENGLAND over a hundred and thirty years ago (just after the Primus of Scotland had visited Russia and discussed unity with Church authorities there - and reported his conversations to the Convocation of Canterbury)? How many realise that services extracted from the Book of Common Prayer were authorised for adaption for Orthodox use over a hundred years ago? How many realise that there have been Orthodox Benedictine monasteries for over sixty years? That the Church of England non-Jurors discussed joining with Orthodoxy in the eighteenth century? Or that the first Anglican parish joined Orthodoxy over thirty years ago? Embryo Western Rite parishes/missions can be formed immediately in England (or Scotland or Wales) and seek immediate Orthodox oversight while they prepare themselves for formal reception. A Western Rite Orthodox Prayer Book already exists - it is just a matter of them making contact with us.

Missions in the UK are dear to Father's heart. He is always searching for those who wish to live out their Orthodox theology in an approved Western liturgical form.

You can contact Fr. Michael here. You can also reach him through the St. Petroc Monastery website or through his online discussion site, Ely Forum.

Thank you for contacting me. I pray your correspondence is a fruitful one, and Godspeed to you on your journey home.

The Works of Our Hands

Our friend Nathan Lee Lewis from the Journey to Orthodoxy blog posted a reflection from his father, Bill H. Lewis, a Southern Baptist minister in Arkansas. It begins:

The first prayer I utter each morning is “Lord, order my steps.” Actually I am saying, “Lord, you are in charge”...The prayer, “Lord, order my steps today” or “Lord, I really do not know what is best for me today. I will depend on you to order for me” is a “catch all” prayer...

Let’s just praise the Lord. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalm 37:23 NKJV) You don’t need to “watch your steps” if you have already turned them over to the Lord at the beginning of the day and continue to trust Him to guide you throughout the day. God promises to guide [watch] your steps when you give Him the opportunity and commit to follow Him.

His father may be interested to hear in the Benedictine tradition of the canonical Western Rite, we put this devotional into practice most pointedly while praying the office of Prime. (Prime is the first hour, said before everyone goes to work. In monasteries, this is where the day's work assignments were given out.) We pray:

O Lord God Almighty, Who hast brought us to the beginning of this day; Defend us in the same with Thy mighty power, that we may not fall into any sin, but that all our thoughts, words, and deeds may be direct to the fulfillment of Thy righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God, world without end. Amen.

Again, following the Martyrology, we pray:

O Lord God, King of heaven and earth, vouchsafe this day to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts and bodies, our thoughts, words, and deeds, in the ways of Thy laws and in the works of Thy commandments; that by Thy help we may be saved and delivered, both now and ever, O Savior of the world, Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

At the close of the Chapter meeting, the presiding individual prays this blessing: "The Lord Almighty order our days and our doings in His peace." For much of the year, this is immediately followed by the "Short Lesson," taken from II Thessalonians 3:5:

The Lord direct your hearts and bodies into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

There is also a plea:

And the glorious majesty of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper Thou the work of our hands upon us, O prosper Thou our handiwork.

In all, it's a wonderful way to start the day, a way that all Christians might find most edifying.

A Guide to Practical Atheism

When you hear people uttering these phrases, it may indicate they are functional atheists:

"I speak my mind."

"I say what I want."

-- note the opportunistic ambiguity that conflates the two possible connotations: "I say whatever is passing for thought in my cerebral apparatus," or "I am committed to the expression of my wants, and I have substituted my true logos and telos with the acquisition of my demands ... I have become a Ferengi in my soul."

..."Celibacy is the cause of scandal."

-- celibacy, by definition, cannot ever be the cause of pedophilia: there are other reasons, but not celibacy, and female ordination will not help, either.

"Chastity is impossible. Asceticism is impossible. Effectuality and righteousness and sacrament are all unrelated. Prayer is just, you know, an intrapsychic epiphenomenon within a closed biological and predictable system."

-- what matters today is not atheism so much, nor immorality, nor wahhabist sharia, nor even globalized idiot quotidianism: what matters today is today's complete renunciation of Christian prayer -- for prayer is, after all, predicated on the union of the Divine nature with the human, the intersection of eternal predestination with psychic freedom: if there is no prayer, there is no remembrance of the Incarnation, and the spirit of antichrist will coalesce into identity and cultural power: "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"

"We need progressive religion. We need church to meet our felt needs."

-- the single greatest heretical challenge against apostolic, Nicene Christianity. It is the slogan for the establishment of autonomy in opposition to ecclesial authority.

"We all worship the same God."

-- uh, no, we don't.

..."I feel that ..."

-- the conflation of feeling and thinking is one of the great strategic triumphs of the dark age.

The full list is here.

Evangelism St. Patrick's Way

St. Patrick is remembered for being the Apostle to Ireland. There is today perhaps more study of missiology than at any time in the 1500+ years since his translation, yet there is no one alive possessing his stature or effectiveness. Richard Barrett's blog provides some answers as to why that may be. He begins by quoting Alden Swan, who in turn quotes Aaron Wolf, before I quote him. (Is that enough nested quotations?):

"Here’s what I can’t figure out: How in the world did Saint Patrick evangelize all of those Druid priests and clan chieftains without a mission statement? After all, history and tradition tell us that he walked around preaching and performed an occasional miracle. But how did he know what his mission was?" - Aaron D. Wolf, The Mission of Souls: When Experts Attack.

Alden Swan: […] Mr. Wolf raises some interesting questions and challenges to modern Evangelical concepts of evangelization and mission, contrasting the wisdom of being “purpose driven” to the pre-marketing (pre-modern) habit of simply proclaiming the Gospel.

Wow. What a concept.

Richard: This gets me thinking about something which has occurred to me before — I have to believe that liturgy is one of our better and more underappreciated evangelism tools. I guarantee you that St. Patrick wasn’t just walking around preaching and “performing occasional miracles” — he would also have been celebrating the Mass, with the Eucharist as his “mission statement.”

Indeed, one of the best-known episodes in his life involved lighting a Paschal fire in front of Druid priests, which led (after a showdown) to his being free to evangelize the isle of Eire.

Worship is evangelism, and attempting to separate the two, whether inside or outside the Orthodox Church, will lead nowhere.

(Hat Tip: Richard)

Fr. Mark Wallace in AGAIN Magazine

Some of you may have seen this already, but it's well worth passing on: an article in AGAIN magazine on the journey of St. Andrew's, formerly of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, and how the parish moved from the Convergence Movement to Orthodoxy. Entitled "Holy Endings and Beginnings" by (n0w) Kh. Susan L. Wallace, it's worth quoting at length and reading in full.

She described the sacrifice her husband, Fr. Mark, experienced (and the full parish shared) in laying down his sacramental ministry in obedience to the Orthodox Church. (The entire parish did without any sacraments from March 2007 until its chrismation in January 2008, a time Kh. Susan describes as "a hard yet necessary wilderness season that is forcing us to look within and embrace obedience rather than feelings." Thank God in passing through the desert, they used it as a well.) At that last service as part of the CEC, no one including:

[O]ur mentor, Fr. Constantine Nasr, was prepared for the sobering moment of reality as we sang our joyous recessional. My husband, Fr. Mark, turned to face the altar and slowly began to take off his chasuble. For eleven years he had put it on to serve at this sacred table, but now he was laying it down as a sacrifice. A holy hush filled the room as he lifted the priestly stole of authority over his head and offered it also in solemnity. An ache pierced my chest as I stood in the back and watched an entire congregation weep bittersweet tears...I watched as my husband took off his beloved priest's collar and added it to the sacrificial pile of vestments. He was serious as he gathered them up in his arms and handed them to Dru, the chief acolyte. Without rehearsal or even suggestion, Dru instinctively walked down the aisle and placed the precious garments of servanthood into Fr. Constantine's arms. The torch had been passed, and divine peace flooded the room.

Obedience is sweet, indeed. Kh. Susan then described her previous spiritual life as a charismatic:

All those years of excitable worship as charismatics did not produce victory over the flesh...we were in bondage to the emotional rollercoaster of feelings without spiritual discipline...Goosebumps were a sure sign we had been visited by the Holy Spirit...Then many, if not most, would go home to become enslaved again to offenses, envy, jealousy, and covetous desires and appetites. Without our realizing it, the pleasure barometer affected our ability to "bring every thought into captivity" (2 Corinthians 10:5) and every response into obedience to Christ. Ultimately, life was based on feelings...

Like so many forced to live on this meager ration, she knew there had to be more. Fr. Mark first met with Fr. Constantine Nasr in December 2006, and as much as it may surprise some, Fr. Constantine gladly embraced both this CEC parish's interest in Orthodoxy and the idea of the Western Rite:

When Mark began to inquire of Fr. Constantine about the possibility of bringing our congregation into the Western expression of the Orthodox Church, Father's face lit up. He had been praying for two years to start a Western Rite mission. To our surprise, we discovered the Antiochians had become visionaries in the task of recovering this Western Rite of the Orthodox faith. Fr. Constantine lovingly bade us, "Come home."

...[God] heard the cry of our hearts and saved us from ourselves...We are learning to offer worship that pleases God—not ourselves...Each Sunday, as I gaze upon the iconic faces of the "great cloud of witnesses" who so willingly laid down their lives for His sake, my resolve to throw off the bondage of spiritual pleasure-seeking is strengthened.

Thank God they have, in fact, come home.

On a separate note: At the request of Fr. Constantine, Fr. Mark Wallace delivered a moving homily concerning his group's journey. This homily is available for viewing online here, courtesy of Fr. Wallace.

An E-mail from Down Under

Our friends at Journey to Orthodoxy have posted an e-mail from a "convert" out of the Baptist church...in Australia. He joined ROCOR and found the JTO blog on the web (and, naturally, liked what he saw). The two unique parts of his story (to me) are that he had dabbled in many non-Christian religions before finding Christian Orthodoxy, and that he was brought to Orthodoxy, in ROCOR, by two people: one an atheist and the other a Jew. The story picks up from there:

After establishing a friendship with this Orthodox friend, I decided to go to an Orthodox Bookshop. As I entered the store, I was warmly greeted and sat down to explain my situation to the workers. They recommended me to go to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia rather than the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, even though they were Greeks themselves. The reason being the purity of the faith generally retained by ROCOR as opposed to the involvement with ecumenism and World Council of Churches on the part of GOA. I even arranged to speak with the Archbishop of Australia, His Grace, Hilarion.

After much discussion and investigation into Orthodoxy, I came to the conclusion (in conjunction with the Church Fathers) that the Church of Christ Visible is One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church retained in Orthodoxy...Orthodoxy is the way of unchanging conviction in Christ being lived out in an ever-changing world...

In the heart of every hardcore Fundamentalist is someone who is truly Orthodox. They just do not know it yet.

Thanks to JTO, and the move of the Holy Spirit, many hardcore fundamentalists are finding this out and finding their way home to the Orthodox Church founded 2,000 years ago, and not a few are finding their way to the Western Rite of canonical Orthodoxy. We welcome them home (and hope they'll bring their friends). :)

It's well worth reading this whole story on JTO.

(Hat tip: Journey to Orthodoxy, but you knew that, didn't you?)

From the Mailbag: Education of Western Rite Priests?

Q: Hi Ben,

Love the blog and have been a reader for a long time. I was wondering if you would mind providing some details on education for ordinands. Obviously, most clergy come from other churches and did seminary long ago. But does the Western Rite Vicariate send people to seminary again? Where do they go?

A: Thanks for the question, as well as your kind words about this small blog.

In a nutshell, our Western Rite Orthodox students have the same theological education as Byzantine Orthodox students. They go to an Orthodox seminary and study Eastern Orthodox theology from Orthodox professors alongside Byzantine seminarians. As I've noted (and sometimes been disparaged for), "Western Rite Orthodox do not have a unique or different approach to theology from our Eastern Orthodox brethren."

As with (more) Byzantine "converts," some Western Rite parishes joined en masse. To avoid leaving them clergy-less, these priests (who usually had seminary degrees) went through St. Stephen's Course, with its Master's program through Balamand University. Others have gone on to get their Doctor of Ministry through the Archdiocesan program. (I know, at a minimum, Fr. Joseph Gentile [AWRV] did so a few years ago.)

Since these seminary chapels celebrate the Byzantine rite, where do Western Rite Vicariate students learn about liturgics? Through the St. George Institute, Fr. Edward Hughes visits Antiochian WRV seminarians to instruct them in the liturgical aspects of serving the Western Rite. (Fr. Hughes is a fine priest and an outstanding teacher.) Subdn. Benjamin Andersen, who worshiped at St. Mark's AWRV in Denver, served another Western Rite mission while at St. Vlad's.

I'm not certain how ROCOR handles this matter, but Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery seems favorably disposed to having students learn via the University of Joensuu (Finland)'s Orthodox Theology program, followed by hands-on liturgical training. (And of course, Fr. Anthony Nelson, who has a bi-ritual parish in Oklahoma City, graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville.)

To be brief, Western Rite Orthodox priests have the same theological training as Eastern Orthodox, because they have the same faith as Eastern Orthodox. At present, our seminarians are trained liturgically in a hands-on manner — and from what I've seen, are trained well. At a minimum, perhaps the relationships WRO develop with their fellow students at seminary, through St. Stephen's Course and/or through other Orthodox educational programs will demonstrate that Eastern and Western Rite Orthodox share a common faith and will help unite them in a unity of the heart, even as the Eucharist unites them in a mystical union all Its own.

Fr. Mark Wallace and Fr. Barry Thibodeaux's Ordination

More good news for the Western Rite: this weekend, it will have two new priests.

Both Mark Wallace of St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City and Barry Thibodeaux of Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Jacksonville, Texas, left the Charismatic Episcopal Church and spent months without any word of eventual chrismation or ordination. Despite the uncertainty, their congregations held together. Today, I'm happy to pass along this note from (soon-to-be-Fr.) Mark Wallace:

The ordination schedule of former CEC priests, Barry Thibodeaux and Mark Wallace are as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 19 @ 9:00 am - Barry & Mark: Tonsured as Reader and ordained as Subdeacons. Barry will then be made a deacon.

Sunday, Jan. 20 @ 10:00 am - Dcn. Barry becomes Fr. Barry and Sbdn Mark becomes Dcn. Mark.

Monday, Jan. 21 @ 7:00 am (not pm) - Dcn. Mark becomes Fr. Mark.

These will take place at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas. All are invited.

Thanks to him for the exciting news. Axios!

St. Andrew WRV Chrismation, Oklahoma City

The clergy and faithful of St. Andrew Antiochian Orthodox Church (WRV), chrismated at St. Elijah Antiochian Church, Oklahoma City.

A hearty congratulations and "Many Years" to the (soon-to-be) clergy and faithful of St. Andrew Antiochian Orthodox Church of Oklahoma City, an incoming Western Rite parish formerly affiliated with the Charismatic Episcopal Church. All its members were chrismated this past weekend at St. Elijah Orthodox Church in OKC. We want to welcome them all into the Orthodox Church and wish them many happy and blessed years - ad multos annos!

New Audio: Fr. Waggener's Story, and Fr. Angwin's Passing

Our friends at Christ in the Mountains have a new podcast featuring the second half of Fr. Andrew's interview with Fr. Alban Waggener and a comment on the passing of Fr. Joseph Angwin (RIP).

I also greatly appreciate Fr. Andrew's closing meditation on the spermatikos Logos, and God's omnipresence, even in "secular" moments. "There are no secular moments," he reminds us. "There are no places where God is not present, no places where His voice is not speaking."

Download it here.

Another excellent podcast. We're impressed with CITM's podcasts thus far. Good work!

(The solo is OK, but I think I like the extra dose of Swedish bluegrass....)

(Hat tip: Fr. Andrew)

Audio: For Lutherans

Yet more audio lectures from Western Rite Orthodox! At the recent "Faith of our Fathers" Lutheran Colloquium in Detroit, Fr. John W. Fenton of Holy Incarnation Orthodox Church gave an address on Orthodox Confessions of Faith (MP3). Enjoy.

Audio: From Charismatic to the Western Rite

Here's yet more Western Rite audio: the story of Fr. John of Sts. Peter and Paul Mission in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We reported its reception from the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC) into the Western Rite of Holy Orthodoxy. Now you can hear its priest's own compelling (and funny!) words.

Frederica Talks (Positively) About the Western Rite

Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green is hardly a stranger to those interested in the Western Rite. In the past, she has had some not-so-supportive comments on the topic, notably in one of her books. That's why I was so pleased to hear the August 16 podcast of her program "Frederica Here and Now" on Ancient Faith Radio. In the podcast, she interviewed Kh. Helen (Nancy) Waggener of Holy Trinity AWRV and Kh. Rebecca (Becky) Alford of St. Gregory the Great AWRV at the Parish Life Conference. Incidentally, the chanting in the background is Fr. John W. Fenton (and, I believe, two of his daughters), and - without the least offense to anyone else in the recording - absolutely steals the show with its simplistic beauty.

What a well-produced and inspiring broadcast, not least because it shows how those who were once averse to the Western Rite change their minds the more they observe the AWRV's praxis and the way her faithful work out their salvation in Christ.

Listen to the audio here.

(Hat tip: Fr. Alban Waggener)

A Sacramental Pentecostal

While reading an entirely different post at Ad Orientem, an inspiring article on the Apostles Fast, I was surprised by a quotation from Simon Chan, a professor of systematic theology at Trinity Theological College in Singapore and a member of Singapore's Assemblies of God. He is referred to as "the world's most liturgically minded Pentecostal." Before you scoff at that title, you should read his recent interview with Christianity Today, which was linked and quoted in the Ad Orientem article:

I think that missional theology is a very positive development. But some missional theology has not gone far enough. It hasn't asked, What is the mission of the Trinity? And the answer to that question is communion. Ultimately, all things are to be brought back into communion with the triune God. Communion is the ultimate end, not mission.

Communion means bodily presence. That's at the heart of our incarnational theology, God coming to us in person; it's the meaning of the resurrection of the body. So no matter what virtual reality technology can create, it will never be an adequate substitute for communion...

If we see communion as central to the life of the church, we are going to have an important place for mission. And this is reflected in the ancient fourfold structure of worship: gathering, proclaiming the Word, celebrating the Eucharist, and going out into the world. The last, of course, is mission. But mission takes its place within a larger structure. It is this sense of communion that the evangelical world especially needs. Communion is not just introspection or fellowship among ourselves. It involves, ultimately, seeing God and seeing the heart of God as well, which is His love for the world...

In many services today, the dismissal into the world is quite perfunctory. But if you go to an Orthodox service, you'll be amazed at the elaborate way in which the end of the service is conducted. It's not just a word of dismissal—there are whole prayers and litanies that prepare us to go back out into the world...

There is a certain habit of mind that enables [Pentecostals] to readily leave behind things that don't work and to move on to things that they think will work. Whereas the liturgy creates a different habit of mind, a habit of stability. This has its strengths and weaknesses, just as the Pentecostal mindset has its strengths and weaknesses. But in my view, in the modern world especially, the danger of a short memory far outweighs the danger of not being willing to change...

We need to rediscover this ancient word, catechism...And I don't think that the modern church can improve very much on what has already been given: the creeds, the great commandments, the Lord's Prayer...

Chan also believes one reason missions continue in "native" areas is they have not suffered the secularization that followed the "Enlightenment."

Christianity has a special appeal among what we might call tribal societies, where there is still a strong sense of the sacramental universe.

I had no broader agenda in posting this than to make some of my readers smile. There are many who have come to Orthodoxy from Pentecostal backgrounds, most recently St. Patrick Antiochian Orthodox Church of Warrenton, Virginia (a Western Rite parish). St. Patrick is "the first of several CEC congregations coming into the Church." For many, the fire of the Holy Spirit has led them deeper into communion with the Father and the Son.

If they follow Simon Chan's statements to their logical conclusion, they will soon follow St. Patrick's actions. Until then, may God continue to pour upon them "His divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit."

(Hat tip: Ad Orientem)