Kollyvas wrote:... So consolidation will have to occur. Thereafter prayer and hope for renewal...None of these bodies can survive alone and disunited into the future. This, among many other reasons, will propel unification and the end of "jurisdictional boundaries" among these bodies.
R
Thank you for a reply worth considering!
Fr. Siluan,
Bless Father....
In the case of Mexico, They (Clergy and layman) are natives (Mexican Indians) speaking Spanish.
Forgive my ignorance, but why would the OCA have a church then in Mexico with spanish liturgy? Why wouldn't there be a MOC (Mexican Orthodox Church).
Is it because OCA were the missionaries who went to Mexico to spread Orthodoxy?
Kissing the hand of Christ,
Rd. Chrysostomos
There is a ministry for every people, and if some need services in their mother tongues, the Church must be there for them.
I am sure you are right Kollyvas, it's just that my opinion has been altered due to the proliferation of so many different jurisdictions. It's as if the Church is becoming more "specialized" everyday. It is as if we segment each brother and sister from one another due to their respective cultural identity. If we get a group of Koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc., even though they can speak english, will we have different jurisidictional churches for them as well? If the hispanic population increases as predicted in America, will we have a Mexican Orthodox Church Jurisidiction in the U.S., rather than say them attending the OCA church, or a branch of it like the Romanian church that you have mentioned previously? I rather focus on what we have in common, Christ, the Church, our unity that binds us to one another.
Perhaps I am way off track, and need your prayers. Thanks.
Evloegite.
Part of curbing and reversing the proliferation of jurisdictions in N America is to cater to the needs of the various disaffected communities inasmuch as this is a witness of Orthodoxy. So if there are even Swahili and Pashtun congregations, then all to the greater glory of God. Mind you, there is an accuracy to the old contention that ethnic parishes will eventually pass out of existence, except in specialized instances, but there was/is an attitude in the OCA which is truly contemptuous: it is the denigration of all things "ethnic" to the point of talking about "ethnic ghettos" and "ghetto Orthodoxy." I have a problem with the attitude as did many present/past people affiliated with the OCA. Of course, I believe in English as the administrative language of the Church in America and the general language of the jurisdiction and mission to the people of Canada (non-French) and the USA, but throwing the baby out with the bath water by not addressing immigrants and "ethnics," but rather looking upon them as "lesser" or "atavistic" Orthodox is unworthy of a missionary church. We are called to be all things to all men and that never means that we look upon some as "second class citizens." This means a graciousness to certain "boutique" Orthodox segments which addresses the needs of certain groups of the Orthodox population in the diaspora. We can have unity and growth and witness to even greater degrees by appreciating congregations with differing spiritual/ethnic/ritual/etc. needs.
In The Love Of Christ,
Rostislav
Love is a holy state of the soul, disposing it to value knowledge of God above all created things. We cannot attain lasting possession of such love while we are attached to anything worldly. —St. Maximos The Confessor
"but throwing the baby out with the bath water by not addressing immigrants and "ethnics," but rather looking upon them as "lesser" or "atavistic" Orthodox is unworthy of a missionary church. We are called to be all things to all men and that never means that we look upon some as "second class citizens." "
Good point, I think another thing that needs to be dealt with is the term "convert". As if an American "convert" is less Orthodox than a born Russian, Greek, Antiochian, etc. I have gotten the feeling more than once of twice of feeling like a "second class citizen" due to my being a "convert", as is said.
Many thanks for your input and thought provoking comments.
Your fellow struggler in Christ,
Rd. Chrysostomos
Evlogeite.
In Christ there is one Body of many members, one unity in ONE Chalice. No matter our ethnicities or dates of entry into the Church, we are all beloved and equal in Christ's eyes. Where we are distinguished is in terms of spiritual maturity and that is not really at all a function of when we were received into the Church...Moreover, the young in Christ vs., say, the illumined are not less loved but equally cherished in the Master's bosom.
R
Love is a holy state of the soul, disposing it to value knowledge of God above all created things. We cannot attain lasting possession of such love while we are attached to anything worldly. —St. Maximos The Confessor
