As I mentioned above, a few years ago New Skete got into some trouble for having paintings of Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Dorthody Day, some post-schism pope and a couple other people in the Narthex of their church. Here is a statement about this by Fr.John Matusiak.
Thank you for writing.
The painting of individuals who have not been canonized is not totally
unheard of in the Orthodox Church.
-- For example, at the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of the Mother of God
in Grays Lake, Illinois, as one enters the main church, one finds
iconographic portraits of the former bishops of the New Gracanica
Metropolitanate, including the late Bishop Ireney of New Gracanica, who
was responsible for building the monastery.
-- In the vestibule of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan on Re Square
in Moscow, one finds iconographic renderings depicting the
groundbreaking and reconstruction of the cathedral, clearly depicting
Patriarch Aleksy of Moscow, the Rector of the cathedral, and other
contemporaries.
-- Long before Saint Herman of Alaska was canonized, there were
iconographic renderings of him. [This is not at all uncommon in the case
of individuals who had led a life of holiness and who are especially
remembered by the faithful.] And I might add that long before the
canonization of Saint Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, iconographic
renderings were also in circulation, although it was clear that they
were not "icons" in the strictest sense of the word.
-- Even in ancient Byzantium, it was often the case that individuals who
had been benefactors of the building of a particular church were
portrayed iconographically, often presenting a model of the church to
Christ enthroned.
At the same time, two things must be clearly stated here:
- In no case are these iconographic renderings or portraits "icons,"
inasmuch as they are not venerated by the faithful, nor do they have
liturgical commemorations associated with them. [There is no "feast of
the former bishops of the New Gracanica Monastery" or "Feast of
Justinian presenting Christ with a model of Hagia Sophia," for example,
just as before the canonization of Saint Herman was there a feast of
Saint Herman, even though the pious faithful marked the day of his
repose, as one would do with any other faithful departed Orthodox
Christian.]
- There is no tradition of including individuals who did NOT belong to
the Orthodox Church in such renderings. While they may have been
"persons of faith," as the title on the web site to which you directed
me states, they were hardly "persons of the SAME faith." To depict such
individuals as Father Schmemann, Father Men and Mother Maria Skobtsova
together with Dorothy Day, Archbishop Ramsey, and Pope Paul VI is
confusing at best, downright deceptive at worst, inasmuch as it implies
that these "persons of faith" shared the SAME faith which, of course,
they did not. The danger here comes in the fact that there is a certain
unity of faith being IMPLIED -- a unity of faith that did not exist in
the lifetimes of these individuals and does not exist today. Personally,
I find the renderings in poor taste and reflective of poor judgment,
inasmuch as rather than bringing about the edification of the faithful,
they can indeed cause deep confusion. While one might argue that they
reflect the mind of the New Skete community, they certainly do not
reflect the mind of the Church universal, nor of the OCA in particular.
I will make further enquiry into the matter with the proper Church
officials, however.
As far as your other questions:
- What is the official OCA belief about Roman Catholic post-schism
saints?
Answer: The OCA's position is the same as that which would be held by
all other Orthodox Churches, namely they are post-schism Roman Catholic
saints, period. As such, this in no way implies that they are saints in
the eyes of the Orthodox Church. None of them, such as Francis of Assisi
or Clare, are enrolled on the Orthodox calendar, nor to Orthodox
Christians venerate them liturgically, iconographically, or in any other
way. While certain writings of such individuals are sometimes read, such
as the writings of certain Western mystics [Teresa of Avila, for
example], even in such cases it is fully recognized that they are not
saints of the Orthodox Church and should not be accorded the same honor
that would be shown to Orthodox saints.
As an aside, one might speculate on the following: The Vatican recently
announced its desire to canonize Cardinal Stepinac, a World War II era
figure from Croatia. Cardinal Stepinac is seen by the Vatican to be a
defender of the Catholic Faith, one who was responsible for the
conversion of literally thousands of Orthodox Serbs to Roman Catholicism
during the war. The Orthodox, on the other hand, remember him for his
hatred of Orthodox Christianity and his practice of forcing Orthodox
Christians to convert to Catholicism under the pain of death. When and
if the Vatican does proclaim him a saint, would it be appropriate for
Orthodox Christians to recognize this status or to accord him honor in
any way? The same might be asked with regard to the Catholic saint,
Josephat Kuntzevich, who struggled to impose uniatism on the Orthodox
population in what is today western Ukraine. Surely, to depict these
post-schism Roman Catholic saints in an Orthodox context would be
controversial, if not downright provocative and scandalous, to many
Orthodox Christians. And one might well wonder to what end doing this
would point -- surely not the edification of the faithful.
- Is there a cause for concern here?
Answer: In my own opinion, yes indeed, especially in light of the
confusion and possible temptation and doubt it can cause to the
faithful.
At the same time, it would seem that one should not make too much of
this, since to do so is of little spiritual benefit and hardly
profitable to our souls. It would seem best to call it to the attention
of those in a position to address the matter directly, and I will make
further enquiry on the matter.
- Is New Skete considered on the fringe?
Answer: While I'm not sure that I would say they are on the fringe, I
would say that New Skete has little visibility within the typical OCA
community and that it is hardly a reflection of the "mainstream" life or
thought or practice of the OCA.
Hope this helps.
In Christ,
Father John Matusiak, OCA Communications Office
