How Does One Explain Our Division to Inquirers?

[rebecca]

I agree, too.

It seems that I was hopping from one point to another in my comments. My main point is that ideally, there should only be one Orthodox governing body for America, while still allowing parishes to retain various customs, languages, etc. of their respective traditions (as opposed to every city having a "modernist" bishop, a "traditionalist" bishop, a Greek bishop, a Russian bishop, etc.) This would reduce confusion amongst inquirers, as well as the faithful. Obviously, this is not the case, due to the history of Orthodoxy in America and the current political divisions. Note that I said "ideally"; I'm not saying that we should compromise our values and be sucked into undesirable positions concerning ecumenism, etc.

Rebecca

[bogoliubtsy]

From the Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann:

A familiar conversation, somehow continuous, wherever I go: Montreal, San Francisco, Detroit, Paris. Many years, many efforts, all the same. What is quite obvious in such conversations, first of all, is the sad fact of a final failure, I think, of all the attempts to unite in one life-moreover in one prayers, in one Liturgy- "Russian and American", or rather Russians and Americans. Neither one of them wants to accept it. At the seminary, N. and many with him become hysterical when they hear one hymn in Russian.
In Montreal, here and everywhere, Russians become even more irritated with any word of English. All appeals, exhortations, explanations are powerless. "We don't want it" - that's all! Deep, innate, instinctive understanding of the Church as "our own". Lack of understanding of the Church as love, readiness not only to give, but to suffer for the other. Selfishness of religion, emotional and narrow-minded.

[Justin Kissel]

I think that the OCA is a good model in that they have allowed diversity, though of course they are all under the same essential hierarchy. The diocese of Alaska, the Romanians, your normal OCA parish in the south, etc. all have certain elements to them that might not be in other OCA Churches, but they are still all "OCA". I guess that's what I think of when I think American.. not that everyone has to follow a set list of rules.. but we would be unified under the same hierarchy, we would for the most part use english (though not insist that this is the only language possible), our customs would be American (an "ethnic food festival" might be a good ole-fashioned American BBQ, for instance -- on a non-fasting day of course! ). More than this, though, the intangibles would unify us as Americans. It's not just nationalism or some common belief in democracy or capitalism that unifies the many ethnicities, religions, etc. in America: there's something deeper and more a part of us. Maybe this "American spirit" isn't all good (like the spirit in "holy Russia"), but then neither was the Roman Empire and it's Greek culture--but Christianity was able to take what it could from that culture and transform it. Some, like Fr. Seraphim, believed that this was impossible; I personally do not.

[Natasha]

kind of like this? http://www.stelizabeth.net/bbq02.html

Paradosis, from what you describe, I think you would like the churches in the south much better. I am from the north, (my family initially immigrated to the same area of PA you are in, so I know there is a lot of Russian/Slavic influence) and now I live in the south. At seems to me, these churches/parishes in the south are very similiar to the Americanized church you envision. Have you ever visited Orthodox churches in the south?

[Justin Kissel]

Very interesting! Wish I could visit such a place... I hope to someday. Unfortunately, I've never been to any Churches in the South, though you've got me curious now.

[rebecca]

I met some very nice, very Orthodox southerners at the English language music conference this summer. Vestments, music, etc. were in the Russian tradition, but with the English language.

I'll add that the different ethnicities at my parish (about 39.9% American, 59.9% Russian, 0.2% Canadian ) get along very well. We do services in both languages whenever possible, and no one complains.

[bogoliubtsy]

A few months ago I visited an OCA mission parish in the south. We actually had a panakhida for my aunt there. Anyway, the little parish seemed to be made up of "simple" converts who seemed to be very welcoming, sincere and unpretentious people. The Americanized parishes in the Northeast sometimes strike me as somewhat intellectually snobish or kind of uptight. Maybe that's just the New England character.
Anyway, I think our hopes for an American Church should lie in all of America's people. We need evangelism to the poor, to the cities, to non-whites. It seems now the American Church is being built up with the more priveleged types. People who intellectually investigate the various Christian confessions and rationally arive at a conclusion about the nature of the Orthodox Church. There's nothing wrong with this of course, but to make a truly American Church I believe the "average" American people need to be a primary consideration.