DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ST. JOHN OF SAN FRANCISCO

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Afterfeast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. Sunday after the Exultation. Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. St. Eumenius, bishop and wonderworker of Gortyna; Martyr Ariadne of Phrygia; Martyrs Sophia and Irene of Egypt; Martyr Castor of Alexandria; St. Arcadius, bishop of Novgorod; Great-martyr Prince Bidzini and Martyrs Prince Elizbar and Prince Shalva of Georgia; St. Hilarion of Optina (1873); Repose of Blessed Irene of the Green Hill Monastery (18th century).

    The Georgian Patriarchate had decided to withdraw from the World Council of Churches. The Bulgarian Church was determined to do the same. There were ominous rumblings from Russia and similar tremors shook Serbia as well. Newspapers were running headlines like “Orthodox churches warn of dangerous division in worldwide ecumenical movement” and “Far reaching impact of Orthodox-Protestant rift in WCC”. After all, pagan rites and gay rights, pro-choice rights, native rites, feminist rights, tribal rites, minority rights and Wicca rites were running amok in the WCC. And yet, despite all these “rights”, the WCC kept heading left!

    The Moscow Patriarchate’s Metropolitan Kirill warned: “A small explosion in Georgia can become a tremendous explosion in Russia!” Obviously, the natives in the Orthodox heartland were getting restless and something had to be done quickly to quiet them.

    In the face of this impending “crisis” (that’s what we’ve come to – withdrawing from a heretical body is deemed a “crisis” in World Orthodoxy circles today), World Orthodoxy's ecumenical leaders felt that urgent action and some resourceful damage control were called for.

    Thus the scene was set for the “Inter-Orthodox Meeting” in Thessalonica from April 29 to May 2, 1998. The announced intention of this meeting was to make “an evaluation of new facts in the relations of Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Movement”. Some genuine concerns were expressed. For example, in Article Nine of the statement issued by this meeting, the delegates wrote the following:

    At the 7th Assembly of Canberra in 1991 and at the General Committee meetings 1992 and onwards, the Orthodox delegates have taken a vigorous stand against inter-communion with non-Orthodox, against inclusive language, ordination of women, the rights of sexual minorities and certain tendencies relating to religious syncretism. Their statements on these subjects were always considered minority statements and as such could not influence the general trends and ethos of the WCC.

    It may be that the WCC had not been influenced significantly by the Orthodox “minority” because the jurisdictions of World Orthodoxy themselves were not displaying much seriousness over these issues. For example, how “vigorous” could the Orthodox stand against “inter-communion with the non-Orthodox” be when, already in January, 1970, the Moscow Patriarchate had resolved to impart holy communion to Roman Catholics in Russia? or in August, 1971, when Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras was boasting that he gave communion to both Roman Catholics and Protestants at his patriarchal church? or in 1975 when, with the official approval of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Metropolitan Athenagoras Kokkinakis announced in his book, The Thyateira Confession, that it was permissible to give communion to both Roman Catholics and Anglicans? Also, why should the Orthodox delegates to the WCC worry about the Protestants ordaining women (actually, they can't even ordain men), when one of “World Orthodoxy’s” most prominent churchmen, Bishop Kallistos Ware, would do the same if he were given the opportunity? And finally, what was all this hand-wringing over “tendencies to religious syncretism” – especially coming as it does from “Orthodox” individuals who are organic members of what is perhaps the world’s pre-eminent syncretistic organization?!

    But it was probably Article 13B of the Thessalonica meeting’s resolutions that re-assured the Protestant members of the WCC that there was no need to take the “Orthodox” delegates very seriously.

    In the clearest possible terms, Article 13B stated:

    Orthodox delegates will not participate in ecumenical services, common prayers, worship and other religious ceremonies at the Assembly.

    However, at the Assembly in Harare in December, 1998, the Orthodox promptly violated their solemn resolutions made only a few months before in Thessalonica, and they participated in the Assembly's ecumenical services!

    This tradition of not taking their resolutions seriously continues today. For example, on November 23, 2000, the Chicago Tribune reported that the new calendar Greek Archdiocese’s Metropolitan Iakovos of the titular see of Krini was “purified” by the sage smoke offered in honor of Gitchi Manito, the Great Spirit that the Chippewa Indians and other Native Americans worship. It was a colorful rite:

    Wearing his gray wool ankle-length tunic and a ceremonial wolf fur collar adorned with antler beads, G. G. Starr-Bresette used a white swan feather to fan the smoke of the wild sage he had smoldering inside a pottery bowl.

    The Chippewa man carried the bowl and fan around the altar and through the aisles and, in time with a drum beat, let the pungent, gray wisps wash over his fellow religious leaders and the congregation.

    Not wishing to be outdone by a bishop under him, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hastened to Kathmandu, Nepal, a few days later to join with representatives of the Bahai, Buddhist, "Christian", Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Taoist and Zoroastrian faiths. As Ecumenical News International (Nov. 29, 2000) reported:

    The official ceremony in Kathmandu was followed by a multi-faith celebration honouring the new “Sacred Gifts”, featuring music, dance and sacred rites from around the world.

    King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal (believed by many to be a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu) was present, rubbing shoulders with the Ecumenical Patriarch.

    Surely, the message conveyed to us by World Orthodoxy’s bishops and WCC delegates is loud and clear:

    Don’t Take Us Seriously!

    I was holding a notice from my 13-year-old son’s school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

    When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page afer page of instruction in the prevention of pregnancy or disease. I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the educational material.

    What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand. The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach “facts,” and the home was responsible for moral training.

    I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the sexuality course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.

    At the break time, the teacher announced that there were donuts in the back of the room and requested that everyone put on a name tag and mingle with each other. Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to persuade them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the educational materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance.

    My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher’s hand on my shoulder.

    “Won’t you join the others, Mr. Layton?” The nurse smiled sweetly at me. “The donuts are good.”

    “Thank you, no,” I replied.

    “Well then, how about a name tag? I’m sure the others would like to meet you.”

    “Somehow I doubt that,” I replied.

    “Won’t you please join them?” she coaxed.

    Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, “Don’t go.” The message in my head was unmistakable: “Don’t go!”

    “I’d just wait here,” I said.

    When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, “Now we’re going to give you the same lesson we’ll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags and look at the back of the tag.”

    I watched in silence as the tags came off. “Now then, I drew a tiny flower on the back of one of the tags. Who has it, please?” the teacher asked.

    The gentleman across from me held it up. “Here it is!”

    “All right,” she said. “The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?” He pointed to a couple of people. “Very good,” she replied. “The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease.” There was laughter and joking among the parents.

    The teacher continued,  “And whom did the two of you shake hands with?” The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. She concluded by saying, “Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease.”

    It was then that I heard the still, small voice again “Speak now,” it said, “but be humble.” I wryly noted the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make. “Not all of us were infected with the disease,” I said. “One of us abstained.”

--Author Unknown.

    St. Demetrios Parish of Pomona, CA, will host an Orthodox mini-conference February 16-18, covering a wide-range of subjects, including “Attractions of the new Age,” “ Parenting and Parental Authority” and “Living an Orthodox Life in a non-Orthodox World.”

    Invited conference guests include Metropolitans Ephraim and  Makarios, Bishop Moses and Frs. Panagiotis Carras of St. Nektarios Parish of Toronto and Nicodemas Gayle of St. Seraphim of Sarov Parish of  Richmond, VA.

    There is no charge to attend the conference, and activities are being planned for children, so parents are urged to bring children. Some free housing also is available for conference-goers.

    For additional information, telephone Nectari Liberis at 1-714-964-5453, or E-mail for information at sdc@socal.rr.com.

    These items were featured in the current bulletin (#1500). They may be ordered from our web site.

    Byzantine chant in English (traditional language) from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Matins and Liturgy by the Romeiko Ensemble. A beautiful CD with a 24-page booklet with the text of the hymns and explanations about the Feast and the selections chanted. (TM29)  e$20.00 Order

(TM30) HOLY SATURDAY, VATOPAIDI MUSICAL BIBLE SERIES. f$25.00 Order

(TM31) EASTER SUNDAY, VATOPAIDI MUSICAL BIBLE SERIES. f$25.00 Order

    The latest releases in the series are now presented as a CD and full-color paperback book in a slip case. Chanting in Greek with text in Greek, English and French f$25.00 each.

    Wall calendar with liturgical dates and daily saints listed according to the Julian Calendar.  Color coded for feasts and fasts Pascha dates to the year 2015.  Calendar backs feature quotations from the writings of the Holy Fathers. Accompanied by booklet with daily scripture readings for entire year
$6.00 + shipping  Order

    Handy size (3-1/2x5 in.) for pocket or purse. Contains major daily  feast, HOCNA directory, fasting instructions, 10 years of Pascha dates, and space for notes and phone numbers.  $2.00 + shipping  Order

Full color illustrations from the churches of Chora & St. Sophia in Constantinople. Oct. 2000-Dec. 2001. Descriptions on the back of each photograph. 6-3/4 x 9-1/2 inches with hanger and fold-out stand on back. e$12.00 + shipping  Order

Mosaics and views of Hagia Sophia in full color. Small size (3-3/8 x 6-1/4) is perfect for desk and as a “stocking stuffer.” Has hanger and fold-out stand on back. Oct. 2000 – Dec. 2001   e$5.00 + shipping  Order

    This book is an engaging, scholarly work by one of the most profound and provocative Orthodox theologians of our time. “Fr. Michael…gives an expositon of our Holy Orthodox Faith and defends its position in the present cultural relativistic society. He maintains the patristic spirit of holding fast to the uniqueness of Orthodoxy that offers the truth of salvation only through Christ.”

     Rev. George C. Papademetriou, Assoc. Professor. Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology