Holy Friday Pastoral Message from His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan

How to be crucified with Christ

"I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20)

Beloved in Christ,
Hierarchs, clergy and faithful
Of this God-protected Archdiocese:

The mystery of Christ is very simple. Yet in order to embrace it in our lives, we need a mind and a heart as humble as His. The mystery of His love to humankind is such that it surprises us, whenever we meditate on it and are conscious of it. It surprises us because it reveals the love He has for us. He "is love" (1 John 4:8), isn't He?

Christ manifested His love to us in a very particular way: the way of a bridegroom with his bride. The Church preserved from the Lord's last moments before death the image of a marriage. The "picture" she took of this wedding has been expressed in two different ways in our celebrations on the first days of Holy Week. In fact, we chant at Matins of these holy days: "Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night...", and "I see Thy Bridal Chamber adorned, O my Savior, but have no wedding garment that I may enter. O Giver of Light, enlighten the vesture of my soul, and save me." We also make a procession with the icon of the "bridegroom" with the inscription, "Behold, the man!" (John 19:5). It is the icon of the Lord of the "utmost humility," the whole image of His passion, a snapshot of His unconditional love for us. It was the last picture taken of Him before His death on the Cross. It is the best picture ever taken of Him. The Church raises in front of our eyes this "picture" in order that we recall today in our hearts His love and humility, and commit ourselves again to follow Him on the way of the Cross.

The way of the Cross is not painful. The sufferings that Christ endured in His body did not hurt Him as much as did our indifference, ignorance, rejection and betrayal. We have heard His words to God the Father, on the eve of His crucifixion, in which He asked Him to "remove from Him the cup" (Luke 22:42), that is, the cup of our betrayal of His love. However, we all were also witnesses of how He wholeheartedly accepted the cup – accepted us as we are, in our own wickedness – to the end. This "end" was His love manifested on the Cross in His words of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34), but also in His triumphal death: "It is finished" (John 19:30). He did love us to the very end of His life, and to the very end of our own misery, in order to accomplish our salvation, to restore in us love and the freedom to love each other as He did (John 13:34; 15:12).

Following Christ on the way of the Cross was, and still is, the very heart of the Christian "kerygma:" preaching and education. It instills in us the power of love that Christ handed over to His disciples throughout the centuries in order to befriend the "oikoumene," that is, the whole world. Abiding by the way of the Cross has one finality: to bring every human being to the knowledge of the truth - to know the Father (Cf. John 17:3), to believe in the Lord as our Savior from death and evil, and to receive the gift of life eternal from the Holy Spirit. It is a journey that we begin in this earthly life and continue throughout eternity.

Practically, the way of the Cross is the same. It is "to be crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20), as the Apostle Paul exclaimed. I had this in mind when His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch asked me to be the Patriarchal Vicar of this God-protected Archdiocese. Therefore, I want to ask that each of you, beloved members of this Archdiocese, see how you can "translate" such words in your own lives, behaviors and activities, in a practical, but heavenly, way. In fact, all of us together need to ensure that this transitional period preceding the election of a new Metropolitan, successor to His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip of eternal memory, be filled with the fragrance of the same love and faithfulness of the perfume that Mary poured out on Christ's head (Cf. Matthew 26:7).

Mary's pre-burial ointment prior to the Lord's death (Cf. Matthew 26:12) prefigures our own way of following Christ in this transitional period, on the way of the Cross. Even though the disciples (or Judas) misinterpreted or condemned her action, the Lord asked that this ointment be a prefigurement of the announcement of His resurrection from the dead (Cf. Matthew 26:13). If we share this way, we also share the hope that the Lord proclaimed to Mary on the eve of His passion. As a fact, we will share the gladness that is coming forth from God´s promise to us: the fulfillment of our faith in Him.

I am sure that our Lord now "is working" (John 5:17) great things among us for our salvation. Let us follow Him on His way. Let us be His witnesses among our brethren. Let us be His trusted disciples in the service of our church and His co-workers for the salvation of the world.

+ Silouan

Metropolitan of Buenos Aires and all Argentina & Patriarchal Vicar of New York and all North America

 http://www.antiochian.org/holy-friday-pastoral-message-his-eminence-metropolitan-silouan

The Lamb of God: Homily for the Feast of Palm Sunday in the Orthodox Church

         

         We are all able to focus, at least more or less, on what is most important. When something is fascinating to us, we can focus our attention and tune out distractions in order to concentrate on what we are really interested in at that moment.  

            St. Paul reminds us that we especially need to do that by giving our attention to what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and praise worthy.  Palm Sunday is a time that we all need this reminder.  For we are turning from the penitential focus of Lent to following our Lord into the mystery of our salvation as we journey with Him to His cross, to His death, His descent into Hades, and ultimately to His glorious resurrection.          We need to be honest, however, for nothing about this week comes naturally or easily to us.  We may like to follow athletic teams, politicians, entertainers, authors, and others who achieve success and fame by the conventional standards of our culture.  Perhaps we have a vision of the kind of comfortable life that we want for ourselves and our families and plan accordingly over years or decades in order to achieve that.  This is a world we know quite well.  

            Very different, however, is the way of Jesus Christ into which we enter during the coming week.  Though He is God, He suffers freely for our sake.  He loves those who reject Him to the point of dying on their behalf.  He achieves victory by giving up everything that looks like power and prestige in this world.  In ways that no human mind can fathom, the eternal Son of God empties Himself to the point of hanging on a cross, being buried in a tomb, and descending to Hades.  The Word Who spoke the universe into existence submits to rejection, torture, and public execution at the hands of those He came to save.  No, this is not life in the world as we know it.       

            Jesus Christ revealed that He is the resurrection and the life by raising His friend Lazarus from the dead after four days, by which time the soul was believed to have left the body and decay had set in.  In the midst of her grief about her brother’s death, Martha made the clearest confession of faith in John’s gospel by saying, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, Who is to come into the world.”  Our Savior wept for His friend Lazarus, and ultimately He wept for us all, decayed and corrupted by sin and death and so far from fulfilling our ancient calling to participate in the glory of the divine life.

            It is the God-Man, the Second Adam, Who now enters Jerusalem as the long-awaited Messiah to the welcoming cheers of the crowd.  But even before He gets to Jerusalem, the forces of darkness had decided to kill Christ because they could tell that someone who could raise the dead was a threat to their power. He was neither a conquering general nor a Pharisee-like interpreter of the Law, and those nationalistic religious leaders had no use for a Messiah who did not serve their schemes of domination.

            On Palm Sunday, it becomes clear that the Savior Who enters Jerusalem today is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He is the Passover Lamb whose death and resurrection will conquer death itself. Mary, Lazarus’ other sister, performed a prophetic act when she anointed Christ with the same kind of costly ointment that was used to anoint the bodies of the dead.  This Messiah, this One who is truly anointed to save His people and the whole world, will be rejected by the leaders of the Jews and crucified under the authority of the Romans.  And when He is lifted up upon the Cross, He will draw all who believe in Him-- Jew, Gentile, male, female, rich, poor, all nations, classes, and races—to the life of a Kingdom that transcends this world and our petty divisions.

            Jesus Christ will not reign as a soldier, a politician, a rich man, or a popular religious leader, but as a Suffering Servant, a slaughtered lamb, a despised victim of torture and capital punishment.   The crowds are right on Palm Sunday to welcome Him as a conquering King in Whom God’s promises will be fulfilled.  But they misunderstand what kind of King He is and how He will conquer.  For He rules from a cross and an empty tomb; instead of killing Roman soldiers, He kills death by allowing Himself to be killed; in the place of a magnificent stallion fit for a king, He rides a humble donkey that would impress no one.

            The crowd is right, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.”  They shout “Hosanna,” which is a plea for God’s salvation to come upon the earth.  And it does through the Lord’s death and glorious resurrection.  But that is not what the crowds expected; it is apparently not what the disciples or anyone else anticipated.  For it goes against all our preconceived notions of what it means to be successful, to be powerful, to rule upon the earth, and to be respectable and religious.

            And it is still a very hard lesson for us to accept, for there is too much of the world in all of us and the demons never work harder than when we are trying to grow closer to Christ. That is why we need to follow St. Paul’s advice to focus on what is truly holy this week, to rejoice always, and to “let your gentleness be known to all men.”  As St. Paul wrote, “The Lord is at hand” which is never more true than on this feast as He enters Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds.   

            In Holy Week, we are confronted with a shocking truth that we probably do not want to hear.  Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.  He is our Champion, our Savior, our King, yet in His humility and love, the incarnate Son of God suffers on the cross as the lowest of the low in order to bring us to the heights of heaven and the joy of life eternal through His empty tomb.

And this week we go with Him to that cross, becoming participants in His passion.   Like Lazarus, we sit at table with Him.  Like Mary, we anoint Him for burial.  Like those gathered in Jerusalem, we welcome Him with palms and praises.   Like the disciples, we eat the Passover with Him; like His mother Mary the Theotokos, the other faithful women, and the Apostle John, we kneel before His cross.  Like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, we bury Him.  And like the stunned myrrh-bearers and the doubting apostles, we will marvel at the unspeakable joy of His resurrection.  For what looks like complete failure and despair is actually total triumph and victory, as we will see in the early hours of next Sunday.   

Holy Week is the climax of Jesus Christ’s life and of ours, too.  Do not forget that He goes to the cross for us; He dies and rises for our salvation, to bring us into the unending joy of eternal life, to defeat our ancient foe.  So it is time to tune out our usual distractions and excuses, and enter into the passion of our Lord by worshiping Him in the services of the Church, as well as in every thought, word, and deed this week.  If we cannot attend literally every service due to work, school, distance, or health, we can all pray at home, read the Bible passages for Holy Week, and give less attention to the world and more to the One Who comes to save it.  

This week it becomes clear who Jesus Christ is:  The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.  How will we respond to Him as He goes to the cross for us? Hopefully, with the fear of God and faith and love, we will draw near and not abandon or disregard Him.  Hopefully, we will make following our Lord our top priority this week.  In the events of Holy Week, He certainly made us His.        

Of course, it will take intentional focus and the discipline to turn away from distractions and unholy thoughts and habits that become obstacles along our path.  The more steps we take to grow closer to the Lord, probably the stronger our temptations will be not to do so.  No, there is nothing easy or naturally pleasing about Holy Week. Nonetheless, we must follow St. Paul’s guidance to “Be anxious for nothing” and allow “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding…[to] guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.  Hosanna in the highest!”  

Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday in the Orthodox Church

The week following the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt is called Palm or Branch Week. At the Tuesday services of this week the Church recalls that Jesus’ friend Lazarus has died and that the Lord is going to raise him from the dead (Jn 11). As the days continue toward Saturday, the Church, in its hymns and verses, continues to follow Christ towards Bethany to the tomb of Lazarus. On Friday evening, the eve of the celebration of the Resurrection of Lazarus, the “great and saving forty days” of Great Lent are formally brought to an end:

Having accomplished the forty days for the benefit of our souls, we pray to Thee, O Lover of Man, that we may see the holy week of Thy passion, that in it we may glorify Thy greatness and Thine unspeakable plan of salvation for our sake. ...(Vesper Hymn)

Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as “the Resurrection and the Life” who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before his own suffering and death.

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy passion, Thou didst confirm the universal resurrection, O Christ God! Like the children with the branches of victory, we cry out to Thee, O Vanquisher of Death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! (Troparion).

Christ —the Joy, the Truth and the Light of All, the Life of the world and its Resurrection—has appeared in his goodness to those on earth. He has become the Image of our Resurrection, granting divine forgiveness to all (Kontakion).

At the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus Saturday the baptismal verse from Galatians:As many as have been baptizedl into Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:27) replaces the Thrice-holy Hymn thus indicating the resurrectional character of the celebration, and the fact that Lazarus Saturday was once among the few great baptismal days in the Orthodox Church Year. Because of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, Christ was hailed by the masses as the long-expected Messiah-King of Israel. Thus, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, he entered Jenrsalem, the City of the King, riding on the colt of an ass (Zech 9:9; Jn 12:12). The crowds greeted him with brancfies in their hands and called out to him with shouts of praise: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The Son of David! The King of Israel! Because of this glorification by the people, the priests and scribes were finally driven “to destroy him, to put him to death” (Lk 19:47; Jn 11:53, 12:10).

The feast of Christ’s triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday, is one of the twelve major feasts of the Church. The services of this Sunday follow directly from those of Lazarus Saturday. The church building continues to be Vested in resurrectional splendor, filled with hymns which continually repeat theHosanna offered to Christ as the Messiah-King who comes in the name of God the Father for the salvation of the world.

The main troparion of Palm Sunday is the same one sung on Lazarus Saturday. It is sung at all of the services, and is used at the Divine Liturgy as the third antiphon which follows the other special psalm verses which are sung as the liturgical antiphons in the place of those normally used. The second troparion of the feast, as well as the kontakion and the other verses and hymns, all continue to glorilfy Christ s triumphal manifestation “six days before the Passover” when he will give himself at the Supper and on the Cross for the life of the world.

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together. Let us all take up Thy cross and say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! (First Verse of Vespers).

hen we were buried with Thee in baptism, O Christ God, we were made worthy of eternal life by Thy resurrection. Now we praise Thee and sing: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! (Second Troparion).

Sitting on Thy throne in heaven, and carried on a foal on earth, O Christ God, accept the praise of angels and the songs of children who sing: BIessed is he who comes to recall Adam! (Kontakion).

At the vigil of the feast of Palm Sunday the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah-King are read together with the Cospel accounts of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. At Matins branches are blessed which the people carry throughout the celebration as the sign of their own glorification of Jesus as Saviour and King. These branches are usually palms, or, in the Slavic churches, pussy willows which came to be customary because of their availability and their early blossoming in the springtime.

As the people carry their branches and sing their songs to the Lord on Palm Sunday, they are judged together with the Jerusalem crowd. For it was the very same voices which cried Hosanna to Christ, which, a few days later, cried Crucify him! Thus in the liturgy of the Church the lives of men continue to be judged as they hail Christ with the “branches of victory” and enter together with him into the days of his “voluntary passion.”

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-year/lazarus-saturday-and-palm-sunday

St. Mary of Egypt: A Profile in Courage for the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church

           

           We sometimes forget that it takes a particular kind of courage to accept the truth about ourselves, especially when that truth is painful or requires something of us that we do not want to give.  No one can force us to make true spiritual changes in our lives, so all the more do we need the clarity and fortitude to recognize and respond to the truth.     

            Today we remember St. Mary of Egypt for having the courage to acknowledge the obscene mess she had become and then to do what it took to set things right. When an invisible force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, she asked for the help of the Theotokos, entered the church to venerate the Holy Cross, and obeyed a divine command to spend the rest of her life in repentance and strict asceticism as a hermit in the desert.  When the monk Zosima stumbled upon her almost 50 years later, he was amazed at her holiness.  But like all the saints, she was aware only of her sins and her ongoing need for God’s mercy.   

            Much less attuned to the truth about themselves were the disciples James and John when they asked to have privileged places of power in the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus Christ. The Lord had just told the disciples that He would suffer, die, and rise again, but these two continued to think in worldly terms of a political kingdom on this earth and were grasping for power.  The Savior corrected them by saying that they did not know what they were asking, for the way of His Kingdom requires making a selfless offering of oneself to God, drinking the cup and undergoing the baptism of suffering and death.   This is the way of Christ, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

            It takes deep spiritual courage to confront the truth that we have been living in ways contrary to God’s will.  It was not easy for power-hungry disciples to give up their dreams of political success and learn how to follow a Lord Who brings salvation to the world through His cross and empty tomb. It was not easy for a grossly immoral person like St. Mary of Egypt to renounce her comfortable and pleasure-filled life in order to repent in the desert.   And it is not easy for any of us to recognize the truth about our own failings, weaknesses, and habits of word, thought, and deed that have put roadblocks on our pathway to holiness.   

            It takes a particular kind of courage to do so, but we must undertake the hard work of opening the eyes of our souls to reality and taking the steps that are necessary for us to participate personally in Christ’s healing and strength. Of course, we never earn or deserve the Lord’s mercy, but we must cooperate with Him by recognizing what we have done to ourselves and repenting in humility as best we can.  He enables us all to do that; and the more humbly we repent, the more we open ourselves to His grace and transforming power.   

            A Church that makes great saints out of former prostitutes, murderers, and adulterers is both realistic about the corruption of our lives and optimistic that there is hope for every one of us to set things right and live faithfully because of the mercy of Jesus Christ.  But we must have the courage to recognize honestly our brokenness, sickness, and imperfection, and then have the fortitude to take the often painful steps that are necessary to reorient our lives toward the Kingdom.  We may not have to spend fifty years in the desert like St. Mary of Egypt or be corrected face-to-face like James and John were by the Lord, but like them we must have the humble strength necessary to recognize the tension between our present spiritual sickness and the goal of the blessed life to which we are called.  It is in that tension and struggle that we will find our salvation if we have the courage to accept the truth about ourselves and then do what we must in order to turn things around by participating more fully in the life of Christ.

            As we stand near the end of Great Lent, we have all learned at least something about our spiritual state.  Perhaps we have wrestled with our passions and they have gotten the better of us.  Perhaps we have not even tried to pray, fast or otherwise deny ourselves, or become more generous to the needy.  Maybe we have not really pursued forgiveness, reconciliation, and repentance.  Regardless, it should be clear to us all by now that we need healing and strength beyond our own power, for we are all weak, sick, and so easily distracted.  To recognize that is no shame, but simply the lesson learned by all the great sinners who have come to their senses and begun the journey home.

            Before we begin the journey to the cross on Palm Sunday, there is still time to examine our souls with brutal honesty, confess and repent, and take the steps we can to follow in the way of Jesus Christ.  He made holy people out of prostitutes and power-mongers and He will do the same with us, if we will only repent with courageous honesty and humility.   Yes, there is hope even for you and me through humble repentance that opens us to the mercy of the Lord.   

St. Mary of Egypt

"Where shall I begin to weep for the actions of my wretched life?  What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, in this my lamentation?  But in thy compassion grant me forgiveness of sins."  (The Canon of St. Andrew, Canticle 1, vs. 2.)    During Great Lent we remember and venerate Saint Mary of Egypt both on April 1 and the Fifth Sunday of Lent. With the Canon of St. Andrew, read in many churches during the first and fifth weeks of Lent, we uphold her as an icon of repentance, an example for every Orthodox Christian to emulate. Yet for many years, she lived a life of bondage to sexual passions.   If St. Mary of Egypt were alive today, would we welcome her into our assembly? "I confess to Thee, O Savior, the sins I have committed, the wounds of my soul and body, which murderous thoughts, like thieves, have inflicted inwardly upon me."   (The Canon of St. Andrew, Canticle 1, vs. 12.) While we don't know about the very early years of her life, we do know that she lost her virginity at age twelve and ran away from home. For the next seventeen years she was a slave to her insatiable appetite for sexual perversions, including sexual encounters with "young men," even against their will. This sounds very much like a victim of pedophilia who recoils and continues in her victimization by taking on the role of a predator herself, victimizing others in the process. Many adults who fall into the bondage of pedophilia are victims of sexual abuse as children. In a futile attempt to reconcile the horror of their own victimization, they try to regain control of their lives through exploitation, continuing to inflict wounds on their own souls and bodies.       "Like David, I have fallen into lust and I am covered in filth; but wash me clean, O Savior, by my tears." (The Canon of St. Andrew, Canticle 2, vs. 54.)  "O Lady, thou hast brought forth our Joy: Grant me the spirit of mourning that in the coming Day of Judgment I may be comforted by God."  (The Canon of St. Andrew, Canticle 9, vs. 327.) "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."  (Romans 3:23) For seventeen years St. Mary of Egypt lived a lifestyle that isolated her from the community and God. Covered with filth amassed over the years, her heart yet longed for union with God.  People in prison feel ostracized too, isolated from God and society, as they sit in shame in prison cells longing for the same tears of repentance that lead to joy and reconciliation. "Christ became man, calling to repentance thieves and harlots.  Repent, my soul: the door of the kingdom is already open, and Pharisees and publicans and adulterers pass through it before thee, changing their lives."  (The Canon of St. Andrew, Canticle 9, Vs. 342) The healing of the venerable Saint Mary of Egypt was not instantaneous but required a rigorous and lengthy spiritual journey. Being led by the Holy Spirit, she retreated to the wilderness where she lived the life of a hermit for seventeen years, seeking freedom from bondage of the passions. She spent a further thirty years in the wilderness having obtained the true gifts of repentance, healing and freedom from the enslavement of sin. During Great Lent, each of us seeks repentance, turning from our own vices and passions and setting our minds and hearts on God. Through the intercessions of the most Holy Theotokos, God grants us the gift of compunction to turn from our wounds and sins to find healing and comfort in Him. Let us remember St Mary of Egypt and her wonderful redemption. During the remainder of this Lenten journey, may we pray to be freed from our imprisonment to the passions that enslave us. Let us also pray for strength for all of our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned in penitentiaries, for their struggles and their journeys to repentance.   Having been a sinful woman, You became through repentance a Bride of Christ. Having attained angelic life, You defeated demons with the weapon of the Cross; Therefore, O most glorious Mary you are a Bride of the Kingdom! (Kontakion:  Tone 3) Your Servant,    Patrick Tutella, Chaplain Executive Director, OCPM  Visit: http://theocpm.org  or Check us out on:

Terry Mattingly: Death of an Orthodox missionary — in America

• By Terry Mattingly
• Posted March 28, 2014 at 4:05 p.m.

When major religious leaders die, it’s traditional that public figures — secular and sacred — release letters expressing sorrow and sending their condolences to the spiritual sheep who have suddenly found themselves without a shepherd.

This is precisely what Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis did, acting as chairman of the assembly of America’s Eastern Orthodox bishops, after he heard about the death of Metropolitan Philip Saliba, the leader of the Antiochian Orthodox Christians in North America for a half century. His letter was kind and gracious, but contained a hint of candor that spoke volumes.

“For more than 15 years I have had the opportunity and privilege to work closely with Metropolitan Philip,” wrote Archbishop Demetrios, noting that the Antiochian leader served as vice-chairman of the assembly of bishops. Metropolitan Philip was a pastor to his people, but he also “passionately supported a common witness to our Orthodox faith in the world. It is well known that he spoke his mind openly on a number of important issues and would often challenge inactivity surrounding serious issues, which he felt Orthodoxy could address in unique and important ways.”

That’s one way to put it.

Metropolitan Philip, who died March 19, was more than an advocate for Orthodox life and faith. He was more than a pragmatic strategist who helped his flock grow from 66 parishes to 275, while opening youth camps and a missions and evangelism office.

The Lebanese-born archbishop was also a fierce advocate of Orthodox unity in the United States, to whatever degree possible among Greeks, Arabs, Russians, Ukrainians, Romanians, Serbians and others. After living his adult life in this land, he made the controversial decision in the mid-1980s to embrace waves of evangelical converts (I am one of them). These converts affected all levels of his church including, as much as anywhere else, seminaries and, thus, at Orthodox altars.

That was the backdrop to the symbolic moment when Archbishop Demetrios surprised Metropolitan Philip by asking him to make some off-the-cuff remarks at the 2004 Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Church in New York City.

“I reminded him that when I speak, I tell it like it is,” said Philip, when I interviewed him for an “On Religion” column soon after that event.

Rather than speaking in Byzantine code, Metropolitan Philip bluntly addressed the delegates as Americans, not Greeks. He said he thought it was time to challenge ecclesiastical ties that continued to bind their churches in the new world to those in the old. Then he marched straight into a minefield, bringing greetings from the Antiochian Orthodox delegates who, a few days earlier, had unanimously approved what many Greeks have long desired — a constitution granting them more control of their church in North America.

“I told them that if I could sum up this new constitution, I would begin with the words, ‘We the people,’” he told me. “We cannot ignore this truth — Americans are infested with freedom. We cannot ignore that our churches are in America and we are here to stay.”

A press aide for the Greek archdiocese noted: “It would be accurate to say that he received an enthusiastic response.”

Part of the problem was that Philip was intentionally calling to mind the 1994 gathering in Ligonier, Pa., when America’s Orthodox bishops boldly declared: “We commit ourselves to avoiding the creation of parallel and competitive Orthodox parishes, missions, and mission programs. We commit ourselves to common efforts and programs to do mission, leaving behind piecemeal, independent, and spontaneous efforts ... moving forward towards a concerted, formal, and united mission program in order to make a real impact on North America through Orthodox mission and evangelism.”

That effort failed. Two decades later, Metropolitan Philip left instructions that he was to be buried at the Antiochian Village camp near Ligonier, where young people will visit his grave for generations to come.

“This faith was to remain the best-kept secret in America because of our laziness, we Orthodox, because we have been busy taking care of our little ethnic ghettos,” said Philip, during one of the first rites ushering an entire evangelical congregation into his archdiocese.

“It is time that we let this light shine. America needs the Orthodox faith. I said to the Evangelical Orthodox in these past Sundays, I said, ‘Welcome home.’”

© 2014 Knoxville News Sentinel. All rights reserved. 

Confess, Repent, and Find Healing: Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox Church

         

          When we encounter a problem in life that it is beyond our ability to fix, we learn something about ourselves.  When pains, sorrows, and struggles simply will not let up, the reality of our situation and of our own limitations sets in.  Whether it is our own health or that of our loved ones, broken relationships or stressful times at work, school, or with friends, or problems on the world stage that threaten to impact us all, life’s struggles can open our eyes pretty quickly to how weak we are before the challenges that we face.  

            If you feel that way today or ever have in your life, you can begin to sympathize with the father of the demon-possessed young man in today’s gospel reading.  Since childhood, his son had had life-threatening seizures and convulsions. With the broken heart of a parent who had little hope for his child’s healing, the man cried out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  Christ’s disciples had lacked the spiritual strength to cast out the demon, but the Lord Himself healed him. 

            Despite his imperfections, the best example of faithfulness in this story is the unnamed father who openly confessed that he could not solve his own problems.  He told the truth about himself in acknowledging his weak faith.  Even as Christ stood before him, he had doubts.  He said to him, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us.”  And then all that he could do was to cry out with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” 

            And in doing so, he became a model for us all in how to make an honest confession before the Lord, bearing his soul and asking only for mercy.  If we need a reminder about the importance of taking Confession this Lent, we have it in this man.  The point is not that he had broken a law of some kind, but that he had learned by experience that he had fallen short, that he had much room to grow in his relationship with God.  It was precisely this humble acknowledgement that opened him to receive the mercy of the Lord.  Though surely in a less dramatic way, the same will be true for each of us when we take Confession this Lent.        

            Too often, we keep our weak faith, and the sins that result from it, a secret even to ourselves. We do not want even to think about how we have fallen short of sharing in the blessed life of Christ, much less to say out loud how we have sinned as we stand before the icon of the Lord.  But there is a great, freeing power found in speaking the truth about our brokenness and asking in humility for His forgiveness and healing.  When we acknowledge that we have not lived or believed as we should have, we put ourselves in the place of humble repentance like the prodigal son, the tax collector, and the father of the demon-possessed young man.  We do not attempt to justify ourselves, but beg only for mercy and strength to move forward in life.  If you have not done so already this Lent, open yourself to the healing of Jesus Christ by taking Confession before Palm Sunday.  Receive His forgiveness through the hand and words of an unworthy priest and trust in the mercy of the Savior for people like you and me.       

            Perhaps the spiritual disciplines of Lent have given us a new awareness of our need for greater strength in the Christian life.  Why do we so often welcome distractions when we set out to pray?  Why do anger and frustration rear their ugly heads when we fast from food or something else to which we have become too attached?  Why is it so hard to forgive and otherwise to mend strained relationships?  These are symptoms of the fact that we do not have perfect faith, that we are not yet fully healed from the diseases of our passions, that we do not yet love God or our neighbors as we should.

            Some learn these truths about themselves because of their weakness before the crosses that they bear daily due to illness, poverty, family strife, or other problems.   That was the case with the father in today’s gospel reading.  Others learn them through periods of spiritual struggle like Lent.  But however the eyes of our souls are opened, we probably will not like what we see there.  The question, then, is what will we do?  There is plenty in our culture and in our own thoughts and activities that we can use to distract ourselves from accepting the truth and finding healing.  It is easy to live in a fantasy world where we repress or otherwise ignore painful realities. 

            How tragic it would have been for the father in today’s reading to have done that, for then presumably his son would never have been healed.  How tragic it would be for any of us to refuse the spiritual healing that Christ promises when we cry out in with the true humility of repentance, like that father, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  In these last weeks before Palm Sunday, now is the time to find freedom and healing for our imperfect faith and personal brokenness through the Holy Mystery of Confession.  Now is the time to stop suffering in silence and isolation and to repent from the depths of our hearts.  When we bear our souls to Him, we will gain new insight on why He went to the cross for us and conquered death for us in His glorious resurrection on the third day.  Humble repentance: There is no better way to prepare for the agony of Golgotha and the unspeakable joy of Pascha.