Uglich - Unexpected

Today we arrived in Uglich For the 425th anniversary of the martyric death of St. Dimitry the Tsarevich. I had the great pleasure of meeting the newly-consecrated Bishop Theodore of Uglich. This is a new diocese - one of the many new dioceses in Russia created in the last few years. The dioceses are being broken into smaller pieces to make the bishops more accessible to the people and to better spread the faith. Meting Bishop Theodore here one has great hope that this plan will be fruitful. Especially if he is indicative of the new cadre of young bishops being appointed to fill the episcopal vacancies of these newly-created dioceses.

After the Vigil, which was sung truly beautifully by three choirs (two special visiting choirs and one of the local choirs), we joined Bishop Theodore and several of the senior clerics from Uglich for dinner as we traveled on a boat on the Volga. Clearly something (probably several things) got crossed off the bucket list today. Below please find pictures I took from the boat on which we dined, as well as a few videos I took at the table of one of the visiting choirs singing during dinner.

I would like to say here that the clergy of Uglich were incredibly welcoming to us. Many of the fathers knew Fr. Sergei Kiselev (we are here with the choir from his school in Sviblovo), since his son Gleb was living in one of the monasteries here before he tragically and suddenly passed away. We have asked the prayers of everyone in our parish for Gleb in the past and I would like to do so again here now - please remember him in your prayers at home and in church.

I can say that the beginning of this visit was very spiritually invigorating. And I am looking forward to tomorrow's festivities. Now I am off to read the prayers before Holy Communion in preparation for serving the patronal feast of this city. But before I close I would like to say that internet connectivity here has not been as good as I hoped it might be. I don't mean in Uglich - I mean in Russia. Who knows why. It does not matter. Except - if you are not hearing back from me in a timely manner this is likely because I am having trouble receiving emails. Much more so than I thought I would. And even when I can receive emails I cannot access the Internet. This is not a complaint. But I want you to know that I am not ignoring you. :)

Return to Russia

The Russian side of my family left Russia's Far East in the early 1920s as the Red Army approached. They were land owners and clergy and by that time it was quite clear that the only future they had in the soon to be Soviet Union was as casualties of the Bolshevik terror. So they fled to China and then emigrated to America.

But the Lord saw otherwise than to allow Russia to remain an officially Godless state, and when the Soviet Union disintegrated in the 1990s it again became possible to worship God openly and without fear of recrimination (to be sure, as with almost all historical persecutions, there were more and less difficult times during the Soviet period for the Church). That is not to say that God was not worshiped in the Soviet Union. Of course He was. Perhaps in some of the most pure, intense, and selfless ways that He has been worshiped since the time of the Roman persecutions or the Turkish Yoke. In all times and at all places, whenever the Orthodox Faith has been persecuted it has grown in depth and in breadth. As noted in a recent post, Tertullian wrote that the blood of the martyrs waters the seed of the Church. This is true in Russia today as well, although because of the length and intensity of the persecution in the Soviet Union it is going to take some time to undo the secularization that has taken place here - or perhaps better put: to allow the watering of that seed to fully flower. That is not my opinion - it is the opinion of some of the most senior priests and bishops in Russia and Ukraine today. That being said, here one can witness the most significant resurrection of the Church after a persecution in her history - and it is something truly inspiring to witness!

Today I flew in to Moscow and had the opportunity to meet with my gracious hosts, Fr. Sergei and Matushka Larissa Kiselev. For those who don't immediately put 2+2 together, they are the parents of our own Lisa Kiselev who has been studying at Washtenaw Community College and been actively involved in our parish for the last four academic years. Liza is here too of course, and she is a big help as I negotiate some of the peculiarities of the megalopolis that is Moscow. Our parish council member Mikhail Fisenkov met with us today too. We had the opportunity to finalize the presentation we are making to potential donors here as we continue our "friend raising" efforts towards building our new church, hall, and school with Bishop Peter's blessing.

I also had the opportunity to meet a very interesting priest, Fr. Konstantin Bufetev. Fr. Konstantin did not become a priest through the usual seminary route. In fact, he has the highest Russian educational attainment as a Geologist, and despite (really perhaps because of) that high educational attainment he is a believer and a servant of the Lord as a priest. Some of you might have heard of Fr. Konstantin - he wrote a very interesting book which is a compilation of the Holy Fathers about the Creation of the World. That book is not available yet in English, but we talked seriously about how we can get to that point sooner rather than later. The pictures included in this post are of us talking with Fr. Konstantin - he is on the far left Fr. Sergei is between us, and Matushka Larissa on the right.

Updates from Uglich may take a few days. Or they may not. We'll know when we get there what kind of connectivity is available. In the mean time, I ask your prayers for safe and fruitful travel. I also invite questions or comments from those who would like to make those here.

Fr. Gregory

On the Road

With Bishop Peter's blessing I will be in Russia beginning today (after Liturgy at St. Vladimir's for the feast of Mid-Pentecost) through June 3. There are a lot of important things happening in the Church this time of year. And thus Fr. Joseph Towne has been kind enough to join us at St. Vladimir's during my absence. Please welcome Fr. Joseph home warmly! The schedule of services will continue unabated while Fr. Joseph is with us, so please do plan to join us regularly at St. Vladimir's!

In an emergency please reach out to our Starosta, Nathan Longan (starosta@stvladimiraami.org or 734-678-8042). Nathan will contact Fr. Joseph and make sure he is there to care for you if there is a special need. If you need me personally please text or email me – I'll get those in Russia and get right back to you. You can also find me on What's App, Viber, and Skype. Nathan can also help you get to me, as can Yuliya Rodzianko (pastoralassistant@stvladimiraami.org or 440-785-6131).

Fr. Gregory Contact Information:

Cell/SMS/What's App/Viber: +1-734-649-5746
Email: ogrisha@stvladimiraami.org
Skype: gregorypjoyce
Twitter: @ogrishajoyce

My trip to Russia is going to be a busy one, starting with the 425th anniversary of the martyrdom of Prince Dimitry of Uglich, work in Moscow, visiting the Davydovo summer camp for special needs children and their families that we have been supporting in our parish for some years, and also work in St. Petersburg. In Moscow and St. Petersburg I will meet with potential supporters of our building project. People in Russia have been especially interested in the Day School portion of our project in the past, and I expect that would be the case this trip as well.

Parts of the trip may be, I think, interesting for our parishioners. Not so much that I am interesting, but my travels really might be, and so I am going to do my best to cover my travels here on Blogtushka. How quickly I can post things depends on how easy it is for me to access the internet there. But I am tasked with covering the celebrations in Uglich for the Orthodox Christian Network, so I am going to have to figure this out!

I ask your prayers for safe travels!

Fr. Gregory

Thoughts on the Incompatibility of Xenophobia and Christianity

Today the Holy Church commemorates two of the great Equal of the Apostles, and those very important to us in the Russian Church, Sts. Cyril & Methodius. This seems to me to be to be a good day to share some thoughts on the incompatibility of Xenophobia and Christianity.

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you… (Matthew 5:44)

The history of the Church is replete with persecution. Many enemies of the Church have persecuted her in the hopes of destroying Christianity. And each of these persecutions has had the opposite effect to that which was intended. Tertullian wrote that “the blood of the martyrs waters the seed of the Church.” As persecutions increase so too does the Church grow both in the quantity and quality of its faithful children. Many persecutors have become Christians owing to the witness of the martyrs – even shedding their own blood for the True Faith.

We have real, significant theological differences with other faiths such as Islam and Judaism. However, we must clearly distinguish between theological disputes and personal animosity. It is completely permissible (and theologically unavoidable) to explicate differences in faith. Equating all faiths would be a frank betrayal of Christ. Refusing to honor the witness of the martyrs (many of whom were killed by Jews, Muslims, Pagans, and others acting out of religious obligation) would also be a frank betrayal of Christ. But we must state unequivocally: Xenophobia has no place in Orthodox Christianity and is absolutely contrary to our faith.

The vast majority of Orthodox Christians in the world suffered from a misguided and evil totalitarianism in the 20th Century. All of us – both those who lived in the freedom found outside the Iron Curtain and those who suffered behind it – are still subject to the great wound that this totalitarian system imposed upon humanity. The wound has not yet been fully cured, and the greatest danger that this wound poses as it slowly and fitfully undergoes healing is the totalitarian requirement that there be an “enemy” - an “other” - an extrinsic evil that must be sought out, fought, and destroyed. Without this identified enemy totalitarianism loses its power. And this need to identify an enemy persistently rears its head – especially during any time of political or economic difficulty.

The faithful children of the Holy Church are not immune from societal illnesses. If a society or even a portion of a society are infected with a persistent sickness then so too are the believers potentially subject to the same infection. The endless search for the “enemy” draws the faithful away from a God-centered existence to an existence centered on something completely foreign to a Christian. Any thing can become an idol – and when we spend our time seeking out and trying to destroy the “enemy” we move far away from God and into idolatry. This is completely and absolutely unacceptable and must be resisted with all our strength.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

I would like to submit here that as Orthodox Christians we must resist Xenophobia in all its variant and deviant expressions, be that anti-Semitism, anti-Muslimism, or any other inappropriate hatred for the “other”. We must hold fast to the saving faith which the Lord has given us. But we must be an example to all men of Christian love, even in the face of persecution and death if need be. This is not to say that we must cease using the intellect the Lord has given us or ignore the realities of history. On the contrary, we are called to be the rational flock of the Lord and we should speak out against heresy and every evil as our Christian conscience requires us, remembering that it is important to undertake such public speaking out in the context of receiving a blessing from the appropriate ecclesiastical authority if that is at all possible. That being said, I suggest quite strongly that it is the Christian response to resist Xenophobia earnestly, calling to mind the words of the Apostle:

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (I John 4:20)

I look forward to hearing from our readers on this topic!

Big Day for the Daily Scriptures!

It has been a long time since we posted here! My apologies! Christ is Risen! I hope to be better about this going forward. I am working on a post regarding some issues happening in American education – both higher education and secondary education. But that one has gotten a bit out of control and needs a serious edit before posting here. I also have a post about xenophobia in the Church that is just about ready to go. Probably we will see that one before we see the education one. I think I will also try to cover my upcoming trip to Russia (5/25/16 – 6/3/16) here as well. But that will depend on connectivity in Russia. Probably that will be a little spotty. We'll see. :)

But today I'd like to focus on the daily scripture readings. You can find those on the annual calendar that we send out to everyone each year (if you need one – or a second one for work or another spot in your home that having a calendar would be convenient – please let me know – we still have some left). You can also find it in our weekly Sunday Reading. Also on our home page. All this publishing of the daily scripture readings might lead you to think that this could be a sort of important thing. If you were thinking that you are right! This is a VERY important thing. We all should be reading the scriptures – especially the Gospel – EVERY DAY! And the best way to do that – to really feel the Church's yearly cycle – is to read the short pieces appointed for each day and found at the resources above.

If you have established this excellent habit of reading the scriptures daily then today when you opened your Bible or clicked on the appropriate link you were blown away – these are two HUGELY important readings. How important? Important enough to include here in their entirety.

Today's Epistle Reading:

In those days, Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. (Acts 8:40-9:19)

Today's Gospel Reading:

The Lord said, I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:48-54)

Since Pascha we have been reading from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John. I think this is one of the most important times of the year to keep up with these readings. Especially the Acts since this recounts the life of the Church after Christ's Resurrection and Ascension. And today we read of the conversion of Saul. You may have heard of him – he took the name Paul and became the great Apostle to the Gentiles (Gentiles are the vast majority of us, by the way, since very few of us come from the 12 tribes of Israel). Saul, who was such a great persecutor of Christians becomes a great Christian himself. The Lord provides him a path to salvation through service – and this is a path that we all are given. Reading this account of the conversation of the great Apostle involuntarily brings to mind so many other persecutors who later became great saints. Thankfully very few of our readers are actively involved in persecuting the Church, nor do we hope that any will every be. But it is inspiring and instructive to see that God touches Saul and he is changed. We too can be changed by touching God, and this is the topic of the Gospel.

The entire sixth chapter of John is good for us to review regularly. But if we follow the daily readings we will indeed review it  at least a good chunk of it – at this time of year. Here the Lord makes it clear that if we wish to have life (that is, eternal life) we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. This instructive poster may help as we think about this:

Disclaimer: I shamelessly stole this from Face Book. A slightly different Gospel reading yes, but nonetheless helpful here I think. We are not participating in a symbol, in a historical recreation, or in anything other than the spiritual reality of the Lord's Body and Blood – and in today's Gospel reading He makes it clear: WE NEED TO PARTAKE OF HOLY COMMUNION! And not just once in a while – regularly. What “regularly” means for each of us might be a little different, but it sure doesn't mean once a year, or four times a year. More – much more – often. But we also need to prepare ourselves to partake of Holy Communion, and this is why we have created a page on our web site specifically to help with appropriate preparation – please have a look – and please let me know if you have any questions. In fact, posting a question here would be good – that way everyone will learn from the answer!

Fr. Gregory

The Priesthood - A Follow-up to Sunday's Lecture

Sunday our Great Lenten Lecture was about the organization of the ancient Church. The lecture was somewhat focused on the diocese, although it also touched on the bishop and his ministry in the diocese and how that developed over time. You can listen to the lecture here. The video is now up and you can see it here.

One of the interesting questions that came up at the discussion period afterwards was the development of the ministry of the priest over time. I think the answer I gave was perhaps not fully precise, and so I would like to point out the chapter on the hierarchy and priesthood in Fr. Michael Pomazansky's book Orthodox Dogmatic Theology as a place where you can get a much better answer than I gave. Please do have a look at that to learn more. You can also find the slide show from the lecture at this link. I am including that because the last slide mentions good further reading on this topic.

I think it is important to clarify the position of the priest in a parish. You can find the Instructions to Parish Rectors at this link – this is part of the Compendium of Regulations, Statues, and Laws of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia that we discussed at the lecture and which is recommended for further reading. The Rector servers in place of the bishop and because the bishop cannot be in many places at the same time. Some parishes have more than one priest if there are many parishioners, but generally only one priest is the Rector of a parish. All clergymen of a parish serve at the pleasure of the bishop – none has a “right” (as we understand that word in the west) to exercise his mission without the bishop's blessing.

In theory we could talk about this topic for quite a few more paragraphs, but I would prefer to continue to the conversation from Sunday's lecture here on Blogtushka. Please submit questions or make comments in the space below.

Serving the Holy Church

As I was preparing for my Great Lenten Lecture on Sunday, I came across this wonderful essay by Fr. Michael Pomazansky, one of the most important theologians of our era:

How Each of Us Can and Ought to Serve the Church

Fr. Michael graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy in 1912 – just a few years before the Russian Revolution. As a professor at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, Fr. Michael influenced a whole generation of clergymen. As a writer Fr. Michael influenced and continues to influence many. I hope he will influence you. Fr. Michael conveys the traditional theology of the Orthodox Church in a way that is accessible and actionable for his readers. And this is important. Theological proofs and orations can be helpful and even beautiful, but often there is not a call to action in such writings. In the essay cited above Fr. Michael makes it very clear – everyone is called to serve the Church:

“Of course, the fullest form of serving the Church is for a person to give himself to Her completely for his entire life as a pastor or in another life of service, close to the pastorate. But we must not feel that only the ordained of the Church are called to be Her soldiers while the others are only observers—some sympathetic, others critical. Each of us has a place in the ranks of the soldiers of the Church, and the forms of participation the Church are varied. The Apostle writes: 'Let every man same calling wherein he was called' (I Cor. 7:20). Translating this quotation into contemporary concepts, we can say that there does not exist a constructive, honest profession and a social position where a good person could not at one time or another contribute his good mite to the of the Church. Look at how the fruits of pagan higher education used to great advantage by the great hierarchs Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. What a precious heritage they are to the Church!”

You have heard me say this time and again. But now I am pointing out to you that I am not just making this up – even one of the preeminent theologians of our time says the same. And of course he is not alone – many, many of the great theologians, teachers, and hierarchs teach the same: we are all called to serve the Holy Church based on the talents that the Lord has given us, or has given us the ability to acquire with our efforts.

Now that we are well and truly in the midst of the Christian Spring that is Great Lent we should use this time of reflection and spiritual challenge (and hoped for growth) to reflect seriously on this. Fr. Michael's call to serve the Body of Christ is laudable, it is beautiful, it is important, and frankly speaking it is not very optional. Here are the Lord's words in this regard:

The Lord said, the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25: 14-30)

Note please that we are not called here to be something we are not. Only the servant who wasted his talent was punished – the one with more and the one with less received EXACTLY THE SAME REWARD, although one had more talent that the others. This pretty starkly drives home two points: first, it isn't who has the most talent that receives the most reward – it is what you do with what you are given that matters, and second, if you are given a lot of talent in this life (as many of our parishioners are) don't be proud of that – just get to work using that talent for the One who will ask you to answer for it on the last day. Those who are given much simply have more work to do than those who are given little. Let us not waste time on pride – but rather get to work! And may we find a way, with God's help, to serve the Holy Church!

May the Lord grant all a spiritually profitable remainder of Great Lent!