The Orthodox Mission in America

THE ORTHODOX MISSION TODAY

THE AMERICAN ORTHODOX MISSION

I. THE CHURCH OF STS. THEODORE IN BUFFALO, N.Y.

Introduction: The Orthodox Mission in America

THE AMERICAN ORTHODOX MISSION had a promising beginning before the Russian Revolution, with its center first in San Francisco and then in New York. All national communities in America came under one jurisdiction: the Russian Orthodox Church, which started the American Mission and watched over it in its early years. Although at this early date the languages of the old countries were still in use by Orthodox emigrants in America, it was planned that eventually the sole language of Orthodoxy in America would be English, and preparations were already being made for this. The American Mission was thus distinct from the Alaskan Mission, which utilized the indigenous languages there.

In America, however, just as elsewhere in the world, the Russian Revolution marked a crisis and a turning point for Orthodoxy. Anarchy entered Church life: guidance and help were no longer to be expected from Russia, which even today after fifty years remains in an abnormal and enslaved condition, as does the official church which is allowed to exist there; abroad, schisms as well as the difficult conditions of the emigration weakened the position of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, which logically should have taken over all the Russian missions. As a consequence, the American Mission as such simply ceased to function, and Church life thereafter came to be organized on national, jurisdictional lines. Under the given conditions, this sad turn of affairs was perhaps inevitable; the canons regarding missionary territories and overlapping jurisdictions of bishops simply could not be applied.

In recent years there has been talk once more of American Orthodoxy, and an attempt has been begun to end jurisdictional irregularities. In 1960 there was formed a "Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas," with representation from many jurisdictions (some of them admittedly not too "canonical"), with the idea that it would eventually be transformed into the Synod of an American Orthodox Church.

But quite apart from the fact that this "Standing Conference" has not yet resolved some of the jurisdictional conflicts and canonical difficulties among its own members, it has, more importantly, failed even to take cognizance of a basic fact of Orthodox life in America today: Orthodoxy in America has to a large extent lost contact with its own roots; it has become diluted and in some cases virtually unrecognizable. Whether one judges by the most superficial characteristics or the most profound, whether by the appearance and deportment of clergy and laymen, or by the total absence of monastic life and the virtual disappearance of traditional Orthodox piety and spirituality, it cannot be doubted that Orthodoxy in America, as represented by the jurisdictions on the "Standing Conference," is well on the way to losing completely its Orthodox character. A symptom of this (not a cause, for it simply expresses what has already happened) is the eager participation by American clergy, led by their hierarchs, in the ecumenical movement; being already more Catholic or Protestant than Orthodox in spirit, they sense their affinity with Western heterodoxy, and the amalgamation of their jurisdictions will occur just in time for them all to become part of the Papal pan-religious sect of the future.

To some extent, of course, Orthodoxy in America merely shares in the decline of Orthodoxy noticeable in many parts of the world. taking a more acute form here due to minimal contact with genuine Orthodox centers and long exposure to the local heterodox or simply pagan environment.

TO THE WIDESPREAD movement of Orthodoxy in the last fifty years toward apostasy and heterodoxy there remains, however, one striking exception: the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; and it is surely providential for American Orthodoxy that this Church, since World War II, has established its headquarters and a number of spiritual centers on this continent. No one pretends that the ordinary members of this Church are "holier" than others – although she has had saints, too – but  neither can anyone deny that her hierarchs, almost alone in world Orthodoxy today, have stood firmly against the general movement of compromise and falling away from the Faith The very existence of such a Church, quite apart from her missionary activity, has a providential meaning for the world: she is called, as St. John of Kronstadt prophesied before the Revolution and as her hierarchs and knowledgeable members realize today, to witness genuine Orthodoxy throughout the world before the world's end; her existence constitutes, in fact, an involuntary mission to every continent, as long as she remains true to her calling.

Especially in the last few years this mission has become conscious of itself and has begun to bear fruit, in America as elsewhere. The Rus sian Church Outside of Russia possesses the only serious monastic institutions, both for men and women, to be found in America today; by her members is published a greater variety of basic Orthodox material in English (prayer books, services, Lives and writings of Saints, etc.) than by all the other American jurisdictions combined; among her members, both Russian and English-speaking, is an acute missionary awareness of the distinctiveness of the Church of Christ as against heterodoxy and diluted Orthodoxy; and two of her monasteries – Holy Trinity (Russian) Monastery in Jordanville, New York, and Holy Transfiguration (Greek) Monastery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, have become spiritual centers and models of Orthodoxy for numbers of informed converts today.

All this must be realized in order to see, quite concretely, upon what foundation a true American Orthodox Mission can be built. It cannot be built upon "Americanism" or upon mere emphasis on the English language; it cannot be built upon "unity," which heretics also can possess; it can only be built upon Orthodoxy. True Orthodoxy transcends the barriers of nation and language; and thus it is that the Orthodox jurisdiction in America with perhaps the strongest national awareness has established spiritual contact with Americans thirsting for truth and has become for them – as indeed for the entire world a beacon of genuine Orthodoxy, not because she is herself perfect, certainly not because she is Russian, but because she upholds the standard of truth for all to see. And that is why the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in these late days, has been called to take a leading role in the further development of the Orthodox Mission in America.

The American Orthodox Mission, 1968

TO PERSONS AWARE of all this it was not at all unexpected when, in January of this year, Fr. Neketas Palassis left the Greek Archdiocese in Seattle to form his own missionary parish in that city within the jurisdiction of the Russian Church Outside of Russia (see The Orthodox Word, 1968, по. 1, p. 37). The considerable comment that was evoked by this event in the Orthodox press was not at all to the point, and in fact its intent seemed rather to cover the event with smoke by emphasizing extraneous factors rather than to grasp its significance. Even though a large number of his flock followed Fr. Neketas, observers in most jurisdictions seemed content to view it as an individual and isolated phenomenon.

By its very nature, however, this event could not remain isolated. For Fr. Neketas left a jurisdiction whose leadership was no longer concerned with preaching the truth and defending the Church of Christ, but in fact puts obstacles in the path of her members who would do these things. Fr. Neketas' move, therefore, was a matter of conscience and principle, and as such was a sign to Orthodox in America of the nature of these perilous times, and an indication of a clear course of action in facing them. Those who looked beneath the surface of events could see that Fr. Neketas would be followed by others.

On Easter Sunday, April 12 (25), the entire congregation of Sts. Theodore Orthodox Church in Buffalo, New York, together with its pastor, the Very Rev. George Lambros, was released by the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo and received under the protection of the Russian Church Outside of Russia. Again, one will doubtless hear it said, Orthodox "unity" in America has been offended. But a closer look reveals the contrary: for this parish the question of unity has been solved – by subordinating it to the question of Orthodoxy, the very foundation of unity in the Church of Christ.

In the May, 1968, Bulletin of Sts. Theodore Orthodox Church one may read: "Our decision to petition our present Diocese was the climax of long and careful soul-searching, prayer and deliberation by all of us, singly, in groups, in committee, and in general parish sessions. We rejoice in our union with a Diocese whose main concern is Orthodoxy Ark of Salvation Church Fathers." – the pure and undefiled as transmitted by the Holy

Something of the backgound of this decision and of the parish were described by the wife of the priest of this parish, Matushka Mary Lambros, in a letter to The Orthodox Word:

SINCE OUR BEGINNING, thanks to the intercession of our powerful Patron Saints, we have been immeasurably blessed. We are poor, but we have never lacked for anything. Whenever a need arose, someone came to fill it. When we needed Icons, two talented Iconographers appeared. When we needed vestments, a tailor joined the parish. And so it has been with everything.

Sts. Theodore people are of Russian, Greek, Syrian, Ukrainian, Austrian, German, Belgian, Spanish, Welch, Polish, Scandinavian and just plain American descent. Some are converts: in some families the wife, in others the husband, and in others the whole family. There are also "home-grown" Orthodox and, thank God, a number of "D. P.'s", who in spite of what you may read in some places are a great spiritual asset, and are most devoutly and most thoroughly Orthodox.

Sts. Theodore parish began in 1964 with six families, Fr. George, and faith. With God's help we were able to obtain our church property from a Unitarian group. The inside, of course, looked like a meeting hall. Father and the parishioners working together, sanded and refinished the floors, raised the eastern end for the Altar, constructed the woodwork part of the Iconostasis, hand-made the candlestands from pieces of brass gleaned in out-of-the-way shops, sewed the banners and the vestments – in short, transformed the building into an Orthodox church.

We were particularly blessed in having our Icons painted by the Koufos brothers, Father Philip and Theodore, who studied Icon painting at Holy Trinity Monastery under Father Cyprian and Father Alypy.

The temple was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1965, by Metropolitan Michael Shaheen of the Antiochian Archdiocese of Toledo, Ohio and Dependencies. Although we had but one Syrian family among us, we petitioned Metropolitan Michael to accept us because of his emphasis on the use of English. This seemed the most vital consideration for us, since our ethnic backgrounds are so diverse that English is the only language we all understand.

Since then we have grown – not rapidly, but steadily – and now we are eighteen families. As we have grown, we have been faced with the fact that there is something more vital than the English language: Orthodoxy. With ecumenism rampant around us—especially  in our area the converts among us declared that they did not become Orthodox to be swallowed up by the heterodox. The "born" Orthodox feared for the purity of their Faith. And so we searched for an Orthodox harbor in the ecumenical storm – and found it in our present diocese. We were, and are, most thankful to be received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

Sts. Theodore's people are warm-hearted, hard-working, down-to-earth people. Father George is of Greek parentage, 42 years old, born and raised in America. Since the parish is so small and poor, he supports his wife and son, Theodore, as a Social Case Worker. He is a quiet, unassuming person, disliking the "limelight," yet occasionally forced to be conspicious in defense of Orthodoxy against the ecumenical flood-tide around us.

One such occasion that comes to mind was a wedding in one of the larger Orthodox churches in Buffalo. Fr. George was invited to participate. At the ceremony he discovered that a Roman Catholic priest was also going to take part. Fr. George tried to reason with the other Orthodox priest, but was told that "it's all right – we are all brothers." There was some agitation when Fr. George stepped down, and in spite of pleas and exhortations remained "unreasonable" and "un-Christian" and would not take part.

The parish of Sts. Theodore was received under the protection of His Eminence Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery, and willingly accepted the old (Julian) calendar in place of the new calendar which is used in the Patriarchate of Antioch. The Archbishop's greeting to his new flock was read by Father George at the Easter Liturgy:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Very Reverend and Beloved in the Lord Father and All Brothers and Sisters Beloved in the Lord:

I heartily greet you with the ever-joyful Paschal greeting and prayerfully wish you to preserve to the end faithfulness to the Risen Christ in constant spiritual peace and joy in the troubled times we are now enduring.

With particular spiritual joy on my part I am informing you that on this very day of this great and radiant "Feast of feasts and Triumph of triumphs" you are received into the bosom of our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which is now the only Orthodox Church in the world which sincerely wants to preserve the unaltered succession of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, all her pious disciplines and traditions, without any change to please this world which lieth in wickedness (I John 5:19) and wants to remain faithful to her Lord and Saviour, Who on the third day arose with glory from the dead.

My dear ones! Henceforth my beloved children! Not looking at any of the temptations with which the contemporary world is now so filled, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philip. 2: 12), always remembering the joyful and, for us, consoling promise of the Risen Lord to all His true followers: For lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age. Amen. (St. Matt. 28: 20).

Your intercessor and henceforth your Archpastor,

Humble Averky,
Archbishop of Syracuse
and Holy Trinity Monastery


Iconostasis of Sts. Theodore Orthodox Church, painted in Byzantine style by Father Philip and Theodore Koufos.



Archbishop Averky with Father George Lambros at the banquet during the Archbishop's first visitation of the parish in June of this year.


On Sunday, June 10 (23), the first visitation of the parish by Archbishop Averky became the occasion for the triumphant celebration of the parish's new tie. This was reported as follows in Orthodox Russia (1968, no. 12):

THE SERVICE WAS celebrated almost entirely in the English language, since the parishioners do not understand Russian. The magnificent church, with a finely-executed iconostasis painted in ancient Byzantine style, and with numerous lamps burning, was completely filled with the devout, all the more so since there were also present for the solemnity the Russian parishioners from the Russian parish of St. Nicholas in Buffalo, together with their pastor, Mitred Archpriest Aristarch Kotsubinsky. The Archbishop came from Holy Trinity Monastery together with Abbot Flor, Fr. Adrian Gan, Archdeacon Pimen, and Subdeacon Tikhon. In addition, for the greater splendor of the solemnity, Hierodeacon John, who knows English well, came in a separate car with three students of the Seminary one American and two Russians.

On the eve was celebrated the All-Night Vigil honoring All Saints of Russia, which happened to be commemorated then (second Sunday after Pentecost), and all stikhiras were sung entirely in English by the students. Archbishop Averky, after the reading of the Gospel, gave a sermon on the meaning of the Apostles' Fast (which was to begin on Monday), and this was translated on the spot phrase for phrase into English.

On the next day the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the same celebrants, and for this three choirs sang: the parish choir in English, the choir of seminarians also in English, and the choir of St. Nicholas church in Church Slavonic. All celebrants, beginning with the Archbishop himself, pronounced almost all the responses in English. The church was overflowing with people and one could sense a particularly prayerful disposition of those who participated in this remarkable celebration. At the end of the Liturgy Archbishop Averky gave a sermon on the meaning of Holy Russia as the stronghold of the true Orthodox Christian Faith for the whole world, and he called upon all to pray to All Saints of Russia for the salvation of Russia and the whole world, which, with the downfall of Orthodox Russia, clearly finds itself today on the brink of destruction. This sermon was likewise translated immediately into English.

After the Divine Liturgy there was a dinner in the church hall for all who participated in the solemnity. The parishioners unanimously thanked the Archbishop and said that they had never had such a solemnity. In his farewell word the Archbishop wished their parish success and prosperity and invited them to make a pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery.

———

MUST WE then conclude that there are no missionaries in America besides those within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia? Or that all missionary labor outside her is in vain? That would be premature. The new Unia has not yet been achieved; and although the apostasy of the other Orthodox Churches has in fact become the official policy of their hierarchs, there are still islands of clergy and laymen in most Churches who resist this. But one must point out what many individuals and a vanguard of parishes already have come to see: the other Orthodox jurisdictions in America today are sinking ships whose captains are guiding them, not into a safe harbor, but into shallow waters amidst hidden rocks and ultimate destruction: the loss of Orthodoxy.

Ecumenism, which has captured these jurisdictions entirely, is the opposite of Mission. The Orthodox Mission flourishes only where there is the awareness of belonging to the one true Church, the religion established by God, and of our responsibility to make this infinite treasure known to those outside the Faith for their salvation. Ecumenism, on the other hand, preaches "dialogue" and compromise with those of other faiths, in the name, ultimately, of humanitarianism and human reason the religion of man.

At the present time by God's grace one Orthodox Church in America has had the courage to make her official policy the exact opposite of the accepted policy of ecumenical "dialogue" and betrayal of Orthodoxy. By this policy the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has justly taken the lead in encouraging and inspiring the new missionary movement of genuine Orthodoxy in America.