I was on one of my many trips to Walmart this week and I had an epiphany. Although I have lived in the Nashville, TN. area, specifically Franklin/Brentwood, just south of Nashville, for over four years, I have rarely seen anyone in clerics. In the four years that I have lived here, I have seen only one person, an Anglican Bishop, wearing clerics in public, and that was at an invitational event. My wife says she spotted the local Catholic priest wearing clerics, but he was on the sidewalk in front of his church. I did see two of my former Antiochian priests wearing clerics at a church luncheon at a hotel, but even they, when out and about as citizens, do not always wear their clerics. The one time I met with my former priest in a coffee shop, he wore black jeans and a black tea-shirt, although he was headed directly for a hospital visit from there.
This area of Tennessee is very "spiritual", with many churches of many types. We even have one of the most prolific anti-trinitarian pseudo-Christan cults firmly rooted here. It is a very politically conservative community, both fiscally and socially. The prevailing attitude is the Protestant idea that everybody is right and nobody is wrong, we are all Christians with some measure of the truth, so we can all just get along. I am wondering, however, with the entrenched protestantism, especially evangelical protestantism, (Musician Michael W. Smith has a church here) and the strength of the Church of Christ, if somehow the Catholics and the Orthodox have decided to remain in the shadows. If this is the case, I can have no part of it.
I have seen what seems to be a compromise toward the shadows even in the Genuine Orthodox Churches. Some priests, who must be bi-vocational, use the excuse of their job to trim their beard or not wear one at all, when the Church and Canons are specific as to their appearance and Federal Law protects their rights of grooming for religious purposes. In these matters they say the Bishop has given economy for their job, when, in reality, it is their own fear of lack or fear of persecution that dictates their decision.
I have heard criticism directed toward laymen who dress in black and grow their bears according to the tradition of the Church. "What are they trying to be?" "They are trying to appears as monks when they are not." To the contrary: Perhaps they are correctly following the piety laid out in the Canons and the critics' own failure to do so is highlighted when this is observed.
I am not a priest, deacon or a tonsured reader, yet I have an uncut beard for the sake of my pursuit of piety. I do not wear clerics but I do go out in public. I am the delight of every child at Christmas time. I get a lot of free smiles and little fingers pointing my way. Many people strike up conversations, open doors for me, and the few in this area who are aware of Orthodoxy are drawn like a b-line to me. I met a very kind Coptic man the other day, a researcher at a medical facility. He could not pass me without showing his respect and talking with me. The only negative reaction I have experienced was having my way literally blocked by a black Muslim man as I tried to enter his open air shop at the local farmers market (God bless him).
I am wondering what the cleric-wearing men in this area are afraid of. Why do we not see clerics being worn here? Why do we not see cassocks worn in public? Why are they just relegated to services? Is this not a compromise in an effort to fit in? Isn't the desire to fit in to the culture, at the expense of age-old traditions, the bane of the Church? You can be sure the Muslims don't give a damn what others think. You can bet they don't give a damn about fitting in to this culture in the manner of their religious dress. I see them everywhere here. The Sikhs are here in full dress as well. Where are the Orthodox? Where is the concern over this matter? For instance, which of you readers are more disturbed with the fact that I have just used the word "damn" twice in this post, than you are concerned with the fact that our conduct may be evidence that we are becoming ashamed of the gospel of Christ and of his Church?
Father Anastasios Hudson, a priest in the Genuine Orthodox Church of America, will visit the Nashville, Tennessee area the weekend of April 10-11, 2010. Father Anastasios, who serves as priest of two GOC Missions in Raleigh and Greenville, North Carolina, also serves as sponsoring priest of the GOC mission effort in Tennessee. He is a graduate of St. Vladamir's Orthodox Seminary and was ordained a priest in 2008. (Pictured from left to right: GOC Metropolitan Pavlos and Father Anastasios Hudson at his ordination in 2008)
Father Anastasios is the mission coordinator for the Genuine Orthodox Church in America, whose Metropolis is located in Astoria, New York. A native of Ohio, and trained and educated in New York, Father Anastasios has devoted his life and ministry to mission efforts in the Southern states. "It has been my dream for some time to share Orthodox Christianity with Americans in the South", says Father Anastasios, "Orthodoxy, which is the original Church founded by Jesus Christ, is not well known here due to the complications of history. But slowly this is beginning to change, and we have started to find people in the community looking for a more traditional form of Christianity which is at the same time not stagnant but spiritually powerful", he said.
In 2009, a small community of believers in Tennessee surfaced and contacted Father Anastasious about becoming a mission of the Genuine Orthodox Church of America. Since that time, local Tennessee residents have been holding a weekly Reader's Service Without A Priest and the Typica. Over the months, numerous calls and inquiries from interested individuals and families, have come in, prompting Father Anastasios' first visit in April. GOCTN, the local Tennessee Mission community, will host Father Anastasios who will serve the community's first Liturgy on Sunday morning followed by a reception and a question and answer session. All who are interested in knowing more about this mission work are invited to attend the Liturgy and the reception/Q&A session.
For more information and the schedule of events or to talk with Father Anastasios or GOCTN Coordinator, Nathan Lewis, go to http://www.goctn.org/ and use the Contact Form. All calls and inquiries are welcomed.
UPDATE: 3/18/2011- The mission effort was put on hold when the sponsoring family went to another jurisdiction. JTO recommends the GOC jurisdiction, whose local Churches can be found throughout the United States and around the world, to all those seeking a true and genuine Orthodox church.
Thank you again for your emails and notes concerning the recent, unexpected death of my father. I have approached this Blog several times with an intent to write, but have found a kind of emotional writer's block facing me. Thank you for indulging me in allowing me to write some personal feelings. I am certain many of you understand the process of grief and the adjustment that follows the loss of a loved one.
It is especially monumental when you bury both of your parents. My mother died in 1980. We laid my father to rest next to her in our family cemetery in Arkansas. It is a passing of an era and the beginning of a new one. My three siblings and I gathered around my father's body and shared tears and memories of the heritage of faith that he left us; the knowledge and commitment to God.
I have often been reminded by others of the fact that my father loved me. The motivation for these reminders is that some were privy to the fact that there was contention between my father and me concerning my spiritual journey. What these well-meaning people do not consider is the fact that, while my father did love me, he did not agree with me nor did he accept me and, at times, was demonstrative in expressing such. To him, I was the black sheep, the wayward son, the religiously confused drifter, the one who had disdained my heritage and my father's honor by not following in his footsteps to become a Southern Baptist pastor. Not only did he let his feelings be made known, but his enablers and supporters, which included relatives, joined in the chorus. Yes, he loved me, but he was disappointed with me, so much so that he put his feelings in writing via his autobiography. In this book, which he distributed to relatives, friends and former churches he pastored, he singled me out from my other siblings (who remain Baptist) by suggesting that every family has one child that is a challenge. He expressed his puzzlement over the fact that he could "reach" other young men and influence them to enter the Baptist ministry but he couldn't seem to reach me.
I spent many years being confronted by this rejection and disappointment and did not always respond in a Christ-like manner; my passions and pride coming to a pseudo-defense of my wounded psyche. Everyone wants to be accepted by their earthy father. Unfortunately, those who have had a less than healthy relationship with their earthly father, often transfer their emotions and experience to their Heavenly Father. If one has experienced the rejection of this earthly father, he may have a difficult time accepting the love of his Heavenly Father. I have had such a challenge.
Time, and the grace of God, help heal human souls from these relational wounds that are a result of The Fall. With time and the grace of God, one can rightly divide the earthly and heavenly relationships. I did. The last few years allowed me to establish an amiable relationship with my father. Ironically, it was a scripture from the book of Sirach, a book not contained in my father's protestant bible, that influenced me toward a right relationship.
"Son support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in this life, and if his understanding fail, have patience with him and despise him not when thou art in thy strength for the relieving of the father shall not be forgotten."
Obedience to this principle allowed me to put in right order the earthly and heavenly. I was able to set aside my feelings of rejection and practice the simple human courtesies that showed him honor. I called him on birthdays and holidays and visited with him as often as possible. I took his grandchildren to see him when possible. I wrote letters to him. To my loss, and his, we did not discuss any topics having to do with the faith. When he last broached the topic of our religious differences, he expressed confidence that I had had an "experience" of salvation. I received his olive branch in the spirit in which he intended and refrained from engaging him in a topical discussion of the doctrine of salvation.
The night before the funeral, my siblings and I gathered in my father's bedroom and watched a video interview recorded a year prior to his death. In this video, he spoke a word to each individual child, including me. I watched with trepidation as my turn came. Would this be a negative commentary from beyond the grave? I was relieved and healed to hear that, although "Nathan and I have had some theological differences", he was pleased that we had had a good relationship over the last few years. He also noted my strongest attribute to be my strong commitment and tenacity to what I believe.
The other day, a month past the death of my father, I was unexpectedly struck by an intense feeling of failure and an irrational feeling that I was a disappointment to God. Immediately, I was able to set in right order these profoundly erroneous thoughts. My God does love me. He is not disappointed with me. He does believe in me. Now, I am comforted to know that for all the weakness in my relationship with my earthly father, he now has the mind of our Heavenly Father toward me.
I stood alone in my father's room as he lay unconscious and dying, gasping for breath, his brain and body ravaged by bacterial meningitis. With my Orthodox Prayer Book opened, I quietly prayed this Prayer At The Death of a Parent.
O Lord, You heard Joseph grieving over the death of his father, Jacob, as he wept and kissed him.
Your own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, also knew the love of a mother, for as He suffered upon the cross, He beheld his Mother and the disciple whom He loved standing near her, and He said: Woman, behold your son. And to the disciple, He said: Behold your mother.
Good Master, look down from heaven and see the pain and grief which have laid hold of my heart and soul today.
Be merciful to me, Your servant, and receive the prayer which is offered to You by a child who has lost his (her) beloved father (mother).
Forgive whatever sins he (she) has willingly or unwillingly committed, whether of word, deed or thought.
Merciful Master, hear the grieving voice of one who has been taught by his (her) father (mother) to turn to You with true faith in times of need, and to raise my eyes and voice to You.
Show Your mercy, O Lord, and grant rest to my father (mother), making him (her) a partaker of Your eternal blessings and granting him (her) a place at Your right hand, for blessed and glorified are You unto all ages. Amen.
I was present when my father's heart stopped beating, when the monitors would record no more brain activity, when his soul separated from his still, warm body. I will see my father again and I will greet him, but only briefly, as I turn my affection to my Heavenly Father, as my earthly father taught me to do. Until then, I will pray the Prayers for the Departed for the theosis of the soul of Billy Homer Lewis.
O God of spirits and of all flesh,
Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the Devil,
and given life to Thy world,
do Thou, the same Lord,
give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness,
a place of refreshment,
a place of repose,
where all sickness, sighing,
and sorrow have fled away.
Pardon every transgression which they have committed,
whether by word or deed or thought.
For Thou art a good God and loves mankind;
because there is no man who lives yet does not sin,
for Thou only art without sin,
Thy righteousness is to all eternity,
and Thy word is truth.
For Thou are the Resurrection, the Life,
and the Repose of Thy servants who have fallen asleep, O Christ our God,
and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father,
who is from everlasting,
and Thine all-holy, good,
and life-creating Spirit,
now and ever unto ages of ages.
Amen.
My Father, Reverend Bill H. Lewis died this morning at 1:20 a.m. Thank you for your prayers for him and our family as we mourn his passing and celebrate his life.
Please pray for my elderly father, Bill Lewis, who was taken by ambulance to the ER this morning. I will be traveling the six hours to be with him. My father has spent his entire life believing in God and preaching faith in Jesus all around the world. The picture was taken on Christmas Eve (Gregorian Calendar), 2009.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Update: Dad has spinal meningitis. He is critical. Trying to save hm with antibiotics. He is unconscious. Continue to pray.
Update #2: Dad is not expected to live. We are spending our last precious hours with him.
There is an abundance of material that is cited for support by those who have ceased to have communion with heresy and those in communion with heresy. Many writings in support of this action can be cited from Scripture, the Fathers and numerous Councils, Synods and Canons. A good summary of this reality was set forth by St. Mark of Ephesus when he said, “All the teachers of the Church, all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures, exhort us to flee those who uphold other doctrines and to separate from communion with them.”
But what material or what sources are cited by those who remain in communion with heresy? What arguments or defense do they set forth? They certainly cannot cite any teachings of Scripture, the Fathers, Councils or Canons that tell us to remain in communion with heresy. The arguments I have most often encountered are as follows:
1) "The heresy in World Orthodoxy is not official but merely the private opinions of various bishops."
First, where do we get the distinction between official heresy and unofficial heresy? Heresy is heresy, period. The only distinction made by the Church is the public proclamation of heresy vs. private and unexpressed opinions. Once a bishop publicly proclaims heretical teachings, separation is in order and, in fact, required and praised by the Fathers and Canons.
But the fact is that many of the heresies of World Orthodoxy have received an “official” status if such a thing is important. Heretical statements and position papers have been published in official journals, signed officially and even approved by synods. But whether such an “official” status is given to heresy is irrelevant as to separation according to the Fathers, and Canons.
2) "It is wrong to separate from the Church."
This statement and thinking shows how far World Orthodoxy has fallen from the Orthodox Faith. Such thinking reflects the Latin understanding of the Church as an organization or political entity that is defined primarily by what is “official” and by external associations. Since the Church is the Body of Christ that holds the Orthodox Faith under Orthodox bishops, those who separate from the heresy of officialdom are not leaving the Church but are, as one Canon puts it, preserving the Church, since they have not left bishops but false shepherds. In World Orthodoxy, the externals of officialdom are equated with the “Church”. This, of course, is not true. How can it be that those who hold the faith unchanged have left the Church while those who have changed it have preserved the Church? You see how perverted and deceived the thinking of World Orthodoxy has become! Those who have changed the faith (heresy) are the ones who have left. Those who have not changed the faith are the ones who have continued the Church. The perception of the Church as membership in “officialdom” stands in sharp contrast to the teachings of Holy Scriptures, the Canons, and the holy Fathers, including St. Gregory Palamas who wrote:
“They that are of the Church of Christ are they that are of the truth; and they that are not of the truth are not of the Church of Christ...for we are reminded that we are to distinguish Christianity not by persons who have ecclesiastical titles, but by the truth and by the exactness of the Faith.
3) "Everything is not so black and white as to the teachings of the Fathers and the Canons on this issue. There is a lot of gray area."
At this point I want to ask, “What is it that is not black and white and what is it that is gray?
Is it the Truth of the Church that is not certain? Is it the teachings of the Fathers and the Canons that are not certain? Is it not possible to know heresy when you hear it? How did the Church throughout history know, identify and anathematize heresy if it is all so gray and uncertain? And why are the teachings of the Fathers uncertain and gray only when it comes to what they say about separation from heresy? Why aren’t their teachings unclear and uncertain when they teach about the Holy Trinity, the Nature of Christ, the Veneration of the Saints, the doctrine of the Church, the meaning of the Eucharist, the necessity of the Hierarchy, the Canon of Holy Scriptures, etc.? What is unclear or uncertain when the Scriptures tell us to have no association with those who do not continue in the Apostolic Tradition? Is it not possible to know the Apostolic Tradition? If not, then Orthodoxy is a joke and unworthy of serious consideration.
What is unclear or uncertain about the words that tell us to flee from heresy as from a plague? What is unclear or uncertain when Orthodox bishops do the things they have done and make the statements they have made? They are public knowledge and as clear as any news event. No, the argument that it is all gray and uncertain is contrary to the facts and dare not be applied to the teachings of the Church.
4) "We should not be judgmental."
This understanding reflects a confusion of what it means to be judgmental. The Scriptures and Fathers all urge us to discern and judge between right and wrong and truth and error and light and darkness. The Fathers made many such judgments. The Canons are judgments about what is good and proper and Orthodox and what is not. St. Paul taught that we are to judge a “different gospel” as false and under Divine Judgment. He also tells us to discern the sprits to determine if they are of God and to turn away from that which is false. If we are to make no judgments about the truth or error of beliefs then, again, Orthodoxy is a joke and there is no reason to be Orthodox.
The kind of judging that is condemned by Scripture and the Church is that which judges a person’s unknown heart or motives when we really don’t know what is in his heart. Thus we are not to make judgments about people’s unknown motives or eternal destiny but only about their false beliefs and teachings. The Church has always made judgments between truth and heresy and has always called on the faithful to do the same.
5) "Those who separate are guilty of violating the canons that condemn schisms."
It is interesting how the teachings of the Fathers and the Canons suddenly are clear and no longer gray when it comes to understanding schisms and how it is no longer judgmental to make such judgments. But the “schisms” canons do not apply to separation due to heresy. The canons tell us to separate from heresy but if we separate from our bishop for other reasons, then we are guilty of schism. The “schism” argument does not apply to the heresy issue and is used as a smoke screen since there are no canons that forbid separation due to heresy.
6) "We should stay and fight from within."
This is contrary to all the teachings of Scripture, the Fathers, the Councils and the Canons that tell us to flee. Beside, if you stay to fight from within, how do you do that? Do you stand up and speak out when you see the Faith being violated and betrayed? Do you bring these issues to the attention of your priest and others? Do you write to your bishop objecting to the heresies of World Orthodoxy? Or do you just learn to adapt, go along and ignore?
7) "Ecumenism has never been condemned by a Council."
The Fifteenth Canon of the First-Second Council of Constantinople clearly tells us that we do not have to wait for an official council before we separate from heresy. But the fact is that all or most of the heresies present in Roman Catholicism, Monothelistism and Ecumenism have already been anathematized by numerous councils. This is why Ecumenism is called a “pan-heresy”. It contains all the heresies already condemned by the Church.
8) "What the bishops do or say doesn’t effect me. I don’t agree with them and neither does my priest so we will be Orthodox and ignore the bishops."
This is fine if you are a Protestant but it is not Orthodox. The Orthodox Faith teaches us that when we receive the Eucharist from the antimins of the bishop and commemorate his name at the Liturgy we are united in faith with him. The faith he holds is also the faith of the priest and the people. The bishop is the line of apostolic succession through which the Grace bearing Mysteries are passed on or lost. If we do not believe what the bishop believes why would we be under his omophorion and commemorate him as a right believing bishop?
"Welcome to GOC Tennessee. Here you will find everything you need to know about our on-going effort to establish a mission of the Genuine Orthodox Church of America, in Middle Tennessee. This mission effort in Tennessee was launched in November 2009 when one Tennessee family was baptized and became a part of the GOC. Soon after, calls began to come in from other Middle Tennessee families and individuals who have longed for a local presence of a Genuine Orthodox Church in the Nashville area, with whom to be in communion. The mission members currently meet together every Sunday for a full Matins and a Readers Service, led by layman Readers and Chanters. Our supervising GOC priest, Father Anastasios Hudson, who pastors two missions in Raleigh and Greenville, North Carolina, will travel to Middle Tennessee upon occasion, as he continues to offer us his pastoral care. The GOC Tennessee community joins several other GOC mission groups being established in the South, including North Carolina, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. While GOC Tennessee has its initial beginnings in Middle Tennessee, we welcome inquiries from other Tennessee residents who wish to establish a local mission in the East and West Tennessee regions. Please contact us by phone or e-mail. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have and welcome you with the love and joy that is characteristic of this blessed community of Genuine Orthodox Christian believers."
I had a conversation over the weekend with a church member of our former Antiochian World Orthodox Church. This member is one of the founding members having been part of the church for 30-plus years. I was stunned when he pressed the point that there is no connection to what a bishop does and what the local church does. The conversation was particularly focused on the possibility that one's bishop may fall into heresy and a local parish and members have a responsibility to react to such a happening. At every turn in the conversation, the member refused to consider the possibility that the local church, or he as a member, was effected in any way if their Bishop were to become heretical. I brought to his attention that he commemorates the Bishop in every service, that the Bishop is the local Church and that the Liturgy is done in his name. Still he refused to consider that there was any effect at all on a local parish. In other words, if the Bishop is heretical, it is okay to do nothing. Just keep on keeping on. This long-time member's limited understanding that the Orthodox Church is corporately and mystically "one", was revelatory. Having left that communion this year to become part of the Genuine Orthodox Church of America, I am seeing more clearly, from this vantage point, that, not only did our former church not adhere to Orthodox teachings, but it was not even in unity with its Antiochian roots. It is a parish of its own making, influenced by its easy, no obligation, acceptance into the Antiochian diocese by its current metropolitan. No one was required to be baptized to enter the church, and today that is still the practice. For years after becoming Antiochian, this former evangelical religious commune, located on acreage several miles in the country, still used guitars in its liturgy. Even though they eventually replaced their guitars with Byzantine chant, today the church's individual tweaking of the Liturgy includes the elimination of the entire reading of the canonsduring Matins- to "save time." It is no surprise that the member, with which I had the conversation, holds the opinion that he does. It seems it was easy to get the evangelical into Orthodoxy but it is not so easy to get Orthodoxy in the evangelical.
For the sake of this member I have included here the Orthodox practice which he denies is relevant:
"During the Divine Liturgy, the name of the local prelate is commemorated aloudby the deacon during the Litany of Peace at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy and at the Litany of Fervent Supplication after the Readings, before the Divine Eucharist, when the Catechumens are still present with the Faithful.
After the consecration of the Divine Gifts, the priest officiating commemorates the local bishop in whose name he is conducting the Divine Liturgyand under whom he remains canonically, as does the whole of the Eucharistic Assembly. Should the bishop himself be at the head of the Eucharistic Assembly, he commemorates at this point the primate of the eparchy, the metropolitan - “First of all, remember, Lord, our Archbishop, NN., and grant that he ...” - with whom he is in sacramental and therefore canonical communion and under whose chairmanship he serves."
commemorate- to call to remembrance
remembrance- an act of calling to mind
If a church or a member commemorates a heretical Bishop they too partake in the heresy. Remove the Bishop from the church or remove your family from the Bishop, lest you become aFrog In Boiling Water.
On Sunday, we (the Lewis family) had only our second Reader's Service since being baptized. Our Readers Service currently consists of a complete Matins and the Typica lasting about an hour and forty minutes. A Readers Service is any service held by Orthodox laymen without a priest present. In our case, we have a priest, but he is in a neighboring state. This blessed priest oversees at least three such missions and is fielding calls from all over the country from those wanting to be in communion with the Genuine Orthodox Church of America, of which we are a part. Our priest will visit us upon occasion, but, in his absence, we will continue to worship on a regular basis in Tennessee.
Although we knew that word of a baptized Genuine Orthodox family in the Nashville area holding Readers Services, would be encouraging news to others of like-mind, we did not anticipate the blessing of two other worshipers joining us so soon. There were six of us for the Reader's Service on Sunday. The two that joined us have been faithfully worshiping in their home for several years, while remaining in communion with another Genuine Orthodox jurisdiction. With the blessing of our priests and bishops, we will continue to join together as often as possible and, in fact, have made plans to worship together next Sunday. We are also planning a Nativity Service.
There is no doubt that there are others in the Nashville, Tennessee area who will rejoice in knowing that there is a group of Genuine Orthodox believers with which they may commune. Many, who are becoming aware of the heresies within their own Orthodox jurisdictions, are comforted to learn of the Genuine and True Orthodox jurisdictions. Heaven is rejoicing as well, in that the Faith of our Fathers is offered in such a tangible way in Tennessee, within the shelter of the Genuine Orthodox Church of America, which holds fast to the Dogma and Canons of the Church and resists all forms of heresy and apostasy that is so prevalent today.
We invite all who are of the same heart and mind or those who are seeking the truth of the Genuine Church, to join us in worship of the Holy Trinity, as as we pray together,
"We were filled in the morning with thy mercy, O Lord, and we rejoiced and were glad. In all our days, let us be glad for the days wherein Thou didst humble us, for the years wherein we saw evils. And look upon thy servants, and upon Thy works, and do Thou guide their sons. And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us, and the works of our hands do Thou guide aright upon us, yea, the works of our hands do Thou guide aright."
You are welcome to inquire further by
clicking on "Post A Comment" at the bottom of this post,
On Sunday, November 29th, 2009, my wife, our two youngest daughters, and I were baptized for the remission sins, and were chrismated, into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Seven months after leaving World Orthodoxy, we entered the gates of the Church through the Genuine Orthodox Church of America (GOC) under the pastorate of His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos of the Cathedral of Saint Markella in Astoria, New York. Having been under the careful catechism of GOC priest, Father Anastasios Hudson, who pastors GOC missions in Raleigh and Greenville, North Carolina, we traveled to His parish in obedience to Holy Spirit and the Church, for the blessed weekend. We were baptized Nathan, Xanthia, Seraphima, and Chloe' after the blessed saints of the same name. We will forever ask those saints to pray for us as we continue in the theosis of our souls.
Immediately following our Holy Baptisms and Chrismation, Xanthia and I submitted to the sacrament of Holy Marriage. To know that our union of 29 years is, finally, sacramentally blessed, is a fulfillment that a few words cannot describe. Our newly-baptized daughters were asked to participate in the sacrament by chanting a portion of the liturgy scriptures. We spent a few precious hours with the faithful members of the two missions, and ate a wonderful meal. We were treated with sincere hospitality and love by our new brothers and sisters, who were the epitome of servanthood.
Even before our hair was dry from our Holy Baptisms, I told Xanthia that, rather than feeling a sense of having arrived, I felt a sense of readiness to fulfill the great commission of our Lord Jesus to, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creatures, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Living in the Nashville, Tennessee area, we know that there are thousands of souls who are not part of His Church and, "How will they hear without a preacher?" The Exaposteilarion from our first Reader's Service (since our Holy Baptism) speaks directly of this mission,
"Let us gather with the Disciples on the mount in Galilee to behold Christ in faith, saying, I have received the power of those on high and those below. And Let us learn how to baptize all the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and how He is present with His initiates to the end of the world as He promised."
There is now a Mission Station of the Genuine Orthodox Church of America in Tennessee, by virtue of the fact that there is at least one baptized family in the Nashville area. My family and I will continue to worship the One God through a Reader's Service and will travel to North Carolina and other GOC parishes as often as we can. Father Anastasios will also come to visit the Nashville area as often as possible. We will also welcome all who inquire about the GOC with the loving embrace that is characteristic of this blessed communion-in-Christ.
