The Four Orders of the Priesthood

Bishop - Priest - Deacon - Layman

All were present at the 7 Ecumenical Councils...
All must be present at the Liturgy...
All are codependent...
All are valid...

Is There New Revelation Today?

Spiritual Authority: The Word and the Testimony
by A.W. Tozer, 1950

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies ... 2 Pet. 2:1

Whatever it may be in our Christian experience that originates outside of Scriptures should, for that very reason, be suspect until it can be shown to be in accord with them.

If it should be found to be contrary to the Word of revealed truth no true Christian will accept it as being from God. However high the emotional content, no experience can be proved to be genuine unless we can find chapter and verse authority for it in Scriptures. "To the word and to the testimony" must always be the last and final proof.

Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with caution until it can furnish scriptural proof of its validity. Thoughout the twentieth century quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among truths that were to be revealed in the last days.

The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact opposite! Nothing in Daniel or the New Testament epistles can be tortured into advocating the idea that we of the end of the Christian era shall enjoy light that was not known at its beginning.

Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church. The best way to deal with him is to rise and leave his presence!

Drive-By-Bloggers or DBBs

A RECENT COMMENT FROM A DBB AFTER READING

"'FREEDOM IN WORSHIP' OR IS ORTHODOXY CHARISMATIC?"

"Well good for you! So glad you've found yet another true way to worship. So long as you don't expect everyone else on the planet to bow in sync with your bow, more power to you. Not everyone is willing to give up the way they worship, the way that's right for them, because it's not right to you. Your truth is not everyones truth, and with so much left before you're fully integrated into the orthodox faith can you truly be giving advice, and telling people in such an open forum that this is the right, the truth, and the only way to go. Lets just say this has been hashed and rehashed in your lifetime and its to your discredidation." ANONYMOUS

As you might understand, due to the public nature of this BLOG, I, upon occasion, receive several negative Comments. Anyone who has made the Journey To Orthodoxy has dealt in some measure with rejection and personal attacks. This is especially true of those who make the drastic shift from some form of Protestantism. I hesitate to post negative Comments like the one here, especially when they are Anonymous. The motives of the author are always in question. I call them drive-by-bloggers or DBBs. They want to shoot at you and run without sticking around. They aren't even sure if their bullet hit the target. It seems to do them good, somehow, just to pull the trigger. One of the most significant differences between me and this DBB is the fact that I put my name on my public forum and take responsibility for what I say. I also am under the authority of my priest who has visited my BLOG and because of my submission to him, he would be given the power of edit if he so chose. In fact, I recently submitted to him a BLOG article that I am withholding from posting at his recommendation until I can gather more information on the topic. So, the DBB does raise at least one valid question concerning my authority to BLOG. Unfortunately it is difficult to appreciate the validity of DBB's Comment due to the noise of DBB's whizzing bullets. But I'll try.

DBB, You are right to point out that I have "found yet another true way to worship". By that I understand that you have knowledge that, in my Journey To Orthodoxy, I have been passionate about truth and worshipping the Lord relative to the knowledge that I had, and that I shared, taught, and expressed, according to that knowledge, and that sometimes that knowledge was wrong. So, your inference would be correct if you are suggesting that once I believed that and now I believe this. Isn't that the way of a Journey, especially one so deep as the pursuit of God? Do you not come upon paths that you didn't know existed, only to discover that the path you were on, that seemed to be the way, was not even near the main road? I understand how, in observing my path-finding toward the main road of Orthodoxy, I might have appeared to be meandering. My own Protestant Father referred to my Journey as the "Religion of the Month Club." But, if one reaches the destination,the main road, can't one's willingness to meander be given a measure of credit for the outcome?

DBB, You are right to acknowledge that I have taught others to "bow" in certains ways that seemed right at the time. It is also true that I carried a "bow" and my quiver was full of arrows with my own monogram. I must confess that I sincerely, but presumptuously, used my bow to pierce the hearts of others with what I believed to be the truth. I sincerely, but at times arrogantly, thought myself a warrior for God. I was wrong. God's arrows are sufficient and his bow is far superior to mine. Since you visit my BLOG, I would hope you would read my articles on Truth and Authority. If you do, you may understand that one of my most significant paradigm shifts is the fact that I no longer hold as a right, my own opinion on anything. My BLOG is not an advice column and it is certainly not a place to express my own opinion on what truth is. Truth has already been established by the Fathers of the Faith. I am sharing the existing truth I have discovered not the new truth I have created. So you are on target on this one. My "truth is not everyone's truth", unless the truth I espouse is that which has been handed down by the Apostles. There is only ONE truth.

DBB, In my article to my daughters I express the fact that they can bring up any number of wrongs I have committed and they will probably all be true. You may be able to do the same. I am a sinner saved by grace, but I am a sinner in a continuing process of repentance. "Hashing and rehashing" is a good thing. It would behoove anyone to spend a "lifetime" doing so. To cease to hash would be to my "discreditation." Fortunately, and by the grace of God, my most confusing hashing days ended in April 2006 when I was Chrismated into the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. It was there (See my 50 Year Journey article), that one of my new brothers in the faith said these words, "Welcome Home." My entire hashing Journey has been about finding the Faith of Our Fathers. Everyone who makes it to their moment of Chrismation in the Orthodox Church says the same thing, "There is no place to go after this. There is no other destination." Part of the Orthodox Liturgy contains this prayer which we pray every week, 

"We have seen the true light. We have received the heavenly Spirit. We have found the true faith. Worshipping the undivided Trinity, for he has saved us."

 

Now, I can, in my admittedly feeble way, spend my next 50 years learning what the Church has taught about light, truth, and worship, for 2000 years.

Finally DBB, The familiarity of your Comment and the fact that you desired to remain Anonymous, suggests you might personally know me and that at sometime along my journey I offended you. If this is the case, I am compelled of heart to ask you to forgive me a sinner and to not hold to my account the wrongs I may have done to you. I also ask that you allow me to make recompense to you personally. Will you put down your weapon DBB and sup with me? May the grace of our Lord be upon you and your family.

"Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."

Do Orthodox Have Dirty Laundry? Ask Saint Athanatious!

Preface to this post: I wrote this post in August of 2006. Rather than post it, I submitted it to my local priest, Father Steven Rogers of Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Franklin, Tennessee. His response was one of wisdom. He suggested (not ordered) that although he agreed with the content of the post, he found it more productive to discuss these issues face to face rather than in a public forum such as a BLOG. Following his suggestion, I printed and sent a copy of the post with a letter of humility and servitude, to my chief pastor, Metropolitan Philip. It has been over a year and there has been no response. Come King or Bishop, all are answerable to the Lord our God! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner. Here is the post:

Question: "Do Orthodox have dirty laundry"? Answer: "Is the Patriarch Orthodox"? Discussing subject matter dealing with error in the church, especially that which finds as its perpetrator Priests, Bishops, Metropolitans, or Patriarchs, certainly is reason enough to give one pause. I would agree, however, with the German philosopher, Arther Schopenhauer, who said, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident" , so my pause is brief. I am fully aware that truth must first be presented by a human instrument for this process to be put into motion and that human bearers of truth do not always fair so well. Ask Saint Athanatious! It was the Apostle Paul, that prolific writer of corrective epistles, who spake the heart that all bearers of truth should have, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." I was given the name, Paul, at my Chrismation and do ask now, "Saint Paul pray for me."

I read an excellent discourse recently on the history of the Orthodox Church. In it was pointed out the fact that the time is ripe for the Orthodox Church to flourish. Thousands are coming to the faith. From every culture and continent there are reports of, not just individuals, but whole religious groups, churches and segments of society converting to Orthodoxy. My own Priest recently made the announcement during his homily that we could no longer consider our Church in Tennessee a "little country church". Even though our parish is five miles south of town, four miles down a winding, narrow, two-lane road, and nestled in a valley, we are exploding with growth. We have grown to over 350 faithful, have about 30 new catechumens since last Pascha, and receive numerous calls weekly from sincere seekers. We are in the midst of a two-phase building program which includes a new paved parking lot, a parish hall, and a new Temple. We have spawned one mission in the last year and have had requests from three other groups to assist them in starting a mission in their community. Similar things are happening all over America. Soon we will not be able to say Orthodoxy is "the best kept secret". It shouldn't have been a secret to begin with. Ah, but alas, history happens.

I have alluded in earlier articles to my connection with the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), having converted to Orthodoxy from that communion. The CEC is a great example of this move toward the faith. I know of at least five priests in the last several months who have petitioned the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese to bring their entire church into the faith. On their Journey to Orthodoxy some of these honest seekers of truth have asked a series of "what about this" questions. Some of those questions stem from the fact that even in the "Church that is the Church" the Orthodox Faith, one can point to human failures and less-than-wise decisions by Orthodox leaders and individuals. I like how my former CEC Priest has responded to his fellow former CEC priest's "what about this" questions concerning Orthodox Dirty Laundry,

"Would you rather deal with dirty laundry knowing you are in THE Faith or remain where you are and deal with it?"

Dirty Laundry Happens. As examples, consider these two separate incidents, one where an Orthodox Bishop recently fell into sin, and one where a Diocese is being questioned about inappropriate use of money. The stark difference I have found in the Orthodox Autocephelous ethos, is that there is a core heart toward righteousness and purity to safeguard against the propensity for leaven that would leaven the whole loaf. The Bishop who fell into sin was immediately no longer a Bishop (but neither was he cast off as a brother). The errant Diocese is under inside and outside scrutiny and pressure to answer and correct that which would bring shame to the name of Christ and has undergone a change in leadership. We do not live in a vacuum, although at times it seems that may be the cleaner place to dwell. Every Orthodox Christian has to deal with sin in the camp. It has always been so. The calling of Seven Ecumenical Councils attest to that fact. Every Orthodox Christian then and now has faced the challenge of how to respond to errant Bishops and Priests of the Church who need, at the very least, a One Hour Martinizing. It is a fearsome thing to question one in such spiritual authority over you. I mean, who are we? But then again, who was Athanatious?

I have recently discovered what I believe to be a most substantial argument FOR the establishment of an American Church that is unified by the Faith and not by ethnic cultures. One of our Orthodox laundry items is the fact that some decisions of the Church are made based on cultural influences rather than Scriptural or Apostolic Traditional influences. In the current climate of conflict in the Middle East, our Church leaders face a dilemma. Do we offer perspectives of the Church or do we offer our biased cultural opinions? The fact is the Antiochian Orthodox stream of the Church is Arabic, our Patriarchal See being in Damascus, Syria. Our Metropolitan Philip and our Bishop Antoun and others, have been especially burdened as they, along with all of us, have watched the violence in Israel and Lebanon. As leaders of the Church, they have rightly not been content to just watch but rather have chosen to be involved in promoting peace and aiding those who are suffering, especially our Orthodox brothers and sisters.

Our beloved Metropolitan Phillip, who in many ways has been instrumental in providing an environment for thousands of American Evangelicals, such as myself to enter the Faith, on July 25, 2006 issued a letter,

"TO BE READ FROM THE PULPIT AND PUBLISHED IN THE PARISH BULLETIN".

In it he expresses, with all sincerity, his deep sadness for the Lebanese "men, women, and children" who are suffering in the current conflict. He points out that Lebanon is part of our Patriarch of Antioch and that our brothers and sisters in the faith are being personally affected. He appeals to the whole Church to pray and to "give generously to help the suffering people of Lebanon." That he is speaking from a pastor's heart of love and compassion, there can be no doubt. It is important to note, however, that in the same Letter, His Eminence seemingly speaks, not from a pastoral role, but from that of a politician with cultural Arab bias and in doing so, he has unwittingly promoted false terrorist propaganda. Though, "Everyone would agree that the result [of the conflict] is a humanitarian disaster for the people of Lebanon", everyone would not agree with the Arab Islamic propaganda that Israel is evil in its intentions and dastardly in its methods. The Metropolitan's Letter made the statement,

"As you have been hearing in the media (i.e. television, newspapers and the Internet), Lebanon is being systematically destroyed".

This statement begs the question as to whether or not using such biased media sources to prove a point is a trustworthy and factual resource. As a former news and live-talk show Producer with a CBS affiliate and with an earned degree in Radio, Television and Film, I know this all too well. One of my goals as a producer was to make sure that the raw footage that came in from the field was not subject to the common practice of being creatively edited to show the bias of the particular reporter doing the story. Thus, I , like many, have an eye for spotting biased reporting and propaganda. The coverage of the current conflict in the Middle East is a well-oiled propaganda machine supported by international press that is historically anti-west and most assuredly anti-Semitic. It is more than obvious to me that the content of our Metropolitan's Letter has been influenced in this way. For instance, it is true that much destruction is occurring in Lebanon. It is not true that Lebanon is being "systematically" destroyed. The use of such a word infers an intent that Israel does not have in this conflict, and an action that Israel has not perpetrated. It is well known that the "Israeli bombs", a phrase that Metropolitan Philip uses twice in his Letter, are targeting terrorist rocket launchers, missiles, combatants, predominantly in the 20 mile area north of the Israeli border. Israel also is bombing specific and strategic targets across the country to shut off the supply of missiles coming in from Syria and Iran, but this is not "systematic" destruction. The predominant press coverage is focused to give the appearance that all of Lebanon is being carelessly destroyed by a ruthless, heartless, and malicious enemy-Israel.

The Letter also says that,

"Red Cross Ambulances carrying the sick and wounded are being targeted".

It may be true that ambulances carrying the sick and wounded have been hit by exploding bombs or falling debris in this ever volatile war zone. It is not true, however, that these ambulances are "being targeted" as the Letter states. The statement is not only factually unverifiable but on its face does not hold up. The most often used propaganda photo being circulated is that of a pock-marked ambulance with one ten-to-twelve inch, gaping, round hole in the top of it. Any rational unbiased observer would have to agree that a direct targeted hit by an Israeli plane did not cause the damage, unless of course the pilots were dropping bowling balls. "Targeted" implies specific intention to hit. To infer that Israeli pilots search, with bomb trigger finger ready, for "Red Cross Ambulances" to destroy, has no rationality, reason, or merit. The only conceivable rationality, reason, or merit there might be for "targeting", is if the ambulances are deemed a military target. There is no doubt that the Terrorists have a history of using ambulances to spread their propaganda and Terrorist efforts. They transport combatants in ambulances. They transport missiles and other munitions in ambulances. They park ambulances by missile launchers hoping for an air strike so that such propaganda pictures may be taken. Their objective is that such propagandist lies will be shared so as to turn the world against Israel and it's friend, America. Should you determine this is my own personal opinion or that, I too, have been subject to propaganda of another kind, I invite you to scrutinize the documentary Pallywood which shows the extent to which Islamic Terrorists will go to create staged scenes of propaganda using ambulances: http://www.seconddraft.org/. With a simple internet search, you may also watch actual video footage of Terrorists piling into an ambulance with assault weapons in hand being transported to safety during a firefight.

Sadly now, the Terrorist's media propaganda theme that villainous Israeli Jews are intentionally killing maimed, wounded, and dying civilians while brave Arabic Muslim ambulance drivers risk their own lives to whisk them off to safety, has made its way even into the sanctity of our Holy Orthodox Temples via the sincerely intended but biased misinformation in the Metropolitan's Letter. "Brethren this ought not so to be"!

What is bias?

Is it not bias that there is no mention in the Letter of the more than 5000 Lebanese missiles that have been indiscriminately fired into civilian sections of Israel, killing, "men, women, and children" including Jews, Muslims and Christians alike?

Is it not bias that there is no mention in the Letter of the devastated hospitals, schools, and homes in Israel?

Is it not bias that the Letter does not contain heart tugging stories of Israeli suffering such as the grandmother and her two precious grandchildren who were blown apart by a Lebanese missile irrefutably intentionally directed at civilian targets, or the little Israeli boy blown apart while sitting on a street curb playing, or the teenage boy left dead in a street gutter while his best friend weeps beside him?

Is it not bias that there is no mention in the Letter of the air raid sirens, the bomb shelters, the food lines to help the displaced and bombed-out citizens of Israel?

Is it not bias that the Letter does not mention our Patriarch of Jerusalem and our Bishops and Israeli Christian brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering and must live in constant fear of instant death by a missile fired from Lebanon?

Is it not bias that there is no mention in the Letter of the 15,000 more missiles that still exist in the borders of Lebanon ready to kill more innocent "men, women and children" within the borders of Israel unless they are taken out by an "Israeli bomb"?

Is it not bias that there is no mention in the Letter of the 13,000 missiles that have been fired into Israeli neighborhoods over the last six years while the government of Lebanon stood idly by and allowed a state supported terrorist militant group who has openly called for the destruction of Israel and America to amass an army intent on that purpose?

When I see a photo of our Bishop and our Metropolitan standing in conference with Islamic leaders, I think, "good, there should be dialogue so that the Church leaders may speak the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Apostles. In this our laundry is clean." But when, out of the same conference, there is issued a nine point rebuke naming and rebuking ONLY Israel, it smacks of ethnic bias and this is Orthodox Dirty Laundry.

On Thursday August 3rd, 2006, the members of the Standing Conference of American Middle-Eastern Christian and Muslim Religious Leaders convened for an emergency meeting to discuss and take action on the current crisis in Lebanon. The meeting was hosted by the Chairman, His Eminence Metropolitan PHILLIP, Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and was held at the headquarters of the Antiochian Archdiocese in Englewood, New Jersey.

The members of the Standing Conference expressed their solidarity by unanimously approving the following resolution:

1. A call for an immediate and unconditional cease fire to stop the death and destruction

(A call on whom? Israel only? "Unconditional"? So Israel is to stop the "death and destruction" but you expect them to ignore the firing of Hezbollah rockets into their sovereign nation?)

2. A call for the exchange of prisoners between Lebanon and Israel

(Does this infer that you believe the prisoners Israel holds are not criminals caught in the very act of perpetrating "death and destruction" on Israeli soil? You just demand that they be released?)

3. A call for Israel to withdraw from the Shib'aa Farms, which Israel has occupied since 1967, and all other occupied Lebanese lands.

(Is this not a territorial dispute between nations, including Syria who once occupied the land? To what purpose would our Bishops choose a side on this one?)

4. A call for the international community to give immediate humanitarian assistance to those who are suffering, and to help hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese citizens to return to their cities, villages, and homes.

(On this one we would all agree and find it easy to commend our Bishops for their pastoral roles)

5. A call for the international community to help Lebanon rebuild the infrastructure that has been destroyed by Israeli aggression.

(So only Israeli "aggression" is culpable and the government of Lebanon and the terrorist group Hezbollah has shown no aggression?)

6. A call for the UN to investigate the massacre at Qana which took place on Sunday July 30, 2006

(Is not the word "massacre" inflammatory, and does it not suggest willful intention , and do you think the anti-Semitic UN will return a verdict other than the indictment of Israel?)

7. Support for the statement which was issued by the religious leaders of Lebanon who met in Pkerki' August 1, 2006

(For those who would overlook the text of the Pkerki meeting, it is important to know that through our Bishops, the Self Ruled-Antiochian Archdiocese of North America has gone on record as saying: 1. They denounce the Israeli aggression against Lebanon considering it a war crime 2. They hold Israel accountable, morally and financially... asking to file lawsuits against Israel before international courts" 3 "... The national (Lebanese) unity was and still is the basis for resisting the Israeli occupation; and Hezbollah, who represents an essential part or the Lebanese society, is not but one of the constituents of the Lebanese resistance..." So is our Church validating the existance of Hezbollah? To what "occupation" are they referring? Is the Orthodox Church calling for the the destruction of the State of Israel? Is our Church supporting the supporters of Hezbollah whose Iranian President has stated he, "has a religious conviction that Israel's demise is essential to the restoration of Muslim glory, that the Zionist thorn in the heart of the Islamic nations must be removed. And he will pay almost any price to right the perceived historic wrong"?)

8. A call for the implementation of all UN resolutions that address occupied territories in Lebanon and the entire region

(Shouldn't there also be a call for the implementation of all UN resolutions that address the illegality of the armed militia Hezbollah to exist on Israel's border?)

9. A statement deploring the killing of any human being, and reiterating that all killing is against our religious beliefs."

(On this we can all agree)

Has anyone missed the profound fact that the political alignment of our Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church archdiocese of North America with its avowed Arabic Islamic enemies gives reason for the United States Government and its Security Agencies to have great concern? Has anyone missed the fact that we are at war with those who want to annihilate us?Some of the very men the Metropolitan and the Bishop were in counsel with were present at the United Nations Security Council when the Israeli Ambassador sliced a knife through their Islamic propaganda. These are the same men who would not look eye-to-eye with the Israeli Ambassador when he pointed out that in all of their words, diatribe and rebukes of the actions of Israel, not one time did he hear the word "HEZBOLLAH", the real cause of the Lebanese suffering. Unfortunately, our Metropolitan and Bishops seem to be following suit.

The Israeli ambassador also had the following to say at the UN Security Council Session and our Bishops would do well to give his words at least as much credence as they have given that coming from biased propagandized Arabic Islamic sources:

"Israel, like any State, has done, and will continue to do, whatever is necessary to protect the lives of its citizens. It has the right and the duty to act in self-defense. And it will spare no effort to bring its abducted soldiers home. In fulfilling this responsibility to protect its citizens, Israel's task is doubly complicated. It must defend itself against an enemy who not only deliberately targets civilians, but who also hides among them, concealing its weapons and rocket launchers in the heart of civilian communities, as well as in mosques and in UN Compounds. For Hezbollah, civilians are not just a target but also a shield. In this impossible situation, in which Hezbollah openly flouts the fundamental humanitarian principle of distinguishing combatants from civilians, Israel has made strenuous efforts to defend itself in accordance with the principles of international law, to direct its attacks against military targets, and to avoid disproportionate damage to the civilians used as cover by the terrorists. At the same time, even as the terrorist missiles fly, Israel has worked to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the population can be met, enabling convoys carrying aid and supplies to reach those who need them and facilitating evacuation of foreign citizens and UN personnel. Could there be a difference more striking or profound than that between Israel and the terrorists it is confronting:

- between those who equip their residential buildings with bomb shelters and those who fill them with missiles;
- between those who drop leaflets entreating civilians to leave the terrorist strongholds; and those who hide rocket launchers beneath unknowing apartment dwellers; or
- between those who mourn the death of every civilian - Lebanese or Israeli - as a tragedy and a failure, and those who see it as a victory and cause for celebration.

I believe that the people of Lebanon, through all the pain and anguish of these past few weeks, have seen through the callous disregard of Hezbollah which claims to fight their cause, but places a weapon next to a sleeping child. I believe that one courageous Lebanese youngster was speaking for many when he wrote on his internet blog: "It is not only Israeli soldiers the Hezbollah has taken hostage, it is us, the people of Lebanon". I believe that it has never been clearer that, for all its talk of bravery, Hezbollah has demonstrated the lowest form of cowardice, cowering behind the weakest members of society. Indeed, in many cases Hezbollah's lethal missiles are fired on timers, so that the terrorist can flee the launching site while leaving helpless families behind to shield a military target. In this, the terrorists have learned well from their sponsors, from Iran and Syria. Just as Hezbollah chooses to hide behind others, and fight from within their homes, so do Iran and Syria demonstrate cowardice and disdain, fighting their wars through proxies, on Lebanese soil. Perhaps more than anything else it is this disdain for the lives of those they claim to be fighting for, this chain of cowardice, which unites Iran and Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas - the Quartet of Terror. During the past six years Hezbollah terrorists, funded, trained, armed and directed by Iran and Syria, have dug their roots deep into Lebanese soil, and have spread their poisonous branches throughout its towns and villages. The evil fruit of this growth has been over 13,000 deadly missiles, murderously directed at the people of Israel. And over the past four weeks Hezbollah has viciously implemented its threats, launching these lethal missiles directly and indiscriminately at the towns of Haifa and Afula, Naharia and Hadera, Kiryat Shemona and Kfar Giladi, Carmiel, Metulla and Akko, and the holy cities of Nazareth and Tiberias, targeting men, women and children, Jewish, Moslem and Christian alike."

A Full transcript can be found at:

http://www.israel-un.org/sec_council/60thUNGA/gillerman8august2006.htm

I eagerly await a second Letter from our Bishops also

"TO BE READ FROM THE PULPIT AND PUBLISHED IN THE PARISH BULLETIN"

that includes the same force and condemnation toward the Arabic Islamic Terrorist group Hezbollah, that they have extended toward Israel. I also eagerly await photos of our Bishops standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the same Islamic Clerics and issuing a nine point statement condemning Hezbollah and all of its Islamic supporters, including the government of Syria, the country of our Holy See. But, if that not be so, then I at least eagerly await a proclamation by the Bishops that they will not in the future allow themselves to be used as tools of propaganda by Islamic Clerics whose very tenants of faith and historic example call for and practice the violent annihilation of the very faith our Bishops hold.

Let the words of King David ring in our ears at this moment in history!

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners"

It would do us well, those who are converts to the Orthodox Faith in America, to see our Bishops being Bishops of the Church first. It would do us good to see our Bishops become aware that their decision to side politically with a certain ethnic group holds the risk of being done in a posture outside of the grace that is extended to their Bishopry. Even the Apostle Paul confessed and delineated when he was speaking his own opinion and when it was the opinion of the Kingdom of God. Surely, no leader in the Church today is above Saint Paul. I pray that our Bishops are also aware that when such political, ethnic bias appears mingled with such Godly pastoral exhortations as found in the Letter, it is a source of true consternation and confusion, especially to Americans.

We would have to ask,

"Why are you lending political support to the enemies of our faith and the enemies of our nation?"

Maybe it is because we are not Arabic and are from the "ethnic melting pot" of the United States, that we have a more accurate vision to see cultural bias for what it is. Maybe it is easier for us to not to forget 9/11 and that it was the same Arab Islamic terrorists who attacked our nation. How many Islamic terrorists and their supporters danced in the streets of Lebanon as we watched the towers fall? Ours is not a battle for the kingdoms of this world but for the Kingdom of God for we war not against flesh and blood!

We Converts in America, for the most part, are not a single-ethnic Church, so perhaps it is easier for us to see ourselves purely as Christians and not a race or a culture. It is still perplexing to us to hear the Orthodox Church referred to as "Greek" Orthodox, "Russian" Orthodox, "Serbian" Orthodox and the like. Perhaps one of the Divine blessings of the existence of the Convert Church in America is that we can bring to the Church a torch to shed light on such Dirty Laundry.

So, please hear us and don't throw the Convert out with the laundry water.

We are the Church of the living God. We are to gather at his Holy Altar and not at our preferred ethnic flagpole. It is indeed true that "There can be no Jew nor Greek, there can be no slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female-for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Our heart of compassion in the current crisis in the Middle East should be for ALL who are victims and our criticism of ALL who are guilty regardless of nationality or race. Let us all agree with Shakespeare that, if warranted, "All are punished! All are punished!"

With God's grace, and excepting excommunication, I will continue to do my part in evangelizing the world, as we all should. I will continue to commend the Orthodox Faith, especially the Antiochian Arch-Diocese, to others as the Faith of our Fathers and the place where we all should be quick to confess our sins and faithful to magnify the Holy Trinity. God be merciful to me a sinner, but I will also continue to pray for and dialogue with our Bishops, who guard our souls, that they will remain outside of the political fray and promote only the Faith as found in the Scriptures and Holy Tradition. To do anything else is to open the door to worldly influences that the Holy Orthodox Church has so courageously defended against for over 2000 years. God forbid that 100 years from now or even 1 year from now we are still promoting the traditions of man influenced by our preferred cultural or ethnic bias.

Let us bereave more over the loss of eternal souls than the loss of ethnic Sees. Let there be a Unified American Orthodox Church lest we all succumb to the winds of whatever be the latest cultural, ethnic conflict. Let's clean our Dirty Laundry.

Preserve, oh God, the Holy Orthodox Faith

and all Orthodox Christians unto ages of ages. Amen.

Why The Need...For Truth?

After a thorough dialogue and response to a contributing blogger concerning Authority, It's Huge! Huge! (see the blog article of the same name), I was not expecting to answer his suggestion that truth doesn't matter and that love for one another is all we should need. I choose to surmise that the blogger was overwhelmed by the historical and valid perspective on the Church and it's authority that was presented to him as seen in his words:

"I need to confess that I have much, much to learn still about the history of Christianity. I took three+ courses on it in college, but it really didn't take like I wish it would have. I have much to learn about the councils and the early church fathers. I have only recently begun reading the letters of the early church fathers, and it has been really refreshing and exciting. But still a lot to learn. This is one of the reasons I am starting seminary in the fall. Nonetheless, my ability to offer you a substantive dialogue on this is going to be limited until I do more research on the councils, etc. Also, you must read everything I write through the lens of understanding that what I believe is constantly under critical evaluation, and anything I offer to the dialogue is only penultimate and said with an epistemological humility (i.e., knowing full well the limitations of my knowledge, and that I could be totally wrong). I do not have delusions of changing your mind on anything, but only to offer my current finite perspective, and ask questions about yours."

I understand what it is to be confronted with a paradigm that overwhelmed the flimsy paradigm that I hold. My Journey To Orthodoxy has required me to face many such confrontations. However, one's intellectual and spiritual integrity can only stay intact if one faces the confrontation head on. In other words, don't go around the subject or go on to another subject until the one that overwhelmed you has been addressed. I am afraid the blogger, in this case, has made the misstep that many make when faced with a paradigm that threatens their own. Although he seems to sincerely state his need to study the "history of Christianity...the councils of the church and the early church fathers", he in actuality draws a conclusion by tossing aside the need for any further study on the verifiability of truth and the authority of the church to preserve it, by saying,

"Why the need? Why the need for total doctrinal unity through perfect oral transmission? I confess, I don't see or understand the need for it."

The blogger, then reveals the underlying object of his resistance. He, like many in the Protestant ethos, are given to moral, intellectual and spiritual Relativism. "If it feels good, do it. If it means something to me then it is valid. If it sounds good it must be true. If I don't understand it, avoid it". The blogger even assumes that I am given to Relativism,

"I ascertain that you feel a great need for it, and that perhaps this felt need is what eventually led you to the Orthodox church as the only satisfaction for this need. Because I have not felt this need, I have not been compelled to do the specific kind of research that I'm sure you have done in your journey. Perhaps if I felt this need, or could be persuaded of its importance, I would be more serious about digging into this subject." 

At least the blogger leaves open the possibility of future "digging". The problem is, Relativism is based on the word "feel" as the blogger so often uses. So, unless in some way, the discussion can rise above his feelings and what is felt, then he will be hard pressed to ascertain anything with certainty. Relativism, at its core, would value what the blogger feels over what the Church has taught or even what Christ himself says about truth. He would suggest that I believe what I believe because it meets some emotional psychological need. The conclusion is, since he doesn't feel this need, then the need doesn't exist. This western ideology of Relativism has caused the blogger to conclude:

1. "I think that certitude is irrelevant to the Christian life of faith.

I think that this need for certainty many people feel in our postmodern culture is what leads many people from being protestant evangelicals to the Catholic and Orthodox faith they can finally have more absolutes that are not under negotiation because of the perfect transmission of doctrine through apostolic succession. I have another friend that converted to Catholicism much because of this felt need. But I am not convinced this is a true need with regards to the Christian Faith."

The blogger's ignorance of the Church councils and the reasons each were called is glaring. The Bishops' defense of the certain truth of the nature of Christ is the very reason the blogger has a "Christian Faith", as he calls it. If there is no certainty coming out of the Councils of the Church, then the blogger's definition of "Christian Faith" is meaningless and subject to myriads of definitions. Does not his use of the word "faith" suggest that there must be an object to have faith in? Faith in what? "Christ was fully God but not human. Christ was fully man but not God. Christ only appeared to be human but was not actually so." All of these and more were the subject of the Councils as they refuted these heresies. But, Relativism would eliminate the existence of heresies. So, there is no ascertainable truth, therefore there is no ascertainable error? One would have to conclude the blogger would have said to the Bishops present at the Councils, "What's the fuss? Don't worry! Go back home. It's all good". The blogger's ignorance of the Martyrs of the faith and what they died defending is also glaring. Did they die just to defend some ethereal concept of Love as the blogger asserts? 

2. "Instead of being discouraged, dismal, and hopeless by the idea that we cannot all come to a perfect knowledge of doctrine before the Parousia (i.e., second coming of Christ), I find it actually very helpful in my walk with Christ. The unity Christ and the apostles were concerned about I think was a unity of love, not agreeing in every matter of doctrine. There is a saying attributed to St. Augustine, In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity. I think the Apostles creed does a pretty good job of outlining the essentials, and in these things, yes, unity. Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead three days later yes, yes, essential. The canonized Bible is inerrent, incorruptible, and infallible no, not essential. There is perfect transmission of doctrine through the laying on of hands in apostolic succession no, not essential. Love God, Love People absolutely essential."

The blogger uses history and quotations from the Councils and the Bishops to support what he "thinks" Christ and the Apostles were "concerned about", but he fails to understand that what he has quoted does not support his conclusion. Augustine's use of the word "essentials" is directly contradictory to the blogger's claim that "certitude is irrelevant". The blogger confirms the contents of the Nicean Creed as "essential doctrines" but ignores the fact that the same Councils confirmed the canonization of the "inerrent, incorruptible, infallible" scriptures that the blogger calls not essential, and they assume the authority to say what the scriptures mean. He claims that Love is all that is essential. If this be so, what is "Love" and how do you define it? Is that definition also based on what you feel or will it be based on certain doctrinal truths maintained by the Church? The question the blogger needs to define before going any further in his honest search is this, "What is Truth"?

I must say, and not to offend, that the idea of there being "absolute truth" is foundational to our human experience in finding God and an elementary principal of Christianity. Jesus said, 

"You shall know the TRUTH and the truth shall set you free."

Notice Christ's use of the word "know" in relation to truth. All personal opinions that certitude of truth is irrelevant should immediately be dispelled if one at least embraces Christ's words as authoritative. Christ defines truth for us and establishes the path and result of finding that truth.

"I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through me."

This divine statement asserts that there is "THE way" not "A" way. There is "THE truth" not "A" truth. There are not many truths or varieties of interpretation of the truth but THE truth. In fact, the Church, being Christ on earth, i.e. his body, was even historically referred to as "The Way". Why is that? It is through the way of Christ's Church that man finds the truth. Finding the truth brings spiritual and everlasting LIFE which leads us, through Christ, to the Father. Without verifiable certain truth, there is no salvation! Without the Church, truth is elusive! So, in case anyone should miss this important point, here is the question: "Where can that truth be found"?

"...the Church, the pillar and foundation of truth."

Understanding this scripture in context, we know that there was only ONE Church on the planet to which it is referring and that Church still exists in a visible verifiable form today! This proclamation found in Timothy does not extend to the new definition of "Church" which would include all, some, or even one of the 35,000 documented denominational or non-denominational "churches" that have evolved through heretical movements some 1600 years later. Truth has been and still is preserved in its unadulterated and unfiltered purity in the Orthodox Church. Here is how to approach truth in an Orthodox fashion: If the Church has taught it at all times and in all places, believe it first, then set out to understand it. John Chrysostom says,"

"[Paul commands,] 'Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter" [2 Thess. 2:15]. From this it is clear that they did not hand down everything by letter, but there is much also that was not written. Like that which was written, the unwritten too is worthy of belief. So let us regard the tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief. Is it a tradition? Seek no further" (Homilies on Second Thessalonians [A.D. 402]).

This is the approach I have taken in recent years regarding all truth and I have never been disappointed nor have I found error. It is my self-made, self-taught doctrines that have been found to be erroneous.

Blogger, you and I were both innocently born in a house other than that which Christ established. It is pillarless and without foundation, although there are elements of truth to be found there. Come home to the house that Christ established and that which has remained standing for over 2000 years and, should the Parousia tarry, will still be standing 2000 years from now.

Read the words of the Early Church Fathers concerning the preservation of the truth by the Church. Note the dates of some of the writings. These things were taught and believed by the whole church everywhere up to the present day. To suggest we know something today that they didn't or that what they knew then is uncertain, is the height of arrogance and the depths of ignorance.

Apostle Paul

"[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim. 2:2). 

Papias

"Papias [A.D. 120], who is now mentioned by us, affirms that he received the sayings of the apostles from those who accompanied them, and he, moreover, asserts that he heard in person Aristion and the presbyter John. Accordingly, he mentions them frequently by name, and in his writings gives their traditions [concerning Jesus]. . . . [There are] other passages of his in which he relates some miraculous deeds, stating that he acquired the knowledge of them from tradition" (fragment in Eusebius, Church History 3:39 [A.D. 312]).

 

Eusebius of Caesarea

"At that time [A.D. 150] there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before, and Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinytus of Crete, and besides these, Philip, and Apollinarius, and Melito, and Musanus, and Modestus, and, finally, Irenaeus. From them has come down to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from tradition" (Church History 4:21).

Irenaeus

"As I said before, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although she is disseminated throughout the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she occupied but one house. She likewise believes these things just as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart; and harmoniously she proclaims them and teaches them and hands them down, as if she possessed but one mouth. For, while the languages of the world are diverse, nevertheless, the authority of the tradition is one and the same" (Against Heresies 1:10:2 [A.D. 189]).

"That is why it is surely necessary to avoid them [heretics], while cherishing with the utmost diligence the things pertaining to the Church, and to lay hold of the tradition of truth. . . . What if the apostles had not in fact left writings to us? Would it not be necessary to follow the order of tradition, which was handed down to those to whom they entrusted the churches?" (ibid., 3:4:1).

... "It is possible, then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors to our own times, men who neither knew nor taught anything like these heretics rave about. "But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. "With this church, because of its superior origin, all churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (ibid., 3:3:1�2).

 

Clement of Alexandria

"Well, they preserving the tradition of the blessed doctrine derived directly from the holy apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul, the sons receiving it from the father (but few were like the fathers), came by God's will to us also to deposit those ancestral and apostolic seeds. And well I know that they will exult; I do not mean delighted with this tribute, but solely on account of the preservation of the truth, according as they delivered it. For such a sketch as this, will, I think, be agreeable to a soul desirous of preserving from loss the blessed tradition" (Miscellanies 1:1 [A.D. 208]).

 

Origen

"Although there are many who believe that they themselves hold to the teachings of Christ, there are yet some among them who think differently from their predecessors. The teaching of the Church has indeed been handed down through an order of succession from the apostles and remains in the churches even to the present time. That alone is to be believed as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition" (The Fundamental Doctrines 1:2 [A.D. 225]).

 

Cyprian of Carthage

"[T]he Church is one, and as she is one, cannot be both within and without. For if she is with Novatian, she was not with [Pope] Cornelius. But if she was with Cornelius, who succeeded the bishop Fabian by lawful ordination, and whom, beside the honor of the priesthood the Lord glorified also with martyrdom, Novatian is not in the Church; nor can he be reckoned as a bishop, who, succeeding to no one, and despising the evangelical and apostolic tradition, sprang from himself. For he who has not been ordained in the Church can neither have nor hold to the Church in any way" (Letters 75:3 [A.D. 253]).

Athanasius

"Again we write, again keeping to the apostolic traditions, we remind each other when we come together for prayer; and keeping the feast in common, with one mouth we truly give thanks to the Lord. Thus giving thanks unto him, and being followers of the saints, we shall make our praise in the Lord all the day, as the psalmist says. So, when we rightly keep the feast, we shall be counted worthy of that joy which is in heaven" (Festal Letters 2:7 [A.D. 330]).

"But you are blessed, who by faith are in the Church, dwell upon the foundations of the faith, and have full satisfaction, even the highest degree of faith which remains among you unshaken. For it has come down to you from apostolic tradition, and frequently accursed envy has wished to unsettle it, but has not been able" (ibid., 29).

Basil the Great

"Of the dogmas and messages preserved in the Church, some we possess from written teaching and others we receive from the tradition of the apostles, handed on to us in mystery. In respect to piety, both are of the same force. No one will contradict any of these, no one, at any rate, who is even moderately versed in matters ecclesiastical. Indeed, were we to try to reject unwritten customs as having no great authority, we would unwittingly injure the gospel in its vitals; or rather, we would reduce [Christian] message to a mere term" (The Holy Spirit 27:66 [A.D. 375]).

Epiphanius of Salamis

"It is needful also to make use of tradition, for not everything can be gotten from sacred Scripture. The holy apostles handed down some things in the scriptures, other things in tradition" (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 61:6 [A.D. 375]).

Augustine

"[T]he custom [of not rebaptizing converts] . . . may be supposed to have had its origin in apostolic tradition, just as there are many things which are observed by the whole Church, and therefore are fairly held to have been enjoined by the apostles, which yet are not mentioned in their writings" (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5:23[31] [A.D. 400]).

"But the admonition that he [Cyprian] gives us, 'that we should go back to the fountain, that is, to apostolic tradition, and thence turn the channel of truth to our times', is most excellent, and should be followed without hesitation" (ibid., 5:26[37]).

"But in regard to those observances which we carefully attend and which the whole world keeps, and which derive not from Scripture but from Tradition, we are given to understand that they are recommended and ordained to be kept, either by the apostles themselves or by plenary [ecumenical] councils, the authority of which is quite vital in the Church" (Letter to Januarius [A.D. 400]).

John Chrysostom

"[Paul commands,] 'Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter" [2 Thess. 2:15]. From this it is clear that they did not hand down everything by letter, but there is much also that was not written. Like that which was written, the unwritten too is worthy of belief. So let us regard the tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief. Is it a tradition? Seek no further" (Homilies on Second Thessalonians [A.D. 402]).

 

Vincent of Lerins

"With great zeal and closest attention, therefore, I frequently inquired of many men, eminent for their holiness and doctrine, how I might, in a concise and, so to speak, general and ordinary way, distinguish the truth of the Catholic faith from the falsehood of heretical depravity. "I received almost always the same answer from all of them?-that if I or anyone else wanted to expose the frauds and escape the snares of the heretics who rise up, and to remain intact and in sound faith, it would be necessary, with the help of the Lord, to fortify that faith in a twofold manner: first, of course, by the authority of divine law [Scripture] and then by the tradition of the Catholic Church. "Here, perhaps, someone may ask: 'If the canon of the scriptures be perfect and in itself more than suffices for everything, why is it necessary that the authority of ecclesiastical interpretation be joined to it? 'Because, quite plainly, sacred Scripture, by reason of its own depth, is not accepted by everyone as having one and the same meaning. . . . "Thus, because of so many distortions of such various errors, it is highly necessary that the line of prophetic and apostolic interpretation be directed in accord with the norm of the ecclesiastical and Catholic meaning" (The Notebooks [A.D. 434]).

 

In Their Own Words...

African-American Orthodoxy

Saint Moses The Black is one of the most revered and venerated of the Orthodox saints. He is among a list of Orthodox saints from the continent of Africa who were instrumental in establishing the Christian Church throughout the world. The longer I am Orthodox, the more I am amazed at how ignorant I was about the history of the Church and its origins. It hadn't occurred to me that the Orthodox church in Africa predates Islam by some 600 years. I did not know that many of the slaves who were captured and brought to the North American continent were Orthodox Christians. I surely didn't know that African Americans are rediscovering their true spiritual roots and returning to the faith of their fathers in great numbers both on this continent and in Africa.

I had the pleasure recently of spending a few days with Father Moses, well, not the one pictured in the icon, but one who has honored him by taking his name. Father Moses Berry is an African American Orthodox priest who pastors a church in the Russian Arch Diocese in America. Father Moses is a priest with the mission of making all African Americans aware that to truly embrace their culture and roots they must return to the Orthodox Faith. To accomplish this, Father Moses has established the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black. The Brotherhood is "a pan-Orthodox non-profit organization. Its mission is to minister to Americans the gift of Orthodoxy. In an effort to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10), the organization presents an annual conference that targets those who have little exposure to Orthodoxy as well as to the African roots of Orthodoxy."

It is at this 13th Annual Ancient Christianity and African American Conference, in June of 2006, that I gained a new debt of love and understanding for the history and plight of African Americans. Part of the reason for my epiphany was the fact that I was educated about a part of the church I had never considered. All humans tend to think in their own color. I am fully human in that regard. The images I carried with me all through my Protestant years never allowed me to consider that,

"Over two thousand years ago, a young Virgin and her child found refuge in Africa from threatening forces. Since that time, Christianity has developed extensive roots in Africa. St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers kept the church from worldliness and preserved the mystical gifts. St. Athanasius helped write the Creed. St. Cyril kept the Church from dishonoring Christ and His Mother. The African Martyrs gave the Church courage. The African Mothers gave the Church philosophers like St. Katherine. The hermitesses like St. Mary of Egypt and St. Sarah of the Nile showed the path of contrition, redemptive suffering and repentance. " ...and of course there was St. Moses The Black.

At the Conference, my knowledge of church history, doctrine, and my theological prowess, were dwarfed in the presence of some of the most reasoned, articulate and respected theological thinkers in our nation today. They are African-American and they are Orthodox. I had the privilege of sitting down one-on-one with the likes of Dr. Albert Roboteau, Professor of Theology at Princeton University. Being newly Orthodox myself, I marveled at how such a man as he, who teaches courses such as, African-American Religious History, Religious Radicals, Prophetic Voices in 20th and 21st century America, Holy Ordinary-the sacred in Contemporary Fiction, and Spiritual Dimensions of African-American Autobiography, had chosen the Orthodox faith above all others. He has answered well that question,

"When I was considering becoming Orthodox, a friend and fellow historian of African-American religion asked me if I understood how much Orthodoxy fit the aspects of African-American religion that had most personally interested me over the years. Several months earlier, an Orthodox monk had remarked to me how attuned he thought Orthodoxy was to the traditional spirituality of black people. Both comments took me by surprise. I had been so absorbed in the details of my own individual path toward Orthodoxy that I had failed to notice the forest for the trees, to discern the overall pattern my life was taking. Gradually after my chrismation, I began to reflect more generally upon the relationship between the faith of Ancient Christianity that had claimed me and the religious traditions of my people whose history I had been researching, writing, and teaching for the past twenty-five years. Since there are so few black Orthodox, it seemed like a lonely task. Providentially, a friend informed me of the conferences on Ancient Christianity and African-Americans, the purpose of which is to gather people from around the country to discover - in the context of prayer and the Divine Liturgy - the deep affinities and resonances between Orthodoxy and African-American spirituality. The resonances or points of convergence between Orthodoxy and African-American spirituality are profound. The first resonance is historical. Ancient Christianity is not, as many think, a European religion. Christian communities were well established in Africa by the third and fourth centuries. In Egypt and Ethiopia, Coptic traditions of worship, monasticism, and spirituality have remained authentically African and authentically Christian down to the present day.The second resonance is spiritual: there are important analogies between African traditional religions and Orthodox Christianity. In classical theological terms, these analogies constitute a protoevangelion: a preparation for the Gospel based on God's natural revelation to all peoples through nature and conscience."

My personal epiphany was strengthened as I saw the devotion of the African-American Orthodox nuns who have devoted their entire lives to prayer and service. My European arrogance began to diminish as I heard Father Jerome Sanderson, Orthodox Priest and author of Saint Moses the Ethiopian from the African Saint Series, talk of the history of slavery and pointing out that his great grandparents were Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia when they were captured and put in shackles. The reality that Christianity is multi-racial, not only today, but from its very conception, struck me in such a way that allowed no more room for me to continue seeing in my own color. But, the hallmark of the Conference to me was the sharing in the Liturgy led by European, African American, African, Russian, and Serbian priests and deacons, all at the same altar, all at the same time, all in one accord. This is the church. This is the community of faith. The old childhood song,

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world",

finally had real meaning.

The mission of the Brotherhood of Saint Moses the Black is a clarion call for all Christians everywhere to reunite in this historic hour under the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church which is the original church of the New Testament, the Orthodox Church. Father Moses words say it best,

"In modern times, there is a renewed fountain of ancient Orthodox Christianity. It is flowing throughout the entire world. This flow of spiritual life does not negate the rich tradition already developed in the crucible of suffering and the triumphs of character in America. Rather, it beckons all Americans to row into deeper waters-the waters of the ancient Christian movement that has been kept alive in the Eastern Orthodox church."

"Preserve oh God,

the Holy Orthodox Church

and all

Orthodox Christians

unto ages of ages

amen."

Kingdom Films

The logo here was designed by my wife, Cynthia. It is the Logo for my Independent Motion Picture Production Company, Kingdom Films. The dilemma I face is the fact that it was designed before I became Orthodox. The sword is a Catholic King's Sword and the banner reads Adventiat Regnum Tuus or Thy Kingdom Come, from the latin Vulgate. Initially I considered redesigning the logo but lately I have been wondering if I should change the name of the company. "Kingdom" to me, has always reflected a time when God and country were conjoined and the government ruled by theocratic principals. It was a time of honor, morality and chivalry. The problem I have run into is the fact that the word "kingdom" in the Bible Belt has been usurped by evangelical protestants and is used to identify religious movements, doctrines, and ideology that are not historic or Orthodox. The question I must often field is, "Do you produce Christian films?" To answer this question I am forced to deal with the asker's definition of "Christian". I have seen many "Christian" films and am convinced that if any one of them died at the box office it would not go to heaven. They are typically artistically poor, creatively lacking, narrow in scope, demagogue in message and completely embarrassing.

I do not make "Christian Films" for I find no place in scripture or tradition that allows for a film to have an eternal soul. If I could create a "Christian Film" I would surely be a little higher than the angels rather than a little lower. I am a Christian who makes films. I am an artist as is a painter, a sculpture, a dancer, a singer. I reflect the world and the state of the human condition through my art as would any of these. I am a reflection of my Creator. I create, for He creates. He has made me so. It is he who has created me and I detest any who would attempt to recreate me in their image of what a filmmaker should be.

I am still wading my way through my place in the Orthodox world in light of the fact that I am in an industry that is traditionally considered morally corrupt and a tool of anti-Christ. I would lay down my art in a second were I to believe that the film industry is the forbidden fruit and no person of faith is to eat of it. I, however, believe it is possible to be in the garden and obey God's restrictions. Surely to "be in the world but not of it" applies to the film industry as well.

In an attempt to define my creative and spiritual path as a filmmaker, I have published a Creed. It is not so much for those who would consider doing business with me as it is to set a standard before my eyes so that I will not falter.

KFI CREED

We believe the authentic art of filmmaking has intrinsic value and is divine in its origins.

We believe art does not earn value just because it serves some human intent; rather, it is inherently valuable because the very act of creating is a reflection of the Creator.

We believe there should be no segregation of "religious" and "secular" artistic subject matter, for reality, like God, is One.

We believe the depiction of debase human behavior as gratuitous entertainment is destructive to the individual and to society as a whole.

We believe the realistic, germane, artistic depiction of debase human behavior is not inherently the endorsement of it.

We believe "Adventiat Regnum Tuus" as an infinite truth.

This brings us back to the question of a name for my company. Considering all that you have read here, what do you think would be the best name for my company? Is there a company name that would reflect the values that I hold while assuring that I am not mistaken for an evangelical demagogue whose amateur films consist of three points and a prayer? Mel already has the apropos Icon Pictures. What should I have? With this question comes this announcement:

ANNOUNCING THE NAME MY COMPANY CONTEST!

Please use the comment button below to leave your suggestion as to what to re-name my Independent Motion Picture Production Company. I will select the best entry within the next few weeks. The winning entry will win a one-line part in one of my upcoming feature film productions. We will bring you to the set, take care of all your expenses and pay you standard industry rate for your work. You will get the celebrity treatment! So start the creative juices flowing and you might even say a prayer or two. Enter quickly.

This contest will close without notice.

For more information on my company and its projects go to:

www.KingdomFilmsInc.com.