Father Seraphim Rose: A Quarter Century Later · Father Seraphim Rose: A Quarter Century Later...

Father SeraphimRose: A QuarterCentury Later

On September 2nd, 2007 - the twenty-fifth anniversary of the repose ofFather Seraphim Rose - our familyhad the unique opportunity to bep r e s e n t a t t h e S t . H e r m a nBrotherhood in Platina California, tojoin other faithful in prayers for thesoul of Father Seraphim, and to askhis prayers for the Church in ourtimes.

It was an uncommon blessing for meto stand before the grave of FatherSeraphim and serve the DivineLiturgy, on the very ground where thiscontemporary father had spoken toOrthodox North Americans threedecades ago, calling all of us to livethe authenticabout which he so often wrote.

The day was a comfortably cool onefor California in the summertime, andthe hills around Platina suffered fromtheir usual dryness: a forest firewarning had been issued, and bucketsof water stood ready, in case any windcaught a stray spark. We served theDivine Liturgy with only one litcandle, on the altar table formed byFather Seraphim’s grave.

In many ways, this anniversary wasan analogy of the life of this holy man,who withdrew from the spiritualwastelands of North American life,and retreated into the hills of northern

Orthodoxy of the heart

California, to live the monastic life, inthe struggle to save his own soul, andin so doing, to offer the gift ofsalvation to others. He was like manyof his era - and many more today -who knew all too well the falsepromises of the academics and socialcauses of his time. One of the thingswhich made Father Seraphim uniquewas not his experiences, which manyshare, but rather his determination torespond to them in a way which wasnot of this world, but entirely of theKingdom to Come - a life as SaintNicolai Velimirovich describes as onein which everything that is of the fleshis transformed into that which isspiritual and holy.

It is this remarkable transformationof life, and the clarion call to otherswho would seek it, which drewhundreds of pilgrims to this remote

Father Seraphim Rose:

Urban & Orthodox:

Faith of Our Fathers:

No Silence in Heaven:

Raise the Flag

Always, Everywhere, andBy All:

The Mother of Relativism:

Religion for Girls:

A Quarter Century Later

Faith & the City

My Grandad was noEnvironmentalist

Remembering RemembranceDay

Giving the Ancestors a Vote

Elizabeth I and the Shapingof the Canadian Mind

The Church Impotent

On the Commemoration ofthe Dead:

My Soul, O Lord, my souldoth weep for Thee,

All Orthodox Ancestors,Known and Unknown

5

wilderness, both on this anniversary, and throughoutthe two and a half decades since Father Seraphim’srepose. Many of those present came to know FatherSeraphim during his life, as converts and clergy, asseekers and pilgrims, and even as orphans who hadcome half way around the world in the care of FatherSeraphim’s own spiritual father, Saint JohnMaximovich.

It was easy to understand the common spirit of thosewho had made the journey to mark the passing of thistwenty-five years: converts who found the fullness oftheir spiritual hopes in Orthodox Christianity, thosewho have discovered the emptiness of academia and“social” Christianity, and a new generation of youthwho reject the middle class comfort of the world oftheir parents’ generation - youth whose lives andexperiences reflect Father Seraphim’s own.

For those who had ears to hear, Father Seraphimoffered the mind of the Church Fathers, confrontingthe mind of the modern world. It is this Patristic voicewhich rejects the spirit of the times and its idolizationof “progress”, and offers instead the timeless Faith,above all passing fads and celebrity culture.___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Father Seraphim offered an authentic understandingof the unity of the Church, detailing authenticecumenism as the proper relationship of OrthodoxChristians among themselves the Church, andmeaningful evangelism to those it, with noconfusion of the bounds of the historic Orthodox faith,however tempting it may be in order to fit in atheterodox events and institutions.

Father Seraphim’s Orthodoxy was nothing more orless than that which he had inherited from the Traditionof the Church in all times and places: an ascetical,traditional Christianity, that was and still is a challengeto those who want to write their own tradition, andpresent it in an effort to fit the latest trend in society orreligious circles. Father Seraphim would have none of

It is easy to understand the common spirit ofthose who made the journey to mark thepassing of twenty-five years: these wereconverts whose lives and experiences reflectFather Seraphim’s own.

withinoutside

it - which is the very reason so many find his words sorefreshing.

In the last three decades, Father Seraphim’s writingson the patristic understanding of the soul after deathhave become something of a flashpoint in certaincircles. Sadly, those who would still hammer away onthis question really miss the essence of FatherSeraphim’s life and works. Father Seraphimdemonstrates to us how little North Americangamesmanship really matters in the whole scheme ofthings within the Church across time and place, andunderscores his conclusion about modern Church lifein NorthAmerica today: we are really quite weird.

A quarter century since his repose, those who look toFather Seraphim as a modern Orthodox hero - and quitepossibly a saint - are not those who have knowncomfort, but those who have known real pain of heart,who have struggled with both the passions and thepainful questions of heart, which we all must bear in theChristian life. In some ways, perhaps FatherSeraphim’s words continue to be threatening to thosewho do not really want to go deeper into their ownrepentance, following the way of the Cross to enjoy thefruits of repentance.

Like the dry brush of the California hills in summer, itis these same kind of souls who seek OrthodoxChristianity in its fullness who continue to draw near tothe tiny light that Father Seraphim offered us, whichpoints the way to the refreshing waters of Heaven.

- Romans 12:15

In the centuries leading up to the Reformation, only ahandful of cities in Orthodox lands boasted apopulation in excess of ten thousand people. EvenConstantinople, the Great City, enjoyed a populationthat was smaller than any major North Americanmetropolis. Orthodox life was often synonymouswith what we would today call village life, and it wasvillage life which shaped the practice of the faith.

On a practical level, village life shaped the life of

- Father Geoffrey Korz+

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with thosewho weep.”

Urban & Orthodox:Faith and the City

Vol. 2 No.5 - Saint Nicholas 20072

Orthodox Christians in many ways. Since a churchwas within walking distance of home, repeated tripsto the church many times a week or even every day,were not uncommon. Churches were left unlocked,not simply because the world was less prone to crime(there were many robberies of churches), but becauseindividuals would beat a regular path to the doors ofthe church, entering for services, or simply to light acandle on the way to or from work. In short, thechurches were rarely empty, and services were a fulltime job for the main parish priest.

Feast day processions regularly wound throughvillage streets, where many locals either attended theservices, or at least stopped work and went outside togreet the procession, men removing their hats, and allfaithful reverently making the Sign of the Cross.Faithful friends were only a few doors away, if notnext door, and neighbours - whether friend or enemy- were neighbours for life. Fasting was an acceptedsocial norm; it is said that it was virtually impossibleto purchase meat on the streets of Moscow duringGreat Lent.

The world has changed radically over the lastmillennium, demographically speaking. The sprawlof new cities has in many places destroyed theintimacy of the village. For the most part, churchesare kept locked. The busy world of money makingdoes not break its stride for feast days, and onlyoccasionally for weekends and “holidays”.Friendships and parish relationships, are all too

frequently subject to the same fate as brand loyalty inmerchandise: good while you’ve got it, but notsomething that’s a lifetime commitment. Religiousprocessions are viewed as obscure by many people inour cities, replaced by Santa Claus and other kinds ofparades.

We must ask ourselves, how is it possible in anincreasingly urban environment to live out the life ofOrthodox Christians, individually, and especially, in acommunity? The community question is key, sincethe Holy Mysteries cannot be undertaken alone, andthe most central Mystery of Holy Communion, canonly take place in an assembly of faithful with apriest.

Many Orthodox parishes have tried to address thegeographic separation of the faithful using electroniccommunication, email lists, blogs, and onlinecommunity chats. While these means ofcommunication can be helpful, the human aspect ofin-person contact is easily lost; it is almostimpossible through email or text messaging for abrother or sister in Christ, much less a priest, to sharethe fullness of laughter and tears with their brethren.Additionally, electronic communication sets asidemany of the limitations and nuances of personalcommunication, and leaves faithful open to the ever-present reality of Internet addiction. (Those whoargue against the pervasiveness of such a problemeither have not read the Church Fathers speaking onthe human heart, do not deal pastorally with people,

3Vol. 2 No.5 - Saint Nicholas 2007

or have never seen the Internet). In city life,electronic communications provide a means ofsharing information, but never a means of sharing theintimacy of a Christian community. If this kind ofrapport is seen by some as a new kind of Churchcommunity, it is fundamentally a false one.

Long distance telephone plans provide a moreeffective way of rebuilding the Orthodox village inthe city. Such means of communication allow for thenuance of the human voice, and the subtleties ofcommunicating deeper personal experiences,feelings, and even sins, normally without concernsfor such exchanges being permanently electronicallyrecorded. Yet even here, the sheer availability of themeans of communication that should make our bigcities smaller are in fact making our cities .___________________________________________

___________________________________________

And here we have a fundamental problem for theauthentic Orthodox life: village life did not simplydiffer from city life in terms of numbers, but in termsof pace and quietude. Our cities pose a serious threatto life as Orthodox Christians, not because of highcrime rates, drug sales, or cultural diversity butbecause loud and busy cities are a threat to our

life. Those who live in large, busy cities,cannot hope to live out an authentic OrthodoxChristian life without recourse to the regular routineof - inner stillness - which prepares eachfaithful person for life in the unnatural urbanwilderness. A twice or thrice daily prayer rule is notsimply about “fitting in the prayers” - its mostlyabout withdrawing from daily routines which destroyus, inch by inch, in order that we may return to the

nosier

interior

hesychia

Loud and busy cities are a threat to ourlife.interior

God Who restores us. Praying before the beginningof work in our cubicle at our job site is not simplyabout marking out our territory: it is about holdingonto a very frail thread which anchors us to eternity,in the midst of corporate oblivion. Regular trips tomonasteries or visits to our confessor are not“retreats” in the western, touristy sense: they areabout addressing the inner noise of the human heartput into place by the outer noise of life in the big city.

Of course, all this takes time - not just time todevelop, but a willingness to give up other things inorder to pray many times each day, to attend to holyliving, to be present for church services on week daysas well as weekends, and to take time away in orderto fulfil spiritual needs. This may involvesidetracking from beachfront holidays to attendchurch. It may involve asking your employer for atime or place to hang up an icon or to say prayers. Itwill certainly mean taking time away from activities -both domestic and at work - to observefeast days and prayers for the souls of the dead.

Several years ago, someone we know told us astory about some Muslim women in a nearbyWalmart, who at the appointed time for Islamicprostrations toward Mecca, fell to the ground in theladieswear section, and began to recite their chants.They were oblivious to the stunned middle-classwhite spectators ogling them from nearby aisles, asthe confused store employees wondered what theyshould do.

Let us ask ourselves: are willing to withdrawseveral times each day from the noise of city life, inorder to prepare ourselves for life in the city? Are wewilling to consider moving to a village of Orthodoxpeople, or - better still - to forming such acommunity? Are we willing to put our pride on theline to ask our employers for time and space for ourFaith? Are we willing to take time away from workor home to cultivate real and lasting friendships withOrthodox brothers and sisters, not to mention withour confessor?

Without walling off in our cities space for our Faith- both physical space and space in time in daily life -the roar of the city will engulf, not Orthodoxy, but usas Orthodox Christians. The Tsars of Serbia andRussia, knowing the very fabric of their empiresdepended upon their intercessions before God,stopped imperial business in order to drop to theirknees to pray in cities that were much more

at church

4 Vol. 2 No.5 - Saint Nicholas 2007

OrthodoxCanadawwww.OrthodoxCanada.com

Maple syrup for the soul.

supportive of Orthodox life than our big cities today.Without asserting our Faith in the time and space ofbig city life, we will be washed away, drowned out -hour by deafening hour. It does not necessarily takethe construction of an Orthodox chapel beside themosque in Walmart. What it does take is anunqualified commitment to transforming life in thebig city into life in the Kingdom of God - startingwith the transformation of our own heart.


Faith of Our Fathers:My Grandad was noEnvironmentalist

I would snicker as a child whenmy grandfather would reuseenvelopes. Coming acrosssome dry wit or ancestralconnection in a country newspaper,Grandad would clip the article, and fix it securelywith a note inside a recycled brown bank mailer,stuck fast with a yellowed piece of scotch tape.

Postal machines would no doubt have hated mygrandfather for his inefficient method of mailing, butI’m not sure he ever met a postal machine. Hestopped at the village post office, bought his stamps,and had every new letter hand cancelled on the spot.The machines may not have been his friends, buteveryone at the post office knew him by name.

As a farmer, and the son of a UFO supporter (theUnited Farmers of Ontario - the political voice ofrural people during the Depression), Grandad wasmore comfortable on a tractor than in a car, and muchmore comfortable in a peach field than in front of thetelevision. He laughed at the idea that people startedwork at nine in the morning - the day is half gone, hewould say. He was in bed soon after sundown everynight. (Imagine the impact on energy consumption ifall the lights went off at 9pm today).

One could even tell from a mile away his nighttimeroutine: two lights on in the dark farmhouse meant hewas sitting in his chair in the living room, readingsomething like the the

or one light onmeant he was in his room, saying his prayers. No

Farmer’s Almanac, SaintCatherine’s Standard, This England;

lights on meant the day was done: don’t call him,because he often wouldn’t pick up the phone. Thatwas daytime business: there’s no sense burning alight at night for that.

Grandad drove the same car for twenty years. Itwas always clean and ready for church on Sundaymorning, so he could arrive early to ring the bell - ahand-rung bell on an old rope pulley. When the carbecame too old for regular use, he either turned itover for farm use, or passed it on to someone whoneeded it.___________________________________________

For my Grandad, six days each week meant work.Although he had only an hour or two each day ofrecreational time, he was well-read in current events,politics, and spiritual and religious matters, which hediscussed at family meals three times each day. Hedid not work on Sundays, unless there was someemergency, which only happened once in a bluemoon, not every week. The word “emergency” and“crisis” actually meant something to my grandfather.

Grandad did not ever use the word : he justdid it. To him a was something you madewith your boot in the mud, while you worked outsidethe barn. was something thathappened in the summertime, and which called forlonger afternoon breaks and lemonade for guests.

was something an irresponsible young mandid to himself with a bottle of scotch, and wasthe colour of his overalls, not his politics or hisspirituality. He didn’t buy local goods because theplanet needed him to do so: he just liked hisneighbours, and they liked him.

Today as we read about Orthodox faithful andhierarchs trying to share the environmental “side” ofOrthodox Christianity, I am often reminded of mygrandfather. Although he was not an OrthodoxChristian, his views on environmentalism were moreOrthodox than many contemporary writers in theChurch. Like the Church Fathers, he would have seenour environmental crisis as a logical consequence of

Grandad was more comfortable on a tractorthan in a car, and in a peach field than infront of the television.___________________________________________

recyclefootprint

Global warming

Pollutiongreen


the fall, not the mechanism for the Apocalypse. Hewould have told us city folks to simplify our lives, tostop listening to fancy writers who go on lecturetours, to live quietly, to say our prayers, and to neverdraw attention to ourselves. He would have shakenhis head over church leaders jumping on theenvironmental bandwagon.

I remember a time (I think I was about nine yearsold) when Grandad wrote away to a mail ordercompany who sold something they called

(what later came to be known as a, after they added all the sugar). I think he hated

the idea of handing his grandchildren loads of candy.He didn’t do any of this as a political statement, or anattempt to become part of a social movement: he wassimply a traditional man, who rejected the modernpace of life, atheistic consumerism, and the mind ofthe modern world.___________________________________________

As I sit in his chair writing this, I am reminded ofthe lesson he taught us by example: that good things,whether furniture or faith or the way one lives, are allinherited. They are not made, or bought, or thoughtup by clever folks in lecture halls or newsrooms oradvertising agencies or even so-called “progressive”monasteries. They are our link with the inheritance ofthe past, the experience of the generations of holypeople gone before us, who lived faithful lives inunseen places, never knowing about press releases, orwebsites, or stress leave, because the anonymous lifeneeds none of this.

When as Orthodox Christians we consider how wemust live, it is this inheritance, this example in thesmallest things, that we try to emulate: the exampleof holy forefathers, not an adaptation of worldly“trends” in order to somehow make them resemblethe Church.

This is the faith of the apostles. This is the faith ofthe fathers. This is the faith that has enlightened theuniverse.

fruitleather fruit roll-up


Good things are all inherited.___________________________________________


No Silence in Heaven:RememberingRemembrance Day

“Be ye doers of the word, nothearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

remembrance

- James 1:22

If Hallowe’en is the fastest emerging Canadiancelebration (to the chagrin of many), RemembranceDay is undoubtedly the fasted vanishing one. Oneneed not consider the declining number of veterans atthe local cenotaph each November 11th: one needonly consider the declining crowds, largely bereft ofyouth, those who are there representative of only asegment of Canada’s increasingly culturally complexpopulation.

In public schools, the context of Remembrance Dayhas often been distorted: a generation of staff andstudents who do not carry memories of a world wartoo easily place Remembrance Day into the contextof contemporary international politics. The poppy isreplaced by pleas for world peace, or the withdrawalof troops from Iraq.___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Yet it is more than the poppy that is lost. Theessence of the poppy - the essence of -is a fragile thing, which requires the care of eachgeneration. Father Alexander Schmemman spoke ofOrthodox Christianity being fundamentally an act ofremembrance, of keeping faith with the generationsbefore us in their witness to the saving Resurrectionof Jesus Christ. Yet remembrance can be distortedinto the darker tools of ethnic nationalism oropposition to the politics of other countries.

Such distortions can be mistaken for OrthodoxChristianity, but in fact, they are frauds. While thewhole liturgical life of the Church is a remembrance,perhaps the most obvious remembrance we observeis the commemoration of the dead, praying for thesalvation of the souls of those who are reposed. Thisis an act of love, an act of remembrance.

Remembrance is a fragile thing, whichrequires the care of each generation.

One wonders how much of this remembranceremains in Remembrance Day. TraditionalRemembrance Day memorials, with their roots inmasonic ceremonies, mark the remembrance of fallensoldiers not with prayer for the souls, but withsilence. Memories are reduced to the impressions thatare left with the living, not the eternal memory of thereposed who stand before God. Like the poppies onthe graves of fallen soldiers, such memories fadewith the generations, and the day on which they areremembered fades as well.

Yet in Orthodox parishes across Canada, thismemory is lost as well. In every priests service bookthere appears a Service of Prayer for DepartedSoldiers - a service which is almost never used today.It is not as if those in Orthodox parishes in Canadahave no memory of those who have died in war: askany old Ukrainian, or Greek patriot, or Serbiannationalist, or convert of British descent about thestories they heard at their grandfather’s knee (from anage when people took the time to listen). Greekfaithful even set aside a day each October toremember such courage. Pious Serbians offer prayersfor slain soldiers and faithful in their own holy regionof Kosovo. Yet in Canada, where a generation ofyoung people learn most of what they know aboutRemembrance Day from the public schools, mostOrthodox parishes are silent, at the very time weshould be bearing witness by praying for the eternalmemory of fallen Orthodox soldiers, our response istoo often the same as the masonic cenotaph rituals:silence.

The last generation that remembers the world atwar is now passing away: the faces in our parishesand at our cenotaphs tell the tale. Yet for OrthodoxChristians, the true practice of remembering the soulsof the departed, is one of eternal memory, passed onfrom one generation to the next, and eternal in thePresence of God. When the practice of such amemorial for soldiers is missed in Orthodox parishes,we have truly become like the world.

In a decade or two, it may be that military bandsand civil officials will cease to remember those soulsdeparted in various wars. Our public schools have forthe most part already forgotten. But OrthodoxChristians, who wear the poppy or not, who carryliving memories of fallen loved ones or not, will beable to answer with fullness of heart and voice: Wewill remember. – Father Geoffrey Korz+


Raise the Flag

“In the name of our God we will set up our banners”

inHis saints

- Psalm 20:5 (19:5)

Someone once said that Canadian nationalism is allabout flags and tunes. What is certainly true is theCanadian love for flags. The unfolding of this nationis a veritable vexillogical paradise, which has heldvery much to the inheritance of its past, and thetestimony of the wonders of God to be found in itslandscape.

The use of flags in the contemporary sense hasbeen deeply influenced by Christian culture: in nofewer than half of the flags around the world can onefind explicit or implicit witness to Christ and Hissaints. In the class of flags that bear the cross, onealso discovers a beautiful dual witness to Christ

: the Orthodox concept that Christ’s graceis made manifest in the lives of holy people, whostand as witnesses inside time to our God Whoentered into human history for our salvation. Flagsof Orthodox nations such as Greece and Georgia bearthe cross attributed to their respective patrons. Thediverse nations of Scandinavia bear the horizontalcross attributed to Saint Ansgar, the enlightener oftheir lands.

By virtue of our nation’s early history, Canada’sflags abound with the hallmark crosses of at least twosaints: Saints George and Andrew, whose red/whiteand white/blue crosses respectively grace no fewerthan seven provincial and territorial flags. Even themaple leaf flag, adopted to replace the Red Ensignwhich bore the cross of St. George, bears witness toits Christian roots. Each red field reflects the oceansthat frame our nation, “from sea to sea” (Psalm72[71]:8), as the Canadian national motto describes

it. The maple leaf , drawn from the nation’slandscape, reflects the fruit of the Tree of the Cross:the crimson of Christ’s blood, and the victory of oursalvation. Even the colours of the flag - thought bymany to simply be a convenient match for PrimeMinister Pearson’s Liberal party colours - draw on aChristian root: the red and white of the cross of St.George, Canada’s patron.

Canada follows in a glorious tradition of raisingnational banners to honour Christ and His saints,albeit often unknowingly. Yet the Church here, oftenmired in nostalgia for far away homelands, has beenslow to follow in the tradition of raising a distinctflag to a local patron saint. In the same spirit thatinspired the Orthodox of Muscovy, the Greek armedforces, the Orthodox Celts and countless otherfaithful to construct a banner for their local Church,perhaps the time has come for an Orthodox flag forCanada: Saint Herman’s Cross.___________________________________________

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The first glorified saint of North America, SaintHerman was both an evangelist and an ascetic,bearing the weight of a heavy iron cross throughouthis life in the snow-covered North American north.Thus, the bold, black cross on a white field providesfor us the Cross of Saint Herman. Such a cross issignificant for Canadians in particular, since it is thecentre piece for the flag of Vinland, the banner usedto rally those who love the memory of the firstViking settlement in North America, somewherealong the coast of Canada, likely in Newfoundland.How fitting to remember those first few Orthodoxfaithful among the Vikings who visited our land,centuries before Canada was known as a country.

Those in the Church who are serious about thecontinuity of Orthodox witness to the people of ourhome and native land would be well served by suchan emblem, which follows in the tradition of ournational symbols, as well as the Orthodox inheritanceof those who have settled here, both in recent andpast centuries. May the Lord bless such an initiative,and stir our hierarch to take up such a banner on thefield of spiritual battle in which we live.

Our flags abound with symbols of saints.


Always, Everywhere,and by All: Givingthe Ancestors A Vote

"Tradition means giving votes tothe most obscure of classes - ourAncestors."

status quo

defacto

de facto

- G. K. Chesterton

The 1980s saw the rise of religious groups oftendescribed as “conservative” – conservativeevangelicals, conservative Catholics, and othersdedicated to “conservative” causes.

It is sometimes tempting to view the OrthodoxChurch as “conservative” as well. As a religiousgroup which holds many common moral positionswith conservative groups, Orthodox Christianityinevitably attracts this sort of categorization. Add tothis the spiritual interest of conservative-mindedProtestants and Roman Catholics, groups often miredin concerns over the moral flux of their own spiritualhomes, and the Orthodox Church looks more thanconservative: it can even appear to be theArchconservative oasis.

About a decade ago, a very solid Orthodox priestshocked me with the pronouncement: the OrthodoxChurch is not conservative! How could this be true, Iasked? Orthodoxy dedicates so much to preservingthe inheritance of the past, the wisdom of the ages -all that is good and true, in the face of the confusionof modernity. Surely, Orthodoxy is the naturalspiritual home to religious conservatives?

The priest explained himself. To be conservative,he argued, was to be a defender of the , theway things are, whatever that may be. Regardless ofthe experience of others cultures and other times, theconservative resists changes at all costs, regardless ofthe merits of the change. The concept of change is

a negative: conservatism is simply the flip sideof the revolutionary view, that argues that change is

a positive.For the Orthodox Christian, neither approach is

true. While Orthodoxy has far less in common withthe revolutionary view, Orthodoxy is notconservative at heart, but rather traditional. Thedifferences are fundamental.

In many ways, Holy Tradition has a moreconservative character, since it rejects the idea that


revolutionary change can accomplish anything that isspiritually helpful. It also trusts the inherited wisdom ofthe past - the collected wisdom of the Church throughthe centuries.

Yet Orthodox Tradition (often called Holy Tradition)takes a different approach. Since Holy Traditionincorporates the entire, collected experience of all holypeople from all times and places, it is above thechauvinism of conservatism, rejecting the idea that thespiritual life of one time or place - Byzantium, ImperialRussia, modern North America, or even the age of theApostles - contains the unique expression of the Truthto the exclusion of all others. Since Holy Traditionseeks the witness of the Holy Spirit in the Churchthrough the filter of the lives not of a few well-known orclever saints, but of , it avoids the pitfallsof individualism, whether from conservatives orliberals. It is not enough to have heroes, even holy ones,___________________________________________

___________________________________________

since even the saints have certain errors and excesses intheir own individual character. We see this in theexamples of saints like Augustine of Hippo, whosewritings on repentance are full of Orthodox witness,but whose words on the question of original sinsometimes present a distorted picture of OrthodoxTruth. The witness of the

, provides the lens for the Truth ofChrist.

The traditionalist Roman Catholic author G. K.Chesterton wrote about giving the ancestors a “vote”,as it were, on the way in which the world shouldprogress; in doing so, we can see just how irrelevant arepassing modern trends. The Church triumphant - thecompany of the departed saints - will alwaysoutnumber the Church militant, with only a tiny crumbrepresenting us Orthodox in NorthAmerica.

Saint Vincent of Lerins, one of the esteemed Fathersof the Orthodox West, is often quoted for his famouswords: the catholic (universal) faith is that which wasbelieved everywhere, always, and by all. As Orthodoxliving in the twenty-first century let us heed the wordsof this holy one, recognizing that our Faith is not a

all the saints

whole Orthodox Church,throughout the ages

Saint Vincent of Lerins tells us that the faith ofthe universal Church is that which wasbelieved everywhere, always, and by all.

museum piece from a sacred time for us to preserve insuspended animation, but rather a witness to theEternal Truth of Christ, Who can be found , unchangingand unchanged, in all times, places, cultures, andsituations.

- Matthew 4:9

It may seem a stretch to suggestthat the monarch of a distantland five centuries ago could impactthe daily thinking of modern Canadians. For those whoknow the life and faith of Elizabeth I and the spiritualrevolution she brought on England, the connectionbegins to become clear, however – a connection thatreaches into modern debates over Canadian law,morality, and the very question of Truth.

It is popular to think of Henry VIII as the father of theReformation in England. Perhaps his popularity hassomething to do with the steamy story of his manywives and their untimely and violent deaths byexecution: his story simply makes good historicaltheatre. But for those who really want to gain an insightinto the spiritual mind of Canada as a nation, one mustlook to Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth I.

Born to a commoner mother made queen by her fatherafter what is perhaps the most famous divorce inmodern history, Elizabeth faced exile, imprisonment,and finally royal enthronement in some of the mostturbulent first years of conflict between Protestants andRoman Catholics in England. For her part, Elizabethwas her father’s daughter: a Protestant who hated thepapacy and its political allies, who defended with herevery resource the autonomy of her nation againstCatholic interference.Yet Elizabeth was something of aspiritual conundrum, a strange sort of Protestant whosaid the rosary daily, and issued a royal decree that all


The devil said unto Him, “Allthese things will I give Thee ifThou wilt fall down andworship me.”

The Mother of Relativism:Elizabeth I and the Shaping ofthe Canadian Mind


English churches have candles, kneelers, and a crucifix- some stunningly Catholic trapping for a Protestantqueen. At the same time, Elizabeth was a vigorousiconoclast, who ordered the destruction or paintingover of every religious statue or icon in her realm, amove which pleased greatly her Protestant allies.___________________________________________

___________________________________________

The reign of Elizabeth is often summed up in herfamous declaration that she would not inquire into thehearts and minds of men regarding private faith: hersingular goal as queen was to ensure the loyalty of allher subjects to her; religion and personal “truth” sheconsidered an entirely private matter.

This is where Elizabeth proved an innovator, and thefirst major sovereign to adopt not simply a policy ofreligious tolerance, but religious as her statestandard.Alone or with help, she created new sphere ofpublic activity: the secular public square, in whichclaims of faith and truth have no role, other than toserve as means of division in a nation which mightotherwise enjoy harmony. The rule was simple: believewhat you like, but be loyal to the crown, and make nopublic claims to having the fullness of Truth.

It is this mind, given birth by Elizabeth, that wasexported to England’s colonies, most notably Canada,which experienced the same Protestant-Catholicdivide, and which over time, adopted the samereligious relativism as its state policy. Thesame relativism offers us in Canada today whatever wemay ask - bigger houses, cars, shopping malls, and athriving economy - as long as we are willing to silencereligious voices, and keep such views out of public

Elizabeth I considered religion and personal“truth” an entirely private matter - much likemost Canadians do today.

relativism

de facto

debates and the halls of our legislatures.Most Canadians have willingly obliged to sign on to

this now All-Canadian program, which Elizabethenvisioned. From debates over marriage to abortion toreligious schools, a significant Canadian voicecontinues to call for silence from religious voices andchurch leaders, unless such voices echo what secularpoliticians are already saying. It is publicallyacceptable for a religious leader to argue for or againstwork for welfare, as long as one does not believe Godtold you to do so.

Relativism is at the heart of the official policy ofmulticulturalism, and the religious roundtables offeredup in its name. All groups are invited to have “a voice”,but only if they are willing to give up claims to theTruth, and if they are willing to acknowledge thelegitimate “voice” of others. This is the basis for themodern ecumenical movement, as well as theProtestant missionary mind*.

One major problem is the fact that most OrthodoxChristians in Canada have become the spiritual___________________________________________

___________________________________________

children of Elizabeth I, and have bought intorelativism, and (as Richard Neuhaus calls it) the “nakedpublic square”, devoid of anything in the way of DivineRevelation or guidance, or even debate. We can nolonger assume (as if we ever could) that politicians,social elites, and religious leaders who claim torepresent the Orthodox voice are not actuallyarticulating the relativism of Elizabethan England,with all the falsehood and emptiness it brings.

Canada has elaborated on the relativism of ElizabethI, with the addition of our particular brand ofmulticulturalism. For Orthodox communities, this hasfostered the heresy of – the teaching that theOrthodox faith is uniquely and most perfectlyarticulated through one culture and by one people.While this heresy (which was condemned by a councilof the Church in Russia) was perhaps more virulent inpast decades, it is still alive and well in scores ofparishes, and simmers within the heart of too manyparish members, both those born into the Church and

Most Orthodox Christians in Canada havebecome the spiritual children of Elizabeth I,and have bought into relativism.

phyletism



TheTrue North.

those who joined Her in adulthood and who are nowtempted to try to “fix” Her.___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Ironically, the bigotry of phyletism and the relativismof Elizabeth I work in symphony, as opposite sides ofthe same coin, allowing Canadians to maintain theirprivate bigotries and self-congratulations, whileremaining publically friendly and diplomatic.Phyletism allows one to speak falsely of Orthodoxy asthe “religion of Greeks and Russians” and ofAnglicanism, Buddhism, and Islam as the religions ofEnglishmen, Chinese, and Arabs, respectively.Relativism - the sister of phyletism - allows thesegroups to “work together” on religious questions whereserious spiritual differences exist, setting aside thequestion of Truth in the spirit of Canadianagreeableness.

In the midst of such an environment, OrthodoxChristians are also beset with the temptation to becomewalled off from public debate, and to become angrycritics of those who have fallen into such errors. Yet wehave the ideal and only Model of the path of trueOrthodox witness, in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who,in response to the offers of the evil one in the wildernessretorted, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord ThyGod... Alone”.

Whenever Elizabethan-inspired relativism presentsitself in the spiritual wilderness of Canadian life, let uspray that we, too, will be granted the spiritual sight toreject the false gods of relativism and phyletism, thatwe may gain the Kingdom of the Eternal Monarch, withWhom there is no variance or turning.

The bigotry of phyletism and the relativism ofElizabeth I work in symphony, allowingCanadians to maintain their private bigotriesand self-congratulations, while remainingpublically friendly and diplomatic.


* See the book byFather Peter Alban Heers.

The Missionary Roots of Modern Ecumenism

Religion for Girls

The Church Impotent:The Feminization ofChristianityby Leon J. Podles,Spence Publishing,288 pages, $31.24 CDNISBN-10: 1890626198.

In the age of politicalcorrectness, one has becomeaccustomed to reading about gender issues, at alllevels. From campaigns to increase the number ofwomen in legislatures, to special science programsfor girls, to treatises condemning the dominance ofpatriarchy in religion, revolutionary feminism hassucceeded in capturing the North American mind. Inthe process, it has also captured the North Americanpolitical, social, and religious reality, and affectedmajor changes in the landscape in which we live.

Part of the success of radical feminism has beentheir reliance on the myth that men - aggressive,stupid, and backward-looking men - continue todominate positions of power, shaping the mindset ofthe poor souls who suffer under their brutish care.

Enter author Leon Podles. Podles could bedescribed as the “myth-buster” of North Americanreligious life. Far from painting a picture favourableto the existence of a male religious “establishment”,Podles builds a convincing argument in support of avery different trend: the feminization of whatsociologists call “Christianity” in North America.Starting with basic demographics, Podles underscoresthe decline of men in organized Christians groupsacross North America. In his chapter,

, Podles offers a glimpse into the range ofimpact of this shift, from the most extreme among

Armies ofWomen



Also available online.

Orthodox Canada

Pentacostal groups (almost 2:1 women to male), tothe most moderate (slightly more than 1:1 women tomale) among Roman Catholics. The shift in thenumber of seminarians show similar trends.

The patristic dictum, , (thelaw of worship equals the law of belief) is reflectedthroughout this book, with an almost eerieconsistency. In his chapter on ,Podles examines the impact of the demographicmakeup of Christian groups. He argues that the shiftis fundamentally theological, a rejection of theinheritance of the traditional Judaeo-Christianunderstanding of God, replaced by a new (or at leastdifferent), highly romanticized and feelings-basedapproach to what is commonly seen as “Christian”life in North America. From the frills on the robes ofandrogenos high-church Episcopalians, to the warm-and-fuzzy Bible study, to the advent of PreciousMoments dolls as a bizarre religious icon, Podlessuggests that the contemporary mind viewsChristianity in a whole new light: it is a religion forgirls, and men who act like girls.

Curiously sparse are references to the historicOrthodox Church, either in antiquity or incontemporary times. In the few references Podles

lex orandi, lex credendi

Feminized Christianity

offers, he seems somewhat amazed that Orthodoxydoes not conform to his thesis. Demographically,men outnumber women in Orthodox church life. Thetheological fluffiness that afflicts much ofProtestantism and Roman Catholicism seems whollyabsent from Orthodox circles. Even Podles’s remedyfor the feminized Christianity of the modern West -inter-generational male bonding rites - seems alien tothe Orthodox life, where the normal rigor of prayerand liturgical life (where it is observed), fulfils theemotional social and - dare one say it - spiritualneeds of the faithful in a way in which feminized“Christianity” can never do.

is a fascinating read foranyone interested in major trends within Christiangroups in North America. The book reaches fardeeper than most sociological analyses (the author isboth an academic and a believer), looking behindvarious ideological trends to their social roots, andtracing the trajectory to its logical conclusion. ForOrthodox Christians, is areminder of the reasons the Church Fathers tookseriously the avoidance of passing fads andtheological cream-puffery. Podles’s book serves as acall to all faithful to return to the bedrock of thehistoric Christian Church, as the only means ofavoiding the contempt of society at large, and men inparticular.

My soul, O Lord, my soul doth weep for Thee,As doth the widow weep for him whose handSo lately lay upon her brow. I standAs lost as by her husband's grave doth she,Now knowing well that parted she must beFrom touch, from warmth, from all the things theyplannedTo labour for: their children, house and landWhich they did tend in love and charity.And yet, my Christ, 'tis Thee who truly liveWhile I remain encumbered by the chainsOf passions rooted deep within me. ComeAnd labour with me, Lord, that I may giveMyself to Thee as bride to Holy Bridegroom. PainsWill I endure if Thou wilt take me home!

The Church Impotent

The Church Impotent

– Father Geoffrey Korz+

- Sara Hillis

Sonnet XVI.


Published with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop SERAPHIM ofOttawa, Archdiocese of Canada (OCA).

The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author(s), and do notnecessarily reflect those of the Archdiocese of Canada (OCA). Uncreditedarticles are the work of the editor(s).

ORTHODOX CANADA

Editor and Contributing Writer:Assistant Editor:Contributing Writer:

is dedicated to sharing a traditional vision ofOrthodox Christianity with Canadians.

Father Geoffrey KorzTina Tzoganakis

Sara Hillis

Letters and Inquiries can be directed to the parish:c/o 10 Princip Street, Hamilton, Ontario L8W 2M3(905) 318-6436 [email protected]

ORTHODOX CANADA

Published by:

is published six times annually: Pascha (March-April), Pentecost (May-June), Dormition (July-August), Holy Cross(September-October), Feast of Saint Nicholas (November-December), andNativity (January-February). Donations in support of the Journal are gratefullyappreciated.

All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, Hamilton,Ontario, Canada

www.OrthodoxCanada.com

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