Anastasios Hudson

Category: Holy Theotokos Greenville

Posts originally appearing on the website of Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church in Greenville, North Carolina.

Old vs. New Calendar: Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I’m Greek Orthodox but I’ve never heard of the “Old Calendar.” Could you please explain what this means?

A. All Orthodox in the world used the Julian Calendar, which is currently thirteen days behind our modern civil calendar, until March 1924. At that time, the bishops of the Church in Greece unilaterally converted their dioceses to the New Calendar, by deleting thirteen days at once, so that the religious calendar would coincide with the civil. This means that Orthodox Christians across the world were now celebrating the important celebrations of our faith out of sync with each other, which impacted the unity of the Orthodox Church. The majority of the Orthodox in the world did not accept this change, as is still the case in places like Russia, Serbia, Jerusalem, and Georgia.

Q. So the majority of the Orthodox in the world did not accept this change. Why did the Greek Church promote it, then?

A. Greece had just suffered the Catastrophe in 1922, and was destabilized internally between factions. Those in power believed that the only way Greece could survive was to ally with the Western powers such as Great Britain. The adoption of the New Calendar was seen as a way to cement ties with the Anglican Church and make the Greek people look more akin to Western Europeans to ensure greater political and cultural integration.

Q. Had the Calendar ever been an issue discussed before?

A. Yes. In the 16^th century, when Pope Gregory XIII instituted the New Calendar, he wrote to the Orthodox to encourage them to accept it. They refused, and condemned the Calendar on three separate occasions. One of these Orthodox councils resulted in a document called the Sigillion of 1583, which condemned the New Calendar as incompatible with the Orthodox faith.

Q. Did anyone in Greece resist this change?

A. Yes. About 25% of the people and many of the priests in Greece at that time did not accept this change. Many more priests were unhappy with the change, but they were threatened with loss of livelihood since the Church in Greece is not separate from the State (and, indeed, to this day, many Old Calendarist priests work a secular job and take little or no salary from their parish). Monks from Mt. Athos, the center of worldwide Orthodox monasticism, came to serve them. Some of the bishops who originally went along with the change tried to get it overturned privately, and when in 1935 they saw this was not going to happen, returned to the original Julian Calendar (now called the “Old”). They ordained new bishops, and formed a Synod that maintained the traditional Calendar. The State of Greece persecuted them, calling them “Old Calendarists” (Παλαιοημερολογίτες) which they meant as an insult. The Old Calendarists preferred to call themselves Genuine Orthodox Christians (GOC), because they did not alter even one Tradition of the Orthodox Church. These bishops travelled to other Orthodox countries to solicit support, but due to the volatile nature of the world at that time, none came. These bishops eventually died, were exiled, returned to the New Calendar under threats, and one isolated himself and refused to commune with the others, forming a faction. The last Greek bishop on the Old Calendar died in 1955.

Q. I thought a Church can’t exist without a bishop? What happened then?

A. That is true, and for this reason, the priests formed a committee and approached the Russian Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) for help. Eventually, ROCOR bishops helped consecrate bishops for the Old Calendar Greeks. Some of it had to be done secretly as the State of Greece would try to arrest anyone being ordained. By 1969, though, once the situation was stable, the ROCOR issued all the necessary paperwork to demonstrate it accepted these ordinations and maintained full communion with the GOC.

Q. Why didn’t the other Churches help the GOC?

A. Over time, other changes were introduced into the Orthodox Church to make it more modern, and attempts were made to reach out to other Christians in a process called Ecumenism. Ecumenism started off as a noble idea—try to get Christians back together—but being completely outnumbered and often intellectually overpowered, the Orthodox delegates (many of whom had studied in the West) gradually began to agree more and more with the non-Orthodox positions, rather than convincing the non-Orthodox to become Orthodox. The Orthodox Church confesses that it is the original Church of Christ, and therefore, there can be no compromise in matters of faith. These meetings were acceptable when it was simply people trying to overcome misunderstandings, but once joint prayers and joint statements began, the Orthodox delegates should have ceased. They did not, and began to more actively support such bodies, such as the World Council of Churches.

Q. You mentioned the Russian Church Outside Russia, but what about the one Inside? What did they have to say about this, since they stayed on the Old?

A. In the Soviet Union, the Church there had been overtaken by the Communists, and those who refused to cooperate went underground, living in secret. We consider these people the “Catacomb Church” and accept that they were Genuine Orthodox Christians as well. The State-controlled Church there was used as a tool to promote the Communist party, and as such could not be recognized as a truly Orthodox body. For all of these reasons, no support came to the Old Calendarists. In fact, the Communists intended to eventually change the Calendar there, too; it was switched in Bulgaria in 1968 as a test case, but the formation of an Old Calendar Church there in reaction made them postpone the plans.

Q. Communism ended though. Why is that still an issue?

A. Indeed, communism ended, but those bishops who had been installed by the Communists for the most part did not resign or repent. Generic “mistakes were made” type statements were issued, but no concrete repentance followed. Most communist-appointed bishops continued to participate in Ecumenism, and those nominally on the Old Calendar continued to support the New Calendar in places where it had been adopted.

Q. So it’s not just about a Calendar then.

A. No, it’s about a general process in the 20^th century to Westernize and modernize the Orthodox Church, and to push it in to union with the non-Orthodox Churches by means of political compromises. The Calendar was in many respects the frontline of the battle; in fact, an Encyclical written by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1920 “To the Churches of Christ Wherever They May Be” outlined the change of calendar as just one of several points in a modernization scheme. The Calendar, Ecumenism, and modernistic practices together have diminished the Orthodox faith, reducing it in many places to a purely secular and cultural phenomenon and hurting its spiritual power.

Q. Are you not recognized by the Greek Archdiocese (GOA), then?

A. The question might be posed in reverse: “do we recognize the Greek Archdiocese?” because we are, after all, the ones who remained faithful and did not change anything. But no, there is no mutual recognition between the GOA and GOC. Differing bishops and jurisdictions have differing views on the Old Calendarists from tacit support to sympathy to disdain. We do not base ourselves off of their recognition, however, since again we are the ones who kept the faith purely, and our ordinations were conducted by and canonically recognized in 1969 by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which no one could deny was a valid Orthodox Church.

Q. What would I have to do to become a member of this parish?

A. You can speak with our priest about this in private. Our Church approaches the reception into communion of those coming from the New Calendar Church on a case-by-case basis. The process varies because the people vary. Our goal is to build up the Orthodox faith in you, which you may not have been taught completely elsewhere. We’re not interested in criticizing your past, but instead on taking the foundation you’ve received and helping you grow in the Orthodox faith. We have to get to know you a little in order to do that.

Q. I can see this is a vibrant community and the people seem spiritually happy. I’m just not ready to commit because this is a lot of information I’ve never heard before. What do you recommend?

A. We are here for everyone, regardless of his or her affiliation. Christ teaches us to minister to one and all. You are welcome to attend liturgy, and participate as much as you are able as a guest. We do ask that you not approach communion in our Church until you’ve had a chance to make a decision and have spoken with the priest, but you are welcome to receive antidoron (blessed bread) at the end of liturgy. We are also happy to pray the Mnimosino or other prayers for you and your family. Take your time to get to know us, and we can provide you with any additional information you need.

This was a booklet that I originally prepared to distribute to those visiting my mission parish from a New Calendar background, many of whom by this point were unaware that there even was such a thing as the Old Calendar Church. Its focus is pastoral in nature, rather than historical/doctrinal.
Related posts:
March 18, 2013
September 2012 Bulletin Message
Please Note: This is something I wrote over a year and a half ago, which I never published online. I am posting it now for posterity. – Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am happy to inform you that our Church in America continues to grow, paralleling our parish in Greenville’s growth over the past four years! Recently, we accepted a new bishop and several clergy members from a different Orthodox jurisdiction, along with several parishes in Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, and Guatemala, among other places! This follows on the heels of our accepting two bishops, nine priests, and eight or so parishes last year.

Church administrative processes are rarely covered in bulletin messages, but I think it is important to touch on this subject, because in Orthodoxy, the administrative function of the Church is linked with the spiritual function of the Church. Administrative processes and procedures are in place in order to facilitate good order, because within a well-ordered Church, Christians are free to focus on the salvation of their souls and the growth of their spiritual life, and disruptions in the administrative order can have a negative impact on the same.

There should only be one Orthodox Church in each given area, with all of the parishes in that area reporting to the bishop. Each bishop oversees his region, and all of the bishops in a common territory such as the modern nation-state come together in what are called Synods to pray together and discuss matters that affect the Church as a whole. Presiding over the Synod is a senior bishop, who is accorded a title such as Archbishop or Patriarch. In our Church, our local bishop is His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos, and the Archbishop is His Beatitude Archbishop Kallinikos of Athens and All Greece.

In America, Orthodoxy is not yet well-established, and as a result, there is some administrative irregularity. This stems from the fact that when immigrants came to America from their various homelands, they arranged for priests from their area to minister to them. Hence, there were priests from Russia, Greece, the Ottoman Empire, etc. These priests reported back to bishops in the homeland, until eventually bishops started taking up residence in the New World.

Because there was no agreed-upon plan for how to organize America in an Orthodox sense, there appeared various overlapping Orthodox Churches, which are often referred to as “jurisdictions.” In the beginning, most of these Churches were united in Holy Communion, with parishioners being able to attend and receive communion at the other parishes.

Beginning in 1924, however, changes began to be introduced back in the Old Country, such as the adoption of the so-called “New” Calendar, and moves to have Orthodox clergy join in prayer with non-Orthodox clergy and sign joint agreements in a misguided attempt to foster Church unity. Everyone wants people to be united, but the problem is that the Truth was often compromised in these gatherings, which over time have become more and more comprehensive.

To sum up a complex issue, when people see Orthodox and non-Orthodox clergy together on a stage or podium, the clear distinction between Orthodoxy and other Churches is watered down; if it is watered down, people are less likely to become Orthodox; and thus, people lose access to the saving tools of our faith, such as fasting, the Holy Mysteries (sacraments), spiritual guidance from holy priests and monks, etc. We call this movement for unity at any cost, regardless of Truth, “Ecumenism.”

When these changes were introduced, there were groups of faithful who stood up to the changes, and this is how the Old Calendar Orthodox Church was formed. Many parishes in America refused to change to the New Calendar as well, and as a result, there were now jurisdictions formed for the purpose of not participating in any innovation of the Orthodox faith. This is how our Metropolis in America was formed, back in 1954 in Astoria, New York.

Over time, there has been a move to reduce the number of overlapping jurisdictions based on ethnic origins, because as mentioned before, it is irregular and was meant to be temporary, and because it is confusing to both the faithful and to the American public at large. People often ask me if an “Orthodox Christian” is the same thing as a “Greek Orthodox” and if this is in term the same as “Russian Orthodox.” These things are all the same, of course! They are just different ways of saying the same thing. Differences in language and music style do not affect the essence of our faith. In our Church in America, we now have five bishops; all are American-born, with three being of Greek descent baptized as children, and two being non-Greek converts. We have priests of American, Greek, Russian, and other backgrounds, all united in one Church.

Because of a desire to resist innovations and other canonical problems, sometimes groups of clergy leave a jurisdiction for another. In the case of those who have joined us in 2011 and 2012, they had previously encouraged the Church they belonged to to merge with us completely, as part of this move to reduce overlapping jurisdictions. Unfortunately, there were also two theological controversies brewing in that Church (which some have noted served as a convenient excuse to remain separate on the part of those who did not want to unite with us, perhaps fearing change). A large number of clergy attempted to bring their former Church into full unity with ours, but when that did not happen, they proceeded in two waves. It is a great boon to our Church in America, and we pray that those who remained separate from us will follow their brothers and sisters into communion with us shortly, as there is no reason for them to remain independent.

As we can see, both the difficult reality of a New World and concerns over faith led to a confusing administrative situation for Orthodox Christians in the last century in America, but over time, there has been a drive to unite administratively and clear this up. Paradoxically, though, at times questions of faith arise which make it necessary for Orthodox Christians to resist communing with those who have begun to teach new things. There is no conflict though in these two principles, and the reason for it becomes apparent, however, when by holding firm to the correct confession of faith and to our principles, we see other clergy and people come to our Church because of our witness.

Those who have come over to our Church are now free from the distractions which were keeping them from their spiritual growth, just like many of us who converted to Orthodoxy from other religions and Churches felt liberated when we were baptized, put on Christ, and began our new lives as Orthodox. Administrative questions are not the focus of our faith, but they do play a part in the way the Church runs, and that affects our individual spiritual lives. We should all therefore remain aware of what goes on. We are thankful to God that He has blessed our Church to grow so much in the past several years, and we invite all who are not currently members, both in Greenville and elsewhere, to come and see the good things going on here.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
September 1, 2012
August 2012 Bulletin Message
Please Note: This is something I wrote over a year and a half ago, which I never published online. I am posting it now for posterity. – Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

September marks our fourth anniversary, and as in previous years, I’d like to take a moment to recap some of what has happened over the past year. As in previous years, we have continued to grow, by God’s providence and grace. The primary purpose of the Church is the salvation of souls, and we were blessed to baptize six people in the past year at our parish. Several others have embarked on the path to baptism as well.

In terms of “personnel,” we welcomed into our community a professor of music who quickly began to participate in the chanting ministry of the parish. The divine services have thus been enriched by hearing traditional ecclesiastical music, known colloquially as Byzantine Chant. Also, my godson who lived out of state made arrangements with his studies that allowed him and his wife to move to North Carolina so that they could participate in our missionary endeavors and help the parish in its work. We are actively seeking additional opportunities for parish internships.

We have begun having parish meetings once a month (with a break in the summer) and this is encouraging each person to feel his or her role in the community directly, and is a necessary step as we grow, to reduce bottlenecks, single points of failure, and overburdening of volunteers. So far, the response has been quite positive. Outside of Church, we are continuing to grow in our relationships; some of the children meet for play dates, and the adults have had numerous social engagements. Recently, some of us met in Raleigh for a Greek night at a local restaurant, and enjoyed traditional cuisine, music, and dancing. These social engagements are outgrowths of our mutual faith, and enrich our experience as Christians living in this world.

In the year ahead, I have identified two key areas of focus. The first is the development of additional clergy. There are prayers to formally ordain chanters, altar servers, and wardens, and we will request that the bishop give his blessing to those who have been filling these roles already. Additionally, the parish community has expressed a desire that a deacon candidate be identified, trained, and ordained. A deacon helps the priest in both the liturgy and in the ministries outside of the liturgy, and having a deacon would allow additional services to occur when I am unable to be present in Greenville. The role of deacon is a ministry in and of itself, but it also can serve as a step toward the priesthood if that need were to arise.

The other area of focus is to encourage each family to take greater “ownership” in the spiritual and material development of the parish. Those who come to the parish meetings are already beginning to engage in this model, but I encourage the readers who live far away or who have not been attending regularly to also consider how they might help the parish. There are always tasks to be done, some of which could be done remotely, which would help us continue on our mission. Those who come regularly should continue to ask themselves if there is anything else that might need to be done which no one else has mentioned or thought of. If each family takes the lead in an area, then we will find that there are less gaps and that we are better insulated against uncertainties. Also, we want to make sure that work does not fall on a small group of people who may become overwhelmed.

In the spiritual realm, each person and family should take ownership by learning how to pray the Reader’s service, also known as the Service of the Typica. This service is done by Orthodox Christians when no priest is present, and presently we have this service each Sunday when I am not available to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Attendance at the Typica is as important as attendance at liturgy, and no one should feel that it is somehow “less” of a Church service. The priestly-celebrated Divine Liturgy provides Holy Communion, but every Sunday Christians are called to gather in prayer. If we cannot attend liturgy at the Church or the Reader’s service there, then we should pray it at home with our family. It only takes twenty minutes or so, but it is important for us to nurture the rhythm and cycle of Sunday worship, so we stay connected to our faith. This is especially important for those who live far away. Every family should be able to lead these prayers if the need were to arise. If you would like a copy of the service text and advice on how to pray it, please contact me, or pick up copies at the Church.

I look forward to another year of growth in our parish, and to our own spiritual growth over the same period.

Through the prayers of all the saints, may God bless us!

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
August 1, 2012
Keeping the End in Mind
Dear Friends in Christ,

Last Friday, there was a rare “Derecho” storm which pounded the East Coast, knocking out power in the DC area, parts of North Carolina, and places even further away. I had been working in the Northern Virginia area for my secular profession and left the Falls Church area around 8:00 pm in an effort to avoid traffic. Things were going pretty smooth, but past Richmond I noticed that things were getting windy.

Suddenly, there were people slamming on brakes and I came across a series of branches which had been broken up across the road. I can only surmise that trucks had driven over the branches and shattered them. I feared that my tires would be punctured, but thankfully they were not. Continuing on, twigs began flying on my windshield, the wind blew my car off course slightly a few times, and numerous times I had to slow down and swerve to avoid downed tree limbs. I saw some people pull over, but being that I-85 South is lined with trees, I also feared a tree falling on my car. I decided to outrun the storm, and 20 harrowing minutes later, I was safe, thanks to God.

While I was in this situation, I pulled out my komboschini (prayer rope) and began to pray the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It had been longer than I would have liked since my last confession, and this was a powerful reminder to me that we never know when the time is at hand. Needless to say, I confessed the next day.

Some of our non-Orthodox friends, especially those who hold the ahistorical and minority view of “once saved, always saved” chide us for being fearful of the time of death. Certainly they have a point insofar as we who have been saved by Christ and are being saved by Christ, will be saved by Christ at the hour of death, and thus we have a strong hope. However, we also know from the Scriptures and the entire corpus of the Church Fathers’ teachings that we can fall away from grace, unlike what our non-Orthodox friends believe, and so we should always be cautious and repent of our sins diligently.

The Lord allows such harrowing moments in order to warn us and prepare us. But because we are called to cooperate with God’s grace, we have to take the ball and run with it after He shows us the way or gives us a hint. The monastic fathers often write about the remembrance of death as a technique to aid our repentance. Such a concept sounds morbid to many of us, but this is only because our culture has made avoiding the reality of death an art (witness the modern funeral industry). By confronting the fact that any day may be our last, by thinking about the upcoming Judgment, we are given a chance to make the choices that day that will lead us toward Christ and not away from Him.

Rather than being a negative and fatalistic exercise, it is a humbling and empowering exercise. Imagine our relief if, when we stand before the Throne of Judgment, we have already confessed and repented of our sins, and have departed this life prepared. Having thought about the end, we never wasted a moment of our precious time on Earth. Rather than putting things off for another day, we confront what needs to be confronted, knowing it may be our only chance. We will go to bed each night with a clean conscience, and wake up each morning prepared for the mission we are on. Pride will melt away, because following the psalm, we will remember that “as for man, his days are as the grass, as the flowers of the field, so shall he blossom forth” knowing that our life is beautiful and a gift from God, and also that it is fleeting, temporary, and given to us for a season.

Brothers and sisters, each day let us confess our sins to God, and as often as possible let us confess to the priest, as Our Lord showed us (c.f. John 20). Let us take each scary moment of our life as a gift from God, given to warn us and prepare us. Let us take advantage of such moments by expanding on them and proactively remembering our mortality daily so that we are never caught unprepared. The path is set before us, the tools are given to us; let us take advantage of them!

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
July 6, 2012
Heavenly King
Dear Friends in Christ,

Most prayers of the Orthodox Church begin with the following prayer:

Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who Art everywhere present and fillest all things, O Treasury of blessings and Bestower of life, come and dwell within us, and cleanse us from all stain, and save our souls, O Good One.

The only exception is that we do not pray this prayer between the great feast of Pascha and Pentecost, because during this time we commemorate Christ’s Resurrection continuously, recall his post-resurrectional appearances, His Ascension, and His promise to send the Holy Spirit when He was no longer with them.

As with many of the prayers which are commonly said, we often rattle them off without considering their deeper meaning. One important reason though that prayers such as these are so common is that the Holy Fathers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, thought it necessary to repeat them frequently so they would “sink in” over time. Indeed, after such prayers have become ingrained in us, it is often the case that suddenly we contemplate a word, a phrase, or some aspect of the prayer that we had not considered before.

This prayer is directed toward the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity. We learn from the prayer that the Holy Spirit is the Heavenly King, which follows from His being God, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. We also see that he is everywhere present and filling all things, and that he bestows blessings and gives life; without His presence, life would wither away, and this world would cease to exist. In our times of feeling down, when we wonder where God is in our life, we should recall that if God were not constantly willing for us to be alive, we would cease to exist in an instant. The very fact that we are alive and moving is by God’s will and intervention, and He is present with us always.

We ask the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within us and to cleanse us from all stain. For those outside the Church, God works from without; in other words, He reaches out to us, allowing us to come into situations that will benefit our soul and lead us to salvation (whether we think of these situations as “good” or “bad” at the moment they occur, we know that all things work together for our salvation). He gives blessings, responds to prayers, and stands with them.

However, for the Orthodox Christian, the Holy Spirit has entered into His soul, and works from within, by virtue of his chrismation. While the non-Orthodox Christian may be forgiven for the individual sins which he repents of, at the Orthodox Christian’s baptism, chrismation, and at each sincere confession, all of his sins removed completely, blotted out, and forgotten, and indeed his sinful condition is reversed gradually as he becomes more and more godly. Grace for the Orthodox Christian is not a temporary, outward favor, but an internal and continuous flow, raising him above the natural state of life, and allowing him to live in a state of anticipation of the Resurrected life of eternity. We see this in the spiritual gifts that Orthodox Christians often exhibit, especially in the life of the saints. Martyrs exhibit great patience, the unmercenary saints are given healing powers, some elders can guide us through clairvoyance, and others are given great counseling talents to reconcile enemies.

We see that the Holy Spirit saves our souls. Salvation is not a one-time event, given to the sinner at the moment that he says a certain prayer accepting Christ, as some theorize. Accepting Christ and His work is the first stage in a process of becoming God-like through the grace of the Spirit. When we come to judgment, will we be full of the Holy Spirit, or will we have let Him go away through negligence or even have pushed Him away by backsliding into sinfulness? We are given so much grace that we can become God-like, but the flipside is that we will be judged on whether we allow that to happen, and how far we take the gift. We should always recall the parable of the talents, where the man who buries the coin entrusted to him is condemned, whereas the two men who multiply the coins through investing are praised. We cannot sit on the treasure and squander the opportunities given to us.

I will close by remarking that this prayer reveals that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the Spirit of Truth. God comforts us and nurtures us, but sometimes this causes us to have to confront ourselves, our lives, and our actions in a very honest way. This is often a painful process, but we are liberated after we go through it. The comfort offered to us is then permanent, a confidence that endures and refines us, instead of a temporary “fix” or a “feel good moment.” How often we seek fixes and feel good moments, the feedback of the friends we know will agree with us, and then as soon as we sink back, we seek it again in a never-ending cycle. But the Holy Spirit will help us to overcome our shortcomings and blocks, and cause us to grow. Let us endure temporary suffering in return for eternal comfort!

O Holy Spirit, come and save us!

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
June 4, 2012
Christ Preached in Hades
Dear Friends in Christ,

Christ Is Risen! Χριστός ανέστη!

We had a blessed Pascha here in Greenville, North Carolina. Those of you who were able to make it joined me in witnessing our largest turnout to date. Seeing this steady growth of our parish is encouraging and gives us the energy needed to keep going and continue to expand our parish ministries.

During Holy Week and Pascha, we hear a lot about Hades, which is the Greek word that is used to translate the Hebrew word Sheol, and means the realm of the dead. It is the place that all of the people before Christ went, whether bad or good, due to Christ’s work on the Cross not yet being completed. When Christ died on the Cross, He descended into Hades and freed the captives held there—in other words, all of the righteous ones of the Old Testament. As the Paschal troparion states, “Christ is risen from the dead; by death hath He trampled down death, and on those in the graves hath He bestowed life.”

In the period after Pascha, we read through the Book of Acts. This past Saturday, we heard the following during the reading:

And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people (Acts 5:21-25).

Hearing about the prison reminded me of Hades. Righteous people were taken there unjustly, and locked within. Guards were at the doors. But when the council of the Jews went to bring those detained, they found no man in the prison. Now, it is unlikely that the prison was completely empty, so by this statement we can understand that those who were being sought were no longer there; “no man” refers to the Apostles who had been detained, and not to the common prisoners. In the same way, the hymns of our Church speak of Hades being emptied of its captives, yet we know that there remain people in Hades awaiting judgment.

It is amazing to think that St. John the Baptist descended first into Hades to prepare the way for Christ (as the hymns of our Church teach us) and then Christ Himself went there to preach. For those who were righteous, His words were life and they were given life. For those who rejected Him, however, His preaching merely hardened them in their ways. As St. Peter reminds us:

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water (1 Peter 3:18-20).

Christ’s preaching here is to confirm the rejection of these wicked, who being faced with God Himself, still chose to reject Him, while saving those who responded to His call.

How can one stand face to face with Christ, and yet still reject Him? It is a question I have often wondered, but when I think of my own sinfulness, the answer becomes clear. When the soul is pure, it sees God and experiences His grace, but when the soul becomes darkened through sin, it is like a windshield becoming dirty or a glass becoming covered with film, and gradually the grace of God is dimmed and in some cases even extinguished completely. Those who rejected Christ in Hades were unable to respond to Him because of their own hardened hearts. Their darkened souls prevented them from admitting their need for the Savior, and while they intellectually understood it when confronted with Him, they could not join themselves to Him.

In the same way, many of us think that we will be saved in the end, because we know who Christ is, and accept that He died for our sins, and we are trying to live a good life. But in reality, our faith in Christ must be transformative, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). If after we have come to Christ and His Church we do not notice any change in our life, or we find excuses as to why we cannot grow in faith, then we are experiencing a foretaste of our eternal destiny; if we can stand here on Earth, confessing Christ with our lips but not with our heart, then at death we will be unable to respond to Christ’s love and presence in front of us.

Let us avoid such a fate by calling out “Lord, have mercy!” and instead of trying to merely follow a set of rules, let us live our lives showing the same love toward Christ as He has already shown toward us, never wishing to do anything that will cloud our vision of Him again. If you are not sure how to begin this process, please come to the Church, and after the service we can sit down and talk.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
June 4, 2012
Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh
Dear Friends in Christ,

Holy Week is fast approaching, and Great Lent 2012 will conclude before we know it. This year, we began celebrating the Akathist to the Theotokos (Hairetismi) each Friday night. When I was not able to make it to Greenville, the parishioners came together and prayed it as a lay-led service, which is so very encouraging to me. Our faith must be owned by each and every one of us! Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

During Holy Week, we pray the service of the Bridegroom Matins on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. The highlight of this service is the singing of the hymn:

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching: and again, unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, O our God. Through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.

This hymn refers to the Gospel passage found in Matthew 25:1-13:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The Bible is full of similar warnings about the end of time and the Second Coming of Christ. It is clear that none of us know the time when He will return; every attempt to predict His return has been thwarted and the would-be prophets shamed. Because we do not know when the Lord will return, we should be vigilant and prepare ourselves.

Besides a reference to the end of time, however, this parable has meaning in our individual lives, for all of us will die one day, and we “know not the day nor the hour” of our departure. Some of us may live to a ripe old age, while others may suffer some tragedy. The first year of our mission in Greenville, we lost two friends; an elderly man and a middle-aged but relatively young man, both unexpectedly. The one outlived his wife, while the other was outlived by his own mother.

Knowing this, however, most of us continue to sin! We compartmentalize ourselves, so that we can shut off our conscience and avoid thinking of the consequences of our actions. The Bridegroom service—which is repeated four days in a row—helps to reinforce the truth about what is to come; it confronts us and calls us to prepare. The Scripture parable that serves as its basis shows us that we must prepare for the coming of the Lord with as much fervor as we prepare for the worldly pursuits which sustain our bodies. How many of us work long hours, encourage—even compel—our children to study and become successful in their careers, and yet we do not insist on our own preparation nor do we teach our children that such preparation is essential to the Christian life? Will Judgment Day catch us by surprise?

The good news is that we can turn away from sin now and get back on track. While we still have life in our bodies, there is still time to repent and return to God! The first step toward this goal is to increase our participation in the Divine Mysteries, such as Holy Communion and Confession. If we do this regularly, we will not depart from this world unprepared, and in our life here we will begin to experience God’s grace in all its glory, as we witness a transformation from natural man to child of God.

This is one reason why it is essential for Orthodox Christians to attend Church each and every time there is a service, as much as is possible; while it is true that “God is everywhere,” the Holy Mysteries can only be found at Church. We only have a limited amount of time to grow as Christians, and we can never know for sure if there will be a “next Sunday.” Such sentiments are not intended to be morbid, but rather to give an honest presentation of the facts and exhort all to prepare.

Let’s not take for granted that there will be a next time, for we simply cannot know what tomorrow will bring. Let us store up oil like the wise Virgins, so we are prepared for the Lord when He comes for us. If we do, then we shall enter into the Bridal Chamber of Heaven and live with Christ forever.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
April 4, 2012
The Value of Lay-Led Services
Last Sunday, fourteen people gathered together in worship and fellowship at our parish on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. They prayed the Service of the Typica, also known as the Reader’s Service, which is what Orthodox Christians do when there is no priest available to serve liturgy.

As most know, since our founding in mid-2008, I have traveled from Raleigh three times a month to serve the Orthodox Christians of Greenville, NC. The other weekend of each month, our faithful gather for a lay-led service, following the words of the Savior: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Having a regular life of prayer is essential to the Christian life, and our parish does not want to go a week without worshipping as one body.

In some Orthodox parishes, if the priest were absent, the Church would be closed that day. Yet Reader’s Services have a long history in the Church, and highlight that through our baptism, we all share a part in Christ’s priesthood, even while some of us are set aside for the ordained ministry. We all benefit from worshiping God and asking His blessings, hearing the reading of Scripture and the hymns, from praying for each other, and from being present with each other to encourage one another.

In times of clergy shortages or social strife, lay-led services have sustained the Church in many places. They are also a tool for missionary expansion; for instance, a family that lives some distance away from the Church could pray Typica on the weekends they cannot travel to the parish, and begin to invite others, eventually forming the nucleus for a future mission parish.

It is such a blessing for me as a priest to see the faithful maintaining the cycle of prayer even when I am not able to be present, and instilling a sense of spiritual responsibility in their lives and their children’s lives. I invite everyone to come out on the Sundays when Typica is celebrated. Fourteen people this Sunday; how many a year from now? It is an exciting time!
Related posts:
February 11, 2012
Fr. Anastasios’s 2012 Pastoral Challenge!
Dear Friends in Christ,

2011 drew to a close here in Greenville, and on a very positive note as we welcomed several new people who have begun to attend regularly. This builds upon the growth we had already experienced this year, making 2011 our best year yet! It’s a testament to all of your dedication, and I am blessed to be pastoring such a great group of people.

Late in December 2010, we moved in to our new building, which we have worked hard to maintain and to beautify. At Pascha this year, we saw twice the numbers as 2010. We had our first parish picnic in August, at which we hosted members of the community beyond our own parish as well, we had several extremely large turnouts at our clothing giveaway, during which hundreds of needy people were helped, and we made it on to the news twice! We baptized four people in Greenville and also my own newborn daughter Sophia, and we have four more people preparing for baptism at present here in Greenville (and two more at my chapel community in Raleigh!) We’ve seen both growth in numbers and spiritual growth in our own lives, and we are really excited to find out what 2012 has in store!

As I did last year, I won’t be speaking about personal New Year’s Resolutions in this message. You all have heard a lot about this topic already, and we know that most of those resolutions do not come to pass, anyway. Instead, I want to issue “Fr. Anastasios’s 2012 Pastoral Challenge” which will help us all continue to grow personally, and as a parish. The following four challenges (five for those of you who attend infrequently!) are not overly complicated, nor are they revolutionary—as Orthodox Christians, they are things we should be doing anyway regularly—but sometimes it helps to have a focus and a goal, and to reflect, so with that in mind I have developed my challenge.

Personal/Family Prayer Devotional. All good works begin with prayer. We pray at Church, and we should be praying our daily prayers. But do we ever go beyond the call of duty, beyond what is “required”? In 2012, I would like each of you to commit to praying a devotional service once a month, whether it be a canon or Akathist to Our Lord, His Holy Mother, or one of the saints. Devotional prayers are often more personal in nature, tender in composition, evoke a sense of connection with the individual being prayed to, and garner for us great blessings. The more that we pray personally and as a family, the more we will live in harmony with our neighbors and will help our parish grow as well. There is a clear link between prayer and our parish’s well-being.

Increase in Knowledge. Some of us know a lot about our Orthodox faith, while others have a basic understanding. What we all share in common is a need to delve deeper. There is an ocean of material available to us, which could never be fully consumed in this lifetime. Yet each small measure that we put in is repaid greatly. We do not seek to grow in knowledge just for the sake of being smarter, but rather education is a path to greater faithfulness. Ignorance of the faith can lead to spiritual problems, while time spent learning leads to deeper faith. In 2012, I would like to challenge each of you to read two books: one saint’s life, and one historical book which addresses some aspect of the Orthodox Church in history. I am available to make suggestions and to lend books!

Evangelism. What’s the point of receiving all of these great blessings, if we don’t put them to good use? Let’s not keep this great treasure a secret. I frequently preach on outreach and the need to bring others to Christ and especially His Church, and we should all be sharing our faith with everyone who will listen. In order to focus our effort, however, I would like everyone to commit to inviting (and bringing if it will facilitate it) at least one person to Church this year. A family member, a friend, a neighbor, or someone we meet in our day-to-day life. Pamphlets about the Church are available in the vestibule area, and further titles will be produced throughout the year. They are always available for you to take and use.

Greater Integration. Our parish does not exist as an island, but is part of one diocese (a network of parishes under our bishop, Metropolitan Pavlos), which in turn joins the other dioceses as the one local Church of Greece, which in turn with the Russian and other Orthodox Churches forms the one, true Church of Christ. Some of us have never seen another parish or met anyone else from one of our other parishes. In 2012, let’s bring about greater integration of our parish with others. In the Fall, there will be another Youth Conference, and I encourage all the families with children to start planning now. If finances are a problem, we can plan a fundraiser at the Church. For those without families, perhaps on a vacation, make an attempt to attend another parish. For those who cannot travel, connect online to members of our Church and perhaps volunteer for one of our Metropolis-wide initiatives.

Finally, an extra one for those of you who don’t attend regularly: The Once a Month Challenge! Now, we should all be attending liturgy every time it is celebrated. Some of us have circumstances which interfere with that. There are legitimate reasons, but there are also not-so-legitimate reasons. “I’m busy” doesn’t cut it! If we are to have time for the Church, we must budget that time just like we would a doctor’s appointment or a trip to the grocery store. We all go shopping for food, but do we neglect to go “shopping” for the bread of life, which is only available at the Church? None of our New Year’s Resolutions matter one bit if we never attend Church. So to get started, for those who have frequent difficulty coming to liturgy, instead of focusing on coming every week, let’s commit to come at least once a month in 2012. Once we are used to coming, we will want to come so much that the other weeks will fall in to place.

As 2012 progresses, let’s take these four (five) challenges seriously, and keep track. I guarantee that the more we do, the more that God will bless our parish, and we will see the results in more growth, more harmony, and more opportunities. Given how great 2011 was for us, I can’t even imagine what will happen in 2012!

God bless you all!

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
January 21, 2012
Peace on Earth
Dear Friends in Christ,

Over the Thanksgiving break, I heard about fights breaking out in stores as shoppers vied to get the best deals on merchandise on so-called “Black Friday.” Below are two excerpts, one locally in the Kinston area of Eastern Carolina, and the other from across the country in California:

Kinston, North Carolina, United States, AD 2011:

People waiting in line at the Kinston Walmart quickly found themselves covering their face after police shot pepper-spray into the air…“He was raining [pepper spray] over the whole crowd so that it would rain down on their heads. Some got on my granddaughter. When I was doing that kind of work, we would have never done that, not in a store like that,” said Jackson…Though Jackson was charged with disorderly conduct, cell phone video shot shortly after the crowd was pepper-sprayed shows Jackson being anything but disorderly.

http://www2.wnct.com/news/2011/nov/25/3/pepper-spray-used-kinston-wal-mart-ar-1645712/

Los Angeles, California, United States, AD 2011:

Los Angeles police Saturday said they have not yet decided whether to seek charges against a woman who doused a crowd of Thanksgiving night shoppers with pepper spray at a Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch…

Investigators declined to speculate Saturday whether the woman, described only as a Latina in her 30s, brandished the spray because she felt threatened by the crowd of jostling shoppers or to gain an advantage so she could grab an Xbox game console that was on sale.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/lapd-no-decision-yet-on-charges-in-walmart-pepper-spraying.html

Black Friday is the start to the Christmas shopping season, so presumably some of those who were engaged in disorderly conduct were attempting to purchase gifts, although there were undoubtedly many there seeking cheap deals for their own wants. For a refresher, let’s take a look at what happened on the first Christmas Day, over 2000 years ago:

Bethlehem, Judea, Roman Empire, AD 1:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth be peace. Today doth Bethlehem receive Him Who sitteth with the Father forever. Today the angels glorify, as worthy of God, the babe that is born, shouting, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth be peace, and goodwill among men.

Since Thou art the God of peace and the Father of mercies, O Lover of mankind, Thou didst send to us the great Messenger of Thy mind, granting us Thy peace. Therefore, have we been led aright to the light of divine knowledge, glorifying Thee as we come out of darkness.

—Hymns from the Orthodox Service of the Nativity of Christ

God became man—a baby, at that—as an act of utter condescension, in order to bring peace, mercy, and light to us humans. And yet some of us celebrate His birth by disturbing the peace of those around us and showing no mercy to others. While I do believe that things are gradually getting worse in our society, I also know that the seeds of this rebellion were planted in previous generations; while perhaps less frequent, there have always been instances of humans mistreating each other for such petty reasons.

In fact, all humans harbor sinful passions which, left unchecked, give birth to sin, and lead to death. We cannot solve this problem ourselves, but must be born again of water and the spirit, and put on Christ, in order to experience the light, peace, and mercy that he offers. We can’t rely on being “spiritual” or being “a good person” because even good, spiritual people have committed sins which separate them from God’s peace and from their fellow humans. The answer lies outside of ourselves. This also means that we can’t do it from the comfort of our own home, as salvation occurs in community, not in isolation.

This Christmas season, let’s take a serious look at Christ on His own terms, and if we see that our lives do not reveal His presence, let us give ourselves over to Him without reservation. If you are not sure how to make this happen, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you have not attended our Church previously, we will be happy to welcome you on your first visit.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios
Related posts:
November 29, 2011