tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post7999865986015916841..comments2023-12-22T19:01:28.512-08:00Comments on Holy Nativity Orthodox Church: Response to ChristopherFr. Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16981965403145920704noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-44794774757842049522011-01-14T09:26:21.480-08:002011-01-14T09:26:21.480-08:00"We will suffer in ways that our great, great..."We will suffer in ways that our great, great grandchildren will never know."<br /><br />I had not thought of it in these terms...Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16152024447008244670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-81604079835739628372011-01-11T12:15:11.806-08:002011-01-11T12:15:11.806-08:00Dear Christopher I think you are right about the c...Dear Christopher I think you are right about the cultural otherness of Orthodoxy in North America. Orthodox Christianity is really a missionary movement in North America (when it is not merely a crutch for an Old World cultural ghetto). It takes centuries to make an indigenous Orthodox Christian culture. Personally, I'm all for Christmas carols (the pious, theologically correct ones) and our choir usually sings at least one after the Liturgy on Sundays leading up to the Nativity (while the people are receiving a blessing). What Orthodox Christian Canadian--or American--will look like, I don't know. But I am pretty certain (and I am not certain of many things) that the "ever-memorable founders of this holy temple" that we pray for in the litanies, are us. We need these prayers because establishing the Orthodox Church in a new culture is tough. We will suffer in ways that our great, great grandchildren will never know.Fr. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16981965403145920704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27139233.post-11871346579391837902011-01-11T11:36:58.986-08:002011-01-11T11:36:58.986-08:00Fr. Stephen says:
"Interesting comment.
The ...Fr. Stephen says:<br /><br />"Interesting comment.<br />The honeymoon is over.<br />Church would be great without people kinda thing. Yet it has always been so, as Church History attests, indeed, even the N.T."<br /><br />While this is all true, there is something else going on that I can't quite put my finger on. I used to think it was simply the "ethnic divide", and that certainly is part of it but not all of it. <br /><br />At the end of the day I call it a "cultural" thing. There is something about the way Orthodoxy is not quite fitting in to my culture (and here I am talking about the positive aspects of my western culture). I was born and raised in Oklahoma, and I don't deny this has formed who I am. Who can deny their background, culture, and formation? <br /><br />Some have said this is my fault - that I am clinging to this or that and Orthodoxy has nothing to do with it. I don't find that explanation right either. This goes back to the Orthodoxy "in" as opposed to "of" America. I still don't get why we can't sing the familiar western Christmas carols we all know by heart and which are a part of our heart. It's like we are clinging to aspects of Orthodoxy (like the music) which are extraneous to doctrine which saves.<br /><br />This is just a working theory. I do think the divisiveness that I have experienced is at least in part due to something along these lines. <br /><br />Thanks for your counsel Fr. Michael.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16152024447008244670noreply@blogger.com