On Tuesday, July 24th, the feast of St. Euphemia the All-Praised, the faculty of the GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy will be hosting a LIVE online webinar for students, prospective students, and inquirers. 

The LIVE Webinar will begin at 8 pm Eastern/5 pm AZ/Pacific time.

Click this link to sign up for this webinar.  Everyone who signs up will receive the link on Tuesday morning, but only the first 100 people will be admitted. It is first come, first served.

This is your chance to

• get more information about the courses, program,
• get your questions answered,
• talk to the Academy team (your future professors),
• learn what to expect in the coming semester,
• and enjoy the feast of St. Euphemia the All-Praised!

We currently have applicants from over a dozen countries completing their applications and preparing for the fall semester. If you are one of them, this is a great chance to talk to your professors!

Again the LIVE Webinar will begin at 8 pm Eastern/5 pm AZ/Pacific time. This webinar is first come, first served, as only the first 100 people will be able to join and participate, so arrive on time (a little early wouldn’t hurt).

Bring your questions, and get ready for the newest offering in Orthodox education. As we have said previously, this program was designed with you in mind, listening to multitudes of people over many months – years even – about what YOU wanted, and how you wanted to study it.

Click this link to sign up and receive the Webinar link Tuesday morning.

See you there!

Reworking and organizing ecclesiastical mission for the benefit of future generations

A presentation given at the 2nd International Conference on Digital Media and Pastoral Care at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolymbari

by Fr. John A. Peck

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Esteemed hierarchs, fathers and brothers, guests, and fellow Christians,

As the 21st century since our Lord’s incarnation has shown, contemporary man is in an existential crisis. Confusion over simple, scientifically verifiable facts (life, marriage, gender identity) and their place in the Orthodox Tradition has plagued many, including some otherwise noteworthy Orthodox clergy.

These attacks on traditional values, traditional institutions, and biologically verifiable reality is not simple a ‘reimagining’ of religious thought and theological ideology, as it is often portrayed. It is a direct challenge to objective reality, and an attack on human civilization. It is certainly a direct attack on God – who created life, who created mankind – and did so male and female, and Himself joined them together. The destruction of marriage, the elimination of gender distinction, and the desacralization of human life – if allowed to continue – will not simply constitute an attack on the Orthodox Church; if permitted acceptance within the body of the Church, it will destroy the Orthodox faith.

It is imperative that the Orthodox parish remain a bastion of traditional Orthodox love, piety and faith, and provide clear moral instruction in the Apostolic Tradition.
Since 99% of all profitable spiritual activity in Orthodoxy happens in, or in relation to, the Orthodox parish, I am going to focus my presentation on the establishment of Orthodox parishes in the digital age from scratch, or from practically nothing.

The Digital Age in the Trenches

The digital age is a world of communication, and that means more than simply making information available. The world is choking on information, much of it widely understood as nothing but propaganda.

This is a great advantage for those of us who are engaged in Orthodox missionary activity. We have the use of exceptionally inexpensive, mobile technology that permits us to contact, and be contacted by, people from every corner of the world directly, on media platforms, through calls, chats, text messages, online bulletin boards, forums, email lists, and websites which can be accessed with almost every digital device imaginable.

Technology utilized properly makes us more powerful in the mission field, and gives small groups of highly committed teams a large footprint in global digital arena.

Begin

To get successfully started in online mission activity which will build and benefit the parish, a progressive online mission process is needed.

Normally, the progression of contact will go like this – (Website>)Social media > Chat > Phone Call > Online meeting/Skype call > Regular online contact while directing to local Orthodox contact.

When contact is made, respond quickly. This is a giant problem for the Orthodox. Regular, timely contact with some Orthodox clergy, and with all mission centers and missionary societies, is abysmal at best, and non-existent in most cases. Following up with an inquirer 2-3 weeks after they call is worse than not calling back! The lack of professionalism of these societies should not dictate the response time of the missionary!

Online “Meetings”

Another beautiful result of the embrace of technology is the simple, pre-scheduled online meeting. In missions without buildings, online meetings can become classes, Bible studies, catechesis lectures, and more.

Apart from occasionally scheduled online New Member classes, I myself teach two different online catechism classes per week, regularly scheduled at different times on different days, and garner participants from as close as my own state of Arizona, USA and as far away as Japan, and many places in between. We begin with an online New Member Class, and cycle through 20 lessons of basic catechesis. When the 20 are completed, they cycle begins anew.

I am not the only one doing this kind of catechesis and instruction by distance. Committed clergy and their wives are actively reaching and catechizing inquirers who live far from any Orthodox parish.

Training for Underground Church

As the culture of modernity becomes more and more hostile to Orthodox Christianity, the Church would be wise to make available the kind of education, training, and formation that will allow it to not only survive but thrive in hostile environments. I call it training for the Underground church. This would necessarily require pushing down levels of educated, trained leadership and provide training in basic Orthodox theology, personal evangelism, and practical apologetics. No one had such a program, so we started one ourselves.

The GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy

It is with this in mind that the GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy was born. Not only to provide basic but solid Orthodox theological classes via the internet, but to deliver classes, texts, content, and contact entirely online, for Arabic and English speaking students, making the purchase of a large number of expensive books unnecessary, and providing Orthodox theological education to those in every corner of the globe where even intermittent internet access is available.

Named for the GreatMartyr Euphemia the All-Praised who miraculously solved the log jam of progress at the 4th Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, and also appeared more recently to St. Paisius, she is the ideal patroness for an institution whose goal is to

“be super-conservative in preserving the Orthodox faith, and super-modern in propagating it.” (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)

Our concern is not to pump out master’s degree graduates – there are already a multitude of master’s programs in almost every theological school as is.

Instead, we have designed a challenging undergraduate level program of study for those who work in the world, educate their children, and want to teach, preach, and serve their families and those around them.

The program is not a competitor, therefore, with existing seminary programs, but fills an important void in available theological study. The homeschooling mom, the hardworking dad, the high school graduate discerning a vocation, but without completing college; all these can take advantage of a program which is designed for them.

When someone graduates the Academy Diploma program, they will already have the all materials necessary to hold successful classes for a New Member Class (often called Orthodoxy 101), Catechism Class, baptismal preparation class, Mystagogy class, a basic Bible Survey class, and the outlines for additional Bible studies, and small group meetings.

The idea here is to offer in many ways, in many locations a consistent education using incremental, tiered instructional material with consistent markers for excellence.

In other words, a lone Orthodox Christian can get easily started building up from scratch what will become a thriving and traditional Orthodox parish.

This is a very important vision, as it provides the necessary tools, training, and direction for Orthodox Christians to establish and spread the Orthodox faith in every culture, in every jurisdiction, and under any circumstance, no matter how hostile.

Technology as a concept in mission will go from being a strange, long tunnel leading to an unknown destination to being a coursing river of connection, communication, education, mission, and vision, to advance the growth of the Church and SAVE SOULS.

The Satellite Parish/Mission Model

For those who have no nearby Orthodox parish or mission, a solution has been designed by Fr. Russell Radoicich, a Serbian Orthodox priest who has begun to implement a program in varied locations out of his parish in Missoula, Montana, and it is this program which we are laying groundwork for to implement in Arizona.

It is called the Satellite Parish Program

The “Satellite” program is really VERY simple. In most jurisdiction, there are two (2) designations of stages in parish life:

1. Full Parish,
2. Mission Parish

Often a “Mission” parish is defined by a certain number of parishioners or families. For example “20 or 30” souls or households.
Most often this model for “Full Parish” or “Mission Parish” was established when the idea of a Church was a group or “Colony” of Orthodox people who had immigrated to an area, and when there were enough, a parish was born.

This “Colony” mentality does not serve a large Mission field like the USA today very well. Even when it does exist, it is slow and subject to false starts.

A TRUE Missionary would beg the question, “What is the program for getting from ZERO (0) Orthodox people/families to “30 or 40” or Mission parish level. And, so, the designation of “Satellite Parish” was added to the existing program.

1. Full Parish,
2. Mission Parish,
3. Satellite Parish

What is a Satellite Parish?

Here are the distinctive qualities of a Satellite Parish:

1. Starts with “where two (2) or three (3) are gathered…”
2. it’s sacramental needs are served by an existing Full Parish,
3. No full time priest.
4. No Property.
5. No Bylaws.
6. Not incorporated as a Non Profit. (not a 501(c)3)
7. No Time Limit as to how long they can be a Satellite.
8. No Jurisdictional Ecclesiastical commitment.
9. Just the Faithful growing their faith where they live with their neighbors, all drawing near to each other and to the closest Orthodox church.

To Become A Mission Parish, a Satellite has Seven (7) years to:

1. Become Jurisdictionally committed,
2. Elect a board of trustees,
3. Adopt bylaws and constitution,
4. Incorporate as a non-profit,
5. Establish a bank account,
6. Procure a full time priest,
7. Procure land,
8. Build a Temple.

A Mission Parish still has no diocesan dues/assessments.

These need not be obtained in the above particular order. Should the “Mission Parish” fail to flourish, they simply go back to “Satellite” Status.

Ultimately, the Full Parish must become a two (2) priest parish. One to serve at the Satellites & Missions, and the other to serve the Home/Mother church. (probably rotating their duties, one travels one month, the other the next. They take turns. )

Funding for the second Full Time Priest comes from the multiple Satellite parishes. (functionally, but not exclusively)

When a Mission parish is ready for a Full Time Priest, one of the two priests at the Full Parish is placed there. And the Full Parish then back fills with another Second Priest, either taken from the diaconate already serving, or from among Academy students or seminarians.

Benefits:

1) you never have a Green Priest in a Mission Parish.
2) you never have a Starving Priest in a Mission Parish.
3) The Priest who is Placed in the Mission Parish already knows everyone.
4) The FULL PARISH becomes training ground and source for additional clergy.
5) Continuity is established
6) Clergy Vacancy at the FULL Parish will never be a problem should the senior priest retire or die.
7) This actively engages the Whole Parish in Missionary work where ever they live.
8) This Model replicates itself.
9) All the Satellite Parishes gather at the FULL PARISH for all Feast Days if and whenever possible.
10 ) Orthodox Christianity expands exponentially.

It does mean that a Full Parish Priest can not get lazy and just become a “Maintenance” priest.

The “Satellite Model” is a model for actively Baptizing America.

Our goal is to evangelize and lead people to the Orthodox faith, and into the Church, by ultimately preparing and growing self-duplicating, traditional Orthodox parishes with strongly committed, spiritually-oriented Orthodox Christians.

Funding Missions with Virtuous Enterprise

Currently the Church in North America has no real budget for mission work. While one can lament the evidence that mission work is absent from the budgetary line item of important activities, it also pushes the serious missionary to creative solutions for solvable problems.

The Church has long been involved in corporate works of charity, hospitality, education, and communication, all to the benefit of society. As mission in the digital age takes a freer approach, building up parishes from scratch will take a more nuanced and more directed approach, especially when it comes to financial growth and support.

Complimentary non-profit corporations and virtuous enterprises to support and provide the mission with necessary resources is the paramount way to provide funding for nascent parishes. They are also more successful in engaging otherwise uninterested parties in charitable work which is good for all involved.

For example, while not many people might contribute to an obscure local small parish having a drive collecting funds to supply disadvantaged kids with backpacks and supplies for the new school year, a separate non-profit will likely garner a much wider body of public support and donations for it.

The advantages of virtuous industries to support the heavier lifting of funding for land and physical plant purchases cannot be overstated. While a parish should rely exclusively on tithes and offerings for their operating budget, acquisitions can be made better, easier, and quicker when virtuous industry is helping advance the vision and mission.

Building a Rope of Sand

Finally, we must take care to not to neglect the newly illumined. How often the Chrism dries and their initiation, education, and spiritual growth pretty much ends. New members need each other, and other serious Orthodox Christians.

They should continue their formation by gathering together in synodia, small groups, cells, classes, and societies where they can continue to advance in the Orthodox spiritual life, each with and for the other, lest, as George Whitefield noted, we neglect to preserve the fruit of our labors, and thereby transform our work and our people into nothing more than a rope of sand.

+ + +

The digital era has made it easier to waste and scatter our resources if efforts are made without direction and planning, but it has also made it easier, with organization and vision, to exponentially multiply our efforts with fewer resources, doing more with less than ever before in history.

 

Photo credit: Dr. Nicole Marie Roccas

The inaugural feast of All Saints of North America was celebrated this past weekend with great joy. A festal luncheon at the local Papadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen kicked off the celebration. Gifts were given to visiting clergy, and everyone had a great time! The meal and service was amazing, and the fun was contageous. If you missed it, you missed a really good time. A good sign for the weekend and for the future of our mission.

Saturday evening, Great Vespers was followed by a meet-and-greet for parishioners and Academy students with Fr. Damaskinos Alazrai and Fr. Thaddaeus Hardenbrook, both professors at the GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy.

Sunday Divine Liturgy began with the reception of the relics of three North America Saints: St. Herman of Alaska, St. Tikhon of Moscow, and St. Raphael of Brooklyn. The festal liturgy filled the chapel with communicants. Afterwards, again, a reception with light refreshments took place, culminating in the distribution of ASONA Prayerbooks for the faithful.

Thanks to everyone who sacrificed, generously gave, and helped out to prepare for our first patronal feast. It was glorious!

And the feast was covered by Romfea.gr, the largest Greek Orthodox website in the world!

Here is the link!

Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly. (Jer. 48:10)

You have begun to sing in the choir; therefore, you glorify the Lord in the image of the heavenly hosts, who ceaselessly sing praise to the glory of their Creator and Lord. How fortunate you are! But do you acknowledge the full sacredness and importance of this godly work, which incomparably more than any other work is worthy to be called godly work? If not, then it is not superfluous to remind you of the threatening and terrible words of the Prophet: Cursed is the man that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly (Jer. 48:10).

You see to what a terrible accountability those are liable who negligently and carelessly perform the work of serving God. The chanter (or singer) is the mouth of the Church, i.e., of the society of believers who are praying in church; while singing prayers and hymns, he pronounces them not only for himself, but in the name of all who are present in church, and as all who are praying pronounce their prayers through the mouths of the singers, these last also are the mouth of the Church. Chant unto our God (Ps. 46:7), the Holy Church invites them, but chant ye with understanding (Ps. 46:9). Consider and take heed: of Whom do you sing, to Whom do you pray, before Whom do you stand? You stand before the One before Whom the angelic ranks stand and walk with fear, covering their faces! You sing praises to the One of Whom all the heavenly powers ceaselessly proclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth!

Understand how high the work of the chanter is. Understand and admire the mercy of God, Who allows even earthly sinners to bring praise to Him! This heavenly work is the work of an angel and not of a man having unclean lips, as the holy Prophet Isaiah expressed, having heard heavenly singing:

Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips (Is. 6:5).

And you, infirm, weak, and sinful, have been entrusted with such a great work. This talent which has been entrusted to you by the Lord, is a talent which you must bring forth and increase by employing it with understanding. With all humility and fear towards God say mentally to your soul:

Behold, my soul, the Master entrusts thee with a talent: receive His gift with fear; and thou hast heard the condemnation of him who hid his talent, O my soul: hide not the word of God, but proclaim, sing of His glory, increase the gifts of grace entrusted to thee, and thou shalt enter into the joy of thy Lord (Stichera on Lord, I have cried and on Lauds, Great and Holy Tuesday).

The Lord is not slack concerning His promises (II Peter 3:9), (i.e., will not delay to fulfill them) to come again and exact an account from His slaves, whom He entrusted with His goods, His gifts and talents; take care, that you not hear the dreadful condemnation: Take from her My talent, which she didnt wish to bring forth with great labor, and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness (cf. Matt. 25:28, 30). The great labor of a chanter consists in this, that all the strengths which have been given to him from the Lord’s talents he unremittingly applies to the glorification of God. Sing to the glory of the name of God, sing not only with lips and voice, but sing with heart, sing with mind, soul, will, desire, zeal—with all your being. This is what it means to chant with understanding.

The singing of the chanter passes over to the hearts of those who are praying; if the singing proceeds from the heart, it meets the heart of the listener and so influences him that it is able to rouse him to prayer, to incite reverence even in those minutes when the heart itself is distracted and hard. Often it happens that those who enter the church without any eagerness toward prayer, from compulsion or from propriety, begin to pray fervently and tearfully, and leave the church in quite another frame of mind, in a spirit of tender feeling and repentance. Such a revival is produced in them by the magnificent service and fine singing.

And conversely, often it happens that those who enter the church with the intention to pray from the soul, to pour out before the Lord their sorrowful soul, when they hear scattered, careless singing and reading, themselves little by little become distracted, and instead of profit they find harm, they receive no consolation and, having been tempted by the conduct of the singers, involuntarily fall into the sin of condemnation. And as the Lord says about those who cause temptation: Woe to that man by whom the offence corn eth; it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (cf. Matt. 18:6,7 and Luke 17:1,2).

If such is the terrible judgment of the Lord against everyone who shall offend one of these little ones (Matt. 18:6 and Mark 9:42), i.e., those who believe, then do not chanters, and generally all those of a clerical office who cause temptation, deserve an even more terrible punishment, who by their vocation ought to serve as a good example for others, and not as a temptation? And so fear lest through tempting behavior on the cliros, through careless singing and dispersed conduct, you pour the poison of temptation into the hearts of those who are praying, and so be subjected to the punishment promised to those who tempt! Fear to do the work of the Lord carelessly, in order not to hear that curse which is threatened accordingly! Strive with all your strength to concentrate attentively on the words which you pronounce; pronounce them in such a manner that they come from the depth of your soul, which is singing together with your lips.

Then the sounds of the vivifying current of your hymn will pour into the souls of those who hear them, and these souls, being raised from the earthly to the heavenly, having laid aside all earthly care, will receive the King of Glory Who is borne in triumph by the Angelic Hosts. Will you believe my words if I tell you from the narratives of the Holy Fathers that not only the human soul can be softened and moved by good spiritual singing, but even animals, those speechless creatures, somehow instinctively bow before it?

Have you ever chanced to read the life of the Athonite monk St. John Kukuzelis? There are mentioned the following two events from the life of this great singer. Once he was pasturing the monastery’s herds of sheep and goats. (Having entered one of the Athonite desert monasteries, John hid his position in the imperial court, calling himself a simple shepherd, and thus was sent to pasture the monastery’s herds in the desert.) While sitting near his flocks at pasture, John began to sing the divine songs he had formerly sung in the imperial choir. His melodious voice flowed in the open desert, and John surrendered his whole soul to the singing, resting in the thought that he was alone in the desert and no one was hearing him. Meanwhile, his sheep and goats left off grazing and surrounded their singing shepherd: as if holding their breath, they stood motionless before him, directing their eyes to him as though fascinated by his angelic singing. Behold deeply spiritual singing, coming forth from the depths of the soul and conscious mind! It is able not only to inspire the rational soul and lift it towards its Creator, but to touch even speechless and irrational animals.

Once, according to custom, John sang the Akathist to the Mother of God together with other singers on the right cliros. After the vigil he sat down in a stall (a monks seat) in front of the icon before which they sang the Akathist, and being weary he slumbered lightly. Suddenly a gentle, sweet voice woke him with the words: Rejoice, O John! John jumped up; before him stood the Mother of God in the radiance of heavenly light. Sing and do not cease singing, she continued, and for this I will not forsake you! At these words the Mother of God placed in Johns hand a gold coin and became invisible. Do you see of what great honors those zealous singers are thought worthy while still here on earth, who not only with their lips, but also with heart and mind sing of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother! Indeed, how will we avoid the just judgment of God for our listlessness and laziness and negligence, on account of which we willfully turn even the greatest gifts of God into our own property, which we dispose of as we want, according to our evil will and sinful habits.

What a wonderful and great gift—the gift of a voice and the ability to sing! They were given to us for this, that with them we might both glorify the Lord ourselves, and incite others to do the same. And how often we turn these talents to our harm: becoming proud of them, we abase our neighbors who dont have them, we are idle in using them properly to the glory of God, and when we do, we do not use them in a fitting manner, nor as is required by the majesty of these gifts. May the Lord therefore give thee understanding (II Tim 2:7) to apprehend the height of your vocation in the office of singer in the chorus of the Heavenly King. Bring the gift as a sacrifice to its Giver, for what hast thou that thou didst not receive? (I Cor. 4:7).

Are not all our talents and abilities from the all-generous God, and will He not require from us an account of their use? Having arrived at the cliros and stood in your place, first of all cross yourself and bring to remembrance that you have come before the invisible face of the King of Glory, Whom at this very moment, as always and ceaselessly, all the heavenly hosts glorify, and that presently your feeble and insignificant voice must join this celestial praise. Impress this upon your consciousness, turn mentally to yourself and say to your self, i.e., to all the powers of your soul: mind, thoughts, heart, will, zeal, and the rest: Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, and let us weep before the Lord Who made us! (Ps. 94:6).

The Lord will protect the good free-will actions of your heart, will give you His grace, will renew your powers, and, as the perfume of sweet-smelling incense, your singing will ascend before the Altar of the Most High. For strengthening and consolation remember more frequently the most sweet words of the Mother of God to her wonderful singer John: Sing and do not cease singing, and for this I will not forsake you! Believe and hope that the Most Holy Mother of God will not abandon you either in this extremely difficult world, nor in the future blessedness, where she will vouchsafe crowns of glory unto those who sing hymns of praise to her. Amen.

HT

Source

Thursday, May 24 was the day of a special homestead blessing in remote Pinetop, AZ.

Adam and Deepa Hague welcomed Fr. John to their homestead for a blessing of the home, confession, and communion. The beautiful setting was idyllic! Gardens, ponds, grottos, goat pens, trampolines, containers, vehicles, appliances, and a hand-built home – everything needed for a functioning, off-grid homestead was blessed, and then some.

“Lots of questions from the children about Church, the priesthood, and even my own family! Truly, I felt welcomed as an honored guest as soon as I arrived,” said Fr. John.

Enjoy this little photo gallery of our visit. We’ll be visiting again in July!