Wanted: stuff for the new year

In January's past, I've posted glum and glowering prophecies/prognostications and cranky resolutions.

But I've gotten tired of the chicken little rhetoric, and have gotten more used to flux. I say this with some caution: the fact remains that "the times they are a-changin'" is truer of the last decade than the sixties, I kid you not.

So instead of making an annual Jeanne Dixon litany of predictions, I'd rather list out a series of essays that need written for the American Orthodox audience.

These are things I think we need:

1. A history of the convert experience in the Orthodox Church. I suggest that we select, arbitrarily, 1987 as the "since date," since that is the year of the most famous influx of evangelicals into Orthodoxy. I would like to know how converts have fared in this odd new home that differs so profoundly from the American style protestantism that they left. There are so many paths that converts have taken: some have gone from one jurisdiction to another, seeking for the most faithful rubric. Others have become politically liberal -- even liberal in social moral issues. Others have gotten tired of the radical difference and have gone "back home." And others have rejected the Nicene faith entirely.

2. A study of the value (or unvalue) of maintaining old world cultural traditions in the contemporary American experience of Orthodoxy. Does ethnic tradition sustain retention? Does it help in evangelism? Is it as important as old world ethnics say it is? Is it really as bad as what many converts (and some ethnic rejectionists) say it is? Is there, really, a continuing value in hellenism or russophilism? Are these interchangeable values? Are "lesser" cultural traditions -- i.e., carpatho-rusin, serbian, syrian, ukrainian (vis a vis russian), georgian -- just as important? Should newer (at least "newer" to Orthodoxy) ethnicities be just as valued -- like hispanic, african (and I accept that this term is a simplistic abstraction of many distinct cultures), japanese, chinese and native american ethnicities?

3. A ecclesiological analysis of how church administrations have "programmatized" ministry into "needs segmentation" -- much in imitation of American protestant jurisdictions. We have church schools and youth ministries that are -- aside from some obvious content issues -- indistinguishable from their protestant analogs. Many Orthodox summer camp (itself an evangelical derivation) campfire song repertoires are exactly the same as evangelical campfire repertoires. It's really weird when a konvertski priest goes to an Orthodox event and finds himself singing along with "Pass It On" -- "It only takes a spark, to get a fire goin' ..."

4. A nice "projective" essay that draws a line between two realities: Orthodox Holy Tradition, with its ascetical and sacramental ethos of synergy in theosis, on the one hand ... and on the other, the realities of this American moment -- informed as it is by the very weird American narrative and its nested gnostic gravitation; and, at the same time, confronted by the aggressive press of technological and oligarchic globalization. In other words: If we had to do it from scratch, how would we do it -- without any concern for funding or keeping less-than-holy constituencies happy?

5. And finally: a good answer to the question "Have Cyril and Methodius arrived at the American analog of Prince Rastislav's court?" If not, how far have they gotten?

I can answer, confidently, the first of the two questions with a big fat No. But I'd like to ponder, with you, the second and more important of the two.

Comments

[Peopleofinheritance.wordpress.com]

Like the topics. Surprised to see #1 seems exclusively negative and not looking for the positive....but that may be just my way of reading this. Forgive me. I suppose given the reference that you mean to discuss group conversion dynamics rather than the onesies, twosies more common to our parishes... the sort I see also have some of the negatives you list, but seem to not be 100% negative... I mean there are positives or my parish wouldn't exist.

Number 2 I understand... I think we're dealing with that. As a former Anglican... the faux Englishness began to wear thin on me there... so I think some of this is more of an American issue than necessarily Orthodox only. We can learn from everywhere. Number 4... this must be something very specific in your mind, but I missed it until the end... but I doubt we have only one audience and the luxury of one "it" that we should do. For me, patience is the "it" I would do perhaps... as the counter for an impatient but well-meaning people... still basically good by the way but often misled, though we forget and slip into harshness.

As to # 5, I wonder that we tend to look for the sort of "commissioned moments" in our American Orthodoxy that would match the storied moments of Church or European history... when what I tend to see in American history is much more of a spontaneous, anonymous little guy here and there doing the ground work that only later is lifted to recognition. But that may be my misread. If accurate, it may paint a challenge for a hierarchical church worth considering.

BTW, "spontaniety" might actually be facilitated more by our jurisdictional mess than some suppose. Thus ROCOR's recent toss of the gauntlet - to use a phrase that may overstate things for some, understate them for others) may have some very constructive American "chaos" to it... and oddly, I think of that in a good way ;) ...it's like wanting build a federalism after the laboratory of the states had seen the working of George Washington's Army in your nearby environs... and couldn't conceive of cooperation before or during that time.

Just saying.

[Fr. Jonathan Tobias]

Thankyou Mauricecyril: I have Ms Slagle's book. I think in it, the author supports her proposition fairly well. I have not yet read the volume of Frs Herbel and Elias, so I mean to.

[Mauricecyril]

Father Bless. There are two fascinating studies that have been published which resonate with the first two items on your list for the new year. First one is Amy Slagle's "The Eastern Church in the Spiritual Marketplace" http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00631SA2A/ and the second is D. Oliver Herbel's "Turning to Tradition:Converts and the Making of an American Orthodox Church" http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G6INH0K

There is also Fr Elias' book "Singing in a strange land" which discusses pluralism in America and the impact of ethnic culture in Orthodox Parishes http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1935317067/