Hey everyone!

The Business world has its management and quality gurus. Sports has its Hall of Fames. Hollywood has its Avenue of Stars.

I was wondering if the Eastern Church (Orthodox and Catholic) had its Hall of Fame (not necessarily saints) who would you vote for?

The person (or persons) can be anyone who has given great witness to the Gospel thru his/her (or their) practice and teachings on Eastern Christian Traditions (not necessarily Byzantine). These people should be LIVING or were living during and/or after the Vatican II Council when the Decree on Eastern Churches was made.

Send in those names and state why you hold him or her (or them) in such high esteem.


Elias


[This message has been edited by Elias (edited 03-09-2000).]

Christ is among us!

Not to appear prejudiced toward my own Melkite Church, but I would have to nominate Patriarch Maximos IV Saigh for his clear voice at Vatican II that led to the recognition of the Eastern Catholic Churches as equals with the Latin Church. Much of the restoration of our Eastern traditions stem from his many interventions at Vatican II. The Latins also have much to thank him for as his voice was one of the leading voices in permitting the Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular.

Fr. Deacon Edward

Without a doubt, Andy Warhol!

Kurt,

Campbell Soup tonight?

Elias

Don't know how active he is in the Byzantine Church these days, but Robert Urich was born Byzantine. (BTW: My cousin and he were in the same high school class in Toronto, OHIO.) Also, for you old-timers, I understand Sandra Dee was/is Byzantine.

To everyone,

Though Sandra Dee was a beautiful woman, I would like to know how she gave great witness to the Gospel thru her practice and teachings on Eastern Christian Traditions? Maybe she was a good practicing Christian and wrote some good theology books on the side? The same goes for Robert Urich - even though we don't know anything certain about his lasting impact on Eastern Christianity or theology. We can include former Brown's quarterback Bernie Kosar, but like most kids who leave home he left the Eastern Church. We can't guess. We need to know something about the person.

This is not a search for 'celebrities' but a request to list those who aided in restoring or promoting the Eastern Churches in the shadows of Vatican II. Maybe I should have been more clear.

Elias


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Elias >>>
Sorry, I didn't read your original post as closely as I should have. You do raise a good challenge.

But in light of your question and my response, maybe in looking for spiritual hall-of-famers, we also in some way touch on why popular culture celebrities do not--at least on the surface--"promote" their Byzantine spirituality.

However, we must also keep in mind that we really don't know what type of spiritual life these folks lead; nor should we judge them. They may be contributing time, money, and/or talents that are not publicized, either because they want to keep it a secret or the popular media doesn't think it's worth a story.

I understand and appreciate what you have in mind with your post. And I think it's worth pursuing. I would, however, want to acknowledge a number of average individuals and families who use up a good part of their Sunday to make that one or two hour drive each way to church as well as all those involved in founding missions and churches in parts of this country that have few Roman Catholic communities, let alone Byzantine ones.

By the way, I heard, but don't know for sure, that Mike Ditka was a cradle-born Byzantine. There was also a rumor that the current governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, was also.

Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J.

He spent 20 years imprisoned in solitary and in gulags in Siberia. He ministered to both Catholics and Orthodox alike.

Rich,

Aaaaaahhh, forget it!


There are no real leaders in the Eastern Christian Rennaisance. No one to quote. No one to look up to except cradle-Byzantines who went Latin. We simply rely on fate. Our opinions are not shaped by people at all. We learn through osmosis. It's all a mystery.

It is funny how our interest in pop cultural celebrities (music, movies, and sports) are the only thing which calls our attention to Eastern Christianity. Yet those mentioning such people DON'T know for themselves what their spiritual lives were/are. Is this a sign that we are conditioned by mere pop culture and not ideas? Is Patriarch Maximos all there is? We have nothing to say about those who took a Latinized church and turned it around? No names?

Yet many on this board can rattle on and on about Byzantine traditions and things of that nature. I don't know anything about the readers on this board except for their simple and sometimes profound words. If we should take into account the person's personal contributions and spiritual life which cannot be measured by our standards, then what is the purpose of dialogue on this message board?


Elias

Please allow me to humbly suggest Archbishop Joseph Tawil of blessed memory. The powerful example of his life and his teaching in the document "The Courage to be Ourselves" has had a deep impact on the Melkite Church.

Might I suggest Father Ivan Voljanskyj, pioneer Byzantine Catholic priest in North America, for this "hall of fame."

His aggressive missionary zeal to serve his people led directly to the establishment of no less than 10 parishes and by extension, many more; his flock (whom he visited on many occasions in many different locales) stretched from upstate New York through all of eastern Pennsylvania & New Jersey, as far west as Minneapolis. All the parishes he established are still in existence (in various Byzantine Christian jurisdictions) and are, for the most part, thriving witnesses of Byzantine Christianity since it was first planted here some 110-120 years ago.

Some notable Orthodox from this country would be St. John of San Francisco (ROCOR) and Fr. Seraphim Rose (ROCOR). Before the time frame you mentioned there would be Alexis Toth who stood up for the Eastern tradition and was persecuted by RC bishops.

Vladyka Andrei Katkov (Katkoff), M.I.C.
The most recent (and hopefully, not the last) Russian Catholic Hierarch. He was born in Irkutsk, Russia and became a Marian of the Immaculate Conception. He was chosen Bishop for the Russian Catholics by Pope John XXIII.
He served the Russian Catholic Church with distinction and suffered greatly from both Communists and Latins. He founded the Russian Catholic Community in Australia and was a staunch defender of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Russian Catholic Chapel of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal uses an antimension which Vladyka consecrated. He reposed in (I believe) 1966 and is awaiting his resurrection in the cemetery of the Marian Fathers in Rome.

And what would be the persecution he suffered under the "Latins" similiar to under the Communists?

For now, I'm sticking with Andy Warhol.

[This message has been edited by Kurt (edited 03-12-2000).]

Glory to Jesus Christ ! This is a great idea, Elias. Like Silouan, please remember the very small Russian Byzantine Catholic Church. I second Moronikus' nomination of Walter Ciszek, SJ, priest confessor. I recommend another Jesuit who served the Russian mission, the Italian, Pietro Leoni, SJ priest confessor. Trained at the Russicum, he entered Russia during the Nazi invasion and ministered to the persecuted Russian and Ukrainian Christians. Captured by the Soviets in 1945, he continued his missionary work in Soviet prisons and gulags. Released in 1955, he later served the diaspora Russian Catholics as pastor of the Russian Catholic parish in Montreal until his death July 26, 1995. He led his parish in unending prayer for the conversion of Russia. Another Jesuit of the Russian Apostlate was the Czech, Fr. Karl Patzelt. A medic during WWII, he became a POW in the Soviet Union. Released on Dec.8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, he went on to study at the Russicum. After his ordination he served the Russian Catholics of the U.S. later becoming pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Byzantine Catholic Russian parish in San Francisco. A model of Orthodoxy in communion with Rome, he led his parish in untiring prayer for the conversion of Russia. Devoted to the Theotokos, he developed a great reputation for holiness. He was chosen to serve as the Archdiocesan exorcist. He reposed in May of 1988. These Three priests are also important because none of them were born Byzantines. They are good examples of the way Orthopraxis can sanctify.

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