A friendly forum member nicely e-mailed me yesterday asking why I joined specifically
Russian Orthodoxy. As a forum co-moderator recently threw this in my face, and never has manfully answered my challenge to same, here is the gist of my answer.
First I would like to say I fully realize that an exclusive Russianness is no substitute for real Catholicity (universality), no more than exclusive Byzantineness nor exclusive Romanness or Roman-centeredness are.
In my life offline it invariably has been
non-Byzantine people, never Byzantines themselves, who have told people like me, "You don't belong there — you're not _____'. Nasty remarks like "gr�cophile transritualist' and "post-Irish RC turned “Russian”' coming from putative Byzantines is entirely new to me. (Not being Irish myself, I can only imagine a "postmodern' St Patrick's Day party would have some cool multicultural fusion-type bands and dance music. Rock the house, boyo.)
The Russian version 'grabbed' me while Greek or Arabic (comparably large traditions) did not because:
1. Russians are northern Europeans so culturally that version seems closer to what I was used to than Greek or Arabic (both of which seem more exclusively ethnic and I had been told such about the Greeks — more about the Arabs below). Like Bishop Kallistos writes about that music: it is immediately appealing to Western ears.
It's a vast culture one can adopt and immerse oneself in — as I like to say, I am on longtime-acquaintance terms with the language — yet at the same time non-ethnic members seem more welcome to join here than perhaps the other two traditions. Like being adopted by a big family. Please pass me the голубцы (stuffed cabbage).
2. Yet at the same time, juxtaposed with American culture it can be very appealingly countercultural/alterna-cultural, unlike the Americanized, liberalized Greek-American culture that often votes pro-abortion, etc. (Dukakis, Tsongas, Snowe, Sarbanes, the unelected Stephanopoulos — "vote for me, I'm Greek!' Uh, no.)
Both accessible and challenging at the same time!
Why didn't you pick from Greek Orthodoxy or Ukrainian Orthodoxy?See my answer above regarding Greek Orthodoxy
in practice (not to be confused with Greek Orthodoxy as such). I am not sure why I didn't seek out specifically Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Perhaps the vastness of the Russian people and Church spoke to me in a way similar to the comprehensiveness of Roman Catholicism. Or, putting it another way, the Russian jurisdictions seemed less
exclusively ethnic/nationalistic, less closed to those born outside?
I first experienced Byzantine worship thanks to Ukrainian Catholics.
Early on, and I'm talking about 19 years ago, I assumed from my experiences with Ukrainian Catholics that most Ukrainians were this and not Orthodox, which I now know isn't the case. Here in America, it seems both Ukrainian Catholics and Russian Orthodox are more prominent than exclusively Ukrainian-identified Orthodox churches.
I also was unaware at first that there is an Arabic Orthodox tradition, let alone that one part of it, the Antiochians, have been bending over backwards in recent years to extend themselves beyond their traditional ethnic borders. Sorry, Metropolitan Philip (a very kind man, I understand) — the Russians beat you to me.
I have read your site and I haven't pieced it quite together. If Russian Orthodoxy has its roots in Kyiv, why not go to a Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Because I see the three countries of Rus' - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - as essentially one (like Solzhenitsyn does), I never have seen my affiliation as a 'diss' of Kiev/Kyiv. As my friend put it, Russian Orthodoxy has its roots there.
Ukrainian Orthodoxy as such is really a modern thing, a late flower dating only from the 20th century. Kievan/Kyivan Orthodoxy, as in medieval times, was before there was any Russian vs. Ukrainian national rivalry.
I have never met a convert to Ukrainian Orthodoxy except for Ukr. Catholics. That may be owing to a nationalistic character found in both Churches.
On a side note I enjoy your site and reading your posts on the Byzcath site. Thanks!
Thanks for your time and service to the Church.You're welcome!
http://oldworldrus.com [ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: Serge ]
