Sunday of the Samaritan woman (5th Sunday of Pascha): "Close to God is he who in his daily life becomes the light of Christ who enlightens his neighbours..."

 

 

Icon from here

...When Nero, the emperor of Rome, began to persecute Christians, Photini and her son Joseph were in Carthage, in Africa, where she was preaching the Christian gospel. After Jesus appeared to Photini in a dream, she sailed to Rome. Her son and many Christians from Africa accompanied her. Photini's arrival and activity aroused curiosity in the capital city. Everyone talked about her, "Who is this woman?" they asked. "She came here with a crowd of followers and she preaches Christ with great boldness."

"Christians can talk about xenophobia, preach and teach about it, and remind people that xenophobia is a sin that needs to be confessed. For Orthodox Christians a good opportunity to do this will be on the 5th Sunday of Pascha, which is the Sunday of the Samaritan woman."

Click here please!...

 

Η Επισκοπή Γκόμα προσεύχεται για το ηφαίστειο στο Κονγκό - Έκκληση για βοήθεια

Φίλοι Ιεραποστολής Μπουκόμπα Τανζανίας

ΣΤΟΝ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟ ΑΜΠΕΛΩΝΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΦΡΙΚΗΣ
 

Από ηφαίστειο κινδυνεύει η περιοχή της Ιεράς Επισκοπής Γκόμα του Πατριαρχείου Αλεξανδρείας, καθώς από το Σάββατο (22 Μαΐου 2021) έχει αρχίσει τις εκρήξεις. Με επίκαιρη ανάρτηση στα Μέσα Κοινωνικής Δικτύωσης ζητείται η προσευχή των πιστών, καθώς μετά τα χρόνια του εμφυλίου πολέμου η φυσική καταστροφή της περιοχής από το ηφαίστειο θα προκαλέσει μεγαλύτερα προβλήματα.
Χαρακτηριστικά αναφέρεται στην ανάρτηση:

«Η περιοχή της ιεράς μας Επισκοπής Γκόμα περνά δύσκολα με το φαινόμενο της φύσεως που ζούμε από το Σάββατο. Ηφαίστειο στη Γκόμα άνοιξε τις θύρες. Να εύχεστε για μας. Ήταν το μόνο που μας έλειπε μετά από τόσα χρόνια εμφυλίου πολέμου. Χριστός Ανέστη, αδελφοί εν Χριστώ».

Η Ιερά Επισκοπή Γκόμα στη Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία του Κονγκό ιδρύθηκε τη Δευτέρα 26 Nοεμβρίου 2018 από την Ιερά Σύνοδο του Πατριαρχείου Αλεξανδρείας και Πάσης Αφρικής. Η Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία του Κονγκό, χώρα με έκταση 2345000 τετραγ. χιλ., βρίσκεται στον κέντρο της Αφρικής και έχει Τρεις Μητροπόλεις: Κινσάσα με το Σεβ. Νικηφόρο, Κατάνγκα με το Σεβ. Μελέτιο και Κανάνγκα με το Σεβ. Θεοδόσιο, και δύο Επισκοπές: Γκόμα με πατριαρχικό επίτροπο τον αρχιμανδρίτη π. Χαρίτονα (φωτο) και Επισκοπή Κισανγκάνι.

 

Έκκληση για βοήθεια στην Ι.Επισκοπή Γκόμα του Κονγκό (Σάββατο 29 Μαΐου 2021)

Αγαπητοί εν Χριστώ αδελφοί Χριστός Ανέστη.

Από το Σάββατο που μας πέρασε, η περιοχή μας περνά δύσκολα με την έκρηξη του ηφαιστείου που έγινε. Ο κόσμος δεν ξέρει τι να κάνει . Τρέχει δεξιά και αριστερά για να βρει καταφύγιο. Η λάβα του ηφαιστείου έχει διαπεράσει το έδαφος προκαλώντας σεισμούς μέχρι 8 Ρίχτερ. Καταγράφονται πάνω από 100 την ημέρα. Κοιμόμαστε έξω, χειρότερα από περίοδο πολέμου είναι η κατάσταση εδώ. 

Θέλουμε τη βοήθειά σας. Η Ιερά μας Επισκοπή που είναι νέα εκκλησιαστική οντότητα, δε μπορεί. Πρώτον η ίδια η επισκοπή δεν έχει οικοδομές, μακάρι να είχαμε. Το σπίτι που ενοικιάζουμε, όπου μένει ο πατήρ μας Χαρίτων, πατριαρχικός επίτροπος της ιεράς Επισκοπής έχει γίνει τόπος φιλοξενίας για τους πιστούς της περιοχής. Πώς να το καταφέρει εφόσον δεν έχει έσοδα, παλεύει για να επιβιώσει ο ίδιος... 

Ζητάμε την αγάπη σας για να μπορέσουμε ως άνθρωποι και ως εκκλησία να προσφέρουμε έστω κι ένα ποτήρι νερό... Ζητάμε ταπεινά συγγνώμη για την ενόχληση αλλά οι καταστάσεις είναι τραγικές από το Σάββατο έως σήμερα.

Όποιος μπορεί να βοηθήσει, εφόσον δεν κυκλοφορεί ούτε πλοίο,ούτε αεροπλάνο, ας μας βοηθήσει στους λογαριασμούς

Εθνική τράπεζα της Ελλάδος

Λογαριασμός 13900151484

ΙΒΑΝ GR7301101390000013900151484

ILUNGA MUSUNGAYI CHARITON

Η

EQUITY BANK CONGO

00018000031200000029302.

Σας ευχαριστούμε πολύ"

Éruption du volcan à Goma en RD Congo (frontières avec le Rwanda / Ouganda) // Volcano eruption in Goma of DR Congo (borders with Rwanda/Uganda) // Mlipuko wa volkano huko Goma ya DR Congo (inapakana na Rwanda / Uganda)
 

Η σελίδα της επισκοπής Γκόμα, με φωτο & βίντεο από το ηφαίστειο

 

 

Saint John the Russian and Confessor, whose relics are on the island of Euboia, Greece (May 27)

 

ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA (icon from here)

The Holy Confessor John the Russian was born in Little Russia around 1690, and was raised in piety and love for the Church of God. Upon attaining the age of maturity he was called to military service, and he served as a simple soldier in the army of Peter I and took part in the Russo-Turkish War. During the Prutsk Campaign of 1711 he and other soldiers were captured by the Tatars, who handed him over to the commander of the Turkish cavalry. He took his Russian captive home with him to Asia Minor, to the village of Prokopion.

The Turks tried to convert the Christian soldiers to the Moslem faith with threats and flattery, but those who resisted were beaten and tortured. Some, alas, denied Christ and became Moslems, hoping to improve their lot. Saint John was not swayed by the promise of earthly delights, and he bravely endured the humiliation and beatings.

His master tortured him often in the hope that his slave would accept Islam. Saint John resolutely resisted the will of his master saying, “You cannot turn me from my holy Faith by threats, nor with promises of riches and pleasures. I will obey your orders willingly, if you will leave me free to follow my religion. I would rather surrender my head to you than to change my faith. I was born a Christian, and I shall die a Christian.”

Saint John’s bold words and firm faith, as well as his humility and meekness, finally softened the fierce heart of his master. He left John in peace, and no longer tried to make him renounce Christianity. The saint lived in the stable and took care of his master’s animals, rejoicing because his bed was a manger such as the one in which the Savior was born.

From morning until late evening the saint served his Turkish master, fulfilling all his commands. He performed his duties in the winter cold and summer heat, half naked and barefoot. Other slaves frequently mocked him, seeing his zeal. Saint John never became angry with them, but on the contrary, he helped them when he could, and comforted them in their misfortune.

The saint’s kindness and gentle nature had its effect on the souls of both the master and the slaves. The Agha and his wife came to love him, and offered him a small room near the hayloft. Saint John did not accept it, preferring to remain in the stable with the animals. Here he slept on the hay, covered only by an old coat. So the stable became his hermitage, where he prayed and chanted Psalms.

Saint John brought a blessing to his master simply by living in his household. The cavalry officer became rich, and was soon one of the most powerful men in Prokopion. He knew very well why his home had been blessed, and he did not hesitate to tell others.

Sometimes Saint John left the stable at night and went to the church of the Great Martyr George, where he kept vigil in the narthex. On Saturdays and Feast days, he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

During this time Saint John continued to serve his master as before, and despite his own poverty, he always helped the needy and the sick, and shared his meager food with them.

One day, the officer left Prokopion and went to Mecca on pilgrimage. A few days later, his wife gave a banquet and invited her husband’s friends and relatives, asking them to pray for her husband’s safe return. Saint John served at the table, and he put down a dish of pilaf, his master’s favorite food. The hostess said, “How much pleasure your master would have if he could be here to eat this pilaf with us.” Saint John asked for a dish of pilaf, saying that he would send it to his master in Mecca. The guests laughed when they heard his words. The mistress, however, ordered the cook to give him a dish of pilaf, thinking he would eat it himself, or give it to some poor family.

 

The Orthodox Metropolitan Ieronymos of Mwanza (Tanzania) on the feast of st John the Russian in Tinos island, Greece, 2014 (more here)

 

Taking the dish, Saint John went into the stable and prayed that God would send it to his master. He had no doubt that God would send the pilaf to his master in a supernatual manner. The plate disappeared before his eyes, and he went into the house to tell his mistress that he had sent the pilaf to his master.

After some time, the master returned home with the copper plate which had held the pilaf. He told his household that on a certain day (the very day of the banquet), he returned from the mosque to the home where he was staying. Although the room was locked, he found a plate of steaming pilaf on the table. Unable to explain who had brought the food, or how anyone could enter the locked room, the officer examined the plate. To his amazement, he saw his own name engraved on the copper plate. In spite of his confusion, he ate the meal with great relish.

When the officer’s family heard this story, they marveled. His wife told him of how John had asked for a plate of pilaf to send to his master in Mecca, and how they all laughed when John came back and said that it had been sent. Now they saw that what the saint had said was true (Compare the story of Habakkuk, who miraculously brought a dish of pottage to Daniel in the lions’ den [Dan. 14:33-39], in the Septuagint).

Toward the end of his difficult life Saint John fell ill, and sensed the nearness of his end. He summoned the priest so that he could receive Holy Communion. The priest, fearing to go to the residence of the Turkish commander openly with the Holy Gifts, enclosed the life-giving Mysteries in an apple and brought them to Saint John.

Saint John glorified the Lord, received the Body and Blood of Christ, and then reposed. The holy Confessor John the Russian went to the Lord Whom he loved on May 27, 1730. When they reported to the master that his servant John had died, he summoned the priests and gave them the body of Saint John for Christian burial. Almost all the Christian inhabitants of Prokopion came to the funeral, and they accompanied the body of the saint to the Christian cemetery.

Three and a half years later the priest was miraculously informed in a dream that the relics of Saint John had remained incorrupt. Soon the relics of the saint were transferred to the church of the holy Great Martyr George and placed in a special reliquary. The new saint of God began to be glorified by countless miracles of grace, accounts of which spread to the remote cities and villages. Christian believers from various places came to Prokopion to venerate the holy relics of Saint John the Russian and they received healing through his prayers. The new saint came to be venerated not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Armenians, and even Turks, who prayed to the Russian saint, “Servant of God, in your mercy, do not disdain us.”

In the year 1881 a portion of the relics of Saint John were transferred to the Russian monastery of the holy Great Martyr Panteleimon by the monks of Mount Athos, after they were miraculously saved by the saint during a dangerous journey.

Construction of a new church was begun in 1886, through the contributions of the monastery and the inhabitants of Prokopion. This was necessary because the church of the holy Great Martyr George, where the relics of Saint John were enshrined, had fallen into disrepair.

On August 15, 1898 the new church dedicated to Saint John the Russian was consecrated by the Metropolitan John of Caesarea, with the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine V.

In 1924, an exchange of the populations of Greece and Turkey took place. Many Moslems moved out of Greece, and many Christians moved out of Turkey. The inhabitants of Prokopion, when they moved to the island of Euboia [or Euboea], took with them part of the relics of Saint John the Russian.

For several decades the relics were in the church of Saints Constantine and Helen at New Prokopion on Euboia, and in 1951 they were transferred into a new church dedicated to Saint John the Russian. Thousands of pilgrims flocked here from all the corners of Greece, particularly on his Feast, May 27. Saint John the Russian is widely venerated on Mount Athos, particularly in the Russian monastery of Saint Panteleimon.

Saint John’s help is sought by travelers, and by those transporting things. 

Saint John the Russian and Confessor commemorated on May 27.

 

The Healing of the Unbelieving Physician suffering from cancer (icon from here)

 

THE MIRACLES OF SAINT JOHN THE RUSSIAN

From here

Saint John Chrysostom in his interpretation of Matthew 8:4.in which Christ says to the leper he has just cured “see thou tell no man, but go thy way…”, writes that in the Gospels, for reasons of modesty and to avoid praise, Christ twelve times commands those who had been miraculously cured or who were present at such a cure not to tell anyone of the miracle or of what they had seen

On other occasions, such as in Luke 8:39, our Lord tells the man from whom he had cast out the devils, and who had asked Christ if he could stay with Him, to return to his home and show what great things God hath done unto thee”.

Until His resurrection, the most usual behaviour of Christ was to keep certain miracles and great events hidden, as was the case with his spiritual teachings, for he spoke in parables. In the words of Saint John Chrysostom: “the more that is said, the more difficult it is to accept.”

Many people who have been miraculously cured, and whose full details are kept in the church archives, do not want their addresses made public in books or on the Internet. Wherever they may live or work, be it in the city or a village, they wish to avoid discussion and investigation of these things – the how, the when and the why – whether such interest is well-meaning or not.

We also know that hermits and ascetics from Mount Athos and other monastic centres who witness many miraculous events and who participate in heavenly spiritual experiences, because of their great humility and modesty usually say nothing of these things to anybody except those in their close circle of spiritual confidants. It is with these things in mind that my personal decision was to leave the publication of these people’s addresses for a later time, if it should be needed.

During the some thirty years I have served in the church of Saint John, the miracles that have taken place amount to many hundreds. I have personal knowledge of them and the spiritual responsibility of their witness is mine.

Let us take joy from the simplicity and also the grandeur of these rare and wondrous events.

Acromegaly

The doctors were categorical: “Your child”, they explained to the parents, “was born with this rare disease and indeed in its worst form. He is very weak and whatever treatment we might prescribe for him in order to prepare him for the complicated operations necessary, he will not have the strength to cope with it. The only thing to be done is to wait for the uncertain progress of his health.”

The head doctor responsible for this case was the famous specialist Mr Choremis.

The child’s mother refused to accept what the doctors told her.

She persuaded her husband to sell all they had and to go to Paris, to a large children’s medical institute. There they received exactly the same advice from the French doctors and were told that they should not involve themselves anymore in so much trouble and expense.

The doctors say one thing, but the child’s mother thinks and says another, for as a mother created by God she is, with Him, a co creator and helper in His work. A mother truly suffers and offers all for her children who are her very being, and cries out in her heart: “Save my child.”

The child then developed a very high fever. Fearing for its life, its mother seized it in her arms like a she-wolf and ran to find a way out of the hospital. Out in the street, she knocked on doors left and right.

People looked at her strangely. She then found a taxi and asked to be taken to Vichy , a well-known spa town in central France. At Vichy is a Russian Orthodox Monastery dedicated to the Mother of God which she had known about from a previous visit she had made while studying in France. She entered the monastery and went straight to the icon of the virgin Mary.

“All-holy Mother”, she said, “my courage is exhausted. If my child is to die, let him die before your icon. I implore you. You are also a mother and you saw your precious son hanging from the cross and blood spilling all around Him. You were able to bear that I cannot. See what I have brought into this world.”

In the monastery church was a Russian whose name was Sergius Ivanovitch, who knew a little Greek from working in Athens at one time. He heard the mother’s words, approached her, and in his limited Greek said: “You in Greece have a fellow countryman of ours who is a saint, Saint John the Russian. He is a great miracle worker.

For years I have carried his icon with me and have often asked for his help. I will make the sign of the cross over you and your child with the icon and God be with you.”

When the icon touched the child’s forehead he writhed like a fish and broke out into a cold sweat. The mother bent to put her lips to the child’s forehead, not to kiss him but to see whether he still had the raging fever. The skin was cool. An all night vigil was held in the monastery church and prayers were offered for the child.

In the morning the mother returned to the hospital to secure the child’s admission.

Three months later, without any operation having being carried out, it was ascertained that the child’s bones were growing normally and that his deformed arms and legs were being brought back into balance.

“An exceptional scientific event”, said the French doctors.

“An exceptional event of faith and of the saints”, says the child’s mother who now delights in her son who, full of life, walks to and from his school.

12th November 1974

A Hundred Kilometre Walk

In the town of Istiaia, in northern Euboea, a baby is born with its legs bent backwards and joined to its shoulders. For three and a half years doctors strived to correct this tragic deformity and after repeated operations they managed to detach the child’s legs from its shoulders and bring them back to their right position.

“We have done whatever it is possible to do for your son”, the doctors told his parents, “but he is never going to be able to walk because there are virtually no nerves in his legs. Go, and God be with you.”

Back in their house, the father, looking at his paralytic child laying in bed, remembered Saint John and called out to him with unbearable pain: “My Saint John, how will I be able to bear seeing this unfortunate boy bed-ridden for the rest of my life? How can I cope with such a burden? You have cured so many people all over the world, make this poor child able to stand on his feet, make him walk. I will walk barefoot to your shrine on your feast day. I have nothing else to offer you as a gift, except a baby lamb which is in my garden; this I will bring to you.”

And so the father and mother set out walking barefooted, taking it in turns to carry the child and the lamb. For two and a half days they walked through the forests and precipitous gorges of northern Euboea, from Istiaia to Prokopi, with only the inner hope that Saint John would listen to their grief and give them what they desired.

In the Saint’s church they prayed fervently before the holy relic.

Even the lamb, which had been tied to the shrine, began to bleat as if it understood its masters’ grief. The priest was chanting, the mother and father were weeping, the child, who had been laid at the marble base of the shrine, looked round mutely, the votive lamb was bleating: all was as a hymn, an unbearable grief, one of the uncountable tragedies that are lived by our fellow men and which so often we are unaware of.

That night the parents did not want to sleep either in the church’s guest house or in a hotel but they unfolded a blanket before the locked door of the church on which they lay down to sleep.

It is after midnight. The father wakes up his paralytic son. His wife wakes too and says to him: “Anastasi, what time is it? Why have you woken up the child? What do you want of him?”

“Wake up, wife, Saint John has worked his miracle.” He then says to the child: “Get up my son, come on, bring me a little water to drink.” Nearby there was a jug of water, but it is not water that the father is thirsty for, he is thirsty to see the miracle. The boy stands up and makes the first steps of his life.

The parents begin to cry out in the middle of the night. The whole village and all the visiting pilgrims wake up and participate in the miraculous event of God’s energy working through his Saint.

Since then, every year at about the same time in the autumn, a sturdy fellow with a lively lamb in his arms, brings this votive symbol of his life as an offering to the Saint. He embraces and kisses the reliquary in which the Saint’s holy body lies, then returns home to continue life’s daily struggle.

19th September 1976

A Shipwreck Averted

A loaded merchant ship sailing in the North Sea on its way to a port in the Netherlands suddenly encountered a terribly heavy sea. It seemed that the ship would be sunk at any moment by the enormous waves and that its crew of Greek sailors were facing the last moments of their lives. The ship’s steering gear and radar had ceased working and there was no way of knowing where the ship was being driven. Amid the roaring of the storm the voice of the captain could be heard. He was not giving orders, for they were not needed.

Experienced sailor that he was, he was telling his crew the truth: “We are going down. Pray to God for our salvation.”

He himself went to the ship’s icon shrine where there was an icon of Saint John the Russian. Aware of what was about to happen, he knelt and prayed: “My Saint John, I am not asking you to save me or this valuable ship, but I am praying for these poor sailors who travel in foreign places and who eat the bread of exile kneaded with the salt of the sea so that they can support their families, and who tonight will be lost. Saint John, I want you to save them.

All night, while the sea boomed and the freezing north wind howled, the captain beseeched Saint John continually in his heart.

The dreadful night passed. Dawn came. And what did the sailors see? Their ship was moored and safe in the port of Rotterdam.

Who was the “great captain” who had guided the ship through the storm and brought them there? It was Saint John the Russian.

Nobody could persuade Captain Dimitris Varoutsikas, who over the years had seen many things on the high seas, otherwise. Stunned by this miracle he telephoned the shipping company to say that he was laying up the ship for repairs and coming to Greece.

In his own way he wanted to express a spontaneous “thank you”

to Saint John. Once in Greece he took his wife to a big shop where ecclesiastical items are sold and bought a ciborium, a book of the Holy Gospels, a chalice, liturgical fans, a cross for blessing, and oil-lamps, all made of gold, enamel and silver – gifts for Saint John the Russian. These valuable treasures now upon the Holy Altar remind us of the miracle of faith and of prayer and of the salvation of those anguished and distraught sailors.

23rd January 1978

A Walking Stick

As you enter the church of Saint John the Russian you will see hanging before the shrine of the Saint, like a spoil of victory, a simple and poor gift: a walking stick. It belongs to Maria Siaka, an old lady from the village of Frenaro near Ammohostos in Cyprus.

For eighteen years she had been a hunchback and bent so double that her face was but a short distance from the ground. On 11th August 1978 relatives of the old lady, together with some hundred Cypriots, brought her to the church of Saint John. They lifted her up to enable her to reverence the Saint’s holy and uncorrupted body. Looking at the blessed relic the old lady wept and beseeched Saint John to grant her a little divine help for the remainder of her life. Saint John saw the grandeur of her soul, her grief and also her deep faith. At that moment, before the eyes of everyone there, it seemed that an invisible arm seized her shoulders with tremendous power and slowly began to unfold her body. Her spine creaked and returned to its original form; the old lady stood upright.

Her fellow villagers wept, the bells of the church rang, prayers of thanksgiving were offered by all the Cypriots who could not hold back their tears. Anyone who has had the fortune to be present when a miracle occurs can understand these lines.

Finally, the voice of the old lady was heard: “What can I give you my young man, my Saint? I am poor I will give you my walking stick which I will not be needing for the rest of my life.

The daily papers of Nicosia reported: “Maria Siaka, after her pilgrimage to the church of Saint John the Russian in Greece, can now, after nearly twenty years of being bent double and seeing only the ground, see the faces of her fellow villagers. Thanks to the miracle of the Saint she is restored and completely well.”

11th August 1978

A Little Boy’s Tragedy

In a small, low-roofed house, in a narrow street that leads to the beautiful church of Pantanassa in the town of Patras, a family is living through a tragedy. On being given her new born baby by the midwife after awakening from the anaesthetic, its mother saw that the infant’s tongue was protruding from its mouth. She felt something horrible inside her. The baby tried to suckle its mother’s breast but it was unable to do so because its tongue was too long and was hanging three to four centimetres out of its mouth. A tragedy had begun

At home the mother confined herself in her house with the child.

She went up and down to Athens hoping the doctors would be able to find a cure, but the child’s tongue grew even longer and hung down to its chin and saliva ran continually from its mouth. “Oh my God”, begged the mother, “tell me what to do.”

The doctors recommended that the child’s tongue should be cut.

However, this would mean the little boy would never be able to speak. His parents did not agree to this, and so they sold whatever they could so as to be able to take the child abroad for medical advice. They took the baby to a special clinic in Stockholm in Sweden, but there the findings of the doctors were the same as those of the Greek doctors: the child’s tongue must be cut. Both parents said: “No.”

They telephoned their relatives in Patras to say they were returning home, their grief did not allow them to say anything more.

Back at home their family – parents, brothers and sisters – welcomed them with restrained eagerness but the child’s unchanged appearance, the weak morale of its parents after their long, tiring and unsuccessful journey, cast them all into a state of depression.

They greeted them tearfully. What could they say? What consolation could they give them? Suddenly a voice was heard. An enlightened and truly Christian lady of 50 whose life was devoted to the Church and her saints began to speak:

“Listen to me”, she said to the child’s parents. “I believe that God will listen to our prayers”.

She then spoke directly to the mother: “Pledge your child to Saint John the Russian whose body remains entire and uncorrupted and who goes wherever God sends him. Ask him now, fervently, to visit your child. And even though you are tired, let us all go now to the church of Pantanassa to pray.”

The prayers we offer for others, as the French surgeon and biologist Alexis Carrel tells us, are the best prayers and are heard by God.

The old priest at the church chanted the Invocationary Canon to Saint John, then celebrated a short vigil service in the Saint’s honour.

The sad group of relatives then returned home. They entered the house, and switched the light on. The child’s mother gave a cry:

“My Saint John, did you come so quickly to take away our unbearable pain? What do my tired eyes see that for three years have wept such bitter tears?”

Everyone present witnessed the end of the little boy’s tribulations:

his tongue had receded to its right position and he began to talk.

Such events are inexplicable to human reason. For those who deny it is possible to go beyond cold logic and the evidence of the senses, such things are nothing more than fictitious stories. But for people who have faith these things are simple and they can be explained. In the words of Saint Paul: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

16th May 1966

Troparion — Tone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship, / the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs: / all-wise father John, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things. / Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

See the side of the Holy Shrine of St John the Russian

Éruption du volcan à Goma en RD Congo (frontières avec le Rwanda / Ouganda) // Volcano eruption in Goma of DR Congo (borders with Rwanda/Uganda) // Mlipuko wa volkano huko Goma ya DR Congo (inapakana na Rwanda / Uganda)

Orthodox Mission

In the Orthodox Vineyard of Africa

Volcano eruption in Goma of DR Congo ( borders with Rwanda/Uganda ). Please pray for the people of the area, Fr. Chariton and the Orthodox Christians of Goma! 

Éruption du volcan à Goma en RD Congo (frontières avec le Rwanda / Ouganda). S’il vous plaît priez pour les gens de la région, P. Chariton et les chrétiens orthodoxes de Goma! 

See the news : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57215690

Mlipuko wa volkano huko Goma ya DR Congo (inapakana na Rwanda / Uganda). Tafadhali omba watu wa eneo hili, Fr. Chariton na Wakristo wa Orthodox wa Goma! 

Ikirunga kiruka muri Goma ya DR Congo (imbibi n’u Rwanda / Uganda). Nyamuneka sengera abaturage bo muri ako karere, Fr. Chariton n’abakristu ba orotodogisi ba Goma!

 

Fr. Chariton (Saint Eveché de Goma)

 

 

Depth of Culture—Depth of Heart! (African-American Poetry)

 

Nun Katherine Weston - Facebook

A very thoughtful person just blessed me with a volume of African-American Poetry going back 250 years. How large do you imagine such an anthology would be? A few hundred pages? No—there are 242 poets represented here. Maybe 500? No, it’s 1110 pages, including short bios of the poets, indices, etc. And then the editor had to leave out considerable material. So I’m not posting this to say run out and buy the book. Rather just savor what a depth of culture we have, what a chorus of bards have written from the heart of our African-American journey. They are our historians and our griot-figures. They are our healers …

Some speak with a solemn voice, in the cadences of an Anglican hymn. Some favor dialect. Some are unembarrassedly naughty. Jupiter Hammon, the first published African-American poet, was born in 1711; many of the poets are living today.

Some poems are like time capsules; some contemporary and cathartic. Sterling A. Brown wrote four poems about Ma Rainey’s cathartic power: “She jes’ catch hold of us, somekindaway.”

After such a lonely year, it’s good to pick up a book of African-American verse or Spirituals and reconnect with ancestors, new friends, and poets who feel like kin. I can’t help but wonder how my life would have changed had I run across a volume of this depth in middle school—how my feelings about literature would have been transformed. Patricia Smith shared poetry in a 6th grade class:

“You.
You.
You
Angry, jubilant, weeping poets—we are all
saviors, reluctant hosannas in the limelight,
but you knew that, didn’t you? So let us
bless this sixth grade class—40 nappy heads,
40 cracking voices, and all of them
raise their hands when I ask. They have all see
the Reaper, grim in his heavy robe … .”

 

On Victimhood and Gratitude

 

Nun Katherine Weston - Facebook

Icon: Myrrhbearers at the empty tomb by Theophanes of Crete: Stavronikita Monastery.

Our culture has interweaving narratives about victimhood. To start with, our Western Christian heritage bequeaths us a story of Christ-as-Victim. In the West, the theology of substitutionary atonement highlights His victimhood on the Cross as the means of salvation. In the Orthodox Faith, we understand ourselves to be saved by His Cross and His glorious Resurrection through which He conquers death gives us eternal life. But still we speak of Him as the true paschal Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, and so our first victim narrative is part of our collective religious consciousness.

Then with the rise of humanism, signaled by Darwin’s authoring a god-free and scientistic creation story, and signaled by Nietzsche’s proclamation that “God is dead,” something of our shared, public relationship with the divine fell victim to a secular vision of society. When our lives, by contrast, are centered on God, then it is natural to value the virtue of gratitude toward Him and to remember that all we have ultimately comes from Him. The goods we enjoy are gifts and we feel some security in knowing that the Giver loves us and gifts us out of that love.

But when society is dead to God—because obviously God does not die—then what characterizes our narrative about the good things of life that we enjoy or hope to attain? We tell ourselves that these are not bestowed but deserved. And on what grounds do we deserve them? There are four stories to answer that question: First, the Hero Story tells us that we deserve good things as a fruit of our diligence and hard work. Second, the Savant Story which tells us we deserve good things for being more intelligent or having greater knowledge than others. Third, the Elect Story tells us that the good things which we enjoy are but indications that we are God’s elect people. But the fourth story, I think, is the most detrimental to our wellbeing: This is the Victim Story, which says we deserve good things, not in the positive sense wage or right or affirmation, but in the negative sense of compensation. But please understand that in no way do I negate genuine victimhood to circumstance or cruelty and the needs people face afterward. I speak rather of the handy narrative of victimhood that fills the vacuum when society abandons gratitude to God. And this victim story shows up in various spheres.

For example, I knew of a non-canonical Orthodox clergyman decades ago who explained his irregular status through a victim story—his particular missionary gifts, he said, caused other clergy to be jealous of him and to persecute him. This badge of persecution was worn as evidence of his righteousness. Because of our prior familiarity with the Christ-as-Victim theme, we can be particularly vulnerable to the appeal of the victim story to prove, not only the entitlement, but the very innocence of the “victim.” In the right circumstances, claiming victimhood generates social and political capital such that people may even fight over who gets to be the “chief victim.”

And so as a Black person in the Orthodox Church I continue to tell the story of Black people, not as a story of victimhood, but as a story of trauma, heroism, and work to be done. I tell the story of spiritual heroes worthy of emulation who came out of the fiery trial of adversity purified in soul. Some people imagine that the only goal of Black people in telling our story is so-called grievance and victimhood. Or that the only motive must be to compete to be the chief victim. If anyone wants the role of chief victim, let them have it. But as a Black Orthodox Christian I am not telling a story of victimhood—a story that stops at the cross—but a story full of spiritual heroes and inspiration for the path before us—a story that moves from the cross to the resurrection. 

 

შავკანიანთა ხმები მართლმადიდებელ ეკლესიაში

 

მამა მეთიუ ბრაუნი (Fr. Matthew Brown)

Public Orthodoxy 

ГОЛОСА ЧЕРНОКОЖИХ В ХРИСТИАНСКОЙ ЦЕРКВИ

Ελληνικά (& here) | Black Voices in the Orthodox Church

შეერთებულ შტატებში შავკანიანები მართლმადიდებელ მორწმუნეთა მცირე რაოდენობას შეადგენენ. ამერიკულ კულტურაში გაზრდილი ადამიანისთვის მართლმადიდებლურ სარწმუნოებაზე გადასვლა საკმაოდ რთულია. ეს ფაქტი, შვიდი შავკანიანი ადამიანის ამბავს (რომელიც Jacob’s Well-ის ბოლო ნომერში დაიბეჭდა, ნიუ იორკისა და ნიუ ჯერსის OCA ეპარქიის ჟურნალში) უფრო მეტად ემოციურს ხდის. მართლმადიდებლობა მათთვის, ვინც მას გარედან უყურებს, შეიძლება უცხო, რთული და დამაბნეველი ჩანდეს. შესაძლოა აფრო-ამერიკელებს, ამერიკაში მცხოვრებ სხვა ეთნიკურ ჯგუფებთან შედარებით, უკეთესად შეუძლიათ, რომ პროზელიტობის გზას შეუდგნენ, რადგან გამოცდილი აქვთ, თუ რას ნიშნავს ,,უცხოდ ყოფნა.“

ამ თვეში, Jacob’s Well-მა გამოსცა ერთი ნომერი, რომელშიც შვიდი აფრო-ამერიკელის ინტერვიუ დაიბეჭდა. 20 წლის განმავლობაში, შეიძლება ეს აფრო-ამერიკელი მართლმადიდებელი ქრისტიანების შესახებ არსებული პირველი პუბლიკაციაა (ჩვენთვის ცნობილი ბოლო ესე 1998 წელს იყო გამოცემული, სახელწოდებით- Unbroken Circle. Fellowship of St. Moses the Black-ის მიერ). გამოცემა მნიშვნელოვანი იყო, როგორც მასში შესული ინტერვიუების მრავალფეროვნების, ასევე, მათი ისტორიების ერთმთლიანობის თვალსაზრისით. მათში მოთხრობილი იყო სხვადასხვა სქესისა და ასაკის ადამიანთა შესახებ, რომელთაგანაც ზოგი ამერიკელი მონა იყო, ხოლო სხვები კი, აფრიკელი იმიგრატები, ან აფრო-ლათინური წარსულის მქონე პიროვნებები. ისინი საუბრობდნენ ინგლისურად, ესპანურად და ფრანგულად. ზოგიერთი მათგანი იყო კათოლიკე, სხვები კი ორმოცდაათიანული ან შავკანიან ადამიანთა სხვა ტრადიციული ეკლესიების წევრები. მათ ერთმანეთთან საერთო გამოცდილების ძაფები აკავშირებდათ.

ერთი საერთო თემა რასიზმს მიემართებოდა: ზოგიერთი მსუბუქ, ზოგიერთი უფრო შემაწუხებელ ფორმას. მაგალითად მამა სამუელ დეივისი, სიმონ კვირინელის მართლმადიდებლური მისიის ხელმძღვანელი (New Brunswick, New Jersey) ახალგაზრდობისას, თეთრკანიანი მეგობარი გოგონას ყოლის გამო, პოლიციის მიერ მის დაკავებას აღწერს. მართლმადიდებლობაზე ახლადმოქცეული რონალდ როზელიე  გოლფის ტურნირს იხსენებს, რომელშიც ტაიგერ ვუდსი (Tiger Woods)  მონაწილეობდა. როზელიე და მისი კოლეგები გოლფის მოედანზე მუშაობდნენ. ამ ჯგუფის უფროსსა და მის ყველა თანამშრომელს ტურნირზე დასწრების უფლება მისცეს, თავად როზელიეს კი არა (იგი ერთადერთი შავკანიანი იყო მათ შორის). დაცვის თანამშრომელს არ ეჯერა, რომ როზალიეს იქ ყოფნის უფლება ჰქონდა. საბოლოოდ, მისი ერთი თანამშრომელი ამ ,,გაურკვევლობის“ მოგვარებაში ჩაერია. როზალიემ განაცხადა: ,,მე ამას უნდა შევჩვეულიყავი, რადგან ეს ყოველთვის ასე ხდებოდა.“

ახალმოქცეულთათვის სხვა საერთო თემა, მართლმადიდებლობის რასობრივ  კუთვნილებაზე აღმატებულობა გახლდათ. ყველანი, საკუთრი ეთნიკური კუთვნილების მიუხედავად აცხადებდნენ, რომ მართლმადიდებლობა ძალიან შეუყვარდათ. ზოგიერთი იმასაც ამბობდა, რომ მართლმადიდებლობა მათ აფრიკულ წარმომავლობას სხვებზე მეტად შეეფერებოდა. მართლმადიდებლურმა სარწმუნოებამ მათი ეთნიკურობა უფრო მეტად გაამდიდრა, ვიდრე შეასუსტა.

რა თქმა უნდა, ამ გამოცემის იმპულსი ის მღელვარება იყო, რაც ჯორჯ ფლოიდის (George Floyd) სიკვდილს მოჰყვა. მნიშვნელოვანია ვიკითხოთ: როგორ შეუძლია მართლმადიდებელ ეკლესიას რასობრივი შერიგების დიალოგს კონსტრუქციულად  დაეხმაროს? ჩვენი რწმენიდან რა შეგვიძლია ფართო საზოგადოებას  პრობლემის მოგვარებისა და სამართლიანობისათვის შევთავაზოთ? უნდა დავიწყოთ ჩვენი  შავკანიანი მართლმადიდებელი ძმებისა და დების პატივისცემით და მათ ისტორიებზე დაფიქრებით.

სხვისადმი მოსმენა შეიძლება პირველი ნაბიჯია ღმერთის სხვა პიროვნებაში დანახვისათვის. ის, რისი შეთავაზებაც ახლა საზოგდოებისთვის შეგვიძლია, განსხვავებულისა და უცხოს დანახვისა და მოსმენის შესაძლებლობაა. როდესაც სხვა გისმენს და გხედავს, ნიშნავს,რომ შენში საღვთო ხატებას ცნობს.

ბევრი რამ არსებობს ამერიკაში მცხოვრები შავკანიანების ცხოვრების შესახებ ისეთი, რაც ამ რეალობის გარეთ მყოფისათვის უცხოა. რთულია რასობრივ საკითხებზე საუბარი, მაგრამ ჩვენი ასკეტიკური ტრადიცია გვავალდებულებს, რომ ავირჩიოთ ეკლიანი გზა და ღმერთი მასში ვიპოვნოთ. მაგალითად, რამდენმა თეთრკანიანმა ქრისტიანმა იცის, რომ ჩიტებსა და ფუტკრებზე ,,ლაპარაკის“ გარდა, შავკანიანი მშობლები იმის შესახებაც ესაუბრებიან თავის შვილებს, თუ როგორ გადაურჩნენ პოლიციისგან დაპატიმრებასა და სროლას? მე არ ვიცოდი. რამდენმა იცის, რომ მრავალ აფრო-ამერიკელს (რომლებიც ამერიკელ მონათა შთამომავლები არიან), საკუთარ წარმომავლობაზე წარმოდგენა არ აქვთ? არც ეს ვიცოდი. მრავალი მათგანი გრძნობს, რომ რაღაც წინა (ეთნიკური ისტორია) მოპარეს. მრავალ მათგანს რომელიმე ძველი ქვეყნის ერთი მცირე ზომის სოფლის დასახელებაც არ შეუძლიათ, საიდანაც მათი დიდი მშობლები იყვნენ.  

მრევლის ამ წევრებს შეუძლიათ გვასწავლონ, თუ შავკანიანთა კრებულს ეფექტურად როგორ მივუდგეთ. ამ ქვეყანაში მართლმადიდებელთა ურთიერთობები მხოლოდ იმ ხალხთან დაკავშრებით ვითარდება, ვისაც ეკონომიკური და საგანმანათლებლო რესურსები აქვთ. ვყოფილვარ პროტესტანტულ ტაძრებში, რომლებიც გაჭირვებული ხალხითაა სავსე, მაგრამ მართლმადიდებლურ ტაძრებში ასეთი რამ არასოდეს მინახავს. მრავალი ადამიანი სიღარიბეს თანხის ნაკლებობასთან აკავშირებს, მაგალითად, უსახლკარო სტუდენტი მათთვის ღარიბია. სიღარიბე შესაძლებლობის ნაკრებობაა- ეს ხაფანგში გაბმაა. მხოლოდ მცირეოდენმა ჩვენგანმა იცის, თუ რა არის სიღარიბე, რადგან ჩვენს ქვეყანაში ღარიბი იზოლირებულია.

კვლევები ცხადყოფენ, რომ თეთრკანიანთა ოჯახებთან შედარებით, შავკანიანთა ოჯახები ბევრად ღარიბები არიან. როგორც მრევლის წევრი ფემი ოლუტეიდი თავის ინტერვიუში ამბობს, ღარიბი ადამიანებისთვის ფუფუნებაა, რომ უცხო რელიგიური ჯგუფის ტრადიცია შეისწავლონ. იგი შენიშნავს: ,,იქიდან გამომდინარე, რომ  შავკანიანები შევიწროებულნი არიან, მათ უმაღლეს განათლებაზე წვდომა და თავისუფალი დრო არ აქვთ, ამგვარად, შეუძლებელია მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესიის შესახებ ინფორმაციის მოძიება. ზემოთნახსენები საკითხების მოგვარების გარეშე, მათ ეს უბრალოდ არ შეუძლიათ.’’ გაჭირვებულებთან და შავკანიანთა საზოგადოებებთან დაახლოება, შესაბამისი რესურსების მიწოდებას მოითხოვს მათდამი, ვისაც ეკლესიის შესახებ ცოდნა არ აქვს. უნდა გავიხსენოთ ქრისტეს იგავი დაკარგულ ცხვარზე, როდესაც მწყემსი მიატოვებს 99-ს, რათა ერთი მოძებნოს (მთ. 18:12-14; ლკ. 15: 1-7).

ოლუტეიდი თავის ინტერვიუს იმის თქმით ასრულებს, რომ მას, როგორც ნიგერიელ ადამიანს, რომელმაც ჭეშმარიტი სარწმუნოება ჰპოვა, ყველა შავკანიანის წინაშე პასუხისმგებლობა აკისრია, რომ საკუთრი აღმოჩენა მათ გაუზიაროს. ესაა რწმენა, რომელსაც ყველა უნდა ეზიაროს, რასისა და კლასის კუთვნილების მიუხედავად: ,,ვგრძნობ, რომ აფრო-ამერიკელებისადმი პასუხისმგებლობა მაკისრია, რადგან მჯერა, რომ მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია ერთადერთი ჭეშმარიტი ეკლესიაა. თუ პრეტენზია გაქვს, რომ ერთი ჭეშმარიტი ეკლესია ხარ, იმის პასუხისმგებლობაც გაკისრია, რომ ეს ჭეშმარიტება იმ ადამიანებს გაუზიარო, რომელთაც ამის ცოდნის შესაძლებლობა არ აქვთ. გაჭირვებულებისა და უარყოფილების შესახებ არსებული ყველა სახარებისეული უწყება აფრო-ამერიკულ საზოგადოებას მიემართება!“  

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მამა მეთიუ ბრაუნი (Fr. Matthew Brown) არის Jacob’s Well-ის მთავარი რედაქტორი, ნიუ-იორკისა და ნიუ-ჯერსის ეპარქიის მდივანი (OCA) და წმინდა მოციქულთა ტაძრის წინამძღვარი (Saddlebrook, New Jersey).

Public Orthodoxy ცდილობს, რომ ფორუმის შეთავაზებით თანამედროვე მართლმადიდებლურ ქრისტიანობაზე და მასთან დაკავშირებულ განსხვავებულ პერსპექტივებზე დისკუსიას დაეხმაროს. ამ ესეში გამოთქმული მოსაზრებები მხოლოდ და მხოლოდ მის ავტორს ეკუთვნის და არ გადმოსცემს რედაქტორთა ან თავად Orthodox Christian Studies Center-ის აზრზს.

Იხილეთ ასევე 

 

ГОЛОСА ЧЕРНОКОЖИХ В ХРИСТИАНСКОЙ ЦЕРКВИ

 

Преподобный Мэтью Браун (Matthew Brown)

Public Orthodoxy

ქართული | Ελληνικά (& here) | Black Voices in the Orthodox Church

Чернокожие американцы составляют крайне малый процент Православных христиан в Соединенных Штатах. В Американской культуре непросто принять Православную веру, тем более удивительными кажутся истории семи чернокожих американцев, помещенные в самом последнем выпуске журнала епархии Нью-Йорка и Нью-Джерси (ОЦА) Jacob’s Well («Колодец Якова»). Если смотреть со стороны, Православие может показаться странным, сложным и непонятным. Но, возможно, чернокожие американцы находятся в лучшем положении, чем любая другая этническая группа в этой стране, чтобы пройти путь новообращенного.  

В этом месяце журнал  Jacob’s Well опубликовал специальный выпуск, где напечатаны  семь интервью с чернокожими православными американцами.  Это первая публикация за последние 20 с лишним лет, посвященная православным христианам, которые являются афроамериканцами ( последним из того, что мы помним, был сборник статей An Unbroken Circle (Неразорванный круг), опубликованный Братством Преподобного Моисея Черного в 1998 году). Этот выпуск был примечателен как разнообразием тех, кто давал интервью, так и  общими темами в содержании  всех бесед. Это были мужчины и женщины разного возраста, некоторые из них были потомками американских рабов, другие  относились к тем, кто недавно иммигрировал из Африки или имел афро-латинские корни. Они говорили на английском, испанском и французском языках. Некоторые из них вышли из католической среды, другие принадлежали к пятидесятническим или традиционным Черным Церквям. И все же, прослеживалось что-то общее в судьбах всех опрошенных.

Одной из общих тем были столкновения с проявлением расизма: некоторые из них -незначительные, другие — очень неприятные, тревожащие. Например, Преподобный Сэмюэль Дэйвис, ректор Православной миссии Св. Симона Киренского в Нью-Брансуике, Нью-Джерси,  рассказал, что однажды, когда он был моложе, полицейские остановили его машину и задержали его, потому что он был с белой подругой. Новообращенный Рональд Розальер описал тот случай, когда он обслуживал турнир по гольфу, в котором участвовал Вудс Тайгер. Розальер и его коллеги работали на поле для гольфа. Его боссу и всем работникам разрешили войти, и только Розальеру запретили – он был единственным чернокожим среди них. Начальник охраны не поверил, что он должен быть там, и товарищу по работе пришлось помогать и прояснять ситуацию. «Я привык к этому», — сказал Розальер, -потому, что это случается со мной каждый раз».

Еще одной общей темой оказалось то, как знакомство каждого новообращенного с Православием выходило за пределы привычных представлений их расы. Все они рассказывали, как полюбили эту веру, во многом так же, как новообращенный любой этнической группы. Но некоторые также говорили, что открытие Православия заставило их почувствовать более тесную связь с их африканскими предками. Православная вера обогатила их чувство общности со своей этнической группой, а не преуменьшила его.

Толчком к выпуску данного номера были, конечно, волнения, вызванные смертью Джорджа Флойда. Представлялось важным спросить: каким образом Православная церковь может внести конструктивный вклад в диалог по расовому примирению? Что мы можем предложить, исходя из нашей собственной веры, чтобы помочь примирению и сделать более справедливым общество в целом? Мы могли бы начать поднимать чувство достоинства у наших чернокожих православных сестер и братьев, выслушивая их и размышляя над их историями.  

Внимательно выслушивать – это, возможно, первый шаг к тому, чтобы увидеть образ и подобие Бога в другом человеке. Если есть что-то, что мы можем предложить нашему обществу в данный момент, это возможность видеть и слушать  чужеземца, непосвященного. Когда тебя видят и слышат – это знак того, что в тебе признают образ Божий.

Есть много такого в опыте жизни чернокожих в Америке, что неизвестно тем, кто не имеет к этому отношения. Мы можем исправить это. Говорить о расовых различиях может быть непросто, трудно, но наша традиция подвижничества призывает принимать трудности и находить в этом Бога. Например, многие ли белокожие христиане знают, что чернокожим родителям приходится объяснять своим чадам не только откуда берутся дети на примере цветочной пыльцы и т.д. -им обычно приходится объяснять своим мальчикам-подросткам и то, как вести себя, чтобы их не арестовали или не застрелили полицейские? Я не знал этого. Знаем ли мы о том, что у многих афроамериканцев, потомков американских рабов, есть ощущение, что их родословную узнать невозможно? Я – не знал. Многие из них чувствуют, что их лишили чего-то очень ценного – истории их народа, иммигрантов. Большинство из них не могут определить, какая деревня или страна была родиной их прадедов.

Эти прихожане могут также научить нас, как наиболее эффективно вести работу, с общиной чернокожих. Основная работа  православных в этой стране всегда была нацелена на людей, имеющих экономические и образовательные ресурсы.  Я бывал в протестантских церквях, где было полно бедных людей, но никогда не видел Православные церкви, которым подходит такое определение.  Многие люди ошибочно считают, что бедность – это когда нет денег; как будто студент колледжа, у которого мало денег –«беден». Бедность – это отсутствие возможностей. Это – когда ты в западне, в ловушке. Не многим из нас приходилось близко знакомиться с такой бедностью, потому что бедные изолированы от нас.

Одно исследование за другим напоминает нам, что семьи чернокожих в Америке с гораздо большей вероятностью, чем белые, становятся бедными. Как говорит в своем интервью прихожанин Феми Олутаде, изучать традицию Веры, которая связана с иностранной этнической группой, — это роскошь, которую бедные не могут себе позволить. «Учитывая степень угнетения чернокожих, – добавил он, -у которых нет доступа к среднему образованию, нет лишнего времени, — они не могут узнать что-то о Православной церкви. Не могут, если эту проблему никто не затрагивает! Это просто невозможно». Работа с бедными и со многими из сообщества чернокожих потребует целенаправленного выделения ресурсов для тех, кто не может найти Церковь. Это напоминает нам о Христе, который оставил 99 из ста и отправился на поиски одного заблудшего.

Олутаде закончил свое интервью словами о том, что как нигериец, который обрел истинную веру, он в ответе за то, чтобы все чернокожие люди разделили с ним это открытие – убеждение, которое должны разделять с ним и все мы, независимо от нашей расы или класса: «Я чувствую ответственность перед афроамериканцами;  эта ответственность основана на моем понимании того, что Православие – это единственная истинная Церковь. Если вы заявляете, что это -единственная истинная Церковь, вы отвечаете за то, чтобы люди, у которых нет этой церкви, могли на деле услышать о ней. Все, что говорится в Библии о бедных, об отверженных – все  это прямо относится к афроамериканской общине!».

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Преподобный Мютью Браун является главным редактором журнала  «Jacob’s Well», секретарем епархии Нью-Йорка и Нью-Джерси (ОЦА) и ректором Православной Церкви Святых Апостолов в Сэддлбруке, Нью-Джерси.

Public Orthodoxy – Общественное Православие стремится способствовать обсуждению, обеспечивая форум для различных точек зрения по современным вопросам, относящимся к Православному Христианству. Мнения, высказываемые в данной статье, принадлежат единственно автору и необязательно представляют точку зрения издателей или Центра Православных Христианских исследований.

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