American Orthodoxy … Arrogantly

Fr Aris Metrakos of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia, SC — pictured here (L) with Fr David Hudson (R) — rarely pulls punches.

This article — There is an American Orthodoxy— is a worthy read.

A couple excerpts …

A myth needs to be debunked. It goes like this: Orthodox unity is years away because there is no such thing as “American Orthodoxy”. Call it an ecclesiastical instead of urban legend if you want. It’s been in circulation for at least two decades among the Orthodox Christians of the United States and it keeps us frozen in a state of tribalism and territorialism that prevents us from planting Orthodoxy more firmly in America.

This myth is advanced by people who focus on what the Church in the United States is not. Ok, so we don’t have a 1500 year-old monastic tradition. It’s also true that most of our people have never been to a vigil. And yes, the typical American churchgoer doesn’t know Seraphim Rose from Pete Rose.

But to say that these “shortcomings” imply that there is no American Orthodox identity is like saying there is no such thing as American soccer because our fans don’t pummel one another and our announcers don’t scream “G-O-O-O-A-A-L!”

AND …

I’m a patriot, but I’ll admit that Americans can suffer from hubris. American Orthodox Christians are drowning in it. Most of us know it all — just ask us!

A choir member of forty years laughs openly at a priest that tries to explain what the “first tone” is not realizing that if she had even the smallest grasp of the relationship between the notes in the ecclesiastical modes, it would take her choir just ten minutes instead of an hour to learn a simple hymn.

A longtime member of the Ladies’ group stands up at a meeting and asks, “Where the h— did Father come up with this fast before Christmas?”

A Sunday School teacher fails to take advantage of a seminar offered at a neighboring parish because she “already knows it all.”

A businessman is asked to run for Parish Council because “he has so much to offer the Church” even though he attends Liturgy sporadically, doesn’t participate in the sacraments, has no consistent prayer life, and doesn’t give sacrificially.

Knowing that you don’t know much is a sign of maturity. Do we want to move from adolescence into adulthood? Then we need to swallow our pride and admit that the first step in acquiring an adult faith is authentically uttering, “I don’t know.”

(Here’s the link again.)

Thanks to FWD from a blog reader.