Sermon, Fourth Saturday of Lent 2016

Imagine, if you will, life as a deaf person. More specifically, imagine all of the things that you can do in the course of a day that would be nearly impossible, or at least significantly more difficult, if you were deaf. How would you wake up in the morning if you couldn’t hear your alarm clock? How would you answer the phone at work if you can’t hear the person on the other end? How could you talk to someone at the grocery store if they couldn’t speak American Sign Language?

Now imagine life as a deaf person in the first century, and not just a deaf person, but mute as well. This existence would have been one of severe limitations, and of austere loneliness and isolation. There were no subtitles, no sign language, no detailed communication whatsoever! This is the picture that the Gospel paints for us today; the man that Jesus heals had to be brought to him, a man who was deaf and without speech. But it is the way that Jesus heals him that is so peculiar; Jesus heals a deaf man by speaking to him. Think about that for just a moment; how many times would someone have spoken a word, or a multitude of words to this man? The words would have entered his ears and then evaporated into the ether, unheard and unheeded, and the speaker, with a puzzled look, would have eventually given up and walked away.

How many of us are just like this deaf man? The words of those around us enter our ears, good words from good people. But even though they enter our ears, they remain unheard and unheeded. Maybe it’s the council that the priest gives to us when we go to confession. Maybe it’s the advice that our parents give when we’re making big life-decisions. Or maybe it’s something that we read in a book of sayings of the fathers. Whatever the source of the words, so often we, like the deaf man, move on without actually hearing what was said.

But why is it so important for us to hear these words?

So often, after we are approached or reproached, admonished or encouraged, we remain unchanged. For better or for worse, the words of those around us inspire and encourage us. They comfort us, they motivate us, they amaze us, they edify us, and sometimes they trouble us; and these experiences have the power to transform us. And it is the opening of our ears that is the gateway to this transformation. But there is something different about Jesus’ words; they are uttered by the Son of God, and he who hears those words will live. “Be opened!” These words didn’t just enter his ears; they sank deep into his heart, changing him.

Here at the liturgy, we encounter words like the ones that healed the deaf man, words of life. Every Sunday, as we gather for the liturgy, we have an encounter much the same as the one that Jesus had with the deaf man. We listen to the reading of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, the epic story of how God came as a man to save his creation from the clutches of death.

We have the amazing ability to be healed, to be TRANSFORMED! Now, there is no guarantee that when these words enter our ears we will hear them, much less obey. But it is these words that have the power to sink deep into our hearts, into the marrow of our bones, into our very beings, opening our ears and transforming the way that we live our lives. These words, these words of transformation, are the words of Jesus Christ.

Now, I know what you’re going to say next; “But Father, there’s so much more to liturgy than listening to the Gospel!” And while I’m hesitant to agree with that statement, you’re right; the liturgy is a Gospel encounter, and an important part of that is hearing the Gospel read and preached, but the work of the liturgy is more varied than just that.

Again we see an example of this in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus speaks words of life that transform the deaf man, but he also touches the deaf man, on his tongue. Now, of course we can be rational and say that it makes sense that Jesus would touch a mute man’s tongue to heal him, where else would he touch him? But this intimate action has deeper significance for us than just cold, rational, logical analog. The deaf man receives words of life, and also the touch of Christ on his tongue, loosing it and allowing him to speak plainly. And what is the first thing that the man does with his newly found speech? He speaks to everyone he meets, telling them of the miraculous things that Jesus Christ had done for him! So too do we, after receiving the sweet Savior on our tongues, receive the ability and the zeal to tell everyone about the marvelous things he has done for us and all mankind! Just as the Psalmist says, so too can we say, “My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Our tongues are not just loosened to speak plainly, but powerfully, and with praise.

And so, on this memorial Saturday, the last of the Lenten season for this year, we are given this story of complete healing for our own healing. We are told of the truth of Christ, that whoever hears his words and believes in the one who sent him has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. Because they have heard and believed the words of he who was sent, they are transformed. This is who we pray for at the great entrance when we commemorate those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection of the life to come.

This is that hope; to hear the words of Christ, to let them renew and transform us, and to have tongues that are able to praise, bless, and worship Christ, telling everyone that we meet of the incomparable glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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Father Ryan Bishop is a third-year seminarian at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Fr. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Columbia Bible College in 2006, and a Joinery Foundations Certificate in 2008. After several years in the cabinetry industry, he decided to work for himself from home, making furniture and looking after his two children. In 2013, the Bishop family embarked on their journey to New York, in order for Fr. Ryan to participate in the Master of Divinity program at St. Vladimir’s. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on February 28, 2016, by His Eminence Irenée, Archbishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada.

Priest Justin Mathews (Class of ’07) works along the “dividing line” of Kansas City, MO—Troost Avenue. He is the executive director of Reconciliation Services, an organization working to help address the wounds from generations of racial and economic inequality in the surrounding neighborhood.

The kind of hardship and suffering found there, Fr. Justin points out—which can also be found in cities throughout the United States—is heart-wrenching.

“The rates of trauma and PTSD in the urban neighborhoods in the United States that are crippled under gun violence and debilitating social issues...approach that of veterans returning home from war,” he said. “It is a warzone.”

In a candid and moving interview with St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Ginny Nieuwsma, Fr. Justin explains how he got to Troost Avenue, what lies behind the particular brokenness there—and in America in general—and what Orthodox Christian communities everywhere can learn from it. 

This Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2020, St. Vladimir’s Seminary is tithing 10% of funds donated to the Seminary that day to Reconciliation Services’ ministry. Click HERE to donate.

Priest Daniel Greeson has begun a “new venture,” launching a blog commissioned by Ancient Faith Ministries. Every Thought Captive launched in early November 2020 and aims to provide Orthodox Christian commentary on contemporary social, political, and moral issues.

• Click HERE to read Fr. Daniel’s first entry, “A New Venture”

“We aim to take ‘Every Thought Captive’ to the obedience of Jesus Christ....” writes Fr. Daniel. “The very act of taking something captive implies struggle. This [blog] will welcome the struggle and exhibit wrestling with the ideas and presuppositions of our age.”

Father Daniel will be the principal blogger and editor, but the blog will also feature other Orthodox Christian voices. 

The Rev. Daniel Greeson is rector of St. Anne Orthodox Church, Oak Ridge, TN. He graduated from St. Vladimir’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2018 and was ordained to the priesthood later that year. Before attending St. Vladimir’s, Fr. Daniel graduated with a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Vanderbilt Divinity School and later worked in the title insurance industry.

We celebrate athletes that run and jump, throw and catch better and faster than anyone else. We marvel at entrepreneurs who start companies that earn billions of dollars. We idolize the actors and musicians who are at the top of their craft. Everyone loves a winner.

We live in a culture that worships winners. It’s all about winning elections, winning arguments, winning friends and influencing people. Winning may be our greatest obsession. What does it take to win? What strategy will give us an advantage over our opponent? What kind of training and preparation will give us the edge that we need to come out on top? We work and plan and scheme to figure out a way to win, and then we dream about the glory that will be ours.

This is probably what Peter was thinking when he and the disciples entered Caesarea Philippi with Jesus. It was there, in that city with its famous pagan temple, that Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” The disciples said, “Some people think that you are John the Baptist, some say that you are Elijah, and others say that you are one of the prophets.” But then, Peter, going for the win, says, “You are the Christ, God’s anointed, the messiah!” Peter does not think of Jesus as some member of the supporting cast; he says that Jesus is the Christ, the one that God sent to deliver His people. But Jesus immediately commands them not to tell anyone about him. Isn’t that strange? Why does Jesus tell them not to say anything about him? It is because Peter was wrong.

Yes, Jesus is the Christ, but what Peter has in mind when he says that Jesus is the “Christ” is completely off base. Peter thinks the Christ will be the great hero who ends up with more money and more power and is more feared than the Emperor of Rome. Peter thinks that the Christ will raise up an army to fight for the Hebrew people and crush their Roman oppressors. Peter thinks that the Christ is going to be a winner on the world’s terms.

Jesus must have known exactly what Peter was thinking.

And this is why Jesus immediately starts telling his disciples that the Christ, the Son of Man, must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days be raised.

Yes, Jesus is the Christ, but he’s a different kind of Christ than the one Peter was looking for. After Jesus spells out very plainly to the disciples that the Christ is not going to bring about victory on human terms, Jesus began to teach the disciples that the Son of man must suffer many things, that he would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, that he would be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus told them all of this in plain unequivocal language. But then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Peter actually rebukes Jesus.

In other words, Peter speaks to Jesus like some sort of campaign manager, “Lord, what are you talking about? Rejection, suffering, being killed…are you kidding me?!? This is not what God’s anointed is supposed to do, and this is certainly NOT what you are going to do!”

Peter thinks that he knows better than Jesus, Peter thinks that Jesus needs to be corrected about what it means to be the Christ. And how easy is it for us to make the same mistake. In our effort to win our own victories, how easy is it to tell God what to do and how to do it?

“Lord, make sure that I get a big payoff.”

“Lord, make sure that my plans work out this time.”

“Lord, do exactly what I want, so that I can win.”

Sometimes we may think that God has strayed from the playbook, things aren’t turning out as we planned so maybe we need to give God a reminder about what God is supposed to do. Peter definitely thought that he had to tell Jesus what to do in order to achieve an earthly victory. That’s why Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan. For you are not on the side of God but on the side of men.” Jesus tells Peter and us that winning, according to the rules of this world, is a false victory. Christ says “Whoever would save his life would lose it.” An earthly victory is a false victory because, for every army that marches home in victory, there are scores of widows and orphans who weep in the ashes and rubble of defeat. For every billionaire entrepreneur, there are millions of people living in poverty. For everyone who wins an argument, there is someone who is left in anger and resentment. And the bottom line is that we don’t always win. More often than not, when we lose, or when our plans don’t work out, in our desperation we can so easily turn against God and turn against the people we love.

This is exactly what happened to Peter when he denied Jesus on the night before the Crucifixion. In the cold, darkness of that courtyard outside of the house of the high priest, Peter watched and waited, hoping that somehow his plans and schemes for the messiah could still be salvaged. But when the bystanders said, “Hey, aren’t you one of Jesus’ friends; Yeah, you are one of Jesus’ disciples; You are a Galilean, you must be on of Jesus’ followers.” Three times, Peter denied that he knew Jesus, invoking a curse and swearing, “I do not know this man Jesus.”

And when Peter realized what he had done, he broke down and wept. Everything had gone wrong, and in his desperation, he had denied and abandoned Jesus. Peter’s life had become a living hell. To worship the false-victory of this world is to live in hell. Perhaps in that moment, Peter remembered Jesus’ words, “Get behind me Satan.” But in that moment, maybe Peter also remembered what Jesus right after that. Jesus says to His disciples, “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” These are the same words that Jesus speaks to us on this third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Cross.

Jesus does not say, “whoever desires to come after me should go out and get himself crucified.” Jesus specifically says, “take up the cross and follow me”—which is the complete opposite of everything we know about winning. To carry your cross is to experience the absolute shame of defeat. It is like the condemned man who is commanded to prepare the noose for his own hanging. It is like the victims in the concentration camp who are forced to dig the pit that will become their own mass grave.

In Jesus’ time, the ritual of forcing a condemned man to carry his cross was murderous mockery. Carrying the cross was part of the bloody Roman propaganda that said, “Behold this man, who disobeyed our commands.

Look at how we crush him and strip him of his last shred of dignity.

Look at how we force him to carry the cross that we will use to execute him.

Look at the power of the Empire, look at how we have won.”

And Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, submits to the Cross willingly, to show that God’s victory is not the victory of this world. Christ’s death on the Cross is the sign that the power of God is greater than the most hideous power of this world. For in the very midst of the humiliation, and agony of crucifixion, as they nailed his hands and feet to the Cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

And at that moment, the world was forever changed. Because the hateful power of this world was defeated by the Love of God.

By carrying his cross, Jesus shows that the evil of man is powerless against the mercy of God. By carrying his cross, Jesus marches straight into the depths of hell and broke the bonds of sin and death. By carrying his cross, Jesus shows us a way out of the darkness of sin into the pure light of forgiveness. This is the victory of Christ, and this is why we bow down before the Cross.

Jesus’ victory on the Cross is the most unlikely victory that the world has ever seen. Because in the Resurrection, Jesus did not return to take vengeance on the people who betrayed him and murdered him. In the Resurrection, Jesus returned and forgave Peter. And then Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the good news to the very people who had killed him, the gentiles, the Romans.

We see this so clearly in Acts, when Paul and Silas had been arrested and beaten and thrown into jail. There they are in that dark, dank prison, singing hymns and praising God when all of a sudden there was an earthquake and the doors were opened, and all the chains of the prisoners were loosed. When the jailer woke up, and saw what had happened, he assumed that all of the prisoners had escaped, and in his despair, he was about to kill himself. But Paul cried out, “Don’t harm yourself, we are all here.” In that moment, it would have been so easy for Paul to have said, “Ha, let that jailer get what he deserves.” But instead he saved the man from his despair. The jailer cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” And Paul told him about the love and mercy and power of Jesus, the Crucified Messiah.

This is the victory of the Gospel: those small, bright moments of reconciliation, when people who would otherwise be enemies, turn and embrace one another in the love of Christ. This is what it means to take up the cross and follow Christ.

Paul and Silas, and Peter and all the other disciples took up the Cross and followed Christ. They were given divine courage to endure the same kind of humiliation that Christ endured, and to share the love and mercy of God with everyone.

And today, as we fall down before the Holy Cross, as it is lifted up and we praise it in our hymns and songs, we are strengthened with the same divine courage. We face the evil, and the anger of this world, and we take up our cross and follow Christ, showing mercy and forgiveness to everyone around us, glorifying Jesus Christ. For Jesus’ victory, His victory on the Cross, the victory of God’s love, is our one true and lasting victory.

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The Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen (SVOTS ’96) received his M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary and completed his doctoral dissertation at Drew University in 2002. From 2000 to 2011 he taught at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut, where he also served as Director of Distance Learning. He was ordained to the priesthood in February 2004, and currently serves on the faculty of SVOTS as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Rhetoric and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program.

Priest David McCready, a recent alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, has penned a reflection on a term that “came to dominate in the west, the dread word transubstantiation.” Father David’s article, “Reflections on the Eucharist,” was published on the blog of The Orthodox West website in October 2020.

In the reflection, Fr. David asks, “Was transubstantiation a point of controversy between east and west?” He explores the writings of Scripture and several ancient and contemporary theologians in addressing the question.

• Click HERE to read “Reflections on the Eucharist”

Father David, a native of Belfast, was raised in the Church of Ireland and served as an Anglican priest before coming to St. Vladimir’s Seminary as a student of the Antiochian Archdiocese. He holds a number of degrees, including a Ph.D. from Trinity College in Dublin. He completed a non-degree track at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2019 and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood a few months later, in August 2019, by the hand of hand His Grace JOHN, Auxiliary of the Diocese of Worcester and New England. Since the ordination, Fr. David has served as pastor of St. Columba Orthodox Church in Lafeyette, CO, a parish under the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA).

Seminary graduate and current Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) student Fr. Alessandro Margheritino has been appointed executive assistant at the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). 

To mark the appointment, Fr. Alessandro celebrated the Divine Liturgy Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at the Chancery’s St. Sergius Chapel for the Feast of the Conception of St. John the Forerunner. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon welcomed Fr. Alessandro to the Chancery.

Father Alessandro is the Rector of St. Innocent Church in Olmstead Falls, Ohio, under the omophorion of fellow St. Vladimir’s Alumnus His Eminence, Archbishop Paul (’94) and the OCA’s Diocese of the Midwest. Father Alessandro will work remotely from Ohio part-time, and in person at the Chancery (currently located in Syosset, NY) once a month.

Father Alessandro was born and raised in Palermo, Italy. Raised in a Roman Catholic family, Fr. Alessandro was chrismated in the Orthodox Church at the age of 17. In Italy, he attended a linguistic lyceum where he studied Italian, English, and French literature for five years. He later studied at the University of Palermo where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and political science. Prior to enrolling at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY in 2011, he and his wife, Matushka Anna—who is currently the Seminary’s graphic designer—were members of St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church in Columbus, OH. Father Alessandro was an active student during his time at St. Vladimir’s, serving as student council president and graduating with a commendation for service to the community when he completed his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2014. He was ordained to the priesthood by His Beatitude on the Feast of Ascension on May 29, 2014 at the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel. He was assigned to St. Innocent Church the same year. In recent years, Fr. Alessandro has also served as president of the Greater Cleveland Council of Orthodox Clergy and spiritual advisor for ZOE for Life! 

Father Alessandro and Mat. Anna have two sons, Luca and Nicolas.

The community of St. Vladimir’s Seminary wishes Fr. Alessandro, Mat. Anna, Luca, and Nicolas many years!

• Watch: Fr. Alessandro talks about being a D.Min. student

(Photos: OCA.org; several details reposted from saintinnocent.org)

It was Easter morning during my first year at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and I stood at the altar of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey, wearing subdeacon vestments, listening to our bishop read the gospel of St. Mark. In the traditional Syriac Orthodox melody, he chanted:

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16.5-6).

I was overwhelmed by these words. He is risen, he is not here! Silently, I began to weep. The sense of awe that accompanied this moment was soon replaced with embarrassment, as I saw our bishop looking right at me as tears dripped off my chin. I shuffled off to find a tissue.

Why did tears come to me at such a moment? Certainly, the feast of our Lord’s resurrection holds great power. But thinking back on all that had occurred over my first year at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, I realized that what I experienced on that day was the result of accumulation. The Seminary prescribes for its students a life focused on seeking the Lord, and such a life is a struggle against the outside world. This Christ-centered focus is supported by chapel services, classes, community service, fasts, confession, and for a married student such as myself, family life. Yet on any given day, I would often wonder if such a routine was bearing any fruit. On this Easter day, I received an answer. Each day lived trying to fix our gaze on our Lord has a great benefit. It is a benefit that is usually unseen from day to day, but which accumulates slowly over time.

St. John Climacus addresses the unseen character of the spiritual life. He writes:

After a long spell of prayer, do not say that nothing has been gained, for you have already achieved something. For after all, what higher good is there than to cling to the Lord, to persevere in unceasing union with him? (Ladder of Divine Ascent, 28.32)

Life at seminary, and the life of every Orthodox Christian, is an effort to cling to the Lord each day. My time at St. Vladimir’s, particularly on that Easter morning, has taught me that, though we may not perceive any immediate changes as we try to live according to Church teaching, each day of effort matters. The Lord sees our labor and our constant yearning for Him, and slowly changes us by His grace.

The tears granted to me on Easter were a gift, showing me that, to some small and humble measure, the truth of the resurrection had established some root in my heart. Even so, the reality is that I am still a spiritual beginner, returning often to ego and self-will instead of casting myself completely upon the Lord. Yet, as my time here at seminary draws to an end, I will leave as a spiritual beginner, yet one who knows what I must do with the remainder of the earthly life that God gives me. I must work, seeking Him every day, and I pray that by His grace the following words will continue to descend into my heart, filling it through and through:

He is risen, he is not here!

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Thomas Totonchy is a third-year Master of Divinity student from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. He is from Portland, Oregon, where his father helped to establish the St. Ignatius of Antioch parish. There he served as a subdeacon and was involved in youth ministry before coming to New York for seminary with his wife Jennifer, who works at the Weill Cornell Medical College. In the summer of 2015, they welcomed their daughter Josephine into the world. After seminary, Thomas hopes to continue to serve the Church as a youth minister, and if it be God’s will, as a priest.

(Photos: Leanne Parrott Photography)

Recognizing a great need in the Orthodox churches in North America, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Alumnus Fr. Jason Foster and his daughter Savannah recently formed the Orthodox Christian Deaf Association (OCDA). Father Jason serves the community of Holy Nativity of the Lord (OCA) in Shreveport, LA.

Savannah, how did you learn American Sign Language (ASL), and how did that lead to the formation of OCDA? 

I’m 19 now, but my interest in learning ASL actually began when I was 16 when I made attempts to communicate with some deaf people while shopping in Barnes and Noble.

In order to reach the door, I needed to walk through the middle of their conversation, so on the spot I looked up how to sign the phrases “excuse me,” “thank you,” and “have a good day” on my phone! This encounter with them energized me, and after this I taught myself sign language using YouTube videos. After about six months of online learning, I visited our local Deaf Action Center and met a deaf friend, Greg, who has subsequently been helping me for three years. He teaches me mainly through our conversations—when I make a mistake, he corrects me. 

How has your experience of learning ASL progressed?

I’m not going to lie—truth is, ASL is a difficult language to learn! While it’s good to watch beginner videos, at some point you need to immerse yourself in it by interacting with people who are fluent in ASL, both deaf and hearing.

In my first year, I couldn’t understand most of the conversations I observed. As my vocabulary began to increase, I slowly developed the skills needed to engage others in communication. By the end of my second year, I was able to think through my conversations and sign in a more coherent manner. Now, in my third year, it’s becoming easier. It takes time, immersion, and patience!

Recently I recorded my teacher signing sections of the Divine Liturgy, and then I tried it myself. I’ve also signed The Akathist of Thanksgiving. Sometimes I practice by signing the weekday services when only a limited number of people are in attendance—I do not want to distract others. At one point, I asked my dad, “What if someone who is hearing impaired comes to our church and can’t understand the services?” We looked around to find Orthodox resources here in North America, and we couldn’t find anything. That was the genesis of the Orthodox Christian Deaf Association.

Father Jason, what are the needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities? 

Our Association has been formed to for three main reasons: First, we want to help connect Orthodox deaf Christians across the continent to each other; second, we need to develop liturgical and educational resources that are accessible to the deaf and HOH; and, lastly, there is a great need to bring the fullness of the Christian faith and life in Christ to this community. The deaf and hard of hearing (HOH) are, in many ways, an unreached people group.

In order for this plan to become a reality, those in the various hearing-impaired communities need to connect with each other—often they feel isolated and alone. If we think we’re isolated as Orthodox, imagine what it’s like being deaf or hard of hearing! Often someone who is deaf may be the only one in the neighborhood with this challenge. Like all of us, they are looking for community and relationships. 

We decided that the most immediate need was for a centralized location, a website, so that these folks could find and interact with each other. That way, hearing impaired people can find out about us and contact us if they have visited an Orthodox service and can’t understand what is taking place. In our research, and talking to our local deaf friends, we have learned that sadly many people who are deaf or hard of hearing chose not to attend church services anymore. We heard stories of others who visited an Orthodox church but they were not able to connect due to the lack of ASL trained people and resources. Consequently, they went to other faith traditions that offered this type of ministry. In regards to Orthodoxy, many deaf and HOH have not been evangelized in a way appropriate to their unique needs.

This said, the Orthodox Church does have a great deal to offer the hearing impaired: namely, the physical or holistic nature of our worship. It includes our bodies (the sign of the cross, lighting candles, prostrations, etc.) and our senses (the fragrance of the incense, engaging the icons, the Sacraments, etc.). We have much to give this community in their interaction and experience of the gospel but we haven’t collectively reached out to them, so we have our work cut out for us!

However, the Orthodox Church is still relatively new to North America and our history is replete with the many challenges faced by immigrants bringing the faith from the mother countries. We are still in a pioneer phase in many respects, starting new ministries and outreach efforts. Yet we are convinced that the time has come for us to get serious about reaching people with disabilities. 

What are the goals of OCDA?

We had modest goals when we launched the website—we didn’t have any idea what to expect at first but we knew the need was great and we had to start somewhere. Our membership increased overnight once our work was profiled on OCA.org and Ancient Faith Radio. Out of the woodwork came a number of trained ASL people and several who work directly with the deaf community. Our website has received thousands of visitors and over sixty people have signed up to be ASL Consultants, Parish Ambassadors, or to offer some type of assistance. We’ve also received emails from parents of deaf children and from the deaf or hard of hearing Orthodox themselves who want to connect with each other and, in some cases, learn how to sign the services. The ministry is taking shape before our very eyes as God moves us forward.

Thus far we have had really encouraging responses from various jurisdictions. We have been interacting with the OCA, Antiochian parishes, as well Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian communities. Our hope is that eventually, it will be a “given” that our major metropolitan parishes will have people signing the liturgy. Ultimately, the goal of the OCDA is to bring awareness and solutions to the Orthodox deaf and HOH community as it relates to the local church. Again, this means that eventually the majority of our parishes, or at least those in larger cities, there will be someone who can sign the services and assist the priest in ministering to the deaf and HOH.  

What are your challenges?

In older Orthodox countries like Greece and Russia there are more defined ministries for the deaf and those with other disabilities, but in the US there is no collective effort or hub bringing the faithful together on a national level to minister in this arena. Yet we are beginning to have people who are willing to help now and become a part of the solution. As is often in the case in North American Orthodoxy, ministries need to be developed from the ground up. This means we are laying the foundation for the OCDA now with the hope that God will bless the seeds we are planting, others will water, and the next generation will realize the greater fruit. 

This journey has been humbling for me as a priest in many ways. Until Savannah approached me with the question of the deaf and Orthodoxy, I had not even thought about the needs of the hearing impaired. Her statement, “Dad, what about those who cannot hear the Gospel?” still haunts me. We want to address this in our own parish, too! While it seemed like an easy fix in the beginning to reach the this community, the longer I have worked on this with Savannah, the more I have begun to realize that incorporating ASL into our liturgical lives is going to take a lot of work and a lot of time. Developing signs that communicate certain Orthodox theological concepts is complicated! For instance, the Orthodox idea of salvation has multiple aspects—how do you capture the full concept with theological accuracy through ASL? How about words like “Theotokos” or “consubstantial?” We are in the process of developing a team, national and international, that will address these issues and many others. Pray for us! 

Eventually, I hope to be able to discuss the OCDA with seminarians. You build on what you learn and are exposed to at seminary throughout the rest of your ministry—so if I can present our work to future church leaders during their training they may keep those with disabilities in their minds as they enter their parish assignments. 

What can faithful do to help?

Two immediate OCDA roles that we are trying to fill are ASL Consultants and OCDA Ambassadors. Our Consultants are those who know ASL and can both teach it to others and give us input as we create signing standards for services. We need help to form and develop consistent liturgical and educational materials for use in North America. Our Ambassadors will provide vital points of contact in parishes. They will distribute informative brochures, pamphlets, and posters, paying attention to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing in their communities and communicating their needs back to us. In other words they represent the OCDA to the deaf and HOH and the deaf and HOH to the OCDA. 

Lastly, we need the prayers of God’s people to strengthen and guide this new work. Saint Mark the Deaf, our patron, intercedes for us and we ask you do as well. Prayer, as in the rest of our Christian experience, is foundational to and for all that follows! 

Learn more at orthodoxdeaf.org, or contact Fr. Jason and Savannah at orthodoxdeaf@gmail.com.

A homily delivered in Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on December 25, 2015.

Today, at this feast, we stand at the turning point of time.

Not simply another turning point, as the world spins on its axis, or rotates around the sun, but the turning point of time itself; the moment from which we measure all time. And more: it is a turning point in the heavens themselves, opening towards us on earth, so that we can hear the angels singing the praise of God, if we have the ears to hear them, not our usual physical sense of sound, which at this time of year is bombarded by all sorts of noise, some of it claiming to be religious – but usually the religion of consumption; but with a purified hearing.

It is a turning point at which strange things happen.

According to an old tale, told by another story teller, in the night between Christmas Eve and the morning of Christmas day, all the animals can speak, though few hear them or know what they say; Simpkin, the cat, as he wanders through the streets looking for mice to eat, can hear them chattering away and singing; but he was not admitted into their conversation; for he had hidden some twist and was prowling for mice to eat, as his master lay sick in bed, muttering to himself: no more twist.

That nature is overturned on this night is indeed an old idea. In the second century prayer for midnight, we hear:

In this hour every creature hushes for a brief moment to praise the Lord; stars and plants and water stand still at that instant; all the hosts of angels ministering to Him, together with the souls of the righteous, praise God.

And from the same period, we hear, in the Protoevangelium of James, how Mary and Joseph also stop, when Mary feels the stirrings of the babe in her womb ready to be born. They find a cave and Joseph goes off to find a midwife:

But I, Joseph, was walking and I was not walking. I looked up to the vault of the sky, and I saw it standing still, and into the air, and I saw that it was greatly disturbed, and the birds of the sky were at rest. …
Everyone was looking up. I saw a flock of sheep being herded, but they were standing still … I looked down at the torrential stream, and I saw some goats whose mouths were over the water, but they were not drinking. Then suddenly everything returned to its normal course.

As Christ is born, creation stands still—strange things happen and nature is overturned, the heavens themselves are turned, and we can, if we listen, hear the angels praising (and the mice singing).

It is in this midnight silence, Wisdom says, that the firstborn Egyptians were slain by the destroying angel, so that the firstborn of God, Israel, might be set free from slavery, when the Word descended from heaven. While peaceful silence enveloped all things, and night was in the middle of its own swift course, from heaven, from the royal throne, your all-powerful Word, leapt as a stern warrior, into the midst of the land marked for destruction, bearing your irrevocable command as a sharp rapier; standing, it filled all things with death and while it touched heaven, it stood on the earth.

This act, in silence, is what we celebrate today, as we too are set free from slavery, when the firstborn Son of God, Christ himself, is born from the Virgin, uniting heaven and earth, and we, in the midst of the death he casts upon the earth, are brought back to life.

Three mysteries of God, St Ignatius says, were worked in silence: the virginity of Mary, the birth of Christ, and the Cross. They were shrouded in silence, hidden from this world and its rulers, so that, when creation is silent, God can work, for Christ is the Word emerging from this silence. And it is this silence that St Ignatius asks of the Roman Christians, so that he too might follow Christ in his Passion, and so become a word of God, as did all those martyrs we celebrated in the days leading up to this birth of Christ; for as St Ignatius also says, Christ, the head, is not born without his body also being born.

It is this silence, then, that we need, if we are going to hear the angelic ranks singing in amazement today, and to join in their hymns of praise. This is something we will never hear, or be part of, if we remain on the prowl, as was Simpkin, looking to fill our stomachs by eating others, all the while keeping for ourselves what others need. Only when he repented, and brought to his master that which he had held back, only then was the magnificent garment that the mice had been working on only then was it able to be completed.

Christ’s body, miraculously woven in the womb of the Virgin, as she spins the thread, the twist, is today present on earth. That it weaves together heaven and earth is possible only because the heavens themselves are opened when they turn today, and when they are opened we can see the end to which the whole of creation (animals as well) are working.

Let us not say, then, that we have no more twist, nothing to contribute to the weaving of the glorious body of Christ, but instead give glory, thanksgiving, and praise for all that God has done for us today, giving of ourselves, giving our very selves, in return for truly today, Christ is born!

-

Fr. John Behr (SVOTS ’97) is the former Dean of St Vladimir’s Seminary and Professor of Patristics.

Father Theodor Svane, a 2015 alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), is the priest in charge of The Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Parish (Archdiocese of Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, Moscow Patriarchate) in Bergen, Norway. In Norway, where Lutheranism is the state religion and people identify as being culturally Lutheran, it is difficult to convert to another faith. But in a recent interview, Fr. Theodor explains that Norwegians are hungry for a deeper Christianity and the ancient Church. He also talks about the challenges and rewards of building a mission parish in “the land of the Vikings.” His Matushka, Hanne, is a cultural anthropologist who teaches at a local university. They have two children, Simon, 10, and Filip, 5. 

Q: Tell us about your mission parish.

FT:  Since our return from California and the U.S. in 2017 I have been the priest in charge over a mission parish in Bergen, Norway. Our mission is international, but our liturgical language is Norwegian. Thank God we already have many ethnic Orthodox parishes in Norway. However I believe it is very important that we establish Norwegian speaking parishes in addition to other ones. Many Norwegians are longing for a deeper Christianity and searching for the ancient Church. Starting a mission is hard work and it’s been three challenging but also rewarding years. Thank God we have been able to support ourselves through my work as a Navy Chaplain in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

We are currently renting a parish hall from a Lutheran church. Every weekend, we set up for Vespers Saturday evening and for Sunday Divine Liturgy and then we take everything down Sunday afternoon. On feast days falling on weekdays we often celebrate with the Romanian or Russian parishes here in Bergen. It is important for me to have good relationships with the other Orthodox parishes, and my brother clergy in town are good friends and supporters. We are in the same Church, united in Christ, but at the same time of different cultures and languages.

Q: What is the history of Orthodoxy in Norway? 

FT:  The Orthodox Church in Norway has long roots. Norway was Christianized before the Great Schism and the Norwegians were all Orthodox, since both the eastern and western part of the Church was united at the time. Most of the missionaries came from western Europe, but also a significant current came from the east. For instance, the rulers of Norway were related to the rulers of Rus in Novgorod and Kiev. Many of the ruling class had ties in the east. Some of the kings who gave Norway Christian laws spent significant time in Russia. One of them was even nicknamed “the Russian.”

God can send anyone, and ironically it is the Vikings, well known for their savagery and paganism, who brought Christianity to Norway. While they were plundering and pillaging, but also trading and traveling across the medieval world, they encountered Christianity. Many of them became Christians and brought Christianity back to our shores. After the Great Schism, which happens at the end of the Viking era, Orthodoxy disappeared slowly as Norway is drawn under the authority of the emerging papal power of the Latin Church. 

Orthodoxy later resurfaced again in northern Norway around the time of the Reformation, because Norway borders Finland and Russia. The stories of the Russian missionaries who came here resemble the life of St. Herman of Alaska. St. Tryphon was a Russian saint who came to Norway. Norway also has three Orthodox saints who lived during the Viking era: St. Sunniva, St. Olaf, and St. Hallvard.

Q:  Is it difficult culturally to convert in Norway?

FT:  In Europe, religion, ethnicity, and culture are tied together more closely than in the U.S. The religion of Scandinavian countries has had and still has very close ties with the state and culture. In 1537, by decree, all Norwegians became Lutherans by law and anyone opposing this and holding on to the old ways would ultimately be expelled from the country.

The authority of the king replaced the authority of the pope. Religion, nation, and nationality merged. To this day the official name of the Lutheran State Church is the “Church of Norway.” Historically Scandinavians have been very homogenous, ethnically and religiously speaking, and in Norway we did not get full religious freedom until the 1960s. 

For this reason a Norwegian often feels that they have to abandon their nationality if they join the Orthodox Church. This is a paradox since the Orthodox Church is the closest Christian church geographically speaking since we border Russia and Finland. 

Q: How is your parish doing today?

FT: The community was established in the early 90s. I am the first resident priest of the mission and so far my main focus has simply been to get the services up and running on a weekly basis. We are growing slowly as you would expect for a small mission, but we will receive a catechumen into the church this fall and we have a few more coming down the pipeline. On a regular Sunday, before COVID, we would be between twenty and twenty-five worshippers.

Our mission is international, with people from all over the world. We have Japanese, Romanians, Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Middle Easterners. The core are, however, Norwegian converts, and this is great. There is a danger if we become a parish of only converts, so I am very grateful for all the internationals that God sends us. People from Orthodox countries are less “heady” than converts from western Protestant countries. We need them because they have Orthodoxy in their bodies and not just in their heads. I pray that God will send us more cradle Orthodox who are excited about establishing a Norwegian speaking parish.

Q:  How did you become Orthodox?

FT:  I came to the Orthodox Church while studying theology part-time and working as a civil engineer. My parents were practicing Christians who gave me a traditional Norwegian Christian upbringing. However from my early twenties I was drawn to the Orthodox Church and had a long distance relationship with it, mainly through books (this was before we got internet). But at that stage I did not really consider it as an option for me, since I, like Norwegians in general, believe Orthodoxy to be a cultural expression of Christianity and thus something for people from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, but not for me. However when we lived for one year in Thailand, when my wife did her field research for her Master’s thesis in 2005, I realized that I had to do something with my relationship with the Orthodox Church. And as soon as we moved back to Europe we went on a pilgrimage to the Holy land and Syria, and from that point on there was no point of return. I was completely sold and felt that if I did not become Orthodox I would wither and die.

However the process took quite a few years because it was important for me and my wife to do this together. I am very grateful that we took the time.

At the time the Orthodox community in Bergen was very small and there were no resident priests. A priest would come once a month to celebrate the liturgy on Saturdays, and we would gather on Sundays to read the Typika service in between. I never dreamt of becoming a priest when I was young, but the thought emerged in my heart partly because I was seeing a need for a priest.

 We moved to America because we realized we needed to immerse ourselves in an Orthodox community. You can read books on the Orthodox Church, but you will miss out on the essentials, because the faith is something we practice in a community as the Body of Christ. 

Q: I understand you have started a building campaign.

FT:  Yes, I never thought we would start this early, but someone approached me just after Christmas and wanted to give us $20,000 if we established a fund. It is a challenge to find a place to worship. Our desire is to establish a viable Norwegian community by the grace of God. Having our own place to worship is a very important part in reaching that goal. A part of my long term dream is to build an Orthodox church inspired by our ancient Norwegian building traditions. Either a wooden stave church or perhaps a fusion of Russian/Byzantine and Norwegian stone church traditions.

Q: What is the state of Orthodoxy in Norway?

FT:  For more than ten years, Orthodoxy has been the fastest growing Christian Church in Norway. Our numbers have been growing because of immigration mainly from Eastern Europe, but also Norwegians are finding their way. It is a very typical growth challenge. We are lagging behind on infrastructure, clergy, choir directors, etc.

Our parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, which is a diocese with a long history in Western Europe and also has close ties to the Orthodox Church in America. The last couple of years have been very challenging for our diocese, but we are now very grateful to be reunited with the Russian Church to which we historically belong. I am eager and look forward to starting the work God has set us to do here. 

Q: Tell me about your time at SVOTS.

FT:  We had a great time at St Vladimir’s. Our five years in the U.S., starting at St Vladimir’s followed by being an assistant priest in California, were the five best years of our lives. I can’t stress how important the formation that happens in the seminary community is. You can’t absorb the Orthodox ethos and way of life through reading, you have to live and practice it in a community. The childhood that we were able to give our kids was filled with so much joy and a lot of friends at the seminary campus. If I could find an excuse to go back and live there I would! But I know that God has called us to be where we are even though it sometimes feels like a desert compared to the situation in the U.S. Because we love the seminary, it was such a great joy and honor for us to host Fr. Chad Hatfield here in December as he was giving a retreat for us and inspiring us to be the Church sent to our own people. I am incredibly grateful for our time in the U.S., and for the ties and friends we have been given. We are always delighted to receive visitors and friends in the land of the Vikings.