Psalm 125
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is round about his people,
from this time forth and for evermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside upon their crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be in Israel!
“Peace be in Israel!” Headlines of the past few weeks make this prayer—and prayers for peace everywhere—utterly relevant. Ultimately, God alone is the source of strength and hope “from this time forth and forevermore.” He alone gives us courage to withstand the present and to look toward and His eternal kingdom where there is no sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, and where every tear is wiped away. The deep tragedy of the present violence is—and always has been—that human beings are brothers and sisters, children of one God, and yet they are killing each other. Even Mount Zion is now a symbol of smoldering enmity, as the Muslim Dome of the Rock overlooks the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple.
Metropolitan Tikhon and I returned yesterday afternoon from Gettysburg, PA, after a weekend of church services, meetings and meals with members of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA). This was my first time attending the annual convention, and I was grateful to see the good work being done and their desire to serve the church with their long experience (88 years). I’ll have more to say about this later this week, but for today I’d like to focus on Gettysburg.
There’s nothing like a Civil War battlefield to bring home the self-destructive madness of the human race that goes back to Cain killing his brother Abel. The Civil War was by far the bloodiest war in US history. The standard estimate is 618,222 killed (360,222 for the North, 258,000 for the South), but more recent data shows that the total could be much higher: 750,000. In the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg alone, July 1-3, 1863, 7,863 were killed, 27,224 were wounded and 11,199 were captured or went missing in action. At one of the field hospitals the sawn-off limbs of wounded soldiers piled-up outside as army surgeons tossed them through the window.
Looking now at the peaceful fields and tourists it’s hard to imagine the noise, cannon-fire, smoke, screams and carnage. Thank God that peace has returned. May God give eternal rest to those who lost their lives in those terrible days. And may we recommit ourselves to trust in the Lord. So shall we be “like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever.”
Gratitude
Thirty years ago today, 29 July 1984, Archbishop Peter (L’Huillier) of blessed memory ordained me to the Holy Priesthood at Holy Protection of the Virgin Cathedral in New York City.
In 1976 I was living in Montreal, studying at McGill University and going to church at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. My late grandmother (Tatiana Sylvestrovna Jacob) was a stalwart parishioner there and I saw her often. Her father had been a priest in Kishinev who died on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution. When I told her that I intended to go to seminary the first words out of her mouth were prophetic: “You will have an interesting life.” It has been an interesting life, and I am grateful. I still listen to Carole King, and can’t help thinking that my life “has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue.” So it’s a day of gratitude and reflection for me.
First, gratitude. I’d like to give thanks to those whom it has been my privilege to serve as a priest, even briefly. The parishioners of Holy Protection Cathedral in New York City, where I served as deacon for four years before being ordained a priest. The faithful of Holy Annunciation Church (Brisbane, Australia) and Holy Trinity Church (Rahway, New Jersey). Agios Georgios Church (Thessaloniki, Greece), Saint Ephraim Church and the staff and students of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (Cambridge, England). Annunciation Cathedral (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) and Analipsis (Ascension) Greek Orthodox Church (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) and the staff and students of the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University (Ottawa). And now, parishioners of Saint Sergius Chapel at the Chancery (Syosset, NY) and the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, whom I serve as Chancellor. And as the church of the family (sometimes it was just them), I can’t say enough in gratitude to my wife Denise and my sons and their wives: Andrew (Alice, with granddaughter Eloise), Alex (Meaghan) and Anthony.
Second, reflection. Three passages about the priesthood stand out.
1. From Fr Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith, Vol 2: Worship.
It is the conviction of the Orthodox that Christ is the only priest, pastor and teacher of the Christian Church. He alone guides and rules his people. He alone forgives sins and offers communion with God, his Father.
It is also the Orthodox conviction that Christ has not abandoned his people, but that he remains with his Church as its living and unique head. Christ remains present and active in the Church through his Holy Spirit.
The sacrament of holy orders in the Christian Church is the objective guarantee of the perpetual presence of Christ with his people. The bishops, priests, and deacons of the Church have no other function or service than to manifest the presence and action of Christ to his people.
2. From the prayers of ordination:
Bishop: The grace divine, which always heals that which is infirm and completes that which is lacking, ordains the most devout Deacon (name) to the office of Priest. Let us, therefore, pray for him, that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit may come upon him.
3. From the priest’s prayer during the Cherubic Hymn at the Divine Liturgy:
Priest: No one who is bound with the desires and pleasures of the flesh is worthy to approach or draw near or to serve You, O King of Glory; for to minister to You is great and awesome even to the heavenly powers. Nevertheless, through Your inexpressible and boundless love for mankind, You became man, yet without change or alteration; and as Ruler of all, You became our High Priest, and committed to us the ministry of this liturgical and bloodless sacrifice. For You alone, O Lord our God, rule over those in heaven and on earth. You are borne on the throne of the cherubim. You are Lord of the seraphim and King of Israel. You alone are holy and rest in the heavenly sanctuary. Therefore, I entreat You, Who alone are good and ready to listen: look down on me, a sinner, Your unprofitable servant, and cleanse my soul and my heart from an evil conscience; and by the power of the Holy Spirit enable me, who am endowed with the grace of the priesthood, to stand before this, Your Holy Altar, and perform the sacred mystery of Your holy and pure body and precious blood. For I draw near to You, and bowing my neck I implore You: do not turn Your face away from me, nor cast me out from among Your children; but make me, Your sinful and unworthy servant, worthy to offer gifts to You. For You are the Offerer and the Offered, the Receiver and the Received, O Christ our God, and to You we ascribe glory, together with Your Father, Who is from everlasting, and Your all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.