ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE |
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Exarchate of Parishes
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| EPISCOPAL VICARIATE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND | ||
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‘For the Life of the World’ – the 2008 Vicariate Annual Conference, held at All Saints Pastoral Centre, St Albans, 23-26 May, 2008
Greetings by Archbishop Gabriel of Comana at the beginning of the Saturday morning session Christ is risen! Dear Bishop Basil, let me tell you in the first place how happy I am to be here with you, and I wish to thank you today for all the very good cooperation that there has been between your Vicariate and our Parishes in France. Your presence is always very important for me. If we speak about bishop and Church, there is always one bishop because there is only one Christ, but there is also a community of the episcopate and I think we have started to be a community of bishops, and for that I thank you very much. To you all I want to say thank you for your love, your fidelity and your faith. Today I also welcome people from Holland, including Father Sergei Ovsannikov. Thank you very much for your presence. I also welcome people from France – from the parish Tours, Fr Boris Brobinskoy and Matushka. To all of you – it is very good to be together with you. This story is like an icon of our communities. Everywhere in Europe they are small, but they are real communities – everyone has to do something, nobody can be there just as a consumer; everyone has to take part. That is how it should always be to be Orthodox, to be a community. It is important to be a communion in Christ. If we talk about the Church we can talk about two realities. The first is the Church as an organisation – here we speak about jurisdictions, dioceses and so on. These are necessary and can even be good – but they are are not the heart of the Church. The second is communion. What is important is to be a eucharistic community, to be together on Sunday, and to celebrate the Holy Liturgy for the sanctification of our own souls and of the world. That is why I am happy that there are some new communities in Britain, and I say to everyone here, if a community is small, then it can only become bigger. So we must make a start. We must be there, and celebrate the holy Liturgy for the sanctification of the world. Thank you. A personal summary of the formal presentations by Candy Charters Any attempt to describe in full the content of these presentations would be almost as long as the papers presented, so rich and varied was the content. Since these will be published in full in due course, what follows is a summary of the main points as I saw them, focussed specifically on the theme for the conference: ‘For the Life of the World: Communion and Community’. I felt the conference helped us define community in a very broad sense and then explained the role Communion plays in achieving a form of unification with God and with the community. The conference then established how Communion is an essential precursor to our work in the world, before exploring a number of useful examples of that work. I have therefore structured this report by these three major themes, in that order, rather than taking each paper in turn:
Community Wendy Robinson, in her talk ‘Trust in God and Working With Each Other’, warned of a tendency, perhaps particularly in Orthodoxy, for churches to become closed communities, or ghettos, ‘whereby they become opaque both to the Grace of God and to the needs of the World’. They define their identity over against the surrounding world, against other religions and against non-Orthodox Christians. Instead the Church should be the ‘spokesperson and prayer-bearer before the face of God, on behalf of the world’. Father Boris Bobrinskoy, in his talk, ‘The Holy Spirit’, later commented, ‘the church is not just a building; in a sense it is the whole of cosmic creation’.
Another aspect of Christian community was the relationship between Bishop, Priesthood and Laity. Wendy Robinson explained that every lay person is the priest of his or her existence, offering in sacrifice his or her entire life and existence. She described how the Russian émigré tradition established ‘a committed, seeking, studying, serving laity’, which did not seek ‘an over-clericalised Church but one in which all were responsible for the life of the Church’. She contrasted this with the ‘post-Constantinian reaction’, in which the lay people themselves relinquished their dignity as a universal priesthood. This ‘great betrayal of the laity’ led to a negative definition of the laity as passive. All this was based on the writings of Paul Evdokimov, but was reiterated by Father Sergei Ovsiannikov in his talk, ‘Confession and Communion’, when he described the laity as becoming mere consumers. This brings me to the next theme of the conference, that of Communion. CommunionBishop Basil pointed out that Christ is the essential means of achieving unification of different parts of God’s creation. The Council of Chalcedon stated that Christ was a single person; both man and divine, ‘without confusion or division’. We ‘become partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4) not through direct communion in the divine nature, but indirectly through personal communion with Christ. The divine nature does not exist except in personal form and thus unity with the Father can only be achieved by mankind via Communion with Christ. There were a number of such unifications, including God and Creation, Visible and Invisible, Heaven and Earth, and Man and Woman. For me this gave a new depth to the importance of role of Communion in the unification of the world, i.e. the community of the Creation. I cannot really summarise the scope, depth and richness of Bishop Basil’s talk; I recommend you read his paper when it is published.
He also pointed out that the ritual of personal Confession was a much later development, partly coming from the growth of monasticism, whereas the early church treated Communion almost as a commandment with very few acceptable reasons NOT to partake. Amal Dibo explained that, in her part of the Middle East, there has been a movement away from very few taking Communion towards almost everyone receiving it, but without Confession (due to the influence of the Orthodox Youth movement). To address this, a small number of people have formed a group to practice confession together. Amal felt that effective repentance was a training activity, involving a number of steps prior to absolution. Thus a view emerged of Confession running in parallel with Communion rather than in sequence, triggering a useful debate about different ways of handling Confession to retain its value without its becoming a barrier to regular Communion.
Archbishop Gabriel, in his address, said ‘Some of our communities are small but they are real communities and everyone has to do something – to be participants rather than consumers. We have to be there to celebrate the Holy Liturgy for the sanctification of the world’. This brings me to the third element of the conference theme. ‘For the Life of the World’ Royal Priesthood As an aside, another key subject for the round table was the role of Deacons – how we choose them and what their duties should be as the bridge between clergy and laity. The Liturgy after the Liturgy Irina von Schlippe’s talk, ‘The Liturgy After the Liturgy’, laid out a large number of practical ideas of ‘things to do’ that would help make this liturgy after the Liturgy really happen: she called this ‘applied religion’. However she prefaced these by also stressing that there cannot be a Liturgy in the world without the Liturgy of the Eucharist first. ‘Without engaging with the Holy Spirit in our work, no matter how good, it will not go beyond professionalism or philanthropy. It will not be a real work of Charity.’ This echoed an earlier remark by Fr Michael Fortounatto: ‘The Holy Spirit always acts first. Our task is consensus with Him.’ Among her suggestions were ‘help the clergy and those engaged in the permanent work of the Vicariate’; ‘don’t just donate to charities, leaving everything to specialists, do something yourself’; and ‘learn to delegate’. Then she described a long list of simple but rewarding things that individuals and small groups could do, including making increased use of traditional customs associated with church feasts. It is always a pleasure to listen to Irina, not only for her practical approach but also for her many insights into what it was like to work closely with Metropolitan Anthony. Another example of this second liturgy in action was Sarah Dennis’s presentation on St Gregory’s Foundation’s setting up of a youth support club in St Petersburg at a rehabilitation centre for young offenders. She showed some wonderful video clips of their activities, including a form of obstacle-based running game called Parkour. Speakers from the floor started to talk about the need for clearer organisation and delegation and, just like last year, the conference had succeeded in getting people to think about how to get things done. ‘Danger! Beware! Dangerous bends for 128 miles!’ Wendy Robinson quoted this African road sign in relation to the road that we were taking that led to the establishment of the Vicariate. However this might also apply to any Christian fully applying the principles discussed at the conference. Bishop Basil himself quoted Metropolitan John Zizioulas as saying ‘Personhood is fraught with danger’ and explained that we become vulnerable to the Other in a radical way. However the lasting admonition that still rings in my ears and defines what I got out of this conference was Wendy Robinson’s quote, drawn from her limitless supply of anecdotes from family and friends, ‘Lass, get your own feet under you and get on with it’. General reflections on the conference by Barbara BatesI have been asked to write about the general ‘ambience’ of the conference, the social side, perhaps even make an attempt on the ‘meaning’, while my good friends Steve and Candy undertake the much more onerous task of describing the talks in detail.
Ambience….my brain ticked off into etymology, one of my favourite places, and I thought, ‘ambi-‘? Both, double? I looked it up and I find that it’s from a root meaning ‘from both sides’ and eventually settles on our modern sense of ‘surroundings’. I thought also of the phrase in the Six Psalms of Matins, ‘Tthey have set themselves against me round about’. This has in some ways indeed been our experience. So off I went, thinking of both surroundings and difference, not necessarily contradiction. My musings went down several paths, but I will try to tie them up in the end. The physical setting of the Pastoral Centre is extravagantly beautiful. Even the torrential rain served merely to emphasise the lush greenery, and the garden was full of metaphor. You can see photographs and more details on their website. They mention a ‘prayer walk’ which, I imagine, takes you ‘round and round the garden’, and into a meditative, prayerful space. It was too wet to venture into it, and I did not find it this time, but I look forward to doing so in future years. The inner quadrangle was lovely enough, and I spent quite a lot of time there, and had some memorable conversations, at least one of which reminded me that there is a delighted laughter at the heart of Creation. At the end, as I was waiting to leave, jumbled amongst luggage and untidy partings, I happened to open the door and looked out through the rain into this careful paradise. It reminded me of Eliot’s ‘rose garden’ in Burnt Norton
Conference aims How we relate to difference and integrate it into our lives is one of the greatest problems facing our world today. How do we acknowledge and accept our differences? How do we make peace with those who threaten us? How do we take responsibility for the world and one another? This Conference will reflect on these things, asking how, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, we may grow into communion with God who draws us into ever deeper commitment and fellowship with one another. Impressions As Candy and Steve have summarised the talks, I will give only my impressions. Wendy began on the Friday night with a talk ‘Trust in God and Working with each other’. In her clear, soothing, deliberate voice she talked of tension and paradox, something we cannot live without. Dare I compare her strong, calming voice to Cordelia’s in King Lear? ‘Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman. ...’ It seemed so to me. She alluded to our still broken communities, speaking of problems of power, property, ownership, law, where ‘should’ is not helpful. We may face a road where you can’t see round the next corner, and understanding of each other is so important. We must ‘listen each other into the deep places.’ Even if we feel tired and sometimes betrayed, we have to ‘hold situations’ and ‘persevere’. Wendy echoed a previous Conference in referring to the priesthood of all believers – there is a sense in which all are clergy, all are called – saying that there could be a betrayal by the laity, in not taking up this responsibility and calling. There must be truthfulness and honesty with one another. How difficult this can be, I thought. Back to T S Eliot – ‘human kind cannot bear very much reality’. Wendy spoke of the primacy of love; yet again we have a paradox. To love is to be vulnerable, to take a risk, but it is the only thing to do.
He related some telling anecdotes. My favourite was that of the boy who sang beautifully in church, to the incredulity of his teacher, the point being that ‘All things are possible in church.’ This would be a good reflection on its own to take away from the conference, even if there had not been any others. Archbishop Gabriel also stressed the importance of each one taking responsibility within the community. This theme ran throughout, expanded by the discussions of the royal priesthood of all believers. All have their work to do,that can be done only by those particular, unique, persons. This relates to one strand of the Conference brief, about taking responsibility.
Bishop Basil spoke of Communion and Otherness, making a strong point that personal existence actually depends on an appreciation of the Other. The talk has been summarised, and will be published, so I remark only on some phrases that really ‘spoke to my condition’. One in particular was to the effect that ‘personhood is fraught with danger’. We may speak lightly of the spiritual struggle, but it is a serious and hazardous business. I am reminded of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins,
Even though victory is assured, has indeed already been gained, we must make it actual every day, in the smallest details of our lives. Irina von Schlippe and James Haywood gave examples in their talks. I was struck by Bishop Basil’s remarks about Photine, the Samaritan woman, who, at a time of confusion and seeking, had been bearing the heat of the day. She met Christ in this exact condition, where she was, in the midst of the heat, the dust, the weariness, the sheer grind of things, and He gave her living water. Within the Liturgy I could say, this happened to me. My scattered fragments were gathered up, and I saw our situation and my own situation in a wider perspective. And I have thought before, that in taking Communion, every cell of our physical bodies is infused by the whole of Christ. We are a very materialist lot, and it matters (no pun intended.) Again, he spoke about the importance of the Other. It takes a huge imaginative effort sometimes to break out of our own stubborn perceptions and to see that other people really do genuinely see things differently – they are on a different hilltop – and that this can be all right. The Christian life is full of paradox, but not contradiction, and here is one, that we need the Other to be ourselves. There were questions after the talks, and they evinced a desire for practical action. What, asked one of us, do you mean by the ‘altar of the heart?’ What does this mean to us practically in our daily lives? How can we make a difference? This was answered to a large extent by Irina von Schlippe’s moving talk on ‘The liturgy after the liturgy’. It was also taken up in the Round Table by James Haywood, who urged us to look for practical indicators of action. How will we know when things have changed? What should we look for? Both speakers included, for example, hospitality, thankfulness, blessing, acknowledging and valuing all, in ‘ godly, quiet governance.’ I particularly liked this last phrase. . The young people As I mused about ‘ambience’, I thought of the many children whose presence was a blessing, and the beauty of nature all around us – extravagant, unnecessary, almost profligate. There was a full children’s programme this year, and it was lovely to see this. Our young people are our future, but we must enjoy them in the NOW that we have. We certainly did so this year. One little toddler came and stood in the middle of the church, clearly absorbed in the rich sights, smells, sounds and movement. Everywhere he looked he saw loving smiles and acceptance. What a wonderful foundation for him to build on. I have always been touched by the primacy given to children here, as they come up first for communion. They are treated a persons right from the start, in full communion with Christ, just as much as, perhaps more than, older people who think about it. A little cameo will stay with me – a small child was hanging back, perhaps nervous to leave his mother. A huge priest bent over him and smiled in welcome, saying to him – to the child first, rather than the mother, ‘do come…with mummy’…the obvious, unforced equality was beautiful to behold. Of course the child trotted up at once, in perfect confidence. Again, in the Liturgy, I could not help noticing that many people were transfigured in loveliness, particularly mothers and children. I had to look away – it was almost too beautiful to bear. I reflected that this is how God looks on us, if only we will turn up our faces. Whilst we were hearing talks, the children were preparing entertainment. On the Sunday evening we were treated to a very dramatic enactment of the life of St Alban, the first British martyr to whom the nearby cathedral of St Albans is dedicated. Every child had a part to play, whether music, speaking, acting or all three. I don’t think any of us will forget in a hurry the image of the executioner’s eyeballs hitting the floor ….. it was all too believable.
All this is set in the context of liturgy and prayer, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to be in this space with so many in the Vicariate. The more hidden value of the Conference, for me and I am sure for many others, is also in the opportunity for conversation and fellowship. I was privileged, even in this busy timetable, to have half a dozen deep, even hilarious, conversations that I am still processing. When in our little, scattered parishes, we may feel discouraged and alone, we have only to remember times like these to know that we are all part of the Body of Christ, which is, whatever happens, indestructible. Address by Archbishop Gabriel at the end of the Liturgy
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Many thanks – and congratulations – to the indefatigable organisers of our annual conference who brought together almost two hundred people for the Bank Holiday weekend. We asked two members of the parish of SS Aidan and Chad, Nottingham to give their impressions – of the formal presentations, and of the conference itself. We publish these here, along with the initial greetings from Archbishop Gabriel of Comana, who was present throughout the conference. The addresses given by Bishop Basil and Archbishop Gabriel at the conference Liturgy on Sunday morning are available through the links at the bottom of this page. The main talks will be published both on the website and as a booklet in due course.
I will tell you a little story. One Monday morning in school, the teacher asks the boys what they did on Sunday. One says, 'I went to visit family', and another, 'I went with my father to the football'. Another says, 'I was in church.' And the teacher asks, ‘What is so special about your church?’ ‘It is an Orthodox church, and I was invited to sing’, says the boy. The teacher says ‘You?’ ‘Yes’ says the boy. ‘But’, says the teacher ‘that is impossible. You can’t sing.’ ‘True, ‘says the boy, ‘but it was in the church – and there everything is possible’.
One might think that community referred to a group with things in common. However Bishop Basil’s talk ‘Difference: the Heart of the Christian Mystery’ gave us a sense of how God’s creation is characterised by variety. Referring to the writing of Metropolitan John Zizioulas, he said that ‘personal existence requires the “Other” in order to be real. “Otherness” is built into personhood – and therefore into existence - from the start’. Later in the conference, Amal Dibo commented that ‘Otherness’ would be hell in a world without God and that is what the twentieth century found. How this variety is brought together is discussed under ‘Communion’ later.
We were honoured with the presence of his eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and, in his address he, too, supported a broad view of community in two major ways. Firstly he asked us to pray for the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and for all Christians living in this part of the world and in the Middle East. Secondly he reminded us that we were the continuation of the work of all Christians who have gone before us, including the Saints and the Martyrs, and so our community crosses the boundaries of both nations and of time itself. Later discussions also explored our relationship to non-Christian communities.
Father Sergei’s talk addressed barriers to regular and meaningful Communion. He described how attitudes to Communion oscillated between two extremes: Communion only after Confession and regular Communion without Confession. To address this problem he explored how both Communion and Confession had developed through history. One rather sad development was how the emphasis had moved from one of taking Communion ‘with glad and generous hearts’ (as described in Acts) to one more of fear. As the separation between clergy and laity grew, so did barriers between the laity and the Communion service. The breaking of bread used to take place at the entrance of the church as people brought it as offering, whereas it now takes place behind an iconostasis, itself only introduced around the fifth century. The so-called ‘secret’ prayers used to be read out among the laity, but now [in some churches] cannot generally be heard.
Many speakers gave us some wonderful insights into the nature of the Holy Trinity but these are best seen in the context of their papers. It is however worth repeating two of Father Boris’s observations, one linking the Trinity to the concept of community – ‘the Trinity is a Divine Council; an archetype for any council or community’, with each of the Three Persons having different characteristics yet remaining indivisibly whole. The second linked the Liturgy to work in the world by referring to the ‘permanently Pentecostal event of the Eucharist’. 
Our third Conference as a Vicariate was held over the Bank Holiday weekend. For the first time we were guests at a dedicated pastoral facility, and I for one am very pleased to know that it has been booked for the next five years. This is a wonderful vote of confidence in our future. It was also good to hear that there was so much enthusiasm to attend that the Conference was over subscribed and it was hard – although I hope possible – to fit everyone in who wanted to come. 
The facilities were excellent. The talks took place in ‘The Great Hall’, an imposing room with deliciously vivid stained glass windows, and I was pleased to see hanging on the wall a representation of da Vinci’s lovely cartoon, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist. We have a smaller print of this in our front room, and so I felt quite at home. 
It was lovely to have Archbishop Gabriel with us for the whole conference, and also that Archbishop Gregorios was able to be present for part of the time. The former spoke a great deal about the importance of co- operation between the English and French dioceses in particular, and I for one now feel quite a European in general. 
There was a report on the publishing work of the Vicariate, and a number of books were already available on the Conference bookstall, along with our journal, ‘The Messenger, which is now into its second year. Bishop Basil presented Archbishop Gabriel with the newly published Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Details of these publications are on the 
Our older people were no less talented. In the social gathering we all had what can best be described as a ‘jolly good time’. We had, for example, oboe playing, a hornpipe, French, Greek, Russian and Arabic singing, multi lingual refrains, a love sick hippopotamus…. The young people were with us too, and played musical instruments for us, showing enormous skill. English and Scottish activities were also represented, by a dramatic Hampshire ballad and a very energetic Dashing White Sergeant(s). 
Conclusion Did the Conference meet its aims? Well, we certainly reflected on all the stated themes. Personally, I realised again the importance of utter truthfulness, if only with myself, which must lead to humility, if properly undertaken. What really motivates me? Are my perceptions accurate? How am I affecting the other person? Wendy’s workshop, which I attended, gave some structures to aid this process of reflection. If I don’t like what I find, how can I change it? We are back to repentance and confession, informed by prayer.