I really don't know about this. His Eminence is starting to make me wonder what motivates him.
SOURCE: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10693
By Michael Heidt
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
6/24/2009
Speaking on Wednesday morning to the ACNA Assembly, His Beatitude, Jonah, Metropolitan of All America and Canada and leader of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), called for a "full... intercommunion" with the Anglican Church in North America. "What will it take," he asked, "for a true ecumenical reconciliation? That is what I am seeking by being with you today."
This marks the potential resumption of an Orthodox/Anglican dialogue that began a hundred years ago between two missionary bishops, St. Tikhon of Moscow and Bishop Grafton of Fond du Lac, only to be broken off in the 1970s with the ordination of women. Metropolitan Jonah spoke as the successor of Tikhon, "I come to you as the successor of Tikhon... with the same openness, the same invitation, the same love and desire to unify Anglicanism and Orthodoxy."
What would it take for this reconciliation to occur? The Metropolitan was explicit:.
Full affirmation of the orthodox Faith of the Apostles and Church Fathers, the seven Ecumenical Councils, the Nicene Creed in its original form (without the filioque clause inserted at the Council of Toledo, 589 A.D.), all seven Sacraments and a rejection of 'the heresies of the Reformation."
His Beatitude listed these in a series of 'isms'; Calvinism, anti-sacramentalism, iconoclasm and Gnosticism. The ordination of women to the Presbyterate and their consecration as Bishops has to end if intercommunion is to occur.
These are controversial words, especially given the make up of the Assembly, which is admittedly divided on key issues such as the ordination of women, the nature and number of the Sacraments and perhaps the essential character of the Church itself. Still, the delegates welcomed his candor with applause, perhaps because His Beatitude was self-evidently "speaking the truth with love." Less controversially, he called for a true renunciation of sin and immorality, "We must eliminate any shred of immorality in our lives," not least because sin "kills and maims the soul," likewise immorality, which destroys the soul and "demoralizes our culture." Coming from a faith tradition fully alive to the aggressive threat of militant Islam, the Metropolitan issued the following warning:; a culture demoralized by immorality "cannot stand up to the strict asceticism of Islam."
He then spoke to the current blurring of gender identity. Homosexualism not only "destroys authentic masculinity, it destroys authentic womanhood." Again, "gay ideology is neither from nurture or nature... we cannot accept their lifestyle or validate their unions." These are not something healthy, but "something to be healed". His Beatitude was equally emphatic on abortion, "Abortion not only rips out the soul of the fetus from the body of a woman, it rips out her own soul also... We must stand together in an absolute condemnation of abortion." The Assembly rose in thunderous acclamation. There should be no doubt whatsoever that ACNA stands for the life of the unborn child.
The Metropolitan's words on the unity of the Church were equally well received. We must find, "unity of vision, unity of life, unity of being in Jesus Christ" in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is to be found in true orthodoxy, which means, for Jonah at least, not simply "right opinion", but also "right glory", which is discovered in the worship of God. This gives the faithful entry into the liturgy of the Angels and Saints as revealed to Moses, Ezekiel and St. John, being a true participation on earth in the worship of heaven. The same meeting of heaven and earth is to be found in the Church; this "is not simply human, it is divine," and to be believed in as we believe in Jesus Himself - not merely as a man made institution, who may or may not "like the same prayer Book", but as the organic union of Christians with Our Savior in the Body of Christ. Again, this met with spontaneous applause.
The same approval was given to his Beatitude's description of faith and the necessity of surrendering to Christ.
"Faith... is the knowledge of the heart (that) I have died and my life is hidden in the heart of God... it is only Jesus that matters."
This means a total self-oblation:
"We have to surrender to God in the depths of our being," and this "is that spiritual quest... to be transformed by the Spirit." The corollary of this is radical forgiveness and a giving up of all resentments against those "who have offended... abused... (and) slandered you... When you forgive like that, you liken yourself to Jesus Christ."
This, in the end, was at the heart of Metropolitan's message. He called on ACNA to embrace Christ in His totality - in His Church and Sacraments, in the Faith and Morals handed down by Jesus Himself to the faithful throughout the ages, and in that true repentance which is nothing other than complete surrender of self to the mind and Person of Our Lord. With such a spirit in place, his vision of unity between loyal Anglicans and Orthodoxy may be realized. There can be no question that the invitation is on the table, and the prize is big, nothing less than the recognized integration of the Anglican Church in North America with historic Catholicism. Will ACNA rise to the challenge?
END
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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20 comments:
He called them to Orthodoxy. That bothers you because ... ?
The relative "youth" and rapid elevation of this Heirarch in the current ecclesiastical Zeitgeist is the calculus for disaster.
i don't get it.
Repetitive declarations of profound humility and grandiose agendas may belie an inner hubris, "me thinks he protests too loudly." One would anticipate the occurrence of an enantiodromia in ACT II of this drama; the superabundance of one force inevitably produces its opposite.
"Repetitive declarations of profound humility and grandiose agendas may belie an inner hubris ..."
Ah, an overeducated idiot. I know lots of those; most have PhDs, but can't speak English.
Seems my hypothesis is being validated.
Rightwingprof:
why the hostility? some folks are more eloquent than others. putting them down and calling them idiots only reflects badly on yourself.
Hostility? Hardly. I'm just a bit harder to impress with your use of your thesaurus. Your comment contained no substance, nothing but idle pseudo-psychological speculation, tied up in poorly chosen 18-dollar words, not unlike something right out of a school of education. Babble, with nothing behind it.
rightwingprof:
i was not even the author of the original comment that you criticized. i was only saying that you sounded very hostile, and you still do. i hope all is well in your life and that your comments are only idle reflections.
Take care. i'm not going to talk about this anymore.
Seems we now have TWO anonymous's on the blog.
Seems we have a second vindication of my hypothesis. Appears there is some animosity towards Ph.D.'s. Wonder, if a complex has been "hit"? ABD???
Anonymous # 1
no, i was the anonymous #2. i just couldn't figure out how to put my name in since i only just started commenting.
ABD? That would explain why you were scouring through your thesaurus in search of words to impress people. Note that you still have said nothing of substance whatsoever.
Mr. "rightwingprof,"
It is commonly known that "ABD" means "All But Dissertation," which means that all academic work toward a PhD has been completed, but the degree was not awarded because the dissertation was not completed, most likely because of committee problems (which occurs quite frequently).
You do not know the commenter whom you continually attack with your insults, name-calling, and innuendo. If you still maintain that this commenter has said "nothing of substance," then it is you who have the lack in vocabulary. You have no idea of this person's education, background, or experience in any field; yet you continue to make disparaging remarks about him as if you did know him. I hope this is not an example of how you are working out your salvation in Holy Orthodoxy, nor an example of the behavior or attitude of the followers of Met. +JONAH. I, for one, am tired of your childishness; and if I were the owner of this blog, I'd either edit your comments or delete the offensive ones. Fortunately for you, the owner believes in a freer type of speech than I do.
I do hope that you will come to your senses, and behave in a more gentlemanly, civilized manner that gives a truer example of Holy Orthodoxy than you have given so far.
Dear Susanna:
I know exactly what ABD means, and it remains an excellent explanation for why an anonymous commenter posted a content-free (for your information, that means lacking in content) slam whose sole purpose was to attempt to impress us with his superior education. As for "childishness," I am sorry you don't comprehend the concept, and confuse it with not being stupid enough to be fooled by obfuscatory (look it up) language free of substance. I, for one, would be extremely interested in seeing a substantial criticism of +Jonah, rather than a self-serving attempt to gain attention, as "anonymous" posted.
But thank you for your unsolicited opinion.
Dear Mr. "rightwingprof,"
I reiterate: unless you personally know this commenter, you are making assumptions about him/her that may not be grounded in reality; and now you are attacking me, whom you do *not* know. Surely, this is not the spirit of Met. +JONAH whom you appear to admire so much.
I, also, am done with talking with you; since you apparently have some sort of "axe to grind."
Why yes, "Susanna," I do have an "axe" to grind, specifically, that my question (see the first comment) was not answered, and several disrespectful gratuitous slams were posted by "anonymous" which contained no substance whatsoever. My "axe" is the utter disrespect many of (according to you) my religious betters have for the bishops of the Church, particularly those like you who leap to their defense.
So I repeat: Exactly what problem does the original poster have with the Metropolitan's no-compromise calling others to Orthodoxy? Exactly how is that problematic? As for anonymous, there's nothing to respond to other than his attempts to impress, since his comments contained no substance whatsoever.
It appears my position has been thoroughly "invalidated." I have been relegated to the status of the "bete noire." If this should prove to be an ecclesiastical collective attitude which is now beginning to affect the laity, it is certainly a dark harbinger. Let us now lay aside further response and allow the Metropolitan's apologist to have the final word. Please avoid further postings even if you feel provoked. Maintain your dignity.
Anonymous # 1
Hoom-Ha - As a very traditional Orthodox, I find Metropolitan Jonah's words to be full of promise. It will take time to see if he "wears well," and continues to adhere to strict Orthodox doctrine, but I find him to be refreshing - after the last couple of primates the OCA had. He was not one of the "old boys' network," and doesn't seem to carry much of the baggage the "old boys" carried.
Let's give him a good 5 - 10 years before we begin to tear him down.
I agree. However, I draw the line at Ecumenism. Anything that looks like it could lead to Ecumenism I want to stay far away from. I can handle the new calendar and maybe even pews and lack of head coverings in women if there is no Ecumenism.
I hope that this isn't an attempt at a Western Rite in the OCA. However, I'm jaded enough by now to want nothing to do with it until it comes to fruition.
If this is an attempt to convert these people to Orthodoxy without compromise then I must say "Prove it."
I certainly hope this also answers Mr. Rightwing's question also.
In response to Gregory's post: let us keep in mind that it is a common theological maxim that Liturgy will form belief and affect popular theology. Some have speculated there must have been some components of the Latin Liturgy which led to the devolution of the Western Church to its current sorry state. I recall this concept having been mentioned by one of the St. Vladimir Seminary theologians, perhaps Meyendorff or Schmemann. The Antiochians already have a Western Rite and an "EOC rite." Likely, it is best that such aberrations in the Orthodox Church be contained to the already existing entities; no redundancies spreading into other jurisdictions.
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