www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Update on Holy Trinity in Bridgeport, CT

I've asked before and I'll ask again. What are the people doing about this situation?

If it were me and my parish, I'd be organizing the group to get a funding source going that would be independent of the bishop. With a funding source, a group can find and support a priest. By doing this, the community has the Mysteries and can put together the other "stuff" that we think is so important--church building, icon screen, icons, etc.

Remember the underground Church under communism. They'd worship in an open field and carry everything they needed away and hide it. So strip down to what is essential and start over.

Remember that the Lord loves the struggle and the one who perseveres. A person and a community can become fat and lazy spiritually when things go without trials. This is the trial for this portion of the Lord's Vineyard. They've been pruned as a fruit tree or grapevine is. Will they produce more fruit or will they fold? A vibrant community that rebounds will draw people to them because those who are spiritually hungry will be attracted to activity and faith-filled resolve. My advice is for this faith community to get going and attract enough attention that the next time they gather for St. Nicholas Day they have twice as many people attending because they've had one person join them for every one they have this year.

As far as being so unceremoniously thrust out of their church building, I guess I can be a bit irreverent when my back gets up. I'd have told the priest what I've told other clergy: I've been thrown out of classier places than this!!

BOB

Sadly, we have no way of finding out what the bishop is thinking, how these decisions are made and why the closure was handled this way.

It would be preferable if the eparchy published a long-range plan so that everyone could see what the future holds for them. If the eparchy is running huge deficits there should be some frankness about it: "This is our problem and this is what could happen...". If it is definitely a matter of clergy shortage I think that should be made clear as well.

As it is, this last incident makes it appear that the bishop thinks of the congregation as undesirable tenants due for eviction. If these people had known how this would end what could they have done differently this past year? What is the list of borderline parishes and what can the people do to protect themselves?

Michael

Hesychios: You posted:

Sadly, we have no way of finding out what the bishop is thinking, how these decisions are made and why the closure was handled this way.
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You have a relationship situation here. One party has let the other party know that the relationship is over. By analogy, when you have person you are dating or are married to tell you that "it's over," do you spend lots of time trying to make it come back when the other party won't speak to you or deal with you? Or do you deal with your hurt and move on?

Obviously, you'll never get the full story here. So I say move on.

Somehow the Lord will not abandon these people, these brethren of ours in Christ. So they need to assess the situation and formulate a plan to stay together and move on toegether. Otherwise, they can just disappear into the mists of history.

As I read the history of the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic immigrants and their "welcome" by the Latin Church in this country, I see people who didn't give up and didn't accept the answer they received when they tried to have their relationship with Latin bishops regularized. So what's the difference now? The only thing that is different is that their own bishops are in the place of the Latins of a century ago.

Spending time with the eulogies is fruitless. It's time wasted. The Lord is the center of their faith--not bishops, not buildings, not eparchies.

The only shame is to give up and give in.

In the meantime, I continue to pray for those who are persecuted for their faith in Christ,

BOB

AMEN!

My brothers and sisters:

I posted the following to one of our brethren concerning this situation. I think that it could apply to any other situation tht is similar. I don't advocate jumping ship for another Apostolic Church just because we think that the "grass is greener on the other side." Orthodox in Communion with Rome have suffered and demonstrated their belief in being where they are with blood, sweat, tears, and travail. To paraphrase St. John the Baptist, I'm not worthy to stoop and unfasten their shoe laces.

But I'm also one who has put his "money where his big mouth is" when it comes to living what he believes. Quitters never win and winners never quit. Or to recall the challenge of the lay movement I belong to: CHIRST IS COUNTING ON YOU!!
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My idea was to form a corporation OWNED BY THE PEOPLE and NEVER ceded to the bishop. They could provide funding for a church and, if the church iteself had to be titled to the bishop, that would be all he had. A hall would be built by the corporation and owned by it. All funds might be directed to the church and its upkeep but the people could also hold the purse strings. And they could do their fund raisers as part of this parallel body which THEY WOULD CONTROL.

There is nothing in Church law that prevents people from forming a private corporation outside the Church for whatever purposes they should choose. Likewise, there is nothing to prevent such a private association from contribuitng heavily to their church. But the difference is that the treasury is outside the reach of a bishop whose sole purpose seems to be based on the scorched earth principle.

See where I'm coming from?
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And maybe I better leave this topic alone now so I don't get myself in more trouble than I usually am in.

BOB

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

I offer my prayers for the faithful, the priests of the eparchy of Passaic and the eparch himself, all of whom are severely burdened.

If it please God I hope to see a spirit of renewal and sustained evangelistic ferver in the church.

May the Holy Theotokos pray for and defend the eparchy of Passaic, it's clergy and faithfilled people.

Michael

I pray today...and ask all to offer prayers that Bishop Andrew Pataki, Fr. George Malitz & Fr. Robert Hospodar find Christ this Christmas.

It appears Holy Trinty Church is ready to be sold. They removed the Icon Screen and put everything from our Heritage room into the dumpster. LORD HAVE MERCY.

Keep in mind that the only proper way to destroy icons is to burn them.

Alice

If at all possible, one should find a wood-burning oven and bake prosphora with the heat from the burning of the icon which is too deteriorated for continued veneration.

I suppose that another possible way of dealing with the deteriorated icon is to bury it in consecrated ground.

Incognitus

It was Pope John-Paul II who decided not to give the pallium to the heads of the Eastern Rite churches but to do something else instead. I suppose it was long overdue.

If people are so unhappy with their bishops then stop giving them money. Support you parish clergy by all means.

However, as was pointed out by Deacon Lance earlier the bishop is entitles to re-arrange his diocese as he see fit, and Rome has challenged a bishop who violated the cannons and removed a PP from his parish. I think that may have been in Scotland and possibly in the past 12 months.

The dumpster?

What did they put into the dumpster? Not the icon screen?

Basil,

What was in your Heritage Room? Were these historical artifacts and pictures from the parish?

A tragedy, and deeply disturbing.

May God bless and strengthen those who still wish to keep a parish community, and eternal memory to all those who toiled to build the parish.
DD

The Heritage room was a little museum like library. Father Marcel Szabo who is now at the Cathederal in Passaic set it up when the social hall was redone. They removed the 6 Duckpin bowling lanes and made the space all open. A room to the side housed pictures, books and other Holy Trinity history. I was hopeful the materials would make it to Passaic in the Diocese Heritage room. Unfortunately, like this whole situation, they have no reguard for it. Maybe because it is Hungarian?