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Slava Isusu Christu! (Glory be to Jesus Christ!)
Slava na Viki! (Glory be forever!)

I am so glad others are picking up on this. I started a thread in the "Town Hall" forum (#9) called "Common words and definitions" in August of 2006. And one of the reasons was just this point--there are people who don't have the background that I and some of the other members of this thread have. And the fact that I have forgotten so much of what was my first language. Both of my grandmothers (babas) spoke broken English. One lived less than three blocks away, the other lived one block away. The one who lived one block away had a playground and a creek right across the alley from her house (lots of swinging and trying to catch crawfish!) and the other baba always had a few cents to give me to buy candy with at either of the two mom and pop grocery stores a block away in either direction from her house. So I spent LOTS of time with my babas. Rusyn was my first language and then came English. I want to remember it and become more fluent, to pass onto my son his heritage.

Unfortunately I have forgotten most of it. I can still pronounce it without a problem, which is something that lots of people have problems with, wrapping their tongues around those letters. Sharing our background and languages (and memories) is one way we can help keep the language of our ancestors alive. We owe them so much---coming to a new country, not being able to speak the language. Working like dogs in the mines and mills just so their children could have a better life than they had in Europe. We have awfully big shoes to fill and it is a sin, in my opinion, to forget what they went through for US. One way to honor their sacrifice is to keep the language alive.

S'nami Boh (God is with us!)

Tim

I'm sure they let them back into the fold, they're not montanists you know

And let those that say that - it is there right to say anything - then go and tell these Rusyns to shape up and get with the program, that they should quit acting so darned Hungarian with their Hungarian language, Hungarian names, Hungarian food...

And let us who are just 25% of that ignore our ethnic midwesterness and the rest of our hodge-podge ethnicity and...

...well I don't know. Maybe just take the liturgy in English and be happy that people are showing up on sunday keeping OUR FAITH (over our traditions, small "t") alive.

True, they might be Tories.

This is an interesting interview with the hierarch of the former ROCOR, now united with the MP about maintaining ancestral languages and religious traditions. I believe others on this forum have praised the ROCOR for maintaining religious traditions.

I'm afraid that you have been misinformed. There is no former ROCOR. When the two parts of the Local Russian Church - the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia - were united after 80 years of separation on Ascension Day 2007, the Russian Church Abroad did not cease to exist. It still exists as an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, with its own Synod of Bishops, its own First Hierarch, its own By-Laws, its own property, etc.

Fr David Straut
St Elizabeth the New-Martyr Orthodox Church (ROCOR)
Rocky Hill, New Jersey
www.saint-elizabeths.org [saint-elizabeths.org]

Thanks for explaining. My mistake. I guess this mean that we can still use the term ROCOR and I should not state the "former" ROCOR as if the parishes all disappeared.

That is correct. ROCOR still exists. It is the autonomous part of Russian Orthodox Church outside the borders of Russia (and the countries of the former Soviet Union). What no longer exists is ROCOR within Russia (which never made much sense anyway.) Those parishes in Russia (and the countries of the former Soviet Union) that were part of ROCOR before 17 May 2007 are now either in a special Deanery under the Patriarch or they are in schism from the Orthodox Church.

Fr David Straut

Just an idea, I hear a lot of Latin Rite Catholic Churches that use Novus Ordo with the Tridentine Liturgy every other week or once a month.

Perhaps your church could hold the Slavonic Divine Liturgy once a month or every other week with the English one.

Keeping tradition in the church is what's important . . .
"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around." - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908

Fellow Slavophiles: perhaps those of us who both know and enjoy Church-Slavonic should start a Forum for ourselves, with the discussions taking place exclusively in Church-Slavonic (in its proper alphabet, of course).

Fr. Serge

Bless, Father,

Well, Slavonic was a big hit among the Slavs because it made the Liturgy more understandable to them than either Greek or Latin ever could.

Slavonic is most understandable by Russians today. It is not very understandable for Ukrainians, despite the UGCC resisting the introduction of (anachronistic) liturgical Ukrainian until 1970 (in this Eparchy at least).

I would be happy if a common and good Ukrainian translation of the Liturgy could be had while leaving Slavonic to our die-hard scholars and ultra Orthodox in communion with Rome.

Alex

I don't see why this couldn't take place. When I attended the UGCC in St. Louis the Liturgy was half in English and half in Ukrainian.

The funny thing is that one never knew when Father was going to switch from one language to another.

"For our Patriarch Lubomyr, our Metropolitan Stephan, our bishop Richard, Archbishop Raymond of St. Louis, Brother Carlos-Master of the Order of Preachers, the priesthood and deaconate in Christ."

"Hospodi Pomyluj!"

Dear Dr Eric,

Absolutely - there has to be more use made of English in the UGCC.

As long as they don't ask BCC people to make the translations for them, that is . . .

Alex

I have about 8 New Year's resolutions in the works already, but I think I need to add learning more of the hymns in Slavonic by heart to the list.