www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Bishop Kudrick creates "buzz" at parish

Dear Father Thomas Loya,

Forgive me, but how is all this Evangelization? I wish not to offend, but it seems that this is simply a description of a leading cleric getting dressed in the open, not necessarily a tool to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am sure with what description you have given it was a majestic event. Are you saying that these outward rituals are Evangelical in the same sense as passion plays and other story telling means used for illiterate people in past centuries? You stated that the bishop's arms outstretched symbolized Jesus on the cross. This all seems very symbolic.

What exactly IS *perennial evangelical value*? I thought the *message* of the Resurrection was that core value of evangelization, of *good news*/*Gospel*, not witnessing a chief shepherd of the church getting dressed. This is a focus on the leaders of worship, not on the God we are to worship.

I would like to know how Eastern Christianity considers this Evangelization. I am interested since my notion of Evangelization might be radically different from this *unique evangelical power*. I ask only because this is so outside my understanding of Evangelization, which is spreading the good news about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I noticed that we might be considering different understandings of *Evangelization* when I failed to find anything in your post about Jesus or the Gospels, hardly of little importance in the ministry of evangelizing.

Thank you.

Ed Hashinsky

Tim, I believe that the entire Divine Liturgy, including vesting, was video recorded, and we hope to make it avaialble on OLTV in the future, after the editing work is completed.

Jack

Jack,

Maybe you can help explain my questions above. Why is vesting so important to get a video of it? How is this Evangelization?

I am sure we are diametrically opposed to the notion of what constitutes *Evangalization*. That, I am sure, is a given. So, please forgive my dire interest in this.

I cannot fathom how someone vesting in public can be equated with spreading the Good News, preaching Christ crucified and having resurrected from the dead. The good father seemed animated with these external rites, but having said nothing about Jesus the Christ. Does vesting make us better Christians? Is our identity of being Christ believers enhanced because a leading shepherd of a church vests before his congregation? Why is this important? How can I use this as an evangelical tool to convince my non-believer and Muslim friends that the true religion is where vesting is done with approbation?

I need to understand this *value* that the good reverend Father spoke of. It fails to register with me.

In anticipation of answers
and having a severe degree of ignorance,
Ed Hashinsky

Ed,

Maybe this was posted not so much for any evangelization value but simply because this section also handles parish life, which this would come under. The visit of a hierarch to a parish is an important event in the life of any parish.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

ED:

If I may add to Father Anthony's reply--

The Church, as it is defined by the earliest Fathers, is simply the People of God standing around their bishop celebrating or serving the Liturgy. The Church is primarily Eucharistic and the bishop as the successor of the Apostles in a given geographic place is the primary initiator of the liturgical action that is the heart and soul of the Church. The bishop stands in the place of Christ as he serves the Liturgy because it is Christ Who has delegated His own authority to the Apostles and from them to their successors. And Christ commands the bishop today to do the same thing that He commanded His first Apostles to do: "Do this (the Liturgy) as an anamnesis of Me." In English we have translated this as "remembrance" but the original meaning has been clouded and many think that the meaning of the Eucharist is just some sort of memory service when it is, in fact, a real participation in Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Every priest stands in a parish or other place where the Liturgy is served as the bishop's representative to that congregation. The priest is one that the bishop has known and trusts to stand in his place and pastor the portion of the flock that the bishop has given him to teach, to preach to, and to sanctify with the Mysteries of the Faith. So when the bishop comes to a parish, it is a big event. It is the same kind of event that it was for the first Christians as the visits by St. Paul or one of the other Apostles was.

The vesting of the bishop in the Byzantine tradition carries a very important set of evangelical lessons. One lesson is that no one takes on the office of bishop on his own or of his own will. He is called to be a successor to the Apostles and accepts the Divine Grace with humility and in a sense of service. By the fact that he is vested by others--who themselves are symbolic of the Angels carrying this grace to him from God Himself--also indicates that he submits willingly to the Divine call, just as Christ willingly accepted everything that the Father asked Him to do in this life.

The disconnect that you may have with this is that most Protestant bodies severed this connection at the time of the Reformation so that a minister leading a congregation in many instances has no superior who has sent him to stand in his place. And none of what I have just offered may make any sense if the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist is not at the center of the particular church's life.

Hope this helps.

In Christ,

BOB

Dear Ed,

A short answer to your question: I, like many others, have a tendency to do Monday Morning Bishop-ing, by which I mean that my first reaction to any action by a hierarch is likely to be second guessing, criticism, rolling my eyes, and grumbling, much as I would with any political figure. The vesting in the church, where each article of clothing is accompanied by scriptural quotes about the passion, emphasizes the spiritual nature of the episcopal ministry. Bishop John is not some boss I should grouse about, but my shepherd, the one represents Christ to me. The vesting in the church made this abundantly clear to us, and I gather also to Bishop John.

The image of him standing in front of us, arms outstretched in the form of a cross, will remain with me for a while.

I am glad to have had the privilege of attending.

I believe the previous three answers are very good but I wish to add to the comment about the disconnect among Protestants. My own tendency is to wonder what all the fuss is about a bishop vesting in public. Why don't we go out there, wherever there is, and let the world set out agenda? After all that is what evangelism has meant to Protesters ever since Luther.

But what if Evangelization has more to do with being the attractive Body and Bride that we are? What if evangelization had as much to do with "being" as it is "doing"? Don't misunderstand here. I believe in door to door visitation. I believe in the power of the preached word. I believe that we all are to be "preachers" of the Gospel. I certainly believe in the Great Commission.

But what if going out was only 1/2 of evangelization? Take a look at Acts 2:42-47

42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles� doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church[a] daily those who were being saved."

The 120 waited and prayed as the Lord Jesus commanded. The Holy Spirit came. St. Peter preached and the Church was formed. The Church met daily and became an attractive Bride whose allurements brought people to the assembly. Because they did exactly as the Lord commanded "The Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved."

Perhaps something like this is what Father was pointing out.

CDL

CDL:

I think that where we part company with our Protestant brethren is in what the Good News is and what we are to do with it.

From my own study, I have come to the conclusion that the Good News is the simple statement that sums up the entire Gospel--and even all of Scripture: God became man in order that man might become like God (or God-like in some translations). Yes, we've got to get out there and tell the whole world, both by word and example. God's been here, opened up a Way in which we can be in relationship with Him, and has promised that He's coming back for us.

Where we part company is how we are to live our lives and participate in the life-giving Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. We believe that it happens each time the Liturgy is s4erved. We have a mystical understanding of how we do this, one disconnected from human time, so that we can "do this as an anamnesis of Me." Liturgically the Saving Events are re-presented, not represented. We are plunged into them in Baptism and Chrismation and we continue to be plunged into them until our last day in this place of exile. We do not crucify Christ again and again, as many Protestants accuse us of, but we are transported to that one time when it all happened because in the Saving Events of Christ time, space, distance, and eternity all become one and, to put it as an old radio announcer put it, "You are there."

This is difficult to grasp, but it is the truth and it is the Good News. Christ came that we might become God-like, He opened the way to do so by providing a perpetual re-presentation of His Saving Passion, Death, and Resurrection, and He has commanded us to participate in this Saving Event until He comes again.

If one is locked into a strict "human time" mindset, this all sounds ridiculous and impossible. And therein lies the disconnect when we try to begin to talk to each other about what evangelization means and how to go about it.

Preaching and teaching are the introduction to the Good News. they are meant to prepare us for the Eucharist--for that participation that Christ wills us to have. To stop at preaching and teaching has been likened to going to a restaurant and being given the menu only to be told to go home if we're hungry.

In Christ,

BOB

Dear Ed,

Why are you "sure" that we (you and I) are diametrically opposed about the notion of Evangelization? All I stated in m post was that the liturgy was video recorded and will appear soon, in response to someone asking about whether pictures were taken! I made no comment or explanation whatsoever about evangelization.

But I'll to try and explain the some of the value of this particular instance. I agree with previous statements about 1) this forum is about parish life as well, and so Father Tom was reporting a significant event in his parish's life and 2) since the vesting service is seen so rarely in the Byzantine Catholic Ruthenian Church, it was also a significant event to report.

As to evangelization per se, I believe there is another thread on this forum that discusses evanglizing ouselves, our own people, our own parishes. I personally believe that evangelization "begins at home" and that to evangelize others, we must first be enthusiastic about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow that fervor to be seen by others. Then, others will hear and see the Gospel in our enthusiasm and our own faith lived in the world, and learn about Christ from our ACTIONS and not just our WORDS.

I'm guessing that many of the parishioners at Annunciation told many of their co-workers on Monday morning what happened on Sunday at their parish, like many like to discuss the Sunday football games! Hopefully they also used the opportunity to "evangelize" by their pride and enthusiasm and the experience they felt from the event.

The vesting alone is not what should bring people to Christ. But the whole liturgy, celebrated in its entirety with the bishop as shepherd of the flock, DOES enhance our own faith and therefore helps us spread that Good News when we leave our churches on Sunday morning and go out into the world.

I know that I have talked to many, many people in the workplace and elsewhere of my own parish when I have a good liturgical experience. I also like to tell stories [perhaps some who know me would say too many stories ] of my own experiences of great liturgical events in my travels (e.g. Rome with the Pope and others, Constantinople with the Patriarch, Orientale Lumen Conferences, etc.).

So, the vesting was just a sidebar (but a rare one) to the entire liturgy, and that's where evangelization of our ourselves should take place, so that we can evangelize others.

Does that help?

Jack

Thank you all for such wonderful explanations. The constant reference to Protestors was not, I am sure, meant to be pejorative. I am not a Protestor or *Protestant*. I am a Christian. Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli were idiots. Why this is constantly brought up puzzles me.

I liked Bob's statement about the saving events being re-presented liturgically. This is something to think about since it goes beyond mere symbolism. However, I think symbolism can lead one astray from true worship when it stimulates our senses and sentiments more than our love and devotion to God.

Of course, preaching and teaching isn't the end all of evangelization. Choosing life, not death, is where P & E gets tested. Glorifying God, not what he created, is also a part of that. But there is a danger when we dump the teaching and preaching in evangelization and put man in the center of our worship. I am not saying that the vesting of the bishop is wrong. But how different is it than Roman Catholics designing their churches to place emphasis on the congregation? In both cases, man, not God, becomes the focus. It becomes showmanship. It becomes glitter and gold.

Christians have always given their best in worship and the early Christians were no different when they were being persecuted and had many valuable gold and silver pieces confiscated by the Romans. It was later that the clergy adopted all the regalia for themselves, not God or worship.

I find it strange that in the many icons I have seen and studied of Saint Nicholas, he is rarely, if ever, depicted with a crown. And those that do have him wearing a crown, they are never *miraculous*. Does anyone find it strange that the patron of the Byzantine Churches doesn't wear a crown of gold? He was a pastor of souls, not a prince. Would any bishop today dare to be bold enough to rid of the fancy hats? Is it odd that the same people who insitute changes in their own worship to return to more pure forms (as exemplified recently by the Byzantine Catholics) are the same ones who will not give up all the symbolic and ornamental encrustations that came with it? A church ends up with 18th century clergy worshiping with fourth century liturgical texts. It becomes confusing, not *evangelical* in the classic missionary sense. It becomes a cafeteria-style Byzantine syncretism with Byzantine *Catholic* bishops wearing Orthodox attire.

What do Byzantine Christians do to spread the FAITH in Jesus Christ?

L-u-u-u-u-u-u-cy! You have some esplaining to do!

Ed Hashinsky

Jack,

Thank you for your reply.

Ed

Carson,

Does your community practice Christian communism (cf. Acts 2:44,45) as the other half of evangelization? Have they sold their private homes and possessions to live and believe in common?

Ed

Ed, I think if you ask most Byzantine Orthodox or Catholic bishops, they would rather not wear the headgear! I know one for sure who hates having to travel with so must "stuff"! But it's a part of their office and "work attire" and so as a businessman wears a suit and tie, so a bishop wears what he does. I know many people who actually complain when a bishop doesn't dress like a bishop! Why do you assume that no bishop would "dare to be bold enough to rid of the fancy hats?" Have you spoken to any of them?

And what's wrong with "Byzantine Cathlic bishops wearing Orthodox attire"? Some would argue that since we Byzantine Catholics were indeed Orthodox at one time, therefore today we are simply "Orthodox in communion with the Bishop of Rome" (cf. statements of Patriarch Gregorios of Antioch). But I stray off the topic -- sorry!

Finally, what's Lucy got to do with evangelization or parish life?!

Jack

When we discern what exactly that means in an urban setting I'm sure we will. We could not get help for a woman to pay her rent. Nevertheless, our church came through with some help even though she was not a member our church. I don't know of any Church save perhaps for the Mennonites in some cases who take this as seriously as I wished we did. It is part of radical evangelization to be sure.

CDL

Indeed - the first time I ever saw a Greek Catholic bishop being fully vested was about 20 years ago and it is still very much with me (Vichnaja pamjat Kyr Isidore). I will also never forget seeing a bishop be vested for the first time at his consecration - the most recent and vivid being His Grace Bishop +Richard being vested in front of Patriarch Lubomyr at St. Nicholas Cathedral. Liturgy is indeed revelation in action, and we see that manifested beautifully in the hierarchal services.