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Dear Alice.
People are people, and no matter what, you throw a bunch together to make a church and inevitably, you will have friction, debate, and dissagreement.
Just look at today's Gospel on the ambition of James and John. We should all heed Christ's admonition to His Apostles.
My blessing upon you and yours!

Fr.Michael Sopoliga

It appears, Incognitus, that Fr. Michael thinks he has discovered your "secret identity". "Your speech and demeanor in your post betrays you!" :p

Gaudior, from an "undisclosed location"

Dear Father Michael,
I have no idea what makes you think that you know who I am, but the evidence of your posting to me leads me to believe that at least on the point of my own identity you are mistaken. Sorry about that. Also, my comment about "our poster from Florida" was not intended to be offensive, though I readily apologize for it - the problem is that I have not fully mastered the technology of this gadget and realized that I had not copied your name and did not know it. For the sake of Christ, forgive me.
Alas, I shall not tell you whether I am or am not a priest at all, let alone a priest in a parish. I will at least assure you that I am not a bishop and am not accustomed to pontificate!
You have people coming to the all night vigil (which I assume is held on Good Friday night, given the whole previous discussion). Please ask them to pray for me, if they would be so kind.
I have nothing whatever against a spiritually uplifting atmosphere. But, with renewed apologies, I cannot agree that any method at all, on any occasion, is the appropriate way to do that. It can happen, particularly in missionary situations, that there is a need to resort to recorded music. But it is at least possible, even then, to use recordings of the music proper for the day, which on Good Friday night does not mean either the Divine Liturgy from Saint Barbara's or the Rachmaninoff Vigil, beautiful though each of those can be.
My suggestion of trying the local Greek Orthodox Church for the Burial of Christ (which is not a Vespers service, incidentally), was meant quite seriously. Without knowing the local Greek Orthodox Church in your part of Florida, I can't quite promise, but your chances of finding an exuberant, wonderful service packed with people are high. Enjoy!

I don't enjoy caterwauling to distraction any more than you do!
Alas, I do not have all the answers to pastoral problems, though I flatter myself that I am not basking in total ignorance either. But I am certainly willing to learn more.
You write that "It�s a pity that more priests don�t engage in these sometimes pejorative posts by many who just sit on the sidelines and are never on the playing field." It may surprise you to learn that I fully agree with that statement. It has come to my attention that there are a number of priests who read these discussions avidly but are afraid of participating, even with a pen name. Pity. However, if your allusion to those "who just sit on the sidelines and are never on the playing field" is meant for me, you have aimed at the wrong target! In fact, your aim is so far off that I'm not even offended; I'm sitting here grinning from ear to ear!
Nevertheless, dear Father Michael, I am genuinely grateful for your messages and I will be happy to continue the discussion. Please be assured that I have strong and high esteem for the episcopate and the presbyterate. With that esteem, I beg to kiss your hand, albeit electronically.
yours in Christ,
Incognitus

Brothers and Sisters:

Please forgive me for startng a thread that has seemed to bring out so many ill feelings and rancor among brethren. It seems that I have helped the Enemy to undo whatever spiritual good so many have worked to achieve throughout the Great Fast.

In Christ,

BOB

Dear Bob,

Do not blame yourself. The evil one can work his 'wonders' through the heart of anyone, in any situation, and on any topic.

You are a constant source of profound spiritual inspiration on this forum, and you could never 'aide and abet' the master of all evil.

With love in Christ,
Alice

Dear BOB,

Do not fret - it's getting to the end of Lent and I think we are all suffering from low blood sugar and finding that we are wanting food we may not eat. This sort of thing has strange effects on the body.

Everytime I open my fridge I see CHEESE and MEAT and it's really getting harder and harder to ignore them

Please pray for me that I can continue to resist temptations like these.

Anhelyna

Dear Bob,
Bless you for your question.
What we need to do, even in our churches, is create "atmosphere" for prayer and worship.
Having said that, you, in no way, have induced rancor, nor should you have regret for your post.
That's the beauty and wonder of this forum.
I, being ordained for 25 years this year just react, I must admit, a bit less "idealistic" as I would have if I were a newly ordained, filled with hope, passion, and a sense of invincibility. Teens have that feeling (of invincibility) and that's why they perish in automobile crashes.
However, I do still posess hope, and passion.
However, I am like water traversing a downhill stone gourge. Water seems to adapt to the impediments in it's way. It goes around them.
As a priest, while we strive for the perfect, we must be realistic. We may have no chanters, no singers, and so we improvise to still create beauty for everyone who comes to our church all throught the night on Good Friday, theough Resurrection Matins.
Your ideals are to be strived for. Reality in the parishes, needs improvisation. That, after all, is the freedom of the East, many posters advocate.

God bless you, and never be reluctant to "vent!"


Fr. Michael Sopoliga

Dear Fr. Michael,

After twenty-five years of serving the church, one would think you had learned by now that the beauty of the East is NOT improvising, and NOT changing.

You mentioned feeling free to vent, and while after twenty-five years of serving the church should have taught you that that, also, is not correct theology, I will take your advice in this instance, as you place such a premium on it.

You seem to disregard the thoughts presented that do not immediately begin with a round of applause for your latest endeavor. How sad. Perhaps had you studied the post with care, rather than immediately composing flowery responses to it, you might have discovered that the suggestion was not that you cease the practice of chant CDs, but that you find a chant CD appropriate to the day. In a "funny how that works", those, too, are stunningly beautiful, and would no doubt, also fill your church, in an appropriate manner, and yet remain consistent with the church calendar your post indicates that you are disregarding with the same callousness with which you disregard polite suggestions from people you do not know.

Gaudior, with quite intentionally appalling rudeness, to make the point that "venting", Father Michael, is not something one should "feel free to do"

With respectful apologies to the forum for this post,

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

My recent post was none of your business.
It was directed to the person who posed the question.
You're obviously church militant in a distructive way.

Don't patronize me with your polemics either.
I will pray for you.
Fr.MJS

Dear Father Michael,

Venting is out this week then?

Gaudior, thanking you for your prayers, Father

"For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers?" St. John Chrysostom

Am I the only one appalled with the "unchristian" attacks being made on Father Michael?

Being deliberately rude and disrespectful and then closing with "Lord have mercy on me a sinner" is hypocritical!

Mr. Incognitus has written volumes of responses since his official joining this forum nine months ago. Father Micheal is not responding under an assumed name and it is obvious you (Incognitus) had purposely ignored his identity.

I'm leaving this forum for awhile. The shameful egos are too much to take!

In this season of Great Lent where we should be turning our minds and hearts to the great mystery of Pascha I find this conversation totally out of place. Polemics have no place in Christian discourse, even if we find it in the Church Fathers. When we begin to impugn each other, and especially a priest, then the discussion has gone to far. And, when a priest fails to show a Christian charity in his responses then I know that we have gone to far.

In the spirit of Christian charity I'm closing this topic.

Edward, deacon and sinner