Comes The Revolution…

Yesterday was the annual Boston Greek Independence Day Parade.  Sts. Anargyroi again participated, and we had about 50 people (up by about 20 from our initial participation last year) walking behind our banner.  Many thanks to all who walked in the parade with us as well as Enosis Philoptochos, who paid for our entry fee, the Gagas family and Family House of Pizza of Marlborough for our lunch, and the Evangelous family and Gemini Signs who made our banner.  As we passed the reviewing stand, the radio announcers spoke about how awesome (to use their term) our banner was, because it had our website, Facebook, QR code, and Twitter info.  It was the perfect ending to a great day!  Last year we survived torrential downpours; this year it was pleasant weather punctuated by insane bursts of hurricane-like wind.  Welcome to New England in the spring!

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April 8th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Behold The Kings…

…Of Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Greece:

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March 26th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

From Constantinople To Rome

Address of His All-Holiness to His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, in a formal reception in honor of the church and religious leaders by Pope Francis, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew represented the christian and faith communities in a special address to the Pope. The Patriarch’s attendance at the papal inaugural mass was a historic initiative on the part of Patriarch Bartholomew inasmuch as it was the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch was personally present at a papal installation.

Vatican, March 20, 2013

Your Holiness,

In the name of the Lord of powers, we wholeheartedly congratulate You on the inspired election and deserved assumption of Your new high duties as First Bishop of the venerable Church of Senior Rome, defined by the primacy of love.

On this Throne, You succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who boldly retired for reasons of health and fatigue, a man distinguished for his meekness, theology and love. The task and responsibility before You are immense before both God and humankind. The unity of the Christian Churches is surely our foremost concern as one of the fundamental prerequisites for the credibility of our Christian witness in the eyes of those near and afar. In order to achieve this unity, we must continue the inaugurated theological dialogue so that we may jointly appreciate and approach the truth of faith, the experience of the saints, and the tradition of the first Christian millennium shared by East and West alike. It should be a dialogue of love and truth, in a spirit of humility, meekness, and honesty.

After all, the global economic crisis urgently mandates the coordination of our humanitarian action, in which You are well experienced as a result of Your long and fruitful ministry as a Good Samaritan in Latin America, where You pastorally witnessed – like so few others – the bitterness of human pain and suffering. Those who “have” must be motivated to offer – willingly and gladly – to those who “have not.” In this way, peace will be secured through justice as the sole universal request and the basic expectation of all nations. We must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, treat the suffering, and generally care for the needy so that we may hear from our Lord: “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” (Matt. 25.34)

The selection by Your beloved and esteemed Holiness of a lifestyle of simplicity has highlighted – and will continue to highlight – your priority for what is essential. This fills the hearts of everyone – Your faithful and all people in general – with a sense of hope. It is the hope that this priority will be applied broadly so that judgment and mercy, as the essence the law, may prevail in the Church.

Throughout the two-thousand-year history of the Church of Christ, certain truths of the sacred Gospel were misinterpreted by some Christian groups, resulting in secular misconceptions that have unfortunately spread in Christian circles today. Thus, the burden of our obligation andresponsibility is to remind ourselves, each another, and the entire world that God became human in Jesus Christ in order that we may lead a divine way of life. Indeed, “God is the Lord and has appeared to us.” The one who created all things in the beginning, who guides and provides for all things, descended to the depths of death on the cross in order that, through His resurrection, He may demonstrate that “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” and in His name alone, to serve His people, so that we may all be united, and that Christ may be all things and in all things,

This world is the domain where we realize this spiritual way of life, where we achieve our integration into the body of Christ, and where we are brought through Him into eternal life. The Church consecrates this earthly life, although it does not consummate its mission in this earthly life. We all realize and recognize this truth, which is why – as pastors and faithful alike – we travel this way of truth, acquiring the heavenly through the earthly.

As the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the worldwide Orthodox Church of Christ, we are certain that Your venerable and dearly beloved Holiness, who commences this historical journey with such favorable auspices as Bishop of Rome, will – together with all those who are willing and able – exhibit special concern for the reparation of secular trends so that humanity may be restored to its “original beauty” of love. We fervently pray with all Christians as well as with people throughout the world that Your Holiness will prove effective in this deeply responsible and highly onerous task.

May our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed and glorified. Thanks be to God, who in every period of time raises up worthy leaders, deserving of their calling to lead and guide His people, for the adoration of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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March 24th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Those Rings

The other day I visited old friend Bill K. at Olympic Wine & Spirits on Grafton St. in Worcester.  This place used to be called Renaissance Wine & Spirits before Bill and his family bought it.  I went there once some years ago to buy a bottle of wine and was startled to hear someone say “I can’t believe there is a (expletive deleted) priest in a liquor store”.  Good grief.  So, it was nice to go there and see a friendly face.  In talking with Bill I remembered a story from The Sporting News or SI back in the day.  The International Olympic Committee was going after a diner in New York that used the name Olympic and the logo of the five interlocked rings.  The IOC was going after this place – no doubt Greek-owned – for using the logo and theoretically profiting off of it.  This was likely in the pre-internet era, and I can’t find any reference to it.  Bill has a good grasp of the law on this one – you can use the rings as long as they are not in the same order and position as the famous Olympics version.  Check out the website that I linked to above – the rings emerge as bubbles from a martini glass that stands in for the y in the word Olympic.  Great job Bill!

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February 11th, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Feliciano And Star-Spangled Banner Renditions

There is currently some chatter on Facebook about overwrought renditions of the national anthem at sporting events thanks to a meme by George Takei that a lot of people are sharing.  Jose Feliciano is generally credited/blamed with starting the trend of interpretations of the anthem rather than traditional renditions.  My reaction upon hearing Feliciano’s controversial take?  It sounded pretty traditional, and people weren’t booing him, from the sound of it.  I blogged about this years ago and had a hard time finding the post – it turns out it was from way back in the old blogspot days.  Here is the original post:

I have always read about Jose Feliciano’s “controversial” rendition of the national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner. You can listen to it or download it for free on his website. (Click on “Download Jose’s Music Here” to save the MP3 file.) It is hard to see what the big deal was now after years of hearing personalized versions of the anthem, but this was one of the first reworkings. Unlike the self-indulgent long versions we often hear, Jose’s take on the anthem is quick, passionate, and folky.
I thought about this today after reading Scoop Jackson’s article about R. Kelly’s step-enhanced rendition last week.

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January 22nd, 2013 by Fr. Greg

Second Translation

Below is another, more literal translation from the original Greek of the previous document regarding marriage outside the church.  Many thanks to Paul Badavas, who previously translated the original Sts. Anargyroi church charter that is on the history page of the parish website, and Nicholas Paschalides, our Greek School director and assistant chanter.  Both submitted translations of the document at my request (my hyper-katharevousa is poor) in a speedy and thorough fashion (should I have said in an alacritous fashion to use just one adjective? : ).

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

10 EAST 79TH STREET

NEW YORK 21, N. Y.

DECEMBER 22, 1950

 

In correspondence to the most Pious Supreme Priests and the Honourable Governing Councils of the Orthodox Greek communities under the jurisdiction of the Holy Archdiocese of America both North and South.

Beloved

During our travels to the American Orthodox Greek communities as well as our frequent letter correspondence with the Holy Archdiocese, we realized that exist a great number (of genetic) Greeks who have already married in other Churches, non-Orthodox, a fact that greatly impedes/embarrasses such Greeks and their relationships with the communities they reside in.

The Holy Archdiocese regards with great empathy the circumstance of these Orthodox brethren and affectionately wishes to facilitate and extract those from the predicament that are found in.

Such as, led by this empathy and concern, knowing full well with extreme ecclesiastic leniency and consent to help those, we order that the weddings that took place in non-Orthodox churches up until the end of the year 1940 to be recognised, and those concerned, to be able to have and to exercise freely all community privileges and responsibilities, as the rest (of the genetically-alike) Greeks.

 

However, for those who got married only under the civil authorities, the above reconciliation is not valid.   The civil wedding ceremony alone is not enough for the Orthodox Church.  Those under such union cannot have any community and religious privileges, unless they bless their marriage in an Orthodox Church. For this reason we comment the Curators of our Communities, to approach them with affection and convince them, that it is easy to rectify their situation by making their wedding holy (blessed).

In addition, we wish wholeheartedly that you encounter the joyful days of the Dodekaemeron (12-day-period) in health under the Lord’s ever-blessing, as for the New Year may be for you always happy and blessed by God.

With much love in Christ

Fervent blessings of the Lord

The Archbishop

Of America Michael

 

The Seal of the Greek Archdiocese

Of North and South America

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November 30th, 2012 by Fr. Greg

Church Weddings/No Orthodox Church

Below is a letter from Archbishop Michael (his biography is here) from December 22, 1950 in the original Greek with a working English translation.  There were many instances at the time of Greeks coming to the midwest and mountain states and marrying Americans in non-Orthodox churches since in most places there were no Orthodox churches at that time (I wonder if, for example, the parents of the Andrews Sisters were married in this sort of environment in Minnesota over a hundred years ago).  In the letter Archbishop Michael addresses the situation and says that out of oikonomia marriages in non-Orthodox Christian churches before the end of 1940 would be recognized as church marriages although purely civil weddings would not be.  Here is the English with the original Greek below.  Our friends at the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA) may also be doing something with this so make sure to keep up with their site.

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA 10 EAST 79TH STREET NEW YORK 21, N. Y.

DECEMBER 22, 1950

To the most devout Presiding Priests and the Governing Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities of the Sacred Archdiocese of North and South America.

Beloved,

During our visits to the Greek Orthodox Communities of America and from the regular correspondence of the Sacred Archdiocese, we have ascertained, that there are a great number of Greek Americans, who were married in other churches, not Orthodox, which makes it very difficult for them in their relationship with the community where they live.

The Sacred Archdiocese looks with sympathy for those Orthodox brothers of ours and with affection desires to liberate them from the situation they find themselves in. For this and pushed by such sympathy, we tend toward leniency and condescension to help them, and we authorize, that the weddings that took place in non-Orthodox churches until the end of the year 1940, be recognised, and those concerned to be able to have and to exercise freely all community privileges and responsibilities, as the other Greek American members.

For those who were married in a civil ceremony only the above recognition does not apply. The civil ceremony alone is not enough for the Orthodox Church. Those married in a civil ceremony only are not able to have community and religious privileges, unless they also marry in an Orthodox Church.

For this reason we ask the Priests of our Communities, to approach them with affection and convince them, that it is easy to rectify their situation and to arrange for their wedding In addition, we wish with all our heart that you pass the joyful days of the Dodekaemeron with health and the Lord’s every blessing, as far as the new year is concerned, it is for us always prosperous and blessed by God, we end.

With much agape Fervent blessings of the Lord The Archbishop Of America Michael

The Seal of the Greek Archdiocese Of North and South America

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November 29th, 2012 by Fr. Greg
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