We Must Not Allow Ethnicity to Become a Barrier to a Life of Faith
Over the years I have heard many grief stricken parents and grandparents lament the loss of their children and grandchildren from the Church. Sad as it may be, I’m not usually surprised, for over and over I’ve heard the sad truth behind this exodus from the Church. More often than not, these parents did not raise their children to be practicing Orthodox Christians. They may have had their infant baptized, but the frequency of church attendance was not important, other than the need to keep those ethnic links to the “old country”.
Parents, unless they are serious about their faith, often look upon baptism as the moment when their child is made Orthodox, but fail to realize the Mystery of Baptism is only the beginning of a life in Christ. These same parents see childhood vaccinations against diseases as important, and they understand their child’s long term health requires sound nutritional planning, exercise, and loving support for good mental health. Yet they treat baptism as though it is a magical formula that assures their child is forever connected to the ethnic heritage of the family tree.
The 10th Ecumenical Council, all but forgotten by much of the Orthodox world, classified ethno-phyletism as a heresy, because it is an attack on the very catholicity of the Church. Our Orthodoxy can not be seen as the ethnic link to a family’s history, anymore than ethnic dancing and ethnic food makes one Orthodox.
It is fine to be proud of one’s ethnic heritage, and want to preserve one’s ethnic language and ethnic traditions. But our ethnicity does not save us. Only Christ saves us! Being Greek or Russian will not save us, for there is no grace in one’s ethnicity. It is only putting on Christ, and becoming One Body in Christ, that will bring about salvation. We must not link ethnic preservation to our Orthodox Faith, for in Christ there is “neither Greek nor Jew…”, for in Christ, we are but ONE NATION.
With love and blessings,
Abbot Tryphon
Tuesday December 28, 2021 / December 15, 2021
28th Week after Pentecost. Tone two.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed
Hieromartyr Eleutherius, bishop of Illyria, and his mother, Martyr Anthia and Martyr Corivus the Eparch (126).
Venerable Paul of Mt. Latros (956).
St. Stephen the Confessor, archbishop of Surozh in the Crimea (790).
Synaxis of All Saints of Crimea.
New Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), bishop of Verey (1929).
New Hieromartyrs Alexander, Basil, Victorinus priests (1937).
New Hieromartyrs Joseph, metropolitan of Petrograd (1938).
Venerable Tryphon, of Pechenga or Kola (1583), and his martyred disciple Venerable Jonah.
Synaxis of All Saints of Kolsk.
Martyr Eleutherius at Constantinople (4th c.).
Venerable Pardus, hermit of Palestine (6th c.).
Monk-martyr Bacchus of Mar Saba (8th c.).
Martyr Susanna the Deaconess of Palestine (4th c.).
Venerable Nektarius of Bitel’sk (1500).
St. Aubertus, bishop (668) (Neth.).
The Scripture Readings
2 Timothy 3:16-4:4
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Preach the Word
4 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Mark 8:22-26
A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
Thank you for your work.