The Chaplain

A monastic as a Police and Fire Chaplain

It has been a great blessing for me to have been serving as a police and fire chaplain for the past sixteen years. My interest in chaplaincy began when I was asked by a number of inmates to serve as their Orthodox chaplain in one of the state’s prisons. Spending one full day a month in two of the state prisons in Monroe, WA., I managed to make a number of friends among the guards. Because such open friendships could be dangerous, should inmates see the chaplain as a friend of the enemy, I had to keep my contact with guards to a minimum. After eight years of serving the spiritual needs of inmates, I decided that I wanted to serve those in law enforcement and fire service.

Vashon Island’s Fire Department, had not had their own chaplain in some thirty years. When you live on an island that is accessible only by ferry, there were many occasions where a chaplain was needed, but none was available, especially in the dead of night when the boats were not running. Following a number of tragic events on the island, I finally offered my services and went through a formal week long training at the Washington State Criminal Justice Center where all police are trained for the entire state, and became a certified chaplain.

Hundreds of hours of additional training, and membership in the Federation of Fire Chaplains and the International Conference of Police Chaplains, has prepared me for priestly service to the whole of this island community in ways that I would never have imagined.

Chaplains minister to people whose lives have been turned upside down, with the loss of a child, the death of a spouse, the trauma of a fatal car accident, or a homicide. Chaplains serve as God’s presence on murder scenes, or house fires. They hold children whose parents have been killed, and comfort the old woman whose husband of sixty years has died. They serve as pastors to people who have never had a pastor. They are clergy who lend support to a police officer or medic who is traumatized by an incident that would have sent most people running in the other direction.

I, like other chaplains, have broken down in tears while recounting situations that would traumatize the toughest of soldiers. I’ve seen fellow chaplains being strong for their officers, while enduring unimaginable pain themselves. I’ve suffered, like other chaplains, over the death of police officers and firefighters who were my friends.

At the heart of chaplaincy is the love of Jesus Christ, and a compassionate heart that is formed by a relationship with this very Christ. The chaplain runs towards a bad situation, offering his prayers and his heart to those in need. The chaplain is one who is the presence of God in the midst of tragedy, making manifest Christ in the midst of horrendous moments in the life of those whom he is called to serve. He sits in for God during those moments when no words can be found to comfort someone experiencing great loss. The chaplain sacrifices his own comfort zone so that Christ may be made manifest in the most broken of moments.

Chaplaincy is a unique calling, one that takes special training and deep commitment. It is not for the faint hearted, but a vocation that is as challenging as it is satisfying. The chaplain is an instrument of reconciliation between God and the first responder, their department, the community, and the families and individuals affected by tragic events.

In an age of increasing lawlessness, it is a huge blessing for me to have been called to serve men and women who selflessly place their lives on the line for the rest of us, each and every day. I’ve ridden with medics who’ve saved lives right in front of my eyes. I’ve been on board fire trucks, witnessing firefighters risk their lives to save the homes of fellow islanders, and I’ve witnessed Sheriff Department deputies give comfort to the widow of a murder victim. The list goes on.

I am grateful to God for the many friendships I’ve formed with police and fire fighters. I’ve shed tears at the funerals of too many officers. I pray daily for the safety and well being of those who serve our communities so gallantly, and ask my readers to unite their prayers with mine.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Friday July 13, 2018 / June 30, 2018
7th Week after Pentecost. Tone five.
Fast. Food with Oil

Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious and All-praised Twelve Apostles: Peter, Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude the brother of James, Simon the Zealot, Matthias.
New Hieromartyr Timothy priest and Martyr Nicander (1918).
New Hieromartyr Theogenes (1939).
New Hieromartyr Milan Popovic of Rmanj, Serbia (1940s).
Martyr Joh (1944).
Venerable Peter the Prince of Ordinsk, Rostov (1290).
Glorification (1918) of St. Sophronius, bishop of Irkutsk (1771).
“Balikin” (1711) and “Gorbanevsk” (1786) Icons of the Mother of God.
St. Andrew, prince of Bogoliubsk (1174).
New Martyr Michael (Paknanas) the Gardener, of Athens (1770) (Greek).
Translation of the relics of the Great-martyr Stephen-Urosh III of Dechani, Serbia (1338).
St. Gelasius of Rimef (Transylvania) (14th c.).
Martyr Peter of Synope (Greek).
Martyr Meleton (Greek).
Martyr Basilides the Soldier at Alexandria (202).
Holy Queen Dinar (10th c.) (Georgia).
St. Stephen of Omsk (1876).
St. Martial, bishop of Lomoges (3rd c.).

The Scripture Readings

1 Corinthians 7:35-8:7

35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. 38 So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.

39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God.

Be Sensitive to Conscience

8 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.