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79712 SEPT. WORD REV.Ps, Page 1-36 @ Normalize Volume 53 No. 7 September 2009 Mother Alexandra, Acting Abbess of Saint Thekla’s Convent at the Antiochian Village VOLUME 53 NO. 7 SEPTEMBER 2009 contents COVER MOTHER ALEXANDRA, Acting Abbess of Saint Thekla’s Convent at Antiochian Village Cover photo by Bill Pribisco 3 EDITORIAL by Rt. Rev. John Abdalah 4 METROPOLITAN PHILIP ADDRESSES THE ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION 11 MEMORY ETERNAL! METROPOLITAN ILYAS KURBAN 12 THE FOUNDING OF THE CONVENT OF SAINT THEKLA The Most Reverend AT ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE Metropolitan PHILIP, D.H.L., D.D. Primate 15 THE ST. THEKLA PILGRIMAGE The Right Reverend by H. Paul Finley Bishop ANTOUN The Right Reverend Bishop JOSEPH 17 THE DEPARTMENT OF The Right Reverend CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Bishop BASIL The Right Reverend 21 WRECKING A MARRIAGE Bishop THOMAS by V. Rev. Fr. George Morelli, Ph.D. The Right Reverend Bishop MARK 26 ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE The Right Reverend Bishop ALEXANDER 27 COMMUNITIES IN ACTION Founded in Arabic as Al Kalimat in 1905 by Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) 30 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL Founded in English as The WORD in 1957 FROM THE VILLAGE … by Metropolitan ANTONY (Bashir) 32 Editor in Chief The Rt. Rev. John P. Abdalah, D.Min. Assistant Editor Christopher Humphrey, Ph.D. Editorial Board The Very Rev. Joseph J. Allen, Th.D. Anthony Bashir, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Antony Gabriel, Th.M. The Very Rev. Peter Gillquist Letters to the editor are welcome and should include the author’s full name and Ronald Nicola parish. Submissions for “Communities in Action” must be approved by the local Najib E. Saliba, Ph.D. pastor. Both may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. All submissions, in The Very Rev. Paul Schneirla, M.Div. hard copy, on disk or e-mailed, should be double-spaced for editing purposes. Design Director Donna Griffi n Albert Member ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: The Associated Church Press U.S.A. and Canada, $20.00 Conciliar Press Foreign Countries, $26.00 Ecumenical News International Single Copies, $3.00 Orthodox Press Service The WORD (USPS626-260) is published monthly, except July and August, by Editorial Offi ce: the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at 358 Mountain The WORD Road, PO Box 5238; periodicals postage paid at Englewood, New Jersey 07631- 635 Miranda Drive 5238 and at additional mailing offi ces. Pittsburgh, PA 15241 Postmaster send address changes to: The WORD, 358 Mountain Road, PO Box e-mail: [email protected] 5238, Englewood, NJ 07631-5238 FAX: 1-412-831-5554 ISSN 0043-7964 www.antiochian.org. Subscription Offi ce: Canada Post Publications Agreement No. 40691029 358 Mountain Road Return Canada address to: PO Box 5238 AIM, 7289 Torbram Road, Mississauga, ON L4T 1G8, Canada. Englewood, NJ 07631-5238 2 The Word editor’s letter My Refl ections on the Archdiocese Conventon Among the most exciting experiences Ancient Faith Radio and the World Wide Web. of this year’s convention was getting to meet The convention was also recorded and will be Mother Alexandra, acting abbess of the newly televised by Noursat satellite television. I am established St. Thekla Convent at the Antio- very pleased by the openness of the Archdio- chian Village. Mother Alexandra is a dynamic, cese concerning all of these issues. energetic, lovely and delightful person. Her It was good to withdraw to the desert and enthusiasm is contagious and her witness pray with my family and friends. I thank God profound. Mother Alexandra spoke to the An- for this oppor- tiochian Women after spending a few weeks tunity and look with our children at the Village. The children’s for God to con- questions show us how having a convent at the tinue to guide Village creates opportunities for witness. Ques- and protect tions like “How should I pray?”; “What do I do His Church. when my feelings and mind don’t agree?”; “Is In this is- there a place for my pet in heaven?”; “Is your sue of The hat uncomfortable?”;g or “What do nuns wear to WORD, read bed?” make this point. Mother was not ready to Metropolitan receive similar questions from the adults, but PHILIP’s ad- come to the St. Thekla pilgrimage and get some dress to the of those questions answered yourself. General As- An essential aspect of our church is the sembly as well relationship of the bishops to the metropoli- as an article about Mother Alexandra and the St. tan of our self-ruled Archdiocese. It is clear Thekla Pilgrimage. Many new and encouraging to me, from the frank and open discussion at things are happening in our Archdiocese. our clergy meeting and the deliberations of the We pause to remember Metropolitan ILYAS general assembly, that the metropolitan and the (Kurban) of blessed memory (July 30, 2009). bishops are well aware of the complexities, his- Metropolitan ILYAS served as the Archbishop of torical precedents, practical needs and global Tripoli, Lebanon. He represented the Patriarch- implications of this question. I believe that God ate in presiding over the election of Metropoli- is working with us and that our hierarchs will tan PHILIP and served as pastor of St. George work diligently to discern God’s will for us at Church in Boston before his episcopal election. this time and in this place. As they work togeth- Metropolitan ILYAS was a great thinker and er to prepare the manual of duties and respon- liturgist and he always cared deeply for our sibilities, they deserve our prayers and support. Church in America. May God remember him in I believe that God is working in His Church. His kingdom. Like the clergy meeting, the general as- sembly was open and discussions were frank Archimandrite John Abdalah and open. You can hear these discussions on g The Word 3 Metropolitan PHILIP Addresses Archdiocese Convention Be ever mindful of the fruits of your labor Your Eminence, Your Graces, Beloved Clergy, Esteemed Members of the Board of Trustees, Members of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Members of the Antiochian Women, Members of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, Members of SOYO, Parish Councils and the Faithful of our God-protected Archdiocese: The theme of our convention this year is tak- I also believe that social action, that is, being on en from the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the streets of New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, St. John Chrysostom: “Be mindful, O Lord, of feeding the poor, helping drug addicts and cloth- those who bear fruit and do good works in thy ing the naked, giving hope to the hopeless, will holy churches and who remember the poor.” ultimately lead to contemplation. “For whatsoever you have done to the least The prayer of the Anaphora continues, “Re- of these my brethren, you have done it unto me” ward them with thy rich and heavenly gifts; (Matthew 25:40). Social action and contempla- give them things heavenly for things earthly; tion complement each other. The story of Martha things eternal for things temporal, things incor- and Mary is a good example. Perhaps poor Mar- ruptible for things corruptible. Be mindful, O tha was preparing lunch for our Lord in the kitch- Lord, of those in the desert, the mountains and en, while Mary was sitting at His feet listening to in caves; be mindful, O Lord, of all those who His words. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and live in chastity and godliness.” And in the Ekte- troubled about many things; one thing is needful. nia of fervent supplication at Vespers, we sing, Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not “Again we pray for those who bear fruit and do be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40–41). good words in thy holy and all-venerable tem- I am sure that Jesus meant to say to Martha, ple, for those who serve and those who sing.” “Now is time to hear the word of God; do your work later.” Some theologians reduce the perfect Chris- In the Epistle of James 2:14, we read, “What tian way of life to pure contemplation (theoria), does it profi t, my brethren, if a man says he has and some reduce it to pure social action (prax- faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? is). In my humble opinion, both approaches are If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily wrong. St. Basil and St. John did not differenti- food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, ate between these two ways of life. This kind of be warmed and fi lled,’ without giving them the reductionism is alien to Orthodox theology. They things needed for the body, what does it profi t? admonished us to be mindful of those who bear So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” Holy fruit, do good works and remember the poor, and Orthodox tradition is against theological reduc- also to be mindful of those in the deserts, in the tionism. This means that we cannot reduce the mountains and in the caves. I believe that contem- Gospel of Jesus Christ to pure social action, nor plation should lead to action, to the conduct com- to pure contemplation or some kind of “spiritual mended in Matthew 25, that is, to feed the hungry coma,” completely detached from the problems and give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, of this broken world. visit the imprisoned and welcome the strangers. We have many examples in the history of the 4 The Word church of saints and fathers who withdrew to the cannot help but think of the multitudes of women, wilderness, to prepare themselves spiritually fi rst, men, and young people who labor in the vineyard and then to return to society and to contemplate of this Archdiocese.
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