Western Rite Orthodoxy and the Eastern Orthodox Church

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Wales Trinity Saint David CUM ILLI GRAECI SINT, NOS LATINI: Western Rite Orthodoxy and the Eastern Orthodox Church by Jack Turner Bachelor of Arts University of South Carolina, 2002 Master of Arts University of South Carolina, 2005 Submitted to the University of Wales in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies Lampeter 2010 © Copyright by Jack Turner, 2010 All Rights Reserved. ii Also for Jammie… “What then shall we do, since they are Greeks and we are Latins?” St Augustine of Hippo Conta Iulianum iii ABSTRACT In the era prior to the Great Schism of 1054, Christianity was one Church composed of two culturally distinct elements: the Greek East and Latin West. The Greek and Latin halves of the Church each possessed their own independent liturgical and cultural customs which were part of the dispute that lead to the Great Schism, effectively separating the Church into independent Greek and Latin sides. While the West had retained liturgical expressions that differed from the majority Western Rite (in the form of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, which remained in communion with Rome after the official break with Constantinople), the Christian East was exclusively composed of Churches celebrating the Byzantine Rite for approximately nine hundred years. This changed in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the conversion of Julius Joseph Overbeck to the Russian Orthodox Church in London. Since that time, there have been attempts and successes in establishing a Western Rite in the Eastern Church. This thesis approaches Western Rite Orthodoxy as an established phenomenon in Eastern Christianity, especially as a facet of Orthodoxy in countries where Orthodoxy constitutes a minority. While previous short studies have attempted to substantiate or discredit the legitimacy of Western Rite Orthodoxy as a movement, this thesis accepts the reality of the Western rite and seeks to understand Western Rite Orthodoxy by documenting its history thoroughly, the investigating peculiarities of the Orthodox Western rite compared to other Western liturgies, exposing potential problems (spiritual and canonical) of the current rite and devotions when compared to accepted Orthodox theology and spirituality, and by evaluating some of the criticisms which are often employed against Western Rite Orthodoxy. To complete this critical evaluation, there are some important areas of consideration. Though there have been some studies of Western Rite Orthodoxy, there has been little historical documentation of the movement since the middle part of the twentieth century. Part of Western Rite Orthodoxy’s development has been the alteration of liturgical texts to bring them into conformity with the theology and spirituality of the Eastern Church. There is some question, both in academic and ecclesiastical circles, about how thoroughly these changes were implemented, whether there are still elements requiring further correction, and even if the Western liturgies can be brought into conformity with Eastern theology and practice in any instance. Furthermore, there is are ecumenical implications to the presence of Western Rite Orthodoxy that have yet to be addressed, particularly in the Western Rite Orthodox rejection of post-Vatican II liturgies used by the majority of Western Christianity, and the effect this might have on a future reunion between a Western Church and Orthodoxy. With this critical framework established, there is a greater opportunity to fully understand Western Rite Orthodoxy in the twentieth century, both as it affects the Orthodox Church itself and as it affects external relationships between the Orthodox and other Christian churches. Secondarily, the thesis provides a more complete history in terms of documentation and contextualization of Western Rite Orthodoxy than is presently available through any other medium. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are also individuals who have made substantive contribution to the work at hand in an informal way and who deserve credit for their important contributions. Firstly, credit goes to Fr. Paul Schneirla who made his expertise available to my disposal through a series of telephone interviews and written correspondence from 2007 through 2009. His knowledge of Western rite history provided some of the anecdotal details for the history for important individuals in the AWRV, though he requested that our correspondence not be quoted directly and I have sought to honour that request as much as is possible. From the ROCOR Western rite, I must thank Aristibule ‘Ari’ Adams who introduced me to Fr David and Fr Michael Wood, who have proven to be excellent sources for the history of Western Rite Orthodoxy in their respective communities. Additionally, Fr Ben Johnson of St Catherine’s Orthodox Mission (Antiochian Archdiocese) has been an invaluable source of updated news on Western Rite Orthodoxy through his blog Western Orthodox, though he is probably unaware that I have been reading his updates diligently throughout my research. Other sources of assistance include Ben Andersen and Fr Matthew Thurman for their blogs and Andersen additionally for his informally published papers across the web. Both individuals pointed me towards less obvious sources which proved helpful in writing the historical sections. Other sources of important information include Fr Heiromonk Aiden (Keller) for his generosity through providing his own written works, some of which were invaluable for pointing me towards topics I was unaware existed. Two others who deserve mention are Dr. Karen Westfield-Tucker of Boston University who edited a portion of Chapter 6 in preparation for publication (subsequently published as ‘“We Beseech Thee to Send Down Thy Holy Spirit”: History, Liturgy, and Theology in the Epiclesis Text of the Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory’ Studia Liturgica 39.2 (2009) 202-15), and who’s comments were invaluable for making that section of the work strong; and Dr. Paul Meyendorff of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary who edited my literature review in preparation for its publication in St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, even though the version which appears in this thesis bears no resemblance to the one which was published. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of my thesis supervisor, Dr. Andreas Andreopoulos, whose suggestions to earlier drafts of this work made for a superior finished product. vi PREFACE My interest in Western Rite Orthodoxy came to me in a rather unusual manner. Having not been raised Orthodox or Roman Catholic, I had little idea what the ‘Western Rite’ was, and an undergraduate, I was only vaguely aware that such a thing even existed. However, taking my first theology course, I decided to browse the websites of the various Orthodox churches in North America, trying to find more simplified versions of the materials presented in class lectures as a means of helping me remember all of the very new information that I was being taught. How beneficial a strategy this was could be debated but in peeking through those websites, I did manage to find a frequently asked questions section on the website of the OCA. While pursuing the topics which had been answered on the site, I distinctly remember that one topic was related to something called ‘Western Rite Orthodoxy’. Not having had a significant experience with the Orthodox Church to that point, I had simply assumed that all Orthodox Churches were Byzantine rite, though even at that time I had no real way of knowing exactly what that was, either. As a result, I read the response that was offered and went about my way, filing the fact that there was in actuality something called ‘Western Rite Orthodoxy’ without giving the topic much further thought. That changed a few years later when, a semester into my graduate work, I began looking for more material related to the study of Christian liturgy generally, but to the Liturgy of John Chrysostom more specifically, thinking at the time I would write my Master’s Thesis on the subject. Through one of my professors, several Orthodox and Eastern Catholic clergy were approached for their suggestions. Among the recommended reading I received from this group, one priest, who also happened to be a former student of my professor, mentioned that I should also look into Western Rite Orthodoxy. Since he had provided me with a weblink rather than a book title and because the information was not really related to my current path of research, I set aside the suggestion and began the vii work of further refining my topic, ultimately making on something quite different from that which I had original intended, as it would seem is usually the case in these circumstances. I would like to say that the idea to study Western Rite Orthodoxy thoroughly came in a flash or an epiphany of some sort. In truth, it came about rather by accident. In preparing to transition from a postgraduate life to one of full-time, non-academic work with the possibility of doctoral studies on the side, I began browsing through my old school papers with the aim of clearing out some of the material to make space for new photocopies or other papers I might need to retain for reference. It was at this point that I came across the e-mail I had received at the start of my graduate studies referring Western Rite Orthodoxy. At the time, I was considering what sorts of things I might want to do with my academic work, and thought that the subject of Western Rite Orthodoxy might make for an excellent post-doctoral study, something to take on after I had passed that first hurdle for getting tenure and needed something even further down the line, which I might research in preparation for further promotion.

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