APRIL 2002 VOLUME 46 NO. 4 CONTENTS 3 EDITORIAL By Very Rev. John Abdalah ◆ 4 SAINT MARY THE EGYPTIAN The Most Reverend AND THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE Metropolitan PHILIP, D.H.L., D.D. By Deacon Bassam Antoine Nassif Primate The Right Reverend 6 THE WORD INTERVIEWS BISHOP DEMETRI Bishop Antoun, Auxiliary By Gregory Abdalah The Right Reverend Bishop Joseph, Auxiliary 10 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL The Right Reverend Bishop Basil, Auxiliary 12 THE ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE The Right Reverend Bishop Demetri, Auxiliary 14 COMMUNITIES IN ACTION Founded in Arabic as Al Kalimat in 1905 by Saint Raphael Hawaweeny 17 THE DEPARTMENT OF Founded in English as CHRISTIAN EDUCATION The Word in 1957 by Metropolitan Antony Bashir 25 THE PEOPLE SPEAK … Editor in Chief The Very Rev. John P. Abdalah, M.Div. 27 FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE CAMPAIGN Assistant Editor Joanne M. Abdalah, MSW 30 ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE VIEWS Editorial Board AND VIEW POINTS The Very Rev. Joseph J. Allen, Th.D. Anthony Bashir, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Antony Gabriel, Th.M. 34 THE ORTHODOX WORLD The Very Rev. Peter Gillquist Linda Hopkins Anne Glynn Mackoul, J.D. MEMBER Ronald Nicola The Associated Church Press Najib E. Saliba, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Paul Schneirla, M.Div. Conciliar Press Ecumenical News International Design Director Orthodox Press Service Donna Griffin Albert Editorial Office: The Word 1777 Quigg Dr. COVER Pittsburgh, PA 15241-2071 e-mail: [email protected] THE ICON OF THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT is a FAX: 1-412-831-5554 visual representation of the 7th century writing of the same name Subscription Office: by St. John Climacus. In the Ladder St. John describes to his 358 Mountain Road monks the process of theosis as a series of steps through which the Englewood, NJ 07631 passions are defeated. This icon was written by Nicholas Papas of ◆ Greensburg, PA for St. George Church, New Kensington, PA. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: U.S.A. and Canada, $20.00 Foreign Countries, $26.00 Single Copies, $3.00 THE WORD (USPS626-260), published monthly except July and August, by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at 358 Mountain Road, periodicals postage paid at Englewood, New Jersey 07631 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address changes to: THE WORD, 358 Mountain Road, Englewood, NJ 07631 VOLUME 46 NO. 4 APRIL 2002 ISSN 0043-7964 www.antiochian.org. 2 The Word EDITORIAL GETTING THERE Y FAVORITE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA Pascha is long and difficult enough without the added M expression is, “You can’t get there from here.” burden of these heavy passions. We begin our journey For those of you not from Western Pennsyl- with the theme of man’s expulsion from paradise. Saint vania, I will explain. “You can’t get there from here” John of Damascus teaches us that it is precisely this means that there just isn’t a direct route to get where expulsion that allows us to return to God. Expelled you want to go. You may have to go someplace else from paradise as the result of thinking that we can do first, to get to a road that goes where you are going. You without God, we are now able to come to our senses, may have to go South and West before going North and like the prodigal, and journey home. East. I think that the spiritual life sometimes takes a This journey goes best when we travel light. Light similar path. Before we can really journey toward travel involves making the minimum of fuss, eating less Pascha, we need to free ourselves from those passions and plainly, putting a hold on entertainment and all that enslave us. While the passions bind us, we are unnecessary activity. It also involves using the newly- unable to do God’s will and care for ourselves or each found time for prayer and Christian acts of mercy. other. Before we can even begin our journey, we need For many, this seems so very difficult, and people to free ourselves from anything that distracts us from are therefore often discouraged. While this discourage- our goal. With this freedom, we can then embrace ment seems very humbling, it is actually a form of the Christ, and be open to Christ’s saving power in us. enemy, “pride.” We are disappointed that we, in all our Upon examination, we observe that many of the supposed glory, would find prayer and fasting to be things that seem to bind us, or at least take up much of hard work. The Church holds up for us the image of the our time and energy, are in and of them- Ladder of Divine Ascent to offer us hope by selves not bad. They may in fact be very ◆ illustrating that the spiritual journey is important and virtuous. No one would traveled one rung at a time. We need not EDITORIAL question, for example, the importance of a be anxious about not reaching immediate BY Christian physician fighting for the lives of spiritual heights. We must journey to Very Rev. John P. his patients, or of a soldier protecting his Christ one step or “rung” at a time. In the country. We may spend our time in virtu- Abdalah icon of the Ladder of Divine Ascent which ◆ ous pursuits of caring for elderly parents, appears on the cover, we notice some of or teaching challenged children. Our the monks are pulled off their ladder by efforts may, in fact, even be “churchy” — holding office demons who are tugging on their prayer ropes. Let us within various church committees or Archdiocesan beware how even religiosity can be our distraction from departments. Perhaps our vocations do not allow us Christ and His Kingdom. time to make our Lenten journey. Nevertheless, we As modern men and women, we would do well to need to become deliberate about our goals of the rediscover our heritage of prayer and fasting during Kingdom of God and obedience to Jesus Christ in all these forty days of Lent. Lent is not a time of giving that we do. things up, or depriving ourselves of good things. Rather Lent needs to be a time of something more than a it is a special time of focusing and growth. successful fish fry or dinners after Lenten services. It You can’t get to Christ from “here,” even if here is a even needs to be more than beautiful Lenten worship General Parish Meeting where we fight about how we and the following of the strictest dietary canons and are to make decisions, or if here is a family crisis when customs. Lent needs to be a time of renewal, and the people fear that they are misunderstood. You can’t get acceptance of life from Jesus Christ. From our places of to Christ from here, even if here is a hospital where we business, we need to pause and check the direction in are weighing the value and quality of life, or the office which we are moving. Our roads must lead to freedom of a financial planner helping us figure out what we will from those things that steal away our precious time; need to retire some day. But by choosing to make they must be life-giving. Christ our priority and goal, we can turn away from On Cheese Fare Sunday, we seek the forgiveness of other goals, and travel to Christ, even though it takes those who have offended and forgive those who have great effort in prayer and fasting. We can indeed reori- offended us. This allows us to journey without the ent our lives and be successful in our Paschal journey. weight of resentments and regrets. The journey to April 2002 3 ST. MARY THE EGYPTIAN St. Mary the Egyptian and the Spirit of the Age By DEACON BASSAM ANTOINE NASSIF HE SPIRIT OF THE AGE principal end, the purity of heart image of penance conceivable. T alien to the teachings of the and the love of God and Mary was born, baptized and Fathers is unfortunately our neighbor? Lent raised in Alexandria, and she shaping our way of life. We is a school of was very beautiful. Her are very comfortable in our repentance, rich parents neglected life of laxity and of easy a period of her and did not take attainment. Some grumble, washing care of her very well. “We have been struggling our inner Mary lost her virginity for ten days, and we feel we self by at the age of twelve. As are still the same.” Others tears of a result of her parents’ complain, “We have been neglect, her life changed struggling all Lent, but now and she slowly started to we are fainthearted, because frequent the streets, becom- we have fallen many times ing a harlot. She wanted so …” The struggle never ends, much to wallow in the fires until our final repose. It of lust that she refused to continues as long as we are receive money from her in this earthly body of flesh, lovers, because she want- in these garments of skin. ed to attract them more. Do you know any serious She saw some pilgrims athlete who does not spend going to Jerusalem to cele- many hours every week repentance, a brate the feast of the Holy disciplining his muscles baptism of Cross in September. So to and exercising his body in tears. Where seduce more people, this the hope of winning the does all this famous harlot boarded the gold medal? If we do that take us? ship going to Jerusalem.