New Orthodox missions are springing up all over that are almost entirely comprised of adult converts with their children. However, the majority of Orthodox parishes are still mixed between adult converts, immigrants, “ethnic cradles”, and the maturing group of “non-ethnic” cradles (a group that not too long ago didn’t really exist). In such mixed settings, some conflicts between groups exist that are troubling enough that we are wise to spend time understanding where all sides are coming from. It is particularly important to understand how things have changed over the course of just a few decades for those raised in the Orthodox Faith.
In that spirit, we are publishing the comment below from a cradle Orthodox Christian as a stand-alone article. It was originally posted to The Orthodox Bishops in the United States Act Culturally Illiterate. You can read the comment in context here. The poster used the pseudonym “In Texas“. Below the line is the comment, which makes some interesting points about, among other things, the cultural attitudes ethnic cradles were taught by their immigrant parents.
Without any intention to do so, Orthodoxy has ended up becoming “radical” in our American context by simply not changing core beliefs that, at one time, were considered mainstream in American culture. Far from signing up to fight in a “culture war”, it is clear that such a “war” was thrust upon the Church as American culture unexpectedly shifted in ways Orthodoxy cannot accept. Instead of seeking to “blend in” as aspirational Americans, today’s Orthodox Christians have to be more and more willing to “stick out”.
—OR Staff
In Texas wrote:
I would argue that the Orthodox Church in America at least somewhat does what you are suggesting, probably more so than any other Orthodox jurisdiction in the United States, precisely because it has been dedicated for some time to being the “local indigenous Orthodox Church in North America,” with all the baggage that such a responsibility brings.
I grew up Orthodox in PA, the son of Orthodox Christians whose job it to “survive and thrive.” Orthodox missionary work was not something even on the radar – in fact, it was considered distasteful to imply to the Methodists, Episcopalians, or Roman Catholics down the road that their faith may not be as full as ours. The unstated understanding was that this is their country, we are guests, and guests don’t behave like that. If a rare Presbyterian converted to Orthodox Christianity, that’s wonderful, but our job was not to make it easy for them.
These days, things are way different. Back then, the social perspective of Orthodox Christians was pretty much the same as the Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, etc – the goal for most people was married life which means one man and one woman; pornography and sexual immorality is bad; same-sex sexual activity is not intended by or blessed by God; self-control is virtuous; loving your neighbor is the ideal, etc. Everyone believed these things, except for the fringe lunatics. Now, it’s no exaggeration to say that only Orthodox Christians still believe these things – the cultural landscape has changed dramatically. Back then, nearly everyone went to some sort of church on Sunday. These days, most Americans don’t go to any church on Sunday.
Archbishop Elpidophoros is among those Orthodox Christian hierarchs who I’ve always referred to as WASP-wannabes…. basically they are foreign-born Orthodox hierarchs who perceive the pinnacle of American civilization as the white people who dominate CNN and the American Ivy League schools. Whatever they say and do is aspirational…. i.e., being like them is the goal.
I think this perception is a holdover from back in the day when we all culturally emulated traditional Episcopalians and other WASPs as the aspiration of what it meant to be an “ideal American.” Even Orthodox Christians did this. Problem is, traditional WASPs don’t exist anymore. But Archbishop Elpidophoros and other foreign born Orthodox hierarchs do not understand how the American cultural landscape has changed, I don’t think. Or they don’t care and just want to garner American riches to send back to the old country.
The Orthodox Church in America (and ROCOR and the Antiochians to some extent) seem to be the best jurisdictions at understanding the realities of what it means to be an American Orthodox Christian, at grasping how our history is so complex and has vast regional variations. The American people are not a people “to be used for our money, which are then sent back to the old country.” God does not bless “using” people as such, I’m pretty sure of it.
Archbishop Dmitri of blessed memory knew very well the unique history of the United States and of the American South. He grew the OCA Diocese of the South from a small missionary district of about 7 parishes (mostly in Florida and one in Dallas) to more than the 80 or so parishes it has today. A former Southern Baptist and native Texan, Archbishop Dmitri understood America way more than Orthodox hierarchs like Archbishop E do.
Fascinatingly, the OCA laity wanted Archbishop Dmitri to be the OCA First Hierarch/Metropolitan in 1977 after Metropolitan Ireney reposed. Archbishop Dmitri had the most votes by far at the All-American Council in 1977 – but the OCA Holy Synod seemed to think it was too soon for our small Orthodox Church in America (which was still very much dominated by American Slavs at that time) to have a non-Slavic First Hierarch, thus Metropolitan Theodosius (who came from a Slavic Orthodox family in western PA) became the new OCA Metropolitan and served as such for 25 years. Archbishop Dmitri then given the episcopal leadership of the newly-created “Diocese of the South.”
As they say, “he could have gone to Syosset to be Metropolitan, or to Dallas to become a Saint.” I for one, am thankful that the latter happened!!
In ruminating over what I wrote a week or two ago – need to add a bit.
I think the reason that Archbishop Elpi rubs so many American Orthodox Christians the wrong way is that (by his behavior) he obsequiously seeks approval from American secular cultural leaders, despite the fact that they aren’t “worth it” to seek approval from.
Seeking approval from American cultural leaders is something that the nascent American Orthodox Christian Church had to do during the 20th century. We had to get to the point where the culture noticed us as Christians, but grew aware that we are not protestant nor Roman Catholic.
One of the earliest achievements of the forerunners of SCOBA during the 1950s-1960s (I believe Metropolitan Leonty of the Metropolia/OCA and Archbishop Michael of the Greeks spearheaded this in the 1950s, each to some degree) was to get the US Department of Defense to recognize “Orthodox Christian” or “Eastern Orthodox” as a distinct Christian faith for military servicemembers, for classification purposes. Up through the early 1950s, any Orthodox Christian in the US military was classified as “Protestant” on his ID tags/dog tags — that and “Roman Catholic” were the only choices available.
Most American Orthodox Christians know the history of Abp Iakovos of the Greek Archdiocese being pictured on the cover of Life Magazine with Martin Luther King during the 1960s. A long time ago, I recall my priest giving a sermon where he mentioned how seeing the OCA’s St Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland as featured in the 1970s movie “The Deer Hunter” meant, to him, that we American Eastern Orthodox had really begun to be taken seriously by our own American culture.
All of these efforts highlight how Orthodox Christians during the 1900s had to seek approval from American cultural leaders in order to be taken seriously and to survive in a non-Orthodox Christian land. Prior to the communist revolutions and the mass emigrations more than 100 years ago now, Orthodox Christianity had not really existed as “exiles in a foreign land” since the times of the Roman persecutions centuries prior.
But Archbishop Elpi (for some odd reason) still exhibits this bizarre need to be approved by American secular cultural leaders. Marching with BLM, advocating for homosexualism and feminism within the church… it’s like, as you say, he’s culturally illiterate and doesn’t understand.
He’s not American, so how could he understand, I suppose. American Orthodox Christians are no longer a non-English speaking Church in a foreign land. American Orthodox Christians are (per capita) the wealthiest Christian group in the United States. So many “non-ethnic” Americans have converted to Orthodox Christianity over the past 20-30 years that to refer to American Orthodox Christianity as “foreign” is, frankly, insulting to all of us.
Our cultural leaders nowadays are (not to be too judgy…. sorry) often pretty much post-Christian nincompoops who push blatant non-Christian nonsense (like LGBT garbage) down our throats. We don’t need to be seeking their approval in the way that the obsequious Archbishop Elpi seems to think that we do.
On the contrary, American Orthodox Christians are among the most solid and sane Christians in North America. We need to step up to the plate to be American cultural leaders – for the sake of ourselves, our families, and our children. There is no one else to do it. I’m not being delusional and pray that I’m not falling into prelest, but I think that God wants us to be American cultural leaders as well.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Archbishop Elpi and his groveling manner needs to get out of the way. His approach is not right nor healthy for American Orthodox Christians at this time.
Some great recollections & thoughts from “in TX.” Thanks for posting. We are all “in this together” now, more than ever. “how good & pleasant it is when..” ..we Work Together in harmony