Many thanks for this incredible article full of history, with the goal of pointing us to the key of Orthodoxy: theosis and holiness.
The famous quote of St. John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco is apposite here:
"Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must be Eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years."
Another excellent reflection and introduction to Orthodoxy in the West are the various Introductions by Fr. Seraphim Rose in his translation of St. Gregory of Tours' Vita Patrum. Fr. Seraphim undertook that work at the encouragement of St. John (who, recall, had also served as a bishop in Paris!) and largely with the goal of reminding the West of its Orthodox patrimony and heritage. Vita Patrum is difficult to find in hard copy, but it is available online at Internet Archive, and I understand the St. Herman of Alaska Press is in the process of reissuing the work in a new edition.
Thank you for this excellent and informative article. Do you know if there is a service (vespers & matins hymnography) written for All Saints of the British and Celtic Lands?
Thank you for this beautiful, insightful introduction. I had studied a little about Celtic and Anglo-Saxon spirituality in the past. Thank you for relating it to Orthodoxy. I was brought to tears many times by the tenderness and beauty in this writing. I'm looking forward to learning more from you on this topic.
>The Norman conquests led to the end of the ecclesiastical distinctiveness of the Church in England and the Latinization of England, and later, the British Isles.
What exactly is “Latinization” dare I ask? They were already using Latin as their ecclesial language. Bede wrote in Latin. The Lindisfarne Gospels are in Latin. Their liturgy was in Latin. Their calendar was Latin. What is “latinization”?
Further, perhaps people feel Orthodoxy is “alien” is because the liturgical language used is Russian or Greek. Or because the local church has “Russian” or “Greek” in the name. Or because the clergy and hierarchy are Russian or Greek. Or because the liturgy is an eastern one that was never used in the British Isles. Or because the visual aesthetics are Russian/Greek. Or because the music/chant is always Byzantine/Russian in style.
What an utterly odd thing it is to try to prove people’s experiences were wrong by handwaving it all away with vague pseudo-history about “Celts” and “Anglo-Saxons” and their religious practices (I’ve yet to meet anyone in the UK who identifies as such—but many do indeed identify as English or Scottish or Welsh etc).
Even more puzzling is that this “native” aspect of Orthodoxy that you try to defend raises other questions. For example, should Mexicans stay Catholic since the first Christians who came to Mexico were Roman Catholic?
If yes, then the most important thing about your Christian faith is your ethnicity and whoever found your ancestors first?
If no, then why bother trying to argue the “native” aspect of Orthodoxy in the British Isles? It shouldn’t matter, should it?
Many thanks for this incredible article full of history, with the goal of pointing us to the key of Orthodoxy: theosis and holiness.
The famous quote of St. John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco is apposite here:
"Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must be Eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years."
Another excellent reflection and introduction to Orthodoxy in the West are the various Introductions by Fr. Seraphim Rose in his translation of St. Gregory of Tours' Vita Patrum. Fr. Seraphim undertook that work at the encouragement of St. John (who, recall, had also served as a bishop in Paris!) and largely with the goal of reminding the West of its Orthodox patrimony and heritage. Vita Patrum is difficult to find in hard copy, but it is available online at Internet Archive, and I understand the St. Herman of Alaska Press is in the process of reissuing the work in a new edition.
Thank you for this excellent and informative article. Do you know if there is a service (vespers & matins hymnography) written for All Saints of the British and Celtic Lands?
Thank you for this beautiful, insightful introduction. I had studied a little about Celtic and Anglo-Saxon spirituality in the past. Thank you for relating it to Orthodoxy. I was brought to tears many times by the tenderness and beauty in this writing. I'm looking forward to learning more from you on this topic.
Thank you my sister, for your kind words, of which I am unworthy.
May our Lord bless and protect you always.
Eventually you should stop reading the lives of the saints and become one.
>The Norman conquests led to the end of the ecclesiastical distinctiveness of the Church in England and the Latinization of England, and later, the British Isles.
What exactly is “Latinization” dare I ask? They were already using Latin as their ecclesial language. Bede wrote in Latin. The Lindisfarne Gospels are in Latin. Their liturgy was in Latin. Their calendar was Latin. What is “latinization”?
Further, perhaps people feel Orthodoxy is “alien” is because the liturgical language used is Russian or Greek. Or because the local church has “Russian” or “Greek” in the name. Or because the clergy and hierarchy are Russian or Greek. Or because the liturgy is an eastern one that was never used in the British Isles. Or because the visual aesthetics are Russian/Greek. Or because the music/chant is always Byzantine/Russian in style.
What an utterly odd thing it is to try to prove people’s experiences were wrong by handwaving it all away with vague pseudo-history about “Celts” and “Anglo-Saxons” and their religious practices (I’ve yet to meet anyone in the UK who identifies as such—but many do indeed identify as English or Scottish or Welsh etc).
Even more puzzling is that this “native” aspect of Orthodoxy that you try to defend raises other questions. For example, should Mexicans stay Catholic since the first Christians who came to Mexico were Roman Catholic?
If yes, then the most important thing about your Christian faith is your ethnicity and whoever found your ancestors first?
If no, then why bother trying to argue the “native” aspect of Orthodoxy in the British Isles? It shouldn’t matter, should it?