"It has begun!" Since being received into the Holy Orthodox Church, life has taken on a different quality for my wife and me, and for the rest of our family as well. There is no way to describe the "charismatic power" of Orthodoxy unless you experience it, just as there was no way to truly explain the experience of what Pentecostals and Charismatics call "the Baptism of the Holy Spirit," which I had experienced way back in 1970. The inexplicable nature of the sacraments of Chrismation by the priest and now "Ordination," when the hands of an Orthodox Bishop are placed on you, is nothing short of miraculous. There's something about the sheer antiquity of it all which verifiably connects the ancient past to the present, that strikes you when you prepare yourself and start to walk through all of the "procedures" of the ordination process. Far from merely "going through the motions" all of the actions have deep meaning and thus take on a freshness and new dimension when you actually submit yourself to them. So this past Sunday the 13th of January, the Sunday after Theophany, commemorating the Martyrs Hermylus & Stratonicus of Belgrade and Saint James of Nisibis, at St. Basil's Antiochian Orthodox Church in Poquoson, VA, I was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Orthodox Church. The charismatic nature of this experience through the laying on of hands by His Grace Bishop THOMAS of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese (West Virginia and Mid-Atlantic Diocese) was nothing short of miraculous. Not in the "showy" sense of the Pentecostal/Charismatic megachurches of America or of the Benny Hinn crusades, but in the quiet, unassuming way that typically characterizes the way of the supernatural within the Orthodox ethos. Every week, miracles occur in the Orthodox Church! Lives are changed, people are sometimes healed, and bread and wine are miraculous changed into the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God slain for all mankind--our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ. But instead of parading the faithful around on TV and making them "stars" in a Christian cavalcade simply because they either witnessed or experienced a miracle, Orthodox folks simply accept it as normative in the Christian experience and proceed to the coffee hour after the Divine Liturgy. But I can tell you that the miraculous nature of Orthodox worship is as real and fulfilling, if not more, than any chandelier swinging, pew running, holy rolling experience I've ever had.
As the first level of "ordained" clergy in the Church, being a deacon in Holy Orthodoxy has two catagories, permanent and transitional. Many are called to the permanent diaconate and serve humbly and gladly for their entire lives in that capacity. In fact as I look at my duties as a deacon for the few weeks that it will be a reality, I can only rejoice and give thanks for those who commit themselves to this necessary and sacred function in perpetuity. Consistent with the meaning of the word "liturgy," the Divine Liturgy is "hard work" and I rejoice that we have deacons to assist us in this holy experience. But I am what's called a "transitional" deacon. Lord willing, I will soon be made a priest, and enter into the second level of ordained clergy called the Honorable Presbytery. In the Orthodox Church, one does not simply go from laity to priesthood in one step. Like the officer ranks of the military which progress from Ensign to Admiral in a step by step process, once must first become a deacon before becoming a priest. The idea is that all of the "lesser ranks" of ordained clergy are subsumed within the highest clerical rank of bishop. The bishop is the successor to the Apostles and as such is the source of the life and power of Christ in the earth through His Church. The clerical ranks beneath him thus derive their power and authority from the bishop and are therefore simply extensions of his arms, legs, eyes, ears, and mouth through which the grace of life in the church is dispensed. As St. Ignatius of Antioch said "where the bishop is, there is the church."
As the first level of "ordained" clergy in the Church, being a deacon in Holy Orthodoxy has two catagories, permanent and transitional. Many are called to the permanent diaconate and serve humbly and gladly for their entire lives in that capacity. In fact as I look at my duties as a deacon for the few weeks that it will be a reality, I can only rejoice and give thanks for those who commit themselves to this necessary and sacred function in perpetuity. Consistent with the meaning of the word "liturgy," the Divine Liturgy is "hard work" and I rejoice that we have deacons to assist us in this holy experience. But I am what's called a "transitional" deacon. Lord willing, I will soon be made a priest, and enter into the second level of ordained clergy called the Honorable Presbytery. In the Orthodox Church, one does not simply go from laity to priesthood in one step. Like the officer ranks of the military which progress from Ensign to Admiral in a step by step process, once must first become a deacon before becoming a priest. The idea is that all of the "lesser ranks" of ordained clergy are subsumed within the highest clerical rank of bishop. The bishop is the successor to the Apostles and as such is the source of the life and power of Christ in the earth through His Church. The clerical ranks beneath him thus derive their power and authority from the bishop and are therefore simply extensions of his arms, legs, eyes, ears, and mouth through which the grace of life in the church is dispensed. As St. Ignatius of Antioch said "where the bishop is, there is the church."
Read more about this and see more pictures on Tamera's blog: http://tpelikan.blogspot.com
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