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Orthodoxy in Dialogue takes great pleasure in introducing to our readers around the world Father Marin Mihalache’s newly published collection of spiritual poetry, Homo Liturgicus.

In March 1981 Father Alexander Schmemann wrote to the then 29-year old poet:

My dear Marin,

In the first place this is unmistakably—poetry. If by poetry we mean, above all, a vision of life incarnate in words (“the best possible words in the best possible words”) and thus a recreation of the world, your verses are poetry. Once more a man saw and experienced life in a new and unique manner, and revealed that which he saw and experienced. Revealed—not explained… For this a thank you—not of politeness, but as the only proper response, the only genuine amen. The poet’s world is God’s and his, and no one else’s. You give it to us, as God gives us His (and now through your poetry—yours) world. We can receive it, integrate it into our vision yet, it will forever remain a gift, and this is the only genuine ontology. All poetry (even a “blank” one) is religious. Yours is Christian. It is itself an Amen to a gift, an act of communion, praise and wonder. I am glad I read it on the first day of Lent. You write your poetry in a language which is not yours, yet you transform it, make it into yours (not “Romanian” but yours). For the first time in my life I had the thought that maybe each poet ought to write in a language other than his. For then he must “sacramentally” transform an “alien” language into his own-unique and genuine… Meanwhile, thank you once more, for a wonderful gift.

Yours with love,

+ Alexander Schmemann

The occasional, minor grammatical errors in Father Mihalache’s text add to the simple charm of his poetry.

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For the context of Dr. White’s article see the White Supremacy and Racism section in our Archives by Author.

Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria ordains Bishop Athanasios of West Kenya (December 2015)

The editors of Orthodoxy in Dialogue are to be commended for drawing attention to the issue of the appeal of Orthodox Christianity to people who hold white nationalist views. As readers of this blog know, this question has, among other things, to do with the religious and sociological dimensions of racism in North America in the age of Trump, and the interpretations of the idea (and ideology) of tradition in white nationalist groups and in Orthodox Christianity. Of course, there is also the wider, ongoing issue of racism in the Church and the role of continuing Orthodox self-definition in terms of national and ethnic categories in the appeal of Orthodox Christianity to white nationalists. The integrity of the Church’s witness in these times of increasingly overt racism and xenophobia depends on our addressing these issues forthrightly and with courage.

I wish to contribute to this conversation by addressing the issue of white supremacy in the Church from a perspective that might not be self-evident: that of liturgical theology. I can’t treat in this short space this complex topic in the depth it requires; instead, I will outline what I think are central questions pertaining to this issue. The following discussion is necessarily preliminary and schematic. I hope to address these questions in greater detail in the future here and in other forums. Read More

One week from now, October 2-4, 2018, the ninth annual meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America is scheduled to take place in Cleveland, Ohio. We put forward the following proposals for the Assembly’s consideration. 

If you wish to sign this Open Letter, send an email to editors@orthodoxyindialogue.com with your name and city, state/province, and country of residence. If you are a bishop, priest, or deacon, include your ecclesiastical title and the jurisdiction to which you belong.

Concerned individuals who are not members of the Orthodox Church are also welcome to add their names. 

Please disseminate this Letter widely on social media.

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To the Member Hierarchs of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America:

Masters, bless. 

As you gather in prayer and brotherhood during the first week of October, we the undersigned respectfully propose that the Assembly, its individual member bishops, and their respective jurisdictions and dioceses consider taking the following steps:

1). Cease issuing condemnations of abortion, participating in the March for Life, and advocating for the elimination of legal, accessible abortion. 

Instead, create a committee of clergy, laypersons, and especially women to explore options for a pan-Orthodox initiative to offer financial, material, emotional, spiritual, and social support to pregnant women in need and to their children after birth.

The reality of the world in which we live also requires the Church’s support for the surest means to reduce the incidence of abortion: universal access to contraception and to accurate, scientifically based sex education.

Finally, it is important to listen to women’s reasons for having an abortion and to work with them to mitigate those reasons when they are open to doing so. Judging, condemning, marching in parades, and attending Rose Dinners accomplish nothing and don’t save a single child’s or woman’s life.

2). Cease issuing condemnations of same-sex orientation.

These condemnations inflict lasting emotional and spiritual harm on Orthodox children, teens, and adults who regard their orientation as a good and natural part of their personal identity. They seek from their Church, not a cover for sexual permissiveness, but a profound and affirmative theological articulation of how their orientation reflects the divine image and participates in the acquisition of the divine likeness through the collaboration of human ascesis with uncreated grace.

Instead, create a committee of clergy, theologians, psychologists, therapists, laypersons, and especially Orthodox individuals who identify as same-sex oriented to study questions of sexual orientation in all their complexity.

The committee should be open to examining possibilities for blessing Orthodox same-sex couples who wish to make a monogamous, lifelong commitment to each other.

The committee should also be tasked with formulating pastoral guidelines to present for the Assembly’s consideration.

The blanket excommunication of Orthodox Christians who present as same-sex oriented must cease. Read More