Spiritual Socialists: Religion and the American Left
Vaneesa Cook
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019

Though I was still a kid at the time, I remember when it was announced on the evening news that Norman Thomas, the perennial presidential candidate for the Socialist Party and the “conscience of America,” had died. Aside from the fact that a third-party leader drew the attention of the major news networks, this was surprising for another reason: the use of the word Socialist and conscience in the same sentence. This was in an America that, not too much earlier, had found itself in the grip of the hysteria of the McCarthy Era. To most Americans, the word socialism was laden with images of gulags and the crushing disincentive effects of a sprawling state-run economy, as well as an official—and often brutally enforced—atheism. To many, linking the word conscience to a concept such as socialism would have seemed improbable and an oxymoron.

Yet Thomas, the erstwhile Presbyterian minister, was able to rise above the fray and present socialist ideals as not only compatible with equality, pacifism, democracy, and yes, Christian values, but the logical extension of such objectives. While many Americans viewed his opinions as naïve and quixotic, he was able to avoid being associated with the harshness of the Soviet system, and was a reminder of the existence of the non-Marxist left in the US political landscape. Read More

Discerning the Signs of the Times: The Vision of Elisabeth Behr-Sigel
Michael Plekon and Sarah E. Hinlicky, Eds.; Lyn Breck, Michael Plekon, Deno Takles, and Rachel Mortimer, Trans.
Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001

Orthodoxy in Dialogue normally reviews books no more than two or three years old. Yet Discerning the Signs of the Times is such a treasure that it merits an exception and whatever renewed attention we can bring to it from a new generation of Orthodox readers.

The title, taken of course from Mt 16:3, reflects a recurring theme in the ten brief essays by Behr-Sigel (1907-2005) collected between the covers of this slim volume. Repeatedly she appeals for the recovery of a more authentic Orthodoxy, an Orthodoxy irreducible to ritualism, moralism, or nationalism, a truly catholic Orthodoxy, vibrant and alive, fully engaged in reading the signs of these times and these places in which God has placed the Church for our salvation and the salvation of the world.

I must begin, however, with a confession. When I submitted the proposed reading list for my upcoming comprehensive exam on modern Orthodox theology, one of my examiners objected: “There are no women theologians on your list!” He gave me three names to add, of which Behr-Sigel — “the grandmother of western Orthodoxy” — stands out indisputably as the most influential. My only regret (and here I am truly embarrassed) is that it has taken me forty-five years of reading and internalizing Orthodox theology to meet her at last. I have no idea why it has taken me so long. I’ve known her name since forever. Read More

In publishing this announcement we wish to express Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s solidarity with Archbishop Sotirios and prayers for brotherly unity in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada during this most difficult of times for the life of our Church.

A Chronicle of Events

With the advent of the coronavirus, our churches were closed to the public on March 17, 2020, by order of the government authorities in Canada (we are generally referring to government authorities in Canada, because matters in regard to health do not fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, but rather under the jurisdiction of provincial governments and local municipalities). The churches reopened on June 12, 2020.

Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas)

For the period between June 12 to July 3, 2020, the churches dispersed Holy Communion normally, until one or more persons (their names are known, but will only be made public at a later date) complained to the government authorities in Canada that the Greek Orthodox Churches are giving Holy Communion with a common spoon for all the faithful, and that this practice would create serious health problems. It is noted here that all Christian churches, as well as places of worship of all other religions, have received and continue to receive the same treatment on behalf of government authorities.

Following this complaint, I met with some priests on Friday, July 3, 2020. (Not all of the priests were present since the authorities did not allow gatherings of more than 10 persons). Because it was a Friday and we could not communicate with the government authorities in time, it was decided that on Sunday, July 5, 2020, no Holy Communion was to be given to the faithful during the Divine Liturgy. Read More

Metropolitan Petros of Accra

There can be no doubt that Hagia Sophia evokes strong sentiments. For Orthodox Christians, the Greeks in particular, the “Great Church of the Divine Wisdom of God” was the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the greatest cathedral in the Christian world for almost a thousand years, the spiritual heart of the Byzantine Empire. When Constantinople fell in 1453, Mehmet the Conqueror made it a mosque. For Turks (and I stress Turks, not Muslims) who have now turned it back into a mosque, it has become once again the symbol of the conquest of Constantinople and victory over Byzantium, but also the victory of Islam over Christianity.

Hagia Sophia embodies the complexity of Turkish and European history, and of Christian and Islamic traditions. Recognizing this, and driven by his efforts to secularize Turkey, in 1935 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk turned it into a museum and it subsequently became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It thus became a “place of encounter,” inspiring people of all nations and faiths, an expression of Turkey’s desire to leave behind the conflicts of the past. Read More