To an outside observer, many of the liturgical elements we do at any service might seem “over the top ” ritual, full of pomp and circumstances – but when a Bishop is serving, it can seem truly all the more bizarre. I suppose that one can be left with the impression that these “over the top” rituals are just nostalgia for the glory years of Imperial Russia or Byzantium. Of course this is always a temptation (which I am all to often reminded of), but if we invest ourselves into the fact that these rituals are the expressions of our love of the Lord, they don’t seem to be as strange or inconsistent with anything else we do.
The presence of a Bishop at any given service (and especially at a Liturgy) is an apostolic icon of the fullness of our faith. We see this rooted in scripture with St. Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus, and reflected in early Church documents like the Didache (1st century) or Justin Martyr’s apologies on the faith (2nd century). In these (and many more writings) we see the that the Bishops (or overseers ἐπίσκοπος) manifest the unity of the faith, not as an administrative and social position, but rather through the through the historic, liturgical, scriptural, and spiritual life they embody. The short form for this is “Apostolic succession” where each canonical Bishop can trace their vocation back through time to the very apostles themselves.
It is in this that we find ourselves not in the presence of a CEO, or guru (God forbid), but rather in the presence of a man who conveys the same living “tradition” (2 Tess. 2:15) and teachings of the twelve apostles; and even of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ. As St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote in the 1st century “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be, even as where Christ Jesus is, there is the catholic (whole and undivided) church” (Epistle to the Smyrnaeans).
This understanding of the whole and undivided Church in the presence of a bishop, was manifested last weekend on the Soul Saturday before Pentecost, as our long time choir director Greg Wiebe, was ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Irénée. It is truly wonderful and witness of the saving work of the Lord at St. Nicholas (and the Archdiocese as a whole); indeed the willingness of men (like Greg) and their families to respond positively, like the prophet Isaiah to the call of the Lord; “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? (Is. 6:8) is a manifestation of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Not in some mystical or spiritual way only, but tangably in the pastoral and liturgical life of the Church.
In this context we were given the opportunity to see those rituals that surround us when a Bishop is serving, and at the ordination of a deacon; not as Imperial nostalgia, or “over the top” liturgics, but rather an expression of the honour to the apostolic proclamation of the Lord’s saving victory over sin and death. Truly it is a blessing that we can not only bear witness to this proclamation, but participate in it.
May the Lord grant many blessed years to Vladyka Irénée, blessing him with peace and wisdom as he criss-crosses the Archdiocese in service to the Lord. May the Lord grant many blessed years to the newly ordained Deacon Greg, his wife Amanda, their children Kayla, William, and Hannah; and may the Lord grant many blessed years to the clergy and faithful of St Nicholas in their continued love and dedication to the Lord.
(Photo credits. Tina Wiebe photography, Igumen Vladimir (Lysak), Archpriest Gregory Scratch)
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