It is a pretty good indication that our Church is doing what it is supposed to be doing, when we gain three deacons in the course of week. For those keeping score, that is four in less than a year – Glory to God!
I first met the newly ordained deacon James back in 1982 when he started coming to (and was received into the Orthodox Church) at the Holy Transfiguration mission in Ottawa (now the Annunciation Cathedral) where my father was serving. I also attended some classes with him at St. Paul’s University and incidentally but nonetheless remarkable James also introduced me to punk rock- for which I am eternally thankful. James’ love of God and neighbour truly has guided him and his wife (Diakonisa Martha) to a life of service; becoming a cornerstone of St. Maria’s in its early days, and an example of Christian life for many new converts. It is only fitting that his service has been now “set apart” and offered to the Lord in the Diaconate, as a witness of the Lord’s love for us, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mk.10:45) May the Lord grant him and his wife, many blessed years in service to His Body, the Church.
By God’s grace and mercy, the faithful of St. Nicholas of Narol, welcomed back, his Eminence Archbishop Irénée, for the blessed ordination of John (Dayrl) Schantz to the Diaconate.
On a beautiful sunny and warm spring morning (Saturday April 6th) Vladika Irénée served the Divine Liturgy with the faithful of St. Nicholas, and other Orthodox parishes. Joining Vladika in the service was the Archpriest Gregory Scratch (parish rector), the mitred Archpriest Serhii Kashyrets, the Archpriest Roman Pavlov, the Priest Matthew Beynon (both from Holy Trinity Sobor), the Priest Stephen Sharman (St Nicholas of Narol), Protodeacon Edward Jordan (St. Aidan’s Cranbrook BC) Deacon Denis Letunovsky (St Seraphim of Sarov Rawdon, QC), and the Deacon Greg Wiebe (St. Nicholas) Archpriest Anthony Esterbrooks (Retired) Dn. John Kavalas (St. Demetrios GOA – not serving)
During the Liturgy, the Priest Matthew Beynon was awarded the Gold Cross, and the Priest Stephen Sharman was awarded the Kamilavka.
It is something of a marvel, that it was less than eight months ago that Vladika Irénée was last at St. Nicholas – also for another ordination – Dn. Greg Wiebe. Indeed, this fact was not lost on his Eminence, as he noted in his sermon “there are churches that devour priests and clergy… this church produces them”. The newly ordained Dn. John, Matushka Robyn Sophia, and their four daughters, have with love and thanksgiving served the various needs of St. Nicholas for more than a few years; and truly this ordination is a confirmation of the Lord’s saving grace. In them, this service, has been “set aside” and offered to the Lord in thanksgiving through the laying on of hands; that the Lord, Himself, might reveal His saving service to us, through the newly ordained Deacon’s hands..
May the Lord grant many blessed years to Vladika 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 John, his wife Matushka Robyn Sophia, their children Ann-Christina (and husband Jesse), Olivia, Adrianne, and Emily; 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.
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)
stnicholasnarol.com 