A Greater Orthodoxy
Back in 2000, my oldest daughter, Mary, spent a year in Siberia (Krasnoyarsk). Our family had only been Orthodox for two years. Her experience constituted a baptism into the depths of Orthodoxy, within a culture that had largely been shaped by centuries of Orthodox practice (despite its years under the Soviets). In a phone call after several months, my daughter said, "You know, Papa. The priest here, he says the same things you do!"
I was pleased...both that she was hearing her Orthodoxy confirmed in a world so far away, and that what I was saying belonged to that greater world of Orthodox teaching.
Orthodoxy is not a private matter - nor is it just a local matter. St. Anne is simply the local manifestation of an Orthodoxy that stretches across the whole of the world and through time.
One key expression of this aspect of our life is our connection with our Bishop and our sister parishes in the Diocese. The Orthodox Church is organized, more or less, along national lines, out of respect for language, history and culture. It has always been so. Those national Churches are, in turn, organized into dioceses that themselves reflect region and locality. And, of course, on the local level, Orthodoxy exists as a parish.
St. Anne is under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, granted the right of self-rule by its mother Church in Russia. We are part of the Diocese of the South, whose
see (Bishop's throne) is in Dallas, TX. In addition, we belong to the Deanery of Appalachia, which comprises East Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. There are currently seven deaneries in the Diocese.
This Sunday, our Dean, Fr. David Arnold, will be our guest celebrant and preacher. Fr. Stephen will be in Pennsylvania speaking at a conference. Fr. David's visit offers an opportunity to connect with the greater world of the deanery and the diocese. Make plans to attend - give him a great welcome and share what is going on in your life at St. Anne.
