Saving the souvlaki from the "Religious Right"

Observations from a Greek Greek Orthodox

Upon reading this article and subsequent comments, I must say I was dismayed but not surprised. The amount of misunderstanding and judgment is almost farcical coming from those who have chosen to convert to Orthodoxy. Do none of you see the irony of converting to a religion because you believe it to be the right one and then proceeding to disparage its caretakers of 2000 years? Isn’t it human nature for those caretakers to bristle when being criticized by newcomers? And I’m not speaking of souvlaki jokes. The Greek ethnos would not have lasted all these thousands of years without a sense of humor.

One thing some converts do not understand about Greeks is that Orthodoxy is in our blood. It is an inextricable part of being Greek. It is in our language, poetry, literature and music. We live and breathe it continually. Even the few Greek “atheists” I know, know the liturgy by heart and well up whenever they hear the hymns.

My particular church has many converts (including one of our priests who was formerly a Baptist minister), and the liturgy is mostly in Greek as well as the hymns. Our converts are beloved members of the community. They also appear to enjoy helping put on our festivals and having their children dance with ours. If Greek music and food is not your thing, that’s fine. But the money raised does go to the church.

I believe we are right, as a church, to stay away from abortion as a political/legislative issue. It is not the same as the other political issues mentioned because it is a deeply personal one. Very, very few women have an abortion without considering the graveness of it. And I, as a Christian woman, would never judge a woman in that unenviable position.

Regarding Greeks having a long memory, I have to say that is true. That is why issues like the name of the Former Yugoslov Republic of Macedonia and Turkey’s entrance into the EU are important. As far as all Greek-Americans being democrats, that is untrue. I would say we are about evenly divided. The difference between Greeks and non-Greeks on party politics is stark, however. We can have a very heated discussion and still remain good friends. (Note to John C.: There is remarkably little Greeks don’t understand.)

To clarify a few points, newer Greek passports do not state the holder’s religion. There was a discussion several years ago, however, if it should be included on European ID cards, but it never was.

The term “Greek Easter” is a colloquial term among Greek-Americans. In Greek we don’t say “Greek Easter” we just say “Pascha”, not even “Orthodox Pascha” because there is only one.

Only those who misunderstand us have a problem with the “omogenia”. Although I am sure I won’t be able to enlighten anyone on that subject here, I can’t let it go without comment. It was the Greek Orthodox Church that kept our language and traditions alive under unspeakable oppression, and in turn, Greeks kept Orthodoxy alive. It is only natural for people with similar language and traditions to congregate. The fact that Greeks are being criticized for being “ethnic” by non-Greek members of the Orthodox faith is unfortunate, but it is human. And Greeks have understood humanity better than anyone else for millennia.

We are very generous and hospitable. But if we welcome you into our home and you immediately begin to scold, we might get a little annoyed. We may be Orthodox, but we are not saints.

Gorgona's is a nice post that really sincerely addressed the issue at hand. And I, like you do not want to judga anyone in this situation.

However, I believe far more than just a few make this decision without having a clue as to its graveness - and this is our real challange as Christians. As far as the political side of this goes, too many on both sides of the political spectrum declare their "beliefs" without caring to truly understand the issue moraly but are more concerned with estimating how many votes it will translate into.

In addition to these points I would like to add comments on "Greek" Orthodoxy. Please do not take this as a criticism, but in christian love toward "oneness" in Christ. Some points that may have missed the mark are:

1) You state a previous poster criticizes the caretakers of the last 2000 years. As Christians I would hope that the belief should be that Orthodoxy is true Christianity and true Christianity belongs to everyone so everyone is allowed to express beliefs. Criricizing newcomers this way says a)we are not open minded so you have to fear voicing an opinion (we should respond through appropriate discussion of the topic) b)if you want to join ok,but please don't help any of us on our journey to true Christianity, we are already perfect without you(you have no value to us, but we to you).

2) It was not the Greek Othodox Church that kept orthodoxy alive, but rather The Orthodox Church in Greece. I like to believe any true Christian regardless of ethnicity would endure suffering to safeguard the message. And it was truly a great service done by the Greeks during their time, but the same can be said for the Russian Church and others during a different periods of time. Many have suffered all over for the sake of The Name - No one group can claim to be the sole caretakers for an entire 2000 years.

3) To even use the term "Greek" Easter, etc. even if only in America, is the true misunderstanding. The term should be Orthodox Easter as a comparison to others such as RC. Using "Greek" in the term is exclusionary and separatist. I appreciate Orthodox being in your blood, this is to be commended as well as your pride, but the whole point of Christianity is it belongs to all and should not be labeled after any ethnicity which might preclude others rather than welcoming them under your terms not Gods.

4) Trying to have an open mind towards your desire to have people of similar language to congregate, I still beleive to have a separate Greek Church in America is just not right. This is more akin to a "club". That is, (ie) we only want you to join if you sing our Greek songs. Throughout the history of this country groups have come over and congregated because it helps all learn to cope in a new environment, same with my German ancestors. But in order to spread The Word in their new country they moved to all English services and called their Churches "Lutheran" not the German Lutheran Church of America. The Orthodox Church throughout history recognized this important fact, translating services and hymns as they moved (through Serbia, Macedonia, Russia, etc.). So you move to the US you keep the old language to cope and for historical purposes, but is crucial to move past that identifier as the main identifier of your Church.

5) Having separte Orthodox "clubs" overlapping the same areas does not follow the Original Founders of the autocephalis church concept and leads to the confusion of others we try to bring into the true faith.

6) We re "Orthodox, but we are not saints." All Orthodox Christians goals should be toward this end. The goal is towars self deitification, so in discussion this is not a proper reason to tell someone off. We should discuss in love toward one another toward the enlightenment of all.

Thank you for letting me share my views. By the way... I was raised RC and currently am not a member of any church although I am considering Chrismation into Orthodoxy.

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