February 12, 2010
Three Hierarchs' Chapel
One of the treasures of living here in the City of Gracious Living, Yonkers, New York, is St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. Whenever I'm out anywhere near there, I stop by Three Hierarchs' Chapel for a visit.
6 comments:
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Nice. Not great, but nice.
ReplyDeleteFather Charles, Catholic-Orthodox unity is a passion of mine, and a cause for which I have prayed nightly since I can remember. I'm curious as to the type of reception you recieve when visiting there. Some Orthodox priests can be extremely hostile to Catholics (Russians being probably the biggest offenders) as they see religion as a cosmic turf-war (even amongst themselves).
I say this out of love, because I know we in the Catholic church have MANY MANY problems which I believe the Orthodox can fix...and vice versa.
QR: I usually don't see anybody at all.
ReplyDeleteThat is totally not surprising. Thanks.
ReplyDeletenice post, Fr. C! it's a nice place to visit-i sometimes will go to that chapel, too, thanks to you for letting us know about it. i kind of fond of St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic church right down the road from SH, so i go there more frequently than to St. Vladimir's. (we still have to plan a time for you to see St. Michael's.) to Qualis Rex: in my experience with the Orthodox, i find them (both the Priests and people) to be very warm and friendly. so, UNITY among any denomination is possible. try going out of your way to say or do something nice next time you encounter an Orthodox. i was attending the St. Michael's Ukrainian heritage festival for many years and found the people to be so kind, warm and friendly, so a few years ago i started giving them a helping hand as a volunteer at the festival. i don't feel that we need to "fix" anything about one another's denominatio-we should just greet each other in peace and the rest will follow. of the few times i've visited St. Vladimir's, i've encountered a Priest and Seminarians who were friendly and welcoming and seemed happy that people come to visit their chapel. PEACE! ~tara t~
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ReplyDelete4Narnia thanks for the comments and advice. I'm actually around Orthodox quite frequently, as I have many in my family and go to Orthodox church/festivals a few times a year. This particular Orthodox group/church is very introspective and friendly for the most part. But many other Orthodox communities, Russian, Ukranian and Serbian in order of obnoxiousness tend to get very "in your face" about how everyone else is wrong except for their own brand of Orthodoxy. I'm not sure if you're aware of the troubles the Russian Orthodox have had, but they have splintered and splintered into bitter factions here in the US (ROCOR/OCA/ROCA etc). The situation has since resolved itself somewhat, but the bitterness remains and often manifests itself when they deal with anyone they consider an outsider.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a matter of "doing something extra nice" or having a "be kind to an Orthodox day". But I do agree with you that reunification is possible, and as I said, I pray for this nightly.