winter 2004 orthodox vision newsletter, diocese of the west

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Winter, 2004

the O R T H O D O X

Faith in ActionRev. David Lowell

In the steamy east coast heat of July, a number of us from theDiocese of the West were presenters at the “Faith in Action”Conference held at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

The Very Reverend George Gray, from St. Nicholas Ortho-dox Church in Portland, Oregon, was the keynote speaker onthe second day of the conference. In his talk, “Fanning theFlame of Christian Witness and Service”, Fr. George presenteda scriptural overview of liturgical life and evangelism , includ-ing the fruit this bears through charitable works to those aroundus who suffer and need help.

Fr. George also outlined from scripture the various minis-tries within the Church, and how a proper understanding ofthis variety helps us guard against the prideful temptation tojudge, envy or exalt when the real flame of Christ leads us toserve in a lively humility. The full text of Fr. George Gray’skeynote address can be found on the St Nicholas parish website( stnicholaspdx.org ).

Throughout the conference, a number of workshops wereheld. Fr. George Gray was also a presenter in two workshops,one on Parish Nursing ministries, and the other on End of Lifedecisions.

Sarah Elisabet Oftedal, the director of Martha and MaryHouse, spoke about her ministry helping young women tochoose birth over abortion, and the various options availablefor mothers. Martha and Mary House, which is located inEscondido, California, can help mothers choose a loving Chris-tian adoptive family, or receive skills and support counseling ifthe mother chooses to accept the responsibility for parentingher baby.

Matushka Deborah Tomasi, from the mission of “Joy of AllWho Sorrow” in Culver City, California, gave a presentationon running an Orthodox Bookstore. Rev. John Tomasi andDeborah started their mission with a bookstore and chapel andhave eight years of experience now. In addition to helping paysome of the costs of their public meeting space on a main streetin Culver City (Washington Blvd.), the bookstore has been avery interactive ministry with the public at large.

I also led a workshop on institutional ministries, presentingRaphael House of San Francisco’s shelter ministry for homelessfamilies, and introducing other similar ministries from the EastCoast . I was glad to see that five former live-in volunteersfrom Raphael House are now at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Cer-tainly this is one of the reasons I try to represent Raphael Housenationally. Our Orthodox staff here in San Francisco comefrom all over the country.

Katherine Vitko helped organize the Faith in Action Con-ference and it was good to see her again .The Vitkos remainhomeowners in the Diocese of the West and will return here

eventually , after the Deacon John Vitko, finishes up his workwith the Department of Homeland Security in Washington,D.C.

Rev. Eric Tosi, Rector of St. Paul the Apostle Church in LasVegas, Nevada, is the Chairperson for the OCA’s Departmentof Evangelization; as such, he organized the 2003 Evangeliza-tion Conference for Missions held at our own Life GivingSprings Retreat Center in Boulder City. This year the Evan-gelism Conference held at St. Vladimir’s Seminary on August28 – September 1, 2004 and Fr Eric again served as the orga-nizer and moderator for the event. Other speakers from ourDiocese included the V.Rev. Joseph Hirsch , who is the Deanfor our Rocky Mountain Deanery , the V. Rev John Piercewho serves as Dean for the Pacific Northwest, and the V.Rev.Matthew Tate representing our very active Mission Deanery.You can find some of the presentations given at this confer-ence on the OCA website (www.oca.org )

Our mission in Fremont, California, has grown steadily overthe years, but not necessarily in the same geographic direc-tion. The Very Reverend Leo Arrowsmith continues to bethe Rector for the St. Innocent Mission, while a new missionis being formed under the pastoral leadership of the recentlyordained Priest Yuri Maev. Fr. Yuri was ordained to the Priest-hood this past June by His Grace Bishop Tikhon at HolyTrinity Cathedral in San Francisco. Writing on behalf of theservice work done by both missions, Bonnie Prescop has writ-ten an article (see below) on the experience they’ve gained byserving homeless families in their area. Our thanks to Bonniefor submitting this article, and I hope it inspires you to writesomething about the work in your parish as well.

Kathy Pieracci also responded to our request in the lastOrthodox Vision for parishes and missions to share with ustheir own charitable activities . Kathy writes on behalf of theElevation of the Holy Cross Parish in Sacramento where theVery Rev.Ian MacKinnon serves as Rector. They run the StMichael’s Food Closet to provide supplemental food to fami-lies in their area and the St Xenia Project to provide help tothe mentally ill. Kathy describes each ministry as follows :

ST. MICHAEL’S FOOD CLOSETEach week approximately 30 families in need arrive at the

Elevation of Holy Cross to pick up groceries that have beendistributed by volunteers. This is a charity that was startedyears ago by a couple at Holy Cross. Each week volunteersarrive at Senior Gleaner and make a selection of various itemsfrom their warehouse. Foods such as dairy products, meats,canned fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables, breadsand cereals are purchased.

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To further assist these families, monies were collected fromElevation of Holy Cross parishioners and used to purchase over60 complete Thanksgiving meals. Our goal for next year is toinclude complete meals for both Christmas and Pascha.

The youth at Elevation of Holy Cross are also getting in-volved with those in need by raising funds from bake sales and“Sunday-Sundaes”. The youth during Christmas break comeand help each week with a special hot-cocoa and Christmascookie greeting during the holidays. They are also there overthe summer break. For further information about St. Michael’sFood Closet please see the article on the OCA web-site,listedin the Community Service section of the Resource Handbook.

ST. XENIA PROJECTAs most of us think of the poor, hungry and children, we at

Elevation of Holy Cross also started sponsoring the mentallyill of our community. Care packages of toothpaste and brushes,shampoo, socks, hats and pens and pencils are delivered tothem once a month. During Christmas, special presents arepurchased, wrapped and delivered to them along with a groupof our own Christmas Carolers celebrating with them.

Each month a gift is sent to other organizations such as Savethe Serbian Children and Christian Children’s Fund. Nextyear we will also begin a fund to help Support a Mission Priestand get our youth involved in other fund raising ideas, such asa car wash.

I’m hoping that as you read this article, some of you arethinking why isn’t our parish’s activity mentioned in this article ?That’s a most excellent and provocative question. Drop me anote about what your mission or parish is doing and I’ll in-clude it in our next issue.

Thank you all!

Rev. David LowellRaphael House, San Francisco1. Sutter St.San Francisco , Ca. 94109( [email protected] )

Martha and Mary HouseOrthodox Christian Maternity Home

P.O. Box 1680Escondido, CA 92033Phone: (760)741-7050

[email protected]

Faith in ActionInside Cover

Serving People who are Homelessby Bonnie Prescop

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Learning from the Pioneersby Gregory Cooke, Tacoma, WA

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Historical Perspective: Orthodoxy in Seattle4

St. Mary’s Holy Dormition to Celebrate 100 Yearsby Fr. Lawrence Gaudreaugh

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Merced Mission Breaks Ground for New Complex10

News11

Diocesan Assembly Hears Bishop TIKHON’s Thoughts onRetirement, Adopts 2005 Spending Plan

by Dmitri Solodow12

Announcements14

Ask Fr. Joseph15

Obituaries16

Stewards of the West 200418

From His Grace19

In This IssueVolume 10, Number 2

Cover Photo: the Cross planted firmly in Calhan,Colorado (story, page 9).

Serving People who are Homelessby Bonnie Prescop

Members of the new Orthodox Mission in Fremont havebeen serving lunch at their local homeless shelter every monthfor several years. Feeding people without homes—caring forthe poor face-to-face—is an eye-opening, spiritually reward-

(Continued on page 2)

The Official Publication of theDiocese of the West of the

Orthodox Church in America

Diocese of the West650 Micheltorena Street

Los Angeles, CA 90026-3612

PublisherHis Grace Bishop TIKHONBishop of San Francisco and

the Diocese of the West650 Micheltorena Street

Los Angeles, CA 90026-3612Phone: (323)666-4977

Fax: (323)913-0316

Address all stories & comments:Editor-in-Chief

Priest Isaac Skidmore475 N Laurel St.

Ashland, OR 97520-1112Phone: (541)488-3748

Fax (establish voice contact first): (541)488-3748Email: [email protected]

Send All Address Changes to:Mary Caetta

25 Captains CoveOakland, CA 94618-2311

Email: [email protected]

The Orthodox Vision is published three times a year by the Diocese ofthe West. It is free to all parish members and outreach within the Dio-cese.

The articles contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views orpolicies of the Diocese or the editors. The advertisements contained hereinare not necessarily endorsed by the Diocese or Editorial Staff.

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the O R T H O D O Xing charitable activity, which can be done by anyone from 5to 95! We would like to give the good people in other par-ishes answers to some FAQ’s we have learned over the years,so they can consider giving hands-on help to people who arehomeless too.

Who are the Homeless?:Most people staying at our local Tri-City Homeless Coali-

tion Shelter work full time. They have families. The chil-dren go to school. Many go to church regularly. Most lovecheeseburgers, barbeque chicken, fresh fruit, and brownies.Most are grateful for a good meal.

Homelessness affects men, women and children. I havemet people at shelters who are past retirement age, and I haveseen three-day-old infants. Some people who are homelesshave medical or physical disabilities; some people have prob-lems with drugs or alcohol; some people have suffered crisesor emergencies—but most people without homes are simplyunable to pay ever-increasing rents or mortgages, especiallyduring this economic downturn.

What are Homeless Shelters like?There are many different types of Homeless Shelters. Drop-

in shelters and winter refuges provide shelter one night at atime. They are usually big, serving 100-300 people, and lo-cated in National Guard Armories or other large gymnasium-like structures. They provide a mat on the floor, a hot meal,and bathroom facilities. Kitchen facilities are usually verylimited. Most people using drop-in shelters are adults, andmany have underlying physical or mental problems. Drop-in shelters usually ask for adult volunteers only, and foodpreparation usually has to be done off-site. Feeding 100-300drop-ins is hard work, but very rewarding.

Rotating shelters are smaller, (around 15-30 people) andprovide short-term shelter. Shelter rotates from one churchto another, in a different location every month. Most peopleusing rotating shelters are adults, and most work. The par-ishes that offer shelter also provide most meals, but welcomehelp from other charitable organizations. Rotating sheltersare good places to offer one-time help.

Transitional shelters are shelters that house people for longerterms, ranging up to a year and a half. Transitional shelterstake in families with children, as well as single adults. Theseshelters provide counseling, education, job-training, and otherresources to help families get back on their feet for good. Tran-sitional shelters, like our own local Tri-City Homeless Coali-tion shelter, and like Raphael House, are generally clean andhave helpful staff members and residents. They may sign upvolunteer groups that commit to serving a lunch or dinneronce a month. The shelter staff will advise new groups, andthe shelter will often offer some training in food handling, orallow new groups to observe a lunch or dinner, to see how itis done. Youth-groups and children old enough to be of helpare usually welcomed volunteers at transitional shelters.

Some shelters provide help to certain specific types of people,

(Serving Homeless, continued from page 1)

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such as young people, or battered women. Battered Women’sShelters are always grateful when church groups collect anddonate useful items like non-perishable foods and personal-care items, but they do not allow church groups to volunteerin the shelter, because the location where battered women aresheltered is kept secret for the women and children’s safety.

What can we do to help?The first rule for helping people, is give them what they need.

If there is a shelter for homeless people in your area, call andask what kind of help they can use. Some shelters need schoolsupplies, others need trial-size toothpastes or socks. Some des-perately need people to cook food, others need people to dopaperwork. Ask the staff—they will help you help them.

Helpful Tips for food preparation:1) Check out the kitchen facilities. Be prepared. Is there an

oven; a grill; a refrigerator? How big? Do they work? Is thereroom to keep left-overs? Does the shelter provide food sup-plies? Spices, salt and pepper, or oil? Is there a working canopener? You should know all the answers to these questionsahead of time. Remember that it can take a long time to de-frost and heat up large pans of food.

2) Use food-service rules. Wear gloves and aprons. Washyour hands carefully. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.Avoid foods that spoil easily, like eggs and mayonnaise.

3) Keep it simple and familiar. The favorite meal we evermade at a shelter was grilled cheeseburgers, chips, and freshfruit. “Shake and Bake” chicken, soup with lunch-meat sand-wiches, sloppy joes, pizza, spaghetti, and burritos are also popu-lar. Keep spices mild—salsa, barbeque sauce and hot pepperscan all be available on the side, when appropriate.

Know the ingredients, so you can tell people what is in thefood if they ask. People can be allergic to anything. Allergiesto nuts are especially dangerous, so nuts of all kinds should beavoided.

4) Foods to avoid: Nuts, alcohol, cooking wines, and poppyseeds. If you are serving pork (including ham, bacon, mostsausages and hot dogs), have something different for Jews andMuslims. Have a vegetarian option for people who don’t eatmeat. (Conversely, if you are serving a meal during Great Lent,make something with cheese or eggs. The guests at the shelterdo not have to observe your own fasting periods.)

5) Make enough food. A rule of thumb is to bring about _-1/3 pound of beef or _ pound of chicken or turkey (countingbones and skin) per person. It is easier to know how muchfood to cook and serve when you have an easily-identifiableserving. If your local shelter houses 100 people, it is easy tocount 100 hamburger patties, burritos, or 100 chicken legs. Ifyou are serving casseroles, have serving spoons that providestandard-sized servings.

6) Relax! The people you are serving are happy to see youand grateful for a good meal. If your meal is running late, ifyou drop a plate, if someone has special needs or requests—it’sok! Talk to the residents, ask for help from the staff if you needit, be friendly, and you will have a good experience.

“If a brother or a sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food,and one of you says to them, ‘Go in Peace, be warmed andfilled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body,what does it profit?” (James 2:15-16)

This article was written by a member of the Orthodox Mis-sion in Fremont, California. This new mission doesn’t yet havea building of its own, but it can always be found by contactingFr. Yuri Maev at (510) 793-5465 or email:[email protected] Visitors are welcome!

Learning from the Pioneersby Gregory Cooke, Tacoma, WA

“So far Orthodoxy in America has not reflected upon itself andupon its situation here.” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann) (1)

It is an axiom of history that to know where one is goingone must know where one has been. For the Orthodox inAmerica there are large gaps in our knowledge of the historicalpath of Orthodoxy in North America—and we are only now,slowly, recovering those forgotten stories of faithful Orthodoxfrom the past centuries. Only a few will probably be revealedas saints like Herman, Juvenaly, Raphael and others. God willreveal them in His own time. But we also need to know aboutthe “ordinary” Orthodox who struggled to maintain their faithin the midst of a land. Their lives can give us hope and help usunderstand the path of faith on this continent. Only the Lordknows how their actions, prayers and lives have affected thecourse of sacred history, and the least we can do is do all in ourpower to recover their stories and details of their lives. Then,we can properly commemorate them so they are no longerforgotten. We can also share their lives with a world ignorantof the Orthodox way.

Orthodox history here in North America is a story ofstruggles, some external and some self inflicted. These his-torical themes are lived out in communities by families andpeople—therefore Orthodox history, like Orthodox theology,is incarnational and not merely theoretical. For this reason weneed to learn the stories of the Orthodox who went before ushere on this continent. Fr. Schmemann spoke propheticallyabout the “providential” meeting of America and Orthodoxy.He also noted that Orthodox Americans “belong to the Or-thodox Church, but we do not belong to an Orthodox culture(2)”. Since he wrote these words in 1968 there have been somechanges. There is much promise now, and many problemssurmounted; other problems remain too well-known to needmentioning. Orthodoxy in America is growing with thou-sands of converts, Orthodox seminaries are solid, and monas-tic life has begun to flourish on North American soil.

1. Father Alexander Schmemann, The Mission of Orthodoxy (BenLomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1994), p. 9.

2. Ibid., p. 2.


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Historical Perspective

Orthodoxy in SeattleThe following, the second of several parts to be featured in The Vision, was prepared in 1985, on the occasion of Seattle’s

St. Spiridon’s Cathedral’s 90th anniversary.

Father Nicholas Mitropolsky replaced Father Vyacbeslavovin 1924 and remained in Seattle until 1930. During his tenure,talks abort the need for a new church building began but werepostponed because of the decrease in parish membership andthe onset of the Depression. 4 Also, the overture to the parish’sfuture conflict with representatives of the “Living Church” waswritten at this time.

...I arrived in Seattle on 9 August [1924] for the purpose ofordaining Innokentii Semoff to the diaconate...An hour and ahalf before Vigil, I went to the church to make sure that every-thing was in order...the childrenfinished cleaning the church andleft, and three subjects appeared,standing near the threshold ofthe church. I began to fix a vigillight on the left side of theiconostasis [kliros]; I saw thesethree men move toward me.

One of them approached meand said, “Do you rememberme? I met you here around thir-teen years ago.”

“No,” I answered. “I don’t re-member. I don’t know you.”

He responded, “I want to talkwith you.”

“So,” I answered. “Excuse me,but I don’t have time.”

He began explaining that [he] ...was V[ladimir] Alexandroff.His mug became familiar. Suddenly the scoundrel asked me,“Are you ordaining a deacon here?”

“Yes, I am,” I answered. “What’s it to you?”“You better not do it,” he answered, “Because the archbishop

is here, I and my church.”“You!” I answered. “An archbishop! Get out of here!”[He]...noticed that I planned to sound the alarm and get the

people to throw these villains out of the church. “Don’t,” hesaid, and the three of them quickly walked into the altar, andthen through the side entrance and corridor toward the officeand parish house.

Father Nicholas Mitropolsky was there, and Alexandroffshoved two papers into his hands. No one was in church or atthe house. I dashed outside and ran into an émigré Russiancolonel. I told him what had happened. The colonel suggestedthat we call the police immediately...more Russian people be-gan to gather in the church. Meanwhile, the scoundrels ran

out of the parish house, jumpedinto their automobile and droveaway... 5

Early in 1930, FatherMitropolsky was transferred toSaint Paul, Minnesota, and Fa-ther Vasily Kuvshinoff and hisfamily were transferred fromSaint Paul to Seattle. SaintSpiridon’s parish, fraught withinternal divisions, was on theedge of collapse. The newly ar-rived rector found the parishsharply divided into two fac-tions:

1) the Parish Council, whichhad secured a State Charter, 6

consisted of members Sergei N.Gorny, Chairman; Victor L. Loosanoff, vice-Chairman;Anatole G. Usov, Treasurer; Nicholas N. Mihailoff, Secretary;Peter L. Byely, Starosta; Constantine A. Novikoff, Nikifor G.Vashchenko and Makarii D. Demovoi, members;

2) an administrative committee, part of the New York based

4 The set of correspondence between the ruling bishops. FatherNicholas Mitropolsky, and the two parish councils describes a verycomplicated and fragile political arrangement in the parish. Becausethe description of the situation in Father Vastly Kuvshinoffs historydiffers so much from the content of the original correspondence onfile at the OCA Archives, and because there was not time to analyzethe situation adequately before going to press, we have chosen to omita superficial discussion of the subject.

5 Letter from Bishop Amphilokii to Metropolitan Platon, 12August 1924 (on file in the Archive Collection of the OrthodoxChurch in America, Syosset, New, York).

6 Incorporation of a parish and the registration of church prop-erty in the name of local “Russian Societies” rather than in the nameof the diocesan bishop were common practices among Orthodoxparishes at this time, as the jurisdictional problem, resulting fromthe Russian Revolution and subsequent administrative chaos withinthe Russian Mission in North America, made it unclear who ownedRussian Mission church property, the Soviet government or the lo-cal parish. Rulings on this question varied from state to state; themajority of cases ruled in favor of the Soviet government.

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organization, “Defense of the Russian Church” [ . . . ] con-sisted of Peter S. Troitsky, Chairman; Nicholas P. Andreev, trea-surer; Leonid V. Romanov, Secretary.

There was a third group of parishioners, apparently of a morepeaceful character, but quite inactive; the group kept to theside and closely watched the goings-on in the church.

The difficult work of appeasement and gathering togetherof the separated parts of the church into a single whole began.The difficulty of this task was intensified by the arrival of yetanother point of view in the parish-a wave of Karlovtsy Synodadherents came to Seattle. A wandering monk began to serveliturgical services in a private residence on the outskirts of thecity and encouraged some of the young people to organize anew parish. Father Vasily’s arrival slightly slowed this tendencytoward division.

During these dark times, the necessity of a new church build-ing became a central question. The oldchurch had become so dilapidated thatno repair could help; at one Liturgy, itwas feared that if any more worshippersentered the church, the building wouldcollapse. With Father Vasily’s arrival, theParish Council got down to this task andattempted through the civil court to se-cure for the parish its own property-theland, the church building, the parishhouse.

Father Vladimir Alexandrov (priest ofSaint Spiridon’s at the turn of the cen-tury), now representative of the “LivingChurch”, arrived in Seattle and claimedthe church’s real estate. 7 After a six-weekcourt trial, Father Alexandrov wasawarded the Saint Spiridon’s churchproperty, and the Orthodox Communityof Saint Spiridon moved, during BrightWeek, 1932, to the shelter of SaintBarnabas’ Episcopal Church, 1932 Fed-eral Avenue East, where it remained un-til 1938.

Father Vladimir Alexandrov could callin the power of a King County Superior Court and take pos-session of the parish property, but all he got was real estate—an empty church building and the land. When the parishio-ners moved to their new, temporary place of worship in theshelter of Saint Barnabas’ Episcopal Church, they took withthem most of the church icons and the altar pieces. The

iconostasis could not be removed, so a new one was built forthe temporary location; when the present church opened inOctober 1938, this iconostasis was in place, a familiar oldsight in a brand new building. The current iconostasis is itsreplacement.

Not all of the Saint Spiridon’s parishioners moved to theshelter of Saint Barnabas’ Episcopal Church. A breakawaygroup moved to a store front at Eleventh and Madison Av-enue that became their house of worship; they had decided tothrow in their lot with the bishops at Karlovtsy.

In 1936, there was a chance to reunite Saint Spiridon’s Par-ish. Metropolitan Theophilus of America traveled to Karlovtsyat the invitation of Patriarch Varnava of Serbia. He agreed tounite with the émigré bishops at Karlovtsy while preservingthe autonomy of the American Metropolia. In May 1936,

after Metropolitan Theophilus returned,the American Council of OrthodoxBishops ratified the unification. And inOctober 1937, the Sixth All-AmericanSobor took a wait-and-see position whileformally supporting their Metropolitan.

In Seattle, hopes for a reconciliationran high. During the months of March-June 1936, the Saint Spiridon’s parishat Saint Barnabas did all that could bedone through letters, petitions, conver-sations, and gestures of good will tobring the break-away group back. Noth-ing worked. The initiatives all came fromthe side of Saint Spiridon’s Parish, Fi-nally, late in the year, a unity move inthe form of a Peace Group, under theleadership of Alexis M. Ozerov, hadpicked up momentum. A meeting ofvolunteers brought out ninety-twopeople on December 6.

Eighty-six said they wanted just oneOrthodox Church in Seattle. On thevery next day, the group meeting at Elev-enth and Madison started laying thefoundation for the present Saint Nicho-

las’ Church on their recently purchased plot.In December of 1935, the Parish Council of Saint Spiridon

asked the Parish Council of Saint Nicholas to refrain fromblessing the cornerstone of the construction; this was also thedesire of Metropolitan Theophilus expressed in a telegramfrom him. The request was not taken into consideration andthe cornerstone was blessed. The second attempt by SaintSpiridon’s Parish Council to invite Saint Nicholas’ ChurchCouncil to join a General Commission took place in Marchof 1936; the response was a four month Spiridon’s ParishCouncil organize a General Meeting for a report on the pre-ceding attempts at negotiation and the resulting decision to

7 The “Living Church” came into being in 1922, when the So-viet government assisted a group of Orthodox clergy in their effortsto suppress the newly re-instated Patriarchate in return for socialand political collaboration with the Soviet Government. In 1923,after Patriarch Tikhon’s famous statement, most parishes in Russiareturned to the Patriarch; however, the Soviet government contin-ued to support the Living Church into the 1930’s. (Continued on page 6)

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purchase land for construction of a new church. It was madeclear at the meeting that even at this point the desire for unitywould remain a higher priority than purchase of new prop-erty should Saint Nicholas parishioners reconsider.

At the 15-28 June 1936 general meeting, the parishioners,having chosen a piece of property at the comer of HarrisonStreet and Yale Avenue North, collected $731 for the pur-chase of the property. Archbishop Tikhon’s suggestion thatthe property not be purchased until the full amount of pur-chase price had been collected was adhered to. Sufficient fundswere collected by August 6; the property was purchased. Arch-bishop Tikhon congratulated the parish on the speedy collec-tion of funds and encouraged the parishioners to keep onfriendly terms with the parishioners ofSaint Nicholas despite the existence oftwo Russian Orthodox parishes.

On September 10, the parishionersrequested permission of ArchbishopTikhon to bless the property on the feastof the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Arch-bishop Tikhon granted permission onSeptember 14, pledged $10 toward thenew building, and encouraged FatherVasily to follow through on his idea ofinviting the clergy of Saint Nicholas par-ish and other local clergy to participatein the festivities. On September 27/14,over 400 people gathered after DivineLiturgy for the Blessing of the Waters.Assisting Father Vasily was FatherStephen Foutridis, priest of SaintDemetrios Greek parish. Saint Spiridon’schoir, under the direction of A. M.Prisadsky, sang in Greek and Slavonic.The three-bar Russian cross was blessedwith holy water and anointed withchrism. The parish Sisterhood, dedicatedto the Protection of the Theotokos,hosted a Lenten dinner for 250 people in the parish hall ofthe nearby Saint Demetrios church. Speeches were made byN.S. Ross,vice-president Of the Parish Council, parishionerP. S. Troitsky, and Sunday School teacher N. F. Kulikova. Atelegram was mailed to Archbishop Tikhon.

Long before the purchase of the property, the Parish Coun-cil had studied the question of choosing an architect whowould know how to draft plans for a truly Russian- stylechurch. Each parish council member understood that a churcharchitect must be an honest, honorable person of integritywho would respect his medium. Saint Spiridon’s solved itsproblem successfully and found a Russian Orthodox archi-tect, Ivan M. Palmov. He had been educated at a Saint Peters-burg technological institute and participated in the WhiteArmy march across Siberia. Mr. Palmov graduated from the

University of Washington School of Architecture and beganto work for Seattle City Light and as a draftsman for federalagencies. His ability to speak Russian greatly aided the effortsat formulating a first plan for the church.

The groundwork for construction began on 28/15 July 1937;the cornerstone was laid on 26/13 of September. After Arch-bishop Tikhon blessed the cornerstone with holy water andanointed it with holy chrism, Father Vasily read the officialAct of Foundation of the parish:

This church is founded to the glory of our great wonder-worker, Saint Spiridon, Bishop of Trimithun, during the ad-ministration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the UnitedStates; His Grace, Tikhon, Archbishop of Western Americaand Seattle; His Beatitude, Theophilus, Metropolitan of All-

America and Canada, in the name of theFather and of the Son and of the HolySpirit. Amen. 8

The Act was signed by the Archbishop;the clergy, the members of the ParishCouncil and notable women of the par-ish, and stamped with the parish seal. Alist of all donors was affixed to the Actand the cornerstone was sealed. Over 500people representing the Serbian, Greek,and Slav fraternal organizations, and theEpiscopal Cathedral of Saint Mark, werepresent. After the ceremony, the Sister-hood sponsored a gala dinner, andspeeches were presented by ArchbishopTikhon, Father Vasily, Mr. Pulakis, a rep-resentative of the Greek brotherhood ofthe Greek parish, A.M. Prisadsky, and oth-ers. A special collection netted $288.64.

The nine crosses and bell were blessedand raised on 26/13 July 1938. Again, notonly parishioners, but also the Seattlecommunity took part in the service. Thecrosses and bell, decorated with wreathsof fresh flowers, were placed at the south-

ern end of the newly constructed building. Father Vasily andFather Stephen Foutridis performed the blessing; the dean ofSaint Mark’s Cathedral was present. While the choir sang, “Save,O Lord, thy people...,” the main cross was raised to its posi-tion on the largest cupola, and the newly installed bell struckits first notes. The church building had finally become a templeof the Lord. The newly “baptized” church was feted by itsmembers. At the dismissal, each member rang the bell, as asymbol of a physical sacrifice in the building of the church,and then kissed the blessing cross. Again, a festive dinner andreading of many congratulatory telegrams and letters fromaround the United States followed the service.

The final Divine Liturgy was served at Saint Barnabas’ chapel

8 V. Kuvshinoff, p. 131.

(Orthodoxy in Seattle, continued from page 5)

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on 2 October 1938. The fond memories of services in the chapel,the warmth of the chapel’s parishioners, made the parting diffi-cult. Metropolitan Theophilus, Archbishop Tikhon, and Bish-ops Alexis, Leonty, and Benjamin had served in the chapel. Visi-tors to Seattle who had prayed with the parishioners in SaintBarnabas’ included N. Rerikh and son, Mr. and Mrs. G.D.Grebenshchikoff, Irina Baranov, Tamara Riabushinsky, and V.T.Zarochintseff, various Alaskan missionaries and many others.The funerals of A.G. Usoff, P.P. Bely, V.A. Kovalevsky, P.S.Troitsky, M.M. Morekhodoff, Igor Baranov, P.A. Kolesnik, G.M.Dubrovin, A.V. Rutkovsky, P.I.Tellason, N.A. Zadkoff, P. Shvets,V. Larionoff and others, had been held in the chapel. Russianchildren had been baptized, young people had been married inthis comfortable and familiar environment.

After the Divine Liturgy, a Service of Thanksgiving was heldas a good-bye to the chapel. After the Molieben, the parishio-ners began to disassemble the church and packed the icons,candlestands, and liturgical ves-sels into waiting trucks and cars.Saint Barnabas’ was given aparting cleaning, and the pro-cession moved to the shiny, newred brick church of SaintSpiridon. The iconostasis waspainted ivory white to contrastwith the light blue walls. A.A.and A.K. Borisoff paid for thepaint and for the gilding of theiconostasis. A path for proces-sions around the church wasdug and filled with cement.Electricity, water, and gas lineswere connected; while parishwomen decorated the interior ofthe church, Efim M. Minkoconducted choir rehearsals inthe new choir loft. Father Vasily’s opinion and advice were con-stantly solicited. The parish unity at this moment had neverbeen greater; the morale was at its highest.

The first Great Vigil, Lesser Blessing of the Waters, and Di-vine Liturgy were celebrated by Archbishop Tikhon, FatherVasily , and Father Stephen, on October 8 and 9, 1938. Again,a grand banquet, with the sharing of many reminiscences ofRussian colony life in Seattle, followed the service. A congratu-latory telegram was sent by the Parish Council to His Emi-nence, Metropolitan Theophilus:

The Parish Council, on the day of the blessing of the newRussian Orthodox Church of Saint Spiridon, in Seattle, Wash-ington, congratulates your Eminence on the entrance of an ex-cellent church, in terms of architecture as well as furnishings,into your Metropolia. This church is indeed a great monumenton this 950th anniversary of the Christianization of Russia, andis an Orthodox gateway to Alaska. The new immigration, in-herited the small church on Lakeview Boulevard but lost it in a

court case with the “Living Church”; in response, it has built afantastic new church, a gift to all Russian Orthodox people forthe glory of the Orthodox faith and for the pride of the Rus-sian Orthodox Church in America. Accept this pearl, dear pi-lot of our heavenly ship; in it we will pray for all mankind, andespecially for you, under whose omophorion we, the founders,benefactors, who do good works, who labor and who sing inthis holy temple, and who gather in faith, in love and in thefear of God, to pray. Eis polla eti despota. 9

[One-hundred and seventy-two families and individuals whocontributed their physical, moral, and financial support towardthe building of the the new Church of Saint Spiridon are listed atthis point in the original document, including local donors, bene-factors from Alaska and elsewhere.]

Over fifty parishes and evenMetropolitan Theophilus con-tributed financially andsupportively to the newchurch.

On December 13, 1941, theLesser Synod of Bishops des-ignated Saint Spiridon’s churchin Seattle a cathedral.

Father Vasily Kuvshinoffcontinued his tremendous pas-toral work at Saint Spiridon’sthrough the years of WorldWar II. He initiated funds forthe completion of the newchurch on Yale Avenue Northand Harrison Street accordingto original plans—painting theoutside walls, installing a new

iconostasis, acquiring the adjacent lot for a parish house and/or school. He served as spiritual father for Orthodox service-men stationed in the area for the duration of the war. He sup-ported the publication of “The Russian Fields” [ . . . ], whoseeditor, Ludmilla V. Kuvshinoff, beginning in 1932, recordedthe history of the Russian community in Seattle, explained theteachings of the Church, marked church feasts and kept achronicle of parish events. This weekly bulletin won manyfriends for the parish, inspired many contributions to the churchbuilding fund and made the name of the parish known through-out the Orthodox world, since copies of it were sent as farafield as Saint Sergius Seminary in Paris, Saints Alban andSergius Society in London, to the various churches and sub-scribers in Alaska, and throughout the United States.

9 V. Kuvshinoff, p. 134.

[To be continued in next edition.]

the O R T H O D O X

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Now it is time to commence a serious dialogue about whatit means to be American and Orthodox. “The evaluation ofAmerican culture in Orthodox terms requires first a knowl-edge of Orthodoxy, and second a knowledge of the true Ameri-can culture and tradition,” wrote Fr. Schmemann. Because,“one cannot evaluate that which one does not know, love, andunderstand (3).” I want to look at the story of Samuel Jerisichto help in this quest. First and foremost Samuel Jerisich wasan icon of God like all of us; secondly he was an embodimentof Orthodox themes and struggles here in America.

A LifeSamuel Jerisich was born in Kotor, Montenegro, in 1833.

Little is known of his life there. Montenegro had fought forcenturies to keep the Ottoman Turks at bay; the Balkans seethedwith revolutionary passions during the 19th century. Jerisichleft the coastal region of his birth and sailed for America in1854. He ended up in San Francisco and worked onboard anumber of ships before moving to the Pacific Northwest in1867. He and his Canadian-Indian wife Anna Willetts Jerisichwere pioneers in an area of Puget Sound now known as thecity of Gig Harbor. The couple raised a number of childrenand successfully fished the waters near their home. Samueldied in 1905; Anna in 1926. The couple were consideredfounders of the city of Gig Harbor and were the first perma-nent settlers there. Gig Harbor named part of the waterfrontafter him. These are the bare facts of Samuel Jerisich’s life, butthey are far from the full story.

The full story touches on many important points: strugglesto remain faithful and worship, co-existence with the non-Orthodox, outreach to native peoples, the amazing lives ofOrthodox priests in the early days, all set against a colorfuland exciting backdrop of growth in the American church.Jerisich and his family were apparently the only Orthodox inthe Gig Harbor area. Other fisherman from the Dalmatiancoast settled there, but they were Roman Catholic Croats.Nonetheless, they and the Jerisich family got along well. Asthe century progressed priests from the West Coast Orthodoxcenter in San Francisco traveled to minister to the Orthodoxscattered throughout the region. Eventually these efforts andlocal, grassroots fundraising led to churches being built to servemulti-ethnic groups of believers. In the Puget Sound regionthere were churches in Seattle (St. Spyridon) and Wilkeson(Holy Trinity, in the foothills around Mt. Rainier) by 1900.The Jerisich family traveled to Seattle by boat, no easy taskgiven the vagaries of weather in Washington.

Anna Jerisich, who came from the Kuper Island Reserve inthe waters between British Columbia’s mainland and VancouverIsland, adopted her husband’s faith. According to FatherMichael Andreades (more on him in a bit) she was baptized—and by implication chrismated—by the missionaryArchimandrite Sebastian Dabovich, a Serbian-American priest

based in San Francisco (4). She was another in a long line ofFirst Nations people to embrace the faith brought from “theOld World.” Sadly, the Jerisich children married outside thefaith and seem not to have continued in Orthodoxy.

Historical ContextDuring this time there were great changes in the Orthodox

situation in North America. The most notable one was thedecision of thousands of Uniates to re-embrace the Orthodoxfaith. Although the hierarchy was primarily Russian, the Ameri-can Orthodox were from all sorts of backgrounds: Greek,Carpatho-Rusyn, Serbian, Arab. That is the abiding Ameri-can way--foreigners come to this land seeking opportunity andfreedom. In America at the beginning of the 20th CenturyOrthodox parishes were often multi-ethnic. The OrthodoxChurch in America was faced with ministering to the faithfulin a variety of languages. Fortunately God raised up his ser-vants for the task. Two of those servants were Fathers SebastianDabovich and Michael Andreades. Fr. Dabovich was a native-born American of Serbian parents; Fr. Andreades was a Greekfrom Asia Minor who spoke Russian. Both these men minis-tered to the Jerisich family: Fr. Dabovich baptized Mrs. Jerisich,and Fr. Andreades ministered to Mr. Jerisich in his final ill-ness. “I heard his confession and gave him Holy Commun-ion,” wrote the priest in his diary, “after which we spoke for along while. He faced death bravely and with hope, as all goodChristians must.” (5)

Fr. Andreades’ visit to Samuel Jerisich displayed a missionary’sdevotion. In the morning he traveled from Seattle to Wilkesonand celebrated the liturgy. He received a telegram aboutJerisich, but had to travel on foot nearly five miles (receivinghelp along the way from an Orthodox family) to get to a traingoing to Tacoma. Once he got to Tacoma he needed to take aboat across Puget Sound to reach Gig Harbor. It is a story thatillustrates faith and puts in perspective our casual modern atti-tudes about punctuality and church attendance.

The ruling hierarch at that time was Bishop Tikhon Bellavin,later canonized as St. Tikhon. Before he went back to Russiato serve as metropolitan of Moscow and then Patriarch of Rus-sia, St. Tikhon worked tirelessly to strengthen the foundationsof Orthodoxy in America: he consecrated ArchimandriteRaphael Hawaweeny (later St. Raphael) as auxiliary bishop,advanced the translation of liturgies and texts into English,and encouraged church and parish building across the conti-nent. Indeed, he consecrated Holy Trinity in Wilkeson withhis own hands, and today the parish is blessed to have an iconof the saint holding the church. He incarnated the pioneerspirit of the times and combined the depth of Russian faithwith the energy of the New World.

3. Schmemann, p. 10.

4. Brigit Farley, “Russian Orthodoxy in the Pacific Northwest: TheDiary of Father Michael Andreades, 1905-1906,” Pacific NorthwestQuarterly, Summer 2001, p. 128.

5. Ibid., p. 128.

(Learning from Pioneers, continued from page 3)


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St. Mary’s Holy Dormition Church to celebrate 100 years: A HistoryPriest Lawrence Gaudreau

The history of St. Mary’s Holy Dormition Orthodox Churchis not only a history of time and place, but also of the people,and their descendents, who today worship, work and live inmuch the same manner as that of their ancestors who camefrom Europe in the last part of the Nineteenth century. Mostof the faithful immigrated to this country from the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the great age of immigration from1880 to 1917.

Many of the Church’s ancestors first lived in Pennsylvaniaand worked in the coal mines and steel mills. The area north ofCalhan, Colorado was settled by the Slovak people who tookadvantage of farmland being offered as a result of the 1862Homestead Act. Many also immigrated west to work in thesteel mills in Pueblo, Colorado after the completion of the rail-roads in 1888.

Each settler received160 acres to farmlandto develop. To gainclear title to their plotof land they wouldhave to be resident ofthe property for fivecontinuous years andpay a registration fee of$30.00. If the home-steader desired, the titlecould pass into theirhands after six monthsresidence and the pay-ment of $1.25 per acre.

Early life for theseSlovak settlers was dif-ficult at best. The first “homes” were dug out of the earth orwere made of blocks of sod and rock. Wells had to be dug byhand. The water level at that time was around 60 feet. Ourwell today is 832 feet deep.

The people grew wheat, potatoes and raised cattle for beefand milk. Life on the prairie had an assortment of other chal-lenges as well such as floods, hail, winter storms, drought, the“dust bowl” and invasions by grasshoppers. In the winter of1913 a storm deposited 45.5 inches of snow on the days ofDecember 4th – 6th. Winds reached up to 50mph producingdrifts up to 30 feet. On December 7th, the sun shown and thestorm ended. Livestock valued at thousands of dollars per-ished and damage to buildings was devastating. Homesteadersshoveled snow to form paths from the house to the barns andgrain storage buildings tying ropes around their waists to makesure they could find their way back to the house. From thatpoint, only 7.78 inches fell between December and April of1914. The people of St. Mary’s are certainly no strangers to

drought as they endured the Dust Bowl and many droughtsover the years. The drought of 2002 was the worst in recordedhistory. The community today is still recovering from thatdifficult year.

In 1903, Archbishop TIKHON, consecrated the ground forSt. Michael’s Church in Pueblo, Colorado. Many of the faith-ful from Calhan were present. By 1904, the Slovak peopleorganized themselves to build their own church. In 1905,Archbishop TIKHON traveled to the very isolated area northof Calhan and consecrated the ground on which the first St.Mary’s Orthodox Church would be built. Fr. Ina Kibikoff whowould be the first priest to serve St. Mary’s was also in atten-dance. The church was completed on July 4th,1905 and con-secrated on August 28th, 1905. The first church, affection-

ately know as the“Church on the Hill,”of course did not haveelectricity and a coalstove was used for heat.Two cemeteries, St.Mary’s and St.Michael’s, were even-tually established nextto the church andacross the road.

In 1928, a fire de-stroyed St. Mary’s.Shortly after the firethere were “misunder-standings” in the com-munity. A portion ofthe community set out

to establish a new parish with its church on the cross roads ofNorth Calhan Highway and Ramah Road, just down the hillfrom the original church. The original church was rebuilt in1932 and the “new parish” finished their church in 1933. Withthe completion of the new parish church, the “misunderstand-ings” that split St. Mary’s in two was finally healed and thecommunity was united in the new church, which is the onewe are in today. On June 11th , 2000, the “church on the hill”was again destroyed by fire and only the shell and bell towerwere rebuilt. We use the bell tower today during funerals aswe process up North Calhan Highway from the “new church”to our cemeteries next to the original church.

St. Mary’s had a succession of priests, many finding it diffi-cult to deal with the isolation and hard life of the prairie. Manyof the early priests could not drive and were unable to go muchbeyond their own rectory. This changed in 1956, with theassignment of a permanent priest. It was during this time that


10

the O R T H O D O Xseveral significant changes took place. The introduction ofEnglish language Liturgies, and the establishment of a regularSunday school program. In 1982, St. Mary’s switched over tothe “Revised Julian” or Gregorian Calendar by a parish vote of61 to 40.

In the summer of 1995, at the parish’s 90th Anniversary, HisBeautitude, Metropolitan THEODOSIUS and His Grace,Bishop TIKHON rededicated the church on the hill as a chapeldedicated to St. TIKHON, the founder of St. Mary’s HolyDormition Orthodox Church.

My family and I feel blessed to be a part of this community.The people are honest, hard working and have tremendouspride in what they and their ancestors have accomplished inwitnessing to Christ and in continuing the legacy of St.TIKHON. The community has made us so much apart oftheir family that we feel that their history is our history. Wewill be celebrating 100 years of struggle and success on theweekend of August 20th-21st, 2005. We are looking forwardto visits from His Grace, Bishop TIKHON, and His Grace,Bishop BENJAMIN for this historic weekend. Of course,

A Montenegrin immigrant, his Indian wife, a Serbian-Ameri-can archimandrite, a Greek priest and a Russian bishop: OnlyGod fully knows how these Orthodox American pioneers havemade an impact on the heavenly kingdom and events here onEarth. Are we in the 21st Century an answer to prayers ut-tered on American shores in the 1800s? As faithful OrthodoxChristians we must remember and recover the names of thefaithful departed so we can commemorate them by prayers,and we should invoke the aid of the North American saints.But most of all, we must live out the life in Christ so as not todisgrace their legacies. May their memory be eternal, and maywe be found faithful when the Lord calls us to account for thegifts entrusted to us.

Gregory Cook is a member of Holy Resurrection Church inTacoma, WA.

everyone in the Diocese is invited to attend and participate.

Fr. Lawrence is the current rector of St. Mary’s, with wife,Katherine, and their 1 & 1/2 year-old son, Michael.

Merced Mission Breaks Ground for New ComplexOn Saturday, September 25, 2004, the mission of St. Mary

Magdalene Orthodox Church of Merced, California hosted aGroundbreaking Celebration, beginning her two phase con-struction project for a church campus. The office of the “In-voking of the Holy Spirit for the Beginning of a New Work,”along with the Groundbreaking itself, was accomplished at thecongregation’s beautiful 17 acre lo-cated in north Merced, just minutesaway from the new University ofCalifornia (UC), Merced campusslated to open in fall, 2005. Merced,called the “Gateway to Yosemite[National Park]” and located in in-land central California south of Sac-ramento, is situated in an area pro-jected to be the fastest growing re-gion in California in the next twentyyears.

His Grace, Bishop BENJAMINpresided at the service and ceremo-nial groundbreaking. Vladyka wasassisted by St. Mary Magdalene Mission clergy, the Priest DavidThatcher, Rector and Deacon Gabriel Seamore. Brother clergyrepresenting local parishes of the Central Valley alsoconcelebrated: Protopresbyter Jon Magoulias of the Annun-ciation Church, Modesto; Priest Jim Pappas of St. GeorgeChurch, Fresno; and Priest Russell Radoicich, together withProtodeacon Brad Matthews and Deacon Norman Shultz ofSt. Peter the Apostle Church, Fresno. Also present was Priest

Thomas Zell, pastor of St. James Mission, Modesto, and edi-tor of Again Magazine. All in all, Central Valley Orthodox clergyrepresenting the Greek, Serbian, and Antiochian jurisdictionswere present, a joyful expression of our Orthodox unity inChrist.

The Groundbreaking Celebration marks the spiritual begin-ning of Phase One of St. MaryMagdalene Mission’s building pro-gram, which features a 7800 squarefoot multi-purpose hall includinga temporary chapel, fellowship hall,Christian education classrooms,church offices, and a professionalkitchen. This facility will give theMerced community a “base of op-eration” in which not only worshipmay be conducted, but also fromwhich ministry and outreach maystaged. It is hoped that Phase Two,a village style church temple andadult baptistery, will follow shortly

after the completion of the steel building framed hall. Becauseof the blessing of an abundance of land (17 acres) the Mercedcommunity envisions various ministry possibilities, includingthe construction of retirement housing and an Orthodox Chris-tian student house for UC Merced and local college students.

St. Mary Magdalene Mission was also pleased to host at theGroundbreaking Celebration representatives of the Mindala

(St. Mary’s Anniversary, continued from page 9)


(Learning from Pioneers, continued from page 8)

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V I S I O N W i n t e r , 2 0 0 4

On Saturday, October 16th, St. Nicholas Orthodox Churchof Anselmo, CA offered a choral excursion through five cen-turies of a cappella music from cultures influenced by the “Byz-antine Commonwealth.”

The program, presented free of charge as a gift to the com-munity, was a rare collage of 16th-20th century chants andcompositions from Greece, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Roma-nia and America.

The concert was in conjunction with the Annual BAZAAR<http://stnicholasmarin.org/bazaar.html> and Open House.The events included a rummage sale, traditional Russian foods,church tours and Byzantine Icon exhibits.

San Anselmo ChurchHosts Musical Event

His Grace began his visit to St. Nicholas’ by administeringthe sacrament of Holy Communtion to some of the parish’sshut-in faithful. He then celebrated the Vigil Service for theBeheading of the Forerunner on Saturday, August 28th. This

was followed by a supper with the Parish Council, parish clergyand members of the choir at Fr. George and Daria Gray’s home.Immediately before the Sunday Hierarchial Divine Liturgy HisGrace tonsured Kyrion Gray and Alec Wilson as Readers. Onbehalf of His Grace, Bishop Tikhon, Bishop Benjamin pre-sented a Gramota to Barbara Nectaria Eng. The Gramotacommended Barbara for her good work as ecclesiarch, chanter,chorister, visitor to the sick and shut-ins and general good coun-sel to many within the parish community. In attendance forthe weekend were Deacon Kirill Sokolov, from St. Vladimir’s

Seminary and Subdeacon Timothy Kreta, from St. Anne’s Par-ish in Corvallis — both of whom provided invaluable liturgi-cal assistance and support. A brunch consisting of BBQ shrimpwas catered by George and Chrisoula Papas of Holy TrinityGreek Orthodox Church. The meal was served in the newly-renovated parish hall which is due to be fully completed byNovember 1, 2004. Bishop Benjamin received a donation forhis discretionary account from one of the St. Nicholas parish-ioners in memory of the Macedonian community of Portland.Additionally, the parish presented His Grace with a new panagia/ engolpion from Russia as a token of thanks for his visit. Welook forward to future visits from His Grace as a blessing tothe life of our parish.

Bp. BENJAMIN visitsPortland’s St. Nicholas’

On May 22 San Francisco was the site of a race forOrthodox Unity. The runners followed a 10-mile coursebetween three Orthodox churches of different jurisdic-tions.

Archpriest Bazyl Kalinowski, Rector of Church of Christthe Saviour (Orthodox Church in America) blessed therunners at the starting line. The first leg was one mile tothe Cathedral of the Blessed Mother of God Joy of all the

Sorrowing, which contains therelics of St. John of Shanghai andSan Francisco. This was an easyrun for both children and adults.From this cathedral of the Rus-sian Church Abroad to St.Nicholas Cathedral (MoscowPatriarchate) the road ledthrough Golden Gate park andthen over the hills. After vener-ating the icon of St. Nicholas,the runners returned to theChurch of Christ the Saviour.

The whole event lasted anhour and a half. First to the fin-ish line was Anton Tremsin, aphysicist by profession. His day

job is research and teaching at UC Berkeley. “This eventwas our way of expressing support for the ongoing talksbetween the different branches of Orthodoxy. Before leav-ing for Moscow as a member of the delegation of theRussian Church Abroad, Archbishop Kirill expressed hissupport for our initiatives. That was doubly welcome,”said race participant Alexei Tcherkassov.

S.F. Race for Orthodox Unity

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DIOCESAN ASSEMBLY HEARS BISHOP TIKHON'STHOUGHTS ON RETIREMENT,ADOPTS 2005 SPENDING PLAN

By Dmitri Solodow

The Diocesan Assembly, meeting at Holy Virgin Mary Ca-thedral in Los Angeles, heard an address from His Grace, BishopTIKHON, in which he made clear his wish to be allowed toretire by next year's Assembly or by the 2006 Assembly, at thelatest. Such Hierarchical arrangements are subject to the deci-sion of the Holy Synod of Bishops and His Beatitude, Metro-politan HERMAN.

In his address, His Grace reflected on the peaceful situationin which the Diocese finds itself; on the spirit of love, coopera-tion and support with which our parishioners and institutionsact; on the significant growth in parish life, especially in thebuilding up of new Missions; and in the many ways our Stew-ardship activities touch the lives of so many people. His Graceexpressed his thanks to God andto all in the Diocese for thishappy state of affairs.

Following the HierarchicalLiturgy which opened the As-sembly, His Grace Bishop BEN-JAMIN, on behalf of BishopTIKHON, presented a Gramataof appreciation to Fr. IanMacKinnon for his many yearsof service to the Diocese as apriest, Mission Dean and Chan-cellor.

The Diocesan 2005 Budgetwas adopted by the Assembly. Itanticipates Operating Income of$297,434, with $40,000 planned from Stewards of the West.This latter amount is earmarked for the Diocese's Outreachactivities, which include support for seminarians, charities, theMartha and Mary House for unwed mothers and their chil-dren, the Raphael House Programs for homeless families, youthactivities and our Missions Department.

Income from the Diocesan Percentage Assessment and othernon-Stewardship allows the Diocese to stay open: Episcopalsalaries and benefits; office and legal fees; travel; and the workof our Communications Department (the Diocesan websiteand the Orthodox Vision magazine). Also shown in the Bud-get is $209,100, which is the Diocese's Fair Share amount tosupport the activities and administration of the NationalChurch. This figure is apportioned to our parishes, but mustbe paid by the Diocese when due regardless of whether it hasbeen received from the parishes. If any parish is late in theirpayments, the effect is to create a serious cash flow problemfor the Diocese, and negatively impact its ability to fund its

charitable work. If the cash flow problem is very severe, theDiocese's basic operations are impacted. It is therefore veryimportant that parishes plan their budgets so funds are avail-able and paid for this purpose.

Each year, there is a meeting held during the Assembly be-tween the clergy and the Hierarchs. This year during that time,the Lay Delegates and Observers gathered to hear from Fr.Matthew Tate, Dean of the Missions Deanery. Fr. Matthewpresented a well-received overview of the Vision of the Diocese'sMissionary activities, a summary of activities in the last yearand a detailed explanation of how Mission priests are selectedand prepared for their assignments. Delegates were also invitedto the annual Mission retreat, to be held from Feb. 21-23, 2005

at the Diocese's Life-GivingSpring Retreat Center in Boul-der City, NV. The featuredspeaker will be Fr. Paul Lazor ofSt. Vladimir's Orthodox Semi-nary. The group also heard fromSarah Oftedal of Martha andMary House and Carmella Biggsof Raphael House, both ofwhom described for the Del-egates the activities and servicesthey provide.

At last year's Assembly, thesubject of Diocesan Communi-cations was discussed in detail,and many worthy suggestions

made. Fr. Eric Tosi, head of the DOW Communications De-partment, Fr. Peter Tobias, the Webmaster and Fr. IsaacSkidmore, Orthodox Vision Editor, with the help of manyClergy and Lay members, have taken these suggestions andtotally revised the Diocesan communications vehicles. Fr. Pe-ter presented the Delegates with a visual review of the soon-to-be-up Diocesan Website, and Fr. Isaac discussed new elementsof the Vision. It was announced that Fr. Eric will step down asDepartment Director, to be succeeded by Fr. Peter.

SS Helen and Constantine Parish in Colorado Springs wasselected as the site of the 2005 Assembly.

A special word of appreciation was given to the Clergy andParishioners of Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral for hosting thisyear's Assembly and to the Parishioners of St. Innocent Church,Tarzana, who hosted the first night's Reception.

All reports and the budget can be found on the Diocesanwebsite, at http://www.ocadow.org/announcements.htm

Assembly graced by both bishops

V I S I O N W i n t e r , 2 0 0 4

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Workshop for Deaconsand Subdeacons

Diocese of the WestFebruary 18 – 20, 2005

Life-Giving Spring Retreat Center701 Park Place, Boulder City, NV 89005

(702) 293-7208Archdeacon Vsevolod Borzakovsky

Deacon Kirill SokolovPRESENTING

Cost Per Participant: $225

This workshop is intended to help the deacons andsubdeacons of the Diocese of the West of the Orthodox im-prove their liturgical skills. Please submit name, address, phoneand parish name, with a $100 deposit before January 15, 2005if you would like to participate. Please mail to:

Workshop for Deacons, LGS701 Park Place, Boulder City, NV 89005

Phone Bishop Benjamin for further information:(702) 277-1857

ScheduleFriday, February 18:7:30 – 8:00 p.m.Arrival/Reception and Regis-

tration8:00 p.m. Opening Remarks by Bishop

BenjaminLiturgical Instruction: The

Parish Vigil

Saturday, February 19:8:00 a.m. Breakfast9:00 a.m. Liturgical Instruction: The

Hierarchical Liturgy10:30 a.m. Break10:45 a.m. Liturgical Instruction: The

Hierarchical Liturgy(continued)

12:30 p.m. Lunch1:30 p.m. Depart for St. Paul Church, Las

Vegas2:30 p.m. Liturgical Instruction: The

Hierarchical Liturgy5:00 p.m. Dinner Break6:00 a.m. Vigil8:00 p.m. Return to Life-Giving Spring/

Free Time

Sunday, February 208:30 a.m. Depart for Las Vegas9:00 a.m. Hierarchical Liturgy at St. Paul,

Las VegasFollowed by Coffee Hour/Lunch

12:30 p.m. Final Session

Fall Matushka Retreat held in Boulder Cityby M. Joanna Isenberg, Holy Apostles Mission, Portland, OR

The seventh annual Diocese of the West Matushka Retreatwas held in October in Boulder City, Nevada from a Thursdayevening through Sunday after Divine Liturgy at St. Paul’s inLas Vegas. Several wives of Diocese priests and deacons onceagain gathered at the Life Giving Spring Retreat House for aweekend of contemplation, conversation and sharing. Thewomen represented parishes from California, Nevada, Oregonand Washington.

These few days have become a wonderful opportunity forthe “matushki” to spend time together renewing friendships,sharing news about their parishes and gathering wisdom onhow to better serve their congregations.

Fr. Matthew Tate, Mission Dean presided over the sessionsand there were several opportunities to hear His Grace BishopBenjamin who resides at the Retreat Center.

Fr. Matthew led four formal sessions about experiences ofthe deaths of several parishioners: their own conversion expe-riences, their and their families’ preparations for their deathsand the ministry involved in assisting and serving them in thismost crucial time. These experiences included personal prepa-rations, family involvement, final days and moments, and fu-neral arrangements. While the priest is integral in providingthe sacraments, Christians must remember that we are all“bound in the priesthood of Christ” and therefore called tooffer aid, consolation and prayer to those suffering loss.

The group also participated in a very intensive session re-garding Proverbs 31 that reminds all women of the strengthand balance and courage that are found in a virtuous woman.

There were informal sessions that allowed each matushka toshare the events of her past year, to build a reading list, movielist and prayer list, and to plan the next retreat. Several ideaswere brought up, including a prosphora making session, bookreview, or music practice. There are even hopes for a one daysession in the Pacific Northwest early in 2005.

The next annual retreat in 2005 is scheduled at the Life Giv-ing Spring Retreat Center from Thursday October 20 throughSunday October 23. (Thursday is a travel, optional attendanceday.) Matushka Susanne Senyo and Matushka Judith Waisanenwill be the coordinators. All wives of priests and deacons fromthe diocese are eligible to attend and are heartily welcomed!

Family Foundation, which is sponsoring the project with agrant. Present were Jim and Jodi Mindala, together with Johnand Kathy Mindala, who assisted in the proceedings.

The year 2005 marks a hopeful and joyful twentieth anni-versary for the Merced mission. Plans are being laid for theribbon-cutting opening and dedication of the multi-purposehall next year. While at one time the prospects for the “EasternOrthodox Mission of Merced” were grim, God in His mercyhas seen fit to bless this Eucharistic community beyond all hope.May we be faithful to His calling!

(Merced Breaks Ground, continued from page 10)

Fr. PaulSchellbach is cur-rently at FortJackson, SCthrough Novem-ber for furtherchaplaincy train-ing. He may bereturned to BaladAir base in Iraqafter that untilMarch.

His e-mail [email protected].

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Please continue to remem-ber those who are in militaryservice.

AnnouncementsOn Wednesday, October 12th, at 10:19 p.m., Dn. Kirill

Sokolov (son of Fr. Victor Sokolov) and his wife Sophia wereblessed by the birth of their son, Nicholas Vladimir, whoweighed in at 7 lbs 2.4 oz, 20 inches.

New Mission Erected in Fremont, CaliforniaEffective June 15th, 2004, upon the petition of local Faith-

ful and the recommendations of the Diocesan Chancellor andDean of the Missionary District Deanery, a new Mission ofthe Diocese of the West was erected in Fremont, California.This mission is a daughter mission of the Saint Innocent Mis-sion of Fremont, which has re-located to Fillmore, California.On that date, the Missionary District Dean was appointedPriest-in-Charge of this Mission.

On July 20th, 2004, upon his ordination on that date to theHoly Priesthood, July 20, 2004, the Priest Yuri Maev, wasappointed Acting Rector or this Mission. Glory be to God!

On November 4, 2004, the Mission was placed under theheavenly protection of the Holy Martyr Christina, commemo-rated on July 24.

Address of the Mission is:Saint Christina of Tyre MissionPO Box 14636FREMONT CA 94539Fr. Yuri, Matushka Olga, and their ninenteen-year-old

daughter were all baptized in Russia. After moving to theUnited States, he and his family began attending St. Nicholasof Zeca and South Canaan Church in Billings, Montana. Fol-lowing graduation from St. Tikhon Theological Seminary this

past spring, Fr. Yuri and his family moved to California wherehe now serves the new mission.

APPOINTMENT OF vice-chancellorThe Very Reverend Archpriest Ian MacKinnon, Rector of

the Holy Cross parish of Sacramento, California, is appointed,in addition to any and all other previous appointments in ef-fect, Vice-Chancellor, Diocese of the West. This appointmentis indefinite and is effective November 15, 2004.

Fr. John Strickland, a recent graduate of St. Vladimir’s Or-thodox Theological Seminary, is the new acting rector of St.Katherine Orthodox Mission in Kirkland, Washington.

Fr. John converted to Orthodoxy while living in Saint Peters-burg where he met and married Yelena. After moving back tothe United States they began attending Holy MyrrhbearingWomen Church in West Sacramento, California. He also had aseminary internship at Holy Ghost Orthodox Church in Bridge-port, Connecticut. Before attending St. Vladimir’s, he studiedhistory as an undergrad. He is presently working on establish-ing an Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Seattle University,where he teaches history.

Fr. John’s wife, Yelena, is currently working on a graduatedegree in counseling psychology. Their daughter, Elizabeth, istwo-years-old. Please pray for them and the St. Katherine Mis-sion.

Photo taken 5/29/04

Subscriptions:P.O. Box 16021

Portland, Oregon [email protected]

Call Toll-Free at: 1-866-783-6628

V I S I O N W i n t e r , 2 0 0 4

15

Q. Fr. Joseph, I’ve read, and also asked my priest, to explain the Trinity to me. I’m still hopelessly confused. Also, Iunderstand there’s a difference between the ways the churches in the East and West understand this. Can you explain?Do these differences matter?

Ask Fr. Joseph: The Rector of Denver’s Transfiguration Cathedral and dean ofthe Rocky Mountain District, Fr. Joseph Hirsch, answers your questions.

A. It is not surprising that you are confused. As you state tobe your predicament, you are seeking an explanation of GodHimself and of His Essential Being. I am sure that you haveheard this before, but this is the most profound of all Myster-ies. Now, when we Orthodox use the word “mystery”, we donot mean a riddle or a problem to be solved. We mean a pro-foundly mystical reality, which can only be “Experienced” and,certainly, cannot be understood (comprehended). The mostspiritual and Godly-wise of theologians have taught us thatGod can only be known in His acts of Selfrevelation but, by no means, in His Essenceor Being.

For this reason, we Orthodox Christiansprefer to confine our conversation aboutGod to those things, which God Himselfhas taught us about Himself in the HolyScriptures and in the unbroken ApostolicTradition. It is this tradition, which is statedin the “Symbol of Faith” (The Creed) asadopted by the first two Ecumenical Coun-cils.

1. That God is one.2. That God is Eternal (Without

beginning in time or end of days.)3. That God is and always has been

a Community (A Trinity) of Persons, eachequal and each eternal.

4. That the Unity of the Divine Trinity is found in therelationship of the Eternal Son and the Eternal Holy Spirit tothe Eternal Father. (This is sometimes called “Divine Monar-chy”)

5. That all that exists in creation was brought into beingfrom nothingness by the Father through the agency of the Son,“By Whom all things were made and without Whom was notanything made that was made”.

6. That all creation is sustained by and we are made Holyby the “Life-creating” Holy Spirit.

7. That the Son is Eternally “Begotten” of the Fatherand that the Holy Spirit is eternally sent forth: “Proceeds from”the Father.

8. That in God’s economy of salvation: in how Godworks in creation, the Father sends the Holy Spirit throughthe Son and the Spirit draws creation back through the Son tothe Father.

As far as I know, we dare not say more than this about theMost Holy Trinity.

Now, we turn to your question about the Western (RomanCatholic and daughter Protestant sects) beliefs about the Trin-ity. Where the Orthodox Church has steadfastly avoided mak-ing assertions or logical speculations about God beyond thatwhich He has chosen to tell us, others have not felt constrainedby this scruple. It only seemed “Logical” to Arius, for example,

and to his followers, all steeped in the“Emanation” language of Platonism, thatthe Father is eternal and that the Son andHoly the Holy Spirit came forth as thefirst acts of creation. Thus, where the fa-thers of the First Council state the Apos-tolic Doctrine that Our Lord is “Of oneEssence (One in Being) with the Father”,the Arians held that “There was a timewhen He (God the Son) was not”. Anddescribed Him as being of “Similar es-sence” with the Father.

In about the sixth century, a changebegan to take place in the Western (Latin)part of Christendom. In place of the Or-thodox reluctance to “Speculate” aboutGod beyond that which He has chosen toreveal to us, the Western Church adoptedthe “Doctrine of Interpolation”. Accord-

ing to this kind of thinking, theology is developed over timeand, thus, in time, some ill-conceived efforts to combat heresy,combined with some misapplication of the poetic musings ofSt. Augustine of Hippo, resulted in a part of the Western Churchadding a clause “Filio que” to the Creed. Thus, where the fa-thers had taught that the Son is eternally begotten of the Fa-ther and that the Holy Spirit is Eternally proceeding from theFather, it was now asserted that the Son was Begotten of theFather and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “andthe Son”. At first, the Church of Rome was appalled and an-gered by the presumption of this local “council”. The Popeeven had two silver plaques engraved with the original Creedin Greek and Latin and placed on either side of the altar in St.Peter’s. Nonetheless, by the time of Charlemagne, not onlyhad the modified “creed” become ubiquitous among the Frank-ish Churches but the belief was abroad that the filio que was in


the O R T H O D O X

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the original Creed and the “Greeks” had taken it out.Now, it is neither my purpose nor your suggestion that I

argue the question here, but, allow me to suggest that thescenario put forth in St. Augustine’s musings, in which theFather begat the Son and the Father and Son looked uponeach other in love and that “Love” became the Holy Spiritsounds an awful lot like the emanation philosophy of Arius.In fact, we have compelling evidence that the clause, whileintroduced into the Latin Church in a furtive attempt to com-bat Arianism, had, in fact, originally appeared in the “creed”of the Gothic Arian church.

I should also mention, in passing, that the Protestant sectswhich split from the Roman obedience, for the most part,carried the Filio que doctrine along with them. One peculiardevelopment in recent time has been the gradual drift of com-mentary on the Filio que from application to the “EssentialTrinity” (God in His Being) to the “Economic Trinity” (Godas He works in Creation. In the 1970s, the Roman CatholicCatechetical Directory for the United States was published. Itcontained an explanation of the Creed to the effect that “Wesay that the Spirit proceeds from the Father because Jesus saysthat he proceeds from the Father and we say that He proceedsfrom the Son because Jesus says, ‘I will send you the HolySpirit’”. Now, as you may notice, this applies the clause toGod’s working in the world rather than to God’s Essence orBeing. In 1976, I pointed this out to Fr. AlexanderSchmemann, of blessed memory, and asked if he thought that

this represented a movement of the Roman communion to-ward Orthodox Trinitarian Doctrine. His immediate responsewas, “No, dear Father! It simply represents the fact that theyno longer understand their theology”.

So, you can see that you are not alone in feeling “Hope-lessly confused” about the Holy Trinity. But the good news isthat you don’t have to understand it because you can’t under-stand it. After all, to understand means to “Stand under” to“comprehend” or “apprehend” something and who can ex-pect to surround or grab onto the reality of God in His Di-vine Essence. All you have to do is to accept the Holy Ortho-dox Church and to accept the Creed as the statement of theFaith of the Orthodox. I recall an adult class I was conductingover twenty years ago. It consisted both of catechumens andof cradle Orthodox. One of the, people preparing to enter theChurch asked me, “What real difference does it (the Filioque) make?”

As I began to develop an answer similar to the one I havejust given you, an elderly pious Greek gentleman who wasattending the class, slammed has fist on the table and, ad-dressing me, exclaimed, “Father, don’t do that!”. Then, turn-ing to the Catechumen he continued, “Ask not! Believe orbelieve not!” Taso’s advice is still good advice for both of us.Don’t allow yourself to feel “Hopelessly confused” but remainhopefully devoted to “The Faith, once and forever, deliveredto the saints”.

Yours in Christ,Archpriest Joseph

DENVER, CO [OCA Communications] — Mrs. HelenBenigsen, 86, wife of the late Mitred Archpriest George M.Benigsen, fell asleep in the Lord here on Thursday, July 15,2004.

Born Helen Ivanovna Kraubler, she married the future Fa-ther Benigsen in Estonia in 1937. Both had been active in theRussian Christian Student Movement. In the early 1940s, theBenigsens relocated to Riga, Latvia, where he was ordained tothe holy priesthood. Shortly thereafter they moved to Pskov,Russia, which at the time was under German occupation,where under extremely harsh conditions they organized aschool for 200 students and an orphanage for 40 children whohad lost their parents in the war.

In 1944, the Benigsens fled to Germany, where they minis-tered to the growing number of displaced persons. By sheermiracle, they avoided compulsory repatriation to the SovietUnion, as the secretary of the American commandant at thattime was a schoolmate of Father Benigsen. For the next twoyears they ministered in various displaced persons’ camps, untilhe was appointed to Saint Seraphim Church at the Home ofMercy in Munich.

In November 1950, the Benigsens arrived in the US. Twomonths later they were assigned to Saint John the BaptistChurch, Berkeley, CA. In December 1951, Father Benigsenwas appointed Dean of San Francisco’s Holy Trinity Cathedral.In February 1960, the Benigsens were transferred to Holy Trans-figuration Church, Denver, CO, where Mrs. Benigsen orga-nized a choir and assisted in strengthening the life of the par-ish. In 1964, they were transferred to Berkeley, CA, where theyorganized an Orthodox student center and a chapel dedicatedto Saint Joseph of Arimathea. Subsequently, they were trans-ferred to Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, New York, NY in1967; Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Montreal, PQ, Canada,in 1968; and Saint Nicholas Church, Saratoga, CA in 1970. Inevery instance, Mrs. Benigsen served as choir director and as-sisted with educational and camping programs. In 1980, theywere reassigned to Holy Trinity Cathedral, which FatherBenigsen served until his retirement the following year.

In retirement, the Benigsens served Holy Assumption Mon-astery, Calistoga, CA, until Father Benigsen’s death in 1993.

His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of Berkeley, presided at funeralservices at Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA on Tues-day, July 20, 2004.

Memory Eternal!Helen Benigsen

(Ask Fr. Joseph, continued from page 15 )

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Matushka Isabel AndersonOn October 13, 2004, Matushka Isabel Anne Anderson (age

79) peacefully departed in Christ to her eternal reward after afull life as a wife, mother, grandmother, matushka, missionary,and educator. To many in the O.C.A. she was affectionatelyknown as “Matushka Isabel”; but to her students at All Na-tions Orthodox Day School in Southern California, she wasknown simply as “Mrs. A”. A wonderful helpmate to her hus-band of fifty-six years, the Rev. Dr. John W. Anderson, Isabelbore and raised children in Africa and in the United States. Inaddition to her eight children, Isabel was also the grateful grand-mother of eighteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Born in York, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 1925, the daughterof Henry Oscar and Cora Kraft (Jones) Scott, Isabel was ofPennsylvania Dutch, Scotch-Irish and Welsh ancestry. Shecompleted her education at Temple University in Philadelphiawith a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, and later, aMasters in Education as well.

Isabel and Fr. John were married in York, PA, on November26, 1947. Despite her varied and many talents, Isabel saw her-self primarily and foremost as a wife and helpmate for her hus-band. She fully shared in his pastoral calling and ministry,never seeking a separate “career” of her own. She assisted himin his 23 years as a Lutheran pastor, 15 of which were spent asmissionaries in Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa.

After their conversion to the Holy Orthodox Church inTarzana, California, in 1977, and after Fr. John’s subsequentordination as an Orthodox priest in 1980, Matushka Isabelfaithfully followed and assisted her clergy husband for 24 moreyears of pastoral ministry. Wherever she went, she touched thelives of many with her quiet Christian love.

For a while (1989-1994), Isabel and Fr. John were instruc-tors at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in SouthCanaan, PA. Matushka Isabel at that time also served as theChair for the Department of Religious Education for the Dio-cese of Eastern PA. Her main course of instruction at the semi-nary was the Religious Education class, though she and Fr. Johnloved to help out with St. Tikhon’s Summer Camp. When aseminary student once asked her how, as a priest, he was toeducate the children of his flock in the Orthodox Faith,Matushka Isabel replied: “You expose your children to the Faith,until they ‘catch it’ like they catch chicken pox or the flu.”

Matushka Isabel was a regular contributing author for theEastern PA “Alive in Christ” magazine, and her articles (gearedtowards a youthful audience) were compiled into a book forchildren printed by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press in 1996: “Build-ing to Last: Stories for Families to Read Together in their DailyPrayer Time”.

Fr. John and Matushka Isabel were big advocates of Chris-tian education, both parochial and home-school, which theysaw as the best way to train children in the Orthodox Christianworldview. Together they started and ran two small Orthodoxday schools and home-schooled their own children at varioustimes.

In 1994, Fr. John and Matushka Isabel retired from St.Tikhon’s Seminary and moved to Billings, MT, where they con-tinued to be involved in many aspects of church life.

In serving God and her husband, Matushka Isabel had trav-eled the world: from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, Wisconsin,North Dakota, Mexico, Liberia and Sierra Leone (West Af-rica), Kenya (East Africa), California, and Montana. Once shewas asked how she was able to put up with this missionary lifeof constant travel. Her response was that she tried to live out 1Peter 5:6 — “Humble yourselves therefore under the mightyhand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Through-out her life, Isabel strove to put herself humbly into God’sHands, to trust it all to Him, and to obediently go where Hecalled.

She never complained. Indeed, she practiced what shepreached: “If you don’t have anything good to say, then saynothing at all.” Matushka Isabel was always an inspiration tothose around her. Many felt that for them she was a “secondmother”—

a real “matushka”—and that they could easily confide in her.To get an idea of exactly how powerful her quiet impact was onher fellow Christians, please read this tribute to her life, writ-ten by a parishioner in Billings, MT, who knew her very well.Please visit, http://www.ocadow.org/announcements.htm.

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, Isabel quietly fell asleepin the Lord with her family by her side, after fighting cancerfor 19 months. Five priests, including her son, the Rev. An-drew J. Anderson of Wilmington, Delaware, served at her burialservice on Monday, October 18, 2004, in Billings, MT.

Matushka Isabel leaves behind her husband, the Rev. JohnW. Anderson, and six of her children: Christina Soueidi of Bill-ings, Montana; Eric Anderson of Billings, Montana; Per Sethof Harbor City, California; Sara Johnson of Dodge Center,Minnesota; Elizabeth Brewer of Mission Viejo, California; andthe Rev. Andrew J. Anderson of Wilmington, Delaware. Herdaughter Julie and son John Mark had preceded her in death.May these two children now be rejoicing in Heaven with theirmother, Isabel. May her Memory be Eternal!

Written in loving memory by her son, Rev. Andrew J. Ander-son.

Father AmvrossyThe learned Archimandrite Ambrosius (Pogodin) reposed at

Spring Valley on October 31st. The Funeral was held Wednes-day, November 3, in the Nativity of the Virgin parish in MenloPark, CA.

Father Amvrossy was a prolific writer, translator, and scholar,as well as a talented concert pianist. He regularly contributedarticles and translated works of the Greek Fathers to variouslearned Russian periodicals and also published translations intoRussian (books) of other Greek historical material. He servedparishes in ROCOR, in the MP, and in the OCA. His longestterm of service was in the Nativity of the Virgin parish in MenloPark, California. He also previously served at the ROCOR


Nov. 9, 1939 – Nov. 24, 2004Isaac Joseph Nash reposed in the Lord on November 24 at

Raphael House in San Fransisco. Isaac came to Holy ApostlesOrthodox Parish in Northwest Portland in 1995 in search ofthe true faith. He was baptized on Holy Saturday, 1996. Isaacwas much beloved in the Portland Orthodox community forhis willingness to serve, especially in the kitchen where his tal-ents as a professional chef were widely appreciated. He was alsobeloved for his gracious and generous spirit, and his friendshipto all.

In May of 2000, Isaacmarried Maria Letten,daughter of Fr. NicholasLetten, the rector at HolyApostles. Isaac and Mariamoved to San Franciscowhere they lived andworked at Raphael House.Isaac worked as the cook, aswell as with the women andchildren in crisis, and withpeople living on the streetsof San Fransisco. He be-came a valued and treasuredfriend to all the staff atRaphael House.

Isaac was diagnosed with liver cancer in May of 2004. Hishumble acceptance of God’s Providence through his illness wasa strong witness to all around him. His wife Maria cared forhim at home, with the help of friends and hospice care. Hepassed from this life on the night before Thanksgiving, whichseemed fitting, given his thankful spirit and gift of hospitality.His body was prepared for burial by family and friends, andtaken to the Raphael House chapel where the Psalter was readcontinually. The funeral service was Friday night, followed byDivine Liturgy on Saturday morning. Fr. Jonah celebrated thefuneral with Fr. Nicholas, Fr. David Lowell and Fr. ThomasAllesandroni while the monks chanted beautifully “Grant Restto the Soul of thy Servant.” That day, Raphael House contin-ued to serve the poor as 150 people were served a Thanksgivingdinner.

His body was laid to rest at the Monastery of St. Herman of

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parish in Rome and was an official ROCOR observer at VaticanII.

Father Amvrossy was also a great lover of cats, especiallySiamese.

Many remember him for his essay on the history of the prac-tice of the reception of converts from the beginning centuriesuntil now <http://www.holy-trinity.org/ecclesiology/pogodin-reception/reception-ch0.html>.

Memory Eternal to the newly-fallen asleep Servant of God,Ambrosius, Archimandrite!

Isaac Nash

Alaska in Platina, California. Isaac is dearly missed by his wifeMaria, his children, Lawrence, Connie, Pamela, and Alan, aswell as many dear friends. May his memory be eternal!

Stewards of the West, 2004The Diocese of the West thanks the following for their contribu-

tions to the Stewards of the West program for 2004. Your giftsallow the Diocese to support our seminarians and our charitableinstitutions such as the Martha and Mary House, Raphael Housesin Portland and San Francisco and The Life-Giving Spring Re-treat Center in Boulder City. Steward of the West are direct par-ticipants in the Diocese’s charitable work.

Torch Bearers ($1,000.00 per year or more): •Anderson,

Bradley •Caetta, Mary Louise •Diederich, Brian & Cristina

•Protection of the Holy Virgin Church

Standard Bearers: ($500.00 to $999.99 per year): •Carey,

Robert •Evans, Andrew •Geis, Lyman •Hartman, The Rev.

Kirill •Hughes, Robert P. & Olga R. •Kasperovich, Vitaly &

Natalia •Nowik, Eugene & Dorothy •Paez, Andre •Prescop,

Alex & Bonnie •Roubal, Ivan •Sayre, Craig •Schwalbenberg,

Peter

Sustaining Members ($100.00 to 499.99 per year):

•Adelman, Nikki •Alessandroni, Fr. Thomas •Alexander,

Cathy •Ambroziak, Demitro •Armstrong, Fr. John & Stacy

•Arrowsmith, Fr. Leo & Matushka Rafaela •Artemoff, George

& Svetlana •Ballas, George & Sunday •Baranoff, M/M

Constantine •Becker, Kevin & Mildred •Beld, Marina

•Bennett, Alexander •Berg, Mr. & Mrs. Rodney •Bishop

Tikhon (Fitzgerald) •Blischak, John •Body, Blair & Pamela

•Boldireff, Fr. Nicolas & Anisia •Booriakin, Walter & Tania

•Brinegar, Ted & Elizabeth •Buonpane, Anita •Burkett, Chris-

topher & Ruth •Cardenas, Michael & Tatiana •Chach, Ann

•Chavez, Raymond •Damerau, Richard & Anastasia •de

Somov, Madeleine •Dirks, John & Camilla •Duncan, Cary

•Duncan, Matt & Whitney •Eliades, Peter & Marie •Fabula,

Dn David and Janet •Flynn, Micah & Mary Anna •Foat/

Langston, Michael & Amy •Frakes, Fr. Hilarion & Judy

•Franke, Victoria •Gaudreau, Father Lawrence & Katherine

•Giritsky, Katya •Gisetti, Margarita •Gogol, Lew & Valentina

•Golitzin, George & Margaret •Greene, Judy •Gregory, Leo

& Irene •Hajdu-Cronin, Yvonne •Harmon, Nectarios &

Macrina •Hatch, Michael & Anna •Hayashi, George & Kaleria

•Hayes, Fred & Natalya •Hirsch, The Rev. Joseph & Paulette

•Holl, Capitolina •Holmes, Scott & Esther •Holowach, Gary

S. & Kathleen •Holy Trinity/Holy Ressurection Auxiliary

•Homiak, Daniel & Dominique •Homyak, Harold •Jaeger,

Marilyn •Jones, Daniel & Virginia •Jones, Lynn •Kaliakin,

Nikolai & Inna •Kasimiroff, Alex & Larissa •Kautsky, Mark

& Elizabeth •Kerns, Deacon Joseph •Kharitonoff, Alexander

& Sara •Kime, Fr. Nicholas •Korens, Nick •Krupenkin, Gai

& Tamara •Kuolt, Fr. Damian & Joanna •Kvamme, Thomas

& Janice •Langley, Alexander •Lazarides, Kostas •Letten, Fr.

Nicholas & Barbara •Lewis, Christopher & Macrina

(Obituaries, continued from page 17)

V I S I O N W i n t e r , 2 0 0 4

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•Lien, The Rev. Kevin, & Elizabeth •Lisenko, Fr. Alexander

•Los Angeles Orthodox Club No. 155 •Lowell, Fr. David &

Elaine •Lozano, Anna •Lupu, Alexandria •MacKinnon, Fa-

ther Ian & Nina •Macrides, William & Shirley •Marvel, Mela-

nia •Merculief, Kathi & Joe •Michaelis, Steven & Kristen

•Mikita, Joseph & Joyce •Mondschein, Elizabeth •Morse,

Allen(Johann) & Helen •Morse, Charles •Muhanoff, A

•Norville, Craig (Vladimir) •Olenicoff, Igor •Oppermann, Ed-

ward & JoAnn •Osolinsky, William & Rosemarie •Our Lady

of Kazan Skete •Owens, Barbara •Pennock, Dee •Pentikis,

A. P. •Popoff, Jr., Alexander & Maria •Pouschine, Ivan &

Helen •Protection of the Holy Virgin Monastery •Prybyla,

Paul & Manya •Reed, William E •Rhodes, Fr. Basil & Joan

•Riazance, Andre & Anna •Richardson, Allen •Saint John’s

Auxiliary •Sakovich, K. •Savko, Michael •Sawchuk,

Alexander •Schumacher, Stephen •Seamore, Deacon Gabriel

& Jeannette •Seitz, Stacy •Shank, Father David & Constance

•Shaw, Fr. Athanasius •Shumaik,

George & Carole •Siacotos, Anthony

•Sisterhood of HVM •Solodow, Rob-

ert •Soot, Fr. Stephen & Mona

•Spelker, Beatrice •St. Andrew Ortho-

dox Church/Delta •St. Barbara Mon-

astery •St. Herman Orthodox Church/

Littleton •St. John the Baptist Ortho-

dox Church/Berk •St. Nicholas Rus-

sian Orthodox Church/SD •Stagner,

Cyril & Genevieve •Stanton, Fr. Chris-

topher & Sara •Stefero, The Rev. John

& Denise •Stroud, James & Gretchen

•Stuemky, Robert •Surbatovich,

Draginja •Symeonoff, The VRev.

Boris •Synaxis of the Theotokos

•Sysock, Marie •Szyrynski, The VRev.

Gregory & Walentyna •Tarris, The

VRev. Eugene •Tate, Fr. Matthew &

Lois •Taylor, Daniel & Christina

•Telles, Kenneth & Kathy •Temerin, Michael & Galina

Pomotalkina •Teshin, Alex & Natalie •Teshin, Nicolas &

Rebecca •Thatcher, Fr. David •Thomas, Theodora •Tobias,

Fr. Peter •Tomasi, Fr. John •Tosi, Fr. Eric •Union, Dn Elias

•Van Dyken, Nancy •Vedrashko, Alexander •Vitko, John &

Katherine •Waidelich, Mark •Waisanen, Fr. Paul & Judith

•Walker, John •Wanaski, Adam & Helen •Wasacz, Michael

& Vera •Wilkes, Patrick & Ann •Winovich, Rob •Wood,

Nadine •Worobey, John & Ann •Worth, Erik & Diane •Young,

Elias

Donors ($1.00 - $99.99): •Aaron, Ed and Stacy •Afonina,

Lidia •Akins, Fred & Karen •Aley, Sarah •Anderson, The Rev.

& Mrs. John •Aristov, Andrey & Karin •Azrael, Julia

•Bahleda, Olga •Baker, James & Eva •Baldwin-Thanos,

Cynthia •Beal, Seraphim & Michael •Belikov, Vladimir •Berk,

Eugene •Bouzinekis, Kathy •Brown, Martin •Cahenzli,

Michael & JoAnn •Calderon, Bernard Thomas •Cearnetchi,

Margarita •Clements, Chelle •Cordero, Alexander & Irene

•Crawford, Randal W. •Danielsen, Patrick & Gabriela •Denda,

Samuel •Diaz, Paul & Patty •Dubovik, Anthony & Claudia

•Duffy, Kevin & Sinead •Eanes, Scott & Inga •Eich, Frank &

Gail •Eriksen, Daniel •Evangeline, Joseph & Virginia

•Fessahaye, Yohannes & Senait •Franke, Lucy •Frey, Eliza-

beth •Friedman, Lori •Gill, Irene •Gorodetskaia, Eugene, &

Veronica •Graham, George •Greenfield, Dave & Kelly

•Griovski, Petar & Roberta •Gromadski, Victor •Grudzina,

Dorothy •Haile, Kifle •Harrison, Robert & Connie •Hasko,

Lillian •Helena Orthodox Mission •Hlatki, Kenneth & Dawn

•Hramzoff, Vincent •Hutch, Concetta •Isenberg, The Rev. Dn.

Michael •Ivanitsky, Mike & Jean •Jannakos, Nick & Eliza-

beth •Jansone, Vera •Jensen, Chris & Laureen •Jessup, Wesley

& Cynthia •Julien, Duane •Kashtenko, Lucy •Katris, Frances

•Kelley, Paula •Kern, Ole •Kielczynski, George & Stacy

•Kimball, Donald •Kimball, Robert & Daria •King, Galina

•Kline, Olga •Kluge, JoAnn •Kogianes

•Kojenov, Alexei & Elena •Kojin,

Kenneth & Nonna •Koshelkova,

Natalia •Kost, John & Mary Lu •Kreel,

Joseph & Caroline •Kulina, Helen

•LaCondo, Rosemary •Lansville,

Michael & Christine •Leonoff, Irene

•Levenetz, Boris & Alexandra

•Lindgren, Eleanor •Lowell, Gregory

•Lukoyanova, Tatyana •Lump, Ed-

ward •Mahlke, Richard J. •Manka,

Ann •Marich, Maria •Maruschak, John

& Mary •Masamitsu, Jon & Pamela

•Michkofsky, Ann •Miller, Patricia

•Molnar, Julie •Moore, Tim •Morgan,

James & Laurie •Nicholson, Nicholas

& Lydia •Oftedal, Sarah •Panoff, Chris

& Krista •Parks, Mary Ann •Patterson,

John & Anna •Pekovich, Anne •Penco,

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tine •Shalygin, Boris & Zinaida •Shalygin, Boris & Zinaida

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& Julia •Shultz, Daniel •Sidio, Lydia •Sinelnikov, Boris

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con Mark •Swerda, Patricia •Szevery, Ervin •Tregarthen,

Timothy •Trojanovich, Forest •Tulintseff, Helen •Tweedell,

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FROM HIS GRACE:FROM HIS GRACE: The FollowingTestament circulated widely in the Russian emigration during WWII, and came tous in America with the ever-memorable Archbishop John (Shahovskoy) who re-ceived it when he was Rector of the Russian Church on Nachodstrasse in Berlin.Not until the recent publication of the life of our Venerable Father Seraphim ofVyritsa was it attributed to one individual. Those who knew Staretz Seraphim be-lieve it was written by him and addressed to an imprisoned hierarch.

“This Came from MeDid you ever realize that whatever concerns you concerns Me too? For what con-

cerns you concerns the apple of My eye. You are dear in My sight, of great value, andyou are My beloved; therefore, bringing you up is a task close to My heart.

When trials confront you, if the enemy is approaching like a river, I want you toknow that THIS CAME FROM ME, so that your frailty would be in need of Mystrength and that your security would be confined to your giving Me the possibilityto fight for you.

Do you find yourself in difficult circumstances among peoplewho don’t understand you, who have no consideration forwhat you like and don’t like, who push you aside? THISCAME FROM ME. I am God, and I have arranged yourcircumstances. You didn’t find yourself by chance in yourpresent situation: this is the situation I predetermined for you.Didn’t you ask Me to teach you humility? I’ve immediatelyput you in that school where such a course is taught. Yoursurroundings and those living with you are fulfilling My will.

Do you find yourself in financial difficulties? Is it hard tomake ends meet? THIS CAME FROM ME. I outfitted yourpurse. I want you to run to Me and be dependent on Me. Myriches are inexhaustible; I want you to be certain of My faith-fulness and My promises—so that you would not be able tosay to yourself when in need, “You didn’t trust the Lord yourGod.”

Are you undergoing a night of sorrowing? THIS CAMEFROM ME. I am the Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.I allowed this so that you would turn to Me and could findeverlasting comfort.

Were you let down by a friend to whom you had openedyour heart about something? THIS CAME FROM ME. Iarranged this disappointment for you so you would get toknow that your best friend is the Lord. I want you to bringeverything to Me and to trust Me.

Did someone slander you? Leave this matter to Me and clingmore tightly to Me, your refuge. I will bring forth your righ-teousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.

Were your plans wrecked? Are you wilted and tired in yoursoul? THIS CAME FROM ME. You put together your plansand brought them to Me to be blessed by Me. But I want youto leave it to Me to arrange your circumstances, and then theresponsibility for everything will lie with me...for this is a littletoo much for you: you can’t fix everything yourself; you are aninstrument, not the main character.

Have you dreamt of doing something special for Me and,instead of that, found yourself lying in bed sick and weak?THIS CAME FROM ME. When you were buried in yourwork I couldn’t attract your thought to me, and I want you tobe taught My deepest thoughts and your work to be aboutMe. I want you to learn to acknowledge that you are nothing.Some of My best coworkers are those who were cut off fromouter activity in order for them to learn to be masters of un-ceasing prayer.

Have you been called upon to occupy a difficult and respon-sible position? Come, relying on Me. I entrust this difficultyto you. For this the Lord God blesses you in all your doings, ineverything done by the labor of your hands. On that day I willgive into your hands that vessel of holy Oil—My blessings:use it freely, My child. Let every difficulty that comes up, ev-ery insulting word, every obstacle in your work that mightgive rise to feelings of disappointment in you, every revelationof your own impotence and incapability be anointed with thatOil. Remember that every obstacle is a Divine exhortation.Every sting becomes weak if you have been taught to see Me ineverything that concerns you. Therefore, store up in your heartevery word that I have made known to you today. I am notgiving you something empty, this is your life.”

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V I S I O N W i n t e r , 2 0 0 4

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O who loves Nicholas the saintly,O who serves Nicholas the saintly, Him will Nicholas receive, And give help in time of need: Holy Father Nicholas!He who dwells in God’s holy mansions,Is our help on the land and oceans, He will guard us from all ills, Keep us pure and free from sins Holy Father Nicholas!*Holy Saint, hearken to our prayer,Let not life drive us to despair, All our efforts shall not wane, Singing praises to your name: Holy Father Nicholas!

Traditional Hymn toSt. Nicholas

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winter 2004 orthodox vision newsletter, diocese of the west

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