‘Called to Serve’ Fills a Gap in Orthodox Literature
After familiarizing themselves with the journeys to ordained ministry of various clergyman in the Metropolis of Chicago, readers can come away knowing their shepherds better – and believing they can become one, too.
Synopsis
Priests (and bishops and deacons) are people, too, and “Called to Serve: Journeys to Ordained Ministry” reminds us of that.
Published by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago by way of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, the book seeks to help the faithful get to know their priests and “inspire vulnerability, trust, and a renewed sense of purpose.”
“Moreover, I pray that it kindles the flame of vocation in the hearts of young boys, teenagers, and men who feel a special connection to God, encouraging them to pursue ordained ministry,” His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael writes in the introduction.
While many of us have familiarized ourselves with the lives and teachings of many blessed elders and saints throughout Church history, and we are blessed in doing so, the fact remains that Orthodoxy is lived out in a parish. We build relationships with our local priest and get to know our brothers and sisters in Christ on a local level. “Called to Serve” broadens this reality for those who belong to the Metropolis of Chicago.
In just over 150 pages, the book shares the stories of 28 priests, seven deacons, and Met. Nathanael himself. Following a foreword by Patriarch Bartholomew and the aforementioned introduction, it is Met. Nathanael who starts off the book with his own story – one that recalls his father’s repose due to cancer and the beauty of the Church’s Sacraments with immense honesty.
Review
As His Eminence shares, his father was baptized as a child but never lived his faith. However, as his condition deteriorated, he surprised his family by calling for a priest. After receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion, he passed peacefully the next day.
A few years later, Met. Nathanael went to confession for the first time. He writes:
“Confessing my sins for the first time as a young adult not only gave me great inner peace and joy, but it also eased my heart, reassuring me that my father was in God’s hands. My struggle to understand the last actions of my father would be quieted. I realized then and there what a blessing it was for my father to end his life in such a blessed state.” (pg. 3)
This is just one of many gems in “Called to Serve.” I was particularly touched by the story of Fr. Dimitri Tobias, who writes about feeling like a fraud due to his inability to cry for his sins despite his desire to serve and his hours spent in prayer. Because of this, his spiritual father advised him to add the Supplicatory Canon to the Sweetest Lord Jesus into the Small Compline service. Fr. Dimitri writes:
“... When I read the Doxastikon of the Seventh Ode I trembled:
‘O Christ Jesus, ten thousand times have I, the hapless one, promised You repentance, O my Jesus, but, wretch that I am, I lied to You. Therefore, I cry to you, my Jesus: Enlighten my soul which yet remains unfeeling, O Christ, the God of our Fathers.’
This prayer spoke to the nature of my unfeeling heart and my unworthiness as His child. I broke down into hapless sobs. Finally, finally I could cry for my sins. Finally, I experienced those blessed cleansing tears, and I felt my very being transformed as a result.” (pg. 129)
Elsewhere, Fr. Achilles Karathanos writes about reverting to Orthodoxy while living just five blocks from St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church in Kansas City. Fr. Paisius and Matushka Michaela Altschul were leading a robust liturgical life at the parish while evangelizing and ministering to the poor and distraught. This is where he began to truly understand Orthodoxy.
“With the blessing of Fr. Paisius, who received me as a spiritual son, I saved up and embarked on a pilgrimage across the western states, visiting every Orthodox monastery I could find,” Fr. Achilles writes. “I spent a week at St. Anthony’s in Arizona, but my final destination was the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California. There I spent most of Great Lent, Holy Week, Pascha, and Bright Week, and I returned home to Kansas City spiritually renewed and burning as a bright candle in my love for God and for the mission of the Church.” (pg. 83)
Several years later, Fr. Paisus would give him a blessing to go and see Orthodox seminaries and apply to one if it felt right. Fr. Achilles eventually chose Holy Cross.
Today, Fr. Paisus is known as Fr. Alexii, abbot at the Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete in Weatherby, Missouri. Following the repose of Matushka Michaela, he was tonsured as a monastic. I would encourage everyone to visit the monastery if you are able – it is a beautiful spiritual refuge on 80 acres of land, 65 of which are forest, trails and ponds.
There are two main takeaways from this book. The first is that it familiarizes the flock of the Metropolis of Chicago in an intimate way with their shepherds, hearing stories about them that many have probably never heard before. The second is that it truly demonstrates that the priesthood is not closed off to those who feel unworthy, struggle in certain areas of life, and question whether or not their calling is legitimate.
Considering these were the two main takeaways Met. Nathanael was hoping readers would have, I would call the project a success. I would even encourage all metropolises/dioceses in the broader pan-Orthodox world in the U.S. to consider such a project as this for their own communities.
Conclusion
It is no secret that there is a priest shortage that, at some point, will seriously have to be dealt with in America.
At the ordination of a priest, the presiding bishop calls upon “the divine grace, which always heals that which is infirm and completes that which is lacking” in the solemn prayers that are read. What many fear is a roadblock to ordination is something that the Church acknowledges and specifically prays for. Those faithful Orthodox Christians who are discerning their call to the priesthood should feel secure in this assurance and understand what the grace of the priesthood means.
Finally, in every single one of the mini-biographies in this book, there is mention of at least one (and often multiple) priests who impacted and encouraged the future clergymen. This is not limited to those who are discerning their calling to the priesthood, but rather it is a beautiful reality for all of us. Whether you are hoping to attend seminary, start a ministry at your parish, or simply need advice on a particular issue in your life, we should all have the humility to seek counsel from the spiritual father who God has so graciously given us and to trust them.
Proverbs 11:14 states that those who have no guidance fall, but in counsel there is safety. St. Doretheos of Gaza says of this:
“The devil trips up as he likes the man who trusts his own mind and keeps to his own will. But he has no access to a man who does everything with counsel… When a man asks and hears the advice of someone experienced, ‘do this, but do not do that,’ or, ‘now is not the time for that,’ or sometimes, ‘now is the time,’ the devil cannot find how to harm or bring him down, since he always seeks counsel and protects himself on all sides.”
And another teaching of St. Doretheos:
“The enemy likes those who rely on their own understanding… Some say a man falls because of this or that, but I know of no other fall except for when a man follows his own heart. If you see a man fallen, know that he followed his own lead.”
Every individual in this book felt a calling and discerned it with a trusted priest. We should be no different, no matter what our calling is. Met. Nathanael quotes St. John Chrysostom’s “On the Priesthood” in his introduction, and this quote is sufficient to end with:
“The work of the priesthood is done on earth, but it ranks among heavenly ordinances. For neither angel nor archangel nor any other created power has such a dignity as the priest who acts in the place of Christ.”
“Called to Serve: Journeys to Ordained Ministry” is available for purchase on the Holy Cross Bookstore website.
