July 20, 2009
Orthodoxy and the Culture Club
I apologize in advance, knowing full well that I will probably make a few unorthodox statements and probably ruffle more than a few feathers — I’m sorry, really. But indulge me for a few minutes and allow me to be quite frank. There’s a long overdue vent that requires being thrown out into some ones and zeros and let people ruminate on.
It seems you can take the Orthodoxy out of the culture, but not the culture out of the Orthodoxy.
When I say Orthodoxy, I mean its existence in the West; and by culture, I mean what the various facets of Orthodoxy brought from the motherlands. If you attend a Russian Orthodox Church, it’s likely going to be very Russian in its flavor. If Greek, then Greek. If Antiochian, very Middle Eastern and likely to hear Arabic being chanted hear and there. It seems inescapable and inseparable.
As an American-born convert to Orthodoxy (in the Antiochian archdiocese), I’m pretty ordinary as it comes — I love hamburgers and beer, I pretty much only speak English, can’t speak a lick of Arabic, and have a pretty ordinary scandahoovian upbringing. As far as my tastes and my interests go, although eclectic, I’m a minimalist when it comes to consuming music in other languages and such. I appreciate world music, but can’t say that I’m going to give up my American rock.
When my wife and I converted, the closest Orthodox congregation to us was just four blocks away, an Antiochian church that was planted here some 90 years ago by a group of Syrian immigrants. While most of the services are in English, Arabic is sung here and there and always used in the Matins before Liturgy starts. Once in a while I’m able to tolerate the Arabic, but most days it bothers me — I can’t understand what they’re singing or saying, I get concerned about any non-Orthodox, non-Arabic visitors we may have with us, and I just find it irritating that this congregation has been here for 90-some years and they’re STILL using Arabic in the services.
I think when I first started attending our congregation, my zeal for wanting to find Christ in Orthodoxy suppressed my angst with the use of Arabic in the services, but I’m afraid that those feelings aren’t going to go away anytime soon. So why not examine them, poke at them and give them a little light.
My godfather (who himself is of Egyptian descent) had told me once that the use of Arabic (or any “Motherland” tongue for that matter) was completely nonsensical and not consistent with the mission of the Orthodox church. When the Word was brought forth to Russia, they translated the Liturgy and their texts into Russian — and out of that region was born the Russian Orthodox Church. The same goes for other branches of Orthodoxy that we’re born out of the evangelism by the Apostles. They adopted that region’s language into the Divine Liturgy and all supporting texts and prayers.
One would have thought that when Orthodoxy was brought to America, that the Liturgy and the texts used within the Divine Liturgy, Matins and other orders would have been adopted in English — that instead of being a huddling zone for folks with a given ethnicity, it would have become a missionary-minded congregation. But as with anything where humans are involved, change is difficult, right?
I am really struggling with the culture club within Orthodoxy — and its especially ever present in churches of middle eastern descent (at least it is at my church). Why am I struggling with it? Several reasons:
- I want to feel like this is home, a place where I have something to contribute and feel I’ve some ’stock’ in
- Perhaps more practical, I’d like to understand everything that’s being sung and said
- If I have friends or family that I want to bring to Divine Liturgy, I don’t want them to freak out when they hear Arabic, Greek, Russian, whatever
- We’re in America — the “mother tongue” here is English. Can’t we just use that?
- I don’t want to learn Arabic. Really, I don’t.
I’ll be honest, for every ounce of me that feels legitimately about this, there is an equal measure of selfishness to go with it. I am concerned about what visitors see and have to experience, but at the same time I just get really tired of hearing the Arabic. Really. So I’m at least willing to acknowledge my own selfish motive — I want to understand what’s going on, that’s all.
You may ask, “why not find an OCA church nearby?” Sure, why not? But that is hardly the answer to a much wider problem. While the Orthodox churches (of each given branch: Russian, Greek, Serbian, etc.) may be in unity and communion with one another, it honestly looks more like protestant denominations from the outside. Until the various factions of Orthodoxy in America unite together under one banner — The Orthodox Church in America — how can we say that we are one? How will we truly reach our neighborhoods that may not speak the mother tongue? How can people commune with God and one another when they cannot understand some of the words being used in the Liturgy? And while it may be fine and dandy to celebrate our cultural roots, would it not be isolating for the new converts who don’t share in that cultural heritage?
I ask these questions because I feel it’s necessary to. Though I feel in good standing at my church — I confess my sins regularly, try to give into and participate in the process of Theosis, and try to give more of my time, money, and talents to the Church — I feel like an outsider when my church starts getting nostalgic and celebrates its ethnic roots. I have nothing to contribute to an ethnicity that I don’t share, nor wish to dive into.
So what am I going to do about it? I’m going to learn the tones and help my godfather with the chanting up front — one more white guy to help with the English contingency. I also speak up when I can and where appropriate, “what about those who don’t speak ____” and being their advocate. But beyond that and prayer, I’m not sure what else I can do.
All I know is that culture issues is likely holding some back from attending (or returning) to the Orthodox Churches near them, and I would love to see that change. I would love to see it in my lifetime — all the Orthodox churches in America united under the OCA and adopt English as their language used. And if you must, have a service once a month (or more) that is spoken/sung in the mother tongue. My church did just that — but, um, they still use Arabic in the regular “English” Divine Liturgy. Go figure.
Written and posted by Michael on July 20, 2009, 3:02 pm.
Filed under: Culture, Orthodoxy
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Jamison said,
July 20, 2009 @ 5:49 pm
Yep, and as I know you’ve heard me say time and time again, it’s the cultural aspect (and to some degree the disunity that comes with it) that made me feel that Orthodoxy wasn’t a valid choice for me to consider. I understand that when many churches came to America they had cultural underpinnings (heck the Salvation Army church I grew up in had a big Sweedish contingent), but most of them have now let those vestiges fade into history. They’re just not relevant anymore.
Unfortunately, the OCA isn’t all pie in the sky either. Unless you’re looking at mission congregations such as St. Elizabeth in Eagan or Christ the Savior in Anoka, most old OCA churches are still culturally connected (usually Russian).
All of Orthodoxy in America needs to recognize this problem and address it. I do believe that it’s one of the stumbling blocks to more people being willing to accept looking at the Orthodox faith.
Erik said,
August 20, 2009 @ 12:52 am
We all have cultural underpinnings, and that in itself isn’t a bad thing. Nor do I think it’s entirely inappropriate for Antiochian parishes to have some Arabic, because for a sizable portion of their members, hat’s still a potent connection to their church (especially if you consider our ties to the Patriarchate, and that many of the larger portions of arabic, at least in my experience, are sung by legitimate arabs for whom arabic is their first language, and many of whom hypothetically plan to return to the patriarchate.) That said, a family from our parish invited a Syrian seminarian and myself over to their house for Pascha (my family’s not orthodox and his is in Syria) A conversation began about how one individual would really like to hear more arabic in the service because it’s part of our history etc. etc. and was very matter of factly argued against by the seminarian, who was, rightly adamant, that the people should be able to understand their liturgy.
To the extent that it hinders teaching and understanding, it’s a problem, but it can also be a beautiful reminder that Orthodoxy is not local or parochial, but universal. I like mix-n-match cultural underpinnings because it makes you more aware of them.