[wbondarmunw]

Dear Michael Bauman,

I do and don't agree with you. Bishop Basil is also my Bishop down here in Houston. I love him as a grandfather. I agree is homilies are to the core of our being. I envy you being able to be in the cathedral. I too have allegiance to him over another bishop, yet I also know the heirachy of things and he as we still "report" to Metropolitan Phillip.

I have never met "The Met" and surprisingly hear more negative things about our archpastor than positive. As a whole, this is not right. Policy from "on high" is made by people more informed than we. We rely on him and the bishops to rightly divide the word of Truth. So let them. If their dividing is wrong, it will come to light soon enough.

What is obedience if not doing what we are told? It is not blind obedience we are told to endure, but until WE the laity have the full picture, yes, we need to do as they are telling us. We commemorated both the Met. and Bishop previously. Now we only commemorate the Met. unless the Bishop is present. To not do this is to put us in a similar situation as is happening on Athos with the EP.

I too regret we no longer commemorate Bishop Basil. It does not change his job description or our love for him. It is a title! He as the other Bishops are still governing their respective areas of responsibilities as before. Don't let titles get under your skin. Love him and pray for our heirarchy even to Antioch itself.

Paul

Paul, unfortunately, what the Antiochian Synod has done does change the job description--radically in fact. That's the point or part of it. It changes the ecclesiology by fiat. The movement toward a mature functioning American heirachy has been stopped in its tracks apparently without rational or cannonical reason, but who really knows? I don't even know what I am supposed to obey. If it is just an 'adminstrative change' there is no obedience involved.

Historically to stop commemorating a bishop was an act of excommunication. For some reason, although we commemorate everybody else here and around the world and those who lie asleep in the Lord, we can't commemorate our own bishop? Shoot, I quite often commemorate those I love during the course of the Divine Liturgy. To this point it has always been a silent commeration in line with the particular prayer at the time. No reason at all why I can't give voice to what I am thinking, making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

The Church is not a monastary, I am not a monk. Even in a monastary however, the obedience is only given to one's spiritual father and one's bishop (always a dicey situation between monks and bishops though if the obedience was thought to interfer with the monastic vocation). Obey comes from the word to hear with the connotation that one acts on what one hears. Real obedience cannot be coerced or commanded, it is given and the one to whom it is given has the humility to receive the gift. Once the gift is given, the giver can be reminded of the gift but that is all. They type of obedience I see being demanded is not real obedience at all, just an excuse.

At my baptism I offered my obedience to Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church. Met. Phillip was never mentioned. That is the obedience I am striving to maintain and be faithful to.

I spoke briefly with +Basil after Pre-Sanctified tonight. His direction to me was maintain your peace. Quite similar to your suggestion. My way of working toward that peace and mainting it may look a lot like ranting to some. Writing and listening to responses like yours is one of the ways I figure things out.

What is going on is part of our Lenten battle--Satan is striking at the episcopate (all Orthodox bishops) and trough them at us.

Thank you for your caring.