New York Chapter Plain ASCII Online Edition N E W S L E T T E R Vol. 13, No. 1 AXIOS USA Inc. January 1997 Eastern & Orthodox Christian Gay Men and Women +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In this issue: Cover: Icon of St. Photeini (Martyred February 26) General Information and Note from Publisher.....................p. 2 The Doors! The Doors! by John A. Bonnage, Ph.D................p. 3 1996 Roundup....................................................p. 5 Chapter News....................................................p. 5 Next Axios Meeting: Friday, February 14, 1997 8 p.m. at the Center, 208 W. 13th St., New York [begin page 2] A X I O S ------------------------ \ _|_ / \ __|__ / \ | / \ \| / \ |\ / \/ Eastern & Orthodox Christian Gay Men & Women The Axios Newsletter is published every two months by Axios USA, Inc., a nonprofit organization of Eastern and Orthodox Christian Lesbians and Gays founded 1980 in Los Angeles, CA. The New York and other chapters are founded on the same principles as the original chapter. This year our New York chapter newsletter enters its 13th year of publication. Submissions are most welcome and encouraged; for example, articles on theology, Orthodox spirituality, lives of saints, homosexuality and the Church, as well as news of relevance to the Eastern and Orthodox gay and lesbian community. Please send also your letters, comments and suggestions, so that we may better serve our membership. Material should be clearly typed or in electronic format; we can read most of the file formats in use today. Please call ahead before sending via fax or modem. Axios meets in New York on the second Friday of each month (the next meeting will be February 14, 1997) at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center, 208 West 13th Street (near Seventh Avenue), in Manhattan, at 8 p.m. Meetings begin with a Vespers service, followed by the particular program or topic for that month's meeting. Special events are also scheduled from time to time. Dues for Axios are still $18 per year, which includes a subscription to this newsletter, and voting privileges in our elections. Dues already received in 1996 can be applied to 1997 membership, owing to the hiatus in publication. However, we are short on funds, and all contributions are much appreciated. Please make checks payable to: Axios. To those who have been wondering about the newsletter recently, my apologies. Axios is alive and well, though this newsletter has not been coming out regularly as before. This has been due to a number of factors this past year, but for 1997 I intend to resume regular (bimonthly) publication of this newsletter, online and on paper. Please send in your articles and feedback, so that God willing, we can make 1997 our best year yet! Nicholas Zymaris President and Publisher Mailing address: Telephones: Axios (718) 805-1952 (voice/fax/modem) P.O. Box 990, Village Station (212) 989-6211 (voice) New York, NY 10014-0704 (718) 463-2901 (voice) E-mail: AxiosUSA@aol.com URLs: http://tribeca.ios.com/~nickz/axios.html http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/orgs/axios http://www.qrd.org/qrd/religion/judeochristian/eastern-orthodox [begin page 3] The Doors!! The Doors!! By John A. Bonnage, Ph.D. I was recently reading the October 1995 issue of _The Christian Activist: A Journal of Orthodox Opinion_, published out of Mt. Hermon, California. A letter to the editor, signed by Paul Littlecoyote, described his five year process of coming to Orthodoxy and the problems that he has encountered in the process. He speaks of reading articles in the journal about the "Ethnic Social Club problem in the Church today" as well as his personal encounters with this phenomenon. He goes on to say: "My first contact with Orthodoxy came about 11 years ago while I was `Church hopping' trying to find a church that was real. I tried the Greek Church and was overtaken by the Liturgy, Icons, Incense, etc. I decided to pull out a hymnal and a service book and settle in -- Not so fast! It wasn't that easy. Although the priest did not object to my coming regularly, I soon discovered the Hard, Icy Greek Limestone Wall, and was in for a collision with it -- headfirst! CRASH! BANG! THUMP! No matter what I did, I could not get these people to warm up to me." I certainly feel sympathy for Mr. Littlecoyote and his efforts to integrate himself into a community, but at the same time, the more I thought about it, I realized that his difficulties stem from differing ideas of what "church" means. As the various Eastern Christians came to the United States to seek their fortunes and explore new opportunities, they tended to settle in clusters of families and, as was only natural, they established communities, with athletic, benevolent and educational organizations as well as commercial ventures to hold onto their language, customs and religious practices. The key point is this: the community was established first, the Church (parish) came later in this process, if the people were fortunate enough to get a priest. In many cases, local communities eventually had to send to the "old country", whatever it was, and pay for the transportation and resettlement of a priest to serve the community's needs. Very often a community legally established itself as a "koinotes" ("community"), not an "ekklesia" ("church"); even today many local churches are legally known as the "X Orthodox Community of St. Y". (This situation subsequently led to a lot of squabbles and lawsuits when the ecclesiastical authorities attempted to impose order on this patchwork quilt of communities -- but that is another story!) Mr. Littlecoyote and his travails point out some clear differences between the traditional Eastern approaches to being a member of a "church" and the contemporary American (Western) idea. Americans, in general, tend to view acquiring church membership as they would acquiring membership in a gym: you shop around, find one that suits your needs and you pay your dues. Presto! You re a member. Traditional Eastern approaches require that you become a member of the community, and as you are integrated, you become thereby a member of the Church. Incidentally, this is why for the Sacraments of Initiation, we require sponsors, people who will vouch for you as a potential good member. As a madcap Serb friend of mine clearly and succinctly puts it: "You become Orthodox through baptism, through marriage or through the side door." In other words, you don't just march up the front steps and declare yourself a member on your own "say-so". Instead, you come to a community to find loving people (we hope!) who live their Christian lives according to the models developed by the theologians and spiritual guides of the East. And you integrate yourself into this group. There is great wisdom in this "koinotes" approach to membership, whether in the Church, Axios or any other organization. A potential member incurs the obligation of demonstrating to the members his/her desire to participate in the life and activities of the community. So it should be with Church membership or membership in Axios. Mr. Littlecoyote's statement is very telling: "I was overtaken by the Liturgy, Icons, Incense, etc." and it appears that this happens not infrequently. These folks, seeking a "church experience", get a psycho-theological turn-on from the physical manifestations of Divine Liturgy; they think they're in love and they want to move in right away. What they miss is a fundamental truth: the liturgy results from the community's desire, as a group, to both worship God and profess its faith in Christ and His teachings. The ceremonial structure manifests the community's current needs as well as its historical experiences. Thus, when the Deacon intones: "The Doors!! The Doors!! All catechumens depart!!" it signals the beginning of a closed-group meeting of the faithful: it is not public theater. Unfortunately for us, there appear to be two different types of people who, blissfully unaware of this fact, find their way to our communities. The first group consists of the "ritualists", the individuals who see the liturgical celebrations and customs as fulfilling a deep- seated need to participate in ritual, a need inherent in all human beings. They are usually compulsive people who become obsessed with the "smells and bells" aspects of ritual worship. They scour the typicon and liturgical books, becoming the "experts" on details, all of which must be reintroduced immediately in order to "preserve historical orthodoxy". A Russian-American friend, whose family has deep and passionate roots in their ancestral land, narrated to me how he was once regaled by a bar acquaintance, a newly-Chrismated member of [begin page 4] their church community, about parish practices that were not historical and which needed to be changed immediately in order to make the church "truly Orthodox". My friend said that it took all his patience and self control "not to smack the ditsy bitch down the stone staircase" leading to the church. This group demands conformity to the ritual, of which they are masters, regardless of the day-to-day needs of the community. The second group encompasses pilgrims from the lunatic fringe who are in a constant, never-ending search for anything that can supply them with a reason to stand out in the crowd. Having discovered the legitimate practices of Eastern Christianity, they are constantly signing themselves with wide sweeping motions and throwing themselves on the floor before the Golgotha, or they accept dinner invitations from friends during Great Lent and then, after arriving, refuse to eat anything but plain bread and water, "because Our Holy Church requires....". For them, orthodoxy is a license to be a first class pain in the ass, but it s OK as long as it gets you noticed. (Try that with my Hellenic grandmother, may she rest in peace, and you'd have gotten a cast iron frying-pan upside the head!!) There is a constant danger for all our communities that externals will distract us from our true purpose: to love and serve one another. We, of the Eastern Churches, must be constantly prayerful and vigilant that the Gospel of Christ is the guiding principle behind all of our actions, and that the unique practices of our communities make us more like the Master, and do not become the tools of the psychologically impaired. This is especially true within Axios as a community. In light of the general irreligious, if not anti-religious perspectives, within the general gay and lesbian community, Axios nationally must continue to evolve as a vehicle for religious and Christian witness and service to the community, and not allow itself to be seen as a haven of eccentricities. May Christ our True God protect us and save us, for He is gracious and the lover of the human race. 1996 Roundup Alkiviadis C. Calivas appointed president of HC/HC Alkiviadis C. Calivas was made president of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline Massachusetts in February 1996. Father Calivas was first appointed to the faculty of Hellenic College/Holy Cross as an assistant professor in 1978. Subsequently, he served in a number of capacities including director of student affairs, chaplain, president of the Boston Theological Institute, and dean of the college. Born in Albania [Northern Epiros] in 1932, he grew up in New York and completed his studies at Holy Cross in 1956. He served for twenty-two years as a parish priest. He has written numerous articles and essays, and is also the author of three books. Archbishop Iakovos Retires Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese stepped down last August, replaced by Archbishop Spyridon. The archdiocese is also no longer that of North and South America, as the latter has been given its own archbishop. Chapter News Axios Chicago The Chicago chapter of Axios continues to have at least one event monthly. This year's events included a new condo- blessing service and celebration at the home of a member, a dinner-program featuring the Pink Angels, who patrol the Boy's Town neighborhood of Chicago, and the annual Axios Christmas Party Extravaganza, which this year featured an ethnic pot luck theme with dancing. For more information about Axios in Chicago, contact Michael at (312) 271-1027. Axios in the Windy City wishes all its fellow members a Happy New Year! Chronia Polla! Many Years! Axios Chicago may also be contacted via e-mail at AxiosChi@aol.com. Axios New York The 13th Annual Anniversary Christmas Party was held on January 10, 1997 at the Lesbian and Gay Community Center in New York, and a good time was had by all. New and old members from New York were joined by our guest from Las Vegas, Anthony, who is active in the local Dignity chapter there and has been trying to start a chapter of Axios also. For more information on the progress of this chapter, which has had meetings before but stopped, please refer to the following article. Axios Las Vegas Axios Las Vegas now meets on the fourth Sunday of each month from 2:00pm-5:00pm at Golden Desert Gallery; 700 Naples Drive Suite 103 (at the corner of Naples & Swenson -- behind the Thomas & Mack). For further information, please call Anthony Bernardy at (702) 895-9737 or page him at (702) 698-7588; or e-mail GameNurse@aol.com. New address: Axios Las Vegas, 700 Naples Street, Suite 103, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. [begin page 5] St. Anthony the Great and St. Paul of Thebes Commemorated by the Church on January 17 and January 15 [picture of Ss. Anthony and Paul] A philosopher once visited Saint Anthony in the desert, where he had already spent several years as a hermit monk. The philosopher looked at Anthony's solitary surroundings and primitive dwelling, and a question occurred to his philosophical mind: "How can you stand to be so alone and isolated without the company of books to read?" The saint replied, "My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and it is there when I wish to read the words of God." And he pointed to the vast mountain wilderness surrounding him. To most people, the philosopher's question seems natural enough; few of us could or would want to be alone for a long time without something to keep us busy. But Anthony, even from his childhood, was an unusual sort of person. Born in the year 251 to a well-to-do family in Middle Egypt, he always enjoyed being alone. He spent little time with children his own age and, in fact, refused to go to school. But it was not any particular "pastime" that filled his hours. Anthony was already preparing to understand "the nature of created things," studying and thinking about God's word, and about the relationship that a human being could have with Him. This was the real desire of Anthony's heart. As far as material wants go, he had few. Those who knew him remembered him as always being satisfied with whatever he had, never wanting anything more or different. When Anthony was about twenty, his parents died, leaving him and his younger sister. A few months later during Liturgy he heard the Gospel reading: "if you would be perfect, sell all you have and give it to the poor." These words affected him so deeply and so personally that he felt as if they had physically struck him. Anthony reflected on these words and realized that he was in a uniquely good position to act on what he had heard. His parents were dead; he had only his sister to care for. So Anthony sold every bit of property that his family owned, giving the money to the poor. He arranged for his sister to enter an order of nuns so that she would always be cared and provided for. Then he took his few clothes and provisions and moved into a tiny hut at the edge of his parents' former estate. There he began his life of solitary contemplation, poverty, and prayer. Saint Athanasius, who wrote a biography of Anthony, gives us a picture of his solitary life during this time. He kept to himself for the most part, except when going out to study with and take instruction from older "devotees." He kept the full cycle of worship services, and eventually knew much of the Scripture by heart, having recited it so many times during worship. But for all its solitude, his life still had room for others. As he chanted his prayers unceasingly, he kept his hands occupied with the weaving of mats, baskets, ropes and sandals. Of these he kept what he needed, and shared the rest with needy neighbors. Always he was concerned for them, keeping in touch with them and of course remembering them in his prayers before the Lord. There is another way in which Anthony was not alone: a much more menacing one. From all the things that have been written about saints' lives, we know they experienced one truth: the closer a person tries to come to God and the life He wants for us, the harder the devil tries to attack [picture of St. Anthony and the demon] and defeat that person. If one mode of attack doesn't work, the devil will try another. During the long, arduous days of his new life alone, Anthony had learned to discipline his mind and thoughts, so that demonic temptations no longer had a place to enter. He had left the small hut in which he had been staying, and was living in a tiny cave which had been used as a tomb. Here, a friend found him one day, unconscious and very nearly dead, his body battered and weak. The demons, unable to attack him from the inner workings of his mind, had assaulted him from the outside. Anthony's friend carried him to a nearby church to recover, but as soon as he could speak again Anthony insisted on returning to the tomb to confront the powers of darkness again. This was the way he had chosen, the painful way of constantly saying "no" to evil, and he would see it through. In the terrible struggle that followed in the tomb, Anthony's body and senses were tested [begin page 6] almost beyond endurance. But suddenly, in the midst of it all, a beam of warm light began to shine down on him. Just as suddenly, the demons were gone and the pain in his body ceased. Anthony knew that divine help had come, and he breathed more freely. Looking at the vision of light, he asked, "Where were you? Why didn't you come at the beginning to relieve me of this awful pain?" And a voice answered, "Anthony, I was right beside you, but I waited to see you in action. And because you remained strong and did not give in to temptation, I will be with you always as your helper, and I will make your efforts known everywhere." Hearing these wonderful words, Anthony arose and thanked God. He was thirty-five years old, and a new phase of his life was about to begin. Even more than before, Anthony felt the need to be isolated. No longer could he stay in a place where he saw people so often, where there were distractions and diversions. For he felt that God was calling him to an even greater ascetical effort, which he must undertake alone. It was a call to come even closer to God. But that had to be done in a place of silence and vastness -- like the desert. So Anthony traveled into the desert, arriving finally at Pispir. He found the ruins of an old castle in the mountains, well-protected and with a spring of bubbling water running nearby. He arranged to have bread brought to him twice a year, and with his physical needs satisfied he began his truly solitary and pioneering life in the desert. It was, just as he knew it would be, a great test. Mind, heart, soul and spirit were pounded furiously by temptations. But Anthony was not to be torn from God's side; he had gone into the desert in order to meet the Lord, and with His help that meeting was made. Anthony was to stay in his desert abode for twenty years. In the year 305, after word of his efforts had spread throughout Egypt, a great crowd of his friends and those who simply wanted to see this extraordinary man, gathered near his dwelling. The crowding and crush became so great that they literally broke down his door, forcing Anthony to come out to them. They were amazed at what they saw. He came "as from some inmost shrine, one who had been initiated into the mysteries and God-borne." His body was neither slack and unfit from lack of exercise nor wasted and dried up from his fasting and constant warfare with demons. He looked, St. Athanasius' biography tells us, like one who both physically and spiritually was "all balanced, as one governed by reason and standing in his natural condition." The word "natural" to Athanasius meant a condition of perfection, like that of mankind before the Fall. And since he himself saw Anthony during his lifetime, his description of the man has the ring of truth and authority. It was a powerful, holy man who met his friends at the door of that old ruined castle in the desert. As we have mentioned, people were well aware of Anthony's life in the desert even while he lived so remotely from all civilization. Some men wishing to live the solitary life had followed him into the desert. Others were feeling compelled to escape the persecution of Christians which was increasing as the Emperor Diocletian became more hateful towards the worshippers of Jesus Christ. And there were many who now came to see Anthony for their own reasons: to be healed, to receive counsel or help, to have quarrels settled. Many people were so impressed by Anthony's actions that they decided to choose the solitary life for themselves. Soon there arose monasteries even in the mountains, and "the desert was made a city", populated by monks who came out and enrolled themselves as citizens in the heavenly Kingdom. While still maintaining the solitary discipline of his own life, Anthony took responsibility for these new desert dwellers. They did not worship together, nor have strict rules or vows, but Anthony set forth a famous "Discourse" in which he exhorted them to live Christian lives and to practice solitary prayer. He was willing to visit with people who needed him, even while carrying on his own efforts of asceticism. The persecution, during these years, did not abate. By 311 it was so bad that Christians were being rounded up and taken to Alexandria for trial. Anthony left his mountain retreat and went to the city, where he encouraged the prisoners and bolstered their spirits, urging them not to be afraid nor to be tempted to give up the faith. He exposed himself to arrest and imprisonment, but the authorities did not touch him. Anthony's moral support of the confessors in court was so effective that it led the judge to order that monks were never to appear in a courtroom again -- surely the first time that monastics were officially mentioned in public life. Anthony's powerful spirituality touched even those who wanted nothing to do with God and Jesus Christ. With the martyrdom of Pope Peter, the persecution finally wound down to its end, and Anthony returned to his mountain. But it became more and more difficult for him to maintain the solitude of his life. Now that the Church was free of suspicion and had become more respectable, officials of the government had no qualms about seeking the advice of this wise man of the desert. Soon there seemed to be groups of people seeking Anthony's presence and help at every hour of the day and night. So, in the year 313, Anthony sought refuge from his celebrity. While he waited by the Nile for a ship to take him somewhere, anyplace that he was unknown, the Spirit moved him instead to go with an Arab caravan that came along. They traveled three days into the desert wilderness, to the foot of a mountain near the Red Sea. Here Anthony was to settle, in what became known as the Interior Mountain. The Arabs he had come with brought him bread from time to time. His friends and followers soon discovered his whereabouts and visited. But he did not want to depend on any of these people for his sustenance. So he sowed a small patch of grain in the field, and persuaded the animals not to ravage it or to disturb his isolation. His ability to communicate in this way with animals is another indication that Anthony was reaching the "natural" perfection that Athanasius had described. [begin page 7] Once again, Anthony was not to be completely isolated in these last decades of his life. He kept in touch with the monks at Pispir, the place where he had lived before coming to the Interior Mountain. Then, too, there were those who insisted on making pilgrimages to see him even in this new and extremely remote place. The journey to the Interior Mountain was so fraught with peril because of the wildness and desolation of the area that Anthony worried about these pilgrims. Their risk in coming to see him was terribly great, particularly if they were inexperienced travelers. To spare everyone this danger, Anthony agreed to interrupt his life alone and visit Pispir from time to time. Here he would meet a constant stream of visitors -- monks, clergy, and men of the secular world -- seeking his advice or healing powers. In the year 338, Anthony visited Alexandria once more as he had done during the persecutions. This time he joined thousands of other Christians in welcoming back the Bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, who had been exiled during the terrible turmoil of the Arian controversy. Athanasius had suffered for his insistence on preaching Orthodox doctrine in opposition to the popular heresy of Arius, and Anthony was eager to show support for him. During this same three-day visit to Alexandria, Anthony met with Didymus the Blind and with the monk Amoun, who had founded a monastery in the desert of Nitria. Amoun's settlement had grown so much that he wondered what to do about those who sought more solitude. He asked Anthony's advice, and Anthony suggested, after the customary mid-afternoon meal, that they go out into the desert. They walked until sunset, when Anthony said, "Let us make a prayer and plant a cross here, that those who want to build may build here . . . and that those who go from here may do the same, and remain undistracted in their visits to each other." The distance, we are told, was about twelve miles: not a bad walk for an old man of eighty-seven, between three o'clock in the afternoon and sunset. Even at this advanced age, and for the eighteen remaining years of his life, Anthony's love and concern for other monks would continue. In the year 341, Anthony had a sort of vision: something urged him to go even further into the desert, in order to meet another monk, a very holy and simple man. So it was that Anthony set off at the age of about ninety to find Paul of Thebes. Paul had been a teenager in 251 (the year of Anthony's birth) and had fled from the persecutions of Christians under the Emperor Decius. He went to a farm in the country, intending to return home as soon as things quieted down. But he feared betrayal by a pagan neighbor, so he went into the mountains and "disappeared" in order to escape any chance of detection. Being an orphan with only one sister, and she married to a pagan, he felt he had no reason to go back to his former life. He wandered deeper and deeper into the rocky land, and eventually came on a huge cave. Inside he found a courtyard with a huge palm tree and a spring of running water. Nearby were chisels, anvils, and hammers used for the minting of money -- Egyptian records show that this place had been a mint where false money was coined, during the time of Antony and Cleopatra. But now it was Paul's, and he lived there in absolute solitude for over a hundred years, making his clothes from the palm tree's leaves and eating its fruit. Paul was probably the first desert dweller in the history of the Christian Church, and is a great ascetical saint. But we probably wouldn't know of his existence today had not Anthony gone to see him. The long, arduous journey through the scorching sands finally brought Anthony to Paul's door -- and it was immediately slammed in his face! But Anthony called out, "You know who I am, and from where, and why I have come. I am not worthy to see you; yet unless I see you I cannot leave. You have received God's other creatures, why do you turn away men? I have sought, and I have found; I knock, that it may be opened to me. If I do not prevail, I shall die here before your door, and you will bury my corpse." At these words, Paul opened the door and rushed to embrace Anthony. The two talked for many hours. As they spoke, a crow flew by and dropped a loaf of bread between them. Paul said with a smile, "Every day for sixty years the Lord has sent me half a loaf of bread. But now that our ranks are doubled, our Lord doubles the rations." Anthony wanted Paul to have the honor of breaking the loaf since he was older. Paul insisted just as strongly that Anthony should do it because he was a guest. Finally they each grabbed one end of the loaf and pulled, and each one enjoyed the portion he had pulled off. Paul knew that his time of death was approaching. He told Anthony, "The time has come for sleeping, and the race is run. There remains for me a crown of righteousness; you have been sent by God to shelter this poor body in the ground, returning earth to earth." Anthony cried bitterly at these words, and to spare his friend the agony of watching him die, Paul sent him on a long errand. Paul requested a cloak, once given to Anthony by Athanasius, to be used to wrap his body in when he died. Anthony was amazed that Paul knew about the cloak, and hurried back to his monastery to get it. He cared nothing about the difficulty of the journey or the strain on his aged body; he wanted only to bring the cloak and return to the presence of the wonderful monk while there was still time. But he was not to see Paul in the flesh again. As he was rushing back to Paul's cell with the cloak in his hand, he saw in the sky a host of angels and companies of prophets and apostles. There among them was Paul, climbing the steep hills of heaven and shining white as snow. Anthony could only bury his face in Athanasius' cloak and sob, "Paul, we met so late in life. Did you have to go so soon?" Anthony continued on his way to Paul's cell, and there he saw his friend's lifeless body in a position of prayer -- knees bent, head erect, and hands reaching out to heaven. He wrapped the body in Athanasius' cloak and carried it outside, singing and chanting the burial hymns with their wonderful message of eternal life. Anthony wondered how he would dig a grave, for he had no spade or tools [begin page 8] of any kind. In the midst of his thoughts he was startled to see two lions approaching. He felt great dread for some moments, but soon saw that they meant no harm. They ran straight to Paul's body and crouched by it, roaring and switching their tails back and forth in a kind of wordless mourning. They then began to dig in the ground with their powerful paws, and it was not long before they had dug a deep grave. When they finished, they came to Anthony and licked his hands and feet as if asking a blessing. Anthony gave it to them, and sent them on their way. Then he bore Paul's body to the grave on his shoulders, and buried it. As a remembrance of his friend, Anthony took the tunic which Paul had woven out of palm leaves. He went back to the monastery then, to tell the monks the amazing story. And for the rest of his life, on the feasts of Easter and Pentecost, he wore the tunic of the holy Paul. Anthony himself was to die fifteen years later. He left as a legacy to the Church the powerful example of his holy life. In addition, of course, he laid the foundation for monasticism as a way of life for Christians. Much has been made of the extreme and sometimes bizarre encounters with demons that Anthony had in his desert solitude. Artists of earlier centuries often depicted "the temptations of Saint Anthony" with grotesque shapes and creatures. But in writing to a group of monks, Anthony did not mention the fantastic guises the demons took to frighten him. He did not speak about dramatic confrontations with the powers of darkness. His long ascetic stuggles had taught him where the demons most often attack us -- in the normal, everyday thoughts and feelings we have about each other. But Anthony could also recognize heavenly spirits as familiar beings. An onlooker described his death in this way: "He looked as if he was overjoyed and cheerful at the sight of friends who had come for him; in this manner he passed away and joined the company of the fathers." It is not surprising to learn that Anthony met death "overjoyed" and "cheerful." This moment was the culmination of a whole lifetime of effort. Anthony had begun by seeking God and struggling through all distractions to reach Him. He fought to achieve the wonderful privilege of walking by His side and hearing His voice. And now -- what could be more fitting -- he was being gathered to the fathers, taken into the company of those who dwell in God's glorious presence eternally, praising Him with the angels. St. Anthony the Great -- father of all the "desert fathers" -- is honored in the Church on January 17 as the founder of monasticism. His life is an example to all who wish to live the ascetical life. Very on-Orthodox By Chris Miller Phoenix -- For the past 23 years, Walter Jackson Isaacks has centered his life in his faith. He devoted his adult years, even living in monasteries, to the Orthodox Catholic Church. But when he finally came out of the closet at age 43, he was told he was no longer welcome in Christ's home. For years, he felt the church hierarchy was leading him on about his future as a priest. "A number of bishops made promises, but none were fulfilled," Isaacks said. He described his final disappointment as, "one of many times I asked for bread, and I was given a stone...There is a lot of sorrow, and shock, when you wake up and you are what your church has always hated." But it doesn't always have to be that way, Isaacks says optimistically. In a church where many are outcast, others have found a place that is affirming. Thus, on September 14, Walter Jackson Isaacks was ordained as Father Basil, one of only four priests in the Western Orthodox Catholic Church in the U.S. His partner and soul-mate, Richard, was ordained a Deacon. Together, under the guidance of Bishop Michael Weber (the second Bishop of the Church) they are forming a new congregation in the Valley, Fountain of Life Western Orthodox Catholic Mission. The church, which is open to everyone, began its first service at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center September 21. This western church, which was originated by a Brazilian bishop, began on the premise that Vatican II had gone too far in some respects, and not far enough in others. In other words, the bishop, as does Fr. Basil and others, believed the "State Church" was sticking with the classic dogma of teaching, without being relevant to the daily lives and problems of its practitioners. "The classic example is dealing with gays," Fr. Basil said, "which they believe should just go away. Actually, Christ...said nothing condemnatory of homosexuality or homosexuals. There were a few hints of things he said that could be gay affirming -- such as Jesus' encounter with the Centurion's servant." Fr. Basil points to another biblical story, the tale of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus. The two gay lovers, who operated the most successful and powerful military academy in the Roman Empire, Basil said, were actually married by the church. Ironically, their deaths are commemorated together each October 7 by the very church which today turns a blind eye to gay relationships. "We preach the Gospel of Christ, not cultural assumptions," said Fr. Basil. "Many who come out as gay either just give up on the church, or they end up throwing out the baby with the bath water. We see our ministry as offering the entire faith...and making it available not just for gays, but for everybody." For more information about the Fountain of Life Western Orthodox Catholic Mission, call (602) 241-9776. (Source: _Echo Magazine_, Issue #184, October 3, 1996, Volume 8, Number 2. Copyright 1996 Ace Publishing, Inc.) Editor's note: The above article may also be viewed at Fr. Basil's website, which is http://www.concentric.net/~pasisozi. Bishop Anthony Stary of New York was one of the bishops who Fr. Basil had said promised him ordination but did not fulfill the promise. He would like to state that he did intend to ordain Fr. Basil, but that Fr. Basil decided to go elsewhere for ordination after his move to Phoenix. =========================================================== [end of newsletter]