Detroit A Foothold for Christian Orthodox Resurgence

Serbianna.com January 25, 2007

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit is emerging as a national center for the rebirth of Orthodox Christian churches, which have deep ethnic roots in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Social scholars say the churches are growing in the United States through immigration and conversion. Next week, many of Detroit’s Orthodox leaders will host the first in a series of conferences planned nationwide for non-Orthodox clergy who want to explore conversion.

The Rev. John Fenton is betting his life on the growing popularity of Orthodox Christianity. He and his wife have packed up their six children from the rectory of a Detroit church where he was a Lutheran pastor until late October. They’ve moved into a small home in Allen Park, leaving behind Fenton’s clergy salary and, soon, his health insurance.

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1 thought on “Detroit A Foothold for Christian Orthodox Resurgence”

  1. ST. ANDREW HOUSE TO CONDUCT COLLOQUIUM
    ON ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY FOR ANGLICAN CLERGY

    ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ scheduled for Jan. 29-30 at Detroit retreat center

    Speakers to compare Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, describe personal journeys

    Orthodox archbishops and bishops from Midwest and Canada to attend event

    DETROIT – In response to numerous enquiries, St. Andrew House
    Center for Orthodox Christian Studies will host “Faith of Our
    Fathers: A Colloquium on Orthodoxy for Anglicans” Jan. 29-30 for
    clergy of the Episcopal Church in the United States, the
    Anglican Church of Canada, and other churches in the worldwide
    Anglican Communion.
    While the colloquium is designed for Anglican clergy, it is also
    open to Anglican laity, and to clergy and laity from other
    Christian faiths. Seating is limited, however, and priority
    will be given to Anglicans on a first-come, first-served basis.

    The purpose of the colloquium is educational, according to the
    Most Rev. Nathaniel, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian
    Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America, and founder and
    president of St. Andrew House.

    “‘Faith of Our Fathers’ will be an opportunity to explain who we
    Orthodox are to our Anglican brethren, and to show our love and
    concern for them in their time of trial,” Archbishop Nathaniel
    said, referring to doctrinal divisions within the Episcopal
    Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, and among the member
    churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion. “We hope
    Orthodoxy might be a salve that can help begin a process of
    healing,” he said

    Including Archbishop Nathaniel, there will be nine principal
    speakers at the colloquium. They will compare Orthodox and
    Anglican theology, liturgy and church order, and the seven who
    are converts from Anglicanism to Orthodoxy will discuss their
    personal journeys and offer practical advice for Anglican clergy
    considering Orthodoxy.

    Seven of the speakers are Orthodox priests: the Rev. Dr.
    Heiromonk Calinic Berger, Hermitage, Pa.; the Very Rev. Gregory
    Mathewes-Green, Linthicum, Md.; the Rev. James Stephen Freeman,
    Oak Ridge, Tenn.; the Very Rev. William Olnhausen, Cedarburg,
    Wis.; the Rev. John Parker, Mount Pleasant, S.C.; the Very Rev.
    Patrick Henry Reardon, Chicago; and the Very Rev. John Reeves,
    State College, Pa.

    The ninth speaker, Frederica Mathewes-Green, wife of Fr.
    Mathewes-Green and a nationally known writer, speaker and radio
    commentator (www.frederica.com), is an Orthodox layperson.

    Except for Archbishop Nathaniel, who is a convert from Roman
    Catholicism, and Fr. Berger, who is “cradle Orthodox,” all the
    speakers are converts to Orthodoxy from the Episcopal Church.

    The colloquium is expected to attract other Orthodox clergy

    representing most major Orthodox jurisdictions in North America,
    including the Most Rev. Job, Archbishop of Chicago and the
    Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America
    (www.oca.org), and other hierarchs.

    The colloquium will be held at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist
    Retreat Center, 23333 Schoolcraft Road, near the intersection of
    Interstate 96 and Telegraph Road.

    The colloquium will begin with registration at 5:00 p.m. on
    Monday, Jan. 29 and conclude with a farewell reception at 5:00
    p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30. It will feature a Vespers service on
    Monday evening at nearby St. Raphael of Brooklyn Orthodox Church
    in commemoration of the Synaxis of the Ecumenical Teachers and
    Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John
    Chrysostom (see icon in attached colloquium logo and following
    sidebar).

    The registration fee for the conference is $75 per person. It
    includes meals and refreshments at retreat center. Reservation
    of a room, either single or double, for Monday night at the
    retreat center is $75. The deadline for registration is Monday,
    Jan. 15.

    To obtain further information and register for the colloquium,
    visit http://www.orthodoxdetroit.com. For further assistance, contact
    the colloquium coordinator, David Adrian, at (248) 322-9226 or
    david.adrian@adrianassoc.com.

    St. Andrew House Center for Orthodox Christian Studies was
    founded in 2001. Its mission is to promote the Orthodox
    Christian faith by word and example through formal instruction,
    worship and good works. It exists to serve the Orthodox clergy
    and faithful of metropolitan Detroit and to be a symbol of the
    unity of the faith.

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