Category Archives: Fargo

Orthodox Easter and Church History

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Sunday was Pascha (“Easter”) for Orthodox Christians across the globe.  For us, it meant the conclusion to a long Holy Week and a wonderful celebration of the resurrection of Christ in the very earliest hours of the morning.  I hope to upload some pictures in the future.

I also thought I would highlight some additional online resources for those of us interested in church history.  One blog I have recently encountered and found interesting is one written by a gentleman in Grand Forks, no less:

http://americanchurchhistory.blogspot.com/

Although his interests concentrate on Baptists, it is still interesting and the Gilded Age is certainly a fascinating period of American history.  Nicholas Bjerring, the first convert priest to Orthodoxy (though later also the first convert priest to turn apostate from Orthodoxy) lived during this time.  Readers may track his story down in my article here:

“A Catholic, Presbyterian, and Orthodox Journey: The Changing Church Affiliation and Enduring Social Vision of Nicholas Bjerring,” Zeitschrift fur Neuere Theologiegeschichte/Journal for the History of Modern Theology 14, no. 1 (2007): 49-80.

Those interested in history more generally, especially of this region, should look into the Northern Great Plains Conferences.  I just learned of these.  Why is it that I, a Ph.D. in historical theology, only now learn of this?  These guys really need their own website.  Anyhow, here is the information on the last conference:

http://www.ndsu.edu/history/department/the_northern_great_plains_history_conference_2012/

Orthodox Chaplains and Prayers

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As many, if not all of the readers of our parish blog already know, I have been commissioned as a chaplain in the Air National Guard.  I include a picture of that here:

My date is easy to remember: Valentine’s Day.

The OCA has recently posted some deployments by Orthodox chaplains serving the army and Marines (Navy chaplains serve Marines).  We shall keep these priests in our prayers and we ask others to do so as well.

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/oca-chaplains-deployed-to-middle-east1

Orthodox Christians Bless Red River in Fargo

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Normally at this time of year, if the Red River Valley hears of anything regarding Orthodox Christianity and blessing water, it is a report from some faraway place like Russia or Greece.  What many might not know is that right here in Fargo, our small community has been blessing the Red River for the past few years.  Here is are a few photos from this event.  We blessing near the dike, where the current runs quickly enough that there is open water even in sub-zero temperatures.  No jumps in after the cross here, though, both because of temperatures and because of the current.  I toss and retrieve the cross myself.  Here are a few photos, courtesy Erik Hjelle:

Upcoming St. Nicholas Day Celebration

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October 28th, 2012

For Immediate Release

 

Saint Nicholas Day to be celebrated at local Orthodox Church

Popular Saint of Eastern Orthodox Christian Church has a rich real-life story and is held up as an example for modern holiday reflections on giving and charity.

 

Fargo, ND—Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church of Fargo will celebrate Saint Nicholas Day on Wednesday, December 5th with a Vespers service followed by refreshments and brief presentations.  All events are free and open to the public.

The event will be held at the Pastoral Center and Chapel of the Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Offices in south Fargo (5201 Bishops Boulevard) beginning at 7:00 p.m.

 

December 6th is the feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church for St. Nicholas, deemed the “Wonderworker and Archbishop of Myra in Lycia.”  It is commonly understood that the persona of “Santa Claus” has its origins with the life of this saint.  According to the Orthodox liturgical cycle, a Vespers is served the evening prior to the feast day.

 

1—Christmas Hymnography in Eastern Orthodoxy—Presented by Rev. Dr. Oliver Herbel

Choral pieces commemorating the Nativity in the Orthodox Church may sound quite different than the Christmas Carols to which we are probably accustomed.  The music, which in some cases dates back to the 9th century, is nonetheless poignant and rich with meaning and relevance to the holiday season.

 

2—Holiday Fasting in Orthodoxy—Presented by Mr. Lawrence Carcoana

Fasting during “the holidays” would seem out of place to most of us used to special holiday dainties served during this season of celebration.  The Nativity Fast is one of the four major fasts observed each year in the Orthodox Church.  The purpose of this practice will be explained.

 

3—The Life of St. Nicholas—Mr. Jason A. Kuntz, Holy Resurrection Choir Director

A special reading to summarize the life and work of St. Nicholas will be shared.

 

The congregation of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Fargo is extending a warm invitation to all to attend this traditional event.  Experience the spirituality and atmosphere of the Holidays in Orthodox spirit and make this your Christmas-season tradition!

An Orthodox Priest and an Atheist Mayor Walk into a Bar

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Well, OK, Jon Lindgren would much prefer “skeptic” to “atheist” but skeptic doesn’t make for as catchy of a title.  This past weekend, the Forum ran a nice piece on Jon Lindgren, the former mayor of Fargo, in which I was mentioned as well.  It’s worth reading:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/359176/

Non-belief and outright atheism is a growing trend in America.  Jon is hardly alone and is joined by others every day.  Recently, a Methodist minister admitted that she is an atheist:

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Minister_Steps_Down__145835335.html

Although I do not agree with the atheist path in life, I do think it is important for Christians, especially Orthodox Christians, to remain in dialogue with such people.  We have a hope in Christ that is meant to be shared.

Those who are open to church history but are not yet Orthodox or not yet Christian at all, there is the Church History Series on this blog.  In the future, I hope to offer an additional series or two as resources for readers who may have other concerns.

Fighting Dragons on St. George Day

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Today is the feast day for St. George.  Those interested in reading up on St. George may turn here:

http://orthodoxwiki.org/George_the_Trophy-bearer

and here:

http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101184

In icons of St. George, the saint is portrayed as riding a horse and spearing a dragon.  Our parish received a a gift of an icon of St. George in memory of an Orthodox resident of Fargo in the 1960s also named George.  Not long after receiving that icon, my son, in skepticism (he was seven at the time) asked me, “dad, did St. George really kill a dragon?”  I told him that although there are Orthodox in some parts of the world who do believe this literally, I do believe, most understand the dragon as representing Satan and demonic powers.

Indeed, last night at Vespers, we heard precisely such language within our church’s liturgical texts, where St. George is praised for following Christ, even to the point of martyrdom, and for his victory over the hoards of demons.  The latter is a reference to St. George’s refusal to offer incense before any pagan idols, idols in which demons dwelt as if gods.  In this way, St. George most certainly did defeat a dragon, indeed, the dragon–Satan.

Thus is similar to our calling too.  For, in our very own society, we are often tempted by things that may become idols.  We might be caught up in materialism or our own views of self-worth or any number of other things.  Yet, just as St. George recognized the pagan idols for what they were, so we, too, need to recognize the indifferent things of life as indifferent.  Rather, we should seek after Christ, for in imitating him, we also come to love our neighbors and, indeed, the world, all the better.  By imitating Christ, we can slay the dragon seeking to make a lair in our own hearts.

Orthodoxy and Atheism

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Well, yesterday’s talk went well overall.  There were a couple of points where someone asking me a question and I were talking past each other a bit, but I think that sort of thing was generally sorted out.  There was also an individual who was heavy on the loaded language and light on the argumentation when pressing with his questions, but that is to be expected.  Really, it was very civil overall (as SRLS always is) and gave me food for thought when thinking about the next talk.

Relatedly, I encountered this bit of news, which might be of interest to some of us.  Ancient Faith Radio is going to have a live episode and dedicate discussion to atheism.  I am unsure of how it will be structured or what arguments and perspectives will be offered, but this should prove intriguing:

http://www.aoiusa.org/blog/2012/04/ancient-faith-goes-live-first-program-this-sunday-at-8pm-eastern/

 

Christ is Risen! An Upcoming Bright Week Lecture

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Christ is risen!

As noted in the previous post, yesterday was Pascha for us Orthodox Christians, the day on which we celebrate the triumph of Life over death!

This makes this week “Bright Week,” and makes an upcoming paper of mine at NDSU’s Science and Religion Lunch Seminary on Tuesday all the more important.  You may see that listed here:

http://www.tri-college.org/tcu_calendar_of_campus_events/

More information on the SRLS may be found here:

http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cope/SRLS/

The working title of my paper is: “Neither Inherently Guilty Nor Secular: Eastern Christian Anthropology in Dialogue with Christian and Post-Christian West. “  The title itself needs work, I admit.  To clarify, by noting that Orthodoxy is not “secular,” I do not imply that Orthodoxy is against all forms of separation of Church and State.  I do clarify in the paper that I am picking up on the term “secular” and “secular humanism” from its past polemical context, in which it is linked to atheism and materialistic evolution.  The “inherently guilty,” is a reference to the general Western conception of fallen humanity as guilty for Adam’s fall.  Eastern Christian anthropology overlaps with both in some ways while also being distinct in some ways.  This paper is a modest attempt to discuss some of this.  There may be no better time to discuss humanity’s calling from an Orthodox perspective than on Bright Week.  This is a public event and all are welcome to attend.

Orthodox Easter in Fargo, ND

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Although most Christians in America celebrated Easter a week ago, for Eastern Orthodox Christians, today is Easter.  In the Orthodox Tradition, Easter is called “Pascha,” Greek for Passover.  This is because for Orthodox, the Cross and the Resurrection go together as one overarching salvific event, something that might not always be so obvious, as I note in a review article of Gibson’s The Passion of Christ, here:

http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Vol8No2/herbelGibson.htm

Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar for Roman Catholics late in the sixteenth century (and Protestants followed suit–an irony?), resulting in two different Easter/Pascha dates for Western and Eastern Christians.  The one notable exception of which I’m aware is the Orthodox Church in Finland which, being a state church, actually celebrates Pascha at the same time Western Christians celebrate Easter.  Otherwise, the dates normally do not align (though every few years they do).  Orthodox continue to follow the dating for Pascha/Easter established at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea in 325, at which Pascha/Easter was determined according to the Jewish lunar calendar and Passover.  It is for this reason that Western Easter may occur prior to the Jewish Passover some years while Orthodoxy’s Pascha does not.

The Paschal service is celebrated with a service beginning at 11:30pm at night, so that at midnight, the first shouts of “Christ is risen!” may be heard.  Following the conclusion of the service in the early morning hours, Orthodox believers in Fargo share in enjoying foods from which they have fasted during Lent.