In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m Orthodox. For the past few days, I’ve been in a conversation with an Orthodox friend about whether there’s any such thing as Orthodox culture in America.
This is a complicated question.
I had one thought about it this afternoon, and here it is, as the beginning of my attempt at answering the question.
If you want to know what a faith-inspired culture looks like around here, go find the Evangelicals. Evangelicals have it ALL. Books, movies, music, clothing lines. It’s a world, and it’s all theirs, and it supports who they want to be and what they hope others will learn to believe in and love, as they do.
The Catholics are pretty good at this too. EWTN, anyone? To say nothing of publishers.
But what about us Orthodox?
You can’t talk about our culture without walking right into the fact that for many of us, our church culture is inextricably mixed with Greek culture, or Russian culture, or Arab culture, Serbian culture, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Russian, and the list goes on. We have often, in our history, been a state church. Ever since Constantine decided to stop persecuting Christians and become one himself. When Orthodox people came to America, they brought their faith with them and re-established it here, just as they had practiced it at home. And that’s why you have churches in the same denomination all speaking different languages on Sunday.
I think this means that for a large percentage of Orthodox Christians in America, the simple answer to our question is, “Of COURSE there’s Orthodox culture.” We have it every week at church, and if the Sunday school program and the Greek dance program have equal footing, nobody finds this strange.
This can make Orthodox culture difficult to enter if you don’t happen to be a member of the same ethnicity as the other people in the church you chose to attend. But despite the obstacles it can create, there is also something beautiful about it. It can be a wonderful manifestation of a lifestyle in which a person’s faith and his/her identity are completely blended. Shouldn’t the people you worship with be the first people you want to dance with?
But as Orthodoxy continues to flourish and take in new converts, the question of culture becomes more pressing. What if you aren’t Greek or Russian or Arab? How can you distinguish the Traditions of the faith from what my friend calls the “Yiayia traditions,” the accumulation of family lore and memories that make up all the parts of national culture that didn’t originate from divine revelation? How can you join a culture that you are outside, by definition?
Many Orthodox converts come from an Evangelical background, and if you recall how successful the Evangelicals tend to be at culture-making, you might wonder why they don’t “make” an Orthodox culture. Many of them try, but this is where our conversation got complicated.
If you surf through the Orthodox blogosphere, for example, you will find that many of the blogs seem to be devoted to teaching or reflecting on church doctrine, or offering tips on the Orthodox lifestyle (and who defines what that is?). Is this culture, or is it simply the dissemination of information, or a way of recording one’s own experience in a new world?
Orthodox publishers could be taken as another measure of Orthodox culture. In my estimation, most of them are publishing the same three or four categories of books: theology, conversion stories, children’s books, and maybe another genre I’m forgetting. There are exceptions, but they are few. There are plenty of academic books also. But again, what is culture? How much do academic books reach “the common man” part of our world? Do books of theology constitute or create culture?
Where are the Orthodox art galleries? Novels? Musicians? Dance troupes? Craftsmen? We have a few of each, but how much of a voice do they have in our part of the US population? How much in the population as a whole?
Still thinking about this. How about you?
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July 24, 2012 at 8:22 pm
Mel, I think the fact that these conversations are going on all over the place is ample evidence that the American Orthodox culture is in the process of formation. All those “mother countries” have had centuries, even millennia, to build a culture based on their faith. (They also had unanimity of faith within their countries, which makes it a whole lot easier.) The evangelicals haven’t had quite as long, but then arguably they haven’t done as good a job either. We American Orthodox converts shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we have made a small but measurable amount of progress within the few decades that we have existed as a group.
July 24, 2012 at 8:27 pm
It’s a good point. And in our case, perhaps because of the size of our country and its particular history, we don’t have uniformity of any sector of culture. We even have multiple versions of the “American accent.”
July 24, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I think you make a great point. Folks in Orthodoxy mostly tend to be either Greek, Arab, Russian, or Serbian and one may not be viewed as exactly legitamite in the faith if your aren’t one of these ethnicities. I belive this is true.. Thinking out loud…one thing I have noticed is that Black Americans dont really exist in the Church for example – - there sure arent any in our Church here (yet people constantly show this one priest in the midwest?).
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I suppose among the Orthodox being Black means being Ethiopian? ( ethnicity strikes again ) I have no idea.
White Americans, converts, from mainline and evangelical churches have certainly brought stuff with them into Orthodoxy – that is for sure; but I am not sure these protestants will or get traction because Greeks want to be Greek and Arabs want to be Arab in tradition AND culture at Church. I could be wrong since the greeks and arabs I know are nice people. I hope I am not too cynical about it all
I admit thought – - Your post made me think of the movie GOODFELLA’s, because I believe that culture is real in all Orthodox Churches just as it was in this movie ( a blessing and a curse I suppose? ). In the movie GOODFELLA’s Ray Liotta’s character, as narrator, says of himself and Robert De Niro’s character, “We could never be “made-men” (become a mafia Dom/Lord/Head of a family) because we are not Silcilian. If you can’t trace your lineage to Siliciy and a village; it is not going to happen for guys like Jimmy and me.” I think this sentiment is present in Orthodox Churches that are ethnic and convert (I visited a former protestant/EOC and there is definitely a culture there too!!!). People means culture. The Orthodox Church is not the mafia, so don’t take me the wrong way. Some of your perspective really resonated is all.
I think American Christian (chiefly protestant) culture in Orthodoxy may or may not be find space and place in the way that the ethnic Churches enjoy full integration of race and language. I think you are right so many convert priests and other are sort of banging the same drum in print and blogs etc
One more thought.
It is strange to have ethnicity dominate and manifest here in the United States and Canada. In the end, People are people and flock together I guess no matter what. Striking toughts in your blog post.
July 25, 2012 at 8:23 am
I started a response that quickly became to bulky for a comment. See http://jkotinek.blogspot.com/2012/07/american-orthodox-culture.html
Great discussion Melinda, Katherine & juniormonop!
July 25, 2012 at 11:36 am
I think you’re definitely onto something, but I think it’s also obvious from the various responses that we not even totally sure what we mean by ‘culture.’ When the term is used in the world — particularly when they’re celebrating diverse cultures — it’s almost understood to be the aggregate of a certain group or society’s dance, literature, art and crafts, and we all like to look at the different ways that people do roughly the same thing. If that’s the definition, then we Orthodox might not be suffering from too little culture, but too much — Greek, Russian, Arab, etc.
And those cultures existing through the lens of Orthodoxy and then translated into something more New World will probably come in time, as Katherine is saying. It’d be great to have an “art scene” that is known for being truly Orthodox and known for the quality of its work, and maybe something like that is generations in the making.
The thing I miss right now is the element of culture that is a great communicator — maybe the reason that we express ourselves in these ways in the first place. Besides just being what happens when people sing or dance, culture is the way that we tell stories to each other and communicate meta-messages and meta-narratives about what it is to be human. Those can certainly be individual tales, but the best of them has a quality of Revealed Truth in it, and is both (capital b) Beautiful and universal.
But there’s a reason why I think we may need to soup up whatever culture-creation efforts so that it doesn’t take 40 years to perfect: The world’s culture seems to be sort of unraveling right now. It has been for decades, of course, and I don’t say that there’s a precipice straight ahead. But with each generation, young people seem less able to receive enough of the Christian-informed narrative of sin and redemption that Western civilization broadcasted to even form a God-shaped hole into which Orthodoxy can happen.
July 26, 2012 at 1:26 am
I’ve been thinking about what you wrote, and what everyone else has contributed, a very intriguing conversation. I agree with Katherine. I also believe an authentic North American Orthodox culture will take time.
The only element I have lingering in my mind – and I don’t know how true or pertinent it is – is the idea that how we conduct ourselves in the current cultural climate as individual Orthodox Christians can and possibly should reflect our own Orthodox culture in that we are called to be in this world, not of it. How we live out this commandment in our daily lives, if successful, can lead to an authentic Orthodox culture of our own in the midst of our contemporary, very non-Orthodox culture. From there many things are possible, but I think the first step to a fully developed Orthodox culture are fully developed Orthodox Christians.
At least that’s my two cents.
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July 30, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Call me cynical but when I think of culture (especially in the U.S.) I think of manipulation. In my experience of being a protestant, I would read a book because that is what every Christian was reading. I would listen to a certain music because that was what every Christian was listening too (Usually I would not like the music. In a recent conversation with protesant friends I admitted I didn’t like this music and never had. They were shocked.) I could go on and on with the examples: how the church should be decorated with art or no art, wether we should sing hyms for worship or contempory music, wether we should wear jeans to church or ties etc, etc, etc, etc!!! There was always a new book, always a new interpretation, always a new and better way of doing things in which God was always the source of revalation. There were spiritual conentations to all of it. People who spoke in tounges in public were not Christian. People who didn’t teach the Bible verse by verse were probably not Christian and at best luke warm. Also I see culture as a way of watering down, shining up, putting sprinkle on and wrapped with a bow all to reach the masses. It may not reflect what people actually think. I think culture can be used to tell people what to feel and think. I believe followers of Jesus CRAVE honesty. As American Orthodox culture takes the place of Greek, Russian etc, I want it to continue to be honest expression of what is going on with us through our lenses of Orthodoxy. I don’t want American Orthodox culture to be shaped in a way so as to make our voices louder and become more relevant in the U.S. Forgive me for my weariness.
July 30, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Thank you Melissa. I really do wonder about Orthdoxy in the U.S. For an ethnic Church it is hard to find “american” ethnicities. It is hard to find, hispanics, asians and blacks. How did this happen and why? Sunday mornings in America are very ethnically group for church as I think about. I was reading about things in the U.S and I wondered could a couple be ‘voted out’ or denied the sacraments because they were not Russian or Greek Church in the U.S.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/29/mississippi-church-african-american-wedding?newsfeed=true)?
Anyway, I have the same sentiment as you and it is very tiring and boring to see culture created and then used to slap others or create somekind of fifedom. Whatever comes of Orthodox culture abroad and in the States, we can only hope the world according to: Joel Olsteen, Bill Hybels, Mark Driscoll, Robert Schuler, Paul Stanley, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, James Dobson, Rod Parsley and Rick Warren are not voices that in the position of being heeded. I hope American Orthodoxy, if it would ever exist, is not a response to one’s favorite Protestant minister gone bad because they went too liberal, anti-Catholic just because they have a Pope or had a bad experience at Catholic school, nor a place to just be with ‘your own’. What could the ‘mother culture’ in the US be? I sure hope it is not just some WASP rehash of Christianity using the Orthodox Church this time around. I guess I have some of the same cynacism.
Thanks Melissa
August 9, 2012 at 12:07 am
Melinda – some very interesting points. I think there are multiple possible starting points here. I know several people who I’ve met at Church that see that Orthodox Church is yet another expression or facet of their Hellenism, (potentially as opposed to Hellenism as a virtue of their being Orthodox Christian), or a place of community gathering of those associated with an ethnicity or another. One has to remember that for many who were new to this country that the Church was that focal point. As a convert (not from evangelical protestantism, but from a family of marginally practicing Jews) it’s taken me time to even sort through the wonderful many aspects of Orthodoxy and how the different traditions manifest them (i.e Byzantine Music, Russian-style music) and other aspects that are traditions associated with one jurisdiction or another (differences in vestments, Paschal traditions etc.).
I didn’t come to Orthodoxy as a reaction per se to a bad experience in one Church – I can tell you that Evangelical Protestantism never appealed to me and for many years I thought that’s what Christianity was. Then I went to Catholic High School and was exposed to Catholicism (getting closer!) and then Orthodoxy in college. Interestingly I never had the questions most people always seem to have which are things like “what’s the difference between Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox…” I knew that they were all Orthodox and then came to learn of the various differences in “traditions” (small “t”) over time – Kollyva, Phanouropita, Artoclasia – which are connected to the Church though might be only found in a Greek church, as an example.
Interestingly, and this may shock you, I converted at a Pan-Orthodox institute, but rather than associating with an Antiochian or OCA Church, where most converts seem to go, I am a member of a GOA parish. I personally find that I fit in well there – and it’s a multi-ethnic parish, with some converts, some Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Romanians, Bulgarians, and even a Russian family (who had direct ties to St. John of San Francisco). I love Byzantine Chant and am establishing a pretty decent competency at it, in Greek and English. I also love Pastitsio and Kourambiedes – I love making Moussaka with my future mother-in-law who is from Athens. I also can dance a pretty good Pentozali and Maleviziotiko and enjoy Pontic as well. It’s sad when kids are precisely on time for dance practice but you never see them Sunday morning.
My point is – I love that the Church has exposed me to these things (and I’m sure if I were in a parish of a different jurisdiction or ethnicity then I’m sure I’d be exposed to other things) but at the end of the day we need to remember what really matters. I’m most importantly Orthodox before anything else. Before I’m American I’m Orthodox. And we Orthodox all share a common chalice regardless of being Antiochian or OCA, Rocor etc. as we all accept an Orthodox baptism, share the same Theology and understandings about Christ and the Trinity and have the fullness of the Truth.
Despite this fact, I see that we struggle amongst ourselves and do not always get along interjurisdictionally. I see people in Rocor or the GOA who feel that they are the ones who have Orthodoxy right, people in the OCA who make jokes about the Ecumenical Patriarch, the former EOC Antiochians at odds with the lebanese community…you name it. It’s sad that we are divided. Unfortunately for this reason “American Orthodoxy” is tough to realize – and perhaps moves in the opposite extreme as some are overemphasizing the “American”. I think we can somehow solve the canonical issue of having multiple Bishops covering the same area (which shouldn’t be) but we all will need to learn and appreciate everyone’s expression of Orthodoxy. I would hope that a culture of mutual respect, love, and knowing that we, at the end of the day, share the same faith are what rise above.
Where we’ve failed is through diluting certain aspects of Orthodoxy that are part of our Tradition that were purpose built and handed down from Holy men and women who lived the Faith and are acclaimed by our Church as Saints. Byzantine Chant is one of them. Iconography is another. The tradition of Byzantine Music that properly expresses sets to music the words that express the fullness of our Theology and the Holy Spirit-inspired poetry of the Church Fathers is being diluted by organs and 4 part harmonies with confused melodic lines. Our attempts to “westernize” this aspect of our faith is disengaging people from worship, turning worship into choir performances, and frankly it’s simply not Orthodox. Not having iconography means that we’re not properly expressing the Incarnation of Christ. This is essential – I know icons aren’t free, but hearing situations where Church’s are opposed to having them, preferring white walls and even statues is appalling.
When the Orthodox missionaries went from country to country, they adapted the language but never compromised on worship, of which music and iconography is an essential part. This is part of witnessing our faith – singing music composed by people who are influenced by Hollywood is not. Trust me, I love a good flick, but the music I sing at Church should not remind me of Star Wars. Probably a better question is “are we confusing what we think is ‘American’ with aspects of evangelical protestantism?” I eat pizza and burgers (on fast free days
), I enjoy college football, I work ~60+ hours a week – I would say those things are pretty American. I can be an American Orthodox by simply balancing these aspects of my life with my faith, which puts everything in the right context.
At the end of the day our culture should be one in which we take our faith seriously. Knowing our theology, knowing our worship, teaching our children the hymns of the Church, being Christ to people, living like we’re always working out our salvation with an attitude of contrition, not of one “I am saved no matter what wrong I do”.
America needs Orthodoxy and our culture should be one in which we are glad because of the Resurrection, we can find God in the silence of prayer- not through yelling at people and preaching damnation – through knowing and believing that Christ’s incarnation sanctifies all of creation.
If we can do those things, maybe Orthodoxy won’t be the best kept secret forever.
Yours,
Ross
August 9, 2012 at 2:39 pm
We agree on many points! In my next post on this subject, “Fracture lines in Orthodox culture?” I addressed some of the points you raise here. My primary feeling is that we need charity with one another, not uniformity. I don’t have any real interest in making all Orthodox churches or communities look just like each other.