Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania

Office of the Bishop

Reg. 2010-2-s01

August 10, 2010

To the Clergy and Faithful of the Churches of

St. George, St. John of Rila, and SS Cyril and Methodios

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

I am writing to express my thanks that I was able to meet with you on July 27, at St. Mark's Church in Bethesda, MD. It seemed to me that we were able to clear the air and lay firm foundations for a process which will, hopefully, lead to a viable and unified witness of Bulgarian Orthodox Christians in the general area of the District of Columbia. While the conversations were honest and forthright, and while those present were able to discuss differences of opinion in a spirit of Christian Charity, much remains to be done to overcome past troubles, heal old wounds, and allay many suspicions.

In order to accomplish these things, it will be necessary for us to focus upon the central points of Orthodox Christian teaching so that we might keep clearly in mind what the Church is, what its functions are, and how these things witness to the presence of Jesus Christ at this time, in this place and under the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

To do this, we must begin with what Orthodox Christian Theologians of all times in all places have called the Gospel imperative. The first instance we have of this imperative -- this statement of mission -- is found in the Gospel of St. Matthew in the twenty-eighth Chapter. Here, the disciples of Christ become apostles when Jesus, the risen Christ, tells them "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." What is it that the Apostles were expected to teach, and why were they told to baptize? At the center of Orthodox Christianity is the fact that we are to take up our cross to follow Christ, that we are to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ through our baptism, and that Jesus Christ is with us in Holy Communion until the end of the world when we will behold him face to face. This is the central teaching of our faith, and if it is not at the center of our Church life, our parishes will die.

One prominent theologian of the twentieth century once said that if Jesus Christ is not the center of our parish life, something else will be. Another theologian said that the Church which lives to itself will die to itself. It does not matter what kinds of interesting programs we have, it does not matter what our social activities happen to be, if parish life is not centered upon Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection, and his presence with us in Holy Communion, then our parishes will eventually wither and die. Throughout North America there are hundreds of examples of parishes which 30 to 50 years ago were packed so full of people that people who came late for services oftentimes couldn't even get into Church. Today many of these parishes are struggling simply to keep their doors open. Those which are struggling are precisely the ones which conceived of themselves as being primarily ethnic clubs with no further relationship to the wider communities they were in. I know of a parish in another diocese where there are people who were baptized in that parish but who now can be found in virtually all of the various Protestant and Roman Catholic Parishes in that town. Yet there are practically no converts from those other places into that parish. Why? Because the primary message of the parish was not Jesus Christ, His life death and resurrection, and presence with us. It was the message of ethnic identity, and that but poorly understood. Because this was their primary message, they could not even keep most "their own" past the second or third generation.

You must never forget that the Church existed for almost 900 years before it was brought to Bulgaria by SS Cyril and Methodius. You must not forget that the Bulgarians are Orthodox Christians because of the missionary work of others who brought the faith to the Bulgarian people, who translated the services and Holy Scriptures into Slavonic (a Bulgarian dialect), and who taught the Bulgarians the essentials of the faith. With this in mind, you have to remember that while you must minister to "your own", in terms of language and social activities, you must also be willing even now to look beyond "your own" to find ways to minister to a wider community. Otherwise, you will not be the Church, but rather a social club with somewhat of a religious orientation which will be sustainable only as long as there is an immigration large enough to keep it viable.

The Church is not a club. It is not merely another social organization among many others. It is the Body of Christ. With that in mind, I urge you not only to resolve your differences in Him who is the life and resurrection of us all, but to find ways to effectively spread that message so that it reaches not only "your own", but all who hunger after the Truth Who is Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Melchisidek

Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania

locum tenens of the Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo

cc: Fr. Don A. Freude, Chancellor, Bulgarian Diocese

Fr. Gregory Safchuk, Chancellor, Diocese of Washington DC

Fr. Timothy Perry