Orientale Lumen in Australia
18 July 2000 14:46
Here is a characteristic contribution from Derek Stone in Australia:
Are you in your city going to mount an improvement on the following opportunity for East to meet West?
Orientale Lumen (Light from the East), Australia & Oceania, Melbourne 9-12 July 2000
This international ecumenical conference was for Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Oriental Orthodox (Armenians, Copts and Assyrians), Eastern Catholics (‘Uniates’) and all Christians of Goodwill (Anglicans & Uniting Church). It was held largely in the city premises of the Australian Catholic University.
While four such conferences have been held in Washington DC, this one was intended as the first among many elsewhere to pursue the same unity mission through dialogue. The Papal apostolic letters ‘Orientale Lumen’ and ‘Ut unum sint’ motivated action from the Western side.
‘Suzy’ (Hosanna) Vardanian of Sydney and Qld Gold Coast, originally from Iran and a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, did a great job in mounting one of only three lunchtime bookstalls. The others dealt with the life and worship of the Christian East, while Suzy’s was completely devoted to True Life in God.
Many delegates took away Suzy’s free handouts. To our delight very few had ever heard of Vassula.
Who attended?
The Patriarchal Russian priest in Melbourne, Fr Igor Filianovsky, turned up when he could.
When the Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Regensberg, Germany, spoke he was translated from the French.
The new Coptic Bishop of Melbourne, Suriel, contributed vigorously, as did the Indian Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Eprem.
Though Melbourne often boasts that it is the third most populous Greek city in the world, there was a disappointing absence from the conference of the Greek Orthodox.
The new Antiochian bishop in Sydney had to withdraw from being a key speaker in this conference despite the fact that it was jointly sponsored by his Patriarch and that of the Melchites, both of whom are resident in Damascus, Syria.
For the most part the Eastern Church liturgy and point of view were adequately demonstrated and vigorously expressed by the many Eastern Catholics—Russian, Ukrainian and Melchite.
Every evening we worshipped together. Sunday and Tuesday nights: Orthodox Great Vespers in St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral. Monday night: Coptic Vespers Wednesday night: a Moleben to the Most Holy Spirit.
The prime mover for the conference was Protodeacon Lawrence Cross, a permanent married deacon lecturing Church History at the Australian Catholic University. His email address is [email protected] TLIG is indebted to his generous openess to Vassula’s witness. I am sure that Lawrence would be pleased to pass on his organisational experience and contacts to others.
The chairman and moderator who exercised a remarkable gift, was from the Uniting Church (A union of Congregationals, Methodists and Presbyterians). The Rev. Professor Robert Gribben had formerly been General Secretary of the Victorian Council of Churches. Many conferees were accommodated in student quarters in the neo Gothic sandstone (formerly Presbyterian) Ormond College of Melbourne University.
Laity from all churches attended and I was surprised and delighted by the deep interest and solid contribution made by the Catholic Anglicans from dioceses like Willochra, Murray, Ballarat and Wangaratta. The following are a sample of those with whom I came into contact. My experience was probably typical:
Fr Igor and his wife, Nadia, of the English-worshipping Russian Patriarchal church. They are 12 months out from Moscow. Nadia was a convert from an Islamic family.
Suzanne Ainger, Anglican layperson of Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney Fr Peter Knowles of the Russian Rite Catholic Chapel, Kew, Vic.
Assistant Bishop of Melbourne, Gregg, of Maltese background—heavily involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Jack Figel of Virgina USA who publishes the Eastern Churches Journal
Katherine, an Anglican layperson from Adelaide
Fr Sergio of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Brisbane
Fr Peter, Parish Priest of the Anglican parish in Naracoorte, South Australia
A Melchite priest from Detroit, USA
Moya Kelly, a former Tasmanian like myself, who switched from Roman Rite to become Secretary to the Melchite Bishop in Sydney.
A Thai lady who was feeling cold in the mild Melbourne winter.
The Assyrian metropolitan, Mar Aprem, from Kerala State, India. He interested me when he explained that his next stop was Holland, where, among other things, he was going to hear Billy Graham.
Phillip a Perth W.A. layman who had been sponsored by his Catholic diocese to attend the Pope’s meeting earlier in the year at Bucharest, Romania.
Yes—there were the anticipated academics whose attitude to Suzy Vardanian’s excellent table of materials covering Vassula Ryden’s prophecies on unity and True Life in God, was: “Mere personal revelation!”.
There were also some ardent feminists, and one or two ‘triumphalist’ Roman Rite laity.
An Anglican priest from N.Z. was wearing what looked like a Maori fishhook. He told me how he ascertained priestly vocations in a number of women.
Perhaps political correctness demanded that there had to be a single lecture on Aboriginal symbolism.
The general attitude of most was that of love and openess to others.
An outstanding speaker was Archimandrite Serge Kelleher, a Greek Catholic with the Ukrainians Eparchy, Stamford USA. I believe he currently edits the Eastern Churches Journal from Dublin, Ireland.
The American, Fr George A. Maloney S.J., was remarkable for his spiritual insights resulting from a lifetime of translating Eastern Church writings, and lately from conducting clergy retreats.
The unexpected incident of the conference was the public difference of opinion between the Coptic Bishop of Melbourne who championed Cyril of Alexandria, and the Assyrian Metropolitan. The latter explained that while Assyrians were Chalcedonian in their present theology, they would not remove the better aspects of Nestorius from their liturgical memory nor would they publicly condemn him as was demanded of them by today’s Egyptians for their admittance to the Middle East Council of Churches.
This exchange had a predictable result. Most resolved to have a second look at the Councils of Ephesus, Chalcedon and the Tome of Leo with their arguments surrounding the declaration of Mary as ‘Theotokos’.
A few who failed to respect history as His-Story, regarded the whole matter as irrelevant.
Suzy and her bookstall have created a precedent. When Orientale Lumen #5 is next mounted in the U.S.A. which of the American readers of this report are going to be there, doing what Suzy did?
Providence?
Sometimes things seem to us impossible.
I remember how worried Suzy was on the Sunday before the conference. She knew her large consignment of books would not fit into the taxi for which she had phoned.
To her surprise and delight the car which drew up at the appointed time proved to be a limousine!
Derek Stone, Hobart, Tasmania
[email protected]
