In John's Gospel, we find a unique narrative of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well. He shows her deep compassion, speaking with her, honouring her, calling out her sin while calling her into the Kingdom. As a Samaritan, she represents the gentiles, the nations who are not part of the covenant community, being brought in. There is a particular line in this narrative that we will use as the focal point for this series:

"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews."

Our theology, our understanding of who God is, is mediated through the story of God and Israel. It is through the calling of a particular people, a particular nation, that all nations are saved. It is through God's interaction with this particular and imperfect people, that He reveals himself to be the God that we know and worship and ultimately recognize in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the central story that we participate in and are grafted into. You can't have Jesus, and the Church, and its sacraments, and a spiritual life, and our destiny in the Kingdom of God, without grappling with the story of God and Israel.

Jesus of Nazareth was and is a Jew. In point of fact, he was a faithful and Torah-observant Jew and first century Rabbi. If we are interested in his teachings and his example, then we must understand he was a real person who lived in a real time within a real culture. It is impossible to understand his teachings without first understanding that he lived in fulfillment of Jewish tradition, not in rejection of it. The more we come to see this, the more we can fully live out our own Orthodox faith.

To miss this, and to separate ourselves from the story of God and Israel, is to put ourselves outside of the worship of the one true God - and surely we want to be counted as those who "worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews."

This final episode of the season, recorded on 5 November 2024, is available in full for subscribers to our Patreon channel. This is an edited version of the original episode which discusses more of the varied responses to the response we drafted to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Please do check out www.archdiocese.ca/orthodox-church-and-indigenous-peoples-canada to see what is now being shared on our behalf. 

We'd like to also acknowledge that Murray Sinclair passed into eternal rest the day before this episode was recorded, with many thanks to this great man for the work that he did towards Truth and Reconciliation. Clearly, the work is ongoing, and needs to be ongoing!

Fr Yuri presents a first draft of a statement to post on the Canadian Orthodox Church's website that will serve as a (somewhat informal) response to the TRC, that he prepared based on the previous episodes of this season. Paragraph by paragraph, Fr Geoffrey offers suggestions on how to strengthen the message, making sure that the theology is clear, and yet also accessible to both Orthodox and non-Orthodox ears. It's a unique opportunity to hear them work through the practical part of writing, a mini crash course if you will, with some worthwhile tangents thrown in for good measure (for example, correcting the "othering" of Indigenous peoples that can happen in hymnology, and the root meaning of dialogue).

It is beautiful and fitting that this episode was recorded on the anniversary of the first contact of the Russian mission in Alaska with Indigenous peoples, and published on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Glory to God!

In this week's episode, we focus our discussion on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Parsing out each word in that title - what does it mean to be a "person", and "indigenous", what are "rights" - there is plenty to talk about, and we draw on ideas from Fr Thomas Hopko, Martin Luther King and Tom Holland (the historian, not the Spiderman actor!), among others.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss why tensions might exist for some Orthodox when considering these terms, and also the way that our Orthodox perspective upholds and strengthens this language. We can think of rights as a gift of Christianity to the world, not an enemy theology. Instead of questioning the rights themselves, we must re-tether them to the theological tradition that gave rise to them. Responding in this way gives us a framework for discussion, a framework that is connected back to our wider story of God, and enables us to enact the Kingdom here and now.

We return to our series after a summer away, having had time to reflect on the discussion with Deacon John. Among other things, it serves as a good reminder that it can be all too easy to approach this issue with high level ideas and concepts. The truth is that on all sides of this issue can be found very real people, affected in very real ways, which we must be sensitive too.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the pitfalls of whataboutism, the church's precedent of speaking out about certain issues (and perhaps avoiding others), and the continued need for a coherent, modest and meaningful response to this particular issue, connected to concrete action.

Pointing to the work that is already ongoing in the in the life of the church, including (but certainly not limited to) the recent canonization of an indigenous saint, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey share their next steps as they prepare for the Archdiocesan council. 

By the prayers of Holy Mother Olga, may their work be blessed!

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our special guest Fr Dcn John Schantz, who shares his family's background and its connection to missionary work with Indigenous persons, and his professional work as a pediatric cardiologist serving a population in which Indigenous people are affected disproportionately. 

In this thoughtful discussion, we consider the relationship between making amends on a personal and institutional level, our responsibility to speak out (not necessarily about the past, but certainly about present disparities and how to move forward), and we take a closer look at our motivation for responding to this issue at this time.

Words matter. Sometimes words fall short and they disappear in short order, yet when done right they make a profound impact and can be remembered and quoted decades and even centuries later (think Nostra Aetate, or the Creed).

In this episode, we take a look at the statements made by other Canadian churches in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the goals of taking the good, leaving the bad, and figuring out the proper response for our Canadian Orthodox Church. As we consider our own statement, Fr Geoffrey quotes from Samuel, that the Lord might also be with us and let none of our words fall to the ground!

It is important to recognize the strength and grace within our tradition to move this work forward. This is precisely in alignment with the Gospel and therefore with the Orthodox faith. It requires no change in practice, no rethinking of theology. Fr Yuri shares a beautiful analogy for the way different cultures and lands express Orthodoxy (don't miss this one!); as the Canadian Orthodox church we must learn how to express Orthodoxy in a Canadian/North American way.

In today's episode, we focus our discussion on Orthodoxy in relation to the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. As in the last episode when we spoke about St Stephen of Perm, there are many North American saints who "got it right" as well, recognizing the theological similarities and compatibility between various forms of indigenous spirituality and Orthodox Christianity. However, it is essential to ground this knowledge in the understanding that these best examples shine all the more brightly because of the darkness against which they were operating.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey hold up to the light some of the stereotypical comments made by Orthodox Christians about this topic, with their blend of truth, myth, perspective and simplified history. "We weren't part of the residential school system or the sixties scoop. In fact, not only are we innocent of those charges, we should be praised for our part!" "For Orthodox, our first contact happened in Alaska. How is that relevant to the Canadian Orthodox Church?" "Won't a response at this point (so many years after the TRC) just be adding to so much noise?" "This isn't our cross to bear." "When does this end?!"

The truth is that we are coming rather late to the table - thank the Lord for welcoming those of us who come at the eleventh hour! - but the conversation is just beginning.

In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey focus in on how Orthodoxy has historically approached its mission of bringing Christianity to other cultures, before coming to North America (don't worry, we'll get to North America soon!). 

If we look honestly at the history of how Orthodox Christians have shared the Good News, we didn't always get it right, however we do have some shining examples of missionary saints that can serve as models to us. Sts Cyril and Methodius, for example, fought against the trilingual heresy to bring Christianity to the Slavs. Centuries later, and very ironically, St Stephen of Perm fought a similar "quadrilingual heresy" - you'll have to listen in to hear what that was about! When done right, as Orthodoxy spread, it was received and then indigenized into the new lands, using their own culture and traditions in order to tell the story in a way that would touch the hearts of their people. 

St Stephen of Perm in particular shows us not only how to bring the gospel to a new people, interfering as little as possible with their culture, language and traditions, but also models how to stand with them against those that would do them harm. In modern terms, he shows us how to be a true "ally".

If we are truly to be the Canadian Orthodox Church, we need to be attuned to our people. Throughout this season, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri will explore ways that the Liturgy can (and should) reflect the place we're in, and specifically how we can effectively work with the efforts of Truth & Reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of Canada in an intentional and authentic way.

As a Church, our response to the TRC (Truth & Reconciliation Commission) is long overdue, but the work has now begun. We will be looking for a multi-layered response: individual, liturgical, parochial and institutional. And since we as Orthodox are not good at "trendy", this response must not merely be a reflection of the time we find ourselves in. Rather, it must be based on a deeply thought out, theologically sound reflection, that will serve us through the ages.

Truly, this is no small task! But here we begin.