place. A bishop travels every weekend — the canons say a bishop should visit his parishes at least once every year — so during Lent, sometimes I am in four parishes each week. I am grateful that, at least on weekends, I have a driver. What parts of the bishopric were you not prepared for?
I think that seriously disciplining clergy is the hardest thing for me. Having to take away someone’s priesthood or diaconate— there is no more painful a decision or action that I can think of. Nothing prepares you for it, even the experience of having done it before. It is heart-wrenching, almost like throwing a son or daughter out of the household. No parent is ever prepared to do that. Is there anything you’ve had to unlearn?
The work I do is sometimes very challenging, and I have to remind myself not to take it personally. I can’t make it about me. My first responsibility is to the Lord; I am just a “vessel of clay in the Potter’s hand,” in the words of Jeremiah. I serve at His pleasure, and one day someone else will be the bishop of New York and New Jersey. It can’t be just my vision, only my program, always my way —it has to be the Master’s way. That’s why I seek the counsel of my chancellors and deans, the members of the Synod and His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon: so that I don’t make it about me. Could you describe a couple of the most memorable events of your tenure?
I was privileged to serve Liturgy in the Holy Land, especially at Bethany School for Girls, which our diocese supported. There are a number of orphaned Orthodox Christian girls there, and it is run by Russian Orthodox nuns. Those girls sang the responses to the Liturgy for us! I was also invited to help consecrate a new church in Slovakia, not far from where my grandparents lived before they came to America. And I was privileged to be the guest at the annual Pilgrimage for the Feast of the Transfiguration at Grabarka, Poland — with 27,000 pilgrims in attendance—to help anoint at Vigil and help give Communion at Liturgy to throngs and throngs of faithful! You are still an administrator at St. Tikhon’s as well. How do you balance those responsibilities with your work in our diocese?
Yes, I serve as the rector (the bishop who oversees the seminary) and I teach Scripture and Ethics there, usually three courses in the fall semester and two in the spring (because of the demands of Lent). I pretty much focus the first part of each week on St. Tikhon’s and the rest of each week on the Diocese. jacob's well
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Do you see a relationship between the two?
I think the relationship between the two is teaching. As a professor, my chief job is to teach my students; and as a bishop, one of my chief roles is that of teacher. In fact, I am prayed for in the Liturgy to “rightly divide the word of Thy truth.” So, I teach future deacons and priests at St. Tikhon’s, and clergy and faithful in the Diocese, by the words I speak, and hopefully by the example I set. Also, seminarians inspire me with their yearning to learn, their exuberance to serve, and their love for the Lord. Teaching them rejuvenates me for the work I do as a bishop. Could you give us a brief rundown on the state of the Diocese?
These are certainly challenging times for the Church, here in America and throughout the world. Secularism, materialism, and atheism are all on the rise. Many younger people want to be “spiritual” but not affiliated with a given church. The “nones and dones” are also on the rise. Often people don’t stay in New York and New Jersey all their lives, like my grandparents and parents did; the cost of living, job opportunities, taxes, and the weather all invite them to move, especially to the South. However, I am pleased to say that over the last few years, we have seen consistent growth of a few hundred new people each year in our parishes, many of them young. We have opened a number of mission parishes in the last 10 years and have ordained more deacons and priests. In fact, there are now three deacons and three priests awaiting ordination. And we have a few Diocesan students who will be studying at St. Vladimir’s and St. Tikhon’s Seminaries when the new school year begins. But we still need more priests. There are senior priests who can’t retire until we have replacements, and there are missions we would like to open but we need priests to serve them. So please pray for vocations; please support our seminarians. What kinds of trends were we seeing before the pandemic? Where are parishes growing and where are they shrinking? What were you observing on your pastoral visits?
I would explain the trends this way: It is much harder for parishes with older demographics to grow. People seeking a faith are looking for it in a community’s life. Parish growth is most consistently evident, I have found, in parishes where the priest is working very hard and has members of his parish working with him, inviting people to come and see, to visit the parish; welcoming newcomers; helping them understand the services; introducing them to others at the fellowship hour; often becoming their sponsors. When parish growth is seen as (almost) everyone’s responsibility, the results can be phenomenal! And once these new people are received, like St. Paul, we have to make sure they remain solid in the faith, with follow-up and encouragement.
