To the
members of the Archdiocese,
Fathers,
brothers and sister in Christ !
Further to my
‘Reflection’ on the life of the Archdiocese, which I had circulated on the eve
of the meeting of the diocesan Assembly of the 30th march in Paris, and having
experienced its broadly unifying character, I would like to invite everyone to
join in a common action in the light of our quest for stability in our
Archdiocese, namely the question of the consecration of a new Archbishop. An
Archbishop is to be designated by God, to be chosen by ourselves, accepted and
ordained by the Patriarch.
In our
historical past, in moments of great crises or cataclysms, the Church undertook
a period of fasting and prayer for the salvation of the faithful. Do we not
live through such a time now, when we, too, should have recourse to such a
traditional action? We are experiencing a deep administrative crisis, one like
a strong earthquake, which cut us to the quick since the illness and departure
of Archbishop Gabriel. In the intermediate time which is granted us until
November, during which we pray for him in his illness, as well as for
Metropolitan Emmanuel who has provisionally taken his place, surely we need to realize
that together, priests, deacons, lay people, each of us have an individual
personal, moral responsibility for the state of the Archdiocese. We need to
act. A welcome ray of light was the recent conference of the deanery of Great
Britain, which put the accent on the topic of mission as one of the marks of
the Church, thus generating hope. Read the latest ‘Newsletter of the Exarchate’
for June.
On a more
general scale, there is another, welcome aspect to our present situation.
During his pontificate, Archbishop Gabriel led a worthy action, in the
difficult circumstances we share, of ordaining a number of new priests for the
Church, who joined the ranks of existing priests who have served communities
for a long time in different countries. Our priests, the new and the old ones,
are our spiritual treasure. They are our example of true piety, of purity and
faithful service. Let us continue to support them, to protect them, as they
pray for us and take care of us, let us show them our deep gratitude. They are
the firm support on which the ruling archbishop relies, as they constitute the
traditional ‘Presbyterate’ of the Church, and are called to be, together and individually,
her enduring conscience and wisdom. Together with the Archbishop, whose coming
we ardently await, the priests guide the ecclesial Body on its way to the
Kingdom of God. God has put his trust in them, we must not doubt it, in the
same way as He entrusted his precious Body and Blood to the apostles at the
Last Supper. Of this we are witnesses at every divine Eucharist.
In the same
manner in which we prepare ourselves for the Liturgy through fasting and prayer,
may each member of the Church turn to God in this particular service, and endeavour
to overcome the spirit of inertia which all too often overwhelms us, and pray
for God’s help to solve the question of finding people eligible for the high
office of Archbishop. Let us ask God to act firmly in these grievous and
pressing circumstances. Let us ask Him to provide a decisive and extra-ordinary
measure, which the Holy Spirit alone is able to create in all serenity.
Concretely,
I suggest that that a particular day in the week that follows the Sunday of All
Saints be chosen, individually or in community, starting on 1st July
when the festive period has ended. Apart from the children and vulnerable
adults, let us resolve not to eat nothing for a total of 24 hours (drink -
yes), and pray according to the rhythm suitable to each one. I can see three
areas concerning our present worry:
1)
Let
us pray that the Statutes of the Archdiocese which govern our Church life be followed
in all earnestness, in spirit and according to the letter. Their immediate guarantors
are the present Exarch, Metropolitan Emmanuel, together with the diocesan
Council. Let us pray that the Metropolitan, in his wisdom, may be at one with,
and remain faithful towards the Council and the diocese, and that the Counsel may
always remain united and faithful to the Patriarch in the person of the
Metropolitan. It is their task, it seems to me, to take the initiative in
concrete questions arising. Let there be light!
2)
Let
us pray for the priesthood, for our own priest, for all the priests that we
happen to know, and finally for all our priests together, the corporation of
presbyters on whom rests the body of the Archdiocese. May the grace of their
activities be multiplied in the archdiocese and in the various communities.
3)
Finally,
let us pray for ourselves and our resolve and serenity, for our family, for our
friends, our brothers and sisters in the Church, in a word – for the peace and
the unity of everyone and of all. Incidentally, this prayer should include, if
he is one of us, the future candidate to the Archbishopric.
We are two
days before the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, we are still in time to
proclaim: “Christ is risen !”; “He is risen indeed !”
Priest
Michael Fortounatto
