ξενιτεια

That's Metropolitan Soterios to you, mister

Metropolitanate of Korea
According the the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 20th April, 2004 the Orthodox Church in Korea being under the auspices of the Metropolitan Dionysios/Joseph of New Zealand as Exarch of Korea for 33 years from the year of 1970 has been elevated to the Metopolitnate of Korea. His Eminence Sotirios of Korea has been in Korea from 1975 as missionary priest and assistant Bishop to His Eminence Dionysios of New Zealand. There are 6 Orthodox Communities and 1 monastic community with 7 local clergymen, 1 Greek missionary priest, 1 nun, 1 volunteer from Greece and 1 novice, along with 2,500 local faithful.

That's the official press release. I've edited it some because Metropolitan Dionysios retired and has been replaced by Metropolitan Joseph, who is/was the Exarch of Korea. What does all this mean? Well, from a letter sent to the English speaking community:

His Grace's elevation means that the Orthodox Church in Korea will take a greater step toward independence. Rather than answering to the Archbishop in New Zealand, His Eminence Soterios will answer directly to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. The Orthodox Church in Korea will not become autocephalous, but it will take an equal membership with all the other elements of Orthodoxy that make up the realm of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an equal metropolitanate. His Eminence's enthronement ceremony is scheduled for June 20 at our cathedral in Seoul.

In other words, the Korea church only has to send one report a year to the Patriarch, and the rest of the time it pretty much does as it wants. It can't concecrate or supply its own bishops, but as a Metropolitan See it has a right to a bishop - as an Exarchate it was merely blessed with one. This establishes the Orthodox hierarchy in Korea pretty much until there's no one here to lord over. (And maybe even after that - some day there might be a titular bishop of Korea well after Korea's done and gone.)

The date given for the enthronenment might be wrong; Fr. Daniel also told me June 27th. Nonetheless, the event should draw a lot of local bigwigs - Metropolitan Nikitas of Hong Kong, Metropolitan Joseph, a bishop or two from Russia, and maybe even Metropolitan Daniel of Japan. There'll be reps from a bunch of churches, too.

Right now His Eminence is off in Greece and Istanbul chillin' with Bart and collecting loot. He won't be back for a month or more.

What's most interesting about all this, though, is that Soterios has been made Metropolitan of Korea - not South Korea, not titular bishop of Zelon, but Korea. Now it wouldn't really matter if North Korea were included, since Christian presence there in general is minimal. But while the Dear Leader was trekking across Russia a few years back he happened to visit an Orthodox church somewhere out in the boonies. He decided it was cute and wanted one to decorate his capital; so now one is being built in Pyongyang and some boys were sent to Russia to get themselves ordained. For those of you who don't know, there's more than a wee bit of bad juristictional blood between Lexie and Bart. So the MP could see this as a power grab.

Regardless, relations on the ground between North and South are remarkably good. I can't say much for obvious reasons, but here's a (slightly censored) communiqué:

Encounter with the Orthodox Representatives from North Korea

His Eminence Sotirios and Protopresbyter Daniel Na met Chairman Yuri and Vice-Chairman Petros of the Orthodox Organization in Pyung-Yang, North Korea at Mt. Kum-Kang in North Korea from 20th April through 22nd April 2004 in order to discuss mutual cooperation for the construction work of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Building at Dong-Baik Dong, Pyung-Yang City, North Korea which will be completed in April of 2005. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman were baptized in Moscow when they visited there in January 2004. They are the first Orthodox Christians in North Korea along with four other students who are studying in Moscow to be Orthodox priests in 2005.

Obviously It's a Pseudonym

Well, mostly. Pavle really is my nom de religion, though I don't use the Serbian spelling or pronunciation in every day use. I chose Paul for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones was its ability to cross linguistic lines easily and recognizably. When I go to church the Koreans do, in fact, call me 바 울 로. (Just as the very few Greeks call me Παυλος /Παβλος and the not-quite-so-few Russians say Павел.)

Jurodivyj is a whole different matter. One of several possible transliterations of Юродивый, it means "holy fool." Holy fools are a bit of a hot topic in academia these days - their unconventional, marginal behavior make for great anecdotes and postmodernist pontifications.

Although the first such fools were recognized in Greece, the Holy Fool has been perfected and most cherished in Russia. There, they confronted Ivan the Terrible, wandered around naked in the snow, and inspired a multitude of Russian artists. Dostoyevsky's The Idiot and Gogol's Dead Souls are but the most well known. They also influenced music (Shostakovich) and the visual arts.

Most glorified fools are given the title "Blessed" or "Blessed One" rather than the usual "Saint". Sometimes their name is simply stated, then followed with "Fool-for-Christ". Often, the gift of prophecy is associated with them. Although there are dozens of Holy Fools, here are some of the most famous:

Andrew, Fool-for Christ:

was a Slav and lived in the tenth century at Constantinople...during a dream, the saint beheld a vision of two armies. In the one were men in radiant garb, in the other, black and fiercesome devils. An angel of God, who held wondrous crowns, said to Andrew, that these crowns were not adornments from the earthly world, but rather a celestial treasure, with which the Lord rewards His warriors, victorious over the dark hordes. "Proceed with this good deed," the angel said to Andrew. "Be a fool for My sake and you will receive much in the day of My Kingdom."

Symeon of Emessa, Fool-for-Christ:

was a Syrian, and lived in the sixth century with his aged mother. After several years of monasticism, he went to the city where he passed himself off as a simpleton, doing strange acts, for which he was subjected to insults, abuse and beatings: Arriving at the city gate, he found a dead dog on a dungheap, tied its leg to the rope around his waist, and entered the city dragging the comatose canine behind him. During the church services, he threw nuts at the clergy and blew out the candles. In the circus, he wrapped his arms around the dancing-girls and went skipping and dancing across the arena. In the streets, he tripped people up, developed a theatrical limp, and dragged himself around on his butt. In the bath-house, he ran naked into the crowded women's section.

Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow:

was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, outside Moscow. His parents were common folk and sent their son for training in the cobbler's craft. For the salvation of his neighbors, Blessed Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he with tears clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: "Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I with tears entreat them to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners."

Blessed Michael of Klops:

was of noble lineage, but left Moscow dressed in rags and went to Klops monastery, near Novgorod. No one knew how he got into the locked cell of the hieromonk Makarios, who was going round the cell censing during the Ninth Ode of the Canon. A man in monastic garb sat there beneath a candle, copying out the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After the end of Matins the igumen came with some of the brethren and asked the stranger who he was, and what his name was. But he responded only by repeating the questions, and did not reveal his origin.

Blessed Xenia (Ксения блаженская) of St. Petersburg

Xenia liked a certain girl very much because of her meek, quiet character and her kind heart. Once Xenia came to visit them and the girl began to make coffee. Turning to the girl, Xenia said: "Here you are making coffee and your husband is burying his wife in Okhta. Run there quickly!" The girl was shocked. "My what?! I don’t have a husband... and burying his wife!" Once there they saw that a funeral procession was headed for the cemetery and they joined in with the crowd of mourners. A young woman, the wife of a doctor, had died in childbirth and was being buried. They chanced upon the sobbing young widower who, at the sight of the grave mound over the remains of his beloved wife, lost consciousness and fell to the ground near them. The daughter strove to bring him back to consciousness and to comfort him. They became acquainted and, eventually, the young woman became the wife of the doctor.

Sergei on Ryongchon

Again, some old news. By now everyone knows about the explosions in North Korea near the Chinese border.

I don't have any commentary to add, damning or otherwise beyond this:

I was talking to Sergei, a delightful old man at church on Sunday - a man who went to church with exiled Russians in China, then fled Communism to North Korea where he then had to flee it again. Anyway, he has a rather large, quite understandable chip on his shoulder about Communism, so I have to take what he says with a grain of anti-conspiracy salt. Nonetheless, what he noted about Ryongchon was interesting. It seems that the town was an especially strong Christian enclave at the time of the Communist take over; Kim Il Song held them in particularly strong contempt. Sergie suggested that while the explosion was likely unintentional, the general ambivalence North Korean government has shown might be the result of a lingering animosity toward Ryongchon.

He had other, more exotic theories about secret dissident groups that made for some great story telling but are way too complex to be recounted here.

正 敎 會

I am by no means knowledgable of Chinese Characters or Korean 한 자 or even the Korean language in general. Languages are not my gift; tinkering around, though, is something I enjoy.

The above three characters are (as I understand it) characters for "Orthodox Church". In Korean, they are pronounced 정 교 회.

Here's what each one means, according to Reading and Writing Korean Characters, Third Revised Edition, by Bruce K. Grant.

正 바 를 정

Upright, true, correct, right, correct, straight, just at, adjust, principal, chief, January, whole

This character is relatively common, I believe. It is the middle name of the Dear Leader, for example.

敎 가 르 칠 교

teach, teaching, religion

會 모 을 회

assemble, meet, society

敎 會, 교 회, is the general term for church: "a church (the institution), a religious association".

Having utterly depleted my knowledge of hanja, I will conclude my one and only lesson here.

Japanese vs Korean Hostages

A while back I posted a little piece on the kidnappings of some Korean missionaries in Iraq. This is late news, but it seems that cousins across the sea-whose-name-is-in-dispute reacted to their returning compatriots about the same as the Iraqis did to the Korean hostages. No, I'm not drawing unsavory parallels - in both instances each side is polite, rather disgusted, and would like to return their catch as soon as possible:

"You got what you deserve!" read one hand-written sign at the airport where they landed. "You are Japan's shame," another wrote on the Web site of one of the former hostages. They had "caused trouble" for everybody. The government, not to be outdone, announced it would bill the former hostages $6,000 for air fare.

Some would say these Japanese are just eating their due and would wish the same to the Koreans - but as I recall, there was little more than a quick flurry of articles in the papers when the Koreans returned home. Naturally, this might have something to do with the nature and duration of their respective ordeals. At any rate, we can scribble it on the long list of differences between the Peninsula and the Archipelago.

It seems that some of the Japanese folks are heading back, too. Ideals? Or when faced with a decision between Japanese scorn and Iraqi street weapons, he figgered he could outlast the Iraqis?

On Comments

Through sundry means it has been communicated to me that I should enable comments.

Answer #1: No.

Answer # 2: Most comments I've read fall into two categories: 1. General inanity. 2. GYOFB.

I don't really see myself running a forum here. If you've something to say, by all means say it - just not on my time or space. If you want to say something directly to me, there's a handy-dandy email link on the margins. I am indeed interested in others' opinions, but if they hold so high a view of their thoughts that they're inclined to share them, they should show a little respect for them and write them up in a neat, well-wrought email or blog entry. Comment are crude in their immediacy. Their ease of use leads less towards intelligent communication than spontaneous stupidity.

So do tell me what you think. Just have the civility to write an email.

"...someone of foreign speech among men of other tongues."

Whence comes the name of this blog? It's common, even expected, for a blog to have strange "catchy" name. The reasons for this one's name are manifold. Bascially I like the word:

η ξενιτεια (xs’en-i-te-i-ah) a wondering abroad. From the deponent verb ξενιτευω, to live abroad (Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon).

In modern Greek, as I understand it, there is a connotation of nostalgia and is the term for “diaspora.” Patristically speaking, it is a monkish word, applied a class of monastics who wander instead of being fixed to a particular hermitage or monastery. Often it is used to mean “pilgrimage”, though sometimes of an open-ended sort. But the strongest and most well known use is best translated “renunciation” or “exile”, usually self-imposed and frequently psychological rather than simply physical. Far and away the most famous text is this:

There is such a thing as exile, and irrevocable renunciation of everthing in one’s familiar surroundings that hinders one from attaining the ideal of holiness. Exile is a disciplined heart, unheraled wisdom, an unpublicized understainding, a hidden life, masked ideals. It is unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty, the longing for what is divine. It is an outpouring of love, a denial of vainglory, a depth of silence.

...I mean separation from their relations for the sake of hardship and simplicity which drives on the lovers of this good. Yet for all that it is praiseworthy, it requires discretion, since not every kind of exile is good if taken to extremes.

....Exile is a separation from everything, in order that one may hold on totally to God. It is a chosen route of great grief. An exile is a fugitive, running from all relationships with his own relatives and with strangers.

....A true exile, despite his possession of knowledge, sits like someone of foreign speech among men of other tongues.

From "On Exile", The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by Saint Monk John of the Ladder (Lestvichnik/Klimatikos/Climacus), also called Scholasticus and the Sinaita.

As far as I know, there is only one use of it in the LXX:

Instead whereof thou gavest them a burning pillar of fire, both to be a guide of the unknown journey, and an harmless sun to entertain them honourably. The Book of Wisdom 18:3.

So the literal sense is simply "wandering", extended metaphorically to be a "retreat from the world."

St. John goes on to cite the two most important instances of xeniteia:

There is no greater example of renunciation than that great man [Abraham] who heard the command, "Leave your country and your family and the house of your father" (Gen. 12:1). Obediently he went to a foreign country where the language was different.

...let us remind ourselves at once of Him Who came down from heaven for our benefit and exiled Himself to earth.

So that that should explain many of the interests apparent in this present blog. It should also throw light on the "On Exile: in land, spirit" part of the gloss. As for the "and imagination", I'll comment eventually on the spiritual side of what St. John has to say about that; what is generally meant, however, is my interest in literature and travel-writing. Again, there is the twofold nature of the word at work - on one hand I'm interested in literature that devotes itself to expatriatism and foreign-ness, but also those works that serve as a means of psychological and spiritual retreat.

Zaire

I used to live in Ubangi, not far from the Congo river; my brother was born there. I've few memories of it, but as with all places of one's childhood, I'm immensely attached to it. Consequently this New York Times piece was mezmerizing:

"My father took me to the river," said Alfie, who is 7. "He said I was a witch."

...Anecdotes from children's advocates suggest that across the country, more and more children are accused of sorcery, blamed for the ills that befall their kin in what remains a time of unfathomable hardship.

The grown-ups who care for them see it as a barometer of national despair. When nothing else explains the gnawing misery of daily life, the supernatural steps in. Sickness, death, joblessness, hunger — all can be blamed on witchcraft. Children, defenseless by definition, can be the easiest scapegoats.

DR Congo, and strife-soaked Africa in general, looks like a ripe spot for field work on the question of religion and society. Clearly it seems that it is not only has the Congolese moral fabric been torn - whatwith drowning children like cats - but it appears equally that their spiritual footing has been shaken by civil chaos. I smell a lot of academic aggrandizement in the making.

...the delicate inner skin of the wallet...

...These are the measure for measure
Hanging retributions against the disenfranchised:
Those who are Guilty of Passion....

Or Cleanliness shall be hung by the pubic hair;
They shall be hung by the pierced thighs, Those
Who are Guilty of Standing Erect; by the eyes

Those who have Seen Things Clearly; by the nose
Those who Smell the Death of the Rat in the Wall;
Those Convicted of Worthiness shall be hoisted

By the reputation; Those Convicted of Intelligence
By the delicate inner skin of the wallet; by the tongue
Those who Know Poverty, Hunger, Color, or Charm;

By the ears Those who Learn the Direction
Of the Class Dialectic; by the genitals Those
Refused Credit; by the breasts Those Discovered

Suckling More of Their Own Kind; by the DNA,
Those who COmbine Unfitness with Survival;
By the Phrenes, the Ones who are Poor and Disbelieve;

By the Thumbs, the Ones who are Poor and Believe.

- T. R. Hummer, "Walt Whitman in Hell", Walt Whitman in Hell

Who's Hungry?

From AFP:

"It's really a question of nurture rather than nature," according to insect expert Louis Sorkin at an exhibition in New York's American Museum of Natural History.

"Mommy gave you chocolate, so you like chocolate. If she had given you tarantulas or scorpions, then you'd have a taste for them too."

Don't ask where I find this weird stuff....