At the recent Synod Youth Symposium, Father Serge Ledkovsky gave an insightful talk about the past and future of the Russian Church Abroad. The specific point in his talk that drew my attention (and the one I disagree with) was when he mentioned that events such as the annual St. Herman’s Conference are wandering away from spirituality and focusing more on entertainment and socialization. He believes the most successful events are those that are more religion-oriented than those that are socially oriented. I agree, of course, that our Orthodoxy is - and should always be - the main focus of conferences and symposiums, but there a necessary balance required in order to keep youth and adults alike interested. This brings me to my point.
I cannot deny the fact that in the recent future our conferences and events have veered away from being completely religious and have become more and more “fun,” however, look at the results. The 2008 St. Herman’s Conference in Montreal was the most successful one I have attended, and it had a huge turnout by recent St. Herman’s standards. And here’s the thing: it was fun. We, the youth, knew this. We liked the idea of road-tripping it up to Montreal along I-87. We liked the idea of spending a week in Canada, 5 days of which were to be spent attending Conference functions. We liked the fact that the clergy and Conference organizers were understanding of the fact that we are young adults and we showed our gratitude for their fairness and understanding by attending the Conference that was designed with us in mind. And I genuinely feel that we benefited from this. I have highlights from this conference in my mind of the presentation about Russia done by the ROCOR youth who attended. Everyone enjoyed seeing Andrei Mouravieff receiving a blessing from Patriarch Alexis. Everyone enjoyed the question-and-answer session with Bishop Gabriel; the fact that we can interact with any Bishop at these events, knowing that they themselves enjoy hearing us express our opinions, love to see us praying in church, and love to laugh while they avoid answering our (my) stupid questions. That’s the way it should be.
I’m not going to continue droning on about one conference, but I think my point has been made. Just look at the situation this year (and keep in mind that I raised this point to Father Serge at the symposium). This year the St. Herman’s Conference will be back where it first started, in Jordanville, and, as someone with a little inside knowledge of the situation, I can say that it was at first expected to have the lowest turnout of youth attendees in many years. (I am extremely happy that I’ve since been informed that this is not the situation at all, and that, in fact, a very large turnout is actually expected!). Generally, however, for those who choose not to attend because of a lack of entertainment value, I’d like to say that I don’t think this is right because I wholeheartedly agree with Father Serge when he says “we must always remember that we are Orthodox Christians and not be afraid to show faith,” but I’m pointing out what is often the harsh reality of the situation. As someone who tries to attend every event possible, no matter the connotation, I hate that the situation is so, but the fact of the matter is most youth will not attend a conference – no matter where it is – if there is seemingly no possibility of having a good time in the process. Therein lies the rope - a balance is needed between the spiritual and earthly aspects of these events.
I am a bit nervous that this article may be taken the wrong way by some, and I am by no means worthy enough to be lecturing others on Orthodoxy, but I do believe I am expressing the opinion of most of my fellow youth with what I have just said. I’d like to thank Father Serge for the great talk that sparked this little response, and Father Andrei Sommer for organizing the symposium, and I hope to see and be a part of a continuing rise of youth attendance at the multitude of functions every year. I just think that, realistically, we need to have stability between religion and socialization.
This is interesting, because I have the exact opposite opinion of Fr Serge - I actually think that the St Hermans Conferences have become more spiritual than social. As someone who's attended Syezd since the early 2000s, I remember a time when priests would have to run around all evening breaking up boozefests and some of the older participants would rent their own rooms so that they couldn't be checked by clergy. I remember people being so hungover that they wouldn't attend anything before 11am.
ReplyDeleteI don't really see any of this happening anymore. What I see is a bunch of young people in various age groups looking to spend time with other people of their same faith in a conducive environment to their spirituality. When it's time for church, everyone is excited to go; when it's time for a lecture, people are usually less excited (an understandable position - who likes school during break?), but when the speaker talks about something genuinely interesting, they light up and burn with questions and enthusiasm.
These are people who love God and His Holy Church, and are trying to find a way to live their lives in accordance with it. Sure, it might not be the 4-day lay seminary that some of our more conservative clergy would like it to be; but as a programme geared towards Youth, I think that it functions exactly as it should, and this is why - as Petya pointed out - it is prospering, and why I believe it will continue to prosper.
Hey Petya-
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point and my first reaction is to wonder why more priests don't come and have a look at what St. Herman's Conference (and St. Seraphim's, and everything else) is doing. That's a very bold statement for Fr. Serge to make going on second-hand knowledge, and frankly its demeaning to the hard-working clergy who make it a great event year in and year out.
Kaz is absolutely right, it's WAY better than it used to be - both in terms of turnout AND in its religious nature. But it happened in this order: FIRST it got more spiritual, THEN everyone who was only coming for a party decided it wasn't fun anymore. That's why it's better now, unfortunately. There are always going to be people on either side of the party fence, and in order to get as many people to attend as possible (and hopefully to affect their lives), you have to balance it, like you said. It's just as important, maybe more important, to get the people who DON'T want to be there to come.
I'm wondering whether some people who say "wandering away from spirituality" really mean "wandering away from Russian-ness," i.e. becoming more American (God-forbid). If that's what they mean, then they're right that that's what's happening, but Russian does not equal spiritual, and in fact in ROCOR today I would argue that, on the whole, the opposite is true (Saint Seraphim's is ROCOR's largest and most religiously-based camp, HCM is growing exponentially, etc.). I'm guessing people are ticked off that the conference has been at an English-speaking parish now, and that it hasn't been back to Lakewood in a couple years.
This is an important discussion to have and I wish there was somewhere better to do it than on your blog. Too bad there's no comments section on the EAYouth website (ahem Nik... :) )
Actually, knowing Fr Serge, I would say that it has nothing to do with being 'less Russian'. If you trace St Hermans back to it roots in Jordanville, yes it was all in Russian, but it was also entrenched in a monastic/seminary environment and therefor very much itself solemn and conformed to all those properties you would expect from a retreat to a monastery. However, now that it has seperated from that setting and gone on the road, so to say, the conference has been able to 'lighten up'.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Fr Serge's point comes from his knowledge of the historical/traditional St Herman conferences in Jordanville, but likewise his incorrect assessment of what it has become based on what I would consider hearsay and/or rumour. Yes, when you look at pictures, you see a lot of kids doing goofy things and having wide grins, but it's because you can only take so many pictures of people sitting around listening to a lecture.
I think that Fr Serge needs to come and experience St Herman's Conference, so that he can see that it's not some kind of three-cupol circus but an evolved and adapted version of the original conference suited for the modern generation.
Also - why all the Russophone hate? :( We don't have any problems with the English-speaking crowd as far as I know. As a matter of fact, I've been to HCM more times this year than Jordanville. And I know that a lot of our Russian youth are both in Russian camps AND St Seraphim's. If you're getting attitude, it's because select people are jerks, not the populace as a whole. :/
I was not trying to imply that Fr. Serge's reasons for believing what he does about SHC are based on "Russianness" - I don't know him at all and didn't hear his lecture so I have nothing to base that opinion on.
ReplyDeleteI was making a generality, which is a dangerous thing to do because it doesn't apply across the board. It may even be the minority, but it's the vocal minority, which is what makes it a problem. People try to bring down camps and conferences and the people who run them based on what country they were born in and in what language they serve the Liturgy (or read morning prayers). That's a problem. Either way, there shouldn't be a "this" crowd and a "that" crowd - it's one Church. The problem is when people (Russians or non-Russians) make it into that kind of issue. I'm peacefully 1/2-Russian and try to keep everything at a balance. Regardless, this is not the point I wanted to get across, and not the issue that is relevant right now.
Fr. Serge has a point that it is the responsibility, ultimately, of the youth to make sure our conferences and camps are what they ought to be. No amount of clerical or hierarchal presence is going to change that. Overall, I think the mindset that St. Herman's has is a very positive one - this issue is to get everyone on that same page, and that's a lifelong battle (and starts with ourselves).
One last thing - I'm wondering where the rumors are coming from that are apparently circulating among the clergy that SHC is some kind of degenerated get-together. Is it really just based on pictures? Certainly none of the clergy who attend have anything bad to say about it. Where is this coming from?? Angry mothers???
Well, keep in mind, guys, that Conference was in Fr. Serge's church in Jackson a few years back, so he was part of a more recent Conference... I just don't know if that's the one he's basing his opinion off of.
ReplyDeleteYou're right...it seems like a long time ago for us (4-5 years) but not for him...
ReplyDelete