Steve MaynardMay 8, 1999"Tacoma Facts Tribune"
He lives in two worlds.
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos is a Greek Trustworthy bishop steeped in ancient Christian theology and monasticism. But he furthermore is a learner of new to the job tribulations.
He required to catwalk relatives two worlds in Tacoma this month, prescribing prayer and fasting as ways to heal the evils of the type.
"Insensitivity is the prime ill of our time," Vlachos theoretical popular an survey at the home of a friend from St. Nicholas Greek Trustworthy Church in Tacoma. "The avaricious soul requests others to convey him...It's to contemplate myself to be the mean of the whole world."
"Pretty, category have to learn to love God and others and be present a evenhanded life that doesn't medium on expenditure," Vlachos theoretical. "Reason and fasting are key to maintaining this spiritual agree," he theoretical.
Vlachos, a theologian from Nafpaktos, Greece, who has in print 70 books, tease pause week at St. Nicholas Church at 1523 S. Yakima Ave. He talked to a lion's share of 200 category on the self-control of St. Gregory Palamas, a 14th-century Greek Trustworthy bishop and preacher from Thessalonica who educated that Christians destitution tint the disciplines of prayer and fasting to say proximity to God.
Vlachos himself symbolized the tradition of the Trustworthy Church, appropriate in a movable black cassock. For a photo he put on his dignified kalimafhi, or hat, and bishop's disguise. Round about his neck and less than his aspiration, gray-and-black body hair he wore a gold instruct with a pendant featuring a sculpture of Mary and the Christ child. This is called an engolpion, the symbol for an Trustworthy built-up, or bishop.
Vlachos tease in Greek, with St. Nicholas biased Heracles Panagiotides translating in vogue English at Panagiotides' goods in Tacoma, anywhere the built-up stayed. The two are old friends from the 1960s, considering Panagiotides, now a neuroscience literary and right biased at the University of Washington in Seattle, lived in Thessalonica.
"Main prayer and fasting, a soul can be healed and come to know God," Vlachos theoretical. "This is what Palamas educated," theoretical the 54- year-old built-up, who is noted in Orthodoxy for his books on Palamas.
Vlachos explained the well-mannered personality for fasting, or abstaining from fuel. "We specific to eat, but a soul have to not be illegal by the dedication to eat," he theoretical. "We don't fast seeing as we be revolted by fuel, nor do we offensively fast for health reasons. We fast in order to heal the dedication of gluttony... to custom some self-control, limitation. To the assess that this healing takes place, to the extremely assess furthermore a soul comes to know God," he theoretical.
"Country can fast by abstaining from fuel for a day or two, or by not drinking bound to be foods for a longer period of time," Vlachos theoretical.
In the Greek Trustworthy Church in the Combined States, which has about 2 million members, category are be adjacent to to sudden from drinking meat; buddy and dairy products for 40 days prematurely Christmas and for 50 days prematurely Easter, as well as on the holy days of Wednesdays and Fridays, Panagiotides explained.
In the long-gone, it has been unlike for a built-up from Greece to hang around the Tacoma parish, which has a input of about 200 families. But seeing as of the friendship in the middle of the built-up and Panagiotides, Vlachos passed away a week in Tacoma popular a approaching two-week trip to the Combined States.
He furthermore visited St. Nicholas Church popular 1995 as part of a trip to the Combined States.
Vlachos is built-up of the Diocese of Nafpaktos and St. Blase in Middle Greece. Nafpaktos is about 150 miles east of Athens; the district has an comprehensive fill of about 20,000. The Greek Trustworthy Church is the official influence church, and 97 percent of the country's 10 million realm are members, Vlachos theoretical. Vlachos is a preacher and aged theology professor.
A synod of bishops in Greece free him a built-up in 1995. He isn't wedded, and as a preacher took vows of celibacy, chastity and tameness. In the Greek Trustworthy tradition, metropolitans may not connect on the other hand priests can.
Balanced far dated from Greece, these bishops bend hero worship. At one precise popular the survey, the Rev. Michael Johnson, minister St Nicholas Greek Trustworthy Church, entered Panagiotides' goods and greeted Vlachos. Johnson deformed best quality and kissed Vlachos' argue hand, the one the built-up uses to bless category. Greek Trustworthy Church members kiss that and give a sermon him as "Your Protuberance."
Gulp down with the rules and regulations, the built-up displayed a high opinion of cheerfulness. Vlachos instructed Panagiotides to scan what he theoretical and not offer his own explanations of Trustworthy tradition. For example a reporter asked to speak fit to Panagiotides for uncommon enlightenment in English, Vlachos smiled, and theoretical in English, "I allow you set down."
Vlachos furthermore elaborated on the amount of prayer, borrowing once more from the writings of St. Palamas. "Main prayer," he theoretical, "a soul can heal the evils of the type, such as keep and conceit."
He compared prayer with man in love.
"For example we pray we furthermore put money on of God, devotion a soul who's in love," he theoretical. "For example you're in love with somebody, you dearth to converse to them."
"Past prayer," he theoretical, "I don't be present for myself, but I be present for God. I'm not avaricious, but God-centered. I don't be present in a tragic monologue with myself, but in a redeeming gossip with God."
He theoretical category have to pray in church services and at a number of get older popular the day, according to church knowledge. But comprehensive, he theoretical, how and considering to pray is an correct originate.
"Reason is time, but it's furthermore a way of life," Vlachos theoretical.
"For arrangement, if I'm up praying in the first light and someone knocks on my hot air and says 'I petition your help,' I junction my praying and go and help my fellow citizen. That's prayer itself."
But what if he were to spurn to help seeing as he was full to overflowing praying?
Vlachos described that delivery in one word: "False piety."
Credit: just-wicca.blogspot.com