The weekend of September 23rd to 25th was a spiritually uplifting one as 19 members of our Diocese’s Fellowship of St. John the Divine (from Ottawa and Montreal) traveled to the Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline Massachusetts for a retreat on the topic of Christian Worship. The retreat was organized through a combined effort of the Greek Archdiocese’s Young Adult League and the Antiochian Archdiocese’s Fellowship. The keynote speaker was the charismatic Fr. Dan Suciu, whom we were absolutely blessed to have in our midst.
Upon arrival on Friday evening, we were warmly welcomed at the hotel and then proceeded to a beautiful Paraklesis service. Following the service, Fr. Mark Leondis (youth director of the Greek Archdiocese) made introductory remarks and explained to us that this service is not only sung during the Dormition Fast, but in any time of distress, especially in times of natural disaster. This was especially fitting given the recent occurrences of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Southern parts of the United States.
 
Saturday was a day full of learning and prayer. It began with morning prayers in Greek and English at the Holy Cross Chapel. The highlight of our day was Fr. Dan’s Keynote address on the Divine Liturgy. Father took us back to the vision of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6. He explained how the Divine Liturgy that we celebrate is in fact a “copy” of the one that happens in heaven. Father pointed us to the notable aspects of our worship and how these are taken directly from the Word of God. Our use of incense (Is.6:4), our music as we sing with the angels “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Is.6:3) and the Mystery of the Eucharist (Is. 6:6) are directly rooted in Biblical instruction and revelation. Father Dan also spoke about our use of icons. Icons were not simply an innovation of first century Christians, but rather God instructed Moses to use images of worship in Exodus 25 and 26. God tells Moses to carve images of Cherubs in the designs of the ark and the tabernacle.
 
Many of us fondly remember the story about how Father Dan taught his children about icons. He stood outside of his home and placed his face on the window while his children looked at him from inside. He then asked them to kiss him. He asked, “What were you kissing?” to which they responded, “the window.” He then asked, “WHO were you kissing?” “YOU dad!” So it is with our use of icons! What a remarkable lesson for all parents to remember to pass on to their children.
 
We also had the opportunity Saturday to attend 2 other workshops where much helpful discussion was generated among us all. Later that afternoon, a few Holy Cross students gave us a tour of their beautiful campus. Many of us wished it was our own! In the evening, we attended Vespers at the Chapel and then filled two buses which would take us to our next destination, dinner at a popular Greek restaurant in Boston, Dionysios. It was an enjoyable evening full of fellowship, great food and great company. It didn’t end there though! We headed back to the Chapel and had a Candlelight Compline, which was a peaceful way to end off our day and prepare for the upcoming one.
 
Very appropriately, our weekend culminated with the Divine Liturgy on Sunday before all delegates returned home, enlivened by this weekend retreat. We were fortunate to hear Fr. Dan preach a sermon on Christ’s command to his disciples in Luke 5:4 to “Launch into the deep.” Essentially, this is a call to every one of us to “launch into the deep” of our souls to be convicted of our sin, to repent and to be cleansed by Jesus Christ. This is our challenge before we can really be fishers of men and “let down [our] nets for a catch,” as the Lord tells us. May God continue His work in all of us, perfecting us unto His likeness!