A Gift from the Metropolitan

This past Sunday I had the opportunity of being in the presence of Metropolitan Nicholas of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church.  The occasion was the ordination of Deacon Maximos to the priesthood.  The service was special for many reasons.  The Metropolitan gave a very thoughtful message that I am sure Fr. Maximos will never forget.  Afterwards, we all retired downstairs to enjoy a communal meal.

Of course, the Metropolitan had the place of honor. In front of him was a beautiful arrangement of spring flowers.  Early on in the meal, some of the children of the church presented him with a  bouquet of long stemmed red roses. He immediately  began to take the bouquet apart and began the process of distributing individual roses to the ladies in the room.  He then passed off this action to Fr. Nectarios, who continued to distribute the flowers  until they were all gone.  It was a wonderful object lesson in what to do with our gifts.

After the meal, when people were leaving, we took the opportunity to approach him to ask for his blessing.  The first thing that he did was reach into the arrangement in front of him and pull out some of the spring flowers which he made into a little bouquet and handed to me.  Then, he commented that he  had noticed us during the liturgy because  he had not seen us there during his previous visits.   Other words passed between us, and we left with his blessing.

In each Orthodox church there is a chair that sits in the nave, near the iconostasis.  It is the bishop's chair.  It is symbolic of the fact that, although the priest has care of the congregation,  this is the bishop's congregation.  Because of the number of churches under his authority, it is difficult to get to each one more than once every couple of years, unless there is some special event going on there.  But, the bishop must keep in regular contact with his priests.  He must encourage them, feed them, pray for them, and do all that will insure the continued growth and health of the faithful in their care.  Like St. Paul, he must encourage those Tituses and Timothys  who look to him.

Hierarch Nicholas' reputation had proceeded him that day.  I had heard many good things about him.  I had been told that he does tend for his flock following the example of his good shepherd.  In our brief time with him on Sunday I was encouraged by his presence, his humor, his concern, his example,  his blessing, and his gift to me of spring flowers.   

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, may  God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit grant him many more years of service.