First of all, I give thanks to God for each of you, both clergy and laity, and your part in building up the Body of Christ here in the Diocese of the West.
Before going any further in my report, I would like to say a few words about my health. Most of you are aware that I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. It will not kill me, but it will and does make life difficult. It manifests itself so for in a tremor in both hands, some unsteadiness in walking and soft speech. I have also discovered my hearing is impaired, especially in my right ear, which is almost totally deaf. I do not want to be one of those clergy that keep on working way past my “use by” date to the point the diocese suffers. So, I am thinking about retirement. I am not sure when that should happen, but it will probably be sooner than later. I have set my 70th birthday as a goal. How realistic that is remains to be seen. So, how to move forward? We are one of the few dioceses with an auxiliary bishop, and an excellent one. His Grace, Bishop Daniel has been a great help. And were something to happen tomorrow to me, I am confident you all would be well taken care of. If I am to continue visiting the parishes, the best part of this job, I will probably need some help. And, as I no longer have the protodeacon or Monk Barnabas living with me, I think it best to look for a kellenik or assistant to help me and travel with me. It is getting more and more difficult to schlep bags to the airport and up and down the stairs at home. So, I am hoping our budget can be accommodated and someone found who can help. Because my speech is impacted, I will most likely ask the clergy to preach when I make my visits. It is all I can do some days to get the anaphora prayers read out loud. I am not on medication yet, but I expect when I am given medication, things will be a bit easier. But I wanted to assure you all I am not afraid to step aside if it will be of benefit to you. I have discussed this with His
Beatitude and will also mention it at the Holy Synod meeting next week so everyone will be on the same page.
The past year and a half have been the most difficult I can remember. The coronavirus has not only threatened our health and wellbeing, it has in some cases driven wedges between priest and bishop, priest and brother priest, and pastor and his flock. It has challenged some of the very basic assumptions that inform our polity and our common unity.
As I think about these past months, I am reminded of the passage in the 10th chapter of Gospel of John wherein the evangelist gives a description of the relationship between the shepherd and his flock. My Scottish forebears used dogs to terrorize their sheep into obedience. If you have ever been to sheepdog trials to see border collies at work, you will know what I mean. The dogs run around the sheep, nipping at their ankles, in order to force them to do the will of their shepherd. But the image given us in the Gospel of John is of a different kind of shepherd, a Middle Eastern shepherd. While in Turkey, I got up early one morning and witnessed a Turkish shepherd taking his sheep out to graze. There were no dogs. Rather, the shepherd walked in front of his flock making his presence known through his voice. The sound of his voice gave the sheep confidence, and they willingly followed him. I have tried to be that kind of shepherd to you because that is the way Christ Himself leads us. He does not terrorize or force us. Instead, he confidently leads the way and hopefully we hear his voice and follow him.
The Orthodox bishop is supposed to make the image of the Chief Shepherd present in his diocese in a concrete manner, to be an icon of it. My sole job is to be Christ to you in such a manner that you hear his voice through me. It has always been my hope that I would inspire the clergy to want to follow my directives willingly and out of respect and love, if not for me personally, out of respect for the office of their bishop. And the parish clergy, who are extensions of his pastoral ministry, are supposed to lead the sheep entrusted to their care in a similar fashion. I sometimes wonder just how a priest that is disobedient can even begin to expect his parishioners to follow him?
Accordingly, I ask the forgiveness of the few priests who have felt it necessary to wander off and go their own way. Obviously, I have failed them as their bishop.
There are several of the clergy who have openly and even publicly chosen not to follow the directives and restrictions the Holy Synod and I have set forth. There are others who simply have adopted “radio silence”, knowingly doing their own thing but keeping it quiet in the hope that I will not find out. But thank God, the great majority of the clergy have done what we have asked of them. And I thank them for their willingness to do what is asked of them even if, in some cases, they have different ideas.
The antimension upon which each of you serve the Divine Liturgy is the sign of our relationship. It does not belong to you. It belongs to me. Without it you may not serve the Liturgy and, were you to do so, you would automatically depose yourself from the priesthood. It should remind you every time you open it that you serve on my behalf. It should also remind you that it is I who will have to answer before the dread judgment seat for you and your flock. But hopefully, it also reminds you that you are deeply loved and trusted by your bishop.
Essentially, it does not matter what you think about the coronavirus, the mandates, or what your or my politics are. What matters is the relationship we have, one of obedience. I remind you obedience is not tyranny. It should never be demanded, but rather freely given. Even in our relationship with God, He never forces us to do anything. But He does call us to be obedient sons and daughters who fulfill his commandments because we love him – not slaves who are afraid of being punished if we do not. So, if you are one of those priests who chooses to openly disobey or secretly (hoping I don’t know or will not find out), I would ask you: Why are you a priest? Why do you kiss the antimension or serve on it? In any event, I beg your forgiveness for not being the kind of bishop you could love and respect. But if everyone did his own thing, there would be chaos. We would not be Orthodox. We would be Protestants, each doing his own thing. I don’t want to give the impression everything is bad in the diocese with regard to the pandemic. I have generally been pleased with the response I have gotten from the vast majority of the clergy. And I am grateful for the care you have given the flocks entrusted into your care. As our diocese encompasses 11 states and Lord knows how many counties, each with their own rules, laws and mandates, a one size fits all policy has been impossible to develop. I want to thank you all for the excellent work you have done and ask you all to be vigilant, not only for the souls of your people, but for their health as well.
I would like to take this time to publicly thank Hieromonk Innocent of the St. John of Shanghai Monastery for taking on the burden of care for the Monk Barnabas who was a part of my household. Fr. Barnabas was recently hospitalized and could not return to my residence. Fr. Innocent in an act of incredible charity took him in. And it has not been easy. We are not sure what will happen moving forward, but I really wanted to publicly thank him for his generosity.
While on the topic of monastic life in the diocese, several of our monasteries are experiencing growth and having various building projects going at this time. The nuns of the St. Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula, California are in the process of purchasing additional property and have plans to construct an addition to the residence to allow for growth. The monks of the St. John the Baptist Monastery and the nuns of the St. Macarius Monastery have purchased property in Arizona and looking to build. Mother Cassiana of the Holy Protection Monastery has completed the building of the monastery chapel and looks to complete the interior, except for the iconography, this spring. Finally, the nuns of the Dormition Monastery in Calistoga, California are remodeling the St. Nicholas building too to accommodate more nuns. Your assistance and support of these institutions of our diocese is greatly appreciated.
In closing, I would especially like to acknowledge the excellent work and assistance of our chancellor, His Grace, Bishop Daniel and the Administrative assistant, Fr. Andrew Smith. Without their help I would find it very difficult to perform my duties as diocesan bishop, especially over the past year and a half.
His Grace has been a source of wise counsel, not only for myself but for His Beatitude and the other hierarchs as well. He has been given some of the most difficult assignments and handled them with judiciousness and astuteness. In particular His Grace shared the burden of oversight of a bit more than half the parishes throughout the pandemic, answering the many questions of the clergy and helping develop policy.
Priest Andrew Smith has been invaluable in helping me with the daily tasks of my office, writing letters, communicating with the clergy the various prayer requests and messages that have arisen. He called for the parish and committee reports you have before you today and also has assisted me in running the parish office,
collecting and reporting of the receipts generated in the course of my travels and work.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of the members of the diocesan council, especially our excellent treasurer, and the district deans over the past two years. Thank you all for your valuable service to us all.
+BENJAMIN
Archbishop of San Francisco and the Diocese of the West
