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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Joseph DelGiorno Ordained Deacon for RWRV

On May 28, 2011, at Christminster (the monastery of Christ the Saviour) in Canada, Dom Joseph DelGiorno was ordained to the sacred diaconate, in a Western rite ordination service, by Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, who assists Metropolitan Hilarion in administering the ROCOR Western Rite Vicariate (RWRV).

We declare him "dignus," and we pray that Fr. Joseph will receive grace and strength from Our Lord in the coming years to fulfill the loftiness of his sacred calling.



Ad multos annos, pater!



Reading of the Holy Gospel



At left is Bishop Jerome in Western rite vestments.



Ordination banquet



Future of Western Rite Orthodoxy

8 comments:

Bb said...

I had thought that "Dom" was afforded all Benedictine monks. Is that a later custom?

Fr. Deacon Robert Sherwood said...

"Dom" would be the title of a Benedictine monk. I do not know if that is a later practice but I always used that title and my uncle who was a pre-VII Benedictine was always referred to as "Dom." Anyhow that is what Christminster does.

Dale said...

It is indeed wonderful to see that ordinations are finally following the Roman rite! It is also uplifting to see that the rite and chapel are so very western looking and not at all Byzantinised; no need to stick in an ikonostasis, royal doors, and easternised vestments, or even a Russian style cube altar (which even the Greeks do not use). Well done; perhaps the situation is truly changing regarding the western rite in Byzantine Orthodoxy; if so, we have no one to thank but the farsighted leadership of the ROCOR. I did not think that I would live to see the day.

Fr. Aidan said...

I have edited the article to simply include "Dom" in the title of Fr. Joseph, since this has become a general honourific and my head is in the sand of 12th century books and I know nothing.

Dale said we have only RWRV to thank, but we also have AWRV to thank. Very old Western altars were known to be cube-shaped, but I feel completely comfortable on a rectangular one which is not square, using a missal stand.

I have not known the intrusion of eastern style into Western vestments to have been done, at a WR church, although many priests will now wear a visible cross a la Russian style.

Dale said...

I do not know about this Father:

One "western rite" priest, from a canonical jurisdiction, actually has posted pictures of a "Western rite" bishop in a Byzantine crown and holding a modern version of a Greek crosier! Of course, I am certain he would disclaim that they are not easternizations, but only the true traditions of the "Sarum" tradition; not noticing that even amongst Byzantine bishops the adaptation of the imperial crown was very late and if one is going to fancy-up a western rite bishop with a Byzantine style crosier it would be better to at least adopt one that was prevalent during the western middle ages, which was the Tau Russian form, and not the modern Greek version with the two serpents. The list could go on and on and on.

One might add, that the Latin crosier, as a pastoral staff modeled on the staff of a shepherd is very ancient, as is the miter of the western church, no need, that I can think of, to make these two correspond to late Greek usage at all.

Could you please send sources for the cube shaped altar in the west, If it did exist, it must have been very, very rare indeed (the cube altar is indeed very popular amongst the most liturgically destructive of modern Roman Catholics); yet in your new, improved missal, you have not only the cubed free-standing altar but an ikonostatsis with three doors!

Tom said...

Interesting pictures. I agree with Dale.

Fr. Aidan said...

Dear Dale, I have not seen pictures of a WR bishop in a Byzantine crown or with a modern Greek crozier having serpents on it. Therefore I confess I do not know what you're referring to. To provide a contrast, I will post on this blog an illustration of a WR bishop in authentic WR vestments. That, I hope, will cheer you up!

> ... One might add, that the Latin crosier, as a pastoral staff modeled on the staff of a shepherd is very ancient, ...

Really? How ancient? I have heard there are examples which predate the Schism of Rome, but my understanding is that the shepherd's crook form was not then prevalent. Of course, I don't think there's anything wrong with a shepherd's crook form.

> ... Could you please send sources for the cube shaped altar in the west, If it did exist, it must have been very, very rare...

1. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopaedia mentions the use of square (cube) altars in the West.
2. Who is mandating cube-shaped altars? Because I've never heard of this being required in the WR.

> ... indeed (the cube altar is indeed very popular amongst the most liturgically destructive of modern Roman Catholics);

Why would WR Orthodox care, one way or the other, what modern RCs are doing? We have our own traditions, our own ways.

> ... yet in your new, improved missal, ...

I deny that such a missal exists. Show us this missal, if indeed you want to say one exists.

> ... you have not only the cubed free-standing altar ..

Sounds perfectly Western to me. As in, Western European and Roman. Are not free-standing altars the predominant usage in the Orthodox West?

> ... but an ikonostatsis with three doors!

The WR has a roodscreen, which is a little different than an iconostas. Three doors are a known and documented native Western usage, though a single door is more common.

Andreas said...

In the light of the new assignment of Fr. Michael (Wood), what will happen to the missions located in the Philippines? Who is the new contact of reference for those who are interested in Western Rites Orthodoxy?