Around & about British Columbia

By Dimitrios & Katerina Angelatos

Language dilemma in Greek churches

            For many years there have been a large number of people who have advocated the use of more English in the divine liturgies at the Greek Orthodox churches. There are many people who are not fluent in the Greek language but who wish to be able to partake more fully in the worship services. These include converts as well as the descendents of the Greeks who decided to make Canada their new home. Father Panagiotis of Sts. Nicholas and Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Church in Vancouver recently announced that it was his intent to put more English into the church services every second Sunday. This announcement has caused quite a bit of heated discussions within the Greek communities at large. There are those who say that Greek was the only language of these churches and communities when they were formed and that it should stay that way.

            When the Greeks first immigrated here the churches and their accompanying communities were what drew the people together. These people had to learn to speak English to survive in this new country but at the church they could again hear their language spoken. After church, they would get together with family, friends and acquaintances and socialize in their mother tongue. They felt like they had part of their homeland with them. These older generations want to keep the language of the church services in Greek so they do not lose this link to their culture. They feel that they are losing their identity.

            Many of the younger generation born here however see things differently. Many are not fluent in Greek. They speak predominantly English but still consider themselves Greek. Many have married non-Greeks and want their spouse and children to be welcomed to the church and the Greek communities. They feel the older generations are being unrealistic by not wanting to compromise. If more English is not included in the services there is the possibility that these people will gradually turn away from the church. There are very few Greeks immigrating to Canada now, so who will fill the churches one the older generation has passed on? The church has to work to get the younger generation more involved and to welcome converts in order to prosper and grow in this country.

            More must be done to teach the faith to the younger generation. Those that grew up in Greece did not learn about their faith only by attending church or at home. It was a subject that was taught in public school, at all grade levels. Here the faith has to be taught at home or through the Sunday schools. However, very few of the families actually make the effort to bring the children to those classes or if they do it is usually when classes are almost over. Yet some of those parents have no problem getting up early to bring the children to early morning sports practice.

            The language problem does not apply only to the Greek churches but to other Orthodox churches as well. However, some of those others have tried to be more accommodating. The Orthodox Church of America (OCA) has diversity in its churches across Canada. They have some that are “new calendar”, others that are “old calendar”, some that are predominantly ethnic (Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, etc.) and others that are totally English. An example of the last is St. Herman parish in Langley, BC. There the congregation includes a number of Greeks but is made up almost entirely of converts. Some converted 30 years or more ago while others only recently. These numbers are growing. Priests have even been ordained and have started missions of their own across Canada. Their ethnicity does not play a part.

            The Canadian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Langley also has its church services in English but it has a strong multi-cultural influence. Many are descendants of various Orthodox Christian who came to Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Others are more recent immigrants. If you stay for the social time after church each Sunday, you can hear a variety of languages spoken. When the Greeks within that church have their various ethnic celebrations, such as March 25, Greek Independence Day, and October 28, “OXI” Day, the whole congregation takes part. Many languages including Greek are incorporated into the services on special occasions, thereby making all the various groups an integral part of the church but English is the language that binds them all together.

            St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church is Bellingham, WA, USA, also faced a language dilemma about fifteen years ago. Bishop Anthony stepped in and degreed that the service should accommodate both those who were fluent in Greek and those who were not. The Creed and the Lord’s Prayer for example are said in both and the rest of the service is about a 50% mix of Greek and English. A large number of Lebanese-Americans also attend St. Sophia and over the years some Arabic has also been included in the service.

            St. George Cathedral in Vancouver over the years has gradually increased the English content in its services. The church in Surrey, however, still has very little. But with time it will probably also have no other choice. The Greek church communities were founded by Greeks and will continue to be Greek, even if English is often spoken. The inclusion of more English should not be used to cause a rift within the communities. The church is there for people to come, pray, and worship, to be filled with peace and tranquility. Politics should be left outside its doors.

            Teaching the younger generation the language of their forefathers is not an easy task. It is not something that can be done by the present system of after-school or Saturday classes or by attending church or Sunday school. We need more structure and effort than that. If proper Greek day schools were established, the children could be taught the language, faith and customs of their forefathers on an ongoing basis along with the required BC curriculum.

            There are many parents who now send their children to other private schools who would welcome a Greek school. Others are waiting for one so they can send their children. However, people should not just sit back and expect the church or community to do something about getting these schools established. Everyone has to get involved and not be put off by the fact that large sums of money are involved. The money can be found. People spend thousands of dollars every year on sports equipment for their children. Surely they can find a few extra dollars to invest in their children’s education. The Greek communities all over Canada have proven to be successful at raising funds before. Surely such a cause would be worthy of their effort, especially if all the various Greek organizations cooperate on such a joint venture. After all it is the future of our children that is at stake here. Should they not have the right to learn about and pass along the language, faith and culture of their forefathers?

            We should look back in history to St. Kosmas o Etolos (Patrokosmas, as he was sometimes called). Over 400 years ago he had a vision and left his cloistered life on the Holy Mountain (Agion Oros) to go among the Christian peasants in the Balkan area, to the countryside, villages, towns and cities. He told the people (who were under Muslim rule) to keep their Christian faith and build schools to teach their children the language and history of their forefathers. The people said they had no money to build schools because the Ottomans had taken almost everything they had and what little was left was heavily taxed. Wherever he went to places in Thrace, Bulgaria, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Albania, Northern Greece (Macedonia), Epirus, the Ionian Islands and many other places, he heard the same story. St. Kosmas replied their towns and villages were filled with Christian churches, many used maybe only once or twice a year, others completely locked up or deserted as there were no people to fill those churches. St. Kosmas told them to keep only the churches actually needed and to dismantle the rest. The land, the building material and the contents could then be used to build schools. Some people took this as blasphemy but St. Kosmas replied that if they did not do so then within a short time all the Christian churches would be empty. There would be no Christians left as all would be assimilated by the Ottomans. The people took his advice and over 300 schools; especially Greek schools were built in the area during his lifetime. Today many of those schools named after him are still in operation. St. Kosmas was killed by the Ottomans for his efforts but thanks to him the Christian faith still survives as did the language and culture of those people. In the areas that did not take his advice all was lost forever. We must take care now to ensure that the same fate does not await the Greeks around the world. We must educate our children so that they are able to pass the torch to the next generation.