Assumptionists learning about the Orient

Together, we work for the coming of the Reign of God within us and around us.

We want to make this mission a priority that engages the Congregation in its entirety; otherwise we will lose an important aspect of our identity (General Chapter n° 50). What similar affirmation challenges us as much as this one? What and how is this mission a constitutive part of our identity? Simply, our presence at the heart of the Orthodox Church in central and eastern Europe. This goes back to our origins, to Father d’Alzon himself, and to the request of Pope Pius IX. It is a name that is charged with history, with dreams, with impressive achievements and with a humble presence. It has always been called in the Assumption: «The mission of the Orient ».

St. Augustin College of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Specialists in the press, Assumptionists are also men of the Christian Orient but this is much less well known. The first Assumptionists built many bridges between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. The Orient has been a long adventure with pioneers like Father Galabert, its great lovers of knowledge of the various elements of the Oriental Tradition which they revealed in their true value, the prestigious promoters of institutions like the college of Plovdiv in Bulgaria and the Institute of Byzantine Studies, and its numerous humble servants working in the background of the projects who are goldmines on the subject. The Orient is also identified with our Sister Congregation founded by Father d’Alzon to work for reconciliation: the Oblates of the Assumption.

The Orient speaks of decades of generosity and heroism in the immense empires of Turkey and Russia, in the Balkans torn and oppressed by ruthless ideologies. The Orient has produced our three holy Assumptionist Bulgarian martyrs (1952) – our first.

The Orient for the Assumption is not yesterday’s story; it thrives today in renewed form. We are still present in the major capitals (Jerusalem, Istanbul, Moscow, and Athens) and elsewhere as well (Romania, Bulgaria). What is new? Assumptionists from Rumania, Russia, and Bulgaria are taking the place of their forebears and mapping out their own path. Some belong to the Oriental Churches united with Rome and celebrate according to the Rite of those Churches. It is a richness; another approach to the great mystery and indispensable to the theological and spiritual health of the Church - a tradition that desires to be known and appreciated.

Romanian countryside

This presence in the Christian Orient in the major cultural and religious centres is a fascinating adventure today that is spelled out in the lives of those who live it to the end of their days. Their faith which has been tested is not shared enough. This Oriental fibre still does not vibrate enough among Assumptionists today. The General Chapter wants us to vibrate in unison. It recommends concrete measures: an increased awareness among young Assumptionists and the formation of specialists. First steps always create a desire to go further, to explore more. But we are asked to pray daily for these Sister Churches who have not succeeded in embracing each other enough so as to share the same Eucharistic table.

The article appeared in the Newsletter of the Friends of the Assumption « This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it »  November 23, 2006.
N.B : a new section on the Assumptionist Website dedicated to the Mission of the Orient has just been created - www.assomptionorient.altervista.org. It has grown is richness since last month…..