THANKSGIVING DAY MESSAGE
NOVEMBER 22, 2001
AMERICAN HIERARCHY OF THE UAOC IN THE USA





TO THE VERY REVEREND AND REVEREND FATHERS, RELIGIOUS AND BELOVED FAITHFUL OF OUR METROPOLIA: PEACE AND LOVE IN CHRIST, WITH OUR ARCHPASTORAL BLESSING!

As our nation celebrates Thanksgiving Day, we pause to remember the many blessings that God has bestowed upon our country and upon our families, especially the gift of freedom and the power to defend and preserve it as well as the grace of a life of peace, which is now more valuable to us than ever before.

In 1863, when President Lincoln issued the first document officially establishing the last Thursday of November as a national holiday, he could not have possibly envisioned the sentiments that the day would acquire. Especially, no one at that time would have imagined that in 2001, at the dawn of the third millennium of the Christian Era, Americans would be as united in spirit and purpose as they have become during this past fall season.

We know that Thanksgiving goes back much further than the days of Lincoln. Since 1621, there has been some type of corporate "giving-thanks" when the Pilgrims, the first "new arrivals" in this land of opportunity, decided that it was proper to offer thanks to God for the prosperous harvest of that year, together with their Native American friends, who helped them adjust to the conditions of the new land.

It is important to recall that the Pilgrims themselves came to this continent to maintain religious freedom, something that they could not so easily attain in England. They were known in their homeland as "Separatists" - those who broke from the official Church of England, in order to better express their particular religious convictions. But in the land of their births, they lived in constant fear of reprisals from the church and civil authorities of Great Britain. So, they fled the place they had called home, they lost their familiar surroundings and even the closeness of family and loved ones, to gain freedom, first in Holland, and then in the "new world."

How interesting it is that in 2001, people still come to our country for these same reasons, and that in our world today, there are those who must fight and even flee, to be able to express their beliefs and live according to their particular church's traditions. In America, the idea of separation of church and state guarantees that no one denomination or religion will dominate the lives of others, and we must continually remind ourselves of this principle, as we live our lives today, both secular and religious. Within our own faith-tradition, there are those who keep the dangerous attitude of religious intolerance, maintaining that their viewpoint alone is worthy of acceptance by the rest of Christianity and of society. It is our duty, as Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Christians, to remind the world and our nation, of our right to express that which our church professes.

In 1921, 300 years after the Pilgrim's "First Thanksgiving" our people in Ukraine re-established the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a free and self-governing entity. For this, we know that they were heavily persecuted by both state government and other church authorities, and that many suffered and, if they were fortunate enough, eventually fled to the United States and other free countries, to continue their beliefs as their convictions prompted them to do. They were the new "Pilgrims" the new freedom lovers, off on a journey bound for the opportunity to live in peace and without fear.

If the events of September 11 and the reports of abuse by Taliban rulers and al-Qaida terrorists are not "sobering" enough to remind us that religious intolerance still flourishes, or, if God-forbid, our people would think that this type of persecution no longer affects us, then one need only to read the recent public press conference of Patriarch Filaret of Ukraine, available on our website, to know that even in a country such as Ukraine, that professes to be in the process of democratization, there is fear of "liquidation" of the church that stands for a free Ukrainian Christianity. In our day, it is frightening to think that the word "liquidation" could even be applied to any faith and, reaching much more close to home, to discover that it could apply to our compatriots in Ukraine. One would like to believe that such "annihilations" ended with the close of the Soviet era, but evidently, from the reports that we in the West are given, such attempts are all too much alive and well and some things just haven't changed.

Because there are still those today, in our ancestral land and within our own nation, who would care not to have to "tolerate" other's beliefs, we must continually speak out and remind our government and our fellow-Americans, as well as our people across the globe, that our existence is an expression of the very foundations of the American system. Call us what they wish, be it "separatists" as the Pilgrims were known by their critics or "schismatics" as seems to be the preferred Orthodox term of endearment, we exist, and must be vocal in reminding society that we have a right to do so. If we do not, then there could very well be a version of September 11 for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as difficult as that may be to imagine. But remember, before 9-11, not but a few Americans believed that such a devastation could occur here on our own soil.

So, celebrate Thanksgiving Day with all that it entails and all that it represents - freedom, religious tolerance and of course, family and community solidarity. These are the values that will keep our nation and church strong and give an example to the land of our church's birth, that these principles can and will prevail. We for our part, must be tolerant of others. We cannot fall into the very mind frames that would wipe out our particular beliefs. A lesson for Thanksgiving for us all, is that no matter how much we may disagree with other's views, they must be respected, in as much as they are matters of faith in the greater good and not those which promote hate, dissention or domination of others. Words such as "heretic" "schismatic" and "illegitimate" are all those which promote ill-will, and, even if what someone else professes may be wrong to us, or if we seriously disagree from a dogmatic perspective, we can at least see behind the veil of separation, to that which fosters us to live in peace and harmony with each other. This will lead to a greater sense of the common good, which lives and breathes by the hidden hand of God, who "guards our lives and makes firm our steps" (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom).

Patriotism and faith have gone hand in hand in the American experience from the beginning, and the founding fathers and mothers of our great nation knew this when they used as a motto: "In God We Trust." How true it is that, when we trust in the providence of our heavenly Father, our lives take on new meaning and sincere purpose and so much of the anxiety that goes along with daily living can be alleviated by putting our confidence and hope in the Lord.

Particularly at this Thanksgiving, let us remember those families who may not have with them this year, a father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin or other loved ones, because of the tragic attacks of September 11 and events following. We offer prayers that God will continue to give them the strength that they need to carry on, and ask for blessed repose and eternal memory for those lost.

We also pray for the safety of the men and women in our armed forces, who are unable to be with their families on this Thanksgiving Day. May the Lord protect them and bring them home safely to those who care about them.

Everyone of us should be grateful as well, for our police, firefighters, rescue workers and all those concerned for our safety. These people have certainly proved themselves to be outstanding examples of virtue and have gone well above and beyond the call of their duty. They are our heroes and we are most fortunate to live in a society in which people give of themselves so freely and bravely.

We bishops give thanks for our dedicated clergy, who co-minister with us in looking after the faithful that God has given us to protect spiritually and morally. Good, honest and devoted priests are a blessing to every bishop, and our Metropolia is gifted with among the finest. Our dear faithful make pastoral service to be both gratifying and joyful for bishops and priests alike.

We direct our priests to celebrate a Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day or on its eve, whenever the people can best gather, to thank Almighty God for all of the good things that we have received. When possible, we encourage our clergy to participate in community prayer services and gatherings, which express our unity as Christians and as Americans.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Blessed be the Lord our God for all of his generous gifts.

In God's Love,

+METROPOLITAN STEPHAN
Archbishop of New York
Primate

+ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL
Archbishop of Cleveland
Coadjutor to the Primate

+METROPOLITAN ALEXIS
Archbishop of Wasington
Primate-Emeritus

+BISHOP DANYLO
Titular Bishop of Maramaros
Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland



"O Lord, blessing those who bless you and sanctifying those who trust in you, save your people and bless your inheritance . . . Grant peace to your world, to your churches, to the priests, to our country, our civil authorities, those in uniformed service and to all your people. For every good gift, every perfect gift is from above, coming down from you, the Father of lights, and we render glory, thanksgiving and worship to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen."
{Amvon Prayer, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom}

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Thanksgiving is a festival of the harvest, much as these "autumn harvest celebrations" were important in ancient Ukraine. We are reminded of a song that for many, personifies the mood of Thanksgiving Day. American poet, Henry Alford, writing in the nineteenth century, raises the hearts of people even today in his inspiring hymn, "Harvest Home." The unity of the human family is expressed in the lines of this piece of American spiritual heritage. Here are his inspiring words:

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
(Harvest Home)
text by Henry Alford, 1810-1871

"Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home."

All the world is God's own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin.
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home."

We are all part of God's harvest. He has planted us and he will nurture us, if we allow. In the final analysis, the fruits of the harvest shall be those who have "heard God's word, and kept it," and those who flee from the separation caused by sin and human pride, and try, each in their own manner, to yield to the Lord, a bountifully united harvest of human spirits.


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