Transfiguration Community

Here is a picture from a meeting this past Saturday of the "Transfiguration Community," a small Orthodox-minded, ecumenically inclusive, and informal group of Christian folks, under the leadership of His Grace, SERAPHIM [Sigrist], formerly a bishop in the Orthodox Church of Japan. Seraphim I've mentioned before on this blog. (I list his blog at right.) He was a graduate of the evangelical Nyack College back in the 1960s, then worked for a time at Barnes & Noble (when it was just one store) before attending St. Vladimir's Seminary. He went, it is my understanding, as a missionary deacon to Japan. Then retired back in the Hudson Valley. Anyway, he works closely with the Hosanna Community in Moscow, which is the sister-community of Transfiguration. In retirement he often serves the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Here are those members who met last Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church in Pleasantville. We had some prayer time in the chapel there, then I gave a little chat on the Holy Name of Jesus. Of course, more discussion was around the current Anglican crisis than my little talk, but it was a start. Then we retired to an Irish pub in Pleasantville for lunch.

Here are the attendees, Left to Right, in the picture: Frank (currently an adjunct instructor at the institution at which I work, and a member of the Russian Rite Catholic Church); Bishop Seraphim; John O'S. (an Anglo-Catholic fella, and friend of mine from New Jersey. He will most likely be attending seminary next year); Gabriel (my son!); me (you know me); Ed (a guy who I don't know terribly well. I think he was an Episcopalian seminarian at one time. Now he is Orthodox, and attends at the Chapel at St. Vladimir's Seminary); Father David (pastor of an Orthodox parish in Manhattan); Mark (A fellow who often gives the blessing in Hebrew over a shared cup at our meetings); Bishop John (the hierarch of a small Orthodox group called the Orthodox American Church). Although only males attended last Saturday, it is not a specifically male community and there are several women who also attend.

Click here for photo