Unofficial missionary efforts, nascent publication Nikodemos, spiritual struggle
Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ. Many thanks for your letter. This will be a short note to try to ease some of your immediate concerns. Besides our usual difficulties, I recently injured a finger (left hand, fortunately) on the Linotype and had to have it stitched, then it got infected, etc. It’s healing all right now, but it’s cost us several weeks (which we didn’t have in the first place!). But thus one learns to trust in God more than one’s own plans.
Before too long I hope to write you an idea or two concerning Glastonbury, etc.
We perfectly understand your disturbance of soul over the missionary conference, etc. But be aware that your disturbance is normal; for when you start something with the intention of pleasing God, the devil is sure to try to stir you up and confuse you by every means, even the most trivial. We ourselves just heard recently about the new English- language periodical in Montreal, and we heard that [A] was involved with it; it would seem to be an “official” Synod publication and thus hardly in conflict with your plans. This publication is being undertaken by a new Synod “Missionary Commission,” but whether it is meeting in January we don’t know. That is an official project, and I hardly think that it will undertake to discourage the small “unofficial” missionary work by means of which Orthodoxy in actual fact is being spread.
Therefore, we would advise you to go right ahead with your plans, doing all that you can yourself and leaving the outcome in God’s hands. That you may experience difficulties ahead is to be expected, for the devil doesn’t sleep; but unless the difficulties make your efforts absolutely fruitless and impossible to fulfill, don’t fall in spirit but go right ahead according to your knowledge and with the counsel of others.
Even before you asked us, we had definitely planned to write a letter to Vladika Anthony so as to let down somewhat the language and psychology barrier between converts and bishops. However, we would like to see the dummy of the first issue first, so as to be able to write to him as concretely as possible. We’ll send you a note the day we mail our letter to him so you can be sure we didn’t forget it! What he will say we can’t predict, as (…) the Missionary Commission might make him hesitate about blessing something independent in his own diocese. So be prepared! Do your work, and then arm yourself with prayer. Before seeing the Archbishop by all means go to Vladika John first and beg his help, and right there at his tomb ask him, if what you are undertaking is God-pleasing, to bless you. If Vladika John blesses, it will go through, no matter what difficulties come! Probably you know what I mean when I say that our own “missionary commission” has just one member—Vladika John.
As for the title [of our new publication]: Nikodemos is good and also less “official,” as it doesn’t have “Orthodoxy” in the title: and the implications are most fitting (eagerness to learn, complete ignorance in front of the overwhelmingness of the new revelation, perhaps even the coming secretly at night, which suggests our time of catacombs, exile, etc.). However, be warned that if you use the title Nikodemos, you will probably get at least one angry letter saying it should be the standard [spelling], Nicodemos, and accusing you of trying to Greekify the English language. It’s a matter of taste, of course, and I would only advise you to be conscious of what you do so you can answer later for the spelling you choose!
We’ll try to get you the mailing list this week.
Pray for us, and rely above all on Archbishop John.
P.S: We’re not snowed in yet—nothing but rain.