Orthodox Philadelphia in the news.

Yesterday's edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer included a "special report" examining the health of a handful of Orthodox churches in the city neighborhood of Northern Liberties. The district in question is a onetime Slavic immigrant enclave currently being transformed by gentrification into a haven for hipsters and yuppies. As Inquirer reporter David O'Reilly observes, the loyal parishioners of St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral and its sister churches carry on without drawing much interest or support from the area's newer residents:

In the resurgent neighborhood of Northern Liberties, among the smoked glass condos, hipper-than-thou restaurants, swank salons, and teeming cafes and bohemian tea shops, Old World holiness still flickers to life on Sunday mornings.

Hardly anyone notices.

The ages-old glow of Christendom's most elaborate, enigmatic liturgy no longer is a guiding light for the community. But inside St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral, beneath four blue onion domes, the sanctuary is as luminous as the day it opened in 1902, if not nearly as brimful of youth and hope.

The Rev. Mark Shinn, bearded and gold-caped, appears through the "royal door" [sic - royal doors] before the altar, an ornate chalice in each hand. Murmuring a prayer, he raises the goblets toward the worshipers, who bow and make the sign of the cross under the wide-eyed gaze of saintly icons. In a gesture of humility, some sweep their fingertips across the oak floor. A flew prostrate themselves to kiss it.

. . .

On a typical Sunday, about 80 people attend. For that, the archpriest is grateful.

"We keep no rolls and collect no dues," Shinn said. "If you come, you're a member."

If you come.

Therein lies the challenge for the five historic Eastern Orthodox churches in Northern Liberties, some hanging on for dear life on this one-third-square-mile patch of Old City. Their very reason for existence - the Eastern European immigrant wave of the early 20th century - has come and gone from a neighborhood transformed into Philadelphia's trendiest avant-garde niche, population of 5,000 and climbing.

"I don't see much interest in religion in these people," said the Rev. Vincent Saverino of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, which marked its 100th anniversary last month.

Attendance may swell to nearly 300 on holy days - including the Orthodox Christmas on Thursday - but on routine Sundays it is about 60. As in the other Orthodox churches, not one member is from the neighborhood.

"They come from all over, just not here," Saverino said, twirling a finger to indicate Northern Liberties.

Stop newcomers on busy streets and chances are they will say they aren't religious so much as spiritual. The faith described is free-form, unfettered by institutions.

"It just manifests itself in different ways than attending church," said Chris Clark, 33, who works in public relations for a pharmaceutical giant. "I try to be a good person. I try to treat others as I'd like to be treated."

To read the rest of the article, click here. Though I appreciate the evident care with which the article was written, it strikes me that reporter David O'Reilly's basic premise is flawed. The exodus of Eastern European families from Northern Liberties started decades before gentrification came to the neighborhood; as some of the priests and laypeople quoted in the article suggest, most of the Orthodox churches in the area have been serving commuting congregations for many years. Given this reality, it seems probable that the indifference of secular neighbors represents less of a threat to the churches' continued survival than does the diminished religious commitment of second- and third-generation parishioners. Even so, the notion that these churches' "very reason for existence" was solely to serve the East European immigrant wave of the early 20th century" is utter nonsense. As long as there are people who are willing to maintain an Orthodox Christian presence in Northern Liberties - even if they drive long distances to do it - these parishes will have a mission to fulfill.

Like many of his colleagues in the news media, reporter O'Reilly regrettably accepts the fallacious notion that one can be 'spiritual but not religious.' To embrace this false dichotomy is to embrace a misleading definition of the terms involved; if you think that a person can be spiritual without being religious, then you don't know what spirituality is. Contrary to the views expressed by one of the newer residents of Northern Liberties quoted in the Inquirer article, the effort "to be a good person" and "to treat others as I'd like to be treated" is not a mark of true spirituality but simply a sign that one embraces basic ethical principles that need not be backed by any notions of transcendence.

Despite its flaws, yesterday's Inquirer article on the Orthodox parishes of Northern Liberties does raise important questions about evangelization. One may fairly ask whether church communities like those mentioned in the article could be doing more to educate their neighbors about what being religious is really about. Parishes should offer a warm welcome to newcomers who may be attending services for the first time, but they also need to find ways to somehow attract the attention of people who might never have thought of going to church on their own. In other words, part of the challenge is to reach people who don't know what they're missing.

Of course, it also bears mentioning that there is more to maintaining a successful parish than raking in big numbers. In my experience, small 'commuter' parishes can often be vibrant and self-sustaining communities. On the same token, large parishes can sometimes feel cold and impersonal to individual churchgoers. The fact that a particular church doesn't draw large numbers doesn't necessarily mean that it is struggling. A look at the website of St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral in North Liberties suggests an active and perhaps surprisingly youthful community, not the shrinking and dying congregation that may be implied by the Inquirer article. Beyond that, the concern with numbers expressed by the Inquirer reporter may be out of place when considering parish communities (including St. Andrew's) that apparently don't keep formal membership rolls. As Jesuit Father Robert Taft once said, "'Eastern' and 'statistics' is an oxymoron." In a time of change and uncertainty, may the people of St. Andrew's and its sister parishes take comfort in the words prayed during the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great: "Preserve this holy house until the end of the world." AMDG.

The above photos of St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia are taken from Flickr and from the parish website.