Spiritual Directors

[gentlestorm]

hello,
I am wondering what the reality of having a mature spiritual director is in Orthodoxy. I have had a hard time in RC finding someone i would trust. This is more a reflection on me than on RC but I read a lot of Orthodox writings that stress the importance of it and wonder how it pans out on the parish level.

Thanks.

[Orthosdoxa]

It's usually your parish priest, occasionally a monk at a nearby monastery.

It is a wonderful thing. I have yet to meet a priest or a monk who was not the bomb-diggety. :)

[Anhelyna]

To be honest the role of the Spiritual Director in the RC Church is not the same as the role of the Spiritual Father in the East.

I think that most folk in the Orthodox [ and Eastern Catholic ] Churches would consider their Parish Priest as their Spiritual Father.

HOWEVER - my understanding is that an SF does not necessarily have to be a Priest - it can be a monk or a nun :)

[Knowledge3]

Fr. Anthony is my spiritual father and priest.

Orthodoxy is about spiritual guidance toward God.

Blessings, :liturgy:

[gentlestorm]

It's usually your parish priest, occasionally a monk at a nearby monastery.

It is a wonderful thing. I have yet to meet a priest or a monk who was not the bomb-diggety. :)
I see you live in Serbia.
I wonder about the U S of A.

[kamikat]

Yes, in the US, it is the same. We generally try to develop a strong relationship with our parish priest. I was raised Catholic and was never encouraged to have a strong relationship with the parish priest. Part of that comes from the differences between the churches in how confession is carried out. Behind the confessional screen, you can maintain your anonimity. However, I do remember that the RC archdiocese I lived in had resrouces for the laity to have access to spiritual directors. Also, in the church I used to go to, the permanent deacon also acted as spiritual director, but it certainly wasn't the same kind of relationship as I have with my spiritual father.

[choirfiend]

Orthodoxa is American.

There certainly are parish priests who don't serve well in the function of spiritual director--if not generally, then perhaps just not for you. How far the laity take the job as spiritually directed has something to do with that as well.

[Orthosdoxa]

Sorry to confuse you, friend. I do indeed live in the good old US of A. I fly the flag of Serbia in solidarity with our persecuted brethren there. (see http://kosovo.net/ )

[MrJim]

Regarding spiritual directors-if someone new (like myself) comes into a congregation, is one assigned to you when you become a catechumen? I guess what I'm saying is that it's not like you are given a choice?

Also, are deacons ever spiritual directors? Just wondering, the priest at the local Orthodox Church (Antiochian) is also a professor of religion at a college up the road-and an author-just wonder how much time the fellow has for all this?

[kamikat]

I think it would depend on the size of the parish. If your parish has inquirer classes, you might go through the classes first, before actually meeting with the priest. Generally, (correct me if I'm wrong) your spiritual father will be the one who hears your confession, so in many cases, it is the local parish priest.

[Hoser03]

To me having a spiritual father, someone you can trust to provide sound advice, has been huge in my life. If I had to sit down and write out everything my spiritual father did in helping me get from the person I was at the time of lockout in 2004-05 to today it would fill a book. I was a very angry person, and at the time I liked to an extent because it served as fuel. I was equally depressed that I was peeking and wasn't good enough to maintain a consistant roster spot on an NHL club. Not a good mix, having a spiritual father was criticial to making progress. You can try to feel your way along and learn as you go. Or you can have someone that knows the ropes teaching you.

[Akathist]

Regarding spiritual directors-if someone new (like myself) comes into a congregation, is one assigned to you when you become a catechumen? I guess what I'm saying is that it's not like you are given a choice?

Also, are deacons ever spiritual directors? Just wondering, the priest at the local Orthodox Church (Antiochian) is also a professor of religion at a college up the road-and an author-just wonder how much time the fellow has for all this?

In my parish almost everyone uses the Priest as a Spiritual Father. However, not everyone does. There is a local monestary and I know that the Priests family goes there for Spiritual Direction and confession. Also, some go to a Greek Orthodox Church about an hour away because we didn't have a Priest for a long time and they had started going there. (Then recently that Priest left there. I don't know what they are doing now for Spiritual Direction.)

Our Bishop does a lot of teaching but I don't think he does any Spiritual Direction.

The Op asked how it works on the parish level. In our parish, the Priest works another job but has flexible hours with it. So, people schedule appointments with him and he meets with them usually in the Church. Sometimes however, we meets with people after a service at the Monestary because he helps serve there. He and I have met at a local resturant and once he came to my home. (We didn't do confession just Spiritual Direction.)

Most of the time, my Priest does Spiritual Direction as a part of my time with him for confession. But sometimes I will write him an email or call him. We sometimes have a scheduled time for confession (about once a month or once every six weeks or so). Sometimes he does a group time for confession (one person alone after another alone) after a service at Church.

We discuss my prayer and fasting routines and what he wants me to do, and even how being on staff is effecting my spiritual growth (positively and negatively.) We discuss problem relationships and sometimes he gives me direction to do something. Often he encourages me to keep up the good fight toward the improvements I am already working on. Once in a while he has had to tell me I "had" to do something. (Example, I was very ill and also very depressed once and didn't care about my life and he made me go to the doctor. Sometimes I need a kick in the pants like that.) We have discussed how to encorporate being Orthodox into my work life.

Anyway, when I was an inquirer I couldn't figure this out and had these same questions. I think this is a good topic.

[MrJim]

It must really be something...for these 20 years as a Christian it's been relatively a "guide your own ship" sort of thing...wow, someone that actually cares enough to actually want to know where I'm at spiritually and take steps to guide and not be afraid to do it.

[Akathist]

It must really be something...for these 20 years as a Christian it's been relatively a "guide your own ship" sort of thing...wow, someone that actually cares enough to actually want to know where I'm at spiritually and take steps to guide and not be afraid to do it.

:amen:

It is indeed a great gift from the Church!

[ProfChrysostomos]

Spiritual fathers are blessings indeed! They are the secular world's answer to having a father figure and a close friend all in one.

Once someone asked me why we can't simply confess our sins before an icon of Christ or the Theotokos. I responded that I agreed --- we all need the icon of the father confessor in our lives, through whom the Lord speaks and guides us. This particular icon can offer inspired guidance and counsel, whereas the holy icon on wood or mosaic that we venerate cannot.

Blessings,

+ Prof.