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Question 504

Good morning Pater. I've been going to church for many years. But i've stopped going because I don't understand ancient Greek! Our Greek church would attract more people if the priest spoke in modern Greek. Many people that I know have stopped going because they sit there for 2 hours or so not understanding a word the priests are saying. Their children are not growing up with the words of God in their hearts. More and more children are not interested in church or our faith anymore...we need to change with the times....we our becoming consumed with the material world and forgetting our spiritual world. If we're able to understand the words of God and our saviour Jesus Christ we would be able to explain to our children what we learned today whilst we were at church.     

 

 

Answer to Question 504

I don’t understand Ancient Greek either. The language used by the Church is not ancient Greek, it is a Greek language known as “Koine” which was spoken around the time of Christ and the following centuries. Granted it is still difficult to understand, but the more you hear it the more you realise that it is a language not that far removed from modern Greek and much of it is understandable. The late Archbishop of Athens Christoloulos understood the language problem and started services in modern Greek, but is wasn’t successful and people preferred the traditional language. 

 

In England the churches should have services in English, but there is a problem.  The Greek churches in England were established to cater for the Greeks who immigrated to England for a better life. I do not think that these existing Churches should now change from Greek to English, but as I have said before, I believe that it is time for a New Parish to be established that will cater for the younger generations in English. This will only come about if the younger generations really want it. It will not come about by demanding it. Its needs people to organise themselves and speak with the Archbishop. If he gives his blessing then the next step is to raise money to buy a church building which do not come cheap. Then it will need a priest who can carry out the services in English without a Greek accent. But this is just the beginning, there are many more problems that have to be overcome like finding people who can chant in English and translating all the services into English. If ever such a project gets underway it will take quite a few years to be accomplished. In the meantime there are Greek/English service books that one can follow so that you can understand what is happening during the Divine Liturgy. There are also a couple of parishes in London that offer English services on Saturdays, St Demetrios in Edmonton and the 12 Apostles in Brookman’s Park.