CLERGY

We should be trans-denominational, trans-sectarian. All trace of chauvinism has to be uprooted from spiritual aspirants and from their organizations. Sectarianism should be put behind us.

Parochial clergy have insisted on being sectarian, and so, courts and constitutions have kept them out of society, where they belong. Like lawyers and politicians, clergy have themselves to blame for the disrespect they must face. They have not lived by the tenets of their own Faiths, which are all Universalistic.

Clergy should have seminary education, or its equivalent. A seminary is a place of spiritual study. It is not a place for sectarian interests. Persons who attend seminaries care about souls, their own and others'.

In the United States, seminaries include: Jewish, Union, Yale, Princeton, Andover, Chicago, Harvard, Pacific School of Religion and some Benedictine, Dominican and Jesuit schools. I am not familiar enough with Jewish, Greek, Coptic, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh seminaries to name them. In principle, I include seminaries of these religions among the aforementioned as schools which train clergy.

Denominational seminaries are trade schools, not seminaries. Their interests are sectarian and their graduates are termagants.

At trade schools, individuals do not study Theology. They study special cases of public relations or propaganda, which is psychological warfare. They learn to contemn the laity.

The issue is professionalism, having authority to provide spiritual leadership. This authority derives from only one source, which is, personal spiritual excellence. It does not derive from ordination. Ordination only recognizes the presence of inherent authority, authority that proceeds automatically from personal spiritual excellence. Ordination does not bestow that authority. Experience, not certification, is the measure of professional authority.

Persons who have spiritual authority attend seminaries and study privately. They spend their formative years in constant, deep inquiry, including, self-inquiry. They do not attend trade schools.

PRAYER

A Sanctuary is a Prayer Hall
for the adherents of all religions.

God does not require and does not appreciate worship.

He tolerates prayer.

Worship benefits humans. It keeps the mind full of the thought of God, which drives and keeps out deleterious thoughts. Prayer is preferable to beseeching human agency, but it is not preferable to standing on one's own feet.

Public worship, such as Mass and the Daily Office, 7 is theater. It is acting. It is a performance. We should be clear about this and treat public worship accordingly.

"The world is a stage ...."

Today, public worship is in the thrall of loutish clergy who think people come to the sanctuary to hear them screech and caw raucously. People come to the sanctuary to pray and to hear and to see uplifting sounds and sights.

The Mass should be recited five times per year, at All Saints, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Whitsun.

The Mass should not include a public confession and absolution. These are private matters. They are done publicly only as a species of priest-craft, a mode of psychological warfare, which is deleterious.

The Mass should be produced, directed and enacted by an Artistic Director or by surrogates. It should be recited by an accomplished monastic who is a theologian and an artist.

The Daily Office should be recited five times per day, by the person doing vigil in the Sanctuary, at these times:

6 AM
12 PM
6 PM
9 PM
12 AM

The Daily Office is the principle prayer of the Community. The Mass is secondary.

Ordinary prayer is more important than special events. What is constant, common and invariant -- The Daily Office -- is more beneficial than what is periodic and mutable -- the Mass. Ordinary prayer uplifts the society, stabilizes the Community of the Faithful and advances the sadhana (spiritual discipline) of Believers.

Roman, Coptic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Jewish, Greek and Muslim breviaries may be used for the Daily Office. All have versions of the same. Canon Douglas' Monastic Diurnal should be tried. See what satisfies. I predict it will be what is pre-modern.

A Daily Office from any religion would be appropriate in any Sanctuary. In a Christian Sanctuary a Christian one might be preferred, in a Jewish Sanctuary a Jewish one, in a Muslim Sanctuary a Muslim one, in a Zen Sanctuary a Zen one. In principle, any Daily Office can be used in any Sanctuary.

The point is the prayer and its regularity. The Recipient, after all, is listening to the heart. Sincerity is the quick and easy -- also, the one and only -- way to the Heart of God.

ART AND THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Public worship is a synonym for artistic productions of all kinds. It is theater: Mass, Daily Office, decorations, sound events, ballet, plays, graphic shows, banners, costumes, etc.

Public worship should be the responsibility of an Artistic Director, who treats it as theater. An Artistic Director will treat public worship as acting, as a performance.

An Artistic Director should be both clergy and artist. They should be a generalist. They should be master of whatever musical instrument predominates in the Sanctuary to which they are attached.

J. S. Bach, an Artist, was a Theologian. Albert Schweitzer, a Theologian, was an Artist. These are the model of an Artistic Director.

Now-common organists or organist-choirmasters are instrumentalists. Like now-common parochial clergy, they are not qualified to lead public worship. Their training and insight are incommensurate with the need.

Instrumentalists and vocalists should work during Masses (i.e., five times per year) and not more than once a month otherwise. This consideration is especially important for amateur and volunteer musicians, such as choristers. For these, having to work each week is absurd. They get exhausted and their audience has to take half-baked goods. This is deplorable and debilitating.

Musical events have to be thoroughly prepared. Once-a-month is maximum frequency for sound events in a Sanctuary.

The principle of over-all Silence in a Sanctuary must be upheld through practice. A Sanctuary must not be overwhelmed by giddy, petulant musicians.

Musical events should be done as art. Art is work. Work is worship. We should not make a distinction between these. Likewise, we should not distinguish between worship and performance. Worship is acting. Worship is performance. Let is be treated and known as such.

Catholicity and secularity are the norm.

Whatever is didactic, entertaining, comforting, stimulating, uplifting and ennobling can be appropriately done in a Sanctuary.

THE MAGISTERIUM

There is Church outside Judicatory.

There is Christianity outside Church.

There is Church outside Christianity.

The Magisterium is the teaching authority of a culture. As shorthand, we say that the Magisterium is the responsibility of the Church. What this means is that teaching is inherently an activity of spiritual life, vital to the welfare of individual and society. It does not mean that only clergy can teach. At one time or another, in one way or another, each of us teaches many things, many times, many ways. Thus, all are teachers in just the same way that, essentially speaking, all are clergy.

At the same time, teaching is inherently a spiritual activity. It belongs essentially and absolutely to spiritual culture, which is the base of any other kind of culture. Teaching and learning are the most important activities engaged in by humanity, bar none, and teachers and students, ipso facto, are directly participating in religious life.

All teaching and learning are religious teaching and learning. This is a categorical statement which can be made without qualification. Teaching and learning are religious activities. The shorthand for this truth is, 'the Magisterium is the responsibility of the Church.' But this is just a short hand. The word Church in this context stands for religion generically and does not stand for a particular church or even a particular religion. We should always keep in mind the full scope of what teaching and learning truly are. 8

Why is education a sacred or religious activity? Because it enwraps as the formation of a personality. Both the teacher and the student are learners through the process of education. Both are being formed in, over, under, around and through it. That is the definition, in fact, of a sacrament. A sacrament is an overt and visible sign that some one has taken responsibility for the welfare, in the largest sense, of some other one. And that is the vitality of a teacher-student relationship. A teacher takes responsibility for the welfare, in the largest sense, of a student. This is an religious thing to do. A teacher assumes soteriological responsibility for a student they accept -- in this world as well as in all others. The responsibilities are enormous on both sides and so are the risks, at all times, the benefits, if all goes well, and the harm, if anything goes badly.

Only those who have immense courage -- and the calling to go with it -- ever undertake the responsibility of teaching. The cost of failure is so severe that only the serious or the foolish put themselves forward as teachers. Likewise, students have to discern which teacher is genuine and which isn't. That is part of their responsibility as students. The costs of picking a counterfeit are severe and persistent.

With a genuine teacher and a willing student, all will go well. The teacher will be happy and the student will benefit for the rest of their life.

The sacred nature of the teacher-student relationship is one aspect which makes its economics unique. A teacher supports people they are teaching. A student does not pay for the instruction they receive. They do not support their teacher, paying their livelihood. The economics goes the other way. A teacher supports their students, providing their students' livelihoods, so long as they are students.

Homeschools and public schools share the quality of supporting the students they teach. This is as it should be. Public schools today suffer lack of support because a significant number of parents do not support their children. Homeschooling arose because parents who do support their children didn't want them subjected to a loveless (non-supportive) environment. They reasoned, rightly, that they had to school the children at home, at least until such time as the loveless environment 'at school' could not overwhelm the loving one at home.

The character of the teacher is the all-important component of the process of teaching. Good character stands for everything and produces everything which is good and desirable. Bad character does the opposite. Not the subject matter, primarily, but the character of the teacher themselves is the content of a course of instruction. As with every other aspect of life, personal character is the vitality of the thing. Learning is intrinsically learning to be a human person. This means, learning to have good character. Character is everything, both in the teaching and in the learning.

We are always thinking of being a successful person. Obviously, a successful person is one who is qualified to teacher. But, what is a successful person? What does this imply about the nature of success itself? What are the qualities that a successful person has?

First and foremost, a successful person has the quality that, around them things get done. They work hard and they accomplish what they set out to do. Around successful people, things are getting done. Next, a successful person has the quality that, the things getting done around them are 'meet, right and salutary,' 9 receiving approval from their neighbors. This happens not by any special effort of the person to gain acceptance but as a natural procession from the goodness of what they are doing. Humanity and indeed all Creation applaud what is right and deplore what is not. The only way to gain approval for what one does is for one to be doing what is right. And finally, a successful person embodies the ten most important two-letter words in the English language: If it is to be, it is up to me. In other words, a successful person is self-reliant.

Only successful persons are qualified to teach. The reason is obvious. If you can't do something, how are you going to teach somehow how to do it? When we are looking for a teacher for ourselves or someone for whom we have responsibility, such as a child, we should look at these qualities of a successful person and determine whether the person we are thinking about has these qualities. If they do, they are qualified to teach and we or the child will have a happy experience with them. If they do not, we should keep looking.

St. Paul has some remarks about choosing teachers and leaders for the Church which are appropriate for choosing such people for any context. He points out that candidates must be successful in their families. What does this mean? It means that members of a candidate's family, and the candidate themselves, must be happy within themselves and also respectful of elders. They do not cause anxiety in the family, the community, the nation or the world. If a person's spouse or children cause anxiety anywhere, that person is not qualified to teach or to lead. They have not lived properly, as evidenced by the fact that their spouse and children do not live properly. Such a person is a failure and is not qualified to teach or to lead. Shall society be trained and led by the incompetent? We are all heartily sick and tired of that by now, I should think.

On the other hand, successful parents are qualified to educate children and other persons.

The nature of the character is the nature of the life.

The nature of the life is the worth and reputation of the individual.

Good character is the all-important,
the most precious component of a human being.

Qui Non Proficit, Deficit

Footnotes

1- Conjuring means calling up the devil. The devil can be thought of either as the wrath of God, or, as vestigial animal tendencies residing within the personality of the individual doing the conjuring. The devil should not be thought of as a being among other beings, just as God should not be regarded that way either. The devil is an aspect of God we don't usually care to behold or he is an aspect of our selves which we don't usually care to display and frequently aren't even aware of. People who deserve the wrath of God and who are beset with impulses from vestigial animal characteristics are usually conjuring the devil even though they think they are calling upon God. Since most people generously deserve the wrath of God and are more or less fully invested by vestigial animal traits, conjuring is a very common phenomenon. And it commonly goes under the guise of prayer, which it is not. So, prayer such as we experience it commonly is usually not prayer. It is conjuring the devil.

There are two kinds of conjuring: white and black. White conjuring is calling on the devil to accomplish something one regards as beneficial for oneself or for another. Black conjuring is calling on the devil to accomplish something one regards as harmful for oneself or for another. White conjuring and black conjuring are alike reprehensible because they alike hail the devil for their object of veneration. Conjuring is one kind of idolatry. So from a spiritual point of view, there is no difference between white and black conjuring. Both are equally disgusting and both are shunned by the truly religious. God, not the devil, should be Whom we call upon. And even genuine prayer is not fully commendable. But if we are praying for someone, we are conjuring the devil. We are not communicating with God and have no intention of doing so. Thus, prayer for anyone is reprehensible on its face. Return

2- The word catholicity does not mean the Roman Catholic Church. It means universal, encompassing all as a mother's love does. The word secularity does not mean Secular Humanism and it does not mean worldliness or devotion to sensory gratification. It means endless time, rooted in the cosmological ages. In this context, the words catholicity and secularity are used to mean that if representatives of the various religions are not available to keep vigil at a Sanctuary, those having responsibility for the conduct of affairs should at least bear in mind that the Sanctuary is for all humanity and is one in a procession of holy places which have inspired and uplifted all beings through the ‘ons of time. Return

3- This is a technical term from ecclesiastical usage. There are two types of clergy, secular clergy and religious clergy. Secular clergy are clergy but not members of a religious order. Religious clergy are clergy and also members of a religious order. A religious order is a community of hermits or monastics. Secular clergy are not monastics. They have not undergone the rigorous spiritual discipline to which members of a religious order are subject as a condition of membership. Secular clergy, therefore, are always less experienced than religious clergy and therefore less capable as teachers, guides and administrators. Religious clergy are less accessible than secular clergy are. Return

4- Mencken's remark about Christianity being the greatest religion that nobody practices was taken as a quip, but it was an observation.

Employing the ideals of Sanathana Dharma (the Ur-Religion of humanity), secular culture is insisting on the practice of spiritual principles such as kindness, tolerance, respect and generosity. In the process, secular culture is diluting Christianity and dispersing Christians as a cultural force.

Vatican dreams notwithstanding, Christendom does not exist. It has evaporated as a hegemony must when it proves unwilling and unable to do what is right. Return

5- The Magisterium is the authority and capacity to teach. More on this later. For now, understand that only clergy, broadly defined to include teachers or all kinds, have authority to teach. At one time or another, in one situation or another, this includes the entire population. Return

6- These are technical terms from ecclesiastical usage. Non-parochial clergy are clergy not attached to a local church building and congregation. Non-standing clergy are clergy not attached to a judicatory or statutory governing body of a denominations, such as a district, a diocese, a conference, etc. All parochial clergy are also standing clergy of a judicatory. Not all, but most standing clergy are parochial clergy. Today, very many clergy are neither standing nor parochial clergy. These are the ones in whom interest should be shown. They are likely to be the wise ones -- and capable. Return

7- The Daily Office is the round of regular, repetitive worship engaged in by monastics. In a strict observance, the Daily Office provides a brief service of worship for every three hours of a twenty-four-hour day. The monks or nuns stop their labor or rise from bed every three hours for the Office (service of worship) appropriate to that hour of the day. In a less strict observance, the Daily Office is recited at the major transitions of each day: dawn, sunrise, noon, midafternoon, evening and bed-time. For laity, the Daily Office comprises, ordinarily, two recitations (services of worship) -- Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer -- or three -- Morning and Evening Prayer plus Compline (said at 9pm, 2100 hours). The Daily Office is very ancient and very salutary discipline for all aspirants, lay, clerical and religious. Return

8- The Constitution of the State of Washington, USA., stipulates that the core purpose of state government is the education of all citizens. This is statutory recognition of the profoundest fact of life, that teaching and learning are the foundational human activity. Return

9- This is language from the Book of Common Prayer, such as I have always enjoyed. Return

Reverse

Adwaitha Hermitage
August 1, 1992
Revised, August 25, 1994