When the Homily is about Immunology

More on Ohio

One of the interesting things from my trip to Ohio was discovering how many Orthodox Christians I actually have in my family! I knew my Great Aunt Margaret and her parents, my Great Grandparents were/are apart of a Carpatho-Russian Parish, but numerous others were also either in the Carpatho-Russian or the OCA jurisdictions. (Seems, I was the lone Antiochian!)

I got to sit down with my Great Uncle Pete and relive his experiences in France during WWII, something that I never had the opportunity to do with either of my Grandfathers. I wish that my children (if they were older) would get to spend some time hearing his stories. Tom Brokaw called Uncle Pete's generation the "greatest" and I would not ever debate that. Compared to his generation, most of us are the biggest most self-absorbed wusses ever to walk the earth. Lazy and just begging to be served and entertained.

Anyway...I really feel a pull toward learning and understanding more about my family on this side. While Providence is certainly behind my becoming Orthodox, what do I make of the fact that, in a sense, I should have been Orthodox all along? Or that my nearest undiluted heritage adhered to some form of Eastern Christianity? Is it wrong for me to really want to engage that heritage more? To perhaps assimilate some of their customs that were lost to me? Little things (perhaps silly) like calling grandparents Baba and Dzedo? Things which my more immediate ancestors thought unimportant, to me seem more important now...I'm not sure why though...I mean, what does Baba and Dzedo mean except Grandma and Grandpa? But there are other things as well, certain traditions especially around Pascha and Christmas that originate from a culture that was nourished for centuries with the Orthodox Faith.

I suppose, there is a part of me that would view such things as being "fake"...because I was not raised with such little everyday customs and practices. And while I might grant the lingual titles as being silly (and yet, part of me says: gee it would be cool to bring that back!), some of the other practices - even the recipes - I DO want to see reborn in my family. Afterall, I did not grown up with Icons on my wall or receiving a blessing from my father before bed either.