Musings on charismatism/Pentecostalism
28th January, 2002:
The
conservative-charismatic connexion in the Roman Catholic restoration movement
is a development of about 15 years’ standing that fascinates me. Marching for
prolife I have befriended several dear people who happen to be charismatics.
The movement itself is a late-1960s import into Roman Catholicism of Pentecostalism, a
Protestant movement dating back to 1906.
Until now, with the
notable exception of Fr Eusebios Stephanou mentioned by Fr Seraphim (Rose) in his
rejection of the movement, I have observed the near-absence of this Protestant
import from Orthodox and even Eastern Catholic life. Fr Thomas Loya and
Bishop Kallistos make the point that the church as such IS ‘charismatic’,
‘Spirit-filled’, etc. Something the Orthodox tradition perhaps never lost touch
with in practice, therefore next to no charismatic importation here. For
example, in Orthodoxy much of the tradition of monastic eldership is truly
charismatic. There have been plenty of lay spiritual fathers and mothers.
Monasticism itself, rightly understood, can be seen as such.
Fr Eusebios is an isolated and controversial figure but IIRC from glancing at his site he’s not unorthodox theologically or even liturgically (no praise bands or overhead projectors) but the charismatic stuff is a kind of devotional add-on to the usual Orthodox stuff. He just seems enthusiastic (in the colloquial and hopefull not the Ronald Knoxian sense) about small-o and probably big-O orthodox Christianity.
One local charismatic
leader, a layman with a radio programme (lovely old man, now departed), used to have his yearly prayer breakfast
on a Sunday at a Ruthenian Catholic church, and his people would come to
Divine Liturgy. (Again, part of the conservative-charismatic connexion?)
Sadly, though, liturgically the experience didn’t seem to rub off on them. They
might have dismissed it as ‘foreign’ with their low-churchness considered
‘normal’.
The movement and its
people have a lot going for them, especially in their more recent Catholicising
period: prolife, devoted to Our Lady and the Blessed Sacrament and thoroughly
small-o orthodox.
Having said that,
historically I have agreed with Fr Seraphim in his rejection of the movement as
such.
To his words I will add
some of my recent private correspondence with a friend (all quotations are of
me):
FUS (Franciscan
University of Steubenville — I visited there once 13 years ago) is a
charismatic-movement, culturally protestantised wing of the restoration
movement — ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ (WWJD) fads, silly bans on (or at least
strong discouragement of) dating or unmarried couples displaying any physical
affection, and Oral Roberts–style tent meetings with glossolalia and guitars,
peculiarly Catholic charismatism involving apparition-chasing and mixed with
some traditional devotions such as the Rosary and Perpetual Adoration...
Anything except
the Tridentine Mass or the Byzantine Liturgy (though icons are OK).
I see now there is some
crossover between Byzantine Catholics and ‘the movement’. For instance I read
with fascination an account of Fr Bryan Eyman and his youth group. I won’t
dismiss all of Fr Bryan’s experiences out of hand as прелесть (delusion).
However, with Fr
Seraphim’s warning still echoing in my ears, I agree about — the initiation
with the laying on of hands with its quasisacramental ‘baptism in the Spirit’,
the glossolalia and the ‘prophecy’? Dangerous. Protestant liturgics and music
(the ‘praise’ and ‘worship’ guitar music of evangelicalism)? NO. ‘Holy
laughter’ and barking like dogs? NO. (As mentioned above Mgr Ronald Knox warned of these
delusions too — he called them ‘enthusiasm’.)
But enthusiastically
(Greek en Theou, ‘with God’) singing
and praying the traditional Byzantine Liturgy with congregational singing (à
la Ruthenian usage)? Really ‘praying in the Spirit’ (and to the Father,
through the Son)? Yes. Congregations adopting the raised-arms orans
position for the Our Father? OK. I did it once with the congregation at Holy
Transfiguration Melkite Church in McLean, Virginia and liked it.
So the movement as a
whole and some of its vital components (like those I mentioned above) ARE прелесть,
but God works where he will and I won’t deny the movement may have helped some
people. I use a Book of Common Prayer but that doesn’t make me a disciple of
Thomas Cranmer; catching some of the joy and community feel of the charismatics
doesn’t necessarily make one a Pentecostal.
I rented an apartment
for nine years from people like that: a ‘covenant community’ complete with
‘shepherding/discipling’ and rumours of arranged marriages (which they
vehemently denied).
I never was a member.
They found me too weird to be recruitable and so generally ignored me. (I was
‘trad’ back when trad wasn’t cool, you see.)
There were admirable
things about this group — in many ways orthodox (as conservative Protestants
can be) plus their emphasis on community is part of the mystery of the Church,
but the aspects I mention above made it ‘verrrry scary, kids’.
These socially
conservative Billy Graham wannabes were in bed with AmChurch here.
I told my friend that
this group in its heyday recruited most of its members from a local ‘Catholic’
college and, perhaps a relic of the community’s (and the whole movement’s) late-1970s protestantising
thrust, actually was in bed with the heretical ‘campus ministry’ (sharing
resources and some staff), despite the charismatics’ social conservatism and
the campus ministers’ liberalism.
All they had in common
really other than a vague ‘it’s all about Jesus’ sentiment was a liking of
do-gooder social gospelling (they venerated Tony Campolo) and a contempt for
traditional Catholicism.
Both groups were
liturgically militantly low-church. ‘Strummin’ for Jesus’.
The college, a
frat/jock/yuppie establishment in the worst nouveau riche ‘Catholic’
tradition in America, was uneasy with the group’s
proselytism and eventually kicked it off campus. Students complained it was a
cult — at least one set of parents hired a deprogrammer — and they were right. (Not that the fratboy scene was any better, nor was
the secondhand PCness of ‘campus ministry’.) Perhaps the community members’
rediscovery of Catholic theology and devotions (but not liturgy) ended their
marriage to ‘campus ministry’.
I also observed to my
friend, who has similar firsthand experience with charismatics, including
‘covenant communities’, that the nice older people I’ve met who are in the
movement seem to be using tertiary things like Marian devotion and Perpetual
Adoration, along with the Protestant-style enthusiasms, as emotional substitutes for the traditional Mass. The real centre of
‘Cathodox’ church life, the traditional
Liturgy/Mass, is what these people hunger for but perhaps they don’t
realize it.
The Orthodox/Byzantine Catholic
tradition, which never separated piety from philosophy from theology like sometimes was said to happen in the
postschism West, remains communal, liturgical, traditional and unshakeably
theological. Because of that, it seems miraculously immune to the American
Catholic veering towards Protestantism culturally that the charismatic movement
is part of. ‘WWJD’ pietism fits in with American culture. The Divine Liturgy of
St John Chrysostom, or a good liturgical-movement Tridentine (Anglo-)Catholic solemn Mass or
conservative Novus Ordo Mass, does not.
By the way, there are
Pentecostals who not only are in heresy but, like Mormons and Jehovah’s
Witnesses, are no longer Christian: the ‘oneness’ Pentecostals deny the
Trinity. I once read an article — in a charismatic magazine — describing how
one minister had several ‘gifts’ and continued to have them even after falling
into such apostasy. Makes you wonder who the ‘gifts’ came from.
If one attends a Methodist meeting, he imagines himself carried back to the times of Baal. Everyone is praying aloud, though not in concert. One shouts, another screams; some weep, some sing; while others, turning deathly pale, fall to the floor, foam at the mouth, groan as though in agony, and roll around convulsively, having, as they blasphemously assert, received the Holy Spirit.
— St John Nepomucene Neumann, early 19th century
From a message board:
My own view of the charismatic movement is that it is the attempt to substitute emotions for clear thinking in Christian spirituality. It is entirely the creation of late nineteenth-century holiness preachers who were heavily influenced by pietism. One can see it as a revival of ancient Montanism and Messalianism. The Messalianists claimed to have sensible experiences of the Holy Spirit and they were condemned for heresy.
H O M E P A G E  A C O N S E R V A T I V E S I T E F O R P E A C E |
Pentecostalism grew out of Methodism, English Pietists who left Anglicanism in the late 1700s and were the wildfire revivalist religion of pioneer America. Inadvertent Methodist founder John Wesley was an Anglican priest and man to really admire, but as Bishop Butler said to him:
This pretending after special revelations of the Holy Spirit is a horrid thing, a very horrid thing.
GOD, who by the light of the Holy Ghost didst instruct the hearts of the faithful: grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.