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In the meantime, ties to the Mother Churches keep us secure in an otherwise quite dangerous society, the uncanonical situation to the contrary notwithstanding

In case any of you have a chance to stay in Tokyo, make a point of visiting "Nikolai-do" -- a magnificent Orthodox Cathedral established by Archbishop Nikolai, who came with the first diplomatic mission to Japan in the 1860's. The Japanese Orthodox Church is autonomous and under Moscow's Patriarchate.

The entrance into the courtyard still reads "Slava vo vishnyih Bogu" (Glory or Praise in the Highest to God) in Slavonic. The original atmosphere has been preserved immaculately, and the Japanese flavor is only subtle and in good taste (it is really unbelievable to see a Japanese woman in a tight kimono drop to her knees and bow to the ground before an icon!).

There is at least one Russian clergyman (could be from the Embassy), but the rest are Japanese. One can even see monks, which means there must be at least one Orthodox monastery in Japan!

"Nikolai-do" (Nikolai's Temple),
Holy Resurrection eastern Orthodox Cathedral, Tokyo, Japan

For inside shots try this link Nikolai-do. You may notice some folding chairs. In addition to the chairs along the walls, these folding chairs are used only at the very end of the Liturgy when the people are kissing the cross and taking the remaining bread, and the lines are long.

But I was so impressed last year during Lent anfd again this year in the Fall to see Japanese Orthodox, many of whom were well into their 80's, standing through the entire service (and my feet were hurting)!

Except for a few verses in Church Slavonic, the entire service is in Japanese, and the choir is of mixed ethnic and racial background but absolutely angelic.

All I am saying is that in a culture that is so opposite of traditional Orthodoxy, ties to the Mother Church are not unreasonable and should not be seen as something subordinate but spiritually necessary. Otherwise cultural pressures will change the nature of Orthodoxy out of simple human desire to "fit in" as Kolo aptly points out.

Oh, I definitely mean to visit Nikolai-do if I ever make it to Tokyo!

St. Nicholas of Japan is one of my favorite saints. Those of us who want the Liturgy in English to be as beautiful as it is in Greek and Slavonic, and thus favor the use of Early Modern English (as in Bishop BASIL's translation of The Liturgicon and the various translations from Holy Transfiguration Monastery) should all have a particular devotion to him.

The Japanese Liturgy you heard is his translation, not into 'street Japanese', but into the high, slightly archaic, literary form of Japanese which was found in Buddhist and Shintoist liturgics. He took great care to be sure words were chosen so that Christian concepts would not be confused with non-Christian ones, but took the style of the indigenous religions' language.

I'd certainly settle for unity and autonomy under either Moscow (which has the historical right) or Constantinople (since the GOA is the biggest jurisdiction). The problem is, Moscow, rightly or wrongly, gave the OCA autocephaly, so unity and our own Patriarch may be the only feasible way to accomplish unity without overlapping dioceses. (I'm personally annoyed that we Antiochians put the seat of one of our new diocese at Pittsburgh where the GOA already has a bishop. Does anyone else have a bishop whose seat is at Miami?)