courtesy of OMHKSEA, The Censer, May 2001
The Orthodox Church in Taiwan's Press
 

The China Post, Taiwan's most prestigious paper, features in its Prime Time weekly supplement of Friday 13 April 2001, Fr. Jonah Mourtos and his efforts to build an Orthodox community in Taiwan. The Orthodox Church and faith are presented on a full page in a reportage entitled "Spreading the Faith", written by the Posts' reporter James Boyce, who approaches the theme in the most profane way, thus making Fr. Jonah's developmental work newsworthy. In this spirit, it is stated that: "The world's earliest Christian Church - the Orthodox - is getting a late start in Taiwan, but Father George Mourtos is resolved to make-up lost time". George is the lay name of Fr. Jonah, who became a monk in Mount Athos, Greece, in 1985. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Technology University of Athens and then received a fellowship to study Quantum Mechanics in the United States of America. But rather than studying the universe he preferred studying the Maker and he turned to Orthodoxy. "Turned is the key word. Although he was raised as an Orthodox Christian, he says he spent many years studying Eastern religion and thought - from Taoism to Yoga - before returning to his roots".

For those who know Fr. Jonah, the article starts in a familiar note: "'Sing something', says Father George Mourtos seeming slightly exasperated. He turns away from the altar and towards us - the dozen or so people making up the congregation on this Taipei Sunday morning - motioning with his hand as though to wave away our lethargy… It is the latest in a series of attempts by Mourtos to get us involved and I can imagine him soon quoting the movie 'Jerry Maguire': 'Help me help you'". The reporter continues to give large and pertinent descriptions of the traditions and teachings of the Orthodox church, but when it comes to describing the actual congregation of expatriate orthodox in Taipei participating in the Holy Liturgy that morning he cannot refrain his sarcasm: "The contrast between the precise conventions of the fourth century liturgy Mourtos is leading and his casual approach is striking. This theme, of formal meeting informal, permeates the morning. The faces of the congregation members reveal expressions from reverence to reverie. Experienced members follow the liturgy like perfect angels while others bumble along haphazardly like lost sheep. In one pew, a man wears a suit; in another, faded jeans are the order of the day. Mourtos himself dons a long, flowing, burgundy robe, but we can see his black jeans peaking through the gaps". Letting aside the question how other young Orthodox congregations across Asia may appear to the ignorant eye of the observer, which in this case is used by the reporter for spicing up his own reportage, let us continue through the presentation. For a Christian reader who comes from a Roman-Catholic or Protestant background Orthodoxy is explained as being "the earliest Christian Church, established centuries before Catholicism and Protestantism were conceived".

In Fr. Mourtos' words quoted by the reporter, 'the Orthodox Christians 'believe we can be in real communion with God'. He compares the experience with putting an iron in a fire - the object becomes hot like the fire yet retains its essence. 'It is united but not mixed', he explains, saying we can come into communion with God yet retain our individuality. This is different from the Catholic experience, which he describes as seeking to be close to, but not united to God. In the words of Mourtos, "It's the difference between being the president of Taiwan or living with the president of Taiwan". Fr. Mourtos is also presented as an explorer of the possible similarities between Orthodoxy and Buddhism. Referring to the tradition of Orthodox monastic prayer and the Buddhist prayer by continuous repetition, Fr. Mourtos is quoted as saying: "It is similar to the Zen model… it is prayer without prayer, words without word". "That is why I love so much the Chinese way of thinking. I think we speak the same language".

The Editor