From Anglican Priesthood to Orthodox Christian Priesthood
After 15 years as an Anglican priest, including six years as the rector
of Trinity Church in Rock Island, the Rev. Thomas Janikowski is converting to
Russian Orthodoxy. By the time he and his wife, Shelly, get back from a New
York trip, he will be an ordained deacon and priest in the Russian Orthodox
church’s Western Rite Communities.
He will celebrate the
Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great on Sunday as a fully ordained priest of the
St. Athanasius parish at 228 W. 15th St., Davenport. Sunday Matins will be sung
at 8:15 a.m. with a Divine Liturgy at 9 followed by food and fellowship.
The church — once a
tattoo parlor named “Joe’s Garage” — is a one-story building with plenty of
parking next door, so no stairs are required, Rev. Janikowski said. Learning to
speak Russian, he said, is not necessary; everything is in English.
Services are conducted
largely by Gregorian chant or sung, with the church following the Julian
calendar that has Jan. 7 as Christmas Day.
“We get all
the nice days for Christmas shopping,” Rev. Janikowski said.
The church also
practices more iconography, he said, and communion is served only to Russian
Orthodox church members.
Rev. Janikowski was a
choral scholar and said he feels extremely confident by chanting and singing
everything. He said he’d always wanted to be in the Russian Orthodox Church
body and particularly had felt drawn to it for the past 10 years or so.
The orthodoxy has
remained undivided for 2,000 years, Rev. Janikowski said. It’s reverent and timeless, he said, yet remains mysterious.
Source: http://www.pravmir.com/davenport-il-priest-moves-fast-join-russian-orthodox-church/
