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ALEKSANDAR ARSENEN: EPILOGUE FOR THE BOOK “SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS CONDUCTED OVER THE SKYPE PROGRAM AND FACEBOOK,” - VOLUME 2




Review of father Gabriel’s spiritual work on the Internet

Father Gabriel became my friend even though I did not meet him personally, but over the email. Our communication was initiated by him.

I have to say that he almost immediately woke up my feelings; from my experience, I can tell that his words are effective even when they are written on the computer screen. If God permits, I will have that pleasure to meet him and feel his kindness in the personal contact.

My wife Aleksandra found the Monastery Lepavina website when she was looking for the spiritual content that “feeds” the soul. I remember that she merrily sent me a message showing her enthusiasm for the site. Indeed, it is enough to glance at the website, its concept and to understand its value. Since then, we recommend this site to everybody. I thank her for this valuable discovery.

The months had passed from then, and now, I have that honor to write the epilogue for the father Gabriel’s second book. Thank God and father Gabriel because I got this opportunity and trust.

While dealing with the professional informational technology, specifically Internet, I was intrigued by the informational ethics, communication…Much has been written and said in a technical sense, but little in the conceptual, comprehensive and meaningful way. The work of the father Gabriel is one reference and opportunity to show the suspicious ones the value of the modern communications. I am not the supporter of the technology, but it is evident that it can be utilized for the salvation of souls.

What impressed me at the first moment was the concept and “architecture” of the site, whose initiator and editor is father Gabriel.  “Pushed” a little by my profession, I was always interested to look at the technical aspect, leaving the content on a side, no matter the quality it has. Banners that accent parts and content unobtrusively “fly” on the web-site. I do not know the design of the site, but I can recognize the modern way of communication.  Banners show me exactly what I want to see. Navigation is clear, simple, with attractive graphic and everything is somehow “in the mouse”. Great effort has been made and it’s worth.

Can the experience of monastic isolated life be electronically transferred and spiritually useful, or can modern technology disrupt the peace and the prayer in the monastery? Is it okay to spread words of the spiritual father with technology, which some people bring down to the point of banality and futility?

Internet has a good feature to connect distant souls turning kilometers into seconds and that absurdly separates people who live couple of meters apart from each other. On-line missionary roads do not have this problem. They show us technology that has been offered to us by God. There are no separation, no lies, no cheating; we are safe on those roads of the Internet. Everything is true and everything is connection.

I’ve been thinking a lot if there is a problem when we communicate with the spiritual father over the Internet. Does this way of communication make the contact less valuable, simplified even somewhat “cheap”. There are really various dilemmas, especially if we take into account the impact of the technology on humans.

Monitor, keyboard and Internet has ability to change people’s habits and they are doing it for years. People loom short sentences, abbreviations, and not even related words now. There are many foreign words, foreign abbreviations, no spelling and most importantly, the Internet has changed the normal, human relationship with interlocutor. People eventually are losing the sense that one on the other side is a man/woman, a person with authority. Somehow we can get feeling that it is the computer on the other side. That space hold us on the safe distance and everything is possible, there are no consequences. When it becomes uncomfortable, we turn it off and problem is solved. Yes, the Internet is changing habits and relationship between people. Therefore, this raises the question whether or not the technology can serve to benefit, or even more, can it allow contact with spiritual father?

To us, Orthodox believers, Internet should serve as a tool to accomplish the catholicity and to participate in the life of the church. Such purpose is warranted, while the method of data transfer is not so important. It is a technical choice of the user whether or not the word is conveyed by letter, radio, website, or email. It is important that word comes where it is addressed, everything else is fundamental technique. Recently our father Milenko (Jelovac, the Bachka Diocese), in radio broadcast on “Technology Communication” commented on this dilemma and explained that the way of transmission for information is not essential but its intention and content. Father Milenko talked about essential importance of words emphasizing that the method of words’ transmission is of minor importance for the success of what we want to achieve by that message.

Some doubts about the spiritual conversation via Internet are removed. Those conversations are not less important than the telephone talks. Of course, it is understood that this is not the only way we communicate with the spiritual father; it is the case only when we are unable to have the personal contact.

Father Gabriel with his own initiative scored a few goals and his work goes in favor of modern communication. On the other hand it confirms successful and peaceful missionary activity with the help of the technology.

What makes successful father Gabriel’s missionary work:

·         He managed to help many people. If there was no internet, many would not have a way to get in touch with him, this does not preclude assistance of other fathers, but many believers want to get in touch just with him.

·         He was able to hold a catholicity which I mentioned. He did not use the internet as an informational service, but as a medium for the specific purpose. Both, monastery Lepavina website and father Gabriel’s Facebook profile are sending the message that everything is intended for maintaining a healthy life of the church.

·         Conversations he conducted publicly (with a sufficient dose of privacy) did that visitor of the site convene and feel with other believers. Maybe that is one of the most important values of the site. We are succeeding to initiate compassion toward others, accepting them (by anonymous), in its vicinity.

·         Father Gabriel showed the value of the Internet and its services.

·         He provided to us, lay people, to get closer to religion in another way.

The first book of Father Gabriel’s “Spiritual Conversation Conducted over the Skype Program”, in addition to spiritual advices witnesses two-way communication of internet users and successful “overlapping” of different media features. While reading this book, I felt as I am really talking with him. In one email father Gabriel asked me for my opinion if the texts in the book are of the same value as the conversation he had since that is totally different media as well as the way of communication that is not direct but indirect. Then I again took the book and began to read carefully deliberately seeking problems caused not by human factors, but  due the possibility that certain actions and properties may be lost by changing the media. I got the answer the first time, I felt as I am talking to father personally. Father Gabriel scored another goal, a proof that the value of the content is not lost by technical change of the view or by the transmission of the information. Live talks with father Gabriel have the great value for the reader and for the listener. I am glad he was able to consolidate a variety of technical methods, and to keep the main objective – subjective feeling and catholicity.

In our lives, we do not have much chance to talk with people whose words enrich. The Internet offers many possibilities for this opportunity. The modern man, who is employed and with many duties (existential, family…), does not have many days during the year to set aside for the trip. On a daily basis, he has almost no chance to feel the benefit of meeting with the spiritual father. The possibility that you set sail to the monastery even virtually is a proper way to finish the day. Again, I have to mention father Gabriel’s work. A visit to his site is not just informative visit. It is a spiritual connection to which we are looking forward.

I do not see any fault in the missionary work over the Internet. Thanks to the Internet, many wished to visit the monastery and pray to the Most Holy Theotokos of Lepavina. Thanks to the monastery website, many souls approached the church instead one of the numerous sects on the Internet that highly professionally “draw” people who are gone astray. Orthodox mission is at the same time concurrence to the “saviors of souls”.

Why it is important that modern communication we exploit for the purpose of the orthodox mission?

One of the reason is our children do not know the time before the Internet, as well as we do not know the time before television and newspaper. Some would be able to say – who has God in his/her heart, he/she would not search Him on the Internet! Personally, I witnessed a fate of one soul, which surrendered to the sect. The Internet served as a consolation, but with a wrong god (intentionally I am writing a small letter in this sentence). There are many children who, by seeking salvation on the Internet, will find trouble. I was glad when I read confession of fifteen year old boy in the first father Gabriel’s book. Addressing father Gabriel, young man had found solution for his problem. He did not contact one of many dubious organizations who are just waiting for a “guest”. During my work, I observed children and their behavior on the Internet; I realized that many of them are looking for their own father Gabriel. Among other things, Orthodoxy should be celebrated on the internet because of them. And this is another confirmation of the good work of father Gabriel.

If we look at the Russian Orthodox Church on the Internet, we can notice their numerous websites. One gets impression that there is no parish in Russia, which does not have its publications on the Internet, and it seems that 80% of those sites have catechistical character.   When we look at their numerous websites, we feel the strength as we are standing before a beautiful landscape that stretches to the horizon and we feel that there still something behind it. Russian church used all segments of electronic presentations in its e-missionary work. Many sites translated its content on four, even thirty worldwide languages. Such a strong initiative cannot pass unnoticed and without bearing good results. The Internet is just medium to be exploited.

Father Gabriel gave us acknowledgment that, through modern technology, we are waiting for Christ, not for a beast as someone wanted to present. In the era of marketing scandals such as “mark of beast”, it is very important to undeceive faithful with example, who fall under the influence of “quasi” media that prefer to talk more about theories of conspiracy, but not about salvation and good sides of the modern society. Church and the faith is not the same as 200 years ago. They are present now and here; they monitor all changes in the society using the good grace of the modern age.

Dear father Gabriel made a huge move in e-missionary work, not just because it is unique, but because he did not yield to the informative characteristics of the Internet, but he lead his believers into the Church.

Thank you father Gabriel because you are with us whenever we need you, no matter where we are. Thank God on this mercy. Dear readers, lets pray for the father Gabriel and his flock, which is not virtual, but real as we are, and who are fighting every day for eternal life in Christ.

 
The Fast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
July 2010, Novi Sad   
 
Aleksandar Arsenin


Translated from Serbian by prof Bojana Popović
 

ARCHIMANDRITE GAVRILO

Dear visitors of our web-site of the monastery Lepavina! Due to a high number of visits of our website, I am honoured to take the responsibility to describe you in English different events from Serbian Orthodox Church and monastery Lepavina. We would like to inform you that we will be also putting on our web-site some texts in English on different subjects from other Orthodox websites. I deeply hope and believe that our Lord will help me in that!

With God’s blessing, from monastery Lepavina Archimandrite Gavrilo.

Biography Archimandrite Gabriel (Vuckovic)

Krst
Njegovo Visokopreosvestenstvo Mitropolit G. Porfirije

Njegovo Visokopreosveštenstvo Mitropolit G. Porfirije

Otac Gavrilo

BIOGRAFIJA OCA GAVRILA

Manastirski Casopis PDF

MANASTIRSKI
ČASOPIS - PDF