CHAPTER 5: DYNAMICS OF COMMON LIFE AND COMMON EUCHARIST 155 So, um… and in that situation, of course, there were practically no opportunity to meet or to know something about Orthodoxy, at that time there was not so much Orthodox presence in Switzerland at all, especially not in this region, it was outside Neuchâtel, going towards France. Towards Montpellier, Besançon. Uh, but, on the other side were practically working every day with a Protestant pastor, parishes, people, uh, so we started organizing in our, in our brotherhood, a meeting every week for all the priests and bishop~ {laughs), uh, the priests and pastors of the region, to prepare together the sermon on Sunday. So, they assumed the lectionary of the Roman Catholic Church, because priests were, uh, obliged to, the pastor had the choice to, to choose whatever they wish. So, they decided to adopt the lectionary. And we, we met every Thursday or something like that, for two hours, in our brotherhood, reading together the Gospel, and trying to make a Bible study, all together. And then, of course, every pastor and priest make his own sermon, there was not a, of course, a common sermon, I mean. But a sermon, that was um, prepared, well, um, the text was faced with an ecumenical insight. (…) And then, this moment was replied on Saturday morning for a time of prayer, together. So, a time of discussion, of study, and a time of prayer together, and then, on Sunday, everyone went in his own parish. (…) So, um, I had a chance to have a sort of practical life to show you that Protestants are, uh, like us {laughs}. I mean, they are not the devil, they have not strange things, so, very simple and grassroots opportunity, to know really the other people and the problem~ the pastoral problem that they had, like uh, the priests, or like the [witness]. So, how to announce the Gospel, how to grow up uh, the children in faith. How to combine the different tendencies inside the parish. At that time, they were discussing a lot about the frequency of the Eucharist. Uh, because the majority of them used to have only four time a year, once a month, uh, while a small group of these pastors, including some pastors that came to our group, they were convinced to introduce the weekly Eucharist in their parishes.371 371 BF-1,2d.
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