Chapter 40: Adventures in Baby-making

December 6, 1986, Columbus, Ohio

"Master, Bless!" I requested when Elizaveta and I were shown into Vladyka JOHN's office late on Saturday afternoon.

"The blessings of the Lord be upon you both, Father Deacon Michael and Matushka Elizaveta."

He made the sign of the cross over my upturned palms and I kissed his hand, and then the same ritual was completed with Elizaveta.

"Thank you for coming to Columbus! Please help yourself to tea or coffee. Sandwiches will be brought in before we have to walk to the Cathedral for the Vigil."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Elizaveta responded. "May I pour you some tea?"

"Yes, please."

"Mike?"

"Tea, please."

Elizaveta poured tea for all three of us, then we sat on the couch across the small coffee table from Vladyka JOHN, who sat in a chair.

"How are things going with your medical training, Mischa?"

"Very good. I have my schedule for my clinical work, which starts in July. I'll be doing a surgery rotation, then OB/GYN at the Roman Catholic hospital in Cincinnati, then my first emergency medicine rotation. That takes me to the end of December of next year."

"Has there been further word about the female medical student who is causing problems?"

"Not yet. I have an attorney lined up, but so far, nothing has happened. The Dean believes that she'll file her lawsuit sometime after Christmas because, at that point, there are no more interviews available."

"But he doesn't believe she can win, right?"

"Correct. All she can do is try to cause trouble; she'll most likely never be a doctor no matter what she does."

"Can you share what has you so concerned?"

"A psychiatrist accused me of abusing my sister, Liz. The accusations were false, and they were ultimately retracted, but not before they caused some serious problems for me. The medical student found out about it from a former dean at Taft, who had found out about it from the psychiatrist who made the accusation. She's the source of the problem because she tried to use those false accusations against me."

"Lord have mercy! I'm going to guess that was part of what led to the collapse of your parents' marriage?"

"Really, everything that happened with Liz brought to a head things that had been building for years. In the end, though, you know the reason for the request for the ecclesiastical divorce."

"Yes. How is your father?"

"He married the young woman in a civil ceremony after she became pregnant."

Vladyka JOHN shook his head, "I assume they are unchurched."

"That's correct, Vladyka. My dad was raised in a Calvinist household, and that has a lot to do with it. His parents attend a conservative, evangelical Bible church near Chicago. You know my mom's parents, of course, and my in-laws."

"Your grandfather is on the same special prayer list you are, Father Deacon!" Bishop JOHN said with a twinkle in his eye.

I laughed, "God preserve me from my enemies, and even more so from my friends?"

"Yes!"

"There's a reason I insisted on waiting until after I was married to be ordained! Now, I pray every day for a long life and good health for my wife!"

"You'd better!" Vladyka JOHN teased. "On a serious note, how do you feel things are at Saint Michael the Archangel?"

"I would say it's in very good shape. Father Nicholas is an excellent priest and there is nothing even remotely controversial happening. The only problem was the situation with Natalya Vasilyevna Antonova and Nikolas Antipov, which we discussed. And the seeds of that problem were sown years ago in a moment of weakness."

"Of which your Matushka is obviously aware."

"Deacon confessed his failure to me before he asked me to marry him because he felt I should know. Tasha and I are very close friends, and there is no animosity."

"A wise course of action, though I would advise caution on revisiting sin which has been confessed and for which absolution was given. I assume you consulted Father Nicholas on the matter before taking any action, Mischa?"

"Yes, I did, and I followed his advice."

Though not immediately, nor to the full extent, something which happened later in Amsterdam. There was, in my mind, no need to reveal anything other than that about which Nik had made the bishop aware.

"Good. Matushka, how is your Senior Year of High School?"

"Calculus is challenging, but everything else is relatively easy."

"And will you attend college?"

"Not right away. We hope to have our first child by this time next year."

That simple sentence told me that Elizaveta had come to terms with what I'd told her about conception, though what happened in about ten days when she was supposed to have her period would show if I was right or not.

"And, as we mentioned," I said, "we'd like you to baptize our children when they are born."

"Something I will be very happy to do! Having children is a blessing, both for the parents and for the church. I will counsel you to be wise about the timing and number, given your medical training."

"We've discussed that," Elizaveta said. "And we're in agreement."

"Very good. Is there anything that I am able to help you with?"

"Not at this time, Vladyka," I said. "I think, finally, things have calmed down, and everything is going well."

"Good! Let me have the sandwiches brought in, and after we eat, we can walk to the Cathedral."

Three hours later, Elizaveta and I arrived home, where we continued our adventures in baby-making.

December 7, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

"Deacon Mike, can you explain how we can pray for the dead?" Terry asked at the beginning of Sunday School.

I could, though it would mean tossing out my prepared lesson on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That said, it seemed appropriate to answer Terry's question, and I could cover the material in a week's time.

"I can do that," I replied. "What are you struggling with?"

"Uhm, it's OK to just say it?"

I nodded, "Yes. Trust me, any objection you might raise has been addressed by the Church at some point in the past two thousand years, and most of the group has heard me answer similar questions over the years."

"Well, if someone is dead, how is it possible for prayer to have any effect?"

"The first thing to say is that prayer transcends time and space. Prayer is a response to the Holy Spirit working within us and is part of our transcendent, eternal communion with the Holy Trinity and the Body of Christ, which is the Church. All of us, living and dead, are members of the Body of Christ, and as such, we pray for the salvation of all our members, for it's not possible for the hand to say to the foot, 'I have no need of you'.

"So we both pray for them, and request their intercessions for us, because those who have departed this life are not dead, but remain alive in Christ. We do that for the same reason the Church has always offered prayers — because even now, we are united with them in the eternal bond we know as the 'Communion of Saints'.

"When we pray for anyone, whether they are alive corporeally or not, we use the same exact prayer — 'Lord have mercy'. We do not, in our limited, temporal condition, know what to pray for, even for those with whom we live, because only God knows what is best for our salvation. That is why we always pray 'Lord have mercy' in both our corporate and private prayers. In the same vein, we do not know the needs and concerns of those departed from this life, but God does, so trusting in His knowledge, we pray, 'Lord have mercy'.

"Remember, though, something very important — the Church's prayer cannot make a difference in the ultimate situation of anyone who does not wish salvation during their life or who never once attempted to gain it. In one sense, you might say that the prayer of the Church or that of individual Christians for someone who has departed this life is but another result of that person's life. We would not pray for them unless they had done something during their lifetime to inspire such prayer.

"Now, if you're looking for support in the Scriptures, you will find it, for example, in 2 Timothy, where Paul writes: 'The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day — and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.'

"I'll note that each time Onesiphorus is mentioned, it is in a way distinguishing him from others who are still alive. Further, as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, we are exhorted to pray for one another by James. Paul reminds us in Romans and Ephesians that whether we are alive on earth or our soul has departed our body, 'we belong to the Lord' for we are 'members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones'. The author of Hebrews reminds us of what the icons in our temples represent — the great cloud of witnesses, who are 'the spirits of righteous people made perfect' as well as those of us alive on earth.

"Ultimately, because of Christ's resurrection and victory over death, death does not end our membership in the Body of Christ, which Paul makes clear in Romans: 'that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

"As a final note, remember we do not believe in purgatory or even that Heaven and Hell are separate places. All souls partake in the same mystical fire, which, according to Saint Isaac of Syria, is the love of God poured out on all humanity. The experience is very different, depending on the spiritual state of the individual's soul. For those who love God, it is the refining fire, a state of pure bliss; for those who reject God, it is eternal fire, a state of pure agony. The choice is ours; God does not send anyone to Hell; we send ourselves.

"Does that answer your question sufficiently?"

"It does, though it still seems, from what you are saying, that the prayer after someone has departed can affect their eternal state."

"The short answer is that we have no specific knowledge of the 'waiting' state between bodily death and bodily resurrection. Ultimately, eternal life is corporeal, and the Last Judgment occurs at the bodily resurrection. How that time passes, we, the living, have no idea, and it's best to remember that God is transcendent and thus not constrained by time nor by any physical thing. And the Last Judgment will, finally, 'separate the sheep from the goats', based, according to the Scriptures, on what they did and didn't do."

"Keith Green, right?" Terry asked.

"Yes, though he did crib it from Matthew's Gospel!"

"Obviously!" Terry said, laughing. "You listen to Keith Green?"

"I do, I have his album The Keith Green Collection. According to my friend at the record store, well, mostly CD store now, there will be a two-volume set of all his music released next year. His music is very compatible with Orthodox teaching, which is no surprise given he used the Scriptures collected by the Orthodox Church as his source."

"Deacon," Debby asked, "can I ask about praying for people who aren't Orthodox."

"Of course, and the answer is the same — list them in your petitions, and pray 'Lord have mercy', trusting that God will do exactly that. We only pray for those who are Orthodox during the preparation of the gifts because it's directly related to the Eucharist, but otherwise, anyone may be prayed for at any time. After all, in the Great Litany, we pray for the President of the United States and our other leaders, and I daresay they aren't Orthodox Christians!"

"Are you taking any questions?" Katrina, a High School Junior and recent convert, asked.

"Yes, though limited to questions of Orthodox faith or practice," I replied. "Well, unless you want the 'Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything', which is 42, according to 'Deep Thought'."

There was a smattering of laughter from the teens and young adults who were fans of science fiction, but mostly, I saw blank stares.

"That's from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which everyone should read. It's not exactly Orthodox, but it's a lot of fun. What's your question, Katrina?"

"What about dating someone who isn't Orthodox?"

"Generally, so long as the person is baptized in the name of the Trinity, there aren't any impediments to marriage. The Church only requires one member of the couple to be Orthodox for a wedding in the temple, which is the only place an Orthodox betrothal and crowning may be celebrated. What church does the young man attend?"

"He's Roman Catholic."

"Then there's no problem at all. Obviously, and this should go without saying, you should use all your feminine wiles to bring him into the Church."

The sixteen teens and young adults howled with laughter, including my wife.

"Within the bounds of proper behavior, of course!" I added.

More laughter.

"Could you define that?" Katrina asked.

"No," I chuckled. "But I'm positive that your dad can!"

More laughter.

"That discussion is probably best to have with me," Elizaveta said, "at least for the girls. The guys should speak with Deacon."

"Anyone would be better than my dad!" Katrina groused. "If it were up to him, my first kiss would be ... never!"

More laughter.

"Deacon," George, a High School Freshman, said, "is there a problem with martial arts?"

"No. I'm a brown belt in Shōtōkan karate. I had to suspend my training because medical school requires pretty much every waking second that isn't spent in church, with my wife, or with my band."

"Are you going to play another gig that we can go to?" Oksana asked.

"That's a question for Kim, who handles our schedule. We're going to play in January at Taft, but other than that, the only scheduled gig we have is Prom next May at the High School. Back to George's question, the dōjō in McKinley is very good, and the Sensei is an excellent teacher. Sophia's boyfriend Robby currently practices there."

I answered several other practical questions before the end of Sunday School, and then Elizaveta and I headed home.

December 16, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

After a very quiet and routine week, I arrived at the hospital for my last day in Cardiology, and, as was planned, I had my review with Doctor Getty.

"Doctor Strong gave you a glowing review," Doctor Getty said. "And everything I've seen confirms that. I know Doctor Roth is doing his best to get you to consider surgery, and I'd like to see you do that with a cardio-thoracic focus. That would satisfy both of us."

"All I can say right now is that I have a surgery elective and a cardiology elective. I'll decide what to do right before I have to fill out my Match list in February of Fourth Year."

"What other electives are you planning?"

"Emergency medicine, internal medicine, and psych."

"Psych? Why waste a Sub-Internship on that unless you're going into psychiatry?"

"Because my friend Angie, the girl I probably would have married, was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. I'm convinced that a psych Sub-Internship will help me be a better doctor, and my personal therapist agrees."

"Therapist?"

"She helped me with some family troubles I had right after High School, and she ended up being part of the treatment team for my friend Angie. I help care for Angie under the therapist's guidance."

"I won't waste my breath trying to dissuade you, so I'll just say think carefully about that. Anyway, you have fives across the board, with an endorsement to the application committee to grant you an interview a year from now."

"Thank you. I turned in my evaluation at the school this morning. It shouldn't surprise you that I checked all the 'plus' boxes and wrote a note that Doctor Strong is an excellent teacher. I learned more on this rotation than any other so far."

"I'm glad to hear that. Keep us in mind! May I see your notebook?"

"Yes, of course."

I pulled my notebook from my pocket and handed it to Doctor Getty. He paged through it for a couple of minutes before there was a knock at the door, and it opened.

"Doctor Getty, Doctor Strong is bringing up a pericardial tamponade for repair."

"Thanks, Jordan. Push the angioplasty for an hour. Mike, shall we?"

I nodded, he handed me my notebook, and we left his office for the first of two surgeries. That meant I was nearly an hour late getting home, so I had to eat quickly before my study group arrived.

December 19, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

"So far, so good!" Elizaveta exclaimed when I arrived home on Friday afternoon.

"Don't get your hopes up too much, Kitten. The red dot on the calendar is tomorrow."

"Every period for the past year has come on the day before the dot because I mark the day I'd be late! And I don't feel like I'm about to get my period."

"Let's go to meet our friends and see what tomorrow brings."

We left the house and headed to the Chinese restaurant, where we met our friends. This was our last outing of the year, as most people were busy or traveling during the week between Christmas and New Year's. One change was that Lara had invited Terry, as I'd suggested. And, to my surprise, Fran and Jason had convinced Pete to ask out a fellow grad student named Cynthia.

"What are we seeing tonight?" Tessa asked.

"I was hoping for Heartbreak Ridge, the new Clint Eastwood movie," Jason said. "Brandon and Pete want to see it as well."

"I'd really rather see Little Shop of Horrors," Tessa said. "A movie about the US Marines doesn't really interest me very much."