BackAkron Beacon Journal, September 18, 1999
Old
Order Amish man follows his heart to the Orthodox faith
by
Jim Carney, Beacon Journal religion writer
Dairy farmer's highly
unusual conversion results in excommunication from his church, community
Josef Klarr wanted to know about the
origins of the Christian church.
Klarr, 39, grew up Old Order Amish in
Ashland County and began studying the roots of the church.
He went to the library at the Ashland
Theological Seminary and read book after book when he wasn't working on his farm
milking cows or cutting wood at the saw mill.
A major influence in his reading was the
writings of St. Basil the Great. "I fell in love with him,'' he said.
Klarr visited a Greek Orthodox monastery,
St. Gregory Palamas Monastery near Mansfield, and attended an Easter service,
called Pascha in the Orthodox church.
Later, he spent seven hours meeting with
Metropolitan Maximos, the Greek Orthodox bishop of Pittsburgh, who drove from
Pittsburgh to Klarr's home for the visit.
His continuing studies and the lengthy
session with Maximos brought him to the Eastern Orthodox Church, to which he
converted in 1991.
While Klarr's conversion from the Amish
faith may be unusual, his decision mirrors that of thousands flocking to
Orthodox churches locally and around the country.
Orthodox churches are distinctive because
of the icons on display -- images of Christ and saints and angels, which
Orthodox believers call "windows to heaven.''
Klarr's wife, Ada, whose father is an Old
Order Amish bishop, converted next. The couple has five children.
He attended Christ the Savior Seminary in
Johnstown, Pa., graduating in May of this year. He was a subdeacon in the Greek
Orthodox church for 3 1/2 years.
And this August, he was ordained as a
priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox church.
He said the Orthodox church is an
apostolic church -- one which literally follows the teachings of the disciples
of Jesus. "A person from the second century could walk into the church and
recognize it,'' he said.
What is appealing about the Orthodox
church, he said, "is it stands up to American culture and says, `No, you
are not No. 1 in our lives.' ''
Klarr still has the appearance of an
Amish man, replete with a long beard and the round, black hat he wears
regularly.
He plans to start an Amish Orthodox
church in Indiana, Pa., where he will move later this month to work as a
chaplain for the Eastern Orthodox Foundation.
Father George Hnatko, executive director
of the foundation, said that as far as he knows, Father Klarr is the first Amish
person to ever become a Ukrainian Orthodox priest.
"I think he will do well,'' said
Hnatko, who oversees the organization that is a personal care, transitional
living and homeless shelter in Indiana, Pa.
"We are happy to have him and pray
the Lord will bless him in his new endeavors.''
Klarr said several Amish families from
Tennessee have expressed an interest in joining the community in Pennsylvania.
His conversion to the Orthodox church has
resulted in his excommunication from the Amish church and community. Many
members of his family shun him and no longer speak to him.
But in spite of the loss of some
immediate families, his movement into the Eastern Orthodox community, he said,
has given him a much larger Christian family.
He and his family live in a rented house
with electricity in Youngstown now and he drives a minivan.
But after getting settled in
Pennsylvania, he said, his family will resume living their Amish lifestyle and
will begin dairy farming in a house without electricity.
The Gospel, he said, says to not conform
with the world.
|
Back |
