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Pagan

Meditating on the Maxims: An Interview with Allyson Szabo

December 08, 2010 by Galina Krasskova

Continued from Page 4

I'm still learning to be comfortable with my new Christian connection, but it is my strong belief that I am meant to be a bridge of communication, a bridge of understanding between the Pagan religions and the Christian one. I don't believe, as some do, that All Gods are One, but I do believe that the gods are connected on a level that I do not comprehend. I content myself with doing my best not to put human limits on the doings of the gods.

In our initial correspondence, you told me that you are currently attending The New Seminary in NYC. For those who may not know, this is the oldest interfaith seminary in the United States. Their two-year program focuses on comparative religions, ritual basics, and basic spiritual counseling. They have a sister seminary in the UK. What led you to enrolling at the seminary?

I have felt a strong calling to spiritual leadership for many years. I had not found a Pagan seminary that offered me the kind of education that I wanted, and so I had continued looking. I found The New Seminary via an online search, and attended an open house at their Temple in New York City. I was convinced only minutes after I entered. Herein were Christians, Jews, Wiccans, Hindus, Muslims all sitting together, talking reasonably, sharing their beliefs, without animosity.

This kind of bridge-building is so essential in my opinion. I'm not about to "run off and become a Christian" (or a Jew or a Hindu or a Taoist, or anything else) because of my interactions, but my understanding of the similarities and differences between those religions and my own has deepened my own spirituality exponentially. I have learned ministerial techniques that enhance what it is that I do as well as allow me to speak in the language of others to bring about understanding and communication.

This bridging is what I think I'm called to do. I love preaching in a pulpit, surprisingly (yes, I'm a Pagan priestess preaching in a Christian church, and yes they all know!), but as much as I like it I don't think it's what I'm meant to do. When I talk to people with a Christian background, I can give them some of the history of the time of Jesus, though, and bring it to life for them. People at our church have commented that I have brought their myths back into their hearts and imaginations. That, right there, is what I am best at. That is what I am called to do. I don't care if you worship Jesus, Zeus, Ammon, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so long as you do it with devotion, honor, truth and love. While you're doing it, take the time to learn that those other gods aren't scary, or anathema.

What has it been like as a Hellenic Polytheist attending an interfaith seminary? I have done a good deal of interfaith work myself (including attending and graduating from the same seminary) and it's often been my experience that many people within the interfaith world struggle with polytheism, finding pantheism much more comfortable. Sometimes, I've seen this lead to disrespect and lack of mindfulness toward polytheists and our Gods. I don't believe this was ever intended but as you said above, there is a bridge that desperately needs to be crossed.

It's been interesting. I sometimes refer to myself as a "squishy" polytheist rather than a hard one, because while I believe that the gods are separate, distinct individual beings, I also know that there is a level of communication or understanding between gods that goes far beyond my own knowledge. I have called upon one god and received answers from another, sometimes cross-pantheon, which was very disturbing originally. I joke about Deity Internet, and how they must email one another over an H1 line (Hermes rather than Trunk LOL). I don't know how it works, and I suspect it really doesn't matter in the least. It works, and I feel no need to fix it.

I have just recently begun showcasing some of the more Hellenic rituals and ceremonies for my class, and it is different than what they're used to. Hellenic ceremonies seem to blend together a lot of what has come to be understood as the Abrahamic styles, with what we now think of as modern Paganism. It is a truly bridge-building type of system, at least as I practice it. Each group sees a little bit of their own belief within the Hellenic rituals, and that allows people to be more open to them.

Sometimes, though, I just smile and nod. We often refer to "God, Goddess, All That Is" within class during prayers, and it is a convenient shorthand to addressing all deities everywhere. I don't believe that All are One, but neither do I believe that Mine is Better, and so All That Is seems to be a nice way of including everyone. My gods know what I mean, just as I'm sure the Christians and Jews and Hindus know that their gods understand them.

I think this is where we differ and that is as it should be: our "jobs" for the Gods, if you will are different. I will challenge such statements as "Spirit" or "Mother/Father God" because I believe they presuppose a singularity. It's always seemed to me an unconscious attempt to deny multiplicity of the Divine: which Spirit? Which Mother Goddess? Which Father God? That may be okay for some, and probably is a good place to begin dialogue, but for me, it violates my sense of respect and piety for the Holy Powers. I haven't yet found a way to reconcile that with the interfaith work that I do. It's been a struggle to educate. So thank you for the work you're doing from inside the seminary! Educating by example, gently showing the beauty of your faith, learning how to build those bridges . . . that truly is holy work and I thank you for it.

Article Continued On Next Page

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12/8/2010 5:00:00 AM

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About Galina Krasskova

The author of several books on the Northern Tradition, Galina Krasskova is a Heathen priest, shaman, and devotee of Odin. She blogs at Gangleri's Grove.

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