His Eminence, Archbishop Dimitri

An acquaintance of mine died Sunday morning, August 28, 2011.  I met him only twice, and he was unlike anyone else I’ve ever known.  He has been much on my mind; I have the sense that I should write about him, my meetings with him, and what I’ve come to know about him.

His given name was Robert Royster, and he was born and raised in Texas.  At the time of his death he was 87 years old, and he had been in poor health for several months.  None of that is particularly unusual, but there is more to the story.

Raised in a Southern Baptist Church, he and his sister both converted to Orthodoxy in their early twenties.  He went on to become an Archbishop in the Orthodox Church of America.  When I met him about five years ago, he was the Archbishop for the Diocese of the South and all of Mexico.  Upon his conversion to Orthodoxy he took the name Dimitri, and I knew him as Archbishop Dimitri.

My sister, ten years older than I, converted to Orthodoxy many years ago.  Dorcas took me to Sunday School when I was still a toddler.  The earliest seeds of faith were planted in my soul through her loving faithfulness.  She is now an active member of St. Seraphim Cathedral in Dallas, the church from which Archbishop Dimitri led his diocese.  On a trip to Dallas for another sister’s funeral, I had the opportunity to attend Divine Liturgy with Dorcas.  It’s a three-hour service, and I’ve never seen anything like it!  I was moved by the reverence I observed as people worshiped the Lord Jesus in ways completely new to me.

After the service, I got to meet the Archbishop.  He treated me as though he’d known me all my life.  He invited me to come back for Wednesday evening vespers after which he would have time to visit with me.  My sister and I went back on Wednesday, and I enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Dimitri.

After all these years, I recall that conversation as though it were yesterday.  Words come to mind that describe the Archbishop:  Saintly.  Humble.  Wise.  Caring.  Godly.  Joyful.  Hospitable.  I was sitting with one called “His Eminence” in the Orthodox tradition, but he didn’t convey an air of “eminence.”  He asked me about my walk with Jesus and answered my questions about Orthodoxy, insisting that I drink some of his coffee . . . coffee strong enough to get up and walk out of the cup!  I later learned that he was famous for his coffee.

Both during the liturgy and in conversation, I sensed the Archbishop to be a man in love with Jesus.  His theology doesn’t fit mine in many ways.  I somehow knew, though, that our hearts were set on the same person.  In fact, those who wrote of his life after his death are consistent in saying that his ministry as a bishop was marked by a single-minded devotion to the person and work of Jesus Christ.  This man with the long white beard, dressed in the traditional black cassock conveyed to me a likeness to Christ that I’ve seen far too seldom in my Christian journey.  I left his presence believing that I had encountered a holy man.

Archbishop Dimitri lived frugally and invested most of his resources in the ministry God gave him.  He was, according to all I’ve read, generous to a fault.  During his time as Bishop of the South, he saw Orthodox churches established from Mexico to Florida.  He traveled mostly by car (to save money), investing his life and resources in the churches started under his ministry.

I don’t anticipate becoming an Orthodox Christian; I’m comfortable as a follower of Jesus in the evangelical tradition.  But having met the Archbishop, I have gained respect for the Orthodox tradition and for those in the tradition who love Jesus and seek to follow him.  A simple, brilliant, godly man stepped into my life for just a short while.  He touched my life with his grace and love and compassion.  I look forward to seeing him in heaven!