Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer
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Introduction
The current world situation looks threatening. Socialism
appears to have collapsed and the western world is going through a spiritual
and moral crisis. Nationalism and racism are on the increase again, and
looking dangerous. A number of scientific and technological breakthroughs
have been made, but at the same time they are causing us fear and concern.
Never before has the need been so great to give meaning to life. Change
is occurring at a breakneck pace, obliging man to ask himself : why? There
is a hunger today : a hunger for food in the Third World, but a hunger
for love and meaning everywhere. The world is threatened with extinction
: not only by war, but also by meaninglessness, boredom and a lack of
hope. Drugs, eroticism and politics will not provide the answer.
So allow me to answer using quite theological language
and a quite ecclesiastical background. This is the way in which I think
that we, the Orthodox Christians, see the whole question of the rights
and responsibilities of man, for Europeans are, above all, like every
human citizen of this world, men. My humble contribution to this Symposium
is not an address presenting first the rights and then, separately, the
responsibilities of men. When we speak of the rights and responsibilities
of Europeans, we speak of their way of life. I will give you the Orthodox
point of view concerning this way of life, starting with a few words on
the very origin of all human beings : the God of the Holy Trinity.
Distinction between God and the world
The Holy Trinity is Life and the Source of Life. Depending
on the strength of humans, God is accessible to their life, their work
and their struggle to overcome evil and to rise to higher degrees of perfection.
But this eternal relationship between the persons of the Holy Trinity
is understood as a shared action. It is in fact a communion of love. The
incarnation of the Word is the work of the Divine Will, with the consent
of the Father, with the Son as protagonist and with the synergy of the
Holy Spirit. The Divine Trinity thus acts as a union.
Man should follow the example of the Holy Trinity
If human beings, as the image of God, want to
be faithful to their real being, they must seek to reflect the communion
and otherness which exist in the Holy Trinity. This was asserted by Metropolitan
John Zizioulas[2], a contemporary Orthodox theologian
whose opinion is valued, at the Orthodox Congress of Western Europe held
in Blankenberg, Belgium, a few years ago. He went on to say that "the
relationship within God between communion and otherness is the model of
both ecclesiology and anthropology. (..) The uniqueness or unity of God
is also expressed by this inviolable Christian communion (koinonia) which
exists between the three Persons and which means that otherness does not
threaten unity, but is on the contrary a vital precondition for unity.
(..) Father, Son and Spirit are all names indicating a relationship. None
of the Persons would be different if they were not related to the Others".[3]
All unification and all difference arise from the Trinity.
Faith in the Trinity also commits us to social work in every domain, in
both close and distant relations, whether it is a question of a particular
neighbour or social structures. The social is sacramental for us, as stressed
by Saint John Chrysostom when he showed that the sacrament of the
brother was an essential extension of the sacrament of the altar.
We say that our brother is our life, and our brother is each
neighbour, without distinction.
The Trinity is therefore the source of inspiration for
every cultural and social action of Christians – our entire struggle
against misery, injustice, sickness and all the forms of death that plague
our civilisation. Our struggle for human rights and for human dignity
is conducted in the name of the Trinity. Because each person is an icon
of God, and each member of the human race, even the guiltiest, is infinitely
precious in the eyes of God.
Man is hungry
The late and renowned Father Alexander Schmemann started
his book entitled Pour la vie du monde[4] by
borrowing a statement from the German materialist philosopher Feuerbach,
"man is what he eats". Long before Feuerbach, the Bible
provided the same definition of man. Father Alexander Schmemann goes on
to say that there is a biblical history of creation. Man is presented
to us above all as a being who is hungry. The whole world is his food.
He must eat to live. He must integrate the world into his body, assimilate
it and make of it his flesh and blood. He truly is what he eats. And the
whole world is presented to us as the table of a universal banquet offered
to man. This image of the banquet, which continues throughout the Bible,
is the very image of life. It is the image of life at creation and at
the end, and also when it is in full bloom... "so that you can
eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom..." .[5]
Father Alexander invites us to reflect on and answer
this question: "What life are we speaking about? What life are
we announcing when as Christians we confess that Christ died to save the
world?".[6]
There are, generally speaking, two answers to this question.
According to Father Alexander, there are those for whom life means the
religious life. But there are also those for whom "to save the
world" means, quite simply, "to ensure a better life
for the world".
Man is what he eats. But what does he eat, and
why ? Both answers, that by Feuerbach and that by his opponents, were
given in the context of the same fundamental opposition between the spiritual
and the material.
But the Holy Gospel also start with man as a being who
is hungry, with man who is what he eats. In the Bible, however, the food
which man eats and the world he must consume to live, is given to him
by God and is given to him as communion with God. Everything that exists
is a gift from God to man, and exists only so that man can know God and
to make man’s life a communion with God. Behind all the hungers
in our lives, there is God. All desire is desire for Him. Of course all
creation depends on food, and what precisely makes the position of man
in the universe unique is that he is the only one asked to thank God for
the food and life he receives from Him. Thanking God is, in the Bible,
not a religious or cultural act, but a very way of life.
Thus the only natural (and not supernatural)
reaction by man to whom God has given this blessed and sanctified world
is to thank God in return, to express gratitude to Him and to see the
world as God sees it. All the rational, spiritual and other qualities
of man which distinguish him from other creatures have their source and
ultimate blossoming in his power to thank God and to know, so to speak,
the meaning of the hunger and thirst which constitute his life.
Communion
Man as a creation in the image and likeness
of God can live and enhance his existence only in relation to and in communion
with God. What he is and all that he has have meaning only in the context
of this communion. All his strength and capacity exist only to guide him
towards his archetype: We were given reason so that
we could get to know Christ, desire so that we could
run towards Him, and memory so that we would remember
Him. He was in fact the archetype for our creation.[7]
And all that exists and is available to us is there so
that we can know God and make our life a communion with God.[8]
The world and the things of the world are there as signs of the presence
(Parousia) of God and as references for man vis-à-vis his Creator.
The value of man, which is in fact the foundation for
his rights, is therefore found in his position as a being created in
the image and likeness of God. This position is, for us, the essential
basis for human rights. Human dignity is found in the relationship with
the archetype, Christ. He is the measurement of all things human
and divine.
Need to live the human/divine perspective more
intensely
In the message from the Orthodox Primates meeting in
Constantinople in 1992, we read that: "the 20th century can be
regarded as a century of great achievements in terms of finding out about
the universe and of subjecting creation to the human will. During this
century both the strength and the weakness of human beings were perceived.
Following these achievements, nobody is any longer in doubt about the
fact that man’s domination of his environment does not necessarily
lead to happiness and the fullness of life. Thus man should have learnt
that scientific and technological progress that is far from God becomes
an instrument of destruction for nature and society. This is particularly
obvious in the wake of the collapse of communism.
Parallel with this collapse we must acknowledge the
failure of all the anthropocentric ideologies which, over this century,
created a spiritual vacuum and existential insecurity in people and which
led some to seek salvation in religious and semi-religious movements,
or in sects or quasi-idolatrous attachment to the material values of this
world. All the proselytism in vogue today is a manifestation rather than
a solution to the profound crisis in the contemporary world. (...).
Thus in society the privileges and power as a result
of rapid technological and scientific progress are being accumulated by
only one section of humanity, exacerbating the misery of others and creating
the conditions for unrest and even wars (...).
There is also a growing risk of jeopardising man’s
survival as a free person created “in the image and likeness of
God”. Genetic developments, which are certainly capable of contributing
enormously to combating disease, can also transform human beings into
a thing, an object that is controlled and directed by those who have the
power to do so.
The Orthodox theologian, Olivier Clément, said
a few years ago that "Western Europe is now uniting with difficulty
and anxiety. It has no great vision of the future and no grand ideal save
that, it would appear, of protecting the rich against the "threat"
of "invasion" by the peoples of the south. And also against
the upheavals in Eastern Europe for, despite cultural similarities, European
money is cautious"![9] The duty of Christians
(and this is also the Orthodox point of view) is to breathe new life into
European integration, from a human/divine perspective. It is a time when
God is revealed in man, and man in God!
To solve the problems of our times and our society, we
must give precedence to personal creativity and sympathy in human relations
within society. This is a revolutionary way of life. "A revolution
that will permit the free and joyously consented sacrifice of unbridled
consumption and productivity requirements, and a return to the communion
of life within the lives of people".[10]
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 1st (Constantinople)
said in this respect "that it was absurd to think that Orthodox
Christianity was opposed to the West. It considers (like many Western
citizens, particularly Christians, do) that the West accords excessive
importance to material progress, progress which is often harmful to the
spiritual life of man. The spiritual treasures of the Orthodox religion
are for all. The Orthodox Church feels jointly responsible for the formation
of a united Europe. It fully believes in a Christian Europe...".[11]
But in addition, he recommended recently "that we, the Orthodox
Christians, have something we want to say to Western man : we want to
bear witness to this spirituality which comes to us from the Church Fathers,
from the Fathers of the desert, from our Liturgy, from the luminous and
peaceful beauty of our chants and from our icons, and which also comes
to us from this very special ethos through which we regard existence".[12]
Ethos
From the Orthodox point of view, the way of life is summarised
in the Beatitudes.
Thirty years ago the great Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras,
of blessed memory, spoke to one of those close to him of the poor
in spirit. He considered that these were people who had ceased to
see their own ‘self’ as the centre of the world (whether the
individual self or the collective self), and saw the centre of the world
instead in God and in their neighbour. They were dispossessed of everything,
even perhaps of themselves. And each instant they received their knowledge
of the existence of God, as grace. "To fight war effectively,
and to combat evil, we must internalise war and conquer evil within ourselves.
We must engage in the toughest war of all – the war against ourselves.
And there is a lot of nationalism in the self! We must arrive at a point
when we can lay down our weapons".[13]
Patriarch Athenagoras continued, with very significant
words: "I have engaged in this war. For years and years. It was
terrible. But now I am disarmed, I have given up the will to be right
and to justify myself by discrediting others. I am no longer on my guard,
jealously straining to hold on to my wealth. I welcome and I share. I
do not stick to my ideas and projects. If I am presented with better ones,
I accept them without regret. Or rather, not better ones, but good ones.
I have, you know, renounced comparisons… What is good, real and
true, wherever it is, is always better in my view. That is why I am no
longer afraid. When you no longer have anything, you are no longer afraid.
Who can then separate us from the love of Christ?"[14]
Similarly, in the Gospel, justice means
resurrection. It means combating social and cultural inequalities. This
justice is respect, friendship, and communion...
There are also mercy and peace:
the word mercy means feeling at one with the other and entering
into his suffering, for I am responsible. As Europeans we must take
this responsibility seriously. It is unacceptable that only 20% of the
world population should consume 80% of its products, while 80% live in
dreadful situations. We must share with our brothers and sisters throughout
the world ! Since man exists only in relation to something, we must become
peace-makers.
The Holy Spirit helps us
In the West, Christianity has often been presented as
obedience to law and authority, so that liberty seems like a revolt against
an oppressive Church or even a tyrannical God. For the Orthodox world,
the Spirit is also the source of freedom. The Holy Spirit is this breath
from God which makes man the image of God. It is our freedom. When the
Church is aware of the position of the Holy Spirit, then the very life
of the Church becomes a source of freedom. It is the duty of the Orthodox
church to remind the West of it, because freedom has all too often been
manifested in the West against the Church, whereas through the gift of
the Holy Spirit it is the very source of real freedom.
Similarly, the Church is the source of integrity. The
spiritual dimension is not a domain that is separate from the rest of
life. The Spirit is the light which illuminates all flesh and comprises
all of human reality. Thus if we receive the Holy Spirit, it is all our
life, all our intelligence and all our body, and all matter which are
made beautiful by the Holy Spirit, becoming a new creation. This is exactly
what is found in icons. Iconography represents the beauty of creation
renewed by the light of the Holy Spirit.
Thus we understand the most important responsibility
of man : to transfigure and renew the world, in other words to create
a new world. This is what distinguishes man from beasts. This is the icon
of God in man.
Conclusion
Man generally limits his perspective to the immediacy
of the world and sees the world and the things of the world as absolute
values. He thus harms his real existence and creates problems for himself
in his personal and social life that are impossible to solve. Only by
going beyond earthly restrictions can he find satisfaction in the eternal
desire of man. And it is only by going beyond the problems that torment
his existence that some kind of solution can be found.[15]
In the Orthodox Church the Divine Liturgy is chanted when
preparing for the celebration of the mystery: Let us leave behind
all the cares of the world. It is true that most people live in anxiety,
perhaps to forget about death. For them time is interwoven with anxiety.
It must not be forgotten, however, that every instant that passes, and
hence that kills, can, if we receive it from God, become an instant of
resurrection. The past lives in us. The bad past, full of separation and
violence, persists in us and nourishes fear and hatred. That is why we
must let God erase the bad past. The good takes place within the Kingdom
: it is the communion of saints which protects and enlightens our present.
We cannot decide the future. It is in God. We only know
that in our lives, as in history, the Resurrection will have the last
say. That is why we have no fear : we have turned towards God, placing
absolute trust in Him regarding future events.
Notes
[1] These comments by Bishop Athenagoras
Peckstadt (Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European
Union) were presented at a Colloquium organised by the European Commission’s
Forward Studies Unit in cooperation with the Screening Committee from
the initiative on A soul for Europe: Ethics and Spirituality,
with the theme: CITIZENSHIP – RIGHTS AND DUTIES
(31 January 2000).
[2] ZIZIOULAS, J., (Pergamon Metropolitan),
Communion et altérité (Communion and otherness),
SOP N°184, p. 27.
[3] Ibid., p. 27-28.
[4] SCHMEMANN, A., Pour la vie du
monde (To save the life of the world), Paris, 1969.
[5] Ibid., pp. 9-10.
[6] Ibid., pp. 10.
[7] CABASILAS, N., On the Life of
Christ (in Greek), 6, PG150, 680A.
[8] SCHMEMANN, A., Pour la vie du
monde (To save the life of the world), Paris, 1969.
[9] CLEMENT, O., La vérité
vous rendra libre. Entretiens avec le Patriarche Œcuménique
Bartholomée Ier (The truth will set you free. Talks with
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomy 1st), Paris, 1996, p. 228.
[10] Ibid., p. 229.
[11] Ibid. p. 219.
[12] Ibid. p. 221.
[13] CLEMENT, O., Dialogues
avec le Patriarche Athénagoras, Paris, 1969, p. 183.
[14] Ibid., p. 183.
[15] MANTZARIDIS, G., Orthodox
Spiritual Life (in Greek), Thessaloniki,1993, p.133.
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