Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer
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Lent and
Easter are now with us: the Feast of Feasts is about to be celebrated
by millions of Orthodox Christians throughout the world. It is at this
time in our Church life in which we manifest our repentance and preparation
to live and die again with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Throughout this period, by means of self-examination and participation
in the liturgical services, we are spiritually transformed into the Kingdom
of Heaven.
Fasting and self-examination are not new concepts in our Church: they
are disciplines that have come to us from the early life of the monastic
communities. The only good for man was to withdraw from the world, from
his fellowman, from all action, and even from the awareness of his senses,
in order to seek an exclusive union of mind and will with God. This is
well and good: the contemplation of God is a necessary goal for every
man, but monastic life tended to sever the bond of love that unites us
with our fellow man. Prayers were specifically a denial of any attachment
to the world. Individual Christians became overly concerned exclusively
with their own souls.
Because of the vast technological growth and achievement evidenced in
our world today, we are no longer able to use the monastic approach to
enlighten and inspire the minds and hearts of our people. No virtue can
be separated from some form of action. Virtue is doing God’s work,
living His life. It creates within an individual a sense of awareness
of the needs of others as well as of his own needs. In this century and
in this country we cannot withdraw from the world and become unconcerned
with its problems.
Today we more than ever want to transform our world and bring it closer
to God. We want to clean up our streams and waters, preserve our land,
purify our air, and stop war. None of these can be done by man alone:
he needs God. We need to receive both an awareness of and commitment to
our own salvation and to the religious, humanitarian, and personal conflicts
facing us in the world.
Here is the essence of our problem, yet it is far from being a new one.
In spite of all the uprootings of the last decade and of all the continuing
threats in our present age, we are just not able to realize the need for
change. We are too attached to our ways and serve customs and traditions
with avid devotion. It is not an easy struggle for the Church to change
in order to meet the problems of the day because of the manner and thinking
of her faithful.
This is especially true since today people in our Churches do not really
understand Christ. They are proud of their faith: they are willing to
submit themselves to strict self-examination, and they have built a spirit
ready to defend the slightest deviation from the accepted ways. They are
proud of what has been preserved, and the necessity of these values is
equally defended. They cry, “If we lose what has kept us together
for so long, what will happen to us?”
However, this need for change and updating is nothing new. Meeting new
challenges with a growing Church is the history of our Holy Faith, for
it has its origins in the struggles of the apostles among themselves,
especially did it manifest itself in the second century in the challenge
between simple faith and philosophy. At that time, the pagan critic of
Christianity, Celsus ( writing about A.D. 177-180) said, “While
indeed there are some educated Christians, the majority commonly say,
‘Do not ask questions, only believe. Faith will save you. Wisdom
is an evil thing and foolishness good.’ “ Philosophical inquiry
was looked upon as an evil thing up to and during this period. In fact,
it was considered doing the devil’s work, to pretend that anything
more than simple faith was required. This attitude alienated the large
number of educated people from Christianity.
Hoping to bring the Church into a more balanced perspective in relation
to all groups, Clement of Alexandra entered the scene (200 A.D.). He exhorted
his pagan contemporaries not to deny themselves the opportunity of the
truth, the truth that is now dawning forth upon all mankind. “Let
us flee the cake of custom: it chokes men, turns them away from truth,
leads them out of the ways of life.” Thus, philosophy, and shortly
thereafter monasticism, determined the destiny of the church’s teaching
and worship.
Although we may find it difficult to accept change and although many of
us may be dissatisfied with the status quo, the change is inevitable.
The Church must be restored into the life of the people as a viable and
meaningful expression of a person’s relationship with God. The Church
is the Kingdom of Heaven and we must allow it to give us real experiences.
Its prayers and fasting must be identified with the search and struggle
taking place today. Its language and its worship must he expressive and
meaningful to all. Let it be the aim of our clergy and our young people.
to search for new methods of expressing the one truth, of the one God
as found in the blessed Eucharist.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
March 1971
p. 8
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