Ecclesiasticus I: Introducing Eastern Orthodoxy
Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer
|
The
king, prophet, and psalmist David taught through his writings that “the
Heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.”
(Ps. 19:1.)
As rich and as great and as beautiful as this earth and the universe
about us are, yet they are only one small glimpse of the Kingdom which
our heavenly Father gave us in order to instruct us about His glory and
about His providence. Through the created God becomes evident to us— in
His justice, in His truth, and in His decisions which are for the good
of us all.
Nature is oriented in a specific direction. She reveals an ordered
response to the Almighty Creator, as the flower orients itself toward
the sun for nourishment. In our lives Jesus is the director, the secret
cause, and end of all evolution, like the compass needle or vector, as
scientists would say, of natural phenomena.
God has impressed the transitoriness of all earthly things upon
the clouds, that every eye may see it. He gave them beauty and made them
a blessing, that they may the better represent the things which charm
for a time and are a disappointment in the end. When we are tempted to
set our hearts on earthly things, we should look up to the changing
clouds and see how our treasures will soon pass away. God clothed the
clouds of the morning and the evening with a passing beauty, that He may
awaken in our hearts a longing for the land where the glory of His presence
shall he an everlasting light.
One of the most impressive sights beheld and witnessed by us who
composed the special ten-man delegation to the meetings of the Holy Synod
of the Patriarchate of Antioch from the end of July to August 5, 1966,
was at the Monastery of St. Elias Showaya, Dhour el Shweir, Lebanon.
Late in the afternoon of Thursday, August 4, the third session
of the meetings of the Holy Synod was in progress. A few members of the
delegation—Fathers Thomas Ruffin of Detroit, Michigan, Antony Gabriel
of Toledo, Ohio, George Corey of Louisville, Kentucky, and the author
of this article—were strolling meditatively through the grounds of the
Monastery, enduring the agony of awaiting the decision as to whether North
America would receive her new Metropolitan Archbishop in the synodical
election, or whether the election would be deferred to a much later time.
As the discussion became a prayer that, by the will of God, all things
would have a favorable conclusion, a large whitish-gray CLOUD was moving
from over the mountains towards the Monastery of St. Elias Showaya, covering
and enveloping it like a blanket. It was both frightening and mystical:
frightening, because even the birds and the fowls of the air were flying
away from this oncoming CLOUD; and mystical, because its beauty,
its blessedness, and its tranquility were moving toward our very presence.
From whatever cause, the beauty of the cloud and the charm of that
moment took their place in eternity. The CLOUD inspired a feeling of reverence,
fear, and apprehension, for it seemed to be—not just an ordinary cloud,
and we all began moving toward the Monastery for cover and protection.
Once inside the monastery walls, we went to look out at “the CLOUD”
from within. Sitting on the balcony with the Archdeacon of the Monastery,
we related to him what was happening and what we had seen. We were informed
that this was very unusual, inasmuch as clouds never engulf the Monastery
at that height. The Archdeacon explained to us that a symbolic interpretation
does not violate the meaning of nature, and that even’ movement or spectacle
of nature has a spiritual interpretation. The truth is that nature is
an open book in which each detail expresses in veiled terms the realities
of the supernatural life. It is a tribute to the medieval genius that
people of that time had such a strong intuition concerning the meaning
of symbols. But there was more than symbolism here.
The Archdeacon, interrupted by us now and then, led us through
passages of Holy Scripture on “the CLOUD or the CLOUDS of decision or
direction.” When God led the people out of Egypt, “the Lord went before
them by day in a pillar of CLOUD to lead them along the way, and by night
in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day
and by night.” (Exodus l3:21.) When the people of God rested from their
flight from Egypt, “the angel of God who went before the host of Israel
moved and went behind them; and the pillar of CLOUD moved from before
them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host
of Israel. And there was the CLOUD and the darkness: and the night passed
without one coming near the other all night.” (Exodus 14: 19-20.) “The
glory of the Lord appeared in the CLOUD as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation
of the people of Israel” when they began murmuring against the Lord on
their journey from Egypt. (Exodus 16:10.) When God wanted to rule and
instruct Israel through His servant Moses, did He not call him up to the
mountain so that He could give Moses the tables of stone which contained
the law and the commandments for the instruction of the people? And a
CLOUD covered the mountain for forty days and for forty nights when the
covenant was in the process of being made. (Exodus 24:12-18) “A CLOUD
covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle
where the Israelites would gather before the Lord enroute to the promised
land.” (Exodus 40:34) And St. Elias, Patron of the Monastery, was taken
up to Heaven in a chariot of fire upon a whirlwind, surrounded by CLOUDS,
as we behold in the icons of this Old Testament Prophet. (II Kings 2:11.)
On the feast day of the Transfiguration a bright CLOUD overshadowed the
Disciples of Christ, and they heard the Heavenly Father speak of His beloved
Son in Whom He was well pleased. (Matt. 17:5.)In His Ascension Christ
was lifted up and a CLOUD took Him out of the sight of the Disciples.
(Acts 1:9.)
While we sat in awe of this phenomenon and were still pondering
the scriptural interpretations, exclamations of wonder were exchanged
between the Archdeacon of the Monastery and ourselves, and we were informed
that a decision of the Holy Synod was forthcoming. A proposal was accepted
about 7:00 p.m. on the evening of August 4, 1966, that the nominations
of the New York Archdiocese be accepted and that the leading candidate,
the Rt. Rev. Philip Saliba, be made the Metropolitan Archbishop of our
Church in all North America. Other decisions pertaining to the welfare
of the Patriarchate of Antioch were also adopted.
Many delegations, both clerical and lay, from Syria and Lebanon
were present at St. Elias Monastery and awaited these decisions outside
the chapel. At the conclusion of the meeting of the Holy Synod, as some
of the Archbishops were leaving the meeting in protest, all the members
of our delegation began counting those Archbishops remaining in the Monastery
where the deliberations were taking place. Only six Archbishops left the
salon, and SEVEN remained — a sacred number, not only to the people of
the Old Testament to whom it indicated perfection or completion, but to
us it was symbolic that our religious pilgrimage and duties of sacrifices
for our Archdiocese in loving memory of our late spiritual father, Metropolitan
Antony, were now complete.
As the six dissident Archbishops left the Monastery in their cars
and drove away, the CLOUD which enveloped the entire Monastery also disappeared.
That CLOUD, we felt, was leading, protecting, ruling, and instructing
us in God’s decrees for His Church so that His glory could be better revealed.
In awe we were led by the Rt. Rev Protosyngelos Ellis Khouri of Grand
Rapids, Michigan, into the Chapel of St. Elias Showaya for a prayer of
thanksgiving.
It is true and right that nature and the heavens should declare
the glory of God. All the elements glorify the God-Man Who is the Head
of the Church. Stone and rock will furnish the Savior’s sepulchre. Water
will attain its highest purpose in the regenerating sacrament of Baptism.
Olive trees will produce oil to anoint and cure the sick in the name of
Jesus. Grains of wheat and grapes from the vine will produce the bread
and wine from which the Master will bring forth the Mystery of His broken
body and blood. From the tree will come the wood of the Cross. In this
way all the products of nature will serve Christ, and with them all human
labor, whether that of harvesting, baking, vine growing, or any other
which contribute to this mystery of transfiguration.
But for the delegation who went to the meetings of the Holy Synod
at the Monastery of St. Elias Showaya for the purpose of beseeching the
Holy Synod to grant them a humble, God-fearing leader, the Heavens — on
the day of the preparation for the feast day of the Transfiguration, August
5, 1966 — the Heavens declared the real glory of God and for our beloved
Archdiocese here in North America by granting to us our beloved and highly
revered Metropolitan Philip Saliba.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
November 1966
p. 15
|
