| John Anthony McGuckin St. Gregory the Great, Pope (ca. 540–604) JOHN A. MCGUCKIN Gregorius Magnus was one of the most important of the Late Antique bishops of Rome. He was a masterful political administrator and a significant theologian who, if not innovative in his writing, served to arrange and codify much that was important in the Latin theological tradition, and pass it on in a condensed form that would assume immense weight for the dawning medieval West. His work codifying and simplifying much of St. Augustine’s complicated thought made it possible for Augustinianism to be passed on in a popular form, so as to become the most significant single strand of the later Latin tradition. Gregory belonged to an aristocratic Christian family in Rome at a time when the fortunes of both Italy and the ancient city were in decline because of Justinian’s wars of re-conquest, and later (from 586 onwards) because of raids from Lombardian brigands from the North. His father was a Christian senator, and in 573 Gregory himself became the prefect of Rome (the highest civic office possible). Soon afterwards he announced his retirement from public life and dedicated his extensive properties in Rome and Sicily to the cause of Christian asceticism, in the form of the retired life of the Sophist. His large villa on the Caelian hill, near the Colosseum, became his monastery of St. Andrew (still functioning), where he lived a life of scholarship and prayer with companions. As a dedicated ascetic, however, he fell under ecclesiastical obedience, and soon Pope Pelagius II ordered him to resume public service for the church. Accordingly, he was ordained deacon and sent as papal ambassador (apocrisarius) to Constantinople, where he lived from 579 to 586, engaging in dispute with the Patriarch Eutyches. In this period Gregory began one of his greatest works, the Magna Moralia in Job, designed as an ascetical commentary on the text of Job, for the use of his monastic companions. It assumed the status of a paradigmatic patristic book of exegesis for the later West, constantly seeking a moral end to scriptural reading. |
| Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany Issues an Open Letter to the German Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops Source: ROCOR Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany, First Vice President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and ruling bishop of the German Diocese, appealed to his brother hierarchs of the German Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in which he objects to the one-sided coverage of events in Ukraine. Vladyka Mark points to the intolerable pressure being exerted upon the traditional Ukrainian Orthodox Church under its canonical leader, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. The letter also mentions the political pressure being placed on other Local Orthodox Churches. At the same time, the hierarch of the oldest Orthodox diocese in Germany urges open dialog between the members of the Assembly of Bishops in Germany, which has suffered serious harm, as has all of Orthodox Christianity throughout the world, from the unilateral actions of the Constantinople Patriarchate. Vladyka Mark stresses that the Church must not be drawn into the sphere of political conflict and division, which does not serve the matter of peace. Archbishop Mark also mentions the peace-making experience of his own diocese, which made an active contribution towards the overcoming of the old division within the Russian Orthodox Church, which directly contradicts the processes that are in play initiated by the enemies of the Church. Dialog must be held, in his opinion, in the proper way under today’s circumstances, a challenge to the President of the Assembly of Bishops, Metropolitan Augustine, whose signature under the “tomos” is mentioned critically and with sorrow: An open letter to all members of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in Germany Munich, January 30/February 12, 2019 The Feast of the Three Hierarchs: John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great Your Eminences and Excellencies: It is with a saddened heart that I, as archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Berlin and Germany (ROCOR), take this opportunity to clarify our diocese’s position on the current developments among the Orthodox. |
| Introduction There is considerable discussion today within the worldwide Orthodox Church about the status of the so-called “Photian Council,” held in Constantinople in 879-880. This is an exceedingly important council in the history of the Orthodox Church, and therefore deserves to be much more widely known among the Orthodox faithful. And this Council is of special relevance for our Orthodox Church vis-a-vis the Roman Catholic Church, in that 1), it officially prohibited any addition to the Nicene Creed, thus rejecting the Filioque clause, which was in use by many churches in Western Europe at that time (though not in Rome until 1014); and 2), it implicitly rejected the principle of Papal Supremacy, or jurisdictional authority, over the Eastern Churches, in that this Council rendered null and void the pro-papal Ignatian Council held in Constantinople ten years earlier. But in one of the greatest ironies of Christian history, the Photian Council was recognized as legitimate by the papacy for nearly 200 years until the period of the Gregorian Reform , when the canon lawyers of Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) rejected the Photian Council and resurrected the Ignatian Council to take its place. My personal opinion is that this substitution 200 years after the fact was made easier for the Roman Church due to the circumstance that the Eastern Church had not proclaimed the Photian Council to be the Eighth Ecumenical Council. There are understandable reasons for that circumstance, which I will discuss near the end of this paper. For now, I will simply observe that this substitution has made reconciliation between the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Churches tremendously more difficult through the centuries—since the Filioque and Papal Supremacy have been the two biggest stumbling blocks hindering reconciliation to this day. The basic background to the story of these two councils St. Photios the Great (c. 815—c. 891) has been called “the most distinguished thinker, the most outstanding politician, and the most skillful diplomat ever to hold office as Patriarch of Constantinople.” |
| Power in the Church is not about who kisses one’s hand but how many feet one can wash in the service of Christ. Pope Francis made this clear when he visited a youth prison in 2013 and chose to wash the feet of the offenders including one who is an Orthodox Christian. “Real power is service. The world will be watching from May 24-25, 2014 as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Pope Francis welcome each other in Jerusalem to observe the anniversary of the historic encounter between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and the subsequent lifting of mutual anathemas. The main focus of the many scholars and reporters who will cover this event will be the elusive question of “Old Rome and New Rome” that is the question of unity between Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. However, hidden amidst all this media coverage will be a unique opportunity for Orthodox Christians to follow the example of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of blessed memory and to meet the Pope of Rome again as if for the first time. At first glance, the idea of Orthodox Christians being able to learn from the Pope of Rome appears out of place if not altogether wrong. However, Orthodox Christians should pause before rushing to judgment about such matters and remember that prior to the Great Schism of 1054, the Pope of Rome was honored with reverence and respect throughout the Orthodox World. Today, Orthodox Christians honor many Popes of Rome as saints including St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Dialogist and St. Martin the Confessor. Orthodox Tradition celebrates the lives of many Popes throughout the liturgical year. Despite these facts, one of the present realities that is most disappointing is how some of our brothers and sisters have portrayed the Pope of Rome. “Dictator” and “anti-christ” are just some of the clichés that have been sadly used. While there have certainly been corrupt Popes throughout history (as there have been corrupt Patriarchs), Orthodox Christians must ask themselves whether or not the last 35 years have greatly challenged such stereotypes, especially when it comes to Popes such as John Paul II , Benedict XVI, and the current Pope of Rome, Francis. Orthodox Christians should especially pause and take notice of the unique witness of Pope Francis. He is in many ways a bishop who reflects the Christianity of the first millennium when the Church was undivided. Pope Francis also models a form of leadership that is greatly needed in Orthodox Christianity today. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Philosophy MARCUS PLESTED Philosophy has long been integral to Eastern Orthodox theology, but the relationship has never been unproblematic. Distinct philosophical concerns can be traced in the earliest of the fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, or Clement and Origen of Alexandria, the latter being the first Christian philosopher of international stature. St. Basil the Great (and Augustine after him) regarded the church’s use of philosophy as comparable to the manner in which the Jews escaping their servitude “despoiled the Egyptians”; and St. Gregory the Theologian used the memorable image of the Christian use of Greek philosophy as that of a gardener who carefully clips his roses of their thorns. Rooted in the patristic sense of the indispensability of a discerning use of human wisdom coupled with an understanding of Christianity as the true philosophy, Byzantine fathers such as St. Maximos the Confessor and St. John of Damascus make extensive use of philosophical categories and constructs. Maximos’ theory of the divine logoi, the underlying principles of all things grounded in the Logos, clearly owes something to the Platonic understanding of Ideas but has been radically transformed in its christocentric focus and insistence upon the ontological gap between creature and Creator. Between Maximos and John a general shift may be detected from a predominantly Platonic to a predominantly Aristotelian mode of discourse, without supposition of any incompatibility between the two. This Aristotelian preponderance was to obtain through the Byzantine and into the ottoman era. indeed, ongoing interest in plato could often provoke controversy. The brilliant 11th-century writer Michael Psellos was appointed “Consul of Philosophers” by Constantine IX Monomachos at the newly established school of philosophy of the University of Constantinople. Psellos placed special emphasis on Plato and the Neoplatonic tradition, but was forced to clarify his position as to the ancillary status of philosophy in response to hostile criticism. His disciple and successor, John Italos, did not escape so lightly. John was indicted for heresy on a number of counts: for using reason to probe divine realities and for adhering to certain Platonic concepts, notably the reality of the realm of Ideas. Elements of his condemnation live on in the anathemas of the Synodikon of Orthodoxy. |
| 3. The Text A. Previous Editions of Palamas» Works The two foremost editorial efforts in recent years have been John Meyendorff’s edition of the Triads and the three volumes of the Thessalonica edition of Palamas’ works under the general direction of Panagiotes Chrestou. 158 While both are laudable enterprises and important contributions to Palamite studies, the reviewers were quick to note certain deficiencies. 159 Although these are major works of Palamas, the editors have not produced critical editions by modern standards. Codicological study of the Palamite corpus as a whole was broached very briefly by Meyendorff in his Introduction but not adequately pursued for the indispensable information it provides regarding the relationship of the manuscripts. 160 Chrestou reserved such a study for a final volume. 161 Selection of manuscripts for collation was somewhat arbitrary. The best manuscripts were chosen, but we are never informed about the factual bases for such judgements. At times, manuscripts early in date and easily accessible were not included in collations. No attempt was ever made to establish stemmatic relationships. The principles for including or excluding variant readings in the apparatus were left for the reader to guess. Finally, the constitution of the text appears to have been based largely upon the subjective judgement of the editor. B. Manuscripts of The Capita 150 C=Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Fonds Coislin 100. 162 Fifteenth century, paper, i+342 folios, 298x221 mm. This codex was formerly vol. 3 of the official collection of Palamite documents deposited in the κατηχουμενεα of the Great Lavra on Mount Athos, the monastery to which Gregory Palamas was once attached. 163 The volume contains, in chronological order, first the works of Palamas prior to 1341 and then those from the later period of his life. The treatises appear in the following order: (Ep Damianus) 164 Apodictic Treatises (fols. 13r–63v) Against Bekkos (fols. 64r–68v) Ep 1 Akindynos (fols. 69r–75r) |
| Because if it’s in the mind it’s also in the heart. An interview on prayer Standing in the doorway before the Great Lent, we search for some guidance, for some way to start this thorny and blessed journey with Christ. A way to seek him and words to show us the way. Elder Dionysius (Ignat) of the St. George Kellion (Mt. Athos, Greece) answers questions of the most important kind (about prayer) during Lent. Humble-Mindedness : The Doorway to Pure Prayer Over the past ten years it has become a common occurrence for pilgrims on Mount Athos to make the one-hour trek from Vatopedi Monastery to the Kellion of St. George. The long and dusty uphill trail passes by monastery fields and within sight of the place where St. Gregory Palamas labored. After several steep ascents, the trail branches off onto a winding path that cuts across the verdant mountainside. In springtime, the thick foliage threatens to choke the passageway, while a myriad of wildflowers paints a dazzling landscape—a fitting offering to the mountain’s protectress, the Theotokos. Proceeding past the ruins of centuries-old monastic dwellings, the pilgrim arrives at a terraced plot of land overlooking the Aegean Sea. There, amidst well-tended gardens and enclosed by a rustic, tree-limb railing, stand a few whitewashed stone buildings adorned with blue trim: the Kellion of St. George. Outside, sitting on benches, one would find a few pilgrims waiting in hope of receiving a few profitable words from the humble Elder, Hieroschemamonk Dionysius (Ignat). Four years ago in these pages we presented the life story of Elder Dionysius in a three-part article on the Elders of Kolitsou Skete, a Romanian dependency of Vatopedi Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece. On April 28/May 11, 2004, this righteous Romanian Elder reposed in the Lord after a long, God-pleasing life of ninety-five years. Elder Dionysius had been a monk for eighty-two years, seventy-seven of which were spent on Mount Athos, and sixty-six of which were spent in the same kellion. He was a wonderful, loving monk and spiritual father, well known by his fellow Athonite monks but largely unknown to those outside the Holy Mountain until the last fifteen years or so. |
| Thanksgiving Service on the 70th Anniversary of the Arrival of Russian Refugees Held in San Francisco Source: ROCOR San Francisco, California - May 19, 2019: The Altar of the Holy Virgin Cathedral. The Holy Virgin Cathedral, also known as Joy of All Who Sorrow, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in the Richmond District of San Francisco. Photo: Stock Photo The years 2020-2021 mark the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the three Military Sea Transport Ships that brought Russian refugees from the island of Tubabao in the Philippines to the United States. The three ships that arrived in San Francisco arrived on November 30, 1950, January 25, 1951, and June 14, 1951. Previous ships carried Russian refugees that made the tent camp their home from 1949 to other countries, including Australia, South America and Europe. Some refugees arrived either by ship or plane from Shanghai, Harbin and other cities of China directly to the U.S. With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, a thanksgiving moleben was held on Sunday, January 24, 2021, at Holy Virgin Cathedral by the relics of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco after Divine Liturgy. After World War II and the defeat of Japan, a full-scale civil war erupted between the Chinese communists led by revolutionary Mao Tse-Tung and the ruling republican party led by militarist, Chang Kai Tsek. As it became ominously clear that Mao would soon undoubtedly take Shanghai, the white Russians, “stateless” since they no longer had valid “Imperial Russian” passports, and with no nation to shield them from harm, as anti-communists, they would surely be persecuted by the Chinese communists. Gregory K. Bologoff, a former Cossack colonel in the Tsar’s Imperial Army, managed to unify several ethnic groups of refugees within the Russian Emigre Association in Shanghai and planned their mass departure. Bologoff’s powerful leadership resulted in most of the white refugees to affirm their opposition to communism by refusing to accept Soviet citizenship and return to Russia, where they had already heard from relatives and friends who did return that life was not as it was before and it was dangerous for them if they returned. Bologoff sent letters appealing to the world’s free countries to grant asylum to the refugees, indicating the imminent danger and great tragedy that was in their future if no help arrived. Despite receiving letters of comfort and sympathy, no country offered to take any of them. |
| One of the cornerstones of Orthodox Christianity is its reverence for the great Fathers of the Church who were not only exemplars of holiness but were also the greatest intellectuals of their age. The writings of men like St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Maximos the Confessor have been and will always remain essential guides to Orthodox Christian living and Orthodox Christian faith. Thus it is alarming that so many Orthodox clerics and monks in recent years have made public statements that reflect a “fundamentalist” approach to the Church Fathers. And unless leaders of the Orthodox Church unite to repudiate this development, the entire Orthodox Church is at risk of being hijacked by extremists. Like other fundamentalist movements, Orthodox fundamentalism reduces all theological teaching to a subset of theological axioms and then measures the worthiness of others according to them. Typically, this manifests itself in accusations that individuals, institutions, or entire branches of the Orthodox Church fail to meet the self-prescribed standard for Orthodox teaching. For example, when the Theological Academy of Volos recently convened an international conference to examine the role of the Fathers in the modern Church, radical opportunists in the Church of Greece accused it and its bishop of heresy. The key intellectual error in Orthodox fundamentalism lies in the presupposition that the Church Fathers agreed on all theological and ethical matters. That miscalculation, no doubt, is related to another equally flawed assumption that Orthodox theology has never changed—clearly it has or else there would have been no need for the Fathers to build consensus at successive Ecumenical Councils. The irony, as identified by recent scholarship on fundamentalism, is that while fundamentalists claim to protect the Orthodox Christian faith from the corruption of modernity, their vision of Orthodox Christianity is, itself, a very modern phenomenon. In other words, Orthodoxy never was what fundamentalists claim it to be. |
| Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! After going through a long and arduous journey through Great Lent, we are often so exhausted and tired from the grind of the spiritual boot camp that we had just been through, that we forget (or do not pay as much attention to) the 40-day celebration and reward for our efforts! Just as we had Sundays during Lent, where we were inspired by figures like St. Gregory Palamas, and St. Mary of Egypt, we have these same celebratory Sundays which always follow Great and Holy Pascha! Today, we have the Church’s version of “Mother’s Day”, as we learn from the incredible example of the Myrrh bearing Women. This is the Sunday where the Church shouts from the rooftops after experiencing the Resurrection, what it means to have “Christian Courage” in life. St. Mary Magdalene our Patroness, the Theotokos, Joanna, Salome, Mary the wife of Cleopas, Susanna, Mary and Martha of Bethany…unlike Joseph of Arimathea who we also commemorate today, there was no “secret discipleship” for them! They publically cared for Christ, they cared for the disciples, and they all had a deep devotion to our Lord. And when the hard times came, when Christ ran into trouble with the civil authorities…these women didn’t abandon Christ. Even when his closest friends abandoned Him, denied Him, betrayed Him, and left Him alone to suffer and die…the Myrrh Bearers stayed by His side. Their love for Christ was so great. Their devotion was unmatched, and their desire to remain in contact with Him remained so strong…that not even the power of the Roman empire, the soldiers, nor the Jewish leaders, could intimidate them. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it takes courage to love like this. This is something that is desperately lacking in each and every one of our lives today. To have Christian courage means to be able to walk through life with COMPLETE CONFIDENCE in Who Christ is and what He has done for us. This is what those Myrrh bearing women did! They walked through the dangers of the world with perfect freedom! They were afraid of no one! They were intimidated by no one! There was no place that they could not go, and there was nothing that they could not do! |
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