| John Anthony McGuckin Miracles VERA SHEVZOV Orthodox thinkers from Late Antiquity to modern times have understood miracles as actions or events that manifest or point to the presence of God. Orthodox Christians have associated miracles not only with individual experiences, but also with experiences of entire communities and even nations. Miracles are associated with healings, historical events, visions, dreams, and foresight, and with such phenomena as inexplicable displays of myrrh or tears on icons. Throughout history, Orthodox pastors and spiritual guides have drawn on accounts of miracles for pedagogical purposes. Such accounts provided lessons concerning vices and virtues along with lessons concerning “right faith.” In addition to the realm of lived Orthodoxy, where accounts of miracles have often resulted in the special veneration of certain icons and the veneration of saints and their relics, miracles have also figured in the Orthodox theological and philosophical considerations of history, science and nature, and anthropology. Reports of miracles have also periodically begged the question of authority in the church (who in the church is it that finds and declares them miraculous?). Although miracles may be integral to its worldview, Orthodox Christianity nevertheless is deeply nuanced in its approach to them. In part, the Orthodox understanding of miracles is rooted in the complex view of miracles reflected in the New Testament. On the one hand, patristic authors such as Origen of Alexandria (d. 254) and St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) maintained that Jesus’ miracles played a significant role in the establishment of the Christian faith. Signs, acts of power, and works testified to the power of God manifested in and through Christ. Accordingly, Orthodox writers maintained, miracles accompanied his words in order to confirm his identity for those who were unable to recognize his power and authority through his words alone. In this sense, miracles were a form of divine condescension. Following the death of Jesus, in this view, the apostles performed numerous miracles in Jesus’ name as a way further to cultivate the Christian faith. As Origen wrote in his mid- 3rd century treatise Against Celsus 1.46, had it not been for miracles, people would not have been persuaded to accept the new teachings. On the other hand, patristic authors also pointed to the more negative aspects of miracles in the gospel texts. Particularly objectionable was the pursuit of, and demand for, miracles as a condition for faith ( Mt. 16.4 ; Jn. 6.30–31 ) or as a curious spectacle ( Lk. 23.8 ). Even the Devil tempted Jesus to perform a miracle ( Mt. 4.1–11 ; Lk. 4.1–13 ). Finally, according to Jesus’ testimony, not every “wondrous sign” was from God ( Mt. 24.24–25 ; Acts 8.9–13); they could even be detrimental to believers by distracting or turning them from the path to salvation. |
| The New Testament presupposes the stream of Jewish worship and prayer. The Gospel of Luke records exquisite prayers by the Virgin Mary ( Lk. 1.46–55 ), the priest Zechariah ( Lk. 1.68–79 ), and the elder Simeon ( Lk. 2.29–32 ). Jesus himself, circumcised on the eighth day and presented at the Temple on the fortieth, grew up in the tradition of Jewish prayer and piety with frequent appearances at the Temple and the synagogue. He not only gave instructions on prayer but also practiced heartfelt prayer, seeking solitude in the hills where he could pray all night, not least before making important decisions ( Mk. 1.35 ; Lk. 6.12 ). The personal depth of Jesus’ prayers to God the Father breaks forth in dramatic moments of joyful confession ( Mt. 11.25 ), the giving of the Lord’s Prayer ( Mt. 6.5–13 ), the high priestly prayer to the Father ( Jn. 17 ), and the agony at Gethsemane ( Mk. 14.33–5 ), all of which exemplify the intimate relationship with God as a personal and loving Father which Jesus lived and taught. While the early church inherited much of the Jewish tradition of prayer, it gradually moved away from the Temple worship and cultic practices such as animal sacrifices, circumcision, and kosher foods, regarded as no longer compatible with the gospel. Instead, the church focused on its own rites of baptism, the Mystical Supper or Eucharist, and other rites that gradually developed into a whole tradition of worship continuously elaborated in content and structure. St. Paul, large sections of whose letters read like prayers, is a primary figure of the Christian renewal of prayer and worship in trinitarian forms based on the view that each baptized Christian is a living sacrifice to God ( Rom. 6.4, 13; 12.1 ) and the church is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1Cor. 3.16–17; 12.12–27 ). Stirring echoes of early Christian prayers and aspects of worship, replete with Old Testament language, frequently occur in the Book of Revelation, where the eschatological drama of salvation itself is recounted from the perspective of the worship of God (Rev. 4.4–11; 5.8–14; 7.9–12; 11.15–18; 12.10–12; 15.3–4; 19.1–8). |
| John Anthony McGuckin Widows VALENTINA IZMIRLIEVA Widows were the most prominent group of women in the first three centuries of the Christian church. The Greek term for widow, χρα (etymologically related to the preposition “without”), meant not merely a deceased man’s wife, but any woman without a husband. Used as a cover term for celibate women living outside traditional matrimonial structures (whether widowed, separated, divorced, or unmarried) it became associated in the Christian context with charisma, following the Pauline treatment of celibacy as a spiritual gift ( 1Cor. 7.7–17 ). Given the patristic understanding of virginity as a spiritual state that can be regained through continence, widows were often linked to virgins: Ignatius of Antioch hails “the virgins who are called widows” (Smyrn. 13.1), while Tertul- lian of Carthage commends the widows for “becoming virgins” (Exhortation to Chastity 1; To His Wife, 2.8). Thus, for the early Christian communities, widowhood came to represent an ideal lifestyle, a privileged opportunity for spiritual progress through chastity and service, offering a new social role for independent women that granted them respectability outside the patriarchal constraints of their society. In the biblical tradition, widows and their children (the orphans) symbolize all powerless people in society and fall directly under divine protection. Christian law, drawing on both its Jewish roots (Exod. 22.22; Ps. 68.5 ) and the personal example of Jesus ( Mk. 12.38–44 ; Lk. 7.11–17 ), made widows the financial responsibility of the church (Acts 6.1–7). Not all widows in Late Antiquity, however, were in need of support. Upper- class widows could inherit substantial property under Roman law. Such financially independent women, who were often also highly educated, were among the most generous benefactors of the Christian communities and the ecclesiastical elite. The early church generally encouraged widows of childbearing age to remarry ( 1Tim. 5.11–14 ), even though St. Paul considered those who remain widows “more blessed” (μακαριωτρα; 1Cor. 7.39–40 ). Only menopausal widows (the age limit fluctuates between 60 in 1Tim. 5.9 and 50 in the Didascalia Apostolorum) were entrusted with responsibilities toward their communities in exchange for subvention. To qualify for service, these “real” (oντως) widows had to have married only once, distinguished themselves by good deeds, and pledged a life of celibacy. They were appointed mostly for prayer, since the Lord never ignores the pleas of widows ( Sirach 35.17–22 ) and a widow personifies the New Testament ideal of incessant prayer ( Lk. 18.1–8 ). Yet both Tertullian and the Didascalia Apostolorum refer to more extensive communal duties (teaching, anointing the newly baptized, caring for the sick). |
| Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk greets 23d International symposium on Orthodox spirituality Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 11 September 2015 On September 9, 2015, the 23d International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality was opened at the Bose monastic community, Italy, under the theme ‘Mercy and Forgiveness’. It is attended by representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant communities as well as prominent theologians and specialists in church history. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Bishop Mitrofan of Severomonrsk and Umba takes part in the symposium. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), has sent the following message of greetings to the participants in the symposium. Very Reverend Father Enzo Bianchi, Dear organizers and participants of the symposium: On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, I would like to cordially greet all the participants in the 23d International Symposium of Orthodox Spirituality organized by the Bose community and held under the theme ‘Mercy and Forgiveness’. The good news of our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to the whole creation the boundless mercy and absolute forgiveness of our God the Heavenly Father. The Creator’s love of His created world enslaved by sin was expressed in the self-denial of the Son of God Who gave Himself for the sins of the world ‘so that all people be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4). How inscrutably profound is the forgiveness of God given to the sinful man without any condition even before he repents (cf. Rom. 5:8)! God, like the loving father from the parable of the lost son, stands in anticipation on the way of he who ‘was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’ (Lk. 15: 20:24). ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’, says the Saviour to His disciples (Lk. 6:36). In these words there is a testimony to the highest dignity of man called to co-work with God. But is ‘the crown of the creation’ always equal to his calling? The natural environment of man, destroyed by irresponsible and consumer attitude to it, needs love and care for its salvation. According to St. Paul, ‘the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed’, for ‘the whole creation has been groaning right up to the present time, not only so, but we ourselves…’ (Rom. 8; 19:22-23). |
| The Sunday before last the Holy Church offered for our attention the parable about the talents. A talent is that strength which God gives to us for the fulfillment of His commandments of love for God and neighbor. Last Sunday showed us the application of this talent to our life. A mother had a possessed daughter. The mother rushed to Christ: " Help me! " (Mt. 15:25). But Christ was silent. Then the Apostles started to speak to Christ, pointing out this Canaanite woman. Christ answered them: But I have come to the children. " It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs " (Mt. 15:26). The Canaanite woman cried: " Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table, " (Mt. 15:27). At this moment her consciousness was completely filled with humility; and in answer to this most profound humility, the Lord took pity on her and said: " O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt " (Mt. 15:28). And here, today’s Gospel about the miraculous catch of fish shows us how that same talent (according to the Gospel’s expression, used in " trade " (Mt. 25:16), which means applied to life) is manifested in absolute obedience and trust in the word of the Lord and produces the fruit of faith. But what is faith? What does the process of faith consist of? We are given the answer to this in today’s Gospel (Lk. 5:1-11). Christ was preaching on the lake of Gennesaret. Now the sermon has finished. There were two boats at the shore, and Christ had been preaching from one of them. Here He addressed the Apostle Peter and said: " Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets. " Peter answered: " Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing " (Lk. 5:4-5). And the Apostles were experienced fishermen; they knew the laws of the sea. If at night-time no fish were caught, then during the day a catch was out of the question. And Peter said this to Christ. But he added: " Nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the nets " (Lk. 5:5). And they let them down. And a miracle happened. The boats were so filled with fish that they started to sink. Then the Apostle Peter fell at the feet of the Savior and said: " Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord " (Lk. 5:8). |
| What would you now, brethren, from the ministers of the word? The Word Himself is no more! The Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born for our salvation, the Author of every quick and powerful (Heb. 4:12) word, is silent, dead, buried, and sealed up. The more plainly and convincingly “to show man the path of life” (Ps. 16:11) this very Word came down from heaven and put on flesh; but men would not hearken unto the Word, they tear His flesh, and lo, “He is cut off out of the land of the living” (Is. 53:8). Who then shall now give unto us the word of life and salvation? Let us hasten to confess the mystery of the Word which shall disarm His persecutors, and restore Him to souls ready to receive Him. The Word of God is not bound by death . As a word from the lips of man dies not entirely away at the moment its sound ceases, but rather gathers new strength, and passing through the senses, penetrates the minds and hearts of the hearers; so also the Hypostatical Word of God, the Son of God, in His saving incarnation, whilst dying in the flesh, “fills all things” (Eph 4:10) with His Spirit and might. Thus when Christ waxeth faint and becometh silent on the cross, then is it that heaven and earth raise their voice unto Him, and the dead preach the resurrection of the Crucified, and the very stones cry out. “And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose” (Lk 23:45; Mt 27:51-52). Christians, the incarnate Word keepeth silence only in order to speak unto us with greater power and effect; withdraws, that He may the more inwardly “dwell among us” (Jn 1:14); dies, that He may grant us His inheritance. Assembled by the Church to hold converse with the departed Jesus, listen ye unto the quick and powerful word of the dead (Heb 4:32); listen ye to the testament He has left unto you, “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me” (Lk 22:29). |
| Homily on the Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Psalm 18:5; Romans 10:18 Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles In order to raise our spirit but a little over the vanity of this world in which it is ordinarily immersed, we shall impress in our minds, brothers and sisters, the image of the holy chief Apostles Peter and Paul, filled with inexhaustible life. Their souls represent an equally abundant treasure house of spiritual virtues for us, who are in but small measure participants in the Divine life that was revealed through the appearance of God in the flesh. Both equally hazarded their lives (Acts 15:26) for the word of God, and to witness the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, desiring to shepherd the sheep of Christ's flock and betroth to Christ a Church made of pagans who were redeemed by His blood. One, a rock of faith, strengthened his brethren (cf. Lk. 22:32) who were scattered in their fear of persecution for the name of Christ after His resurrection, and first explained how God willed that to the Church, hitherto composed only of the sons of Israel, should be united those pagans who converted (Acts. 15:7–11). The other, a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15) to bear the name of Christ to peoples who had not yet heard of Christ (Rom. 15:20–21), travelled with words of preaching to nearly all the known inhabited world, so that the words be fulfilled, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not (Gal. 4:27; Is. 54:1) and Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult (Is. 35:1)— the hearts of the pagans. Both were equally filled with love for Christ, dedicated their whole lives to preaching the Word and to apostolic labors, and both sealed their love for Christ with a martyr's death. One, having first denied Christ, followed Him for the rest of his life in repentance, as if on the crucifix, enduring fiery temptations and satan's calumny (1 Pet. 4:12; 5:8), in order to fulfill what Christ had said to him: Follow Me (Jn. 21:19). The other, called from amongst the persecutors, counted all things as dung, that he might win Christ (cf. Phil. 3:6–8), and desired to be accursed from Christ that he might bring to Him his brothers in the flesh—Israel (Rom. 9:3), until he finished his course by martyrdom in order to receive a crown of righteousness (cf. 2 Tim. 4:6–8). |
| Tweet Нравится Homily on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord Holy Hierach Innocent (Borisov) The Lord " s Ascension. Fresco, Mirozh Transfiguration Monastery, Pskov. Mid 11th c. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Lk. 24:50–52). Thus ended our Lord and Savior’s time of earthly labor! He suffered much, and was greatly glorified. There have never been such sorrows as His sorrows, and there has never been such glory as His glory. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:8-11). Shall we ever behold this glory of our Lord? We shall behold it, for in His last, great prayer, the Lord prayed about this to His Father: I will, He prayed, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me (Jn. 17:24). The angels appeared to the Apostles after the Lord’s Ascension, witnessing that the Lord will come to all of us on the last day in the same appearance as the Apostles beheld Him ascending into Heaven (cf. Act. 1:2). We shall even participate in the glory of the Ascended Lord, if only we do not make ourselves unworthy, for He ascended into Heaven in order to prepare it to receive all His true followers. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (Jn. 14:2–3). The Apostle Paul testifies that this merciful accommodation on our behalf has not changed at all even after the Ascension, when he says that on the last Day of the Lord’s Coming, the faithful shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). This means something will happen to the faithful which is similar even in appearance to what happened to the Lord Himself on the Mount of Olives. |
| As to the meaning of the phrases “Old Testament” and “New Testament”, a wide range of meanings has been suggested. Nonetheless, the real meaning must be that which Paul gave the former in 2 Cor. 3:14, saying Christ took away the veil from “the reading of the old testament” by showing its prophetic meaning. Likewise, Jeremiah prophesied a future “new covenant” in Jer. 31:31, a phrase Christ used to refer to His “covenant” with Christians (Lk 22:20, 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8). If one determines that these phrases are Supersessionist, he/she need go no farther to determine that Christianity is as well. In any case, the definitions of Supersessionism are varied. Vlach sees it as encompassing replacement or fulfillment of Israel, Theopedia ’s editors see it as fulfillment but not replacement of Judaism, Van Zile sees it as a replacement of Jews, and Idinopulos sees it as surpassing and canceling the validity of God’s revelation to the people of Israel. The only common element in these definitions is the idea of “supersession” itself, a word which may in some cases include replacement, and whose effects may vary greatly. Two sides of the word “Supersede” A boy tells his uncle: “I can move the water in your large pond all by myself.” His uncle asks “Where to? How?” The nephew responds: “Where it is how: I will just stir it.” While a person may normally assume the word “move” means to shift something to another location, it can also mean to move something around in one space. The English language has many words that can have more than one related meaning, and in practice “supersede” turns out to be one of them. The word came from 15th-17th century Scottish, where it meant “postpone, defer,… displace,” or “replace.” 16 In Scottish law it especially referred to “a judicial order protecting a debtor.” 17 The legal meaning of staying a judgment passed into English, where for example “supersedeas” is a “writ to stay legal proceedings,” meaning in “Latin, literally ‘you shall desist.’” 18 Thus, the word has a particularly legalistic connotation, reflecting that Latin is a common origin for English legal terminology. |
| But the Church is called a visible society ( organization ) of people, having a unity of faith, Sacraments, authority, and a ruling bishop. Its members are all those who have received baptism, even including those enemies of the Church who have simply not been excluded from it. That is, the image of any visible church always only partially corresponds to the Church’s First Image, for by far not all the baptized are true members of the Church—the Body of Christ; not all manifest and express its faith, or show themselves to be faithful witnesses and fulfillers of the truth preserved by it. This must be understood, for it is very pertinent to any discussion of social action in the Church. The degree to which it [social action in the Church] is salvific proceeds entirely from an understanding of the two basic truths of Christian life, and mostly by the second commandment about love. Nevertheless, the Christian understanding of love is by far not always the same as the generally accepted one. According to the Christian criteria, not every outwardly good deed is a testimony of love, or is actually good. That is, any benevolent or other social action in and of itself is not always an expression of Christian love. To put it another way, not everything considered good by worldly standards is actually good from the Christian point of view. What can prevent outwardly good deeds from being truly good? The Lord looks at the hearts of men (cf. 1 Kgs 8:39) and not at their deeds. The Savior condemns those who do all their works … to be seen of men (Mt 23:5), and addresses these wrathful words to them: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous (Mt 23:29); But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Lk 11:42). The Holy Fathers call humility the supreme quality of Christian love, for humility is the foundation of its pure sacrificial nature, and its true unselfishness. According to the spiritual law revealed to the Fathers, there can never be even one true virtue where there is no humility. This first of all relates to the highest virtue, love. “If the supreme virtue, love,” writes Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, “according to the words of the Apostle, is longsuffering, does not envy, is not puffed up, is not prone to wrath, and never fails, then this is because it is supported and assisted by humility.” Therefore, Saint John the Prophet, a co-ascetic of Saint Barsanuphius the Great, said, “True [Christian] labor cannot be without humility, for labor by itself is vanity, and accounted as nothing.” |
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