| Recently, non-Orthodox Christian denominations have begun engaging in the modernization of church policy, prayer, liturgics, missionary work, and church practice. If we compare the traditionalism of the Russian Orthodox Church with the radical changes in those non-Orthodox Christian denominations, the statistics suggest that those radical changes are at the least unnecessary, and perhaps harmful. I think that many people see constancy in the Orthodox Church, they see spirituality; and they see the fact that we are not changing our rules, but rather changing ourselves to live by the rules. This is a very positive thing—people like stability, they like to retain what they believe in, and they regard tradition as a very important aspect of religion. Thus the Orthodox Church is becoming quite popular, whereas other Christian churches are losing people. They are losing people because their Church has lost its spirituality on an official level. Many Christian Churches have lost their identity, they have no theology; all they have now is a social-welfare type of agenda, and that doesn’t suit everybody. Does the Russian Orthodox Church engage in the sale of Church property when parish numbers are low? This magnificant Anglican Cathedral built in the 1800 " s onced served God. Today it serves lunch and dinner to upper-class diners. Throughout ROCOR, at the beginning of the formation of Russian Orthodox communities, often small, temporary house churches would be built until a proper, more functional and traditional church building could be built. Even those small temporary house churches were never sold or closed; to the contrary, they were renovated and refurnished constantly and survive till this day. For example, St. Vladimir’s Church—the first Russian Orthodox Church in Sydney—started as a humble house church. But after ongoing renovations, it boasts cupolas and a magnificently decorated interior. We Russian Orthodox have a different mindset; we understand the sanctity of a church. Unfortunately, I believe that in the Anglican Church fewer and fewer people are of this mindset. Non-Orthodox Christian denominations even sell their churches as restaurants, bars and other secular purposes. In the city of Melbourne there is a restaurant called “Chapel on Chapel,” and this bar was an Anglican Chapel on Chapel Street in the suburb of South Yarra. There have even been instances were Non-Orthodox Christian denominations have converted beautiful old sandstone cathedrals into apartments, theatres, and bars. |
| One group of Orthodox monastics has described their life: In the community life of our respective monasteries, we not only profess the Gospel but manifest our intention of seeking sanctification with God " s help through growth in wisdom and spiritual understanding. In so doing, we witness to the Kingdom of God which is to come and to the fullness of the promise made at baptism to every Christian. Thus, we hope to be responsive to the prophetic character of our vocation, which, from the very inception of monasticism in the desert of Skete [in Egypt], has made monks and nuns responsible not only for their own salvation, but for that of all God " s people. 337 Increasingly, many Orthodox clergy and laypersons have come to recognize the importance of monasteries for the growth of the church in America. These monasteries have become places of pilgrimages where pilgrims can go to worship, for retreats, and to seek spiritual direction from the abbot or abbess. Because of its distinctive witness, one monastery in America deserves special attention: the Community of New Skete in Cambridge, New York. First established in 1966, the monastery formally joined the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America in 1978. New Skete actually comprises a community of monks whose house is dedicated to the Transfiguration, a separate monastic community of nuns whose house is dedicated to Our Lady of the Sign, and a separate community of married couples whose house is dedicated to the disciples of Emmaus. While each community maintains its own particular identity and mission, the members of the three houses meet daily for worship. Thoroughly immersed in the tradition of monasticism, the members of these communities actively seek to bring the ancient spiritual insights of Orthodox spirituality into contact with the realities of twentieth-century America. Under the leadership of Father Laurence, the abbot and spiritual father, New Skete has become not only a vital monastic center but also a place of reflection and nurture that emphasizes the importance of Christian community and worship. Because of this, New Skete has also become a center that has encouraged contact, dialogue, and common endeavors for members of many of the Orthodox jurisdictions in America. |
| 1874.12–21; Stowers, Letter Writing, 142–46; Lewis, Life, 80–81. 8373 Holwerda, Spirit, 20 n. 52; also Calvin, John, 2(on John 14:2 ), though denying the «degrees» interpretation prevalent in his day. Bury, Logos-Doctrine, 60, appeals to Philo to make this a symbol of the Logos. 8374 Pass, Glory, 66–68; MacGregor, John, 305 (as a metaphor for «God " s immediate presence»); cf. Sanders, John, 321 (a king " s palace). Michaels, John, 252, thinks the allusion is to the temple but that it is used as a metaphor for heaven. 8376 T. Zebah. 13:6. Cf. t. Sukkah 4:3/b. Sukkah 53b, attributed to Hillel, in which God says to Israel, «If you come to My house, I come to your house» (Urbach, Sages, 1:577; Sandmel, Judaism, 240). Cf. also Buchanan, Hebrews, 161. 8379 Augustine Tr. Ev. Jo. 68.2.1; he suggested that God " s people and kingdom is even now being built (68.2.2). 8382 Porphyry Marc. 11.191–193,196–198; 19.318–319 (νες is Attic for νας); cf. also his neoplatonist alternative in which either the divine or an evil δαιμνιον dwell in (νοικω) the soul ι Marc. 21.333–336; cf. 19.321–322; 21.331–332, 336–339). 8386 Epictetus Diatr. 2.8.14. The Loeb translator (1:262–63) translates temporally, «when» he is present, but the participle can as easily be taken as «since.» One could beseech Mithras to «dwell» in onés ψυχ (PCM 4.709–710), an entreaty that might have erotic overtones (so Betz, Papyri, 52) or may even reflect Christian influence. Cf. 1 John 3:9 . 8387 Seneca Ep. Luci1. 73.16 (after arguing that good people are divine, 73.12–16). In a different vein, Ovid Fasti6.5–6 claimed that a god was in mortals, leaving them seeds (semina) of inspiration; cf. divinizing intimacy and union in Iamblichus V.P 33.240. 8388 If Aune, Prophecy, 33–34, is correct that pre-Christian Greek literature has barely any real examples associating Pythian prophecy with possession, the OT background may be prominent here. 8391 OTP 1(ed. Charles, 196). In 10:3, where God dwells, God will rescue the person and exalt him. |
| The place-name ‘Morphonou’ preserves the name of this house, which became the famous imperial monastery of the Amalfitans (variously referred to in the sources as μον τν μαλφηνν or, later, τν Μολφηνν μον). 247 All that remains now of this once thriving Latin and Benedictine house is its imposing tower, emblazoned with a single-headed eagle, together with a few lesser ruins. The house fell into disrepair in the thirteenth century, at which time Lavra assumed responsibility for the buildings and for the continuation of monastic life there, a responsibility it has done little to fulfil. There were, however, some significant restoration and rebuilding works at both the monastery and its maritime fortress in 1534–5 paid for by the Voyevod of Wallachia, Petru Rare. These works give the ruins considerably more substance than they would otherwise have had. 248 But in its heyday this community provided an eloquent and living statement of the integrity of the Latin monastic and liturgical tradition at the heart of Athos. And, intriguingly, it did so well into the period conventionally dated as post-schism (i.e. after AD 1054). Vivid details of the foundation are to be found in the Life of St John and St Euthymios, the Georgian founders of the monastery of Iviron. 249 In this Life, which is of considerable historical value, we have a record of the arrival of a certain monk Leo, brother of the Duke of Benevento, with six companions, on Mount Athos – perhaps around AD 980. It is quite conceivable that the John and Arsenius who signed the acts of 984 and 985 were among these companions. The two Georgian saints are recorded as having greeted Leo with great enthusiasm as fellow foreigners. They go on to offer their full support, material and spiritual, in establishing a Latin monastery. In response to this encouragement and to requests from fellow ‘Romans’ in Constantinople who wished to join him, Leo established a large community patterned on the rule and teachings of St Benedict and soon to enjoy an enviable reputation for piety and integrity, not to mention a delightful situation. The date of the foundation may be put between 980 and 984. |
| But spiritual joy helped her to overcome the sufferings and temptations. The martyr herself exhausted her body with fasting and other kinds of abstinence as was witnessed by other Christian women who were imprisoned together with the saint and later released. So, she laboured in the prison during seventeen years. The saint’s heart was filled for joy because she labored for Christ. She considered her imprisonment such consolation that when one Christian called Manuil Curtsibasis offered her freedom she refused, choosing the prison rather than honor and freedom. In such a way, imprisoned for the sake of Christ, she passed away on 30th April 1725. Her holy relics were laid in the church of St. Paraskevi by the blessing of Patriarch Paisios and up until today the faithful venerate them. Martyr Khadijah-Maria A Rodopian martyr, Khadijah-Maria, stands apart among Bulgarian new martyrs. Born to an Islamized Bulgarian family in the 19 th century, Khadijah came back to the Orthodox Church. She was baptized in an old chapel so that her conversion was kept secret. The priest Konstantin (future bishop and metropolitan of Xanphia Illarion), baptized her in a big barrel. The new Christian concealed her baptism for a whole year. She sent candles and blessed bread to the church while she prayed at home. But rumour was spreading all over the whole village. Women secretly called her Tijah-Maria (Tijah is the Bulgarian version of the girl’s Turkish name), because her baptismal name was Maria. When her fanatical brothers came to Derekjoy, they heard this rumour and confronted her to find out if it was true. She denied that she had been baptized. The next year Tijah-Maria was preparing herself for Pascha: colouring the eggs, cooking the Easter cakes, making candles, kneading dough for the Communion bread. Her brothers who lived in another village came secretly to check the rumours. On Holy Thursday she came back from the church and stepped away to her neighbours. Meanwhile her brothers entered her house. There they found the coloured eggs, Easter cakes, and burning icon-lamp. They became sure that she had become “infidel”. Her brothers hid themselves in the hay. In the evening Tijah-Maria returned and, after long prayers, went to bed and fell asleep. While she slept, her embittered Moslem brothers began to strangle her. When she was half-strangled, they filled her mouth with rags, took her out of the house and under the big blossoming plum tree and shot her twice. The next morning the women sent their children to find out what had happened in Tijah’s house. They saw her lying dead under the blossoming plum tree. She lay there as she was for three days since everybody was afraid to come and see that she was dead. A rose was planted on her grave and on St. George’s Day the women picked flowers from the rose bush, which they kept throughout the year for healing. Martyr Platonide |
| In other words, Christ “supersedes” previous revelations with which they heard the Word, because He was the Word Himself. This is like an architect who builds a house: once he builds the house he/she intended, the task is accomplished and the house supersedes the blueprint. Yet the blueprint retains value for the new owner nonetheless. Finally, when directly presented with the question, at this point in the scholarly debate, they accept it more often than deny it. Participants in two out of four significant discussions on the topic on Orthodox internet forums generally saw Orthodoxy as Supersessionist, while those on one forum tended to oppose the term. 44 Peter the Aleut, the moderator on the leading “Orthodox Christianity Forum” commented: “Supersessionist Theology (pejoratively known as Replacement Theology) is not something foreign to our Tradition. In fact, the theology is based on the biblical doctrine of the Apostle Paul (Rom 9:1-11:36), not to mention the Prophets whom St. Paul quotes effusively and even some words of Christ Himself.” 45 Tails: How Orthodoxy is not “Supersessionist” Despite the descriptions above of the New Testament superseding the Old Testament or its elements, some Orthodox writers, focusing on the continuity between Christianity and Judaism, deny that supersession occurs or do not identify with the title Supersessionism. Herman Blaydoe explains: We certainly can say that Christ's sacrifice has superseded the Temple sacrifice. There are aspects and explanations where the term " supersession' may indeed be appropriate, but that does not in any way mean that Orthodoxy supports the theological and modern concept of supersessionism en toto... [W]ithin an Orthodox theology, " supersessionism " is not helpful at all, it brings with it simply too much baggage. I am not sure that trying to rehabilitate it and bend it into an Orthodox context is a good idea. Supersessionism carries with it the idea that the Church has replaced Israel, and that the Jews have been replaced by the Gentiles. This is simply not true. The Church is the continuation of Israel. We call it the New Israel, not because it no longer includes the Jewish people, but because it now includes ALL people. It goes beyond what it was; it does not replace what was before. 46 |
| 15 . Diveevskaya taina i predskazaniya o Voskresenii Rossii. Prepodobnyi Serafim Sarovskii Chudotvorets [Diveevskaya mystery and predictions about the Resurrection of Russia. The Monk Seraphim Of Sarov The Wonderworker]. comp. E. Poselianin. Moscow: Veche publishing house, 2011. 16 . Dobropoklonskii A. P.Prepodobnyi Feodor ispovednik i igumen Studiiskii v 2 t. [The monk Theodore the Confessor the Abbot of studion, 2 vols]. Odessa: economic printing house Publ., 1913–1914. Т. 1. 17 . Drevnerusskie inocheskie ustavy. Ustavy rossiiskikh monastyrenachal " nikov [The ancient monastic rules. The statutes of the Russian chiefs of monasteries]. Comp. Amvrosiy (Ornatskiy), bish. Moscow: Severnyi Palomnik Publ., 2001. 18 . Eldashev A. M. Monastyri Kazanskogo kraya. Ocherki istorii [Monasteries of Kazan region. Essays on the history of]. Kazan’: The Tatar book publishing house, 2004. 19 . Zheltov M. S., C. P. G., Churilov A. A. Afon. Pravoslavnaia entsiklopediia [Orthodox encyclopedia]. Moscow: Orthodox encyclopedia Publ., 2002. V. 4. P. 103–181. 20 . Zhitiya russkikh svyatykh [Lives of Russian saints]. Moscow: Patriarchal metochion of St. Nicholas and Zaikonospassky monastery in the Kitay-Gorod. Sibirskaia blagozvonnitsa Publ., 2003. 21 . Ieronim. Pismo k Lete o vospitanii otrokovitsy [Letter to Leta about education of the adolescent]. Antologiya pedagogicheskoi mysli khristianskogo Srednevekov " ya v 2 t. [Anthology of pedagogical thought of the Christian middle Ages in 2 vols.]. Comp. V. G. Bezrogov O. I. Variash. Moscow: Aspekt Press Publ., 1994. V. 1. P. 120–122. 22 . Ilarion (Alfeev). Nravstvennost ne mozhet byt avtonomnoi [Morality cannot be Autonomous]. Tserkov otkryta dlia kazhdogo [The Church is open to everyone]. Minsk: Belarusian Orthodox Church Publ., 2011. P. 305–317. 23 . Ilarion (Alfeev). Chelovek sozdaetsia po obrazu i podobiiu Bozhiiu [Man is created in the image and likeness of God]. Tserkov otkryta dlia kazhdogo [The Church is open to everyone]. Minsk: Belarusian Orthodox Church Publ., 2011. P. 229–244. |
| Mitton, C. Leslie. Jesus: The Fact Behind the Faith. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974. Montgomery, John Warwick. History and Christianity. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1964. . «Inspiration and Inerrancy: A New Departure.» Evangelical Theological Society Bulletin 8 (Spring, 1965), pp. 45–75. Also reprinted in The Suicide of Christian Theology, pp. 314–355. . The Suicide of Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1970. . Where Is History Going Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1972. . The Shape of the Past. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1975. . Faith Founded on Fact. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1978. Moody, Jr., Raymond A. Life After Life. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Moreland, J.P. Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987. Morris, Henry M. Scientific Creationism. El Cajon, CA: Master, 1974. and Gary Parker. What Is Creation Science? San Diego: Creation-Life Publishers, 1982. . The Biblical Basis for Modern Science. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984. Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968. Morrison, A. Cressy. Man Does Not Stand Alone. Revised. New York: Revell & Co, 1944. Mosley, A. W. «Historical Reporting in the Ancient World.» New Testament Studies 12 (October, 1965), pp. 10–26. Moule, C. F. D. Christ " s Messengers: Studies in Acts of the Apostles. New York: Association Press, 1957. . The Phenomenon of the New Testament. London: SCM, 1967. . The Origin of Christology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. . The Birth of the New Testament. 3rd Revised Edition. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1981. Mullins, E. Y. Why Is Christianity True? Christian Evidences. Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1905. Murray, John Courtney. The Problem of God: Yesterday and Today. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964, especially chapter 2. Nagel, Ernest. «Determinism in History,» in Philosophical Analysis and History. Edited by William Dray. New York: Harper and Row, 1966. Nash, Ronald H. Faith & Reason: Searching for a Rational Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988. |
| But if any one says that the flesh is the cause of all vices and ill conduct, inasmuch as the soul lives wickedly only because it is moved by the flesh, it is certain he has not carefully considered the whole nature of man. For the corruptible body, indeed, weighs down the soul. Wisdom 9:15 Whence, too, the apostle, speaking of this corruptible body, of which he had shortly before said, though our outward man perish, 2Corinthians 4:16 says, We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up in life. 2Corinthians 5:1–4 We are then burdened with this corruptible body; but knowing that the cause of this burdensomeness is not the nature and substance of the body, but its corruption, we do not desire to be deprived of the body, but to be clothed with its immortality. For then, also, there will be a body, but it shall no longer be a burden, being no longer corruptible. At present, then, the corruptible body presses down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that muses upon many things, nevertheless they are in error who suppose that all the evils of the soul proceed from the body. Virgil, indeed, seems to express the sentiments of Plato in the beautiful lines, where he says – A fiery strength inspires their lives, An essence that from heaven derives, Though clogged in part by limbs of clay And the dull " vesture of decay;» but though he goes on to mention the four most common mental emotions – desire, fear, joy, sorrow – with the intention of showing that the body is the origin of all sins and vices, saying – Hence wild desires and grovelling fears, |
| On 13 1995 Daniel was ordained to the office of a deacon by Right Reverend Evgeny Bishop Vereysky. The office was performed in the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary in Gonchary (Bulgarian town house). He stayed there until January 2001 when he was ordained to the ministry. On 14 June that year Daniel graduated from Moscow Theological Seminary and entered the Extramural Department of Moscow Theological Academy. His record of service is strikingly extensive and diversified. Father Daniel officiated in the Church of St Peter-and-Paul in Yasenevo (Moscow), was secretary of Missionary Education Center “Hexameron”, worker of a rehabilitation center for victims of totalitarian cults and false religious movements in the name of St John of Kronstadt. The future priest authored the book entitled “Chronicle of the Beginning” (M., 1999), edited collected papers “Hexameron versus Evolution” (M., 200) and almanac “Divine Revelation and modern science”. He published more than a dozen articles of creative and anti-sectarian orientation. Father Daniel taught religion to senior school students of Orthodox Classical Gymnasium in Yasenevo from September 1995, and led, with the blessing of the Holy Patriarch, missionary Bible discussions for victims of sectarian and occultist activities in Krutitsky Patriarch’s House from August 1996. From 1997, Father Daniel led Thursday afternoon Bible discussions (commented recitals) in Krutitsky House. On 24 May 2000, the Department of religious education and catechization granted priest Daniel Sysoev with a letter of commendation for his active teaching and catechization practices. Priesthood In January 2001 Daniel Sysoev was ordained to the ministry and made clergyman of the St Peter-and-Paul’s Church in Yasenevo under hegemon-abbot Melchizedek (Artyukhin). His second daughter, Dorothea, was born that year. Between 2004 and 2009 father Daniel did a great deal of traveling and teacing: he taught at Perervinskaya Orthodox Theological Seminary in Perervinsky St Nicholas Monastery – first liturgics and then missiology; and he visited (outside a mission team) many eparchies in Russia and elsewhere (including two visits in Macedonia in 2007 and 2008). Father Daniel was invited by the Moslem party to assist in two public debates on “The Bible and the Koran as Divine Revelation” (December 2006) and “The Conception of God” (February 2007). |
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