| But while the love of the Church knows no limitation and no boundary, faith is specific. It’s belief in God in the Trinity and His universal dispensation; the faith in Jesus Christ as God and human and His incarnation; the faith in Holy Spirit, ‘the Lord, the Giver of Life’; the faith in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church; the faith in the resurrection of the dead and ‘life in the age to come’. Christian truth cannot be understood as an abstract concept, but as incarnate in the reality of this world. The truth is the incarnate Son and Word of God, Who revealed God the Father to us and sent the Holy Spirit. The truth is the Triune God, the Lord and Creator of the world and of history. The mystery of the Triune God is beyond comprehension and access, but has been revealed to us through the incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, through the mission and teaching, the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is preserved unaltered in the Holy Spirit, in the faith and life of the Orthodox Church. According to the words of Saint John, the Apostle and Evangelist: ‘No one has ever seen God. The only Son who is in the bosom of the Father has made him known’ (John 1, 18). In this way, God isn’t perceived by Christians as the abstract Absolute of the philosophers, but as the Triune God of the Revelation: ‘Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a son (Heb. 1, 1-2). Knowledge of God isn’t the result of a rational process, but rather it’s personal communion with Him. This is possible only within the context of the faith and life of the Church. According to Biblical and Patristic Tradition, God can’t be conceived through reason, but is revealed and speaks ‘to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend’ (Ex. 33, 12). According to Saint Symeon the New Theologian: ‘God reveals Himself to us to the extent that He wishes to be known by us. And insofar as He’s revealed, He’s seen and known by those who are worthy’. |
| From Crete Gregory sailed to Athos, and without delay he traversed the entire Mountain in an endeavour to discover others familiar with the spiritual teaching imparted to him by Arsenios. Initially he was disappointed. ‘I saw not a few men’, his biographer Kallistos represents him as saying, ‘endowed to the utmost with grey hairs, with under standing and with every dignity of character; but they devoted all their zeal to the active life. If asked about quiet ( hesychia) or the guarding of the mind and contemplation, they said that they did not know of this even by name.’ After long searching, Gregory eventually discovered three monks at the skete of Magoula, not far from the monastery of Philotheou, who possessed some knowledge of contemplation and inner prayer; all others whom he encountered were absorbed exclusively with the active life. Here, at Magoula, he himself settled. If accurate, this testimony provides a revealing picture of the spiritual condition of Athos around the start of the 14th century. It may be that Kallistos, in the common fashion of biographers, has somewhat exag gerated the preceding neglect of inner prayer on the Mountain, in order to underline the personal influence of his hero; yet surely his evidence cannot be wholly discounted. When Gregory arrived, so it would seem, the emphasis at Athos was placed almost exclusively on the external: on manual labour and exact obedience, on fasting and similar ascetic exercises, on the ordered sequence of liturgical prayer. The inner life was overlooked. This prevailing ignorance concerning contemplation and ‘guarding of the mind’ is especially remarkable, in view of the fact that Nicephorus the Hesychast may still have been alive when Gregory first arrived; in any case, his death cannot have occurred long previously. The disciples of Nicephorus must have been so effectively concealed in the remoter regions of the Mountain that Gregory failed to make contact with them. While on Athos, St Gregory of Sinai lived from preference, not in one of the large coenobia, but in the ‘semi-eremitic’ milieu of a secluded skete, in the company of a restricted circle of chosen disciples. This was also the form of monastic life adopted by St Gregory Palamas during most of his time on the Holy Mountain. Alike in the 14th and the 18th centuries, and also in our own day, the Hesychast tradition on Athos has flourished in the sketes rather than the ‘ruling monasteries’. ‘A lover of quiet, if ever there was one’, Gregory of Sinai sought ever to lead a life of silence and withdrawal, hidden from the world. Forced to dwell for a time within the walls of the Great Lavra, he found that ‘constant contact with the monks deprive d him of the hesychia for which he longed’. In this regard he belongs to the lineage of Evagrius Ponticus and St Isaac the Syrian, rather than to the cenobitic way of St Basil the Great, St Theodore the Studite and St Symeon the New Theologian. |
| St. Seraphim (Sobolev). Photo: Full of Grace and Truth It is clear from here, what a great blessing the grace of the Holy Spirit is for us, that it is the most precious treasure, about which testifies the teaching of Christ, the apostles, and the holy fathers. According to the teaching of Christ, the grace of the Holy Spirit is the greatest blessing for us, and sending it down to us was the purpose of His suffering and death, as is clear from His final conversation with His disciples (Jn. 16:7). So the holy apostles looked upon grace, for the teaching of salvation by grace, by virtue of the crucifixion of Christ, was central to their Gospel, to which the epistles of the holy apostle Paul testify especially clearly. The holy fathers of the Church could not look upon grace otherwise. Thus, St. Symeon the New Theologian says: “This was the goal and end of the entire dispensation of Christ, that the faithful would receive within their souls the Holy Spirit and that He would be as the soul of our soul and that by the work of this Spirit we would be refined and renewed in mind, conscience, and all the senses.” And the great God-pleaser of our Russian Orthodox Church, St. Seraphim of Sarov taught that the acquisition of the Holy Spirit (i. e. its uncovering within us) is the purpose of the whole of our Christian life. This is what the words of the apostle Paul, heard by us today in the Liturgy, say about the manifestation of such grace. What, beloved, should we extract here for a salvific lesson for ourselves? Hearing these apostolic words, we should rejoice and thank God that we are children of the Orthodox Church of Christ, through which the Lord gives us this great grace, unmatched by any treasure in the world. In Catholicism there is no such grace; more properly, it cannot manifest itself among Catholics, because of their deviation from the truths of the Orthodox faith. In this lies the most essential difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. In the latter this grace, received in the mysteries of holy Baptism and Chrismation, is like a Divine spark hidden under the ashes of various heresies, but in our Orthodox Church it shines as the sun, revealing itself in the wondrous and diverse talents which the Lord grants His holy ones, having fulfilled His word in their lives: He has magnified all His pleasure in them (Ps. 15:3). |
| Monastic tonsuring is called a mystery because the monk experiences the purifying and illuminating energy of God. According to St. Symeon the New Theologian the second baptism is the baptism of the Spirit, that is, the illumination of the nous and the acquisition of noetic prayer. The following is said to the monk while he is being tonsured: “You are purged of your sins and becometh son of light”, Thus, the monk experiences purification of the heart prior to his tonsure, and acquires illumination of the nous while being tonsured. The apostolic life and the way of life of the first Christians, as described in the Pauline Epistles and the book of the Acts, is made visible. Monasticism is apostolic and evangelical; mortification of the “old man” precedes it, though, and then the monk becomes a “temple” of the Most Holy Spirit. The prayers read by the priest are expressive of this theme. Photo: Valery Zot Married Christians in their personal lives are also called to live the Gospel and the commandments of Christ. Noone is exempted from this responsibility. Every one must experience repentance; overcome selfishness; and acquire love for God and love for others. It is apparent that the circumstances of married life are different from those of the monastery, and thus a certain adjustment is needed. Yet, what the monastery is for the monk, the family is for the married person. Family is the place for ascetic practice in married life. It is therein that a person is called to carry out the will of God. “O God most pure … bless this marriage, and vouchsafe unto these thy servants, N. and N., a peaceful life, length of days, chastity, mutual love in the bond of peace, long· lived seed, gratitude from their posterity, a crown of glory which fadeth not away. Graciously grant that they may behold their children’s children. Preserve their bed un assailed, and give them of the dew of heaven from on high, and of the fatness of the earth. Fill their houses with wheat, and wine, and oil, and with every beneficence, that they may bestow in turn upon the needy; granting also unto those who are here present with them all those petitions which are of their salvation”. (Rite of the Holy Matrimony) 1 . |
| St. Symeon the New Theologian wrote this about repentance“Through repentance the filth of our foul actions is washed away. After this, we participate in the Holy Spirit, not automatically, but according to the faith, humility and inner disposition of the repentance in which our soul is engaged. For this reason it is good to repent each day as the act of repentance is unending.” How do we do this? We repent daily. We pray the prayers of repentance such as Psalm 50/51. We study the Gospels and learn just how far we are from the ideals that the Lord is teaching. We use Him as our canon and measuring stick. We also come to confession. There is no doubt in my mind that confession is one of the most difficult spiritual practices and that is why it is also one of the most beneficial. It causes pain to bring out one’s inner sins and shame and declare them to the Lord in the presence of the priest. But this pain is actually life-giving surgery. Through this momentary pain, pride is uprooted and humility is laid down as the foundation of the journey to Christ. The Orthodox Church teaches that as we begin the difficult work of repentance we will not be alone. God will do most of the work. He is merciful to help us and save us. He feels for us and desires to transform us into new creatures. He alone does the work of redemption by His grace. Repentance is the key by which we enter into His grace and presence. May Christ our God give us the courage to repent genuinely and thoroughly, that we might allow Him to refashion us properly, in His blessed image and likeness. That He alone might bind our wounds and turn our shame into eternal joy. Glory be to God Forever AMEN. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| St. John Chrysostom’s instructions to fathers on telling stories from Holy Scripture: “Tell him this story one evening at supper. Let his mother repeat the same tale; then, when he has heard it often, ask him too, saying: ‘Tell me the story,’ so that he may be eager to imitate you. And when he has memorized it thou wilt also tell him how it profits him. The soul indeed, as it receives the story within itself before thou has elaborated it, is aware that it will benefit.” (Laistner 104) “Go leading him by the hand in church and pay heed particularly when this tale is read aloud. Thou wilt see him rejoice and leap with pleasure because he knows what the other children do not know, as he anticipates the story, recognizes it, and derives great gain from it. And hereafter the episode is fixed in his memory.” (Laistner 105) St. John Chrysostom on naming children after the Saints: “So let the names of the saints enter our homes through the naming of children, to train not only the child but the father, when he reflects that he is the father of John or Elijah or James; for, if the name be given with forethought to pay honor to those that have departed, and we grasp at our kinship with the righteous rather than with our forebears, this too will greatly help us and our children.” (Laistner 108-109) The above text has been taken from Dana Symeon Kees, “The Scriptural Narrative in Orthodox Education,” Master’s Thesis, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2009, pp. 138, 139-140, quoting St. John Chrysostom, “An Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children,” printed in the appendix of M. L. W. Laistner, Christianity and Pagan Culture in the Later Roman Empire (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1951), 104-105,108-109. Elder Porphyrios on Nurturing Children: “What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relations to their children through their mildness, patience, and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behavior of the children. And their behaviour is not improved by reprimands, disciplining, or strictness. If the parents do not pursue a life of holiness and if they don’t engage in spiritual struggle, they make great mistakes and transmit the faults they have within them. If the parents do not live a holy life and do not display love towards each other, the devil torments the parents with the reactions of the children. Love, harmony and understanding between parents are what are required for the children. This provides a great sense of security and certainty.” |
| We might say that with Barlaam’s teaching we don’t have a simple heresy but rather the complete overturning and demolition of the gift of divine dispensation. To use the words of Saint Symeon the New Theologian concerning an analogous phenomenon in his own time, it was a doctrine which “overturns the whole of the dispensation of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ and clearly rejects the restoration of the damaged image”. Saint Gregory Palamas defended the authentic tradition of the Church, which had been the same from the beginning, in the East and West. He fought for the removal of the deviations which had led to the schism. He fought the teaching of Barlaam that the energy of God is created, and stressed that, with His uncreated grace, God comes into personal communion with people, unites with them and deifies them. In this way he promoted genuine Christianity, gave his support to Orthodoxy and kept open the path for people to attain deification. The disjunction between the Christian life and the Church which has occurred in recent years has distorted Christianity and favoured secularization. And since secularization first became established and firmly-rooted in the West, and then spread to the East as an imported feature, it’s obvious that the West would be dominant in this situation. This is why it’s natural for the secularized societies of the East to be in an inferior position compared to those of the West and to be led by the nose by them all the time into a variety of impasses. We’ve shown contempt for our authentic roots, rejected our spiritual riches, forgotten our transcendental orientation and have wanted to modernize, walking barefoot over the thorns of secularization. At a critical point in history, Saint Gregory Palamas offered immense riches for the support of the Church and the Greek nation through his teaching and his life. Not only in his own time, but throughout the whole of the dark period of Turkish rule which followed. And even today, his personality and his teaching are a most valuable legacy, which we can use for our support and for our future course of action. For our course within history, for our dialogue with the Christian and non-Christian globalized world and for our fractured society. |
| The heart has always been considered the center of volitional and sensuous life, with the mind being the rational center of thinking. The Savior knew whereof He spoke; He knew man. And the heart is much more than just the volitional or sensuous center: it is the very core of man’s being. When the Savior said: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8), this means that not only are the senses or will purified, but the whole person. This includes, of course, the human body as well, and even the physical heart. I was surprised when a doctor said to me: “You know, in recent times we’ve recognized the important role the heart plays in the human nervous system.” And I said: “Where’ve you been until now? I knew this even without you!” Or take another organ, such as the stomach. It also has a profound influence on one’s nervous and psychological life. Again I say: “We knew this, too.” When one is in extreme grief it can happen (and it happened to me once) that a strong desire to vomit arises; the stomach convulses. That is, there is a strong link between physical and nervous life. Bishop Atanasije (Jevtic) and Fr Stamatis Skliris The heart is the whole of a person. A man shall draw nigh, and the heart is deep (Psalm 63:7, LXX), says the psalm so briefly and concisely. Therefore, if one prays only in one’s mind, this prayer will be superficial, despite the fact that the mind is a profound organ of the human person, of his soul. But only when the mind is united with the heart can it function properly. Such is the connection of the organs, of the psychophysical constitution of the human person. This is how Palamas and the hesychast Fathers spoke about this. There is a homily on prayer attributed to St. Symeon the New Theologian that does not in fact belong to him. There it speaks of attention (prosochi) and prayer (prosefchi). Efchi means supplication or prayer, and pros- means to approach, as for instance in “to step” [stupit’] and “to step up to” [pristupit’]. It is the same with prosefchi. And prosochi also has the meaning of being close to something, of attention to something or someone, of being close to him. |
| The world of sin, the world of those who refuse God, the world of darkness inside each of us — this is the enemy of God. By its very definition it has no access to the prayer of Communion. Those who belong to this world excommunicate themselves. They cannot share in the glory of God. And therefore the world of evil cannot sit before the throne of the Father. But we are asked to intercede for the sinners that they return to God. We are asked to intercede for the world, and ultimately to intercede for our enemies. Who are our enemies? First, they are those who have offended us and make us suffer; they persecute us, they try to remove the faith from us; they curse us. Secondly, they are those who say No to God, the enemies and persecutors of the Faith, those who are away from the truth, the apostates. We must judge and condemn their actions, but we must not judge nor condemn the people themselves: on the contrary we are asked to pray that they return to God. However, the Fathers are very prudent. The prayer of intercession for the enemies is only for those who are more advanced in prayer. For they know that there are risks in such a prayer. Loving the enemies without discernment may lead to a form of solidarity with them, with sin and with evil. Or it can lead to a form of pride: “pity” instead of compassion. Love of the enemy has several degrees; the first ones are accessible to all of us. Do not be the one to attack, and do not try to take revenge. Leave justice in the hands of God. These are the first two basic levels of the love of the enemy as underlined by St John Chrysostom. The more advanced levels are: not to resist, as did the Martyrs. Show patience, endure, and suffer. Then not be afflicted, remain impassible, indifferent. A higher degree, which is the best way to progress in humility, is considering the offenses as a blessing. Therefore, rejoice if you are persecuted, offended, if people spit on you and despise you. And give thanks to God. Chastisement is education; it is a medicine. Another degree is to have no hatred for those who cause us harm, no anger, no resentment. Do not accuse your enemies, do not say bad things about them, but forgive in truth. Then God will pardon your own sins. St Symeon the New Theologian says that loving the enemies is forgetting the sufferings, forgetting what happened. |
| The eastern tradition has never made a sharp distinction between mysticism and theology; between personal experience of the divine mysteries and the dogma affirmed by the Church. The following words spoken a century ago by a great Orthodox theologian, the Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, express this attitude perfectly: ‘none of the mysteries of the most secret wisdom of God ought to appear alien or altogether transcendent to us, but in all humility we must apply our spirit to the contemplation of divine things’. 1 To put it in another way, we must live the dogma expressing a revealed truth, which appears to us as an unfathomable mystery, in such a fashion that instead of assimilating the mystery to our mode of understanding, we should, on the contrary, look for a profound change, an inner transformation of spirit, enabling us to experience it mystically. Far from being mutually opposed, theology and mysticism support and complete each other. One is impossible without the other. If the mystical experience is a personal working out of the content of the common faith, theology is an expression, for the profit of all, of that which can be experienced by everyone. Outside the truth kept by the whole Church personal experience would be deprived of all certainty, of all objectivity. It would be a mingling of truth and of falsehood, of reality and of illusion: ‘mysticism’ in the bad sense of the word. On the other hand, the teaching of the Church would have no hold on souls if it did not in some degree express an inner experience of truth, granted in different measure to each one of the faithful. There is, therefore, no Christian mysticism without theology; but, above all, there is no theology without mysticism. It is not by chance that the tradition of the Eastern Church has reserved the name of ‘theologian’ peculiarly for three sacred writers of whom the first is St. John, most ‘mystical’ of the four Evangelists; the second St. Gregory Nazianzen, writer of contemplative poetry; and the third St. Symeon, called ‘the New Theologian’, the singer of union with God. Mysticism is accordingly treated in the present work as the perfecting and crown of all theology: as theology par excellence. |
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