| 66 . Even the passions become good if we wisely and diligently detach them from what is bodily and direct them towards the acquisition of what is heavenly. This happens, for example, when we turn desire into a noetic yearning for heavenly blessings; or when we turn pleasure into the gentle delight which the volitivc energy of the intellect finds in divine gifts; or when we turn fear into protective concern to escape punishments threatening us because of our sins; or when we turn distress into corrective remorse for present sin. In short, the passions become good if – like wise physicians who use the body of the viper as a remedy against present or expected harm resulting from its bite – we use them to destroy present or expected evil, and in order to acquire and safeguard virtue and spiritual knowledge. 67 . The law of the Old Testament through practical philosophy cleanses human nature of all defilement. The law of the New Testament, through initiation into the mysteries of contemplation, raises the intellect by means of spiritual knowledge from the sight of material things to the vision of spiritual realities. 68 . Those who are beginners and stand at the gate of the divine court of the virtues (cf. Exod. 27: 9) are called ‘God-fearing’ by Scripture (cf. Acts 10: 2; 13: 16, 26). Those who with some measure of stability have acquired the principles and qualities of the virtues, it describes as ‘advancing’. Those who in their pursuit of holiness have by means of spiritual knowledge already attained the summit of that truth which reveals the virtues, it entitles ‘perfect’. Thus he who has abandoned his former passion-dominated way of life, and out of fear has submitted his entire will to the divine commandments, will lack none of the blessings which are appropriate to beginners, even though he has not yet acquired stability in the practice of the virtues or come to share in the wisdom spoken among those who are perfect (cf. 1Cor. 2: 6 ). And he who is advancing will not lack any of the blessings which belong to his degree, even though he has not yet acquired the transcendent knowledge of divine realities possessed by the perfect. For the perfect have already been initiated mystically into contemplative theology: having purified their intellects of every material fantasy and bearing always the stamp of the image of divine beauty in all its fulness, they manifest the divine love present in their hearts. |
| 74 . It is by means of the more lofty conceptual images that the inner principle of Holy Scripture can be stripped gradually of the complex garment of words with which it is physically draped. Then to the visionary intellect – the intellect which through the total abandonment of its natural activities is able to attain a glimpse of the simplicity that in some measure discloses this principle – it reveals itselfas though in the sound ofa delicate breeze. This was the case with Elijah, who was granted such a vision in the cave of Horeb (cf. 1 Kgs. 19: 12). Horeb signifies fallow land just broken up, which is the firm possession of the virtues established through the new spirit of grace. The cave is the hidden sanctuary of wisdom within the intellect; he who enters it will mystically perceive the spiritual knowledge that is beyond perception, in which God is said to dwell. Therefore everyone who like Elijah truly seeks God will not only arrive at Horeb – that is, not only will he through ascetic practice attain the state of virtue – but will also enter the cave at Horeb – that is, as a contemplative he will enter into that hidden sanctuary of wisdom found only by those who have attained the state of virtue. 75 . When our intellect has shaken off its many opinions about created things, then the inner principle of truth appears clearly to it, providing it with a foundation of real knowledge and removing its former preconceptions as though removing scales from the eyes, as happened in the case of St Paul (cf. Acts 9: 18). For an understanding of Scripture that does not go beyond the literal meaning, and a view of the sensible world that relies exclusively on sense perception, are indeed scales, blinding the soul " s visionary faculty and preventing access to the pure Logos of truth. 76 . The Apostle Paul says that he had a partial knowledge of the Logos (cf. 1Cor. 13: 9 ). The Evangelist John states that he has seen His glory: ‘For we beheld His glory,’ he says, ‘the glory as of the only-begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth’ ( John 1: 14 ). |
| 83 . We may apply this also to Cain and Abel (cf. Gen. 4: 8 ). Cain is the law of the flesh, and the field into which Cain and Abel went is the realm of natural contemplation. Had Abel kept guard over himself and had he not gone out with Cain into the field before attaining dispassion, then the law of the flesh would not have risen up and killed him, cleverly deceiving him when he was engaged in the contemplation of created beings before being fully prepared. 84 . Similarly, if Dinah the child of Jacob had not gone out to the daughters of the land – that is, into the world of sensible images – Shechem the son of Hamor would not have risen up and humiliated her (cf. Gen. 34: 1 – 2 ). 85 . We should abstain from natural contemplation until we are fully prepared, lest in trying to perceive the spiritual essences of visible creatures we reap passions by mistake. For the outward forms of visible things have greater power over the senses of those who are immature than the essences hidden in the forms of things have over their souls. Of course, those who confine their minds Judaic-wise to the letter alone expect the promises of divine blessings to be fulfilled in this present age, for they are ignorant of the qualities naturally inherent in the soul. 86 . He who ‘wears the image of Him who is from heaven’ ( 1Cor. 15: 49 ) tries to follow the spirit of Holy Scripture in all things, for it is the spirit which, by promoting virtue and spiritual knowledge, sustains the soul. He who ‘wears the image of him who is from earth’ pays heed only to the letter, for the cultivation of the body by means of the senses is promoted by the letter. Such cultivation in its turn generates the passions. 87 . By the power of God is meant the virtue that destroys the passions and safeguards holy thoughts. Such virtue is generated by the practice of the commandments: in this way, with God’s cooperation or, rather, by His strength alone, we destroy the forces of evil that are opposed to sanctity. By God’s sublimity is meant the spiritual knowledge of the truth, realized through our efforts to attain the contemplation of created beings and the practice of the virtues. Through spiritual knowledge we utterly annihilate the truth-opposing power of falsehood, abasing and demolishing the vaunting self-assertion of the evil spirits that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God (cf. 2Cor. 10: 5 ). For just as ascetic practice gives birth to virtue, so contemplation engenders spiritual knowledge. |
| Synodality and Primacy during the First Millennium: Towards a Common Understanding in Service to the Unity of the Church Source: Pan-Orthodox Synod September 23, 2016 From the fourteenth meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, Chieti, 21 September 2016 ‘We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have communion [koinonia] with us; and truly our communion [koinonia] is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.’ (1Jn 1:3-4) 1. Ecclesial communion arises directly from the Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, according to the goodwill (eudokia) of the Father, through the Holy Spirit. Christ, having come on earth, founded the Church as his body (cf. 1Cor 12:12-27). The unity that exists among the Persons of the Trinity is reflected in the communion (koinonia) of the members of the Church with one another. Thus, as St Maximus the Confessor affirmed, the Church is an ‘eikon’ of the Holy Trinity. At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ prayed to his Father: ‘Protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one’ (Jn 17:11). This Trinitarian unity is manifested in the Holy Eucharist, wherein the Church prays to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. 2. From earliest times, the one Church existed as many local churches. The communion (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:13) was experienced both within each local church and in the relations between them as a unity in diversity. Under the guidance of the Spirit (cf. Jn 16:13), the Church developed patterns of order and various practices in accordance with its nature as ‘a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’. 3. Synodality is a fundamental quality of the Church as a whole. As St John Chrysostom said: ‘“Church” means both gathering [systema] and synod [synodos]’. The term comes from the word ‘council’ (synodos in Greek, concilium in Latin), which primarily denotes a gathering of bishops, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for common deliberation and action in caring for the Church. Broadly, it refers to the active participation of all the faithful in the life and mission of the Church. |
| Wenn aber das Herz umkehrt und die Gebote des Geistes festhält, der es beschattet, dann erkennt der Mensch, daß beständigkeit bei Gott seine Ruhe ist, wie auch David sagte: «Ich habe zu dir geschrieen, und du hast mich geheilt». Alors l’homme sait que la constance en Dieu est son repos, comme l’a dit David en disant: «Seigneur, depuis que je me suis écrié vers toi, j’ai trouvé le repos selon mon dessein». 17. κατ τν μν ον γνμην λγω τι ν μ νθρωπος κτσηται μεγλην ταπενωσιν ν τ καρδ ατο κα ν τ σματι κα τ μ μετρεν αυτν ν μηδεν πργματι κα τ ποφρειν βριν κα τ αυτν βιζεσθαι ν παντ κα τν θνατον ατο χειν μ προσθεν μραν καθ’ ημραν κα ποταγν τς λης κα ποταγν τν κατ σρκα, ο δναται κατχειν τ ντλματα το πνεματος. Igitur secundum meum consilium (+ quidem PG), nisi homo grandem possederit humilitatem, quae uirtutum omnium culmen est, et custodiam posuerit ori suo ( Ps. 140:3 ), et cordi timorem Dei, et in eo quod (quidem PG) se probat excellere ceteris, non se praeferat (cf. Luc. 18:11?) tanquam aliquid boni fecerit, et ut iniurias sibi inlatas libenter sufferat, et praebeat percutienti se aliam maxillam (Mat. 5:39), et ut ad omne opus bonum uiolenter erumpat et diripiat, et ut animam suam in manu portet quasi cotidie moriturus (cf. 1Cor. 15:31 ), et ut uana ducat omnia, quae sub hoc sole cernuntur (cf. Eccl. 1:2–3 ), et dicat: «Cupio dissolui et esse cum Christo ( Phil. 1:23 )», et: «Mihi uiuere Christus est et mori lucrum» ( Phil. 1:21 ), non poterit praecepta seruare Spiritus sancti. Amen ( < BC) 189 . Nach meiner Meinung sage ich: Wenn einer nicht große Demut in seinem Herzen I und in deinem Leib erwirbt, sich für nichts hält, Schande nicht verachtet, sich auch nicht zwingt, seinen Tod nicht täglich vor Augen hat und sich von allem Fleischlichen nicht fernhält, kann er die Gebote des Geistes nicht halten. Je dis qu’à moins que l’homme ne souffre beaucoup dans son coeur avec humilité, et dans son corps, ne se considérant en rien en toute chose, ayant une grande tolérance des injures, se faisant violence en toute chose, considérant la mort de jour en jour (ad litteram: plaçant la mort devant toi jour avant jour), avec un renoncement à la matière et un renoncement aux choses charnelles, il ne lui est pas possible de garder les commandements de l’Esprit-Saint.» |
| 25 . If we have to suffer because our ancestor involved our nature with sensual pleasure, let us endure our temporary sufferings bravely; for they blmt the sharp point of such pleasure for us, and free us from the eternal torment which it brings upon us. 26 . Love is the consummation of all blessings, since all who walk in it love leads and guides towards God, the supreme blessing and cause of every blessing, and unites them with Him; for love is faithful and never fails (cf. 1Cor. 13: 8 ). Faith is the foundation of what comes after it, namely hope and love, since it provides a firm basis for truth. Hope is the strength of the two pre-eminent gifts of love and faith, since hope gives us glimpses both of that in which we believe and of that for which we long, and teaches us to make our way towards our goal. Love is the completion of the other two, embracing entirely the entire desire of all desires, and satisfying the yearning of our faith and hope for it; for that which we believe to be and which we hope will come to pass, love enables us to enjoy as a present reality. 27 . The most perfect work of love, and the fulfilment of its activity, is to effect an exchange between those it joins together, which in some measure unites their distinctive characteristics and adapts their respective conditions to each other. Love makes man god, and reveals and manifests God as man, through the single and identical purpose and activity of the will of both. 28 . If we are made, as we are, in the image of God (cf. Gen.1: 27 ), let us become the image both of ourselves and of God; or rather let us all become the image of the one whole God, bearing nothing earthly in ourselves, so that we may consort with God and become gods, receiving from God our existence as gods. For in this way the divine gifts and the presence of divine peace are honoured. 29 . Love is a great blessing and of all blessings the first and supreme, since it joins God and men together around him who has love, and it makes the Creator of men manifest Himself as man through the exact likeness of the deified man to God, in so far as this is possible for man. |
| 2Cor. 12: 10 ), as St Paul did. For he knew that the humility produced by bodily sufferings safeguards the divine treasures of the soul; and for this reason he was content and endured patiently, both for his own sake and for the sake of those to whom he served as an example of virtue and faith, so that if they suffered when guilty, like the Corinthian who was censured (cf. 1Cor. 5: 1 – 5 ), they might have him who suffers innocently as an encouragement and as a model of patience. 92 . If, instead of stopping short at the outward appearance which visible things present to the senses, you seek with your intellect to contemplate their inner essences, seeing them as images of spiritual realities or as the inward principles of sensible objects, you will be taught that nothing belonging to the visible world is unclean. For by nature all things were created good (cf. Gen. 1:31 ; Acts 10: 15). 93 . He who is not affected by changes in sensible things practises the virtues in a manner that is truly pure. He who does not permit the outward appearances of sensible things to imprint themselves on his intellect has received the true doctrine of created beings. He whose mind has outstripped the very being of created things has come, as a true theologian, close to the One through unknowing. 94 . Every contemplative intellect that has ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ ( Eph. 6: 17 ), and that has cut off in itself the activity of the visible world, has attained virtue. When it has excised from itself the image of sensible appearances it finds the truth existing in the inner essences of created beings, which is the foundation of natural contemplation. And when it has transcended the being of created things, it will receive the illumination of the divine and unoriginate Unity who is the foundation of the mystery of true theology. 95 . God reveals Himself to each person according to each person " s mode of conceiving Him. To those whose aspiration transcends the complex structure of matter, and whose psychic powers are fully integrated in a single unceasing gyration around God, He reveals Himself as Unity and Trinity. In this way He both shows forth His own existence and mystically makes known the mode in which that existence subsists. To those whose aspiration is limited to the complex structure of matter, and whose psychic powers are not integrated, He reveals Himself not as He is but as they are, showing that they are completely caught in the material dualism whereby the physical world is conceived as composed of matter and form. |
| 2.- Physicality and Spirituality Christian authors have from the earliest of times been uncomfortable with physical or sexual love. Somehow, physical love is considered a debased form of love. Certain authors affirm that celibacy is superior to love in marriage ; others propose that the sole purpose of physical love is procreation. Physicality or sexuality have been tainted, regarded as impure. They are seen as contaminating and shaming ; people are riddled with fear and guilt. Sexuality is viewed as an expression that connects us to the lower forms of life, identified with lustful desires and animal instincts. The figure and theology of St. Augustine has set the pattern for Western thinking on this subject to this day. As a result, people suffer from an in-built schizophrenia in this most intimate and personal aspect of life. For Augustine, sexuality is the result of our fall, Eve is the result of Adam’s defection from God ; woman is not created in God’s image, but as man’s instrument. Yet St Paul made it clear that in becoming one flesh (cf. 1Cor. 6 : 16), man and woman symbolize the union between Christ and the Church. In any case, Christ never identified sin with the body, but with what is committed in the heart (cf. Matt. 15 : 18-19). For Christians, “the flesh is the hinge of salvation” (Tertullian). How unfortunate, then, it is that Christianity – as the religion of the body and the flesh, as the religion of incarnation has left a permanent scar on the human body. It is not a matter of coming to terms with the body or with sexuality. Rather, it is a matter of recognizing these as crucially bound to the deepest aspects of human nature. Sexuality is not accidental ; rather, it is essential to our reality. Sexual and physical love belong to the mystery of our being. This is, not to say that sexuality and spirituality are one and the same. However, there is an intimate correspondence between the two. The denial of one is reflected in the degradation of the other. Without sexuality, there is no beauty ; without beauty, there is no soul ; and without soul, there is no God. “Male and female [God] created [us]” (Gen. 1 : 26). So we are told immediately after the creation of Adam and Eve in the image and likeness of God. For the Eastern Fathers, without Eve, Adam was incomplete. “Woman is made in full communion with man : sharing every pleasure, every joy, every good, every sorrow, every pain” (St. Basil the Great), “sharing divine grace itself” (Clement of Alexandria) Writing in exactly the same period as Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom claims that “sexual love is not human ; it is divine in origin.” |
| 38 . Once you have decided to share your life with spiritual brethren, renounce your own wishes from the start. Unless you do this you will not be able to live peaceably either with God or with your brethren. 39 . He who has attained perfect love, and has ordered his whole life in accordance with it, is the person who says ‘Lord Jesus» in the Holy Spirit (cf. 1Cor. 12: 3 ). 40 . Love for God always aspires to give wings to the intellect in its communion with God; love for one’s neighbour makes one always think good thoughts about him. 41 . The man who still loves empty fame, or is attached to some material object, is naturally vexed with people on account of transitory things, or harbours rancour or hatred against them, or is a slave to shameful thoughts. Such things are quite foreign to the soul that loves God. 42 . If you have no thought of any shameful word or action in your mind, harbour no rancour against someone who has injured or slandered you, and, while praying, always keep your intellect free from matter and form, you may be sure that you have attained the full measure of dispassion and perfect love. 43 . It is no small struggle to be freed from self-esteem. Such freedom is to be attained by the inner practice of the virtues and by more frequent prayer; and the sign that you have attained it is that you no longer harbour rancour against anybody who abuses or has abused you. 44 . If you want to be a just person, assigi to each aspect of yourself – to your soul and your body – what accords with it. To the intelligent aspect of the soul assign spiritual reading, contemplation and prayer; to the incensive aspect, spiritual love, the opposite of hatred; to the desiring aspect, moderation and self-control; to the fleshly part, food and clothing, for these alone are necessary (cf. 1Tim. 6: 8 ). 45 . The intellect functions in accordance with nature when it keeps the passions under control, contemplates the inner essences of created beings, and abides with God. 46 . As health and disease are to the body of a living thing, and light and darkness to the eye, so virtue and vice are to the soul, and knowledge and ignorance to the intellect. |
| 49 . Do not befoul your intellect by clinging to thoughts filled with anger and sensual desire. Otherwise you will lose your capacity for pure prayer and fall victim to the demon of listlessness. 50 . When the intellect associates with evil and sordid thoughts it loses its intimate communion with God. 51 . The foolish man under attack from the passions, when stirred to anger, is senselessly impelled to leave his brethren. But when heated by desire he quickly changes his mind and seeks their company. An intelligent person behaves differently in both cases. When anger flares up he cuts off the source of disturbance and so frees himself from his feeling of irritation against his brethren. When desire is uppermost he checks every unruly impulse and chance conversation. 52 . In time of trial do not leave your monastery but stand up courageously against the thoughts that surge over you, especially those of irritation and listlessness. For when you have been tested by afflictions in this way, according to divine providence, your hope in God will become firm and secure. But if you leave, you will show yourself to be worthless, unmanly and fickle. 53 . If you wish not to fall away from the love of God, do not let your brother go to bed feeling irritated with you, and do not go to bed yourself feeling irritated with him. Reconcile yourself with your brother, and then come to Christ with a clear conscience and offer Him your gift of love in earnest prayer (cf. Matt. 5: 24). 54 . St Paul says that, if we have all the gifts of the Spirit but do not have love, we are no further forward (cf. 1Cor. 13: 2 ). How assiduous, then, we ought to be in our efforts to acquire this love. 55 . If ‘love prevents us from harming our neighbour’ ( Rom. 13: 10 ), he who is jealous of his brother or irritated by his reputation, and damages his good name with cheap jibes or in any way spitefully plots against him, is surely alienating himself from love and is guilty in the face of eternal judgment. 56 . If ‘love is the fulfilling of the law’ ( Rom. 13: 10 ), he who is full of rancour towards his neighbour and lays traps for him and curses him, exulting in his fall, must surely be a transgressor deserving eternal punishment. |
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