| Compared to the contemporary worship of most Protestant churches and post-Vatican II Roman Catholic churches, the worship of the Orthodox Church seems overly-formal, complicated, and rigid in its rubrics. Why are there so many rituals in the Orthodox Church? Why isn’t there more spontaneity, creativity, and freedom of expression? Why is the Orthodox Sunday worship service—the Divine Liturgy—essentially the same week after week, every year, for more than fifteen-hundred years? Most Orthodox believers would respond, “Because it is our Tradition.” However, do you know why it is our Tradition and why rituals are so important to our Christian Faith? The Need For Peace And Order Actually, the Bible and the Church Fathers rarely use the word “ritual” or “rite” when describing Judaic or Christian religious ceremonial practices. The words more often used are “ordinances” and “observances.” These words are more descriptive of what should be going on. For many, “rites” are just a series of behaviors people customarily do without knowing its meaning—perhaps there was once a reason for the behavior, but now people just “go through the motions.” An “ordinance” is a decree that an activity be regulated (Hebrews 9:1)—kept to a particular sequence or boundary. In regards to worship services, the Apostle Paul stated, “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). The reason for this is given in a previous verse: “for God is a God not of disorder but of peace” (v.33). In fact, St. Paul praises the church at Colosse for how orderly (τξιν) they are (Colossians 2:5). Being that our present day Liturgy of St. Chystostom is based on the first century Liturgy of St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, the Orthodox Church has always practiced a formal, orderly pattern to its worship. However, the formality of worship really goes back to Judaic practices starting 13 centuries before Christ with the exodus of Israel from Egypt. God, through Moses, gave explicit details about a very orderly and elaborate form of worship centered around the Tabernacle or Temple. Why? Because God knows how easy it is for mankind to argue about worship practice differences to the point of confusion (Acts 19:32), prejudice (John 4:20), and violence (Genesis 4:3-8). It is not hard to look through the history of mankind and find wars which were in part justified over disputed religious beliefs and practices. Though inter-faith conflict will likely continue (John 17:14), God wants to prevent intra-faith conflict within His Church (John 17:22-23). Therefore, it is necessary the Church be unified in Her worship practices. The Orthodox Church has kept the unity of the Faith in part by preserving a precise formula in Her worship. In doing so, the Orthodox Church has avoided a lot of dissension that has plagued other branches of Christianity. |
| 1 закон молитвы (лат.). 2 здесь и далее, если не оговорено иное, цитаты даются в переводе с английского, с того текста, который имеется в оригинале. 3 Epanagoge fou nomou, 9th С., III, 8, ed. С. E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, in J.Zepos, P.Zepos, Jus Craecoromanum, 2 (Athens, 1931), p. 242. 4 John of Damascus, De fide orthodoxa, IV, 17; PG 94:1180bc. 5 Cyril of Jerusalem, Horn, cat., 4, 36; PG 33:500bc. 6 Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit, 27; ed. B. Pruche, Sources Chretiennes 17 (Paris, 1945), p. 234. 7 Chalcedon, Definitio fidei, Conciliorum oecumenicorum decreta (Bolognä Istituto per le Scienze Religiose, 1973), p. 84. 8 Gregory of Nyssa, In Cant. or. VI, ed. W. Jaeger (Leiden: Brill, 1960), 6:182; PG 44:893b. 9 PG 3:1045d-1048b. 10 Origen, De princ., I, 1, 6. Ed. B. Koetschau, GCS, 22. 11 Pseudo-Dionysius, Mystical Theology, PG 3:1048A. 12 Barlaam the Calabrian. Second Letter to Palamas, ed. G. Schiro, Barlaam Calabrö epistole (Palermo, 1954), p. 298—299. 13 Gregory Palamas, Triads, II, 3, 67; ed. J. Meyendorff (Louvain: Spicilegium Sacrum Lovaniense, 1959), p. 527. 14 Ibid., 53; p.493. 15 Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on EC., sermon 7; PG 44:732d; ed. W. Jaeger (Leiden: Brill, 1962) 5:415—416; trans. H. Musurillo in From Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa " s Mystical Writings (New York: Scribner, 1961), p. 129. 16 Цепи (греч.) 17 Согласие отцов (лат.). 18 Ин. 1:14. 19 Цитируется по русскому синодальному переводу. В англоязычном оригинале: «Господь сотворил меня в начале трудов Своих» или «Господь создал меня перед началом трудов Своих». 20 Origen, De principiis, Praefatio 8; ed. В. Koetschau, GCS 22 (1913), 14,6—13; trans. G.W.Butterworth, On the First Principles (London: SPCK, 1936), p. 5. 21 John Chrysostom, De paenitentia, horn. 6,4; PG 49:320. 22 Emile Brehier, Histoire de la philosophic (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1931), II, 494. 23 H.A.Wolfson, The Philosophy of the Church Fathers (Cambridgë Harvard University Press, 1956), I, vi. |
| A ROC hierarch attends events marking the anniversary of the Jasenovac tragedy Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 15 September 2016 Metropolitan Aristarkh of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, visited the Serbian Orthodox Church and took part in events marking the 75thanniversary of the tragedy in Jasenovac. Photo: https://mospat.ru In 1941, the Croatian Nazi Ustashas established the largest regional system of concentration camps – Jasenovac. For the number of years, 700 thousand people were killed in it, including half a million Orthodox Serbs, 40 thousand Gypsies and 33 thousand Jews. Executed in the camps were also people suspected of anti-Fascist activities. According to some estimates, among the victims were 20 thousand children under 12. Many Serbs suffered martyrdom for their faithfulness to Orthodoxy. In 2012, the Serbian Church Bishops’ Council canonized the Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Jasenovac and their names were included in the church calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church to be commemorated on August 31 (September 13), as is established by the Serbian Orthodox Church. The events, which began on September 9, were led by His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and His Holiness Patriarch Irenaeus of Serbia. The primates of the two Churches officiated at the prayer service at the Chapel of St. Sava of Serbia in the Orthodox high school in Zagreb, Croatia. The school’s chapel, gymnasium and court were filled with a great number of the faithful. After the prayer service, a conference on ‘New Martyrs: Poly-Prospects II’ took place at the school’s assembly hall. It was opened by His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew. Metropolitan Aristarkh spoke on ‘The New Martyrs of the Church of Christ – A Moral Example of Feat (by the Example of Croatia and Kuzbas)’. On September 10, Metropolitan Aristarkh assisted the primates of the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople and Serbia in celebrating the Divine Liturgy at the St. John the Baptist Monastery in Jasenovac. Among their concelebrants were also guests from the Romanian and Polish Orthodox Churches. |
| In the Prophet Hosea, we find this definition of God: “I am God, and not man.” If God, Who has reason and will, as is clearly reflected in the Bible (3 Kings Kings] 3:28; Job 12:13, 16; Proverbs 3:19-20; Sirach 1:1, 5; 15:18, 42:21; Esaias [Isaiah] 11:2; 28:29; Luke 11:49; Romans 11:33; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 1: 21, 24; 2:7. Will of God: Psalm 106 11; Wisdom 6:4; Mark 3:35; Luke 7:30; Acts 20:27; 1 Peter 2:15; 3:17; 4:2, 19; 1 John 2:17; Romans 1:10; 8:27; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 8:5; Ephesians 5:17; 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18; Hebrews 10:36; Revelation 17:17), is not man, this means that He is a being of another order, located by His nature beyond our world. He, as philosophers and theologians say, is transcendent with respect to the world. This transcendence – that is, God’s natural distinction from the physical world – is described in the Bible by the word “Spirit.” “God is a spirit” (John 4:24. Cf., Genesis 1:2; 6:3; 41:38; Exodus 15:10; 31:3. Numbers 11:29; 23:6; 24:2; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kings Samuel] 10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:13; 19:20, 23; 2 Kings Samuel] 23:2; 3 Kings Kings] 18:12; 1 Paralipomena Chronicles] 15:1; 2 Paralipomena Chronicles] 15:1; 20: 14; 24:20; Neemias [Nehemiah] 9:20; Judith 16:14; Job 4:9; 26: 13; 33:4; Psalms 32 50 103 138 142 Wisdom of Solomon 1:7; 9:17; 12:1; Esaias [Isaiah] 11:2; 32:15; 34:16; 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 61:1; 63:10–14. Ezekiel 11:1, 5; Aggeus [Haggai] 2:5; Zacharias 4:6; 7:12; 2 Esdras 6:37; Matthew 1:20; 3:16; 4:1; 10:20; 12:31–32; 28:19. Mark 1:10, 12; 3:29; 13:11; Luke 1:35, 67; 2:26; 3:22; 4:1, 18; 11:13; 12:10, 12; John 1:32–33; 3:5–6, 8, 34; 6:63; 7:39; 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13; 20:22; Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16; 2:4, 17–18, 33, 38; 5:3, 9; 7:51; 8:29; 9:31; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2, 4; 15:28; 16:6–7; 19:6; 20:22–23, 28; 21:11; 28:25. 1 Peter 1:2, 11–12, 22; 5:5; 8:9, 11, 14–16, 23, 26–27; 11:8; 14:17; 15:13, 16, 19, 30; 1 Corinthians 2:10–14; 3:16; 6:11, 19; 12: 3–4, 8–11, 13; 15:45; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:3, 17–18; 5:5; Galatians 3:5, 14; 4: 6; Ephesians 1:13, 17; 2:18. 22; 3:5, 16; 4:30; 5:9; Philippians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 13; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timomhy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; 3:7; 6:4; 9:8, 14; 10:15, 29; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). |
| 1 См.: Максим Козлов, прот. Краткие сведения о св. Иоанне Дамаскине и его творениях//Творения прп. Иоанна Дамаскина. М., 1997. С. 8. 2 Louth A. St. John Damascene. Oxf., 2002. P. 6. 3 См.: Χρστου Π . Κ . 57; Ελληνικ Πατρολογα . Θεσσαλονκη , 1992. Τ . 5. Σ . 320. Ср.: Admonitio//PG. 94. Col. 1421. 4 Это косвенно подтверждается и в самом трактате (§ 8), где автор, а точнее — его податель, клянется «не общаться ни с кем из иноверных... особенно с маронитами». 5 Т.е. уже после начала иконоборческих споров, о чем есть слабый намек в тексте трактата (см. § 7 и прим. 40). 6 См.: Nasrallah P. J. Saint Jean de Damas. Harissa, Beyrouth, 1950. P. 139. Во вступлении автор, податель этого исповедания веры, действительно обращается к какому-то архиерею, не называя его по имени, а в конце (§ 8) выражает свое послушание ему и митрополии Дамаска. 7 По-видимому, речь идет о Петре, митрополите Дамаска. См. предисловие. 8 Иер. 11:19. В синод. пер.: «как кроткий агнец». См. также: Иоанн Дамаскин, прп. Гомилия на Великую Субботу. 21//PG. 96. Col. 617с. 9 Ср.: Мф. 12:19. 10 Ср.: Ос. 4:16. 11 По всей видимости, попросив митрополита Петра избавить его от обязанности составить это исповедание веры, епископ Илия (податель исповедания) не получил такого разрешения. 12 Ср.: Мф. 16:19. 13 Ср.: Деян. 2:36. 14 Ср.: Втор. 32:1. 15 Перевод по конъектуре. 16 Ср.: ДионисийАреопагит. О божественных именах. 1. 1//Corpus Dionysiacum, I Hrsg. v. B. R. Suchla. B.; N. Y., 1990. S. 109. (PTS; 33); Иоанн Дамаскин, прп. Изложение веры. I 8//PG. 94. Col. 821a; Там же. I 12//PG. 94. Col. 848b. 17 Ср.: Дионисий Ареопагит. О божественных именах. 2. 4//Corpus Dionysiacum, I. S. 126; Иоанн Дамаскин, прп. Изложение веры. I 8//PG. 94. Col. 808d; Там же. II 2//PG. 94. Col. 864c. 18 Ср.: Григорий Богослов, свт. Слово 38. 7//PG. 36. Col. 317b; Слово 45. 3//PG. 36. Col. 625c; Иоанн Дамаскин, прп. Изложение веры. I 9//PG. 94. Col. 836b. 19 Ср.: Григорий Нисский, свт. О жизни Моисея. 2. 163. 8; Дионисий Ареопагит. О мистическом богословии. 1. 3; 2//Corpus Dionysiacum, II Hrsg. v. G. Heil, A. M. Ritter. B.; N. Y., 1991. S. 143—145. (PTS; 36). |
| Discourse On the Day of the Baptism of Christ We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany—everyone knows; but what this is—Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful—every year to celebrate the feastday and not know its reason. First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety —and about the future: Awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Tit 2:11-13). And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: The sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord (Joel 2:31). Why is not that day, on which the Lord was born, considered Theophany—but rather this day on which He was baptised? This present day it is, on which He was baptised and sanctified the nature of water. Because on this day all, having obtained the waters, do carry it home and keep it all year, since today the waters are sanctified; and an obvious phenomenon occurs: these waters in their essence do not spoil with the passage of time, but obtained today, for one whole year and often for two or three years, they remain unharmed and fresh, and afterwards for a long time do not stop being water, just as that obtained from the fountains. Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all—not then when He was born—but then when He was baptised. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? And I —said he— knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptise with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptiseth in the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:33). |
| On the Thousand Year Reign (Chiliasm) Ch. 16 from The Truth of Our Faith by Elder Cleopa of Romania Archimandrite Cleopa (Ilie) Today and tomorrow we are presenting a series of four articles on the heresy of Chiliasm, or Millennialsm—that is, that Christ will have a literal, earthly kingdom lasting for 1,000 years at the end of time. This belief, popular amongst many Protestants today, arises from a misinterpretation of Scripture, and our saints and holy elders hold for us the key to properly understanding Scripture, and the end times, as far as it is given to us to know. The first article is an excerpt from The Truth of Our Faith: A Discourse from Holy Scripture on the Teachings of True Christianity, by Elder Cleopa of Romania (Greece: Uncut Mountain Press , 2000). Inquirer : There are those who maintain that between the Second Coming of the Lord and the end of the world Christ will reign upon the earth, governing, Himself, along with His elect for a thousand years. What is the truth of the matter, Father? Elder Cleopa: This idea is an ancient one. In the first centuries of Christianity it was endorsed by the so-called Chiliasts or Millenialists. Against them rose the entire ancient Church and its most important representatives. The divine Fathers of the Church indicated in their writings that the one thousand year reign referred to in the book of Revelation signifies an infinite number of years, i.e. a kingdom that shall have no end. This we know well since from Holy Scripture it is clear that the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). In Holy Scripture it is clearly indicated that the Kingdom of Heaven is also the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Christ, in so much as both Saint John the Forerunner and Christ Himself called it so. This Kingdom of Christ will be spiritual and will reign over the internal world of man, while externally being revealed in the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Christ Himself established this kingdom and explained in His parables how it will appear, who it will include and what power it will possess. His reign will not endure for a thousand years, but eternally (Lk. 1:33). Its inhabitants will include all faithful Christians from all the peoples of the world (Ps. 116:1-2), it will reign over all creation, and it will be a kingdom of righteousness (Dan. 7:13-14). It will be a kingdom made up of souls (Mt. 28:18)—souls that have already entered and lived within it in this present life. |
| 27. The Great Entrance. A History of the Transfer of Gifts and other Preanaphoral Rites of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (OCA 200, Rome: PIO 1975) xl + 485 pp. 28. “Évolution historique de la Liturgie de Saint Jean Chrysostome,” ch. 4: “L’encensement et le lavabo,” POC 25 (1975) 274-299. 1976 г. 29. “Bibliographie J.-M. Hanssens S.J.,” OCP 42 (1976) 234-240. 30. Eastern-Rite Catholicism. Its Heritage and Vocation (New York: John XXIII Ecumenical Center, Fordham University 1976) (2nd edition of no. 4). 31. “De Geest van de Oosterse Liturgie,” Het Christelijk Oosten (Nijmegen, Holland) 28 (1976) 229-245 (Dutch version of no. 33). 32. Review of Christine Strube, Die westliche Eingangsseite der Kirchen von Konstantinopel in justinianischer Zeit. Architektonische und quellenkritische Untersuchungen (Schriften zur Geistesgeschichte des östlichen Europa, Bd. 6. Wiesbaden 1973), OCP 42 (1976) 296-303. 1977 г. 33. “The Spirit of Eastern Christian Worship,” Diakonia 12 (1977) 103-120. 34. “How Liturgies Grow: The Evolution of the Byzantine ‘Divine liturgy’,” OCP 43 (1977) 355-377. 1978 г. 35. “‘Thanksgiving for the Light.’ Toward a Theology of Vespers,” Diakonia 13 (1978) 27-50. 36. Eastern-Rite Catholicism. Its Heritage and Vocation (New York: John XXIII Ecumenical Center, Fordham University 1978) (reprint of no. 30). 37. “The Structural Analysis of Liturgical Units: An Essay in Methodology,” Worship 52 (1978) 314-329. 38. “A Short Course in Culture: The Carpatho-Ruthenian Cultural Seminar on Cassettes,” Diakonia 13 (1978) 168-175. 39. The Great Entrance. A History of the Transfer of Gifts and other Preanaphoral Rites of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (2nd, revised edition, OCA 200, Rome: PIO 1978) xlii + 490 pp (revised ed. of no. 27). 1979 г. 40. “Antiphonal Singing,” in P.K. Meagher, T.C. O’Brien, C.M. Ahearne (eds.), Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion (Washington, DC: Corpus Publications 1979) 1:203. 41. “Calendar, Chaldean,” ibid. 1:585-586. 42. “Concelebration,” ibid. 1:858-859. |
| 31 О ней см. у И. В. Бажанова, предыдущее примечание. 32 См. ниже, в трактате «О парусин». 33 Prof. Ernst Lohmeyer: Die Offenbarung des Johannes, S. 13. 34 Prof. Theodor Lahn: Einleitung in das Neue Testament, II. Leipzig, 2, 1907, S. 604; Prof. Ernst Lohmeyer: Die Offenbarung des Johannes, S. 189, 194. 35 Для них см. на русском языке магистерскую диссертацию доцента Московской Духовной Академии А. А. Жданова: Откровение Господа о семи Асийских церквах. Опыт изъяснения первых трех глав Апокалипсиса. Москва, 1891. 36 Cp. R. H. Charles: A commentary on the Revelation of St. John, I, p. 142, 348. 37 Об Ефесе во времена Апостола Павла см. R. P. R. Tonneau в Revue Biblique Internationale», XXXVIII, 1: 1-er Janvier 1929, p. 5—34. 38 См. о сем у А. А. Жданова: Откровение Господа о семи Асийских церквах, стр. 96, 97. 39 См. в Апокалипсисе VII, 1: Ангелы держащие четыре ветра земли; XIV, 18: Ангел имеющий власть над огнем; XVI, 5: Ангел вод. 40 См. у проф. А. А. Глаголева: Ветхозаветное библейское учение об Ангелах: опыт библейско-богословского исследования. Киев, 1900, стр. 372—80. 41 Ср. у В. В. Четыркина: Апокалипсис св. Иоанна Богослова, стр. 179. – А. А. Жданов: Откровение Господа о семи Асийских церквах, стр. 107. 42 А. А. Жданов: Откровение Господа о семи Асийских церквах, стр. 103. 43 D-r Friedrich Bleek: Vorlesungen über die Apokalypse. Herausgegeben von Lic. Th. Hossbach, Berlin, 1862, S. 167; Prof. P. Fr. Sales Tiefenthal: Die Apokalypse des Hl. Johannis. Paderborn, 1892, S. 143; Robert Kuebel: Die Offenbarung Johannis, für bibelforschende Christ zur Lehre und Erbauung übersetzt und erklärt. M ü nchen, 1895, S. 39. 44 Но υλ χις не указывает непременно на actuelle Verfolgung, см. у Prof. Ernst Lohmeyer: Die Offenbarung des Johannis, S. 13. 45 Cp. Robert Kuebel: Die Offenbarung Johannis, S. 52. 46 Термин συναγωγ сам по себе не заключает в себе ничего укоризненного, но легко мог получить такое применение, – иногда даже по религиозно-конфессиональному фанатизму, когда, напр., «Конгрегация пропаганды» и ее миссионеры нередко называли православные церкви «синагогами» (как и кальвинские). (Проф. Е. Ф. Шмурло: Римская Курия на русском православном востоке в 1609—1654 гг. Прага, 1928, стр. 34,134). |
| Proof of the fact that this woman had just such thoughts when she confessed before the Lord and was healed, are contained in the Lord’s words: “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 8:48). This was the only woman who was deemed worthy for the Lord to call her “daughter.” To others, the Lord said “O woman, great is thy faith” (Matthew 15:28). In two other instances, the Lord called women daughters, but differently: after healing the woman hunch-backed for eighteen years in the Temple, whom He called “daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:16), and when He was being led to His crucifixion, He saw the women of Jerusalem weeping over Him, and he addressed them with the words “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23:26). This blessed woman earned the name of “daughter” from the Lord. In general, during the Lord’s time on earth, He called people “children” only in those instances when He drew back the curtain of His Divinity. And so, He told the man sick of the palsy “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2), and then to the bewilderment of those within earshot, explained that He is the One who has the power to release sin, that is, God; He then called Zacchaeus “also a son of Abraham” after Zacchaeus had confessed his faith and his repentance (Luke 19:8); before His sufferings, speaking to His disciples about His Divinity, the Lord said “Little children! Yet a little while I am with you” (John 13:33). When the Lord, following His Resurrection, appeared to His disciples as God, He directly calls them His children: “Children, have ye any meat?” In this way, the Lord, calling the woman He healed “daughter,” shows that she indeed possessed the saving faith, for, as Holy Evangelist John the Theologian bears witness, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). |
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