:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Friday, February 27, 2004 ::

Communion and Otherness

As Alastair notes, those who have not yet read Met. John Zizioulas' magnus opus, "Being as Communion", will find this short but profound article a helpful introduction.

The whole piece is a money quote but here is a nice gem that sums it up: "one person is no person." (Or to twist a Sartrian phrase: "*Heaven* is other people.")

I'll have more on this issue in Part IV of my notes from Fr. Dn. John's talks...stay tuned.

:: Karl :: 9:02:00 PM [Link] ::

Notes Part III: Spiritual Direction

* We really must open up our lives and souls to at least one other person. This is the clear teaching of the desert fathers and the only way to be healed of the passions in Orthodox soteriology.

* We need others to repent. Nothing in the Christian life is done alone, even repentance of one's own sins. Our "private" actions and thoughts deeply wound those around us, even if we don't see it.

* The analogy of the spokes on a wheel by St. Dorotheos: the closer we are to God the closer we are to each other.

* Our passions, pain, struggles are the starting points of our strength. Our sins are *the key* reminder to live and turn to God. The fact that we have the power to sin shows us we also have the power to become "partakers of the divine nature."

:: Karl :: 7:48:00 AM [Link] ::

Notes from Fr. Dn. John Part II: Journey to the Kingdom

* When we sing "Lord, have mercy" in the Liturgy all we are really saying is "Lord, we are sinners. Be unto us as you always are."

* Facing and accepting our weakness is the first step to finding God's grace. The most important thing we have to be thankful for is our limitations. Our brokenness is what we have to offer to Him.

* As St. Isaac the Syrian says, "Where do you get the idea that the afflictions on the path do not belong to the path? Do you not wish to follow in the footsteps of the saints? Do you want to travel by some special path of your own, one that does not involve suffering? The path to God is a daily cross. No one has ascended to heaven by way of ease. We know where the easy way leads!"

* This line is an amazing comfort: "It is not in vain, nor without reason, that we are subject to illness." (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statutes)

:: Karl :: 7:51:00 AM [Link] ::

Repentance and the Renewal of Baptism

These are some quodlibets from one of the talks given by Fr. Dn. John earlier this month on "Repentance as Resurrection":

* The beginning of repentance is already the beginning of resurrection.

* Our sacramental birth into the life of the Church is the beginning of our life of repentance. But repentance is actually forward looking, not backward. It does not "tally up our naughty deeds" but rather looks toward new life. "Forgetting what lies behind..."

* Repentance is an invitation to accountability. It is, as St. John Climacus puts it, "a renewal of baptism." In fact, the Orthodox Christian life is nothing more (and nothing less) than the uncovering and nurturing of the grace of our Baptism.

* The word evil is "live" spelled backward--refusal to repent is the very opposite of life

* Before we can experience the resurrection we need to actually face evil. This is why the candidate for baptism first faces the west, where the shadows of the rising sun fall. This is symbolic of the reality that the catechumen is facing in their life; the confrontation and "eye-to-eyeness" with sins.

* We must say "No" to evil before we can turn to Christ.

Update: Seraphim also has a series of notes on repentance

:: Karl :: 8:10:00 AM [Link] ::

Forgiveness Sunday and Lent Around the Orthodox Blogosphere

Tonight marks the beginning of Great Lent for Orthodox Christians.

I humbly ask for forgiveness of my sins from you my dear readers. I especially ask of those whom I have offended, misunderstood, and treated without patience or charity this past year; both on and off the blogs, in word or deed. Please pray for me and let me know if there are matters yet unresolved between us.

I will not be going cold-turkey on blogging this Lent (as one should only make vows one knows one can keep!), but I will be posting just a little less often to make more time for the Lenten journey.

Several of my fellow Ortho-bloggers are putting up edifying posts on the subject of Lent. Here are just a few:

Huw: "My sins are not 'breaking a law' but rather they are my withdrawal from communion, they disrupt my life as well as yours."

Clifton: "In just a few short hours we will ask forgiveness of everyone in the parish, and give forgiveness in turn. And then we will be prepared to go into the desert to be with out Lord, and to fight demons in his strength."

Jim: " [Lent is] understanding that our own sins contribute to humanity in much the same way a drop affects the pond into which it falls..."

Steve: "We stand at the very threshold of Lent, One foot poised in mid air..."

Peter: "When we hear the prayers in church for the armed forces, captives, and the psalm verses about our enemies let each one of us take a moment to consider how truly important those prayers really are."

Jonathan: "At various times I actually had tears, if not always down my cheeks, at least in my eyes."

R's Tower: "Watching the children as I asked for their forgiveness was humbling..."

Seraphim: Posts a piercing quote by Fr. Schmemann who writes, "the Church reveals to us that there are much subtler ways of offending Divine Love. These are indifference, selfishness, lack of interest in other people, of any real concern for them -- in short, that wall which we usually erect around ourselves, thinking that by being 'polite' and 'friendly' we fulfill God's commandments."

:: Karl :: 8:03:00 PM [Link] ::

A Classical Education

Agia Sophia Academy will be the very first Orthodox Christian school in Oregon.

"Our Mission ... is to educate the mind, body, and soul according to the Tradition of the Orthodox Christian Faith and the ideals of Classical Wisdom. Our vision is to develop and sustain a Pan-Orthodox, K-12, Faith-based, private educational ministry in Portland, Oregon."

A classical education based on the Trivium model combined with a holistic Orthodox environment and an integrated Christian curriculum is something I wish I would have had as a student.

My wife is intimately involved in the school as a key member of the curriculum committee and we are excited to see this project finally come together.

More on this in days to come ...

:: Karl :: 7:58:00 AM [Link] ::

Ontological Change and Iconography: A Debate with Josh

Josh, feisty as ever and always good for an intense discussion, takes issue with a recent post of mine. My response grew so long that I've turned it into a post. Feel free to chime in because much more could be said!

Josh writes, "Karl will probably retort that the Holy Spirit has inspired and guided EO icon painting..."

Yes, I will because that is our teaching. While you may find that ridiculous, how do *you* know that the Orthodox understanding is false or that God did not guide the Church in this area? Your assumptions are just as subjective and a priori accepted. I'd be more interested in why you think what I wrote was actually false.

"I might as well start making theological statements with my own blog as an authoritative source."

You can. As long as they accord and are consubstantial with the teachings and truth given to the Church by Christ, they will be correct and truthful. Do you read anything other than the Bible or what you would consider "authoritative"? Does truth exist at all in other cultures/religions/etc? Nothing in the icons contradicts the Gospel you know....unless of course you come at them from outside the very tradition both were birthed from.

"The fact that Easterns paint icons a certain way doesn't prove anything about God or heaven."

Nothing rational, logical, or human *proves* anything about the eternal at all. God is totally beyond all human reasoning. Creating irrefutable philosophical proofs isn't what the Faith is about and it isn't what icons are for. What icons (and everything created by humans) do is point to truth, guide us to the eternal, give us a way of communing with God that is, as the Fathers say, "proper to our created nature." (Remember St. John of Damascus-- "I do not worship matter, but the God who became matter for my sake...")

"How do you know which experience has divine authority?"

Because certain experiences, teachings, and ways of living produce holiness and Christ centeredness and others don't (or at least not as well). The track record of Orthodoxy is pretty darn impressive and can be personally experienced by those who choose it themselves. Which leads to your next question:

"Is ontological change possible?"

The fact that modern Christians seriously ask these kinds of questions is one of those foundational differences between Orthodox and heterodox: We really believe Jesus wasn't kidding when he said "be ye perfect" and we really believe St. Paul when he says "pray without ceasing." The very essence of what it means to be a Christian is about ontological change...this *is* the Good News of the Gospel.

"I've yet to meet a Christian who has ceased to be a created human..."

Me too. Being ontologically changed, becoming truly sanctified, makes one *more* human, not less. This is clearly the teaching of all the Fathers.

I wrote: "The ascetic life of the Church is the key to encouraging and cultivating the beauty of creation."

Josh responded: "No, certain events a short walk outside of Jerusalem about 2000 years ago are."

The ascetic, liturgical, iconographic, and sacramental way of life in the Orthodox Church is the way given to us by God that we participate and "remember" (literally in Greek, to make present again) these events *in our life now* ... Christianity isn't a history book or an intellectual game. Jesus living 2000 years ago doesn't do anything for me unless I am able to have Christ living in me today. The Church, as Christ's Body, is where Christianity becomes "relevant."

"Jesus did not found monasteries or institute fasts..."

"When you fast" is what Jesus said, not "if you decide to fast".... Fasting is a commandment of God, not a silly pious thing we do to pass the time. Jesus did not found monasteries you are correct. But his disciples and future followers did. They also founded hospitals and schools and I doubt very seriously that these are to be avoided simply because Christ himself didn't build them with his own hands during his earthly ministry!

"I don't care how Fatherly your Desert Father is, he doesn't have the authority to add to Christ's revelation."

How do you know they are adding? From our POV, they simply live out Christ's teachings. The saints incarnate them, as we are to do in our lives. "The fullness of the faith was once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). The Church Fathers simply show us how to uncover this treasure.

Update: Tim writes, "Josh leans on scripture as an authoritative source and rejects the icons, but I'd say his concerns also apply to the scriptures."

Update 2: Josh attempts a rebuttal but, as Christopher Jones noted, doesn't do a very good job. More strawmen than I know what to do with! More on this later....

Update 3: I've offered a quick, 5 part response to Josh's first rebuttal in the comments section of that post.

Update 4: Josh has offered an 11 point summation of his position.

Update 5: Sockmonk critiques Josh's 11 point thesis.

Update 6: Thomas has a truly stunning post on "eschatological realism" that ties very nicely into this discussion about icons and gives, as Christopher Jones quotes, a "point of contact between the Lutheran vision and Orthodox Tradition."

:: Karl :: 11:12:00 AM [Link] ::

A Cosmic Liturgy: Notes on an Orthodox Vision of Ecology

These are some scattered notes from the talk given by Fr. John Chryssavgis Sunday night:

* Faces in icons are always frontal--the eyes always look out, look forward toward us, inviting us inward. They are alive and present. Icons show us that we must face the world with our eyes open.

* Icons speak to us here and now the language of the age to come. They reveal the eternal perspective of reality, the reveal the world as intended by God.

* The celebration of communion between heaven and earth...in the liturgy we receive the world from God with blessing and return it back to him in thanksgiving.

* Creation is a "silent sermon" or as St. Maximos the Confessor so beautifully put it, a "cosmic liturgy".

* We relate to icons and liturgy & our world by who we are, not merely what we do. We must seek an ontological change in our care of creation, not merely a "rise in stewardship" or "ethical programs"

* The ascetic life of the Church is the key to encouraging and cultivating the beauty of creation. It is "traveling light on the earth"... We are not to be "tyrannical overlords" but rather in fasting, we are free from compulsion and self-centered living.

* Human being are the only animals who do not know how to say "No" or "Enough"....Creation seeks one thing from us: that we remain truly human.

Update: David Heddle links to this post at blogs4God and says, "I think ecology/environment is fascinating topic for Christians to debate. In many (but by no means all, and perhaps especially among American Christians) it creates an interesting tension between conservative free-market politics and stewardship of God's earth." I agree.

:: Karl :: 8:08:00 AM [Link] ::

Traveling With a Theologian

It was truly a blessing to spend the weekend with Fr. Dn. John Chryssavgis. I even had the incredible privilege of spending the entire day and evening with him on Sunday. I was able to travel, eat, and converse with him as we made our way down to another conference in Eugene.

He is the epitome of class, humility, intelligence, and wit and there is no doubt the Orthodox Church could use more theologians like Fr. John.

We need people who serve the Church in humility without the need for power; intellectuals who have allowed the Church's ascetic life to shape and direct their gifts; family men who realize the proper balance between the various responsibilities we have in life; and Christians who respect, understand, and live out the paradoxes of the Orthodox vision.

Notes and thoughts are forthcoming on:

*Saturday's retreat on "Repentance as Resurrection"
*Sunday's homily on The Last Judgment (he served as the deacon in our parish)
* Sunday evening's talk on "Iconography, Liturgy and Ecology: An Orthodox Worldview"

:: Karl :: 10:27:00 AM [Link] ::

Prayer and Silence

I love this line from Fr. Dn. John's new book on the desert fathers:

Prayer conditions our works, silence conditions our words.

Then this classic from the Fathers: "Abba Theophilus, the archbishop of Alexandria, came to Scetis one day. The brothers who were assembled said to Abba Pambo: 'Say something to the archbishop, so that he may be edified.' The old man said to them: 'If he is not edified by my silence, then he will not be edified by my words.'"

:: Karl :: 5:56:00 PM [Link] ::

Patience in Suffering

I've been re-reading sections from a book on the Orthodox understanding of illness and finding great gems.

"Abba Seridos was gravely ill one day, afflicted with a high fever that would not subside. Nevertheless, he did not ask God to heal him or even lessen his suffering. He asked only that God would grant him endurance and a spirit of thanksgiving."

This, of course, does not exclude the petitions for healing. However, the Fathers clearly teach that, while illness is a product of the Fall and is contrary to our nature, physical suffering is used by God to bring about repentance and the healing of our souls. For us to profit from our sickness we must see it through God's eyes. As St. Gregory of Nazianzuz writes,

"I don't wish ... that you should agonize over your suffering as if it were incurable or irredeemable. Rather I should want you to be philosophical about your suffering and show yourself superior to the cause of your affliction, beholding in the illness a superior way towards what is ultimately good for you."

The "superior way" for us is the path of the virtues. In times of illness, a Eucharistic attitude (1 Thess. 5:18) is both a means toward God and the telos of our life. Abba Poemen says,

"If three men meet, and one preserves interior peace, the second gives thanks to God in illness, and the third serves with purity of thought, these three accomplish the same work."

:: Karl :: 8:58:00 AM [Link] ::

2004 Marriage Retreat Notes

While I haven't had time to write a full post on the marriage retreat the wife and I went on in late January, I do have some Pascal-like "Penses" for you to mull over:

* At the wedding of Cana, Jesus shows marriage to be blessed by attending and performing his first miracle there. Marriage is a part of the kingdom and it is the means of our salvation.

* Marriage is a "blessed cross". We are held accountable for how we handle the grace we receive in our marriage.

* The home is a "little Church" (St. John Chrysostom). It is possible to lift up a portion of society when we fulfill our calling as husband and wife.

* Jesus loved and obeyed his Father, he emptied himself and he loved the whole world. This 3 part action is also the way of life of a married person. By loving/respecting our spouse, by emptying ourselves of all pride and self-love and by "using our abundance for those in need" (as the Marriage service says) we imitate Jesus.

* Marriage and monasticism are two sides of the same coin. Everyone who enters the monastic life will tell you they did it "to save their souls." How many of us can say the same reason motivated us to get married? Do we see our marriages as the primary means by which our souls will be saved?

* The word "spouse" in Greek means, literally, "co-yoked." Would we yoke together oxen who wanted to move in opposite directions? In marriage, we must be united spiritually.

* Headship in marriage relates to function rather than value. Jesus did not regard equality something to be grasped but emptied himself....so also in marriage neither spouse should seek equality with one another but should seek to be the servant of all.

Notes and essays on last year's marriage retreat can be found here:
Part III
Part II
Part I
Monastic Wisdom: The Martyrdom of Marriage

:: Karl :: 8:23:00 AM [Link] ::

Repentance As Resurrection

"Repentance is a fundamentally joyous, restorative return to life in its fullness. The repent is to awaken from the sleep of ignorance, to rediscover our soul, to gain the meaning and purpose of our lives by resounding to the incomparable love of the One who is 'not of this world,' the One who 'demonstrates His own love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'"

Fr. John Chryssavgis is coming to my parish to give a spiritual retreat on Saturday 2/14. He is a world-renowned Orthodox theologian and author of many books on the Orthodox Christian faith and spiritual life. He is a native Australian, has a doctorate from Oxford (where he studued under Bishop Kallistos Ware), and teaches Dogmatic Theology at Holy Cross.

Fr. John is one of the best lecturers/speakers I have ever heard (he came to Portland about 3 years ago for a Lenten retreat). He is erudite yet humble; an intellectual yet practical and accessible. I highly recommend this retreat to all of my Northwest readers.

The schedule is as follows:
Matins 8:30am
Liturgy 9:30am
Brunch 11:30am
First Presentation (w/ Q&A) 12:30pm
Second Presentation (w/ Q&A) 2:30pm
Vespers following the presentations

:: Karl :: 8:05:00 AM [Link] ::

The Passion of the Christ

The Orthodox with whom I've conversed have wildly opposing views on whether Mel Gibson's film is worth seeing.

The reading I've done and the conversations I've had prove there are almost as many positions as people. Even among the more well-known Orthodox there is a wide range of opinion. Case in point:

Father Patrick Henry Reardon gives it a thumbs up.

Frederica Mathews-Green gives it a thumbs down.

I've only read a small portion of the massive amount of material and commentary on the film, both pro and con, from non-Orthodox writers. It is enough to make one's head swim.

At this point I have conflicting thoughts about the film on a variety of levels and can't decide if I want to see it. So here is your question for the weekend: Do you plan on seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"? Why or why not?

:: Karl :: 7:44:00 AM [Link] ::

Health Update

My unexpected hospital visit, along with one of the cars breaking down this morning, has thrown a real wrench into my week. Come on, help me say it: "Glory to God for All Things!"

In the last 24 hours I've received several requests for a health update: Recovery is slow but coming along. Sitting for long stretches increases the pain dramatically but I was able to sleep last night with minimal pain medication. The antibiotics, while fighting the infection, make the underlying disease worse by destroying the good bacteria in my intestines. I covet your prayers.

At some point this week I need to write a paper for my Greek History class comparing Herodotus and Homer as historians. Of course it might help if I actually finish reading Herodutus first!

I'm going to try and get the weekly Ortho-Cache up at blogs4God later this afternoon and hopefully will be able to get back to regular posting here in the next couple of days. I've got several posts in the works as well as a series on the recent marriage retreat. Stay tuned....

Update: No cache this week. I have neither the time nor the energy today. Look for it next week...

:: Karl :: 11:51:00 AM [Link] ::

The Trials of Bodily Illness

I woke up Monday feeling fine, albeit a little tired. By 1am Tuesday morning I was in the emergency room watching a nurse inject a second shot of morphine into my IV.

Such is the transience and mutability of our earthly lives.

After several examinations and tests, including a full ultrasound, it turned out that cancer or immediate surgery could be taken off the list of worries. I was blessed (truly!) with only having an extremely painful bacterial infection -- most likely a result of my chronic intestinal disease.

During down time waiting for the doctor or test results, I was able to prop myself up in bed and delve into a new book by Fr. John Chryssavgis (who is coming to give a retreat later this month at our parish): "In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers."

One thing the desert fathers say is that physical pain is a trial allowed by God to test those who lack patience and humility. God certainly knows what I need!

As Great Lent approaches, this bit of wisdom from one of the preeminent desert mothers (Amma Syncletica) says it well: "If illness weighs us down, let us not be sorrowful as though, because of the illness and the prostration of our bodies, we could not sing, for all these things are for our good, for the purification of our desires. Truly fasting and sleeping on the ground are set before us because of our sensuality. If illness then weakens this sensuality, the reason for these ascetic practices is superfluous."

"For this is the great asceticism: to be self-controlled in illness and to sing hymns of thanksgiving to God."

:: Karl :: 7:36:00 AM [Link] ::

A Cornucopia of Randomness

* Like we did last year at this time, the wife and I were at the annual parish marriage seminar over the weekend. I will be posting some notes and thoughts on this later in the week

* Much could be said about this, but I love the "icons and other navigational aids" part...

* "Would you like to go on pilgrimage? Are you hungry for contact with Orthodox Christians from countries with a rich traditional heritage? Do you want to know how they pray, how they raise their families, how they face life's difficulties, and how they serve God?"

* Today is one of the 12 major Feasts of the Church: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple. There is something very powerful about starting one's day in the darkness of the early morning, in a candle-lit church with a small group of people singing the Liturgy...

:: Karl :: 7:27:00 AM [Link] ::