My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE VALUE OF HUMAN DIGNITY AND MODESTY
DIGNITY: The presence of poise and self-respect in one’s
deportment to a degree that inspires respect.
MODESTY: Reserve or propriety in speech, dress or
behavior. Lack of pretentiousness. Quiet and
humble in appearance. Moderate; not extreme.
"keeping due measure."
[American Heritage Dictionary]
The Christian perspective on human dignity and modesty, and good conduct, throughout the centuries, has been consistent and unaltered. Christian men and women were alway guided by the Divine teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and His commandments. Christianity taught specific values, virtues, and principles that all believers followed willingly and faithfully. The Christian man and woman maintained a noble attitude, character, and morality which reflected their Christian faith. Just by their behavior, dress, and dignity others would know who they were.
The holy Apostle Paul presents the true Christian spirit of good conduct: "Do not let your adornment be MERELY OUTWARD–arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel–rather let it be THE HIDDEN PERSON OF THE HEART, WTH THE INCORRUPTIBLE BEAUTY OF A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT, WHICH IS VERY PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD" (1 Peter 3:4). Our goal of a disciple of Christ is to always strive to honor and please God. Therefore, the attitude, the life, and conduct of the Christian is to bring glory to our Heavenly Father and not to ever offend him.
The Orthodox Christian’s allegiance is only to our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ and no one else. We, as faithful followers of Christ, conform only to His teachings and instructions of how we should live in this world and how to prepare spiritually for His Heavenly Kingdom. "Christ also suffered for us LEAVING US AN EXAMPLE THAT YOU SHOULD FOLLOW His steps’ ‘ (1 Peter 2:21). Furthermore, according to the holy Apostle Peter, our ultimate loyalty. and obedience is to Christ and His Gospel. Our commitment and obedience to the Almighty God must be unyielding and uncompromising, even to the point of imprisonment and death. We see this manifested with the countless of Christian Martyrs throughout the centuries.
The secular and unbelieving world, however, has refused or resisted to accept Christ and His gospel. Instead, it has attempted again and again to interfere and much more, to infiltrate Christianity and to transform it and if possible to destroy it. Atheists and tyrants have viewed Christianity as an obstacle to their global aspirations and a threat to their sinister agenda. The evil one and his minions do not want God to rule the world but evil and disharmony to prevail. We witness this conflict every century in human history.
What the unbelieving populace does not understand is that Jesus Christ is not another man who happened to form another religion but, instead, God in the flesh Who came from Heaven to save us mankind from evil and death. Jesus Christ fulfilled and accompli16:shed His Divine Mission on earth and through His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection saved humanity. We must never lose sight of this very fact! Having made this important point, it is expected that the Orthodox Christian adhere to the Divine Teachings of the Lord and maintain his/her faith strong and resilient.
Christian men and women must not be swayed by the enticements and philosophies, ideologies and corruption of the world. Christianity cannot be diluted or mixed with secular ideology and teachings. Some heterodox people have allowed this and the result has been disastrous. There is no neutrality between the Christian Church and the persecution of the Christian people. The Gentile world and society have found the Christian lifestyle as repulsive and undesirable. However, we will not allow an atheistic society to dictate rules and norms to us Christians. Jesus declares: "And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (His Church)" [Matthew 16:18].
Saint Paul directing his attention to the Christian men and women says, "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves IN MODEST APPAREL with PROPRIETY and MODERATION and not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." (1 Timothy 2:8-10). Prayer must be united with quiet and godly behavior. Men should not distract women and women should distract men at worship. In Orthodox churches in order to prevent any distraction between the sexes, the churches had the "Gynaikeion" (Greek: Γυναικωνίτης), the part of the church dedicated to women for worshipping. The separation between men and women to avoid any distraction.
Much of what has been said is simply common sense. All the faithful are assembled together for no other reason than to worship our God the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Divine Liturgy is the great central act of Orthodox Christian worship, offered to God for the benefit of the members of the Church, the Christians. No Orthodox Christian should enter the consecrated House of God without the proper attire and a humble demeanor. The Orthodox Christian man, woman, and children believe that in the Divine Liturgy our Lord IS PRESENT: first in the person of His priest, secondly, in His Logos/Word which is read in the Church, and thirdly, according to His promise: "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Lastly, He is really and truly present upon the altar under the appearance of the consecrated Bread and Wine. He reminds the faithful: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the FLESH of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day…" (John 6:34-56). Having said this, no Orthodox Christian can attend the divine services unprepared spiritually, physically and with the proper frame of mind and spirit. However, we are remind by the Lord Christ through the Parable of the Wedding Banquet that all are invited to attend the joyous celebration but with the appropriate garment: "But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment… Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away…For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:1-14). In the Church, "the wedding garment," is true repentance and righteousness–the way of salvation–gained by the grace of God.
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 