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.

MAKING SALVATION ONE’S OWN
By Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Hierotheos

There are no privileged categories that can travel towards theosis (deification). The cure and theosis (deification) of man IS ACHIEVED, ON THE ONE HAND, BY THE SACRAMENTAL LIFE, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, BY THE ASCETIC LIFE WHICH WE LIVE IN THE CHURCH.

I would like to emphasize this fact particularly. All the Holy Fathers teach THAT MAN’S SALVATION IS A COMBINATION OF SACRAMENTS AND ASCETICISM. We cannot understand the Mysteries (Sacraments) WITHOUT ASCETICISM IN CHRIST, AND WE CANNOT LIVE A REAL ASCETIC LIFE WITHOUT THE MYSTERIES (SACRAMENTS) OF THE CHURCH. Moreover, THE WHOLE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IS AN EXPERIENCE OF A GREAT MYSTERY. ASCETICISM IS IN REALITY EXPERIENCE OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF CHRIST WHICH IS ATTAINED BY PARTAKING IN THE PURIFYING, ILLUMINATING, AND DEIFYING ENERGY OF GOD. Insofar, as anyone experiences the purifying, illuminating and deifying energy of God, he is experiencing rightly, the SACRAMENTAL (MYSTERIAKY) LIFE.

I say this because in our time a great deal is being said about the sacramental life, THE EUCHARISTIOLOGICAL LIFE is being much emphasized. This is very good. But, unfortunately, the ascetic tradition of the Church is being overlooked. Saint Gregory Palamas, as well as all the other Holy Fathers was a catholic theologian, and therefore he made a parallel struggle against the Massalians who overemphasized the hesychastic life at the expense of the sacraments, and against Barlaam, who overemphasized the sacramental life at the expense of the hesychastic life. This is essential to be emphasized.

THE BEGINNING OF OUR EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION IS ACHIEVED BY HOLY BAPTISM, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED AN INTRODUCTORY SACRAMENT, BECAUSE IT INTRODUCES US TO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH, WHICH IS LIFE IN CHRIST AT THE SAME TIME. Butin the early Church Baptism was PRECEDED BY PURIFICATION. THE EXORCISMS ALSO HAVE THIS MEANING…

So it seems that the Catechumens go through the stage of purification and the Catechists were the exorcists who had the special blessing of the Church to do this work. Through catechesis the catechumens passed the stage of purification, when by Holy Baptism and by Chrismation THEY EXPERIENCED THE ILLUMINATING ENERGY OF GOD, DISCOVERED THEIR NOUS, THEIR NOETIC ENERGY MOVED NATURALLY AND SUPRANATURALLY, AND FOR THIS REASON BAPTISM IS CALLED ILLUMINATION.

If we study the New Testament carefully, especially the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, we shall be convinced that really it is speaking about PURIFICATION, ILLUMINATION AND THEOSIS (DEIFICATION). Some passages refer to the stage of purification,some to the stage of illumination and others to the stage of theosis (deification)…

At all events it is a fact that all people have the possibility OF ATTAINING THEOSIS (DEIFICATION), PROVIDED THAT ALL ARE CATECHIZED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH AND THEN BAPTIZED AND ANOINTED AND HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF Holy Communion. Hence, in the Church THERE IS ONE COMMON WAY OF LIFE, relatively speaking, of course.

With BAPTISM and CHRISMATION A NEW LIFE BEGINS. But this life must be continued and increased. Ths NEW LIFE is expressed and energized by THREE BASIC FACTORS: BY APPLYING THE COMMANDMENTS OF CHRIST, BY DIVINE COMMUNION AND BY PRAYER.

The COMMANDMENTS OF CHRIST are mentioned by all the points on man’s journey towards theosis (deification). We have been accustomed to regarding the commandments as legalistic orders, to which we must adapt our life. Without excluding even one such means of adapting, we emphasize that God’s COMMANDMENTS ARE MEDICINES TO HELP US TO BE CURED IN OUR SOULS. Saint Dionysios the Areopagite says THAT OUR UNION WITH GOD IS ACHIEVED "ONLY BY AGAPE (LOVE) AND HOLY WORK." And of course Christ’s commandments refer to may topics, such as to the Divine Liturgy. The celebration of the Divine Liturgy IS AN APPLICATION OF CHRIST’S COMMANDMENT: "THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME…".

Still, the divine Communion LEADS A PERSON TO THEOSIS (DEIFICATION). Of course, we must add that divine Communion DEIFIES MAN WHEN HE IS IN THIS STATE. Otherwise, it ILLUMINATES HIM, PURIFIES HIM, WHILE IF HE HAS NOT REPENTED AND HAS NOT ENTERED THE STAGE OF PURIFICATION, IT BURNS HIM UP, CONDEMNS HIM. This is why Saint Nikolas Kavasilas, interpreting the Apostle Paul’s "if anyone does not want to work, let him not eat", says that this is true NOT ONLY FOR MATERIAL BREAD, BUT ALSO FOR THE SPIRITUAL BREAD. HE WHO DOES NOT WISH TO WORK AND TO PRACTICE ASCETICISM SPIRITUALLY SHOULD NOT APPROACH THE HOLY TABLE AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION.

But also prayer, especially that which is called NOETIC PRAYER, is that which expresses the new life which man attains through Baptism and helps him to increase it, because according to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, there is no limit and boundary to perfection and virtue. The passage of the Apostle Paul "be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual gongs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19) refers to the NOETIC PRAYER which goes on in the heart with hymns and psalms and spiritual songs, by the energy of the Holy Spirit. The connection of prayer with the Holy Spirit and with the heart indicates the existence of noetic prayer which goes on UNCEASINGLY, and therefore we have the commandment to pray without ceasing. {Resources: The mind of the Orthodox Church)

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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.

CHURCH AND DIVINE EUCHARIST according
to Saint Irenaeus.
By Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Hierotheos

Saint Irenaeus is A SUCCESSOR OF THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, and his teaching on the subjects at which we are looking has great importance. It is important for us Orthodox, because, WE BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH OF THE FAITH DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE TIME — WHICH MEANS THAT THE REVELATION (APOCALYPSE) IS NOT ALTERED WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME – BUT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE HERETICS, WHO THINK THAT ORTHODOXY HAS BEEN REMOVED FAR AWAY FROM THE SIMPLE TEACHING OF THE HOLY APOSTLES. However, the Holy Fathers, while they used different terms which prevailed in their time, nevertheless remained faithful to the Revelation (Apocalypse), precisely because THEY HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE, THEY USED THE SAME METHOD OF CURE, which is PURIFICATION OF THE HEART, ILLUMINATION OF THE NOUS AND THEOSIS (DEIFICATION).

Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, lived in a difficult period for the Church, in the second half of the Second Century after Christ. The situation was critical, because, on the one hand, the Apostles and their successors were gone, and on the other hand, various heretics, the Gnostics, had appeared, who maintained that they had “hidden knowledge” and “hidden secrets” which they alone had received from the Apostles. This constituted a great danger for the Church. Saint Irenaeus lived in this crucial period. He had the advantage of being a personal EYE-WITNESS OF THE APOSTOLIC MEN, since he knew Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, who was a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist. With this advantage he confronted Gnosticism with strength and courage.

According to Saint Ieranaeus, the Apostolic Tradition CONSTITUTES THE ONLY GUARANTEE OF THE DIVINE REVELATION (Apocalypse). This Apostolic Tradition COMPRISES THE CHURCH AND ALL THAT COMES TO BE AND EXISTS IN THE CHURCH, THAT IS TO SAY, THE CLERGY, THE BISHOPS, THE PRESBYTERS, THE RIGHT FAITH, THE GIFTS OF GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ECCLESIASTICAL ORDER AND ORGANIZATION, THE GENUINE CHURCH GATHERINGS FOR WORSHIP, AND ALL THE ELEMENTS WHICH ARE CONTAINED IN THE LOCAL APOSTOLIC CHURCHES.

The main points which make up THE GENUINE APOSTOLIC FAITH AND TRADITION ARE THREE: THE CHURCH, ORTHODOXY AND THE DIVINE EUCHARIST. And these three ARE UNITED TOGETHER IN SUCH A WAY THAT TO DETACH THEM FROM ONE ANOTHER IS TO DISTORT THE APOSTOLIC TRADITION OF THE CHURCH IN GENERAL.

The Church is the Body of Christ. By His Incarnation Christ made the Church His Body and therefore He gave it all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. WHERE THE CHURCH IS, THERE IS THE HOLY SPIRIT AS WELL.

ORTHODOXY IS THE RIGHT FAITH OF THE CHURCH. And for this reason the Church and Orthodoxy ARE CLOSELY UNITED. Orthodoxy IS THE TRUE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. This right faith COMPRISES THE PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES WHICH THE CHURCH POSSESSES, THE CREED, WHICH IS THE “UNALTERABLE CANON” OF TRUTH, LIFE AND SALVATION, AND THE LIVING OF THE WHOLE ECONOMY OF CHRIST WITHIN THE SPHERE OF THE CHURCH.

THE DIVINE EUCHARIST IS THE ACTION OF THE CHURCH. It is this WHICH GIVES US THE ASSURANCE THAT THE CHURCH IS THE REAL BODY OF CHRIST. In the Divine Eucharist WE PARTAKE OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. Likewise, in the Divine Eucharist, through the prayers which are said, IT IS CONFESSED THAT GOD CREATED AND MAINTAINS THE WORLD, THAT CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR OF MAN, THAT MAN IS A CREATURE OF GOD AND THAT THE WHOLE MAN (SOUL-BODY) CAN BE DEIFIED. Saint Irenaeus says “OUR FAITH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE EUCHARIST AND THE EUCHARIST CONFIRMS THE FAITH.”

Thus in the teaching of Saint Irenaeus it is seen that there IS UNITY BETWEEN CHURCH, ORTHODOXY, AND EUCHARIST BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS NOT UNDERSTOOD APART FROM ORTHODOXY AND THE DIVINE EUCHARIST, AND ORTHODOXY IS NOT UNDERSTOOD APART FROM THE CHURCH AND THE DIVINE EUCHARIST, BUT NEITHER IS THE DIVINE EUCHARIST UNDERSTOOD APART FROM THE CHURCH AND ORTHODOXY. ORTHODOXY IS THE TRUE FAITH OF THE CHURCH AND THE DIVINE EUCHARIST IS THE TRUE ACTION OF THE CHURCH.

A chance existence of “Church” with “Orthodoxy” without “Divine Eucharist” or an existence of “Church” with “Divine Eucharist” without “Orthodoxy” IS “A CORRUPT JUDGMENT” and a “HERETICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT.” Therefore we maintain THAT THE ONE CHURCH IS ORTHODOXY, IN WHICH THERE IS THE TRUE DIVINE EUCHARIST. (Resources: The Mind of the Orthodox Church)

(To be continued)

________________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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

SECULARISM IN THE CHURCH
By Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Hierotheos

The Church is the Body of Christ. It is not a human organism, but the Divine-human Body of Christ. The Church is also a communion of deification (theosis), which means THAT ITS AIM IS TO GUIDE ITS MEMBERS TO THEOSIS (DEIFICATION), WHICH IS THE BASIC OBJECTIVE OF MAN’S CREATION.

There is a basic passage in the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Christians of Ephesus which shows the objective of the Pastors of the Church. The Apostle writes: "And he himself gave some to be Apostles and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" [Ephesians 4:11-13]. According to Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, in the phrase "THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD", the Apostle Paul does not mean "the knowledge of God which is achieved through viewing created things and the Holy Scriptures. for the impure can also do this. He is speaking of the supernatural knowledge of the Son of God enhypostasized in the heart THROUGH DIVINE ILLUMINATION AND GLORIFICATION, which is given to many perfected WHO ARE PURIFIED OF THE BODILY AND PHYSICAL PASSIONS something which he wishes ALL CHRISTIANS TO ATTAIN." Also the phrase "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of God" CONVEYS THE MEANING OF THEOSIS (DEIFICATION).

The existence of the True Church is demonstrated by its success in CURING MAN. We know from the teaching of the Holy Fathers that the Church IS THE SPIRITUAL CENTER, THE SPIRITUAL HOSPITAL THAT CURES MAN. When we speak of ILLNESS and CURE, we mean THE NOUS is ill and that it is cured. The cure of THE NOUS is not independent of PURIFICATION, ILLUMINATION AND THEOSIS (DEIFICATION). The AIM OF THE CHURCH IS TO CURE THIS COGNITIVE CENTER, SO THTAT MMAN MAY ATTTAIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, WHICH CONSTITUTES HIS SALVATION. Thus the existence of the True Church is shown by the degree of success, by the results of the therapy. IF IT CURES MAN, IF IT DIAGNOSES THE ILLNESS CORRECTLY AND IF IT KNOWS THE WAY AND METHOD OF THERAPHY, THEN IT IS THE TRURE, NOT THE SECULAR, CHURCH…

The second example which shows the degree of a church’s success IN CURRING IS THE PRESENCE AND EXISTENCE OF HOLY RELICS. The holy relics are A PROOF OF MAN’S CURE. WHEN THE NOUS IS PURIFIED AND ILLUMINATED, AND THEN WHEN THE MAN ATTAINS THEOSIS (DIEFICATION) , THEN THE WHOLE MAN IS DEIFIED, BECAUSE THE GRACE OF GOD IS TRANSPORTED FROM THE SOUL TO THE BODY AS WELL. The Saint’s holy relics, WHICH ARE IMPERISHABLE, FRAGRANT AND MIRACLE-WORKING, ARE A PROOF THAT THE METHOD AND WAY OF CURRING HAS BEEN PRESERVED THAT THE CHURCH LEADS MAN TO THEOSIS (DEIFICATION). Therefore, it is said characteristically THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH IS TO LEAD MAN TO THEOSIS (DEIFICATION). And a Church which does not produce holy relics shows that IT IS NOT LEADING MAN TO THEOSIS (DEIFICATION)L, AND THEREFORE IT DOES NOT HAVE THE TRUTH METHOD FOR MAN TO ATTAIN HIS CURE…

SECULARISM in the Church IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE LOSS OF THE CHURCH’S TRUE OBJECTIVE. A Church that is NOT animated by what we have been saying, that is to say a Church that DOES NOT CURE A MAN, BUT IS OCCUPIED WITH OTHER MATTERS, IS SECULAR. It is in this sense that we can speak of SECULARISM IN THE CHURCH. Next, we shall look at some cases illustrating the secularized Church.

We can say that the Church IS SECULAR WHEN IT IS REGARDED AS A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION. There is an enormous difference BEWTEEN THE CHURCH AND RELIGION. Religion speak of AN IMPERFONAL GOD WHO DWELL IN HEAVEN AND DIRECTS THE WORLD FORM THERE. And man, by different rites and ceremonial acts, has to appease this God and come into contact with Him. But the Chruch is the Body of Christ, Who ASSUMED HUMAN NATURE AND, IN THIS WAY, THERE EXISTS A COMMUNION BETWEEN MAN AND GOD IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST. To be sure, we do not deny that there are some Christians in the Church who have a religious sense of God. But this happens in the lower stages of the spiritual life, it constitutes SPIRIITUAL IMMATURITY, and nevertheless there is the disposition and tendency for man to go on maturing spiritually and to attain communion and unity with God. At all events, A SECULAR CHURCH SIMPLY SATISFIES PEOPLE’S RELIGIOUS FEELINGS AND NOTHING MORE. IT IS KNOWN FOR BEAUTIFUL CEREMONIES AND IS UNAWARE OF HTEWHOLE NEPTIC AND THERAPEUTINC WEALTH WHICH THE CHURCH POSSESSES.

Furthermore, the Church IS SECULARIZED WHEN IT REGARDS ITSELF AS A PLACE AND SYSTEM OF IDEALOGY, UNRELATED TO LIFE. IDEOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ARE ANIMATED BY ABSTRACT IDEAS AND STEEPED IN IDEALISM, WHICH BEARS THE CHARACTERISTIC MARKS OF ALL ANTHROPOCENTRIC SYSTEMS, WHICH REST ON PHILOSOPHY AND OPPOSE MATERIALISM. Ideas are not much related to life, TO THE TRANSORMATION OF MAN. IDEALISM IS PUT TOGETHER BY MAN’S LOGIC AND IS PRESENTED IN THE FORM OF ARGUMENTS AND IDEAS.

THE CHURCH DOES NOT FUNCTION AS AN IDEOLOGICAL FIELD. IT DOES NOT SIMPLY HAVE SOME IDEAS, EVEN IF THE BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL ONES, WHICH IT CANUSE TO COUNTER OTHER IDEAS. The Church HAS LIFE, and indeed THE TRUE LIFE, WHICH IS A FRUIT OF MAN’S COMMUNION WITH GOD. Saint Gregory Palamas says: "Every saying is countered by another saying." Every argument is confronted by a counter-argument. We see this clearly in so many philosophically ideas that have been formulated. But who can oppose the TRUE LIFE, ad particularly the LIFE WHICH CONQUERS DEATH? The Chruch DOES NOT HAVE IDEAS. IT HAS LIFE, WHICHIS THE TRANSCENDENCE OF DEATH…

In any case, a Church that crucifies instead of being crucified, that experiences worldly glory instead of the glory of the Cross, a Church that succumbs to Christ’s three temptations in the wilderness instead of overcoming them, IS A SECULARIZED CHURCH. It is destined to help the fallen society TO REMAIN IN ITS FALLEN STATE, AND IT SPREADS DISAPPOINTMENT AND DESPAIR TO ALL WHO ARE TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING DEEPER ADN MORE ESSENTIAL. (Resources: The mind of the Orthodox Church]

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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.

A LIFE OF SERVICE [IV f ]

In monasteries of the COMMON LIFE (KOENOVIA) life, the monks are able to live Apostolically, genuinely, the mystery of the Church as the Sacrament of communion, and as the UNION OF GOD AND MEN. They are able to live: "the unity of the faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit." which is the petition of all Christians. The monk knows from experience that the Church IS NOT A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION, NOR A LAW, BUT BROTHERHOOD IN CHRIST, THE BODY OF CHRIST, THE GATHERING TOGETHER OF THE FORMERLY SCATTERED CHILDREN OF GOD (John 11:52), HIS FAMILY IN CHRIST. This experience of the Church gives the monk his capacity to see his brothers AS MEMBERS OF HIS OWN BODY, AND TO HONOR THEM AS CHRIST. This is the source of the ready welcome which he extends to pilgrims and visitors, as well as of his continual prayers with tears on behalf of his brethren, both living and dead, both known and unknown.

The monks also FULFIL THEIR LOVE FOR THEIR BRETHREN IN THE WORLD in other ways, such as by the spiritual refreshment and comfort which they offer to their brothers. Many who are troubled and tired in their souls run to the monasteries, particularly to the Holy Mountain, TO FIND PEACE FOR THEIR SOULS in proximity to Elders (Gerontes) and confessors who have already found peace with God. On the other hand, those occasions are not rare where experienced Athonite confessors go out into the world, refreshing and confirming many Christians in the faith.

The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, a great Russian Saint of the last century, says, typically: "BE YOURSELF AT PEACE WITH GOD, AND MANY WILL COME TO FIND PEACE NEAR YOU." The Venerable Seraphim was speaking from his personal experience, as well as from the experience of the long spiritual Tradition of the Church. It is an observed fact that the further those Elders who had found peace with God retreated into the desert, the more the multitudes followed them in order TO BE EDIFIED.

In special circumstances, monks are called by the Lord Himself to take up a broader work of preaching and awakening — as occurred with Saint Cosmas the Aitolian. But they are always called by God, and NEVER CALL THEMSELVES. It would have been impossible for Saint Cosmas to save and to enlighten an enslaved people (enslaved by the Ottoman Turks for 400 years) with his preaching if he had not previously been enlightened and illuminated by the old monastic practice of silence, purification and prayer.

The monk does not seek the world through Pastoral Missionary activity because, being "poor in spirit," he feels that he does not have the foundations for saving others before he has been saved himself. He gives himself to God without plans or hopes for the future. He is always at the disposal of the Lord, ready to attend to HIS CALL.

The Lord of the Church invites THE WORKERS OF THE VINEYARD TO WORK IN WHATEVER MODE HE FINDS SALVIFIC AND EDIFYING. He called Saint Gregory Palamas to take up the pastoral protection of the Thessalonians, and to give theological expression to the Orthodox piety of the Holy Fathers. He called Saint Cosmas to go out and preach in Apostolic journeys while he illumined Saint Nicodemos the Hagiorite to preach without going out into the world — by means of the theological and spiritual writings which to this very day lead many souls to God. Other monks were called by the Lord to edify the world with their silence and endurance, by their prayers and their tears, as in the case of the Athonite, the blessed Leontius of Dionysiou, who did not go out of his monastery for 60 years. He remained all that time closed within a dark cell, yet the Lord revealed that the same old monk had received the gift of prophecy, and his body gaver forth myrrh after his death.

A LIFE OF CHARISMATIC WITNESS

Properly, what makes the sanctified monk the world’s joy and light IS HIS PRESERVATION OF THE IMAGE OF GOD. In the midst of the unnatural condition of sin which we experience, we forget and lose sight of the measure OF THE TRUE MAN. That which man was before the Fall, and that which is man DEIFIED (Theosis) — THAT IS, THE IMAGE OF GOD — THIS IS WHAT THE SANCTIFIED MONK REVEALS TO US.

• For at least as many as are able TO DISCERN THE DEEPER AND TRUE HUMAN NATURE, WITHOUT PREJUDICES OF PASSING IDEOLOGIES, the monk remains the hope of mankind. If man cannot be deified — or if we have not personally known deified men — it would be difficult to hope in the possibility that man can surpass his fallen condition, can attain to the purpose for which the Good God made him; DEIFICATION (THEOSIS) BY GRACE. As Saint John of the Ladder (Climacus) says: "The Angels are light for monks, and their way of life is light to all men." (Saint John Climacus – Discourse 26).

Already possessing the grace of deification (theosis) in this life, the monk becomes a sign and witness of the Kingdom of God in the world. According to the Holy Fathers the Kingdom of God IS THE GIFT OF INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. By means of the deified monk, THE WORLD IS GIVEN TO KNOW ‘IN IGNORANCE’ — TO SEE ‘WITHOUT SEEING’ THE CHARACTER AND GLORY OF THE DEIFIED MAN AND OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD WHICH IS TO COME, AND WHICH IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.

It is thus through MONASTICISM THAT THE ESCHATOLOGICAL CONSCIENCE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH IS PRESERVED IN THE CHURCH OF TODAY. By eschatological conscience, WE MEAN BOTH EAGERLY AWAITING THE LORD’S COMING (MARANATHA: LORD, COME!) and the awareness of His Mystical Presence among us even now; that: "The Kingdom of God is within us."

His CHARISMATIC REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH, AND THE FRUITFUL VIRGINITY, extend the monk into the age to come. "Christ is born of the Virgin, and enjoins virginity as that which leads us out of the world, cuts off the world, exchanges one world for another, the prese30).nt world for the world to come… turning from that which is, to that which is unseen." The monk who lives the life of virginity according to Christ, TRANSCENDS NOT ONLY THAT WHICH IS UNNATURAL, BUT NATURE ITSELF. ATTAINING TO THAT WHICH IS BEYOND NATURE, HE PARTAKES OF THE ANGELIC MODE OF BEING CONCERNING WHICH THE LORD ALSO SPOKE: "For in the resurrection they are neither married nor given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven" (Matthew 22:30). Just as the Angels, so the monks are not virgins in order to accomplish matters of practical importance for the Church (missionary work, etc.), but in order TO WORSHIP GOD IN THEIR BODY AND SPIRIT. (1 Corinthians 6:20). {Resources: The Eros of Repentance)

_________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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.

A LIFE BASED ON AGAPE (LOVE) [Part IV e]

THE LOVE OF GOD has–as direct fruit–THE LOVE OF GOD’S IMAGE, OF MAN — AND ALL GOD’S CREATURES. After many years of asceticism, the monk acquires the "MERCIFUL HEART" which God loves. According to Abba (Father) Isaac the Syrian, A MERCIFUL HEART IS: "… A BURNING OF THE HEART FOR ALL CREATION, whether for men, for the birds of the air, for animals, fo the demons, for every creature. From the memory and contemplation of creatures the eyes stream with tears, and from compassion and pity the heart of the merciful man is moved to grief, and is unable to bear, to see, or to hear of any injury, or of anything grievous occurring in creation.

It is for this reason that at all times such a man prays with tears for the dumb beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who do him injury. He prays that God may protect them and show them mercy.
He prays even for the creeping things, out of his great pity, which moves his hart abundantly." [Saint Isaac the Syrian — Discourse 81]

In the Gerontikon, (a collection of sayings and works of the Desert Fathers or ‘eldes’), we encounter forms of sacrifice and love of Christ. It is mentioned that Abba (Father) Agathon said: "I wish to meet a leper and embrace his body." "You know perfect love," commented Saint Isaac the Syrian.

The organization of the COMMON LIFE (COENOBITIC) Monastery IS BASED ON AGAPE, according to the model of the First Christian Communities of Jerusalem. As the Lord with the Twelve, and as the first Christians, so monks, too, have asll things in common in Christ. The Egoumenos (Abbot) possesses nothing more than the newest novice. No one has money that he may spend as he wishes; only those funds which he takes as a blessing from the Abbot for a particular need.

The possession of all things in common, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, RECIPROCAL REVERENCE, AND THE SACRIFICE OF ONE FOR ALL, AND FOR ALL FOR EACH, RAISES THE COMMON LIFE TO THE LEVEL OF REAL AGAPE AND LIBERTY. As many as have lived, be it only for a few days, in true common-life monasteries, know what a joy is the RECIPROCAL AGAPE OF THE BRETHREN, and how much it refreshes the soul. One has the impression that he is living with the Angels.

The organizer of common-life (koinovion) monasticism, Saint Basil the Great, speaking characteristically about the agape in Christ which RULES IN THE KOINOVIA (COENOVIA), SAID: "What can compare with this form of life? What is more blessed? What is truer than its binding together and its unity? What is more full of grace than the blending of personalities and souls? Men have been moved to come from different tribes and countries to be joined together so truly into one that they appear as one soul having many bodies; as the instruments of a single will. The one who is weak in body has many who bear with him; the one who is ill and frail in his soul has many to care for him and set him aright. They are equally servants of one another, equally lords one over the other, and with unconquerable liberty they strive to show among themselves the greatest servitude. Their is a servitude, however, which is not forced out of some necessity of the kind which causes great anxiety for those who rule, but is rather created out of the joy which comes from freedom of the will. Agape (Love) leads each man to subordinate himself to the other, and establishes freedom in the individual choice of each. It is thus that God WILLED US TO BE FROM THE BEGINNING; FOR THIS HE CREATED US. SUCH MEN RESTORE THE ANCIENT BEAUTY, BECAUSE THEY REDEEM THE SIN OF THE FOREFATHER ADAM… because there would not have division, separation, and war among men if sin had not divided nature. These men, then, imitate the Savior and His incarnate life.
Just as He did when He formed the band of His Disciples, establishing all things in common a among the Apostles, so they keep the strictness of this life to the Egoumenos (Abbot), imitating the life of the Apostles and of the Lord. They are zealous FOR THE LIFE OF THE ANGELS ("ANGELIC LIFE") because as those (i.e., the Angels), they strictly guard the common life. Among the Angels THERE IS NEITHER STRIFE, NOR ENVY, NOR DISPUTE. [
ALL THINGS BELONG TO EACH, AND ALL STORE UP FOR ONE ANOTHER THOSE WHICH ARE GOOD." [Resources: The Eros of Repentance)

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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.

A LIFE OF PRAYER AND WORSHIP [Part IV d]

TEARS OF REPENTANCE KINDLE THE FIRE OF LOVE. The monk feeds his desire for the Lord with prayer, especially that spiritual and UNCEASING PRAYER WHICH IS THE CONTINUAL INVOCATION OF THE SWEETEST Name of Jesus. The prayer: "LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER," BOTH PURIFIES AND ESTABLISHES HIM IN UNION WITH CHRIST. Worshipping in Church the monk also gives himself lovingly to God, and God gives Himself back to him. The monk spends many hours every day worshipping his beloved Lord in the Temple (Naos). His participation in worship is not an "obligation", but rather A NECESSITY OF HIS SOUL WHICH THIRSTS FOR GOD. In Athonite monasteries the Divine Liturgy is celebrated every day. The monks are not compelled to attend the services, however lengthy. Yet they do, for they know nothing better THAN TO BE IN COMMUNION WITH THE REDEEMER, THE MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER, and the friends of the Redeemer. Worship is a joy and a festival, AN OPENING-UP OF THE SOUL, AND FORETASTE OF PARADISE. The monks live, in other words, according to the way of the Holy Apostles: "And all that believed were together, and had all things common… and they, continuing daily with one accord in the Temple and breaking bread from house to house, did seat their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God…" (Acts 2:44-47).

After the dismissal of the service, the monk lives WORSHIPFULLY: HIS WHOLE LIFE IN THE MONASTERY, THE SERVICE WHICH HE PERFORMS, THE REFECTORY, PRAYER, SILENCE AND REST, HIS RELATIONS WITH THE BRETHREN, AND THE RECEPTION OF GUESTS, ARE OFFERED AS LITURGY TO THE Holy Trinity.

• The architecture itself of the monasteries bears witness to this reality. From the Church and its holy altar, ALL THINGS PROCEED, and to them all things return. The corridors, the cells, everything IS CENTERED ON THE KATHOLIKON (the church or temple of the monastery) as a hub. All of life is OFFERED TO GOD, AND BECOMES WORSHIP. The material elements used in the worship WITNESS TO THE TRANSFIGURATION OF ALL LIFE, AND OF THE WHOLE CREATION BY GOD’S GRACE. The BREAD and WINE of the Divine Eucharist, the Sanctified Oil, the incense, the sounding -boards ("semantrons") and bells which announce the appointed Hours, the candles and the oil lamps which are lit and extinguished at certain ties of the service, the movement of the Canonarch and the Ecclesiarch, and as many other movements and activities as are provided by the age old monastic "typica" (rules), are NOT mere symbols, nor are they psychological props intended to generate sentimental feelings. Instead, THEY ARE SIGNS, ECHOES, AND ACTUAL MANIFESTATIONS OF THE New Creation. Everyone, as many as visit the Holy Mountain, discovers that its worship IS NOT STATIC, BUT POSSESSES A DYNAMIC CHARACTER. IT IS A SINGLE MOTION TOWARD GOD: TOGETHER WITH ITSELF, THE SOUL WHICH ASCENDS TO GOD RAISES UP ALL CREATION.

In the Athonite vigil, the believer has a unique experience of grace… THE GRACE WHICH COMES INTO THE WORLD FROM THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF CHRIST. The believer thus TASTES OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF THAT LIFE WHICH CHRIST WITH HIS CHURCH OFFERS TO THE WORLD. The PRIORITY WHICH MONASTICISM GIVES TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD IS A REMINDER, BOTH IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD, THAT IF THE DIVINE LITURGY AND WORSHIP DONOT ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE CENTER OF OUR LIFE, OUR WORLD WILL BE UNABLE TO BE UNITED AND TRANSFIGURED. It will be incapable of surpassing its divisions, its imbalance, its emptiness and death …. in spite of all the prideful, humanistic systems and plans intended to improve it.

Again, MONASTICISM reminds us that the Divine Liturgy and worship ARE NOT SIMLY ONE THING IN OUR LIFE; THEY ARE ITS CENTER, THE SOURCE OF ITS RENEWAL AND ITS ENTIRE SATISFACTION OR FULFILLMENT. [Resources: The Eros of Repentance)

(To be continued)

______________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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.

EVANGELICAL MONASTICISM [Part IV c]
A New Life in Jesus Christ

THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST is a ‘god-spell’ or ‘good news’ because it brings to the world something which is not merely new teaching, but A NEW LIFE in contrast to the old. The old life is ruled by sin, passions, corruption and death, and is presided over by the devil. In spite of all its ‘natural’ pleasures it still leaves a bitter taste, because IT IS NOT TRUE LIFE, THE LIFE FOR WHICH MAN WAS MADE, BUT A CORRUPTED LIFE, DISEASED, CHARACTERIZED BY A SENSE OF THE IRRATIONAL, OF EMPTINESS, AND OF ANXIETY.

The NEW LIFE is offered to the world by the God-man Christ as a gift and possibility for all men. The BELIEVER IS UNITED WITH JESUS CHRIST, AND THUS PARTAKES OF HIS DIVINE AND IMMORTAL LIFE, THAT IS, OF EVERLASTING OR TRUE LIFE.

A LIFE OF REPENTANCE

In order for the believer to be joined to Christ and to be made alive, he must first DIE TO THE OLD MAN BY MEANS OF REPENTANCE. ONE MUST CRUCIFY AND BURY THE OLD MAN, (THAT IS, EGOISM,THE PASSIONS, AND THE SELFISH WILL) AT THE CROSS AND TOMB OF CHRIST, IN ORDER TO RISE WITH HIM AND WALK IN "NEWNESS OF LIFE" (Romans 6:4). This IS THE WORK OF REPENTANCE and the CARRYING OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST. Without repentance, the continual crucifying of the old man, the believer is incapable of believing evangelically. He CANNOT GIVE HIMSELF ENTIRELY TO GOD AND: "LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL HIS HEART, AND ALL HIS SOUL, AND ALL HIS MIND, AND ALL HIS STRENGTH" (Mark 12:30).

It is for this reason that the Lord Himself set forth as the foundation of His preaching, and as the basis of faith, REPENTANCE: "REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL" (Mark 1:15). He did not hide the fact that the life of repentance IS A DIFFICULT AND UPHILL STRUGGLE: "NARROW IS THE GATE AND HARD IS THE WAY WHICH LEADS TO LIFE" (Matthew 7:14).
To walk this way MEANS TO LIFT UP THE CROSS OF REPENTANCE. The old man does not give way without violence, and the devil is not conquered WITHOUT HARD WARFARE.

The monk promises–throughout his life–TO FOLLOW THE NARROW AND HARD WAY OF REPENTANCE. He breaks away from the things of the world, in order to achieve the one thing which he desires. He DIES IN RELATION TO THE OLD LIFE, THAT HE MAY LIVE THE NEW ONE WHICH CHRIST OFFERS HIM IN THE CHURCH. The monk pursues PERFECT REPENTANCE BY MEANS OF CONTINUAL ASCETICISM: VIGILS; FASTING; PRAYER; THE CUTTING AWAY OF HIS WILL, AND UNQUESTIONING OBEDIENCE TO HIS ELDER (GERONDA). In the practice of these he forces himself to DENY HIS PRIVATE AND SELFISH WILL, AND TO LOVE GOD’S WILL. A monk is ‘a perpetual forcing of nature.’ The word of the Lord is thus fulfilled: "THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS TAKEN BY VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE" (Matthew 11:12).

In the midst of the birth-pangs of repentance, the new man according to God IS SLOWLY BEGOTTEN. Belonging to the struggle of repentance is the effort of CONTINUALLY GUARDING ONE’S THOUGHTS. It is putting AWAY FROM ONE’S SELF ALL THE EVIL AND DEMONIC TEMPTATIONS THAT ACT TO SOL THE MIND, AND IT IS SUCH A HEART THAT REFLECTS GOD. In the words of our Lord: "BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD."

Victory over egoism and the passions makes the monk CALM, MEEK, AND HUMBLE, in a word — "POOR IN SPIRIT" — and A PARTICIPANT IN ALL VIRTUES OF THE BEATITUDES. It also makes him a "child," like that child which Jesus blessed and whom He called on all to imitate if they wished to enter His Kingdom. The whole life of the monk becomes A STUDY OF REPENTANCE, HIS WAY OF LIFE A WAY OF REPENTANCE. A monk is a scientist of repentance, one who is: "branded with the life of repentance," (Canon 43, 6th Ecumenical Council) for the whole Church. CONTRITION AND THE TEARS OF REPENTANCE ARE THE MOST ELOQUENT SERMON.

In addition, the monk’s whole manner of life, THE WAY OF SELF-MORTIFICATION, is a judgement of the world. Again, the world, which is silently judge by the monk, does not take part in his repentance. It rejects him, it hates him, it despises him, and it see him as a fool. Yet, with such men: "the foolish, the weak, the ignoble and rejected of the world," the wisdom of the ‘wise’ is put to shame by God (1 Corinthians 1:27).

For those who do not partake of his spirit, the monk’s hidden and secret life is a mystery sealed with seven seals. Those who do not (share in this) see him as no use either for society or for the missionary work of the Church. His life is hidden with Christ in God, though it hsall be revealed in glroy with the Coming of Christ (Colossians 3L4).

Only if the heart of a man is continually being purified of egoism, of selfishness, and of the passions, is it capable through repentance of truly loving God and man. Egotism and love ARE INCOMPATIBLE. The egotist may often think that he loves, but in fact his ‘love’ is merely A DISGUISED EGOTISM, HIDING (OFTEN EVEN FROM HIMSELF) HIS SELFISHNESS AND SELF INTEREST. The patient monk is aflame with divine desire. LOVE OF GOD POSSESSES HIS HEART. He can no longer live for himself, but ONLY FOR GOD. Like a bride, the monk’s soul longs continuously for the Bridegroom. It cannot rest until it is UNITED WITH HIM. The monk finds no peace in loving God as would a servant– from afar–nor as a hWired hand–for the sake of the reward of Paradise; he wants to love Him as a son, from a pure heart. "I no longer fear God, because I love Him," says Saint Anthony the Great.

The more the monk repents, the more his desire grows for the love of God. The more he loves God, the more deeply he repents. [Resources: The Eros of Repentance)

(To be continued)

_____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIS IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN: THE WITNESS TO AN ORTHODOX SOCIETY [Part IV b]

The Holy Mountain bears witness to the hidden life in Christ. At the same time, its testimony is to the evangelical manner of organizing life in society. This is no paradox. In a very essential way, interior life is also social life, since through it a man (person) truly communicates with God and with his fellows. As we read in the Acts of the Apostles: "And all that believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favour with the people" (Acts 2:44-47).

This blessed common society of the Jerusalem Christians still continues, by the grace of God, IN THE COMMON-LIFE MONASTERIES which form the foundation of monasticism on Mount Athos. Here the monastic tablets are set daily with love not only for the monks, but also for the flood of pilgrims and visitors who come to the holy places. This occurs only on Mount Athos, and it occurs because of the sacrifice and labor of the brothers. Here we divide our spiritual and material goods with our brethren in the name of Christ. You will find that on Athos the Church IS NOT A CLOSED CIRCLE WHERE OTHERS HAVE NO PLACE, BUT RATHER AS IT APPEARS ON THE ICON FOR THE FEAST OF PENTECOST, AN OPEN HEMISPHERE, A WELCOMING EMBRACE, WHICH INVITES AND HAS ROOM FOR ALL THE WORLD.

Saint Basil the Great, legislator and theologian of the common life (Koinovion}, writes concerning the Christian society: "…I call that a most perfect community of life in which private property has been expelled, conflict of will chased away, where every kind of turbulence, aggression, and quarrel has been trampled under roof; but where instead all is in common; SOULS, WILLS, BODIES, AND EVERYTHING WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR THE NURTURE AND CARE OF BODIES, WHERE GOD IS IN COMMON. COMMON THE GOODS OF PIETY, SALVATION IN COMMON, COMMON THE STRUGGLES, THE LABOURS, AND THE CROWNS, WHERE THE MANY ARE ONE AND THE ONE IS NOT ALONE BUT AMONG MANY. WHERE IS THE EQUAL OF THIS WAY OF LIFE? WHAT IS THERE GREATER? …ALL ARE EQUALLY SERVANTS AND LORDS OF ONE ANOTHER … LOVE ITSELF SUBORDINATING THEM ONE TO ANOTHER…" (Saint tBasil the Great). Thus do the monks return again through love to the condition of Adam before the Fall, WHEN SIN HAD NOT YET BROKEN UP THE UNIFIED NATURE OF MAN. They IMITATE PRECISELY THE LIFE OF CHRIST WITH THE CHOIR OF THE APOSTLES, "WHERE ALL IS COMMON," AND WHERE TO THE APOSTLES IN COMMON, CHRIST PROVIDED HIMSELF. THEY ARE ZEALOUS FOR THE LIFE OF THE ANGELS, "PRESERVING ALL IN COMMON JUST AS THE LATTER."

THE UNITY OF THE MONKS reveals to men how many good things the Incarnation of the Savior has brought to us: "For this is the sum of the Savior’s economy according to the flesh, that He might join human nature to itself and to Himself, removing the cleft wrought by evil and recalling the original union, just as some wonderful physician might take a body cut in pieces, and with saving medicines bind it again together, and make it alive" (Saint Basil the Great). Saint Basil’s theological and Christological perspective on the COMMON LIFE is characteristic of the tradition. The Saint always speaks of the common life as anchored in the Rock which is Christ.

It is relative to this love, unity, and possession in common that Christian societies in the world must orient themselves if they wish to fulfil the Gospel of Christ. In the common life of monasticism, one may find the principles for the saving solution of our social problems, a true and human solution which will not overlook the spiritual and God-like nature of man.

The monk who is VOLUNTARILY HUMBLE, WITHOUT PRIVATE POSSESSIONS, AND SUBORDINATE TO OBEDIENCE — ALL AFTER THE EXAMPLE OF THE SAVIOR — PROCLAIMS TO THE WORLD SILENTLY YET WITH GREAT FORCE THE REALITIES OF FAITH, SACRIFICE, HUMILITY, LOVE, JUSTICE, AND PEACE AS THE PREREQUISITES FOR TRUE FREEDOM.

THE WITNESS TO THE ORTHODOX FAITH

The witness of the Holy Mountain is also precious because it concerns the themes of the Orthodox Faith. The struggle of the Holy Fathers of our Church was TO PRESERVE THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO THEM WITHOUT INNOVATION. They knew that any ‘FORGERY’ IN THIS REALM, BE IT EVER SO SMALL, LEADS TO GREATER FORGERIES, AND THAT DOGMA, ONCE IT ERRS, LEADS TO A MISTAKEN LIFE AND PASTORATE. THIS IS GAMBLING WITH MAN’S SALVATION.

Today, under the influence of SECULARIZATION, the dogma and traditional Orthodox exobiology of the Church are overlooked. The unity of the ‘churches’ is being pursued along practical and pragmatic lines, WITHOUT THOUGHT FOR THE NECESSARY UNITY IN FAITH. One of the old Athonite Elders (Geronda) has said, wisely and simply, that: "THE DOGMAS ARE NOT FOR THE COMMON MARKET." Another has said: ‘How can we accept the Latins (Roman Catholics) without their changing in any regard while at the same time we light the lamp every day at the icon on the spot where the martyr-monks were put to death who reproved the Latins? These martyrs we honor as Saints.’

The Fathers of the Holy Mountain often say as well; ‘If we should be silent about the Faith which is in danger, how can we explain to ourselves our sitting so many years on this rock?’ It is a fact that whoever struggles for precision in the life in Christ is also sensitive to the teachings of piety. The monks have the experience of Christ Who is Truth in person. They cannot be dissuaded from this Truth IN ITS DOGMATIC FORMULATION.

The Church has always taken account of this sensitivity of the monks. Wise and holy monks — men such as Saint Maximos the Confessor — have stood as pillars and exemplars of the Orthodox Faith, and directed the work of Ecumenical Councils. See what the great Saint and lamp of the Church, Theodore the Studite, says: "If, then, monks are something in the present times, let them be proven by their works. The work of the monk is not to cleave to some newly risen innovation of the Gospel, because in setting an example of heresy for the laity and keeping company with heretics they will be obliged to give account for the destruction of the faithful." (Theodore the Studite).

Elsewhere the same Saint writes: "… And overlooking others, let me come to the present generation and the heresy which confronts us now. Who have resisted unto blood, struggling against sin, if not the blessed Fathers of this and of other monasteries? Such then are the accomplishments and victories of the monks, and monks are the nerves and foundation of the Church. Such indeed and so great is the dignity with which we hae been graced by the goodness of God."

The struggle of the Athonites is certainly not directed primarily against heresy. It is a struggle to realize in themselves — and to make manifest — the fullness of the Truth and the Life possessed by the Church. the labor, the disquiet, the protests of the Holy Mountain are finally elements of the struggle for fullness, for catholicity. It is in order that the preaching of the Cross not be emptied, that the Gospel not be counterfeited. In the words of Saint Gregory the Theologian, we must not theologize in the manner of Aristotle, (scholastically), but according to the fishermen (APOSTOLICALLY). Athos bears its witness in order that we not lose the possibility of theosis (deification) and of the Uncreated Light by accepting grace as a created thing; that the Church not fall from being the ‘Body of Christ’ to become some human organization; that some ‘infallible’ Pope not come to replace the trully infallible, illuminating, and Uncreated Grace of the Holy Spirit, Who IS EVER PRESENT IN THE CHURCH.

For these reasons, by the grace of God, we, together with the holy bishops, clergy, and faithful people in the world, SHALL NEVER AGREE THAT THERE SHOULD COME ABOUT THE LEAST ALTERATION IN THE DOGMAS OF PIETY. We take this attitude out of love: LOVE FOR THE GOWith D OF TRUTH AND FOR THE NON-ORTHODOX WHO ARE NOT HELPED WHEN THEY ARE PREVENTED FROM COMING INTO CONFRONTATION WITH THE TRUTH WHICH SAVES: "YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE." [Resources: The Eros of Repentance]

(To be continued)

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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 WITNESS OF A LIVING GOD [Part IV a]

The mind of our present age is anthropocentric (human-centered). It is thus neither eucharistic, nor liturgical, nor sacrificial. It is not characterized by love of God or of brother, but only by a tenderness FOR ONE’S SELF. Our whole civilization is built upon SELF-LOVE. It is natural, if Christians are influenced by this prevailing anthropocentricity, that they will live in a divided manner as a result. Sometimes they might behave ‘religiously,’ (while they are attending Church services), but at other times (outside the Church building), they ACT AS IF THEY WERE INDIFFERENT TO THE Faith. RELIGIOSITY itself, the manner of Christian piety, DEPARTS FROM THE TRADITIONAL CHURCHLY AND ORTHODOX WAY. IT BECOMES INSTEAD INDIVIDUALISTIC. Sentimentality replaces sobriety. The liturgical life and worship of the Church are seen as something good but as of SECONDARY IMPORTANCE. We come no longer to perceive that — OUTSIDE the Liturgy and the Church’s worship — the world is incapable of being unified and transfigured IN NEWNESS OF LIFE. We attempt to replace the activity of God in the Church and her liturgical life WITH OUR OWN ACTIVITY ON BEHALF OF THE WORLD, WHETHER THROUGH SOCIAL ACTION OR VIA POLITICAL STRUGGLE. We try to make the Church an instrument for helping and improving the world, when in fact IT IS FOR THE WORLD TO BECOME CHURCH, TO BE GRAFTED INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST, TO DIE AND SO TO BE RAISED UP.

We may be sure that behind this state of affairs lies our wish to be accepted by our secularized society. The latter does accept, even applauds people of the Church, when they work according TO THE WORLD’S AGENDA — INSTEAD OF THE CHURCH’S.

WESTERN HUMANISM has altered the perception of many Orthodox people. So much is this so that we are no longer sensitive to the spiritual tradition of our God-bearing Holy Fathers, OF MONASTICISM, ICONOGRAPHY, TRADITIONAL CHANT, THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, ARCHITECTURE, THE CONCILIAR LITURGY OF THE CHURCH’S BODY, THE HOLY CANONS, THE TEACHINGS, AND THE TRUE PIETY OF ORTHODOXY. In this way, though, neither we nor the surrounding world are ‘made Church.’ Neither of us is saved: "What is not assumed is not healed." We remain scattered, and neither we nor the surrounding world live united in Christ. WE DO NOT KNOW HIM WITHIN OURSELVES.

By God’s grace however, the CHRISTOCENTRIC (CHRIST-CENTERED) TRADITION OF THE CHURCH AS LIFE AND WAY OF LIFE IS PRESERVED AMONG THE MONKS. The heart of the Tradition IS THE HOLY TRINITY IN CHRIST. The purpose of the Tradition IS UNION WITH GOD. All of life is referred to and RE-CREATED IN GOD.

The Divine Liturgy is celebrated daily. WORSHIP OCCUPIES THE FIRST PLACE. Work, duties, eating, hospitality — all begin from and return to the Holy Eucharist. Everything becomes EUCHARIST. The location of the monastery Church in the physical center of the compound, and the ordering of all the buildings AROUND THE ALTAR, REVEAL THIS FACT. The monk remains IN CONTINUOUS UNION WITH THE LORD THROUGH HIS UNCEASING PRACTICE OF THE JESUS PRAYER: "LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER." Thus UNITES THE FACULTIES OF HIS SOUL, SO THAT EVEN AT WORK HE STRUGGLES TO PRAY THAT: "CHRIST MIGHT BE ALL IN ALL." As Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki writes: "FOR HE IS A CHRISTIAN WHO IS WHOLLY WITH CHRIST, THINKING ABOUT CHRIST…AND IN RELATION TO CHRIST STUDYING, CARING, LIVING, AND BEING MOVED TO ACT. HE BREATHES ONLY CHRIST, AND CARRIES HIM ABOUT WITH HIMSELF, NEITHER HAVING NOR DESIRING ANYTHING SAVE CHRIST. AS DID THE APOSTLE PAUL, HE HOLDS CHRIST ALONE AS HIS REWARD, CHRIST IS TO HIM THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, HIS GREAT TREASURE AND LIFE AND LIGHT, HIS SWEETNESS AND KINGDOM EVERLASTING." (Saint Sy;meon of Thessaloniki)

Should one find himself on the Holy Mountain of Athos, he would discover a new way of perceiving; a whole different world with different standards, different goals belonging to another kingdom — indeed, to the Kingdom which is to come. We say that he shares in and tastes the Kingdom. At this point he becomes aware that the anthropocentric standards and goals of the world CANNOT BE SALVIFIC — CANNOT SAVE. He senses the necessity of conforming his own life to the standards of Athos, standards which are none other than the CHRISTOCENTRIC STANDARDS OF ORTHODOXY. It is in this fashion that the lives of many pilgrims to Athos have been changed. After their pilgrimages they begin to practice a Christianity which is more Churchly, more traditional — MORE ORTHODOX — than before.

The same people also uncover the meaning of many of the Church’s rules and traditions, which previously they had ignored or been ignorant of: OF LITURGICAL LIFE, OF FASTING, VIGIL, PRAYER OF THE HEART, AND OF STILLNESS AS THE PRECONDITION OF PRAYER. Certainly, Christians IN THE WORLD CANNOT LIVE PRECISELY AS MONKS. They can however, LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPIRIT AND STANDARDS OF MONASTIC LIFE. This will aid them greatly IN PRESERVING THEIR OWN INNER UNITY AND BALANCE WHILE LIVING IN A TROUBLED AND ANXIOUS WORLD. [The Eros of Repentance]

(To be continued)

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

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 WITNESS TO A LIVING GOD [Part IV]

‘When the monk possesses the grace of repentance,
he knows the true God, and not some idea of God.’

The God of the Gospels is Immanuel; "God with us." He is with us and we are capable of experiencing Him. Ours is not unapproachable God of the philosophers. He is not the "absolute being" of Western scholasticism. Rather, He is God Who, while abiding unapproachable in His secret essence, yet comes forth out of Himself by His active will and infinite love, to meet and unite Himself with man. The distinction between God’s hidden being and His active presence has always been maintained by the Orthodox Church. However, while it appears in the works of many Holy Fathers of the Church, it was the Athonite Saint, Gregory Palamas, who first taught it systematically in the 14th century, in order to defend the reality of the Saints’ experience of God as light. Saint Gregory’s teaching was quickly and formally accepted by the Church, who recognized in his writings its own faith. We feel it is no exaggeration to say this Saint’s teaching is a great blessing for the world. Why? Because IT INSISTS THAT THE BELIEVER, ONCE HAVING BECOME CLEANSED OF THE PASSIONS AND HAVING BECOME A PARTICIPANT IN THE HOLY MYSTERIES (SACRAMENTS), IS CAPABLE OF RECEIVING A DIRECT EXPERIENCE OF GOD, OF SEEING THE UNCREATED LIGHT OF THE HOLY TRINITY — THE SAME LIGHT WHICH THE HOLY APOSTLES BEHELD AT THE LORD’S TRANSFIGURATION ON MOUNT TABOR (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).
God ENTERS THE WORLD THROUGH HIS UNCREATED ENERGIES. He thus endows it with existence, preserves and directs it. HE IS PRESENT IN HIS CREATION.

If, however, God were essence, or being alone, without His Divine energies, if grace were a created thing–as Western (Roman Catholic)Scholastics tell us — then man would be incapable of knowing Him directly, of seeing Him, of becoming a God himself, for a created thing (grace) cannot deify the creature (man). Neither could God Himself be present within creation, nor could He be personally at work within it. Just as the relentless laws of nature must replace an uncreated joy not present in nature, even so the absence of uncreated grace from the life of the Church and of Christians creates a need for an ethical and legal system whose head is the Pope.

• A God Who does not deify man; such a God can have no interest for us, whether He exists or not. I believe that this goes far to explain the wave of atheism in the West, as well as the building of science and philosophy on an atheistic foundation. It is surely a sorry thing that we Orthodox also, influenced by Western Europe, are ignorant of and indeed sometimes even condemn Saint Gregory Palamas and other Holy Fathers of the Church. This results in our substituting ethical conduct and a rationalistic idealist theology for the ascetical and pastoral Orthodox teaching of theosis (deification. The former approach leads directly to an ‘accidental Christianity’ and finally TO ATHEISM.

Many of our young people, weary of both MATERIALISM and IDEOLOGY, are seeking MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE EITHER IN THE TEACHINGS OF ORIENTAL RELIGIONS OR IN THE ARTIFICIAL PARADISE OF DRUGS. Why this drift? Because they think that Orthodoxy is exclusively a matter of ceremonial and public declarations. They are ignorant of the mystical and sober tradition of the Philokalia, of the prayer of the heart which affords believers entry into the experience of the Divine: "BLESSED ARE THE PURE OF HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD."

Yet this way of prayer is still taught on Athos today. We know it as the way of revelation within the heart, within the center of each person’s being. It is A CLEANSING OF PASSIONS, A TURNING OF THE MIND INWARD INTO THE HEART, THE UNION OF HEART AND MIND WITH CHRIST BY WHICH THE UNION WITH GOD MAY AFTERWARD FOLLOW THE WITNESS OF A WAY OF LIFE CENTERED ON THE GOD-man. CHRIST.

REPENTANCE and KNOWLEDGE of the Living God permit the Christian, and particularly the monk of Athos, to direct his freedom toward the actual CENTER and SOURCE OF LIFE, the TRIUNE GOD. If one would live not anthropocentrically, HE MUST CENTER HIS LIFE ON CHRIST. When someone lives centered on God he lives "EUCHARISTICALLY." That is to say; HE RECEIVES OTHER PEOPLE AND THE THINGS OF LIFE AS GOD’S GIFTS TO HIS LIFE. He GIVES BOTH TO THE LORD WITH THANKSGIVING, IN RETURN OFFERING HIS OWN SELF TO GOD, AND TO GOD’S CHILDREN. The bread and wine SUMMARIZE WHAT WE ARE, AND WHAT WE LIVE BY: "THINE OWN OF THINE OWN WE OFFER TO THEE, THROUGH ALL AND FOR ALL" [Divine Liturgy].

The Lord receives gifts and offers us in return His own Body and Blood, i.e., His Life. Thus the life of God BECOMES OUR LIFE. As communcants of the Divine Life, we are enabled TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY … TRULY SPIRITUALLY.

God in Christ, Who is SACRIFICED and OFFERED for us, gladdens the Christian as he partakes of the Holy Eucharist, and so he helps him to attain the Divine "LIKENESS" — WHICH IS THE SHARING IN CHRIST’S SACRIFICE OF LOVE OFFERED TO HIS BRETHREN. Therefore, to say that: "I LIVE THEOCENTRICALLY", ECCLESIASTICALLY, SACRIFICIALLY. [Resources: The Eros of Repentance]

(To be continued)

________________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George