Fr. Symeon's Journal

The Way True Love Heals You

2011-09-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

Orthodox Christianity is not ultimately about history, comparative religion, written doctrine, and external practices. The Orthodox Way is about internal prayer and personal healing through prayer. It is not an academic path, but a practical one. It is about the experience of God and personal transformation through that experience. Human religion based on imagination and opinions don't make you a better person (and can make you a lot worse), but true religion - the spiritual Way - leads to the fullness of Life. God does the work in us if we are willing to cooperate.

Attending a class is not going to change you, but learning about the richness of the spiritual treasure very well may be life-changing. If you take hold the treasure before you, then you will most certainly be on the healing Way.

St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

2011-08-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

St. Polycarp served as the bishop of the church in Smyrna, one of the churches mentioned in The Apocalypse (Book of Revelation). He lived and served the Church during the time of the Apostles. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, who lived near the time of the Apostles, wrote this about St. Polycarp:

"Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in myearly youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the [churches in Asia] testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time...." (Against the Heretics, Bk. III)

You may read The Martyrdom of Polycarp on the website of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Ecumenical Patriarchate). St. Ignatius, the second bishop of Antioch, wrote a letter to St. Polycarp, which can be read on the Early Christian Writings website. (On this site, a shorter version and a longer version are included, so you may want to skip the repeating paragraphs).

Mount Athos on 60 Mintues (CBS)

2011-04-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Watch a very well done presentation on Mount Athos from 60 Minutes. Part 1 and Part 2, along with additional supplementary segments, can be viewed on CBS.com.

Photo from Wikipedia: Subject, Mountain Athos, monastery; Photographer: Witold Rawicz (PL); GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.

A Conversation With Kallistos Ware | Big Questions Online

2011-04-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a video (from bigquestionsonline.com) of Met. Kallistos speaking on prayer and silence:
A Conversation With Kallistos Ware | Big Questions Online

"heal my soul"

2011-01-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

The Orthodox Way of Life

2010-09-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Begins Wednesday,

September 15, 2010

@ 6:30 PM

Video on the Hagia Sophia's Dome

2010-08-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Check out a video on the central dome of Hagia Sophia and its supporting architectural structure.

360° Tours of Holy Sites

2010-02-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Several 360° virtual tours of Holy Sites are available online. See the Church of the Resurrection (Church of the Holy Sepulcher) in Jerusalem, which contains Golgotha, the place of Christ's Crucifixion, and the Holy Tomb of the Resurrection. There is also a tour of the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople, the capital of the Orthodox Christian Eastern Roman Empire, and a tour of the headquarters of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Orthodox Christian Hermits

2010-01-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Source: Youtube

Archimandrite Zarcharias on the Spiritual Life

2010-01-08T05:43:00.000-08:00

Archimandrite Zacharias of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England speaks about the spiritual life.

The Church of the Resurrection (Jerusalem)

2009-09-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today we commemorate the founding of the Church of the Holy Resurrection (aka the Church of the Holy Sepulchre), which contains both Golgotha (the place of Christ's Crucifixion) and the Holy Tomb of the Resurrection. You can read about it on Orthodoxwiki here.

Also, here is an account from the ancient historian, Eusebius, about how St. Constantine, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, built the Church in the 4th century AD with the help of his devout mother, St. Helena:

Chapter XXV.--How he ordered the Erection of a Church at Jerusalem, in the Holy Place of our Saviour's Resurrection.

“After these things, the pious emperor addressed himself to another work truly worthy of record, in the province of Palestine. What then was this work? He judged it incumbent on him to render the blessed locality of our Saviour's resurrection an object of attraction and veneration to all. He issued immediate injunctions, therefore, for the erection in that spot of a house of prayer: and this he did, not on the mere natural impulse of his own mind, but being moved in spirit by the Saviour himself.”

Chapter XXVI.--That the Holy Sepulchre had been covered with Rubbish and with Idols by the Ungodly.

“For it had been in time past the endeavor of impious men (or rather let me say of the whole race of evil spirits through their means), to consign to the darkness of oblivion that divine monument of immortality to which the radiant angel had descended from heaven, and rolled away the stone for those who still had stony hearts, and who supposed that the living One still lay among the dead; and had declared glad tidings to the women also, and removed their stony-hearted unbelief by the conviction that he whom they sought was alive. This sacred cave, then, certain impious and godless persons had thought to remove entirely from the eyes of men, supposing in their folly that thus they should be able effectually to obscure the truth. Accordingly they brought a quantity of earth from a distance with much labor, and covered the entire spot; then, having raised this to a moderate height, they paved it with stone, concealing the holy cave beneath this massive mound. Then, as though their purpose had been effectually accomplished, they prepare on this foundation a truly dreadful sepulchre of souls, by building a gloomy shrine of lifeless idols to the impure spirit whom they call Venus, and offering detestable oblations therein on profane and accursed altars. For they supposed that their object could not otherwise be fully attained, than by thus burying the sacred cave beneath these foul pollutions.”

Chapter XXVII.--How Constantine commanded the Materials of the Idol Temple, and the Soil itself, to be removed at a Distance.

“Nor did the emperor's zeal stop here; but he gave further orders that the materials of what was thus destroyed, both stone and timber, should be removed and thrown as far from the spot as possible; and this command also was speedily executed. The emperor, however, was not satisfied with having proceeded thus far: once more, fired with holy ardor, he directed that the ground itself should be dug up to a considerable depth, and the soil which had been polluted by the foul impurities of demon worship transported to a far distant place.”

Chapter XXX.--Constantine's Letter to Macarius respecting the Building of the Church of our Saviour.

"Victor Constantius, Maximus Augustus, to Macarius.

"Such is our Saviour's grace, that no power of language seems adequate to describe the wondrous circumstance to which I am about to refer. For, that the monument of his most holy Passion, so long ago buried beneath the ground, should have remained unknown for so long a series of years, until its reappearance to his servants now set free through the removal of him [3263] who was the common enemy of all, is a fact which truly surpasses all admiration. For if all who are accounted wise throughout the world were to unite in their endeavors to say somewhat worthy of this event, they would be unable to attain their object in the smallest degree. Indeed, the nature of this miracle as far transcends the capacity of human reason as heavenly things are superior to human affairs. For this cause it is ever my first, and indeed my only object, that, as the authority of the truth is evincing itself daily by fresh wonders, so our souls may all become more zealous, with all sobriety and earnest unanimity, for the honor of the Divine law. I desire, therefore, especially, that you should be persuaded of that which I suppose is evident to all beside, namely, that I have no greater care than how I may best adorn with a splendid structure that sacred spot, which, under Divine direction, I have disencumbered as it were of the heavy weight of foul idol worship; a spot which has been accounted holy from the beginning in God's judgment, but which now appears holier still, since it has brought to light a clear assurance of our Saviour's passion.

Chapter XXXI.--That the Building should surpass all the Churches in the World in the Beauty of its Walls, its Columns, and Marbles.

"It will be well, therefore, for your sagacity to make such arrangements and provision of all things needful for the work, that not only the church itself as a whole may surpass all others whatsoever in beauty, but that the details of the building may be of such a kind that the fairest structures in any city of the empire may be excelled by this. And with respect to the erection and decoration of the walls, this is to inform you that our friend Dracilianus, the deputy of the Praetorian Praefects, and the governor of the province, have received a charge from us. For our pious directions to them are to the effect that artificers and laborers, and whatever they shall understand from your sagacity to be needful for the advancement of the work, shall forthwith be furnished by their care. And as to the columns and marbles, whatever you shall judge, after actual inspection of the plan, to be especially precious and serviceable, be diligent to send information to us in writing, in order that whatever quantity or sort of materials we shall esteem from your letter to be needful, may be procured from every quarter, as required, for it is fitting that the most marvelous place in the world should be worthily decorated.”

__________________________________________________________________

Chapter XXXII.--That he instructed the Governors concerning the Beautifying of the Roof; also concerning Workmen, and Materials.

"With respect to the ceiling [3264] of the church, I wish to know from you whether in your judgment it should be panel-ceiled, [3265] or finished with any other kind of workmanship. If the panel ceiling be adopted, it may also be ornamented with gold. For the rest, your Holiness will give information as early as possible to the before-mentioned magistrates how many laborers and artificers, and what expenditure of money is required. You will also be careful to send us a report without delay, not only respecting the marbles and columns, but the paneled ceiling also, should this appear to you to be the most beautiful form. God preserve you, beloved brother!"

Chapter XXXIII.--How the Church of our Saviour, the New Jerusalem prophesied of in Scripture, was built.

“This was the emperor's letter; and his directions were at once carried into effect. Accordingly, on the very spot which witnessed the Saviour's sufferings, a new Jerusalem was constructed, over against the one so celebrated of old, which, since the foul stain of guilt brought on it by the murder of the Lord, had experienced the last extremity of desolation, the effect of Divine judgment on its impious people. It was

opposite this city that the emperor now began to rear a monument to the Saviour's victory over death, with rich and lavish magnificence. And it may be that this was that second and new Jerusalem spoken of in the predictions of the prophets, [3266] concerning which such abundant testimony is given in the divinely inspired records.

First of all, then, he adorned the sacred cave itself, as the chief part of the whole work, and the hallowed monument at which the angel radiant with light had once declared to all that regeneration which was first manifested in the Saviour's person.”

Chapter XLII.--That the Empress Helena, [3274] Constantine's Mother, having visited this Locality for Devotional Purposes, built these Churches.

“For she, having resolved to discharge the duties of pious devotion to the God, the King of kings, and feeling it incumbent on her to render thanksgivings with prayers on behalf both of her own son, now so mighty an emperor, and of his sons, her own grandchildren, the divinely favored Caesars, though now advanced in years, yet gifted with no common degree of wisdom, had hastened with youthful alacrity to survey this venerable land; and at the same time to visit the eastern provinces, cities, and people, with a truly imperial solicitude. As soon, then, as she had rendered due reverence to the ground which the Saviour's feet had trodden, according to the prophetic word which says [3275] "Let us worship at the place whereon his feet have stood," she immediately bequeathed the fruit of her piety to future generations.”

Eusebius, “The Life of Constantine,” Chapters XXV-XLVII. (NPNF, second series, vol. 1, pp. 526-532.) The text of this work is available for free at this address: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.txt

Go to Bibleplaces.com for photos.

Wounded by Love - Book Study & Discussion

2009-09-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Wounded

by Love

Book Study & Discussion

SATURDAY EVENINGS 5:15-6:15 PM

followed by Great Vespers

(the ancient service of evening prayer)

Love + Prayer + Healing + Spiritual Struggle +

+ Relationships + Nurturing Children +

… and more

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

5311 Mercer
Houston, TX 77005

The book study will meet on the 2nd Floor
of the Education Building (connected to the church)
in the Conference Room.

You don't need your own copy of the book

and no prior reading is necessary.

The Orthodox Way of Life - Initial Reading List

2009-09-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Below you will find an initial list of recommended books and online articles to supplement our upcoming course, The Orthodox Way of Life. I’m also attaching a brochure for the class, in case you haven’t received one already. I encourage you to invite others to attend the classes with you.

I especially recommend that you purchase the first two books, The Orthodox Study Bible and The Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy Ware), a good basic introduction to Church history and the Orthodox Faith. Buying these books is recommended, but not necessary. I do plan to use the OSB in class. (At least bring a readable translation of the Bible with you, if you have one. If not, that’s ok.)

If you have any particular questions or areas you want to read about, perhaps I could point you to more specific resources. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Forgive me.

Yours in Christ,

Symeon

Recommended Reading for the “Introduction to the Orthodox Way of Life – An Introduction” class:

1. The Orthodox Study Bible (OT & NT)

Make sure that you get the OSB with the Old Testament included. In addition to a recent translation of the Old Testament and the New King James Version of the New Testament, the OSB contains commentary, articles, and other helpful resources.

2. Timothy Ware. The Orthodox Church. Second Edition. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. (The author is now known as Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia.)

3. Articles on the “Discover Orthodox Christianity” page of the Antiochian Archdiocese website:

Finding the New Testament Church by Fr. Jon Braun

http://www.antiochian.org/node/16918

What Orthodox Christians Believe

http://www.antiochian.org/whatorthodoxbelieve

Glossary of Orthodox Terminology

http://www.antiochian.org/theology/glossary_of_orthodox_terminology.htm

Entering God's Kingdom by Fr. Peter Gillquist

http://www.antiochian.org/node/16962

"The Orthodox Christian Way of Life"

2009-09-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Orthodox Christian Education 2009 - Houston, TX

2009-09-05T10:05:00.001-07:00

China Reports & Analysis

2009-01-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

If you are on Facebook and interested in China, join the group I recently started, China Reports & Analysis. I recommend perusing the links already posted to see if any of them catch your interest.

"This is a group for those interested in English-language news reports and analysis related to China. This group takes no position on Chinese territorial claims or the Chinese system of government. Reports and analysis of various points of view welcome. Submissions from the English-language press welcome."

Please pass this information on to those who may have interest.

The World According to the Map.

2008-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Listen to an interview about the book The Atlas of the Real World: Mapping the Way We Live.

See also Worldmapper.org

Also, check out my previous post, Geopolitics: Lessons from a Map of China.

Women, Spirituality, and TV

2008-08-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Read this article in the Telegraph: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer slaying church attendance among women, study claims."

Within the United States, as well as the UK, many women are influenced by feminist ideas and view their own lives, at least in part, through a feminist lens. Indeed, many ideas compatible with feminism are truly incompatible with the Orthodox Christian path, which leads one from arrogance to humility and from self-centeredness to love, self-sacrifice for the sake of others (even men). The Orthodox Church cannot fit into the restrictive feminist box, but through the life of the Church a woman can discover what it means to be a true human person, one truly free, and why womanhood is so highly honored. The Church offers more than ideology. She offers the experience of healing and transformation in the presence of women from human history who have achieved what women in our culture can now become.

Marriage, Sexuality, and TV

2008-08-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

Television exerts tremendous influence over people in our secular world. Of course, at the same time, programs reflect ideas and beliefs present in society. Television shows often devalue marriage and portray unhealthy, destructive sexual attitudes and practices as acceptable and normal. Stories on television can serve to shape attitudes, influence lifestyle decisions, and validate harmful behavior. Therefore, television can have a negative effect on adults as well as children.

Check out the CNN article, "Sex beats marriage on network TV, study shows."

Notice in the article that a representative of TVWatch responded to the study by the Parents Television Council with this statement: "The Parents Television Council won't be satisfied with television content until they convince the government to enforce their personal, selective judgments." While the Parents Television Council does indeed seem to encourage people to work toward change through political action, the question of whether certain content should be shown on television is not merely a matter of "personal, selective judgments," although the process of determining good content involves the discernment and decisions of persons. Since television does influence people, content would be best determined by asking questions like these:

"What message promotes the nurturing of personal life, health, and relationships?"
"What message helps people acquire an accurate vision of themselves, other people, and the world?"
"What message shows that we genuinely care for those receiving the message?"

To some, the question of television content looks like a matter of opinion concerning views on morality, censorship, government intervention, freedom of expression, and choice. In reality, the questions of what should be shown and viewed on TV is not as much about opinion, ideology, and control as it is about truth, love, and spirituality. As we determine what to view and allow our children to see, may we discern wisely and avoid harmful influences.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

2008-08-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Alexander Solzhenitsyn has died at the age of 89. Many Americans probably don't know who he is, but Solzhenitsyn is a man Americans should know about. Check out my post on Solzhenitsyn from 2006.

His obituary and a video are available on the BBC News website.

Geopolitics: Lessons from a Map of China

2008-07-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

When studying an area of the world, a map is a valuable resource. With a map of a region, you can get a visual picture of how geography affects where people live, military security, politics, economics, culture, and so on.

An example in East Asia is China, a country with a long tradition of geographical awareness. China is known for defining and securing boundaries. (Take the Great Wall as an example.) Strategic Forecasting (stratfor.com) has published a couple recent articles on the relevance of Chinese geography for for the Chinese government. I especially recommend Chinese Geopolitics and the Significance of Tibet (4/15/08) because of its rather comprehensive summary analysis of geography. Another articles is China and Russia's Geographic Divide (7/22/08).

A satellite image of Asia is available here.

Historical Manuscripts

2008-07-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

For a look at interesting historical manuscripts, visit the "Turning the Pages" section of the British Library website. Each page of the manuscript displayed online includes audio commentary with text (if you click the appropriate buttons). Manuscripts include an atlas of Europe (1570), Mozart's music, a 16th-century anatomy book, sketches by Da Vinci, literary manuscripts, and more.

The manuscript of the Lindisfarne Gospels (listed as "Pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon Art") is particularly relevant to Orthodox Christians since it was produced when Britain was still an Orthodox land. For a related article, read my previous post on Ancient Manuscripts from the British Isles.

To see an even more ancient book, visit the website of the Codex Sinaiticus and learn about the significance of this biblical manuscript.

To view more manuscripts, explore the Schoyen Collection.

You may also enjoy reading an article on the history of the book (codex), entitled "The Coming of the Codex" from the University of Edinburgh's Centre for the History of the Book.

Christ and the Tao

2008-07-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Articles have been recently published on the rise of Christianity in China. Notably, Frontline has covered the story.

I recommend reading The Logos and the Tao from the Bonovox blog concerning the connection between Taoism and Orthodox Christianity.

You may also like to read my previous post on Orthodox Christianity in China and my post on Christ the Eternal Tao.

Journalism: Covering the Orthodox Church

2008-07-13T15:48:00.001-07:00

Articles about the Orthodox Christian Church published in the secular press sometimes include inaccuracies or information that lacks sufficient explanation to offer readers a clear picture of the Orthodox Church and her way of life. I would like to compile a list of previously published inaccuracies that could help members of the press in their reporting. I am asking you to submit any examples that you have encountered. Please include the following:

1. The inaccuracy or point that may be misleading without proper explanation.

2. A more accurate way of stating the point.

3. If possible, the paragraph containing the problem passage with a citation indicating the publication's name, date of publication, title of the article, author, web address to article, etc.

Please include the information clearly and as dispassionately as possible.

Many thanks to you who contribute and to those among you who pass along the information.

(By the way, if you're interested in coverage of religion in the media, check out GetReligion.org.)

Symeon

The Fall of the Byzantine Empire

2008-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a video on the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire (aka the Byzantine Empire). The video offers an opportunity for considering the relationship between the Orthodox Christian Faith and the fall of one of history's greatest empires. Consider the relationship between spirituality and politics in the world.

This Russian video has been translated into English.

Teen Pregnancy at Gloucester High

2008-06-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

At Gloucester High School, a school in Massachusetts, a rather large group of young, unmarried teens have become pregnant. This story shows what happens when teenagers are not reared and educated in a spiritual environment in which they can grow to understand, from a spiritual perspective, personhood, virtuous living, womanhood, marriage, sexuality, and motherhood.

Read the article from Time.com and watch an interview from CNN. The interview reveals how some leaders in our culture don't understand the problem or how to deal with it. You can also listen to the NPR report.

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION: What is wrong with the teen pregnancy pact? What are some of the positive Christian values taught at the school these girls attend(ed)? What are some of the problems that may exist at a school like this? What is the positive spiritual role of shame in how teenagers encounter sexuality, how a pregnant teenager might deal with her own pregnancy, and how those around her might deal with it (parents, friends, teachers, etc.)? Why would more education about and use of birth control not solve the problem? Could encouragement to use birth control contribute to the underlying problems that led the girls to want to be pregnant? What is shame, and what is the difference between shame (good) and bad guilt? If you were in charge of teaching values related to sexuality and pregnancy to High School students, what would you teach them? How is the role of importance of marriage relevant to this story? How are the Theotokos and St. Mary of Egypt examples that we can offer young women to emulate? Give examples of other positive role models to whom girls can look to see a vision of true womanhood with the beauty of both virginity and chastity. Why are these women you have chosen positive role models?

Sophia: Secret Wisdom

2008-03-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

A documentary on the Orthodox monastic tradition entitled, Sophia: Secret Wisdom, is currently in production. Fr. John McGuckin, an Orthodox priest and scholar, is associated with the project. This film may not only help people understand something about Orthodox monasticism, but also the heart of the Orthodox Church and the spiritual way of life experienced by those of us who are Orthodox Christians.

You can see footage from the film on the website for the project: http://sophiasecretwisdom.com/

The House of Caesar Augustus

2008-03-10T15:54:00.001-07:00

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled." - The Story of the Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2.1, RSV).

The house of Emperor Augustus (aka Gaius Julius Octavius) has opened in Rome. Check out the video segment from BBC News.

Information on Augustus is available at roman-empire.net.

Mormonism & American Culture

2008-02-14T19:37:00.001-08:00

The Asia Times recently published an article by Spengler entitled "Yes, Romney, there's a Sanity Clause." The article isn't as much about Mitt Romney, who has now withdrawn from the Presidential race, as it is about Mormonism and American culture. This is a well-written article worth reading.

NPR produced the segment, "Mormon's Confront Negative Ideas About Their Faith," by Howard Berkes (Morning Edition, February 12, 2008), which is also related to Romney's campaign, but like Spengler's article, is about more than politics.

The photograph from Wikipedia is in the public domain.

Biblical Illiteracy in America

2008-02-10T09:35:00.000-08:00

In America, there is rampant ignorance concerning what the Holy Scripture says and a failure to interpret the text correctly in its proper context, the Orthodox Church who wrote it, compiled it into a canon, and has preserved and passed down the text with the proper interpretation for 2,000 years.

Listen to "Understanding the Gospel According to Huckabee" from NPR's All Things Considered (February 8, 2008). This story isn't just about politics. It's about biblical illiteracy.

Podcast: Discussion on Orthodox Christianity

2008-01-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered a True Convergence podcast on the Icon New Media Network with Bishop THOMAS (Bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese), Fr. Peter Gillquist (Dept. of Missions and Evangelism, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese), and Fr. Patrick Cardine (the Western Rite priest of St. Patrick's Orthodox Mission in the Antiochian Archdiocese). Although the discussion, including those mentioned above and others, specifically addresses members of a particular Protestant denomination called the Charismatic Episcopal Church, the discussion may be valuable for anyone who is looking for the original, historic Church wherein the living Faith of the Apostles has been lived for 2,000 years.

Check out the podcast here.

Thanks to Jason for pointing me to the podcast.

The Real St. Nicholas

2007-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day, a new motion picture trailer for the upcoming movie on St. Nicholas of Myra (the "real Santa Claus") was released. Watch the trailer (small, medium, or large format) on the St. Nicholas of Myra movie website.

For information on the life of St. Nicholas, visit the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America or Orthodoxwiki.

(The photo is in the public domain.)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

To find out about the place where Christ was born, read In a Bethlehem Cave.

Go to the Greek Archdiocese or Antiochian Archdiocese websites to learn about the meaning of the icon of the Holy Nativity.

You may listen to Frederica Mathewes-Green read the Kontakion of the Nativity or read selections from ancient sermons for yourself. (These resources and others are found at the Antiochian Archdiocese website). You may also read St. Ephrem the Syrian's Hymns on the Nativity. All of these texts express the true meaning of Christmas.

The Orthodox Study Bible

2007-12-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

The complete Orthodox Study Bible is set for release this February (2008). Visit the Orthodox Study Bible website for information on the project, articles, features, and sample pages.

Significant features of the Orthodox Study Bible include a translation of the Septuagint, the version of the Old Testament used by the early Church, and commentary from the ancient Fathers of the Church. The notes in the OSB help the reader understand the Scriptural text in the proper context of the ancient Church who wrote, compiled, and has preserved the Holy Scripture.

To hear about the significance of the Orthodox Study Bible, listen to a great interview on Ancient Faith Radio.

The Orthodox Study Bible can be pre-ordered from the OSB site or from Amazon.com. A flier on the OSB with order information is also available.

(The photo has been taken from the Conciliar Press website.)

An Atheist on Secular Humanism & Art

2007-12-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

In a recent article on Salon.com, entitled "Dogma Days," Camille Paglia, an atheist, wrote,

"In my lecture on religion and the arts in America earlier this year at Colorado College, I argued that secular humanism has failed, that the avant-garde is dead, and that liberals must start acknowledging the impoverished culture that my 1960s generation has left to the young. Atheism alone is a rotting corpse. I substitute art and nature for God -- the grandeur of man and the vast mystery of the universe."

Ms. Paglia sees the effects of secular humanism on our culture. Unfortunately, substituting art and the created cosmos for the Creator isn't an adequate response to the problems of either false religion or secular humanism. I'm reminded of a passage from the Wisdom of Solomon:

For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. Yet these people are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him. For while they live among his works, they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful. Yet again, not even they are to be excused; for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things? (13.7-9, NRSV)

The secular humanism in our culture that has called for the removal of religion from public life and public education has failed, but the antidote to this failure is not to embrace all religions as though they are equally true and valuable. While we can acknowledge a seed of truth in other religions, we can only experience the depth of Beauty, discover the reality to which art and nature point, and embody the fullness of human meaning and purpose by embracing the One who made all things and by following the path He has laid before us. This is the God and the way of life revealed to us in the Holy Icons.

Camille Paglia makes some interesting observations worth considering from an Orthodox perspective. (Also check out her article on "Religion and Arts in America," published in Arion: A Journal of the Humanities and the Classics.)

Parents, Children, and the Environment

2007-12-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

"Meet the women who won't have babies - because they're not eco friendly," reads a headline in the UK's Daily Mail. This article shows how warped the secular understanding of the world can be and its tragic effect on human life.

Memorable quotes include:

“Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet."

"Every person who is born uses more food, more water, more land, more fossil fuels, more trees and produces more rubbish, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, and adds to the problem of over-population."

"I realised then that a baby would pollute the planet - and that never having a child was the most environmentally friendly thing I could do."

The views in the article show a significant misunderstanding about what it means to be human. By living the Orthodox way of life we know (experiential knowledge, not just intellectual knowledge) the nature of the creation and our place within it. As human beings we are part of the creation, the cosmic ecosystem, but we are not just a part of it, we are the center of it. This doesn't mean that the world is here for us to destroy. Instead, we were intended to be its benevolent caretakers, knowing the true significance of each aspect of creation and using everything according to its purpose for good. To live according to our calling is to be a true spiritual environmentalist, motivated by love. Secular environmentalists encourage actions, like the individual recycling of trash or national reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, to improve the environment. We know, however, that the way to transfigure the creation around us begins with the purification of the inner heart. (Inner purity produces outer action.)

As we dragged the world down with us through our Fall, we participate in the renewal of creation through our own participation in God, who fills all creation and in whom the whole universe is contained. This personal and cosmic renewal requires one to do something many environmentalists are unwilling to do: repent. Repentence means personally turning away from self-centeredness, self-justification, and confusion to embrace the living Creator God Himself. Self-confident spiritual ignorance mixed with delusional pride can result in chaos and death, spiritual death and, as the article makes clear, even the death of an innocent, unborn child.

I wish all those influenced by secular ideologies would take the time to know the truth revealed in the icon of the Holy Nativity: The One through whom all things came into being humbly lays as a newborn infant in the feeding trough of animals within an earthy cave. Next to Him is His mother, an image of perfect faith and selfless love, who is honored above all other people and even above the angelic Cherubim and Seraphim. If the men and women of secular culture knew this woman and, most importantly, her Son, their perspectives on family, children, and the world would be dramatically altered and their lives would be radically transformed.

After you read the original article, check out this response on the Philadelphia Inquirer website (Nov. 29, 2007).

Human Trafficking & Slavery

2007-10-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

I recently found the website of Shared Hope International:

"Shared Hope International exists to rescue and restore women and children in crisis. We are leaders in a worldwide effort to prevent and eradicate sex trafficking and slavery through education and public awareness."

The information on the website, including the online documentary, reveals a horrendous plague within our culture and throughout the world that is harming the souls and bodies of women and very young girls. May the Church reach out to the hurting victims to heal them and also help those who, enslaved to the lustful passions, do harm to themselves, their families, and the strangers whom they abuse.

Also check out HumanTrafficking.org for information on the immoral exploitation of human beings, who have been created in the image of God.

The Goose Girl is a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The painting is in the public domain.

St. John Chrysostom

2007-09-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the 1600th anniversary of the falling asleep of St. John Chrysostom, recognized as one of the greatest preachers in the history of the Church. The name given to him, "Chrysostom," meaning "golden mouth," testifies to his eloquence.

Information on the life of St. John Chysostom is available at Orthodoxwiki. You may read writings and homilies by St. John on the website of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

A "New" Women's Movement

2007-09-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Read the Washington Post article, "How to Be Good," a review of Wendy Shalit's new book, Girls Gone Mild. I'm glad to see that young women are becoming more self-aware of the problems within our culture and the consequences of living according to warped cultural values. While I hope to see a strong trend among young women toward "traditional morality" and ethical living, even those who reject the harmful cultural values don't have a complete understanding of what "good" means, why being bad is harmful to their own souls and to others, and why it's good to be good.

American culture is like a ship in a wind-tossed sea. We can see over the last several decades how the pendulum has swung from one movement to another, reacting against the one before. Within the Orthodox Church, however, a certain continuity has been maintained for 2,000 years. What young women in secular American culture are rediscovering, we have known since the beginning. Orthodoxy offers a holistic understanding of the self and life that can help young women live truly good lives for their own benefit and the benefit of their families.

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (Italian Girl Drawing Water, by William Adolphe Bouguereau, is in the public domain.)

The Falling Asleep of the Mother of God

2007-08-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today we commemorate the Dormition ("Falling Asleep") of the Most Blessed Theotokos. Here is a reading from a sermon by St. John of Damascus (+760 AD):

What is this great mystery about you, O holy mother and virgin?

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

Blessed are you for generations of generations; you alone are worthy to be called blessed. Behold, all generations do call you blessed, as you have said. The daughters of Jerusalem – that is, the church’s daughters – saw you, and the royal princesses – the souls of the just – proclaimed you blessed and will praise you for all ages.

The Prophets, then, proclaim you. The Angels serve you, the Apostles revere you, the virginal mouthpiece of God takes care of the ever-virgin who was Mother of God. Today the Angels minister to you as you go home to your Son, joined by the souls of the just, of Patriarchs and Prophets. The Apostles are your escort, with a countless throng of inspired Fathers gathered from the ends of the earth as in a cloud, by your Son’s divine command, in this holy and sacred city, Jerusalem. In their godly enthusiasm, they sing holy hymns to you, the source of the Lord’s body that is for us a stream of life.

Oh, see how the source of life is carried over into life, through the midst of death! See how the one who overcame the defining limits of nature in her childbearing now gives way to those same limits, and submits her unsullied body to death! It was only right for that body to "lay aside what is mortal and put on immortality" (I Cor. 15.53), since the Lord of nature Himself did not refuse the test of death. He died in the flesh, and by that death destroyed death, bestowed incorruptibility upon corrupt nature, and made death the source of resurrection. See how the Maker of all things receives into his own hands her holy soul, now separated from that tabernacle that received God. He rightly honors her who was by nature His handmaid but whom by His saving plan He made to be his mother, in the unfathomable ocean of His love for humanity.

The Christian Artist in the World

2007-08-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered the article, "The Christian Artist in the World," by Deacon James Bryant. The article presents a perspective on art by an architect who is a deacon in the Orthodox Christian Church.

The article originally appeared in The Handmaiden Vol. 8 No. 4.

Photo Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees

Women, Health & the Orthodox Mission

2007-08-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

According to a report on FOXNews, "Mental health experts say more and more youngsters are being influenced by the 'sexualization of girls,' a term coined in a report released earlier this year by the American Psychological Association." Apparently, mental health professionals are realizing that the message sent to young girls through the media and affirmed by the actions of some female "role models" have negative effects on the mental health of girls. Read "Young Girls Going Wild, But at What Consequences?"

We also live in a world where some people actually advocate eating disorders as a way of remaining physically thin. See the BBC Report on "Seeking 'thinspiration' ."

Without the active, spiritual experience of our Creator in our lives, human culture declines and people suffer.

These articles highlight the importance of the Orthodox Christian mission in society. As the Church, the body of Christ on earth, we have been called to reach out into the world with love and compassion to bring those around us into the safe haven where souls are healed and life is renewed. We have the anthropological knowledge and understanding of the world necessary to help young girls (along with their parents) and young women know what it means to be a healthy person in body and soul. Through education we can offer a worldview for the mind, but even more importantly, we can provide a place for the nurturing of innocence (not naivete) and a way of healing from the scars that have already been inflicted upon heart and mind.

A lot of secular people probably think that Orthodox mission and evangelism is about making converts that belong to the same organization and think the same way. This misunderstanding is unfortunate. The Orthodox mission is a medical mission. Our common vocation is to bring healing through divine grace so that people live healthy lives. If anyone ever wonders why our society needs the Orthodox Church, look around at those in need. If we're honest with ourselves, we don't have to look very far.

Evangelical Protestants & Art

2007-07-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

I recently read, “Evangelicals Start Push in the Arts” (also available here), an Associated Press article written by Eric Gorski. The piece explores the emerging place of the arts in certain Evangelical Protestant circles.

Some Evangelicals are trying to give art a central place in their communities and worship. The article dates skepticism about art within Evangelical Protestantism back to the Protestant Reformation, when the Protestants reacted against Roman Catholicism, thereby initiating the Protestant movement that has produced thousands of denominations, groups, associations, and independent congregations.

Instead of trying to come up with a new philosophy of art or develop innovative uses for art in Evangelical culture, Evangelicals should look back beyond the beginning of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism to discover the Orthodox Christian Church. Within the Orthodox Church art has continued to be central to the Christian life. Evangelicals have the opportunity to discover what Christians have been doing in the East for centuries and what the West, dominated by Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and secularism, has forgotten. The Orthodox Church expressed the theology of sacred art and defended the place of holy image in the Christian Church centuries ago, long before either Roman Catholicism or Protestantism existed.

In the article, an artist named Makoto Fujimura is quoted as saying,

“I’m a Christian….I am also an artist and creative, and what I do is driven by my faith experience….But I am also a human being living the 21st century, struggling with a lot of brokenness – my own, as well as the world’s. I don’t want to use the term ‘Christian’ to shield me away from the suffering or evil that I see, or to escape in some nice ghetto where everybody thinks the same.”

This statement captures the discontinuity in people’s minds between their religious life and their “real life” in American culture. Within the Orthodox way of life, no such distinction exists between our “faith experience” and our life in the world. Our life as Orthodox Christians is the experience of God within the creation. The Orthodox life is the path of healing from brokenness that allows us to become truly human in the fullest sense of the word. The term “Christian” isn’t a word that “shields” us from suffering and evil, but because we are Christians we have an understanding and sense of the meaning of suffering and evil. To be a Christian is to face suffering and evil, help others through it, and to ultimately overcome it. Being an Orthodox Christian doesn’t mean withdrawing to a “ghetto where everybody thinks the same,” but it means being the Church together, sharing a common faith and life.

The faith-expressing art described in this article isn’t clearly religious art, but abstract modern art influenced by the artists' faith. The philosophy among some Evangelical artists seems to be that in order for secular people in our culture to relate to art that reflects our faith the art we produce cannot clearly express our faith, but our faith must be ambiguously hidden within it. Instead of disguising our faith in abstraction, we need to plainly reveal the faith to others. The iconography of the Orthodox Church proclaims a clear message for anyone willing to discover it. Many casual observers may dismiss an icon as an example of irrelavent religious art, but the deeper meaning of icons can touch the soul of anyone who seeks beauty and healing. We don’t have to subversively sneak a spiritual message hidden in unintelligible images on a canvas into the unsuspecting minds of unwary observers . Abstract modern art may have value in expressing the Faith, but such abstract art is not necessary for communicating the Faith to non-Christians. For centuries, iconography has effectively communicated the Orthodox Faith and expressed the Mystery of Divine Beauty.

Fujimura says that “The Bible is full of abstraction….Think about this God who created the universe, the heavens and the earth from nothing. In order to have faith you have to reach out to something, to a mystery.” The Bible communicates a clear message. The Scripture is not analogous to a canvas splattered with lines, streams, splotches, and swaths of paint either strategically or randomly applied. (Unfortunately, abstract art often mirrors the confused, disoriented views of a corrupted, broken secular culture more than the Christian experience of Mystery.) The authors of Holy Scripture, the mystic theological poets (like St. Ephraim the Syrian and St. Symeon the New Theologian), and the great iconographers throughout history have expressed the Christian Faith both creatively and clearly, revealing the Divine Mystery they intimately experience.

This article includes an explanation of the role of movies among Evangelicals. We don’t have to search for traces of spiritual themes in secular art, or as the article puts it, try to “find holy moments within mainstream movies.” Instead, we can beneficially find holy moments in Orthodox Christian stories about people who genuinely have holy moments. Why try to find the theme of repentance in a Hollywood flick, or an indie film for that matter, when I can tell someone the amazing story of St. Mary of Egypt, a sensual urban party girl who turned away from her self-destructive lifestyle to become a desert-dwelling holy woman who found peace, enlightenment, and union with God? (Artists may be interested to know that an icon placed an important role in her conversion.) Certainly, a lot of movies offer incredible metaphors of the Christian experience, but the most powerful stories are found within the life of the Church. Unfortunately, most Evangelicals have never even heard of these stories and continue to be disconnected from the continuing life of the ancient Church where sacred art and stories are central to our daily existence.

Those who are thirsty for Beauty should come to the place where the fountain flows unceasingly. If Evangelicals want a Church where art is central to worship and prayer, they don’t need to invent something new. They can instead walk through the doors of the ancient Church where these things have been preserved from generation to generation since the earliest times.

One problem within contemporary art culture is that art is often driven by self-centered egotism. Artists may have an “I’ve got something important to say and I have a right to express it” attitude. Their art is about me and my experience. Compare that attitude with the correct attitude of an iconographer in the Eastern tradition. One who paints icons isn’t concerned with his or her own ideas or experience, but our common faith and common experience as the Church. Since our Faith is constant, a familiar continuity is present in the sacred art produced down through the ages.

There is a place for personal artistic expression in the Orthodox Christian life, but not individualistic expression because we are not independent individuals but persons within a community. There is even a place for the Western art styles, from realistic to abstract, within the Orthodox life. The importance of an artist understanding and experiencing Orthodox iconography within the life of the Church is that he or she can know the meaning and nature of truly spiritual art and be influenced and guided by it. Knowledge of iconography, an expression of our life together, will help artists to better understand how to accurately and express their own experience through other media for the benefit of others.

May artists, Evangelicals, secularists, and the “spiritual, but not religious” types discover the source of Beauty and the expression of sacred Beauty found within the Orthodox Church.

The Mouse, the Bee & Islamic TV

2007-07-23T06:06:00.000-07:00

What if Mickey Mouse taught Islamic values? Well, if you lived in Palestine and watched Al-Aqsa TV you could find out by viewing Tomorrow’s Pioneers. This is not Sesame Street. Check out one of the latest efforts to turn innocent children into violent Islamic Radicals. Watch an episode with Farfour the Mouse. When Farfour the Mouse is killed, his cousin, Nahoul the Bee replaces him. (Nahoul, more dangerous than an Africanized honeybee.)

These three episodes are compliments of the Middle East Media Review Institute (MEMRI), well respected for their translation of Arabic language sources into English.

The Tomorrow’s Pioneers show inspires me. (Please, let me explain....) If some people in the world are putting so much effort into corrupting young minds and inciting the innocent to commit murder (which often includes suicide), how much more should Orthodox Christians zealously teach their children the values of love, beauty, and peace. How can we creatively communicate to our little ones the importance of praying for our enemies, doing good even to those who hate us, and helping our neighbors, who include those not like us. Additionally, how much effort should we spend to educate parents in these values so they can pass them on to their children?

Let us teach out kids about the real Martyrs who shed only their own blood when faced with persecution.

Zeal is good when guided my Truth. Misplaced zeal is self-destructive and dangerous to others. May we neither neglect our children nor teach them the way of destruction (by word or by example), but spiritually nurture them in the way of the Saints.

(The image of the TV from Wikipedia is in the public domain.)

Beauty & Healing: Houston, TX

2007-06-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

Video: The Orthodox Western Rite

2007-06-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the Orthodox Church is called the Eastern Orthodox Church. Although our roots are in the East and most of our communities in America follow the Eastern (Byzantine) Rite, some follow the Western Rite. There is only one Orthodox Church for the whole world, East and West.

What a lot of people would consider an old Roman Catholic way of worshipping predates Roman Catholicism, which began in about AD 1054. This way of worshipping is actually an ancient Orthodox way of worshipping in the Western world. Western Rite worship looks more Anglican or Roman Catholic than the Eastern Rite, but the Western Rite is Orthodox.

If you're curious about the Western Rite of the Orthodox Church, I recommend that you watch the brief video about St. Paul Orthodox Church in Houston, TX.

You may also read an article I wrote last summer on "Ancient Spirituality in the British Isles."

Podcast: The Story of Byzantium

2007-06-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

A series of history lectures on the Eastern Roman Empire (aka Byzantine Empire) entitled, "12 Byzantine Rulers" is available online. Since the story of the Byzantine Empire is an essential part of the story of the Orthodox Church, it's worth listening to.

You can hear an interview with Lars Brownsworth, the lecturer, on NPR's Hear and Now. Another interview is available on The Scriptorium.

In addition to this podcast, you may also find Byzantium: The Byzantine Studies Page interesting.

Beauty & the Healing of the Soul: Charleston, WV

2007-05-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

If you look at advertisements, watch TV and movies, or read magazines, you can tell that our culture is full of messages about physical beauty, how to become more attractive, and what a beautiful lifestyle looks like. Many of these messages that shape how we think about ourselves and see others are actually harmful to us and our relationships. While trying to be beautiful according to American standards, in reality we are confused and hurting inside. Self-centeredness, loneliness, lust, loss of direction, anger, relationship problems, eating disorders, violence, addiction, depression and other issues are plaguing many of us.

Beauty and the Healing of the Soul explores the problems we face and the hope found in the Orthodox way of life, the ancient way of spiritual healing.

If you live near Charleston, WV, join us on Friday, June 8th at 7:00 PM.

(Photo in ad by Jocelyn Mathewes. Used by permission. This photograph is part of her Women with Icons series.)

Orthodox Study Bible Cover Design

2007-05-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

I look forward to the publication of the complete Orthodox Study Bible, including both the Old Testament and New Testament.

Visit the Thomas Nelson, Inc. website to vote for the cover design of the new Orthodox Study Bible

(I endorse cover design option #1.)

Beauty and Self-Esteem

2007-05-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered an article by San Juanchos on the Blogcritics Magazine site entitled, "Ladies, Ten Ways to Boost Your Self Esteem." The last suggestion on the list (#10) is worthy of note:

"Understand that the most important part of beauty comes from within. Outer beauty fades through time, but inner beauty lasts throughout your whole life. Cultivate your spirit, read, soar, and don't spend so much time in front of that TV!"

This suggestion points the reader in the right direction. It encourages the nurturing and healing of the soul. Here's the problem: While many people within secular culture who read the article would probably agree that cultivating the spirit or nurturing the soul is something good, what these things really mean probably escapes most people. They may have a vague notion of cultivating the spirit, but their understanding would likely not reach very deep.

By living the Orthodox way of life we can diagnosis the root causes of our unhealthy self-image and receive the medicine that both heals our self-image and restores our inner beauty. Cultivating the spirit and nurturing the soul involve synergy, the cooperation between God and us. We don't need 10 ways to improve self-esteem, but we need the One who can allow us to see ourselves as we really are and heal us.

The Beauty of Personal Change

2007-05-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Cosmetic plastic surgery is apparently becoming increasingly popular. I've seen a few video clips recently on CNN and FOX NEWS related to the subject. Most of us may not be surprised that "the Stars" are trying to look younger or just change how they look, but Fox News reported that cosmetic surgery among teenagers, even high school students, is on the rise. People are seeking to change even the smallest details of their appearances. Self-obsession with regard to outward appearance isn't just a problem among women. A report on Fox News indicates that more men are seeking Botox treatments to improve their looks. (Where is authentic manhood?)

Our society nurtures unhealthy attitudes about the human body. So many people have a corrupted view of what they really look like. The problem is not the outward appearance, but the sickness of the soul. We don't see the world, including ourselves, with clear vision. Instead of seeking clear vision to see themselves as they really are, people are changing their outward appearance so that the outer appearance conforms to their warped, blurry vision of themselves. Why alter a healthy body instead of seeking to cure the soul?

Orthodox Christians recently commemorated Christ's healing of the blind man. We chanted the prayer, "Lighten, O Lord, my supersensuous eyes, made blind by the gloom of sin. Anoint them, O compassionate One, with humility; wash them with the tears of repentance." True beauty in all its richness and depth isn't seen only with the physical eyes of the senses (sight is one of the five senses), but with our "super-sensual eyes," also called the "spiritual eyes" or the "eyes of the soul." When we turn away from our own self-conscious and prideful self-centeredness toward the One who is the source of Beauty, Love, and Life , we can see ourselves and the world around us with new eyes, enlightened by divine light.

Some people might say, "Don't think you need to change yourself. Just be proud of who you are." I'm not saying that. We all should seek to change who we are, striving to become more beautiful, loving, and full of life. This requires looking deep into our own souls. The transformation of the whole person can't be achieved by a medical procedure that affect only the body (and maybe the self-esteem). Personal transformation is acheived through the spiritual therapy that transfigures the soul and opens the eyes of the heart to see everything as it really is. If we are willing to embrace humility instead of feeding our egos then we can begin to walk down the path that leads toward real beauty and the achievement of our full human potential.

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (A Classical Beauty (1909) by John William Godward is from the Art Renewal Center Museum. Used by permission.)

The Search for Beauty's Holy Grail

2007-05-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

Check out a CNN video report on the "Miracle Cream" that has inspired the British. The Daily Mail has published a piece on what the paper says has become "the Holy Grail of beauty treatments." The Guardian Unlimited and The Scotsman have also published articles on the subject. What if the British, the Europeans, and the Americans enthusiastically invested so much energy and hope in the beauty and healing of their souls?

The beauty of the body isn't bad, but the beauty of the soul is far more important and long lasting, affecting also the beauty of the body. This is an icon of St. Anastasia, who holds in her pure hands the medicine that heals both the body and the soul. May our generation find inspiration in St. Anastasia and all the Saints who show us the inner way of true beauty.

A Summer of Beauty & Healing

2007-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

A semester of formal study is coming to a close and summer vacation approaches. God willing, this summer I'll have a generous number of opportunities to speak on "Beauty and the Healing of the Soul" within the Orthodox way of life. I like writing on beauty and healing, and I've enjoyed conducting my research on the topic this year, but all of my effort is rooted in a simple desire to practically help people with the real problems that face them in American culture. May some good result from my effort.

St John Chrysostom: On Personal Beauty

2007-03-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

St. John Chrysostom (4th c.) on the beauty of the body, the beauty of the soul, and how inner beauty can transform the outward appearance. (St. John refers to the soul here in feminine terms.):

For it is not the body wherein the beauty lies, but the expression, and the bloom which is shed over its substance by the soul.... I would have thee mark how all is hers that is beautiful. For whether she be pleased, she showers roses over the cheeks; or whether she be pained, she takes that beauty, and involves it all in a dark robe. And if she be continually in mirth, the body improves in condition; if in grief, she renders the same thinner and weaker than a spider’s web; if in wrath, she hath made it again abominable and foul; if she show the eye calm, great is the beauty that she bestows; if she express envy, very pale and livid is the hue she sheds over us; if love, abundant the gracefulness she at once confers. Thus in fact many women, not being beautiful in feature, have derived much grace from the soul; others again of brilliant bloom, by having an ungracious soul, have marred their beauty. Consider how a face that is pale grows red, and by the variation of color produces great delight, when there is need of shame and blushing. As, on the other hand, if it be shameless, it makes the countenance more unpleasing than any monster.

For nothing is fairer, nothing sweeter than a beauteous soul. For while as to bodies, the longing is with pain, in the case of souls the pleasure is pure and calm. Why then let go the king, and be wild about the herald? Why leave the philosopher, and gape after his interpreter? Hast thou seen a beautiful eye? acquaint thyself with that which is within; and if that be not beautiful, despise this likewise. For surely, didst thou see an ill-favored woman wearing a beautiful mask, she would make no impression on thee: just as on the other hand, neither wouldest thou suffer one fair and beautiful to be disguised by the mask, but wouldest take it away, as choosing to see her beauty unveiled.

This then I bid thee do in regard of the soul also, and acquaint thyself with it first; for this is clad with the body instead of a mask; wherefore also that abides such as it is; but the other, though it be mishapen, may quickly become beautiful. Though it have an eye that is unsightly, and harsh, and fierce, it may become beautiful, mild, calm, sweet-tempered, gentle.

This beauty therefore let us seek, this countenance let us adorn; that God also may “have pleasure in our beauty,” and impart to us of His everlasting blessings, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.

- St. John Chrysostom (Orthodox bishop, 4th century), Homily XXXVI on Matthew, from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website or the Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers series, volume 10, second edition (Peabody, MA: Hedrickson Publishers, 2004), 231. The image of St. John Chrysostom is in the public domain.

The Work of an Iconographer

2007-03-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

I previously published an article about iconography written by my friend, Dan Cassis, a Greek iconographer. The following article was written by another friend, Dimitri, a young iconographer who is native to Russia:

An Orthodox Christian icon is an image of the invisible made visible through paint. It is rendered in egg tempera on a hardwood panel. One of its purposes is to be the Gospel in visual form. Icons are not present in churches and homes just for decoration or custom: it is an object of veneration. The icon is an indispensable part of our worship, which itself functions as an icon by revealing the divine presence to the faithful and uniting the earthly and heavenly Church.

To make an icon I must begin with meditation to calm my body and heart in order to become more attentive. I study the icons that have already been made, and select one as the basis for my sketch. A person or event in Scripture or in the life of the Church may be painted. Currently, I take my sketches from existing icons. I would never paint an icon of a new, original subject (person or event) without the blessing of a bishop. New subjects are most often painted when the Church recognizes that someone who has died is a Saint, a “holy one.” When a Saint is recognized, an iconographer will paint an icon of the person. Even these new images are painted according to Tradition, the life of the Church. When we paint we unveil the teachings of a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation for 2,000 years, and we are responsible for doing so accurately.

In an icon, every line, shape, and color – every layer of paint, has meaning and is itself part of our teaching. Even the tools we use teach us.

I begin the work by making a sketch. This sketch may be a tracing of a previously painted icon or a tracing from one of my teacher’s sketches. The sketch consists of penciled lines. It takes a long time to learn how to render the lines, and these lines are everything to the icon. There are elaborate circular lines and long straight lines. Each line will have varying thicknesses, and in this way the painting can resemble calligraphy. What is rendered in pencil on paper will be traced onto the wooden board. Once the tracing is complete, the painting will begin.

Let me describe the board, the painting surface: It is called an ark, and is symbolic of the story of salvation. The board may be poplar or oak – wood free of natural faults that can be sanded very smoothly. I begin with a preliminary sanding. Then, I apply to the board linen or cotton cloth that has been stretched by being immersed in gesso, a solution made of marble dust, rabbit skin glue, and water. Several layers of gesso are applied, and will be allowed to dry without artificial heat. Next, I will sand the gessoed, clothed board many times; finishing with 400 & 600 grade sandpaper.

Finally, the drawing will be traced onto the board. I etch the lines of the drawing onto my board very carefully with a large needle, a fine nail, or an engraver. I have to be sure that the lines are etched thickly enough to be seen under one or two layers of tempera paint, but thinly enough to have grace. The lines will be painted several times.

I take a measurement from the center of the figure’s face, and with a compass draw a circle around the entire head. The circle, a halo, represents holiness. I cover the halo area with a solution of “boule” or clay. Ingredients in the solution may include garlic or a certain kind of vodka. These solutions are sticky or damp, and are applied to the panel to make the gold leaf stick to the halo. I breath onto the panel and wet the clay. Then I apply gold leaf to the halo by laying the sheet of gold leaf (with paper backing) face down onto the clay. To ensure the gold leaf adheres to the surface I gently press the leaf down by rubbing the paper backing. Very carefully I use a soft wide brush to remove surplus particles of gold. Sometimes the gold adheres easily, sometimes it doesn’t.

At this point I make my paint. I begin by separating an egg yoke from the whites. Carefully, I rinse the yoke, holding it in my hand. When it is completely free of the white and moves in my hand like a smooth jellied ball, I drop the yoke into a small bowl or cup. I add a small amount of vinegar to the yoke, which slightly thins and preserves it. A powdered pigment, the color, is also added. The pigments are ground pieces of earth and rocks from all over the world. The pigments are expensive, but tempera made in this way lasts for centuries.

I begin the actual painting using a muddy-colored thin wash of paint with a rather small brush. This paint looks earthy and reminds me of the creation, especially the earth, made by the hands of God. The icon looks formless at this point. I either use a technique called petit lac (“little lake”), or “puddling” to make the icon’s background. This layer will dry either as a glossy texture, or a smooth receding background, according to how I apply the paint.

After the background has been painted, I begin to “build” the paint. I mix colors and apply the paint smoothly in several layers, moving from dark colors to light, with the pigments that are very finely ground on the top layers. The lines are traced three times in black paint and dark colors, using a fine brush made of squirrel hair or similar material. I apply lighter areas of paint next to dark areas to build the form of the figure, but the figure will not be in 3D, for we are not trying to render an exact representational form. The finished form will actually appear inverted to the eye, but by gazing at the image the viewer will be taken in to the painting by this technique.

As I paint, I begin to recognize a draped figure. Each kind of drapery (clothing) we paint has a meaning. Its color tells us something. Dark reds and greens are used to drape Christ and the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). The Theotokos is covered in the red of Divinity. Christ, who is Divine, is covered in the greens of the earth to tell us about His humanity. Sometimes we clothe angels to remind us of their help and their presence. The figure may hold a scroll, a cross, or some other object that tells us about his or her work on earth. Some, who were healers, are painted holding a medicine jar.

When I’m close to finishing the painting, I apply the “life-giving lines” to the figure, face and clothing. These are small, delicate lines painted with a very lightly colored pigment, usually tints of yellow and white. They appear around the hands, joints, and especially the face and neck, lighting the figure. This enlightening represents the love and presence of God. (Christ is described as Light in the New Testament.)

Finally, I letter the icon in red with the name of the person depicted. These titles appear in the upper third of the icon plane. I may trace the halo with a round line of red paint that some people say is symbolic of the blood of Christ. In an icon of Christ Himself, the three Greek letters that form the words translated “The One Who Is” or "The Existing One" are painted in a halo that surrounds Christ’s head.

The board will be given several weeks to dry in a dust free place. It will then be varnished and given to a priest who will bless the icon through ancient prayers and set it on the altar table in the holy sanctuary of an Orthodox temple. Upon the altar table, the icon will rest in an atmosphere of prayer and encounter divine grace during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, the icon will be given to the recipient or placed in the church for the viewing, contemplation, and veneration of the faithful.

The Great Canon: An Ancient Healing Prayer

2007-02-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

This week, Orthodox Christians gather together in the evenings to pray The Great Canon together. St. Andrew of Crete wrote The Great Canon around the year 700. The heavy words of this prayer reflect the human experience, help us look into our hearts honestly, and can lead us to becoming better people, more spiritual and more human. We all sin, turning away from God, who is the source of life. Sin produces darkness and confusion within us. We need to repent, turn around back toward God, to find true life. The sins we commit are like self-inflicted wounds that injure us deep within, but through repentance (turning away from the death within us toward our life-giving God), we can begin walking back toward the One who heals us and restores our beauty. With our whole hearts and minds, let us pray:

Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh to the Creator of all. Make confession to Him, and abstain henceforth from thy past brutishness; and offer to God tears of repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have rivaled the transgression of Adam, the first-formed man, and I have found myself stripped naked of God, of the eternal Kingdom and its joy, because of my sins.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Woe to me, miserable soul! How like thou art to the first Eve! For thou hast looked in wickedness and wast grievously wounded; thou hast touched the tree and rashly tasted the deceptive food.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Instead of the visible Eve, I have the Eve of the mind: the passionate thought in my flesh, showing me what seems sweet; yet whenever I taste it, I find it bitter.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I confess to Thee, O Savior, the sins I have committed, the wounds of my soul and body, which murderous thoughts, like thieves, have inflected inwardly upon me.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

Though I have sinned, O Savior, yet I know that Thou art full of loving-kindness. Thou dost chastise with mercy and art fervent in compassion. Thou dost see me weeping and dost run to meet me, the Father calling back the prodigal son.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I offer to Thee, O merciful Lord, the tears of the harlot. Take pity on me, O Savior, in Thy compassion.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With the lusts of passion I have darkened the beauty of my soul, and turned my whole mind entirely to dust.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have torn the first garment that the Creator wove for me in the beginning, and now I lie naked.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have lost the beauty and glory with which I was first created; and now I lied naked and ashamed.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have adorned the idol my flesh with a many-colored coat of shameful thoughts, and I am condemned.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have cared only for the outward adornment, and neglected that which is within—the tabernacle fashioned by God.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

With my lustful desire I have formed within myself the deformity of the passions and disfigured the beauty of my mind.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.

I have discolored with the passions the first beauty of the image, O Savior. But see me, as once Thou hast sought the lost coin, and find me.

Christ said, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15.8-10, RSV).

Photo of an icon of Christ by Dana S. Kees. The above selections from The Great Canon, also known as The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete are found in The Lenten Triodion, Trans. by Mother Mary and Bishop KALLISTOS, Great Compline for Monday and Tuesday of the First Week of Lent (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2001). These selections are printed, with commentary, in First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete by Frederica Mathewes-Green (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2006), Chapters 1, 5, & 6. The passage from Holy Scripture is from the Revised Standard Version.

The Sunday of Forgiveness

2007-02-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today is Forgiveness Sunday. During the service of evening prayer, known as Forgiveness Vespers, those of us gathered together at the Monastery of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk asked each other’s forgiveness. I approached each person, one by one, who stood side by side in a long line that winded confusingly around the interior of the candle-lit church.

I stood face to face with another person. We bowed to each other, kissed each other’s cheeks, sometimes kissing hands as well, and asked each other’s forgiveness. I moved on to the next person, and the next, and the next.

“Forgive me.” “God forgives and I forgive.”

I asked forgiveness from and bestowed my forgiveness upon the gathered bishops, monks, priests, deacons, seminary brothers with their wives and children, and other members of the church community. On this night I embraced my seminary brothers from all over America, as well as those native to other regions of the world: Jordan, Russia, Brazil, Uganda, and Palestine (even the town of Bethlehem, where Christ Himself was born). I encountered good friends, professors, men and women I don’t think I’ve ever met before, and too many children to count. We are one people with one Faith. We are the Church of the Holy Apostles. We are the body of Christ. This is how we begin Great Lent, a time of deep, honest self-reflection, prayer, fasting, and repentance. We begin by giving and receiving forgiveness. This is the way of the Orthodox. This is the way of healing. This is the way of beauty.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery was founded by St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, who named the monastery after his patron saint, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Since I worshipped in the monastery church tonight with my brothers and sisters in the Faith, I offer a sermon for Forgiveness Sunday by St. Tikhon of Moscow, the founder of the monastery:

Today is called "Forgiveness Sunday." It received this name from the pious Orthodox Christian custom at Vespers of asking each other's forgiveness for discourtesy and disrespect. We do so, since in the forthcoming fast we will approach the sacrament of Penance and ask the Lord to forgive our sins, which forgiveness will be granted us only if we ourselves forgive each other. "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."(Matt. 6. 14, 15)

Yet it is said to be extremely difficult to forgive discourtesy and to forget disrespect. Perhaps our selfish nature finds it truly difficult to forgive disrespect, even though in the words of the Holy Fathers it is easier to forgive than to seek revenge. (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk after St. John Chrysostom) Yet everything in us that is good is not accomplished easily, but with difficulty, compulsion and effort. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."(Matt. 11. 12) For this reason we should not be discouraged at the difficulty of this pious act, but should rather seek the means to its fulfillment. The Holy Church offers many means towards this end, and of them we will dwell on the one which most corresponds to the forthcoming season of repentance.

"Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother." The source of forgiving our neighbors, of not judging them, is included in seeing (acknowledging) our sins. "Imagine," says a great pastor, who knows the heart of man, Father John of Kronstadt, "picture the multitude of your sins and imagine how tolerant of them is the Master of your life, while you are unwilling to forgive your neighbor even the smallest offense. Moan and bewail your foolishness, and that obstruction within you will vanish like smoke, you will think more clearly, your heart will grow calm, and through this you will learn goodness, as if not you yourself had heard the reproaches and indignities, but some other person entirely, or a shadow of yourself." (Lessons on a Life of Grace, p. 149) He who admits his sinfulness, who through experience knows the weakness of human nature and its inclination toward evil, will forgive his neighbor the more swiftly, dismissing transgressions and refraining from a haughty judgment of others' sins. Let us remember that even the scribes and Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery to Christ were forced to depart, when their conscience spoke out, accusing them of their own sins. (John 8. 9)

Unfortunately, brethren, we do not like to acknowledge our transgressions. It would seem natural and easy for a person to know his own self, his own soul and his shortcomings. This, however, is actually not so. We are ready to attend to anything but a deeper understanding of ourselves, an investigation of our sins. We examine various things with curiosity, we attentively study friends and strangers, but when faced with solitude without extraneous preoccupation even for a short while, we immediately become bored and attempt to seek amusement. For example, do we spend much time examining our own conscience even before confession? Perhaps a few minutes, and once a year at that. Casting a cursory glance at our soul, correcting some of its more glaring faults, we immediately cover it over with the veil of oblivion until next year, until our next uncomfortable exercise in boredom.

Yet we love to observe the sins of others. Not considering the beam in our own eye, we take notice of the mote in our brother's eye. (Matt. 7. 3) Speaking idly to our neighbor's detriment, mocking and criticizing him are not even often considered sins but rather an innocent and amusing pastime. As if our own sins were so few! As if we had been appointed to judge others! "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy" ? God. (James 4. 12) "Who art thou to judge another's servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls." (Rom. 14. 4) "Thou hast no excuse, O man, whoever thou art who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou dost condemn thyself. For thou who judgest dost the same things thyself." (Rom. 2. 1) "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; put yourselves to the test." (2 Cor. 13. 5) The pious ascetics provide a good example of this. They turned their minds to themselves, meditated on their own sins and avoided judging their neighbors at all costs

One pious elder, noticing that his brother had committed a sin, sighed and said, "Woe is me! As he sinned today, so will I tomorrow." And the following is a story about another ascetic, Abba Moisei. A monk committed a sin. The brethren, who had assembled to decide his case, sent for Abba Moisei, but the humble elder refused to attend the council. When the rector sent for him a second time, he appeared, but in quite a striking manner. He had taken an old basket, filled it with sand and was carrying it on his back. "What does this mean?" asked the monks, catching sight of him. "See how many sins I bear behind me?" answered Moisei, pointing to the heap of sand. "I don't see them, yet I have come to pass judgment upon another."

So therefore, brethren, following the example of the ascetics, upon observing others' sins, we should consider our own sins, regard our own transgressions and not judge our brother. And should we hold anything against him, let us pardon and forgive him, that our merciful Lord may forgive us also.

(The photo of St. Tikhon of Moscow is in the public domain.)

Looking to the Cross

2007-02-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

As we prepare to begin Great Lent, forty days of intense personal reflection, prayer, and repentance in preparation for Pascha (Easter), let's begin by looking to the Cross for encouragement and strength:

Hail! life-giving Cross, unconquerable trophy of godliness, door to Paradise, succour of the faithful, rampart set about the Church. Through thee corruption is utterly destroyed, the power of death is swallowed up, and we are raised from earth to heaven: invincible weapon, adversary of devils, glory of martyrs, true ornament of saints, haven of salvation bestowing on the world great mercy.

Hail! Cross of the Lord: through thee mankind has been delivered from the curse. Shattering the enemy by thine Exaltation, O Cross all-venerable, thou art a song of true joy. Thou art our help, thou art the strength of kings, the power of righteous men, the majesty of priests. All who sign themselves with thee are freed from peril. Thou rod of strength under which we like sheep are tended, thou art a weapon of peace round which the angels stand in fear. Thou art the divine glory of Christ, who grants the world great mercy.

Hail! guide of the blind, physician of the sick and resurrection of all the dead. O precious Cross, thou hast lifted us up when we were fallen into mortality. Through thee corruption has been destroyed, and incorruption has flowered forth; we mortal men are made divine and the devil is utterly cast down. Seeing thee exalted by the hands of bishops on this day, we exalt Him who was lifted high upon thee, and we venerate thee, plenteously drawing forth from thee great mercy.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Cross is the guardian of the whole earth; the Cross is the beauty of the Church. The Cross is the strength of kings; the Cross is the support of the faithful. The Cross is the glory of angels and the wounder of demons.

Today the Cross is exalted and the world is sanctified. For Thou who art enthroned with the Father and the Holy Spirit hast spread Thine arms upon it, and drawn the world to knowledge of Thee, O Christ. Make worthy of divine glory those that have put their trust in Thee.

- From the Matins (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer) services text for the Feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, celebrated on September 14th. The Festal Menaion, Trans. by Mother Mary and His Grace, Bishop KALLISTOS (Ware), St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, 1998. Photo copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees.

What Feminine Beauty is Not

2007-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

Advertisers send manipulative messages to American girls and young women about what the ideal model of beauty looks like and what they need to do to become beautiful. The American cultural conception of beauty often promoted and reinforced in the media reveals a warped vision of beauty.

Perhaps the best way to begin expressing what a really beautiful woman looks like and how a woman can become beautiful is to first describe what beauty is not.

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has produced the Evolution Film that demonstrates why Americans have a distorted image of beauty. The animation shows how the image of a girl has been changed into something she is not. (Men are affected by these images too because the images shape the way men think about beauty, including the beauty of women.) Also check out this GirlPower - Retouch webpage. Click on the picture of the cover girl to see what she really looks like. (You may have to click the image a couple times for the process to begin.) Deconstruct the altered photo step by step.

Music: Adam Nixon

2007-02-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

"I write, play guitar, and sing. I like to sing about things that matter to me. I try to describe life realistically and to point out whatever small beauty I am capable of seeing." - Adam Nixon

Adam is a good friend of mine. I like his music. It's honest. His music is about life and, since he's living the Orthodox way of life, it's an expression of the Orthodox experience.

If you go into an Orthodox church you will hear the ancient music of our divine services. If you go to one of our cultural festivals, like a Greek Fest or Mediterranean (Arabic) Fest, you'll hear the folk music of Orthodox people who have cultural ties to other parts of the world. Adam makes music that has a familiar American feel, and it's good with a cup of coffee. Check out his music at MySpace Music and at StageFM.

A Russian Movie: The Island

2007-02-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered the existence of The Island (Ostrov), a Russian film shown at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival about Anatoly, a Russian Orthodox monk. You can watch about 15 minutes of the film (English subtitles included) on the festival's website. Click on the "View the Video" link under the picture.

The main character in this film reminds me of the Saints, like St. Basil of Moscow, who are known as "Holy Fools."

Perhaps The Island is a good film to watch during Great Lent, when we are called to deep self-reflection, prayer, and repentance so that we may be healed from our own self-inflicted wounds.

Photo Copyright © Pam Roth. According to Wikipedia.com, “the copyright holder of this image allows anyone to use it for any purpose including unrestricted redistribution, commercial use, and modification.”

Thoughts on Orthodox Missions

2007-02-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by a recent post on Orthodixie to offer a few thoughts on Orthodox Missions:

What is our motivation for Orthodox missions? In other words, why do we want secular people to become Orthodox Christians and endeavor to bring unchurched people into the Orthodox Church? The answer is simple: Love.

The Orthodox way of life is the way of love. We commune with Divine Love, are transformed by Love, and express love through our actions in the world. As St. Paul said, if we don't have love we are nothing. As the Orthodox way of life is the way of love it is also the way of healing, the therapeutic way. Our society is full of spiritual sickness and confusion because individual persons have spiritual sickness and confusion within them. (This is part of our shared human experience.) With hearts full of humility and compassion we reach out in love to bring people into the Church, the spiritual hospital where Christ, the Great Physician, heals our wounds and makes us well. Within the Church we experience the spiritual care of the soul, the kind of care we all need. If our hearts are really filled with love for those around us, can we restrain ourselves from bringing others to the fountain that heals and renews life?

The Orthodox way isn't just a path for educated religious people who read novels by Dostoyevsky and study Orthodoxy with intellectual curiosity. Our way of life is also for the ordinary people who don't have time to read books on philosophy or surveys of Byzantine history because they're too busy working for a living. It's also for people who do have the spare time to read these kinds of books, but would rather do something else. It's for environment-friendly types who love the beauty of the earth and want to live a holistic spiritual existence. It's also for those who haven't even thought much about spirituality, or even know what the word means. It's for the pizza guy who delivers dinner, the girl who's behind the counter in the coffee shop, the dad who works long hours at the office, and the mom who needs something more for herself and her kids. It's for the child learning to walk, the college student who drinks too much, and the retired couple settled into a routine. The Orthodox Church is for anyone who needs the healing grace of God in their lives. It's for human beings. It's for us all.

How do we introduce people, like those described above, to our way of life? We have several approaches rooted in our Tradition. The earliest approach may be called "go and tell." The Holy Apostles dedicated their lives to traveling throughout the world to teach people the way and to establish local churches. Most of them were killed, a fact that shows the depth of their love and the importance of their mission.

Another approach is "come and see." We have a saying that goes something like this: "If you want to know what we believe, come and see how we pray." Many people discover the Orthodox way of life by visiting a local Orthodox church, a holy temple where the presence of the Creator God dwells among His community. Within this temple visitors should see the beauty of heaven on earth, revealed through the smoky incense in our ancient liturgy, music, and art. They should also see the beauty of heaven in our hearts. Everyone who walks through the doors of our churches should be greeted with personal care, genuine hospitality, and other expressions of divine love.

I'll call the third approach "personal witness." (We need to remember that we are always persons within the family of the Church. A person is not an isolated individual.) This approach consists of showing people the Orthodox way of life by living it, daily. By living the Orthodox way, the way of participation in the divine life, Christ reveals Himself through us. Because people see the Orthodox Church when they see us, we have to live a life of constant prayer and repentance to overcome our self-centeredness and imperfection. We hope that when people encounter us they don't see our sinful pride and ugliness (since we're still in the healing process), but will instead see (with God's help) the image of Christ within us.

May we, guided by the Holy Spirit, continue to proclaim the good news, walk the path that leads to our own healing (salvation), and reach out into a dark world to lead others into the light. "I am the light of the world," Christ said, "He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8.12, NKJV).

Copyright © 2007 by Dana S. Kees. (The icon shown above is from St. Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: http://www.stphilipflorida.com/. Used by permission.)

Contemporary Art & Beauty

2007-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

"Admit it - you really hate modern art": This is the title of an article recently published by The Asian Times. So much of Contemporary Art seems devoid of beauty, often influenced by the intellectual rejection of beauty as an idea.

The Orthodox Christian life is the way of beauty. Our sacred art (iconography), a reflection of divine Beauty, is central to our whole way of life. The icons are beautiful, yet reveal a beauty beyond themselves. Beauty is more than an idea. It is a Mystery.

For one to truly know the beauty of Orthodox art, the person must experience it within the spiritual life of the Orthodox Church. To get an idea what Orthodox art is not, one may begin by reading The Asian Times article.

Americans Finding the Ancient Way

2007-01-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

The press has written several good articles on the Orthodox Church lately. USA Today printed the article "More Americans Join Orthodox Christian Churches" on January 11, 2007. More recently, on January 21, 2007, The Detroit Free Press published an article entitled, "Ancient Ways Entice Detroit Christians." These are both good articles worth reading.

Some articles about Orthodoxy include what seem to me confusing statements about the history of the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church is the Church founded by Christ on the Apostles. It did not split from the Catholic Church or come out of the Catholic Church. (It is the "Catholic Church" by definition.) I understand that in an effort to limit the length of the articles and to avoid offending Roman Catholics, explaining the separation of the Church of Rome from the other Churches that together comprised the Orthodox Church a thousand years ago may be a task writers would rather avoid. I have no doubt they have good intentions. Those who really want to discover the ancient Orthodox Faith will have a chance to figure all that out anyway.

May we continue to receive favorable attention that helps people discover the secret every American should know. By our faithfulness and love, may we continue to reveal Christ through our lives to the people around us, thereby offering good reasons for receiving good press.

Europe's Trojan Horse

2007-01-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

I found an interesting article on the CNN website today. Christiane Amanpour, CNN's Chief International Coorespondant, wrote "Radical, Moderate Muslims Battle for Young English Minds." A related article on the CNN site is "Radicals vs. Moderates: British Muslims at Crossroads." These articles are part of The War Within, a CNN special report. (Check out the video links on these pages.) Similarly, The Guardian published "Revealed: Preachers' Messages of Hate - Muslim Worshippers are Being Urged by Radical Clerics to Ignore British Law."

Islam isn't only clashing with British culture. In 2005, Muslims rioted in the streets of Paris. (See The New York Sun and BBC News for articles.) Spain has also been touched. Read the article in The Independent entitiled, "Spanish Bishops Fear Rebirth of Islamic Kingdom." You can also read about "The Islamification of Europe's Cathedrals" on PajamasMedia.com. Islam isn't just clashing with the secular culture of Western Eruope, but also with the Roman Catholic Church.

A Catechist's Prayer

2007-01-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

Lord Jesus Christ, to Thee I cry: hear me Thine unworthy servant! Enlighten my mind; grant that I may truly and clearly describe Thy way into the Kingdom of Glory which Thou in Thy mercy has granted us!

Grant that those who read and listen to my words may be filled with Thy love, enlightened by Thy knowledge and made strong by Thy power. Warm our hearts with Thy Spirit and we shall joyfully and fervently go the way which Thou hast shown us.

- A prayer of St. Innocent of Alaska, missionary to North America

This prayer appears in The Way, The Truth, and The Life Teacher's Manual, published by the Orthodox Christian Education Commission, 2003.

Get Religion

2006-12-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

I check out a few websites almost every day for relevant news coverage. One of my favorite websites for daily viewing is GetReligion.org. The site doesn't just cover religious news stories, but provides analysis on how the secular press handles new stories related to religion. The site derives its name from a quote by William Schneider: “On the national level the press is one of the most secular institutions in American society. It just doesn’t get religion or any idea that flows from religious conviction.” I find the way the press covers the Orthodox Church and our way of life particularly interesting, but the way the secular press covers religious stories in general is worth considering. Press coverage tells us a lot about our society and culture.

Read Orthodixie as a suppliment to GetReligion.org.

Enjoy.

The DaVinci Code at Christmas

2006-12-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, before Christmas, I watched The Da Vinci Code. I hadn't read the book and was waiting for a copy of the movie to make its way into my hands. I walked up the road to talk to one of my neighbors the other night as he cleaned out his garage. He owns The Da Vinci Code DVD. The conversation turned to the film. We talked about Church history. He let me borrow the DVD.

I stayed up late that night. What did I think of the movie? I was entertained. It was sort of like National Treasure in a way. It's an interesting piece of fiction. It's perhaps more like science fiction than historical fiction. I could write an analytical article describing the historical and theological inaccuracies in the film, but that's like writing about the scientific inaccuracies in Star Wars, Dr. Who, or Battlestar Galactica. The movie not only misrepresents the early Church but even misrepresents the heretics. The history and world presented by Dan Brown is like what one might encounter when traveling into an alternate universe. (Watch Dr. Who or Stargate.)

Some people may confuse the fiction in this film with reality. If the movie were presented as a documentary, then the movie should be condemned as a work of heresy, a deviation of the truth that can lead people away from a healthy understanding of God and, therefore, themselves and their relationships with others. The movie isn’t' a documentary (which would be offensive), but fiction. It's based on a novel. The twisting of the truth in the movie just makes the movie look kind of ridiculous to the knowledgeable. Nevertheless, it's entertaining. It reflects the yearning and confusion of our society.

The movie can have a positive effect. After watching the film there may be those who want to learn what is really going on. Fiction can peek people's interest in the real story behind it. On the other hand, the movie can just confuse a lot of people who are already confused about what is true and what is false. In the first century St. Paul the Apostle wrote to St. Timothy saying, "The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths" (RSV). Nothing has changed. The truth is far more interesting and beneficial than fiction, but deeply knowing the Truth takes time, calls us to get over ourselves, and requires personal committment.

Anyone who wants to know who Christ is, who St. Mary Magdalene is, what the Church is, and what the holy grail is can find the real meaning in the Orthodox Church, the original, ancient Church rooted in Christ and founded upon the Holy Apostles. We regard Mary Magdalene as "Equal to the Apostles" and sing to her, "When God, who is transcendent in essence, came with flesh into the world, O Myrrhbearer, He received you as a true disciple, for you turned all your love toward Him; Henceforth you would yourself work many healings. Now that you have passed into heaven, never cease to intercede for the world!" Within the Orthodox Church the truth has been preserved and lived for 2,000 years. For us the truth doesn't need to be rediscovered. It's a way of life. To many Americans, however, the Orthodox way of life remains an unknown secret, brilliantly shining, but hidden in the shadows of ignorance.

In The Da Vinci Code story secret symbolic meaning is applied to Leonardo Da Vinci's 15th century mural, The Last Supper. If people seek to discover what the early Church, the Orthodox Church, has believed since the beginning, they can find the meaning within the Church in our sacred iconography. What is the true meaning of Christmas? Who is the One who was born in a cave and laid in a manger? The holy icons teach it today as they have for centuries. When those who live the Orthodox way look deeply into the image they can see the truth in the icon and look beyond the wood and paint to encounter the One Himself who has been born among us.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The image is in the public domain.

A Christmas Message from the Ancient Patriarchate of Antioch

2006-12-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

The Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ dawns upon us each year to remind us of God's infinite mercy and love for His entire Creation, and to call us to reflect again on the sublime Mystery of the Divine Incarnation, without which our salvation would not be possible.

Christmas should constitute, for all of us, an occasion of spiritual renewal, a moment of meditation on our life, acts, behavior, and on our commitment to live in Christ.

Peace and joy was poured upon earth at the moment the Divine Child appeared in a humble cave. The pure-hearted, humble shepherds were the persons who received Him, not the world's powerful leaders.

Christmas is an invitation, for all of us, to contemplate on the heavenly message and to strive for peace, which is not, unfortunately, attainable nowadays, in the cradle of the Good News, in the land of the Incarnation, and in many regions of our suffering, crucified world.

Images of massacre and destruction are shown and diffused every day, as well as images of the violation of the dignity of the human being for whom the Glorified Son consented to dwell among us, in order to restore our affiliation to the Father, to enable us to sit with Him on the Day of Judgment.

We pray Our Lord, during this honorable season of Christmas, the New Year and Theophany, to grant us peace and stability, praising God and acclaiming with the Angels:

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to men.”

+ His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

(I received this photo along with the Christmas message from one of our bishops in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America.)

The Bronze Serpent: A Sign of Healing

2006-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

After God had liberated the Israelites from oppressive slavery in Egypt, when Moses was leading them to their own homeland, the people complained to Moses, "Have you brought us out of Egypt into the wilderness so that we'll die here? We don't have any food or water. We can't stand this worthless food." (God had been providing them with food all along, but they wouldn't be satisfied.)
Because of their lack of faith, serpents came from the wilderness to invade their camp. Many of the Israelites died from snake bites. The people approached Moses in repentence saying, "We have sinned by complaining against you and against God. Pray to God on our behalf so that He will take these snakes away from us."

Moses prayed for the people. God mercifully replied, "Make a serpent and place it on a pole. Whenever someone who has been bitten looks upon it, he will be healed."

Following God's instructions, Moses made a bronze serpent and placed it upon a pole. God healed everyone who looked upon it.

The bronze serpent that Moses raised up in the age of the ancient prophets pointed to the time when God would dwell among humanity to heal us all from the affects of death, giving us the fullness of life. Speaking about Himself, Christ proclaimed, "No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man must also be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

Orthodox bishops often carry a staff as a symbol of their authority as shepherds of the Church. A staff may be crowned with two serpents facing each other, each one looking upon the Cross centered between them. The bishop is the chief physician who oversees the Church, the spiritual hospital founded by the Great Physician, Christ Himself. When we see the bishop's staff we should remember that Christ came to heal us. He was lifted upon the Cross to triumph over death, which had infected humanity and the whole cosmos. Through the Cross, the Tree of Life, we have life.

The Orthodox Way is the way of the Cross, the way of divine healing. Within the Orthodox Church we participate in the divine life and receive the healing grace of God that transforms us into true human beings who embody divine love, live in communion with our Creator, and promote harmony in the world around us.

A couple photos of Metropolitan Philip with a staff like the one described here is available on Wikipedia.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The public domain image of "Moses and the Brazen Serpent" by Sébastien Bourdon is available at the Art Renewal Center. Used by permission.

The Real St. Nicholas

2006-12-06T13:20:00.000-08:00

Although the myth of Santa Claus is associated with Christmas, the Orthodox Christian Church commemorates St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Bishop of Myra, every year on December 6th.

For information on St. Nicholas visit the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America or Orthodoxwiki.

The State Newspaper in South Carolina published a story about the Feast Day of St. Nicholas.

Thanks to an Orthodixie post, I discovered that a new movie, Nicholas of Myra, is currently in production.

(The icon is from the IconoGraphics Colorworks Collection, Theologic.com. Used by permission.)

A World Split Apart

2006-12-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, an Orthodox Christian writer, delivered the commencement address to the Harvard University graduating class of 1978. He had won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. In 1974 the Communists deported him from his beloved Russia. The speech he delivered at Harvard on June 8, 1978, entitled, A World Split Apart, describes the decline of Western culture. His words remind us about the connection between our present cultural sickness and our loss of spirituality. I find his words inspiring. They remind me of how critical Orthodox Christian spirituality is to the healing and renewal of American culture.

"If the world has not come to its end, it has approached a major turn in history, equal in importance to the turn from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. It will exact from us a spiritual upsurge, we shall have to rise to a new height of vision, to a new level of life where our physical nature will not be cursed as in the Middle Ages, but, even more importantly, our spiritual being will not be trampled upon as in the Modern era. This ascension will be similar to climbing onto the next anthropologic stage. No one on earth has any other way left but -- upward." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A World Split Apart

The text of the speech, A World Split Apart, is available on the Columbia University website or at The National Review Online.

You can listen to a recording of the original speech (including the original English translation from Russian) at the American Rhetoric site.

Read more about Alexander Solzhenitsyn at Wikipedia.com.

The photo from Wikipedia is in the public domain.

When Constantinople & Rome Meet

2006-11-30T13:15:00.001-08:00

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has provided an informative website about the recent meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew & Pope Benedict in Constantinople.

Frederica Mathewes-Green wrote an article on the Opinion Journal of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Page entitled, "All for One? The Idea of Unity Divides Catholics and Orthodox Christians." The article is worth reading when considering the dialogue between East and West.

Orthodox Theology: A Spiritual Experience

2006-09-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

If presented with a choice of reading an article on spirituality or one on theology, most Americans would probably prefer reading about spirituality. Maybe they think of spirituality as something to be experienced while theology is an academic subject that is studied. In reality, theology and spirituality are intertwined. Spirituality may be understood as our relationship with God. Theology is knowing God. The only way we can know God is through experience. We experience God within a relationship. We can study theological ideas about God, but to really know God and become true theologians we must encounter him through an intimate spiritual experience.

Some people think of theologians as professors who write complicated books and long philosophical articles published in Latin-titled journals. My priest once explained to me that a theologian is one who prays. The only way to know God is through prayer. Only three Saints in the Orthodox Christian Church are called theologians: St. John the Theologian (the Apostle), St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Symeon the New Theologian. These men are theologians, not because they studied theological ideas or wrote philosophical works, but because they practiced theology as a way of life. They knew God by living a life of prayer within the Church, the mystical body of Christ. They could eloquently express theology in words because they experienced the divine life.

While intellectual knowledge from schools and books can tempt a person to become arrogant, proud, and overly confident in his (or her) own understanding, the true theologian encounters everything in creation with humility and love. Aware of his own imperfection, the theologian lives a dynamic life of repentance and healing by divine grace. The true theologian immerses himself in the Mystery of the Church and lives the spiritual way of life. He seeks purification, enlightenment, and union with God. Theology isn't just a collection of information aimed at explanation. Theology is the path of personal transformation. The image of God within us is restored and we are transformed into the likeness of Christ, who shines with divine brilliance.

One of my professors said something like this recently, perhaps quoting from another source: "Orthodox theologians are concerned with the spiritual health of people, not with theological discussion and arguments separated from the care of souls." This is the kind of theologian I hope to be, one who personally knows God and is healed within the mystical relationship for the benefit of others, that they may also know God and be healed, restored, and transformed into the divine likeness.

Lord, have mercy on me. Help me to be a theologian.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photo © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. My collection of class notes for a current course on theology has been a source for the last three paragraphs. Information on the lives of the Saints (links provided) is available on the websites of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

St. Raphael of Brooklyn

2006-09-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

"Rejoice, O Father Raphael, Adornment of the Holy Church! Thou art Champion of the true Faith, Seeker of the lost, Consolation of the oppressed, Father to orphans, and Friend of the poor, Peacemaker and Good Shepherd, Joy of all the Orthodox, Son of Antioch, Boast of America: Intercede with Christ God for us and for all who honor thee." - Troparion of St. Raphael

"Today the memory of blessed Raphael hath shone on us; For having received Christ’s call, he faithfully took up his cross and followed Him becoming a fisher of men. Let us cry aloud to him saying: Rejoice O Father Raphael!" - Kontakion of Saint Raphael

During the past few weeks I spent some time at the Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center in Ligonier, PA with my fellow seminarians from the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. The event at Antiochian Village provided me with a great opportunity for theological training and fellowship with seminarians, clergy, and lay people from around the country.

While staying the Village I visited the place where the body of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, the Shepherd of the Lost Sheep of America, is buried.

You can read about St. Raphael of Brooklyn on the Antiochian Village website. More photos of St. Raphael are available at OrthodoxPhotos.com.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photo of St. Raphael: public domain.

On the Road Again

2006-08-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

In early June, I moved from one of the largest cities in the United States back home to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. I've enjoyed the summer immensely, but now I have to move on. In a few days I'll travel northeastward to pursue theological studies, priestly training, and spiritual formation in an Orthodox Christian seminary, appropriately connected to a monastery.

Due to my change in location and schedule, I don't know how often I'll be able to publish a post on Symeon's Journal. One of my goals has been to create a library of articles and resources for people who are interested in the Orthodox Christian way of life. The archive represents such a collection. I don't know what changes will occur in the look and content of Symeon's Journal in the future, but I hope it will remain a place where people can visit to find spiritual inspiration, guidance, and information about the Orthodox Christian Faith.

I ask all Orthodox Christians to please pray for me as I continue on my journey.

Peace, Symeon

Photo copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees.

Militant Islam

2006-08-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Middle East Research Institute TV Monitor Project (MEMRI TV) is a great resources for those who want to see video from the Middle East. MEMRI TV includes videos related to children and violence. Go to MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project site for articles. In a recent article, Dr. Muhammad Al-Huni criticized how the word "resistance" is used in Arab politics.

According to the Syrian-American Psychologist Wafa Sultan, "There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century." Watch her enthusiastic Al-Jazeera interview on MEMRI TV or YouTube.

Visit the website of Walid Shoebat, a former terrorist in the Palestinian Liberation Organization who now speaks out against terrorism. The site includes his story and several interviews (at the bottom of the page), including a great CNN interview.

The Frontline website contains a section on "the Evolution of Islamic Terrorism." A Wide Angle episode on Suicide Bombers is perhaps the best I've seen of its kind.

Look at the images reportedly taken during a protest by Muslims in London on Scopes.com.

Check out both DhimmiWatch and JihadWatch for current news related to militant Islam.

Annaqed.com has a page dedicated to Islamic Studies.

A map from the University of Texas indicates the influence of Islam in the world.

Although Turkey is often considered a pro-Western country, Islamic influence remains strong. Orthodox Christians still experience persecution there. (Many Orthodox Christian churches, some mentioned in the Bible, existed in what is now Turkey. The city of Constantinople, now called "Istanbul," was once the capital of the Christian Byzantine Empire and served as one of the five centers of Christianity in the ancient world.) Read the report from the United States Helsinki Commission, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, entitled "Ankara's Efforts to Undermine the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey."

Dr. Mohammed Abu Nimer, a conflict resolution specialist at the School of International Service at American University, has written "Nonviolence in the Islamic Context," an article on the Fellowship of Reconciliation website.

You may also read my previous posts, St. John of Damascus on Islam and Return of the Empires.

(The above image of the Islamic Ottoman Turks invading Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Christian Empire and one of the major centers of Christianity in the ancient world, is in the public domain.)

African-American Orthodox Christianity

2006-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

As I hope that Appalachian people who seek "the old time religion" will come home to the Orthodox Christian Church, the Church revealed in the pages of the Bible, I also hope that African-Americans across the land will come home. Many of them don't realize how deeply the roots of ancient Orthodox Christianity run through the African soil.

In his article, "African-American Orthodoxy" Albert Raboteau wrote that "the resonances or points of convergence between Orthodoxy and African-American spirituality are profound." To learn more about those "points of convergence" read his article at FreeRepublic.com or on the St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church website.

Father Moses Berry is the pastor of Theotokos Unexpected Joy Orthodox Christian Mission. Listen to an interview with Father Moses on Come Receive the Light entitled, “Finding My Heart's True Home: An African American’s Story” (February 25, 2006).

Read an article about Father Moses, “Descendant of Slaves Conducts Lenten Series at Virgin Mary Orthodox,” from the Northwest Indiana Times (March 8, 2003).

“Man Opens His Family Album for Slavery Museum” is an article about Father Moses from the Associated Press/Joplin Globe (Sunday16, 2000). Visit the Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum website to learn more about Father Moses and his work.

To learn more about St. Moses the Black (pictured here), read the article entitled "Orthodox St. Moses the Black Inspires Compassion" on the DirectionsToOrthodoxy site. The story of St. Moses is also available on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia website.

This post has been inspired by an Orthodixie post on Black Orthodoxy.

The image of St. Moses the Black is in the public domain.

Learning from the Shakespeareans

2006-08-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

If you are a teacher who loves children and who cares deeply about their education then the film, The Hobart Shakespeareans, may bring tears to your eyes.

The Hobart Shakespeareans is a documentary about a dedicated public school teacher, Rafe Esquith, and his students. Those of us who are educators within the Orthodox Christian Church can learn much from this teacher and the educational environment he creates with the help of his students.

We have the Holy Scripture, the stories of the Saints, the holy icons, the Divine Liturgy, and the whole dynamic living Tradition of the Church. What if we teach our spiritual way of life the way Rafe Esquith teaches classical literature, history, music, math, and so on. The story of the Hobart Shakespeareans shows us what Orthodox Christian education for both children and adults could be and indeed should be in America.

Visit the POV website for a synopsis of the film and excerpts from Rafe Esquith's book, There Are No Shortcuts. He comments On American Schools, On Teacher Selection, and On Teaching. A special section for educators includes "Rafe's Classroom Secrets." The video of David Brancaccio's interview with Rafe Esquith and a transcript of the interview are available on the NOW website. (Scroll down the transcript text of the show to find this interview.)

Listen to Michelle Trudeau's report, "Inner-City Teacher Takes No Shortcuts to Success," on National Public Radio. Also, read the brief article on the Hobart Shakespeareans present on the site.

Read the October 14, 2003 Washington Post article, "Pursuing Happiness, Through Hard Work," by Jay Mathews.

You can also visit the official Hobart Shakespeareans website.

Information on Rafe Esquith can be found at UCLA Spotlight and Wikipedia.

Ron Clark, a young teacher from North Carolina who moved to New York City to teach in Harlem, is also a dedicated teacher. You can listen to an interview with the actor Ernie Hudson about his own life and The Ron Clark Story, a recent TNT movie.

Watch a video about Ron Clark from premierespeakers.com (56k or broadband).

The August 2006 issue of Reader's Digest included the article, "A Class by Himself," written by one of Ron Clark's former students.

An article by Ron Clark can be found at Teacher.net.

More information is available on the Ron Clark Website, including resources for teachers.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The image is in the public domain.

Unlearning to Learn: Spiritual Education

2006-08-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

I used to keep a Yoda action figure on the shelf above my computer desk. It reminded me of the wise sayings Yoda imparted to Luke during his Jedi training in the swamps of Degobah. One of my favorite sayings in The Empire Strikes Back is Yoda's instruction to Luke, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Those who desire to become Orthodox Christians begin their spiritual journey into the Church and its way of life as catechumens, those who are being instructed in the Faith. During their time of preparation catechumens experience a process both of learning and unlearning. By unlearning, I don’t just mean unlearning particular ideas, but also unlearning one’s entire concept of reality and way of thinking. It’s learning by experience. The Orthodox Christian way of life can’t be just learned by taking classes and reading books. It is learned by immersing oneself into the spiritual way of life as much as possible in the midst of the Church. Our way of life is absorbed by participating in it. As one gradually learns the Faith as a catechumen he or she must shed prior misconceptions about spirituality, the self, God, relationships, life, and the world.

Secular people who consider themselves “spiritual, but not religious” must unlearn what American culture has taught them about reality. That’s not easy. The culture continuously reinforces its constantly evolving teachings. Every time we watch popular TV, read the news on the internet, see an advertisement in a magazine, or talk with friends who are themselves influenced by secular culture we receive a lesson from the culture about what we are supposed to think and how we are supposed to live. Sometimes seculars have been influenced by religious traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Paganism. If these worldviews and belief systems are not unlearned then the person may consciously or unconsciously blend together Orthodox Christianity with an incompatible and contradictory way of life. This results in confusion. To develop an Orthodox Christian ways of thinking, feeling, and living one must unlearn the the old ways in order to learn a whole new way of seeing the world and experiencing life. When a person unlearns the old ways and learns the new ways then he or she will probably be able to more clearly see the errors and omissions of the way of life left behind. On the other hand, once a person understands the Orthodox Christian way of life through experience he or she may discover that Orthodox Christianity fulfills all those positive, nurturing things attractive about the former way of life.

At seventeen years old, Marjorie Corbman wrote A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith, a book about her teenage search for meaning. In her book, she described her journey to becoming an Orthodox Christian:

“I stopped being a Wiccan when I looked into the history of the religion. I stopped being a pagan because I was simply believing in my own personal fancies, my own ideas, and my God was as small as I was. I wanted something larger. I waited for a pantheon—any pantheon—to take hold of me. Any religion of old, any forgotten wisdom, any god or goddess willing to grab me. To my utter dismay, I began to feel the Christian “pantheon” drawing me in—Jesus, Mary, the Magdalene…I stuck with Gnosticism until I looked into the history of that as well. In time I realized what ancient faith I was looking for, what religion, what Tradition, what Person. It—He—was not what I wanted. But I was looking for Truth.

My Jewish childhood prepared me for a lot of things. Of course it prepared me for traditional Christianity when I finally came to Him, as traditional Christianity comes directly out of Judaism. But above all Judaism gave me a sense of tradition—of history understood as a process of following the One True God. Ancient prayers, written for me, soaked in thousand-year-old wisdom—my childhood is full of rituals and prayers, Shabbat candles and Torah scrolls, Kiddush cups and braided bread, although none of this was explained to me very well—and this sensibility carried me through to the rest of my life until now. When I cross myself, bow, kiss my icons in the morning, and pray—O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth who art in all places and fillest all things, the treasury of good things and Giver of Life—I sometimes remember this, where I came from. Everything I had then is not gone, but has been fulfilled—abundantly” (53-54).

Many people in America have been heavily influenced by Roman Catholicism or Protestantism. Some Americans have rejected Christianity based on their negative experience with the Roman Catholic Church or the Protestant movement (Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Independent, etc.) Unfortunately, when such men and women encounter Orthodox Christianity, they assume that their negative experiences with Roman Catholicism or Protestantism also relates to Orthodox Christianity. They judge Orthodox Christianity unfairly based on predjudice. In order to learn to live the Orthodox Christian Way, such individuals need to unlearn their misconceptions and false assumptions so they can see and know Christianity as it really is in its most ancient, purest, and fullest form.

People who have rejected Roman Catholicism or Protestantism aren’t the only ones who need to unlearn in order to learn. Christians outside of the Orthodox Church who are coming home to the ancient Church from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism also need to humbly unlearn the Christianity they thought they knew in order to discover the fullness of the Christian Faith in the Orthodox Christian Church. In his book, One Flew Over the Onion Dome, Father Joseph David Huneycutt offers valuable advice for those who teach catechumens the Orthodox Christian Faith:

“Orthodox Christianity is the Church. All other manifestations of 'church' have subtracted from the Church. Having grown up in the Baptist tradition, I heard the Epistles anew, seemingly for the first time, when I became Orthodox. St. Paul was writing to the Church. And here I was, now a member of that same Body, the Church, hearing his writings in a whole new light. No longer did I have to struggle to hear the writings of St. Paul speaking to me personally. From time to time that may be the case, yet the Epistles were and are to the Church. It is a “we thing” that we take personally; it’s hard to explain to an outsider. But like all families, clarity comes within the confines of membership. There’s no other way to experience marriage and family without participating in it.

Not utilizing the whole of the canon of catechism and the Scriptures in teaching Seekers about the Faith is a mistake. It is incorrect to view all outsiders as Catechumens. Converts need to reexamine, on their own terms, previously held beliefs and assumptions about Christ, the Church, and salvation. For the Orthodox to assume that those coming to Her from other Christian backgrounds need merely to add icons, incense, and liturgical worship is an erroneous assumption. It is best to just start from scratch. “Scratch,” in this case, is that Faith which has been preserved and handed down from generation to generation in the Church” (77-78).

I generally don’t like to compare Orthodox Christianity with other faith traditions because Orthodox Christianity stands alone, witnessed by the presence of all the Saints who have lived in all ages. Sometimes, however, helping people unlearn their misconceptions means helping them understand how the Protestantism and Roman Catholicism of the Western World came out of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and developed into what they are today. I recently left a comment on a post about my experience explaining Orthodox Christianity to people in Appalachia. Here is part of the post:

“My native culture is often antagonistic toward and resistant to Roman Catholicism….One of the greatest obstacles preventing Appalachian people from opening their hearts, minds, and souls to Orthodox Christianity, once they encounter it, is that is appears too “Catholic,” meaning “Roman Catholic,” to them. I find it important for people to now about Church history. Becoming Orthodox doesn’t mean becoming Roman Catholic, but it doesn’t mean being Protestant either. Rather, becoming Orthodox involves leaving behind both Roman Catholicism and the protest against Rome to proceed deeper into ancient times to find the Apostolic Church revealed in the Bible.”

Explaining Orthodox Christianity to Protestants can be difficult, even if they know the content of the Bible. If a Protestant asks, “What is the Orthodox Church?” a simple answer may be something like this: “The Orthodox Church is the original Church, the Church founded by Jesus Christ upon His Apostles 2,000 years ago, and that has continued keeping the Faith until today.” Since the questioner has not yet begun to unlearn his or her Protestant way of understanding Christianity and hasn’t learned about the place of the Orthodox Church in history, that answer may not make sense to the person.

The conversation could turn into a discussion about particular points of doctrine. Trying to see Orthodox Christianity through a Protestant lens (or any other foreign lens) is like someone trying to see what he or she really looks like by looking into one of those odd-shaped funhouse mirrors. As a square peg doesn’t fit into a round hole, the Orthodox Christianity is incompatible with a Protestant understanding and approach to Christianity. For Protestants to understand Orthodox Christianity, they must learn Christianity all over again from the beginning. As catechumens they will learn Orthodox Christianity, the Christian way of life in its original, purest, and fullest form, the Faith that incorporates right faith and right belief in a complete spiritual way of life.

Becoming an Orthodox Christian isn’t just about unlearning incorrect information about the universe in order to become philosophically right about theological ideas. While the word Orthodox implies having “correct belief,” correctness isn’t the goal. Pride and arrogance can cause people to be so concerned with defending their right position and pointing out why others are wrong that they lose the spiritual reason that correct belief is important. Being an Orthodox Christian means knowing who God really is, who we really are, what the world is really like, and who we can really become by reaching our full potential. Knowing who we are and knowing who God is allows us to have a healthy relationship with God and mystically commune with Him. Only within a relationship with God can we spiritually grow and experience the personal healing and transformation that brilliantly restores the dust-covered divine likeness within us. In other words, Orthodox Christianity isn’t about being right as much as it’s about becoming spiritually good through our relationship with God.

Jesus Christ is the Truth. When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is Truth?” before sending Him to be crucified, Pilate asked the wrong question. The real question is “Who is Truth?” Truth is a person, the Son of God, the One who is truly human like us and truly God at the same time. He is God in human flesh, the embodiment of Truth, Life, and Love. Knowing the Truth isn’t about objectively having the right answers to theological questions, but it’s about having a good, intimate, beneficial relationship with Jesus Christ Himself. When we know the Truth experientially through a relationship with Him then we begin to take on His image, the shining divine image that radiates love, purity, humility, peace, patience, and wisdom. Knowing the Truth doesn’t just make us right, it makes us good.

Teaching catechumens the Orthodox Christian Faith means helping them unlearn misconceptions they have picked up so that they can learn the spiritual way of life without confusion. The process of unlearning is important for catechumens but it isn’t for catechumens only. All of us who are Orthodox Christians must continue to be reminded of what we believe so that we can unlearn the ideas that we pick up from cultural propaganda. Let’s continue learning the good and unlearning the bad so that we keep the Faith once and for all delivered to the saints in its fullness.

“Therefore, brothers, stand fast and hold on to the traditions that you were taught, whether by word or by our letter” (St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians 2.15).

Corbman, Marjorie. A Tiny Step Away from Deepest Faith: A Teenager’s Search for Meaning. (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2005), 53-54.

Huneycutt, Father Joseph David. One Flew Over the Onion Dome: American Orthodox Converts, Retreads, and Reverts. Salisbury, MA: Regina Orthodox Press, 2006), 77-78. Hear an interview with Father Joseph about the book on Come Receive the Light. Also, visit Father Joseph's blog, Orthodixie.

The image of the Holy Gospels is from St. Philip Orthodox Christian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees.

The Monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai

2006-08-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

In the days when the Pharaohs ruled Egypt, Moses was watching his father-in-law's sheep in the land of Midian. While on Mount Sinai, Moses looked up and saw a bush that was burning, but remained unconsumed by the fire. When he approached the bush to see why the flames didn't harm it, he heard a voice from inside the burning bush call to him, "Moses. Moses." "Here I am," he answered. "Do not come any closer," commanded the voice, "Take your shoes off your feet because the place where you are standing is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."

The ancient Monastery of St. Catherine, located at the base of Mount Sinai, is one of the Orthodox Christian Church's hidden treasuries of prayer, worship, knowledge, icons, relics, manuscripts, and other precious gems. The monastery is a lush spiritual oasis in middle of the desert and in the midst of a dry, barren world. It's a holy place where people still commune with the living God who once appeared to Moses in a burning bush.

You can visit the official website of The Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai. (The English portion of the site is currently under construction.) TourEgypt.net is a great resource for learning about the Monastery of St. Catherine. Learn about the history, architecture, icons, and other artistic treasures from articles and images on the website. Geographia.com has provided an interactive monastery map. An Orthodoxwiki article on the monastery is also available.

Read about the life of the Great Holy Martyr Catherine of Alexandria at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website. Another article appears on the site of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Each article displays an icon of St. Catherine.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The image of St.Catherine's Monastery is from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, Bibleplaces.com. Used by permission.

The Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary

2006-08-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the Feast of the Dormition (“Falling Asleep”) of the Mother of God. The mother of our Lord submitted herself to the will of God as spoken by the Archangel Gabriel. She conceived by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to her Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Her own life was wrapped up in the life of her Son. She suffered with Him, not only as a disciple, but as His loving mother. When her only Son was dying, hanging by the nails of a rough wooden cross, she was there with him. She stood before the Cross next to her Son’s beloved disciple, John. Jesus spoke to John saying, “Here is your mother,” and to Mary, “Here is your son.” From the Cross, Christ placed his mother under John’s care and established her as the mother of the whole Church, the family of His disciples. After her Son’s death, burial, resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven she remained with the disciples. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the Church she was there with the Apostles. Can you imagine how much the early Church loved and respected the devoted mother of our Lord?

In the icon of her falling asleep, Mary’s body lays on a funeral bier with the Apostles gathered around. Her Immortal Son, the Risen Lord, appears in all His radiant divine glory beside her lifeless body. Christ has come to receive His mother into His heavenly kingdom. In His hands, He holds the pure soul of his mother, wrapped in the white swaddling clothes of an innocent child. The portrayal of the Virgin Mary as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and held by her Son echoes the icon of Christ’s Nativity, which shows the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. As Mary cared for Jesus after his birth when He came into the world, Jesus cared for His mother after her physical death when she left the world.

Let’s remember the words of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Let’s also keep the following words of Christ from today’s Gospel reading in our hearts: “And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!’ But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke 1.28; 11.27-28, NKJV). The Virgin Mary is honored, not only because she is His mother, but because she, as His mother, believed the word of God and followed it with complete faith, love, and humility. She shows us what a true disciple of Jesus Christ should look like.

“Calling to remembrance our all-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and each other and all our life unto Christ our God.”

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The icon of the Dormition is in the public domain.

The Pantocrator

2006-08-14T08:46:00.001-07:00

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Pantocrator." - Revelation 1.8

Jesus Christ is the Pantocrator, the Almighty, the Ruler of All. He is the Compassionate One who loves us and cares for us, the Great Physician who heals us, and the Immortal One who has triumphed over death to give us life. As the King of the Universe, Christ watches over us from His throne in heaven, yet He is always present among us on earth.

The vault of the heavens is You, O Lord, Fashioner;
and the Holy Church's great founder;
likewise establish me in unfeigned love for You,
for You are the height of things sought for,
the staff of the faithful and the only Friend of all.
You are my strength;
You are my power and might, O Lord;
You are my God;
You Who is not absent from Thy Father's arms.
You, Lord, are my joy.
You have deigned to visit our lowliness and our poverty.
To You, therefore, I cry out with Habbakoum the Prophet:
Glory be to Your power, O Friend of Man.

The Greek word pantocrator or pantokrator is found in the Greek New Testament. The image of the Pantocrator is from the Monastery of St. Catherine, located at Mt. Sinai. The image is in the public domain. The above prayers have been taken from The Service of the Great Paraklesis to the Most Holy Theotokos, available on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia website.

Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain

2006-08-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

For over a thousand years Orthodox Christian monks have lived on the peninsula of Mount Athos, also known as Hagion Oros, the Holy Mountain. Twenty Orthodox Christian monasteries rest on the peninsula. Only monks live there. Mount Athos is an autonomous region of Greece inaccessible to the outside world except by boat. A certain number of male pilgrims are given special permission to visit. Mount Athos is a holy place whose inhabitants have separated themselves from worldly influences and cares in order to dedicate themselves entirely to living the spiritual way of life in a continual state of prayer, worship, and communion with God. They seek self-transformation, enlightenment, and union with God through divine grace.

Check out Mount Athos: The Holy Mountain, a website provided by Macedonian Heritage, for a nice introduction to Mt. Athos and information on visiting there. Investigate the official Mount Athos website, and read a Pilgrim's Guide to Mount Athos at the Friends of Mount Athos website. Really good information on Mount Athos has also been provided by Monachos.net and Orthodoxwiki.

Visit the Hellenic Ministry of Culture's Treasures of Mount Athos exhibition site. The full catalogue of the exhibition, including images and detailed descriptions of the treasures, is available on the site.

Neil Averitt wrote about his recent trip to Mount Athos in "Mt. Athos, Of Monks and Men," an article published in The Washington Post on Sunday, August 6, 2006. You can find a commentary on this article at GetReligion.org.

The above image of Mt. Athos is available on Wikipedia. Permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the image under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Ancient Manuscripts from the British Isles

2006-08-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

An ancient book of Psalms, preserved in a bog for centuries, has been discovered in Ireland. The Psalter seems to be more than a thousand years old, created during the time when Orthodox Christianity flourished in the British Isles. Robert Siegel’s interview with Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland, is available at NPR.org. Information is also available on the BBC News and National Museum of Ireland websites.

Many other ancient manuscripts from the Orthodox Christian British Isles have been preserved. The Book of Kells, produced by Orthodox Celtic monks and known for its beautifully ornate style, is perhaps the most famous. Wikipedia contains a good article on the Book of Kells. Another article about it can be found on the Irishclans.com website. Visit Orthodoxwiki for an article on the Lindisfarne Gospels.

"A Brief History of the Irish Orthodox Church" by the Monk Nicodemus has been provided by the Orthodox Christian Information Center.

You may also read my previous article, "The Ancient Spirituality of the British Isles."

The above image from the Book of Kells shows the beginning of The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to St. John. The image, available on Wikipedia, is in the public domain.

Orthodox Christianity in Japan

2006-08-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

The son of a samurai and son-in-law of a Shinto priest, Takama Sawabe was a fierce Japanese nationalist. He hated Christianity and all foreign influences in his country. One day he angrily confronted the Orthodox Christian missionary to Japan, a Russian priest-monk named Nicholas (Nicolai). Father Nicholas spoke to him:

"Why are you angry at me?" Fr. Nicholas asked Sawabe.

"All you foreigners must die. You have come here to spy on our country and even worse, you are harming Japan with your preaching," answered Sawabe.

"But do you know what I preach?"

"No, I don't," he answered.

"Then how can you judge, much less condemn something you know nothing about? Is it just to defame something you do not know? First listen to me, and then judge. If what you hear is bad, then throw us out."

After listening to Father Nicholas and learning about the Orthodox Christian way of life, the nationalist samurai who had once endorsed Shintoism now believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized, becoming the first person to embrace Orthodox Christianity in Japan. At his baptism, he appropriately received the Christian name Paul, after St. Paul, one of the Church's greatest Apostles who, before his conversion, had used his authority to violently persecute the Christian Church. Paul Sawabe would eventually be ordained an Orthodox Christian priest. You can read about Father Paul (pictured here) in a brief article on the Japanese National Diet Library website dedicated to Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures, which includes another photo, and on Orthodoxwiki.

Father Nicholas, the missionary who taught Paul the Orthodox Christian Faith and baptized him, was later consecrated as bishop and is today known as St. Nicholas of Japan.

According to the the book, Missionaries, Monks, and Martyrs, St. Nicholas worked hard to learn about Japanese language and culture:

Along with language learning, Nicholas studied the culture and history of Japan. He read their mythology and literature, and learned about Confucianism, Shintoism, and Buddhism. He even attended the sermons of popular Buddhist preachers and public storytellers in hopes of understanding the mind of the Japanese. For close to seven years he continued this intense study. Eventually, he became one of the foremost scholars of the Japanese language and went on to translate service and prayer books, catechism books, and the Scripture, as he waited for opportunities of evangelism to open within the country. (111)

Articles on the life of St. Nicholas of Japan are available on the website of Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church in Baltimore and on Orthodoxwiki. An icon of him can be seen on the Orthodox Church in America website. The Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland has provided a great article by Fr. Gregory Hallam on the mission strategy of St. Nicholas of Japan, and its relevance for the Orthodox Church today.

You can read about the Orthodox Church in Japan on Orthodoxwiki. The official website of the Orthodox Church in Japan contains photos of Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo. "The Orthodox Church Singing in Japan" website offers an article by Maria Junko Matsush on St. Nicholas and the music of the Orthodox Church in Japan.

On the same music-themed site you can listen to the Troparion of Pascha (Easter) sung in Greek, Romanian, and Japanese according to the musical tradition of the Orthodox Church. In English, the words of the troparion are "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and on those in the tombs bestowing life!"

This post is dedicated to my good friend Nicholas, who grew up in Japan, the land of his ancestors. Several years ago, Nicholas believed in Jesus Christ, renounced both the Buddhism and secularism of his past, and was baptized into the Holy Orthodox Christian Church at Pascha (Easter), when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. At baptism, he received the name of his patron saint, St. Nicholas of Japan, as his own. May God grant him many years!

The photo of Father Paul Sawabe is in the public domain. The above dialogue between Sawabe and St. Nicholas and the cited quotation is from the book, Missionaries, Monks, and Martyrs: Making Disciples of All Nations by Luke Alexander Veronis, (Light and Life Publishing, 1994), 111-112.

Orthodox Christianity in China

2006-08-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

Orthodox Christianity arrived in China around the year 1685, perhaps earlier. Centuries later, 222 native Chinese Orthodox Christians were murdered during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The new Chinese martyrs included faithful men, women, and children. Their priest, Mitrophan, whose birth name was Jichong, and his family, were among the innocents tortured and killed.

An article on the history of Orthodox Christianity in China is available on the website of Dimitris Papadias, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Orthodoxy in China website has published an article entitled, "The Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion," by Father Geoffrey Korz, which originally appeared on the Conciliar Press site. "Accounts of the Martyrs of the Chinese Orthodox Church," an article that lists the names of martyrs and offers information about them, is also available on the "Orthodoxy in China" site.

The icon of the Holy Martyrs of China can be viewed on Orthodoxwiki. An explanation of the icon is on the website of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific.

An Akathist to the Chinese Martyr Saints, composed with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop SERAPHIM, bishop of Ottowa and All Canada (OCA), has been included in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

For information on St. John the Wonderworker, also known as St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, check out the website of St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church, part of the Orthodox Church in America.

For more information, you may visit the website of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia, which is part of the ancient Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Also, you may read my previous post on Christ the Eternal Tao.

(The icon of St. Mitrophan shown above is by the hand of Nana Quparadze. The icon is used here according to fair use with credit given to the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. This icon and others are available on the Orthodoxy in China website and at Orthodoxwiki.)

St. John of Damascus on Islam

2006-08-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

St. John of Damascus grew up in Syria under Islamic rule. A few decades before his birth, Islamic forces had invaded and captured Syria, part of the Christian Byzantine Empire. Although his family members were Orthodox Christians, they were closely associated with the state. St. John, like his father, held a high position within the Muslim caliph's government. Since St. John lived as an Orthodox Christian during the very early years of Islam, near the time of Mohammed, he was in a unique position to comment on the new religion the Arab merchant introduced to the world.

Read what St. John of Damascus said about Islam (also known as Mohammedism) in the post, St. John of Damascus on Islam, from the biblicalia blog.

The St. John of Damascus School of Theology at Balamand University in Lebanon has provided a helpful webpage with more information on St. John of Damascus.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photo by Dana S. Kees.

The Church and State

2006-08-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

In America, the phrase "separation of church and state" is often invoked in discussions on the relationship between religion and politics. Different people have different views of what the phrase means and what the ideal interaction between religious groups and political bodies might look like. According to conventional wisdom, "politics and religion don't mix."

Most Americans don't realize that a separation between Church and State has been practiced in Orthodox Christian lands for over a thousand years. An Orthodox Christian country is healthiest when both the Church and the civil government work harmoniously together. In his book, The Orthodox Church, Bishop Kallistos Ware quotes the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces: "I recognize two authorities, priesthood and empire; the Creator of the world entrusted to the first the care of souls and to the second the care of men's bodies. Let neither authority be attacked, that the world may enjoy prosperity" (41).

Unlike the situation with Roman Catholicism in past centuries, the Orthodox Christian Church is not over the government. It does not assume the powers of the State. On the other hand, the Orthodox Church is not controlled by the government either.

Some writers have attempted to rewrite certain parts of history regarding the early Church. One idea floating around American culture is that Emperor Constantine the Great, the first emperor of the Christian Byzantine Empire, compelled the Orthodox bishops gathered at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 to declare that Jesus was God. Therefore, according to the allegations, Christian doctrine was decided in the fourth century under the political influence of Constantine, a politician. In actuality, the Council at Nicaea didn't decide any new doctrine, but only reaffirmed what the Church had always believed since the time of the Apostles. Having arisen from persecution only a few years before, the Church defended the Faith its martyrs had been killed proclaiming. The gathered bishops intended to clearly distinguish the true Christian Faith from the new heretical ideas espoused by a priest named Arius, who taught that Christ was a created being and not God Himself, as the Church had always believed and taught. The Council condemned the teachings of Arius, and formulated a Creed that rejected Arianism. The Nicaean Creed eventually included these statements:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.

Sometimes the State may try to control the Church. In such cases, the Church must peacefully defend the Faith for the good of the people. Even after the Christian Church condemned the false teachings of Arius with one voice at the Council of Nicaea, some continued to support his doctrine. When a supporter of Arianism became emperor of the Christian Byzantine Empire, he tried to influence Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. Despite the pressure placed upon him by the emperor's officials, St. Basil refused to hold back his attacks on the error of Arianism:

Finally, in a heated encounter, the praetorian prefect lost his patience and threatened Basil with confiscating his goods, with exile, torture, and even death. Basil responded, "All that I have you can confiscate are these rags and a few books. Nor can you exile me, for wherever you send me, I shall be God's guest. As to tortures you should know that my body is already dead in Christ. And death would be a great boon to me, leading me sooner to God." Taken aback, the prefect said that no one had ever spoken to him thus. Basil answered, "Perhaps that is because you have never met a true bishop." (The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo L. Gonzalez, HarperSanFrancisco, 1984, p. 185)

In recent times the Orthodox Christian Church has spoken out against the government's failure to preserve the Orthodox Christian Faith in its governance of the people. Patriarch Pavle, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church in Serbia, denounced Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic during his rule of Serbia. Milosevic was eventually indicted on charges of crimes against humanity in Kosovo. Father Sava, a Serbian priest, stated that Milosevic had "brought ruin upon the Serb people." He also declared that "the Milosevic regime does not support the Christian values we are fighting for and want to preserve" (BBC News Online, "Orthodox Church Attacks Milosevic," June, 29, 1999).

As the Church must sometimes defend the Faith and people from a straying government, it must also address problems within the Church. When Arius introduced heresy into the Church, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea so that the Church could deal with the problem. In an Orthodox Christian country, problems concerning the Faith affect the whole nation. In this council, and the ones that followed it, the Church condemned heresy and upheld the true Faith. Last year, one of the Church's chief bishops (a Patriarch) was removed from his position by his brother bishops when he became involved in a controversy with political implications that affected both the Church and the people of his land. Although the Orthodox Church itself is incorruptible and whole, she is composed of imperfect individual.

From an Orthodox perspective, the separation of Church and State doesn't mean that the State operates as a secular institution apart from the Faith. The Church is responsible for caring for the souls of Orthodox Christians, citizens of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. The authority and power of the Church is within the realm of this heavenly kingdom, not the civil government. The Church does not hold secular power. The Church offers a spiritual voice within the culture and her bishops offer guidance to the leaders of the State according to the Faith of the Church, the way of life handed down from generation to generation since the Apostles. The State cannot control the Church, but must protect and care for the faithful people of the Orthodox country as is the duty of a sovereign nation's government.

Since we don't live in an Orthodox Christian country, but as Orthodox Christians in the United States of America, let's remember our prayers:

For our Metropolitan PHILIP and our Bishop..., for the venerable Priesthood, the Diaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and the people, let us pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States and all civil authorities, and for our Armed Forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.

That He will aid them and grant them victory over every enemy and adversary, let us pray to the Lord.

For this city, and every city and land, and for the faithful who dwell therein, let us pray to the Lord.

For healthful seasons, for the abundance of the fruit of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Here is my favorite picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Alexy II, shepherd of the Russian Orthodox Church. The photo, from the St. Petersburg Times, was apparently taken at Pascha (Orthodox Easter).

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (The above photo of President Putin and Patriarch Alexy II, taken Christmas 2000, is in the public domain. The portions of the Great Litany and Nicaean Creed have been taken from the Service Book of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.)

Take Me Home: The Church in the Hills

2006-07-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my mom and I drove up a narrow country road to the place where my great-great-grandparents, the Burgesses, once lived. The wild woods have overtaken where their family home stood. Born in 1857, my great-great-grandfather came to Grapevine Creek from Missouri with his mother and brother after a family tragedy during the Civil War. As an adult, he served for more than forty years as a horse-riding Methodist lay minister in the mountains. He's now buried in a small hill-top cemetery not far from my home.

On the way to see where my ancestors lived we passed a little white country church called Grapevine Chapel. My Mom grew up in that church. She served there as the vice-president of the youth group and sung in the Grapevine Octet. Since I grew up next door to my grandparents, my mom's parents, I went to Grapevine Chapel with my grandmother on occasion. She drove us up Grapevine Creek, about a mile past where we lived, in her red '69 Ford Falcon. It was a brief but scenic drive, nice on a Sunday morning. The white wooden church with a cross-topped steeple sat beside the road in a grassy field. The structure had been built a few miles away in the 1800's as a Methodist Church, but was moved to its present location on Grapevine Creek around 1929, where it became the independent community church it is today. Through the door we entered into the pine interior and walked on the hardwood floors to my grandma's usual place among the solid pews. She sat down on her inch-thick square cushion and I rested beside her.

At the beginning of the service we stood and sang the old hymns from well-worn hymnals. We sang attentively, with feeling. I don't know exactly how to explain the way Appalachian people sing in their churches. Try to image a room full of men and women with thick Appalachian accents singing "Amazing Grace" unhurriedly, deliberately, almost mournfully, with a sense of reverence, remembrance, and hopeful yearning. The rich harmonies underlie the moving melodies. They skillfully bend the notes with their mountain dialect. Perhaps this is the Scots-Irish version of the blues. As they sing, the words sometimes make grown men cry. A lot of our culture's music is about going to heaven. Appalachian people embrace the reality of suffering and death, but also look forward with hope to a time when there's no more of pain and sorrow.

As the singing is enthusiastic, so also is the sermon. A good preacher, according to conventional wisdom, is one who knows the Bible and can get everybody, including himself, excited about it's message. It might be said of a calm, uninspiring preacher with little theatrical ability, "He's a good teacher, but he's just not a preacher." Preachers don't have to be formally educated and a lot of churches specifically want preachers that aren't. "A seminary can ruin a preacher," some say. For these people, the only school book a preacher needs is his Bible and the only teacher is the Holy Spirit.

Members of these churches rightly believe that the Bible is the authoritative word of God. They sincerely want to believe and live out the "old time religion," the true Christian Faith revealed in the Bible, the same Faith of the early Church found in the Book of Acts, the same Faith preached by Peter and Paul. As the old song goes:

Give me that old time religion.
Give me that old time religion.
Give me that old time religion.
It's good enough for me.

It was good enough for Paul and Silas.
It was good enough for Paul and Silas.
It was good enough for Paul and Silas.
It's good enough for me.

The Appalachian people try to stick to the Bible and keep the old time religion of the Apostles alive as much as they know how. Despite their best efforts, though, these churches lack something the early biblical churches that are mentioned in the Bible possessed. What are country churches missing that the early churches had? Let's take the ancient church in Antioch for example. What can the ancient church of Antioch teach the country churches in the Appalachian hills?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, founded His Holy Church upon the Apostles He had chosen. After the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church on the Feast of Pentecost. The Spirit empowered her to do the work of Christ on the earth and to take the Gospel throughout the world.

According to the Book of Acts, when the church in Jerusalem heard that people in Antioch were receiving the Gospel and believing in Jesus, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch. When Barnabas saw what was happening there, he traveled to Tarsus to bring Paul back with him. Paul and Barnabas spent a whole year with the Antiochian church and taught a large group of people about the Faith. (The disciples of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch.) At the right time, according to the will of God, Paul and Barnabas were sent off from Antioch on their world-changing missionary journeys.

What happened to the church in Antioch after the age of the Apostles? The Apostles entrusted the leadership of the Church, indwelled and guided by the Holy Spirit, to their successors. From generation to generation the bishops of the Christian Church who proceeded the Apostles shepherded the faithful. One the most famous pastors of the church in Antioch is Ignatius, the second bishop of Antioch, who lived during the time of the Apostles and knew the Apostle John. Ignatius served the church in Antioch until, refusing to deny Jesus Christ, he was taken to Rome, thrown to wild animals, and martyred for the Faith.

Eventually, the church in Antioch became one of the world's five major centers of Christianity, called patriarchates. The Patriarchate of Antioch, shared responsibility with the Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Rome, and Alexandria to shepherd the world's Christians.

What happened to the Patriarchate of Antioch? After 2,000 years, the Patriarchate of Antioch is still alive and thriving. In fact, all of the Patriarchates are still part of the Church, except for the church in Rome. The church in Rome, under the leadership of its bishop (the Pope) failed to hold on to the Faith and went its own way about a thousand years ago, forming what is called the Roman Catholic Church. With Rome gone, the Church revealed in the pages of the Holy Bible became known as the Orthodox Christian Church. (Orthodox means right faith and right worship, or right glory.)

The Patriarchate of Antioch is even present in our country. When Christians of the Patriarchate of Antioch emigrated from their native lands of Lebanon and Syria to America they brought the ancient Christian Faith with them to the shores of America and established churches throughout the land. People may be surprised to learn that several churches in Appalachia are still part of the Patriarchate of Antioch. St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Charleston, West Virginia, is the seat of His Grace, Bishop THOMAS, who was consecrated as bishop in Damascus, Syria, in 2004. (The cathedral is named after St. George, an early Christian martyr.) With Bishop THOMAS as our shepherd, the cathedral is the spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity in West Virginia.

Although the Church founded by the Apostles in biblical times still exists, most people in America don't realize that the ancient Church is still around. Here's why: Since the United Sates has been dominated throughout history by Roman Catholicism and the many Protestant groups (Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, independent, etc.), relatively few Americans have had any contact with the Orthodox Christian Faith. That's changing thanks to Orthodox Christian missionaries and immigrants who have come to America from the lands of the Bible. We are in a very special point in history when people are discovering the ancient Church and coming home to her. In some cases, entire congregations have united themselves with the Church. Some pastors who had dedicated their lives to bringing sinners to the foot of the Cross in repentance now not only bring men and women to the Cross of Jesus Christ, but they bring them through the Life-Giving Cross into Christ's Holy Church. The Patriarchate of Antioch, with a missionary legacy that dates back to Paul and Barnabas, has been instrumental in bringing the message of the Orthodox Church to North America and welcoming home those who seek to be united with the very Church that we read about in the pages of the Bible. His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, who shepherds all the Antiochian Orthodox churches in North America, has offered this invitation: "Come home, America! Come home to the Faith of Peter and Paul!"

The Orthodox Christian Faith is the fulfillment of Appalachian religion. First, there was only the Orthodox Church, then the church in Rome broke away to form the Roman Catholic Church. Later, the Protestant movement broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. All kinds of different churches emerged out of Protestantism, including the countless denominations, associations, and independent churches in Appalachia. Now with the presence of the Orthodox Christian Church in America, Appalachian churches have the opportunity to return back to the Church of the Apostles and to discover the spiritual depths of the true Faith they have never fully known.

What would happen if Grapevine Chapel became an Orthodox Christian temple? I can imagine returning there to see a spiritual community with renewed faith, life, and vision. Walking through the doors on Sunday morning I enter the atrium and light a candle as a sign of my prayer before an image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Asking for the forgiveness of sins, I calm my senses, leave all my worldly cares behind, and prepare my heart for heavenly worship. Then, I enter the main part of the church and stand at one of the pews. Although the central worship service, called the Divine Liturgy, hasn't begun yet, the service of morning prayer is already going on. I hear the familiar prayers sung in ancient tones and smell the sweet incense, mingled with the prayers of the saints, as the smoke rises up to God. Our worship reflects the heavenly worship revealed in the Book of Revelation. It's beautiful. The service is led by a man who has been called by God and ordained by the Church as a link in a chain of ministers that extends through history all the way back to the Apostles. Our worship is liturgical, meaning that it is the work of the people. There are no instruments to be heard except the human voice as the people sing prayers and spiritual songs, some of them over a thousand years old. We didn't just come here to listen to a sermon, but to worship God together with all our hearts. When the morning prayers conclude, the Divine Liturgy begins. The little church is full of mystery. The worship I see reminds me of the reality I can't physically see with my eyes, but that I know is present all around me. We are not alone in our worship. God is with us and we who worship the Holy Trinity on earth are joined by the saints, angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim in heaven. This is heavenly worship, the way worship in the hills should be. This is Orthodox Christian worship, ancient worship, timeless worship, the worship of the true and living God.

For generations the churches scattered throughout Appalachia have tried to live a spiritual life of faith and hope based on the Bible. They've tried to trust in God and live the old time religion. It turns out that the old time religion of mountain churches isn't as old as we thought. (The Bible itself can be dated to the time of the Apostles, but the way most mountain churches use and interpret the Bible is no more than 500 years old. Some of the interpretations, assumed to be ancient, are much newer.) For years the people of Appalachia have been missing something. They've tried to be a church the best way they know how while being separated from the Orthodox Christian Church, the historical New Testament Church that has continued to live the fullness of the Christian Faith in the lands of the Bible and beyond. The people in the hills have tried to study the Bible passed down to them without the benefit of the interpretation that has been passed down along with the Bible in the Orthodox Church. They've tried to worship God with all their hearts without having the opportunity to experience the true, ancient, heavenly worship of the Orthodox Church. I'm happy to know that the Orthodox Christian Church has come to the Appalachian hills, the land of my ancestors, with arms open wide to welcome us home. Come home to the Faith of the Apostles, the Faith of the Fathers, the Faith of the Orthodox, the Faith that has established the universe.

Images: Photo of Grapevine Chapel in 1959 (from family collection); Photo of St. George Orthodox Church by Dana S. Kees; Russian Orthodox icon of the Crucifixion (Public Domain); Image of what Grapevine Chapel might look like today as an Orthodox Church (original and enhanced photos by Dana S. Kees. The dome actually belongs on top of the Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene, which rests on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, from image in the Pictorial Dictionary of Bible Lands, Bibleplaces.com. Used by permission).

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees.

In the Mountains

2006-07-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I recently visited the lake for a few days. Near sunrise and dusk, I watched the cloudy-white mist glide slowly across the water between the mountains.

I love the Appalachian mountains, where my roots grow deep. I live inside an ever-changing icon. Every green thing, every leaf and blade of grass, points me to God, who created all things and dwells among us.

I often find myself looking at a scene or driving down a country road and thinking, "This would be a wonderful place for a monastery." In the hills we find silence, touched by the sound of birds and breeze. The blue sky arches above the earth's browns, greens, and yellows. Red, orange, and purple flowers are scattered about. Each piece seems to rest in the right place. God is here. This is a good place for prayer. It’s a good place to work and encounter the wonders of life.

Monks are friends of both the Creator and the creation. I've heard of monks like St. Seraphim of Sarov who, through the Holy Spirit, became so gentle, loving, and peaceful that the wild animals in the forest befriended them. Although the world has fallen into chaos, these prayerful saints lived harmoniously with the animals as though it were still Paradise.

A monastery here would be good for the monks who strive to pray without ceasing, shed themselves of their own prideful self-centeredness, achieve divine enlightenment, and experience theosis, union with God.

A monastery would also be good for the people in both the surrounding country and in the nearest city. It seems to me that one reason people in my generation are so apathetic about their own spiritual health is that they're so busy with distractions, disconnected from places of peaceful rest, and immersed in the quicksand of secular culture. Young Americans are enslaved to a harmful worldview, reinforced by friends, the media, and the culture.

A monastery in the mountains would offer people a place of refuge, somewhere to run to, away from an environment that nurtures pride, self-centeredness, chaos, and confusion. People need a quiet place, a holy place, where they can reorient themselves, reconnect with their souls, look honestly at their own hearts, and allow their ever-loving Creator God to reach deep within them to heal their hurts. They need to disconnect themselves from a world full of ignorance and misguided ideas so they can seek, find, and be changed by the Truth who sets us free. A monastery in these very hills would provide us with a place of constant prayer for the benefit of our nation and the whole world, a world that needs guidance, divine help, and peace.

Yes, this would be a wonderful place for a monastery.

Let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photograph copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees.

Orthodox Christianity in Serbia

2006-07-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

Although Serbia has endured much suffering under the weight of oppressive atheist regimes, the Orthodox Christian Church in Serbia has continued to weather the many violent storms that have blown through its land. The light of Christ has continued to shine brightly through His Church during many years of political upheaval and brutal war.

The Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate, like the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate, is a modern jurisdiction of the Orthodox Christian Church united with the ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

The ancient Decani Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery in Kosovo. They have a great website. In the Orthodox Church we express our Faith and pray our prayers through our music. Hear the glorious prayers chanted by the monks. See the images of the night vigil and the monastery in festal lights. The monastery is filled with beautiful holy icons. Read about The Art of Decani Monastery. See images of the monks celebrating Easter (Pascha) in 2003. Check out the other pictures of the monks worshiping inside the church temple, the church building from the outside, everyday duties of the monks, and the icon studio.

Here are pictures of the monastery after the war. Watch a really good BBC report (Real Video) about how the monks saved lives in Kosovo. You can also read news articles from the the BBC, the Associated Press, The New York Times, and Knight Ridder Newspapers about the monks' life-saving work among the people.

In addition to the prayerful chants available on the Decani Monastery website, hear Serbian Orthodox Choral Chants and Medieval Chants on the website of St. Luke's Orthodox Mission.

The Serbian government under Slobodan Milosevic tried to use the image of the Orthodox Church for the purposes of nationalistic political propaganda. Listen to an NPR report by Frederica Mathewes-Green about the role of the Orthodox Christian Church in Serbia during this period. The Very Reverend Thomas Hopko wrote an article entitled, "The Serbian Church and Milosevic," which is available on the websites of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and OrthodoxyToday. The Serbian Orthodox Church's actual view of Milosevic's regime can be seen in reports by the BBC, CNN, and Christianity Today. The Rev. Irinej Dobrijevic wrote a paper on "The Role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in National Self-Determination and Regional Integration," published on serbianstudies.org (pdf file).

The Cybercast News Service has made available an article and video showing the desecration of an Orthodox Christian Church in Bosnia by Islamic forces. The article is entitled "Church Desecration Video Serves as Jihad Fund-Raiser." On a more positive note, Frank Brown wrote "Orthodox Serb Priest Aids Embattled Serb Villagers in Kosovo," available on Beliefnet.com.

For information on the Serbian Orthodox Church in America check out the websites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada and the Serbian Orthodox Church, Diocese of Western America.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The public domain photo of the Temple of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia by Filip Maljkovic is available at Wikipedia.com.

Finding Your Spiritual Home

2006-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

While many of us would identify ourselves as "spiritual," a lot of young Americans are highly suspicious of “the Church."

When some people think of the Church they think of the Roman Catholic Church, viewed as an institutional behemoth headed by an infallible Pope that once controlled most of the Western world. When someone’s concept of the Church is based on the Roman Catholic Church, the person may see the Church as an entity that will compromise holiness for political gain and that blurs the line between politics and religion. Isn’t the Church responsible for the brutal death and destruction caused by the Crusades and the Inquisition? Hasn’t the Church used religion as an excuse to invade countries and control people’s personal lives? The Church is deceptively dangerous, some think. Even today the Pope is the leader of the Holy See, a separate country within Italy that maintains incredible wealth and political power. Who knows what dark secrets are kept within the halls of the Vatican? Hasn’t the Church suppressed certain writings and even executed people who could call into question its official doctrine and absolute authority?

Not all Americans use the Roman Catholic Church as their model for understanding what the Church is. Protestants who belong to the multitude of denominations and independent churches don’t see the Church as a visible institution, but as an invisible entity made up of all the real Christians in the world. Protestants view the different local churches and denominational organizations in the world as separate from the Church. Ideally, the Protestant religious organizations are supposed to help the Church grow and do its work in the world. One might hear a Protestant say, "All the differences between the denominations don't matter. What matters is the Church of Jesus Christ. We need to get beyond our denominational differences and find unity in the Church."

Secular people who reject the Church because they think it’s like the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants who embrace their concept of the Church as just an invisible interdenominational entity both misunderstand what the Church really is. If the Church is neither like the Roman Catholic Church with its infallible Pope and Vatican City nor is it merely made up of the sum total of all those who believe in Jesus Christ, according what Truth they have received, then what is the true Church?

Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ founded the Church. There was only one Church, the Church. More importantly it was His Church, which He built upon His Apostles. After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church to indwell it. The Church became the temple of the Holy Spirit and, guided by the Spirit, served as the “pillar and ground of truth” on the earth. In the early days, the Church produced the New Testament and its missionaries took the Faith throughout the Roman world. The Church continued to grow, even under severe persecution, as people believed in Jesus Christ and were received into the Church by baptism.

When strange ideas surfaced within the Church, the Church held councils to defend the Christian Faith as it had been passed down and preserved since the time of the Apostles. The bishops didn’t gather together to decide what the Church would believe, but to declare with one united voice what the Church of Jesus Christ had always believed. They defended the Faith that is Catholic, that is, what had been believed by all Christians in all times and in every place. They defended the Faith that is Orthodox, the right way of believing and worshiping the true and living God. The Church of Jesus Christ also called itself The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and the Orthodox Church.

The decisions of the councils clearly defined what the Church believed. Those who introduced strange new heretical doctrines contrary to the ancient Faith of the Orthodox Church were called upon by the Church to repent of their heresies and reaffirm the true Faith. The prideful heretics who continued to trust in their own invented doctrines instead of the ancient Faith separated themselves by their actions from the Orthodox Church, the body of Christ on earth. The heretics’ churches continued to exist, but anyone who united himself or herself with one of these churches was considered to be out of communion with the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Christ.

One of the saddest events in the history of the Church took place about 1,000 years ago. During the Great Schism the churches in the West under the influence of Rome separated from the churches in the East. The Western churches formed the Roman Catholic Church while the churches in the East, including the ancient churches of Jerusalem and Antioch, remained a part of the Orthodox Church.

The Roman Catholic Church continued to drift away from the Faith preserved through the centuries by the Orthodox Church. About 500 years ago, realizing that the Roman Catholic Church had departed from the Faith of the Apostles, several Roman Catholics started the Protestant movement. The Protestant movement has produced thousands of religious groups, including Baptists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, Methodists, Presbyterians, and a host of other denominations, parachurch groups, and independent congregations. Unfortunately, instead of returning to the Orthodox Church founded by Jesus Christ, Protestants formed their own churches apart from the Church. (Most Protestants don’t even realize that the ancient Church of the New Testament still exists.)

Like many other Evangelical Protestant pastors before me, I once tried to create a “New Testament” church patterned after what I read in the Bible, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. Since the early Church met in homes, I tried to introduce home-based worship into the life of my congregation. Since fellowship and prayer was part of the early Church, I attempted to ensure both of those things were included. I tried to recreate the biblical Church in 21st century America. I failed. I was destined to fail. I didn’t know at the time that a person can’t follow a biblical pattern to create the biblical Church. The Bible doesn’t make a church. Instead, the Church, through the Holy Spirit, produced the Bible. It was written for the Church and can only be understood by the Church within the life of the Church.

Even if I had successfully created a "church" that looked like what I thought the Church written about in the New Testament looked like, the "church" I created would still have been outside of the real Orthodox Church. Eventually, I realized that the only way I could be part of the true biblical New Testament Church was to unite myself to the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Church founded by Jesus Christ Himself. As Patriarch Ignatius IV, the current pastor of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch has said, "We did not invent Orthodoxy. Churches cannot be invented. Nobody can make a Church, and Christ is the only one who spoke about His own Church. And we believe that we stick to Orthodoxy because it is His own Church" (The Ancient Church).

The Orthodox Church does not have a Pope. Our bishops share a brotherly equality. Unlike in the Western world, where the Pope often ruled over both Church and State (after the political collapse of Western Europe), the Orthodox Church believes that bishops and rulers should have a complimentary relationship. The Church deals with the affairs of the heavenly reality of the kingdom of God. The State deals with the governmental issues on earth. The Orthodox Church is not just an institution, but a dynamic community with an organic organization, a family with a hierarchy. (The word church, meaning assembly, refers to the mystical community itself. The people are the Church.) The Crusades and the Inquisition were Roman Catholic pursuits. They were not carried out by the Orthodox Church. (Orthodox Christians were actually victims of the Crusades. In 1204 the Crusaders sacked the Orthodox city of Constantinople, which eventually fell during the Islamic invasion. Pope John Paul II has offered an emotional apology for the atrocities committed by Roman Catholics against Orthodox Christians.) So, those who think of the Church as being like the Roman Catholic Church misunderstand what the Church is really like.

The Orthodox Church is both mystically invisible and visibly present in the world. The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church has preserved a lifestyle that has been lived for thousands of years. A person can walk into an Orthodox Church and experience with all five senses a 1,600 year old worship service that still maintains the traces of the Jewish worship familiar to the earliest disciples of Jesus. Our prayers, icons, songs, preaching, and way of life find its root in apostolic times. Our bishops, entrusted with protecting the apostolic faith in the churches under their care, trace their historical line of authority all the way back to the Apostles, the first bishops of the Christian Church. As our Faith has endured through the generations so has our organizational structure. The Orthodox Church is the mystical body of Christ. All members of the Church, both on earth and in heaven, are invisibly joined together as the Church. At the same time, however, the Church is also visibly united by our worship, structure, and spiritual lifestyle.

Although it's the second largest Christian body in the world, the Orthodox Church has remained relatively unknown in America, which has historically been under the influence or Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Even though I have two degrees in the field of religion, I learned almost nothing about the Orthodox Church during my formal studies. When we talked about the Orthodox Church in school, our teachers and books simply called it the early Church, so I didn’t realize the early Church still existed. During my time in an Evangelical Protestant seminary, I took a theology class that used a book called, A Handbook of Contemporary Theology, which surveyed various kinds of theological perspectives. The chapter on “Eastern Orthodox Theology” began with these words:

If any church has a legitimate claim to stand in historical succession from the apostolic church of New Testament times, it is the Eastern Orthodox. Known also as the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox tradition may be said to be the mother of both Roman Catholicism and
Protestantism. And yet, this oldest tradition in which originated a huge portion of our theology is little known or understood. (103)

I didn’t pay much attention to that chapter during my time in seminary, but now I know what it means. Thankfully, I’ve met many Americans like me who have discovered the fullness of the Christian Faith in the Orthodox Church.

We hope that those who have rejected the Church, however they misunderstand it, will find their spiritual home in the ancient Orthodox Church, a community of truth, faith, and mystery. We also hope that all Christians who live apart from the Orthodox Church will come home to the Church where the fullness of the Christian Faith is found. We don’t believe that unity among Christians can be achieved by superficially agreeing on a few essential doctrinal principles, however important they may be, while ignoring the doctrines that divide us. We believe that the real union of Christians can only be achieved when we are all united together as one body in Christ’s own Church, where we stand together in the same Faith and experience the same spiritual life in its fullest and most complete expression.

Since there is only one Church and one Faith, we must all be united in the same Church that holds to the same Faith. We can only find true union within the same flock of the same Shepherd. Let us all gather around the living Christ within His Church, the community of His beloved disciples. This is the ancient Church, the Church we all need, the Church many of us have always hoped for but never knew existed.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photo copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (Work Cited: A Handbook of Contemporary Theology by David L. Smith, “Eastern Orthodox Theology,” (Wheaton: Bridgepoint, 1992), 103. The quote from Patriarch Ignatius IV is part of an interview in The Ancient Church, a movie directed by Richard Zakka and produced by Silverline Films.)

For the Peace of the World

2006-07-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

Around the world we see conflict among the nations and between different factions in country fighting for political power. Lust for power and ignorance of Truth drive men and women to commit acts of evil against their fellow humans. The secular philosophies and false religions of those who do not know the true and living God spread destruction. Many are deceived, thinking that they are doing good when they do evil. Their hearts are full of hatred. They yearn for vengeance against their enemies when they do the same evil against their adversaries that they despise being visited upon themselves. Even those who do not fight actively sympathize with those who murder innocents because they want revenge. They blame their enemies and curse them without realizing that the forces they support are part of the same continuous cycle of savage retribution. Many gather together in the streets to cry out for retaliation. They even teach their children to hate, poisoning the pure hearts of little ones with their own self-destructive anger, prideful contempt, and disregard for the beauty of life.

The earth is full of violence. As Orthodox Christians we must stand for peace. May we condemn the cycle of brutality and call for all people to break the ever-spinning wheel with the strong hammer of forgiveness.

In the midst of war, let us pray for peace. In many of our services, we sing the Litany of Peace (or Great Litany), a prayer that begins with these words:

In peace let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole world; for the good estate of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all men, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

As we pray for peace through the Litany when we are gathered together as the Church, let's also pray for peace during our private prayers.

Through our relationship with God we can acquire true peace in our hearts, nurture it, and humbly manifest it in our relationships with others. We are called to be agents of peace in the world around us. "Blessed are the peacemakers," Christ taught us, "for they will be called the children of God."

Peace destroys the dominion of violence and chaos in our own souls and in the world. It brings forgiveness and love for our enemies. One way we can bring peace into our chaotic cosmos is through prayer. Let's pray that the peace of God will descend upon us and the nations. Let's also pray that the Orthodox Christian Church will radiate divine peace throughout the world so people will love instead of hate, confess their own sins rather than accuse others, grant forgiveness instead of retribution, and seek to heal rather than hurt.

Prayers for peace and advice from the Saints on peacemaking are available at In Communion, the website of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship. The Paraklesis to the Most Holy Theotokos, to be prayed in times of distress, is available on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia website.

Since much violence has recently erupted in the Middle East, let us keep all Orthodox Christians in the ancient Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch in our prayers, especially those in the Archdioceses of Tyre & Sidon, Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Gaza, Nazareth, and Tiberias and the Galilee, who find themselves in the midst of war.

Let's remember the words we pray when we gather in our local churches in the evenings for the service of Great Compline, singing "Lord, have mercy" after each petition:

Let us pray for the peace of the world, and for pious and Orthodox Christians, and for our Metropolitan PHILIP and our Bishop... and all our brotherhood in Christ, and for the civil authorities of this land, and for the welfare of our armed forces, and for our fathers and brethren absent from among us, and for those who hate us and those who love us, and for those who are kind to us and minister unto us, and for those who have requested our prayers unworthy though we be, and for the deliverance of captives, and for travelers by land and sea and air, and for those who lie in sickness, and let us pray also for the abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for the soul of every Orthodox Christian. Let us bless God-fearing leaders, Orthodox bishops, the founders of this holy church and our parents and teachers, and all our fathers and brethren gone before us, the Orthodox who here and everywhere lie asleep in the Lord. Let us also say for ourselves: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (The image is from the NASA library.)

Middle East News

2006-07-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

In my previous post, Current News: Palestine & Israel, I listed several sources for news related to the Middle East. Let me add a few additional links. The Truth Laid Bear has set up a Crisis in the Middle East: Local Bloggers Report page with links to local Palestinian, Lebanese, and Israeli blogs, as well as other blogs covering the crisis. Also check out their link to Middle East Crisis: Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah. A brief description of Hamas, Hizballah (Hezbollah), and other Islamic militant groups is shown in the U.S. State Department's Background Information on Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The article, "Who are Hezbollah?" appears on BBC News: Middle East. The Hamas Charter is available for reading on the Palestine Center website.
For Lebanese perspectives, you can read The Daily Star, an English language newspaper online, and articles from the Lebanese Foundation for Peace.

Current news on Iran is available on the Iran News Blog. Also, check out Iran News Watch for updates.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. The CIA map is in the public domain.

Praying with the Chotki

2006-07-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

One of the central prayers in the spiritual life of Orthodox Christians in a simple prayer known as the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Shorter forms of the prayer like, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” may also be prayed. The most important aspect of the prayer is the invocation of the Divine Name, Jesus.

In the spiritual classic, The Way of a Pilgrim, a captain in the Russian Army talks with a pilgrim about the Jesus Prayer:

“Which is more exalted,” asked the captain, “the Jesus Prayer or the Bible?”

“It’s all the same,” I replied, “for the Divine Name of Jesus Christ contains within itself all the biblical truths. The holy Fathers say that the Jesus Prayer is the abbreviated version of the entire Bible.”

A circular rope called a chotki by Russians and a comboschini by Greeks is composed of a series of knots used for counting the number of times one prays the Jesus Prayer. The prayer rope, as it is called in English, is a spiritual sword in our battle against the influence of sin and death. It is a tool to help us pray continually from the heart, keep a constant awareness of God, and maintain intimate communion with Him. The tiny piece of rope can help us reach the summit of our human potential and the heights of Paradise.

I found a small book entitled, Comboschini: Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain of Athos, edited by the Church of Panagia Ahiropeetos in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2002. It’s short and simple, but offers a nice introduction to the use of the prayer rope and the Jesus Prayer. Thankfully, the text is available online at the Orthodox Christian Information Center. The article Saying the Jesus Prayer by Albert S. Rossi, a very good introduction to the Jesus Prayer, is available on the St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary website.

Books about the Jesus Prayer include The Way of a Pilgrim and The Jesus Prayer by a Monk of the Eastern Church.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. Photo copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (The above quote was taken from The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, trans. by Olga Savin. (Boston: Shambhala Classics, 2001), 22.)

The Secrets of Human Potential

2006-07-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

As I've previously written in my article on Orthodox Christian Anthropology, if we want to know ourselves and fulfill our human potential we must learn the divine knowledge that has been preserved in Holy Tradition. Here is a list of sources within Tradition that teach us who we are and who we can become.

Americans, educated in the Western world, tend to think that the way to learn something is to study the subject, read books about it, take classes, attend training seminars, or listen to expert speakers. According to this way of thinking, to become an expert on a subject, one has to research it, earn advanced degrees, and teach it at a university. (Having seen the experts that are consulted for documentaries related to religion, spirituality, the Bible, and Christian history that appear on television, I realize how loosely the media use the word "expert.")

A person can't learn Holy Tradition only by reading a book, listening to others talk about it, or trying to decipher the symbolic meaning of painted icons. Spirituality can't be learned in such a way, but must be learned through experience. Holy Tradition isn't merely a collection of writings or list of doctrines. It is the Faith of the Apostles in the mind of the Church. Holy Tradition is a way of life, "life in the Spirit," lived in harmonious unison with the whole Church worldwide. To gain spiritual knowledge and attain our full potential we must live the life of Faith with all our heart, mind, soul, and body within the mystical community Christ Himself established.

Through Holy Tradition as expressed, in part, by these sources, we can learn about who we were created to be as human beings, who we are now, why we are the way we are, and who we can become, fulfilling our human potential:

The Holy Scripture, not personally interpreted by an individual, but understood within the context of the Church in the light of Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition contains not only the written Scripture itself but also the interpretation of the biblical text that has been passed down to us through the centuries alongside the written text .

The Holy Icons

As the Holy Scripture reveals the Truth to us in written form, the icons visually show us the Truth in divine images.

The Services

The readings and music of the Church contain within them the teachings of the Church. In fact, the beautiful music itself is secondary to the words themselves that are conveyed with beauty. So much can be learned while standing in an Orthodox Christian temple during prayer and listening to the rich texts read or sung weekly during Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy. Furthermore, the teachings of Holy Tradition are revealed in our physical acts of worship.

The Church Fathers

1. On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius the Great, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

2. On the Human Condition by St. Basil the Great, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

3. Hymns on Paradise with the Commentary on Genesis (Section II) by St. Ephrem the Syrian, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

4. The Theological Poetry of St. Gregory of Nazianzus by St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

5. The First Created Man by St. Symeon the New Theologian, St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

About Holy Tradition: Some Contemporary Books

(Here are a few texts that draw from the many sources within Holy Tradition and explain what Holy Tradition expresses concerning who we are and who we may become.)

1. Partakers of Divine Nature by Archimandrite Christoforos Stavropoulos, Light and Life.

2. Orthodox Psychotherapy by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, available online.

3. The Orthodox Way by Bishop Kallistos Ware, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

4. Orthodox Theology: An Introduction by Vladimir Lossky by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

For the seeker, I offer this Orthodox Christian invitation: "If you want to know what we believe, come and see how we pray."

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (The image by Leonardo DaVinci is in the Public Domain.)

The Ancient Church Online

2006-07-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Almost two thousand years ago, Christ founded His Church upon the Apostles whom He had chosen. The Church of Jesus Christ became known as the "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" and the "Orthodox Church," the Church of right faith and right worship.

Within a few centuries of the Church's existence, five major centers of Christianity, called Patriarchates, emerged: Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Alexandria (Egypt), and Rome. The Patriarchs (Bishops) of these major churches served as the chief shepherds of the Christian Church throughout the world.

(Sadly, about one thousand years ago the Patriarchate of Rome separated itself from the Orthodox Church to form what is now called the "Roman Catholic Church.")

We can open our Bibles and read about the ancient churches of Jerusalem and Antioch in St. Luke's Acts of the Apostles and about the church of Rome in St. Paul's Letter to the Romans. Likewise, a good book on the early history of the Church can teach us about the other ancient churches of Constantinople and Alexandria. These churches were established a long time ago, but they are not just part of the past. They have been around all along and are still present and active in the world today.

I know from personal experience that someone can grow up in America, influenced by Roman Catholicism and the many Protestant denominations that developed as a reaction against Roman Catholicism, and be almost completely unaware that the original ancient Church has kept the Faith since the time of Christ and the Apostles. The One Church founded by Jesus Christ is right here.

The ancient Patriarchates of the Orthodox Christian Church, and the modern jurisdictions that the Church has added through the centuries, have their own websites. Visit online the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.

Note that some of the Patriarchates may be called "Greek Orthodox." "Greek Orthodox" or "Eastern Orthodox," are terms used to separate the Orthodox Christian Church from the Roman Catholic Church, which is sometimes known as the "Latin Church" or "Western Church." During the terrible Crusades, the Crusaders of the Roman Catholic Church invaded Orthodox Christian territories and established their own Latin Patriarchates.

If you want to find out more about the Orthodox Christian Church in America, you can visit the websites of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, part of the Patriarchate of Antioch, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Several other Orthodox Christian jurisdictions exist in America, but we are all united in faith as the one and only Orthodox Christian Church, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ Himself.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (Image designed by Dana S. Kees using a Public Domain NASA satellite image.)

Any Questions?

2006-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

When I teach a class, I like the experience to involve a dialogue between myself and my students. Questions are an important part of that dialogue. Sometimes I can answer the questions, but other times I honestly don't know the answer. Not knowing the answer and searching for it is one of the ways I learn through the process. The best answer to many questions is ultimately, "It's a mystery." That's OK. Mystery is central to our way of life. It can't be adequately explained in human language. Mystery must be intimately experienced by the individual soul.

I really like when a student asks me an honest question in his or her sincere search for the Truth, a question that comes from the deep desire of the heart to know the Truth (through a personal experience) and be spiritual transformed by it.

On the other hand, I don't like when someone asks an insincere loaded question, a question wrapped around a hidden agenda. These kinds of questions are not asked as part of a serious search for the Truth, but to make a point disguised as a question. It's a question that might be asked by someone with crossed arms in a "convince me" posture. It may be laced with traces of sarcasm, cynicism, and pride.

Students may ask an insincere question as an emotional or intellectual reaction against something I, or someone else, has said. I can understand that. Truth challenges us. It calls into question the validity of what we have been taught, how we see the world, what we believe, how we feel, and how we live. The process can be uncomfortable. (I speak from my own experience.) The purpose of an antagonistic question may be to draw the teacher into an argument. In such a case when someone asks this kind of question, I simply try not to take the bait. I like to discuss, but I don't like to argue. Dialogue helps us explore, learn, grow, and find the right way. Since arguments result in the building of defensive trenches, I don't find arguing very helpful.

Apparently, I'm not the first teacher to encounter students who ask honest questions in a sincere search for the Truth as well as students who ask the other kind of questions. In the ancient work, On the Holy Spirit, written in the fourth century, St. Basil the Great addresses Amphilochios, who St. Basil compliments for his "love of learning and diligence in study:"

But what I admire most about you is that your questions reflect a sincere desire to discover the truth, not like many these days who ask questions only to test others. There is certainly no lack nowadays of people who delight in asking endless questions just to have something to babble about, but it is difficult to find someone who loves truth in his soul, who seeks the truth as medicine for his ignorance. Just as the hunter hides his traps, or an ambush of soldiers camouflages itself, so these questioners spew forth elaborately constructed inquiries, not really hoping to learn anything useful from them, because unless you agree with them and give them the answer they want, they imagine that they are fully entitled to stir up a raging controversy.

I, myself, a student in possession of much ignorance, have so much more to learn. May we all sincerely seek with humble hearts the light of divine Truth that dispels the darkness of ignorance so that we may indeed see and know the fullness of the life-changing Truth that sets us free.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (The above quotation is from On the Holy Spirit by St. Basil the Great, translated by David Anderson. Popular Patristics Series. (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1980), 15. The photograph, by Jose Warle, has been released into the Public Domain, Wikipedia.com.)

American Gossip

2006-07-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

A very brief article entitled, “Why it’s Good to Gossip,” appeared in the June 2006 issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal. The report noted that a recent University of St. Andrews study found that participants tended to remember information about other people’s relationships more than information that has nothing to do with relationships, like geographic data. The article asserts that humans are predisposed to gossip. Therefore, gossip isn’t bad. It’s natural human behavior. Gossip is an activity that may have played an important role in human social interaction during the evolutionary process. We gossip and that’s ok. After all, we were born that way.

Since gossip is natural to our human nature, shouldn’t we try to liberate ourselves from any negative feelings we have about it and enjoy the natural pleasure of gossip?

Well, not really.

The article shows how the social sciences can perform a study that tells us about a certain aspect of human behavior, but misunderstand the results by trying to make sense of the data from a defective secular perspective. If a woman wants to understand our natural human nature, what it means to be human and what is good for our spiritual health, she would discover much more by living the Orthodox Christian way of life than reading a magazine for women or paying attention to these kinds of studies. The popular American media often promotes incredibly bad ideas about sexuality, relationships, success, attitudes, and other aspects of human life that are harmful to the body and soul, and damaging to people’s relationships with each other.

What can the Orthodox Christian way of life teach us about gossip and human nature? Here are a few things worth mentioning:

We shouldn’t be surprised that people remember information about relationships more than other kinds of data. God, our Creator, is relational by nature: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God. He created us in His image, making us both male and female, so that within marriage each of us can experience a special union in relationship with another person. The two find union in the One who joined them together. Christ has established on earth the Orthodox Church, the mystical community of His disciples who live the spiritual way of life together in communion with God. Our Creator, who loves mankind, has laid out the way of salvation as a path to Paradise to be walked together as a community, not alone.

We were designed for communication with pure lips that speak the thoughts of a clean heart. Gossip is not part of the spiritual life. It is a result of the influence of death in the world. When we gossip, we allow the negative passions that draw us away from God to control us. It is a sin, a self-centered act contrary to love and humility, produced by pride and judgmental attitudes. It is harmful to the health of our own souls and can also harm others, whom we should love. When we gossip, the tongue created to bless becomes a poisonous weapon to curse.

We are predisposed to gossip because we are predisposed to sin. Our predisposition to sin is a result of the affects of death in our lives and in the world. When our first parents sinned at the beginning of time, they brought into the cosmos death, which has corrupted our human nature. Gossip is not natural to our true human nature. It feels natural because we are used to living in a state of corruption. It appears natural because we see the world with warped vision. Gossip is not a consequence of human evolution. We gossip because death has corrupted our true spiritual natures. The self-centered passions that draw us away from God war within our souls. Gossip is a fruit of chaos.

The fact that humans are predisposed to gossip may be news to secular anthropologists because they have evidence to help prove the point, but Orthodox Christians have understood human nature and gossip since ancient times, not based on a study, but learned from the divine knowledge God has revealed to us and we have preserved in our way of life. We know the real reason we are predisposed to gossip, the influence of sin and death.

Beyond simply understanding gossip, we know the way to overcoming gossip so that our hearts may be purified, enabling us to communicate with others in love, mercy, and humility, as we were first created to do. The Orthodox Christian way of life is a spiritual lifestyle whereby we can escape the influence of death and become truly human. The perfect image and radiant likeness of God, the source of Life, can be restored within us. When our human nature is changed by God's grace, our hearts, thoughts, and words reveal love, harmony, wholeness, and peace. By the divine grace that flows through the Church, our predisposition to sin can be turned into a predisposition to be pure and to love. The negative self-centered passions within us can be transformed into positive, loving desires that bring good health to our own souls and to our relationships.

“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth and a door round about my lips. Incline not my heart to evil words to make excuses in sins.” - Psalm 140

“O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.” –Psalm 50

“We should keep pure from calumnious reports. To such things, the ears of those who have believed in Christ should be inaccessible. It appears to me that it is for this reason that the Instructor does not permit us to say anything that is unseemly.” – St. Clement of Alexandria

“And let not men, therefore, spend their time in barbers’ shops and taverns, babbling nonsense. And let them give up hunting for the women who sit near, and
ceaselessly talking slander against many in order to raise a laugh.” – St. Clement of Alexandria

For a portrayl of men gossiping, see Wenceslas Vácslav Brozik's The Gossip at the Art Renewal Center.

This post is related to my previous article on Orthodox Christian Anthropology.

Copyright © 2006 by Dana S. Kees. (Quotes from St. Clement of Alexandria from A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, David W. Bercot, Ed., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998. The original text is found in the text of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2. The Nut Gatherers by William Bouguereau is in the public domain.)