The Child Who Came Among Us

Ancient Faith / Glory 2 God for all things // Fr. Stephen Freeman

Few things seem as confusing to our culture as the feast of Christmas. For many, it is the great feast of sentimentality. As such, it is our culture’s feast of feeling. We want to have the “spirit of Christmas.” It is identified with snow, with trees, with family, with giving and receiving of gifts. It is a remembrance, for many, of a magical point within childhood, likely out of reach but still there. It is associated with movies – some of which (like Die Hard) – seem at an odd remove from the feast itself. Gather all of the Christmas movies together and consider them. What are they trying to say? What is this thing that haunts our culture?

The vast majority of these Christmas movies have nothing whatsoever to do with the events described in the gospels. Christmas is thus a reference to itself (as a culture moment) rather than a reference to Christ or the Christian faith. Witness the popularity of Christmas in Japan, a country with only a 1 percent Christian population. Just a peek:

The popular fast-food restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), is a national favorite in Japan at Christmas. According to the BBC, an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families celebrate with KFC on Christmas. During the Christmas period, the average KFC will increase their daily sales by 10 times their usual take. Often, families will have to order weeks in advance, or risk standing in line for hours.

In 1970, the manager of the first KFC in Japan, Takeshi Okawara, dreamt about a new promotional campaign called the “party barrel” to sell on Christmas. After overhearing two out of the country travelers in his store talk about missing turkey on Christmas, he hoped that chicken would suffice, and began marketing his Party Barrel as a way to celebrate Christmas.

In 1974, KFC took the marketing plan national and it became widely popular. Even the company mascot, Colonel Sanders, dresses up as Santa for the occasion. Many families in Japan view KFC on Christmas as a symbol of a family reunion. [This article is found here.]

Of course, the baby Jesus, is nowhere to be found in these cultural appropriations.

The Christmas story, on the level of history, is almost commonplace. Women have given birth to children in difficult circumstances from time immemorial. As poignant as its details might be (“no room in the inn”) they are still somewhat prosaic. Only theology can take us into the depths of that birth.

The mystery of Christ’s birth (just as the mystery of His conception) is the mystery of God’s union of Himself with His creation: God became man. Some reduce this mystery to a necessary step towards the crucifixion, in which Christ “paid for our sins.” This is a thought that says too little, and so diminishes the event itself.

In that the Child born at Christmas is God-made-man, His birth is also the birth into our world of the very meaning of the world itself. The meaning and purpose of everything and everyone, from human beings to the least sub-atomic particle, was already present in God from before creation. In Christ, the whole of that is born and comes among us. To honor Christ is to honor all.

Jesus Christ, the "Immanuel", from the prophecy of Isaiah, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Is. 7:14) which means, "God is with us.". Orthodox holy icon from here

Back in the 50s, the British theologian, J.B. Phillips wrote the book, Your God is too Small. It is a fault of Christians that our Christmas is too small. Sentimentality (some of which is inescapable) essentially reduces Christmas to a set of feelings associated with a particular day. This makes of Christmas a very shallow holiday (rather than one of the greatest Holy Days).

Standing before the Child in that manger, our questions should turn towards what His coming means for all things. Orthodoxy sees in the manager an image of the tomb. Christ in swaddling cloths is an icon of Christ in the burial shroud. Christ in the burial shroud is the image of the whole of suffering: all suffering, everywhere, for all time. It is for us not only to help and comfort those who suffer, but to hold them in true veneration, for they bear in themselves the suffering of Christ.

The Child in the manger is also the self-emptying, self-sacrificial love of God, the love that does not hold the world at arms length, but enfolds it within His very being. It is well-spoken when we call Christmas the “Winter Pascha.”

I do not begrudge the sentiments of the world, nor the enjoyment of the feelings that accompany this feast. God Himself did not begrudge us our sins and refuse to come among us. I simply lament the fact that I myself too often settle for a little Christmas in place of the full feast. May God warm our hearts in the cold dead of winter as He warmed the universe, taking our flesh upon Himself.

 

Three Great Orthodox Saints on December 4

 

Icon from here

The Holy Great Martyr Barbara

Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi

The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, the pagan Dioscorus, was a rich and illustrious man in the Syrian city of Heliopolis. After the death of his wife, he devoted himself to his only daughter.
Seeing Barbara’s extraordinary beauty, Dioscorus decided to hide her from the eyes of strangers. Therefore, he built a tower for Barbara, where only her pagan teachers were allowed to see her. From the tower there was a view of hills stretching into the distance. By day, she was able to gaze upon the wooded hills, the swiftly flowing rivers, and the meadows covered with a mottled blanket of flowers; by night the harmonious and majestic vault of the heavens twinkled and provided a spectacle of inexpressible beauty. Soon the virgin began to ask herself questions about the First Cause and Creator of so harmonious and splendid a world.
Gradually, she became convinced that the soulless idols were merely the work of human hands. Although her father and teachers offered them worship, she realized that the idols could not have made the surrounding world. The desire to know the true God so consumed her soul that Barbara decided to devote all her life to this goal, and to spend her life in virginity.

Icon from here

The fame of her beauty spread throughout the city, and many sought her hand in marriage. But despite the entreaties of her father, she refused all of them. Barbara warned her father that his persistence might end tragically and separate them forever. Dioscorus decided that the temperament of his daughter had been affected by her life of seclusion. He therefore permitted her to leave the tower and gave her full freedom in her choice of friends and acquaintances. Thus Barbara met young Christian maidens in the city, and they taught her about the Creator of the world, about the Trinity, and about the Divine Logos. Through the Providence of God, a priest arrived in Heliopolis from Alexandria disguised as a merchant. After instructing her in the mysteries of the Christian Faith, he baptized Barbara, then returned to his own country.
During this time, a luxurious bathhouse was being built at the house of Dioscorus. By his orders, the workers prepared to put two windows on the south side. But Barbara, taking advantage of her father’s absence, asked them to make a third window, thereby forming a Trinity of light. On one of the walls of the bath-house Barbara traced a cross with her finger. The cross was deeply etched into the marble, as if by an iron instrument. Later, her footprints were imprinted on the stone steps of the bathhouse. The water of the bathhouse had great healing power. St. Simeon Metaphrastes (November 9) compared the bathhouse to the stream of Jordan and the Pool of Siloam, because by God’s power, many miracles took place there.

When Dioscorus returned and expressed dissatisfaction about the change in his building plans, his daughter told him about how she had come to know the Triune God, about the saving power of the Son of God, and about the futility of worshipping idols. Dioscorus went into a rage, grabbed a sword and was on the point of striking her with it. The holy virgin fled from her father, and he rushed after her in pursuit. His way became blocked by a hill, which opened up and concealed the saint in a crevice. On the other side of the crevice was an entrance leading upwards. St Barbara managed then to conceal herself in a cave on the opposite slope of the hill.
After a long and fruitless search for his daughter, Dioscorus saw two shepherds on the hill. One of them showed him the cave where the saint had hidden. Dioscorus beat his daughter terribly, and then placed her under guard and tried to wear her down with hunger. Finally he handed her over to the prefect of the city, named Martianus. They beat St. Barbara fiercely: they struck her with rawhide, and rubbed her wounds with a hair cloth to increase her pain. By night, St. Barbara prayed fervently to her Heavenly Bridegroom, and the Savior Himself appeared and healed her wounds. Then they subjected the saint to new, and even more frightful torments.
In the crowd where the martyr was tortured was the virtuous Christian woman Juliana, an inhabitant of Heliopolis. Her heart was filled with sympathy for the voluntary martyrdom of the beautiful and illustrious maiden. Juliana also wanted to suffer for Christ. She began to denounce the torturers in a loud voice, and they seized her.

Both martyrs were tortured for a long time. Their bodies were raked and wounded with hooks, and then they were led naked through the city amidst derision and jeers. Through the prayers of St. Barbara, the Lord sent an angel who covered the nakedness of the holy martyrs with a splendid robe. Then the steadfast confessors of Christ, Ss. Barbara and Juliana, were beheaded. Dioscorus himself executed St. Barbara. The wrath of God was not slow to punish both torturers, Martianus and Dioscorus. They were killed after being struck by lightning.
In the sixth century the relics of the holy Great Martyr Barbara were transferred to Constantinople. Six hundred years later, they were transferred to Kiev (July 11) by Barbara, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenos, who married the Russian prince Michael Izyaslavich. They rest even now at Kiev’s St Vladimir cathedral, where an Akathist to the saint is served each Tuesday.
Many pious Orthodox Christians are in the habit of chanting the troparion of St. Barbara each day, recalling the Savior’s promise to her that those who remembered her and her sufferings would be preserved from a sudden, unexpected death, and would not depart this life without benefit of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. St. Barbara is commemorated on December 4.

Our Fother Saint John of Damaskus

Orthodox Church in America

Icon from here

Saint John of Damascus was born about the year 680 at Damascus, Syria into a Christian family. His father, Sergius Mansur, was a treasurer at the court of the Caliph. John had also a foster brother, the orphaned child Cosmas (October 14), whom Sergius had taken into his own home. When the children were growing up, Sergius saw that they received a good education. At the Damascus slave market he ransomed the learned monk Cosmas of Calabria from captivity and entrusted to him the teaching of his children. The boys displayed uncommon ability and readily mastered their courses of the secular and spiritual sciences. After the death of his father, John occupied ministerial posts at court and became the city prefect.
In Constantinople at that time, the heresy of Iconoclasm had arisen and quickly spread, supported by the emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741). Rising up in defense of the Orthodox veneration of icons [Iconodoulia], Saint John wrote three treatises entitled, “Against Those who Revile the Holy Icons.” The wise and God-inspired writings of Saint John enraged the emperor. But since the author was not a Byzantine subject, the emperor was unable to lock him up in prison, or to execute him. The emperor then resorted to slander. A forged letter to the emperor was produced, supposedly from John, in which the Damascus official was supposed to have offered his help to Leo in conquering the Syrian capital.
This letter and another hypocritically flattering note were sent to the Saracen Caliph by Leo the Isaurian. The Caliph immediately ordered that Saint John be removed from his post, that his right hand be cut off, and that he be led through the city in chains.
That same evening, they returned the severed hand to Saint John. The saint pressed it to his wrist and prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos to heal him so that he could defend the Orthodox Faith and write once again in praise of the Most Pure Virgin and Her Son. After a time, he fell asleep before the icon of the Mother of God. He heard Her voice telling him that he had been healed, and commanding him to toil unceasingly with his restored hand. Upon awakening, he found that his hand had been attached to his arm once more. Only a small red mark around his wrist remained as a sign of the miracle.

Later, in thanksgiving for being healed, Saint John had a silver model of his hand attached to the icon, which became known as “Of the Three Hands.” Some unlearned painters have given the Mother of God three hands instead of depicting the silver model of Saint John’s hand. The Icon “Of the Three Hands” is commemorated on June 28 and July 12.

When he learned of the miracle, which demonstrated John’s innocence, the Caliph asked his forgiveness and wanted to restore him to his former office, but the saint refused. He gave away his riches to the poor, and went to Jerusalem with his stepbrother and fellow-student, Cosmas. There he entered the monastery of Saint Sava the Sanctified as a simple novice.
It was not easy for him to find a spiritual guide, because all the monks were daunted by his great learning and by his former rank. Only one very experienced Elder, who had the skill to foster the spirit of obedience and humility in a student, would consent to do this. The Elder forbade John to do anything at all according to his own will. He also instructed him to offer to God all his labors and supplications as a perfect sacrifice, and to shed tears which would wash away the sins of his former life.
Once, he sent the novice to Damascus to sell baskets made at the monastery, and commanded him to sell them at a certain inflated price, far above their actual value. He undertook the long journey under the searing sun, dressed in rags. No one in the city recognized the former official of Damascus, for his appearance had been changed by prolonged fasting and ascetic labors. However, Saint John was recognized by his former house steward, who bought all the baskets at the asking price, showing compassion on him for his apparent poverty.
One of the monks happened to die, and his brother begged Saint John to compose something consoling for the burial service. Saint John refused for a long time, but out of pity he yielded to the petition of the grief-stricken monk, and wrote his renowned funeral troparia (“What earthly delight,” “All human vanity,” and others). For this disobedience the Elder banished him from his cell. John fell at his feet and asked to be forgiven, but the Elder remained unyielding. All the monks began to plead for him to allow John to return, but he refused. Then one of the monks asked the Elder to impose a penance on John, and to forgive him if he fulfilled it. The Elder said, “If John wishes to be forgiven, let him wash out all the chamber pots in the lavra, and clean the monastery latrines with his bare hands.” 

From here

John rejoiced and eagerly ran to accomplish his shameful task. After a certain while, the Elder was commanded in a vision by the All-Pure and Most Holy Theotokos to allow Saint John to write again. When the Patriarch of Jerusalem heard of Saint John, he ordained him priest and made him a preacher at his cathedral. But Saint John soon returned to the Lavra of Saint Sava, where he spent the rest of his life writing spiritual books and church hymns. He left the monastery only to denounce the iconoclasts at the Constantinople Council of 754. They subjected him to imprisonment and torture, but he endured everything, and through the mercy of God he remained alive. He died in about the year 780, more than 100 years old.
Saint John of Damascus was a theologian and a zealous defender of Orthodoxy. His most important book is the Fount of Knowledge. The third section of this work, “On the Orthodox Faith,” is a summary of Orthodox doctrine and a refutation of heresy. Since he was known as a hymnographer, we pray to Saint John for help in the study of church singing. 

St Hieromartyr Seraphim, bishop of Phanarion, Greece

Orthodoxwiki
 

Icon from here

Seraphim was born to Sophronios and Maria in the village of Mpizoula in the Agrapha region of Greece during the mid sixteenth century. His family was pious and reared him in the Orthodox faith. After he came of age, he entered the monastic life at the Monastery of the Theotokos in Korona, receiving the name Seraphim. As he grew in spiritually, he also entered the holy orders being ordained a presbyter. Upon the death of his abbot, he was elected to succeed him as head of the monastery.
In 1587, Fr. Seraphim was elected archbishop of Phanarion and Neochorion, the see thaving become vacant when its incumbent died. As archbishop, Seraphim was a true shepherd to all the Orthodox Christians entrusted to his care, nurturing and caring for them in every possible way.
In 1601, the metropolitan of Larissa named Dionysius the Philosopher mistakenly thought he could expel the Muslim forces in the Ioannina area. After raising an army of ill-equipped and ill-trained villagers, they attacked and killed many Muslims in the area. The rebellion was savagely suppressed when Muslim reinforcements arrived killing those involved in the rebellion and taking revenge on many innocent Christian villagers as well. After a second rebellion Metr. Dionysios himself was captured, tortured, and horribly executed.
In this turbulent atmosphere, Abp. Seraphim was compelled by duty to go to Phanarion to pay the taxes owed to the Ottoman government. Some Muslims, who knew of his good work among the Orthodox Christians and wished him harm, observed him in Phanarion. They began to agitate among themselves, saying Seraphim had been with Dionysios and was a rebel, a subversive, and a traitor. They accosted and threatened him unless he abandoned his faith and become a Muslim.
Abp. Seraphim responded that they knew he was innocent of the accusation and that he would not leave his faith to escape death and thus leave Jesus, his God and Creator, especially now when he suffered unjustly, and that he hoped because of this to receive from his Master more honor. Then, of their honors, he did not even want to hear of them. 

The Muslims then took Seraphim, dragged him before the vali, whose name was Hamuza Bey, and accursed him as being with Dionysios and thus was an enemy and a traitor. Hamuza Bey repeated the offer that Abp. Seraphim become a Muslim. To which Seraphim reiterated that he was innocent and would not be separated from his Master and God Jesus Christ and that he was ready for anything the Bey had within his power.
Hearing this, the Bey ordered Seraphim beaten mercilessly. Seraphim endured everything as though suffering no pain, thanking and blessing God. He was then put into prison where he was given no food or drink in an attempt to break him.
After Abp. Seraphim was again confronted by the Bey, with Seraphim continuing his firm stand against him, Hamuza Bey ordered Abp. Seraphim tortured and then impaled
After his death, Seraphim’s body remained upon the stake longer than usual to serve as an example to the Orthodox Christians in the area, and to frighten them into submission. But Abp. Seraphim’s martyrdom had the opposite effect. It gave Orthodox Christians courage and hope, for they thanked God for strengthening the archbishop to make such a good confession of faith.
Later, Seraphim’s head was cut off and sent to Phanarion together with the heads of other clergymen who were also executed as a result of the activities of Metr. Dionysius.
The Orthodox Christians of Phanarion felt the need to recover the archbishop’s head. They, therefore, found an Albanian Orthodox Christian to whom they promised a reward if he were to recover the head. The Albanian was successful, but before he could escape entirely, he was detected and was pursued by the Muslims. Afraid of being caught at one point, the Albanian threw the head in the Peneios River. Seeing this, the Muslims gave up the pursuit. Days later the head was recovered by fishermen who took it to the Dousikon Monastery. Later, the head was brought to the Monastery of the Theotokos in Korona, Seraphim’s own monastic house.
Abp. Seraphim of Phanarion and Neochorion gave his life in the town of Phanarion for the love of Jesus Christ, on December 4, in the year 1601.

Womens' Orthodox Blogs

 
 

Ελληνικά ορθόδοξα ιστολόγια Γυναικών (μαζί με τα αγγλόφωνα) εδώ 

Praying with my Feet 

Simply Orthodox

Lessons from a monastery

Adventures of an Orthodox Mom — Share in the adventures!

Orthodox Education

Orthodox Mother's Digest
 

 
Raising Saints (photo from here)

Morning Coffee

Coffee with sr. Vassa

Grace Here and Now

A Lamp for Today

Nearly Orthodox

Orthogals

Time Eternal

Union of Orthodox Church Mothers in Uganda

St. Mary of Egypt Convent, Uganda (photo from here)



See also

Orthodox Women Saints

Mother Maria from Uganda

Mother Katherine Weston

Dr. Carla Thomas

Male and Female Created He Them

The African Woman & the role of Woman in Orthodox Church: she must become the light of the world

Matushka Constantina Palmer, "The Scent of Holiness"

The 'Death' of Anita Phillips

African Women (tag in the other our blog)

Oppression of Women in Africa

The Worst Place to Be a Woman!...

The perfection of God’s gifts reveal His love

 

Orthodox Path

Always think of our God and His love for all of us with great affection. Everything you see in the sky, on the earth, the place of your residence, speak to you so you can see our Lord and His love for all of us.

Every creature of God is a revelation of His love for us. As you admire and enjoy all of his creations, whisper the following inside you:

“This is the work of the hands of my God, and it was created as a favor for me.”

“These heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars are creations of my Lord, and were made to shine their light to the whole world and to me.”

“This earth, that I live on and which gives her fruits to me and to my animals, she along with everything in and on her are creatures of my Lord.”

“This water that quenches my thirst and the thirst of my animals is a gift to me from my Lord.” “These animals that work for me were created by my Lord and He placed them under me to serve me.”

“This house, where I live, is a gift of God, and He gave it to me for my rest.”

“The food I eat is a gift from God, and He gives it to me to help and comfort the weaknesses of my body.”

“This clothing that I wear was given to me by my Lord and my God in order to cover my naked body.”

From “Path to Heaven”

Translated by Anna Pipinos

MESİH’TE YAŞAM

 

	Oz Ortodoksluk doktrinleri ve emanetleri	ÇAĞDAŞ ORTODOKS DİN ADAMLARI VE ESERLERİ

 

Muhterem Peder Jean ROMANIDES, SYNAXE, N° 21 (s.26-28) ve N° 22 (s.23-26)

 

Peder Jean ROMANIDES Günümüzde Ortodoksluğun, özellikle de geçmiş kuşaklara hâkim olan liberalizmden önemli ölçüde sıyrılmakta olan gençliğin önündeki kutsal görev, Kilisenin günlük yaşamında Paskalya zaferini yeniden keşfetmektir.  Ortak iman, Havârilere ve Kilise Babalarına bağlılık gerçi litürgiyada ve kilisenin kitaplarında esas olarak değişmemiştir ama pratikte, gerek ruhanîlerin gerekse inanlıların zihninde büyük bir kargaşa hüküm sürmektedir.  Kuşkusuz, bunun sebebi Mesih’in Kilisedeki eserinin mâhiyetini yeterince anlamıyor oluşumuzdur.  Böylece, ortodoks olduğunu söyleyen ve bunu içtenlikle isteyen çok sayıda kişi Kilisenin yaşamını Havârilerin ve Kilise Babalarının görüşleri değil, pek de belirli olmayan kendi kişisel duyguları çerçevesinde anlamaktadır.  Burada eksik kalan, Kilisenin temel yaşamının gerektirdiklerini hakkıyla kavrayıp kabullenemeyişimizdir.  Bu kavrayış eksikliği batı dünyasında Kilisenin zaaflarını ve özellikle skizmanın ve sapkınlığın çeşitleri karşısındaki tutumunda görülen zaafı büyük ölçüde açıklamaktadır.  «Ruh’un kendisi, bizim ruhumuzla birlikte, Tanrı’nın çocukları olduğumuza tanıklık eder» (Roma, 8 : 16) ifadesini anlayamayanlar Gerçeği savunamazlar.  Onlar kendi kendilerine sormalıdırlar : “Sakın ben de Gerçeğin dışında kalmış yani Kilisenin ölü bir üyesi olmayayım !” 1. KİLİSENİN TEMEL YAŞAMI NELER GEREKTİRİR ? Ölümü genellikle normal bir olay yahut da Tanrı’nın günahkârı cezalandırmasına yönelik hukukî bir karar olarak kabul eden pek çok batı inancının aksine doğu Kilise Babaları geleneği, ölümün özde günaha bağlı olduğu hususunu (1.Korint., 15 : 56) ve Şeytanın yetkisinde (İbranîler, 2 : 14) olduğunu çok ciddiye alır.  Doğulu Kilise Babaları, ölümün failinin Tanrı olduğu, dünyanın mevcut durumunun “normal” olduğu ve insanın, evreni yönettiği farzedilen doğa kanunlarına uymak şartıyla “normal” bir yaşam sürebileceği fikrini reddediyorlardı. Ortodoks evren anlayışı durağan bir doğal ahlâk yasaları sistemiyle uyuşmaz.  Tersine, dünya yaşayan kişilerin eylem ve mücadele alanıdır.  Yaşayan ve kişisel bir Tanrı tüm yaratılışın kökenindedir.  Tanrı’nın her yerde mevcut olması, yine Onun tarafından ve hattâ Yaratan’ın iradesine karşı gelebilme gücüyle yaratılmış başka iradelerin de var olduğunu dışlamaz.  İşte Şeytan böylece salt var olmakla kalmaz, Tanrı’nın eserlerini yok etmek de isteyebilir.  Bunu da insanı kendi çıktığı yokluğa çekmeye çalışarak yapar.  « Yokluğa dönüş » olan ölüm (Az. Atanasios – De incarnatio Verbi, 4-5) şeytanî gücün yaratılış üstündeki etkisinin de esasını oluşturur (Roma., 8 : 19-22).  Mesih’in etiyle ve kemiğiyle dirilişi gerçeği (Luka, 24 : 39) sadece ölümün “anormal” niteliğinin kanıtını oluşturmakla kalmaz, ölümü gerçek düşman olarak da işaret eder (1.Korint., 15 : 26).  Ama eğer ölüm anormal bir olaysa, evrene sıkı sıkıya bağlı bir “ahlâk yasası” da olamaz.  En azından Kutsal Kitap böyle bir yasa tanımamaktadır (Roma., 8 : 19-22).  Başka türlü, Rab İsa Mesih, boşuna « bizi şimdiki kötü çağdan kurtarmak için günahlarımıza karşılık, kendini feda etti. » (Galatya., 1 : 4). İnsanın kaderi başta kusursuzdu, Tanrı kusursuz olduğu için bugün de kusursuz olmalıdır (Efes. 5 : 1 ; 4 : 13).  Kusursuzluğun gerçekleşmesi dünyaya ölümün gelmesiyle imkânsız oldu (Roma., 5 : 12), zira « ölümün dikeni günahtır » (1.Korint., 15 : 56).  Ölümün egemenliği altında olduğundan, insana yeterince ilgilenebileceği sadece bedeni kaldı (Roma., 7 : 14-25).  Dolayısiyle, insanın günlük yaşamını kendini koruma içgüdüsü dolduruyor ve onu sık sık kendi çıkarı için başkalarına karşı adâletsizce davranmaya yöneltiyor (1.Selanik., 4 : 4).  Ölüm korkusu altındaki adam (İbranîler., 2 : 15) yaratıcı bir sevgi yaşamı yaşayamaz ve Tanrı’yı örnek alamaz (Efes., 5 : 1). Ölüm ve korunma içgüdüsü, insanı sevgide, yaşamda ve ilâhî gerçekte birlik olmaktan ayıran günahın kökleridir.  İskenderiyeli Aziz Kirillos’a göre, ölüm, insanın Tanrı’yı ve komşusunu kendi güvenliği ve rahatlığı için kaygıya ve tasaya kapılmadan sevmesini engelleyen düşmanıdır.  İnsan değersiz, anlamsız kalmaktan korktuğu için kendi kendisine olsun, başkalarına olsun, gerçekten de değer taşıdığını kanıtlamayı amaçlar.  Bu durumda, hiç değilse bazı yönleriyle diğerlerine üstün olduğu izlenimini vermek zorunda kalır.  Kendisini övenleri sever, küçümseyenlerden nefret eder.  Küçümsenme, hakarete uğrama, önemsiz görünmekten korkan bir adam için ağır bir darbedir.  Dünyanın “normal bir insan” gözüyle gördüğü kişi hemen her an bir tür kısmî yalanlar ve hayal kırıklıkları dünyasında yaşar.  Kendisine güven veren dostlarından başka sevebileceği yoktur ; manevî ve maddî kendini koruma içgüdüsü ise onu düşmanlarından nefret etmeye yöneltir (Matta, 5 : 46-48 ; Luka, 6 : 32-36). Ölüm bireyselliğin kaynağıdır ; ölüm insanın “ölümlü bedeninin” kişisel iradesine tümüyle egemen olabilir (Roma., 7 : 18).  Ölüm, insanlığı benmerkezciliğe ve bencilliğe indirgeyerek insanoğlunu gerçek karşısında kör eder.  Gerçeği ise çok kişi görmek istemez zira kabullenmesi güçtür.   İnsanoğlu her zaman işine geleni gerçek olarak kabullenmeye hazırdır.  İnsanlık da kendini feda etmeye amâde bir sevgi uğruna acı çekmektense, güvende olmayı ve mutluluğu arzu eder (Filipi., 1 : 27-29).  Doğal insan, uyulması zor olmayan ahlâk kuralları ve basit öğretisiyle kendisine güvende olduğu hissini verecek ama ondan « Mesih’le birlikte ölüp dünyanın temel ilkelerinden » kurtulmak üzere kendi benliğini reddetmesini istemeyecek bir din arar (Kolose., 2 : 20).  Havârilerin, Kilise Babalarının bize miras bıraktıkları iman “sofuluk duyguları” yahut “kendini güvencede hissetme” içermez.  Aksine, yazılarının her sayfasında ölüme ve çürümeye karşı zafer çığlıkları buluruz : « Ey ölüm, zaferin nerede ?  Ey ölüm, dikenin nerede ? ... Tanrı’ya şükürler olsun !  Rabbimiz İsa Mesih’in aracılığıyla bizi zafere ulaştıran O’dur. » (1.Korint., 15 : 55-57).  Mesih’in İblis’e karşı zaferi, insanı Tanrı’dan ve komşusundan ayıran ölümün gücünü yok etmiştir (Efes., 2 : 13-22).  Ölüme ve çürümeye karşı bu zafer Mesih’in bedeninde (Efes., 2 : 15) ve daha önce ölmüş olan doğrular arasında (1.Petrus, 3 : 19) gerçekleşmiştir.    « Mesih ölüler arasından dirildi, ölümle ölümü ezip mezardakilere hayat bağιşladι.» (Paskalya İlâhîsi).  Tanrı’nın Krallığı, mezarın ötesinde olsun, bu tarafında olsun, şimdiden kurulmuş bulunmaktadır (Efes., 2 : 19).  Ölüler diyarının kapıları Mesih’in bedenine galebe çalamaz (Matta, 16 : 18).  Ölümün gücü Yaşamın Krallığını işgal edemez.  İblis ve onun krallığı, Mesih’in Bedeninde güvencede olan kesin yenilgiye her gün biraz daha yaklaşmaktadır (1.Korint., 15 : 26).  2. ÇARMIH’IN ZAFERİNE ÂYİNSEL PAYDAŞLIK Çarmıh’ιn zaferine paydaş olma sadece gelecek için bir ümit değil, daha bugün de var olan bir gerçekliktir (Efes., 2 : 13-22).  Vaftiz olmuş (Roma., 6 : 3, 4) ve Mesih’in Bedenine aşılanmış olanlara bir lûtuftur (Yuhanna, 15 : 1-8).  Yine de ne kurtuluş ve ne de Mesih’in yaşamına sürekli katılım için sihirli bir güvence vardır (Roma., 9 : 19, 20).  Mesih, Kendisine inananları Bedeninde birleştirerek ayrılığın gücünü ortadan kaldırmak üzere geldi.  Kilisenin dış alâmeti sevgide birleşmektir (Yuhanna, 17 : 21) ; bu birliğim merkezi ve kaynağı ise Efkaristiya’dır : « Ekmek tek biz ise çok sayıda olduğumuza göre, aynı Ekmeği paylaşmak için tek bir beden olalım » (1.Korint., 6 : 19, 20).  Vaftiz ve Teyit gizemleri bizi Mesih’in Bedenine aşılar, Efkaristiya ise Mesih’te yaşatır ve Kutsal Ruh’un bedenlerimizde yer almasıyla bizleri birbirimize bağlar (1.Korint., 6 : 19, 20). İman kurtuluş için yeterli değildir.  Zaten “imanlı” olan katekümenlerin vaftiz öncesinde, Ruh’un birliğinde dirilmek yani yerel topluluğun diğer üyeleriyle Mesih’te ve sevginin ortak yaşamında birleşmek üzere, günaha ve ölüme ölerek dünyanın “normal yaşam” olarak kabul ettiği her şeyi sıyırıp atması gerekirdi.  Ortodoksluk en büyük değeri insanlık için hissî bir sevgiye verir.  Mesih’te yaşayabilmek için somut insanlarla bir olmalıyız.  Mesih sevgisine götüren tek yol, diğer hristiyanların temsil ettiği gerçekliği sevmektir.  « Size doğrusunu söyleyeyim, bu en basit kardeşlerimden biri için yaptığınızı, benim için yapmış oldunuz » (Matta, 25 : 40). Mesih’in Bedenindeki sevgi, insanî dâvaların yahut ideolojilerin hizmetinde bir takım belirsiz soyutlamalar değildir.  Mesih örneğine göre sevgi, bütün bulanık fikirlerden sıyrılarak toplu yaşamın tüm güçlüklerine göğüs germek, bizatihî gerçekten var olan kardeşlerin bedenlerinde Mesih sevgisini bulmaya çalışmak ve dünya için çarmıha gerilmek demektir.  Sevgiden ve iyilikten söz etmek kolaydır ama farklı kökenlerden insanlarla içten ve yapmacıksız ilişkiler kurmak hayli zordur.  Oysa Mesih’in ölümü ve Dirilişi tam da şunu göstermektedir : öylesine bir kutsallar topluluğu ki kendilerini düşünmezler, kendi kişisel kanaatlerini de dikkate almazlar ancak, Mesih’in yaptığı gibi sürekli kendilerini alçaltarak, Mesih’e ve diğer insanlara olan sevgilerini dile getirirler.  Ölüm yasası altında mümkün olmayan, Yaşam Ruhunun birliğinde mümkün olmuştur. 3. ÇARMIHTAKİ ZAFERİ BUGÜN NASIL YAŞIYORUZ ? Tarihi boyunca Kilise, üyeleri, sıklıkla da ruhban sınıfı içinde, günah ve çürümüşlükle mücadele etmek zorunda kalmıştır.  Bütün çağlarda da bunun için uygun yöntemleri uygulamayı başarmıştır zira düşmanı teşhis etmeyi bilmiştir.  Kilise, üyelerinin tümü günahsız olduğu için değil, İblisi savunmasız bırakan âyin gizemi sürekli olarak kendisinde var olduğu için doğrudadır.  “Toplantılarınızı (epi to auto=aynι yerde), yoğunlaştırmaya çabalayınız. Çünkü imanınızın ittifakı önünde şeytanın gücü ezilir ve iktidarı çözülür.” (Antakyalı Aziz İgnatios, Efeslilere Mektup, 13).   http://www.oodegr.com/tourkika/biblia/Ignatios/volume_2.htm Topluluk üyeleri Efkaristiya için bir araya geldiklerinde ve Mesih’in Bedeni ve Kanıyla hep birlikte paydaş olmak üzere içtenlikle öpüştüklerinde [Kutsal öpüş (Roma., 16 : 16)] İblis yenilgiye uğrar.  Ama, Mesih’in Bedeninin bir üyesi lâyık olmadan komünyon alırsa kendini lânetlemek için yiyor ve içiyor demektir (1.Korint., 11 : 29).  Bir hristiyan her Efkaristiyada Mesih’in Bedenine ve Kanına hiç paydaş olmuyorsa, o ruhen ölmüş demektir (Yuhanna, 6 : 53).  Kilise, çok sayıda hristiyan Efkaristiyaya katıldığı halde az sayıda kişinin komünyon alması şeklindeki uygulamayı katiyetle reddetmiştir.  Âyinde hazır bulunmak, duaya ve komünyona katılmak birbirinden ayrılamaz (7. Havârisel Yasa ; Aziz Yuhanna Hrisostomos, Pavlus’un Efeslilere mektubu hakkında 3. vaaz).  « Kimse yanıltılmasın : her kim mâbedin içinde değilse Tanrı’nın Ekmeğinden mahrum kalmıştır...  Kilise ile birleşmeyen, kibrinin kendisini mahkûm ettiğini böylece ispat etmiş olur » (Antakyalı Aziz İgnatios, Efeslilere, 5). Kutsal Kitap ve Kilise Babaları geleneği bu konuda aynı fikirdedir : Ancak ölümün gücüne ölmüş, Yaşam Ruhunun yenilenmesinde yaşayanlar Mesih’in Bedeninin yaşayan bir üyesi olabilirler.  Bu sebepledir ki hristiyanlara yapılan zulümler sırasında, saatlerce işkenceler sonucu Mesih’i inkâr etmiş olanlar aforoz edilmiş addolunur.  Bir hristiyan, vaftiz sayesinde Mesih’le birlikte öldüğünde, ondan Mesih’in Adı uğruna her an ölmeye hazır olması bekleniyordu.  « İnsanların önünde beni inkâr edeni, ben de göklerde olan Babamın önünde inkâr edeceğim » (Matta, 10 : 33).  İlk Ekümenik Konsilin 10. Kuralı, zulüm altında Mesih’i inkâr edenlerin atanmasını [kilise görevine] yasaklamakla kalmıyor, atamayı yapan görevli durumu bilmiyor idiyse bile atamayı geçersiz kılıyordu.  Bu tür bir atamada bulunan kişi de kilise görevinden ıskat edilmekteydi.  [Bununla kıyaslandığında] Vaftizde yapılan niyet beyanına rağmen tembellik edip Kiliseye gitmeyenin durumu çok daha vahimdir.  Ruhanîlerimizin gizemleri uygulama tarzımıza günümüzde onaylamakta olması da çok daha kabul edilemez bir durumdur !  Bir hristiyan saatlerce fizikî işkence gördükten sonra Mesih’in inkâr ettiği için aforoz olmaktaysa, haftalarca süreyle kendi kendilerini aforoz edenler mahkûmiyeti çok daha fazla hak etmektedirler. Şeytanın niteliği ve yöntemleri değişmemiştir.  O da olduğu gibi kalmıştır.  Aziz Pavlus’un onu tanımladığı gibi, « kendisine ışık meleği süsü » verebilir (2.Korint., 11 : 15).  Ölümün dünyadaki gücü aynı kalmıştır. Kurtuluş yolları (vaftizle ölüm, Efkaristiyayla yaşam) da (en azından, âyin kitaplarında) aynı kalmıştır.  Kilisenin kuralları değişmemiştir.  Halâ, Babalar tarafından onaylanmış metinleri okumaktayız.  Bu durumda, günümüzdeki zaaflarımızı nasıl açıklayabiliriz ?  Zaaflarımız hiçbir zaman bugün olduğu kadar göze batar olmamıştı. Bu sorunun tek bir cevabı olabilir : Kilise üyeleri artık kötülük ile Kutsal Kitabın esprisi içinde mücadele etmiyorlar.  Çok fazla sayıda hristiyan Kiliseyi kendi çıkarı için kullanıyor ve Mesih’in doktrinini kendi duygularına göre yorumluyor.  Günümüzde ortodoks gençliğin esas görevi, karanlıklar prensinin yasalarına ve bu dünyanın ilkelliklerine göre yürümekten vazgeçmek ve Havârilerin ve Babaların gerçeğine dönmek olmalıdır.  Zira Mesih bunun için ölmüştür.  Bunu inkâr etmek, Çarmıhı ve şehitlerin kanını inkâr etmektir.  Babaların doktrinini « esnek olmamakla » itham edecek yerde, modern ortodoks, Yazılardaki Mesih’te yaşam öntahminlerine dönmeye ve Mesih’in doktrinini çarpıtmamaya özen göstermelidir.

The Tree Heals the Tree

 

Fr. Stephen Freeman // Ancient faith / Glory 2 God for all things

Readers of the New Testament are familiar with St. Paul’s description of Christ as the “Second Adam.” It is an example of the frequent Apostolic use of an allegoric reading of the Old Testament (I am using “allegory” in its broadest sense – including typology and other forms). Christ Himself had stated that He was the meaning of the Old Testament (John 5:39). Within the Gospels Christ identifies His own death and resurrection with the Prophet Jonah’s journey in the belly of the fish. He likens His crucifixion to the serpent raised on a staff by which Moses healed the people of Israel. Without the allegorical use of the Old Testament – much of the material in the gospels and the rest of the New Testament would be unintelligible.

Orthodox Christians are very accustomed to this manner of handling Scripture – the hymnography (largely written during the Patristic period) of the Church’s liturgical life is utterly permeated by such a use of allegory. The connections between New Testament and Old – between dogma and the allegory of Scriptural imagery is found in almost every verse offered within a service. Those who are not familiar with the Eastern liturgical life are unaware of this rich Christian heritage and of its deep doctrinal piety and significance.

In the Feast of the Holy Cross, the hymnography at one point makes the statement, “The Tree heals the Tree.” It is one of the marvelous commentaries on the life of grace and its relationship to the human predicament. It refers to the relationship between the Cross of Christ and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The latter was the source of the fruit that Adam and Eve consumed that was the source of their fall from grace. The “Tree that heals” is none other than the Cross of Christ.

I am struck particularly by this treatment of Biblical imagery. The meditation does not say that the Cross destroys the tree whose fruit, along with our disobedience, brought the human tragedy. The Tree heals the Tree. In the same manner, the Kingdom of God does not destroy creation – it makes it whole.

There is a tendency within our lives to view failure and disasters (whether self-inflicted or otherwise) as deep tragedies that derail our lives and the world around us. Our heart becomes confused when the thought of “if only” takes up residence. But the Tree heals the Tree. In God, nothing is wasted.

It is the spiritual habit of the Church’s liturgical life to see the story of Christ in everything. Every story involving wood or a tree seems to find its way into the hymnography of the Cross. The same is true for many other images. I believe this way of reading Scripture is also a key to the Christian life. Our hearts are such that they generally do not see the Kingdom of God – we see only the tree and our disobedience. But Christ Himself became sin that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). He took our life upon Himself that He might bestow His own life upon us. Thus Christ has entered all things that He might make all things new. Nothing is wasted. 

September 14, The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

 

The Whole Adam

Fr. Stephen Freeman
Ancient faith / Glory 2 God for all things

Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries

Mt. Athos, in popular treatments, is often described as a “male enclave,” a place where no woman has set foot in a thousand years (this is not actually true). The exclusion of women from the Holy Mountain is deeply offensive to some (cf. European Union) and is imagined as a bastion of machismo in a cassock. It is therefore strange to discover, when you visit the Holy Mountain, that the central figure in its life is a woman: the Mother of God. She is described as the “Abbess of the Holy Mountain.” It is her icon, Axion Estin, that has the place of central honor in the course of the year (she is carried from the Protaton Church to visit the surrounding monasteries on Bright Monday). Indeed, I believe the Holy Mountain would be a place of deep distortion were the Theotokos not given such prominence. There is no wholeness for human beings that is not also a wholeness of male and female: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen. 2:18).

I have seen some recent conversations (and heard presentations at conferences) that ponder the influx of young men into Orthodox Churches in America. Spiritual pundits draw various conclusions about the phenomenon (some even suggesting that credit should be given to podcasters and bloggers!). I give credit to the providence of God that is always at work in all things drawing all things together into one (Eph. 1:10). But, of the things that God means to draw together into one, I take it to be pre-eminent that the union of male and female is chief among them.

One conversation that I’ve heard has asked the question, “What do young men need to learn?” It is, unfortunately, only half the question. We cannot teach men apart from women. If masculinity is disordered, femininity will be distorted as well. The destruction of men and women has been a constant by-product of the sexual revolution of the past century and the present. It only ever asked half a question and offered answers that destroyed the very context of our existence. We are a deeply disordered society – and this at the most fundamental levels.

The sexual revolution was constructed with the dynamics of criticism. What had gone before had flaws, injustice, unaddressed oppressions, and foundations in a variety of false narratives. To point out the flaws and deconstruct the edifice is easy work. To build something better, something true, something whole, is hard work, indeed, and it has received almost no attention. Building a civilization is among the hardest tasks that human beings ever undertake. Destoying them can be the work of an evening.

Karl Stern, in his classic work, The Flight from Woman (1965), spends time discussing the difference between scientific knowledge and poetic knowledge. There are many ways to frame this distinction. “Scientific knowledge” describes knowledge that is “outside” of us: such as objective, verifiable, experimental results. “Poetic knowledge” (by far the harder to describe) refers to the knowledge we have from the “inside.” It is what we know because it is us, or because we have a participation in its life. Scientific knowledge gives us an ability to master and control the world around us. It also gives us a knowledge that is “alien” to us.

…poetic knowledge is acquired by union with and attachment to the object; scientific knowledge is acquired by distance and detachment from the object. (p. 74)

Living in a world of machines can be wonderfully abundant but lonely and isolating. Even when we study other humans, with scientific knowledge we place them in a category that we loathe: that of objects.

Poetic knowledge is a reality seeking for a name. Its difficulty in finding an apropos name is itself indicative of its very nature. We all have it, we cannot live without it, and we have a hard time describing it or defending the conclusions that it presses on our reality.

We want to live in a beautiful world while finding ourselves in a world designed for profit and manageability. We want empathy from the people around us, but discover that having to explain what we mean (much less to actually ask for that quality) defeats the very purpose of our desire. The machines in our world will not try harder simply because we are having a bad day.

I suggest Stern’s book to anyone wanting to explore this distinction further. Fr. Tom Hopko held it in great regard and recommended it.

But all of this brings me back to the problem of male and female in the life of the world and in the life of the Church. Hopko once opined that issues surrounding male and female would be a profound source of heresy in this century – one that would mark our time the way Arianism marked the 4th century. His words were prescient. I believe that the problem is compounded by the fact that we are considering something that is largely rooted in “poetic knowledge.” Though it is certainly the case that there is a fairly straight-forward biological definition of male and female (despite the present confusion maintained by some), stating a biological fact doesn’t even begin to address the mystery.

We are embodied beings and we cannot experience the world in a disembodied form. To describe our bodies from the outside (scientific knowledge) says nothing about what it is like to actually be that embodied person. This becomes yet more complex when the reality of who and what we are extends beyond my body and encompasses the bodies that are around me. For the terms “male” and “female” have no meaning in and of themselves – they are relational terms. Thus it is true that men cannot know what it is to be male without, in some manner, knowing what it is to be male-in-relation-to-female. The same is true of women. In perhaps the most tortured passage in all of St. Paul’s writings he says (profoundly):

… man [is not] independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman is from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God. (1 Cor. 11:12)

Poetic knowledge comes in a patient act of listening and reflection. It is often spoken in signs and symbols. In the life of the Church the story of Adam and Eve are profoundly intertwined with the story of salvation itself. Male and female are not just bits of biological necessity – they are sacramental elements in the wonder of theosis.

Modern Christianity has largely followed the lead of the culture. We have listened uncritically to the messaging of what it means to be male and female (largely derived from concepts grounded in consumerist and modern philosophies) while ignoring the poetic knowledge of the tradition. Thus, we have a genderless Jesus saving men and women as though they were genderless drones (which is pretty much what the world wants – “worker bees”). Modern theologies treat the mother of God and the entire drama of Christ’s nativity as nothing more than an “arrival” story, without any consideration for the full nature of what is taking place.

Mary’s conception of Christ is first foretold in Genesis: “And your seed will bruise his head” (Gen. 3:15). The coming of the Messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah, is specifically told in terms that engage human sexuality: “A virgin shall conceive and bear a child” (Is. 7:14). These, and other such references, are not incidental, but integral to our salvation.

By the same token, our own humanity (how is this not obvious?) is the story of generations of conceptions and births. We do not exist as genderless worker bees, but as embodied, engendered human beings, male and female, and the mystery of who we are cannot be spoken without uttering that very same mystery.

It is not accident, nor a product of some historical prejudice, that the priesthood of the Church is borne by men (and only a very few men, at that). Neither is it an accident that the Mother of God holds such a central place in the liturgies and piety of the Church. The poetic reality of our being, particularly our being as justified, sanctified, deified human beings, is drawn forth in the poetic imagery and speech of the Church. It speaks to the heart when the heart can hear it.

What shall we do with young men? What shall we do with young women? What shall we do with the rest of us as well? We must sing the Lord’s song, and sing it well, until the generations of the moment and of the years to come can begin to hear that it is the song of their true lives. It is God’s love song to us all, sung in a human key. It is also the key of the Divine, but only the most silent hearts can hear that.

I have more to say on this, but it will have to wait.

 

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