I remember early on in our investigations of Orthodoxy hearing a bewildering comparison: If one asks a western Christian what he believes, one is invited to the library. If one asks an Orthodox Christian the same, one is invited to church.
This somehow made a profound impact on me; though I couldn’t understand it fully—at least the part about Orthodoxy. What such a statement attempts to convey, obviously, is that Western Christianity (Roman or Protestant) is somehow, on average, stuck in the cerebrum (as evidenced by my lack of understanding!) and marinated in the academics of God. The more one knows about God, the more one (theoretically) knows God. Whereas Orthodox Christianity is grounded in the experience of God, primarily through prayer and worship.
For many of us coming from non-Orthodox Christian backgrounds, this focus on the ‘experience of God’ can make us nervous. On the one hand, our faith-heritages (which we have come to question) have taught us that the experience of God is only found in ecstatic, outward ‘experiences’ of the Holy Spirit—speaking in tongues, being ‘slain in the spirit’, and even uncontrollable sound-making such as barking and laughter. On the other hand, we have received from liberal Christianity an understanding that ‘experiencing God’ means taking my personal experience—whatever it is—and labeling it ‘from God’, thereby sanctifying it. Both of these miss the Orthodox mark—knowing God by worshipping him in connection with those across the globe, and across time, and outside of time.
To this day I remember the direction of my (now) spiritual father—this was at the time when I was wrestling my way towards the Orthodox faith—“Go sit quietly before and icon of Christ with a votive lit before the icon.” What!?!? Now, six or seven years later, I am only beginning to begin to appreciate what that direction both means and accomplishes. If we want to know God, we must be still and silent before him. Come and see. Watch and pray.
Of course, this involves and requires theological underpinnings. Without knowing the Gospel, we cannot adequately discern what we hear and see in silence and prayer. But the most significant interpretation and amplification of the Gospel comes in the hymns and prayers of our worship, both private and public. For this reason, we go to church and not to the library.
No time is this more evident that during Holy Week and Pascha, especially Holy Friday, Holy Saturday, and Pascha. This, precisely is Orthodox Christianity, showing us the truth about God and the truth about Man, and welcoming us into the redemption of all by Jesus Christ.
This is not Eastern or Western. It is Christianity—though it has been fully guarded and passed down only here, by God’s grace.
Action Item: Well, Go to church! Especially the Sacred Triduum. But if you missed it, begin by the weekend cycle—Saturday-Sunday—and find a way to read the prayers and hymns apart from the service. Don’t read them during the service—watch and pray! Further reading: Texts of the services—ask your priest or choir director. Another helpful primer of the differences: “Orthodoxy for the Non-Orthodox” by Fr John Garvey. Published by Templegate.
The accompanying episode of Come Receive the Light is available here.
Fr. John Parker, a regular contributor to the Orthodox Christian Network, is Priest-in-Charge of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, a mission of the OCA. He earned his M.Div. at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA, and his M.Th. from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY. He and his wife, Jeanette, and their two sons live in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. In this "free time" you can find Fr. John surfing his 9'4 Hobie noserider.
UNDERSTANDING GENESIS, Fr John Parker
Few books in the Bible are subject to as much discussion and debate as Genesis, and more specifically, the first 11 chapters. Genesis (the name itself means "beginnings") is the first book of Moses, the first book of the Pentateuch (the other four: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The first three chapters have been the subject of heavy arguments, especially in North America in the last hundred years as our society makes ever increasing efforts to polarize faith and science.
Are you a creationist? An evolutionist? A believer in Intelligent Design? These questions are (attempted to
be) answered by folks who quote Genesis 1-3 with great zeal. One hears, "The Bible says it; I believe it; that settles it." Some claim that the world was created in 7-24 hour days. (Yet if a day is measured by the rising and setting of the sun, what are we to do with the first three days, when there was "light" and "darkness" but no sun and moon?) Others claim that the earth is millions and millions of years old. Some claim that dinosaur bones were planted in the earth to fool us (really!).
Clearly, understanding Genesis is not a straightforward effort. Once, an Old Testament professor of mine was asked if he takes the Bible literally. His answer was marvelous: "I take the literal parts literally and the figurative parts figuratively".
So, what is literal? What is figurative? As is the case with the whole of the Scriptures, we are entirely dependent upon the Church for the interpretation of each book, especially Genesis. For starters, we must say that Genesis is not a science textbook. Rather, it is a theological treatise. Like its Gospel parallel—the Gospel
according to St John "In the beginning…", it tells the truth without necessary providing facts or details. Especially at the time, there were many folks who worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars. Others worshiped animals. Others worshiped trees, etc. Genesis teaches us not to worship the heavenly bodies, because there is one True God who created them. Genesis teaches us that the animals are not the highest
order—God created them, too, along with the trees. In short, we need to look beyond all of creation to seek and nd God who brought all of these things into being by the Word of his power.
Likewise, these early chapters of Genesis show us that God is a God of order, not chaos. He brought all things into creation in an order. On the first three days, he created things (light/dark, earth/heavens, water/land). On the next three days, he created the rulers of those things (sun/moon, animals, birds, fish, etc.), crowning his creation by creating Man and Woman in his image and likeness, and placing them as stewards or rulers over all of the creation.
Finally, we should remember that the key to understanding Genesis (and indeed the whole of the Scriptures) is Jesus Christ. On the road to Emmaus, he opened Luke and Cleopas’ eyes to understand all that was written concerning him in the law and the prophets. It was the preincarnate Word which brought all things into
existence. The Father spoke, and his Word ("Let there be…") put it all into existence. Could God have created the world in 7 days? Of course! Did he? This we’d answer one or two ways. A) we don’t know. B) it doesn’t matter! The purpose of these early chapters is to introduce us to the one True God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, who from time immemorial, has done all things "decently and in order".
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
Modernity meets monasticism in Egypt's desert
By Will Rasmussen Reuters Wednesday, May 28, 2008; 8:19 PM
AL ZAAFARANA, Egypt (Reuters) - A speck of green in a sea of sand, St. Anthony's Monastery in Egypt welcomes those seeking God in silence broken only by the whisper of the wind.
Monks at what is considered by many to be the world's oldest active Christian monastery still rise before dawn to chant and pray just as their predecessors did for more than 1,500 years.
Now, they also carry mobile phones, send e-mails and maintain a website (http://www.stanthonymonastery.org), embracing modernity that has helped sustain the ancient monastery, nestled beside a spring where Egypt's eastern desert meets the craggy Red Sea mountains.
But the changes have sent some monks fleeing to a more austere existence in nearby mountain caves.
"There is nothing wrong with microwaves or mobile phones -- they save time," Egyptian monk Ruwais el-Anthony, who has lived at the monastery for more than 30 years, said through a bushy white beard. "But God will ask you what you have done with the time that was saved."
The monastery, which was founded in 356 AD, has survived Bedouin raids, the Islamic conquest of Egypt, and wars between Egypt and Israel that turned the area into a combat zone.
Almost all the monks here are Egyptian Coptic Christians, a minority faith in the most populous Arab country, which is about 90 percent Muslim. Most Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox church, which gives allegiance to its own Pope in Egypt, Shenouda III.
Once closed off from marauding Bedouins behind towering white stone walls, the monks now open iron doors, engraved with Coptic writing, to busloads of tourists and pilgrims.
The monks raise chickens, grow fruit, and lead tour groups through the compound's 15th century church, which is built above the oldest monk cells ever discovered, dating from the fourth century, the monks say.
Monks believe a recently discovered grave under the church is that of St. Anthony himself.
"When I came here, it was very primitive and totally isolated," monk Athansious el-Anthony, 62, said.
When he first arrived in the late 1960s, the only visitors were Egyptian soldiers demanding water during Egypt's war with Israel. The monastery was near the front-lines of fighting in the war, which began in 1967.
Now, a new road through the desert brings busloads of visitors, most from Europe and Russia.
Only the most gregarious of the 120 monks at St. Anthony's deal with visitors. The others isolate themselves in their rooms or spend their days praying in the caves.
One Australian monk is said to live in a cave above the monastery, only coming down for an hour or two a week.
FOLLOWING ANTHONY
Described as the earliest Christian monk, St. Anthony set off into the desert around the year 280 A.D. and settled in the mountain caves around this desert oasis.
He is considered to be one of the first Christians to withdraw completely from society, living in the desert with only animals for company.
His followers also find solace in the desert's solitude.
"I love the silence and I don't want to serve anything but God," says Domadios el-Anthony, a black-bearded Egyptian who has lived for the last five years in the monastery. "My life began when I came here."
"We hear so much about the wars and awful things in the world ... People now just want a relationship with God."
The monastery, about 155 km (100 miles) southeast of Cairo, is now attracting so many prospective monks that it plans to turn everyone down for now, in part to ensure that only the most dedicated actually join.
Only about five new monks a year are accepted, out of dozens who express interest, Ruwais says.
"Not having a job, not finding a wife, escaping family problems -- these are not reasons we accept," he says. "We put our novices under the microscope for three years, to make sure they are obedient."
At the monastery, bearded monks in black robes lead visitors through narrow paths between stone churches, monk cells, an ancient refectory monks say was built by the Roman emperor, Justinian, and a library containing over 1,700 manuscripts.
"It doesn't matter if we are modern monks or classic monks," says Ruwais, who coordinates tourist visits with a battered mobile phone. "What's important is the purity of your heart."
The "classic" monks only come down from the jagged mountains after the sun sets, the tourists leave, the chatter subsides, and only the howling of the wind across the sand can be heard.
(Writing by Will Rasmussen; editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile)
Orthodoxy in America
