Vignette from the Hogar: From Hell to Heaven

Buenos Dias Padres, Madres y Amigos en Cristo!

Como estan? Espero que todos estan bien con ustedes. Estoy muy bien, pero un poquito consado. Saludos para todos ustedes de Madres Ines, Maria y Ivonne.

I returned from Guatemala and the Hogar San Rafael Ayau Orphanage as scheduled late Monday evening. After a day of "catching up" at home (mainly correcting midterm exams from XU) I am back at the church. I am also back to using English which does come to me a bit more naturally! Be that as it may, I would like to share with you some serious reflections and observations following my short stay at the Hogar, especially concerning the children and their upbringing there by Madres Ines, Maria and Ivonne.

As usual, a visit to the Hogar is an experience that paradoxically fills me with a sense of sadness and inspiration. In just a short period of time, it is virtually impossible not to feel sad on behalf of these "abandoned, abused, and orphaned children" and the brokenness of their young lives. There are even encounters that will either melt or break your heart. Yet simultaneously, it is impossible not to be inspired and deeply moved in a positive sense as you briefly witness how these broken lives are being protected and even slowly put back together again. The process of healing is taking place below the surface and when clear signs of it become manifest this is truly exhilarating and a cause for joy. Here is a very poignant and dramatic case in point:

There is a lovely young girl of about ten that presvytera Deborah and I met in June and spent some time with on an outing to a plant and garden nursery. We made friends that day and enjoyed her company for the rest of the week there. On my recent visit I discovered the shocking fact that she had been terribly violated ("let the reader understand") while living in a tenement building. She was then eventually brought to the Hogar and taken in. This is the part that truly breaks your heart, especially when you see this child up close, call her by name, hold her hand, hug her, and spend some time with her. To be perfectly honest, it also boils your blood. The tragic character of the fallen world is no more fully manifested then in the destruction of the purity and innocence of a child. The consequences are severe. The words of Christ make this clear: "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." (LK. 17:2) This also makes many of the children very susceptible to mood swings that will include a kind of depression. And yet this young girl has been baptized and now participates in the sacramental life of the Church on a daily basis. So, I am not ashamed to say that when she came to Communion on Sunday while I was serving, tears came to my eyes as I gave her the Body and Blood of Christ "unto life everlasting." This little child is truly on a journey from hell to heaven! She has been in the "dark pit" described by the psalmist, and has now returned to the light of day. This is the part that is inspiring. Or that uplifts your troubled heart.

We cannot romanticize this healing process. It is slow and difficult. Madre Ivonne further shared with me that for many of the children, it is not until they are about fifteen or so when they realize that they are being cared for in a spirit of love. They may not really "open up" until then and fully trust their caregivers. (By that age at the Hogar, we are speaking about teen-aged girls, for the boys have been transferred elsewhere to another very fine institution - Ak Tenamit - that further educates them and prepares them for life in society).

When you support the Hogar it is a child like this that you are supporting! You are helping to feed, clothe, and educate her. And protect her from the outside world that has betrayed her. You are helping to maintain her in a Christ-filled environment. It is a noble and worthy cause. May it be blessed.

I would like to share a few less dramatic things that I picked up on this trip in the days to come. There are a couple of practices I heard about at the Hogar that are meant to instill a spirit of maturity and responsibility in the children and young adults that I believe you will find interesting. Until then ... Adios!

Dios ustedes bendigan!

Con mucho amor en Cristo,


Fr. Steven

Orthodox Christian Meditations moving to new URL

NOTICE!

This will be the last posting for this version of Christ the Savior~Holy Spirit's Orthodox Christian Meditations blog, meditations by Fr. Steven C. Kostoff.

In order to implement the Comments feature, we have had to create a new blog, and migrate our content to it. The new URL is:

http://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com/

In addition to the Comments feature, this blog offers easy subscription via RSS feed, and you can sign up to be a Follower. The idea is to turn this blog into an online community, and to make it easy and edifying for everyone to participate.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank you for your continued participation.

in Christ,
your webservant

Orthodox Christian Meditations to have Comments

From the webservant:

We are experimenting with enabling the comments features of our two blogs with the most potential for interaction: Orthodox Christian Meditations, and Orthodox Q&A Forum. This should enable greater 'give and take' on topics of interest, without the current cumbersome process of emailing Fr. Steven and then his subsequent emailing of same to his lists. Here's how it will work:

- There will appear a link at the bottom of each post for 'Comments'. Click on that to open only the entry you are reading with space for comments immediately below the entry. Then follow the instructions to post your comments.

- Fr. Steven will each receive an email notification when someone has posted a comment.

- At this stage, we are not monitoring comments before they are posted, so we are employing a blogger "honor system" worthy of our readership.

- Comments considered inappropriate will be removed.

- Fr. Steven will from time to time post his own follow-up comments, which can enable some lively and hopefully fruitful give-and-take on topics.

- Readers may opt to become "followers" of our blogs. Followers also get email or RSS messages notifying them of new meditations or comments.

We ask your patience while we are setting up this new feature, and hope it becomes an edifying and enjoyable aspect of your online experience.

in Christ,
Ralph S.

Fall Adult Education Class 2009

Dear Parish Faithful and Friends in Christ,

The book for our Fall Adult Education Class - Fellow Workers with God - Orthodox Thinking on Theosis, by Norman Russell - has arrived. (Just follow the link to order.) I believe this particular book is going to be excellent. The Foreword to the book was written by Dr. Peter Bouteneff. And he writes the following:

A feature that will make this book stand out, and make its readers especially grateful, is the author's ability to communicate the full depth and range of his knowledge of the subject in a way that is accessible and understandable. This should not be taken for granted, for as many authors (and their bemused readers) know, it is rare that a specialist cares enough to rethink his or her subject in non-specialist terms. Russell has taken the time to translate his scholarly approach into clear writing for a lay audience, casting aside the mantle of prestige to address people where they actually are.

I cannot imagine a more reliable or a more approachable cross-section of this vital aspect of ancient and contemporary Orthodox thought. It will no longer be possible to use "theosis" in a way that is facile, "over-spiritualized," or abstract. We have now lost any excuse to do so.

A great endorsement from Dr. Bouteneff. Personally, I can't wait to get started! Be that as it may, I would be willing to wait an extra week to begin if that means more of you can make it to the opening session. I say that because a "few" of those committed informed me that they probably could not make it to the first session on November 2. So, perhaps we could wait one more week and begin on Monday, November 9. Once again, let me know if that would work better for you.

Fr. Steven

As A Little Child

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

On Sunday, we will read from the Gospel According to St. Luke. We will also commemorate St. Luke as October 18 is his feast day. (If you go to www.oca.org and click on "Feasts & Saints," you will find there a short account of St. Luke's life). Therefore, in addition to the appointed Gospel reading (LK. 8:5-15), we will add a second appointed reading in honor of St. Luke (LK. 10:16-21). As a humble evangelist, St. Luke does not refer to himself in the entire Gospel, so the appointed reading must be one that was chosen because it points to him in such a way that his role and character precisely as a disciple of the Lord and evangelist is underlined. It is a passage meant to bring out a significant trait. We read and hear the following in this portion of the appointed text:

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Lk. 10:17-21)

Church Tradition numbers St. Luke among the Seventy Apostles, hence one of the purposes behind this passage that mentions the seventy and their appointed ministry that would continue following the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The greater purpose of the preaching and healing ministry that is extended to the Lord's disciples is the overthrowing of Satan's power and grip on men and women. Jesus has a direct vision of this victory, clearly echoed in the Book of Revelation (12:9).

Together with this, Jesus further rejoices in the Holy Spirit ( a characteristic of St. Luke to mention this) that "these things" - the preaching of the Gospel attended by such great signs - are revealed to, and understood by, "infants" (also translated as "babes"). This is occurring simultaneously with the inability of the "wise" to grasp these mysteries of the Kingdom of God! The revelation is meant for everyone, but the religious authorities, who are considered to be wise and prudent, have blinded themselves to be open to "these things," making them even hostile to Christ in the process. However, this teaching is not limited to the scribes and Pharisees of Christ's time. A certain blindness or arrogance can and does exist at all times when the Gospel seems "too simple" for the sophisticated minds of the (self-appointed?) intellectual elites of any given era. In this context, "infants" and "babes" refers to the "simple faith" of "simple people" who, in accepting the revelation that comes from God, are able to be true disciples of Christ. Clearly, the evangelist Luke was one such disciple. Thus, this is not simply about babies and young children! It is about the over-looked members of any given society - including our own - being granted a gift from our heavenly Father that only requires for its reception an openness of mind and heart. One's level of intellectual sophistication is not the determining factor in a positive and open response to the Gospel. As one scholar put it: "The message of Jesus is not grasped by wisdom and understanding; it is known only by revelation." (John L. McKenzie)

Elsewhere, Jesus spoke of receiving the Kingdom of God "as a little child" (MK. 10:15). To be "child-like" is certainly not to be "childish." We may speak of innocence and purity, but to be like a child in the context of Christ's teaching is also to be instinctively aware of one's dependence on another and to trust that source on which one is dependent. The true disciple, acting in a child-like manner trusts our heavenly Father Who is able to number the hairs on our head. To be childish, on the other hand, is to be immature and self-centered in such a way that in exasperation one adult may say of another "what a baby!" The most brilliant theologian is a "child of God," and as dependent upon God as the little child is upon his mother or father. It is that simplicity that one must not lose as we grow in wisdom and understanding all through life. This does not mean that we will believe anything; but that we will believe in the true things as they are revealed to us. Discernment is essential, but not a discernment blinded by scepticism and cynicism. To be "as a little child" is to retain the "laughter of the soul" that St. John Klimakos so commends. It is the way of entrance into the Kingdom of God.


Fr. Steven

The Icon and Total Human Nature

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Yesterday morning, I hosted two theology classes from Xavier University here at the church. Neither was the class that I am currently teaching. Rather, one of the professors at XU (Dr. Elizabeth Groppe) is including a discussion about Orthodox iconography in her class and she wanted her students to see some genuine Orthodox iconography "up close" and in a church setting. Her students were given what sounds like a very fascinating and timely assignment: to contrast and compare the media's use of the human body - MTV, advertising, etc. - with the body in Christian iconography. She also wants them to explore the meaning of genuine asceticism. That is a good topic for any Orthodox Christian to "meditate" upon very carefully. How would any of us respond to that assignment? What do we notice about the role and place of the body in an Orthodox icon? As important as the human body is in an Orthodox Christian understanding of life and salvation, there seems to remain a tendency to ignore the body when we talk about "spirituality" or the Christian life in general. As if the human body did not count, or was some form of "neutral matter." We accept a dualism that concentrates on the soul at the expense of the body. This is called "warmed-over Platonism," after the Greek philosopher Plato whose real concern was the "soul" and its capacity to contemplate the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. The body is merely the "tomb" of the soul. However, this is not biblical and hence, not Orthodox.

My goals in speaking to a group of college freshmen and sophmores were rather modest. I simply attempted to make some basic points about iconography and its general relationship to theology. This is not that difficult for the Orthodox, because our theology over-all is a wonderful integration of Scripture, Liturgy, hymnography, and iconography. In fact, our iconography has been famously called "theology in color." Art, and thus human culture, is capable of expressing divine reality, of allowing us a glimpse of that beauty that Dostoevsky said "would save the world." And the icon reveals something very essential about the body, including its place in that process of drawing closer to God that we call theosis, or deification. An essay with a rather provocative title, "An Art Centered on the Body" by the Greek Orthodox iconologist, Nikos Zias, makes this point very well. Zias begins with an general observation about Byzantine iconography, the prototype of all subsequent Orthodox iconography:

In Byzantine art the human form is dominant, whether as a full-scale representation or as a portrait. The universal acceptance of this subject-matter is evidence of the acceptance in principle of the body as capable of salvation, and not as a priori or definitively evil; an acceptance, moreover, which has its beginning in the Incarnation of the Word made flesh. (Synaxis, Vol. II, p. 29)

Speaking specifically about the icon of Christ, Zias makes these further observations:

The two-dimensional depiction without mass and weight, with the light emanating not from an external steady source, but almost as it were out of the body, the prominence of the head and the emphasizing of the eyes, the unrealistic use of color - all these elements contrive to represent not simply a human body, but the divine-human body of Christ. It is the body which walks weightlessly upon the sea, without however being a "spirit;" it is the palpable body of the Transfiguration, which radiates the divine Light; it is the resurrected body of the Lord who passes unhindered into the room "while the doors were shut" in order to grant peace to His disciples. (Ibid. p. 29)

The saints of the Church are those men and women who had experienced the transfiguration of their own humanity in this life, through the ascetical life nourished by unceasing prayer. Perhaps the most "spectacular" example is that of St. Seraphim of Sarov (+1833). This transfiguration also included their bodies, as the Transfiguration of the Lord clearly revealed. How can an iconographer depict this transfiguration within the limitations posed by line and color? Zias writes the following:

The artistic means by which this transfiguration is achieved are the same as those used to depict the body of Christ. The frontal representation, the light radiating from within, the simplification of the different parts, the schematic rendering of the folds of the garments give to the depiction of the body a particular quality. The body is not autonomous, as in ancient Greek art, nor is it ruptured and deconstructed, as is often the case in modern art (cubism, surrealism). It co-exists and is exercised together with the soul, and expressed the eschatological faith that the body is saved and filled with grace, as is proved even today by the relics of the saints. (Ibid., p. 30)

The "strangeness" of the icon, its supposedly "naive" figuration and color schemes are actually the revelation of a consciously-chosen aesthetics that creates a genuinely spirtual art that embraces the whole person, body and soul. To further emphasize the integral place of the body in iconography - or in a sound Orthodox Christian "worldview" - Nikos Zias includes the viewer's participation in the over-all act of gazing upon and venerating an icon:

Byzantine art is ... an anthropomorphic art, an art centered on the human body, and rendering spirituality, sanctity and deification visible through the body. After all, communication with this art is also achieved physically, through the veneration of the icon by the faithful. Moreover, if we take the point of view of most modern art, which regards the viewer's participation as necessary to complete the work of art, then the believer's physical participation in Byzantine art is more direct than in any period of art history. Byzantine painting uses the human body as its means of expression, envisioning it, however, beyond corruption and beyond the oppression of natural law and physical necessity, in the freedom of grace and the dynamic of transfiguration. (Ibid. p. 32-33)

As in that horrific tale of anti-transfiguration, Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," the human body can be rendered in a grotesque manner in the contemporary world - in art or advertisement. Some art will "test the limits" and distort the human body to an almost unrecognizable degree; or use the body to "make a statement" that is intended to scandalize or provoke. In the ubiquitous world of advertisement it is usually the monotonous use of the body as an instrument of enticement, sensuality, or pseudo-eroticism. Youth, beauty, glamor and sexual attraction are "deified." Even "senior citizens" are invited not to be "left behind," and to join in on the "fun" that is only a performance-enhancing drug away. Arrest the aging process that leads to the body's corruption, for that is all there is! We witness here, at best, a highly ambiguous emphasis on our bodily existence. Perhaps gazing at the icons in our homes and churches with some of the attention that we dedicate to the various screens in our lives, will help restore a balanced and holistic vision to the role of the body in a decidedly Christian worldview. Rather than an object to be exploited, the body can be further restored to a level of respect and care that avoids the pitfalls of idolatry.

Is there an organic relationship between the soul and body? Certainly, according to the witness of the Gospel and our theological Tradition that is grounded in the Incarnation, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, leading to the deification of our total human nature - soul and body. If we take care of our soul - having faith and doing good works - can we simultaneously indulge the body and its instinctual desire for gratification, be it food, drink, sex, excessive comfort, etc.? At what point does ignoring the body in our "spiritual life" affect our soul? Or, we could turn this around and ask: why does our body take on such importance and become the focus of attention when it becomes a matter of health or beauty? How is it that "working out" is good, healthy, rigorous activity; but standing in church, making prostrations, and fasting are often enough undesirable labors? Why are we so disciplined about the former, but lax about the latter? Actually, whatever our approach to "spirituality" may be, we are quite concerned about our bodies, but we struggle to integrate our bodily existence into our over-all Christian life. If we have "eyes to see" the icon restores the proper vision of our body that awaits both resurrection and transfiguration in the Age to Come. The icon anticipates in artistic form the revelatory promise made by the Apostle Paul:

But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. (PHIL. 3:20-21)

Fr. Steven

Total Cost of Abortion

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

I am browsing through the newest edition of Salvo, a journal with a very contemporary look and feel, though as an offshoot of Touchstone, it is something of a young adult's version of that journal's traditional Christianity. The articles are geared toward offering Christian responses to contemporary social and moral issues The new issue contains an article by Terrell Clemmons, entitled "Roe v. Women - Pro "Choice" Clearly Harms Those It Claims to Help." The over-all intent of the article is to make the point that after thirty-six years of living under Roe v. Wade, studies are now revealing the traumatic after-effects of abortion on women. As an example, a certain Dr. Priscilla Coleman, research psychologist at Bowling State University, conducted a study of women and their post-abortion lives. In the Journal of Psychiatric Research in 2008, she drew this conclusion:

Abortion was found to be related to an increased risk for a variety of mental health problems (panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, PTSD, bipolar disorder, major depression with and without hierarchy), substance abuse disorders after statistical controls were instituted for a wide range of personal, situational, and demographic variables.

Clemmons writes further on in the article:

In contrast to grief following natural miscarriages or other death of a child, interviews and surveys show that feelings of distress and regret over abortion tend to increase, rather than decrease, over time. So common are these symptoms in post-abortion women that the syndrome has been given a name: Post Abortion Syndrome, or PAS.

Turning one more time to Dr. Coleman, Clemmons quotes her as concluding:

The scientific evidence is now strong and compelling. Abortion poses more risks to women than giving birth.

A very revealing - and poignant - part of the article is subtitled "Choice, Coercion & Desperation." Here Clemmons touches on an issue that is not given that much attention - the pressures put upon a woman to have an abortion, even though she is not so inclined. She turns to a David C. Reardon, Ph.D, who began research in this field as early as 1983. He is now considered "an internationally known expert of the subject." In a work entitled Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation, Reardon writes that: "It is common knowledge that abortion often suits lovers and parents more than pregnant women themselves." And further: "It takes no leap of imagination to understand how these other persons often pressure, badger, and blackmail a woman into accepting an unwanted 'safe and legal' abortion because it will be 'best for everyone'." Clemmons even cites a "prominent abortion proponent," ethicist Daniel Callahan, who concedes: "That men have long coerced women into unwanted abortion when it suits their purposes is well-known but rarely mentioned."

Most Orthodox Christians are familiar with the prolific writer and speaker, Frederica Mathewes-Green. Clemmons includes some of her observations - based on her talks throughout the country with various women - about the reluctance of many women to abort their children:

The core reason I heard was, "I had the abortion because someone I loved told me to." Again and again, I learned that women had abortions because they felt abandoned, they felt isolated and afraid. As one woman said, "I felt like everyone would support me if I had the abortion, but if I had the baby I'd be alone.... I felt like I didn't have a choice. If only one person had stood by me, even a stranger, I would have had that baby."

No one wants an abortion as she wants an ice-cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal, caught in a trap, wants to gnaw off its own leg.

At this point in a woman's life, as Clemmons points out "the abortion industry leaps to her side." She continues with the following description of one of our nation's most prominent "helpers:"

Planned Parenthood, the abortion industry leader, promotes itself as a provider of "vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide." It's true that Planned Parenthood provides "services" other than abortion. A shrewd marketer, it conducts sex-ed classes and dispenses birth-control information and products. When the sex-ed succeeds and the birth control fails, Planned Parenthood is already in the picture, offering, like a
fairly godmother, to make it all go away.

A former (abortion) counselor, Debra Henry wrote this of her experience in that field:

We were told to find the woman's weakness and work on it. The women were never given any alternatives. They were told how much trouble it was to have a baby.

Money has a good deal to do with it. Fore those who like statistics, we read the following:

According to a June 23, 2008 Wall Street Journal article, Planned Parenthood, which performs about 20 percent of the abortions in the United States, reported a record $1 billion in annual revenue in a recent financial report.

A kind of summation of the article's intent, to show that women suffer from having abortions, is emphatically expressed by Ellie Dillion, of Missouri Right to Life:

Abortion is not a true "choice" for a woman; it is an act of despair. The psychological impact of abortion is so profound because women are acting against their maternal instincts and consciences. They react with guilt, anger, depression, substance abuse and suicide. The only people who are empowered are men. They can have sex without any responsibility to their partner or their unborn children.

And then Terrell Clemmons concludes her article with these thoughts:

To pit the right of prospective mothers against the rights of their unborn children is to begin the discussion with a false presumption - namely, that the interests of the two parties are at odds with one another. They are not. To harm the child is to harm the mother, and vice versa.

The summary above is taken from Salvo Issue 10 autumn 2009.

Fr. Steven

A Tale of Two Trees

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Today is the last day of Summer, and that means that Fall/Autumn begins tomorrow, September 22, at 5:18 p.m. EDT. At least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Today is also the last day - the Leavetaking - of the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross. This Feast is celebrated with a full octave, or eight days of liturgical commemoration and celebration. This is simply one indication of the central place of the Cross in the life of the Church. It is virtually impossible to be a Christian without an ongoing consciousness of the Cross and a sense of awe before it:

The Cross is raised on high, and urges all the creation to sing the praises of the undefiled Passion of Him who was lifted high upon it. For there it was that He killed our slayer, and brought the dead to life again: and in His exceeding goodness and compassion, He made us beautiful and counted us worthy to be citizens of heaven. Therefore with rejoicing let us exalt His Name and magnify His surpassing condescension. (Great Vespers of the Feast)

The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross can also be called "A Tale of Two Trees." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, planted in the midst of Paradise, became a source of condemnation; while the Tree of the Cross, planted on Golgotha, became a source of "eternal justice." In disobedience to God, the man and woman of GEN. 3, ate of the fruit of the tree that they were commanded to avoid, thus introducing the spiritual death of sin into the world. In contrast to this and in total obedience to the will of the Father, Christ ascended the Tree of the Cross in order to put sin to death, restore our broken will, and recreate our fallen human nature. In a lengthy hymn that is theologically rich and rhetorically impressive, we can meditate upon this "Tale of the Two Trees" that beautifully connects Paradise - "whatever that means," according to the enigmatic phrase St. Gregory the Theologian - and Golgotha:

Come, all ye peoples, and let us venerate the blessed Wood, through which the eternal justice has been brought to pass. For he who by a tree deceived our forefather Adam, is by the Cross himself deceived; and he who be tyranny gained possession of the creature endowed by God with royal dignity, is overthrown in headlong fall. By the blood of God the poison of the serpent is washed away; and the curse of a just condemnation is loosed by the unjust punishment inflicted on the Just. For it was fitting that wood should be healed by wood, and that through the Passion of One who knew not passion should be remitted all the sufferings of him who was condemned because of wood. But glory to Thee, O Christ our King, for Thy dread dispensation towards us, whereby Thou has saved us all, for Thou art good and lovest mankind. (Great Vespers of the Feast)

This hymn is an excellent example of what Met. John Zizioulas has called our "liturgical dogmatics," understanding the "rule of prayer" as a source and/or expression of our "rule of faith." We pray what we proclaim to be our Faith, and not just frame that Faith in abstract or intellectual formulas. Even further, we actually bow down in worship before the Cross that we believe to be "Tree of true life" (Great Vespers of the Feast). In most icons of the Crucifixion, right beneath the foot of the Cross, buried on Golgotha, there is visible the skull of Adam, being "washed" by the blood of Christ that pours from His wounds. This is not presented as history but as a "visible theology" that again makes the profound connection between the first and last Adam. The "blood of God" cleanses and recreates our fallen human nature.

There is also a strong hint at cosmological restoration, or of nature mysteriously participating in the redemption gained through the Cross, as expressed in certain other hymns of the Feast:

Let all the trees of the wood rejoice, for their nature is made holy by Christ, who planted them in the beginning and who was outstretched upon the Tree. At its Exaltation on this day, we worship Him and thee do we magnify. (Matins, First Canon, Canticle Nine)

We need to treat our forests with respect as each tree partakes of a mystical sanctification based upon its sharing of nature with the Tree/wood of the Cross!

Besides the typological, Christological and cosmological insights of the Feast, we never lose sight of the Cross in our lives, or of the Cross in relation to our own personal crosses. For this reason, the Gospel on the Sunday After the Feast of the Elevation is taken from MK. 8:34-9:1. This is the passage in which Jesus reminds anyone who desires to follow him to practice self-denial: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (MK. 8:34) Every Christian is painfully aware of the difficulty of practicing self-denial. It is a veritable cross in and of itself. Conscious restraint and limitation seems like nothing more than painful constraint and self-imprisonment. Perhaps because we are inclined toward some form or another of "self-indulgence." In fact, we could be only one temptation away from "losing it" at any given time. We gain no assistance from the surrounding culture, since we are encouraged to pursue some aspect of self-indulgence with far greater passion than self-denial. Putting that another way, we could say that the only practice our culture denies is that of self-denial. In this light our entire life as Christians can be understood as a ceaseless struggle between the impulses of self-indulgence and the sobriety of self-denial. Food, drink, sex, money, status, etc. We can possibly "have it all," but Christ warns us that we can lose our soul/life in the process. But as clear as all of this is, we still continue to struggle. We have spent a great deal of time and energy -and money - building up our appetites. Would we even practice any self-denial without the fasting seasons appointed by the Church?! Let us thank God for those seasons, and the examples of the many great saints of the Church - men and women - who practiced blessed self-denial and gained their life through it.

As we approach the Fall season, we will again be treated to the flaming colors that give us a taste of the beauty of the created world. These natural "burning bushes" fill us with delight. And the trees that will provide that experience are images of the Tree of the Cross.

At the exaltation of the Wood that is sprinkled with the blood of the incarnate Word of God, sing praises, ye powers of heaven, feasting the restoration of mortal men. Ye people, venerate the Cross of Christ, whereby resurrection has been granted to the world unto all ages. (Matins, First Canon, Canticle Eight)

Fr. Steven

The Mystery of Gender in the Creation Narratives

Dear Parish Faithful and Friends in Christ,

I am reading a fascinating book entitled Beginnings - Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives, by Dr. Peter Bouteneff, professor of dogmatic theology as St. Vladimir's Seminary. It is an in-depth study, rather scholarly in its approach, of how the early Church, from the time of the New Testament through the time of the great Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th c., understood and interpreted GEN. 1-3. Some of the Fathers will concentrate on the Six-Day Creation Narrative; while others will focus more of their attention of the narrative concerning Adam and Eve in Paradise.

The issue of the equality of men and women has always been a complicated and sensitive one throughout the centuries. The definitions of "masculinity" and "femininity" and the relationships between men and women often obscured the biblical text's original understanding of gender and sexuality - overwhelming so at the expense of women. And the invocation of "feminine weakness" has often led to a moral "double standard" that allowed for a certain hypocrisy to prevail, even within Christian societies and cultures. In his study of St. Gregory of Nazianzus - called the Theologian - Dr. Bouteneff reveals a famous Church Father who saw through these socially-driven pretensions. Dr. Bouteneff introduces a well-known passage from St. Gregory with these words: "In Gregory we have one of the few early fathers to devote serious reflection to questions of gender, informed by Genesis 1-3. ... Gregory ... intends to show the men in his audience that they are no better than women and that Christ saves both:"

How then do you demand chastity, when you do not observe it yourself? How do you demand that which you do not give? If you inquire into the worse: the woman sinned, and so did Adam. the serpent deceived them both; and one was not found to be the stronger and the other the weaker. But now consider the better: Christ saves both by his Passion. Was he made flesh for the man? So he was also for the woman. Did he die for the man? The woman also is saved by his death. He is called the seed of David; and so perhaps you think the man is honored; but he is born of a Virgin, and this is on the woman's side. The two, he says, shall be one Flesh; so let the one flesh have equal honor. (Oration 37)

Dr. Bouteneff then soberly comments: "He (i.e. Gregory) brings us a long way from the Eve-centered misogyny of Sirach and some patristic texts." (p. 143)

Under the theme entitled "Adam and Us," Dr. Bouteneff summarizes St. Gregory's approach in this manner:

When Gregory speaks of the paradise episode, the main character is as often 'me' or 'us' as it is 'Adam': the serpent constantly seduces us (Or. 14.26) and 'I came to know my own nakedness and clothed myself in a garment of skin, and fell from the garden' (Or. 19.14). This is found in one of St. Gregory's most famous passages:

"We were created that we might be made happy. We were made happy when we were created. We were entrusted with Paradise that we might enjoy life.... We were deceived because we were the objects of envy. We were cast out because we transgressed.... We needed an incarnate God, a God put to death, that we might live. We were put to death together with him, that we might be cleansed; we rose with him because we were put to death with him; we were glorified with him, because we rose with him" (Or. 45.28).

Dr. Bouteneff concludes this section with the following summary:

Gregory universalizes and existentializes the paradise narrative as he also did gender and genealogy, partly because of the rhetorical and oratorical character of his theology. Not only does it talk about the enormous practicality of Adam, Eve, and paradise; it bypasses any idea that we can blame the person of Adam for our sin or that we inherit his guilt. (p. 145)

The above is simply a "mere taste" of the many riches found in this well-written and well-researched book by Dr. Peter Bouteneff concerning the foundational narratives of the Bible. As we grapple with these texts today in a highly-charged and controversial atmosphere, it is essential that we, as Orthodox Christians, understand the approach and interpretive methods of the Church Fathers as we attempt to build on their work.

Fr. Steven

A Wonderful Exhortation

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

If we look at our church calendars, we will notice that we read from St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians all through the month of August, and that we completed that cycle of readings this last Sunday with the concluding portion of this lengthy Epistle (16:13-24), labeled in the Orthodox Study Bible as "Final Exhortations and Greetings." Here is the text that was read in church at the Divine Liturgy:

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. I urge you, brethren - you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints - that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.
The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
The salutation with my own hand - Paul's.
If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Apostle Paul combines in this closing portion of the Epistle both general and "timeless" exhortations, together with his immediate and pressing concerns about various persons and situations of the early Church that he knew and was in contact with. As a letter, there is always an immediacy to his epistles that deal with pastoral issues that need attention and resolution. Therefore, in his many Epistles, we are given a glimpse into the life of some of the earliest of Christian communities, Corinth being one of them. His treatment of these persons and the situations - and predicaments - of life in these early communities remain for us today models of pastoral care. However, I would like to briefly comment on some of the more "timeless" teachings found here that are directly applicable to all Christians at any given point in the history of the Church, including our lives today. This passage begins with a wonderful exhortation that summarizes the Gospel and the life of a Christian. If we break it down somewhat more, we find the following "virtues" enumerated:

• watch - an exhortation to interior vigilance amongst the pressures and temptations of life (cf. MK. 13:35);
• stand fast in the faith - implying knowledge and practice of one's faith so that it is not easily lost;
• be brave, be strong - the image of a courageous soldier not afraid to do battle against imposing enemies;
• do everything in love - a beautiful expression of a Christ-like approach to all situations in life.

Thus, we find vigilance, strong faith, courage and, ultimately, love as the way of Christian life in the world. To embody these virtues in our daily lives would be to truly live by the precepts and vision of the Gospel. In a closing exhortation that we can miss or overlook, the Apostle Paul outlines an entire lifetime of spiritual struggle and the ultimate goal of those struggles - to do everything in love! This is one reason why, before a scriptural reading begins, we hear the liturgical directive: "Let us attend!" We begin by opening up our ears to the text, but so that our minds and hearts may be further opened to the meaning and practice of what we hear.

Yet, immediately following this passage, but within the final exhortations and greetings that close the Epistle, we hear a frightening and harsh admonition from the Apostle Paul. After stating another beautiful expression of Christians greeting one another with a "holy kiss" - remnants of which still survive to this day - the Apostle delivers the horrifying words: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed" (16:22). The word "accursed' is actually the Greek "anathema." To be "anathematized" is to be cut off from the Body of Christ - truly a "curse" for the believer. Considering the over-all encouraging "tone" of these last verses, the question arises as to what prompted this "hard saying" and even the question as to whom it was directed toward. In his commentary on I Corinthians, Fr. Lawrence Farley offers a convincing analysis:

It is an extraordinarily strong sentiment and seems to burst from the heart of the apostle - much like a similar imprecation in Galatians 1:8-9. And, like that imprecation, it is not directed at the unbelieving world around them. It is not aimed at the pagans or Jews who have never known the Lord. Rather, it is aimed at apostate Christians - at those who once were His friends and followers and who now "walk with Him no longer" (see John 6:66). That is, it is directed at spiritual traitors, at those who, like Judas, once "ate of His eucharistic bread," pledging their lives to Him, and who now "have lifted up their heel against Him" (Psalm 41:9).

Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is the commitment to "love" Him with all of our "heart, soul, mind and strength." Yet, it is virtually impossible to "objectively" assess just how much we love someone - including Christ. We do know, that biblically, "love" is never reduced to an emotion or feeling. It includes emotional content, but it is much more a way of acting toward someone. In support of this, we have the words of Christ as found in the Gospel of St. John:

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (14:21)

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (15:9-10)

Keeping the commandments of Christ is the sign of loving Christ as the Lord Himself taught. Basically, the "commandments" refers to His teaching as it has been delivered to us in the Gospels. Not keeping the commandments of Christ will then reveal to us the extent of our "love" of Him. The one we love is also present in our minds and hearts - and not just on one day of the week for a short period of time. We carry the "beloved" in our minds and hearts at all times. Applied to Christ that would mean our heartfelt prayer directed to Him and our conscious worship of Him, together with the keeping of His commandments. Jesus warns us that "because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (MATT. 24:12-13) How horrible indeed if our love of Christ were to grow cold - we would then pronounce an "anathema" over ourselves! It would be a betrayal of staggering proportions. Something like giving Christ the "kiss of betrayal" that we pray to be spared from in our pre-Communion prayers. And we would be cut off from the Body of Christ even if we continued to go through the motions.

The Apostle Paul, however, as a true pastor, ends the Epistle to the Corinthians with a powerful note of encouragement and hope - difficult as this "parish" has been for him:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. (16:23)

Again, from Fr. Lawrence Farley, we read this by way of commentary:

For he gives his love to all in Corinth, without exception - even to those who grieved him, who have slighted him, who have denigrated him in favor of Apollos or others. There is no malice or resentment in his heart, but only a constant love and a desire to make them wise unto salvation. Thus he concluded his epistle on this note of love. He has written much about the way of true wisdom and has answered their questions according to the wisdom given to him as a chosen apostle. At the end, we see that this wisdom is nothing other than love - love for God and love for man.

I am certain that the Apostle Paul had the capacity to love all of the Corinthians because he loved Christ as the One who extended to him the gift of salvation by dying upon the Cross. And the Apostle extended this love to us on Sunday when our appointed reader proclaimed his words to all of us within the Liturgy. By "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" we can continue to love Him as our Lord and each other in His name. Only then will the world know that we are His true disciples.

Fr. Steven

Nativity of the Theotokos: Signs of Life

Dear Parish Faithful,

It may very well be true that the Holy Days of the Church can no longer successfully "compete" with our secular holidays for the attention and/or presence of the faithful, especially when they coincide according to date. Instead of trying to explain this rather troubling phenomenon, I will simply say, philosophically: what is - is. Be that as it may, many of our parish faithful made a truly valiant effort to dispel such a notion by their presence for the current Feast Day of the Nativity of the Theotokos, as the eve, at least, coincided with Labor Day. There was a substantial group present yesterday evening for Great Vespers, and since this morning's group at the Liturgy was basically different, it meant that a good, representative body of the faithful was present for this light-bearing Feast of the birth of the young child, Miriam of Nazareth, chosen to be the God-bearer "in the fulness of time." Such "signs of life" are always hopeful and encouraging. My old seminary professor would always say that a sign of a spiritually-healthy parish was the strength of its reverence and love for the Ever-Virgin Mary and Theotokos, the "New Eve," and the Mother of all the followers of Christ.

St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) delivered a homily to the faithful of Thessalonika on this Feast Day that included this uplifting exhortation:

But you, O sacred audience, who listen to my words, my human flock and field in Christ, offer your exercise of the virtues and your progress in them as a birthday gift to the Mother of God: both men and women, elderly people along with younger ones, rich and poor, leaders and subjects, those of absolutely every race, age, rank, profession and branch of learning. Let none of you have a soul which is barren and without fruit. Let nobody be unloving or unreceptive to the spiritual seed. May each of you eagerly accept this celestial seed, the word of salvation (cf. LK. 8:11), and by your own efforts bring it to perfection as a heavenly work and fruit pleasing to God. Let no one make a beginning of a good work which brings no fruit to perfection (cf. Lk. 8:14), nor declare his faith in Christ only with his tongue. "Not every one, it says, "that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but rather he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven" (MATT. 7:21), and, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." (Lk. 9:62)

The Leavetaking of the Feast is on Saturday. On Sunday, we will begin preparing for the next major Feast Day of the Elevation of the Cross. Sunday evening we will serve Great Vespers with the procession of the Cross at 6:00 p.m. The Liturgy will be on Monday morning, September 14, at 9:30 a.m.

Fr. Steven

Whither the 'Thirst for Transcendence'?

Dear Parish Faithful,

I just wanted to share a few observations that have formulated in my mind since I began teaching again for the Fall semester at Xavier University. I have been teaching there for as long as I have been in Cincinnati, which is now twenty years. In the past I taught a few different courses, but now I am limited to one class per semester, and the department wants to offer the undergraduate course "The Eastern Orthodox Church," I believe, as part of their commitment to "diversity." Fortunately, I do not get tired teaching the same course over and over again. I maintain a bit of "variety" by periodically changing the books on the required reading list. This semester, the four required reading books are:

Formation and Struggles - the Birth of the Church AD 33-200 - Veselin Kesich
The Orthodox Church - Timothy Ware
Mother Maria Skobtsova - edited by Jim Forest
The Mystery of Faith - Bishop Ilarion Alfeyev

However, my observations are based upon the changed and changing nature of my students from year to year. Simply stated, my students are clearly less "religious" than from the time I began teaching at XU in 1989, and this loss of religiosity seems to have accelerated in recent years. I know this not only by observation, perception and/or classroom experience through interaction with the students, but also because they tell me so, if even ever so briefly. On the first day of class, the students have to answer four questions:

What is the Eastern Orthdox Church?
Why did you take this class?
What other theology courses have you had?
What Church or religion to you belong to?

I will concentrate on the last question: What Church or religion do you belong to? Over the years, the vast majority of students let me know that they are Roman Catholic. I will have a few Protestant students; an even a stray Orthodox student now and then! (This list, by the way, includes Sophia and Paul Kostoff, Matthew Krueger, and Ed Chalupa - Anne Taylor's brother). I have had some non-Christians students also, mainly students of an Oriental background. I encourage the students to write as much as they want in describing their religious background, and some will add a comment or two. What I have noticed over the years is the steady decline in what I would call "practicing Christians" - or even students conscious of being Christians. Typical answers, that again have multiplied over the years, would include:

"Roman Catholic, but no longer practicing" - or "tired of it," "had enough at a Catholic high school," etc.
"Raised Lutheran, but now am nothing."
"I may have been baptized when I was younger, but unsure."
"Not raised in a religious household."
"Still searching."
"Agnostic"
"I am an atheist." (Never heard this only ten years ago).

This semester I have a large class of thirty students, and perhaps a generous reading of at best a half-dozen responses implied some kind of commitment or church-going. Such commitment is usually the case with the few Afro-American students that take my class. Otherwise, there seems to be a pervasive apathy or indifference to the whole question. Whether or not this is "natural" or expected of college students very conscious and protective of their newly-established independence, the point I am making is the evident change in responses over the years. What is painfully evident as the years go by is an ever-increasing biblical and theological illiteracy displayed by my students. I have to carefully teach them that there are four Gospels written by Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! It is always hard to tell if they simply do not know the basics, or if they are timid about displaying their knowledge before their peers. That just may not be cool! In fairness to my students, however, I must point out that many do quite well in my course, eventually writing solid papers about St. Gregory Palamas and hesychasm! It is an intelligent study body at Xavier, and I like and respect my students very much. So, as I am introducing my students to the Orthodox Church, I am offering them a basic course in Christian teaching. I am catechizing under the respectable veneer of "objectively" imparting information! I find that challenge immensely enjoyable.

Be that as it may, these shared observations were prompted by a short paper one of my students just turned in based upon her "experience" at an Orthodox liturgy, as she was with us just this last Sunday. This young woman made it clear at the beginning of her paper that "I have never been to church before except for a wedding or a few funerals." In fact, at one point in her paper she reveals: "I do not know whether or not I was baptized ..." She further writes of even feeling uncomfortable attending a university with a "religious aspect." After those opening comments, she continues more specifically about visiting our church:

When I went to the liturgy at the Orthodox Church this morning, I did not feel comfortable there, though I did not feel uncomfortable. As a person of no faith I guess I felt uncomfortable because I felt it was wrong for me to be there.

The rest of her paper is an uninspiring and rather confused account of sitting and standing through an incomprehensible "religious ceremony." She was not very happy with the homily! She did not like the fact that St. John the Baptist "judged" Herod for his "private" life apart from his "political" accomplishments. Fair enough. I have noticed another clear trend over the years, and that is a lowering of interest in - or attraction to - something that is unknown and unfamiliar. While students in the past with no knowledge of Orthodoxy would write of the "holiness," "sacredness" and simple "beauty" of the Liturgy. Even though hardly anyone returned - alas! - I will still read of a kind of "wow, that was different and quite interesting" response.. I hardly encounter such comments any longer. More and more I read of a dull incomprehension and a barely disguised boredom with the Liturgy. And all that standing! On the positive side, students continue to speak of feeling welcome and of appreciatiing the small, family-community atmosphere of our parish. But a sense of worship, of transcendence - that has pretty much disappeared.

Her concluding paragraph summed up her "experience" in a matter-of-fact manner:

Overall, I would say that I am not likely to attend again, not because of the Orthodox faith but the entire faith of Christianity or any religion for that matter. Growing up with no faith, I have no reason to feel that it is a part of me, though for some people, I understand it is a very large part, and to each his own.

Perhaps in our Orthodox parishes we do not notice these (young) people of "no faith" and do not let them know that they are perfectly welcome to "come and see" what and who we are as Orthodox Christians. Such visitors feel that they do not belong, and we may unconsciously enforce that perception. However that may be debated, I believe there is something more fundamental here: the growing practical agnosticism/atheism of our society and contemporary Christianity's inability to break through that barrier outside of the "theology-lite," "religion as psychology" approach of relevance smartly "marketed" for mass consumption. Where, today, is that "thirst for transcendence" that Fr. Schmemann claimed marked human nature? These are the deeper questions we are going to have to deal with as secularism and post-modernism continue to erode a basic knowledge and respect for Christian truth and "values" in the years to come.

I have about thirty more students to come through the doors for the Liturgy before the semester draws to a close in December. Please continue to keep an eye out for them and help them to feel as welcome as possible, knowing that they will be here because they have to be!

Fr. Steven

Glory to God for the New Year!

Dear Parish Faithful,

Today is the beginning of the Church New Year. May it be blessed. In the Akathist of Thanksgiving that we chanted yesterday evening, the following verses were offered to God in thanksgiving for the many gifts that we receive in life:

Glory to You, Who have transfigured our life with the good things that we do.

Glory to You, Who clearly abide where there is kindness and generosity of heart.

Glory to You, Who send failures and sorrows to us so that we might be sensitive to the sufferings of others.

Glory to You, Who have raised love higher than anything on earth or in heaven.

Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages!

Battle of the Calendars

Dear Parish Faithful,

"Tell me what you celebrate, and I will tell you who you are ..." Fr. Alexander Schmemann

The Church New Year begins on September 1. According to my careful calculations that would be tomorrow. That means that we have at least two major calendars guiding and directing our lives - the Church calendar and our secular calendar. Both have commemorations and major observances, called "holy days" on the Church calendar, and "holidays" on the secular calendar. We can easily see how the secular "holiday" is a derivative of the Church's "holy day." For many, this would simply mean that any current holiday is the secular form of the ancient and no-longer observed holy day of the past. For Orthodox Christians, this would be an entirely false assumption, because the holy day of the Church calendar - or the Feast Day to use a more common term - is not a thing of the past, but a very present reality to this day. A society cannot function or exist with any cohesiveness without communal celebrations. This was/is even true of militantly atheistic societies as they have come into existence in our recent memory. But again, today it is a civic/social event rather than a religious event that is marked on the calendar, and observed by society at large.

Our fast-paced lives make it virtually impossible to observe the Church calendar with faithfulness because of the ever-increasing demands of our secular calendars, understood in the comprehensive sense of our daily lives from work and school to "recreation." There is never enough time and energy. If you recall from past reflections on this subject, I call this tension between the two "the battle of the calendars." How do we choose what to observe? How much choice do we even have in this difficult "battle?" As we are forced to compartmentalize so much of our lives and time, what is even "left over" for the Church outside of Sunday morning? Are we even aware of any such tension, or are we blissfully indifferent to it all?

Allow me to make this point more concrete by a fast-approaching example of the "battle of the calendars" in our own lives. Next Monday, September 7, is the secular "Labor Day." This means a much-appreciated and much-anticipated three-day weekend. It could also mean a short trip out-of-town or a day of relaxation and/or socializing with family and friends. If nothing else it is just nice to "hang out" doing nothing in particular. The main thing is that Labor Day is a "day off" - from labor! (I am not quite sure just how many people "observe" the meaning of "Labor Day").

However, next Monday, September 7, is also the eve of the first of the Twelve Major Feasts of our Church calendar - the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8). This means that toward the end of the day, there will be a service in the Church - Great Vespers with the blessing of loaves and anointing with oil - in order to celebrate the joyous event of the birth of the Mother of God. For believing Orthodox Christians this is the "birthday celebration" of the Virgin Mary, the woman through whom the Messiah and Savior will enter the world for our salvation A beautiful and meaningful feast indeed! Who would want to miss it? (Just how often do we turn down invitations to birthday celebrations?) Where do we stand in the "battle of the calendars" when we have a choice to make? With proper planning, can a day of relaxation and socializing culminate in the grace-filled atmosphere of the Church, where prayers and hymns of joy rise up to God in thankfulness for this child? This way, it does not need to be an "either/or" choice, but a "both/and" as the day can result in a peaceful resolution of the "battle of the calendars." But that in itself is a matter of choice! Actually, for many parishioners this may be more "convenient" than usual, since there is more time to prepare for back to work or school on Tuesday. Of course, the Liturgy of the Feast will be on Tuesday morning at our usual time of 9:30 a.m. for those who can attend then.

Labor Day will afford us all an opportunity for "recreation" in the sense of "relaxing." Again, something essential to our well-being on a periodic basis. The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos will grant us the opportunity for "re-creation," of immersing ourselves in the "new creation" that can only be experienced in the Church where we willingly co-operate in the renewal of our human nature through Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection. The Church year and its full liturgical cycle allows us to actualize the past events of our salvation in the "today" of our lives. Here is a wonderful rhythm of fast and feast, of participation in the beautiful and joyous events that connect us to God and make present the gift of salvation. Truly, Orthodox Christians are blessed in these sacred possibilities!

Perhaps this particular meditation raised your awareness of the issues involved in the "battle of the calendars." If so, I hope you will give it some thought. Be that as it may, I distinctly recall that I had to make a pledge before I was ordained to the priesthood to observe the Feast Days of the Church as long as I was able to. So, we will always observe the cycle of Feasts as they appear on the calendar, convenient or not. The service days and times are announced, the doors will be open, all are invited. As I like to say, all of the services and celebrations of the Church have a "more the merrier" atmosphere to them. There is always a certain disconnect between a Feast Day celebration and a near-empty church - at least when that can be avoided. Truly Fr. Schmemann was on to something when he said: "Tell me what you celebrate and I will tell you who you are ..."

We will mark the actual beginning of the Church New Year this evening with a service at 7:00 p.m.

A final liturgical note: Usually we now schedule a Vesperal Liturgy for a Feast Day to allow for more participation, and for those who participate the opportunity to receive the Eucharist for the Feast. Since next Monday is Labor Day and you may have various daytime activities planned, I decided that that would not work in relation to preparing to receive Holy Communion. So we are following the more traditional pattern of Great Vespers on the eve and the Liturgy on the morning of the Feast itself. The same thing will happen with the Feast Day of the Elevation of the Cross (September 14). The eve will be on a Sunday, so the Great Vespers with the procession of the Cross will be in the evening on Sunday, and the Liturgy on the morning of Monday, September 14.

Fr. Steven

Rejoicing in the "Deathless Death"

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

"Words cannot attain to what is beyond speech, just as eyes cannot stare at the sun. But though it is impossible for us to tell of things surpassing words, we can, by the love of those we extol, sing their praises, and we may use words to pay our debt, and express our longing for the Mother of God in hymns as best we can, without in any way touching the intangible." ~ St. Gregory Palamas, Homily On the Dormition.

As I like to occasionally point out, the Twelve Major Feast Days of the Church year do not simply "come and go" in a twenty-four hour period. In fact, if you glance at a church calendar, you may come across the following notations when encountering a major Feast: "forefeast," "afterfeast," and "leavetaking (of the Feast)." This is well-illustrated by the Feast we are now continuing to celebrate - The Dormition of the Theotokos. In the Festal Menaion that most of our parishes use (the one translated by Mother Maria and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware), we read the following notation concerning this particular Feast:

The Dormition of the Theotokos (15 August).
One day of forefeast (14 August).
Eight days of afterfeast (16-23 August).

This is the "longest" of the Feasts dedicated to the Mother of God in terms of duration and, as the dates fall this year, the "Leavetaking" will occur this coming Sunday, August 23. Therefore, we will again have the joy of expressing "our longing for the Mother of God in hymns as best we can," as St. Gregory Palamas has so eloquently stated. This has been the case throughout this past week, as the Church allows us to further contemplate and experience the mystery of the falling asleep of the Theotokos and its bearing on our lives. There is nothing more "theo-logical" than connecting the life and death of the Mother of God with that of her Son and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord did not pass through His mother, but was truly born of her, "ineffably" and "without seed" as we sing and chant when praising this great mystery of the Incarnation. If the Mother of God held her Son in her arms when He was born; then when she is "born" into the new life of the Kingdom of God, her Son will bear her soul in His arms:

She who is higher than the heavens and more glorious than the cherubim, she who is held in greater honor than all creation, she who by reason of her surpassing purity became the receiver of the everlasting Essence, today commends her most pure soul into the hands of her Son. With her all things are filled with joy and she bestows great mercy upon us.

Sing, O ye people, sing ye the praises of the Mother of our God: for today she delivers her soul, full of light, into the immaculate hands of Him who was made incarnate of her without seed... (Lity at Great Vespers)

But since the Mother of God is not the "great exception" but rather the "great example," she embodies our greatest longing and hope for human beings created "in the image and likeness of God:" To truly "fall asleep" in the Lord surrounded by our loved ones, as she was surrounded by the apostles and friends, according to Tradition; to offer our soul/life to the Risen and ever-present Lord as a final eucharistic gift in the humble assurance that He will receive it and "carry" it into His everlasting Kingdom; and that we are buried to the accompaniment of "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" that express our belief that death has been overcome in the death and resurrection of Christ. Although not an "official dogma" of the Church, the belief exists that the Mother of God was bodily "translated" to heaven, since the Lord did not allow the most pure temple of the Word to experience corruption:

The Lord and God of all gave thee as thy portion the things that are above nature. For just as He kept thee virgin in thy childbirth so did He preserve thy body incorrupt in the tomb; and He glorified thee by a divine Translation, showing thee honour as a Son to His Mother. (Matins, First Canon, Canticle Six)

As Archbishop Kallistos says in his explanation of the theological meaning of this Feast:

... Orthodox Tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point: the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her body - like His - was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed beyond death and judgment, and lives wholly in the Age to Come. The Resurrection of the Body, which all Christians await, has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the Resurrection of the Body which she enjoys even now. (Festal Menaion, p. 64)

However, this affirmation that belongs to the inner Tradition of the Church has, as stated above, never been accorded dogmatic status by the Church. And no doubt is left open to speculation concerning the death of the Theotokos. She died according to the necessity of death that plagues our fallen human nature as that is "inherited" from of old. Her death, therefore, cannot be termed "voluntary" as was the death of her Son. Her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is her Savior, as He is ours. As Fr. Thomas Hopko has written, summing up her exemplary role for all Christians:

The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary's fate is the destiny of all those of "low estate" whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary's child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world. (The Orthodox Faith, Vol. ii, Worship, p. 145)

The Feasts of the Church are a feast of theological reflection and existential participation, as they actualize the events of our salvation and deification in the "today" of the Church's ongoing life in the world. We can further rejoice in the "deathless death" of the Theotokos as we come to church this weekend to worship the living God Who makes all things possible.

Fr. Steven

Discovering the Other in "Groundhog Day"

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Perhaps some of you recall the film "Groundhog Day" that goes back to 1991. If not quite a "cult classic" (it was too mainstream for that), it was immensely popular and was subject to multiple viewings and an endless flow of commentary and interpretation. The lead role seemed to be a perfect fit for precisely Bill Murray's type of deadpan and highly ironic sense of humor. Having enjoyed the film myself, and having seen it a few times, I suggested "Groundhog Day" for our latest Feature Film Festival with our high school students. So yesterday evening we watched the film together and I believe that it was thoroughly enjoyed by one and all. There was certainly a great deal of laughter!

Yet, the purpose of our watching films together, beyond the social significance of "getting together" as a group, is to find those films that are morally and ethically probing, in addition to their "entertainment value." Movies and movie-going dominates our popular culture, so trying to deepen that experience a bit strikes me as a sound idea. In other words, we try and choose films that will make everyone think. That is the purpose of our post-film discussions. So why choose a film such as "Groundhog Day," a film described as "zany" and "wacky?" Now, there is no doubt that "Groundhog Day" plays as a very effective and highly entertaining romantic comedy. However, this is deceptive for there are layers of meaning underneath that rather well-worn and rather predictable genre. How many people are aware of the fact that at least for a few years after its release, "Groundhog Day" was subject to a great deal of philosophical and even theological commentary and interpretation? I recall reading many insightful reviews of this film in some very "high brow" journals. What makes all of that even more intriguing is that the director, Harold Ramis, claims that all of that went beyond his intention in making the film. The creative process can be mysterious.

"Groundhog Day" is essentially a romantic comedy with a real twist. It charts the life of a rather cynical and ambitious Pittsburg weatherman, Phil Connors, played perfectly by Bill Murray. His self-absorption and unapologetic egoism are of gargantuan proportions. His charm is manipulative and self-serving. As the center of the universe, apparently everyone and everything around him is meant to satisfy his needs and desires. As he admits later in the film, he is a "real jerk." Phil the weatherman is sent to Punxsutawney, PA, in order to cover the groundhog day festivities there. In his mind, it promises to be a boring excursion into smalltown existence. At one point, he contemptuously calls the local population "hicks." He is accompanied by his TV station's producer, Rita, and cameraman Larry. Obviously, Phil does not want to be there, and can't leave soon enough once his responsibilities are fulfilled. However, a blizzard that he failed to predict, sends him back to the small town for at least one more night. When confronted with the blizzard, he angrily shouts back to the highway patrolman: "I make the weather!" But even he is forced to succumb to the power of nature and back to town he goes.

Yet, Phil wakes up the "next day" only to discover that it is February 2 and groundhog day all over again - exactly, down to every detail. He is now trapped in an inexplicable "time warp" that forces him to relive the same day over and over again, apparently without end - into eternity itself. It is the myth of the "eternal return" but on a daily basis in smalltown Punxsutawney! It is a living nightmare. The film wisely makes not even the slightest attempt at explaining this new reality. How could it? It simply is, and Phil is helplessly caught in it alone, for the same people that he meets are unaware of his predicament. They remain as static and unchanging as the surrounding environment. At first bewildered and frightened, Phil begins to make "adjustments" to his new situation. His "selfish gene" kicks into action. He soon realizes that his newly-achieved "immortality" means that his actions on one day have no consequences for there no longer exists a "tomorrow." There is no one or nothing to answer to. As it plays out in the film, it is something of a lighthearted version of Dostoevsky's aphorism, "if there is no God, then everything is permissible." Phil can now break any conceivable law - civic, social, moral, divine - with total impunity. He can now unleash his hidden passions with no restraint or "anticipatory anxiety." He can "eat, drink, and be merry" without the slighest cost to his well-being - or so it seems to him. The film exploits all of this to wonderful comic effect, and it is hard to dislike Phil in the process, "jerk" that he is. But perhaps our sympathy with Phil is grounded in the "fact" that he is living out some of our own uninspired fantasies. As in: what would you do if you won a billion dollar lottery? Or, what would you do or be like if there were no consequences to your actions?

One of the great insights of our spiritual tradition is that sin - beyond its moral, ethical and spiritually corrupting effect - is ultimately boring. Besides immediate satisfaction it remains a distortion of true life, and instead of yielding an enhanced sense of life - or "living life" as Dostoevsky would call it - sin devolves into an empty caricature of life. It is the negation of life. That is why spiritual death precedes biological death. Repetition is not a relief, but an increase of this intolerable boredom. The passions are insatiable. Sin is thus an existential vaccum that is suffocating in its long-term effects. Unconsciously, or perhaps intuitively, Phil begins to realize this after endless bouts of "wine, women and song." Daily dissipation has worn him out. He embodies the biblical "vanity of vanities." His moral universe is unaware of a "higher reality," so he looks elsewhere for relief.

Although consistently maintaining its comic touch, the film now steers us in a darker direction. Attaining a sort of pseudo-omniscience by being able to predict the daily events around him, and realizing that he cannot die, Phil begins to fancy himself a "god." Not "the God" as he admits, but a "god" nevertheless. There is nothing new left to experience so he turns to suicide. Life is boring, so he will now try death! Phil now explores the many "creative" ways in which a person can commit suicide - from driving trucks over steep cliffs, swan-diving off of tall buildings, or electrocuting himself in the bathtub. This can be interpreted as a grisly form of finding relief to the nightmare quality of having to live out the same day in isolation from a non-comprehending humanity; or the thoroughly desparate attempt to discover some more "kicks" in his morally meandering and meaningless existence.

But what actually "kicks in" at this point of the film is the slow transformation of Phil after he has bottomed-out in the manner described above. The film has a "moral," and I believe that it is effectively realized in a natural and unforced manner that is not merely sentimental or banal keeping in mind the genre and intent of this film. And again, with a lighthearted touch that probably increases its effectiveness. Remembering that this is a romantic comedy, the question becomes: will the guy - or how will the guy - get the girl in the end? Phil has resorted to endless subterfuge in order to seduce Rita the producer. Try as he might, this is the one thing he could not succeed at, regardless of his great advantage of knowing her "inside out" after living out an endless amount of days with her over and over, each one ending with a well-deserved slap to the face as Phil's real intentions become obvious. Rita is quite attractive, but more importantly she is a genuinely "good person" with a pure heart and honest intentions. Within his juvenille universe of a warped moral sensitivity Phil does not understand this.

Yet, something happens within Phil and he begins to radically change by no longer living for himself alone. He somehow breaks through his narcissistic and solipsistic one-person universe. (There is a key scene involving a death in which he realizes that he is not actually a "god"). He discovers the "other," and this discovery is transformative. He beings to live altruistically. In fact, the film can be seen on one level as the transformation of Phil Connors from a "jerk' into a genuine human being. And this will prove to be the way into the heart of Rita. Genuine virtue, as the great saints both taught and realized in their lives, is never boring as long as it does not lapse into formalism and/or moralism. It bears fruit a hundredfold when practiced with patience and the love of the "other" primarily in mind. It is the means of ascending up the ladder of divine ascent, as St. Klimakos demonstrated. Virtue is endlessly creative, since it extends and expands our humanity beyond the limits of the self. As Phil will discover, it is also the means of breaking through the meaningless "eternal return" that has taken him down into the inferno and back. But perhaps that is something that you may want to see for yourself.

"Groundhog Day" remains consistent from start to finish. The ending is satisfying and not simply anticlimatic. The screenplay is clever, sharp and humorous, and regardless of its intentions, or lack thereof, raises many genuinely "profound" issues that can be explored and expanded upon. I may have given away too much in my commentary, but I would still recommend it if you haven't seen it before. It is highly entertaining. When we think of such topics as sin, repentance and virtue, the film lends itself to a "Christian interpretation" that is not unduly forced, but rather flows naturally and instinctively from the predicament as conceived and presented. Such discoveries can be rewarding. All in all, a worthwhile film from a varity of perspectives.

Any other comments from other viewers of this film would be most welcome.


Fr. Steven

Of Directness and Simplicity

Dear Parish Faithful,

Whether we consider ourselves living in a "modern" or "postmodern" world, it seems that we pride ourselves on being "sophisticated," "cultivated," "clever," "subtle," "nuanced," or even "ironic." In short, these are the main characteristics of being "civilized" and therefore "interesting." But perhaps "directness" and "simplicity" could serve us better if, at the same time, we are still struggling to live as Christians in an increasingly complex world. This came to mind when I recently read the following, almost anecdotal, passage which was a mere footnote in an article found at www.OrthodoxyToday.org:

The Elder Paisius relates an event from his earlier life. As a young man he resolved a spiritual crisis by replying to his own question, Who is the kindest man on earth that I have ever known or heard of? Answered himself: "Based on the fact that He [Christ] is the kindest man on earth and I haven't known anyone better, I will try to become like Him and absolutely obey everything the Gospel says."

Nothing fancy! Just right to the point. And perhaps eliminated a good deal of pyscho-babble in the process. Are we even capable of thinking in precisely this manner any longer? How and why do we talk ourselves out of being so direct and simple? Is Elder Paisius being "naive?" Is it remotely possible to "obey everything the Gospel says?" Would that not make life boring? But can we answer these questions if we have never really tried what the Elder has?

You would be surprised what you can find in the footnotes if you read them carefully. The article itself, by Fr. George Morelli, had a rather fulsome title: "Smart Parenting XVII. Love and Worship in the Domestic Church - Of Gods or Idols." The lead-in question to the article was: "Do our homes model the Church or the culture?" Now that is a good question! The article may be a bit too clever for Elder Paisius' approach, but it raises many good challenging points, and offers some good practical advice.


Fr. Steven

A Feast of Theology

Dear Parish Faithful,

On August 6 we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast is thus embedded in the time of the Dormition Fast, but still retains all of its festal splendor. We will celebrate the Feast this evening with a Vesperal Liturgy that begins at 6:00 p.m. Following the service everyone's fruit basket will be blessed. We read in the Festal Menaion:

The Transfiguration is particularly rich in essential theological themes that reveal the very heart of our Orthodox Christian Faith. These dogmatic/doctrinal themes are expressed poetically throughout the services - Vespers, Matins, Liturgy - of the Feast in an abundant variety of hymnographical forms. The troparion and kontakion of any given Feast offer a "summary" of the Feast's over-all meaning and place in God's oikonomia (divine dispensation):

Thou wast transfigured on the Mount, O
Christ God, revealing Thy glory to Thy
disciples as far as they could bear it. Let
Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners!
Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O
Giver of Light, glory to Thee! (Troparion)

On the mountain wast Thou transfigured, O Christ God,
and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it;
so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would
understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would
proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the Radiance
of the Father! (Kontakion)

Over the years and through repeated use, many of the faithful know these hymns by heart. If we listen carefully, or even study it outside of the services, the hymnography reveals very profound truths in the realm of Christology (the Person of Christ, both God and man); anthropology (the human person created in the image and likeness of God); triadology (the dogma of the Trinity); and eschatology (the Kingdom of God coming in power at the end of time).

Christology

On Mt. Tabor, when transfigured before His disciples, our Lord reveals to His disciples - and to all of us - His divine nature "hidden" in humility beneath the human nature of His flesh:

Enlightening the disciples that were with Thee, O Christ our Benefactor, Thou hast shown them upon the holy mountain the hidden and blinding light of Thy nature and of Thy divine beauty beneath the flesh.

The nature that knows no change, being mingled with the mortal nature, shone forth ineffably, unveiling in some small measure to the apostles the light of the immaterial Godhead.
(First Canon of Matins, Canticle Five)

Anthropology

Christ is fully and truly human. He is without sin. Thus, He is the "perfect" human being, by revealing to us the glory of human nature when fully united to God - something that we lost in the Fall. To be filled with the glory of God in communion with God is the true destiny of human beings and thus the true revelation of our human nature. By assuming our human nature, Christ has restored that relationship:

For having gone us, O Christ, with Thy disciples into Mount Tabor, Thou wast transfigured, and hast made the nature that had grown dark in Adam to shine again as lightning, transforming it into the glory and splendor of Thine own divinity. (Aposticha, Great Vespers)

Thou hast put Adam on entire, O Christ, and changing the nature grown dark in past times, Thou hast filled it with glory and made it godlike by the alteration of Thy form. (First Canon of Matins, Canticle Three)

Triadology

The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity were revealed on Mount Tabor, as they were revealed in the Jordan at the time of the Lord's Baptism. On Tabor it is again the voice of the Father, and the Spirit now appears in the form of a luminous cloud. Every revelation and action of God's is trinitarian, for the Father, Son/Word and Holy Spirit act in perfect harmony revealing thus the unity of the one divine nature:

Today on Tabor in the manifestation of Thy Light, O Word, Thou unaltered Light from the Light of the unbegotten Father, we have seen the Father as Light and the Spirit as Light, guiding with light the whole creation. (Exapostilarion, Matins)

Eschatology

The Lord reveals by anticipation in His transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the glorious appearance that we await at His Second Coming. He also reveals the transfiguration of our own lowly human nature in the Kingdom of God, where the righteous will shine like the stars of heaven. Thus, this is a Feast of Hope, as well as a Feast of Divine Beauty, as we anticipate His eternal and unfading presence and our transformation in Him, also eternal and unending:

Thou wast transfigured upon Mount Tabor, showing the exchange mortal men will make with Thy glory at Thy second and fearful coming, O Savior. (Sessional Hymn, Matins)

To show plainly how, at Thy mysterious second coming, Thou wilt appear as the Most High God standing in the midst of gods, on Mount Tabor Thou hast shone in fashion past words upon the apostles and upon Moses and Elijah. (Second Canon of Matins, Canticle Nine)

We bless fruit on this Feast because all of creation awaits transfiguration at the end of time. Even the garments of Christ were shining forth with a radiance brighter than the sun. The blessed fruit represents this awaited transfiguration when the creation will be freed from bondage. The grapes themselves would be used for the eucharistic offering of wine.

The importance of the Transfiguration is shown by the fact that it is recorded in three of the Gospels: MATT. 17:1-13;MK. 9:2-8; LK. 28-36. It is also clearly alluded to in II PET. 1:16-18.

According to the Festal Menaion:

"On the day of the Feast, fish, wine, and oil are allowed, but meat and animal products are not eaten, because it is within the fast before the Dormition of the Theotokos."

I look forward to seeing many of you in church this evening for this wonderful and beautiful Feast.


Fr. Steven

A Smile from Eternity

Dear Parish Faithful,

I had to send along these remarkable photographs and the explanatory texts below. This is an incredible example of what we mean by "falling asleep in the Lord." Have you ever seen anyone in a coffin with such a smile on his face?! No wonder the article is entitled "A Smile From Eternity." All of the eyewitnesses must have been overwhelmed with the certainty that they were burying a saint. The Holy Mountain - Mt. Athos - has a great reputation for sanctity even to this day.

Fr Steven

Webservant's Note: Rather than reproduce the full articles and photos in our blog, here are the direct links to the Vatopedi articles for you to follow this amazing story:

A Smile from Eternity
This warm, brief article describes the funeral of Blessed Elder Joseph and the effect his radiant smile had on all those present. (Note: the website seems to be in Greek, but the article has been translated into English - just scroll down.)

Why is the Smile of Elder Joseph of Vatopedi from Eternity?
As the photos and text in this article show, Elder Joseph did not repose smiling, but rather, his smile appeared some forty-five minutes after his death!

Pascha in the Summer

Dear Parish Faithful,

"Pascha in the Summer" is how we can describe the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Feast itself is on August 15, but we are now fast approaching the Dormition Fast (August 1-14) that leads us to the "paschal joy" of the translation of the Mother of God to the Kingdom of Heaven. A great Feast is always prepared for by a designated season of fasting. This is our communal and personal response to the "dog days" of summer and the lack of spiritual vigilance that this time of year tempts us with. A wonderful opportunity that we do not want to squander of "getting back on track" in and through the grace-filled life of the Church. And in addition to Dormition, we celebrate the "Feast of Divine Beauty" - the Transfiguration of the Lord - as a festal interlude during the Fast on August 6.

The two weeks of August 1-14, will be quite filled with church services and other events that will hopefully bring this season alive for the entire parish. Here is the schedule that will unfold once we begin the Fast a week from this Saturday:

SAT. 1st Beginning of Dormition Fast
Great Vespers & Confessions at 6:00 p.m.

SUN. 2nd Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m.

MON. 3rd Adult Reading Group at 7:30 p.m. Parts V & VI of Crime and Punishment

WED. 5th Vesperal Liturgy & Blessing of Fruit for Transfiguration at 6:00 p.m.

SAT. 8th Great Vespers & Litiya at 6:00 p.m.

SUN. 9th St. Herman of Alaska - Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m.
High School Film Festival at 5:00 p.m. (Markvan home)

MON. 10th Adult Reading Group at 7:30 p.m. Epilogue and Film of Crime and Punishment (Leara home)

WED. 12th Service of Intercessory Prayer at 7:00 p.m.
Question & Answer Session to follow

FRI. 14th Vesperal Liturgy for Dormition at 6:00 p.m.


This should allow everyone some time to plan ahead. The main thing is to respect the Mother of God by respecting the Fast that is observed in Her honor. What is first in our lives: the Church or the surrounding culture? Here is a good starting point for evaluating that question.

Reading List for the Dormition Fast:

• Mary, the Mother of God, Sermons by St. Gregory Palamas
• Celebration of Faith vol. III: The Virgin Mary by Fr. Alexander Schemmann
• The Orthodox Veneration of Mary, the Birthgiver of God, by St. John Maximovich
• Mary - The Untrodden Portal of God by George Gabriel
• On the Dormition of Mary - Various Patristic Homilies on the Feast, ed. by Daley
• On the Mother of God by Jacob of Serug
• Wider Than Heaven - Eighth Century Homilies on the Mother of God, ed. and translated by Mary Cunningham

These books are all readily available from various Orthodox bookstores. We have links to all these titles, plus numerous online articles, in a new section on our parish website, Resources for the Dormition Fast, that you may also want to look at.

In Christ,

Fr Steven