How to Read the Holy Bible (Part IV)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE (Part IV)
By Metropolitan KALLISTOS (Ware) of Diokleia

Christ, the Heart of the Holy Bible

The third requirement in our reading of Holy Scripture is that it should be Christ-centered. If we agree with the 1976 Moscow Conference that the "Scriptures constitute a coherent whole," where are we to locate their wholeness and coherence? In the Person of Christ. He is the unifying thread that runs through the entirety of the Bible, from the first sentence to the last. Jesus meets us on every page. It all ties up because of Him, "In Him, all things hold together" (Col. 1:16).

Much study of Holy Scripture by modern Western (Protestant and Roman Catholic) scholars has adopted an analytical approach, breaking up each book into what are seen as its original sources. The connecting links are unraveled, and the Holy Bible is reduced to a series of isolated units. Recently there has been a reaction against this, with Biblical critics in the West devoting much greater attention to the way in which these primary units have come to be joined together. This is something that we Orthodox Christians may certainly welcome. It is important to see the unity of Holy Scripture as well as the diversity, the all-embracing end as well as the scattered beginnings. Orthodoxy prefers, for the most part, a "synthetic" rather than an analytical style of hermeneutics, seeing the Holy Bible as an integrated whole, with Christ everywhere as the bond of union.

Such, as we have just seen, is precisely the effect of reading Scripture within the context of the Church's worship. As the lessons for the Annunciation and Holy Saturday make clear, everywhere in the Old Testament we find signposts and way marks pointing to the mystery of Christ and His Mother Mary. Interpreting the Old Testament in the light of the New, and the New in the light of the Old--as the Church lectionary encourages us to do--we discover how The whole of Scripture finds its point of convergence in the Savior.

Orthodox Christianity makes extensive use of this "typological" method or interpretation, whereby "types" of Christ, signs, and symbols of His work, are to be detected throughout the Old Testament, Melchizedek, for example, the priest-king of Salem who offered bread and wine to Abraham (Genesis 14:18), is regarded as a "type" of Christ not only by the Holy Fathers but equally in the New Testament itself (Hebrews 5:6; 7:1-9). The rock that flowed with water in the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 30:7-11) is likewise a symbol of Christ (I Cor 10:4). Typology explains the choice of lessons, not only on Holy Saturday but throughout the second half of Lent. Why are the Genesis readings in the sixth week dominated by the figure of Joseph? Why read from the Book of Job in Holy Week? Because Joseph and Job, who both suffered innocently, foreshadow the redemptive suffering of Christ on the Cross.

We can discover many other correspondences between the Old and New Testament by using a Biblical concordance. Often the best commentary of all is simply a concordance or an edition of the Holy Bible with well-chosen marginal cross-references. Only connect. It all ties up. In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, "A Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds everywhere Christ, and rejoices in Him." This is true in particular of the Biblical Christian. Wherever he looks, on every page, he finds everywhere Christ. (Source: Orthodox Study Bible)

(To be continued)

______________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

How to Read the Holy Bible (Part III)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE (Part III)
By His Eminence Metropolitan KALLISTOS (Ware), of Diokleia

"All scripture is inspired by God" (2 Ti 3:16)

Understanding the Holy Bible through the Church

In the second place, as the Moscow Conference affirms, "We know, receive, and interpret Holy Scripture through the Church and in the Church." Our approach to the Holy Bible is not only obedient but ecclesial. The words of Holy Scripture, while addressed to us personally, are at the same time addressed to us as members of a community. Book and Church are not to be separated.

The interdependence of Church and Bible is evident in at least two ways. (1) First, we receive Scripture through and in the Church. It is the Church that tells us what is Scripture. In the first three centuries of Christian History, a lengthy process of sifting and testing was needed, in order to distinguish between that which is authentically "canonical" Scripture, bearing authoritative witness to Christ's Person and message, and that which is "apocryphal" -- useful perhaps for teaching, but not a normative source of doctrine. It is thus the Church that has decided which books form the Canon of the New Testament. A book is not part of Holy Scripture because of any particular theory about its date and authorship, but because the Church treats it as canonical. Suppose, for example, that it could be proved that the Fourth Gospel was not actually written by Saint John the Beloved Disciple of Christ--in my view, there are in fact strong reasons for continuing to accept John's authorship--yet, even so, this would not alter the fact that we regard the Fourth Gospel as Scripture. Why? Because the Fourth Gospel, whoever the author may be, is accepted by the Church and in the Church.

(2) Secondly, we interpret Scripture through and in the Church. If it is the Church that tells us what is Scripture, equally it is the Church that tells us how Scripture is to be understood. Coming upon the Ethiopian as he read the Old Testament in his chariot, Philip the Apostle asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" "How can I," answered the Ethiopian, "unless someone guides me?" (Acts 8:30, 31). His difficulty is also ours. The words of Scripture are not always self-explanatory. The Holy Bible has a marvelous underlying simplicity, but when studied in detail it can prove a difficult book. God does indeed speak directly to the heart of each one of us during our Scripture reading--Saint Tikhon says, our reading is a personal dialogue between each one and Christ Himself-but we also need guidance. And our guide is the Church. We make full use of our private understanding. Illuminated by the Spirit; we make full use of biblical commentaries and of the findings of modern research. But we submit individual opinions, whether our own or those of scholars, to the judgment of the Church.

We read the Bible personally, but not as isolated individuals. We say not "I" but "we." We read as members of a family, the family of the Orthodox Catholic Church. We read in communion with all the other members of the Body of Christ in all parts of the world and in all generations of time. This communal or catholic approach to the Holy Bible is underlined in one of the questions asked of a convert at the reception service used in the Russian Orthodox Church. "Do you acknowledge that the Holy Scripture must be accepted and interpreted in accordance with the belief which has been handed down by the Holy Fathers, and which the Holy Orthodox Church, Our Mother, had always held and still does hold?" The decisive criterion of our understanding of what scripture means is the mind of the Church. The Holy Bible is the book of the Church.

To discover "this mind of the Church," where do we begin? A first step is to see how Scripture is used in worship. How, in particular, are biblical lessons chosen for reading at the different feasts? A second step is to consult the writings of the Church Fathers, especially Saint John Chrysostom. How do they analyze and apply the text of Scripture? An ecclesial manner of reading the bible is in this way both liturgical and patristic...

"…How can we develop this ecclesial and liturgical way of reading Scripture in the Bible study circles within our parishes? One person can be given the task of noting whenever a particular passage is used for festival or Saint's day, and the group can then discuss together the reasons why it has been so chosen. Others in the group may be assigned to do homework among the Fathers, relying above all upon the biblical homilies of Saint John Chrysostom, which are available in English translation in the series Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, reissued by Eerdmans. Initially, we may be disappointed: the Father's manner of thinking and speaking is often strikingly different from our own today. But there is gold in the Patristic texts if only we have the persistence and imagination to discover it. (Source: Orthodox Study Bible)

(To be continued)

_________________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

How to Read the Holy Bible (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.  

HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE (Part II)
By The Right Reverend KALLISTOS, Bishop of Diokleia

"All scripture is inspired by God" (2 Ti 3:16)

Each of the four Evangelists has his own particular standpoint. Matthew is the most "ecclesiastical" and the most Jewish of the four, with his special interest in the relationship of the Gospel to the Jewish Law, and his understanding of Christianity as the "New Law." Mark writes in less polished Greek, closer to the language of daily life, and includes vivid narrative details not found in the other Gospels. Luke emphasizes the universality of Christ's love, His all-embracing compassion that extends equally to Jew and Gentile. The Fourth Gospel expresses a more inward and mystical approach, and was aptly styled by Saint Clement of Alexandria "a spiritual Gospel." Let us explore and enjoy the full this Life-giving variety within the Holy Bible.

Because Holy Scripture is in this way the word of God expressed in human language, there is a place for honest and exacting critical inquiry when studying the Holy Bible. Our reasoning brain is a gift from God, and we need not be afraid to use it to the utmost when reading Holy Scripture. We Orthodox Christians neglect at our peril the results of independent scholarly research into the origin, dates, and authorship of the books of the Holy Bible, although we shall always want to test these results in the light of Holy Tradition.

Alongside this human element, however, we are to see always the divine aspect. These texts are not simply the work of the individual authors. What we hear in Holy Scripture are not just human words, marked by a greater or lesser skill and perceptiveness, but the Uncreated Logos/Word of God Himself, the Father's Logos/Word "coming forth from silence," to use the phrase of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, the Eternal Logos/Word of salvation. Approaching the Holy Bible, then, we come not merely out of curiosity, to gain historical information. We come with a specific question: "How can I be saved?"

Obedient receptivity to God's word means above all two things: a sense of wonder and an attitude of listening. (1) Wonder is easily quenched. Do we not feel all too often, as we read the Holy Bible, that it has become over-familiar, even boring? Have we not lost our alertness, our sense of expectation? How far are we changed by what we read? Continually we need to cleanse the doors of our perception and to look with new eyes, in awe and amazement, at the miracle that is set before us--the ever-present miracle of God's divine word of salvation, expressed in human language. As Plato remarked, "The beginning of truth is to wonder at things."

Should we not react in the presence of the Holy Bible with exactly the same surprise, the same feeling of joy and discovery?  

(2) If obedience means wonder, it also means listening. Such indeed is the literal meaning of the word for "obey" in both Greek and Latin--to hear (ypakoe). The trouble is the most of us are better at talking than listening.

One of the primary requirements, if we are to acquire a "Scriptural mind," Is to stop talking and to start listening. When we enter an Orthodox Church, decorated in the traditional way, and look up towards the Sanctuary, we see there is the Apse the figure of the Mother of God with her hands raised to heaven--the ancient Scriptural manner of praying that many still use today. Such is also to be our attitude to Holy Scripture--an attitude of openness and attentive receptivity, our hands invisibly outstretched to heaven.

As we read our Holy Bible, then, we are to model ourselves in this way on the Blessed Virgin Mary, for she is supremely the one who listens. At the Annunciation, listening to the Angel she responds obediently, "Let it be to me according to Thy Word" (Luke 1:38). Had she not first listened to God's Word and received it spiritually in her heart, she would never have borne the Logos/Word of God bodily in her womb. Receptive listening continues to be her attitude throughout the Gospel story. At Christ's Nativity, after the adoration of the shepherds, "Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). After the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old, "His Mother kept all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). The vital importance of listening is also indicated in the last words attributed to the Theotokos in Holy Scripture, at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, "Do what He tells you" (John 2:5), she says to the servants and to each one of us.

In all this the Ever-Virgin serves as a mirror and living icon of the biblical Christian. Hearing God's word, we are to be like her: pondering, keeping all these things in our hearts, doing whatever He tells us. We are to listen in obedience while God speaks. (Source: Orthodox Study Bible)

(To be continued)

____________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The 8th Day of Christmas-January 1st-St. Basil the Great

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

THE GREEK ORTHODOX TRADITION OF THE "VA-SE-LO-PE-TA" (Saint Basil's Bread)

The Vasilopita (Saint Basil's Bread)

One of the most beautiful and inspiring traditions of our Greek Orthodox Church is the observance of Vasilopita which usually takes place on the Feast of Saint Basil the Great on January 1st every year. It is this annual observance, together with many other traditions of our Holy Church, which joins Our Orthodox Christian Faith with its history and heritage.

The word Vasilopita (Greek: Βασιλόπιτα) is a compound Greek word which means the sweet 'bread of Basil.'

Background History

This age old tradition commenced in the 4th century, when Saint Basil the Great, who was a bishop of Caesarea), wanted to distribute money to the poor in his Diocese. He commissioned some women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins. Thus the families in cutting the bread to nourish themselves, were pleasantly surprised to find the gold coin.

Saint Basil the Great was born in Caesarea of Cappadocia in 330 A.D. He was one of ten children of Saint Basil the Elder and Saint Emmelia. Several of his brothers and sisters are also honored among the Saints. He attended school in Caesarea, as well as Constantinople and Athens, where he became acquainted with Saint Gregory Nazianzen in 352 A.D.

He wrote a famous Monastic Rule which has proved the most lasting law. Eventually he decided to become a monk and found a monastery in Pontus, which he directed for five years. After founding several other monasteries, he was consecrated as Bishop of Caesarea in 370 A.D.

He served that post until his death in 379 A.D., while he continued to be a man of vast learning and constant activity, genuine eloquence and immense charity. This earned him the title "Great" during his life. His glorified a Saint by the Church following his death.

Another tradition of Vasilopita

In another popular tradition, Vasilopita is associated with a story associated with Saint Basil of Caesarea. According to this story, Saint Basil called on the Roman citizens of Caesarea to raise a ransom payment to stop the siege of the city. Each member of the city gave whatever they had in gold and jewelry. When the ransom was raised, the enemy was so embarrassed by the act of collective giving that he had called off the siege without collecting payment. Saint Basil was then tasked with returning the unpaid ransom, but had no way to know which items belonged to which family so he baked all of the jewelry into loaves of bread and distributed the loaves to the city, and by a miracle each citizen received their exact share.

The story of the coin in the Vasilopita originates from the time of the Prefect of Cappadocia; a true tyrant, asked for all the treasures of the city of Caesarea to be delivered to him, otherwise he would besiege the city to conquer and loot it.

Saint Basil, as Bishop, prayed to God all night to save the people and the city. The next morning the Prefect's army surrounded the city of Caesarea. The Prefect entered the city with his guard and asked to see the Bishop. The angry Prefect demanded all the gold of the city, as well as any other treasures that they kept.

The Bishop replied that the people of his city had nothing but hunger and poverty, so they had nothing to give to the Prefect. Upon hearing those words, the tyrant was infuriated and threatened to oust the Bishop from his homeland or even to kill him.

The Christians of Caesarea loved their Bishop as wanted to help him. So they gathered all the gold they had in their possession, put in inside a chest and offered it to Saint Basil so that he would give to the ruthless Prefect.

The tyrant was impatient though, and upon Saint Basil's first reply, he ordered his army to attack the poor people of the city.

Saint Basil the Great, in his turn, offered the chest of gold to the Prefect in order to save the city. But when the tyrant opened the chest and put his greedy hands on the gold, a miracle happened:

All the people who had gathered around the Prefect and the chest, saw a brilliant glow and from inside the chest a rider followed by an army came out of the chest and wiped out the army of the Prefect. The glowing horseman was Philopater Mercurius (Saint Marcurius), and his army was an army of Angels.

Thus the city of Caesarea was saved. But then, the Bishop had to share the gold that was given to him with all the city residents. He wanted the sharing of the gold to be fair, a rather difficult task. So Saint Basil the Great prayed to God for advice and He instructed him what to do:

The Bishop called all Deacons and his assistants and told them to knead bread and put pieces of gold in each one. When they were ready, Saint Basil the Great distributed the bread to all inhabitants of the city of Caesarea. The people were very surprised when every family that cut the bread found a piece of gold (coin) inside. It was a special piece of bread, one that brought the Christians joy and blessings together.

Since, then, the Vasilopita has become a Christian tradition, where on the first day of the New Year, Saint Basil's Day, the faithful cut the bread hoping to find the coin that is said to bring them blessings throughout the New Year.

The Annual Home Observance

According to tradition, special sweet bread (in some areas of Greece, it takes the form of a cake) is prepared both in the Orthodox homes and in the Church community which is called Vasilopita. Sweets are added to the bread which symbolizes the Sweetness and joy of life everlasting (eternal). It also symbolizes the hope that the New Year will be filled with the sweetness of life, liberty, health, and happiness for all who participate in the Vasilopita Observance. When the Vasilopita is prepared, a coin is usually added to the ingredients. When the bread is cut and the observance begins, the individual who receives that portion of the Pita (Bread) which contains the coin is considered blessed.

Many Orthodox Christians enjoy the Vasilopita at home with their loved ones during the New Year celebration. The head of the family (father) cuts the pieces of bread for all members of the family. Since Saint Basil loved the poor people, a special piece is cut for the unfortunate of the world, which symbolizes our concern and love for the poverty-stricken people of all nations.

Saint Basil the Great was the first person in human history to establish an orphanage for little children. He also found the first Christian hospital in the world. His fame as a Holy Man spread like wildfire throughout the Byzantine world. He was considered one of the most wise and compassionate clergyman in the entire history of the Church.  

Postscript

The Vasilopita is a joyous observance, and it is a tradition which should not be neglected by Greek Orthodox Christians in the Western world. It should be retained annually in the home and in the parish. It is a wonderful way to begin each New Year which God has given to the world.  If you have holding the observance in your home, congratulations! Please continue to do so. If you have not, hopefully this information has explained to you how to do it.

Saint Basil Academy

Saint Basil Academy is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese home for children in need. The academy is on the Eastern Bank of the Hudson River directly opposite the United States West Point Military Academy, and within an hour's drive from New York City (Garrison, N.Y.).

Serving as a philanthropic center of the Church, the purpose of the Academy is to provide a loving Christian environment, where resident children are nurtured into adulthood.

Although children are brought to the Academy for various reasons, the common thread of all the resident children is the inability of a parent or guardian to sufficiently care for them...Focusing on the total child, each child's spiritual, emotional and material needs are addressed and provided for in chapel, recreational, and family type settings.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13TH

Our parish Vasilopita cutting will take place in church following the Divine Liturgy. After the Vasilopita blessing all the heads of the Parish Ministries will be invited to receive a slice. A basket will be on the table for everyone to place their gift. All the parishioners attending the divine service will be offered a slice and are encouraged to offer their donation. All funds collected will be sent to Saint Basil's Academy.

My sincere thank you to Mrs. Maria Angelos for baking the Vasilopita bread not only for the parish but also for the children of our Church School. Mrs. Angelos has been doing this for decades. May God bless her and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Chronia Polla!

With sincere agape,

Father George

How to Read the Holy Bible

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

HOW TO READ THE HOLY BIBLE
By the Right Reverend KALLISTOS, Bishop of Diokleia

"All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16)

"If an earthly king, our emperor," says Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (+1724-83), "wrote you a letter, would you not read it with joy? Certainly, with great rejoicing and careful attention." But what, he asks, is our attitude towards the letter that has been addressed to us by no one less than God Himself? "You have been sent a letter, not by any earthly emperor, but by the King of Heaven. And yet you almost despise such a gift, so priceless a treasure." To open and read this letter, Saint Tikhon adds, is to enter into a personal conversation face to face with the living God.  "Whenever you read the Gospel, Christ Himself is speaking to you. And while you read, you are praying and talking to Him."

Such exactly is our Orthodox Christian attitude to the reading of Holy Scripture. I am to see the Holy Bible as God's personal letter sent specifically to myself. The words are not intended merely for others, far away and long ago, but they are written particularly and directly to me, here and now. Whenever we open our Holy Bible, we are engaging in a creative dialogue with the Savior. In listening, we also respond, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears," we reply to God as we read (1 Kings 3:10); "Here am I" (Isaiah 6:8).

Two centuries after Saint Tikhon, at the Moscow Conference held in 1976 between the Orthodox and the Anglicans, the true attitude towards Holy Scripture was expressed in different but equally valid terms. This joint statement, signed by the delegates of both traditions, forms an excellent summary of the Orthodox view: "The Scripture constitutes a coherent whole. They are at once divinely inspired and humanly expressed. They bear authoritative witness to God's Revelation of Himself in creation and as such express the word of God in human language. We know, receive, and interpret scripture through the Church and in the Church, Our approach to the Bible is one of obedience."

Combining Saint Tikhon's words and the Moscow statement, we may distinguish the four key characteristics which mark the Orthodox "Scriptural mind." First, our reading of Scripture is obedient, Second, it is ecclesial, in union with the Church, it is Christ-centered. Fourth, IT IS personal.

Reading the Holy Bible with Obedience

First of all, then, we see Holy Scripture as inspired by God, and so we approach it in a spirit of obedience. The Divine inspiration of the Holy Bible is emphasized alike by Saint Tikhon and by the 1976 Moscow Conference. Holy Scripture is "a letter" from "the King of Heaven," says Saint Tikhon; "Christ Himself is speaking to you." The Holy Bible, states the Conference, is god's authoritative witness" of Himself, expressing "the word of God in human language." Our response to this Divine word is rightly one of obedient receptivity. As we read, we wait on the Spirit.

Since it is Divinely inspired, the Holy Bible possesses a fundamental unity, a total coherence, for it is the same Spirit that speaks on every page. We do not refer to it as "the books" in the plural, ta vivlia, but we call it "the Bible," "the Book," "e vivlos", in the singular. It is one book, one Holy Scripture, with the same message throughout--one composite and yet single story, from Genesis to Revelation (Apokalypse).

At the same time, however, the Holy Bible is also humanly expressed. It is an entire library of distinct writings, composed at varying times, by different persons in widely diverse situations. We find God speaking here "in many and various ways" (Hebrews 1:1). Each work in the Holy Bible reflects the outlook of the age in which it was written and the particular viewpoint of the author. For God does not abolish our created personhood but enhances it. Divine grace co-operates with human freedom: we are "fellow-workers," "co-operators" with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). In the words of the second-century Letter to Diognetus, "God persuades, He does not compel; for violence is foreign to the Divine nature." So it is precisely in the writing of inspired Scripture. The author of each book was not just a passive instrument, a flute played by the Spirit, a dictation machine recording message. Every writer of Scripture contributes his or her particular human gifts. Alongside the Divine aspect, there is also a human element in Scripture, and we are to value both. (Source: Orthodox Study Bible)

(To be continued)

______________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Experience of God and Communion With God

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

EXPERIENCE OF GOD AND COMMUNION WITH GOD

Question

You keep speaking about the experience of God and communion with God. Do you really believe that these things are possible for men?

Answer

If communion with God is not possible, then there is no Christian Faith and certainly no Orthodoxy.

The entire faith of the Church is built on the fact that "God is the Lord and has revealed Himself unto us." This biblical line is solemnly sung at every Orthros (Matins) or Morning Service in the Orthodox Church.

God has revealed Himself ! He has not merely told some things about Himself, or communicated some data about His Divine existence and purposes. He has shown forth Himself and has given Himself to men for Divine Communion.

According to Orthodox Christianity, there is no other meaning to the life of man except In communion with God. God is the end of all longing, the fulfillment of all desires, the source and the goal of man's very humanity made in god's divine image and likeness.

Through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, man comes to living communion with God the Father Himself. There is no other meaning and purpose to the Church and to life itself.

Man and all creation with him must come to be divine by sharing the being and life and action of God Himself. All of the attributes of Divinity--as one Saint put it--must become ours; eternal life, truth, goodness, holiness, purity, joy...all perfections summed up in the greatest which is Agape (Love). For God is Love! This is the meaning of life, and it is certainly possible for men to attain it. At least, once more, according to the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Question

You talk about the Church as unity in the Truth and Love of God. What do you mean by this?

Answer

We Orthodox Christians believe that the life of the Church is life in communion with God Himself, in the Truth and Love of Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

We believe that Christ is the Son of God. We believe that He reveals the Truth about God and man. We believe that we can know this Truth by the Holy Spirit, that He gives to us.

The greatest Truth shown to us by Christ is that God is Agape (Love), and that the only true way of living is by following Christ Who called Himself, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Christ gave the great Commandment and the great example of perfect love. Thus the greatest Truth is agape (love). This is our conclusion. And life in this truth which is love, is the life of faith, the life of the Orthodox Church.

Of course there are deviations and betrayals and sins all around. Clergy and laymen alike are guilty. But the Church itself, despite the sins of its members, is still the union with the Truth and Love of God given to men in Jesus Christ, made present and accessible in the Holy Spirit, Who lives in those who believe. (Source: Orthodox Church in America)

________________________________________

"To know our purpose, we must be enlightened and taught by God, and the mind that is not prepared properly will never understand God, or His revelation to the human heart. That is why, by the way, after difficult sayings, our Lord would say "He that has ears to hear, let him hear". We all have ears, but not all of us hear."

Holy Scripture

Saint Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the laws and the prophets."

Saint Mark 12:29-31 "And Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (30) And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (31) And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater that these."

Saint Luke 10:25-28 "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? (26) He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? (27) And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all they mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. (28) And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."

The Lord is referring to:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: (5) and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (6) And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: (7) And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

Saint John 10:10-18. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father..." (26-28) "...But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hands."

___________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George