The Church is a Place of Healing

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.

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THE CHURCH IS A PLACE OF HEALING

Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick..." (St. Matthew 9:12).

The Church is a Hospital

Orthodox Christians understand the Holy Church as a spiritual hospital and a place where the believer's spiritual and physical health is restored by the grace of God. The Orthodox Christian seeks to find the necessary spiritual treatment, cure, and healing of all his infirmities.

The principle challenge of the Holy Church and her diakonoi i.e., bishops, priests, is to bring healing to all through the Physician of our souls and bodies, Christ. Sadly, the majority of the Orthodox Christians are not even aware of this truth, and are deprived of the spiritual treatment provided by the Holy Church. The consequences are that they do not get well and die in sin.  In the gospel of Saint John reminds us: "I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (St. John 8:24).

There are those who understand religion to mean the way people attempt through rituals to appease an all-powerful God Who created the universe and themselves. This understanding has been the common label of the contemporary Christian's understanding of what it means to be religious. This, however, is totally rejected by the holy and righteous men and women of the Church.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ created His Church wholly for therapeutic purposes, for healing the rent between us and God. The Holy Church takes fallen, sick, and disoriented human beings who suffer from all kinds of destructive passions and sins, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit restores them to complete spiritual health.

"Basically there are two categories of Christians: 'Those who are well', and 'those who are ill.' Those who are well are the Saints. Among the sick there are those who are cognizant of their sickness and undergo therapy, and those who are unaware of their sickness or choose not to undergo therapy. So the Church's work is therapeutic in nature. Christianity (i.e., the Church)."

Before we seek cure we must admit that we are sick. Sometimes a sickness is obvious, but other times it is not. That is why frequent checkups are necessary in order to discover any problems early and address them with a greater chance of success...Just as people diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses acquire passions and sins that threaten body and soul.  

Spiritual sins:

• pride

• hatred

• jealousy

• envy, etc.

Sins of the Mind:

• evil desires

• fantasizing, etc.

Bodily Sins:

• lust

• gluttony

• drunkenness

• possessiveness, etc.

The decision to get well is entirely ours. If we choose to deny that we are spiritually ill and that we do not need to see a physician or therapist of the soul (priest), we are in grave danger. Everyone needs to have a spiritual father and father confessor and trust that he will give them the required attention, diagnoses and spiritual treatment.

No one can claim to be a member of the Body of Christ, the Church, and dismiss the priest's guidance. No one goes to his/her physician with an illness and is not willing to ether trust or follow his professional advice on how to overcome his/her illness. If we do not trust our doctor then why go to him? Why not give our own diagnosis? We trust our physician to save our lives from a catastrophic illness. The priest has been, through his canonical ordination, entrusted by our Lord and Savior to bring reconciliation, restoration, healing, forgiveness and communion with the Almighty God to all those who believe. He is not a just robot that dispenses Holy Communion and other sacraments to all who wanted. That kind of attitude reveals ones ignorance of the Faith and our Holy Tradition. There is a special spiritual relationship between the priest (father) and the lay Christian, he is the spiritual father and the lay Christian believer is the 'spiritual child'. What unites them is the love of God and the love of one another.

Under his spiritual direction he will prescribe the course of action and steps that one needs to follow, i.e., the holy Mysteries (Sacraments), particularly holy Confession, holy Communion and holy Unction; the divine services of the Church, Supplication (Paraklesis) Canon, prayer of repentance, charity, and other works of mercy.

There are three powers or energies of the soul, known as:

• Reason (Mind)

• Desire (Emotions)

• Will (Willpower)

They are used either for good or for evil. When they are used for good they are called virtues; when they are used for evil they are called passions. Passions are perversions or distortions of the soul. The main sickness of our mind is ignorance; the main sickness of our emotions is self-love; the main sickness of our will is the pursuit of evil.

As we commit sins, our thinking becomes blurred and disoriented, our emotions become confused, and our willpower is left weak and infirm. Our willingness to resist temptations decreases as well as does our capacity to choose correctly the way of purity. They all act against nature. Our struggle is, with God's grace, to turn them around and orient them toward God.

We need to make a conscious decision once, and then continuously throughout our life, to either turn to God or to isolate ourselves from God; to either act in a spirit of repentance and humility or in an act/attitude of ego, pride and self-love. The choice is ours.

 As you can very well see the Holy Church is not a secular institution and the Christian is not a member of a secular club with certain benefits, demands and expectations. The life of the Church is one of prayer, obedience, purity of heart, repentance, contrition, etc.

The Holy Church is the Portico, where the Pool of Healing is offered to all who come with desire. The Holy Church is the House of Mercy, where all find cure.

Let us keep in mind that even if we think we are healthy spiritually, we still have to follow a healthy lifestyle, do a periodic "checkup".  

May we all attain spiritual wellness, through the intercessions of the Most Holy Mother of God, Saint Andrew the Holy Apostle, the Holy Angels and all the Saints. Amen.

(Source: The Church is a Therapeutic Center by Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis)

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

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

+Father George

January 25 - St. Gregory the Theologian

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.

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ON JANUARY 25th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF THE LIFE OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

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Saint Gregory the Theologian was born near Nazianzus, a town in Greater Cappadocia. His parents, Gregory and Nonna, were of noble ancestry and respected by all; however, the elder Gregory, being the child of a pagan father and a Jewish mother, was not a Christian in his younger years. He belonged to the sect of the Hypsistarii, which combined heathen and Judaic error. The blessed Nonna was the daughter of Christians and was herself an Orthodox Christian from childhood. She was reared in piety and perfectly instructed in the fear of God, which is the beginning of all wisdom. Divine Providence allowed her to be wed to an infidel (unbeliever), so that "the unbelieving husband" might be "sanctified by the believing wife" (1 Corinthians Ch. 7), as the holy Apostle says. Nonna constantly exhorted her husband to accept the True faith, and what is more, fervently prayed for him. However, her husband had a special dream in which he saw himself chanting the psalms of David. He awoke rejoicing and told Nonna everything. She understood that God was calling her husband to His Holy Church, and began with even greater fervor to teach him about the Christian faith and urge him to the path of salvation. The blessed Nonna took her husband to Bishop Leontius of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who baptized him. After his Baptism, Gregory led a God-pleasing life, as befits a true Christian. He also excelled in piety and good works that he later became Bishop of Nazianzus.

Living with such a man in honorable wedlock, Nonna naturally desired to bear him a son. She prayed to the Giver of all blessings, and even before conceiving promised, as once did Hannah, mother of Samuel, to dedicate her child to God (I Kings Ch. 1). The Lord, Who does "the will of them that fear Him" (Psalm 144) and hears "their supplication," fulfilled the request of that devout woman, revealing to her in a dream the birth of a son, the child's physical to Providence, offering the fruit of prayer as a gift to the Lord; however, she did not have the babe baptized. In those days many Christians were not baptized as infants; instead, their initiation was deferred until they were thirty years old, the age at which Christ our Lord was baptized by Saint John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Saint Gregory's Baptism was delayed until he reached that age, in accordance with the tradition. Subsequently, Gregory himself, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and other Holy Fathers condemned this practice.

Gregory was raised in accordance with Christian principles, learned to read and write while still very young, and grew in stature and wisdom. Attentive and diligent in his studies (as befitted one bearing the name Gregory, a name derived from the Greek word for "vigilant"), he surpassed in his intellectual achievements all his schoolmates. Youth did not hinder him from understanding subjects usually investigate only by those whose mental powers had reached their zenith.

After the holy Gregory's birth, the blessed Nonna bore another son, Caesarius, and a daughter, Gorgonia. She reared them in piety and taught them to read and write.

In Athens, Gregory devoted himself to his studies and was the object of astonishment, because of his keen intellect and chaste way of life. Before long Saint Basil, the Great also arrived in the city, intending to perfect his knowledge of secular philosophy. Gregory and Basil became close friends and resided together, sharing not only house and table but the same moral character.

Gregory and Basil lived in Athens for many years and completed their education there. Soon, however, Gregory learned that his father had been elected Bishop of Nazianzus, and he hurried back to Cappadocia. The blessed one was then 30 years old. Upon arrival in Nazianzus, he was baptized by his father. Eventually, his father compelled him to become a priest and would have had him a bishop, but Gregory was determined to avoid such high rank and the adulation that frequently accompanies it. Still aspiring to monastic stillness, he slipped away to his friend Basil, who had also been ordained to the priesthood and had written from the monastery he had founded in Pontus, inviting Gregory to join his large brotherhood. Together, Gregory and Basil wrote a rule for those struggling in asceticism.

Saint Gregory remained with the holy Basil for some time; then his brother Caesarius died. Gregory's father, overwhelmed by grief, wrote his surviving son and pleaded that he return and assist him in his declining years. Partly because he did not wish to disobey his father, and partly because the Church was in great turmoil on account of Arianism (to which even Gregory's father, lacking any theological education, was somewhat inclined), the Saint left Pontus. Arriving in Nazianzus, he aided his father in administering the church and their household, explained to him the dangers of the Arian heresy, and confirmed him in Orthodoxy.

Saint Basil consecrated him bishop of Sasima and Emperor Theodosius quickly called him to the vacant Archiepiscopal throne of Constantinople. His works were manifold, the best-known being his theological writings, for which he received the title 'the theologian'. He is particularly famed for the depth of his Sermons on the Holy Trinity. He also wrote against the heretic Macedonius, who taught wrongly of the Holy Spirit (that the Spirit was a creature of God), and against Apollinarius who taught that Christ did not have a human soul but that His Divinity was in place of His soul. He also wrote against the Emperor Julian the Apostate, his sometime schoolmate. In the year 381 A.D., when a quarrel broke out in the Council concerning his election as Archbishop, he withdrew himself, declaring: 'Those who deprive us of the (archiepiscopal) throne cannot deprive us of God.' He then left Constantinople and went to Nazianzus, remaining there in retirement, prayer, and the writing of instructive books until his death. And, although he was in weak health all his life, he lived to the age of 70. His holy relics were later taken to Rome and his head to the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow. He was, and remains, a great and wonderful light of the Orthodox Christian Church, as much for the meekness and purity of his character as for the unsurpassable depth of his mind. He entered into rest in the Lord in the year 389 A.D. (Sources: The Great Collection of The Lives of the Saints and Prologue from Ochrid)

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TOMORROW, SATURDAY JANUARY 25TH: FEAST-DAY OF SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Orthros (Matins) at 9:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

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

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

+Father George

On Discernment

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.

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ON DISCERNMENT
By Saint John Climacus

Among beginners, discernment is a real self-knowledge; among those midway along the road to perfection, it is a spiritual capacity to distinguish unfailingly between what is truly good and what in nature is opposed to the good; among the perfect, it is a knowledge resulting from Divine illumination, which with its lamp can light up what is dark in others. To put the matter generally, discernment is and is recognized to be--a solid understanding of the will of God in all times, in all places, in all things; and it is found only among those who are pure in heart, in body, and in speech.

The man who has devoutly destroyed within himself the three has also destroyed the five. If he has neglected any of the former, then he will not be able to overcome even a single passion.

Discernment is an uncorrupted conscience. It is a pure perception. No one seeing or hearing something in monastic life that has a force over and beyond nature should, out of ignorance, become unbelieving. For much that is supernatural happens where the supernatural God abides.

Every demonic upheaval within us arises from the following three related causes, namely, carelessness, pride, or the envy of demons. The first is pitiable, the second deplorable, but the third is blessed.

Let our God-directed conscience be our aim and rule in everything so that, knowing how the wind is blowing, we may set our sails accordingly.

Amid all our efforts to please God, three pitfalls lie, prepared for us by demons. First is their attempt to impede any sort of worthwhile achievement; and if this fails, they strive secondly to ensure that what we do should not be in accordance with the will of God. And if the scoundrels fail in this too, then they stand quietly before our soul and praise us for the fact that in every respect we are living as God would wish. We should fight these risks, the first by zeal and fear of death, the second by obedience and self-abasement, the third by unceasing self-condemnation. "This work is ahead of us until the fire of God shall enter our sanctuary" (cf. Psalm 72: 16-17), and then indeed the power of our predispositions will no longer constrain us. For our, God is a fire consuming all lusts, all stirrings of passion, al predispositions and all hardness of heart, both within and without, both visible and spiritual.

Demons, on the other hand, bring about the very opposite to all this. Grabbing a soul, they put out the light of the mind until in our wretchedness we find ourselves lacking sobriety or discernment, self-knowledge or shame; and we are burdened instead with indifference, insensitivity, want of discernment, and blindness.

All of this is well known to those who have abandoned fornication and become chaste, who have reined in their tongues and switched from shamelessness to modesty. They know that when the mind was cleansed, its callousness ended, or rather its mutilation healed, shame filled them for what they said and did previously in the season of their blindness...

Those who have been humbled by their passions should take heart. Even if they tumble into every pit, even if they are trapped by every snare, even if they suffer every disease, still after their return to health they become a light to all, they prove to be doctors, beacons, pilots. They teach us the characteristics of every malady and out of their own experience, they can rescue those about to lapse...

We have to be particularly vigilant whenever the body is sick, for at such a time the demons, observing our weakness and our inability to fight against them as usual, rush in to attack us. In times of illness, the demon of anger and even of blasphemy may be discovered around those who live in the world. Those leading a religious life but having all they need of a material kind may suffer the onslaught of the demon of gluttony and fornication. But ascetics who live without comforts may find themselves plagued by the tyrant of despondency and ingratitude...

A mind disposed to the things of the spirit is certainly endowed with spiritual perception and this is something that, whether we possess it or not, we should always seek to have. And when it comes, our senses desist from their natural activities. This is why a wise man once said, "You shall obtain a sense of what is divine." (St. Nilus of Sinai)

One has to distinguish between Divine Providence, Divine assistance, Divine protection, Divine mercy, and Divine consolation. Providence is shown in all of nature, assistance among the faithful alone, protection among those believers whose faith is most alive, mercy among those who serve God, and consolation among those who love him...

"Gluttony is the mother of lust and vainglory (kenodoxia) is the mother of despondency. Dejection and ANGER are the offspring of those three, and the mother of pride is vainglory."

For instance, jokes at the wrong time can be the product of lust, or of vainglory when a man impiously pretends to be pious, or high living. Excessive sleep can arise from luxury, from fasting when those who fast become proud of it, from despondency, or sometimes from nature. Garrulity sometimes comes from gluttony, and sometimes from vainglory. Despondency can derive now from high living, now from lack of fear of God. Blasphemy is properly the child of pride, but can often arise out of the readiness to condemn one's neighbor for the same offense, or it can be due to the untimely envy of demons.

Hardheartedness is sometimes the consequence of gluttony, frequently of insensitivity, and also of being grasping. And to be grasping can be due to lust, avarice, gluttony, vainglory, and indeed to many other causes. Malice comes from conceit and from anger, while hypocrisy comes from independence and self-direction...

Illness can occur sometimes to cleanse us from our sins and sometimes to humble our thinking. When our Ever-gracious Master and Lord discovers people getting lazy in their religious lives, He may humble their bodies by illness, as if by a lighter form of asceticism. Illness too can sometimes purify the soul from evil thoughts and passions...

When requests are made to God and are not immediately answered, the reason may be one of the following: either that the petition is premature, or because it has been made unworthily or vaingloriously, or because, if granted, it would lead to conceit, or because negligence and carelessness would result...

Demons leave us alone so as to make us careless, then pounce on our miserable souls. And those beasts have another trick, of which I am aware, namely, to depart when the soul has become thoroughly imbued with the habits of evil when it has turned into its own betrayer and enemy. It is rather like what happens to infants weaned from the mother's breast, who suck their finger because the habit has taken hold of them...

It is characteristic of the perfect that they always know whether a thought comes from within themselves, or from God, or from the demons. Remember that demons do not automatically propose evil at the outset. Here we have a problem truly hard to penetrate.

Two corporeal eyes give light to the body, and the eyes of the heart are enlightened by discernment in things seen and unseen. (Source: The Ladder of Divine Ascent by Saint John Climacus)

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Please note: Why am I bringing to your attention the Orthodox Christian understanding of the existence of evil and spiritual warfare? Because very few Christians ever think or even know how dangerous our Adversary is. Our real enemy is the devil and his demons. They constantly pursue us day and night to destroy our soul and ultimately our salvation.

Discernment, one of God's many gifts to us is absolutely necessary to combat him. Our Christian faith teaches us how to discern between good and evil. How to seek the Truth, God and how to avoid falsehood, the devil. We are at war with him and he will fight us until our very last breath. We need the grace of God if we are to win. There is no power greater than that of God. He fought and triumphed over the power of the devil and therefore he, the devil, cannot ever force us to be enslaved by him. To accept his evil ways that lead to destruction and death.

Pride is the mother of all evil. It is his greatest tool to use against us. To manipulate us and to convince us that we are all-knowing and can make important salvific decisions without God's guidance and inspiration. That we do not need God in our lives. That everything that we have accomplished in this life was accomplished through our own ability and power. That God does not love us and that He has abandoned us. The Greek word "diavolos" can also mean he who corrupts or distorts the truth. In the Lord's Prayer at the end, we pray to God to "deliver us from the evil one". It is not correct to say "from evil" as commonly said. The "evil one" is the devil and arch liar. He is the deceiver and he who "brings defective reasoning and confusion of thought."

If we are to fight "the good fight" that we are asked to do, we must know who our enemy is and how to fight him. He is much more clever than we are and uses all sinister ways to deceive us. His advantage over us is only that he is invisible and we cannot see him or his demons. Thanks be to God that we have help through His holy Angels who protect from all his machinations and threats.

Stay vigilant and pray unceasingly! Always question our thoughts and use the gift of discernment to distinguish between good and evil. We must never surrender to the evil one and believe that God is always with us and he will save us.

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

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

+Father George

The Orthodox Tradition of Exorcising Vaskania (Evil Eye)

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.

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THE ORTHODOX TRADITION OF EXORCISING VASKANIA (EVIL EYE) 
By Reverend Father George C. Papademetriou, Ph.D.

"...He Who by death destroyed Death and brought to naught him who had the power of death, that is, thee, O Satan. I adjure thee by God, Who showed forth the Tree of Life, Who set in order the Cherubim and the fiery sword turned to guard it. Be rebuked and depart; for I adjure thee by Him Who walked on the surface of the sea as upon dry land and rebuked the tempest of the winds; Whose look drieth up the abyss and at Whose threat the mountains melt away. For He now through us rebuketh thee: be afraid, come forth, and depart from this His created image, and enter no again nor hide within it, neither meet it, nor possess it, neither by night or by day..." (Sacrament of Baptism: First Exorcism Prayer)

"Banish from him/her every evil and unclean spirit hidden and lurking in his heart: (thrice) the Spirit of error, the spirit of evil, the spirit of idolatry and of all uncleanness which worketh according to the teaching of the Devil..."

And when he who is being baptized is uncloaked and barefoot, the Priest turns to him with the hands upraised to the West and says three times:

Do thou renounce Satan? And all his works? And all his angels? And all adoration of him? And all his pomp?

And the catechumen or his sponsor says on his behalf: I do renounce them. And when he has answered three times, again the Priest asks him who is to be baptized:

Have you renounced Satan? And the catechumen or his sponsor answers: I have renounced him. And when he has said this three times the Priest says: blow and spit at him..." (Sacrament of Baptism: Service for the Catechumens).

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VASKANIA (EVIL EYE)

The exorcism of satanic powers is also performed by the Orthodox Church in other rites, such as that of the evil eye (vaskania).

Vaskania is simply a phenomenon that was accepted by primitive people as fact. They believed that certain people have such powerful feelings of jealousy and envy, that when they looked on some beautiful object or individual it brought destruction. Vaskania is recognized by the Church as the jealousy and envy of some people for things they do not possess, such as beauty, youth, courage or any other blessing. The Church essentially rejected Vaskania as contradicting the concept of Divine Providence. The prayers of the Church to avert the evil eye are, however, a silent recognition of this phenomenon as a morbid feeling of envy. The Church forbids people to go to "readers" or other individuals for use of magical rituals to overcome the evil eye. These readers take advantage of the weakness of superstitious people and destroy them spiritually and financially by playing upon their fear and imagination.

There is also secret rite performed by superstitious people to avert the evil eye, which verges on magic. Though the Church encourages even the laity to pray and exorcise evil, it rejects magical practices and rites. 

The possession of individuals by the devil and demonic powers and the cure in the Name of Christ is evidenced in the New Testament (Acts 3:2-8, 9:32-42; 20:7-12; Matthew 10:8; Mark 16:17-18). The Church continues in its liturgical rites what Christ enacted in His Ministry. The Church recognizes the influence of the devil and renounces it in the name of Christ in prayers and fasting. The prayers of exorcism in the early Church were offered by special ministry through the exorcist. This is evidenced from the early prayers that have survived. From the 4th century onwards, the ministry of the exorcist has been fulfilled BY THE PRIEST.

Orthodox Prayers of Exorcism

All the Orthodox prayer books include prayers of exorcism used by priests to fight the power of evil. The Orthodox Book of Prayers (Efchologion To Mega) includes three prayers of exorcism by Saint Basil the Great and four by Saint John Chrysostomos. They are read "for those who suffer from demonic possessions and every other malady." Through these prayers, the devil is exorcised (renounced) "in the name of God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ and commanded to come out of the victim, who is liberated and redeemed by the Eternal God from the energies (powers) of the impure spirits. The great ills that humanity suffers are attributed to the devil and demonic powers."

From the Orthodox theological point of view, the following can be considered exorcists:

1. Christ is the exorcist par excellence for it is He Who won the victory over the power of the devil.

2. Priests in the performance of the holy Mysteria (Sacraments) and in preaching the word of God follow Christ's example.

3. ALL Orthodox Christians are exorcists as they struggle against personal sin and social evil. In fact, "the whole Church, past, present, and future has the task of an exorcist to banish sin, evil, injustice, spiritual death, the devil from the life of humanity." Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory, in a sermon at the Sage Chapel, Cornell University, spoke on exorcism in the following manner: "Both healing and exorcising are ministered through prayers, which spring from faith in God and from love for man...All the prayers of healing and exorcism, composed by the Holy Fathers of the Church and in use since the 3rd Century, begin with the solemn declaration: In the Name, O Lord." (Exorcism and Exorcists in the Greek Orthodox Tradition, March 10, 1974.)

In summary, the four prayers of exorcism by Saint John Chrysostom and the three of Saint Basil ask in the Name of God to deliver the possessed from the captivity of the devil. Some can be healed by faith accompanied by fasting and purification. The use of exorcism must be made with discretion and great care.

(To be continued)

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

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

+Father George

Exorcism in the Orthodox Church

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.

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EXORCISM IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
By Reverend Father George C. Papademetriou, Ph.D.

The Doctrine of Evil

To understand the Orthodox Christian view and practice of exorcism, one must know the Orthodox presuppositions of evil and its doctrine of Satan. The Patristic evidence points to the fact that the cause of evil in the world is the devil. The devil was created by God as an Angel, who was free, and as a free agent chose to oppose the plan of God. That is, the devil is a fallen angel. Satan is not evil by nature but by will and action. In Satan there is no truth whatsoever; he is absolute falsehood and deception. Satan is not just a negation or deprivation of good, but a positive force with free will that always chooses evil. The devil has the ability to recognize Divine Power, as in the incident of recognizing Christ as the Son of God (St. Matthew 4:1-11); St. Luke 4:1-3). Satan has under his leadership legions and invisible powers, with their own "satanic teachings." The devil and evil spirits know that God exists and recognize true and devoted Christians, but pious Christians discern the plans of the devil. The devil, however, constantly employs every method of deception to enslave man to satanic forces and causes rebellion against God. He is the cause of corruption and disorder, a parasitic power in the world that will ultimately be destroyed by the power of God in the "last days." Because there is no compromise between God and the devil, the struggle will continue until the end.

The Orthodox doctrine of God is that He is Eternal, Uncreated and Incorporeal. All other creatures, both visible and invisible, were created by God as free. The power of the devil will ultimately be destroyed by the resurrection of the dead and the renewal of creation. salvation from all evil will be attained by obedience to God and his plan. This world is a battleground between the acceptance of good and evil. It must be pointed out that the world as the creation of God is not evil. What is evil is the satanic power, destroyed by the power of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ.

The Orthodox Tradition of Exorcising

After examining the doctrine of Satan in the Orthodox Church, it is imperative to proceed to the method of repelling and exorcising the evil powers.  In the New Testament, Christ is sent out His Holy Apostles to heal and to "cast out devils" (St. Matthew 10:8, St. Luke 10:17-20). Christ, Himself often expels demons from the possessed (St. Mark 1:23-27; St. Luke 4:33-35, 9:43; St. Matthew 10:1; St. Mark 16:17; St. Matthew 7:22). The New Testament, however, rejected popular uses of magic incantations and rites to expel the satanic powers from people, because they took advantage of superstitious religiosity (Acts 19:13).

In the Name of Christ, one is able to cast out demons and to destroy the evil powers (St. Matthew 10:8). The Holy Fathers of the Church accepted this doctrine and expanded on it. Saint Justin Martyr (Apology 85;2) says that in the Name of Christ, the Son of God Who was crucified and rose again, every demon that is exorcised is defeated and submits (Library of the Greek Fathers and Church Writers, Athens: Apostolic Diakonia 1955, Vol. 3, pp. 288-89). The satanic powers are destroyed through the power of the Cross and the name of Christ. Objects possessed by demons, when exorcised in the Name of the Living God, are freed from the possession of evil. The Patristic evidence is abundant in the belief in possession and expulsion of the devil by the power of the word of God (St. Ignatios, Epistles to Philippians 3 and 12; Library of the Greek Fathers and Church Writers, Vol. 2, pp. 333 and 336; St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4:14; Library, Vol 8, p. 82; Origen, Against Celsus, 6:44; Library, Vol. 10, p. 93).

The demonic possession of individuals and even objects, has been accepted by the Orthodox Church today in the Sacrament of Baptism, in exorcising satanic powers in the case of the evil eye (vaskania), and in exorcising the devil in the case of a possessed person. In the early Church, exorcisms were performed by a person specially trained and appointed to pray to drive out evil from those about to be baptized. Since the 4th century the place of the exorcist, as well as other functions and ministries, have been taken over by the priest. The priest prays to expel all evil, the spirit of error, of idolatry, of covetousness, of lying and every impure act that arises from the teachings of the devil. The renunciation of the devil in baptism is used in every baptism that is performed in the Orthodox Church. (Source: The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

(To be continued. Next: VASKANIA)

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

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

+Father George

January 21- St. Maximos the Confessor

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.

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ON JANUARY 21st OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES OUR VENERABLE FATHER MAXIMOS THE CONFESSOR

Saint Maximos, our holy Father, a Constantinopolitan, was born in 580 A.D. to a prosperous and pious Orthodox family of noble lineage. His baptismal name was Moschos. From an early age, Maximos displayed good conduct and a pure disposition. He was provided with an education in philosophy, rhetoric, and grammar. Possessed of a sharp mind and diligent character, he learned his lessons quickly. In short, he was prepared for a career at the Imperial Court. The young Maximos successfully completed his curriculum, excelling in expounding upon the philosophical and theological foundations of Orthodox Christian spirituality. He pursued what was good and useful, leaving behind what was injurious and useless to the soul. His soul was smitten with divine love. He only wished to please God. He was humble-minded and moderate. He was not puffed up due to his family's nobility. He was not proud on account of his own wisdom and virtue.

By the time St. Maximos reached his early thirties, he achieved a respected name in the Senate for his competence in government matters. Herakletos had heard good reports of Maximos and therefore retained him as a secretary, entrusting him with official Palace documents. He became head of the Imperial Chancellery or First Secretary to Emperor Herakletos (610-640 A.D.) He would often take counsel with Maximos, on various matters. In 627 A.D., Herakletos invaded Persia, overthrew Chosroes II, and recovered the True Cross which had been captured by the Persians. Immediately following the recovery of the holy relic of the True Cross, after an 18 year was with the Persians, the atmosphere at the Byzantine Court was zealous.

After resigning his post and repaired to the Monastery of the Theotokos at Scutari, across the Bosporos, that he might fulfill his love for quietude and prayer. He received the Monastic Tonsure and the name Maximos, and became thoroughly engaged in the ascetical life. He overcame the tyranny of the passions by daily meditation on the Holy Scripture and study of the writings of the Holy Fathers. He was held in high regard among the brotherhood of that monastery, surpassing all the brethren in ascetic struggles. After a few years, when the Egoumenos (Abbot) reposed, a vote was taken.  Father Maximos was then asked to take up the Office of Hegoumenos. He now no longer had the care of his own soul's salvation but also that of others, which role he took seriously in the knowledge that he would answer for his charges before Christ.

Maximos had come to be known as "Maximos the Wise" not only among fellow monastics but also with the diplomats and government officials with whom he had served. He would now prepare to defend the Apostolic Faith through God-inspired words. In both the East and West, he is acknowledged as the most significant theologian of his times. He expounded and acted upon the traditions handed down to him, that is, Mysteries (Sacraments), divine offices, Holy Scripture, Synods, Saints, and writings of the Holy Fathers.

The most influential of his early writings were The Ascetic Life, a catechetical piece on the two great commandments, and The Four Centuries of Love, consisting of practical discourses on the Christian life and prayer, and the practice of the virtues. Father Maximos taught that the virtues are natural. By nature, we have an appetite simply for what is good. Nature impels us to desire and move toward obtaining these virtues. They exist in all men because of the identical nature of men, but we do not all practice what is natural to us to an equal degree. With regard to asceticism, he comments that it was devised in order to ward off deception, which establishes itself through sensory perception. When deception is completely expelled, the soul immediately exhibits the splendor of its natural virtue. Father Maximos perceived the Holy Scripture as foretelling man's purpose since it was God Who said, "Let us make man according to Our image and likeness...And God made man according to the image of God He made him, male and female He made them. And God blessed them...And God saw all the things that He had made, and, behold, they were very good (Genesis 1:26, 27, 28, 31). Saint Maximos said that we are taught to speak to ourselves of the grace of adoption, since we are by grace worthy to call Father the One Who is Our Creator by nature. Thus by respecting the designation of Our Begetter in grace, we are eager to set on our life the features of the One Who gave us life. We sanctify His Name on earth in taking after Him as Father, in showing ourselves by our actions to be His Children."

In his work, entitled Four Centuries of Love, our Holy Father Maximos makes clear in the first letter, "First Century," that a Christian trains in love (agape): "Love is a good disposition of the soul by which one prefers no creature to the knowledge of God. It is impossible to attain to a lasting possession of such love if one has any attachment to earthly things." Saint Maximus encourages us, writing: "Love is begotten of detachment...In the "Third Century," Saint Maximos reminds one of the Christ-like response to passions, for example, resentment, by saying: "If you harbor resentment against anyone, pray for him and you will prevent the passion from being aroused; for by means of prayer you will separate you grief from the thought of the wrong he has done you." When you have become loving and compassionate toward him, you will wipe the passion completely from your soul. If someone regards you with resentment, be pleasant to him, be humble and agreeable in his company; and you will deliver him from his passion."

In the "Fourth Century," he wrote: "the one who loves Christ thoroughly imitates him as much as he can. Thus Christ did not cease to do good to men. Treated ungratefully and blasphemed, He was patient; beaten and put to death by them, He endured, not thinking ill of anyone at all. These three are the works of love of neighbor, in the absence of which a person who says he loves Christ or possesses His Kingdom deceived himself."  

The Lord summoned Saint Maximos to the heavenly Jerusalem, by revealing to him the day and hour of his repose. This ushered in great joy for the Martyr and Confessor, who then gladly surrendered his soul into the hands of Christ God, Whom he had loved from his youth and for Whom he had suffered so greatly. The heavenly man and earthly angel, Saint Maximos reposed in Lazika on the 21st day of January, in the year 662 A.D. at the age of 82.

After the internment of the holy relics of Saint Maximus in Schemarion, there appeared every night thee lamps over his tomb. They miraculously burned and illuminated the entire place. This wondrous phenomenon confirmed for many how much boldness the Venerable Maximos found before the Lord Christ, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and veneration, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

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

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

+Father George