An
ever-growing number of persons from various backgrounds are becoming interested
in the Orthodox Church. These individuals are discovering the ancient faith and
rich traditions of the Orthodox Church. They have been attracted by her
mystical vision of God and His Kingdom, by the beauty of her worship, by the
purity of her Christian faith, and by her continuity with the past. These are
only some of the treasures of the Church, which has a history reaching back to
the time of the Apostles.
In our
Western Hemisphere, the Orthodox Church has been developing into a valuable
presence and distinctive witness for more than two hundred years. The first
Greek Orthodox Christians arrived in the New World in 1768, establishing a
colony near the present city of St. Augustine, Florida. One of the original
buildings in which these immigrants gathered for religious services is still
standing. It has recently been transformed into St. Photius' Shrine by the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. The Shrine, named in memory of a great missionary
of the Orthodox Church, honors those first Orthodox immigrants. The chapel serves
as a national religious landmark, bearing witness to the presence of Orthodoxy
in America from the earliest days of its history. The next group of Orthodox
Christians to emerge on the American Continent were the Russian fur traders in
the Aleutian Islands. They, too, made a great contribution.
The Orthodox
Church in this country owes its origin to the devotion of so many immigrants
from lands such as Greece, Russia, the Middle East, and the Balkans. In the
great wave of immigrations in the 19th and 20th centuries, Orthodox Christians
from many lands and cultures came to America in search of freedom and
opportunity. Like the first Apostles, they carried with them a precious
heritage and gift. To the New World they brought the ancient faith of the Orthodox
Church.
Many
Orthodox Christians in America proudly trace their ancestry to the lands and
cultures of Europe and Asia, but the Orthodox Church in the United States can
no longer be seen as an immigrant Church. While the Orthodox Church contains
individuals from numerous ethnic and cultural backgrounds, the majority of her
membership is composed of persons who have been born in America. In recognition
of this, Orthodoxy has been formally acknowledged as one of the Four Major
Faiths in the United States. Following the practice of the Early Church,
Orthodoxy treasures the various cultures of its people, but it is not bound to
any particular culture or people. The Orthodox Church welcomes all!
There are
about 5 million Orthodox Christians in this country. They are grouped into
nearly a dozen ecclesiastical jurisdictions. The largest is the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, which has about 500 parishes throughout the United
States. Undoubtedly, the Primate of the Archdiocese, His Eminence Archbishop
Iakovos, has been chiefly responsible for acquainting many non-Orthodox with
the treasures of Orthodoxy. His selfless ministry, which has spanned more than
thirty years, has been one of devotion and vision. Filled with an appreciation
of his Hellenic background and guided by a spirit of ecumenism, Archbishop
Iakovos has recognized the universal dimension of Orthodoxy. He has acted
decisively to make this ancient faith of the Apostles and Martyrs a powerful
witness in contemporary America.
EASTERN
CHRISTIANITY
The Orthodox
Church embodies and expresses the rich spiritual treasures of Eastern
Christianity. It should not be forgotten that the Gospel of Christ was first
preached and the first Christian communities were established in the lands
surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It was in these eastern regions of the old
Roman Empire that the Christian faith matured in its struggle against paganism
and heresy. There, the great Fathers lived and taught. It was in the cities of
the East that the fundamentals of our faith were proclaimed at the Seven
Ecumenical Councils.
The spirit
of Christianity which was nurtured in the East had a particular favor. It was
distinct, though not necessarily opposed, to that which developed in the
Western portion of the Roman Empire and subsequent Medieval Kingdoms in the
West. While Christianity in the West developed in lands which knew the legal
and moral philosophy of Ancient Rome, Eastern Christianity developed in lands
which knew the Semitic and Hellenistic cultures. While the West was concerned
with the Passion of Christ and the sin of man, the East emphasized the
Resurrection of Christ and the deification of man. While the West leaned toward
a legalistic view of religion, the East espoused a more mystical theology.
Since the Early Church was not monolithic, the two great traditions existed
together for more than a thousand years until the Great Schism divided the
Church. Today, Roman Catholics and Protestants are heirs to the Western
tradition, and the Orthodox are heirs to the Eastern tradition.
The Orthodox
Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word
for Gospel is Evangelion which means literally "the good news." The
good news of Orthodox Christianity is a proclamation of God's unbounded and
sacrificial love for man kind, as well as the revelation of the true destiny of
the human person. Reflecting on the joyous message of the Gospel, Saint Gregory
of Nyssa wrote in the fourth century: The good news is that man is no longer an
outcast nor expelled from God's Kingdom; but that he is again a son, again God's
subject.
Orthodoxy
believes that the supreme treasure which God wishes to share with us is His own
life. Our faith begins with the affirmation that God has acted in history to
permit us to participate in His love and His goodness, to be citizens of His
Kingdom. This conviction is expressed so beautifully in the prayer of the
Liturgy which says: "You have not ceased to do all things until You
brought us to heaven and granted us the Kingdom to come."
The
initiation of love of God the Father is perfectly expressed and embodied in the
Person and Ministry of Jesus Christ. The whole purpose of the Incarnation of
the Son of God was to restore humanity to fellowship with God. The great
teachers and Fathers of the Orthodox Church constantly reaffirmed this conviction
by proclaiming that God had become what we are in order that we could become
what He is.
Christ is
exalted as our Light and our Life. In His Person there is a unity of humanity
and divinity which each of us is called to share. In His way of life. there is
the model of authentic human life which we are invited to follow. In His
victorious Resurrection, there is liberation for us from all powers which can
keep us from the Kingdom. Through Christ, then, God the Father has repossessed
us and has called us to be His sons and daughters.
THEOSIS
The
fundamental vocation and goal of each and every person is to share in the life
of God. We have been created by God to live in fellowship with Him. The descent
of God in the Person of Jesus Christ has made possible the human ascent to the
Father through the work of the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy believes that each
Christian is involved in a movement toward God which is known as theosis or
deification.
Theosis
describes the spiritual pilgrimage in which each person becomes ever more
perfect, ever more holy, ever more united with God. It is not a static
relationship, nor does it take place only after death. On the contrary, theosis
is a movement of love toward God which begins for each Christian with the rites
of Baptism and which continues throughout this life, as well as the life which
is to come. Salvation means liberation from sin, death, and evil. Redemption
means our repossession by God. In Orthodoxy, both salvation and redemption are
within the context of theosis. This rich vision of Christian life was expressed
well by Saint Peter when he wrote in the early pages of his second Epistle that
we are called "to become partakers of the Divine nature." It was also
affirmed by Saint Basil the Great when he described man as the creature who has
received the order to become a god.
These are
certainly bold affirmations which must be properly understood. The Orthodox
Church understands theosis as a union with the energies of God and not with the
essence of God which always remains hidden and unknown. However, the experience
of the Church testifies that this is a true union with God. It is also one
which is not pantheistic, because in this union the divine and the human retain
their unique characteristics. In this sense, Orthodoxy believes that human life
reaches its fulfillment only when it becomes divine.
THE HOLY
SPIRIT
The
ever-deepening union of each Christian with God is not a magical or automatic
process. While Christ has destroyed the powers of sin, death, and evil once and
for all, this victory must be appropriated by each person in cooperation with
the Holy Spirit. Each person is called to join with the lifegiving and
liberating Spirit" in realizing the fulness of human life in communion
with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the agent of deification whose task it is
to incorporate us into the life of the Holy Trinity. However, the Spirit always
recognizes our human freedom and invites our active cooperation in perfecting
the "image and likeness of God" with which each of us is created.
Our
participation in the life of the Holy Trinity, which we know as theosis, takes
place within the Church. For the Orthodox, the Church is the meeting place
between God and His people. The Holy Spirit and the Church are organically linked.
In the second century, Saint Irenaeus reminded us of this by saying:
"Where the Church is there is the Spirit, and where the Spirit is there is
the Church." The Holy Spirit moves through the life of the Church to
reveal our common humanity in Christ and to unite us with the Father. We
acquire the Holy Spirit through our celebration of the Eucharist and the
reception of Holy Communion, through our participation in the Sacraments,
through our discipline of daily prayer, and through the practice of fasting,
all of which result in a Christ-like life.
The Holy
Spirit, Who is honored as the Lord and Giver of life, is manifest in the life
of the Church in order to bring our lives to perfection, and to make us
responsible and loving human beings. The fruit of Worship is the gifts of the
Spirit. In his letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul identified these as:
"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and
self-control." Certainly, these are the virtues of a Christ-like life.
They testify to the fact that the love of God and the love of neighbor are
inseparable.
THE
INDIVIDUAL AND THE CHURCH
The reality
of theosis not only bears witness to the love of God who wishes to share Him
self with us but also expresses a very positive view of the human person.
Orthodoxy believes that each person has an intrinsic value and importance in
virtue of his or her unique relationship to God. The human person is never seen
as being totally depraved. The "image of God" which can be distorted
by sin, can never be eradicated. Through the life of the Church, there is
always the opportunity for fulfillment. When the Sacraments are administered,
they are always offered to the individual by name. This action not only reminds
us of the dignity of each person but also emphasizes the responsibility each
person has for his or her relationship to God.
While
Orthodoxy recognizes the value of the person, it does not believe that we are
meant to be isolated or self-sufficient. Each person is called to be an
important member of the Church. Orthodoxy believes that one cannot be a
Christian without being a part of the Church. The process of theosis takes
place with the context of a believing community.
To be united
with God within the midst of the Church does not mean that our unique
personalities are destroyed. We are not engulfed by an impersonal force or power.
As with all love which is true and valuable, God's love for each of us respects
our personhood. His love is not one which destroys. God's love is one which
reveals, elevates, and perfects our true selves. By entering into the life of
God, we become the persons we are meant to be.
TREASURES OF
ORTHODOXY is a series of pamphlets written for the non-Orthodox, especially
those who are considering becoming members of the Orthodox Church and who wish
to deepen their appreciation of her faith, worship and traditions.
Prepared by Fr Cyril Amer
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