Gospel for Saturday of the Sixth Week after Pentecost

St. Matthew 9:18-26 (7/26) Gospel for Saturday of the Sixth
Week after Pentecost

Faith and Wellness ~ Part I: St. Matthew 9:18-26, especially vs. 22:
"...Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, 'Be of good cheer,
daughter; your faith has made you well.' And the woman was made well from
that hour." This pronouncement, "your faith has made you well," occurs many
times in the New Testament, being translated both "made well" and as "saved"
(see in Lk. 7:50). Clearly, the Lord Jesus affirms the significance of
faith for health, even as He declares that faith is essential for eternal
salvation. Given the universality of sickness and death for the human race,
let us take this reading as an opportunity to explore the relationship
between faith and wellness.

Recall that the Lord Jesus sent out the Disciples, commanding them to preach
the Kingdom of Heaven with special attention to healing: "Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons..." (Mt. 10:8). God
knows how sick we are in body, soul, and spirit, which is the primary reason
He joined Himself so irrevocably to our race - for our salvation.

Whence comes the ubiquitous fact of sickness? Observe: when Adam and Eve
ate the forbidden fruit in Paradise, the result was death; instant spiritual
death that was followed, in time, by physical death (Gen. 3:8-14,17-20).
Spiritual death, separation from God, assures that Adam, Eve and their
descendants are subject to physical death (1 Cor. 15:22). Disease, pain,
and suffering are now as ubiquitous in human experience as is physical
death. It is because of the "fall" from paradise that we all become sick
physically and that our bodies eventually die.

Christ came to reverse the effects of sin: "I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10), and this
"life" includes health. Hence, healing of all sorts of physical and
spiritual ailments is prominently a part of Christ's ministry. His healing
reveals that He is God with absolute power over our health. In addition,
recognize that the Lord directed His powers against the source of our
sickness, against death in all its forms, physical, but especially,
spiritual. His primary aim was, and is, to unite all men to God, to
overcome our primary estrangement, to make each one who will, truly and
eternally well!

When the Lord Jesus raised Lazarus, He called forth a man who was four days
dead to reveal His power over death. He did this not long before His own
death. Yet another miracle took place when Lazarus came out of the tomb.
Many people 'believed in Jesus' (Jn. 11:45; 12:11). By His power to raise
the dead, He awoke faith, demonstrating His earlier words: "Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from
death into life" (Jn. 5:24). As He went to Jerusalem and voluntarily
embraced death, He "trampled down death by death." Life, true Life, cannot
die! And Beloved, believing in Jesus, we shall not perish eternally!

Believing in the Lord Jesus is the necessary key to healthy life in the full
sense of the word. But what does it mean to believe? Please make a clear
distinction between "believing that" and "believing in." It is one thing to
believe that Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb. It is far greater to
believe in Jesus Who raised Lazarus, in Jesus Who defeated death by death,
in Jesus Who offers Life to all. The issue is simple: "Do I trust Him to do
that for me?"

St. Paul declares that "whatever is not from faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). To
believe in Jesus Christ enables one to act against one's own doubt, inaction
and sin. The woman in today's Gospel "believed in" the Lord and acted. Her
faith resulted in her receiving wellness (Mt. 9:22). The ruler "believed
in" the Lord and acted. His faith resulted in his daughter receiving life
(vs. 25). Would you be well? Would you overcome sickness and death?

Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of life, Thou Son of the
living God.

The Paraklete:

St. John 15:17-16:2 (7/27) Gospel, Feast of the Great-Martyr andHealer Panteleimon The Paraclete: St. John 15:17-16:2, especially vss. 26, 27:"'But when theHelper comes, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truthwho proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bearwitness....'" Long for the Spirit to come and fill you, to testify ofChrist within you and strengthen you. When the Spirit descends upon you andupon the Holy Gifts of the Lamb, these become for you the Body and Blood ofthe Savior, of Christ our God. You receive Him; His blood mingles withyours, renews and purifies every drop of blood in your heart and throughoutyour whole body. Long to have such a Helper! To be made gentle, loving,merciful, and worthy - to have Jesus on your lips. Yes, beloved, long forthe Spirit! The Spirit, one with the Father, comes because our Lord Jesus Christ sendsHim, for the Life-giving Trinity, our God, one in essence, is parakletos,Helper and Comforter in every respect. Our Father in Heaven is awesome,dread, and terrible even to look upon (Heb. 12:29). Jesus, the Son of God,took our flesh upon Him and was most accessible for a few, brief years inmany places as He walked about with the Disciples. However, He ascendedinto Heaven to sit beside the Father; yet He sends the Spirit so that we arenot bereft! The Spirit of truth is near, another parakletos to be with us,since Christ, our first parakletos, is lifted up from our physical sight.The Spirit is not seen but known. He is everywhere present, near, within,whispering truth in the ears of the heart, always testifying of Christ.Long for the Paraklete! The coming of the Holy Spirit is not by some physical contact, as St. Basilpoints out: "How could a corporeal being approach the Bodiless One?" Still,we know His presence when He moves and acts within us. How so? In thepresent passage, the Lord Jesus Himself gives us the criteria by which wemay be assured. He contrasts love with hate. When we "love one another"(Jn. 15:17), as our loving Savior commands, rather than hate, "because [we]are not of the world" (vs. 19), then the Spirit is among us and in us. Thisis exactly what St. Basil means when he says, "the Spirit comes to us whenwe withdraw ourselves from evil passions, which have crept into the soulthrough its friendship with the flesh, alienating us from a closerelationship with God." Our very sealing with the gift of our Master's "holy, and almighty, andadorable Spirit" keeps us in His sanctification; confirms us in the Orthodoxfaith; delivers us "from the Evil One, and from the machinations of thesame," to "preserve our soul in purity and uprightness," through the savingfear of God above anyone or anything else. We know that the Spirit is amongus when Christ's word is kept among us, and that it is the spirit of thisworld if we are persecuted by those who "do not know Him Who sent" the LordJesus to us in the first place (vs. 21). Furthermore, we may be assured of the Spirit's presence among us and in uswhen we are able to "bear witness, because [we] have been with" Christ (vs.27) and He with us. All this the Paraklete does for us. Listen again toSt. Basil: "Through Him hearts are lifted up, the infirm are held by thehand, and those who progress are brought to perfection. He shines uponthose who are cleansed from every spot, and makes them spiritual men throughfellowship with Himself." Let this be true: we struggle even thought weare infirm, seek repeatedly to calm the raging of our flesh, and keepgrowing in the things Christ teaches us despite many failures. Do not despair at what is not yet complete. Do not be discouraged when astalwart brother fails you without cause. The Lord Jesus Himself promisedus that the Paraklete would come so that [we] "...should not be made tostumble" (vs. 16:1). Call out to the Life-giving Spirit: O Heavenly King, Spirit of truth, come and abide in us and cleanse us ofevery stain.

Mysteries of the Kingdom V ~ Selling All

St. Matthew 13:44-54 (7/25) Gospel for Friday of the Sixth Week after Pentecost Mysteries of the Kingdom V ~ Selling All: St. Matthew 13:44-54, especially vs. 52: "'Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven...brings out of his treasure things new and old.'" This passage from St. Matthew continues a series of meditations on a set of the Lord Jesus' parables that introduce us to the mysteries of the Kingdom. There are four parables in these ten verses. They show how the Kingdom of Heaven must be acquired. As a preface to the four parables, the Lord encourages us to be attentive that we may obtain the blessings of the righteous and shine "forth as the sun in the Kingdom" (Mt. 13:43). Then, in the four parables, He describes 1) the process through which those must pass who would acquire the Kingdom, 2) what sort of persons obtain the Kingdom, and 3) the nature of what they gain. In the first two parables - the Treasure in the Field (vs. 44) and the Pearl of Great Price (vss. 45-46) - Christ our Savior reveals the process through which one must pass to acquire the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven - the true and full Life in Christ. In the first parable, an "unnamed Person," Whom the Faithful will recognize as God, places a treasure in a field - speaking in material terms. Likewise in the second, the pearl already had been harvested - again by an "unnamed Person;" but it is available "for purchase." The Lord Jesus unobtrusively includes these prior actions as givens. They set the stage for "finding"- in the first an unnamed man hastens to buy the field and in the second so does a merchant (vss. 44,45) who sells all his stock to buy one, single pearl. Note, however: the Lord does not say that these two found these treasures due to any special searching. Unspoken, He conveys the impression that both men simply happened upon something priceless and that each of them instantly recognized the value of what he had discovered. Of course, the discoveries were not "fortuitous." Rather, they are examples of God's grace-filled provision embedded in the Gospel. The man who discovers the treasure is "generic." Nothing about him is described (vs. 44). He is "a man." The "merchant," however, is not a retail peddler, but a wholesaler who knows the value of pearls of every sort (vs. 45). God provides His ultimate treasure of Life in Christ for ordinary men as well as for those who pursue life's noble and spiritual goals. See how both "finders" realize what must be done to procure what they have found. The man hides the treasure, leaving it in the field and goes to buy the field. The merchant "went" to a mart where he could sell all the pearls he possessed, leaving the incalculably valuable pearl right where he found it. To gain the Kingdom requires total investment in "the prize." The "Dragnet" or the third parable (vs. 47) speaks of a huge seine with floats at the top and weights at the bottom used by fishermen. It encompass as much as a half-mile wide area. A large group of men must place it and haul it in. The Church is spread out over the whole earth, gathering in those who are in earnest about the Faith (like that man and the merchant of the first two parables). When the net is pulled up on ashore, there will be a sorting of good and bad fish. Here, the Lord returns to the theme of the Last Judgment found in His Parable of the Tares (Mt. 13:40-43). "Finders" who invest all - the "good" or "just" (vss. 48,49) - will be gathered into vessels, but the wicked will be "cast into the furnace of fire" (vs. 50). Woe to those who disdain God's grace for all men - His immeasurable and wondrous gift of Life in Christ! What is it the "finders" discover that is so precious? Some of the treasure consists of things old, things already known from God's revelation prior to the Incarnation of Christ, but also much is new. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the new and very Good News (vs. 52)! O Lord, finding the mystery of Thy dispensation, I invest all that I may worship Thee.

Orthodoxy as Therapy

by Protopresbyter George Metallinos

If we wished to conventionally define Christianity, as Orthodoxy, we would say it is the experiencing of the presence of the Uncreated (=of God) throughout history, and the potential of creation (=mankind) becoming God “by Grace”.
Given the perpetual presence of God in Christ, in historical reality, Christianity offers mankind the possibility of theosis, just as Medical Science offers mankind the possibility of preserving or restoring his health through a specific therapeutic procedure and a specific way of life.

The writer is in a position to appreciate the coincidence between the medical and ecclesiastic poemantic sciences, because, as a diabetic and a Christian, he is aware that in both cases, he has to faithfully abide by the rules that have been set out, in order to attain both these two goals.

The unique and absolute goal of life in Christ is theosis, in other words, our union with God, so that man - through his participation in God’s uncreated energy – may become “by the Grace of God” that which God is by nature (=without beginning and without end). This is what “salvation” means, in Christianity. It is not the moral improvement of man, but a re-creation, a re-construction in Christ, of man and of society, through an existing and an existential relationship with Christ, Who is the incarnate manifestation of God in History. This is what the Apostle Paul’s words imply, in Corinthians II 5:17 : “If someone is in Christ, he is a new creation”. Whoever is united with Christ is a new creation.

That is why – Christianically – the incarnation of God-Logos - this redemptory “intrusion” of the Eternal and the Beyond-time God into Historical time – represents the commencement of a new world, of a (literally) “New Age”, which continues throughout the passing centuries, in the persons of authentic Christians: the Saints. The Church exists in this world, both as the “body of Christ” as well as “in Christ”, in order to offer salvation, through one’s embodiment in this regenerative procedure. This redemptory task of the Church is fulfilled by means of a specific therapeutic method, whereby throughout history, the Church essentially acts as a universal Infirmary. “Spiritual Infirmary” (spiritual hospital) is the characterization given to the Church by the blessed Chrysostom (†407).

Further along, we shall examine the answers given to the following questions:

What is the sickness that Christian Orthodoxy cures?

What is the therapeutic method it implements?

What is the identity of authentic Christianity, which radically separates it from all of its heretic deviations, and from every other form of religion?

1. The sickness of human nature is the fallen state of mankind, along with all of creation, which likewise suffers (“sighs and groans together” – Romans 8:22) together with mankind. This diagnosis applies to every single person (regardless whether they are Christian or not, or whether they believe or not), on account of the overall unity of mankind (ref. Acts 17:26). Christian Orthodoxy does not confine itself within the narrow boundaries of one religion - which cares only for its own followers – but, just like God, “wants all people to be saved and to arrive at the realization of the truth” (Timothy I, 2:4), since God is “the Saviour of all persons” (Timothy I, 4:10). Thus, the sickness that Christianity refers to pertains to all of mankind; Romans 5:12: “death has come upon all people, since all of them have sinned (=they have veered from their path towards theosis). Just as the fall (i.e. sickness) is a panhuman issue, so is salvation-therapy directly dependent on the inner functions of each person.

The natural (authentic) state of a person is (patristically) defined by the functioning inside him of three mnemonic systems; two of which are familiar and monitored by medical science, while the third is something handled by poemantic therapeutics. The first system is cellular memory (DNA), which determines everything inside a human organism. The second is the cerebral cellular memory, brain function, which regulates our association with our self and our environment. Both these systems are familiar to medical science, whose work it is to maintain their harmonious operation.

The experience of the Saints is familiar with one other mnemonic system: that of the heart, or ‘noetic’ memory, which functions inside the heart. In Orthodox tradition, the heart does not only have a natural operation, as a mere pump that circulates the blood. Furthermore, according to patristic teaching, neither the brain nor the central nervous system is the center of our self-awareness; again, it is the heart, because, beyond its natural function, it also has a supernatural function. Under certain circumstances, it becomes the place of our communion with God, or, His uncreated energy. This is of course perceived through the experience of the Saints, and not through any logical function or through an intellectual theologizing.

Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (†1809), in recapitulating the overall patristic tradition in his work “Hortative Manual”, calls the heart a natural and supernatural center, but also a paranormal center, whenever its supernatural faculty becomes idle on account of the heart being dominated by passions. The heart’s supernatural faculty is the ultimate prerequisite for perfection, for man’s fulfillment, in other words, his theosis, for a complete embodiment in the communion in Christ.

In its supernatural faculty, the heart becomes the space where the mind can be activated. In the Orthodox terminology codex, the mind (ΝΟΥΣ - appearing in the New Testament as ‘the spirit of man’ and ‘the eye of the soul’) is an energy of the soul, by means of which man can know God, and can reach the state of ‘seeing’ God. We must of course clarify that ‘knowledge’ of God does not imply knowledge of His incomprehensible and inapproachable divine essence. This distinction between ‘essence’ and ‘energy’ in God is the crucial difference between Orthodoxy and all other versions of Christianity. The energy of the mind inside the heart is called the ‘noetic faculty’ of the heart. We again stress that according to Orthodoxy, the Mind (ΝΟΥΣ) and Logic (ΛΟΓΙΚΗ) are not the same thing, because logic functions within the brain, whereas the mind functions within the heart.

The noetic faculty is manifested as the “incessant prayer” (ref. Thessalonians I, 5:17) of the Holy Spirit inside the heart (ref. Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:26, Thessalonians I 5:19) and is named by our Holy Fathers as “the memory of God”. When man has in his heart the “memory of God”, in other words, when he hears in his heart “the voice” (Corinthians I 14:2, Galatians 4:6, etc.), he can sense God “dwelling” inside him (Romans 8:11). Saint Basil the Great in his 2nd epistle says that the memory of God remains incessant when it is not interrupted by mundane cares, and the mind “departs” towards God; in other words, when it is in communion with God. But this does not mean that the faithful who has been activated by this divine energy withdraws from the needs of everyday life, by remaining motionless or in some kind of ecstasy; it means that his Mind is liberated from these cares, which are items that preoccupy only his Logic. To use an example that we can relate to: A scientist, who has re-acquired his noetic faculty, will use his logic to tackle his problems, while his mind inside his heart will preserve the memory of God incessantly. The person who preserves all three mnemonic systems is the Saint. To Orthodoxy, he is a healthy (normal) person. This is why Orthodoxy’s therapy is linked to man’s course towards holiness.

The non-function or the below-par function of man’s noetic faculty is the essence of his fall. The much-debated “ancestral sin” was precisely man’s mishandling –from that very early moment of his historical presence- of the preservation of God’s memory (=his communion with God) inside his heart. This is the morbid state that all of the ancestral descendants participate in; because it was no moral or personal sin, but a sickness of man’s nature (“Our nature has become ill, of this sin”, observes Saint Cyril of Alexandria - †444), which is transmitted from person to person, exactly like the sickness that a tree transmits to all the other trees that originate from it.

The inactivating of the noetic faculty or the memory of God, and confusing it with the function of the brain (which happens to all of us), subjugates man to stress and to the environment, and to the quest for bliss through individualism and an anti-social stance. While ill because of his fallen state, man uses God and his fellow man to secure his personal security and happiness. Personal use of God is found in “religion” (=the attempt to elicit strength from the divine), which can degenerate into a self-deification of man (“I became a self-idol” says Saint Andrew of Crete, in his ‘Major Canon’). The use of fellow-man -and subsequently creation in general- is achieved by exploiting them in every possible way. This, therefore, is the sickness that man seeks to cure, by becoming fully incorporated in the “spiritual hospital” of the Church.

2. The purpose of the Church’s presence in the world –as a communion in Christ- is man’s cure; the restoration of his heart-centred communion with God; in other words, of his noetic faculty. According to the professor fr. John Romanides, “the patristic tradition is neither a social philosophy, nor a system of morals, or a religious dogmatism; it is a therapeutic method. In this context, it is very similar to Medicine and especially Psychiatry. The noetic energy of the soul that prays mentally and incessantly inside the heart is a natural ‘instrument’, which everyone possesses and is in need of therapy. Neither philosophy, nor any of the known positive or social sciences can cure this ‘instrument’. This is why the incurable cases are not even aware of this instrument’s existence.”

The need for man to be cured is a panhuman issue, related firstly to the restoration of every person to his natural state of existence, through the reactivation of the third mnemonic faculty. However, it also extends to man’s social presence. In order for man to be in communion with his fellow man as a brother, his self-interest (which in the long run acts as self-love) must be transformed into selflessness ( ref. Corinthians I, 13:8 ) “love….does not ask for reciprocation..”). Selfless love exists: it is the love of the Triadic God (Romans 5:8, John I 4:7), which gives everything without seeking anything in exchange. That is why Christian Orthodoxy’s social ideal is not “common possessions”, but the “lack of possessions”, as a willed resignation from any sort of demand. Only then can justice be possible.

The therapeutic method that is offered by the Church is the spiritual life; the life in the Holy Spirit. Spiritual life is experienced as an exercise (Ascesis) and a participation in the Uncreated Grace, through the Sacraments. Ascesis is the violation of our self-ruled and inanimate through sin nature, which is coursing headlong into a spiritual or eternal death, i.e. the eternal separation from the Grace of God. Ascesis aspires to victory over our passions, with the intention of conquering the inner subservience to those pestiferous focal points of man and participating in Christ’s Cross and His Resurrection.

The Christian, who is practicing such restraint under the guidance of his Therapist-Spiritual Father, becomes receptive to Grace, which he receives through his participation in the sacramental life of the ecclesiastic corpus. There cannot be any un-exercising Christian, just as there cannot be a cured person who does not follow the therapeutic advice that the doctor prescribed for him.

3. The above lead us to certain constants, which verify the identity of Christian Orthodoxy:

(a) The Church –as the body of Christ- functions as a therapy Centre-hospital. Otherwise, it would not be a Church, but a “Religion”. The Clergy are initially selected by the cured, in order to function as therapists. The therapeutic function of the Church is preserved today, mostly in Monasteries which, having survived secularism, continue the Church of the Apostolic times.

(b) The scientists of ecclesiastic therapy are the already cured persons. Those who have not had the experience of therapy cannot be therapists. That is the essential difference between the poemantic therapeutic science and medical science. The scientists of ecclesiastic therapy (Fathers and Mothers) bring forth other Therapists, just as the Professors of Medicine bring forth their successors.

(c) The Church’s confining itself to a simple forgiveness of sins so that a place in paradise may be secured constitutes alienation and is tantamount to medical science forgiving the patient, so that he might be healed after death! The Church cannot send someone to Paradise or to Hell. Besides, Paradise and Hell are not places, they are ways of existence. By healing mankind, the Church prepares the person so that he might eternally look upon Christ in His uncreated light as a view of Paradise, and not as a view of Hell, or as “an all-consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). And this of course concerns every single person, because ALL people shall look eternally upon Christ, as “the Judge” of the whole world.

(d) The validity of science is verified by the achievement of its goals (i.e., in Medicine, it is the curing of the patient). It is the way that authentic scientific medicine is distinguished from charlatanry. The criterion of poemantic therapy by the Church is also the achievement of spiritual healing, by opening the way towards theosis. Therapy is not transferred to the afterlife; it takes place during man’s lifetime, here, in this world (hinc et nunc). This can be seen in the undeteriorated relics of the Saints that have overcome biological deterioration, such as the relics of the Eptanisos Saints: Spiridon, Gerasimos, Dionysios and Theodora Augusta. Undeteriorated relics are, in our tradition, the indisputable evidence of theosis, or in other words the fulfilment of the Church’s ascetic therapy.

I would like to ask the Medical scientists of our country to pay special attention to the issue of the non-deterioration of holy relics, given that they haven’t been scientifically interfered with, but, in them is manifest the energy of Divine Grace; because it has been observed that, at the moment when the cellular system should begin to disintegrate, it automatically ceases to, and instead of emanating any malodour of decay, the body emanates a distinctive fragrance. I limit this comment to the medical symptoms, and will not venture into the aspect of miraculous phenomena as evidence of theosis, because that aspect belongs to another sphere of discussion.

(e) Lastly, the divine texts of the Church (Holy Bible, Synodic and Patristic texts) do not constitute coding systems of any Christian ideology; they bear a therapeutic character and function in the same way that university dissertations function in medical science. The same applies to the liturgical texts, as for example the Benedictions. The simple reading of a Benediction (prayer), without the combined effort of the faithful in the therapeutic procedure of the Church, would be no different to the instance where a patient resorts to the doctor for his excruciating pains, and, instead of an immediate intervention by the doctor, he is limited to being placed on an operating table, and being read the chapter that pertains to his specific ailment.

This, in a nutshell, is Orthodoxy. It doesn’t matter whether one accepts it or not. However, with regard to scientists, I have tried -as a colleague in science myself- to scientifically respond to the question: “What is Orthodoxy”.

Any other version of Christianity constitutes a counterfeiting and a perversion of it, even if it aspires to presenting itself as something Orthodox.

Bibliographical Notes

* Fr. John S. Romanides, “Romans or neoroman Fathers of the Church”, Thessaloniki 1984.
* Fr. John S. Romanides, “Religion is a neurobiological ailment, and Orthodoxy is its cure”, from the volume “Orthodoxy, Hellenism… Holy Monastery of Koutloumousion Publications, Volume B,, 1996, pages 66-67.
* Fr. John S. Romanides, “Church Synods and Civilization”, from THEOLOGY, vol.63 (1992) pg.421-450 and in Greek vol.66 (1995) pg.646-680.
* Fr. Hierotheos Vlachos (presently Metropolitan of Nafpaktos), “Orthodox Psychotherapy”, Edessa 1986.
* Fr. Hierotheos Vlachos (presently Metropolitan of Nafpaktos), “Minor Introduction into Orthodox Spirituality”, Athens.
* Fr. Hierotheos Vlachos (presently Metropolitan of Nafpaktos), “Existential Psychology and Orthodox Psychotherapy”, Levadia 1995.

Also by the author, the following studies:
* Fr. G. Metallinos, “An Orthodox View of Society”, Athens 1986.
* Fr. G. Metallinos, “Theological witness of ecclesiastic worship”, Athens 1996. (N. B.: In these books one can find more bibliography)

Notes – Clarifications
1. The Uncreated = Something that has not been manufactured. This applies only to the Triadic God. The Created = Creation in general, with man at its apex. God is not a “universal” power, as designated by New Age terminology (“everything is one, everyone is God!”), because, as the Creator of all, He transcends the entire universe, given that in essence He is “Something” entirely different (Das ganz Andere). There is no analogous association between the created and the Uncreated. That is why the Uncreated makes Himself know, through His self-revelation.

2. A significant Christian text of the 2nd century, “The Poemen (Shepherd) of Hermas”, says that in order for us to become members of the Body of Christ, we must be “squared” stones (=suitable for building) and not rounded ones!

3. According to fr. John Romanides, to whom we essentially owe the return to the “Philokalian” (=therapeutic-ascetic) view of our Faith, and in fact at an academic level; “Religion” implies every kind of “associating” of the uncreated and the created, as is done in idolatry. The “religious” person projects his “predudices” (=thoughts, meanings) into the divine realm, thus “manufacturing” his own God (this can also occur in the non-Patristic facet of “Orthodoxy”). The aim is “atonement”, “placation” of the “divine” and finally, the “utilizing” of God to one’s own advantage (the magic formula: do ut des). In our tradition however, our God does not need to be “placated”, because “He first loved us” (John I’ 4:19) Our God acts as “Love” (John I, 4:16) and selfless love at that. He gives us everything, and never asks for anything in return from His creations. This is why selflessness is the essence of Christian love, which goes far beyond the notion of a transaction.

4. This is expressed by the familiar and oft-repeated liturgical chant: “Ourselves and each other, and our entire life, let us appose unto Christ our Lord”.

Proper incorporation is normally found in Monasteries, wherever they function in the orthodox tradition of course. That is why Monasteries (for example those of the Holy Mountain) continue to be the model “parishes” of this “world”.

Translation by A. N.

Source: Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Inquiries

Mysteries of the Kingdom IV ~ The Accounting

St. Matthew 13:36-43 (7/24) Gospel for Thursday of the Sixth
Week after Pentecost

Mysteries of the Kingdom IV ~ The Accounting: St. Matthew 13:36-43, especially vs. 41, 43: "...His angels...will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness....Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father...." In the Funeral Service of the Church there is a fair warning that each of us should heed: "Let us hearken unto what the Almighty crieth: Woe unto those who seek to behold the terrible day of the Lord! For lo, it is darkness: for all things shall be tried with fire."

The warning is plain: there will be a final accounting when "all things shall be tried by fire." The warning also is the substance of the Lord Jesus' explanation of His Parable of the Tares. Note: in three parables the Lord encourages us to grow in Him (Mt. 13:3-43), and, with each parable, He explains its meaning, adding a sober warning to encourage self-examination (13:9,19-22,30,43). In the present passage, He explains one of the parables to help us look directly at the destiny of all men - God's friends and enemies. In particular He reveals what shall befall any who adamantly refuse to grow and who persist in opposing the Lord's plain truth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the "Son of Man," reveals Himself as "the Sower" (vs. 37). We understand that "His field" is the "world" and includes everyone through all time, in all places, in every culture, people, and nation (vs. 38). As He continues, the Lord says explicitly, "the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one" (vs. 38). He divides them into "sons" of the Kingdom or "sons" of the wicked one. Neither are servants or slaves. Hence, St. Peter is able to remind the Faithful in Christ: "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9).

Through His Church, God calls all men to be "kings and priests to our God" to "reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10). Thus, in the final accounting, the princely sons of God "will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father" (Mt. 13:43). They will be illumined with the uncreated light of God, gleaming from within them, like their Lord - blinding and brilliant (see Mk. 9:3; Mt. 13:43; 17:2). What potential our Lord reveals for every single human being!

In His parable of the tares, the sons of the wicked one (Mt. 13:38) are those who choose to be princes in Satan's domain. In this present existence in the flesh, evil men appear to be numbered among "the rulers of the darkness of this age" (Eph. 6:12), like Judas and Ananias (Acts 5:3) - examples of "lost souls." In every generation there are those of whom St. Symeon the New Theologian speaks, who love only "the body, mortal life, sensual pleasure, and the material world;" and he adds, heretics. These also are among those who are in "ignorance and impudence...storing up for [themselves] the element of eternal fire." However, take care not to declare that anyone, without question, is "a son of the wicked one," even though we can be sure that vicious, inhumane, and reprobate behavior, if not corrected and repented of, is a direct path to perdition. As the eprobate live among us, pray for them, that they might take as their own the plea of the good thief on the Cross, "Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom" (Lk. 23:42).

Yes, for everyone there will be a final accounting, "before the fearful Judgment Seat of Christ." God will assess every human being. The Lord's explanation of the Parable of the Tares foretells this. Now, Christ calls everyone, for His deep desire, manifest in His Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection, is that all should receive the shining transformation of the righteous.

As I think of the hour of account, and the coming of the Lord, Lover of mankind, I tremble and cry with grief, O my just Ruler, alone most merciful, receive me repentant.

"Shubho" - Radio Malankara

"Shubho" - Radio Malankara - - A new venture of SOCM

Dear All
Barakmore / Shlomo

On the eve of our 8th birthday, SOCM-Forum is crossing another
milestone in its development, by adding another activity to its
operation. We have started an Internet radio named as "Shubho", for
those members who love to listen the beauty of the Syriac Orthodox
Worships, liturgical, traditional and special occasions songs, as
well as hearing spiritual messages. It will be officially broadcasted
from 10th September 2008.

In the Syriac Aramaic language, "Shubho" means, "Glory"

Psalms 150: 1-6 says

1: Praise ye the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary:
praise him in the firmament of his power.

2: Praise him for his mighty acts:
praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3: Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4: Praise him with the timbrel and dance:
praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5: Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6: Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.

These verses alone is our great inspiration for this project.

This project is initiated by SOCM-FORUM and it was a collective and
successful effort of our faithful from different parts of the world.
The mission of the team behind "Shubho" is to praise HIM and to
uphold the true faith of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, handed
over to us by our forefathers, as well as to make a platform for all
Syriac Orthodox Christians around the world to listen the beauty of
the Holy Syriac Orthodox Church worship. Our vision is to
take "Shubho" to new heights and to be the premier broadcasting
station of its kind on internet.

We are fully aware that the e-radio "Shubho" is presently in its
infancy and its further development and success will be entirely
dependent on your right feed back and encouragement. The test
broadcasting is now started on a 24-hrs basis, and you can hear it on
the following URL: http://www.radiomalankara.org . We request all of
you to hear the radio and give us your valuable comments about the e-
radio.

Also please support us by remembering this project in your prayers
and providing us more audio (MP3) recordings of Syriac Orthodox
worship, songs of different occasions and spiritual talks of our
prelates, clergy and church recognized lay ministers.

We submit this project for the ultimate glory of our Lord Almighty
and for the Holy Church.

Keep us also in your prayers,

In Our Lord's Love
SOCM Forum Moderators.

Mysteries of the Kingdom III ~ Growing

St. Matthew 13:31-36 (7/23) Gospel for Wednesday of the Sixth
Week after Pentecost

Mysteries of the Kingdom III ~ Growing: St. Matthew 13:31-36, especially vs. 32: "'...when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" The Lord Jesus illumines the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven with two parables: "the Mustard Seed," and "the Leaven." His primary theme is growth. "Growth," first and foremost, is spiritual maturation in Christ, growth in the life of His Body in His heavenly Kingdom. The two parables emphasize that the Lord is the primary Actor in spiritual growth. He "took and sowed" (vs. 31); He "took and hid" (vs. 33). What He sows is is "field," and His leaven He mixes into His "meal." Both references are to His People. He prepares us for union with Him, that we may grow and then "leaven" many around us.

During the reception of Catechumens in Baptism, the Priest acts as an active icon of the Lord Jesus. He "lays his hand upon the candidate's head" and verbalizes the spiritual work that God is achieving: "In Thy Name, O Lord God of truth, and in the Name of Thine Only-Begotten Son, and of Thy Holy Spirit, I lay my hand upon Thy servant who hath been found worthy to flee unto Thy Holy Name, and to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings."

The hand of the Lord Jesus covers every Christian. Therefore, let each one say, "Into Thine hands I will commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth" (Ps. 30:5). While we were in darkness, Light came to us. When we had strayed into waste places, the Shepherd came after us to "take" us again to Himself, to "hide" us "in His tabernacle" "in the day of mine afflictions..." (Ps. 26:5). Coming down from His throne, He assumed our clay that He might sow His Life within us so that we may grow sufficiently to become shelter for others (Mt.13:32).

There is an element of secretiveness in the Lord Jesus' actions as He takes, sows, and hides. The seed disappears into the earth by His hand; but it must do so in order to germinate. The baker works the flour, puts in the leaven that permeates the meal imperceptibly, secretly, quietly, invisibly to the eye of flesh. Only after time do the effects of His hidden growth become visible. Plants sprout, unfold to the eye, enlarge. Likewise, as the dough is kept warm and covered, mysteriously it rises. Spiritual growth similarly, and often unseen, slowly becomes manifest, and only after much prayer, ascesis, struggle, and patient watching.

Note: Christ's seed and His leaven are not magical, but mystical. The Spirit of God works in human hearts and gives growth. As St. John Chrysostom says, we are not to "stop at the limit of the commandments, but...even go beyond them," through embracing the Spirit.

Because of a long period of "working" before growth becomes manifest, let no one lose heart if he does not obtain immediate results. Spiritual growth is no tiny, dry cube to which liquid is applied so that suddenly a great shape swells up many times greater. Still, do not underestimate small beginnings, either within yourself or in the world. As St. John Chrysostom observes: "Yea, for His disciples were weakest of all, and least of all; but nevertheless, because of the great power that was in them, It [the Gospel] hath been unfolded in every part of the world." Do we think God cannot also work in us, in our tiny faith, our instability and timidity?

Finally, note carefully these words from the parables: "'sowed in his field...hid in three measures of meal'" (Mt. 13:31,33). Where does Christ plant us and hide us? As we have observed, "His field" refers to the world, but the Lord puts us there amidst His People. The Church shelters us from evils and becomes a leaven to transform cultures, peoples, and nations. His Church is the measure of meal that He kneads into the world as dough to bring true Life.

Grant peace to the world; and uphold the good estate of Thy holy churches, O God.

Mysteries of the Kingdom II ~ Watching

St. Matthew 13:24-30 (7/22) Gospel for Tuesday of the
Sixth Week after Pentecost

Mysteries of the Kingdom II ~ Watching: St. Matthew 13:24-30, especially vs. 30: "Let both grow up together until the harvest...." Growth in heart and soul is the central theme of the Lord's parable of the Tares. As we learn from the first of the set of two parables - the Parable of the Sower (Mt. 13: 3-8,18-23) - "sowing" describes God's action for all men and women. Christ plants the seed of His life-giving word in hearts and souls (Mt. 13:19). The Parable of the Tares, like the Parable of the Sower, has an "explanation" (Mt. 13:36-43). The Lord is encouraging us to build on our understanding from the Sower to the Tares.

So then, note the differences between the two parables. In the Parable of the Tares, the soil in which the life-giving seed is sown is simply assumed. But, in moving from the Sower to the Tares, the Lord shifts
attention from the "soil" to the "field." We are invited to survey the
whole of the Sower's "property," to consider the entire world. As the Psalmist says, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the
world, and all that dwell therein" (Ps. 23:1).

The Holy Fathers recognize that the Parable of the Tares may be interpreted both personally and socially, as Blessed Theophylact shows: "The field, then, is the world, or, each one's soul. The sower is Christ. The good seed is good people, or, good thoughts. The tares are heresies, or, evil thoughts." St. John Chrysostom, however, building on
the earlier parable, interprets the parable of the Tares in a social manner: "this enemy sows again; as the heretics also do, who for no other cause than vainglory inject their proper venom."

The enemy confronts the Sower and the Owner: as "the birds" in the first devouring the seed before it germinates (Mt. 13:4), and, here, as "an enemy" (Mt. 13:28). Our enemy sows evil thoughts in human hearts - heresy into the Church's life, self-will in one's soul and heart. Satan works to displace the life-giving truth that Christ plants and to grow instead destructive theories in the Church or in our lives. This is borne out both in history and in ascetic experience.

The primary spiritual truth of the Kingdom that the Lord commends in the Tares is watchfulness. "The servants" observe (vss. 27,28). They are good servants, for they seek the Master's will. They have been watching protectively over His seed sown in the hearts of the Faithful. And they find "tares." Tares - also called "darnel" - is the name for a weedy grass "lolium temulentum," a noxious weed that, when first sprouted, looks like wheat, but in maturing is readily distinguishable from the good grain. Finding such a "weed" - serious untruth and lies in the Church or in one's own heart and soul - distresses and perplexes these servants: how can there be error and evil appearing in the life of the Church, in the soul of the Faithful? (vs. 27). Notice that their watchfulness is mobilized on behalf of the Lord. They are ready to root out the wickedness they have discovered (vs. 28). The Master, however, cautions them. They are not to gather rashly, lest they "uproot the wheat" when pulling the tares (vs. 29).
What then is the caution? As St. John Chrysostom says, "By these two reasons then He restrains them; one, that the wheat be not hurt; another, that punishment will surely overtake them, if incurably diseased." And St. John adds that the Lord does "not therefore forbid our checking heretics, and stopping their mouths, and taking away their freedom of speech, and breaking up their assemblies...but our killing and slaying them." Heretics must be identified, duly excommunicated or silenced in the Church, and left to God's judgment. Similarly, each Christian must be watchful at all times over his own heart and soul, for the Devil or his demons constantly are striving to plant false or evil suggestions in our hearts and souls to lead us into sin.

I will stand upon my watch to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer.

Mysteries of the Kingdom: Parables

St. Matthew 13:10-23 (7/21) Gospel for Monday of the Sixth Week after Pentecost Mysteries of the Kingdom I ~ Parables: St. Matthew 13:10-23, especially vss. 10, 11: "And the disciples came and said to Him, 'Why do You speak to them in parables?' He answered and said to them, 'Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.'" The New Testament writers use the word "mystery" to describe God's universal plan of salvation, the Divine, saving effort revealed in and through Jesus Christ, unknown before He came in the flesh, declared subsequently by His Apostles, and made effective within all who heed the life-giving word of God. Anyone may share in the power of Life in Christ through Holy Baptism, receiving Him in the Holy Gifts, meditating on Holy Scripture, living the essential doctrines, reverencing the Holy Icons, and practicing the primary ascetic disciplines. Yet all these pious acts convey but one, basic Mystery of Christ "as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets" (Eph. 3:5). The parables of the Lord Jesus typify the Mystery of Christ, having inherent power to reveal His life-changing truth by which men and women may see, hear, understand, repent, and enter into the power of "Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and...receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Plainly, not everyone receives Him, a fact also disclosed in the parables. For this reason, our Lord speaks paradoxically concerning certain men, "because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (Mt. 13:13). Yes, there are persons who simply "do not seem to get it," who fail to grasp the Faith, or, more precisely, are not grasped by the Faith. The Mystery remains obscure or meaningless, sadly, even for some who attend Church regularly. They are like men were before Christ came into the world. Thus, some "enter this holy House...with faith, reverence, and fear of God," and some do not. The Lord began a series of parables first by portraying "a sower" at work, but He provided no explicit interpretation (Mt. 13:3-9). Actually, He was describing Himself as "The Sower" among men and nations. In today's sequel, He interprets the parable for the Faithful, for those who by God's grace have "been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 13:11). Such are blessed to see with their eyes and hear with their ears (vs. 16). Thus, the Lord Jesus' "sows" and creates a "crisis" in some people, although His life-bearing seed, which is the "word of the Kingdom," is proclaimed to all men. The word is directed to, or sown with, the intention of reaching men's "hearts" (vs. 19). Note: the "heart" is crucial. The Lord Jesus says plainly that not all hearts are ready to receive His seed - His truth. The word of the Kingdom will grow only in a ready heart, in "good ground" (vs. 23).What of the others? If one's heart is closed, the person simply will not understand Christ's truth, since it is comprehensible only in the heart. If men trust only in what appeals to them rationally or emotionally, they may hear the words of the Kingdom audibly, but Satan will suggest to their reasoning a multitude of contrary thoughts. They become confused and they will "not understand" (vs. 19). Thus the evil one devours the seed before it germinates in the heart. For others, the connection between heart and mind is impaired. The heart responds to the seed and stirs up the mind to assent (vs. 20). However, if the seed never reaches the heart's center, where deep, lasting spiritual growth occurs, then the words of the Kingdom soon wither within that person, especially when he faces "tribulation or persecution" (vs. 21). The hearts of other men are closed by preoccupation - "the cares of this world" or with riches. In such cases, the life-giving seed is choked off from their hearts (vs. 22). Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, O Lord, by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit.

Antony of Egypt: The Basics of His Spirituality

‘The greatest truths are the simplest,and so are the greatest men.’

— Julius Hare, †1855

The desert is a simple place. As a frequent traveller there once told me, ‘In the desert you only have to worry about three things: beating the temperature, finding food and water, and not getting lost. But when you master these few things, a whole region of the world stands before you, unopened, ready to be explored.’ St Antony of Egypt adopted the desert as the home for his personal asceticism, and perhaps an investigation of the basic elements of his spirituality is best begun by looking at this characteristic and foundational trait. For the desert’s simplicity, its relentless pitting of man against the elemental forces of nature, and the great joy and beauty that were to be discovered by those who at last mastered it, parallel in an intensely close way the spiritual understanding developed by St Antony and recorded by St Athanasius in his Vita Antonii. [1] Indeed when Antony, after what many would already consider a full lifetime of the ascetic struggle, at last entered the heart of the Thebaid desert and located himself at what would come to be known as his ‘Inner Mountain,’ Athanasius writes that he ‘fell in love with the place.’ [2] His love for the barrenness of the desert, for its imposition of labour and requirement that its inhabitants engage in an active struggle for their very existence, are characteristic of all those ideals for which Antony has been known ever since. Man Against Nature, Man Against Self Let us begin with this notion of struggle. The desert is a place of extremes, where hot and cold, wind and sun, downpour and drought seem to engage any would-be inhabitants in a direct and physical battle. Man verses his environment, with life itself at stake. Perhaps Antony saw the desert as a macrocosm of the human self, where devotion and passions, chastity and gluttony, love and hate and all manner of other human tendencies were engaged in an ongoing battle for supremacy and domination; and in this battle it is not simply the life of the body that is at stake, but the life of the soul. These are simple, elemental, battles—just like those in the desert of the world—yet even as they are similar in their simplicity, so are they similar in their severity: just as thirst will bring about physical death if water is not found, so does Antony believe that the passions can bring about a spiritual death if not properly trained and tamed. His is fundamentally a simple spirituality in this sense, yet it is also fundamentally a spirituality of active and engaging struggle. There can be no effort, no sacrifice deemed ‘too extreme’ in the spiritual battle for salvation—evidenced in Antony’s own prompt detachment from his former life, and even from his sister’s upbringing. [3] These were sacrifices he deemed necessary, that he might be wholly free to engage in the struggle, the battle, for his own perfection. Though the phrase has come to be much misused and misapplied in the modern day, the idea of ‘spiritual warfare’ might be said to find its founding father in the Egyptian monastic. Yet who are the foes in this great battle? We have already hinted at a few: the passions, the belly, the body. Yet these are but particular elements that stem from the two main sources of spiritual downfall to be found in Antony’s design: the fallen self, and the demons. The latter will help us understand the former. What might be termed an ‘intense demonology’ is found in the Vita Antonii, to a far greater degree than in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, and in fact than in most early spiritual works. From the very outset of St Antony’s ascetic quest, he finds a great foe in the devil and his forces. Athanasius describes it clearly at the opening of the fifth chapter: The devil, who despises and envies good, could not bear seeing such purpose in a youth [the young Antony], but the sort of things he had busied himself in doing in the past, he set to work to do against this person as well. [4] There is an innocent straightforwardness to these words: it is not presented as some great surprise or earth-shattering idea, that the devil would interject himself into Antony’s struggle for perfection, but simply a natural state of affairs. That one who attempts to grow closer to God would evoke the envy and rage of the devil and the demons is a clear and consistent theme throughout the Vita. [5] The first recourse of the Enemy is an invasion into the realm of the human intellect. Into the mind of him who tries to meditate upon and contemplate God, the demons interject all manner of distracting thoughts, memories, and emotions, in an attempt to tear away the mind from its intended goal. We recall that the devil’s first tactics against Antony were to fill his mind with ‘memories of his possessions, the guardianship of his sister, the bonds of kinship, love of money and of glory, the manifold pleasure of food, the relaxations of life, and, finally, the rigor of virtue, and how great the labour is that earns it, suggesting also the bodily weakness and the length of time involved.’ [6] The Vita seems to imply that the demons begin their attacks with this method of ‘intellectual interruption’ because it is easiest for them, and because most people readily succumb to it. Yet if one is able to overcome these methods (and of the ‘tools’ for such a task we shall speak more in a moment), the attacks become more severe. ‘Having been expelled from the interior of the mind, the demons now began their attacks externally’ writes D. Chitty. Antony’s devotion was intense, his mind strong, and Athanasius seems to record with some pride the fact that the devil saw and was aware of this early on in Antony’s struggle. Having thus discovered that visions of the mind would not sway Antony from his course, the demons began to work within the physicality of the world. Most notable of the stories recounting such a theme is found in chapters eight through eleven: that of Antony’s battles in a dark of a grave, where demons in the forms of wild beasts beat him so badly that his friends believed him to be dead. There are other stories, too, of occasions in which outside hearers or observers actually believed Antony to be combating real people, so physical were the demons. [7] Though ‘simple’ is an adjective that has already been heavily used in this paper, it must once again be brought to play here; for perhaps the most striking thing about the demonology in the Vita Antonii is again its simplicity and straightforwardness. While the idea of demons taking physical form and harassing a faithful individual seems fantastical and beyond belief of many of the modern mind (‘the stuff of horror films’), it is present in the Vita as only logical. Of course the demons will envy the doer of good—they who are starkly and painfully deprived of it. Of course they will go to great lengths to stop his upward progression—they whose own course is ever further to fall. It seems that the only thing that would have surprised Athanasius as he wrote the his Vita, would have been the demons offering any response other than that which he records. Thus we have a small picture of the demons at play in the spirituality of St Antony. Yet they do not act alone, for we have already mentioned above that the other great source of downfall is the human, fallen self. Here we are presented with a foe of similar power to the demons—perhaps even exceeding them in certain areas and situations—and one capable of just as much spiritual unrest and destruction. Yet the stark and important difference between the self and the demons is the ability to transform the one into the purveyor of good, while the other remains ever a foe. Antony is clear that neither the body, nor even the demons themselves were created in the evil state in which we currently find them. ‘God made nothing bad,’ he says, [8] and applies this idea without discrimination to the whole of creation. Yet he also holds fast to the foundational belief that those rational creatures who would choose to do evil, will be granted the freedom to do so. Thus did angels turn to demons, and thus did the human self—body and soul—turn from an active aid for the Christian, into a distraction and hindrance along the ascetic path. Yet we remain creatures of freedom, and in Antony’s understanding that means we possess the real and true possibility of reclaiming our selves from this fallen state. If Antony had not understood the Gospel’s injunction to be made perfect (Mat 19.21) as a call toward an attainable possibility, it is doubtful he would have altered the whole rest of his life around it. [9] Yet he did not see this perfection as anything other than the natural state in which man was eternally meant to exist. For the Lord has told us before, the Kingdom of God is within you. All virtue needs, then, is our willing, since it is in us, and arises from us. For virtue exists when the soul maintains its intellectual part according to nature. It holds fast according to nature when it remains as it was made—and it was made beautiful and perfectly straight. [10] It is clear from this very passage that Antony did not take a dualistic view of the human person, as would become so popular in later Christian spirituality. The body is not evil in the Vita, it is simply misused, and thus evil in its effects. Properly transformed back into its created state, it is wholly good gift and blessing from God. So the spirituality presented in the Life of Antony is of a struggle waged in the desert, both literally and metaphorically, against a foe that is both within and without. Yet the foe within is able to be transformed, and the demons without, to be overpowered. And it is to this end that the practical ‘tools’ of Antony’s spirituality are aimed. Labouring in the Desert – The Tools of the Spiritual Battle In the a)gw/n, the great contest of the ascetic life, the Christian is not left without aids and helps through the struggle. Antony’s is not merely a spirituality of ideals, describing a state of spiritual existence and leaving the reader to deal with it as he may. The heart of his spirituality—and that which has undoubtedly contributed greatly to its continuing, powerful influence throughout history—is the technique he provides by example for those wishing to combat the obstacles which place themselves between the faithful Christian and true spiritual growth. At the heart of this system of spiritual ‘tools’ is the notion of work. ‘He worked with his hands,’ wrote Athanasius, ‘having heard that him who is idle, let him not eat.’ [11] Antony chose a simple though artistic task to meet this requirement for labour: basket weaving—an art still in practise among many Eastern monks in the present day. Thus he was provided with work for his hands, by which idleness and listlessness might be actively avoided, and by which the wandering mind might be focused; for as Bp. Kallistos Ware is fond of saying, ‘It is a fact of experience that when the hands have something to do, the mind is more easily focused on the task set before it.’ That task is prayer: prayer that comes from within, from the very depths of the heart; unceasing prayer that comes from a person so transformed by his or her ascetic practise that all of life—its every movement, no matter how trivial—might provide a perfect and practical occasion for communion with God. To acquire this state requires training, both of body and of spirit, but principally of the former, for the powers of the body on the whole person are strong, and Antony makes it clear that they are capable of ‘dragging down’ the soul with their habits. [12] He thus went to great lengths to tame the body from its passions: * Fasting – Antony’s was frequent, often comprised of days at a time with no food at all, or years with only bread and water, and what vegetables he could gather from the desert. The desires of the belly are the devil’s second favourite route of attack, according to Athanasius, [13] and Antony never ceased in his efforts to close that door to the demons. * He slept on a rush mat, hardly more than a blanket, rather than a bed. Excess comfort led the mind and body to gluttony; thus, to combat the weakness within him, Antony removed the temptations wherever he was able. * His dress was simple, at times harsh, and he paid a certain disregard to what most would consider bodily needs—such as bathing or foot washing. Athanasius writes, ‘He urged us to concede a little time to the body, out of necessity, but to be intent, for the most part, on the soul and to seek its benefit.’ [14] In these and other ways did Antony attempt to bring his body and mind under control, wrenching from them the tendencies toward pleasure or the passions, and reclaiming them for his proper use. And we must not forget the desert itself—one of the greatest of Antony’s tools for training. Here, as we have already mentioned, the very climate and surroundings propelled the body to work, and in most cases prevented its comfort. Even the surroundings within which one is placed bear great influence on the spiritual state of the individual; a lesson that would be remembered and heeded from Antony onward. Some of Antony’s practises were of a particularly intellectual or mental focus; for while the body and soul are unified together in their composition of the human person, each still poses its own unique difficulties to the ascetic. Among those intellectual attitudes which Antony went to great lengths to foster in himself and others were humility (one should regard all others as greater than one’s self, he taught, and should strive to see them outdo you in all qualities except virtue), [15] patience, gentleness, love, and chastity—both physical and mental—in one’s dedication to God. And perhaps most poignant among Antony’s intellectual disciplines was his belief that the true ascetic must always strive to view his life as one of continually new beginnings. Athanasius writes, He, indeed, did not hold time passed in his memory, but day by day, as if making a beginning of his asceticism, increased his exertion for advance, saying continually to himself Paul’s word about forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. (…) He observed that in [always] saying today, he was not counting the time passed, but as one always establishing a beginning, he endeavoured each day to present himself as the sort of person ready to appear before God. [16] Concluding Remarks. And so we have painted a brief picture of the spirituality presented in the Vita Antonii, and one that is evidently incomplete and far from inclusive of all the individual elements present in that work. Yet even if we should have time to take all those details into consideration, it remains the great quality of Antony’s life, in my mind, that his spiritual message and teachings can be summarised in the single metaphor of a man, alone in the desert, working with true intensity to transform the himself into that which God has ever intended him to be. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY: Athanasius of Alexandria. The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus (from the Classics of Western Spirituality series; ed. Lynch, K.A.; trans. Gregg, R.C.). New York: Paulist Press, 1980. Chitty, Derwas J. The Desert a City. Russell, N. & Ward, B. The Lives of the Desert Fathers: the Historia Monachorum in Aegypto. Oxford: Mowbray Publishers, 1980. Starowieyski, M. (ed.). The Spirituality of Ancient Monasticism. Cracow: Tyniec, 1995. NOTES: [1] That Athanasius’ own theological and polemical ideals undoubtedly inject themselves into the spirituality presented in the Vita Antonii is not of primary concern in this paper, as our goal is to examine the central elements of spirituality presented in the work, not its historical formation. And it is certain that the presentation and transmission of the Vita throughout history have played a fundamental role in the further development of Christian ascetic spirituality. [2] Vita Antonii, §50. [3] V.I., §2-3. [4] V.I., §5. [5] See a later example of this in §65. [6] V.I., §5. [7] Cp. V.I., §51. [8] V.I., §22. [9] Cp. V.I., §2. [10] V.I., §20. [11] V.I., §4; cp. 2 Thess 3.10. [12] V.I., §45. [13] Cp. V.I., §5 ff. [14] V.I., §45. [15] Cp. V.I., §4. [16] V.I., §7.