Movie Reviews: The Devil Inside; A Dangerous Method; My Week With Marilyn

Since I tend to consistently keep up to date with the latest movies in filmland, I will begin 2012 with weekly movie reviews that will likely be posted every Sunday, usually in the evening. I will not go into any depth for each film, but will just offer my impressions and a traditional rating of up to five stars. I will also offer additional links for each movie for those who may be interested in knowing more about the film, such as the official site, IMDB page and the trailer. Reviewed each week will be those films which I saw over the previous week.

Since writing my post last week for my favorite movies of 2011, I had the opportunity to view two other movies from 2011 that I did not see on time (A Dangerous Method; My Week With Marilyn) and my first look at a film from 2012 (The Devil Inside).

1. A Dangerous Method (2011)

Story: A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.

Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen

Official Trailer
Official Website
IMDB

Review: This movie captures a brief historical segment of the birth of psychoanalysis in a beautiful way. From what I know it accurately depicts the conflicts between the rigid scientism of Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and his student Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) who was more open to the mysticism behind certain human experiences. Added to these tensions is how these men responded to a Russian mental patient, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), and how she may have influenced the two. In fact, her conception of the sexual drive as containing both an instinct of destruction and an instinct of transformation, presented to the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society in 1912, anticipates both Freud's "death drive" and Jung's views on "transformation". In the eve of World War I the world was transforming both intellectually and sexually and this movie captures a glimpse of that story. The acting between the three stars of the film is superb, and as I stated in my reviews of the top ten movies of 2011 elsewhere, Michael Fassbender should get the best male actor of 2011 award for his three great performances. Any movie that makes me want to read more about the subject gets high praise from me.

Rating:
2. My Week With Marilyn (2011)

Story: Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.

Director: Simon Curtis
Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh

Official Trailer
Official Website
IMDB

Review: The role of Marilyn Monroe either makes or breaks this dramatic biographical chronicle of one man's week-long love affair with her. I thought Michelle Williams' excellent and convincing portrayal made this film as good as it could be made. The film does portray Monroe a bit superficially, but I think that is the image we all have of Marilyn Monroe. Yet there is enough of the dichotomy between sexual sweetness and emotional pain Monroe is so known for to make this a very good biographical film. But what matters here most is the performance of the role, as you will learn little of anything new about Monroe herself.

Rating:
4. The Devil Inside (2012)

Story: In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism.

Director: William Brent Bell
Stars: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth

Official Trailer
Official Website
IMDB

Review: I really don't know where to begin with this movie. I will first say that I have not seen such excitement for a film people know so little about in a while, especially with such an enticing trailer that gives you the feeling that this movie will deliver on the level of horror that people really are looking for. I met a friend to see this film and we had to go to three theatres to see it because it was sold out everywhere. Even for the 11:00pm showing the theatre was packed. It had an interesting enough opening that you thought it may deliver what you are looking for in a movie like this, but it didn't. The movie is lazy and uncreative and has one of the worst endings in film history. If the director added 15 minutes and gave it a better ending then it may have been redeemed, but he didn't. When the movie was over I thought there may possibly be a riot. People were booing and expressing how much they hated it, some even wanting their money back. The Blair Witch style cinematography is an interesting medium that can be effective if done right (like it was in Cannibal Holocaust, Blair Witch Project, REC, and Paranormal Activity), but movies like this may kill the method altogether. I'm hoping the DVD will have that extra 15 minutes for a better ending, but that's doubtful, despite it being #1 in the box office this weekend with 34.5 million dollars in profits. Despite all this however, it was an interesting movie experience. Spoiler Alert: The ending is ambiguous and leaves you to do your own research by referring you to a website. If a movie is good, it will make you want to do research, otherwise it is just homework.

Rating:

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Video: Waves Overturn Boat With Priest During Theophany Celebration

January 6, 2012
Keep Talking Greece

The Epiphany tradition wants Greek Orthodox priests to throw the Cross into the water and Greek Orthodox believers to jump into the cold water and catch the Cross. However this tradition had almost a fatal effect to one priest and six ambitious young divers due the rough weather in Scala of Makrysgialos in Pieria. At 10 o clock in the morning believers had gathered at the beach to attend the ceremony. The priest went on board with the young divers and the boat set sail for off shore. Just minutes after the start, strong winds and high waves brought the boat upside down and all passengers fell into the ice cold water. The audience on shore got panicked and watched the incident with strong heart-beating. The divers and the policemen from an accompanying boat manage to rescue the aging priest who was taken to a hospital for a health check. All seven people survived the incident without injuries and together with other believers will remember this incident until the end of their days.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Video: The Christmas of Athonite Ascetics

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Theophany (Or Epiphany)

By Protopresbyter George Dion Dragas, Phd, Dd, Dth

1. Theophany (or Epiphany) and Christmas. Theophany is one of the great Feasts of the Lord of the ecclesiastical year. It is also called Epiphany and the Day of Lights and is celebrated on the 6th of January. The names of this Feast indicate the understanding of the ancient Church concerning this Feast. This understanding is connected with the revelation of God, that is, the manifestation of the One God in Trinity through the Incarnation of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, Theophany comprises the birth of Christ and the related events (e.g. the visitation of the Magi) and also the beginning of the public manifestation of the incarnate economy of the Son of God which is connected with the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptizer.

In the 4th century AD, Christmas was separated from Theophany and constituted a separate Feast, which was celebrated on the 25th of December. This separation had been adopted in the Western Church, which was at that time united with the Eastern Churches. Since then Theophany was specifically connected with the Baptism of Christ, i.e. with the commencement of the public ministry of Christ through which he became the Savior and Redeemer of the world. The question that arises here is why was Christ baptized? Why did this take place and what is its deeper meaning?

2. The Baptism of Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism

a) The witness of John the Evangelist. In the Gospel of St. John we find the first hints regarding the relation between the Baptism of Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism. St. John the Forerunner speaks about the Baptism in water which he administered according to the divine calling and explains that the coming Christ would transform it into baptism in the Spirit so that through it human beings would enter into the kingdom of God: “John bore witness and said that he saw the Spirit descending like a Dove from heaven and resting upon Christ. He also said the he did not know him [i.e. Christ – until that point], but He who sent him to baptize had said that on whom he would see the Spirit descending and resting upon him, he would be the One who will baptize in the Holy Spirit. John also said that he saw this and bore witness to it, namely, that he is [the Christ] the Son of God” (1:32-34). Exactly the same was confirmed by the Lord himself when he said to Nicodemus: “Amen, amen I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, one cannot enter the kingdom of God” (3:5). These words of the Lord constitute the institution of the holy sacrament of Baptism, through which human beings become Christians. The descent of the Holy Spirit, then, at the Baptism of Christ, revealed the sacrament of Christ which Christ instituted and operates through the Holy Spirit. It is the Baptism which the Lord delivered to his holy disciples as a basic element of their ministry in the world.

b) The witness of the Evangelists Matthew and Mark. In the two synoptic Evangelists, Matthew and Mark, there is an explicit statement about the necessity of the sacrament of Baptism as a means of participation of human beings in the salvation which Christ offers. This appears in the command of the Risen Lord to his Disciples to preach the Gospel and baptize human beings throughout the world. In other words, he asked them to initiate human beings into their new and saving relation with the one God in Trinity which was definitively revealed at his Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptizer in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. “Go, then, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all those things which I commanded to you” (28:18-20). Mark the Evangelist states the same in a briefer way. “Go to the whole world and preach the Gospel to the entire creation. Whoever believes you and is baptized will be saved“ (16:15-16).

It is clear, then, that the sacrament of Baptism which Christ instituted by fulfilling and transforming the Baptism of John the Baptizer is the commencement of our reconnection with our creator, who is the leader and perfecter of our salvation. To understand the deeper meaning of this salvation we must pay attention to the details that the Gospel narratives supply concerning the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan.

3. The deeper meaning of the Baptism of Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism.

a) Man’s return to the true God. The Baptism of the Forerunner was a “baptism of repentance,” which signaled man’s return to God by obedience to the divine will. It was necessary in view of the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of God which He would bring into the world. It was a kind of prelude and preparation which looked towards God’s intervention through the Messiah, that is, the justification of human beings and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is most clearly manifested in the words of Christ to John the Baptist, “This is necessary, so that all righteousness might be fulfilled” (Matth. 3:15). So, when Christ came forth to receive the baptism of John as a man, he accepted the divine will on behalf of the entire humanity. And then, the witness of the heavenly Father which recognized him as His beloved Son and the descent of the Holy Spirit in a bodily manner “in the form of a Dove” signaled the acceptance of Christ by the Father as the Messiah who would bring the kingdom of God into humanity. This kingdom was mainly and primarily represented by the communion of the Holy Spirit, as the prophet Isaiah had foretold: “Jacob is my son and I will take him up. Israel is my elect, whom my soul has accepted, and to whom I gave my Spirit so that he might judge among the nations“(42:1).

b) The humanity of Christ as the basis of man’s salvation. Both the acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him refer to his humanity, which he assumed for our sake, and made it the basis of our justification and salvation. As the ecclesiastical hymnology declares:

“Having put on the form of the servant, O Christ, you came forth to be baptized by a servant in the waters of Jordan, so that you may redeem from the ancient slavery and sanctify and enlighten all of us human beings” (Vespers of the eve of Theophany).

“It is redemption that Christ is coming forth to bring to all believers through his baptism. Because through this, he purifies Adam, he raises the fallen, he puts to shame the tyrant who caused the fall, he opens the heavens, he brings down the Holy Spirit, and he grants incorruption and participation” (8th Praise).

“Today the Lord comes to the waters of Jordan, and says to John: Be not shy for baptizing me, because I came to save Adam the protoplast” (Oikos).

“As man you came to the river, O Christ, King, and you hasten to receive baptism from the hands of the Forerunner, for our sins, O Lover of mankind” (Sophronios of Jerusalem)!

c) The revelation of the one God in Trinity and his communion with man. In the last analysis, however, what happened in the Jordan refers to the divinity of Christ, and especially to his eternal filial identity, which reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Christ is the eternal Son of the Father who also became man in order to bring man back to the kingdom of the Holy Trinity. It is for this reason that the Sacrament of Baptism which grants to us regeneration and brings us into the life of Christ is celebrated in the name of the Holy Trinity, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The feast of Theophany, then, refers not only to man’s return to the true God, the creator and Savior through Christ, but also to the revelation of the mystery of God, i.e. to the truth that God is one in Trinity and as such he must be worshiped. As the ecclesiastical hymnology states it:

“When you were baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, it was then, that the worship of the Holy Trinity was manifested. Because it was then that the voice of the Begetter bore witness by calling you His Beloved Son. And then also, that the Spirit in the form of a Dove confirmed the assurance of the word. We glorify You in Your Epiphany, O Christ, as the God who enlightens the world” (Apolytikion).

“You manifested yourself to the world today, and your light, O Lord, was marked upon us who praise you with full understanding” (Kontakion).

The enlightenment about the One God in Trinity is also the reason for the feast of Theophany being called the feast of “The Lights.” The Lights in this case are the three blessed persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are one divine Light unapproachable!

4. The Great Sanctification of the Waters. The Great Sanctification of the Waters, which is observed on the eve and on the day of Theophany, is a calling to remembrance of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist and the sanctification of the waters which was done by Christ at that time. Saint John Chrysostom speaks about this Great Sanctification of the feast of Theophany and says that the sanctified water was kept by the faithful and used for purifications, support, healing, etc. We realize its importance when we recall the words of the prayer which the priest offers at the epiclesis (invocation) of the Holy Spirit and the sanctification of the water: “…and make it a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, a release of sins, a cure of maladies, a extermination of demons, unreachable to the opposing powers, a plenitude of angelic potency…” What is particularly important in this case is the repentance and the fasting which is observed on the eve of the Feast. When we receive the sanctified water of the Great Sanctification with contrite spirit and true faith, then it truly becomes a healing means of soul and body and undoing of all opposing powers.

The feast of the Theophany is an invitation to renewal and return to the Lord of glory, who humbled himself, though he was God, and became man – a true man, sinless, forgiving and merciful, the way, the truth and the life. Let us follow him on the path of righteousness, along with his all-holy Mother the Theotokos, St. John the Baptist, the holy Apostles and all the Saints.

Source

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

The Baptism of Christ and the Baptism of Christians

By Bishop Theophilos of Campania

Preamble: The Month of January is marked by the Great Despotic Feast of Theophany (or Epiphany), which commemorates the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. This provides us with the occasion to consider both the Baptism of our Lord and also our own Baptism. The text published here is from Bishop Theophilos of Campania. Bishop Theophilos of Campania (1749-1795) was one of the brightest figures of the Church in the 18th century; distinguished for his theological and canonical expertise. He was born in Ioannina and became a Bishop in Campania, the area to the west of Thessaloniki and opposite Chalkidiki. He was probably a student of the famous teacher Eugenios Voulgaris and is particularly known for his book Tameion Orthodoxias, which ran through eight editions from 1780 to 1939. It is from this work that the text provided here is taken.

Ι. The Baptism of Christ: Christ was perfect God and as such he had the Holy Spirit within him. He was also perfect man united with God and as such he had a humanity that was totally deified. He was most pure and had no need of purification. He was also sinless, free from original sin and any other sin. But then, why was he baptized? Christ was baptized in order to reveal the truth to John the Baptist; to show the way that human beings have to follow in their life; and to sanctify the waters; “not to begin with receiving sanctification, but granting participation in sanctification,” as Gregory of Neocaesarea the Thaumatourgos says.

Christ submitted to Baptism in order to teach us how we should behave in order to attract the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is why he became an example, in all things, that he might reveal the Holy Trinity; the Father witnessing from above, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and Christ himself bearing witness that he is the Son of God.

Like the dove which warned Noah that the deluge had passed, so the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended and gave the message that the hour had come for the deluge of idolatry to cease and for God to be reconciled with human beings, and to present Christ who was not known to the majority of people by his divine birth from the Virgin. This is why John the Evangelist says: “he stood up in the midst of the people” (John 1:26); in other words, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Paul says that, “John baptized the people with a Baptism of repentance asking the people to believe in him who was to come after him, namely Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

So we see that Christ was baptized in order that the multitude of people who were there might know him and believe in him; but also in order that “all righteousness might be fulfilled” (Matth. 3:15), which meant that since not all were persuaded by the prophesy of John, he himself was persuaded on behalf of all. Indeed this is why he accepted the Circumcision, and kept the Sabbaths and the Feasts, and fulfilled as lawgiver all that the Law specified, so that he might not appear to be an opponent of the Law and the Types.

The appearance of the Holy Spirit at the Baptism of Christ took place so that we human beings might be persuaded that when we are baptized the Holy Spirit comes to glorify our baptism.

The Baptism of Christ taught human beings about their regeneration. Also the fact that, immediately following his Baptism, Christ went to the desert and fasted and was tempted by the Devil and conquered him as man, took place in order to teach us that it is impossible to us to undergo bravely the temptations of the Devil and conquer him unless we are based on the grace of the Holy Spirit which we receive at our Baptism.

Christ was submerged into the waters and reemerged again just once. This submersion specifies his descent into Hades and his emersion, his resurrection from the grave. Also the opening of the heavens, which is mentioned in the Gospel, –“for when Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him” (Matth. 3:16) – took place for us, in order to indicate that every time a human person is baptized the heavens are opened and that the way to heaven is now open, if we keep our Baptism undefiled.

ΙΙ. The Baptism of the Christians.

1) Christ himself ordered this Sacrament of Baptism to his disciples. He told them “to go everywhere and to teach all nations, and to baptize those who believe in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all his commandments” (Matth. 28:19); in other words, he told them first to persuade people to reject the deception of idolatry (the worship of creation and the creatures of it, including themselves, instead of the Creator) and then to baptize them. Just as a good farmer first removes the useless and harmful roots and then sows the seed.

Holy Baptism creates equality among human beings, because it is equally necessary for all, the king and his subjects, the rich man and the poor, men and women; and also because the grace it grants is the same and no one gets more or less from it in comparison to the others.

2. The element that is necessary for Baptism is water, because it says: “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit as we have” (Acts 10:47)? We see here that although these early Christians had already received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they still had to be baptized in water. Water hides a specific sacrament. There are many divine symbols that are fulfilled by the use of water: Christ’s tomb, death, Resurrection, life, all of which take place together. In the water we bury the old man and when we emerge from it there is a new, pure man that comes up.

The submersion into water and the emersion from it at Baptism takes place three times, because it is the power of the Holy Trinity, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that fulfills all things. Canon 49 of the Holy Apostles says: “If a Bishop or presbyter does not baptize in the manner of a triple submersion, but of one submersion only, which is connected with the death of the Lord, he should be defrocked; and this is the case because the Lord did not say baptize into my death, but, 'Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'” The Great St. Basil also stresses the same in his Letter to Amphilochios of Iconium, in which he emphasizes the need to observe a triple submersion and emersion at Holy Baptism. And so do many other deified Fathers.

3. The triple submersion into the water at Holy Baptism reveals that as Christ remained for three days and nights at his tomb, likewise whoever is baptized becomes homeopathic by assimilation, because he is buried in the water; Christ is buried in the earth and we, in the water. It is necessary then that priests should do all baptisms, of children and of adults, by triple submersion, because this is demanded by the mystery that Holy Baptism enshrines. In other words, all precautions should be taken so that there is plenty of water and baptism is correctly done.

4. The priest pronounces the words and the power and the grace of the Holy Trinity reshapes the person who is baptized. Without being baptized no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven. One has to put off the old man with his sins and put on the new man, whose youth is rejuvenated like an eagle’s; for, as the specialists say, when an eagle gets old, it becomes blinded and his wings become heavy. When, however, he is exposed to the warmth of the sun, he goes down into a source of water and, submersing its wings in it, is rejuvenated. It is in exactly the same manner that he too that is baptized is rejuvenated pronouncing the Amen.

The Red Sea saved the Hebrews and drowned the Egyptians. Something similar takes place at Holy Baptism. It saved those who believe and are baptized, but condemns those who remain unbelievers. This is why we are obliged to cultivate the faith and never defy our Baptism lest we be condemned.

5. Various pre-figurations of Holy Baptism are found in the Old Testament: Moses’ “trench” and “washbasins” (III Kings 18:32ff and Ex. 30:18). Elisha sent Neeman the leper to be baptized in the river Jordan and be healed (II Kings 5:14). In the Gospel we read about the Pool of Siloam where sick people were healed; and also about the Baptism of the Forerunner in the River Jordan, which was done only for repentance. There are these and many other OT pre-figurations of the Holy Baptism, which takes place for the elimination of original sin and any other sin and also for the spiritual regeneration of man, as Micah predicted it: “He will submerge our iniquities and they will be thrown away into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

6. Faith and Baptism are the two ways of our salvation and remain indissolubly joined together. Faith is perfected through Baptism, so that whoever believes and is baptized is saved. Since our faith is in the Holy Trinity, we are also baptized in the Holy Trinity and thus become pure, because we actually put on Christ. This is indeed the Baptism which Isaiah prophesized about: “Wash yourselves, be clean” (Isaiah 1:16).

7. Baptism in cases of emergency: The 13th canon of the 7th Ecumenical Synod says that, “if there is an emergency a monk or a deacon can do the Baptism.” The 16th canon says that, “if there is an emergency, then a father may baptize his own child, or someone else, any simple person, because this is no sin. All this, of course, presupposes that he who baptizes is a Christian. This is the case because even a priest baptizes his children and does not depart from his wife. Canon 84 of the Synod of Trullo and Canon 7 of Carthage say that, “whenever we are not sure whether a child has been baptized or not, then we should proceed to baptize it”. Indeed, Patriarch Nicephoros says, that “in an emergency even a simple Christian can do a baptism;” and the Commentary adds “that if in a case of emergency one does a baptism of a babe in the Name of the Holy Trinity, there will be no need afterwards to read the prayers and the exorcisms, but to have the priest do the Chrismation with the Holy Myrrh and the prayers related to it.” Also, if there is no pure running water, then the water of the sea can also be used for a Baptism, because seawater is basically water.

If a babe is born in a condition that makes it unclear whether it is dead or alive, then it is baptized supposedly, and he who baptizes it says, “the servant of God, supposedly alive is baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In all these cases of emergency there is no need of a sponsor, who is needed in normal cases. Thus, midwives and doctors who help in deliveries should be prepared to baptize the newly born in cases of emergency.

8. Baptism takes place only once in one’s life, because it is a type of Christ who was buried and rose again only once. As the Apostle Paul says, “we were baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3); and elsewhere, “it is impossible to be reborn again with baptism if we fall into sin” (cf. Heb. 6:4). This is why the Sacrament of Repentance (or Confession) was instituted so that when a Christian sins he may repent and be cleansed from his sins.

9. Baptism is a great Sacrament: it cleanses the entire human being with an ineffable grace which is greater than any other, even that of prophesy. This is why the Forerunner said, “I am in need to be baptized by You” (Matth. 14:16); he knew that the Holy Baptism not only cleanses man from sin, whether the origin or any other, but also grant him sonship by adoption, making him a relative of God, and so many more goods. Christ not only freed us from the hands of the Devil, but also raised us to a higher position. For this reason we die; not because we are so obliged by original sin, but in order that the father of sin, the Devil, is condemned and we are transposed from the earthly and vain condition to that which is heavenly and immortal, reigning with Christ for ever.

Thus Canon 111 of the Synod of Carthage says that, “whoever thinks that baptism is only for the forgiveness of sins and not for granting the future blessings, is anathematized.” Clement the Alexandrian says, “that those who are baptized are illumined; and those who are illumined are adopted as sons; and those who are adopted as sons become perfect; and those who become perfected become immortal; because, as Scriptures says, ‘I said, you are gods and sons of God, all of you. ”

There is a multitude of miracles that have been granted with Holy Baptism to the unbelievers. From all these we may recall one that occurred during the early Christian times. It is connected with a Greek pagan person, called Porphyrios, who used to ridicule and deride the Christians and, therefore, decided to mock in his theater the Holy Baptism. He constructed a font and baptized himself in it by submersing himself three times and saying, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” But lo and behold, as his audience was laughing at this act, he was suddenly wounded by the love of Christ, and openly confessed him as true God. This caused him many tortures in the hands of the pagans, but he refused to deny Christ. On the contrary, he shed his blood and ended his earthly life becoming a martyr of Christ.

Source: Translated and annotated from the original Greek By GEORGE DION. DRAGAS, PhD DD, Protopresbyter

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Epiphany In Eastern and Western Christianity

By Rev. George Dion. Dragas Ph.D., D.D.

1. THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY. On the 6th of January Eastern Orthodox and Western Christians celebrated the great Feast of Epiphany (Western) or Theophany (Eastern). This Feast introduced a new period of liturgical celebration, which is still with us – a celebration that goes right back to Christian beginnings and opens up the meaning of the Christian faith and tradition.

Epiphany (from the Greek epiphaneia) means “manifestation from above,” that is, “divine revelation.” The Christian feast of the Epiphany primarily entails the manifestation of God in Christ, Christ being manifested as the Son of God and God as the Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

What is the basis of this manifestation? Or, putting it otherwise, what is the basic event (or events) that lies at the root of this divine manifestation (Theophany)? Today’s practices of Eastern and Western Christianity appear to give different answers to the above questions. How different are they?

2. THE EASTERN AND WESTERN TRADITIONS. The Eastern Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan by John the Baptist or “Forerunner” (in Greek Prodromos) as the event of the manifestation of Christ as the Son of God and its corollary, the manifestation of God in Trinity, and also as the event that marks the beginning of Christ’s saving mission. This is particularly revealed in the service of the Great Sanctification of the Waters (Megas Agiasmos), which is reminiscent of Christ’s Baptism and constitutes a conspicuous feature of the Eastern celebration.

The Western Epiphany celebrates the veneration of the newborn Christ by the wise Oriental Magi as the event that marks the manifestation of the divinity of Christ to the “nations.” Especially since medieval times, Western Christianity developed an elaborate tradition around these Oriental figures – fixing their number to three and identifying them with three kings, called Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar – a tradition that included the re-discovery of their bodies at the Church of St. Eustorgio in Milan (1158), where they had been transferred from Constantinople in the 4th century, and their re-transference and deposition in Cologne Cathedral by Frederick Barbarossa (1164).

3.CONTRADICTION OR DIFFERENT APPROACHES? This divergence naturally raises a number of questions, both historical and theological, to which liturgists have provided various answers. Above all it raises the question whether it implies any contradiction? I believe that there is no contradiction here, because both celebrations lead to the same over-arching truth: the divine manifestation of Christ and its corollary, the divine manifestation of the One God in Trinity.

On the other hand, it must be said that the way the two traditions relate Epiphany to the other Great Feasts of the liturgical year suggests a difference of approach to the mystery of Christ and the salvation he bears. The Eastern tradition links Epiphany to Christ’s saving mission and looks to Pascha and Pentecost as its final and saving outcome. The Western tradition links Epiphany to the earthly life of Christ and looks to his mission as a gradual disclosure of Christ’s saving person.

The purpose of this article is not to engage in comparative liturgics. It is simply to facilitate a clearer understanding of the Eastern Orthodox and Western celebrations of Epiphany. Because these celebrations do not seem to be readily understood by ordinary Eastern Orthodox and Western Christians, although they do live in close proximity with each other here in America. After all, the annual recurrence of the Feasts provides a great opportunity for growing in understanding and appreciation of the riches of the Christian Tradition.

4. THE EASTERN TRADITION. Scholars tell us that, in the Christian East, Epiphany is the oldest Feast of the Lord next to Pascha, and was always celebrated on the 6th of January. The first reference to Epiphany is found in Clement of Alexandria at the end of the second century AD. If Pascha marked the climax of the saving work of Christ, Epiphany marked the disclosure of the divine person of Christ who opened up the mystery of God and initiated the process of man’s salvation.

Originally Epiphany commemorated the Baptism of Christ, his Birth being at best included implicitly. St. John Chrysostom explains the reasons for being so. “Why is not the day on which Christ was born called Epiphany, but the day on which he was baptized? Because he was not manifested to all when he was born, but when he was baptized” (Hom. 24 On the Baptism of Christ). In some places, however, not only the Birth but also some additional events from the life of Christ were included in the celebration of Epiphany (e.g. Christ’s first miracle at Cana).

What is particularly interesting to observe is that in the early Christian centuries the eve of Epiphany, Pascha and Pentecost (and Christmas later on) were the solemn occasions of Christian initiation through Baptism. The remnant of this practice is today the singing of the Baptismal Hymn in the Divine Liturgy celebrated on these days: “As many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.”

It was in the fourth century that the Birth of Christ began to be commemorated as a separate Feast on the 25th of December leaving Epiphany focused on Christ’s Baptism and celebrated on the 6th of January as it is still today. There is evidence that the Feast of Christmas as a separate Feast was first introduced in Rome (around 335) and was gradually adopted by the Eastern Churches (from 376 onwards).

5. WHY THE 6TH OF JANUARY? Why was the 6th of January chosen for Epiphany, and, why was the 25th of December introduced for the Birth of Christ later on? Scholars furnish various answers. One of them tells us that according to the old Egyptian calendar the 6th of January was the day of the winter solstice, a major day of religious celebration for pagans. Some pagans (especially the Egyptians) celebrated on this day the conquest of winter darkness by the invincible god-sun. Others celebrated the appearance and glorification of the god-emperor in a city (especially the Romans). Christians, who acknowledged Christ as “the sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2) and the “light of the world” (John 1:9 and 8:12), replaced the worship of the pagan god-sun and the glorification of the god-emperor by the worship of Christ.

Later on the new Roman calendar placed the winter solstice on the 25th of December and provided the occasion for another pagan celebration. Christians found the occasion to introduce a new Feast, Christmas, commemorating the birth of Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us.

What is important to observe here is that the natural phenomenon of the ‘conquest’ of winter darkness by the sun ceased to be seen as being divine, or as a sign of the appearance of a deified human leader. Instead, it became an occasion for celebrating the manifestation of the true God as man, conquering the darkness of ignorance and sin that led humanity to become alienated from the true God and to worship the creation rather than the Creator.

6. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEAST. The establishment of Christmas did not diminish the importance of Epiphany, which is denoted by the time-span of its celebration. It is celebrated from the 2nd to the 14th of January. The 6th of January is the principal Day of the Feast. The four days preceding it constitute the fore-feast (proeortia) and the 8 days after it the after-feast (metheortia). The fore-feast is shorter because of the celebration of the circumcision of Christ (8th century onwards) on the 1st of January (which is also St. Basil’s feast day); but it includes an elaborate celebration on the eve of the Feast like Christmas and Pascha. The after-feast includes the Synaxis of St. John the Baptist (January 7th), the Sunday after Epiphany and the Return (Apodosis) of the Feast (January 14th).

The profound meaning of the Feast is revealed in the many and wonderful hymns that are sung on it and the biblical readings. There are two characteristic hymns that summarize this meaning perfectly: The “Apolytikion” and the “Kontakion.” They recall how at Christ’s Baptism he was declared to be God’s beloved Son in whom God is well pleased and on whom God’s Spirit rests (Matth. 3:17), and how this revelation constitutes an event of divine enlightenment and illumination.

“When in Jordan you were baptized, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bare witness to you, calling you his beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the steadfastness of the word. O Christ, who did manifest yourself, and who does enlighten the world, Glory to you.” (Apolytikion)

“You have manifested yourself today to the whole world and Your light, O Lord, was shown upon us, who praise you with understanding: You have come and manifested yourself as Light unapproachable.” (Kontakion)

Finally, the Great Sanctification of the waters, which is observed twice, on the eve and on the day of the Feast, brings out the message of salvation. “Christ was not baptized in order to be sanctified but to sanctify the waters and through them grant divine sanctification to all humanity” (Gregory Thaumatourgos). This is exactly the gift that is granted to all human beings when they are baptized into Christ. Baptism joins human beings to Christ, granting them remission of sins and eternal life through the sanctifying grace of God. The Holy Water blessed at Epiphany is a great blessing that is much treasured by the Orthodox who use it to renew (re-consecrate) themselves and their physical environment.

7. THE WESTERN TRADITION. Scholars tell us that the origins of the Feast of the Epiphany in the West are rather obscure. There is a consensus that Epiphany was first introduced in the Western Church from the East in the fourth century about the same time as the new Feast of Christmas took root in the Roman Liturgy.

Epiphany was first established in the West in places that had special connections with the East, such as Gaul, Spain and Upper Italy, where it retained an Eastern content, commemorating the Birth and the Baptism of Christ, plus other events. These traditions were changed as the authority of Rome increased over them, because Rome followed another tradition.

Epiphany was also observed in Rome, commemorating at first the Birth and the Baptism of Christ, but here it came to be primarily associated with the visit of the wise Magi to Bethlehem, especially after the establishment of the Feast of Christmas on the 25th of December. There is evidence of this in the sermons of Pope Leo (+461).

According to one theory the association of Epiphany with the Wise Men of the East may have been due to the transfer in the fourth century of the alleged relics of the Magi from Constantinople to Milan – a tradition that was revived in the middle ages as noted above. In any case, the Western Epiphany was fixed as the 12th day of Christmas, i.e. the 6th of January.

Given the above, what is the meaning of Epiphany for the Western Church? It is primarily the manifestation of the divine Savior Christ to the gentiles; but it is also the acknowledgment of Christ by the gentiles. This double meaning is expressed by the way the Western Church interpreted the offering of gold, frankincense and myrrh, by the wise Magi. On the one hand it saw these gifts as symbols of the three aspects of Christ’s life, his being king, priest and prophet. On the other hand it re-enacted the offering in various ways by instituting appropriate acts of offering, to the poor, to the church and to the sick.

One gains a better perspective of the Western Epiphany when he turns to the six Epiphany Sundays, which follow after it and lead the Western Christians to the new season of Lent. These Epiphany Sundays commemorate Christ’s self manifestation 1) at the age of twelve in the Temple, 2) at his first miracle at Cana of Galilee, 3) at his healing of a leper and of a slave of a Roman centurion, 4) at the stilling of the storm in the sea of Galilee for the sake of his disciples, 5) at his authoritative teaching on good and evil displayed in his parable of wheat and tares and 6) on the future glory as displayed in his parable of the mustard seed.

There is no doubt that both Eastern and Western traditions of Epiphany share a common message: the manifestation of the divine identity and saving work of Christ. The difference lies in ethos and emphasis. The Eastern tradition seems to be more attuned to the dramatic and theophanic aspect of Christ’s ministry, whereas the Western tradition seems to be seeking to follow the historical Jesus as he unfolds his message through his deeds and words. The one is more vertical and the other more horizontal. Combining the two could only be a source of enrichment.

Source

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Videos: Theophany At Three Athonite Monasteries

Holy Monastery of Iveron


Holy Monastery of Xenophontos


Holy Monastery of Grigoriou

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Photos: Theophany...On Ice

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Orthodox Christians Celebrate the Epiphany

January 6, 2012
Associated Press

Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into chilly waters across southern and eastern Europe on Friday to retrieve crucifixes in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.

Hundreds of members of Istanbul's tiny Greek Orthodox community and tourists from neighboring Greece attended the Epiphany ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters. About 20 faithful leaped into the wintry waters of the Golden Horn inlet to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

Apostolos Oikonomou, a 40-year-old Greek participating in the swim for the fourth year, clinched the cross.

"This year I was the lucky guy," he said. "I will come next year again. I wish everybody peace and happy new year."

Across Bulgaria, young men also jumped into rivers and lakes to recover crucifixes cast by priests in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany. Tradition there holds that the person who retrieves a cross will be freed from evil spirits that might have troubled him.

Priests of Bulgaria's Orthodox Church said prayers for prosperity and blessed the colors of army units, a tradition abandoned by the communist regime in 1946 and re-established in 1992. President Georgi Parvanov greeted the military parade in Sofia, the capital.

In the mountain city of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, some 200 men in traditional dress waded into the icy Tundzha River with national flags. Inspired by the music of a folk orchestra and by homemade plum brandy, they danced a slow "mazhko horo," or men's dance, stomping on the rocky riverbed.

Led by the town's mayor, a bass drummer and several bagpipers, the men danced for nearly an hour, up to their waists in the cold water, pushing away chunks of ice floating on the river.

In the Romanian village of Petrosani, north of Bucharest, some 1,000 villagers gathered for a traditional blessing of horses to give thanks for the animals who play an important role in sustaining livelihoods.

"They drag wood and stones for us, and this is a celebration for them too," said Catalin Ristea, a 20-year-old agricultural worker, sporting a cowboy hat on his blonde-streaked hair.

Orthodox priests sprinkled more than a dozen horses with holy water, and horses took part in impromptu log-dragging competitions cheered on by villagers. A tiny Shetland was the star of Epiphany as it doggedly pulled a cart weighed down with some 10 locals.

Friday's celebration was crowned by a horse race. Riders without hats, saddles and stirrups charged across the misty fields cheered on by locals. Villagers ate spicy meatballs cooked on an open grill and washed down with red wine to celebrate the feast day, while children munched swirls of pink candy floss.

In Istanbul, dozens of police officers in riot gear stood guard at the outdoor Epiphany ceremony as a precaution following past protests by nationalists against the Patriarchate, which dates from the Byzantine Empire.

Bartholomew has called for the reopening of a theology school on an island near Istanbul that trained generations of church leaders, including himself, until it was closed by Turkey in 1971 under a law that put religious and military training under state control. The Halki Theological School closed its doors entirely in 1985, when the last five students graduated.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who met Bartholomew on a visit to Turkey last month, said he hoped Turkey would reopen the seminary.

For years, Turkey has said it is working on a formula that could pave the way for the reopening of the seminary. In August, Turkey's government said it was returning hundreds of properties confiscated from the country's Christian and Jewish minorities over the past 75 years in a gesture to religious groups that say they still face discrimination.

In Kosovo, minority Serbs who live surrounded by Albanians in the enclave of Gracanica rose early Friday in bitterly cold weather and cut down oak trees from nearby woods, gathering branches to adorn the entrance to their houses as tradition dictates.

Kosovo was the ancient seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has hundreds of monasteries and churches in a region dominated by ethnic Albanians. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade rejects its claim to statehood. Albanians in Kosovo are mostly Muslim.

Some Orthodox Christian churches, including in Russia, follow a different calendar and mark the holiday on Jan. 19.

Catholics also mark Epiphany as a holy day on Jan. 6. Across Poland, believers celebrated with religious processions, including a large one in Warsaw attended by thousands. The Communists banned Poles celebrating Epiphany and it was only reinstated as a religious holiday in 2011.

Led by Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz, people walked through the city center, sometimes singing religious songs, in a procession that featured camels and people dressed up as magi or in medieval-style clothing. Many wore paper crowns, a reference to the three kings who visited Jesus.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Ukrainian, Serbian and Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Christmas

Dona Dreeland
January 5, 2012
Your Plum

If Eastern Orthodox Christmas customs seem very "Old Country," it's because they are.

The Ukrainians, Serbians and Carpatho-Rusyns, for example, created their at-home rituals in little villages long ago. They celebrated simply in their own languages but with deep significance. Each custom was informed by their Orthodox faith.

Some share traditions, such as refraining from eating meat, dairy products and eggs for 40 days before Christmas and including garlic and honey in the Christmas Eve meal to symbolize the bitterness and sweetness in life.

This year, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, according to the Julian calendar, created by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar.

Other Christians mark their Christmas celebrations on Dec. 25, according to the Gregorian calendar, which was created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, centuries after the western and eastern churches separated in 1054.

Serbian Orthodoxy

Customs are the complement to the real meaning of Christmas for the Rev. Dragoljub C. Malich, pastor of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Monroeville.

"The focus is on Christ and the Christian faith for salvation and worship," he said.

Malich again will lead the Christmas liturgies, as he has during his 42 years of ministry at the church.

On Christmas Eve, customs bring families together at a table filled with many foods that are free of meat, dairy products and eggs.

"There is a variety of tastes of everything," Malich said. "Even children have a taste of garlic."

It is a busy time.

"On Christmas Eve," Malich said, "there is no sitting down with all the preparations."

Families with fireplaces burn an oak Yule log, symbolizing "the scent and warmth of God's love for the people," he said.

Straw is spread on the floor and covered by a sheet. Because straw nestled the baby Jesus in the manger, the Orthodox honor its use.

Malich described the good conversations at past gatherings; "the hot toddies of diluted, sweetened brandy; nuts and fruits; carols and prayers."

Later, in church, Bible readings, special hymns and a special sermon spark "a radiant atmosphere," Malich said.

"It's like everyone was given a shot of spirit, happiness, gladness and love."

All of this solemn and jubilant celebration comes after "six weeks of fasting, not Christmas partying."

His congregation sees no reason to join other Christmas revelers, including some of the Orthodox brethren, in their December holiday.

"We're holding on to the old calendar," the pastor said.

He said some members have told him: "This gives me the opportunity to celebrate Christmas spiritually when the noise and commercialism are over."

To Malich and others of the Orthodox tradition, "the date is not important as is the meaning of the day."

Ukrainian Orthodoxy

For the Rev. Steve Repa, pastor of SS. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie, the story of Christmas is one the world was waiting to hear.

"God had been revealed through natural revelation, then through divine revelation in time and space," he said.

"It's like God said: ‘Hey, look up. This is what it is. This is who I am.'"

That was the first Christmas. More than 2,000 years later, the Ukrainians bring customs of their peasant pasts to their contemporary celebrations.

The white tablecloth that covers the Christmas Eve table represents an earth frozen and devoid of life, Repa explained. The straw resting upon it brings thoughts of the manger. The festive tablecloth that will cover them both celebrates Jesus and the people now freed from the chains of sin.

The meal on Christmas Eve begins with a toast and a remembrance — one by one — of those who have died in the past year.

"Those who were and those who are (still here) are invited," Repa said.

"In Christ, we are one. We are not separated from one another."

And at the repast, the 12 foods that traditionally are served represent the 12 months, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles.

Those foods are wheat; soup; baked, fried or pickled fish; cabbage rolls; pyrohy with potato, sauerkraut or prune filling; cooked beans; sauerkraut and peas; mushrooms; stewed dried fruit; pompushky, a dough with poppy seed, apricot or prune filling; garlic; and honey.

Many of the preserved foods served on Christmas Eve, such as mushrooms, sauerkraut and peas, have been brought back to life, too, Repa said.

With 29 years of ministry, Repa remembers a Christmas Eve when he and his siblings were racing through the house.

"There's no running, no shouting," his mother told them. "Jesus is going to be born."

If the children were quiet enough, she said, they would hear the animals whispering to each other, as they whispered once in Bethlehem.

For too many families, there is no church after the Christmas Eve meal, which, Repa said, is his biggest disappointment.

"What if the shepherds had said: ‘Ah, we're too tired. We'll go in the morning.'"

On Christmas Day, the real feast is held, and the celebration continues for 12 days, until Epiphany.

Somehow, he said, "We've gotten everything upside down."

During Advent, the Orthodox deny themselves many foods, while others enjoy a calendar full of parties

After Christmas, he said, there's more than enough reason to celebrate for many days.

The words Ukrainians use to greet each other every Christmas Day mean "Christ is being born and will continue to be born," Malich said.

Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodoxy

"The children believe in Santa Claus, and so do I," said the Rev. Robert Prepelka, pastor of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Ambridge for the last five years of a 25-year priesthood.

His Carpatho-Rusyn congregation and others of the Orthodox faith celebrate Santa's giving spirit in the person of St. Nicholas, a third-century bishop of Myra in Turkey. His feast day for the Orthodox on Dec. 19 is a day for giving presents.

But as a child, Prepelka remembers having a celebration on Dec. 25 with a Christmas tree and presents. The date was close enough to St. Nicholas Day, and the United States was the melting pot, he explained.

"It was difficult for the children," he said about celebrating Christmas later than everyone else.

The "Holy Supper," as the Christmas Eve meal is called, always began when the first star was shining.

"Father always lit a single candle on the table," he said.

"This was the star of Bethlehem."

The father then would anoint the foreheads of those present and sing the main hymn of the day. Afterward, there was a blessing over the food. Next, came the tasting of honey and garlic.

"These things were explained to the children and guests," Prepelka said, "just like during a (Jewish Passover) seder meal."

Each custom has its spiritual corollary: The breaking of bread symbolizes how Jesus is the "Bread of Life," he explained.

The pastor remembered the "fasting soup" that was served. It could be lentil, split pea or mushroom.

"I'm not a mushroom eater," he said, "so I'm not a good Slav."

But his mother chopped the mushrooms small enough that the young boy enjoyed it. A dish of peas, rice and sautéed onions still is one of Prepelka's favorites.

The dishes, all meeting the dietary limitations, were reminiscent of those prepared in the mountain villages where the Carpatho-Rusyn people once lived.

"We're a Slavik group with no country of our own," he said.

They come from Poland, Ukraine and other places in the Carpathian Mountains, he said.

As the "Holy Supper" fed the people physically, the Great Compline service on Christmas Eve would offer spiritual food in preparation for Christ's birth.

At church on Christmas Day, there is anointing with oil, sharing of the blessed bread, carols and a message from the Metropolitan, a regional church leader.

"The Divine Liturgy is one beautiful thing after another," Prepelka said.

"The highlight is receiving the Eucharist."

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Serbian Patriarch Urges Kosovo Serbs To Stay Home For Christmas

January 5, 2012
Adnkronos International

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, patriarch Irinej, on Thursday pleaded with Kosovo Serbs to persevere in their suffering and not to leave their homes despite current difficulties.

“Without suffering there is no resurrection and let Lord be our measure in suffering,” Irinej said in a Christmas message delivered on Thursday. Some ten million Serbs all over the world celebrate Christmas according to Julian calendar on Saturday.

Christmas joy has been overshadowed by the suffering of Serbs in Kosovo, after majority Albanians declared independence in 2008, the patriarch said. Over 200,000 Serbs have fled Kosovo since 1999 and most of the remaining 100,000 live in hostile environment in isolated enclaves, he added.

“To our dear believers, the Serbs in Kosovo, we recommend to persevere in their unjust suffering and to remain in their homes, with their church and their sacrileges in the land of their forefathers,” the patriarch said.

Kosovo is a cradle of Serbia’s medieval state and civilization, but Belgrade has practically no authority over its former province, despite Serbia’s refusal to recognize independence.

Pro-European president Boris Tadic said he will spend Christmas holidays in Kosovo 14th century monastery of Visoki Decani as he had done for the past several years with the approval of Kosovo authorities and international officials there.

Opposition leaders and the church have criticized Tadic for “betraying Kosovo” in order for Serbia’s joining the European Union whose 22 out of 27 countries have recognized Kosovo.

The EU has tied Serbia’s bid to normalization of relations with Kosovo and abolition of “parallel institutions” Belgrade still operates in the Serb-populated north.

“We must admit, brothers and sisters, that our spiritual peace has been upset and our joy isn’t complete,” Irinej said. “It has been overshadowed by fear and daily world events, particularly by tragic events in our crucified Kosovo,” the patriarch concluded.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Film From 19 July 1903 of the Litany With Relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

The Problem With Rationalizing the Bible

Joel S. Baden
January 3, 2012
The Huffington Post

For 2,000 years, the biblical stories in which God changes the course of nature were called miracles. Indeed, that is the very definition of a miracle. And miracles were the defining feature of the deity, the ineluctable proof of God's existence and power. Yet since the rise of the Enlightenment in 18th century, with its commitment to scientific inquiry and its opposition to superstition, the nature of biblical miracles has been called into question. Events that were scientifically impossible were deemed ... impossible. Yet at the same time, for millions of people the Bible retained and retains its position as a repository of truth, both abstract (moral, ethical) and literal (historical).

The conjunction of modern scientific inquiry and allegiance to the Bible has led to an interesting turn of events. We see an ongoing attempt to find a rational basis for some of the more unbelievable biblical events, to "explain" them scientifically. Examples of this abound. The flood of Genesis 6-9, in which the whole world is covered with water? That was the result of a massive comet or meteor crashing into the ocean, creating a worldwide tsunami and killing almost everyone on earth.

The plagues in Egypt of Exodus 7-10? They were a natural chain of events instigated by a very modern culprit: global warming.

The splitting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14? A coincidence of a very low tide and a very strong wind.

The manna with which the Israelites were fed in the wilderness? Nothing more than a naturally-occurring desert lichen, or perhaps the sap of the tamarisk tree, or, least appetizingly, perhaps the excretion of the tiny bugs that feed on tamarisk sap. The list could go on.

For the skeptical modern, these sorts of theories, produced by scholars and glossed with the veneer of rigorous scientific research, are attractive because they prove the idiom (ironically enough from the Bible itself, from the great skeptic who wrote Ecclesiastes) that there is nothing new under the sun. Science explains all. At the same time, these theories speak also to the biblical literalist: science, that great enemy of faith, does not undermine but in fact confirms the Bible's truth. The two camps converge in a rare moment of harmony: What the Bible says is actually what happened.

The problem, however, is that none of these theories about what happened are, in fact, what the Bible says happened. The Bible doesn't say that a comet struck the ocean, or that there was global warming, or that it was low tide or that the Israelites ate lichen (or worse). It says that there were miracles, originating entirely with God, to punish or protect, to destroy or to save. Miracles cannot, by definition, be natural occurrences, no matter how rare or remarkable. It is not that the Bible reflects the state of knowledge in an earlier, pre-scientific culture, and that we who are more enlightened have the capacity to understand the events in the Bible more accurately. The Bible is not a record of ancient observations; it is a grand theological statement about God's interaction with humanity and the world. Rationalizing its stories does not "explain" the Bible. Rationalizing, in fact, obscures it.

And that is because these theories do not illuminate the biblical text in any meaningful way. Even if it were proved that a comet did cause a massive flood event at some point in the past, our understanding of the biblical story of the flood would remain unchanged: it was God's punishment for the wickedness and violence of humanity. Even if there are various edible substances in the desert, the biblical story of the manna is still a story of divine providence at a time of intense need. Attempts to find some middle ground are precarious at best. For example, the great Orthodox Jewish biblical scholar Umberto Cassuto (1883-1951) suggested that the splitting of the sea was indeed an explainable coincidence of tide and wind, but the miracle was that these occurred precisely when the Israelites needed to cross. This is neither a literal reading nor a scientific one, despite its attempts to be both. The power of the Bible comes not from its scientific veracity, but from precisely the opposite.

We cannot have it both ways. The Bible cannot both be a foundation of faith and conform to modern notions of scientific rationality. Nor should it. For true believers, naturalistic rationalizations undercut a central message of the Scriptures, that God intervenes in human affairs. Skeptics must wonder why any attempt is being made in the first place to prove that biblical events really happened. The Bible may be couched as historical narrative, but the claims it makes are claims of faith, which no amount of positive or negative data can alter.

In this holiday season, we may consider the two stories at the heart of Hanukkah and Christmas (although Hanukkah is not a biblical holiday, but the point still stands). According to Jewish tradition, the miracle of Hanukkah is that after the Temple in Jerusalem was sacked by the Syrian king Antiochus in the second century B.C.E., the tiny amount of unprofaned oil remaining, enough to last only one day, lasted instead for eight days. According to Christian tradition, the miracle of Christmas is of course the birth of Jesus to the virgin mother Mary. If we could prove that somehow one day's worth of oil could last for eight by some hitherto unknown natural property of oil -- or if we could prove that somehow it is medically possible for a virgin to give birth -- who would benefit from such an explanation?

Miracles are articles of faith, for true believers today and for the Bible as well. Whether they actually happened or not is debatable. But to chalk them up to freak occurrences of nature is fundamentally to misunderstand the nature both of the Bible and of belief in it.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Video: 3 Orthodox Nuns In Guatamala Take Over Run Down Orphanage

A Home Forever! from Rob Orr on Vimeo.

Three Orthodox Christian nuns take over a run down orphanage in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Hogar Rafael Ayau has been the home to over a thousand children for the past 14 years...but now their facility faces potential closure so they are working to build a new facility outside the city. U.S fundraising efforts are being coordinated by the FHRA - The Friends of the Hogar Rafael Ayau. For more information please visit their website at www.FriendsoftheHogar.org.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Patriarch Ilia Saddened By Arrest of Elder Ephraim

January 4, 2012
Sedmitza

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II expressed sadness over the arrest by the Greek authorities of Vatopaidi Abbot Ephraim.

"We are saddened by the fact that Abbot Ephraim is deprived of his liberty", said the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, during a sermon at the service at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, reports the Greek agency "Romfea."

Catholicos Ilia said that recently Father Ephraim, superior of the Monastery of Vatopaidi on Mount Athos, visited Russia, where he brought the belt of the the Most Holy Theotokos, which was venerated by millions of believers.

"Now we found out that Archimandrite Ephraim has been imprisoned. This is a sad event. I ask all of you to pray for Father Ephraim," said the Georgian Patriarch, who also noted that he is "very saddened by this event."

Ilia II noted that there also are Georgian monks in Vatopaidi. "We express our sympathy to the entire monastic community", said the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

"I wish you peace and joy. Love your enemies. This, of course, is difficult. But if you can not love, at least pray for them", said the Patriarch at the end of his sermon.

The Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia said that in the next few days he will make an official statement in support of the superior of Vatopaidi.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Georgian Patriarch Against Great and Holy Council At This Time

October 24, 2011
The Georgian Times

Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II spoke about his visit to Constantinople in his church service yesterday. He said he was there on the 20th jubilee of the enthronization of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

"We spoke about the future Orthodox meeting. Bartholomew I wants a meeting of Orthodox churches to take place. We responded to him saying that such a meeting cannot be held until all disputed issues are solved", Ilia II specifically said.

Patriarch Ilia said that the Ecumenical Patriarch's proposal is that all the temples without a mother church must belong to the Ecumenical Patriarch.

"We told him that the temple must belong to the mother church of the country if the congregation wishes, and if the congregation want this temple to belong to the Ecumenical Patriarch, then the mother church will not be against this", Ilia II said, adding that a lot of issues are to be solved and it's very dangerous to summon an Orthodox meeting. He voiced hope that all the issues will be solved, but he also said it would take time.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Bulgarian Holy Synod Clarifies Position Regarding In Vitro Fertilization

January 4, 2012
Novinite

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is not against in vitro fertilization, according to the Lovech Bishop, Gavrail.

Gavrail told the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, Wednesday that there had been a mistake in the opinion of the members of the Synod, which was published at the very last day of 2011.

In it, the Holy Synod opposes in vitro fertilization and surrogacy, viewing them as a "human interference that is counter to God's will in the existential foundations of life." (Read here)

Now the Lovech Bishop says that the Synod is only against surrogacy, and sees is it as unacceptable, while both the Greek and the Russian Orthodox Churches agree with in vitro fertilization under the condition that biological material is from the lawful husband. Other conditions include implanting all fertilized eggs and no eggs being destroyed.

"This is how the Church accepts in vitro. This is the opinion of the Holy Synod, and I cannot add anything to it," Gavrail said.

He, however, explained why the Church opposes surrogacy.

"There are many things there which are unacceptable. Tomorrow they will start cloning us. Do we have to agree to that as well? Maybe they try this method somewhere already? Our opinion is well explained in our December statement, but there is a mistake about the in vitro fertilization," according to the Bishop.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Searching for a Narrative for Eastern Orthodox in America

December 8, 2011
Daniel Silliman

Watch American Religious Studies and American Religious History for even a little while, and you'll see a developing, evolving way of talking about different groups. Go back -- not too far, even -- and one finds almost all the attention given to denominational organizations, and everything framed in terms of continuity or discontinuity with Boston Puritanism.

It's not like that anymore.

Just in recent years, the account of Islam in America is growing and changing. It's now de riguer to note that the first Muslims came to America with the importation of slaves from Africa. Added to that is a new emphasis on the various ways Islam has come to the US: with the slaves, emerging out of the 20th century African American community, with immigrants from South East Asia, with immigrants from the Middle East, etc.

A similar turn has happened in accounts of immigrants in general. Talk about Judaism, talk about Catholicism, and you have to talk about immigrant communities. One of the results of this has been to break up the homogenity of these religious identities. One looks today, for example, at Catholics, plural, focusing on the practices and behaviours of lay Catholics, the way religion functioned in their lives and in their sense of themselves, rather than focusing on Catholicism as an abstraction.

One blank spot, right now, however, is the Eastern Orthodox in America.

This blank spot kind of gets poked at, but there doesn't seem to be a standard way to talk about this religion and this religious experience yet.

Part of this may be the numbers. Pew puts all the Orthodox Christians in America today at about .6%. Muslims also come in at about .6%, though, Orthodox Jews are half that, and Buddhists and Jehovah's Witnesses are only slightly larger, with .7%. All those groups have more established narratives, it seems to me.

When the Eastern Orthodox are talked about, it's often with this very general rubric of "immigrant," without any specifics as to how their experiences and histories were different, if at all, from other immigrant groups.

Charles Lippy, in his brief Introducing American Religions gives two paragraphs to the "wave" of Eastern Orthodox Christians who came in the years between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I, "Adding to diversity." "Adding to diversity" is Lippy's thing, so by the time one is 100, 150 pages into his book, saying that this is what the Orthodox did is only slightly more enlightening than "they existed."

Most of his two paragraphs are dedicated to noting the countries the different groups came from, as well as the economic draws that brought them to where they ended up.

This is symptematic, more than a problem specific to Lippy. It seems like there's not really a story about the Orthodox that anyone knows. Where, with Jews in America, one talks about the Hassids, or Reform Judaism and Isaac Mayer Wise, with the Orthodox Christians, there's no standard story, no genrally know starting points, public moments or figures.

The second volume of Edwin Gaustad and Mark Noll's anthology, A Documentary History of Religion in America since 1877 has the start of a story, and focuses on one very public moment in the Orthodox's American history. They give 6 1/2 pages to Russian Orthodoxy in Alaska. This is a major improvement, though obviously still really limited. They include two documents, one Father John Veniaminov's "The Condition of the Orthodox Church in Russian America," the other a report on religion in the Russian American colonies and the Russian American Company, which was published in Overland Monthly in 1895. Both documents are really interesting -- Veniaminov, for example, writes that at first the Aleuts only believed in and prayed to "an unknown God" about whom they knew little -- but still only offer the tiniest sketch.

One would even be forgiven for thinking the Orthodox churches in America died out with "Russian America," or, that if it do still exist, it's in the form of left overs. In one editorial notes, Gaustad and Noll write "Russian Orthodoxy continued to be a major religious force in Alaska through the nineteenth century," and "Russian Orthodoxy was planted with sufficient nurture to endure to the present day."

Oddly, these are both statements sort of directed towards establishing the importance of the Orthodox in America. But kind of do the opposite.

I'm not knocking Gaustad and Noll. It's actually a really excellent anthology. The point is not that they somehow failed, but that, really, there's at best only a really limited and sketchy narrative of Eastern Orthdox Christians in America.

There's basically nothing, it seems, when it comes to contemporary times.

There's just sort of not a narrative here, and certainly not one that fits into any larger, broader narrative about religion in America. There's precious little actually on this subject (exceptions: John H. Erickson's Orthodox Christians in America ; Alexei D. Krindatch's work, including "Orthodox (Eastern Christian) Churches in the United States at the Beginning of a New Millennium: Questions of Nature, Identity, and Mission").

There should be, though. The more recent history of Eastern Orthodoxy in America is particularly interesting, I think (and not just because a number of good friends of mine are a part of it) and yet it seems basically absent from scholarly work on religious culture and recent history. The evangelical press, by contrast, has paid attention to and noted the movement of evangelicals converting to Eastern Orthodoxy since at least the '80s. Yet there's no standing, standard account of these conversions, and why (in aggregate) they happened, and what that says about American religion at the turn of the 21st century, and what that says about American culture in general.

Instead of a good account that takes this movement seriously (while not, as is sometimes the wont of the converts themselves, over-estimating it as seismic and history-altering), what one gets is along these lines:

"Some years ago a sizable number of American Evangelicals, perhaps in search of a more colorful version of Christianity, became Eastern Orthodox as a group. For some reason they chose to join the American branch of the Patriarchate of Antioch, one of the most ancient Christian bodies in the world. (Its liturgical language is traditionally Arabic. You can’t get much more colorful than that.) Apparently these refugees from Billy Graham embraced their new faith with a fervor that alarmed some who were born Orthodox."

That is Peter Berger -- the great Peter Berger, I would even say -- speaking out of the abundance of ignorance.

Even if it were the case these converts were merely seeking colorfulness, that's a remarkably unsympathetic, un-empathetic way to describe the longings of other people's souls. He could have easily just said the were "perhaps in search of more depth, history and tradition."

But, the point is, there's really no standard narrative of this event in recent religious history that could have been plugged in here by Berger. He's essentially summarizing word-of-mouth and arguments that have been made in Christianity Today and other such publications. He still could have given a better account -- this isn't an excuse -- but at least part of the problem is that the Orthodox story just isn't told.

Father Michael Oleska, a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, recently issued a call to the Orthodox in America to start telling their stories. To themselves. To each other. He's urging the religious telling of stories, arguing for the importance of such stories to a community and a culture. He says, in the video-message, that the Orthodox should start telling their stories because "culture is the enactment of a story."

My hope is that as those stories are told, scholars of American religion pay attention.

Read further on this topic in the post by Matthew Namee titled "Toward an American Orthodox Historical Narrative".

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Their Noonday Demons, and Ours

John Plotz
December 23, 2011
The New York Times

By some miracle, you set aside a day to tackle that project you can’t seem to finish in the office. You close the door, boot up your laptop, open the right file and . . . five minutes later catch yourself thinking about dinner. By 10 a.m., you’re staring at the wall, even squinting at it between your fingertips. Is this day 50 hours long? Soon, you fall into a light, unsatisfying sleep and awake dizzy or with a pounding headache; all your limbs feel weighed down. At which point, most likely around noon, you commit a fatal error: leaving the room. I’ll just garden for a bit, you tell yourself, or do a little charity work. Hmmm, I wonder if my friend Gregory is around?

This probably strikes you as an extremely, even a uniquely, modern problem. Pick up an early medieval monastic text, however, and you will find extensive discussion of all the symptoms listed above, as well as a diagnosis. Acedia, also known as the “noonday demon,” appears again and again in the writings of the Desert Fathers from the fourth and fifth centuries. Wherever monks and nuns retreated into cells to labor and to meditate on matters spiritual, the illness struck.

These days, when we try to get a fix on our wasted time, we use labels that run from the psychological (distraction, “mind-wandering” or “top-down processing deficit”) to the medical (A.D.H.D., hypoglycemia) to the ethical (laziness, poor work habits). But perhaps “acedia” is the label we need. After all, it afflicted those whose pursuits prefigured the routines of many workers in the postindustrial economy. Acedia’s sufferers were engaged in solitary, sedentary, cerebral effort toward a clear final goal — but a goal that could be reached only by crossing an open, empty field with few signposts. The empty field is the monk’s day of spiritual contemplation in a cell besieged by the demon acedia — or your afternoon in a coffee shop with tiptop Wi-Fi.

In the later Middle Ages, monks performed fewer solitary tasks, and as the historian Andrew Crislip has shown, their vulnerability to the torments of acedia diminished. But for early medieval writers, acedia’s symptoms were so prolific as to be often contradictory. For St. Benedict, the affliction took the shape of “a little black boy pulling the monk away by the hem of his garment,” while to the great fourth-century ascetic Evagrius it sometimes appeared as “demons that touch our bodies at night and like scorpions strike our limbs.” Gluttony and laziness can betoken acedia, one Desert Father, St. John Cassian, warns. However, “excesses meet” and “reluctance to eat and . . . lack of sleep put me in much greater danger.” The only real constant, during acedia’s heyday, was that it prevented monks and nuns from keeping their minds on their tasks, and their bodies in the right place. “Have you deserted your cell?” Basil the Great asks. “Then you have left continency behind you.”

If the diagnoses in medieval texts were so psychologically acute, it’s very likely because the most ferocious accusers and denouncers were themselves acedia sufferers. Today, too, it takes an acediac to know acedia. When I read Cassian on “disgust with the cell,” I look around my own office and sigh deeply; and I greet like an old friend the monk whose gaze “rests obsessively on the window” while “with his fantasy he imagines the image of someone who comes to visit him.” Cassian’s description of acedia as mental drift, meanwhile, perfectly encapsulates the pointless and random detours that stop me from bearing down on a particular page: “The mind is constantly whirling from psalm to psalm, . . . tossed about fickle and aimless through the whole body of Scripture.”

Of course, the desert monks were emphatically not us. Stripping their lives down to the bare bones, they sought the divine and fought the demonic alone. What could be more different from us, tap-tapping away with social media always at hand? They gazed upward toward God; we shoot sideways glances at one another while trying to resist the allure of e-mail (nowadays, you can “desert your cell” without shifting from your chair). Still, “excesses meet,” and now that solitary unstructured brainwork has returned with a vengeance, we may be suffering an epidemic of early medieval acedia. Is there anything we can learn from the monks and nuns who came before us?

As the motto orare, laborare et legere (pray, work and read) suggests, monasteries and convents from the sixth century onward found ways to situate divine contemplation within an essentially convivial context. For community-oriented orders like the Benedictines, collective singing, tilling the soil and shared meals were as crucial as divine reading. There are some parallels to this kind of enforced sociability among contemporary lab scientists, who stave off both distraction and torpor by sharing with their colleagues a contentious and collaborative life of the mind.

Those of us for whom long stretches in an acedia-hazard zone are unavoidable may have to look farther afield for comfort. It’s worth noting that an acquaintance with ancient philosophical traditions concerned with self-control and mastery of the passions (especially Stoicism and Platonism) did much to shape the mental prescriptions offered up by the Desert Fathers. The mental exercises Evagrius urges on those whom acedia has laid low — for example, dividing oneself into two, “one the consoler and the other the object of consolation” — unmistakably anticipate the self-disciplining (and self-forgiving) exercises of modern cognitive-behavioral therapists.

There is also comfort to be found in the realization that monks who knew the dangers of acedia nonetheless kept going to the desert — not because they thought they would be safe from acedia’s temptations, but because they courted those temptations in the hope of strengthening themselves for further work. One of Cassian’s most moving stories involves a rebuke to an aged monk who scorns a young monk’s acedia because he himself has never experienced it. The old man, Cassian writes, was no sort of spiritual guide for a young monk looking to overcome these inevitable temptations.

One lesson to be drawn from those monastic stories is that persistent, alluring stimulation may be just as unavoidable in our new digital life as it was in the Egyptian deserts, though it now takes the form of Fruit Ninja rather than hem-tugging demons. Flight by itself is no solution. Disconnecting the Internet or confiscating a teenager’s cellphone probably helps less than looking for ways to live with persistent temptation and to move beyond the mixed pleasure that every post, tweet or “level up” affords.

The Benedictine monastery I recently visited in central Massachusetts did have a Facebook page: 15 people “liked” a post on how a monk buying pipe insulation was mistaken for a medieval battle re-enactor. Being there, though, was something else. The sung Latin prayers and the communal lunch — consumed in companionable silence while one monk read aloud — subtly but unmistakably guided my thoughts toward some of the same questions that monks and nuns have grappled with for centuries. When I curled up to read one of Cassian’s quarrels with St. Augustine, it was as if the two divines were only a shout away. My smartphone pinged seductively from the bedside table, and I let five minutes go by before I checked it. Well, almost five minutes.

John Plotz teaches English at Brandeis University. His current book project is entitled “Semi-Detached: Absorption and Distraction Reconsidered.”

Tweet

Share on Tumblr