The Seventh Prayer, Of St. Symeon the New Theologian

From lips tainted and defiled,
From a heart unclean and loathsome,
From a tongue befouled and filthy,
From a soul bestained and soiled,

O my Christ, receive my pleading
Yea, disdain me not, nor shun me,
Nor my words, nor yet my manner,
Nor my shamelessness and boldness.

But with freedom let me tell Thee,
O my Christ, what I desire;
Rather, do Thou now instruct me
What I need to do and utter.

I have sinned more than the harlot
Who, on learning of Thy lodging,
Went and purchased myrrh most precious,
And with boldness she approached Thee,
To anoint Thy feet and lave them,
O my Christ, my God and Master.

Even as Thou didst not shun her
When she came with heartfelt fervor,
Thus, O Word, do not disdain me.

Nay, but rather do Thou grant me
To embrace Thy feet and kiss them,
And with streams of tears to wash them,
As with precious myrrh most costly,
With great boldness to anoint them.

Wash me with my tears, and thereby
Cleanse me, Word of God, and lave me.

Grant remission of my failings,
And bestow on me forgiveness.

All mine evil deeds Thou knowest,
And my wounds Thou knowest also,
And my bruises Thou beholdest.

But my faith Thou knowest likewise,
And mine eagerness Thou seest,
And my groans Thou hearest also.

There doth not escape Thy notice
Even one tear, O Redeemer,
Nor a fraction of a teardrop,
O my Lord God and Creator.

Yea, Thine eyes did see my being
While as yet it was unfashioned.

In Thy Book all thoughts and actions,
Even those not yet enacted,
Are inscribed for Thee already.

See my lowliness and toil!
Lo, the greatness of my suffering!
And, O God of all, forgive me
All the sins I have committed.

So that with a cleansed and pure heart,
And a mind with fear atremble,
And a soul contrite and lowly,
I may draw nigh to partake of
Thine all-pure and spotless Myst'ries,
Whereby all who eat and drink Thee
With a heart sincere and guileless
Are both deified and quickened.

For Thou sayest, O my Master:
He that eateth of my Flesh and
That doth drink of My Blood also
Doth abide in Me most truly,
And in him am I found also.

Wholly true is this word spoken
By my Lord and God and Master;
For whoever doth partake of
These divine and hallowed graces
Which impart deification
Is alone, in truth, no longer,
But is with Thee, Christ, Thou True Light
Of the Hallowed, Triple Daystar,
Which illumineth the whole world.

Lest, then, I remain alone now
And apart from Thee, Lifegiver,
O my Breath, my Life, my Gladness,
The entire world's Salvation,
For this cause do I approach Thee
With a soul contrite and tearful.

O Thou Ransom of my failing,
I entreat Thee to receive me,
So that I may now partake of
Thy life-giving, blameless Myst'ries,
And not suffer condemnation; That as Thou didst say, Thou mightest
Dwell with me, who am thrice-wretched;
Lest that foul deceiver find me
All bereft of Thy divine grace,
And most guilefully seduce me,
And with scheming cunning lure me
From Thy words which make me Godlike.

Wherefore, I fall down before Thee,
And cry out to Thee with fervor:
As Thou didst receive and welcome
Both the prodigal and harlot
Who drew nigh to Thee, so likewise,
O Most Merciful, receive me,
The great profligate and sinner,
The most prodigal and vile one,
As I dare now to approach Thee
With a soul contrite and humbled.

Savior, well I know that no one
Hath sinned as have I against Thee,
Nor hath wrought the deeds which I have.

Yet again, I know this also:
Neither greatness of transgressions,
Nor enormity in sinning,
Can surpass my God and Savior's
Great long-suffering and mercy
And exceeding love for mankind.

For with the oil of compassion
Thou dost cleanse and render shining
All those who repent with fervor;
And Thou makest them partakers
Of Thy light in all abundance,
And true sharers of thy Godhood.

And--O marvel for the Angels
And for human understanding!--
Thou hast converse with them often
As with friends most true and trusted.

These things now do give me daring,
These things give me wings, O Christ God;
Trusting, then, in the abundance
Of Thy benefactions toward us,
With rejoicing, yet with trembling,
I partake now of the Fire.

Though but grass--O awesome wonder!--
Yet bedewed am I past telling,
Like that bush of old on Sinai
Which was unconsumed, though burning.

[Therefore], with a mind most thankful,
And a heart most thankful also,
Thankful also in the members
Of my soul and of my body,
I adore and magnify Thee,
O my God, and glorify Thee,
As One verily most blessed,
Now and ever, to all ages.

(Taken from The Service of Preparation for Holy Communion, transl. by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, Mass., 2006)

Between Two Comings

"Thou hast smitten me with yearning, O Christ, and by Thy divine love hast Thou changed me. But with Thine immaterial fire, consume my sins and count me worthy to be filled with delight in Thee, that leaping for joy, O Good One, I may magnify Thy two comings."

(A hymn before communion)

Doors open for us today. Through those doors come cups, vessels which give contour to the Blood of God, which carry the Bread of Life. On one side of that portal is an image of She whose "Yes" untied the ancient "No" of Eve, and the "Ear of Wheat which knew no husbandry" which came out of the good land of her sealed, silent soul and chaste body.

On the other we see the glory of the one God and Father, shining in a human face, coming with the eastern clouds, armed both with an imminent blessing for the refinement of His Creation and a New Law which will pierce all hearts, at last lancing the long-festering hatreds within.

(Lord, have mercy)

We who stand between these two images see them not as on a timeline but as arching up together into timelessness with us, for they are happy reflections (chronology be damned) which converge at the Crisis which lifts us up, as well, and upon which He was lifted up. It is in that split Body and spilt Blood that we know Him; the One who came is the Coming One.

Eastern Errancy...from a Western Mind (A Retraction of Sorts)

The past few weeks have been momentous, to be sure; we've sold a house, driven cross-country, and begun life as a seminarian family, all in less than a month. During that time, however, I have been thinking intermittently about a post on biblical innerancy which generated quite a bit of (sometimes snarky) commentary, as well as a spinoff of sorts between two of the commentators in the form of a formal debate which I greatly look forward to reading (opening statements HERE and HERE).

This post, however, is concerning the former link to my own writing and is a retraction, to a degree, of what is written there. This retraction will, no doubt, not be to a sufficient degree for some, but will serve, hopefully, as a means of expressing my own hastiness in formulating my initial thoughts.

One of the most common ways in which people tend to highlight Scriptural difficulties is through chronological inconsistencies. My initial take was to assign said differences to the realm of theological emphasis -- for example, I would have said (and have) that John's placing of Christ's cleansing of the temple at the beginning of His ministry is more to make a theological point, while the synoptic gospels' report of the cleansing directly before the Passion was meant to reflect the more chronological view. The idea, presented by conservative Evangelicals mostly, that there were two Temple Cleansings -- one at the beginning of Christ's ministry and one at the end -- was, in my opinion, laughable, for of course there was only one. This presupposition led to my viewing the harmonization accounts as stretching reports of an event to absurd degrees.

Likewise, the chronology of Christ's being called "The Lamb of God" in John and His baptism in the synoptics are followed by very different events; my initial response was to conclude that such a discrepancy was chronologically incompatible but theologically justifiable (which is still the more important factor, in my opinion).

I was quite surprised, then, to find that men such as St. John Chrysostom and the Bl. Theophylact both insisted that our Lord did, in fact, cleanse the Jewish Temple twice, and thought such a position was in no way unreasonable. This gave me pause, for my initial question would be how the Jewish leaders would have ever stood for such an outrage twice, for, indeed, they killed Him after one instance. Yet, as one of my professors is known to point out quite frequently, our liturgy has a sort of pedagogical correction which serves as a key to our confession of Who Christ is: Christ was not "given up" on the night of His Passion; "rather [He] gave Himself up for the life of the world." No man takes His life from Him; His is the ability to pass through the midst of those who would throw Him headlong off a cliff for a claim to have come before their father Abraham. Likewise, if He had been directed by the Father to cleanse the Temple daily, it would not have been in the least bit difficult for Him. Likewise, a closer reading of the gospels cleared up the baptism chronology with a possible harmonization.

These two giants, then, confirmed what I had neglected to do: give the Scripture the benefit of the doubt and seek to find a harmonization when such was possible (as in the above cases).

I do not contend that one need to go to the degree of Tatian's Diatessaron, a second-Century work in which all four gospels were harmonized into one volume, wherein differently-worded parts of the gospels were distilled into one, dogmatic "version" of what happened. One might cement into Holy Writ (as was the case with the Diatessaron in some syriac-speaking sections of Christendom) the idea that the sign on Christ's Cross said, "This is Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews" when what we can have, at the most, is an educated guess, based on incomplete information from the authors' selective reporting. Likewise, undue harmonization of the accounts will lead to a twisting of St. John's gospel at the time of Christ's death, wherein Tatian states that

"when Jesus had taken that vinegar, he said, Everything is finished. 5 But the rest said, Let be, that we may see whether Elijah comes to save him. 6, 7 (Luke 23:46a) And Jesus said, My Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and said, My Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (John 19:30b) He said that [i.e., the quote from Luke], and bowed his head, and gave up his spirit" (emph and ed. mine)

while St. John stated that Christ simply "said, 'It is finished!' And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." While I am not opposed to the use of the biblical texts to form plausible harmonizations (even if such harmonizations might seem at first unlikely), the forcing of one "final" phrase into the midst of a second "final" phrase is uncalled for and violence against the Scripture. While I would maintain, in the spirit of my former post, that this information is insufficent to state definitively what was the final word of Christ from the Cross (as Matthew and Mark themselves confess only to having heard "a loud cry," while John and Luke only report one statement each, and a different one at that), I would not call this a contradiction, but neither can it be said to be clear. I would still say that this needs to be admitted for one to hold to a reasonable view of the Scriptures, and an admittance of this nature does not diminish the divinity of the Scriptures; it merely highlights the limited knowledge inherent in their authors' humanity. Those hearing the Voice at Christ's baptism weren't sure what they heard; we may never know, then, if the Voice was speaking to His Son or merely about Him to others. Again, the lack of clarity is there, but immaterial to inspiration.

«Sigue, sigue...»

From the writings of the Blessed Elder, IERONYMOS of Aegina +1966
On our need to be watchful against both the
idle and demonic thoughts which assail us

"Be heedful of your thoughts. Oppose them. They do not easily leave a person. They come over and over again, and war against him. But you, strive to chase them away. There comes an evil thought, and it tells you to do something. You counter saying, 'No, I will not do it.' The thought insists: you also insist. See to it that you have strength to chase it away. If you don't do what the thought tells you, it's not a sin. Sin is the act, not the assault of the thought."

(H/T to Fr. John Mikita of St. John of Damascus Church in Tyler, TX)

Last night, after evening prayers, my daughters and I went into their bedroom for lights out. Customary song sung and night light lit, we were ready for sleep. Hope, however, didn't want to be by herself up on the top bunk.

"Well," I said in Spanish, "do you want to sleep with the icon of St. Elizabeth or your guardian angel?"

"I want the Cross, but it's broken," she replied, referring to the ceramic cross which, indeed, had hung above them before falling off the wall recently and splitting in two. Then she added, "And I stepped on it. I just keep thinking of stepping on the Cross. The thought comes in my head. And it comes and comes and comes, all day and all night and it never goes away."

"Ohhhhh," I replied. "You know, I have thoughts like that, too, that don't leave me alone. You know what I do?"

"What?"

"I pray the Jesus Prayer looooots of times. And the thought doesn't go away right away, but as long as you keep asking Jesus for help, He'll chase the thought away. Then, if it comes back, just keep going, keep going («sigue, sigue») until they leave again. They don't like Jesus."

"OK, but I'm gonna do it in English."

"Well, that's fine, mami."

With the Feastday

Translation of hymn (Slavonic/Bulgarian):

We magnify you, O most holy Virgin /
And we honor your holy parents /
And we glorify /
Your all-glorious nativity. (Megalinarion of the Feast, Slavonic)

Remember, Lord, King David /
and all his sadness, Hallelujah /
how he swore to the LORD /
'I will not give sleep to mine eyes /
till I find a place for the Lord.' Hallelujah." (Ps. 131, Bulgarian)

“Sometimes the best way to kill a tradition is to follow the externals without truly understanding the contents. Living tradition involves that kind of change and adaptability which preserves its continuous relevance; otherwise the Church becomes a museum of pomposity and ritualism, quite acceptable in the framework of a pluralistic and basically superficial society but actually unfaithful to Orthodoxy itself. Thus, in order to be practically helpful, our historical research should seek out the meaning and purpose of the Byzantine liturgical tradition, discover its permanent theological dimension and provide for a pattern off discernment between what is truly essential and what is historically relative.” John Meyendorff, “The Liturgy: A Lead to the Mind of Byzantium” in The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church

I know, I know..."Well...he's definitely in seminary..."

St. Elizabeth

Tonight at Vespers, and then later around the dinner table, we sang the hymns of the Church commemorating Ss. Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of the Forerunner. My elder daughter, who has the name Elizabeth spoken over her as she approaches the Chalice, was excited tonight; we'll have to plan a little trip or pick her up a little something for the day (not surprisingly, this was not planned out beforehand, given the hectic days as of late).

We read from the girls' Children's Bible Reader tonight of the Visitation and the birth of John the Baptist; Hope took it very seriously that 'twas her saint that first uttered the hymn of "Rejoice!"; she went to the prayer corner determined tonight to sing with four-year old gusto the hymn of her matron. May she know the One who dwelt in the womb of Mary, as well.

"Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.'”

Blessed Feastday to all those who have St. Elizabeth as their heavenly matron.

New Year

Tonight at Vespers we welcomed the new Church year, which for us begins on Sept. 1st. May God grant us all many more blessed years in His Vineyard. I thought it fortunate that these hymns coincided with the end of the first day of classes here at St. Vlad's:

O timeless Word and Son without beginning,
united with the Holy Spirit,
Co-maker of all and Co-creator of all things visible and invisible:
bless the beginning of this year;
bring peace to Your Orthodox people,//
through the prayers of the Theotokos and all the saints!

Christ our God, Who in wisdom fashioned all things,
and out of nothing brought them into being,
bless the crown of the year, and preserve our city unharmed;
and make our faithful glad by Your power,
granting them victories over their adversaries,//
through the Theotokos bestowing upon the world great mercy!

O pre-eternal Word of the Father,
Who in wisdom fashioned all things,
and established the whole creation by Your all-powerful word,
bless the crown of the year with Your goodness,
and overthrow heresies, through the Theotokos,//
for You are good and the Lover of mankind!

You, O King, Who remain forever and are everlasting unto the ages,
accept the supplication of sinners asking salvation,
and grant abundance to Your earth, bestowing temperate weather, O
Lover of mankind!
Be the ally of the faithful Orthodox in battles against the ungodly
barbarians,
as once you were to David;
for they have come into Your tabernacles and defiled Your all-holy place,
O Savior!
Grant victories, O Christ God, by the intercession of the Theotokos,//
for You are the victory and boast of the Orthodox!

O Creator of the Universe,
You appointed times by Your own power;
bless the crown of this year with Your goodness, O Lord!
Preserve in safety Your rulers and Your cities://
and through the intercessions of the Theotokos, save us!

Getting Settled

We're two weeks into life at St. Vlad's -- I say this, and "real life" hasn't even begun -- and the house is beginning to resemble less what you see to the right (wherein merely traveling from one end of the apartment to another involved sliding four boxes around so one could pass) and more of an actual living space. A couple with only one child generously offered to look into trading our smaller apartment with their larger one, but the prospect of another move, albeit a small one, was both unappealing and, really, unnecessary. We have what we need, even if we don't have all we want. As Stacy quoted from St. Antony a couple of days ago, "Let none among us have even the yearning to possess. For what benefit is there in possessing these things that we do not take with us? Why not rather own those things we are able to take with us -- such things as prudence, justice, temperance, courage, understanding, love, concern for the poor, faith in Christ, freedom from anger, hospitality?" Sounds romantic, right? It's different when you ask for those things and God gives you four hundred square feet to do it in...together...knowing how to push all each other's buttons...

I swear...Westchester County's streets are the most insane thing I've ever encountered. The picture to your left is not one I took, but it's something that wouldn't surprise me if I saw it here. I want to know what the guy who drew up the streets here was drinking when he did it and, once I find out, I want a pint of it. Streets that curve around only to dead end and emerge, unannounced, three blocks later, only to become a one-way street (again with no warning) against you and under a completely different name...Google Maps probably just tried their best and said "Ah, the heck with the rest. Let 'em circle the block a couple more times." Seriously: if you are going to the Big Apple, ask someone who's been there to verify your travel instructions. A matushka here emailed me directions from the Tappen Zee Bridge to St. Vlad's on the day I arrived, and they were wonderfully clear (meaning I could ignore all the other flotsam and jetsam around me as I looked for my street sign).

Orientation was long, but informative. Much appreciated was the "glass half full" mentality regarding seminary. I don't think any punches were pulled regarding how hard, how draining, how long a process seminary was, but they weren't trying to scare any of us newbies off (though I have heard that in previous classes the glass during orientation was not only half- but mostly-empty). Metropolitan Jonah spoke for two nights, and other staff members have reminded us that this is the way of the Cross, of ridicule, of crushing one's ego for the sake of service to one's God.

Tomorrow is OT Lit. Prayers are appreciated. May it be blessed.

Happy Namesday

This evening my dear wife opened her namesday gift before prayers: a booklet which contained the lives of Saint Adrian and his wife, Natalia (click on the image in the sidebar to read from the OCA website).

I can remember standing in St. Antony's with her on August 25, 2001 at Vespers. I had been Orthodox for a few months and she, perhaps just barely a catechumen, was listening to the entry from the Prologue of Ochrid for the evening, which was read after the service. She read of Natalia's uncompromising attitude towards her Savior, even if it meant losing her beloved husband to apostasy, as well as her steadfast support of her husband while he, confessing Christ as a Roman guard, was stripped of his station, imprisoned, and martyred. Her care for him and for the other martyrs -- from anointing their maggot-infested wounds to gathering up their precious relics -- prompted Audra to think, "I want to be that kind of wife."

While life has not dealt us circumstances as dramatic as these, she has certainly been a rock of support, a source of prayer, and an example of fidelity and work. She accepted a martyrdom of sorts when she married a man whom she knew had not only entered a Faith she found strange and difficult, but who had also seriously considered pursuing a call to ministry therein. While it is not my decision in the slightest whether or not I will, in fact, be ordained anything at all in the Church, my wife has been an image of love for our God and for man, a gentle direction against my periodic tendency towards listlessness, and an ever-willing woman of faith; if I am ordained, she will make a fantastic matushka.

May God grant my dear Audra, though the prayers of her holy matron Natalia of Nicomedia, many, many blessed years.

Tabouli

(H/T to s-p) -- My time at St. Antony's Orthodox Church, the Antiochian parish in Tulsa, OK, in addition to providing for several "it's a small world" moments at St. Vlad's already, made me appreciate this hilarious video all the more.

St. Titus

Today churches on the Revised Julian ("New") Calendar commemorate both Ss. Bartholomew and Titus. I commend reading St. Paul's epistle to the latter, especially on the day the recipient is remembered. It is an exhortation to all of us; this is how the churches of God should be.

Also of worthy mention are the recent posts of Fr. Jonathan Tobias over at Second Terrace. Some of the most recent are meditations on the lectionary gospel readings. Well worth your time.

On The Road, Arrival, and Unpacking

Sorry about the delay in keeping folks updated. In short, I arrived at St. Vlad's on Monday and have spent the past day and half (with the help of the seminary community, who've extended me such a warm welcome and many, many helping hands) trying to make a dent in the way-too-many boxes that now need unpacking and storing...somewhere...

After leaving Arkansas, we went through Tennessee and into Kentucky. The girls, being in a minivan, went ahead of me, and right as I was about to enter my in-laws' little town, a guy pulled up beside me on the highway and did that little wave-and-point bit that is the universal signal for, "Something's wrong with your tire." Upon pulling over, I saw, with a bit of gratitude, that the tires on the truck were not flat, but rather a (smaller) tire on the trailer was. A quick call to Penske brought William, a man off-duty and not on call at the moment, but who was closest to me, and who dutifully and professionally changed the tire. God bless William.

The wait for the tire change, however, saw me in well past dark, so we didn't get to move the trailer and truck until Sunday morning. Consequently, we were too late to go up to St. Michael's in Louisville. We went to my mother-in-law's Vineyard church instead and, really, thought the sermon was quite sound. It was familiar to me, yet it took me aback, however, to walk into a darkened room, illumined only by a screen with the words from the songs, which blared loudly from speakers. It reminded me of the youth conferences and mission trips I'd been on with Teen Mania. It's also very hard to pray the Jesus Prayer in such a venue, but I was grateful, not for some "Orthodox vestige in a heterodox gathering," or some such, but for the reminder that I am, really, the sinner, as the prayer goes in Greek.

I saw a smattering of people that Sunday -- really about the same size as our parish in Ft. Worth -- and I looked at the fervency of the people who worshipped. While I don't want to go back to such a style of worship, it serves to remind me that there is a bedrock idea that somehow, youth must be introduced to a culture wherein those who worship do so out of a heartfelt desire to do so. I'm not advocating emotionalism during the Divine Liturgy, but anyone who's been present in a liturgy where the priest is focused and deliberate, and the people are determined, doggedly focused on what they are there to do -- namely, to offer themselves to God so that He would accept them, change them and the gifts into a Body, a single Loaf to be broken and given to the World -- knows that such a culture speaks the right words to those present, though some may not like what they hear. I know that many youth in the Vineyard congregation have grown up to be youth who, on their own, read their Bibles and sing to God. This is undoubtedly due to the adults in their lives who consistently live out their own, similar desire. Are there those in the congregation who have grown up to go a different way? Yes, for there is no "silver bullet" in raising children, and no amount of youth ministry, children's church, retreats or camps can force the Spirit's hand to keep one's children "in the fold." This is not to say one shouldn't have these -- they can be excellent events wherein kids can encounter God -- but simply that they are ultimately dispensable means to an end.

I'm rambling on about my thoughts in the service. Things I admired about the sermon:

The "debt of sin" was not something owed to God the Father.
The "law of sin and death" was acknowledged to have been replaced by another law (Love). Too many antinomian charismatics out there; this was a breath of fresh air.
The Kingdom of God was acknowledged not only to be "coming" (though that was the main stress of the sermon) but also "within you," now.

Definitely not things you hear normally in many Protestant sermons.

After church, I left everyone in KY and hit the road, sans trailer, for West Virginia.

Oh, my. The hills are alive. One who is used to seeing the curvature of the earth in all four directions when he goes home to meet his family is NOT prepared for the hills of Wes' Virginny. Especially when he is driving a loaded-down Penske truck. My trip took much longer than expected -- as did the portion spent in Maryland on Monday -- due to the truck's only going about 55 mph while going up a hill and my riding the brake at 60 going down (A 70 mph speed limit? In a truck like this?? In the dark??? Shoot....). Most wonderous, however, was the service known as Google Maps. For, in looking solely at my next step, I was waiting for exit 67. Nevermind that I had seen the name of the town with my hotel back at exit 62; I was getting off at 67, for I had time only to focus on one step while riding the WV roller coaster. Having exited, I saw instructions to promptly turn around and return -- on the highway -- to exit 62.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh.

The rest of the trip was, thankfully, flatter and uneventful, due to long stretches of easily mappable highway and excellent directions from seminarians regarding what to do when you get into New York State. I have already met other seminarian families who have made the same mistake we did -- namely, moving a house into an apartment. Consequently I am presently chest-deep in boxes (but, thankfully, there are now rooms in the house where such is no longer the case) and wondering where it all will go. My money's on Craigslist.

I have supped the previous two nights with generous seminarian families; one is a returning family, the other got here at the very beginning of August. Both extremely warm and helpful in my unpacking. Prayed this morning -- for the first time in several days, really! -- and set up our small table with a couple of icons on it (still haven't figured out where to hang it all). It was so good to stop and pray. Prayer, I know, is no longer a way to feel good or excited, but it does seem that a day without prayer has me feeling haggard at the end, even if the day went without incident, while a day filled with activity is usually undergirded with some sort of well-oiled Presence if begun with prayer. Doesn't take away the circumstances, mind you, but rememberance of God tends to make them bearable.

And now, back to unpacking. Thanks to all who prayed. Please continue to do so, as the girls are set to arrive sometime this afternoon. We've still a lot yet to unpack, not to mention the preparation for the upcoming school year. Emmanuel....

Packing, Closing, and "On the Road" -- Day 1

This past Sunday was our final Divine Liturgy before the move to New York. St. Herman of Alaska, pictured to the right, was the saint commemorated on that day (for revised Julian churches), and I felt it a fitting day for our "farewell." St. Herman has always been an inspiration to me; as someone who sought and seeks to serve the Church in a missionary capacity (foreign or domestic), St. Herman was a pivotal saint in my entry into the Church, for in him I saw a man wholly devoted to living an authentic, Christian life in an area where such a life was unknown and, thus, witnessing to and spreading the saving life of Christ. This story concerning his life comes back to me often:

"Father Herman was once invited aboard a ship that had docked in Kodiak and during a conversation with those on board he asked them what it was that would bring them the most happiness. Some wanted wealth, others wanted a top ranking job in the Navy another wanted a beautiful wife etc. 'What could be better, higher, more worthy of love and more splendid than Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who created the world, adorns, gives life, sustains, nourishes and loves everything - Who is Himself love. Should we not love God above all things, and wish for and seek Him?' The reply was, 'Why that's obvious, how can we not love God?' And Father Herman responded 'I, a poor sinner, have been trying to learn how to love God for more than 40 years, and I cannot say that I yet love Him properly. If we love someone, we always remember them, we try to please them continually. Day and night we are concerned about them. Our mind and our heart is concerned with the object of our love. How do you love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and keep His commandments?' The crew admitted that they did not. 'Then, for our good and for our happiness, let us all make a vow: at least from this day, this hour, this very minute, we should strive to love God above all else and do His will!'" (H/T to St. Herman's Orthodox Church, Fairbanks AL).

We rented the Penske truck on Monday and began loading it up. This was the first time we had ever done something like this, so we followed the advice of a knowledgeable man from our parish: Pack all the way up to the top in the very front of the bed. When that's done, start a new "level," packing all the way to the top. Pack it so tight that you can't fit a piece of paper in between any of the boxes." Between that and some ratchet straps to hold some random items that don't fit properly anywhere, I'm thankful to say that not a thing looks like it's moved from where a half dozen of us put things after a full day of driving, thanks be to God. And MANY thanks to the Rovny boys, John, Brad and Charles for their help in packing the truck. Also, ever ready to help, was my mother, whose boundless energy amazes me; this is a woman who works with 2-4 year olds all day, every day, and has energy to spare afterwards to come help us box up things in the evenings, sweep up a garage, etc. Let me be clear in saying that we would not have been packed up and ready to go in time for our deadline had she not been helping us. She is also accompanying the girls in the van while I drive the Penske truck.

Ah, the Penske truck. Twenty-six feet of driving pleasure, plus the added bonus of a trailer for towing my pickup. There's definitely a learning curve involved with driving one of these things, but all in all, it's not qualitatively different from driving, say, a large van. You have to take into account that it doesn't accelerate as quickly nor stop as quickly, but mostly the same rules apply regarding how to position yourself in your lane, how to change lanes, etc. Our normal travel pattern is to drive most of the way (or, sometimes, all the way) to Kentucky in one day, which kills pretty much everyone involved. Today we drove around six or seven hours, which will be what we do for the next few days. This, to me, is an excellent budget of driving time per day, as we're not exhausted at the end of the day.

Closing on the house went off without a hitch (moving truck pun not intended). We are so very thankful to God for this blessing, as we are not in the least bit entitled to His making it this much easier for us to "make a clean break" and head up to New York. It is a strange thing, being "homeless." You can read my wife's newly resurrected blog post HERE for her thoughts on this and other things, as well.

Please keep us all in your prayers as we travel and make adjustments to our new life as a seminarian family in New York. Our insurance scare (see wife's blog for details) has been resolved satisfactorily for now; again, God is "doubly good" to us where He does not have to be "singly good" in the first place. Thanks be to Him.

A blessed feast to all. An excellent festal meditation is HERE. Please pray for incoming and current Antiochian seminarians.

Eastern Errancy Answered

My friend Rhology has cross-posted an inquiry about Orthodox views on inerrancy both at his blog HERE and at a corporate blog to which he contributes, Beggars All, HERE. I chose to respond on the latter blog but am posting my response here as well. I've altered the original post so that it will not look like a response to an inquiry but simply to stand alone and present the content of said response.

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In debates with conservative or fundamentalist Protestants (the two terms are not synonymous), Orthodox are charged with "acting like liberal Protestants." What is ironic here is that liberal Protestants accuse us of being fundamentalists. What was that Chesterton said about orthodoxy again...?

I understand that certain camps within Protestantism label themselves as "conservative" and others as "liberal," while other camps label themselves as "liberal," while still others resent the label of "liberal" given them by the self-appointed "conservative" wing of Protenstantism. Certain hot-button issues seem to be the litmus test for this (inerrancy of Scripture, satisfaction atonement, authority of Scripture, for example), and said issues come complete with lexical definitions for each issue, provided as well by the self-appointed "conservative Protestants" themselves, thus framing the debate before it even gets started.

I would state at the outset that I view their rather arbitrary claim to be the, well, arbiters of "conservative orthodoxy" (little "o") to be rather unfounded and, therefore, not pertinent to this debate. The more I read of the way the Church Fathers (most particularly Chrysostom, Irenaeus, and Basil) interpreted and read the Scriptures, the more I'm convinced that the labels "conservative" and "liberal" -- and, in particular, the way they are arbitrarily used within some Protestant circles -- means very, very little to an Orthodox Christian. I do not mean to cast aspersions on the desire of so-called "conservative" or fundamentalist Protestants to be faithful to the Scriptures or to the saving events to which they attest. Rather, I would state that the degree to which they are forced to stretch in order to do so sufficiently (at least, to their own satisfaction) is misguided and unnecessary.

We are accused, when stating that minor factual or historical errors may exist in the biblical text, of confusing the roles of God and man, or as Rhology put it, making "a strong distinction between God and man," This dichotomy, however, often drawn by fundamentalist or "conservative" Protestants between God and men is not based on a sound Christology. A sound Christology demands just such a distinction between divine and human natures, as the human and divine natures of Christ were, in fact, sharply distinct one from another, though they were never separate. As a man, Christ needed to sleep. As a divine One, however, He "neither slumbers nor sleeps." As a man, Christ thirsted. As a divine One, He has no need of any sustenance.

Likewise, as a document written by humans, the Scriptures contain minor, inconsequential inconsistencies, such as exactly what was written above the cross.A commenter in Rhology's combox (Seth, whose comment can be found HERE) looked to harmonize the four accounts by distinguishing between a τιτλος (a title, as in, Christ's name and town of origin) and a επιγραφη της αιτιας (an accusation made of Him), but such a resort misses the point of a biblical account entirely.

From the Orthodox point of view, it makes no difference whatsoever if the precise words on the sign are reported incorrectly. What is important here is that there was a Cross onto which said sign was nailed, and that a divine Savior hung on said Cross for our salvation. This major event was reported by all four evangelists with σταυρωσαντες δε αυτον (Matt.) and εσταυρωσαν αυτον (Mk., Lk., Jn.), and all four are translated to mean "He was crucified" and "They crucified Him." It is clear to us that we may never know what the sign said, as the gospel writers, being men, reported different things. Yet this (ultimately inconsequential) detail does not get in the way of the Scriptures providing a faithful witness, consistently, to the fact of the Crucifixion. One may also refer to the details of the sign as inconsequential since the discrepancies in question are not ones of contradiction but rather mere addition or subtraction of details; the former would be a much more severe charge than the latter.

Just as we do not see every minor detail in Scripture as needing to be airtight, neither do we see every detail in icons as needing to be historical; Mary is depicted in the Ascension icon. St. Paul (and, sometimes, even Mary!) is present at Pentecost. These are included to make theological points. While, granted, the differing inscriptions (and/or "accusations," if one prefers) make no other theological point than the fact that He was accused of being the "King of the Jews" (which He was, of course, the Church Fathers nevertheless later preferring to place the title "The King of Glory" over icons of the Crucifixion), the fact that minor discrepancies were present in no way invalidates the divinely inspired proclamation of our Lord's suffering on the Cross. Any skeptic who would dismiss the unanimously attested-to latter proclamation based on the former inconsistencies is so insincere a searcher and so blindly dismissive of Christianity at the outset that it would be fruitless, in my opinion, to engage such a person in the first place.

Just as both Christ -- who experienced weakness and humiliation as man yet was ever omnipotent God -- and Scripture -- which contains minor, inconsequential inconsistencies yet remains god-breathed and inspired -- simultaneously show forth divine and human natures, so the Church manifests itself as theanthropic, both vulnerable to horrible abuses within it, yet still guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. Bishops engaged in power struggles, they anathematized whole swathes of Christendom out of sheer ego…yet the council of Nicaea declared Christ to be ομοουσιους with the Father and with us.

The idea of an incarnate Lord, susceptible to weakness and death, Who is yet the unchanging Source and Ground of all Being…is scandalous.

The idea of a Bible written by men who got some details wrong yet preserved a Holy Tome breathed by God…is scandalous.

The idea of a Church whose very shepherds have beaten and neglected the sheep in shameful ways and to shameful degrees yet which has yet been led into all truth and continues to be the Pillar and Ground of said Truth…is scandalous.

Yet there it is: Divine. Human. Incarnate. Salvific.

Name That Saint

My aunt and uncle threw a going away party for us at their house this past weekend; we were blessed with the company of about fifty friends from family, church, and work. The icon to your right was given to us by a couple from our parish; if you click on the image to enlarge it, you'll see something unique to this icon; below the Theotokos and Child is a glowing, red footprint. A little digging identified this icon as the Theotokos of Pochaev icon. The "IOB" to the right of the Mother of God, then, would obviously be St. Job of Pochaev, but the identity of the monastic on the left eludes me. What I can make out comes out to something like "MBFOLIEH," and I'm guessing that's not it.

The only "google-able" Pochaev saint that comes up regularly is Amphilochius, but the lettering on the icon 1) is in Cyrillic, so unless it's simple like "IOB" or close to the Greek I'm pretty much outta luck, and 2) is very tiny and smooshed together.

Any help would be appreciated! I'd like to know whose prayers I'm asking for, here....

"...the Eucharist is an 'ultimate mystery,' a sacramental consummation, 'the goal and term of life.' The Eucharist is the summit of Christian pilgrimage. And when this final stage of sacramental life has been achieved, there is nothing else that man may desire or need. In this mystery or sacrament, not only are the gifts of the Spirit granted and received, but the Risen Lord Himself is present. One cannot move farther. When Christ is in us, what else can we seek? Christ abides in the communicants. This is a 'perfect sacrament,' more perfect than any other, the beginning and the end of all blessings, the ultimate goal of all human aspirations. God is united with us 'in a most perfect union,' and nothing can be more perfect than this marvelous conjunction..." ~ Fr. Georges Florovsky

Prophet Elias

Happy namesday to little Elias, son of our good friends John and Mandy! Many years!

Troparion - Tone 4

An angel in the flesh and the cornerstone of the prophets,
the second forerunner of the coming of Christ,
Glorious Elijah sent grace from on high to Elisha,
to dispel diseases and to cleanse lepers.
Therefore, he pours forth healings on those who honor him.

Kontakion - Tone 2

Prophet Elijah of great renown,
seer of the mighty works of God,
by your command you held back the rain!
Pray for us to the only Lover of mankind!

Rest

In our household, we try to set aside Sunday as much as possible as a day of rest, refraining from all unnecessary work. This week has been a challenge for us, as temperatures had been in the triple digits for a couple of weeks straight (we've been granted a reprieve for the past three with a "cool front" in the upper 90s and even some rain today!), and the days had been taken up with boxing, packing, craigslisting, and creating towers of boxes in our 1.400 ft³ storage unit. Nowhere near what Steve has been enduring, but the work and heat is definitely taking its toll.

Interesting, then, what a "forced" day of rest will do. While it's a given that the day will be appreciated by the body (give it some time to heal up), it also forces one to concentrate one's work even more tightly into the other six days of the week.

Tomorrow: the final week of summer school instruction before finals. Plus more packing. Vitamin C, Advil, and heating pads are definitely in order...

Konstantina's Question...

A good while ago, a woman named Konstantina commented on my post about our recent trip to the Holy Archangels Monastery in Kendalia. She asked what might cause traditions now confined mostly to monasteries and certain parishes (in the comment in question, head coverings and separation of the sexes in worship were mentioned). Finally, I responded to her, but thought that she might notice a response better through a new post. That, and I find it something worthy of a post. So...

"My apologies for not responding earlier. My parish priest generally says that, if you want to effect change in a parish, embody the change you wish to see. If God blesses it, it'll spread. My wife prays with her head covered. No one prompted her to do this (especially not I, though I was happy when she said she'd start doing it). A Syrian woman and several Russian/Ukrainian women in our parish do, as well. Most don't, and that's fine, in the end, I suppose.

"If women start to see a trend developing, perhaps more will take up the practice. Perhaps more men will start to "shift to the right" if more men do so (especially in family situations, with fathers on right, mothers on left).

"An increased exposure to monasticism in America is absolutely essential not only to customs such as these, but to an entire Orthodox prayer life and tradition of the surrender of one's heart to Christ. We are babes in this country and need to drink as deeply from these monastic waters as we can (knowing, of course, that monastics are not perfect, either, and are, at times, even ruled by their sinful passions -- another monastery that no longer exists in Texas is proof of that -- but by and large, where the tradition is upheld and kept, we are blessed to be exposed to them). By their increased witness here -- may God grant! -- I think we'll see the biggest leaps forward in preserving and passing down an authentic Orthodox identity.

"Thanks for your comment."

Who's on First -- Shakespeare Style

My favorite playwright meets my favorite comedy sketch. Brilliant.

Jibril

My sister's baby boy, Jibril, is the son of a Muslim man. Today (7/13) is a commemoration of the Archangel Gabriel. Jibril will grow up with a reverence for his namesake, but not for the One Whom he announced to the Theotokos. Pray that the good Archangel would reveal the True God to my nephew.

Troparion - Tone 4

Gabriel, commander of the heavenly hosts,
we who are unworthy beseech you,
by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory,
and faithfully faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you:
"Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commander of the powers on high!"

Kontakion - Tone 2

You look upon God's glory in heaven,
and bring grace from on high to earth,
wise Gabriel, leader of angels,
minister of God's glory, and divine defender of the world!
Save and preserve those who cry to you:
"Be our defense, so that no one can be against us!"

Empty(ing) House and Finding Peace

Today being a day of rest, we took a break from the standard boxing, hauling, and showing of the house, especially since we had no scheduled showings for today.

Or so we thought.

What we found out this afternoon was that a showing we had thought would be yesterday afternoon was actually for this afternoon -- the house, of course, was a mess. Still, they were enchanted (random articles of clothing and large, cardboard boxes notwithstanding); the woman commented on a "peace" the house had about it.

The offer was put in this afternoon. We're waiting to find out the amount from our realtor. Go fig.

Several things have been moved via the marvel that is craigslist; the house is looking much less crowded. A piano we had brought over from our parish's old building was passed on to our -- sponsees? godchildren who are our age? -- who wanted it.

What you see here to the right is the surprise "payment" for my help in moving the piano. Let it be known (as I found out John, my godson, swings by here to read from time to time) that I do not consider this as payment for something I was fully planning on insisting on doing for free, but rather a generous gift between friends, a giver who very thoughtfully remembered what I'd mentioned one time as my drink of choice.

So thank you, John.

Also resigned from my school district this past week. It's noticeable -- and a bit surprising, really -- how I am not at all perturbed by a sudden "uprootedness" that this move has thrust upon us. Somewhat disturbing, actually, is that I've succumbed in the first place to the "clingy" type of rootedness (as in, the bad kind wherein one is addicted to security, rather than the good rootedness that comes from attachment to land and family), as such was not always the case. Regardless, with no job come September, peace -- perhaps the one our potential buyer may have picked up on -- has settled in long before some of these major pieces started falling into place (Thank God).

Our parish priest spoke a week ago in liturgy about how "trusting in princes, in the sons of men" nowadays translates to "trusting in a depersonalized" -- and, I would add, depersonalizing -- "system" instead of God. It isn't that the two are always opposed to one another, but when one's confidence is shaken when the corporation, school district, or sugar daddy who had been writing the checks suddenly cuts the cord, then there's a failure to recognize the One truly providing for us behind the scenes. For about a week, we were moving across the country with no job guaranteed for my wife (this has since changed, thank God) and no job here for me. Loose ends still exist regarding finances (welcome to life, I suppose), but individuals have already contacted us about support. God is not without his workers. God grant we would be some ourselves.

David Bentley Hart on Predestination

From his talk, "The Doors of the Sea," regarding Calvinist teachings on predestination:

“The curious absurdity of such all such doctrines is that, out of a pious anxiety to defend God’s transcendence against any scintilla of genuine creaturely freedom, they threaten effectively to collapse that transcendence into absolute identity — with the world, with us, with the devil. For, unless the world is truly set apart from God and possesses a dependent but real liberty of its own analogous to the freedom of God, everything is merely a fragment of divine volition, and God is simply the totality of all that is and all that happens; there is no creation, but only an oddly pantheistic expression of God’s unadulterated power.

...

“For, after all, if it is from Christ that we are to learn how God relates himself to sin, suffering, evil, and death, it would seem that he provides us little evidence of anything other than a regal, relentless, and miraculous enmity; sin he forgives, suffering he heals, evil he casts out, and death he conquers. And absolutely nowhere does Christ act as if any of these things are part of the eternal work or purposes of God.”

A Life-Altering Decision

For the past two years, Audra and I have been thinking and praying about our "next step" in life. We've felt (for longer than two years, to be sure), that something was going to happen -- at times it would seem I'd be going for a Masters of some kind, or we'd be moving to Kentucky to be nearer to her family, or...something.

I've always been a churchmouse, a theology buff -- now a "Geek Orthodox," as we're sometimes called -- someone who's always tried to serve the Church in some capacity since childhood. As a Baptist, I had been on youth mission trips, participated in ministry teams, and had led Bible studies and music at school and at church. I had gone to college -- as had Audra -- in order eventually to become a missionary. Orthodoxy disrupted those plans, to put it lightly; my new bride and I were still brand-new converts (I was just over a year in the faith, she not even six months in) and had to learn to live with this new faith. Plans to go abroad were put on hold as we taught school and she picked up an MLS. Add two daughters to the mix and the plate was full. Add to all this the fact that I had read the Treatise on the Priesthood by St. John Chrysostom (which scared the hell out of me), and I was ready to hang up plans for full-time service to the Church indefinitely.

About a year and a half ago, however, something...shifted in me, I suppose you could say. Before, when people would ask if I ever had plans to go to seminary, I would become physically uncomfortable and quickly change the subject. Yet now I was slowly beginning to feel what I can only describe as a light turning from red to yellow (a strange metaphor, but it's the only one I've ever been able to use that seems to do the trick) with regard to religious studies and possible ordination. I brought this up to my dear wife; the prospect of taking our two small daughters up to seminary and pursuing the life of a clergyman was not an easy one. But this is why I stand in awe of this woman; she -- the daughter of two charismatic ministers who've lived much of their life "without a net," sending her father on mission trip after mission trip with money from God-knows-where and doing what it took to get by otherwise -- simply shrugged and said, "All I need to know is that you're sure this is what God wants us to do. If so, I'll follow you wherever you think we should go." That said, I brought up the subject with my parish priest -- who had been hinting at this road for me himself, mostly just to give me a hard time because he knew I hated talking about it -- and he suggested I apply to St. Vladimir's as a second step.

Several letters of recommendation and a few essays later, I received a letter in the mail announcing my acceptance into the MDiv program for the Fall of 2009. We began in earnest to try and sell the house, as I dreaded the thought of renting out. God, apparently, wanted to start the "trust factor" a bit earlier than I'd anticipated, for we have wound up renting within the family (a much easier situation for me to swallow, given the inability to sell the house thus far) while the house will continue to show to potential buyers.

So...this blogger and his family will, by God's grace, be packing up as much of our things as we can fit into a small, New York apartment and, in the very near future, be moving to Crestwood, New York to begin studies at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary -- classes will begin on August 31, 2009. This is a tremendous leap of faith for us, as money will be tight, relationships tested, and faith stretched for the next three years and, most likely, far beyond. Prayers are extremely coveted right now, more than anything else. If you would like to support the seminary in general or me in particular, please let me know.

So it begins. May it be blessed. Lord, have mercy.

Consciences, Pledges, Wombs

My friend Alan of the blog Rhoblogy briefly took issue with my description of Evangelical salvation in comparison to the Orthodox model. He then, however, moves into another, related topic that is worth comment:

He writes:

My community group just finished studying Galatians in detail, and I join in the Apostle Paul's amazement at the Galatians' "bewitching", as he wonders aloud in many different ways how it was that the Galatians would exchange this Gospel of grace for a system of God's grace + human effort, no matter how innocuous and otherwise-endorsed-by-God it might be. No matter whether this human effort is adding the very God-ordained sign of the God-ordained covenant in the OT - circumcision. But it's permissible if we add the God-ordained sign of the God-ordained NT covenant - baptism - to it?

I've often sat back and marveled at the similarities of form that exist between the Pharisees of Christ's day and those of the Orthodox Church. Hierarchy and a sad history of replacing the Ignatian model of the bishop as locus of unity with that of him as the source thereof; ancient, venerated, often-complex roles of tradition and the subsequent tendency at times to strain at gnats and swallow camels; the deference of a desire to encounter the living God to a willingness to surrender oneself over to the rubrics books...sons of hell we all can so easily be and become.

I could speak of the scriptural parallel between circumcision and baptism (Col. 2:11-12). I could speak of how it itself is the pledge of a clean conscience, a pledge which is salvific through an appropriation of Christ's resurrection (1 Pet. 3:21). I could speak of how we are, in our view, mandated to do this and are saved because of this.

But I would rather speak of how absurd it is, really, to think that our meager prayers, our weak actions, our vulnerable, mortal bodies, dripping and cold (and, later, oily), could ever fathom standing on their own merits as somehow deserving of salvation per se. We have been given a gift in baptism, a gift of nothing other than grace undeserved. We ask that the Holy Spirit descend into waters we're meant to drown in and, hopefully in humble obedience, we follow, submitting both ourselves and our children to our God in a manner He has given us. We do this in faith that God will bring the increase, and that increase is solely by grace. His is the seed of life sown within us, for He is the Sower.

As was the case with circumcision, so the case with baptism: any ritual without Christ is a mockery and a sick, diseased, tragedy. My wife and I offered up our girls to the Creator of all things when we gave them to the font; for us to then ignore the Holy Scriptures, neglect lives of fasting, discipline and self-denial, pile up other priorities for ourselves instead of Sunday liturgy and evening Vespers (or, if not feasible, evening prayers at home in the family icon corner -- which, of course, being "magic Christians" who believed in baptism per se, we would do infrequently, if at all), fail to speak of our saintly Patriarchs, prophets, saints and martyrs as our holy guides and fellow-confessors -- such a life would be a mockery, a denial of our pledge to Him, completely unworthy of the calling to which we were called when we were buried with our Adam in a death like His.

We have, as Orthodox Christians, renounced the devil; not only have we done this, but we have breathed and spit upon him, turning immediately afterwards to the East to unite ourselves to the Christ of the living God. Christ, in His mercy, has given us a very accessible and obtainable means of union -- one that only He could effect. His Sun of Righteousness shines down on us once we pass, simply and obediently, through this womb of baptism which our Virgin Mother, the Church, has been given to bear Her children who've been orphaned by this world; for us to glory in getting wet is the height of arrogance and blindness.

This, I know, sets the stage for when the body is dry and one is no longer "oily 'round the ears"; how is it that one can justify a life lived in strict obedience to and self-denial for God -- a taking up of crosses, as it is termed in Scripture -- as a prerequisite for eternal life in Christ and yet adamantly deny that one is saved by his works? I would begin HERE. As for my own response...perhaps for another night; it is late, and I must go early tomorrow to welcome kids to Summer School. May it be blessed, and may I bear it honorably and for Christ. Prayers are appreciated.

Peace.

A New Feature

I will attempt to put up every Saturday evening the major saint (or saints, or feast) commemorated in the Church for that liturgical day. Clicking on the title will send you to the troparion and kontakion; clicking on the image will send you to an explanation of that particular icon.

All hymns and lives of saints are taken from the website of the Orthodox Church in America.

Trip to Kendalia

I've recently returned from a spontaneous, informal weekend retreat at Holy Archangels Greek Orthodox Monastery in Kendalia, TX. It's been about four years since I've been able to spend the night there with the fathers, and I went this time with three other men from my parish. Two of them had never been to an Orthodox monastery before; the other two of us were already familiar with how things went.

We went down around lunchtime on Friday and spent the night. On Saturday we woke up at six in the morning for the divine liturgy. Following this, we ate breakfast, then broke up for what, interestingly enough, the fathers called "quiet time" -- when they did some of their private, morning devotionals, cleaned up the kitchen. During this time I went to the grave of little Jamie, (not pictured to the right, as I neglected to bring my camera), where I prayed some prayers for the departed, and sang "With the saints" and "Memory Eternal." Sat afterwards and read the end of Fr. John Behr's The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death.

Following this time we (the four of us from St. Barbara's) accompanied some of the fathers and brothers (monks are called "fathers" regardless of whether they've been ordained priests or not, while novices who've yet to be fully tonsured are called "brothers") into the main church (pictured right) to help them dust, sweep, mop, and scrape beeswax from the floor. This is part of their daily devotional. Brother Jason then gave us a tour around the four-story complex that's being built alongside the church that will house more monastics (may God grant such) in the future. Lunch was served and, following this, a baptism of the newly born (and now newly-illumined) child of God, Eli. This service was the first I'd witnessed at Holy Archangels that was not entirely in Greek; well over 75% of it was in English, probably due to its not being a daily service and due to non-Greek speakers' attending on a special occasion. Following the baptism, we had a bit of time for reflection and prayer, and then had Vespers and Litya (which, like the baptism, was in the main church, as well). Supper was served after this. Suppers at Holy Archangels are eaten with women in one room, and male pilgrims and monastics in the other. A priestmonk will offer a blessing, and all will sit. A bell will ring, signalling the beginning of the meal. A monk will begin to read either a passage of Scripture or something from the Church Fathers (in this case, in Greek, of course), while all the "listeners" (such as we were) ate in silence). A minute or two later, a second bell rings, and drinks are poured. This discipline teaches us to wait, though we be hungry, before diving into food or drink in an uncontrolled fashion. Idle talk is not to be found at the table.

Following supper, the bell at the nearby, smaller chapel pictured to the right (which is also where we had had divine liturgy that morning) rang for Compline. We walked in the dark back to our rooms, a day full of prayer, work, and temperance in food and drink finished. The next day we would go back up to the main church for divine liturgy. Again, separate gender was the rule, with males on the right, and women on the left, heads covered. Following this, we all ate together in the refectory, and afterwards, with the blessing of the Γεροντα, or "elder," came back home.

Things I came away with:

The long monastic services in Greek, regardless of whether one knows enough of the language to follow along (I can get by in the more familiar services), are an excellent opportunity to practice the Jesus Prayer. Indeed, I find the literal hours spent focusing on the words -- and, then, the One behind the words -- of the prayer help me "rediscover" the beauty of the simplicity of that prayer. True, the monotony that can set in also allows for thoughts to wander, but controlling one's thoughts, taking every one of them captive and making it obedient to Christ and, thus, slowly and painfully correcting our minds' and hearts' misuse of our bodies, is what the Prayer is all about.

I really, really appreciate head coverings, modest dress (including long sleeves on men), and separated genders in Orthodox worship. Regarding the latter issue, I was surprised, honestly, at how much easier it is for me to focus on worship when only with members of my own gender. There is, of course, "the issue" that plagues young men, but this goes deeper than mere wandering eyes. Here is a faith (I saw it in action multiple times during the trip) where men teach boys, where women teach girls how to live and worship. The community at this monastery -- which is comprised of Orthodox from several large cities around central Texas -- made sure that boys coming only with mothers received ample instruction from older men as to when to bow, how to stand, where to read along in the service books...the village was alive here.

All in all, a wonderfully refreshing weekend spent with dear friends. Glory to God.

A Hard Gospel to Preach

In a recent "retread" over threads in the forum I mentioned a few posts below this one, I ran across a thread regarding Evangelicals doing missionary work in Greece. Some Orthodox were lamenting Evangelicals' proselytizing people who, culturally and historically (and, very often -- though much, much less often these days -- by conviction) were already Christian. Others were scratching their heads wondering what the appeal would be regarding some of these groups. Y'all know where I come from theologically (or, if you're new here, you can click on my conversion story in the sidebar), and those of you who've read the blog long enough or thoroughly enough will know that I know when to take my lumps; though I truly believe that the Orthodox FAITH and the corporate Church that confesses it is the fullness of Him that fills all in all, all is not always rosy in practical, concrete matters. Cf. St. Paul's letters to Corinth. The following then, is my response to the question of why people (not throngs, but noticeable numbers of people) were joining Evangelical groups (edited in brackets for context):

"I think the intellectual input and stimulation [of regular, faithful Bible Study], as well as the realization that they're actually DOING something with their faith outside of church services provides a thrill that they weren't getting with just 'spectator sport' Orthodoxy/Catholicism, where the priest/choir/chanters sang the Divine Liturgy/said Mass and they went through the motions without any purposeful explanation and education of what was going on.

"When you take the stated doctrine of having all your sins completely and permanently wiped out, forever, of never having to deal with any kind of ascetic effort in order to arrive at purification and sanctification, and are 'free' to rejoice in a perceived spiritual perfection that God has granted you apart from any obedience you may or may not have actually walked in -- well, as virtual and artificial as it may sound when I put it that way, it does make for a VERY grateful reaction on the part of the believer. 'He who has been forgiven much, loves much,' and all that. The Evangelical perceives that his sins have been declared null and void through the legal transaction of the blood of Christ before the Father, and so they are free simply to rejoice in an already finished righteousness, an already guaranteed place in heaven. Couple this grateful state with AGRESSIVE memorization of proof-texts that seem to bolster this teaching, and you have the added rush of thinking that God's biblical stamp of approval supports the idea, adding confidence to enthusiastic gratitude.

"It is difficult, then, to put Orthodoxy next to that and say, 'Christ has died and risen again; through baptism we are brought into His Kingdom so that we would have the POTENTIAL of working out our salvation with fear and trembling, making every effort to enter into the rest He prepared for us through His Passion and Resurrection. The enemy, however, still prowls around as the wolf of souls, seeking to make us his prey, so we must be ever mindful of sinful habits that remain in our lives, as they could be occasion for the enemy to gain a foothold. Our life in Christ consists of constant vigilance, constant repentance, constant participation in the sacramental life of the Church, and constant sorrow and (should God grant) true tears of repentance over our state as 'chief of sinners' so that we might gain times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord which is the comfort for those who have mourned.'

"Evangelicals will say that this gospel has been tried and found wanting, pointing to the Orthodox hierarchs' and clergy's moral failure, as well as the laity's laxity and lack of fervor in studying about and participating in their faith outside of services. I would say that the faith is not so much tried and found wanting as it has been found difficult and left untried. This is not so much an excuse as it is an explanation. What is needed? A culture shift, I think. Increased emphasis on personal sin and the need for repentance, forgiveness and grace. Priorities on parish education regarding biblical, patristic support for Orthodox positions. Clear opportunities to LIVE the gospel (service projects like [soup kitchens, clothing pantries, prison visitation], for example). Fellowship and increased accountability among the faithful, pushing each other on to greater piety and holiness of life, seeking out ways to rid ourselves of sin and live to Christ. I say that, if these things are considered solely Evangelical territory, we as Orthodox have sold our birthright, so to speak, and Evangelicals' coming in and gaining the souls the Church has neglected should come as no surprise."

The Wonderworking Icon of Our Lady of Sitka

About a week ago St. Tikhon's Seminary octet visited our parish on a musical tour. They chanted Great Vespers on Tuesday evening and followed the next day with Divine Liturgy. Audra and I were blessed to be able to extend hospitality to the director of the octet and put him up for the night in our home. Along with them came the miracle-working icon of the Theotokos of Sitka, Alaska (pictured right). A story was told of a woman who had been suffering from very severe lung cancer and, following a lengthy prayer session before the icon, received total healing. The director was quick to point out, of course, that the real miracle is that of a changed life and obedience to Christ, regardless of physical healing. Still, it was good to pray in front of the peaceful image of our Lord's mother.

Pictured here are our altar servers and priest (in green) with the octet (which was really just a "septet" for this tour) and the icon of our lady of Sitka. Father later took some oil from the vigil lamp that perpetually hangs before the icon -- oil with which we were all anointed after Vespers -- and gave it to some of the elderly ladies, one of whom was suffering with vision failure. To watch these sisters express such gratitude to anoint themselves so reverently is something I won't profane here by trying to describe.


A family portrait with our Lady and her divine Son. You can read details of the icon's history HERE.

Troparion and Kontakion HERE.

Akathist hymn HERE.

Pardon Our Dust...

...so I create a label for "Best of Blog," only to find out that, under the older, html-driven "Classic Templates" in blogger, only 20 posts under a label will display at one time. So I had to update my template and lost several personalizations, which I hope to add back in soon. Meanwhile, you can read all I labeled to your right.

Enjoy, and pardon the different looks that no doubt will be cycling through the next couple of days.

Best of BLOG

Following the lead of Steve of the Pithless Thoughts blog (and the podcasts Our Life in Christ and Steve the Builder), I've created a grouping of posts over the past four and a half years that I feel give a good, overall "Oh Taste and See" reader.

Best of Blog -- it'll also be in the sidebar. Enjoy!

Blessed Feast!

Troparion - Tone 8

Blessed art Thou, O Christ Our God
Thou hast revealed the fishermen as most wise
By sending down upon them the Holy Spirit
Through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net
O Lover of Man, Glory to Thee!

Kontakion - Tone 8

When the most High came down and confused the tongues,
He divided the nations;
But when he distributed the tongues of fire
He called all to unity.
Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-holy Spirit!

(Russian Orthodox Christians also -- in fact, they preeminently -- call this Sunday "Troitsa," or "Trinity." Read this excellent post by Fr. Stephen Freemen to find out why.)

Hierarchy of Conversion

The following was posted on a forum I mention often here, and is just something I wanted to place here, as well. Nothing groundbreaking or anything; just thought it was worth a mention:

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I think there's a hierarchy to building faith, and faith rightly believed. If you've got an iPod (or about an hour to spend in front of PC speakers), you can see this hierarchy played out HERE and HERE in the life of a former Muslim who left Islam after reading the Passion passages in the Gospel, belonged to several different Protestant groups, and finally landed in Orthodoxy (iirc, he's been Orthodox for a while now).

This "hierarchy" I speak of can be accomplished within Orthodoxy itself -- and often is -- though sometimes it is not, and other times folks begin the "hierarchy" outside the Church (as you and I did), only to find its goal within Her.

The hierarchy I speak of isn't a "silver bullet" for spiritual growth, nor is it a hard and fast rule, but it goes roughly like this:

• A person comes to a conscious, deliberate, chosen belief in Jesus Christ as his/her Savior, realizing the severity of his/her fallenness and the need to be redeemed from death. This can be a "watershed moment" and very dramatic, or it can be something that someone realizes they've always believed, but has now matured enough to where they could confess and live it. Regardless, I think that if someone does not have some sort of sense that s/he is grateful for the "great mercy" we sing so often about in church on Sundays, it will not matter what confession one belongs to, as one will not be "in church" for the right reason: giving thanks to the One Who saves.

• A person needs to grow in knowledge of this Savior through familiarity with and regular reading of the Bible. I'm not saying they need to earn a theology degree, just...basic Bible vocab / characters / lingo / events. A "Who's Who and What's What," in other words. I did this as a Protestant kid in AWANA (a Scripture memory program); Orthodox kids can read children's Bibles with their parents, or (even better), the parents/priests/church school leaders can go over the short, lectionary readings with them when they're older. Parents are vital here, though, and need to lead by example.

• A person needs to determine -- out of a desire to know Christ in the fullest way possible -- which of the many different confessions is the one Church Christ established and in which one can encounter and dwell in His divine Life. For Orthodox, they're already there. For those of us outside, we have to weigh the issues and enter later.

I've seen people come to Orthodoxy for wrong reasons (they love Russian music/art, they want to be right about everything, they're looking to be [insert former confession], just more "conservative"), so perhaps this contributes to some Orthodox people's not taking some converts very seriously. I've seen people who've grown up Orthodox who have (right in front of me) told me that what they're there for is fellowship among [a certain language]-speaking people, since that's what they are, and people who come because Mama makes them, and are therefore completely bored and hostile towards a faith they know nothing about, much less care about anything spiritual. Again, these are my experiences, and those vary, but it seems to me that if a certain "path of conversion" is followed -- roughly, that is -- it makes for a more natural, stable church life.