My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
AN INTRODUCTION TO ORTHODOX SPIRITUALITY (
By George C. Papademetriou
Three Ways Upwards
The Holy Fathers of the Church suggest three ways to make progress in the spiritual life and attain spiritual perfection:
- The way of catharsis or purification
- The way of illumination, and
- The way of perfection by total union with God.
These ways can bring the Christian who cooperates with Divine grace to perfection. Synergy of the individual effort with the help of the grace of God brings us to our ultimate destiny of perfection. Our Lord's death and resurrection achieve for us our end in attaining the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.
The Philokalia speaks of "the increasing knowledge of God decreases knowledge of all else. In other words, the more a man knows God; he knows less of other matters. Not only this, but he begins to realize more and more clearly that neither does he know God." This point is of fundamental importance to Orthodoxy that declares the total mystery and unknowability of the Divine essence.
The Christian Commitment
The life of moral perfection, according to our Holy Bible and the Holy Fathers of the Church, is a call to a life in Christ, that is, a Christ-like life. Consequently, the spirituality of the Orthodox Christian is portrayed as a life in Christ, a life of commitment to the lord, and a complete submission to his will. One lives only to do everything for Christ's sake, as Christ wants it and as Christ's would do it.
The Christian commitment to Christ must be made by an inner, free act and not compelled by any external force, not even by God. "Man is free and able to enter into relations with both kingdoms - the Kingdom of Light and that of darkness." These kingdoms, the spiritual and the satanic, are hidden, not in the mind, but much deeper in the soul - "under the mind, beneath the surface of the thoughts," as Saint Makarios asserts. The 4th century Saint already had the notion of "heart," which is strikingly close to the modern psychological concept of the subconscious.
Moral Perfection is Life in Christ
Orthodox Christian spirituality is described throughout the centuries as life in Christ, striving for moral and spiritual perfection. The Mystical Union in Orthodox spirituality is not the "devout life" that some sects claim but the communion of the person with God. In sectarian teachings, the "devout life" is a sentimental and emotional relation to "divinity." The Orthodox Church rejects this concept in favor of one, which envisions the meeting of man with the Divine Person in a mystical way. Orthodox spirituality is union with Christ, with God. A spiritual person is one who purifies himself of all worldly and moral defects in order to be united with the love of Christ. The mystical experience takes place in this world, yet the cause, God, is from beyond the material world. Orthodox spirituality, as well as the whole thought of the Church, is based on the revelation found in the Old and New Testaments. Studying the Patristic interpretation of the Christian Truths can see this. In the mystical vision of the Divine energies of the advanced Christian, he experiences the Divine presence within himself, as vision of the uncreated Light and of the energies of God. It is especially through the Mystery (Sacrament) of the Holy Eucharist that we experience mystical union with our Lord.
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According to Papademetriou, "The sources of Orthodox spirituality are the Holy Scripture, Sacred (Holy) Tradition, the Dogmatic definitions of the Ecumenical Synods (Councils), and the spiritual teachings of the Greek Orthodox Holy Fathers. Orthodox spirituality is mainly expressed through prayer, daily Christian living, and worship, which ultimately lead to union with the divine uncreated Light."
Also,
"Man is created in the image and likeness of God. The human destiny is not to achieve mystical union with the essence of God, but rather to attain moral and spiritual perfection by participation in the Divine uncreated energies. Man, according to the Orthodox Holy Fathers, was not created perfect from the beginning. Rather he was created with the potential to achieve perfection through grace. This, of course, was not realized because of the fall. In the fullness of time, God sent our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to become man, and through His suffering and resurrection from the dead, restored man to his original state of grace and enabled him to attain perfection. Christ says: "Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect." The ultimate purpose of man, therefore, is to become perfect in god, through love (agape). That is, to attain perfect selfless love of God and one's fellow human beings. (Source: An Introduction to Orthodox Spirituality)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Fathers George