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.
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TRADITION IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH (Part V)
By George Bebis Ph.D.
The Living Tradition of the Eucharist
It is interesting to emphasize another form of the Synodical System, which accentuates the importance of Holy Tradition: the Eucharist itself. In the Divine Eucharist, all Orthodox Christians meet together and in absolute agreement, in Doctrine and practice witness the presence of the Holy Trinity on the altar of the Church. The bishop and the priest pray to God the Father to send the Holy Spirit and transform the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ. All the faithful believers present are called to receive Holy Communion and become members of the Body of Christ in the Liturgy, as it was instituted by the Lord Himself, the whole Church meets every day to proclaim and live in the oneness and the unity of faith in Jesus Christ. In the Orthodox liturgy, we see all the history of Tradition embodied in the Body and Blood of Christ. Saint Gregory Palamas writes the following in connection with the Holy Eucharist.
"We hold fast to all the Traditions of the Church, written and or unwritten, and above all to the most mystical and sacred celebration and communion and assembly (synaxis), whereby all other rites are made perfect." (Letter to Dionysius, 7).
This emphasis on the Divine Eucharist shows that Holy Tradition is a dynamic way of life unfolding continuously in the liturgical framework of the Church. By participating in the Holy Eucharist, we proclaim our Tradition as living and active members of the Church.
Of course, to live according to the Traditions of the Orthodox Church, to participate, fully, in the life of Tradition is not an easy task. We need the imparting of the Holy Spirit, in order to live in a mystical and mysterious way the life of Christ. As Saint Gregory Palamas wrote:
"All those dogmas which are now openly proclaimed in the Church and made known to all alike, were previously mysteries foreseen only by the Prophets through the Spirit. In the same way the blessings promised to the Saints in the age to come are at the present stage of the Gospel dispensation still mysteries, imparted to and foreseen by those whom the Spirit counts worthy, yet only in a partial way and in the form of a pledge" (Tomos of the Holy Mountain, Preface.)
Thus, the Holy Tradition of the Church is a living reality, which the Orthodox Christians must live daily in a mystical way. By adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils, and the Patristic writings, by observing the holy Canons of the Church, by frequently participating in the Holy Eucharist, where Tradition becomes an empirical reality, we are the members of the Body of Christ and are led to the "contemplation of God" to repeat a beautiful expression of Saint Neilos (5th century), Saint Gregory Palamas, in summing up the Patristic Doctrine of Christian life, suggests that the ultimate purpose of man's life is theoptia that is, seeing God. (In Defense of the Hesychasts, 1,3, 42) or to use Saint Gregory of Nyssa' s words, man's life is a strenuous and endless ascent towards God, that is, deification (theosis). (On the Life of Moses, ed. by W. Jaeger, 112ff.).
Orthodox Holy Tradition, therefore, is not a dead letter, a collection of dogmas and practices of the past. It is the history of salvation. It is the life of the Holy Spirit, who constantly illuminates us in order for all Orthodox Christians to become sons and daughters of God, living in the Divine Light of the All-Blessed Trinity. (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
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Please note: It is most important that no one is allowed to modify, marginalize or change our Holy Tradition. There are those who want to raze or level our Holy Orthodox Church so that it is the same as every other religion. These enemies of the Orthodox Church consider her as a "relic", "outdate", "backward-looking", "living in the past", "inflexible", "too dogmatic", "unyielding", "anachronistic", etc. This threatening, radical, and most dangerous element within the Church is attempting to change forcefully and deviously the Orthodox Church from within so that it will fall in line with all other Christian and non-Christian religions.
We only need to look at the destructive results of other religions who have attempted to so-called "modernize" their tradition. Do we need to follow their failed attempts and therefore sacrifice the true identity and authenticity of our Holy Orthodox Church? What will that accomplish? Our Holy Orthodox Church does not need any "improvements" or changes to conform to a gentile, paganistic, and secular world and society. The Orthodox Church enjoys the fullness of the Christian faith and truth. That is why it is the only Orthodox Christian church in the world.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George