The Orthodox Christian Phronema

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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THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN PHRONEMA

Saint Nikolai Velimirovich writes, "...[T]he enormous difference is clearly seen between a pagan philosopher and a Christian Saint. The one (the philosopher) loses himself in abstractions, in cleverly twisted words, in logical provocations, and in a thoughtful sport while the other (the Saint) directs his whole mind on the Living God and on the salvation of his soul. The one is abstract and dead, while the other is practical and alive."

Phronema is a transliteration of the Greek word φρόνημα, which has the meaning of "mind", "spirit", "thought", "purpose", "will", and can have either a positive meaning ("high spirit", "resolution", "pride") or a bad sense ("presumption", "arrogance").

In the New Testament, the word is used four times in the Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans: twice with "τής σαρκός" (of the flesh) and twice "τού πνεύματοσ" (of the spirit): "for the mind of the flesh [is] death, and the mind of the Spirit - life and peace; because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity to God...and He Who is searching the hearts hath known what [is] the mind of the Spirit" (Romans 8:6-7, 27).

The term Phronema is used in Orthodox Theology to one particular mindset or outlook - the Orthodox Christian mind. The attaining of Phronema in this sense is a matter of practicing the correct faith (Orthodoxia) in the correct manner (Orthopraxia). Attaining Phronema is regarded as the first step toward theosis, the state of glorification. (Wikipedia)

The lack of this Phronema in many today underlies not only the general lack of fervor of the True spirit and practice of Orthodox Christianity but also the widespread success of the modernist and secular agendas in this century--agendas which threaten the very heart of Orthodox Christianity.

The development of an Orthodox Christian mindset--so essential in our day when there are so very few who propagate or even recognize, the Patristic (the Holy Fathers) ethos of Orthodoxy--cannot take place apart from orthopraxis.

His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, Greece, speaks of it in his superb book The Mind of the Orthodox Church:

[Phronema means] in the biblical-Patristic Tradition the whole turn of mind which prevails in a man from the way in which he lives, and from the relationship which he has with God. And literally, if the nous [i.e., the spiritual intellect, not to be confused with "reason"] is darkened, then the whole mind is carnal. But if the nous is illuminated, which means that it has the Holy Spirit within it, then the whole mind is a mind of spirit and, of course, a mind of the Church...

When we speak of having an orthodox mind we mean chiefly that our nous is the nous of Christ, as the Apostle Paul says, or at least that we accept the experience of the saints and have communion with them. This is the way of the life of the Orthodox Christian Tradition and the way of life of Christ's life. The orthodox mind is expressed by the dogmas of the Church, because, on the one hand, the dogmas express the life which the Church has and the revelation which the Saints have received, and on the other hand, they lead the passionate people and the babes in Christ to unity and communion with God.

We must say at this point that the theology of the Church is ascetic, that is to say, it defines the methods of cure in order for man to attain deification (theosis)...So the dogmas express the revelation and the life which the Church has and they also cure man and lead him toward deification (theosis). They are spiritual road signs. In this sense, we can say that the dogmas save man and sanctify him. This happens because they cure him and give him the right orientation on his way toward God (pp. 120,122-123).

This passage from Metropolitan Hierotheos' book also describes the essential interplay between dogma and life in Christ. This page focuses on what it means to "follow the Holy Fathers" and "acquire their mind," which is the mind of the Church. Our challenge today is to establish and maintain genuine continuity with the Holy Fathers of the Church. This means more religious education, for ignorance of the Faith among many Orthodox Christians today, is appalling and is the single greatest factor in the crisis we are now facing.

It is no longer acceptable for Orthodox Christians to lack knowledge of the Faith which they claim as their own. Every effort must be made to learn as much as possible about our Holy Orthodox Church and our Holy Tradition. It is only when we possess a strong knowledge of it that we will be able to put it into practice. Inheriting the Faith from our parents is not enough. Much of what the average of Orthodox Christian knows is flawed and incorrect. It is referred to as "yia-yia-lo-gy. In other words, a kind of pious, but incorrect information passed on to us by our grandmothers.

We are expected, as Orthodox Christian believers, to possess the Orthodox Phronema, mind or spirit, so as to grow in Christ, to strive for spiritual maturity and to be able to educate our children and grandchildren. There are those who hardly know anything of the Faith, and, when they are asked what is the Orthodox Church? Or what is an Orthodox Christian? Reply "it is something like Roman Catholicism". I ask you, how can one practice the Faith if he or she does not know it?

There is no need to be ignorant of the Faith today knowing that we have all kinds of official sources that any interested Orthodox Christian can learn from home. The majority of our people are well educated and therefore there is no excuse or reason not to be well-versed in Orthodoxy.  Many of you have a smart phone or computer use it to learn all that you can about your Orthodox Christian faith. Before the baptized Orthodox Christian begins to seek or search for spiritual knowledge and gratification elsewhere, he or she should turn to the Church in which they were baptized first.  

It is most troubling that children who are baptized in our Church, by the time they reach young adulthood, do not know who is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they know nothing of the Sacraments, know nothing about the Divine Liturgy, know nothing about Christian values, morality, commandments, prayer, salvation, traditions, saints, the way of the Christian life. How tragic is that? According to our Archdiocese and our Chicago Metropolis, we are losing over 60% of our young adults to other religions or no religion at all.

The attitude toward the Church is very casual. In other words, there is no personal commitment to Christ or to the Church! The choices taken by our people in regards to our church divine services are not based on our Faith or Tradition but on one's whim and convenience. Therefore, the ones who suffer the consequences of our decisions, are the children, the future generation of our Church.

I urge and appeal to everyone to take our Orthodox Christian Faith seriously and not to take it for granted. There is great danger out there in the world, in a secular society, where faith is not condoned or accepted, where young men and women are taught by atheists not to believe in God. Furthermore, not to listen to their parents, priests, and Church. That there is no such thing as right or wrong. That, in a secular society, everything is condoned i.e., wrong lifestyles, immorality, drugs, abortion upon demand, exploitation of others, lying, infidelity, no self-respect, no respect of others, of greed, materialism, selfishness, destructiveness, hate, deception, unbridled anger, and a slave to the dark powers.

Let us all follow Christ, our Lord, and Savior, and as His disciples, love Him, obey His Commandments, and be loyal only to Him!

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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 (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God,

+Father George