The life and character of an Orthodox
Christian is in large measure shaped, nourished, and enriched by the
liturgy or worship of the Church. Replete with biblical readings,
imagery, and expressions, the texts of the liturgy set forth in
doxological form the Church's authentic and living tradition. In the
liturgy, the Orthodox Christian is in constant touch with the
fundamental truths of the faith. Worship becomes a theology of fervent
prayer, a living sacrifice of praise of a biblical people, a vision of
the spiritual world, a betrothal with the Holy Spirit, and foretaste
of the things to come.
Paschal in character and essentially
eschatological in spirit, Orthodox worship while continuously
rehearsing the mighty works of God in history, joyously celebrates the
kingdom of God already come and already given to us as the pledge of
our salvation through the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
The infusion of God's
Life.
The powers of the Kingdom already
experienced in the Church are manifested through the divine mysteries
or sacraments offered in faith. It is through these, as through
windows, that the risen Christ enters this dark world to put sin and
corruption to death and introduce abiding and immortal life.
God's life is infused into the present age and mingled with it,
without change or confusion, through the mysteries. God touches,
purifies, illumines, sanctifies and deifies human life in his
uncreated divine energies through the mysteries. Christ becomes
everyone's contemporary in the mysteries. All that He did one and for
all for the salvation of the world has now passed over into the
mysteries. Thus, the mysteries become the various manifestations of
our Lord's saving power, and the means by which Christ is present and
works in his Church. "As the Church is the perpetual extension of
Christ, so the mysteries are the power by which the Church sanctifies
people" (Ch. Androutsos).
A Peparation for the
Future Life.
The mysteries prepare the faithful for the future life, but they also
make that life real, here and now. We are given the vision and have
the foretaste of the things to come through them. They introduce us
continuously and in various ways to the transforming power of God,
which communicates salvation, i.e., the cure of our fallen humanity
and "the elimination of the germ of mortality." In them we
encounter Christ, in order to be Christ. We enter upon a decisively
new reality: in Christ we learn to become fully conscious of what it
really means to be human. Encountering God, we also see the power of
evil, whose force invades, pervades and distorts the image of God in
us. Allied with Christ, we share in his victory over sin and death;
the power of divine love overcomes evil in us and makes us anew into
children of God and heirs of his Kingdom.
The Meaning of the
Word "Mystery".
Each mystery is directly rooted in
Christ. Christ himself is the primordial mystery (John 1: 1-18), and
the very celebrant of all the mysteries. The Orthodox Church uses the
Greek word mysterion, instead of sacrament, to denote the divinely
instituted rites which manifest and communicate sanctifying divine
grace. The word mysterion essentially means anything hidden or
incomprehensible. It has been applied by the Church to the essential
beliefs and doctrines of the faith and appears several times in Holy
Scripture; its chief meaning is linked to the hidden and secret will
of God related to the salvation of the world, now manifest in Jesus
Christ, the Incarnate Word (Logos). "And since the Church is to
proclaim that mystery and communicate it to the people, the essential
acts by which she is accomplishing this are also called mysteries.
Through all these acts we are made participants and beneficiaries of
the great mystery of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ"
(Rev. Al. Schmemann).
Transmitting Grace by Visible Means.
The holy mysteries are at once inward and
outward in character. Redeeming and sanctifying grace is transmitted
by visible means. "The theanthropic nature of Christ is extended
both to his Church and Her means of grace" (D. Constantelos).
This embodiment of spiritual realities in material form is rooted in
the mystery of the Incarnation and the ultimate redemption of matter.
It is consistent with the very nature of the Church as the
divine-human institution and the continuing mystery of Christ's
presence in history. It also affirms the basic "goodness" of
nature and recognizes the psychosomatic nature of humankind.
The material elements, signs and gestures
used in each mystery, are living symbols that relate to the realities
of our human experiences. Material things are made into vechicles of
the Spirit, and are adequate in each case to express deeply and amply
the mysterious power of divine grace (e.g., bread and wine, the
uniquely human food, once blessed and consecrated become the food of
immortality, the Body and Blood of Christ).
The mysteries, while physical in their
outward expression, are not mere symbolic rites. The outward signs of
the mysteries convey grace tangibly not of themselves but by the very
present of the Holy Spirit in them. And the grace given is not at all
ambiguous or symbolic but real and actual, in order to truly recreate
and perfect each person in the image and likeness of God.
Commenting on the real presence of the
divine energies in the holy mysteries St. John of Damascus notes the
following: "But if you inquire as to how this takes place, it is
enough for you to know that it is effected by the Holy Spirit. The
manner of the change can in no way be understood. But one can put it
well thus, that just as in nature, bread, by eating, and wine and
water, by drinking, are changed into the body and blood of the eater
and drinker, yet not becoming a different body from the former one; so
the bread of the Table, as also the wine and water, are supernaturally
changed by the incovation and presence of the Holy Spirit into the
Body and Blood of Christ, and are not two, but one and the same."
Divinely Ordered
Institutions.
The effect of holy mysteries is not based
upon the personal faith and moral character of the clergy, not in
their "use," nor in the faith and good will of the
recipients, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. For the mysteries
derive their power from God and not from men; they are not mere human
inventions. They are divinely ordered institutions, by which God in
his unsearchable wisdom and ineffable glory and love is transfiguring
the world in and through his Spirit-led Church by restoring to all
things and all relationships their true meaning, purpose and destiny,
and communicating divine life and love to all persons who freely hear
and respond to the call of his Son.
Human Response.
It is important now to emphasize the human factor as well, since
salvation is accomplished by God in cooperation (synergy) with
humanity. "The incorporation of man into Christ and his union
with God require cooperation of two unequal, but equally necessary
forces: divine grace and human will" (Lev Gillet). The holy
mysteries are neither magic nor mechanical operations. As the seed
gives forth according to the ground into which it was planted, so the
full effectiveness of the sacramental life is made manifest to a
greater or lesser degree by the spiritual awareness, the faith and the
devoutness of the partiapants. Yet no one, unless he has blasphemed
against the Holy Spirit, is left without some measure of grace, since
the sun rises and shines upon all.
The holy mysteries are continually
embracing, taking up and transforming the deepest and most fundamental
human experiences. Intensely personal and at the same time intensely
communal, the holy mysteries continuously and simultaneously renew the
spirit of persons "who have put on the new man, which was created
according to God, in righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4: 24);
they prepare the saints for the work of the ministry, until all come
to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
mature manhood, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ (Eph. 4: 12-13).
As each holy mystery has its outward signs, which manifest the work of
the Spirit, so each Christian life, sharing in the power of the holy
mysteries, itself becomes a sacrament. As God permits and to the
extent the will is sensitized, the mind is illumined and the heart is
energized and made pure. Those who are Christ's, live and walk in the
Spirit and the Spirit bears fruit in them: love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self
control (Gal. 5: 22-25).
The Number of the
Mysteries.
In recent centuries, the Orthodox Church
has recognized seven mysteries for sacraments: baptism; chrismation;
the eucharist; penance; the priesthood; marriage; and the annointing
of the sick (Euchelaion).
While the New Testament does not specifically enumerate the holy
mysteries, it is clear that the Apostolic Church received people
through baptism and chrismation (confirmation); celebrated the
eucharist at least weekly on the Lord's day; readmitted penitents
through an act of penance; selected and ordained her ministers;
sanctified the union of husband and wife; and extended the healing
ministry of Christ to those in need of divine succour. It is evident,
therefore, that the Church gave special attention to these acts from
the beginning, despite the absence of explicit testimony from
Scripture, the early Fathers or the Ecumenical Councils.
The mysteries are founded upon the words and actions of the Lord in
Scripture and are, in a particular way, a continuation and an
extension of his saving ministry. Among them, baptism and the
eucharist hold a preeminent position. While emphasizing the importance
of the holy mysteries, Orthodox theology is careful not to separate or
isolate them from the Church's many other rites of blessing,
consecration and passage. "Between the wider and narrower sense
of the term 'sacrament' (mystery) there is no rigid division: the
whole Christian life must be seen as a unity, as a single mystery or
one great sacrament, whose different aspects are expressed in a great
variety of acts, some performed but once in a man's life, others
perhaps daily" (Kallistos Ware).
How the Mysteries
Become Operative.
The Church, moved by the Holy Spirit,
prescribes the manner of the administration of the holy mysteries. The
mysteries are operative and effective when two basic conditions are
observed. First, the ministers of the mysteries, the bishop and/or
priest, must be canonically ordained and in canonical order with the
Church. Second, they must be "ordained" to conduct the
prescribed rites of the Church, not because they contain
"magical" powers in themselves, but because the rites
express the faith and the mind of the Church concerning these saving
acts.
The rites contain prayers, petitions, Scripture readings, hymns,
gestures and liturgical actions. Rooted in the New Testament and
shaped by the historical process in the crucible of the living and
dynamic community of faith--the Church--the rites embody the vision of
the new life, confirm the real presence of divine grace, and
communicate salvation and sanctification to the believers prepared to
receive these divine gifts.
Sacraments Outside the
Church.
In principle the Orthodox Church does not
see the same fullness in the 'sacraments' performed outside the
Church. Yet, she does not consider these actions of other Christians
as lacking totally in spiritual power and substance. Here, the Church
applies the doctrine of economy and sees these acts in the light of
the Lord's words "no man who performs a miracle using my name can
speak ill of me" (Mk. 9: 38). The 'sacraments' of other
Christians are disfigured to the measure that Christ and his teaching
have been kept or distorted. These Christians may be considered, in a
lesser or greater degree, as peripheral members of the Orthodox
Church. The center of the operation of the Holy Spirit is the
historical and visible One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
BAPTISM
Baptism is the initial and essential
mystery and an absolute, decisive action for the Christian. The
benefits of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection are mediated
to the believer through Baptism. Baptism engraves upon and imparts to
each person afresh the image of God distorted by the effects of sin,
an image continuously disfigured by the accumulated wrong-doing and
wrong-thinking of Adam's progeny and imitators.
The baptismal font becomes at once a tomb and a womb: "at the
self-same moment you die and are bom; the water of salvation is at
once your grave and your mother" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem). The
triple immersion in and emersion from the baptismal waters is laden
with meaning. Baptism is both a death and a new birth. The water
destroys one life and it begets another. It drowns the old man and
raises up the new. The liturgical act gives expression to two
realities: the death of the old man, who in solidarity with Adam, is
subject to sin and death, and the birth of the new man, who in his
union with Christ, is provided with new members and faculties in
preparation for the life to come.
The beginning of a
process of becoming
Age is not a conditional factor in
baptism. As in Christian antiquity, the Church continues to baptize
both adults and infants. As a matter of fact, infant baptism is the
norm in most instances. However, such baptisms are not performed in a
vacuum, but upon the explicit profession of faith by parents and
sponsors and especially the very community itself, gathered to
celebrate the mystery, each time reaffirming its faith, pledging
itself to provide an environment of continued Christian witness for
its members regardless of age and circumstance. Baptism is the process
of constant becoming. The conversion of the heart or continual
repentance is the daily experience that makes life theocentric and
oriented towards God's Kingdom.
Baptism unites the believer not only with Christ but with his people,
the Church. One is baptized into the community of faith to share in
life, its values, its vision. Baptism, by bringing us into the
glorified life of Christ and making us part of his deified humanity,
integrates us into the Church, his body, where the business of dying
and rising is daily experienced in ascetic discipline in the life of
prayer and in the Eucharist.
Prebaptismal Rites for
Infants.
The Orthodox Church has three rites for
infants which are closely linked to baptism. The first rite is for the
mother and child on the first day of birth. In this rite the Church
expresses her thanksgiving for the safe delivery of the mother and her
joy at the appearance of a new life. Blessing the newborn infant the
Church anticipates its new and second birth through water and the
Spirit (John 3: 5). A second rite is conducted on the eighth day after
birth, when the new born child receives its name from its parents. The
child is given a Christian name as a sign of its new identity with the
faith community. The third rite is conducted on the fortieth day after
birth. The new-born child is to be brought to the Church in imitation
of the New Testament event, when Mary, the Theotokos, brought the
infant Christ into the Temple to fulfill the requirements of the Law.
On this day the mother is blessed and the infant "churches,"
or is accepted as a peripheral member of the Church, until it is fully
incorporated into her life through baptism.
The Baptismal Rite.
The baptismal rite of the Orthodox Church
consists of three major parts. The present single rite is in fact a
coalescence of several separated but interdependent rites, which were
performed over the course of several days and weeks when the order of
the catechumenate was once in full force.
The first part is preparatory in nature. It is usually referred to as
the catechesis. It contains the prayer for the making of a catechumen;
prayers of exorcism; the renunciation and condemnation of the devil;
the acceptance of Christ; the recitation of the Nicene Creed; and the
call to baptism.
The second part is the Service of Baptism proper. It focuses almost
entirely on the baptismal font. It includes a series of petitions; a
prayer of invocation for the consecration of the baptismal waters, so
that they may be given the power of spiritual fecundity; and an
anointing of the candidate with the "oil of gladness." In
the case of the candidate the anointing is both a sign of healing of
his fallen nature and of his becoming an athlete for Christ. In the
case of the font, the anointing is a sign of the presence of the Holy
Spirit in the baptismal waters.
When these rites have been completed the candidate is baptized by the
officiating bishop or priest with three immersions and emersions using
the liturgical formula "the servant of God (name) is baptized in
the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen. And the Holy Spirit.
Amen." The three fold immersion becomes the adequate sign of
pariticipation in Christ's three day burial and resurrection.
The newly illumined Christian is then robed in a white garment, the
symbol of regeneration, newness, kingship, and future immortality. The
white garment, which is the color of royalty, symbolizes the gifts of
baptism and reminds the neophyte of his responsibility to remain whole
and be faithful to the baptismal pledge.
At this point the mystery of the holy Chrism (myron) is administered.
The neophyte is anointed with the consecrated oils by the celebrant
using the liturgical formula "the seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit. Amen." Chrism is applied to the sense and other parts of
the body in the pattern of the Cross, signifying the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit takes the
neophyte beyond the restoration of the fallen nature. The continuous
presence of the Holy Spirit makes possible the constant, progressive,
personal growth of the Christian into the image and likeness of God.
He or she is also given a cross to wear.
In the ancient Church baptism was immediately followed by the
celebration of the Eucharist. The newly-illumined Christians, holding
lighted candles proceeded from the baptistry with the clergy to the
nave of the Church to join the faithful for the Eucharist. Vestiges of
this ancient practice form the next sequence of actions in the
baptismal rite. A procession around the font, with the singing of
"As many as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.
Alleluia" (Gal. 3: 27) is followed by the reading of two excerpts
from the New Testament: the Epistle to the Romans (6: 3-11) explains
the meaning of baptism; and the Gospel of Matthew (28: 16-20)
recalling the command of the Lord to the Church to instruct and
baptize. The neophyte then receives Holy Communion.
After a set of petitions called the "Fervent Litany," the
neophyte participates in three additional rites. These were originally
conducted on the eighth day after baptism; they now form the last part
of the baptismal rite. The celebrant washes the neophyte's forehead as
an indication that the visible signs of the mysteries (the oils, et.
al.) must now become inner realities and the very essence of life.
This is emphasized with the laying on of hands upon the candidate and
the tonsure. Through the laying on of hands, the neophyte and those
concerned for his growth in Christ, are reminded that the Christian is
armed with the Holy Spirit to war against all adverse powers. The
tonsure, or cutting of the hair, indicates both a sacrificial offering
that does not require the mutilation or humiliation of the human body
and a sign of servitude and obedience. The new Christian proclaims his
willingness and readiness to negate the world with its false values
and to serve God with faithful devotion.
CHRISMATION
The mystery of Chrismation (Confirmation)
is anchored in the events of Jesus' baptism and the outpouring of the
Spirit upon the disciples at Pentecost, yet, in the Lord's declaration
"unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
Kingdom of God" (John 3: 5).
There is both an intrinsic unity and a distinction between the
mysteries of baptism and chrismation. They are intimately related
theologically and liturgically. Chrismation is not so much the second
mystery as it is the very fulfillment of baptism. While baptism
incorporates us into Christ's new risen existence, chrismation makes
us partakers of his Spirit, the very source of this new life and of
total illumination.
The Gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
Chrismation causes a mysterious new and
hidden life to flow in us. It imparts to persons the energies and the
gifts of the Holy Spirit (Is. 11: 2 3 and Gal. 5: 22). "To some
the Holy Spirit is given that they may be able to benefit others and
edify the Church by speaking of the future or by teaching mysteries or
by freeing men from disease with a single word. To others, however, He
is given in order that they themselves may become more virtuous and
shine with godliness or with an abundance of sobriety, love or
humility" (St. Nicholas Cabasilas).
Chrismation is called the seal (sphragis). The neophyte receives the
Holy Spirit as the source, the pledge and the seal of unending life.
Anointed with the oils of Chrism, we are marked forever as the sheep
and soldiers of Christ. We belong to him and to his holy Church. Thus
chrismation, once canonically performed, cannot be repeated.
Chrismation is also a sacrament of reconciliation. People who come to
Orthodoxy out of certain heretical confessions and schismatic churches
are received through the mystery of chrismation. The ritual anointing
"validates" through "the seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit" a Christian baptism perfomed in irregular circumstances--i.e.,
outside the canonical boundaries of the Church" (John Meyendorff).
The Holy Chrism.
The chrism that is used for the ritual
anointing is a mixture of olive oil, balsam, wine, and some forty
aromatic substances, symbolizing the fulness of sacramental grace, the
sweetness of the Christian life and manifold and diverse gifts of the
Holy Spirit. The chrism is also called the holy Myron. Chrism,
prepared and consecrated periodically on Holy Thursday, is the
antitype, the visible tabernacle of the Holy Spirit.
By ancient custom the right to prepare and consecrate the chrism
belongs to the bishop and its administration to the presbyters. Each
autocephalous Orthodox Church has the right to prepare and consecrate
chrism. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, as the senior jurisdiction
of the Orthodox Church, prepares and distributes the holy chrism to
other Orthodox jurisdictions.
THE EUCHARIST
The Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is the
central mystery of the Church. It is at once the source and the summit
of her life. In it, the Church is continuously changed from a human
community into the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and
the People of God. The Eucharist, according to St. Nicholas Cabasilas,
is the final and greatest of the mysteries "since it is not
possible to go beyond it or add anything to it. After the Eucharist
there is nowhere further to go. There all must stand, and try to
examine the means by which we may preserve the treasure to the end.
For in it we obtain God Himself, and God is united with us in the most
perfect union."
Every sacred mystery makes its partakers into members of Christ. But
the Eucharist effects this most perfectly: "By dispensation of
His grace, He [Christ] disseminates Himself in every believer through
that flesh whose substance comes from bread and wine, blending Himself
with the bodies of believers, to secure that, by this union with the
Immortal, man too may be a sharer in incorruption" (N. Cabasilas).
A Continuous
Pentecost.
Each Divine Liturgy is a continuation of
the mystery of Pentecost. It is the renewal and the confirmation of
the coming of the Holy Spirit who is ever present in the Church. In a
prayer of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, the following
is found: "Make us worth to find grace in Your presence so that
our sacrifice may be pleasing to You and that Your good and gracious
Spirit may abide with us and with the gifts here presented and with
all Your people." The worshipping community prays earnestly that
it may continue to be Spirit-bearing ("send down Your Holy Spirit
upon us and upon these gifts here presented") and that the
consecrated gifts may become a communion of the Holy Spirit.
The Messianic Banquet.
In the present age, between the two
comings of Jesus Christ our Lord, the Divine Liturgy is always the
Messianic banquet, the meal of the kingdom, the time and place in
which the heavenly joins and mingles with the earthly. The Eucharist
initiates humankind, nature, and time into the mystery of the
uncreated Trinity. The Divine Liturgy is not simply a sacred drama or
a mere representation of past events. It constitutes the very presence
of God's embracing love, which purifies, enlightens, perfects, and
deifies (2 Peter 1: 4) all "those who are invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19: 9), i.e., all who through Baptism
and Chrismation have been incorporated into the Church and have become
Christ-bearers and Spirit-bearers.
In the Divine Liturgy we do not commemorate one or another isolated
event of sacred history. We celebrate, in joy and thanksgiving, the
whole mystery of the divine economy from creation to incarnation,
especially "the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third
day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of
the Father and the second glorious coming." Thus, in experiencing
the reigning Christ in the Divine Liturgy, the past, present, and
future of the history of salvation are lived as one reality in the
mystery of the Kingdom of God.
Partakers of Divine
Nature.
The Eucharist "is the flesh of our
Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which
the Father in His graciousness raised from the dead" (St.
Ignatios of Antioch). In it we are offered Christ's deified flesh, to
which we are joined, in order to partake of divine life without
confusion or division. In the Eucharist, Christ acts to make us His
own Body: "The Bread of Life Himself changes him who feeds on Him
and transforms and assimilates him into Himself" (St. Nicholas
Cabasilas). Thus, eternity penetrates our finitude. Men, women and
children are invited to share in the trinitarian life of God: "by
this flesh [of Christ in the Eucharist] our community is raised to
heaven; that is where this Bread truly dwells; and we enter into the
Holy of Holies by the pure offering of the Body of Christ" (St.
Gregory Palamas). The life of the Trinity flows and dwells in us
through "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God
the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor. 13-14).
We become God-bearers.
The Local Church.
The mystery of the Church as the Body of
Christ is fully realized in the Divine Liturgy, for the Eucharist is
Christ crucified and risen, in his personal presence. Every local
Church, living in full the sacramental life, is the "miracle of
the new life in Christ lived in community and is built upon and around
the Table of the Lord. Whenever and wherever the Divine Liturgy is
celebrated, in the context of doctinal unity and canonical norms, the
local Church possesses the marks of doctinal unity and canonical
norms, the local Church possesses the marks of the true Church of God:
unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. These marks cannot
belong to any human gathering; they are the eschatological signs given
to a community through the Spirit of God" (John Meyendorff).
The Eucharist unites the members of the Church, both Christ and to one
another: "because there is one bread, we who are many are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread: (1 Cor. 10: 17). Sharing in
the life of Christ and revivified by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the
Church becomes an epiphany of divine love. "If union is in truth
with Christ and with one another, we are assuredly also united
voluntarily with all those who partake with us" (St. John of
Damascus).
The Term "Divine
Liturgy".
The divine Liturgy is the sacred rite by which the Orthodox Church
celebrates the mystery of the Eucharist. This title for the Eucharist
is derived from two Greek words, theia and leitourgia. The word theia
means "pertaining to God," hence divine. The term leitourgia
comes from two words; leitos (people) and ergon (work), hence
"the work of the people" or "a public service, act or
function." The word leitourgia was used in Greek antiquity to
describe those services and acts which were performed for the benefit
and common interest of all, including acts of worship. It was in this
latter religious sense that the word found its way into the vocabulary
of Scripture and the Church. In the Septuagint translation of the Old
Testament the word was applied to the Temple services and the
functions of the priests. In the New Testament, where the word appears
infrequently, it describes the saving work of Christ (Heb. 8: 6) and
Christian worship (Acts 13: 21). In the Apostolic Fathers and later
tradition the word was applied to worship. By the fourth century, the
word leitourgia, together with adjective theia (i.e., Divine Liturgy)
had become the technical term for the mystery of the Eucharist. The
word Eucharist in turn means thanksgiving. It takes its name from the
great prayer of consecration (Anaphora) pronounced by the celebrant of
the Divine Liturgy.
The Origins of the
Divine Liturgy.
The Divine Liturgy is composed of two
parts, the first of which is referred to as the Synaxis or Proanaphora
(the Liturgy of the Word, or the Liturgy of the Catechumens), and the
second as the Eucharist (the offering, the Liturgy of the Mystery
(Sacrament) or the Liturgy of the Faithful). The synaxis or
Proanaphora, in its basic, classical shape, is a christianized version
of the synagogue service. The Eucharist is derived from the words and
actions of the Lord at the Last (Mystical) Supper.
The connection of the Divine Liturgy to the prayer service of the
synagogue and to a Jewish household or fraternal ritual meal must be
understood against the backdrop of the nascent Christian community.
The Lord and his apostles and the first christians were Jews. It is
clear that the Church will be characterized forever by its Semetic
origins. It is equally clear that the Church has close ineradicable
connections with Hellenism. The Church was born in Jerusalem, but grew
up in the Hellenistic world. Her liturgy, art and theology are
radiants with the imperishable traces of this double experience.
"It is true that the Christian liturgy, and the Eucharist
especially, is one of the most original creations of Christianity. But
however original it is, it is not a sort of an ex nihilo creation. To
think so is to condemn ourselves to a minimal understanding of
it" (Louis Bouyer).
The Eucharist itself was instituted by Christ at the supper on Holy
Thursday to perpetuate the remembrance (anamnesis) of his redemptive
work and to establish a continuous intimate communion (koinonia)
between himself and those who believe in Him. The actions and words of
the Lord concerning the bread and wine formed the basis for the
Eucharist, the chief recurrent liturgical rite of the Church. The
nucleus of every eucharistic rite consists in four actions: the
offering and the placing of bread and wine on the holy Table; the
anaphora or great eucharistic prayer, which includes the words of
institution and the invocation of the Holy Spirit to change the gifts
into the Body and Blood of Christ; the breaking of the consecrated
Bread (i.e., the fraction); and the communion of the consecrated
elements by the people of God.
At first the Eucharist was celebrated within the context of an evening
community meal, referred to as the agape or love feast. By the end of
the first or the beginning of the second century the celebration of
the Eucharist was separated from the community meal and transposed to
the early morning hours.
The Development
of the Divine Liturgy.
The Divine Liturgy is a complex act of
rhythmic movement, sound and spectacle characterized by a deep sense
of harmony, beauty, dignity and mystery. It is structured around two
solemn entrances, which today are abbreviated forms of earlier more
elaborate ceremonies; the great eucharistic prayer (Anaphora); and the
distribution of Holy Communion. An elaborate enarxis (opening rites),
and a series of dismissal rites (apolysis) embrace the whole action.
The first or "Little Entrance," the entry of the clergy and
the people into the Church, once marked the beginning of the Synaxis.
The Little Entrance is a solemn procession with the Gospel accompanied
with entrance hymns. The second or "Great Entrance" once
marked the beginning of the Eucharist. It is a solemn procession with
the gifts of the bread and wine that are to be offered and
consecrated. The elements used for the offering are prepared by the
clergy. The service of preparation (Proskomide) is performed at the
Table of Preparation (Prothesis) before the enarxis. It is here, after
the preparation of the bread and the cup and the commemoration of the
saints, that the celebrant also commemorates the faithful, both living
and dead, by name.
The verbal and non-verbal elements of the Divine Liturgy are fitted
together harmoniously, so as to weave a pattern of prayer that
addresses and inspires the whole person, body and soul. The principle
behind the development of its ceremonial splendor rests upon the
notion that our earthly worship ought to reflect the joy and majesty
of heavenly worship. On the verbal side of the liturgy, we hear
eloquent prayers of praise, thanksgiving, intercession and confession;
litanies, petitions, acclamations, greetings and invocations; hymns,
chants, psalmody and creedal statements a well as intoned Scrpitural
lessons and a homily. On the side of the non-verbal, we are involved
with solemn processions and an assortment of liturgical gestures. The
eyes are filled with the graceful actions of the servers, as well as
the sight of the Lord and his saints gazing at us from the icons. The
nostrils are filled with the fragrance of incense, and the heart is
grasped by the profound silence of the divine presence. People touch
each other gently, saying "Christ is in our midst," when
called upon to "love one another" before the offering of the
gifts. With one voice and heart they also recite the Creed and
recommit themselves to the Orthodox faith into which they were
baptized. And participating in Holy Communion the faithful "taste
and see that the Lord good" (Ps. 33).
The basic outline of the Divine Liturgy is anchored in the New
Testament. Ritual and text evolved gradually; the several elements of
the liturgy developed unevenly and at different stages. Its structures
were expanded, augmented and adorned with chants, prayers and various
ceremonials. By the tenth century the eucharistic rites of
Constantinople, the chief see of the Orthodox East, has become more or
less crystallized. The process of growth, modification, and adaptation
has been relatively slow ever since. By virtue of its prestige the
rites of Constantinople first influenced and finally replaced all
other rites in the Orthodox East. Since the end of the twelveth
century, with minor variations that reflect local customs, the Liturgy
of Constantinople has become the sole common rite of all Orthodox
Churches.
The Three Liturgies.
Constantinople was the magnificent
crucible in which several liturgical traditions mixed. Out of this
synthesis came three liturgies which were distinctly
Constantinopolitan. Firmly rooted in God's written word and strongly
influenced by the patristic experience, these liturgies take us to the
heart of God's glory and philanthropia.
The Liturgy of St. Basil was, until the twelfth century, the chief
liturgy of Constantinople. Its anaphora is probably the most eloquent
of all Liturgies, east or west. Powerful in its unity of thought,
theological depth and rich biblical imagery, it was celebrated every
Sunday and great feast day. Now it is used only ten times during the
year: on the five Sundays of the Great Fast, on the vigils of Pascha,
Christmas and Epiphany, on Holy Thursday and on the Feast of St.
Basil, January 1.
The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is
shorter and less rhetorical than that of St. Basil. It is
distinguished for its simplicity and clarity. At first it was probably
the weekday liturgy of Constantinople. Gradually it superseded and
replaced the Liturgy of St. Basil. The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
is now celebrated at every eucharist assembly unless the Liturgy of
St. Basil or the Presanctified is to be celebrated.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified is not a full Divine Liturgy in that
it does not contain the anaphora. This Liturgy is now used on
Wednesdays and Fridays of the Great Fast and on the first three days
of Holy Week. It is comprised of Vespers, the solemn transfer to the
holy Table of the elements of Holy Communion consecrated at the Divine
Liturgy the previous Sunday (or Saturday), and the order of the
distribution of Holy Communion as in the other liturgies.
According to local custom three other ancient Liturgies are also used
by Orthodox Churches on the occasion of the Feast day of the Saints to
which their authorship is traditionally attributed. These are the
liturgies of St. James (Iakovos), the ancient liturgy of Jerusalem;
St. Mark, the ancient liturgy of Alexandria; and St. Gregory the
Theologian, an ancient liturgy of Cappadocia and Alexandria.
The Celebrants of the
Divine Liturgy.
The Divine Liturgy is a corporate action
of the whole people of God. The eucharistic assembly presupposes the
presence and active participation of clergy and laity, each with their
own essential and distinctive ministry, role and function. The chief
celebrant of the Eucharist is the bishop or presbyter, without whom
there can be no Eucharist. The bishop or priest acts in the name of
Christ, who is the one true and unique High Priest.
Reception of Holy
Communion.
Eucharist belongs to and is shared by
those who have been baptized into the Church and who hold a common
faith in the bond of love. Thus, only those Orthodox Christians in
full communion with the Church may partake of the Holy Gifts. It is
expected that every baptized and confirmed Orthodox adult, child and
infant be a regular and frequent recipient of the holy communion. It
is presupposed that adult and children communicants have fasted from
the evening meal prior to receiving Holy Communion at the morning
Eucharist.
Care must be taken that one approaches the chalice with spiritual
understanding: "Let not everyone come to receive it, but only
those who are worth, 'for the holy gifts are for the holy people of
God'. Those whom the priest calls holy are not only those who have
attained perfection, but also those who are striving for it without
having yet obtained it. . . .that is why Christians, if they have not
committed such sins as would cut them off from Christ and bring death,
are in no way prevented, when partaking of the holy mysteries, from
receiving sanctification. . . .for no one has holiness of himself; it
is not the consequence of human virtue, but comes for all from him and
through him" (St. Nicholas Cabasilas).
THE MYSTERY OF PENANCE
The mysteries of initiation introduce us
to the life-long process of grasping accepting and choosing to follow
the values of the Christian life. Christians, born anew in Baptism,
are expected to govern their lives by the power of God. They are to
undertake the noblest deeds and "holding fast to both faith and
virtue. . .formed by both into the blessed likeness of Christ"
(St. Nicholas Cabasilas). The Church, however, has never considered
Baptism to be an automatic guarantor of continuous salvation. It is
only the beginning of the life in Christ. Its full effects are derived
when the baptized are disposed to persevere and preserve the treasure
to the end. The process of healing and restoring our damaged, wounded
and fallen nature is on-going.
God is recognized to be continuously loving, merciful and
long-suffering towards his creation. He accepts all repentant sinners
tenderly and rejoices greatly in their conversion. There are no limits
set to the exercise of his loving-kindness and forgiveness. All sins
are forgivable, save one: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Here we
are confronted not with the powerlessness of God, but with an
unrepentant and callous heart.
Through the mystery of repentance God embraces a repentant lapsed
Christian with his love, in order to forgive him and reconcile him to
the Church. But, for this to occur, the sinful Christian must first
have a sense of his unfaithfulness to God, contrition of heart, and
determination to amend. This must be followed by the confession of his
sins before the authorized clergy of the Church. Both the interior
repentance and the verbal acknowledgment of concrete sins are
indispensable conditions for true forgiveness and reconciliation.
Confession is the opening of one's conscience before God and the
witness of the Church. "Did you commit sin? Enter the Church and
repent for your sin; for here is the physician, not the judge; here
one is not investigated, one receives remission of sins" (St.
John Chrysostom).
Who Administers
Penance?
A bishop or designated confessor-priest
administers the mystery of Repentance. Confessions are usually heard
in the Church or in some other convenient and suitable place. The
penitent and the confessor see each other face to face. The confessor
identifies with the sinner and bears with him the consequences of his
sin as he prays for him. Just as a perceptive physician seeks to heal
wounds, he heals sins: he offers counsel, and may prescribe remedies
(penances) that look to the preservation of the spiritual health of
the pentitent. Such "penances" are not punitive in nature,
but remedial. They do not constitute an essential part of the mystery.
Penances may include such things as spiritual reading, fasting,
increased prayer, prostrations, charitable works, and exclusion from
Holy Communion for a specified time.
The confessor pronounces judgement upon the sin and not over the
sinner. As a caring spiritual father he prays for the sinner and
manifests to him the mercy and love of God. When the penitent has
completed his confession, the confessor beckons him to kneel and,
placing his hands upon his head, reads the prayer of absolution, by
which the forgiveness of God is pronounced and bestowed. For it is God
who is the forgiver and the healer of the penitent, not the human
confessor.
Penitence is essentially a healing ministry, since sin is viewed
primarily as a disease that needs to be healed, rather than a crime
that needs to be punished. And since everyone is susceptible to the
wiles of the devil, a regular examination of the conscience deepens
self-awareness and quickens the sensitivity of the heart. For this
reason many persons as a matter of course have a father confessor who
shares their concerns in the on-going process of spiritual development
and growth.
PRIESTHOOD
Jesus Christ is the one, true priest of
the Church. Through his perfect self-offering, Christ continues to
unite fallen humanity to God and is the unique High Priest and
Mediator of the new covenant. Both the royal priesthood of all
believers and the ministerial priesthood have their sources in Christ
the High Priest.
The priestly ministry of Christ is perpetuated in the Church by the
ministerial priesthood, existing in the three essential ministries of
bishop, presbyter and deacon. These are set apart by the grace of
ordination to serve the Church; to preach, teach and shepherd the
people of God; to celebrate the sacred mysteries; to preserve correct
doctrine; and to keep the body united in the love of Christ. The
ministerial priesthood belongs to the very essence and structure of
the Church, having been established by the Lord Himself. The gifts and
functions once given to the Apostles are transmitted to the ordained
ministers through the mystery of the priesthood in the rites of
ordination.
Functions and Duties.
The Bishops are the successors to the
Apostles, the chief shepherds and administrators of the Church and the
guardians and teachers of the true faith. They are the celebrants and
ministers of the mystery of the priesthood. While the right to choose
the ministers of the Church belongs to all the clergy and the people,
the bishop alone has the authority to ordain and appoint ministers and
to consecrate churches. As a sign of the collegiality of the
episcopacy, three bishops (or at least two with the consent of a
third) ordain a bishop. In all other ordinations, one bishop suffices.
Since the sixth century bishops have been selected from the celibate
clergy. Presbyters (priests) and deacons, however, are permitted to
marry but only before ordination. Hence, married men may be ordained,
but priests and deacons may not marry. A widower can be elected and
ordained a bishop.
Presbyters (priests) share in the functions of the episcopacy. They
shepherd and administer local parishes, they teach and celebrate the
holy mysteries for the edification of the people of God, and take
counsel with the bishop concerning the affairs of the diocese. Most
parish priests are married, but it is not unusual for celibate clergy
and monastics to serve local churches.
Deacons assist the bishops and presbyters in the execution of their
pastoral liturgical and teaching duties. In earlier times, women were
also ordained as deaconesses. The order, however, fell into disuse by
the twelfth century.
Minor Orders.
Besides the three "major"
orders, the pristhood includes several "minor" orders:
subdeacons, readers, chanters, and acolytes. The ordination of such
minor orders is conducted outside the sanctuary and at any communal
worship service, but never within Divine Liturgy. The enthronement of
a bishop or the bestowal of honors and the appointment to an office
are also conducted outside the framework of the Divine Liturgy.
Ordination Rites.
The ordination of the major orders is
held during the course of the Divine Liturgy. Bishops are ordained
before the scripture readings and Anaphora. This is to indicate that a
bishop is the primary expounder of the faith and celebrant of the
mysteries. A presbyter is ordained immediately after the Great
Entrance and before the Anaphora, because he too is a celebrant of the
mysteries. A deacon is ordained after the consecration of the Gifts
and before Holy Communions, because he assists at the liturgical
services and administers Holy Communion.
The consent of the whole Church is a necessary requirement for
ordination. At every ordination rite both the candidate and the
assembled clergy and laity, and the celebrating bishop are asked to
give their assent with the antiphon (Keleuson). After the ordination,
the new cleric is clothed with the vestments of his order and
installed in his new position amidst the acclamation "he is
worthy" (axios) by the assembled faithful.
The primary signs of all ordination rites are the prayers and the
laying on of the hands upon the heads of the candidate by the bishop.
There is a distinction between the rites of ordination for the major
and minor orders. The term cheirotonia (to stretch out the hand)
designates the rites of ordination for the major orders, while the
term cheirothesia (to place hands) is used to designate an ordination
to the minor orders.
The Character of the
Priesthood.
Those called and ordained to serve the
Church are referred to as "clergy" (kleros), because they
are chosen and set apart. The character of ordination is indelible.
Therefore, ordination is never repeated, even in the case of clergy
who have apostatized or have been defrocked, and are received again
into the Church.
The male character of the ordained priesthood is a basic tenet of
Orthodoxy. The priesthood belongs to Christ and those ordained to
perpetuate his priesthood are his icons. The bishop (or priest) is not
simply a delegate or a vicar of an absent Christ, but the one through
whom Christ renders himself present to his Church.
The clergy do not posess an intrinsic personal holiness because of
their ordination. Rather, they strive to acquire it, like all
Christians, but with a greater urgency through ascetic effort. The
clergy ought to embody the love of Christ and manifest to the
community the essentials of the Christian life. Conversely, the clergy
need to discover in their flock the presence of Christ. In this mutual
witness each assists the other to become a living member of the body
of Christ.
MARRIAGE
The Institution of
Marriage.
God is the author and celebrant of
pure marriage. He ordained and instituted it in paradise (Gen.
1:27-28).
A Christian marriage is like any other marriage in its external form,
structure and organization; it is experienced, however, in a radically
different way. Relationships, authority and personal identity are
experienced on a wholly other plane: in the context and spirit of the
new life in Christ. In a Christian marriage two persons share each
other in a unique relationship with the risen and reigning Christ.
Christ's death and resurrection constitute the basis for this new and
radical relationship between spouses and between parents and children.
In loving and being loved, Christians must be willing to enter, daily,
into the light of Christ. It is there that they discover that
"all great love is crucified love," as Paul Evdokimov once
noted. Sacrificial, self-giving love requires our willingness to die
daily to the dreadful condition of our fallen nature, to pride, envy,
anger, deceit, insensitivity, selfishness and every other kind of
sinful desire and self-delusion that distorts, reduces, and destroys
the human person.
In the immense reality of Christ's love, Christian spouses discover
and experience the love of the Holy Trinity. It is this love, wrote
Olivier Clement, which precedes, founds and renews our love. The
couple's "self-gift" to each other is to love in a divine
way. Such love invests the couple's whole being with the redeeming
presence of the Incarnate Love. This Incarnate Love, Christ,
integrates and enriches their personal and sexual love, enabling them
to transcend the closed finitude of their falleness, and thus allow
them to reach ever-new and ever-deeper levels of communion,
friendship, maturity, openness and holiness. This Christ-like
experience of love reflects and makes credible the reality of God's
love for humankind. In this way Christian spouses learn to become
servants of redemption.
In marriage every person acquires a new identity: the two become one
flesh (Gen. 2:24). Thus, marriage is more than the social and
religious sanction of a biological fact. It is, according to Christos
Yiannaras, "the personal relationship of coinheritence. Through a
reciprocal relinquishment of the individual will and acceptance of the
other's will, the unity of husband and wife comes not to be built on
the natural premise of sexual impulse, but on the premise of ecclesial
communion, which is self transcendence and self-offering. Marriage
draws its identity not from the natural relationship, but from the
relationship in the realm of the Kingdom."
Persons who marry in the Lord come to appreciate, in the deepest
possible levels of existence, God's commandment to "love thy
neighbor as thy self." A husband and wife become intimate lovers,
because they are, first of all, neighbor and friend to each other in
the most unique and conclusive way. By loving Christ, and through Him
each other, they come to know one another's distinct identity,
complete one another in a dynamic way, and discover God's image in
each other (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:18-24). Drawn to each other, and together
to Him, Who is the source of all love, their eros is transfigured
constantly into unfailing love, into agape. Consumed by the face of
the Lord, Who is mystically present in their lives, they find joy in
exploring the hidden and unfathomable depths of the miracle and
mystery of their own personhood.
A marriage in the Lord is sustained by the Holy Spirit, Who grants to
the spouses the necessary gifts to secure a godly life in peace,
truth, harmony and love. This is not to say, however, that a church
marriage is free from problems, temptations, tensions, pains and
suffering. Rather, it means only that in the obedience of faith are
spouses open to the influence and power of the Holy Spirit, who allows
the life of the Risen Christ to emerge in them, so that they may be
empowered to transcend the weariness, failures and difficulties of
daily, ordinary life. Marital bonds are strengthened and renewed by
the exercise of godly patience, humility, fortitude, kindness and
mutual trust. The bonds are nourished and sanctified by prayer, the
sacraments of the Church, and works of genuine piety and charity.
Conditions and
Characteristics of Marriage.
The essential condition for marriage
in the Church is that the partners come to it out of their own free
will. The decision to marry in the Lord is a highly personal one. It
is to be arrived at prayerfully, in the counsel of one's own heart.
The freedom to choose one's own partner is restricted only by those
canonical, legal or moral impediments that would distort, damage or
frustrate the purpose of marriage.
A church marriage is indissoluble. It is understood to be a life long
event; a dynamic, unfolding, loving relationship that unites two
unique personalities into a single body, without change and confusion.
It becomes a covenant relationship between two persons who willingly
accept the challenge and opportunity to "be subject to one
another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephes. 5:21).
Marriage is established and constituted with appropriate prayers and
signs of the Church; since it is God Himself, Who is the creator and
the celebrant of marriage. Through her canonically ordained bishops,
and/or presbyters, the Church, as the redeemed community, calls upon
God to unite and sanctify the spouses and to prosper them in life and
faith.
Marriage and family are understood to be patterned after the divine
life of the Holy Trinity. With this model in mind, we recognize and
uphold the absolute equality of the spouses. However, we are able to
recognize differentiation in their nature and also in their
relationship to one another. In the words of Thomas Hopko, "the
mode of being and action of the male in creation is different from the
mode of being and action of the female within the same nature of
created being. More specifically. . . the male and female are not the
same and are not interchangeable in the unique forms of their common
humanity."
Spouses relate to each other according to an order established by God;
with the man as the head and the woman as the partner. This is a model
based on the relationship of Christ and the Church. The man, as head,
is called to love, cherish and respect his wife. The wife, as partner,
is called to honor and respect her husband (Ephes. 5:21-33; Col.
3:18-19). A husband and wife complement each other, and, in this very
complementary state, are able to recognize and experience their
distinctiveness as well as their inherent equality.
A church marriage presupposes a monogamous relationship. Monogamy is
implied in the Book of Genesis, upheld by the Prophets, confirmed by
Christ, and sustained by the Church. Monogamy is consistent with the
Christian ideal of agape. A monogamous relationship, based on the love
of God, empowers the spouses with the will to overcome the evil
inclinations toward division, envy, conceit, lust, arrogance,
deception and manipulation. By preserving personal dignity and seeking
to ensure equality, stability and purity in marital relations,
monogamy fosters and promotes the aims of Christian marriage.
The Purpose of
Marriage.
The essential and primary purpose of
marriage is to unite two free persons into a communion of love for
their mutual companionship, support, enjoyment, and personal
fulfillment and completion. Genuine companionship is founded on mutual
trust, which in turn is nourished by honesty, commitment, fidelity,
tenderness, steadfastness of faith and single mindedness.
The task of living and growing together in holiness is aided by sexual
fulfillment, since sexuality implicates the person whose substance is
imprinted on the body. For the Christian, writes Olivier Clement,
"sexuality must become a dimension of the person, a language of
the relation between persons. This unity of the flesh denotes not only
the union of the bodies, but the inter woveness of two lives."
Sexual fidelity and enjoyment nurture the distinction between, and
allow for the development of the maleness of the husband and
femaleness of the wife. But, like all human conditions and relations,
sexuality, also, has been tinged by ancestral sin. Like all unhallowed
things of the fallen world, human sexuality unbalanced can remain
opaque, closed and graceless. It can deteriorate into narcissistic,
abusive and predatory behavior, or sink into depravity and perversion.
It can become an addiction of the worse kind. The other in the sexual
relation becomes a body of desire; an object to be possessed, used and
abused.
Sexuality needs to be brought into the realm of redemption through
marital fidelity, modesty, tenderness, decency and prudence. The
sexual experience develops into a means of self transcendence and
becomes a window through which God's love and life shine into marital
love and life. The human body becomes a body of communion and an
opportunity for personal growth and transparency. The physical
relationship is transformed into a union of persons, and more.
"Through the natural relationship of marriage," writes
Christos Yiannaras, "the two are united into one flesh, and
through the eucharistic relationship of the mystery of marriage, this
one flesh, the shared life of two persons, is made incorruptible and
immortal."
Human sexuality is fundamentally good; a gift from God. It exists to
further the growth of mutual companionship in marriage by drawing
husband and wife into a loving, caring and intimate communion of body
and soul. Most importantly, it allows the spouses to become
co-creators with God. Creation of a new life from fleshly love is a
special privilege, joy and blessing. Through it, God grants the world
a share of His omnipotence. As responsible and loving human beings, a
husband and wife share in God's creative power and imitate His
self-giving love; His providential concern for creation.
The conception, birth and nurture of children constitute another basic
aim and characteristic of marriage. Children are the very crown of the
marital union and mysterious presence of God's creative love in the
lives of two people. However, a childless marriage, due to biological
infertility, is no less complete than a marriage with children.
Children are worthy of great love and careful upbringing. St. Paul
tells parents to bring up their children in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord (Ephes. 6:4). While providing for their
physical well-being, parents must also protect their children against
sin, provide them with spiritual guidance, and create for them a
loving environment in which they can develop into mature, caring human
beings. The complex task of raising children requires patience,
openness, faith and immeasurable love and understanding. According to
Father Alexander Elchaninov, "the most important thing is that
children should see their parents leading an intense interior
life."
Sexual relations are related to the mutual fulfillment of the spouses
and then to child-bearing. The decision, therefore, to suspend
fertility through the use of contraceptives is not necessarily in
violation of natural law. Regarding this matter, Metropolitan
Chrysostomos Zapheris notes the following: "While the Orthodox
Church fully acknowledges the role of procreation in the marital
sexual act, it does not share the deterministic understanding of the
act. . . which ignores love as a dimension of great value in sexual
intercourse between husband and wife."
Creation of new life requires serious, prayerful, honest and sincere
reflection. While some forms of contraception are more admissible than
others, it is clear that abortion is not an acceptable form of birth
control. The decision to regulate the size of one's family is the
personal responsibility of the spouses. A serious commitment to the
Gospel, however, precludes decisions that are based solely on
hedonistic, selfish and prideful reasons. We do well, at this point,
to remember the words of a noted Orthodox theologian: "Since
Christ's resurrection a realm of non-death has opened up in the
opacity of the world. . . Contrary to widespread opinion, my body is
not myself. It is my self only when it belongs to Christ, when it
takes its place in the stream of life of the communion of saints, in
the fountainhead of living water of the Body of Christ."
When a Marriage Fails
Unfortunately, marriages can fail and
cause painful and distressful conditions that lead to separation and
divorce. Divorce produces as much anguish as death because it is the
withering away of a living relationship into emotional and spiritual
deadness; often times after cruel and humiliating experiences.
The Church admits divorce and remarriage as a concession to human
frailty and imperfection. These concessions reflect the Church's
pastoral concern for wounded souls and her refusal to abandon divorced
persons in their sin, failure, weakness, distress, dilemma and pain.
Thus, choice here is between right and wrong marriages in the context
of a lifelong union and pilgrimage towards the Kingdom of God.
The Marriage Rite
The service of marriage
currently in use by the Church consists of two separate, independent
and self contained rites, that have been linked together for many
centuries: Engagement which is also called "The Service of the
Betrothal"; which is also referred to as "The Service of
Crowning."
In the early Church marriages of Christians were accomplished by
agreement of the couple with the blessing of the bishop or presbyter,
usually given in the context of the Eucharist. By the fourth century,
the Rite of Crowning had developed and was performed within the
eucharistic celebration. A marriage rite separate from the eucharist
began to appear in the ninth century.
The formation of two separate rites, one for betrothal and another for
marriage, had begun early. The purpose of the Betrothal Service was to
confirm and hallow the pledge of the future marriage. It was customary
to conduct it at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. The purpose of
the Marriage Service was to consecrate the marital union; it was
conducted during the course of the Divine Liturgy. In another stage of
its development, the Rite of Crowning was celebrated within the
context of a Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts. The practice of
drawing these two independent rites into a single liturgical event,
separate from the Eucharist, began in the tenth century. It soon
became common place, and finally, the norm.
The Service of Betrothal is relatively short. It contains a set of
petitions and three prayers. It is characterized by the exchange and
the putting on of rings. The rings constitute the sign of the couples'
voluntary pledge to enter into marriage and to live together in faith,
harmony, truth and love.
The Service of Crowning is longer and more complex. Besides petitions,
several prayers, and two scripture readings, it contains a number of
liturgical actions that include the joining of hands, the partaking of
blessed wine from a common cup and a solemn joyous procession. The
characteristic ritual, however, is the act of crowning the couple,
hence the name of the service. With eloquent words and didactic
symbolism this service emphasizes the rich blessings, the special joys
and the great responsibilities of Christian marriage.
A Note on Celibacy
Celibacy is another way of
living the Gospel. A person chooses to remain sexually unengaged in
order to better obey the Lord's commandments. Monastics also choose to
reject pleasures and relationships of the world, not because these are
inherently bad, but because they have a far greater desire, to
discover the face of God through ascesis.The monk does not suppress
eros. He/she transfigures it by grace. St. John of the Ladder says it
in these words: "blessed is he who has a passion for God no less
violent than the lover has for his beloved."
The celibate, who is detached from things of the world and accepts
virginity for the glory of God, imitates angelic life and manifests
the condition of the resurrectional life," when those raised from
the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage" (Mk 12:25).
THE MYSTERY OF HOLY
UNCTION
The Dogmatic
Background
It has been noted that we are
born into a situation, in which pain and sorrow are ever-present
realities. Sickness, suffering and death are the terrible proofs that
humanity groans under the heavy burden of ancestral sin (Rom. 5:12-14;
8:18-25). In the words of Panagiotes Chrestou, "we bear by birth
that nature, which Adam and Eve corrupted." As if the burdens of
our fallen, moribund nature were not enough, some choose to exacerbate
the dreadfulness of our condition by abusing the soul and body with
every manner of excess.
Sickness and the body's eventual death are inescapable indignities
which we suffer because of the fall. They are not forms of divine
retribution, but the result of our deep alienation from God and our
rejection of Him. God allows death, not as a punishment, but to
terminate graceless life, so that it may be restored to its fullness
in the resurrection. "Since, through man, sin came into the
world, and through sin death, it pleased God to give us His Son, in
order to condemn sin in His flesh, so that those who died in Adam may
be brought to life in Him (Liturgy of St. Basil). Christ "took
our infirmities and bore our diseases" (Mt 8:17; Is 53:4). He
overcame the world, by loosening the bonds of death and opening, for
all flesh, a path to the resurrection from the dead. By participating
in his deified human nature, humanity has access to imperishable life.
The Constitution of
the Holy Unction
The Mystery of Holy Unction is
established upon the words and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ. It
embodies, extends and continues his healing ministry. It is the sign
of his transforming presence in a bruised and hurting world, and the
emblem of His promise to deliver us from sin and corruption. It is the
manifestation of the Kingdom and the sign of what God has in store for
the world when it reaches its state of ultimate completion. While the
reign of God has not yet come in power, the mighty deeds of Christ
disclose and proclaim the mystery of humankind's renewal: "the
blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and
the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news
preached to them" (Mt 11:5-6). The Mystery of Holy Unction places
the sick into this eschatological reality, where suffering, corruption
and death are overcome, even in the present time.
The healing ministry of the Church is patterned after the healing
ministry of Christ; it addresses humanity's need for deliverance. A
succinct description of the form and meaning of this ministry, from
apostolic times to the present age, is found in the Epistle of James:
"Is any among you sick? Let him call the presbyters of the
Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord, and prayers of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord
will raise him up; and if he has committed sins he will be
forgiven" (Jm 5:14-15).
Holy Unction is a sacrament of faith. It seeks to raise up hope and
impart courage and peace to the sick person by alleviating anxieties,
frustrations and feelings of alienation that often afflict the
sufferer. It communicates spiritual power so that the trials of
sickness are borne with fortitude and the temptations that lead to
despair are resisted and overcome.
Holy Unction does not serve as a substitute for medical treatment, nor
is the priest a replacement for the physician. Medical science is,
itself, a gift of God, and a sign of His providential benevolence,
wisdom and love. (Sirach 1:1, 38: 1-15) . In time of illness we are
guided by the words of Scripture:
"When you are sick do not be
negligent, but pray to the Lord, and He will heal you. Give up your
faults and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from all
sins. . . And give the physician his place, for the Lord created
him. . . There is a time when success lies in the hands of
physicians, for they too will pray to the Lord that he should grant
them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving
life" (Sirach 38: 9-10, 12-14).
The gift of healing is, first of all, a restoration of interior
justice and holiness; an entrance into the peace of God. While
"healing is certainly a much desired effect... it is not an
indispensable condition for the existence of the sacrament,"
notes Elie Melia. Holy Unction allows the sick person to share in
Christ's victory over sin and death by "conforming him or her in
some degree to the body of the risen Lord and by disposing the whole
person - body, soul and spirit - for eternal life." The essential
purpose of Holy Unction is to raise up the sick into the realm of
God's Kingdom.
The Lord has commanded us to share one another's burdens, to visit the
sick, and to care for the hungry and the poor. The sacrament of Holy
Unction is the strong reminder to the Church community that care for
the afflicted, those suffering from illness, injustice, exploitation,
oppression, hunger, poverty and abuse, is a communal concern and duty.
The Church has a special responsibility to minister to the ills of
humanity.
Holy Unction as a
Sacrament
The Church's sacrament of
healing has several names. It is known as Euchelaion or Prayer Oil;
Holy Oil; Eptapapadon (from a custom requiring seven priests to
celebrate it); and Holy Unction (from Latin, meaning anointing).
The outward sign or element of the sacrament is (olive) oil. It is an
appropriate symbol for the sacrament, since its use as a therapeutic
agent is known from antiquity.
As is the case in all the sacraments, Holy Unction is celebrated by a
canonically ordained bishop or presbyter.
The service developed over a long period of time. It contains the
following basic elements: a modified Orthros; a prayer for the
consecration of the oil; a set of seven Readings and priestly prayers;
and a prayer for the anointing of the sick person.
The sacrament is used for the sick and may be celebrated at any time,
in the Church, home or hospital. In earlier times the sacrament was
celebrated in the context of the Divine Liturgy.
The Church celebrates the sacrament, with special solemnity, on Holy
Wednesday for the whole community. The Church confers the sacrament
upon all the faithful, whether they are physically ill or not, because
we do not draw a sharp distinction between bodily and spiritual
illness.
It may be that the use of Holy Unction in the middle of Holy Week is a
vestige of the ancient practice of the reconciliation of penitents
before Pascha. In any case, the solemn celebration serves to remind
the faithful of Christ's power to forgive and liberate the conscience
from the blight of personal and collective sin and to emphasize the
glorious expectation of Pascha; the resurrection, redemption and
sanctification of all life.
Note:
This is a combination of two articles and has been edited for this web
page.
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