Clarifying Words of St. Ignatius
“For this reason it is fitting for you to run together in harmony with the mind of the bishop… For your presbytery, which is both worthy of the name and worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop as strings to the lyre. Therefore Jesus Christ is sung in your harmony and symphony of love. And each of you should join the chorus, that by being symphonic in your harmony, taking up God’s pitch in unison, you may sing in one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father, that he may both hear and recognize you through the things you do well, since you are members of his Son. Therefore it is useful for you to be in flawless unison, that you may partake of God at all times as well.”
Thus wrote St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, to the Church at Ephesus.
For the record, I would like to point out that St. Ignatius succeeded Evodus (also known as Euodios of Antioch, Euodus, Euodias, Evodias, Evodios) who was bishop of Antioch after the holy Apostle Peter. It is words like St. Ignatius, the third bishop of Antioch, a couple of generations from Christ, and others that help clear up questions regarding the original structure of the church and worship. And yet he is only one Church father who God has used to help strengthen our journey towards salvation and understanding. If we dare to to take the time to include the older books in our reading so much more awaits us. Praise God for this.
Finally. Darwinism Is Being Challenged
Looks like folks all over are finally mustering up the courage to challenge what many have suspected for a long time: that Darwinism is flawed in many ways and should be challenged. Though this particular production looks a bit dated, the information is definitely worth a look, not to mention there are a growing number of videos criticizing Darwinism showing up on the web:
In the whole Evolution versus Creation or the new Evolution versus Intelligent Design (contrary to what some may say, there is a difference between Creationism and Intelligent Design) debates, and despite the reputation of science and scientists as being boring, there is no lack of passion from either side on this particular issue. Unfortunately, when tempers flare much tends to get lost in the discussion. Often one finds oneself fighting to remember why the discussion was started. I ask that, regardless of which side of the debate you’re on, when you’re considering this subject to try not to be persuaded by the the raw emotion that is sometimes expressed in the form of personal attacks, or the surrounding hyperbole that misleads. Try and stick to the results of the scientific research, the proof or evidence, or the lack of it. And, very importantly, please try applying the same standards of fairness and the same criteria to both sides of the argument. This isn’t always easy, but if you were accused of something and had to stand trial for it you would want the jury to do just that.
An example of this lack of fairness would be the reputation that most Young Earth creation scientists have today. I’ve heard descriptions given more than a few times, from both scientists and laymen on both sides of the discussion, of Young Earth creationists who are not only “wrong”, but “cracked pots” because they believe the earth is much younger than most scientists. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not really sure where I stand on the issue, however, when one considers that about 100 years ago the the majority of science departments in greatest universities around the world, who are now vigorously promoting “Naturalism” and sometimes flat out atheism, were very much united in this Creationist thinking before Darwin. Yes, I know one can say that we have better data available nowadays, but didn’t they think the same thing back then? And, even more alarming is knowing that Galileo would be the first to tell you that a majority doesn’t make anything any more true.
So, as you hear these controversies spoken of please take the time to ignore the hype from either side and search for the TRUTH. After all, the truth should be the very point they’re trying to make for you.
God bless.
Faith In Action
Christ is risen!
Like a lot of you, I’m a convert to Orthodoxy. I grew up in Harlem (New York) attending church at Bright Temple AME (African Methodist Episcopal) in the Bronx. It was and remains a church with folks loving God, doing His work for the community (i.e. feeding the poor, helping out the homeless, doing what it can for whoever needs help). I spent time there because that’s where my family went. We would, of course, visit other AME churches, but Bright Temple was our church home. It was there I got to see faith in action.
It was there I heard hear Pastor Kemp preach wonderful sermons with his powerful voice that would often cut through the granite of my young, fidgety teenage soul, as I giggled, snickered, and plain old “cut up” with Tyrone and Keith in the back of the church, only to have my mom turn around and give me a look that I knew meant I had to bring it down a notch or deal with her later. It was there I would see my father decked out in his Sunday suit and white gloves, standing as an usher at the door to greet regulars and newcomers. It was there, in Bright Temple AME that I would see both he and my mom on their knees praying.
Seeing my parents get on their knees in prayer did more for my faith than they will ever know. Like most kids, my parents, Rosa Lee and Pops were and remain Superman and Superwoman to me. Seeing your superheroes kneel before God is a very humbling thing to witness. Humbling enough to let you know that you ought to pay attention to what it was they were doing. I was a little kid who paid attention. I paid attention to the well-respected man who never once complained about waking up at four in the morning to head to the General Motors plant in Tarrytown, New York for 35 years; the man whose t-shirts I’d wear and notice the holes from the sparks of the welding he’d done. The man who woke up on Sundays, quietly drank his coffee, while handing me the funnies (comics) from the Sunday newspaper. I paid attention to the woman without much education and more common sense than anyone I know, who cleaned the homes of her well-to-do white employers in downtown Manhattan; who had/has pride in everything she does; who never blamed “white people” for where she was in life; who encouraged me continuously with reminders of how I could do something if I just put my mind to it; who always made sure I was up to get dressed and head to church; who was smart enough to entice me to church by offering me the front seat next to Pops (I love you for that, Ma 
).
So, now I’m a parent with children, and even have a grandson. My parenting track record isn’t without it’s blemishes, of course. I’m divorced and remarried, and I have no doubt each of my daughters (four beautiful daughters in total) could tell me a few things that would hurt but probably be better for me, but surely I’m not alone. The road to successful parenting is littered with plenty of evidence of The Fall that the first parents of the world suffered. The path I choose is to forgive my parents any mistakes and to look on the best of what they offered me. I mean things like always say thank you and please; chew with your mouth closed; show respect for your elders; ladies first (which is sometimes a challenge in Sweden); be a gentleman; don’t do anything halfway; take care of your family; pay your bills on time; and last but by no means least: follow Christ.
I still try and abide by those nuggets my parents passed on to me. And, funny enough, when I go and visit my parents back in Harlem the rules are the same. They cut me no slack just because I’m an adult now, and I love that. I love that my children get to see it to. Also, I still get a feeling of pride when I see them dress up and head to Bright Temple AME in the Bronx. They’re still my superheroes.
I hope those of you who are parents out there understand just how valuable your kids seeing your faith in action is to them. I think it’s important kids see their parents humble themselves before God and get to see us struggle a bit in our faith. I believe it’s important for them to see our struggles so those same struggles don’t come as such a shock for them. I also believe it’s crucial for them to know where to go when they think or feel the struggle is more than they can bear. My young mind couldn’t really fathom the struggles of my parents, but I knew God must’ve been pretty powerful in order for superheroes like them to ask for his help.
I remind myself time and again on the value of having my daughters see me make the sign of the Cross. I now have the same parental authority my parents had when I was a child. As you can imagine, that must mean quite a bit to a guy who still refers to his parents as superheroes. I can only imagine what it means when I say to my children “Make your Cross/Cross yourself before you go out”, or “Don’t forget your prayers”, before they go to bed. If it doesn’t mean much to them now, I’m guessing it will mean a lot in times to come.
Christ is risen!
Christ Is Risen! — And Renewing
Christ is risen!
We are now approaching the end of Bright Week, the wonderful week in which we Orthodox greet each other with proclamations of Christ’s resurrection and affirmations that “Indeed He is risen!” During the services of Bright Week the Royal Doors remain open giving us a full view to the alter symbolizing the empty tomb as well as the veil being torn in the Jewish Temple at the moment of Christ’s death. Fasting is prohibited during this time so the faithful can recover their strength after eight weeks of fasting during Lent. It is a time of renewal for all of creation by our Lord Jesus. When I think about what Orthodoxy is and continues the become, renewal is a word that leaps out in so many ways. After exchanging e-mails with a very wise and dear sister in Christ, I began to suspect more renewal was going on than I expected. But first a little background information about me.
I grew up in a family where there was unquestionable belief in Christ, but pretty much little or no discussion of Him outside of church on Sundays. Even then most of the discussing was usually done by the pastor. I was starving for information about the history of the Early Church and Christ. I eventually started reading the Bible and doing a bit of research myself, which turned into more than a little bit, that led me to Orthodoxy.
When I found Orthodoxy, I wondered how it had been kept hidden from me for so long. All the richness that is Orthodoxy, that which many rightly call the fullness of the faith, is impossible for me to describe in one blog post or even a lifetime of blog posts. (Anyone who’s seen the works of St. John Chrysostom understands just a little of what I’m referring to. And he is only one of many who have written about the Orthodox faith in ways I could only dream of.) I had searched for and found Orthodoxy and wondered how on earth I had missed it! But I was recently reminded that I was not alone.
On the other side of the same coin is a dear sister in Christ I know. She’s someone who grew up in Orthodoxy, but, as it sometimes happens, ended up finding herself just as hungry as I was. While she was exposed to Orthodoxy from the cradle, she ended up having the same hunger for the history of the Church. In an e-mail to me she reminded me there were reasons for the slim pickings for us English speakers out here early on. She wrote:
My grandparents never went to school – they could barely read at a low elementary level, in Greek of course. My parents never got good answers to any religious question. When they asked a question, they were told, “Don’t ask questions! Just believe!” Some people left the faith because they thought there were no answers to their questions. People lived in a world of superstition which took the place of knowledge.
It dawned on me our worlds were even more alike than I thought. I grew up going to the church I did because that’s where my parents decided we were going to go. Discussions about the faith or things faith-related rarely, if ever, occurred in our home because my parents weren’t the studying kind. While I know my father went to trade school when he was younger, I know that my mom had not received much more than an elementary school education. We believed in Jesus because someone with authority somewhere in our family (how many generations back is beyond me, but based on a bit of research I’ve done regarding my family tree either my great-grands or great-great-grands were slaves on my mom’s side, so I’m going to go with the odds and guess it was one of my grandmothers) decided we were going to follow Jesus and that was that. In any case, it became apparently clear to me that if I was going to find any solid answers to questions I had about the Christian faith I was going to have to do the digging myself. And dig I did! I dug and hit many a rock of superstition and ignorance, both on my part and the parts of others. I ran into forms of racism, nationalism, and other -isms that were enough to help me see why folks would want to stay away from Christians. Years later I would find the Orthodox Church.
After the shock of finding the treasure it is, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What happened here?” and I thought, “I’m sure I’ve found what He established, but why does it seem more like an ancient relic to me than something simply ancient.” And here is what that wonderful sister in Christ wrote clearing things up for me:
You have to remember, not only is Orthodoxy new to America, compared to the westerners, but in traditional Orthodox lands they never went through a Renaissance or an Age of Enlightenment, or any such thing. People were very poor and uneducated. Most of Greece was not liberated from the Turks until after WWI. Russia was basically a feudalistic society until about then, and then they suffered under repressive communism for 80 years.
In this life with its bumps and tragic human affairs we have a way of sometimes letting dust gather on things most precious to us. Sometimes we see it, sometimes in our ignorance, we don’t. Sometimes obstacles as large as communism are placed in our way. Sometimes when the knowledge of such things isn’t passed along, someone generations away may look at it with eyes that can’t see it for what it is. It’s like the ear that’s listened to nothing but rock-n-roll trying to appreciate Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart. But Christ is who He is. He promised that if we seek we shall find. I can attest to this.
So where does renewal come into this for me?
In order for anyone to claim knowledge about something being renewed, they need to know what the older state of that something was. I’m not bold enough to make such a claim about Orthodoxy. I know better than that. However, I spent more than a few years in American Christianity. I’ve seen the ups and downs of Protestantism, the new names of repeated movements, but I never saw anything like Orthodoxy. I can say from a distance that I now actually see Orthodoxy in the U.S. now. It may just be that Christ is renewing Christianity in the U.S. through Orthodoxy. It seems in the whirlwind that modern-day Christianity has become, folks hungry for the Church that Christ established through His apostles are starting to take a look at Orthodoxy and are starting to ask us Orthodox believers questions about our faith (I’ve even had a few ask me a question or two here in Sweden). Through the grace of God, we now have resources in English available to us that weren’t there before. Sites like Ancient Faith Radio and Orthodoxy Chrisitan Network, as well as the myriad resources available on other sites, are helping equip us with knowledge about our faith that should help us provide answers for non-Orthodox searchers or just the curious.
This past Lent, the combination of the Church services, Orthodox podcasts, English translations of the works of the Early Church Fathers, and the study of Scripture did more for my personal renewal of faith than anything I can remember in some time. I would by no means say I was a miserable Orthodox believer before then, but Orthodox podcasts and the works of the Early Church Fathers wonderfully shed more light on things.
Something’s going on in Orthodoxy… No. Orthodoxy’s been there. Something’s going on in the world. I believe a renewal is happening. However, I believe Orthodoxy just may be causing the renewal.
May God be with you all.
Xristos Anesti!
