ORTHODOXY

I bought a new book: Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel. Nicodemos was a Greek monk on Mount Athos (the Holy Mountain) who lived in the later half of the 18th century. About half of the spiritual advice in his book has to do with guarding the senses. Not eating too much, for example, or not looking at one’s reflection in a mirror. I don’t suppose any of this is going to go over in the hedonistic western world, but there is certainly value in not getting so absorbed in worldliness that the spiritual side of a person doesn’t have a chance. 

I’m exploring the book because I don’t have much understanding of Orthodoxy spirituality. As is usual with me, I have several books in progress at the same time. Anthony Bloom’s Living Prayer is a collection of articles on prayer written by the late Archbishop and Metropolitan of Surozh and Exarch of the Russian Patriarch in Western Europe. (Try fitting that on your business card.) His writings are thought-provoking and fairly easy to follow perhaps because he was accustomed to dealing with western Christians. Not so The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir Lossky. I bought this book forty years ago and set it aside because it was such dense reading. It hasn’t improved with age, then again, maybe it’s me who hasn’t improved. I haven’t gotten any wiser. 

To tell the truth, I have a very limited understanding of the Orthodox churches. I did take a course in Orthodoxy and have attended Orthodox worship, but that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Most western Christians (Roman Catholics and Protestants) have little understanding of Orhodoxy, though Roman Catholics may find it more comprehensible than Protestants. My eleven-times great-grandfather, Jacob Heerbrand, engaged in an exchange of letters with the Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremias II on behalf of the Lutheran theologians at Tubingen during the later part of the Reformation. It didn’t go very well. The Lutherans had some understanding of Orthodoxy and had hoped for support for their theological positions. The Patriarch had little understanding of Protestantism and didn’t like anything he did understand. 

There is a lack of appreciation for Orthodoxy among Protestants. I know some people who for years went to Russia to evangelize the people. Did they work through or with the Orthodox church there? Of course not. I’m not sure they recognized the Orthodox as being Christians. How can people who don’t sing “How Great Thou Art” possibly be Christians? I belong to an interfaith group where the one Orthodox priest stopped coming to meetings as one of the most liberal participants wrote off any form of Christianity that depended on tradition over reason. 

It’s a shame we don’t have better contact with the Orthodox because they  have a great deal to teach the rest of Christianity. They know what it is like to be persecuted–some by Turks, some by Communists, some by other Christians. They have understood how to adapt to different cultural situations without losing what is essential. You can worship in Greek or Romanian or Arabic, but the faith is the same. Yet they aren’t prone to incorporating fads into worship. The Orthodox church is growing, but I don’t think you could find an electronic video  screen or drum set in any Orthodox church–items which church growth people assure me are necessities.

I’m going to pursue my exploration of Orthodox spirituality with an open mind. How can a person advance is wisdom if he or she doesn’t allow new ideas to penetrate the little grey cells?

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne