تربية الأولاد: للقديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم

في الثالث عشر من تشرين الثاني نُعَيِّدُ للقديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم الذي توفي سنة 407. إهتمَّ كثيرا بتربية الأولاد وأسدى نصائح كثيرة للوالدين. إخترنا هنا بضعة مقاطع من مقالة طويلة يبيّن فيها القديس مبادئ التربية المسيحية وغايتها الأساسية.

قال: أتضرَّعُ إليكم متوسِّلا أيها الإخوة الأحباء بأن تجتهدوا بنشاط كُلِّيِّ في تربية أولادكم وأن ترغبوا في خلاص نفوسهم دائما ... يجب أن يحترص الوالدان، أعني الآباء والأمهات، لا ليغنوا أولادَهُم بالفضة والذهب لكن ليصيروا أغنى من ذلك بالورع والتعليم والفضائل وبالأدب أكثَرَ من الكل ولا يحتاجوا الى أشياء كثيرة ... عليكم أنتم أيها الآباء أن تسألوا عن دخولهم وخروجهم وعن كيفية سلوكهم وأن تلاحظوا سعيهم واجتماعاتهم مَعَ مَن هِيَ، لأنكم متى تهاونتم في هذه الأمور كلها، ليس لكم من الله غفران البتة. أنت أيها الانسان تعمَلُ جهدك ليقتني ابنُك بيتًا مزيَّنًا وأملاكًا كثيرةً أو مالاً ومقتنياتٍ شتَّى غير هذه، إسعَ حتى يقتني نية صالحة ونفسًا مهذبة تقيَّةً وأدبًا.

اذا كانت تربية الاولاد من خلال اقتناء عادات صالحة، فصعبٌ عليهم أن يَمِيلُوا الى الشرور متى صاروا بالغين، لأن نفوس الأطفال كالثوب الساطع البياض الذي إذا صُبغَ بلونٍ ما ثبت اللونُ عليه. وأهم هذه العادات الاستماع الى كلام الله والتقوى والفضائل. هذا أهم من أن تتركوا لهم ثروةً ماليةً وأملاكا ... من الضروري أن نهذب نُفُوسَ أولادِنا لأننا إذا ربَّيناهُم على الخير، قاموا هُم بتربية أولادهم هكذا من جيل الى جيل ... إِنَّ الوالدَ لا يَصيرُ أبًا بولادَةِ بَنِيهِ فقط بل بمحبته لهم. فإن كانت الطبيعةُ تقتضي هذه المحبة، فَكَم بالأحرى النعمة.
لا تظنوا أنه يكفيكم أن تُسمَّوا آباءً من غير أن تُرَبُّوا أولادَكُم وتعلِّمُوهم ما هو المفيد لهم نفسًا وجسدًا وما هو الذي يضرُّهم. أنتم تعتقدون أن الغِنى هو الذي ينفعهم مع باقي الأشياء الزائلة. إن كل هذه الأشياء لا تنفعهم بل تضرهم لكونها وقتية زائلة. فما الذي ينفعهم إذًا؟ الحكمة، العلم، الفضيلة، الأدب. أيها الانسان تُرى اذا مرض ابنُك مرضـًا جَسديًّا أفما تبذل كل جهدك وتأتيه بالطبيب ليشفى؟ أما اذا رأيته مَرضَ مَرَضًا رُوحيا أعظَمَ وَأَشَد، فتتماهَل في علاجه؟ فلهذا يجب علينا أن نؤدِّبَ أولادَنَا ونعلِّمَهُم الحكمةَ التي بواسطتها يمكنهم أن يعرفوا جميع الامور ويعرفوا الله أيضا، لأنه بدون المعرفة لا يسهل لأحد أن يعرف الله.
علِّموا أبناءَكُم أن يعرفوا أسرارَ الكنيسة. علِّمُوهُم العَدلَ وَالعِفَّةَ وَالفَهمَ وَشَجاعَةَ النَّفس. أمَا سمعتُم ما قالَهُ الرب في إنجيلِهِ المقدس أنه إذا رَبِحَ الإنسانُ العالَمَ كلَّهُ وَخَسِرَ نَفسَهُ ماذا ينفعه هذا الربحُ وهذه السلطة؟ يجب أن تؤدِّبُوا أولادَكُم فيما تُؤدِّبُونَ ذَواتِكُم لتخلصوا أنتم وهم معا وتنالوا ملكوت السموات بيسوعَ المسيحِ ربِّنَا.

How TO SCRUTINIZE AND REPROACH YOURSELF

Reflections by St. Ephraim the Syrian:

After having gained knowledge of the truth, I have become a brawler and an offender. I argue over trifles; I have become envious of and callous toward my neighbor, merciless toward beggars, wrathful, argumentative, obstinate, slothful, and irritable. I harbor vile thoughts, I love fancy clothing. And to this day I have many corrupt thoughts and fits of selfishness, gluttony, sensuality, vainglory, arrogance, lust, gossiping, breaking of fasts, despondency, rivalry, and indignation.

I am worthless, but think much of myself. I lie constantly, but get angry with liars. I defile the temple of my body with wanton thoughts, but sternly judge the wanton. I condemn those who fall, but I myself fall constantly. I condemn slanderers and thieves, but am myself both a thief and a slanderer. I walk with a bright countenance, although I am altogether impure.

In churches and at banquets I always want to take the place of honor. I see hermits and act dignified; I see monks and become pompous. I strive to appear pleasing to women, dignified to strangers, intelligent and reasonable to my neighbors, superior to intellectuals. With the righteous I act as if I possess vast wisdom; the unintelligent I disdain as illiterates.

If I am offended, I take revenge. If I am honored, I shun those who dishonor me. If someone demands of me what is rightfully his, I start a lawsuit. And those who tell me the truth I consider enemies. When my error is exposed, I get angry, but I am not so dissatisfied when people flatter me.

I do not want to honor those who are worthy but I myself, who am unworthy, demand honor. I do not want to tire myself with work, but if someone fails to serve me I get angry with him. I do not want to walk among laborers, but if someone fails to help me in my work I slander him.

I arrogantly deny my brother when he is in need, but when I have need of something I turn to him. I hate those who are ill, but when I myself am ill I wish that everyone would love me. I do not want to know those who are higher than I, and I scorn those who are lower.

If I abstain from indulging my foolish desires, I praise myself vaingloriously. If I succeed in vigilance, I fall into the snares of conceit and contradiction. If I refrain from eating, I drown in pride and arrogance. If I am wakeful in prayer, I am vanquished by irritability and wrath. If I see virtue in someone, I studiously ignore him.

I have scorned worldly pleasures, but do not abandon my vain desire for them. If I see a woman, I go into raptures. To all appearances I am wise in humility, but in my soul I am haughty. I seem not to be acquisitive, but in reality I suffer from a mania for possessions. And what good is it to dwell on such things? I appear to have forsaken the world, but in fact I still think about worldly things all the time.

During services I always occupy myself with conversations, wandering thoughts, and vain recollections. During meals I indulge in idle chatter. I yearn for gifts. I participate in the sinful falls of others and engage in ruinous rivalry.

Such is my life! With what vileness do I obstruct my own salvation! And my arrogance, my vainglory does not permit me to think about my sores that I might cure myself. Behold my virtuous feats! See how vast are the regiments of sins which the enemy sends to campaign against me! Yet in the face of all this, I who am wretched endeavor to boast of sanctity. I live in sin, but want others to honor me as a righteous man.

In all this I have but one thing to say in my defense: the devil has ensnared me. But this did not suffice to absolve Adam of his sin. Cain was of course also prompted by the devil, but he did not escape condemnation either. What shall I do if the Lord comes to me? I have no means to justify my negligence.

I fear that I shall be numbered among those whom Paul called vessels of wrath, who will share the devil's fate and whom God, because of their contempt for Him, has committed to the passions of degradation. Thus there is the danger that I will be sentenced to the same fate.

If Thou wouldst save me, who am unworthy, O Merciful Lord, vouchsafe me, a sinner, repentance. Enliven my soul deadened by sins, O Giver of Life. Drive out the stony hardness that is in my miserable heart, and grant me a fountain of contrition, O Thou Who didst pour forth life unto us from Thy life creating rib.

Source: The Eighth Kathisma/The First Stasis, 55: A Spiritual Psalter or Reflections on God. Excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse. From the Works of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian. Arranged in the Manner of the Psalms of David. Translated by Antonina Janda. The St. John of Kronstadt Press.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ: The Summer Feast of the Lord

The Transfiguration of Christ is recorded in the three synoptic gospels. Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke comprise the synoptic gospels, whereas the Gospel according to Saint John is exclusively “theological.” Saint John, on purpose as it may seem, avoids recording the Transfiguration because according to his gospel account, Jesus is already transfigured, from the beginning of the gospel (“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word…”).

Immediately after the Lord was recognized by His Disciples – through Peter’s confession – as “the Christ [i.e. Messiah], the Son of the Living God,” He told them that He “must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things … and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” In the Transfiguration, the Disciples see the glory of the Kingdom of God present, in Majesty, in the Person of Christ. They see that in Christ, indeed, “all the fullness of the Father was pleased to dwell,” that “in Him the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily” (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). They see this before the Crucifixion, so that during and after the Resurrection, they might know Him who suffered for them. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.

Besides the fundamental meaning which the Transfiguration has in the context of the life and mission of Christ, and in addition to the theme of the glory of God which is revealed in all of its divine splendor of the Savior, the presence of Moses and Elias is also of great significance for the understanding and celebration of the feast: Moses and Elias, according to the liturgical hymns, are not only the greatest figures of the Old Testament who now come to worship the Son of God in glory, but they actually stand for the entire Old Testament itself: Moses for the Law and Elias for the Prophets. And Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). The two also stand for the Living and Dead, for Moses died and his burial place is known (Mount Nebo in modern-day Jordan), while Elias was taken alive into heaven in order to appear again to announce the time of God's salvation in Christ the Messiah: “Behold, I will send you Elias before the coming of the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord” Malachi 3:22.

None of the gospels mentions the Transfiguration Mount by name! Church Tradition holds that it was Mount Tabor, or probably Harmon as well, as per the liturgical hymns of the Feast! By appearing with Jesus on the Transfiguration Mount, Moses and Elias show that the Messiah Savior is present, here and now, and that He is the Son of God to whom the Father Himself bears witness, the Lord of all creation, the Lord of the Old and New Testaments, and, the Lord of the Living and of the Dead. The Transfiguration of Christ in itself is the fulfillment of all of the appearances/manifestations of God, a fulfillment made perfect and complete in the Person of Christ Jesus. The Transfiguration of Christ reveals to us our ultimate destiny as Christians, the ultimate destiny of all men and all creation, namely, to be transformed and glorified by the majestic splendor of God Himself.

The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated on August 6^TH as the summer celebration Feast of the Lord (in the Northern Hemisphere, since the Holy Land lies in that territory of Earth, where the Summer Season is June 21^ST through September 21^ST). No one knows for sure when the Transfiguration took place! According to the gospel accounts, and their context, the Transfiguration took place in order to inaugurate the Passion of the Christ: Its foretelling and its occurrence. Thus, being linked to the Passion and to the Cross, the Church Fathers appointed the Celebration of this Feast on August 6^TH, FORTY DAYS before the Great and Universal Feast of the Holy Cross September 14^TH. Thus, the themes of the Transfiguration and the Cross are connected.

The Blessing of Red Grapes, being the first-fruits of the harvest, is the most beautiful and adequate sign of the final transfiguration of all things in Christ – Red Grapes do not start out as red, but as white, and as they ripen, they turn red, in essence, they “transfigure” in color. It signifies the ultimate flowering and fruitfulness of all creation in the paradise of God's unending Kingdom of Life where ultimately all things will be transformed by the glory of the Lord.



Troparion of the Feast of the Transfiguration (Tone 7)

When, O Christ God, Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, Thou didst reveal Thy glory to Thy Disciples in proportion as they could bear it.  Let Thine everlasting Light also enlighten us sinners, through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Thou Bestower of Light, glory to Thee.

Kontakion of the Feast of the Transfiguration (Tone 7)

Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, and Thy Disciples, in so far as they were able, beheld Thy glory, O Christ God; so that, when they should see Thee crucified, they would remember that Thy sufferings were voluntary, and could declare to all the world that Thou art truly the effulgent Splendor of the Father.

The Significance of Forty Days

I am constantly asked by parishioners and friends, both young and old, of the significance of the 40-Day observation period. The questions that arise are similar to, but not limited to, the following: Why do we have 40 days of preparation for Christmas, the Advent Season for the Nativity of Christ (November 15^TH through December 25^TH, inclusive)? Why is the Great Fast—not counting Great and Holy Week—approximately 40 Days long? Why do we hold a 40-Day Memorial Service for the rest of the soul of a loved one (in addition to the third-day, ninth-day, annual, and occasional remembrances)?

The core answer to these questions lies in the Sacred Scriptures. The period of Forty Days is biblical in essence, for this is where it comes from, and this is why it is observed. As far as explaining the meaning of it, I prefer to use the following definition: “A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event.” I remember back in seminary, over a decade ago, Fr. Thomas Hopko used a similar definition in one of his classes, and I believe this is the most fitting, and for that matter the most genuine Orthodox interpretation. When something, specifically an event, is practiced and remembered for 40 days, it makes it real and present in our daily lives. It becomes sealed in our works and etched in our memory.

I categorically do not like some of the answers or definitions given to the question of 40 Days, claiming the background or sources of these interpretations to be biblical. I am specifically referring to non-traditional Christian groups. Here is one such (false) interpretation as posted on one or more websites:

“The number forty has long been universally recognized as an important number, both on account of the frequency of its occurrence, and the uniformity of its association with a period of probation, trial, and chastisement—(not judgment). It is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal (8). This is certainly the case where “Forty” relates to a period of evident probation. But where it relates to enlarged dominion, or to renewed or extended rule, then it does so in virtue of its factors 4 and 10, and in harmony with their signification.”

Notice the negative terminology in this definition: “Probation, Trial, and Chastisement.” Notice also the perceived positive terminology: “Dominion and Rule.” These adjectives, with all due respect, lack the reality of the lives of the people associated with the 40-Day observances in the Scriptures. They also retract from the positive and real Incarnation: It is as though God is the “extreme other” who never became Incarnate, and never fully identified with and/or shared our humanity.

Sadly, the interpretation(s) of such non-traditional groups, almost always, lacks the appropriate and corresponding Orthodox doctrine of the Incarnation, which is summarized in the teachings of many Church Holy Fathers, starting with Alexandria’s Saint Athanasius the Great[1]: God became Man (by nature) so that man (by grace) may become God. They also retract from an essential teaching of Saint Gregory Nazianzus[2]: What cannot be assumed cannot be saved, meaning that for the entire human nature to be saved, God must assume it in its entirety, except for sin (Hebrews 4:15), which in effect was undertaken and fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Scriptural references to “Forty” are many, including references to days and years. I shall suffice by citing the important ones referring specifically to “Forty Days.” Let us examine these, closely and contextually:

·         (Genesis 7:4, 17) The Great Flood: “For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the face of the earth every living thing I made” and, “Now the flood was on the earth forty days and forty nights. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.” Our humble definition, once again, states: “A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event.” In order for the Flood to be “Great”, encompassing the known world at that point, its duration needed to be long enough so that all concerned parties would realize its effectiveness as a real event. The rain, falling for a period of forty days, would signify the completion, in realization, of the universal flood, thus rendering the Great Flood. In essence, the Great Flood was by all means real, because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.

·         (Exodus 24:18 & Deuteronomy 9:18, 25) The Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great: “So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain; and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights”; “And I prayed before the Lord a second time, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sins you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him”; and, “Thus I prayed before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept praying, because the Lord said He would destroy you.” The Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great, along with that of the Lord Jesus Christ, together, constitute the solid and official Orthodox Christian standpoint, from the Sacred Scriptures, concerning the rule of Fasting. Moses fasted before receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. The period of Forty Days and Forty Nights made the Fasting of Moses complete and real; it concretized its reality. Thus, the Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great was by all means real, because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.

·         (Ezekiel 4:6) The Binding of Ezekiel/Judah: “When you accomplish all this, then you shall sleep on your right side; and you shall bear the acts of unrighteousness of the house of Judah for forty days. I have appointed you a day for each year.” Ezekiel lying bound on his side images the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, who bore the acts of unrighteousness for all humanity[3]. Ezekiel stands out among the Prophets, in that, more than any other Prophet, he was called by God to involve himself personally in the divine word by acting it out in prophetic symbolism.  The actions of the Prophet concretized the reality of the house of Judah, equating the number of days of the Prophet’s lying bound with the number of years of unrighteousness concerning the house of Judah. Thus, the Binding of the Prophet Ezekiel made real the Binding of the House of Judah, because it lasted for forty days.

·         (Matthew 4:1-2) The Fasting and Praying of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Then Jesus (after His Baptism) was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” The Fasting and Praying of the Lord Jesus Christ was real, simply because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.

·         (Acts 1:1-3) The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ: “IN THE FIRST WORDS, O Theóphilos, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.  To them He presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, having been seen by them for forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of God[4].” In the Orthodox Church, for forty days – from the Great Feast of Pascha to its leave-taking on Wednesday before the Ascension, all days inclusive – we chant and greet one another with the phrase: “Christ is Risen!” Thus, as the Holy Evangelist states, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was real, because it lasted for forty days.

We can see similar conclusions in these Scriptural references, conclusions which further validate the definition: A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event:

·         The Season of Advent (November 15^TH through December 25^TH, inclusive) is observed for forty days, typically, in order to make real the daily presence of Christ in our lives.

·         The Forty Day Memorial services which we hold for rest of the souls of our loved ones seal the reality in our minds and conscience that that person is no longer physically with us. The mourning season (should) cease and the healing process now begins.

There are many other seasons in the Church which are either liturgical or personal which take the shape of forty days. These are set by the Church Holy Fathers, in their wisdom – from the Same Spirit who inspired the Earlier Fathers/Writers of the Sacred Scriptures – to train us in the Spiritual Life. It is simply the process which we call the Sanctification of Time. The Sanctification of Time, when conscientiously practiced, makes real in our daily lives the elements which we celebrate or commemorate. Thus, we can relate better to the Sacred Scriptures and to the Liturgical Life of our Faith.

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[1] On St. Athanasius’ quote, I have simplified his quote it in line with the Orthodox teaching. The actual quote reads: "God became man so that man might become a god" (St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation 54:3, PG 25:192B)

[2] On St. Gregory Nazianzus, I have also simplified the quotation, which in full reads: “For that which He has not assumed, He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved” - Gregory Nazianzus, Epistle 101 (PG XXXVII 181C-184A)

[3] These remarks are copied from a Footnote and the Introduction in the Orthodox Study Bible, pages 1188 & 1184, respectively

[4] The above quote (Acts 1:1-3) is taken from The Book of the Epistles, © 2010 Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of All North America

مَوعِدُكَ فِي القُدَّاس

القداس موعدٌ لك مع الرب! في الحياة الإجتماعية لا يذهب أحد الى موعد متأخِّرًا. يُعتَبَرُ هذا أنك لست جدِّيًّا بالتعامل مع من ٱرتبطت معه بموعد أو أنك غير مشتاق اليه، وتجعله ينتظر ويتحسَّر على أوقات أضاعها بانتظار. لماذا عند بدء الصلاة في أحد أو عيد لا نجد غير ثلاثة من الناس أكثرهم من النساء المسنَّات؟ ألا يعني هذا أن هذه الكلمات التي يتلوها الكاهن أو يرتِّلُها المرتل لا تهمّ الذين تغيّبوا لِعِلَلٍ غَيرِ ممدوحة؟ كانوا في بيوتهم يحتسون القهوة أو يتناولون فُطورًا أو يستمعون الى الأخبار. ناموا قبل ليلة وٱستيقظوا كما في بقية اليوم. هل يقولون في أنفسهم: القداس جارٍ "فينا وبلانا"؟ نأخذ نصيبنا منه بعد تباطؤ. هؤلاء لا يعلمون أن المسيح ينتظرهم في كنيسته وأن الكلمات التي رُتِّب بها القداس إنما رتَّبها الأقدمون محبةً للناس الحاليين حتى ينمُوا بمحبة الله ويَصِلُوا الى أعماق المسيحية. لماذا لا يعلمون أن السيّد يُحبُّ الذين حضروا منذ البدء والذين تأخَّروا على ألا يتأخروا. هو يغفر لهم ضعف همّتهم وقلّة حماستهم حتى يكسبوا الحماسة ويتجدَّدُوا بالمعرفة ولا يُفوِّتُوا عليهم كلمة نافعة.

مرة دخلتُ كنيسةً في صلاة الغروب في الوقت المحدَّد، ولاحظتُ أن الصلاة ٱبتُدِئَ بها قبل موعدها بدقيقتين أو ثلاث. هذه يُقرَأُ فيها مزمور الغروب. قلتُ للكاهن في نهاية الخدمة: ضيَّعتَ على الذين يجيئون في الوقت المحدد عدَّة آيات من المزمور كان يمكن أن تساعدهم على الخلاص. ربما كانت توبتهم متعلّقة ببعض كلمات لم يسمعوها. هو الشوق ناقص عند بعض منّا. أنت إن أحببتَ المسيح تُفتّش عن ظهوره، وظهورُه في القداس الإلهي عظيم. هو القائل: "الكلام الذي أُكلّمكم به نور وحياة". ألا تريد النور؟ ألست تريد الحياة؟ أنت لا تُفَبرِكُ دينًا لنفسك. أنتَ تأخذ الدين الذي ورثته من آبائك وأجدادك. والدِّينُ المسيحيُّ الذي أنت عليه قلبُه الصلاة وقلبُ الصلاة القداس.

وأَرجو ان تكون عالمًا بأن القداس هيكليَّة كاملة فلا تأخذ جزءًا وتترك جزءًا. إيضاحًا لذلك أقول: كيف تستطيع أن تصل بعد الإنجيل؟ ألا تكون قد حاولت أن تُقنِعَ نَفسَك بأن ما قُرِئَ على المؤمنين لك أنت أن تستغني عنه. والرسالة، مَن قال إنها لا تنفع بنيانك الروحيّ والإنشاد الذي قبلهما؟ كيف تتناول جسد الرب ولا تتناول الإنجيل؟ كل هذا يُعطيك الرب إياه. كل هذا لخلاصك، وبالنتيجة لخلاص أهل بيتك. هؤلاء يُريدونك قويا في الإيمان ونافعًا لهم بالإيمان.

أنت تُحبّهم بما فيك، بما ٱكتسبته من كنيسة الرب. هل أنت تترك لزوجتك أن تعطي أولادك المسيحية ولا تُسهِمُ أنت بإعطاء المسيحية؟ لا تتَّكل على التعليم الدينيّ في المدرسة. بأهمية التعليم أو أهم من التعليم أن تكون المسيحية فيك، في كلامك، في عينيك. تعال لنكون كل أحد معًا، لكي لا تبقى غريبًا عنَّا نحن المصلِّين. نحن وإياك جسد المسيح. لا تُفرِّقنا بغيابك عنا. في الكنيسة نصبح واحدًا. تعال!

+ جاورجيوس مطران جبيل والبترون وما يليهما للروم الأرثوذكس – جبل لبنان

On Homosexual Unions: The Official Orthodox Christian Response in North America

SCOBA: The Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

8 East 79th Street,

New York, NY 10021

August 27, 2003

SCOBA STATEMENT ON MORAL CRISIS IN OUR NATION

As members of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), representing more than 5 million Orthodox Christians in the United States, Canada and Mexico, we are deeply concerned about recent developments regarding "same sex unions."

The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law, holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church. Neither Scripture nor Holy Tradition blesses or sanctions such a union between persons of the same sex.

Holy Scripture attests that God creates man and woman in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27-31), that those called to do so might enjoy a conjugal union that ideally leads to procreation. While not every marriage is blessed with the birth of children, every such union exists to create of a man and a woman a new reality of "one flesh." This can only involve a relationship based on gender complementation. "God made them male and female… So they are no longer two but one flesh" (Mark 10:6-8).

The union between a man and a woman in the Sacrament of Marriage reflects the union between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:21-33). As such, marriage is necessarily monogamous and heterosexual. Within this union, sexual relations between a husband and wife are to be cherished and protected as a sacred expression of their love that has been blessed by God. Such was God’s plan for His human creatures from the very beginning. Today, however, this divine purpose is increasingly questioned, challenged or denied, even within some faith communities, as social and political pressures work to normalize, legalize and even sanctify same-sex unions.

The Orthodox Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions. Whereas marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred institution ordained by God, homosexual union is not. Like adultery and fornication, homosexual acts are condemned by Scripture (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Timothy 1:10). This being said, however, we must stress that persons with a homosexual orientation are to be cared for with the same mercy and love that is bestowed by our Lord Jesus Christ upon all of humanity. All persons are called by God to grow spiritually and morally toward holiness.

As heads of the Orthodox Churches in America and members of SCOBA, we speak with one voice in expressing our deep concern over recent developments. And we pray fervently that our nation will honor and preserve the traditional form of marriage as an enduring and committed union only between a man and a woman.

+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

+Metropolitan HERMAN

Orthodox Church in America

  

+Archbishop NICOLAE

Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada

  

+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary

Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada

  

+Metropolitan JOSEPH

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

  

+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos,

American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA

  

+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE

Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA

  

+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion

Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

Notes on the Epistle Reading for the Feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner

THE NATIVITY OF THE HONORABLE AND GLORIOUS PROPHET, FORERUNNER AND BAPTIST JOHN

THE PROKEIMENON
(IN TONE VII, PSALM 63:10, 1)
The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord: Hearken unto my voice, O God!

THE EPISTLE READING
(ROMANS 13:11b-14; 14:1-4)
BRETHREN, now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk becomingly, as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in chambering and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

But as for the one who is weak in faith, receive him, but not for disputes over opinions.  For one believes he may eat anything; but the weak person eats herbs.  Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.  Who are you to be the judge over the servant of a stranger? To his own master he either stands or falls; but he will be made to stand; for God is able to make him stand.

THE ALLELUIA VERSES
(IN TONE I, ST. LUKE 1:68, 76)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel: And thou, O little child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Most High!

The Prokeimenon of the Epistle sets the stage for our Saint John the Forerunner with two key words, namely, the title of righteous and the noun voice. Righteousness is the title which we, the Church, render for the Forerunner. The classic Troparion of our Saint begins with the words: "The memory of the righteous is celebrated with songs of praise, but as for thee, O Forerunner, the testimony of the Lord sufficeth..." Righteousness/δικαιοσύνη/البر would have been almost extinct in the Old Dispensation, had it not been for a select few, such as (and especially) Abraham, who "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Yet Abraham, as the Great Apostle remarks in his Galatian Epistle, was before the Law/Νόμος/الناموس was given through Moses. The Law, as the Great Apostle again states in his Roman correspondence, is "Good and perfect" therefore no mortal, no human being, could be deemed righteous concerning the Law (the Great Apostle considers himself, concerning the law, blameless, not righteous, as per his Philippian Epistle). Thus, for the first time since the giving of the Law, in the Sacred Scriptures, we encounter someone righteous in the person of the Forerunner. Keep in mind that the Forerunner is still considered as belonging to the Old Dispensation due to his martyrdom before the completion of the Work of Christ. Thus righteousness in the Old Dispensation, apart from the Law, is almost exclusively circumscribed at both chronological ends with Abraham, before the Law's giving, and the Forerunner, after its giving. Finally, the classic Alleluia Verse for the Epistle Readings for the Forerunner, from Psalms, reads: "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow." As for the word voice, this is the title which our Saint chose to call himeslf! When asked of his identity, he replied (John 1:23): "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord."

The Alleluia verse for this feast's epistle reading is from the Song of Zacharias the Priest, the father of the Forerunner, as recorded by the Holy Evangelist Luke. Why is the Lord, the God of Israel, blessed? Because "He has visited and redeemed his people" as the verse continues. Because He is the Redeemer known to the community of the Scripture, who did redeem and will redeem, thus His function. The role of Redeemer is the subject, and the people are (nothing but) the object. The action of visiting/פָּקַד/الإفتقاد is significant in many Old Dispensation accounts, especially with Sarah, the true wife of Abraham (again?): "Now the Lord visited Sarah as He said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken" (Genesis 21:1). The English language is lacking when compared to the Biblical Semitic and Greek; it cannot at times express and render the true meaning of the word. To visit in Semitic ( פָּקַד/الإفتقاد ) does not mean as it would in our modern cultural context, such as "visit for a cup of coffee" and so on. Two Actions must precede the resultant Third: First, there must be a yearning, then, there must be a seeking out, then, at last, there is the visitation. This, in essence, is what the Semitic term of visitation implies. Thus, a correct reading would be: "... For [the Lord] has yearned for, sought out, and (finally) visited, and redeemed His people." Only by reading it thusly we can understand the text, and thereby understand the function of the Visiting Redeemer.

In the second portion of the Alleluia verse, the Priest Zacharias calls his future son "the Prophet of the Most High." What kind of a Prophet would John be, or more correctly, what is the true function of a Prophet? The verse continues: "For [John] will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways." To go before/προ-πορευση literally means to fore-run, hence his function, Saint John the Forerunner. Every true Prophet is a forerunner of the One-to-Come, with Saint John being the foremost among the Prophets, having immediately preceded the Work of Christ, he thus becomes the Archetypal Forerunner.

The Epistle Reading for the Feast is none other than that which is set for Forgiveness Sunday (Cheese-fare Sunday, the Day before Great Lent begins). Within the context of the Feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, and apart from the context of Great Lent, it speaks of the character and person of the Forerunner. Its speaks plainly of his function, mission, and person: He is clad with the armor of light; he is not a drunkard; he made no provisions for his flesh; he fasted from meats all his life; and so on.

As we examine the (whole) Epistle Reading of the Feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, with its preceding and anteceding verses (i.e. the Prokeimenon & the Alleluia verses), we can learn much about the special position which Saint John the Forerunner holds. We can understand his importance to both, the faith and the liturgical life of the Church. Apart from the Lord Jesus and His Mother, the Theotokos, he is the only saint which is celebrated six times in the Orthodox Liturgical Calendar (in the Russian Orthodox Church, seven times).

Troparion of the Nativity of the Forerunner
Prophet and Forerunner of the coming of Christ, although we cannot praise thee worthily, we honor thee in love at thy nativity, for by it thou didst end thy father's silence and thy mother's barrenness, proclaiming to the world the incarnation of the Son of God.

Wherefore, O Saint John, the Righteous, the Voice, and the Forerunner of the Lord, intercede for us sinners. Amen.

Lectionary Reading courtesy of: The Book of the Epistles ©2010 Self-Ruled Antiochian Archdiocese of North America, Fr. Charles Baz, Ed.