By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani
March 2021
March 2021
On the occasion of the celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, during which we remember the restoration of the holy and venerable icons, as well as the victory and triumph of the Orthodox Church, it becomes necessary that the great duty of the witness and mission of the Orthodox faith in our difficult times be emphasized.
It is a fact that our era has been marked by a health crisis on a global level. We are still experiencing the various hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic in all sectors of society. This constitutes a trial for modern man, even raising questions of existence and worldview.
Undoubtedly, this pandemic comes and brings about a reconsideration of many data and conditions. Nothing is the same as before. The way of life of people, after the coronavirus era, has new foundations. And the changes are radical and decisive at all levels of the life of people and of societies.
More specifically, we observe a bold acceleration of the automation of everyday life, a very great increase in technological communication among people, changes in social priorities and in what is considered a good in life, more or less, the closing of borders, and an increasing complexity of problems that appear also in relation to so-called artificial intelligence. Moreover, we see that people are increasingly distancing themselves from one another, suspicion is on the rise, and at the same time depression is at very high levels. And of course there are plans and proposals for economic recovery, programs of investments and competitiveness, solutions for the finding of resources, fiscal measures, and various economic reforms.
However, above all these things — the health crisis, the economic measures, the mechanisms of development, and the digital transformations — the great subject, God, stands at the margin. The sense of the divine factor is strikingly absent in all areas. Everything is examined rationalistically. Everything is carried out apart from God. Modern man considers himself self-sufficient. He does not need “heaven.” God is exiled.
On the other hand, however, although modern man seems not to want God, life continues to be like a “tread-wheel,” and questions wander about: Why is the being of man not fulfilled? Why does suffering continue to exist in his life? Do pills not free him from the bitterness of life and from pain? And most of all, the most basic question: why does man not stop death with his authority and power?
Yet there exists the maxim:
“For every beginning of both word and deed it is fitting to begin from God and to end in God” (Gregory the Theologian),
otherwise:
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 144:18).
In other words, can man eliminate God? He cannot proclaim, like another modern Nietzsche, that he has “killed God.” And this is so because in this impossible attempt to drive God out of his life, he nullifies and destroys his own self.
Precisely at this point, and especially in our days, it is necessary to emphasize the saving turning toward the Almighty and philanthropic Lord and God. But immediately a question arises: Does God sleep and slumber, or does He remain indifferent? Perhaps we might ask with the Prophet Isaiah:
“Is the hand of the Lord unable to save, or has His ear become heavy so that it cannot hear?” (Isaiah 59:1).
Or perhaps the word of the same Prophet also applies:
“The earth has transgressed because of its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the law and changed the ordinances, the everlasting covenant; therefore a curse shall devour the earth because those dwelling in it have sinned” (Isaiah 24:5).
No. The Lord God lives and God loves. And the Gospel of the Sunday of Orthodoxy emphasizes precisely this: the “Come and see” of Philip to the unbelieving Nathanael.
In this apostolic invitation “Come and see” is hidden and preserved the astonishing miracle, continuously renewed and extended through the centuries — this very Christian message, the content of the Orthodox ethos. The “Come and see” truly contains the “power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Consequently, how could the great duty of the witness and mission of the Orthodox faith in the modern world not be emphasized — this world of the post-coronavirus era? The present health crisis demonstrated that a virtual Christianity is not sufficient. Half-measures of Orthodoxy are only an appearance and are of no benefit. We need the authenticity of Orthodox Christian life and spirit. Thus we must proceed to a continual revelation and manifestation of Christian values, as they exist and are defined in the Gospel and as they are interpreted by the God-bearing Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church.
These values are the eternal words, above the flowing words of men. And in this regard, propriety requires that emphasis be given to the following priorities:
First: Re-catechization, with the first subject being “The Church and Her Holy Mysteries.” This is necessary because there continues to circulate a confused and mistaken perception concerning the meaning, essence, and role of the Church, and consequently the approach to the Holy Mysteries — especially the supreme Mystery of the Divine Eucharist and Holy Communion — becomes incomprehensible.
Second: The recovery of sacredness. Sacredness contains within it the fear of God, piety, and reverence. We mean correct reverence and not the rashness of pseudo-piety or formalism. The loss of sacredness leads to a misty “creed,” to transgressive behaviors, and to the domination of passions. The abandonment of the concept of the sacred from human life ultimately has tragic consequences. For this reason, since the life of man is transmitted to him from God as a divine gift, man is, as Saint John Chrysostom writes:
“Not he who simply has the hands and feet of a man, nor he who is merely rational, but he who practices piety and virtue with boldness” (PG 49, 232).
Third: Support for the modern man who is tormented by the various painful trials and failures, and at the same time is consumed by the thought that he lives in a world without perspective and hope, a world without meaning and purpose. The sorrow of problems and illnesses does not distinguish between rich or poor, educated or uneducated, nor does the bitterness of life distinguish gender, race, age, or any particular time. Pain comes and tests patience and hope. In these hours there is heard as especially beloved, accessible, and necessary the supplication of the days of Great Lent:
"Lord of the Powers, be with us.”
But who will say this?
Fourth: Acceptance of the Divine Law. It is not correct for modern man to deceive himself and think that the law of God neither exists nor functions. There are three kinds of law: the law of nature, the law of the letter (given to Moses), and the law of grace. And indeed:
“He who keeps the law of the Lord holds fast to His meaning, and the completion of the fear of the Lord is wisdom” (Sirach 21:11).
Yet, unfortunately, the opposite is observed. A path contrary to the Divine law is followed, together with an easy contempt for it. Thus the anti-religious mentality of the French Revolution, the Western Enlightenment, nihilism, and agnosticism often permeate our entire society, and reflection, seriousness, responsibility, and the fear of God are lost. Fighters against God arise, one rises up against another, lawsuits multiply, wickedness increases, inhumanity prevails, and the “abomination of desolation” does not delay.
However, if we discover through self-knowledge that “we have sinned, we have transgressed, we have acted unjustly before God,” then, as Nehemiah mentions, the following will apply:
“The people perceived their sins and swore to keep and to do all the commandments of the Lord and His judgments and His ordinances” (Nehemiah 10:29).
And the path of repentance is always open and liberating, because “repent” is an endless road. Moreover, the Church is the “inn of grace” that is always on duty.
In conclusion, it is time that the “speaking spring” of Orthodox teaching should gush forth even more “living water.” And this is precisely what the Day of Orthodoxy signifies.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
