FOS SUMMARY - “Spirit and the City”

Saints Peter and Paul & Birth of the Church

by Dorothy Poli & Daniel Padovano

July 1, 2008

FOS Summaries are recaps of discussions points, organized and presented conceptually, in a session's dialogue and Q&A among Fr. Frank and FOS participants.  The Summaries' authors further elaborate on certain ideas from a theme offered by Fr. Frank.   All Summaries are approved by Fr. Frank prior to e-mail distribution.  Past summaries can be found on the Cathedral website at http://www.thecathedral.goarch.org/FOSSummary/. 

PENTECOST - BIRTH OF THE CHURCH

Both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches are “Apostolic” churches. That is they have direct lineage to the Apostles; the Roman Catholic to Peter and the Orthodox Church to Paul.  (The Patriarchate in Constantinople, the “new Rome” was established by St. Andrew)

“Why focus on the Apostles?”

a)       The Apostles established churches and they were missionaries.

b)       Apostolic Ministry. Diptychs maintained by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches detail the succession / descent of priestly consecration from the Apostles to modern day. These two Churches have this recorded. The Anglican Communion has something similar but it is not as detailed as the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

Saints Peter and Paul - Faith and Works

Two icons of Sts. Peter and Paul each have specific meanings. The first icon has St. Peter and St. Paul standing and holding a church in their hands. St. Paul also carries a book (his letters, or the Gospels). This symbolizes both Apostles as founders of the earthly Church. The book in St. Paul’s hand represents the words conveyed in the theology. The second icon shows Sts. Peter and Paul in embrace showing the union of the eastern (Greek) and western (Roman) Churches.  It also depicts the reconciliation over their ideological differences.

There were some differences between Sts. Peter and Paul.  St. Peter held that the Jews should be the main audience to whom the Good News was to be preached.  St. Peter favored the law preferring to follow Jewish practice and holding that Gentiles who chose to follow Jesus needed to become Jewish first because Jesus, Himself, was a Jew.  This practice included circumcision for male converts.  On a spiritual level, the cut of circumcision is a “partial” death (of self) as it only involves a small part of the physical body.  St. Paul says that baptism is the new circumcision as it involves immersion of the full body that dies and is reborn.

St. Peter is also credited with laying the foundation of the Church and as founder of the Church in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. He was also married and knew Jesus personally, being the first Apostle chosen by Jesus. 

St. Paul on the other hand felt that the Gentiles (non-Jews) should also be told of the Good News about Jesus Christ. Unlike St. Peter, Paul was unmarried, did not know Jesus (until he was called on the road to Damascus) and was the last to be called by Jesus. St. Paul’s theme was love and faith which were to supersede the law and rules. The intention of the heart is more important than simple (or rote) adherence to the rules.

In Peter and Paul, we see the union of faith and works.  Peter emphasizes obedience to the law.  Paul emphasizes faith and love.  His view is that when the rules become too important, they shackle and burden you.  Peter’s Roman Church became known as the “Church of the Law” and Paul’s Greek Church became known as the “Church of Love”.  Paul says that the law came through Moses and grace and love come through Jesus Christ. 

St. Paul’s theology that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) brought about a reconciliation between these two Apostles. This synthesis also greatly helped to spread Christianity. This was not a religion of works for salvation, but one where works are an expression of the faith and (brotherly) love that we should have for each other (as written in St. Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Galatians and Corinthians). In effect, it is faith in God that saves us, not our works. We cannot save ourselves spiritually, that is God’s preserve alone.

The parable of the Good Samaritan further emphasizes this.  The priest and Levite, who both represent knowledge of the law, could not save the person in need but rather the Good Samaritan who is Jesus. (Please see FOS Summary February 12, 2008.)

Jesus says to the Jews that He came not to abolish the [Judaic] law but to fulfill it.  He says to the Pharisees, in particular, that their obsession with the law had made them lose the meaning behind it.  This is also the source of the expression ‘spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law’. 

St. John Chrysostom wrote of Sts. Peter and Paul as the Church’s Romulus and Remus (the legendary brothers who are credited with founding the city of Rome). According to tradition, both Sts. Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome on June 29 in 64 A.D. during the persecution of the Emperor Nero.

The “Other”

All civilizations establish the “Other” according to Father Frank.  Humans have an innate seeking of something outside ourselves.  Apart from selflessly praying for everyone in the world, Orthodox monks focus their lives and energies in yearning for the “Other” in order to come into union with Him. 

In the film “Castaway”, Tom Hanks’ character, “Noland”, turns to the volleyball, “Wilson”, to fulfill the need for the “Other”. He creates the “Other” out of his own image using the handprint of his blood. He chooses to create this image (this can be seen as a metaphor for the notion of being his own “god”) rather than reach for God.   Society conveys the message that one can save oneself through one’s own works, action and power.  When Wilson is lost, Noland is ready to give up because he cannot survive without the Other.  While our own power/resolve can be lost, the power of the omnipotent God can never be lost.  Jesus promised that He will be with us always. He will come to seek and find us anywhere. Just as Noland is ready to give up, at that point, a boat comes to save him. The boat is analogous to the Church which Christ established as a means by which to save us and to provide the community for us to support one another.

When we lose our “Wilson” (the transient things that we cling to), God comes into our lives to save us.   Noland had his life in total control in society but had no control on the island.   Sometimes we lose things so that we are forced to let go and seek God.  But our seeking is always a choice. 

Helping ourselves independently and for ourselves only is promoted by modern society.  It goes back to original sin.   We do things separate from God, Who gave us all things to enjoy life.

The hunger that emerges through fasting reminds us that we are dependent beings - that we must have food, air, water, coverings.  Society makes us hide our needs lest we appear weak.  So we strive to appear powerful but are still really weak without God.  Through humility, we may appear weak to the world but are powerful really because nothing else has power over us when the power of the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

The Church chooses the epistle lesson (Corinthians 11:21-3, 12:1-9) for this feast day where St. Paul speaks of his problems, struggles, weaknesses, his dependency.  Paul went through many phases in his life, beginning with his arrogance over being chosen by God. As we see through his epistle writings, his ego and arrogance diminish over time compelling him to say “It is not I (in terms of ego not individual personality) who lives, but Christ who lives within me”.  In being Christ-like, Christ abides in us and guides our lives. 

THE CHURCH

What differentiates the Orthodox Church is the way of worship.  The Orthodox Church is a church of prayer.   The style of liturgical worship is ancient and originally very long.  St. John Chrysostom actually shortened the liturgy editing the longer liturgy of St. Basil, who in turn shortened a much longer liturgy.

Some of the fasting periods are: the 40 days before the Nativity and the 40 days of Great Lent.  The fast period for Saints Peter and Paul begins on the Monday after the feast of All Saints (the Sunday following Pentecost Sunday).  August 1-14 is for the feast of the Assumption of the Panagia.

The Church year begins in September with Panagia’s birth on September 8 and ends with her assumption on August 15, her feastdays forming the bookends.  In the ancient Roman period, September was also the beginning of the tax year as it was a time of agricultural harvest.  The Church, spiritually and liturgically, adopted this timetable as an analogy to a harvesting of souls. 

The Church Year is comprised of five worship cycles:

1.       The Liturgical Cycle centers on Jesus’ Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection. It includes the 72 days of the Triodion and the 50 days of the Pentecostarion.

2.       The Ecclesiastical Cycle centers on the lives of the saints by observing them on the particular feast day dedicated to them.   

3.       The Personal Cycle centers on a person’s birth, life and death. This includes the sacraments received by people.

4.       The Cosmic Cycle is for all of creation.  Creation is always liturgizing, i.e. glorifying God, even if we do nothing.  This you can feel in any activity in which you are attuned to nature, flyfishing, surfing, standing on top of a mountain etc.  One can see, feel and hear nature – all of which point to God as Creator.   Creation helps us to find God.  The misuse of creation separating us from God started with Adam and Eve (However, nature is not God thus we do not worship creation.  When nature is seen as God, this becomes heresy).

St. Iraneus stated that God did not create evil.  Bad things are a result of the misuse or use of creation out of season or done without God’s presence and blessing.   This was the primary problem with Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They ate of this fruit even after having been told by God not to eat it. Their sin was partaking of nature selfishly and separately from the One who bestowed it.   He told them not to eat it because it was not ready for them to eat.  Their defiance and arrogance was based on acting as if they knew better than God.

Creation is for man to enjoy because everything God created is good but is good only at the right season.  There is a time and place for everything.

5.       The Weekly Cycle uses the four other cycles and has a specific theme for each day of the week. Beginning with Sunday which is the day of Resurrection, followed by Monday which is the day of angels (having been the first creation of God) then Tuesday, the day of Saint John the Baptist who was the last of the prophets and Forerunner of Jesus. This day also commemorates the Prophets. Wednesday recalls the betrayal of Jesus and has a theme of mercy as well. Thursday is the day of St. Michael the Archangel, the Apostles and the Last Supper. Friday is the day of the Crucifixion and the Theotokos. Saturday commemorates the dead and Jesus’ descent into hell to rescue those already dead (and those who are yet to come) which is why Psihosavato is designated for this day.

What do the various actions in the Divine Liturgy mean and symbolize?

Orthodox, or Ortho doxia, means “correct praise” or “correct worship”. In the very name, the Orthodox Church holds to the correct form, a biblical style of worship.  The architecture of the churches, vestments and actions during the services and liturgies all have a basis in the Bible.

A priest’s allegiance is to his bishop. When a priest celebrates the liturgy (Orthros and Divine Liturgy) he does so in the name of the presiding bishop.

At the beginning of the Divine Liturgy (as Orthos ends) the celebrant(s) kneel three times before the altar and kiss the altar twice. The second kiss is made on the “andimitsion”, which is the cloth covering the Evangelion on the altar and has an icon of Jesus’s burial surrounded by the Apostles.  It is the andimitsion that makes the church.  A priest cannot celebrate the Divine Liturgy without this and can be used only for one liturgy on the same day.  The andimitsion is signed by a bishop.  It is in this bishop’s name whose signature appears that the priest does the service.  When the priest kisses the andimitsion, it is the same as kissing the bishop’s hand.

The Aer, the covering worn by the priest during the Great Entrance represents Jesus in the desert, and also the tent which housed the Ark of Covenant during the Exodus. The tent was carried by the Levites, the priests of the Tribes of Israel. During the Great Entrance, the celebrant carries the bread (the Body of Christ) followed by the procession of: crucifer, acolytes, servers, other celebrants and choir. This replays the moving of the tent during the Exodus.

As in ancient Israel, the present day Church is also in movement. Ancient Israel was moving in a pilgrimage to the Promised Land of Canaan. We, the present day Church are moving in a pilgrimage to the Promised Land of Paradise.

At the conclusion of the Great Entrance, when everyone is back in the altar, the celebrant removes the Aer. The removal recalls Christ’s resurrection. With the resurrection, the final veil (barrier) between man and God was destroyed. While saying the words of consecration over the bread and wine, the Aer is held over the bread and wine and shaken. This action represents the descent of the Holy Spirit to bless the elements of communion.   If the Archbishop is present, he will walk under the Aer. This action recalls the Levites’ entrance into the tent.

Orthodox worship includes standing.  This due to the fact that we (Christians) are made upright by God through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can and are able to worship God on our feet. Other religions have worship styles where people lay supine, bow or recline in lotus position, in deep subservience. Kneeling, in the Orthodox tradition, is rare but we are to kneel at sometime during the week.  An innovation to the American Orthodox is the kneeling during the consecration. This innovation came about as the work schedule for believers may not have permitted attendance at a service during the week when kneeling was done. We are not required to kneel, but should prior to the consecration if we have not done so at another point in the past week.

The manner by which we receive Holy Communion is to give our names to the celebrant.  This reminds us that God knows each of us by name.  It also emphasizes the intimate relationship between us individually with God. 

We kiss the priest’s hand solely because he touches the Body of Christ, not out of respect or fondness.

All churches are connected to a saint’s burial place and are built on the gravesite following on Jesus’ burial place.  The 1^st church, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is built on the burial place of Jesus.  In the absence of saints in the US, the relics of saints are housed in the church. 

The Orthros is based largely on the Old Testament. It is an educational service, as theology, histories and prayers from the Old Testament are chanted and read. The Orthros is a bridge to the Divine Liturgy which is based on the New Testament.