The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

 

 

At yesterday's Divine Liturgy, we began to made the transition from the Gospel According to St. Matthew to the Gospel According to St. Luke. Here is a brief meditation on the significance of the third Gospel.

“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Thoephilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.”  (LK. 1:1-4)

That, of course, is the well-known introduction by St. Luke the Evangelist to the third of the canonical Gospels that he compiled with great care and a determination to present the “truth” of the ministry and then the death and resurrection of Christ.  And it is the holy apostle and evangelist Luke whose Gospel we are now reading on Sunday morning at the Liturgy.  From The Menologion, or calendar of the year providing a brief account of the saints and feasts of the Church, we read this succinct entry about St. Luke:

 

This Apostle was an Antiochean, a physician by trade, and a disciple and companion of Paul.  He wrote his Gospel in Greek after Matthew and Mark, after which he wrote the Acts of the Apostles, and dedicated both works to Theophilus, who, according to some, was Governor of Achaia (i.e. Greece).  He lived some eighty-six years and died in Achaia, perhaps in Patras, the capital of this district.  His emblem is the calf, the third symbolic beast mentioned by Ezekiel (1:10), which is a symbol of Christ’s sacrificial and priestly office, as St. Irenaeus says.

 

On his feast day of October 18, the dismissal hymn in Tone 5 (troparion) to St. Luke praises him for his service to Christ and to the Church:

 

Let us praise with sacred songs the holy Apostle Luke,
the recorder of the joyous Gospel of Christ
and the scribe of the Acts of the Apostles;
for his writings are a testimony of the Church of Christ.
He is the physician of human weaknesses and infirmities.
he heals the wounds of our souls,
and constantly intercedes for our salvation.

And the kontakion in Tone 2:

Let us praise the godly Luke;
he is the true preacher of piety,
the orator of ineffable mysteries
and the star of the Church,
for the Word, Who alone knows the hearts of men,
chose him, with the wise Paul, to be a teacher of the Gentiles!

And one of the apostikha verses stands out as an excellent summary of the contents of St. Luke’s Gospel, outlining some of the unique features of this particular Gospel and then moving on to mention St. Luke’s role as the Apostle Paul’s traveling companion.  Although highly rhetorical as usual, this particular aposticha remains as a good teaching tool:

Rejoice, blameless writer of the Gospel of joy;
you have recorded for us the conception and preaching of the Baptist;
the wondrous Annunciation to the Mother of the Lord;
the ineffable Incarnation and Birth of the Word Who came forth from her womb;
His temptations, miracles, and parables,
His Passion, Cross and death,
the glory of His risen body recognized in the breaking of the bread,
His glorious Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
As a faithful witness you compiled the Acts of the Apostles.
You were Paul’s companion in travel and his great consolation,
The beholder of divine mysteries and light of the Church.
Guard us all, O glorious healer!

Is everyone able to identify all of the references above?  Is everyone able to enumerate some of the miracles and parables that are unique to St. Luke, meaning that they cannot be found in any other of the remaining three Gospels?  Some of those unique passages are referred to above in the apostikha verse. Is everyone aware of some of the different details found only in St. Luke’s account of the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ?  Does everyone know the events compiled by the evangelist in the Acts of the Apostles?  

 

As the years go by and as we continue to read the Gospels over and over, I believe that we begin to distinguish between Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – their style, their particular emphases and approach, and the material that is found in only one of the Gospels.  The point is not about “passing a test” concerning our knowledge of the “facts.” . (Though, periodically, the “Bible” as a category does shows up on Jeopardy!). The point is rather to have a scriptural mind that is very familiar with the Gospels precisely because we turn to them on a daily basis for our immersion into the “joy” that is found there because they make Christ alive to us.

I recall watching many years ago an interview of William F. Buckley.  Buckley was asked what books and writers have had the greatest influence on him, and he unhesitatingly responded:  "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John."  An awkward silence ensued, and the interviewer quickly changed the subject!  So, who are the writers and what are the books that have most deeply influenced your thinking, your worldview and your approach to life?

 

A Grim Milestone

Dear Parish Faithful,

We were informed earlier this week that over 200,000 lives have now been lost to COVID-19. No other country in the world has suffered as many deaths. For us as Americans, that is an unprecedented death toll from a virus since the great flu epidemic of 1918. And, by the end of the year, that total will climb even higher. We have also been informed that 70% of those who have died are over the age of sixty-five. Though that still leaves about 60,000 deaths for those under that age. 

 

There is a subtle and not-so-subtle attempt to make us feel better that it is mostly "old people" who have died. Obviously, if the death toll was primarily of children and young adults it would be an almost unendurable tragedy that would leave many of us profoundly shattered. So, there definitely is a difference between the deaths of older people compared to the deaths of children and young adults. (And yet we should recall that some children have died from COVID-19). Just think of attending a funeral for a young child or an elderly person. The impact is quite different, we would all agree. 

Nevertheless, to find comfort in the fact that a high percentage of the coronavirus deaths are of the elderly can leave us indifferent to that rather staggering death toll of 200,000, or to assuming the attitude that COVID-19 "is not so bad, after all." Or, it could even create a false sense of security, seen in the many images throughout the summer of large groups of younger people enjoying a beach party, or else partying in close indoor quarters without a mask on in sight. The mindset may be: "I am young and healthy, so if I get sick I will surely survive this." A bit of a gamble, actually. (I do recall the sad image in a news spot of a twenty year old who on his deathbed from the virus said: I made a mistake). 

 

Of course, this in turn may reflect a blissful indifference toward those "old people" who may contract the virus from proximity to the younger ones who bring it back into their homes or communities, and who may die in the process. Be that as it may, I think we have to maintain an awareness of how these "older people" have died - not only in great distress being hooked up to a ventilator; but in loneliness and isolation, not surrounded by a single loved one. All those years of togetherness and deeply loving relationships; and then, in the end, there is no one there by your side. How painful is that for everyone involved? How many stories have we heard by health-care workers of how shaken they were witnessing these types of death; and of their own efforts to bring comfort to these dying patients.  Did the age factor bring these health-care workers some consolation?  

So, I believe that we have to respect the fact that in a relatively short span of time, over 200,000 human beings - fellow citizens - lost their lost their lives to COVID-19. It is a grim milestone, indeed, and we hope that all of the departed are now in the hands of God.

 

Orthodox Liturgical Tradition Values Life in the Womb

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Today, September 23, we commemorate the Conception of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord. St. John is the only figure in the New Testament besides Christ whose conception and nativity are related in detail (Lk. 1). This indicates the importance of St. John in the the work of salvation in the world. He is the true "friend of the bridegoom."

A point concerning this commemoration is that a new, unique and unrepeatable human person began to exist precisely at the moment of his conception. Human life - the psychosomatic unity of soul and body - is a continuum that starts at conception and continues through the grave and beyond into the Kingdom of God.

The scriptures reveal that life begins at conception when it tells us that the unborn John "leaped for joy" in the womb of his mother Elizabeth when the Theotokos visited her six months into her childbearing (Luke 1:39-45). St. John's destiny and vocation were chosen by God prior to his conception and started when he was conceived. He needed the time and nurturing to grow into that destiny and vocation.

The beginning of human life at conception is a truth that demands recognition in a world and society that has legalized abortion. (It is also a truth that has received absolute affirmation within the scientific community). We employ the fallible logic that declares that if something is legal then it is automatically "right."

The higher moral law declares that life is sacred. The Church witnesses to this truth to a world that has lost its moral and ethical bearings about this most basic fact of life. Every child ever conceived is a child of God with a purpose and destiny decreed for him or her by God.

The celebration of the Conception of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord (September 23); the Conception of the Theotokos (December 9); and the Incarnation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (March 25), remind us about the sanctity of life. Thus, it is our liturgical tradition that firmly values life in the womb. These festal commemorations declare that life is from God and they compel us to stand firmly in defense of the goodness and sanctity of life.

The conception of St. John is related in the Gospel According to St. Luke (1:5-25). This passage can be found on our parish webpage, together with other readings appointed for today:

https://www.christthesavioroca.org/todaysreadingssaints

There is also a summary from the OCA's webpage:

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/09/23/102703-conception-of-the-honorable-glorious-prophet-forerunner-and-bapt

 

The Cross Planted In Our Hearts

  

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

 

In mid-September, the Church has brought the Cross into our consciousness and into our midst tangibly for veneration. On the Sunday Before the Elevation of the Cross, we heard the ringing words from the Gospel According to St. John: "For God so loved the world that he gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (JN. 3:16). This placed the Cross within the widest possible context - in fact within the immeasurable context of the love of God for the world/cosmos. As the Church Fathers always teach us, God loved the world into existence, and now He will act decisively in order to save the world. And the "giving" of His only-begotten Son will be as the Son of Man lifted up on the Cross "that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (JN. 3:15). The God who created the world, is the God who redeemed the world in Christ.

On the Feast Day of the Elevation of the Cross itself (Sept. 14), we again hear from the Gospel According to St. John, and this time it is the actual narrative account of the Crucifixion. The pathos of the Cross is illuminated by a series of theological revelations that express the meaning of the Cross. One particularly profound instance of this comes immediately upon the death of the Savior: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water" (JN. 19:34). Many of the Church Fathers were insightful and eloquent in uncovering the meaning of this seemingly mundane act of further violence:

 

For "blood and water came out." Not simply without a purpose, or by chance, did those founts come forth, but because by means of these two together the Church consists. And the initiated in the Mysteries know it, being by water indeed regenerated, and nourished by the blood and the flesh. Hence the Mysteries take their beginning; that when you approach that awesome Cup, you may so approach, as drinking from the very side. (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 85 on the Gospel of St. John).

He caused the fountain of remission to well forth for us out of His holy and immaculate side, water for our regeneration, and the washing away of sin and corruption; and blood to drink as the hostage of life eternal. (St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Bk. IV, Ch. IX).

As His earthly course began with water, so it ended with it. His side is pierced by the spear, and blood and water flow forth, twin emblems of baptism and martyrdom. (St. Jerome, Letter LXIX, to Oceanus).

Although the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion are narrated with sobriety and very little emphasis on the pain, anguish, and blood of the cross, they nevertheless firmly witness to the true sufferings of the Lord, so that the Cross does not disappear into a kind of docetic symbolism. This was a real event and the Lord really suffered and died on the Cross. We can never lose sight of this fact in an abstract "theology of the Cross." Truly, "one of the Holy Trinity" tasted of death on our behalf because He "became flesh."

On the Sunday After the Elevation of the Cross - that is, next Sunday - we will hear the words of Christ that relate His Cross to our lives and the need for self-denial:

 

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. (MK. 8:34-35)

The emphasis is now on our self-denial. Or rather, self-denial is the taking up of one's cross in fulfillment of the Lord's words. The challenge is found in the obvious fact that most people - including Christians - are not particularly keen about self-denial. It does not come to us "naturally." The cost seems far too high. But although that sounds like a very "natural" reaction, perhaps there are better questions to ask ourselves: what is the cost of not practicing self-denial? What does the conscious or unconscious refusal to deny ourselves mean in terms of our relationship with God and neighbor? Is true discipleship even possible without self-denial? Can a marriage, a family, or a friendship prosper without self-denial? What, ultimately, is this "self" that cannot be denied anything?

The successfully marketed slogans of self-realization and self-fulfilment are more-or-less thinly veiled pseudo-philosophies or pop psychologies that actually promote self-absorption and self-interest. If indulged in for a seriously dangerous amount of time and with a good deal of energy, such efforts eventually collapse into the worst excesses of self-worship. The self is set up as an interior golden calf to be worshiped at all costs, and seeking constant propitiation. On the altar of this very well-known god, we burn up our relationships with God and neighbor and are left with little more than dust and ashes. (Perhaps this strong inclination toward self-idolatry is behind the Buddhist rejection of the very concept of the self. If the self is an illusion, then it can be ignored as irrelevant to the process of enlightenment). In our Orthodox theology and anthropology, the person (the "true self" we could say) is not absorbed or annihilated in the process of deification. Rather, the person as a unique mode of existence is brought to perfection and "stabilized" in not only well-being, but even eternal being, through union with God - the ultimate gift of the Holy Spirit working in us.

Jesus knew the liberating effect of fighting against self-love and self-will. Only in this struggle can we begin to see God and the neighbor as other centers of life and love. Only then can the passions - nurtured and fed by self-indulgence - be conquered in a battle described by Archbishop Kallistos Ware as one waged against the "fallen self ... for the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and it is the men of violence who take it by force" (MATT. 11:12). With a bit of courage and the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love, we can "deny ourselves" for the sake of the Kingdom of God, and be liberated from the prison of the self in the process.

In his article "The Tree of the Cross," Fr. Thomas Hopko offers a fine summation of the Church's emphasis on the Cross in either festal commemoration or personal devotion:

Genuine Orthodox spirituality is always a spirituality of the cross. When the tree of the cross is removed from the center of our lives we find ourselves cast out of paradise and deprived of the joy of communion with God. But when the cross remains planted in our hearts and exalted in our lives, we partake of the tree of life and delight in the fruits of the Spirit, by which we live forever with the Lord. Rejoice, O Lifegiving Cross!

 

A Six Month Anniversary

 

Note: Fr Steven sent this as an email to the parish on September 8. We are posting it here, and on our parish page on the Coronavirus.

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

March 8 - September 8

 

Today is the Feast Day of the Nativity of the Theotokos. Yesterday evening we celebrated the Vesperal Liturgy, and attendance was rather thin (because of Labor Day?). Be that as it may, it is truly a joyous feast as we annually greet the birth of Miriam of Nazareth - arguably the most well-known woman  in history - with a festal celebration. Her nativity announces her ultimate destiny as the Theotokos or "God-bearer." For those who would like to study this in greater depth during the time of the feast (September 8-12), here is a link to our wonderful resource page on our parish website: 

https://www.christthesavioroca.org/theotokosnativity

September 8 is also exactly six calendar months from our last full Liturgy in the church on March 8, the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Later that day, we gathered for the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church; but from that day forward we entered the "pandemic era" of national, social, and ecclesiastical life. Hard to believe that for this last Holy Week and Pascha there were only three of us in the church. Yet, to sound upbeat, we now have ten times that number in church -  a sign of some progress - but we continue to be restricted as we hopefully await further expansion of our worshipers as time unfolds. (A further hope is that we do not experience a Labor Day induced "spike" of the coronavirus). 

 

My pastoral hope is that the exhortation of the Apostle Paul, heard at last Sunday's Liturgy, continues to resonate in our minds and hearts: "Be watchful, be firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." (I Cor. 16:13-14) As I said at the Liturgy, herein is the whole moral, ethical and spiritual teaching of the Gospel distilled into this short exhortation of the great Apostle. It is meant for all Christians at all times, but these words should resonate all the more as we remain "watchful" during our current health crisis. The deepest truth is that if we live, or if we die, we remain with Christ: "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus or Lord."  (Rom. 8:38-39) The upcoming Feast Day of the Elevation of the Cross will further reinforce this profoundly consoling passage of the Apostle Paul.

Within the ongoing life of the parish, we now have a new sign-up system for you to employ so as to be as regular as possible in being present at the Liturgy on Sunday mornings and feast days. This is now easily accessed from the home page of our parish website. In the process, let's try not to forget the service of Great Vespers on Saturday evenings and on the eve of most feasts. I was hoping that since we are facing the current restrictions, that many of you would be eager to be in church and worshiping, and Great Vespers offers us that opportunity. That has not materialized so far, and that is rather disappointing. Getting back to the Liturgy, please keep Confession in mind. We are back to in-church confession, done in such a way that we practice the required social distancing.

• We will continue to make all the services available at least for "viewer participation" through both zoom and facebook. I believe that the reception and consistency on both are much improved.

• We will further continue with periodic ongoing "Orthodox Zoom Classes." We recently had a lengthy Bible Study and we will soon have a three-part session on I Cor. 15 and the resurrection from the dead. In the Fall, I am looking forward to choosing a book for our Fall Adult Education Class.

• We are currently gathering data for a desired resumption of our Church School life. The goal would be to meet on Saturdays twice a month in the church hall and Education Center, again keeping social distancing in mind. Parents will very soon be contacted about this. The success of restoring the Church School to some measure will depend on the commitment of the parents and children.

• I realize that we continue to have a fair number of parishioners who are not ready to return to liturgical worship. If that is the case, then I encourage you to avail yourselves of the items just listed above. That will help keep you connected. I also offered another method of receiving the Eucharist recently. Please get back with me if that will work for you. 

• And all of us need to continue our prayer life and scripture reading at home.

March 8 - September 8 is not exactly the "six month anniversary" that will warm one's heart, but it is reality as we know it today. COVID-19 has disrupted our lives, and has caused fear, frustration and boredom, to mention just a few reactions that trouble us. But, as Orthodox Christians, let us "stand firm in the faith" as we await better times for our nation, our family and friends, and for our parish community. 

A New Book Waiting To Be Read

 

To All Serious Readers of Orthodox Literature,

"Believers confess that their interpretation of the life of Jesus (making the Cross and Resurrection literally the crux of world history) is the correct interpretation (the Greek word for which is Orthodoxy, meaning "right opinion") and thus the essential truth of that moment in history."  -  Fr. John McGuckin

There is a new book now available that in my humble opinion stands out for its over-all quality - which I will get to momentarily - and which I therefore highly recommend for your personal library and more than worthy of the time and effort that goes into reading a high-quality publication. The book is making an impression of sorts as it has already been reviewed in the New York Review of Books. The book in mind is: The Eastern Orthodox Church - A New History written by Fr. John Anthony McGuckin. The title is bland enough, but that may obscure the riches of the book; for this is no ordinary rehearsal of the Church's history, but a fascinating and illuminating survey of the Church's historical pilgrimage, endlessly packed with great insights. Fr. John is trained as an historian, though he is an outstanding theologian who is a very prolific writer with many wonderful titles already to his credit. Of this new book of his, Fr. John Behr, also one of today's leading Orthodox theologians, has this to say:

"An engaging, sophisticated yet accessible, account of the Orthodox Church - its self-understanding, theology, sacramental life, and history - from the time of the New Testament through its long pilgrimage in the East and more recently into the West. One of the best introductions available." 

And from another very prominent scholar from Durham University, Clara L. E. Ramelli:

"This is a rich, fascinating history, from the beginning of Christianity to Patristics and contemporary Orthodoxy, by an outstanding scholar. It includes inspiring intellectual and mystical figures, importantly not only men, but also women, like Elizabeth Behr-Sigel."

One of the main strengths of the book, among many, is this basic thesis brilliantly conceived and presented: There is an unbroken continuity of all officially accepted Orthodox thought throughout the centuries with the apostolic deposit of faith "from the beginning" and "once and for all delivered to the saints." This is what offers validity to the claim that the Orthodox Church is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Fr. John draws that thread throughout the book as he takes us on a journey through the centuries. The Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils may elaborate and develop the apostolic deposit of Faith, creatively employing new terminology along the way, but it remains the same Faith regardless of the historical vicissitudes challenging the Church. Following that thread of continuity along with Fr. John is fascinating, and it is both coherent and convincing. The book is not an "entry level" Church history, but it is not burdened with jargon or academic theories that can weary the mind. It is all quite exciting, and in typical Orthodox fashion, it organically interweaves theology, history, liturgy and spiritual life. I would like to present just a few examples of Fr. John's presentation:

Fr. John begins with an insightful discussion of the content and purpose of the Gospels and other canonical books of the New Testament. In that discussion, he has this to say:

"The overall sense among the earliest canonical writers about the death and exaltation of Jesus is that there is an antithesis of response from God the Father to the sacrificial witness of Jesus's life. Just as Jesus poured himself out in self-sacrificing obedience to the Father's will in a bitter kenosis (a word that means "emptying out"), so too God gave him in return the fulness (pleroma) of glory after his sufferings, raised him up to the right-hand side of the heavenly throne, and acclaimed him with the inexpressible (divine) name of "Lord." ... The Resurrected and Glorified Jesus is now shown to the whole cosmos as Lord, who was once recognized as a slave." (p. 13)

Since this is primarily a book about the history of the Church, how does Fr. John describe the reality of the Church? What is the Church:

"We are meant to deduce that the Apostolic preaching that flows from the Pentecostal Spirit, and that first initiates the church's mission of reconciliation on earth, is itself  presented in the New Testament as a fundamental part of Jesus's resurrectional glory. ... The New Testament teaches, then, two significant things in relation to the  church. The first is that it is a mysterious and transcendent part of Jesus's Lordly glory:  an eschatological reality, not entirely reducible to a historical or sociological phenomenon (the number of people at any given time who claim to be Christians). The second is that it is per se the fundamental sign, or witness, of the dawning advent of the Kingdom of God on earth: the Kingdom of God's perfected will that would one day accomplish history and terminate it, when God's intent for his creation would be all in all.... It is often called, especially as based on the formative writings of the apostle Paul, the "Mystical Body of Christ;" and just as Christ was himself a sign, or sacrament, of the Kingdom in the world throughout his ministry, the church too has the destiny to be a sacrament of reconciliation and hope in its own historical journey through the ages." (p.14-15)

Fr. John has a wonderful chapter on the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, those events that have shaped our theology once and for all in a decisive manner.There is an excellent description of the Christological debates of the 5th century, when the Church had to make a pronouncement on the union of the divine and human natures in Christ. Offering a brilliant summary of St. Cyril of Alexandria's writings on the Person of Christ, Fr. John summarizes like this:

"Without leaving behind his divine glory he had willingly accepted the humility of the Incarnation. Just as he lifted up the Manhood into his own divine life, so too he lifted up along with it all the sufferings and limitations appropriate to that Manhood. Cyril went further. This, he argued, was exactly why the Incarnation happened in the first place. TheWord did not choose to come to earth, and live as a true human being, because he felt the need for a change of scenery. He came so as to embrace humanity into his own life as divine creator and refashioner, and, having embrace it so profoundly, thus to heal it. As he healed his own mortal nature, making what was evidently mortal and passible (as proved by the Passion and death) into what was immortal and impassible, rendering the lowliness of death into the glorified body, so too did he elevate all human nature in that once and for all act." (p. 113-114)

And in summarizing the everlasting contribution of the great Church Fathers of the era of the first Six Ecumenical Councils (325 - 681 A.D.), Fr. John reminds us of why we venerate and preserve their teaching:

"Each one of these fathers of the church is steeped in knowledge and love of the scriptures and the church sacraments, which is why each demonstrates that profound linkage in Orthodoxy between scripture, synodal government, Ecumenical Council, liturgy, and patristic theology: a synthesis of streams of spirituality that constitutes the Christian apostolic tradition and keeps the Orthodox Church ever ancient, yet alive to respond to the spiritual needs and hopes of  contemporary men and women." (p. 120-121)

Treating the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787) somewhat separately, in his discussion, Fr. John reveals the place of material reality within the life of the Church. In another summary, he offers a wonderful description of the over-arching purpose of Orthodox worship:

"To this day Orthodox worship is an earthy experience that rises to a transcendental spiritual experience. The two things are never separated. In Orthodox services this is seen quite clearly and immediately. All the senses are engaged: chanting, incense, lights, icons, relics of saints, full-bodied sacramental rituals - all being conducted with gusto. Whenever one enters an Orthodox church at service time, it  always seems in full swing, and if the clergy are ever still for a moment, inevitably the people are on the move, bowing down, crossing themselves, kissing icons, lighting candles. There is a profound sense that God himself is in the midst but that he is the Incarnate Lord of grace who has sanctified all material things when they are lifted up in prayer. In modern times several Orthodox thinkers have extended this ancient theory of worship from the seventh council and applied it to support a wider ecological theology. As the icon symbolizes the manner in which material things can serve as powerful doorways to the divine presence, so too all creation is graced with the marks of the Creator's energy. Thus, in Orthodoxy's spiritual sense there can never be a purely "secular thing:" all created things, especially human beings, are created as iconic mysteries of grace with a hidden power and potential to shine in the transfiguration of Christ's holiness and light." (p. 154-155).

Further chapters bring the history of the Church up to the present day, including such chapters as "Orthodox Life Under and after Islamic Dominion;" "Orthodoxy Under the Communists;" and "The Twentieth-Century Orthodox Diaspora." A closing chapter on "Day to Day Life in an Orthodox Parish" is quite fascinating.  Since this modest overview of Fr. John's new book is already getting lengthy, I can perhaps offer a Part II that share some of the insights of these further chapters. For the moment, I would again highly recommend The Eastern Orthodox Church - A New History by John Anthony McGuckin. I would suggest: 1) purchase a copy; 2) read it carefully; and 3) include it in your personal library of Orthodox literature for endless referencing!