Thursday's Theological Thoughts

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 Dear Parish Faithful,

Come, O Comforter, Holy Spirit, and make Your abode within us!

This morning, we chanted the "Akathist Hymn to the Most-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit." I am going to share Oikos 4, from this Akathist.

Often, there is an eschatological ("future-oriented") dimension to the presence of the Holy Spirit manifested in our prayer, when specific mention is made of the Spirit,as if we are giving a glimpse into to the Age to Come - or Kingdom of Heaven - by the indwelling presence of the Spirit. This is made expressively clear in Oikos 4, as it focuses our attention on the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. It is "meet and right" to at least periodically turn our attention to that future that we await in faith as the fulfillment of our deepest hopes as Christians:

Come and deliver us from spiritual death.

Come and, before our end, satisfy us with the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior.

Come and grant that we may fall asleep in peace, our conscience clean.

Come and make radiant our awakening from the sleep of death.

Come and grant that we may gaze with joy upon the morning of eternity.

Come and make us children of incorruption.

Come and, like the sun, enlighten our bodies, which will be immortal.

Come, O Comforter, Holy Spirit, and make Your abode within us.

Midweek Morning Meditation

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 Dear Parish Faithful,

"The Holy Spirit is God himself enabling our faith: not merely the object of our worship but the one by whose power and inspiration we worship." 

St. Gregory the Theologian (+395) earned that title of "theologian" primarily through his great series known as the Five Theological Orations (27-31) that he wrote in the fourth century, as the Church was still engaged in articulating the dogma of the Trinity as fully and convincingly as possible. These Orations, then, are classics of Orthodox trinitarian theology. The final Oration 31 is further entitled "On the Holy Spirit." The purpose of this Oration was to demonstrate the following: "All that the Godhead actively performs, the Spirit performs." This is due to the identical divine nature that the Father and the Spirit share from all eternity. 

In that same Oration, St. Gregory further states this about the Holy Spirit:

He is the subject, not the object, of hallowing, apportioning, participating, filling, sustaining. We share in him; he shares in nothing. He is our inheritance, he is glorified, counted together with the Father and the Son. ... That means that the Holy Spirit is of the same essential nature as the Father. 

This is all beautifully and profoundly expressed in one of the hymns for the Sunday Vespers of Pentecost that we heard during that service:

The Holy Spirit always was and always shall be, for He is with the Father and the Son, One of the Trinity. He is both Life and Life-giving; He is Light, and by nature, the Giver of Light; He is All-Holy and the Source of Holiness. Through Him, we know the Father and glorify the Son, understanding that the Holy Trinity is a single Power, Three of equal rank and equally to be worshipped.

Perhaps the unknown person who composed this hymn was inspired by carefully reading St. Gregory's Oration on the Holy Spirit. When we sing "Christ is born! Glorify Him" during the Feast of the Nativity, we know that that well-known hymn was taken directly from the opening of St. Gregory's Nativity Oration. There is a very close relationship between theology, hymnography and worship within the Church. We pray our theology - and absorb a great deal in the process.

49 plus 1: Pentecost and the Life Beyond Time

 

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Dear Parish Faithful,

"And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting."  (Acts. 2:2)


At the Vespers of Pentecost, celebrated yesterday on Pentecost Sunday, we  implored the Risen Lord, Who sat down at the “right hand” of God the Father, to send the Holy Spirit upon us, as He did upon the apostles who “were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1).

It is quite significant that Pentecost occurred exactly 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ. In the ancient world, there was a deep symbolic—or even sacred—character to the use of numbers, and this is fully shared and reflected in the Scriptures. Father Alexander Schmemann explains this “sacred numerology” as it relates to the Feast of Pentecost. He writes:

“Pentecost in Greek means 50, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number 50 symbolizes both the fullness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself.

It symbolizes the fullness of time by its first component—49—which is the fullness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component — 49 + 1 — this "1" being the new day, the “day without evening” of God’s eternal Kingdom.

With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fullness revealed, all gifts bestowed; it belongs to us now to “appropriate” these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.”

This reality that takes us beyond the fullness of time as experienced in this world we call eschatological—the fullness of the Kingdom of God which is “not of this world” but yet experienced here and now within the grace-filled life of the Church, herself the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The “appropriation” of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, referred to above by Father Alexander, implies the rejection of a way of life that is described as “fleshly.” 

In an extraordinary passage of the Apostle Paul found in his Epistle to the Galatians, we encounter the contrast between the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16-24). Saint Paul emphasizes this contrast at the beginning of this passage: 

“But I say to you, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-17).

It is essential to realize that the Apostle Paul does not mean by “flesh” what we would call our “bodies” or physical existence. He is not attacking our bodily, physical existence as such. That would introduce us to the realm of dualism, an artificial and non-Scriptural conflict between the spiritual and the material. By “flesh,” the Apostle Paul means the human person in rebellion against God, that results in a self-centered way of life that further results in perversions of both the body and soul. 

As this passage continues, you can clearly discern the comprehensive nature of the “flesh” as encompassing both the mind and body and directing them to sinful activities or attitudes:

“Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

My intention is not to be discouraging, but if anything here sounds self-descriptive or reminiscent of one’s most recent confession, then one is still contending with the “works of the flesh.” According to the Apostle, the long-term prospects for such a way of life are not very promising, if not altogether bleak:  “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21).

However, the “good news” is that there exists another way of life, one that is “spiritual” but expressed through our bodily existence in the rhythms of our daily life:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

There is no mention in these “fruits of the Spirit” of miracle-working, visions, ecstatic and/or mystical experiences. Saint Paul calls upon very human virtues, but with the implication that they are heightened—or deepened—by the Holy Spirit in such a way that a new manner of living is being manifested, one he calls elsewhere a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This newness of life in the Holy Spirit distinguished the early Christians from their environment, and is meant to distinguish Christians to this day.

Failure to live by the “fruit of the Spirit” is essentially a failure of our Christian vocation. Saint Paul implies as much when he writes with confidence: “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). 

And a final exhortation with behavioral consequences concludes this remarkable passage on the newness of life made possible by the Holy Spirit: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another”(Galatians 5:25).

As members of the original Pentecostal Church, Orthodox Christians have every opportunity to both “live by the Spirit” and “walk by the Spirit.”

Too Many Children Are Suffering Avoidable Starvation and Death

 

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This reflection is not presented as a political statement, though there is an unavoidable political dimension to it, in that it does deal with policies of our current administration in a challenging manner. My perspective is of the Gospel, which raises the following issues well above the “merely” political level. Personally, I have no party affiliation. And the rubric of “conservative” or “liberal” does not rest very easily on me. Rather, this is reflection from an Orthodox priest that raises an issue of moral and ethical significance that should not be ignored. 

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“See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:10)

“Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Mk. 10:14)

“Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.” (Desmond Tutu)

Children around the world are suffering in these troubled times. There are wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and a civil war in Sudan. The violence around the world in those afflicted areas translates into a death sentence for children, together with displacement, starvation and being lost to their respective families (the Russian army has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children to date). As I write, many Palestinian children of Gaza are either starving or dying. Morally speaking, this is an intolerable reality. Ukrainian children need to be returned to their homes, and Palestinian children need full access to food. Neither should be subjected to relentless bombing. And around the world other children are experiencing some form of distress.

Yet, I am concerned here primarily with those administrative decisions and policies within our own country that are tragically leading to avoidable deaths among many of these children. Multiple sources have attested that thousands of children have died since U.S.A.I.D. has been severely defunded (the administration claims by up to 80%). I read the following from a recent Op-Ed article (May 30, 2025) from Michelle Goldberg: “Brooke Nichols, an associate professor of global health at Boston University, has estimated that these cuts have already resulted in about 300,000 deaths, most of them children, and will most likely lead to significantly more by the end of the year.” Tragic hardly describes this misery. 

On February 3 of this year, we heard from the appointed billionaire leader of DOGE: “We spent the weekend feeding U.S.A.I.D. to the wood chipper.” With this comment, we found ourselves as Americans navigating uncharted terrain: A billionaire gleefully wielding a chain saw before an admiring audience, eliminating life-saving funds that have been keeping children alive for decades, with a callousness that leaves one breathless for its utter lack of humaneness. 

Or, as fellow billionaire Bill Gates said: “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.”

For besides defunding U.S.A.I.D., the administration has also defunded the Bush-era HIV/AIDS initiative that has saved countless lives through the years. This program is known as PEPFAR, primarily effective in Africa. 

To add a bit more to this litany of suffering, I turn to James North, a respected journalist who has reported from Africa for over 47 years. He writes the following grim assessment about the severe defunding of PEPFAR which “ … has already sentenced tens of thousands of people in Africa to death, and with each week that passes with the program stuck in limbo, many thousands of needless deaths will follow.” To this day, food and medicine are either rotting away or nearing expiration dates in warehouses because of distribution breakdowns following widespread defunding of these formally very successful humanitarian programs. Without immediate action, these valuable supplies could go to waste.

Back in March, the journalist Nicholas Kristof – on the ground in Africa - attempted to quantify the harms done by the present administration’s decimation of foreign aid agencies in terms of lives lost. Deaths are being caused by AIDS, from lack of vaccines, from lack of food aid, and from lack of malaria and tuberculosis prevention, respectively.

It is an indisputable fact of human existence that people do die. But policy choices should never be the cause of the death of others – especially children. Yet, we can distinguish between a “natural mortality,” and a mortality rate that is the result of a lack of empathy (the same billionaire has told us that “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy”) that leads to avoidable deaths in the present moment. And the avoidable deaths of so many thousands of children are both criminal and sinful. 

When people – and countries – of good will act with both conviction and compassion to support life-saving endeavors, we immediately sense the moral and ethical strength of those decisions. These life-saving programs reveal our better side as Americans. As someone recently wrote to me: "The sharing of our country's resources and wealth with those who are in need has always been part of who we are." With this commitment to the relief of others, even the scriptural expression of “a city set on a hill” is not mere rhetoric. It is one thing to cut “waste and woke;” it is another thing to deprive children of needed food and medicine.

The Orthodox Church has consistently maintained a strong voice in defense of the unborn. This principled position was not about making a political statement, but about protecting the “sacred gift of life” as a moral choice that manifests the love of God for all human beings and the Gospel proclamation of reconciliation with and for all. The same life-affirming morality means that once a given child is born, we still need to help and protect that very child so that he/she at least has the chance to grow into an adult and lead a good and productive life. We were committed to that as a nation. Have we stopped for a good reason?

HOLY TRADITION IS NOT DEAD FORMALISM

 

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Holy Tradition is the “ongoing life of the Holy Spirit within the Church” (Nicholas Lossky).

What does this mean? Simply that the very best of what the Church carries forward through time and history is offered as a perpetual gift to each new generation, preserved as a sacred treasure so that “all might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). 

This is the inheritance of the saints, which includes the holy scriptures, the ethical teachings of the commandments, the liturgical tradition of “worship in spirit and truth,” the ascetical practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, just to name a few. Yet Holy Tradition must not be understood as something unbending or monolithic either. We must not think of the vocation of Christian Orthodoxy as the preservation of the faith in a merely rigid sense. Yes, there are many “fixed” features of the Orthodox faith that will remain forever a part of the treasury of our faith— the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the sacraments, etc. But it would be a great mistake to think of Holy Tradition as an attempt to embalm some by-gone ecclesial era and declare it as the totality of Christian Orthodoxy. The gospel disallows us from replicating (usually for the sake of romance or nostalgia) any kind of a sacred “era”— Byzantine, Russian, or otherwise. 

Take for instance the so-called “secret prayers” of the Orthodox services. These prayers, offered by the priest or bishop, are found at the end of all the litanies: the Great Litany, the little litanies, etc., just before the doxologies, “For unto You are due all glory…” etc. These prayers are very ancient and are extremely rich in meaning as they point to the spiritual purpose of the services themselves. And by far, the most beautiful of these “secret prayers” are the prayers of the “holy anaphora” which end in the consecration of the bread and wine into the holy Body and Blood of Christ. Over the centuries, however, with the explosion of hymnography, these prayers were truncated (cut) by being said “silently” by the priest, so that all the faithful hear at the end of each litany is the doxology – “For Yours is the majesty…” etc. 

Yet within the last 50 years of worldwide Orthodoxy there has been a liturgical renewal which, among other things, has sought to restore the secret prayers to their rightful place within the worship of the Church by being read out loud by the celebrants. In this way, then, the faithful are edified by these prayers, as they allow for a more deepened experience of the holy services.

The liturgical prayers reveal the mystery of the Church as the means and the “mode” of our salvation in Christ, specifically by extrapolating in a practical manner all the great biblical themes of faith: sanctification, redemption, justification, etc. So it is here, with these “secret prayers,” that the faithful are made more capable of coming to a stronger engagement with the worship of the Church, to such an extent that it, the liturgy, becomes the foundational structure upon which a genuine Orthodox way of life is built. As believers grow and begin to thrive in their faith, they learn how absolutely essential the services of the Church are for building up one’s faith. 

How sad it is that there are many, still, who hold on to a narrow idea of Holy Tradition as a simple repetition and replication of the past, of 19th Century pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodoxy, where none of the secret prayers were ever prayed aloud (with the exception of “O God of spirits and of all flesh” during the Orthodox funeral service). How sad it is that the advice of the likes of St. Tikhon of Moscow, who himself was a 19th Century Russian bishop, is completely ignored, as even he both recognized and advocated for the reading aloud of the secret prayers “for the benefit of the faithful.” 

This is our “Orthodox moment” in America. Many of our nation’s young are entering into the faith with love and zeal. Will we offer them a liturgical life which includes the richness of the Church’s prayers? Or will we offer them a museum filled with dead formalism that is only a semblance of the living Church? 

Fr. Paul Jannakos 

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Fr. Paul is a good friend of mine who is serving a parish in our Midwest Diocese in the Chicago area. Fr. Paul and I go all the way back to our seminary days at St. Vladimir's when Fr. Alexander Schmemann was the dean.