The Sign

Dear Parish Faithful,

I am beginning a new semester at Xavier University today later in the afternoon. I enjoy teaching very much, especially the interaction with the students as I learn what their concerns are, how they view the Christian Faith, and what types of questions they have about God and life in general. It also keeps my mind "sharp," or so I like to believe, by reading new books or rereading old ones; or further refining and fine-tuning my presentation of Orthodoxy to an almost exclusively non-Orthodox group of young people. That is the exciting challenge. Unfortunately, the Orthodox Church continues to remain a well-kept secret, so I am always beginning from scratch, so to speak! (Today's average student, alas, is terribly ignorant of some of the basic truths of Christianity, regardless of his/her respective church - a downward spiral that I have noticed over the years as this condition continues to worsen). A fair share of my students admit to me that they have grown up with hardly a trace of religious belief in their lives. This tells me that we are dealing more and more with an unchurched society. We need to present the Gospel from its most basic perspective as "Good News" about an abundance of life that bursts through the secular constraints of a godless universe.

Be that as it may, I have chosen a new book for this semester entitled: The Sign of the Cross - the Gesture, the Mystery, the History by Andreas Andreopolous (we can safely assume that he is Greek Orthodox). Over the years, I am asked about the history of the sign of the Cross: just where did it come from and how old is this practice. And this is a question that I have never been able to get a handle on. In reading the first chapters of Andreopoulos' book, I realize why this is so - it is a complicated but fascinating history that one must piece together somewhat painstakingly. On an upcoming Sunday I will try and relate some of that history during a post-Liturgy discussion. One thing we can be assured of, however, is the antiquity of the gesture of the sign of the Cross - in many early sources referred to simply as the "sign." For the present, though, here is a good summary paragraph that is developed in great detail in the relevant chapter about the history of the sign of the Cross:

No conclusive evidence points to a date or place for adopting the cross as a symbol, although possibly the cross was already in use during apostolic times. We see traces of the symbol appearing in the second century, in the writings of Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Irenaeus of Lyons. Eventually adopted as a symbol of historic, spiritual, and liturgical significance, the cross came into use as Christianity grew and matured. Theologians explored the mystery of the death of Jesus Christ, remembering the actual cross on which he died. Then suddenly, in the fourth century, the cross became an established symbol. (p. 7)

Historical questions about the origin of beliefs and practices are endlessly fascinating. However, my primary purpose this morning is to share a wonderful and beautiful passage with you from St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th c.) about the meaning of the Sign of the Cross and why it is so essential for us to practice with love and care:

Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Let the cross as our seal, be boldly made with our fingers upon our brow and on all occasions; over the bread we eat, over the cups we drink; in our comings and in our goings; before sleep; on lying down and rising up; when we are on our way; and when we are still. It is a powerful safeguard; it is without price for the sake of the poor; without toil, because of the sick; for it is a grace from God, a badge of the faithful, and a terror to the devils; for "he displayed them openly, leading them away in triumph by force of it." For when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they fear him who has "smashed the heads of the dragons." Despise not the seal as a free gift, but rather for this reason honor your benefactor all the more. (Catechetical Lecture, 13, 36)

The Sign of the Cross is a gift from God that allows us to outwardly express our faith in the Crucified Lord of Glory - our Savior Jesus Christ. It does not work as a talisman or magical charm. Only with faith in Christ is it a meaningful gesture. It is one of the unwritten traditions handed down through the centuries and now kept alive in our generation by the same Orthodox Faith as that of our fathers and mothers who have gone before us into everlasting rest. We now "pass it down" (the meaning of the word Tradition) to our children as we explain to them that Christ died for us on the Cross. In fact, this simple gesture may be the first thing that we teach our children to do as they begin to grow and develop. It thus becomes a natural part of their lives. We should not be ashamed of making the Sign of the Cross in any particular setting (though never as to draw attention to ourselves), but always with the greatest of care as we witness to the Crucified One.

Fr. Steven

Theophany and the Imitation of Christ

Dear Parish Faithful,

I wanted to briefly comment on yesterday's Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Water to follow. First of all, I cannot recall the church being that full since last Pascha. The communicants were many and the line for venerating the Cross at the end seemed "endless." It was, after all, a Sunday, but I would also venture to say that the Feast of Theophany had something to do with the large numbers present for the Services. In addition to most of the parish being present, we had our share of guests, some of whom I believe are residents of Cincinnati. Hopefully, they left with the impression of a lively and, more importantly, faithful and traditional Orthodox Christian community that they will consider as a future spiritual home. That is why openness and friendliness to an unfamiliar face is so important, and that is a "built in" ministry for every parishoner. Many Romanian Orthodox Christians who are relatively new to the area are finding their way to our parish and we rejoice in their presence. We sincerely hope that their numbers among us continues to grow in the future. I ask any of our parishoners aware of such new residents to encourage them to visit our parish.

It was wonderful to have all of the children gathered around the table set aside for the Great Blessing of Water eagerly, yet patiently, waiting with their empty water containers in hand. The "holy materiality" of the Church is something that our children are instinctively attracted to. The concreteness and tangibility of the entire Liturgy, which embraces all of our senses - touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight - bring our children into the sacred atmosphere of the Liturgy even though they do not as of yet "understand" the profound theological character of the prayers. There is no doubt that it can be "long" and challenging to their attention spans - as yesterday must have been! - but they manage to do quite well, and the children remained orderly and well-behaved yesterday during the lengthy Blessing of Water. With so many children, there is no doubt that our parish is alive and well!

For us "adults," a major Feast of the Church, such as Theophany, always offers us the opportunity to place our own lives within the infinitely wider context of the Life of Christ. The Baptism of Christ, the source of our own baptism and Christ's solidarity with sinful humanity (though He is without sin), reminds us of what that baptism has committed us to: being disciples of Christ, which means putting His incomparable teaching into practice in addition to "believing" in Him. Following His Baptism, the Lord "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (MATT. 4:1) Besides learning that we need to fast in order to overcome temptation, because the Lord Himself fasted; we also learn that direct temptation can be resisted, rejected and rebuked by turning to the Scriptures. When Christ was tempted/tested by Satan three times in the wilderness, He drove Satan away by quoting from the Scriptures. (see MATT. 4:1-11) I wonder how often or how readily we turn to the Scriptures to fight against temptation when it comes our way. If a Bible is at hand - at home or at work - we could open it when tempted and begin reading a psalm or passage from the Gospel in order to dispel the tempting thought by the power of the Word of God. When Christ was tempted to break His fast in the wilderness, not only by eating, but by changing the stones into bread, He rebuked Satan by quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (DEUT. 8:3)

These are instances in which we can do as Christ did. The "imitation of Christ" is essential to our "life in Christ."

Fr. Steven

The Acceptable Year of our Lord

Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

Upon reflection, there is a certain vagueness in the well-meaning and traditional greeting that we share with relatives, friends and even passing acquaintances at this time: "Happy New Year!" To be sure, it is that very vagueness that protects this well-worn seasonal greeting from any controversy, and thus guaranteeing its continuing use in our pluralistic society. Yet however religiously, politically and socially neutral it may be, certainly when warmly exchanged, "Happy New Year!" expresses our natural desire for health, prosperity and the fulfillment of those wishes that bring "happiness" into our lives. The vagueness begins with the wish for happiness, as in the "inalienable right" to the "pursuit of happiness," for the definitions of happiness can be legion. What has impressed me in my own experience of life as I age is the elusiveness of happiness. Not meaning, of course, that happiness does not exist, but rather referring to its impermanence. One can be happy - or unhappy for that matter - many times over the course of a single day, let alone an entire year. And not to be happy almost implies today that life is barely worth living, that it can only be endured.

Without overly-digressing at this time into the distinction, I can confidently say that I would much rather be "blessed" than "happy." Blessedness strikes me as being far more permanent, stable and, most significantly, God-sourced. I would further argue that one can be "blessed" while simultaneously being most "unhappy," as in: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake ..." (MATT. 5:10) Even with stretching the word happiness to one or another of its outer limits, I can hardly imagine anyone describing that situation in life as a source of happiness, though one can remain blessed when persecuted due to the strengthening and consoling presence of God. For this reason, I strongly disagree with those translations of the Beatitudes that turn the Greek makarios ("blessed" in most translations) into "happy," as in "Happy are the poor in spirit." Something doesn't quite "sound right" in that form.

Be that as it may, there were specific petitions that we offered up to God when we prayed for a blessed New Year just the other night. Perhaps we could incorporate some of these petitions into that over-all web of interconnected new year's resolutions that we hope to remain faithful to once thought or uttered - from eating, spending and swearing less, to renewing long-lost friendships or overcoming familial hostilities. Here are a few examples from the Great Litany of the Service for the New Year:

That He will bless the beginning and continuance of this year with the grace of His love for mankind, and will grant unto us peaceful times, favorable weather and a sinless life in health and abundance...

That He will drive away from us all soul-corrupting passions and corrupting habits, and that He will plant in our hearts His divine fear, unto the fulfillment of His statutes...

That He will renew a right spirit within us, and strengthen us in the Orthodox Faith, and cause us to make haste in the performance of good deeds and the fulfillment of all His statutes...

That He will deliver His Holy Church and all of us from every sorrow, tribulation, wrath and necessity, and from all enemies, both visible and invisible, and that He will always compass round His faithful people with health, long life and peace, and the host of His Holy Angels...

The fulfillment of these prayerful petitions will be much more essential to our spiritual well-being than the cordial and party atmosphere exchanges at midnight a day ago of "Happy New Year!" that we may have passed around, champagne glass in hand. They will certainly be more demanding - and infinitely more rewarding - because they bring us back to the basics of the Gospel: repentance, conversion, forgiveness, struggling with self-aggrandizement and self-will, strengthened by charity, prayer and fasting. In fact, perhaps we should all make a point of reading the Sermon on the Mount (MATT. 5-7) again carefully as we embark on the adventure of a new year that we pray and hope will be blessed. There we will newly discover the way of life that is in harmony with the Kingdom of God, brought to us by Christ.

A fairly recently reposed Orthodox monk once said: "It is later than you think." This new year of 2008 means that we are one year older than last year, and hence that much closer to our end, the precise time of which is known only to God. That is certainly not meant to dampen the over-all hope and confidence that we may have as we begin this new year, but to remind us all of the precious gift of time. In fact, in the final prayer "on bended knees" that we offered to God for the upcoming new year, we thanked God for "the passing time of our life." If we get closer to God during that "passing time of our life," then our lives have been filled with significant meaning. But we also face the danger of somehow getting lost in a vain "pursuit of happiness" that even the founding fathers would not recognize as what they meant when formulating that phrase. As Christians, we are beginning the Year of our Lord 2008. Time belongs to the Lord for He is its Creator. It is given to us as a gift, and thus we are stewards of the time allotted to us by God in His wisdom. Now is the "acceptable year of the Lord." (IS. 61:1-2; LK. 4:18-19)

Fr. Steven

The Monastic Tonsuring of Sister Vicki

Dear Parish Faithful,

It was a deeply-felt joy to be present and to participate in the tonsuring of Sister Vicki as a rassophore nun on the Feast Day of St. Herman of Alaska (December 13). This took place in the chapel of at the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA, the home of Sister Vicki's new monastic community. Sister Vicki spent over twenty years as a teacher, and then made the life-changing decision to test her possible monastic vocation in 2002. She then returned home briefly to distribute her earthly goods before returning permanently to the monastery in the Fall of 2003. And now she is committed to being an Orthodox nun! It is always a great blessing for any given parish community when a priest or monastic emerges from its enclosure to pursue one of these worthy vocations within the life of the Church. We are now assured that Sister Vicki and perhaps the entire sisterhood is holding up our community before God in prayer on a daily basis. We also have a place of pilgrimage brought much more readily to our attention with one of our former parishoners and close friends in residence there. And we now have a living example of someone who has freely chosen to follow Christ with a love and intensity that is so lacking in our contemporary world. I am not quite sure how to put it, but for me it is deeply satisfying, as a parish priest, that a monastic has come forth from our parish community, and that however modest my contribution, I was a small part of that process. Having said that, I will also admit to missing Sister Vicki's presence among us! Her commitment, encouragment, obedience and love for Christ were always in clear evidence through her helpfulness here when she was a parishoner for a little over ten years.

There were three of us present for her tonsuring, for Dan Georgescu - our driver - and Shirley Leara were part of our parish delegation to the monastery. It is about a five - six hour trip to the monastery. When we first arrived, the air was crisp and the sky clear, as Shirley pointed out the lovely spectacle of a vast and starry sky made a bit brighter in the darker rural setting of the monastery. We went straight to the church for we arrived as the Vigil for St. Herman was being served. Splendid as the evening was, it was wonderful to enter the warmly inviting atmosphere of the monastery chapel. With its many beautiful ceiling frescoes, seasonal vestments and colors, softly-burning candles, and the reverent singing and chanting of the nuns, all expressing the presence of God, the church as the ark of salvation and true home of the believer was vividly apparent to us. The well-known theologian and author, Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, was the celebrant, as he retired to a home near the monastery and now serves in the chapel on a regular basis. We were in time for the anointing and distribution of blessed bread during the chanting of the Canon prescribed for Matins. Following the service, we were able to chat briefly with Sister Vicki and the other mothers and sisters of the community.

The Feast of St. Herman beginning the next morning was most splendid. We began with the chanting of a superb akathist hymn in honor of St. Herman's "great deeds" in North America, followed by the third and sixth hours and then the tonsuring of Sister Vicki. This relatively short rite included the chanting of appropriate psalms by Sister Vicki; a prayer for her new status as a rassophore nun; the "tonsuring," or cutting, of some of her hair, symbolic of offering her whole life up to God in repentance and service; and her clothing in some more of the monastic clothing as this has developed over the centuries. In addition to her black monastic rassa, Sister Vicki now wears a new headpiece with veil, a pleated mantia (when she reads the Scriptures in the Liturgy), and an elaborately tied scarf that covers her head and shoulders peculiar to Romanian Orthodox monasticism. Sister Vicki was "clothed" by Mother Christophora, the abbess of the monastery. The service was perfomed by Fr. Alexander Culter, the igumen of St. John the Evangelist Monastery in Hiram, OH, and now Sister Vicki's spiritual father. Only a hieromonk, or monk-priest, may serve at the tonsuring of another monastic. When Fr. Alexander read aloud a final admonition to her about obedience in all things to her abbess, and the need for humility and self-sacrifice, I leaned over to Fr. Tom and whispered: "That's rough." He responded: "Yes, but that's the Gospel!" The Divine Liturgy then followed, with three of us concelebrating.

Asked to speak a few words in honor of Sister Vicki's tonsuring, I began by sending the heartfelt greetings and best wishes from the parish as a whole. I told everyone present that it probably would not come as a surprise if I further mentioned that Sister Vicki was like my "right arm" while a parishoner at Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit - totally committed, quietly zealous, obedient, encouraging and helpful. And that, as much as I rejoice in her new-found vocation, it was initally disorienting, as "losing" her was something like having my right arm severed! But we continue to remain very close and I am sure that that will continue for the years to come. I was struck by the peacefulness and serenity that was clearly present in Sister Vicki. This was most obvious, of course, in her face, which had a certain inner glow about it. This has always been true to some extent in Sister Vicki, but it has evidently been enhanced and even magnified in her new monastic life. I shared this with Fr. Tom, who responded by saying that Sister Vicki has been a most welcome addition to the community;that she is always quietly on the move and doing her work; and that she is somehow just "there" at all times. Sister Vicki has found God and her earthly vocation - a dual gift that sadly eludes many, many people.

A warm meal was shared by everyone in the trapeza following the Liturgy. Truly a feast, for we had shrimp in honor of St. Herman! Shirley presented Sister Vicki with some practical gifts for daily life, and I presented Mother Christophora with a check in honor of Sister Vicki's tonsuring from the parish. After a visit to the enticing monastery gift shop we left for home, having spent an extensively short, but intensively filled, amount of time at the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration. Dan made the trip home thoroughly enjoyable by sharing with us from his impressive CD collection of Orthodox hymnography from a variety of traditions.

When, in the providential will of God, Sister Vicki is tonsured further into the monastic life with the taking of the distinctively monastic vows, in a more elaborate and fuller service, I am hoping that we will be able to make the trip with yet a larger body of the parish faithful. For now, let us always remember Sister Vicki in our prayers as she surely remembers us.

Fr. Steven

The Image of Giving in St Nicholas

Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

There are fourteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas ... Redeem the time.

We recently commemorated St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker (December 6). There is a certain unresolved tension that accompanies his person and memory: On the one hand, there are few "hard facts" about his life (to the point where many doubt his actual historical existence); and on the other hand, he is clearly one of the most beloved and universally venerated of saints within the Church. It is said that even many Muslims venerate St. Nicholas! A good example of an objective account of the few facts behind the saint's life can be found in a short introductory biographical note concerning St. Nicholas in the book, The Time of the Spirit:

Little is known for certain about the life of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor). It is believed that he suffered imprisonment during the last major persecution of the Church under Diocletian in the early fourth century, and that he attended the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325. Christian tradition has come to regard him, in the words of an Orthodox hymn, as "an example of faith and an icon of gentleness." (Time of the Spirit, p. 69)

For those interested in the historical background of St. Nicholas, the following note found in The Synaxarion, Vol. II, edited by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonas Petras, may prove to be of real interest:

Since the medieval period, St. Nicholas of Myra has been confused with St. Nicholas of Sion, who founded a monastery not far from Myra at the end of the 5th century. The Vita of the latter has come down to us but the incidents in it have been entirely ascribed to St. Nicholas of Myra, with the result that St. Nicholas of Sion has been forgotten n the hagiographical accounts.... See The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion, edited and translated by I. N. P. Sevcenko (Brookline, MA, 1984).

So, even if we are dealing with a "composite figure" when we venerate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, we nevertheless are given a glimpse into the "mind of the Church" when it comes to an image of a true pastor. A powerful and enduring image of a genuine Christian shepherd has remained within the memory of the Church, regardless of the now unrecoverable "facts" behind the actual history of 4th - 5th c. Asia Minor. It is this "unerring" intuition of the People of God that the faithful respond to up to the present day that remains as a solid foundation upholding all of the wonderful stories that endear us to St. Nicholas. The Church today desperately needs bishops of the type embodied by St. Nicholas. A shepherd who is a "rule of faith and an image of humility" would mean a great deal more than bishops who rely on Best Practices to maintain the Church's integrity; or lawyerly-jargoned assurances of "fiscal transparency." St. Nicholas both protected and interceded for his flock, according to the great Russian Orthodox iconographer, Leonid Uspensky. And he further writes:

This 'life for others' is his characteristic feature and is manifested by the great variety of forms of his solicitude for men: his care for their preservation, their protection from the elements, from human injustice, from heresies and so forth. This solicitude was accompanied by numerous miracles both during his life and after his death. Indefatigable intercessor, steadfast, uncompromising fighter for Orthodoxy, he was meek and gentle in character and humble in spirit. (The Time of the Spirit, p. 69)

Well-known as St. Nicholas has been, he is perhaps less well-known in today's world. In fact, he may be slowly slipping away from Christian consciousness. Santa Claus, that rather unfortunate caricature of the saintly bishop, clearly has something to do with this. But perhaps the very virtues embodied by this saint are slowly fading from our consciousness. A few weeks back, I wrote a meditation that passed on the name our social and secular world has "earned" for itself through its rampant commercialization of Christmas - and that is Getmas. The author who coined this new term - I forget his name - claims it came to him based on a conversation he had had with a good friend about the "spirit of Christmas." The friend of our author said that Christmas was about "getting things." When the author countered by saying, "I thought Christmas was about giving," the friend quickly retorted: "Sure, people are supposed to give me things!" Out of this sad exchange came the unfortunate, but accurate, Getmas.

St. Nicholas was about the proper understanding of "giving." Perhaps the most enduring quality of his image is that of giving to children in need. Our children learn that those who already "have" more are those who will yet "get" more. And that is because they are taught this by their parents who yield to their childish demands. So we persist in widening the gap of imbalance between the "haves and "have-nots" without too many pangs of (Christian) conscience. St. Nicholas wanted to restore a sense of balance, and so he looked first to those who were in need, so that they could also taste some childlike happiness from receiving an unexpected gift. In a simple manner, this imitates the giving of God Who gave us Christ at a time when everyone - rich and poor alike - were impoverished through sin and death. I sometimes fantasize that an ideal celebration of Christmas would find a relatively affluent family making sure that they spent more on those in need than on themselves. If Christianity is indeed the "imitation of the divine nature" as St. Gregory of Nyssa once said, then that need not necessarily be such an unrealistic idea. I do not believe that I have ever done that, so I convict myself through the very thought. Yet, I am convinced that our children would respond with an eager spirit of cooperation if properly prepared for some approximation of that ideal. Why should it be otherwise if, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ said that it is more blessed to give than to receive?

Once again, just a thought based upon the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Fr. Steven