If you see a man pure and humble, that is a great vision. For what is greater than such a vision, to see the invisible God in a visible man, the temple of God.

Saint Pachomius the Great,  quoted in The Synaxarion, The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, Volume 5. 164.

I love this quote. I am also reminded that Saint Pachomius, whose feast we celebrate today, was first attracted to Christianity through the love of the Christians of Thebes for the conscripts-cum-prisoners among whom he was numbered. And how he understood his vocation to be be to serve all humanity, despite it being a pretty withdrawn one - indeed, perhaps even because of it being a pretty withdrawn one.

In the teaching of the Church, the Descent into Hell is indissolubly connected with the Redemption. Since Adam was dead, the abasement of the Saviour, who had assumed his nature, had to reach the same depths to which Adam had descended. In other words, the descent into hell represents the very limits of Christ’s degradation and, at the same time, the beginning of His glory. Although the Evangelists say nothing of this mysterious event, Apostle Peter speaks of it, both in his Divinely-inspired words on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii, 14-39), and in the third chapter of his first Epistle (1 Peter iii, 19). “He went and preached unto the spirits in prison”. Christ’s victory over hell, the deliverance of Adam and of the righteous men of the Old Testament is the main theme of the Divine Service of Great Saturday; it runs through all the Easter service and is inseparable from the glorification of Christ’s Resurrection in the flesh. This theme is, as it were, interwoven with the theme of the Resurrection. “Thou hast descended into the abyss of the earth, O Christ, and hast broken down the eternal doors which imprison those who are bound, and, like Jonah after three days inside the whale, Thou has risen from the tomb.”

Following the texts of the divine services, the icon of the Descent into Hell expresses the spiritual, transcendental reality of the Resurrection – the descent of our Lord’s soul into hell – and reveals the purpose and results of this descent. In harmony with the meaning of the event, the action in the icon takes place in the very depths of the earth, in hell, shown as a gaping black abyss. In the centre of the icon, standing out sharply by his posture and colours, is the Saviour. The author of the Easter canon, St. John of Damascus, says “Although Christ died as a man and His holy soul departed from His pure body, His Divinity remained inseparable from both – I mean body and soul.” Therefore He appears in hell not as its captive, but as its Conqueror, the Deliverer of those imprisoned therein; not as a slave but as the Master of life. He is depicted in the icon with a radiant halo, symbol of glory, usually of various shades of blue, and often spangled with stars round the outer edge and pierced with rays issuing from Him. His garments are no longer those in which He is portrayed during His service on earth. They are of a golden-yellow hue, made luminous throughout by thin golden rays (“assiste”) painted upon them. The darkness of hell is filled by the light of these Divine rays – the light of glory of Him Who being God-Man, descended therein. It is already the light of the coming Resurrection, the rays and dawn of the coming Easter. The Saviour tramples underfoot the two crossed leaves of hell’s doors, that He has pulled down. On many icons, below the doors, in the black abyss, is seen the repellent, cast down figure of the prince of darkness, Satan. In later icons are seen here also a number of varied details:- the power of hell destroyed – broken chains with which angels are now binding Satan, keys, nails and so forth. In His left hand Christ holds a scroll – symbol of the preaching of the Resurrection in hell, in accordance with the words of Apostle Peter. Sometimes, instead of the scroll He holds a cross, no longer the shameful instrument of punishment, by the symbol of victory over death. Having torn asunder the bonds of hell by His omnipotence, with His right hand Christ raises Adam from the grave (following Adam, our ancestress Eve rises with hands joined in prayer); that is, He frees Adam’s soul and with it the souls of all those who wait for His coming with faith. This is why, to the right and left of this scene, are shown two groups of Old Testament saints, with prophets at their head. On the left are king David and king Solomon in royal robes and crowns, and behind them John the Forerunner; on the right – Moses with the tablets of the Law in his hand. Seeing the Saviour descended into hell, they at once recognise Him and are pointing out to others Him of Whom they had prophesied and Whose coming they had foretold.

The descent into hell was the last step made by Christ on the way of His abasement. By the very fact of “descending into the abyss of the earth” He opened to us the access to heaven. By freeing the old Adam, and with him the whole of mankind from slavery to him who is the incarnation of sin, darkness and death, He laid the foundation of a new life for those who have united with Christ into a new reborn mankind. Thus the spiritual raising of Adam is represented in the icon of the Descent into Hell as a symbol of the coming resurrection of the body, the first-fruit of which was the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, although this icon expresses the meaning of the event commemorated on Great Saturday and is brought out for worship on that day, it is, and is called, an Easter icon, as a prefiguration of the coming celebration of the Resurrection of Christ and therefore of the future resurrection of the dead.

Leonid Ouspensky, “The Resurrection,” in Leonid Ouspensky and Vladimir Lossky, The Meaning of Icons(Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1983) 187-188.

We do not know if every one followed Christ when He rose from hell. Nor do we know if every one will follow Him to the eschatological Heavenly Kingdom when He will become ‘all in all’. But we do know that since the descent of Christ into Hades the way to resurrection has been opened for ‘all flesh’, salvation has been granted to every human being, and the gates of paradise have been opened for all those who wish to enter through them. This is the faith of the Early Church inherited from the first generation of Christians and cherished by Orthodox Tradition. This is the never-extinguished hope of all those who believe in Christ Who once and for all conquered death, destroyed hell and granted resurrection to the entire human race.

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), “Christ the Conqueror of Hell – The Descent of Christ into Hades in Eastern and Western Theological Traditions”

I know that I quoted this once before, but it seems particularly apt at this time!

What more does one need to say, especially after not having had that much sleep last night? A joyous Pascha to all!

Lazarus Saturday has a very special place in the liturgical calendar. It is not included in the forty days of  Lenten penitence; it is not included in the harrowing days of Holy Week – which are counted from the Monday to the Friday. Together with Palm Sunday, it forms a short and joyous prelude to the days of grief which follow. A topographical link unites it to Palm Sunday: Bethany is the place of Lazarus’s resurrection, and it is also the point of departure for Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. Lazarus’s resurrection, which this Saturday commemorates, is an even that, as we shall see, carries a very deep meaning. It is mysteriously linked to the resurrection of Christ himself; in relation to that event, it is like prophecy in action. One could say that Lazarus raised from the dead is shown to us, at the threshold of the Easter feasts, as the precursor of Jesus Christ triumphant over death, in the same way that, on the threshold of Epiphany, John when he baptised was the precursor of the Messiah who was about to be revealed.

Father Lev Gillet, The Year of Grace of the Lord, 135.

I’ve been hand-rearing them for the last two weeks after they were found in the bushes near the Church. They are quite gorgeous but rather time-consuming, and seem rather reluctant to want to be either weaned or toilet trained.

In any case, I hope that blogging will resume before too long!

Theologians, in an Orthodox understanding, are those who have been healed. His Eminence quotes Saint Gregory the Theologian who claimed that theology is “for those who have been examined and are passed masters in the vision of God and who have previously been purified in soul and body, or at the very least are being purified.” (31) Moreover, Saint Neilos the Ascetic (Evagrius of Pontus)* linked theology with prayer, especially noetic prayer, stating “If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian.”

Similar sentiments are found in other Fathers who taught the need for cleansing in order to receive the vision of God. Particularly worth quoting is St Maximus the Confessor who distinguished between practical philosophy which is repentance and cleansing from passions, and theoria which is an advancement in inner spiritual knowledge. Theology is unfolded by God to those who have attained theoria. For Saint Maximus, “knowledge without praxis is the demons’ theology.”

Also worth quoting is Saint Gregory Palamas who sees theologians as those who see God. Discussing Saint Gregory, Metropolitan Hierotheos writes:

Anyone who without knowledge and experience of matters of faith offers teaching about them “according to his own reasonings, trying with words to show the God that transcends all words, has plainly lost all sense.” And in his folly, “he has become an enemy of God.” Moreover there are cases in which people without having works, that is to say, without having undergone purification, have met and listened to holy men, but then they “try to form their own conceptions” and both reject the holy man and puff themselves up with pride.” (34)

Theology is thus a fruit of healing rather than a rational discipline. Only those who have been healed, or are at least undergoing healing, can “be initiated into the ineffable mysteries and great truth, can receive revelations and afterwards convey them to the people.” (35)

Theology is intimately related to spiritual fatherhood and “the spiritual father is the theologian par excellence – that is to say, the one who experiences the things of God and so can lead his spiritual children unerringly.” (35) Ultimately the theologian – as a spiritual father – needs the gift of the discernment of spirits in order to be able to distinguish between the actions of God, those of creatures and those of the devil and the demons.

* Metropolitan Hierotheos ascribes this to Saint Neilos, as was traditionally done in the Philokalia and by later Fathers given Evagrius’ suspect reputation. However, the footnote follows the English translation of the Philokalia in ascribing it to Evagrius which is the current scholarly consensus.

It’s taken a couple of years, but I’m finally getting back into making and selling prayer ropes, and so I’ve added a Prayer ropes page to this blog again, where people can find information about ordering them. I’m mainly trying to support myself by bookbinding, but, while there is a demand for that, it is taking time to get established and earn enough to live on. Plus I would like to continue doing prayer ropes in order to make them – and possibly some other products – available in South Africa.

However, on closer perusal it became clear that the title is misleading – it does not refer to the modern practice of psychotherapy, but rather to its literal meaning, namely the cure of the soul, or the healing of the person. Essential this is a book about the Orthodox understanding of spiritual life.

In his opening chapter Metropolitan Hierotheos outlines that Christianity, and especially the Orthodox understanding of it, is a therapeutic science. He begins by asking what Christianity is and argues that it is not a philosophy or a religion in the sense that these are normally understood today. It is not a abstract speculation, nor is it a way to placate God or ensure a place in the afterlife. Rather it is the revelation of God and the vision of the uncreated Light which enables us to participate in the Kingdom of God here and now.

It offers life, transforms biological life, sanctifies and transforms societies. Where Orthodoxy is lived in the right way and in the Holy Spirit, it is a communion of God and men, of heavenly and earthly, of the living and the dead. In this communion all the problems which present themselves in our life are truly resolved. (25)

However, the Church is made up of sick people and of people who are at various stages on their spiritual journey, and for some of them Christianity may indeed function as a religion. However, we should make certain points clear. Firstly, the New Testament teaches that Christianity is mainly a Church, the Body of Christ.

This means that Christ does not simply dwell in heaven and direct history and the lies of men from there, but He is united with us. He assumed human nature and deified it; thus in Christ deified human nature is at the right hand of the Father. So Christ is our life and we are ‘members of Christ’. (26)

Secondly, the aim of Christian life is to attain the state of deification. Deification is simply attaining the likeness of God, becoming like God. However, in order for this to happen, and for the vision of God to be a life-giving light and not a consuming fire, purification needs to have taken place, for “Christianity without purification is utopia.” (26) This purification involves the healings of our passions so that we can attain communion and union with God.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan we see how Christ reaches out to those who have been wounded by sin and brings them into the inn, “to the Hospital which is the Church. Here Christ is presented as a physician who heals man’s illnesses, and the Church as a Hospital.” (27)

The work of the Church is basically therapeutic. “It seeks to heal men’s sicknesses, mainly those of the soul, which torment them. This is the basic teaching of the new Testament and of the Fathers of the Church.” (28-29) Metropolitan Hierotheos quotes Father John Romanides who writes:

Having faith in Christ without undergoing healing in Christ is not faith at all. Here is the same contradiction that we find when a sick person who has great confidence in his doctor never carries out the treatment which he recommends. If Judaism and its successor, Christianity, had appeared in the twentieth century for the first time, they would most likely have been characterized not as religions but as medical sciences related to psychiatry. They would have a wide influence on society owing to their considerable successes in healing the ills of the partially functioning personality. In no way can prophetic Judaism and Christianity be construed as religions that use various magical methods and beliefs to promise escape from a supposed world of matter and evil or hypocrisy into a supposed spiritual world of security and success.” (29)

***

I’m not unaware that both Father Romanides and Metropolitan Hierotheos are writing from a particular perspective that tends to perhaps overplay the differences between East and West and I suspect that I may come back to that later in the book. I also tend to wonder whether the understanding of Christianity as healing can be over-emphasized to the detriment of other understandings. Nevertheless, I believe that the message that this book brings is one that seriously needs to be heard and which I need to appreciate more. So we shall see how the reading progresses…

I have always loved the Karoo, that vast expanse of emptiness and semi-desert at the heart of South Africa. I remember driving through it as a child and, long before I had heard of the Desert Fathers or learnt the language of monasticism, longing to wander off into it, plunging myself into its arid emptiness. This was not an obviously religious longing, at least not in terms of the religious vocabulary that I knew at the time. And yet I somehow think that it may account for quite a lot. Later on I used to fantasize about a monastery in the Karoo, although I have learnt in the meantime that fantasies are not a good basis for monasteries.

Driving through the Karoo I became aware of how air travel has distorted our sense of time and space, although I suppose that our ancestors could have said similar things about any automated travel. It is so easy to hop between cities without realizing what is between them, and to rarely experience the endlessness of a road that stretches on and on. And it is so easy to assume that the concerns of the “city” – and of instant communication that now encroaches even into the “desert” – are indeed the real and only ones.

I have been reflecting a bit in recent months on the need for a thorough consideration on how the patristic teaching on the passions relates to the various “issues” that are thrown at me through the daily news. From rape and violence, to greed and corruption, to the way we are programmed to become consumers, to the various discussions around sexuality, to what often seems like a mindless cultivation of anger and aggression … the list could continue and I suspect that many of them are intertwined. And yet all too often the response of religious leaders is mere platitudes and moralism, whether of the “right” or of the “left.”

Driving through the Karoo and thinking about these thoughts that had been going through my mind, I was reminded that the systematization of Christian thinking around the passions and the virtues originated in the desert. It was in the starkness of the Egyptian desert that the early monks came to insight into what it means to be human, the forces that shape and control us, and how we can engage them at their roots and be transformed by actively cooperating with God.

The proper locus of theology, in an Orthodox understanding, is in the desert. This is not just the emptiness or the endless permutations of postmodern thought. The desert has a history and a clearly dogmatic content. But it is a content that leads to transformation. And somehow, if we are to speak of transforming society, we surely need to pay attention to this content.