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Ask An Orthodox Christian: What’s your favorite Eastern Orthodox Tradition?

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By Nicholas Damascus

What would you like to know about the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith? Submit your question.

What’s your favorite Eastern Orthodox Tradition?

easternorthodoxAll of you who are Christians are and were a part of this. This is and was your heritage. You are as much a part of this as we are a part of you, this is not exclusive Christianity, but rather inclusive. Come, let us talk about what was and is from the beginning.

“Brethren, stand fast and hold “the traditions” (τας παραδόσεις ) which you have been taught, whether by “word” (λόγου) or our “epistle” (επιστολή ),” (2Thess..2:15).

The Apostolic Traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church are the “word” in the above Scripture. These traditions are defined as the “living continuity” of everlasting and unchanging boundaries, beliefs, and practices as they were imparted and received from Christ and the apostles. Tradition is the life of the Holy Spirit within the people of God. Tradition, it has been said, is “A witness of the Holy Spirit,” since Christ promised that “when the spirit comes he will guide us (the church) to the truth” (St John 16:13).

Traditions are not separate or kept in the church, which you may find is a commonplace view in the West. They are alive in the church and are the life of the Holy Spirit in the church, given to us to preserve, protect, and defend. It is a difficult concept to convey since it is often misunderstood outside the Orthodox ethic. However, we can approach this understanding of traditions in the EOC by defining as best and briefly as we can, what the church is.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is best characterized as the “communion of saints” because all Christians are called to be saints in Christ.  In 1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the Church of God which is at Corinth [which is still the same Church that exists today and very much alive and well], to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..” The EOC is that church whose beliefs are defined by the Nicene Creed.

The church is a living breathing organism, with Christ as its head, living the unchanged traditions that were handed down to us from the beginning. For all its members are called to holiness, through their rite of incorporation into the Holy Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, the People of God.

The whole church, militant on earth and triumphant in heaven, is one undivided body known as the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church. The word Orthodox comes from the Greek words orthos meaning “correct” and doxa meaning “belief.”

One – meaning He can only have one body, one church, one truth.

Holy — God seeks to sanctify and transfigure its members by union with him, who is holy.

Catholic — Not Roman Catholic, but catholic meaning fullness and complete, perfection, wholeness, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking.

Apostolic Church — Without break or change the church’s teachings were based on the authority of what Christ taught the apostles. They in turn laid down the foundations, who were sent into the world, to bring mankind into communion with God.

This is most famously expressed by Bishop Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, “We can say where the Church is; we cannot say where she is not.” 

Traditions define who we are, what we do, and what we are a part of.  They are like pieces of mosaic stain glass icon, unique individual manifestations, yet all forming and contributing to the whole picture. Through the participation of these traditions, one validates and sanctifies his belief and begins the process of healing and transformation of one’s fallen nature. Let’s start with how God imparts his grace to his people through these traditions.

Baptism is the profession of faith, the rite of passage, the gate to enter into and become a part of the church, and a means to enter the Kingdom of God and receive eternal life.

Chrismation is the seal of the Holy Spirit and is received immediately following Baptism through the anointing of the newly illumined with this blessed oil. A catechumen (one who plans to become a member of the church) having been baptized in another recognized Christian faith, receives this anointing as a confirmation of their entry into the Orthodox Church.

Eucharist in the first 1,000 years, the whole undivided Christian Church believed the bread was truly his Body and the cup was truly his blood, but one could not say how this mystery was so.  When we (EOC members) receive communion, we receive not only Christ but his church as well (his body), for the remission of sins and life everlasting.

Confession is “metanoia” (μετάνοια) from the Greek word meaning not only a confession of sins and transgressions, but a “change of mind.” One experiences an about facea reorientation of the whole of one’s life and being. Personally I would say that “confession is the predicate to humility and love” which opens the door to Paradise, as quite possibly the thief on the cross experienced (the first to enter into paradise). This sacrament of repentance is the first message, and I believe the most important message that Christ preached, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” a major key to becoming what love is.

Marriage is a path to salvation. It is truly the Christian experience of sacrifice and service for one another in a mystical union with God. A giving unselfishly of oneself to another. A martyrdom of individual wills, not as indentured servants, but as willingly desiring to do the will of the other, totally out of love and without strings or expectations. The two individuals become one in a fullness of equality. The expression of “not mine,” “but ours,” “we are one, not two,” best describes this.

Holy Unction is the anointing of the members of the EOC with oil that is blessed by the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins and the physical healing of the body and the soul.  God’s grace is manifested in this mystery to renew the body and to cleanse the spirit.

Ordination is the receiving of Holy leadership within the church — the laying of hands of Apostolic Succession can be traced directly to the time of the apostles. These sheppard’s are responsible for his people’s souls.

Bible is the supreme expression of God’s revelation to the human race. It is not set up over the church, but something that lives and is understood within the traditions of the church.

It is from the church that the Bible ultimately derives its authority. For it was the church alone that decided which books and the interpretation of Holy Scripture with authority and validation. The Bible is an epiphenomenon, an “outward form” of our Christian tradition.

The Divine Liturgy is the primary worship service of the EOC. It is the Eucharistic worship service; the only form of worship mentioned in the Scriptures. The gifts of bread and wine are offered, consecrated and partaken by the faithful as Holy Communion.

The Confession of Faith is the Nicene Creed and is what the Eastern Orthodox Church believes.

Ecumenical Councils which involved the whole known Christian Church throughout the world, set forth the decrees, cannons and creeds in the first seven councils. This took place in the first 1,000 years when the church was still one and undivided to maintain and keep pure the original faith.

Holy Icons are windows into our faith. They are pictures; they are a reminder and representation of the heavenly hosts, saints, and feast days of the church. They are venerated and not worshiped, to commemorate and love their prototype.

Architecture expresses the ship of community, the structure and layout of a heavenly environment and background setting for Orthodox worship. It contributes to the experience of worship, which involves one’s intellect, feelings and senses.

Fasting is the discipline needed to fight the good fight. Christ himself practiced fasting. It is a transformation, not just a distancing from one’s sins or the deprivation of food, but much more.

If you see those who are poor, show them mercy. If you see an enemy, reconcile with him. If you see a friend who is receiving accolades, share in his joy and do not envy him! Should you see a beautiful woman, pass her by. In other words not only should the mouth fast, but the eyes, the legs, the arms, your hearing of evil things or defamations of others, and all the other parts of the body.

Let the hands remain clean from stealing and greediness. Let the legs fast, avoiding roads that lead to sinful engagement. Fasting could be said to be the mother of chastity and prudence, the accuser of sin and the advocate of repentance, and a changing of one’s life for the better.

Prayer often leaves us with the statement of “We went through the motions, but our hearts didn’t change.”  Perhaps we are praying with our mind that could be said to be the “crowded rag market of thoughts.”

It is said: one should descend with the mind into the seat of consciousness, into the eye of the soul, into the mind of the heart, into the nous. It is there where the energies of the word are mystically accessible, where one’s encounter and experience begin the path and journey of transformation and healing.

God created mankind with noetic faculties, with the capacity to receive the Holy Spirit and to attain the knowledge of Christ himself. When you find him there, your life may never be the same.

Almsgiving is where one can give of themselves with their time, talents and resources, participating in the expression of love, of what is given is never lost.

Veneration is a reverence or recognition of the importance of the presence within the church, the apostles, the saints, the mother of God (the Theotokos), and the church fathers.  Veneration is often misinterpreted in the West as worship, however, worship in the EOC is only reserved for Christ alone.

Signing oneself is a declaration and a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice and love for us. It is a symbolic ritual gesture of the life-giving cross, with one hand, marking the four points of the cross on one’s upper body. It is a paramount expression of when Christ defeated death by his death, saving all of mankind and restoring life to those in the tombs (Hades).

In Mark 8:34, Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  I would say that signing oneself is an affirmation of that commitment to follow Christ and recognition of his love for us.

Theosis is the journey and transformation of what God wants us to become, to refrain from our sinful nature of the flesh and to seek the holy nature of God. Through union with Christ, we become by grace what God is by nature. His uncreated energies interpenetrate our humanity and thus, being human, we are becoming deified.

For the EOC, these Holy Traditions are inseparable and indivisible, living and transforming, and in many ways mystically beyond our comprehension.

What is my favorite tradition?  All of them, for they are what define me.

Nicholas Damascus
Nicholas Damascus
As an infant, I was baptized as an Eastern Orthodox Christian. However, I would say that becoming a Christian is a work in progress, and I often wonder would there be enough evidence to convict me of becoming a Christian. The Orthodox Church is the ancient Church that Christ and the Apostles established. It is not a religion but rather a way of life. It is not about rules and regulations but rather guide posts to make choices to transition to what we were designed to become. Becoming Orthodox is not a conversion but more so a transformation of self. It’s not about being right: it is about “right being.” In John 14:6, Christ says I am the Way (to love and serve one another), the Truth (there is only one reality), and the Life (that life source is love). I invite you to submit any topics or questions to “Ask An Eastern Orthodox Christian” on the website. Join me in finding our way back home to the original teachings of the Church. When you change the way you look at things, things change the way they look.

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