The River of Fire

[Eugene]

Dear all,

What do you think of the article "The River of Fire" by Alexander Kalomiros?
http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/river-of-fire.html

I think this is very impressive work. In my opinion, however, the author is exaggerating the situation by ascribing the legalistic theology entirely to Roman Catholocism and Protestantism, and the non-legalistic one - to Eastrn Orthodoxy. I would not agree that the legalistic theology belongs to western Christianity only (it's quite common among the eastern orthodox people too), and that western Christianity is that much influenced by legalism, paganism and humanism.

It looks like the position of Catholic Church on this issue changed over the last century. For example, here is the excerpt from Catholic Catechism concerning the Last Judgement - this is a clear non-legalistic statement:


"Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. [587] By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.[588]"

It is true that the legalistic soteriology was originated from St. Augustine techings and futher developed by Anselm and Thomas, and was very strong in the middle ages in the western Church. The fact is, it equally penetrated the minds of both westen and eastern christians over the last millenium. Instead of comparing east against west, the author should have compared just the legalistic and non-legalistic soteriologies. I still appreciate the explanation of true soteriology given by the author and supported by wonderfull quotes from Church fathers.

The reason I asked is that some of my Catholic friends who I gave this paper for reading were really offended by it and clamed that this paper is makes a "demonization" of western Crhistianity. What do you think?

In Christ,
Evgeny

[Elias Young]

Evgeny:

At the end of the day does it really matter what any of us think? Until these contemporary times, when the distinctions between eastern & western forms of X-ianity have been blurred, it seems these distinctions were firmly in place. If we wish to see the true nature of the differences between Orthodoxy and the Western forms of Christianity perhaps we could turn to the teachings & opinions of the Athonite teachers rather to our own very subjective notions concerning these ecumenical dust clouds swirling around us.

imho,
elias

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

It has been a long time since I read Alexander Kalomiros' "River of Fire" so I won't comment directly on that. Rather I just want to state my agreement that it is time we Orthodox looked more carefully at our description of "the legalistic west".

Of course what we are doing is using a kind of short-hand to try to describe how the west left Orthodoxy. But from my own investigation into this I would say that the provenance of this idea of western "legalism" vs eastern "spiritualism" comes from German idealism & also from the Romantic school of history. In fact both of these European intellectual currents of the 19th century fed on & influenced each other. And intellectuals from "the east", not least the Russians, were particularly influenced by this cultural-philosophical trend. To put it briefly it is from this that the idea came that each culture & nation has its own "spirit" and that there is a mission of each culture to find their own "spirit". As such each culture finds itself and in a later version of this the "national spirit" creates the essence of the nation. Thus it was in this intellectual frame-work that 19th century Russians sought to define who they were. And it was only natural that Orthodoxy- as the religious expression of the culture- was also interpreted in this light.

There is no need to throw the baby out with the bath-water here. After all the Slavophiles, who themselves were also much influenced by this way of thinking, include such bright lights as Khomiakov & Kireevsky (not to mention writers such as Dostoevsky), & are now seen as an important stepping stone towards the recovery of the Patristic phronema. Nevertheless though there is much in the old "legalistic" description of the west that is quite ambiguous & even completely incorrect.
One point is that it is historically inaccurate. There was a deep mystical tradition in the west through the period of the Schism & this remains in its own unique form up to this day. Evgeny's quote I think is just a contemporary witness to this.

Apart from this however by this point the word "legalism" has so many contradictory & vague meanings that one could question whether the word has really out lived its usefulness for us. For example sometimes we mean Anselm's atonement theory- a real enough marker seperating Roman from the Patristic theological vision. But at other times we mean too muchh of a reliance on the external which sounds more like a criticism of ourselves than of anyone else. Anyway- (just a question)- does the word "legalism" really get to the essence of the defining character of Anselm's theological presentation? Or is it that there is a fundamental theological problem? Probably the latter.

In any case there is a Patristic way of dealing with past mistakes. Our tendency at times has been to take a flame thrower to everything that proceeded us & that was "not correct"- & from this there would be the "Patristic revival" many of us have been talking about for... well we've actually been talking about it for quite a long time now! Sometimes I wonder what signs of "western captivity" our grandchildren or even our own children (spiritually speaking of course)will find in us. They will scratch their heads and wonder, "how could they ever have let such obvious mistakes happen?" Familiar to us may well come back the answer, "well, you know times were pretty corrupt then, they didn't really know their Orthodoxy so well." Oh well. I guess there is some spiritual benefit in each Orthodox generation feeling humbled (or humiliated) before the next.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Eugene]

Thank you, Fr. Raphael, for your insights, I agree with you. I think the issue is much deeper than a simple west-east theological divergency. Legalistic "tendencies" have always existed in Christian tradition including the eastern one. The problem of legalistic and pagan influences in Christianity still exists. For example, here is a quote from Russian Orthodox Catechism written in the 19-th sentury by St. Philaret of Moscow and still used in Russian Church (forgive my free translation):


"His voluntary passions and death on the Cross for us, being of infinite price and dignity, as a death of Sinless God-man, is also a perfect satisfaction of God's justice, that punished us to death for sin, and is a limitless merit that gives Him right to give us, sinners, forgivenes of sins and and grace without offending His justice". "No doubt He will condemn us for evel thoughts and deeds if we don't erase them by repentance and faith and good deeds".

St. Philaret is a very respected Orthodox saint, yet this sounds very much like a quote from Anselm.

I'm currently studying the issue of legalistic vs. non-legalistic soteriology and I'm interested to hear all opinions. Do you know if there is a deeper and more objective study, book or article on this issue (compared to the Kalomiros's article)?

Thank you,
In Christ,
Evgeny

[Ken McRae]

Evgeny originally posted:-


1 - " ... some of my Catholic friends who I gave this paper for reading were really offended by it and clamed that this paper is makes a 'demonization' of western Crhistianity."

2 - " ... here is a quote from Russian Orthodox Catechism written in the 19-th sentury by St. Philaret of Moscow and still used in Russian Church (forgive my free translation):
"His voluntary passions and death on the Cross for us, being of infinite price and dignity, as a death of Sinless God-man, is also a perfect satisfaction of God's justice, that punished us to death for sin, and is a limitless merit that gives Him right to give us, sinners, forgivenes of sins and and grace without offending His justice". "No doubt He will condemn us for evel thoughts and deeds if we don't erase them by repentance and faith and good deeds". St. Philaret is a very respected Orthodox saint, yet this sounds very much like a quote from Anselm."

Dear Evgeny,

My initial reaction to 'The River of Fire' was the same as your friends'. Clearly he demonizes the Western Church, and presents a distorted caricature of its theology. Western Christianity is, for him, essentially paganism. He writes: "In the West, little by little knowledge of the Greek language vanished, and Augustine's texts were the only books available dating from ancient times in a language understood there." Thus he implies that the 'juridicial' aspects of Western theology are not found in any other fathers, whether of the East or West, which is plainly false. One need only read the 'online' works of St. John Chrysostom to see he held to a juridicial view of God and the work of Christ as well.

For example:-

Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans

'HOMILY VII' (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210207.htm)

1 - Thirdly, from the sacrifices under the old dispensation.

For it was on this ground that he said, "In His blood," to call to their minds those sheep and calves. For if the sacrifices of things without reason, he means, cleared from sin, much more would this blood. And he does not say barely lutrwsews, but apolu-trwsews, entire redemption, to show that we should come no more into such slavery. And for this same reason he calls it a propitiation, to show that if the type had such force, much more would the reality display the same. But to show again that it was no novel thing or recent, he says, "fore-ordained" (Auth. Version marg.); and by saying God "fore-or dained," and showing that the good deed is the Father's, he showeth it to be the Son's also. For the Father "fore-ordained," but Christ in His own blood wrought the whole aright.

"To declare His righteousness." What is declaring of righteousness? Like the declaring of His riches, not only for Him to be rich Himself, but also to make others rich, or of life, not only that He is Himself living, but also that He makes the dead to live; and of His power, not only that He is Himself powerful, but also that He makes the feeble powerful. So also is the declaring of His righteousness not only that He is Himself righteous, but that He doth also make them that are filled with the putrefying sores (ka

2 - For when a man is once a believer, he is straightway justified. The intention then of the Law it did establish, and what all its enactments aim after, this hath it brought to a consummation. Consequently it has not disannulled, but perfected it. Here then three points he has demonstrated; first, that without the Law it is possible to be justified; next, that this the Law could not effect; and, that faith is not opposed to the Law. For since the chief cause of perplexity to the Jews was this, that the faith seemed to be in opposition to it, he shows more than the Jew wishes, that so far from being contrary, it is even in close alliance and co peration with it, which was what they especially longed to hear proved.
But since after this grace, whereby we were justified, there is need also of a life suited to it, let us show an earnestness worthy the gift.

'HOMILY IX' (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210209.htm)

ROM. IV. 23.

"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him for righteousness; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead."

After saying many great things of Abraham, and his faith, and righteousness, and honor before God, lest the hearer should say, What is this to us, for it is he that was justified? he places us close to the Patriarch again. So great is the power of spiritual words. For of one of the Gentiles, one who was recently come near, one who had done no work, he not only says that he is in nothing inferior to the Jew who believes (i.e. as a Jew), but not even to the Patriarch, but rather, if one must give utterance to the wondrous truth, even much greater. For so noble is our birth, that his faith is but the type of ours. And he does not say, If it was reckoned unto him, it is probable it will be also to us, that he might not make it matter of syllogism. But he speaks in authentic words of the divine law, and makes the whole a declaration of the Scripture. For why was it written, he says, save to make us see that we also were justified in this way? For it is the same God Whom we have believed, and upon the same matters, if it be not in the case of the same persons. And after speaking of our faith, he also mentions God's unspeakable love towards man, which he ever presents on all sides, bringing the Cross before us. And this he now makes plain by saying, Ver. 25. "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."

See how after mentioning the cause of His death, he makes the same cause likewise a demonstration of the resurrection. For why, he means, was He crucified? Not for any sin of His own. And this is plain from the Resurrection. For if He were a sinner, how should He have risen? But if He rose, it is quite plain that He was not a sinner. But if He was not a sinner, how came He to be crucified?--For others,--and if for others, then surely he rose again. Now to prevent your saying, How, when liable for so great sins, came we to be justified? he points out One that blotteth out all sins, that both from Abraham's faith, whereby he was justified, and from the Saviour's Passion, whereby we were freed from our sins, he might confirm what he had said.

=>> END <<=

St. Philaret's doctrine which you mention is also taught in St. Innocent of Alaska's 'Indication of the Way into the Kingdom' (http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/indication-introduction.html) and the Spiritual Letters of St. Macarius of Optina (http://www.svspress.com/product_info.php?products_id=239). I wish time permitted me to go further, but, alas, it does not. Maybe tomorrow, Lord willing.

Humbly in Jesus,
Theophilus

[Owen Jones]

People experience reality as having something wrong with it, as not being the way it is supposed to be. At the same time, people experience being drawn toward some pole of order and harmony. This is a universal experience. Without a properly ordered soul, the tension between these two experiential poles becomes unbearable, and people gravitate toward some kind of fixation to overcome this experiential dilemma. One fixation among Orthodox is that if it weren&#39;t for the Catholic Church going terribly wrong at some point, pick a date, the Church would be one big happy, unified family. I know Orthodox converts who have based their entire existence on this ideology, and they have become so fixated on it that they can barely function. CAll it a cosmogonic myth, call it literal/historical fact, but Christianity already has a date at which things went wrong -- in the Garden of Eden. To search for some historical date or period when everything went wrong is an example of a gnostic historicism. It&#39;s not unlike Communism which said that things went wrong when people started using &#40;and hoarding&#41; capital.

There is another fixation that is worth addressing. One of the things that has historically given Christianity its intensity and momentum is a fervent sense of eschatalogical expectation. The Protestant movement in America is been growing strongly in recent decades, primarily because of an eschatalogical fervency, and polls indicate that a large majority of American Protestants believe that the End Times are a world/historical event that is going to take place in the very near future. But sound Orthodox theology places the eschatalogical transformation of reality in the Beyond. It is extremely difficult for most of us to adopt an eschatological fervency that is controlled by the virtue of faith in a transcendent beyond, and so we place the eschaton in an immanentized historical moment. The virulent criticism of something called &#34;the West&#34; and specifically Roman Catholicism is bound up in a certain eschatalogical fervency that claims that history can be transformed if we can just convince an entire civilization that it is fundamentally in error.

But it is man that is the eschatalogical index, not history.

[Russell Tisdale]

Very interesting points made by all. I, too, think it is an oversimplification to vilify the juridical teachings of the West without recognizing that such descriptions of the atonement also exist in Eastern tradition. There are several ways to &#39;approach&#39; the atonement in theology, but the surest way is through repentance. I hope that botht the East and West never forget that important fact - especially this &#39;Western&#39; Eastern Orthodox.

rusty

[nurse-aid]

Waite a minute...It was the Blessed David who said this in psalm...i forgot which one....

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

And so it seems we have come full circle in this thread. Many have said that things are not so black & white about east & west as is sometimes said. Coming from this direction we question how useful the term "legalism" is or even the phrase "east & west."

On the other hand however most of us would not want to go so far that we would relegate the Schism to the realm of fantasy (at least on both sides) or just cultural or political prejudice from past history (maybe there is some disagreement here?) For myself I would not want to be so daring as to imply that the Holy fathers of the past 1000 years have all been in delusion concerning a fundamental theological divide between "east & west." For that matter it must be said that Roman Catholics (at least of the past)were as adamant about this divide as were the Orthodox. In other words both sides recognised the divide as being of a fundamentally theological nature & so regard(ed) the other as being heretical.

I think that the description of atonement on this thread does point to this divide particularly as presented by by Anselm. It would be interesting to compare this to what St. John Chrysostom for example presents. After all the theme of this thread: "The River of Fire" does relate in terms of soteriology to that of the atonement & it would be helpful to point to the differences between the two visions. Despite any apparent exaggerations I think the main point of "River of Fire" was a soteriology very similar to that of Holy Fathers such as St. Symeon the New Theologian.

In any case I just want to ask openly- if others are correct in seeing atonement as being one of the fundamental differences between Orthodox soteriology & that found in the west- what are the essential theological differences between the two?

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Anestis Jordanoglou]

A focus on apophatic versus cataphatic theology is one. The affirmation of the ability for a person to experience the Energy of God is another aka the difference between a more Platonic based focus on the importance of the intellect in discerning and experiencing God versus the nous.

This at least has been my experience with some of Catholic priests I&#39;ve had in my classes at Holy Cross School of Theology.

Anesti

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Theophilus,

And on this day which is so difficult for Roman Catholics around the world, we pray that Christ comforts the Pope in his present sufferings & that if he should repose that the Lord may receive his soul into His hands.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Owen Jones]

Actually, medieval Catholicism was heavily influenced by Aristotle. This tends to reinforce the tendency in the &#34;West&#34; toward a systematic theology, which is somewhat foreign to the Eastern tradition. Plato was not accessible to Western Latin scholars and theologians. Also, Plato tends to be experiential and practical in his writings. Aristotle is more abstract. So I think that difference tends to influence each theological tradition in turn. Surely the Greek Fathers can be very &#34;intellectual&#34; if you will. In fact, they were heavily criticized in the Syriac tradition for being too abstract and intellectual. By the way, the distinction between intellect and nous is not an absolute one.

[Anestis Jordanoglou]

Plato was practical in describing the death of Socrates, and his writings were &#34;practical&#34; in that he attempted to establish a social system based on his abstractions in the Republic, but his ideas on what is real and his conceptualization of a world of &#34;Forms&#34; is certainly abstract upon which he bases it is certainly abstract.

I mispoke to some degree. The Greek Fathers were heavily influence by Plato through the middle Platonists and their Plato based concept of the ascent to God &#40;for the middle Platonists&#41; who had developed this from realm of forms for Plato. However, one of the two methods to get to this divine realm was through mathematics - certainly abstract and intellectual. Plato&#39;s understanding of nous doesn&#39;t carry the implication of the nous being a sort of spiritual organ or instinct capable of leading one to God, at least not in my reading of him.

The current understanding of nous and intellect at least in our present time, is indeed if not absolute, in my opinion, as close to being so as can be.

I&#39;m not nearly knowledgable enough about the Syriac tradition to respond to their critiques.

What particular concepts or writings did some of the Syriac Fathers object too?

[Owen Jones]

Plato is primarily concerned with the practical problem of injustice in the polis -- how it was the the polis could have put to death its most just citizen? That led him to the discovery that the polis is the soul written large. The Forms are not as abstract as you might think. It is simply a way of symbolizing the way in which physical things are concrete reprentations of higher realities. The practical purpose of this is to refute the notions of the sophists. There is much debate as to whether or not Plato actually was trying to promote a new social system. I doubt it. He used the myth as a way of symbolizing divine reality, which is the only way it can be done. The myth of the perfect polis is a symbol for the well-ordered soul. One should not impose on Plato the obligation to be a Christian. The REvelation of God as Trinity, fully present in the person of Christ, would have to take a bit more time. But the language of metalepsis and methexis in Plato is later used in Patristic Greek thought about how we share in the divine life. For Aristotle, that&#39;s mostly a bunch of mystical claptrap. Your understanding of nous in Plato I think is a bit off the mark. We share in the divine qualities, both through ascetic virtues, and noetic illumination. Our Christian understanding of the Godhead is more differentiated than in Plato, but the role of nous is strikingly similar.

There is a funny story about Evagrius. When he travelled to Egypt to meet with desert monks, they ridiculed him for being a Greek &#40;who they felt were a bunch of abstract inellectualizers&#41; and addressed him as Bishop -- a rather contemptuous word for them. I don&#39;t have a particular text for you by one of the Syriac fathers that I can point you to that is specifically critical of Greek method, but one can certainly discern the difference.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

&#34;One day at the Cells, there was an assembly about some matter or other and Abba Evagrius held forth. Then the priest said to him, &#39;Abba, we know that if you were living in your own country you would probably be a bishop and a great leader; but at present you sit here as a stranger.&#39; He was filled with compunction, but was not at all upset and bending his head he replied, &#39;I have spoken once and will not answer, twice but I will proceed no further.&#39; &#40;Job 40.5&#41;&#34;

[Anestis Jordanoglou]

You can see a table, you can&#39;t see &#34;the good&#34;, you can see someone doing good - this is what I mean about Plato&#39;s abstractions, the arguments with the sophists were regarding these abstractions

He understood the good etc existing in a divine realm - not some mental construct - the use of myth was an attempt to describe his belief in this sort of divine realm - again, I mentioned Philo and Plotinus as spelling out God, not Plato.

As aforementioned, the Neoplatonists Philo and Plotinus had a major affect on the Eastern Father&#39;s thought. Please see Andrew Louth&#39;s &#34;The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition&#34;

Plato tried to establish the Republic in Syracuse at the behest of one of its rulers there. Not much of an argument on that fact . &#40;He was kicked out by the way&#41; Even if he hadn&#39;t, his work spells out the social system clearly. Who the components of the system were, how the society would be formed etc.

I&#39;ll cite you some stuff soon.

Anesti

[Owen Jones]

Well, I guess there is a difference between Plato and &#34;Platonic.&#34; The term &#34;Platonic&#34; takes on a variety of meanings after philosophy degenerates into schools of thought.

[Owen Jones]

I&#39;m trying to avoid facile answers to the question of the split between East and West, which is the topic of this thread. The thread began by questioning the assertion that the West is legalistic, the East is not, and thereby we know the difference. If one reads the Philokalia closely, one finds that the consistent thread throughout is legal. Obedience to God&#39;s law is the key, and disobedience is the cause of all of man&#39;s misery and misfortune.

Another distinction that has been made is that the West is abstract, whereas the East is experiential. A reference was made to Plato as having influenced the West toward an abstract understanding. But I think this distinction is problematic for a number of reasons.

As a sidebar, I wonder if Plotinus influenced Christianity, or if the the influence wasn&#39;t the other way around. The Philokalia is replete with terminology consistent with Plotinus regardring EROS, regarding the relations between sense perception and intellect, and so on. But this is a long tradition predating Plotinus.

Then there is the problem of trying to explain everything in terms of influences. Historians look for historical connections. For example, there is a theory of cultural diffusion among anthropologists that was devised to explain certain obvious equivalences among myths and religions. But the cultural diffusion theory has been largely discredited. More likely, there are certain ways in which we experience reality because of how we are constituted, and certain ways we are given to express these experiences that are constants. This theory of equivalences is often dismissed by more dogmatic adherents of religious conviction because it smacks of some kind of relativistic mentality. But that is not the only necessary conclusion. It&#39;s true that in the early Church, Plato&#39;s conviction that there is one Creator God in the Timeaus is attributed to a visit Plato made to Egypt, where he must have been exposed to the teachings of Moses. But it is just as likely that this insight is the fruit of Plato&#39;s experience.

Back to the topic: much will continue to be debated over the split between East and West, but I see it as less a theological dispute than it is the result of competition between empires for power.

A mystical vision of heaven must always be restrained in some sense from the desire to implement that vision in the form of an ecumenical empire. All empires are based on the belief that it better represents the divine will than the alternatives. Even secular empires are organized around this vision -- they simply use a secularized version of mystical/religious language.

[Eugene]

Thank you all for interesting thoughts. Going back to legalism vs. non-legalism, my understanding is that a sertain anount of legalism has been a part of Christian faith in all times and everywhere, but in the east and the west. It&#39;s not a coincidence that &#34;legalistic&#34; terms like &#34;judgement&#34;, &#34;punishment&#34;, &#34;wrath of God&#34; are frequently used throughout the OT and NT. The Scriptures are an amazing textbook on faith that has right teaching for all stages of spiritual life - from grade one up to &#34;graduation&#34; all zipped in one text. A beginner starts his way with fear of God and somewhat legalistic understanding of relationships with God - and it is the way it was meant to. But then, when one advances in faith and begins to know God, His love and His mercy by spiritual experience, he/she starts to undestand the Scriptures more deeply and spiritually, leaves legalistic relationships with God behind and starts living in loving relationships with God. That is why we find both legalistics and ani-legalistic statements in writings of both eastern and western fathers.

St. Maxim the Confessor&#40;question XXVIII&#41; &#40;my translation from Russian, sorry&#41;:
&#34;We find that the Scriptures describe God according to spiritual state of those who are under His care. ... The reason of changes in the appearance and perception of God is spiritual state of those who are under His care.»

In Christ,
Evgeny

[Ken McRae]

Anesti originally posted:-

1 - &#34;A focus on apophatic versus cataphatic theology is one. The affirmation of the ability for a person to experience the Energy of God is another aka the difference between a more Platonic based focus on the importance of the intellect in discerning and experiencing God versus the nous.&#34;

2 - &#34;As aforementioned, the Neoplatonists Philo and Plotinus had a major affect on the Eastern Father&#39;s thought. Please see Andrew Louth&#39;s &#39;The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition&#39;.&#34;

Owen originally posted:-

1 - &#34;Our Christian understanding of the Godhead is more differentiated than in Plato, but the role of nous is strikingly similar.&#34;

2 - &#34;Actually, medieval Catholicism was heavily influenced by Aristotle. This tends to reinforce the tendency in the &#34;West&#34; toward a systematic theology, which is somewhat foreign to the Eastern tradition. Plato was not accessible to Western Latin scholars and theologians.&#34;

REPLY:-

&#34;Father Sophrony came immediately. He shook my hand vigorously in silence. And then, very significantly, as if to express a desire to share all with us, his greatest treasures, he drew aside the sanctuary curtain, opened the Holy Doors, and began to pray the Our Father. After this shared prayer, we went to his room, and Father Symeon went to bring coffee and cookies ...

I noticed the books on his desk ... On his shelves there was a goodly supply of C.S. Lewis, Knox&#39;s Orthodoxy, The Walsingham Way, Meister Eckhart, and much else besides the Fathers of the East and of the West ... etc.&#34;

This above passage is found on pp. 138-139 of the book &#39;In Search of True Wisdom&#39;, a collaboration between two authors, an Orthodox layman and a Catholic monk. It recounts of a visit paid to Archimandrite Sophrony. Its clear reference to the writings of Meister Eckhart (http://www.ellopos.net/theology/eckhart_resources.htm), who was a &#34;Dominican preacher, theologian and mystic, born about 1260 at Hochheim, near Gotha; died in 1327 at Cologne;&#34; (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05274a.htm) which occupied a place on Father Sophrony&#39;s book shelf, is the reason why I post it here. One wonders if Father Sophrony&#39;s interest in Eckhart was possibly sparked by Vladimir Lossky&#39;s essay on Eckhart (http://www.ellopos.net/theology/eckhart_lossky.htm). &#40;Unfortunately, I&#39;m currently unaware of any english translations of Lossky&#39;s essay online.&#41;

The writings of Meister Eckhart, according to the best scholars in this field, manifest a clear Pseudo-Dionysian influence. The following is a passage from &#39;THE INTRO&#39; to the Collected Writings of the &#39;PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS&#39; (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0809128381/qid=1112551489/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5513609-2744700?v=glance&s=books) :-

SCHOLATICISM, MYSTICISM, AND POLITICS

The influence of Dionysius passed quite naturally from the schools of the twelfth century to those of the thirteenth. Among the Franciscans, Robert Grosseteste made the greatest contribution in this direction by bringing out a translation, with commentary, of the Dionysian corpus between 1240 and 1243. Shortly after, the Dominican Albert the Great (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0826449980/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-5513609-2744700#reader-link)provided a similar service (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/080913022X/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-5513609-2744700#reader-page), and the great doctors of the following generation were not content to do less. [See his treatise on Cleaving to God (http://www.salvationhistory.com/library/liturgy/prayer/masters.cfm) - as well (http://www.catholictreasury.info/library.htm)!] Thomas Aquinas wrote an explanation for several works and Saint Bonaventure (http://www.crvp.org/book/Series01/I-9/chapter_iv.htm) hailed him as &#39;the prince of mystics&#39; (http://carmelnet.org/larkin/larkin081.pdf). [See his treatise on &#39;The Mind&#39;s Journey into God&#39; (http://www.franciscan-archive.org/bonaventura/opera/itinerl.html) and other writings (http://www.catholictreasures.com/cartdescrip/10069.html)as well.] It was, in fact, in the area of mysticism that Dionysius revealed all his potentiality. Aquinas, great saint and thinker as he was, had the ability, as someone has said, &#34;to shift the points of emphasis and counterpoise mysticism with scholasticism&#34; in a synthesis of perfect balance.

From then on, the works of Dionysius provided a powerful contribution in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to the spirituality that flowered in the Rhine valley and elsewhere among theologians of the &#34;abstract school&#34;, as historians have termed it. Meister Eckhart &#40;d. 1327&#41; proved capable of adopting fundamental Dionysian themes, &#34;while changing the meaning substantially.&#34; Several other writers did more or less the same, each in his own way: Tauler &#40;d. 1361&#41;, Ruysbroeck &#40;d. 1381&#41;, Gerson &#40;d. 1429&#41;, Nicholas de Cusa &#40;d. 1464&#41;, Denis the Carthusian &#40;d. 1471&#41;, Harphius &#40;d. 1477&#41;, and Marsilio Ficino &#40;d. 1499&#41;.

=&#62;&#62; end of passage &#60;&#60;=

With regard to the above allegation, that Meister Eckhart, and the other Western &#39;Pseudo-Dionysian&#39; mystics, essentially altered the substantial meaning of the Pseudo-Dionysian &#34;themes&#34;, &#40;which are being referred to,&#41; I can offer no clear commentary either way. I wonder, though, if the term &#34;changing&#34; is the most accurate description or assessment the published evidence will afford. Nevertheless, the apophatic tradition in the West, in which all the aforementioned names are rooted, is largely traceable to the seminal influence of the Pseudo-Dionysius corpus within Catholic mysticism. The two primary sources of Neo-Platonist philosophy in the West, prior to the advent of the Pseudo-Dionysius, were the writings of Augustine and Boethius. These two prepared the Catholic mind for Pseudo-Dionysian spirituality.

Fr. Eckhart&#39;s anthropology is very similar to Orthodox anthropology, especially with respect to the &#39;nous&#39;. Father Michael Suso Berry, O.P. , alludes to this fact in the following passage:-

Whereas Meister Eckhart speaks of the uncreated &#34;divine spark of the soul&#34; &#40;Seelenfunklein&#41; wherein dwells God alone ... , Tauler speaks of the &#34;ground of the soul&#34; &#40;Seelengrund&#41;, which is the center of the soul.[14] The &#34;ground of the soul&#34; is somewhat like an inner, hidden &#34;room&#34; wherein one turns to God in prayer. Tauler, like Eckhart, speaks often of the &#34;birth of God&#34; within the soul, but he is careful to state that nonetheless there is a real distinction between God the Creator and the soul, a mere creature. Hence, it might be said that &#34;God grants the soul by grace that which He is by nature&#34;;[15] in this union, Tauler stresses, we &#34;become God&#34; by grace not by nature. (http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/MPP.TXT)

Fr. John Tauler was one of Fr. Eckhart&#39;s three great disciples. The other two are Blessed Henry Suso and Blessed Jan Van Ruysbroeck. Tauler and Suso belong to the school of the German or Rhineland mystics, whereas Ruysbroeck was the greatest among the Flemish mystics. These four are all clear exponents of the apophatic Dionysian spirituality. I have gathered some passages from the Sermons of Fr. John Tauler to post here, as evidence that an apophatic theology of deification by grace did not necessarily preclude the existence of the &#39;juridicial&#39; aspect of grace. I was planning to include some passages from Meister Eckhart in this post, but as it will already reach an excessive length, I will reserve them for later. It should be noted that these four mystics were contemporary with St. Gregory Palamas and the great Hesychastic Synods of the East.

Passages from Father John Tauler&#39;s Sermons

01&#41; ON PRAYER (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/inge/light.light_tauler_8.html)

THE essence of prayer is the ascent of the mind to God, as holy teachers tell us. Therefore every good man, when he wishes to pray, ought to collect his outer senses into himself, and look into his mind, to see whether it be really turned to God.

He who wishes that his prayers may be truly heard, must keep himself turned away from all temporal and external things, and all that is not Divine, whether it be friend or joy &#40;Freund oder Freude&#41;, and all vanities, whether they be clothes or ornaments, and from everything of which God is not the true beginning and ending, and from everything that does not belong to Him. He must cut off his words and his conduct, his manners and his demeanour, from all irregularity, inward or outward.

Dream not that that can be a true prayer, when a man only babbles outwardly with his mouth, and reads many psalms, gabbling them rapidly and hastily, while his mind wanders this way and that, backwards and forwards. Much rather must the true prayer be, as St Peter tells us, &#34;one-minded&#34; [1 Pet. 3:8] -- that is, the mind must cleave to God alone, and a man must look with the face of his soul turned directly towards God, with a gentle, willing dependence on Him. &#40;Sermon
80, HE, 1864&#41;

If thy prayer has these conditions, thou mayst with true humility fall at the feet of God, and pray for the gentle succour of God; thou mayest knock at His fatherly heart, and ask for bread--that is, for love. If a man had all the food in the world, and had not bread, his food would be neither eatable, nor pleasant, nor useful. So it is with all things, without the Love of God. Knock also at the door through which we must go--namely, Christ Jesus. At this door, the praying man must knock for three ends, if he wishes to be really admitted. First he must knock devoutly, at the broken heart and the open side, and enter in with all devotion, and in recognition of his unfathomable poverty and nothingness, as poor Lazarus did at the rich man&#39;s gate, and ask for crumbs of His grace. Then again, he should knock at the door of the holy open wounds of His holy hands, and pray for true Divine knowledge, that it may enlighten him and exalt him. Finally, knock at the door of His holy feet, and pray for true Divine love, which may unite thee with Him, and immerse and cover thee in Him. &#40;Sermon 57, HE, 1864&#41;

02&#41; ON SPIRITUAL WARFARE (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/inge/light.light_tauler_4.html)

NOTHING in the world is so necessary for man as to be constantly assailed; for in fighting he learns to know himself. As grace is necessary to a man, so also is fighting. Virtue begins in fighting, and is developed in fighting. In every state to which a man is called, inward and outward, he must of necessity be assailed. A high Master said: As little as meat can remain without salt and yet not become corrupt, so little can a man remain without fighting. &#40;Sermon
104, HE, 1864&#41;

A man should in the first place act as when a town is besieged, and it is certain that the besieging army is stronger than the town. When the town is weakest, men take the very greatest care to guard and defend the town; if they neglected to do so, they would lose the town, and with it their lives and properties. So should every man do: he should be most careful to find out in what things the evil spirit most often besets him--that is, on what side the man is weakest, and to what kind of errors and failings he is most prone, and should manfully defend himself at those points.

Next, turn thyself earnestly away from sin; for I tell you of a truth, by whatever temptation a man is assailed, if he turns not from it heartily, but stands in it vacillating, he has no wholehearted desire to leave his sins by God&#39;s will, and without doubt the evil spirit is close upon him, who may make him fall into endless perdition. Know of a truth, that if thou wouldst truly overcome the evil spirit, this can only be done by a complete manful turning away from sin. Say then with all thy heart: Oh, everlasting God, help me and give me Thy Divine grace to be my help, for it is my steadfast desire never again to commit any deadly sin against Thy Divine will and Thine honour. So with thy good will and intention thou entirely overcomest the evil spirit, so that he must fly from thee ashamed.

Understand, however, that it is a miserable and pitiable thing for a reasonable man to let himself be overcome by the evil spirit, and in consequence of his attacks to fall voluntarily into grievous and deadly sin, whereby man loses the grace of God. A reasonable man, who allows himself voluntarily to be overcome by the evil spirit, is like a well-armed man who voluntarily lets a fly bite him to death. For man has many great and strong weapons, wherewith he may well and manfully withstand the evil spirit--the holy faith, the blessed sacrament, the holy word of God, the model and example of all good and holy men, the prayers of holy Church, and other great supports against the power of the evil spirit, whose power is much less than that of a fly against a great bear. If a man will manfully and boldly withstand the evil spirit, the evil one can gain no advantage against his free will. Turn, therefore, manfully and earnestly from your sins, and watch diligently and earnestly; for I tell you of a truth, that when you have come to the next world, if you have not withstood the evil spirit, and if you are found there without repentance and sorrow, you will be a mockery to all the devils and to yourself, and you will be eternally punished and tormented. And it will then be a greater woe to you, that you have followed the evil spirit, than all the external pains that you must endure eternally for your sins.

Thirdly, a man should diligently attend to his inner Ground, that there shall be nothing in it save God alone, and His eternal glory. For alas! there are many men, both lay and clerical, who live falsely beneath a fair show, and imagine that they can deceive the everlasting God. No, in truth, thou deceivest thyself, and losest the day of grace, and the favour of God, and makest thyself guilty towards God, in that He gives the evil spirits power over thee, so that thou canst do no good work. Therefore, watch while it is day, that the hour of darkness and God&#39;s disfavour may not overtake thee, and take heed that in thy inner ground God may dwell, and nought besides. &#40;Sermon 75, HE, 1864&#41;

Even as each man in his baptism is placed under the charge of a special angel, who is with him always and never leaves him, and protects him waking and sleeping in all his ways and in all his works, so every man has a special devil, who continually opposes him and exercises him without ceasing. But if the man were wise and diligent, the opposition of the devil and his exercises would be much more profitable to him than the aid of the good angel; for if there were no struggle, there could be no victory. &#40;Sermon 139, HE, 1864&#41;

03 - Of Spiritual Life with the Holy Angels (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~moorea/angel.html)

SERMON XXIV

On the Feast of St Michael and All Angels


On the various and especial works of the nine choirs of Holy Angels in man, in his threefold state and being; that is in the outer man, his powers of reason, and in his being, formed in the image of God. How, by their care and supervision, he may be enabled to attain to the very highest degree of Perfection in a spiritual life.

Angeli corum semper vident faciem Patris mei, qui in coelis est &#34;Their angels always see the Face of My Father Who is in heaven.&#34;

To-day is the Feast of St Michael and all Angels. We have already read to-day how this festival first arose, in consequence of the revelation on the mountain; therefore we will not refer to that now. The Gospel says: &#34;Their Angels do always behold the Face of My Father Who is in heaven.&#34; I know not with what words I can, or ought, to speak of these pure spirits, for they have neither hands nor feet, neither image, nor form, nor substance; neither can we understand the nature of their being; so how can we speak of them? We know not what they are; and that is not surprising, for we do not know ourselves, nor our souls by which we are made men, and from which we receive all that is good in us. How then can we understand these transcendent spirits, whose nobility far surpasses all the nobility that the world can show?

Therefore let us discuss their behaviour towards us, and not the nature of their being. Their work is always to behold us, and to look upon us in the mirror of the Godhead regularly, effectually and truly, with discrimination; and they have a special and definite work to do in us; but God works unceasingly in us, much more truly and nobly; and they work with God in us, in the same way that the sun exercises a constant influence over the earth, while the stars co-operate with the sun in that influence on the earth, and on every creature in it. The stars always look at the sun and reflect his rays, while the sun turns his face to them; and thus their works become indivisible; so that, were it possible for the least star to be removed from the heavens, all creatures, men and cattle would be destroyed.

Now, there are nine choirs of Angels,forming three hierarchies, in each of which there are three choirs. Now, these three hierarchies have each their own peculiar and different effect on the three parts of man. The first is the outer man, the second is his reason, and the third is his likeness to God; and yet all these three form one man. In all three the Angels have their work to do. And, besides this, every man has an Angel, who at his baptism was especially appointed to watch over him, into whose care he was committed, who stands by him, and helps him unceasingly, guarding him when sleeping and waking, in all places and in all his works and ways, whether evil or good. Were there nothing else for which we ought to love God dearly, and thank Him, surely this would be enough; that God has so closely united these exalted and invisible beings with us, that they may discipline us unceasingly. But, on the other hand, every man has also to deal with a peculiarly wicked angel, the Devil, who works against him unceasingly, and tries him as constantly as the good Angel. If we were wise and industrious, the Devil&#39;s opposition and his discipline would be more useful to us than those of the good Angels; for, were there no conflict, there could be no victory.

Now we must speak of the hierarchies.

The lowest of the hierarchies are called Angels; one with another they serve the outer man; they exhort and warn him, they help him and guide him towards that which is good; they watch over him with steady and constant discipline. If they did not thus watch over us, what innumerable evils do ye imagine, might not befall us? for numberless devils follow us perpetually, desiring to destroy us, either sleeping or waking. But these noble Angels anticipate them and prevent them.

The Archangels form the second choir. They are represented as priest, whose active employment is to serve at the Holy Sacrament; they thus serve, counsel, and help man in the efficacious reception of the Holy Sacrament of our Lord&#39;s Body.

The third choir consists of Virtues. They serve, counsel and admonish us to seek after natural and moral virtues, and they win for us the divine virtues of faith, hope and love. The men who follow them and commune much with them, are so virtuous that virtue becomes as easy and pleasant to them, as though it were part of their very nature and being. All the enemies, who have fallen from this choir, set themselves with all imaginable cunning against these men, desiring to entice them away, so that they may not reach that place, from which they themselves have been cast out. The stratagems to which they constantly have recourse, are incredible. Man ought to be very diligent in keeping guard against the hostile wickedness, which so marvellously surrounds him; for these enemies often make use of much secret dexterity in things which seem good; and, for the most part, they strive to lead men into all kinds of diversions; and, when they find they are not succeeding, they place him in a position which seems good, that he may be content therewith, and may not strive to advance. Now, this is a most perilous condition in which to find ourselves, and now more than it ever was. As St Bernard says: &#34;To stand still in the way of God, is to go backwards.&#34; All are in this condition who have worldly and self-satisfied hearts, and who say, &#34;We do as many good works as other men, and we are well-pleased with ourselves; we shall fare better than they, and we will go on with our own ways and customs, as those did who were before us.&#34; But when great plagues come, those who imagine now that they are doing well will seem to be in great misery.

Then the wicked angels, whom they have followed, will wonder and lament with them, and finally lead them away unopposed. Cases such as these are taking place even now. But when these horrible downfalls and plagues have passed away, then the holy Angels will make themselves known to men who have been purified, and will walk with them and commune with them openly.

Now we come to the second hierarchy. The Angels of which it is composed here an active supervision over the second division of man&#39;s nature; his reasoning powers, which place him far above all other creatures with animal nature, and make him like unto the Angels. The first choir is called Potestates, the second Principatus, and the third Dominationes, signifying the mighty, the princes and the rulers. All these work in men, who, they find, have progressed in virtue, so that they can control, both outwardly and inwardly, their senses and the outward expression of them, in all things; and in the inner man, their thoughts and intentions. These men are free and reign supreme over vice. Thus, we read of St Francis, that he had such power over the outer man, that directly he thought of some discipline, his body sprang forward, and said, &#34;See, here am I.&#34; Such men are truly like the princes of the world, who are free and have none to control them. Thus these men are enabled in spirit to rule over all the actions of the outer and inner man. When the wicked angels see this, they are filled with vehement hatred against them, because they fear that these men will take their places. So they exercise all their ingenuity to bring them into the most awful temptations that can be conceived, and of which those who serve the world and the Evil One never heard nor imagined. Of these ways there are many, for they so earnestly desire to drag down the good. When they become so importunate that the poor man imagines he must lose either his life or his senses, then the noble Angels come, the Principatus, and drive them away, and the man has gained the victory. When they have been thus overcome, they never dare to attack the same man again; for they are too proud to do it; and they are terrified and give way before these powerful people, and before those who rule over this hierarchy. Then the rulers, Dominationes, come and enable these men to become so wise and prudent, that they can see through the stratagems of the enemy. At St Paul says, that neither the devil, the world, the flesh, nor any creature could gain a victory over him.

We now come to the third hierarchy; these Angels work and look into the innermost part of man; into that which was formed in the Image of God. The first choir of these is formed by the Thrones, the second by the Cherubim, and the third by the Seraphim. The Thrones work in the innermost heart of man, so that he becomes like unto a kingly throne, where God delights to dwell, to reign and to judge, to reward and to work all His works in him and through him. These men&#39;s hearts are so irrevocably rooted in Divine Peace, that neither love nor sorrow, severity nor tenderness, can disturb them; as St Paul has said: &#34;Neither death nor life.&#34; A hundred deaths would not move or terrify such men. In the same way that a dying man cares nothing for all the honour or shame that could be heaped upon him, because his thoughts are elsewhere, so also, when a man in his innermost heart is turned to God, he is a strong Throne of God, nothing can affright him, neither love nor sorrow, for he rests in that essential peace, which is the Dwelling-place of God; as David says: &#34;In pace factus est locus ejus.&#34; Preserve and guard peace, dear children, that no man take it from thee, and that the Dwelling-place of God may not be destroyed. O, dear child, preserve this, be silent, suffer, abstain from evil and rest in peace. Rest and trust and keep to thyself; do not run about too much; be not agitated, preoccupied or impulsive; but realise the Presence of thy Lord of Lords in thy heart, where He sits on His throne glorious and powerful, so that He may not be disturbed and His peace diminished. Now, when men are resting in this peace, then the Cherubim come in all their brightness, and lighten up men&#39;s hearts with their godlike light as with a sudden glance. This glance pierces the men through and through; and their hearts are so filled with light, that, were it necessary, they could judge all men; and yet this illumination is but a glance; the quicker it is, the truer, the nobler and the surer.

Then come the burning Seraphim, with their flaming love, and they kindle love in the hearts of men; and this, too, is done in a moment, so that the love of man becomes so broad and wide that it embraces within itself the love of all things. It seems to him as though he would set all men alight; and all is so sudden and quick, that it seems to him as though he would be consumed himself. This flame is kindled in the innermost thoughts of the glorified man; and yet it lights up also the other two parts of man, his soul and the outer man. Such men become so godlike and so well-regulated, so truly resigned, virtuous, peaceful and calm, that no one is ever conscious of any infirmity in them, either i words or deeds; and yet they look upon themselves as nothing, and heed all as little as if it had taken place in some one a thousand miles away. They look upon all that God may work by them, or in them, as apart from themselves, taking no credit for it; for they think of nothing but their own absolute nothingness, and regard themselves as lower than all men. These verily are the heavens in which the Father dwells, as the Gospel says: &#34;Their Angels always see the Face of My Father Who is in heaven.&#34; May God help us all thus to attain. Amen.

04 - On Seeking God Above the Angels (http://www.ccel.org/t/tauler/inner_way/inner_way08.htm)

God is found above the Angels; for the soul must be exalted above all Angels &#40;though by nature below the Angels&#41; if she would find God. Therefore she finds Him in the Father; for thus the soul must bring all her works, free from all self-seeking, as the Eternal Word uplifts Himself eternally to God, if she would find Him, as he was found by the soaring Seer of God, John the Evangelist, when he said: &#34;In the beginning was the Word.&#34; Then Andrew, and the loving souls that were with him, ask with earnest longing: &#34;Master, where dwellest Thou?&#34; John answers: &#34;In the Beginning was the Word;&#34; for in words we shall not find God, if we do not lift up our souls in the Beginning. Therefore we must pierce through all things that are beneath God and are not God, and the Beginning &#40;from which we have our being&#41; seek earnestly again; for therein alone is our dwelling and the future resting place of our eternal bliss. This must be done by turning earnestly to the vision of the Divine Being and union with Him. As He said to those two disciples: &#34;Come and see;&#34; as though He had said: Come, that is turn away from the things by which ye are inordinately troubled and absorbed, that hinder your eternal peace; for ye must be emptied of all works, understanding and carnal desires. And see that ye come to the knowledge that God the Lord is empty and bare of all; so that your spirits may be guided to that pure and holy Being. For of necessity the soul must be empty and bare of all, that would enter into the secret Presence. Therefore man must divest himself of all those things of which he is conscious. Dionysius said to Timothy: &#34;O dear friend, we must no longer listen with our outward ears to the sweet and loving words of our dear master, Paul; but we must go to God, emptied of all things.&#34; This we can only do when our eyes are blinded and our inmost desires are raised on high, in order that we may learn to know His hidden Unity.

05 - On the Desert Spirituality of Interior Life (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.iii.html)

FROM SERMON 3

There are three reasons why a spiritual life is called a wilderness, or a life in the desert. The first is on account of the small number who do turn from the world and go forth into it, and because the common way of the world is for each man to follow his own earthly objects. But it is the wisest course to drive out the world from the heart, by banishing the very thoughts and images thereof, and, with Moses, go into the depths of the wilderness and dwell therein, that so we may the better watch over and guard our sheep; that is to say, escape the assaults of inward temptation, and the wanderings of the imagination into forbidden fields. And as, when Moses drove his sheep into the farthest corners of the wilderness, God revealed Himself to him there in a burning bush, so likewise shalt thou be filled with burning love and holy longing, and follow on to know God. This is the beauteous wilderness of which Solomon speaks when he says: &#34;Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness like a pillar of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense?&#34;

St. Gregory says: &#34;It is the nature and property of love to rise up unceasingly from itself to God with holy aspiration, never resting till it hath reached and embraced the Highest Good; for nothing on earth can draw it down or imprison its flame, but it soars ever upwards to God above itself.&#34; And so it is with good men; and the closer they cling to Him whom they love, the more do they turn from and despise all the smiles of the world. They cleave with steadfast desire unto God, as Job says; &#34;Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort.&#34; Of this wilderness say the angels: &#34;Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?&#34; and the loving soul answers: &#34;I have found him whom my soul loveth, I have laid hold on him and will not let him go.&#34; For those who come into this wilderness are able to taste and tell of secret and inward matters. Moreover, in the exercise of love all virtues do spring up and grow. So Christ, on Mount Tabor, took to Himself all His glory, for an image to us of that fruit of the wilderness which shall be ours also if we give ourselves unto God. For St. Paul says: &#34;But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.&#34; &#40;Sermon 3&#41;

06 - FROM SERMON 27 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xxvii.html)

... our blessed Lord, on the contrary, is meek and humble, yea, He is himself the essence of humility, whereunto He is unceasingly drawing all men whom there are to draw, and who are willing to be drawn. His Being is the cause, the essence, and the origin of all things. He is the life of the living, the resurrection of the dead, the restorer of all deformity and unfitness, and of those who have corrupted and despoiled themselves through sin. He calleth back those who have fallen away and wandered from His fold. He raiseth up and confirmeth those who are in temptation. He is the bulwark of those who stand, the awakener and guide of all who are looking and striving upwards towards Him, the source of all light, the lamp of all who walk in light, the revealer of mysteries, in so far as it is fitting for us to know, and the beginning of all beginnings. His Essence is incomprehensible, unspeakable, and without a name. Therefore should we honour and glorify His unspeakable mystery with holy reverence and silence, and nevermore covet to fathom or to taste aught except in so far as is to His honour and to our profit, but ever with fit reverence and devoutness turn with all our might in shamefaced awe to contemplate the radiance of His bright and spotless mirror.

It behoves man to be ever in fear and to bethink him of the word that God, our Lord, spake by the mouth of Moses: &#34;If a man or a beast touch the mountain, he shall be stoned;&#34; which signifies that our animal senses must not presume to climb the Mount of the Divine Essence, but must rather keep themselves below and take the meanest place, until the time come when it shall be said unto man: &#34;Friend, come up higher.&#34; And then he shall not go up of himself, but he shall suffer himself to be led upwards, and his sensual nature shall be purified and endowed with the light of God, whereby he shall receive more light than he could ever win by all his great and strenuous labour. For the Divine Nature of Christ is a magnet that draws unto itself all spirits and hearts that bear its likeness, and daily unites them to itself through love.

Now Richardus says: &#34;I receive Christ not alone on the cross, but also in His transfiguration on Mount Tabor. But I may not receive Him there except I find James, Peter and John, Moses and Elias with Him, who bear witness to me that it is truly Christ.&#34; That is to say: in all our distresses, in all our painful inward destitution, we may boldly believe that Christ is present with us; but if He appears to us on the Mount of inward Contemplation, we need these witnesses that we may not enjoy the fruition of His gifts in a wanton spirit for the satisfaction of our own desires, nor too ardently covet more of His good gifts than we can put to a good use; but may ever abase ourselves so thoroughly that we fall not into any spiritual pride. These are the true witnesses that we may freely receive Christ in His glory on the heights of Mount Tabor without hindrance or error, for where these witnesses are of a truth, there we cannot be deceived by the Spirit of Falsehood.


07 - ON THE SCHOOL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xix.html)

FROM SERMON 19

God does not justify a man without his own free will; even as our eyes cannot see except they are enlightened by the sun or any other light, yet even when we have the light we must open our eyes, or we can never see it. If the eyes were covered with a thick veil or screen, the man must take it away or he could see nothing, however brightly the sun might pour forth his rays. Now, when the Almighty Father came unto the disciples with his Divine light, they opened their eyes, and cast away the screen of outward forms, as much as might be; therefore, God did his part also, and drew them up unto Himself after a special manner. This was the work of the lovely, Divine Son, who is the reprover of all hearts,--clearing out all stumbling-blocks and rending away all evils of darkness from the inward eye of the soul.

... their Heavenly Father drew them up above all the corporeal ideas that they had of the humanity of Christ, making their minds as bare of those and all other images, as they were when first created, in order that henceforward, according to their necessities, they might learn for evermore in the school of the Holy Spirit. For this we are able to perceive four reasons.

First; that truth and love, which are the end of all teaching in all schools, have no images nor any existence outside the soul; for no painting can, properly speaking, depict truth and love; for they have no images, external or internal. No image or type which we can devise to express love, is love itself; and it is the same with truth.

Next; that in the school of the Spirit, man does not learn through books, which teach through outward images addressed to the senses; but here the truth, which of its nature does not speak by means of images, is spoken into the soul itself. Hence the humble St. Francis commanded the brethren of his Order not to trouble themselves too much with books and letters, and that those who were unlettered should not be anxious about acquiring learning, but remember to covet above all things the Spirit of God, and pray only for a pure heart and His influences.

Thirdly; because in the school of the Spirit man learns wisdom through humility, knowledge by forgetting, how to speak by silence, how to live by dying. For St. John was sleeping when he looked into the fount of eternal wisdom, and St. Paul knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body, when he was &#34;caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.&#34; Therefore it was needful for the disciples to be deprived of all images that they might learn in this school.

Fourthly; where the mind is busied with images, time must necessarily enter into the operations of the imagination, and this has no place in the highest school of the Holy Spirit; for there neither time nor images can help us, but contact is all that is needed, the which may happen without time within the space of a moment. St. Gregory says: &#34;The Holy Ghost is an admirable master-workman; He fills a fisherman, and makes a preacher of him; He fills a persecutor, and transforms him into a teacher of the Gentiles; He fills a publican, and makes of him an evangelist. Who is this master-workman? He needs not time for His teachings; by whatever means He chooses, so soon as He has touched the soul, He has taught it, and His mere touch is His teaching.&#34; For these four reasons we can perceive how that it was necessary for the disciples to have their souls bereft of all images.

It may be asked: When the disciples were thus drawn out of themselves, and all images were effaced from their souls, was there an extinction of their natural powers, so that they were dead to nature? I answer, No: their nature was not extinguished, for they were much more truly according to nature in their self-surrender than they had ever been before; for what the Lord of nature ordains for a creature, that it is natural for the creature to observe, and if it departs therefrom, it acts contrary to nature. Thus St. Augustine says, &#34;that the rod in the Old Testament was turned into a serpent was not contrary to nature, for it was God&#39;s will.&#34; Wherefore I say too, that inasmuch as the disciples surrendered themselves utterly to the Divine Will, they were in the highest sense in harmony with nature; and their nature did not perish, but was exalted and brought into rightful order. There were no fewer images in their minds than before; but the images did not disturb their inward harmony or move them out of God. And when I said that their minds were to be emptied of images, it is to be understood in this sense, that it was just as when you set a lighted taper at midday in the sunshine, the taper continues to burn, and sheds forth no less light than it did before; but its light is lost in the sunshine, because the greater light prevails over the lesser and absorbs it, so that it no longer seems to shine with a separate lustre, but is diffused and shed forth in the greater light. Thus I said of images and of creatures in the case of the disciples, that henceforth they performed all their works by means of the Divine light, and yet were much more according to nature, and their minds were as full of images as before.

... the Eternal Father brought them into the highest school of the Holy Spirit, in the which they straightway understood the mysteries of the Holy Scriptures, and the simple naked truth of God, which cannot be understood by any of the mere earthly masters in the schools. And in this school the greatness of God was first laid open to them; and therewith the gift of childlike fear of God sank down into their hearts, and abode there unto their life&#39;s end. Next, all power was given unto them, and they were enabled always to look up to God; and herewith they received the gift of strength. In the third place, they learnt not only to obey the precepts, but also to apprehend the counsel of Christ, and therewith they received the gift of counsel. Fourthly, He taught them to feel the hidden sweetness of God, and gave them therewith the gift of charity. Fifthly, He taught them how to observe and judge the creatures, and to distinguish between the light of God and the suggestions of nature, and therewith bestowed on them the gift of science. Sixthly, He taught them to perceive aright their present condition, and all their previous states, and gave them therewith the gift of understanding. Seventhly, He taught them to be transformed into the likeness of God, by loving union with Him, and gave them therewith the gift of wisdom. These sevenfold gifts does the Holy Ghost convey to the disciples in His school: for as the schools of natural learning teach the seven sciences, and the school of doctrine the seven sacraments, so does the Holy Ghost, in his school, teach those seven things with His sevenfold gifts.


08 - ON SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xxiii.html)

FROM SERMON 23

Children, it behoves us greatly to mark what it is that makes men deaf, like the man in the Gospel. From the time that the first man opened his ears to the voice of the Enemy, he became deaf thereby, and all we after him, so that we cannot hear or understand the sweet voice of the Eternal Word. Yet we know that the Eternal Word is still so unutterably nigh to us inwardly, in the very principle of our being, that not even man himself, his own nature, his own thoughts, nor aught that can be named, or said, or understood, is so nigh or planted so deep within him, as the Eternal Word is in man. And it is ever speaking in man; but he hears it not by reason of the sore deafness that has come upon him. Whose fault is this? I say that something has covered man&#39;s ears, and stopped them up that he may not hear this Word; and his sense is so benumbed that he has become dumb, not knowing his own self. If he desired to speak of what is within him, he could not; for he does not know how it stands with him, nor discern his own ways and works. The cause whereof is that the Enemy has whispered in his ear, and he has listened to the voice, and hence has he grown deaf and dumb.

What is this most hurtful whispering of the Enemy? It is every disorderly image or suggestion that starts up in thy mind, whether belonging to thy creature likings and wishes, or the world and the things thereof; whether it be thy wealth, reputation, friends or relations, or thy own flesh, or whatever it be that lays hold of thy fancy, making thee to like or do somewhat. Through all these he has his access to thy soul; for he is ever at hand; and as he marks to what a man is inclined inwardly or outwardly, what he likes and dislikes, straightway he lays hold of it and attacks him with that weapon, and suggests what agrees with that man&#39;s inclination, and pours into the ears of his soul all manner of imaginations concerning that thing, that the man may not be able to hear the Eternal Word. If the man instantly turned his ears and mind away from the enemy, the assault would be easily repulsed, but as soon as he opens his ears so far as to dwell upon and dally with temptation, he is already well nigh conquered, and the strife is at the hardest. But as soon as thou hast bravely turned thy ear away, thou hast well nigh prevailed; for this enables thee to hear the inward voice of the Word, and takes away thy deafness.

Not only worldly but also religious men are liable to this deafness, if they make the creature their idol and aim, and their hearts are possessed therewith. The Devil has marked this, and suggests to them the imaginations to which he finds them inclined. With some their ears are stopped up with their own inventions, and the daily routine of habit with which they go through certain outward acts, learnt by means of their senses from the creatures. All this dulls a man&#39;s hearing so that he cannot apprehend the Eternal Word speaking within him, nor in any wise understand what it says. It is true, however, that we ought to maintain the habit and practice of works of piety, though without a spirit of self-exaltation on account of them, such as prayer, or meditation, or the like, in order that our sluggish nature may be aroused into vigour, our minds raised on high, and our hearts allured and kindled. But there must be no claiming to ourselves thereof, but rather our ears must be left open to listen to the whispers of the Eternal Word.

09 - FROM SERMON 1 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.i.html)

Now there are two sorts of men who follow after the word of Christ. The one sort hear it with joy, and follow after it as far as they are able with their reason to perceive its truth, and take it in just in the same way as their reason takes in what is concerned with the world of sense; and all this they do by means of their natural light, but they make no account of anything that they themselves do not feel or enter into; but with these natural powers of theirs, they are ever running out to catch up and understand some new thing. They have not learnt by experience that they ought to die to this restlessness; but if they are ever to grow better men, they must try another road. But the other sort turn their thoughts inward, and remain resting on THE INMOST FOUDATION OF THEIR SOULS, simply looking to see the hand of God with the eyes of their enlightened reason, and await from within their summons and their call to go whither God would have them.

And this they receive from God without any means; but what is given through means, such as other mortal men, for instance, is as it were tasteless; moreover, it is seen as through a veil, and split up into fragments, and bears within it a certain sting of bitterness. It always retains the savour of that which is of the creature, which it must needs lose and be purified from, if it is to become in truth food for the spirit, and to enter into THE VERY SUBSTANCE OF THE SOUL. For those who perceive God&#39;s gifts and leadings from within, whether by the help of means or without means, do receive them from their fountain-head, and carry them back again unto their fountain-head in the Divine goodness. These are they who draw and drink from the true well, of which Christ said: &#34;Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.&#34; But the first of whom we spoke are seeking their own things; wherever they are, and whatever they do, they are always standing upon their own foundation. Yet, in truth, they can never find their own good so certain and so unmixed, as in its inward source, without the aid of means.

Now you may ask, How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful looking at home, and abiding within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore, LET A MAN BE AT HOME IN HIS OWN HEART, and cease from his restless chase of and search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he will surely come to see what there is to do at home,--what God commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on.

10 - FROM SERMON 22 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xxii.html)

... there are some who endeavour to get rid of the burden of sin by asking counsel and hearing preachers, hoping to hear somewhat that may afford them a stay, and thus they may find deliverance. Behold, dear friend, if thou spend all thy years in running from church to church, thou must look for and receive help from within, or thou wilt never come to any good; however thou mayest seek and inquire, thou must also be willing to be tormented without succour from the outward help of any creature. I tell you, children, that the very holiest man I ever saw in outward conduct and inward life, had never heard more than five sermons in all his days. When he saw and perceived how the matter stood, he thought that was enough, and set to work to die to that to which he ought to die, and live to that to which he ought to live. Let the common people run about and hear all they can, that they may not fall into despair or unbelief; but know that all who would be God&#39;s, inwardly and outwardly, turn to themselves, and retire within. And know that if ever you desire to be spiritual and blessed men, you must cease from running outwards for help, and turn within; for you will never get what you want by a multitude of words, hear as many as you will; but only by loving and serving God from the bottom of your heart, and your neighbour as yourself, and leaving all things to stand on their own foundation. But pant after God with all your heart, as the holy patriarchs did, and covet that which you truly ought to covet, and leave all things, whether concerning yourself or any other creatures, to God&#39;s most blessed will.

11 - FROM SERMON 18 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xviii.html)

Therefore, a devout heart shall ever have a sorrowful yearning after her Beloved, who has ascended to such distant and lofty heights, whither her eye cannot follow or trace Him. Hence, the more truly and deeply the ground of a man&#39;s soul has been touched by God, the more truly does he find this valley of tears within him. And had he no other cause for tears, there were need enough of them by reason of sin and the defilement that lies hidden in our frail nature, by which man is so often and so greatly hindered from a lofty converse with God &#40;which might and ought by God&#39;s grace to go on without ceasing within the soul&#41;, and from the sweet aspirations by which a man should continually carry up all things to God, but that gross nature hinders him and turns his thoughts aside, and also often rules in secret where God alone ought to have His constant abode.

12 - FROM SERMON 17 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xvii.html)

He who will worship the Father must concentrate his whole mind in aspiration and faith. These are the highest powers of the soul; for they are above time, and know nothing of time nor of the body. So St. Paul tells us, &#34;that we ought to rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.&#34; Now, those pray without ceasing who do all their works alike for the love of God, and not for any selfish enjoyment, and humbly bow down before God, and let Him work alone. When the highest powers of the soul are thus gathered together in prayer, the soul becomes inspired, and if henceforward the spirit cleave unto God with an entire union of the will, it is &#34;made a partaker of the Divine nature,&#34; and then, for the first time, does the man offer up true worship, for he has attained the end for which he was created. But there are some, ay, many people, who do not rightly worship the Father in the truth. For so soon as a man prays to God for any creature, he prays for his own harm; for since a creature is a creature, it bears its own bitterness and disquiet, pain and evil, about it: therefore such people meet their deserts when they have trouble and bitterness, for they have prayed for it. He who seeks God, if he seeks anything beside God, will not find Him; but he who seeks God alone in the truth, will find Him, and all that God can give, with Him.

Again, many good people hinder themselves in their perfection by this, that they look solely to the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that they give themselves too much to visions: that is to say, that they are too fond of contemplating the images of outward things in their minds, whether it be angels or men, or the humanity of Christ, and believe what they are told when they hear that they are specially favoured, or of other men&#39;s faults or virtues, or hear that God purposes to do something by their means. Herein they are often deceived, for God never does anything through any creature, but only through His own pure goodness. But there are some, ay, many people, who do not rightly worship the Father in the truth. For so soon as a man prays to God for any creature, he prays for his own harm; for since a creature is a creature, it bears its own bitterness and disquiet, pain and evil, about it: therefore such people meet their deserts when they have trouble and bitterness, for they have prayed for it. He who seeks God, if he seeks anything beside God, will not find Him; but he who seeks God alone in the truth, will find Him, and all that God can give, with Him.

Again, many good people hinder themselves in their perfection by this, that they look solely to the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that they give themselves too much to visions: that is to say, that they are too fond of contemplating the images of outward things in their minds, whether it be angels or men, or the humanity of Christ, and believe what they are told when they hear that they are specially favoured, or of other men&#39;s faults or virtues, or hear that God purposes to do something by their means. Herein they are often deceived, for God never does anything through any creature, but only through His own pure goodness. And He even said to His disciples, &#34;It is good for you that I go away;&#34; forasmuch as to them that wish to be His disciples in high perfection, His humanity is a hindrance if they fix upon it, and cleave unto it with especial delight; for they ought to follow God in all His ways; therefore His humanity should lead them onward to His Deity. For Christ said, &#34;I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.&#34; Greatly then do they err who suppose that they can do anything good of themselves; for Christ says that of Himself He did nothing. Christ&#39;s true humanity we are to worship only in its union with His Deity; for the man Christ is truly God, and God is truly Man. Therefore we are not to trouble ourselves about any creature, but solely to seek God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our only Way to the Father.

Now even if we come into the Way of truth, which is Christ, yet we are not perfectly blessed, although we behold the Truth of God: for while we are beholding, we are not one with that which we behold; so long as there is anything in our perceptions or understanding, we are not one with the One; for where there is nothing but One, we can see nothing but One: for we cannot see God except in blindness, or know Him except in ignorance. St. Augustine says that no soul can come to God unless it go to God without a creature, and taste Him without a likeness. Therefore, because the soul is a creature, it must cast itself out of itself, and in its hour of contemplation must cast out all saints and angels; for these are all creatures, and hinder the soul in its union with God. For it should be bare of all things, without need of anything, and then it can come to God in His likeness; for nothing unites so much as likeness, and receives its colour so soon; for God will then give Himself to the faculties of the soul, so that the soul grows in the likeness of God and takes His colour.

The image lies in the soul&#39;s powers, the likeness in its virtues, the Divine colour in its union; and thus its union becomes so intimate that it does not work its works in the form of a creature, but in its divine form, wherein it is united to God; nay, that its works are taken from it, and God works all its works in His form. And then, while it beholds God, and thus becomes more united with Him, the union may become such, that God altogether pours Himself into it, and draws it so entirely into Himself that it no longer has any distinct perception of virtue or vice, or recognises any marks by which it knows what it is itself. But God regards the soul as a creature. Therefore let the light of grace overpower the light of nature in you; for the higher knowledge the soul attains in the light of grace, the darker does it deem the light of nature.

13 - FROM SERMON 13 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/winkworth/tauler.viii.xiii.html)

Now when the temple is thus cleared of all that blocks it up, i.e. of all selfishness and ignorance, it shines forth in such beauty, and is so bright and resplendent above all else that God has created, that nothing can outshine it save the uncreated God alone. Nothing even that belongs to angelic existence can be compared to this temple. The highest angels do indeed in many respects resemble the temple of a noble soul, yet not wholly, for there is some measure, a certain bound, set to their similarity to it in knowledge and love, beyond which they cannot pass; but the soul is ever able to advance so long as it is in time. For if the soul of a man yet living in this present state were on a level with the highest angel, the man could yet, by virtue of his free self-determination, outstrip the angel at every successive moment, without count, that is to say without mode, and above the mode of the angels, and all created reason. God is alone free and uncreated; and therefore He alone is equal to the soul as touching freedom, and unequal as touching uncreatedness, for the soul is created. But when the soul enters into the unmixed light, she, with her created I, sinks so deeply into her own nothingness, that she cannot by her own power regain the sense of her separate existence as a creature. But God upholds her with His uncreated power, and keeps the soul still herself. The soul has dared to become naught; and yet she cannot attain thereunto of her own power, so entirely is she lost until God upholds her with His power. It must needs be so, seeing that, as I said before, Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out those who bought and sold therein, and began to speak in the temple.

&#40;Message edited by theophilus on 05 April, 2005&#41;

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

We have to be very careful here that we do not fall into the idea that because there may be some similarity of expression then at points Orthodox & non-Orthdox spirituality are the same. By spirituality we really mean the life in Christ and this always takes place within the Body of Christ- the Church- and it is this which makes our spiritual life Orthodox or not. This goes back to St Irenaeus of Lyon's explanation of a heretical use of Scripture- they would quote Scripture verbatim and then rearrange it & misinterpret its actual message. St. Irenaeus compared this to someone who takes pieces from a mosaic and then rearranges them into another picture. So our spirituality always fits within a specific ecclesiological framework and it is this which gives it life. For we are not talking about physical exercises but rather the life which Christ offers us from within His Church.

There is an even simpler example of this. Not many years ago there was the famous Catholic priest Fr. George Maloney who thought that through the Unia or some such thing he could promote the unity of Orthodoxy & Catholicism. As part of this effort he came out with an English translation of St. Symeon the New Theologian's Hymns of Divine Ascent. So here was a work not just similar to Orthodoxy. Here was the "real thing". But in spite of this I have heard that Fr. Maloney by the end of his life threw up his hands in frustration over the fact that we Orthodox wouldn't see the light. In other words examples of apparent similarity may be interesting or may even show how man naturally strives for the depths of communion of God. But it doesn't mean that this similarity points to the same spiritual state. I say this not because Theophilus intended to imply any of this by his helpful quotes from both Orthodoxy & Catholicism. Rather I am saying it only in order not to fall into the temptation of thinking that in a higher spiritual realm "we're all the same" & that there is some sort of spiritual church above our fallen human particular church(es) in the higher realms where are the angels & deep men of prayer. To me at least this seems to be just some sort of more cosmic version of ecumenism which believes that all 'truths' are the same. Indeed this way of seeing things seems even more insidious & heretical for it denies in some essential way the Church as a living expression of the Incarnate Body of Christ.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Owen Jones]

I think what the Latin Church and Orthodoxy holds in common is more than just similarities. However, the practical problems in the way of unity are probably insurmountable, without some kind of cataclysm. As for Theophilus&#39;s extended quotes, I&#39;m not sure the exact point he wishes to express, but oddly what has happened in the Latin Church is you have a kind of discreet realm called &#34;mysticism&#34; that is inhabited by a sub-group of Catholics call &#34;mystics.&#34; This is foreign to the spirit of Orthodoxy. We have problems with jurisdictional disunity, particularly in America &#40;an historical accident&#41; but we have a theological unity in which, in a very real sense, we are all &#34;mystics.&#34; There is no real separate dogmatic or systematic or pastoral theology in Orthdoxy.

The over institutionalization and, some would say, over-reliance on dogma, especially in the Latin Church, tends to efface the experiential element, and the element of seeking, searching and struggling. Often this is actively suppressed. There was a very interesting event in the life of the French Church, wherein the mystic Madame Guyon, was suppressed, imprisoned and tortured. Her defender to the last was Archibishop Fenelon, whose sermons reflect an Orthodox spirit in every respect.

[Elias Young]

In reading the posts to this thread over the last few days, it seems we are inclined to be either advocating or debunking (mostly debunking) those 'artificial', yet traditional(?) distinctions between "eastern" & western" Christianity.

In our modern world there is a move, both abroad and close at hand, to create a sort of "one world" mentality, erasing those artifices and barriers which perhaps contribute to mistrust, hostility, and even violence. If we are going to live in a nuclear-free global village (isn't that the chief concern behind the move towards one world?), so the thinking tends to run, it behoves us to seek every available means by which we may live in peace with our neighbor. Even if that means compromising some of our most cherished ideals and principles.

Okay...for the sake of another nuclear-free winter (and all the other seasons) let's agree for the moment to accept this paradigm, though it be one which is fundamentally rooted in humanistic considerations rather than in the Divine.

I've understood that the "core" of Orthodox Christianity has always remained the same and that the "changes" which have transpired regarding the Orthodox Church (is there any other?) have been in response to the surrounding cultures and in reaction to heresies derived from the free-thinking, Greek philosophical mind. One could perhaps use roughly those Thomist distinctions between substance and accidents.

Perhaps we can ask: Are the current popular divisions between Rome Catholicism (in the West) and Eastern Orthodoxy even about geography? Shifting to more fundamental and timeless distinctions made by Tertullian's transcendant rhetorical question ("What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?") and the aphorism popularized by Fr. Florovsky ("the Christianizing Helenism, not the Hellenizing of Christianity"), can we move beyond the simple geography of East vs. West to the more metaphysical differences between what was/is the Eastern Roman mind and what gradually became the Western Roman mind? Distinctions courtesy of Fr. John Romanides.

elias

[Hieromonk Ambrose]

There is an even simpler example of this. Not many years ago there was the famous Catholic priest Fr. George Maloney who thought that through the Unia or some such thing he could promote the unity of Orthodoxy & Catholicism. As part of this effort he came out with an English translation of St. Symeon the New Theologian's Hymns of Divine Ascent. So here was a work not just similar to Orthodoxy. Here was the "real thing". But in spite of this I have heard that Fr. Maloney by the end of his life threw up his hands in frustration over the fact that we Orthodox wouldn't see the light. Fr George himself came to see the light and converted to Orthodoxy. He became a priest in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese and reposed in North Carolina just over a year ago.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Fr George himself came to see the light and converted to Orthodoxy. He became a priest in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese and reposed in North Carolina just over a year ago.


Thanks for the info Father. I never knew what became of Fr Maloney. As you probably know he was pretty popular at one time and put out a number of translations of Church fathers.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Scott Pierson]

St. Symeon the New Theologian's Hymns of Divine Ascent is a great book. It seems to be hard to find now though (its not on Amazon for example and last time it was a used copy sold for 60 dollars). I was lucky enough to find one at a library sale were you could fill a whole bag up with books for 5 dollars.