Only by the Grace of
and only to the Glory of the Holy Trinity:
God the Father,
Unbegotten; God the Son, Onlybegotten;
and God the Holy
Spirit from the Father Proceeding:
Celtic
Orthodox Christian Quarterly
"If I yet pleased
men, I should not be the servant of Christ." [Galatians 1:10]
July-September 2005 (COCQ2005v3)
Pentecost Message
An important aspect of Pentecost is that Christian Truth can be conveyed in all languages and ethnic contexts retaining that which is useful and clear for that purpose. The Cross of Jesus Christ is supposed to be planted in the soil of all nations. Every aspect of a culture is to be tested against the measure of Christianity and that which is dross is to be rejected and that which is good is to be retained. The Cross is to be planted in the soil of diverse nations, but the Font of Baptism brings forth Children of the Kingdom of God and the Food they eat is the same Food: the Eucharist.
When Celts came to Christ they rejected the head hunting and slavery because Christ is the Head and all Christians are supposed to be servants of God. They retained their cultural attitudes toward Fidelity, Courage and Generousity because those virtues prepared them for the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. They kept their tales of heros because those had prepared them for the ultimate Hero of Humanity, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, when the ancient Irish missionized other cultures, they used the local languages and encouraged practices conducive to the growth of Christianity. That is why so many churches throughout Europe and Africa claim Irish founders and why there is evidence of Irish/Native American churches.
In the early days of the Church there was confusion on the issue of retaining pre-Christian cultural practices. For example, were non-Jewish converts required to follow Kosher food laws and other rules required for Jews? The answer that was deemed appropriate by the Holy Spirit and the Apostles was and is “No. Keeping Kosher is not required.” In fact requiring Jewish customs and artificially reintroducing them into Christian practice is forbidden by the Councils because some Jewish practices, such as sacrifices, would effectively move one back to the Old Testament. Sacrifice of animals was replaced 'once and for all' by Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross. Reinstating animal sacrifice or the introduction of blood into the Eucharist is a denial of Christ's Sacrifice.
Sadly, the same sort of caution has not been observed regarding cultures that accepted Christianity. As a result, there is an attempt to sanctify mundane ethnic traits and to hold particular Saints and Liturgical expressions as superior to those of other peoples.
Among the Orthodox, this problem is especially obvious in the tendency to force the Greek culture on everyone. Greeks refer to Orthodoxy as the Greek religion. Historically that is a mistake.
First, Christianity is a religion that came to Greece through the Apostle John's ministry at Ephesus. The historical Greek religion is the paganism the Apostle fought throughout his ministry.
Secondly, it was the preaching of Christian martyrs such as Saint Kosma of Aitolos that drew Greeks away from the Islam and culture of their Turkish overlords and back to Christ and Greek culture. Greeks are Greek ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE CHRISTIAN. To think that they are Christian because they are Greek, as the phrase “The Greek Religion” implies is a lie and represents a failure to remember those martyred by the Turks for upholding the Christian Faith.
Please do not misunderstand: I do not intend to denigrate the Greek contribution to Christianity. They have suffered greatly for Christ. Their veneration of their local Saints typifies an important aspect of Christianity, but idolizing a culture to the point of ethnocentrism, which is a manifestation of the sin of pride, is dangerous for Christians. That is why ethnocentrism is considered a heresy. Christians are among the nations, but are of the Kingdom of God. No mundane state can claim to be the Kingdom of God.
The Greek language is widely used in Theology because a dialect of Greek is the language of the Holy Scriptures. As a result, Greek has provided useful Theological jargon when understood in a Christian context . However, Greek has to be used cautiously because of its use in pagan philosophies. For example, the term 'Hypostasis' which is used by Christians to mean ' a Person of the Trinity, one in essence, coeternal , and equally worshiped and glorified with the other Two in ONE Godhead' actually meant 'an emanation that is of lesser dignity than its cause.' The problem continues with modern Greek: 'Ousia', 'essence,' means 'an odor'. There is nothing specifically inherently "better" or “safer” about the use of the Greek language in Christian Theology. It is used merely because there is agreement among theologians as to what the terminology means when they use it.
The Greek liturgical expression, the Byzantine Rite, is an outgrowth of the pomp of the Byzantine imperial court. It is a Liturgy which assumes that Orthodox Christian leadership and influence is the primary characteristic of the local culture. That is clearly not the case in most countries now, so the Byzantine Rite, which is a beautiful expression of the Christian Faith, is less suited than others for most of the world. Additionally, there are Orthodox Liturgies which were used in regions that were Christian before the Great Schism. It is appropriate to reintroduce those Liturgies with the reintroduction of the same Faith they expressed since their forms of expression were specific to the local culture in the same way that the Byzantine Rite is suited to the Greeks..
Veneration of Greek Saints such as the great early Church writers is good, but there are Saints who wrote and missionized outside of Greece and the Middle East. People who live in the places where those Saints walked must be allowed to venerate those Saints, knowing that Christ's mission to save extended to their people and culture from the beginning of the Christian age.
Sadly, since Greece became a member of the European Union, nations of the EU have begun to enforce the spurious territorial claims of the heretic Melitios IV. Melitios IV claimed that the Greek Patriarchate of Constantinople has primary right to control Orthodox churches in countries that are not Orthodox. Greek Bishops are being installed as the official Bishops of Orthodox communities in formerly Orthodox EU countries. Instead of being champions of Christianity who seek to restore the local Orthodox churches of Europe, many of those Greek Bishops have been champions of Greek ethnocentrism. They only recognize the Byzantine Saints and Rite. They have little interest in people who are seeking the Orthodoxy of non-Greek ancestors. In fact, those bishops have limited or outright forbidden the veneration of local pre-Schism Saints and use of the Liturgies of those Saints. They are enforcing a common Greek myth that denies the Orthodox words, thoughts and acts of the Saints of the Undivided Church who Christianized regions whose secular leaders later left Orthodoxy. This is not mere ignorance but a Grace-denying heresy: by denying Orthodox Saints of the Undivided Church, those bishops have cut themselves off from the Chain of Charity that is the Chain of Grace and Faith which connects the Orthodox church of this day to Jesus Christ Himself. They are spitting on the Saints and denying God's ability to act through, or understand anything, but Greek liturgical forms.
Additionally, in some European Union countries, one must be under the State's Recognized Hierarch (i.e.: Greek) to be permitted to use a proper church building or receive a salary as Clergy. So many will be constrained to join the Greek heresy, much like the in the days of the Soviet Union.
Follow and pray for your Bishop if he resists this heresy. He will need strength because he will be accused of not being Orthodox by those who follow the anti-God heresy. Flee from any bishop that enforces the heresy.
The Celtic Orthodox Christian Church offers to provide Hierarchical oversight to any community that has experienced this form of abuse. Our aim is that all suppressed indigenous Orthodox churces regain their pre-Schism identities and autocephally. Be aware, that for a time this will probably mean celebrating Liturgy in homes or other non-church buildings and require that Clergy seek other means of support. This is no different than when the followers of Arius had control of Church properties and Bishops like Saints Nicholas and Spyridon had to seek other means of support. It is a time of persecution, so we will try to help.
+Maelruain, Cele De
June 19 Pentecost [R] Synodicon is Read after the Liturgy
|
F
A
S
T |
June 20 First Day of post Pentecost Fast [P] |
July 31 Sixth Sunday
after
Pentecost [P]
Comm: Jul 25/Aug 7 Apostle James the Greater, the
Brother of John, son of Zebedee [W]
August 07 Seventh Sunday
after Pentecost [P]
Jul 26/Aug 8 Feast of the Transfiguration
[W]
August 14 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost [P]
Aug 21 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost [P]
Aug 15/28 Dormition of the Birthgiver of God (No Fasting) [W]
Sept 04 Tenth Sunday
after
Pentecost [P]
Aug 25/Sep 7 Apostle Bartholomew [W]
Aug 29/Sep 11 Beheading of Saint John the Baptist Comm: Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Sept 18 Twelveth Sunday
after Pentecost [P]
Sep 8/21 Nativity of the Mother of God [W]
Sep 25 Thirteenth Sunday
after Pentecost [P]
Sep 15/28 Feast of the Dedication(Comm.
Recovery of the True Cross) [W]
Oct 02 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost [P]
Sep
24/Oct 7 Conception of Saint John the Baptist [W]
Oct 09
Fifteeth Sunday after Pentecost [P]
Sept 29/Oct 12 Feast of Saint
Michael the Archangel [W]
Sept 30/Oct 13 Saint Jerome [W]
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