August 26, 2009 + Faith in Everyday Life

by Fr. Stephen Adams
from The Word, January 1991

ORTHODOX WORSHIP

Perhaps at the very heart of the Orthodox experience is its Liturgical expression. Liturgy has always been the very center of Orthodox Christian life, not only as a form of devotion or piety but also as an assembly of the People of God, gathered together in His name. For the Orthodox, the Church essentially is not so much the symbol of security of doctrinal guidance as it is an experience of communion with God, and this experience takes place, first of all, in worship and more specifically in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The fullness of Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic Liturgy is the main sign of God’s faithfulness to his Church, the great miracle of new life appearing to man.

Orthodox worship proved to be an extremely powerful means of expressing the Christian Faith. For five hundred years, when the Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and the Balkans were deprived of schools, books and other means of education by oppression, it was the liturgical worship, performed in the language understood by all, which was able to provide the faithful with essential religious instruction. A comparable phenomenon took place in Russia and other eastern European communistic regions where government regulations forbid all religious activities aside from worship in church.

In places where the Church can continue to perform in its social and missionary tasks, the Liturgy is the criterion and the inspiration of every Orthodox Christian. If before I said that the every day life experience of an Orthodox Christian is incarnational, it is also just as importantly resurrectional. For the Orthodox, Easter or Pascha is the feast of feasts, and this is when the faithful share in the eternity of Christ’s resurrection, where we are made “Sons of God” by His destruction of death through His own death.

A MOVEMENT TOWARD THE FUTURE

Faith in the everyday life of an Orthodox Christian is wholly bound up with the single reality of Jesus Christ. The saving events of Jesus’ life permeate every aspect of existence for the Orthodox believer; from his worship, culture, customs to food and music. It is the encounter with the living God as witnessed in the authoritative tradition of the apostles. It is this living tradition, this steadfast faith which binds the believer in a personal experience of fellowship with Christ and his fellow man.Despite the interrelationship of faith and culture, Orthodox Christianity is not a folk tradition of some specific ethnic group, neither is it an ancient relic “frozen” somewhere in the fourth century, but rather it is the dynamic force in the daily existence of each believer. The faith of Orthodox Christians is an attempt to bring the ancient wisdom of the Church into contact with the questions posed by contemporary philosophy, science and social movements. The radical cultural and spiritual transformation of recent times has created a wholly new situation. It is up to the Orthodox Christian not merely to ignore or to assimilate but rather to confront the challenges which face it, whether this be world hunger, oppression, discrimination or new theological trends.

Faith in the everyday life of an Orthodox Christian is a great responsibility. Our vastly changed cultural and intellectual experience leads us to place the Church in a new position as listener, discerner and teacher. We must participate in helping to create the future through an active involvement in living out our faith in its daily existence. Orthodox Christianity cannot merely be a repetition of the past or a nostalgia of our former glories but an effective transformer of the future. This can only come through a re-discovery of Christ and the timeless truths of the Church in communion with all of mankind.

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Beheading of the Prophet and Baptist John - August 29

Troparion of St. John the Baptist, Tone 2

The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise but the Lord's testimony is enough for thee, O Forerunner, for thou wast shown to be more wonderful than the Prophets since thou wast granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom thou didst proclaim. Then having endured great suffering for the Truth, Thou didst rejoice to bring, even to those in hell the good tidings that God Who had appeared in the flesh takes away the sin of the world and grants us the great mercy.

Kontakion of St. John the Baptist, Tone 5

The beheading of the glorious Forerunner was a divine dispensation that the coming of the Savior might be preached to those in hell. Lament then, Herodias, that thou didst demand a murder despising the law of God and eternal life.