(Published in The Greek Australian Vema, January 2009, 8)

THE ECCLESIAL SYNAXIS

EPITOME OF A LEARNING SOCIETY
(Part 1)
Revd Dr Doru Costache

Much has been said in recent times on the need to change the current mentality
concerning education and learning as exclusive features pertaining to earlier stages
of life. Within this trend, an important concept is that of the learning society, which
transfers the problematic related to education from the individual level to that of
entire societies.

According to its promoters, all societies have to be established upon learning or else
they will die. This requires that the respective societies make the effort to keep up
with the rhythm of the change and development. Thus, they need to invent and
implement learning systems able to ensure the appropriate institutional adjustments.
What is however interesting, beyond this pragmatic motivation, is the emergence of
a new understanding of education and knowledge. In their quest for more than what
can be acquired through customary educational environments, the promoters of this
concept postulate learning as a goal for individuals and societies alike. This further
step (from the necessity of adjusting to changes to the understanding of knowledge
as a goal in itself) represents the main contribution of this trend. Symptomatic of this
understanding is the idea of mature and lifelong learning.

Perhaps there is nothing new about this presentation, given that we live in a society
that encourages lifelong education. But before getting to the actual topic – which is
the identification of the Divine Liturgy as paradigmatic for a learning society – a brief
assessment of this contemporary concept is in order. Thus, although one might see in
this concept the positive and creative reiteration of a traditional cultural pattern
(traditional societies are essentially learning societies), the substitution of knowledge
for wisdom (a very modern characteristic) is quite visible. The issue with such a
substitution lies in the fact that the many axiological, existential and ethical
dilemmas experienced by modern societies originate mostly in their abandoning of
wisdom. And in fact it is this impasse that makes the Divine Liturgy relevant to our
discussion, since within it knowledge is taken as a means leading to wisdom and
never the latter’s substitute.

Now, turning to our topic, one might wonder: is the Church (God’s people) gathered
in the holy synaxis (assembly) representative of a learning society? If so, what kind of
a learning society does it constitute?

The answer to the first question is simple and this is the aspect to which I will now
refer. Alongside the worshipping aspect, both the catechetical dimension of the
Church and the structure of the Divine Liturgy – as two inextricably intertwined
features – witness to this reality. Around and within the holy gathering of the liturgy,
teaching remains central, representing a prerequisite for the consummation of the
ecclesial event of communion.
Some background notes might serve to make sense of this aspect. Everything within
the Church points to its dimension as a learning society. This side of ecclesial life was
visible from the very beginning in the institution of the catechumenate whose
function has been – and still is – to guide the converts and neophytes toward the
‘newness of life’ (cf. Romans 6:4) through teaching and learning. Closely related to
the stages of Christian initiation (see Hebrews 6:1-2), one should mention the
‘discipline of secrecy’ (cf. Hebrews 13:10) preventing those without ecclesial
instruction from having access to the holy mysteries. Overall, the faithful are invited
to deepen their awareness of the ecclesial mindset and life (see 2 Timothy 3:14-17);
for that matter, they are constantly challenged to learn through the annual cycle of
scriptural readings and their appropriate interpretation, within the implicit
hermeneutical framework of the liturgy and iconography. All these dimensions of
ecclesial education are supported by the highly informative character of liturgical
hymnography, which in the Byzantine tradition has no other purpose but to allow the
faithful to reach a prayerful or doxological state by way of a thorough initiation into
the inner aspects of ecclesial mindset. Indeed, far from serving merely as a pretext
for skilful chanting, liturgical hymnography has been originally designed to function
as a means of teaching or an implicit school. Furthermore, in itself, the Divine Liturgy
incorporates all these elements, constituting the space par excellence of ecclesial
teaching and learning, where the message of the Gospel is proclaimed and
interpreted in order to ease our access to life eternal and the fullness of life (see Acts
5:20; John 10: 10; 17:3; 20:30-31). God willing, I shall address this aspect in more
detail in future articles.

For the time being, it is necessary to attempt an answer to the second question,
dealing with the specifics of the Church as a learning society. As already mentioned,
one of the issues with contemporary society is the unilateral emphasis of knowledge
and the marginalisation of wisdom. This issue may be traced, for instance, at the
origin of a well-known phenomenon, namely the disproportion between inner
(subjective, personal) and external (objective, social, civilisational) achievements.
Only recently have people become aware of the problems emerging from the lack of
wisdom and interest in the inner accomplishments, which characterise ‘civilised’
societies, such as the disintegration of values and the unprecedented proliferation of
psychoses. Unfortunately, the new enlightenment through learning does not seem to
be able to compensate the lack of wisdom or to heal the wounds caused to the souls
of our contemporaries. At best, this new enlightenment may render those avid of
learning as well-informed; it is doubtful, however, that this will ever bring them to a
state of well-formed and transformed people, without the discerning tools provided
exclusively by wisdom.

By comparison, the Church gathered in the holy synaxis is motivated primarily by the
thirst for wisdom and the fullness of life. Thus, at the core of the ecclesial learning
process lies the ideal of acquiring not bare knowledge, but the wisdom that is so
necessary in any endeavour to reach the fullness of life. Wisdom provides us not just
with the capacity to adjust to changes and other external challenges; in fact, it allows
us to adapt to various circumstances whilst it also safeguards our identity as people
and Church, pointing to meanings and purposes for our lives. To God’s people
everything that matters throughout the learning process is the acquisition of wisdom
that assists us in the endeavour to adjust to new conditions without ever abandoning
our identity, criteria and values. However, teaching and learning aim at more than
helping us adjust to external conditions. The final goal of any ecclesial endeavour is
indeed the spiritual reshaping (μετάνοια) of people’s minds and lives, which is the
outcome of a transformative process – of both individuals and communities – through
learning the rhythms of the kingdom.
Is then the Church a learning society? Indeed it is, yet what it invites us to
appropriate is the discernment pertaining to the wisdom leading to the fullness of
life.