Transcription of "Orthodoxy and the World"

by Very Reverend Protopresbyter Maxym Lysack

Transcript of a lecture given at St Silouan Orthodox Mission Parish Toronto Ontario !anada"

Transcript:
"""in a kind of systematic #ay $%m going to speak first about #hat Orthdodoxy is and

speak about #hat the #orld is then talk about living Orthodoxy in the #orld"

What is Orthodoxy? What is the World?

So first of all #ith regard to Orthodoxy Orthodoxia Right &lorification Right 'orship all of us understand that Right &lorification and Right 'orship automatically means in the Orthodox setting Right Teaching Right (octrine" )ut #hat else can be said about Orthodoxy other than talking about the etymology of the #ord* 'e%re al#ays inclined to etymology because #e look up #ords in the dictionary but there%s some things about Orthodoxy #hich one cannot find immediately in most dictionaries perhaps in a select fe# and it%s exactly those things that $%d #anted to address this evening" Orthodoxy is first and foremost a Person" + (ivine or The (ivine ,uman Person of -esus !hrist" This #e say because Orthodoxy is not philosophy or an ethic but it is a Person" The (ivine.,uman Person of -esus !hrist $ncarnate !rucified )uried Risen according to the Scripture St Paul tells us" +nd first and foremost this is Orthodoxy" +nd right a#ay #e have another point of departure then #e #ould have if #e thought of

Orthodoxy as being an ethic or a philosophy or even a religion" Orthodoxy is also and this is a complementary definition life in the ,oly Trinity in 'hom #e #ere bapti/ed" 'e #ere bapti/ed into the 0ather into the Son and into the ,oly Spirit" +nd of course this understanding of Orthodoxy is intimately connected #ith the first because the Lord says 1no one comes to the 0ather except through Me"1 +nd so understanding Orthodoxy as the (ivine ,uman Person of -esus !hrist and understanding Orthodoxy as Life in the ,oly Trinity #e come to see that these understandings are very very much not only complementary but necessarily linked" Thirdly Orthodoxy is !hurch it is also (ivine ,uman and #hile cannot make !hrist and the !hurch absolutely e2uivalent neither can #e ever separate them" 'hen #e read the early fathers #e find some very strong titles for the !hurch" St $renaeus of Lyons calls the !hurch 1the Son of &od"1 'hich $%m sure #ould make some people do a double take if they heard it it%s not a term #hich #e are used to hearing about the !hurch" 3o# he does that #ithin a very very tight frame#ork but he does use that expression" The !hurch is (ivine and ,uman #e refer to the !hurch as the )ody of !hrist the !hurch has a ,ead 'ho is (ivine ,uman and the !hurch also has a )ody and #e are all members of that )ody" So #hen #e say that Orthodoxy is the !hurch #e are including our life in the !hurch and our life in the !hurch includes our liturgical life and it also includes our life"""$ hesitate to use the #ord 1outside1 the liturgy because it suggests something incorrect about our spiritual lives in fact #e might say that it is our life as it springs forth from the Liturgy rather than saying outside the Liturgy" Our personal spiritual lives are spiritual lives in our families" This is also part of the !hurch and the !hurch in addition to being called the )ody of !hrist is also called by St &regory Palamas 1the !ommunion of (eification 1 because #e are all called to deification in the !hurch" So these are some preliminary remarks about Orthodoxy" 'hen #e are living Orthodoxy this is #hat #e%re living" 3o# the #orld"""!osmos in &reek" )roadly speaking there are t#o uses of the #ord 1#orld1 in the 3e# Testament" The first use refers to the earth to creation to the universe it is a positive use of the #ord cosmos" The second use of the #ord #orld is different and it refers to humanity in a condition alienation from &od humanity separated from &od" 'hen #e see St -ohn%s &ospel for example in the t#elfth chapter to the fourteenth chapter 1the ruler of this #orld coming1 it is not a reference to something that brings !hristians great 4oy" The ruler of this #orld in this context is the (evil #hen the Lord says in the sixteenth chapter in St" -ohn%s &ospel 1$ have overcome the #orld 1 ,e does not mean ,e has overcome the earth the creation and universe in order to put it do#n" This #ould be if #e may use the #ord a 1different1 or a 1negative1 use of the #ord 1#orld"1

Same #ord in &reek so one understands the meaning from the context" +nd as #e look at these meanings $ #ant to turn our attention first to the first one the positive use of the #ord #orld" 'e understand the #orld as the ob4ect of &od%s love St" -ohn #rites 1for &od so loved the #orld that ,e gave ,is only begotten Son 1 and in the next verse -ohn 5678 St -ohn #rites 1for &od did not send ,is Son into the #orld to condemn the #orld but that through ,im the #orld might be saved"1 So the #ord #orld is used several times there and clearly it is used in the sense of the #orld being an ob4ect of &od%s love #hat &od does not #ant to condemn #hat &od very much #ants to save" +nd it%s important to be able to distinguish bet#een the t#o uses in the 3e# Testament to understand the full extent of the positive use of the #ord 1#orld"1 The #orld in the Orthodox understanding is a gift" $n the last century a #ell kno# Orthodox theologian 0r (umitru Staniloae #rote very much on this theme that the #orld is a gift of &od and that this gift invites a response from us" $t doesn%t demand a response but it invites a response from us" The #orld in this sense is given to us as a #orkshop an 1atelier 1 a #orkshop given to us that #e might use and use #isely for the deification for our o#n deification and of course the transformation of the #orld" )ecause you see the #orld in the Orthodox !hristian understanding is not static it%s changing it #as created from nothing" 3o# here $ need to make a comment because the pagan &reeks found this concept enormously difficult for them the nothing #as a something" )ut in the !hristian understanding the nothing is a true and a real nothing"""nothing" &od made the #orld out of nothing and it didn%t proceed from ,is o#n nature it #as an act of ,is #ill a free act of ,is #ill" So the #orld is created from nothing the #orld that #e see and it sho#s us &od%s love it%s a #orkshop given to us #e ought to therefore understand the #orld there is a profound place in Orthodoxy for all of sciences because you need to understand the #orld better to meaningfully participate in its transformation" )ut #e understand the the #orld is not going to al#ays be the #ay #e see it no# that it #as created from nothing and that it is a gift but that it a#aits fulfilment" So to use modern language the #orld is a #ork in progress and &od has invited us to be part of that #ork" $f the #orld #ere static #e could not be part of that #ork because it #ould simply be given to us as it is" 3o# #hy talk about all that* it sounds rather philosophical if $ might say but it%s very important because it means that the #orld finds its greatest meaning in #hat is coming in its fulfilment" $nstead of looking at the #orld for ho# it is no# #e must understand the #orld the #ay it is in &od%s vision as &od has called it to being" +nd the !hurch reveals the #orld%s truest vocation" So these are the preliminary remarks that $ #ould like to make first about Orthodoxy and also about the #orld" +nd no# #e can approach the 2uestion 1ho# do #e live Orthodoxy in the 'orld*1

,o# do #e live Orthodoxy in the 'orld* 0irst $ think by ac2uiring the life of !hrist" 'hich #e do in the ,oly Spirit" 'e ac2uire that life first #hen #e are bapti/ed it is a true and a real beginning" 'e receive !hrist%s life #e receive the gift of the ,oly Spirit not simply the gifts of the ,oly Spirit but the gift of !hrismation is the ,oly Spirit ,imself" Simply put" So #e receive !hrist%s life #hen #e are incorporated into ,im in baptism and #hen also #e receive the ,oly Spirit because #e al#ays !hrist%s life in the ,oly Spirit" $t is a real beginning but it re2uires development it points to fulfilment" There is something more that #e need to do #ith our baptism" St Symeon the 3e# Theologian spent alot of time and effort emphasi/ing this point that baptism in of itself for adults is $%ll paraphrase #hat he #rites 1not sufficient for salvation because it is in the beginning pointing to fulfilment"1 9ucharist is its sacramental fulfilment ,oly !ommunion to 2uote 0r +lexander Schmemann #ho put it very simply and beautifully 1#e are bapti/ed so that #e can receive the ,oly Spirit and #e receive the ,oly Spirit so that #e can receive the )ody and )lood of !hrist"1 Put very simply but it certainly exposes the truth of these three sacraments and their importance relationship" 9ucharist is the fulfilment but asceticism !hristian discipline in the spiritual life represents our choice and our cooperation #ith both )aptism and 9ucharist" This is #hy #e a preparation in the Orthodox !hurch for receiving ,oly !ommunion but $ might add that the fathers of the !hurch talk also about the ascetical discipline that is re2uired after ,oly !ommunion" +nd the after #e often forget" Some people seem as it #ere to celebrate the end of the ascetical preparation #ith the 9ucharist #ith receiving the 9ucharist and forget that there is an ascetical #ork after #e receive in order to guard the grace #hich has been given" St &regory Palamas speaks alot about this" +nd then finally #ith regard to ac2uiring the life of !hrist in the ,oly Spirit #e have prayer it fits in here as #ell" There is no contradiction bet#een prayer and the sacraments the ,oly Mysteries in fact they are inadvertently in a very vital relationship #ith each other" +nd #e see prayer as an ongoing a continuing communion #ith &od" +nd it is the first #ay in #hich #e can live Orthodoxy because if #e do not ac2uire !hrist%s life there%s no point to really talking about living Orthodoxy since Orthodoxy as #e have already said is not a philosophy not a club not an ethic but the (ivine ,uman Person of -esus !hrist" $f that is true then in order to live Orthodoxy #e have to receive ,is Life if #e don%t #e aren%t living Orthodoxy" Secondly after receiving the Life of !hrist in the ,oly Spirit #e live Orthodoxy in the #orld by allo#ing the gracious character of !hrist to be revealed to be made manifest in us" This is #here asceticism is so important and prayer" :es #e receive the grace of &od yes the Lord #ants to manifest ,is life through us but ,e #on%t do it against our #ill and ,e #on%t choose for us frustrating as #e might find it it%s part of &od%s love for us that ,e never forces our hand" That ,e never pushes us ,e doesn%t even make us feel guilty ,e doesn%t co.opt us ,e doesn%t manipulate us ,e loves us unconditionally

#hich is precisely #hy people do not kno# #hat to do #ith ,im" ,is love is so other so different it doesn%t correspond to anything in our experience and so sometimes #e expect and indeed in the spiritual life demand that ,e become manipulative" That ,e force us 4ust a little after all or that he co.opt us at least some#hat and then #e #ill do the rest" )ut that%s not ,im that%s not ,im" ,e doesn%t #ork that #ay" So #hen #e ask ,im to do that it%s not a prayer ,e%s about to ans#er thankfully"""thankfully" So it%s up to us to cooperate and to allo# ,is gracious life to to be revealed in us and it is to manifest the !hurch to the #orld and in the #orld" This is indeed ho# the #orld comes to kno# the !hurch through people not primarily through architecture but through people or through some other means" 'e%re very very proud of our beautiful architecture and iconography in the Orthodox !hurch and there%s a reason #hy #e build !hurches the #ay #e do and #e canons in iconography and the Lord #orks through them" 3evertheless primarily the Lord%s life is demonstrated through ,is )ody through people through !hristians and in order to do this you and $ have to make all of life liturgical" 3o# ho# do #e do that* (oes that mean that #e need to take Petar and have him at every place of our employment directing the !hoir* (oes that mean that #e have to have all of the clergy vested #ith incense ready at school* ,o# do #e make everything that #e do liturgical* )y taking the deepest part of our #orship its most basic rhythm and continuing it living in a #ay #hich is 7;;< consistent #ith it in everything that #e do" So an Orthodox !hristian re4ects a dichotomy bet#een liturgical and non.liturgical everything for us is liturgical even if it is not explicitly so" +nd #e don%t accept that #hen #e are here #e are liturgical and #hen #e pray at home #e are not" Or that #hen #e are at #ork #e are not liturgical" 'ork admittedly or school likely doesn%t operate on a liturgical structure admittedly" )ut that doesn%t mean that you and $ cannot live as liturgical beings in a place #hich does not have that rhythm or structure" $t%s incumbent upon us to give it that rhythm or structure lovingly and gently by taking the essence of liturgical #orship and bringing it every#here" )y coming to the conclusion that there ought to be no part of your life or mine #hich is not in this sense liturgical" +nd #hen of course #e begin to think of our lives especially as 3orth +merican society #ould have us live them #e can see that gently put and diplomatically there are large parts of our lives #hich do not correspond to this" +n Orthodox !hristian therefore re4ects the fundamental division bet#een the sacred and the profane" +nd sees everything as outside of evil #hich does not have an existence of its o#n any#ay as being capable of becoming sacred" +nd therefore does

not say that $ have my sacred life in the !hurch and my profane life #hen $ am far enough a#ay from the !hurch so that the priest cannot hear me or see me" $t%s rather cute #hen people think that #ay because it%s not the priest you have to #orry about in terms of seeing you"""$ think #e all kno# that #e should have $ think a slightly more nuanced understanding of &od #hich might allo# for the possibility that ,e could be even if the priest isn%t that ,e might be a#are of #hat #e are living and #hat #e are doing" So #e are breaking apart or re4ecting in love these artificial divisions" +nd finally $ think very much to point for those of you #ho #orship here in a place that has a special call to minister among the poor #e allo# the gracious character of !hrist to be revealed in us #hen #e unite t#o altars" The altar table that is behind me in the !hurch and #hat St" -ohn !hyrsostom #ould call the +ltar among or of the poor" To the poor #e may add $%m sure #ith St -ohn%s permission the ill the dying the grieving the lonely the marginali/ed the abused so on and so forth" This also St" -ohn says is an altar and a form of #orship #hen it is done out coming forth from the #orship of the !hurch because not all social #ork is liturgical and not all social #ork is means an altar among the poor" Sadly some of the #ork that is done among the poor does not allo# for such an altar" +nd it%s precisely #hy !hristians must lovingly demonstrate the sacrament of the poor by uniting the t#o altars the liturgical altar in the !hurch the altar of the 9ucharist #ith the +ltar among or of the poor" This is part of ho# the gracious character of !hrist is revealed in us and to the #orld" Thirdly ho# do #e live Orthodoxy in the #orld* )y allo#ing ourselves to be transformed into micro.!hurches little !hurches each person as a little !hurch" :ou see the fathers of the !hurch connect the !hurch and the human person very much" St Maximos the !onfessor #riting his marvellous commentary on the Liturgy the Mystogogy says that the ,oly !hurch is an icon of the human person he also says that the ,oly !hurch is an icon of the human soul and he makes several other connections bet#een the !hurch and things in our experience" St Mark the +scetic sometimes called St Mark the Monk talks about the ,oly of ,olies in the heart talks about that place speaking poetically in the heart behind the $conostasis"""read 1in the ,eart1 #here -esus is" +nd talks about prayer in this sense" Several of the fathers of the !hurch talk about ho# the human being is in fact a little !hurch if he or she chooses to be in !hrist and through the ,oly Spirit" 'e allo# ourselves to be transformed into little !hurches through the constant memory of &od #hich can only be achieved in prayer" So much in this #orld so often #e focus on memory as recall the kind of memory that a computer has more and more of course

you kno# that computers don%t possess a memory but is given a memory of course but #e think of memory more and more in these terms recall #hen memory in ,oly Scriptures is something very very different" 'hen in the Old Testament #e read that the Lord remembers $srael it doesn%t mean that ,e recalls from ,is memory bank #hat $srael might be among all the other nations" $t doesn%t mean that ,e remembers ho# to spell $srael%s name correctly it doesn%t mean that ,e has the appropriate dictionary definition of $srael" $t means ,e loves $srael" $t means ,e Loves $srael and that%s #hy #e #ant &od to remember us and that%s #hy the Thief says 1remember me 1 to remember is therefore to to re.call so that #hen #e remember &od and #hen #e have a constant remembrance of &od in prayer #e are in a constant relationship of love #ith the One 'ho first loved us" The -esus Prayer so #ell kno# in Orthodoxy in this sense becomes the Liturgy of the ,eart the Liturgy of the ,eart all of Liturgical life is to be internali/ed and by that $ don%t mean that #e necessarily memori/e all of Vespers or all of Liturgy although memori/ing part of it #ould not a bad idea at all" )ut #e internali/e it #e make it our o#n #e seek to immerse ourselves in it to the point #e can discover its basic rhythm and allo# that rhythm to be in our lives all of the time" 9ven the !hurch building in Orthodoxy is to be internali/ed" There is a reason for our architecture because the three basic sections of an Orthodox !hurch correspond in a very special #ay to different aspects of the human person" +nd so #hen #e build a !hurch the #ay #e build it #hen #e put an altar table holy table #here #e put it #hen #e place an iconostasion #here #e place it #here #e bring iconography into the !hurch according to a certain established canonical pattern all of this points us to something it points us of course to the =ingdom of &od" )ut it also strikes us in a proper #ay ho# to understand ourselves" :ou understand yourself by understanding better the !hurch in #hich you pray" $t has something to tell you about #ho you are as a human being #ho $ am" This allo#s a !hristian to have an intense spiritual life in the #orld even if he or she does not find himself or herself in a monastery" The monastic life is a very special calling and one #hich #e treasure very much in Orthodoxy but it is not a different spiritual life from the one are living right no#" $t is a more intense version of the same perhaps #e might say that it is a slightly different mode but it is not a different spiritual life it couldn%t be" The Lord didn%t come to give t#o lives in !hrist or t#o lives in the ,oly Spirit ,e came to give one to all" +nd all of our life in the !hurch must give #itness to the One Life in the One !hrist in the One Spirit" So it gives us hope it gives us hope there is a #ay to have an intense and a real spiritual life even if you are not a monastic" There is a #ay to have an intense and real spiritual life even if you cannot be at !hurch every day of course you read about those #onderful Orthodox communities such as the one in 9agle River +laska or in other parts of the >nited States and !anada #here there is daily #orship

and people are able to because they live in the neighbourhood attend Vespers or Matins everyday or perhaps in rare occasions Liturgy every day outside of &reat Lent" )ut most Orthodox in 3orth +merica do not find themselves in such positions they #ake up they go to #ork and #onder if they have time to pray before they go" They #alk out of their houses and see an environment #hich put gently is not the most conducive to the Orthodox spiritual life or to prayer" That%s the reality that you and $ live in and the good ne#s is that in that reality not in another one #e may have a real and genuine and an intense spiritual life" Therefore it is not appropriate for us as Orthodox !hristians to say 1#hen something happens #hen $ become spiritual #hen $ go to mount +thos #hen $ visit Sinai #henever then $ my spiritual life #ill begin"1 ,opefully such a visit #ill in fact have a profound influence on anyone" $f they%re open it al#ays #ill" )ut #e don%t have to #ait to do that to have a real and intense spiritual life" 0inally #e live Orthodoxy in the #orld by offering the #orld back to &od" ,e gave it as a gift ,e gave it as a #orkshop 1atelier 1 and the greatest thing #e can possibly do is return it to ,im #ith thanksgiving" +nd of course this particular theme of the human person as the priest of creation $%m using the #ord priest in a broad sense this theme comes especially from St Maximos the !onfessor and today in Orthodox literature it%s all the rage" 9very time you find a ne# article actually $ sometimes revie# a ne# article $ ask #ill this be yet another article #hich talks about man as the priest of creation especially because connections have been made #ith ecology it has become very much in vogue" )ut some comments need to be made about this6 the human person as the priest of creation" $t sounds great it sounds fashionable and of course it elicits no little interest it brings Orthodoxy immediately to the forefront of discussions because #e have said something supposedly ne# and innovative #hich is in fact very old" )ut something%s missing" The missing dimension of alot of the discussion is asceticism spiritual discipline" Of course #hen one talks about that the general level of interest in the #orld drops immediately" 'hy is asceticism important in this offering of the #orld back to &od* )ecause #e need to have the discernment the &reek #ord diakrino a discernment to kno# #hat exactly should #e offer* )ecause #e talk about offering the #orld and everyone is so excited about it no one is 2uite sure #hat it means" (o #e offer Toronto back to &od* #ith its transit system #ith everything that makes #ith its urban infrastructure* 'hat are #e offering to &od* 'hen #e talk about the #orld #hat are #e talking about* +re #e talking about the first sense in Scripture* Surely #e can%t be talking about the second sense of alienation from &od" )ut then again is it everything in the #orld that

ought to be offered* )ecause #hile the #orld is redeemed in !hrist is it not also fallen* So it is no easy task to offer the #orld back to &od it re2uires discipline it re2uires patience and it re2uires a clear spiritual vision Theoria a spiritual vision of life" To offer the #orld in the first sense in the positive sense one must also kno# ho# to re4ect the #orld #hen #e%re talking about the second use of the #ord" St $saac the Syrian #hen he uses the #ord 1#orld 1 says it is the sum of all the passions that%s the #orld this is not #hat #e are offering back to &od" 'e offer #hat is consistent #ith its final fulfilment" The #orld is a #ork in progress and therefore it must not become an idol" 'hat &od has created must not become an idol" So this priestly role of every !hristian is very important but discernment and asceticism must be present in this offering in order for it to be real" + fe# final remarks" $f #e are living Orthodoxy in the #orld #e are referring everything to !hrist even if the #orld around us is not al#ays a#are of this fact that #e are referring everything to !hrist" 'e are understanding life as profoundly liturgical #e are understanding the human person as a liturgical being" 'e understand Orthodoxy not as an esoteric pseudo.mystical 9astern tradition not as a private retreat into 9astern !hristian spirituality not as a liturgical rite or ethos because Orthodoxy is so much bigger than all of that it is the (ivine ,uman Person of -esus !hrist and ,is (ivine ,uman )ody" $t is about the ,oly Trinity it is about humanity it is about the #orld and it is indeed the #orld%s highest calling" There #ere the poor thoughts that $ #anted to share #ith you this evening and 0r" Roberto has asked that #e give the opportunity for 2uestions comments #hich #ill be very educational for me as #ell" So please feel free"

[Comments and Q&A]

Q: What abo t !te"ardship of the "orld? +6 Ste#ard the Oikonomos in &reek the Oikonomos of the #orld" 'ell it%s entirely not difficult to think in those terms but again are #e speaking of the #orld in terms of creation or are #e speaking of the #orld in some other sense* That%s our 2uestion that needs to be posed" +nd of course #e%d like to be oikonomos of the #orld but the danger is that that Ste#ardship could become a religion in of itself that is the greatest risk" So it%s not that #e shouldn%t be interested in this #e should be profoundly interested in this and that kind of ste#ardship of the #orld has been part of the liturgical ethos of the Orthodox !hurch from the beginning" One needs only to open the 9vlogion the book of the sacraments and prayers of the !hurch and see ho# many things there is that #e

bless" $ #ould challenge anyone in the #orld to find any !hurch that blesses anything more than #e do #e bless everything" +nd then #hen you think $%m sure that some of the priests #ho are listening right no# then #hen you think you%ve seen a prayer for everything fathers then you stumble across yet another one you never kne# about" So that represents liturgically that kind of ste#ardship it%s very appropriate and asceticism #ith regard to the use of natural resources is a !hristian concept and so is the sharing of #ealth a !hristian concept" +nd it #orked far better in -erusalem than it did in the Soviet >nion or in the 9astern )loc other 9astern )loc countries #hich never achieved it" 'hen the early -erusalem !hurch had it at the very beginning it didn%t need to achieve #hat it had already had" So all of these things are intensely !hristian there%s a role for them #e ought to be involved #e ought to be interested but #e ought to be involved #ith this integrated into the #hole and not simply as 3orth +merica%s latest diversion or latest pseudo.religion because you kno# 3orth +mericans al#ays have a religion and #hen one is gone another one appears it might not initially seem that #ay but that%s ho# it #orks" So yes the !hurch should be in it absolutely but demonstrating the #hole the integration #ith everything else the integration #ith )aptism 9ucharist Liturgical 'orship Prayer proper !hristian disciplines so on and so forth" That is to say that there is not much achieved by someone #ho #orries about cleaning up a river and hates everyone around him or her" This is not ecologically friendly from the Orthodox point of vie#" So $%m not saying that to undercut of these noble efforts that #e should all be interested in but #e should be adding the missing dimensions to them" Q: #$m % st "onderin& if "e can replace the sa&e to Christian and the "orld? And then in that sense all Christians are Orthodox? #$m not Orthodox b t # feel yo ha'e expressed "hat is the heart of the (ospel for all Christians) +6 Sure #e never in the Orthodox !hurch at our best ever sa# ourselves as doing anything different then that6 expressing #hat is at the heart of the &ospel" +nd #e don%t think there is anything in there that is 4ust for us so #e #ould be delight to share it" +bsolutely delighted" Q: Altho &h sometimes the terms "e se* yo $re tal+in& abo t Chrismation in the !pirit* and all Christians tal+ abo t recei'in& the ,oly !pirit b t not necessarily Chrismation) +6 :es $ think all !hristians talk about receiving the ,oly Spirit of course the #ord !hrismation places it into a liturgical and sacramental context together #ith )aptism so that place is the reception of the ,oly Spirit into a very specific and very liberating place and that is #hat Orthodoxy strives to do" Strives to maintain an order #hich is liberating" So of course #e #ould"""$ hope that everything Orthodox is !hristian $ #ould rather think that that #ould be the case" :ou kno# $ #ould also like to point out in countries #here the Orthodox !hurch holds the ma4ority the t#o #ords ?!hristian @ OrthodoxA are used interchangeably #hich sho#s a certain vision of !hristianity and of Orthodoxy" )ut at the same time #e are #anting to present it as it has been received and

as it has been kept #e understand that there is a fantastic amount of commonality there and #e understand that sometimes there are some differences" )ut if someone comes and says that they accept all of this as being profoundly !hristian then they have understood" Q: Alot of s li'e in a 'ery sec lar society co ld yo comment on ho" "e are to li'e Orthodox in the "orld practically* to li'e this on a day to day basis? +6 0irst of all reference to the secular society that is because the secular society puts back the division bet#een the sacred and the profane #hich !hrist abolished" Part of !hrist%s if $ may use the #ord discussions #ith the Pharisees centers around their division of things into the sacred and the profane and their frustration #ith ,im centers to a great extent on ,is refusal to maintain that division" So ,e heals on the Sabbath ,is disciples gather grains of #heat on the Sabbath and so on and so forth" They #ould #ant to break apart that relationship and that is #hat secularism is to a very great extent" $ kno# that%s not all that secularism is about but its fundamental philosophical premise is the division of the #orld #hether it says it or not into the sacred and the profane and the relegation of the spiritual either the irrelevant or the esoteric or to some other domain" So once #e understand that then #e kno# #hat #e are addressing" (o you have to announce to your faculty or to your hospital that you no longer accept the division in your #orkplace bet#een the sacred and the profane* $ don%t think so" $ think all you have to do is refuse to live it yourself" That is already alot" +nd you do that by having a very real spiritual life by seeing yourself profoundly united to the !hurch at every minute of the day" :ou are the continuation of the Liturgy in the place of your #ork" :ou should not see yourself as anything less than that" :ou may do that very 2uietly very respectfully and very gently as #ell you should" $f you live the spiritual life in that #ay then you are already undoing the underpinnings of secularism because unbekno#nst to them a micro.!hurch is in their midst" So the !hristian becomes that little !hurch and indeed all those little !hurches are spread throughout the entire #orld" 'here is secularism then* There is not a place #here the !hurch is not and that changes everything" That changes everything you don%t go out into the #orld #ith only the impression that $ have 4ust left the !hurch and am going out into the big mean #orld #e are rather instead taking the !hurch there in our o#n hearts and in our o#n lives" Very specifically to be practical6 Prayer" :ou need to have kind of a prayer life in #hich there engenders a memory of &od and memory not 4ust as recall as $ said" $f you cultivate that kind of a prayer life and if you are regular in your participation in the sacraments in the !hurch then $ think you are giving a very clear #itness to the presence of !hrist and the !hurch in the #orld" Q: #$'e heard the de'il referred to cosmocrator and Christ as the -antocrator* ho" does this relate to yo r sa&e of the "ord cosmos? +6 Only if you use the #ord cosmos in the second sense cause after all St Maximos says that the !hurch is the image of the #orld" $f the !hurch is the image of the #orld first

usage then ho# is the devil in that sense ho# does he have exclusive possession of the #orld he does not he is called the prince of the #orld but prince of the #orld in the sense of alienation from &od and rebellion against &od" )ut the #ord cosmos in the 3e# Testament is the same" Occasionally #e read the #ord #orld in 9nglish and the #ord in &reek is +ge" +ges is sometimes translated as #orld but most of the time it #ould be cosmos" Q: .o said "e had to approach "ith discernment "hat did yo mean? +6 (iscerning the difference bet#een &ood and evil #hat +dam and 9ve on one hand failed to do but on the other hand #ere tempted by" Q: ,o" does this play o t in my life? at the "or+place? +6 $t plays out in that speaking globally it means that #hat #e are offering to &od is that #hich is consistent #ith ,is o#n #ill and consistent the calling of the #orld the truest calling of the #orld ?ie" its final fulfilmentA" +nd sin is a distortion of the #orld%s calling" So #e offer the #orld genuinely #hen #e offer it #ithout sin #hich doesn%t mean that #e have to achieve a sinless #orld before it can be offered to &od but all $%m saying is that our involvement in the #orld has to have a focus that%s #hat $ said #hen $ mentioned that #hen #e are offering the #orld are #e offering an entire !anadian city as is* Or #hat are #e really saying is that our involvement in the #orld points the #orld to its true vocation" +nd so also at #ork #ell obviously alot of things at your #ork are outside of your control but you can speak the truth #hen called upon to do so #ithout being afraid you can do that consistently you can live honestly you can #ork #ell you can forgive 2uickly you can demonstrate all of the !hristian virtues #ithout people understanding initially that they are specifically !hristian and you can accept and believe that &od uses your #orkplace someho# in your o#n salvation even though not everything in your #orkplace comes from ,im" )ut that ,e can use that" $nstead of going there to see it as a place of punishment or alienation or condemnation you can say that there is no place in the #orld that &od cannot use for a !hristian%s salvation and healing potentially since &od is capable of recreating even evil into &ood" So in some cases that 2uite the martyria 2uite the #itness #hen you do that" $ thank you for being #ith you this evening" &od bless you" B9nd of TranscriptC

Abo t -rotopresbyter /axym 0ysac+

http://www.christthesaviour.ca/ http://www.stjohnsmission.org/

The Very Reverend Protopresbyter Maxym Lysack #as born in 'innipeg Manitoba of >krainian parents and #as raised in Otta#a" ,e holds one undergraduate degree in >krainian and Russian and a second in theology" ,e also completed studies in the field of education" 0r" Maxym #as ordained to the priesthood in 7DE5" ,e later earned a Th"M" at ,oly !ross &reek Orthodox School of Theology in )rookline M+ speciali/ing in Orthodox dogmatic theology and spirituality" ,e occasionally teaches courses in these t#o areas at the university level" $n addition to his pastoral duties at !hrist the Saviour 0r" Maxym serves as (ean of the !anadian (eanery of the !arpatho.Russian Orthodox (iocese and is Orthodox chaplain at the >niversity of Otta#a" ,e is fre2uently invited to speak at retreats and conferences" 0r" Maxym speaks 9nglish 0rench >krainian and Russian" ,e is married to Matushka :vonne #ho brings a background in counselling theology #riting and music to her full.time #ork for the parish" The couple%s t#o daughters are +nastasia and :uliana"