The Eastern Orthodox Church, In Danger?

2012-02-01T10:38:00.001-08:00

A bit of honesty is required if the Eastern Orthodox Church is going to (spiritually) survive.

I write this as an Orthodox Christian, struggling as I see how parish after parish, Orthodox Christian after Orthodox Christian, flounders in the confusing wilderness of so-called traditions.

First, the Church must admit that its "Tradition" is so laden with "traditions" that likely no two can agree as to where one ends and the other begins.

For example, take the classic "Scripture versus Tradition" argument. The Orthodox have nuanced this in so many ways that they have fooled themselves into believing their own propaganda. How is this so? It is found in their avoidance of the real questions.

They have become in practice blind to the fact that the focus of the New Testament is not their focus. They have become lost in overly complex music, Mary, monasticism, icons, the "fathers" of the Church, and the list could go on.

The fact is that Tradition cannot be amended. It can be clarified, expounded; but not altered or doctored. All that is not part of that original deposit of faith, despite its value, its genuine piety, cannot be insisted on dogmatically. Pious elaboration has its place, but its devotional nature must be understood clearly and not swelled to overly authoritative proportions.

If the fourth century recognized the authority of the New Testament, the authority then rests primarily in the New Testament authors and their themes. The actual Tradition of the Church is rooted there, in (that original community which produced) those documents - not in the practices of tradition that elaborated after this.

The actual Tradition of the Church, then, is precisely the continuity of New Testament authority and witness. The so-called "traditions" of the Church, such as icons, Mary, etc., whether true or not, helpful or not, are not the focus of the New Testament; and so to focus on them is to, in practice, regardless of the nuance, place a veil over the New Testament and its focus.

At this point in time, that which makes up the Liturgy of the Church is so unlike that of the first century, even that of the fourth century, that all one retains is an elaborated form that denies godliness. So many changes have happened yet if one were even to consider operating in a manner differing from the (mostly Byzantine) Imperial model, one could not even be considered Orthodox.

Orthodoxy is now the perpetuation of rite and ritual.

The earliest Christians prayed the hours, and celebrated the Eucharist. This is a far cry from the complex manner in which these are now practiced. The simplicity is lost, and now the heavy yoke is mistaken for Christ's easy yoke.

Even monasticism, as many wonderful things as have come from it, is never something intimated by the New Testament. Celibacy and monasticism are not the same thing. There is not a single monk in the New Testament - and no, John the Baptist is not a monk, but an actual prophet - the forerunner of Christ. Abuses of typology run rampant here.

The same goes for the Theotokos, icons, etc. Even though these things are good, their liturgically requisite nature ends up distorting the New Testament emphasis. All the theological nuance justifying them is only a bluster of words. Why? Because the laity are not educated to be able to navigate these subtleties and therein get trapped in a host of peripheral issues.

What about the Councils? These defended, rightly, against heresy. They were not called to justify changes in focus.

This is the sticky dilemma of the Church: It has all the right tools, but it lacks the right focus. Continuity of imperial liturgical practices substitute for actual Christian faith.

As such, in order to survive, the Church must reevaluate its focus.

It needs to focus on what Scripture focuses on, and not focus on what Scripture does not focus on. The excuse made of looking to the fathers is just a perpetuated ignorance because of the fact that so few even look to these fathers, or recognize that so many of the fathers themselves focused on Scripture.

Pious or not, faith must be in Christ. Mary cannot be a close second. Music and prayer texts cannot be so complex and elaborate that no one can reasonably do the "full" practice. The first century Church, and even the fourth, in no way justify the eclecticism of imperial Christian culture; and the fact that we are Moderns(or post-Moderns or whatever) pointing this out does not reduce these very real problems to the symptoms of Modernism.

We speak of a Western captivity? What about the Imperial Captivity that has frozen our Liturgy and distorted our focus? We are still captive to this and need to realize it.

We need to melt down the "golden calf" we have made out of the blizzard of traditions which masquerade as essential to Orthodoxy, which are really just a patched coat of pious innovations.

Of course, this brief assessment needs to be filled out in more detail, and shall as time unfolds, God-willing.

I only write this so as to wake our brothers and sisters up from the daze of imperial liturgical developments, and in hope that we may return to Gospel simplicity and sobriety.

God Light Angels

2008-06-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Hello World,

I just wanted to share this before I die or anything like that. Simply, it is a message of hope. I am no one special or better than anyone. God has given me a special blessing which does not make me any more special than any other. I am a student, not a master, but God has provided me a tool which I in turn feel compelled to share with all others. It is simply this: God Light Angels.

Why is this the message? Well, in the process of my spiritual education I had a hard conflict with mantra, dhikr, prayer words, or whatever other label tools of remembrance are variously given. I learned in an environment where it is known that simply making up a mantra was not the way. Mantras, Words, have power, and the power comes from the transcendent resonance of Divine Consciousness.

The real mantras come from somewhere, and this is where God Light Angels came from. I had been meditating, or whatever you might call it, for longer times over the period of a few weeks. I am not extremely proficient or expert in meditation. In fact, I believe only God can meditate in us. An ego cannot meditate.

It was, however, not some reward for anything I did. It was truthfully a grace from God. As such, after meditating, I lay down to rest; and instead of resting a switch happened and I realized I could leave my body. I left my body and realized that this was a way of being I knew nothing about. As such, I hoped for it to be a safe experience.

Then it happened that from "above" I heard the divine realm repeating God Light Angels over and over. Soon after this I went back to my body. Later, I was meditating with a mantra when, in a dimension "above" my normal mind, I again heard God Light Angels overlaying the mantra I was repeating.

The last time I had a special experience with God Light Angels was in a "lucid" dream. I was scared and hoped again for safety. Immediately I heard and came across a group of people sitting in a circle chanting God Light Angels over and over. Instantly I felt safer.

This leads me to believe that it has somewhat to do with divine protection. However, when the masters who have gone before us reported where mantras came from, God Light Angels fit the description. As such, I think it is also intended for standard japa, repetition, remembrance, etc.

My long-standing challenge with mantra was that all of the authentic ones were in a foreign language. Not that the language matters essentially, but my concern was with teaching or sharing with others. It would alienate large groups of people who were perhaps in dire need of such a technology as japa, but could not get over the language and cultural barriers that existed in their minds.

So, this mantra is universal, yet it is also given in English to us so that we might experience the favor of God's Grace in the English language medium . And, as my teacher said, he does not initiate anyone. It is we who initiate ourselves. This places the responsibility on us to do our work.

It is, of course, only God who is doing anything. We, as egos, are helpless. However, Grace is not an excuse for us to not strive to our utmost. Let us remember God in all things. Let us pray without ceasing. Let us lift each other up in love.

I share this mantra as I believe it was God's gift to more than just me, but to the world. God Light Angels. It is authorized by the Most High that we can remember Him in this form. The angels repeat God's praises endlessly. Let us do the same.

God Light Angels