The Purpose and Goals of My Writing
I’ve enjoyed writing since I was little, and I have written for a variety of reasons. Writing is an interactive process for me; I am as excited to see the reaction to and engagement with what I produce as I am to produce it in the first place. Sometimes I write for personal reasons, such as self-expression or as a process of deepening my own understanding, and sometimes I write to share information, because some things are so magnificent and interesting that they deserve to be more widely known. Writing is also a good way to learn, especially online, where so many resources are available and so many knowledgeable people exist to challenge one. I also write to spread awareness of my faith, the Orthodox Christian faith, which has helped me greatly in my life and which I believe can help others achieve salvation and spiritual enlightenment. Finally, I often write as a service to others, by helping them put on paper ideas and thoughts they were not able to do so themselves.
My “day job” has been in the computer networking industry for the past seven and a half years. I enjoy my work, and am thankful to have maintained a job steadily through the tough economic times we’ve experienced in the United States. My job is intellectually challenging in its own right, and I am constantly trying to augment my skillset and marketability by taking on diverse projects and studying and obtaining new certifications (hands-on and theoretical both, to be well-rounded). Most likely, I will need to continue in this field for the next several years. I am not, however, as passionate about networking as I am about writing.
As time goes on, my writing becomes more and more important to me, and I find myself doing it more. At present, almost everything I have written has been free, for one of the reasons stated in the first paragraph. I will continue to produce free content, God-willing, for the rest of my life. However, I also would like to be able to make writing a part-time and possibly even a full-time profession.
My Daughter Sophia, May 2014
As a result of choices I made, I am in a situation where I reside in Virginia, but travel to North Carolina almost every other weekend. With a career as a writer, or even a solid part-time income stream, I would be able to maintain a modest apartment, condominium, or townhouse in North Carolina in addition to my home in Virginia. This will be very important for my relationship with my oldest daughter Sophia, who lives in Raleigh. If I were able to write full-time, I would even be able to go back and forth at will, which would significantly improve my family life.
I would also be able to produce more content, because I would not be splitting myself between multiple areas. With a focus and a commitment, and the hours necessary to accomplish the goals, I would be in a position to produce more of the content that you readers have come to enjoy. Also, I would be in a position to help with our Church’s missionary aims in a more direct way, as I would be free to assist our holy priests in their missionary work were I able to set my own schedule. Despite my own mistakes and setbacks, missionary work remains constantly on my mind. I still want to see missions and eventually parishes established throughout Virginia and North Carolina (and beyond), and not just in the big cities.
One nonfiction work—an eBook—is about to be published, and I am also working on some religious fiction short stories. Finally, I am doing research on various nonfiction projects. I also am working to monetize my blog via advertising revenue, and am actively soliciting freelance projects (which do not have to be religious in nature). I’ve read the arguments between those who say find a niche, and those who encourage writing in multiple areas (some say with different pen names for different genres), and I’ve taken that all into consideration. To start, I’m going to go with my gut instinct, and see what works and what doesn’t.
To be successful, I have read that one needs to set goals. I’ve also read that one should make these goals clear to others to boost the follow-through and accountability. For that reason, I am going to set some now, although I am fully cognizant that ultimately it is God’s grace and not self-realization and other modern pop psychobabble that will get me there.
- By September 1, 2014, I will be generating $250 a month in writing income
- By January 1, 2015, I will be generating $750 a month in writing income
- By June 1, 2015, I will be in a position where I have paid off certain debts and can pay for a dwelling in North Carolina
- By June 1, 2016, I will be in a position to consider my full-time career options
Thank you for listening, and if you want to be part of “Team Anastasios” then please:
- Purchase my works as they are published
- Let others know about this blog (“sharing is caring”)
- Hire me to write (or speak—I’m told I’m rather good at that) for you or your organization
- Pray for me
- Send me suggestions and leads
- Subscribe to my blog to be made aware of updates and so I can show I have a loyal following when I submit works to publishers
Thank you!
Anastasios
Please Note: This is an excerpt from the work The Elder Ieronymos of Aegina, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, and under copyright. Please support the monastery’s translation work by purchasing this book. I’ve read it and highly recommend it.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lover of Tradition
The region of Anatolia, Cappadocia in Asia Minor, where he lived his childhood years, where he came to know the first spiritual stirrings, where he tasted the springing waters of Orthodoxy from the holy elders who lived there, and where he matured spiritually remained unforgettable for him. He frequently referred to his homeland and waved nostalgic for all the things he had experienced there. He never forgot the solitary chapels in the rocks, where one could go and pray in utter stillness, nor those simple people, those first-rate artisans, who, whatever they put their hand to, did it perfectly, with ardor, and with good taste.
Being a great lover of the life of stillness and prayer, he often recollected the beautiful days full of spiritual ascents and exaltations that he had passed in the chapels and abandoned monasteries of his homeland.
“Here in Greece you cannot find a quiet place to pray,” he was wont to say. “In Anatolia there were many places where you could pass the whole day in prayer, without anybody seeing you.”
This insatiable and never-silent desire for quietude and prayer, for undisturbed communion with God, never abandoned him. He never lost an opportunity to draw apart and give himself to prayer. Usually, even when he was speaking to his visitors, he would stop for a little and say, “Now let’s chant something.”
And he would begin with his imposing, deeply resounding, and melodious voice to chant “Let us worship the Word,” or “It is truly meet…” or some other hymn, these intermissions of prayer were indispensable for him, they were his life-breath, his spiritual supply-Iine. And at the same time, it was an excellent example for those who conversed with him, that they might form the habit of conjoining their every occupation with prayer.
He lived the essence of Orthodoxy, tradition, in all its breadth. Without rejecting any of the attainments of technological society, he had a special weakness, a passion we might say, for whatever was olden, ancient-from material things to the spiritual. He liked the ancient order of the services, the old books, antiques, because he believed that they carried the seal of their maker, they had been constructed with fondness and were not machine-made and in bad taste.
With such convictions and perceptions, having always lived his life within but also “outside this world,” within the strict province of tradition, he felt a certain uneasiness from the time that the ecclesiastical Calendar was changed and the new was enforced. These anxieties of his increased as the years went by and he beheld many Orthodox customs changed. He did not like the abridgement of the church services, the secularization of the clergy, the abandonment of the Orthodox way of life. And although he always attended to the essence and not the dim outward form, he believed that these alterations in traditional usages and forms in and of themselves betrayed a certain indifference and slackness towards the Faith: that this was the beginning of a downhill slide whose end was unknown. For this reason, he often thought of following the Old Calendar, especially since he saw that the Old Calendarists faithfully followed tradition and would not tolerate innovations and transgressions in matters pertaining to the Faith. For some time he hesitated, and prayed continually and fervently to God, that He might reveal to him His will. He awaited some sign, some indication from God, that would make it clear to him what he should do.
In August of 1942, specifically on the 23rd of the month, [1] the eve of the feast of Saint Dionysius of Aegina, when the hospital church celebrated, Procopios, the then Metropolitan of Hydra, Spetsai, and Aegina, called him and told him to get ready so that on the morrow, on the occasion of the church’s festival, they might concelebrate. Many priests of Aegina, who knew that Father Ieronymos was sympathetic to the Old Calendar, but were ignorant of the vision he had seen, were under the impression that he had stopped liturgizing at the hospital church on account of his Old Calendarist sympathies. They reported this to the Metropolitan, and he, in order to ascertain the accusation, requested that they concelebrate. [2]
Men of God perceive the finger of Divine Providence behind every action and occurrence. Father Ieronymos, who had stopped liturgizing some eighteen years before, considered this invitation from the Metropolitan to be God’s answer to his prayers. He prayed again all night long and finally decided not to go and concelebrate with the Metropolitan, but to follow the Old Calendar openly thereafter. He departed on the morrow from the hospital very early in the morning for the hermitage of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, where the Eldress Eupraxia was already staying.
From there he sent the Metropolitan the following notification of resignation from the hospital church.
To the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Hydra
Kyr Kyr Procopios
Aegina
Your Eminence,
I beseech you to accept my resignation from the hospital, because since 1924 and henceforward, my yearning and also my zeal have been for the Orthodox Church and the Faith.
Since my childhood I have reverenced her, having dedicated my whole life to her, being obedient to the traditions of the God-bearing Fathers.
I acknowledge and proclaim the Patristic Calendar to be the correct one, as you also attest. [3]
For this reason I request of you, that you yourself also pray that I abide till the end a genuine child of the Orthodox Church.
Kissing your Eminence’s right hand,
I most humbly remain
The servant of our Crucified Lord Jesus Christ,
Ieronymos Apostolides
Thus simply and quietly, without the beating of drums, excommunications, and fanatical manifestations, he followed the Old Calendar the rest of his life.
This event did not in any way influence his behavior towards his spiritual children. He received them all without distinction, whether they followed “the Old” or “the New.” He never preached on the calendar issue. His foremost and principal aim was to instill into his visitors faith and love towards Christ; his chief care was how they progressed in the spiritual life, how they were united to God. He never took part in fruitless and harmful conversations concerning the calendar issue, even when he was challenged to do so. He contented himself with simply confessing that he followed the Old Calendar since “that’s the right one,” and that from the time the Church put the New Calendar into practice “things just have not been going well at all.” He never permitted immoderate and harmful fanaticism to prevail in his soul. On the contrary, he always strove to calm spirits. Once a visitor asked him, “Elder, do you follow the Old?”
“Yes.”
“Who are you with?” She meant, with which faction.
“With all.”
“But they have quarrels with one another.”
“I am not with quarrels.”
He was very discerning and refined in his ways. Even when he went so far as to censure, he did it with the utmost love, and not only did he not cause adverse reactions, but on the contrary he elicited confession and repentance, which was his intended purpose.
Botsis, Peter. The Elder Ieronymos of Aegina. Brookline, MA: The Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 2007, pp. 159-163.
————-
[1] That is, according to the New or civil Calendar; it was the tenth of August according to the Church (Old) Calendar. Since the feast of Saint Dionysius is August 24, the Elder Ieronymos was being asked to celebrate Saint Dionysius’ feast according to the New Calendar. —TRANS.
[2] The truth of the matter is that Father Ieronymos, like his contemporary the holy Papa Nicholas Planas of Athens (+1932), quietly celebrated many of the feasts without liturgizing according to the Old Calendar. That he never liturgized or concelebrated according to the Papal Calendar since he had desisted from serving before the change of the calendar in 1924 was very convenient for him and somewhat eased his conscience. —TRANS.
[3] Many, if not the majority, of the bishops and other clergy of the State Church of Greece at the time privately acknowledged that the Julian Calendar used by the Church since the days of our Saviour was the correct calendar for reckoning the feasts as opposed to the innovating Papal New Calendar; but for fear of reprisals, they would not proclaim this publicly. —TRANS.
Just One More Step…
For many people, converting to the Orthodox Christian Church is a tough process. Whether coming from a secular background and having to deal with basic questions of faith, or coming from a Western Christian background and having to give up previous ways of thinking and familiar hymns and practices, the transition is often difficult. Add to that the rather uneven quality of experiences one finds in Orthodox parish life in the Western world, and it is remarkable when someone “crosses the finish line” and is received into the Church finally.
There exists a schism in the modern Orthodox world between those who belong to Churches which follow the New Calendar and/or practice Ecumenism with other Christian denominations and religions, and those who belong to Churches which follow the Old Calendar and do not participate in the Ecumenical Movement. These latter are often referred to as Traditionalists, Old Calendarists, or True/Genuine Orthodox, while the Churches which are involved in the Ecumenical movement together with those who switched to the New Calendar often refer to themselves as the “Canonical” Orthodox, while being referred to as New Calendarists, Ecumenists, or “World Orthodoxy” by the other party. It must be noted that there is not a schism “in” the Church, as the Church cannot be divided, but as the two Churches both consider themselves Orthodox and have a shared history and culture, it is therefore possible to speak of a schism or division within the Orthodox world. This division often is painfully felt within families and in local communities.
I became somewhat well-known in Orthodox circles on the Internet due to my participation in various forums and blogs, and also my YouTube channel where I produced missionary content while I served as an Orthodox priest (2008-2013). Because of this, numerous people contacted me weekly, and while the flow has decreased now, it still continues to do so today. Many of these are people who have converted from Protestantism or Roman Catholicism to one of the so-called Canonical Orthodox Churches, and who have now discovered the Orthodox Traditionalists and their positions. Others are still going through the conversion process, and are now rethinking their ultimate affiliation.
In both cases, there is often a shell-shock. People have assumed that they knew what they were getting into, that they had found the True Church, that they were home, and then they realize that there is “something else out there” making claims which contradict what they’ve already learned and experienced. For many, it’s just too much emotionally for them to confront, and they shut these thoughts down before they have time to develop. Such people often remark that, “there’s just no way God cares about a calendar!” and imagine they have just stated something profound and previously unconsidered.
However, there are those who take it a step further, and actually make contact with members and clergy of the Traditionalist Orthodox Church. They usually have great questions, are fair-minded, and are rigorous in their approach. After some back-and-forth, sometimes they decide to come over to the Traditionalist Church, based on principle. Yet other times, seemingly with one foot out of the door of the New Calendar Church, they turn back. Their reasons are often disappointing to hear, and not as much based on a sober analysis of the facts, but on other factors.
Some common non-theological reasons I often heard for not joining the Traditionalist Orthodox Church are:
1) There is no parish close to me, so I will have to travel, and won’t have a regular parish life.
2) My wife had a hard enough time coming to the New Calendar; I can’t ask her to make another move.
3) It’s just too small of a Church.
4) They’re just too strict.
5) I don’t want to celebrate Christmas on a different day.
6) People will think I am weird/crazy.
7) God wouldn’t let His Church get so small.
8) My kids won’t have any friends at the Church.
What perplexes me is this: oftentimes, the same people who make such excuses for not joining the Orthodox Traditionalists have already make great sacrifices to join the New Calendar Church. Some of these people moved to be closer to a parish, or travel by car once a month to the nearest parish. Some gave up family relationships, jobs, and completely re-oriented their lives in order to accept what they thought was the Orthodox faith in its pureness. The myriad practical reasons one would have for not leaving a Protestant Church did not impede them from joining the New Calendarists, but suddenly, the thought of joining the Traditionalist Orthodox produces a slew of practical objections.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, there is a sign which states that Barstow, California is 2,554 miles away—at the other end of Interstate 40. It must be an exciting thing to drive from one coast to another, and I am sure that every year, there are more than a few people who do it. Imagine, though, that one were to drive 2,550 miles, and simply stop, before seeing the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps the car broke down, and one would have to get a rental car, or walk, or take a bus, to go those extra four miles. No matter what reason there might be, it seems to me that any excuse not to figure out a way to go those extra four miles would be met with disbelief by friends and family inquiring about the trip afterward.
It would be as if the whole trip were a waste, if one did not make it to the ultimate destination. So with the conversion to Orthodoxy: why stop at the compromised Church, when the fullness of Orthodoxy is just a few steps further? Could any further obstacle be too much to surmount, after having traveled so far? Will people really think one is “more weird”? Does the relative size of the Church really matter? Does God not bless the effort that those who commute long distances to a parish put in to reaching it?
All of these “practical considerations” are temptations from the Evil One to keep us out of the Truth. Perhaps it’s easier to psychologically dodge this fact by assuring oneself that the differences between the two Churches are not that great, in reality. Having all the trappings of Orthodoxy such as nice liturgy, pretty icons, well-produced Patristic works, and Ancient Faith Radio assuage a troubled conscience into compromising and staying with the New Calendar Church. It was such a disappointment to me to see so many people wake up to the problems of the New Calendar and Ecumenism, only to later rationalize staying in or joining this body for reasons other than principle.
The purpose of this article is not to judge the hearts of those who have had trouble joining the Traditionalist Orthodox Church, but to encourage and exhort the many people who have contacted me over the years about joining us, and who then backed out, to rethink their decision. It is also to provide a warning to those who are at present pondering what to do, that they not compromise at the last step. Recall the icon of the Ladder of Divine Ascent—at the top of the ladder, monks are still falling off! They went so far, but didn’t make it. Don’t become one of those who fell at the top, but complete the journey.
Even if some of the objections were to come true, we must follow the Truth wherever it leads, and accept it with no regard for the consequences. I did it, and I never looked back. When I first converted, I had to fly to New York four times a year for the Holy Mysteries! But eventually God provided an opportunity for me locally, and I believe He will for you, too. If Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, then He can build up healthy, vibrant, traditional parishes in the Western world. If the Holy Spirit is “everywhere present and filleth all things” then that includes your home if you live far from a parish. The ball is in your court. Follow through on your instinct and don’t sell yourself and your faith short. We are waiting to welcome you!
Uncanonical
Part of my ongoing Correspondence series, featuring replies to people who contacted me and asked questions, mostly when I served as a priest (2008-2013).
Dear V.,
The Calendar was changed in 1924, and that was a big event in Greece. At that time, about 25% of the people rejected the change, by some accounts. Monks from Mount Athos, who did not change to the New, came down to Greece to serve the people that rejected the change. From 1924 to 1935, no bishop was on the side of the Old. But in 1935, three bishops couldn’t wait any longer. They had tried to restore the Old Calendar but the other bishops wouldn’t listen. So they returned to the Old Calendar on May 13, 1935. The other bishops who were on the New attacked them immediately, and some of them were even arrested and put in jail! Some of the priests were taken to the basement of the New Calendar Archdiocese in Athens, and were hit and then had their beards shaved off and were dressed in civilian clothes! One New Calendar bishop came in to one of our Churches in Greece and took the chalice off the altar and dumped the Holy Communion out of it and stomped on it, saying, “you are not really priests!” Even if they felt that way, that is a very evil thing to do. It was in this set of circumstances that our own founder in America, Bishop Petros, came to America.
Yet it was not just about a Calendar. The Old Calendarists knew that the Calendar was just one of the things that they were trying to change. Take a look at this letter that the Ecumenical Patriarchate wrote in 1920 “Unto the Churches of Christ Everywhere.” The title itself is a problem; the Church of Christ is the Orthodox Church only; all other Churches have broken away from it. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is offering to change the calendar to have union with the fallen Western Churches. There are other proposals such as exchanges of theological students, etc. The whole context is one of the Greeks trying to soften Orthodoxy to have relations with the Westerners.
This fit in to a political situation at the time, Venizelos vs the Royalists, when Venizelos wanted to make Greece look like London. Now, there’s nothing wrong with reaching out to other people and trying to work out our differences, but the difference here is that it is not based on the truth, but on a kind of committee discussion and compromise. That would lead to what we have in modern times, the “World Council of Churches,” where all sorts of groups of people that disagree get together and sign compromise documents. Unfortunately, many so-called Orthodox go to this and sign these documents. They say they are trying to reach out to non-Orthodox, but really, they are not offering them the truth that Orthodoxy is the original and true Church of Christ. That’s not really being nice to them if you think about it. You’d want your friend to tell you if your shirt was ripped, right?
So the point of the above paragraph is just to put the Calendar change in context. It was part of a bigger program of the Greek government of the time reaching out to the Westerners and using Church union as part of the plan. The Calendar change was just the first step in many changes that would happen as time went on, which is what we now call Ecumenism.
Our New Calendar friends are the majority, and so they like to put us on the defensive. They like to say we are not “canonical” or recognized because we are on the Old Calendar and not in communion with Patriarch Bartholemew. But really, we are the ones that did not change anything. Orthodoxy is about preserving the truth and keeping firm to the traditions, right? So how do they say that we are the ones that are unrecognized when we did not change a thing? We are the ones that on March 10, 1924, went to bed, and the next day we woke up and it was March 11, 1924. They are the ones that went to bed on March 10, and woke up on March 24, cutting out 13 days. We stood firm against this, and they gave in. Yet they say we are the ones who are not canonical.
Let’s take a look at this word canonical. It means following the canon, which in Greek means the rule, like a ruler. The canons are a collection of rules that the Church Fathers laid down for our spiritual benefit. They say that we disobey the canons, yet which canons do they think we disobeyed? Again, we are not the ones that changed things. They, on the other hand, go against the holy patriarchs and churches that agreed that the New Calendar was wrong—back in 1583. Here is that document: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sigillion_of_1583
Basically, what it boils down to is, they changed things and began to disobey the previous Fathers and Councils, but then because they are in the majority, they say we are the ones who are obviously wrong because we are small and “fanatical.” But their arguments center on two things usually: the first is to claim we are uncanonical, which really means we are not administratively under the Patriarch so we are not “official,” and the other is to cite various elders and saints in the New Calendar as proof that we are wrong.
I think that you both know that just because something is “official” does not mean it is true. And official by who’s standards, exactly? The New Calendarists are the majority, so they make people think they are the Orthodox while we are just dissatisfied breakways. Their argument is that we are being disobedient to the Patriarch and so we are in the wrong. But Christ and the Apostles said we had to follow the truth, and that there would be false teachers in the end. Numbers aren’t what counts, but truth is. Our Old Calendar Church is the one that has not changed things, while they did. So basically, their argument is administrative while they are breaking the same canons they accuse us of breaking. Here is a video of supposedly Orthodox bishops praying with the Pope and Protestants. This is forbidden by the canons, yet they say they can’t do anything about it because the Patriarch approves. We say that even a Patriarch is not above the law. http://www.synodinresistance.org/Publications_en/Video/Videos%20On%20Ecumenism/E4d1008Ortho1998VideoPart3Tainia-256Kbs.wmv
As far as the argument about saints, they will say that various holy figures were and are under the New Calendar such as Fr. Ephraim and others. Yes, it is true that these people may be personally holy (I have never met Fr. Ephraim personally), but whether or not they are holy is irrelevant. Every religion has so-called holy people; our Old Calendar Church has many holy people like A. mentioned who have worked miracles. Here is a good book about a modern saint, whom our Metropolitan Pavlos knew as a boy:
http://www.bostonmonks.com/product_info.php/products_id/686
Elder Ieronymos was very holy, and lived in Aegina. He died in the 1960’s. He left the New Calendar and became an Old Calendar priest. He rivals any holy person from the New Calendar. I think that he proves the Old Calendar Church has the grace of God and is legitimate. Yes, God does allow some miracles to guide us, but always in the context of the truth, which is discerned from the Liturgy, the writings of the fathers, and the canons of the Church.
In the end, don’t let people fool you with arguments from administrative authority or appeals to holy people alone, when they themselves are not following the canons they claim they uphold. The Old Calendar Church is the Orthodox Church. We have a valid bishopric (ordained by the Russian Church in the 1960’s after the last Old Calendar bishop in Greece died). We haven’t changed anything. We have an entire Synod in Greece of 10+ bishops, with around 200 parishes. Our Archbishop is Chrysostomos II.
If you have any more questions or something I said didn’t make sense, please ask me to clarify.
May God bless you as you continue to develop your faith and spiritual life. Pray for me a sinner.
Fr. Anastasios
(Originally written in 2010. The present Metropolitan of America is His Eminence Demetrius and the present Archbishop of Athens is His Beatitude Kallinikos. There are now 26 bishops on the Holy Synod).
Orthodox Notes on Baptism
The following are some notes and citations I gathered for use during my discussions with Protestants about Orthodox Christian beliefs and practices.
Baptismal Regeneration
John 3:5: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Acts 2:38: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 22:16: “Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
Romans 6:3-6: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Colossians 2:10-12: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
I Peter 3:18-21: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
Infant Baptism
Infants’ Faith Tied in With Family’s Faith
Luke 18:15-17: “And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
Matthew 19:13-14: Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Acts 2:38-39: Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
Others’ Faith Leads to Remission of Sins
Matthew 9:2: And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Baptism of Households Includes Infants
Acts 16:15: “… she [Lydia] and the members of her household were baptized…”
Acts 16:33: “… immediately he [the jailer] and all his family were baptized.”
I Corinthians 1:16: “… I [the apostle Paul] also baptized the household of Stephanas…”
Arguments Against Infant Baptism
1) Infant baptism not by immersion: False, because Orthodox do immerse.
2) Babies “are not lost and in need of salvation”: Doctrine of “original sin” often taken to mean that babies are born with the guilt of Adam’s sin, and infant baptism is rejected on that basis. This, however, is a misunderstanding of original sin. What we inherit from Adam is not personal guilt but a fallen nature that is subject to death. “God created man for incorruption” (Wisdom of Solomon 2:23), but “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men” (Romans 5:12).
3) Not referred to in Scripture: That is true in an explicit sense. But there is also no mention in Scripture of the practice of Christian parents waiting to baptize their children until they are older.
Primary Sources
Patristic Witness
Saint Polycarp (69-155), a disciple of the Apostle John, was baptized as an infant. This enabled him to say at his martyrdom. “Eighty and six years have I served the Lord Christ” (Martyrdom of Polycarp 9: 3).
Saint Justin Martyr (100 – 166) of the next generation states about the year 150, “Many, both men and women, who have been Christ’s disciples since childhood, remain pure at the age of sixty or seventy years” (Apology 1: 15).
Saint Irenaeus: “He [Jesus] came to save all through himself; all, I say, who through him are reborn in God: infants, and children, and youths, and old men. Therefore he passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age . . . [so that] he might be the perfect teacher in all things, perfect not only in respect to the setting forth of truth, perfect also in respect to relative age” (Against Heresies 2:22:4 [A.D. 189]).
Saint Irenaeus: “‘And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan’ [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]” (Fragment 34 [A.D. 190]).
Origen: “Every soul that is born into flesh is soiled by the filth of wickedness and sin. . . . In the Church, baptism is given for the remission of sins, and, according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants. If there were nothing in infants which required the remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of baptism would seem superfluous” (Homilies on Leviticus 8:3 [A.D. 248]).
Origen: “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit” (Commentaries on Romans 5:9 [A.D. 248]).
Hippolytus: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.” (Apostolic Tradition 21:15, c. 215 A.D.)
Saint Cyprian: “As to what pertains to the case of infants: You [Fidus] said that they ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, that the old law of circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our council it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you thought should be taken. Rather, we all judge that the mercy and grace of God ought to be denied to no man born” (Letters 64:2 [A.D. 253]).
Saint Cyprian: “If, in the case of the worst sinners and those who formerly sinned much against God, when afterwards they believe, the remission of their sins is granted and no one is held back from baptism and grace, how much more, then, should an infant not be held back, who, having but recently been born, has done no sin, except that, born of the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of that old death from his first being born. For this very reason does he [an infant] approach more easily to receive the remission of sins: because the sins forgiven him are not his own but those of another” (ibid., 64:5).
Saint Augustine: “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned . . . nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic” (Literal Interpretation of Genesis 10:23:39 [A.D. 408]).
“If any man says that newborn children need not be baptized . . . let him be anathema.” (Council of Carthage, 418 AD)
Saint Gregory Nazianzus: “Do you have an infant child? Allow sin no opportunity; rather, let the infant be sanctified from childhood. From his most tender age let him be consecrated by the Spirit. Do you fear the seal [of baptism] because of the weakness of nature? Oh, what a pusillanimous mother and of how little faith!” (Oration on Holy Baptism 40:7 [A.D. 388]).
Saint Gregory Nazianzus: “‘Well enough,’ some will say, ‘for those who ask for baptism, but what do you have to say about those who are still children, and aware neither of loss nor of grace? Shall we baptize them too?’ Certainly [I respond], if there is any pressing danger. Better that they be sanctified unaware, than that they depart unsealed and uninitiated” (ibid., 40:28).
Saint Augustine: “What the universal Church holds, not as instituted [invented] by councils but as something always held, is most correctly believed to have been handed down by apostolic authority. Since others respond for children, so that the celebration of the sacrament may be complete for them, it is certainly availing to them for their consecration, because they themselves are not able to respond” (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4:24:31 [A.D. 400]).
Saint Augustine: “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned, nor is it to be regarded in any way as superfluous, nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic” (The Literal Interpretation of Genesis 10:23:39 [A.D. 408]).
Saint Augustine: “Cyprian was not issuing a new decree but was keeping to the most solid belief of the Church in order to correct some who thought that infants ought not be baptized before the eighth day after their birth. . . . He agreed with certain of his fellow bishops that a child is able to be duly baptized as soon as he is born” (Letters 166:8:23 [A.D. 412]).
Saint Augustine: “By this grace baptized infants too are ingrafted into his [Christ’s] body, infants who certainly are not yet able to imitate anyone. Christ, in whom all are made alive . . . gives also the most hidden grace of his Spirit to believers, grace which he secretly infuses even into infants. . . . It is an excellent thing that the Punic [North African] Christians call baptism salvation and the sacrament of Christ’s Body nothing else than life. Whence does this derive, except from an ancient and, as I suppose, apostolic tradition, by which the churches of Christ hold inherently that without baptism and participation at the table of the Lord it is impossible for any man to attain either to the kingdom of God or to salvation and life eternal? This is the witness of Scripture, too. . . . If anyone wonders why children born of the baptized should themselves be baptized, let him attend briefly to this. . . . The sacrament of baptism is most assuredly the sacrament of regeneration” (Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sin, and the Baptism of Infants 1:9:10; 1:24:34; 2:27:43 [A.D. 412]).
Early Protestant Reformers
“Of the baptism of children we hold that children ought to be baptized. For they belong to the promised redemption made through Christ, and the Church should administer it to them” (Martin Luther, The Smalcald Articles, Article V: Of Baptism, 1537).
“If, by baptism, Christ intends to attest the ablution by which he cleanses his Church, it would seem not equitable to deny this attestation to infants, who are justly deemed part of the Church, seeing they are called heirs of the heavenly kingdom” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559).
Compiled from various sources, including articles such as Born Again in Baptism and Infant Baptism.
Holy Saturday is a day that is under-emphasized in the Christian West. I am not suggesting that traditional Western Christianity does not have references to what we commemorate today, but rather that in the popular imagination and experience, it is not realized. As a child in the Lutheran Church, we always went to Church on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, but Saturday was not commemorated.
So what is it that we commemorate today? When Christ died on the Cross, His body was in the tomb, and His Divinity was with the Father in Heaven, but His all-blessed Soul descended into Hades, the realm of the dead, and destroyed the power of death. Before Christ’s Resurrection, all people went to Hades, whether good or bad (c.f. the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus), although their experiences were different. Christ descended there, destroyed death’s curse, and opened up the path to Heaven for all the Righteous of the Old Testament, and the saints of the New Testament era.
This was His Sabbath rest bodily, but His soul was active delivering the captives. Glory to Thee, O Lord!
Some Hymns for Today:
“Weep not for me, O Mother, beholding in the sepulcher the Son whom thou hast conceived without seed in thy womb. For I shall rise and shall be glorified, and as God I shall exalt in everlasting glory those who magnify thee with faith and love.”
“O Son without beginning, in ways surpassing nature was I blessed at Thy strange birth, for I was spared all travail. But now beholding Thee, my God, a lifeless corpse, I am pierced by the sword of bitter sorrow. But arise, that I may be magnified.”
“By mine own will the earth covers me, O Mother, but the gatekeepers of Hades tremble as they see me, clothed in the bloodstained garment of vengeance: for on the Cross as God have I struck down mine enemies, and I shall rise again and magnify thee.”
“Let the creation rejoice exceedingly, let all those born on earth be glad: for Hades, the enemy, has been despoiled. Ye women, come to meet me with sweet spices: for I am delivering Adam and Eve with all their offspring, and on the third day I shall rise again.”
– See more at: http://lent.goarch.org/holy_saturday/learn/#sthash.z3Kk9geI.dpuf
Jesus Is Not Always Nice
During Holy Week, we are preparing for Pascha (Easter), the glorious Resurrection. We celebrated the joy of Palm Sunday, when the Lord came to Jerusalem in glory, and we look forward to Christ rising from the dead. For those of us who don’t attend Church frequently or read the Bible with any regularity, it’s easy to see Jesus as some type of divine life coach, or a Santa Clause type figure, helping us get what we need to make it through life and always being available to listen to our prayers when we need Him. The Jesus of our imagining is all about love, doesn’t like judgmental people, and always understands our problems and why we had to cut corners to get where we were going…
While it’s true that Jesus is loving, understanding, and always there for us, His dislike of judgementalism in us partly stems from the fact that He is ultimately the judge, and when we judge, we are taking that on ourselves instead of letting Him do it. Jesus’ love is always present, but when we reject His love by sinning, we experience His love as correction at first (like when a parent disciplines his child), then as chastisement (the tough-love approach), and finally He allows us to go away fully, at which point we are under judgment. The Holy Scriptures make this clear, and the Church chooses to read these Gospel lessons during Holy Week to drive home the point: following Christ is a relationship, a commitment, there are expectations, and we will be judged on the choices we make and how we perform.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
On Holy Monday, we commemorate the withering of the fig tree:
Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:18-22).
The Church hymns give an interpretation:
O brethren, let us fear the punishment of the fig tree, withered because it was unfruitful; and let us bring worthy fruits of repentance unto Christ, who grants us His great mercy (3rd Aposticha from Bridegroom Matins).
Parable of the Ten Virgins
On Holy Tuesday, we commemorate the Parable of the Ten Virgins:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh (Matthew 25:1-13).
Again, the Church offers an interpretation for how we should apply this:
Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, but unworthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness. Beware then, O my soul, and be not overcome by sleep, lest thou be given over to death and shut out from the Kingdom. But return to soberness and cry aloud: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God: through the Theotokos have mercy upon us (Dismissal Hymn of Bridegroom Matins).
Jesus is always loving, but not always nice, because if He were always “nice” like we often imagine, we would not be challenged to trust in Him alone and not ourselves, and to follow through with that faith by bearing fruit. Instead of filing away this fact in the back of our minds, or trying to synthesize it with the various other opinions we have about God, let’s go to the Bible, read it, begin attending Church regularly, and actually take things on God’s Word, instead of our opinions. Otherwise we may end up like the fig tree, or the foolish virgins.
Disclaimer: The following is a work of satire. My goal is not to make fun of the individual in question, but to illustrate a serious problem which his writings convey: sectarianism. While he certainly makes valid points here and there, the spirit of his essays overall is divisive and I believe counter-productive to the True Orthodox witness.
(RURAL SERBIA/LONDON) Prolific, ultraconservative TOC Author Vladimir Moss shocked the ecclesiastical world today by throwing his support behind a Church Union.
The well-known critic has gone on record opposing every known instance of a Church dialogue, discussion, negotiation, or union dating back to at least 1992, when the ROCOR joined communion with the True Orthodox Church of Romania. He is also known to be apprehensive about joint coffee runs between opposing jurisdictions.
“When you’re a member of the Only True Church Left on Earth—the ROCORIRIEVS—,” he starts, referring to what is commonly known as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia Inside Russia Into England Via Serbia, “you naturally view any opposing group as Satanic Freemasons attempting to subvert the good thing you have going for you. In perhaps 1% of the cases I’ve seen, there were a few sympathetic people I would have had coffee with maybe, but definitely no inter-communion accords.” Noticing our correspondent’s raised eyebrow, he hurriedly finishes, “I’m just trying to alert the world to the dangers of infiltration by a fifth column.”
Asked about his methodology for researching and compiling his treatises, he points to a recent work against the Kallinikos-Cyprianite Union. “You have to start out with some black-and-white scripture verses—Old Testament references are a must–to set the mood.” This is followed by broad and general condemnations of errors on the part of the TOCs to establish a sense of fairness, feigned praise of allegedly good aspects of the union in question, and then a vicious dissection of the actual details, focusing primarily on hearsay, assumption, casting aspersions, and analogies to past events that may only be tangentially related.
“Framing it into political terms, and playing on Russians’ fears of Greeks trying to resurrect the Byzantine Empire in an ecclesiastical sense are the ways I like to end any such essay. Really gets people riled up.”
Our correspondent asked Moss about his own previous jurisdiction crossing, which at the last tally has seen him be a member of thirteen different True Orthodox Churches. “I’ve just been blessed to have always known to get out before the light switch goes off…you know, before Divine Grace gets switched off?”
Moss shows us his study, which is filled with copious books, articles, clippings, and computer storage devices. On his wall are his diplomas, baptismal certificates, and confessions of faith. “I don’t have one for when I joined the True Orthodox Church of Mauritania (Synod of Archbishop Hesychios). They just let me in by confession. That is how I should have known they would later turn out to be Sergianists!”
He remarks that leaving the GOC-Kallinikos was a close call, though.
“I really waited too long to leave those heretics. This will totally not sound humble, but I have to speak the truth…I think God was preserving Grace in their jurisdiction just for my sake, until I figured out for myself that it was time to move on.”
That is why news that Moss had thrown his support behind a recent Church union came as a surprise to many. The ROCORIRIEVS recently concluded negotiations with the Genuine Orthodox Church of Monaco, and are sealing their union this coming Sunday. Asked what was different about this union, Moss didn’t hesitate.
“Those heretics realized they were hopelessly compromised and that their Church was completely worthless, with no redeeming value. They asked ROCORIRIEVS bishops to not only reordain them, but to rebaptize them first, reconsecrate their Churches, rehear all their previous 20 years’ worth of confessions, and agreed to publicly burn all their theological and liturgical books, replacing them with ROCORIRIEVS-supplied materials. And pray for the Tsar-to-be-revealed in the liturgy instead of that Papist Pseudo-Prince currently usurping the throne.”
Inquiring as to whether this seemed a Church union or more rather a Church conquest, Moss became pensive. “You know? I kind of like the sound of that. Church unions are universally bad. Church conquests are how we should be phrasing these God-pleasing events going forward.”
My Joy Over the Recent Church Union
The Holy Synod on the Day of Union
This week, traditional Orthodox Christians rejoiced as a 30-year division ended; the Synod in Resistance united with the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece. This union is something I had prayed for and hoped would happen, but the many obstacles to it made me think that it would only be a dream. I had worried as well that maybe only part of the Synod in Resistance would unite with us, or perhaps some of our bishops would not accept the union, but in the end, all twenty-six bishops have entered into full communion with each other, forming one Synod that already has been administratively integrated.
Any historical, canonical, or dogmatic analysis of the Union would be interesting on its own merits, but as I often do on my blog, I would like to offer some reflections from a personal angle. From the beginning of my investigation into Orthodoxy around 1998, I was aware of the Old Calendarists and their positions regarding ecumenism and the Church Calendar, and I was always attracted to them; however, it would be some years before I would conclude that I also needed to become a part of the Old Calendar Church. My research at that point was primarily via the Internet, because in Raleigh, North Carolina, there were no Old Calendarists at the time.
When I moved to New York in August 2002 to study theology at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, I began to visit various parishes of every Orthodox jurisdiction, as I was looking for my permanent Church home. I also investigated the Old Calendarist parishes in the area gradually. In addition, our seminary library had an extensive collection of periodicals, including almost every back issue of Orthodox Tradition, the journal published by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, which was the English-language publishing house of the Synod in Resistance. I read them all, and got a good feel for the Synod in Resistance and its positions.
I was beginning to prepare for my thesis at seminary, and naturally I decided to do it on something related to Old Calendarists, as I had already spent so much time studying them. I remember writing to Etna and inquiring about their position vis-à-vis the so-called Synod of Milan, whose founding bishop had been a co-consecrator of Archbishop (now Metropolitan) Chrysostomos of Etna. They replied in a polite but firm way that they would not engage in inter-Old Calendar polemic and wished me well.
Next, I began to correspond with Bishop Ambrose of Methone, because I was extremely impressed by the Synod in Resistance’s missionary work in Africa. By some reports, they had as many as 40,000 faithful in Congo, DR Congo, Kenya, and various other places. We have enjoyed now a ten-year occasional correspondence, although I have not written him in the past year or so. He always provided me with information and even sent me a signed photograph of Metropolitan Cyprian one time when I requested it. While I was gradually drawing closer and closer to joining the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians, whose American hierarch at that time was Metropolitan Pavlos, I still respected the missionary activities of the Synod in Resistance.
In 2005, I moved back to North Carolina, and I heard that Archbishop Chrysostomos would be in the Washington, DC area for a few months. I began contact with him in the hopes of arranging a meeting, which did not come to fruition. However, from that time, we have corresponded from time to time, and I have enjoyed his insights on various subjects.
On August 5, 2006 (n.s.), I was baptized into the Orthodox Church by Bishop Christodoulos at St. Markella’s Cathedral, and a few months later I was assigned to a business trip in San Jose, California. I made arrangements to visit St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Etna, California and the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, which is centered there. After flying for around eight hours with a stopover in Texas, I arrived in San Jose, rented a car, and drove six and a half hours to Etna, where I arrived seventeen hours after leaving my house. I was exhausted, but taken to the Church, where a service was in progress. Afterward, Fr. Akakios, the abbot of the monastery, took me to the refectory and served me a delicious meal.
The next morning, there were services, and afterward, I was taken to my guest quarters and a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. A monk delivered a cappuccino on a silver platter. He also gave me some theological texts and documents to read, which I did. Finally, I was granted an hour-long audience with Archbishop Chrysostomos and Bishop Auxentios, where we discussed many things, including my desire to see a union between the jurisdictions. My time spent at the monastery was a great pleasure, and I enjoyed meeting other Old Calendarists outside of my own jurisdiction.
While I chose to join the Church of the GOC because I accepted its historical and canonical arguments, and eventually its ecclesiological position, I always maintained a great deal of respect for the Synod in Resistance for its theological texts, presentations, missionary work, and my personal contacts with its bishops. Seeing this union of their bishops with ours has raised my spirits greatly this week.
When people look at the Old Calendarists from the outside, they initially see various groups with lots of infighting; while it was relatively straightforward for me to go through the various claims and make a decision as to who was ultimately “right,” it was not always so easy for others, especially those living further away from any parish or institution, and as such, the divisions were more troublesome to them and certainly have kept some from joining our Church. In addition, while the division did not weaken my conviction that the Old Calendar Church is the true Church, seeing the divisions caused me a great deal of heartache. The obliteration of this division has eliminated one of the great stumbling blocks for those looking in to the Old Calendar Orthodox Church, and I rejoice in that.
The way forward is filled with great possibilities. Having so many more bishops in the Synod will make its work run more efficiently. Having more parishes and more priests will increase the number of people who are able to encounter Orthodoxy the way most people still come into contact with it: by being invited to a parish by their friends or family. Our Three Holy Hierarchs School can begin to collaborate with the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies to increase the educational opportunities available to our priestly candidates. The union with the Synod in Resistance’s sister Russian, Romanian, and Bulgarian Churches will increase the catholic witness of our faith. May the Lord be praised!
Concerning the Lack of Posting
Dear Readers,
Since I haven’t posted anything new since May 2013, I wanted to take a moment to give you an update. I absolutely love writing, but there have been some other priorities that I have had to take care of that prevented me from producing anything new. I’m now living in Reston, Virginia, having relocated from Raleigh, North Carolina in July. In my limited free time, I’ve been working on some websites for people who contracted with me, and I have also been studying for some certifications at my regular job. As such, I have not posted or even written any new articles, but my mind has been swirling with ideas and I hope to have something new for this site soon.
I wish you all a Happy New Year and a blessed Old Calendar Orthodox Christmas!
Anastasios
