I have been given the opportunity to talk about the subject of developing, and maturing the understanding of the Orthodox Tradition. I find this something of a challenge — first, because there is a variety of ways of understanding the meaning of Orthodox Tradition ; and second, because to do this properly would really require a theologian, and I cannot dare to consider myself such a person. I have taken, as a reference for some of my comments, the titles of some of the items in the programme of the Conference.

From my perspective, it is necessary to pay attention to the meanings of the words “to develop”, and “to mature”, especially when it has to do with understanding the Orthodox Tradition. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves living in, and with a foreign mentality. And when I say “foreign”, I mean in this case “western”, in the sense of philosophical. I am going to take a moment to “thump one of my favourite tubs”, and I beg your indulgence.

One of the big problems for us who grow up, and are formed in the west, is the mentality that dominates this west. I mean that since scholasticism has taken control of all our life, from the Orthodox perspective, many things are essentially backwards. In earlier centuries, and in other cultures, theology, which is in reality all-encompassing, was correctly considered to be the source of everything. All other disciplines followed after. However, in the west, philosophy, which functions primarily in the linear realm of logic, usurped this leadership. As we are formed, everything is subjected to human reason, which is in fact replacing God. When theology was in first place, we as Christians (but this was also the case elsewhere) used reason to try to explain what is our experience of God. For us Christians, everything is rooted in our personal, and corporate experience of God the Father, as He reveals Himself to us in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We Christians used to be called The Way, because we follow, and live in Him who is the Way. In these days, we are often classified as a religion. This is a dangerous condition for us, for a religion is a system. But we are neither a system, nor an institution. We are, as the Apostle has written, Members of the Body of Christ, and we are, as such, the Church, a living organism.

I am taking this moment to repeat a definition of “tradition” from a recent Orthodox dictionary: “‘Tradition’, in both Greek and Latin, derives from the verb meaning ‘to hand over, pass on’ (paradidomi, trado). In the Orthodox Church, the phrase ‘Holy Tradition’ signifies the Christian faith and that which enables and expresses it : worship (sacraments and liturgical offices), the Scriptures, the writings of the Church Fathers, the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, and the witness of the lives of the saints. More deeply, tradition has been defined by Fr Georges Florovsky as the life of the Holy Spirit, the current or continuum of the Church as the body of Christ and presence of the age to come. Not bound by documents or ritual actions, nor enclosed by them, nor expressed particularly and infallibly by any one office or officer of the Church, Holy Tradition is enshrined and protected by writings, rites, and offices within the Church.”¹ Further, we distinguish between Holy Tradition, and simple customs of various sorts, and qualities. This definition underlines that this Tradition is, as might be said, the whole truth about Him who is the Truth. Christ is truly the beginning, and the end, of this Tradition. He is alone its focus. In this context, the living out of Christian life in this way in daily life, expresses itself in some ways as being similar to British Common Law.

Next, if we see the dictionary's presentation of "mature", we can see that it principally means "ripe". This is from its Latin root. However, I see a difference beetween the way Latin used the word, and the way we seem to be using it now, at least in English. This ripeness is a process which may be helped along, and encouraged, according to my reading of the meanings for maturesco, maturo, maturus, maturitas, and I suppose that the active aspects in agriculture would presume the activities of pruning, and fertilising. But it is chiefly a process which describes a fulfilment, ripeness, completion, softness, full, and proper time. In modern English usage, we seem to be limiting ourselves to its meaning the simple completion of a process, to full development. The sense of ripeness, and softness are marginal meanings now, so that maturity suggests simply the fulfilling of necessary time. A Latin-influenced understanding of human maturity would expect, as given in a secondary meaning in English, sensibleness, and wisdom, besides having fulfilled certain years, and achieved an adult physical stature. These concepts of sensibleness, and wisdom are related to the concept of ripeness, and softness, certainly because one, in wisdom, understands the unique needs or situation of each person, and is less inclined to impose rigid, inflexible rules.

“Develop”, which comes from French, is a relative of “mature”, in that it carries the sense of fulness, and completeness ; but the primary sense seems to be concerned with making this happen. For example, the first meaning given is “make, or become bigger, or fuller, or more elaborate, or systematic”. As we are currently using these words “develop”, and “mature” nowadays, it seems to me that they are almost synonyms.

In other words, the mentality behind much that we are, and do in the west, at present, seems to be technique. If we only find the right technique for one thing or another problem, we can repair everything. Another background, unmentioned, word is “control”. Technique, and control are symptoms both of fear, and of trying to be independent of the Lord. Technique, and control are interestingly also factors behind the process of recovery used for addiction, in the 12-step programmes. They are symptoms of what is spiritually wrong, which have enabled the addiction.

The reason I am spending this time on rehearsing these terms, and how I understand our present environment, is that if we really wish to discuss maturing, and developing the understanding of Orthodox Christian Tradition, we must try to do so in the native Orthodox Christian way. Therefore, let us also spend a moment with the word “understand”, which in many ways is reduced in modern consciousness to “figure out”, or “dissect”. It is reduced to a simple mental process. But the word means, historically, exactly what the two parts convey. And the word is directly connected with the Latin-based word “comprehend”, which expects the inclusion of implications, and other significant, not necessarily elaborated, factors. It indicates to me that this understanding, or comprehending, is an activity that affects the whole being of a person. Understanding is not simply a mental process.

There is yet another factor involved in this consideration, and that is the meaning of the word “obedience”. Most of the time, we are given to understand that this is something which is imposed by one person upon another. A person must obey, even sometimes blindly, we are told. On the other hand, in the context of what the Gospels present to us, it seems to me that obedience is something rather different. It is not imposed, nor forced, but it is something freely given by one person to another. I believe that, if we look at the lives of our monastic saints, this would be the usual pattern of behaviour. One person sees the light, and love of Christ in another. This love is contagious. The second person, desiring to imitate the virtue, offers obedience, offers imitation. It is through this freely-offered obedience, that life-giving love may grow. It is true that the one being followed will occasionally be required to correct the follower ; but this, in the manner of a family, is something to be undertaken in the context of Christ’s love.

All this leads me to address the matter of balance, and of wholeness, of unity. Unity, and wholeness are natural extensions, and expressions of Who is Christ. The Apostle Paul’s analogies of the Body, the Building, the Field, are all helpful expressions for us. For Orthodox Christians, everything in life is inter-connected; all is part of a greater whole. We properly understand our unity to require also a visible expression. Since the Incarnation, and because of it, the Body of Christ, the Church, must be both visible, and one. Christ is one. The Holy Trinity is one. So the Church must appear as a unified whole, and so must our families, and so must we, ourselves, in ourselves. The only way in which I am aware that such a wholeness, such a unity, may be achieved, is in and through the relationship of pure, and selfless love of Christ. This means that we must become humble like Christ, that is to say, in love of Christ putting ourselves last, and putting Christ and others first ; and we must be ready to live daily in forgiveness with each other, taking seriously the words of the Our Father. Perhaps we may not ourselves bring about the visible unity required, but if we personally live in association with other Orthodox, and with other human beings, in accordance with the Way, we will help this process along, regardless.

In our time, there seems to be an obsession with physical health. There are programmes of every sort, which promote the health of the body — diets, exercise, and the like. There are also all sorts of programmes for promoting psychological health. There are various kinds of systems for sorting out all kinds of psychological difficulties, and there are self-help programmes of every sort. We, captains of our own ships, are determined to do things ourselves, apart from the Lord. We are guaranteed to find every reef, and shoal. We are not looking for true spiritual health, because this requires that we let go of our obsession with control, and allow the Lord to be in charge of our lives. We want to heal ourselves, not let the Lord do so. We want to determine, ourselves, where we are going, not accept that the Lord might know better, and allow Him to lead us. But real health of body, soul, spirit, can only be found in this context, of letting the Lord be in charge, and accepting the direction that He sets. The Lord gives us this indication in Matthew 7 (7-12): “Ask, and it will be given you ; seek, and you will find ; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone ? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent ? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him ! So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets”. The Lord will, and does provide, but we must know Him, and His will. We must have a healthy relationship of love with Him, in order to be able to hear with our hearts, and to understand His will, and therefore to be able to ask in accordance with His will.

Then, there is the matter of the Palestinian shepherd. The Lord’s parable, for instance, in the Gospel of John, is indicative, as follows (10:1-18) : “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheep-fold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber ; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens ; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door ; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy ; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees ; and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He flees, because he is a hireling, and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd ; I know my own, and my own know me, as the Father knows me, and I know the Father ; and I lay down my life for the sheep...’”.

There is a great deal to be remembered in, and from this previous reading. The relationship between shepherd, and sheep, based on love, and interpersonal knowledge, and trust is crucial. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd, and the shepherd knows the sheep. They love each other, they know the names of each other. As even today in the Middle-east, a shepherd leads the sheep, walking in front of them, walking where he wishes them to go. He trusts they will follow, and sometimes he brings a goat for extra encouragement. The sheep trust the shepherd, because they know he loves them, and cares for them, and they also love him. They follow him. They know he will keep them safe. When they are in the fold, it is only to him that they answer, even if they are among a great number of other sheep, which belong to other shepherds. The sheep and shepherd know each other personally. Anyone who pretends to teach, and who cannot manage this kind of relationship is, in the end, classified as a hireling, a technician. One can teach facts, but this is not facts in the context of the whole of life. Teaching the Christian Way has to be not only about imparting simple information. It must be about personally showing the way. One cannot make sheep go where the shepherd is not first going. True, in the west, dogs are used to drive sheep in this manner, but the effect is different. The sheep wander all around, not knowing where they are intended to go, and they move with fear, not with loving confidence. The recent movie Chicken Run was not far off the understanding of this.

It is very much on this teaching of the Saviour about sheep, and shepherd, that rests not only the foundation of normal Orthodox pastoral life, but of any sort of teaching responsibility. Teaching is not just saying something. It is being something. As the Apostle Paul exhorts his disciple Timothy in his first pastoral letter to him (4:11-16) : “...set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Till I come, attend to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance, when the elders laid their hands upon you. Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Take heed to yourself, and to your teaching ; hold to that, for by so doing, you will save both yourself, and your hearers”.

St Seraphim of Sarov is quoted as having said that, if you find peace, that is if you find your way in Christ, then thousands will be saved with you ; but if you lose your way, thousands will be lost with you. We cannot avoid it. For good, or for bad, for life, or for death, we affect all around us — animate, or inanimate, humans, animals, the environment. How we live our lives has a great effect. I remember another old film, It’s a Wonderful Life”, about a man who is tempted to give up in the face of difficulty, and is shown how different all would be, were he not a factor in the lives of others. Sometimes the media are on the right track !

Here, in the end, is the reason the responsibility of the Christian leader, of the Christian educator is so great. It is true that it is important to know what we need to believe as Orthodox Christians. But this knowledge must be in the context of a whole life that embodies these facts, in the context of life-giving love. This is so, because these facts, these details, these teachings, these doctrines, these dogmas, are all products of the relationship of life-giving love in Christ. I, myself, have been influenced by many persons, both Orthodox, and pre-Orthodox in my life, who have been just such persons. I remember with love to this day the Roman Catholic nuns who taught me at the age of 5 (and my parents were Lutheran). I remember my early Lutheran Church-School teacher, Mrs Holmberg, who taught us Scripture, and songs, but who imparted also the love of Christ. I remember faithful Ole Olson from all my first twenty years, who always liked to repeat : “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13, 8). I remember Professor Canon Thomas Bailey who, in teaching us the theories of “higher textual criticism”, reminded us that if serious doubts arise from the consideration, we ought to rest on the text itself. They lived this faith. Their living this faith, and Mr Olson’s frequent repetition of these words from Hebrews (in a strong Norwegian accent), were of considerable help to me, in the course of my life. Between the usual temptations one faces in life, and the scholastic questioning of Scripture I encountered in various places, there were many occasions on which I might have been distracted from trying to keep to the Tradition. But, by the Lord’s mercy, the recollection of their example seemed to keep me mindful of the Tradition, the Tradition of Christ, the One Christ. These were good persons among a good many others, through the course of my life, who have shown me the way : people like Archbishop Paul of Finland, Archimandrite Simforian of Valamo, Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex, Protopresbyters Alexander Schememann, and John Meyendorff, Bishop Ioasaph of Vancouver, Professors Mugford, Moir, Verhovskoy, and many others still. All were God-fearing people, Christ-loving persons, who by their example kept showing me the way in the Way by their lives, and giving me hope, as well as correcting me.

And so, perhaps, if we really want to consider the maturing, and development of our understanding of Orthodox Tradition, we would be well advised to recall the words of the Apostle Paul, who himself said regarding the Eucharist to the Corinthians (1.11:23) : “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you...”. He handed on more than just this. He handed on by word, and example his personal encounter with Christ. He said also to us through the Philippians, with whom he discusses his own pilgrimage (3:7-16) : “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss, for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss, because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, that depends on faith ; that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect ; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own ; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded ; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained”.

If we are considering what this attainment must be, it cannot be simply an intellectual accomplishment. The Apostle himself indicates that all that his formidable intellect is addressing stems, as is our inheritance, from speaking about his personal life in relationship with Christ. He says to the Corinthians, after having previously listed some of his multitude of sufferings (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) : “I must boast ; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions, and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ, who, fourteen years ago, was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise — whether in the body, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows — and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. Although, if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me, or hears from me. And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times, I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me ; but He said to me, ‘My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness’. I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities ; for when I am weak, then I am strong”.

Here, truly, is the simple pattern we must learn to follow if we truly wish to come to maturity in understanding the Tradition.

Also I must say that, as Orthodox Christians in the world in the twenty-first century, we are very far from the apostolic example. We have strayed far from this, because the example we see almost everywhere now in the Orthodox Churches is the use of politics, and power, in the way secular people are behaving. We use manipulation, and manoeuvring, posturing, and positioning, depending on civil governments, and money. Canons are a medicinal prescription for healing spiritual illnesses in the members of the Body of Christ. Instead, we seem now to treat them in the manner of civil law, using them as clubs with which to beat each other, to try to force each other into submission. In behaving in this way, Orthodox Christians are, in my opinion, not demonstrating to the world the power of Christ, but rather the opposite — what weakness comes from not imitating the example of the Apostle, and forgetting those words he received :”My Grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness”. We behave in this worldly way with each other, and we behave this way in the context of civil life. I believe that if we behave in this manner, we are like the brothers of the Rich Man (Dives), of the Lord’s parable, about whom Abraham said that it is sufficient for them that they have Moses, and the Prophets in order to live a godly life. We have them, too, and still much more than this, and we are not living up to what we have been given. We are being faint-hearted. I believe that in so doing, we are actually betraying Christ, not proclaiming Him. Instead of impatiently attempting to force matters, it is important for us to have patience, and to try to listen to the Lord, and do His will. We must remember that the Lord sends us as yeast, and salt in the world. In order to do so, we have to learn to live in daily repentance, and to allow the Lord to remake us, to transform, to transfigure us, to bring us to His likeness.

So, in the end, if we are going to be maturing, and developing our understanding of the Orthodox Tradition, and this so that the Lord may use us as He will, then we must be in our own lives, without pointing accusing fingers at others, behaving accordingly. Instead, we must be ready to take responsibility for our own falls. We must allow the Lord to remove the log from our eye before paying attention to the speck in the eye of the other. This means first that we all, personally, and corporately, must do our best to allow the Holy Spirit to grow in our hearts, and to direct our lives in the love of Christ. We must open ourselves to His will, so that He may bring us to maturity, to ripeness. We must help Him develop our understanding, by cooperating with Him. We must lovingly offer Him our obedience, our imitation of Him, our co-operation with the Grace of the Holy Spirit. It is crucial that our own spiritual houses be in order. Our lives must be one interconnected whole in Christ. Everything in our lives must refer to Christ. We must be both acutely aware of, and praying for, and nurturing in Christ, all around us. This is, of course, the essence of the teaching of Saint Silouan of Mount Athos. If we are able to cooperate in the Lord enough that we are making even some partial progress towards this ideal, we will already be able to help others as pastors, and teachers.

May the Lord, by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, enable all of us to do more in conforming ourselves to His likeness, so that, loving Him above all, we may lovingly, and freely do His holy will.

Endnote

¹Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, Michael D Peterson, Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church (Lanham, Maryland, and London: Scarecrow Press, 1996) p. 223.