Speaking
in Tongues, "Glossolalia," a popular practice with many Churches
today, is a phenomenon which can be traced to the days of the Apostles. A
decade ago, Speaking in Tongues was encountered only in Pentecostal Churches,
Revival Meetings, Quaker gatherings and some Methodist groups. Today,
Glossolalia is also found in some Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches.
The Greek
Orthodox Church does not preclude the use of Glossolalia, but regards it as one
of the minor gifts of the Holy Spirit. If Glossolalia has fallen out of use it
is because it served its purpose in New Testament times and is no longer
necessary. However, even when used, it is a private and personal gift, a lower
form of prayer. The Orthodox Church differs with those Pentecostal and
Charismatic groups which regard Glossolalia as a pre requisite to being a
Christian and to having received the Holy Spirit.
Serapion
of Egypt, a fourth century contemporary of St. Athanasios summarized Eastern
Orthodox theology:
"The Anointing after Baptism is for the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit, that having been born again through Baptism and made
new through the laver of regeneration, the candidates may be made new through
the gifts of the Holy Spirit and secured by this Seal may continue
steadfast."
Bishop
Maximos Aghiorghoussis, Greek Orthodox Diocese of Pittsburgh and world-renowned
Orthodox theologian on the Holy Spirit states it this way: "For Orthodox
Christians, Baptism is our personal Paschal Resurrection and Chrismation is our
personal Pentecost and indwelling of the Holy Spirit."
There are
two forms of Glossolalia:
Corinthian Glossolalia is
different. St. Paul, who had founded the Church of Corinth, found it necessary
to respond to some of their problems, i.e., division of authority, moral and
ethical problems, the eucharist, the issue of death and resurrection and how
the Gifts of the Holy Spirit operated. In chapter 12, St. Paul lists nine of
the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, i.e., knowledge, wisdom, spirit, faith, healing,
miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues and interpreting what another says when
he speaks in tongues.
Specifically,
Corinthian Glossolalia was an activity of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person
and compelling him to external expressions directed to God, but not understood
by others. In Pentecost Glossolalia, while speaking in several different
tongues, both the speaker and the listener understood what was uttered. The
Glossolalia manifested in Corinth was the utterance of words, phrases,
sentences, etc., intelligible to God but not to the person uttering them. What
was uttered needed to be interpreted by another who had the gift of
interpretation.
When the
person spoke, his soul became passive and his understanding became inactive. He
was in a state of ecstasy. While the words or sounds were prayer and praise,
they were not clear in meaning and gave the impression of something mysterious.
The phenomenon included sighs, groanings, shoutings, cries and utterances of
disconnected speech, sometimes jubilant and some times ecstatic. There is no
question-the Church of Corinth had Glossolalia; St. Paul attests to that and
makes mention of it. But he also cautions the Corinthian Christians about
excessive use; especially to the exclusion of the other more important gifts.
It
appears St. Paul was questioned about the working of the Holy Spirit through
the Gifts. Corinth was greatly influenced by Greek paganism which included
demonstrations, frenzies and orgies, all intricately interwoven into their
religious practices. In post Homeric times, the cult of the Dionysiac orgies
made their entrance into the Greek world. According to this, music, the
whirling dance, intoxication and utterances had the power to make men divine;
to produce a condition in which the normal state was left behind and the
inspired person perceived what was external to himself and the senses.
In other
words, the soul was supposed to leave the body, hence the word ecstasy (ek
stasis). They believed that while the being was absent from the body, the soul
was united with the deity. At such times, the ecstatic person had no
consciousness of his own.
"I would like for all of you to speak in
strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's
message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than
the one who speaks in strange tongues-unless there is someone who can explain
what he says, so the whole Church may be edified. So when I come to you, my
brethren, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit,
unless I bring to you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some
inspired message or some teaching."
Apostolic
times were a unique period, rich with extraordinary and supernatural phenomena,
for the history of mankind. The Lord God set out to make new creations through
the saving grace of His Son, and implemented into perfection through the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit endowed men and women with many gifts in order to bring
this about. One of its gifts during New Testament times was Glossolalia. But
even from New Testament times, it would seem Glossolalia began to phase out.
St. Paul, it seems, indicates later in chapter 14 that Glossolalia should be
minimized and understood preaching, maximized. Justin Martyr, a prolific
mid-century writer lists several kinds of gifts but does not mention
Glossolalia. Chrysostom wrote numerous homilies on Books of the New Testament
during the fourth century but does not appear to make mention of Glossolalia as
noted in First Corinthians.
Many
Christian writers, certainly the mystics, wrote about states of ecstasy during
praise and worship, of seeing visions of God's heavenly kingdom, of what they
perceived eternal life with Christ to be, of how the Holy Spirit spoke to them
and through them, to others. But theirs was always understood, intelligible,
comprehensible communication. Perhaps they could not describe in earthly and
material frames of reference, what they saw and experienced, but they were
conscious and fully aware of what was happening. They were not in some state of
senselessness. Even the monks on Mount Athos who experience divine
communication and have reached a plateau of holiness, do not speak in tongues.
They speak in words that are intelligible and utter clear words in hymn and
praise of God and His truth.
What then
is the Orthodox Christian perspective on Glossolalia? The Orthodox Christian
viewpoint on Glossolalia is based on St. Paul's words in chapter 14 of the same
Epistle, "I thank God that I speak in strange tongues much more than any
of you. But in Church worship I would rather speak five words that can be
understood, in order to teach others, than speak thousands of words in strange
tongues." (verses 18-19) In chapter 13 St. Paul says, "Set your
hearts, then, on the more important gifts. Best of all, however, is the
following way." Then St. Paul proceeds and shares with his readership the
greatest gift of all - Love!
The
Orthodox Church does not rule out Glossolalia. She simply does not regard it as
one of the important ones. Better to "speak five words that can be
understood ... than speak thousands of words in strange tongues." This is
the Orthodox Christian viewpoint.
By Fr. George Nicozisin
Source: https://www.goarch.org/-/speaking-in-tongues-an-orthodox-perspective
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