The Catalog of Good Deeds

When teaching men to pray, Christ said,

Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Mt 6.9–13, cf. Lk 11.2–4).

This is the usual translation of the prayer used in the Orthodox Church. It begins with a petition to God as “our Father.” There was no such prayer before this teaching of Christ. The Old Testament people did not address God as “Abba: Father” (Rom 8.15, Gal 4.6). This name of “Father” for God is given by Christ, the divine Son of God. Men can dare, “with boldness and without condemnation” to call upon the “heavenly God” with the name of “Father” only when they are made worthy to do so by Christ (cf. Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom). In the early church the prayer “Our Father” was taught only to the baptized members of the church.

The statement that the Father is “in heaven,” or literally “in the heavens,” means that He is everywhere and over all things. The heavens are over all and encompass all. Wherever man goes on the earth or in the air, or even in space, the heavens are around him and over him. To say that the Father is “in the heavens” means that He is not tied down or limited to any one location—as were the gods of the heathens. The heavenly God is the “God of gods” (Deut 10.17, 2 Chron 2.5), the “Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4.5), the one in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17.28). To say that God is “in heaven” is not to place Him somewhere; it is rather to say that He transcends all things and yet is present to all.

“Hallowed be Thy name” means that God’s name is holy and should be treated with respect and devotion. In the old covenant it was the custom of the Jews never to say the sacred name of God: Yahweh, the I AM (cf. Ex 3.13–15). This was to guard against defilement of the divine name, and to safeguard against transgressing the commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Ex 20.7).

In the New Testament, God gives Jesus the “name which is above every name” (Phil 2.9) and in making the name of the Father holy, Christians do so in the name of His Son.

“Thy Kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer is first of all the prayer for the end of the ages. Christians want the world to end so that God’s Kingdom would fill all creation with divine glory and life. “Come Lord Jesus; Marantha!” is the prayer of the faithful, the last prayer of the Scriptures (Rev 22.20, cf. 1 Cor 16.22). It is the calling for the final appearance of the Lord.

In the spiritual tradition of the Church, the prayer “Thy Kingdom come” has also been understood as an invocation of the Holy Spirit to dwell in God’s people. In his commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, Saint Gregory of Nyssa says that there was another reading for this petition which said “Thy Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.” Thus he says, following the scriptures, that the presence of the Holy Spirit in man is the presence of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

For the Kingdom of God is . . . righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14.17).

. . . it is God who establishes us with you in Christ . . . He has put His seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor 1.22).

In Him . . . you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

. . . do not grieve the Holy Spirit in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Eph 1.13–14, 4.30).

The seal of the Holy Spirit on men’s hearts is the pledge and guarantee of the Kingdom of God still to come in all power and glory. In the prayer “Thy Kingdom come,” believers in Jesus ask that the Kingdom of God “not coming in external signs of observation” for the faithless to behold, might dwell powerfully and secretly within the faithful (cf. Lk 17.20–21).

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is the center of the Lord’s Prayer, the central desire of Christians. The whole purpose of prayer, the very purpose of man’s life, is to do the will of God. This is what Jesus prayed and did (cf. Mt 26.42). And this is what His followers must pray and do. There is but one purpose of prayer, say the spiritual teachers, to keep God’s commandments so as not to sin, thus leading to deification and divine sonship with Christ.

The only thing that God demands of us mortals is that we do not sin. But this . . . is merely keeping inviolate the image and rank we possess by nature. Clothed thus in the radiant garment of the Spirit, we abide in God and He in us; through grace we become gods and sons of God and are illumined by the light of His knowledge . . . (Saint Simeon the New Theologian, 10th c., Practical and Theological Precepts).

To pray “Thy will be done” according to the spiritual teachers, is a daring and dangerous act. This is so, first of all, because when one makes this prayer, he must be ready, like Christ, to follow where it leads. God will answer this prayer, and make known His will. The person who prays must be ready to obey, whatever the consequences. When asked why many Christians are frustrated and irritated, grouchy and mean, and sometimes even somewhat “unbalanced,” one spiritual teacher responded that the reason is clear. They pray “Thy will be done,” and continue daily to do so, while at the same time they resist God’s will in their lives and so are always ill at ease. Then they begin to justify their attitudes and actions, to explain and to rationalize their behavior, before their own consciences and others. A person in such as state can never be at peace, for “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Heb 10.31).

The second reason why it is said that the prayer “Thy will be done”—and prayer generally—is daring and dangerous is because the devil ferociously attacks the person who prays. Indeed one of the greatest proofs of demonic temptation, and the reality and power of the devil, is to be fervent in prayer. For the devil wants nothing so much as for man to fail to accomplish the will of God which is the purpose of all prayer.

If you strive after prayer, prepare yourself for diabolical suggestions and bear patiently their onslaughts; for they will attack you like wild beasts . . . Try as much as possible to be humble and courageous . . . He who endures will be granted great joy (Saint Nilus of Sinai, 5th c., Texts on Prayer).

The prayer for our “daily bread” is normally understood to signify generally all of our bodily needs and whatever we require to sustain our lives in this world. In the spiritual tradition however, this petition, because it literally says our “essential” or “super-essential” bread, is often understood in the spiritual sense to mean the nourishment of our souls by the Word of God, Jesus Christ who is the “Bread of Life;” the “Bread of God which has come down from heaven and given life to the world” (Jn 6.33–36); the bread which “a man may eat of it and not die,” but “live forever” (Jn 6.50–51). Thus the prayer for “daily bread” becomes the petition for daily spiritual nourishment through abiding communion with Christ so that one might live perpetually with God.

The prayer “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” has been especially emphasized by the Lord.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Mt 6.14–15).

This is the point of Christ’s parable about the unforgiving servant (Mt 18.23–35). All men need the forgiveness of God and must pray for it. All men are indebted to God for everything, and fail to offer the thanksgiving and praise and righteousness that are due. The only way that God will overlook and forgive the sins and debts of His servants is if they themselves forgive their brothers, not merely in words and formal gestures, but genuinely and truly “from their hearts” (cf. Mt 18.35). In the prayer taught by Christ this is clearly acknowledged.

“Lead us not into temptation” should not be understood as if God puts His people to the test or brings them in to the occasion of evil.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death (Jas 1.13–15).

“Lead us not into temptation” means that we ask God not to allow us to be found in situations in which we will be overcome by sin. It is a prayer that we be kept from those people and places where wickedness reigns and where we in our weakness will certainly succumb. It is a prayer that we will be liberated from the deceit and vanity of our minds and hearts, from the carnal lusts that dwell in our bodies. It is a prayer that God Himself would be man’s shelter and refuge (cf. Ps 91).

“Deliver us from evil” says literally “rescue us from the evil one,” that is, the devil. The meaning is clear. There are but two ways for man: God and life or the devil and death. Deliverance from the devil means salvation and redemption from every falsehood, foolishness, deceit, wickedness and iniquity that leads to destruction and death.

Thus, as Metropolitan Anthony of Sorouzh has explained, the Lord’s Prayer shows the whole meaning of the life of man (cf. Anthony Bloom, Living Prayer). Delivered from evil, man is saved from temptation, in so doing he is merciful to all and receives the forgiveness of his own sins. Being forgiven his sins, by his mercy to others, he has all that he needs for life—his “daily bread”; and being nourished by God, he accomplishes His will. Having accomplished His will, God’s Kingdom is present, His name is sanctified and He becomes the Father of the one who shows himself to be in truth the child of God who can say, “Our Father.”

Source: https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/prayer-fasting-and-almsgiving/the-lords-prayer

Saint Sabbatius of Solovki came to the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery in the year 1396, where he received the monastic tonsure. He there pursued asceticism for a long time, unquestioningly fulfilling all obediences. His humility, gentle love towards the brethren and his strict life distinguished the monk Sabbatius among his fellow ascetics. He soon became burdened by the attention and esteem of the brethren and laity coming to him, and having learned that on Lake Ladoga is the rocky island of Valaam, he decided to settle there.

The brethren of the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery were very sad to be parted from their Elder. At Valaam the worldly fame also began to disquiet the humble Elder. Then the monk learned that in the north was the uninhabited island of Solovki, and he began to ask the igumen’s blessing to settle there in solitude. But the igumen and the brethren did not want to be separated from their holy Elder.

At the command of God Saint Sabbatius left the Valaam monastery by night and set off to the shores of the White Sea. When he learned from the local people that the island was two days distant, that on it were many lakes and that no one lived on the island, he was even more eager to settle there. The astonished local people asked the ascetic, whitened with grey hair, how he would live there and what he would eat. “My Master,” replied the monk, “gives the fresh strength of youth to the frail, and nourishes the hungry to satiety.”

For a certain time Saint Sabbatius remained at the chapel near the mouth of the Vyg River, in the environs of Soroka. There he encountered Saint Germanus pursuing asceticism as a hermit, and together they decided to settle upon the island. In a frail boat, praying to God, the Elders set off upon the harsh sea and after three days they reached Solovki Island.

The ascetics settled by the Sekirna hill, where they raised up a cross and built their cells. In the severe conditions of the north, the Elders hallowed the unpopulated island by their exploits. Here also the Enemy of mankind,the devil, tempted the holy Elders. A certain fisherman with his wife, moved with a sense of envy, came somehow to the island and settled near the ascetics. But the Lord did not permit the laypeople to remain near the monks. Two youths in bright garb appeared to the wife of the fisherman and struck her with rods. The fisherman took fright, quickly gathered his things and hastened to return to his former place of residence.

Once, when Saint Germanus had gone for supplies along the Onega River, Saint Sabbatius, alone and sensing his impending end, turned to God and prayed that He would grant him to partake of the Holy Mysteries. The monk sailed for two days to the mainland and at ten versts from the Vyg River encountered the igumen Nathanael, who had come to the distant settlement to commune a sick Christian. Igumen Nathanael rejoiced at meeting the monk, fulfilled his wish and heard the account of his exploits on the island. In parting, they agreed to meet at the church along the Vyg River.

Entering the temple, the holy Elder prayerfully gave thanks to God for Communion. He then enclosed himself in a cell located near the church, and began to prepare himself for death. During this time the Novgorod merchant John came to shore and, having venerated the holy icons in church, he went to the holy Elder. Having received his blessing and guidance, he offered the monk a portion of his wealth and was saddened when he heard a refusal. To comfort the merchant, Saint Sabbatius offered to let him stay over until morning, and promised him prosperity on further journeying. The merchant John, however, hastened to disembark.

Suddenly there was an earthquake, and a storm arose on the sea. Taking fright, the merchant stayed where he was. In the morning when he entered the cell for a blessing, he saw that the Elder was already dead. He and Igumen Nathanael, who had just arrived, buried Saint Sabbatius at the chapel and wrote a manuscript of his Life. This occurred on September 27, 1435. After thirty years, the relics of Saint Sabbatius were transferred by Saint Zosimas (April 17) and the brethren of Solovki Island, placing them in the Transfiguration church. In 1566, the relics of Saints Sabbatius and Zosimas were transferred into a church, named in their honor (August 8).

Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2008/09/27/102735-venerable-sabbatius-the-wonderworker-of-solovki

The life-affirming Biblical concept of death permeates almost the entire theological heritage of the Church, from the early Christian writings up until the present time. Priest Vladimir Bashkirov, Doctor of Theology, Professor at the Minsk Theological Academy and head of the Theology Department of the Belorussian State University Institute of Theology, provides examples of this drawing on a wide range of biblical and patristic sources.

I. The metaphysical aspect of death

In one of the collections of the sayings of the desert monks published recently under the rather humorous title “The Desert Fathers Laugh” I read a wonderful saying about death, at once both simple and deep. Here it is:

“Abba Athanasius was close to death. He said to the doctor who was assuring him that he had nothing serious: ‘What good luck! I’m dying in good health.’”

At the first glance I might seem that the elder is showing excessive bravery and is showing off his fearlessness, but in actual fact he is expressing, albeit in a rather paradoxical form, a purely Christian attitude to the phenomenon of death: “Death should not be feared, because it does not exist!”

This life-affirming Biblical concept of death permeates almost the whole of the theological heritage of the Church, from the early Christian writings up until present times.

1. Death in the Old Testament

1.1. In the Old Testament death (mawet – fading of life) is perceived in a very realistic manner. God grants his life-energy (ruach) only for a limited time (3 Kings 17:17; Job 34:14). Man’s body, created from dust, returns to the earth and his spirit returns to God, Who first granted it (Ps 145:4¨; Eccl 12:1-7). Human life is short and ends quickly (Isa 40:6; Ps 38:5-7; 89:4-6; 102:15-16; Job 14:1-2; Eccl 3:2), because “the days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”(Ps 89:10). However, in actual fact life ends up being even shorter – around 30 years for men and even less for women in connection with childbearing and high infant mortality. It was considered a happy blessing to die in old age, having become “full of days” (Gen. 25:8; Job 42:17; compare with Deut. 34:7).

The Old Testament had not found an answer to how to treat premature death. After all, time is needed in order for life to reveal itself in full. Man himself could do very little, for example forbidding newlyweds to go to war (Deut 20:7, 2 Kings 18:33), but for the rest there only remained to sorrow and hope in God’s omnipotence, which sometimes manifested itself (3 Kings 17:17-24; 4 Kings 18-37, 4 Kings 20:9-11).

1.2. Israel did not perceive death, implacable and merciless, as an autonomous supernatural force. It is used by God to strike down (Hebrew nkh) people. Thus the Lord strikes down the cruel and wicked Nabal (1 Kings 25:3, 25:38), Uzzah, who dared to stretch his hands to the Ark of God (2 Kings 6:6-7), Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24); the firstborn of the land of Egypt (Ex 12:29); Dathan, Abiram and Korah’s people (Num 16:19-25); and He sends a pestilence on the Israelites for conducting a census (2 Kings 24:15-25), among other examples. Those attempting to get close to God risk death (Ex 19:16-25; 33:5, 20-23; Lev 16:1; Isa 6:5). In general God Yahweh kills and makes alive, wounds and heals, and no one can escape His hand (compare Deut 32:39). He casts down to Hell and lifts up (1 Kings 2:6); His might is astounding: “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” (Ps 103:29). Any attempt to approach Him already conceals death in itself (Ex 19:16-25; 33:5, 20-23; Lev 16:1; Isa 6:5).

Death as the means of God’s retribution manifests itself through illnesses, pain, persecution, loneliness, need, fear and being forsaken by God, and threatens life both in case of individuals and of whole societies (compare Ps 6:5-9; Ps 21:12-22; Ps 29:2-4; Ps 37; 59:3-5; 78:1-5). The Prophets could daringly declare a whole city or a whole country to be cast down into dust, although at the time of the prophecy these places were flourishing and it appeared that nothing was threatening them. This kind of prophesy was uttered by Isaiah about Zion (Isa 1:21-23) and by the prophet Amos about the house of Israel (Am 5:1-2).

1.3. In the Old Testament death is linked with the underworld, or Sheol, which is located in the bowels of the earth and is the common grave for the whole of humanity. To descend into Sheol or to be buried meant becoming a victim of the mighty power of death. And although the idea of life after death was linked to Sheol, existence in this kingdom of shadows was hopeless, because death is the result of and the punishment for sin (Gen 2, 3; Wisdom 1:13-16; 2:22-24).

However at the time of the Maccabees the attitude to death changes in connection with the struggle against foreign enslavement and, for the first time in the Old Testament, in the first book of Maccabees death is portrayed as heroic (1 Macc 13:25-30). From this time onward the idea of the anticipation of the resurrection of the dead gradually develops, an idea that had been expressed already in the book of the prophet Daniel (Dan 12, 13; compare 2 Macc 7, 9, 14). It is subsequently taken up in Jewish apocalyptic writings, in the writings of the wise men of Israel (Sir 15:6; Wisdom 2:23) and in the works of scribes close to the Pharisee faction (Acts 23:8).

2. Death in the New Testament

2.1. In the New Testament Man’s death is viewed through the prism of the death on the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Immortality belongs only to God (1 Tim 6:16) and it is natural for people to be afraid of death (Matt 4:16; Heb 2:15). However, because God is the life-giving source of all life (Rom 4:17), death could have only appeared as the result of Man having abandoned God, which is what happened with Adam (Rom 5:15, 17-18; 1 Cor 15:22) and which is repeated in the life of every person (Rom 6:23; Heb 9:27). In this manner, death gains power over a person not only at the end of his earthly life, but reigns over him throughout his whole life. This is so-called carnal wisdom, moral or spiritual death (Rom 8:6; 1 John 3:14), because sin, which results in death and is its sting, exists in Man despite the law of God (Rom 7:9, 1 Cor 15:56; James 1:15). For this reason the Scriptures say that the Devil, from whom sin originates, was in possession of the dominion of death (Heb 2:14) and death itself is viewed as a demonic power (1 Cor 15:26-27; Rev 6:8; 20:13-14).

2.2. The New Testament shows that Christ, who did not have to die, because He was without sin, stepped into the sphere of death, humbled Himself, having been obedient even unto death, the death of the Cross (Phil 2:7; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pet 3:18) and died for us (1 Thess 5:10; compare with Mark 10:45; Rom 5:6; Heb 2:9). By His Resurrection He conquered the Devil and death and holds the keys of Hell and death (Heb 2, 14-15; Rev 1:17-18). Then Christ had destroyed the power of death over those that believed in Him, i.e. those who were baptised into Christ (Rom 6:3-4) and died with Him for the world and for sin (Rom 7:6; Gal 6:14; Col 2:20). A Christian goes through death in Christ and is separated not from God, but from the world and from sin. The world and sin die within him, because the life of Jesus is opened to those who believe (2 Cor 4:10; 5:1-15; Col 3:3). In other words Christ grants life or raises from the dead. Moreover, this does not happen in the Last Days, but in the same instant, immediately. Everyone who entrusts himself to Christ crosses over from death to life (John 5:24) and will never see death (John 8:51-52), although the whole world already exists in a state of death (Rev 3:2) and is moving towards a second death, to eternal separation from God (Rev 20:14).

Christians remain mortal, they die in the physical sense, but they die in Christ (1 Thess 4:16) or fall asleep in Him (Acts 7:60; John 11:11-14; 1 Cor 7:39; 15:6, 18; 51; 1 Thess 4:13-15). Physical death is the last enemy destroyed by Christ (1 Cor 15:26), but He gave us this victory as a potential and death itself continues to afflict the bodily life of a particular individual (Rom 8:9-11). However, it has been deprived of its sting and it cannot separate a Christian from Christ; on the contrary, it brings him closer to Christ (Rom 8:38-39; 2 Cor 5:1-10; Phil 1:20-21). He, having risen from the dead, the firstborn of the dead, calls all the faithful to a new life, resurrecting and transfiguring their bodies, and then the spirit and body will exist in perfect harmony (compare with 1 Cor 15:20; Col 1:12).

We should note that when the apostle Paul speaks about the final fate of Man, he clearly distinguishes three deaths: physical death (Rom 5:12; 6:21-23; 2 Cor 1:9-10), spiritual death, i.e. death from sin (Rom 7:10; 8:6), and eternal death, when a person experiences a final separation from God (2 Cor 2:15-16).

3. Death in Pre-Nicene theology

3.1. The reality and universality of death was already taught by St. Justin the Philosopher (+ c. 165), who saw in it the action of Divine paedagogy.

In his apologetic work “Address to the Greeks” Justin’s disciple Tatian (+ c. 175) sees the cause of death exclusively in Man’s freedom. Man chose evil, the cause of death, and he is unable to renounce this evil by turning to God.

In his treatise ‘On the Resurrection of the Body’ Athenagoras (2nd century) emphasises the analogy between sleep and death and repeats after Homer “Sleep and Death are twin brothers.”

He argues thus: “In death, as in sleep, the vital activity of soul and body is interrupted. With waking and resurrection this anomaly is destroyed, consciousness returns, and the unity of soul and body is restored.”

3.2. St. Irenaeus of Lyons (+ c. 202) was the first of the pre-Nicene Fathers to see in death a creative element looking towards eternity: “He (God) restricted sin, appointing death and putting a stop to sin, establishing a limit to it through the destruction of the flesh, which must remain in the earth, so that at one point Man would stop living for sin and, dying to it, start to live for God.”

Subsequently this thought becomes part of the general patristic tradition: this was the opinion held by Clement of Alexandria (+ c. 215) and this was also thought by Tertullian (+ c. 225), who believed the sin of Adam and Eve to be the cause of mortality in mankind.

St. Hippolytus of Rome (+ c. 236) stated that human bodies were completely indestructible and only decomposed into their component parts, rather then being destroyed.

3.3. The same idea was shared by Origen (+254) another famous Church writer of the 3rd century.

Like other ancient Christian writers he believed sin to be the cause of mortality in the human race and understood the ‘coats of skins’ (Gen 3:21) to mean the present mortal human body: “Coats of skins constitute the mortality into which Adam and Eve were clothed after they were condemned to death for sin.”

St. Methodius of Olympus (+ c. 311) sees within death the action of Divine paedagogy. For Man death is preferable to separation from the Tree of Life, and to the cementing of this horrendous condition for eternity.

4. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Theologian on death

4.1. Like earlier theologians, St. Basil the Great (+ 379) thought that the cause of death is rooted in human will, which preferred matter to spirit and illusion to reality. “Adam… was protected in all these things by God and enjoyed the blessings belonging to Him, he quickly became full of everything. And as it were becoming insolent through satiety, he preferred what appeared delightful to the fleshly eyes to the spiritual beauty and considered the filling of the stomach more valuable than the spiritual enjoyments. And immediately he was outside paradise and outside that blessed way of life, becoming evil not from necessity but from thoughtlessness. Because of this he also sinned through wicked free choice and died through the sin. “For the wages of sin is death” [Rom 6:23]. For to the extent that he withdrew from life, he likewise drew near to death. For God is life, and the privation of life is death.”

In this manner the first cause of death is lack of knowledge of God: “For the body,” he states, “cannot live without breath and the soul cannot exist without the Creator, because lack of knowledge of God is death for the soul.”

Death has entered so deeply into Man’s nature that his whole life is gradual dying, because with his body he lives in a mortal world, according to the laws of the material world.

4.2. For St. Gregory the Theologian (+ c. 389) death is the action of God’s judgement. It puts a stop to sin, so that “evil did not become immortal. Thus the punishment itself becomes a sign of love towards humanity, because I am sure that this is the manner of God’s punishment.”

St. Gregory believes that on his deathbed every person “is an honest judge of himself on account of the judgement that awaits him beyond.” And thus it could be said that life and death penetrate each other and are different forms of the same existence.

5. St Gregory of Nyssa on death

The theme of death was also of special interest to St. Gregory of Nyssa (+ 395). He returned to it many times in his works, and developed, on the basis of the thought of his distinguished predecessors and contemporaries, the Christian teaching on death and its place in the life of each human being, as well as for the human race as a whole. Moreover, he did it with his characteristic talent, unsurpassable intensity and depth. Virtually all the scholars of his legacy make note of these qualities, which is why we should look at his concept of death in greater detail.

Death of the body

5.1. Like all the other Fathers and Teachers of the Church, St. Gregory of Nyssa views human life itself as the result of very close interaction between two substances from which he has been created: soul and body. “The human being,” he states in the Great Catechism, “is a twofold creature, compounded of soul and body.”

The human soul is that vivifying source that communicates life to the body with which it is in contact. It “penetrates equally every member that composes the body and transmits life to all and each of such parts.”

Consequently death is the parting of body and soul, that is, in the opinion of St. Gregory, in death a person’s bodily nature is deprived of life, the inner link between soul and body is severed and sensory organs become extinguished and various elements that made up the body decompose into groups of like elements. This happens because the body is complex in its composition, i.e. comprised of different elements, pieces of matter, each of which returns to its place.

He has another extremely important definition of death. It appears to him as the assembly of qualities and functions that appeared in the human organism after the Fall of our ancestors.

5.2. St. Gregory decisively defends the idea of the indestructibility of the human body. Such a view fully corresponds to his teaching on the nature of matter:

“… Not one of those things which we attribute to body is itself body; neither figure, nor colour, nor weight, nor extension, nor quantity, nor any other qualifying notion whatever; but every one of them is a category; it is the combination of them all into a single whole that constitutes body.”

“This dynamic theory of matter,” notes V.N. Lossky (1958), “makes it possible to conceive of different degrees of materiality, bodies which are material to a greater or lesser extent; it also makes it easier to comprehend the change which took place in the original nature after the coming of sin, as also the resurrection of the body. The material elements pass from one body to another, so that the universe is in fact but a single body.”

Moreover, St. Gregory states that the elements of the human body are completely preserved in their original state; that they never stop existing.

“The body does not disappear completely, but decomposes into components of which it is formed; these elements exist in water and air, in earth and fire. Because the changed elements do not cease to exist, and what was borrowed from them returns to them after decomposition, within these elements the parts of the body are wholly preserved.” But there is more!

It turns out that the components of our body, becoming joined with these original elements, in no way become dissolved in them, losing their individuality, but retain in themselves particular features that distinguish them from the components of other bodies.

6. The death of the immortal soul and its condition beyond the grave

6.1. Sin as a source of death had an effect on the soul as well as the body, and thus death encompassed the whole of the human being, i.e. both body and soul. It would be better to say that the soul was the first to die, because disobedience is a sin of the will and not the body, while the will, from which evil spread to the whole of nature, belongs to the soul.

This is why together with the Apostle Paul St. Gregory speaks of two deaths:

“Since… the communication of sinful passions can occur in soul and body … there is a certain resemblance between the death of the body and the death of the soul, because as the departure of the sensory life is called the death of the body, the departure from true life is also called the death of the soul.”

6.2. But what happens with the soul, which is an immortal entity, after death and the decay of the body? St. Gregory is completely confident in maintaining that the soul simply leaves the body and passes to a different world.

The commentary on the Song of Songs contains a thought that “death gained power over half of our nature, because only the soul remains immortal”, which, like the angels, extends into eternity.

“Does not the flesh decompose into the earth and the mind remain with the soul, retaining existence even after the loss of the flesh? This is proved by the fact that the rich man remembers those still on earth and begs Abraham for those connected with him by ties of kinship… Having experienced for himself the inevitability of the judgement he concerns himself with those close to him.”

St. Gregory tries to penetrate the mystery of the soul’s existence beyond the grave, and comes to the very deeply thought-through conclusion that after a person’s death the soul remains close to the constituent parts of the body that have decomposed into their initial elements; this happens not according to its nature, but its special “cognitive power”. He compares it to a guard, watching over his property.

To support his opinion he puts forward two vivid figurative examples of the work of an artist and a potter.

The holy Father concludes his reflections on the metaphysical interrelation of the body and soul with a very interesting remark, on which, however, he does not comment further:

“Whoever … sees that the words of Scripture contain the meaning that after the decomposition of its corporeal form the soul possesses earth, eyes, tongue and so on, would not be transgressing against probability.”

7. Death as punishment with a good aim

7.1. Man was created perfect, or, according to St. John of Damascus (+749), “undergoing deification”, i.e. drawn towards God, and this means, notes St. Gregory of Nyssa, he is capable of enjoying the divine blessings, eternity and immortality.

He sees the cause of the dismal condition of Adam and his descendants in the incorrect use of freedom, which chooses sin and evil.

Following Philo of Alexandria (+ c. 50 AD) he allegorically interprets the “coats of skins” (Gen 3:21) as the mortality of the body, our crude biological condition.

Death becomes universal, because children are born to their mortal parents: “The fruit of a mortal birth is also necessarily mortal”.

7.2. However, the saint does not see death only as God’s punishment, but sees in it the action of Divine paedagogy, which has a good and salvatory purpose; it is simply a means and contains a process, because it puts a limit to the development of evil in human nature.

There are three sides to this process and it includes a self-purification, a removal from the future psychophysical composition of Man:

a) corrupt passions of our body;

b) needs of our body, which are necessary for us in the current life, but completely unnecessary in the life to come,

c) parts of our nature intended only for serving the needs of our bodies.

In the end a true transfiguration of Man takes place, with the restoration of the original state of human morality.

It is interesting to note that in the ascetic tradition the transformation of the senses is one of the aims of the practical labour of the ascetic already here on earth.

In this manner St. Gregory supposes that the body would have a different composition in the life to come, which would not include the organs important for earthly life. Naturally he did not say anything about the appearance of such a transfigured body, because he did not like to speculate.

An article by Archpriest Vladimir Bashkirov

End of Part I

Source: http://www.bogoslov.ru/en/text/2924422.html

Why does St. Elisabeth Convent organize festivals? What are they like and what is their influence on the visitors? Let’s deal with all these questions based on the example of the From Heart To Heart Festival that took place in Berlin on September 21-24.

The Russian House in Berlin, where the Festival was held, provided immense support to our Convent. This event was first organised in the capital of Germany last year. Its programme turned out to be of interest to people who belong to various generations and cultures. Due to this fact, From Heart To Heart Festival was invited to the Russian House again this autumn.

One of the main goals of the festival team is to make people aware of the beauty of Orthodox culture. We tried to use performances, presentations, and concerts to bring some joy of human interaction to our foreign friends, to fill the meetings we had in this remote land with warmth and care, so that the name of our From Heart To Heart Festival would not remain a mere declaration but would become a living experience of every one of our guests.

Each of the four days of the Festival was overflowing with fascinating events and meetings. The daily schedule consisted of a main event for general public and several smaller ones for fewer visitors. The guests mentioned the fact that they could always find the event that suited their individual interests in their testimonials. Many of our visitors came to the Festival again and again.

We were pleased and honoured to greet Dzianis Sidarenka, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Federative Republic of Germany, with his spouse; Alexei Barbuk, an adviser of the Embassy; representatives of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia; staff of the Russian and the Belarusian embassies.

What Was Special About The Festival This Time?

- The concert of the Monastic Choir of St. Elisabeth Convent, as usual, took a whole lot more time than previously anticipated. The foyer of the Russian House was packed with listeners.

- The Little Prince, a play staged by Joy Inclusive Theatre, was performed in Western Europe for the first time. The company performed the play in Cottbus and Berlin. The story based on the eponymous novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery was staged in Russian by the small team of mentally and physically challenged children from several boarding homes of Minsk.

Alexander Zhdanovich, the permanent leader of the theatre, was the director and stage director of the play, and he wrote the script for it, too. The audience appreciated the interpretation of this play into German. The children from the boarding home enjoyed warm welcome, which, coupled with absence of vacant seats, was their greatest reward.

- The usual workshop sessions on icon painting and making stone icons were complemented by one-on-one tutoring, which the visitors could sign up for. A four hour long workshop session under the guidance of professional icon painters allowed the students to learn the nuances and techniques in greater detail than during the general presentation, and to make a complete work of art with their own hands.

During the sessions on making stone icons, the participants learned to make landscape pictures, and during tempera icon painting sessions, they painted biblical animals on the boards we had prepared in advance. People could register for participation in these workshop sessions online or during their visit to the festival, and we were surprised to see how many people turned up.

- A theatrical show Traditional Belarusian Dress, which combined a lecture on the history of the dress, elements of a folk holiday and a fashion show of secular clothes made in Ella sewing workshop of St. Elisabeth Convent, was an unexpected event. It was intended to remind of the traditions of the national dress of Belarus, preserved and continued in modern fashions created by designers of our Convent. The audience in Berlin was really keen to see the collection of clothes made in the Convent. Many of the viewers went on to buy the items after the show.

- There was a phyto café open daily for all visitors. It offered pastry, sweets, and aromatic herbal teas brewed according to old recipes.

- The visitors could also watch films produced by the Studio in honour of St John the Warrior (St. Elisabeth Convent), explore photo exhibitions and presentations about the current life of St. Elisabeth Convent, its history and social outreach projects. The information about the construction going on in the Convent, about the social projects currently underway, about the holidays and day-to-day life of the Convent never failed to cause interest of many listeners.

Each event was accompanied by several small video films and a conversation during which the visitors were able to ask their questions. The sisters of St. Elisabeth Convent, having helped many people in difficult life situations, people with disabilities, and the elderly, have accumulated a formidable wealth of practical knowledge and spiritual experience, and they were happy to share it with the audiences.

- The Land of Childhood met its young friends with joy. The special edutainment we had prepared for children and their parents created the atmosphere of a warm family holiday. The characters of Batleika Folk Puppet Theatre and moving characters of the For The Little Ones cartoon series offered a variety of fairy tales to the little guests.

- We had demonstrated a Belarusian hut to the Berliners last year but this time, there were several workshop session that carried on the topic of the Belarusian costume: painting wooden gifts (plywood figurines of children wearing Belarusian clothes), weaving belts using a special device, and a straw-plaiting seminar.

Summary

It is hard to tell yet how successful the festival in Berlin was , given that the majority of the audience were benevolent Russian-speaking Orthodox parishioners. The Festival for them is an opportunity to return to their homeland, albeit virtually.

Even during the preparation stage for the From Heart To Heart Festival in Berlin, we invested a lot of effort to spread the word about the event among the general public and Christians who belong to heterodox congregations. We took into account our previous experiences and were led by the desire to make this event as interactive and easy to understand for an average visitor as possible. Thanks to the fact that all events held within the frameworks of the festival were interpreted into German, German speakers were also able to enjoy it and expressed their appreciation.

The skill of icon painters, the purity of Orthodox chants performed by the Monastic Choir, books and films produced by the video studio of St. Elisabeth Convent, workshop sessions on folk crafts – all these events have always been an encounter with the beauty of Orthodox culture, traditions of family life, and a history of the Belarusian nation.

We can definitely say that From Heart To Heart Festival is becoming one of memorable events in the life of the city. More than 3,000 people visited the Russian House during the four days of the festival. Many of them shared their impressions via our Book of Reviews.

The sisters of St. Elisabeth Convent would like to thank all their friends and guests of the Festival for their warm welcome, attention, and support.

Our Festival team hopes to meet their friends in Berlin in the summer of 2018. We are looking forward to meeting you next year!

October 5, 2017

St. Elisabeth Convent

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