Selections from Seminary

This is the making of a paschal troparion, the hymn “Christ is risen from the dead…”, in the Thai language and from the Thai culture. For obvious reasons—my wife is Thai and the whole family is highly affected by our ties to Thai culture—we have closely watched the progress of the Orthodox Church in Thailand. If there had been a paschal troparion in Thai, we would have been using it in our house years ago. But instead, every year, we bemoan the lack of a Thai troparion and talk about how wonderful it would be to have one. It is a small consolation that we have a Chinese paschal troparion that we love, one that feels Chinese, and thus a little bit closer to our Asian home. And then, a Thai troparion appeared. A few weeks ago, my wife showed me a Facebook post with a Thai paschal troparion, sung by Matushka Ksenia , wife of a Russian priest serving a parish in Thailand. (In that video, he is singing the isan, the drone note, but it is my understanding that she wrote the troparion.) Jus...

St. Basil follows and is followed by fathers of the Church responding with all the same ideas to these dangerous misinterpretations of the faith. We can see themes of right doctrine carried throughout all these storms which fell upon Christ’s faithful, from the Apostles, through the Cappadocians, and beyond. St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria starts his explanation back at the creation of man, explaining the “further gift” given to man, that is, more than the irrational beasts, “making them according to his own image, giving them a share of the power of his own Word, so that...they might be able to abide in blessedness, living the true life which is really that of the holy ones in paradise.” This focus on the image stamped in man is carried throughout, up to St. John Chrysostom: What then was the tabernacle in which He dwelt? Hear the Prophet say; I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.  It was fallen indeed, our nature had fallen an incurable fall, and needed o...

Now...finally...we make it to one of the best examples to help bring clarity to our questions about what happens after we die. I have shared several warnings: warnings about those who were not dead for long and have limited knowledge of life after death, warnings that our preconceptions can cloud our reasoning in these matters, and warnings that we should not try to over-simplify such matters. All of those warnings still apply. We must be careful not to over-analyze any of these experiences. With that said, the experience related in the Life of Venerable Theodora of Constantinople is particularly useful to us. For one, she died (and stayed dead), her soul left her body, she traversed everything between here and place of her soul’s repose till the last day. The obvious question is how we know this story: she appeared to another spiritual child of her own spiritual father, who recorded it for our benefit. The second reason her particular experience is so useful, and why the Lord would ...

The one common thread seen in all three of these readings ("lessons") is the living martyrdom of monastics. Every single reference to these verses among the Church Fathers which have been presented here refer to non-monastics...funny for readings chosen for monastics, huh? The clear message is that this living martyrdom is not only potentially attainable by all Christians, but as St. Symeon the New Theologian says, we are without excuse if we do not emulate them: "When God brings his hidden saints to light, it is in order that some may emulate them and others be without excuse. Those [of us] who wish to remain amid distractions as well as those [of us] who live a worthy life in [monastic] communities, in mountains and in caverns, are saved, and God bestows on them great blessings solely because they have faith in him." In other words, both the monastic life and life "in the world" are fitting to work out our salvation. When we hear of the life of a monasti...

  READING FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON [4:7-15] But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest. For honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. But wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age. He pleased God, and was loved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated. Yea, speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind. He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: for his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. This the. people saw, and understood it not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he hath respect unto his chosen. Gray Hairs Are Not Wisdom A comm...

  READING FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON [5:15-6:3] But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High. Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them. He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armor, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies. He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet. He shall take holiness for an invincible shield. His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise. Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well-drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark. And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them. Yea, a migh...

  READING FROM THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON [3:1-9]. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect. When St. Au...

  The Old Testament lessons (or parameia readings) for monastic saints reveal some interesting aspects of the monastic life, some of which are misunderstood in modern Orthodoxy, especially in America. The strongly Protestant-derived culture of the United States affects both those converting to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, but also those who have grown up Orthodox, but from within a non-Orthodox culture. What is immediately noticeable is the similarity between the readings for monastic saints and those for martyrs; two of the three readings are shared. Of the three monastic readings presented below, the first and the third are also used for martyrs. This somewhat helps define what it is to be a monastic: those who have chosen a living martyrdom. In the book of Revelation, when St. John the Theologian sees of the martyrs under the throne, there is a key word that speaks to this living martyrdom: “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been sl...

It was the first use of Benedict Sheehan's new musical setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in the context of Divine Liturgy itself. I was asked to come and man a video camera during the liturgy, so I was mostly in photo-work mode. I knew there would be beautiful music surrounding me, but I was primarily focused on my job and was not thinking too much about the music. I remember the moment it happened; it is deeply imprinted in my mind. I was moving from one side of the altar to the other, I think, in an effort to get a different angle. I was close to the High Place, when, WHAM! The music knocked me backwards. The strength...the sharpness...the spear piercing my heart as it pierced the Lamb on the Holy Altar. I literally stumbled backwards. The pain from this musical spear immediately brought forth tears. I was certainly not looking for some emotional musical experience, but Benedict Sheehan's Liturgy pierced through my protective layers, my distraction, my here-and-no...

Fresco in Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, Constantinople Holy Saturday Late morning or early afternoon:   Holy Saturday Reader's Vespers Between the Epistle and Gospel reading (during "Arise, O God, and judge the earth..."), we change the church's colors from dark to bright, because Vespers liturgically transitions us into the next day...Pascha. At home, this is a great time to add white or bright decoration to the icon corner and to put up an icon of Pascha, if you have such. For those who have taken on the struggle of the strict fast on Holy Friday till Vespers on Holy Saturday, the faithful partake of a little bread and wine after Vespers, along with some figs or dates (which could translate to dried fruit and nuts today). Reading the Acts of the Apostles: Following Vespers (which normally would have been a Vesperal Liturgy), the faithful would remain in church listening to the reading of the book of the Acts of the Apostles till time for the Paschal s...

This is an incredible opportunity to keep Holy Week even more full of prayer and the reading of the Holy Scriptures. As for the "tone" or manner in which we go through this week, Elder Vitaly of Tbilisi "taught that one should go to church during the whole of Holy Week and to not get involved with vain things. He would only allow food preparation. He would say that the days of Holy Week sanctified all the days of the year. Holy Monday sanctified all the Mondays of the year, Holy Tuesday the Tuesday of the year, and so on." This echoes the Book of Exodus, and its guidelines for keeping the Passover: "No servile work shall be done on them; and whatever must be done by each soul, this only shall be done by you" (12:16). But don't forget to prepare for the Pascha Feast!  I will mention this again at the end of this post, but the Artefact Institute is providing a free download of a wonderful way to celebrate the feast at home with food, ...

I have never used Typica so much as I am now, that is, now that we are quarantined away from church due to the CoronaVirus. The Typica service, in the same way as Small Compline is more appropriate for use at home than Vespers , is not a Liturgy replacement. It developed as its own service to be celebrated by those who are distant from clergy, without a choir, and without any additional resources to do a service. Not only it is the appropriate service to serve when you cannot go to Liturgy, it is perfect for our self-quarantined, isolated situation. So, if you would have normally gone to Liturgy on a Sunday morning or a feast, but are not able (like if you were quarantined at home due to a pandemic or something), this is what is usually used. It is formatted so that you can print it out, two-sided, and fold it into your own Typica booklet. If you want to take it a step further, you could staple it (but only if you have a really long stapler) or sew/tie it together. I sewed it. ...

I received an e-mail from my parish back in Oregon with information from Archbishop Benjamin about how to proceed in these days of quarantine as we move ever closer to the pinnacle of the entire Church year: Great and Holy Pascha. One of the most important aspects of this letter is the fact that the diocese has a plan in place; that face, in itself, is reassuring, especially in these times of ever-changing situations. However, what I would like to focus on is a spiritual reminder he gives us all. On Behalf of All, and for All " The Sunday Liturgies will be offered, behind locked doors, 'on behalf of all, and for all.'" That is no trite reference to Liturgy. Truly, the Holy Eucharist is consecrated for all of us. From the beginning of this quarantine, when many churches were forced to close their doors, I noticed bishops allowing monastic communities to continue services. Not only was that partially necessary because the monastic communities live at the monastery, b...

We are so accustomed to going to Vespers at church, that most of us have never thought about why what service is done when. That is all we know. And now, when we cannot go to church, it would be natural to feel a need to do the same thing at home, to "go to church" home and do the same things we would have done in the church building. But we can't do that! Almost nobody out there, besides the choir director and maybe a reader, knows how to put Vespers together. Could we learn? Sure. Are most people going to do that? No. In the recesses of Church history, there is a point that could really help us out. There were two main avenues by which our services were developed. Keep your eye open for which of these two avenues sounds the most like our COVID-quarantined situation. One avenue is the "cathedral rite", which primarily comes out of Constantinople and is based on the services as they were developed in the cathedral, that is, around the patriarch, near the e...