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"Therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Mt. 14:52). Christ’s words in the Gospel of Matthew express a truth perhaps uniquely applicable to Christianity as a religion of continuity and renewal. While rooted in the religious tradition of the Jewish people, Jesus saw His mission as a renewal of Judaism. He came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (Mt. 5:17). The good news of God’s kingdom, the "new wine" that He brought to the world, was the fullness of the personal presence and power of the living God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who is to be worshiped, as Jesus said, "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:23-24). In the course of history, the New Testament authors and afterwards the Church Fathers were engaged in a similar task of proclaiming the Gospel, interpreting the new faith, and applying its truths to new situations. Among the Church Fathers, and amidst heresies, schisms and conflicts, Saint Basil the Great in particular provides a powerful and irenic example of the renewal of Church life and monasticism on the basis of Christ, the Gospel, as well as the early Church as a loving and sharing community.

The present book is offered as a collection of reflections on "what is old and what is new" in Eastern Orthodoxy. Addressed mainly to theological students, priests, Christian educators, and informed laity, its overarching theme is continuity and renewal as the Orthodox Church confronts new situations in the modern world. The book consists of mostly published retreat talks and conference papers, all of them now revised and arranged in what I hope is a coherent whole, but not without some repetitions and recurring themes. Representing a kind of harvest of my theological and pastoral labors during the last ten years or so, this work in character is thematic rather than analytic, suggestive rather than definitive, invitational rather than prescriptive. If you are looking for either a blueprint for change, or for discussion of specific issues in current ecclesiastical affairs, you will not find them here. Rather, my purpose is to engage you in conversation about our common task of defining the spiritual treasures of Orthodoxy and actualizing them in our personal and corporate lives.

Orthodoxy today finds itself in the paradoxical situation of attracting a significant number of converts while not being adequately successful in keeping all of its own people. This is particularly true of our youth, the newly married couples, and many adults totally involved in the contemporary world of business, the professions, government, economics, entertainment, sports and various forms of family recreation. What are the dynamics behind this paradox? On the one hand, earnest seekers with spiritual interests perceive the power of the Orthodox Liturgy, the beauty of Orthodox worship, the balanced and wholesome vision of Orthodox theology and spirituality. On the other hand, those who are born into the Orthodox Church, and are inevitably exposed to the Orthodox liturgical forms and to the patterns of Orthodox parish life since childhood, often remain existentially unmoved by the spiritual treasures in and behind those forms and patterns. It seems that by many baptized Orthodox Christians, even those who maintain regular connections with the Church, Orthodoxy is seen as a religious system of ritual ceremonies and ecclesiastical structures with little substantial impact on their lives. Of course, it may well be that we, Orthodox theologians, priests, teachers, leaders, and parents, have not done an adequate job teaching and living the transforming elements of Orthodoxy, a job at any rate equal to the powerful forces shaping modern and post-modern life.

Apart from hand wringing and finding blame, however, what is really the answer to the above paradox fraught with promise and peril? The answer cannot be simply the appointment of more committees and task forces, or the publication of more books and programs, or even the undying hope of the rise of future, brilliant leaders to guide the Church to unseen golden horizons, although these things are good in themselves and are welcome. Nor is the answer in quick and mindless changes pertaining to liturgical forms and ecclesiastical policies without a renewed, deep theological and spiritual vision. Rather, the essential answer can be no other than recovery and energizing of the vital resources within Orthodoxy by directing focused attention to them and by communicating them with clarity, consistency, and personal commitment. What are the timeless and vital resources within Orthodoxy? They are: the Gospel, spiritual life, and a balanced vision of faith, tradition, renewal.

The proclamation of the Gospel leads to focus on Christ, the living center and foundation of the Church. When proclaimed effectively with the living voice and an evangelical spirit, the unique attribute of the Gospel is that it awakens faith in God’s saving power and action both in the past and the present, stirring human hearts toward commitment and change. Spiritual life as worship, prayerfulness, and sincere Christian living brings about a deeper sense of conversion of the heart and mind, an increased receptivity to the mystery of divine love, an experience of freshness and spiritual energy for service in the name of Christ. However, in Orthodox perspective, this process of transformation is not merely subjective and individualistic, but is measured and guided by the Church’s tradition. Only a balanced vision of personal faith, tradition, and renewal can serve as the context of the fullness of Orthodox faith and life, a context where the "new creation" in Christ blossoms by God’s grace. All these elements together are the generative forces within Orthodoxy that can enliven the worship of the Church, its Liturgy, and its ministries for the nurture of its membership as well as the fulfillment of its world mission. And this is a task to be accomplished by all of us working in harmony with the Holy Spirit and by being true simply to our respective callings — as bishops, priests, theologians, educators, lay leaders, parish council members, choir members, parents, and parishioners young and old. In this grand vision of synergy and of being co-workers with God, we plant and water as did Paul and Apollos, but God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:5-6).

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

Brookline, Massachusetts August 28, 2001

What is distinctive about Orthodoxy? What features define Orthodox identity in the context of contemporary pluralism, secularism and post-modernism? These questions are of enormous significance for the future of Orthodoxy and its effective mission in the world. They have to do with our own self-understanding: who we are, how we see ourselves, what values we hold, what are the distinctive aspects of our common life, what traits or features define our character and behavior. The issue of identity is integrally connected to our mission. Who we are guides us in what wee are to do and how to do it. The dynamic task of defining both identity and mission equally apply to individual Orthodox Christians, specific parishes and the Church as a whole.

It is especially important today to be clear about these weighty matters because the modern world has an overwhelming influence on all of us. Our pluralistic and secular society no longer supports Christian existence in any sense except for the exercise of the right of freedom. In fact the modern world undermines Christianity at every turn, while at the same time, paradoxically, many men and women deeply hunger for God and authentic expressions of Christianity. The more clearly our identity is defined, the more focused our mission is, the more effective the success of our witness becomes. And we trust that the words of Christ remain equally true for our society today: "Lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest" (Jn 4:35).

Some have attempted to define the essence of Orthodoxy in terms of single elements or themes. In a book first published in German (1957) and later translated into English under the title The Eastern Orthodox Church (1967), the German theologian Ernst Benz brilliantly introduced western readers to Orthodoxy through the symbol of the icon. The Orthodox dogmatician John Karmiris and other noted Greek theologians of the twentieth century located the quintessence of Orthodoxy in the Nicene Creed and the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Still other theologians have put the emphasis elsewhere: the Eucharist, the understanding of the Holy Trinity, the ethos of freedom, the centrality of love, the teaching of salvation by divinization (theosis). These approaches have highlighted valuable aspects of Orthodoxy. However, one-sided focus on particular themes or topics is inevitably reductionistic and narrow. It proves inadequate to the task of grasping Orthodoxy in its fullness of faith and life, a task appropriate to its confession of being the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who would advocate an ideal "Holy Orthodoxy" in all its historical particulars to be presented to the world as a seamless whole. For some who have followed this approach, there are really no problems except that most Orthodox Christians lack the zeal to observe all the traditions and canons of the Church. On a visit to Mount Athos many years ago, the writer briefly met an elderly monastic who seemed sublimely innocent of Church and family issues in America. He was incredulous that Orthodoxy could exist in America. With sincere conviction, I am sure, he came quickly to the point: "Why don’t you leave America," he said. "Leave your work, your wife and your children, and come here to the Holy Mountain. It is here where you can find (true) Orthodoxy and see the glory of Byzantium that remains!" For him, Orthodoxy and the glory of Byzantium were one reality reflected in the monastic culture of Mount Athos.

The well-meaning monastic’s vision of Orthodoxy was understandable because he had been on Mount Athos since childhood. However, similar views by those who live in the world, although understandable as a reaction to the modern world and the fear that Orthodox Christians are losing their moorings, are not at all justifiable. Efforts at a reenactment of "Holy Byzantium" or "Holy Russia," or a type of monastic culture in the parish, are not only historically impossible but also theologically indefensible. They are uninformed about the interplay between Christianity and culture throughout the ages. They ignore the struggle of the great Church Fathers who wrestled with Hellenism in order to christianize it. They forget the mission of the Church to engage the world directly as the Lord himself engaged it through His incarnation and said to the disciples: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (Jn 20:21). In the end, the option of a "Holy Byzantium" distorts the universal, dynamic character of Orthodoxy, surrendering it to sectarianism, legalism, authoritarianism and obscurantism. It tends to foster an unloving, cultic and fanatical religiosity of externals that once stood in mortal opposition to Christ Himself.

We find a different vision in the thought of Father Thomas Hopko, Dean of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. In an article on Orthodoxy and culture, Father Hopko is forthright, almost to the point of pessimism, about the grave dangers of Orthodoxy in the post-modern world. Nevertheless, he insists that to deny engagement with contemporary society by escaping to a world of our own making is to live "for illusions and delusions." His vision of the task of Orthodoxy today is a clarion call to action. In his own language, which he describes at one point as "violent but true," Father Thomas advocates numerous urgent priorities. Chief among them are to: 1) put Christ and His Gospel at the center our concerns; 2) think and act in truly conciliar spirit apart from narrow agendas, whether as individuals or parishes or entire Churches and patriarchates; 3) abandon the lie that the universal truth of Orthodoxy can equally be served while fully retaining our ethnic cultures and even the set forms of ecclesiastical institutions; 4) resist the temptation of viewing Orthodoxy as an ideology, a sort of hypostatized entity, unconnected with how we actually think and live, and 5) be wisely open and vulnerable to the world, both witnessing to the truth and accepting criticism because "wherever truth is, Christ is there." Father Hopko’s perspective is as challenging and instructive as it is candid and courageous.

In what follows I present my own proposal about five characteristics or dimensions of Orthodoxy that are at the forefront of Orthodoxy’s engagement with modern society of which Orthodox Christians themselves, like it or not, are full members. What I develop is not in contrast to Father Hopko’s vision. It is only another way of casting the issue and suggesting the groundwork for further reflection. I choose to call these five characteristics "the gifts of Orthodoxy." Far from being separate from each other, they in fact overlap forming a cohesive whole. These are precious gifts which ought to be presented first of all to Orthodox Christians themselves as ways of understanding the identity of Orthodoxy, and as ways of living joyously the fullness of its faith and life. Only then can they be offered to the world, as well, in a loving, positive, intelligible, and convincing manner. In each case, I also raise questions about whether or not we as Orthodox Christians truly practice what we preach. This is necessary in order not to be found wanting while appearing to instruct others. Authenticity is nothing else but life in conformity with one’s truth claims with a sense of genuine, self-critical integrity.

The greatest gift of Orthodoxy is its conviction of being the true faith, that is, a way of faith and life which possesses and proclaims the truth as a gift of God. At the heart of this awesome claim is Christ Himself who said: "I am the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). Based on the truth of the person and saving work of Christ, the Apostles and Church Fathers have bequeathed to Orthodox Christians a remarkably coherent and universal vision of truth pertaining to God, man, creation, salvation, Church, ethics, society, family, marriage, vocations, and so on. This theological vision, resisting all sectarian dichotomies, moves toward a harmonious balance on such matters as Bible and tradition, faith and reason, grace and will, faith and works, word and sacrament, prayer and action, clergy and laity, hierarchy and conciliarity, body and soul, man and woman, religion and culture, church and state. According to Orthodox theology, all these elements constitute aspects of the universal truth of Orthodoxy to be interpreted and presented to the world in deed and word precisely as objective and living truth, yet apart from both blind faith and naive rationalism. Following the great Cappadocian Fathers, Saint Basil, Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Orthodox Christians are to engage life not only with deep faith but also with sound reason, the highest attribute of man created in the image and likeness of God. For the Cappadocian Fathers our minds are a way of sharing the mind of God. Without the gift of reason, there would be no free will, no moral responsibility, and no freely chosen progress toward God.

There is a growing awareness in the world today, both among scholars and lay people, that Orthodoxy preserves the most authentic expression of classic Christianity. The problem is that many sincere seekers do not see shining tangible evidence of it among the Orthodox themselves. Our urgent task is to integrate truth and life — orthodoxia and orthopraxia. However, right faith (orthodoxia) is not only correct doctrine registered in the mind as theological information. It is also sound spirituality, a true Christian spirit and way of thinking (phronema) reflecting the mind of Christ. Nor is right practice (orthopraxia) simply the correct performance of liturgical rubrics. It is also, and above all, a right way of living (bioma) according to Christ. "The standard (kanon) of Christianity is the imitation of Christ (mimesis Chrestou)," writes Saint Basil. Are we living and promoting the centrality of Christ and the Gospel? Are we applying Orthodox truths to our own ecclesial and personal existence as bishops, priests and lay Orthodox, or are we merely satisfied with triumphal claims while denying them in practice? Are we transformed and liberated by the knowledge and practice of these truths in order to share them, or are we quick to judge and show disdain toward others? In imitation of Christ who came to save rather than to judge, we ought to rejoice in whatever elements of truth others may possess and humbly offer to them the fullness of faith and life in the name of Christ. In a free and open society, the truth itself is the most powerful force. The presentation of truth, enacted in word and deed, will determine the viability of Orthodoxy and the success of its mission.

A closely related gift of Orthodoxy is its embodiment in a historical community, the true Church, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, identified with the family of Orthodox Churches throughout the world. The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is wholly centered on Christ and the Gospel, nurturing its communal faith and life by the power of the Spirit through sacrament, proclamation, teaching, practice and witness. Its unity is confirmed by a common faith and life, not by one world organization controlled by a single center. It is a Church which rejects both clericalism and congregationalism. It is shepherded by a hierarchy defined by conciliarity and the synodical system. The Church lives by a synergy of gifts and talents of clergy and laity, together making up God’s people, all mutually supportive and accountable, all serving as the conscience of the Church, all being the guardians of the faith. As a family of Churches, the universal Orthodox Church welcomes all nations to join the family according to the principle of one Church in one region, without enslaving them or prohibiting them from retaining their cultures and governing their lives. Today there are about fifteen independent Orthodox Churches throughout the world. There could be fifty or a hundred and fifty, provided they are united striving together toward the fullness of faith and life in God.

Once again, the challenge for Orthodox Christians is to integrate theory and practice in ecclesiology, eschewing on the one hand the spirit of institutionalism, authoritarianism and factionalism, and showing on the other hand that the Church is truly the redeemed community, a witness to the new creation in Christ, an image of unity in love which God offers to the world. Our respective cultural and ethnic treasures are advanced by inspired work, and not by rhetoric or polemics against those perceived to be less ethnic-minded. According to Saint Paul we are to welcome all to the Church, for there is no Jew, Greek, barbarian or slave in the Body of Christ. We have the strength and creativity to cooperate and establish effective ways of perpetuating our respective ethnic traditions while allowing the Church to focus on saving souls and manifesting its catholicity. We have the wisdom and patience in Christ to discuss the issue of jurisdictional unity in a timely and appropriate manner. We want to foster personal freedom, dignity and justice in the Church because, while the Church is not a democracy, it is far more and not less than a democracy. The Church is a loving community of brothers and sisters ready to lay down their lives for each other.

Because worship is a primary expression of Orthodox life, "Orthodoxia" is often interpreted as "right glory" or "right worship." The essence of worship is the adoration of the Triune God worthy of all praise and thanksgiving in His majesty, goodness and saving activity. The Divine Liturgy, the jewel of Orthodox worship, is a celebration of the saving work of Christ, a festival of the new creation in the Spirit, a joyful reception of the blessings of God’s kingdom. To the degree that the Orthodox Church has survived and flourished throughout the centuries, it has done so largely by the sacred majesty and spiritual power of its worship. A scholar once remarked that while Western Christianity attempts to analyze and comprehend God, Eastern Christianity seeks to praise and adore the mystery of God. Innumerable converts have embraced Orthodoxy because of the beauty, the transcendence, and experienced holiness of Orthodoxy as true worship.

The challenge here, according to Christ’s teachings, is to foster worship "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:23-24), worship as fervent communal prayer, as a spiritually transforming event, not merely a formal performance of ceremonies. The complexity of worship services, the richness of hymnology, the difficulties of language, all unwittingly discourage congregational participation by voice and soul. A huge part of hymnology and seasonal services are never heard by many faithful, and when they are heard, they are not understood. The necessary reliance on chanters and choirs often puts worshipers in the position of observers and spectators. Much work is needed in liturgical instruction. We must teach each other how to pray. We must encourage active engagement in worship by the congregation. We must come to appreciate more deeply the liturgical services not only as beautiful ceremonies but also as vibrant prayers of the entire community. The gift of true worship is actualized when, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, Orthodox Christians come out of worship like "lions breathing fire" and ready to do God’s work in the world.

Saint Eirenaios taught that the glory of God is a person fully alive and that true life is the experience of God. "If I love the Lord, how can I let even a shadow of evil into my heart?" asked Saint John of Kronstadt. Christ commanded that we should love one another as He loved us. He promised that if we obey His teachings, He and the Father will come to dwell in our hearts by the power of the Spirit. Saint Isaac the Syrian held that hell was created not by God but by His creatures and their refusal of His love, and that God equally loves those in hell, but His love is inoperative where it is rejected. Orthodoxy as true life testifies to the most beautiful and sublime teachings worthy of the message and spirit of Christ. Called to ascetic struggle against all personal, social and cosmic wickedness, we nevertheless rely on the saving grace and power of God. Called to obedience, we practice obedience in the spirit of Christ’s love, truth and righteousness. Called to "theosis," we know that the way to it is through service to the least of the brothers and sisters by fervent prayer and humble action.

The challenge is to achieve what the saints call "bioma" — the personal experience of Christ testified by love and humility — over against the dangers of secularism, nominalism, minimalism and hypocrisy. Secularism is worshiping the gods of the present age, while being totally indifferent or even hostile toward the true God. Minimalism is lukewarm Christianity to suit our selfish interests and convenience. Nominalism is being a Christian in name only, a colossal hoax. Hypocrisy is religiosity without spirituality, a pharisaical attachment to external forms while denying the inner substance of the faith. St. Symeon the New Theologian writes that all efforts that do not attain to love in a contrite spirit are in vain. The challenge is to transform secular life into spiritual life, formal faith into living faith, religious zeal into divine love by God’s grace.

Someone has said: "Faith cannot be imposed on anyone because it has to be freely given and freely embraced; but faith will not be easily received if the new life it creates is never seen or heard." Orthodoxy cannot successfully preach love, righteousness, justice, unity and peace to others without convincing evidence of these realities within its own bosom. Jesus’ words ring out: "You are the light of the world . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Mt. 5:14-16). Orthodoxy is endowed with the gift of true witness. It proclaims Christ and the Gospel in its fulness, it freely gives of what it freely has received, but without coercion, manipulation, or dissimulation. Orthodoxy takes an incarnational approach to the world, showing profound love and respect for all people in their own cultural contexts, ignorance, even sin. Its deepest intention is to let the truth speak for itself and to attract people to Christ, not merely to "Orthodoxy" as a self-contained ideology or a religion of exotic externals.

The challenge for Orthodox Christians is to recover more of our evangelical spirit through genuine repentance, deep prayer and spiritual renewal. The evangelical spirit, kindled by the grace of God, is the vital energy behind the Church’s ministries. We must plan and define objectives in the light of Christ and the Gospel. We must meet in board rooms and conferences in the presence of the Holy Spirit as if were conducting a Liturgy. We must face issues of leadership, education and administration with the eyes of God. We must come out of our committee meetings and our liturgical assemblies transformed and ready to share the "more" of Orthodoxy as fulness of faith and life. Orthodoxy is the fulfillment of all things in order that God’s glory may shine in all creation. The living tradition of Orthodoxy is creative and liberating, not merely protective and preservative. The message of Orthodoxy is one of love, joy and generosity; it has nothing to do with defensiveness, narrowness, self-righteousness, hostility or negativism toward others. Respectful of other faiths and religions, and gracious toward all people and their backgrounds, we witness to the fulness of the mystery of Christ shining in the gifts of Orthodoxy for the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

An important factor behind the vitality of the Church as it stands at the beginning of the twenty-first century is its own confidence in the saving message with which it has been entrusted. The tremendous success of early Christianity in the pluralistic world of antiquity was due in large measure to the invincible conviction of the early Christians, the Christian martyrs, and the Church Fathers about the intrinsic truth and power of the Gospel grounded in the self-revelation of God in salvation history. In this chapter we shall reflect on Saint John Chrysostom’s understanding of the Gospel.

Saint John Chrysostom (ca. 350-407) is an heir of this early Christian confidence in the truth of the Gospel to which he devoted his life and work both in Antioch as presbyter (381-397) and Constantinople as archbishop (398-404). In his treatise On the Priesthood, as well known, Saint John expounds at length on the ministry of preaching, a task requiring talent as well as diligence. In this famous work one finds a classic patristic contribution to the understanding of preaching as a skilled and disciplined ministry in the proclamation of the good news, while refuting errors and heresies. The focus of the present chapter, however, is another. It falls neither on the preacher nor the ministry of preaching but rather on the theological meaning and spiritual power of the Gospel itself. It explores basic questions such as, how does Chrysostom define the Gospel? What is the content of the Gospel? What is the power of the Gospel and what determines its efficacy in the world?

The sources used for this chapter are Saint John's homilies on Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, I Corinthians and Galatians, as well as his work In Praise of Saint Paul. The methodological approach is both descriptive and analytic, that is to say, reporting Chrysostom's views in diverse homilies and simultaneously seeking to assess the overall structure of his thought concerning our topic.

Saint John does not anywhere take up the Gospel as a systematic topic of discussion. We must glean his ideas about the Gospel from various parts of his writings. An analysis of his understanding of the nature of the gospel will show that he moves within three related concentric circles dealing with the following major subjects: (a) Scripture as the word of God, (b) the earthly ministry of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, and the person of Christ Himself, the Incarnate Word of God, who is the supreme revelation of truth and life. Each of these invites closer examination.

An appreciation of Chrysostom's convictions about the Gospel must begin widely with his view of divine revelation as a whole. The patristic perspective on the unity of revelation made it possible for the Antiochean Father to link the Church's saving message with both the Old and the New Testaments. In its widest scope, therefore, according to Chrysostom, the good news of salvation is associated with the word of God, a salvific word of truth and life, expressed everywhere in Holy Scripture. Insofar as Scripture is the recorded revelation of divine truth, it constitutes the richest and most authoritative source of salvific truth for humanity.

Chrysostom draws an interesting distinction between oral and recorded revelation, the unwritten and written word of God. The great biblical figures of revelation such as Abraham and Moses were, according to Chrysostom, living bearers of revelation because of their privileged direct communication with God. Their intimacy with God excluded the need of books. So, too, the apostles, on the day of Pentecost became "living books and laws" (biblia kai nomoi empsychoi), pouring forth treasures of teachings and gifts to the world. However, subsequent generations of both Jews and Christians lost the purity of teaching and life of their spiritual leaders and had to receive God's truth in written words now recorded in the Old and New Testaments. This concept of oral and written revelation is traditional among the Church Fathers and goes back to Philo of Alexandria, the Jewish biblical interpreter and philosopher of the first century AD. According to this view, Holy Scripture is an expression of God's condescension or accommodation to human weakness. A corollary insight is that the highest mode of knowledge of God is not dependent on books but charismatic leaders of the people of God who are in intimate communion with God.

However, according to Saint John Chrysostom, the nature of Scripture as an accommodation to human weakness diminishes neither the truth nor the authority of God's written word. For Saint John what the Evangelist Matthew wrote in his Gospel is not his own but belongs to Christ. All of recorded revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is God's word. This authoritative view of the Bible is the basis for Chrysostom's numerous exhortations about the primacy of hearing and reading the Bible as the divine, all-sufficient source of truth and healing. To quote him:

And again:

Secondly, while Chrysostom views all of the Bible as a source of truth and a treasure of heavenly blessings, he associates the Gospel more closely with the four written Gospels and the ministry of Christ. According to Saint John the title "evangelist," properly speaking, applies to the authors of the Gospels who have recorded the Lord's salvific ministry. Although Saint Paul as a proclaimer of the good news can also be called an evangelist, he is primarily an apostle, whereas Matthew is preeminently an evangelist. Of course, for Saint Paul the two terms, evangelist and apostle, were closely related. As an apostle he was called and sent out precisely to be an evangelist — to preach the Gospel (1 Cor. 1:16). Nevertheless, Chrysostom and the Christian tradition were correct to stress the importance of the Gospels as primary sources of the good news. The Gospel is grounded in the historical ministry of Jesus. The fullness of the good news as saving truth for humanity embraces the entire life of Christ from incarnation to ascension. This view is behind the Antiochean Father’s point that the preeminent evangelists are the Gospel writers.

Saint John celebrates the Gospel in terms of two elements: its blessings and essential truths. In terms of its blessings, he asks the question: Why did Matthew call his work good news (euangelion)? The answer is because of its spiritual benefits. The Antiochean Father enumerates these blessings as follows: removal of punishment, remission of sins, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, adoption, inheritance of heaven, and an intimate closeness to the Son of God (syggeneian pros ton uion tou Theou). He goes on waxing eloquent about the blessings flowing from Christ's earthly ministry:

All these constitute good news because they are secure blessings and undeserved gifts given on account of God's great love toward humanity. Chrysostom further comments: "For [it is] not by laboring and sweating, not by fatigue and suffering, but merely as being beloved of God, [that] we received what he have received." Although the Saint emphasizes the role of free will and moral striving in the attainment of virtue, he never forgets that all are part of God’s gifts, all are dependent on grace.

In terms of the contents of the Gospel, Chrysostom draws a distinction between the variety of incidental descriptions and the essential features of Christ's ministry. He concedes that the plurality of the canonical Gospels displays a certain discordance in the details (en mikrois diaphonia) pertaining to time, place and exact wording. But such discrepancies actually carry positive implications. For one thing they dispel any suspicion of pernicious collusion on the part of the sacred authors. For another they underscore the veracity of the essentials of Jesus' ministry on which the Gospels agree and on which Christian life and the good news are grounded (en tois kephalaiois tois synechousin hemon ten zoen kai to kerygma synkrotousin). What are these central truths that form the foundation of Christian life and preaching? Saint John states:

While St. John wisely does not try to compile a definitive list of agreed essentials, nevertheless the distinction is extremely significant. It provides a way of appreciating the diversity of the Gospels apparent to any careful reader but also affirms their unity based on the essential aspects and events of Christ’s ministry.

Thirdly, Chrysostom identifies the Gospel with the living Christ Himself. The person of Christ is ultimately the essence of the Gospel in terms of both its content and blessings. Among many passages which express this truth, two may be cited, one from his Homilies on First Corinthians and one from his Homilies on the Gospel of John. The Antiochean offers a magnificent extended exhortation based 1 Cor. 3:11, combining the images of Christ as the Foundation and the Vine, as follows:

In the same homily Chrysostom continues to expound lyrically on the theme of intimate unity between Christ and Christians. He writes:

The other reference is a reflection on Jn 1:29 and Nathaniel's jubilant confession to Christ: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel!" The Antiochean Father, appealing rhetorically to his hearers, comments on Nathaniel's eager acclamation and connects it with one of his favorite themes — seeing Christ in the face of the poor and the needy:

For Chrysostom it is the person of Christ who provides the secure ground of the unity of the Gospel. The written Gospels are many, yet the Gospel is one, and is centered on Christ, His incarnation, death and resurrection. For the Antiochean Father this same gospel was anticipated and proclaimed by human and angelic beings in the Old and New Testaments:

In his work on the Epistle to the Galatians, Chrysostom presents the same truth in another striking way. Does not Saint Paul state that there can be no other Gospel except the one which he preached (Gal. 1:7)? How then can there be four Gospels? St. John knew and rejected the position of the Marcionites who had taken these words of Saint Paul literally and had canonized only the Gospel of Luke, and that expurgated of what Marcion regarded as Jewish elements. Saint Paul, so Chrysostom counters, had in view not the number of written Gospels but the discrepancy of doctrines circulating among the Galatians. Saint John concludes:

Saint John Chrysostom’s words presuppose a perspective which is especially significant for the Orthodox theological tradition. The Gospel as a saving message is finally not to be tied in a literalistic way to the Bible alone or even to the Gospels. Rather it constitutes the central Christian good news which can be proclaimed and celebrated in its integrity by others means, too, such as the creed, the liturgical texts, and the writings of the Church Fathers.

The story of the expansion of Christianity in the ancient world is a story of a great triumph. The early Christian apostles and missionaries, as well as the later Church Fathers, such as Saint Ignatios of Antioch, Saint Justin Martyr, Saint Eirenaios, and others, were aglow with an amazing boldness that they possessed universal saving truth and had a sacred calling to proclaim and teach it to all. No human or demonic power could impede the progress of the Gospel of Christ. Even during the fourth century, when Arianism rocked the Church and when paganism was by no means dead, Christian authors seemed to be imbued with a spirit of confidence about the truth and power of the gospel which they saw as the primary reasons behind its success.

For comparative purposes one might cite the case of Saint Athanasios. In his essay On the Incarnation of the Word, which C. S. Lewis has called a masterpiece, Saint Athanasios shines with confidence not only in expounding theological truth but also in demonstrating its power from historical evidence, including the ongoing triumph of Christianity during his own times. For example, after discussing the theological meaning of the resurrection, Saint Athanasios goes on to support its reality by pointing to what the risen Christ was doing in the very days of the Alexandrian Father:

Toward the end of his work, after a sustained exposition on the success of the Christian faith over against various opposing forces, St. Athanasios sums up his whole argument with these words:

We find similar sentiments in Saint John Chrysostom who may well have read Saint Athanasios.

Saint John, too, is an heir of this glorious tradition of the triumph of Christianity. He is distinctly conscious of the victorious legacy of the Christian faith which he promotes with all his pastoral and rhetorical energies. He does not try to hide the failings of Christians. On the contrary, he untiringly seeks to expose and cure them like a skilful surgeon, to use one of his favorite images. However, neither the shortcomings of his flock, nor those of the Church at large, seem to have diminished either his assurance about the power of the Gospel or his ardor about preaching and teaching the good news. Just as in the case of Saint Athanasios, so also in the case of Saint John, we meet the glowing conviction that the success of the Christian faith is not the result of human talents or favorable historical circumstances, but rather the achievement of divine grace at work in history. St. John associates this achievement very closely with the proclamation of the Gospel. In a striking passage in his fourth homily In Praise of Saint Paul he echoes the words of Saint Athanasios and uses the same image of light dispelling darkness to celebrate the resounding success of the Gospel:

How did the Antiochean Father understand the workings of this divine power behind the triumph of the Gospel? In what ways was it evident in history and the lives of people? Answers to these questions are provided by Saint John's homilies on the Book of Acts and on 1 Corinthians.

As he contemplates the scope of Acts, Saint John sees God's power manifested in two essential events, the resurrection of Christ and the pentecostal gift of the Spirit. These two direct experiences by the apostles, the assurance that Christ lives and the infusion of the Spirit, empowered them to conquer the world. For St. John the Book of Acts is, on the one hand, a great testimony to the truth of the resurrection. He writes:

On the other hand, it is also a Book of the Holy Spirit. The words and actions of the apostles are words and actions of the Holy Spirit. Just as Christ is the primary figure in the Gospels, so also the Spirit is the primary figure in the Book of Acts. Chrysostom states: "The Gospels, then, are a history of what Christ did and said; but the Acts, of what that other Comforter [the Holy Spirit] said and did.

These twin foci of revelation, the resurrection of Christ and the gift of the Spirit, according to the Antiochean, are the sources of divine power at work in the proclamation of the Gospel, the mighty deeds of the apostles, and the whole triumph of Christianity. It is on these grounds that he argues with unbelievers in rhetorical fashion in his first homily on Acts. If Christ did not rise from the dead and so unequivocally convince his disciples, how could they possibly perform miracles, and most of all, the greatest miracle of the establishment of the Christian religion by poor and illiterate fishermen? It was not because of material wealth, human wisdom, or any such thing that the apostles prevailed. Objectors to Christianity must, even against their own will, admit that a divine power was at work in these men, for no human power could possibly account for such great results of mass conversions. In a later homily on Acts, St. John lifts up the example of the Apostle Peter speaking with great boldness to the crowds about the resurrection, the same Peter who formerly had cowered in fear at the question of the servant girl on the night of Jesus' passion. For Chrysostom only one explanation was adequate. Peter was now filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. "For wherever the Holy Spirit is present, He makes men of gold out of men of clay."

The theme of the divine power behind the work of the apostles and their proclamation of the Gospel receives greater attention in Saint John’s homilies on 1 Corinthians, especially the early chapters of this Epistle where Saint Paul writes about the foolishness and weakness of the Gospel centered on the crucified Lord (1 Cor. 1:18-2:5). Saint Paul does not concede that the Gospel of the crucified Christ lacks either power or wisdom, but only that it does so by the standards of the world. However, in Saint Paul's own view "Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:24). Nor does Saint Paul try to diminish the scandal of the cross. As he says, he himself came to Corinth, humanly speaking, in weakness, fear and trembling, resolved to know "nothing . . . except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). Yet, while not counting on rhetorical eloquence or philosophical wisdom, Saint Paul nevertheless preached the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit. The faith of the Corinthian Christians was grounded not in human skill or wisdom but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:4-5).

In his third homily on 1 Corinthians, Chrysostom comments at length on 1 Cor. 1:18 where Saint Paul states that Christ sent him to preach the Gospel "not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." According to Chrysostom, Saint Paul's intent behind these words was to deflate the pride of the Corinthians who argued and boasted about their spiritual gifts in a worldly manner. The fact that the apostles themselves did not claim human eloquence and wisdom, and that unlearned men established God's word in the world, are sufficient to check such arrogance and compel modesty. The reason that the apostles did not prove humanly wise was not because of any weakness of the gift but only that the Gospel, the heralding of the good news, might not be harmed or diminished in its own value. That Apollos was an eloquent Christian shows that God embraces everyone and does not discriminate against the learned of the world. Nevertheless, the basic fact remains that the apostles were what the Book of Acts tells of them: "uneducated and common men" (agrammatoi kai idiotai, Acts 4:13).

But what of the Apostle Paul? Was he unlearned, too? Here Saint John presses a bit the point. Let no one say that even Paul was humanly wise, at least not in comparison with such philosophers as Plato. Saint John tells how he once had heard a Christian debating in a ludicrous way with a pagan about Paul and Plato. While the pagan argued that Paul was uneducated as compared to Plato, the Christian claimed that Paul was more eloguent than the philosopher, thus victory easily falling to the pagan. For Chrysostom, that Christian's point should have been the opposite because, if Paul was indeed unlearned and yet overcame Plato in results, the victory was brilliant. It showed that "the Gospel was the result not of human wisdom, but of the grace of God." The Antiochean sings the praises of the unpolished and illiterate apostles in order to underscore the supernatural power (hyper physin ischyn) behind their glorious achievement. To quote him:

How could the apostles think of and attempt such great things? If they had so little courage when Christ was with them during his earthly ministry, how could they take on the whole world if they knew that He was now dead? Would they not say to themselves, if our Master could not save Himself, how could He now defend us? From all this it is evident, so Chrysostom concludes, that Christ arose, spoke to the apostles and infused them with the courage to do things that they could not have imagined. Christ's resurrection is the great proof (megiste apodeixis) of the divine power behind the apostolic proclamation (kerygma) and mission.

An assessment of Chrysostom's understanding of the nature and power of the Gospel would be incomplete without consideration of the indispensable element of the human response to the good news. Saint John possessed an unshakable confidence in the divine power behind the evangelistic mission of the Church. Yet, according to the Antiochean Father, the grace of the Spirit neither operates by compulsion, nor will penetrate stony hearts. Divine grace requires the synergy of human freedom. The power of the word of God is released in the act of reception by responsive souls. The proclamation of the Gospel takes hold and bears rich fruit where it finds fertile ground.

The most important aspect of the human response to the Gospel is, according to Chrysostom, the act of personal faith. A true, living faith, for St. John, is "a great blessing . . . which arises from glowing feelings, great love, and a fervent soul; it makes us truly wise, it hides our human meanness, and leaving reasonings beneath, it philosophizes about things in heaven.

Chrysostom turns time and again to the theme of faith. The first characteristic of faith, the mother of all good things, is its appropriate disposition in grasping the basic mysteries of revelation. Truths which transcend human reasoning, such as the incarnation, the virgin birth, the power of the cross, the heavenly birth of which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, and the like, require faith alone. To try to offer rational explanations of these and such mysteries would be to invite derision, not because of the weakness of these truths themsevles but because heavenly matters cannot be brought under the scrutiny of earthly reasonings. The human mind is useful in interpreting and applying revelation, exactly what the Antiochean does in his homilies. Nevertheless human reasonings left alone are like "webs of spiders," weaving such madness as to say sometimes that there is nothing real in the world and that all things are contrary to what they appear. The second characteristic of faith is its capacity to receive God's gifts, such as righteousness revealed through the preaching of the Gospel (Rom. 1:17). This righteousness, so Saint John states, is not your own, but that of God . . . "for you do not achieve it by toilings and labors, but you receive it from above, contributing one thing only from your own store, believing." Here again we catch a clear view of Chrysostom’s underlying supposition, despite his emphasis on moral works, that Christians are justified and saved by grace through faith (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).

An example of Saint John’s understanding of the synergistic relationship between grace and faith is his interpretation of Jn 1:12: "But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God." Chrysostom comments that, whether slave or free, Greek or barbarian, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, all are deemed worthy of the same privilege through faith. Faith and the grace of the Holy Spirit remove inequality and stamp all believers with a royal seal. What can equal the mercy of Christ who shared His very nature with publicans, sorcerers, slaves, and those suffering with many ills? Yet Christ works not by compulsion but requires free will (autoexousion). Christ has done all His part — He has made the marriage, has prepared the table, and has sent messengers to call us. It falls to us, both before and after baptism, to supply faith, and not only faith but also zeal and earnestness of a pure life. Chrysostom is aware of no tension or contrast between faith and good works; both are vital elements in one's response to grace. But faith comes first.

Another aspect of the human response in appropriating the power and blessings of the Gospel is, according to Chrysostom, serious and regular engamement with the Scriptures. To enter into one of the Gospels is to enter a city of gold; it is to hear the words not of an earthly king but of the Lord of angels. Hearing and reading the message of the Scriptures with appropriate receptivity has the power to lift human beings from earth to heaven.

In a particular way, Saint John concentrates on this theme of the earnest hearing and reading of Scripture in his first homily on the Gospel of St. John. Chrysostom first calls for zealous and earnest attention to God's word. If people long to know what is going on at the palace, what the king has said or done, or what thoughts he has about his subject, how much more should they be concerned about Christ's message which He brings from the Father. The attention required is not for one day but for all life. It is not merely external, requiring orderly behavior, but above all internal, the hearing of the soul, a deep silence which the Antiochean Father elsewhere calls "mystical silence" (mystike sige).

A second element in the transforming reception of the word of God is spiritual cleansing. The words of the Gospel can mean nothing to him who has no desire to be freed from a "swinish life." Christ instructed the disciples not to give the holy to the dogs, nor to cast pearls to the swine (Mt. 7:6). Nothing is sweeter nor more precious than the words of Scripture (Ps. 19:10). Yet only to those who are in good spiritual health. The cleansing and healing power of God's word is given to receptive souls by the power of the Holy Spirit. Where Scripture is read and heard among receptive souls becomes a place of "spiritual surgery" (iatreion peumatikon). The Spirit Himself burns away the evil elements, making hard and stubborn hearts soft and yielding to divine grace.

A third element is a firm resolve or earnest will (espoudasmene boulesis) which leaves behind the desires and ways of the multitude. Armed with earnest will, it is possible, not in five days but in one moment, to change one's whole course of life, even to change suddenly like the robber on the cross. Evil and wickedness are grounded in free will and distort human beings into wilful beasts and many-faced monsters. But let no one despair. If human fierceness (agriotes) is caused by choice and not by nature, then the words of Scripture empowered by the grace of the Spirit can tame a human being far more effectively than human words can tame a beast. Staint John exhorts:

A final aspect of the response to the Gospel is related to society at large and the witness of Christians within it. Saint John was concerned not only about the impact of the Gospel upon believers but also about its success in terms of the Church's mission in the world. The stress that Saint John places on this theme can hardly be exaggerated. The frequency and manner with which he returns to it shows that Christianity in the days of Chrysostom was still involved in a widespread confrontation with paganism over the true "philosophy" of life that can shown only by persuasive conduct. Precisely where Saint John develops a continuous case demonstrating the power of the Gospel in his homilies on the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, he also builds up a whole series of appeals to Christians on the theme of the evangelistic value of their lives. He cries out to his hearers:

If the Gospel has had such amazing success since the days of the apostles, so Chrysostom asks, why do not all believe in his own days? The answer rests with the quality of life Christians display. The Antiochean candidly exposes and censures the failings of Christians. He comments that in his days "a dark night (batheia nyx) seemed to prevail among Christians themselves with respect to both teaching and life. For him the greatest critique of Christianity was not so much a good pagan as a corrupt Christian. The sharpest censure of his contemporary Church is perhaps to be found in his reflections on 1 Corinthians, chapter 14. As he contemplates the vigor of early Christian worship and of the charismatic phenomena reported by Saint Paul, Chrysostom bewails the conditions of the Church of his own days. Now, so Chrysostom laments, the Church has only empty signs and memorials of those things. He continues:

These words, however, are not a counsel of resignation and despair. They are part of a prophetic critique based on the conviction that God's word is to be preached to all and that it is the responsibility of the hearers to pay heed. The personal failures of Christians and the shortcomings of the Church all the more challenged Saint John to preach and teach the good news of Christ with greater fervor and urgency, trusting that the grace of the Spirit would do its invincible work in willing and receptive hearts.

In his seventh homily on 1 Corinthians Chrysostom sums up his long and detailed exposition in demonstration of the triumph of the Gospel during the early centuries. It is clear that he had given much tought to the ongoing encounter between Christianity and culture. He wanted Christians to be keenly aware of this struggle and to be knowledgeable, confident and effective in their daily interactions with pagans on behalf of the cause of Christianity. It may be instructive to enumerate his major points by way of conclusion: 1) the overcoming of the tyranny of ancient custom through a new religion; 2) the courage of the apostles in the face of many perils; 3) the requirement of higher moral standards; 4) the scandalous nature of the Christian message concerning a crucified God; 5) the persuasion of the masses to truths that even philosophers like Plato could not comprehend; 6) the promise of future rather than immediate rewards, and 7) the fulfilment of Christ's prophecy that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. But Saint John also admonished Christians to convince pagans by the quality of their lives: "Of all these things then . . . let us speak to the Gentiles, and again, let us show them the evidence of our lives, that by both means we ourselves may be saved and they drawn over by our means to the glory of God."

Receiving and enjoying the blessings of the Gospel, Christians ought to celebrate all of time as a festival. The Antiochean Father, rightly surnamed "Chrysostomos" ("Golden-mouthed"), offers to all these golden words:

The aim of this chapter is to present an understanding of the Gospel in a comprehensive Orthodox perspective including worship, preaching, teaching, theology, and spirituality. Three initial remarks may provide a helpful context for consideration of the topic. First, the adjective "Orthodox" is meant not merely as a socio-cultural religious designation but as a referent to the classic and universal Christian tradition. It applies not only to the Orthodox with a capital "O" but to all who regard themselves as orthodox with a small "o," that is to say, those who are committed to a way of life and thinking, and a way of teaching and worship, which reflect authentic Christianity everywhere and in all times. In this sense, to be Orthodox necessarily implies to honor Holy Scripture as the supreme record of God's self-revelation and to cherish the Gospel of Christ as the very soul of the Church.

Second, authentic Orthodoxy has nothing to do with rigidity, narrowness, legalism, formalism, and ritualism. Rather it is signaled by life, catholicity, love, integrity, and prayerfulness. Authentic Orthodoxy fosters unity which does not stifle variety and rejoices in variety which does not injure unity. But vitality and creativity also require grounding and direction. Thus Orthodoxy seeks to express its dynamic coherence of life and thought through what Thomas Torrance has aptly called "fidelity to truth" and "respect for mystery." Fidelity to truth is being rightly related to the Gospel of the apostolic tradition — the full truth of God's saving work through Christ and the Spirit, lived, celebrated, and proclaimed by the Church. Respect for mystery entails reverent recognition that the living God transcends doctrines. As important as doctrines are for the explication of Christian truth and the maintenance of Christian unity, they are nevertheless only pointers to the mystery of Christ and the mystery of the Holy Trinity to which the Church and each Christian relate existentially by faith and grace.

Third, the Orthodox people themselves have not always lived up to their own ideals. Church history tells of the faithfulness of the martyrs, the radiance of the saints, the suffering of the rank-and-file believers. But it also scores the presumptuousness of the powerful, the bickerings of the contentious, the divisiveness of the proud. Every age has had its saints and sinners; every generation has seen righteousness and wickedness. There has been no time when the light of the Gospel did not shine, nor a time when God's truth has not been suppressed. And the struggle continues. Today Orthodoxy is striving to define and affirm its true character in the encounter with the modern and post-modern world. The contest is hardly engaged as Orthodoxy meets the onrush of Western pop culture in traditional Orthodox lands, the chaotic promises of democracy in countries behind the former iron curtain, and the secular pluralism of the West where Orthodoxy has taken root.

However, the good news of salvation abides and has always thrived in challenging times, provided it is faithfully received and genuinely proclaimed. As Orthodoxy stands at the beginning of the third millennium of its history, an enormously opportune time — a kairos in the biblical sense — presents itself for reflection on its nature and mission. Such reflection cannot but be centered on the apostolic Gospel concerning Christ who "is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8). For no other foundation can suffice than that laid by the apostles — Jesus Christ himself, crucified and risen (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). The New Testament plainly testifies that Christ is the essential content and invincible power of the Gospel which is called, in the language of the Epistle to the Colossians, the word of truth, the mystery hidden for ages but now made manifest, God's mystery of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of knowledge, and who is our hope of glory (Col 1:5,26-27; 2:2-3). The New Testament also bears clear witness that the fullness of the mystery Christ embraces His Church as the historical and mystical body of Christ, vivified and guided by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 10:16-17; 12:4-31). The Epistle to the Ephesians notably exalts the mystery of the Church, which it celebrates as the new household of God, the redeemed universal humanity, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ himself being the cornerstone — the Church growing in maturity and unity, and manifesting the treasures of God's blessings (Eph 2:19-22; 3:4-10). The Gospel of Christ, which is the foundation of Christian existence, should be attested by all inter-related and interactive aspects of the Church's life — its worship, preaching and teaching, theology and spirituality, as well as daily practice and administration.

The attacks by critics before and after Harnack against the externalism of Orthodox worship as mere ritual are well-known and still crop up in Protestant circles. They are partly justified insofar as they refer to ignorant and superficial practices by Orthodox Christians. They are largely misplaced and pernicious insofar as they express a deficient view of Christianity and the biblical way of the adoration of God. It is not our intention here to launch into a defense of the liturgical, sacramental, yes, material, aspects of Christian worship. The Book of Acts and the Letters of Paul abundantly testify that to be a Christian meant from the outset to engage an ecclesial praxis of hearing and accepting the Gospel, of repenting and being baptized, of celebrating the Lord's Supper and sharing in the entire communal life of the apostolic Church. After all the studies on early Christian worship, it is no longer possible to separate word from sacrament, the proclamation of the crucified and risen Lord from the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Rather it is now the case that a sound biblical ecclesiology must take into account the constitutive reality of the Church, the creative power and authority of tradition, the sacramental efficacy of Baptism and Eucharist, as well as the communion of the saints.

The Gospel in the worship of the early Church is reflected in numerous hymnological passages of the New Testament itself such as the prologue of the Gospel of John, Philippians 2:6-11, and the doxologies of the Book of Revelation. To these should be added the sacramental passages of John 6, Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, as well as much of 1 Peter which resounds with baptismal overtones. All of these texts attest to the liturgical confessions of faith pertaining to the good news of God's saving work through Christ. The liturgical tradition in subsequent centuries developed incredible riches in the hymnological presentation of the Gospel. Most Christians may be familiar with some of these treasures of Christian antiquity still used in Orthodox worship. One of these is the Trisagion — "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: have mercy on us" — a doxological song to the Holy Trinity with a penitential element echoing the Prophet Isaiah's experience and sentiments according to Isaiah 6. Another is the hymn entitled "Only-Begotten Son" which proclaims the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ and exalts Him as "one of the Holy Trinity." The basic eight-week hymnological cycle according to eight musical modes which has developed over centuries in the Orthodox Church now constitutes a huge collection of hymns contained in the liturgical book called Parakletike, meaning Book of Intercession and Consolation. Especially the hymns for Saturday Vespers and Sunday Matins, called Anastasima, that is, "Resurrection Hymns," set forth the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ with a certain concentration going back to the emphasis of the great Apostle Paul..

Here is a medley of Anastasima from the Matins of the first musical mode which praise the death as well as the resurrection of Christ, the two being held together in the Orthodox tradition:

Not infrequently these doxological hymns, evangelical in content and spirit, contain practical exhortations. The Easter service of Matins explodes with countless lyrical praises to the crucified and risen Lord. Yet even on Easter night references to the practical implications of the saving events are not lacking. The following hymns of the Easter service may serve as an illustration:

This liturgical proclamation of the Gospel is not restricted, as it were, to Saint Paul’s focus on the death and resurrection of Christ. It takes into comprehensive view Jesus' whole ministry. The basic structure of the Orthodox liturgical year is anchored on twelve major feasts, most of which have to do with the key events of the ministry of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, namely, the events of the annunciation, the birth of Jesus, His baptism, transfiguration, death and resurrection, ascension, gift of the Spirit, and second coming in glory. Thus the liturgical year itself encompasses the entire life of Christ from conception to his glorious return as Judge.

Moreover, the periods of the Great Lent and Easter season have their separate hymn books which are thoroughly biblical and evangelical. The Lenten hymn book called Triodion (literally, "Book of the Three Odes") features the following topics and themes from the Gospels: The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, the Last Judgment, Jesus's call to mutual forgiveness, the confession of Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, the veneration of the cross, and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Pentecostal hymn book called Pentecostarion ("Book of Pentecost") embraces the period from Easter to Pentecost and celebrates, in addition to Easter, the following events: the confession of Thomas, the women myrrh-bearers coming to the empty tomb, the healing of the paralytic of John 5, Jesus's meeting with the Samaritan woman, the healing of the blind man of John 9, the ascension of the Lord, and Pentecost itself. Each of these biblical events and topics become the center of liturgical attention and are proclaimed as part of the saving work of Christ by means of virtually hundreds of hymns which both recount and expand on the meaning of these salvific events. The above liturgical books, together with the daily lectionary, provide a comprehensive account of Jesus’ ministry, reflecting a time when, without the benefit of printing and general education, the people of God depended primarily on worship for their knowledge and celebration of the good news of Christ.

In addition, the liturgical presentation of the Gospel is not limited to the New Testament but comprehends the saving message of the Bible as a whole. Rich liturgical traditions have developed around numerous biblical witnesses of the Old and New Testaments who served God's purposes in the history of salvation. These include not only the major figures such as Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, King David, the Prophets, the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, and the Twelve Apostles, but also lesser known figures such as Job, the Patriarch Joseph, the seven Maccabean martyrs, the co-workers of Paul such as Timothy and Silas, and the seventy apostles. All these are esteemed as saints by the Orthodox tradition which affirms the active presence of grace in the Old Testament, and not only the New. Hymns and prayers bring before the worshipers the total scope of God's dealings with human beings exalting especially God's great acts of deliverance which Scripture calls the marvelous deeds of God. In this sense the liturgical proclamation of the good news is linked with the larger saving message of the Bible as the word of God and prompts the worshipers to engage the entire horizon of the biblical tradition.

For the Orthodox, the most profound liturgical presentation of the Gospel is the Holy Eucharist or Divine Liturgy itself, the central act of worship in the Orthodox Church. The Liturgy is understood as a continuation of the Last Supper in which Jesus by means of solemn words and actions anticipated His redemptive death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul is a firm witness of the eucharistic tradition deriving "from the Lord" who commanded: "Do this in remembrance of me." And Saint Paul adds: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (See 1 Cor 11:23-26).

Whatever the historical and exegetical complexities of the New Testament eucharistic texts, these texts must be taken as they stand in their canonical context. The innocent reader perceives that they relate to the heart of the Gospel and that they presuppose a realistic view of the efficacy of the eucharistic celebration. Biblical scholarship has long taught us that the essential meaning of biblical remembrance (anamnesis) has to do with making present the reality of the saving events in the context of communal prayer and worship. In antiquity the ritual acts among Jews and Christians were not taken as merely figurative, a palpably modern notion, but rather they were seen as bearing divine powers and having decisive consequences according to the words of Saint Paul. Just as the inspired preaching of the word of God bears efficacious power and transformative impact on receptive hearers, so also, and indeed more so, the ritual acts of Baptism and the Eucharist, in the context of the Church's living faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, make present the saving reality and blessings of the death and resurrection of the Lord. Surely the Apostle Paul did not view the Lord's Supper as merely metaphorical in 1 Cor 11, any more than he viewed Baptism as figurative in Rom 6. The Gospel of John which declares that true worship is "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24) also contains references to Baptism and the Eucharist as determining one's entry into the kingdom (Jn 3:5) and one's sharing in the divine life of the Incarnate Lord (Jn 6:52-58).

Seen from this perspective the Orthodox Eucharist is not only a proclamation but also an actualization of the good news of Christ and his saving work. An inspired preacher can proclaim the Gospel with words, voice inflections and gestures, impacting the congregation with the power of God's word. A prayerful liturgist not only proclaims but acts out the contents of the Gospel actualizing its blessings amidst God's people. The Liturgy constitutes the most profound anamnesis of the events of the Gospel and their efficacious power. The Liturgy is the enactment of the Gospel through sacramental action.

The word "sacramental" in the Orthodox tradition means something different from the legal notions of sacrament in the Western medieval tradition. The very word "sacrament" does not sit well within Orthodox vocabulary which employs the biblical term "mystery" (mysterion) to refer to the central liturgical acts. According to the Orthodox understanding, the efficacy of the sacred mysteries is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit in the context of living faith, and is not dependent on the precision of a particular formula of words and actions. The invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiklesis) in the consecration prayer of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, a prayer directed to the Father, reads as follows:

The same prayer offers thanks to God the Father for all the work of salvation but especially for the redemptive work of Christ. The centerpiece is the Gospel according to John 3:16, which is recited in the consecration prayer as a prayer to the Father: "You so loved Your world that you gave Your only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom).

The presentation of the Gospel in preaching and teaching is an immensely important ministry. The great of Mt 28:16-20 calls for making disciples not only by baptizing them but also by catechizing them regarding Jesus' commandments. Among the Church Fathers for example, St. Basil taught that the aim of preaching is to bring people under the lordship of Christ, to draw them into the life of the Church, and to build up their personal lives in the likeness of the new creation in Christ. The ministry of evangelization applies not only to outsiders but also to Christians themselves. Evangelization lifts up and exalts the person of Christ heightening the awareness of hearers not only to the blessings but also the demands of the Gospel such as to repent of their sins, to seek first the kingdom and its righteousness, to practice self-denial and serve others in his name. Sound evangelization implies constant alertness regarding integrity and renewal in all expressions of the life of the Church, the primary antidote against the all-too-human tendency toward routine, professionalism and ritualism. Worship in spirit and truth cannot occur apart from evangelization through preaching and teaching. An integral part of the Liturgy itself is the reading of Holy Scripture, the preaching of God's word, and its practical application in the lives of God's people. The prayer for the lectionary lesson in the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom asks the Lord to grant not only understanding of the Gospel message but also obedience to his commandments with these words:

But what does it mean to present the Gospel in preaching and teaching? How is the Gospel understood, interpreted, and expounded? In Protestantism the main preoccupation is with Saint Paul's teaching concerning justification by faith and not by works of the Law. The Reformers took their stand on the principle of justification by faith as opposed to that of meritorious works. Justification by faith alone — the word "alone" being a considerable addition to the Pauline expression — became Protestantism's defining doctrinal position from which ensued the catch phrases "Scripture alone," "Christ alone," "Gospel alone," and "me and God's word alone," leading not infrequently to "my interpretation alone." The strength of traditional Protestantism is the unremitting focus on Scripture, the Gospel, as well as personal faith concerning which Protestants have taught much to Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The weakness lies in ecclesiology, doctrinal coherence, and a polemical overemphasis on the "alone" which, though justifiable as a corrective in the medieval context, appears reductionistic as an interpretive key to the witness of the whole Bible in its own historical and theological context.

In whatever ways these matters are argued, the point is that the definition and presentation of the Gospel in preaching and teaching is inescapably influenced by one's confessional background and doctrinal position. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as pure "grace alone," "Scripture alone," "Christ alone," or "faith alone," whether in antiquity or modern times. Revelation did not occur in a vacuum apart, as it were, from the receptivity of human subjects. Scripture as a canonical entity developed over many centuries, not without disputes of course, as well as decisions involving ecclesial tradition, doctrine, and councils. Christ and the Gospel were promoted by His followers, not by His enemies, nor by some other objective observers. And what is faith apart from reason and conduct? Truth itself, however it may be perceived, including that which is perceived from the perspective of the "alone" language, is grounded in community. Thus all Christians encounter one another as communities of faith. They are called by Christ and the Spirit to dialogue with mutual respect and faithful openness for the sake of the glory of Christ and the potential unity of the Church.

The Orthodox bear testimony to their own stream of tradition that is largely unencumbered by the dichotomies of Scripture and tradition, word and sacrament, Gospel and law, grace and will, faith and works, as well as faith and reason. In the Orthodox tradition all these elements have been held together as parts of the same reality of truth in which unquestionably the revealed initiative and saving action belong to God, yet require the positive response of human beings. The sovereign efficacy of grace is confessed, while the active role of the receptive will is recognized. The primacy of faith is declared, while the necessity of works according to which believers, as well, will be judged is affirmed. The supreme authority of Scripture is unquestioned, but the obvious necessity of its discerning use and normative interpretation is acknowledged.

For the Orthodox the authoritative witnesses to the presentation of the Gospel in preaching and teaching are the great Church Fathers who were preeminently preachers of God's word and biblical theologians. The most notable example is John Chrysostom (ca. 350-407), the man with the "golden mouth" (Chrysostomos), whose works glow with immense zeal for the Scriptures as well as with focus on their practical application. Chrysostom’s favorite apostle was Saint Paul in praise of whom he wrote several homilies and on whose entire corpus of letters he bequeathed to us valuable commentaries. Paul was his supreme example of a fearless preacher of the Gospel who, according to Chrysostom, took up the cross and proclaimed the good news in the face of the gates of hell itself. Saint John himself preached the message of Scripture with equal courage and died in exile on account of his uncompromising witness to the word of God.

Although Chrysostom nowhere discusses the Gospel as a separate subject, for him the good news in its widest scope is associated with the entire Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, as the revelation of divine truth. But in particular the four canonical Gospels bear testimony to the supreme source of truth and heavenly blessings, including remission of sins, righteousness, sanctification, inheritance of heaven, and intimate closeness to the Son of God. These blessings are undeserved gifts on account of God's great love toward humanity. To quote him: "For [it is] not by laboring and sweating, not by fatigue and suffering, but merely as being beloved of God [that], we received what we have received." While he is aware of certain apparent discrepancies among the Gospels, he grounds their veracity in their agreement on the essentials of Jesus's ministry, the basis of Christian life and proclamation (ten zoen kai to kerygma). What are these essentials? According to St. John, they are the incarnation, the miracles of Jesus, His death and resurrection, His ascension and glorious return as Judge, His ethical commandments, and that He is the true Son sharing the same essence with the Father.

For Chrysostom, the very heart of the Gospel is the living Christ, His saving work, and the blessings He bestows upon those who receive Him. Along with an apostolic boldness about possessing the truth, one meets in Saint John a call to proclaim and teach the Gospel to all. While he hides the failings neither of individual Christians nor of the Church as an institution, he shines with the conviction that the success of the Christian faith is not the result of human talents or favorable historical circumstances but the achievement of divine grace at work in history. The power of the Gospel derives from the risen Christ and the pentecostal gift of the Spirit. And the victorious legacy of Christianity is linked to the proclamation of the Gospel. The model preacher is the Apostle Paul whose proclamation of the Gospel Saint John exalts as the rising of the sun dispelling the darkness from the world.

Chrysostom has been erroneously accused of moralizing. It is true that he untiringly calls for the practical application of the demands of the gospel, with recurrent attention to the needs of the poor, and is routinely critical of the temptations of city life such as the chariot races and the theater. He is also the heir of classical education based on earnest will and disciplined effort toward character formation over against other philosophical and religious currents advocating blind fate and determinism. Nevertheless, it would be erroneous to see his moral emphasis as "righteousness by works." A contextual and holistic reading of Chrysostom prove him to be a preacher and pastor with a balanced biblical vision pertaining to family life, occupations, social relationships, and civic duties. After all, he could not forget that the Master commanded his followers to be doers, not merely hearers, of his words. He read the Gospel of Matthew as well as that of John, and the Book of James as well as that of Galatians. In fact a close reading of Galatians shows that the problem in the Galatian churches was not "moralizing" but "Judaizing," as Chrysostom is quite aware. Thus Saint Paul's contrast between faith and works pertained to the ritual obligations of the Mosaic Law, notably circumcision (Gal. 2:3; 5:2-3,6,11-12; 6:12-13), not good works which Paul everywhere deems necessary for Christians under pain of God's judgment.

The position of Chrysostom, as that of the Eastern Fathers generally, envisions a synergistic relationship between grace and will, faith and works, with the accent unerringly falling on grace and faith. In the Orthodox tradition the notion of synergy implies no more and no less than what the biblical idea of covenant permits. The initiative and saving activity belong to God, while the free and active response of human beings is also required, indeed demanded. For Chrysostom this response included a number of things such as faith, the hearing of the soul, firm resolve, regular reading of the Scriptures, inner cleansing, and right conduct. According to him, Christ has done his part — he has made the marriage, has prepared the table, and has sent messengers to call the guests. It falls to us, both before and after Baptism, to supply faith, and not only faith but also zeal and earnestness of a pure life.

Saint John Chrysostom praises faith in numerous places. For him, living faith is a great blessing, the mother of all good things. Faith grasps the mysteries of revelation. Rational explanation of such mysteries as the incarnation, the virgin birth, the power of cross, the heavenly birth of which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, and the like, invite derision; not because of the weakness of these truths themselves but because heavenly matters cannot be brought under the scrutiny of human reasoning. Faith has the capacity to receive God's gifts, such as the righteousness revealed through the preaching of the Gospel (Rom. 1:17. This righteousness, Chrysostom states, "is not your own, but that of God . . . for you do not achieve it by toilings and labors, but you receive it from above, contributing one thing only from your own choice, believing." It is his confidence on the accomplished work of God and the blessings of the Gospel that leads Chrysostom to view the whole of life, despite its vast troubles, as a continuous festival despite inevitable sufferings.

What has been said above concerning the Gospel in worship, preaching and teaching already involves essential theological matters. We have defined the content of the Gospel as being the crucified and risen Lord, and His entire ministry, matters which are linked to the saving message of the whole Bible, Christ being its center. We have also broached the topic of justification by faith, a chief theological concern of Protestants. In what follows, we shall offer additional thoughts pertaining to the relationship between Gospel and theology, the participatory view of salvation called theosis ("divinization" or "deification"), and the role of the Gospel in Orthodox spirituality.

In the classic Orthodox tradition, a theologian is not one who has received a formal degree in theology and has become an expert in any given theological discipline. A theologian is someone who is deeply grounded in the life of the Church, who is advanced in the life of prayer, and whose knowledge of Scripture and the Christian tradition reflects profound wisdom. A dictum of Evagrios was" "If you are a theologian, you will pray truly; and if you pray truly, you a theologian." Properly speaking, theology has to do with personal knowledge of the mystery of the Triune God, the mystery of Christ, the mystery of Pentecost as attested by the Scriptures and celebrated in the worship of the Church. To be a theologian presupposes living faith, true repentance, inner cleansing, spiritual illumination, and growth toward perfection in Christ-likeness.

The masterful work by Saint Athanasios On the Incarnation of the Word may serve as an example of the close relationship between Gospel and theology in the Orthodox tradition. Reading this brief treatise one enters into the world of Christian proclamation, teaching and mission. Its chief source and authority is the Bible. Written for a certain Makarios, perhaps a recent convert, its purpose is to explicate the person and work of Christ as the self-disclosure of His divinity. For Athanasios, the incarnation is not just the birth and childhood of Christ, but the adult Christ as the fullness of God on earth. The mystery of Christ’s divinity continues to be revealed through His activity as risen Lord. Makarios is instructed to study the Scriptures himself in order to test the truth of the treatise, while being reminded that biblical study must be accompanied by righteous life and purity of soul.

Three aspects of this work are notable for the present discussion. First, it glows with assurance concerning the Christian mission and the transformative power of Christian truth. Athanasios is not merely expounding an abstract Christology; he is proclaiming Christ. He observes the expansion of the Christian mission, how the Savior's teaching is increasing everywhere, and how men and women disdain even death in the face of martyrdom. According to Athanasios, it is Christ himself as One living and working in the very present who brings people to the Christian faith, thus manifesting his deity and the power of his resurrection. Secondly, Athanasios draws from the whole story of the Bible — creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. He points to God's love and goodness in reaching out to save and restore sinful humanity especially through the ministry of Christ. And thirdly, the focus is on the reality of Jesus Christ as the eternal and pre-existent Word, the same agent who created the world and is now redeeming it. Athanasios does not engage the infancy narratives. His attention is on the adult ministry of Christ as the One who was fully God and fully man. The Alexandrian's theological perspectives are both Johannine and Pauline. The incarnate Word was living a human life and at the same time — this is the wonder — he was in union with the Father sustaining the life of creation. The chief acts by which he accomplished his redemptive work was through his death and resurrection to which Athanasios devotes supreme attention.

Saint Athanasios was one of the first Christian theologians to use the language of theosis or divinization. He is known for the statement: "He [the eternal Word] became human so that we may become deified" (theopoiethomen). This is a bold and to some perhaps an impossible concept, one which can linguistically be traced back to Plato. However, while acknowledging the Greek philosophical origins of the word, the Orthodox teaching about theosis is thoroughly Christian. It is rooted in the New Testament itself, especially the Gospel of John and the Epistles of Paul, which clearly speak of a mystical union with Christ and a personal dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer. The Church Fathers elaborated this teaching based on the reality of the incarnation, the full union of the divine and human natures of Christ, to which especially the Fourth Gospel bears testimony.

As the Evangelist before him, Saint Athanasios viewed the incarnation in its full reality. Through the incarnation the eternal Word put himself at the disposal of humanity manifesting His radiant life and glory. Recall the opening words of the First Epistle of John: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life" (1 Jn 1:1). In a similar way. Saint Athanasios stresses the reality and tangibility of the incarnate Word who fully entered the sinful world of humanity in order to rescue it from corruption and death. Salvation occurs through a new birth, just as Jesus said to Nicodemos (Jn 3:3ff.), signifying the gift of the Spirit and restoration to intimate communion with God. The Alexandrian Father invokes, as well, uses Pauline language and concepts expounding the overcoming of sin, corruption, mortality, and death through the incarnate presence of divinity whose supreme goal was the resurrection, the great victory of the Word of Life over the powers of corruption. He cites 1 Cor. 15:53-56 as a key text: "This corruptible (phtharton) must put on incorruption (aphtharsian) and this mortal (thneton) must put on immortality (athanasian). . . Then shall come to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is your sting?"

Saint Athanasios brings his readers to the core of the patristic understanding of soteriology, a view of salvation based on the revelation of the incarnate Christ and the unity of his divine and human natures. This view presupposes the biblical concepts of the solidarity of humanity, the corruption of human nature by transgression and sin, and the human need for healing and transformation through sharing in the divine grace and life. It is a soteriology which treats the problem of sin primarily not in legal but existential, realistic terms. Though produced by transgression, sin is a sickness, a blight on humanity. Sick humanity needs divine healing by an infusion of grace, penetrating all of human existence, just as evil had done the same, according to Athanasios. The full solution to sin is not only forgiveness from heaven but also recreative sharing in the divine life in union with the crucified and risen Lord. It is a "participatory" view of salvation according to which believers are united with Christ as the branches are united to the vine (Jn 15:1ff.). It is by such intimate union that believers "are being transformed into the same image [of the glory of the Lord] from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18). Thus patristic soteriology is anchored on Johannine and Pauline categories of thought such as union and communion with God, the indwelling of Christ and the Spirit, as well as the transformation and glorification of all things (2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:18ff.). The most appropriate biblical term for theosis is simply glorification by means of divine grace.

However, the language of deification is not necessarily overwhelming and certainly not exclusive among the Church Fathers. When reflecting on the death of Christ, Athanasios himself uses a number of forensic biblical terms and images. The sacrifice of Christ was to free humanity from its Adamic transgression as a result of which a debt had to be paid. The death of the Lord was a ransom for all. By dying Christ became a sufficient exchange for all, a substitutionary offering and sacricice. Similar terminology and ideas appear in other Church Fathers, although they are never developed into a system as in the case of Anselm in the West. Remarkable as well is the fact that Gregory Palamas, known for his theology of theosis, never mentions the term nor deals with the theological concept in his sermons addressed to the ordinary faithful where the usual biblical vocabulary and exhortations prevail.

Let us turn now to some remarks on the Gospel in Orthodox spirituality. This tradition is represented by an astonishingly rich literature dating from the Egyptian Desert Fathers (fourth century and later) to contemporary writers on the Holy Mountain in Greece. The preeminent record is The Philokalia, a collection of diversified treatises on the spiritual life covering a period roughly from the fourth to the fourteenth century.

A number of contemporary western scholars have given attention to this tradition of Orthodoxy. Most recently a substantial volume appeared by Douglas Burton-Christie entitled The Word in the Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism. The thesis of this book is to demonstrate the central role that Scripture played in the life of the ancient monastics whose hearts and minds were shaped by biblical reading and meditation. The emphasis was, according to Burton-Christie, on a hermeneutic of praxis, the release of the power of God's word through the application of the sacred texts with the conviction that they inherently carried the power to transform and sanctify life. By means of study and memorization of the sacred texts, as well as rumination on their meaning, the biblical word penetrated the deepest recesses of the soul. It stripped away layers of ego-centric deceptive concerns and opened up new possibilities for the actualization of the evangelical virtues such as humility, love, and the fervent expectation of the coming kingdom. The ultimate expression of the desert hermeneutic, Burton-Christie concludes, was not doctrinal interpretation but the saintly elder as a person, a "Christ-bearer," who embodied the sacred texts and who drew others out of themselves into a world of personal and corporate transformation by means of the practice of the biblical word.

A striking witness to Orthodox spirituality is St. Mark the Ascetic (fifth century), whose treatises appear in The Philokalia. One of them is entitled On Those Who Think that They Are Made Righteous by Works. One thousand years before Martin Luther, this erudite monastic affirmed the biblical position in the clearest terms. His opening statement includes the following declaration:

A few more aphorisms from Saint Mark the Ascetic, given according to their numbering in The Philokalia, will provide aspects of his understanding of spiritual life, especially as related to grace, faith and works:

The most prophetic and evangelical voice in Orthodox spirituality is Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022), a learned abbot of a monastery in Constantinople who shook the religious establishment of his time by his teachings, was persecuted and died in exile. Some of his works, including The Disourses, have been translated into English. In Discourse 22 Saint Symeon tells how, while seeking as a young man the forgiveness of his sins through fervent prayer, he unexpectedly beheld the risen Christ in the radiance of His uncreated light. This sublime experience of renewal marked a new stage in Saint Symeon’s life. He became a zealous preacher of Christ and insisted that the very life of the apostles could be lived by every Christian in any epoch. For Saint Symeon, the luminous presence of Christ, the burning fire of His grace and love, was always eager to ignite a receptive soul, just as fire is always eager to consume dry wood. What was required was the exercise of the gift of faith, attention to conscience, an awareness of one’s blindness and the need for enlightenment, fervent prayer, and faithful obedience to the Lord.

Appealing to the witness of Scripture, especially the Evangelist John and the Apostle Paul, Saint Symeon proclaimed in bold terms the necessity of an adult experience of conversion and renewal, a "new birth," just as Jesus had proclaimed to Nicodemos in the Gospel of John. According to Saint Symeon, most people by adulthood have reached a state of spiritual insensibility, their baptismal grace inactive and concealed by all manner of evil desires and passions. He did not address only lay people but clerics and monastics as well. All needed a profound sense of repentance, a deep conversion of heart and mind, indeed a new "baptism of the Holy Spirit" to rejuvenate baptismal grace. o some Saint Symeon’s apostolic message smacked of heresy. His teaching once provoked some of his own monastics to rush at him in order to inflict bodily harm. Although rejected by officials and exiled, he was soon acknowledged as one of the greatest charismatic saints in the Orthodox tradition and was accorded the rare honorary title "Theologian."

The biblical and evangelical dimension in Symeon is simply astonishing. A loyal follower of the great Church Fathers, and deeply respectful of the Church’s tradition, Saint Symeon lived and breathed the Scriptures. In Disourses 28-36 he expounds the new life in Christ presenting "the truth from divine Scripture and from experience." He tells of leaving every other preoccupation in life to labor day and night "excavating" the Scriptures (p. 355) until, by Christ's luminous intervention, they yielded their spiritual treasures. Though being accused of pride and arrogance, he boldly parallels his witness to that of the apostles and the Church Fathers who possessed the mind of Christ. He viewed his work as "a ministry of the Spirit" against which resisters committed the unforgivable sin of blasphemy. According to Sym