For many of us, the upcoming summer is a welcomed pause (to one degree or another) from work and school. Alas this is just a pause, and after what will inevitably feel like a short summer, we get right back into the swing of things in September. Although this is the pattern for most of us, there are those who will not be picking up where they left off when the fall rolls around; in fact they will be starting off a whole new chapter in their lives. These are those men and women who are graduating from high school and college, and furthering their studies, or starting new jobs and careers.
Much of what they have learned at school over these years has been equally learned at home, in Church and from serving the greater community. Indeed it is this all this education which prepares them for this new stage of their lives, and the further development of a “good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:19).
Regardless of where their studies take them, or how they apply their skills and talents – our prayer is that they be confirmed and strengthened in their faith – the context for learning how to love God and neighbour alike in a greater way; and the context of serving the Lord, by serving the least of His brethren (Mt. 25:40). And by it all become examples “to the believers (and the world) in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12); At the end of the Liturgy we will offer a prayer for our high school grads, Emilie, Schalin and Bethany and our college grads Arielle, and Anya (who both graduated from the graphic design program at Red River College) and Anna-Christina (Emilie’s older sister) who graduated from flight school in Thunder Bay.
” O Lord, grateful of the great benefits which You have so richly bestowed upon us in your loving-kindness, we give thanks to You and we beseech You, look graciously upon us, and upon Your graduates who have studied hour upon hour and successfully completed their studies in every good work for the glorification of Your holy name. Give them health and long life that with unbounding joy, that they may labour in the building up and glory of Your Holy Church, this nation, community, and of all Your people.
For You are a God, Who is mighty in mercy and gracious in strength, and to You do we send up glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and into ages of ages.”
As tokens of our thanksgiving for their achievements, we presented our high school grads with icons of St. Xenia (the patron of our parish’s youth group) and our college grads with icons of the newly glorified St. Olga Arrsamquq of Alaska. Both these saints truly expressed the selfless service to “God and neighbour” alike, and are fitting examples of what these graduates can achieve by the grace of Holy Spirit, as they begin a new chapter in their lives.
May the Lord grant them and their families many blessed years!
A particular element of Pentecost is the serving of Vespers of Pentecost and Kneeling prayers immediately following the Divine Liturgy. Yet given our circumstances (being a Church that takes a bit of work to get to for a majority of our members), serving the full Vespers is not a practical option- as such we simplify the service, sing a number of the Pentecost Vespers hymns and read the “Kneeling prayers“. These prayers mark the beginning of a new cycle in the Church and our pilgrimage through time and history in what is generally called“ordinary time.” As Fr. Alexander Schmemann beautifully notes in describing this movement “
It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our effort towards fulfillment and salvation”.
This “need” for “Divine help…presence and power of the Holy Spirit” compels us to kneel in supplication, for ourselves, all creation, and even those who have fallen asleep in death.
There are three beautiful prayers read, that plead for the Lord’s assistance in helping and teaching us to follow the true path in “the dark and difficult night of our earthly existence.” The last prayer being set apart for all those who have departed this life before us, recognising that it is by the Holy Spirit “the giver of Life” that we love and know love; something not even death can separate us from, either in this age, or in the age to come.
Indeed there is a peculiar joy of being able to kneel in prayer again; in solidarity of those who in every generation humbled themselves by kneeling in prayer for us. for in this “we are strengthened by the words of the Disciples,who revealed the glory of the Benefactor and God of all. Let us bend our knees and hearts with them. since we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, bowing down in faith to worship the Savior of our souls! (Tone 3 Aposticha – Vespers of Pentecost)
We are in the twilight of this blessed season of light and life. Our joyful proclamation “Christ is Risen!” ends as we celebrate the “leavetaking of Pascha”, and is replaced with both wonder, as we witness the Lord of Glory ascending into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father, and hope, as we are called to wait and “tarry…until you are endued with power from on high.” (Lk 24:39) on the blessed feast of Pentecost.
Indeed over the next 15 days or so we are called to reflect upon something of a “trinity of feasts” (Pascha, the Ascension, and Pentecost) – an unofficial yet apt description of the whole economy and working out of the Lord’s saving plan for us, revealed seamlessly in our services over the span of a few weeks.
We are called to joyfully reflect upon the eternal Pascha, of a God who liberates humanity from the ravages of death, by transforming death into life – by His death. We are called to reflect upon the Lord’s Ascension, with jubilation as our very human nature (flesh and blood) is reconciled and sat the right hand of the Father in the kingdom of heaven; and we are called to radiantly reflect upon His promise for Pentecost, that He will not leave us orphans or as a flock without a shepherd, as we wait in anticipation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the“Comforter” (Jn. 14:16) who “will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 13:3).
Of course this kind of perspective is a bit of a paradox (like many things in our faith) challenging our understanding of a logical progression of time and events (how can the past, future and present be considered uniquely, yet conveying unity?) Yet in many ways this “trinity of feasts” bears resemblance to the paradox of the Holy Trinity itself; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – One God (Homoousios ὁμοούσιος), in Three Persons (Hypóstasis ὑπόστασις). Unconfused distinction, in total unity, the source and substance of boundless love and communion.
Indeed, like the understanding of the Holy Trinity, our understanding of what this “trinity of feasts” reveals is the same – the witness of the Lord’s boundless love and communion for us, as experienced through faith. Faith in a God who has acted to save humanity eternally from sin and death. Faith in a God who ascends to “prepare a place” for us (John 14:2-3) that we might truly become “communicants of life eternal”; and faith, in which we are constantly being transformed by the abiding presence of He “who is everywhere present and filling all things”.
It is in this all that we are given an opportunity to understand simultaneously (in a manner), what the Lord has done for us (the past -His eternal Pascha shared with humanity in baptism), will do for us (the future – His eternal Ascension, and glorification of our humanity –Theosis), and is doing for us (the present – His eternal Pentecost, lived out in our Chrismation). Truly the witness of His boundless love and communion.
It is truly a blessing that in these 15 days or so, we can be by faith be immersed in this “trinity of feasts” – Pascha, Ascension, and Pentecost – the gift of divine love received; the promise of divine love hoped for; and the participation of a divine love poured out on all flesh; “Now and ever and unto the ages of ages”. Amen!
No anniversary that has love as its context ever seems the same; regardless if it is a birthday, wedding, birth, graduation or founding. Despite the celebration of a singular event over and over again, our remembrance of those blessed events, never seem to get old or tired – in fact they become all the more precious, profound, and engaging; feeling as new and unique as the day one got married, had a baby, celebrated a birthday, graduated, or founded a church or home – yet being familiar and intimate, as if we had always shared in this love with those around us.
In many respects our celebration of Holy Week and Pascha is no different than any anniversary – in so far as what is remembered and celebrated is both so new, singular and unique, while at the same time reassuringly familiar and personal; regardless if that past event happen years (or centuries) ago.
Of course this has much to do with the scriptural and liturgical witness of our faith. The word commonly translated as “remembrance” is from the Greek (ἀνάμνησις – anamnésis) which is used to describe the celebration of the Passover (Ex. 12:14) or the Mystical Supper (Lk. 22:19) conveys something greater than just a memory or recollection (Gk. μνήμη -mnémē). In this context anamnésis describes the participation – in the present – of a past event. Indeed our anamnésis or “remembrance” of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, is our participation in something new and unique, yet at very familiar and intimate – in a past event.
In this feast of feasts, we ultimately are participating in the eternal and cosmic revelation of God’s saving love. I think about this every year, as it feels like this is all new for me; filling me with awe, wonder, and fear. As I was reflecting on this, I realised that I feel this way (to one degree or another) anytime I celebrate my wedding anniversary, one of our children’s birthdays or those important events that have love as its context or foundation.
To be sure, these feelings of awe, wonder and fear, aren’t because I don’t know how to serve throughout Holy Week and Pascha, or how to be a husband and raise a family, ect. (I do know what I am doing – well at least most of the time). Rather, I have come to see in this all, how cosmic and eternal, encompassing and transformative this love is – regardless of if it from my wife, children, friends, or from the Lord of Glory Himself. It is in this that I have come to understand that everything has been changed by the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection.
The Lord’s victory over sin and death, reveal the divine principle of love, and nothing less than it! He is the divine source of love in what He does for us, He bears witness to this love for us, and He goes so far as to offer Himself in His love for all humanity. St. John the theologian perfectly qualifies this all in proclaiming that this love of God “was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” (1 Jn. 4:9-10)
Although Holy Week, and Pascha are profoundly unique (truly an understatement) having both an eternal and historic significance, they nonetheless reveal something reassuringly familiar and personal, that brings consolation and peace. Something that has being witnessed by generations of men and women over thousands of years – and by new generations for the first time this year (Glory to God!)
Indeed the Resurrection is more than a past event, we mystically participate in every spring, or on every Sunday (little Pascha’s), as it is a manifestation of a divine, eternal transformative and encompassing love; springing from the Cross and empty tomb of the Lord on the third day. It is our very immediate and present participation in His love, that is new, full of awe, wonder, and fear. No wonder I feel the way I do during Holy Week and Pascha, let alone when I celebrate an anniversary!
The effects of this participation in our “remembrance” of Holy Week and Pascha, are revealed throughout all time and creation, marking those moments of love as celebrated in any of our anniversaries, as being all the more singular and eternally unique, while at the same time being eternally familiar and personal; revealing God’s love for us, and our love as being all the more precious, profound, and engaging, without ever feeling tired or old.
May we see in any anniversary founded on love, the same divine love that triumphed over the darkness of sin and death in the Lord’s Holy Pascha, as it is the same love that is the eternal foundation of our commutations in love, of those birthdays, weddings, births, or graduations we celebrate. As such may we proclaim in our hearts “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death. And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” as being that which has made everything new and unique, yet as familiar and intimate as if we had always shared in this love with those around us.
I think that there is something very providential, that my last Liturgy as a deacon was at St. Nicholas the very Church I was being ordained as a priest to serve in (for those who don’t know, St. Nicholas in Narol was not parish at the time). At that service, the rector, Fr. Bob asked if I would give the sermon for that day. Again, there was something very providential about the Gospel that was appointed for that day – Luke 5:1-11 – where the Lord asks the disciples to “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” after a fruitless night of fishing.
As we know, St. Peter and those with him, after protesting, heeded the Lord’s words, and set out into the lake and let down their nets and “caught a great shoal of fish” – so much so that their nets were breaking. My sermon that blessed day was something to the effect that the Lord was calling the parish of St. Nicholas of Narol, and myself, to defy logic, fatigue, and resources, and trust that He would provide; and more than that, provide so abundantly as to stretch our abilities to handle such a blessed burden.
That was some 13 years ago, and indeed I have often reflected upon that particular Gospel and sermon, yet in the last few weeks, the providence of that day has really occupied my mind and heart. For a small country parish that had done everything to survive throughout decades and years (even as many other communities were closing) trusted in Lord’s words, and “launched into the deep” (took a chance) and brought me and my family in. As we know, miraculous things have happened; instead of bursting nets, we were bursting the walls with those seeking the saving love of the Lord- filling the Church with a “catch” greater than what we could ever imagine.
I suppose this aspect of trusting in the Lord, and being blessed with abundance, wasn’t too hard of a concept for me to articulate in a sermon; I nonetheless didn’t really consider the implications of the second part of this miracle, where the disciples “beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.” What is truly wonderful is that this kind of assistance -so to speak- indeed happened. That second boat was provided when Holy Trinity UGCC in Gonor reached out to us with the opportunity to lease their bigger space. To be honest, I thought our congregation would be dwarfed in a space that was more than twice the size of St. Nicholas – in fact I even considered blocking off the back pews so that we wouldn’t be so spread out (thankfully, I was wisely conunciled not to!) because we ended up filling the temple, and hall – even with some families away!
Yet as remarkable as this manifestation of the Lord’s words are, they are by no means fulfilled – in fact now find ourselves right back on the day I read that Gospel and preached that sermon 13 years ago, right back on on the beach with St. Peter and the other disciples.
Our time at Holy Trinity is at least on paper a “temporary” (we have a 6 month lease) and we have a building committee that very diligently compiling information on what options might be available for permanent solution for St. Nicholas’ current and future needs. We might be tired, we might be irritated with the changes, we might be uncertain about the future or what it will bring – or how we will navigate those challenges – yet the Lord asks us – both personally and corporately- now, as He asked St. Peter and the disciples, to “launch into the deep and let down our nets”. The challenge for us is to remember that this is nothing we haven’t done already – indeed we are living this blessing today – but tomorrow calls us to trust and act on the Lord’s words; for there is still a great shoal of men and women to be brought into the Church, the “Ark of Salvation” that our nets, or more accurately, our walls might be bursting.
May the Lord bless us for the work that has filled our Church to overflowing; and bless us that we in following the Holy Apostles become truly “fishers of men and women” . Glory to God!
The word “today” is used numerous times by Christ in the Gospel to emphasize the imperative of the Lord’s work, actions and their consequences. Whether it is within His parables, or in the proclamation of His victory the use of the word “today” expresses a profound mystical reality, that at any particular moment in time (as experienced in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or years) there is an encounter with the timeless and eternal presence of God. Yet there is a temptation that we can easily fall into that sees “today” as just a kind of spiritual time stamp that marks moments in history.
The problem with this understanding of “today” is that it conforms the work of the creator, to His creation (we see this over and over again anytime we get close to Christmas or Easter with silly articles that try to prove or disprove that Jesus existed). Its consequences reduce the scriptural witness to a bunch of moral stories that have to be proved or disproved, or even worse, it presents our faith as a dead letter as being impractical or disconnected from a created reality.
This all stands in stark contrast to the witness of Orthodoxy (and traditional sacramental Christianity) – that sees the imperative of this divine “today” as something that surpasses the history (and time) in its witness of God acting to save humanity. We see this beautifully presented and proclaimed in the feastal proclamation for the Annunciation of Gabriel to the Theotokos; “Today is the beginning of our Salvation.” (Troparion of the Annunciation)
It is in this feast that Gabriel brings the “good news” to Mary that she will bear the “Son of the Most High” who will “reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk. 1:32,33). Indeed we witness THE moment in time and history – this “today” – that the eternal God, enters into humanity by assuming it in every way (yet without sin).
Its effect is a cosmic one, that changes everything. For with this feast, our mortal humanity is able to enter into the eternal moment of what is mystically celebrated; a divine and everlasting “today” – that has no past present or future. The timeless and eternal Lord of Glory’s seeks to encounter us for the very purpose, that the finite and created, might encounter the eternal and uncreated; and more than that, become partakers of that “divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). The challenge for us, is to see that the Annunciation’s “today”, and event that happened some 2000 years ago, is the same “today”, that the Lord reveals in His earthly ministry, and the same today as Saints encountered in their confession of faith, and the same today that each of us encounters at every moment.
If we have the eye of faith to accept and understand this all, His proclamation that “today”, the scriptures are fulfilled, is the healing of our broken hearts, and bodies now as then, at the beginning of His Galilean Ministry (Lk. 4:21). That in receiving the Lord “today”, salvation comes to our homes now as then, as it did for the repentant Zachaeus (Lk. 19:9). That having died in the waters of baptism and being raised with Him in newness of life, by the grace of the Holy Spirit “today”, we can be with the Lord in paradise now as then with the wise thief on the Cross (Lk. 23:43),
On the blessed and wondrous feast, there is no truer statement than this “today” as it is in every way “ the beginning of our Salvation.” For the Lord has been working, is working and will always be working to save humanity – to save you and me – regardless of whatever year, month, day or time it might be. By God’s grace, may our hearts embrace every moment, day, week, month, year, as that eternal “today” now, as then on that blessed and holy moment in time, when the Lord of Glory becomes incarnate for our salvation; and reveals in time, His everlasting and eternal love – “today”.
(This sermon was offered by Fr. Deacon John Schantz at the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers, served at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday March 9th 2025)
Fathers, brothers and sisters, Glory to Jesus Christ, Glory Forever!
This evening, we remember the conclusion of a battle which was waged in the church for over 100 years over icons. There is ancient testament to the presence of icons very early in the history of the church, but around the year 700, opposition started to mount to the use of icons in the church. Iconoclastic emperors arose who forbade the production and use of icons.
Our feast today commemorates the return of icons into the Great Church, in Constantinople in the year 843 – this time, iconoclasm came to end, at least in the church. Sadly, many icons were destroyed, and many people were persecuted, some even to death, for the making and using icons.
Since that time, the use of icons has been settled in the church. However, you may have noticed an increase of iconoclastic ideas from online characters who are again trotting out many of the same arguments which were brought against icon veneration in the past. Some decry the making of the icons, some the veneration of icons. None of the arguments are new and they have all been answered in the past by beloved saints such as John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite as well as the Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council.
One of the most dangerous ideas is that icons are quaint items that might have been useful as teaching tools in the past, but they are no longer needed because we have better ways of educating our flocks. Tied to this is the idea that they should not be venerated. This perspective misses that the icon is not simply a tool. The icon is a way that we show love, it is a way that we remain in communion with Christ and his saints.
A read through the John of Damascus’ defence of icons is recommended for anyone interested in the topic. But for the purpose of this talk, I wanted to point out that his writings are not simply a defense of icons, as a kind of appendix to the Christian faith. No, for John, the icon is not an optional extra; it is the proof of Christ’s saving work in humanity. And if we don’t have the icon, we don’t have the Gospel.
You see, Christianity has a problem. We speak of God as unknowable, inconceivable, indescribable, uncontainable. And if all these things are true, which they are, how do have a chance of “knowing” God in any meaningful way? The answer to this problem is the entire economy of salvation. Thankfully, as the Psalms attest, and as we sing in our services,“God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us.”
John of Damascus asserts that the way God reveals Himself to us, is through imagery. We can’t see him or understand Him or define Him, but we can come to know something of God through imagery. In the language of John “Every image makes manifest and demonstrates something hidden…[images]…guide us to knowledge and make known what is hidden, for our profit and salvation.”
He gives examples of different kinds of images, including the Trinity imaged in the sun, its light and its rays, the mother of God imaged in the burning bush and Aaron’s budding rod, and the serpent on a pole imaging Christ’s overcoming of the primordial serpent. He also talks about images which God commanded Moses to make in the tabernacle: the cherubim, the bronze pomegranates, the images on the veils. Indeed, even the Tabernacle itself was an image of the Cosmos.
But even more importantly are the images of humanity, and that of Christ Himself. Humanity is made in the image of God, as we learn in Genesis chapter 1. We know that image was marred in the fall. Marred but not lost. However, Christ (the Logos of God) is not, in the image of God, He is the image of God. In Christ, the problem of God’s unknowability, His inconceivability, indescribability, uncontainability, are all answered. The God who cannot be seen and who cannot properly be named in the Old Testament, takes on a body, name and a face. Thus we can see him, we can call His name, we can paint his image!
At first glance, this seem to be at odds with the commandments. The commandment not to make images was because God could not be imaged. But in Christ, He is revealed to us. (Whoever has seen me has seen the Father). All this leads John to say:
I venerate the Creator… who came down to his creation without being lowered or weakened, that he might glorify my nature and bring about communion with the divine nature. I venerate together with the King and God…his body, not as a garment, nor as a fourth person (God forbid!), but as called to be and to have become unchangeably equal to God…For the nature of flesh did not become divinity, but as the Word became flesh immutably, remaining what it was, so also the flesh became the Word without losing what it was, being rather made equal to the Word hypostatically. Therefore I am emboldened to depict the invisible God, not as invisible, but as he became visible for our sake, by participation in flesh and blood.
John points out that he could have come as an angel, but he makes himself lower than the angels, and comes of the “seed of Abraham”. In so doing, He restores the marred image of God and raises our humanity to be in communion with the divine nature.
This is why, John points out, that we do not see images of humanity in the Old Testament, nor do we see Synagogues named after humans. Humanity was in a fallen state, prior to Christ, but in Christ, humanity has the chance to partake in the image of God. So the images are not simply images of people, but they also becomes images of God (yet another revelation of God) in some way.
This is why we make images. The icon is not, nor has it ever been primarily about information. It is about communion. It is about entering into relationship with Christ and, by extension, with all of the saints. Of course, we should also remember that John distinguishes worship from veneration and points out numerous examples in the Old Testament of veneration being offered to someone other than God. Jacob blesses Pharaoh and falls down before his brother Esau, and Daniel falls down before the angel of God, as but a few examples. So, veneration is proper and it is not possible to distinguish worship from veneration simply by observation, he points out that the purpose behind the act is what differentiates them.
Do we worship the wood and paint? No! he points out that we burn the wood when it is worn out. Instead he says, “We therefore venerate the images not by offering veneration to matter, but through them to those who are depicted in them.” “For the honour offered to the image mounts up to the archetype.” as the divine Basil says.”
So, we see that icons are not merely a quaint teaching tool. Icons are, in some way, the focal point of the Gospel itself. And this is what we celebrate today.
One word of caution should be offered here. It is easy to be triumphalist in that we have this beautiful theology of the icon, and this is something worth celebrating to be sure. However, we saw that the theology of the icon is firmly built on the foundation of humanity being in the image of God. In our triumphalism, it is important to remember that our veneration of the icon means nothing if we do not also venerate the human person who is in the image of God.
By this I do not mean to denigrate the icon, but I also want to remind us that we are in danger of denigrating the icon by our actions if we do not also venerate the image of God
In our family members In our brothers and sisters in Christ In the beggar we encounter on the streets In our co-workers In the person whose politics are opposed to our own
Simply put, the icon “doesn’t work” if we lose sight of the image of God in those around us.
By the prayers of the fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, of St John of Damascus and St. Theodore the Studite and of all those who suffered for the making and veneration of icons, may we be able to see the image of God in all of the icons that He has provided for our benefit.
I was asked to give a “prepper” about the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, for those who are not as familiar with this beautiful and unique service, that is only ever served in Great Lent, or might not a clue about what is done, and why it is done. Indeed if a person who only ever went to Church on a Sunday (or any time) but then showed up at a Presanctified Liturgy, they would be really confused. Why are people prostrating, going on their knees, Why is there so much silence and muted hymns?
Well a lot of this has to do with the general characteristic of Great Lent is somewhat penitential in context – especially on the weekdays when this service is offered (normally on Wednesdays and Fridays). Indeed, Great Lent is a season that highlights humanities fallen state. The work of fasting, prayer, and works of charity, which we are called to do, are meant to put aside those distractions that veil the problems of sin and death – it is a time were we like Adam and Eve, realise we are naked of any virtue and meaning. To emphasise this, the serving of Divine Liturgies on weekdays are prohibited, as the Divine Liturgy is festive and resurrectional, both in character and content (Liturgies are still served on Saturday and Sunday yet with reference to the work of the fast). This being said, there always existed in the Church an understanding that the Eucharist (the Body and Blood of the Lord), was a necessity in the work of bearing those fruits of repentance So what could be done that reflected penitential characteristic of Great Lent, and the importance of frequent common to realise this ?
The solution was to serve a Vespers with a few extra prayers, and commune the faithful from the gifts (the offered bread and wine) that was previously consecrated or sanctified at the previous Liturgy – thus the name “pre – sanctified”. This service is commonly attributed to St. Gregory I, Pope of Rome (also called the “dialogiest” because he wrote four dialogues about Church life). There are some disagreements about whether he composed it, or just recorded it while serving as the papal legate in Constantinople in the early 7th century – yet it really doesn’t matter because the important thing is that, in this service, there was a way in which the faithful could participate in the Eucharistic life of the Church, and be strengthened and inspired in their fasting, prayer and acts of charity.
Some might wonder if this service was a way of “getting around the rule” of not having a Divine Liturgies on weekdays… Well, if the Church really wanted to have a Liturgy during the week, they would have made it happen – rather than beat around the bush. Instead, this service is an expression that the Euchrist is a vital element in our ability to fast, pray and offer works of charity – as such the Presanctified Liturgy is a beautiful accommodation that respects the penitential character of this season, while at the same time respecting that we need to participate in the Eucharist to assist us in this difficult journey – and it is/should be difficult. What is remarkable, is that this particular service in many respects is a snapshot of our Lenten labours and struggles. The colours are dark, hymns are penitential, the music is as mournful as our realisation that we are sinful, broken, and mortal people. Yet (and it is big “Yet”) in the midst of it all, there is the very real sacramental presence of the Lord Himself – His Body and His Blood – that conveys life itself to the faithful, even as we are stretching to understand and live it through our fasting, prayers, and works of charity.
This sacramental presence, of the Body and Blood of the Lord, in the consecrated bread and wine, at this service, indeed shapes how we ought to act during the service. For the first few weeks of Great Lent, I generally serve with the royal doors of the Iconostas open, so that the faithful can see (as best as they can) how reverently the priests, deacons and servers conduct themselves during the service. The prostrations, the slow methodical movements, censings, set the standard of how we should react to such a profound mystery.
During the singing of the beautiful hymn of “Let my prayer arise…” ( Ps. 141) it is the tradition that the faithful (like the clergy in the sanctuary) lower themselves to their knees (in some Churches, they even prostrate). This hymn is followed by the prayer of St. Ephraim which is the prayer par excellence of Great Lent, where, following every verse, we do a full prostration (fall down on all fours, with head to the floor). After the first Old Testament reading, the second prokeminon is sung, and then the priest turns and stands towards the faithful with a candle and censer in hand and intones “the Light of Christ, Ilumens all” –
At this, the faithful again do a full prostration; a response to the principle that we can only understand all of the Old Testament, and indeed these lenten labours, through Him who is the Light (Jn. 8:12). After the readings and some prayers, there is the Great Entrance, where the Body and Blood of the Lord are processed to the Altar. This is of great solemnity, where no one has their back to the gifts (even the servers, and deacons walk backwards, always facing the priest who carries the gifts). This is done in silence, with no commemorations, and everyone fully prostrates in awe, that “Now the Powers of Heaven invisibly with us do serve. Lo, the King of glory enters. Lo, the mystical sacrifice is upborne, fulfilled” (the hymn of the entrance). Following this, there is again, the prayer of St. Ephraim is said, with the appropriate prostrations.
Please know that I more than realise that there are some people who might be able to go down to be on their knees, or to make a prostration – yet can’t get up! There might be some who are stuck in pews – where making a prostration is really impractical; or they are some who feel really uncomfortable with kneeling, or doing a prostration, as they don’t understand it. This is all more than understandable. As such, a deep bow, or a revernace (bowing the head) is more than sufficient in recognizing that something special is happening.
Indeed something special and miraculous is happening! The involvement of our body through kneeling and prostrations truly reflects this and reveals that all this is very real, and not just a mental exercise. For the Lord is acting to save us, He is acting to feed us. If we can see and physically respond to what is offered and expressed in the Presanctified Liturgy, then we have a better chance to see that our fasting, praying and offering acts of charity are meant to be very real – something more than a mental exercise.
By the prayers and intercessions of St. Gregory Dialogos, Pope of Rome, may we be strengthened in our lenten journey as a people who think, feel and do, and not just think and feel.
The Pharisee and the Publican, woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger
This Sunday we officially begin a new liturgical cycle called the Triodion (Τριώδιον) – which literally means “three odes” sung at Matins, the de-facto name of this cycle and journey to Pascha. Although Great Lent starts on March 3rd, we are given the four preceding Sundays as a kind of orientation, preparing us the fast itself.
Through scripture, and hymns and writings, we are given examples of repentance, restoration, hope and love (the publican, the prodigal son’s Father, those who serve the Lord, and those who forgive); and examples of pride, rejection, greed and indifference (the pharisee, the prodigal son’s poverty, those who don’t serve the Lord, and hypocrites empty reward); so that we might recognise what is of God and His love for us; and what is of our own brokenness and sin.
The hope is that in recognising what is of God – and what is not, we might fully understand and know what it is that the Lord is offering us; and make the informed decision of what it is that we will strive to do, and what examples we will try to emulate, throughout those 40 days of the fast.
For the Lord has “set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days” (Det. 30:18-20)
Truly we are asked not to make just “an” informed decision – which could be applied to knowing what kind of soap to buy – but rather “the“ informed decision, which definitively cuts to the heart of what it is to be human. By God’s grace and love, may the eyes of our hearts be open, to make the informed decision, and follow Him and live. Not just today, or through Great Lent, but in every moment of our lives.
I am profoundly thankful to the Lord that I serve in a truly beautiful Church, in a beautiful part of this country. More often than not, I find myself thinking, that there isn’t really anything better than when our brass candle stands and chandelier gleam, the golden brown cedar of the interior of our temple, glows and the colours in our Icons captivate. Indeed I don’t there isn’t anything more moving then the snow covered windswept fields, that surround our Church, shine like a pristine sheet, or the open prairie skies that are a witness of God’s glory… Well that is until we serve the Great Blessing of the Waters, for the feast of Theophany.
At this feast, with the Great the blessing of the waters, when priests and deacons process around the Church, lake or river and sprinkle (more like splash) the people and everything with the newly blessed waters; all those many beautiful things remarkably – and beyond belief – seem even more beautiful. The brass candle stands, and chandelier don’t just gleam – they radiate. The golden brown cedar of our temple doesn’t just glow – it warms our hearts. The colourful Icons don’t just captivate – they enthral. Those snow covered windswept fields don’t just shine – they dazzle like diamonds, and the prairie sky doesn’t just witness God’s glory – it proclaims His mighty handiwork.
Please know that this isn’t necessarily me being emotional (which truthfully I can be), rather it is a perspective, in which something greater is revealed- that these beautiful elements which normally serve a wonderful function, or are part of a beautiful landscape impart something greater, as they manifest the Lord’s saving love for us.
It is important for us to understand that these things, like all creation were casualties of humanity’s fall, being put under the “bondage of corruption” (Rm. 8:21) and reduced to being finite tools or fleeting moments – and not the revelation of eternal blessings. Yet in the Lord’s love, He condescends to be submersed in the waters of the Jordan, and through Him all creation is brought up with Him, being delivered “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rm. 8:21). This of course isn’t for the sake of creation independently, but rather for us.
The wonder we see in this feast and service, is that the Lord offers all humanity this revelation as part of His saving work. It is to be understood as being much more than a mental or spiritual exercise, but also as a sensory and physical experience, beheld and participated in, through the eyes of faith. For He hastens to descend into the depths, “bowing down to his own servant, that he might lift humanity up to the heights having freed us from bondage” (Great Blessing of the waters); opening “a pathway for all flesh to the resurrection from the dead” (St. Basil’s Liturgy) mystically through our baptism into Himself, in those same waters.
It is in this context that we should consider the fact that, if the darkness and corruption of our fallen humanity is enlivened and renewed in the Lord’s baptism – a baptism that we participate in by “putting on Christ” (Gal. 3:27) – then it stands to reason that everything else is also renewed, as having the vocation of witnessing the Lord’s saving plan- including those many beautiful things that we use and that surround us.
For in this feast and service, those brass candle stands, and that chandelier doesn’t just gleam – they truly radiate with a light that seems piercing. The golden brown cedar doesn’t just glow – it truly warms our hearts, greater than the most blazing fire. Those colourful Icons don’t just captivate – they truly enthral, cutting to the soul of the viewer. Those snow covered windswept fields don’t just shine – they truly dazzle like diamonds of the most glorious wedding garment; and that prairie sky doesn’t just witness God’s glory – it truly proclaims His mighty handiwork, that stretches as far as the east is from the west- for our salvation . Really it isn’t me just being emotional; rather it is a perspective, in which something greater is revealed for us to participate in – the total love of God for us, experienced even in creation.
May we have this perspective, not just in this radiant and beautiful season, but throughout our whole life!
