BMEV, or “Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin,” should not be an issue for any Protestant today, but clamor from various quarters means that we need once again to “get real” with the Biblical data here. Herewith is a reworking of a recent essay on the subject originally published in Biblical Horizons.

Nebănuite sunt conexiunile noastre lăuntrice. Totdeauna oferă câte o surpriză. Sfânta Scriptură lucrează nevăzut. După teologi, Sfânta Scriptură are un sens literal şi un sens spiritual, acesta din urmă fiind subîmpărţit în sens alegoric, moral şi anagogic. Concordanţa profundă a celor patru sensuri asigură întreaga bogăţie pe parcursul citirii vii a Scripturii în Biserică: Dar în Sfânta Scriptuă, există pasaje care lucrează nebănuit, tainic, ascuns, nevăzut. Lucrează adânc. Lucreaza minunat. Lucrează pur şi simplu. Iată o listă, care a funcţionat:

• Pentru a înfrunta boala:
„Iată că boala mea se schimbă în sănătate. Tu ai păzit viaţa mea de adâncul mistuitor! Tu ai aruncat înapoia Ta toate păcatele mele!” (Is.38:17);

• Pentru a recăpăta pofta de mâncare:
„Du-te şi mănâncă cu bucurie pâinea ta şi bea cu inimă bună vinul tău, pentru că Dumnezeu este îndurător pentru faptele tale.” (Ecl.9:7)”;

• Pentru a scăpa de necaz:
„Striga-va către Mine şi-l voi auzi pe el; cu dânsul sunt în necaz şi-l voi scoate pe el şi-l voi slăvi” (Ps.91:15);

• Pentru a scăpa de griji:
„Deci, nu duceţi grijă, spunând: Ce vom mânca, ori ce vom bea, ori cu ce ne vom îmbrăca?” (Mat.6:31);

• Pentru a-ţi regăsi buna dispoziţie:
„Dacă rămâneţi întru Mine şi cuvintele Mele rămân în voi, cereţi ceea ce voiţi şi se va da vouă” (Ioan.15:7);

• Pentru a scăpa de sentimentul de nesiguranţă:
„Şi iată, I-au adus un slăbănog zăcând pe pat. Şi Iisus, văzând credinţa lor, a zis slăbănogului: Îndrăzneşte, fiule! Iertate sunt păcatele tale!” (Mat.9:2);

• Pentru a depăşi disperarea:
„Popor din Sion, care locuieşti în Ierusalim, nu plânge! El se va milostivi la glasul strigătului tău şi te va auzi degrabă!” (Isa.30:19);

• Pentru a suporta sărăcia:
„Dar pe sărac l-a izbăvit de sărăcie şi i-a pus pe ei ca pe nişte oi de moştenire” (Ps.106:41);

• Pentru a avea spor în tot ce faci:
„Domnul Dumnezeul tău îţi va da cu prisosinţă spor la tot lucrul mâinilor tale, la rodul pântecelui tău, la rodul dobitoacelor tale, la rodul pământului tău, că se va bucura Domnul Dumnezeul tău din nou de tine, cum S-a bucurat de părinţi tăi, şi-ţi va face bine” (Deut.30:9);

• Pentru a depăşi tracul la examene:
„Nu vă îngrijiţi dinainte ce veţi vorbi, ci să vorbiţi ceea ce se va da vouă în ceasul acela. Căci nu voi sunteţi cei care veţi vorbi, ci Duhul Sfânt” (Marc.13:11);

• Pentru a căpăta curaj:
„Iată, v-am dat putere să călcaţi peste şerpi şi peste scorpii, şi peste toată puterea vrăjmaşului, şi nimic nu vă va vătăma ” (Luc.10:19);

• Pentru a suporta singurătatea:
„Şi iată Eu cu voi sunt în toate zilele, până la sfârşitul veacului. Amin” (Mat.28:20);

• Pentru a redobândi starea de calm:
„Pace vă las vouă, pacea Mea o dau vouă, nu precum dă lumea vă dau Eu. Să nu se tulbure inima voastră, nici să se înfricoşeze” (Ioan.14:27).

Un caz …

Iată un caz care s-a întâmplat demult. G., pe care îl ştiu personal, căzuse grav bolnav. În ciuda tratamentului cu antibiotice, starea lui se înrăutăţea. Căzuse într-o depresie adâncă şi aceasta făcea ca organismul lui să nu mai poată face faţă microbilor. Într-una din zile, aude la radio versul : “şi dacă ramuri bat în geam “. Era un vers din Eminescu. Fără să ştie de ce, închise ochii şi simţi o imensă bucurie. Simţea o atât de mare fericire … încât îl repetă în ziua aceea de sute de ori. În urmatoarele zile, ca prin minune, doctorul constată că starea lui s-a îmbunătăţit şi că răspunde bine la tratamentul cu antibiotice. Ce avusese acel vers atât de deosebit, încât sa-l vindece ? După însănătoşirea lui deplină, avea să descopere. Atunci când era mic, mic de tot, îşi dorea atât de mult soldăţeii pe care îi văuse intr-un raion de jucării. Tatăl sau refuzase atunci să îi cumpere. Într-o zi, micuţul se îmbolnăvi. O infecţie a cailor respiratorii. Tratamentul nu progresa. Într-o seară, vântul se pornise. O ramură de gutui, care era mai lungă, lovea periodic în fereastra dormitorului său. O privea melancolic. Avea febră. Tatăl său intra în cameră şi scoate dintr-un pachet soldaţeii mult doriţi. Era tot ce-şi dorise. Era fericit. A doua zi, doctorul constată o ameliorare netă. Bucuria darului îl vindecase. Sentimentul pe care îl simţise atunci, se asociase cu ramura de gutui ce îi batea în fereastă, şi se întipărise adânc în subconştientul lui. Când, după ani de zile, a auzit versul care îi amintea de ramura de gutui, sentimentul de fericire l-a copleşit. Dacă ne gândim ce importantă este peroada copilariei pentru noi şi cum ne marchează pe toată viaţa, înţelegem ce putere a avut acest vers. Cazul face parte din experienţa mea şi m-a marcat adânc.

Cuvintele Scripturii lucreaza minunat

Dacă toate cuvintele care mişuna în jur sunt receptate de sufletul nostru şi nebănuit intrăm în rezonanţă cu unele, aşa cum, prin legea rezonanţei, o vioară începe să cânte singură doar fiind în imediata vecinătate a alteia, condiţia fiind ca amândoua să fie corect acordate, cu atât mai mult cuvintele Sfintei Scripturi vor intra totdeauna în nebănuita rezonanţă cu sufletele noaste. Condiţia ar fi ca Biblia să se găsească totdeauna în imediata noastră vecinatate, iar sufletul nostru să fie corect acordat.

Rod Dreher makes several salient points about converts to Rome and Orthodoxy:

Yes, but in my personal experience, the Catholic Church in America has only a facade of unity. Every Catholic parish I’ve been a part of has been basically Protestant, insofar as most of the people seemed to believe that they had a right to believe whatever they wanted. The unity was fairly superficial. Mind you, I’m in no position to say to what extent the Orthodox Church in this country is any different, because my experience is relatively short and limited almost entirely to my own parish. But I would be surprised to learn that we Orthodox on the whole were much different in that regard.

I’ve said the same thing myself: Catholicism in the USA is just Protestantism with a different name. You have gay Jesuits, hardcore Trad Opus Dei types, the First Things crowd, EWTN, liberals like the Kennedys, and on and on. There is no unified, glorious Church. It’s an illusion in the mind of the convert who lives in the world of ideas. Dreher continues:

I keep telling Protestants I know who want to convert to Catholicism that I don’t want to get in the way of their decision — though I would like them to consider Orthodoxy — but that they should realize that they’re probably not going to find an escape from modernism in their local parish. The church of Pope Benedict and First Things magazine, and your favorite conservative Catholic bloggers, is not the church you’re likely to encounter down the street. If you’re convinced of the case for Catholicism, then you almost certainly have to become Catholic — but go in with your eyes open. Similarly with Orthodoxy, we have, like Catholicism, the institutional and historical tools for resisting modernism, but if the pastors and the people remain indifferent or hostile to them, Protestants searching for solid ground to stand on may be unpleasantly surprised.

Again, this is not an argument against becoming Catholic or Orthodox. But it is a warning that it’s impossible to escape modernity and its challenges to tradition and traditional faith. When Father Dwight says that the fissiparous nature of individualist modernist faith will eventually give way to disbelief, because it’s not anchored in communal experience, I agree with him in principle, but would ask him what his prediction is for Catholic parishes that are populated by individualists in religion? (N.B., Father Dwight recognizes in his post that modernist Catholic priests shouldn’t be surprised when people quit coming to mass.) Similarly, I am aware of several Protestant congregations who are far, far more unified in belief than any Catholic parish I’ve been a part of, no doubt because those Protestants who don’t share the core convictions of that congregation found another congregation to attend. Mind you, without a Magisterium (Catholic) or a high view of the authority of Tradition (Orthodox) to hold on to, I don’t know how those congregations over time will remain grounded in their particular judgments. But having the theological mechanism for stability, as the Catholics and the Orthodox do, is no guarantee either.

This makes lots of sense. Because Protestant churches in our day are usually based on shared convictions such as worship style or theology, we have much more unity (at the micro level) than Catholics do.

I have a friend who left the Greek Orthodox church to which he belonged, because he was desperate for a spiritual encounter with the living God, as opposed to the empty formalism of his home parish, which, as he puts it, was more interested in worshiping Greekness than in worshiping God. He became a born-again Evangelical. Despite all the legitimate criticism that can be leveled at American Evangelicalism re: its lack of stability and susceptibility to cultural trends, is it really the case that children raised in a traditional church that has valid sacraments but is spiritually dead are going to have a better chance of living as Christians there than they would in an Evangelical church that has all the trappings of modernity, and an essentially modernist, individualist theology, but that for whatever reason has chosen a theologically traditional set of principles around which to organize, and lives it out in a vigorous, vibrant way?

This is the rub. Tradition and liturgy are life to me and those like me who seek to escape the modern church wasteland, but they were death to my Mom who wanted relationship with God and wasn’t taught that in the Lutheran Church of her day (though she could have had it, had they rightly understood their own past). We can’t re-pristinate the past and create some perfect model that never existed. We can meld the best liturgy and tradition with our modern condition, all the while being bathed in the Scripture as the ultimate norm.

We finally were able to give our prayer corner a little TLC.  We had been searching high and low for a corner unit for this space.  We couldn’t find many, let alone one in the color or size we needed.  Price, of course, was an issue as well.

We finally found this storage unit on sale at Hobby Lobby and look it home this last week.  We re-arranged our icons, hung some for the first time, and took some and moved them to other places in the house.  Here was our ‘original.’

Of course, shortly after I took that picture, our new icon of St. Nicolas came, as well as our shipment of candles.  So a new picture was needed

I’m very happy with the space.  I feels cleaner and more peaceful.  And helps the flow of the hall, as well, which is an added bonus.  I think we left enough space for new icons as we get more over time.

Darwin's Black Box: A Must Read

Let me first say that science would not exist unless it where for Christianity.  In the history of Western Civilization, one has to ask themselves, ‘the Greeks were really really smart, why didn’t they invent the scientific method?’  The answer is simple, following Platonic and Neo-Platonic thinking, they did not think this world was real or intelligible.  It was not until Christianity presented a world created, ordered, and directed by a sovereign and benevolent triune God that the scientific method sprouted.  The consensus view in the history/philosophy of science is that science required the fertile soul of Christianity in order to grow.  Christianity took this world seriously.

1.  Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe  [l, e, p, s]

In my view, this book destroys the Neo-Darwinian (scientific rationalism) story of how life exists.  This book is a must read.  See also this previous blog post.

2.  Pensees by Blaise Pascal  [y, l, e, p, s]

Although not explicitly about science and Christianity, Pascal presents an epistemology that includes science, reason, and faith.

3.  Personal Knowledge by Michael Polanyi  [e, p, s]

Polanyi rightly challenges the objectivity and impersonality of the scientist.  Polanyi is very important in philosophy of science and is a worthwhile read.

4.  When Science Meets Religion by Ian Barbour  [l, e, p, s]

Barbour presents four possible relationships that science and religion might have.  Balanced read.

5.  The Soul of Science:  Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy by Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton  [l, e, p, s]

Great critique of naturalism.  Pearcey is solid as usual.

6.  Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson  [y, l, e, p, s]

Is there enough hard evidence to prove Darwinism correct, were it to be put on a public trial?  Creative and damning question.

7.  The Edge of Evolution:  The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael Behe  [l, e, p, s]

More Behe.  Good stuff.

8.  Evolution:  A Theory in Crisis by Michael Denton  [l, e, p, s]

Most think that this is the book that started the Intelligent Design movement.

9.  The Reason for God by Tim Keller  [c,y l, e, p, s]

Although not explicitly on the subject of science, like Pascal, Keller presents a third way between pure science/reason and pure faith.

10a.   The Language of God by Francis Collins  [l, e, p, s]

A look at DNA, from the director of the human genome project, and an evangelical Christian.

10b.  Inventing the Flat Earth:  Columbus and Modern Historians by Jeffrey Russell  [l, e, p, s]

Russell confronts the myth that people (esp. Christians) believed in a flat earth.  Pretty damning to an annoying and ignorant argument:

On page 1 of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae (that is, in the first article of the first question of the first part), he casually mentions the round earth on the way to proving something doctrinal: “the astronomer and the physicist both may prove the same conclusion: that the earth, for instance, is round: the astronomer by means of mathematics (i.e., abstracting from matter), but the physicist by means of matter itself.”  (via Between Two Worlds)

Honorable Mention:  Icons of Evolution by Jonathan Wells  [c, y, l, e, p, s]

I cannot stand behind anything else he has written, but Icons shreds the silly pictures commonly put in the textbooks you had growing up, demonstrating how they do not show Darwinian macroevolution.

(c=children; y=young adult; l=lay leader; e=elder; p=pastor; s=scholar)

Father Daniel Syosyev, the Moscow missionary priest who was murdered last week, said something very interesting in an interview shortly before his death. He was explaining why Christians should go to Church on Sunday, and his explanation reveals something of what the Church is. You Wish to See Many Miracles – You Should Become a Missionary or a Martyr: Fr. Daniel’s Autobiography and the Interview with Him on the Occasion of the Opening of the Missionary Centre:

If you will, all we Christians are terrorists. We are the members of a rebellious army, which is revolting against the prince of this world (the devil). Churches are linking stations. There we get information from our governing body: ciphers (New Testament), reinforcement (Holy Communion), and we get support through mutual communication. We master all kinds of tricks in order to commit terrorist attacks against the prince of this world, that is, we learn how to do good. Obviously if an agent of the Holy Kingdom shirks attending the headquarters and does not keep in touch with the command center, he can easily get lost, lose his power, and fall in battle.

I have some reservations about the term “terrorist” as a model for Christians. Terrorists are those who use terror-inspiring methods, but as Christians we are to remember that “perfect love casts out fear”. But, as has often been said, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The enemies of freedom like to call freedom-fighters “terrorists”, whether they are really terrorists or not, and in that sense, perhaps one can liken Christians to terrorists. And once I had a bumper sticker that read “Read the Bible: it’ll scare the Hell out of you.” Perhaps the idea of inspiring terror is not entirely absent.

Generally I prefer the image of freedom fighters.

But the thing that interests me especially is that Fr Daniel uses the image of guerrilla warfare. We are revolting against the prince of this world, the devil. And so Father Daniel uses imagery that comes from the ecclesiology of the church as the liberated zone. It is imagery that comes from guerrilla fighters and liberation struggles.

And it is biblical imagery too. The Bible gives the image of the world as enemy-occupied territory. The world lies in the power of the Evil One (I John 5:19). Satan, the devil, is described as the “ruler” or “prince” (archon) of this world. But in the midst of this world, this enemy-occupied territory, our Lord Jesus Christ has established a liberated zone of the Kingdom of God. And the Church inhabits that liberated zone until Christ comes again and the whole world is liberated.

In baptism we are called to leave the enemy-occupied territory, and enter the liberated zone, just as in the Exodus the children of Israel left the realm and jurisdiction of Pharaoh by crossing the Red Sea. So we renounce the devil, and breathe and spit upon him, and we turn to the east, and acknowledge Jesus Christ as our king and our God. We transfer our alliegiance from the devil to Christ, and we are transferred from the “authority of darkness” to the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13).

There is a Western hymn

Conquering kings their titles take,
From the lands they captive make;
Jesus, Thine was given Thee
For a world Thou madest free.

another translation from the Latin is worded slightly differently:

Conquering kings their titles take,
from the lands they captive make;
Jesus, by a nobler deed,
from the thousands he hath freed.

In either case the contrast is clear — there are conquerors and liberators, and Jesus is counted among the liberators.

Ironically, perhaps, the hymn was quite popular in Victorian times, and Queen Victoria took one of her titles from one of the lands her soldiers had made captive: Empress of India.

If conquering kings are so bad, why then do we speak of Jesus Christ as a conqueror? doesn’t that make him the opposite of a liberator?

But the symbol of IC XC NIKA (Jesus Christ conquers) actually symbolises the opposite. The letters surround the Cross, which the Romans used to execute their foes and any would-be liberators in the lands they conquered. Jesus Christ did not come to trample upon life and liberty, like the kings of this world led by the Ruler of this World, but to trample down death by death.

I’ve read many words written by Western Christians about the emerging church and the missional church and the emerging missional ecclesiology. But I think the missional ecclesiology of Fr Daniel Syosyev has been around for a long time, for 2000 years or more. “Ecclesiology” is a relatively new subdivision of theology, and only emerged in the 20th century (in the 19th century it was concerned primarily with ecclesiastical architecture). But it seeks to answer the question “What is the Church?” And, if I read him correctly, Fr Daniel answers, in effect, that the Church is the liberated zone of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the enemy-occupied territory that we call “this world”.

I looked for the original Latin from which the hymn “Conquering kings their titles take” was translated, and found a version on this blog here: Bad things in new hymn books and other sad tales: Conquering Kings their titles take:

Victis sibi cognomina
Sumant tyranni gentibus;
Tu, Christe, quanto dignius
Ab his capis quos liberas.

If you know Latin, you can judge for yourself which of the versions above is the better translation.

The blog on which I found it laments that this hymn has been omitted from some modern Western hymnals, and speculates that the reason for this may have been that it was one of those cases where the hymn is condemned because it appears to indicate that we go happily to death for Christ’s sake. You’ll see that, in verse 4, we say “Joyfully for him to die is not death but victory”. Possibly, or possibly the editors of the new hymnals were too squeamish to accept the liberation theology espoused by the hymn.

I don’t know if it was that verse or that sentiment that made them reject the hymn, but look at it:

Rather gladly for that Name
Bear the Cross, endure the shame;
Joyfully for Him to die
Is not death but victory.

I can’t think of a more fitting epitaph for Fr Daniel.

Currently in Orthodoxy, we have churches divided over which hierarch has jurisdiction over which country. We have issues of whether a calendar devised or approved of by a Roman Pope could be acceptable or adjusted for calculating feasts and fasts. The issues which divide jurisdictions and arguments between so-called Traditionalists and so-called Modernists are matters of straining at gnats and swallowing camels.

The Orthodox Church as well as all Christians worldwide have been brought face-to-face with challenges to the fundamental concepts of life and the very nature of the family. I would suggest that these challenges are at least as significant and perhaps of farther reaching implications than the doctrinal challenges facing the Church of the first eight centuries.

Both of these go straight to the heart of who we are as humans. Both of these are at the foundation of the created order.

The Councils of the Church debated much finer details than these. That the matters facing the Church today even raise questions would have been unthinkable to the Church Fathers. Neither the Arians, nor the Monothelites, nor the Monophysites, nor the Nestorians, nor the Docetists, nor the Donatists, nor the Pelagians, et al., ad nauseum, would have considered, not to mention condoned, abortion or same-sex “marriage”.

This can be put into Christological terms. If we condone abortion because we say the unborn child is not human, we deny the humanity of Christ in the womb of Mary.  To condone abortion is to deny the Incarnation.  That is heresy.

If we say affirm the humanity of the unborn, but say it is permissible to wilfully take the life of an innocent human – neither a military combatant nor a criminal – we condone murder. To say that murder is not a sin is heresy.

Any Christian who says that either the unborn child is not human or that it is okay to willfully take the life of an unborn human is heretic. Any priest, bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, or patriarch who says that either the unborn child is not human or that it is okay to wilfully take the life of an unborn human is heretic.

So if a hierarch says that Orthodox church believes the soul enters the body at conception and, “generally speaking, respects human life and the continuation of pregnancy,”but that the church also “respects the liberty and freedom of all human persons and all Christian couples,” and further that “We are not allowed to enter the bedrooms of the Christian couples. We cannot generalize. There are many reasons for a couple to go toward abortion,” is this heresy?

Any layman or deacon or priest who is under the omophorion of a bishop and any bishop who is under obedience to a hierarch that is a heretic should take appropriate action. Any bishop who is in communion with a heretical bishop should take appropriate action. It could be argued that any heretical bishop is not in the Church. It could be argued that any priest who is obedience to any bishop not in the Church is also not in the Church.

I leave this for you to ponder and/or comment.

With regard to purported same-sex marriage, there is also a Christological issue. “For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” Marriage is based in the relationship of Christ to the Church. Just as the Church cannot have two heads, neither can the marriage. To allege that a marriage can have two husbands or two wives is to deny that Christ alone is the head of the Church. It is to deny the very nature of the Church. It is heresy.

It is also a denial of the image of God. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’ ” God’s blessing of His image is based in His command to be fruitful and multiply. It is not based in heterosexuality – rather is it impossible without heterosexuality. The sexual aspect is such a given that it need not even be mentioned. To deny it is to deny man as the image of God.

So if a bishop is asked if same-sex unions are a threat to the traditional family, and he says, “Absolutely not. I don’t see that at all…. I would say God bless you,” is this heresy?

I also leave this for you to ponder and/or comment.

The following Akathist Hymn, while not written for our annual Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, nonetheless is timely for the season as well as timeless in that every day is a ’season’ for Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

Akathist of Thanksgiving

“Glory to God for All Things”

Kontakion 1

Everlasting King, Thy will for our salvation is full of power. Thy right arm controls the whole course of human life. We give Thee thanks for all Thy mercies, seen and unseen. For eternal life, for the heavenly joys of the Kingdom which is to be. Grant mercy to us who sing Thy praise, both now and in the time to come. Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age.

Ikos 1

I was born a weak, defenceless child, but Thine angel spread his wings over my cradle to defend me. From birth until now Thy love has illumined my path, and has wondrously guided me towards the light of eternity; from birth until now the generous gifts of Thy providence have been marvelously showered upon me. I give Thee thanks, with all who have come to know Thee, who call upon Thy name.

Glory to Thee for calling me into being
Glory to Thee, showing me the beauty of the universe
Glory to Thee, spreading out before me heaven and earth
Like the pages in a book of eternal wisdom
Glory to Thee for Thine eternity in this fleeting world
Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, seen and unseen
Glory to Thee through every sigh of my sorrow
Glory to Thee for every step of my life’s journey
For every moment of glory
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 2

O Lord, how lovely it is to be Thy guest. Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching to the skies; waters like boundless mirrors, reflecting the sun’s golden rays and the scudding clouds. All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing the depth of tenderness. Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of Thy love. Blessed art thou, mother earth, in thy fleeting loveliness, which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last for ever, in the land where, amid beauty that grows not old, the cry rings out: Alleluia!

Ikos 2

Thou hast brought me into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavour and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Thine earth. It is a pleasure to be Thy guest.

Glory to Thee for the Feast Day of life
Glory to Thee for the perfume of lilies and roses
Glory to Thee for each different taste of berry and fruit
Glory to Thee for the sparkling silver of early morning dew
Glory to Thee for the joy of dawn’s awakening
Glory to Thee for the new life each day brings
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 3

It is the Holy Spirit who makes us find joy in each flower, the exquisite scent, the delicate colour, the beauty of the Most High in the tiniest of things. Glory and honour to the Spirit, the Giver of Life, who covers the fields with their carpet of flowers, crowns the harvest with gold, and gives to us the joy of gazing at it with our eyes. O be joyful and sing to Him: Alleluia!

Ikos 3

How glorious art Thou in the springtime, when every creature awakes to new life and joyfully sings Thy praises with a thousand tongues. Thou art the Source of Life, the Destroyer of Death. By the light of the moon, nightingales sing, and the valleys and hills lie like wedding garments, white as snow. All the earth is Thy promised bride awaiting her spotless husband. If the grass of the field is like this, how gloriously shall we be transfigured in the Second Coming after the Resurrection! How splendid our bodies, how spotless our souls!

Glory to Thee, bringing from the depth of the earth an endless variety of colours, tastes and scents
Glory to Thee for the warmth and tenderness of the world of nature
Glory to Thee for the numberless creatures around us
Glory to Thee for the depths of Thy wisdom, the whole world a living sign of it
Glory to Thee, on my knees, I kiss the traces of Thine unseen hand
Glory to Thee, enlightening us with the clearness of eternal life
Glory to Thee for the hope of the unutterable, imperishable beauty of immortality
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 4

How filled with sweetness are those whose thoughts dwell on Thee; how life-giving Thy holy Word. To speak with Thee is more soothing than anointing with oil; sweeter than the honeycomb. To pray to Thee lifts the spirit, refreshes the soul. Where Thou art not, there is only emptiness; hearts are smitten with sadness; nature, and life itself, become sorrowful; where Thou art, the soul is filled with abundance, and its song resounds like a torrent of life: Alleluia!

Ikos 4

When the sun is setting, when quietness falls like the peace of eternal sleep, and the silence of the spent day reigns, then in the splendour of its declining rays, filtering through the clouds, I see Thy dwelling-place: fiery and purple, gold and blue, they speak prophet-like of the ineffable beauty of Thy presence, and call to us in their majesty. We turn to the Father.

Glory to Thee at the hushed hour of nightfall
Glory to Thee, covering the earth with peace
Glory to Thee for the last ray of the sun as it sets
Glory to Thee for sleep’s repose that restores us
Glory to Thee for Thy goodness even in the time of darkness
When all the world is hidden from our eyes
Glory to Thee for the prayers offered by a trembling soul
Glory to Thee for the pledge of our reawakening
On that glorious last day, that day which has no evening
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 5

The dark storm clouds of life bring no terror to those in whose hearts Thy fire is burning brightly. Outside is the darkness of the whirlwind, the terror and howling of the storm, but in the heart, in the presence of Christ, there is light and peace, silence: Alleluia!

Ikos 5

I see Thine heavens resplendent with stars. How glorious art Thou radiant with light! Eternity watches me by the rays of the distant stars. I am small, insignificant, but the Lord is at my side. Thy right arm guides me wherever I go.

Glory to Thee, ceaselessly watching over me
Glory to Thee for the encounters Thou dost arrange for me
Glory to Thee for the love of parents, for the faithfulness of friends
Glory to Thee for the humbleness of the animals which serve me
Glory to Thee for the unforgettable moments of life
Glory to Thee for the heart’s innocent joy
Glory to Thee for the joy of living
Moving and being able to return Thy love
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 6

How great and how close art Thou in the powerful track of the storm! How mighty Thy right arm in the blinding flash of the lightning! How awesome Thy majesty! The voice of the Lord fills the fields, it speaks in the rustling of the trees. The voice of the Lord is in the thunder and the downpour. The voice of the Lord is heard above the waters. Praise be to Thee in the roar of mountains ablaze. Thou dost shake the earth like a garment; Thou dost pile up to the sky the waves of the sea. Praise be to Thee, bringing low the pride of man. Thou dost bring from his heart a cry of Penitence: Alleluia!

Ikos 6

When the lightning flash has lit up the camp dining hall, how feeble seems the light from the lamp. Thus dost Thou, like the lightning, unexpectedly light up my heart with flashes of intense joy. After Thy blinding light, how drab, how colourless, how illusory all else seems. My souls clings to Thee.

Glory to Thee, the highest peak of men’s dreaming
Glory to Thee for our unquenchable thirst for communion with God
Glory to Thee, making us dissatisfied with earthly things
Glory to Thee, turning on us Thine healing rays
Glory to Thee, subduing the power of the spirits of darkness
And dooming to death every evil
Glory to Thee for the signs of Thy presence
For the joy of hearing Thy voice and living in Thy love
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 7

In the wondrous blending of sounds it is Thy call we hear; in the harmony of many voices, in the sublime beauty of music, in the glory of the works of great composers: Thou leadest us to the threshold of paradise to come, and to the choirs of angels. All true beauty has the power to draw the soul towards Thee, and to make it sing in ecstasy: Alleluia!

Ikos 7

The breath of Thine Holy Spirit inspires artists, poets and scientists. The power of Thy supreme knowledge makes them prophets and interpreters of Thy laws, who reveal the depths of Thy creative wisdom. Their works speak unwittingly of Thee. How great art Thou in Thy creation! How great art Thou in man!

Glory to Thee, showing Thine unsurpassable power in the laws of the universe
Glory to Thee, for all nature is filled with Thy laws
Glory to Thee for what Thou hast revealed to us in Thy mercy
Glory to Thee for what Thou hast hidden from us in Thy wisdom
Glory to Thee for the inventiveness of the human mind
Glory to Thee for the dignity of man’s labour
Glory to Thee for the tongues of fire that bring inspiration
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 8

How near Thou art in the day of sickness. Thou Thyself visitest the sick; Thou Thyself bendest over the sufferer’s bed. His heart speaks to Thee. In the throes of sorrow and suffering Thou bringest peace and unexpected consolation. Thou art the comforter. Thou art the love which watches over and heals us. To Thee we sing the song: Alleluia!

Ikos 8

When in childhood I called upon Thee consciously for the first time, Thou didst hear my prayer, and Thou didst fill my heart with the blessing of peace. At that moment I knew Thy goodness and knew how blessed are those who turn to Thee. I started to call upon Thee night and day; and now even now I call upon Thy name.

Glory to Thee, satisfying my desires with good things
Glory to Thee, watching over me day and night
Glory to Thee, curing affliction and emptiness with the healing flow of time
Glory to Thee, no loss is irreparable in Thee, Giver of eternal life to all
Glory to Thee, making immortal all that is lofty and good
Glory to Thee, promising us the longed-for meeting with our loved ones who have died
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 9

Why is it that on a Feast Day the whole of nature mysteriously smiles? Why is it that then a heavenly gladness fills our hearts; a gladness far beyond that of earth and the very air in church and in the altar becomes luminous? It is the breath of Thy gracious love. It is the reflection of the glory of Mount Tabor. Then do heaven and earth sing Thy praise: Alleluia!

Ikos 9

When Thou didst call me to serve my brothers and filled my soul with humility, one of Thy deep, piercing rays shone into my heart; it became luminous, full of light like iron glowing in the furnace. I have seen Thy face, face of mystery and of unapproachable glory.

Glory to Thee, transfiguring our lives with deeds of love
Glory to Thee, making wonderfully Sweet the keeping of Thy commandments
Glory to Thee, making Thyself known where man shows mercy on his neighbour
Glory to Thee, sending us failure and misfortune that we may understand the sorrows of others
Glory to Thee, rewarding us so well for the good we do
Glory to Thee, welcoming the impulse of our heart’s love
Glory to Thee, raising to the heights of heaven every act of love in earth and sky
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 10

No one can put together what has crumbled into dust, but Thou canst restore a conscience turned to ashes. Thou canst restore to its former beauty a soul lost and without hope. With Thee, there is nothing that cannot be redeemed. Thou art love; Thou art Creator and Redeemer. We praise Thee, singing: Alleluia!

Ikos 10

Remember, my God, the fall of Lucifer full of pride, keep me safe with the power of Thy Grace; save me from falling away from Thee. Save me from doubt. Incline my heart to hear Thy mysterious voice every moment of my life. Incline my heart to call upon Thee, present in everything.

Glory to Thee for every happening
Every condition Thy providence has put me in
Glory to Thee for what Thou speakest to me in my heart
Glory to Thee for what Thou revealest to me, asleep or awake
Glory to Thee for scattering our vain imaginations
Glory to Thee for raising us from the slough of our passions through suffering
Glory to Thee for curing our pride of heart by humiliation
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 11

Across the cold chains of the centuries, I feel the warmth of Thy breath, I feel Thy blood pulsing in my veins. Part of time has already gone, but now Thou art the present. I stand by Thy Cross; I was the cause of it. I cast myself down in the dust before it. Here is the triumph of love, the victory of salvation. Here the centuries themselves cannot remain silent, singing Thy praises: Alleluia!

Ikos 11

Blessed are they that will share in the King’s Banquet: but already on earth Thou givest me a foretaste of this blessedness. How many times with Thine own hand hast Thou held out to me Thy Body and Thy Blood, and I, though a miserable sinner, have received this Mystery, and have tasted Thy love, so ineffable, so heavenly.

Glory to Thee for the unquenchable fire of Thy Grace
Glory to Thee, building Thy Church, a haven of peace in a tortured world
Glory to Thee for the life-giving water of Baptism in which we find new birth
Glory to Thee, restoring to the penitent purity white as the lily
Glory to Thee for the cup of salvation and the bread of eternal joy
Glory to Thee for exalting us to the highest heaven
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 12

How often have I seen the reflection of Thy glory in the faces of the dead. How resplendent they were, with beauty and heavenly joy. How ethereal, how translucent their faces. How triumphant over suffering and death, their felicity and peace. Even in the silence they were calling upon Thee. In the hour of my death, enlighten my soul, too, that it may cry out to Thee: Alleluia!

Ikos 12

What sort of praise can I give Thee? I have never heard the song of the Cherubim, a joy reserved for the spirits above. But I know the praises that nature sings to Thee. In winter, I have beheld how silently in the moonlight the whole earth offers Thee prayer, clad in its white mantle of snow, sparkling like diamonds. I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in Thee, how the song of the birds is a chorus of praise to Thee. I have heard the mysterious mutterings of the forests about Thee, and the winds singing Thy praise as they stir the waters. I have understood how the choirs of stars proclaim Thy glory as they move forever in the depths of infinite space. What is my poor worship! All nature obeys Thee, I do not. Yet while I live, I see Thy love, I long to thank Thee, and call upon Thy name.

Glory to Thee, giving us light
Glory to Thee, loving us with love so deep, divine and infinite
Glory to Thee, blessing us with light, and with the host of angels and saints
Glory to Thee, Father all-holy, promising us a share in Thy Kingdom
Glory to Thee, Holy Spirit, life-giving Sun of the world to come
Glory to Thee for all things, Holy and most merciful Trinity
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 13

Life-giving and merciful Trinity, receive my thanksgiving for all Thy goodness. Make us worthy of Thy blessings, so that, when we have brought to fruit the talents Thou hast entrusted to us, we may enter into the joy of our Lord, forever exulting in the shout of victory: Alleluia!

(repeat Kontakion 13 and Alleluia three times)

Ikos 1

I was born a weak, defenceless child, but Thine angel spread his wings over my cradle to defend me. From birth until now Thy love has illumined my path, and has wondrously guided me towards the light of eternity; from birth until now the generous gifts of Thy providence have been marvelously showered upon me. I give Thee thanks, with all who have come to know Thee, who call upon Thy name.

Glory to Thee for calling me into being
Glory to Thee, showing me the beauty of the universe
Glory to Thee, spreading out before me heaven and earth
Like the pages in a book of eternal wisdom
Glory to Thee for Thine eternity in this fleeting world
Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, seen and unseen
Glory to Thee through every sigh of my sorrow
Glory to Thee for every step of my life’s journey
For every moment of glory
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age

Kontakion 1

Everlasting King, Thy will for our salvation is full of power. Thy right arm controls the whole course of human life. We give Thee thanks for all Thy mercies, seen and unseen. For eternal life, for the heavenly Joys of the Kingdom which is to be. Grant mercy to us who sing Thy praise, both now and in the time to come. Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age.

---

This Akathist was found among the effects of Fr. Gregory Petrov after his death in a Soviet prison camp in 1940. It has often been attributed to Fr. Gregory, but it is now more commonly considered to be the work of Metropolitan TRYPHON (Prince Boris Petrovich Turkestanov) +1934.

Akathist:  “Glory to God for all Things”   

by Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Tryphon (+1934)

See Ode 8

ODE 9

Why is it that on a feast-day the whole of nature mysteriously smiles?

Why is it that then a heavenly gladness fills our hearts, a gladness far beyond that of earth,

and the very air in church and in the altar becomes luminous?

It is the breath of Your gracious love; it is the reflection of the glory of Mount Tabor.

Baptism of St. Paul

Then do heaven and earth sing Your praise: Alleluia!

IKOS 9

When You called me to serve my brothers

and filed my soul with humility,

one of Your deep-piercing rays shone into my heart;

 it became luminous, full of light,

like iron glowing in the furnace.

I have seen Your face, face of mystery and of unapproachable glory.

Glory to You, transfiguring our lives with deeds of love.

Glory to You, making wonderfully sweet the keeping of Your commandments.

Glory to You, making Yourself known where man shows mercy on his neighbor.

Glory to You, sending us failure and misfortune, that we may understand the sorrows of others.

Glory to You, rewarding us so well for the good we do.

Glory to You, welcoming the impulse of our heart’s love.

Glory to You, raising to the heights of heaven every act of love in earth and sky.

Glory to You, O God, from age to age.

Next Ode 10

Με τις ευλογίες του σεπτού Πατριάρχη Αλεξανδρείας και πάσης Αφρικής Θεοδώρου Β΄, και τη χάρη του Θεού, πραγματοποιήθηκε επίσκεψη του Σεβασμιωτάτου Μητροπολίτου Ζάμπιας και Μαλάουι, κ.κ. Ιωακείμ, στο Μαλάουι, από τις 8 Νοεμβρίου μέχρι τις 11 Νοεμβρίου 2009.

Αυτή ήταν η πρώτη επίσκεψη του νέου μας Αρχιεπισκόπου στη χώρα, αφού η επίσημη ενθρόνισή του αναμένεται σύντομα. Η αγάπη και η έγνοια του νέου μας ποιμένα δεν μπορούσε να τον κρατήσει μακριά από την Ιερά Πανήγυρη του Ιερού Ναού του Αγίου Νεκταρίου, όπου έσπευσε να παρευρεθεί και να συνεορτάσει μαζί με όλο τον ελληνισμό του Μαλάουι στον Μεγάλο Πανηγυρικό Εσπερινό στις 8 Νοεμβρίου και στην Αρχιερατική Θεία Λειτουργία με Λιτανεία, ανήμερα στην εορτή του Αγίου μας Νεκταρίου, στις 9 Νοεμβρίου.

Την επόμενη ημέρα εορτασμού, ο Σεβασμιώτατος, την αφιέρωσε στην Ιεραποστολή. Έτσι, την Τρίτη 10 Νοεμβρίου πραγματοποιήθηκε επίσκεψη στο Ιεραποστολικό Κέντρο Αγίου Γεωγίου στο Καμπότζι, όπου ο Σεβασμιώτατος ενημερώθηκε από τον ιθαγενή ιερέα π. Νεκτάριο για το έργο που επιτελείται εκεί. Ο Σεβασμιώτατος μοίρασε δώρα στα παιδιά του Νηπιαγωγείου και καλαμποκάλευρο στους ενήλικες ιθαγενείς, που σε ένδειξη ευγνωμοσύνης τραγούδησαν και χόρεψαν στους παραδοσιακούς τους ρυθμούς.

Μετά τη λήξη της επισκέψεως, όλο το Ορθόδοξο ποίμνιο, Έλληνες και ιθαγενείς του Μαλάουι, αναμένουμε να υποδεχτούμε και επισήμως τον νέο μας πατέρα στην ενθρόνισή του στον Ορθόδοξο Αρχιερατικό θρόνο της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας στο Μαλάουι.

Από το γραφείο στο Μαλάουι της Ιεράς Μητροπόλεως Ζάμπιας και Μαλάουι

( http://www.iersyn.gr/news56.html )

ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΕΙΟ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΣΗΣ ΑΦΡΙΚΗΣ ΙΕΡΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΙΚΟ ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΜΑΛΑΟΥΙ

Μπλαντάιρ, 13 Οκτωβρίου 2009

Αγαπητοί εν Χριστώ αδελφοί και εκλεκτά μέλη του συλλόγου «Άγιος Κοσμάς ο Αιτωλός» χαίρετε εν Κυρίω πάντοτε.

Σας γράφουμε και σας ενημερώνουμε για το έργο που χρηματοδοτείτε. Με τη χάρη του Θεού οι εργασίες προχωρούν πολύ καλά. Ο Ιερός Ναός της Αγίας Άννας των 250 τ.μ. στην περιοχή του Μουλάνζι υπολογίζεται να μας παραδοθεί ολοκληρωμένος τους επόμενους 2 με 3 μήνες. Οι Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί της περιοχής παρακολουθούν με χαρά την εξέλιξη του μεγάλου έργου για την περιοχή τους. Είναι καλοί και ευλαβείς και πολύ ευγνώμονες προς τον Σύνδεσμό σας που ανέλαβε αυτή τη μεγάλη δωρεά προς την περιοχή τους.

Ήδη συνεχίζονται οι κατηχήσεις και σε λίγο καιρό θα γίνουν περισσότερες βαπτίσεις σε αυtη την περιοχή. Τα καλά νέα δεν τελειώνουν εδώ! Από καιρό είχαμε πόθο να βοηθήσουμε τους κατοίκους αυτής της περιοχής και σε μια άλλη τους ανάγκη σχετικά με το πρόβλημα που αντιμετωπίζουν. Το πιο κοντινό τους νοσοκομείο είναι αρκετά μακριά και οι άνθρωποι πραγματικά υποφέρουν. Πόθος μας είναι να χτίσουμε μια κλινική δίπλα στον Ι. Ναό της Αγίας Άννας.

Στις επαφές μας με τις υπεύθυνες κρατικές υπηρεσίες για την περιοχή, οι υπεύθυνοι μας υποσχέθηκαν ότι εάν εμείς χτίσουμε το κτίριο, δίπλα στο Ναό, αυτοί θα το επανδρώσουν με το κατάλληλο ιατρικό προσωπικό και θα το εξοπλίσουν με ανάλογο φαρμακευτικό υλικό. Εάν η Εκκλησία μας προχωρήσει σ’ αυτό το έργο, οι ιθαγενείς θα είναι πολύ ευγνώμονες, διότι, όπως μαθαίνουμε δεν υπάρχει τόσο μεγάλη έλλειψη ιατρών ή φαρμάκων, όσο έλλειψη κτιρίων. Τα κτίρια στοιχίζουν ακριβά και η Κυβέρνηση δεν μπορεί να ανταποκριθεί και σαν αποτέλεσμα οι άνθρωποι υποφέρουν.

Σύμφωνα με την έρευνά μας μια κλινική σύμφωνα με το σχέδιο που μας δίνει το κράτος, κοστίζει 25.000 ευρώ.

Σας παρακαλούμε πολύ και προσευχόμαστε να βρεθεί ένας δωρητής από εσάς που θα καλύψει αυτό το ποσό. Με αυτό το έργο καταλαβαίνετε πόση αξία θα πάρει η ενορία της Αγίας Άννας, η οποία σιγά-σιγά θα εξελιχθεί σε ιεραποστολικό κέντρο που θα βοηθάει στην ψυχή και στο σώμα εκατοντάδες γηγενείς.

Περιμένουμε με ανυπομονησία νέα σας. Σας στέλνουμε την αγάπη μας και ζητούμε τις προσευχές σας.

Μέ αγάπη Χριστού

π. Ερμόλαος Ιατρού

( http://www.iersyn.gr/letters.html#km )

Στείλτε την αγάπη σας στο ιεραποστολικό κλιμάκιο του Μαλάουι μέσω του Ιεραποστολικού Συνδέσμου Άγιος Κοσμάς ο Αιτωλός Θεσσαλονίκης. Πληροφορίες ΕΔΩ και ΕΔΩ.

Ευχόμαστε και προσευχόμαστε να ευλογήσει ο Θεός τον νέο Μητροπολίτη Ζάμπιας και Μαλάουι και να του χαρίσει πλούσιες πνευματικές και ιεραποστολικές ευλογίες.

I’m not entirely sure what possessed me to eat a foot-long Subway sandwich for lunch just now. But there I was at the shiny new kosher Subway restaurant in Skokie, along with what seemed like the rest of the kosher-keeping community of Chicagoland. I’m told the line before we arrived was around a 2-hour wait; I only waited about 30 minutes. Still, who ever heard of waiting 30 minutes for a Subway sub?

Jews, it would seem. I think of the way people drool about the idea of kosher KFC or McDonald’s when they describe their trips to the Holy Land. When we went to Israel in April, my kids only wanted to eat at kosher Burger King. We went three times in two weeks. I remember when kosher Krispy Kreme opened in New York, or the when the kosher Dunkin Donuts in Skokie lost its kosher status a few years ago. (The secretary at the Chicago Rabbinical Council said I was about the 1000th caller to inquire about it when I phoned that afternoon.)

What is it about kosher chain restaurants that inspires such excitement? It represents a phenomenal inversion: that which is available to everyone is suddenly available to traditional Jews. Not all the food, mind you–there are no dairy items on the menu at kosher Subway, just as there are no cheeseburgers at kosher Burger King. It’s really not the food; it’s the packaging, the ambiance, the feeling that we’re able to have our cake (or our sub) and eat it too. The sentiment seems to be something like, “Look at me, I can keep kosher, wear a kippah, even chap a mincha minyan (pray the afternoon prayer service with 10 men) in a restaurant with the same logo and menu and napkins as all of you out there.” The taste doesn’t really matter; it’s the havaya, the experience, the sense of belonging to the larger culture.

As a kid I remember the many birthday parties I went to where I couldn’t eat the Oreo cookies. This became a major maker of my identity: I was that kosher-keeping kid who couldn’t eat Oreos. And then, when I was in college, they became kosher. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. On the one hand I wanted to eat the Oreos, to reciprocate the embrace of the culture at large. But I also wanted to resist it. What would happen if everything suddenly became kosher, if we no longer had these markers of our identity?

These questions are deeply present, though muted perhaps, at Thanksgiving time. Thanksgiving (unlike Halloween, which I wrote about a few weeks ago) has achieved the status of a true civic religious holiday in America. Everyone has access to it, everyone can make dinner for family and celebrate reasons to be thankful. Jews have had differences of opinion over the years about whether or not to celebrate Thanksgiving, but it’s fair to say that most everyone from the Modern Orthodox to the left observes the holiday. Thanksgiving, like kosher Subway, offers us the opportunity to participate in the culture at large while conforming to our own laws and observances.

The question raised around many Jewish tables at Thanksgiving is, Do we sing Shir Hamaalot (Psalm 126) before the grace after meals? We recite this optimistic psalm on holidays in place of the more lamenting Psalm 137, which is normally recited. Thanksgiving may be a holiday, but is it a Jewish holiday? That is the question behind the question. Most Orthodox Jews would not go so far. Their ritual lives are willing to incorporate that which can be incorporated without changing the legalities of observance.

We all want to be included, to have the same freedom and options that everyone else has. At the same time, as the upcoming holiday of Hannukah will remind us, sometimes identity needs to be defined in opposition to a dominant culture.

Oreos, anyone?

“Coming into the community of believers at worship should be disconcerting. It should leave the visitor with several impressions: whatever this is, these people take it very seriously; I don’t understand it; if I join I might have to change.

The well-intentioned idea of presenting the appealing, useful side of faith fails, I think, because it doesn’t question deeply enough the basic consumer ethos. The transaction that takes place between a shopper-seeker and the goods acquired (groceries, furniture, the key to the meaning of life) is one that leaves the seeker in control, in a position of judging, evaluating, and rejecting the parts that he doesn’t like. But entering faith is more like making a promise or beginning a marriage. It involves being grafted into a community and requires a willingness to grow and change. If it didn’t, if it merely confirmed us in our comfortable places, how could it free us to be more than we are?”

-Frederica Matthews-Green, At the Corner of East and Now-

I bought this book that I’ve quoted from above at my local library for one dollar. I admit, the only reason I bought it was because it was the only Orthodox book that I had seen in the little library bookstore. Frederica has an interesting take on introducing her reader to Orthodoxy. All things considered, I am enjoying this quick read very much.

Frederica nails this one on the head. Seeker sensitive churches make me sick. I’m going to put that out there without pulling any punches. Even as a Protestant, I never really understood why it was necessary to make people feel comfortable in church. In fact, I thought that by making them comfortable we inevitably invite them to stay comfortable. Once we start to make a seeker a bit squeamish he will just leave. Maybe he will find another church that is willing to keep him comfortable, or maybe he will just reject Christianity all together. Either way, we are not doing any favors by trying to be “relevant”. 

You want to know what’s relevant? Check out these quotes from St. John Climacus:

“Exile is a disciplined heart, unheralded wisdom, an unpublicized understanding, a hidden life, masked ideals. It is unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty, the longing for what is divine. It is an outpouring of love, a denial of vainglory, a depth of silence.”

“Run from the places of sin as though from a plague. When fruit is not in plain sight, we have no great urge to taste it.”

-The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 3, on exile-

“For the fact is that obedience is self-mistrust up to one’s dying day, in every matter, even the good.”

“Indeed, to obey is, with all deliberateness, to put aside the capacity to makes one’s own judgment.”

“Wounds [sins] shown in public will not grow worse, but will be healed.”

-The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 4, on obedience-

St. John isn’t pulling any punches either. This may not be the best sampling of St. John’s book but having only read so far into the Ladder and because of my own inability to plunge into its depths, I have only these few phrases to offer. But I think these few have much to say.

What is relevant? Obedience, a denial of vainglory, a wish for poverty, the striving to be humble, the giving of ourselves over to Another, completely and wholly. If that isn’t relevant enough for you, there’s the door. My priest, Father Joshua once told me, “if you are looking for easy Christianity, don’t come to my parish.” I respect Father so much for telling me this. I feel that I may be too passionate about what it is I am blogging about; I’m preaching to myself 99.98% of the time, so I have to be aggressive, for my own sake. I guess the only thing I can say to conclude this post is, if there was nothing in the world like Orthodoxy, I think I’d be a materialistic, adulterous, vainglorious, jerk. Yup, I’m still working on those too. One more quote from St. John:

“Violence and unending pain are the lot of those who aim to ascend to heaven with the body, and this especially at the early stages of the enterprise, when our pleasure-loving disposition and our unfeeling hearts must travel through overwhelming grief toward the love of God and holiness. It is hard, truly hard.”

-The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 1, on renunciation of life-

The Church

1.  The Church by Edmund Clowney

Hands down the best book examining the theology of the church.

2.  No Place for Truth by David Wells

A classic analyzing blow-by-blow how evangelicalism got intertwined with modernity.  If you like this book, I would also suggest his books, God in the Wasteland and The Courage to Be Protestant.

3.  Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr

In this classic, Niebuhr examines five different relationships the church may have to culture/world.  I would also commend two books that examine this book:  D.A. Carson’s, Christ and Culture Revisited and Craig Carter’s, Rethinking Christ and Culture.

4.  Deliberate Church by Mark Dever

Dever gives a thorough look at the structure and justification for all aspects of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

5.  Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever

This book has saved me from unhealthy churches for 10 years now (thanks John B.).

6.  Worship in Spirit and Truth by John Frame

Frame gives a thorough, balanced, and palatable defense of the regulative principle.

7.  The Safest Place on Earth by Larry Crabb

The church (and Christian community) is/are meant to be the safest place on earth.  Sadly, this is often not only not the case, but the church can be the least safe place on earth.  Crabb discourages a legalistic culture within the church and encourages gracious, authentic, and vulnerable community.

8.  Confessions of a Reformission Rev by Mark Driscoll

A hilarious look at the lesson Mark Driscoll learned while planting Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

9.  Prophetic Untimeliness:  A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance by Os Guinness

A needed critique for over-contextualizers who would sacrifice the Gospel in order to be cool.

10.  Missional Church by Darrell Guder (ed.)

This book is a good introduction to the ideas and practices of the missional church movement.  Its hard to believe this book is over 10 years old.

About a week ago I picked up a book called Orthodoxy(by G. K. Chesterton) in my dads little unorganized basement library. I am about halfway through right now. The dude is a BRAAAIIIINIAC, and sometimes I have to stop and read a sentence three times and just be like WOAH, yesssss.

If you want some good thinking, CHECK IT.

Here is some tastiness from the book(in my own words) :

On the MySTeRY. The whole secret of mystery is that we can understand EVERYTHING with the help of what we don’t understand. The scientist tries to make everything believable, provable, and therefore makes everything mysterious. The believer allows one thing to be mysterious and everything becomes real.

Hmmm? There is no way to prove the mysteries we believe in as christians. Yes there are the miracles, but even the cynic has an explanation. So we go on believing, and it is clear to us. While the non-believer is going crazy trying to figure out a way to disprove our miracles, our belief; and suddenly it all becomes mysterious to him.

He goes on to speak of fairy tales.  On ‘Jack the Giant killer’, and that giants should be slayed(a word?); a story about ego, and that no man should be giant. Beauty and the Beast: a thing must be loved before it is lovable. Sleeping Beauty: all humans were blessed with all birthday gifts, but cursed with death and how death might also be softened to a sleep.

The importance with all of fairy land is the whole spirit of its law. Laws can be broken in fairyland, here they are something that can not. The way fairy tales look at life is beautiful. Anything is possible in a fairy tale, trees may grow candles instead of fruit, squirrels may talk. Yet there is always one exception, one law that must not be broken, a forbidden. Cinderella must be home by twelve or her magic will be gone, the princess must kiss the frog for him to turn back into a prince- of course she does not know he is one. Yet it is not utter chaos either? No because there is always the big picture, something to believe in. Some law not to question; our fairy tale creatures are innocent yet perfect. But, not perfect, because they are still human-with maybe a little magic on their sides. So what is the difference between me and Cinderella? Nothing. We both have magic on our side. I just call mine Christianity. Corny? Maybe. True?

This is why I so love fairy tales lately. The magic is a means of sanity! I can believe in whatever I like, and be more happy than the ‘honest’ ‘grown up’ who refuses to lie about Santa.

A Christian ending to our lives, painless, blameless, peaceful, and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ, let us ask.

Back when I used to support the ministry of televangelist Bill Keller – before I stopped because of his being a Billy Grahamesque and apologist of Roman Catholics – an anecdote from a media account of his ministry caused me some concern. It appears that a fellow who was suffering from depression and other issues saw Keller’s TV show, called in to ask for prayer and counseling, and agreed to say the salvation prayer with one of Keller’s several volunteer phone counselors (which includes a number of Roman Catholic priests, just as Billy Graham had Roman Catholic clergy available at his revivals). This fellow reported that not long after securing his confession of faith, his conversation with Keller’s prayer counselor ended, and he never heard from them again. Although he reports that his life made a marked turn for the better after his phone counseling and saying the salvation prayer (his depression and feeling of hopelessness left, and he proposed to marry his live-in girlfriend, who accepted) he was not sure if he was saved, was unsure if he should be considered a Christian, and had no idea on how to proceed on any sort of faith journey or Christian walk, including reading his Bible.

I considered this to be a simple oversight of one of Keller’s counselors – as Keller does promise to to have his counselors get the address of everyone who calls his prayer line and send them materials – but it still left me wondering about just how many people who made confessions of faith due to Keller’s ministry and were then left to their own devices. Even in the case of people who do receive materials from Keller’s ministry, Keller does not have or represent a church, and I have difficulty imagining that he would be in a position to personally recommend one to many of the geographically far-flung people that he evangelizes.

I have similar concerns about some of the popular gospel tract ministries. They are effective at winning confessions of faith, but what about discipleship afterwards, i.e. placing people under the authority of a pastor, a shepherd who can lead and model them to Christian maturity? How many people converted by these gospel tract ministries do not receive guidance concerning the importance of doing so, or which church to join? Of course, for those that God uses such evangelists to convert, we can and must have faith that He will guide and take care of His sheep. However, those of us who do support and participate in some of the popular tract ministries such as those by Jack Chick, American Tract Society and Way of the Master/Living Waters can add a simple step: including a handbill or addition to every tract that you distribute that contains the name, address, and phone number of your local church. That way, anyone who reads your tract and believes the gospel will be able to contact your pastor or attend your church.

I would imagine that many churches, even those who still emphasize door to door and street evangelism, do not have such things handy. However, there is a quick, easy and cheap way to make your own that I myself took advantage of. A person can go to a place that makes business cards, post cards, stationary or similar and create their own tract additions (or their own tracts period) that contain contact information for their local church. (I would suggest not giving out  your pastor’s personal contact information unless you have his permission). Businesses providing such services are easy to find and use, and it is relatively cheap. I myself used Vista Print, an online firm that allows you to create such items using their pre-configured templates. I created 150 postcards (chosen because of they are bigger than business cards but still small enough to go inside or with most tracts) that contained the general contact information for my church on the front and a few verses related to evangelism (John 3:14-17, Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:9-11) on the back. Took about an hour, most of which was spent deciding to choose postcards over business cards and stationery, and picking out a template (though VistaPrint does have templates for church and religious purposes, I chose a basic one that was blank on the front and back that allowed me to add text and upload a picture).

Please DO NOT consider this an endorsement of Vista Print, whom I only chose because I had used them in the past and already had an account with them, so it was faster. There are many capable of providing this service, both online and traditional, further it can be done yourself via desktop publishing (something that I know absolutely nothing about other than this free open source desktop publishing software Scribus, which I will use myself when I have the time to learn how to do so). Instead, this is just a suggestion to those Christians with gospel tract ministries that I hope will prove useful. My own first batch of “gospel tract postcards” will arrive in about a week, right in time for me to start handing them out to Christmas shoppers.

J.C. Ryle: Bishop of Liverpool

1.  Holiness by J.C. Ryle  [y, l, e, p, s]

Put your helmet and pads on because you are gonna get trucked.  This is probably the most convicting book I have ever read.  I got to visit Ryle’s grave in Liverpool, England, he was very tall and had a large beard.

2.  Pensees by Blaise Pascal  [y, l, e, p, s]

Most do not think of Pensees as a devotional work.  I do.  Read it slow and meditate, it will warm your soul.

3.  Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer  [c, y, l, e, p, s]

Chapters 1-3 alone are worth the price of the book.  Tozer wrote this one night on a train ride!  He gets at the root of sin.

4.  Pursuit of Man by A.W. Tozer  [y, l, e, p, s]

Almost no one has read this gem.  In my view it is almost as good as Pursuit of God and better than Knowledge of the Holy.

5.  Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards  [y, l, e, p, s]

Edwards makes sense of our emotion and affection for God.  He was also instrumental in reuniting the Presbyterians who were divided on what to think about the First Great Awakening.

6.  Desiring God by John Piper  [y, l, e, p, s]

This book can be slow and awkward at times but it is well worth the read.  He defines and defends the idea of Christian Hedonism, borrowing heavily from Jonathan Edwards and #5 on this list.

7.  Devotional Classics by Foster and Smith  [c, y, l, e, p, s]

This book is on this list for the wide variety of authors/traditions you get to read over the course of church history.

8.  The Call by Os Guinness  [y, l, e, p, s]

Guinness covers systematically God’s calling on the Christian and employs several vignettes into the lives of wonderful Christians through church history.

9.  Knowing God by J.I. Packer  [c, y, l, e, p, s]

Packer has written a wonderful look at the attributes of God.  If you enjoy this one check out also Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer and The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink

10.  Puritan Paperbacks by Various:  Most notably – The Christians Great Interest, The Valley of Vision, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, Doctrine of Repentance, All Loves Excelling, The Sinfulness of Sin, The Bruised Reed, The Mortification of Sin, and Guide to Christ.  Entire set can be found at monergism books.  [y, l, e, p, s]

The Puritans are a treasure chest of wisdom and keen insight on the human condition.  They require patience to read but can be very rewarding.

(c=children; y=young adult; l=lay leader; e=elder; p=pastor; s=scholar)

Christianity, in fact the majority of monotheistic religions, view God as a being, a person, an entity. Essential qualities and characteristics of God vary from religion to religion and sect to sect; however, to my knowledge every single one views God as a spiritual person, usually (although not exclusively) a man.

I believe that this view of God severely limits our ability to understand God. Worse than that, we create God in our own image. God becomes denigrated from an limitless Divine Mystery, to a character limited to our own understanding of ourselves. In a number of religions, Christianity included, God often takes on the primary role of judge, further relegating God to an automaton, devoid of free will.

Limiting God in this way crucifies God. God is hung on a cross, relegated to a certain role, and summarily executed. God no longer becomes a divine being of infinite quality, but a bleeding, impotent mess.

Deconstructing this view of God allows a greater understanding of the potential of God. God is no longer relegated to a specific role. Furthermore, God has the ability to reveal Godself in new and unique ways that God the person would be able to.

So what is God? In my understanding, God is the sum of all things which we do not understand–the Divine Mystery. To the extent that we do not fully understand ourselves, God is at work within us. To the extent that we do not and may never fully understand the processes of the natural world, God is at work. To the extent that we do not understand the origins of the universe, the intricacies of the human body, or the matter and energy which make up subatomic particles, God is at work.

Any practice which helps us reach new levels of understanding becomes an act of worship. Science, education, meditation, seeking solitude, hospitality and communion all help us better understand that which is a mystery to us. They help us understand God.

In the last post, I highlighted some aspects of how Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism was put together and the things I found helpful and disappointing. In this post, I want to get to some of the core theological issues.

East and West have long been at cross purposes, in many ways speaking different languages, not just in terms of Latin and Greek (in the ancient church) but also in terms of terminology and worldview. Thus Edward Rommen helpfully points out in his essay that where the East is more interested in relationships i.e. “new life with Christ”, the West concentrates on propositions i.e. “change in legal status” or “justification” (p.239). The question, though, is whether those differences are simply different emphases, or represent different beliefs entirely. This is the first book I have read on the topic. By no means am I an expert, but, from my limited viewpoint, there are three key theological issues, that, even once the language has been waded through, continue to be significant points of difference: anthropology (humans); soteriology (salvation); and authority.

Anthropology

Anthropology, in the theological sense, is the study of humans – who they are and how we are to understand them. For many evangelicals, this boils down to the question of what the status of humans is before God; for many Orthodox, it is the question of how one relates to God. Much of the discussion revolves around different understandings of Rom 5:12ff. Orthodox insist that sin is not inherited from Adam but rather that each person ‘falls’ on his own. The implication is that since humans are not irreparably damaged by sin, they can recover with the help of the Holy Spirit, by cooperating with the Trinity (p.150). In contrast, Michael Horton points out that if each of us is born to sin and death “in Adam” our hope must lie outside of ourselves, that is, in inheriting “Christ’s obedience, justification and immortality” (p.160) Are humans basically ‘good’ on account of their imageness? Or are they evil beyond recovery apart from Christ because of the fall? Of course both questions hold an element of truth: the depravity of humans does not entirely negate the image; but nor does the image consume the depravity. Yet the danger of the Orthodox view must be that such an optimism leaves room for humans to contribute to their own salvation (p.73). However, this is God’s work, not ours. As Horton says, “We are not declared righteous because we have cooperated with Gods grace; we are justified “freely by his grace” (Rom 3:24) so that we can’ (p.161).

Soteriology

An understanding of the nature of humans obviously affects how you expect salvation to come. My understanding of the Eastern Orthodox soteriology is that while they affirm that Jesus’ death saves, the emphasis is on his incarnation. By this, they mean not only Jesus’ life but also the church. If the church is his body, it is the extension of the incarnation: to be “in the church” is to be “in Christ”. Thus it is by participating in the church and in particular its sacraments, that union with Christ (salvation, in the Orthodox mind) is achieved. This raises the question of the role of faith. On one hand, Nassif argues that faith is necessary (p.71); on the other, he suggests that Communion (or the Eucharist as he calls it) really is Jesus’ body and blood, another incarnation, in which case by taking it, a person is automatically joined to Christ (p.77). Nassif himself acknowledges that this may be the root of Orthodox nominalism (p.82, 86). In contrast, evangelicalism takes a much more personalised view of salvation, with the emphasis on the legal concept of justification. All the Orthodox writers affirmed this and then very quickly moved to explaining their larger vision of union with Christ. They support the biblical motif of justification, but unlike Calvin, for whom it was the “hinge on which all religion turns” (p.138), it is given little treatment. While the Orthodox maintain that this is because they see all the pieces of the puzzle, unlike evangelicals who are transfixed on but one, Horton argues that this underemphasis actually turns the puzzle into something else entirely.

Authority

Many evangelicals are suspicious of Roman Catholics for their location of authority in the Pope. The Patriarch in the Orthodox church does not carry the same position as the Pope and that’s an important distinction to make. However, nor does the Orthodox church carry ‘Scripture alone’ as the authority, as near as I could make out. It is a little confusing: Nassif argues that Scripture is authoritative, as received and interpreted by the church (p.62-63); Berzonsky says that the Bible is not the ultimate source of truth at evangelicals believe, because to do so would be to equate it with Christ, but Christ is incarnate in the church, not a book (174-176); Rommen takes tradition as a tool to interpret Scripture but does not see that it has authority over it. At the very least, it could be said that the role of Scripture and tradition is somewhat ambiguous in Orthodox understanding. While Nassif rightly criticises evangelicals for an historical amnesia which produces a spiritual and interpretative arrogance (p.67) he also admits to broad biblical illiteracy in his own church (p.85). Perhaps more to the point in terms of compatability, the Orthodox church leaves little room for further Biblical reformation of tradition. It also so roots the message in the tradition, that there is not only little room for Biblical reform, but indeed, a lack of tolerance for contextualisation of the gospel for evangelism (Nassif p.82; Hancock-Stefan p.211).

Conclusions

Nassif’s thesis that evangelicalism and Eastern Orthodoxy are compatible is based on a belief that all the core beliefs of evangelicalism exist in Eastern Orthodoxy, but that the latter is the more developed and mature form of Christianity (p.84). There is work to be done in bringing practice into line with this maturity (p.86) but it remains that Orthodoxy comes to grips with the Trinitarian God is a far richer way than evangelicalism. The evangelicals in this book, on the other hand, see that the ‘fuller’ Orthodox understanding of the gospel actually takes its heart away: adding to the gospel subtracts from it.

But what does this mean for compatability? Unfortunately, none of the writers defined what they mean by ‘compatible’. Nassif calls for evangelicals to become Orthodox so that their principles might grow to maturity; Berzonsky calls for evangelicals to repent of their Reformation theology and become Orthodox (p.195). Rommen offers the suggestion of limited compatability, that is, that some things will never be agreed on (especially certain points of Western thought that the Orthodox church has anathematised p.249) but that there are some points on which there is considerable agreement.

What I noticed was this: by and large, the Orthodox and evangelicals agreed on their doctrine of God. The main areas of disagreement were the doctrine of man and of salvation. It is on this basis that I am happy to say that the Orthodox worship the same God as evangelicals, but that they have misunderstood the means of relating to him. If someone is a converted Orthodox (i.e. not nominal), they are my brother or sister. Yet, the distinctions highlighted in this book are not unimportant. There are significant pitfalls in the  Orthodox message of salvation. Until these are resolved, I suspect that respectful dialogue and separated traditions will continue to be the principal expression of any compatability.

Fr Daniel Sysoyev

The murder of Father Daniel Sysoyev last week has shocked Russia. Father Daniel, aged 34, was shot by a masked gunman at St Thomas’s Church in southern Moscow last week. The parish choir director, Vladimir Strelbitsky, was wounded in the shooting.

Father Daniel worked in a multiethnic suburb of Moscow, where people of many different nationalities lived, including many Muslims. He was active in mission and evangelism and more than 30 former Muslims had been baptised in the Church. Shortly before his death Father Daniel said he had received death threats because of his missionary work.

There is an interesting interview with Fr Daniel about his missionary work at Orthodox/Islam — Voices from Russia:

I last met with Fr Daniil just last week… I was going to write an article about his missionary school. He opened it two years ago at his parish, St Thomas church. Classes meet twice a week, the curriculum includes a comparative analysis of Islam and Orthodox Christianity, the strengths and weaknesses of each religion, and in-depth study of both the Koran and the Bible. Fr Daniil, himself half-Tatar in ancestry, was the only priest in Moscow who advocated preaching Orthodoxy amongst the migrants and guest workers. His clerical colleagues called him the “Orthodox Wahhabi” for the fire gleaming in his eyes and his passionate speeches.

Last Sunday was the 24th Sunday after Pentecost — Tone 7 (9th of Luke). Afterfeast of the Entry Into the Temple.

The Prokimenon for Tone 7 has the verse:

The Lord shall give strength to his people
The Lord shall bless his people with peace.

And the Epistle reading, Ephesians 2:14-22, seemed very appropriate for the work of Father Daniel

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

In his life and ministry Father Daniel tried to bring people from all kinds of ethnic and cultural backgrounds into the inclusive fellowship of the household of God.

But some people do not like that.

In Genesis 12 God promised Abraham that he would make his descendants a powerful nation, and they would be a blessing to all nations. But Abraham’s descendants found it easier to remember the first part than the second. They remembered the “powerful nation” part, but forgot the part about being a blessing to all nations.

And those of us on the new calendar were also commemorating the Afterfeast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple. She came to the old temple, made with hands, but she herself was the new temple, giving birth to the One who would draw all men to Himself.

Today is the prelude of God’s goodwill
and the prophecy of the salvation of men
the virgin appears openly in the temple of God and foretells Christ to all
so let us cry to her with loud voices
rejoice, thou who art the fulfilment of the Creator’s providence.

She who is to give birth to the one who breaks down the wall of separation.

People have recently been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the breaking down of a wall of separation in Berlin, yet even as they celebrate, another wall has arisen in Israel/Palestine. But Christ breaks down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile, between Russian and Azerbajani, between Pedi and Shona, between white and black. He is our peace.

The Lord shall give strength to his people
The Lord shall bless his people with peace.

So I preached on Sunday in Mamelodi. And so Father Daniel preached in Moscow. But he didn’t merely preach it, he lived it, and died for it.

Hard Work Ahead

I have stated before that there is cause for optimism in evangelicalism.  There are some solid movements, positive shifts, and creative/bold people.  Broadly speaking, I have concern for evangelical populism and am more encouraged by Reformed evangelicalism (see blog series for why).

Our world is becoming more complex and it is changing faster.  We need to be proactive in thinking about these shifts, ready to address them with the Gospel, rather than writing books about the shifts 10-20 years after they have happened.  Our thinking about our world/culture(s)/context need to be thoughtful and not intellectually sloppy.  Are we positioning ourselves to have influence in all areas of America – transcending class, ethnicity, politics, geography, technology, and social media?  Are we seeking balance in our theology, philosophy of ministry, and relationships?

I have hope for the future.  However, I think we have a lot of hard work ahead of us.

Up next, there will be a series on book recommendations and online resources.