I’ve recently been listening to some lectures by Fr Thomas Hopko (Dean Emeritus of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary) that deal with both the Apocalypse and the Divine Liturgy. I highly recommend his work, especially for those who have come from an evangelical or Baptist background, as he can make things quite simple for us.
A passing comment he made in one of his lectures was in regards to the fact that a lot of what passes for Orthodox “spirituality” today is seemingly little more than repackaged Zen Buddhism. Those who enter into Orthodoxy from a heavily “Western” background are prone to this error, especially, as they have likely never had any experiences of God that were anything but rationalistic, or entirely of the mind.
For those with a proneness to wandering and being “tossed to and fro” (Ephesians), as Saint Paul intimates, the temptation is certainly very real and dangerous. There are, unfortunately, no shortage of misleading and unhelpful people out there (especially in the Internet age) who would dare to combine other forms of atheistic/agnostic meditation with the hesychastic prayer found within the one, true Church. There are even many books out there that are shared among Orthodox people (e.g. The Mountain of Silence) that can lead Christians to believe that meditation and/or individualized “Spirituality” are the pinnacle of one’s Christian life, with little to no regard for other people, the Body of Christ and the importance of our life within the Church (and with other people). Indeed, it seems that those who are the most schismatic, unstable or “led astray” within the Church are those whose interests often align exclusively with that of their own self-interests, rather than the good of the Body (and their own family).
Let’s be honest — most converts to the Orthodox Faith that have arrived from an evangelical or Protestant background are faced with quite a challenge when it comes to the subject of Icons.
The High Priest of Israel entered into the holiest recesses of the Temple while wearing a breastplate (Hebrew חֹשֶׁן or “choshen“) adorned with precious stones and jewels, along with the mysterious Urim and Thummim. The scriptures record:
In the Second Temple period, the priests were the most prominent and educated of all Jewish people, with the High Priest being the de-facto political/social leader of the Jewish governance (no matter who they were being ruled by at the time). This leadership role of the High Priest is seen rather clearly in the Letter of Aristeas which outlines the commissioning and completion of the Greek translation of the Hebrew (old testament) scriptures, where Eleazar (the High Priest of that time) made the arrangements with Ptolemy Philadelphius’ representatives. We can also later see this in place during Roman rule, when Herod would appoint and/or replace the High Priest on a regular basis (this only makes sense if the High Priest held some sort of important “political” role for the Jews).
One of the most distinguished characteristics of the Orthodox Church is the nuanced (some might say “eastern” or “Greek”) understanding of “symbol” that is transcendant and goes beyond mere externals or the recesses of one’s brain. The concept of “symbol” for most people in the west today is — in the words of the reposed Fr Alexander Schmemann: “an illustration whose purpose can be termed pedagogic or educational.” In other words, a symbol merely points to or teaches about an idea or concept, but offers no real or transcendant connection to anything beyond itself. In Orthodoxy, however, a symbol is a gateway or “window” to something beyond itself; it is something that truly connects the person with the thing signified.
