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Book Review: The Orthodox Way

by Hieromonk Patapios

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IN A PREVIOUS ISSUE of Orthodox Tradition (Vol. = XVI, No.=20 1 [1999]), we reviewed=20 the new edition of The=20 Orthodox Church, by Timothy Ware, now Bishop = Kallistos of=20 Diokleia (under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of=20 Constantinople in Great Britain), a countryman of mine and = an Oxford=20 scholar and Orthodox clergyman of deserved renown. We now = feel it=20 necessary to say something about another book by His Grace = which has=20 become, in many ways, a companion volume to the = aforementioned book;=20 viz., The Orthodox Way (Crestwood, NY: St. = Vladimirs Press,=20 1985), written while he was still an Archimandrite. Like its = predecessor, it is a veritable curates egg.* Although we = gladly=20 admit that there is much of value in The Orthodox = Way, it=20 is nonetheless marred by some serious dogmatic errors.  = In our=20 review of The Orthodox Church, we noted that "as = the=20 standard introduction to Orthodoxy, it is to be found in = almost any=20 academic or public library and certainly in any decent = bookstore."=20 The same is certainly true of The Orthodox Way, = even though=20 it has been reprinted far less often than the earlier=20 work.  =20

Now, let me say that neither of these books is simply = an=20 item that one can easily find in a bookstore or library. = Each of=20 them is frequently assigned as required reading for = introductory=20 courses on Eastern Orthodoxy in universities, colleges, and=20 seminaries, and not just in the English-speaking world. Some = years=20 ago, when he was a visiting professor at the University of = Uppsala,=20 Archbishop Chrysostomos was told by one of the senior = members of the=20 Theological Institute that only three English-language texts = had, at=20 that time, been officially endorsed by the faculty for use = in=20 courses on Eastern Orthodoxy: The Orthodox Church = and=20 The Orthodox Way, by Bishop Kallistos, and On = Prayer,=20 by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh. This same = professor=20 did not hesitate to inform His Eminence that The = Orthodox Way=20 was his personal favorite among these books. One would = think=20 that the excellent writings of Professor Constantine = Cavarnos (which=20 are uncompromisingly Orthodox in their content and many of = which=20 have appeared at least in Finnish translation), to cite but = one=20 example, might also have been selected as introductory = texts; but=20 evidently even back in the 1980s, they were either = downplayed or for=20 some reason deemed less useful. 

Drinking from the wrong wells

In his introduction to The Orthodox Way, Bishop=20 Kallistos makes some very astute observations about how = Orthodoxy=20 is, above all, a way of life and something that has to be=20 experienced if it is to be understood to any degree. He = admits that=20 very little is said in his book about the Church, the = communion of=20 Saints, the sacraments (as he persists in calling the = Mysteries), or=20 liturgical worship, and hints that he might subsequently = devote a=20 separate book to these issues. This is all well and good, = but how=20 can one possibly accurately portray the Orthodox Faith and = life=20 without at least some extended attention of to matters of=20 ecclesiology and worship? It is impossible for someone to be = Orthodox if he does not belong to the Orthodox Church or = partake of=20 Her Mysteries on a regular basis. Indeed, in one of his few = passing=20 comments on ecclesiology, His Grace acknowledges that any = traveller=20 on "the Way" (an ancient name for Christianity) must be a = member of=20 the Church and that "the Orthodox tradition is intensely = conscious=20 of the ecclesial character of all true Christianity" (p. = 143). He=20 should, then, have taken this opportunity to make it clear = that the=20 Church in question is the Orthodox Church and that true = Christianity=20 is nothing other than Orthodoxy. =20

The author of the Book of Proverbs has this sage advice = to offer:=20 "Drink waters out of thine own vessels, and out of thine own = springing wells. Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt = by=20 thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets. Let them be = only thine=20 own, and let no stranger partake with thee" (5:15-17). One = of the=20 attractive features of The Orthodox Way is the = selection of=20 quotations at the beginning and end of each chapter, most of = which=20 are taken from liturgical and Patristic texts. One of them, = an=20 excerpt from a letter written at Pascha by an Orthodox = Christian=20 imprisoned in a Soviet gulag for his faith, never fails to = move me.=20 Among the other Orthodox authors cited, we find the = following names:=20 Iulia de Beausobre, Nicholas Berdyaev, Archpriest Sergius = Bulgakov,=20 Olivier Clment, Archpriest Alexander Elchaninov, Paul = Evdokimov,=20 Mother Maria of Normandy, Mother Maria (Skobtsova) of Paris, = Vasilii=20 Rozanov, Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, and Father = Dumitru=20 Staniloae. All of these people were admittedly Orthodox in = terms of=20 their ecclesiastical allegiance, but some of them espoused = (or=20 espouse) ideas at odds, to one degree or another, with the = spirit of=20 Orthodoxy. =20

Let us see just how un-Orthodox some of these individuals = are in=20 their thinking. Olivier Clment has stated, among other = things, that=20 the Orthodox Church should affirm the "orthodoxy" not only = of the=20 first millennium of Latin Christianity, when it was still in = communion with the Eastern Churches, but also of the second=20 millennium, with all of its heresies and deviations from the = pristine standard of Holy Orthodoxy. =20

As is well known, Father Sergius Bulgakov was condemned = by both=20 the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church = Abroad for=20 his heretical "Sophiology." He was also condemned in print = by St.=20 John of Shanghai and San Francisco and the Blessed = Archbishop=20 Seraphim (Sobolev) of Bogucharsk, the spiritual Father of = the Old=20 Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria. An avid ecumenist, who = advocated "intercommunion" with the Anglican members of the=20 Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius, Father Bulgakov = went so far=20 as to compose an "ecumenical" communion prayer for the = Fellowships=20 annual conferences. Here is an extract from it:

O Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, thou didst = promise to=20 abide with us always. Thou dost call all Christians to = draw near=20 and partake of thy Body and Blood. But our sin has divided = us and=20 we have no power to partake of thy holy eucharist = together. We=20 confess this our sin and we pray thee, forgive us and help = us to=20 serve the ways of reconciliation according to thy will. = (See=20 Militza Zernov, "Unity and Disunity Today," Sobornost, = Vol. VIII, No. 1 [1986], pp. = 2327.) 

At=20 the annual conference of the Fellowship in 1987, which I = myself=20 attended, this curious prayer=E2=80=94which rightly places = the=20 responsibility for divisions in Christianity on human sin, = but which=20 likewise implies that dogmatic differences are of little = moment=E2=80=94was=20 read aloud during the Divine Liturgy, following the Slavic = practice,=20 in place of the customary "I believe, O Lord, and I=20 confess..."! =20

With regard to Father Sergiuss speculations on Sophia = (Wisdom),=20 Archimandrite Luke of Jordanville recently pointed out that = there=20 are some significant similarities between Sophiology and New = Age=20 philosophy. The heretical notion that Sophia, the Wisdom of = God, is=20 a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity and a female = entity in=20 effect "divides the simple essence of God into two = principles=E2=80=94the=20 male and the female" ("New Age=20 Philosophy, Orthodox Thought, and Marriage," = Orthodox Life,=20 Vol. XLVII, No. 3 [1997], p. 34). In its 1935 Ukaz=20 condemning Bulgakovs errors, the Moscow Patriarchate = notes that=20 it is not a long step from this dualistic conception of God = to a=20 "deification of sex" as it was understood by "some = of our=20 secular writers such as V.V. Rozanov" (ibid. = [emphasis=20 ours]). Father Luke clarifies this intimation when he = explains that,=20 "If in God there is male and female and if in His image in = man there=20 is also male and female, one may conclude that if male and = female=20 unite in carnal relations they are reflecting the Divine"=20 (ibid., p. 35). Rozanov, incidentally, was not only = a=20 precursor of Sophiology and the "sexualization" of Orthodox=20 theology, but was also a virulent anti-Semite who hated the = Old=20 Testament and who, throughout his life, had a lovehate = relationship=20 with the Orthodox Church. =20

As for the other writers cited in Bishop Kallistos = bibliography,=20 with the exception of Father Staniloae, they were all = associated, to=20 a greater or lesser degree, with the liberal intelligentsia = of the=20 "Paris=20 School," an association which adversely affects their=20 presentation of Orthodoxy. Not wishing in any way to condemn = them=20 for their personal failings, we are, nonetheless, bound to = observe=20 that both Mother Maria of Paris and Iulia de Beausobre were = somewhat=20 eccentric in their understanding of Orthodoxy. To be sure, = Mother=20 Maria was selfless in her devotion to serving the destitute = of Paris=20 and died an heroic death in the Nazi concentration camp at=20 Ravensbruck. However, by the admission of her own spiritual = Father,=20 Metropolitan Evlogy, she knew next to nothing about=20 monasticism=E2=80=94indeed, she called herself a "secular = monastic"=E2=80=94, and in=20 one review of Father Sergei Hackels biography of her, she is = characterized as a "rather scruffy, cigarette-smoking = poet-nun" (see=20 Sobornost, Vol. III, No. 2 [1981], p. 246). =20

De Beausobre was married to Sir Lewis Namier, an English=20 historian of Jewish descent who became an Anglican but who = never=20 converted to Orthodoxy. This latter marital irregularity = aside, de=20 Beausobre certainly held some rather bizarre opinions, as we = can see=20 from one of the passages quoted by Bishop Kallistos at the = end of=20 the third chapter of his book. In this passage, she argues = that,=20 since good and evil are inextricably bound up together on = earth,=20 "[e]vil must not be shunned, but first participated in and=20 understood through participation, and then through = understanding=20 redeemed and transfigured" (p. 86). Has any Father of the = Church=20 ever taught such a thing? Father Staniloae, some of his fine = articles on Trinitarian theology notwithstanding, was also = actively=20 involved in the ecumenical movement and, towards the end of = his=20 life, openly advocated, in the official journal of the = Romanian=20 Patriarchate, intercommunion between Orthodox and the = heterodox. And=20 Berdyaev, according to one source, expounded "a spiritual=20 Christianity which has no need of doctrinal definitions," = being=20 indebted for some of his ideas to the likes of Bhme and = Nietzsche=20 (Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, ed. = Nicholas=20 Lossky, Jos Miguez Bonino, John S. Pobee, Tom F. Stransky, = Geoffrey=20 Wainwright, and Pauline Webb [Geneva: WCC Publications, = 1991], p.=20 93). The only authors in this list who could be considered = genuinely=20 Orthodox are Fathers Elchaninov and Schmemann, and even they = had=20 their shortcomings (regarding the latter, for example, see a = brilliant article by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky, "The=20 Liturgical Theology of Father A. Schmemann," The = Orthodox=20 Word, Vol. VI, No. 6 [NovemberDecember 1970]). =20

Worse than all of this, however, and truly astonishing, = is the=20 fact that among the ostensibly Orthodox authors whom he = cites in his=20 book, His Grace includes Origen and Synesios of Cyrene. = Origen was=20 condemned as a heretic by the Fifth =C5=92cumenical Synod = for teaching=20 the Platonic doctrine of the preexistence of souls and the = doctrine=20 of universal salvation, according to which the demons, and = even=20 Satan himself, will be purified at the end of the world. The = Holy=20 Synod had this to say in its First Anathema against Origen: = "If=20 anyone asserts the fabulous preexistence of souls, and shall = assert=20 the monstrous restoration [apokatastasis] which = follows=20 from it: let him be anathema" (A Select Library of the = Nicene=20 and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. XIV [Grand = Rapids,=20 MI: Eerdmans, 1978], p. 318). Similarly, St. John of = Damascus=20 affirms that "the body and the soul were formed at the same = time=E2=80=94not=20 one before and the other afterwards, as the ravings of = Origen=20 would have it" ("Exact Exposition of the Orthodox = Faith,"=20 II.12, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, col. 921A = [emphasis=20 ours]). Origen should not be cited as an Orthodox = Father. =20

As for Synesios, although Consecrated Bishop of = Pentapolis by=20 Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria, he was more a Platonist = than a=20 Christian. Indeed, he only agreed to be Consecrated on two=20 conditions: "...that he should be permitted to continue his=20 marriage, and should not be forced to abandon his = philosophical=20 opinions regarding the preexistence of the soul, the = eternity of=20 creation and the allegorical concept of the resurrection of = the=20 flesh" (Johannes Quasten, Patrology, Vol. III = [Westminster,=20 MD: Christian Classics, 1992], p. 107). In the passage from = Synesios=20 that His Grace cites, we read, among other things, that the = Father=20 is the power of the Son and that the Holy Spirit is the bond = between=20 the Father and the Son; Synesios also asks Christ to send = the Father=20 to his soul. According to Orthodox teaching, it is the Son = Who is=20 the power of the Father: "Christ the Power of God, and the = Wisdom of=20 God" (I Corinthians 1:24). Moreover, the idea that the = Spirit=20 constitutes some kind of bond between the other two Persons = of the=20 Trinity, while perhaps susceptible of an Orthodox = interpretation, is=20 rather peripheral to the mainstream of Patristic Triadology. = Its=20 incautious application is also one of the roots of the=20 Filioque heresy. Finally, as St. John the = Theologian tells=20 us, it is the Father Who sends the Son, not vice-versa: "He = that=20 honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father Which hath = sent Him"=20 (St. John 5:23); "For I came down from Heaven, not to do = Mine own=20 will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (St. John = 6:38). =20

In order to avoid causing confusion, Bishop Kallistos = would=20 surely have done better to organize his bibliography = differently and=20 to have exercised greater caution in choosing his Patristic = and=20 theological sources. He could have divided it into ancient = and=20 modern authors, without prejudging whether such figures as = Origen=20 and Synesios are "Greek Fathers," as he characterizes them. = While=20 none of the authors cited in the "Non-Orthodox" section is = Orthodox,=20 not a few of those whom he classifies as "Orthodox" were in = fact, as=20 I have said, very dubious in their Orthodoxy, if not = outright=20 heretics. Origen and Synesios could perfectly well have been = called=20 "ecclesiastical writers," for that is precisely what they = were; they=20 were definitely not "Fathers." =20

Let us add, so as to dispel any appearance of bigotry = towards=20 things Western, that His Grace is not to be faulted in = principle for=20 quoting non-Orthodox sources, since these are in some cases=20 appropriate for expressing a particular point, and in such a = way as=20 to make Orthodoxy more accessible to those raised in a = Western=20 milieu. George Bernard Shaw, William Blake, and T.S. Eliot, = for=20 example, are all familiar authors, whose words serve to = convey some=20 fairly difficult ideas in a succinct and appealing fashion. = In=20 Chapter Three, however, he seems to cite non-Orthodox = sources rather=20 more frequently, and not always to the point. Again, we are = not=20 opposed in principle to drawing upon writers outside the = Orthodox=20 tradition, since there are undoubtedly vestiges of the truth = not=20 only in other Christian confessions, but even in = non-Christian=20 religions. If we can allow, as the Church has always done, = that=20 pagan philosophers like Plato and Aristotle had some = perception,=20 albeit shadowy, of the eternal verities, then we can = certainly=20 extend this to thinkers outside our present-day circles. But = once=20 more, let us emphasize that His Grace has undertaken to = write a book=20 on the Orthodox, as opposed to the Christian or the = Religious, Way, and not an essay in comparative = religion.=20 Interestingly enough, in a review of this book in = Sobornost,=20 Sister Benedicta Ward, in fact, wrote that she was = "...tempted=20 to suggest that the title of the book might have been = The=20 Christian Way," and this precisely because His Grace = drew upon=20 "the riches of the West" and used "the insight of other = traditions,"=20 thereby giving The Orthodox Way "its special claim = to be a=20 book of spiritual authority and perception" (Vol. II, No. 1 = [1980],=20 p. 207). Special claims aside, Wards comments are = compelling. =20

Furthermore, when Bishop Kallistos cites the Talmud = to=20 the effect that the glory of God is man, and then goes on to = quote=20 the famous statement of St. Irenus of Lyons that "the glory = of God=20 is a living man," can he be sure that, despite their = external=20 similarity, the same intention lies behind both of these = remarks=20 (one clearly Christocentric and the other obviously not), or = that=20 they really mean the same thing? If he cannot be sure, then = what is=20 the relevance of the quotation from the Talmud? In = a=20 meditation for March 2 in his Prologue from Ochrid, = the=20 Blessed Bishop Nikolai of Zica asserts that there is no = greater=20 folly than for someone who calls himself a Christian "to go = and=20 glean miserable proofs of God and of eternal life from other = faiths=20 and philosophies," for "he who does not get gold from a rich = man is=20 not likely to have it from a poor one" (Birmingham: Lazarica = Press,=20 1985; Part I, p. 239). Christianity, as Bishop Nikolai = points out,=20 is not a religion, but rather "Revelation, Gods Revelation"=20 (ibid.). Absolutely inexcusable, however, is the = citation=20 by His Grace, in Chapter Six (p. 152), from the Gospel = of Truth=20 on the subject of nepsis (sobriety or = wakefulness):=20 the "neptic" man is "like one who awakens from drunkenness,=20 returning to himself.... He knows where he has come from and = where=20 he is going." And what is this "Gospel of Truth"? He = neglects to=20 inform his readers that it is a Gnostic text; indeed, "a = meditation=20 on the Gnostic gospel of salvation" (Encyclopedia of = Early=20 Christianity [New York: Garland, 1990], p. 373), = probably the=20 work of Valentinus (ibid., p. 923). Since he makes = no=20 mention of it at all in the bibliography, we are inclined to = wonder=20 whether he simply forgot that he had quoted from this work = in the=20 body of the text or deliberately refrained from indicating = its=20 heretical provenance. In either case, this should not appear = under=20 the aegis of Orthodox Patristic wisdom. =20

One is amazed by the complete absence in The Orthodox = Way=20 of references to, or quotations from, such beacons of = Orthodoxy=20 as St.=20 Nicodemos the Hagiorite, St. Cosmas Aitolos, St. = Nectarios of=20 Aegina, the Blessed=20 Justin (Popovich) of Chelije, St. John of = Shanghai and=20 San Francisco, the Bless= ed=20 Elder Philotheos (Zervakos) of Paros, Elder Hieronymos = of=20 Aegina, or Father=20 Seraphim (Rose) of Platina, to name but a few of the = more=20 surprising omissions. It is particularly surprising that His = Grace=20 does not mention St. John of San Francisco. After all, when = he was a=20 layman in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, he knew him=20 personally, and he is certainly aware of St. Johns sanctity = (see his=20 article, "The Spiritual Father in Orthodox Christianity," in = J.=20 Garvey (ed.), Modern Spirituality: An Anthology=20 [Springfield, IL: Templegate Publishers, 1985], p. 58). = However,=20 perhaps we should not be so surprised, given that all of = these=20 Saints were notable for their staunch opposition to = ecumenism and=20 modernism in Church life, both deviations to which the=20 ecclesiastical jurisdiction to which His Grace belongs has=20 fallen=E2=80=94and this with a loud crash. =20

The fundamental flaw in what Bishop Kallistos has = undertaken by=20 way of this book is that he does not appear content with = what the=20 Holy Fathers have handed down to us. In The Orthodox = Church=20 he urges us to "re-experience the meaning of Tradition = in a=20 manner that is exploratory, courageous, and full of = imaginative=20 creativity" (2nd ed. [1993], p. 198). He has obviously taken = this=20 advice to heart in The Orthodox Way, as we shall=20 subsequently see. But contrast this attitude to the profound = humility of the approach taken by the Blessed Archbishop = Theophan of=20 Poltava (1940), who had this to say, in a sermon that he = delivered=20 on the Feast of Pentecost, about how one should look upon = Tradition=20 and the Churchs teachings:

The teaching of the Holy Trinity is the pinnacle of = Christian=20 theology. Therefore I do not presume to set forth this = teaching in=20 my own words, but I set it forth in the words of the holy = and=20 Godbearing theologians and great Fathers of the Church: = Athanasius=20 the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and Basil the Great. = Mine are=20 only the lips, but theirs the words and thoughts. They = present the=20 Divine meal, and I am only the servant of their Divine = banquet.=20 (Cited by Hieromonk Seraphim [Rose] in The Holy = Fathers: Sure=20 Guide to True Christianity [Etna, CA: West Coast = Orthodox=20 Supply, 1983], p. 16.)

Faith and doubt

The first chapter of The Orthodox Way, "God as = Mystery,"=20 is very good on the whole. His Grace gives due emphasis to = the=20 apophatic way of theologizing, and explains very clearly the = Essence-Energies distinction, without apologizing for it and = without=20 trying to find Western parallels for it. What he says about = faith=20 and doubt is not erroneous per se, but it does call = for=20 some clarifications. Quite rightly, he argues that to = believe in God=20 is to believe in a Person, since "God is not the conclusion = to a=20 process of reasoning, the solution to a mathematical = problem" (p.=20 19). Just as there is a mysterious polarity between darkness = and=20 light in our knowledge of God, so there is a polarity = between faith=20 and doubt. Even if we have a childlike faith, we are all = open to=20 being assailed in various circumstances of life by doubts = about=20 those very teachings that we believe we have already = accepted with=20 certainty. Doubt is not, in and of itself, a sin. As Bishop=20 Kallistos points out, it can be a creative force, if it = leads us to=20 a deeper faith. There are other kinds of positive doubt, = too. One=20 may=E2=80=94indeed should=E2=80=94have doubts about his own = worthiness, and one may=20 even doubt the mystery of the Incarnation as something = incredible.=20 Even the Theotokos and St. Joseph the Betrothed = expressed=20 feelings of doubt, the former about the possibility of a = seedless=20 conception and the latter about the cause of her pregnancy, = as we=20 read in the Akathistos to the Theotokos. = Such=20 doubt, however, is perhaps more akin to wonder than to = disbelief.=20

Moreover, in both of the cases just cited, the doubts of = the=20 Mother of God and St. Joseph were resolved; and this is a = point on=20 which His Grace is not sufficiently clear in his discussion = of faith=20 and doubt. He also fails to note that doubt, while sometimes = yielding positive results, can also quite often be = demonic=20 in origin and nature. Let us recall, for example, that in = the Icon=20 of the Nativity of Christ, the Devil is portrayed as an old = shepherd=20 who sows doubt and confusion in the mind of St. Joseph as he = ponders=20 on the meaning of the recent events in his life. The = classic=20 case of doubt in the New Testament is, of course, that = of the=20 Holy Apostle Thomas, who is commonly=E2=80=94though = inaccurately=E2=80=94known as=20 "Doubting Thomas." In a homily on the relevant passage of = St. Johns=20 Gospel, St. John Chrysostomos interprets Christs injunction = to St.=20 Thomas, "and be not faithless, but believing" (St. John = 20:27), as a=20 "sharp rebuke." He goes on to explain that the Apostles = doubt=20 "proceeded from unbelief," adding that this "...was before = he had=20 received the Spirit; after that, it was no longer so, but, = for the=20 future, they [i.e., the Apostles] were perfected" ("On the = Gospel=20 according to St. John," Homily 87.1, Patrologia = Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol.=20 LIX, col. 473). The Apostles were perfected at Pentecost, = after=20 which they went forth into all the earth to preach the Good = News of=20 Christ. Certain instances of doubt, then, are clearly worthy = of=20 chastisement and represent the unrestored man. Indeed, there = is not=20 so much as a hint in the life of St. Thomas that he ever=20 subsequently experienced the kind of doubt recorded in the = Fourth=20 Gospel. And so it is with us who have received Holy Baptism. = Prior=20 to our illumination, we may have doubts about this or that = aspect of=20 the Faith. But once we have been Baptized, we must recognize = that=20 whatever uncertainties may come our way, they are most = likely=20 attempts by the Evil One to divert us from the "good part" = that we=20 have chosen. If we have doubts, we must bring these before = our=20 spiritual Father, seeking his aid in combatting them. Once = we have=20 put our hands to the plow, we must not allow ourselves to = look back=20 (St. Luke 9:62). =20

Let us reiterate: we are not condemning all doubt as = sinful, but=20 simply observing that doubt can have evil origins, too, and = can=20 often be ruinous to ones faith, if it is not checked and=20 scrutinized. Overlooking the negative side of doubt, as well = as the=20 spiritual turmoil to which it gives rise, Bishop Kallistos = ends his=20 brief section on doubt by quoting two heterodox writers, one = an=20 Anglican and the other a Roman Catholic=E2=80=94namely, = Bishop John Robinson=20 and Father=20 Thomas Merton. Robinson, the author of a once-notorious = book,=20 Honest to God (and many others like it), in which = he=20 challenged many aspects of traditional Christian doctrine = and=20 ethics, is scarcely a reliable guide to any area of = theology, and=20 certainly does not belong in a book entitled The = Orthodox Way.=20 For his part, Father Merton was a deeply troubled man = who came=20 to entertain many serious doubts about his own monastic = vocation and=20 who died in circumstances that are still as highly = mysterious as=20 they were tragic. He, likewise, is not the kind of source = that=20 Bishop Kallistos should be citing in a book about Orthodox=20 Christianity. He might better have handled the issue of = faith and=20 doubt with reference to the Patristic witness. This would = have been=20 a great deal more edifying than the half-baked ideas of = Robinson and=20 Merton. And it would have been a course less dangerous and=20 misleading than the one which His Grace took. 

A kinder, gentler Devil?

Chapter Two, "God as Trinity," and Chapter Three, "God as = Creator," are among the best parts of The Orthodox = Way. We=20 are thankful to report that there is very little in them = that is=20 open to question. Bishop Kallistos gives a lucid = presentation of the=20 doctrine of the Trinity, unequivocally rejecting the Latin = heresy of=20 the Filioque, something which, unfortunately, he = singularly=20 fails to do, as I have pointed out, in the new edition of = The=20 Orthodox Church. He also makes no apologies for the = masculine=20 language used by the Church to characterize the = Hypostases=20 of the Trinity, arguing cogently that such language has = been=20 revealed to us both in Scripture and Tradition, and that if = we were=20 to alter the opening clause of the Lords Prayer, "Our = Father, Which=20 art in the Heavens," to "Our Mother, Which art in the = Heavens," we=20 would be "replacing Christianity with a new kind of = religion." "A=20 Mother Goddess," he continues, "is not the Lord of the = Christian=20 Church" (p. 43). Except for the curious citation from = Synesios of=20 Cyrene, which we have already mentioned, he relies almost = entirely=20 on the Greek Fathers for his exposition of Trinitarian = theology. So=20 far, so good. =20

From what tainted well, however, did His Grace draw the = idea that=20 the Devil=E2=80=94the very author of evil and father of = lies=E2=80=94is perhaps "not=20 as black as he is usually painted" (p. 74)? Having stated, = quite=20 correctly, that according to Orthodox teaching there was a = twofold=20 fall, first of the Angels and subsequently of mankind, he = postulates=20 that Satan=E2=80=94and, by implication, his minions, the = demons=E2=80=94has "a=20 direct relationship with God, of which we know nothing at = all and=20 about which it is not wise for us to speculate" = (ibid.). It=20 would be far wiser for us not even to mention such a curious = and=20 bizarre idea, especially when we have no grounds for holding = it in=20 the first place. If we know nothing about such a = relationship, how=20 do we know that it exists at all? Moreover, where, in any = recognized=20 and right-believing Patristic source, can one find any = support for=20 such troubling and frightful speculation? =20

Bishop Kallistos does cite the opening chapters of the = Book of=20 Job as evidence of this "relationship" between God and = Satan,=20 presumably because the Devil is portrayed as standing = together with=20 the Angels in the presence of God. In the extant fragments = of his=20 commentary on Job, however, St. John Chrysostomos explains = that the=20 Devil is in no way on a par with the Angels, in the first = two=20 chapters of this book. He is simply a servant of God, who = answers to=20 God and who is able to tempt mankind only to the extent that = God=20 allows him. His relationship is not special, but one of = subservience=20 and one clearly inferior to that of the Angels. Unlike the = Angels,=20 he does not dwell in Heaven and certainly does not stand = beside the=20 Throne of Gods majesty. Indeed, St. John observes that = Heaven is=20 inaccessible (abaton) to Satan and that, after his = fall=20 from God, he was condemned to a perpetual and humiliating = nomadic=20 existence (see Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. LXIV, = cols.=20 521-525). 

A suffering God?

At the end of the third chapter of his book, Bishop = Kallistos=20 ventures once again into the realm of speculation, and in = such a=20 way, sadly, as to invite serious misgivings about the extent = to=20 which he is willing to waver from the established witness of = the=20 Church. One must regret lapses in fidelity even in the face = of a=20 contemporary preoccupation with creativity. He asks whether = our sin=20 causes sorrow "to the heart of God" and whether He suffers = when we=20 suffer. The Fathers, he goes on, in their desire to = safeguard the=20 Divine transcendence, insisted that God is impassible, that = is, that=20 He is not subject to change or emotion. As God-Man, Christ = also, of=20 course, His Grace avers, suffers=E2=80=94but in His humanity = and not in His=20 Divinity. He then comments: "Without denying the Patristic = teaching,=20 should we not also say something more than this?" (p. 82). = The=20 second clause in this sentence is alarming, to say the = least. Why=20 should we try to say more than the Holy Fathers? Is this a=20 traditional Orthodox pursuit? Is it prudent? Or is it a = formula for=20 deviation from the Royal Path of Patristic truth, believing=20 ourselves to exceed the Patristic consensus in wisdom? From = what=20 sorts of wells are we to imbibe this "something more"? In = support of=20 the "something more" that he has to say about Gods suffering = for=20 man, Bishop Kallistos quotes the following statement from = The=20 Book of the Poor in Spirit, a German mystical treatise = from the=20 fourteenth century: "Love makes others sufferings its own." = He=20 reasons that if this is true of human love=E2=80=94as, = indeed, it is=E2=80=94, then=20 it must be even more true of Gods love, such that our misery = "causes=20 grief to God" and the "tears of God are joined to those of = man"=20 (ibid.). =20

His Grace admits that we should be cautious about = ascribing human=20 feelings to God "in a crude or unqualified way." But in = saying that=20 God sheds tears or experiences grief over our unhappiness, = he is=20 surely guilty of gross anthropomorphism and=E2=80=94worse = still=E2=80=94of confusing=20 What is Uncreated with what is created. As St. Gregory = Palamas so=20 succinctly observes, "Every created nature is far removed = from and=20 completely foreign to the Divine nature. For if God is = nature, other=20 things are not nature, just as He is not a being if all = other things=20 are beings. And if He is a being, then all other things are = not=20 beings" ("Topics of Natural and Theological Science and on = the Moral=20 and Ascetic Life: One Hundred and Fifty Texts," 78, in = The=20 Philokalia, Vol. IV, trans. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip = Sherrard, and=20 Kallistos Ware [London: Faber and Faber, 1995], p. 382). The = Fathers, beyond whose reliable testimony Bishop Kallistos = desires to=20 go, are unambiguous in affirming that God is not subject to = passion=20 or suffering. Here are just a few representative = quotations: =20

(1) "We...have now, through Jesus Christ, learned to = despise [the=20 gods of Greek mythology], though we be threatened with death = for it,=20 and have dedicated ourselves to the unbegotten and = impassible God"=20 (St. Justin Martyr, "First Apology," 25.2, The = AnteNicene=20 Fathers, Vol. I [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978], p. = 171).=20

(2) "According to Scripture God sleeps and is awake, is = angry,=20 walks, has the Cherubim for His Throne. And yet when did He = become=20 liable to passion, and have you ever heard that God has a = body? This=20 then is, though not really fact, a figure of speech. For we = have=20 given names according to our own comprehension from our own=20 attributes to those of God" (St. Gregory the Theologian, = "Fifth=20 Theological Oration," 31.22, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, = Vol. XXXVI,=20 col. 157B).=20

(3) "God also is said to be jealous, not that anyone = should=20 suppose passion (for the Godhead is impassible [apathes = to=20 Theion]), but that all may know that He does all things = from no=20 other regard than their sakes over whom He is jealous; not = that He=20 Himself may gain anything, but that He may save them" (St. = John=20 Chrysostomos, "Homilies on II Corinthians," 23.1, = Patrologia=20 Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. LXI, col. 553). =20

(4) "It is of Him Who was made flesh that he here speaks, = and it=20 was said for the full assurance of the hearers, and on = account of=20 their weakness. That is (he would say), He went through the = very=20 experience of the things which we have suffered; now He is = not=20 ignorant of our sufferings; not only does He know them as = God, but=20 as man, also, He has known them, by the trial wherewith He = was=20 tried; He suffered much, He knows how to sympathize. And yet = God is=20 incapable of suffering [apathes]: but he describes = here=20 what belongs to the Incarnation, as if he had said, Even the = very=20 flesh of Christ suffered many terrible things. He knows what = tribulation is; He knows what temptation is, not less than = we who=20 have suffered, for He Himself also has suffered" (St. John=20 Chrysostomos, "Homilies on Hebrews," 5.2, Patrologia = Gr=C3=A6ca,=20 Vol. LXIII, col. 48; commenting on the verse: "For in = that he=20 himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor = them that=20 are tempted"[Hebrews 2:18]). =20

(5) "For [God] does not simply provide for us, but He = does so by=20 loving us, and by loving us exceedingly, with a love that is = infinite, a love that is passionless [apathe], but = most=20 fervent and intense" (St. John Chrysostomos, "Address To = Those Who=20 Have Been Scandalized," 6, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, = Vol. LII, col.=20 488). =20

(6) "Since God is good, He is the Author of all good and = is not=20 subject to malice or to any passion. For malice is far = removed from=20 the Divine Nature, which is the impassible and only good" = (St. John=20 of Damascus, "Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith," I.1,=20 Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, col. 792A; cf. = ibid.,=20 I.8, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, col. = 808C). =20

To the foregoing quotations we may add a splendid passage = from=20 the treatise On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous = Life=20 by St. Anthony the Great, in which he affirms that God = is=20 impassible and explains how, given this impassibility, it is = possible to speak of God as being angry with sinners without = attributing passion to Him: God does not literally become = angry with=20 us, "but it is our own sins that prevent God from shining = within us=20 and expose us to demons who torture us" (150, in = Philokalia,=20 Vol. I [Athens: Astir, 1974], p. 24). (This text, = incidentally,=20 was relegated to an appendix in the now standard English = version of=20 the Philokalia=E2=80=94of which Bishop Kallistos is = one of the=20 primary translators=E2=80=94, on the curious assumption that = it is not the=20 work of St. Anthony, nor even of a Christian author, but = rather a=20 cento of philosophical sayings drawn largely from the Stoic=20 tradition.) =20

In all of these citations, we see that the attribution of = human=20 emotions to God, whether of a negative kind or borne of = sympathy for=20 human suffering, is foreign to Orthodox theology. The = impassive=20 nature of the Godhead does not suggest insensitivity, of = course, but=20 moves us away from imagining that mere human emotions or=20 sentimentality are adequate to grasp or express the = expansive,=20 transcendent aspects of the Godhead, including Divine Love. = We must=20 not trifle with Patristic wisdom in the service of a desire = to=20 "humanize" God. 

Did the Logos assume fallen human nature? =

Chapters Five and Six, in which the author deals with God = as=20 Spirit and God as prayer, are both generally fine. It is in = the=20 fourth chapter, however, that he commits several frightful=20 theological blunders and, once again, departs from the = exactitude of=20 Patristic thinking. One must question the prudence of = presenting an=20 impeccably Orthodox account of the Holy Trinity, while in = this=20 chapter departing significantly from a correct exposition of = Orthodox Christology. In this regard, His Grace indeed = succumbs to=20 ideas and speculation that many Orthodox would find as = innovative as=20 those which eventually led the Monophysites = and Nestorians from orthodoxy to wrong belief. =20

In a section entitled "Salvation as Sharing," Bishop = Kallistos=20 begins his discourse by defining salvation in terms of = sharing,=20 solidarity, and identification; paraphrasing the classic = dictum=20 of St. Athanasios, he states that Christ "became what = we are,=20 so as to make us what he is" (p. 97). He interprets = salvation as=20 participation in Gods glory, that is, as deification. Up to = this=20 point, there is absolutely nothing objectionable in what he = says.=20 Next, he observes, again quite correctly, that the Logos = had to assume not only human flesh, but also a = human=20 soul, if precisely because Adams sin was spiritual rather = than=20 physical in origin. Citing St. Gregory the Theologians = cardinal=20 soteriological principle, that what is unassumed is unhealed = (Epistle 101, "To Cledonios," Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, = Vol.=20 XXXVII, col. 181C), he argues that Christ had to assume our = humanity=20 in its entirety in order to heal us. "If we believe that = Christ has=20 brought us a total salvation, then it follows that = he has=20 assumed everything" (p. 99 [emphasis in the = text]). =20

It is here that problems start to emerge. Does = "everything"=20 include sin? His Grace seems to reject such an idea, for he = quotes a=20 crucial verse from the Epistle to the Hebrews: "For we have = not an=20 high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our=20 infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, = yet=20 without sin" (4:15). Nonetheless, immediately before this, = he=20 asserts that Christ "assumed not just unfallen, but = fallen human nature" (ibid. [emphasis in = the=20 text]). Now, does he mean by this that Christ assumed = not only=20 unfallen, but also fallen human = nature=E2=80=94which sounds=20 like a contradiction in terms=E2=80=94, or that He assumed = not unfallen,=20 but rather fallen human nature? Given the = ensuing=20 argument, he seems to want to have it both ways. =20

Needless to say, we are dealing with an extremely complex = and=20 delicate theological issue, on which all of the major = Fathers wrote=20 at great length and in great detail. It is both noticeable = and=20 disturbing that Bishop Kallistos does not cite any Patristic = evidence for his ideas. He gives us a clue that he is = heading into=20 uncharted territory when he says that "many have been = reluctant to=20 say...openly" (ibid.) that the Logos = assumed=20 fallen, rather than, or as well as, unfallen, human nature. = It is=20 not clear whom he means by "many," nor does he divulge the = identity=20 of the few who presumably have said this openly. =20

His Grace correctly points out the Christ was not Himself = sinful,=20 but goes on to maintain that "in his solidarity with fallen = man he=20 accepts to the full the consequences of Adams sin" = (ibid.).=20 Now by "consequences" he understands not only the physical = kind,=20 such as weariness, bodily pain, and, eventually, death, but = also the=20 moral variety, "the loneliness, the alienation, the inward = conflict"=20 (ibid., p. 100). But alienation from whom or from = what?=20 From God? In the next section, he goes so far as to say, on = the=20 basis of Christs words on the Cross, "My God, My God, why = hast Thou=20 forsaken Me?" (St. Matthew 27:46), that Jesus truly = experienced "the=20 spiritual death of separation from God" (ibid., p. = 106). As=20 we shall see, this is wholly at odds with Orthodox teaching, = and all=20 the more astounding for the fact that it comes from the pen = of an=20 Orthodox Hierarch and a renowned Patristic scholar. That our = Lord=20 experienced some degree of loneliness is undeniable. Perhaps = the=20 best example of this is the episode in the garden of = Gethsemane,=20 where He chided the three chief Apostles for their inability = to stay=20 awake: "And He cometh unto the Disciples, and findeth them = asleep,=20 and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one = hour?"=20 (St. Matthew 26:40). We can hardly begin to imagine what = Christ=20 underwent during those anxious moments, when He permitted = His human=20 will to give expression to its feelings of weakness in the = midst of=20 the unfolding drama of His Passion: "O My Father, if it be = possible,=20 let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but = as Thou=20 wilt" (St. Matthew 26:39). This kind of loneliness is not = only=20 perfectly understandable, but it is, more importantly, = innocent; it=20 is not sinful. There is another kind of loneliness, however, = which=20 is either sinful, or which at least has the potential to = become=20 sinful; and that is when someone who makes no effort to = interact=20 with other human beings indulges in self-pity over what he = perceives=20 as abandonment by his fellow men. Christ did not experience = this=20 kind of loneliness. He deliberately sought solitude = so that=20 He could devote Himself to prayer, away from the crowds that = habitually followed Him wherever He went. =20

Bishop Kallistos assertion that Christ experienced = "inward=20 conflict" is without any foundation in the New Testament. = Worse=20 still, it is something that we encounter in the blasphemous = novel by=20 Nikos Kazantzakis, The Last Temptation of Christ, = which=20 aroused such a furor in the late 1980s, when a film based on = the=20 novel was released to an international audience. Among the = scenes=20 that caused the greatest offense to traditional Christians, = Orthodox=20 or otherwise, were those in which Jesus was portrayed as = undergoing=20 sexual temptations and entertaining serious doubts about His = Messianic calling. Some of the same ideas were espoused by = the=20 heretic Theodore of Mopsuestia, whose name was frequently = raised in=20 theological circles in connection with the aforementioned = film.=20 According to Father Georges Florovsky, Theodore taught that = Christ=20 "struggled trying to overcome passion and even lust," in = which He=20 was "assisted by the Spirit with Its "moral influences." The = Spirit=20 "illuminated Him and strengthened His will in order to = destroy sin=20 in the flesh, to curb its lust with a light and noble = force." Only=20 in death did Christ attain "perfect purity and = unalterability of=20 thoughts." (See The Byzantine Fathers of the Fifth = Century=20 [Vaduz: Bchervertriebsanstalt, 1987], p. 208.) =20

It is strange that a theologian of Bishop Kallistos = stature=20 should not make any mention, in this regard, of the = perfectly=20 Orthodox view set forth by St. John of Damascus: that in = assuming=20 human nature, the Logos also freely assumed what = St. John=20 calls the "unblameworthy passions," such as "hunger, thirst, = weariness, labor, tears, decay, shrinking from death, fear, = agony=20 with the bloody sweat, succor at the hands of Angels because = of the=20 weakness of nature, and other such like passions which = belong by=20 nature to every man" ("Exact Exposition of the Orthodox = Faith"=20 III.20, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, col. = 1081AB). St. John=20 says nothing here about inner conflicts or alienation, let = alone=20 alienation from God. At the end of this chapter, the Saint = explains,=20 further, that these "innocent" or natural passions were=20 according to nature and above nature in = Christ:=20 according to nature, "when He permitted the flesh = to suffer=20 what was proper to it," but above nature "because = that=20 which was natural did not in the Lord assume command over = the will.=20 For no compulsion is contemplated in Him but all is = voluntary. For=20 it was with His will that He hungered and thirsted and = feared and=20 died" (ibid., Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, = col. 1084A).=20 This idea is also to be found in an epistle by St. Cyril of=20 Alexandria, in which he points out that Christ allowed = Himself to=20 experience hunger, weariness, sleep, and sorrow in order to = give=20 assurance of His humanity, just as He also performed = miracles,=20 raised the dead, and rebuked the winds and the sea in order = to=20 demonstrate His Divinity (Epistle 45, "To Bishop Succensus," = Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. LXXVII, col. = 236A). =20

A very difficult question is raised by this useful = distinction:=20 Is the assumption by our Lord of the unblameworthy passions=20 consistent with His assumption of unfallen human nature? To = be sure,=20 no such problem arises for those who believe, as Bishop = Kallistos=20 apparently also believes, that He assumed fallen = human=20 nature. These passions are clearly one of the physical = consequences=20 of Adams sin, and as such, they were unknown to our first = parents=20 prior to their expulsion from Paradise. Moreover, as His = Grace=20 argues, had Christ assumed pre-lapsarian human nature, "then = he=20 would not have been touched with the feeling of our=20 infirmities, nor would he have been tempted in = everything=20 exactly as we are. And in that case he would not be = our=20 Saviour" (The Orthodox Way, op. cit., p. = 100=20 [emphasis in the text]). =20

In our century, however, in keeping with the Patristic = witness,=20 at least two prominent Orthodox theologians have vehemently=20 maintained that Christ assumed our unfallen human = nature,=20 that of pre-lapsarian man. Father Florovsky, for example, = asserts=20 that "in the Incarnation the Word assumes the original human = nature,=20 innocent and free from original sin, without any stain." = "This," he=20 continues, "does not violate the fullness of nature, nor = does it=20 affect the Saviours likeness to us sinful people. For sin = does not=20 belong to human nature, but is a parasitic and abnormal = growth"=20 (Creation and Redemption [Belmont, MA: Nordland, = 1976], pp.=20 97-98). Further on in the same paragraph, he reiterates this = point:=20 "In the Incarnation the Word assumes the first-formed human = nature,=20 created in the image of God, and thereby the image of God is = again=20 reestablished in man" (ibid.). Vladimir Lossky, for = his=20 part, following St. Maximos the Confessor (Questions to=20 Thalassios, 21), states that our Lords humanity "had = the=20 immortal and incorruptible character of the nature of Adam = before he=20 sinned, but Christ submitted it voluntarily to the condition = of our=20 fallen nature" (The Mystical Theology of the Eastern = Church=20 [Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1976], p. = 142).=20 Like St. John of Damascus, Lossky emphasizes that Christ = voluntarily=20 experienced the infirmities of our post-lapsarian nature; He = did not=20 assume an infirm nature. By His human will, Christ "accepted = what=20 was contrary to incorruptible and deified = humanity"=E2=80=94that is, the=20 unblameworthy passions (ibid., p. 148). There is,=20 therefore, no contradiction between the assumption by Christ = of=20 unfallen human nature and His acceptance of the physical=20 consequences of our fallenness. And thus Bishop Kallistos = thoughts=20 on this matter derive from a false theological dilemma and = wander=20 from the Patristic path. 

A Godforsaken God-Man?

There are two other serious errors in Chapter Four of = this book,=20 and it is with a refutation of these that we will conclude = our=20 review of The Orthodox Way. We have already = mentioned the=20 verse from St. Matthews Gospel, in which Christ asks His = Father why=20 He has forsaken Him. Before citing this verse, Bishop = Kallistos=20 distinguishes two kinds of death: physical death, which = involves the=20 soul being separated from the body, and spiritual death, = which=20 involves the soul being separated from God. Now, it is quite = obvious=20 that Christ voluntarily took the first kind of death upon = Himself.=20 But did He suffer the second kind of death as well? =20

Noting that the Gospels do not tell us much about Christs = inward=20 suffering, His Grace provides the reader with two "glimpses" = into=20 the anguish that Christ endured before and during His = Crucifixion.=20 First, regarding the agony in Gethsemane, His Grace quotes = the=20 eighteenth-century Anglican divine, William Law, to the = effect that=20 our Lord experienced "the anguishing terrors of a lost = soul..., the=20 reality of eternal death" (p. 105). Such a statement is = absolutely=20 incredible, not to say blasphemous, implying, as it does, = that=20 Christ fell into a state of total despair. Since despair is = a sin,=20 the implication is that Christ was not free from that sin! = Bishop=20 Kallistos, building on this astonishing passage, goes so far = as to=20 say that Jesus identified Himself "with all the despair and = mental=20 pain of humanity" (ibid.). Secondly, and worse = still, he=20 interprets the cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken = Me?"=20 (St. Matthew 27:46), as "the extreme point of Christs = desolation,=20 when he feels abandoned not only by men but by God" (p. = 106). His=20 Grace admits that "we cannot begin to explain how it is = possible for=20 one who is himself the living God to lose awareness of the = divine=20 presence," but he nonetheless insists that when Christ = uttered these=20 words, "Jesus is truly experiencing the spiritual death of=20 separation from God...; for our sakes he accepts even the = loss of=20 God" (p. 106). One is left speechless, despite the fact that = few, if=20 any, have commented on this remarkable flaw in Bishop = Kallistos=20 theology. =20

About the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, we will = observe only=20 that His Grace has once again been drinking from a poisoned = well,=20 whereas he could so easily have treated us to the sublime = exegesis=20 of this tremendously difficult passage by St. Maximos the = Confessor.=20 It is quite probable that William Law, who, as a Non-Juror, = would=20 have been much more receptive to Orthodox theology than most = of his=20 coreligionists, had some good ideas, but when there is such = a wealth=20 of Patristic sources from which he could have drawn, and = with which=20 he is certainly familiar, why does Bishop Kallistos not make = use of=20 these? Let us see what some of the Orthodox Fathers have = said about=20 our Lords cry from the Cross. They do not support at all the = notions=20 presented in The Orthodox Way.  =20

(1) "And that the words Why hast Thou forsaken Me? are=20 His...(though He suffered nothing, for the Word was = impassible), is=20 notwithstanding declared by the Evangelists; since the Lord = became=20 man, and these things are done and said as from a man, that = He might=20 Himself lighten these very sufferings of the flesh, and free = it from=20 them. Whence neither can the Lord be forsaken by the Father, = Who is=20 ever in the Father, both before He spoke, and when He = uttered this=20 cry. Nor is it lawful to say that the Lord was in terror, at = Whom=20 the gatekeepers of Hades shuddered and set open Hades, and = the=20 graves did gape, and many bodies of the saints arose and = appeared to=20 their own people" (St. Athanasios the Great, "Discourses = against the=20 Arians," III.29, A Select Library of the Nicene and = Post-Nicene=20 Fathers, Second Series, Vol. IV [Grand Rapids, MI: = Eerdmans,=20 1978], p. 424). =20

(2) "Yet, I suppose, you [Arians who argued that the = Logos=20 was not coeternal with the Father, on the ground He = displayed=20 signs of weakness] will arm yourselves also for your godless = contention with these words of the Lord, My God, My God, why = hast=20 Thou forsaken Me? Perhaps you think that after the disgrace = of the=20 Cross, the favour of His Fathers help departed from Him, and = hence=20 His cry that He was left alone in His weakness. But if you = regard=20 the contempt, the weakness, the cross of Christ as a = disgrace, you=20 should remember His words, Verily I say unto you, From = henceforth ye=20 shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, = and=20 coming with the clouds of Heaven" (St. Hilary of Poitiers, = "On the=20 Trinity," X.31, A Select Library of the Nicene and = Post-Nicene=20 Fathers, Second Series, Vol. IX [Grand Rapids, MI: = Eerdmans,=20 1978], p. 190). =20

(3) "And thus, He Who subjects presents to God that which = He has=20 subjected, making our condition His own. Of the same kind, = it=20 appears to me, is the expression, My God, My God, why hast = Thou=20 forsaken Me? It was not He who was forsaken either by the = Father, or=20 by His own Godhead, as some have thought, as if It were = afraid of=20 the Passion, and therefore withdrew Itself from Him in His=20 sufferings (for who compelled Him either to be born on earth = at all,=20 or to be lifted up on the Cross?). But as I said, He was in = His own=20 Person representing us. For we were the forsaken and = despised=20 before, but now by the Sufferings of Him Who could not = suffer, we=20 were taken up and saved. Similarly, He makes His own our = folly and=20 our transgressions; and says what follows in the Psalm, for = it is=20 very evident that the Twenty-first Psalm refers to Christ" = (St.=20 Gregory the Theologian, "Fourth Theological Oration," 30.5,=20 Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XXXVI, col. = 109A). =20

(4) "He saith, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that = unto His=20 last breath they might see that He honors His Father, and is = no=20 adversary of God. Wherefore also He uttered a certain cry = from the=20 Prophet, even to His last hour bearing witness to the Old = Testament,=20 and not simply a cry from the Prophet, but also in Hebrew, = so as to=20 be plain and intelligible to them, and by all things, He = shows how=20 He is of one mind with Him that begat Him" (St. John = Chrysostomos,=20 "Homilies on St. Matthew," 88.1, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, = Vol.=20 LVIII, col. 776). =20

(5) "The cry My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? = is the=20 utterance of Adam, who trampled on the commandment given to = him and=20 disregarded Gods Law; thus did God abandon human nature, = which had=20 become accursed. When the Only-begotten Word of God came to = restore=20 fallen man, the abandonment entailed by that curse and = corruption=20 had to come to an end. My God, My God, why hast Thou = forsaken Me? is=20 the voice of Him Who destroyed our forsakenness, as if He = were=20 imploring the Father to be gracious to mankind. When, as = man, He=20 asks for something, it is for us; as God, He was in need of = nothing"=20 (St. Cyril of Alexandria, "Second Oration to the Empresses = on the=20 True Faith," 18, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. LXXVI, = col. 1357A.)=20 Elsewhere, St. Cyril interprets this verse as proof that = Christ was=20 truly man ("Thesaurus Concerning the Holy and Consubstantial = Trinity," 24, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. LXXV, = col. 397D) and=20 portrays Christ as the Second Adam, Who cleansed human = nature of the=20 corruption to which it became subject through Adams fall = into=20 disobedience and Who restored it to its pristine purity and = dignity=20 ("That Christ Is One," Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. = LXXV, cols.=20 1325C-1328A). =20

(6) "Christs cry of Forsaken on the Cross was to teach us = the=20 insufficiency of the human nature without the Divine. Hence = it is=20 that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Head, representing all the = members=20 of His body in Himself and speaking for those whom He was = redeeming=20 in the punishment of the Cross, uttered that cry which He = had once=20 uttered in the Psalm, O God, My God, look upon Me; why hast = Thou=20 forsaken Me? That cry, dearly-beloved, is a lesson, not a = complaint.=20 For since in Christ there is one Person of God and man, and = He could=20 not have been forsaken by Him from Whom He could not be = separated,=20 it is on behalf of us, trembling and weak ones, that He asks = why the=20 flesh that is afraid to suffer has not been heard" (St. Leo = the=20 Great, "Homily," 67.7, A Select Library of the Nicene = and=20 Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. XII [Grand = Rapids, MI:=20 Eerdmans, 1978], p. 179). =20

(7) "Further, these words, My God, My God, why hast Thou = forsaken=20 Me? He said as making our personality His own. For neither = would God=20 be regarded with us as His Father, unless one were to = discriminate=20 with subtle imaginings of the mind between that which is = seen and=20 that which is thought, nor was He ever forsaken by His = Divinity:=20 nay, it was we who were forsaken and disregarded. So that it = was as=20 appropriating our personality that He offered these prayers" = (St.=20 John of Damascus, "Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith," = III.24,=20 Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, col. = 1093A). =20

From these citations it is quite clear that the Fathers = all view=20 Christs apparent despair as an example of the = oikonomia=20 that characterizes the entire Incarnation. That is to = say,=20 Christ quoted this verse from Psalm 21 for our benefit, to = show that=20 He was truly man, that it was none other than He about Whom = the=20 Prophets had spoken, and to demonstrate His genuine = solidarity with=20 the wretched plight of fallen humanity. There is not even a = hint=20 in any of these sources that Christ, as God, = experienced the=20 loss of God. At best, Bishop Kallistos is simply = being=20 careless when he claims that, "Jesus is truly experiencing = the=20 spiritual death of separation from God," and that, "for our = sakes he=20 accepts even the loss of God." If one is to make bold = statements of=20 this kind, it is better to say, as did St. John of Shanghai = and San=20 Francisco, that, "so as to feel the full weight of the = consequences=20 of sin, the Son of God would voluntarily allow His = human=20 nature to feel even the horror of separation from = God"=20 ("What Did Christ Pray About in the Garden of Gethsemane?"=20 Living Orthodoxy, Vol. XV, No. 3 [May-June 1993], = p. 6=20 [emphasis ours]). This is far more in line with the = Patristic=20 consensus than the dubious speculations advanced by Bishop=20 Kallistos. 

Hell as the total absence of God

Finally, we must address some comments that His Grace = makes=20 immediately upon offering his Christological reflections. He = asks=20 whether the phrase in the Apostles Creed (recognized as = being of=20 authentic provenance by the Orthodox Church, but never used = by Her=20 liturgically), "He descended into hell," means only that = Christ went=20 to preach to the departed spirits between Great Friday = evening and=20 Pascha morning, as St. Peter relates (I St. Peter 3:19). = "Surely it=20 also has a deeper sense" (p. 106). Does he mean that the=20 interpretation given by St. Peter=E2=80=94and, of course, by = the Fathers,=20 too=E2=80=94is insufficient? If so, where does all of this = "creative"=20 theologizing end? With such thinking, one can very easily, = and with=20 good intention, eventually find himself outside the secure=20 boundaries which the Holy Fathers, in their wisdom, = established for=20 us. =20

Without a single citation from the Fathers, His Grace = baldly=20 asserts that Hell is "the place where God is not"=20 (ibid. [emphasis in the text]). He then notes,=20 parenthetically, that "God is everywhere!" If God is = everywhere, as=20 the doctrine of Divine omnipresence entails, then how can = there be=20 any place from which He is absent? And yet, Bishop Kallistos = reasons, if Christ descended into Hell, He must have = descended into=20 the depths of the absence of God. There are problems, here, = not only=20 with regard to an Orthodox understanding of Heaven and Hell, = but=20 also in terms of His Graces misuse of terminology; that is, = as we=20 shall see, his failure to distinguish between Hell as a = place of=20 torment for unrepentant sinners and Hades as the place where = death=20 prevailed over man before the Resurrection. These words are = used=20 interchangeably, we admit, and the distinction to which we = have=20 referred is a subtle one; however, it is one essential to = any=20 response to the innovative and theologically troublesome = idea that=20 Christ, descending into Hades, supposedly went to a place = from which=20 God was absent. =20

Now, St. John of Damascus explains Gods omnipresence in = this way:=20 "God, then, being immaterial and uncircumscribed, has not = place. For=20 He is His own place, filling all things and being above all = things,=20 and Himself maintaining all things" ("Exact Exposition of = the=20 Orthodox Faith," I.13, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. = XCIV, col.=20 852A). Are we, therefore, to suppose that God is in Hell in = the same=20 way that He is in Heaven? But is God in Heaven as opposed to = some=20 other place? Problems inevitably arise when we understand = noumenal=20 realities too literally. We are not denying that, in a = certain=20 sense, both Heaven and Hell are places. They are not = simply=20 states of mind or soul, as heterodox theologians = commonly aver=20 today. In fact, Constantine Cavarnos furnishes abundant = proof of=20 this from Holy Scripture and the hymnography of the Church = (see=20 The=20 Future Life According to Orthodox Teaching [Etna, = CA:=20 Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1985], pp. = 34-35).=20 However, Heaven and Hell are also ways in which souls = relate to=20 God. According to Father Florovsky, Hell is, aside from = a=20 place, "...a spiritual mode of existence, determined by the = personal=20 character of each soul" ("On the Tree of the Cross," St. = Vladimirs Seminary Quarterly, Vol. I, Nos. 34 [1953], = p. 20).=20 Father John Romanides explains this idea:

In the Orthodox Tradition, both the just and the unjust = will=20 have the vision of God in His uncreated glory, with the = difference=20 that for the unjust this same uncreated glory of God will = be the=20 eternal fires of hell. God is light for those who learn to = love=20 Him and a consuming fire for those who will not ("Remarks = of an=20 Orthodox Christian on Religious Freedom," The Greek = Orthodox=20 Theological Review, Vol. VIII [Summer 1962Winter = 196263], p.=20 130).

Towards the end of his book, Bishop Kallistos shows that = he is=20 fully aware of the arguments of Fathers Florovsky and = Romanides. He=20 admits that God, out of His love for mankind, is, in some = sense,=20 with those who choose to remain in Hell. This is something = that he=20 could easily have made clear when discussing the Descent = into Hades=20 (not Hell, as he erroneously states). He is surely familiar = with the=20 teaching of St. John of Damascus on this subject, namely = that=20 Christs soul, "when it was deified, descended into Hades, in = order=20 that...He might bring light to those who sit under the earth = in=20 darkness and the shadow of death" ("Exact Exposition of the = Orthodox=20 Faith," III.29, Patrologia Gr=C3=A6ca, Vol. XCIV, = col. 1101A).=20 His Grace is, of course, far from being the only theologian = who=20 confuses the Hell of torment and the Hades into which Christ = descended in his salvific and life-giving death. = Nonetheless, Father=20 Florovsky pointedly remarks that: "It is hardly possible to = identify=20 that Hell, or Hades, or the subterranean abodes to which the = Lord=20 descended, with the hell of sufferings for the sinners and = the=20 wicked." It is inconceivable, he continues, that "the souls = of the=20 unrepentant sinners, and the Prophets of the Old = Dispensation, who=20 spake by the Holy Spirit and preached the coming Messiah, = and St.=20 John the Baptist himself, were in the same hell." ("On the = Tree of=20 the Cross," op. cit., p. 20). It is not only = inconceivable,=20 but also blasphemous to suppose that the holy Patriarch = Abraham,=20 whose faith "was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans = 4:3),=20 and in whose bosom Lazarus reposed (St. Luke 16:23), endured = the=20 torments of the damned while under the shadow of the = dominion of=20 death. =20

As Father Georges puts it, "The descent of Christ into = Hell [or=20 Hades] is the manifestation of Life amid the hopelessness of = death[;] it is the victory over death" (ibid., p. = 21). It=20 is definitely not "the taking upon Himself by Christ of the = hellish=20 torments of God-forsakeness, " as Calvin and certain other = Reformers=20 taught (ibid.). Bishop Kallistos does not express = this idea=20 in so many words, but if Christ descended into the depths of = the=20 absence of God, having previously experienced the loss of = God and=20 spiritual death on the Cross, as he contends, then is His = Grace not=20 in danger of departing from Orthodox teaching? Interestingly = enough,=20 incidentally, even Calvins teaching on this aspect of = Soteriology=20 was condemned by most of his contemporaries, both Protestant = and=20 Catholic, as a "new, unheard-of heresy." 

Concluding remarks

In spite of all that we have said, The Orthodox Way = is,=20 on the whole, a valuable book. If we have expressed = ourselves=20 somewhat harshly in places, it is only out of concern both = for the=20 author and for his readers. Bishop Kallistos is, to quote my = review=20 of The Orthodox Church, "a Christian gentleman of = the=20 highest caliber and an Orthodox scholar who has done much to = make=20 our Faith better known in the West" (p. 39); and I stand by = this=20 judgment. It is precisely for this reason, however, that I = find it=20 painful to see a man so eminently well-equipped to write = excellent=20 books and articles on Orthodoxy making careless lapses on = elementary=20 points of theology=E2=80=94 and especially when they smack = of the odious=20 influence of the religious relativism so beloved of the = ecumenism in=20 which his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is mired. Should His = Grace=20 choose to share his more adventurous speculations with = colleagues=20 over a glass of port in the Senior Common Room, no one can = object.=20 But one must be more cautious, and especially if he is a = Shepherd of=20 the flock, when presenting a popular account of the Faith = for=20 Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, lest he "offend one of = these little=20 ones which believe in" Christ; "for it must needs be that = offenses=20 come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!" (St. = Matthew=20 18:6-7). We can, and do, expect more of an author to whom we = are=20 forever indebted for his superb and pioneering contributions = to an=20 understanding of Orthodox theology in the West, including = such=20 liturgical classics as the Festal Menaion and the=20 Lenten Triodion.=20

Endnotes

* The reference here is to a well-known illustration from = the=20 British satirical weekly, Punch. It portrays a = skittish=20 curate having breakfast with his bishop. Asked by the Bishop = whether=20 he liked his egg, which had gone bad, he nervously blurted = out,=20 stammering in his terror, "Parts of it are excellent." = Editor.=20

From Orthodox Tradition, Vol. XVI, = Nos.=20 3&4, pp. 30-51.

 
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