The Censer - May 2001 Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia


The Official Publication of The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia
- Under the Spiritual Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate -

	The Censer

Hong Kong Volume 5, Issue 3, May 2001
In this issue: H.E. Metropolitan Nikitas Losing the Orthodox Phronema (III) Fr. Jonah Mourtos A Christmas Fantasy Lives of Saints St. Constantine and Helen St. Isaiah the Solitary On Guarding the Intellect (I) Timothy Beach Letter from Taiwan The Orthodox Church in Taiwan's Press Church Lexicon Alpha & Omega, Absolution Gruia Jacotă The Pope's Apology OMHKSEA in images Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong

		For reader’s comments and contributions: The Ecumenical Patriarchate Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia #704 Universal Trade Centre, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Hong Kong, China Tel: 852-2573-8328 Fax: 852-2573-8379 E-mail: OMHKSEA@netvigator.com Please mark the envelope: *For The Censer* Editor: Gruia Jacotă Assistant-Editor: Lakshmi Jacotă

Browse with the mouse over the pictures to read the explanatory notes

EDITORIAL

Metropolitan Nikitas

Losing the Orthodox Phronema (III)

The “Phronema” series has been initiated by Metropolitan Nikitas during the Lent, following inspiration by the Gospel readings and services specific to that period of the church year, dedicated to repentance and introspection. The purpose of the analysis is to reveal the situation and the causes for which the Orthodox Christians are increasingly oblivious of the Tradition of the Church, as preserved and transmitted from the time of the Fathers throughout the generations in her teaching and praxis.

In the first article of the series, His Eminence has shown that phronema is the totality of opinions or views one holds about existence in general, or in other words the mind-set one has especially regarding spiritual issues. He has also pointed out that Christian life and relationship with God has been limited to ‘few hours, set and bound by human understandings’, and that the beauty of Orthodox Christmas and Epiphany has been replaced by ‘gifts, Santa and the like. Christ and the Liturgy have taken a back seat, as if one can celebrate Christmas without them’.

In the second article, Metropolitan Nikitas portrays the moral and spiritual surrender Orthodox Christians are inclined to give in by relaying ‘our responsibilities to other institutions and even to governments’. The call for action within the Orthodox Church is permanent, be it for glorifying God of helping our neighbor in need.

We present in this issue a new part, the third, of Metropolitan Nikitas’ analysis on the modern mentalities and practices adopted by Orthodox laity and clergy.

As humans, we have seen our lives on this earth and speak of it with its various cycles. In many way, though, we have forgotten the most important cycle of life - the cycle of the Church. This is one of the reasons we have begun to lose the Orthodox phronema.

Our complicated and busy are centered on our work. We plan our day, meetings, time slots, vacations, etc., according to the workday. We schedule a working breakfast and meet for a business lunch. We even try to squeeze other meeting into the social aspects of life. In the days past, the pious faithful of the Church set and planned their lives according to the calendar of the Church and the seasons.

In the Orthodox mind-set, there were no Christmas parties, since the forty days before Christmas were days of fasting, similar to those of Great and Holy Lent. The faithful prepared for the feast and celebrated when it arrived with the greatest celebration of all - the Divine Liturgy. The days of anticipating feasts were not days of celebration. In our contemporary style of Orthodoxy, we have joined the masses and changed the traditional approach to holidays. This clearly means that we have not only altered the calendar to meet our needs but we have often eliminated the critical discipline of fasting. But Christmas is not the only example of this innovative style. New Year's Day is celebrated and the feast of St. Basil overlooked. The first day of the Great Fast and the Canon of St. Andrew are relatively unknown to younger people. The Saturday of the Souls is ignored and Memorial Day and other practices have replaced liturgical celebrations. The feast of Patron Saints is secondary to the birthday, graduation and the like. Regretfully, we have become Sunday Christians.

In the traditional Orthodox lands, people would schedule their lives according to the Church calendar and the cycles of the seasons. Young people today cannot understand that weddings do not take place during Lenten periods. They often ask us to make "this one simple exception" for them, as if the clergyman has the right to change the practice of the Church. Often the reason for this need is that a proper banquet hall cannot be found, as if the wedding depends on a meal. The wedding is the Sacrament and mystery of Marriage - not a feast and dancing. In losing the traditional approach to life, we have also lost the simplicity that God had given us. We have given importance to that which is of lesser value.

While in the United States on a visit, I was asked how I felt about the heated issue of prayer in the schools. I quickly and easily responded that I am against it. Of course, the person asking was shocked. I, then, said let me ask you a couple of questions. "Do you and your family gather each morning for prayer? Do you sit and pray before every meal? Do you attend Liturgy every Sunday and follow the liturgical life of the Church?" To each of these he responded "no". I the asked how he would dare demand the government to institute practices he didn't keep. This idea of prayer in school - a common prayer for all - does not fit into the Orthodox mind and spirit. We know our God and call upon Him. We do not pray to an unknown god or to a variety of gods. We do not share the same prayers and expression, as the non-Christians. It is the responsibility of the parents and the family to pray together. Children learn about our God in the Church and at home, not at school. Teachers in school may give their own, private understanding of what is true and not that of the Church.

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LOGOS FOR ASIA

Fr. Jonah Mourtos

A CHRISTMAS FANTASY
Inspired by Lao Tzu’s Book, The Way, or The Tao

On December Twenty-fourth, around sunset, Old Chuang Tzu was about to finish mopping the upper staircase at the university. He worked peacefully and methodically. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps made him raise his head. Slowly he looked up and around.

“Lee Ming”, he called, “Is that you?”

“Old Chuang Tzu, it’s me”, a cheerful voice replied. A young man appeared around the corner. “Are you still working?”

“What else can I do? I haven’t finished yet”, the old man answered and continued his work. “What about you Little Lee?”, he asked, looking at the young man affectionately with his large beautiful old eyes. “Are you going to work tonight?”

The Way (Tao) became flesh. That's why we're permitted to talk about the Way

“I have no choice”, the young man answered, with some bitterness in his voice. He was not Chinese; he was from faraway Greece. He worked as a night guard at the university. Because he didn’t possess a work visa, his job was illegal. It was possible for him to hold the job only because a friend of a friend had arranged for him to be allowed to work because he was very poor.

The old man loved the young man as though he was his own son. “But it’s Christmas tonight, isn’t it?”, the old man asked. “You’re a Christian. Aren’t you going to celebrate, my son?”

“Oh, I have to work. I’m new here, so I’m scheduled during the holidays. Never mind, Old Chuang Tzu,” Lee replied peacefully, “To celebrate my Christmas, there’s still a way”.

“Really?” asked Old Chuang Tzu. “My son, how is it possible to know the way?”, he continued in a whisper and gazed far away at the last light of day. [“Way” equals “Tao”]

“My respected father, this night the Way (Tao) became flesh. That’s why we’re permitted to talk about the Way (Tao)”, whispered Lee, looking nowhere in particular. Suddenly he realized what he had said and began to laugh. “Sorry, Old Chuang Tzu, I’m talking nonsense”.

Surprised, Lee saw that Old Chuang Tzu had completely changed. His old, tired appearance was replaced by a serious yet still sweet expression. “Old Chuang Tzu, is it you?”

“My son, what do you know about the Way? Since, ‘He who knows does not speak.He who speaks does not know’.” The old man was whispering and watching Lee with fatherly love. “My son, I’m a humble, covert Taoist monk. I cannot hide the fact from you any more. Why did you say what you did about the Way becoming flesh?”

How can that which exists become and experience non-existence?

“My respected father, if we say that Tao is being and non-being, existence and non-existence, how can this be? What do we mean by non-existence? Does it mean to be beyond any description of existence?”

“Not only this, my son. It means as well being beyond existence, experiencing non-existence.”

“How can that which exists become and experience non-existence?”, Lee asked. “Since, ‘Non-existence is not real.Non-existence is incomplete.’ Come on, now,” Lee laughed, “You know the language games”.

“Truly, my young philosopher, it’s hard to say,” answered Old Chuang Tzu, a sweet smile on his face. “What do you propose?”

“There’s one way,” answered Lee slowly, with a humble look at the old man. “It’s the way of the incarnation”.

“Can you be more clear?”, asked Chuang Tzu.

“Perfect existence must experience non-perfect existence. It must become incarnate, taking the form of a man, in order to experience death, yet without ceasing to be what it is.”

“Even though what you say is the opposite of what Chuang Tzu says, it makes sense”, replied the old man. He sat down. “My friend, sit close to me. You are tired after working all day. Your perception explains much. ‘The Nameless is the origin of heaven and earth. The Named is the mother of all things. ' The Named might become incarnate, taking a human name and human body”.

“Yes, my father, one can follow the Tao because the Tao became flesh, the Tao became a person. As Jesus said, ‘I am the Way and the Truth’.”

“Are you just a Christian?”, the old man exclaimed. “Your talk is so strange!”

“Well, yes Christian, but let’s say that I’m a Taoist Christian. I can explain my thought in what I’m about to say. ‘He who follows is identified with the Tao. The Tao is also glad to welcome him’. This may indicate the presence of personhood in the Tao. This may also help us to understand what is meant by non-action. ‘The Tao never does.’ The Tao who is incarnated exists in my dimension of existence. This is all that matters; nothing more needs to be done. ‘Yet through it everything is done’!"

The Tao is so humble. He came among us and found us, because the Tao is love. Love is not just a sensation or feeling. Through the incarnation, love implies becoming one with us through entering into communion with us.

The Tao is so humble. he came among us and found us, because the Tao is love

“Oh! We’re talking about love!” Old Chuang Tzu bowed his head. “How difficult that is!” He spoke from experience as a refugee from war in China. The decoration he wore was a disability resulting from a bullet wound. “How can the incarnation take place peacefully and in an ordinary way? The Tao has to be born from a human being. Perhaps that’s why the Book says: ‘I do not know whose son this is!’ He must be the son of somebody”.

“My old friend” replied Lee, “Your mind comprehends hidden meanings so deeply. Because the Tao is a son, I can call him brother, and I can call his father my father. Because his father has a son, he is a real father. This is true love, not empty emotion.”

“But if he is a son”, whispered the old man, “Who is his father? Is he human? That I can’t accept”.

Lee responded,” ‘Out of three comes the created universe’. Which three? The Book may, of course, simply mean ‘multiplicity’. But it stops at three, trinity ¨C multiplicity in unity. In a trinitarian sense, the Tao is the son, son of the father." ‘He does not live for self’. He is the son, existing only because of the father.”

“I wish we could experience it!” whispered Old Chuang Tzu.

For a few moments they remained silent. Then, gradually, the walls began to melt away. A light shone forth, spread, and filled the room and all surrounding space. They were astonished, looking at each other but unable to speak. An immense joy overcame them. As the light grew ever more brilliant they disappeared. They could no longer be seen because they had become light.

The next day, people from the university hunted everywhere for old Chuang and young Lee, but nowhere could they be found. The police investigated in vain. Since Chuang and Lee had no relatives, no one else continued the search. After a few days, the university hired others to take their jobs.

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PHILOKALIC THOUGHTS

St Isaiah the Solitary (370)
(Philokalia, Vol. I)

ON GUARDING THE INTELLECT (I)

The Philokalia is a collection of texts written between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Orthodox Christian tradition. It was compiled in the eighteenth century by two Greek monks, St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain of Athos (1749-1809) and St. Makarios of Corinth (1731-1805), and was first published in Venice in 1782. We offer the readers of The Censer some spiritual incense for their meditation and prayer.

St. Isaiah the Solitary lived around the year 370 and was contemporary of St. Makarios the Great of Egypt. Most historians today consider him to be later in date. He is now usually identified with a monk Isaiah, who lived initially at Sketis in Egypt, and who then moved to Palestine at some date subsequent to 431, eventually dying in great old age as a recluse near Gaza on 11 August 491.

1. There is among the passions an anger of the intellect, and this anger is in accordance with nature. Without anger a man cannot attain purity: he has to feel angry with all that is sown in him by the enemy. When Job felt this anger he reviled his enemies, calling them ‘dishonorable men of no repute, lacking everything good, whom I would not consider fit to live with the dogs that guard my flocks’ (cf. Job 30:1,4). He who wishes to acquire the anger that is in accordance with nature must uproot all self-will, until he establishes within himself the state natural to the intellect.

2. If you find yourself hating your fellow men and resist this hatred, and you see that it grows weak and withdraws, do not rejoice in your heart; for this withdrawal is a trick of the evil spirits. They have left their troops behind the city and ordered them to remain there. If you go out to attack them, they will flee before you in weakness. But if you leave the city, some of them will attack you from the rear while the rest will stand their ground in front of you; and your wretched soul will be caught between them with no means of escape. The city is prayer. Resistance is rebuttal through Christ Jesus. The foundation is incensive power.

3. Let us stand firm in the fear of God, rigorously practicing the virtues and not giving our conscience cause to stumble. In the fear of God let us keep our attention fixed within ourselves, until our conscience achieves its freedom. Then there will be a union between it and us, and thereafter it will be our guardian, showing us each thing that we must uproot. But if we do not obey our conscience, it will abandon us and we shall fall into the hands of our enemies, who will never let us go. This is what our Lord taught us while you are with him on the road, lest he hand you over to the officer and you are cast into the prison’ (Matt. 5:25). The conscience is called an ‘adversary’ because it opposes us when we wish to carry out the desires of our flesh; and if we do not listen to our conscience, it delivers us into the hands of our enemies.

To be continued…

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FEATURE

Timothy Beach

Letter from Taiwan

Timothy Beach, originally from the United States of America, is presently living in Taiwan since 1993, running together with his wife Anna a language school in Taichung. Under the spiritual guidance of the Metropolitanate, he has established the Chinese Orthodox Christian Mission Fellowship (COCMF), to which he is the coordinator. He has extensive experience within the “Chinese World’, from 1988 to 1989, having taught English in Harbin, China.

CHRIST IS RISEN!

I have been a self-supporting "missionary" in Taiwan since 1993. However, most of my mission-related activities have been limited to trying to inspire other Orthodox to take an interest in reviving missions to Chinese. Aside from a very small Orthodox community in Hong Kong and another in Sinapore, and two restricted communities (including the one in Harbin) there were no others in a Chinese-speaking environment anywhere in the world.

In early 1997, His Eminence, Metropolitan NIKITAS, took up his duties in the new formed Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, the world's largest Orthodox diocese, stretching from Taiwan to India. In October 1998, His Eminence made his first archpastoral visit to Taiwan. His Eminence searched long and hard to find a priest for Taiwan.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed when, finally, Archimandrite Jonah Mourtos, who has spent seventeen years as a monk on Mount Athos) arrived in Taiwan in September 2000. Immediately upon his arrival, Fr. Jonah plunged into a hectic life that included enrolling in one full-time and one part-time Chinese language program. And his schedule has grown evermore hectic since then .Fr. Jonah has been quite successful in seeking out Orthodox who are working or studying in Taiwan, particularly those in Taipei. Our midnight Pachal Liturgy attracted around 70 people - one from Romania, several from Greece and the Ukraine, a sizable number from Russia, Serbia and Belyruss, and quite a large number from Macedonia which is one of only about 28 countries in the world with which Taiwan has full diplomatic relations. (Of course, neither the U.S. or any other large countries are included in that number.) Furthermore, Fr. Jonah suspects there are more Orthodox in Taipei who will come to as time goes on. Many of those who attended the Liturgy are young adults and are here studying Chinese or are working in technical fields or are teaching. Many are in need of extensive pastoral care, including basic instruction in the Orthodox Christian Faith and of practical guidance on how to apply the Faith to their daily and personal lives.

First of all, at this point it’s rather difficult to describe the Orthodox in Taiwan as a community. Most of the Orthodox are expatriates (Russians, Macedonians and some Greeks) living in Taipei. There is a Ukrainian woman who lives an hour and a half South, in Hsinchu (where I lived three and a half years ago), who travels to Taipei each week with her son for Divine Liturgy. My family and I and a very small number of expatriate Orthodox live in Taichung which is two hours by train from Taipei. Fr. Johah usually comes here, at present, on Saturday evenings to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. In Kaoshiung, at the southern end of the island, there are several Greeks. With such great distances between us, it’s hard for us to even get to know each other – especially with life in Taiwan being so hectic.

As I stood at the front of the church (generously lent to us by the Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei) along with my Ukrainian co-chanters, looking over the number of Orthodox who came, I was amazed at the contrast in the situation compared with that of only a few months ago. When I received a call last July from the Metropolitan's office in Hong Kong, informing me that a priest would be arriving in September, I had almost to despaired that we would never be able to get a mission off the ground before it might be time for my family and I to return to the U.S., in a few years, for the sake of my children's educational needs. Before that time arrives, I would like to see some semblance of a Chinese Orthodox community. But, obviously, this is still far from a reality.

Easter 2001, Taipei And the discovery of ethnic Orthodox is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, their mere presence will serve as tangible proof of the need for Fr. Jonah to remain in Taiwan, particularly to those who still have not become accustomed to the notion that the Church should send priests as missionaries to places where there are not yet any Orthodox. Protestant and Catholic missionaries, by contrast, typically spend their first two or three years in full-time language study with few other responsibilities during that time except to practice the language with Chinese people, with the result that they typically acquire a solid foundation foundation in the Chinese language which serves them very well in their subsequent mission service. This, of course, was also our hope for Fr. Jonah when he first arrived. As one can imagine, he labors very hard in trying to keep up with Chinese studies while coping with his ever-growing role as a pastor of an international Orthodox community. Additionally, on Saturday evenings Fr. Jonah still routinely make a three-hour commute by bus down the congested freeway to Taichung to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for us at which we sometimes have visitors, including Orthodox and non-Orthodox. And there are also Catholics and Protestants who come to us for information about Orthodoxy.

Ultimately, in my opinion, what we need in Taiwan are more missionaries, both lay and ordained, so that mission and ministry roles can become more specialized according to the needs of language, location, evangelization and instruction. Taiwan may be, geographically, only a small island. But, missiologically speaking, it is of strategic importance because it represents the only Mandarin-speaking environment in the world where mission work can be carried out freely. Whatever we do here in terms of translation work, publications, liturgical development, training of missionaries, acquisition of mission and pastoral skills and so forth, should prove applicable to Chinese missions anywhere and everywhere. In this sense, I view Taiwan not simply a mission in and of itself, but also as a time a place of preparation for Orthodox to revive missions to Chinese generally - especially to the Mandarin-speaking majority.

Of course, missions to one-fifth of the world's population cannot be carried out only by a few people. Many more missionaries are needed, both lay and ordained, and they are needed immediately! Perhaps many propective missionaries would object to the notion of serving in Taiwan because they have children or because of the military threats of mainland China or because of the difficulty in learning Chinese. But in spite of these objections, Taiwan has a thriving missionary community made up of Catholic, Protestant and other missionaries from many countries around the world. Some would like to know more about Orthodoxy. In my opinion, when it comes to missions, Orthodox have much to learn, but also something unique to contribute. But we need more to come here and to serve if we are to make that contribution. We need a second priest here, specifically for Taichung, as we need to emphasize the recruitment of missionaries generally, including self-supporting lay missionaries and to create, step by step, a whole team who is dedicated to learning Chinese.

In Christ,

(Reader) Timothy Beach

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FEATURE

The Orthodox Church
in Taiwan’s Press

The China Post, Taiwan’s most prestigious paper, features in its Prime Time weekly supplement of Friday 13 April 2001, Fr. Jonah Mourtos and his efforts to build an Orthodox community in Taiwan. The Orthodox Church and faith are presented on a full page in a reportage entitled “Spreading the Faith”, written by the Posts’ reporter James Boyce, who approaches the theme in the most profane way, thus making Fr. Jonah’s developmental work newsworthy. In this spirit, it is stated that: “The world’s earliest Christian Church – the Orthodox – is getting a late start in Taiwan, but Father George Mourtos is resolved to make-up lost time”. George is the lay name of Fr. Jonah, who became a monk in Mount Athos, Greece, in 1985. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in electrical engineering from the National Technology University of Athens and then received a fellowship to study Quantum Mechanics in the United States of America. But rather than studying the universe he preferred studying the Maker and he turned to Orthodoxy. “Turned is the key word. Although he was raised as an Orthodox Christian, he says he spent many years studying Eastern religion and thought – from Taoism to Yoga – before returning to his roots”.

For those who know Fr. Jonah, the article starts in a familiar note: “’Sing something’, says Father George Mourtos seeming slightly exasperated. He turns away from the altar and towards us – the dozen or so people making up the congregation on this Taipei Sunday morning – motioning with his hand as though to wave away our lethargy… It is the latest in a series of attempts by Mourtos to get us involved and I can imagine him soon quoting the movie ‘Jerry Maguire’: ‘Help me help you’”. The reporter continues to give large and pertinent descriptions of the traditions and teachings of the Orthodox church, but when it comes to describing the actual congregation of expatriate orthodox in Taipei participating in the Holy Liturgy that morning he cannot refrain his sarcasm: “The contrast between the precise conventions of the fourth century liturgy Mourtos is leading and his casual approach is striking. This theme, of formal meeting informal, permeates the morning. The faces of the congregation members reveal expressions from reverence to reverie. Experienced members follow the liturgy like perfect angels while others bumble along haphazardly like lost sheep. In one pew, a man wears a suit; in another, faded jeans are the order of the day. Mourtos himself dons a long, flowing, burgundy robe, but we can see his black jeans peaking through the gaps”. Letting aside the question how other young Orthodox congregations across Asia may appear to the ignorant eye of the observer, which in this case is used by the reporter for spicing up his own reportage, let us continue through the presentation. For a Christian reader who comes from a Roman-Catholic or Protestant background Orthodoxy is explained as being “the earliest Christian Church, established centuries before Catholicism and Protestantism were conceived”.

In Fr. Mourtos’ words quoted by the reporter, ‘the Orthodox Christians ‘believe we can be in real communion with God’. He compares the experience with putting an iron in a fire – the object becomes hot like the fire yet retains its essence. ‘It is united but not mixed’, he explains, saying we can come into communion with God yet retain our individuality. This is different from the Catholic experience, which he describes as seeking to be close to, but not united to God. In the words of Mourtos, “It’s the difference between being the president of Taiwan or living with the president of Taiwan”. Fr. Mourtos is also presented as an explorer of the possible similarities between Orthodoxy and Buddhism. Referring to the tradition of Orthodox monastic prayer and the Buddhist prayer by continuous repetition, Fr. Mourtos is quoted as saying: “It is similar to the Zen model… it is prayer without prayer, words without word”. “That is why I love so much the Chinese way of thinking. I think we speak the same language”.

The Editor

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LIVES OF SAINTS

George Poulos
Orthodox Saints, Vol. II

St. Constantine and Helen

The tricentennial anniversary of Christianity, when dated from the actual birth date of Jesus, had passed by a dozen years before it came to be recognized as the true Faith by an emperor, the ruler of the civilized world comprised of the Roman Empire. It was in the year 312 that Constantine, who was to become known as the Great, displayed to the entire world his conversion to Christianity when his legions defeated the rebellious forces of Maxentius in Rome under the banner of the cross. Also, while in York, England, he made his mother, Helen, the dowager empress. This she remained throughout her lifetime, having a mother-son influence on Christianity that has never been duplicated.

St. Constantine and Helen, Icon from the St. Luke's Cathedral, Hong Kong Helen, reputed to have been a British princess and the daughter of King Cole one hears in song, gave birth to her illustrious son at Naissus in the lower valley of the Danube on February 17 in the mid 280s. Because of her lineage she is as much revered in Great Britain, as is evidenced by the many churches, principally of the medieval era, dedicated to her memory. She is also said to have discovered the cross of Christ during a tour of Golgotha. In her declining years her pilgrimage was in part motivated by the mysterious death of her grandson Crispus and brought about the erection of beautiful Christian churches at the sites of the Nativity, the Holy Sepulchre, and the Ascension, as well as others. For this and her son’s equally pious work, the mother and son have been recognized as equal to the apostles and are so commemorated in a common feast day of the Church.

It has been said that Constantine the Great turned to Christianity for political convenience, but that is hardly the case. An emperor with his power and stature had little to gain from currying the favor of Christians, which were at best of minor importance to the community and had become so weakened by the divisiveness in their own ranks that they were threatened with extinction. Constantine told of having seen a cross of light in the sky just prior to his successful campaign against Maxentius and from that moment forward embraced the Christian faith, becoming a servant of God chosen to kindle the flame of Christianity to a brilliance it would not have otherwise known. From a weak and divided community, Christianity burst forth under the leadership of Constantine to become the official religion of the realm and swelled in numbers that assured its power and performance.

The campaign against his enemies was brought to a successful conclusion by Constantine at the ancient city of Byzantium, which he had decided to rebuild on a grand scale and to rename it Constantinople, symbolizing its imperial flavor and Christian zeal. It was by design a Christian city, free of pagan temples and embellished by many magnificent cathedrals and churches to the glory of God and his Son Jesus. It was Constantine who made Sunday a public holiday and to him goes the credit for healing the wounds within the church itself, which he declared to be an affront to God and for which he labored, together with the various bishops, to bring about compromises that would put all Christians on common ground.

Helen died in 328. Her son Constantine died on 21 May 337 A.D. The reign of Constantine has proved to be the greatest of any ruler in history, not only for Christianity but for the entire world as well.

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CHURCH LEXICON

A - W

Alpha and Omega

The first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is used in the Apocalypse (Revelation) of St. John 1:8: “I am the alpha and the omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”. This relates to Christ as the beginning and the end not only of material existence but of the state of spiritual being as well. Accordingly, Christ is, was, and is to come. Therefore, He is the sovereign over the life of matter and spirit before and before all time.

The first evidence of A-W signifying the eternity of life in Christ goes back to the 3^rd century and is found on tombstones and in the catacombs of Rome. In the East, the A-W came to prominence in the controversy against the Arians who were condemned by the First Ecumenical Council in 325. Since then, the use of A-W followed the establishment and development of the orthodox faith. The letters were and are still used in various combinations with the sign of the cross and other symbols signifying the Person and work of Christ. Wherever Christ is portrayed in Orthodox icons, the A-W and the three Greek letters of the Biblical word ‘who is’, [O-W-N] appear on the sides and top of the depiction.

Absolution

Absolution refers to the pronouncing on the part of a priest or bishop of forgiveness of sins by Christ to penitents at the end of the sacrament of Confession in cases in which forgiveness is indicated. Forgiveness in the New Testament flows only from the person of Christ (Mark 2:5-11). In the Western Church the doctrine was developed that forgiveness may normally be granted by bishops and priests. In the early Church, absolution was bestowed to sinners after public confession. Later on, the usual method of obtaining and granting forgiveness of sins became a liturgical act vested with the validity and authority of a sacrament. The bishop or priest absolves the penitent on the strength of his Apostolic authority, but even though the pronouncement of absolution may be in the words ‘I absolve thee’, it is understood that it is Christ who really absolves the penitent.

When a bishop, for example, is granting absolution, the following closing blessing may be added: ‘The Grace of the Holy Spirit has through my unworthiness freed and forgiven you. Amen.’

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ORTHOVIEW

Gruia Jacotă

THE POPE'S APOLOGY

It was hard not to follow the Papal visit to Greece, Syria and Malta, as presented by the international media. On his return, the protagonist brought back to Vatican City two precious trophies never claimed before by a Pope: a visit to a mosque in Damascus and the welcome by Syria's Grand Mufti, and a visit to the Areopagus in Athens and the welcome by the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Greece.

The visit to Syria was not much of an issue of controversy in international church politics, since the Umayyad mosque he chose to visit was a Byzantine cathedral 1,400 years ago and still houses the tomb of St John the Baptist. However, it sparked protests by the local Muslims who considered that Pope John Paul II made use of a ‘stealth’ approach in order to regain authority over holy places for Christianity at present owned by Muslims. This diplomatic and apparently harmless approach, they regarded as being similar to the one adopted by his predecessor Urban II, who for the same purpose launched the Crusades in 1095, in order to exterminate the Muslim ‘race’ and install crosses over the mosques.

While preparing to receive the Pope, Muslim leaders in Syria tried their best in confronting and putting pressure on him, before he had ever set foot on Syrian soil. Their demand was that he remove his cross when coming to visit the mosque, saying that the crucifix is an insult to Islam, in view of the destruction and massacres of the Crusades They also wanted him to apologize for the Crusades, following his dramatic apology in Athens on 4 May for the 'sins' committed by the Roman Catholic Church against her Orthodox brethren. The pressure had no effect, and the Pope had no intention to make an apology for the Crusades, since the very place he was going to visit had originally been a Christian worship site confiscated by the Muslims. Thus, however justified they may be, the Muslims have chosen the most inappropriate occasion to demand an apology from the Roman-Catholic church.

As a commentator related the events, “the Vatican's refusal to apologise for Christian aggression against Muslims has fuelled fears that the Pope may be seeking to revive the millennial battle for control of the holy places, rather than looking for reconciliation with Islam’ (Nicolas Pelham, Sunday May 6, 2001, The Observer). The Syrian Muslim leaders are even more explicit: ‘'History teaches us that Western pilgrimages have covert political motives,' said Dr. Bouti, Syria's leading Sunni preacher.

The Pope visited the Umayyad mosque so that he could bring his prayer and homage to the Forerunner and not for sightseeing, or for the sake of Christian-Muslim dialogue he initiated. Other than taking a group photo with the Grand Mufti, as a souvenir from his pilgrimage to the tomb of St. John the Baptist, the Pope was not prepared to do anything more concrete.

Finally, the Pope didn’t apologize to the Muslims but he still visited Syria, met with Latin and Orthodox hierarchy, held a mass in a stadium and set foot in a mosque wearing his signs of honour. One explanation for the acceptance on the part of the Syrian Muslims may be found in the vital need for the Syrian government to determine favourable international media coverage as being benevolent to the Christians, so as to appease the negative view held by nations in the Western hemisphere towards the Syrian sponsored HezbAllah guerrilla war against the Israelis, in South Lebanon. Thus, any anti-papal demonstration was ruled out by the Syrian administration.

The visit to ‘Orthodox Greece’ was totally different in terms of diplomatic pressure and anti-papal mass demonstrations. The Orthodox Church of Greece put the Pope under intense pressure, over the last decades of the twentieth century to apologize for the behaviour of the Roman Church towards the Orthodox Church, from the time of the schism in 1054; the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204; the failure of the Roman Church to save Constantinople and the Orthodox Church from the Muslim sword in 1453 by procrastinating on a formal union to be governed by the Pope during the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-45; and more recently, for the Vatican’s recognition of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Pope’s silence about the plight of the divided island of Cyprus. On the first visit to Athens ever made by a Pontiff, John Paul II gave in to the pressures and delivered an apology to the Orthodox Church. Archbishop Christodoulos energetically applauded for what literally was a prayer for forgiveness addressed by the Pope to Christ: ‘For occasions past and present, when the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by actions and omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the forgiveness we beg of him’.

What does this mean? Some would say hastily: ‘The Pope has apologized now we must forgive’. Let us rather understand what the papal apology entails.

First of all, note should be made that unlike the Roman Church, the Orthodox Church does not have a head to represent her de jure on behalf of all Orthodox, as the Pope represents all Roman-Catholics, laity and clergy, and can thus make decisions on their behalf. The Orthodox Church is organized according to national and synodal principles. As a result, any decision or message aimed for Orthodox ears has to be specifically delivered to national and autocephalous churches, rather than Urbi et Orbi (‘to the city of Rome and to the world’), as the Pope is accustomed to pontificate.

Secondly, after the fall of the Iron Curtain in late 1980’s, Pope John Paul II insisted on visiting Eastern European countries with an Orthodox majority, in an attempt to institute an image of good relationship and reconciliation between the ‘two lungs of the Church”, an expression that should be discussed on another occasion. After more than 5 years of different ways of persuasion and lobbying, the Pope made it to Romania in 1999, a country so desperate to be accepted into the European Union and NATO that such an unconditional compromise to invite the Pope and roll the red carpet for the pope-mobile through the streets of Bucharest seemed allright. The Pope was said by political analysts to bring the ‘European make-up’ the presidency and the church needed so urgently to put on for the welfare of the people they serve.

For his visit to Romania, a country fervently Orthodox and with Christian traditions dating back to the Apostle Andrew, the Pope did not express any apology for all the aforementioned sins and ‘unbrotherly’ attitude in general, and didn’t even apologize in particular to the Romanian Orthodox Church for the Roman-Catholic invented and established Uniate Church in Transylvania in 1699-1701. The Uniation in Transylvania was a documented blackmail of the Romanian Orthodox, whose bishop and archpriests were forced to accept a formal union with Rome so that the Austro Hungarian Crown would consequently recognize their political and economic rights, as well as their rights for education.

Archbishop Chrystodoulos and Pope John Paul II in Athens, Greece Finally, in view of the above, the Orthodox Church of Greece, represented by its head and synod, could only applaud with sincere joy the sign of repentance shown by John Paul II in front of Christ, on behalf of all popes and generations of the Roman Church who ‘have sinned by actions and omission against their Orthodox brothers and sisters’. If the Pope fails in the future to back his act of repentance with concrete deeds, the echo of the Archbishop’s applause will be the only memory of the Papal pilgrimage on the footsteps of St. Paul to Greece, left to fill the vacuum of the relationship.

As for the Romanian Orthodox Church, she still expects the papacy to apologize for the last two centuries of proselytism, and for the brutal reinforcement of the Union with Rome, which raised martyrs from among Orthodox monks and villagers in eighteenth century Transylvania. The Pope is expected to show regret for the destruction by canon and armed forces of all Orthodox monasteries in that region (1761) and bring forward solutions for reconciliation. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church also expects an extensive apology for the ‘Latin Unia’ of 1596 from Brest-Litovsk.

Since Archbishop Christodoulos is not ‘the Orthodox Pope’ in office or mandated by the other Orthodox churches to accept historical apologies from the ‘Roman Catholic Pope’, the Pope’s apology must be interpreted by the media within its limits set by the Roman Pontiff himself, as ‘a liberating process of purification of memory’, addressed to Jesus Christ in front of the Greek Archbishop.

It should be therefore said: ‘The Pope has apologized, next are the deeds of reconciliation’. So far, the Pope has ticked Greece on his list, what has the Greek Church ticked on hers’?

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OMHKSEA IN IMAGES

The blessing and consecration of the ground for the new church

Greetings from Indonesia

By the grace of God, the members of our St. Sabbas of Kalimnos parish could enjoy the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ nicely. And to give you a general idea, we would like to present some pictures to you so that you see how simple they are in welcoming the Resurrection of Christ in their heart. Not only that, we also like to send pictures of a break ground service, and need you to know that the members of the parish are very happy after hearing that the Church will be built.

After Holy Liturgy on a Sunday, Mojokerto-Jatim

The foundation of our church has been making and we have begun to build the Church of St. Sabbas of Kalimnos. We hope that we will finish the wall in due time and that the works will not be interrupted because of need or nature.

Fr. Yohanes Bambang Wicaksono
Mojokerto - Jatim, Indonesia

His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas and Archimandrite Ioakeim Evangelinos giving the light of Easter to the congregation Celebrating Easter in
Hong Kong

His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas and the Archimandrite Ioakeim Evangelinos, Chancellor of the Metropolitanate, gathered with many faithful from countries around the world to celebrate and culminate the Holy Week Services.

On Holy Friday and Saturday Evening, the Union Church of Hong Kong graciously opened their hearts and church facilities, allowing the Orthodox community to gather and celebrate as a family. The smell of fresh flowers from the “Epitaphios” and fragrant incense filled the air of the courtyard on Holy Friday, during the procession. The following evening it was the candle light that filled the hearts of all with the mystery of the Resurrection. His Eminence proclaimed to the crowd “CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!”, responded by over 200 Orthodox Faithful and visitors from various denominations. The celebration continued as many gathered at La Kasbah restaurant for the traditional Resurrection feast.

Moment of prayer on Holy Friday Evening at the Epitaphios On Sunday afternoon, the Agape celebration took place in style at the Aberdeen Marina Club overlooking the stunning Marina and waters beyond. Cantonese, Mandarin, Serbian, Russian, Latin, French, Greek and English were the languages in which the Gospel of the Resurrection was proclaimed at the Agape Service. The service was followed by a beautiful buffet luncheon.

Once again the Orthodox family of Hong Kong gathered to break the traditional red eggs and rejoice in the risen Lord.

Vasilis Leakakos

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