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Let’s Talk About… So many times, we go to Church and ask questions. “Why this?” and “why that?” might be answered with “it’s just this way, so don’t ask!” Yet, this isn’t a great way to find out information about our Faith. We would like to take your questions about any topic or subject, and will be answering them here! Feel free to e-mail us your questions at gomtwebmaster@hotmail.com...and stop hearing “just because!” Can you tell me a bit about the Old Testament?
The Christian Bible has two major divisions which are called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Christian Orthodox Church believes that both of them are inspired by God and that their message is important for our Salvation. The first part of the Bible is called the Old Testament and it was written during about 1000 years by different inspired authors. It was written in Hebrew; in the third century B.C. the Hebrew Bible had been translated in Greek in Egypt and it received the name of Septuagint (because it had been translated by 70 rabbis). The Old Testament comprises three collections of books: the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Neviim) and the Writings (Kethouvim). According to the Christian Orthodox canon, the Old Testament has 39 canonical books (which are completely inspired by God) and 14 deuterocanonical books (which are believed not to be inspired, but still recommended for reading.) These books are also divided according to their topic: some of them are historic, others are poetic, and some others are prophetic. The books of the Old Testament speak about mankind’s history and the historic events having relevance for the Messianic expectancy: the creation by God of the first human couple, Adam and Eve, and their banishment from Paradise after the fall; the multiplication of the human kind all over the world after the banishment of the forefathers from Paradise ; the flood of Noah and a new beginning of humanity; the election by God of the Patriarch Abraham as forefather of the Jewish people (from which Messiah (the Savior) was to be born); the formation of the nation of Israel and their captivity in Egypt (approx. 1600 to 1200 B.C.); the return from captivity under the guidance of Moses and the formation of the first Israeli kingdom, as well as the construction of the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (Temple of Solomon - approx. 1000 B.C.); the Assyro-Babylonian captivity of the Israeli people (722 B.C. for the Northern Kingdom of Israel and 586 B.C. for the Southern Kingdom of Judah); their second return from exile (539 B.C. – during the Persian rule of King Cyrus) and the building of the Second Temple (consecrated in 515B.C.and renovated by King Herod the Great in 19 B.C.). We have to underline the fact that the name of “Old Testament” is used only by Christians, whereas the Jews call these books the Tanakh, or the Hebrew Bible. The Christians call them the Old Testament by comparison with the books of the New Testament, which speak about the life of our Savior Jesus Christ and the formation of the Christian Church during the first century of our age. The term “testament” or “covenant” is a reference to God’s covenant with His people, by which His people recognize Him as only God and as Savior. The Orthodox Christians believe that the Old Testament (Covenant) was like a “teacher” that showed people the way to Christ. As soon as Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was born, a new covenant was established with the Christian people. The Christians are expected to respect the moral laws of the Old Testament (the Decalogue), but not its rituals (sacrifices, purification rites). For Christians, the Old Testament is very important because it speaks about mankind’s relationship with God and also because it contains many prophecies about the Messiah (translated: the Anointed One.)
Fr. Christian Socosan is the Parish Priest of St. Nicholas Church in Sudbury, Ontario . He also services the Community of North Bay . A graduate of the University of Thessaloniki , he has his Ph.D. in Old Testament studies.
Γιατί κάνουμε το σημείο του Σταυρού; Γιατί μία ή τρείς φορές;
Το παραπάνω ερώτημα, η απάντηση είναι ότι, από τον Σταυρό στον οποίο ο Κύριός μας προσέφερε τον Εαυτό Του θυσία, πηγάζει η σωτηρία μας. Πρίν από τη σταύρωση του Κυρίου μας, ο σταυρός θεωρούνταν όργανο ατιμωτικής τιμωρίας και φρικτού θανάτου. Οι Ρωμαίοι καταδίκαζαν στην ποινή της σταυρώσεως τους πιό μεγάλους εγκληματίες. Όμως, ο Θεάνθρωπος Κύριός μας αγίασε το Σταυρό με τη θυσία Του και γι’αυτό, για μας τους Χριστιανούς, αποτελεί το πιό ιερό σύμβολο. Δεν υπάρχει Ορθόδοξος Χριστιανός, Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία και Ορθόδοξη Ζωή χωρίς την τιμή και τη χάρη του Τιμίου Σταυρού. Γι’αυτό, πάντοτε εμείς οι Χριστιανοί, το πρώτο που θα κάνουμε στην προσευχή μας—είτε στο σπίτι μας, είτε στην εκκλησία, είτε σε χαρά, είτε σε θλίψη, πάντοτε — κάνουμε με ευλάβεια το σημείο του Σταυρού. Πώς πρέπει να κάνουμε το σημείο του Σταυρού; Ενώνουμε τα τρία πρώτα δάκτυλά μας με το δεξί μας χέρι, που συμβολίζουν την Αγία Τριάδα, και το φέρνουμε επάνω στο μέτωπό μας, κατόπιν στον ομφαλό μας, στο δεξί μας ώμο, και τελικά στον αριστερό μας ώμο, σχιματίζοντας κανονικά το σημείο του Σταυρού. Μ’αυτό το τρόπο, ομολογούμε την πίστη μας σ’ένα Θεό, που είναι ταυτόχρονα και τρείς υποστάσεις, τρία πρόσωπα—ο Πατήρ, ο Υιός και το Άγιο Πνεύμα—ομοούσια, ενωμένα μεταξύ τους «αχωρίστως», και «αδιαιρέτως». Τα άλλα δύο δάκτυλα που ακουμπούν στην παλάμη, συμβολίζουν τις δύο φύσεις, δύο θελήσεις και δύο ενέργειες του Κυρίου μας, τη θεία και την ανθρώπινη. Μ’αυτό το τρόπο, κάνουμε μία συμβολική ομολογία της Ορθοδόξου Πίστεώς μας. Ύστερα, «φέρνουμε το χέρι στο μέτωπο, τη σωματική περιοχή της διανοητικής λειτουργίας, φανερώνοντας έτσι ότι αγαπούμε το Θεό μ' όλη τη διάνοιά μας και ότι αφιερώνουμε σ' Αυτόν όλες τις σκέψεις μας. Το χέρι έρχεται κατόπιν στην κοιλιά. Έτσι δηλώνουμε συμβολικά ότι προσφέρουμε στον Κύριο όλες τις επιθυμίες μας και όλα τα συναισθήματα μας. Τέλος, φέρνουμε το χέρι στους ώμους, πρώτα στο δεξιό και μετά στον αριστερό, ομολογώντας έτσι ότι και κάθε σωματική μας δραστηριότητα ανήκει σ' Εκείνον.» (από την ιστοσελίδα http://www.pigizois.gr/I.M.paraklytoy/simio_stavrou.htm) Απαντώντας στην ερώτηση, «γιατί κάνουμε το σταυρό μας μία ή τρείς φορές;», η απάντηση είναι απλή: εις τιμήν και δόξαν της Αγίας Τριάδος, του Πατρός και του Υιού και του Αγίου Πνεύματος, που οι Τρείς αποτελούν Ένα, τον Θεό της αγάπης.
Fr. Ignatios Delis is the Dean of the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy . He is also the Parish Priest of St. John the Theologian Church in Toronto , Ontario . How long do we hold mnimosina for after someone has died? (for 10 years? 50?) Is it ok to leave church before mnimosina start?
Early Christians expressed their concern for the repose of the souls of their beloved by works of charity and love and by personal and communal prayer. The Apostolic constitutions recommended that part of the possessions of a dead person be distributed to the poor in his memory.
Praying for the dead could include celebrating the D. Liturgy or could be a special service-as it is now-in which the names of the dead were mentioned, or could be both. St. John Chrysostom believes that “to mention the names of the departed in the awesome mystery of the Eucharist results in much benefit for the souls of the beloved.
Memorial Services may be held on the 3rd, 9th, and 40th day and on the completion of a year from the day of death. There are no rules regarding for how long should be to continue to have memorial services. Praying of the dead and having memorial services is also a therapeutic action because is a way of communication for loved ones who departed this life.
People should participate in the memorial service when D. Liturgy is celebrated because we are members of the body of Christ and we come to the Holy Temple (church) to become a church and pray as a Eucharistic Community. Memorial services should be held on Saturdays but for various reasons many people are requesting memorial services on Sundays.
Fr. Constantine Siarapis is the Priest at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto . He is also the Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy .
Why don't we use instruments in our church, especially during Sacraments?
A Very good question! Liturgical chant became an integral part of Christian worship since Apostolic times in agreement with the admonition of St. Paul : "With gratitude in your heart sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God" (Col. 3:16). Chant, especially in the Byzantine Rite, became an expression of liturgical piety of the faithful, who used to come together in their churches not only for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, but also for their common prayers, offering to God their "sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15). There are a number of reasons why we continue to use liturgical chant, and not instruments, as the western world has adopted today: First, the early Christians were hesitant to adopt the use of musical instruments in their worship, as instruments were popular in the pagan worship of the time. Secondly, we use the instrument that He Himself invented for us –the human voice! Most important, however, is the fact that we participate in ΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΛΑΤΡΕΙΑ, or RATIONAL WORSHIP. This means that music not only consists of sounds, but of words. Musical instruments other than the voice cannot pronounce words – and even if they could, they could not sing them from the mind, or the heart (which is why we don't simply have a priest serving with a tape of music doing the responses). Sure, the “band” sounds great at some non-Orthodox churches, and the “folk mass” seems “uplifting”, but musical instruments can be distracting to true, rational prayer that comes from the mind or the heart. These are very important questions, as we live in a pluralistic society, and have many surroundings that affect our worship. Thus we must continue to educate ourselves to continue to worship as Christ taught his Apostles to worship – which we do in the Orthodox Church.
Fr. Nikolaos Tambakis is the Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Church in Thunder Bay , Ontario . A Graduate of the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy , he is presently the Chaplain of the Thunder Bay Police. Why must we go to confession? Isn’t it good enough to just pray for forgiveness? Also, what is a “spiritual father” and how do you go about finding one?
Holy Confession is one of the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. Frequent participation offers a superb opportunity for spiritual growth, by trying to overcome our sins, through repentance, forgiveness and spiritual counseling by our Father Confessor. Christ established this sacrament after His resurrection. Directing Himself to His Apostles, He gave them the power to forgive sins (John 20:22-23). This power has been passed on ever since then by the Laying-on-of-Hands (ordination) in an unbroken line from the Apostles (the first bishops) to each bishop, and then the bishops in turn delegate this apostolic power to forgive sins to each priest. In essence, the priests and the Bishops are instruments of Christ. It is Christ who forgives the sins of man. Confession without repentance can not exist. Sometimes we go to confession without the decision to change our lives and repent of our sins. How can we have forgiveness when we go to confession without prior repentance? Repentance requires a changed mind, a changed heart and changed life. The greatest obstacle to confessing well, is that people must confess “to” a priest. The first thing that must be remembered is that we do not confess to the priest, we confess to Christ. In the Orthodox service books, the priest is instructed to say to the penitent: “Christ stands here invisibly and receives your Confession…I am only a witness”. In confession gives witness to two things: the repentance of the sinner who confesses and the forgiveness of Christ given freely to the sinner. This forgiveness is given to the penitent by Christ through the priest to whom our Lord entrusted the ministry of forgiveness in accordance with His words. (John 20:22-23). Repentance and Confession are not a trial or a court. It is a shelter for sinners, a “hospital”. It is not enough to pray for forgiveness but we should go to visit the “spiritual doctor” for a spiritual “diagnosis” and get the right “prescriptions”. Every human being has a father in the flesh, a biological father. A Christian, however, also needs a spiritual father which will help him in his spiritual rebirth and guide him in the path of Salvation. The spiritual father is the guide for a life in Christ, the physician of the soul. The spiritual father needs to be truly spiritual. He can not simply offer spiritual ideas and thoughts as mechanical prescriptions; he should try himself to live a life in Christ. The duty of a genuine spiritual father is to direct the vision and the hearts of his children to the Lord; not to himself. We as priests and confessors we do not project our own person, but our Lord. We do not put ourselves on the pedestal, but we point out Christ as the Redeemer of all.
Fr. Constantine Siarapis is the Priest at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto . He is also the Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy .
Why do we celebrate Christmas by the new calendar but other Orthodox Churches do not?
Until WWI, all Orthodox Churches had strictly abided by the Old (Julian) Calendar-attributed to the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., which at present is 13 days behind the New (Gregorian) Calendar. The latter is attributed to the 16th century Pope Gregory XIII who attempted to correct the ever increasing discrepancy between calendar time and calculated astronomical time. In May of 1923, however, an "Inter-Orthodox Congress" was convened at Constantinople by the then Ecumenical Patriarch, Meletios IV. One of issues that were discussed was the correction of the Julian Calendar, by adopting the New (Gregorian) Calendar. No unanimous agreement was reached on this issue. Several of the Orthodox Churches, however, did eventually agree, though not all at the same time, to adopt the New Calendar. These were the Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria , Antioch , Greece , Cyprus , Romania , Poland , and most recently, Bulgaria (1968); on the other hand, the Churches of Jerusalem, Russia and Serbia , along with the monasteries on Mount Athos , all continue to adhere to the Old (Julian) Calendar.
Why do we then celebrate Easter by the Old Calendar? The celebration of Easter deals mainly with a computation based on (a) the vernal equinox (the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere where night and day each last twelve hours.) and (b) the phase of the moon (Jewish Passover was originally celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal equinox). According to the ruling of the First Ecumenical Synod in 325, Easter Sunday should fall on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The Orthodox Church continues to base its calculations for the date of Easter on the Julian Calendar, which was in use at the time of the First Ecumenical Synod. The Orthodox Church never accepted the New Gregorian Calendar for Easter because the celebration of Easter would be altered: contrary to the authoritative orders of canon 7 of the Holy Apostles, the decree of the First Ecumenical Synod, and canon 1 of Ancyra , Easter would sometimes coincide with the Jewish Passover in the Gregorian calendar.
Fr. Konstantine Chatzis is the Parish Priest of Sts. Peter and Paul Community in Kitchener , Ontario . He is also Professor of Liturgics at the Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy .
What does the Bible say about our role in taking care of our environment? Our parishioners should be taught to be eco-friendly! Don’t litter! Recycle! Walk! Change light bulbs! Our planet is in danger.
In these times of "advancement" and "progress" there is a great deal of attention given to the damage that we are doing to our environment and the earth as a whole. We as Christians, though many times do not, should act, or better yet, interact with the earth more responsibly as we are commanded to do so by our Scriptures, the Old and New Testament. First and foremost, we believe that the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is indeed the Creator of all (Col. 1:16b, Ps. 103/104, Genesis 1 and 2:1-4). Thus, the environment and all of creation has a very special place in the heart of the Lord. We were set as the leaders of creation, to "rule" over it, as we hear in the Genesis narrative. Yet, to rule can mean two things: to rule well or to rule badly. We have chosen to rule badly, (Gen. 3:17, Isa. 24:5-6, Hosea 4:1-3, Rev. 11:18). Our Scriptures however implore us to treat all creation with love and respect. (Ps. 65:1, 9-13, Ps. 104:13-15, 21-24, Gen. 1:25-31; 2:1, Gen. 2:7-9a, 15, 19-20a, 2 Chron. 7:13-14). Let us not forget, that to hurt the environment is a sin. Why? Simply because, our Lord became "creation" to save us from our sins. If we hurt His creation then we hurt Him and that is a sin. Further, in Genesis we read that we, although part of creation, were created in the image of God. As bearers of this image, is it correct to act in a manner that is not loving in every way and towards everything? We cannot set creation and the environment on a different level then anything else. All of it is God's creation. Let us care for it as God does.
What books do you recommend a new Orthodox Christian to read? There are several very good books for those who are new to the Orthodox faith. The classic book is "The Orthodox Church" by Timothy Ware. Also, another very good book for beginners is "A Guide to Guide to Greek Traditions and Custom in America " by Maryllin Rouvelas. Though it is not only about Orthodoxy, it does have a great deal of basic information for the beginner. Further, "Catechism" by His Eminence Metropolitan Sotirios, offers a simple yet concise look at the Dogmas of the Church. All of the "Orthodox Saints" series by George Poulos offer wonderful insight into the Saints of our Church. To understand some of the symbolism which fills our faith I recommend two wonderful books: "Sacred Symbols that Speak, Volumes 1& 2" by Anthony Coniaris, and "Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy" by Fotios K. Litsas. Iconography will be clearer after reading books like "Guide to Byzantine Iconography, Volumes 1&2" by Constantine Cavarnos. Finally, every Orthodox Christian, new or old, should have the Orthodox Study Bible, as it guides the Orthodox through the correct interpretation of the Scriptures. Use these books to bring yourself closer to God and His Church.
Rev. Fr. Theologos Drakos is the Spiritual Youth Director of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto ( Canada ). He is also the Parish Priest at Koimisis Greek Orthodox Church in Kingston .
What is the Orthodox position on abortion?
The Church believes and has taught from the beginning that abortion is a serious offence and that it is not permitted to Christians. This is found in one of the earliest texts outside of the Scriptures as well as later Fathers and the church canons. Simply put, we believe that life is more than the mere biological union of sperm and ovum, but that in this union human life comes into being. The Scriptures affirm this: the prophet, Jeremiah, writes: ‘Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...”’ (Jer. 1.4-5). That is, you were already a distinct and separately existing person even within the womb and from your beginning I have set you apart to be my prophet. Likewise, the angel speaks to Joseph concerning Mary: ‘... that which is conceived in her is of the holy Spirit...’ (Mt 1.20). Again, this child is already what he will become. He is not a thing, but a creation of God. There are other passages. Nevertheless, in highly exceptional circumstances, we acknowledge the necessity of abortion for the life of the mother, especially where the child cannot be brought safely to term in any case. But never is abortion to be treated as ‘birth control’. This is a violation of the very nature of men and women to reduce the child to a disposable piece of foreign tissue. I have not yet found a woman who proudly announced that she was carrying a foetus! Rather, women talk to and about the baby, the child they are carrying. Fathers proudly (even boastfully) announce that he and his wife are expecting a child. Women who have had a miscarriage mourn the loss of the child they awaited; it is not a matter of indifference. And years later, we hear confessions of women in tears who have had abortions. It was not a light matter. Thus, the experience of priests and parents within the Church reflecting on life and the Scriptures under the guidance of the Holy Spirit confirms this attitude and constitutes the basis for our consistent teaching on the question.
Fr. Mark Schram serves our Church as the Priest of Patrokosmas Monastery in Bolton , Ontario . He has spoken at various Youth events in the past
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