Humankind—the Crown of Creation

For you fashioned a man by taking dust from the earth,

and honoured him, O God, with your own image.

You placed him in the Paradise of delight.

(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

118. “Lord ... what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that  you  care  for  him?  Yet  you  have  made  him  little  less  than  God,  and crown him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over  the  works  of  your  hands;  you  have  put  all  things  under  his  feet”  (Ps 8:1, 4-6). With these words Holy Scripture extols humankind. The Lord God set humanity to govern creation: “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” (Gn 1:26).
119. In the course of six days God creates the world, preparing it for human-kind: “It was not to be looked for that the ruler should appear before the subjects of his rule; but when his dominion was prepared, the next step was  that  the  king  should  be  revealed”(Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 2: PG 44, 132).  Having  created  humankind,  God crowns his creation. “In what then does the greatness of human-kind consist, according to the doctrine of the Church? Not in his likeness to the created world, but in his being in the image of the nature of the Creator”(Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 16, PG 44, 177).
120. Based on the above, Gregory of Nyssa teaches that the dignity of the human being lies in the fact that by its very nature humanity is higher than all creation, since it was created in the royal image of its creator and freely and with full authority rules over its desires(See Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 3-4: PG 44, 134-136). The dignity of humankind is in the image of God. The Lord himself preserves human dignity as inviolable and cares for the human being:Who else is there that ministers to you more faithfully than I? All creation I created to serve you; the heaven and the earth serve you: the one with its moisture, the other with its fruits. For your sake the sun serves with its light and with its warmth, and the moon and  the  stars  lighten  the  night.  For  your  sake  the  clouds  nourish the earth with rain, and the earth brings forth all manner of grasses with their seeds and the trees with their fruits to serve you. For your sake the rivers bear fish and the wastes rear beasts(Kirill of Turov, Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter). 

Humankind—in the Image and Likeness of God)

121. The Book of Genesis reveals a profound bond between humankind and God:  “Let  us  make  humankind  in  our  image,  according  to  our  likeness” (Gn 1:26). In his commentary upon these words, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons explains: “The image of God is the Son, according to whose image  humankind  was  made;  and  for  this  reason  he  appeared  in  the  last  times,  to  render  the  image  like  himself”(Irenaeus of Lyons, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, 22). It  was  precisely  in  the  image of Christ, the incarnate Son of God, that humankind was created. Humanity is the “image of the Image,”(See John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen [Light of the East], (May 2, 1995), 15; see also Gregory of Nyssa, On Perfection, To the Monk Olympius: PG 46, 272) existing “in Christ,” in whom the human being is adopted by God. It can only be understood “through Christ”(See John  Paul  II,  Encyclical  Redemptor  Hominis  [The  Redemption  of  Man]  (March  4,  1979), 11).
122. As affirmed by the Holy Fathers, humankind in its essence is the image of the Prototype—the inexpressible, unknowable, and immortal God (Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 16: PG 44, 177). Humankind has the capacity of “intellect and free will” (John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, II, 12: PG 94, 920) and the interior power of self-determination (See Gregory of Nyssa, On the Making of Man, 16: PG 94, 177). Thus, the Holy Fathers affirm that the image of God in humankind is the ground of our being, existence, and personal self-determination.
123. Humankind, as the image of God, always aspires to its Prototype: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God” (Ps41[42]:2). The Holy Fathers referred to this aspiration as the longing of humankind to attain the likeness of God. In the words of Gregory of Nyssa, “truly herein consists the real assimilation to the Divine, that is, in making our own life in some degree a copy of the Supreme Being” (Gregory of Nyssa, On the Soul and Resurrection: PG 46, 89-92). Saint  John  of  Damascus  believes  that  “the  phrase  ‘after  his  likeness’  means likeness in virtue [to God] so far as that is possible”(John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, II, 12: PG 94, 920).
124. Every  human  being  that  comes  into  the  world  is  called  to  grow  in  likeness  to  God—to  achieve  divinization  [also  known  as  deifica-tion, the process of theosis]: “God has given us, through these things, his  precious  and  very  great  promises,  so  that  through  them  you  may  escape  from  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  because  of  lust,  and  may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4). This partaking in God’s nature constitutes human happiness. Likeness to God can be attained by us only by free choice and assent, and by cooperation with God’s grace. “Our likeness to God requires our cooperation. When the intellect begins to perceive the Holy Spirit with full consciousness, we should realize that grace is beginning to paint the divine likeness over the divine image in us”(Diadochos of Photiki, On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination, 89:PG 65, 1203).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

For Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities,Authorities, 

Powers, and the many-eyed Cherubim praise you.

Around you stand the Seraphim...

(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

2. The Visible and Invisible World

113. The Symbol of Faith points to two different dimensions of the world created by God, the visible and the invisible. Saint Maximus the Confessor  teaches  about  the  union  of  everything  visible  and  invisible  in  creation. Basing himself on the words of Saint Paul that everything was created  by  Christ  and  for  Christ  (see  Col  1:16-17),  Maximus  under-stands the word everything to mean the earthly visible and the heavenly invisible,  the  human  visible  and  the  angelic  invisible.  Having  become  incarnate,  Christ  has  inseparably  united  himself  with  creation  in  the  “body and blood” of his human nature(See Maximus the Confessor, Questions to Thalassios, 35: PG 90, 104). All creation, visible and invis-ible, exists not by virtue of its own nature, but by virtue of the action of God’s Son.
114. Angels,  the  heavenly  incorporeal  beings  (spirits)(Prayerbook Прийдіте поклонімся[Come,  Let  Us  Bow  in  Worship], Prayers  for  Every  Day, Sunday: Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity (translated from Ukrainian)  “have  their  being  by the will of the Father, [they] are brought into being by the work of the Son, and are perfected by the presence of the Spirit”(Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, 16, 38: PG 32, 136). God, as the highest  Intelligence,  fashioned  the  angelic  intellects.  He  made  them  partakers  of  his  inexpressible  glory  and  formed  their  incorruptible  essence. The angels are beacons, who reflect the Light of God. Since they  have  received  eternal  life  from  the  Origin  of  Life,  and  because  they contemplate the eternal Glory and Wisdom, they are like mirrors filled with light(See Octoechos, Tone 1, Monday Matins Canon, Troparia for Canticles 7, 8).
115. The existence of the invisible angelic realm attests to the wealth and diversity  of  the  world  created  by  God.  Both  the  visible  and  invisible  belong to one creation, which God looks upon as good. Human beings and  angels,  as  persons,  have  the  opportunity  to  build  personal  and  spiritual relationships with God and with one another: “Today things above keep feast with things below, and things below commune with things above”(Trebnyk, Rite of the Great Blessing of Water for the Feast of Theophany, Second Prayer).
116. The Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great mentions nine angelic  orders.  We  read:  “Angels,  Archangels,  Thrones,  Dominions,  Principalities,  Authorities,  Powers,  and  the  many-eyed  Cherubim  praise  you;  around  you  stand  the  Seraphim.”  The  angelic  orders  are  called  “choirs”  because  of  their  communion  with  God  and  with  one  another. Unceasingly, the angels offer “praise to God” as they abide in the light of God’s glory.
117. In Holy Scripture, angels manifest the presence of God in the world, announcing to human beings the will of God. Holy Scripture refers to some of them by name: Michael (see Rev 12:7; Jude 1:9), Raphael (see Tob 12:15), Gabriel (see Lk 1:19, 26). Angels assist human beings in their spiritual growth (see Heb 1:14). The Tradition of the Church teaches  that  God  grants  every  human  being  a  guardian  angel:  “You  appointed  angels  as  guardians”(Liturgicon, The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Anaphora).  The  unity  of  the  visible  and  invis-ible  creation—human  beings  and  angels—becomes  manifest  in  the  Divine Liturgy, where the earthly expresses the heavenly, and humans serve together with angels: “Let us who mystically represent the cher-ubim and sing the Thrice-holy Hymn to the life giving Trinity...” and “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabbaoth, heaven and earth are full of your glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”(Liturgicon,  The  Divine  Liturgy  of  our  Holy  Father  John  Chrysostom,  Cherubic  Hymn,  Anaphora).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

The Freedom of the Creator and the Goodness of Creation

a. The Freedom of the Creator

103. Holy Scripture begins the account of the creation of the world with these  words:  “In  the  beginning,  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth”  (Gn  1:1).  God  was,  is,  and  remains  always  “in  the  beginning”  of everything created, and all that comes forth in time. The evangelist John  writes  about  God  as  the  beginning  of  everything:  “  ‘I  am  the  Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who  is  to  come,  the  Almighty”  (Rev  1:8).  Saint  Irenaeus  of  Lyons  writes that all things came forth from the hands of God, by the Word and the Holy Spirit.(See Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, IV, 20, 1, 3-4: PG 7, 1031. See also Against Heresies, V, 1, 3: PG 7, 1122-1123)
104. God realizes his plan for the creation of the world through his Word: “Let there be light ... let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters” (Gn 1:3, 6). This creative Word reveals himself in Holy Scripture as the Son of God, begotten of the Father: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation ... he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17).
105. God creates freely; nothing limits his creative freedom. God’s creativity is expressed in creation, in bringing forth being from non-being. God calls forth into being that which did not exist, and did not necessarily have  to  exist.  In  other  words,  what  God  called  into  existence  did  not  come  into  being  out  of  any  necessity.  Holy  Scripture  does  not  tell  us  how the world came to be. Instead, it speaks about the who (the Father), through whom (the Word, the Son), and in whom (the Holy Spirit) God called this world into existence.
106. God   is the Creator. This means that God not only created the world, but that he is always present in his creation, and that he is always cre-ating.  Hence,  creation  is  a  sign  and  expression  of  God’s  creative  love.  Through human beings, creation is called to respond to love with love, and to long for God as God longs for them: “God desires that he might be desired and he loves that he might be loved.”(Maximus the Confessor, Ambigua, 31: PG 91, 1280)

b. The Goodness of Creation

107. In the account of the creation of the world, Holy Scripture discloses the way  in  which  God  assesses  the  world  created  by  him:  “And  God  saw  that it was good” (Gn 1:10 et al.). Like an artist, God creates a master-piece; he examines his creation with attention, and he delights in it. The Father  contemplates  the  world  and  recognizes  within  its  features  the  face of the Son—the first-born of all creation, by whom and for whom all was created (see Col 1:15f ). The face of Christ comes through ever more distinctly throughout history—all the way to the incarnation of the  Son  of  God  and  his  second  coming  in  glory.  Creation  is  the  vis-ible icon of the invisible God. As history unfolds, this creation is being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into a “new creation,” pre-figured in the glorified body of the Risen Christ.
108. Contemplation—a deeper way of looking at the world, to which God calls us—teaches us to see the surrounding world not only as a material thing, or as something useful and pleasurable for our egos, but as the sphere of action of the personal God, who is distinct from us and from the world. The words of prayer from the Rite of the Great Blessing of Water provide us with a wonderful example of the Christian view of the world: The  sun  sings  your  praises;  the  moon  glorifies  you;  the  stars  entreat  you;  the  light  obeys  you;  the  depths  tremble  before  you;  the  springs  serve  you.  You  have  stretched  out  the  heavens  like  a  tent;  you  have  established  the  earth  upon  the  waters;  you  have  enclosed the sea with sand. You have poured forth air that living things may breathe...(Trebnyk, Rite of the Great Blessing of Water for the Feast of Theophany, Third Prayer.)
109. Contemplation of the world, in light of an experience of the personal God  who  alone  is  good  (see  Lk  18:19),  provides  the  foundation  for  affirming the goodness of the world, of matter, and of all creation. “The world  is  good,  and  all  its  contents  are  seen  to  be  wisely  and  skilfully  ordered.”(Gregory of Nyssa, Great Catechism, I: PG 45, 16)  In  Holy  Scripture,  the  image  of  God’s  plan  for  the  world  is  Paradise  (see  Gn  2).  The  realization  of  this  plan  depends  upon  the  cooperation of humankind with God. Paradise is God’s gift, and at the same time, it is humankind’s vocation.
110. Conceived by God as Paradise, the world is God’s gift to humankind and  the  sphere  of  our  relationship  with  God,  with  others,  and  with  nature. For this reason, human beings cannot take a consumerist atti-tude towards the world, a world that is filled with the love and attention of the Giver. The Christian attitude towards the world is to see it as a gift of God. Growing in faith, Christians ascend in their understanding from the gifts to the Person of the Giver. Regarding the world as God’s gift allows one to avoid two extremes: the reduction of its value (since the  world  is  God’s  creation),  or  turning  it  into  an  absolute  (since  the  world is not God).

c. God’s Plan

111. God the Creator fills creation with the grace of his presence, and yet at the same time, he remains unattainable in his essence. God’s presence in  the  world  is  discovered  through  prayerful  contemplation,  which  is  capable of seeing in the world his divine Prototype, the Christ.
112. In  accordance  with  his  plan,  God  acts  in  the  world;  he  sustains  the  world in existence and leads it to its final fulfilment. This action of God is  referred  to  as  the  Divine  Plan  (Providence)  of  God.  Divine  Providence consists in his gracious “foresight” and the “counsel from before the ages” of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit(See John of Damascus, On the Divine Images, III, 19: PG 94, 1340); this Providence is God’s will for the world and determines the consummation of the world: “By your power you hold together the creation, and by your providence you govern the world.”(Trebnyk, Rite of the Great Blessing of Water for the Feast of Theophany, Third Prayer). This means that in the world and in  our  lives,  there  are  no  coincidences  or  random  occurrences.  Faith  makes it possible to see the action of Divine Providence in the concrete circumstances of life.

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, AND IN OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST,AND IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,THE LORD, THE GIVER OF LIFE

Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
(Symbol of Faith)

Lord of heaven and earth and of all creation visible and invisible.
(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

A. The Creator and His Creation

99. Our  faith  in  the  Creator  gives  us  the  opportunity  to  grasp  the  sense  and essence of the created world. Biblical Revelation unveils for us the presence of God within the reality of the world: we come to know the Creator, and the world—his creation.
100. The word creation points to the connection between the world and the Person  of  the  Creator;  for  the  world  is  “the  work  of  his  hands.”  This  is  why  it  is  impossible  to  know  creation  separately  from  the  Creator.  God’s Revelation brings to our attention not so much the laws of nature as the actions of the Creator’s Divine Economy. In the light of faith, the true beauty of creation is revealed to us as a reflection of the beauty and magnificence  of  its  Creator:  “Lord,  how  manifold  are  your  works!  In  wisdom you have made them all” (Ps 103[104]:24).

1. The Father Creates through the Son in the Holy Spirit

101.  In  loving  humankind,  God  moved  forth  from  the  unapproachable  light of his inner divine life and revealed himself in the world created by him: “Today the Sun that never sets has risen and the world is filled with splendour by the light of the Lord.”(Trebnyk, Rite of the Great Blessing of Water for the Feast of Theophany, Second Prayer). The foundation of the world is “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”(Liturgicon, The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Anaphora.) (see 2 Cor 13:13). On the participation of the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity in the creation of the world, Saint Basil teaches: “When you consider creation, I advise you to first think of him who is the first cause of everything that exists: namely,  the  Father,  and  then  of  the  Son,  who  is  creator,  and  then  of  the Holy Spirit, the perfecter.”(Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, 16, 38) Created in love, this world becomes a temple, the place and environment of God’s relationship with human-ity. The presence of God in the world, as if in a temple, is a prefigurement of the entry of the Son of God into human flesh, the incarnation (see Heb 10:5).
102. The Incarnation of the Son of God reveals the purpose of the created world. At the appointed moment of history, the Son of God descends into creation in order to raise creation to God. This is accomplished by the action of the Holy Spirit. In the six days of creation, the Holy Spirit prepares  an  environment  for  humanity  (see  Gn  1).  In  the  Old  Testament, God prepares humanity for the encounter with the incarnate Son of God, so that through Jesus Christ all creation might be brought to the Father, and “that God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

Patriarch Sviatoslav on the Catechism

The Holy Spirit who Proceeds from the Father

97. In  teaching  about  the  Person  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Fathers  of  the  Church emphasize first and foremost what differentiates the Person of the Holy Spirit from the Persons of the Father and the Son, that is, that the Holy Spirit proceeds (in Ukrainian, iskhodyt; in Greek, exporeutai) from the Father. In conciliar unified fashion, they professed this belief through the Symbol of Faith: “I believe ... in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.” On the procession of the Holy Spirit, Saint Cyril of Alexandria teaches: “The Holy Spirit is the  one  [who]  ...  pours  forth  from  God  the  Father,  through  the  Son,  and shows to us his existence, in the image of breath of the mouth” (Cyril of Alexandria, Dialogues on the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, 2)
98. The  Holy  Fathers  made  a  distinction  between  the  interior  life  of  the  Most Holy Trinity and the revelation of the Trinity in creation. In the Most Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit proceeds (in Ukrainian, iskhodyt; in Greek, exporeutai) from  the  Father—the  one  and  only  Source  of  the  Most Holy Trinity. When the Holy Fathers spoke about the action of the  Persons  of  the  Trinity  in  creation,  they  professed  that  the  Father  sends the Holy Spirit “through the Son”(See Gregory of Nyssa, On the Life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker). Saint Cyril of Alexandria, professing this very same faith, explained this sending of the Holy Spirit “through  the  Son”  as  the  fact  that  the  Holy  Spirit  “comes  from  (in Ukrainian, походит; in Greek, προεναι) the Father and the Son” (See Cyril of Alexandria, Thesaurus on the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity) This interpretation was emphasized by the Fathers of the Council of Florence: “Some [were] saying the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son, others saying the Holy Spirit comes from the Father through the  Son.  All  were  aiming  at  the  same  meaning  in  different  words”(Council of Florence, Bull Laetentur caeli [Let the Heavens Rejoice] ( July 6, 1439)). This opinion was also expressed in the Articles of the Union of Brest: “The Holy Spirit ... proceeds from one Source, as if from a well-spring, from the Father, through the Son”(Articles of the Union of Brest, 1).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

C. We Believe in the Holy Spirit

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father. 

With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. 

He has spoken through the Prophets.

(Symbol of Faith)

Through him the Holy Spirit was made manifest, 

the Spirit of truth,the grace of sonship, 

the pledge of the inheritance to come, 

the first fruit of the eternal good things,

the life-giving power, the source of sanctification.

(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

91. The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Third  Divine  Person  and  proceeds  from  the  Father(see Jn 15:26). This procession [i.e., coming forth] of the Holy Spirit  can  be  explained  through  an  image,  making  use  of  an  analogy:  the Father is the source, the Son is the stream, the Holy Spirit is the water. There is only one source for the stream and the water, only one Father for the Son and for the Holy Spirit, which like water flows from the  source  and  fills  the  river-bed  and  stream(See Tertullian, Against Praxeas, 8). The  Holy  Spirit  is  a  Divine Person that is equally worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son, proceeding from the Father, coming to rest in the Word, and expressing the Word.(See John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, I, 7)
92. The Holy Spirit is often compared to breath, by which the spoken word resounds.  Appropriately,  within  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  the  Father  speaks  the  Word (begets  the  Son)  by  the  Holy  Spirit:  “And  it  is  this  [Breath]  which  in  the  moment  of  utterance  becomes  the  articulate  word, revealing in itself the force of the word.”(John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, I, 7) 

1. The Holy Spirit Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

93. In Holy Scripture, the word spirit (in Hebrew, ruah) shares a common root with the verb to breathe. It means breath, wind, and air. Human life is dependent upon breathing, and when breathing ceases, life ends. We are not masters of our own lives—God gives us life by the life-giving Spirit.
94. From the first sentences of the Book of Genesis, “the Spirit of God”is the image used to signify the living God (Gn 1:2). In the account of the creation of humankind, the Holy Scriptures mention “the breath of life,” which God “breathed into” the man, who then became a “living being” (see Gn 2:7). In the Old Testament, many other images are brought forth as examples that in the New Testament become symbols of the Holy Spirit: “rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38), “anointing” (1 Jn2:20, 27), “fire  of  purification” and “tongues  as  of  fire” (Lk  3:16;  Acts2:3), “wind” (Jn 3:8; Acts 2:2), “seal of anointing on us”(2 Cor 1:22; Eph1:13; Eph 4:30), the laying on of hands(see Acts 6:6; Acts 8:17-19), and “dove ” (Mt 3:16).
95. The New Testament gives the Holy Spirit various titles that emphasize his personhood and divinity: “Advocate” (Jn 14:16); “Spirit of truth” (Jn16:13),  “Spirit  of  adoption” (Rom  8:15),  “Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ” (Phil1:19), “Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:17), “Spirit of God”(Rom 15:19), and  “Spirit  of  glory” (1  Pt  4:14).  These  titles  indicate  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Lord  of  life,  and  for  this  reason  we  refer  to  him  as  “the  Lord, the Giver of life.” The Anaphora of Saint Basil the Great refers to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  “life-giving  power,”  which  is  the  “source  of  sanctification,” and the “first fruit of the eternal good things.”
96. Christ points to the unique mission of the Holy Spirit in the history of salvation: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf ” (Jn 15:26-27). As Christ had prophesied, the Holy Spirit “will teach you everything, and remind you of all” (Jn 14:26), “he will guide you into all the truth; ... he will declare to you the things that are to come” (Jn 16:13). “He will glorify me [i.e., the Son], for he will take what is mine and declare it to you [the disciples]”(Jn 16:14).

We Believe in the Only Begotten Son, Part II

1. The Son of God Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

87. At  the  Theophany  on  the  Jordan  River,  the  Father  himself  calls  Jesus  Christ his own Son: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11). In the Old Testament, the title son of God is given to the people of God: “Thus says the Lord, Israel is my first-born son” (Ex  4:22).  The  title  is  also  given  to  the  Messiah,  the  Anointed  One:  “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession’ ” (Ps 2:7-8).
88. The New Testament gives new meaning to the title Son of God, empha-sizing the uniqueness of the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. Christ himself makes a distinction between his own divine sonship  and  our  sonship  in  God:  “I  am  ascending  to  my  Father  and  your Father” (Jn 20:17; see Jn 1:18). The Father witnesses to the exclusiveness  of  Christ’s  sonship  in  the  revelation  at  the  Transfiguration:  “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Lk 9:35). The evangelist John professes the divinity of God’s Son: “The Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true ... he is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn 5:20)

2. The Only-Begotten Son

89. The  Son  of  God,  the  Second  Person  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  equal  in dignity and essence with the Father, is “the splendour of the Father, the unchangeable and immutable image of his essence and his nature, the fountain of wisdom and grace.”(Floral Triodion, Monday of the Holy Spirit, Vespers, Second Kneeling Prayer). Therefore, the Church professes Christ to be the only-begotten Son, in the bosom of the Father (see Jn1:18). Begotten of the Father, the Son is uncreated; he is the only One from the Father, an unrepeatable Person of God, the Word of God.For  God  sent  forth  the  Word  ...  just  as  the  root  puts  forth  the  tree, and the fountain [i.e., spring] the river, and the sun the ray ... should not hesitate, indeed, to call the tree the son or offspring of  the  root,  and  the  river  that  of  the  fountain  [i.e.,  spring],  and  the ray that of the sun; because every original source is a parent, and everything which issues from the origin is an offspring. Much more is this true of the Word of God, who has actually received as his own peculiar designation the name of Son.(Tertullian, Against Praxeas, 8)
90. The  Church  professes  the  Son  to  be  one  in  being  [essence]  with  the  Father,  emphasizing  the  equality  of  Persons  within  the  Most  Holy  Trinity, and the unity of God’s nature, thus confirming the divinity of the  Son  of  God.  The  Son  did  not  come  to  be  in  time,  as  did  crea-tures. Therefore, he is not lower than the Father. He co-exists with him eternally and is equal to him in all things, other than begetting, which belongs to the Father.(See John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, I, 7)

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

We Believe in the Only-Begotten Son, Part I

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father.

Light from Light, true God from true God,begotten, 

not made, one in being with the Father. (Symbol of Faith)

You are without beginning,invisible, incomprehensible, 

uncircumscribed, unchangeable,the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ 

... he is the image of your goodness,the perfect seal of your 

likeness—revealing you, the Father, in himself—living Word, 

true God, Wisdom before the ages,Life, 

Sanctification, Power, and the true Light. 

(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

85. God the Father begets the Son in freedom and love. The invisible love of the Father, from which the Son is begotten, becomes visible in the Son: “The Father is the invisible [Revelation] of the Son, and the Son is the visible [Revelation] of the Father.”(Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, IV, 6, 6) In this love, the Father and the  Son  are  one.  The  begotten  Son  is  at  the  same  time  hypostatically  (as Person) different from the Father. The Father begets Someone other than himself, revealing himself completely within the Son, as Other.(See Athanasius the Great, First Letter to Serapion, 16)
86. The Son of God is a reflection of “God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (Heb 1:3). His personal generation from the Father is a begetting of “Light from Light, true God from true God.” The Son of God, “reveals in himself the Father.” He is the “living Word,”(Liturgicon, The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Anaphora) who was in God “from all ages” and was God (see Jn 1:1). This Son of God is “the image of [the Father’s] goodness, the perfect seal of [the Father’s] likeness,”(Liturgicon, The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Anaphora) “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Therefore, the Son of God is simultaneously the Word and Image of God.

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

The Father without Beginning

79. The Church calls “Father” him who has no father, and was never anyone’s son (See Athanasius the Great, First Letter to Serapion, 16) The evangelist John says that the Word was “in the beginning”  ( Jn  1:1)  (in  Slavonic, в начали, v  nachali,  “as  the  foundational  principle”).  The Holy Fathers understood this to affirm that “the beginning” is the Person of the Father (Gregory the Theologian, Oration 42, 15). He who is the personal Beginning of all is himself without a beginning that would cause him to be. In other words, the Father  is  the  Beginning  without  beginning.  This  antinomy  expresses  the freedom of the divine Person of the Father, who is not caused by anything or anyone. “The Father is ... said to be both without origin, and origin  himself—origin  in  that  he  is  the  cause  and  spring  and  eternal.
80. In her experience, the Church always contemplates the Father in relation to the Son and the Holy Spirit, and this Trinity (Triad) as a communion of Persons.I believe in one God, the Father glorified in the Trinity—unbegotten, beginningless and endless; in the Son—begotten, yet co-beginningless  and  co-endless  with  the  Father;  and  in  the  Holy  Spirit—who proceeds from the Father and is revealed in the Son, co-beginningless and equal to the Father and the Son. I believe in the Trinity, one in essence, yet multiple in Persons; Trinity accord-ing to names, yet one God (Ilarion, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Confession of Faith).
81. The Father is the Father because he is the Father of the Son and the Source  of  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit are “from the Father, although not after the Father.”(See Gregory the Theologian, Oration 29, The Third Theological Oration, 3). The generation of the Word and the procession of the Spirit are not to be taken according  to  categories  of  time:  “For  the  Father  eternally  begets  the  Son, co-eternal and co-reigning; and the Holy Spirit is in the Father, glorified with the Son; one power, one nature, and one divinity.”(Floral Triodion, Pentecost, Vespers, Final Sticheron at Psalm 140). God the Father is the Beginning of the indivisible and most intimate communion (in Greek, koinonia) in love of the divine Persons.
82. The personal distinctiveness of the Father from the Son and the Holy Spirit lies in the fact that the Father is unbegotten. Himself unbegotten, he is the Beginning of the Person of the Son and of the Person of the Holy Spirit. The fact that God the Father is without beginning means that he is not conditioned by anyone or anything else.The Father is called thus because he begets the Son; and the Son is called thus because he is begotten by the Father; and the Holy Spirit is called thus because of his procession from the Father, yet being inseparable from him (Ilarion, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Confession of Faith).
83. In the Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, the Church calls  the  Father  incomprehensible  and  uncircumscribable. The incomprehensibility of the Father indicates that no stage of our coming to know God  is  ever  definitive.  After  all,  only  God  can  know  God  to  his  very  depths: “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:11). Our knowledge of God will grow in faith, according to the words of the holy apostle Paul, until we see him “face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). For humankind, the incomprehensibility of God guarantees an endless growth in coming to know God, which is “eternal life.”
84. Just as the Father cannot be circumscribed, so also his incomprehensibility attests to the impossibility of reducing the Personhood of God to any forms of expression used by human beings, whether through image or word. God the Father is not portrayed on icons, because the Father did not become incarnate, nor take on the image of a human being. The Father is revealed by his only-begotten Son, who is the “image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

We Believe in God the Father

I believe in one God, the Father...

(Symbol of Faith)

O Master, the One-Who-Is, Lord God, Father Almighty...

(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)

74. Basing  itself  on  Divine  Revelation  and  its  interpretation  by  the  Holy  Fathers,  in  the  Niceno-Constantinopolitan  Symbol  of  Faith the  Church  of  Christ  professes  her  faith  in  God  the  Father  as  follows:  “I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.” The fatherhood of God is understood to mean that the Father eternally begets the Son; and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (See Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, I, 32). God has created everything and governs all things.  The  Father  is  the  Creator  and  Pantocrator for  all  his  creation.  The universe came into existence because God the Father willed it. We believe in the one God, because there is only one God the Father.1. God the Father Revealed in the Holy Scriptures
75. God reveals himself as Person: “I am who I am,” or “the One-Who-Is”  (Ex 3:14). This God-who-is-Person is the only one who really is.  Everything else exists only inasmuch as God wills it to exist. God is holy, that is, totally different from all creation. There is no other like God. He is unique. Thus, it is not possible to imagine him with our thoughts, or to portray him in any material way: “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Ex 20:4). In contrast to lifeless idols, the true God lives. Lacking appropriate words to express the mystery of God’s life, Holy Scripture often makes use of anthropomorphisms, thereby applying to God the behavioural traits of a living human being: God loves, converses, assists, pities, is sad, becomes angry, does battle, punishes...
76. In the Old Testament, God reveals himself through various images and events that witness to his presence: in the three travellers whom Abraham  received;  in  the  vision  of  the  ladder  joining  heaven  and  earth  in  the  dream  of  the  patriarch  Jacob;  before  Moses  in  the  burning  bush  that was not consumed; in the pillars of fire and cloud (see Ex 13:21); over the Ark of the Covenant (see Ex 25:22); and as a quiet and gentle breeze (see 1 Kgs 19:12).
77. The Chosen People of God profess their God, exalting him with various names: Saviour (2 Sm 22:2-3; Ps 106[107]:21; Is 43:3-4; Is 45:15); Creator  (  Job 4:17; Job 32:22; Ps 95[96]:6; Is 17:7; Is 51:13); Lord (Ex 3:15); Father (Ps 89[90]:27; Is 9:5; Is 63:16; Mal 1:6); Bridegroom (Hos 2:22); and  Shepherd  (Ps  23[24]:1).  However,  the  Old  Testament  titles  were  merely  prefigurements  of  the  Revelation  of  God  as  the  Father  of  the  only-begotten Son. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” ( Jn 1:18).
78. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, in whom along with a human nature “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9), reveals the Father: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27). Jesus teaches us to address God as “Our Father” (Mt 6:9) and to imitate his perfection:  “Be  perfect,  therefore,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect”  (Mt 5:48). In Jesus Christ, the invisible God becomes visible for people: “The Father and I are one” ( Jn 10:30) and “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” ( Jn 14:9).

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

We Believe in the Trinity, One in Essence and Undivided

From Christ Our Pascha, 

the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church

71 The Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—infinitely surpasses all possibilities of human understanding. “His divinity [i.e., Godhead] is completely unfathomable, and his essence, which is above all, is not what the mind conceives it to be.”(St Gregory of Nyssa, Oration on the Divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit). According to the words of the apostle Paul, the depths of this mystery can be plumbed only by the Holy Spirit: “So also no one comprehends what  is  truly  God’s  except  the  Spirit  of  God”  (1  Cor  2:11).  However,  that same Spirit, the Spirit of truth, descending upon people, reveals the inner life of God. The Holy Spirit teaches people to express the truth, inasmuch  as  this  is  possible,  through  the  language  of  faith:  “Now  we  have received ... the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the  gifts  bestowed  upon  us  by  God.  And  we  speak  of  these  things  in  words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting  spiritual  things  to  those  who  are  spiritual”  (1  Cor  2:12-13).  And  then, having thus taught, the Holy Spirit keeps vigil, that the faith, “the assurance of things hoped for,” might grow into the contemplation of “things not seen” (see Heb 11:1); that humankind may see the invisible as if it were visible, and see what is obscure face to face. “[Christians of the East] perceive that one draws close to this presence above all by let-ting oneself be taught an adoring silence, for at the culmination of the knowledge and experience of God is his absolute transcendence.” (St. John Paul II, Orientale Lumen)

72  The presence of the transcendent God is expressed through the symbolism of the liturgy and of the church building: by the curtain behind the Royal Doors of the iconostasis, by the Holy Gifts covered by veils, by the raised aer (in Slavonic, vozdukh, вождух) during the Creed, and by the cloud of incense. “There is the transcendent unity of God and the fruitfulness of God, and as we prepare to sing this truth we use the names ‘Trinity’ and ‘Unity’ for that which is fact beyond every name.”(Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, The Divine Names) Even though we refer to God using these titles, we are fully aware that we do not thereby exhaust the mysteries of God. No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish them [as Per-sons] than I am carried back to the One. When I think of any One of the Three [Persons] I think of him as the whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking of escapes me. (Gregory the Theologian, The Oration on Holy Baptism).

73  In our liturgical and personal prayers, through the constant invocation and glorification of the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,  we  simultaneously  express  our  faith  and  communion  with  the  Most Holy Trinity, which grants us “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” (The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Blessing prior to the Anaphora).

January 10, 2016 – ENGLISH SUPPLEMENT TO THE BULLETIN OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST UCC – SYRACUSE, NY

In the time of the first monastic, St. Anthony, when monks filled the desert in the 4th century and righteousness flowered like a magnificent garden giving life in the barren valleys of death, there was a certain disciple of St. Anthony, known for his great sanctity and his unbelievable asceticism and self-denial. He was able to raise the dead, heal the sick and to drive out evil spirits. Great was his boldness and life in Christ, one that few could ever dream of possessing. Shortly before he died, his face began to shine like the sun in all its strength. He called for his disciples and they were amazed and terrified by the sight. This great man of virtue exclaimed to them, “Behold, St. Anthony has come to lead me to heaven....” After a few moments he cried out again, “Behold, the choir of the Prophets are here....” His face began to become even more luminous as he confessed “Behold, the choir of Apostles has come....” Engulfed in greater and greater heavenly sweetness, the Saint seemed to begin to speak with someone. The fathers gathered around him, asking him who he was speaking to. The Saint replied that he was asking the Angels for more time to repent.

With this, the Fathers surrounding him were struck dumb with wonder, and said, “Father, certainly, you have finished repenting and have attained your goal of the Kingdom....” As he heard these words, his face was enveloped with an unbearable brilliance and those who stood by trembled with fear as the Saint confessed “Behold, the King of Glory, the Lord of All, Christ our God has come... and my brothers, the only thing I know now is that I have not even begun to repent.” At this, there was a brilliant flash of lightening and the room was filled with indescribable fragrance as the Saint gave his soul into the hands of the Lord.

In today's Gospel, we hear of our Lord, who after his baptism by John in the Jordan and the temptation by Satan in the desert, came to Capernaum to begin His public ministry. Amazingly, the very first word that came out of His mouth was a simple, clear command: “Repent.” He said “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Indeed, the ONLY way that we enter into this Kingdom He speaks of is through the gates of Repentance. Repentance is a beginning that never has an end. It is an infinite journey towards God and away from oneself; away from ones' own self-centered reasoning so as to embrace the wisdom found in the commandments of God. It is not only the door and gate but also the highway on which we travel to God. Repentance is a crossing over from death to life. It is a contrite and broken heart that God will not despise. If we truly are repenting, St. Silouan tells us that we will, “readily bear every affliction that comes to us—voluntary or involuntary” for by faith we know that it is through these afflictions and temptations that we find purification and healing from sin and death.

The word repentance in Greek is 'metanoia' which literally means a transformation of our mind and of our view of the world, of ourselves and of those around us. This transformation happens not because we enact some kind of individual solution. Rather it is a transformation that comes about through an encounter with the Living God. When we encounter Christ personally it is only through this that we can begin to see ourselves as we really are. After the Prophet Isaiah saw the Lord on His Throne, he exclaimed with trembling “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips...for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Host.” Indeed, time after time in the New Testament, we see many people meeting our Lord Jesus Christ and through this real and personal encounter they come to realize the reality of sin in their own life...and almost more importantly are granted the strength and courage to work for a change. The Samaritan women at the well, after meeting Christ and having all of the secrets of her heart revealed, puts it very well when she went to tell others about the Lord by saying, “Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did.” It might be said that the greatest spiritual problem today is that we do not recognize sin and we are not aware of our true spiritual state...or even indifferent to it. We may THINK that we know but really, it is, as St. John the Evangelist tells us in the Gospel, that ONLY the Holy Spirit that can reveal the reality of sin to us and all of its terrible consequences. (Sadly, often the first inclination is to refuse to take responsibility for sin, whether it be our own or even that of our world. We, like Adam in the Garden, are the first to blame others for our own sins and short comings and as a result we too, like Adam, are separated from God because of it.) We may say in protest that we do not have any noticeable or serious sins or that we don't really know what repentance is. And yet, the answer for all of this is simple: Seek God! We must seek the God of our Fathers Who was manifest in the Flesh at Bethlehem and was baptized by John in the Jordan without ever changing Who He always was and is: the Eternal Son and Word of the Father, Light from Light, True God of True God, Jesus Christ. We must seek to know the Light and Life of the world because, as St. Ignatius Brianchaninov tells us, “the mind can [only] see its sins when the grace of God touches it. Darkened by the fall, the mind of itself is not capable of seeing them. The sight of our sins and our sinfulness is a gift of God.” If we do not seek to know Christ with all our heart through prayer, the Church's Sacraments, and living a Christian Life, we will never be able to understand what sin REALLY is, what its eternal consequences are, and why repentance is so critical. St. John Chrysostom explained that is necessary to repent, “not merely for one or two days but throughout one's entire life.” Repentance is the cleansing bath that cleanses our souls from the daily dirt of sin and of the passions. It is important for us to freely be able to admit our weakness, faults and shortcomings for as one modern Orthodox commentator explained: “Just as the strength of God is revealed in the extreme vulnerability of His Son on the Cross, so also the greatest strength of man is to embrace his weakness....To be flawed is the illogical, perhaps supernatural characteristic of humanity [through] and in which one can encounter God.” Astoundingly, it is through our failings and sins that we come to be able to properly seek and to come to know God, for He is the one who saves us. God is the God of the perishing, not the strong. God has chosen the weak and foolish things of this world to shame the mighty and wise. Only those who refuse to repent will not find salvation” for frighteningly, St. Isaac tells us that “he who is destitute of repentance is destitute of future delight” in the after-life. (“The meaning of the word repentance is this: continual and intense supplication which by means of prayer filled with compunction draws near to God in order to seek forgiveness of past offenses, and entreaty for preservation from future ones”) It is through our prayers at home and within the Church together that we come into contact with the Living God. From this contact, we often find ourselves at a loss, seeing the poverty of our fallen condition and our need of restoring the communion that has been broken...not only with God but with those around us as well. Confession re-establishes this bond between God and man. Confession brings healing, hope and life. It is not a juridical pronouncement but rather a healing release from the past which grants us great hope for the future. St. John Chrysostom asks us “Have you committed a sin? Then enter the Church and repent of your sin...For here is a Physician, not a Judge; here is not an investigation but remission.” “Confession is not a matter of being let off, or a clearance; but rather it has the force of healing, and of making us whole.” That is why we in the Church have such a great hope and have no need to despair over anything that has happens to us. We may be deeply sinful. But we make confession, the priest reads the prayer, we are forgiven and we progress towards immortality, without any anxiety and without any fear..” Therefore, let us not despair. Let us put our hope in the One Who made us and Who longs to save us if we will only cooperate and patiently endure. Let us never abandon the Physician Who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can recall the Saint at the beginning of this sermon who saw the Lord and was convinced of only one thing. In His first public word, the Lord uttered that one, clear command, opening the door of the Kingdom to all people. And now, we too, in the midst of all of our busy lives and our families and friends and work must truly have concern for one thing. If we were to die today, let us hope that we will not die with deep remorse, wondering why amidst all of our activities in life we did not find time to make the effort to do one thing. Repentance: It is a life that is lived; a journey that is taken; a command from above this world from the Creator to the Creature; It is the door to Paradise that we all truly seek. If we wish to enter, let us all begin again today.

Theophany

Theophany Icon Explained

Theophany Season:

Theophany, sometimes called Epiphany, is upon us (Богоявлення in Ukrainian, Θεοφάνεια in Greek).  The sixth of January is the official date that the baptism of Christ is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.  It is not to be confused with the Western holiday also called Epiphany which is a celebration of the magi presenting the baby Christ with their gifts.

The word Theophany means “Revelation of God;” Theophany therefore marks the revelation of the Trinitarian nature of God when Jesus was baptized.  Those who witnessed heard the Father’s voice from Heaven, saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and could see Jesus in the flesh.

Theophany Icon:

The symbolism of this icon is deep and rich.  There is one particular part that we want to focus on at this time:

Jesus is naked, or nearly so.

Christ is purposely depicted as being naked (or almost naked) and looking good.  But why is that significant?

All throughout the creation narrative in Genesis one, we see God creating and then saying it is “good.”  Man and woman were created together in God’s image.  They were both beautiful and naked, and God called it good.  However, when they fell into sin, they hid in shame until God brought them clothes to wear.  The glory of their beauty and nakedness became an object of shame.  Adam and Eve fell, and with them fell creation.

Now, enter Jesus Christ: he represents the second Adam (1 Cor 15).  In shame and nakedness, Adam hid.  Yet Christ comes in his majesty, both as God and man, both in glory and nakedness completely unashamed, representing the beauty of the undefiled human made possible through Him (and in the subsequent centuries, Christians were always baptized naked).  He is baptized in the Jordan River, but it is really the Jordan that was baptized.

We see the beginning of a new creation in Theophany.  Things are being set right.  Christ has come not only to cleanse and restore mankind, but to adopt us as heirs into his Kingdom.  And when we receive His glory, not only are we redeemed, but we draw up all of creation with us.  That is why “creation groans” in eager expectation, awaiting the glorification of the children of God. (Rom 8)

A few other notes about the Icon:

At the top the Holy Spirit is descending upon Jesus as a dove, the Holy Spirit is depicted in a Mandorla.*

The angels on the right side are waiting to attend and dress him after the baptism is over.

John the Baptist, while baptizing Jesus is either turned away or looking at the Spirit descending upon him.  This signifies that Theophany is about elevating Jesus Christ.  If this were an Olympic race, it would be as if the Old Testament (John the Baptist and all before him) were passing the baton to the New Testament (Jesus Christ and all of the saints).

There is an axe near John the Baptist, which reflects his warning that our lives must bear the fruit of the Spirit or else we will be removed.

Jesus is not submerged in the water, for creation was baptized in Him, not vice versa.

Lastly, the strange little creatures riding fish at the bottom represent the Jordan River and the Sea, both fleeing at the sight of something much bigger and greater than themselves entering the water.  This again signifies that Christ baptized creation.

Theophany Music:

There are several hymns sung during this season, but the forefeast Troparion hymn confirms some of the things that are written about here: “O Adam, be glad with our first mother, Eve; hide not as you did of old in Paradise. Seeing you naked, He has appeared now to clothe you in the first robe again. Christ has appeared, for He truly wills to renew all creation.”

Theophany Celebrations:

During this time of the year, a beautiful ceremony is carried out and holy water is prepared in each parish.  Congregants are free to take the holy water home with them.  A portion is kept and used by the church throughout the year.

Also, house blessings are completed during the subsequent weeks using the holy water prepared during the Feast of Theophany.  Plan to have the priest perform a house blessing during the coming weeks, it is an honor and a privilege.

*A Mandorla is an ancient symbol and the most concise way to express Christ’s majesty, glory and divinity in holy icons. It is also true that the mandorla is used to reveal the glory which is beyond vision. This is why the mandorla is also found surrounding Jesus in Icons of the Ascension, and also surrounding the Holy Spirit which descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove at His baptism. In both these cases, the mandorla is not showing something which was seen directly, but represents the glory and majesty beyond what was physically witnessed by the gathered crowds.

The Baptism of Christ

The Gospel according to St. Mark begins not with an infancy narrative like Matthew's and Mark's, but about thirty years after the Lord's birth with the story of the final Old Testament prophet. Isaiah prophesied that God's messenger would appear first and prepare the way for the Messiah. That messenger was John the Baptist.

The Baptist had two messages. He preached repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. John also preached about the One who was coming after him, “the thong of whose sandal” he said he was unworthy to untie. This One, he preached, would bring a different baptism. It would be a baptism with the Holy Spirit, not merely an earthly baptism, but a heavenly one. In other words, he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.

John's baptism in water for the forgiveness of sins was about the admission and correction of moral failings not just for individuals, but for society as a whole. All the Old Testament prophets addressed injustice and John was no different. They all spoke truth to power. They preached sermons of fire and brimstone against the powers that be. They spoke out against oppression of the poor, widows, orphans, and all forms of inequality. The judgment the prophets said was coming on Israel was because of the faithlessness of the people of God which was manifested in injustice, oppression and inequality in society. That is why many of the prophets were murdered. St. James echoes that message in the New Testament when he proclaims that true religion is the care of orphans and widows in their affliction. James was also a prophet in this social, moral sense.

The word “prophet” comes from the Greek word which literally means one who “speaks before” or “speaks out”. The prophets were not fortune tellers. They were not primarily tellers of the future. They saw injustice and spoke out against it. It just so happens that God inspired their message so that there was more to it than met the eye. Within the message were deeper and more mystical messages. It is the Orthodox understanding that every one of them spoke about the coming of Christ even as they were speaking about injustice and oppression in their times. At the same time they spoke about their own times and about things which were to come, although they may well have been unaware of the later.

A baptism with the Holy Spirit implies something that only God could do, a baptism that would not only bring forgiveness of moral failings, but a transformation of the whole person. The Gospel of Jesus is about far more than the correction of moral failings. Transformation is about change from the inside out. Thomas Merton writes:
"Good moral actions are not enough. Everything in us, from the very depths, must be cleansed and reordered..."
We are in need of a deep cleaning in those areas of which we are conscious and those of which we are not conscious. Only God the Holy Spirit can accomplish this. Only a Baptism with the Holy Spirit can penetrate to the secret corners of human consciousness. As the Resurrected Jesus could pass through walls in his body, the Holy Spirit can penetrate all the closed doors and dark corners of the heart and mind. John the Baptist's baptism was only an introduction to something far more significant.

This transformation is not a transformation into something new. The spiritual life is not the discovery of something “different”, but rather a return to the truth of what really is. God created everything and called it “good”. When he created human beings he called them “very good”. That goodness has never been undone. The creation remains 'good” and humanity “very good” in spite of the not-so-good stuff we participate in and see going on around us. The coming of Christ into this world reveals this truth and wakes us up.

When we bless water this week we will see this truth in action. We add nothing to the water. The water does not change into something other than water. Filled with the transforming power of God it is revealed to be what it was created to be, a means of communion with God. The Holy Spirit's descent enlightens us and reveals the innate beauty and holiness of the water.
Jesus was not changed in the Transfiguration, the apostles' eyes were changed, or rather, opened. The Bread and Wine in the Eucharist remain bread and wine and yet become also the Body and Blood by the power of the Holy Spirit, filling them and revealing them to us transformed into God. Our senses, our hearts, and our minds are the target of the sacraments. The world participates in the all-encompassing work of salvation through them and our perception is healed in the process.

The Christian spiritual life reveals the same thing about us. Our original goodness remains intact, but we have become oblivious to it. We begin to believe we are not good, that we are not worthy, that the sin we commit is what defines us, the thoughts and feelings we have are what define us. No wonder we are so unhealthy!

I like what the Sufi poet Hafiz wrote: "I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, The Astonishing Light of your own Being."

The “astonishing light” is what defines us. Put there by God it never goes out even when we try to put it out! Whatever we do we cannot undo our own goodness. The light in us can never be put out. Dwelling on the essential ground of our being takes us immediately to the One who put it there to begin with. Looking within we see Him. The Light is God and the light is us. When we are cleansed and reordered this is what we discover.
Fr. Antony Hughes