Doru Costache - The Ecclesial Synaxis 2

[Published in The Greek Australian Vema, February 2009, 8-9]

THE ECCLESIAL SYNAXIS

EPITOME OF A LEARNING SOCIETY (Part 2) Revd Dr Doru Costache In my previous article I endeavoured to answer the question of whether the Church is a learning society. And indeed it is, given its focus on teaching, initiation and guidance, also its constitution as a complex hermeneutical framework. However, by contrast with the secular understanding of a learning society (concentrated primarily, if not exclusively, on gathering the necessary know how in order to survive the avalanche of discoveries and inventions) the Church is concerned with appropriating discernment and wisdom. Yet, discernment and wisdom are taken as tools (rather than goals) that serve our immediate purposes: to make sense of the world we live in and our place/role within it, and to lead us towards attaining the fullness of life. These features represent the actual motivations lying behind any ecclesial enterprise and are particularly obvious in the structural elements of the ecclesial liturgy, even though these may be somehow hidden beneath the multitude of texts, hymns, gestures and actions. Given this complexity, it is perhaps better to present the main outlines of the Divine Liturgy as performed in earlier times, for instance during the mid 7th century. And indeed, in the interpretive description of the synaxis he gives in the Mystagogy, St Maximus the Confessor makes plain how much our liturgy is focused on teaching/learning. The entire liturgical space, from architecture to iconography, from readings to movements and from chanting to gestures, functions like a context meant for delivering, receiving and processing information in ways that are relevant to God’s people. Beyond its worshipping and sacramental aspects, the structure of the Divine Liturgy is essentially catechetical. Below, I will present in summary St Maximus’ approach to the Divine Liturgy, as depicted in the second part of his treatise, Mystagogy, leaving the first part (intensely mystical) for some other time. A traditional thinker and experienced in the monastic way of life, where spiritual guidance plays a crucial role, St Maximus attempts to approach the structure of the Divine Liturgy only guided by God (Θεοῦ χειραγωγοῦντος), the mystagogue par excellence (see Mystagogy 22). Moreover, at practically every stage of the process, he builds upon the information provided by an anonymous elder – perhaps a symbol of tradition –, whose wisdom and insight establish the benchmark for any further exploration. Thus equipped by tradition with the necessary tools and enlightened by God, St Maximus is able to grasp the meaning and purpose of the ecclesial initiation and experience. To him, everything has spiritual significance in the Church: ‘the divine norms of the holy Church (οἱ θεῖοι τῆς ἁγίας Ἐκκλησίας θεσμοὶ) lead the soul, by way of a true and effective knowledge (δι᾽ ἀληθοῦς καὶ ἐνεργοῦς γνώσεως), to its own perfection (τελειότητα)’ (Mystagogy 22). To a discerning person no ecclesial rule, norm or regulation represents a goal in itself, conveying instead a superior reason, or logos, and purpose, or telos, to which our attention is drawn and which ultimately is existential in nature. In this light, observing the rules might be seen as a virtue yet only comprehending the rationale behind them brings us to attain their actual, transformative, purpose. This is the perennial challenge addressed to all believers, who are successively introduced – by teaching and learning – to the innermost depths of ecclesial mindset and life.

Although these notes may very well refer to the entire ecclesial framework, St Maximus finds that these aspects pertain mainly to the liturgical rhythms, whose finality is par excellence transformative and deifying. Symptomatically, after exploring the various ways in which teaching and learning unfold in the Church, St Maximus insists on the vocabulary of transformation (μεταποιοῦσάν τε καὶ μετασκευάζουσαν, καὶ ἀληθὲς μεταπλάττουσαν; see Mystagogy 24) when pointing out the action of the Holy Spirit exerted upon those taking part in the holy synaxis. For the purpose of our enquiry it is important to note that the stages of ecclesial initiation correspond to the actual stages of the Divine Liturgy, St Maximus retaining mainly the significance of a series of steps. To these moments I will briefly turn. By contrast with the contemporary individualist approach to the Divine Liturgy, St Maximus emphasises the ecclesial character of the holy synaxis and the communal dimension of the teaching delivered within it. Both aspects were in his time more obvious than today, from the very first liturgical moment of the gathering of God’s people (both clergy and laity) outside the doors of the church and their simultaneous entrance into the nave. Reminding us of the salvific ministry of Christ (see Mystagogy 8) the entrance likewise proclaims the Christian people’s voluntary separation from the ways of the world and all earthly care. In St Maximus’ own words, this moment suggests ‘the turning of the unbelievers (ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν ἀπίστων) from faithlessness and error to the knowledge of God (εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν Θεοῦ), as well as the passage of the believers (μετάθεσιν τῶν πιστῶν) from evil and ignorance to virtue and knowledge (εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν)’ (Mystagogy 9; cf. chapter 24). Stepping into the church represents a sign of adherence to Christian wisdom, as delivered and assimilated within the holy synaxis; the whole liturgical process of instruction aims at bringing to completion the intention expressed through this initial sign of commitment to the Gospel. Within the liturgical journey (see the end of chapter 13), the faithful come to learn the true principles (λόγοι) of things and how to make wise use of them, to finally approach the Holy One, our God who transcends all things and knowledge. The second liturgical moment of relevance to our topic is that of the New Testament readings. The function of the sacred readings is complex. The readings introduce God’s people into the spirit of the wisdom from above, as an expression of ‘the divine and blessed intentions and wills of God most holy’ (τὰς θείας καὶ μακαρίας τοῦ παναγίου Θεοῦ βουλήσεις τε καὶ βουλὰς; Mystagogy 10). But by teaching God’s will, they also show us the task lying ahead: through the sacred readings ‘we learn the laws of the divine and blessed contests (τῶν θείων καὶ μακαρίων ἀγώνων νόμους μανθάνομεν) in which by lawful struggle we will be judged worthy of the victorious crowns of Christ’s kingdom’ (Mystagogy 10). In other words, the readings do not just convey information from above; through informing us, they actually instruct God’s people in the ways of spiritual life; last but not least, they make us aware of our responsibility for the choices we make and the actions we take, within an eschatological perspective (see also Mystagogy 14, which introduces the nuance of reward and punishment). Closely related to the above and logically following the sacred readings, in Mystagogy 13 St Maximus mentions the moment of the homily (sermon) as ‘the word of mystical contemplation’ (γνωστικῆ θεωρία). Through the homily, the divine wisdom is highlighted and the faithful are exhorted to walk the path of virtue. Like a celestial high priest (ὥσπερ ἀρχιερεὺς οὐρανόθεν), the word cuts sharply through the core of confusion, pointing out the incompatibility between the passionate/fleshly mindset (τῆς σαρκὸς τὸ φρόνημα) or the materialist thoughts (τοὺς πρὸς γῆν κατανεύοντας λογισμοὺς), on the one hand, and the path that leads to the spiritual

vision (τὴν τῶν νοητῶν ἐποψίαν) and insight into the mysteries (τὰ ἀπόρρητα), on the other hand. Perhaps this challenging approach frightens contemporary people, so reluctant to take the heroic path of Christian life; however, even though St Maximus speaks of getting ‘outside of the flesh and the world’ (ἔξω σαρκὸς καὶ κόσμου) there is nothing preposterous in his words; in fact, he praises the spiritual way of life without vouching for an escape from the immediate. Given the scarce information he provides here, it is indeed difficult to tell with certainty what he has in mind. Yet, by bringing the whole discussion within the broader context of the Mystagogy this difficulty can be easily overcome: St Maximus takes the Divine Liturgy as a school where the believers are called to learn how to live spiritually in the world (not how to abandon the world). In other words, his interpretation invites the readers – mostly living incompletely, under the narrow horizon of material life – to contemplate the other side of reality, to recover all their dimensions (visible and invisible, bodily and spiritual) and reach the fullness of life. Another liturgical moment of great relevance to our topic is definitely the recital of the Creed, or in the author’s words ‘the divine symbol of faith’ (τὸ θεῖον τῆς πίστεως σύμβολον; see Mystagogy 13). To St Maximus, the Creed constitutes a summary of the entire salvific economy and an expression of our gratitude for God’s mercy, or ‘the grateful acknowledgment’ (τὴν εὐχαριστήριον) of our salvation (cf. Mystagogy 13). The juxtaposition of these aspects is quite unique. The Creed is more than a recapitulation of ecclesial faith and more than a memorial of God’s mighty deeds; it is fundamentally a eucharistic-like act, given that it is an act of humble recognition of how much we depend on God’s mercy; remembering is to acknowledge. These aspects are essential to the on-going teaching/learning process unfolding through the Divine Liturgy. One way or the other, this educational pattern intimates the necessity of a humble approach to knowledge, whose manifestation is the acknowledgment of God. In chapter 18, the Creed is presented under a slightly different lens, as the solid nourishment offered to the mature in faith. The idea remains basically the same: the Creed features as a ‘mystical thanksgiving’ (μυστικὴν εὐχαριστίαν) whose value is perennial, since there is no other way to respond to God for ‘the infinite divine blessings’ (τῶν ἀπείρων θείων ἀγαθῶν) bestowed upon the worthy ones (οἱ ἄξιοι), that is those who learnt to express their gratitude. Nevertheless, this reiteration of the theme brings another nuance, referring to the paradoxical reasons and ways in which the wise providence of God (παραδόξοις λόγοις τε καὶ τρόποις τῆς πανσόφου περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας) operates our salvation. Speaking of reasons and ways (λόγοις καὶ τρόποις) the Confessor points definitely to the experience of the contemplatives in the Church. According to the saint, only they have access to the divine reasons, intentions or principles that lay behind the various teaching methods applied throughout the Divine Liturgy and elsewhere in the Church. And with this, we enter a very different universe, of the levels of perception, which I will address – God willing – some other time. For the time being, it is important to note that, far from representing a burden to Christian experience, the educational aspect is indissolubly linked to all other dimensions pertaining to the Divine Liturgy. Even under the form of ‘anamnetic/memorial symbols’, teaching and learning have not been added later to the body of the holy synaxis (as suggested by some modern scholars), having been from the outset at the core of our liturgical experience. In fact, for St Maximus, there is no perfect liturgical participation without a proper comprehension of the entire

ritual – with its texts, gestures and rhythms. To some of these elements I will turn, if possible, next time.