A Story for the Feast of St. Basil

This is a delightful story written by Photios Kontoglou for the New Year, the Feast of Saint Basil and an unknown Saint named John.  May the prayers of the Renowned Basil and the Hidden Saint be with you throughout the upcoming year.  http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/john-the-blessed-kontoglou.pdf

Saint Ephraim the Syrian

The Following linlk is to a series of Hymns on the Nativity of Christ by Saint Ephraim the Syrian:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf213.iii.v.ii.html

Enjoy and feel free to comment on how you think these hymns might relate to Saint Gregory the Theologians Homily on Theophany.

St. Gregory the Theologian's Homily on Theophany & The Christmas Carol

The following link is to St. Gregory's Homily on the Theophany of Christ.  It is not known whether this homily was delivered on the 25th of December or the 6th of January.  Originally the Birth of Christ was celebrated on the 6th together with our Lord's baptism.  Beginning during the time of St. Constantine the nativity began to be celebrated as a distinct feast on the 25th.  This transfer of the feast was a gradual process and it is therefore not clear if this practice of the Nativity celebration on the 25th of December was that which St. Gregory kept.  As a small aside it is interesting to note that in the Armenian Orthodox Church the Nativity and Epiphany continue to be a joint feast held on the 6th of January.  This presumably because the Armenian kingdom adopted Christianity before the conversion of Konstantine whom the transfer of the nativity is attributed.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf207.iii.xxi.html

The following Link is to a site where you can download the complete text of Charles Dickens's the Christmas Carol.
http://manybooks.net/titles/dickenscetext92carol13.html

Enjoy both texts and if you get a chance we would love to hear your thoughts on how the two texts compliment one another and what you think there essential difference is.
 Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

Ante-Nicene Christianity: Creation, Incarnation, and θέωσις

Theophilus of Antioch

The Nature of Man

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.iv.ii.ii.xxvii.html

We Shall See God When We Put on Immortality

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.iv.ii.i.vii.html

Iraneaus of Lyons

Jesus Christ was not a mere man, begotten from Joseph in the ordinary course of nature, but was very God, begotten of the Father most high, and very man, born of the Virgin.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.iv.xx.html

Christ assumed actual flesh, conceived and born of the Virgin.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.iv.xxiii.html

Explanation of the words of Christ, "No man knoweth the Father, but the Son," etc.; which words the heretics misinterpret. Proof that, by the Father revealing the Son, and by the Son being revealed, the Father was never unknown.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vi.vii.html

Why man was not made perfect from the beginning.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vi.xxxix.html

When Christ visited us in His grace, He did not come to what did not belong to Him: also, by shedding His true blood for us, and exhibiting to us His true flesh in the Eucharist, He conferred upon our flesh the capacity of salvation.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vii.iii.html

The power and glory of God shine forth in the weakness of human flesh, as He will render our body a participator of the resurrection and of immortality, although He has formed it from the dust of the earth; He will also bestow upon it the enjoyment of immortality, just as He grants it this short life in common with the soul.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vii.iv.html

Inasmuch as Christ did rise in our flesh, it follows that we shall be also raised in the same; since the resurrection promised to us should not be referred to spirits naturally immortal, but to bodies in themselves mortal.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.vii.viii.html

Catechism of St. Gregory of Nyssa

The readings are taken from St. Gregory of Nyssa's Catechism.  St. Gregory of Nyssa, the third and youngest of the Cappadocians (in fact he was St. Basil's little brother!), is, of the three, the most difficult and complex.  Despite his complexity of thought, his highly philosophical language, and the overall difficulty of following his speech, buried within nearly all of his writing are to be found some of the most shockingly vivid images by which he seeks to initiate his hearers into the great Mystery of the Truth. These chapters deal spcifically with Christ's death, descent, and Resurrection.

XXIV http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxvi.html

XXV http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxvii.html

XXVI http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxviii.html
Other fascinating passages from St. Gregory of Nyssa's Catechism

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxxvii.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.xi.ii.xxxix.html

Excerpt from Fr. Geroge Florovsky on St. Gregory's understanding of the Eucharist:

The Eucharist and the Christian Life.

The summit of Christian life is the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the food of incorruptibility, the antidote against the poison of death and the "all-healing power." "Our nature had tasted of something ruinous to it and hence we necessarily needed something that would save from decay that which had been destroyed." This antidote is that Body "which proved Itself to be stronger than death," which arose and was glorified. How is it possible that a single body which is separated into portions and distributed to the faithful does not remain divided but, on the contrary, reunites those who have been separated, "becomes whole in each of its portions and thus endures in each who receives it as a whole?"

Gregory answers by comparing the Eucharist to the food which nourishes the physical body. "The Word of God," he writes, "entered into union with human nature. When the Word lived in a body like ours He did not make any innovations in man's physical constitution but He nourished His own body by the customary and proper means and maintained its existence through eating and drinking . . . His body was maintained by bread and thus His body was once bread in reality. This bread was consecrated by the Word dwelling within the body. Therefore, for the same reason as that by which the bread in His body was transformed and received a Divine potency, so now a similar result takes place. For in that case the grace of the Word sanctified the body, the substance of which came from the bread, and so in a way the body which was sanctified was itself bread. So also in this case our bread, in the words of the Apostle, is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:5), not in such a way that by the process of eating it becomes the Body of the Word but it is changed into the Body of the Word at once."

The Eucharist and the First Stage of Resurrection.

Thus, the flesh which had contained the Word of God receives again a portion of its "own substance," and through this portion this substance "is communicated to every believer and blends it self with their bodies, so that by this union with the immortal, man too shares in incorruptibility." Through the sacrament of the Eucharist all humanity is reunited in Christ and is resurrected. This is, however, only the first stage of resurrection. The Savior's victory over corruption and death is completely accomplished only at the last great resurrection of all mankind.

Ἅγιος Νικόλαος Καβάσιλας

Ὁ δὲ Σωτὴρ τοῖς ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶσιν οὕτως ἀεὶ καὶ
κατὰ πάντα σύνεστι τρόπον, ὥστε πᾶσαν χρείαν παρέχει,
κατὰ πάντα σύνεστι τρόπον, ὥστε πᾶσαν χρείαν παρέχει,
καὶ πάντα αὐτοῖς ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ πρὸς ἄλλο τι τῶν πάντων
ἰδεῖν οὐδὲ ζητεῖν ἑτέρωθεν οὐδέν· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν οὗ δεηθεῖσιν,
ὅπερ οὐκ αὐτός ἐστι τοῖς ἁγίοις. Καὶ γεννᾷ γάρ, καὶ

αὔξει, καὶ τρέφει, καὶ φῶς ἐστι καὶ πνοή. Καὶ πλάττει
μὲν αὐτοῖς ὀφθαλμόν, ἑαυτῷ· φωτίζει δὲ ἑαυτῷ πάλιν·
παρέχει δὲ ὁρᾷν ἑαυτόν. Καὶ τροφεὺς ὤν, καὶ τροφή ἐστι·
καὶ αὐτὸς μέν ἐστι ὁ παρέχων «τὸν ἄρτον τῆς ζωῆς»,
αὐτὸς δέ ἐστιν ὃ παρέχει. Καὶ ζωὴ μέν ἐστι ζῶσιν,
ἀναπνέουσι δὲ μύρον, ἱμάτιον δὲ ἐνδύσασθαι βουλομένοις.
Καὶ μὴν αὐτὸς μέν ἐστιν ᾧ δυνάμεθα βαδίζειν, αὐτὸς δέ
ἐστιν ἡ ὁδός, καὶ πρός γε ἔτι τὸ κατάλυμα τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ
τὸ πέρας. Μέλη ἐσμέν, ἐκεῖνος κεφαλή. Ἀγωνίζεσθαι δέον,
συναγωνίζεται· εὐδοκιμοῦσιν, ἀγωνοθέτης ἐστί· νικῶμεν,
στέφανος ἐκεῖνος εὐθύς.

Τοῦ σοφωτάτου Νικολάου Καβάσιλα τοῦ καὶ Χαμαετοῦ
Περὶ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ζωῆς
Α´

 

The Anagogical Interpretation of Sacred Scripture

39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." -Matthew 12

1 Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven pillars. 2 She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. 3 She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places in the town, 4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who is without sense she says, 5 "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. –Proverbs 9

Christ, he means, the wisdom and power of God the Father, hath built His house, i.e., His nature in the flesh derived from the Virgin, even as he (John) hath said beforetime, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” As likewise the wise prophet  testifies:  Wisdom that was before the world, and is the source of life, the infinite “Wisdom of God, hath built her house” by a mother who knew no man,—to wit, as He assumed the temple of the body. “And hath raised her seven pillars;” that is, the fragrant grace of the all-holy Spirit, as Isaiah says: “And the seven spirits of God shall rest upon Him.” But others say that the seven pillars are the seven divine orders which sustain the creation by His holy and inspired teaching; to wit, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the hierarchs, the hermits, the saints, and the righteous. And the phrase, “She hath killed her beasts,” denotes the prophets and martyrs who in every city and country are slain like sheep every day by the unbelieving, in behalf of the truth, and cry aloud, “For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” And again, “She hath mingled her wine” in the bowl, by which is meant, that the Savior, uniting his Godhead, like pure wine, with the flesh in the Virgin, was born of her at once God and man without confusion of the one in the other. “And she hath furnished her table:” that denotes the promised knowledge of the Holy Trinity; it also refers to His honored and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever-memorable table of the spiritual divine supper. And again, “She hath sent forth her servants:” Wisdom, that is to say, has done so—Christ, to wit—summoning them with lofty announcement. “Whoso is simple, Let him turn to me,” she says, alluding manifestly to the holy apostles, who traversed the whole world, and called the nations to the knowledge of Him in truth, with their lofty and divine preaching. And again, “And to those that want understanding she said”—that is, to those who have not yet obtained the power of the Holy Ghost—“Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled for you;” by which is meant, that He gave His divine flesh and honored blood to us, to eat and to drink it for the remission of sins.

 -Saint Hyppolytos of Rome

From Saint Maximos
Everyone who does not apply himself to the spiritual contemplation of Holy Scripture has, Judaic-wise, also rejected both the natural and the written law; and he is ignorant of the law of grace which confers deification on those who are obedient to it.  He who understands the written law in a literal manner does not nourish his soul with the virtues. He who does not grasp the inner principles of created beings fails to feast his intellect on the manifold wisdom of God. And he who is ignorant of the great mystery of the new grace does not rejoice in the hope of future deification. Thus failure to contemplate the written law spiritually results in a dearth of the divine wisdom to be apprehended in the natural law; and this in its turn is followed by a complete ignorance of the deification given by grace according to the new mystery. (Pg. 267 Philokalia Vol. II)

Hence a person who seeks God with true devotion should not be dominated by the literal text, lest he unwittingly receives not God but things appertaining to God; that is, lest he feel a dangerous affection for the words of scripture instead of for the Logos. (Pg. 155 Philokalia Vol. II)

St. Maximos the Confessor

God the Logos is God of Revelation, Deus Revelatus, and everything that is said about the Godhead in his relation with the world is said first of all about God the Logos. The Divine Logos is the beginning and the end goals for the world — αρχή καί τέλος — its creative and preservative force, the limit of all created strivings and "movements." And the world exists and stands precisely through this communion with the Divine Logos, through the Divine energies, through a kind of participation in the Divine perfections. At the same time it is moving towards God, towards God the Logos. The whole world is in motion, is striving. God is above movement. It is not he who is moving, but the created and roused world which he created which moves towards him. Here the thought is similar to that found in the Corpus Areopagiticum.
The problem of knowledge is to see and recognize in the world its first-created foundations, to identify the world as a great system of God’s deeds, wills, and prototypes. The mind must leave the perceptible plane, must liberate itself from the conventionalities of external, empirical cognition, and rise to contemplation, to "natural contemplation” — φυσική θεωρία — that is, to contemplation of “nature” in its last Divine definitions and foundations. For St. Maximus "contemplation" is precisely this search for the Divine Logos of existence, the contemplation of the Logos in creation as Creator and Founder. Again this is possible only through "ordeal." Only a transformed mind can see everything in the Logos and begin to see the light of the Logos everywhere. The Sun of Truth begins to shine in the purified mind, and for the latter everything looks different.
"Incarnation" and "deification" — σάρκωσiw και θέωσιw — are two linked movements. In a certain sense the Logos is always becoming incarnate, and in everything, for everything in the world is a reflection of the Logos, especially in man, who was placed on the edge of the world as the receiver of God’s grace. The Incarnation of the Logos crowns God’s descent into the world, and creates the possibility for the opposite movement. God becomes a man, becomes incarnate, through his love for man. And man becomes God through grace, is deified through his love for God. -George Florovsky: The Byzantine Fathers Of the Sixth to Eighth Century

St. Basil: Letter II

This letter is foundational to the Spiritual tradition of the Eastern Church.  Nearly all of the themes found in the Philokalia and among the writings of the Neptic Fathers are clearly and eloquently expressed in this short letter. I hope that you enjoy this most significant text and that by the prayers of St. Basil we are noetically strengthened by this Patristic pearl.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf208.ix.iii.html

St. Athanasios: On the Incarnation

This is the website that you can find a relatively to date translation of the text http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm#ch_1

Questions for Chapters I-II
1) On pg. 33, St. Athanasios writes, "Had it been a case of trespass only, and not of subsequent corruption, repentance would have been well enough." What do you think of this quote and does it change or confirm your belief about the purpose of the Incarnation?
2) Why does St. Athanasios say that it was necessary that the Word of God take upon human nature from the Holy Virgin? (section 8&9 of chapter II)
3) According to section 10 what was achieved by the death and resurrection of the Lord?
4) Reflecting upon this chapter what do you think would be the consequences for creation had our Lord not been incarnate?

Questions for Chapter III
1) According to St. Athanasios what is the only true blessed and happy life for man?
2) What were the 3 ways opened to man so that he might attain knowledge of God?
3) Looking at section 15, what are some of the ways that the Lord led mankind to the knowledge of the Father?
4) In what way doe Christ reveal His true humanity and His true divinity?

Questions for chapter IV
1) In western Christianity, at least since the time of Augustine, there has been an understanding that Christ paid man's "debt" owed to the Father. In section 20 St. Athanasios seems to make the claim that the debt was owed not to the Father but to death. How do you think that these two differing views of debt effect our perception of God?

2) In section 21 we are given a glimpse of what might be considered the definitive characteristics of the early Church, joy and hope in the Resurrection (Interestingly enough this seems to have ultimately been what attracted people to the early Church). Do we still have this joy? If not, why have we lost it, and how might we re-acquire it?

3) What does St. Athanasios say was the "supreme object" of our Lord's coming?

4) What are some of the reasons that St. Athanasios gives us for the savior choosing the cross as the mode of His death?

Questions for Chapter V

1. What are the empirical proofs to which St. Athanasius refers again and again, in sections 27 through 29, as proof of Christ's destruction of death's power?  

2. What are the empirical proofs to which St. Athanasius refers in sections 30 and 31 to establish that Christ lives after His death?

3. Does St. Athanasius view the body which Christ assumed in the Incarnation as mortal or somehow able to avoid death?

Questions for Chapter VI

1. What is the significance of the Star of Bethlehem and how does that set Christ's birth apart from that of the prophets?

2. How is Christ's contact with idols, and the consequences of that contact, contrasted with that of the prophets?  What has happened in Egypt because  of Christ?

3. How were the signs and miracles which Christ performed different from those of the prophets?

4. What happens to Jerusalem and prophecy in Israel after Christ?

Finally, St. Athanasius's argument in Chapters V and VI relies heavily on signs and miracles.  What does this say about his view of the Church?  Do we share this experiential/charismatic view? 

The following notes in section E might be helpful when reading St. Athanasios’ text

http://www.oodegr.com/english/dogmatiki1/perieh.htm

Spiritual Study

I will focus on those books given you by the Church.  You open them up, and right away you realize that God is talking to you.  You feel at once the beating of the Spirit's wings.  You feel God answering your questions.  You see Him dispersing your darkness, clearing away old obstacles, opening up new pathways.  Then filled with joy you cry out: "Behold, I have begun to speak with the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27).

If you don't have these books with you on your journey, you'll never reach your goal.  It is through these books that God calls you.
-Archimandrite Aimilianos
(THE CHURCH AT PRAYER: THE MYSTICAL LITURGY OF THE HEART. Holy Convent of the Annunciation, Ormylia.  Indiktos Publishing Company S.A. 2005, pgs. 128&129)

SYNAXIS Manifesto

4 Pillars of Synaxis

1)    We gather because the Spirit of God brings the Word of God to us.

2)    We gather because we are authentically human when in relationship with each other.

3)    We gather to discuss the words of the Holy Fathers and Mothers because our relationship with them transcends time, space, and death itself.

4)    We gather to celebrate the greatest gift that God has given us- the Other: God, neighbor, and our ancestors.

4 Canons of Synaxis

1)    Synaxis is for everyone.

2)    Synaxis has the text as teacher and the group as moderator.

3)    Synaxis reads texts that are Orthodox Christian Classics which are any text that is written by an Orthodox Christian and is both loved by the Church and doctrinally formative.

4)    Synaxis is organized by its elder members whose sole responsibility is to arrange a convenient time and place and to select and distribute the readings.

4 Foundations of Synaxis

1)    Works of the Apostolic Fathers and Apologists (Particularly St. Iraneaos’ Against Heresies for its dogmatic, anthropological, and soterlogical significance).

2)    The Works of St. Athanasios (Particularly On the Incarnation and the Life of St. Antony).

3)    The Works of the Cappadocians (Particularly the Orations of the Theologian which were considered by the Church as Second Scriptures, the Letters of St. Basil together with his defense of the Holy Spirit, and St. Gregory Nyssa’s Catechism).

4)    St. Maximos the Confessor.

WELCOME TO SYNAXIS!

Synaxis is a unique Study group that began at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.  Inspired by our spiritual fathers, hierarchs, and professors with a love for our Holy Church's wisdom we desired to become more intimately acquainted with the sacred texts of Christianity.  We chose texts that have had a deep and timeless impact on the faith of our Church.  As we read, met regularly, and discussed the wisdom of our Fathers and Mothers our small group grew and became a highlight of the week for many of us.  Inspired by a professor who joined our group I spent a great deal of time contemplating what was it that made Synaxis unique?  How was it different from a regular Bible Study or book club?  After several weeks I put together a working manifesto and shared it with the group who responded positively.

I have decided to make Synaxis public with the hope that others will join us as we gather together and I pray that, “As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto thy kingdom; for thine is the glory, and the power, through Jesus Christ, for ever.”(Didache of the Twelve Apostles 1^st/2^nd c.)