Session 16 - Holy Tradition - Part 3 (Liturgical Life, Calendar, Fasting and Almsgiving)

Liturgical Life/ The Church Calendar / The Church Year -

The most visible and participatory aspect of Church tradition is her liturgical or public prayer life. It is sufficient to say at this point as a reminder that as Orthodox we live by the Church calendar: there are daily, weekly, and yearly prayer or festal cycles based on the solar and lunar calendars. Inspired by the Holy Spirit the fathers of the early church developed our present form of worship from the worship of the Jewish temple and synagogue. The purpose of our worship is to transform us, to lead us to repentance and evoke from us a sense of awe at the things which are holy and bring us to an experience of the living God. Through our worship we transcend time and place and re-experience that which has already taken place in the church and foretaste that which is yet to come. Our worship is mystical, spiritual and other worldly – it is like none other found on this earth. On Pascha, when we are all here united in prayer, participating in the Holy Sacraments, the singing is beautiful, the spirit is joyful, we understand in part what heaven will be like in all of its fullness. We must remember always to give thanks to God for His great gift of the Church and Her uplifting worship and to attend all

Sacramental Life

What is a Sacrament?

Sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum, which means “a consecrated thing or act,” i.e., “something holy”. This is a translation of the Greek mysterion, which means “mystery”. Thus, in the Orthodox Church, a Sacrament is a Holy Mystery. The sacraments, like the Church, are both visible and invisible. In every sacrament there is an outward visible sign along with an inward spiritual grace. They are moments we experience only in the Life of the Orthodox Church, in which God reveals Himself to us and imparts His grace upon us.

Baptism

The first of the Holy Mysteries is Baptism, which brings us into the Church. Through this Mystery, we become part of the Body of Christ. As the priest submerges us into the waters three times (in the name of the Trinity), we die to the old ways of sin. Our sins are forgiven, and we are born again to a new life in Christ.

Following the custom of the early Church, we encourage the baptism of infants because we believe baptism bears witness to God’s action of choosing a child to become part of His people. Adults wishing to become Orthodox experience this if there was no previous baptism in the name of the Trinity.

Chrismation

Chrismation immediately follows baptism. The Orthodox often see this holy sacrament as our “personal Pentecost,” because it is through this Mystery that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through the Church.

In Chrismation, the priest anoints various parts of the body of the newly-baptized with Holy Oil. The oil is a sign of strength and consecration to God. Chrismation emphasizes that each person is a valuable member of the Church, including children.

Eucharist

Holy Communion, often called the Eucharist (thanksgiving in Greek), is the Sacrament of sacraments in the Orthodox Church. We partake of the Eucharist during every Divine Liturgy. Unlike most other Christians, we believe the bread and wine used in this Sacrament become the literal Body and Blood of Christ, the Eternal Passover Lamb.

This Sacrament is arguably the most important one in the Life of the Church for a few reasons. First, the Eucharist brings us into communion with Christ. Through this communion with Christ, we can progress toward theosis (salvation) and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Secondly, it provides us with a source of strength for life and gives us forgiveness of our sins. When received with proper preparation, repentance, and fasting, communion draws us together into the fellowship of God’s people, His church, separating us from the forces of evil in this world.

Because partaking of Holy Communion is a confirmation of our unity in the Faith, only baptized Orthodox Christians in good standing can receive the Eucharist in our churches. This offends other Western Christians, but it shouldn’t. Why? Because shared communion is not the means to unity, but the expression of that unity.

Confession

When we sin, we distance ourselves from God, our fellow human beings, and our true selves. Confession is the Mystery through which we receive God’s forgiveness of our sins. After we confess our sins, our relationship with God and with others is restored and strengthened. We essentially go back to the fullness of our baptismal state, renewed in Christ. At a minimum, Orthodox Christians should confess at least once a year; some confess more frequently, though, from once a quarter to every time they prepare to receive the Eucharist.

Holy Unction

Anointing of the Sick (Holy Unction) is the Orthodox Church’s sacrament of physical and spiritual healing. As with Chrismation, clergy use oil in this Sacrament as a sign of God’s presence, strength, and forgiveness. The Church offers unction to all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit, not just those near death. The Orthodox Church celebrates this Mystery for all its members on Holy Wednesday during Great Lent.

Marriage

Through the Church’s Sacrament of holy matrimony, God (through the priest) joins a man and a woman as husband and wife. In marriage, they enter into a new relationship with God, the Church, and each other. One focused on mutual love and self-sacrifice.

According to Orthodox teachings, marriage is not simply a social institution or legal contract. It is an eternal vocation of the Kingdom of God that continues from this life into the age to come. The Holy Spirit calls husband and wife to share their Christian life together in all respects. Each, with the aid of the other, will grow closer to God. Therefore, not just anyone can marry in an Orthodox church. You must make sure you and your spouse fulfill certain requirements before a priest can officiate your marriage.

Holy Orders

Following the custom of the Apostolic Church, there are four major orders of the Church’s ministry, three of which have their own special ordinations:

Bishop
Priest
Deacon
Laity

The bishop is a successor of the Apostles, who used to serve as the main celebrant of the Divine Liturgy in the early Church. As the Church grew, bishops appointed priests and deacons to minister to parishes in their name. Each of these ministries has its own set of responsibilities. For instance, only a bishop may ordain others to the Deaconate or the Priesthood.

The Church ordains only men to become deacons, priests, or bishops. She permits men to marry before they enter the Holy Orders, but not after. This practice goes back to the earliest period in the history of the Church. We know some of the Apostles (the first “priests” of the Church) were married. Saint Paul also teaches that clergy are to be “husband of one wife”.

Fasting, Almsgiving & Ascetical Labors

Lastly, a very essential aspect of Holy Tradition is the understanding of struggle, sacrifice and spiritual labor. Being created in the image and likeness of God, our souls are imbued with a deep longing for prayer, and spiritual nourishment. However, living in the fallen world, we are tempted to satisfy this longing with material comforts, rest, recreation, enjoyment and luxurious dining. Not that these things are evil or sinful in and of themselves, but rather it is their misuse or overuse which causes a problem. Recognizing this, the Church encourages us to practice asceticism, that is spiritual labors, to restore balance - to bring us back to an awareness of the spiritual needs of our soul. As such, the church calls us to fast from meat and if possible dairy products, almost every Wednesday and Friday of the year and during four special seasons of the year: Advent – From November 15/28 through Dec 24/Jan 6, Great Lent – 7 weeks before Pascha or Easter. The Saints Peter and Paul Fast – following Pentecost and Ending on June 30/July 12^th and the Dormition Fast from August 1/14-15/28. Interestingly, if you were to count up all of the fasting days, you would see that approximately one half of the 365 days of the year are fast days. So you see the guiding principle of balance at work here. If we strictly followed the Church’s guidelines, we would have no problems with cholesterol and other health issues. If we followed the monastic regiment of praying with prostrations (like we do during Lent) we would not need aerobic workouts or the gym! Another grave spiritual difficulty we fight is selfishness or self centeredness. The church helps us to combat this by teaching us to do good works of charity for other people and to pray with zeal for others, even our enemies.

In conclusion then, today we talked about Holy Tradition as being the visible manifestation of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the Church. Holy Tradition is a living tradition that we are called to embrace and be a part of.

Those who do not come from a traditional faith background, might be tempted to view Holy Tradition as a straight jacket, as something that restricts and limits our personal freedom. The reality is that by freely and willingly becoming a part of the Tradition of the Church, we are given wings, we are freed from the limitations of time and space. We become a part of something far greater than ourselves, and can experience, past, present and future as a single event. Firmly anchored in the apostolic faith, and enlivened by the Holy Spirit, we ourselves can become witnesses to the Light of Christ, that illumines all, and experience the joys of paradise, now and in the age to come.