Lovely article with great illustrations! #ibelieve
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, September 3, 2015
Friday, September 04, 2015
Writing Icons
Thursday, September 03, 2015
Schülerkreistreffen 2015
CWR Blog: A report from Ratzinger's Schülerkreistreffen, Castel Gandolfo 2015
This years meeting of Joseph Ratzinger's former doctoral and post-doctoral students focused on the nature of God and the challenge of atheism
This years meeting of Joseph Ratzinger's former doctoral and post-doctoral students focused on the nature of God and the challenge of atheism
Confirmation
by Carl E. Olson of Ignatius Press's English translation of Fr. Bouyer's Memoirs. Translator: Anne Englund Nash.
Should Catholic Chaplains Have Uniforms?
Or ranks? The question would apply to chaplains serving in the US military as well.
At his Wednesday Audience, Pope Francis met with a group of police chaplains from Argentina.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Baffling
Two English Editions of Fr. Bouyer's Memoirs? Ignatius Press is apparently publishing its own in October, even though Angelico Press released its edition recently. Who is the translator for the IP version?
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Ignatius Press Roundtable Discussion of Laudato Si'
A summation and commentary on Laudato Si, by the American publishers of the encyclical.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Monday, August 31, 2015
Benedict XVI Celebrates Mass for Former Students
Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on Sunday for his former students. Find out what he said at the link.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Monday, August 31, 2015
Monsignor Guido Marini (2nd from left) Pope Francis' Master of Ceremonies, was spotted in New York's Penn Station as he prepares for Pope Francis' visit to the United States.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Monday, August 31, 2015
The Importance of Community
Even ascetics need community. Here's why.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 31, 2015
New Year's Message
A message from His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Related:
Do you know why the first day of September marks the beginning of the Church year? We are accustomed to think of January...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Today begins a new year in the Church and presents us all with much a needed reminder that, if we claim to be...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Slavonic Traditionalists
Opus Publicum: Some Thoughts on Church Slavonic in the Liturgy (via NLM)
Naturally Latin Traditionalists would be interested in the views expressed here.
I think Church Slavonic (or Latin) should be retained to the degree that it can be rendered easily intelligible to the faithful; this is unlikely to be the case for the entirety of the liturgy.
In mission territories that do not have a cultural or linguistic tie to Church Slavonic, a hieratic version of the vernacular should be developed or adapted from another source.
Naturally Latin Traditionalists would be interested in the views expressed here.
I think Church Slavonic (or Latin) should be retained to the degree that it can be rendered easily intelligible to the faithful; this is unlikely to be the case for the entirety of the liturgy.
In mission territories that do not have a cultural or linguistic tie to Church Slavonic, a hieratic version of the vernacular should be developed or adapted from another source.
Insight Scoop: New: "Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and the Family: Essays from a Pastoral Viewpoint"
By Fr. Robert Dodaro O.S.D.
First Five, Now Seventeen Anti-Kasper Cardinals by Sandro Magister
And they are speaking out together in two books that are about to be released ahead of the synod. With Robert Sarah and the Africans in the lead
By Fr. Robert Dodaro O.S.D.
First Five, Now Seventeen Anti-Kasper Cardinals by Sandro Magister
And they are speaking out together in two books that are about to be released ahead of the synod. With Robert Sarah and the Africans in the lead
Monday, August 31, 2015
Theodore II Visits Moscow
В ПРАЗДНИК УСПЕНИЯ ПРЕСВЯТОЙ БОГОРОДИЦЫ ПРЕДСТОЯТЕЛИ АЛЕКСАНДРИЙСКОЙ И РУССКОЙ ПРАВОСЛАВНЫХ ЦЕРКВЕЙ СОВЕРШИЛИ ЛИТУРГИЮ В...
Posted by Митрополит Иларион Алфеев. Служба коммуникации ОВЦС on Monday, August 31, 2015
Fraternal conversation between Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria completes his pilgrimage to the Russian Orthodox Church
Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrate Liturgy at Cathedral of Dormition in Moscow Kremlin
Primate of Orthodox Church of Alexandria arrives in Moscow to continue his pilgrimage
‘Once I visited a diocese in Madagascar and often had to go on foot. I also went in Madagascar by boat to places...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Monday, August 31, 2015
Byzantine Worship Space
A two minute video introduction to the Orthodox worship space. Maybe it will be helpful for an inquirer you know?
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, August 30, 2015
Praying to the Saints
This question is often asked by those in the protestant world. Frederica Mathewes-Green hopes to explain in her new video.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
A Little Offering
Wow! You have to read this story.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, August 30, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Theotokos, Joy of All Who Sorrow
A powerful icon! #ibelieve
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 28, 2015
The Icon of St. James
#ibelievePresvytera Vassi Haros notes, “We often hear the Bible story of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and how...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 28, 2015
Monasteries in Romania
Why do people become monastics? Watch this documentary and see.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 28, 2015
Bishop Flavien Mikhaiel Melki
An authentic testimony of “ecumenism of blood” can be found in the figure of Bishop Flavien Mikhaiel Melki, who was born...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, August 29, 2015
On Saturday, August 29th, the venerable Servant of God, Flavyānus Mikhayil Melkī is to be beatified. In an interview...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 27, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
ICU
The International Catholic University Solution by Randall Smith
In this post Professor Smith mentions Fr. Benedict Ashley and the River Forest School.
In this post Professor Smith mentions Fr. Benedict Ashley and the River Forest School.
Lighting Temples
New Article by Aidan Hart.
Posted by Orthodox Arts Journal on Thursday, August 27, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Pope's Letter to Fr. David Neuhaus
Pope Francis has written a letter to Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ, who heads the St. James Vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Vicariate.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Extended by Whom?
India Church News: Eparchy of Mandya extended, Fr. Antony Kariyil CMI new bishop.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Inexhaustible Cup
Rejoice, O Sovereign Lady, Thou Inexhaustible Cup that quenches our spiritual thirst!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 27, 2015
St. Phanourios
St. Phanourios helps us find lost things. And this cake (recipe included) is something we make out of gratitude.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 27, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Theotokos, Multiplier of Wheat
Learn a little about this lovely icon.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
PISTEVO, Episode 2
Do icons help you to connect with God? Please share!Watch PISTEVO – The Art of Belief Episode II – The Next...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
To Follow Christ
“The Lord does not demand that all people should give up everything they have. He expects each of us to regard Him and...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
The Icon of St. Andrew
Be Inspired by St. Andrew!PISTEVO - "I Believe"“He went to areas where they were predominantly pagan to share the...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 24, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Icon of St. Peter
Be inspired by St. Peter! Born in Bethsaida in Galilee, St. Peter “was a fisherman and was named by Jesus Christ “...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, August 23, 2015
Saturday, August 22, 2015
25 Years of Ex Corde Eccclesiae
"Ex Corde Ecclesia" and "Donum Veritatis": Twenty-Five Years After by Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille
Though many academics put up a firestorm of controversy over having a mandatum when Pope John Paul II wrote "Ex Corde Ecclesia" in 1990, their objections are utterly silly and juvenile
Though many academics put up a firestorm of controversy over having a mandatum when Pope John Paul II wrote "Ex Corde Ecclesia" in 1990, their objections are utterly silly and juvenile
Fr. Andriy Chirovsky on Theosis
On Saturday August 8, 2015, Fr. Andriy Chirovsky presented a conference entitled "Partakers of the Divine Nature - 2...
Posted by The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies on Friday, August 21, 2015
Icon of the Twelve Apostles
Inspired by the Twelve Apostles! Are you?http://myocn.net/learn-about-the-icon-of-the-twelve-apostles-the-art-of-belief-series/
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 20, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
The Dignity of Work
Pope Francis at today's General Audience: “Through work, the family is cared for and children are provided with a dignified life.”
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Every Wednesday the Holy Father holds a General Audience where he greets the pilgrims present and delivers a catechesis. Watch LIVE now!
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Another Book...
With the Synod of Bishops rapidly approaching, 11 cardinals have contributed to a small but important book offering a...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, August 21, 2015
Agios Savvas in Kalymnos, Dodecanese
The Monastery of Agios Savvas in Kalymnos, Dodecanese
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A Temple in Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovina
"Here are some photos of the celebration of the Transfiguration of Christ in Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovina"
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 21, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Are There No Bishops Who Are Experts?
Prof. John Grabowski (author, Sex and Virtue) must be doing a good job advising the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, because now he's going to Rome to advise all of the bishops.
Posted by The Catholic University of America Press on Thursday, August 20, 2015
New from Angelico Press
From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void by Thomas Storck
He has written some good things about communitarianism, technology, and other related topics, but I generally disagree with his version of American history (which attributes too much to liberalism the very beginning), which is not unique among Latin traditionalists.
He has written some good things about communitarianism, technology, and other related topics, but I generally disagree with his version of American history (which attributes too much to liberalism the very beginning), which is not unique among Latin traditionalists.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A liturgical progressive laments some changes: A Lament for Lost Liturgy
So not all changes made in the name of being "pastoral" are actually good for liturgical spirituality, piety, or the preservation of custom (or the respect for custom) that is necessary as a foundation for the moral and spiritual life? Who would have thought? Would Fr. Anthony Ruff be willing to reconsider the promulgation of the Missal of Paul VI?
Related:
Holy Days of Obligation: A Defense by Christian Browne
So not all changes made in the name of being "pastoral" are actually good for liturgical spirituality, piety, or the preservation of custom (or the respect for custom) that is necessary as a foundation for the moral and spiritual life? Who would have thought? Would Fr. Anthony Ruff be willing to reconsider the promulgation of the Missal of Paul VI?
Related:
Holy Days of Obligation: A Defense by Christian Browne
Metroplitan Hilarion Alfeyev on the Transfiguration
Each one of us passes through different states. Sometimes we are on Thabor, and sometimes we find ourselves on Golgotha....
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
The Lord’s Transfiguration: Paintings, Icons, and Frescoes.
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Patriarch Irinej to Address SVOTS
Patriarch Irinej to deliver an address titled “Theology as a Hope for the Future of the Church” at St. Vladimir’s Seminary September 11.
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
St. Vincent of Lerins
Three rules to help guide you to the truth.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Moral Matters by Mark Dooley
Crisis: Catholic Philosopher Challenges Modern Spiritual Wasteland by Sean Haylock
Moral Matters by Mark Dooley
Moral Matters by Mark Dooley
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Another Essay on Confirmation
Crisis: Why Lowering the Age of Confirmation Makes Sense by Jared M. Silvey
Saturday, August 15, 2015
The Most Holy Name
What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 14, 2015
Wow!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 13, 2015
St. Gregory Palamas on the Dormition
Wonderful!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Saturday, August 15, 2015
The Theological Anthropology of Gaudium et Spes
HPR: An Anthropology of Gaudium et Spes, Part 2 by Francis Etheredge
Friday, August 14, 2015
Sryo-Oriental Hymns
Syro-Oriental tradition, to which the Assyrian Church and the Chaldean Church belong, has outstanding hymnographic texts...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 13, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
John Filippakis
This is pretty sweet.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Monday, August 10, 2015
photo
USF Library Exhibit
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Sacramento
Wow! Have you heard about this?
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
website
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Fr. David Neuhaus, SJ
A “bridge for reconciliation” between Jews and Christians, but also a tool to show “alternatives” to war between the...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Father David Neuhaus SJ, the Latin Patriarchal Vicar responsible for the Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
An Unofficial Canonization
By a zealous fan...
“For many years there has been a standing appointment for so many who garnered affection, gratitude and esteem for Paul...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Fr. Andrea Bozzolo
Fr. Andrea Bozzolo, professor of systematic theology at the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy in Milan, speaks about...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
The Transfiguration
The importance of the recent feast . . .
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Chiesa: From Perón to Bergoglio. With the People, Against Globalization
The presidential election in Argentina is drawing attention back to the political vision of Pope Francis. His enthusiasm for the “popular movements.” The utopia of a new communist and “papist” International
The presidential election in Argentina is drawing attention back to the political vision of Pope Francis. His enthusiasm for the “popular movements.” The utopia of a new communist and “papist” International
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
CWR Blog: Living the truth in love: The director of Courage on homosexuality and the synod
Fr. Paul Check discusses his hopes and concerns for the upcoming Synod on the Family and its consideration of pastoral approaches to those Catholics with same-sex attractions.
By Kerri Lenartowick
Father Paul Check is the executive director of Courage, an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions. This week, Courage is hosting a conference titled “‘Love One Another as I Have Loved You’: Welcoming...
Fr. Paul Check discusses his hopes and concerns for the upcoming Synod on the Family and its consideration of pastoral approaches to those Catholics with same-sex attractions.
By Kerri Lenartowick
Father Paul Check is the executive director of Courage, an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions. This week, Courage is hosting a conference titled “‘Love One Another as I Have Loved You’: Welcoming...
Prayer
If God knows everything–and this is the kind of God in whom we believe–then He does not need us to tell Him what our...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Monday, August 10, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
St. Panteleimon
The Lord Jesus Christ called upon the faithful to be perfect, even as the Heavenly Father is perfect. That means that...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Sunday, August 9, 2015
This year, over 500 pilgrims came to the Russian monastery on Mount Athos for the St. Panteleimon Day from Greece, Russia, Ukraine Georgia, Serbia and other countries.
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Monday, August 10, 2015
Bringing Back Syriac Chant
Many might not know that the Catholic Church of India is composed of three ritual Churches, namely the Latin rite...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, August 8, 2015
Related:
The Holy Father has approved the election of Rev. Dr. Antony Prince Panengaden, until now vicar general of the Eparchy...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Pope Francis on Thursday erected an Apostolic Exarchate for Syro-Malabar Catholics who are residents in Canada,...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Two Items
The Vatican Post Office celebrates this year two prominent figures of the Armenian Church, Blessed Ignatius Maloyan and...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, August 9, 2015
Pope approves decree of martyrdom of the Servant of God Flavien-Michel Malké, of the Fraternity of St Ephrem, Eparch of Gazireh of the Syrians.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Sunday, August 9, 2015
Sunday, August 09, 2015
This is a Surprise
I thought Ignatius Press would have been the one to publish his memoirs in English. Angelico Press, iirc, does have some books by Latin traditionalists but it is open to Ressourcement theology and the 20th ce liturgical movement as well. The translation is by Dr. John Pepino, who teaches at the FSSP seminary.
Peter Kwasniewski: Rorate Caeli and NLM
Now available: Louis Bouyer’s Memoirs — the long-awaited English translation now released from Angelico Press
Posted by Angelico Press on Saturday, August 8, 2015
Peter Kwasniewski: Rorate Caeli and NLM
Chiesa: Benedict XVI As No One Has Seen Him Before. From Japan by Sandro Magister
In the land of the Rising Sun, an outstanding book with a new interpretation of Ratzinger as theologian and pope. Written by a specialist in German history and culture. And with a Latin title: “Renovatio Europae Christianae”
In the land of the Rising Sun, an outstanding book with a new interpretation of Ratzinger as theologian and pope. Written by a specialist in German history and culture. And with a Latin title: “Renovatio Europae Christianae”
Mount Athos
The Holy Mountain of Athos is the only existing monastic state in the world, which preserves the whole Orthodox...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Friday, August 7, 2015
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Elder Paisios on Incompatibility
Some men say: “I am not compatible to my wife, we are totally different characters! Why does God make such strange...
Posted by Orthodoxy and the World on Friday, August 7, 2015
From the April 2015 issue of Christian Order: "The Crisis of Gender, Marriage & Family: - A Catholic Response" by G.C. DILSAVER, PSYD, MTS
Answerable to the People?
AmConMag: Byzantine Empire—or Republic?
The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome, Anthony Kaldellis, Harvard University Press, 312 pages
By Brian Patrick Mitchell
The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome, Anthony Kaldellis, Harvard University Press, 312 pages
By Brian Patrick Mitchell
A New Greek Orthodox Zine
The zine explores the Church’s roots, from its foundation by Christ through its journey to the United States with immigrants and missionaries. Cool!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
Prayer, repentance, and humility!
Prayer, repentance, and humility!
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Friday, August 7, 2015
Thursday, August 06, 2015
The Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa
Listen to the final of a two-part interview with Sr. Chris, the Superior General of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa (CSST), based in Bangalore, India.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, July 31, 2015
Part 1
Cardinal Müller on the October Synod
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, says the upcoming October...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Focolare and Islam
The gift of dialogue was explored at the Focolare summer gathering in Liverpool last week which brought together over 700 people .
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Mmmm
The official hymn of the Jubilee of Mercy has been released, with music by Paul Inwood and text by Fr. Eugenio Costa, SJ. Have a listen and tell us what you think!
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Thursday, August 6, 2015
St. Nektarios
Buried in a hilltop monastery on a small Greek island, Saint Nektarios – one of the most widely known and venerated...
Posted by Catholic News Agency on Wednesday, August 5, 2015
With Corbon as a Springboard
St Anastasius of Sinai -- A 7th Century Saint Describes How We Participate in the Transfiguration and Shine with the Light that will Save the World by David Clayton
What Does It Look Like When We Participate In Christ’s Glory through the Liturgy? by David Clayton
The Feast of the Transfiguration by Timothy P. O'Malley
Our Transfiguration, and His by Paddy Gilger, SJ (A Jesuit who teaches philosophy at Creighton. Is he associated with the Institute for Priestly Formation? Surprisingly, The Wellspring of Worship is part of the curriculum there.)
From an Episcopalian priest: Theosis, the Human Vocation by Michael K. Marsh
The Feast of the Transfiguration
John Damascene: The Mystery of the Transfiguration
John of Damascus
What Does It Look Like When We Participate In Christ’s Glory through the Liturgy? by David Clayton
The Feast of the Transfiguration by Timothy P. O'Malley
Our Transfiguration, and His by Paddy Gilger, SJ (A Jesuit who teaches philosophy at Creighton. Is he associated with the Institute for Priestly Formation? Surprisingly, The Wellspring of Worship is part of the curriculum there.)
From an Episcopalian priest: Theosis, the Human Vocation by Michael K. Marsh
The Feast of the Transfiguration
John Damascene: The Mystery of the Transfiguration
John of Damascus
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION by Fr Jean Corbon OP
original Internet source
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Christians are still too likely to misunderstand the Transfiguration and look upon it as just one miracle among others, a kind of apologetic proof. The feast celebrating it has likewise become indistinct to them, perhaps because it is the only one not to have a place in the chronological sequence of the Lord’s feasts. It is a commemoration of an event that occurred during his mortal life, but it is celebrated after Pentecost and in the bright light of summer (August 6). Yet this event, which upsets the logic that we see as governing time, is precisely the one that best brings home to us the eschatological condition of the body of Christ; it is an apocalyptic vision at the center of the Gospel.
The Synoptic writers deliberately make this “strange sight” the high point of the ministry of Jesus. [Mark 9:2-10; Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36] The astonishment felt and the questions roused by the preceding theophanies “Who can this be?” “Who do you say I am?” — lead to this summit, and it is from here that the journey to the final Passover in Jerusalem begins. The miracles were anticipations of the energies of the risen Christ; the transfiguration is the theophany that reveals their meaning or, better, that already brings to pass what these energies will accomplish in our mortal flesh: our divinization.
The transfiguration is the historical and literary center of the Gospel by reason of its mysterious realism: the humanity of Jesus is the vital place where men become God. Christ is truly a man! But to be a man does not mean “being in a body”, as all the unrepentant dualisms imagine; according to biblical revelation, it means “being a body”, an organic and coherent whole. Because men are their bodies, they are also, like their God, related to other persons, the cosmos, time, and him who is communion in its fullest possible form.
Moreover, ever since the Word took flesh he has a “human” relationship, with all its dimensions, to the Father and to all other men: the fire of his light sets the entire bush aflame; the whole of his humanity is “anointed” with it; “in him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness” (Colossians 2:9), and to this Paul adds, “and in him you too find your own fulfillment” (Colossians 2:10).
What was it, then, that took place in this unexpected event? Why did the Incomprehensible One allow his “elusive beauty” to be glimpsed for a moment in the body of the Word? Two certainties can serve us as guides.
First, the change, or, to transliterate the Greek word, the “metamorphosis”, was not a change in Jesus. The Gospel text and the unanimous interpretation of the Fathers are clear: Christ “was transfigured, not by acquiring what he was not but by manifesting to his disciples what he in fact was; he opened their eyes and gave these blind men sight.” [Saint John Damascene, Second Homily on the Transfiguration (PG 96:564C)] The change is on the side of the disciples.
The second certainty confirms this point: the purpose of the transfiguration, like everything else in the economy that is revealed in the Bible, is the salvation of man. As in the burning bush, so here the Word “allows” the light of his divinity “to be seen” in his body, in order to communicate not knowledge but life and salvation; he reveals himself by giving himself, and he gives himself in order to transform us into himself.
But if it be permissible to take off the sandals of curiosity and inquisitive gnosis and draw near to the mystery, we may ask: Why did Jesus choose this particular moment, these two witnesses, and these three apostles? What was he, the Son — so passionately in love with the Father and so passionately concerned for us — experiencing in his heart? A few days before Peter had already been given an interior enlightenment and had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God. Jesus had then begun to lift the veil from the not far distant ending of his life: he had to suffer, be put to death, and be raised from the dead. It is between this first prediction and the second that he undertakes to ascend the mountain.
The reason for the transfiguration can be glimpsed, therefore, in what the evangelists do not say: having finished the instruction preparatory to his own Pasch, Jesus is determined to advance to its accomplishment. With the whole of his being, the whole of his “body”, he is committed to the loving will of the Father; he accepts that will without reservation. From now on, everything, up to and including the final struggle at which the same three disciples will be invited to be present, will be an expression of his unconditional “Yes” to the Father’s love.
We must certainly enter into this mystery of committed love if we are to understand that the transfiguration is not an impossible unveiling of the light of the Word to the eyes of the apostles, but rather a moment of intensity in which the entire being of Jesus is utterly united with the compassion of the Father. During these decisive days of his life he becomes transparent to the light of the love of the One who gives himself to men for their salvation. If, then, Jesus is transfigured, the reason is that the Father causes his own joy to flame out in him. The radiance of the light in the suffering body of Jesus is, as it were, the thrill experienced by the Father in response to the total self-giving of his only Son. This explains the voice that pierces through the cloud: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).
We can also understand the profound feelings of Moses and Elijah, for these two men who had sensed the closeness of the divine glory that was impatient to save man are now contemplating it in the body of the Son of Man. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people…. I have heard them crying for help…. I am well aware of their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8); “Answer me, Yahweh, answer me…. I am full of jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant” (1 Kings 18:37; 19:10).
All this is expressed now not by divine words or human words but by the Word himself in his humanity. No longer is there only promise and expectation, for the event has occurred; there is now present “the reality … the body of Christ” (Colossians 2:17). Moses and Elijah can leave the cave on Sinai without hiding their faces, for they have contemplated the source of light in the body of the Word.
The three disciples, for their part, are flooded for a few moments by that which it will be granted to them to receive, understand, and experience from Pentecost on, namely, the divinizing light that emanates from the body of Christ, the multiform energies of the Spirit who gives life. The thing that overwhelms them here is that “this man” is not only “God with men” but God-man; nothing can pass from God to man or from man to God except through his body.
Peter will bear witness in his Letters, as John does in all his writings, to the second of the two certainties I mentioned earlier: that participation in the life of the Father that pours out from the body of Christ is measured by the faith of the human recipient. The new element in the transfiguration consists in this light of faith that has given their bodily eyes the power to see. Thanks to this light, they “touch the Word of life” when they draw near to the body of Jesus.
Henceforth there is no longer any distance between matter and divinity, for in the body of Christ our flesh is in communion (without confusion or separation) with the Prince of life. The transfiguration of the Word gives a glimpse of the fullness of what the Word inaugurated in his Incarnation and manifested after his baptism by his miracles: namely, the truth that the body of the Lord Jesus is the sacrament that gives the life of God to men.
When our humanity consents without reserve to be united to the humanity of Jesus, it will share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); it will be divinized. Since the whole meaning of the economy of salvation is concentrated here, it is understandable that the liturgy should be the fulfillment of the economy. The divinization of men will come through sharing in the body of Christ.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
Christians are still too likely to misunderstand the Transfiguration and look upon it as just one miracle among others, a kind of apologetic proof. The feast celebrating it has likewise become indistinct to them, perhaps because it is the only one not to have a place in the chronological sequence of the Lord’s feasts. It is a commemoration of an event that occurred during his mortal life, but it is celebrated after Pentecost and in the bright light of summer (August 6). Yet this event, which upsets the logic that we see as governing time, is precisely the one that best brings home to us the eschatological condition of the body of Christ; it is an apocalyptic vision at the center of the Gospel.
The Synoptic writers deliberately make this “strange sight” the high point of the ministry of Jesus. [Mark 9:2-10; Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36] The astonishment felt and the questions roused by the preceding theophanies “Who can this be?” “Who do you say I am?” — lead to this summit, and it is from here that the journey to the final Passover in Jerusalem begins. The miracles were anticipations of the energies of the risen Christ; the transfiguration is the theophany that reveals their meaning or, better, that already brings to pass what these energies will accomplish in our mortal flesh: our divinization.
The transfiguration is the historical and literary center of the Gospel by reason of its mysterious realism: the humanity of Jesus is the vital place where men become God. Christ is truly a man! But to be a man does not mean “being in a body”, as all the unrepentant dualisms imagine; according to biblical revelation, it means “being a body”, an organic and coherent whole. Because men are their bodies, they are also, like their God, related to other persons, the cosmos, time, and him who is communion in its fullest possible form.
Moreover, ever since the Word took flesh he has a “human” relationship, with all its dimensions, to the Father and to all other men: the fire of his light sets the entire bush aflame; the whole of his humanity is “anointed” with it; “in him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness” (Colossians 2:9), and to this Paul adds, “and in him you too find your own fulfillment” (Colossians 2:10).
What was it, then, that took place in this unexpected event? Why did the Incomprehensible One allow his “elusive beauty” to be glimpsed for a moment in the body of the Word? Two certainties can serve us as guides.
First, the change, or, to transliterate the Greek word, the “metamorphosis”, was not a change in Jesus. The Gospel text and the unanimous interpretation of the Fathers are clear: Christ “was transfigured, not by acquiring what he was not but by manifesting to his disciples what he in fact was; he opened their eyes and gave these blind men sight.” [Saint John Damascene, Second Homily on the Transfiguration (PG 96:564C)] The change is on the side of the disciples.
The second certainty confirms this point: the purpose of the transfiguration, like everything else in the economy that is revealed in the Bible, is the salvation of man. As in the burning bush, so here the Word “allows” the light of his divinity “to be seen” in his body, in order to communicate not knowledge but life and salvation; he reveals himself by giving himself, and he gives himself in order to transform us into himself.
But if it be permissible to take off the sandals of curiosity and inquisitive gnosis and draw near to the mystery, we may ask: Why did Jesus choose this particular moment, these two witnesses, and these three apostles? What was he, the Son — so passionately in love with the Father and so passionately concerned for us — experiencing in his heart? A few days before Peter had already been given an interior enlightenment and had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God. Jesus had then begun to lift the veil from the not far distant ending of his life: he had to suffer, be put to death, and be raised from the dead. It is between this first prediction and the second that he undertakes to ascend the mountain.
The reason for the transfiguration can be glimpsed, therefore, in what the evangelists do not say: having finished the instruction preparatory to his own Pasch, Jesus is determined to advance to its accomplishment. With the whole of his being, the whole of his “body”, he is committed to the loving will of the Father; he accepts that will without reservation. From now on, everything, up to and including the final struggle at which the same three disciples will be invited to be present, will be an expression of his unconditional “Yes” to the Father’s love.
We must certainly enter into this mystery of committed love if we are to understand that the transfiguration is not an impossible unveiling of the light of the Word to the eyes of the apostles, but rather a moment of intensity in which the entire being of Jesus is utterly united with the compassion of the Father. During these decisive days of his life he becomes transparent to the light of the love of the One who gives himself to men for their salvation. If, then, Jesus is transfigured, the reason is that the Father causes his own joy to flame out in him. The radiance of the light in the suffering body of Jesus is, as it were, the thrill experienced by the Father in response to the total self-giving of his only Son. This explains the voice that pierces through the cloud: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).
We can also understand the profound feelings of Moses and Elijah, for these two men who had sensed the closeness of the divine glory that was impatient to save man are now contemplating it in the body of the Son of Man. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people…. I have heard them crying for help…. I am well aware of their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8); “Answer me, Yahweh, answer me…. I am full of jealous zeal for Yahweh Sabaoth, because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant” (1 Kings 18:37; 19:10).
All this is expressed now not by divine words or human words but by the Word himself in his humanity. No longer is there only promise and expectation, for the event has occurred; there is now present “the reality … the body of Christ” (Colossians 2:17). Moses and Elijah can leave the cave on Sinai without hiding their faces, for they have contemplated the source of light in the body of the Word.
The three disciples, for their part, are flooded for a few moments by that which it will be granted to them to receive, understand, and experience from Pentecost on, namely, the divinizing light that emanates from the body of Christ, the multiform energies of the Spirit who gives life. The thing that overwhelms them here is that “this man” is not only “God with men” but God-man; nothing can pass from God to man or from man to God except through his body.
Peter will bear witness in his Letters, as John does in all his writings, to the second of the two certainties I mentioned earlier: that participation in the life of the Father that pours out from the body of Christ is measured by the faith of the human recipient. The new element in the transfiguration consists in this light of faith that has given their bodily eyes the power to see. Thanks to this light, they “touch the Word of life” when they draw near to the body of Jesus.
Henceforth there is no longer any distance between matter and divinity, for in the body of Christ our flesh is in communion (without confusion or separation) with the Prince of life. The transfiguration of the Word gives a glimpse of the fullness of what the Word inaugurated in his Incarnation and manifested after his baptism by his miracles: namely, the truth that the body of the Lord Jesus is the sacrament that gives the life of God to men.
When our humanity consents without reserve to be united to the humanity of Jesus, it will share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); it will be divinized. Since the whole meaning of the economy of salvation is concentrated here, it is understandable that the liturgy should be the fulfillment of the economy. The divinization of men will come through sharing in the body of Christ.
You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, / revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear...
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Thursday, August 6, 2015
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