A Crisis of Faith

Last weekend, I had a discouraging experience. Our Church, which was built five years ago, has made amazing strides for a community our size. There is still a great deal to accomplish and obviously future generations will hopefully continue to build on what those before them have been able to create during the span of an entire century. Last summer, with the grace of God and the help of two, young talented iconographers, Panayiotis and Dimitris Christodoulou from Thessaloniki, Phase I and II of our iconography project, were completed. Click on the One True Media screen with the picture of the church in the right column to see the results of their work . The project is ambitious. The goal is to cover the walls and dome of our Church with painted icons depicting the life of Christ  and some of the many Saints. Our community is now trying to decide how to pay for the final phase of work. Many well meaning folks are concerned about the cost, how we will pay the mortgage, operating expenses and any money we may need to borrow to complete the iconography in the Church. Others are committed to completing the project regardless of the financial obstacles. Communities such as ours are close knit, very much like extended families. As a matter of fact, many of our families have intermarried over the years, since Greeks often encourage their children to marry other Greeks. Just like any Greek family, arguments erupt over family matters and this family is no exception. We will get through it, God willing, and ultimately we will move on. The thing that deeply disturbs me however is that some parishioners feel that iconography is just something that is nice to have, not essential. Financial considerations aside, the issue of whether we need iconography goes to the heart of our faith.

Readers who visit read MGO regularly probably realize by now that I am deeply attached to the legacy of gifts that my ancestors passed on to me. The most important of these gifts was my Orthodox faith.  My ancestors never gave up their Orthodox faith, despite living in the midst of those who took advantage of every opportunity to destroy that faith. The faith they handed down is again assailed by modern society, by other religious denominations and by those who neither understand it or feel it is important enough to sacrifice and fight for. It is not my purpose to cast stones at anyone in this regard. I feel ashamed at times at the weakness of my own humble attempts to manifest that faith in my own life. It is constant struggle, however, failure at times in that struggle is not a reason to surrender. As Orthodox Christians we are often tempted to take shortcuts or to disengage ourselves entirely from what God asks of us. I've heard it all. Fasting is too hard. There is no time to pray. Confession is for "real" sinners only. Supporting our Church with our time and money is a waste. Priests, Monks and Nuns are not worthy of our respect. The Church has become a big business. It so easy to go through the motions just for the sake of appearances or to blame others for our own laziness or shortcomings. Even more dangerous, is attempting to change the Church or the Faith to suit our own views or opinions.

Back in the 8th Century, the Church was torn asunder by a terrible schism between Iconoclasts, those who wanted to destroy every icon and those who wanted to preserve and venerate the icons. This conflict almost destroyed the Byzantine Empire and the Orthodox Church. It ended when the 7th Ecumenical Council in 786 settled the matter in favor of keeping the Icons. In 843, the Empress Theodora proclaimed the official restoration of the Icons. Since that time the first Sunday of Lent is celebrated in the churches of the Orthodox tradition as the feast of the "Triumph of Orthodoxy". Iconography in our churches represents who we are and what we believe. It is a one of the pillars of our Church Tradition and its existence is a key component of how we worship. Images are part of Orthodox liturgical life. Our priest often draws attention to the images on the walls during sermons. They are not wall decorations but evidence of our faith. Failure to understand this key point is a failure to understand what exactly we believe in as Orthodox Christians. Orthodox Christians do not proselytize. We don't visit your home and try to convert you to our way of thinking. Orthodox missionaries have never converted people at the edge of a sword. They attracted people to Orthodoxy by exposing them to how we worship. If you want to know what Orthodoxy is all about, visit an Orthodox Church during services. Come and see.

The icon is the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven in our material world. An icon is a realistic image, not in the sense of Renaissance painters but rather as symbolic realism. It reveals the truth about God and man and in so doing it depicts truth about the subject, which is, after all, the goal of art. An iconographer seeks the truth about the Creator. He is involved in the life of the Church, understands and lives his faith and as such, he must have more than artistic skill. An icon is more than a picture or a thing. It cannot live its whole life in a museum or an art gallery because only in prayer can it fulfill its purpose.

In Orthodoxy there are five sources of tradition: the Holy Scriptures, the Liturgy, the Councils, the Saints and Church Art, which includes iconography, music and architecture. It is the Church's understanding that all of these sources of Tradition come together in unity. It is all one holistic entity. Concentrating on one to the detriment of the others will not work. Going to church and looking at icons is no more effective than reading scripture without partaking of worship in Church. Iconography will not work the way it's supposed to work when taken out of its context and not part of the totality of Church Tradition.

The alarming aspect of this entire issue is that it reveals our increasing lack of knowledge about Orthodoxy, our laziness in passing it on to our children and ultimately, a crisis of faith. As Orthodox Christians we have to cling fast to Holy Tradition.  It is who we are.  Part of the problem today is that modern industrialized societies see these traditions as useless and they encourage us subtly and overtly, to take the easy route. We don't think twice about compromising the tenets of Orthodoxy to the requirements of the secular world. Change is inevitable, yet there are some things that are immutable and will always stand the test of time. It is up to us to overcome the burgeoning crisis of faith by understanding and preserving the Holy Traditions of our Church even when it means we have to make sacrifices or feel uncomfortable.  Our children are watching the example we set. May our efforts be Blessed.

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Comments

[George]

Preach it brother!

[Christina]

Stavros,
Thanks for beautifully summing up what's been bothering me for some time now. I've already filled you in on the crisis facing our little church. Both my husband and I grew up in the Greek Orthodox church. Our parents were not overly devout, but participation in church life was a must. I'm embarassed to say that this past Saturday, we looked at each other and asked, 'so what exactly is Theophany?'

It's interesting that The Getty Museum is currently hosting the icons from St. Catherine's Monastery of Mt. Sinai. Sometimes when we see a piece of our heritage in such a hallowed position, it changes our view of it.
Christina

[Stavros]

Christina,

All of us need to reacquaint ourselves with the treasure trove that was bequeathed to us by an accident of birth. There are a growing number of converts in our community and I find that in some ways they are much more serious about the faith than those of us that were born into it. After all we were handed Orthodoxy on a silver platter. It is never too late! I recommend reading and talking to knowledgeable people like your parish priest. You can start by exploring some of the links on this blog which include websites and books.