Clark Carlton - When The Fathers Disagree

Clark Carlton is the author of The Faith series (The Faith, The Way, The Truth, The Life) published by Regina Orthodox Press. His books have been instrumental in helping many find their way to Orthodoxy. In this podcast, Clark will comment weekly on matters of faith, philosophy and Orthodoxy.

Hello, and welcome once again to Faith and Philosophy. Today’s topic is “When the Fathers Disagree.” Going back through all the topic suggestions I received over the summer, I discovered an email asking me to comment on the fact that the fathers often give conflicting interpretations of biblical passages.  The writer mentioned different views on the Lord’s Prayer, in particular.
I know that this is an issue that causes some concern to folks, so let’s consider today what is going on when the fathers disagree with one another, and what that means for us today. I want to begin by pointing out that the very way we have posed this question makes certain philosophical assumptions, in particular, assumptions about the nature of theological language.
If you have grown up in the West, you have probably heard theology referred to as a science. In the Middle Ages, it was known as the Queen of the sciences. To be sure, Orthodox writers, such as Father John Romanides and Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, have occasionally referred to Orthodoxy as an empirical science. But they were referring to Orthodox praxis and method, not to language. I am concerned, rather, with the notion that theological language is, or is supposed to be, scientific. 
Scientific language is descriptive. Moreover, it is descriptive in the most literal way possible. There is a reason why lab reports are not written up in iambic pentameter or in haiku.  The language of science is Spartan and precise. “I poured so much of this substance into a beaker, with so much of that substance, and measured a temperature change of positive 2 degrees celsius.”
Perhaps the most thorough treatment of this kind of language was given by the enigmatic Austrian wunderkind, Ludwig Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. There, he argued that the purpose of language is to give us a word picture of reality. This language consists of statements that either do or do not match reality, and are, therefore, either true or false.
One could say, then, that Wittgenstein’s view of language was binary. Statements picture facts, and as such, are either true or false. Statements that do not picture facts are simply meaningless. Wittgenstein’s mistake here, and he realized this himself, was in assuming that he had just described language, itself, not simply a part of it.
Finally, realizing the impossibility of ever creating a logically perfect language that would admit of no ambiguity or confusion whatsoever, he turned his attention to the way people actually use language in their daily lives.
This led him to conclude that language, itself, is made up of a plethora of what he called language games, each of which has its own syntax and grammar, and arises out of a concrete life situation. Using the analogy of a toolbox, we choose the kind of language we are going to speak based on what we need it to do for us.
Certainly, the kind of language Wittgenstein described in the Tractatus has its place, in the laboratory, for example, although I should mention that even here there are problems, for example, when physicists try to describe quantum events, which challenge all attempts at logical description.  But this sort of language simply will not do if you are writing a love letter to your beloved, or trying to comfort a mother who has just lost a child. We need a language that is suitable for the task at hand.
Now, with this philosophical detour out of the way, let’s go back to the original question, which, frankly, presupposes that the fathers were, or should have been, using scientific language in interpreting the scriptures. This question assumes that the scriptures are an artifact, and that the fathers were examining this artifact as any scientist would. The fact that we consider the fathers to be inspired only adds to the problem. How could, for example, two different scientists, inspired by God, no less, look at the same rock, and one declare it a diamond, and the other, an emerald? 
But this is to miss the point entirely. The fathers were scientists of a sort, but they were scientists of the human soul and its relationship with God. They were not archeologists, or anthropologists, or even literary critics. So then, if the scriptures were not written to be scientific texts, in the modern sense, and if the fathers did not treat them that way, and they certainly did not, why does it always have to be either/or?
Let’s use The Lord’s Prayer as an example, since our writer brought it up. Our English translation of “Give us this day our daily bread,” is questionable. The Greek word we render as “daily” is epiousion. The old Latin translation of the gospels renders this word as quotidianum, which does, indeed, mean “daily.” 
Jerome, however, rendered epiousion, in the Vulgate, as supersubstantialum, which is a more literal Latin translation, but does not necessarily make English translation any easier. 
The problem is, what does epiousion mean? It appears that the gospel writer simply made the word up, which means we have no other previous or contemporaneous usages of the word to help us figure out a meaning. This is what has led to various interpretations of the verse, not only among modern scholars, but among Church fathers, as well. Are we asking for our “daily bread,” that is, for physical nourishment? Are we asking for the Eucharist, as some have interpreted the verse? Or, are we asking for a less precise kind of spiritual nourishment? Different fathers have chosen different interpretations.
My question today, however, is, why do we have to pick just one? Why not all three? You see, we moderns read the scriptures and the fathers looking for information. We are assuming that they intend to describe reality, and that we can understand and evaluate their descriptions as we would any other descriptive statement. We are forgetting, however, that the words of the Lord are life, itself. Instead of mining the text for information, we should be mining it for food which will feed our spirits. We must read the scriptures and the fathers prayerfully, allowing the words to speak to us in our own particular situation.
With the economy heading for the tank, some of us may find ourselves praying for our daily bread with some earnestness. May God hear our prayers. But as our Lord, Himself, said, “Man does not live by bread alone.” To ask for our daily physical bread, without asking for spiritual nourishment, is madness. And of course, as often as possible we should seek the nourishment of the Lord’s table. Surely, on the Lord’s Day, we are asking for all three.
This is not to say that the fathers never made mistakes about matters of fact or grammatical interpretation. Of course they did. As we have said time and again, sanctity does not confer infallibility. But even when a father misquotes the scriptures, and this is quite common, you will find that there is a spiritual purpose behind it. This, however, is for those who have, as the scripture says, “Ears to hear.“To hear the true meaning of the scriptures and the fathers, we must not listen with the ears of the modern scientist, or linguistic philosopher, or textual critic. We must learn to listen with the ears of faith.
And now may our great God and savior, Jesus Christ, who is the provision of our daily needs and the satisfaction of our deepest hunger, through the intercessions of St. Innocent of Alaska, and of the Blessed Elder Sophrony Sakharov, have mercy upon us all, and grant us a rich entrance into His eternal kingdom.

thanks to Source:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7389188445839022522#editor/target=post;postID=1632370857547943926

The Secrets of Orthodox Exorcists

Sasa Milosevic
August 17, 2011
The Huffington Post

A young woman sat in the chair near the altar. Father Sava began Liturgy reading the prayers from the Church service book in one hand while handling a lamp and censer in the other. As he approached the woman she started to cry, twitching her fingers and hitting her legs. Then, an abnormally deep voice came out of her mouth:

"Savo, don't do it. She is ours! Her aunt brought her to us. She is ours! She should not have finished college! She should not have gotten married! We want her to die! Death ...St. Matrona protects her!"

The monk didn't give up. He continued reading. Prayers, hymns, psalms. As he intensified praying, the invisible power attacked the girl stronger than before. She cried, shook and screamed for the whole Divine Liturgy. And then peace surprisingly came. The woman's body relaxed with visible relief. The demons left the suffering human being. She went out of the church as if nothing had happened.

The scene is not an excerpt from the one of Hollywood's blockbuster horrors. It is a reality that Sonja Brankovic, a 28-year-old Bosnian woman witnessed at Sunday morning Liturgy, in the Serbian Orthodox monastery Saint Ilija, Krupa, near Banja Luka, a few days before Pascha (Easter) 2011.

She could not believe what she saw, but over time she had to accept that the presence of evil was more than obvious. It finally became clear to her that Satan does not attack only Catholics, as Hollywood has been filming for almost 40 years, but also the Orthodox Christians of which she is one.

Unfortunately, the rich tradition of Orthodox exorcism stays in the shadow of "The Exorcist", launched in 1973 and primarily popularizing the Roman rite. Even the Baylor Religion Survey (2007) which finds that nearly four in five of respondents believe in demon possession, four decades after Hollywood's expansion of exorcism, does not present any statistical data within the Orthodox sample.

However, it is a significant fact from Russian Trinity - Sergius Lavra illustrating that three to five persons are possessed among the hundreds of those that regularly attend Liturgy.

That which people see in films is usually exaggerated drama. There is no levitating bed, spinning head or green-pea soups disgorged over the priest.

"An accurate depiction of an Orthodox exorcism appears in a Russian film "Ostrov" says Father Ioannis, a monk and confessor of Simonos Petras Monastery, Mt. Athos, accenting the compilation of prayers as the essence of the Orthodox exorcism.

A prayers-cocktail expels the demons

The standard exorcism procedure is found in The Great Book of Needs (Euchologion or Trebnik). This most comprehensive liturgical book of the Orthodox Church includes:

1. Opening blessing,

2. Trisagion prayers,

3. Psalms 142(143), 22(23), 26(27), 67(68), 50(51),

4. A hymn, Canon of Supplication to our Lord Jesus Christ (includes special litanies after odes 3,6,9);

5. Anointing with oil, with prayer of anointing that is the same prayer used in the service of healing unction.

6. Three prayers of exorcism by St. Basil and four prayers of St. John Chrysostom.

According the Typikon of St. Sava Monastery, Palestine, the blessed oil used in exorcism is removed from the temple and kept in the possession of the person receiving the exorcism for protective custody throughout life. At the time of the exorcised person's death, the residual oil will be buried with the remains in the coffin.

Father Juvenily Repass, an Instructor and Chaplain at St Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary warns that exorcism services would be "a grave sin and spiritually dangerous, "for a non-priest and layman. He says: "The service of exorcism is a very serious matter so even the priest should consult with the bishop before practicing it."

Unlike the Roman Catholic Church that elevated the Office of Exorcist, as a special exorcists unit, all Orthodox priests are trained and equipped to perform exorcism primarily as an obligatory part of Orthodox Baptism.

Four prayers appear in the early portion of the Baptism service known as "The Making of a Catechumen."

The Orthodox Greeks practice an unique exorcism against demonic influence known as "Evil Eye" or "Vaskania", a phenomenon deeply rooted in pre-Christian pagan tradition, but also widely present among other cultures. There is belief that some people through jealousy or envy can bring harm upon other people. It is considered that such people are demon-possessed, overlooking special and attractive people such as: beauties, those born on Saturday afternoon (time of Christ's birth), babies forty days after their births and young children. Affected persons suffer from discomfort, dizziness, whining, sleeplessness, peevishness, headache and pain.

Orthodox priests read a special Prayer for overlooking. The special small crosses from Mt. Athos made of unicorn's horn and oil from sacred lamp in church are also strong defense against the demon acting from person with evil eye.

The Greek Church permanently confront some groups of self-proclaimed exorcists (mainly old-women) that traditionally practice their own rite against " evil-eye" that includes religious procedure with olive oil, water and Cross, but opposite to recommendations of Church and The Great Book of Needs.

The monks from Russian Valaam monastery consider that everyone is possessed at some level, depending how much they are burdened by passions, so they recommend living according to God's commandments: fast, prayers, confession, repentance and Holy Communion."

Family sins open doors to demons

An Athonite monk Dositej Hilandarac warns that, "We inherit parents' spiritual debts, the same as we inherent land, money and material debts from them" He recalls:

"In summer 2010, monks from monastery Hilandar [Mt. Athos] exorcised a possessed boy. Despite prayers that lasted an entire week, the demons did not vacate the boy. Then I suggested to boy's father to repent and make confession. Because the father never confessed before this time, his son had become fertile ground for the demons. Indeed, the son had suffered for years just as the father and other family members had suffered by observing the child without recourse to resolve the problem on their own. This occasion was the only way to awaken the sinner. The father's repentance and confession were key to the success of our exorcism prayers."

Archimandrite Petar Dragojlovic, Hegumen of St. Nicholas monastery, Vranjina, recalls a young woman whom he exorcised in 2005. This woman had been possessed by seven demons after having practiced spiritualism with her grandmother prior to the elder's death.

"When grandmother died, she came to see her last time expressing desire to be beside her body that night. At the midnight, the demons began to sing and rejoice as they took the grandmother's soul because the old woman has served them through spiritualism. All seven demons entered into the girl. Until then she was an excellent student at Belgrade University with high grades. After possession she could not pass any exam. I have read the prayers to her in the Cetinje Monastery. Only after persistent reading of prayers by a year she received healing. But every time she went through the agony. She screamed with a high-pitched tone. Her body shook as her eyes gyrated. Her neck became twice as thick with distended veins. Two men were required to hold her in place for the prayers. Her strength was extraordinary. She now serves the God as a nun."

Possessed or Obsessed?

As the International Classification of Disease does not recognize demon possession as an official diagnosis the religion and medicine are in constant confrontation. While the psychiatrists consider it as a symptom of mental disorders, priests say it is possible to distinguish demon-possessed individuals from persons with mental illness. Hegumen Dragojlovic observes:

"When mentally-ill persons approach the holy relics their bodies do not show contractions and other distortions. Moreover, persons with mental illness do not blaspheme, and they do not scream. On the other hand, demon-possessed persons look normal outside of holy places such as an Orthodox temple. However, when they approach the temple and the holy relics, they react because demons start to torture them."

Hegumen's description parallels what Kurt E. Koch's described in his 1973 text, Demonology Past and Present differentiate demon possession from psychological disorders?

The monks from the Orthodox Monastery of Vasilije Ostroski in Montenegro also confirm Hegumen's words. One of most famous Orthodox sanctuary for demonized people keeps the rich archives of personal testimonies of people that have been brought there as "lunatics" but after exorcism in front of the relics of St. Vasilije they have been healed continuing to live a normal life.

Does it really work? The answer certainly depends on what you are closer to -- Hollywood or the Faith of more than 2000 years.

Thanks to John Sanidopoulos and source:

 

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/08/secrets-of-orthodox-exorcists.html

 

True Ghost Story #1: A Demonic Attack

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

 

By John Sanidopoulos

"There is also a very general rumor. Many have verified it by their own experience and trustworthy persons have corroborated the experience others told, that sylvans and fauns, commonly called incubi, have often made wicked assaults upon women."

- St. Augustine of Hippo ("The City of God")

One summer day in 1991 I was in Athens sitting in my cousin Dimitra's house watching television with my grandmother, as she was cleaning the kitchen. Specifically we were watching a documentary on the miracle of the Holy Light of Jerusalem, with actual footage of the ceremony (rarely seen on tape before the days of the internet). When the Holy Light was seen to emerge from the Holy Sepulcher, it caught Dimitra's attention and she stopped cleaning. I could see her visibly moved by the event, and even a bit troubled, as if she had something to say but didn't know how to say it. Dimitra, though she believed in God, was not necessarily a very devout Christian. Troubled by her conscience, she asked me if she could tell me something that she had never revealed before to anyone else. Though I was only fifteen and she was in her early twenties, she felt like our grandmother and I were probably the only ones that would not think she was crazy for speaking about an event in her life that she could not explain and was truly a terrifying experience for her.

Dimitra proceeded to tell me about her experience that happened not too long before. Her daughter Vivian, who was no more than five at the time, loved icons. Her grandmother would buy her icons, and Vivian would take them and hang them on her bedroom wall. For some reason, this bothered Dimitra, so she took the icons down. Vivian however would put them back up, though again her mother would take them down. It came to the point that Dimitra did this enough times for her to yell at her daughter for hanging the icons in her room, and she took them and put them under Vivian's bed. This saddened Vivian, as the icons remained under her bed.

Soon after, Dimitra went back to Vivian's room to check up on her. When she entered the room, she noticed the lights flicker on and off. This happened a few times when she would go to check up on her daughter, giving her an uneasy feeling. As she went into her own bedroom, suddenly she heard a frightful noise, and then an invisible hand forced her to her bed. Terrified, she struggled to free herself, but couldn't. She tried to yell for help, but couldn't. Understanding this was some evil spirit, she began to anxiously pray the Lord's Prayer and to recite the Creed. When she prayed thus, the invisible force released itself, but if she stopped, the spirit would once again take hold. With anguish she continued to pray and recite the Creed, until finally the malignant spirit departed.

When she asked what we thought of this, we simply told her that this seemed to be a demonic attack for hiding Vivian's icons under her bed. When I asked her if she once again hung the icons, she responded that she did not. My advice then was for her to hang the icons and go to Confession, to make sure something like this would not happen again. Relieved that she was able to take the heavy load off her conscience, she accepted my advice.

As far as I know, she was never attacked again.

Thanks to John Sanidopoulos and source:

 

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2012/10/true-ghost-story-1-demonic-attack.html

 

 

The Exorcism of a Greek-American Immigrant

Thursday, April 14, 2011

 

Elder Ignatios the Confessor (+ 1927)

By Archimandrite Cherubim Karambelas

It is a sad thing that many Greeks outside their country fall victim through carelessness to anti-Christian ideas and heresies, losing the priceless treasure of the Orthodox faith. This happened to a man named Angelis Kioussis.

He had set out from the Lion of Thebes, his fatherland, for distant America, hoping for a good career. As he was clever and enterprising, he not only managed to succeed professionally but he even became very rich.

At the age of forty he wanted something novel to play with. Blinded by his wealth and darkened by arrogance, he became entangled in the nets of a satanic sect. His soul was so poisoned that he forswore Christianity in a solemn ceremony, and defiled the icons of Christ and the Theotokos. Others had performed this wicked deed, and nothing had happened to them.

But God, Who forbears and is silent, sometimes judges it right to break His silence. This happened in the case of Angelis - the scourge fell as he was leaving the room where the abominable deed was performed. God delivered him to the power of the devil. Outwardly it appeared that he had been stricken with sudden madness.

"Angelis, the wealthy one, is ill!" The rumor spread among the emigrant Greeks. "He doesn't know what he is saying or doing - he has a serious mental illness!"

His brothers now had the thankless responsibility of going around from doctor to doctor and from psychiatrist to psychiatrist. They were fortunate they had so much money to spend. He was examined by the most eminent psychiatrists, given the best medicines, and nursed in the most modern sanatoriums, but there was no result. Several doctors said to themselves: "This is a strange illness! It doesn't seem normal. A peculiar case! What shall we do?"

His relatives began to understand that Angelis' illness lay outside the jurisdiction of medical science. They remembered he despised the Faith and brought him back to their fatherland, having recourse to the Church and the help of priests. Now in place of drugs he received the exorcism of St. Basil the Great. Their new course of action finally led the possessed man to the Holy Mountain.

"Shouldn't you take him to the Holy Mountain, so that some holy hieromonk can pray for him?" several people recommended.

This suggestion was immediately adopted, and Angelis with his brothers came to New Skete, where they had some friends.

Some time ago in New Skete we met the monk who had received them in his Kalyva, Fr. Eustratios the hagiographer. When we questioned him, he told us the story in detail. He also described the madness of the possessed man. He would carry around four or five round balls like oranges and amuse himself by throwing them one by one into the air with great speed. He would catch them and throw them again, without any falling down. The most skillful jugglers would have envied him!

Various kinds of demons torment demoniacs. Some work at midday, others at night, others once a month. Some are deaf or mute, others shameless babblers, etc. Angelis' demon was characterized as "harmful and distorting the mind" and "voluble". Under his influence the unfortunate man ceaselessly chatted and talked to himself, rambling on about all kinds of subjects. His tongue never stopped.

The Fathers of New Skete worked hard to drive it out, but were not successful. This demon was very difficult: "His neck was made of iron nerves". They bethought themselves to find some elder "mighty in battle". Such a one was Fr. Ignatios the Confessor, who had healed many demoniacs.

Thus Angelis was led to Katounakia, where they met Fr. Ignatios and the battle was planned. Fr. Ignatios perceived that much labor would be needed to expel this spirit. His disciple of the same name would assist him in the struggle, in the Liturgies and exorcisms. For forty days they would fast, perform the Divine Liturgy daily, read the exorcisms, and beg God's mercy. Angelis, by Fr. Ignatios' command, had to go to confession every day and tell his most secret thoughts, and everything that the devil said to him.

For thirty-nine days they waged this hard battle, and on the fortieth day the sufferer breathed the air of freedom. The chains which had bound him for so many years were broken. His relief was indescribable. Rejoicing, he returned to his fatherland, and then to America, where, "clothed in his right mind" he continued his life. And never did he forget the Holy Mountain and the venerable Elder Ignatios who had freed him from the devil's tyranny.

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos (vol. 2), pp. 510-512.

 

thanks to Source:

 

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/exorcism-of-greek-american-immigrant.html

 

 

Elder Paisios: Never Say "They Will Answer to God"

- Elder, is it alright to say about someone who has caused me an injustice: "They will answer to God".

- Whoever says that is being fooled by the evil one and does not understand that in this way he is cursing politely. There are some who say that they are sensitive and they have love and a delicate hand and they are tolerant of the injustices done to them by people, but they say: "They will answer to God".

In this life all people are given tests, so that we may pass to the other life, to Paradise. My thoughts tell me that the polite curse is below the spiritual base and is forbidden to Christians, because Christ did not teach us that kind of love, but rather: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Also, the best prayer of all is, when you have been unjustly cursed, to bear it silently and with kindness.

When we are falsely accused or unjustly treated either by frivolous or wicked people, who have evil intentions and distort the truth, if we can, it is good to not seek to be justified when the injustice concerns only ourselves. Nor should we say: "They will answer to God", because this is a curse. It is good that we forgive them with our whole heart and supplicate God to strengthen us, to bear the weight of the false accusation and continue along in our spiritual life (in obscurity, as much as possible). Let those who have it as a habit to judge and criticize continue to do so, to be unjust to us, because they are continuously in this way preparing for us golden crowns for the true life.

Of course, those who are near to God never curse, because they do not have evil intentions but are filled with goodness, and whatever evil is thrown at them, these sanctified people sanctify it, and feel a great, secret joy.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

 

Thanks to source:

 

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/04/elder-paisios-never-say-they-will.html

Quote by Lao Tzu ~ Force

“Do not conquer the world with force, for force only causes resistance. Thorns spring up when an army passes. Years of misery follow a great victory. Do only what needs to be done without using violence.”
― Lao Tzu

Quote by Lao Tzu

“Give evil nothing to oppose
and it will disappear by itself.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching