Baptism: The Gate Through Which We Enter In

On Earth as in Heaven: The Origins of Orthodox Worship by Subdeacon Gabe Martini

On Earth as in Heaven: The Origins of Orthodox Worship

April 12, 2013 by Gabe Martini

While it is true that Orthodox worship serves as a fulfillment of old covenant worship—being fulfilled in and through the risen Christ—the ultimate parallel or comparison that should be drawn is between the Orthodox worship on earth and that which exists in eternity (or, in “heaven”).

It is easy to discern the type-fulfillment relationships between the old covenant shadows and the new covenant fulfillment. For example, the seven-branched candelabras of the temple and those of an Orthodox altar; the budded rod of Aaron and the budded Cross from which the priestly blessing is given; the ark of the covenant in the most holy place of the temple and the tabernacle and “Mary of the Sign” iconography in the apse of a traditional Orthodox church building; etc.

However, what both the worship of the old covenant and that of the new share most in common is that they are both patterned after the worship which occurs in the throne room of the Lord in eternity. As with the prayer of the Lord, we worship “on earth as it is in heaven.” It would seem apparent, then, that anyone who desires to worship the Lord properly (and we know that worship is serious business, as Nadab and Abihu exemplify, cf. Lev. 10:1-3) should desire to worship the Lord as it is done in heaven.

While many of the Church’s worship traditions have been handed down through apostolic tradition, we are given a few visions of heavenly worship throughout the holy scriptures.

The vision of Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-7) comes immediately to mind, as we see a picture of the Lord’s throne room, complete with the smoke of burning incense, the antiphonal praise of the seraphim (“Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth,” which is of course a part of the Eucharistic liturgy in the Orthodox Church), a set of doors (like the royal doors of an Orthodox iconostasis), and a type of the Eucharist itself in the coals taken by tongs from the fiery altar and being placed upon Isaiah’s lips (just as a priest or deacon will place the Eucharist in the mouth of a communicant with the spoon). In fact, a priest quotes the very words of the seraphim in this vision when they partake of the Eucharist (or when they give it to the communicants), saying: “Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins.”

This timeless, heavenly worship takes place “at all times and at every hour” as the liturgy proclaims, and our worship on earth is an apocalyptic (the timeless reality being brought into the finite present) participation in that same worship. In a similar manner, our partaking of the Eucharist is the same bread as shared by the apostles in the upper room, which in turn was the same Wedding Feast of the Lamb as seen in John’s Apocalypse. This is why our icons of the Mystical Supper are not pictures of the upper room in first century Palestine, but are instead an image of the yet-to-come Great Feast in eternity.

As just mentioned, the Apocalypse or “Revelation” to the apostle John gives us another window into heavenly worship. In chapter 4, the throne room of the Lord is again described, and in a similar manner to Isaiah: a great throne of the Lord (Rev. 4:2-3), surrounded by 24 smaller thrones and presbyters (perhaps symbolic of the totality of God’s people in both the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the new covenant, cf. Rev. 4:4), and seven lamps of fire (just as the seven-branched candelabra in both the temple and upon an Orthodox altar, cf. Rev. 4:5), which are the seven Archangels.

This symbolism and the connection between both angels and deacons is made more apparent in the apostolic practice of having but seven deacons to a local church (to a bishop), the entry/exit of a deacon through the “angel’s doors” of later Orthodox church buildings, and the description of the deacon (and first martyr of the Church) Saint Stephen, who had “the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Saint Irenaeus also connects the seven candles with the seven heavens (cf. 1-2 Enoch), as well as the seven Archangels (cf. Tobit 12:15) of those heavens.

Just as with Isaiah’s vision, the antiphonal chanting of the angels is the same in John’s vision: “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Sabaoth!” (Rev. 4:8). There is also liturgical movement (processions), prostrations (bowing before the Lord), and offerings being given, not to mention the burning of incense by the angels (who are typified by deacons and priests here on earth, cf. Rev. 5:8). Anyone remotely familiar with Orthodox worship will inescapably draw comparisons between the worship that takes place in heaven, and that which occurs here on earth; and this is by design, of course.

I think it is safe to say, therefore, that if one desires to worship the Lord “on earth as it is in heaven,” this should be done with all of the above elements involved: the processions, the bowing, the antiphonal chanting, the offering of incense, the reception of the Eucharist, the seven-branched candles, the altar, the thrones, etc. These are all elements which exist both in heaven and here on earth in Orthodox worship.

Orthodox worship is not the result of centuries of paganization or “corruption” in the Christian community, but is instead a very conscious imaging of heavenly worship here on earth. As the Church became more and more “free” through the efforts of the emperor Saint Constantine the Great, beginning to build its own houses of worship, this emphasis became all the more clear.

Reposted with permission: http://onbehalfofall.org/on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven-a-brief-look-at-the-origins-of-orthodox-worship/

For Love Has Set Me Upon My Feet (The Homily for The Sunday of the Paral...

Today's homily on the Sunday of the Paralytic from the Monastery of the Glorious Ascension in Resaca, Georgia on 05/11/2014.

Love Has Set My Feet Upon The Ground (*A Homily on the Sunday of the Paralytic)

Dear brothers and sisters, today's Gospel reading in chapter five of the testimony of St. John tells us a wonderful story about love and forgiveness and profound healing. It is not a mushy type of story. It is not one that everyone will understand either. It is the story of a humble man who has been paralyzed and lays upon a cot beside of a pool with mysterious healing powers. We are told that at this pool, every now and then the waters are stirred up by an angel and that the first person who enters into the pool at the sign of the stirring will be healed of whatever it is that afflicts them.

Of course the man is not the only one who sits by the pool waiting for the angel to stir the waters. There are many more. In fact, there are so many that the man has trouble getting to the pool in time to benefit from his healing properties. The man has a loan for he says he has no one to help him get to the edge of the pool. This is a sorrowful tale of this person's inner loneliness and despair.

Saint Cyprian of Carthage once said, “Everyone falls alone, but we are being saved in the community”. In a way we see instantly that this man and his state of affairs can tell us a little bit about ourselves and about salvation and how is the understood in the Orthodox Church. The man who is paralyzed is alone by himself, and in utter despair. He has no helper and no sense of hope left with him. Yet, he still sits by the pool unable to move forward and unable to carry himself home. How many of us can see this picture and view ourselves in the same predicament? How many of us by our own efforts can save themselves?

Later on in the narrative, we are given a clue to help us see the nature of the man's illness. We are led to the understanding that his illness and his state of being are caused by sin. This fact is incredibly important and actually is the hinge pin upon which we can use to fully understand the deep truth is being shown to us.

It is none other than Christ Himself, who comes to the men's aid. He asks a very simple question. "Do you wish to be healed?" it sounds simple on the surface but it implies a much deeper meaning! Let him who has ears hear the truth and understand it. That if the man's unrepented sins have caused him to be in such a helpless situation, does he now, in the depths of his affliction, wish to repent? He answered as I suppose anyone of us would answer. Of course! I wish to be healed! What Christ says next is amazing. He says "Take up thy bed and walk home." Any other person saying this to a paralyzed man would have been thought to be cruel and perhaps even a bit of a fool. But this was Jesus the Christ saying this. For it was given to Him to heal illnesses and to forgive sins.

And so the man got up, having instantly been made whole, picked up instead and WALKED towards his home. Another miracle! This man who could not walk before could now do so! But the bigger miracle still was in the forgiveness of the formerly unrepented sin. The sickness of the soul had been healed and with it, the body as well.

But of course, this was all lost upon the Pharisees. All they saw was a man performing labor on the Sabbath. They stopped man and ask him why he was performing labor on the Sabbath when it was forbidden. The enormity of the situation was utterly lost upon them. All they saw was a breach of the law and to them the law was everything and that there was nothing above the law. But by the miracle of the healing and forgiveness of the man's sins,  Christ proved that His grace is above the law.

You see, the law is useful in as much as it shows us what is right and what is wrong. It teaches us to fear punishment and in a way, to fear the source of the law (*i.e- God). But it is through Grace that we are ultimately healed. Grace teaches us to do that which is right because of our love for Christ. That love for Christ is merely a reflection of the incredible love that Christ has for us. Because of this love that he has for us, Christ came to this man who could not come to His healing upon his own volition. It was through His grace that God sought out the paralytic, in the same way He even now seeks us out in the depths of our deepest sins. He has come to heal us. As He did with the paralytic, it is through His love and our acceptance of it through repentance that He has placed us upon our feet and through such healing, we can walk forward towards our home with the Father.

Christ has sought us out first because He knew that we could not, in the depths of our sinfulness, reach Him. He asks us as He once asked the paralytic, "Do you wish to be healed?" What shall your answer be?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Father Benedict+
Chaplain
Monastery of the Glorious Ascension
Resaca, Georgia

Baptism at the Monastery (05/03/2014)

Today we celebrated the baptism and illumination of little Emma into the Holy Orthodox Church. An incredible day filled with joy and celebration. We rejoice in the fact that this little lamb has been added to the number of those who have been baptized into Christ. Glory be unto God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit always now and ever until the ages of ages.

Lord I Believe Help My Disbelief (Homily for Thomas Sunday)

Thomas the Doubter had to see and to touch to believe. How many of us approach faith in the same way? How many of us are willing to take the step off of the cliff without having seen the bridge that lays before us?

The Entry of the King... A Homily for Palm Sunday

The Entry of the King: http://youtu.be/mJYigl6c_Aw