We Begin the New Ecclesiastical Year!
“Christianity is more than a theory about the universe, more than teachings written down on paper; it is a path along which we journey – in the deepest and richest sense, the way of life.” ~Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Blessed Memory (1934-1922)
Dearest Spiritual Ohana,
On September 1st, we commemorate and officially begin the New Ecclesiastical Year. All the cycles of the Liturgical Year begin anew, both the Fixed/Immovable and Movable Feasts of the Year. Just as we encounter, throughout the world, the four seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer, so we, in like manner, face the beginning of the repeatable cycles throughout the Church Year.
We each have a purpose in our lives, and our time on earth helps and affords us opportunities to discover what that is as we journey, year after year, as “pilgrims” on this earth. I call to mind an “oldie but a goodie” of a song, taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-14, written by Pete Seeger and recorded and sung mostly memorably by the Byrds: “Turn, Turn, Turn.” The lyrics go as follows: “To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
To everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late”
Our ultimate purpose, as humankind, is to be in communion with God. It is a simple and attainable goal, but paradoxically extremely challenging to achieve.
We are made in God’s “Image and Likeness.” With this given fact, there is built within each one of us the longing for communion with Him and an innermost desire for a genuine relationship with Him, which is fulfillment in the truest sense. Our constant challenge before us is to recognize and act on this built-in pull, within. I believe this challenge for us as Orthodox Christians is what we call “spiritual warfare.”
Whenever, we displace, remove and substitute our focus on God, with anything else, in any way, we live unfulfilled and broken lives. God is the only path towards true fulfillment. Nothing else suffices!
My desire and goal throughout this New Ecclesiastical Year, is to provide tools to help facilitate our journey towards communion with God. My vision for our Cathedral this Year will to bring greater awareness of our Orthodox Christian Faith, in practice and practicality in our daily lives. The focus, this New Ecclesiastical Year will be on “Orthodox Phronema.” According to “Orthodoxwiki,” “Phronema” is: “a Greek term that is used in Orthodox Theology to refer to mindset or outlook; it is the Orthodox mind. The attaining of phronema is a matter of practicing the correct faith (orthodoxia) in the correct manner (orthopraxia). Attaining phronema is regarded as the first step toward theosis, the state of glorification .”
I pray that this is a step in the right direction to help guide us all to a purpose-filled relationship with God. I plan to use our Adult Religious Education as one of the ways to help “connect the dots” in developing an “Orthodox Phronema” in our spiritual community.
With Love in Christ,
+Fr. Alexander