الأسرار المقدسة والصلب

[John of the Ladder]

سلام ومحبة ربنا يسوع المسيح له كل المجد من الآن وإلى الأبد آمين

قال الآباء القديسون أن الله صار إنساناً لكي يصير الإنسان إلهاً (بالنعمة)، وعلى حد تعبير القديس غريغوريوس بالاماس أن تناول الأسرار المقدسة هو الإتحاد مع طبيعة كلمة الله البشرية التي باتحادها مع الأقنوم الثاني من الثالوث القدوس تألهت وأصبحت منبعاً للتأله.

والسيد المسيح له المجد قال: خذوا كلوا هذا هو جسدي الذي يهراق عنكم وعن كثيرين لمغفرة الخطايا، في إشارة إلى الصليب

ولكن حسب ما تؤمن الأرثوذكسية فإن الصلب ليس هو (فقط) الغاية من التجسد، فقد كان من الممكن ألا يصلب السيد المسيح إذا ما آمن به اليهود والأمم من تعاليمه وأعماله الصالحة التي تعكس صورة الله التي تشوهت في الإنسان بفعل الخطيئة الاصلية، وإنما الغاية (القصوى) هي تأليه الطبيعة البشرية.

والسؤال الآن: لو أن السيد المسيح لم يصلب هل كان بالإمكان تأله الطبيعة البشرية؟ وكيف؟

وشكراً

[سليمان]

Beloved in Christ
Brother, the short and concise answer to this purely hypothetical proposition is

Theoria and Praxis and not according to the contemporary misinterpreted understanding
rather, in the original meanings
Where clearly, Theoria is the vision of God -the nous' restoration and return to God
Praxis is whatever deeds it takes to lead to this love

St. Gregory the Theologian
in making reference to the last and the most dreadful of the seven plagues of the Egyptians
-i.e. the death of their first-born children- states that
in order for a person to escape the angel of death
he must anoint the guardians of his nous -praxis and theoria- with the blood of Christ

Thus praxis and theoria are linked with the nous
They are nous' guardians and are cured by the blood of Christ
And this, for certain, is our identification with and participation
in Christ's crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension


***

Furthermore
Allow me to quote for your enlightenment
An excerpt that deals with subject matter from a book titled
Orthodox theology is a science of the healing of man
Written by His Eminence
Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, May the Living-Son of God Shower him with Holy Graces

Note
You must read the entire selected quote to get the answer to your question; hence, why I gave you the short answer above

He writes

Within the whole of patristic tradition it is clear that praxis is
the purification of the heart's passions
and theoria is both the illumination of the nous and the vision of the uncreated glory of God

According to St. Gregory the Theologian, praxis is the cause of theoria

According to Elias the Elder
praxis is fasting and all night vigil
psalm-singing
and prayer and silence which is more precious than words
also praxis is whatever is done patiently without complaint

St. Isaac the Syrian says that
theoria is the vision of the nous

It must be noted, of course
that there is no praxis independent of theoria
neither does theoria exist independently of praxis

This means that man is led to the theoria of God through purification
and when theoria ceases
then praxis begins again

St. Gregory Palamas is more analytical on the subject of praxis and theoria
He teaches that theoria of God is nothing else but the vision of God
Therefore theoria is not speculation on what is said or what is seen
but it is the vision of God

If this is in fact theoria
then it follows that praxis is
nothing less than the cleansing of the heart
and repentance
the complete hesychastic way of life
instruction on hesychia

Thus, according to St. Gregory Palamas
praxis is equated with hesychasm
a method of prayer- holy silence
which necessitates stillness of the nous
the halting of the world
and the forgetting of earthly things

It is an initiation into the things from above
and the putting aside of all concepts of goodness

Through praxis -sacred hesychia
we are liberated from what is worldly and direct ourselves toward God

This is the path and manner of ascent towards God
which the Most Holy Mother of God followed
she attained to theosis thus and became the mother of the Word of God
NOTE: She is the only human being ever to achieve this status

Praxis, therefore, is the purification of the heart
this constitutes genuine repentance
as proclaimed by St. John the Baptist
Christ Himself
and of course by all of His Apostles
because repentance is the indispensable prerequisite for one to
experience the Kingdom of God


Thus, purification of the heart, i.e. of our inner world
is the first stage of the spiritual life
through which we must pass in order to attain to salvation

In the following the meaning attached to "purification of heart" by the Holy Fathers must be ascertained
They intend primarily three things

Firstly, purification of the heart is
the cure of the soul's faculty, so as to function in accordance with nature and above nature -not contrary to nature
Man's soul is both unified and manifold
She has primarily three faculties
the intelligent, the appetitive and the incentive

All three faculties, when functioning normally, are directed towards God
The intellect seeks God
the desire longs for God
and the will must do everything to achieve this communion and union with God

Secondly, purification is man's deliverance from pleasure and pain
in other words a person's liberation from the oppression exerted by pleasure and pain
When man is cleansed, he is freed from their domination
It is the spiritual pleasures which primarily are cultivated within him
and he does not become distressed or afflicted when diverse people or problems and adversities in life cause him pain

Thirdly, purification is the cleansing of the heart from the various thoughts-logismoi* existing therein
They are called logismoi because
they must dwell in the reason and not within the heart

What does this mean? When a "logismos" comes and a person is not sufficiently attentive
it then becomes a desire which wants to be fulfilled, i.e. realised
This means that the logismos proceeds from
the intelligent faculty of the soul to the passible faculty
that is the faculties of desire and will

Being realised and developing into a passion the logismos enters, in fact
into the heart and remains all powerful there

The Fathers say that the heart can be cleansed of logismoi
through repentance and by means of the ascetic method of the Church

And this ascetic method is inspired by divine grace
A simple thought may enter the reason but not find its way within the heart
When all logismoi are dismissed and the heart is cleansed, only one word-prayer prevails

For this reason the prayer "Lord Jesus Christ , have mercy on me" is called the one-word-prayer

Thus, the simple remembrance within the heart helps retain the unceasing prayer while reason accommodates
the so called simple logismoi -the plain concept of a thing disengaged from passion

These three states are what the Fathers call purification of the heart

When a person's heart is cleansed he becomes more sociable, balanced
He behaves properly within society
because his selfishness has given way to love for God and love for man
Selfish love is transformed into unselfish love

Formerly, he would love selfishly, with a love which seeks its own
Now, however, he loves with a pure love which seeks its own
He loves others without expecting anything in return
He loves independently of whether others love him
There is no self-seeking in his actions
Thus, when selfish love is changed into unselfish love,
one speaks of the person as having become a real human being
And it is this transformation which is considered the cure of man

In patristic tradition praxis is also called ethics

St. Gregory Palamas speaks of ethics in his texts
He is actually developing the theme of purification of heart

Therein the entire way of man's cure is described
In Orthodox tradition ethics is not an abstract condition
neither is it a pharisaical outward behaviour
rather it is asceticism

Therefore, when the Fathers speak of ethics
they mean asceticism

And since asceticism is a person's passage from impurity of the nous
to its cleansing and on to its illumination, orthodox ethics, therefore, is man's purification

If praxis is the purification of heart in patristic tradition
theoria is on the one hand the illumination of the nous and on the other the vision of the uncreated Light

Thus in the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas
it appears that theoria of God is man's union with God
It is effected through divinization (theosis) and bestows upon him the knowledge of God
Theoria - union - theosis and knowledge of God are synonym in patristic tradition
This is the path leading to a person's cure
Just as every science has a specific way of guiding a person to knowledge
so also does the Church have a method to lead man to God
And this method consists of
purification of the heart
illumination of the nous and divinization (theosis) - also called praxis and theoria

http://www.orthodoxonline.org/forum/img-content/imgcache/2008/07/11.gifMetropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos




In Him, the Risen Christ
I remain steadfast
Sulieman

[John of the Ladder]

أخي العزيز

أولاً: أشكرك على الرد، ولكن حبذا لو كان باللغة العربية، فنحن ضعفاء باللغة الإنجليزية بشكل عام، فما بالك في أمور المسيحية!!

ثانياً: وبناءً على استعابي المتواضع لردك فهمت (وأرجو أن تصححني في أخطائي) أن التحول من الحب الأناني إلى الحب الكامل (كما يصفه القديس يوحنا الإنجيلي البشير) هو دليل على شفاء الإنسان القديم وعودته إلى الطريق القويم وتحقيق غايته المنشودة، لأنه وكما يقول: إن الله محبة فمن يثبت في المحبة يثبت في الله والله فيه

ولكن هل تناول الأسرار المقدسة وسيلة لا بد منها لتحقيق هذه الغاية (حب الله وحب القريب)؟ بعبارة أخرى: هل كان موت السيد المسيح وقيامته وصعوده لا بد منه لإعادة الصورة التي خلق عليها الإنسان وتحقيق غايته من الوجود؟ أقصد ماذا لو كان هناك إنسانٌ يحب ويعمل الصلاح ويخدم الناس ولا يسيء إلى أحد، ومع كل هذا هو لا يعرف السيد المسيح له المجد ولا يتناول من جسده الكريم ودمه الطاهر؟ ما مصير هذا الإنسان؟

وشكراً

[سليمان]

Beloved in Christ


I beg your forgiveness brother for replying in English
On occasions beyond my control (travel or away from my customary desk top), I am unable to reply in our native language


Please understand that I am compelled to answer
nonetheless, when I don’t see any other responses to a question that has been posed on our blessed forums


Now, I see that you’ve changed the focal point of your question
I will attempt to answer it with verses from the Holy Book without an overabundance of
commentary. It is my hope, that one of the Holy Fathers or sisters and brothers
will chime in and shed further light on the topic at hand
to quench your inquiring mind with the grace of the Holy Spirit


Furthermore
The following is in reference to your secondary (most recent) topic


The prison keeper asked a question to St. Paul. Read
Acts 16:30


In the Holy Book, the Lord Jesus is the only name under the heavens. Read
Acts 4: 12


Christ Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". Read
John. 14: 6


Jesus Christ is not a local Savior, but the Savior of the world. Read
Luke 2:11; John 4:42


The prologue of the fourth Gospel equates the incarnate Savior with the eternal Word (Logos) who was in the world even before the Incarnation. Read
John 1: 10


The Incarnation is the precise criterion with which God and man is to be measured. Salvation of those who act according to the conscience or according to their knowledge of truth will be perfected beyond history by the same Logos-Christ. Read
I Peter 3: 19; 4: 6


The teaching of the Fathers, "outside the Church there is no salvation" has also to be understood as outside the invisible Church known to the Trinity alone
The preaching of Christ is the God-given task of the Church to make Christ known to the whole of humanity that through Him all may have abundant life. Read
John 10: 10


Finally, to answer your question concerning the salvation of non-Christians. Read
Romans. 2: 25-29
Matthews 25: 31-46
Philippines. 2: 10


sweet whisper unto your spirit
The last enemy already has been conquered by the crucified and risen Christ
Death is swallowed in victory. "O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Read
I Corinthians15; 54


The resurrection of Christ has removed the venomous sting from the serpent of death.


Forgive my inequities
In Christ I remain
evermore, a sinner
Your brother
Sulieman

[سليمان]

Brother please read the ftext in the two links below

http://web.orthodoxonline.org/faith/theology/vlachosincarnation.htm

and this

http://web.orthodoxonline.org/faith/theology/VlachosPassionCross.htm

[John of the Ladder]

أخي سليمان

ما حققه المسيح بالطبيعة من غلبة على الشيطان والموت نناله نحن بالنعمة من خلال الأسرار المقدسة التي هي وسائط مخلوقة لنيل النعمة غير المخلوقة.

هذا يقودنا إلى السؤال التالي: إن كان آلام وصلب وموت المسيح لا بد منه لخلاص الجنس البشري، فما ذنب الأشخاص الذين سلموه للموت؟ وماذا لو أنه لم يسلم إلى الموت؟ فكيف كنا سنخلص؟

وشكراً

[سليمان]

هذا يقودنا إلى السؤال التالي: إن كان آلام وصلب وموت المسيح لا بد منه لخلاص الجنس البشري، فما ذنب الأشخاص الذين سلموه للموت؟ وماذا لو أنه لم يسلم إلى الموت؟ فكيف كنا سنخلص؟


وشكراً




Beloved in Christ


This should be an easy read for you and answers the first part of of your most recent question


http://www.almahaba.org/zad/sokot.htm


As for the second part of your question, it is
purely a hypothetical proposition; however, The Lord have answer it clearly
I invite you to read it in the Holy Bible


In Christ
Blessing you in gladness of heart


I remain
Your Brother
Sulieman