Time

Published by The National Herald, February 25, 2005

It’s Time to Separate Religion from Culture

I read you’re your February 5 editorial, "The Archdiocese Should Let Go," with interest, particularly your conclusion: "If the Archdiocese does not care to continue its role as the central promoter of Greek education in America, should this responsibility not be transferred directly to our local communities, or even to a new organization which is truly empowered to run our educational system?"

I could not agree more – it is time to end the confusion being issued from the Church by the grafting of a false co-mission of supporting cultural and ethnic objectives onto the Church of Christ. I would suggest that such confusion has led to the continued existence of separate ethnic Orthodox jurisdictions in this country; and that it will lead to the ultimate failure of both missions on this continent and the extinction of Greek Orthodoxy in America.

The recently concluded feast of the Three Hierarchs, Saints Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian, could not provide a better example of how this confusion has grown.

The facts are that Saints Basil, John Chrysostom and Gregory were learned and cultured men of their day. The normal Byzantine curriculum of the day was comprised of studying the Ancient Greek classics, as well as Scripture. Furthermore, as citizens of the Eastern Roman Empire, derogatorily named "Byzantine" by later Western European historians, of course they spoke the language of the Empire, which was Greek.

But this appreciation has been completely distorted by some in this country, most notoriously the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to mean that Hellenism is in some way essential to the Gospel of Christ and the Orthodox Church. There are many theories about where and when this emphasis on Hellenism in the Church arose; suffice to say it was sometime AFTER the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The real problem, which readers can verify, is that while the above saints appreciated ancient Greek learning and philosophy, they recognized it for what it was: pagan learning. As such, there was no emphasis on Hellenism as an integral part of our Church, and it was certainly not something which should be maintained at all costs by the Church.

As a matter of fact, Saint Gregory Palamas echoes an earlier statement of Saint Basil when he states, "Is there then anything of use in this philosophy? Certainly; for just as there is much therapeutic value even in substances obtained from the flesh of serpents, and doctors consider there is no better and more useful medicine than that derived from this source, so there is something of benefit to be had even from the profane philosophers – but somewhat as in a mixture of honey and hemlock."

Note Palamas’ words. Are they used to refer to something from God? In his conclusion, he states the case even more forcefully: "For how much more will Christ be of no benefit to one who turns to discredited alien philosophy to gain purification for his soul?"

The point is this: while the Church Fathers studied, understood and appreciated the ancient Greek knowledge, as we all should, they did NOT raise it to the level of a co-mission of the Church, as seems to be the case today.

By following your suggestion, and separating the two issues, religion and culture, perhaps BOTH can be pursued more aggressively and effectively on this continent.



Volume 7 Number 9 - Tuesday, March 1st, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY