Sermon for Sunday of Local All Saints

On this day which is traditionally dedicated to local all Saints I want to read something from the epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus.  One notion it puts forward is that Christianity and sanctity is for everyone in this world and for every place in this world.  This is an anonymous work by someone who called himself a disciple of the Apostles.  Mathetes is the Greek term for disciple.       

The Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and paradoxal method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all; they beget children; but they do not abort their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

To sum up all in one word-what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and loves also its members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible bodies, looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though punished, increase in number daily.  God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it is unlawful for them to forsake.¹

Thus were the early Christians described let us follow in their footsteps. Amen!

Volume I The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Chapter V and VI of “The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus” (with slight editing)

Hymnology of Lazarus Saturday and Christology

In serving the Matins of Lazarus Saturday I found the translation of one hymn especially troubling.  Since we had a heavy cycle of services I was unable to deal with looking into it at that time.  This has been pressing upon my mind again of late, so I decided to undertake researching it.  There is one hymn among the Praises of Matins which reads as follows:  

“Thou hast granted to Thy disciples, O Christ, tokens of Thy divinity, but Thou hast humbled Thyself among the crowds, wishing to conceal it from them.  Foreknowing all things as God, Thou hast foretold to the apostles the death of Lazarus; yet at Bethany, when in the presence of the people, Thou hast as man asked where Thy friend was buried, being ignorant of this.  But then Thou hast raised him four days after he was dead, and so he rendered manifest Thy power as God. O Almighty Lord Glory to Thee.”

The words in bold are my emphasis.  This translation, which is quite literal, is from the Lenten Triodion prepared by Bishop Kallistos Ware and Mother Mary.

There is another translation in the booklet, Psalm Sunday and Lazarus Saturday, published by Saint Vladimir’s Seminary which reads thus: 

O Lord, Thou didst give Thy disciples signs of Thy divinity, while concealing Thy majesty from the crowd though humility: To Thy disciples Thou didst predict the death of Lazarus, revealing Thy knowledge of future things.  But in the presence of the crowd in Bethany, Thou didst ask, “Where is my friend buried?”  For Thou, in Thy compassion for us, didst take upon Thyself our ignorance.  Then, Thou didst raise up a man who had been dead four days.  Through him, Thou hast finally revealed Thy divine power to all.  O Almighty Lord, glory to Thee!  

The words in bold, which is again my emphasis is that which is in question. It should be obvious that this rendering has a significant interpretive slant.  But is this “interpretive slant” Orthodox or theologically erroneous—could we perhaps even say “heretical”?  To say that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God-Man had human ignorance is to separate the divine and human natures in Him and to do that is erroneous theology and I repeat: Could we perhaps even say “heretical”? 

Let us go back to the literal translation of the phrase in question:

“Thou hast as man asked where Thy friend was buried, being ignorant of this.”

Why did the hymnographer write this when in a number of places in the liturgical service for Lazarus Saturday we see the opposite?  Let us review these.  Starting with Vespers: “O Lord wishing to see the tomb of Lazarus…Thou hast asked; ‘Where have ye laid him?’  And learning that which was already known to Thee.” In the Compline Canon: “O Strange and marvelous wonder!  Although He knew the answer, yet as if ignorant the Master of all asked.”  Again the hymnographer speaking in the person of Lazarus writes: “Thou knowest all things, yet has asked where I was buried.”  Additionally, in the Matins Canon: “O Christ, Thou hast become man taking human form from the Virgin, and as a man Thou hast asked where Lazarus was buried, although as God Thou wast not ignorant of this.”  Again, “The sisters of Lazarus stood beside Christ and lamenting with bitter tears, they said to Him: ‘O Lord, Lazarus is dead.’ And though as God He knew the place of burial, yet He asked them, ‘Where have ye laid him?’”  One more to conclude: “And, though Thou wast not ignorant, Thou hast asked: ‘Where have ye laid him?’”

How is it we have this contradiction?  Why does the hymnographer, in one place, write above mentioned: “When in the presence of the people, Thou hast as man asked where Thy friend was buried, being ignorant of this.”

First let us ask: Who was the hymnographer.  In the Matins service there are three authors indicated in the canons, the service books mention Theophanes, Kosmas the monk and monk John.  There is no designation of who wrote the hymn in question.  One thing we know in reference to the hymnographers of the Church is that they were of a well to do or of the noble class in the Byzantine Empire and well educated.  They would have been well acquainted with Hellenic literature. In this hymn we see irony which was not uncommon in such literature.  Irony is a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character’s words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.  In this hymn a verbal and dramatic irony are combined. Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but means the opposite; dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the characters do not.¹ In this Church hymn the chanter and listeners are the audience while the characters are those who were present at the raising of Lazarus.  In addition, we know that Irony is used for an emphatic effect and that is exactly what we see here.  So then, those who chant or hear this hymn should understand that this is an irony otherwise it would not be consistent with everything that preceded² it in this service nor Orthodox theology.

In concluding I would like to appeal to my readers to be careful of any Church hymnology or even Scriptures in English which may seem confusing.  In such cases we check with the clergy who have been theological trained.  We need to be obedient children of the Church.  I once heard obedience defined as such: “Obedience is a spiritual state, it is to be in harmony with the Church and the Holy Spirit.”³Amen!    

Afterword: For an examination of the topic of the omniscience of our Lord Jesus Christ see the posts: The Theology of Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko: Orthodox or Opinion.

1.    The bulk of the information on irony is taken from Google searches.

2.    The hymn in question is one of the last in the service for Lazarus Saturday.

3.    These words were spoken by Hieromonk Raphael Noika, a Romanian spiritual child of St. Sophrony the Athonite who presently lives in his homeland.