First, some facts and history. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian denomination on the planet with over 300 million adherents, trailing only the Roman Catholic Church in sheer size. The Orthodox Church traces its lineage back through the Roman Empire, and its earliest church was established by St. Paul. A “co-church,” if you will, of the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church believes Catholics left the “true church,” becoming what they call “schismatics.” That split has never been resolved and there is not a lot of love lost between the sects despite their similarities.
The goal of followers of the Orthodox Church is to draw continually nearer to God, a process called theosis, through living a Christ-like life. The Orthodox Church believes man has a “fallen nature.” Human nature is open to evil and some humans choose to participate. Jesus died to change human nature, thereby bringing man closer to God. There is not a concept of “original sin” in the Orthodox Church. Man starts out pure but chooses to sin. Redemption is offered through confession and a promise to re-dedicate oneself to living a more Christ-like life. The basis for this belief is found in the holy texts. Orthodox followers use two: the New Testament and the Greek Septuagint, seven books that are not found in the Bible.
There is also a strong prevalence of icons in the church. Every church I’ve visited has three: Christ, the Virgin Mary, and a local favorite saint. According to the Orthodox Church, every soul in Heaven is a saint. Mary is pre-eminent among the saints, a “first among equals.” These saints can intercede for the souls of those in Hell through love and the prayers of those still on earth. There is no purgatory in the Orthodox Church and upon the final judgment (or should that be Final Judgment?), all souls will rise from Hell and ascend to Heaven. (Obviously, the Book of Revelations is minimized in the theology of the Orthodox Church.)
The theology of the Orthodox Church differs from Catholicism in other ways as well. While Jesus is the head of the Church, the Orthodox Church does not have an earthly head like the Pope. Each bishop, who is drawn from the monasteries and must remain unmarried (unlike Orthodox priests who can marry; it just eliminates any chance for promotion), oversees a specific territory, and all bishops are equal in rank and prestige. The Orthodox Church believes in the Trinity, but with a twist: the Trinity is three distinct, divine persons who have one divine essence. Resurrection is seen as a literal, historical event where Jesus died, went to Hell to rescue the souls held there, then ascended to Heaven to await the Final Judgment day, which is chosen only by God.
The Bible, interestingly enough, is not seen as the literal word of God, but a combination of historical fact, poetry, fables, prophecy, and advice. It is not open to personal interpretation, but must be interpreted by the Church. The Orthodox Church practices the sacraments of baptism, communion, fasting on Holy Days, confession, and unction.
OK, enough lecturing. With this new-found knowledge, I visited the Svetiskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, a small town about 12 miles west of Tbilisi. The Svetiskhoveli Cathedral is seen as the “mother church” of all the churches in Georgia. It is the seat of the archbishop of all Georgia and allegedly contains a piece of the robe of Christ and pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
The church is rectangular in shape, common among Orthodox churches. In comparison, many of the Catholic cathedrals of Europe are cross-shaped. During services, men stand on the right of the main aisle with women and small children on the left. (Yes, they stand throughout the entire service which, on Holy Days, may be 3-4 hours long.) Women cover their heads with scarfs and men often hold pictures of icons. Icons are prevalent throughout the church and both men and women often pray to the icons, ending their prayer by kissing the frame or the picture itself.
The Svetiskhoveli Cathedral (Svetiskhoveli literally means “Living Pillar Church” for reasons I will explain shortly) was originally built of wood in the 4th and 5th century. It burned down in the 10th century and was rebuilt in the 11th. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and draws thousands of visitors each year.
The story of why it is called the Living Pillar Church goes back to the crucifixion. Elias, a Georgian Jew, was in Jerusalem when Christ was crucified. Elias bought the robe Christ was wearing from a Roman soldier and brought it back to Mtskheta. Elias showed the robe to his sister, Sidonia, who upon touching the robe immediately overcome by emotion and died on the spot. The robe could not be removed from her death grasp so she was buried with it. From her grave site grew an enormous cedar tree. St. Nino, then a local priest recently converted to the Christian faith, ordered the tree chopped down to make seven columns for the church’s foundation. The seventh such column had magical properties and rose by itself into the air. It returned to earth after St. Nino prayed throughout the night. Where the magical column settled to earth is the site of the original cathedral.
The Cathedral is beautiful. It is not any more beautiful, however, than the very small local church about 200 meters from our quarters. The local church, which holds about 30 people during a service (and that’s on a good day), has the same characteristics of the Svetiskoveli Cathedral, but on a smaller scale – an altar chair from where the priest reads the sermon, a choir loft where chants are performed, icons posted around the church, and a bell for calling the faithful to service. Every Saturday and Sunday (Saturday is the Sabbath in the Orthodox Church, but services are held on both days) and on Holy Days, I watch the local residents trudging up the hill (for some reason, it seems every church in Georgia is built upon a hill – I guess to be closer to God in Heaven) for services. The Orthodox Church has been here for time immemorial, even in the Soviet era when the Soviet leadership was smart enough to leave religion alone in Georgia, and always will be. In the face of a society and culture reaching out to the west, it’s strangely comforting to see that the old ways are still revered.
The pictures are all of the local church. If you want to see pix of the Svetiskoveli Cathedral, you can see them on wikipedia. Just type in the name of the church. Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment