Who's your favorite saint?
Who's my favorite singer?! Saint. Oh! We could hear that too. Yes, yes.
Well, it's very difficult to choose a favorite saint But, my favorite saint is Saint Maximus the Confessor. And, yes, he's a very difficult writer. His Greek is immensely dense. But he repays special study. But, I'll mention other of my favorite saints, theologian saints: Saint Gregory of Nyssa I love very much, Saint Simeon the New Theologian I love because of his warmth, his emphasis on
the closeness of the Holy Spirit to us, and I also feel very close to Saint Gregory Palamas.
But, they're all theologian Saints Yes, now... is the Liturgy too complicated? It is true that it is an elaborate service that takes time Personally, I find the elaboration of the service part of its beauty and I would not want to see things cut down to a bare minimum. I don't myself find the service too long, but I may be prejudiced as a bishop. However, Of course, when you have a bishop celebrate
he takes a good deal longer than other times. So, I have to get accustomed to long services. But a great deal depends I think on the way that the Liturgy is celebrated. And I favor a fairly open way of celebrating the Liturgy I wouldn't wish to see the icon screen altogether disappear but I think it's good when the icon screen is not so solid as totally to conceal the celebrant from view. I am in favor of saying at any rate some of the prayers, especially the Prayers of the Consecration, are loud because so much of the Theology of the Liturgy is contained in the priest's prayers and I feel it is a great pity that the priest's prayers are not heard by the people. So, I think it is possible to celebrate the Liturgy with simplicity and is possible for the parish priest to give liturgical sermons and explain the meaning of the Liturgy. And then I feel its meaning is not too much hidden. There are, yes, great depths in the Liturgy and I felt this evening I was only just skimming the surface in what I said. As you saw, I didn't get much beyond the Opening Blessing but at the same time the meaning of the Liturgy can be understood quite simply, and especially the meaning of the consecration that, at that moment, the bread and wine are truly transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ and He is present with us in the most direct way and so Holy Communion is the crucial culminating encounter of the believer with his or her Savior. These are things which surely can be explained simply and can be understood by all. So, yes, there's a lot about the Liturgy that is mysterious but we can understand the basic structure and movement of the different parts. I do truly believe that if you have a good liturgical catechesis the people will understand but we need to work on that. This may tie to that.
Could you talk just a little because you emphasize the participation of all Could you speak just a little about
the different modes of participation? Participation, some people feel,
means doing everything and it doesn't neccessarily [mean that] So, would you talk about the different ways of participating? That's a very important question and
could be answered in many ways. But, first of all, we participate by making the sign of the Cross at decisive moments. That is indeed freedom but we do not all have to
make the sign of the Cross at the same time in our Orthodox usage So, people may feel free but they're going
to be certain moments where nearly everybody will make the sign of the Cross and that surely is a moment of participation and here I would appeal to you,
when you make the sign of the Cross, do it properly, don't just do that! In the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit it is a proclamation of our faith and it shouldn't be done carelessly So, yes that is one very important way of participating and when we make the sign of the Cross often it is a way of saying inwardly I seal this moment, these words I make them my own. So that's first of all. I value the Russian custom whereby when people come into the church they buy one or two little loaves and they send up their loaves with names to be prayed for. And particles from those loaves will be placed on the paten and eventually placed inside the chalice with the
precious Blood of Christ. I know that in the Greek use it is
the custom usually for one or two families in the parish to prepare the bread for the Eucharist and that too, of course, when they
prepare the loaf they send in their list of names with the loaf But the Russian use where nearly
everybody sends up little loaves that again is a way of being involved in
the action of the Liturgy of knowing that your own names
are being prayed for. O course, you can send up
a list of names without a loaf And they will also be prayed for But, that's a second manner of participation to feel that on the paten there are particles of bread that represent you and your loved ones, living and departed, and that they are all being prayed for
if not aloud by name, at least inwardly and spiritually
during the Liturgy. And this I think emphasizes the
corporate nature of the Liturgy. Saint Augustine commenting on this says: "There You are on the altar," "there You are in the chalice." So, that's a second way. Of course, it's a question often raised: "Should we not have more congregational singing?" and I have to say that when I have been to those rather
rare Orthodox parishes where all the congregation do sing together I am deeply moved. But is of course a recognized place for the chanters or the choir and this was the case from
the days of the Early Church but there were parts of the service which in
the early church would have been sung by all the people together Could we not all sing Kirie Eleyson
together in the Litanies? and when we come to the Antiphones at the beginning of the service the chanters can sing the verse "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul,
and all that is within me" "Bless His Holy Name..."
but then couldn't all the people sing together, because the melody is very simple, "At the prayers of the Mother of God,
Savior, save us." Couldn't we all sing that?
Now I've been to churches where that does happen I also remember when I first went to Russia, during the Soviet Era,
when only a few churches were open, and they were very crowded,
how according to the Russian tradition the Creed and the Lord's Prayer
are not just read, they are sung and everybody sang together and that was to me tremendously moving to hear the Creed and the Lord's Prayer
being sung by thousands of voices so I think there is a place certainly for the trained choir and the singers at such moments as the hymn of the Cherubim,
or the Communion hymn, the Koinonikon, and other points. But, then could we not also revive
in our Orthodox churches congregational singing? But, the most important way that we participate is of course by coming to Holy Communion. And in my time as an Orthodox I seen a big change there that I can remember in the church at Oxford when I was a layman on some Sundays,
nobody came for Communion at all! The priest said: "With fear of God," "With faith and love draw near!"
and the congregation rejected the invitation. Now that would never happen today in Oxford I do not say that everyone goes
every Sunday to Communion and I think that's not necessarily desirable but there're always flocks of communicants though we are not such a big community, We always consecrate two chalices
because we are usually two priests celebrating together. That is the supreme way we share
in the Divine Liturgy through having Communion. But while I am in favor of
frequent Communion, I am NOT in favor of casual Communion. We should not come
just on the spur of the moment. We have to examine ourselves as St. Paul says and to discern the Lord's Body, to realize what it is we are receiving. So, Communion should always have careful preparation. It should always be an event,
something we look forward to, not something that we take for granted.
