Questions posed by inquirers into the Orthodox
Christian faith are often met with the simple response “Come and see.” What is
meant by the use of these words of Christ to the inquiring disciple is that
Christianity is not merely a philosophy to be grasped through the reading of
books or intellectual discussion, but a living relationship with Christ, only
properly understood through experience. Moreover, nowhere is the faith of the
Christian Church quite so clearly and purposefully expressed than in her
worship – lex orandi, lex credendi.
While certainly an appropriate way to convey this important truth to inquirers,
rarely do those among whom the phrase has become something of a cliché,
particularly on the infamous Orthodox internet fora, consider exactly what these inquirers are to come and
see.
“Of Thy mystical supper, receive me today, O
Son of God, as a communicant. For I shall not speak of the Mystery to Thine
enemies, nor will I give Thee a kiss as did Judas, but as the thief I confess
Thee, remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom.” This prayer of the faithful prior
to the reception of the Holy Gifts hearkens back to the early centuries of the
Church when the divine Mysteries were treated precisely as that. The rites of
baptism, chrismation and the Liturgy of the Faithful were a jealously guarded
secret (μυστήριον means
secret). Not only were the
non-baptised prohibited from participating in or seeing these rites – the
Orthodox Liturgy to this day includes the expulsion of the catechumens after
the reading of the Holy Gospel – but believers were strictly ordered not to
divulge any information about what they witnessed in church. To do so, as the
hymn above suggests, was considered tantamount to Judas’ betrayal of Christ. In
other words, not a trivial offence. Only the φωτιζόμενοι, those catechumens who had been
enrolled for baptism the coming Pascha, would be given an explanation of the
rites they were to undergo, though in some places even these had to wait, and
retrospective explanations were given to the newly baptised. Even detailed
explanations of doctrine were withheld from all non-baptised, save the φωτιζόμενοι, and the articles of the Symbol of
Faith were only handed down to them orally – lest a written copy should fall
into the wrong hands – days before their impending baptism. [This,
incidentally, was the primary role of the godparent, something to remember next
time you see a godparent at a modern day baptism stutter through a written copy
of a wholly unfamiliar text!] St. Cyril of Jerusalem tells them that “This summary I wish you both to commit to
memory when I recite it, and to rehearse it with all diligence among
yourselves, not writing it out on paper, but engraving it by the memory upon
your heart, taking care while you rehearse it that no Catechumen chance to
overhear the things which have been delivered to you.” [Catechetical Lectures 5:12] To similar
effect, prefacing his Catechetical
Lectures is the following warning: These
Catechetical Lectures for those who are to be enlightened you may lend to
candidates for Baptism, and to believers who are already baptized, to read, but
not at all to Catechumens, nor to any others who are not Christians, as you
shall answer to the Lord. And if you make a copy, write this in the beginning,
as in the sight of the Lord. We find similar sentiments expressed by more
or less all patristic authors of the same period.
There is debate among scholars as to whether
this practice of secrecy, known as the Disciplina
Arcani in academic circles, has its origins in the New Testament period or
is of later origin. In support of the former we find Christ’s own words regarding
parables and secrecy, while those who favour a later date cite open discussion
of the Mysteries in the 2nd century (though the question naturally
remains whether these were the exception rather than the rule). In any case, we
know it to be firmly established by the 3rd century, and see a
greatly heightened emphasis on it in the 4th. I mention this because
it is important to understand that the concern to keep the Mysteries out of the
gaze of non-Christians heightened, not under persecution, but at the time when
the Church had just gained her freedom and Christianity had risen to a position
of imperial favour. In other words, secrecy was a matter of sincere principle
rather than fearful pragmatism. The disappearance of the Disciplina in later centuries was not due to a change in the
Church’s attitude to the exposure of the Mysteries to the non-baptised, but in
a world in which the vast majority of people were baptised Orthodox Christians
it was simply no longer a matter of concern. That infant baptism, which in
earlier centuries had been a fairly uncommon occurrence, later became the norm probably
also accounts in part for its disappearance: the children would have had a
harder time than their parents keeping what they saw in church to themselves.
In many ways, we in the West now live in
societies much more reminiscent of the earliest centuries of Church history.
Practicing Christians are an ever diminishing minority among a secular
majority, with only history and cultural identity giving us an ‘upper hand’
over the myriad of other religious groups around us. We are therefore far
removed from the overwhelmingly Christian society in which the Discplina Arcani fell into disuse. Yet,
a quick google search will reveal countless images, audio recordings, and videos
showing the Mysteries of the Church in every detail. Few will bat an eyelid
when they see a camera man irreverently barging into the sanctuary during the
anaphora, or pushing the priest aside to get a good shot of the godmother’s
dress or mother’s hat during a baptism. One priest I know referred to filming
in the altar as “liturgical pornography,” a description I find particularly apt
as the Eucharist is the most intimate act of the Church, the Bride of Christ,
with her Bridegroom. Many parishes broadcast the Divine Liturgy live on the
radio, televison, or live steaming online. Not only does this needlessly expose
the Liturgy to those unfit to see or hear it, but also undermines the simple
fact that the Liturgy of the Faithful is meant for participation, it’s not a
spectacle. It further undermines the reality of the Liturgy as a synaxis, a
gathering, of the people of God, on which Met. John Zizioulas has the following
to say: “The Eucharistic gathering, as an
image of the last times, certainly should involve only the baptized. In this
sense, we are talking about a closed community which comes together ‘the doors
being shut’ (Jn. 20:19; cf. the exclamation ‘The doors! The doors!’) The
Eucharistic gathering can never be a means and instrument of mission, because
in the last times, which it represents, there will be no mission; anyway,
mission presupposes dispersal, not a gathering ‘in one place’. Consequently, it
is contrary to the nature of the Eucharist as image of the Kingdom to broadcast
it over television or radio, whether for pastoral reasons or for the purpose of
mission (a way of broadcasting or advertising the ‘richness’ and ‘beauty’ of
our worship). In the Eucharist, one participates either ‘gathered in one
place’, or not at all. Participation at a distance has no meaning. As for those
who are sick or unable to come to the gathering, the Church’s very ancient
practice is to bring them the fruit of the gathering (Holy Communion,
antidoron, etc.), and not the gathering itself, either aurally or visually.”
[The Eucharistic Communion and the World,
New York, NY: T&T Clark, 2011, p.48]
Certainly a total restoration of the Discplina Arcani in a media driven age
such as ours is neither possible nor desirable. The internet is littered with
hosts of erroneous, often laughable, descriptions and explanations of Christian
doctrine and practice. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Moslem
apologists, quite confident despite their ignorance, go to great lengths to
demonstrate the tri-theism of Christianity, or Protestant sectarians ridiculing
the blasphemous cannibalism and vampirism of the traditional Christian
understanding of the Eucharist. It is precisely such blasphemous derision the
Fathers cite as the reason knowledge of the Mysteries should be kept from those
too spiritually immature and not sufficiently educated to hear them. Now,
however, it’s too late, and not making the correct information on those
subjects available would probably be a bad idea. Furthermore, the basic
doctrines of faith and the sacraments of baptism, chrismation and communion are
shared by a number of heretical and schismatic groups, and were the Orthodox to
attempt to re-institute the Discplina,
it would be of little effect in this respect.
What is
possible, however, and in my opinion also desirable, is for us Orthodox to
cease our shameless and wholly unnecessary parading of the Mysteries before the
non-baptised (or trivialising them in the eyes of the baptised, for that
matter). The Liturgy of the Faithful is so called for a reason. While I
personally think the re-introduction of the dismissal of non-Orthodox from the
Liturgy following the Gospel would be a good thing – and it does still happen
in a number of places – I understand the obvious pastoral difficulties this
involves, and it should only be done in a way that is pastorally sensitive,
lest we cause needless offence and drive away potential converts. There are no
such pastoral concerns when it comes to uploading pictures, videos, and
recordings on the internet, however. A priest should not feel afraid to deny a
camera crew entry to the sanctuary, nor to admonish an altar boy trying to
photograph something on his camera phone. Those who have such pictures and
videos up on the internet should be encouraged to remove them, and, if they
really need to, replace them with something taken at a Vesper, Matins, or the
Liturgy of the Catechumens, which are no less beautiful or awe-inspiring
services. If someone wishes to make a video of a “Teaching Liturgy” or some
such thing, these can be distributed to parishioners directly through the
parish bookshop, or online via private mailing lists (even youtube has a
privacy setting allowing you to chose who can see the videos you upload). Those
churches who broadcast live can limit these broadcasts to the Liturgy of the
Catechumens. Perhaps this would in turn encourage priests to deliver the sermon
immediately after the Gospel, which is its proper place, rather than moving it
to the end of the Liturgy or, more disruptively, to just before the Communion
of the Faithful.
While there generally is still a strong sense
reverence around the Eucharist in our churches, the same can sadly not be said
for most baptisms, at least of the infant variety. These tend to be a rather
disorganised affair, and are seen by most simply as a rite of passage, a
celebration of the birth of a new child. Emphasis is not on death and rebirth
into Christ, the reception of the Holy Spirit, or the making of a Christian,
but on the attire of those present and the cuteness of the baby, assuming s/he
is at all visible behind the photographer and camera man. The venerable
position of the godparent as a spiritual guide for the new believer has become
nothing more than a way to honour a good friend or relative, regardless of their
spiritual life. I have had the misfortune of witnessing a number of baptisms at
which the godparent was not even an Orthodox Christian! Perhaps if there was a
renewed emphasis on baptism as a Mystery rather than a spectacle, open not to
the general public but only to the prayers of the faithful, and where
photography and such was limited, we might be able to regain at least some
sense of reverence for baptism and an appreciation for its tremendous
importance.
Thus, by all means, encourage the world to
“come and see” what the Church has to offer. “Here is order, here is discipline, here is majesty, here is purity:
here even to look upon a woman to lust after her [Matthew 5:28] is condemnation. Here is marriage with
sanctity, here steadfast continence, here virginity in honour like the Angels:
here partaking of food with thanksgiving, here gratitude to the Creator of the
world. Here the Father of Christ is worshipped: here are taught fear and
trembling before Him who sends the rain: here we ascribe glory to Him who makes
the thunder and the lightning” [St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 6:35]. But let
Mystery remain mystery.
Τοῦ δείπνου σου τοῦ μυστικοῦ σήμερον, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, κοινωνόν με παράλαβε· οὐ
μὴ γὰρ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς σου τὸ
μυστήριον εἴπω· οὐ φίλιμά σοι δώσω, καθάπερ ὁ Ἰούδας· ἀλλ’ ὡς ὁ λῃστὴς ὁμολογῶ σοι μνήσθητί μου, Κύριε, ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου.
