THE ‘PRIMACY’ OF BRAVERY

By Archbishop Stylianos of Australia

September, as we know, is the beginning of the Church Year. The beginning of the Indictos, to use the Byzantine term.

Given, then, that the official commencement of every new period of time, apart from the established Rubric of Orthodox worship, is spontaneously accompanied by certain unspoken ‘measurements’ and ‘calculations’ (made both by the everyday person as well as by leading figures of institutions, who have taken upon themselves special responsibilities for the common good), there arises a self-evident need for each of us to engage in ‘contemplation’ that would express basic vigilance.

For if there is anything that is tragically lacking from modern societies (and indeed from various organizations and services with their respective competencies), this is the correct ‘measure of responsibility’. Only upon this measure can the ‘inspiration’ or ‘unease’ of an individual or collective body possibly depend.

And we say ‘correct’ measure of responsibility because, if the ‘evaluation’ we speak of does not occur with justice, there is always the danger that the body in question will be exposed irreparably, either as being uncaring (i.e. underperforming) or maniacal (i.e. overperforming). In recent decades, moreover, we have come to know not only ‘superpower rulers’ with excessive zeal in terms of policing others, but also irresponsible ‘leaders’ who seem as if they are absent.

Having mentioned the above general remarks, let us focus more specifically on the requirements of Christian Ethics.

If for the religiously neutral person there sometimes appears the need to ‘encounter’ his or her very ‘own soul’, how much more is self-examination a given fact at every moment of the Christian’s life, especially during official milestones in time, which we call ‘anniversaries’?

The Ten Commandments of Moses in the Old Testament, and the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament speak about concrete obligations.

Yet, these obligations or duties, as described in both Testaments, speak very clearly concerning moral debt.

This is the debt towards the Creator, which is outstanding for all of us. But for the very same reason, it also remains outstanding towards every fellow human being.

Even the moral exhortations from the Sermon on the Mount which do not have the strict imperative tone of the Ten Commandments (so as to be called Commands!), also have as their direct goal once again the human conscience, since it is endowed by nature, and therefore ‘indebted’, for a responsible course through the common ‘stage’ of the present life.

Already from this brief analysis, it is obvious to all faithful that, if they do not hide the talents in the ground (cf. Mat. 25:4-30), then they will certainly leave behind some footprints of their life, for which observant fellow human beings will either feel gratitude or derision.

So if some ‘open accounts’ dangle upon the head of each person (like the Sword of Damocles!), how true this is for the ‘leader’ in any field.

The mere feeling that, by leading from the front, he or she stands out and becomes an example for those who follow, is sufficient cause for that person to feel ‘unease’!

This ‘sacred unease’, which Orthodox spiritual fathers (Confessors) always consider to be the unfailing sign of ‘spiritual health’ for the faithful generally, one would have expected to be the feature par excellence of the Bishops and Presbyters of the Church.

Unfortunately, the ‘fear of responsibility’ of the timid secular person has degenerated into the greatest hypocrisy and pretense, especially among ‘spiritual leaders’ around the world.

On the one hand, there is the flattery with politicians, and on the other the wicked, and therefore irresponsible, propaganda through the mass media, so that they may safeguard in advance their concurrence in all matters. They have therefore contributed to the view that the constantly ‘mellow’ and softly-spoken Clergyman is ‘virtuous’ and ‘co-operative’, whereas the one who dares to bear “witness to the truth” (cf. John 18:37) for the sake of the salvation even of those who disagree and persecute him, is frowned upon as ‘awkward’, a ‘reactionary’ or even a ‘rebel’.

To somewhat restrain the moral ‘rampage’ which we have just described, together with the complete depreciation not only of politics but also of theology in our times, each of us must with fear of God (not of people!) re-appreciate the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul describes them in a ‘single code’ through his epistles.

Paul speaks about these gifts mainly in two of his letters: Galatians (5:22-24) and Ephesians (5:9).

In the first instance, nine specific gifts are listed:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.

In the second instance, the gifts are presented more concisely as being three:

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth”.

Although on both occasions the gifts are mentioned in plural and are distinct from each other, they are nonetheless described together as a single and undivided “fruit” of the Holy Spirit, meaning two things:

First, that they are mutually complementary. And second, strictly speaking, that we cannot state which is superior or more necessary than the others, despite the fact that in another instance (1 Cor.13) the Apostle Paul again lists all the others, but closes with the three main ones (faith, hope and love), before finally sealing the incomparable ‘primacy’ of Love:

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love”.

From all the above concerning the ‘gifts’ to the faithful, we see that nobody can doubt the ‘primacy’ of Love. This is at any rate what was stated by St John the Evangelist, by identifying the ‘essence’ of God only with that one word: “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

And yet, since Orthodoxy is not only the Scriptures but also the Tradition which has embraced the entire life of the Church throughout the centuries, we need to remember that during periods of intense crises and ‘persecutions’, those who boldly affirmed their confession of Christ by shedding their blood were the Martyrs.

The fact that the ‘baptism’ through blood was considered as being of equal validity to the holy Sacrament of Baptism no doubt enables us to accept that, during the critical moments in the life of the Church on earth (the ‘Church militant’), the Primacy of Love is expressed as ‘bravery’!

Furthermore, we should not forget that the words for ‘endurance’ (karteria) and ‘temperance’ (engrateia) in Greek contain within them the word for the deepest and most stable ‘power’ (kratos).

And when the brave person of faith bears witness as “the fruit of the Spirit in all goodness, righteousness and truth”, then the worshipful exclamation of the whole Church is at the same time an action and a statement:

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory…”