1. Why this, why now
I have been very reticent about sharing my journey into the Orthodox Church too publicly, especially with my non-Orthodox Christian friends. I felt the subtext of any of these conversations was “I was once what you are now…and I found it wanting." Instead of proactively sharing, I told myself that I would let them approach me, ready to talk about my journey or answer any questions they might have… but the questions never came.
Once I was sure I was going to become Orthodox, I began writing out my thoughts around all the reasons why Orthodoxy appealed to me. What I thought would be a few pages quickly turned into a short book’s worth of potential content.
A conversation I had with a friend after Divine Liturgy this past weekend made me feel like now was the right time to put my thoughts down in a way that I can both share and archive, functions that Substack works well for.
I am Orthodox because I believe it is the fullest and most pure expression of the Christian faith. I feel my brothers and sisters in Christ are missing out by not being in the Orthodox Church – so it does seem “meet and right” to share my thoughts, and this seems like the best platform to do that.
2. What to expect
I hope to share at least one post a month. I have a few topics “in the chamber” that I plan to tackle, but am approaching without a specific strategy or priority as to what to cover first. I very well could put these ideas on the back burner to cover things that are more immediate. For example, the attached essay on veneration relates to a current event and could not have been pre-meditated, and it would make sense to share those sorts of essays while the subjects are still relevant as opposed to prioritizing more “evergreen” material. Some topics I hope to cover include:
Closed Communion and Unity in the Church
Sacred Spaces
The Modern Attitude Towards Church
The Future of the Church
Authority and Attention
3. What this isn’t
While I have political thoughts and opinions, this is not the place for them. My hope is to keep this space as apolitical as I can. I may share thoughts about a current event or person, as I have below, but my goal is not to promote or condemn any person or action, but instead to observe and comment.
Understanding Veneration in the Modern World
“The honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype, and whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.” - St. Basil the Great
The veneration of icons is an element of the Orthodox faith that is often difficult for those outside of the Church to understand. Beyond a general confusion about the purpose of veneration, there exists the specter of idol worship, making the practice a particularly formidable stumbling block for those from other Christian traditions inquiring into Orthodoxy. The Orthodox faithful understand that veneration is not worship and we try to explain this to our non-Orthodox friends and family, however, seeing us kiss and bow before icons often appears so much like worship that they struggle to see it as anything but worship. My inability to explain veneration in a way that is easily understandable to the average non-orthodox person has vexed me for several years. However, there was a recent example in popular culture that I think might allow me to explain veneration more easily.
During the assassination attempt on former President Trump, a firefighter named Corey Comperatore was tragically caught in the crossfire and died while shielding his wife and daughter from the shooter. He saved their lives by sacrificing his own. During the Republican National Convention, Trump paused his speech to kiss and hug a uniform of Comperatore’s which was displayed alongside him. Trump’s actions have been described as showing respect to and honoring Comperatore. It was indeed a sign of respect and honor – it was the veneration of a relic. Trump then quoted the Lord saying “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others.” Trump’s act of veneration was one that everyone watching intuitively understood. No one misinterpreted his actions as worship of Comperatore, and still less as worship of the uniform that represented him. Beyond honoring the actions of Comperatore, Trump revealed the source of why Comperatore’s deed was honorable when he quoted Christ. Why is it honorable to love and to sacrifice yourself for others? It is in Christ, and to the extent that Comperatore images Christ, that we see his actions as honorable.
In Trump’s act of honoring Comperatore, we see a type of veneration very close to the veneration we practice in the Orthodox Church. The Saints we honor have sacrificed their lives for love. From the martyrs tortured and slain for their faith to great saints who give up their lives for the Church, they all lived lives that are worthy of honoring. But how does the Church decide that their lives are worthy of honoring? It’s not just that their actions are deemed honorable in some subjective or cultural sense. What we honor is the extent to which their lives have imaged Christ. In that way, when we venerate an icon, we are not only honoring a person but also pointing to Christ as we honor the person for their ability to image Christ amidst the difficulties of this world.
A life lived and sacrificed is revealed as honorable. This honor is found in the context of the Christian claim that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others. We honor this person through the veneration of an icon or relic that represents the person in their absence. We understand that the honor we are giving is not to the icon or relic but to the person who is portrayed in it. If we can show people this in the context of Comperatore, then perhaps it will help them understand it in the context of the Church.
I hope my posts promote thought and conversation around these topics, but ideally will provide a refreshing perspective that leaves people feeling hopeful towards the future of the Church and with a deeper understanding and love towards Christ.
If you like this sort of content and would like to see more, subscribe and share with someone you think might be interested. Thanks. Until next time –
Peace be unto you, the reader!
-Mark
Love the article, Mark. One of the biggest misconceptions in modern Christianity. We proudly sport brand names, are obsessed with Swift, and savage each other in political arenas defending people who are not Christ, but icons, statues, and traditional Christian beauty is a bridge too far? Thanks for pointing out why it's not.