Essays on Eastern Orthodoxy
Faith, Works, Fasting, and Hand-Scooped Milkshakes
Essay on the Fast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
August 1 - 14
(Essay completed August 25, 2005)
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How ought we define or describe the relationship between works and faith in the Christian life? Most individual denominations have pretty much come to terms with that issue and Christians do what they do as Christians without thinking too much about works and faith. But if and when Christians start switching churches and traditions, that question can quickly come to the fore. This clash of “faith vs. works” is particularly evident within Eastern Orthodoxy and especially in the two jurisdictions that have worked the hardest to be accessible to American converts, the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese and the Orthodox Church in America. These two historically ethnic jurisdictions have made a concerted effort to become authentically American churches rather than ethnic conclaves where Arabic, Slavonic, Russian, Bulgarian, etc. were predominant in worship services. The result is that these two jurisdictions have grown phenomenally over the last couple of decades. Nearly all of that growth has been through the conversion of Protestants (mostly) and some Roman Catholics.
The Orthodox have an unbelievably long list of rules and traditions. (Of course, after you've been around for 2,000 years, rules and traditions tend to accumulate.) The Orthodox, for instance, stand for most of their worship services; it is not uncommon that there will be no pews in an Orthodox temple. Services are long and frequent. Sunday morning Matins and Divine Liturgy (the two services run together into a single event) typically lasts for two and a half hours. That inevitably means sore feet except for the most hardy amont us. The historic guidelines accepted by all Orthodox jurisdictions call for fasting twice a week and during four extended periods. Frederica Matthews-Green has considered this (long services, standing, fasting) and other Orthodox practices and has come to the conclusion that Orthodoxy is austere and sometimes harsh in its disciplines. I'm not at all sure I agree; I suspect that it's merely that Americans are weak and pampered to the point that we find a robust spiritual tradition to be overwhelmingly difficult.
Whether one views it as harsh or simply robust, it is certainly true that a great number of Protestant converts have had to struggle deeply over what they perceive to be a sort of works religion. That is possibly no more apparent than in the prescribed fasts. The Orthodox faithful are expected to fast every Wednesday and Friday and for four lengthy periods of time (Great Lent – 40 days, Nativity – 40 days, Dormition – 14 days, Fast of the Apostles – variable from 3 to 30 days). Those who like to count this sort of stuff say that approximately half the days of the typical year are fast days in the Orthodox Church.
The standard fast involves eating, prayer, and alms. During a fast extra time should be spent in prayer, especially using the resultant hunger pangs to lead us to repentance. Fasting is about loosening our grip on possessions, so the money saved on fasting (and more money, when possible) should be given to the needy. The eating rules include abstinence from all meat, dairy, fish, oil, and alcohol. Because the guidelines are so ancient, there is some wiggle room. For instance, the guidelines technically say that one is to fast from olive oil. There are those who focus on the literal rules of fasting that say vegetable oil is fine and only olive oil is forbidden. There are those who focus on the spirit of the rules that say that all cooking oils should be included in the fast. In an odd cultural inversion, modern gourmet fish such as lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, and octopus are allowed. Fish with an exoskeleton rather than an internal skeleton were considered garbage fish when the guidelines were set forth and are therefore allowed as a source of protein during the long periods of fasting. It would therefore be possible to completely undermine the prescription for almsgiving by eating lobster and calamari every night of the fast.
Given the strictness of the guidelines and the internal debate about what is and isn't allowed it is easy to understand why Protestants would judge this practice against the measure of “works religion” and find Orthodoxy wanting. The Dormition Fast (Aug 1-14) has recently come to an end. In our ongoing immersion into Orthodox worship and life, Brenda and I participated in the fast (although we were not always faithful to it) and the experience of preparing for it and participating in it leads to the following reflections on faith, works, and Jesus Christ.
Continued on p. 2
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