By Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris
This theological emphasis on the incarnation as foundational for the way we worship has been somewhat forgotten in some other Christian denominations, and this has resulted in clear differences in the venue and style of Orthodox and non-Orthodox worship. For example, some Western churches are reminiscent of a classroom: the proverbial stark chapel, devoid of icons and church furniture except for pews and a pulpit in a prominent position in view of all in the place where an Orthodox church would have the altar table. The message given is that the main aim of worship is only the intellectual “teaching” of the Bible the principle of “sola scriptura.”
On the other hand, our Orthodox churches and worship experience clearly cater to the whole human being. For example, although in the United States most Orthodox churches now have seating for all attendants, this was not the case in church buildings in most traditionally Orthodox countries in the past. In such traditional church buildings, although there usually would be some “stalls” along the walls for people to rest in, the greater part of the nave would be free of all obstructions so the people could walk around, prostrate themselves and venerate icons at any time in the service. In short, they were free to pray using their whole body and not only their mind. This is in keeping with the theological teaching of the incarnation.
For this same reason we baptize, chrismate and offer Holy Communion to infants. Again, participation in the sacraments is clearly something that concerns the whole human being-not only the mind-and infants are full human beings according to our theology. Consequently, there is no “age of reason” more appropriate for receiving these sacraments. All of the above Orthodox liturgical practices in fact express a basic theological teaching connected to the incarnation: since the body is as much an icon of God as is the soul, both participate fully in worship. Indeed, the human being as a whole is made in the “image and likeness of God.”
This teaching leads us to another basic theological tenet that affects the way we worship, a clearly biblical teaching sadly forgotten by many Christians today: the uniquely Christian teaching on the general resurrection in the flesh (in the body) of all human beings and the transfiguration of all material and immaterial creation in the end times in the Kingdom of God. Because the human being is a psychosomatic reality, in the same way that the total human being now participates in the worship of God, this same total human being will participate in the Kingdom of God.
To offer one more example of this connection between theology and liturgy, one may note how the theological teaching on the incarnation referred to above is especially evident in the way we celebrate our Orthodox sacraments. There is a sense that our sacraments are more real and “physical” than what is observed in some other Christian communities. We make ample use of matter and we do everything in a real, literal sense; we don’t “pretend.” This sometimes makes a strange impression in a religious culture where sacraments often have been made so “symbolic” to the point of “de-materializing” them and “spiritualizing” them, as if too much “matter” takes away from the “spiritual” experience. (Of course, some Christian communities have practically done away with sacraments altogether.) This alteration in worship practice actually comes once again from an alteration in theology, from a de-emphasizing of the basic theological teaching on the incarnation and the general resurrection referred to above.
Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris is Assistant Professor of Liturgics at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. He earned an MDiv from Holy Cross in 1991 and a ThD from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2000. Fr. Philip is Presbyter at Assumption Church in Pawtucket, RI.
Praxis, “Theology Matters,” Vol. 12, Issue 1, Fall 2012
