Love & Time - a debt to Staniloae. (part I)

Dumitru Stăniloae, 1903-93

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

The principal text which I am using primarily in this series of posts is Dumitru Stăniloae's "Eternity and Time", a pamphlet of thirteen pages and available from the Convent of the Incarnation, a link to a place of purchase is provided at the end of this post.

The person of Fr. Stăniloae

Dumitru Stăniloae was a prominent theologian of the twentieth century. He was a priest of the Romanian Orthodox church and it was in this climate that he worked his theological contributions. Romania is unique among Orthodox countries in that it is encircled by Latin Catholic countries, and this geographical positioning has informed the historical development of Romanian theological inquiry. 'Romania represents what Fr. Dumitru terms "oriental Latinity."' (Met. Kallistos foreword to Stăniloae D., 1994, p. ix).

Stăniloae frequently cites the Patristics of the Church, particularly Saints Gregory Palamas and Maximus the Confessor. Working in what has been termed a 'neo-Patristic synthesis', Stăniloae sought not to hearken back to a golden age of theology but rather, to illustrate the life of the Church as being expressed and understood through the witness of the greater body of Christ as an eschatological singing of theological praise before the throne. Living theologians today contribute to this great song of praise and using terminology revealed and taught by elders in the faith, are able to express in contemporary terms the magnificence of God's love for His creation. There is nothing old in the Patristic view of Theology for it is through the Holy Spirit that 'all things are made new'.

Stăniloae expresses beautifully in his largely untranslated works into English, the role of humanity in relation to the creation which we are dependent on, but also on which we minister to and offer in solemn thanksgiving to our gracious provider, God. Prayer which is to say, the desired communion of the children of God with their Father God, is the basis on which faith, living faith, is founded. 

The only genuine theology is that summed up by Evagrios of Pontos in a phrase which Fr. Dumitru likes to quote: "If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian." (ibid. p. xiv)

It is Time

It is time, always, to be called to repentance.  Never is there a moment when a return to God and his holy institutes is forbidden or even hinted at being 'incorrect', if there were, it would truly be a human construct and would not be in accord with the divine will. God wills to be with us always, to eternity, for as we are made in His image, we partake in a mystical sense, His Spirit, mixing it, or acting in co-operation with it, in a mystical way with our human spirit which is what makes us that most marvelous creature, the lord of creation. 

Every moment of consciousness, of divine contemplation, is a prayer to God. To keep God always before one's mind is a great gift and a source of joy and courage.

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem : let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth : yea, if I prefer not Jerusalem in my mirth. - Psalm 137:5-6 (Coverdale/BCP)

The fear of eternal damnation and hell-fire is a frequent theme in Christian thought. The flame which burns but never consumes, the pains which toil but never expire. The real terror is not solely in the sensation but made most horrid in the duration. 

I have long held the belief that Hell is a place not necessarily of physical torment, nor is it a 'place' per-se, but rather, that it is a state of non-being. It is an existence without being, and this is because it is the fulfillment of the will of the individual to establish a 'life' without relation to the giver of life. It is a love which is directed as a relationship between no parts but itself, and this establishes itself in loneliness. How can you have love if it is not shared?

Time for Stăniloae is a measurement of that distance between the giver of the gift to the receiver, and the offering back of that gift to the giver. It is that sense of anticipation, of longing, of waiting for the recognition of the gift which is given. To give a person a gift is to await a thanksgiving, the granting of thanks is an acknowledgement of appreciation for the gift.
Love is something to be shared, the moment it is not reciprocated it loses its nature as love. Fortunately Christians have the institution of the Church to encourage them back into the dynamic of loving through the medium of effective preaching, sacramental ministry, and private as well as intercessory prayer.
Until the next post on this topic I shall end with this quote:

Love is the gift of oneself to another, and the waiting for the full return of that gift from the other in response. Only in a complete and immediate response to the offer of love is love fully realised and full communion attained between the two. The interval of waiting for the response is time. As such, time represents a spiritual distance between persons, while eternity is beyond all distance or separation. (Stăniloae, 2001, p. 3)

To be continued.

Click here to be directed to a stockist where "Eternity and Time" may be purchased.

Stăniloae, D., 1994, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology; the Experience of God Vol.I, Holy Cross, Brookline, MA

Stăniloae, D., 2001, Eternity and Time, SLG Press, Convent of the Incarnation, Fairacres, Oxford

On Theology

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

If you are a theologian you pray truly, and if you pray truly you are a theologian. - Evagrius Ponticus c.346-399AD.

It is my aim in the writing of this blog to write in an understandable language. Theology is a beautiful science, it is a record of the mark of love in history, the way that God has touched the hearts of His people. The theologian being a prayerful creature and not exclusively academic or rational, seeks to practice what he preaches, but furthermore, to preach what he practices.

Theology is a continuing dispensation of wisdom to human individuals. It is a living science because it is concerned with the living God, the giver and sustainer of all life.

Moses receiving divine wisdom (theology) at the burning bush.

Perils of Theology

The theologian should never glorify himself, through the expression of their finely formed thought and musings on the divine, rather, they, like the Virgin Mary, should point away from themselves to their creator and the source of that glory. 'My soul magnifies the Lord'

There is a danger which the theologian must be very aware of. Though they may understand in their minds the theology which has been revealed to them, they must be able to translate that effectively so it may be understood, or at least, made legible, by the persons they wish to speak it to. 

Theology can be an effective tool in the healing of souls.

This is particularly difficult with theology because too often it is not concerned with dogmatic, objective, or conveniently set down and recorded apologetics which can simply be reworded into contemporary language. Rather more, theology is concerned with the heart, which is to say, that instinct, 'feeling' which draws it to God. Love.

§14. When a man begins to perceive the love of God in all its richness, he begins also to love his neighour with spiritual perception. This is the love of which all the scriptures speak. - Diadochos of Photiki (5th Cent.), 'On Spiritual Knowledge'. 

To be lost for words is a good thing for the theologian.

To be incapable to share the experience of that love is a fortunate thing in that it is certain proof of the irrational origin of that experience or thought. God speaks irrationally, which is to say, beyond reason. Love is irrational, it causes people to do things which they would never consider under usual circumstance. God wills that all may come to enjoy the love which he offers to all.

Every theological statement falls short of the understanding of the speaker. Our understanding is weak, and our tongue is even more defective. - Basil the Great c.330-379AD.

C. S. Matthew, MMXII 

Eyes to See

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

To see, to hear, to think, to search, to comprehend.

We are sensual creatures, processors of that which we interact with.

Everything which interacts with the soul leaves a trace of itself and the soul is constantly interacting with newness, newness of already existent things.

To speak is to love.

Language, that act of love, the desire to engage with another, is performed through the usage of sensational things which are commonly understood.

Today being Saint Lucy's day I am contemplating the idea of communication.

She who had her eyes removed, and received them again through a grace of God.

Last summer I spent three months in a very foreign environment to my own, working alongside agricultural communities in North-East Brazil, I had to communicate with people in a language and culture I did not understand. It soon became apparent that the tiny lexicon I had with me would be sufficient.

Living with a family cut off from the rest of the village on the top of a canyon, where night was deepest black and the bathroom consisted of a bucket with a dried squash skin for a ladle, I quickly realised that any difficulty of living was on mine, not their part. These people knew how to live, they did it naturally yet I, I found every movement challenging. I haven't even mentioned the rats which would run across the rafters throughout the house.

Anyway, I was greatly received by them in expression of love and curiosity. And though I didn't speak much, if any, of their language, I was willing to learn. But learning did not consist in practicing calls and responses, it was to be found in interaction with them, in watching television, feeding the hens, eating the food. My actions, my gestures, my presence. These were the real forms of communication. Language was only secondary to that.

I became quite desperate in my desire to communicate with these persons with whom I had been made in  contact. All this change of scenery had been, for my soul, a great deal of new information which needed to be made sense of.

My eyes saw not as their eyes,

A bucket remained in the shape of a bucket, that which the bucket spake of was different.

We relate to this on an every day basis. For some, the water may be hot, for others, tepid or even cold.The difficulty of language is made easier when it is understood as being that act of communion with another person, another human, weak and precious as oneself.

It is to Saint Lucy that I owe this insight.

Lamenting in these struggles, and continuing to unpack my possessions, I looked above the bed to see a weather faded image of a lady with two eyes on a plate, and I understood her to be Lucy. Seeking her aid, I prayed that she may intercede for me so that I can be granted a closer understanding of what it means to be there for others as guide, listener, and counselor.

§78 We share in the image of God by virtue of the intellectual activity of our soul; for the body is, as it were, the soul's dwelling-place. - St Diadochos of Photiki, 'On Spiritual Knowledge'

C. S. Matthew, MMXII