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