Re: orthodox worship

Christ is risen!!!!!!!!!!

Nick

It is great to hear from you.....especially since Adele has already written a brief synopsis of what is going on in your lives. It is a bit difficult to respond to your correspondence as I am not really sure what it is you might be asking. The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church speak of many "encounters".

The concensis(sic) of the Holy Fathers seems to be that if you have a vision or visitation of an "angelic being ", it is best to deny it. They almost universally recommend that you speak to your Father/Confessor about any such manifestations of supernatural beings. Many times a demonic spirit will pose as an "angel of light". If you do any reading of the Asetics(sic) you will find that many times a novice monk will have encounters or visions while praying, that are actually demons which are attempting to deceive those who are truly seeking a "closer" relationship with God.

This is not to say that your are being influenced by demons, but without the guidance of a true Spiritual Father it is difficult to know what you are actually experiencing. We are told in the Holy Scriptures to "test the spirits".

It is best to find yourself a true spirtual/confessor and tell him everything you have experienced. He will be best equipt to advise and counsel you regarding your spiritual growth and how to deal with any manifestations or visitations you might encounter.

As far as our "form or woship" and how it came to be, let me say this. The original Church was born in Jerusalem. As such the original believers were mostly Jews. If you read in the book of Acts you will notice that mention is made that after St. Peter had preached his sermon on the day of pentecost, St. Luke makes mention that the new believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and THE PRAYERS". Acts 2:42

The prayers spoken of generally refer to those prayers which were normally offered up to God at the temple or synagod. This means that these prayers were formal prescribed petitions which were part of the Jewish religion.

Prayer is actually a form of worship.....(to borrow from Father Thomas Hopko) "it is not telling God what He already knows and then telling Him what He should do about a given situation". Worship in the early Church had a defined order as attested to by reading the DIDACHE or the works of ST. JUSTIN MARTYR. These writings are from the 1st and early 2nd century. They spell out a definite order to the worship services of Christians. Yes they were a bit "primitive" in the formative years, but the prayers were expanded as the faith matured.

The bottom line is that worship in the early Chuch was liturgical from the beginning and grew with the maturity and understanding of the Faith. It was never a "make it up as you go along" process. St. Paul speaks repeatedly of doing things in an orderly manner.

I am sure James or Ron will be most willing to contribute and expound upon my meager explanations. I would highly recommend, ( as I always do), that you contact a truly pious Orthodox Priest and dialogue with him. There is no substitute for the guidance of a Spiritual Father. Many times he has experience in dealing with such questions as you might have. I read and studied many books for a period of almost 13 years, but I learned much more in 3 months from my Priest whom I finally sought out when I could no longer be content with an "intellectual faith".

Thomas