Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, Bishop of Diokleia (1934-)
Appendix 3
The Contribution of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Most of us tend to be more familiar with Western Christianity (Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant) and its saints, writers, theologians and leaders in the field of spirituality, mysticism and spiritual formation. This appendix is written to provide a brief orientation to the rich tradition and great minds of the Eastern Church, the Orthodox. Some of the early subjects were of course part of the “Great Tradition before the Schism” (pre-1054). Though the early church in the East could boast of its brilliant theologians and leaders, over time it became more distinct from the Western Church through its focus on light versus darkness, life versus death, spirit versus matter and the limitations of reason. It also preserved one of the most original and beautiful theologies of iconography, the belief that the presence of God is mediated by objects and art forms that elevate us to the Almighty.
The Orthodox would be in agreement with Pascal, for example, in recognizing the limitations of knowing God through reason. Their theology still notes the profound difference between knowing about God and knowing God. The Eastern Church emphasizes a great reverence for mystery coupled with a distrust of reason. In contrast to the Western Church, with its fascination and interest in the intellectual heritage of Aristotle, the East asserts that theologians first should know God through prayer, contemplation and spiritual disciplines, and then build their theology from intimate communion with him.
The Orthodox also resonate with the “spiritual life as journey” (see path two). They view our salvation as a journey of not just being “saved” but as continually being saved as we move toward the goal of theosis, or becoming like Christ. It should be noted that for the Orthodox, all aspects of our spiritual life are united. We cannot separate our participation in the liturgy of the church from our theology, or our spirituality from our spiritual formation and devotion. All of life is a sacrament lived for God. The Orthodox model of the unity in the triune God is also the Orthodox all-encompassing model for living the Christian life.
Saint Paul of Thebes (c. 227-c. 341)
Paul of Thebes was orphaned at a young age, became a hermit and lived in a cave for over ninety years. Tradition holds that he prayed incessantly and lived on dates and bread, which were brought to him by a raven. In a vision, St. Anthony the Great was told that this hermit was a great servant of God and that he should visit him. They conversed through the night, and Anthony learned about the feeding by the raven. In the morning the raven brought enough bread for the two of them.
Paul told Anthony that he knew he would soon die and instructed Anthony to return to bury him with a cloak received from Athanasius. When Anthony returned, he beheld the soul of Paul surrounded by angels, prophets and apostles, shining like the sun and ascending toward God. Anthony had forgotten to bring a shovel, but two lions came up from the wilderness and dug a hole with their claws. Thus he died at the age of 113 years. He is not noted for great deeds but was held up as an example of extreme devotion by the early monks and hermits of the desert.
Saint Anthony the Great (c. 251-356).
See also path two.
Anthony has been called “the Father of Monasticism,” though this form of spirituality was already being practiced in the deserts of Palestine and Egypt. Anthony was an Egyptian born to wealthy parents. On the death of his parents he gave the money from selling their properties to the poor, forsook his status and became the disciple of another hermit. Thus he was an early ascetic who retired to isolated desert locations and focused his life on devotion and prayer.
On writing Anthony’s biography, Athanasius stated that the devil fought Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness and fantasies that he overcame by the power of prayer. It was further claimed that the devil was so angry with his failure to tempt Anthony that Satan literally beat him physically and warred against him with phantoms of snakes and wild animals. But Anthony laughed at them scornfully and told them that God gave him victory over anything the devil could send on him.
Over time Anthony’s legend grew and he was threatened by governments that disliked his preaching. His fame even reached Emperor Constantine, who asked Anthony to pray for him. In 338 he was also asked by Athanasius of Alexandria to help him refute the heretical teachings of Arius. But Anthony left no writings, though his sayings were spread by some of his disciples, like Serapion. His sayings were included in various collections of sayings of the desert fathers. He asked that he be buried in an unmarked grave lest his body become an object of veneration. Thus his life became an example of devotion, humility, care for the less fortunate and attention to prayer.
Saint Pachomius (c. 298-348).
See also path two.
Abba Pachomius is the recognized founder of cenobitic (religious orders living in community) monasticism. He became attracted to Christianity while serving in the Roman army and becoming a captive, because Christians brought food and necessities to the captives. Though he began his calling as a hermit, he learned about communities that had been created by Macarius. Following this example, Pachomius began to organize these cells into formal organizations. From his initial monastery, the concept spread, and by the time of his death it is estimated that three thousand monasteries were spread across Egypt. With the assistance of Basil of Caesarea, the formal rules for ascetics, Ascetica, became the rule and is still used by the Eastern Orthodox Church, a rule comparable to the Rule of St. Benedict in the West.
Pachomius never allowed himself to become a priest. During his forty years with the monks he was a zealous defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. His reputation as a holy man has endured the test of time and continues to this day.
Saint James, bishop of Nisibis (early fourth century)
James, also known as Jacob, grew up in the city of Nisibis on the border of the Persian and Roman empires. He became a hermit who devoted his time to prayerful conversations with God, living always an ascetic life, usually under the open sky, dressed in goat skins. On moving into the city to learn more from the Christians of the community, he was soon recognized for his strict and pious life. The church of the city elected him as their bishop in about 314.
James was revered for his great miracles and his gift of clairvoyance. His desperate prayers during an attack on the city by the Persian Sopor resulted in the enemy being attacked by hordes of flies and mosquitoes, which drove them away. Later he was numbered among the Fathers at the Council of Nicaea in 325, and was also a defender of the faith against Arianism. His thoughts were written into a discourse of eighteen chapters about faith, love, fasting, spiritual warfare and the resurrection of the dead.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (293-373).
See also path two.
The importance of Athanasius to Christian theology cannot be overstated. He is revered as a saint by the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic churches and is regarded as a great leader by Lutherans, Anglicans and most Protestants in general. He is counted as one of the four Great Doctors of the Eastern Church.
Athanasius is recognized as the first to identify the twenty-seven books of the New Testament that are in use today. His polemical writings against theological opponents are extensive, including Orations Against the Arians, and his defense of the divinity and person of the Holy Spirit (Letters to Serapion and On the Holy Spirit). His most-read book, a biography of Anthony the Great, Vita Antonii, has served as inspiration to monastics of both the East and the West.
Saint Ephraim the Syrian (306-373)
Ephraim was a prolific hymnographer (writer of hymns) and theologian in the fourth century. He also wrote homilies in verse and biblical commentaries. These were works of practical theology to instruct the church in troubled times. His works are free of Western influence. Having a reputation for humility and for being totally surrendered to God, Ephraim’s focus was often the importance of repentance. It is said that he had a great gift of wisdom, and grace flowed from his mouth. He was a disciple of James, bishop of Nisibis.
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386)
Cyril of Jerusalem is venerated as a saint by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He was present at the Council of Nicaea and always gave a thorough adhesion to the Nicene doctrines. Cyril wrote twenty-three catechetical lectures, delivered while he was a presbyter, containing instruction on topics of faith and practice. The lectures, which were prepared for catacumens coming into the church, were based on texts of Scripture with an abundance of biblical references.
Cyril emphasized freedom of the will. To him sin is the consequence of, but not a natural condition of, freedom. The body is not the cause but an instrument of sin. His remedy was repentance.
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389)
Gregory was an itinerant young man, with a great yearning for knowledge. He was a fellow student and also a friend of Basil the Great at Basil’s monastery in the desert. Gregory, as with so many early fathers, had great humility, thinking himself unworthy to be a priest and fearing that his faith would be tested by the responsibility. He was an active opponent of Arianism.
Later he served as bishop of Constantinople from 381-389. He hated the city and its politics, but was known as a peacemaker who tried to bring Arians back to the faith. Gregory was a noted preacher on the Trinity. He is revered also by the Western church as both father and doctor of the church. (To be a doctor of the church, one must be noted for both eminent learning and recognized sanctity.)
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-395).
See also path two.
Gregory was married and a brother of Basil the Great. He was another defender of the church against Arianism. Some of his writings have survived and are known for surpassing the other Cappadocian fathers in the depth and richness of both his theology and philosophy. One of his mystical writings is From Glory to Glory, recently published in 1963.
Evagrius of Ponticus (c. 345-399).
See path two.
Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347-407)
John of Constantinople, later called John Chrysostom (or the “golden-mouthed” for his reputation as a master orator), was a child of a fervent Christian mother. Early in life he became a monk. After some years in the monastery he returned to the church, first at Antioch, and began to preach, which led to some fame. At the age of fifty he was made bishop of Constantinople, a city given to luxurious living. After living a life of solitude and poverty, John was unable to tolerate the way the Christians of this city wed the gospel to their own lives of luxury.
First he reformed the clergy, denouncing those who lived in wealth and ordering the priests to live an austere life. The luxurious items that adorned the bishop’s palace were sold, with the proceeds given to feed the poor. And he thundered against the laity who were not living in accordance with the gospel.
Of course Chrysostom learned that the powerful and wealthy do not appreciate being called down, and he was involved in various political intrigues. His only aim was to expound the Scriptures so that the laity would fully understand the lessons and fully grasp their practical applications. Thus his entire life was a battle against evil and for the integrity of the church in its call to service. John Chrysostom’s life is a prime example of the contemplative life leading to action.
Saint Macarius the Great of Egypt (c. 330-390)
Married and widowed early in life, Macarius led a life not uncommon for monastics of the early church. He was well educated while still following ascetic principles of prayer, fasting and penitence. The humility of the saint is shown by his unwillingness to be ordained at an early age. Great spiritual battles ensued, with demonic attacks in which he reportedly had discussions with demons. At about the age of thirty he sought out Anthony the Great, father of Egyptian monasticism, and lived with the elder saint for a number of years. By the age of forty, Macarius was made the leader of desert monks. On the death of Anthony, Macarius received Anthony’s staff, and it was reported that he also received a “double portion” of his spiritual power.
Macarius performed many healings and was often sought out for help and advice, which disturbed his solitude. It was reported that through his prayers, the Lord even raised the dead. His endless conversations with God often sent him into states of spiritual rapture. His inner passion, though, was always exhibited through his life of action. During the Arian controversies he was exiled to an island of pagans, and the inhabitants of the island soon were baptized as Christians. His writings survive in “Fifty Spiritual Homilies” and seven “Ascetic Treatises.”
In his teachings he emphasizes that the inner actions of the Christian usually determine his or her grasp of divine truth and love, that one acquires salvation through grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that we inherit eternal life as much by grace as by truth. Macarius died at the age of ninety.
Saint John Cassian the Roman (c. 360-435).
See path six.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378-c. 444)
Cyril was the pope of Alexandria at the height of its importance in the Roman Empire. He was also known as “the Pillar of Faith.” This learned saint was tutored by his uncle, Theophilus, who was the pope of Alexadria prior to him. Later he was a central figure in the First Council of Ephesus (431), which discussed the various problems with Nestorianism, among other issues.
Cyril regarded the presence of God in the person of Jesus to be so mystically powerful that it spread from his body into the rest of the human race, even promising immortality and transfiguration to believers. Nestorius, by contrast, held Jesus to be primarily a moral and ethical example to the faithful.
Cyril was scholarly and a prolific writer, reflecting accurate thinking, precise exposition and great reasoning skills. Among his writings are commentaries on John, Luke and the Pentateuch; treatises on dogmatic theology; letters and sermons.
Saint Euthymius (378-473)
Euthymius was recognized as a leader among monks in early Palestine. He taught other monks the principles of leadership in monastic communities, and as a result many of the monasteries that were founded could be traced to his influence. Most of what he taught he learned from monks who had fled Egypt due to persecution. Such customs as having a probationary period were passed on through his teaching. The functional organization of monasteries seemed to be his expertise, and this was highly important in the later survival of these new institutions. His personal advice and guidance to young monks proved fruitful, as numbers of them became bishops, patriarchs and superiors in monasteries.
Saint Romanos the Melodist (c. 450-c. 500)
Romanos was Greek, born in Syria of Jewish parentage. He was made a deacon early in life and was noted for his ascetic lifestyle of perpetual prayer and fasting. At one point he prayed fervently for a better voice and for skill in hymn writing. Tradition holds that he experienced a vision and soon possessed a marvelous voice and the ability to write hymns of profound theology. Romanos was also known for his humility, even after composing over eight thousand hymns and becoming revered as a great melodist.
Saint John Climacus of Sinai (c. 525-606)
John Climacus became a monk early in life and received an excellent education, and later was called Scholasticus. Though highly educated, he always taught that human wisdom could lead to conceit. Again, the grace of humility was present in him as in the lives of so many Eastern saints. John lived for many years as a hermit and was reported to have received the gift of tears and continual prayer. He was often sought out by other monks for spiritual guidance, which interrupted his prayer life. When he was made abbot of the monastery at Mount Sinai, tradition holds that many saw the prophet Moses giving commands to those who served at the celebration table.
His writing includes a book of thirty homilies dealing with various virtues, from holy and righteous activity to divine vision. The Ladder of Divine Ascent identifies the thirty steps we ascend in our spiritual life as we move toward God, while it also warns of pitfalls and dangers. The book is revered among the Orthodox.
John Moschus (c. 550-619)
John Moschus was a monastic living near Jerusalem. He wrote Pratum Spirituale (The Spiritual Meadow), containing stories and directions regarding monastic life. His prose is recognized as some of the most beautiful writing to come out of that era.
Saint Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662)
Maximus was born a nobleman in Constantinople. He was best known as a theologian and the author of many christological and ascetic works. Maximus defended orthodoxy against the monothelite heresy, which asserted that there was only one will in Christ. He insisted on the dual nature (human and divine) of Christ, each having its own will. For his stand he had his right hand cut off and his tongue cut out, and he was exiled. Thus he was unable to preach truth. Later his theology was affirmed by the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Many of his writings are found in the Philokalia.
Saint Peter of Damascus (late seventh and early eighth centuries)
Writing in the Philokalia, Peter of Damascus pointed out that the gifts of God were sometimes situations that made our lives more pleasant but often were challenges that developed deeper spirituality. He noted that poverty is a gift we can endure with patience and gratitude; in sickness we can earn a crown of patience; weakness and ignorance are given so we can turn our backs on worldly things and live in stillness and humility.
Saint John of Damascus (c. 676-749)
This Syrian monk and presbyter was raised in Damascus. He was known as a polymath, whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy and music. John was also an administrator for the ruler of Damascus. He entered the fray of arguments regarding icons and wrote Apologetic Treatises Against Those Decrying the Holy Images. These writings influenced the Second Council of Nicaea. Having become involved in the politics of the discussion, he later was accused wrongly of other writings, which turned out to be forgeries. The caliph of Damascus ordered John’s hand cut off so that he could write no more. According to a tenth-century biographer, his hand was miraculously restored after fervent prayer. John lived out the rest of his days in the monastery of Saint Sabas, near Jerusalem, where he continued to write commentaries, hymns and apologetic writings, including An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.
Saint Photius the Great (c. 810-c. 895)
Photius is better known for his efforts at peacemaking between the Eastern and Western churches than for his writings. He is recognized as the standard-bearer of the church in its disagreements with the pope of Rome. Thus he was involved in various issues, such as articulating why the filioque clause (“and the son”) should not be inserted into the original Nicene Creed, the popes’ claims of supremacy, and jurisdictional questions over churches in Byzantine areas. On a personal level he was recognized for the virtue of his life and his political genius along with intellectual aptitude.
Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022)
Symeon the New Theologian is so called to distinguish him from John the Evangelist (called John the Theologian in Greek) and also Gregory of Nyzanius, also called Gregory the Theologian. These are the only three men in the Eastern Orthodox Church to have been given the title Theologian.
Symeon was well educated and his family expected him to go into politics. However, at about the age of twenty he was overcome with an ecstatic state in which he experienced God as a living presence of radiant light. Though he continued for a time in his family’s wishes and became an imperial senator, his continuous mystical experiences were not compatible with a public life. He became a monk at twenty-seven.
In his writings he stated that humans could and should experience God directly. He urged not only monks and ascetics toward that experience, but also those involved in normal activities of the world. The small hermitage under his direction became a full monastery. There he wrote Hymns of Divine Love, a collection of poems describing his mystical experiences.
Saint Gregory of Sinai (c. 1290-1346)
Gregory of Sinai lived in the spirit and teachings of the early desert fathers. For the last twenty-five years of his life he lived on Mount Athos in Greece, the center of monasticism for the Orthodox. He provides us with some of the most practical wisdom and direction regarding our lives in Christ.
Having received the spirit of Jesus Christ by means of a pure prayer of the heart, he teaches us to communicate mystically with the Lord. But not understanding the greatness, honor and glory resulting from grace, and not caring about our spiritual growth through the keeping of the commandments and reaching true contemplation, we are careless and throw ourselves into the abyss of insensitivity and darkness.
Thus we are dead in the Spirit, alive—but not in Christ—and not in accordance with the conviction that what is born of the spirit should be spiritual. However, what we have received through our baptism into the life of Jesus Christ is not destroyed but is only buried. Wisdom and grace demand that it be revealed and brought into the open. But how? Two methods can lead us to this actualization.
First, this gift is open to the one who keeps the commandments; and to the degree that we keep the commandments, we experience light and wisdom. Second, we can acquire this gift through ceaselessly calling on the Lord Jesus, or through constant awareness of God’s presence.
Saint Gregory Palamas (c. 1296-1359)
Gregory Palamas was the archbishop of Thessaloniki. His theology held to three centralities: knowledge, prayer and divine vision. Gregory noted that there is a natural knowledge of God, but it is different to know about God than to actually know God. This is still a central truth in Orthodoxy. Gregory was a strong defender of the reality of a monk’s experiences in prayer. He asserts that God has an unknowable essence but knowable “energies.” (This can also be called a neo-Platonic paradigm of an infinite and perfect being, by definition ineffable to finite beings.) Thus for Palamas, God’s grace was part of God, and those energies were knowable and were what monks were seeing during their prayers.
Gregory called philosophy, which should further our knowledge of God, a “fallen” state of knowledge when it is misused and turned, in effect, into God. He did not support the view that soul and body were distinct and separate in the larger scheme of human life, nor did he accept that the soul was good and the body evil. Matter could not be in essence evil, for it is the creation of God. He saw that apart from sin, nothing is wrong in the present life, not even death, but everything can lead to evil.
He defended the concept of the divine vision and supported those who claimed to have seen the Divine Light with their own eyes. He felt that the divine vision was not a charismatic gift but rather the fruit of inspired prayer. He also wrote that the passions, when properly focused and directed through prayer, have the ability to draw up the flesh to a dignity near to that of the spirit, and in this state the Spirit gives the body experiences of divine things. He asserted that when the apostles Peter, James and John were observers of the transfiguration of Jesus at Mount Tabor, they were actually seeing the uncreated light of God, and that it is possible for others to be gifted to see that same uncreated light of God with the assistance of spiritual disciplines and contemplative prayer, though not in any mechanistic manner. Thus one observes in Palamas’s theology a holistic view of humanity and a dynamic conception of faith, bound up in a spirituality of sanctification and transfiguration.
Some of the writings of Gregory of Palamas can be found in the Philokalia.
Saint Nicholas Cabasilas (1319-1391)
Nicholas was a Byzantine layperson and mystic well-educated in theology, astronomy, law and rhetoric. He was a poet and also wrote prose on issues such as hesychasm, usury and other social issues. The major writings of Nicholas include his Commentary on the Divine Liturgy and The Life in Christ. In that writing we discover Plato’s experience where the ultimate object of our memory has been transformed by our Christian experience. Nicholas says, “When men have a longing so great that it surpasses human nature and eagerly desire and are able to accomplish things beyond human thought, it is the Bridegroom who has smitten them with this longing. It is he who has sent a ray of his beauty into their eyes. The greatness of the wound already shows the arrow which has struck home, the longing indicates who has inflicted the wound” (The Life in Christ, bk. 2, chap. 15).
Saint Michael of Klopsk Monastery (c. 1385-1453)
Michael took on the role of “fool-for-Christ,” to avoid the praise of men, and preferred the garb of rags. Tradition holds that he was a fervent student of Scripture as well as the lives of the saints. Michael became an example for the monks in their spiritual struggles. It is said that he wore out his body in work, vigils and care for others. As he gained the gift of clairvoyance Michael denounced the vices of the people, including the wealthy and powerful. He foretold the birth of Prince Ioann III and his conquests. He also denounced Prince Shemyako for blinding his brother.
In Saint Michael’s final days his prayers resulted in the granary of the monastery not experiencing decrease, despite the fact that grain was dispensed to the poor. He also foretold the place of his death and burial and died in 1453.
Saint Basil the Blessed Fool-for-Christ and Wonderworker of Moscow (c. 1488-1557)
Basil was born during the reign of Czar Ivan the Terrible. As a youth in Rostov he took on the role of foolishness by wearing chains formed into heavy iron crosses. On his head he wore a large iron cap. Those working with Basil began to notice extraordinary occurrences, such as a time when in tears he told a man not to worry about wearing out his shoes. Within days the man died.
On moving to Moscow at sixteen, Basil walked barefoot through the streets in burning heat and winter cold. He began to denounce quietly injustices that he observed in the streets, and his reputation grew, with the population calling him Blessed Basil. As he walked in his bare feet, he preached mercy for the poor. At the same time he was harsh on those who gave alms for selfish reasons. He preached in taverns and was seen clutching the corners of such buildings in tears as he prayed for those within. Basil prophesied great sorrows for Russia, which included an invasion by Poland. It is said that he reproached Ivan the Terrible in a worship service because through prayer he realized the czar was thinking about building a palace. Basil was recognized as a man of prayer, for his communion with the divine and for his compassion. By the time of his death he was revered by both the clergy and the populace of Moscow.
Saint Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain (c. 1749-1809)
Nicodemos was a hesychast monk and author of Christian writings on prayer and asceticism. He is best known as the compiler of Orthodox writings into the Philokalia.
Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833)
Seraphim lived as a hermit and ascetic monk, once living for sixteen years in a forest, growing vegetables for food, studying the Bible and the writings of the fathers, and praying continuously. After physical deterioration due to being beaten by robbers, Seraphim moved into a small room of a monastery and lived as a recluse. However, during that time he became well known for his spiritual direction, his spiritual and prophetic gifts and healing miracles. Thus Seraphim became one of Russia’s best known and beloved saints and leaders.
Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807-1867)
Bishop Brianchaninov is noted for being an ascetic writer, usually on issues regarding one’s spiritual life. His primary work is The Arena.
Saint Silouan of Mount Athos (1866-1938)
Silouan was a Russian monk at Mount Athos. It was said that he had the gift of unceasing prayer, though at one time in his life it was taken from him. His diaries had great influence on Christian spirituality in the twentieth century. A stanza from his writings, found in The Life and Teachings of Elder Silouan by Bishop Alexander, follows:
O Lord, grant me tears to shed for myself,
and for the whole universe,
that the nations may know Thee and live eternally with Thee.
O Lord, vouchsafe us the gift of Thy humble Holy Spirit,
that we may apprehend Thy glory.
Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983)
This brilliant writer and theologian was dean at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. Schmemann was a brilliant author. One of his most noted works is The Eucharist, which uses the Eucharist as an explanation of the meaning of the Christian life and spirituality.
John Meyendorff (1926-1992)
Father Meyendorff received his education at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris and also at the Sorbonne. At St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, New York, he was professor of church history and patristics; at Harvard he was lecturer in Byzantine theology; and then at Fordham he served as professor of Byzantine history. He also had various positions at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. His publications include Gregory Palamas, Byzantine Theology and a number of other theological writings on the Orthodox Church, Orthodox and Byzantine theology and relations between the Orthodox and other Christians.
Kallistos (Timothy) Ware, Bishop of Diokleia (1934-)
Bishop Ware is possibly the best known modern interpreter of Orthodoxy for this era’s non-Orthodox. He has taught at Oxford and has translated a number of liturgical texts and the Philokalia. He has been a prolific contributor to the understanding of Orthodox spirituality in the English-speaking world. Perhaps his best known writings are The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way.