Metropolitan Council fall session opens with retreat
Archpriest Dr. John Behr, Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, and Dr. Mary Ford, Associate Professor of New Testament and Hermeneutics at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, addressed the members of the Orthodox Church in America’s Metropolitan Council on the opening day of their fall session at Immaculate Conception Seminary here Monday, September 21, 2015.
“In the past few years, members of the Metropolitan Council have arranged to hold a retreat on the first day of their fall session to place their week of deliberations within the context of the spiritual life,” said Archpriest John J. Jillions, OCA Chancellor. “Past retreats have included sessions on conflict resolution and stewardship. For this session, His Beatitude felt it would be good to bring in faculty from our seminaries to address the areas of most interest and meaning to them, both to educate members of the Metropolitan Council members and to engage the seminaries and Council with each other.”
Dr. Ford led the morning session, titled “Whom Shall We Fear? Themes in the Book of Revelation.” Dr. Ford completed her doctoral studies at the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. Since 1989, she has taught at Saint Tikhon’s, where her husband, Dr. David Ford, is Professor of Church History. In her overview of the Book of Revelation, she focused on how the book’s central message—“victory through sacrifice”—is woven throughout. She emphasized that “the biggest revelation in the book is that the slain Lamb is worthy of the same worship as the Father” [see Revelation 7:9-17]. In other words, the early Church, as shown in Revelation, had a very high view of Christ’s divinity, in contrast to recent popular views that claim that Jesus was only “turned into a god” in the fourth century.
The book of Revelation, noted Dr. Ford, appeared at a time of fierce persecution against Christians. The basic question the book poses is “Whom will you serve as your sovereign God: the slain Lamb, or someone/something else?” The book was aimed at strengthening those who are in Christ, showing them that there is nothing to fear from the powers of this world, from a hostile state, from disasters or from governments or any other opponents of God. The worst things that befall Christ’s servants only serve to conform them to the image of the crucified, self-sacrificing Savior, the Lamb of God, Who voluntarily and without coercion lays down His life out of love. There is nothing to fear if Christ is enthroned in our lives.
Father John Behr, who received the Doctorate of Philosophy at Oxford and has been teaching at Saint Vladimir’s since 1993, led the afternoon session which explored the question, “What does it mean to be human?” He weaved together scripture, revelation and theology to address this question, focusing on a close reading of a number of passages from the Fathers.
Father John’s main theme was that if we wish to understand what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God, we must look to the crucified Christ. On the Cross, Christ gives us the model of what is means to be God, and therefore to be a human being created in God’s image. To be human is to conform our life to Christ in His crucifixion, willingly emptying Himself “for the life of the world.”
In Genesis, Father John continued, all of creation takes place by divine command—“Let there be….” The creation of man, however, takes place as a divine project—“Let us make man….” To be truly human—as Christ gives the pattern—means to voluntarily lay down one’s life for others. And therefore, God’s “project” to “make man” is only accomplished with our willing agreement to live our lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. It is only the encounter with Christ that shows our fallenness and gives us a sense of that weakness that is the source of gratitude, humility and mercy towards others. “We do not know ourselves until we have encountered Christ,” Father John continued. “This is a key pastoral point. It takes light to shine in darkness, to know that it is darkness. In the Letter of Barnabas we read, ‘the human being is earth that suffers.’ In other words, we are clay being pummelled in order that we would learn to have a soft and merciful heart open to serving others.”
Lively discussion followed both presentations, and Council members expressed their gratitude for the inspired and insightful teaching offered by Dr. Ford and Father John.
The Council’s regular sessions begin on Tuesday morning with the address of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, who will chair the sessions. The members of the Lesser Synod of Bishops—His Eminence, Archbishop Melchisedek; His Eminence, Archbishop Mark; and His Eminence, Archbishop Michael—also are participating in the meeting. Sessions will conclude on Thursday, September 24. [See related story.]
The Metropolitan Council is the permanent executive body of the Church Administration which exists for the purpose of implementing the decisions of the 18th All-American Council and continuing its work between sessions. Members include the Metropolitan, who serves as Chair; the Chancellor, the Secretary, and the Treasurer; one priest and one layperson elected by each diocese; and three priests and an equal number of laypersons elected by the AAC.