Category: Holy Theotokos Greenville

Dear Friends in Christ,

Four years ago this month, Bishop Christodoulos came to Raleigh and served the first liturgy at the Chapel of St. Mark the Evangelist. A half a year later, I was ordained a priest, and our parish here in Greenville was also established.

At the liturgy, the bishop gave a sermon which certainly was not designed to remain in the confines of our comfort zones. Looking out the window of the chapel at the trees whose leaves were changing colors, whose green leaves were being replaced by gold, red, and orange hues, he remarked that we would not see the leaves change colors if Adam had not brought death into the world. Every time we see the leaves changing colors, we are seeing death and are confronted with the fall of man, he remarked.

While some remarked afterward (somewhat exaggeratedly!) that they would no longer be able to enjoy Autumn the same way again, the sermon impacted me in a profound way. I realized that something that many consider to be a great thing of beauty is actually tied to the greatest tragedy of man: bodily death. The Orthodox Church teaches that death was not established by God and is not a punishment afflicted on man, but rather is the direct consequence of man’s sinful nature and fall. Death reigned supreme through the ages, as we can see in the Old Testament, where everyone, whether righteous or evil, went to Hades (Sheol), a land of shadows and separation from life. To deliver us from this condition, Christ became incarnate, and after suffering on the Cross, he descended into Hades to liberate the captives and deliver them into the Heavens. The icon of the Resurrection depicts Christ pulling Adam and Eve out of their tombs, and death personified is crushed under his feet.

Yet this event took place 2000 years ago—how do we participate in it now? The Bible tells us:

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection (Romans 6:3-5).

Just as all of us are born into this fallen world and are subject to death because of the actions of our forefather, so likewise though the actions of Christ can the effects of death be undone in us. To participate then, we must be born again; we cannot save ourselves by good works, since our nature is fundamentally damaged. The only remedy is a new birth: “Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Notice here that no distinction is made between belief and action, between spiritual and physical; one must place his faith in Christ, and he must be baptized in water, in order to be born again.

Baptism then is not a symbol as some non-Orthodox Churches teach, but an actual participation in the saving events of 2000 years ago. To see it as a mere symbol is to intellectualize it, to fundamentally shift the meaning of faith from participation in God’s very life to an internalized, mental acceptance of factual data. The important aspect becomes the acceptance of Christ, and all the events that follow such as baptism are seen as symbolic rituals that manifest a salvation already present. Baptism becomes an ordinance instead of a sacrament, something done out of obedience because Scripture says to do it, but which does not have any real intrinsic value.

In this latter model, salvation moves from being a process of restoration of the original nature of man and his transformation into a bearer of Divine Grace through participation in the Divine Mysteries of baptism, the Eucharist, marriage, anointing, etc. to the acceptance of Christ’s saving act as an internal, mental act, a surrender of the will, which then accounts the person “covered” by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross in an act reminiscent of a bank transaction. Such a man is still intrinsically a sinful being, ontologically the same, but now God the Father sees him through a different lens, as it were. Martin Luther once remarked rather crassly that man is like a pile of dung, only in Christ now this pile is covered by white snow. The Orthodox Church rejects this dim view of the effects of salvation and proclaims that through baptism and the other Holy Mysteries (Sacraments), we actually participate in God’s Grace and are transformed, not just accredited as being righteous while fundamentally remaining the same—getting off the hook for the consequences of our sins, but nothing more. (Of course, Western Christians believe in a sanctification process that happens after one is saved, but a contrast between this and the Orthodox view is outside the scope of this message).

Yet we still die physically, even after being baptized. How then should we view the fact that we are no longer under death’s hold? The answer is that now when we die, if we die in Christ, we enter a state of blessedness, awaiting the Last Judgment and the restoration of our bodies, at which point we will be able to enter the Heavenly glory fully. Having this hope in us, we no longer fear death, because it is a mere temporary separation, and we have the ability to live our lives boldly. The early Christians gladly accepted martyrdom, understanding that they would go to be with Christ, and not to the gloom of Hades. Those who die in Christ are still part of the Church, which as the Body of Christ exists in Heaven and on Earth. We are all one body, all are aware of each other and our prayers affect one another.

In this new reality, the changing leaves are no longer just a symbol of death, but point to the renewal that will come in Spring, when the green will return. Each spring is a mini-Resurrection, a restoration of life. The Fall and Winter no longer symbolize a descent into Hades, but rather a temporary rest. We can thus find beauty in something that was formerly horrific. We can see the aging process and reflect on the cycle of life without fear, knowing that all things will be restored.

If you are reading this message and have not placed your faith in Christ, or perhaps once believed but have fallen away, now is the time for you to return, so that when Spring arrives and we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection, you can celebrate as well this new life. In my ministry, I have seen how conversion and baptism changes people’s lives, having performed numerous baptisms in my three years as a priest. Faith in Christ and the ensuing life of participation in the Grace-bearing sacraments of the Church can work the same transformation in you.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

October is upon us already! The Fall season has begun, and the temperature is finally starting to drop here in North Carolina. September was a busy month, with the feast days of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos (our parish feast) and the Holy Cross, along with the secular holiday of Labor Day. But those days have passed, and now we begin to prepare for Thanksgiving, the Nativity Fast, and the “Holiday Season,” hoping to accomplish all of our resolutions by the end of the year.

Nestled in October is the feast day of Saints Cyprian and Justina (October 2/15). Early martyrs, they contested sometime in the mid-third century. Their story is remarkable; Cyprian was a pagan sorcerer, while Justina was a pagan maiden who, having learned of the truth of Christ, converted and succeeded in bringing her parents to Christ as well. She endeavored to live a life of chastity and to remain unmarried, but she attracted the unwanted gaze of a local wealthy youth. He enticed Cyprian to perform magic to attract Justina to him.

Amazingly, although Cyprian was able to engage in all sorts of dark arts, he could not succeed in coercing Justina to succumb. Asking the demons why he failed, they remarked that it was because Justina signed herself with the Cross. Cyprian realized that the power of demons was nothing compared to Christ, and in a dramatic gesture, burned his magical books in front of the local bishop before being baptized. Eventually, he became a bishop, Justina a nun, and both were martyred for converting many to Christ, probably in the year AD 268.

In our present day, under the influence of science and rationalism, most people have ceased practicing outright sorcery (the rise of neopaganism notwithstanding), but magical thinking continues, often with a thin “scientific” veneer. The demons continue their work of assisting man to live autonomously and without faith in God, adjusting their methods to the times by taking a more subtle role in this age of skepticism. In this message, I will briefly cover four ways that people engage in magical thinking today.

Like Attracts Like. Made popular by books such as The Secret, New Thought is a belief system that teaches that reality is a manifestation of our thoughts. By thinking positively and visualizing what we want, we make these things a reality. Negative occurrences are a result of our negative thoughts. This New Age belief system claims to describe a scientific “Law” that can be learned and practiced. It ignores the fact that this world is fallen, and chaos reigns. We cannot always control what happens to us, but in Christ, we can face all challenges and trials with courage. We will not always know “why” bad things happen, but we will know that when we suffer, we are co-suffering with the Lord Himself, and thus suffering has meaning and purifies, and we are not alone in it.

Karma. An ancient Hindu belief, it is more commonly known in the West as the concept of “what goes around, comes around.” A system of cause and effect, it is assumed that man will have evil repaid by evil and good by good in a perfectly-balanced system. A person can thus keep track of his good and bad deeds, and create his own destiny; he can assure blessedness by being good. This is contrasted with a life of faith in Christ, where a person recognizes that he can never pay back the debt of even one sin, and must rely solely on the Grace given by Christ through the Cross. We are called to live a transfigured life, to repay curses with blessings, to pray for those who persecute us, and to be Christ to all in our lives. For instance, St. Justina saved the man who pursued her by praying for him when he was about to suffer a disastrous fall.

Modern Business Culture. Hard work is certainly a virtue, but in the modern business world, seminars and classes are routinely held (and often obligatory) which seek to produce better producers by creating a certain way of thinking and approaching things—the “can do” attitude. In this system, problems are the fault of mental and psychological blocks which can be overcome through coaching and the right attitude, by following the system taught in the seminar. Such events even contain quasi-spiritual exercises such as centering exercises, which seek to induce a relaxed and receptive state in the learner, and visualization exercises.

The Lord Told Me… Many Christians have developed a bad habit of assuming that any religious-sounding idea that enters the mind must be from God, and in a misguided desire to be obedient to God, they base their lives around these thoughts and hunches, and even off of dreams (which the Church Fathers have warned us to not pay attention to). These ideas are often an unoriginal mix of common sense solutions and self-serving purposes. God becomes an excuse and a justification for such people to do as they please. What is a simple coincidence is given meaning by ascribing it to God and His will. Instead of relying on the frequent reading of Scripture and consultation with the clergy and fellow believers, answers are found within, in a personalized way.

The root problem of all four examples of magical thinking is man-centeredness, rather than trusting in God and being obedient to His will. All of these philosophies present the solution to the problem of evil and failure as internal to the person, rather than external in Christ. Man is assumed to be in control of his own destiny, and the deception that he is an autonomous being is not challenged head-on. The solution is Christ, the God who came and suffered for our sake, in whom we must place our trust if we wish to be saved.

St. Cyprian learned that he could not alter the will of God or control his own destiny when the faith of a teenaged girl overpowered all the tricks of the many demons who assisted him. All of his effort to learn the secrets of success in this life evaporated in a most unexpected way. When people in modern times follow any of the above ways of magical thinking, they are setting themselves up for despair when things happen to them that are beyond their control. Being a member of a Church does not make one immune from these false philosophies, and indeed, especially in the last example, they use God, the Church, and religiosity as covers for their continued self-will.

Let us not follow any false philosophy that teaches the answer is within us, whether it appears religious or secular. Let us humbly approach the Lord in prayer and ask for the forgiveness of sins and the Grace necessary to have a relationship with Him. When we receive Grace, we will know we are not left alone to find the answers. We will find real transformation through Christ and through His body, the Church, where our fellow believers are there to stand with us in times of struggle.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

Hurricane Irene came through the area of Eastern NC with a vengeance. Ironically, Irene means peace in Greek! I am grateful to God that none of our parishioners lost their lives—downed trees and flooding are truly dangerous. Property damage did affect our community, however. One family lost their home, having to ride out the storm in a treehouse as the waters rose. Another family lost their pier, and another had trees all over their backyard. I am sure that some of you reading this also experienced damage. If any of you reading this would like to share your experience with me, I’d appreciate hearing from you as well. I can be reached by email at gocraleigh@gmail.com and by telephone at (919) 827-4945.

Hurricane Irene went on to ravage New York. On Long Island, several of our families lost power and suffered inconveniences, but the real damage was in the Catskills, where our monastery dedicated to the Holy Ascension is located. While the monastery itself was spared, the entire town surrounding it was flooded out, and all the businesses and homes on the main road were significantly damaged. The local grocery store lost all of its stock, and will not be replenished for at least a month. To put things in perspective, the acting abbot of the monastery, Fr. Maximus, has to drive 30 minutes each way just to get food of any kind now. For those who have lost their appliances and homes, this only adds to the misery. Fr. Maximus reports that it is the worst flooding he has ever seen in New York in his lifetime.

A serious matter such as this provides a natural opportunity to discuss a serious matter. One of my friends is a Protestant minister in Greenville. His parish has perhaps two times the number of people that our parish does—in other words, it is small by Protestant standards. Their denomination has a crisis response team, and people from neighboring parishes flew in to North Carolina and did work for the people who were suffering. People in their local Church community helped each other, helped their neighbors, and even people they didn’t know to help them recover—out of love for them, and a desire to share Christ with them. One of our families was served by such a group of mobile responders from Arkansas.

Our parish has doubled in size since last year, and all indications are that the growth will continue—subject of course, to the will of God. However, we are still small. It’s not a surprise that when the main families have suffered debilitating loss, that some of the damage at the Church (which is minor, thank God) was not addressed immediately. It’s understandable that some families had to receive help from non-Orthodox volunteers, who are better organized and have the financial resources to do so. Our diocese did organize some relief for the people in the Catskills, as it did in Joplin and Alabama during the tornados, but to be honest, it probably would have been impossible for it to manage two crisis responses at the same time (i.e. New York and North Carolina). All of this is very logical and understandable.

However, what is it about our faith which is average, basic, or exists with an attitude of “just getting by?” The Church exploded in the early centuries for two reasons: the holiness of its members was so great that God worked miracles through them readily, and they had the mentality that we are a community that needs to work together and live together. Our community in Greenville is made up of people who live far and wide; we are spread out. That sometimes makes it hard for us to serve each other. Yet there are core families who live 90, 70, and 30 miles away who make the effort to serve the community of Greenville. At the same time, there are many families who live in Greenville who have come to the Church occasionally but never significantly contributed to the maintenance of the property or the charitable outreach of the Church. We see in some the early apostolic spirit of doing whatever it takes to keep the faith spreading, and we see in others a desire to attend the Church when it suits them, when they need comfort, or prayers for themselves, but when it is not convenient to them, they do not attend.

I do not imagine that this problem is unique to our Church community, but I want to emphasize that this recent crisis only highlights the fact that the Church will only be able to do good in the lives of its members and the community surrounding it in proportion to the effort that the members put in to it. A few families cannot bear the brunt of all operations at the Church all the time, and when crisis strikes, if these families are affected, the Church’s mission is impacted. The work of maintaining the Church property and of organizing and staffing its ministries needs to be more equitably distributed.
Again, it is perfectly understandable that a small parish would not be able to have the kind of response to a crisis that other Churches were able to do. However, we have the grace of God, and we can do amazing things with this blessing, so we cannot be content to be average. We’ve seen amazing things happen at our parish in the three years we have been here, so there should be no doubt that any effort put in to the Church will bear astonishing results many times over.
Instead of simply admonishing you all, dear readers, I wish to encourage you. Let me paint a vision of the future. In three years’ time, Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church will be three times the current size it is now. It will have members local to Greenville, and members from far-flung areas of Eastern Carolina who come and are served by the Orthodox presence here. When a crisis occurs, not only will the Church be able to meet the needs of its members, but it is able to make a positive impact in the community, and after the next disaster is over, people will remember that our parish was on the front lines of the response.

Are you reading this and wondering what you can do to help? I frequently invite readers to attend the Church liturgies, because this is where our conversion and spiritual growth begins. However, there are some of you reading who have attended infrequently—please come regularly, and sign up for the property cleaning and maintenance schedule. Next, you can help us manage our clothing distribution program, so that we can perhaps offer it more frequently.
For those of you who have been hesitant to attend a service for whatever reason—come to the next charitable event, or give me a call and let’s discuss ways you could help out at the Church during the week as a first step. The bottom line is, we all expect the Church to be there for us when we need it, but we need to be there for the Church and for others when they need it, too. We can’t just rely on others, because there will be times when they cannot do it alone.
We’ve weathered this storm, but we have some steps that need to be taken to reach the vision outlined above. Take the first step today! We will travel this road together in Christ.

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

The word “confess” comes up often in Orthodox prayers, writings, and sermons. There are two main ways that the term is used in the Church: to confess one’s faith, and to confess one’s sins. The former evokes images of the early Christians standing up for Christ in the arena, refusing to worship the old Roman gods, while the latter often evokes images from popular culture of a darkly-lit confessional and an old Roman Catholic priest sitting there waiting to hear one list off his sins.

Confession, in both senses, however, is really a proclamation, a statement of how things truly are, a “coming clean” so to speak. We have opportunities to confess our faith every day, sometimes by sharing what we believe with our family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors (namely that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, who has destroyed death and the power of sin by the Cross and Resurrection, and that by putting our faith in Him and receiving Holy Baptism, we are born again as new creatures and receive the chance to live the Kingdom of Heaven both now and in the age to come). Other times, it is by how we live, by showing kindness to others, by taking on an extra project at work to help our teammates, by volunteering, or by donating our goods to the poor. And sometimes, we are even called to defend our faith, to confess our beliefs and why they are correct in the face of a challenge to them, such as in the case of secularists or atheists who criticize our belief in God, or those who oppose the Orthodox Christian Church. In rare circumstances (although not so rare in Africa and Asia, or in Russia last century, or Greece in centuries past), we are even called to give our life for Christ, confessing Him before the tribunal of the godless.

Sometimes, however, we fail to live up to our confession of faith, and fall into sin. We are then presented with another form of confession, which is to confess our sins, one of the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments). Holy Confession in this context is to stand before God and come clean, to confess one’s weakness and failings, and to state categorically that without the grace of Christ, we cannot be forgiven and cannot be saved, yet by His infinite mercy and love for man, he restores to us the lost wedding garment, the robe of baptism, which we tear off when we sin, and yet which is restored to us when we repent, giving us a fresh start.

Whereas the public confession of faith requires boldness tempered by humility, in that we must proclaim our faith, but not be antagonistic about it, always keeping love at the forefront, in the case of the confession of our faults, we must approach with great humility at our fallen nature, tempered with boldness in order to take the roots of sin and pull them mercilessly out of our heart. As we gain experience tilling the garden of our soul, we will become more confident in the uprooting of these evil weeds, the passions, which hide in the depths. Confession over time enables us to become more and more self-aware, and to progressively confront and overcome our sinful nature, through God’s grace, bestowed through His priests.

Some will object that we do not need a priest in order to confess our sins; why not confess them to God directly? This is a false dichotomy. Every Christian should make an effort at the end of each day to account for his actions that day, confess that which was sinful, and ask for God’s grace to do better the next day. However, sin does not just affect the individual, but rather impacts the entire community.

Our personal sins contribute in unseen ways to the overall experience of our family, our neighborhood, and our parish. On a grand scale, the vast evil present in this world can be partly attributed to the buildup and impact of trillions of “small sins.” A little too much cholesterol every day will eventually clog the arteries, and in the same way, a few small sins here and there will eventually lead us to bigger problems, and our families will be affected by our illness. Confession to God in private alone does not do enough to recognize the corporate effect of sin, and hence the Church has always practiced a form of public confession, from the time of Ancient Israel to the present. In the early Church, confession was often done in front of everyone. Over time, for various reasons, confession became somewhat more privatized, with the priest standing in as a witness of the community that the one confessing is sincere. The priest then also functions as a witness of the community’s forgiveness, and an assurance to the penitent that God loves him and that everything is forgiven.

Holy Scripture gives us a few insights into this ministry of the ordained priesthood: “And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained’” (John 20:22-23). This was the first appearance of the Risen Lord to His Disciples, and it was in the context of His sending them forth to preach the Gospel. Forgiving sins is then an essential part of their mission.

Indeed, after Christ healed the Paralytic in order to demonstrate that He also had the power to forgive sins, we read that, “…when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men” (Matthew 9:8). We seen then how what the multitude noted, that the power to forgive sins had been given to men (not just to Jesus), was confirmed by Jesus breathing on His Apostles. Let us also remember that the breath of God was used previously to give life to Adam, so this should cause us to associate the forgiveness of sins with new life.

Finally, notice how the power to retain sins is also given to the Apostles; if they are to decide whether to forgive or to retain, then the clear meaning of this passage is that they are aware of what each person coming to them has done. The priest, who serves in the place of the bishop, who is a successor to the Apostles, has received this same grace to forgive sins, and he plays an important role in determining whether the penitent is truly sorry, acting as an external check.

We will cite one more example from Scripture. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:14-16).

How then should we confess? Some Orthodox people have not confessed in a long time. Indeed, some may never have confessed, having not been taught to do so, which is a tragedy. The good thing is that it’s never too late to start, as long as we are breathing. Contact me, or another priest local to you, and ask to meet for confession, explaining that it has been some time, or something that you have never done. We will be happy to help you return to this saving practice.

How often should we confess? Some local customs have it that we confess before every communion. Others specify at least once every forty days, regardless of whether one is planning to commune. The important thing is that our confessions be regular and sincere, and that we be prepared for them in advance. Let us not conceal anything from the priest (who will never reveal what is discussed in confession) and thus be cleansed from our sins and forgiven. What we confess now will be covered on the Day of Judgment. It is the quintessential “investment in your future,” and I pray that you will resolve to come and partake of this great blessing!

In Christ,

Fr. Anastasios

Dear Friends in Christ,

Summer is here again, but was there really a Spring this year in North Carolina?! We’ve all been trying to cope with the heat in various ways. I’m certainly thankful that our Church building has great air conditioning, especially when I serve the liturgy wearing several layers of vestments!

With summer comes one of the four fasting seasons of the year, the Apostles’ Fast. This fast varies in length each year based on when Pascha occurs. It can be anywhere from 8 to 42 days; this year, it is 22 days (June 20 through July 11, on the civil calendar). It’s a time when we can take a break from all the festivities of summer to refocus our spiritual priorities and honor the Holy Apostles who carried the Gospel to the ends of the known world.

Why do we have this fast? As we know from Scripture, “And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast” (Matthew 9:15). Christ ascended to Heaven 40 days after Pascha, and then on the 50th day, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, and they went out to preach. Holy Tradition teaches us that the Apostles’ Fast comes from their desire to prepare for their missionary activity by fasting, just as Jesus had fasted before beginning his ministry, and as He stated they would do when He was no longer with them (Jesus is the Bridegroom in the verse above).

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever noticed that it is easier to organize someone else’s space than your own? I remember when I was in college, I needed a part-time job. I had formerly worked in a customer-service role, and was eager to find something that didn’t require being in front of dozens of people every day. After all, I interacted with people at school all day, and wanted to be able to do some work by myself. I applied for a position cleaning someone’s private home, and was accepted. The pay was quite good, and I could perform my work quietly. When I told my parents and other people who knew me well, however, a general look of surprise came over their faces, because I was generally unable to keep my room straight my whole childhood and collegiate life!

Going through someone else’s home and cleaning just wasn’t as hard as and cleaning my own home. I would go in and basically follow a list of tasks. I was not emotionally invested in anything there (although I did stop to read some books during breaks…), and so it was not hard to go in and get the job done. With my own room, however, I was confronted with having to think hard about what to do with things, where to put them, whether to keep them at all. The choice was sometimes daunting, and I was always one step behind, it felt.

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Dear Friends in Christ,

I’m writing this message the week before the Third Sunday of Lent, when we commemorate the Holy Cross. The Holy Cross has such an important meaning to us, that we celebrate it twice a year. Back in September’s bulletin, I wrote about the appearances of the Cross in history. Appearances of the Cross led to such miracles as the conversion of the Emperor St. Constantine in AD 312. Since we’ve so recently covered the appearances of the Cross, I would like to take this opportunity to speak about a related subject, namely, the Sign of the Cross.

Humans seem to have a natural desire to identify themselves as part of a group. One of the ways that members of a group identify themselves to one another, and cement their ties, is by the use of signs. A well-executed performance elicits a thumbs-up, the peace sign became a symbol of a generation opposed to war, and a certain obscene gesture can be used to insult others. The handshake is used to greet and to seal a deal, and a salute is used to show obedience to a superior.

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Oftentimes, one of the first things that our Non-Orthodox friends notice when they enter an Orthodox Church are the icons. Icons are pictures of Christ, His Mother, and the saints, which are hung or painted directly onto the walls of our churches and monasteries. They are often called “windows into Heaven.” How often do we think about them more deeply, though? Icons are one of those things that just make our faith more “real” (by real, of course, I mean tangible), and yet isn’t it remarkable that that which is “down-to-earth” succeeds in becoming a “window into Heaven”? Icons also are essential in our modern times to counteract the culture of over-informality and reintroduce reverence and awe.

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