www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Light for LIfe -The Mystery Believed. [about the call]

Hello friends in Christ,

I am still a newbie junior on this forum, but chronologically I have already lived many of the many years. This last month I have been reading posts and posting a few replies. This is the first time I have actually started a topic, so please bare with me.

I have been looking for a concise, clear, comprehensive, and simplified explanation of Byzantine beliefs.

On www.byzantines.net [byzantines.net] I discovered:

Light for Life: The Mystery Believed - The Mystery of God

and the second part --

Light for Life: The Mystery Celebrated - Faith Expressed in Worship

In Light for Life (the first part) under Consequences of Faith we read:
[A specific author is not mentioned so I am guessing this is a collaborative effort. It does not say by who.]

"While the liturgical synaxis is the primary way in which the Church expresses and renews its communal faith, the daily life of the believer is the principal arena in which personal faith is exercised. The normal course of maturing faith leads to this call going outward into the community which receives the Gospel. Faith in Christ should make a difference not only for the indidividal believer but also for society as a whole. "

Please reflect, comment, or add your own personal feeling and experience as to fulfilling the 'call' in this quote. Or --what do you think it means? And if you have read any or all of Light for Life please share on that as well. Either/or both or whatever. I hope you will! Excuse if you have done this once before. Like I say, I am new here.

Gratefully yours,

Porter.>retired Prof. who is yearning to learn.

Dear Prof. Porter:

The most concice statement of Byzantine beliefs would probably be the Creed.

Anything deeper and you start getting into something that cannot be summarized in a few paragraphs or even pages.

Might I suggest to you Bishop Ware's book "The Orthodox Way." It is not very lengthy and explains our notion of "God" in a step-by-step analysis.

I haven't checked, but I'm sure that it is availiable at an Orthodox on-line bookstore (Light & Life is probably the biggest).

Hope this helps.

Yours,

hal

Dear Professor Porter,

Welcome to the Forum.

I'd second Hal's suggestion and note that you can also often find Bishop Ware's books at Eastern Catholic parishes that have a "bookstore" set up. Other excellent choices are anything by Archbishop Joseph Raya, a retired Melkite Eparch.

I presume, since you mentioned byzantines.net, that you saw
What Byzantines Believe [byzantines.net]

Many years,

Neil

Glory to Jesus Christ!



I like this quote very much, although I do not think it will stand as a summary of Byzantine Faith. It merely states that we take our Faith into the street, not leave it in the Temple. Something I believe Jesus would say. It sounds like a call to evangelize.

I would like to add some thoughts of my own. In a sense we can make all time Sacred in the course of our daily life. Although it is not mentioned I think the admonition �pray without ceasing� can help us here. In our tradition the Jesus prayer can help us do this, as well as the normal cycle of Divine praises. Ultimately our everyday decisions, our interaction with others, and our mindfulness of God should be informed by our Faith and practices.

If we do this we can influence the culture we live in.

Michael

Michael,

Thank you for that reflection. Lovely.

Hal,

Appreciate the reference.


Porter aka Mary Jo

Neil,

Yes, have read "What Byzantines Believe" and also several other good sources. Took a course in "Byzantine Spirituality" when in grad school working on an M.A. in Relgious Studies back in 1987. It was taught by an Arch priest from the Seattle area then pastoring a Byzantine Catholic parish in Spokane. I still have some of those sources also. Looking for the notebook.

Thanks for the imput.


Mary Jo