"If you ask what saintliness ought to mean, Christianity has not to argue but to show you the saintliness in the flesh. Christ the saintly Lord, St Paul and St John, Polycarp and Leo, Patrick and Francis, Sergius and Zosim, St Theresa and hundreds of other saints. And if somebody thinks still that a few thousands of Christian saints are not a sufficient argument to show that saintliness is practicable, then the Church has still not to give her ideal up and to take as her ideal thousands of great and small Napoleons and Bismarcks, and Goethes and Spencers, or Medics and Cromwells or Kaisers and Kings--no, in the latter case it would be much nicer for the Church to point out the saintly men outside of Christian walls, like St Hermes and St Pythagoras, or St Krishna and St Buddha, or St Lao-Tse and St Confucius, or St Zoroaster and St Abu-Bekr. Better even is unbaptised saintliness than baptised earthliness."
2 comments:
I find Christian Orthodoxy such a complex thing. On the one hand it seems to genuinely contain a deep spirit which I find compelling. That Mt Athos crowd, my goodness. The folk who gave us the Philokalia, which I found through that lovely little book of Eastern Christian spirituality, "The Way of a Pilgrim"... Wonderful teachings. Deep bows.
And there is a frequent narrowness that is frightening. For example looking around the web to learn a bit more about this very interesting figure Nikolaj Velimirovic, I learn of consistent allegations of anti-semitism on his part. One or two quotes, if authentic, are disgusting. And it is a current which seems to run through Orthodoxy in practice...
Life is so complicated...
Orthodox Christianity is the oldest "denomination" of Christendom. I tend not to trust religions or denominations less than 500 years old. Why not go for the originals? Original Christianity was persecuted by the Jews, so it might have an anti-Jewish feel, but not anti-Semetic, as there are many Orthodox Christian Semite people in Jerusalem and always have be.
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