Over Afternoon Tea

Tea is not only a drink but a ritual over which people have been relaxing, talking, and catching up on each other's lives for centuries. This blog is intended to serve as a virtual cup of tea, helping me keep in touch with friends and family in my physical absence.

ON THE 23rd OF THE MONTH...

Last night our parish priest from Indiana, now from Detroit, took his 'seminarians' out to dinner while in Boston on a visit. After a nice meal, exchanging pleasant conversation, etc. we decided to head for Barnes & Noble for some coffee and book shopping. As usual, we concentrated on the 'theology & religion' and 'Classics' sections, skimming through the bargain books as well. Religion sections in secular bookstores are interesting. There, amidst an (apparently serious) book on "How to Turn Your Ex-Boyfriend Into a Toad" (complete with toad incense) and dummies' guides to Oriental religions I can't even pronounce, we found the Christian books section. As usual, with the exception of Scripture it was dominated by modern authors, and the older ones all started with A (Augustine, Augustine, Augustine, Anselm, Augustine, Augustine...). We dutifully hunted out the token Eastern Orthodox presence (Fr. Demetri, in an imitation hick accent: "Oh look, there's the phil-oh-KAHL-ee-uh. I like to keep a copy of that on my pros-kuh-MEE-dee table." General groans. "Oh come on, you saw that one coming.") It was a standard trip to the bookstore. Some titles we laughed at, some we groaned at, and some we opened for further investigation.

...the holy hieromartyr Clement of Ancyra...

My eye fell on a paperback entitled "Jesus Freaks." Dim echoes from a past that seems ancient (only two years now, but major changes in life perspective will do that to you) indicated that I'd heard of the volume before. I thought it was a devotional/study Bible done by D.C. Talk. I picked it up and looked inside, and promptly encountered the martyrdom of Polycarp. Not, of course, the circa second century text's description of that event (I think that would have been too lengthy for the book's average story length). I was too startled at meeting the holy bishop in the pages of a paperback with a CCM band's name on it to notice if it was an abridged form of that story or a separately written account. "Hey honey, it's Polycarp!" I called. Leafing through the pages, I saw story after story of martyrdom, mostly from the 1900s: Russia 1950, Russia 1990, China, Russia 1990, St. James the Apostle 63, Russia 1960...they weren't mentioning the Russians being Orthodox and I wondered whether they were focusing on Protestants or just not mentioning what they would consider "denominations." I have been told that despite the bloodbaths of Diocletian and Decius, the 20th century has seen more Orthodox martyrs than all those that preceded it combined.

...is perfected by the sword...

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." I don't know who first said it but its truth is attested by the fact that books of martyrs keep springing up everywhere. Orthodox synaxaria (books of saints' lives) are full of them, and I assume the Roman Catholics's are as well, since we share saints from the early periods of persecution. But even Protestants, who aren't so keen on honoring the saints, find the stories of the martyrs compelling. Witness Fox's Book of Martyrs, and now DC Talk's. Martyr is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning 'witness.' Across history, we find the witness of the martyrs compelling. Their absolute love for Christ, their complete devotion to God, inspires us, strengthens us for our daily, less dramatic martyrdoms: biting back that mean retort, running one more errand for a friend at the end of a tiring day.

...on the same day...

It's interesting how much you can tell about a book from its structure. The organization of the stories was more or less arbitrary; year of death was given, but not day of year. An Orthodox synaxarion will always tell you the day of commemoration, which is nearly always the same day as the day of death. Years are less important, and in smaller collections may not be given at all; often saints are dated by events rather than years: "In the reign of the emperor Decius" or simply "Under the Turks." This is because what matters is not how long ago they lived, for they are alive now with Christ, but rather that today they are celebrated, today they are with us. This is most dramatically clear as present moment meets eternal reality in the Eucharistic chalice. They are with Him, and we are with Him, and all are one in christ.

...the holy martyr Agathangelos...

The brief description of the saints' and martyrs' lives, read each morning at Orthros (Matins), often uses the word 'teleioutai,' 'is completed' or 'is perfected,' to describe a martyr's death. Like the Apostle Paul, they finished the race and kept the faith to the end. The verb, however, is in the present, another reminder that in prayer we are in Liturgical time, not chronological time, 'kairos' rather than 'chronos.' And so it must be. If the martyr's blood is the Church's seed, the martyr is not viewed as an interesting example and then discarded. His or her life, love, and prayers are absorbed by the Church, strengthening her in her battle against the gates of Hell, giving birth to many, many more who will also die--daily to themselves, and in some instances, even in our modern world, in a dramatic refusal to deny their faith.

...is perfected by the sword. Through their holy intercessions, O God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.