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The feast of the Transfiguration of

our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the

most important feasts of the

Orthodox Church. It teaches us

about who Christ is as well as aids

us in our own spiritual journey. The

Transfiguration is the revelation of

the Divinity of Christ and points to

the transformation of creation and

the second coming of Christ.

The Transfiguration is the event

where Christ brought three of Hisbeloved disciples to the top of Mt

Tabor and he was transfigured in

front of them, to show his disciples

His glory. The kontakion of the feast

gives us an understanding as to why

Christ chose to reveal Himself in

such a way: Thou wast transfigured

on the mountain, O Christ our God,

and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory

as far as they were capable, that

when they should see Thee

crucified, they might know that Thy

suffering was voluntary and might

proclaim to the world that Thou art

indeed the reflection of the Father.

Christ reassures the disciples. He

reveals to them His glory in order

that they can cope with the

upcoming events of His passion,

crucifixion and resurrection. He

gives them the strength and hope

that they will need in order to see

these events by showing them, in aphysical sense, His divine glory.

An examination of the icon of the

Transfiguration gives us a better

understanding of

the meaning behind

this event. The icon

of the

Transfiguration is

pure theology. It

encapsulates the

Churchs doctrine

about the person of

Christ, who is of

one essence with

the Father, whobecame fully human

while remaining

fully divine. It is

this icon that shows

Christ in His divine

glory, but it is His humanity that

was transfigured with the divine

light. The Holy Trinity is present.

The Holy Spirit is manifested in a

bright cloud which overshadowed

the disciples and from that cloud

came the voice of God the Father

who witnessed to Christ as being

His beloved Son (Matt 17:5).

The Transfiguration takes place at

the top of a mountain. In ancient

times the mountain was considered

the meeting place between heaven

and earth, and a place of revelation.

The triangular shaped mountain

depicted in the Transfiguration icon

was a universal symbol of the

meeting place between heaven andearth. Christ is at the apex of the

triangle, the pinnacle of the world,

page 2

yearXXXI

July-August2006

Radiantly

Keeping FeastPresbytera Eisodia Menis

TRANSFIGURATION OF

OUR LORD

(6th August)by Kelly Anna Tsoi

The Feast of the Dormition of our

Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God

is a joyous occasion for our Church.

Having prepared for the feast with

fasting and prayer and vigil, we

honour the Theotokos with psalms

and hymns.

Tradition teaches us that the Theoto-

kos was attended at her deathbed by

the Apostles and first bishops of the

Church. Our Lady gave up her soul

which was received by Jesus whotook her soul, reborn anew, to

heaven.

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Parochial Life | july - august 2006 |

page 2

and there is an outpouring of divine

goodness downwards and outwards

upon creation. It is at the top of the

mountain, where Christ is

positioned, which represents the

point of convergence of all human

efforts ascending towards Godi.

When we look at the icon of the

Transfiguration we can see that

Christ is the focal point. He sets the

example of what a perfect human

being is. Christ is the archetype for

all of humanity. As St Athanasius

stated, God became human so that

humanity could become gods, but

God became human so that

humanity could become more

human

ii

; a humanity that God hadalways intended from the

beginning (cf. 1 Jn 3:2; 1Cor

15:51). Christs humanity

was physically

transformed on Mt Tabor

and seen by the eyes of

the disciple, and it is

this transformation of

humanity that gives us

the ultimate example of

the goal of humankind.

Many saints of ourChurch have experienced

this divine light and they were

transformed. It is this divine

light shining outwards from within

that is depicted in the icons of the

saints. When Moses returned from

the mountain, after being in the

presence of God, the people had to

shield their eyes because his face

shone so brightly (Ex 34:29-30, 35).

In the icon of the Transfiguration

Christ is gloriously depicted, inbrilliant white or golden robes. In

ancient times white was the colour

of divinity. It transmits a sense of

pureness, calm and tranquillity, and

is the closest means of depicting

light itself. Objects are visible only

because they are illumined by the

light. When light strikes something

that is the colour white, in reality it

is reflecting all colours. In the same

way God reflects all things. The

opposite of white is black, the colour

which absorbs everything and

reflects nothing back. Humanity can

be likened to this darkness. It is

only when we absorb the light of

God that the splendour of our God

[is] upon us (Ps 90:17 LXX). When

we are illumined by the Spirit and

absorb this light, it is possible to

reflect this light and grace upon

others.

The figure of Christ is depicted in

front of geometric shapes, usually a

set of diamond shapes or circles,

which are known as the mandorla.

Generally there are three concentric

rings which represent the Holy

Trinity. The colour of the mandorla

goes from light on the outside to

darkness on the inside, closest to the

body of Christ.

This inner

darkness represents the transcendent

nature of God. It is Gods essence

which is unknowable and this is why

it is in darkness. However the outer

ring is light because it represents

Gods energies, which graciouslyallow us to participate in God. It is

through these energies of God that

we have the possibility of

deification, becoming gods by grace.

An example of experiencing Gods

energies is through the sacraments of

the Church. It is through the

sacraments that Gods energies and

grace come upon us.

In the icon of the Transfiguration

we can see Moses and Elijah on

either side of Christ. They are

standing upright and their bodies are

touching the outer parts of the

mandorla. This indicates that they

have been sanctified by Christ. The

icon shows that everything is

illumined by the glory of Christ: the

rocks, the disciples, Moses and

Elijah! At the Transfiguration the

energies of God are seen in the

uncreated light by the disciples. It is

through these uncreated energies that

God makes Himself known to and

partaken by creation.

The same transfiguring power of

God is evident today. This isnt just

an event that happened on Mt Tabor.

This same transfiguration also

occurs at every Eucharist, during the

Divine Liturgy. Bread and wine are

transformed into the Body and

Blood of Christ. When we receive

Holy Communion we are

transfigured by the body andblood of Christ. Our life is

transformed into an eternal

life in Christ, for as Christ

says Unless you eat the

flesh of the Son of Man

and drink His blood, you

have no life in you (Jn

6:53).

Moses is usually depicted

holding the tablets of the

Ten Commandments.

Moses and Elijah arepresent to bear witness to

Christ and to show that Christ

is the fulfilment of both the Law

and the Prophets. Moses received

the Law from God on Mt Sinai, as is

read on the eve of the feast during

vespers (Exodus 24:12-18). Elijah

represents those who prophesied

about the coming of the Messiah/

Christ.

The presence of Moses and Elijah,

alongside the disciples, showscontinuity between the old and new

covenants. This is a circle of

communion; dead and living, old

and new, all living in the presence

of, and touched by, God. Moses

represents those righteous dead.

Elijah was taken to heaven in a

chariot, thus, he represents those still

alive, and this communion between

the living and the dead reminds us

that we are joined with those who

have fallen asleep, to worship God at

the second coming. The disciples

represent us, those struggling in the

world. This circle of communion is

Transfiguration...page 1

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St Mary entered eternal life with-

out Judgement. Her body although

buried in the tomb was translated

to heaven. Therefore we celebrate

a second Pascha, the resurrection

of her who is already united toChrist before the Last Judgement

and the general resurrection.

In falling asleep, the Theotokos did

not forsake the world. We are

blessed, for we have her constant

protection as she intercedes for us.

The services of Vespers and Mat-

ins for the Dormition expound the

tradition and teachings of our

Church. For example in the ves-

pers we read (by Theophanis):

Come, O gathering of those wholove to keep the feasts, come and

let us form a choir. Come, let us

crown the Church with songs, as

the Ark of God goes to her rest.

For today heaven is opened wide

as it receives the Mother of Him

who cannot be contained. The

earth, as it yields up the Source of

life, is robed in the blessing and

majesty. The hosts of angels, pre-

sent with the fellowship of the

apostles, gaze in great fear at herwho bore the Cause of life, now

that she is translated from life to

life. Let us all venerate and im-

plore her: Forget not, O Lady, your

ties of kinship with those who

commemorate in faith the feast of

your all-holy Dormition.

The services inspire our warm and

sincere participation in the public

prayer of our congregations to

honour the Mother of God.

Radiantly... page 1


page 3

also present during the Divine

Liturgy. The full Church, made up

of both the Church militant, here on

earth, and the Church triumphant,

those already in heaven along with

the saints and the angels, are presentto offer thanksgiving and worship to

God. In many icons of the

Transfiguration a circle can be

drawn in the lower half, which

encompasses Christ and the

disciples, as well as another circle

encompassing Christ, Moses and

Elijah. It is Christ who unites us all.

The top of the icon has a sense of

peacefulness and calm. Moses and

Elijah appear to be conversing with

Christ. In contrast, the lower half ofthe icon shows Christs disciples,

Peter, James and John, in a state of

chaos and disarray. It is these three

disciples who Christ first asked to

follow him, and it is those same

three disciples who he chooses to be

with him in the garden of

Gethsemane. Among the three

disciples we can discern different

levels of spiritual advancement.

James on the left has fallen

backwards, his hands covering hiseyes. John appears prostrate in the

middle and he has even lost one of

his sandals. Peter on the right

appears to be steadying himself, his

arm raised towards Christ. From the

three disciples we observe the effect

that being in the presence of the

transcendent nature of God has on

human beings. In the gospel reading

for the feast (Matthew 17:1-9) we

read how Peter manages to converse

with Christ and wants to build three

tabernacles, one each for Moses and

Elijah and one for Christ. From

these images we can tell that Peter

is the most spiritually advanced of

the three disciples. While all three

are struck by the awesome sight of

the divinity of the Lord, it is St

Peter who is still able to converse

with Christ.

Christs light shines on the

disciples, and this light also shineson us. The disciples are generally

not shown with halos, since the

Holy Spirit has not yet enlightened

them, and they are in an early stage

of spiritual growth, just as we are.

The disciples see and are touched

by Gods glory and it is through this

experience that they are

strengthened further in their

spiritual journey.

Our own spiritual journeys can be

likened to climbing a mountain, justas the disciples climbed the

mountain to see the Divine Light of

Christ. Saint Maximos the

Confessor states that to those who

are spiritually advanced and who

have been able to follow [Christ] as

He climbs the high mountain of His

Transfiguration He appears in the

form of Godiii. Even though we are

all at different levels of spiritual

advancement, Christ continues to be

with us on our journey, encouragingus to climb higher so that we may

experience God. Thus the

Transfiguration no longer takes

place on Mt Tabor, but within every

person who welcomes Christ, the

image of the Father who sends the

Spirit upon His belovediv.

iMaria Giovanna Muzji,Transfiguration: Introduction to thecontemplation of icons. Translated by

Kenneth D. Whitehead. Boston, MA:St Pauls Books and Media, 1991,122.ii(Bishop) Kallistos Ware, TheOrthodox Way, (Crestwood, NY: SVSPress, 1999), 70-71.iiiSaint Maximos, Second century ontheology, in The Philokalia: Thecomplete text. Volume 2. Trans. byG.E.H. Palmer et al. (London: Faberand Faber Ltd, 1990), 140.ivMichel Quenot, The Resurrectionand the icon. Crestwood, NT: SVSPress, 1997, 151.

Transfiguration... page 2

people and treesRevd Doru Costache

Bishop Jean Kovalevsky:

trees are rooted people, people are

uprooted trees

trees symbolise us, we symbolise

trees

when praying with lifted hands, we,like trees, have two roots:

one deep in the soil of our being,

and one pointing to the skies of spirit

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page 4

When one embarks on a piece of

writing one is necessarily forced to

look at their own lived existence in

order to give a true account of what

is being read and what is being con-

veyed. In a world where we are

taught to live objectively and teach

objectively Henry David Thoreau

presented his version of simplicity

when he told us in Walden, In most

books, theI, or first person, is omit-ted; in this it will be retained. In

similar style the writings of St Si-

louan are presented in the first per-

son theI making his works ap-

pear not only personal but as a re-

flection of life in prayer. In his chap-

ter on Adams Lament, St Silouan

presents Adams fallen condition as

a dialogue between himself and

Adam. It reads like a poetic chapter

in which he examines Adams la-

ment and seeks advice and heavenly

knowledge from Adam and finally

concludes with Adams response,

Repent before the Lord, and entreat

Him. He loves man and will give all

things (54).

St Silouan tells us, Adam knew

God in paradise and after his fall

sought Him in tears (51). Imagine

being intimate with the love of God!

To a person living away from the

Church intimacy with Gods love

sounds bizarre and yet Adam was

capable of this experience before the

fall. What was Adams experience?

St Silouan hints at this experience

when he tells us that Adam was wid-

owed of the love of God (47). Fur-

ther clues are provided when St Si-

louan tells us that, Adam pined on

earth, and wept bitterly, and the

earth was not pleasing to him (47).

The peace and the love that Adamexperienced in direct communion

with God could not be lived in the

fallen condition and so Adam was

left to lament for himself and us his

descendants who suffer and live in

enmity with one another.

Adam cried, Where art Thou, O

Lord? Where art Thou, my Light?

Why hast Thou hidden Thy face

from me? These words of despera-

tion are also comforting as St Si-

louan describes that God is love

insaturable, love impossible to de-

scribe (49). Love insaturable andimpossible to describe does that

mean that in my fallen condition I

am left unto my own devices to con-

template this love and partake in His

mystery? Off course not for this pre-

cisely was the mistake that Adam

madeforgetting to consult God. To

use the parable for instance whether

it was right to eat from the fruit Eve

gave him. To experience the love of

God we are asked to partake in the

life of the Church. When we are di-vorced from this life we are twice

doomed; from communion with

Gods people and alienated from

knowledge of God. Living away

from Christ, mans soul is left to

discover for itself how and where to

find the Holy Spirit; to find the lost

love and peace that Adam had ex-

perienced in paradise. If we cannot

be saturated in Gods love because

of its density how is it possible for

us to ever pursue it with the knowl-

edge that the mind provides?

Gods love is experiential and is felt

in living the life that we are granted.

St Silouan understood this and cried

out with Adam, I too have lost

grace and call with Adam. Be merci-

ful unto me, O Lord! Bestow on me

the spirit of humility and love! (48).

Living with God, Adam lived peace

and love in a state of humility. Everysoul which has experienced the Lord

yearns for Him in this manner. Our

deepest desires which cannot be

quenched by anything earthly ex-

press Adams lament to regain the

lost paradise that he so much wept

for having grieved his beloved God.

The chapter on Adams Lament

may be appropriately read in con-

junction with another chapter in the

book titled, On the Will of God and

on Freedom because it is here

where we discover how not to grieve

God.

When our Lord Jesus Christ in-

structed us on prayer he taught,

Your will be done on earth as it is

in Heaven. In writing his chapter on

the will of God there is no doubt that

St Silouan would have had a signifi-

cant and yet simple insight into our

Lords commandto simply do

Gods will. Our Orthodox theologi-

cal training accommodates the will

of man and the will of God as an

unfolding synergy between God andman and yet if we look deeper at

what St Silouan reveals we discover

that the person who gives his soul to

the will of God feels the love of

God, even though the body may be

suffering (68).

St Silouan teaches us that The most

precious thing in the world is to

know God and understand His will,

even if only in part (69). It is

through prayer and following the

consultation of a spiritual father that

we come to know the will of God,

tells us St Silouan (74). How clear

it is to me that the Lord steers

us (75). How clear! And yet how

darkened are our minds! To all those

who yearn to do Gods will, may

Your will be done oh Lord on Earth

as it is in Heaven

* Wisdom from Mount Athos The

Writings of Staretz Silouan 1866-

1938, by Archimandrite Sophrony

(Crestwood, NY: St Vladimirs

Seminary Press, 1975).

Adams Lament

From the Writings* of Staretz Silouan (1866-1938)

of the Holy Mountainby Vicki Petrakis

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1 Kings (3 Kings in the LXX)

19:3-13 [the text in italics]

Elijah was afraid and ran for his

life. When he came to Beersheba in

Judah, he left his servant there,

while he himself went a day's jour-

ney into the desert.When afraid, no matter the reason,

and running for your life, you can-

not find help in others and even inyour earthly self. Leave down your

servant, this corrupted body, and

allow your soul/inner self fly to-

wards the Rock. Leave the servant

aside and fly to the desert for one

day. [a days journey = the dis-

tance one could cover by walking

constantly during a day; I chose to

usefor one day having the impres-

sion of being suggested here a per-

sonal experience of the only not

first day of creation.]

The desert, where there is no place

to hiding and no possibility of dis-

guise, where you could clearly see

yourself, alone, in front of God.

And for just one day, under-

standing that there is none

other (cf. Genesis 1:5, where

day one is, not the first)

He came to a broom tree, sat

down under it and prayedthat he might die. "I have

had enough, Lord," he said.

"Take my life; I am no better

than my ancestors." Then he

lay down under the tree and

fell asleep.The Tree... So present from

the beginning to the end of

the Scripture (Genesis 2:8-

14; Revelation 22:1-6)... In

Buddhas vision tooThe Tree is the symbol of the

revelation, with its shadow

cast on you, like a darkened

refraction of the enlightening

truth from above... There, under

the Tree, is the best place in the

world to express your fears, to shed

your tears... There you could

asleep/anesthetize your senses and

your mind, preparing yourself,

waiting for the answer (Genesis

2:21-25)...

Is it not intriguing, how Elijah did

not want to eat from the Tree? He

was strong. He knew the truth wasbeyond the Tree itself. The Tree

represented a symbol, the epiph-

any, incarnation of another real-

ity

All at once an angel touched him

and said, "Get up and eat." He

looked around, and there by his

head was a cake of bread baked

over hot coals, and a jar of water.

He ate and drank and then lay

down again.If you do not eat from below, food

from above will be served to you.

Therefore do not worry, and con-

centrate on your quest.

Why Elijah fell asleep again? For

an angel cannot be the answer. It

(no he, no she) just represents the

presentiment of the answer

The angel of the Lord came back a

second time and touched him and

said, "Get up and eat, for the jour-

ney is too much for you." So he got

up and ate and drank. Strength-

ened by that food, he travelled

forty days and forty nights until hereached Horeb, the mountain of

God.And Elijah was right. The angel

cannot bring an answer, although it

is to expect from it (no he, no she)

to tell you where to go for an an-

swer.

After so frugal meal, and there is

no need for more actually

(Matthew 4:4), he proceeded for

his journey.We are invited to learn from here

that there is no real journey with-

out preparation: leave your servant

down, go into the desert for one

day, sleep under a tree, do not

worship the angels, and eat.

Only after all this you are

ready to proceed for the tough-

est part of your experience

There he went into a cave and

spent the night.The cave is the symbol of pre-

paring the rebirth (John 3:3-7).

In the cave there is always

night the inner face of the

day He entered voluntarily

his inner darkness (Genesis

1:2), renouncing his previous

knowledge and virtue. Becom-

ing a foetus in the womb of his

mother a foetus may claim

neither knowledge nor virtue.Elijah is the symbol of the

page 6

Reading the Bible:

Elijah on the Mountain of Godby Revd Dr Doru Costache


page 5

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page 6

editor:Rev. Doru Costache, PhD

layout design:Ion Nedelcu

address:64 Linthorn Ave,Croydon Park,

NSW 2133.

phone: (02) 9642 02 60

www.geocities.com/sfmaria_sydney

conscious. The cave/womb could

be the unconscious. And to some

extent he was prepared for this

adventure of conscious remaking

(1 Kings 18:42). The cave, the

womb, rebirth

And the word of the Lord came to

him: "What are you doing here,

Elijah?"By entering the darkness, by only

renouncing vanity you could hope

hearing the inaudible.

The Merciful One came again to

Adam, asking the most basic ques-

tion of all: are you aware of what

you seek and are? (Genesis 3:9)

He replied, "I have been very zeal-

ous for the Lord God Almighty.

The Israelites have rejected your

covenant, broken down your al-

tars, and put your prophets to

death with the sword. I am the

only one left, and now they are

trying to kill me too."

Always like Adam (Genesis 3:10),

Elijah was not yet fully aware (see

also the expression of his distress:I have had enough). His answer

was not responding the fundamen-

tal question uttered by God instead

of him. Recalling St Silouan, even

the saints can be wrong. Thus you

should not despair when your an-

swers will be inappropriate

The Lord said, "Go out and stand

on the mountain in the presence of

the Lord, for the Lord is about to

pass by."

You willingly entered the cave

and the darkness, but there is no

knowledge/answer in your own

humility. You accomplished your

task, becoming humble and forget-

ting about your vain knowledge.

You are now ready to receive the

wisdom from above: God is nei-

ther knowledge nor knowledge-

able. God is presence, life, alive,

somebody to be partaken

Then a great and powerful wind

tore the mountains apart and shat-

tered the rocks before the Lord,

but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earth-

quake, but the Lord was not in the

earthquake. After the earthquake

came a fire, but the Lord was not

in the fire. And after the fire came

a gentle whisper. Powerful wind,

earthquake, fire. All three are vio-

lent, and you know what they

are... They represent the chaos you

assumed personally when you

chose to not hurt the others while

working on yourself. But God is

not to be found during the violent

stages of your de-construction. He

will be there, at the end of your

painful journey, where/when you

will struggle not anymore, where/when you will serenely sit under a

Tree, waiting for the revelation.

Where/when you will cease to

want anything more, understand-

ing that what it is expected from

you to be grateful for what already

is. It (no he, no she) will come,

caressing you gently, like the

whisper of a soft wind

When Elijah heard it, he pulled his

cloak over his face and went out

and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, "What

are you doing here, Elijah?"

He knew now. He knew he was

wrong, running for his life.

He answered in a humble silent

way

[see also this http://revdcostache.

livejournal.com/32528.html]

Reading... page 3 On Souls and

Various Ways

of LivingRevd Doru Costache

According to Palamas, although I

do not remember the place, the

radical difference between human

(reasoning/conscious) soul and

the animal soul consists in the

quality of the former to be more

than a function.

The animal soul animates flesh;

and there is no other reason to be

outside this function

The personal/human soul ani-

mates the flesh, but it also has a

life of its own, a raison dtre

which is not a mere function

A human soul, as principle of per-

sonhood, implies to be aware of

the dignity and call of the self,

besides the function of taking care

of the others

Human persons are not like thoseflies whose main reason to be is

to give birth, provide, and die af-

ter their offspring enters the same

pointless circle

At least, if choosing to live for

others, it is humane to grow per-

sonally as a result of such a

choice

04 jul-aug 06

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