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The Resurrection and the Modern Man

By admin ⋅ July 11, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

The Resurrection and Modern Man
Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch
SVS Press, 1985.

The Resurrection and the Modern Man is a short work just under 100 pages and is the combination of two essays, “Behold I Make All Things New” and “Resurrection: Its Significance for Modern Man”. It is especially interesting as it was written by the current Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.

A nice addition to this book is the introduction by Olivier Clement (theologian from the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris), which gives a concise and excellent history of the Antiochian Patriarchate. If you’ve ever wondered where the Syriac Church came from, and why an Arabic-speaking church is called “Greek”, you will find the introduction helpful.

According to the Patriarch’s biography on the Balamand Monastery website, His Beatitude went to Paris as a young man where he attended the St. Sergius Theological Institute: “From his time in France onwards he has been moved not only by a desire to pass on the deposit of the Faith, but also to take Orthodoxy out of its unhistorical ghetto by discovering in its Holy Tradition living answers to the problems of modern life.” The Resurrection and the Modern Man is a natural extension of this lifelong mission.

The book’s Introduction is taken from his address to the 1968 meeting of the World Council of Churches. It appears that the entire book is intended for a heterodox and “ecumenical” audience. For some, ecumenical work is suspect. But Ignatius uses his position to proclaim the truth of the resurrection:

Either the resurrection of Christ is a partial truth, one among many others, perceived by a few visionaries, and consequently it holds not a priori interest for modern man; or else it is the global Truth itself, that reality which “verifies” all things and thereby bestows its own meaning upon all things. (p.62)

… the resurrection of Christ is no ordinary event that can be analyzed by scientific methods; nevertheless, it is an historical fact, a true event that occurred in the course of our history and vitally concerns our history. (p.69)
The book is very much a product of its time. Ignatius IV seems to address two competing visions of Christianity in the 1960s and 70s: the liberalism of the mainline denominations and the new evangelicalism. “Renewal” is not enough, according to Ignatius. If we believe in the resurrection as a world-changing event, then we, as the “Leaven of Resurrection”, are compelled to partake in work that deifies mankind.

The “renewal” movement was a real phenomenon in the 60s and 70s as many Christians and even some Catholics embraced charismatic ideas. The Patriarch acknowledges the movement of the Holy Spirit across denominational lines but makes clear that “renewal” is not the sole province of charismatics or evangelicals. He states that a “liturgical renewal” is needed in the west, and “…it is in the liturgical action of the Church that we can experience the power of the resurrection in all its fullness (p.83).”

But the largest portion of the book seems to be directed towards the deistic and secularized “social gospel” that distances itself from the miraculous and the necessity of belief. It is time, he says, to bury the old notion that reduces God to a mere first cause.
Our deified being in Christ is not an ideology but a reality. …our whole being can thus begin to live according to the Spirit, even in our present bodily condition. (p.78)
Let us therefore put aside any nostalgia for past Christian ages in which economic and political programs were directly deduced from the Gospel. Strictly speaking, Christ has no “social doctrine.” Christ did not come to day the foundations of financial, economic, and governmental structures. (p.89)

The resurrection and its deifying work progressively effects the whole person and how one approaches their physical security, moral compass, and group identity. This has real and concrete social ramifications.
This lifegiving humanity of Christ now makes its impact upon the world through ourselves and members of His Body. (p.94)

For in the “Christian mystique” as applied to political life there is a fundamental rejection, not of authority itself, but of the totalitarian and pseudo-prophetic claims made by every political power. (p.96)

It’s not only okay to believe in the Resurrection, but critical because policies and programs will never transform the world or bring about the social justice we aspire to. The resurrection must be first of all lived by us.

To summarize, in this small book we find 1) the Antiochian rationale for involvement in ecumenical groups, 2) a snapshot of Christian apologetics of the 1960s and 70s, and 3) a modern work from the Semitic Christian tradition. But most importantly, we find a timeless theme that comes back to us in every prayer, every service, and in every icon. We carry the work of the resurrection within us, and if we are convinced of its deifying power, we should expect to be agents of change in our world.

By David Schneider

Discussion

One comment for “The Resurrection and the Modern Man”

1. Yes, the Western Christianity (Catholicism) is in deep need of liturgical renewal is in deep need of liturgical renewal. It is happening, incrementally and slowly, but assuredly. God bless.

   Posted by Jason | July 11, 2008, 11:55 am

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