by Miltiadis Perdikakis
Μητρ. Περγάμου Ιωάννης Ζηζιούλας, Εκατό κηρύγματα, Άρτος Ζωής, Αθήνα 2023
Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Receive One Another: 101 Sermons, ed. Maxim Vasiljević (Los Angeles: Sebastian Press, 2023)
Legacy
The publishing house Artos Zois, with the volume One Hundred Sermons, the ninth book in the Preaching Library series, offers a significant service to the reading public. This book includes sermons by the late Metropolitan John of Pergamon, who was a tireless servant of Christianity. As a prominent theologian of the modern era and a milestone of Christian thought, he managed, it seems, to minister not only in the conventional way but also through his sermons. The voice that served these words has fallen silent in the natural world, but this work will contribute to echoing it in the souls of many who did not have the fortune to hear it closely. The Metropolitan himself was always concerned about the quality of the sermon because, while it is a human word, it concerns the essence of the Lord. This concern likely pushed him to deliver a speech worthy and commensurate with the role he had to fulfill.
Reading these texts transports us into the churches where the sermon takes place at every moment. As one goes through these pages, they will encounter a multitude of impressions. They will read about topics they already know, but often they will encounter meanings they had not imagined. This text approaches aspects of faith that are rarely discussed in today’s era. It highlights once again the richness of Christian tradition, spanning millennia. At certain moments, through the words of the Metropolitan of Pergamon, there is also a connection between theology and philosophical inquiry, giving the meanings an even more universal tone and interest.
Of course, all these spiritual teachings are used for one main purpose: the conscious adoption and application of Christ’s messages, especially in the practical issues of daily life. The orientation of the sermons tends towards essence, towards action. However, before this, an internal process is necessary to open a person’s heart to the evergreen message of love, which first infused history with Christianity. In this endless journey, this book comes to serve as a companion and a beacon.
From the beginning to the end of the sermons, important issues are raised, urging the reader to turn with sincerity and a critical disposition inward. As emphasized, everyone is called, as Christ himself showed, to reverse within themselves the course of the fall. They are called to return to God, setting aside their daily habits and concerns, as the first apostles did. Significant in this effort is for each person to abandon or rather to transcend, for a moment, logic, which does not allow alignment with faith. Faith conveys to man the embrace of love, the guide, the primacy of Christianity.
Journey Through Death
A great obstacle to imitating the Lord is the chasm of death. Death is the gate that separates man from the immortal world awaiting him. In the face of this impasse, the Metropolitan of Pergamon reveals a profound passage, interpreting the phrase “trampling down death by death.” Specifically, he confides: “Death is involuntary; we do not want it, but we cannot escape death unless we voluntarily take it upon ourselves” (p. 469). By dying voluntarily, that is, only through sacrifice for love can man overcome involuntary death. He thus asks us to accept the unavoidable reality of death with patience as the greatest truth of the world.
This view is also revealed in the most profound pages of P. Kanellopoulos’ book, The End of Zarathustra. As mentioned there: “Even the inevitable must come as if we choose it. Let me tell you something more: the inevitable waits for us to choose it; it does not come unless we choose it. If we do not choose it ourselves, then it simply happens because, as inevitable, it cannot fail to happen, but it happens as something unrelated to us, as something foreign; and then our self becomes unrelated and foreign to it. The inevitable must be chosen as something of our own; then it comes to us and merges with our self in such a way that our self remains intact within it” (Π. Κανελλόπουλου, Το Τέλος του Ζαρατούστρα, Εστία, Αθήνα, 2006 [1956], pp. 334 and 335.). Thus, the views coincide, that for man not to be obliterated by death, he has a duty to accept it and embrace it as a necessary and unavoidable step. He can only surpass it if he walks towards it as the truth of human life, if he aligns himself with this truth.
Of course, as Zizioulas aptly points out, and this is a monumental practical message, death does not only invade our lives through the natural end of man. It also insidiously enters through hatred, jealousy, and selfishness, as it disrupts man’s relationship with his neighbor, being a premature death. “Death is actually synonymous with any interruption of love and communion, it is synonymous with hatred” (p. 46). Therefore, he advises: “You must kill yourself, first and foremost your self-love, your passions, in order to be able to love, to stop fearing death” (p. 70). As noted by I. Theodorakopoulos in his work on Plato:
“Simple life must be introduced to death, must learn to die. From its ashes, the spirit will then sparkle... Goethe’s famous phrase ‘Die and become’ characterizes the entire process, which this antinomy of the spirit has with common and untamed life.” (Ι. Ν. Θεοδωρακόπουλου, Εισαγωγή στον Πλάτωνα, Εστία, Αθήνα, 2011 [1941], p. 289).
The Word and the World
Zizioulas insists, using simple language, on bringing the reader face to face with messages they may not have realized. Wanting to distinguish human word from the word of God, he emphasizes: “The word of God is not words, it is not speech, it is a person” (p. 55). The word took flesh and: “always leads us to a relationship with the other” (p. 55). “Thus man is not an individual, he is a person, he is someone who acquires identity through communion with other persons” (p. 574). This reveals with all its intensity the essence of the Christian’s life. It reveals the value that the neighbor acquires and how only through them does the believer rise to the life according to Christ. How greater could God show the value of man than by incarnating His own word, showing loftily that this word can be encompassed in a man, even in the greatest model, Jesus Christ.
This model we are called to follow in order to tackle contemporary social problems. Materialistic mania is one of these modern scourges. Those who live simply, truly Christian, having as their main concern their fellow man are considered: “fools according to the world” (p. 79). And yet, as aptly noted, this “foolishness” allows man to achieve greatness in the effort of kenosis. It allows him to achieve greatness by emptying himself of the vortex of needs that limit him to private life, that subject him to the scourge of self-love, preparing him to receive the Divine message.
Every trial a man encounters is an opportunity for him to take a stand and strengthen his relationship with the eternal element. It is noted, after all, that: “God leaves it to the freedom of man to accept or not accept His invitation” (p. 85). The great achievement is for man to affirmatively respond to these challenges, thus alone realizing his freedom. Therefore, the affirmative way of life towards God opposes modern permissiveness, in which: “the idea entered man’s consciousness that he is free when he says ‘no’” (p. 89). Through affirmation to the word of God, the reverse course from the one that plummeted man when he recklessly thought that freedom equates to licentiousness is achieved.
Virtues of Christianity
Virtues such as gratitude, humility, and forgiveness are extolled, each gaining immeasurable depth within Christian teachings. Zizioulas employs perhaps his most heartfelt language here, words that initially unsettle for their truth but subsequently move for the same reason, illuminating the noble side that every person possesses and must always bring to the surface. “We all owe to others what we are,” he notes unequivocally (p. 97). Just holding onto this thought makes one richer for having read this book. He adds that: “the word ‘gift’ precisely means that something was given to us. There are no gifts that we have acquired solely on our own” (p. 100). Consequently, gratitude cannot be absent from the soul of a person who understands that almost everything they have is owed to someone who gave it to them, whether it be another person or God Himself.
Accompanying gratitude is humility, which springs from the awareness of the inevitable impasse in which man finds himself due to his finite nature. “Humility is not merely an ethical virtue but the truth of ourselves, our reality” (p. 121). This reality is that no matter what man does, he remains sinful. The more humble a person is, the closer they live to this truth. The Metropolitan Pergamon preaches that: “no matter how many virtues you cultivate, no matter how much spiritual struggle you undertake, never think that you have achieved holiness and, above all, never look upon others with contempt” (p. 123). He also reminds us that salvation is granted to us by God’s love and not because of our deeds, from which sin cannot be absent.
Forgiveness, of course, follows this line of thought, as understanding the value of communion with others and feeling one’s place in the world recognizes its importance. This does not prevent Zizioulas from declaring that forgiveness is the most challenging achievement in a person’s life, an opinion bearing the weight of his long years of service in the ministry of spiritual guidance and pastoral companionship of people. He adds that:
“True forgiveness is not what makes us refrain from avenging our enemy, but it is what makes us love our enemy” (p. 156).
The difficulty of this endeavor is evident, as we often tend to judge others, primarily fearing to turn our gaze inward.
Judgment and Holiness
Regarding Judgment, it will come in due time, solely from Jesus Christ. Many myths have been constructed around Judgment, and its meaning has often been distorted, leading to unacceptable misinterpretations and fear. The book highlights the truth, which has likely been obscured more than any other message of Christianity to manipulate people. In Zizioulas’ words, references to hell and passions are absent, instead, immaculate love prevails. “Love knows to judge only with its very presence, and only love itself constitutes judgment because it challenges us to take a stand toward it, either to accept or reject it. It shows us that it surpasses us and makes us feel, as when someone loves us deeply, humbled before this love” (p. 141). Therefore, it is man and his attitude towards love that will place him near the spotless love, which is the essence of God, or far from it.
Let us not forget that “if God exhausted evil by force and eliminated it in this way, then our freedom would be lost” (p. 179). This is because the existence of evil is inherent in the freedom of the human being. Hence, everyone is called to behave similarly even in the face of evil and not become an accomplice in the violation of human freedom. “Evil cannot be defeated by evil, but only if we do good to those who do us harm, only then will it be conquered” (p. 338). Going a step further, it is stated that “if you can love those who do not love you, when the love of others is not apparent and your love continues, then you love freely” (p. 626). Life thus acquires great value when we voluntarily bear the cross, the sins of others. In this way, we practically approach Jesus Christ, the only saint. As noted, “the Church has glory in its humility, in the sacrifice of its saints” (p. 257).
Furthermore, the profound concept of holiness is presented clearly by Zizioulas. He begins by saying that “holiness is given by the holy God; we do not achieve it ourselves, no matter how hard we try” (p. 263). However, it must be added that “God calls everyone. In this call, few perhaps answer freely, but in this way, they become the ‘chosen’ of God, through whom God also prepares the salvation of others.” (π. Ι. Αγγελιδάκη, Περί της «ώρας του Κυρίου», Της «Εβδόμης και Ογδόης Ημέρας», Αποστολική Διακονία, Αθήνα 2019, p. 68) Naturally, if we do not open our being to Him, this miracle cannot happen. He adds that a true saint seeks anonymity, not publicity. Additionally, “true holiness consists in self-reproach and not self-promotion” (p. 265). Of great interest on the subject is the keen denunciation of the contemporary perception of holiness, where “on the one hand, it is admired, exalted, and on the other, no one would want their child to become a saint” (p. 267).
The Power of Faith
Zizioulas approaches faith in a way that clearly delineates its boundaries with reason. Here, the clarity of thought and expression is striking. He states, “We can never prove the truth of our faith, what we believe, except through personal experience, through a personal encounter. And if we do not personally encounter Christ, we can never truly believe” (p. 169). This union can only happen with a leap that transcends logic and surrenders us to God. It is noted that “faith has no justification and logical proof. Faith is to leap into the void, believing that nevertheless, you will be saved” (p. 396). This leap is vividly represented in the leap of the Apostle Peter into the sea as he goes to meet Christ.
As long as he had his mind on Christ, he walked fearlessly on the waves, the miracle was happening. But when he thought he might drown and feared for his life, he began to sink. Because “when we think of ourselves, then we are seized by the fear of losing ourselves, and thus insecurity, failure, and the inability for any miracle to happen in our lives are created” (396). By turning our hearts towards another person, fear disappears, and the miracle comes. And finally, “when the grace of God comes, everything comes, everything happens, everything is given to us” (p. 395).
Historical Challenges
Zizioulas explores these and many other concepts, helping man to understand the essence of God. This essence is nothing other than love, love above all for those who err. This truth is Christianity’s precious legacy to the world. “The ancient Greek world, which had reached heights of civilization, abhorred sinners” (p. 683). As noted by K. Tsatsos:
“Love does not exist in Plato, nor in the philosophers of the early Christian years. The love of Christ is a new meaning.” (Κ. Τσάτσου, Διάλογοι σε μοναστήρι, Οι εκδόσεις των φίλων, Αθήνα 1987 [1974], p. 92)
The Hundred Sermons of the late Metropolitan of Pergamon, John Zizioulas, is not just a book of learning and knowledge; it is also a book of self-awareness (αυτογνωσία). It brings the reader face-to-face with their deepest inclinations, which it passes through the relentless yet life-giving sieve of love. The Christian challenge today is to deliver this message to the world in a contemporary expression that can speak to the modern person. The Christian Church has a duty to converse with its era. Finally, an equally significant challenge for the Christian personally, for the reader of this book, is to put into practice the words they have read. This is where the greatest difficulty lies. Words with substance are present; however, this substance cannot flood the world unless it finds its expression in our daily lives.
Source: Για τα «Εκατό κηρύγματα» του μητρ. Περγάμου Ιωάννη Ζηζιούλα, του Μιλτιαδη Περδικακη
