Bible Study
Categories: hymns, parish-life, feast-days, bible, spiritual-journey
Date: 15 October 2006 08:14:22
Thanks be to God the Bible Study went well: we only covered about half of what I thought we would -- there was plenty of discussion on the points raised: which is a great thing. The people in my parish are always willing to ask questions, often tricky ones, but it's great to have parishioners so interested in learning about the faith, and wanting to help others to better understand, and better live, the faith. And preparing the studies is a great way for me to learn more about the Orthodox faith also. May God continue to bless us as we study the Gospels.
Bible Studies have been a regular feature of our parish, and in the last few years there has been a conscious effort to encourage attendance. They have mostly been led by the deacon who was assigned to our parish, and who is now helping out at another parish on Sundays but continuing to come to our parish for Vespers and Bible Study Saturday evenings. He has led us in a great number of studies, covering a great range of topics, and has also invited various others, from the parish and outside the parish, to lead the studies. I try and always ensure I am able to make them as they are always a source of inspiration, information and a challenge to me.
Interestingly enough, it was via a Bible Study that I had my first taste of Orthodoxy. I was rather curious as to what these Orthodox believed, so I went along to an Orthodox Bible Study -- which were then held on a Friday night. I picked that time as that allowed me to continue to go to my Anglican parish of a Sunday. I loved the way they conducted their studies: you had young (20s and late teens) people eagerly discussing aspects of their faith, and there were a whole host of persons, who I later discovered were the Church Fathers, whose interpretation of various Bible passages and whose explanations of various doctrines were being referred to. Some of them I had heard of, briefly, before, but there were a whole number completely new to me. It was fascinating: and it had me hooked. And this even before I experienced an Orthodox service! Several of the parishioners gave me books to read, and I was warmly welcomed. Little did I know that less than three years later I would be received into the Orthodox Church.
Today we celebrated the Feast of the Fathers of Seventh Ecumenical Council. As that article states, the purpose of the Seventh Ecumenical Council was concerning the icons, and, in relation to the icons, the character of Christ's human nature and the attitude of Christians towards matter.
The Council decided that the veneration of icons was not idolatry as the honour shown to them is not directed to the materials that make up the icon, but the honour passes to the person depicted in the icon. It also upheld depicting Christ, as he took on matter when He took on flesh at His Incarnation and thus could be depicted in material form. As St John of Damascus wrote, "I do not worship matter, but the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation." However, God the Father cannot be represented in His eternal nature, because "no man has seen God at any time" (John 1:18).
Troparion:
Most glorious are You, O Christ our God!
You have established the Holy Fathers as lights on the earth!
Through them you have guided us to the true faith!
O greatly Compassionate One, glory to You!
Kontakion:
The Son who shone forth from the Father
Was ineffably born, two-fold in nature, of a woman.
Having beheld Him, we do not deny the image of His form,
But depict it piously and revere it faithfully.
Thus, keeping the True Faith,
The Church venerates the icon of Christ Incarnate.