Living as Christians in Society
The Wisdom of the Macarian Homilies
Presbyter Dr Doru Costache
www.sagotc.edu.au
Kogarah Fellowship, 18 March & 8 April, 2013
Christians in Society
 The tensions experienced in Lent are ever there
 Christian life is always problematic
 “Christians dwell in the world but are not of the world”
(Letter to Diognetus 6.3)
 “Let us now lay aside all earthly care” (Cherubic hymn)
 Living as Christians in society: the challenge of being
there, in a secular society, without belonging entirely there,
given our specific ethos
Christians in Society
 Two pseudomorphoses
 Relativism: fitting in the secular society by losing Christian
identity
 Fundamentalism: preserving Christian identity in
separation from and against the secular society
 The challenge: finding a way of living in a secular society
without compromising our ethos
Christians in Society
 Can our tradition be of any help?
 Two examples
 The anonymous Letter to Diognetus (second or third
century); chapters 5 and 6
 The pseudoepigraphic Macarian Homilies (fourth century);
homily 5
 A common denominator: distinction between private
(inner life) and public (external circumstances)
The Macarian Homilies
 A collection of 50 homilies, brief treatises and dialogues
 Attributed to St Macarius the Great, of the Egyptian desert
 Illustrating a Syrian non-monastic, societal environment
 A dualistic vision of human reality, advocating for the power of
free choice and the need for divine grace
 Darkness and light
 Sacramental regeneration
 Commitment to the path of inner light in a world dominated
by darkness
The Macarian Homilies
 Inner life and external circumstances – could this be the
solution we seek?
 Instead of fooling ourselves that we live in a Christian
society, and also instead of trying to forcefully change the
“mind” of the world, it is a matter of nurturing our inner
life, the “heart” – the change begins within us, and its
most probable manifestation on the outside is through all
sorts of martyrdom
Fifth Macarian Homily
 Eleven chapters/sections
 (1) A great difference of mentality between Christians and the
children of this world; description of the earthly cares of the
children of this age, and how Satan influences them since the
fall of Adam.
 (2) More on how, from Adam onwards, Satan keeps the
human soul in a state of agitation with earthly cares, pleasures
and fears.
 (3) Together with our race springing forth from Adam, evil
passions spread throughout; this “darkness of ignorance,
blindness and forgetfulness” has no dominion upon those
“born from above” who have their mind in heaven.
Fifth Macarian Homily
 Eleven chapters/sections
 (4) A thorough description of the “true Christians” as
spiritually reborn, people who whilst facing trials and
tribulations found the inner peace with Christ and the
Holy Spirit; by contrast, false Christians exhibit their
identity in outward forms whilst their mind is still
corrupted by the cares and passions of the world.
 (5) More on the gifts bestowed on Christians by the Holy
Spirit, and how the glory beheld by them is different from
any form of transitory glory.
Fifth Macarian Homily
 Eleven chapters/sections
 (6) [The longest section] Continuation from the previous, speaking
of a downwards movement of the sinners and the “upwards and
Godwards” movement of Christians; where one’s heart is... There is
an incomparable longing for Christ that is inspired by the Spirit to
the true Christians, who are not afraid to undertake trials and toils
for the sake of the Lord, and who surrender their will to God.
Discussion on the impossibility to inherit life eternal without facing
hardship or when still attached to worldly matters. Instead, those
caring for earthly matters are easily deceived by the evil one; it is
impossible for them to stop falling lower and lower into addictions
and meanness. Examples of the tribulations experienced by the
saints in the world (no monastic paradigms), and the comfort
offered to them by the heavenly grace of the Spirit.
Fifth Macarian Homily
 Eleven chapters/sections
 (7) By virtue, true Christians clothe themselves with the Spirit, who
in turn abides in them; thus, Christians have from the here and now
a heavenly abode and fear not death.
 (8) Having the Spirit within, Christians already defeat death.
Consequently, the resurrection will just make manifest in their
renewed bodies the ‘garment within,’ the glory of the Spirit.
 (9) Continuation. The resurrection of all, anticipated by the
springtime (northern hemisphere) festival of Christ’s resurrection,
brings the glow of the Spirit’s glory upon the bodies of all that
posses already the Spirit in this life. The blossoming flowers and
trees in spring prefigure that future glory.
Fifth Macarian Homily
 Eleven chapters/sections
 (10) Steadfastness in virtue entertains the hope of being indwelled
by the Spirit, a privilege that the saints receive from now and will be
further renewed in the resurrection. The glowing face of Moses
shows that this experience is possible in the here and now.
 (11) Again on the inward experience of the spiritual gift, which will
be externalised at the resurrection. The gift of the Spirit is the wings
that God provided Adam with, which ensure the Christians’
superiority to all other people. This treasure is ultimately what
makes the difference between Christians and the rest of humanity,
and which determines their specific frame of mind and their
lifestyle. Eschatologically, true Christians will be arrayed with two
glories – that of their virtues and that of the Spirit.
Wisdom
 The fifth Macarian Homily deals with an ignored dimension of life,
showing how in the absence of a spiritual discernment much of what we
do ‘out of free will’ is inspired by the evil one and has deep roots in our
passions/addictions. In discovering our true peace and freedom in the
Lord, we are supposed to embrace the hardships of life whilst we nurture
our inner being and continue our Godwards journey. Patience is
rewarding; the glory which is within us will become our garment.
 By avoiding to provide monastic examples, the Homily shows that this
experience is possible within any external circumstances, including for
Christians living in the world.
 Only this inner experience makes possible the changing/renewal of the
external world