The book with this title, from which we are printing excerpts, is in its tenth printing in Greece, and was recently translated into Russian.
Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos’ book addresses the question of church attendance and is intended for a wide audience. The author makes a persuasive case that attending church is essential and writes of the benefits of church attendance. Then he gives examples of the usual excuses given for failing to go to Sunday services and examines in detail the nature and consequences of such carelessness. He explains simply and clearly how one should prepare oneself to attend church and ends with a brief but profound explanation of the meaning of liturgical actions in the Divine Liturgy. (The following was translated from the Russian text.)
Chapter 1
1.1. Have you thought about this seriously?
I don’t know what relationship you have with the Church. Perhaps you go to church regularly, and perhaps you have been separated from the Church for a long time. Perhaps you don’t attend the Liturgy at all, or come very infrequently, as a special blessing. Possibly, you come only on Great Feast days: on Pascha, the Nativity, or on Theophany, to get some Holy Water.
Yes, perhaps you will have before you weeks, months, and years in which to go to church, and having missed one Sunday service, you may hope to go “later”—or perhaps, robbing yourself [of the opportunity] and finding yourself separated from the Church, you will delay so long that you will not come under your own power, but instead will be carried in…
Can you really believe that you will be able to solve your problems on your own, without turning to God? If you knew what you are denying yourself! But you do not know, and that is the source of all of your woes…
1.2. Going to church is essential
Have you ever heard thoughtless people or people antagonistic to the Church assert that churches are things that priests have invented as a source of profit for themselves? Nothing could be more stupid! By that same logic, ovens are inventions concocted by bakers, hotels are inventions of their managers, and water is an invention of businessmen as a source of making money. However, dear one, if we had no need of food, drink, or sleep, we would not avail ourselves of bakeries, wells or hotels. If we had no need of going to church, people would not build them. It is to satisfy our primal need that churches exist.
Throughout history, people of all nationalities have had a need to attend church. That is why temples, altars, and shrines were erected all over the world, in the most picturesque places on earth. In city centers, on mountain peaks, on lofty banks, on hills and in fields, and on islands—everywhere biblical archaeologists discover magnificent churches. And in those places where human civilization has left its mark, the most magnificent structures are the temples. The Parthenon, the Temple of Solomon, Hagia Sophia, and many others will remain for the ages as architectural marvels.
In our times, there stand, and continue to be erected, countless numbers of churches. Everywhere you see their cupolas, big and small, and you encounter monasteries and chapels. (...) Why? Because we have an unquestionable need of them. They are as necessary to us as is water and air to life. Moreover, as the water and air which we have in such abundance around us are fundamental requisites for our physical existence, so a multitude of churches is a fundamental source of strength needed for one to live life.
We should be thankful to our parents for the simple fact of our appearance on earth. And God promises us a reward for honoring them. By the way, this is here, in this life: “Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth…” (Ephesians 6:2–3). Thus, by giving thanks for the past, you will assure your future.
Words of thanks addressed to your parents spread from them back to all of your ancestors. And thus, turning your spiritual gaze toward the past, you will certainly encounter the Creator. And how can you thank Him?
In receiving Holy Baptism, your ancestors became “Orthodox.” They awarded your soul that same characteristic quality. What is this? Can it be merely a bow to tradition? If so, why is it that not only we, Greeks, or Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians, and Romanians become Orthodox, but also Frenchmen, Americans and Japanese? There are also Orthodox among other peoples and nations. That alone is evidence of the fact that Orthodoxy is not a national tradition, but something greater.
Our faith is known as “Orthodox,” which is to say, “correctly praising” God. Even our enemies so characterize us, thus conceding that we correctly confess Him. That correctness is something assiduously protected against alien influences, against attempts to mix even a single drop of falsehood into the Truth. We inherited that resolute standing in our Faith from our ancestors, and they knew what it meant to thank God, for they themselves partook of those fruits, and willed them to you and me.
To be continued…
