January - February 2007

year XXXII
For giving forgiveness &
for getting forgiveness
Presbytera Eisodia Menis

Since Sunday of were alert to see how he

Forgiveness is would handle the matter.
approaching, I thought At an opportune moment
that it might be useful to the elder, noticing the

The Baptism of Christ

have some inspiration on priest, who had criticized
a subject we hear so much him, going to vespers,
about. Because approached him and fell
forgiveness is spoken of at his feet. Kissing this
so often, we might think young priest’s feet, he
that we stand well with it asked profusely for
in practice also. We can forgiveness. “Forgive me, Thoughts on Christ,
examine ourselves a little my brother, for
to see whether we need to unwittingly I have caused tradition and religion
ask for forgiveness and you grief.” The young by Anomalogue
whether we should be father, moved to tears,
forgiving of others. then realized his own To say a religion is – the one that makes all
Recently, I heard a talk mistake. The following revealed is to imply that it men equal in worth, and
by Bishop Athanasios of day another Geronda originates outside of man. then proceeds to make all
Limossol, Cyprus. He from the other side of Mt But "outside", how? In men equivalent in every
relates the story of a time Athos, who could not what sense is it not from sense it can get away with
when he was at a certain have known what man? For the majority of (whatever isn't physically
monastery on Mt. Athos. happened, sent a message people, religious and undeniable) –wants to
A Geronda (a spiritual that yesterday he saw an otherwise, "outside" has reach a decision on what
only one meaning, and religion ought to be for
elder) and a young priest angel crowning the elder
came to a at the moment of his that is spatial. The everyone, in terms that
falling at the priest’s feet revelation must have everyone can understand
misunderstanding. The
come physically from the equally. We are all
priest expressed himself to ask for forgiveness.
outside. (Incorporeality is expected to come to a
against the elder. The In (Greek) monastic life
a species of physicality – single agreement on the
young brotherhood the word sorry, is
a ghost is a thing.) manner in which the
approached the Geronda replaced by the word
The same holds for spiritual exists (or doesn't
and reported to him that eulogison (bless). Once
everything else that exist).
the priest had said the eulogison is said the
‘things’ about him. They matter is concluded, belongs to religion: what Isn't it clear though, that
urged the Geronda to take usually with no further is spiritual is transferred people are not spiritually
to task the erring father so discussion or into the physical realm equal in ability, even if all
that he may not get away explanations. Forgiven: and awkwardly glued in people are spiritually
with it. The elder forgotten. place with magical equal in worth? Some
indicated that he would concepts. people are by
In the Church, a
sort it out, so the monks The democratic impulse

page 2
page 2
page 2

Amma (mother) Sarah, Poem on Words

or Transcending Gender
by Revd Doru Costache
One of the best, first-hand books,
witnessing the way of Orthodox
spirituality, is the collection titled
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
Dealing with heroes of the faith and
Christian life who dwelled in the
hermitages of Egypt and Sinai
(centuries 4-5), the book contains
short stories and sayings belonging
to a series of ascetic women. One of
them was Amma Sarra, a delicate
yet paradoxical figure, contributing
to the accomplishment of the
Christian ideal of transcending
gender in the light of Christ.
Her 4th saying reads as follows:
according to my nature I am a
woman, but not according to my
thinking.
At a first glance, one would say
the word is offensive, at least from
the point of view of contemporary
society and culture, since it makes
suggestion to a masculine character.
To be more explicit, a man will
certainly take the saying as if it was
pointing to a man’s mind. Therefore
the saying would read along the
lines something like: according to
my nature I am a woman, but
according to my thinking I am a
man. Nothing more wrong than that.
In reality, the true meaning of the
word is making suggestion to the
Christian norm as formulated by St
Paul in Galatians 3:28: there is no
longer male and female, since you
all are one in Christ Jesus. Amma
Sarah’s saying unveils the inner
relief of Christian spirituality: it is
not about looking for a non-bodily
state or the dissolving of
womanhood; instead it is about
striving for the fullness of
humanity. Shortly, Amma Sarah
was a woman according to her
bodily birth, but a complete human
according to the virtuous way she
lived…
A good lesson to meditate upon,
now, at the beginning of the great
lent. A good lesson also for the
contemporary attempts of defining
womanhood in terms of manhood…
Romanian Anonymous Young Poet
from Sydney ;-)
Words can hold power
untouched and unseen
Endowing itself to those reading
in between
The words themselves have a
power untold
They never grow weak their
ideas never grow old.
The words can be demeaning
A subject worth cleaning
They can be minions of fright
Giving chills through the night.
Words can spread joy,
Like a boy with a new toy
They can be as heartwarming
Like a lost love returning.
Words are truly wonderful things,
So many emotions through them
they can bring
Such masters of manipulation
that too they can be
Such of brainwash only a writer
can see.
Words can bring peace
Or can put people at ease
They can be rightly used
Or dangerously abused.

For giving…  page 1
presupposition for
progress in the spiritual
life is to ask forgiveness.
Asking forgiveness, saying
sorry, apologizing, further
helps us to stand well in
all aspects of our life.
In the liturgy we ask for
forgiveness but we can say
that that petition is also to
ask our Lord to give us the
Thoughts…  page 1
temperament attuned to
the physical. They have no
access to the spiritual
sphere of meaning, nor do
they need it – as long as
they are in a community
of people served and
guided by those who do
have access to the
spiritual, proper, people
capable of nourishing with
essential inward
becomes a disagreement: a
perforation along which
the church must be split.
The alternative to belief-
defined religion is
traditional religion, where
allegiance to traditional
form binds the full range
of valid doctrinal
interpretations into a
single rich and layered
community.
The tradition bridges
to the poem and to one
another. Denominations
(de-away; nomen-name)
tear out an isolated
interpretive layer of Christ
in an attempt to reduce the
enveloping infinite to a
comprehensive
explanation that can be
held in one's hand, like a
piece of fruit.
Ion Nedelcu, Icon painted on glass. Detail

strength, illumination and precisely those

illumination the
humility to ask for perforations that would
superficial notions of their
forgiveness. otherwise lead to
neighbors.
Having received divisions.
When churches define
forgiveness from one Christ is an
themselves by doctrinal
another and from the inexhaustible poem. His
interpretation – that is, by
Church, we can step meanings are like the
"what we believe" – every
forward into the great lent layers of meaning in a
gradation of spirituality
with a rested conscience. poem, all of which belong
(of ontological depth)

Parochial Life | january - february 2007 |


Elements for a theory of existential relativity
by Revd Doru Costache
Einstein’s genius consisted in
realising the fact that everything is
connected to everything. There is no
objective time without being
influenced by space and events;
likewise there is no objective space
safe from the influences originating in
time and events... The so-
called objective timescale represents a
mere convention. Actually
there coexist indefinite particular
timescales, depending on the
multiple perceptions of the
observers...
Nothing new on earth one could
say, although to develop an existential
perception into a mathematical
system is not quite
common... However Einstein’s
comprehension does not substantially
differ from that most customary
feature of any spiritual tradition, as
represented by the crucial role of
perception…
Let my try an example before
coming back to the theme of
traditional mindset. A few years
ago it was promoted a commercial
with a young man in an extremely
busy train station. Looking for I-
Romanian Orthodox Church “St. Dimitrie” of Brisbane
37 BRISBANE RD, RIVERVIEW, QLD 4303
Postal Address: PO Box 5015, WEST END, QLD 4101
Dear Friends
Our church at Riverview has
recently been assessed as having
significant amounts of asbestos in its
construction. This is only hazardous
when maintenance activities need to
be performed. Being an old church,
there is a lot of maintenance
required, including replacing the
roof. As you can imagine, the costs
involved when dealing with asbestos
are quite high, so we investigated for
other options.
The church committee, members
and Father Ion Constantinescu
decided that the construction of a
new church is warranted, and the
church has started to raise funds for
the construction. We are currently at
the stage of submitting plans to the
council and getting the approval for
Parochial Life | january - february 2007 |
don’t-know-what, he eventually
found a snail. He bent down to
observe the humble animal, and then
a miracle occurred: his perception
changed, in snail’s image and
likeness... What was before so
important in that frantic hastiness and
futile superficiality of the everyday
life was radically transformed by the
new perspective. He looked to the
world with the calm eyes of a humble
creature, and the nothingness of
everything was finally revealed to
him...
So significant is perception! Was it
by chance that Jesus talked about the
clean eye and the darkened one (cf.
Matthew 6:22; Luke 11:34)?
Changing the point of view is to
change the meaning of things and the
way one relates to them. Perhaps
some know and perhaps some will
learn: the way one lives dictates ones
perception and consequently the
way one assesses things.
It is a matter of fact that in life there
are no rules – there are instead
guidelines, cardinal points into the
chaos unfolding between good and
evil…
the development. Our community
consists of approximately 50
families that are regular church
goers. Obviously the capacity to
raise funds for the new church is
limited to the financial capabilities
of our community.
We are appealing to our fellow
Christians to help us raise more
funds for our future church. We
envision that it will be the first
Romanian church architecture in
Queensland. Any donation will be
greatly appreciated.
Donations can be made by cheque,
money order, or to the following
account:
BANK: National Australia Bank
Branch: West End Branch
115 Boundary St, Queensland,
page 3
Me, an experience in/of
space-time continuum
Revd Doru Costache
◦ engraved into my being, the beauty
of the world. God’s garden
◦ the future is open. everything
flows. including the future, which by
the way flows backwards...
◦ the present – flexible, almost unreal,
interface of the past and future
◦ the present again – the twilight
zone, where the future becomes
inexorably past
◦ confession – the opportunity to defy
ones past, breaking the wall between
present and future
◦ confession again – the space where
ones past and present dissolve into the
horizon of the eschatological future
◦ deep sea behind me – my past. to
some extent, known; to some extent,
unknown
large ocean in front of me – my future.
totally unpredictable
◦ we bear the imprints of our
encounters. and there is more: we are
the products of our encounters
◦ the wise will learn even from the
most unfortunate events
◦ poor us... always longing after
certitudes – and there is none
◦ it was never there
Australia
Account Name: Romanian Orthodox
Church “St Dimitrie” of Brisbane
Incorporated
BSB: 084-447
Account Number: 04-753-5352
Thank you for your indulgence.
Yours truly,
Michael Pantelimon
Secretary
editor:
Rev. Doru Costache, PhD
layout design:
Ion Nedelcu
address:
64 Linthorn Ave,
Croydon Park,
NSW 2133.
phone: (02) 9642 02 60
www.sfmariasydney.com