Silence
Entering into silence before the Lord
All Orthodox Christians are aware of the importance of
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in our journey to God. These three practices
are at the heart of the Great Lenten Fast. Prayer is our way of communicating
with God on a daily basis, and fasting days (Wednesday and Friday) are called
for throughout the Church Year. As Christians, we are also obligated to give
alms to the poor, as demonstrated throughout the New Testament. Yet we often
overlook the great spiritual practice of entering into the Silence as a way to
discover ourselves, and deepen our experience with God's presence.
Today's technological advancements have introduced
noise into our lives in ways unthinkable to the ancients. Not more than a
hundred years ago, most families found silence as an everyday experience, for
when the sun went down, families nestled into warm corners of their parlors,
and their kitchens, often reading books, or simply watching a crackling fire.
Along with this quieting down of the day, silence was part of every evening.
Orthodox families were especially cognisant of the
need to spend quiet time on the eve of the Sunday Liturgy, as well as great
feasts of the Church, knowing that this silence served as a preparation time
for receiving Christ's Body and Blood, during the celebration of the upcoming
Liturgy.
Keeping silence by turning off radios and television
sets, muting iPods, and turning off computers, is a splendid way of allowing
everyone in the family to experience the silence that allows us to listen for
the voice of God, speaking in our hearts. Refraining from conversation, music,
and all forms of entertainment for just an hour or two, helps open us to an
experience of God that has become foreign to most modern Americans.
Silence is the means by which we may access and deepen
our relationship with God, and develop self-knowledge. Silence allows us to
live more harmoniously in our world, and actually listen for the voice of God
speaking to our hearts. Saint Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, placed the
virtue of silence on par with the faith itself in a synodal letter from AD 400.
"Monks—if they wish to be what they are called—will love silence and the
catholic faith, for nothing at all is more important than these two
things." This invitation into the silence is not for monks only.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
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