Fr. Harry Winter

To appreciate this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, 2025, see the article below written by Rev. Philip Halikias published in the Nov/Dec 2024 issue of Ecumenical Trends.  -Fr. Harry

Do You Believe This?

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would
not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
John 11:17-27, New Revised Standard Version

“Do you believe this?”: four incredibly powerful words asked of Martha by Jesus. These words have been selected for this coming year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) theme not only to honor the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. These words also echo in our minds and
hearts as Christians seeking to live a life in Christ each and every day. Belief, while straightforward as it may seem in being an undeniable faith in the unseen (or even unknown, for some), is ultimately based on relationship – relationship with Christ, that is.

Christian belief is more than just honoring a distant God from afar; it was radically transformed by the in carnation of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, thus allowing us the opportunity to have a direct relationship with the eternal Father, through His only-begotten Son, being fully human and fully divine, as was confirmed in the Creed of Nicaea 1700 years ago. We will return to the theme of Nicaea later, along with what 21st century Implications are carried into our daily lives by the faith and beliefs held since the first Ecumenical Council. But first, let me take you on a little journey into how my family and I encounter ourselves, and God, through his own creation: uncoincidentally a theme for the eight days of meditation
this upcoming Week of Prayer.

For four years now, my family and I have been seeking opportunities and locations to explore nature every chance we have. This pleasant bonding experience was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that has permanently changed the human experience. Trepidation, fear, nerves, uncertainty, and pain linger, but the opportunity of connecting to God through prayer, human connection, and nature remains a constant. I have always found it is relatively easy to connect to God in nature, especially when the noise from cars, planes, construction, and to some extent people is limited or null. Where do we find this? The beach, on the water, up in the mountains, deep in the woods, or in a cave, to name only a few possibilities. Traveling to my paternal homeland of Greece this summer brought all of the above into vivid clarity. It is easy to see why Christian communities, monastic and otherwise, have lived for centuries in or near one of the aforemen
tioned landscapes. Do not mistake my sentiment as denying the age-old saying: “wherever you go, there you are.” This saying implies that our emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual baggage follows us until we work through it, often in a multiplicity of ways. Nevertheless, the psychological, physical, and spiritual benefits of being in nature and connecting through relationships are truly like medicine for mind/body/soul.

For 2025, the WPCU theme was chosen by the Monastic Community of Bose in Magnano, Italy. This ecumenical and international community of men and women (primarily Catholic with some Protestants and Orthodox) has flourished nestled within the mountains and sprawling green fields. During my visit, the only noises that pierced the solitude were from the pre-service bell ringing and rumbles from a thunderstorm. However, one could appreciate their presence because the silence was expeditious to return. The community lives with the beating heart of ecumenism at its core, with faith and joy coursing through its
veins – the main artery being the Gospel. From their hospitality to their scholarship, the community of Bose provided for a document worthy of honoring such a momentous occasion such as the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea. It is clear that the words “do you believe this” fall on those with “ears to hear” at Bose.
While on the subject of hospitality, note the very different reaction from Martha to Jesus in the Gospel of John pericope for the 2025 WPCU, as opposed to the frustrated (and perhaps more relatable) Martha in Luke’s Gospel, who questions Jesus while agitated because Mary is not assisting her in serving. Let us take a look at the brief interaction in Luke’s account, after Jesus concludes his parable par excellence on mercy: the Good Samaritan (which, incidentally, anchored last year’s WPCU).

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord
answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.

(Luke 10:38-42, NRSV)

Does this mean that Martha’s efforts were in vain? Is there not something holy about serving others out of love and hospitality? Was Martha upset because she wanted to listen to Jesus instead of serving? Perhaps Martha wanted credit for serving. It could have been all the above, or none of the above. It is clear, however, that Mary made a more impactful decision. Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the better part [τὴν ἀγαθὴν μερίδα], which will not be taken away from her.” The Greek word μερίδα (merida) is equivalent to a piece or portion, often referring to an inheritance. It seems that Jesus is reminding Martha and, by extension us,
that proximity to Him and His word is a critical component of our inheritance as His followers.

Returning to this year’s selected pericope, in order to compare Martha’s characterization in John to that in Luke, let us focus on a few aspects. 1) Martha was proactive in meeting Jesus on the road, teaching us it is important to seek Christ, not simply wait for Him to come knocking on our door! 2) Martha was outspoken in airing her grievance to Jesus, teaching us that we can be upset with God and be honest about our feelings. God can handle it! 3) Martha quickly redirected herself towards Christ, literally and spiritually. She affirmed her faith through her words and actions. Jesus acknowledged Martha and eased her pain by assuring Lazarus’s future rising. Martha took it in the eschatological sense, but Jesus surprised her with bringing the bodily resurrection to Lazarus that very day, later in the Gospel. Sometimes we may be the Martha that feels left out, taken for granted by our loved ones, unable to engage our faith or life as deeply as we wish. Other times, we may be the emboldened Martha who sought, questioned, and ultimately affirmed her faith in Christ. What steps will we take? What
portion will we choose?

Sometimes we may be the Martha that feels left out, taken for
granted by our loved ones, unable to engage our faith or life as deeply
as we wish. Other times, we may be the emboldened Martha who
sought, questioned, and ultimately affirmed her faith in Christ. What
steps will we take? What portion will we choose?

Returning to the commemoration of Nicaea, a different question may be on your mind: “why does Nicaea have any thing to do with ecumenism”? You would be reasonable in
thinking this way. The First Ecumenical Council occurred at a time when there was one church (denomination), despite the diversity in local and regional customs, language, traditions, culture, and so forth (thus the original meaning of “ecumenical,” in the sense of having representation from across the “whole world”). Nicaea solidified the primary tenets of the Christian faith into dogma. The first section of the creed completed at Nicaea was a concretization of the ancient baptismal formula, including affirmation of faith in the undivided Holy Trinity, three unique persons in one divine essence. The belief in Christ becoming incarnate to the Virgin Mary, suffering, dying, and being buried remain critical pillars of all Christian churches through the centuries of schism that followed.

Likewise, as the Creed goes on, the mutually held belief and dogma that Christ rose on the third day, ascended into Heaven, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead remains a fixed point of convergence to this day. While language has varied across denominations (especially through the interpolation of the once-bitterly-divisive filioque), this too has been resolved through many national and international dialogues. The compound word filioque (meaning “and the Son”) has ultimately given way to dialogue that has not only proven fruitful, but has helped to tear down theological and denominational walls that were fixed for centuries.

The First Ecumenical Council created a precedent for the world that faith and dogma would be upheld by the church in spite of division, heresy, geography, culture, practice, and socio-political differences. The dogma sure rounding the Holy Trinity, the natures of Christ, and the relationship between creation and the uncreated essence of the Triune God has not only survived 1700 years, but has been in the beating hearts of nearly all of the 2.3 billion Christians worldwide, not to mention the multitude that has gone before us through seventeen centuries.

The faithful of most Christian communions have been baptized in a Trinitarian formula, honoring aspects
of the doctrinal teachings that come from the Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed (as it is known in the Orthodox Church since the creed was revised at the Second Ecumenical council almost sixty years later) and as well as both recognizing and honoring the humanity and divinity of Christ. The church has been blessed to have a relation ship with God through each person of the Holy Trinity – for many, most easily through the humanity of Christ. Knowing that our God was born in the flesh and bore the human experience – joy, sadness, physical pain and suffering, a hard day’s work, human relationships both positive and negative (including His mother, the disciples, the scribes, the pharisees, and all those who reviled him) – we can permanently have a personal and communal connection with God!

The First Ecumenical Council created a precedent for the world
that faith and dogma would be upheld by the church in spite
of division, heresy, geography, culture, practice, and socio-political differences.

The connection of our faith to this relationality will be expressed eloquently and poetically in the eight days of prayer and meditation in the upcoming WPCU. The communal prayer at the start of the Week of Prayer gives us the opportunity for an ecumenical encounter with our sisters and brothers in Christ, through a common aspect we all share: prayer. This is expounded upon by a week of personal prayer and reflection, giving each individual time to connect to the readings, prayers, wisdom from the Fathers of the church (East and West) as well as to taste a flavor of various Christian traditions that the writing and editing
team is blessed to represent, hoping to connect with those others to which we do not directly belong.

I am a firm believer in the fact that all Christians can be theologians, thereby understanding, actualizing, and teaching the roots of our faith and practice to others by a very simple litmus test: do you live the Gospel? Theological training – such as parochial school, Christian secondary education, seminary, or being part of a religious community – is helpful, but even among those trained in these ways, the faith and teachings are too easily boiled down to subjects to cram, memorize, and soon forget without ever being put
into action. Matters of faith and practice have to go hand in hand, or they remain incomplete.

We’ve all heard the old saying that there is no atheist in the foxhole, but how is this applicable to most Christians? While many of us have never been to, or will not go into the battle field, we face adversity to the faith and a Christian life from the moment we arise in the morning until the moment we go to
sleep. Whether it be through family or work relationships, the classroom, social media, political dissension, we have opportunities to live our faith, and so to preserve that which was up held in doctrine since Nicaea in 325 AD. We are called to bear witness – that is, a martyrdom (for the Greek word for witness
is martys/martyros) that requires not a physical wounding or death, but rather a spiritual death to our old being, thus becoming more alive in Christ (as most of our baptismal services call to mind). We are called to carry our cross, help those in need, care for the sick, the suffering, the captives, work towards our and our sisters’ and brothers’ salvation, and ultimately be found worthy to be called His children.

No one, not even Christ Himself, said that a Christian life would be easy. However, through His life, sacrifice,
resurrection, ascension, and opening of salvation for all to attain, a life in Him is all we could hope for, and more. Let us remember the efforts, the sacrifices, the desire for unity of faith for which our forebears worked tirelessly – both to preserve the doctrinal/dogmatic teachings of Nicaea, and to carry the torch forward into the future. To conclude, I want to leave you with the prayer/petition that precedes the
recitation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed at every Orthodox Divine Liturgy:

“Let us love one another, so that with oneness of mind we may confess.”

Let us remember the efforts, the sacrifices, the desire for unity
of faith for which our forebears worked tirelessly – both to preserve
the doctrinal/dogmatic teachings of Nicaea, and to carry the torch
forward into the future.

Ecumenical Trends
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