A short explanation for Father Stephan and your orthodox comunity from America
Today I did the fifth lecture about Mystic Theology Orthodox (a intermediate course online, just here, on blog) and I spoken about ecstasy in our orthodox life. If a Romanian orthodox, from your perish, will wish to translate for your Reverence my note, I will be very satisfied.
But I will make a very little resume for your Reverence.
Ecstasy is a real experience, in which we see the light of God. It is not a fantasy, is not an actually dream, but a personal and real experience, that you can tell to others. The content of this divine experience is a gift of God and at each Saint it is a personal revelation of divine things.
Because of this ecstasy is not a literature, is not a philosophy, is not a metaphorical speech,but an evidence, an inner evidence, received by the holiness of life. In Romania the problem is a nebulously aspect of Theology because the majority believes that there is no need of mystic experience or theological knowledge in order to be a Orthodox Christian. But for us it is an essential problem, because spiritual experience is the center of our life.
For me the work on this blog is a struggle for Theology and spiritual experience and in my doctoral dissertation, that I am about to finish, I try a description of our scriptural and patristic ecstasy experiences, for a properly understanding of the dimension of Orthodox Church experience in postmodern world.
It is a restoration, my work, a right understanding of orthodox godliness and a capacity of a theological description of our miracles’ treasure of the Church.
Father Stephen, this is an invitation at experience and humbleness for us and for a prodigious co-operation between us.
Unworthy Father Dorin,
Bucharest,
20 December 2006.
And I thank you, my Father Stephen. In a few days I will come back from my holiday and we shall continue our beautiful relation.
Merry Christmas and all happiness to your Reverence!
Father Dorin,
Bucharest,
Romania,
2o December 2006.
Father Dorin,
Thank you for this post. I have written as well for the essential element of true experience of God in Orthodox theology. Arguments, even well-written theology, cannot take the place of our direct knowledge of God, even in the most simple of us.
And so I teach my people that the most important thing is to pray, and to love even your enemies. For those who pray and those who will love their enemies will come to know God – truly know Him.
Two of my daughters are married to priests (thanks be to God). One of them lived for a year in Siberia and studied there (in Krasnoyarsk). This was in the year 2000. But I remember that she called me once and was telling of her priest in the Church in Siberia. She said, „You know, Papa (this is her name for me), the priest here says the same things you do.” It made my heart joyful to know that this was only possible because we both know the same God. And so it is and should always be in the Orthodox Church. We know and proclaim the same God, and thus we teach the same truth. This is a great joy.