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WEB 4 - ARCHIVE
Commentary 22 - Page 4 |
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MetanoiaThe idea of metanoia, of the possibility of such a change, was as far as I know first reintroduced to the West in the 1930's by Maurice Nicoll.5 The meaning, and specific methods, were described in a fragmentary way6 in the Philokalia translations, among other places,7 but metanoia -- repentance -- is the essence. This one word is not understood until we realize that it distils the underlying principle, the practical objective, of a complete discipline, one that reaches its goal through a myriad of variations and alternative methods. Metanoia is the lost essence of Christian spirituality. The first thing we have to understand is that it is possible for Christians to change their character in a fundamental way. Although today metanoia still forms the objective of the practical spirituality of the monks and nuns of the Eastern church, few even of the more important methods of approaching it are understood in the West, and the basic principles, in the form of a complete Christian world view - based on faith, but not on blind belief - seem to have been almost entirely forgotten. Even in the monastic world very few people seem to understand it completely. Once read, understood and accepted, these basic principles, and the commandments or rules that accompany them, form the foundation of the whole process. They lead -- although normally not without a struggle, not without a strong resistance from past habits -- to a true reversal of direction in the reader, bringing the catechumen to the threshold, the point of entry, of the path of transformation, the path of metanoia. But to enter the path of metanoia is to seek to pass through the strait gate of the gospel, and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” ( Matthew 19:24.) Its import is so difficult, it demands such efforts, such struggles by those who try to apply it, that instead it is often rejected. If this principle were accepted by enough people, so that we could say that it was once again understood by the church, especially at the present time, it could only lead to a true change of direction by that church. If understood at the basic level, it could lead to the creation of methods suited to modern man and to the situation in which he lives. If assimilated by Western civilization at large, which would only happen if many individuals came to understand it and its importance, it might even change the direction of that civilization. (But what kind of change that might be is the subject of another study, and should rest for the moment.) |
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