THE BENEVOLENCE OF TIME By His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia

We have always been accustomed to seeing time as an enemy, and indeed as a deadly one. We speak of ‘all-subduing time’, and almost unreservedly mean time that kills... It is as if the verb ‘sub-due’ is synonymous with ’murder’.

Yet, while this may possibly be the general impression of the superficial secular person or the indifferent as a whole, this could not be the view of the person of faith, and in particular of the Christian. And since January is the beginning of the calendar year, it would not be inappropriate to take this opportunity and see the basic difference between the secular and the Christian understanding of time.

We can say from the outset that, while even the Christian is in danger of being led away by grievous thoughts about time and the instability of worldly affairs at the beginning of the secular year (in January), this does not occur in the slightest with the commencement of the ecclesiastical year (in September). Of course, one could ask how many people, even from within the Church, realise that on the 1st September annually there is a festive commencement of the Ecclesiastical Year at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar, which is considered the official Feast (with a special Patriarchal Service in the Church, the signing of the codex by the Patriarch and hierarchs, followed by the relevant address and responses between the Patriarch and the most senior hierarch etc).

The broader membership of the Church in all Orthodox countries perhaps overlooks this festive ceremony and the Byzantine-Roman name of 'Indictus', which is applied to it. Even so, every faithful person knows from experience that, next to the bland and tyrannized time of daily struggle, there mystically flows another time, which is serene and contrite, with an inviolate regularity and coherence in worshipful events of faith. Sanctified precisely within its structure and functionality, it is dominated by the greater feasts of our Lord and the Mother of God (Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Transfiguration, Annunciation, Entrance into the Temple, Dormition etc), yet .decorated. by the memories of the angels and the countless hosts of Saints, Martyrs, and Confessors who, by covering the whole year, do not leave absolutely any day or hour of perishable time liturgically ‘uncovered’. In terms of the Church life of the faithful person, the concept of the tabula rasa (blank page) is completely unknown. Moreover, the memory of not only one, but scores of hundreds or thousands of known and anonymous Saints can be honoured simultaneously on the same day. Thus we see that the ‘blindness’ or ‘unforeseeable’ nature of impending time which Scripture itself treats with extreme caution (‘do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring’), (Prov.27:1) is for the Christian restricted to a minimum, or else completely annihilated by the assurance that ‘the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them’ (Wisdom of Solomon 3:1).

By using an image taken from nature we could say that, just as a black and cloudy sky is repulsive, in contrast to the abundance of brilliant light in starry skies, time which is not illuminated by the memory of God and His Saints is equally repulsive and hostile. Consequently, time cannot simply mean a ‘neutral’ or ‘objective’ succession of moments but rather a mystical process. The investment which we have already mentioned in terms of the memory of God and the Saints shows forth simple ‘temporality’ as a dynamic dimension of immeasurable eschatological depth.

Temporality is therefore no longer merely a limited and restricted duration, in contrast to the timeless boundlessness of eternity. On the contrary, it is a period in which the notion of an active presence, i.e. the immediate and therefore accountable present, acquires special significance and becomes an opportunity. This is precisely why we no longer speak of time (chronos) but of kairos.

Kairos is the name given to charismatic time. And when we say that there is a ‘time for everything’, we mean that there is a distinct hour for everything. Moreover, in modern Greek, hour (þñá) is related to the beautiful (ùñáßï) since everything is beautiful in its designated time, Yet in order for one to discover these hidden and highly beneficial aspects of time as ‘opportunities’, humility must precede as a central way of life.

Following this as a parallel or rather as a correlative way of life, is repentance. Only after a somewhat extensive analysis of both central experiences of life, in their intricate and mystical inter relationship, will we be able to appreciate properly the value of temporality which is the benevolence of time. It is of course superfluous to say that humility and repentance would be unknown and unintelligible realities had the fall of Adam not taken place in time. And perhaps it cannot be said with certainty whether humility precedes repentance in time, or repentance precedes humility. This however is not of special moral significance, since the result is always the same: purification.

For the person of faith, it is amazing what optimism the mercy of God allows or rather inspires, which is of course invoked by repentance and humility. We can therefore say that the fall of Adam- which one could expect to be not simply a tragic retrogression on the journey towards perfection, but also ‘fatal’ frustration even of worldly ‘prosperity’- can be evaluated in hindsight as an astounding experience for the maturation of the human person, something that only the wisdom and longsuffering of God could ensure.

Let us see, then, how the correlative experiences of humility and repentance, which lead to maturity and purification, function within the framework of time. In an attempt to see more deeply and learn more fully how the two central and correlative experiences of humility and repentance function in the spiritual life of the faithful, we must say that, while each is successively interchanged with the other, humility in fact precedes as a general rule. Let us therefore see how this fundamental feeling of daily life is brought about and dealt with by the person of God, in a vast and continuously changing world.

a) Humility. According to the dictionary references, the word humble means something low, the opposite of haughty and arrogant. The first incentive for one to feel humble (low) in relation to all visible and invisible works of God is not so much the physical dimension and height, such as being smaller that a mountain or shorter than a river.

b) While possessing distinct spiritual and intellectual powers which make him feel like a small god among the rest of creation, mans smallness and lowliness arises from the feeling that he unceasingly and tragically experiences his limits i.e. the end of his capabilities, at every moment. Both in terms of space and time, man senses that he cannot go beyond a certain point. The same verse of Psalms holds true for him, as it does for every other part of creation: “You have set a boundary that they may not pass so that they might not again cover the earth” (Psalm 104:9) The sense of ‘limitation’ is the first humbling experience. This unforeseeable experience functions as an initial shock which brings man to himself, literally. It then leads him dialectically to a state of being beside himself until developing, even if subconsciously at times, into an intense feeling of dependence (to use Schleiermacher’s term).

For all this to occur in the human conscience, time as ‘temporality’- that is, as a limited and consumable possibility- is not simply a means to an end, nor merely the platform on which the drama of life and existence unfolds. Temporality is a substantially contributive factor, which gives a particular flavour to all that is conducted in time, and which would of course be entirely different if one were to experience them in an un-timely manner.

It is precisely these contradictory or at least opposing- up until their final synthesis into ‘maturity’- forces of ‘sorrow’ on the one hand and ecstatic extension on the other hand, which are epigrammatically expressed by the Psalmist when crying out to God “in sorrow you have broadened me” (Ps.4:1).

If we now see this beneficial ‘fluctuation’ of human experience in time within the optimistic nucleus which it forms, mystically and silently in the beginning, and late as an enthusiastic confession of faith, then we comprehend the articulation of the other vital verse of Psalms which describes the successive spiritual transformations in the life of the faithful.

“I believed wherefore I have spoken I have been greatly humbled”

With this new Psalmic verse we move into the area of repentance, for which we must also say what is needful, especially in terms of its relationship with faith and humility, a relationship which is organic and deeply intrinsic. c) Repentance. If the spiritual mind (nous) and intellect is- in contrast to the logos- the deepest and the richest synthesis of the ethical and spiritual powers which characterize personhood, then it is clear that repentance (metanoia) does not signify a momentary or chance change in direction. Nor is it simply an attempt for improvement, but rather a complete and responsible trans-formation in the human identity, no matter how superhuman this may sound.

If the turn-around brought about by the purification of repentance were not so deep and universal, it would be totally incomprehensible for the repentant person to be willing to sacrifice his or her very life in order to wash away the previous blemish. A negative example of this is the suicide of Judas who repented and hanged himself. (Mat.27:5) while the positive examples include those who suffered for their faith. After converting to another faith at some stage they subsequently repented, returned to their original faith and accepted to be killed as Confessors (the related accounts of the New Martyrs during Ottoman rule are astounding).

We can see, then, that the time factor is even more necessary and decisive in the case of repentance. To feel humbled, only several seconds of painful experience are sufficient. Yet, in order to mature to the point of taking a radical decision to change, which is repentance, one would need more experiences, deeper thought and, normally, tears. All of these of course do not come about instantaneously, but require instead a certain amount of time. We could perhaps say that, while humility, is imposed on the faithful mainly due to external (more or less unpredictable) reasons, repentance comes as a result of an internal process, which is why it is more of a free and temperate personal choice.

However, it is self-evident that this comparison does not apply in the case of self- humiliation, as for example in the phenomenon of the fool for Christ according to which the faithful person humiliates himself voluntarily in order to avoid the praise of men and to attract further the mercy of God. Indeed in that case, we could say that self humiliation and self-reproach in ascetic life even surpasses repentance. For, while repentance can remain an inner change in ethos which cannot be easily noticed by one’s neighbour, self-humiliation is by definition the humiliation of one’s person in front of fellow human beings, precisely so as to achieve a deeper more sincere purification. No matter how productive the daily experience of humility and repentance may be with the blessing of God and the intercessions of His Saints in terms of their internal mutual influence upon each other, the person of faith never feels sufficiently pure or renewed.

The verse .your youth shall be renewed like the eagles. (Psalm 103:5) is always and simultaneously a timely challenge and promise from above. However, the time afforded by this present life is never sufficient to fulfill it. While for God, who is unchanging, time does not exist, for man the water-clock of time presses on relentlessly: “As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field” (Psalm 103:15).The less time that remains, therefore, the more precious it is considered by the faithful to be. If the saying ‘time is money’ is true for the businessman, then time is salvation is true for the person of faith.

Precisely because the person of God feels that the days are consumed in vanity. (Psalm 78:33), he or she is almost stricken with panic. And this sacred panic is to be found nowhere more obviously than in the language of worship. A classic example is a hymn referring to the Virgin Mother as a great and unashamed protection in which characteristic exclamations addressed to her (“help in time. Make haste. Be swift”.) Give us the measure of vigilance so that time may not be consumed in vanity.

In closing, it could be said that just as vigils and fasting for the monk are more than just the reduction of sleep and food for ascetic reasons (in order that that which is .saved. can be used for the sake of others), so it is that the overall vigilance of the faithful to not waste time in vanity has a double purpose.

The utilisation of time seeks not only the individual benefit of the soul, but also the fulfillment of the commandments which, as is known, are for the fulfillment of the will of God and service towards fellow human beings. For, it is only through these two priorities that we serve the interest of our personal salvation in the safest possible way. We thereby not only feel the threat of the passage of time; we also feel the comfort of the benevolence of time.

This Article was published in the Greek Australian newspaper TO VEMA January 2004

BENEVOLENCE OF TIME