The Apostles' Fast I

Some Thoughts on Being "Apostolic"

C. S. Lewis

That great Christian man C. S. Lewis once wrote: "If we ask for something more than simplicity, it is silly then to complain that the something more is not simple" (Mere Christianity 40). Many folks, when they encounter the Orthodox Christian Faith, find themselves overwhelmed. They are searching and so want “something more,” but (as Lewis indicates) something more can be daunting. Certainly that’s true with Orthodox worship. The Orthodox tradition of worship, with its massive amount of hymnody, multitude of services, and various cycles throughout the year, might actually seem chaotic—especially to the person pressing their nose against the glass of Orthodoxy. However, there is a difference between chaotic and complex. And underneath the complexity of Orthodox worship are very definite principles and structures. The most basic principle of Orthodox worship is expressed in the ancient Latin saying: Lex orandi, lex credendi — the “rule of prayer [is] the rule of belief.” In other words, true worship embodies our Christian teachings. For us, the best place to discover and understand the Christian faith is not in heavy tomes of systematic theology, but in fact in fullness worship and prayer.

Icon of Ss. Peter & Paul

Now, when it comes to this Apostles’ Fast, which we just started, we find ourselves wondering what exactly this “rule” of prayer is teaching us. The Apostles’ Fast has no particular, or special, liturgical hymnody associated with it. In fact, all that we really have is a beginning (the Monday after All Saints Sunday, a moveable date) and an end: June 29, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (celebrated July 12, if we’re following the ancient Julian calendar). The day after that, the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles, is also part of the celebration preceded by the Apostles’ Fast. So, if we’re looking to understand this season of fasting, all we really have its end. By ‘end’ I do not mean something like saying “whew…I’m glad that’s over with”; the fast isn’t a punishment to simply be endured. I mean rather “here is where the path leads.” So, the meaning of this fast is bound up with these Apostles, and with the Apostolic faith upon which we base our lives. It good to know where, and to whom, we are going.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be writing about the meaning of the Apostles, and of having and living the Apostolic Faith. These meditations will, God willing, help us on our journey to the feast on June 29 (and 30), marking out the path with road signs that will help us appreciate the scenery as well as the destination.