THE DEADLIEST FORM OF ‘ACROBATICS’
By His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia
As a general rule, the authentic (‘tried and tested’) words of the Greek language express with precision – and never ‘by half measures’ – that which Greeks have wished to express after much experience and deep thought. Indeed, in an official theological essay, the writer once dared to claim, not without justification of course, that “every Greek word is in essence a conclusion”!
Therefore words (in pure Greek) normally have a very clear root, which constitutes a stable basis for one to then observe all the ‘derivatives’, i.e. the linguistic ‘relationships’, ‘antonyms’, ‘synonyms’ etc. On account of these ‘virtues’ of Greek words (‘clarity’ and ‘comprehensiveness’), a large percentage of them were noted, studied and ‘adopted’ by most peoples of Europe, but also by the rest of the civilized world.
One such significant word, which entered the vocabulary of Europeans quite early, is ‘acrobatics’, which means to go (baino) to the extremities (akra). It therefore signifies a dangerous journey to the edge of a cliff! Hence the ancient Greek expression, ‘on the edge of the blade’, which is still used today. We should recall that the word ‘acrobatics’ apparently originated in the field of theatrics, and specifically from those impressive ‘exercises’ that are now known by that name. It was therefore very natural to consider these exercises to be not only daring, but at times also a deadly form of ‘gymnastics’.
It is however well-known that words which express concrete actions in practice are easily transferred to characterize similar movements in thought, i.e. on a purely conceptual level, and no longer only in the practical realm. We therefore speak of the ‘true’ and ‘metaphorical’ meaning of those words which express characteristic actions. The Fathers of the Church, who knew how to underline what is ‘vital’ in the present life, and to illustrate this by way of relevant imagery so that it might easily be retained in the memory of the faithful (regardless of their educational background), likened the journey of the right-believing Christian in the world to an ‘acrobatic act’ which certain well-trained circus performers boldly do on a tightrope. The Fathers would therefore say very characteristically that “to be Orthodox is to walk on a tightrope”!
This superb image is a good starting point – as we enter not only the New Year of 2007 but also the period of Great and Holy Lent – to think about certain truths which, although considered to be self-evident, easily escape our attention amidst the distractions and bitter experiences of everyday life. If we remain with the image of ‘tightrope walking’ in the circus, we would of course have noted that this professional act has a very limited duration. And yet, for that ‘display’ of only a few minutes, entire hours and days of preparation were required of the acrobat, by monitoring his food intake and weight, and by selecting with utmost precision even the smallest movement of his body upon the taut rope.
We would also have noticed that, for every possible mistake or accident during the brief acrobatic act, a safety net has been placed under the tightrope, to protect the acrobat from falling unexpectedly to the ground in the event of ‘slipping’. If the parallel between Orthodox life and the acrobat’s tightrope walk is a very effective image, we may then ponder the following thoughts, which will of course assist us to realize the ‘dangers’ of the spiritual life, but also the ‘safety measures’ – if they exist – so that we do not receive a sudden shock from certain unforeseen surprises:
First of all we must note that ‘to be Orthodox’, i.e. on the right and devout way of faith and life, is a constant struggle that never ends, not even when the faithful are asleep. This is precisely why we pray during the Compline Service that God grant us: “a peaceful sleep devoid of satanic fantasies”.
Given this formidable difference with the brief performance of the professional acrobat, we may justifiably ask how we faithful could deal with the unforeseeable and unexpected events at each moment of our life.
It is considered necessary for fellow performers to put in place a protective safety net, even though the ground may only be a few metres beneath the tightrope. If this is true in the case of the circus, how much more imperative is it for the faithful, who walk on a tightrope spiritually every day, to know that there is for them also a safety net which will ‘embrace’ them affectionately, whenever they come face to face with the ‘abyss’ of sins which all of the spiritual and ascetic works of our Church speak of extensively.
Well, then! It is true that the ‘safety net’ of each faithful and struggling person has been woven – even before we were born – by the ‘intercessions’ of all the Saints and the Theotokos. It is this very net which the guardian Angel vigilantly holds open for each of us at all times, so that nothing dark or uncertain may frighten us “in the evening and morning and midday, and at all times”.
However, one other truth must be emphasized here concerning the ‘safety net’ which we are describing. The image of acrobatics, both in the circus profession and the spiritual life of the faithful, would be incomplete if we restricted it only to ‘prevention’. So the only true protection is rectification and salvation, even after the fall. In extending this image, therefore, we must add that the ‘safety net’ and medicine, after the deadly fall, is nothing other than repentance.
In no other religion or spirituality perhaps is there such an astounding therapy and “remission of sins” as in Christianity: The one thing necessary here is to repent sincerely, and to accept that you are “redeemed” by the blood of the only Sinless One, shed “once and for all” on Golgotha “for the life and salvation of the world”. Yet in precisely this unprecedented leniency and ‘ease’ of reconciliation lies also the greatest danger of daily ‘tightrope walking’ for the faithful. This danger is epigrammatically underlined by the compunctious verse of the Compline Service once again: “Often while offering a hymn of praise, I have found myself implementing sin”.
For this reason we had to characterize ‘Orthodox living’ as the ‘the deadliest form of acrobatics’.
From Voice of Orthodoxy, v. 26(8), January-February 2007
the official publication of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia