AD CLERUM - August 2005 |
My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
For
much of this year I have tried in the Ad Clerum to say something
about each of the 5 key points of our Diocesan Vision. In the midst
of those reflections I have also tried to say something about the
role of the clergy. Before moving on from these topics, I want to
reflect for a moment on Dionysius the Areopagite. Dionysius has
been the subject of our last two clergy Quiet Days and both the man
and his writings have much to say to us about our role as clergy and
as enablers of the vision.
Dionysius, as you will all remember, was one of the people converted by Paul's sermon in the Areopagus (Acts17: 34). Tradition tells us that he went on to become the first Bishop of Athens. But the Dionysius to whom I am referring is a completely different person; someone who was probably not even called Dionysius and who certainly had nothing at all to do with the Areopagus. He was a desert monk who lived in Syria some time in the 5th century and whose only connection to the Dionysius of scripture was the use of his name as a pseudonym for his own writings.
The simple fact of his anonymity challenges us about the humility required for true servant leadership. Here is a man who must have profoundly influenced the lives of those around him and whose writings continue to be studied to this day, but who, in the desert tradition of dying to self, had become so self effacing that even his name is hidden from us. The focus of his life and writings is not himself, but the glory of God. "I must decrease so that He might increase," said John the Baptist. Dionysius said the same, both in word and deed. And so must we. Everything we do and say should be for the greater glory of God and with little concern for status, power, or what others think of us.
Dionysius' example stands in marked contrast to the hierarchical power structures of our church which all too often promote a worldly ambition that undermines the call to servant leadership and fosters arrogance and pride rather than humility and service. Sadly, this is as true of lay leadership as it is of the ordained. Ironically, it was Dionysius who first coined the phrase "ecclesiastical hierarchy" and promoted it in a book of the same name. However, his book presents a very different understanding of ecclesiastical hierarchy from that of our modern understanding and practices.
I am not sure that I could justice to the complexity of Dionysius' thinking, and certainly cannot do so in the limited space of this meditation. Nevertheless, even a simple overview of his thinking is revealing.
For Dionysius "ecclesiastical hierarchy" was not about position, status or power, but about divine realities. In an earlier work, "The Celestial Hierarchy" he argued that creation was the overflowing of God's love and goodness in self-revelation. Everything, he said, comes from God, reflects the love of God, and has a deep yearning to be reunited with God. Because of this the whole universe is in a perpetual circular movement of emanation from God and return to God. God can be seen in every part of creation - everything to a greater of lesser degree reflects the love of God. Through biblical exegesis he identified triads of angelic and ecclesiastical "hierarchies" which reflect the divine love in differing degrees and whose primary purpose is the return of the faithful to union with God.
Ecclesiastical hierarchies are no different - the rising levels of hierarchy in the church help the faithful in their journey back to God. The increasing levels of holiness and love seen in the deacon, priest and bishop reveal Jesus who is "the source and perfection of every hierarchy," in ways that uplift, evokes greater devotion, and draw the believer into deeper union with God. The worldly ambition and struggles for status and power that are so often associated with the hierarchical structures of the church mask the face of Jesus from others and hinder their spiritual growth.
"The goal of a hierarchy," said Dionysius, "is to enable beings to be as like as possible to God and to be at one with him." This requires of us that dying to self and attachment to God that alone makes holiness a possibility. Without such holiness we betray our calling. Our own journey inward and upward and our ongoing growth in intimacy and communion with God is critical if we are to fulfil the 3 fundamental tasks to which Dionysius believes we are called; that of purifying, enlightening and perfecting. Our role as clergy is contained in those three tasks; our effectiveness as bishops, priests or deacons must be evaluated in those terms.
This meditation lays three questions before us:-
+Brian
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