|
St
George and the . . . Environment
This day celebrates the anniversary of the Dedication of St George's
Church in Kyiv several centuries ago.
It is one of the two major feasts of the Martyr St George the Victorious
and the Trophy-Bearer, as the Orthodox Liturgy sings.
St George is a popular saint by any account. The nation of Georgia is actually named after him.
He is patron of knights, soldiers and kings.
He is a patron of husbands - something to do with the symbolism
of the spear, it would seem.
In addition to being a patron of the Kozaks and the military in Ukraine,
St George was the patron saint of agriculture.
His feasts frame the length and duration of the agricultural year.
On April 23/May 6, the fields are blessed during a special
"Moleben" or Service of Supplication where the Priests
actually lead the people to the farms and stables.
Today, the farmers' year comes to a close with a similar service of
Thanksgiving. Thus, it is
the closest thing our Church has to the western holiday of
"Thanksgiving." Another
feast might be that of the Transfiguration when the first-fruits of the
harvest are blessed.
Ukrainian culture is basically agrarian in character.
The Church feasts and annual holidays are punctuated with rituals
and traditions that are drawn from the agricultural background of our
ancestral heritage.
The two Feasts of St George the Patron of Agriculture therefore raise
two considerations. First,
to what extent may we incorporate traditions rooted in agricultural ways
within an urban context in North America, and, second, how does this
effect our relationship to the environment?
North American culture is largely an urban one.
One's first reaction would be to say that very little of actual
Ukrainian traditions may be practiced throughout the year as a result.
However, the other side of the coin is that North American
cosmopolitanism is finally running into the sand. People are getting rather tired of the sameness of the urban
downtown.
Individualism is now the rule for interior home design, fashion and
other aspects that reflect and project our unique personal identities.
Everyone now wants to be "their own person."
The design tradition known as "country" is also something that
is not limited to rural life. One
may see Ukrainian Easter Eggs, embroidered cloth, and Carpathian
wood-work in the homes of people who may have absolutely no personal or
family connections to that tradition.
Consumer society has become one great "shopping mall" where
people pick and choose things they will buy, regardless of cultural,
religious or other shared backgrounds.
During a recent studio tour of crafts and other cottage industries, I
came upon a person who learned how to paint Ukrainian Easter Eggs.
She learned it as a fine art and her work was really rather
excellent. She was not
Ukrainian, but demonstrated a keen appreciation for this aspect of
Ukrainian culture.
She even painted eggs with snowflakes and winter themes with attached
strings to hang on Christmas trees!
Many people, as distantly removed from Slavic culture as can be,
were lining up to buy her excellent artwork, as I did, too.
There are many creative ways in which to incorporate Ukrainian cultural
themes in one's home décor, especially during the yearly festivals of
Christmas, Easter and others.
Relatives and friends have often and tastefully decorated the table for
the Holy Supper on January 6th using hay under the
tablecloth. The
"didukh" or wheat-sheaf can nowadays be purchased at most
flower shops.
One may have it out all year and change the colour of the ribbon around
it to reflect the seasons. We
may also start a "Sviat-Vechir" with the practice of feeding
our pets first, just as our ancestors and others feed the farm animals
on this evening.
Gardening is a popular hobby throughout North America and it is also the
place where Ukrainians feel most at home!
Getting close to the Earth is not only good for the soul and the
emotions, it is a very spiritual experience as well.
The different fruits, vegetables and other dishes that are used for
various holidays take some practice, especially when one's
"Babtsia" goes to her reward and a family is left without a
traditional Ukrainian cook. But
the effort in learning how to cook in this way is well worth the effort
as is the tradition of "writing" Easter eggs.
Like Icons, the eggs are holy and convey a spiritual message.
Like Icons, they too are "written."
A friend once commented that Ukrainian food was "peasant
food." In response,
someone else added that that was so, and that was also why Ukrainians
lived so long on their fresh fruits, vegetables and grains!
Ukrainian has two words to distinguish between a fruit and vegetable
garden or "horod" and the "kvitnyk" or flower
garden. Ukrainian knowledge
of herbs and spices and their role in healing is also a lost art here in
North America. But holistic
and alternative medical therapies are making good use of ancient wisdom
in this area.
The same is true of Ukrainian embroidery. There is nothing more beautiful than embroidered table
cloths, pillows, towels placed over icons and other pictures, and
personal dress.
I think we should always attend Church wearing Ukrainian embroidered
shirts and blouses with the "opashkas" or embroidered belts.
Our churches should also be decked out with embroidered
"scarves" on the iconostasis and our priests should have
embroidered clerical collars.
It was a tradition for all
Orthodox and Eastern Catholic priests to wear the long embroidered belt
over their cassocks. The
Russians follow this tradition and are very enthusiastic about it. How about us?
Ukrainian greetings are very sophisticated and demonstrate a highlyl
developed interpersonal culture.For example, it is customary to greet
each other with "Glory to Jesus Christ - Glory forever" on a
daily basis. "Christ is Risen - Truly He is Risen" at Easter.
"Christ is being Born - Truly He is being born" at
Nativity (it must be in the present, not past, tense) and "Christ
is being baptized - In the River Jordan!" at Epiphany.
It is traditional to greet family and friends with a three-fold kiss
when saying these greetings.
One should always pray before the Icons in one's home or in another
person's home before even delivering a greeting, according to ancient
tradition.
After dinner at home or at someone else's home, one should always thank
the hostess with a kiss on the hand saying, "Thank you dearly for
the bread and the salt." There
is nothing saying we cannot greet our guests with bread and salt at the
doorway throughout the year!
When greeting our Priests and Bishops, we must ALWAYS touch our fingers
to the ground, then put our right hand in cross-wise fashion over our
left and implore the clergyman's blessing.
He will give it and then place his hand on ours.
We reverence it with a kiss as the hand which holds the Bread of
Life which is Christ our Saviour.
This is not a "peasant" tradition. I find that really offensive whenever I hear that.
This is an Orthodox Christian tradition that demonstrates
veneration for the special office of the clergy and pays tribute to
Christ Himself who is the Eternal High Priest.
All these traditions point to a way of life that was formerly founded on
a deep respect for nature.
"Panentheism" (please note the correct spelling,) is the idea
that God permeates Nature. Kyivan
Christianity is heavily imbued with it.
This is not "pantheism" or that Nature is somehow God -
a detestable heresy.
Kyivan Christians have a deep respect for Nature as God's creation.
Transfigured by the Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, Nature can
mediate blessing and grace.
Whenever a Kyivan Christian cut a fresh loaf of bread, he or she cut a
Cross into it at the top in memory of Him Who gave us Himself in Holy
Communion.
When a piece of bread fell to the ground, we pick it up and reverence it
with a kiss to recall the great spiritual vocation that the creature of
bread has been called by God to fulfill in our salvation through Christ.
Water is always had with the Sign of the Cross in memory of Baptism.
The water that is used in the cleaning of Icons is never thrown
out, but is always returned to the river or lake from where it was
taken.
The Icon of Okhtyrka (Feast: July 15) is used in this way to bless water
which is then taken by the faithful to their homes, the only instance
when the order is reversed, an icon blesses the water.
In the frescoes and murals of St Sophia and other churches and
cathedrals, Nature scenes mingle with spiritual ones. This is to show that Christ has transfigured all Nature.
The Earth has never been the same since Christ was enclosed
within it and rose from it on the third day . . .
Our relationship to the Environment should therefore be a serious one.
Pollution and environmental destruction is an offense to the
gifts of God for our well-being and happiness.
In Christ, our attitudes toward the environment and way of life
must be transfigured as well.
Let's be creative in how we adopt our ancestral, rural-based traditions
in our homes and lives. They
contain too much spiritual symbolism for us to be slack in this
important effort! |
