During the past two week I have shared the first two of six real characteristics of our Eastern Christianity, namely that it is communal and intuitive. The third characteristic is that it is holistic. Everything stands in relationship to the other. It refuses to separate Truths into categories and then study them as self-contained units. The Christian of the New Testament culture saw the world as a whole, one in which God’s presence is revealed everywhere. He saw body, soul and spirit as distinct, yet inseparable; the nature of faith, love and service belonging together.

Christ came to redeem the whole person: body, soul and spirit, and it is this whole person who will one day be seated with Christ in heaven for all eternity. This is the image that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 15; Romans 8:11-30. Of course we know this to be an anthropomorphism – using images that we humans understand. The fact of the matter is that, as you probably already know, or should know, heaven is not a place where we will all be sitting around singing hymns and sipping mint juleps. (I suspect that some really do believe Paul’s vivid description of heaven). Christ likewise will redeem all of creation as well, in the Last Day summing up all things in Himself (Ephesians 1:9, 10). It is for this reason that the Eastern Christian does not erect an impenetrable wall between what is sacred (spirit) and what is profane (matter). God has created both, sustains both, and one day will restore both.

As you will recall from another article in the Bulletin, the Fathers had much to say about the resurrection of humans from the dead. Like Jesus’ resurrection, the whole person, we believe, will be raised from the dead.

There are many other ways in which we can say that Eastern Christianity is truly holistic. Consider the mysteries or sacraments that we celebrate. They deal with the mysteries of life and, albeit, not always evident, they all have the same, basic ritual format.

For example, the way that the mystery of marriage (human love) is celebrated is based on the Initiation Ritual (i.e., Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Eucharist). Parents who raise their children in our Eastern Church, see, when they celebrate their child’s marriage in the Eastern Church, a real repetition of the child’s initiation into the Church.

This represents a holistic approach to life. When we experience a human mystery and want to understand it, we ask the Church to celebrate it with us. She always does it the same way.