The last expression of the dynamics of the Orthodox faith with which I should like to deal, is the dynamics creating balance and completeness or wholeness within the contents of the faith. Let me first point out that the dynamism of the Orthodox faith produces a constant energy and action that keeps the substantive contents of faith in a condition of balance and mutual control. This has been a steady phenomenon throughout the history of the Church. Orthodoxy has developed, to their maximum and optimum, all aspects of theology and Christian life: Theology in the strict sense, Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology, Liturgics, Patristics, Biblical Interpretation, Church History, Hagiography, Hymnology, all are parts of the contents of faith as theory and praxis. The important fact in this case is that all the above mentioned constitutive parts coexist in a balanced and homeostatic way and level. The dynamics of the Orthodox faith, for instance, did not allow an over-development of ecclesiology at the expense of Christology, nor the excessive growth of liturgics at the expense of pastoral theology. The dynamics of faith in Orthodoxy has been instrumental in maintaining a balance between monastic life and secular life, between clergy and laity under the principle of synergy, between philanthropy and social action and spiritual retreat and worshiping practices.
We can see the dynamics of balance even in specific areas, like the worship or the canon law of the Church. In the realm of worship, the main liturgical forms such as Eucharistic liturgy, the service of matins, and the service of vespers present a remarkable internal balance, alternating between reading and singing, movement and immobility, biblical and hymnographic material, prose and poetry, word and silence. In the realm of canon law, one can easily detect the balance between "ακριβεια" and "οικονομια," which is between precise, strict application and lenient, flexible practice; between pedagogical reprimand and correctional punishment; between understanding human weakness but insisting on human perfection.
In essence, the dynamics of faith as a balancing factor reminds us of two ancient Greek admonitions, namely, "μηδεν αγαν" and "παν μετρον αριστον", which mean, "Do not do anything in excess" and ¨"every due measure is excellent."
The balancing effect of a dynamic faith is important in our contemporary situation in America. We have bitter experiences of excesses in the religious field and their catastrophic consequences. We are aware of the pain caused by uncontrollable behaviors or attitudes, and we know well what happens in various religious bodies when imbalances within the contexts of religious beliefs or the different experiences of religiosity become the norm and the prevailing reality. Hence the importance of a faith which presents a model of balance through its dynamics, a balance which, in a world flooded with religious excesses, becomes a truly healing commodity. The keeping of such a balance is not an easy task; but, here, is a clear manifestation of the dynamic character of faith.
Similar observations hold true for the other characteristic of the dynamics of the Orthodox faith, namely, its function as a vital agent creating completeness or wholeness. The balancing effect of the dynamic action of faith does not cut off anything from this faith. Everything is developed to completion, and everything is whole and preserves its integrity, its plenitude. Let me cite an example from the purely theological field.
As it is well known, Orthodoxy has formulated the Christological dogma in a perfect way. Both in short, creedal statements or in long, elaborate teachings, the Church has presented to the world her belief in Christ as perfect God and perfect human being. He is the Lord. From this point of view, the Church has cultivated a Christocentric stance. This is apparent already at the end of the first century A.D., in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch, in which, characteristically, the name of Christ appears almost in every second line of the text. This Christocentrism, however, never became in Orthodoxy what specialists call Christomonism,which is an absolute, isolated, prevailing and exclusive worship of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, Christology has been always developed in parallel contemporaneous ways with a perfect Trinitarian theology and a full and bright presentation of the faith in the Holy Spirit. The Church has been Christocentric, Trinity-centric, Spirit-centric. It has developed everything to perfection and completeness.
The dynamics of the Orthodox faith contributed to the preservation of the wholeness of the teaching about the Holy Trinity. It is not accidental that all the doxological exclamations in the Divine Liturgy of the Church are Trinitarian formulations, and that the central exclamation in the funeral service starts with Christ, to Whom it is addressed, but ends with the reference to the Father and to the Holy Spirit as well. Equally important is the fact that the prayers of the Eucharistic Canon, which end with the central Christological event of the transubstantiation of the bread and wine of the Eucharist into the Body and the Holy Spirit as well. Equally important is the fact that the prayers of the Eucharistic Canon, which end with the central Christological event of the transubstantiation of the bread and wine of the Eucharist into the Body and the Blood of Christ, are addressed primarily to God the Father with the parallel mentioning of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The wholeness, the completeness of what constitutes the essence of faith, is amply demonstrated in the Orthodox faith, and is the result of its dynamic character.This wholeness, coupled with balance, is vital for contemporary Christians, especially in America, Christians who frequently suffer from inadequate forms of faith, from incomplete expressions of Christianity, which exhibit a weak Trinitarian theology, or a meager Pneumatology, or a Christomonistic predilection. The dynamics of the Orthodox faith aims at offering the complete and the whole content of divine revelation in Christ, preserved intact in its unsurpassed beauty and integrity for twenty centuries by the Church.
