As a convert to the Faith, I think a lot of the treasure of tradition that has been handed down for thousands of years… and often I am deeply drawn to the “little t” ways practiced in the “Little Church” of the home traditions most of all.

They are ways passed onto us from a deeply simple time of old… a time without hashtags and constant noise. They are little ways that perhaps one person in one village began, and others like bees drawn to a flower filled themselves of that nectar and made a harvest of honey out of it in the hive of their own lives.

Many times the “little-t” traditions are very local, such that the average convert doesn’t know what to make of it all. And we are the melting pot of every Orthodox tradition from every jurisdiction in this country.

The non-Orthodox routinely call them rote and meaningless gestures of Faith… and so over the years I have sat with each tradition that I know (and I am always learning more) and pondered why would I do this? I’ve come to the conclusion that none of it is meaningless and I sought a possibility of why it was done in the first place… my answers are my own, hopefully inspired by some Grace – not about me, but Christ. They may not resonate with you, or they might.

In the end they are deeply meaningful to me. I offer them to anyone wondering or struggling how to incorporate them into their life on a deeper level, rather than just to do them. Every tradition I know, I have learned about from others – family, friends – both in person and on social media.

A rote action is to live on the surface, to involve the body but not the soul. To those non-Orthodox who wonder about the little “t” tradition, even dismising them, I thank you. Your skepticism brought me beneath the surface of the veneer and into the deep woody grain of the cross. Partly to give non-Orthodox friends an answer but mostly to live and incorporate these expressions of Faith in my life in a real way, not a rote one. Every year I come back to those reflections with a fresh new look.

The Liturgical cycle of the Faith, both little “t” and big “T” is the same each year – teaching me and inviting me deeper into the Faith. And as we approach the new liturgical cycle, like the moon orbiting the Sun, or the rings of a tree showing the signs of feasting and famine, drought or floods… we are in a different season of life each year. We learn something new; we are reborn through repentance, through Grace, through Liturgical Living and this is a deep steadfast blessing to the faithful.

The following is a reflection of the practice of ushering in the Ecclesial New Year by placing an icon on our doorstep from a few years ago…

A New Year of Grace {Repost}

The Treasure of Tradition    Despite being united to Christ in the Orthodox Church some twenty years ago, there are still many of those little “t” traditions of which I do not know.  When I joined the Orthodox Church the first thing I realized is that I don’t know anything, and not in a bad way at all, but a very very good way…. a way that allows me to incorporate the faith morsel by morsel so that I can digest it.

This year (just last night in fact!) I learned of the tradition to place an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos at the threshold of the door to our home as we usher in the new Liturgical (Ecclesial) Year of Grace.

In many conversations with non-Orthodox over the years, I have been struck by their idea that our little “t” and big “T” traditions are merely rote action.  Yet, as one who seeks (and quite imperfectly, too)  to live and raise a family in the faith, I find most beautifully that these “traditions” of ours are not rote or meaningless at all ::  but rather beckon and re-orient our hearts to that which is needful.

Just as we pray corporately the Anaphora during the Divine Liturgy, these little “t” traditions are our “little a” anaphoras :: a lifting up and offering of ourselves.  A simple, humbling endeavor, to place God above all, offering up our whole  lives to Him.

It is Eucharisteo : Grace,  Joy and Thanksgiving throughout the seasons of our lives.

These are just another way in which we lift up our hearts in this great litany of our lives.  Little children in Greece make the sign of the cross when riding their bikes past a Church :: mothers entering Church remind their little ones to make the sign of the cross before they enter :: we light candles :: burn sweet smelling incense :: we trace the sign of the cross on our children when tucking them into bed :: prayers and prostrations dovetail together :: we kiss the icons and we greet one another with a kiss of peace :: we dye our Pascha eggs the reddest of red, but we don’t dye them on Holy Friday ::  fresh basil is brought home from Church on the Elevation of the Cross and placed in the sourdough starters that will leaven phosphora :: and of course, we pray facing the east – our souls waiting for the Lord, like the watchman waiting for the dawn.

Again and again, in so many ways, we are called to this life in Christ.  To live our lives through the years and seasons and rhythm of the Church.  It is our great priority :: this great Liturgy of Life :: it is more needful  than schoolwork, profession, sports and hobby :: and yet with life in Christ as our priority our ability to fulfill our schoolwork, professions, sports or hobby is in no way diminished.  Traditions bring to light blessings :: even on the threshold of our very home.

Placing an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos at our doorstep – what a wonderful tradition to usher in the new Ecclesial Year :: just as the Ecclesia means “called out” :: the new Ecclesial year “calls us out” again, “to lay aside our earthly cares” and enter into the timeless rhythms and seasons of the Liturgical life of the Church.

The Orthodox Christian lives Ecclesial Year to Ecclesial Year ::Feast to Feast :: Fast to Fast ::Confession to Confession :: Liturgy to Liturgy :: Eucharist to Eucharist.  Just as we have New Year’s resolutions to usher in a new calendar year, now is a great moment to pause, reflect and begin again.

Does my family have regular prayer time?  If not, this is a time to begin.  Are we attending Church weekly?  That’s alright :: start this weeks Vespers and Liturgy.  Has it been forever since my last Confession :: make an inventory, call your priest.  Go.

And so today, on the dawn of a new ecclesial year, the faithful are hopeful standing on this threshold of Grace of a new year, with an invitation to redeem the time.

Blessed art thou O Lord, teach me Thy statutes.

Real life is Eucharist, a movement of love and adoration toward God, the movement in which alone the meaning and the value of all that exists can be revealed and fulfilled

~

Alexander Schmemman