"In order for a Christian to accomplish his mission inside society, he needs first to accept and love this society, even if it contains dangerous trends, even if it is corrupt and evil, and even if its values conflict with the Christian conscience...We should affirm our identity within many identities, and we should raise our voice in the midst of many voices. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church according to the Promise of Christ (John 14: 17), and works continuously in it, giving its members the gifts of Pentecost and its experiences. Therefore, we have to offer the experiences of sanctity and knowledge together without conflict or separation, in order for the Church to achieve its educational and informative role for the service of the believers and their spiritual growth.... This spiritual renewal leads us not to undermine the value of science, arts, literature, and all cultural aspects; we believe that the spiritual experience takes all knowledge to its sublime end in order to achieve its ultimate good. For God has loved the world, He loved it as it was, and will love it as it is now. We, as children of God, should love the world and take care of it, and perform our ministry of the Word by using all tools at our disposal."
+ Patriarch John X, Vision for the Antiochian Orthodox Church, On Preaching, http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/2013/02/john-xs-vision-for-patriarchate-of.html
" “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph 5 19).
Liturgy, as the address of the created to the Creator; is the domain in which our Holy Fathers expressed the special relationship of the children with their heavenly Father; and the uprightness of their faith. They have lived this experience and expressed it in words cast in poems imbued with ascetic terms, resulting in prayers. These prayers reflect the life of the Church historically and theologically, the more we repeat them, the more we understand their depth and appreciate their sweetness.
However liturgy is not a rigid thing to be repeated unconsciously. It is an expression of the human need to talk to the Lord, and to thank Him for His grace. Liturgy is spirit and life running through the veins of the body of the Church, and nurturing all its members. It revives the Church, the community and the individuals with the grace that is bestowed upon it. Hence, we are here before a precious gem. We should polish it and reveal its glorious face, stressing the essence of the liturgical practice which leads the believer to grow in Christ. It is therefore important to resort to all tools that enable the people to reach the depth of this inspiring liturgy, that they may take from it that which will help them attain salvation and understanding of the mystery of God.
We are aware of the fact that ritual services and sacramental life are important in our parishes. Performing these services, unifying the forms and developing chanting play a special and basic role in harmonizing between the liturgical practice and the pastoral reality. Activating the pastoral aspect of Liturgy can increase the religious awareness and deepen the relationship between the created beings and the Creator. This is realized by making the language understandable to the people, and by restoring the pastoral liturgical order which takes into consideration the particular needs of parishes and the necessity of sanctifying time in a world of drastic changes. We should also restore the pastoral dimension of all sacramental practices in order that these practices may become the center of the life of the believing community, not merely as passing practices of individuals."
+ Patriarch John X, Vision for the Antiochian Orthodox Church, On Liturgy, http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/2013/02/john-xs-vision-for-patriarchate-of.html
