A healthy, balanced ego is essential for being a healthy, balanced Christian. God does not want his followers to be timid souls filled with self-loathing. He wants strong and courageous personalities who are so confident in the love of God for them that they share His love generously with others. But a healthy ego is not egotistical. And removing egotism is what St. Paul has in mind in today’s epistle reading when he says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Here, the word “I” is in Greek egô. Distinguishing between a healthy ego and unholy egotism requires wisdom and a great deal of self-examination. Two things are helpful to consider. First, we must remember to pray for our enemies. St. John Chrysostom says that St. Paul prayed more for his enemies than others pray against their enemies. Egotism makes us think that crimes against us are unforgivable. A healthy ego will defend itself against abuse, as both Jesus and St. Paul did during their ministries. But Christ said from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” In the same spirit, St. Paul said, “When reviled, we bless.” Praying for enemies crucifies egotism. Second, we must imitate the example of Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). The world does not exist to be dominated but to be served. Do we always need to point out where others are wrong? Can we not rather find ways to respect others with differing opinions? Do we squeeze every penny from business transactions? Should we not instead strive to find ways to be fair to all sides? St. Paul would rather be wronged than disturb the harmony of the Church (1 Cor 6). We must do likewise.

Fr. George Parsenios is Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. www.hchc.edu

Fr. George Parsenios (HCHC ’96)

The English word “diocese” is a compound of two Greek elements: the prefix dia, “for the sake of” and the term oikos, “house.” In its most basic sense, dioikêsis refers to “household administration,” and it eventually came to mean simply “administration” of any kind. At the height of the Roman Empire, the term dioikêsis was a label for administrative territories, especially districts organized for the collection of taxes. When the Roman Empire became a Christian empire following the conversion of St. Constantine, church administration imitated imperial administration. Christian bishops had always been connected to particular cities or regions, and soon the term that defined the region of a bishop carried the name “diocese,” borrowing the language of imperial administrative units. The term “diocese” is not used, however, in the Greek-speaking Church today; instead, the words “metropolis” or “eparchy” designate episcopal regions. In English-speaking countries, however, the Orthodox Church often follows standard English usage by employing “diocese” and “archdiocese” for episcopal sees. 

Fr. George Parsenios is Professor of New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. www.hchc.edu