Inner River: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Christian Spirituality by Kyriacos C. Markides

Author:Kyriacos C. Markides [Markides, Kyriacos C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Life, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Christianity, Orthodox
ISBN: 9780307885883
Google: WTwz0AOF1CkC
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2012-03-06T08:54:19+00:00

SEVEN

BEYOND DEATH

Father Maximos returned to Cyprus from Greece three days after our excursion to Kourion with Vladimiros. The day of his arrival I called and made an appointment to see him at eleven the following morning. I looked forward to reconnecting with him and discussing further some of the ideas on mortality that were the focus of conversation with our aging friend. At nine the next morning, my friend Stephanos called and surprised me with the news that Fr. Maximos was speaking live on the radio. Listeners were free to call in and ask questions related to the spiritual life. I picked up my mini transistor radio and began walking toward Fr. Maximos’s office and residence at the bishopric, thirty-five minutes from our apartment and next to the radio station. I aimed to reach his office before Fr. Maximos finished with the radio interview.

I crossed the Zoological Garden, the central park of Limassol, with its carefully trimmed and manicured flora, passed a newly erected statue of Pushkin, a sign of the city’s increasing Russian presence, and reached the road that ran along the seashore on the other side of the park. I headed west toward the town center. On my left was the beach, with hundreds of sunbathing tourists, followed by a one-mile promenade with tall palm trees. On my right was the commercial part of Limassol, with its narrow streets, archaic buildings, ancient fortress, and many cafés, taverns, and souvenir shops. Wearing my hat and sunglasses for protection against the blinding Mediterranean sun, I walked holding the mini transistor close to my ear and listening to the broadcast.

One of the callers was a tearful woman whose father had just died. She was terrified by the prospect that her father might already be a permanent resident of Hell. During his life, she said, he’d never cared for the Church, never attended services, and never went to confession or took communion. “My father,” sobbed the woman, “died in my arms. He was a good man.”

Father Maximos, in his usual soothing way, replied: “God is not unjust. God is good, and you should have no concerns about the fate of your father’s soul. God is loving and compassionate and does not wish anyone to be lost in Hell. Be certain of this!”

I could hear an audible sigh of relief from the poor woman. Having come to know Fr. Maximos over the years, I did not expect him to say anything different. He frequently lamented the distorted view that many Christians have of God, as a kind of angry tyrant who takes pleasure in tossing sinners into the burning fires of eternal damnation. I thought of my late father-in-law. A much-loved retired schoolmaster, he was known for his dry sense of humor. Right before his death, at age eighty-nine, he was visited by the local priest to administer the last rites. Before offering him holy communion, the priest asked whether he wished to confess his sins to God. My father-in-law waved his hand, signaling a refusal, and said, “Father, I didn’t know I had any quarrels with the Almighty.

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