Inhumation as Theophanic Encounter: The Eastern Orthodox Rejection of Cremation

IF 0.2 4区 哲学 0 PHILOSOPHY
Alexander Earl
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This essay aims to articulate why the Orthodox have historically, and to the present, opposed cremation. Its primary line of argument is that inhumation is a site of “theophanic encounter”: a manifestation of the Glory of God. This theophanic quality is borne out in the scriptures and the Church’s liturgical experience. In particular, the connections between the funeral service and the entombed Christ on Holy Friday and Saturday properly situate the meaning of the post-mortem body. This intimate connection between the deceased and their body is clear in Orthodoxy’s “hylomorphism,” the soul-body unity, which champions the eschatology of resurrection. Finally, all of the above is concretely experienced in the cult of the saints and their relics, which become vehicles for the divine energies: a theophany of Christ’s ongoing conquest of sin and death. Thus, cremation can only be viewed as a tragic misunderstanding of the dual meaning of “doxa” in Orthodoxy: right-belief and right-glory.
作为 "神遇 "的掘墓:东正教拒绝火葬
本文旨在阐明为什么东正教从古至今一直反对火葬。文章的主要论点是,土葬是 "神遇 "的场所:是上帝荣耀的显现。这种 "神性 "在圣经和教会的礼仪经验中得到了印证。特别是,圣周五和圣周六的葬礼仪式与被埋葬的基督之间的联系恰当地诠释了死后躯体的意义。东正教的 "hylomorphism",即灵魂与肉体的合一,倡导复活的末世论,清楚地表明了死者与其肉体之间的密切联系。最后,所有这些都在对圣人及其遗物的崇拜中得到具体体现,圣人及其遗物成为神圣能量的载体:基督不断战胜罪恶和死亡的预言。因此,火葬只能被视为对东正教中 "doxa "的双重含义--正确的信仰和正确的荣耀--的悲剧性误解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
1.30
自引率
33.30%
发文量
15
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