Talking Tuesday: The Eucharistic View of the Body

Image via

I hate to keep beating a dead horse and going on about a book I didn't like that much, but one of my issues with Angela Doll Carlson's book, Garden in the East: The Spiritual Life of the Body, is that she makes a spectacular point about the Orthodox view of the body, far from being either Epicurean (being given over entirely to the demands of the body), or Stoic (being given over to complete denial of bodily reality and focused entirely on the spirit), is rather Eucharistic. But she then fails to explain what that really means. I think it is a rather key point to understand, particularly in our post modern age, where Epicureans and Stoics abound. I found it immensely frustrating; how should we view the body, and treat it, in a way that is God-pleasing and healthy for our salvation? What is the purpose of bringing the passions of the flesh under spiritual discipline?

Image via

Over the weekend, our church had a little book sale, and I picked up a copy of Fr. Alexander Men's book, An Inner Step Towards God.  It is a collection of his writings and a few transcriptions of talks he gave in the years before his assassination; I've long wanted to read more of his work.  So far, I'm finding the book very very good.  In chapter five, he talks at length about the Orthodox view of the body, and parses out precisely what I was looking for.

"A human body is God's wondrous creation, the most perfect creation in all of nature.  A person is not simply "imprisoned" within his body [as the Stoics believed], but lives by it expressed all of his aspirations through it.  The mystery of the Incarnation is a great testimony against those who would view the body form the point of view of non-Christian dualism and spiritualism.  These views are remnants of ancient Eastern beliefs and the teachings of Plato, but they are by no means attributable to the Bible or Christianity.  

It would be just as false, however, to put the body in an undeserving position, submitting to its every demand [as the Epicureans believed].  Our entire existence, which carries the stamp of original sin on it, is marked by a dissonance between the spirit and the flesh.  Therefore, many natural instincts stand in opposition to the spiritual life.  This is why the New Testament and the Church Fathers warn against following the flesh; remember that by "the flesh," the Scriptures mean mankind's whole psychophysical nature.  Saint Basil the Great compares the body with a horse that requires a bit.  Just as an uncontrollable horse will throw its rider, so the flesh, if left to its own devices, will enslave the spirit.  Conversely, the body, when put in its proper place, is capable of assisting the spiritual life and prayer (something altogether different from simply not impeding prayer).  Both the neglect and undue elevation of the body can seriously backfire and destroy the life of the soul and spirit.  The art of controlling the body and managing the flesh is called asceticism....

Healthy or ailing, rejoicing or suffering, our body must be the vessel of our soul, the instrument of its expression while striving for the higher life.  This is why the Apostle Paul calls the body "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19).  The Church, therefore, reverently venerates saints' relics.  As the Apostle Paul commands, we are to honor God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20)."

~Fr. Alexander Men, An Inner Step Toward God: Writings and Teachings on Prayer by Father Alexander Men.  Edited by April French.  Trans. by Christa Belyaeva.  Brewster, Mass: Paraclete Press, 2014, 47-48, parenthetical remarks mine.

Image via

Fr. Men goes on to talk about bodily positions during prayer, and how best to hold the body to assist one's spiritual efforts.  He is startlingly specific about various things like placement of the feet and hands, proper positioning of the spine and so on.  He is very understanding of human frailty with regard to exhaustion and time constraints of the modern life as well as distraction.  He gives very concrete suggestions for making time to pray in the morning and evening, and talks at length about how to approach these things as a practical matter.  I won't go into too much detail, as I think the book is well worth a read.  It has certainly given me much to think about, and given me some things to work on in my own prayer rule.