Page 206 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
of Scripture, liturgical texts, and theological writings into Sla-
vonic. No attempt was made to impose the Greek language,
even at a time when the Byzantine world was developing an
increasing Greek consciousness. This shows that the Church
of Constantinople preferred the ancient, ecumenical, and su-
pranational tradition of the early Church. The deeper eccle-
siological meaning is clear: in the Church of Christ there is no
place for nationalism or racism as ecclesiological principles.
The second characteristic is that the transmission of the
faith took place with the liturgical life of the Church at its
center. Orthodox mission begins with the establishment of the
Eucharistic assembly; from the Divine Eucharist flows the
entire life of the Church. The newly illumined must begin
from the experience of the Divine Liturgy in order to be
grounded in the true faith. Thus the baptism of the Russians
was not simply a baptism in the waters of a river, but a baptism
into the liturgical life of Orthodoxy, and this has remained
indelible throughout the centuries.
From this perspective, the relationship between the two
Churches took shape as that of Mother and Daughter. The
Mother Church offered the faith in its true form, together with
the whole mode of ecclesial life—faith as worship, faith as
communion, faith free from every national limitation. But this
offering did not end with the initial act of transmission. It
extended into the whole spiritual life, including monasticism,
which was transplanted authentically into Russian soil and
became a decisive factor in the life of the people. It shaped not
only religious life, but the entire cultural ethos, forming ideals
such as humility, asceticism, and knowledge of the human
heart.
At the same time, the Mother Church contributed to the
unity of the Russian people. Through the ecclesial structures
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