The Life of Repentance and Purity - Ch. 1

Some years ago now (I can't recall how many), the headlines one morning were filled with news of church bombings in Egypt. There have been so many in the last handful of years that I can no longer remember if it was Christmas or Easter, or some other high feast day of the Coptic Church. In any case, I somehow came upon an Arabic report about the event that had been translated into English. In it, Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church at the time was asked to comment on the attack which had left multiple ancient churches battered and blood-soaked from all the dead and injured. While the event had stoked the outrage of Western Christians, Pope Shenouda spoke only of his sorrow for the darkened souls of the terrorists, and even pleaded with them to embrace the love of Christ so that they might even embrace their victims as brothers and sisters (my paraphrase because I can no longer find the report online). My heart had never been on the receiving end of so searing an indictment, and nor has it since.

Pope Shenouda III, who would go on to die in March of 2012, has lurked about the margins of my consciousness ever since, and this post will hopefully be the first in a series of reflections on some of his writing, a portion of which has thankfully been translated into English. In particular, I came across his early work, The Life of Repentance and Purity, while clicking through some books that were recently put on sale through SVS Press. The finding of this book in particular seems like perhaps a convergence of providence, insofar as I have maintained an intrigue about Pope Shenouda for several years now, and I have also recently found myself in a darkened spiritual state due to some personal struggles that evolved during my family's time in Salt Lake City.

What I'm considering now as I begin wading into the book is a series of "reflections", which I put in quotes because some of what I anticipate writing will be little more than quoting from the text of the book. If nothing else, it is an attempt on my part to process some of what I'm reading, as well as to whet the appetites of repentance for others who may be in need of a push. Below is a somewhat disjointed assortment of quotes I've extracted from the first chapter, entitled "What is Repentance?"

"Repentance is a cry from the conscience and a revolt against the past."

"The renewal of our natures may occur in baptism, but the renewal of the mind occurs in repentance (cf. Romans 12:2)."

"Repentance is the oil in the lampstands of the virgins, granting them the right to enter into the wedding feast."

"[Repentance] is the dissolution of communion between the sinner and the devil."

"Repentance is a divine privilege given to sinners that they might be purified and their consciences pacified."

"Repentance is a chance to rebuild hope and be rid of despair."

"[Repentance] is a reply from the will to the work of grace."

"It is the Mother of tears, contrition, and humility, because repentance gives birth to each of these."

"Repentance is joy in Heaven and on Earth, for it is written, 'There will be joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents.' So if you wish to make Heaven joyous, repent!"

"Who does not love you, O repentance, O you who carry all the blessings, except the devil, from whom you have captured riches and wasted all his possessions? O Mother of forgiveness! The Father who is filled with mercy will not be angered by your pleadings, since He granted you to be an intercessor for sinners and He gave you the key to His kingdom! For it is written, 'Unless you repent, you will likewise perish,' and also, '...a broken and contrite heart, you will not despise'."

And there's plenty more where those came from. One quote, a longer one I chose not to include verbatim, likened repentance to discovering that the devil has been sowing thorns in your land for years, and then setting fire to it. These metaphors that liken repentance to combat, "revolt", "setting fire" to things, etc., are enormously helpful to me as a person who constantly struggles against a concept of "cheap grace" (to borrow a phrase from Dietrich Bonhoeffer) that settles for pious, inward assent while rarely maturing into longstanding, altered behavior. I hope the above nuggets are helpful, and I'm hopeful that I'll have the diligence to see this book through to its conclusion while continuing to post reflections here.