{"id":483192,"date":"2024-06-05T16:40:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=483192"},"modified":"2024-06-05T16:40:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T13:40:15","slug":"christ-dismantles-prejudices-and-complexes-bp-varlaam-explains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/christ-dismantles-prejudices-and-complexes-bp-varlaam-explains\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ dismantles prejudices and complexes, Bp Varlaam explains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploie\u0219ti celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest and underlined that the encounter between the Saviour Christ and the Samaritan woman illustrates the dismantling of specific prejudices and complexes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By speaking with the Samaritan woman, Jesus \u201covercomes this complex of the superiority of the Jewish people, showing that other nations are equal in dignity, as we are all, as He teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount, children of the Heavenly Father,\u201d following the Lord\u2019s Prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoreover, He breaks down gender prejudices. He speaks with this woman, even though in antiquity, women were despised and often compared to beasts of burden useful in a household. That is why the evangelist John says that when the disciples returned, they were amazed that the Teacher was talking with a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, He abolishes this complex of religious superiority, showing that with the establishment of Christ\u2019s Church, the old Law and all pagan beliefs lose any significance and importance, for the Church remains truly the place where people worship in Spirit and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The patriarchal vicar bishop reminded that the Saviour Himself was threatened with death in a Samaritan city, and He had previously told His disciples, \u201cDo not go to the Gentiles and do not enter the city of the Samaritans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut because He came to perfect the law and renew divine revelation, to fulfil it, to perfect it, He wants to abolish these barriers, these prejudices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worship in Spirit and Truth<\/h1>\n

His Grace Varlaam then explained what worship in Spirit and truth means.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do we worship in Spirit? Because the Spirit is the One who prays in us with groans that words cannot express, as the Holy Apostle Paul teaches the faithful in Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, many understand this worship in Spirit as personal worship within our soul. The Holy Apostle Paul shows that this spiritual worship must involve both soul and body,\u201d explained His Grace Bishop Varlaam of Ploie\u0219ti.<\/p>\n

Saint Paul urged, “in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,\u00a0holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your true and proper worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why, when we worship, we worship with both soul and body, marking it with the sign of the Holy Cross, bowing or prostrating, participating in communal prayer at church, especially at the Holy and Divine Liturgy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPreparing ourselves for these two feasts, the Ascension of the Lord and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, may the Good Lord make us worthy to become worshipers as God the Father desires, in Spirit and truth,\u201d urged His Grace Varlaam of Ploie\u0219ti.<\/p>\n