The Orthodox Church in a council earlier this century has officially condemned racism. Racism is the evil glorification of one’s race and the consequent prejudice against other races. But a church declaration cannot make prejudice vanish. Each orthodox Christian has the responsibility to turn the teachings and beliefs of our Holy Orthodox Faith into everyday practice. This will only happen when we learn about and in turn live our Faith.

Holy Gospels
In the holy Gospels we read concrete examples of how our Lord dealt with people from a different cultural and racial background to Himself. Our Lord was according to His human nature a Jew. All non-Jewish people were considered unclean and Jewish people would not have any dealings with them. In John 4: 5-42 we read of the conversation with the Samaritan women. In Matthew 8:5-13 we read of the miracle where our Lord healed the Roman centurion’s servant. In Matthew 15:21-28 we read of the healing of the daughter of the woman from Canaan.

Lives of the Saints
The lives of the Saints show us how the eternal Truths of the holy Gospels can be lived out in day to day life. The following example is taken from the life of Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia. The event shown here took place in 1910. The Greek Orthodox minority lived side by side with the often very hostile Turkish Muslim population. In the following excerpt we read how Saint Arsenios showed love to the Muslim people, without ever denying the unique nature of his Orthodox Faith.
“ One time they brought to Hadjiefendis (St Arsenios' nick name) a blind Muslim woman from Telelides, called Fatma, on a Wednesday it was, for him to read a prayer to make her well. Since he was in retreat, when the people with the blind woman had knocked a good long time at the door of his cell, they left her outside and went to the centre of the village.
Just then, a Farasiote woman, whose hand had seized up like a hook, went to Hadjiefendis’ cell and, taking some soil from the threshold, rubbed it on the sore hand and it was healed.
(This is what all the Farasiotes did on those two days, when he was in retreat, so as not to bother him).
So when she saw the blind woman, she asked her what she was waiting for, and the blind woman told her. Then Farasiote said to her:
“What are you standing here for, wasting your time? Don’t you know Hadjiefendis doesn’t open on Wednesdays and Fridays? Take some soil from the threshold and rub it on your eyes to make them better, which is what we all do on these days if we fall sick.”
The Farasiote woman left and went about her business. The Muslim, however, who had been astonished in the beginning at what she had heard, them looked for the threshold and found it. She took some soil and rubbed it on her eyes and immediately began to see dimly. She was so overjoyed that she picked up a stone and started pounding on Father Arsenios’ door with it, as if she had gone mad. He opened it and, when he saw that it was a Muslim woman, although he did not usually speak on that day, he made an exception and asked her what she wanted. She told him the reason, and Father Arsenios took the Gospel and read it over her and she immediately gained her sight completely. In her great joy, she fell at his feet and bowed down before him devoutly, but Father Arsenios scolded her and said:
“If you want to bow down, bow down to Christ, Who gave you your sight, not to me.” She then left, very happy, to find her companions, and they set off for their village.”

Conclusion
As orthodox Christians we should strive to be influenced and inspired by the holy gospels, the lives and Icons of the Saints and not by the different social and cultural currents of our day. We have a responsibility to be faithful inheritors of our rich Christian heritage and this will only happen if we take the time to find out what our Church teaches and if we struggle to implement these teachings in our life. And if we find that our heart has prejudice in it we should not fear but through prayer and the holy struggle we should seek God’s help for “those things that are impossible for humans, are possible with God”

Athanasios Fouras