“This is a symbol, it is a sign — washing your feet means I am at your service,” Francis told the youngsters. “Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty, as a priest and bishop I must be at your service.”

This is what Orthodox Christian Leadership looks like.

We talked about this at some length especially how in our secularized age (I define secularization as the loss of the awareness of the sacred dimension of creation) many people experience deep interior alienation but are also compelled toward authenticity and communion, especially among the young.

Authentic conversation with Christians of other communions takes place only when the foundational moral and theological questions are settled.

Meaning, I assume that the foundational beliefs of each tradition are not questioned by those who hold them, but you look for agreement elsewhere, confident in your foundation.

What are they waiting for? In a word — anthropology. “Anthropology” is a theological term that is derived from the Greek work anthropos or “man.” It means that within our Orthodox tradition lies the knowledge of what it means to be a human being particularly how our personhood — the who of who we are — is realized and actualized in communion with the Risen Christ. We Orthodox understand this. Our anthropology is developed. That’s one reason why the Church does not fall apart despite our disorganization and historical suffering.

And yet, we have those within the Church who question our anthropology and wish to cave to the modern evil and confusion. If would hope that consistent agreement on the foundations of Christian anthropology amongst we Orthodox, RCs and various Protestants will strengthen us all. Am I incorrect in my assumption that since Jesus Christ assumed human nature, fully, that anthropological questions cannot be separated from Christological ones?

I would note, that we need to do a better job of articulating our anthropolgy in a proactive, positive way rather than simply reacting by saying no to those who want to change it, or perhaps don’t understand it.