Concepts

Order

Order

God—blessed be His name—loves order, and He is the One who established it.

We see that in the days of Creation: everything that happened there was in wonderful arrangement. God organized everything before creating man, then created him to find all matters prepared for life in perfect coordination between heaven and earth.

• How wondrous is the order that God placed in the heavens, and the relation between the sun and the moon, and the rest of the heavenly bodies — the planets and the stars — and the rotation of some around others in a fixed, unchanging way, until the psalmist said of them, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Ps. 19:1). Added to that is the relation of all these bodies to the earth in the alternation of night and day, and the succession of the seasons, in a fixed order.
• Added to that is the order God established regarding the relations between heat and pressure and winds and rains, and the relation of all that to man and to plants.
• And how wondrous is the order God placed in the human body — concerning the function of every organ, and the relations existing between all the organs and their cooperation, what the brain, the heart, the blood, the nerves do, and the alarm systems if any defect occurs somewhere in the body… Added to that is another wonder in the formation of the fetus in the mother’s womb, and its growth until it becomes a complete human. With another wonder in the system of heredity!
• We see a set order in the world of birds and insects and in the diversity of animals. How wondrous is the order in the journeys of migrating birds, and how wondrous is also the order among bees: their queens and workers, their production of honey and the building of their hives! How wondrous also is the order in the world of trees — in the work of the root beneath the ground and the work of branches above, and the seasons of flowering and fruiting…

We see the love of God clearly in the books of both Covenants.

• A marvelous order in the ranks of the angels and their work. There are angels of praise like the Seraphim (Isa. 6). Angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14). There are Powers, Thrones, Dominions, and also the chief princes, and their great leader Michael… In Revelation we find particular works assigned to orders and to individual angels. About all the angels the psalm says: “Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty ones who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.” (Ps. 103:20).
• We see the marvelous order also in the arrangement of the Tabernacle as the Lord commanded Moses, as related in the book of Exodus: the Tabernacle with its altars, the table and the lampstand. All was ordered by the Lord in His wisdom, even the garments of Aaron the high priest which the Lord described in detail to be made according to His will. Likewise He set the system for the making of the anointing oil and the sweet incense (Ex. 30).
• The Lord established a fixed order for all the offerings: the burnt offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the peace offering (in Leviticus). Before that He established the Passover in Exodus (Ex. 12). He organized for them all the details of these offerings, and also what they should do on the Great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). He also ordered all the feasts and sacred convocations and what is done in them (Lev. 23).

The Lord left nothing of the matters of worship without arranging it for them. This includes also what pertains to the holy place, the Holy of Holies, and the Ark of the Covenant.

• He arranged for Moses the matters of administration, how his helpers should be, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties… He also organized for him the matters of the army and the conditions for the warriors — every detail the Lord ordered.
• In the New Covenant we find God’s love of order in the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes: the Lord told His disciples concerning the people before distributing the food: to have them sit in companies, by hundreds and fifties (Mark 6:39–40).

Thus it was possible to feed the thousands in order and quiet.

• And how beautiful are the words in Scripture about order and arrangement: “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Cor. 14:40). And it is said about the resurrection and heaven, “each in his own order” (1 Cor. 15:23).

The Church also set order in all matters of worship:

• In prayers she set the order of the seven daily and nightly prayers (in the Agpeya) so that all may pray with one spirit.
• She also set an order for all liturgical prayers in every sacrament of the Church: what the prayers are in the sacrament of Baptism, the sacrament of Chrism (the Myron), in the sacrament of the Eucharist (Divine Liturgy), in the sacrament of Orders (in every degree), in the sacrament of Marriage, and in the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Everything is with a particular arrangement; no priest may say what he wishes, but all are bound to one system.
• The Church also organized what is said in the censing, and in every detail of consecration: consecration of altars and icons and baptisteries, and all sacred vessels and tools of service. Also what is said in the blessing of the vestments of the servants. The Church organized the readings for each day according to the Katamaros.
• The Church also arranged the specialization of each rank of the priesthood: and of all those serving in the clerus. No one may exceed the limits of his rank, and laws were set to regulate each one’s work.
• The Church organized also the reception of the Holy Mysteries, and the conditions of preparation for them, so that one receives worthily according to the command of Scripture (1 Cor. 11:29). She also regulated the fasts and feasts and their times. How beautiful the words of the Apostle Paul to his disciple Titus, bishop of Crete: “For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and ordain elders (presbyters) in every city.” (Titus 1:5).
• The Church cared for order as the apostle said: “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly” (2 Thess. 3:6) and also his words: “Warn those who are unruly.” (1 Thess. 5:14).

For this reason we say that the ideal person should be organized.

• He is organized in his thinking: he thinks in an orderly, arranged, and coordinated way. His thoughts follow logically in sequence without confusion. If he speaks or writes, he presents his ideas clearly and orderly. In that he respects the mind of the reader or listener, and if he teaches, he can clarify to his students what he delivers in lessons in an organized manner that makes it easy for them to comprehend what he says, by arranging and clarifying the information.
• The ideal person also cares for organizing his time so that his responsibilities are included without any confusion, and he resists wasted time that is squandered for no benefit. In this logic he also organizes his appointments. He is careful also about the appointments of others. He does not visit anyone without a prior appointment. He does not prolong a visit without necessity.
• Likewise he is organized in his diet, regarding what is necessary for his health and the times of taking food, and as far as possible he refrains from eating between meals.
• The organized person is also orderly in his clothes. Some may express this by the word (neatness). So it is not exaggerated or ostentatious; and just as he is organized in his clothes, he is organized in his home furnishings and in the papers on his desk…
• The ideal person is also organized in his work, and in every responsibility entrusted to him; especially in matters of administration, and in financial accounts regarding income, expenditure, and balance.
• Among institutions characterized by order are the military, which begins with training in marching in step, then lessons in discipline, i.e., rules of conduct in the camp. The peak of order is reached in military tactics. In addition to all this is the order in military ranks.
• Also among institutions famous for order are the diplomatic or political corps.
• We advise our children to be organized in everything.

And to be organized, especially in church and in monasteries—

avoiding improper crowding, especially during the reception of the Holy Mysteries, and in all receptions and in receiving blessings.

• We also warn against the chaos caused by many photographers in their pushing and crowding in a way that prevents the people from seeing. We also warn the organizers to carry out their work calmly; they should not raise their voices, nor rebuke the people in an unbecoming manner under the pretext of maintaining order!

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