Study Guide: In View of All This, What Therefore Is Expected of Us?

Book: Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life by Anthony M. Coniaris
Chapter 17: In View of All This, What Therefore Is Expected of Us?

Summary

Chapter 17 is the concluding chapter of the book — the "therefore" chapter. Having spent sixteen chapters presenting the Orthodox faith in its fullness, Coniaris now turns to the question every serious reader must ask: given all of this, what is expected of us? The chapter is structured around the Pauline pattern in which great doctrinal exposition is followed by a practical imperative grounded in what God has done. Because God has acted — in creation, in redemption, in the gift of the sacraments, in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit — the only fitting human response is a life of obedience, love, doxology, witness, and stewardship.

Obedience is not the compliance of a slave but the grateful response of a person who has received everything from God. The Orthodox Christian obeys because they love, not because they fear. Obedience is the form love takes in daily life.
Love is the great commandment and the supreme mark of discipleship: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Love is not a feeling but a choice, a practice, a way of life. It is the natural outpouring of a heart that has been touched by the love of God.
Doxology — the praise and glorification of God — is described as the dominant language of Orthodox faith. The Orthodox Christian's characteristic response to the goodness of God is not analysis but praise. "Glory to God for all things!" (Doxa to Theo pantote) is the instinctive cry of the Orthodox soul.
Witness for Christ in the world is both a privilege and an obligation. To confess Christ before others is not just an act of courage — it strengthens the confessor. Faith articulated is faith deepened. Silence about Christ, by contrast, weakens the inner life.
Stewardship (oikonomia) is the recognition that all we have — time, talents, and possessions — belongs to God. We are oikonomoi (managers, stewards), not owners. The "two plates" image is central: God extends His plate of gifts first; our offering plate is only a response to what we have already received.
Giving is structured around six principles: proportionately, lovingly, generously, wisely, gladly, and humbly. Each principle corrects a distortion: giving by guilt rather than proportion, giving coldly rather than lovingly, giving minimally rather than generously, giving without discernment, giving resentfully rather than gladly, and giving self-promotingly rather than humbly.
The book closes with the image: "Blessed to Bless." We are blessed to bless, forgiven to forgive, loved to love, saved to save. The entire Christian life is a cycle of receiving and giving in which we pass on to others what God has given to us.

Key Themes and Sections

1. The "Therefore" Principle

The chapter's title — "In View of All This, What Therefore Is Expected of Us?" — is deliberately modeled on the Pauline pattern of argument. In Romans, after eleven chapters of doctrinal exposition on sin, grace, justification, and the sovereignty of God, Paul writes: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1). The "therefore" is load-bearing. Christian ethics are always responsive ethics — not a set of rules imposed from outside but the natural response of a person who has understood what God has done.

The structure of the entire book follows this logic: Chapters 1–16 are the indicatives (who God is, what He has done, what the Church is, what the sacraments give, what prayer is). Chapter 17 is the imperative (therefore, live accordingly). This is the Pauline pattern, the Orthodox pattern, the pattern of the Gospel.

2. Obedience

The chapter frames obedience not as servility but as love's practical form. A slave obeys from fear; a friend obeys from love. The Orthodox Christian has been adopted as a child of God, made a member of Christ's body, filled with the Holy Spirit. To obey God's commands is to act in accordance with one's own deepest nature — to live as what one truly is.

Obedience also requires attentiveness: to obey God's will, one must first discern it. This is why prayer is not separate from ethics but foundational to it. The person who prays learns to hear God's voice; the person who hears God's voice obeys; the person who obeys is transformed.

3. Love

Love is the mark of authentic Christian life and the criterion of authentic Orthodox faith. Doctrinal correctness without love is, in St. Paul's words, "nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). The Orthodox tradition is not indifferent to doctrine — on the contrary, it has fought strenuously to preserve right belief — but it insists that doctrine must issue in love or it has missed the point.

The commandment is simple but infinitely demanding: "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). The standard is Christ's own love — a love that gave everything, that went to the Cross, that forgives the unforgivable. This is not a counsel of sentimentality but a summons to radical self-giving patterned on the Incarnation and the Passion.

4. Doxology — The Language of Orthodoxy

Prof. Constantine Scouteris of Athens University has said: "Doxology is the language of Orthodoxy." This is a profound observation. In other traditions, theology primarily takes the form of systematic exposition or critical argument. In Orthodoxy, the primary mode of theology is praise — the glorification of God in the liturgy, in the icons, in the lives of the saints, in the instinctive cry Doxa to Theo (Glory to God).

St. John Chrysostom, dying in exile after years of unjust suffering, is said to have died with the words: "Glory to God for all things." This is the doxological instinct at its purest: praise not only for blessings but for all things — including suffering, loss, and death — because even in these God is present and working.

The Orthodox Christian who has absorbed the fullness of the faith cannot help but become, in some measure, a doxological person: one whose natural response to beauty, goodness, sorrow, and joy alike is the praise of God.

5. Our Witness for Christ in the World

The chapter insists that Christian witness — confessing Christ before others — is not only a duty but a gift to the confessor. When we speak of Christ, our faith is strengthened. Faith articulated and shared grows; faith hoarded and hidden atrophies.

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is not addressed only to clergy. Every Orthodox Christian, by virtue of Baptism and Chrismation, has received the Holy Spirit and bears the responsibility of witness. The laity are members of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) — a priestly people whose entire life is meant to be a witness to the risen Lord.

Witness does not require formal programs or calculated strategies. It requires a life so evidently transformed by the grace of God that others ask questions. When they ask, we must be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15).

6. The Stewardship of Time, Talents, and Possessions

Stewardship (oikonomia) rests on a single theological conviction: everything belongs to God. "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" (Psalm 24:1). The Christian is an oikonomos — a household manager, a steward of someone else's property. This shifts the entire framework: we do not give to God a portion of what is "ours." We return to God what was always His.

Time is a stewardship. The Orthodox Christian is called to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16), using each day for the things that matter eternally. Talents are a stewardship: the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) makes clear that gifts buried in fear are gifts squandered. Possessions are a stewardship: one account of judgment used in the chapter is precisely how we used material resources for God's purposes.

7. Two Plates — Not One

The image of two plates is the visual center of the chapter's teaching on giving. God extends His plate first — loaded with all the gifts of creation, redemption, the Church, the sacraments, prayer, and eternal life. We extend our plate second — our offering of time, talent, and treasure in response.

The sequence matters: God gives first. The offering plate passed in church is not a request from an institution that needs money; it is an invitation to respond to what God has already given. Giving, from this perspective, is not sacrifice but gratitude. It is the natural expression of a person who has truly understood what they have received.

8. Principles of Giving

The chapter closes with six principles for Christian giving, each one a correction of a common distortion:

Give proportionately — The tithe is the scriptural model (Malachi 3:10; 2 Corinthians 9:7). Give in proportion to what you have received, not a flat amount that ignores the size of the gift.
Give lovingly — The manner of giving matters as much as the amount. "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). Giving that is cold, perfunctory, or begrudging misses the point.
Give generously — The call is not to minimalism but to abundance. "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; whoever sows generously will also reap generously" (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Give wisely — Generosity requires discernment. Not all recipients of giving are equally worthy; not all causes equally advance the Kingdom. Giving wisely means attending to where the resources will do the most good.
Give gladly — The Greek word in 2 Corinthians 9:7 (hilaron) is the root of the English "hilarious." Christian giving is meant to have a quality of joyful abandon, not grim duty.
Give humbly — "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3). Giving that is self-advertised and glory-seeking has already received its reward; it is no longer a gift but a transaction.

9. Blessed to Bless — The Closing Vision

The book ends with the image that has been implicit throughout: we are blessed to bless. Every gift received creates a corresponding responsibility to pass it on. We are forgiven to forgive others. We are loved to love. We have found salvation to help others find it. We have received the mercy of God to show mercy to others.

This is the cycle of grace: divine gift → human reception → human gift to others → divine gift through us to others. The Christian is not the origin of blessing but the channel of it. The book of the Church's faith ends not with a systematic conclusion but with this invitation: having received everything, give everything.

Key Quotes

"Doxology is the language of Orthodoxy." — Prof. Constantine Scouteris

"Glory to God for all things." — St. John Chrysostom (his dying words)

"We are blessed to bless, forgiven to forgive, loved to love, saved to help others find salvation." — Anthony M. Coniaris

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." — Psalm 24:1 (the foundation of Christian stewardship)

"'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' In its simplicity it contains the whole gospel." — Anthony M. Coniaris

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." — John 13:35

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." — Romans 12:1 (the Pauline "therefore" pattern)

Discussion Questions

The chapter follows the Pauline pattern: after all the doctrine, "therefore, live this way." Why is it important that Christian ethics be grounded in doctrine and in what God has done, rather than being a free-standing moral code? What happens when Christian ethics are separated from this doctrinal foundation?
Obedience is described as the response of love, not the compliance of fear. What is the difference in practice? How does the motivation for obedience affect the quality of obedience?
Prof. Scouteris says "Doxology is the language of Orthodoxy." What does it mean for praise to be the primary form of theology? How does this shape how you understand the purpose of worship?
St. John Chrysostom died saying "Glory to God for all things" — including his unjust exile and suffering. What spiritual formation is required to arrive at a genuinely doxological response to suffering, not just blessing? Is this authentic faith or denial?
The chapter says that confessing Christ before others strengthens faith in the confessor. Have you experienced this? What happens to a faith that is never spoken or shared?
The "two plates" image: God gives first; we respond. How does this change your experience of the offering plate at church? Of giving in general?
The chapter lists six principles of giving: proportionately, lovingly, generously, wisely, gladly, and humbly. Which of these is most challenging for you? Which do you find most natural?
The stewardship of time: the chapter says every day is a gift to be managed for God's purposes. What would it look like to take seriously the stewardship of time in your daily life? What would change?
"We are blessed to bless." This is the final image of the book. What has God given you that you are meant to pass on? What would it mean to think of your gifts, not as possessions to be protected, but as channels to be opened?
Looking back over the entire book: which chapter or theme has most challenged your existing understanding of Christianity? Which has most deepened your faith? Which question will you carry forward into further study or prayer?

Key Scripture References

Romans 12:1-2 — "Therefore, I appeal to you...present your bodies as a living sacrifice"; the Pauline "therefore" structure
John 13:34-35 — Love one another; by this all will know you are my disciples
Matthew 28:19-20 — The Great Commission; witness to all nations
Psalm 24:1 — "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it" (foundation of stewardship)
Malachi 3:10 — The tithe; proportionate giving
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 — Sowing generously; God loves a cheerful (hilaron) giver
Matthew 6:3-4 — "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"; humility in giving
Matthew 25:14-30 — The parable of the talents; stewardship of gifts
Ephesians 5:15-16 — "Redeeming the time"; stewardship of time
1 Peter 2:9 — The royal priesthood of the laity; witnesses in the world
1 Peter 3:15 — "Always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you"
Matthew 25:31-46 — The sheep and the goats; loving Christ in the poor as concrete stewardship and witness
Luke 12:48 — "To whom much is given, much will be required"

Key Terms

Doxology (Greek: doxa "glory" + logos "word") — The praise and glorification of God; the primary theological language of the Orthodox tradition
Oikonomos (Greek: "household manager," "steward") — The New Testament image for the Christian as a manager of God's resources, not an owner
Oikonomia (Greek: "household management," "economy") — Stewardship; the principle that all of creation belongs to God and is entrusted to humanity for faithful management
The "Therefore" Principle — The Pauline structural pattern in which doctrinal exposition (indicatives) is followed by ethical imperatives grounded in what God has done
Theosis — Deification; the transformation of the human person into the likeness of God; the goal toward which all the practices described in this chapter are oriented
Diakonia (Greek: "service," "ministry") — The service of the neighbor as a form of worship; the practical expression of love in the world
Tithe (Hebrew: ma'aser, "tenth") — The ancient scriptural principle of returning a tenth of one's income to God as an expression of acknowledgment that all belongs to Him
Laos (Greek: "people") — The whole People of God, clergy and laity together; those through whom the witness of the Church is carried into the world
Witness (Greek: martyria) — The testimony to the risen Christ borne by every baptized Christian in word and life; from the same root as "martyr"

For Further Reading

The Orthodox Church — Bp. Kallistos Ware
The Eucharist — Fr. Alexander Schmemann
For the Life of the World — Fr. Alexander Schmemann
Thy Kingdom Come — Fr. Alexander Schmemann
The Orthodox Way — Bp. Kallistos Ware
Saint Basil: On Social Justice — Brian Matz and Johan Leemans (eds.) — patristic texts on stewardship and care for the poor