Jesus Christ, referring to the way of life and the teaching ministry of the scribes and Pharisees, addressed His disciples and the people who had gathered to listen to Him, saying: ‘But you are not to be called “Rabbi”, for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers… nor are you to be called “teachers”, for you have one Teacher: Christ’1
Christ’s words are highly revealing, for, on the one hand, they distinguish His disciples from the scribes and Pharisees, who provoke people to call them teachers, and, on the other hand, forbids His disciples—and, by extension, Christian believers—from calling themselves teachers, for they are brothers amongst themselves and not teachers. This distinction between Christ’s disciples and the Pharisees, and the prohibition on using the title of ‘teacher’, leads to the need for an examination, in what follows, of the meaning of ‘teacher’ – naturally, within the restrictive limits of an essay.
A teacher 2 is one who seeks to impart to young people the spiritual heritage in which the values of an era’s or a people’s civilisation are enshrined. The teacher seeks to create a new way of life that preserves all the characteristics of the cultural heritage of the ethnic past 3. The integration of the new generation into the historically established spiritual and economic environment is achieved through education. Thus, through education, the teacher, in accordance with the older generation—which is the heir to a historical tradition—charts the course along which the life of a younger generation will unfold 4. Through education, the young person engages with all those values (religious, moral, scientific, aesthetic, political and cultural) that develop the spiritual and material life of the whole, being invited to familiarise themselves with and be shaped within this ideological environment, so that they, too, may become bearers of the values of this social organisation and continue its history 5.
In Old Testament times, this responsibility fell primarily to the priests, who taught the Law of Moses and interpreted it so that this Law might be applied in people’s daily lives 6. Likewise, the sages of the Israelite people carried out an educational role, since they drew upon the experience of generations, assimilated the content of the Law and the prophetic books, and went on to pass on, in a simple way, the traditional teaching as the foundation for a happy life 7.
However, Christ, as Teacher and Educator, does not come to pass on the values of a civilisation or the religious heritage of a people, but presents himself as the true interpreter and Teacher of the Law. Christ comes to give new continuity to the way of life not only of the Israelite people, but of all humanity. Therefore, on the one hand, He does not reject the Law, thereby distorting religious and cultural tradition, and, on the other hand, He does not simply uphold the legalistic and ethical way of life, as the teachers of the Law did out of a sense of duty, but rather He completes it 8 with new elements, which reveal His natural power 9 and transcend the way of life both of the Israelites 10 and of the Gentiles 11.
Thus, Christ, as the only true Teacher, does not create a new way of life for young people, but builds upon and continues the pre-existing cultural tradition. Such teaching continues the life and work of previous generations, imposing the same way of life and, by failing to allow for the evolution and renewal of the social structure, isolates the new within a new expression of the older generation. This way of life takes on the guise of the new, deceiving people with the pretence of change, although, in reality, it is the old guise reoriented to contemporary living conditions. The adoption of this form, of course, gradually encroaches upon education and grants no freedom to the new man. It reproduces a system in which ‘the few are educated to become the creators and beneficiaries of systems, whilst the many are to become mere users of the systems, divided into those who have a place in the System and those who do not’12).
In contrast to teaching and education which seek to place the new man within a spiritual and economic system established by historically rooted values—represented by the experience and aspirations of the older generation 13— Christ teaches and imparts not the cultural principles and values of a people, but the Word of God, that is, Christ Himself, Who is the Same yesterday, today and for ever 14. Therefore, because Christ teaches in abundance—since He teaches about Himself—He teaches with power, in contrast to the power of the scribes and Pharisees, which is limited by the moral obligations of the Law 15. Moses, the prophets and the priests are authorised guardians of spiritual power, which also governs the political organisation of the people. Christ, however, as Teacher and Lord 16, possesses natural power—which is distinct from dominion 17—to promote, ultimately as a servant, service as a new form of life and rule 18. That is why the teaching of Jesus Christ and education in Christ do not seek a compromise between the old and the new, in other words, a compromise between integrating the new man into tradition, on the one hand, and his free and creative development based on his personal abilities, on the other. This might have been the case if He had sought to transform the new man into the old, that is to say, to paraphrase Saint John Chrysostom, the Greek into a Jew. However, He does not do such a thing, but leads both of them to a different state, to a new state, to the state ‘19’ in Christ.
Within this hermeneutical framework provided by Christ Himself, through His teaching and work, the theologian 20 cannot call himself an educator and teacher because, on the one hand, he possesses no authentic teaching authority over his fellow Christians, and, on the other hand, he does not create a new way of life based on the spiritual heritage of previous generations or the moral framework provided by Christian teaching. The theologian conveys a way of life in which the principles of man’s communion with God have been imprinted and which are expressed in Holy Scripture and in the unbroken liturgical tradition of the Church. The theologian, as the voice of the older generation and heir to Tradition, and the Church, as a historical and cultural community in which the new man will be born and grow, are not distinguished or hierarchically classified as old and new, or as ideological rigidity and contemporary creativity, but are continually renewed in God’s creative and active presence. Consequently, the theologian can only be a teacher; he can impart theological knowledge in a distinctive way, that is, within the framework of the personal relationship he cultivates with the person he is educating, knowledge adapted to that person’s specific subjectivity 21.
However, the problem that arises is the subjective bond between the teacher and the learner; a bond which, whilst it may exist in an individualised human society, is not observed within the body of the Church. The teacher is not distinct from the learner in terms of the content of the pedagogical good, which is Christ, since both the teacher [that is, the one who provides the education] and the learner are one in Christ. Of course, this unity is due to the fact that Christ, upon his perfection, becomes One with all people, and through Him all forms of discrimination—racial, ethnic and social—which are attributes of the sensible and material reality 22—are abolished. Nevertheless, the teacher himself [that is, the one who educates] is, at the same time, also the one who is educated in Christ, just as is the young person who is being educated. The distinction between the educator and the learner, and the development of a subjective relationship from the perspective of the learner’s assimilation of the teacher’s pedagogical impulses and predispositions 23, can only develop between the theologian-educator and the non-Christian young person being educated. Yet even in this case, the pedagogical act—that is, the way in which the theologian conceives of his relationship with God, in other words, the teacher’s experience, cannot be transferred to the young person, because these are transformed and change according to the relationship the young person forms with the source of all pedagogical good, which is God.
The dynamic relationship that develops between the young person and the teacher does not lead to the appropriation of the teacher’s experience, but to the creation of a new experience between the learner and God 24. This is clearly evident in the pedagogical relationship between Plato and Socrates, in which the former accepted and creatively assimilated Socrates’ spiritual content, to the extent that one cannot distinguish where Socrates ends and Plato begins. In the case of the theologian, however, the spiritual content is identical with the theologian himself, that is, with the theology and teaching of the Church. Therefore, the theologian is not distinguished by his name, in such a way as to develop a particular bond with a young person, but rather by whether he is a good or a bad theologian, with the tradition of the Church serving as the criterion for evaluation. In other words, the creative assimilation of spiritual content—which, in the case of Plato and Socrates, does not allow for a clear distinction between the teacherand the one being educated—the disciple—is different in the case of the theologian and his disciple, because this assimilation takes place between the disciple and God, leaving the theologian-pedagogue on the sidelines. From this perspective, one can understand Jesus Christ’s prohibition to His disciples against calling themselves teachers and instructors, since the spiritual kinship between teacher and disciple does not refer to the relationship between the theologian and the disciple, but to the relationship between God and the disciple. Both the theologian and the disciple stand in the same position before God and share the same relationship with God, as brothers in Christ and His kinsmen 25. In other words, the place of the theologian-teacher is taken by Christ Himself, Who is, at the same time, the good Teacher, whilst the position of the young person or the one being educated is occupied by both the disciple and the theologian. That is to say, Jesus Christ is both the One who gives and the One who is given to the disciple.
The dynamic relationship that develops between the young person and the teacher does not lead to the assimilation of the teacher’s experience, but to the creation of a new experience between the learner and God.
In this relationship between God, on the one hand, and the theologian and the disciple, on the other, the pedagogical act, as a unique spiritual communion in which the teacher must, above all, be spiritually fruitful—that is, must himself truly experience the Being, which is, according to Plato, the Good 26—takes on a different form. It is not enough for the teacher simply to become a participant in and bearer of the Truth and, subsequently, to impart this spiritual experience to the young person. St Basil the Great, when referring to the characteristics of the teacher, does not limit himself merely to the knowledge and true experience of the Good and to the living out of enduring values, but also highlights the way in which this Truth is discovered. For this reason, he extends this knowledge to include the experience gained through engaging with the many affairs of this world over a long period of time. Thus, he refers to himself and to the considerable experience he has gained both from daily life and from a life devoted to God, so that, being very well acquainted with human affairs, he is already able to show the younger generation a much surer path within the ‘27’ way of life. In this way, the spiritual fruitfulness of the teacher—which is essential to the teaching profession— does not consist in the search for perfection at an ideal level, as is the case with philosophy, but within the framework of historical reality, without, however, this being equated with the changeable and fickle nature of things. Thus, the teacher-theologian is not a mere instructor, a passive bearer of scientific and religious knowledge, but, as both a creature and, at the same time, a creator, like a child and, simultaneously, a father; since he is spiritually born and gives birth to the soul of the young person, he continues to guide the young person who is being educated towards spiritual creation, that is, towards (re)creation in Christ.
In the relationship between the teacher and the learner, between the master and the disciple, the latter is not met with passivity by Saint Basil the Great. The disciple must be characterised by discernment regarding what is useful and what is not. A disciple’s lack of discernment leads him to be either self-sufficient – in other words, one who chooses for himself what is right and, for this reason, has no need of guidance, that is, of a teacher – or useless, in other words, one who cannot distinguish between what is useful and what is useless, nor choose the teacher who will show them the right path in life 28. In this way, Saint Basil the Great does not regard the child as something neutral, inert and passive, as something ready to take whatever form the teacher may wish, but as something that holds the foremost place and plays the leading role in their own educational development. The child chooses their own teacher, shifting the burden of education from the teacher to the child. It is not the child who moves towards spiritual goods, but the goods that move towards the child, in accordance with the child’s experience and needs, since the child chooses the teacher who will point out the ‘29’ educational good to them. In this way, Saint Basil the Great emphasises the child-centred nature of education, attributing to the teacher an important role, albeit a secondary one, which consists in conveying the pedagogical good as well and as fully as possible.
The primary and fundamental criterion for the pupil’s choice of teacher is the hope of a better life 30. The search, naturally, for another life is not the result of philosophical reflection or academic curiosity, but arises from the experience of the vanity of this life and the instability of things 31. That is why Saint Basil the Great does not urge young people to reflect on life, but to become aware of the value of the goods of this present life, which, however, lead to a life better than the one we are already living. Thus are chosen those goods which offer a perspective on development and life that transcends the narrow confines of this world and moves towards that which is eternal and imperishable. Anything that is merely a shadow and a dream of the true things, which isolates man in this world, must be forbidden 32. The theologian can truly offer this hope for a new and better life only if he himself has experienced it. Therefore, a necessary criterion in the search for the theologian-educator is the experience he possesses, so that he may discern the important things in life—which are, therefore, steadfast and enduring—from the unimportant and transitory ones, which are, more often than not, also destructive.
The teacher acquires this experience through divine wisdom, which is the knowledge of divine things, but also of human things and of the causes themselves 33. That is to say, he who successfully engages in theological reflection knows the wisdom of God, just as he who perceives God through the creation of the world likewise knows the wisdom of God, Who is the cause of all that is created 34.
…he who successfully engages in theology knows the wisdom of God, just as he who perceives God through the creation of the world likewise knows the wisdom of God, Who is the cause of all created things.
The theologian may also experience a life better than that which man has within the world through human wisdom, which, however, operates under certain premises. The first premise of this wisdom is the purification of the soul of those who are to be concerned with true wisdom. This is achieved above all through the fear that paralyses the soul from acts of self-assertion and rebellion against God. The possibility of being deprived of eternal blessings and true life—of which the blessings and life of this world are but a shadow—as well as of being isolated from oneself in transience and, consequently, in the non-existence of evil and falsehood—which amounts to the non-existence of being itself—terrifies man and, in the face of death, immobilises him, driving him to acts of desecration and evil 35. That is why the psalmist characteristically states: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; good understanding is for all who practise it’ 36. The purification of the soul is also achieved through worldly education. However, as this path is often painful, since it requires toil and sacrifice for one to prepare oneself properly for the knowledge of God, [then] one becomes disheartened and gives up receiving instruction, and, due to ignorance regarding the outcome of their efforts, [that person] remains in the sickness of illiteracy. Moreover, many, impressed by knowledge of human affairs and by skilful words, ignore the teaching of divine words and isolate themselves in the falsehood of literature, dialectic and sophistry 37. For this reason, the essential and necessary condition for discerning the positive outcomes of useful education is prudence 38, through which we, as human beings, become well-versed in what is good, what is evil and what is neutral 39.
That is to say, the prudent person 40 recognises their own interest, whether in guarding against the evil intentions of their neighbour, thereby protecting themselves, or in distinguishing between good and evil deeds, choosing the one that is beneficial. In the first case, there is a kind of evil intention hidden, for by choosing his own personal benefit, he may deceive people who are righteous and of sound character. In the second case, however, he genuinely safeguards his own interests, since he chooses the useful and beneficial things in life, which are steadfast and upon which he bases his path in life 41.
On the basis of the above, the fundamental observation of Saint Basil the Great regarding the experience of the theologian-teacher, which he is called upon to impart to his disciple, and which consists in a sound understanding both of the good and the truth that exist, and of human affairs and the conditions of worldly life. The theologian-educator must be characterised by: a) prudence, which distinguishes existence from non-existence, truth from falsehood, good from evil and right from wrong, without scheming against one’s fellow human being; b) by education, which leads to the knowledge of eternal and imperishable goods, without isolating oneself in the beauty of created reality, which is changeable and fleeting; and c) the fear of isolation from his existential source, which is God, and from human communion, through his individualistic, self-centred thinking and his disposition focused solely on self-interest. This experience of God is conveyed by the [educator-theologian] to the young person within the church community, where the learner engages creatively and is reborn in Christ, so as to become, moreover, a disciple of Jesus Christ, that is, of the one and only Teacher and Master. In this way, the theologian helps to transcend the mechanistic role of contemporary education, moving beyond the anthropological dichotomy of beneficiary (teacher) – user (disciple), and helps to create people educated in freedom, who seek to live well (εὖ ζῆν) as well as to live according to the truth (κατ’ ἀλήθειαν ζῆν) 42; which is nothing other than, according to Saint Justin [the Martyr and Philosopher], than the perception of the nature of things 43.
- 1
Matthew 23:8–10: But you must not be called, ‘Rabbi’, for you have but one Teacher, and you are all brothers... nor be called ‘teachers’, for you have but one Teacher, Christ.
- 2
A word expressed in Greek by the terms διδάσκαλος and καθηγητής. The latter term also carries the meaning of teacher, educator, instructor, etc. (translator’s note).
- 3
E. PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, published by Ikaros, Athens, 1977², p. 85 (hereinafter: PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education).
- 4
PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, p. 170 ff.
- 5
PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, p. 169.
- 6
Deut. 17:10 ff.; 33:10.
- 7
See A. BARUCQ – P. GRELOT, ‘Διδάσκω’, in Dictionary of Biblical Theology, trans. P. Vasileiadis, published by the ‘Artos Zois’ Biblical Centre, Athens, 1980, col. 263.
- 8
Matthew 5:17.
- 9
Mark 1:27 and 2:18.
- 10
Matthew 5:21–48.
- 11
Matthew 5:47; 6:7–8 and 31–32; 20:25–26.
- 12
Θ. ZIACA, ‘Contemporary Nihilism and Education’, in http://antifono.gr/portal/πρόσωπα/ζιάκας/αθρογραφία/1189-σύγχρονος-μηδενισμός-και-παιδεία.html.
- 13
PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, p. 173.
- 14
Hebrews 13:8: ‘He is the same yesterday and today, and for ever’; See also John 7:16–18; 8:28–29; 17:14 and 26.
- 15
Matthew 7:29; Exodus 21:1–6; 26 ff.
- 16
See G. BABINIOTIS, ‘διδάσκαλος’, in Dictionary of the Modern Greek Language, published by Lexicology Centre Ltd, Athens, 1998, col. 508.
- 17
John XIII, 13–15.
- 18
Mark 10:42–44: You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so amongst you; but whoever wishes to be great amongst you must be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first amongst you must be the servant of all / Οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν τῶν ἐθνῶν κατακυριεύουσιν αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι αὐτῶν κατεξουthem. But it is not so amongst you; but whoever wishes to be great amongst you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the servant of all.
- 19
St John Chrysostom, On the Epistle to the Ephesians V (St John Chrysostom, On the Epistle to the Ephesians V), in Patrologia Graeca (hereinafter: PG) 62, 40AB: He did not abolish the Law so that He might establish another, but so that He might create both. And he has rightly used the term ‘create’ throughout. Nor did he say, ‘He changes’, in order to indicate the active aspect of what has come into being, and that, although creation is visible, it is no less than that, and that we need not, therefore, be led astray by natural things. So that, he says, he might create the two within himself; that is to say, through himself. He did not decree this through any other, but He Himself, through Himself, having fused both together, brought forth one marvellous being, having become this Himself first; which is greater than the former creation (It was not in order to make one like the other that He abolished the Law, but to build up both. And He has rightly used the word ‘to build’ throughout, rather than ‘to transform’, to show the result of His work, and also because, although creation is visible, it is no less true than the first creation of the world, and because we must not be unbelieving on account of physical things. ‘So that the two,’ He says, ‘might be created’ in Himself, that is, through Himself; He did not command that one should become the other, but He Himself, after He had melted both of them together, He brought forth a marvellous thing, He who first became this thing; which very thing is greater than the creation that came before it).
- 20
As someone who lives out the teachings of Jesus Christ in an existential way. Therefore, this is not about a graduate of a Faculty of Theology and the holder of a degree, but about a person with a spiritual life, who has experienced the charisms of the Holy Spirit (translator’s note).
- 21
PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, p. 89.
- 22
See St Gregory the Theologian, To Caesar, his brother (Discourse VII) [St Gregory the Theologian, To Caesar, his brother (Discourse VII)], 23, in PG 35, 785C: ‘This is what God, who became man for our sake and humbled himself, has done for us, so that He might raise the flesh, restore the image, and recreate man, so that we may all become one in Christ, so that in every respect He may be fully realised in us, just as He is, so that we may no longer be male and female, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man—the characteristics of the flesh—but that we may bear within ourselves the divine image, through whom and in whom we have come into being, having been so thoroughly fashioned and imprinted by him that we may be recognised by him alone (This is what God desires of us, He who became incarnate and humbled Himself for our sake, so that He might raise the body to life, restore the image, and re-establish mankind, so that we might all become one in Christ—that is, a single body—in whom He has become, in every respect, everything in all of us, exactly as He is, so that we might no longer be male and female, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free—which are attributes of the flesh—but that we might bear within ourselves the divine nature, from which and in which we have been so fashioned and imprinted by Him that we might recognise one another by this alone).
- 23
That is to say, those of an educator or teacher (translator’s note).
- 24
PAPANOUTSOU, Philosophy and Education, p. 91 ff.
- 25
Matthew 12:49; see also ΠΑΠΑΝΟΥΤΣΟΥ, Φιλοσοφία καί Παιδεία, p. 100.
- 26
PLATO, The Republic, Book VII, 518CD.
- 27
St Basil of Caesarea, Homily to Young People on How They Might Benefit from Greek Words (St Basil of Caesarea, Homily to Young People, on how they might make good use of Greek words), 1, in PG 31, 564C: For not only is this the nature of youth, but also the fact that they have already been trained in many things, and indeed the fact that I have sufficiently shared in the dual transformation of that which educates all things, has made me well-versed in human affairs, so that I may show those who have just begun their lives the safest path (For both the fact that I am now of a certain age, and the fact that I have already gained experience in many matters, and certainly also the fact that I have satisfactorily participated in both transformations [of life] that educates everyone, have made me experienced in the ways of the world, so that I may accurately point out the safest path to those who are only now entering life).
- 28
Ibid., 565A.
- 29
See ibid., 2, in PG 31, 565AB.
- 30
Ibid., 565B.
- 31
Ibid., Ὁμιλία εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Παροιμιῶν (Homily on the Beginning of the Paremias), in PG 31, 417BC.
- 32
Ibid., To the Young (Homily to the Young), 2, in PG 31, 565C.
- 33
Ibid., Homily on the Beginning of the Paremias (Homily on the Beginning of the Paremias), in PG 31, 389C: ‘knowledge of both divine and human matters, and of the causes thereof.’
- 34
Ibid., 389D–392B.
- 35
Ibid., 393B–396A.
- 36
Psalm 110:10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; sound understanding is good for all who put it into practice.
- 37
St Basil of Caesarea, Homily on the Beginning of the Proverbs (St Basil of Caesarea, Homily at the beginning of the Paremias), 5−6, in PG 31, 396A−397B.
- 38
The Greek term φρόνησις has several meanings: prudence, foresight, caution, wisdom, but also wise thinking or practical wisdom. Of all the meanings of this term, I have rendered it as ‘prudence’, given that the author of the study himself chose this meaning in his abstract, written in English and placed at the beginning of the text (translator’s note).
- 39
St Basil of Caesarea, op. cit., 6, in PG 31, 397C: prudence, by which we come to know what is good, what is evil, and what is neither of these.
- 40
That is to say, a sensible, cautious person with sound judgement (translator’s note).
- 41
St Basil of Caesarea, op. cit., 6, in PG 31, 397C–401.
- 42
See Θ. ΖΙΑΚΑ, ‘Contemporary Nihilism and Education’.
- 43
JUSTIN, Apology 13 (Saint Justin the Martyr and Philosopher, Apology 13), 1−2, in PG 6, 1600D: from understanding the nature of things.