Our Task
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be there for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
– John (4:10-11)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
– The Lord Jesus (John 13:34)
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together… but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
– Heb 10:24-25
“Let’s develop love in ourselves, to the degree that we can. That’s the main thing: for true brotherly love to exist between us. Kindness, love — that’s strength.”
– St. Paisios the Athonite (1924-1994)
Why Agape Circle?
“BY THIS ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER”
– Jesus Christ the Lord (John 13:35)
We humans are social beings. We need fellowship and meaningful connection with one another and with God. For this reason, God calls us to unite ourselves to Christ and one another in love in His Church.
“Ecclesia” (ek-klesia), the Greek word for Church, means “called forth.” We are called forth for communion with God and with one another in God. “God is agape” (1 John 4:8, 16) and “agape is of God” (1 John 4:7). We have been called forth to love one another and all others with God’s agape love.” This is not the way of the world.
We live in a fake world in which real love is rare. It was not so in the beginning, but it has been so ever since the first sin…the first of many…and the primordial Fall from grace. Through sin, humanity lost it’s original fellowship with God. That’s the sad truth. It’s also true that God did not give up on us. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). While always respecting our freedom, the “Hound of Heaven” has pursued us like a hound dog, to draw us back into close relationship with Him, into the fellowship of His love which is life. Throughout history, people have turned their hearts to Him and received life.
Today, unfortunately many people are choosing to turn away from Christ. That seems to be the trend of our society. To survive in such times, Christians must come together and support each other in our faith. As a recent saint of the Church, St. Paisios the Athonite said, “Even more so in our days, with the situation we live in, it is important for spiritual people to communicate with each other, to understand each other.” To enable this interpersonal communication and mutual understanding is the reason for Agape Circle.
When asked which is the great commandment in the law of God, the Lord Jesus Christ said: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Agape Circle helps us remember Christ’s love for us and His call to us to love. We reflect on the Scriptures together and apply what we read to our lives. We connect with one another. We remember that the Lord has work to be done in this world, and He invites us to join Him in it. He calls us to be His co-workers in the holy work of real, life-giving love in our fallen, death-bound world.
In Agape Circle meetings we engage in “DiaLogos,” a form of dialogue by which we practice a few of the skills of love, particularly the skill of deep listening . . . to God, to ourselves and to one another.
DiaLogos means “through the Logos (Word).” By “logos” here we mean the words of Scripture, our own personal words, and the living Word of God Who is Jesus Christ. He said that “where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). A primary aim of DiaLogos is to connect with one another through Christ and to connect with Christ through one another.
Agape Circle thus provides a face-to-face, dialogical way of participating in the holy communion with God that we experience spiritually and sacramentally in all the sacred mysteries of the Church, especially in the Divine Liturgy.
Our meetings are part of what some have termed “the liturgy after the Liturgy.” In the Divine Liturgy we collectively and directly encounter God, face to face. In Agape Circle, we encounter each other face to face. Meeting across from each other and listening to each other in Agape Circle we learn to discern the image of God in one another. This is practice for detecting and loving the same Divine image in all other people. In this way, Agape Circle enables us to extend the agape love of Christ into the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IMPORTANT HUMAN NEED DOES AGAPE CIRCLE HELP ADDRESS AND HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE LIFE & MISSION OF CHRIST'S CHURCH TODAY?
Agape Circle aims to foster Christ-centered interpersonal fellowship among Orthodox Christians for growth in faith, hope and agape love. Many people today feel alone and disconnected, even in the Church. Agape Circle helps address the basic human need for close relationships, meaningful conversations and deep connection with oneself, with other human beings and with God.
In every congregation, in every Orthodox parish, there is almost certainly at least one person who desires more Christ-centered fellowship. If you are one, then Agape Circle is for you.
Christ said that “where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). The goal of Agape Circle meetings is to connect with one another through Christ and to connect with Christ through one another.
Our communion with one another in Christ fortifies us for the work of active love to which our Lord calls us every day.
Agape Circle meetings can be led by a Priest or by a layperson with the Priest’s blessing. By participating in an online Zoom Agape Circle series, you can learn how to facilitate an in-person Agape Circle series in your location.
Agape Circle meetings can take place at the parish, in a home or outdoors at an appropriate location. Meeting places and times are decided by the facilitator in collaboration with the members of each Agape Circle and with the blessing of the Priest.
Agape Circle Meetings may be scheduled during the week or before or after worship services. A convenient time could be on Saturday evenings before Great Vespers or on Sundays after the Divine Liturgy, perhaps starting half-way through the Refreshment Hour in a comfortable side room.
Agape Circle has a clear structure, content and focus. Meetings consist of Prayer, Scripture Readings, Questions for Reflection, DiaLogos (a special kind of group dialogue), and Take-aways. We pray for one another in our daily prayers.
After the opening prayer, passages from Scripture are read. We listen closely to the reading and then to our inner responses to the reading. We ask ourselves: How does this message relate to me today? What strikes me as I hear it, here and now? How can I relate to it and apply it in my current life?
In DiaLogos, we listen closely to one another and explore points of similarity and connection. As the discussion ensues we create together a shared web of inner exploration and understanding. It is a collaboration. We return periodically to the text to draw further insights as the process unfolds.
Through Prayer, meditating on Scripture, listening to ourselves, and DiaLogos with one another, we draw closer to God, to each other and to our own deeper selves.
Agape Circle meetings compleent and supplement Bible Studies.
Whereas Bible Studies involve close textual analysis, knowledge of the texts’ historical context and reference to scholarly and patristic commentary, Agape Circle concentrates more on personal response. Whereas Bible studies focus on the meaning of the text, Agape Circle focuses on the text’s meaning in our present life.
We could say that Bible studies help us understand the Scripture whereas Agape Circle helps us better understand ourselves in relation to Scripture.
If a parish has an existing Bible Study that is led by the priest, the Agape Circle meeting format could be utilized for a few weeks (i.e. the length of a series) by the Bible Study group.
There are at least two benefits to incorporating Agape Circle into ongoing Bible Study groups and other existing Church fellowship groups.
First, priests often find themselves pressed for time due to the many demands and duties of parish life, especially in large parishes. Agape Circles can be led by lay people.
It is often a challenge for the average Orthodox priest to find sufficient time to not only lead worship for a full liturgical cycle (Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy plus Paraklises, Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, etc.), and also to prepare substantive sermons, hear confessions, visit the sick and shut-ins, get to know and guide the youth, teach catechumens, have time with their wives and children, pray and rest. It’s good when priests wisely delegate some things to responsible lay members.
By temporarily incorporating an Agape Circle series (facilitated by a lay person) into an ongoing Bible Study group, a priest could gain a few hours to put toward other important priestly duties while enabling the group to maintain continuity.
Secondly, Agape Circle provides an opportunity for lay people to use and strengthen the gifts that God has given them for service to the Lord and His Church.
As the saying goes, “many hands make work light.” For the Church to thrive, the many gifts and talents that the Lord has distributed among His people must be put to used for the edification (“building up”) of Christ’s Church in the world. Facilitating Agape Circles is a contribution that certain lay people can make today toward building up the Body of Christ for the life of the world.
WHAT IS TALKED ABOUT AT AC MEETINGS? WHAT IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN FREE FLOW AND STRUCTURE?
We pray, read a passage of Scripture from the lectionary, listen closely to the message, listen also to what is sparked within us, and connect with one another from there according to a structured format. What follows after that — in terms of content –is not totally predictable. It depends on what comes up for people. That’s where the free flow comes in. The Spirit moves. What often comes up is awareness of God’s love in our lives and of His call to us.
By starting with prayer and then meditating (melete, is the patristic word for this) on the words of Scripture, we orient ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the “Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Connecting first with God prepares us for proper relationship to one another. Through prayer and reflecting on Scripture we create a space for interpersonal communion (“common union”) with one another and with the Lord Jesus who is present with us in the Holy Spirit.
What follows next we call DiaLogos (dia = through, logos = word).
Logos (“word”) here has four meanings . Logos refers to the Word and Wisdom of God, the eternal Son of the Father, who became incarnate, Jesus Christ.
Logos also refers to the Gospel, the preaching or “kerygma” of the “Good News” of God’s redemptive, saving, healing love in Jesus Christ.
Logos also refers to the Biblical text, the words of Holy Scripture that are read in the meeting.
Logos refers also to the words we speak and hear as we talk with one another.
We call our conversation “DiaLogos” to indicate a particular structured form of dialogue.
Along with structure and order, as we have said, there is also flexibility and openness to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. We aim for a balance between freedom and order, akin to the balance of those two that is present in Orthodox worship and ecclesial life generally. “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). And to the same flock he wrote: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40).
Like the balance between freedom and order, there is a balance in Agape Circle between multiplicity and unity in Christ. Communion in Christ is harmonious. It’s not a homogeneous sameness but a differentiated oneness. We experience “the One in the many and the many in the One.” We experience that we are part of the “whole” snf that whole is “greater than the sum of the parts.”
At first, the meeting structure — like any method — needs to be learned. The “rules of DiaLogos” may seem unnatural. This is true of any discipline at the beginning. Think of choral singing or chant, for example, or iconography, wood-working, bread-baking, wine-making, or indeed any craft, game, sport or method. There is an order to it, a recipe to learn, some instructions to follow and, usually, a “learning curve.” The rules of the game, once learned, soon become second nature, and the benefits are revealed. The order and structure we follow in Agape Circle meetings do enable greater depth of expression and connection than would happen without them.
Both structure and flexibility are necessary as we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who, like the wind, “blows were it wishes” (John 3:8). When the Holy Spirit is present, the wind “enters our sails” and transformation happens.
HOW DOES AGAPE CIRCLE RELATE TO THE GOSPEL?
“The Gospel (eu-angelion, good announcement) is God’s message of love for us all manifested in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ unto eternal life to which we are called. The Father (“Source”) speaks his Word (“Logos”) by his Breath (“Spirit”). His message is that God’s love is stronger than death.
Jesus Christ is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). He is “the Word, Wisdom and Power of God” (1 Cor 1) through whom the Father, by the Holy Spirit, spoke all things into being. In Jesus of Nazareth, the “Anointed One” (in Hebrew, Mashiach, Messiah, in Greek, O Christos). God has become one of us and one with us. He has entered His creation and joined Himself to the human race. In Jesus, God has entered the human condition. He has united His divinity with our humanity. It happened in time, two millenia ago, in a place, Palestine.
In becoming human, the Author of the Book of Life wrote Himself in to His own story. He is the hero of the story, but His heroism is enacted in the most unexpected way. He empties Himself. God Himself, in the Divine Person of Jesus Christ, took on the plight of His creations’ suffering, entering into that suffering all the way to death on the Cross and a battle in the depths of Hell. Death and hell could not hold Him down. He defeated them from the inside. “And On the third day, He rose from the dead.” Christ is risen and now nothing can separate us from God’s agape love, “the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38).
God’s love for human beings and Man’s love for God come fully together in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the “link” between God and Man, the “bridge” between heaven and earth.
In Jesus Christ, we humans are able to be received into the eternal life of the Holy Trinity, to live eternally with Christ in His Kingdom which is “not of this world” (John 18:36). The Holy Trinity, one in essence and inseparable, is the eternal “circle of divine agape” which contains and transcends all space and time. The Son of God Who is “begotten of the Father from before all time, Light from Light, true God from true God” calls us each to turn our hearts to Him in metanoia (repentance, noetic transformation).
In the mystery of God’s redemptive love and through the transformational mysteries of Christ’s Church, we can be united to God through the divine-human Jesus Christ, and receive His Holy Spirit. United with Christ we are adopted into Christ’s Sonship with the Father. In the circle of agape, the Holy Spirit draws us to Jesus Christ. Christ unites us with His Father and fills us with His Holy Spirit “Who proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit enlightens us, guides us, dwells within us and “Christifies” us. This is our Christian calling.
God calls us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and wed ourselves to Christ freely. Often, sadly, w fail. When we sin (“miss the mark,” err), we get spiritually weaker. When we turn to Him in repentance — and Holy Confession both facilitates and seals this — God in His mercy and forgiveness restores us to life. This is how we give ourselves to Christ Who gave Himself for us on the Cross, once and for all. He still gives Himself to us, crucified and resurrected, in the Holy Eucharist and in every sacred mystery of His Church. It takes only a moment to open our hearts to Him and receive His saving agape love.
The Lord Jesus summons us to turn to God, that is the first priority. Secondly, He calls us to a mission in the world. He has work that needs doing, and He calls us to partner with Him in His sacred work. This, too, is part of the Gospel. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
We have been created “according to the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26-31). Each of us is unique and has something unique to offer the world to the glory of God. God wants us to work with Him as He works with us and in us to bring our gifts to fruition, gifts that gave us.
The work to which the Lord calls us cannot be done apart from Him. When, in the holy Mysteries of Baptisms and Chrismation, we were born “again,” “anew,” “from above” — the biblical Greek word anagenesis means all three –– we were gifted with spiritual gifts in addition to our natural God-given gifts that every human being is bequethed. Repentance and spiritual purification energizes the charismata that we received mystically in the anointing of Holy Chrismation, the “seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”
God invites us to partner with Him in the work of agape, the work of transforming this fallen world into the communion in love that is Christ’s Kingdom for which we pray “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We all have the capacity to give and receive love. The Holy Spirit enables us to collaborate with God in the divine work of agape in the world, for the world’s reunion with it’s Source, one piece and moment at a time.
Agape Circle reminds us of the centrality of God’s love in Christ’s gospel, in the mission of His Church, and in the meaning of our lives here and now. By strengthening our bond with the Lord Jesus Christ, with Holy Scripture and with one another for the purpose of fulfilling the divine call to active love and service especially to those who are in most need, Agape Circle helps us fulfill the divine purpose for which we were created.
HOW IS THE AGAPE CIRCLE INITIATIVE SUPPORTED?
The Agape Circle Initiative is supported by prayer and by voluntary participation. Your prayers and participation are very much welcome and appreciated.
Agape Circle is an effort to connect us more deeply to Christ and to one another, to edify the Church and to support one another as fellow Orthodox Christians in our spiritual life in doing Christ’s work of active love in the world.
There is no fee to participate.
Like any project or ministry, for Agape Circle to happen an investment of time and labor is needed on the part of dedicated people. Most of all, beyond our own efforts and practical support, we need God’s grace.
Please keep this ministry in your prayers. Please pray that, through it, our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit — one God — will be glorified and His people strengthened to share His love in the world.
The circle of God’s agape embraces and sustains all creation. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to join with Him in sharing this love. God knows people in our world today need His love. They need also to experience Christ-centered fellowship such as that which Agape Circle fosters.
At this time we are not requesting any monetary support for our work. If we need it in the future, we’ll let you know. How you can support Agape Circle right now is by your prayer, by participating in our meetings and by spreading the word. Please join us.
“Whoever does not love does not know God; because God is love. And the love of God was made manifest among us especially in this, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him…. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in them” (1 Jn. 4.8–9, 16)
Contact Us
(315) 941-1116
agapecircles@gmail.com
Links
Our Locations (soon)
Subscribe to Our Newsletter (Coming Soon)
Nisl massa, ultrices vitae ornare sit amet, ultricies eget orci. Sed vitae nulla et justo pellentesque congue nec eu risus.