What Does ‘Spiritual’ Mean in Orthodoxy?
Being 'spiritual' in Orthodoxy means participating in the life of the Holy Spirit made present to us in baptism and sealed in chrismation. Scripture and the Fathers teach that this is a concrete, sacramental reality (1 Cor. 12:13; 2 Cor. 1:21–22) rather than a vague private feeling. The pastoral aim is to nourish that sacramental gift—through repentance, prayer, liturgy, and communal life—so believers grow in the Spirit.
Note: This article is an automatically generated transcript of an audio lecture. It was transcribed and lightly reworded for readability using automated tools, so it does not reproduce the speaker’s exact words. For the original, listen to the recording linked below.
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Key takeaways:
- New Age use left 'spiritual' vague; Orthodoxy defines it sacramentally
- Scripture repeatedly calls Christians to an actual, ongoing spiritual life
- Baptism incorporates believers into Christ; chrismation seals the Holy Spirit
- Acts shows Christian life as Spirit-filled fullness after Pentecost
- There is no true spirituality apart from the Church and its mysteries
What 'spiritual' meant at New Age conventions
When I was young, a young man, I took advantage of opportunities to share my faith and to witness to the Christian faith. When I was in my late teens, I think 19 and 20, I went to a number of conventions. They were called New Age conventions, and they were large gatherings of New Age practitioners.
Hundreds and hundreds, thousands of people attended these conventions, with hundreds of booths hawking their latest spiritual inventions. The common theme was being "spiritual." That could mean having the right kind of crystals, having the right kind of incense blowing through your house. It could be tantric yoga. Everyone there was on the common quest for being spiritual. That also meant, practically speaking, that all were diametrically opposed to traditional Christianity. I learned very quickly that being "spiritual" meant basically nothing. The semantic range of the word "spiritual," as used by the common person on the street in late twentieth-century America, was so large that it rendered the word basically meaningless.
That, together with a word often used by Christians to describe their devotion — the word "relationship," as in "we have a relationship with God" — made matters worse. That word "relationship," when it is contrasted with the word "spiritual," is essentially the same thing: both mean nothing and neither communicates anything clearly. Basically they mean 'I don't have a committed relationship to God as the Church has taught people to have it; I'm not a faithful Christian.'
Well, what do we believers mean by this? What do traditional Christians mean? What does an Orthodox Christian mean when he or she says that they are spiritual? Are we spiritual? Do we think we are spiritual?
Scripture on being spiritual and failures
This is a great question. It's clear in the New Testament that we are called to be spiritual, that we become spiritual definitively when we become Christians, and that we are to live a spiritual life. We are to sing spiritual songs, Colossians 3:16. We are to be a spiritual house, 1 Peter 2:5. We are to offer spiritual service to God, Romans 12:1. That's just a selection, a smattering of many, many verses in the New Testament that make it exceedingly clear that we are to live spiritual lives.
It's also clear, just as clear in the New Testament, that we believers often are not spiritual. We are established in a spiritual life; we're called to live the spiritual life, but often we are not. We are not spiritual at all.
For instance, Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted." Here is St. Paul writing to the church in Galatia and giving them practical counsel about what happens when one of the body is stumbling.
When a believer is caught in a trespass, this happens to believers sometimes, and in that condition they are not spiritual. They are not living imbued and guided by the Holy Spirit; they are in fact living in the flesh. Paul says it is the responsibility of those who are living the Christian life faithfully, who are pneumatikoi, who are spiritual, to restore the fallen brother or sister very gently, paying attention to ourselves lest we also be tempted.
We recognize that the spiritual life is something that has to be cherished, held, and nourished very carefully. A spirit of judgment will drive the Spirit of God right off the throne of our hearts, and we'll fall into our own misery.
Another text: 1 Corinthians 3:1, "I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ." Here St. Paul is writing not just to a particular person who has fallen but to an entire church, calling them not spiritual and men of flesh. If you need any documentation, just read 1 Corinthians and you'll see how bad it can get.
So we know, in fact, that we're called to a spiritual life, but not all believers living in the Church are living spiritual lives. Those who are living the spiritual life today, if they're not careful, won't necessarily be spiritual tomorrow. And perhaps, by the grace of God and the loving assistance of their brothers and sisters, those who are fallen into infancy or who are living fleshly lives in the sarx may become spiritual by their repentance and their return to God tomorrow.
Baptism, chrismation, and the Spirit
So what does this mean? When we talk about being spiritual, we mean something extremely concrete. It's not a feeling. It's not about crystals. It's not about getting in touch with the wavelengths of the universe. It's not about performing tantric yoga. No, it's something extremely concrete. Christians live spiritual lives and are established in a spiritual life by the grace of holy baptism and the fruit of holy chrismation. These definitive mysteries in the Church establish someone as spiritual. Listen to this text. This is 1 Corinthians 12:13: "By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body and were made to drink of one Spirit." This is what takes place in baptism: baptism is the Holy Spirit incorporating us into the body of Christ and making us to drink deeply of Himself.
This is 2 Corinthians 1:21–22: "He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." Here this beautiful commentary about the sealing of the Spirit, about holy chrismation, is explaining to us that the Holy Spirit in baptism and chrismation is placed into our deep heart. He takes up His residence. We become spiritual. We become His, inspired by Him.
And we are filled. If you read the Acts of the Apostles, you'll see this reference over and over: from the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost until the end of the book, the believers were constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit. Fullness is a theme that permeates the Acts of the Apostles because it is the Christian way of life, and the Acts of the Apostles is documenting what Pentecost means, practically speaking, in people's lives. This is the life; this is the Christian life: being filled with the Holy Spirit. We yield to Him in our lives. We pray in the Spirit, we walk in the Spirit, we sing in the Spirit, and we bear the fruit of the Spirit. We grow in the possession of the Holy Spirit, beseeching Him to dwell in us, to rule us, to govern us more and more every single day, according to our Lord Jesus's encouragement that we should ask the Father and He will continue to give us the Holy Spirit. The spiritual life, dear ones—being spiritual—this is the life of the Church. This is what the Church has to offer.
It is a life of outrageous intimacy with God foretold by the holy prophets of old and actualized on the day of holy Pentecost. It's the miracle of Pentecost that makes the spiritual life possible, that makes being spiritual possible. "I will dwell in them." This is God speaking: "I will dwell in them and walk among them, and they will be my people, and I will be their God." Having intimacy with God, having a Christian definition of relationship with God, means being baptized and chrismated into the Holy Church. It means to be given the life of the Spirit of God.
No spirituality apart from the Church
In the Church, which was made possible by the great miracle of Pentecost, there is no being spiritual without the Church. There is no being spiritual without religion, without the Christian faith.
By the grace of God poured out in the Church, dear ones, we can become spiritually mature. God calls us to become spiritual people and leave the lives of infants and babes in the past, in the past. May God grant this to us, deeply spiritual lives. God be with you.
Frequently asked
How do baptism and chrismation make someone spiritual?
Baptism incorporates a person into the body of Christ and makes them to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Chrismation (anointing) is the sealing of the Spirit in the believer's heart (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). Together these mysteries give the believer the real, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that defines Christian spirituality.
Can someone be truly spiritual outside the Church?
Orthodox teaching, as explained here, distinguishes vague private spirituality from the Church's sacramental life. True Christian spirituality is the life of the Holy Spirit given and nourished in the Church through baptism, chrismation, Eucharist, prayer, and repentance. Personal practices or feelings apart from those realities do not amount to the Church's spiritual life.
What marks a Christian who is living a spiritual life?
A spiritually alive Christian is one who prays and worships in the Spirit, bears the fruit of the Spirit, participates in the sacraments, and lives in repentance and mutual care. Scripture phrases this as singing spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16), being a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5), and offering spiritual service (Romans 12:1).
