Restoring the Senses: Life, Gardening, and an Orthodox Easter [On Being from APM]

Restoring the Senses: Life, Gardening, and an Orthodox Easter

April 9, 2009
On Being OnDemand:

Theologian Vigen Guroian experiences Easter as "a call to our senses." We'll explore his Eastern Orthodox sensibility that is at once more mystical and more earthy than the Christianity dominant in Western culture. And at this time of year and beyond, Guroian does real theology in his garden as richly as in church.

About the Image

Armenian Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha in the Church of St. Hripsime in Echmiadzin, Armenia.

+ (photo: Nicholas Babaian/Flickr)

Program Details

» Particulars
an annotated guide to the radio program with readings, images, and links
» Resources
» Books + Music
» Krista's Journal
» Transcript

» Credits

Hear the Music

» On Being Playlist ¦ hear full-length tracks of each song played in the program

About the Image

Armenian Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha in the Church of St. Hripsime in Echmiadzin, Armenia.
(photo: Nicholas Babaian/Flickr)

Unheard Cuts

» Unedited Interview with Guroian (mp3, 1:38:01)

We had to cut quite a bit of Krista's interview with Guroian out to make the program. Listen to the entire conversation and you might find something interesting — we can't include it all!

» "It Is Finished" (mp3, 2:19)

In this audio clip from the edit bin, Guroian offers a different approach to the beginning and ending of Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ — one that would make Jesus more than a tragic hero.

First Person: Repossessing Virtue

» Vigen Guroian on a
Crisis of Imagination (mp3, 19:37)

Guroian reflects on the economic crisis through the lens of great literature, the coming spring and the Lenten season, and the community of beekeeping.

» More wise voices on the moral and spiritual aspects of the the economic crisis

Selected Writings

Read a number of passages from Vigen Guroian as meditations on ancient, sometimes hidden themes of the Easter season and exile from gardens.

SoundSeen

We've featured three short videos showing life in the Orthodox faith at the time of Pascha:

» Easter in Sarajevo ¦ a divine liturgy in an Orthodox church in Sarajevo
» Cyclical Time on Mount Athos ¦ a documentary about Orthodox monks and life in a small Greek village
» Images of Eastern Orthodoxy ¦ an enchanting slideshow pairing iconography and church architecture with Russian chanting

Spread the Word

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On Being First Person

» Your Reflections
Tell us and other audience members what this program meant to you.

Voice on the Radio

Vigen Guroian
Vigen Guroian is professor of religious studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia. His books include The Fragrance of God and Inheriting Paradise.