THE MIND OF THE CHURCH

St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."  The same mind... that is to say, the Mind of the Church.  There is, in fact, no place in the Church for "personal opinion"... so long as that opinion is in any way contrary to that Truth revealed by Christ, preached by the Holy Apostles, and sealed by the blood of the Martyrs.

As the Most Holy Trinity is one and undivided, so it is essential that we all should strive as members of Christ's Body--the Church--"to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment."  If, on the other hand, we pridefully insist upon our own personal opinion, we prove ourselves--having rent asunder the seamless robe of Christ-- to be of one mind with Arius, along with all those other heretics who were rightfully cast from the universal Church by the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils.

Nowadays, of course, to merely mention heresy is considered politically incorrect: decidedly judgmental and counter to that spirit of relativism that infects contemporary society.  Admittedly, this term is too often used as a bludgeon against anyone who dares to deviate from that strict interpretation of the Faith that we ourselves fall short of fulfilling in our daily lives... rather like saying that a certain someone whose views do not align with our own political philosophy is "literally Hitler."

Having said this, however, it must be affirmed that heresy has been from the very beginning and remains to this day a real and present danger to the salvation of human souls.  To deviate from the Mind of the Church--even though ever so slightly--can only lead to a profound spiritual blindness and bondage to those demonic powers of the air whose one and only purpose is to drag, by any means possible, our immortal souls into that place of outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Church of Christ--the Holy Orthodox Church--truly is the Ark of Salvation, the only place of refuge and safety in this storm tossed world.  To depart from the teachings of the God-inspired Holy Fathers of the Church is the sure and certain means of courting spiritual shipwreck and disaster, thereby setting our souls upon a perilous path toward a self-chosen damnation in a hell of our own making.  May our All-merciful God guard and preserve us from this danger--both now and at the moment of our soul's departure from this world.