"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me," writes the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians, "is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." And so it is evident that the truth of our Faith cannot be arrived at through rational thought and logical deduction, but only through a personal encounter with He Who proclaimed Himself to be the Truth--our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the very revelation of God to the human heart, imparted in and through the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
This divine revelation is the very basis of the Church's Holy Tradition, which includes but is by no means limited to the written words of Holy Scripture, which can only be rightly understood according to the inspired interpretation of the Holy God-bearing Fathers of the Church. This sacred Tradition has nothing to do--despite the teachings of the Protestants--with those "traditions of men" the Scriptures warn us against. The Church's one foundation, as the Protestant hymn rightly proclaims, is indeed Jesus Christ our Lord--Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever--and so the Truth He reveals in His own Person is not subject in any way to ongoing change and development, according to the spirit of the times we live in. Those sacred doctrines revealed by Christ, taught by the Holy Apostles, and sealed by the blood of the martyrs are immutable, and shall endure unto the very end of time.
This is verily the true Faith taught by the Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, those mystical trumpets of the Holy Spirit, those good shepherds of the flock of Christ who banished from the Church those teachers of false and heretical doctrines which perverted the God-revealed Truth, leading astray from the path of salvation many of the faithful. These Holy Fathers faithfully proclaimed and defended the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church--the Orthodox Church--the Faith which hath established the universe!
Now more than ever--as we draw ever closer to that universal apostasy and the revelation of the Antichrist prophesied for these final days preceding the end of time--it is essential that all of us who profess Christ should strive to remain steadfast in the Faith, that through God's grace we might endure and overcome every trial and temptation of the Evil One, that we may prove worthy in the end to inherit true and eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Thursday, October 12, 2017
CEASE TO EXIST
"Whosoever will come after Me," our Lord proclaims, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." By these words, Christ expresses a seeming paradox, such as we encounter in the saying, "The first shall be last, and the last first." How, then, are we to interpret such profound and apparently contradictory passages? Are we to contemplate our Lord's words as though they are analogous to a Zen koan, like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" God forbid!
The key to understanding such cryptic sayings is, rather, that there are two kingdoms manifest in the realm of this phenomenal, fallen world. On the one hand, there is the Kingdom of God, which is the truly existing, eternal realm of the holy, life-creating Trinity, transcending the created dimensions of time and space. On the other hand, there is the realm of the Kingdom of Self, the realm of the false ego and of those spirits of evil--the fallen angels--who inhabit the aerial sphere surrounding the earth. Within this realm, "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." To be sure, his days are numbered--and so he is desperate in these final days to deceive and ensnare as many human souls as he can, dragging them down into the dark pit of eternal death and destruction.
Thus, it is essential that the false, self-centered ego--bound by the passions--must be put to death if we truly desire to say with St. Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." That is to say, our corruptible, earthbound self must cease to exist if we hope to enter into that dimension of true and eternal life, that we might become partakers of the divine nature and gods by grace.
Now it is by love alone (because God is love) that we shall be fully united to Him--whether in this life or the next. It is only through receiving this gift of unconditional, self-giving love that we might die with Christ, putting to death the false ego, that the true, God-centered self can emerge, like a butterfly from its chrysalis. But if we are to acquire this pure and perfect love, it is essential that we first lay the foundation of genuine humility, without which it is impossible to cast forth the works of darkness and to enter into the light of God's eternal Kingdom.
As an example of this humility, let us consider the Canaanite woman in today's Gospel. She shamelessly beseeches our Lord's mercy, for her daughter is "grievously vexed with a devil"--most likely as a consequence of her own mother's sinful life and pagan practices. Yet even when our Lord snubs her and insults her, in effect calling her a dog, this woman in nowise objects or takes offence, meekly replying, "Truth, Lord: yet even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master's table." It is this profound humility that our Lord commends, and that we ourselves should strive to emulate in our own lives.
The key to understanding such cryptic sayings is, rather, that there are two kingdoms manifest in the realm of this phenomenal, fallen world. On the one hand, there is the Kingdom of God, which is the truly existing, eternal realm of the holy, life-creating Trinity, transcending the created dimensions of time and space. On the other hand, there is the realm of the Kingdom of Self, the realm of the false ego and of those spirits of evil--the fallen angels--who inhabit the aerial sphere surrounding the earth. Within this realm, "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." To be sure, his days are numbered--and so he is desperate in these final days to deceive and ensnare as many human souls as he can, dragging them down into the dark pit of eternal death and destruction.
Thus, it is essential that the false, self-centered ego--bound by the passions--must be put to death if we truly desire to say with St. Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." That is to say, our corruptible, earthbound self must cease to exist if we hope to enter into that dimension of true and eternal life, that we might become partakers of the divine nature and gods by grace.
Now it is by love alone (because God is love) that we shall be fully united to Him--whether in this life or the next. It is only through receiving this gift of unconditional, self-giving love that we might die with Christ, putting to death the false ego, that the true, God-centered self can emerge, like a butterfly from its chrysalis. But if we are to acquire this pure and perfect love, it is essential that we first lay the foundation of genuine humility, without which it is impossible to cast forth the works of darkness and to enter into the light of God's eternal Kingdom.
As an example of this humility, let us consider the Canaanite woman in today's Gospel. She shamelessly beseeches our Lord's mercy, for her daughter is "grievously vexed with a devil"--most likely as a consequence of her own mother's sinful life and pagan practices. Yet even when our Lord snubs her and insults her, in effect calling her a dog, this woman in nowise objects or takes offence, meekly replying, "Truth, Lord: yet even the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master's table." It is this profound humility that our Lord commends, and that we ourselves should strive to emulate in our own lives.
Monday, September 25, 2017
THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER
The Holy Apostle, Evangelist, and Theologian John assures us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.... For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." This is good news indeed! For if any of us were to be judged strictly according to how successfully we have invested that talent entrusted to us at our Baptism, it is unlikely that we could hope to be saved.
Consider, if you will, the gospel account of the woman caught in adultery: according to the letter of the Jewish Law, she should have been stoned to death, thereby reflecting a harsh and uncompromising understanding of God's justice still enforced in Muslim countries unto this day. (And it should be noted that nowhere in the Koran is love an attribute attributed to the falsely conceived Muslim God, Allah). But when, in the fullness of time, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ reveals Himself in the flesh, he imparts to His disciples a New Commandment that supersedes (or rather, fulfills) the Law of Moses: that we love one another, even as He has loved us. For truly, as St. John the Theologian assures us, God is love, and therefore it follows that "He desires not the death of the sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn from his way and live."
A perfect example of God's ardent desire for the salvation of the sinner is recorded in His encounter with the woman caught in adultery. The Jewish rulers expect our Lord to uphold the decree of condemnation, to support the letter of the Jewish Law. But as on previous occasions, He surprises them. He pauses, while writing something in the dust of the ground with His finger. Or is He merely doodling, trying to gain time while thinking through His response--or perhaps for the sake of a dramatic effect? Not at all! According to tradition, he is revealing in bold terms the past sins of those hypocrites who are seeking to bring the woman to justice. Only then does He proclaim, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Does this mean, however, that Jesus excuses--or even condones--sin? Is He, in effect, telling the woman that what she did is no big deal after all, that all is automatically forgiven through the superabundant love of God? Definitely not! He says, rather, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more." Indeed He does not condemn. It is rather we who condemn ourselves to eternal separation from God by our failure to sincerely repent of the multitudinous sins we have committed every day of our lives--whether by thought, word, deed, or desire. By rejecting the commandment of love, we reject God, thereby separating ourselves from true and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom.
So while it is true that God's love is unconditional, His forgiveness is not. He forgives us our debts only to the extent that we forgive our debtors. And while He assures us that those who believe in Him will be granted eternal life, mere belief obviously isn't enough. For if we truly believe in Him, we will strive day and night to abide by His commandments--and above all, the commandment of love--for as it is written, even the devils believe... and tremble.
His desire for our salvation far exceeds our own. If it were other wise, we would strive and struggle unto the very end to increase whatever talents God has entrusted unto us. We would be diligent in prayer and every form of self-denial, ever seeking to acquire a genuine spirit of repentance, that through God's grace and mercy, we might be found worthy on that dreadful day of judgment to inherit those eternal good things God has in store for those who love Him.
Consider, if you will, the gospel account of the woman caught in adultery: according to the letter of the Jewish Law, she should have been stoned to death, thereby reflecting a harsh and uncompromising understanding of God's justice still enforced in Muslim countries unto this day. (And it should be noted that nowhere in the Koran is love an attribute attributed to the falsely conceived Muslim God, Allah). But when, in the fullness of time, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ reveals Himself in the flesh, he imparts to His disciples a New Commandment that supersedes (or rather, fulfills) the Law of Moses: that we love one another, even as He has loved us. For truly, as St. John the Theologian assures us, God is love, and therefore it follows that "He desires not the death of the sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn from his way and live."
A perfect example of God's ardent desire for the salvation of the sinner is recorded in His encounter with the woman caught in adultery. The Jewish rulers expect our Lord to uphold the decree of condemnation, to support the letter of the Jewish Law. But as on previous occasions, He surprises them. He pauses, while writing something in the dust of the ground with His finger. Or is He merely doodling, trying to gain time while thinking through His response--or perhaps for the sake of a dramatic effect? Not at all! According to tradition, he is revealing in bold terms the past sins of those hypocrites who are seeking to bring the woman to justice. Only then does He proclaim, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Does this mean, however, that Jesus excuses--or even condones--sin? Is He, in effect, telling the woman that what she did is no big deal after all, that all is automatically forgiven through the superabundant love of God? Definitely not! He says, rather, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more." Indeed He does not condemn. It is rather we who condemn ourselves to eternal separation from God by our failure to sincerely repent of the multitudinous sins we have committed every day of our lives--whether by thought, word, deed, or desire. By rejecting the commandment of love, we reject God, thereby separating ourselves from true and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom.
So while it is true that God's love is unconditional, His forgiveness is not. He forgives us our debts only to the extent that we forgive our debtors. And while He assures us that those who believe in Him will be granted eternal life, mere belief obviously isn't enough. For if we truly believe in Him, we will strive day and night to abide by His commandments--and above all, the commandment of love--for as it is written, even the devils believe... and tremble.
His desire for our salvation far exceeds our own. If it were other wise, we would strive and struggle unto the very end to increase whatever talents God has entrusted unto us. We would be diligent in prayer and every form of self-denial, ever seeking to acquire a genuine spirit of repentance, that through God's grace and mercy, we might be found worthy on that dreadful day of judgment to inherit those eternal good things God has in store for those who love Him.
Monday, September 11, 2017
THE MARRIAGE FEAST
The Marriage Feast in today's Gospel is an image of that eternal Kingdom of God, to which "many are called and few are chosen," prepared for those who love Him and abide by His commandments. According to this parable, the King (God the Father) "sent forth His servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding of His Son" (our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ): and they would not come. And indeed, "they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise." That is, they were so caught up in the affairs of this world that they failed to perceive those eternal good things God has in store for those endure unto the end the trials and tribulations of this earthly life for the sake of a better hope.
They were invited to the wedding--to enter into true and eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom--yet they thoughtlessly spurned this gift, freely choosing instead to live their lives in bondage to the false and superficial goals and desires of this world. So it is that we ourselves are responsible for our ultimate destiny. We can either chose to accept God's gracious invitation to enter into the joy of eternal life and salvation, or we can willingly and voluntarily consign ourselves to a hell of our own making.
It is sure and certain that it is not God Who created hell, nor does He "send" us there as punishment for being "bad." When the King's servants were, in the end, sent forth into the highways, they "gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good." Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is it said that we are saved because we are "good," for indeed: "God desires not the death of the sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn from his way and live." It is, rather, through sincere repentance and a fervent desire to live our lives in accordance with God's commandments that we are made worthy to receive within ourselves the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit, that by dying to the false promises of this world, we might be made worthy to inherit our true destiny as sons and daughters of God.
So who is to blame if we find ourselves in the end cast into that place of outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, because we would dare to enter the wedding feast without a wedding garment--that is, those virtues we are all called to acquire--above all, that humble and contrite heart which God does not despise? (According to Jewish custom, by the way, the wedding garment was provided for all guests as they entered, so there can be no excuse for not wearing it.) God is love, and so--if we truly desire in our hearts to be made worthy of His Kingdom, we must pray above all for humility, patience, the gift of love in our hearts--and all things needful for our eternal salvation in his heavenly Kingdom.
They were invited to the wedding--to enter into true and eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom--yet they thoughtlessly spurned this gift, freely choosing instead to live their lives in bondage to the false and superficial goals and desires of this world. So it is that we ourselves are responsible for our ultimate destiny. We can either chose to accept God's gracious invitation to enter into the joy of eternal life and salvation, or we can willingly and voluntarily consign ourselves to a hell of our own making.
It is sure and certain that it is not God Who created hell, nor does He "send" us there as punishment for being "bad." When the King's servants were, in the end, sent forth into the highways, they "gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good." Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is it said that we are saved because we are "good," for indeed: "God desires not the death of the sinner, but rather that the sinner should turn from his way and live." It is, rather, through sincere repentance and a fervent desire to live our lives in accordance with God's commandments that we are made worthy to receive within ourselves the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit, that by dying to the false promises of this world, we might be made worthy to inherit our true destiny as sons and daughters of God.
So who is to blame if we find ourselves in the end cast into that place of outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, because we would dare to enter the wedding feast without a wedding garment--that is, those virtues we are all called to acquire--above all, that humble and contrite heart which God does not despise? (According to Jewish custom, by the way, the wedding garment was provided for all guests as they entered, so there can be no excuse for not wearing it.) God is love, and so--if we truly desire in our hearts to be made worthy of His Kingdom, we must pray above all for humility, patience, the gift of love in our hearts--and all things needful for our eternal salvation in his heavenly Kingdom.
Sunday, August 20, 2017
THAT YE LOVE ONE ANOTHER
"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto... a certain king, which would take account of his servants." In numerous occasions throughout the Gospels, in fact, our Lord likens the Kingdom to this, that, or the other. But why does he so often speak in parables, likening it to something else, rather than simply explaining to His listeners what the Kingdom actually is? It is because those good things God has in store for those who love Him and abide by His commandments belong to a realm so far beyond anything of which the human mind is capable of conceiving that it is only through a comparison with the things of this world that we can begin to grasp that ineffable reality that transcends even the most exalted philosophical construct that is rooted in our experience of this visible and transient world.
It is through the eyes of faith alone that we can begin to perceive beyond and beneath this phenomenal world of the five senses a realm of existence rooted not in time, but in eternity, unbounded by the limitations of space and time because it is permeated by the boundless and unconditional love of God. For truly, it seems to me (sinful and unclean though I am, mired in the mud of the passions) that the love of God (or rather, the God Who is love) is not only the foundation and ultimate goal of the entire created order, but also the only means we are given by which we might (by God's grace) cast aside the darkness of sin and despair and be made worthy in the end of that ineffable glory of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom.
But meanwhile, these heartfelt words of mine are... just words. Trials and tribulations abound for us all, for having been called forth from non-existence into being, we have been cast forth upon the sea of life, beset by the raging waves of the passions, often struggling merely to tread water amidst the tumultuous waves of this storm-tossed world.
Only, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God," Christ commands us, and all else that is necessary for us in this earthly life will be added unto us. Therefore, "Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Indeed it is! As for the ultimate goal of our existence--true and eternal life in the Kingdom of God--this cannot be comprehended by words alone. It can only be experienced --in the here and now--through striving by every possible means to live our lives in accordance with the commandments of God. Above all, that we might abide by our Lord's first and foremost commandment, "That ye love one another." This much we can surely do, if we remember that God first loved us, having so loved the world that "He sent His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him" might enjoy the fullness of life in His eternal Kingdom. And so we are enjoined to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, and to forgive those who have trespassed against us as we ourselves have been forgiven. Only then shall our fallen human nature be transfigured by the uncreated light of God's glory.
For if we struggle at all times during this earthly pilgrimage to keep this one simple command--that we "love one another"-- we are already close to the Kingdom--which is a Kingdom not of words and theological discourse, but rather of the power of God at work in a humble and contrite heart in which every egotistical thought and desire has been put to death, that having died with Christ in the waters of Baptism, we might be deemed worthy of resurrection to eternal life.
It is through the eyes of faith alone that we can begin to perceive beyond and beneath this phenomenal world of the five senses a realm of existence rooted not in time, but in eternity, unbounded by the limitations of space and time because it is permeated by the boundless and unconditional love of God. For truly, it seems to me (sinful and unclean though I am, mired in the mud of the passions) that the love of God (or rather, the God Who is love) is not only the foundation and ultimate goal of the entire created order, but also the only means we are given by which we might (by God's grace) cast aside the darkness of sin and despair and be made worthy in the end of that ineffable glory of eternal life in God's heavenly Kingdom.
But meanwhile, these heartfelt words of mine are... just words. Trials and tribulations abound for us all, for having been called forth from non-existence into being, we have been cast forth upon the sea of life, beset by the raging waves of the passions, often struggling merely to tread water amidst the tumultuous waves of this storm-tossed world.
Only, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God," Christ commands us, and all else that is necessary for us in this earthly life will be added unto us. Therefore, "Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Indeed it is! As for the ultimate goal of our existence--true and eternal life in the Kingdom of God--this cannot be comprehended by words alone. It can only be experienced --in the here and now--through striving by every possible means to live our lives in accordance with the commandments of God. Above all, that we might abide by our Lord's first and foremost commandment, "That ye love one another." This much we can surely do, if we remember that God first loved us, having so loved the world that "He sent His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him" might enjoy the fullness of life in His eternal Kingdom. And so we are enjoined to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, and to forgive those who have trespassed against us as we ourselves have been forgiven. Only then shall our fallen human nature be transfigured by the uncreated light of God's glory.
For if we struggle at all times during this earthly pilgrimage to keep this one simple command--that we "love one another"-- we are already close to the Kingdom--which is a Kingdom not of words and theological discourse, but rather of the power of God at work in a humble and contrite heart in which every egotistical thought and desire has been put to death, that having died with Christ in the waters of Baptism, we might be deemed worthy of resurrection to eternal life.
Monday, August 14, 2017
A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED
`While Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, the other disciples were approached by a man whose son "was lunatic, and sore vexed"--but the disciples were in nowise able to cast out the demon. At our Lord's rebuke, however, the demon "departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour." Afterwards, when the disciples came to Jesus and asked why they could not cast out the demon, He replied, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you." Now a mustard seed is indeed very tiny and seemingly of no significance, but I cannot help but wonder: do you and I, as 21st Century Christians, living in a secular, post-Christian society on the very brink of the Apocalypse have faith even in proportion to an amoeba?
Compared to the first Christians, fervent in faith and empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit to work miracles and to endure for the sake of Christ persecutions, sufferings, and martyrdom itself--it would seem that we are a miserable lot indeed. It seems to me that we are, for the most part, Christians in name only, professing to believe--while hardly daring to venture beyond the limits of our comfort zone. If our prayers are for the most part feeble and ineffective, it is because we have failed to acquire that living faith through which it is possible to overcome every obstacle upon the path of salvation.
Such a faith truly is, you see, a gift of God... but it is certainly not a free gift. It is only given to those who struggle for virtue and persevere unto the end upon the path of salvation. Thus, our Lord assures his disciples that "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." True it is that it is by faith we are saved, and not by the works of the Law. Nevertheless, it is an inconvertible truth that "faith without works is dead." Christ Himself assures us that "straight and narrow is the path" that leads to true and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom. But let's face it: we contemporary Christians of the last and final generation are pampered and lazy, accustomed as we are to think that life in this fallen world should be easy and essentially pain free. The so-called "good life" is to acquire as many earthly goods as we can, and to strive to achieve a superficial happiness based upon the fulfillment of our own self-centered desires.
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," says our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But this is a promise only given to those who have taken up their cross of sacrificial suffering and followed Him, enduring unto the end the trials and tribulations of this earthly life, putting to death every egotistical thought and desire, that we might say with the Holy Apostle, that it is no longer I who live... but Christ liveth in me.
Compared to the first Christians, fervent in faith and empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit to work miracles and to endure for the sake of Christ persecutions, sufferings, and martyrdom itself--it would seem that we are a miserable lot indeed. It seems to me that we are, for the most part, Christians in name only, professing to believe--while hardly daring to venture beyond the limits of our comfort zone. If our prayers are for the most part feeble and ineffective, it is because we have failed to acquire that living faith through which it is possible to overcome every obstacle upon the path of salvation.
Such a faith truly is, you see, a gift of God... but it is certainly not a free gift. It is only given to those who struggle for virtue and persevere unto the end upon the path of salvation. Thus, our Lord assures his disciples that "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." True it is that it is by faith we are saved, and not by the works of the Law. Nevertheless, it is an inconvertible truth that "faith without works is dead." Christ Himself assures us that "straight and narrow is the path" that leads to true and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom. But let's face it: we contemporary Christians of the last and final generation are pampered and lazy, accustomed as we are to think that life in this fallen world should be easy and essentially pain free. The so-called "good life" is to acquire as many earthly goods as we can, and to strive to achieve a superficial happiness based upon the fulfillment of our own self-centered desires.
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," says our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But this is a promise only given to those who have taken up their cross of sacrificial suffering and followed Him, enduring unto the end the trials and tribulations of this earthly life, putting to death every egotistical thought and desire, that we might say with the Holy Apostle, that it is no longer I who live... but Christ liveth in me.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
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.
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.
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