Martyrs Marcian and Martyrius the
notaries of Constantinople. Martyr Anastasius the Fuller of Salona in
Dalmatia;
St. Tabitha, the widow raised from the dead by the Apostle Peter; St.
Martyrius
the deacon and St. Martyrius the recluse of the Kiev Caves; St. George
of Amastride, bishop and writer of canons; Sts. Philadelphus and
Polycarp;
St. Macarius, bishop of Cyprus; Two martyrs of Thrace.
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. ON THE
JUDGMENT
OF GOD.
2. DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE: UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
Thanks to the kindness and mercy of the good God shown in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, I was delivered from the deceitfulness of the tradition of those outside [the household of the Faith], having been brought up from the very beginning by Christian parents. With them I learned from a babe the Holy Scriptures, which led me to a knowledge of the truth. When I became a man, being often away from home and, as was natural, engaged in many business affairs, in other arts and branches of knowledge I was noticing the great harmony among those who made an exact study of each [secular matter]. Whereas in the Church of God alone, for which Christ died and on which He poured out the Holy Spirit richly, I saw a great and exceeding discord on the part of many men both in their relations with one another and their views about the divine Scripture. And, what was most horrible of all, I saw its very leaders differing so much from one another in sentiment and opinion, and so hostile to the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ and so mercilessly rending the Church of God, and unsparingly agitating His flock, that now, if ever, when the Anomoeans [the radical branch of Arians] had sprung up, was fulfilled the saying: “From among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).
Seeing these and such-like things and wondering, moreover, what and whence was the cause of so great an evil, first of all I lived as it were in profound darkness and was inclining as it were on scales, first in this direction and then in that. . . . When this had been my position for a long while and I was anxiously considering the cause I have just mentioned, I remembered the book of Judges which tells how each did what was right in his own eyes, and it gives the reason by saying: “In those days there was no king in Israel” (Judg. 21:25). So having remembered this, I considered this also about the present situation, which indeed is perhaps fearful and strange to speak of, but is most true if you look into the matter — that perhaps even now, because we neglect the one great true and only King and God of all, such great dissension and strife take place among churchmen, each man deserting the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and arbitrarily claiming the right to arguments and definitions of his own, and wishing to rule over against the Lord rather than be ruled by Him.
Considering these things and perturbed at the excessive amount of impiety, I carried my investigation further. I was the more convinced, even from the affairs of this life, that the above mentioned cause was the true one. For I beheld on the one hand all the good order that prevails so long as the common obedience of the multitude towards a single head is preserved; and on the other hand all the disagreement and division, even mob-rule, which proceeds from lack of obedience to rulers. . .
If those who obey one command and have one king are characterised by good order and agreement, then all discord and division is a sign that there is no one to rule. In the same fashion such disagreement as regards both the commandments of the Lord and one another, if found in our midst, lays us open to the accusation that we have either deserted our true King [Christ], or else have denied Him: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps. 13:1, 52:1 [Septuagint reading]).
For if even among dumb animals we find mutual harmony successfully maintained, thanks to their amenability to their leader, what can we say when we are discovered having such difference between one another and such antagonism to the commands of Christ? Must we not think that all these examples in nature are put forth now by the good God for our instruction and warning, but in the great and terrible day of judgment they will be produced for the shame and condemnation of those who do not receive correction at the hands of Him Who said once and is ever saying: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know me, and my people hath not understood me” (Is. 1:3) — and many such-like things? Then there is that which the apostle said: “If one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it” (I Cor. 12:26). And, “That there should be no schisms in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another” (I Cor. 12:25), being moved, no doubt, by the one indwelling Spirit. Why has it been thus arranged? I think that such order and discipline may be preserved far more in the Church of God, to which it has been said: “Ye are the body of Christ and severally members thereof,” (I Cor. 12:27) since the one and only true head, that is Christ, clearly holds and unites each to the other with a view to the production of harmony. But where no harmony is preserved, no bond of peace kept, no meekness in the spirit treasured, but division and strife and jealousy are found — it would be very presumptuous to call such men members of Christ, or to say they are ruled by Him.
Editors’ Note:
Some
nine years ago, Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston—at the request of a new
calendar priest—wrote on the subject of Christian unity, especially
Orthodox
Christian unity. This, in part, is what he wrote (slightly edited):
How can unity be
achieved among Christians? Our response to this question is quite
simple:
we must all earnestly seek “the one thing that is needful” — our
eternal
salvation. And this is accomplished through our faithfulness to Holy
Tradition.
Our Saviour
taught
us:
Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever
I have commanded you. (Matt. 28:19)
And the Holy
Apostle
Paul writes:
Brethren, stand
fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by
word,
or any epistle [emphasis ours]. (II Thess. 2:15)
Basing ourselves, therefore, on the Holy Apostolic Traditions [and not
on human traditions], the unity and concord that we must have are
twofold:
doctrinal and liturgical (which comprises both way of worship and way
of
life).
Doctrinal unity
may be achieved if all begin again to abide by the Holy Scriptures, and
the decisions and canons of the Ecumenical and Local Councils. Here, it
would be useful if everyone humbly abandoned their own personal
opinions,
specifically in regard to how the Church should deal with those that
are
non-Orthodox—especially in the Ecumenical Movement and the World
Council
of Churches. If all of us simply re-affirmed the teaching and practice
of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, i.e., the Holy
Orthodox
Church, in this matter, as it is codified and proclaimed in Holy
Tradition,
most problems of church unity would resolve themselves.
To better illustrate this point, we will repeat here what we have
written
in other publications of our Church:
Since our diocese
adheres to the traditional, ecclesiastical calendar and we have also
been
very vocal in our objections to Ecumenism, our clergy are quite often
visited
by students, professors, clergymen, and once in a while, even bishops
affliated
with various jurisdictions in this country. These visits are often made
with the purpose of trying to persuade us that the ecumenical path
which
their jurisdictions follow in no way compromises the Orthodox Christian
Faith. Virtually without exception, these good people open their
defense
with the words, “I believe,” “I think,” “I feel,” or “In my opinion.”
But
right at this point, we feel compelled to say, “Wait, wait! What you or
I believe, or think, or feel, has no bearing on this matter. The only
thing
that is of any importance and has any authority in these matters is
what
the Church has always believed, thought, and felt. If we start going on
the basis of what each one of us thinks, believes, or feels, then we’ll
become like the Protestants, and in fact, soon we won’t have just four
or five hundred denominations as they do—we’ll have millions. Each
individual
will become a church in himself, each one feeling, believing, and
thinking
as he sees fit. In this, as in every matter, it is the Church and its
sacred
tradition that must teach us, and we must listen humbly and be
instructed.”
In our diocese we have clergy and laypeople from every possible background one could imagine. Not only have we come together from different, ethnic Orthodox jurisdictions, new calendar and old calendar, Greek, Russian, Romanian, Syrian, Ukranian and American melting-pot, but also from non-Orthodox denominations, and even pagan religions. Many of our clergy who are from Orthodox Christian jurisdictions have been trained in different theological schools: Holy Cross, St. Vladimir’s, St. Tikhon’s, Holy Trinity in Jordanville, and elsewhere. Yet, we are all of one mind, and one heart, and one soul in matters of the Faith. Why? Because we have all adopted one criterion: Holy Tradition, as it is embodied in the Holy Scriptures, the Lives of the Saints, the decisions of the holy Ecumenical and Local Councils, and the writings of the Church Fathers. This is the standard by which we conduct our church life, correct ourselves in our personal lives, and guide ourselves in every aspect of our earthly sojourn, striving for that one thing that is needful: our eternal salvation.
As Orthodox Christians, what other criterion can we have? . . . .
Despite all the divisions that have occurred, the hierarchs and clergy
of our Church are nonetheless willing to discuss these matters with any
other clergyman or layperson, so that the unity that all long for may
be
achieved. However, this has to come to pass on the basis of sound
Orthodox
Christian doctrine and ecclesiology, and not on the basis of our
private
opinions. Any basis other than Holy Tradition is bound to fail, since
it
will be an endeavor that is merely human, and not according to God.
In our Church, we
already enjoy this unity of many different ethnic usages and customs
which,
in fact, have enriched the lives of all of us, and many have
incorporated
the whole spectrum of the varied ethnic Orthodox Christian traditions
into
their parish and family life. But the one common denominator to which
we
all cleave with love is the Holy Tradition of the Church. We are
convinced
that this is the answer held out to us by our Saviour and all the
Saints
from ages past, and that it is—as we know from the experience of our
Church—entirely
possible and attainable. We know that it can, and in fact, does work.
Synaxis of the
Holy
Archangels In Christ,
8/21 November, 1990
+ Ephraim, Bishop
of Boston
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2. The
Declaration
Of Independence:
Unconstitutional?
(The Wanderer,
July 1, 1999)
The lower house of the New Jersey Assembly has passed a bill that would require part of the Declaration of Independence to be recited daily in public schools, along with the Pledge of Allegiance:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. — That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Alas, today the self-evident has become controversial — even insensitive. The offending passage mentions God and, as if that clear transgression against the separation of church and state weren’t bad enough, [it also] speaks of “men” rather than “men and women.” Some of Jersey’s more enlightened legislators point out that the recitation of these words could lead to such evils as sexism and prayer in schools. Besides, the passage was written by Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves. [Hence—reason the legislators—it might offend the black people; for was not the Declaration’s author a racist?] We might add that it speaks of “life” as foremost among “unalienable rights,” [and thus it also offends the abortionist lobby!].
Editorial Note: Recently, the parents of one of the monks at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts, were visiting their son, and the above-quoted article concerning the Declaration of Independence came up. On hearing about the objections raised against the Declaration of Independence by some of New Jersey’s legislators, the visiting mother, a simple farm woman who has raised her family in the Midwest, shook her head and said, “Well, the Communists have their agenda.” That remark, of course, hit the nail on the head. The woman herself is of Hungarian descent, and the home country of her ancestors, Hungary, was a Communist bloc country for many decades, and so she recognized the Communist jargon right away.
Orthodox Christians bore the brunt of the atheist Communist ideology for some seventy years, and so they also, more than anyone else, should recognize the current socialist jargon when they hear it.
As the saying goes:
“If you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me.”