Coffee With Sister Vassa -- WERE THE CHURCH FATHERS A SUCCESS?

 

Remember those leading you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith imitate, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. (Hebr 13:7-9)

The quote above is from today’s Epistle-reading for the (NC) feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. This tells us that the words above, initially written about the Apostles and others who spread the word of God in the Early Church, are todaybeing applied to these holy bishops from the 4th century: We are to remember them and imitate the faith they passed on to us in Jesus Christ, Who remains “ the same yesterday, today and forever,” rather than be carried to and fro by “ various and strange doctrines.” We are also to “ consider the outcome of their conduct”; the consequences of the way they lived and taught.

What was the “outcome” of the way of life and teaching of the Three Holy Hierarchs? Eventually, years after they died all three came to be venerated as great Church Fathers in both East and West. But this was not the universally-accepted opinion of them among their peers, other bishops, at the time of their deaths. St. Basil, who had battled various heresies taught by bishops who distorted the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, died in 379 at age 49, two years before these controversies were more or less resolved at the Second Ecumenical Council of 381. His friend, Gregory the Theologian (a.k.a. of Nazianzus), who did initially lead that Council as Archbishop of Constantinople, resigned from that position quite dramatically before the Council ended, frustrated by the partisan politics among his peers, which also involved opposition to him. He did resume his position as Bishop of Nazianzus for two years, during which he battled the Apollinarians, but retired for health-reasons and spent the last six years of his life on his family estate. As for St. John Chrysostom, most readers will know that he died in exile in 407, reviled at the time by all the leading bishops in the East.

So, if we “ consider the outcome of their conduct,” we can see that in the short-run, during their earthly lives, the Three Holy Hierarchs did not achieve ‘success’ within the church of their time. In the long-run, we have come to celebrate them as the winners, as those whose hearts were “established by grace,” as the author of Hebrews writes. The lesson I glean from all this is that I should take pause and abstain from judgment today, when we observe the controversies about which bishops of our Orthodox Churches are ‘canonical’ or ‘uncanonical.’ We might also take pause and relax about judging the outcomes of the battles we fight in our own personal and political lives. Considering “ the outcome of the conduct” of the great Church Fathers, largely marginalized at the end of their lives, Lord, grant us wisdom and patience, as You remain in our midst, “ the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Fragments for Friday

 

Source: antiochian.org

Last Sunday, January 25, we commemorated St. Gregory the Theologian (+391). Truly one of the most illustrious and beloved of the Church Fathers. I have been reading his biography recently, and some of his theological writings. Because his name is so linked with the role of the theologian; and because of his reputation for contributing to the Church's theological tradition with great depth and insight; someone may react and say: "He is too difficult for me to understand!" Not necessarily true. When reading a passage from St. Gregory as that below, we should simply delight in his open love for God and desire to know God. And the saint is inviting us to that same desire for communion with the living God. Theology is the pursuit of "words adequate to God," and St. Gregory, though acknowledging the impossibility of circumscribing God with our human language, expresses that with both eloquence and depth. A passage worthy to ponder!

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God always was and is and will be - or better, God always is. For "was" and "will be" are divisions of the time we experience, of a nature that flows away; but he is always, and gives himself this name when he identifies himself to Moses on the mountain. For he contains the whole of being in himself, without beginning or end, like an endless, boundless ocean of reality; he extends beyond all of notions of time and nature, and is skeptically grasped by the mind alone, but only very dimly and in a limited way; he is known not directly but indirectly, as one image is derived from another to form a single representation of the truth: fleeing before it is grasped, escaping before it is fully known, shining on our guiding reason - provided we have been purified - as a swift, fleeting flash of lightening shines in our eyes. And he does this, it seems to me, so that, insofar as it can be comprehended, the Divine might draw us to itself ...

From Oration 38, "On the Theophany"

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St. Gregory the Theologian will be commemorated this morning at the Liturgy as one of the The Three Hierarches, the other two being St. Basil the Great (+379) and St. John Chrysostom (+407). A veritable "feast of theology!"

Learning from the Three Holy Hierarchs

Dear Parish Faithful,

"The human person is an animal with the command to become like God."  

- St. Basil the Great

As stated in the Monday Morning Meditation, this last Sunday, January 30, we commemorated The Three Hierarchs - Sts. Basil the Great (+379), Gregory of Nazianzus (+390), and John Chrysostom (+407). Outside of the Scriptures, these 4th c. theologians/pastors are three of the great Founding Fathers of our Orthodox Christian theological legacy. They truly shaped it in a way that remains normative to this day. The link immediately below is to a short summary of how this feast developed in the late 11th - early 12th century. 

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/01/30/100350-synaxis-of-the-ecumenical-teachers-and-hierarchs-basil-the-great

In addition, I would like to encourage everyone to read one or more of their works. Their style is quite accessible. They are free of all academic jargon for the simple reason that they were not academics holding a chair in this or that university. They were bishops/pastors guiding their respective flocks in the late 4th and early 5th century Christian world. I have therefore put together a series of links to SVS Press and its editions from the Popular Patristic Series of some of the most prominent of the written works of these Fathers. (And they are relatively inexpensive). Some are treatises, others are collections of their homilies that spanned their lifetimes. All of it is very good.

As we are getting close to the pre-lenten season, perhaps here is a good book or two for Great Lent. As we put aside our iPhones and TV sets during Great Lent to some extent, at least, here is a good way to "redeem the time" in reading solid Orthodox literature.  

If anyone is actually interested, and would like a recommendation or guide in choosing one or more of these titles, please contact me.

St. Basil the Great - 

On Social Justice - Social justice with a clear and definite Gospel foundation.

On the Human Condition - Great essays on what it means to be human from a theological perspective.

On Fasting and Feasts - Wonderful homilies on a variety of themes that still engage us within the Church today.

On The Holy Spirit - An absolute classic that ranks with On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius. Biblical interpretation (exegesis) at its dazzling best.

On Christian Ethics - A great antidote to humanistic, autonomous ethics.

On Christian Doctrine and Practice - A series of treatises covering a wide-range of theological and practical concerns.

St. Gregory the Theologian

On God and Christ, The Five Theological Orations and Two Letters to Cledonius - Again, absolute classics that defend and describe the Holy Trinity. Unmatched.

On God and Man: The Theological Poetry of St. Gregory of Nazianzus - Poetic theology that is free of sentimentalism.

Festal Orations - Another great collection of homilies from one of the greatest Christian rhetoricians off all time.

St. John Chrysostom 

On Wealth and Poverty (2nd Ed.) - A "must-read" collection of six homilies on the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Opens the mind and heart to Christian charity.

The Cult of the Saints - Great homilies on a theme that still perplexes some Christians.

On Marriage and Family Life - Although written in the 4th c., this still contains some real gems of insight to married Christians raising families.

- Fr. Steven

The Remarkable Mothers of the Three Holy Hierarchs

 

 Dear Parish Faithful,

Yesterday, January 30, we commemorated the Three Hierarchs and Universal Teachers: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St; John Chrysostom. They were the focus of the homily, and of my Monday Morning Meditation posted earlier today.

However, a good part of the homily was focused on three female saints whose lives are intimately connected to that of the three holy bishops - their mothers: St. Aemelia (St. Basil); St. Nonna (St. Gregory); St. Anthousa (St. John). 

These are three remarkable women who profoundly shaped the lives of their illustrious sons. They are all saints with their own days of commemoration. I am providing a link to a wonderful webpage presentation of the three mothers. This parish is in Australia. I would urge you to read about these women and view the many remarkable icons of them and their sons. You will notice further links embedded there that will take you to a Life of each woman.

https://www.stparaskevi.org.au/saint-anthousa-mother-of-saint-john-chrysostom/

 

The Three Great Torchbearers of the Triune Godhead

 

Dear Parish Faithful and Friends in Christ,

Yesterday, January 30, we commemorated the Three holy Hierarchs and Universal Teachers – Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom – in order to honor and glorify these three great pastors and theologians as they stand before the undivided and consubstantial Trinity and thus enjoy the glory of God in equal measure. 

A pious tradition relates that there had been a dispute as to who was the “greatest” of the three, with each of these saints being championed by his respective followers: Basilians, Gregorians, and Johanites. However, a certain 11th c. bishop in a city of Asia Minor – John Mauropos - was granted a vision of the three hierarchs who made it clear to him that the glory that they experienced in the presence of God was equal. A feast day in honor of all three hierarchs was meant to make this clear, as well as provide the opportunity to glorify them with equal honor. In the wonderful service composed in honor of the Three Hierarchs, we extol their collective virtue in the following manner:

Let us who love their words come together with hymns
and honor the three great torch-bearers of the triune Godhead:
Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.
These men have enlightened the world with the rays of their divine doctrines.
They are flowing rivers of wisdom
and they have filled all creation with springs of heavenly knowledge.
They ceaselessly intercede for us before the Holy Trinity.

Perhaps a good way to begin our Monday morning and its routines, would be to read and meditate on a “gem” of wisdom from each of these great universal teachers.

St. Basil defended the divinity of the Holy Spirit in his now classical work, On the Holy Spirit. Since it is our goal as Christians to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, and to walk in the newness of life granted by the Holy Spirit, this eloquent passage from St, Basil may further awaken our minds to the divine activity of the Spirit in our lives:

“He is simple in being; His powers are manifold: they are wholly present everywhere and in everything. He is distributed but does not change. He is shared yet remains whole. Consider the analogy of the sunbeam: each person upon whom its kindly light falls rejoices as if the sun existed for him alone, yet it illumines land and sea, and is master of the atmosphere. In the same way, the Spirit is given to each one who receives Him as if He were the possession of that person alone, yet He sends forth sufficient grace to fill all the universe. Everything that partakes of His grace is filled with joy according to its capacity – the capacity of its nature, not of His power…” 

“When a sunbeam falls on a transparent substance, the substance itself becomes brilliant, and radiates light from itself. So too Spirit-bearing souls, illumined by Him, finally become spiritual themselves, and their grace is sent forth to others.” 

On the Holy Spirit, ch. 22 & 23

In a famous passage from his great Theological Orations, (the composition and deliverance of which attained for St. Gregory his title “the Theologian”), he reminds us that we should not casually speak about God in a light-minded and frivolous manner. To speak about God is a serious matter and only helpful at appropriate times:

“Not to everyone, my friends, does it belong to philosophize about God; not to everyone – the subject is not so cheap and low – and, I will add, not before every audience, not at all times, nor on all points; but on certain occasions, and before certain persons, and within certain limits. 

Not to all persons, because it is permitted only to those who have been examined, and are past masters in meditation, and who have been previously purified in soul and body, or at the very least are being purified. For the impure to touch the pure is, we may safely say, not safe, just as it is unsafe to fix weak eyes upon the sun’s rays… And who are the permitted persons? They to whom the subject is of real concern, and not they who make it a matter of pleasant gossip, like any other thing, after the races, or the theatre, or a concert, or a dinner,o r still the lower employments.” 

Theological Oration 1,3.

St. John the “Golden-Mouthed” always exhorted his flock to the imitation of Christ; and always sought to lift up our minds to God in praise and thanksgiving. St. John’s theology was “practical” but also fiery and uplifting:

“Let us depart from the Divine Liturgy like lions who are producing fire, having become fearsome even to the devil, because the Holy Blood of the Lord that we commune waters our souls and gives us great strength. When we commune of it worthily, it chases the demons far away and brings the angels and the Lord near us…” 

“Teach whoever doesn’t attend church that you chanted with the Seraphim, that you belong to the heavenly lifestyle, that you met with Christ and spoke with Him. If we live the Divine Liturgy thus, we will not have to say anything to those who were absent. But seeing our benefit, they will feel their own harm and quickly run to church to enjoy the same goods, with the grace and philanthropy or our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, belong eternal glory. Amen.”

 

And we can add our own “Amen!” to the lives and teaching of the Three Hierarchs who to this day fill “all creation with springs of heavenly knowledge!”