Fr. John Romanides
Even since the very founding of the Church, various
heresies had made their appearance and were duly tackled by the Church,
with Her synodical tradition.
A heresy is formulated by an individual or by a group of
individuals, who promote other teachings and thus form various heretical
groups, which are initially active within the Church and eventually
leave the Church and become active outside Her - except that they strive
thereafter against the Revealed Faith.
The term “heresy” involves a view that deviates from
the official teaching of a religion – and that of the Church; in other
words, it is another kind of teaching.
In his address to the Elders of Ephesus, the Apostle Paul made
mention of the heretics that would originate from within the very
Church: “For, this I know: that, following
my arrival, savage wolves will enter among you, not sparing the
flock; even from among you, there will be men who will rise up, speaking
perverse things in order to break the disciples away, towards
themselves.” (Acts 20:29-30).
The Apostle Paul also makes reference to the heresies
that had unfolded, even within the first Church:
“…For there must also be heresies
amongst you, so that the tested ones among you may become evident.”
(1 Cor.11:19). The appearance of heresies renders Christians tried
and tested, because it reveals their steadfastness.
In another Epistle, the Apostle mentions how the
heretic should be confronted: “Resign
from a heretical person after the first and the second
admonition, seeing that such a person has turned away and sins, having
thus condemned himself.” (Titus 3:10-11).
The first Church handled the heresies both personally
as well as synodically. In his Epistles, the Apostle Paul confronted
many such “other teachings”, but the Church Herself had convened the
Apostolic Synod in Jerusalem in order to handle the manner in which the
Judeans wishing to be baptized could be introduced into the Church (Acts
15:6-29). This first,
Apostolic Synod became the model for all the other Synods that were
convened later on by the Church. We shall examine the matter of heresies
and Synods further along.
As regards its connection to the dogmatic teaching of
the Orthodox Church, heresy is usually a different teaching that is
assembled and formulated with other dogmas. But, given that dogmas (the
theoretical teachings) are linked to life in practice, likewise heresy
is linked to the way of life of those who preach it.
For example, the opinion that the Logos is a creation of God the
Father, denotes that the one who preaches thus, does not have a true
spiritual knowledge of God, because if he was truly a theologian, a
“God-sighter”, he would have known that Christ as God is Uncreated,
because the glory of Divine Nature is uncreated. As such, he is just a
philosopher, a speculator, and not a God-sighter.
Heresy usually confines itself to theoretical teaching,
and a heretic is the one who deviates from the instituted dogmas of the
Church. However, we need to
examine heresy in regard to its inner dimension; because, just as dogmas
are an expression of revelations and the observing of dogmas leads to
experience, likewise heresies are deviations from revelations and
simultaneously the ruin of the way to deification. It is like having a
hospital, which is unable to cure man.
“When the Church confronts a heresy, the criterion is
that heresy is whatever overthrows the Pentecost experience - when the
fullness of truth was revealed – and when one’s course towards
deification is interrupted.
That
is
why
heresy
is
dangerous”.
The overthrow of the Pentecost experience occurs,
because heretics have denied the teaching of the Theumens
(God-enlightened) Fathers of the Church – that is, by having abandoned
the revelatory truth, they mainly rely on their own logic and
speculation.
“They change tradition, based on the forms of logic
that they themselves compose; they show more trust in their personal
logic rather than the experience of the Theumens, which is why they
conceive something with their logic and relate that to the reality that
pertains to God. All
heresies are derived from that kind of an erroneous basis”.
This means heretics rely more on their own philosophy
which is full of thoughts, speculations and fantasies, and do not rely
on revelations by God. Given
that they rely on philosophical principles, in reality they are also
denying the teaching that leads to theopty (God-sighting).
“Arianism is not merely a heresy from the aspect of
theoretical science and bad speculations.
Arianism is a heresy, because it strives to destroy the teaching
of Theosis. It cannot
comprehend the matter of deification, the relations between created and
Uncreated, etc.. Furthermore, a heresy can never turn a dogma into
experience, because its dogma remains a bad experience, which will not
be the experience of deification.
And if one observes all the heresies, it will always become
obvious that the criteria of heresies are spiritual ones.
Heresies are heresies because they do not lead one where they
should. And heresy cannot
lead one into a proper spiritual life.”
“Heresy originates from a lack of catharsis (spiritual
cleansing) and enlightenment. When one does not have enlightenment,
there is imminent danger of falling into heresies, because he will
confuse God with his personal thoughts regarding God.”
The heretic cannot come to know God, because he does
not know the method of theognosy (knowledge of God).
Every science has its own theory, which is confirmed
experimentally, and every experiment’s verification directs to that same
theory.
“The heretic does not possess the method of catharsis
(spiritual cleansing), enlightenment and deification, which is why it is
impossible for one to learn from him the method of deification.”
“Heresy consists of the inability to discern between
the created and the uncreated energies; also, it originates from an
obscured nous (mind). And,
because the mind is obscured, man theologizes according to his own
imaginings and contemplations.
Patristic theology however is not of the reflective kind.
The Spiritual Fathers do not merely speculate; if they did, there
would be no reason for anyone to escape from the devil.
And one CAN escape from the devil’s ploys.”
Heresy does not only pertain to dogmatic issues, but
also to spiritual living.
For example, the separating of Christian living into a theoretical one
(dogma) and a practical one (ascetic) is a delusion.
There are some who accept the dogmas but refuse the prerequisites
of the dogmas.
Source: "Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox
Catholic Church according to the oral lessons of Fr. J. Romanides” –
Vol.B
By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of
Nafpaktos and Saint Vlassios
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου