On the Church #
What is the Church of God? #
The name of the Church signifies a union and assembly, and the Church of God means the voluntary reception and preservation of God’s grace by rational and free creatures. Through this grace, these creatures, to the extent possible for them, unite with God, and by uniting with Him, they also come together among themselves into one body. Blessed Augustine states: The proper order of confession (of faith) required that the Holy Trinity, confessed in the Creed, should build the Church, as a house for the Builder, a temple for God, and a city for the Lord. This Church must consist not only of the part that travels on earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, praising the name of the Lord and singing a new song after the ancient captivity, but also of the heavenly part, which is forever attached to its Builder and has never experienced any evil from its fall. This Church remains immaculate in the holy angels, who now, as is fitting, help its traveling part. This Church of angels and men will partake in eternity, established entirely for the worship of the one God, united in the bond of love among themselves forever (his book On Faith, Hope, and Love, ch. 54).
In the assembly of angels and men, the Church is also understood by Andrew of Caesarea, who says: The heavenly Jerusalem descends from the higher bodiless forces to people, as the common head of both is Christ our God (his commentary on verse 2 of chapter 21 of Revelation).
Thus, it is clear that angels and men, who voluntarily receive God’s grace in worshiping the Lord their God, constitute the Church of God.
What is meant by the voluntary reception and preservation of God’s grace by rational and free creatures? #
God’s grace consists of God’s law and the goods promised to those who keep it. Although a natural law filled with great good was given by God for the existence of all creation, an additional special law was given to rational and free creatures. By voluntarily fulfilling this law, they could ascend higher and higher to His incomprehensible bliss or, by deviating from it, be deprived of even the good given to them by the natural law.
Violators of this law, established by God for rational and free creatures, first appeared among the bodiless beings, in the fallen Lucifer and the wicked spirits who agreed with him in malice. Consequently, they lost the inherent light of their nature and were darkened by eternal darkness. Therefore, having refused to receive and preserve God’s grace for ascending to His incomprehensible bliss, they separated from the Church of God, which consists of the holy angels, as it is said: How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, `I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15). And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them (Daniel 8:10).
After this, God created man also rational and free, and gave him a law so that by fulfilling it, he could ascend to the height of His eternal and incomprehensible bliss. This law consisted in the Edenic commandment to Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:16-17). But alas, man, through the envy of the fallen spirit, was led into transgression of the law given to him, and therefore he also fell from the Church of God, which would eternally bless God by receiving divine graceful illuminations.
The loving God, for the resurrection of man from death, renewed His law to him at Sinai in the Ten Commandments, given through the prophet Moses on stone tablets: “so that the man who does these things may live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). And although many strove to fulfill this God-given law, no one, even among the greatest righteous ones of the Old Testament, due to the corrupted nature of man by sin, could observe it perfectly throughout their life, as the Apostle Paul testifies, saying: “For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death… What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, `You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death… We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:5-25).
Thus, it is clear that the law was given to man for life, but man, having been captivated by sin through the transgression of the first commandment, could not fulfill it precisely, and therefore, even with this help, could not rise from mortal decay and eternally bless God in the Church of divine graceful illuminations.
Therefore, the most merciful Lord became man and perfectly fulfilled the law He Himself had given to man, as He said: “I have not come to abolish (the law or the prophets), but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). By this, He constituted the Church in Himself as the perfect receiver of God’s grace, as it is said: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). And that Christ’s flesh is indeed the Church, Christ Himself testifies, saying to the Jews: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The evangelist clarified that He was speaking about the temple of His body (John 2:19, 21). However, Christ did not merely find satisfaction in forming the Church in His flesh, but He also willed to pour out His grace on all other men, as it is said: “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17). Therefore, the Apostle Paul says: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).
What is understood by the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and the law of the Spirit who gives life? #
The grace and truth of Jesus Christ and the law of the Spirit who gives life are contained in the preaching of the Holy Gospel, concerning the general resurrection of the dead, the forgiveness of sins for those who repent of them, and the possible union through faith in Christ, the Son of God, with the graceful divine illuminations of the Church of God, as it is said: “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63), and also: “The kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21).
How many Gospel commandments are there? #
Just as there is one God, all His commandments are contained in one word: love, which is divided into two parts—love for God and love for neighbor, as Christ Himself said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). However, to love God means to love Christ, the Son of God, for due to the indivisibility of the divine essence in the persons of the Holy Trinity, Christ is also the perfect God. But to love Christ means to keep His commandments, as He Himself said: “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). The commandments of Christ are sufficient for the salvation of every person living in this world under any circumstances, as is evident from this: Christ commanded the apostles: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
Under “all creation,” the entire human race is understood, which exists in various states. There are infants who cannot form any concepts, children who barely understand, and more developed individuals. There are also men with different levels of intellectual development and elders adorned with wisdom or lacking in reason. There are also differences in conditions: some are rich, others are just managing, and some are lacking even the necessities. Furthermore, there are sovereign rulers and subordinates, and even those deprived of any freedom, such as convicts. If all are condemned for unbelief in the Gospel, it is evident that no one who can reason can claim the impossibility of believing in the Holy Gospel. Therefore, the Gospel sayings are instructive in every case. We can assume that each person can truly love God only when striving to fulfill all the Gospel commandments. However, no one can be condemned for what they lacked the strength and opportunity to fulfill, but they will certainly be judged for not fulfilling those commandments for which there was no hindrance. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48).
Thus, every believer in the Holy Gospel must first believe in the one God understood in the Holy Trinity, then be baptized and partake of the Holy Communion, and be sanctified by other church sacraments, as all of them are established on the basis of Gospel commandments. Finally, they must unchangeably observe all the traditions of the Ancient Russian Church, which have come down to it from the holy apostles through the testimony of the seven ecumenical and other holy councils and holy fathers. For in its rules, statutes, liturgical and instructional books, nothing is contained beyond what the Holy Gospel bequeaths to us. In short, all the piety taught by the tradition of this Holy Church is one preaching of the Holy Gospel in its main sense, to express thereby our love for God and neighbor. However, this church piety or preaching of the Holy Gospel must be practiced by each person according to their state and circumstances, as far as possible in the best direction. Thus, it is important for the apostle and his deputy, the bishop or priest, to purely preach the word of God and perform the sacraments handed down by Christ for the sanctification of believers. For the believer, it is important to unwaveringly adhere to the preaching of piety, to honor the preachers of the word of God, and to avoid false teachers. For the king and every ruler, it is important to judge rightly and be content with the lot allotted to them from above. For the subordinate, it is important to render to God what is God’s, and to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to be obedient to their masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the harsh (1 Peter 2:18). For the rich, it is important to show mercy to the poor and needy. For the poor and needy, it is important to bear their fate with gratitude, which fully corresponds to the following commandment of Christ: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19). For the righteous, it is important not to exalt themselves with their righteousness. For the fallen sinner, it is important not to despair in their fall but to turn to repentance. For those exiled for righteousness, it is important to rejoice in the blessedness prepared for them by God. For those condemned for sin, it is important to humble themselves in their guilt and confess to God with heartfelt contrition, as He accepted the repentance of the thief on the cross.
Due to these particularities, it often happens that one, by fulfilling one Gospel commandment, may not be able to fulfill other commandments due to some external obstacle. However, if someone ends their life by fulfilling only one commandment, they have already fulfilled all the Gospel commandments if they did not reject them out of unbelief. For example, someone who is among the catechumens, who are being taught the right faith without yet being baptized, may unexpectedly fall into the hands of a persecutor who kills all who confess Christ. If they then confess Christ as the Son of God and are killed for this without yet being baptized and receiving communion, they are not violators of the Gospel commandments they did not fulfill, but it is reckoned that they have fulfilled them all in that one commandment: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Conversely, even if someone fulfills all the Gospel commandments but rejects even one as unjust, they have already violated the entire Gospel preaching because they will not receive the good promise proclaimed by the Gospel, as it is said: “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19), which, according to John Chrysostom’s interpretation, means being condemned to hell (Homilies on the Gospel at this place).
Therefore, it is impossible to list all the Gospel commandments by a register. But one true love for God and neighbor can easily enumerate them, which is why we must always strive for this to the best of our abilities. For, as the apostle says, “He who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
What does it mean when we profess to believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? #
The Symbol of the Orthodox Faith lists many attributes of the Church to more precisely define what we profess to believe in. The term “Church” refers to many entities. According to the Great Catechism, the Church of God includes: First, the Tabernacle of Moses. Second, the Holy Place or the Sanctuary (that is, the Holy of Holies, which was in the Old Testament temple). Third, the temple or house of prayer. Fourth, the parish or congregation of any given temple. Fifth, the home of any Christian. Sixth, the Body of Christ. Seventh, every Orthodox Christian. Eighth, all the faithful in the world who are now, were, and will be. Ninth, specifically the pastors and builders of the Church. Tenth, all the saints in paradise and in heaven (Great Catechism, ch. 25). Furthermore, the Church of God, seen in different periods and circumstances, is called: the Edenic Church, the Pre-Flood Church, the Church of Noah’s Ark, the Patriarchal Church, the Church under the Law or Old Testament, the New Grace Church, the Apostolic Church, and is categorized by centuries, regions, and peoples, and other circumstances, which need not be detailed here.
But when we recognize the name of the Church of God in many entities and call the Church One, we learn that all different entities and conditions called by the name of the Church should be akin to each other, like many stones of any given temple being cemented together, and if each of them, being a stone, occupies its place and represents as it were a separate part of the temple, yet in the general structure, they all constitute only one temple. Similarly, in the unity of the Church, people from different periods, places, and various circumstances, though they appear as separate parts, in their consciousness and adherence to the holiness of one law of God, all represent a common unity. God’s law has never been changed and cannot change. It was given to the first man in Eden to have life in its observance and death in its transgression. Although man transgressed God’s law, it did not change from that transgression, for it still pursues death for the descendants of the transgressor.
The loving God, desiring life and not death for man, repeated the same law to him in the Ten Commandments given through Moses on Sinai, so that man, by observing them, might live. The Sinai law fully agrees with the Edenic law, which can be explained as follows: (Sinai commandments) 1. “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before Me.” 2. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” 3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” In the Edenic commandment, it was expressed that the giver of the commandment is God. And as the death penalty was imposed for transgressing this commandment, it showed that man should not equate anyone else with Him or place anyone’s advice above His commandment. 4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.” It could be fulfilled in the Edenic commandment if man did not touch the forbidden tree, for not touching the tree means being idle towards it, and this idleness corresponds to the Sabbath. 5. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” But if the first man had honored God, his Creator, by observing His commandment, he would have lived long in the Edenic bliss of eternal life. 6. “You shall not murder.” In Eden, it meant: do not eat from the forbidden tree, lest you die. 7. “You shall not commit adultery.” An adulterer is a lawbreaker just as the one who does not keep God’s commandment is a transgressor of the law, hence this commandment was contained in the Edenic commandment. 8. “You shall not steal.” It was expressed in Eden that man should not entertain the thought of secretly taking from the forbidden tree, hiding from God. 9. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” It could be contained in the Edenic commandment so that man would not say that God forbade him to eat the fruit of the specified tree out of jealousy, not out of the desire for his good. 10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his house or land, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This speaks about not coveting another’s property. But in the Edenic commandment, the forbidden tree was also for man as if it were someone else’s property. Regarding the Sinai law, it is said: the man who does these things will live by them, but if man had kept the Edenic law, he would also live. So, God’s law was one in the Edenic commandment as in a seed, and in the Sinai law as in growth, with one common content—to love God and neighbor, and one common promise—life to those who keep it, and death to transgressors.
This fully agrees with the law of the Gospel of Christ, which also contains the good news—to love God with all your soul and your neighbor as yourself, and has the promise: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). About this singularity of God’s law, the Psalmist prophesies, saying: “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work” (Psalm 62:11-12). And just as earthly kings rule in their kingdoms by their legislation, so God always reigns over the human race with His singular and unchangeable law and rewards each one according to his deeds.
Thus, the Symbol of Faith, professing One Church, teaches us first to recognize unity in God’s law, secondly, its perfect fulfillment only by our Savior Jesus Christ the Son of God, and thirdly, our justification before God now not by the works of the law, of which we are found to be transgressors, but by the sole faith in Christ the Son of God (Romans 3:28). But if anyone does not recognize holiness in the aforementioned singular law of God, or will hope that he will be justified before God by his own works of the law and not by faith in Christ the Son of God, he cannot enter into the unity of the Church of God.
By calling the Church of God Holy, we learn that our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled the law given to man, achieved perfect holiness, so as to eternally dwell in the glory of God His Father, as He is now glorified in the Holy Church, being sung: “One is Holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.” Indeed, by fulfilling the law, He alone is holy, while we are all sinners through transgressing it, and now we are sanctified not by the law, which condemns us to death for its transgression, but by the sole grace of Jesus Christ, poured out on believers in Him, through the visible signs now called sacraments in His Holy Church. If the Church is holy, this means that just as God’s law, making us sinners, is always unchangeable, so the grace of Christ, justifying us, will never change. And as God’s law, though it was not fulfilled for a long time until Christ our Savior perfectly fulfilled it, nevertheless did not lose its power to give life to its fulfiller, so the grace of Christ, sanctifying the faithful, will never weaken, even if it sometimes finds no one worthy of it, as the holy Apostle Paul teaches, saying: “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him (Christ in baptism), we shall also live with Him: if we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
This apostolic saying shows not that there will never be a complete rejection of Christ or His faith, but only hypothetically speaks that even if something happened which cannot actually occur, still the holiness given by Christ to the Church could not be destroyed. Some, based on the words of the same apostle: “so that you may know how to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), and again: “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27), assert that the holiness of the Church must be in the uninterrupted succession of apostolic deputies—bishops who do not err in teaching Orthodox faith.
But the cited words of the apostle cannot be the basis for such an assertion. St. John Chrysostom, explaining the first words about the Church of the living God, says: “This temple is not like the former Jewish one, for it encompasses faith and preaching, because the truth is the pillar and ground of the Church.” And he continues: “The confession (further says the apostle), `great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,’ means His providence for us” (Apostolic Homilies on the cited words of the apostle). This means the same thing as what the venerable Maximus the Confessor testifies: “As the Lord Christ called the true and saving confession of faith the Catholic Church” (January Menology, 21st day). Likewise, the latter words of the apostle, according to Chrysostom’s interpretation, relate the essential holiness of the Church to the word of God that sanctifies us in baptism. But to prevent the sanctified people from claiming this right, he, in instructing this, pointed out the relationship of the wife to her husband: “The wife (in marriage) is a secondary principle, which means she should not demand equality with her husband” (Apostolic Homilies on the cited words of the apostle, in the Russian translation, p. 347). Blessed Augustine speaks in a similar manner: “The Church of angels and men will participate in eternity, which is entirely established for the worship of the one God… Therefore, neither the whole Church nor any part of it desires to regard itself as God, and no one belonging to God’s temple wishes to be God” (His book On Faith, Hope, and Love, ch. 54). And infallibility is the property of Christ alone, our God.
Thus, it is clear that the words of the apostle cannot be the basis for the assertion of the infallibility of bishops, but without any foundation, it cannot stand, because it contradicts the prediction of the same apostle, who said: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). And that the apostle did not foresee this outside the Church, is proven by his preceding words to Timothy: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (verse 2). The words “correct” and “rebuke” apply only to those who are within the Church, not outside. He also predicted that such turmoil in the Church would begin with its teachers, priests, and bishops, speaking to the elders of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! … Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:28-32). The phrase “which can build you up” shows that although those in the Church of the Lord and God may be disturbed and shaken by the perverted speech of bishops, they will then be corrected in proper order, for the Lord will give them an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. About this, the apostle Peter also predicts, saying: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).
Furthermore, to attribute infallibility to bishops would not be consistent with Christ’s warning to His apostles: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” (Matthew 5:13) and again: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Luke 12:42), and directly contradicts His prophecy: “When you see `the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15), and the following revelation to John the Theologian: “I watched as he (the Lamb of God in the book sealed with seven seals) opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind” (Revelation 6:12-13).
How can bishops purify and sanctify themselves if they fall into some temptation of corruption? Blessed Jerome provides proof from the same Revelation. He says: “The angel of the church in Ephesus is blamed for leaving his first love. The angel of the Pergamum church is reproached for eating food sacrificed to idols and for the teaching of the Nicolaitans. The angel of the Thyatira church is rebuked for tolerating the prophetess Jezebel, who misleads my servants into sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols.” Yet, the Lord admonishes them all to repentance under the threat of punishment if they do not repent. He would not urge them to repentance if He did not forgive the repentant. Did He say that those baptized in the Nicolaitan faith should be re-baptized, or that hands should be laid on those who believed as the Pergamum followers did, adhering to Balaam’s teaching? Not at all, but says: “Repent; otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16; Jerome, vol. 4, Dialogue against the Luciferians, p. 89).
Therefore, calling the Church holy teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is perfect in holiness through the fulfillment of the law in it, and that He grants the grace of His sanctification through visible signs to sinners who, believing in their Sanctifier, turn from sin to the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments. Though He calls all mankind to this grace, only those who believe in Him and do not neglect the Church’s sacraments for their sanctification will receive it. Lastly, even the performance of the Church’s sacraments, though a gracious means of sanctification, does not sanctify those lacking perfect faith in Christ the Son of God, as will be shown in more detail in the further explanation of the Church sacraments.
By calling the Church Catholic and Apostolic, we learn that God’s law and the grace of Jesus Christ are not only found in the Edenic and Sinai legislation and the Gospel preaching, but equally in all other divine revelations, commandments, and prophecies given to the patriarchal forefathers and the prophets under the law. They are also contained in all the explanations and searches for God’s truth by the holy apostles and their successors, the Orthodox bishops and venerable fathers in the New Grace Church throughout all times. Although the Edenic-Sinai legislation and the preaching of the Holy Gospel are perfect in themselves, as they can always be understood by the pure in heart, for the hardened mind of man, all subsequent divine revelations, commandments, and explanations were necessary, like an addition to the same divine law and the grace of Christ. Without this, man, facing different circumstances, could easily forget not only God’s law and Christ’s grace but even the very existence of the one true God. Of course, God knew all the various incidents that would occur in this world even before its creation, and He predestined His guidance for every case. But revealing all this at once was beyond human capacity, as Christ explained to His disciples, saying: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He (whom I will send you from the Father) the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you” (John 16:12-14). Subsequently, the holy apostles indeed encountered many dilemmas, but under the guidance of the Spirit who enlightened them, they everywhere sought the true essence of their salvific preaching of the Holy Gospel. In every such search, they heard Christ inwardly speaking to them, as the holy Apostle Paul testifies, saying to the Corinthians: “since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me” (2 Corinthians 13:3). And as the holy apostles did not personally encounter all the circumstances the Holy Church meets over time, they could not predetermine all the possible doubts arising within it. Still, each of them is more definitively resolved in its time by the existing successors of the holy apostles and all Orthodox Christians. Therefore, it is clear that through them all, until the end of the age, Christ will speak in every explanation of the true essence of the dispensation of Christ. That there was much hidden in the dispensation of Christ is testified by His beloved disciple at the end of his Gospel, saying: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
Thus, we believe in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, believing in all particular divine revelations contained in the canonical books of the Old Testament, listening to the teachings of the holy apostles and their successors, the Orthodox bishops, and humbly accepting the decrees of the seven holy ecumenical and nine local councils, which were in full agreement among themselves, and therefore are accepted without dispute by all Christians worldwide, equally as the Holy Gospel itself (Matthias’ Rules, leaf 2, and the Rudder before the rules of the holy apostles). According to Christ’s saying to His disciples: “Whoever listens to you listens to Me” (Luke 10:16), we remain obligated to listen to all the apostles and their successors in the word of their true teaching, as well as to Christ Himself. But sometimes one individual may not fully grasp the truth on some issues. Therefore, preachers of God’s word, in their explanations, attest to their truth by agreeing with other preachers of the same salvific Gospel, as it is said: “that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:16). And again: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). If Christ is in the midst of two or three gathered in His name, it is evident that the more gathered in the name of the Lord, the more Christ will be found among them. The holy apostles, by their 37th rule, commanded that bishops in each region should gather in council twice a year, and they entrusted these councils with the right to decide every question, dispute, and ecclesiastical controversy, as Aristin expresses in his commentary on the 5th rule of the First Ecumenical Council. Therefore, if council decrees stand above the judgments of individuals, it is clear that greater councils should surpass smaller ones, hence ecumenical councils are preferred over local ones. However, such preference in councils is observed only when neither the larger nor the smaller council distorts the Lord’s truth. For the council of union proclaims: “Every council that follows the previous holy councils is holy; but one that does not follow them… is not holy, but is defiled and rejected” (The Rudder, ch. 71, leaf 641). Therefore, the Holy Church sometimes accepts the decrees and resolutions of many and smaller local councils as guidance and sometimes rejects even those councils that called themselves ecumenical, such as one at Rimini and Seleucia under Emperor Constantine with 600 bishops, another in Constantinople under Emperor Constantine Copronymus with 333 bishops, and a third under Pope Eugene in Florence.
The Great Catechism expresses this as follows: “We believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, that is, we rely on the teachings and dogmas of the holy apostles and holy ecumenical councils, not on people. And again: This is the Catholic Church, which believes in the whole Gospel and the whole teaching of the ecumenical councils, not in parts. This is the Catholic Church, which does not believe in an invented faith, nor does it hold secrets established by one person, but believes and relies on what the Lord God delivered and the whole world praised and accepted.”
Christ said to the Apostle Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church.” Does this mean that the apostle Peter and his successors, the Roman popes, are personally meant as the rock, as the Catholics assert? #
The name Peter, although it indeed means “rock” in Greek, still does not warrant laying the apostle Peter as the foundation of the Church, according to the following teaching of the apostle Paul: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). He also reasons about the Jews, stating: “They stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written: See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame” (Rom. 9:32-33). And again: “That rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4), which Christ Himself confirms, saying: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes… Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matt. 21:42-44).
Moreover, the apostle Peter has his own name, Simon. Christ called him Peter solely because he firmly confessed Him as the Son of the Living God, and thus this name was given to him metaphorically from his firm confession, just as we call another person a caretaker if he takes care of something. But if he abandons his care, then the name caretaker no longer applies to him. Similarly, the apostle Peter, when he abandoned his firm confession of Christ as the Son of God and denied Him on the night of the saving Passion, then he also lost the very name of Peter. For Christ, speaking with him after His resurrection, no longer called him Peter, but said: “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15).
Thus, even the apostle Peter, although he did not deny being called Peter, understood that the rock on which the Church is built is Christ alone, as he himself said: “Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and `a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’” (1 Pet. 2:3-7).
So it is clear that if someone assigns the name “rock” to people and considers them the foundation of the Church, he neglects the Rock that has become the cornerstone, which becomes a stumbling stone and a rock that makes people fall.
Then why does the apostle say to the Ephesians: “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20)? #
Here, the apostles and prophets are also called the foundation metaphorically, just as the apostle Peter was called. But since metaphorical names cannot be mixed with proper names, we can note this from Christ’s words: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Thus, although many can be called sons of God, having acted as peacemakers among the hostile, in the proper sense and by nature, the Son of God is our Lord Jesus Christ alone.
Thus, not only the apostles and prophets but even holy martyrs and confessors who fearlessly testified to the true preaching of the Holy Gospel can be called the foundation of the Church metaphorically. However, we should not forget or lose sight of the fact that the foundation of the Church in its very essence is Christ our God alone.
Christ said to the apostle Peter: “On this rock I will build My Church.” The verb “build” is in the future tense; when did He build His Church? #
The Church of Christ is nothing other than the Kingdom of God, about which Christ said to those who believe in Him: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). But the Kingdom of God exists from before all ages; as spoken to God by the prophet: “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Ps. 144:13), and Christ will say to the righteous on the last day of judgment: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34), that is, from the beginning of ages.
The apostolic man Hermas saw in a vision the Church of God in the form of an old woman and asked the handsome young man who appeared to him: why does the Church appear old to him? And he replied: because she was created before everything, so she is old, and for her, the world was created (his book Shepherd, vision two). And Saint John Chrysostom says: “For the sake of the Church, the heavens were spread out, the sea was poured out, the air was spread, the earth was founded, paradise was planted” (word on Pentecost). The Kingdom of God, the Church of Christ, is called by the holy apostle Paul “the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2).
But when man lost the blessedness of paradise and eternal life by violating God’s commandment, the most merciful God wanted to seek out and resurrect the lost and dead man through His only-begotten Son, which our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished by His death on the cross, as He also declared His last word on the Cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30). And then He said to the repentant thief: “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Thus, if by Christ’s death life was restored to the dead man and the blessedness of paradise was reopened for him, here too the creation of Christ’s Church was accomplished, about which Christ promised: “I will build My Church.”
But if we pay more careful attention to the fact that the Church is called by Saint Chrysostom both higher than the heavens, broader than the earth, and brighter than the sun, we must acknowledge that since the full magnitude of the Church cannot be entirely comprehended by us, its creation can hardly be precisely defined. Although we have justly said that the Church was created before any creature and in Christ’s crucifixion, if we recall that on the last judgment day everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds, as long as human deeds continue according to their will and the righteous reward for them has not yet been given, it is hardly fair to assert that the creation of the Church has already been fully completed; for the apostle Peter says to the believers: “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:5). And the apostle Paul cries out to the Corinthians: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Cor. 3:11-15). And the apostolic man Hermas saw the Church of God under the image of a tower, still only being built, whose completion was foretold not before the end of this age (his book Shepherd, vision 3).
Therefore, concerning the creation of the Church of God, we can define that at the beginning God created it in His predestination of its entire destiny, and by bringing all creatures into being for it. In His divine economy, He created, or more precisely, recreated it by granting life to the man dead from the fall and showing him the saving path to eternal blessedness, in following which it is being built by believers throughout this present age. But when Christ Himself comes again to test the deeds of all people and to give each their just reward, and to the righteous before Him to bestow His heavenly kingdom, then the creation of the Church of God will be fully completed, and there will be, as testified in the Revelation by Saint John, the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 21:2-7).
Is it true, as some say, that Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of His promise, “I will build My Church”, established it through the ordination of the holy apostles by sending the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? #
This is not entirely true. On the day of Pentecost, Christ only sent grace and gifts. If there had been no Church before that, there would have been no one to receive these gifts. Here, the gift was given by Christ to the Church He had already established through His divine plan. However, this divine gift can be accepted as a form of creation or re-creation of the Church, enriching the Church of Christ, but it cannot exclusively pertain to the single act of ordination of the holy apostles. This grace was given to the entire Church, and not only those who were ordained but all believers, even those without the ordination of priesthood, could receive the strength to perform feats for God’s sake. Christ performed the ordination on the apostles even before His ascension, as the very meaning of the word “ordination” indicates. The word “ordination” is Greek, meaning “laying on of hands,” but on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of tongues, not hands, and sat upon the heads of not only the twelve apostles but all believers present, about one hundred and twenty. Concerning the twelve apostles, they acted with the grace and authority of the ordination given to them by Christ even before the day of Pentecost, as they elected Matthias to replace Judas the betrayer and added him to the number of the twelve apostles. Therefore, attributing the act of ordination solely to the day of Pentecost is a clear misconception.
In the Synaxarion, for the Monday of the Holy Spirit, it is written: “The Holy Spirit sat upon the heads of the apostles to ordain them as teachers of the universe.” Is there a mistake here as well? #
The expression from the Synaxarion you mentioned does not assert that the Holy Spirit then ordained the apostles to be teachers of the universe, but it clarifies why the Holy Spirit sat on the heads of the apostles in the form of tongues rather than on their mouths. It states: “The Holy Spirit sat on their heads, embracing the lordship of the mind, from which the mouths also have speech, and as if to ordain them as teachers of the universe, for ordination is performed on the heads.” Here, the Synaxarion definitively states that the Holy Spirit embraces the lordship of the mind, and regarding ordination, it speaks hypothetically, “as if to ordain,” similar to the expression “as if to ordain.” Taking this hypothetical expression as definitive would also be an extremely ignorant misconception.
\section*{What are the gates of Hades, and how will they not overcome the Church of God?}
To define what the gates of Hades are, one must first understand what is meant by the word “Hades.” This word does not have a single meaning. According to the church dictionary of P. Alexeev, it means: 1) the grave, 2) the place of eternal torment prepared for unrepentant sinners, 3) the torments themselves, which are so unbearable they are likened to those of Hades, 4) the lowest place, which is contrasted with heaven. According to the Large Catechism, Hades is an unknown place. Thus, based on this, the concept of Hades can be described as the most severe opposition to God’s goodness. Therefore, if man, God’s creation from the earth, is good, then the grave, which returns him to the earth, is Hades. If eternal light and the bliss of paradise are good, then eternal darkness and sorrow are Hades. And if the Kingdom of God, in its high divine contemplation, dwells within us, then the utter oblivion of God is Hades, as the prophet said: “Who will praise You in Hades?” (Ps. 6:5).
So if Hades is the opposition of good, it is clear that everything that detracts from good is a gate of Hades. In the Gospel, the gates of Hades are called persecutors, heretics, and sins, for the former strive to destroy faith in Christ through their torment, the latter distort the gospel message with their false teaching, and the third lead man to violate God’s righteousness through their deception. But as the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Ps. 19:7-10). Therefore, it can never be that the law of the Lord does not find sincere adherents among mankind, who become wise through the true testimony of the Lord and remember the enduring pure fear of the Lord. And so, if the gates of Hades rise against the Church of Christ through persecutory torment, they can never succeed in destroying all adherents of God’s law, who are ready to sacrifice their lives for it.
And if they arm themselves against the Church with heretical false teachings, they will not achieve such a victory that they cannot be properly refuted, whether by church pastors or even by children made wise through the true testimony of the Lord.
Finally, although they always attack the Church with sins, they never completely overcome it. Even among the sinning children of Christ’s Church, the pure fear of the Lord is never utterly forgotten, through which every sinner, through repentance, can turn away from the evil prepared for him by sins. Thus, the gates of Hades in all their forms can never ultimately prevail against the Church of Christ.
Is it true that in the decline and corruption of true church piety among all bishops since the time of Moscow Patriarch Nikon, the Church of Christ was overcome by the gates of Hades? #
This is not true. For the indicated corruption of the hierarchs in holy church piety could not cause the ancient church piety to be entirely rejected by everyone. There have always appeared steadfast zealots who did not refuse to testify to this even with their own lives. Not only simple Christians but also many clergy have borne such testimony. Therefore, if in the frenzy of the hierarchs against ancient church piety there was an uprising of the gates of Hades against the Church, then in the persistence of ancient church piety up to the present, there is clear evidence of the invincibility of the Church of Christ.
You say there have always been adherents to ancient church piety, but they did not have pious bishops for 180 years, and therefore they could not be the Church. For St. Chrysostom says: “the Church cannot exist without a bishop” (Margarit, His Life, p. 144). #
It is impossible to categorically assert that where there is no bishop, there is no Church. For the name “church” is very often attributed to things where there is no personal bishop, and every Orthodox Christian, according to the Large Catechism, is called a church. But not every Orthodox Christian is a bishop, which shows that sometimes the church can be recognized even without the personal presence of a bishop. Regarding the statement of Chrysostom mentioned in the question, we will say that the divine and the writings of the holy fathers are considered according to the context and understanding of the writer. If we overlook this rule when considering any writing, then, according to Chrysostom himself, in the commentary on the 17th verse of the 1st chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians, we can misunderstand any writing. Therefore, let us consider the context and understanding contained in the statement you mentioned.
St. Chrysostom, during his last exile from Constantinople, when parting with the deaconesses of the cathedral church of Constantinople, told them: “Let no one separate you from the church, as you are accustomed. Whoever is appointed in the church by necessity or by the counsel of all, obey him as you obey me, for the church cannot be without a bishop” (His Life in Margarit). Let us also quote the same from another translation: “Let none of you violate the respect due to the church. Whoever is appointed to this throne by common agreement without intrigue and ambition will be my successor, obey him as you obey me, for the church cannot remain without a bishop” (St. John Chrysostom and Empress Eudoxia, Thierry, p. 247).
Here it is clear to everyone that Chrysostom is speaking about the single cathedral church of Constantinople because this church is named the head of all the churches of the Constantinople Patriarchate, and according to the synodal rules, it could not be without an archpastor. Chrysostom’s words speak only of this: “the church cannot be without a bishop.” But this does not guarantee the infallibility of the bishop who is to be after him, nor does it subject anyone to unconditional obedience to him. Although Chrysostom said to the deaconesses, “obey him as you obey me,” he conditioned this by saying, “whoever is appointed in the church by necessity or by the counsel of all,” in other words, “whoever is appointed to this throne by common agreement without intrigue and ambition.” And if he urged obedience only under the specified condition to the chosen bishop, it is evident that he did not subject anyone to the bishop who would receive his throne contrary to the condition indicated by him—with intrigue and ambition, as the very fact proves this truth. After the exile of Chrysostom, his chair was occupied by Arsacius, not by the common agreement of the entire church but by the direction of one empress, an enemy of Chrysostom. Therefore, the supporters of Chrysostom completely refused communion with him. And Chrysostom did not blame them for violating his testament about obedience to his successor but rather severely condemned Arsacius himself for his ambition. In a letter to Bishop Cyriacus, he speaks of this as follows: “I heard about that harlot Arsacius, whom the empress placed on my throne, how he greatly offended the brothers and the virgins who did not want to be in communion with him. Many of them died in prison for my sake. For he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, appearing as a bishop but being an adulterer. Just as a wife is called an adulteress, while her husband is alive, she joins another. So he is an adulterer, not in the flesh but in spirit: for while I am alive, he seized my throne” (Margarit, Life of Chrysostom, p. 189 and Prologue, January 27).
Thus, although the cathedral church of Constantinople was not without a bishop at that time, its bishop, according to the judgment of John Chrysostom and his supporters, could not be tolerated in communion. Therefore, those who separated from the bishop had to remain without the presence of a bishop out of necessity, but through this, they were not excluded from the communion of the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, for Chrysostom himself speaks of them thus: “Who would refuse to name as martyrs those who seal the teaching of the Church with their sufferings, who console this holy mother for the sins of the weak who abandon her, despite their numbers? One person fulfilling God’s will is worth more than ten thousand who violate it.” He also adds, as if to encourage the believers, the following remarkable words: “If the bishop is not among his flock to guide it, let the sheep themselves take on the duties of the shepherd. Those who shy away from gatherings under this pretext betray the duty of faith. Did Daniel and the captive Jews in Babylon need an altar, a temple, and a high priest to fulfill the law?” (St. John Chrysostom and Empress Eudoxia, Thierry, p. 389).
And if, according to this statement, Chrysostom’s supporters were not guilty of being without a bishop but were preferred above many betrayers of the faith found with a bishop, then similarly, our ancestors could not be condemned by Chrysostom’s above-mentioned words: “the church cannot be without a bishop,” for, according to the determination of the holy rules, they, separating from unjust bishops, were forced for a time to remain without Orthodox bishops.
And why does the holy martyr Cyprian write: “The Church will not depart from Christ, and it consists of the people attached to the priest and the flock obedient to its shepherd. From this, you must understand that the bishop is in the Church and the Church is in the bishop, and whoever is not with the bishop is not in the Church” (according to the Kyiv edition of Cyprian’s works, vol. 1, letter 54, p. 257)? #
Cyprian wrote this to Florentius Pupianus, who had separated from him based on unfounded slanders. Pupianus wrote to Cyprian, “through you a part of the church is now in dispersion.” Cyprian responded to him: “No, the entire people that make up the church are gathered and united and bound together by an indissoluble harmony; only those remain outside who should have been expelled from the church if they were within it.” About this same people, who were then gathered and united and mutually bound by an indissoluble harmony, he said below that the church consists of the people attached to the priest and the flock obedient to its shepherd. In the words: “from this, you must understand that the bishop is in the Church,” it is expressed only that the episcopate is established by God for the building of the Church and that he, Cyprian, having accepted this duty, did not deviate in any way from this sacred obligation. And in the words: “and the Church is in the bishop,” it is shown that the Church of Christ consists not only in all of us, its children, generally, but also separately in each of its members, properly fulfilling their ministry, and along with this, it is understood in the bishop, and as his ministry in the Church is greater than that of other members, so the concept of the Church in him is more significant. Finally, in the words: “whoever is not with the bishop is not in the Church,” it is implied that whoever rejects the episcopal authority established by God in the Church cannot be in the symbolic Church of the true confession of faith, as he has violated it by rejecting the episcopate established by God.
Thus, these words of St. Cyprian, although very significant, should be applied only to such cases as those for which they were intended, that is, if someone among ordinary Christians unjustly accuses a bishop and, through this slander, separates from those who are in communion with him. But they are not applicable to those who separate from a bishop because of legitimate reasons that expel the bishop from his episcopate. For in such cases, St. Cyprian himself gives different instructions. In the Kyiv edition, in letter 56 to the clergy and people of Spain about the bishops Basilides and Martial, who confessed to shameful deeds and defiled themselves with idolatrous inscriptions, he says: “Let not the people deceive themselves, thinking that they can be free from the contagion of sin of being in communion with a sinful priest and of consenting to the unjust and unlawful episcopate of their leader. The divine judgment announced through the prophet Hosea teaches and shows that all who have been defiled by the sacrifice of an unclean and unrighteous priest inevitably become partakers of sin. In conclusion, he says: `Therefore, dearest brethren, commending and approving your pious concern for your integrity and faith, we exhort you as much as we can with this letter: do not enter into sacrilegious communion with impious priests who have defiled themselves, but with pious fear maintain the integrity and purity of your faith.’”
Thus, it is clear that the words of St. Cyprian, spoken against Florentius Pupianus, cannot refer to our ancestors who separated from bishops because of their corruption in holy church piety, and his instruction and persuasion to the clergy and people of Spain fully justify their action. Suppose that the Spaniards had only two impious bishops, besides whom they could find even pious bishops. But St. Cyprian’s instruction to them foresaw and even pre-determined such a situation if all the bishops became unorthodox, a situation precisely faced by our ancestors. He, among other things, told the Spaniards: “Let not your beloved brethren be troubled if you notice that in these latter times some have a wavering faith or a weak fear of God due to their impiety, or there is no peaceful harmony. It has been foretold that all this will happen at the end of the age: the Lord and the apostles predicted that at the end of the world and with the approach of the Antichrist, all good will diminish, and all evil and hostility will increase. However, even in these latter times, the gospel power in the Church of God has not fallen, and the strength of Christian virtue and faith has not weakened so much that there are no priests who, not yielding to these destructive circumstances and not losing faith, would defend the honor of divine majesty and the dignity of the priesthood. We remember and firmly know that when others submitted and yielded, Mattathias courageously defended the law of God (1 Macc. 2:19-20), when the Jews weakened and fell away from the divine law, Elijah stood and fought firmly (3 Kings 19:10). Daniel, fearing neither defenselessness in a foreign land nor constant persecution, often and courageously endured glorious martyrdom (Dan. 6:20). Likewise, the three youths, not fearing the furnace or threats, faithfully resisted the Babylonian fire and, in their captivity, defeated the conquering king (Dan. 3:12).”
Here Cyprian conveys the thought that although there were traitors to the faith among the priests in his time, there were still priests who, not losing faith, defended divine majesty. But he, according to the prediction of the Lord and the apostles, expected even greater evil at the end of the world, not hoping for priests to defend divine majesty and priestly dignity, and therefore pointed to such cases when the law of God was defended without sacred persons. But this very thing that Cyprian expected came to pass with our ancestors, when they courageously defended ancient church piety apart from the bishops.
How should we understand the following statements by church teachers? Ignatius the God-bearer: “The bishop is the image of God the Father of all; the presbyters are like the council of God, and the union of Christ’s angels. Without them, the Church is not chosen, nor a holy gathering, nor a congregation of the righteous” (Epistle to the Trallians, and Prologue of March 10). The Evangelist: “In the Church, the order has its fulfillment, and it is adorned by those who stand in it. Neither should it be greater nor less, for the words and grace are the three forms in the Church: purification, enlightenment, and perfection. These three actions are inherited by the ranks: deacons purify by the announcement of teaching, presbyters enlighten by baptism, and archbishops ordain and perfect, which is the laying on of hands. Do you see the ranks according to the actions? Neither greater nor lesser are the standing ones” (Commentary on the 95th chapter of Luke). Simeon of Thessalonica: “Without the episcopate, there can be no altar, no ordination, no holy chrism, no baptism, nor indeed Christians. Through this, true Christianity exists, and through this, all the sacraments of Christ” (Book 1, chapter 77). Zacharias Kopystensky: “The Church of Christ cannot exist without bishops, and it has never existed without them” (Palinodia, vol. 2, section 8, article 1). #
The mentioned statements only show that there exists in the Church a God-established hierarchy of three degrees: the episcopate, the presbyterate, and the diaconate, and that greater grace is attributed to the degree of the episcopate. Moreover, those who serve in hierarchical degrees, although divided into seniors and juniors in terms of the honor of their title and position, are all equal in autonomy within their respective degrees, with seniors not being heads over juniors, but brethren. Additionally, a single bishop is not sufficient for the entire universal Church.
Although such teaching is derived from the Holy Gospel, extracting it directly from it is not within everyone’s capability. In the meantime, false teachers have also appeared, who deliberately obscured the correct understanding of the church hierarchy, prompting the aforementioned church teachers to clarify the correct understanding of the hierarchy more precisely.
During the time of Ignatius the God-bearer, there were heretics, the Docetists, who denied the incarnation of Christ and the divine institution of the church hierarchy (Peter Preobrazhensky in the publication of the writings of apostolic men: and Vladislav Gette, Church History, vol. 1). Almost all the epistles of Ignatius the God-bearer were directed against these heretics.
A similar situation occurred with Simeon of Thessalonica because during his time, through the protest of Jan Hus against the abuses of the Roman pope, the rejection of the episcopal degree in the church hierarchy began to revive in the western countries. Therefore, Blessed Simeon emphasized more strongly the essential need for the episcopal degree in the Church.
The statement of the Evangelist only indicates that the papal supremacy over all bishops, as assumed by the pope, should not be accepted, as this would exceed the three-tiered hierarchy, creating a fourth degree. Conversely, the denial of the episcopate in the church hierarchy, as done by Lutheran reformers, should also not be accepted, as this would diminish the three-tiered hierarchy.
Similarly, Zacharias Kopystensky made his statement solely to deny papal supremacy. He said: “To establish a singular bishop in the Church of Christ is to not have other bishops in the Church,” meaning that recognizing one supreme bishop in the Church of Christ would imply the absence of other bishops. He added that the Church of Christ cannot exist without bishops, and it has never existed without them. Hence, he concluded that the supreme bishop of the Uniates is outside the Church of Christ.
Thus, considering the reason and purpose of these statements, it cannot be said that they prove bishops can never err or that one must always listen to any bishop without any conditions. This is even more so because the same fathers also have statements contradicting this notion. For instance, in the same chapter of the Evangelist’s commentary on the lazy servant, it is said: “The lazy servant spoke about placing the gift in a napkin, making it dead and ineffective: I did nothing and acquired nothing, for I was afraid of you (he said to the Lord), knowing you take where you did not lay.’ Many similarly make accusations, unwilling to benefit from what they claim, for where God did not sow the good sprout and beauty, do not seek the harvest there… Therefore, the Lord said, ‘You should have placed My money with the bankers,’ meaning, `with all men willing to benefit.’ And the gift will be taken away from the disobedient lazy person.”
This clearly shows that those in the church hierarchy can err. But if they err in teaching, St. Ignatius the God-bearer does not command listening to them, saying: “Every person receiving the power of reasoning from God will be judged if they follow an incompetent shepherd and accept false teaching as true” (Epistle to the Ephesians). Again, he says: “Brothers, do not be deceived. If anyone follows one who has separated from the truth, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. If anyone does not separate from a false teacher, they will be condemned to Gehenna. It is not proper to separate from the pious or to associate with the impious” (Epistle to the Philadelphians). And again: “Anyone speaking beyond what has been commanded, even if reliable, even if fasting, even if celibate, even if performing signs, even if prophesying, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, causing ruin to the sheep” (Epistle to Hero the Deacon).
Similarly, Simeon of Thessalonica, regarding the Roman pope, says: “It is not necessary to oppose the Latins calling the Roman pope the first, nor is it harmful to the Church, provided they show him to be in the faith of Peter and the successor of Peter, and all should have what is Peter’s… and thus we call that one apostolic and the first among other hierarchs, and we give him submission not only as to Peter but as to the Savior Himself. But if he is not the successor in the faith of those saints, neither is he the successor of the throne, and not only is he not apostolic and not first, nor is he a father, but also an adversary and destroyer, and he will be a fighter against the apostles” (Chapter 23, On the Reverent Depiction of Divine Images). Zacharias Kopystensky also considered the Roman pope to be outside the Church of Christ in his claims of supremacy.
Therefore, it is clear that all the statements of the church teachers mentioned in this question cannot condemn our Holy Church, which distanced itself from erring hierarchs.