Proofs That All Bishops Cannot Err. The Parable of the Minas #
After all this, I have every right to ask you a question: where is it written in Scripture or by the holy fathers that bishops can never fall into heresy?
New Ritualist: There are many clear and undeniable proofs of this, which I will now present. I deliberately held them back until you finished expressing all your points. The first and foremost proof that bishops cannot fall into heresy is found in the Holy Gospel itself. Christ told the following parable: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten minas, and said unto them, ‘Do business till I come back’” (Luke 19:12-13, reading 95). In the Commentary, it reads:
To his servants he gave ten minas; these servants were entrusted with the Church; ten symbolizes the perfection of the Church’s order. For in the Church, order is maintained by those who stand before it: neither more nor less than these; the words refer to the Church in three forms of grace: purification, enlightenment, and completion. These three activities are carried out by the ranks of clergy: deacons purify through the teaching of catechesis; priests enlighten through baptism; bishops ordain and complete, which is ordination. Do you see the ranks corresponding to activities: no more, no less than those who stand before it? Therefore, to each servant he gave ten minas, representing gifts, and each was given for the benefit of others. For each person entrusted with office, even if unworthy, receives a gift from his ordination; and this is truly a great mystery of God’s love for mankind (Commentary on Luke, reading 95, p. 206).
Here is clear evidence that bishops cannot fall into error. And you will never refute it, for these are the words of the Savior Himself.
Old Ritualist: I do not intend to refute this, nor will I, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in the passage you presented, there is no statement that all bishops are guaranteed never to fall into heresy. It merely states that Christ established three ranks within the Church corresponding to three roles that make one a Christian: bishop, priest, and deacon. But what was required of you to prove was not this, but rather that all these ranks will always remain faithful to their Lord. And that, precisely, is not evident from the passage you read. So, you have worked in vain, presenting a testimony that proves something other than what you were supposed to prove. And it was not only in vain but also somewhat misleading. You stopped short of reading the entire parable—specifically, the part that directly and conclusively addresses our question. So we need to read it in full. But first, I must point out that wherever the hierarchy is listed, it is typically in descending order: first bishops, then priests, and finally deacons. In your passage, however, the ranks of the hierarchy are listed in the reverse order: deacons, priests, and bishops. And in the parable, in the part that you left unread, it decisively states that among these ranks, the first two, or two servants, proved faithful to their Lord, while the last one proved unfaithful. Thus, this parable serves as a direct prophecy that bishops would be unfaithful to the Lord and fall into error, while priests and deacons would remain faithful to the Lord’s commandments. This, indeed, occurred during Nikon’s time when bishops fell into heresy, while priests and deacons did not. Let us read the parable itself:
And it came to pass, that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Lord, thy mina hath gained ten minas.’ And he said unto him, ‘Well done, good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, thy mina hath gained five minas.’ And he said likewise to him, ‘Be thou also over five cities.’ And another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, here is thy mina, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.’ And he saith unto him, ‘Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow. Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with interest?’ And he said unto them that stood by, ‘Take from him the mina, and give it to him that hath ten minas.’ And they said unto him, ‘Lord, he hath ten minas.’ ‘For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.’ (Luke 19:15-26, reading 95)
Thus, the parable from the Gospel itself clearly testifies that one of the three servants, or ranks in the hierarchy, proved unfaithful to God’s commandments—and it is this last servant, identified in the commentary as the bishop. Remarkably, although this servant proved unfaithful, the talent entrusted to him was neither lost nor destroyed; it was simply left inactive, as though buried in the earth, so that the faithful servant later received it intact. All this fully justifies the state of the Old Believer Church.
New Ritualist: In the parable in question, it is stated that the talent was transferred from the unworthy servant to another servant. How should this be understood with respect to bishops who fall into error?
Old Ritualist: St. John Chrysostom says of parables: “In parables, not everything should be interpreted literally; rather, understanding the purpose for which it is told, one should take this for their benefit and not examine further” (Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 3, p. 99, Homily 64). Based on this, regarding the transfer of the talent from the unworthy servant to the more worthy one, we can say the following: bishops who have fallen into error pass on the gift of ordination to other persons, of whom the worthy are those who convert to the Orthodox faith and increase the talent given to them by God. Such were the Old Believer priests who came out of heresy, and finally, Metropolitan Ambrose.
Overall, the parable you cited does not prove what you wanted it to prove but rather the opposite. You tried to prove that bishops cannot fall into heresy, whereas it says quite the contrary.