I received an e-mail from a man who, at one time, professed to be a Roman Catholic recusant who believed the papacy was lost in the first millennium. However, his latest claim (in response to my promotion of the Orthodox Church as one, holy, catholic and apostolic) is that Jesus Christ never meant to establish a Church at all, but to do away with all religion!
Matt. 5:17-19 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.When Roman Catholics realize the idea of the papacy cannot hold water, and that they have been in error their whole lives, they often become Protestants, worldly agnostics, or even atheists, though more and more, they are turning to Orthodox Christianity. The man who e-mailed me, however, would rather make up his own set of beliefs than admit he had been in error. Contrary to what everyone has believed for 2,000 years, he now says Christ never intended to establish a Church for the salvation of souls! He now proposes that each man is meant to be guided directly by the Holy Spirit, discerning the truth within himself according to his own conscience and reason. This is crypto-Pentecostalism. For this man, scriptures are deemed to be true or erroneous, based on his own understanding of history and archaeology. (He seems to be fixated on finding the hidden truth or secret meaning of names and dates, which is inconsequential to salvation. Another huge stumbling-block is that he is a flat-earther who thinks that to believe otherwise is heretical. Ironically, his belief in this Antichristian psy-op is based on his own interpretation of one OT scripture - the same scripture he says is unreliable! But in reality, the shape of the surface of the earth is a matter of natural observation, not revelation, and, since the age of exploration, it has been impossible to produce a flat-earth model that accurately represents the sun, moon and stars.) Men are led into such deceptions, all because they pridefully reject Orthodox truth, which upholds the doctrine and living tradition of the Apostles.
2 Thes. 2:10-14 ...they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying. That all may be judged who have not believed the truth, but have consented to iniquity. But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of God, for that God hath chosen you first fruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the spirit, and faith of the truth...Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.God's Word tells us clearly that Jesus Christ established His visible Church for the salvation of men; He founded it upon St. Peter, whose confession and person was representative of all the Apostles; and He promised to remain with His Apostles all days:
1 Tim. 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Matt. 16:18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Apoc. 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Matt. 28:18-20 And Jesus coming, spoke to them [the 12 Apostles], saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
It seems if these kinds of men can't have their idol of Roman Catholicism, they want no part of the Church. They refuse to accept the obvious, that if Rome fell away, it fell away from the rest of the Church. Roman Catholics have an obligation to learn the truth in humility, seek out faithful, Orthodox Bishops and priests, and enter the true Church! The Church has not failed, since Jesus promised to remain with her. She is Christ's Body, which men must be grafted into in order to live eternally with God. Baptism outside of Christ's Body is graceless.
Significantly, as Metropolitan Kirykos explains in the excerpt below, Jesus' Church is the incarnation of His eternal Church. To believe that Jesus Christ did not establish a visible Church is therefore heretical.
1 Cor. 12:13 For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body...
Gal. 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.
...when Nicholas was accusing Kyrikos of a so-called "eternal church heresy," (a phrase that Metropolitan Nicholas came up with) Metropolitan Kyrikos could not apologize, because what he was preaching was the truth, and in total agreement with the Holy Fathers...In their efforts to condemn Bishop Kyrikos...these 'Nicholaitans' have fallen under a heresy themselves. This point has been clearly explained, with quotes from eight Holy Fathers to back it...notice that...Bishop Nicholas cannot find one holy father to back up his heresy!
Patristic Quotes Supporting [the Eternal Church]
1. From the Gospel According to St. John the Theologian:
"Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are... That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, [art] in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me... And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:11,21-23,26)
In the above it is quite clear that Christ is teaching that the bond of love between His Father and Himself is the same bond of love which He expects between His disciples. Thus even the Gospel declares that the Church's bond of unity and love is an icon of the bond and unity of the Holy Trinity. Christ uses these very words "that they may be one, even as We are one." What clearer definition can there be other than this one declared by the Lord Himself? But Archbishop Nicholas has officially declared this a "heresy." Apparently it is "heretical" to identify a similarity between the bond of love in the Holy Trinity, with the bond of love within the Church. Is Christ a heretic?
2. From the First Epistle of St. John the Theologian:
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 John 4:7).
The above is a clear example of how members of the Church loving one another is an example of God's love, "for love is of God." This love allows us to be born of God and even know God, meaning that we will know the uncreated love and grace that is shared between the Three Persons of the Triune God. By saying "for love is of God," the Apostle is also declaring that this love between us members of the Church is the same love of God, it is the uncreated energy and power of God, which unites the Holy Trinity into what can be lawfully called a Church, just as it unites us into one Church. Archbishop Nicholas denies this teaching of the Holy Fathers, the Apostles, and Christ Himself!
3. From the Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle of the Nations:
In his epistles, the Apostle Paul refers to a “Mystery” existing before the creation of the world. For instance:
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” (1 Cor 2:7,8)
“Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” (Rom 16:25)
The Holy Apostle Paul then elaborates on this same “Mystery” that was from the beginning, by stating that it is has now become manifest as the spiritual connection between Christians, and it is the presence of Christ within each soul. Thus the Apostle Paul writes:
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:26,27)
This “Mystery” which existed “before the world began,” and was hidden “from ages and from generations” and is also now made “manifest,” and which exists as “Christ in us,” is exactly what the Holy Fathers have always used to refer to the Church. In other words, this Mystery is the Church! The Apostle Paul even refers to this Mystery as the Church in the following passage:
“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:32)
In the above passages, it is clear that the Church is a Mystery that existed before the creation of the world. This mystery was hidden from the world, just as Christ was hidden. This mystery was also “made manifest to the saints” in the same way Christ became manifest through the Incarnation, and took on the flesh, and from invisible became visible. To deny the fact that the Church is a mystery existing prior to the foundation of the world, and to deny that this same Church became manifest through the incarnation of Christ, is a denial of the Orthodox ecclesiology and soteriology!
4. From the Second Epistle of St. Clement of Rome:
In his Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome, writes:
“Wherefore, brethren, if we do the will of God our Father, we shall be of the first Church, which is spiritual, which was founded before the sun and the moon; but if we do not the will of the Lord, we shall be of the scripture that saith, My house was made a den of robbers. So therefore let us choose rather to be of the Church of life, that we may be saved.” (2 Clement 14:1)
In the above quote, St. Clement, Bishop of Rome, in his letter to the Corinthians, clearly defines the Church as existing “before the sun and the moon.” This is biblical terminology for “before the creation of the world.” In this quote, St. Clement of Rome mentions a “First Church.” This First Church is called “spiritual” and it existed not only before Pentecost, but even before Adam, and before the world was even created. What “first Church” could exist before creation? Is this “first Church” not the Holy Trinity and His Grace, which alone can be distinguished from creation, as the Creator?
And again, St. Clement writes:
“And I do not suppose ye are ignorant that the living Church is the body of Christ: for the scripture saith, God made man, male and female. The male is Christ and the female is the Church. And the Books and the Apostles plainly declare that the Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning: for she was spiritual, as our Jesus also was spiritual, but was manifested in the last days that He might save us.” (2 Clement 14:2).
In the above quote, St. Clement of Rome clearly states that the Church “existed not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning.” The Biblical terminology “from the beginning” means before the creation of the world. This pre-existence of the Church is likened to the pre-existence of Jesus prior to his incarnation, as the Eternal Word of God. Thus Clement writes “for she [the Church] was spiritual, as our Jesus also was spiritual.” To deny the spiritual, eternal, beginning-less nature of the Church (the body), is to deny the spiritual, eternal, beginning-less nature of Christ (the head)! Notice that in this passage, Clement also uses “was” to refer to the spiritual nature of the Church and of Christ. This means that neither the Church nor Christ are in spirit alone anymore. After the Incarnation, Christ is no longer only spiritual, but now He is physical too, in having taken upon himself the human flesh. The Church, likewise, by the incarnation of Christ, is no longer spiritual, but actually physical also: the body of Christ. This body of Christ is transmitted to us by the Immaculate Mysteries, and we therefore become part of this body, part of the Church. To deny any of these points, would amount to a denial of the fundamental Orthodox understanding of ecclesiology and soteriology!
5. From the Writings of Clement of Alexandria***:
The ecclesiastical writer, Clement the Alexandrian, says:
"Let us hasten to salvation upon the regeneration, the many gathered together in one love, according to the union of the single essence." (Patrologia Graeca, vol 8, pg. 200).
In the above passage, Clement calls all faithful to unite into one love, according to the union of our common essence. This is what the Church is about. The union of the faithful into one love, the love of God. Just as the Three Persons are united into one God in essence (divinity) and by love (grace), so are we united according to our common essence (man) and are asked to form a union also in love (God's grace within us).
***Clement of Alexandria is not commemorated as an Orthodox Saint, since his writings were later found to contain heresies. - TD
6. From the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom:
"Let us love one another, that with one heart we may confess: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided."
In the above, the divinely-inspired writers of the Divine Eucharist clearly remark that we, members of the Church, must love one another and form one heart, and that only in this sense can we comprehend and confess the unity, coessentiality and indivisibility of the Holy Trinity. It is a clear example of how the unity and bond of the members of the Church are an image or icon of the unity and bond of the Holy Trinity. Thus God the Holy Trinity is the prototype of the Church, the first eternal, uncreated and beginning-less Church Triumphant, which we as members of the earthly Church Militant are an icon and image of. Archbishop Nicholas has declared this faith of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom to be a "heresy." But who is truly the heretic? Who other than Archbishop Nicholas himself, who has trodden on the Holy Fathers!
7. From the Writings of St. Epiphanius of Salamis:
I went to the State Library of New South Wales (Australia) during my lunch break, and looked through the Panarion of St. Epiphanius of Salamis, to find a quote about "eternal church." This is what I found:
"But after the eighty [sects] there is the one foundation of truth which is as well the doctrine and saving teaching and Holy Bride of Christ, the Church, which is from eternity, but through Christ's incarnation has, in the sequence of time, appeared in the midst of the aforesaid sects." (Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, Preface I, Haer. 1.156, Chapter 1, paragraph 3.)
The above can be found in the following book: The Panarion of St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, Selected Passages, Translated and Edited by Philip R. Amidon, S.J., New York - Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1990.
In the above, St. Epiphanius refers to the Church as being "from eternity." The Church is not the very essence of God, but it is the uncreated grace and bond of love between the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, and only in this sense can She be understood to be "from eternity." In these last days, "through Christ's incarnation" the Church "appeared in the midst." Thus it is clearly patristic to refer to the Church both as an icon of the uniting bond love and grace of God the Holy Trinity, as well as referring to the Church as having appeared on earth through Christ's incarnation. Stating that the incarnation is the only means in which the Church can be described, as the new calendarist theologian Hierotheos Vlachos prates, and as your Archbishop Nicholas declared in his official synodal decision, is a blasphemy against the Church, and would make the above quotes from the Holy Fathers very difficult to explain. Actually, Archbishop Nicholas's document accuses the above Holy Fathers of heresy. God forbid that we fall into such prelest as that of Archbishop Nicholas!
8. From the Writings of St. Maximus the Confessor:
Saint Maximus the Confessor says:
"An Icon of the Triadic God is the Holy Church, as she operates the very union among the faithful to God, albeit to those who happen to be of different speech and from different places and customs, according to which [union], by the faith, are made one." (Patrologia Graeca, vol. 91 “Mystagogy,” ch. i, p. 668 B)
In the above, St. Maximus calls the Church an "icon" of the Holy Trinity, insofar as the union of faithful is concerned. But if the Church can be called the “icon” of the Holy Trinity, it therefore means the Holy Trinity can be called the "prototype" of the Church. For that is the very meaning of "icon," that it is based on a “prototype.” Therefore it is patristic to call the Holy Trinity the “prototype” or figuratively the "First Church." By Archbishop Nicholas and his Synod officially declaring that it is "heretical" to call the Church an icon of the Holy Trinity, Archbishop Nicholas and those who support him have officially condemned St. Maximus the Confessor, and have accused him of heresy. In effect, Archbishop Nicholas has condemned no one but himself and his followers, and if there are any heretics, it is not St. Maximus the Confessor, it is Archbishop Nicholas.
And again:
"By this very means also the holy Church of God is portrayed, as [it is] in God as the archetype, [also] in the very [members] among us as an operating icon… all [members] growing with one another and increasing, according to the one simple and undivided grace and power of the faith…" (Patrologia Graeca, vol 91 “Mystagogy,” ch ii, p. 667 A)
"Yet we also acknowledge the unity as well as the division between her [the church] and him [God]." (Patrologia Graeca, vol 91 "Mystagogy," ch ii, p. 667 C)
In the above, St. Maximus clearly describes God (the Holy Trinity) as an archetype (prototype) of the Church, and the Church as an icon (image) of this archetype. At the same time, St. Maximus notes that this teaching does not hinder our belief in the unity of God and the Church, nor the division or difference that exists between the two. In other words, we are not calling the Holy Trinity "the Church," nor are we calling the Church the "Holy Trinity." Yet we recognize the "unity in diversity" of both.
9. From the Writings of St. Photius the Great:
"The unity of the Trinity, it is lawful to say, forming a Church,..." The context of the paragraph is in regards to God's united counsel, "Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness."
So when St. Photius the Great refers to "the unity of the Trinity... forming a Church" he is referring to the united counsel of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Greek word used is "ecclesiasasa" which derives from the Greek word "ecclesia" which can be translated as Church, Congregation, Gathering, etc. Thus it is definitely "lawful to say" according to St. Photius the Great, that the united counsel of the Holy Trinity "forms a Church." By Archbishop Nicholas saying that it is "unlawful" and even "heretical" to say such a thing, he is actually condemning St. Photius the Great and accusing him of heresy!
...
10. St. Clement of Rome. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians (which at one stage in Church history was regarded as Scripture!), writes:
"And I do not suppose ye are ignorant that the living Church is the body of Christ: for the scripture saith, God made man, male and female. The male is Christ and the female is the Church. And the Books and the Apostles plainly declare that the Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning: for she was spiritual, as our Jesus also was spiritual, but was manifested in the last days that He might save us." (2 Clement 14:2).
In the above quote, St. Clement of Rome clearly states that the Church "existed not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning." This pre-existence of the Church is likened to the pre-existence of Jesus prior to his incarnation, as the Eternal Word of God.
Again, St. Clement of Rome writes:
"Wherefore, brethren, if we do the will of God our Father, we shall be of the first Church, which is spiritual, which was created before the sun and the moon; but if we do not the will of the Lord, we shall be of the scripture that saith, My house was made a den of robbers. So therefore let us choose rather to be of the Church of life, that we may be saved." (2 Clement 14:1)
St. Clement, Bishop of Rome, in his letter to the Corinthians, clearly defines the Church as existing "before the sun and the moon." This is biblical terminology for "before the creation of the physical world." In this quote, St. Clement of Rome mentions a "First Church." This First Church is called "spiritual" and it existed not only before Pentecost, but even before Adam. This Church consisted of the Holy Trinity and the angels.
Also See:"Christianity or the Church?"
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