Contending for the Faith

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

The seventeenth chapter of St John’s Gospel contains what is commonly called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.  Its themes contain the prayers of the priest who is about to offer a sacrifice to God.  Such prayers contain four elements:  glorification, remembrance of God’s saving works, intercession for those for whom the sacrifice is made, and then declaring the sacrifice itself.  In this chapter it is, of course, Jesus himself who is both the High Priest and the Offering.  (It is interesting to note that these same elements of priestly prayer are found the the Anaphora — the prayers that precede the bloodless sacrifice of praise — of the Eucharist.)

The Seventh Sunday of Pascha commemorates the First Ecumenical Council which dealt with the Arian Heresy in the fourth century.  The Gospel reading for the day comes from St John 17: 1 – 13, and in these verses he prays for the Apostles:

I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me…And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one (St John 17: 6 – 8, 11).

The Apostles are those chosen by Jesus, and who have heard and have kept Jesus’ words, and witnessed his Resurrection.  Though not present with Jesus at this time, St Paul is counted among them, and he too was also a keeper and guardian of the Apostolic Faith.  St Paul knew of the dangers and the threats that would come to the leaders of the Church and the Apostolic Faith.  St Luke recorded his words in these verses:

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the presbyters of the Church…Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you guardians, to feed the Church of the Lord which he obtained with his own blood.  I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.  Therefore be alert…And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20: 17, 28 – 32).

St Paul called them to proclaim and defend the Faith of the Church.  Yet, a generation later, while in exile on the island of Patmos, St John records Jesus’ words to its leaders: 

I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first (Revelation 2: 2 – 5).

It is clear that the Apostolic Faith is not only doctrine and dogma, but also consists of works of love.

Heresies and apostasies plagued the early Church and they do in our day.  St John the Apostle battled against gnostic heretics, and others who denied the physical aspect of our Lord.  To the gnostics the material existence of Christ was both disgusting and meaningless.  St John addresses the incarnational reality of Christ with these words, and declares his authority and that of his fellow Apostles:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — the Life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal Life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us — that which we have seen and heard we proclaim to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.  And we are writing this that our joy may be complete (1 John 1: 1 – 4).

Though gnosticism in its original form was defeated, heretics and heresies continued, especially in the person of the false bishop Arius.  He taught that Jesus was a created being — he, too, thought it impossible that God could take on human flesh.  He denied the Apostolic teaching that the Son and the Father are consubstantial — that they are of the same essence.  St John would call Arius an antichrist:

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.  Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father.  He who confesses the Son has the Father also.  Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father (1 John 2: 22 – 24).

St John states that the one who denies the unity of being of the Father and the Son is an antichrist.  One cannot have the Father without having the Son; one cannot have the Son without having the Father.  St John teaches us of this unity of being — the same essence of being — in his Gospel:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God  (St John 1: 1).

So, we come to the First Ecumenical Council.  Its first paragraph puts forward the essential declaration of the Apostolic Faith which itself affirms the teaching of St John as noted above:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one essence [homooousion] through whom all things were made…

The Orthodox Church has confronted and overcome other pernicious heresies since then:  those who denied the deity of the Holy Spirit; the Nestorians; the monophysites; the monothelites; the iconoclasts and more.  Unfortunately, those ancient heresies still manifest themselves today in various forms, and they still bring about damage to humanity.  Thus, we all have to be vigilant in our days.  St Jude, the brother of James wrote these words to the Church:

Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.  For admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (St Jude 3 – 4).

When the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith is proclaimed boldly the Light of Christ shines out in the darkness and calls people to the Church.  These days the Orthodox Church is growing, and growing, and growing.  We see it locally and it is occurring throughout this country, and throughout the world.  I read of an Orthodox parish, Church of the Twelve Apostles, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England where nearly 200 people were baptized this past Lazarus Saturday (the Saturday before Palm Sunday)!

I return to the subject of contending for the faith.  It is not just the clergy who are to contend for the faith — it is every Orthodox Christian.  In our days, though theological heresies and errors abound, it appears the greatest and most damaging errors involve sexual immorality and sexual identity.  The Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox in America made this standing declaration in 2022:

The Orthodox Church teaches that the union between a man and a woman in marriage reflects the union between Christ and his Church (Eph 5).  As such, marriage is by this reflection monogamous and heterosexual.  Within this marriage, sexual relations between a husband and wife are an expression of their love that has been blessed by God.  Such is God’s plan for male and female, created in his image and likeness, from the beginning, and such remains his plan for all time…

That said, the Holy Synod of Bishops expresses its pastoral concern and paternal love for all who desire to come to Christ and who struggle with their passions, temptations, and besetting sins, whatever those might be.  The Church is a hospital for the sick; Our Lord has come as a physician to heal those who are ailing.   Imitating our Savior, who stretched his arms wide on the Cross, we welcome with open arms all who desire the life of repentance in Christ.

We call upon all clergy, theologians, teachers, and lay persons within the Orthodox Church in America never to contradict these teachings by preaching or teaching against the Church’s clear moral position…We reject any attempt to create a theological framework which would normalize same-sex erotic relationships or distort humanity’s God-given sexual identity (Statement on same-sex relationships and sexual identity July 21, 2022).

St. George

With this stated by our bishops, I wish to state this about the present confusion  regarding sexual identity.  Let me state this clearly:  God loves all, and every human bears the image of God. Thus, all are to be treated with respect and appropriate compassion.  Let me also state this clearly:  a male remains a male and this biological fact cannot be changed; a female remains a female and this biological fact cannot be changed.  The chromosomal makeup of male and female is unalterable.  Every mention of changing sexuality by drugs or surgery is simply this:  biological alchemy.  The first alchemists of centuries ago tried to alter base metals into a more precious state.  Also, many sought out immortality apart from the eternal life only offered by God.  Again, as tin cannot be made into gold, a boy or man cannot be made into a girl or a woman, and a girl or a woman cannot be made into a boy or a man.  The practitioners of alchemy in the ancient times, and those of the following Medieval and Renaissance eras the were frequently drawn into the occult and the demonic.  So it is today with the present practitioners of biological alchemy — they promote and practice the anti-human and anti-life teachings of demons which lead only to mutilation, sterility, and despair!  Furthermore, the practice of such biological alchemy does not lead to the betterment of mental health for the altered victim, but to even greater despair and the continued potential for suicide.  I quote from The Journal of Urology, September, 2021:

Rates of psychiatric emergencies are high both before and after gender affirming surgery.  Although both the phalloplasty and vaginoplasty patients have similar overall rates of psychiatric encounters, suicide attempts are more common in the later.  In fact, our observed rate of suicide attempts in the phalloplasty group is actually similar to the general population, while the vaginoplasty group’s rate is more than double that of the general population.

When confronted by the teachings of the apostles of depravity, know that in confidence we can turn to the teachings, wisdom, and life of the Orthodox Church to guide us.  We are to proclaim the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith in both truth and love.  I quote St Innocent of Alaska:

As we labor in the vineyard of the Lord, let us remember that our primary task is to bring the light of Christ to those who are in darkness.  The Gospel is a message of hope, redemption, and eternal life.  It is our duty to share this message with all people, regardless of their background or circumstances, and to do so with a spirit of humility and compassion.

The following is the corresponding homily:

In Christ,

Fr Irenaeus