By
His Eminence
Metropolitan Panteleimon of Antinoes
In order for us to understand the role
and importance which the holy Fathers have within the life of the Orthodox
Church, we must examine it under the light of the Divine Economia. But, what to
we mean when we speak about “Divine Economia”?
Divine Economia is the entire work of
salvation. It is the realization of God’s Will concerning man’s salvation. Man,
because of Satan’s envy, was led to disobey the Divine Commandment with the
result that sin entered into the world and through sin death ruled. St Gregory
the Theologian teaches, that ‘God created man, because He was not satisfied
moving within His own vision, but His Love had to be outpoured to other
creatures.’ God wanted to raise man from the condition of innocent, ignorance
and the lack of experience of good and evil, and lead him into the knowledge
and free choice of good. But, the disobedience towards the simple Commandment
of God brought upon mankind dramatic consequents.
The direct communion of man and the
Grace of God ceased. Man was left to his own powers, deserted in the world of
carnal passions, which became his nature’s master and tyrant. Man’s mind was
darkened and his conscience became weak, disfigured and became hardened to such
extent that he was unable to distinguish the unholy and evil from the holy and
good. Man’s will lost its power and became a slave to evil desires. Love was
replaced by pride, selfishness and hatred. The truth was replaced by lies; the
True God was abandoned and His place was taken by the numerous false gods of
idolatry. These were the few fruits of man’s apostasy and departure from God.
To understand the results of sin in
man’s life, let us see the following example: As an astronaut distances himself
in space from Earth, the less oxygen he has; and without the spacecraft or
spacesuit he cannot survive in space, not even for one moment. In a similar
manner man cannot be within the true knowledge of God and virtuous life without
Christ.
Man’s entire life is influenced by his
faith. The true doctrine leads the faithful’s path. If the doctrine is correct,
then his way of life will be guided into the correct and God-pleasing life. If
the doctrine is wrong, then the life of the faithful is led astray,
accordingly. As the Orthodox Doctrine unites the faithful with God, for it
expresses the Truth concerning God; in a similar way, heresy and false
doctrines alienate man from God, for the false teachings separate man from the
God of Truth.
God is the natural atmosphere of man’s
life. When man lives within God’s atmosphere, he doesn’t fear eternal death and
his separation from God. But, when man abandons the atmosphere of God, he
enters within other ‘atmospheres’, which are aliened, deserted and dead,
because God is absent. Man experiences death as a tyrant of his existence. Death
is the absence of God from man’s life, which he willingly and by his free will
has chosen.
The work of the Holy Three Hierarchs
was accomplished during critical times and through the special Grace and Action
of the Holy Spirit. For this reason the Church, during these critical moments
of the patristic theology, emphasized their importance within Her life. In
other words, as the Prophets and Apostles spoke by the Holy Spirit, likewise
and the holy Three Hierarchs spoke within the Church, guided by the same Spirit
of God. Within their writings it is expressed the assurance, that the entrance
in the Truth is accomplished only through the help and enlightenment of the
Holy Spirit.
The holy Fathers of the Church did not
reveal new truths, but they enter deeply within these truths and they
interpretate the different messages of the Divine Economia, giving answers to
the theological problems of each period of time. The Holy Spirit is the Person
of the Holy Trinity, Who inspires and gives the wisdom to the holy Fathers. A
theologian, who speaks without the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, falls from
the path of truth and creates numerous of problems to the Church.
The Orthodox Church lived and lives
with the holy Fathers and Teachers, who were born from Her and through the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Three Hierarchs explained through their
writings the word of God, they enlightened and enlighten the Work of the Holy
Spirit, they made known and they make know Holy Scriptures to the faithful, in
order that they may progress spiritually, knowing the Truth of God.
The study of the life of the Three
Hierarchs of our Church offers us the reason to imitate them. We should not
forget that two things are important, true faith and good deeds. The Three
Hierarchs were not distinguished only for their Orthodox Faith, but also for
their good and God-loving deeds. We should all imitate them. Amen.
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