The Confessor's Tongue for March 21, AD 2021
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The Confessor’s Tongue for March 21, A. D. 2021 1st Sunday of the Fast; The Sunday of Orthodoxy In honor of St. Maximus the Confessor, whose tongue and right hand were cut off in an attempt by compromising authorities to silence his uncompromising confession of Christ’s full humanity & divinity. Le Sunday of Orthodoxy below), composed by St. Methodius. Again the This day the Holy Church commemorates the restoration of honoring and venerating the holy and victory of Orthodoxy over heresies and is why this day venerable icons was annually prescribed "from that is also called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy". The time these holy confessors appointed the annual Synaxarion explains that the day celebrates "the commemoration of this solemnity, so that we might restoration of the holy and venerable icons", which never again fall into a similar ignominy" (see the Synaxarion). S. V. Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed., happened in first half of the 9th century (in 842) "by 1274 pp. (Kharkov, 1900) pp. 511-515. Translated by Archpriest Eugene D. the Emperor Michael (the Byzantine Emperor), the Tarris © March 21, 2005. All rights reserved. holy and blessed Empress Theodora (see page 80) and the Holy Methodius (see page 206),Patriarch of St. Theophan on Wandering Thoughts Constantinople". This commemoration was Thoughts wander when one is reading spiritual established to celebrate the final victory of the Holy works and during prayer. What should one do? No Church over the iconoclastic heresy. one is free from this. There is no sin in it, only In the hymns for this day the Holy Church, vexation. Having wandering thoughts becomes a sin glorifying the holy icons, and also its iconodule when one willingly allows flightiness of mind. But if adherents and inspiring in us the obligation of thoughts scatter involuntarily, what fault can there venerating icons, sings: "A feast of joy and gladness is be? There is fault, though, when one notices thoughts revealed to us today. For the teachings of the true wandering and, taking no action, one wanders along Faith shines in all their glory, and the Church of with them. When we catch our thoughts wandering Christ is bright with splendor, adorned with the holy off, we must bring them back to their proper place at icons which now have been restored; and God has once. granted to the faithful unity of mind." "Now a pious brightness stretches over all, dispersing the flattery of Defending the Synodicon the impious like a cloud, enlightening the hearts of Fr. Lawrence Farley the pious: come let us fall down with pious wisdom before the honorable icons of Christ worshipping in Recently, on the First Sunday of Great Lent, we the Orthodox way", "and with due honor let us read the Synodikon in church—well, actually just a tiny venerate the holy icons of Christ, of the all pure snippet of it dealing with the legitimacy of icons and Virgin and the saints, whether depicted on walls, on that this faith had established the world, while wooden panels or on holy vessels, rejecting the offering a heartfelt “Memory Eternal” for those who impious teaching of the heretics". But in this way the had died defending it. We did not read the entire Holy Church at the time of victory over the Synodikon, because it is quite long and lists a lot of iconoclasts in the struggle against various heresies heresies unrelated to the icons we were holding in finally explained and defined in the canons of the procession at the time, and it contained a lot of very Seventh Ecumenical Council the Orthodox Christian unfamiliar names of people who were being teaching that is now a celebrated event and is not anathematized. Reading the names would have felt to called the celebration of iconolatry but the Triumph my flock rather like reading pages out of the phone of Orthodoxy. It does not mean that after the 10th book, and since both those being commended with Century heresies would or could not appear any more; “Memory Eternal!” as well as those being reproached but it means that all following heresies, even though with “Anathema!” were utter strangers to them, I just they were numerous and various, find their accusation read the bit about the icons. Those wanting to peruse and refutation in the definitions of the Seven the entire text may find it at (https://www.john Ecumenical Councils. sanidopoulos.com/2010/02/synodicon-of- The victory of Orthodoxy in the Greek Church orthodoxy.html). itself was first celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Though I did not read the entire Synodikon Lent, and thus the basis of the present Triumph of liturgically last Sunday [but we at St. Maximus will], I Orthodoxy is historical. Together with these things am still glad that it exists and that we acknowledge its the Holy Church through the celebration of the worth by at least reading some of it. The point of the present day means to grant great comfort to those Synodikon is to draw very thick lines in the doctrinal who attend. This intention agrees with the rules of sand and say that if anybody in the Church crosses faith and piety and the ascetic effort of the fast. It those lines and strays into heresy, he or she must sees in this action the proof of their living either recant or get out, and it is precisely this communion according to their faith and life, and finds approach to truth that is necessary and saving. It is in this the foundation for prayerful petition to God also tremendously unpopular. I remember recently for them. After the end of the liturgy on this day it is reading a modern scholar who was quoting a line from necessary to serve the special Rite of Orthodoxy (see one of the Fathers who was denouncing heretics. The scholar put the word heretics in quotation marks—i.e. A publication of St. Maximus Orthodox Church, 2026 West Oak, Denton, TX, 76201 (940) 293-3032 The Confessor’s Tongue March 21, 2021; page 2 “heretics”—to stress that the term was the Father’s, So it is that we Orthodox need to retain the and not hers. She didn’t quite add the term “(sic)” category of “heresy,” whether or not we read large after it to indicate how foolish she thought the term chunks of the Synodikon. The spirit that produced it is was, but she might as well have. It was abundantly rare these pluralistic days in which every person does clear that she thought the term and the concept it what is right in his or her own eyes. All the more represented to be archaic, harmful, and more than a reason to cling to that spirit when we find it. oca.org little narrow-minded. It certainly flew in the face of current canons of political correctness. The Anathemas From the Rite of Orthodoxy Those canons are based on a form of pluralism And though there are enemies of Orthodoxy, and that says I’m theologically okay and you’re adversaries to the providential and salutary revelation theologically okay, regardless of what you assert. It of the Lord towards us, yet hath the Lord considered says that there is not just a legitimate diversity of the reproaches of his servants; for he hath covered the opinion (which of course there is), but also that the blashphemers of his glory with shame, and shown the legitimate diversity is so broad that pretty much perverters and enemies of Orthodoxy as timorous and anything goes, at least in the towers of Academia in fugitives. which our author was writing. The idea of saying to As therefore we bless and praise those who have anyone, either in those towers or out on the street, submitted their reason to the obedience of Divine “Your opinion is heretical,” strikes the average person Revelation, and have contended for it; so following as not only absurd, but in supremely bad taste. They the sacred scriptures, and holding the traditions of want to know if you’re in favor of reviving the the primitive Church, we reject and anathematize all Inquisition and burning witches. You can’t use the h- those who oppose his truth, if while awaiting their word in civilized company any more than you could conversion and repentance, they refuse to repent to use other abusive labels. the Lord. Undergirding this attitude is the notion that To those who deny the existence of God, and heresy is just a simple mistake, akin to someone assert that the world is self-existing, and that all adding up a long column of figures and getting the things in it are made by chance, without the sum wrong, or missing a question from the game providence of God, Anathema! “Jeopardy.” Those enforcing the new canons of To those who say that God is not a Spirit, but political correctness view the work of theologians flesh: or that he is not just, merciful, wise, omniscient, with their precise definitions (such as we find in and utter such like blasphemies, Anathema! abundance in the Synodikon) as the work of people To those who dare to say that the Son of God and with altogether too much time on their hands who likewise the Holy Spirit are not one in essence and of have produced formulas that have nothing to do with equal honor with the Father; and confess that the actual life. Dogma, and the Church’s insistence upon Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not correct dogma, they say, are irrelevant to Christian one God, Anathema! living.