Shepherd Template

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Shepherd Template FROM THE FATHERS “WHEN THE EVILS of this world mount up, when the dread of this judgment (Luke 21:27) is shown even by the trem- bling powers (Mark13:25), lift up your heads (Luke21:28), that is, be joyful in your hearts, because the world, with which you are not friends, is drawing to its end; the redemption you have been seeking is coming close. In Scripture the head is often used for the soul, because as the members are ruled by the head, so thoughts are governed by the soul. To life up your heads there- fore means to raise the heart to the joys of the heavenly father- land. They therefore, who love God, are bidden to be glad, and to rejoice, because of the end of the world; since they will soon meet Him Whom they love, and that is passing away which they have never loved. Far be it then from any of the faithful that they should grieve over the stricken world, which we know will end in these catastrophes.” Saint Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome,+ 604 A.D. “HE (Antichrist) will allow the Church to exist, permit her Divine services, promise to build magnificent churches… on condition that all recognize him as‘Supreme Being’and worship him. Antichrist will have a personal hatred for Christ; he will see Him as a rival and look upon Him as a personal enemy. He will live by this hatred and rejoice in men’s apostasy from Christ. Under Antichrist, there will be an immense falling away from the Faith. Many bishops will change in faith, and in justification will point to the brilliant situation of the Church. The search for compromise will be the characteristic disposition of men. Straightforwardness of confession will disappear. Men 1 will cleverly justify their fall,and ‘gracious’ evil will support such a general disposition. There will be the habit of apostasy from truth and the sweetness of compromise and sin in men.” Saint John of Shanghai, the Wonderworker, + 1966 A.D. ....... THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THE TIME OF THE ANTICHRIST. According to The Teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers. By Hieromonk Ignaty …And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it(Matt. 16:18). “True is the word, firm is the promise. The Church is insurmount- able, even if hell itself was moved and the ruler of darkness summoned turmoil” (St Athanasius). The Antichrist will appear immediately before the second coming of Christ, as attested to by the Holy Scriptures (Dan.chs. 7,11,12; Rev. chs. 12,13,17,20; Mt. ch. 24; Mk ch. 13; Luke chs. 17, 21; 2 Thess. ch. 2), and by the Holy Fathers of the Church. Saint John of Damascus says: “It should be known that the Antichrist must come before the end of the world.” What means will this enemy of God use to establish his authority over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. 13:7)? Will he be able to realize his wicked rule among people and overcome Christ’s Holy Church? How will the battle between the Antichrist and the HolyChurchbefought? 2 Through the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we know, first of all, what battle plan the Antichrist intends to use against the Holy Church. His intention is to root out from among people faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man and Saviour, and to replace Christ with himself as the object of worship. He will try to overthrow Christ’s teachings and sacraments, and will openly promote himself as the only true Christ and God. To realize this end he will use not only deceit and false wonders, but will also fiercely persecute those who resist his reign. But even though he will establish his reign over many, he still will not overcome the Church of Christ. The Saviour Himself says that the Jews will recognize the Anti- christ as their Messiah: “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). So we see that there cannot be faith in two Christs (2 Cor. 6:4,15). Therefore, those who have accepted the true Christ must shun the false one; and those who have accepted the false one must renounce the true Christ-the Messiah. From this, it is clear that the Antichrist must first openly renounce the true Christ in order that he himself be accepted as the Messiah. Thus, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons calls the Antichrist the apostate from Christ, who demands that he be raised up and be adored as God. The Apostle John writes:Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (1Jn2:22). Therefore, according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the most substantial and evident sign of the Antichrist will be his rejection of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his first epistle, the Evangelist John plainly witnesses that the Antichrist will not secretly reject the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, but quite openly: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 John 4:3). The words “confesseth not” not only make manifest the hidden denial of faith in the divinity of Christ, but also show the open confirmation of his denial before others. These words are used by the Saviour with the same idea when He says: Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8; Matt. 10:32; Mark 8:38). Generally, in the language of the Holy Scriptures, the word 3 “confess” is used in terms of an open, vocal confirmation of a certain truth and is distinct from internal, hidden faith (compare Rom.10:10; Tit. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Jn. 1:7; Rom. 10:9). The Apostle John uses the term “confess not” to mean the same as an open rejection of the Divinity of Christ. Here he points out an obvious indication through which believers are able to recognize the Antichrist. Try the spirits, he says, hereby know ye the Spirit of God… every spirit that con- fesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. He foresaw that the Antichrist will openly reject the Father and the Son. He uses this warning precisely so Christians would not fall into the nets of the Antichrist when he appears. Like Saint John, the Apostle Paul foretold that the last enemy of Christ will openly rise up against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. The hostile actions of all the heretics, which already began to appear in his time and continued to appear after his departure to the Lord (Acts 20:29), he calls “the mystery of iniquity,” (2 Thess. 2:7) because in a secretive manner they tried and are trying to bring harm to the Church of Christ. Saint Paul calls the Antichrist the revelation of this mystery of iniquity, which follows after the final apostasy from faith. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition….whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power…. (2Thess.2:3,9). Thus, did the ancient ecumenical Church teach by the mouths of Her renowned Fathers and Teachers. Saint Irenaeus writes that the Antichrist will show himself to be impious, unrighteous, and iniqui- tous as an apostate. Saint Hilary testifies that through the Arians, the devil is trying to convince people that Christ is not the Only-Begotten Son of God, but is adopted as a son by grace. Through the Antichrist, however, he [the devil] will try to convince people that Christ is not the Son of God even by adoption, thus completely defaming the name of the true Christ. Blessed Augustine says that the Antichrist will hinder the baptism of infants, even though there will be pious parents who will decide to endure all tortures rather than to leave their children unbaptised. Saint Jerome foretold that the enemy of Christ will win over the trust of the Jews through rejecting the sacred ordinances of Christ, while according to Saint Ephraim the Syrian,“the beast will lay his mark, i.e. an evil inscription, … on the right hand, so that it will be impossible for a man to make the sign of the Cross, and on the forehead, so as not to allow man to keep the holy name of the Saviour 4 in his mind. The serpent will inscribe his mark instead of the Cross of the Saviour. In order to do this, undoubtedly he will use a method so that the name of the Lord and Saviour will not even be allowed to be said during this time.” (See also “On Christ and the Antichrist” by Saint Hippolytus of Rome, and the Commentary on Revelation by Saint Andrew of Caesarea). In addition to openly rejecting the Divinity of the Saviour, His relation to God the Father, and His teachings, the Antichrist will like- wise openly appropriate for himself divine dignity and will spread a new godless teaching, which will oppose the teachings of Christ.
Recommended publications
  • A Review of Brian Mclaren, Finding Our Way Again: the Return of the Ancient Practices Michael A
    Recovering Ancient Church Practices: A Review of Brian McLaren, Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices Michael A. G. Haykin Michael A. G. Haykin is Professor of In this introductory volume for a new living in our culture, the book has to be Church History at The Southern Baptist series being published by Thomas Nelson judged a failure. Theological Seminary. He is also Adjunct entitled “The Ancient Practices Series” First, it needs to be noted that stylisti- Professor of Church History at Toronto (that will include volumes on prayer, the cally the book reads well and McLaren Baptist Seminary in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Sabbath, and tithing), well-known author is alert to the latest modes of expression, Haykin is the author of One Heart and and speaker Brian McLaren sounds a call though I must admit some of them grated One Soul (Evangelical Press, 1994), for the recovery of some of the spiritual on this reader. His use of the word “sexy,” Spirit of God: The Exegesis of 1 and riches of our Christian past, in particular for example—“the sexy young word 2 Corinthians in the Pneumatomachian those associated with what are called the spiritual” (19)—is very much in tune with Controversy of the Fourth Century spiritual disciplines. In this regard, his the ways in which that word has come (Brill, 1994), and Jonathan Edwards: book, Finding Our Way Again: The Return of to be used, though I for one have trouble 1 The Holy Spirit and Revival (Evangelical the Ancient Practices, is part of an interest dissociating it from meaning actual sex- Press, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Islam and Christian Theologians
    • CTSA PROCEEDINGS 48 (1993): 41-54 • ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIANS Once upon a time an itinerant grammarian came to a body of water and enlisted the services of a boatman to ferry him across. As they made their way, the grammarian asked the boatman, "Do you know the science of grammar?" The humble boatman thought for a moment and admitted somewhat dejectedly that he did not. Not much later, a growing storm began to imperil the small vessel. Said the boatman to the grammarian, "Do you know the science of swimming?" On the eve of the new millennium too much of our theological activity remains shockingly intramural. Instead of allowing an inherent energy to launch us into the larger reality of global religiosity, we insist on protecting our theology from the threat of contamination. If we continue to resist serious engagement with other theological traditions, and that of Islam in particular, our theology may prove as useful as grammar in a typhoon. But what would swimming look like in theological terms? In the words of Robert Neville, "One of the most important tasks of theology today is to develop strategies for determining how to enter into the meaning system of another tradition, not merely as a temporary member of that tradition, but in such a way as to see how they bear upon one another."1 I propose to approach this vast subject by describing the "Three M's" of Muslim-Christian theological engagement: Models (or methods from the past); Method (or a model for future experimentation); and Motives. I.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : Philosophical Terminology and Theological Arguments
    Durham E-Theses The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : philosophical terminology and theological arguments Metallidis, George How to cite: Metallidis, George (2003) The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene : philosophical terminology and theological arguments, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1085/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY GEORGE METALLIDIS The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consentand information derived from it should be acknowledged. The Chalcedonian Christology of St John Damascene: Philosophical Terminology and Theological Arguments PhD Thesis/FourthYear Supervisor: Prof. ANDREW LOUTH 0-I OCT2003 Durham 2003 The ChalcedonianChristology of St John Damascene To my Mother Despoina The ChalcedonianChristology of St John Damascene CONTENTS Page ABBREVIATIONS 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENT 12 INTRODUCTION 14 CHAPTER ONE TheLife of St John Damascene 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Holy Fathers 7Th Council
    October 14, 2012 Sunday Sermon Fr Ambrose Young Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple Skete The Holy Fathers of the 7th Council Titus 3:8-15 Luke 8:5-15 In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. On this Sunday the Church celebrates the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and asks us to reflect upon that Council and also the whole concept we Orthodox have of what we constantly refer to as “the Holy Fathers”. This Council of the Church—the last general universal Council of Holy Orthodoxy--was held in the year 787 and dealt with the whole controversy surrounding the use of sacred images or icons. This is an important Council for us to know about because in the West, at the time of the Protestant Reformation, images in churches were severely criticized and in many cases destroyed and forbidden. To this day most Protestant churches are very bereft and bare of sacred imagery other than the Cross, and some do not even have a Cross. Mormons even see the Cross as an emblem of shame and do not make use of it in their churches and temples, nor do they wear a cross. Even some very modern Catholic Churches—perhaps in order not to offend Protestants?—have gone in the direction of stripping themselves of sacred art of all kinds. But in Orthodoxy we continue to preserve and cherish our rich tradition of iconography and other forms of sacred art, seeing these as both theologically and spiritually necessary and also an essential component of ancient Christian civilization.
    [Show full text]
  • Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus on Gnomic Will (Γνώμη) in Christ: Clarity and Ambiguity Paul M
    44 Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus on Gnomic Will (γνώμη) in Christ: Clarity and Ambiguity Paul M. Blowers Emmanuel Christian Seminary Johnson City, Tennessee For years I have been perplexed as to why Maximus the Confessor, in his articulate christological formulations in the seventh century, ultimately decided that Jesus Christ, as fully human, had only a natural human will (θέλημα φυσική), and so forcefully ruled against the possibility that he also had a “gnomic” (or “deliberative”) will (γνώμη) in the manner of fallen human beings. In the words of Maximus’ own beloved predecessor, Gregory Nazianzen, “what is not assumed is not healed.”1 Tough not alone in this concern, I’ve made a regular pest of myself broaching this issue in numerous patristics conferences (most recently the 2011 Oxford Patristics Conference) anytime an essay on Maximus would even remotely touch on the matter. Te answer I get represents a fairly hardened scholarly consensus. Accordingly, Maximus, in working out his understanding of the Chalcedonian defnition, still required a certain asymmetry in the composite hypostasis of Christ, since it is the divine hypostasis of the Son who united with and divinized the humanity of Jesus. In this case only a “natural” human will could be truly deifed, not a gnomic will prone to vacillation. I agree with this consensus in general, and it has been strengthened all the more in an excellent recent study by Ian McFarland comparing Maximus’ doctrine of the will with that of Augustine. McFarland has cogently argued the plausibility of Maximus’ denial of γνώμη in Christ as a function of his strong sense that “natural” human will, as modeled in Christ, is not antecedently “constrained” by the will of the divine Creator but a manifestation of the gracious stability of human will in concert with deifying divine grace.
    [Show full text]
  • The Divine in the Theological Thinking of Saint John of Damascus in Relationship with Relevant Teachings of Theodore Abu Qurrah
    154 International Journal of Orthodox Theology 10:4 (2019) urn:nbn:de:0276-2019-4077 Dimitris Athanasiou The Divine in the Theological Thinking of Saint John of Damascus in relationship with relevant Teachings of Theodore Abu Qurrah Abstract Saint John of Damascus is considered to be one of the most significant personalities of the Orthodox Church, as well as the Christian world in general. As a teacher of the church through his writings, he tried to express clearly the teachings of Church so that they could be transferred effectively to it's active members. Around this frame, the teaching about divinity is included. John as an absolute theologian of the church, tried to explain this teaching Dimitris Athanasiou PhD in about divinity and transfer it to the Theology at the University world of God in the most possible of Athens, Greece The Divine in the Theological Thinking of Saint John of Damascus in 155 relationship with relevant Teachings of Theodore Abu Qurrah way. Putting things on a right basis, he approaches the whole issue under the Biblical observation, and earlier theology of Fathers as well. On the other hand, Abū Qurrah was also a symbolic personality of the Orthodox Church, who was raised around an Arab- Islamic environment, so the majority of his writings was basically in the Arabic language, while at the same time he was en gagged in defending the Christian faith, due to Islamic challenges. It was about two persons acting around the same geographical and cultural frame. That is why comparing the study of their Theological thinking is fairly essential for research.
    [Show full text]
  • De Fide Orthodoxa: an E
    St. John of Damascus 650 - 754 AD DE FIDE ORTHODOXA: AN E St. John of Damascus 650 - 754 AD DE FIDE ORTHODOXA: AN EXACT EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH ■ DE FIDE ORTHODOXA: AN EXACT EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provvisori/mbs%20Library/001%20-Da%20Fare/00-index.htm2006-06-01 18:06:30 St. John of Damascus DE FIDE ORTHODOXA: AN EXACT EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH :Index. St. John of Damascus 650 - 754 AD DE FIDE ORTHODOXA: AN EXACT EXPOSITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH General Index ■ BOOK I ■ BOOK II ■ BOOK III ■ BOOK IV file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20Provv...ary/001%20-Da%20Fare/0-SJohnDamascusDeFideOrthodoxa.htm2006-06-01 18:06:30 SJOHNDAMASCUSDEFIDEORTHODOXA: BOOK I , Index. BOOK I Index CHAPTER I. That the Deity is incomprehensible, and that we ought not to pry into and meddle with tire things which have not been delivered to us by the holy Prophets, and Apostles, and Evangelists. CHAPTER II. Concerning things utterable and things unutterable, and things knowable and thinks unknowable. CHAPTER III. Proof that there is a God. CHAPTER IV. Concerning the nature of Deity: that it is incomprehensible. CHAPTER V. Proof that God is one and not many. CHAPTER VI. Concerning the Word and the Son of God: a reasoned proof. CHAPTER VII. Concerning the Holy Spirit, a reasoned proof. CHAPTER VIII. Concerning the Holy Trinity. CHAPTER IX. Concerning what is affirmed about God. CHAPTER X. Concerning divine union and separation. CHAPTER XI. Concerning what is affirmed about file:///D|/Documenta%20Chatolica%20Omnia/99%20-%20P...01%20-Da%20Fare/1-SJohnDamascusDeFideOrthodoxa0.htm (1 of 2)2006-06-01 18:06:30 SJOHNDAMASCUSDEFIDEORTHODOXA: BOOK I , Index.
    [Show full text]
  • John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Imagining Demons in Post-Byzantine Jerusalem: John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology Nathaniel Ogden Kidd Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Kidd, Nathaniel Ogden, "Imagining Demons in Post-Byzantine Jerusalem: John of Damascus and the Consolidation of Classical Christian Demonology" (2018). Dissertations (1934 -). 839. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/839 IMAGINING DEMONS IN POST-BYZANTINE JERUSALEM: JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN DEMONOLOGY by The Rev. Nathaniel Ogden Kidd, B.A., M.Div A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin December, 2018 ABSTRACT IMAGINING DEMONS IN POST-BYZANTINE JERUSALEM: JOHN OF DAMASCUS AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN DEMONOLOGY The Rev. Nathaniel Ogden Kidd, B.A., M.Div Marquette University, 2018 This dissertation traces the consolidation of a classical Christian framework for demonology in the theological corpus of John of Damascus (c. 675 – c. 750), an eighth century Greek theologian writing in Jerusalem. When the Damascene sat down to write, I argue, there was a great variety of demonological options available to him, both in the depth of the Christian tradition, and in the ambient local imagination. John’s genius lies first in what he chose not to include, but second in his ability to synthesize a minimalistic demonology out of a complex body of material and integrate it into a broader theological system.
    [Show full text]
  • A Note on the Iconoclastic Controversy: Greek and Latin Disagreements About Matter and Deification
    Andrews University Seminary Studies, Autumn 1980, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, 139-148 Copyright @ 1980 by Andrews University Press. A NOTE ON THE ICONOCLASTIC CONTROVERSY: GREEK AND LATIN DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT MATTER AND DEIFICATION PATRICIA WILSON-KASTNER United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities New Brighton, Minnesota The iconoclastic controversy in Byzantium is extremely complex, involving political, economic, and social factors, as well as the in- terplay of theology and popular piety.l Even though these various dimensions generally have been well explored, certain corners remain to be illuminated. One of the dustier and less crucial, but nonetheless interesting issues, is that of the Latin response to the Greek controver- sy. In this Latin response, political considerations doubtless loomed large, particularly for the Carolingian court, which sought equality with the Byzantine rulers for Charlemagne; but the theological dis- agreements were genuine and must also be taken seriously. My intention here is to focus on one small aspect of that religious concern: the role of matter in the bringing of grace to the human as understood in two crucial theological sources. First I wish to look atthe theology of John of Damascus, particularly in his treatise On the Orthodox Faith, a foundational document for the Byzantines; and next I shall focus on the Caroline Books, representing the Latins' theological reaction to the Greek Iconoclastic Controversy. Then I will explore a theological factor which substantially contributed to the Latin difficulty in comprehending the Greek dispute, namely, the Camline Books' dependence on anAugustinian theology which lacked at precisely the point crucial for debate about the images-the ques- tion of the grace-bearing possibilities of matter.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses The contemplation of Christ and Salvation in the liturgical Canons of St John Damascene Pokhilko, Alexander How to cite: Pokhilko, Alexander (2004) The contemplation of Christ and Salvation in the liturgical Canons of St John Damascene, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1757/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 THE CONTEMPLATION OF CHRIST AND SALVATION IN THE LITURGICAL CANONS OF ST JOHN DAMASCENE Alexander Pokhilko A copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Ph.D. thesis University of Durham Department of Theology 2004 13 JUN2005 `The Contemplation of Christ and Salvation in the Liturgical Canons of St. John Damascene' Alexander Pokhilko Faculty of Theology, University of Durham Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Shepherd Template
    FROM THE FATHERS “WHERE the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there the Church and every grace. The Spirit, however, is Truth.” Holy Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons, + 202 A.D. “FROM THIS CHURCH even those who are involved in various errors outside the Church can receive forgiveness of their sins, if, while they are still in this world, they will be converted to this same Church in a correct belief and in contrite and heartfelt humility. Let them hasten, then, while there is yet time, to their legitimate Mother, who diligently sustains and nourishes the sons born in her womb.” Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, + 527 A.D. “LET US RECEIVE the tradition of the Church in simplicity of heart, without vain questioning, since God created man to be straightforward, but he has entangled himself with an infinity of questions. Let us not allow ourselves to learn a new faith, in opposition to the tradition of the fathers.” Ven. John of Damascus, + 780 A.D. “LET US WORSHIP, according to the Orthodox Faith, the eternal will and power and kingdom of the Trinity, always covering Arius with infamy. Let us honour thee, O Lady, in a proper manner, as the one who gave birth to God, relying on the dogmas of the holy fathers, and leaving aside the vain teachings of Nestorius.” Ven. Theodore the Studite, + 826 A.D. 1 “LIKEWISE on Sunday [the Sunday of Orthodoxy] we all make commemoration of the Orthodox Faith and sing hymns of thanks- giving to God, Who is all-good.
    [Show full text]
  • John of Damascus and Christian Discourse: the Dialectica Viewed As a Neopatristic Metastructure in Light of Florovsky, Gadamer, and Ricoeur
    International Journal of Orthodox Theology 7:3 (2016) 25 urn:nbn:de:0276-2016-3046 Joshua Schooping John of Damascus and Christian Discourse: The Dialectica Viewed as a NeoPatristic Metastructure in Light of Florovsky, Gadamer, and Ricoeur Abstract The present article is a discussion of the philosophical-theological mode in which Christian orthodoxy could critically engage with non-Christian modes of thought in a manner intentionally consistent with native metaphysical and epistemological presuppositions and commitments. Hermeneutics will be more or less the platform on which the notion of “Tradition,” informed by Gadamer and Father Joshua Schooping Florovsky, is raised so as to articulate is a Russian Orthodox how Christian tradition - for the Priest (ROCOR) serving at Saint Sophia's in Kissim- present study largely derived from mee, Florida. He gradua- the philosophical work of John of ted from Saint Vladimir's Damascus - informs a hermeneutic Orthodox Theological Se- mode of discourse, analysis, and minary with Masters worldview, what elsewhere has been Degrees in both Divinity called a hermeneutic of tradition. In and Theology. 26 Joshua Schooping short, this hermeneutic of tradition relative to historic orthodoxy refers in the first place to the intentional act of understanding according to the Scriptural, Apostolic, Patristic, and Conciliar norms as embodied and expressed by the particular Fathers and Ecumenical Councils of the historic, undivided Church, and the application of these norms, the regula fidei, or, perhaps yet more boldly, the “hermeneutic canons,” to contemporary problematics. The argument, then, seeks to show in light of Ricoeur’s interpretation theory how John of Damascus' Dialectica fittingly provides a foundation for Christian discourse, which is to say a foundational conceptual apparatus integrating Christian epistemology and metaphysics into a coherent system of thought which provides tools for engaging contemporary philosophical discourse from within a consistently orthodox perspective.
    [Show full text]