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Sunday of Orthodoxy Ocala 2006 "For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world; and our faith is the victory, that becomes victorious over the world." 1 John 5:4 This very basic and meaningful verse is from the 5th Chapter of the 1st Epistle of St. John the Evangelist. I think, that this verse most appropriately describes the glory of the Church, which has fought external and internal foes over the centuries, and has emerged victorious in the faith, as well as unshakeable in the Divine Tradition, which links our Orthodox Church directly to the roots of Christianity's beginning. The Church overcame all obstacles, because She was born of God, and through Her faith, She became victorious over the world. Today, we celebrate the great triumph of Orthodoxy through the 7 Ecumenical Councils, which, inspired by the Holy Spirit conquered. over all the heresies, and took every step to enlighten those, who fell by the wayside, on the road of misinterpretation. These Councils sealed the true Faith for all time. It is the answer of God's blessing the Church to have complete communion, even through there are 15 Orthodox Jurisdictions, but one Altar. Over the 2000 year history of our Holy Church, we can distinguish three great triumphs of our Faith; the Faith, that as St. John said "became victorious over the world!" 1) Firstly, we have the triumph against the Synagogue in the first years of Christianity. Ten days after the Lord's 40th day Ascension into Heaven, that is, on the 50th day, meaning Pentecost, through the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Apostles are ordained with visible tongues of fire on their heads. Thus, the first day of our Holy Church began. During this period, Jews from all over the then known world made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate their pentecost, which was the blessing of the first fruits and harvest. These Jews were of the diaspora To this mass gathering St. Peter grasps the opportunity to preach to these Jews. With Jews having come from all parts of the world they heard the preaching of salvation in the language they understood best. As a consequence of his dynamic preaching, 3000 were baptized on the day of our Pentecost, so as to form the first Christian Congregation. It is wondrous that this conversion took place near Golgotha, where the Lord shed His Blood to open once again the gates of Heaven to those who would believe. This phenomenal, initial success of the Church provoked the mania of the leaders of the Synagogue, but to no avail for them. Only 4 decades later, Jerusalem is completely destroyed by the Roman Ruler Titus in the year 70 A.D. As a result the Jews are dispersed all over the world. Hence, the application of today's verse: "For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world; and our Faith is the victory, that becomes victorious over the world." 2) The second triumph of the Faith, comes to pass three centuries later, when the Church emerged from the catacombs and secret meeting places to escape the horrible persecutions of the Roman Emperors, until Emperor Constantine took the throne and moved the Capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the City of Byzantium, renamed in his honor, Constantinople, or the City of Constantine. From his City he could better govern the East as well as the West. That is why his symbol was the double headed eagle. The eagle with the sharp vision could better command the vast Empire. Constantine was not yet a Christian, but his mother St. Helen was, and fortunately she greatly influenced him, so as to declare in the year 323 A.D.by Edict that Christianity was the official State Religion. Once again St. John's words apply: "For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world; and our Faith is the victory, that becomes victorious over the world." Now, with Christianity the official Religion of the Empire, the Church was free from the external foes., but, there arises a far greater danger, ----- and that was from within the Faith! This danger emanated from the fact, that the Dogmas were not defined during the first centuries, and as a result of misinterpretations of the Scriptures, heresies flourished. To offset this danger to the unity and life of the Church, and to crystallize the true interpretation of the Faith, the Church was convened in 7 Ecumenical Councils, which span the first 8 centuries of the history of the Christian Church. This triumph of the Church over the many heresies, which provoked the convening of the Ecumenical Councils, culminates with this great Sunday of Orthodoxy. Precisely on this Sunday in the year 843, the Patriarch of Constantinople Methodius, and the Empress Theodora, in solemn procession reaffirmed the decisions of the 7th and last Ecumenical Council, by bringing the Holy Icons back to all the Churches, ending once and for all, the great controversy with the Iconoclasts, that is, those who were the destroyers of the Icons. The Holy Fathers of the Church declared that, "the Saints portrayed on the Icons were to be revered as having found favor with God, and whose life and sacrifices, we as Christians are called upon to emulate. We worship only God, and the Saints we revere." Again, for this 3rd great triumph of the Faith we repeat St. John's words: "For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world, and our faith is the victory, that becomes victorious over the world". It is this victorious Faith, which the Church shall always strive to instill in Her faithful, so that they may be able to conquer over all the things of this world. However, if we are sincere, we will admit that our faith is not of the quality expected of us. Only too often, we are not the examples of our priceless and ageless heritage; of the great struggles of our forefathers, who sacrificed their all, so that we could freely and abundantly enjoy the fruits of our Religion. Today, we face other types of foes of religious life and _expression. These can be condensed in the negative ideologies, that entice so many with false and empty promises, as well as sheer materialism and hedonism, which threaten to destroy all that is pure, and all that is good and uplifting in this life. People seek so many avenues to achieve what they envision as happiness only to come to some dead end. Experience proves that there is only one Avenue, and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. Truly there is no real or true life, unless it sources from the Lord, which is the Christ. The Lord Himself used this following illustration, in order to emphasize the closeness, and the organic unity, which must exist between His followers and Himself. He said: "I am the true Vine. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you bear fruit, except you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, and I in Him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5-6 We Orthodox can do much as a Church, as long as we seek to abide in Him, Who is the Head of the Church, and the sole Source of our spirituality. Our potential must be seen in the light of the spiritual contribution, which we owe to our Lord and His Church, to our Country, to ourselves and to the generations to come. It is then, most opportune today, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday in Lent, to once again take stock of our spiritual selves, and to refocus and re-attune our life with the eternal and life-giving precepts, as expressed in the Bible, and interpreted only through our Divine Tradition. Let us not forget, that only our faith has the power to become victorious over all the things of this world. And this victory can be achieved, if we bring our Lord Jesus in critical sharp focus, by adhering steadfastly to the words of St. Paul in Romans 8::37-39 "In all things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come; nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas |
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