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Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council – Today, the Holy Orthodox Church throughout the world commemorates the Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council. This is but one of the 7 Ecumenical Councils, which collectively, have given us the true interpretation of the Dogmas or Beliefs, as contained in the Holy Scriptures, and thereby have secured for all time the complete unity of our Christian Orthodox Faith. Through these 7 Ecumenical Councils, the true definition of the Dogmas by the Holy Fathers, based on the Teachings of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition, proved without a doubt, that the Holy Spirit sent, as promised by our Lord Jesus, was and is, to be the overseer of the Church, and thereby render the Church infallible. Please note, what I just said, that the Church convening in Council is infallible; -- not the Patriarch, nor any Bishop is infallible, but the Church, through its Ecumenical Councils, blessed and guided by the Holy Spirit, is infallible. That is why there is no division or diversity in Faith within the universal Christian Orthodox Church, even though there are 15 autocephalous Churches. These centuries-old and defined interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, which are irrefutable Dogmas, are part of what we label Divine or Holy Tradition. As we may know, there are 2 sources of our Faith; the Holy Scriptures, and Holy, or Divine Tradition. It is Divine Tradition, which testifies as to the validity of the Holy Scriptures. We do know that the Holy Apostles during the first 30 years after the Resurrection of our Lord taught verbally, and it was decades later when they recorded the Teachings of the Lord and the events of His life, to give to us what we recognize as the New Testament Their verbal teachings and interpretations of the Apostles were also recorded, so as to become part of the Divine Tradition. It is Holy Tradition, that preserves the unity in the Church. It is Holy Tradition, as we mentioned, that testifies as to the validity of the Holy Scriptures. When Protestantism came into being during the early 16th Century the Reformers in their strife against the Pope and his alleged supreme authority, protested. Unfortunately for the Church they went to the extremes of refuting, and casting out Divine Tradition. They preached, that reading and freely interpreting the Bible was sufficient. Everyone was free to interpret, according to his knowledge or inspiration. Unfortunately for the Church, the result of this personal interpretation, has been the fragmentation of the Christian Church into many hundreds of independent bodies. The Dogmas, that is our basic beliefs, which cannot be refuted or changed, are contained in the New Testament. These Dogmas had not been defined in the Pre-Council years, and because they were not defined, it was not unusual for some Biblical Scholars during the first Centuries of Christianity, to read and teach from the Bible, interpreting according to their understanding of the Biblical verses. When these Scholars gained a certain following, problems developed, which threatened the unity of the Church. And so, the Church took action by convening the Ecumenical Councils. Erroneous teachings, of course, are called heresies, and their followers, heretics. Thus, when a heresy began to flourish within the fledgling Christian Church, an Ecumenical Council was convened, in which the totality of the Christian Bishops of the undivided Church participated. The 1st Ecumenical Council was held in Nicaea, south of Constantinople in the year 325 A.D. and attended by 318 Bishops and Theologians. The 2nd Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople in the year 381 A.D. These 2 Councils bequeathed to us the Creed, which we recited minutes ago. The Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council, whom we commemorate today, set out to define the two Natures of our Lord, the Human and the Divine; co-existing in one Body, but with the two natures and wills in perfect harmony and conformity. This Ecumenical Council was convened to condemn the Bishop Eftychios, who taught, that in reality Christ was of one Nature, because he believed that Christ's human nature was totally absorbed by the Divine. Eftychios would not recant from his heretical belief, even though the Council unanimously had decreed, that Christ was perfect God and perfect Man; two natures in one as defined in the Scriptures and Divine Tradition. Eftychios persisted in his teaching, and was finally condemned for his heresy. His followers became known as "Monophysites," a Greek word meaning "of one Nature." His teaching though, remained rooted in the area of Armenia. And now, for more that 1400 years, the Armenians and the Coptic Orthodox of northern Africa, while Apostolic Churches, do have roots in common, which stem back from the 5th Century. Thus, these two great Christian bodies separated from the Universal Church over 1400 years ago. However, in recent decades, there have been ongoing dialogues, in the hope, that they will soon become a part of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, because they are Apostolic Churches in close communion with the Orthodox Churches. After this short account of the Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council, I would also like to take a few moments to offer a few thoughts on a couple of verses from St. Paul Epistle to his disciple Titus, which we heard in today's Gospel reading. St. Paul instructs his disciple Titus saying: "This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things, I want you to speak with confidence, so that those, who have believed God, may be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men." While St. Paul emphasizes to Titus "This is a trustworthy statement," in his 1st Epistle to his other Disciple, Timothy, Chapter 1, verse 15, St. Paul says the same, but qualifies it as follows: "The teaching is true, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first!" You will recall, that these words are included in the prayer before Communion, which we pray every Sunday before Holy Communion.. St. Paul always makes it a point to base his teachings on the faith in Jesus Christ, crucified, and risen from the dead for our salvation. He gives a marvelous definition of faith, in the 1st verse of Hebrews, chapter 11, with which we should become very familiar. He says: "Faith, is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things unseen!" Yes, it may seem odd, to perhaps believe in things hoped for - and to be able to understand, and accept the things we do not see! It is also true, that so many people seek proof, when it comes to believing in God, somewhat like the doubting St. Thomas did, regarding the Risen Lord. How amazing it is, that they seek proof, when it is impossible for man to fully comprehend the many mysteries of this world, which fall in the realm of our five senses, and for which mysteries, they have no explanation. All sciences, do present their own particular proof, which may have no relevance between them. But, for the believers, just one serious look at the beauty and harmony in nature, and what we know of the universe, is surely proof enough, that God is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. But, as history and experience teaches us, the doubters will always be part of the world of questioning. When it comes to Theology, St. Paul, who was highly educated, and miraculously came to the Lord, after having persecuted the first Christians so vehemently, states it so adequately in 1st Corinthians, Chapter 2, verse 4. He says: "My preaching was not with convincing proofs of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, so that your faith should not be based on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." We have witnessed the power of God down through the ages, through so many miracles, which of themselves give testimony to His power. In 1st Timothy, Chapter 2, verse 4 we read what we believe; and that is: "The Lord wants all people to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." This verse is particularly emphasized as part of the Sacrament of the Holy Baptism. The Lord's Grace is freely offered to everyone through the preaching and the acceptance of His Commandments. But this preaching will never root, if we have ears, which are deafened by the wiles of this world, and if we have eyes, which are blinded by the glitter and the lures of this world. This spiritual deafness and blindness, is qualified when St. Paul states in Romans 6:23, that "the wages of sin is death!" One cannot but agree, that persistence in sin brings spiritual death, which not only excludes a person from eternal life, but oftentimes physical death does follow the spiritual death . Man by nature is instinctively curious. He is forever seeking, and I would say, that in this seeking, he or she many times gropes in the dark to find answers to the questions and complexities. in-life, when all he or she has to do, is to delve into, -- to digest and fashion his or her life in conformity with the eternal teachings of the Lord. To be sure, the Lord is always present and eager to hand us His roadmap of true happiness, which ultimately fulfills us, and keeps us steady on the road to our salvation.
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