Dan Everiss
<oregdan@hotmail.com> | Fri, Jul 29, 2016 at 1:27 PM |
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NOTE: The only just
cause for any of us to separate ourselves from our lawful bishop, 'to
wall ourselves off from him' is if HE BECOMES AN APOSTATE from our Holy
Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. Of course that was the case
with those bishops and clergy who in 2007, betrayed our church to the
Sergianists of the MP. They became apostates. But, that situation is not
the case with our honorable and solidly Orthodox and pious,
Metropolitan Agafangel or of our other honorable Synod of Bishops. Also,
the fallacious and malicious accusations of the trouble-makers,
claiming that the Metropolitan and our Synod, have 'violated various
canons' are bogus, and unproven, utterly. They are simply slanders and
lies.
Any one who believes such naïve rubbish, is a co-fool with them, and a co-wrecker of our struggling ROCA flock.
The
sshism-makers have fanned what were simply, individual differences of
opinion or opposing perspectives on various specific local church
matters, mainly here in N. America, into a full blown schism. And too,
some here have swallowed the Putin propaganda, that what he did in
Ukraine was SOMEHOW..JUSTIFIED. THAT WAR HAS SPLIT OUR FLOCK.
Yet, illogically, our Metropolitan and our Bishops are being held to account,
-that
they have not blessed Putin's evil bloody immoral war against fellow
Orthodox Christians! This clearly at least some of these schism makers
do seem to believe. They like V. Putin!
UNBELIEVABLE!
Concerning the Deacon Who Contended Against the Bishop
St. Cyprian of Carthage
To Rogatianus, Concerning the Deacon Who Contended Against the Bishop
Argument.—
Cyprian Warns the Bishop Rogatianus to Restrain the Pride of the Deacon
Who Had Provoked Him with His Insults, and to Compel Him to Repent of
His Boldness; Taking Occasion to Repeat Once More Whatever He Has Said
in the Previous Letter, About the Sacerdotal or Episcopal Power.
1. Cyprian to his brother Rogatianus, greeting.
I
and my colleagues who were present with me were deeply and grievously
distressed, dearest brother, on reading your letter in which you
complained of your deacon, that, forgetful of your priestly station, and
unmindful of his own office and ministry, he had provoked you by his
insults and injuries. And you indeed have acted worthily, and with your
accustomed humility towards us, in rather complaining of him to us;
although you have power, according to the vigour of the episcopate and
the authority of your See, whereby you might be justified on him at
once, assured that all we your colleagues would regard it as a matter of
satisfaction, whatever you should do by your priestly power in respect
of an insolent deacon, as you have in respect of men of this kind divine
commands. Inasmuch as the Lord God says in Deuteronomy, “And
the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the
priest or the judge, whoever he shall be in those days, that man shall
die; and all the people, when they hear, shall fear, and shall no more
do impiously.” And that we may know that this voice of God
came forth with His true and highest majesty to honour and avenge His
priests; when three of the ministers — Korah, Dathan, and Abiram — dared
to deal proudly, and to exalt their neck against Aaron the priest, and
to equal themselves with the priest set over them; they were swallowed
up and devoured by the opening of the earth, and so immediately suffered
the penalty of their sacrilegious audacity. Nor they alone, but also
two hundred and fifty others, who were their companions in boldness,
were consumed by a fire breaking forth from the Lord, that it might be
proved that God's priests are avenged by Him who makes priests. In the
book of Kings also, when Samuel the priest was despised by the Jewish
people on account of his age, as you are now, the Lord in wrath
exclaimed, and said, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me.”
And that He might avenge this, He set over them Saul as a king, who
afflicted them with grievous injuries, and trod on the people, and
pressed down their pride with all insults and penalties, that the
despised priest might he avenged by divine vengeance on a proud people.
2.
Moreover also Solomon, established in the Holy Spirit, testifies and
teaches what is the priestly authority and power, saying, “Fear the Lord with all your soul, and reverence His priests;" and again, “Honour God with all your soul, and honour His priests.” Sirach 7:29,31
Mindful of which precepts, the blessed Apostle Paul, according to what
we read in the Acts of the Apostles, when it was said to him, “Do
you revile thus God's high priest? ”answered and said, “I knew not,
brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, You shall not
speak evil of the ruler of your people.” Moreover, our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself, our King, and Judge, and God, even to the very
day, of His passion observed the honour to priests and high priests,
although they observed neither the fear of God nor the acknowledgment of
Christ. For when He had cleansed the leper, He said to him, “Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift.”
With that humility which taught us also to he humble, He still called
him a priest whom He knew to be sacrilegious; also under the very sting
of His passion, when He had received a blow, and it was said to Him, “Do you answer the high priest so?” He said nothing reproachfully against the person of the high priest, but rather maintained His own innocence saying, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you smite me?”
All which things were therefore done by Him humbly and patiently, that
we might have an example of humility and patience; for He taught that
true priests were lawfully and fully to be honoured, in showing Himself
such as He was in respect of false priests.
3.
But deacons ought to remember that the Lord chose apostles, that is,
bishops and overseers; while apostles appointed for themselves deacons
after the ascent of the Lord into heaven, as ministers of their
episcopacy and of the Church. But if we may dare anything against God
who makes bishops, deacons may also dare against us by whom they are
made; and therefore it behooves the deacon of whom you write to repent
of his audacity, and to acknowledge the honour of the priest, and to
satisfy the bishop set over him with full humility. For these things
are the beginnings of heretics, and the origins and endeavours of
evil-minded schismatics; — to please themselves, and with swelling
haughtiness to despise him who is set over them. Thus they depart from
the Church — thus a profane altar is set up outside — thus they rebel
against the peace of Christ, and the appointment and the unity of God.
But if, further, he shall harass and provoke you with his insults, you
must exercise against him the power of your dignity, by either deposing
him or excommunicating him. For if the Apostle Paul, writing to
Timothy, said, “Let no man despise your youth,”
how much rather must it be said by your colleagues to you, Let no man
despise your age? And since you have written, that one has associated
himself with that same deacon of yours, and is a partaker of his pride
and boldness, you may either restrain or excommunicate him also, and any
others that may appear of a like disposition, and act against God's
priest. Unless, as we exhort and advise, they should rather perceive
that they have sinned and make satisfaction, and suffer us to keep our
own purpose; for we rather ask and desire to overcome the reproaches and
injuries of individuals by clemency and patience, than to punish them
by our priestly power. I bid you, dearest brother, ever heartily
farewell.
source
============================== ============================== ============================== ============================== ===
* Article found on:<http://internetsobor.org> 'What the Holy Fathers Say About Schism':
My added comment:
What spiritual schism-tragedy which is now happening inside of our ROCA, is
not at all, a justified 'reform' movement to make our church 'better',
etc. or to 'free it from tyrannical bishops', etc., but it is a full
blown immoral, uncalled for, and anti-Orthodox impious SCHISM...which will gain for those making it, unless they repent, a place in Hell Eternal...and...here and now, the total destruction of our ROCA local earthly current church life, HERE.
THAT IS ORTHODOX TEACHING!...who likes it, or not....to those who would dare to make up their own version of Orthodoxy!
And
this dark reality goes way beyond any personal/ human errors of
individual persons, personal disagreements or insults or hurt feelings,
etc,. coming from either bishops, priests, or laity.
May
all those currently who are sadly and pathetically involved in
organizing this unjustified rebellion, [ by phone calls and holding
meetings] STOP and consider what you are really being a part of, and REPENT.
Those involved in this useless mess, and soul-killing activity, are not ..creating a new PURER local valid Orthodox church, [as they seem to see as their 'holy and righteous effort'],
etc...rather but a lawless vagante graceless SCHISM para-synagogue which is ..condemned by all the Saints of God.
Wake up, and stop, and repent! ...IF you really believe that there is a God?...DO YOU???
An historical side note: In all of Church history, ALL heresies and schisms start with the battle cry: "To REFORM the church, so that it is more pure, better, more holy", etc.
All
schismatics and heretics consider their new organizations, as BETTER
than, more pure than, The Church.. and its God ordained and empowered,
bishops, and so do these current deluded schism makers inside of our
ROCA.
WHERE did any of them learn basic Orthodoxy???..or do they even care?
When they die, their very names will be Thrice-Cursed, not blessed.. and no one will pray for their souls' salvation.
For such persons, it would have been better, HAD THEY NEVER BEEN BORN!
MY views on all this do not matter. Only what the Orthodox Church teaches- that is what matters.
Elderly retired Reader Daniel Everiss in Oregon, very dismayed by this unnecessary man-made chaos in our ROCA.
May God save us...from ourselves!
"Where the Bishop is, THERE IS THE CHURCH!"
We
are not Orthodox Christians, [of any nationality] if ....we who call
ourselves, 'Orthodox Christians', if...we do not obey our rightful
Bishop!
HE.... has
the last & final word, always, no matter how many 'meetings' we
hold or how the majority votes in those meetings go, which includes the
decisions/edicts of any Parish Council/Soviet, ...if the Bishop does not
accept or CONFIRM their decisions/requests. Also he can dismiss them,
if he chooses.
They have no power or authority, if they oppose the bishop, NONE!
The Holy Fathers On Schism:
 Священномученик Иларион (Троицкий):
Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky):
«Церковь едина, и одна она только имеет всю полноту благодатных даров Святого Духа.
"The Church is one, and only one, it is the fullness of the grace of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Кто
и каким бы образом ни отступал от Церкви — в ересь, в раскол, в
самочинное сборище, он теряет причастие благодати Божией» (Письмо Р.
Гардинеру),
Who,
anyone, would and by whatever means, shall take a path which
deviates/ separates from the Church, he is in - heresy, a part of a
schism, blending into a gathering of arbitrariness, and he thus
loses the sacrament/gift of God's grace "(Letter R. Gardiner)
«знаем
мы и убеждены в том, что отпадение от Церкви в раскол ли, в ересь ли, в
сектантство ли — есть полная погибель и духовная смерть.
"We
know and believe that in the act of falling away from the Church into
schism, there is a heresy, a dissolving into sectarianism - and in so
doling, there is complete destruction and spiritual death, for those
participating in it.
Для нас нет христианства вне Церкви.
For us,THERE IS NO CHRISTIANITY OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.
Если Христос создал Церковь и Церковь — Тело Его, то оторваться от Тела Его — значит умереть» (О жизни в Церкви).
If
Christ created the Church and the Church - is His body, then to break
away from His Body -means to die "(Life in the Church).
Блаженный Августин:
Saint Augustine:
«мы веруем во святую соборную Церковь.
"We believe in the Holy Catholic Church."
Однако еретики и раскольники также называют свои общины церквами.
However, heretics and schismatics also call their communities, 'churches'.
Но
еретики, ложно мысля о Боге, искажают саму веру, а раскольники
беззаконными разделениями отступают от братской любви, хотя верят в то
же самое, что и мы.
But
heretics, holding false ideas about God, distort the Faith itself, and
schismatic lawless divisions, are a retreating from brotherly love,
but, otherwise,[ or so they imagine] they believe in the same things
that we do.
Поэтому
ни еретики не принадлежат вселенской Церкви, которая любит Бога, ни
раскольники не принадлежат к ней» (О символе веры, Х).
Therefore,
neither do heretics belong to the Universal Church, which loves God,
nor do the dissenters [the schismatics] belong to it "(On the Creed,
X).
Сщмч. Hieromartyr. Игнатий Богоносец:
Ignatius of Antioch:
«Не обольщайтесь, братья мои!
"Make no mistake, my brothers!
Кто следует за вводящим раскол, тот не наследует Царствия Божьего» (Послание к филадельфийцам,
4). Those who follow the misleading divisions/schisms, CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (Letter to the Philadelphians 4).
Свт. St. Киприан Карфагенский:
Cyprian of Carthage:
«усилия
еретиков и зломыслящих раскольников начинаются обыкновенно с
самоугождения, соединенного с надменным и гордым презрением к
предстоятелю.
"The
efforts of heretics and schismatics, customarily usually begin with
self-indulgence, coupled with a haughty and proud contempt for the
primate/bishop."
Так
совершается отступление от Церкви и осквернение алтаря, так возмущается
мир Христов, чиноположение и единство Божие» (Письмо к Рогациану).
Thus,
their actions are a departure from the Church and a desecration of the
altar,[ of all that is holy], which so outrages the peace of
Christ, and the ordained clergy, and the unity of God "(Letter to
Rogatsianu).
Свт. St. Иоанн Златоуст:
St. John Chrysostom:
«производить
разделения в Церкви не меньшее зло, как и впадать в ереси…грех раскола
не смывается даже мученической кровью» (Толкование на послание к
Ефесянам: 65, 11).
"To
make the separation/schism is not a small evil, but it is, as well,
a falling into the heresy of schism ...a sin which is not washed off,
even by the blood of martyrdom in the Church" (Commentary on the
Epistle to the Ephesians: 65, 11).
Свт. St. Игнатий (Брянчанинов):
St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov):
«смертный
грех православного христианина, не уврачеванный должным покаянием,
подвергает согрешившего вечной муке… Смертные грехи для христианина суть
следующие: ересь, раскол, богохульство, отступничество… каждый из них
умерщвляет душу и делает ее неспособною для вечного блаженства, доколе
она не очистит себя покаянием» (Слово о смерти).
"A mortal sin/deadly
sin, for an Orthodox Christian, if not healed properly through
repentance, exposes the sinner to eternal torment. ... Mortal sins for a
Christian are the following: heresy, schism, blasphemy, apostasy
...even just one of them, by itself, kills the soul and makes it
unable to enjoy eternal bliss, if the sinner does not purify himself
by repentance "(The word of the death).
Свт. St. Дионисий Александрийский:
Dionysius of Alexandria:
«Если, как говоришь, ты отделился от Церкви невольно, то можешь доказать это возвращением в Церковь по своей воле
. "If, as you say, you have been involuntarily separated from the Church, then you can prove it, by your individual return to the Church on your own.
Лучше было бы тебе все вытерпеть, лишь бы не рассечь Церкви Божией.
It would be better for you to suffer anything, rather than for you to be cut off from The Church of God.
Не менее славы доставило бы тебе мученичество за целость ее, как и мученичество за отречение от идолов;
No
less glory, would it give you as your own martyrdom for your
spiritual integrity, as would martyrdom because of your renunciation
of idols;
а
по-моему, и еще более, потому что в последнем случае всякий принимает
мучения за одну собственную душу, а в первом — за всю Церковь.
and
in my opinion, and even more, because in the latter case, you just
accept suffering for your own soul's sake, and in the first - on
behalf of the whole Church.
Если бы ты даже и теперь убедил и заставил братьев возвратиться к единению, то твоя доблесть была бы сильнее твоего зла.
If
you are even now convinced of your error, and you are now influencing
[schismatic] brothers to return to unity, then your valor will be
stronger than your evil.
Последнее тогда не вменилось бы тебе, а первая заслужила бы похвалу.
The latter would then not be reckoned to you, and the first, for you to deserve praise.
Но
когда уже ты не в состоянии положиться на послушание братьев, то по
крайней мере всячески спасай собственную душу» (письмо к раскольнику
Новату, Церковная История Евсевия Памфила, VI, 45).
But if
you are not already able to rely on the obedience/repentance of your
schismatic brothers, then at least by every possible means, YOU need
to escape the schism, for your own soul's sake "(letter to the dissenter
Novato, Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, VI, 45).
Св. Иоанн Кронштадтский:
St. John of Kronstadt.:
«Достигай, человек, единства: всячески бегай духовного разделения… Единение — Бог.
"Reach
for-join with, and be, a man of unity: but strongly flee spiritual
separation ... Unity -is God, and separation from the Church, is the
Devil"
Разделение — диавол. Separation
- the devil.
Разделение церквей — дело диавола;
Separation from the Church - it is of the Devil;
ереси, расколы — дело диавола» (Моя жизнь во Христе. Часть II,9).
Heresies, and schisms - are of the
Devil " (My Life in Christ Movement II, 9.).
Свт. St. Ириней Лионский:
St. Irenaeus:
«Христос
рассудит тех, которые производят расколы, — не имеющих любви к Богу и
заботящихся больше о собственной выгоде, чем о единстве Церкви, по
маловажным и случайным причинам рассекающих и разрывающих великое и
славное тело Христово и, сколько от них зависит, разрушающих его,
говорящих о мире и производящих брань» (Пять книг против ересей, 4.7).
"Christ
will judge those who make divisions, - doing so without the love of God
and caring more about their own benefit, than the unity of the Church,
and for ACCIDENTAL AND UNIMPORTANT EXCUSES, dissecting
and tearing apart the great and glorious Body of Christ, and how much
of this destruction from them, depends on destroying it by them, as they
speak publically all around the world and by which they spread,
in spoken and written words. "(Five books against heresies, 4.7).
Источник A source
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