Saint Luke, Archbishop of the Crimea On the first Sunday of Great Lent, our Holy Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, of the correct faith, which trampled down all heresies and has been established for ever. This is why this Sunday is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Heresies appeared from the very beginning of Christianity. The Apostles of Christ themselves warned their contemporaries, and us with them, about the danger from false teachers. In his second universal epistle, Saint Peter writes: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as among you there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift perdition. And many will follow them in their lasciviousness, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Peter, 2, 1-2). When Saint Paul returned to Palestine from Greece, he broke his journey in Ephesus. To the Christian residents of the city, he said: “I know that, after my departure, ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts, 20, 29-30). There were many such schismatics and false teachers in the first centuries of Christianity. Some heresies troubled the Church for centuries, such as, for example, those of Arios, Makedonios, Eftykhis, Dioskoros, Nestorios, and also that of iconoclasm. These heresies brought much turmoil to the Church and tormented it greatly. There were many confessors and martyrs who shed their blood in the defence of the true faith, in the battle against the false teachers and heretics. There were also many great hierarchs who also suffered persecution and were often exiled. Saint Flavianus, Patriarch of Constantinople, for example, was beaten so brutally at a synod- called the Robber Council- which was presided over by Dioskoros, that he died three days later. The last in the series of heresies, that of iconoclasm, was also the one which brought the greatest turmoil to the Orthodox Church. It first made its appearance in the time of Emperor Leo the Isaurian, who came to the throne in 717. He was raised to the throne with the assistance of the army, in which there were many opponents of the practice of reverencing the holy icons. Since he wanted to keep on the right side of the army, he instituted a harsh persecution against the iconodules.....More.... tokandylaki.blogspot.ca/2014/03/saint-luke-surgeon-on-he-riumph-of.html
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:38:59 +0000
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