Studies
in Patrology III
Written by: Dr Medhat Ibrahim
Seminarian Deacon, Theological College,
Welcome
back again, my friends, through the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
we will continue to examine the roles of our holy church fathers and the
doctrines and teachings they have imparted unto us that have remained constant
through all generations. A saint once
said, “without the early church fathers and their
teachings and sufferings we would not have the same one true faith shared by
the chosen Apostles which was originally taken from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I.
The Role of the Church Fathers in Orthodox Education:
The Christian Orthodox education, especially Dogma’s
and moral behavior, is challenging and yet so vital.
Therefore,
we see these Church Fathers imparting knowledge extensively in Orthodox
education that still remains unchanged and has been the corner stone of
Christian Dogma throughout the centuries.
Father George Florofsky, who is one of the
great Patrology scholars, said that the study of the
Church Fathers is not simply the history of Christian writings but is the
science of Patrological Theology. The Orthodox education established by the
early Fathers reflects the truth that is derived from the Holy Gospel and the pure
and holy life to which all church members aspire.
The Church Fathers are not the True Light but
reflected the Light of Truth in their teachings to further understanding and to
diminish rational doubting.
II.
The Role of the Church Fathers’ in Correct
Interpretation of God’s Holy Word:
In the Second Holy Epistle of St Peter, the
Apostle, (
Throughout the years, some ignorant and illiterate
people explained some Holy Gospel verses wrong.
However, we through our Church Fathers have maintained the True Faith
and correct explanation/interpretation of all the Holy Bible Books. Much of the early Church Fathers’ writings
centered on explaining scripture found within the Holy Bible and how those
verses were applicable to the believer’s life.
Through the early Church Fathers we are blessed with explanations and
meanings spiritually and literally for all the Holy Books of the Bible.
St Basil, the Great, said, “in
the Church Fathers explanations of the Holy Bible we will find an
understandable explanation which may be mystical, physical, or spiritual. We
will find these holy explanations assist to raise our hearts and minds to God and
help us grow spiritually.”
Truly,
we have Fathers who specialized in writing interpretations of the Holy Bible
such as St Athansius, the Apostolic (explained the
Holy Book of Psalms), St John Chrysostom (every Holy
Book of the Gospels), St Augustine and so on.
III.
The Role of the Church Fathers’ in Teaching About Daily Behavior:
Our faithful Church Fathers wrote their teachings,
letters, books, defenses, and recorded ministry in response to the urgent needs
of the believers at their time. The
early writings were the response and reflected the needs characteristic of
personal problems and an ever-changing community. In their writings we have teachings related
to problems and solutions given for these problems. Problems were addressed based on how they affected
ones’ spiritual life and growth.
Such problems as richness and materialism were
identified. St Clement, the Alexandrian,
wrote a lengthy manuscript “Does the Rich Man Have Salvation? How? The scholar Tertullian,
from
St Gregorian, the Theologian, wrote regarding such
selected topics as “denying the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of fear and
societal pressure. St Athansius, the Apostolic, wrote about the Incarnation. St Basil, the Great, wrote to the youth of
his day encouraging them to read and study Greek literature, anger,
drunkenness, envy, and humbleness.
St Gregorian, the Nicean,
completed the manuscript of St Basil concerning the “Creation of Man”, and “The
Luck, The Understanding, The Knowledge and Death of Children.”
St John Chrysostom wrote
in detail regarding the priesthood and repentance. Also
St Isozorus, the Piliosomy, wrote about two thousand messages centering on
such topics as dressing, hospitality, humbleness, luck, lusts, and the life of
holiness. He wrote for soldiers,
teachers, scholars, politicians, physicians’ kings, monks and priests. St Isozorus was the
spiritual father for many thousands of people, among them St Cyril the Great.
St Ambrosios authored
topics concerning those ordinated for the holy
services.
All the above-mentioned authors and topics are not
inclusive but are a select few. Their
writings reflect the richness of their teachings that have transcended time and
place. Indeed they show us the way for
meeting the Lord.
IV.
The Fathers and Orthodox Spirituality:
For
man to spiritually live according to God’s law and be close to God is not
easy. To accomplish a truly spiritual
life man needs teachers, scholars, advisors, trainers, and counselors. The Church Fathers were not just literal or
theoretical such as Aflaton and other non-Christian
philosophers, but they offered the mystical life, which included the holy pure
means of connecting man to God on the basis of pure love to God.
The
Church Fathers offered the mystical life beyond the literacy, theory, or
feelings. In addition, they offered
through the spiritual, peace through the mystical life that began from the
Light and ended in Divine Love. This
mystical life remains a continual renewal; it is the holiness of the spirit in
truth (John
So
the role of the Church Fathers in our spiritual life can be summarized as:
1.
The
goal of our Christian life is to be one with God. This goal’s objective is to share in the
Divine Nature, “In this way He has given us the very great and precious gifts
He promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the
destructive lust that is in the world and may come to share the Divine
Nature.” (II Peter 1:4) This goal may be found in the entire Fathers’
writings as mentioned by St Athanasius, the
Apostolic. God’s Son became mans’ Son to
make everyone sons of God by His Grace.
2.
The
sharing of the Divine Nature cannot be achieved by our own human wills on
trial. The Holy Grace is the fundamental
and the basic principal in renewing and correction of our lives. “We believe and are saved by the Grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, just as they are.”
(Acts
3.
The
spiritual life cannot be achieved without prayer. The Church Fathers’ prayers were a continuous
conversation with God. Prayers were
recited with joy. The Church Fathers
prayers can direct us to internal perfect peace and deep spiritual joy.
4.
The
Christian must partake in the Church Mysteries.
This must be spiritual not simply ritual. The Fathers considered the Church’s Mysteries
as a living and continuous work and not only ritual work. We do not encounter meaningless symbols but
spiritual living work, which leads us to the Divine Nature.
5.
Spiritual
life cannot be completed with sharing the saints—those saints were not theory
creators about faith but they lived out this faith on a daily basis. We can consider the saints our personal
teachers, counselors, and advisors as they lived before us and lived in this
world but the world did not live within them.
Faith without works and works without faith are not acceptable in our
beloved Church. Therefore each and every
Christian should work and suffer, “So that we may share His Holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10)
V.
The Role of the Church Fathers’ in Religious Raising:
In
the Orthodox Church there is no distinction between religious raising and the
so-called secular raising. Secular raising is the result of religious reform in the West. The goal of the Orthodox Church is promoting
the true Christian life through which the Lord Jesus Christ appears to the
world. So the Church raises the human
being to think, work, live, and grow according to God’s will. The Church views the man resembling God.
Therefore
the Church recreates man to be “sharing the Divine Nature and to be a perfect
man.” (Ephesians 4:13) The Church is not only a religious endeavor
but in truth is the holy crucified body of the Lord Jesus Christ who has risen
between the dead, so it is visible and mystical, physical and divine at the
same time and without separation.
We
are in need of the mystical spiritual life as detailed by the Church Fathers
and Church. The Fathers translated the
Holy Gospel into a mystical written work throughout the Divine Liturgy, which
sanctifies the human beings.
We
should understand then, these profound and holy mystical services and not
consider them ritual only. We need
Orthodox Theology in our Churches.
Orthodox Theology can lead to a balanced life and can reflect the
richness and reality of the Orthodox faith regardless of corruption.
The
Church through the Fathers built many churches in a specific type of
architectural design with icons expressing many theological facts. In this manner, the Church offered an open
book expressing our Orthodox faith to be read even by those who cannot read. Further, the Church made hymns that express
theological teachings of our Fathers and arranged it into musical notes, which
encourage the spirit to fly in the worship to Heaven.
Also
the Church took flowers from gardens and made incense to teach man about
prayer, the true spiritual Joy, and the good aroma of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Wax was taken from honeybee
hives and candles formed to teach man about the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ
which shines upon all. It took the threads
and made the priests white clothes to teach man the life of holiness and pureness. In summary, the Church makes the entire
Universe a holy altar of worship to God.
VI.
Applicable Examples From Our Fathers:
The
Fathers offered themselves as living examples of holy Christian life. They built their life on stories. St John Chrysostom
said, “The words of those Fathers reach the hearts of the audiences faster than
hot steel.”
As
we live in the world, which is full of corruption, we need to desire to be as
the Church Fathers examples and to live life as they have lived. St Agnatios, The Theoforian, said, “I will choose the Lord Jesus
Christ. I want to give all that I have
to have Him. I want to be as wheat and
ground for His sake. I want to give all
things to have the Lord. St Gregory the
Theologian, ordinated as a bishop, had only 17
Christian believers in his parish. After
his holy life in the service there were only 17 non-believers in his parish at
his departure. St John Chrysostom stated, “There is one person who when he has a
true love to God can change the whole city to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Another
example, St Athanasius, in his life suffered much for
his only goal, the Truth and became one of the few heroes of the Orthodox
Dogma.
St
John Chrysostom, another applicable example, lived a
pure and holy life, taking care of his shepherds, his priests and his
contacts. He was indeed a true living
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All
of the Fathers lived in our world and overcame Satan and worldly lusts. They abided by the Holy Gospel and became a
living Gospel. St Isordorus
the Pleosomy, said, “They worked according to their
words and talked through their works.”
Their
goals were not making miracles but their life to be a miracle preaching the
Lord Jesus Christ, “Whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same will
be great in the