My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY: THE TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
OVER HERESY.
"As the Prophets beheld; as the Apostles taught; as the Church received; as the Teachers dogmatized;
as the Universe has agreed; as the Grace has shone forth; as Truth has been proven; as falsehood has
been disproven; as Wisdom has been presented; as Christ has rewarded. This is what we believe; this
is what we declare; this is what we preach, Christ our True God, and we honor His Saints in words, in
thought, in sacrifices, in Churches and in Icons. Christ, we worship as God and Master, and His Saints
we honor as true servants of our same Lord, and accordingly we grant them veneration.
This is the Faith of the Apostles!
This is the Faith of the Fathers!
This is the Faith of the Orthodox!
This is the Faith which has established the Universe!
Therefore, with brotherly and filial love, we praise these preachers
of piety, for the glory and honor of their own pious struggle for the
Faith, and we say: "Eternal be the memory of the defenders of
Orthodoxy, pious Sovereigns, holy Patriarchs, Hierarchs, Teachers,
Martyrs, and Confessors.
Eternal be their memory, (3)
Let their deeds and struggles of pious faith, even to death, tutor and strengthen
you. Entreat God that we may imitate their devout life until our own end, beseeching
Him that we may be made worthy of all our askings, by the grace and compassion of
the Great and First Hierarch, Christ our True God; by the intercessions of our most
glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, of hte godly Angels, and of all the
Saints. Amen.
What god is great as our God? You are God, Who alone works Wonders. (3)
Today salvation has come to the world. Let us sing to the Author
of our life, Who is risen from the grave. For, by vanquishing death
by death, He has given us victory, and great mercy.
The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the First Sunday in Lent.
On the First Sunday of Holy and Great Lent we celebrate the TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY. On this day the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates the FINAL ENDING OF THE ICONOCLAST CONTROVERSY AND HERESY AND THE RESTORATION OF THE HOLY ICONS TO THE CHURCHES by the Empress Theodora, acting as regent for her young son Michael III. This took place on the first Sunday of Lent, on March 11th 843 A.D. There is, however, not only a historical link between the first Sunday and the restoration of the holy icons but also a spiritual affinity. If Orthodoxy triumphed in the epoch of the ionoclast controversy, this was because so many of the faithful WERE PREPARED TO UNDERGO EXILE, TORTURE, AND EVEN DEATH, FO RTHE SAKE OF THE TRUTH. The feast of Orthodoxy is above all a celebration in honor of the Martyrs and Confessors who struggled and suffered for the Faith: hence its appropriateness for the season of Lent, when we are striving to imitate the holy Martyrs by means of our ascetic self-denial.
The TRIODION gives the text of a special ‘Office of Orthodoxy’ which is held at the end of Orthros (Matins) or, more commonly, at the end of the Divine Liturgy on this Sunday. The Office celebrates not only the restoration of the holy icons but, more generally, THE VICTORY OF THE TRUE FAITH OVER ALL HERESIES AND ERRORS. A procession is made with the holy icons, and after this extracts are read from the Synodical Decree of the Seventh Ecumenicsal Synod (787 A.D.). Then sixty ANATHEMAS ARE PRONOUNCED AGAINST VARIOUS HERETICS DATING FROM THE THIRD TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY; ‘Eternal memory’ is chanted in honor of the Emperors, Patriarchs and Fathers who defended the Orthodox faith,; and ‘Many years’ is proclaimed in honor of our present rulers and bishops.
The Seventh Ecumenical Synod dealt predominantly with the controversy regarding holy icons and their place in Orthodox worship. It was convened in Nicaea in 787 by Empress Irene at the request of Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople. The Synod (Council) was attended by 367 bishops. An Endemousa [Regional Synod was called in Constantinople in 843. Under Empress Theodora. The Veneration of holy icons was solemnly proclaimed at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. The Empress, her son Michael III, Patriarch Methodios, and monks and clergy came in procession and restored the holy icons in their rightful place. The day was called "TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY."
The decree of the Synod for restoring icons to churches added an important clause which still stands at the foundation of the rationale for the using and venerating holy icons in the Orthodox Church to this very day:
"We define that the holy icons, whether in colour, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy
churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads,
namely the icons of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, that of our Lady the Theotokos, those of the Venerable Angels
and those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to
commemorate and love their prototype. We also define that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration
and honor (timitiki proskynisis), but not of real worship (latreia), which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and
proper for the Divine Nature. The VENERATION accorded to an icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who venerates
the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands."
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
In Orthodoxy today, as in years gone by, the basics of Christian Doctrine, worship, and government are never up for ALTERATION. One cannot be an Orthodox Priest, for example and reject the Divinity of Christ, His virgin birth, Resurrection, Ascension into heaven, and Second Coming. The Church simply has not left its course in two thousand years. IT IS One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. It is the New Testament Church.
What is the Orthodox Church? It is the FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN HISTORY, THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, DESCRIBED IN THE PAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. Being in the Church does not guarantee all those in it will take advantage of the FULLNESS OF THE TRUTH, but that fullness is here for those who do.
For persons who seriously desire the FULLNESS of Orthodox Christianity, action must be taken. Being aware of this ancient Church is not enough. There must be a return to this Church of the New Testament. Between the years 325 A.D. and 787 A.D., SEVEN CHURCH SYNODS WERE HELD, meeting in the cities of Nicea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, and Constantinople. Known as THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS, all dealt first and foremost with some specific challenge to the Apostolic Teaching about Jesus Christ.
For the first thousand years of Christian history, the entire Church, save for the heretics, embraced and defended the New Testament Apostolic Faith. There was no consequential division. This ONE FAITH, preserved through all trials, attacks and tests, this Apostolic Doctrine was called "the Orthodox faith." Further, specific landmarks in our salvation and walk with Christ were celebrated and sanctified. Baptism and the anointing with oil, or Chrismatio, were there from the start. Marriage, Healing, Confession of sin, and Ordination to the ministry of the Gospel are other early rites in the Church. On each of these occasions Christians understood that in a great mystery, grace and power from God were being given according to the individual need of each person. The Church saw thee events as holy moments in her life and called them Mysteries (Mysteria) or Sacraments.
Doctrinal purity was tenaciously maintained but true Christianity is far more than adherence to a set of correct beliefs alone. The life of the Church is centrally expressed in her worship and adoration of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At the Mystical (Last) Supper, Jesus instituted the Divine Eucharist, the Communion Service when He took bread and wine, gave a blessing and said to His Disciples: "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me" and "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" [Luke 22:19, 21]. The Church participated in communion at least each Lord’s Day [Acts 20:7, 11]. From such first and second century sources as the Didache, the Letters of Saint Ignatius of Antioch and the writings of Saint Justin the Martyr, we are assured the Divine Eucharist is THE VERY CENTER OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP FROM THE APOSTOLIC ERA ON.
"The Scriptures constitute a coherent whole. They are at once divinely inspired and humanly expressed. They bear authoritative witness to God’s REVELATION of Himself in creaton, in the Incarnation of the Logos/Word, and in the whole history of salvation, and as such express the word of God in human language. We know, receive, and interpret Scripture THROUGH THE CHURCH AND IN THE CHURCH. Our approach to the Holy Bible is one of obedience." [Source: Orthodox Study Bible]
THE ORTHODOX CREED OR SYMBOL OF FAITH REVEALS ALL THAT THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IS AND WHAT ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS BELIEVE.
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 