THE INSIDIOUS DECEPTION OF HERESY

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 INSIDIOUS DECEPTION OF HERESY

“Heresy is the conscious and persistent rejection and
distortion of the fundamental doctrines of the faith as
ordained by the Church.”

Rooted in the Greek word hairesis, meaning “choice,” it signifies a person’s deliberate decision or opinion to follow false teachings over the Apostolic tradition and Divine Truth preserved by the Church, so as to cause division among Christians. Heresy is a system of thought which contradicts True Doctrine and has posed a continuous THREAT TO THE CHURCH over the centuries by corrupting the gospel, causing division and confusion, and endangering the spiritual well-being of the faithful. IT IS FALSE TEACHING, WHICH ALL CHRISTIANS MUST TOTALLY REJECT.

The Holy Apostle Peter writes: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be FALSE TEACHERS among you, who will secretly bring in DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, EVEN DENYING THE LORD WHO BOUGHT THEM, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be BLASPHEMED. By covetousness they will exploit you with DECEPTIVE WORDS; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

According to our Holy Orthodox Church, a heretic is not merely someone with a difference of opinion, but one who obstinately holds to false teachings even after being corrected by ecclesiastical authority. Heresy is a turning away from the core teachings passed down from our Lord Jesus Christ to his Holy Apostles, which our Church believes have been faithfully preserved over the centuries. Heresy is a dangerous virus which introduces a distortion and corruption of the Divine Gospel message. It undermines the essential, non-negotiable tenets of the true faith, such as the nature of the Holy Trinity or the Person of the Son of God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Historically, persecution of our Lord, God, and Saviour, the holy Apostles, holy Martyrs, and countless other Christians has never ceased. The battle against evil powers and evil people is both internal and external. The intenternal is against heresies and the external is against the antichristian forces that seek to demize the Christian Church. However, beyond theological error, heresies are seen as spiritually threatening because they lead the faithful away from the path to salvation. Early Church Fathers viewed heresy as a graver sin than murder, as it threatened eternal souls rather than just mortal bodies. HERESY WAS NEVER TOLERATED OR INDULGED BY THE CHURCH! The proof of this fact are the Seven Ecumenical Synods of the Church that condemned the heretics and their heresy forever.

In our current era heresy by even many Christian “theologians” has been not only tolerated but endorsed and promoted. Years ago it was announced by a Church theologian that after years of dialogue among various groups that it was determined that there was no heresy but just misunderstandings and disinformation. It is believed by these individuals that when they are accused of heresy is to deny it and that DENIAL IS THEIR BEST DEFENSE.

Saint Irenaeus stressed three important ways by which to distinguish heretical groups from true Christian Churches. First, all the true Churches, no matter where they are located, hold the same basic doctrines, known together as the rule of faith. In contrast, the various heretical groups disagree among themselves in their beliefs. Second, all the authentic Churches can trace their origins back to one of the original Apostles, with their bishops coming down in direct descent from that Apostle; this is known as APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. Third, whereas the various heretical groups each had their own writings which they followed, the true Churches only considered the Gospels according to the Four Evangelists. Also Saint Irenaeus’s strong affirmation of these four Gospels helped to solidify the first crucial step in the very long and tremendously important process by which the organized Church selected the 27 books which would eventually comprise the New Testament Scriptures. Orthodox Churches share and profess that same Creed, the same liturgical tradition, the same holy Canons, Dogmas, Church Hierarchical structure, the same celebration of the annual feast days, etc. Orthodox Churches also have the same interpretation of the Holy Scripture without any deviation from what has been taught always and by all. The Orthodox speaks WITH ONE VOICE AND AS ONE BODY OF CHRIST.

Those unorthodox groups that spread willfully heresies are NOT to be cuddled and treated as “brothers and sisters in Christ,” for they are not! There are thousands of Protestant denominations worldwide that spread a corrupted and compromised gospel message to the detriment of the faith and realistically slander Christ and His Gospel. They have distorted the Holy Scripture with their false and heretical interpretations and mislead people throughout the world. These are NOT friends of Christ, but His enemies. There are at least 45,000 Protestant denominations worldwide and growing is this a positive and good thing that is so divided? Is this not the fragmentation of Christianity? The Gospel message is ONE! The holy Apostle Paul exhorts Christians, “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being condemned” (Titus 3:10). A “divisive” person is one who “picks” or “chooses” from the whole truth. A SECT is a group that follows its OWN CHOICES, INDEPENDENT OF Holy Tradition. Incomplete or erroneous beliefs result in immoral behavior.

Be ALERT, be VIGILANT and NEVER COMPROMISE THE TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH! OR CONDONE ANY FORM OF HERESY. Historically the Church convened Ecumenical Synods or Councils, such as the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea in 325 A.D., to officially define Christian Doctrine and declare certain beliefs heretical. The individuals charged with heresy or who held heretical beliefs WERE EXCOMMUNICATED. Heretical texts were destroyed and prevented the spread of their false teachings. Today heresy is rampant, encouraged and unhindered by the dark powers and antichristian forces in the world. Christian leaders are afraid so as not to offend the heretics and keep silent. What a difference!

_________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George