The Sunday of the Holy Fathers Tomorrow, on the Sunday between the 13th and the 19th of July, we commemorate the Holy Fathers who participated in the first seven ecumenical councils. There are several commemorations of the Fathers during the course of the Church’s year, not only individually, but also as commemorations of the victories of particular councils over heresy. Indeed, one might wonder why we attach such great significance to them. Yet the contribution of these Fathers is of fundamental importance to the faith of the Church. They were the ones who were given the task of setting the limits of the Church’s faith, often in response to dangerous heresies. Most fundamentally, they were responsible for fleshing out and defining what we believe about the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, and about the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. We live in an era in which many people, including some Christians, downplay the importance of right belief. For some, truth has become something relative and the details of what we believe are viewed as unimportant. Instead they focus on tolerance and on doing good in the world and struggle to understand how right belief about the Person of Christ can make a difference in the world. For Orthodox Christians, what we believe about God, and about His revelation in Jesus Christ, is of vital importance. We are created in God’s Image, and it is only by being truly human and truly divine that Christ is able to save us and to enable us to share in and reflect the life of the Holy Trinity. A summary of the Holy Councils: In 325 the First Council of Nicaea rejected Arianism and defined the divinity of the Son of God. In 381 the First Council of Constantinople reaffirmed the faith of Nicaea and defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit. In 431 the Council of Ephesus defined Jesus Christ as the Incarnate Word of God and the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, or Mother of God. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon defined Jesus Christ as Perfect God and Perfect man in One Person. In 553 the Second Council of Constantinople reconfirmed the doctrines of the Trinity and of Jesus Christ. In 680 the Council of Constantinople III affirmed the True Humanity of Jesus Christ by insisting on the reality of His human will. In 787 the Second Council of Nicaea affirmed the appropriateness of the veneration of icons as a witness to the reality of the Incarnation of Christ. - from Evangelion A Bulletin of Orthodox Christian Faith, Archbishopric of Good Hope , Patriarchate of Alexandria & All Africa
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 14:44:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015