Roman Catholic and Orthodox differences on Original Sin

Posted on by Fr. Peter

Thanks to Fr. Ernesto for this comparison. I get this question about once a week so I am glad he posted it and now I share it with all of you.

Roman Catholic summary

Augustine believed that the only definitive destinations of souls are heaven and hell. He concluded that unbaptized infants go to hell as a consequence of original sin. The Latin Church Fathers who followed Augustine adopted his position, which became a point of reference for Latin theologians in the Middle Ages. In the later medieval period, some theologians continued to hold Augustine’s view, others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all: unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. Starting around 1300, unbaptized infants were often said to inhabit the “limbo of infants”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1261 declares: “As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.” But the theory of Limbo, while it “never entered into the dogmatic definitions of the Magisterium … remains … a possible theological hypothesis”.

Augustine’s formulation of original sin was popular among Protestant reformers, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin . . .

Eastern Orthodox summary

In Eastern Orthodoxy, God created man perfect with free will and gave man a direction to follow. Man (Adam) and Woman (Eve) chose rather to disobey God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, thus changing the “perfect” mode of existence of man to the “flawed” mode of existence of man. This flawed nature and all that has come from it is a result of that “original sin”. All humanity shares in the sin of Adam because like him, they are human. The union of humanity with divinity in Jesus Christ restored, in the Person of Christ, the mode of existence of humanity, so that those who are incorporated in him may participate in this mode of existence, be saved from sin and death, and be united to God in deification. Original sin is cleansed in humans through baptism or, in the case of the Theotokos, the moment Christ took form within her.

This view differs from the Roman Catholic (Augustinian) doctrine of Original Sin in that man is not seen as inherently guilty of the sin of Adam. According to the Orthodox, humanity inherited the consequences of that sin, not the guilt. The difference stems from Augustine’s interpretation of a Latin translation of Romans 5:12 to mean that through Adam all men sinned, whereas the Orthodox reading in Greek interpret it as meaning that all of humanity sins as part of the inheritance of flawed nature from Adam. The Orthodox Church does not teach that all are born deserving to go to hell, and Protestant doctrines such as Predeterminism that derive from the Augustinian understanding of original sin are not a part of Orthodox belief.

Tea Party Convention

Posted on by Fr. Peter
For those of you who think I should not talk about politics you might want to skip this post. You have been warned.

So this past weekend former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin spoke at the Tea Party Convention in Tennessee. Now let me first say that I do not think Sarah Palin is an idiot, no one could rise to become the Governor of a state and be an idiot, but I do not think she is presidential material either.

Using terms like “hopey changy thing” is not going to endear her to me as a serious candidate. I also think it is high time, and I say this about politicians on both sides of the debate, stop telling me what the other has or has not done and tell me how you are going to make America better. Everyone needs to stop blaming and start leading.

In my previous post I spoke about being a leader. It is not easy to lead and it is not easy to make decisions and then stand by them. I was told once that as a leader if you don’t have half the people mad at you at any one time you are not doing your job. I would have to say that is a true statement.

I think people on both sides of the issues have good intentions and I think the only way America works and will continue to work is if we all work together. We should not support something just because it is democrat or republican nor should we discount something for the same reason. We need to work together.

Now for a few words about the Tea Party movement. If you read this blog on a regular basis you know I participated in a march back in the spring and even had my picture taken holding a sign. I support peoples right to speak out and march that’s what makes America great. I believe in freedom of speech and all that but I do not support people who call the president of the United States Hitler. I think is is demeaning to the office of the president as well as to all of those who fell by the hand of that mad man. With that said the best thing about the Tea Party movement was that is was regular people.

Well the convention held this past weekend cost $450 just to get in the door. Now there were a lot of people there but I do not know too many real people that have $450 to spare. I would also ask what that money will be used for. I also understand that Gov. Palin was paid $100,000 for her appearance. Very cool for her and she should be out making money. By the way if someone wants me to come and speak I will do it for less… Email me and we can talk… LOL I also understand she is giving the money back, if this is true good for her.

All of this is to say do not let anyone make up your mind for you. Vote how you feel and be informed. Do not just watch FoxNews or CNN or any other news. All national news, and I don’t care which one it is, is biased toward a certain position. Read the speeches for yourself. Read the candidates website for yourself talk to the candidates for yourself. Elections are too important to just vote for a candidate because of the party they are affiliated with.

Blessed are You…

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Those three words begin each stanza of what has come to be called the Beatitudes. In our Orthodox Liturgy we recite these each time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy.

Yesterday during the Liturgy for the Saturday of the Dead, I think I heard them for the first time. It is interesting to me how we can hear, but not hear, until we are ready to hear them.

I would like to focus on one of these in particular: “Blessed are you when you suffer insults and persecution and every kind of calumny for my sake.” This is the leadership axiom and one that those of us who are in leadership positions needs to remember.

It seems that when you are a leader, and this can be any kind of leader, you are open to attacks almost on a daily basis. Now I don’t mean attacks of bodily harm although one could argue this. Leaders make decisions and those decisions are not always popular. People will make up stories about you and tell tales about you no matter what you do or don’t do. We need to be able to accept these and be able to put them in the right place.

There is an old saying that it is lonely at the top and this is very true. The person who leads is out front all alone, sometime they have people around them and others they do not. But in His own words Jesus calls us Blessed. I like that!

Jesus Himself was scorned and hated by people, and in the end one of His own turned on Him and one of His own denied Him. As Christian leaders we need only to look at the example that Jesus left us. He loved all. He did not always agree, nor will we always agree, but our discussions and disagreements should be in love and not out of some agenda that we hope to be able to work out.

Blessed are you when you suffer insults…

OCA Holy Synod members share human rights concerns with US congressmen

Posted on by Fr. Peter
WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] — A variety of issues affecting traditionally Orthodox Christian lands — among them, the situation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey in light of His All Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew’s widely acclaimed December 2009 interview on “60 Minutes”; the plight of Orthodox Christians in Kosovo and Coptic Christians in Egypt; human trafficking; and other human rights issues — were the topic of discussion between members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and a number of congressmen during a late-January 2010 meeting in the US capital.

Congressman Christopher “Chris” Smith [R-NJ] and other members of Congress welcomed His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah and other Synod members on Thursday, January 21.
The hierarchs also attended a Congressional session, at which they were introduced by Congressman Smith.

“I do want to welcome His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church of America, here, and his brother bishops,” Mr. Smith said in his introductory remarks. “Matthew 25 [is] where our Lord said, ‘Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do likewise to me.’ His Beatitude Jonah lives that, as does his Church and as do, God willing, all of us. But they do it in such a superlative way, and I thank them for their example. It is awe inspiring.”

Mr. Smith chairs the House International Relations Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations Subcommittee, serves as vice-chair of the Committee on International Relations, and co-chairs the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the US Helsinki Commission), which works to promote and foster democracy, human rights, and stability in Eastern and Central Europe.

Among the other congressmen whom the hierarchs met were Mr. Frank Wolf of Virginia, a senior Republican on the Appropriations Committee, author of the International Religious Freedom Act, and a strong voice on many human rights issues; Mr. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, chair of the House Values Action Team; Mr. Trent Franks of Arizona, chair of the Taskforce on International Religious Freedom; Mr. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee; and Mr. Jeff Fortenberry from Nebraska and Mr. Bob Inglis from South Carolina, both members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

St. Columba of Iona Orthodox Monastery

Posted on by Fr. Peter
For the past few months I have been working with others, on the establishment of an Orthodox Monastery here in Central Massachusetts. Monasticism is a very important aspect of the Orthodox church and is something that has been lacking here in this part of the world. Monasticism and parish life go hand in hand and we need both to achieve a balance in the church.

Fr. Ken from Emmanuel Orthodox Church and I began the process of setting up this monastic work. All of the legal stuff that needs to be done as well as working on the rule of life, or in Orthodox terms is called the typicon of the Monastery. The other question is where to found this work. Almost on cue, God dropped a piece of land in our laps.

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts for many year ran a camp called Camp Bement in Charlton, Massachusetts. Two years ago the camp closed and the diocese decided to put the camp up for sale. We started working on this right away making contact with the officials at the diocese and gathering support and information. Yesterday we attended a meeting with the real estate folks and, we made an offer on the property. Never having done this before I now know the anxiety that people feel when they purchase a house.

The property is 355 acres located in Charlton, Massachusetts and consists of several building and a lot of land. About half of the buildings are designed for year round use and the others are more rustic camp type buildings. All I can say is this is a great piece of property and will make a great monastery.

The idea is to run a monastery with retreat and conference facilities. This is something else that is lacking in our area. We do not envision running a camp as the expense in bringing those facilities up to date would be costly so for now there are no plans for us to run a camp, however we are open to others coming forward to partner with us on that ministry.

A little word on St. Columba. As you know I hail from Scottish roots and St. Columba was a great monastic founder and is also known as the Enlightener of Scotland. The hope of this monastery is to bring America to Orthodoxy and not simply plant monastics from the old country here. St. Columba did not do that and he evangelized the Pics and brought Scotland to Christianity.

Watch these pages and the website of the monastery for more information as time marches on. As you can imagine we are looking for partners both in prayer and in finances and if you or if you know of anyone interested in exploring the monastic life, please let me know.

St. Columba of Iona, Pray for Us!

3 February ~ St. Werburga

Posted on by Fr. Peter
Also know as Werburgh, Wereburga, Wereburg, Verbourg.

Benedictine, patroness of Chester, Abbess of Weedon, Trentham, Hanbury, Minster in Sheppy, and Ely, born in Staffordshire early in the seventh century; died at Trentham, 3 February, 699 or 700…

Her mother was St. Ermenilda, daughter of Ercombert, King of Kent, and St. Sexburga, and her father, Wulfhere, son of Penda the fiercest of the Mercian kings. St. Werburgh thus united in her veins the blood of two very different races: one fiercely cruel and pagan; the other a type of gentle valour and Christian sanctity. In her, likewise, centred the royal blood of all the chief Saxon kings, while her father on the assassination of his elder brother Peada, who had been converted to Christianity, succeeded to the largest kingdom of the heptarchy. Whether Wulfhere was an obstinate pagan who delayed his promised conversion, or a relapsed Christian, is controverted, but the legend of the terrible and unnatural crime which has been imputed to him by some writers must here be dismissed on the authority of all earlier and contemporary chroniclers, as the Bollandists have pointed out. The martyrs, Sts. Wulfald and Ruffin, were not sons of Wulfhere and St. Ermenilda, nor victims of that king’s tyranny. Ermenilda at once won the hearts of her subjects, and her zeal bore fruit in the conversion of many of them, while her influence on the passionate character of her husband changed him into a model Christian king. Werburgh inherited her mother’s temperament and gifts. On account of her beauty and grace the princess was eagerly sought in marriage, chief among her suitors being Werebode, a headstrong warrior, to whom Wulfhere was much indebted; but the constancy of Werbrugh overcame all obstacles so that at length she obtained her father’s consent to enter the Abbey of Ely, which had been founded by her great- aunt, St. Etheldra, and the fame of which was widespread.

Wulfhere did not long survive his daughter’s consecration. On his death, St. Ermenilda took the veil at Ely, where she eventually succeeded her mother, St. Sexburga, as abbess. Kenred, Werburgh’s brother, being a mere child at his father’s death, his uncle Ethelred succeeded to the throne. This king invited St. Werburgh to assume the direction of all the monasteries of nuns in his dominion, in order that she might bring them to that high level of discipline and perfection which had so often edified him at Ely. The saint with some difficulty consented to sacrifice the seclusion she prized, and undertook the work of reforming the existing Mercian monasteries, and of founding new ones which King Ethelred generously endowed, namely, Trentham and Hanbury, in Staffordshire, and Weedon, in Northamptonshire. It had been the privilege of St. Werburgh to be trained by saints; at home by St. Chad (afterwards Bishop of Lichfield), and by her mother, and in the cloister by her aunt and grandmother. Her position worked no change in the humility which had always characterized her, so that in devotedness to all committed to her care she seemed rather the servant than the mistress. Her sole thought was to excel her sisters in the practice ofreligious perfection. God rewarded her childlike trust by many miracles, which have made St. Werburgh one of the best known and loved of the Saxon saints. That of the stolen goose appealed most to the popular imagination. The story, immortalized in the iconography of St. Werburgh, relates that by a simple command she banished a flock of wild geese that was working havoc in the cornfields of Weedon, and that since then none of these birds has been seen in those parts. She was also endowed with the gifts of prophecy and of reading the secrets of hearts. knowing how devoted her different communities were to her and how each would endeavour to secure the possession of her body after death, she determined to forestall such pious rivalry by choosing Hanbury as her place of burial. But the nuns of the monastery of Trentham determined to keep the remains. They not only refused to deliver them to those who came from Hanbury, but they even locked up the coffin in a crypt and set a guard to watch it. The people of Hanbury sent out anew a large party to make good their claims. Reaching Trentham at midnight all the bolts and bars yielded at their touch, while the guards were overpowered by sleep and knew not that the coffin was being carried to Hanbury.

So numerous and marvellous were the cures worked at the saint’s tomb that in 708 her body was solemnly translated to a more conspicuous place in the church, in the presence of her brother, Kenred, who had now succeeded King Ethelred. In spite of having been nine years in the tomb, the body was intact. So great was the impression made on Kenred that he resolved to resign his crown and followed in his sister’s footsteps. In 875, through fear of the Danes and in order to show greater honour to the saint, the body was removed to Chester. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, on the site of the present cathedral of Chester, was rededicated to St. Werburgh and St. Oswald, most probably in the reign of Athelstan. The great Leofric, Earl of Mercia (who was likewise styled Earl of Chester), and his wife, Lady Godiva, repaired and enlarged the church, and in 1093, Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, richly endowed the abbey and its church. By the instrumentality of this noble, Chester, which had been in the hands of secular canons, became a great Benedictine abbey, the name of St. Anselm, then a monk at Bee, being associated with this transformation. They abbey possessed such immense influence and position that at the time of the suppression under Henry VIII the Earl of Derby was the abbot’s seneschal. In the vast wave of iconoclasm that swept over the country in that tyrant’s reign the cathedral was sacked by apostates who scattered St. Werburgh’s relics. Fragments of the shrine were used as the base of an episcopal throne. Many of the labels and figures had been mutilated, and while restoring them the workmen by mistake placed female heads on male shoulders and vice versa. Only thirty of the original figures remain, four having been lost. Late all these fragments were removed to the west end of the southchoir aisle, where they have been placed nearly in the original position of the shrine, which is 10 feet high.

From Here

Change

Posted on by Fr. Peter
If you follow me on Facebook then you often see me post quotes from Pastor Rick Warren. Warren pastors one of the largest churches in America and is author of several books, most notably the “Purpose Driven Church.”

I have been reading and re reading this book over the last few months and find many things in the book that can be implemented here in the church. For example he speaks about re casting the vision of the church and the fact that we have to cast this vision often for people to get it.

Now I do not agree with the theology of the Evangelical church. I have often said on these pages that I believe that Protestant Evangelical Theology is a mile wide but only an inch deep. There is no depth in a church that has not tradition. A church that only uses Scripture and ignores the Fathers and Mothers of the Church and the rich tradition of more than 2,000 years. During my college years I bought into this and joined the Church of the Nazarene for a period of time. To this day I am glad I did as it lead me to Romania and to my current position. I do however believe that they are Christian and work hard to make the world a better place.

With all that said I have come under attack on Facebook by some well meaning Orthodox clergy who try at every turn to discredit Pastor Warren and his books. People are entitled to their opinion but I also find that Orthodox faithful, and clergy are the worst at this, who convert from the Protestant faith to Orthodox are so rabidly Orthodox that they just discredit anything but that which is Orthodox. Okay this is fine, but when you are pulling 5,000+ to your Sunday gigs you can write a book about how you did it. Until this happens by someone from the Orthodox Church I will continue to read and quote people like Rick Warren.

I mentioned on Facebook that our job was to get butts in the seat. I was immediately challenged that our job was to bring people to a closer communion with God. Okay that is true and I agree and practice that, but how can we bring people to a closer communion with God if they cannot hear the message?

St. Nikolai Velimerovich is quoted as saying, “We must be super-conservative in preserving the orthodox faith, and super-modern in propagating it.” I think this Saint was the Rick Warren of his day! We see from the mouth of the Saint him telling us that if we do not remain relevant to the day we will become irrelevant. If Rick Warren can get 5,000+ people to his church on Sunday why can’t we? We boldly proclaim at each Divine Liturgy, “We have found the true faith.” If this is true, and I believe it is, then why are people not flocking to our church?

Okay, the argument goes that as many people that enter Pastor Warren’s Church leave. Again Spirituality a mile wide and an inch deep. So why are we not attracting people to the Orthodox Church and thus the true faith? Pastor, what are you doing in your church that brings people in? My detractors on FB make fun of Pastor Warren’s programs, but do we not have programs? Most of our Orthodox Churches have large festivals every year. If that is not a program, I am not sure what is? Pastor, are you making a difference in your community or are you sitting in your church just waiting for people to come? Pastor, are you reaching out to those in need and finding a need in your community that you can fill? Pastor, ask yourself this question. If your church was to close tomorrow, would any one, save the people who go there, know you were gone? If the answer is no, then Pastor you are not doing your job! That’s right I said it, your not doing your job if your church would close and no one would notice it!

Yes our job is to bring people to the closer communion with our God. But how are we going to do that when our churches are virtually empty on Sunday?

Jesus told Peter to push out into the deep and cast his net wide. He argued that they had been doing that all night and had nothing to show for it. Jesus told him to push out into the deep and cast your net wide. He did, and the boat almost sank due to the catch. When Jesus blesses our casting watch out. But we cannot sit on the shore with the net in our lap and wait for the fish to jump in, we have to cast our net wide and with the help of God, catch some fish. Then we are doing our job.

Help for Haiti

Posted on by Fr. Peter
It seems we are still consumed with all that is happening in Haiti and this is a good thing. Last Friday on TV and the radio a telethon was hosted by all of the beautiful people. Millions was raised in this event and I hope it is on it’s way to help the people.

Fr James Coles who blogs over at Schole, talk about answering the call. He is trying to answer the question of will you help? We all need to help in any way that we can. We can send money, we can pray of course, and we can assemble kits that will aid in easing the suffering. But are we being called to personally go and help out?

If you are a long time reader of this blog you know I volunteer for the “Frontline” with International Orthodox Christian Charities. The Frontline is a group of clergy and laity who will be deployed to a zone to work in disaster situations. I have been privileged to be deployed to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina as well as Virginia Tech after the shooting there. We are waiting deployment orders right now.

One thing to remember is any disaster situation is that this is a marathon and not a sprint. This will be going on for years and there will be a need for people years from now to go and help. The problem now is housing, food, and safety. Adding more aid workers puts a strain on the system already in place for both food and shelter. Each person that is sent takes space that could be used to transport supplies that are needed in the zone. Time after time we read please from people already there for people not to come unless you have your own support.

So we wait, and the waiting is worse then not doing anything. While we wait, pray, assemble, and pray more for the Haitian people and for all of those who are engaged in helping.

Fr. James begins his post with a quote from one of the Fathers of the Church. I am going to end with this quote and I think it is something we need to keep in mind. Thanks Fr. James for reminding me.

“You who are strong, help the weak. You who are rich, help the poor. You who stand upright, help the fallen and the crushed. You who are joyful, comfort those in sadness. You who enjoy all good fortune, help those who have met with disaster. Give something in thanksgiving to God that you are of those who can give help, and not of those who stand and wait for it.” – St. Gregory of Nazianzus

One Word at a Time ~ Peace

Posted on by Fr. Peter
In peace let us pray to the Lord. Lord Have Mercy.

This is how we begin every Liturgical Service in the Orthodox Church. We begin with peace because if we do not have peace we cannot pray. True?

In Orthodox theology we have to try and be reconciled to every person before we come to Liturgy. Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring you gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

When we pray we are offering ourselves as a gift at the altar. We cannot do this if we are not reconciled, in other words, at peace with all including ourselves.

How many times do we come to worship and we are holding a grudge against the person who is sitting right in front of us. In Peace let us pray to the Lord. How can we pray in peace, or pray for that other person if we are looking at them in scorn?

I am not sure how many times in the Liturgy the peace is used but my guess is we use it a lot. Peace is an important component of worship as we have seen in Matthew’s Gospel that I quoted above.

“… and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Pray for peace because it will help you have peace, peace in your heart, your mind, and your soul.

When I was kid we used to sing the song “Let there be Peace on Earth” The best line from that song is “Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me!” Peace has to begin at home, the home of your own heart and your own soul. If we do not have peace within there will be no peace without.

Take time today to make peace with yourself. Then go make peace with some else.

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