Hi,
I was wondering if one can be Orthodox and also be a Chiliast, or is that forbidden?
Hi,
I was wondering if one can be Orthodox and also be a Chiliast, or is that forbidden?
TheTruthOfGod wrote:Hi,
I was wondering if one can be Orthodox and also be a Chiliast, or is that forbidden?
Chiliasm is not accepted dogma in the Orthodox Church, nor is it permissible theologumena. I would commend the writings of Fr. Michael Pomazansky in Orthodox Dogmatic Theology to you for a summary explanation of the error,
"nor is it permissible theologumena"
Where is this stated? In the same work referred? What are the authoritative Church documents that say this?
tony
TheTruthOfGod wrote:"nor is it permissible theologumena"
Where is this stated? In the same work referred? What are the authoritative Church documents that say this?
tony
The received tradition of the Church, Tony. If you doubt it, go ask your local Orthodox priest if it's acceptable theologumena. Apart from the Nicene Creed, consider these explanations of the Fathers (taken from an Oc.net post)
The Church has always understood the Millennium to be "a very long time/forever", not "365,242.199 rotations of the earth precisely".
"for by the number of a thousand he denoted not the quantity of time but the universality, with which the Church excercises dominion." -Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job
"By the number of one thousand years, by no means is it reasonable to understand so many (years).... We infer the number one thousand to indicate either a great many or perfection.... The one thousand years, therefore, is the time from the year of the incarnation of the Lord until the coming of the Antichrist." - Apocalypse Commentary of Andrew of Caesarea, ch 60
He also says, after describing some alternative theories: "it is unnecessary to note that the Church has accepted none of these." (ibid, ch 63) Just because some church fathers believed something doesn't mean it was true. It must be accepted by the whole church-- and millennialism/chiliasm was not.