WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW THE DOGMAS?
Sermon on the day of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
Three Holy Fathers, Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom
Inok Vsevolod (Filipiev)
The Creator and the Head of the Church of Christ our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the one true and salvific faith unto all ages. The Orthodox religious doctrine gives us exact knowledge about God the Creator, about the nature of life and its laws, about the history of mankind, about the Redeemer of the human race from sin, damnation, and death, about every person's individual path to salvation. At the same time, the Holy Scripture warns us, "there must also be heresies… that they which are approved may be made manifest among you" (I Cor. 11, 19). The words of Christ Himself that the gates of hell will never prevail over His Church (Mt. 16, 18) make it clear that those "gates of hell," namely the different forces of evil, will continue to fight against the Church until the very end of the world's history, until the Apocalyptic sound of the Angel's trumpet.
The fight of the "gates of hell" may be manifested in different ways: divisions, schisms, and heresies. However, in every age on the scene of struggle for the Church appeared the "skillful," the ardent advocates of the faith of Christ, the defenders and uncompromising followers of the Orthodox doctrines. It is such advocates that the Holy Church commemorates today by celebrating the day of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.
The First Ecumenical Council took place in 325 in Nicaea under the reign of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Emperor Constantine. In refuting the different heretical doctrines of the time, Arianism in particular, the Holy Fathers of the Nicene Council adopted the Symbol of Faith which is now known as the first part of the commonly used Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Nicene Symbol of faith revealed to the faithful and asserted the main Evangelical truths, the faith in One God the Creator and Almighty in particular. The Biblical history of the Old Testament is the history of the upholding of the faith in the one true God by the prophets in the face of pagan polytheism. Therefore, do we today renounce polytheism, believe in one, and only true God.
The Nicene Creed then affirmed the faith in one God in three Hypostases, in the Trinity in One Essence and One Essence in Three Hypostases, the faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet, the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council focused mainly on the Son of God, Consubstantial with the Father, who became incarnate for our salvation, who suffered, arose from the dead, ascended into Heaven and who will come to judge the living and the dead.
The Orthodox Church believes that the decisions of its Holy Councils are not merely human decisions. They are God-man decisions, for they are inspired in the Holy Fathers by the Holy Spirit. The history of the Church upholds this fact most vividly. Though the First Ecumenical Council concluded with the triumph of the Truth, a fierce battle flared up in the interval between the First and the Second Ecumenical Councils. It even seemed that the enemies of Orthodoxy had achieved an almost complete outward victory. Nonetheless, the "gates of hell" could not prevail against the Truth of Christ. Once the Symbol of Faith was proclaimed, it could not be abolished by the efforts of the heretics. For this reason, at every Liturgy, we confess the very same Nicene Creed that was expanded at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople and was named the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. Is this not a proof of the power of God which sanctifies the God-revealed decisions of the Ecumenical Councils?
Orthodox Christians should learn about their Holy Orthodox faith. They should be acquainted not only with the ritual part of Church life; they should probe into the holy dogmas as well. This is essential so that we are not misled by false semi pagan superstitions and heretical fallacies that we constantly run into in the modern world. For alas, books, television, the Internet, and schools often present us with heresies that greatly surpass the ancient Arianism. Moreover, we need to study the dogmas of the Church, because we need to be able to defend our faith if we are questioned by the non-Orthodox. How else will we fulfill the last commandment of our Savior to go to all nations teaching them the true faith (Mt. 28, 19-20)?
Emulating the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council whom we commemorate today, let us steadfastly and unwaveringly hold on to the fullness of the Orthodox doctrine, so that in the life everlasting we may share the blessed lot of these holy confessors!
2004
(Translated from Russian by Mariya Nekipelov)
