Orthodox Studies (+Lee)

What is Orthodoxy? Is it merely one of many variants of Christianity? According to Archimandrite Sergius, “our Orthodox faith is Christianity itself, in its most pure and one and only authentic form. When juxtaposed to Orthodoxy, all of the rest of the so-called Christian denominations are essentially alien to true Christian – that is, Orthodox – spirituality and the essence of the faith.” (#5)
By the fourth century, the early Church Fathers used the term “Orthodoxy” to refer to the true doctrine of Christ as opposed to heretical teachings. In the words of St. Athanasios, “The Christian is a true spiritual home of Christ, which is built on good deeds and right actions (dogmiton orthon). Orthodoxy is based upon, steeped in, and clings tenaciously to the teachings of Jesus and His Disciples.
Orthodox doctrine is based upon two pillars: Scripture and Tradition. Actually, it could be better summarized by the one word “Tradition” with two aspects or facets. St. Paul mentions these facets in his letter to the Church in Thessalonica, encouraging the parishioners that, in living a Christian life of faith, they should  “stand firm in the traditions we have learned, both the oral and the written” (2 Thess. 2:15). The “written” tradition is Scripture. (At the time 2 Thessalonians was written, “Scripture” referred to the Old Testament. The New Testament Canon would not be fixed for quite a while yet.) The “oral” tradition refers to those teachings other than what were included in Scripture. They were “oral” for good reason.
  In the original precise meaning of the word, writes Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky (Orthodox Dogmatic Theology), Sacred Tradition is the tradition which comes from the ancient Church of Apostolic times. In the second to the fourth centuries this was called “the Apostolic Tradition.”
According to Pomazansky, the ancient Church carefully guarded the inward life of the Church from those outside of her; her Holy Mysteries were secret, being kept from non Christians. When these Mysteries were performed — Baptism or the Eucharist — those outside the Church were not present; the order of the services was not written down, but was only transmitted orally; and in what was preserved in secret was contained the essential side of the faith. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (4th century) presents this to us especially clearly. In undertaking Christian instruction for those who had not yet expressed a final decision to become Christians, the hierarch precedes his teachings with the following words:
 “When the catechetical teaching is pronounced, if a catechumen should ask you, 'What did the instructors say?' you are to repeat nothing to those who are without (the church). For we are giving to you the mystery and hope of the future age. Keep the Mystery of Him Who is the Giver of rewards. May no one say to you, 'what harm is it if I shall find out also?' Sick people also ask for wine, but if it is given at the wrong time it produces disorder to the mind, and there are two evil conse quences; the sick one dies, and the physician is slandered” (Prologue to the Catechetical Lectures, ch. 12).
Protopresbyter Pomazansky quotes St. Basil the Great on the oral aspect of Tradition:
In the following words, St. Basil the Great gives us a clear understanding of the Sacred Apostolic Tradition:
 “Of the dogmas and sermons preserved in the Church, certain ones we have from written instruction, and certain ones we have received from the Apostolic Tradition, handed down in secret. Both the one and the other have one and the same authority for piety, and no one who is even the least informed in the decrees of the Church will contradict this. For if we dare to overthrow the unwritten customs as if they did not have great importance, we shall thereby imperceptively do harm to the Gospel in its most important points. And even more, we shall be left with the empty name of the Apostolic preaching without content.”
Perhaps it could be put another way. The Church Fathers, meeting in Council, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in order to preserve the true (orthodox) teachings of Jesus and His Disciples, i.e. the Oral Tradition of the Apostles, formulated the collection of Books we call the New Testament. This codified or canonized specific writings into part of Sacred Scripture, i.e. the New Testament. The other facet of Tradition was the interpretation or exegesis the Church Fathers gave to Sacred Scriptures, through sermons, and apologetical explanations concerning Faith and true dogma combating heretical (wrong, “alternative”) teachings.
What were some of these heretical teachings? Orthodox teaching comes, as stated above, directly from Jesus and His Disciples. It “contains” the Way, the Truth and the Life, because the teachings or doctrine come from Jesus, The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6).
Heresy advocates a different way, teaching an alternate truth and/or describing a more anthropocentric life. The result of following a different way (than Jesus’) is found in Proverbs 14:12 …
There is a way, which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Let’s look at some of the earlier heresies, two are Judaic and one is Greek.
The Ebionites insisted Christians be circumcised as well as baptized and they rejected all the Holy Scriptures except the Pentateuch and the Gospel of Matthew and even adapted them to fit their needs.
The Elkesites advocated honoring the commands of the Law of Moses as eternal dogmas and rejected from the Bible those books that didn’t fit their doctrine. They also included the occult arts and had their own “Holy Scriptures” which, much like the Mormons, they claimed had been communicated to them exclusively by God.
The Gnostics essentially adulterated divine Revelation with the inventions of human philosophy. Human wisdom was, in effect, raised above Scripture and the Wisdom of God. For Gnostics, philosophy, human wisdom, is the determiner or interpreter of Doctrine, not Scripture, not Jesus, not His Disciples. Quoting the Old Testament, St. Paul gives God’s response (1 Cor. 1:10)-
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.
     Roman Catholicism pays an equally high honor to human reason. Since the time of Thomas Acquinas, when theology was wedded to the philosophy of Aristotle and the concept of “developing doctrine” was birthed, Roman Catholicism has sought to alter Orthodox Christian doctrine. “Developing doctrine” refers to doctrine developing or growing (evolving) in stages, becoming more clearly defined with each stage. According to this concept, it would seem Jesus and His Disciples did not have the advantage of modern philosophy and scholarship, therefore needing help to adapt themselves to the contemporary socioreligiomoral milieu.
     Orthodoxy, on the other hand, contends “earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints “ (Jude 3). It is in agreement with Hebrews 13:7,8 which enjoins the church to “remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” His Word should be the guiding light of human reason and not the other way around.
Fr. Stanley Harakas (#2, p.242) offers a succinct description of Orthodoxy:
“The only Church in the whole history of Christianity which has maintained itself fundamentally unchanged from the very beginning to this very day, and which manifests the full presence of the Holy Spirit in its order, teaching, and worship, and which can show essential historical continuity between the Church which was established at Pentecost, is that which today is known by the name “Orthodoxy”.
Orthodoxy puts great store in Tradition. The “developing doctrine” of Roman Catholicism would dilute it to fit changing philosophy. When the Protestants broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, Tradition, already watered down, was rejected completely. Protestants denied the power of Tradition and the Ecumenical Council. “Sola Scriptura!” is the rallying cry, “”Scripture alone!” The Statement of Faith of Three Rivers Church, affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), explains “Sola Scriptura” this way:
 Sola Scriptura ("only the scriptures") The Scriptures, not the institutional church, are the primary authority by which humanity must live and against which truth and error must be judged.
The Ecumenical Council has no role to play. It is useless and, in effect, impotent. Here is the irony: Protestants deny the Council, yet place great store in those books the Council deemed divinely inspired, i.e. the New Testament. Once you deny the authority of the Church that established the New Testament, it is a small step to eliminate a book or two that disagrees with your own personal theology” (#3) or, at the very least, to tweak things a bit’.
Martin Luther held the phrase “Man is justified by faith alone (Sola Fides) as the flagship for the Reformation Armada. Three Rivers Church explains thusly:
Sola Fides ("only by faith")
The gift of salvation and the benefits of being in God's eternal family come through personal faith in Christ as Savior, not by any personal good works, the merits of a human mediator, religious ceremonies or institutional efforts.
      Orthodoxy takes the Bible seriously, for it is the written (“inliterate”) revelation of God and one of the chief sources of Orthodox faith. Together with Tradition, writes Fr. Harakas, (the Bible) leads us to the truth of who is God Himself in Trinity. A glance at the texts of the writings of the Holy Fathers will show that they were immersed in the Scriptures and that they read them with zeal and quoted them profusely from memory (#2, p. 27) .  And yes, Orthodoxy places every bit as much stock in “faith” as many Protestants. True faith is found only in the truth revealed in Jesus Christ, which is preserved and communicated to us in the traditions of the Church. The more we share in this revealed truth, the more deeply we are in communion with God, provided this is done with our hearts and lives, not just with our intellect (#2, p.126) .




References
(1) “The Way of the Pilgrim” (Annotated).
(2) “The Orthodox Church: 455 Questions and Answers”. By Fr. Stanley Karakas.
(3) “Orthodox Apologetics in Response to Fundamental Protestants” by Bishop Patrick Murray.
(4) “Orthodox Apologetics in Response to Papal Roman Catholics” by Bishop Patrick Murray
(5) “Christianity and Orthodoxy” by Archimandrite Sergios.
(6) “The Church is One” by Alexei Stepanovich Khomiakov.
(7) “The Prayer Rope: Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain.”
(8) ”Orthodox Dogmatic Theology” by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky.