| John Anthony McGuckin Heresy JUSTIN M. LASSER The term “heresy” derives from the Greek term hairesis, which, in classical usage, typically meant “a diversity of opinion.” This usage was common within preChristian Hellenistic schools but acquired a new usage in the Christian era. In the Hellenistic schools a thesis or question would be offered and students or disciples would offer their opinions on the matter. In the case of a resulting diversity of opinion the matter would remain unresolved in a state of hairesis. In the classical schools the matter would be followed by extended debate and varying conclusions. In this usage “heresy” was the beginning of fruitful debate. On occasion these “heresies” would consolidate into cohesive “schools of thought.” These schools of thought are exhibited most clearly in the various ancient philosophical schools (i.e., the Epicureans, the Platonists, the Stoics, etc.). Though the schools had many disagreements they rarely “condemned” each other – they merely maintained different opinions. This classical usage of the term “heresy” was expanded in the Christian era. Whereas theologians such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria tended to view heresies as diverse schools of thought, other theologians, such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Justin Martyr, actively sought to characterize these diverse opinions or novelties as “corruptions” ofthe simple truth of the Christian faith handed down by the apostles. This move by the early heresiologists was not made out of vain intentions, but rested upon the belief that the Christian truth they were taught was not created but revealed and discovered. In this sense, Christian truth was not viewed as the result of theological speculation but as the recording and preserving of revealed truth. The simplicity and communicability of Christian truth was most important to the apologists such as St. Irenaeus and St. Justin, and became a paradigm for influential theologians such as St. Athanasius. It was a view that was first laid down in the Catholic epistles of the New Testament (see the letters of John, for example) which defined “those that had come out from among us” (heretical dissidents) as never having really belonged in the first place. |
| Responsibility Tour to the far ends of the Congo Lately the Most Merciful God has made us worthy to live special moments: the ceremony for the new graduates of our Theological School, the seminars that had been organized in Kananga and Buzimai for priests, constituent mission members and young people, the scientists’ association in Kinshasa, the missionary tours across the Metropolis and the operation of new schools. The end of the academic year for the Orthodox University was celebrated with a grand feast, attended by a representative of the Ministry responsible for higher education; after that, the seminars were launched first for the priests of the Kasai region, then for the constituent members-catechists of the parish in Kananga, and finally, the seminar for the young people in the Buzimai region. Indeed, all these conduced to the spiritual progress of our Church members. In the summer we were particularly engaged in the preparation of the new schools that would operate in various parts of the Congo. It took great efforts on our part to have the construction of four classrooms completed and then and get them ready to operate. There was a blessing service held at the official opening for the new academic year and, thank God, everything started operating properly. Everybody worked hard. First of all His Grace Bishop Ignatius of Pentapolis, who, despite his old age, organized the seminars in Kananga and strived for the construction and operation of the school in Mikalayi, a generous donation of the Holy Metropolis of Xanthi. In this task he was helped not only by certain priests of Kananga, but also by the devoted to God sisters from Greece who work as missionaries beside him. The Bishop and his mission partners worked laboriously for the seminar organization in Buzimai, the scientists’ association, the reconstruction and operation of the schools in Gungu, Kikwit, Mbanza Ngungu, Bibua near the N’Djili airport of Kinshasa, Kasangulu, and also, for the maintenance work at the Theological School and the School of Informatics. Everyone was present and worked with enthusiasm, and their joy was immense when after their laborious effort, they saw the schools filled with happy students. |
| Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and noted Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, preacher, and speaker, fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of March 18, 2015. Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and noted Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, preacher, and speaker, fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of March 18, 2015. Father Thomas was the beloved husband of Matushka Anne [Schmemann] Hopko. They were married on June 9, 1963. Together, Father Thomas and Anne are the parents of five children, sixteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Thomas John Hopko was born in Endicott, NY, on March 28, 1939, the third child and only son of John J. Hopko and Anna [Zapotocky] Hopko. He was baptized and raised in Saint Mary’s Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church and educated in Endicott public schools, graduating from Union-Endicott High School in 1956. Father Thomas graduated from Fordham University in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies. He graduated with a theological degree from Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1963, from Duquesne University with a master’s degree in philosophy in 1969, and earned his doctorate degree in theology from Fordham University in 1982. Ordained to the Holy Priesthood in August 1963, Father Thomas served the following parishes as pastor: Saint John the Baptist Church, Warren, OH (1963–1968); Saint Gregory the Theologian Church, Wappingers Falls, NY (1968–1978); and Saint Nicholas Church, Jamaica Estates, NY (1978–1983). Father Thomas was honored with the clerical rank of Archpriest in 1970 and the rank of Protopresbyter in 1995. Beginning in 1968, Father Thomas began his long service to Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Over the years, Father Thomas held the following positions: Lecturer in Doctrine and Pastoral Theology, 1968–1972; Assistant Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1972–1983; Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1983–1991; Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1991–1992; Dean, Rector of Three Hierarchs Chapel, and Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1992–2002. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Education SAMUEL NEDELSKY Education has played a central role in conveying the tradition of the Orthodox Church throughout its history, from the catechizing activities of the first generations of Christian teachers to the theological seminaries and parish schools of the present day. Jesus Christ himself was the Teacher (didaskalos) of his disciples, who in turn became the first generation of Christian teachers (didaskaloi), instructing catechumens and the newly baptized in the principles offaith. The 2nd century saw the formation of centers of catechetical and theological education gathered around learned private teachers. The most famous such “school” was that of Alexandria, home to both Clement and Origen, two of the first Christian theorists of education. Clement laid out his program of study in his trilogy on education: Protrepikos pros Hellenas (Hortatory Discourse to the Greeks), Pedagogos (The Tutor), and Stromateis (Miscellanies). Origen later founded a Christian schola in Caesarea in the mid-3rd century; his curriculum began with grammatical studies, progressed through the natural sciences and rhetoric, and culminated in theology (Letter of Thanksgiving of Theodore). The early church inherited the Greco- Roman system of education (paideia) for the young, heavily based on Homer and other poets, omitting only reference to the pagan cults and the “immoral stories” of the old gods. Emperor Julian’s edict of 362, which briefly banned Christians from teaching the pagan classics, prompted a number of prominent 4th-century theologians to reconsider the relationship between Hellenic paideia and Christian education, such as the two Apollinarii of Laodicea (father and son) and Gregory of Nazianzus, who each began a process of preparing refined Christian texts for use in schools. Basil of Caesarea, in his “Address to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature,” treated the study of Greek learning as preparatory training for Christians, advising young men to take whatever was beneficial from the pagan Greeks and pass over the rest, an approach that was widely adapted thereafter and became known as “despoiling the Egyptians” (from the Exodus story detail where the liberated Israelites took gold and silver from their Egyptian captors). |
| The Life of Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Verey One of the most eminent figures of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1920s was Archbishop Hilarion of Verey, an outstanding theologian and extremely talented individual. Throughout his life he burned with great love for the Church of Christ, right up to his martyric death for her sake. His literary works are distinguished by their strictly ecclesiastical content and his tireless struggle against scholasticism, specifically Latinism, which had been influencing the Russian Church from the time of Metropolitan Peter Moghila [of Kiev]. His ideal was ecclesiastical purity for theological schools and theological studies. His continual reminder was: There is no salvation outside the Church, and there are no Sacraments outside the Church. Archbishop Hilarion (Vladimir Alexeyevich Troitsky in the world) was born on September 13, 1886, to a priest’s family in the village of Lipitsa, in the Kashira district of Tula Province. A longing to learn was awakened in him at an early age. When he was only five years old, he took his three-year-old brother by the hand and left his native village for Moscow to go to school. When his little brother began to cry from fatigue, Vladimir said to him, “Well, then, remain uneducated.” Their parents realized in time that their children had disappeared, and quickly brought them home. Vladimir was soon sent to theology school, and then to seminary. After completing the full seminary course, he entered the Moscow Theological Academy, and graduated with honors in 1910 with a Candidate degree in Theology. He remained at the Academy with a professorial scholarship. It is worth noting that Vladimir was an excellent student from the beginning of theology school to the completion of the Theological Academy. He always earned the highest marks in all subjects. In 1913 Vladimir received his master’s degree in theology for his fundamental work, “An Overview of the History of the Dogma of the Church.” |
| “If everyone has his own truth, where is falsehood?” A talk with Archbishop Stephan (Kalaidjishvili) of Tsageri and Lentekhi, Georgia Shio Otarashvili , Archbishop Stephan (Kalaidjishvili) —Your Eminence, you are the director of the Youth Center of the Georgian Patriarchate. Tell us please when the center was founded, and why. —This center was founded in 2006 at the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch-Catholicos Ilya II. At first we would gather in the building of the Tbilisi theological seminary and academy, but later, when the Holy Trinity Cathedral was built, the lower chambers of the building were given to us to use. Our goal is first of all to unite the religious youth so that they would more actively participate in the life of the Church. We also are trying to interest those who take part in our events, and lead them to God. These people first come to us out of curiosity, become members of the youth organizations, and then start coming to church. There are many like that. The youth center has many functions. It all depends upon the interests of the young people. They chose what interests them the most. Some only come to the talks, while others participate in projects. We have ongoing programs like, for example, “Educational Talks”. The theme of these talks is varied: philosophy, theology, and history. There are such interesting themes for young people as man and nature, Christian family and its problems, and problems of child education. We also show films on Sundays, and often have literary evenings. We invite scholars, writers, and other interesting people. Besides that, we have a competition called “We Study the Bible,” which has acquired the character of a Georgian championship. Every year about 500 Georgian schools participate in it. The teams compete with each other in their knowledge of the Holy Scripture. The first stage is at the schools and the winners go to the district competitions, then regional, then semi-finals and finals. The finalists are given prizes: first prize is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, second and third prizes are a pilgrimage to the historical Tao-Klardjeti province of Georgia (the modern-day territory of northeastern Turkey), and fourth to seventh place winners receive a pilgrimage to the holy places of Georgia. |
| 4th Meeting of Commission for Dialogue between ROC and Assyrian Church held in India Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru From November 13 to 18, 2019, the 4 th meeting of the Commission of Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East took place in Thrissur, Kerala State, India. The Moscow Patriarchate delegation included Bishop Clement of Krasnoslobodsk and Temnikov, co-chairman of the Commission; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church relations; and S. Alferov, DECR, secretary of the commission. Representing the Assyrian Church of the East were Bishop Mar Awa Royel of California, secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, co-chairman of the Commission; Cor-Bishop George Kanon Toma, cleric of St. Andrew’s Church in Glenview, Illinois, USA; Priest Ephraim Alkhas, secretary of the commission; and Deacon Roland Bidzhamov, cleric of the Assyrian diocese of Northern Iraq and the CIS. Metropolitan Mar Aprem Mooken of India, the oldest member of the Synod, and Bishop Eugene Kyriakos, vicar of the Metropolis of India, welcomed the participants in the meeting on behalf of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Gewargis III of the Assyrian Church of the East, who recalled with warmth his repeated visits to Russia, with the latest one made in late May-early June 2014, during the historic visit of the late Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV to the Russian Orthodox Church in June 2014. The commission discussed the implementation of agreements reached at the previous meeting in October 2018 in Sankt-Petersburg and defined the further cooperation program to be approved by the Supreme Church Authority. The meeting noted the successful development of inter-church contacts in the academic field, in particular, in students’ exchanges, as in autumn 2018, the first representative of the Assyrian Church of the East, Rev. Addai Daniel Nazlu, was enrolled in Moscow Theological Academy. It is planned to involve representatives of the Assyrian Church in academic conferences organized by the Moscow Patriarchate theological schools and to invite delegates of the Russian Orthodox Church to similar events held by the Assyrian Church’s educational institution, in particular, in the recently opened Nisibis Theological College in Sydney, Australia. In 2021, the 2 nd Summer Institute will be organized in Moscow for young Assyrian clergy and student. Its program will include visits to synodal establishments of the Russian Orthodox Church and introduction to ecclesiastical and historical-cultural sights in Russia. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy DECR chairman attends conference on World Orthodoxy: Primacy and Conciliarity in Light of Orthodox Teaching On September 16, 2021, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, took part in the conference held by the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission on the theme “World Orthodoxy: Primacy and Conciliarity in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching”, which took place at the St. Sergius Hall of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The conference is attended by members of the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission, representatives of the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, university faculty, hierarchs and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and guests from Local Orthodox Churches. Presenting his paper, Metropolitan Hilarion stressed in particular that the Orthodox teaching speaks about the unity and oneness of the Church proceeding from the Gospel and makes this characteristic the first in the rank of her properties. “Any threat to the unity of the Church is a threat to the Body of Christ, in which believers are united by one faith, the Eucharist and her Head - Jesus Christ”, the DECR chairman noted, “Precisely for this reason, the most tragic events in the history of the Church are schisms in which Christ-commanded unity is violated, the unanimous life in faith is lost, the union around the Eucharistic Cup ends, the apostolic succession in the hierarchy is upset, and a deep wound appears in the Body of Christ”. According to the hierarch, in the history of the Church there is a great deal of examples of how actions of her particular members led to tragic divisions with their consequences felt to this day. “These pages of church history could serve as a lesson and a warning against such actions in the present and the future. However, up to this day the unity of Orthodoxy is threatened not only from outside but also from inside, coming from those who seek to act contrary to the Orthodox teaching and canonical tradition. We can see such actions today taken by the Patriarchate of Constantinople”, Metropolitan Hilarion stated. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy International conference on “Church care for mentally ill people: religious mystical experience and mental health” Download reports (PDF) The international conference on “Church care for mentally ill people: religious mystical experience and mental health” took place on November 7-8, 2019, at the Moscow Patriarchate Department for external church relations. It was organized with a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. Its co-organizers were the Commission for Church Education and Diakonia of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, DECR MP, the diocese of Voronezh and the Metal Health Research Center (MHRC) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). It was organized with the support of Kirche in Not (Aid to the Church in Need) international foundation. It was attended by representatives of various Christian confessions from Italy, Netherlands, Spain, USA and Russia – clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church with an experience of providing pastoral care for mentally ill people, as well as professors and students of theological university departments and theological schools, MHRC RAN staff members, theologians and experts. The conference was presided over by Metropolitan Sergiy of Voronezh and Liski, leader of the working group on Pastoral Care for the Mentally Ill of the respective commission of the Inter-Council Presence. In his introductory remarks, Metropolitan Sergiy pointed to a sad tendency existing in the modern psychiatry to ignore the religious life of patients and the information they give about mystical phenomena they experience and to view them only as manifestations of mental illnesses. To distinguish between psychopathological and mystical phenomena “it is necessary for a doctor to be open for the spiritual life and for a pastor to have sufficient knowledge in the field of psychopathology”. In this cooperation, it is important that a psychiatrist should have an idea of a patient’s religious values and faith in order to distinguish a mental disorder from expressions of spiritual, religious dimension of human life. “A medical doctor and a priest should understand that no spiritual phenomenon or psychotic symptom can be torn away from the context of a person’s established relations with his or her neighbours, relatives, the Church and, finally, God”. |
| Elizabeth Theokritoff, Mary B. Cunningham Elizabeth Theokritoff, Mary B. Cunningham Notes on contributors Dr Nicolas Abou Mrad is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Saint John of Damascus Faculty of Theology, University of Balamand (Lebanon), and Lecturer at various non-Orthodox theological schools in Lebanon. He is author of various articles and reviews in biblical theology and literature. The Rt Revd Dr Hilarion Alfeyev holds doctorates from Oxford and Paris. He is currently the Moscow Patriarchate " s Bishop of Austria and Representative to the European Institutions. He has published widely in the areas of Byzantine and Syriac patristics, Church history, dogmatic theology and contemporary theological, moral and social issues. His writings in English include St Symeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition (2000), The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (2000), The Mystery of Faith. An Introduction to the Teaching and Spirituality of the Orthodox Church (2002) and Orthodox Witness Today (2006). The Very Revd Boris Bobrinskoy has served as Dean and Professor of Dogmatic Theology at St Sergius Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris. A pupil of Georges Florovsky and Nicolas Afanasiev, he has published numerous studies on the theology of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the Eucharist. Translations of his writings include The Mystery of the Trinity: Trinitarian Experience and Vision in the Biblical and Patristic Tradition, trans. A. P. Gythiel (1999) and The Mystery of the Church (2005). Dr Peter Bouteneff is Associate Professor in Theology at St Vladimir " s Seminary, New York, having served for five years as Executive Secretary for Faith and Order at the World Council of Churches. He has written extensively on Orthodox relations with other churches, as well as on patristic and dogmatic themes. Recent publications include Sweeter than Honey: Orthodox Thinking on Dogma and Truth (2006) and Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives (2008). |
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