A MATTER OF AUTHORITY In this day of the exaltation of

A MATTER OF AUTHORITY

In this day of the exaltation of “tolerance” above all virtues, the notion that someone can be sincere and sincerely wrong is out of fashion. Our culture declares that there can be no final arbiter of serious theological differences between sincere and honest Christians. No where is this more evident that with the central issue of “authority.”

To some, all religious and theological authority resides in the printed Scriptures; to others, the locus of authority is concentrated within a certain church office; and to still others, there is no religious authority outside themselves. They get to decide just what to believe or not to believe. Where is your authority? Answer that question and you’ll reveal your theology.

The most important point I want to make to you today is that we should avoid the easy or quick answer to the question of authority. To appeal simply to Scriptures begs the question of which of the thousands of interpretations of the one Scripture you are going to believe. To simply appeal to a church office or a group of bishops, as holy as these men can be, risks checking your own mind at the door and falling prey to unscrupulous leaders. Let’s face it, history shows times when even bishops were wrong, and some who depend on the Scriptures alone have really come up with some bad theology.

No, authority in the Body of Christ is both simple and profound: The Head of the Church is Jesus Christ. The authority of the Church is the Holy Spirit, and the hallmark of authority in the Church is Service, not mastery. This is the way the Church was founded and it has never been lost through history up until this very day.

Now for the hard part, how does this truth work itself out practically in the life of the Christian Church and in the lives of Christians?

First, Authority is a Gift, not a straitjacket. The authority of Christ isn’t found in His commands as much as it is in His love. It is His profound love and service to the whole world that has caused men and women through the centuries to leave everything for Him. Authority in the Church is more than a set of rules that are to be obeyed, it is a life of love and service to be followed and imitated.

Second, Authority is Incarnational. Authority in the Church can never be reduced to a set of judicial findings or canon law books. As Christ, God did not simply speak to us, He came among us and lived in the flesh with us. If authority is to be Christian, it must be personal. There is never a time when we can substitute the “rules” for the hands-on service of authentic servant leaders who commit themselves to others.

Finally, Authority is Practical. Too many times the Christian faith has been reduced to a set of regulations applied without regard to the real lives of real people. In Christian authority Justice and Mercy kiss. It is unique to Christian authority that obedience is always given, but it can never be demanded.

All this talk about authority in the Church has some very practical implications. It means that those who lead the Church, Her bishops and pastors, are primarily servants, not masters. They serve the people of God in order to fulfill what St. Paul said to the Ephesians: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Ultimately, this view of Christian authority transforms every area where we ever exercise authority, from how we treat our spouses, to our children, to our employees, to even strangers.

That’s why we are doing a special program on the particular differences between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church with regard to the Pope of Rome. My special guest, Dr. Aristeides Papadakis, author of The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy, joins me this week to specifically deal with just why the Orthodox have some questions about the way authority is practiced in the West.

Until next week.

Yours for the spread of Orthodoxy,

Fr. Chris Metropulos
P.S. I love hearing from you. Email me your comments and questions at mailto:frchris@receive.org

See: SPIRITUAL ABUSE - Part I (Abuse) and Part II (Shame)

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They HATE some of the news, quotes, and such as to inform the general public. Some of them pose as clergy, while a few are actually clergy from various "other" offshoot AMERICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH jurisdiction(s) of the same name of which we are, in some instances, their former MOTHER CHURCH (as is the same named Toledo, Ohio based an offshoot); having joined in and with "Independent" churches who have nothing to do with us or even true Orthodoxy, but seek to go out of their way to character assassinate and disparage religious web sites who do not meet their own brand of standardization which is evidence of their being not truly "Orthodox" "Christian" or even "Catholic" no matter what their nomenclatured corporate name may be. The Toldeo, Ohio based same name group under their so-called leader has been deposed, defrocked and excommunicated four different times by various bishops. He, and several others, have become just as bad as the modern day Ecumenists of the National Council of Churches, World Council of Churches, the World Council of Bishops and more. Their ultimate aim and goal is destruction to those from whom they had either originated from or gone through to obtain the same named "church" they claim to hold to by civil law alone.

Remember, anything that is a HALF TRUTH is not truth but a lie! Many there are that you may know who fit those descriptions... pray for them. Pray that God will send his Spirit of Truth upon them and lead them to Salvation through tears of Repentance, conversion of their cold and calculating hearts toward seeking forgiveness from God and those whom they attempt to harm.

Those who receive e-mail from us, know who we are and from where we send mail. There are also many who know that they can send e-mail under another group or person's e-mail address, which has been happening. If you receive e-mail that purports itself to be from us, verify first by hitting your "reply" button and ask, "I received this e-mail but would like verification it is from you."

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Let this be a warning to visitors so as to be safeguarded against unscrupulous e-mails which contain viruses, worms and unsavory material from person(s) organizations or institutions that are more self-serving than uplifting and informatively news worthy.

For ourselves, we have, as in the past, so once again, acquired the assistance of those who are able and capable of tracing e-mails back to their source and taking appropriate action in North America.

We have learned that the organization we subscribe to, whose members come from various legal and law enforcement backgrounds amongst other areas of society, are committed to the faith even though they may hold different theologies. Yet, in their monitoring of electronic communications of various persons or people, they do not always make haste to bring perpetrators to justice until after enough evidence has been gained in order to build a solid case. We do not always know what information they have gained, but we do know the organization, whom we've been asked not to name, has had a 97% success rate in bringing to justice and obtaining a conviction against individuals, people, and sometimes even religious organizations of a persona that gives the appearance of both secular and religious bearing but who abuse and misuse technology. The organization views those who abuse and misuse the internet and other technologies as nothing more than a form of "domestic terrorism" - - - - and, it would seem to appear that the courts are in agreement!

Those kinds of people, organizations, etc. who misuse and abuse communication technologies are no different than those who attempt to use coercive measures, and in some instance, even blackmail for the same idea is involved... to cause havoc and wreckage, to destroy the spirit and activity of those who struggle in the faith out of pain of heart for the Orthodox Church which is TRUTH. The degree that some have been known to go to, as seen by other jurisdictions, is to take advantage of questionably mentally challenged or those who have a lack of education and understanding to get them to make statements, even outright lies, in writing, in order to destroy. Such persons or groups are spiritual terrorists for unholy and un-Orthodox causes, aims and goals.

Yes, our Metropolitan Archbishop, +Joseph Thaddeus, SSJt., Ph.D. strongly defends the Seals of the Confessional for such leads to true Repentance in thought, word and deed whereby the penitent is required to make amends, where possible, to seek forgiveness of those harmed by his actions whether real or imagined, and to give his forgiveness to those who have harmed him before taking the Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The reality of this understanding is bound up in and with the findings for which cause he, himself, had been character assassinated by his detractors who claim the courts prevented him from breaking the Seals of the Confessional which is not the truth at all.... Click here to see what another bishop's findings are...

The workings of Holy Spirit will not be daunted by those who attempt to cause disruption! It is for these and other reasons that you are urged to read what true repentance and forgiveness means for real "Christians".

For further information about how spammers, hackers and those who are angry with you can or will attempt to do damage, we offer the following link as regards some of the computer - internet problems:

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