Missionary Conversations with Protestant Sectarians

Section V - Appendix

by Rev.  Kyril Zaits

New Sarov Press Edition 1993

Printed with the blessing

of

His Grace Bishop HILARION

Russian Orthodox Church

Outside of Russia

Editorial Notation: We present this to you who have had, or are having, trouble explaining the difference between the non-Orthodox, non-Catholic and Protestant denominations.

    The "Anglican Orthodox" sometimes called "Orthodox Anglicans" are, for many of them, very Orthodox in faith and use the Liturgy approved by St. Tikhon which is often referred to as the "Tikhon Liturgy".  We praise them, We bless them and We pray for them.  But many "Anglicans" outside of the Orthodox Anglican and Catholic jurisdictions are not truly Orthodox or Catholic in spirit and truth.  The same can also be said of many who claim they are "Orthodox" or even "Catholic".  Often times, we have found that those who are very "Orthodox" are the "Ethnic" who view anyone else outside of the church unless they are under a Patriarch, even though a special dispensation was given by decree.  As to those who are often extremely "Catholic" in liturgical practices, etc. are those who predominantly belong to the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church which is based in the roots of Orthodoxy (the faith).  Then, you have another breed of "Orthodox" "Catholics" who are so "ultra" in their claims of practice that they go out of their way to besmirch, by name and jurisdiction, those whom they are opposed to and they go to the extremes of airing dirty laundry as a means, they think and hope, will praise them in the eyes of mankind.  There is one last "breed" of "Orthodox Catholic Christians" who admit their errors, not afraid to seek repentance and forgiveness openly and publicly, who stand firm for the pillars of the faith including the pillar which affirms their faith by action... that being the Seals of the Confessional.

    As for the many who are Protestant in faith and praxis, this article may help in delineating those who hold to heretical teachings, theologies and practices that were never, ever, a part of the true Christian Church no matter how much they may hold to their belief with a sincerity of faith.  Those pastors or ministers of their churches are, for many of them, carpet baggers whose agendas are more political and pocket-book than having a desire to learn truth from error. They use their halls of worship as entertainment centers for such draw people in who are lazy with their faith.  They draw upon politicians to draw on those whose emotional balance for a particular issue is central to whether or not they belong to the right church.

Cafeteria Christianity is, for most of them, what Protestantism has become.

    One understanding that is so important comes forth, amongst other understandings:

WHO MAY TEACH IN THE CHURCH

Mt. 28:19-20; Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28; Bom. 10:15; 2 Tim. 1:11; 2:2; Heb. 5:4.

(Those who may teach in the Church are: The apostles and their successors; only those set aside by Christ Himself — those who are ordained; those who are sent by the Church; those especially appointed and called by Christ, through His Church and in His Church. But no one may appropriate the position for himself as some have done and others do).

    Therefore, read all of the article, for it is very lengthy... and use it appropriately and properly.  But, remember, there are some things in this article that could very easily be applied to some of our Orthodox Catholic and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters not so much as being "Protestant" as they can be applied to the manner with which some clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Catholic jurisdictions have opted for a 'politically correct' and 'entertainment' approach' as a majority of Protestantism does, instead of what might be called the 'struggle' approach for things eternal ...

Appendix 1: Scriptures relating to the Church. (Most of the relevant Scripture is quoted in full below. This is because the King James Version, for all its great beauty, is frequently unclear. Not only does its syntax and style often render the meanings of many verses nebulous, but, in fact, the understood meanings of many words have altered greatly since the KJV was first issued. Moreover, there are some few instances of actual mistranslation in the KJV which have been willfully continued in later versions of the Bible created by non-Orthodox. The following scriptures are from the Amplified New Testament of the Zondervan Press).

1.

THE CHURCH IS THE CHANNEL OF REVELATION, TEACHING AND SALVATION

Eph. 3:9-10: "Also enlighten all men and make plain to them what is the plan (regarding the gentiles and providing for the salvation of all men) of the mystery kept hidden through the ages and concealed until now in God Who created all things by Christ Jesus; that through the Church the complicated, manysided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known ..."

1 Tim. 3:15: "If I am detained, you may know how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, which~is the Church of the living God, the pillar and stay of the Truth."

2.

THE CHURCH IS FOUNDED BY CHRIST AND WILL ENDURE TO ETERNITY

Mt. 16:18; 28:20 " ... I will build My Church and the gates of hades (the powers of hell) shall not overcome it." "And lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the ages."

3.

THE CHURCH IS A VISIBLE, GOVERNED COMMUNITY

Acts 2:44: "And all who believed were united, and together they had everything in common."

Heb. 3:6: "But Christ, the Messiah was faithful over His (God the Father's) house as a Son. And it is we who are (now members) of this house, if we hold fast and firm to the end our joyful and exaltant con­fidence and sense of triumph in our hope (in Christ)."

Acts 20 :28: "Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd the Church of the Lord, which He obtained for Himself with His own blood." (cf. Acts 41:47).

4.

ONE MUST HEED AND OBEY THE CHURCH AND BE JOINED TO IT

Mt. 18:17: "If he refuses to heed them, tell it to the Church, and if he refuses to listen to the Church, let him be as a pagan and a publican." Acts 2:47: "And the Lord kept adding daily (to their number) those who were being saved."

5.

THE CHURCH 1S ONE

Jn. 10:16: " ... there will be one flock under one Shepherd." Eph. 4:4-6: "(There is) one body and one Spirit, just as there is also one hope (which belongs) to the calling you received.    (There is) one Lord, one faith [And thus, it is not at all possible to accept the Protestant theory that the Church is composed of a scattered sheaf, of faiths, un-gathered and un­bound, which man, owing to the failure of Christ and God the Father to be able to do so, must gather and bind himself.], one baptism; one God and Father of us all, Who is above all, pervading all and in all."

Jn. 17:11: " ... Holy Father, keep in Your name them whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one." 20-21: "Neither for these (the apostles) alone do I pray, but also for all those who will ever come to believe in Me through their word teaching. So that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me."

1 Cor. 12:13: "For by means of one (Holy) Spirit we are all — whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — baptized into one body, and all made to drink of one (Holy) Spirit"

Rom. 12:5: "So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ, the Messiah, and individually, we are parts one of another — mutually dependent on one another."

6.

TEE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

1 Cor. 3:11: "For no other foundation can one lay than that which is (already) laid, which is Jesus Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One."

Mt.21:42: "Jesus asked them, 'Have you never read in the Scripture, the very Stone which the builders rejected and cast away has become the Cornerstone' ..."

Acts 4:11: "This (Jesus) is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner — the Cornerstone."

(cf. 1 Pet. 2:6; Rom. 9:33).

7.

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH IS CHRIST

Eph. 5:23: " ... as Christ is the Head of the Church, Himself the Saviour of His own Body."

        Col. 1:18: "He also is the Head of (His own) Body, the Church..." (cf. Eph. 1:22; 4:15.)

8.

THE CHURCH IS HOLY (CONSECRATED)

Eph. 5:25-27: "... as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word. That He might present the Church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing — that she might be holy and faultless."

Rom. 11:16: "Now if the first measure of dough offered as the first fruits (i.e., Abraham and the patriarchs) is consecrated (holy), so is the whole mass (of dough, i.e., the holy nation) ; and if the root is consecrated (holy), then so are the limbs."

9.

THE CHURCH AND ITS MEMBERS ARE HOLY

1 Cor. 6:19; Jn. 17:17-19; 16:13; 14:26; 1 Cor. 6:11.

10.

MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH ARE CALLED TO STRUGGLE

TOWARDS HOLINESS

1 Pt. 1:15-16: "But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves (must) also be holy in your conduct and your manner of living, for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'."

Eph. 4:21-24: "Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him as truth is in Jesus — embodied and personified in Him:

        Strip yourselves of your former nature which characterized your former manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; and be constantly in the spirit of your mind (i.e., have a fresh mental and spiritual attitude); and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, (Godlike) in true righteous­ness and holiness."

Eph. 1:4: "Even as He chose us — actually picked us out for Himself as His own — in Christ before the foundation of the world; that we should be holy (i.e., consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, above reproach, before Him in love."

11.

THAT SINNERS ARE ALSO ALLOWED INTO THE CHURCH

Mt. 13:24-4; 13:47-49; 2 Tim. 2:20-21; Rom. 9:22-23.

12.

THE CHURCH CANNOT BE REPROACHED FOR ALLOWING SINNERS INTO ITSELF

Rom. 11:17-18; iCor. 12:21-24; Rom. 14:4; 2 Tim. 2:20.

13.

THE HOLT SPIRIT ABIDES IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH

Jn. 14:16-17; Acts 1:4-5; 2:17-18; ICor. 3:16; 12:13.

14.

THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC

[That the Church is Catholic means that all the true saved-ones are encompassed by and gathered together in one single Church, a new race of being. That Church is the only body of Christ and encompasses the whole universe (but does not include all of mankind). Members of the Catholic Church from amongst the whole of mankind — both the living and the dead. Specifically: The Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.]

    Heb. 12:22-24:  "But rather, you have approached unto Mount Zion, even to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless multitudes of angels in festal gathering, and to the Church of the Firstborn who are registered (as citizens) in heaven." (Mt 28:16-20; CoL 3:11; Mt 24:14)

15.

THE CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC.

Eph. 2:19-20; Rev. 21:14.

16.

THE CHURCH HAS AN UNBROKEN CONTINUITY.

Eph. 3:21: "To Him be glory in the Church and in (and by means of) Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever." (cf. Mt 28:20)

I7.

THE CHURCH CANNOT BE HIDDEN OR INVISIBLE

Mt 5:14; ML 4:21; Lk.ll:33.

18.

WHO MAY TEACH IN THE CHURCH

Mt. 28:19-20; Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28; Bom. 10:15; 2 Tim. 1:11; 2:2; Heb. 5:4.

(Those who may teach in the Church are: The apostles and their successors; only those set aside by Christ Himself — those who are ordained; those who are sent by the Church; those especially appointed and called by Christ, through His Church and in His Church. But no one may appropriate the position for himself as the Protestants do; the Baptists, Church of Christ, Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews for Jesus, many of the Lutherans, Methodists, Seventh Day Adventists and so very many others).  May it also be said that the "ecumenism" being touted in these times in which we live where even the Roman Jurisdiction of the Catholic Church has been and is courting favor with many Protestants, are indeed courting disfavor in the eyes of God for the blasphemous acts and actions of its clergy and people to walk with heretics through the invitations of its Vatican officialdom, the candlestick is being removed in the eyes of God as a result. 

19.

COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Lk. 20:35-38; 4 Kings (KJV: 2 Kings) 2:14; Rev. 14:12-13; Rev. 7:9-11; Rev. 8:3-4.

20.

RELICS

4 Kings 2:14; 4 Kings 13:21; Acts 19:12.

GRAMMATA ON THE MEANING OF CANONICAL:

The essence of being canonical constitutes following the teachings of Jesus Christ as:

(a) in the dogmatic proclamations of the Seven Oecumenical Councils;

(b) in a diocese or church body being in communion (whether formally or not) with all jurisdictions or branches which have remained faithful to the Orthodox Catholic Christian way of life in both teaching and practice;

(c) in the bishops having a legitimate Orthodox Apostolic Succession and Tradition. This means that Apostolic succession is always rooted in Apostolic tradition, not a mere independent laying on of hands.

In all due respect, being part of a particular branch or Synod obviously does not make one canonical. This is especially crucial, as certain parts of Orthodoxy in modern times seem to have changed the Orthodox understanding of `canonical' into a new version of papacy.

Their definition of `canonical' is focused on being recognized, for instance, by the Patriarch of Constantinople (as if he were some sort of Eastern pope), whereas there is no such rule in the entire Canon Law (PEDALION "Rudder"). They appear to have adopted the corrupted Ecclesiology of the Roman jurisdiction of the Catholic Church by making legitimacy or canonicity dependant upon recognition by a particular Patriarch or Pope.

This "neo-papal" concept has no historical precedent in Holy Orthodoxy and contradicts centuries of Orthodox tradition back to the times of the Holy Apostles. It is as if by being in communion with a particular segment of Orthodoxy, whether Patriarchal or not, somehow would make one Orthodox.

Seeking worldly recognition in the eyes of men and a corrupted society by merely understanding the administrative, legal unity of the church instead of the true unity, which only can exist in the authentic Orthodox Catholic way of life, is spiritually detrimental, utterly false and not at all Orthodox or even Catholic. The forming of self-styled organizations in mutual recognition with the purpose of denouncing others as being not canonical or in proclaiming themselves as the only legitimate ones, constitutes the grave sin of "condemning one's brother and sister" (St. Ephraim).

What is our call in this situation? - In order to remain canonical, we cannot join in such unholy endeavors. Living the Orthodox way of life must be most important to us. Engaging in assaults on individuals or others is contrary to the holy faith and most sinful. We said "assaults" which means that we must upbraid our brothers and sisters in the vineyard when they fail or refuse to abide by all that which had been handed down to them. Let us continue to live as true Orthodox Catholic Christians who obey the Gospel commands as we invite those "of good will" (Luke 2:14) to join us. Once the worldly-minded through the grace of God will understand what `being canonical' really means - then the truth shall be revealed: Where faith, doctrine and practice prevail, there is Orthodox Catholic Christianity. Where faith, doctrine and practice are compromised, canonicity, catholicity and Orthodoxy are absent despite any claims of a lines of succession, communion or sort of recognition that may exist through artificial means.

The lives of monks consist of a podvig [(spiritual) exploit] of repentance and of withdrawal from the world. They flee from judging their neighbor in his moral falls, considering themselves to be sinners and the worst of all men. But, when it is demanded of monks and other clergy, that they remain humble and indifferent to questions of faith, then do they cast off humility and obedience. It is demanded of them, by the conscience of the Church, the faith in and for the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ that They rise up when the truth of Orthodoxy is threatened. They are supported in this by a living conscience and by a sense of responsibility for that faith for which our forebears-martyrs and confessors alike-sacrificed everything, even their very lives. And in this we must also follow...

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