ON THE DOGMA OF REDEMPTION
By: Vladimir Moss

Contents

Introduction

The "Juridical Theory"
The Meaning of "Justification"
The Sacrifice for Sin
The Prayer in the Garden
Gethsemane vs. Golgotha
The Theory of "Moral Monism"
Original Sin

Conclusion: Love and Justice

6. The Theory of "Moral Monism"

For us the monarchy is formed by equality of nature, harmony of will, and identity of activity, and the concurrence with the One of the Beings which derive from the One, a unity impossible among creatured beings.

St. Gregory the Theologian, Sermon 29, 2.

     Let us recall the metropolitan's words: "a purely objective law of our spiritual nature is revealed in the transmission of the compassionate, supremely loving energy of the Redeemer to the spiritual nature of the man who believes and calls for this help, a law which is revealed in our dogmas, but of which our dogmatic science has taken no notice." The problem is: if dogmatic science has taken no notice of this law, which was supposedly revealed explicitly for the first time by Metropolitan Anthony, it is hardly surprising that the metropolitan can find few, if any, patristic statements to support it. It is not that the Fathers deny the great power and significance of Christ's compassionate love for the salvation of mankind. On the contrary: the greatness of that love, and its overwhelming significance for our salvation is not disputed by anyone. But the motivation for the saving work of Christ, love, must not be confused with the work itself, the restoration of justice in therelations between God and man, the justification of mankind, nor with the fruit of that justification in the individual believer, which consists in his renewal and deification by ascetic endeavour and the communion of the Holy Spirit.

     How, according to Metropolitan Anthony, is the "compassionate, supremely loving energy of the Redeemer" transmitted to the believer? His answer turns on the distinction, familiar from Trinitarian theology, between the concepts of "nature" and "person". Just as in the Holy Trinity there is one Divine nature but three Divine Persons, so in our created race there is one human nature but many human persons. Or rather: originally, before the entrance of sin, there was a single human nature, but since the fall sin has divided this nature into many pieces, as it were, each piece being the jealously guarded possession of a single egotistical individual. However, the original unity of human nature still exists in each person, and it is this original unity which Christ restored on the Cross (or rather, in Metropolitan Anthony's thought: in Gethsemane).

     "By nature," he writes, "especially the human nature, we are accustomed to mean only the abstraction and the summing up of properties present in every man separately and therefore composing one general abstract idea, and nothing else. But Divine revelation and the dogmas of our Church teach differently concerning the nature… the nature is not an abstraction of the common attributes of different objects of persons made by our minds, but a certain real, essence, real will and force, acting in separate persons…."[123]

     There is a certain confusion of concepts here; for, as Archbishop Theophan of Poltava writes, "in patristic literature power and will are only properties of human nature, they do not constitute the nature itself (St. John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, book II, chapters 22 and 23)".[124]

     However, let us continue with Metropolitan Anthony's exposition: "In spite of all our human separateness,… we cannot fail to notice within ourselves the manifestations of the collective universal human will; a will which is not of me, but in me, which I can only partially renounce, with much labor and struggle. This will is given to me from without, and yet at the same time it is mine. This is pre-eminently the common human nature. First, we must place here our conscience, which was given to us, and which almost no man can completely resist; also our direct involvement and compassion with our neighbor, parental affections and much else. Among these attributes are also evil desires, likewise seemingly imposed on us from without: self-love, revengefulness, lust and so on. These are the manifestations of our fallen nature, against which we can and must struggle. And so the nature of all men is the same: it is the impersonal but powerful will which every human person is obliged to take into account, whichever way the personal free will may be turned: toward good or toward evil. It is to this also that we must ascribe the law of existence whereby only through the union of a father and mother can a man be born into the world… If you cannot imagine that you hold your soul in common with others, then read in the book of Acts, `One was the heart and the soul of the multitude of them that believed' (4.32). And another record taken from life is given by Saint Basil the Great. Describing the unanimity and victory over self-love of the monks of his day, Saint Basil continues, `These men restore the primal goodness in eclipsing the sin of our forefather Adam; for there would be no divisions, no strife, no war among men, if sin had not made cleavages in the nature…  they gather the (one) human nature, which had been torn and cloven into thousands of pieces, once more to itself and to God. And this is the chief in the Saviour's incarnate oeconomy: to gather human nature to itself and to Himself and, having abolished this evil cleavage, to restore the original unity".[125]

     At this point the question arises: can such diverse phenomena as conscience, the fallen passions, the natural (innocent) passions, and the grace-created unity of the early Christians and of the true monastic communities be united under a single heading or concept of human nature? And this leads to the further question: would such an understanding of human nature be patristic? However, before attempting to answer these questions, let us follow the metropolitan's argument to the end:

      "The Lord also teaches of a new Being, in whom He will be, and in whom He is already united to the faithful, like a tree which remains the same plant in all of its branches (John 15.1-9). And so the unity of the human nature, undone by the sin of Adam and his descendants, is to be gradually restored through Christ and His redeeming love with such power, that in the future life this oneness will be expressed more strongly than it can now be by the multitude of human persons, and Christ, united with us all into one Being, shall be called the New Man, or the One Church, being (in particular) its Head.

     "It appears to me that we have, according to our power, cleared the way to a more perfect understanding of the mystery of redemption, of its essential, its objective side. The salvation which Christ brought to humanity consists not only of the conscious assimilation of Christ's principle truths and of His love, but also of the fact that by means of His compassionate love Christ demolishes the partition which sin sets up between men, restores the original oneness of nature, so that the man who has subjected himself to this action of Christ finds new dispositions, new feelings and longings, not only in his thoughts, but also in his very character, these being created not by himself, but coming from Christ who has united Himself to him. It then remains for the free will either to call all these to life or wickedly to reject them. The influence of the compassionate love a mother, a friend, a spiritual shepherd, consists (though to a much lesser degree) in this same penetration intothe very nature (fusiV), the very soul of a man…. The direct entrance of Christ's nature, of His good volitions into our nature is called grace, which is invisibly poured into us in the various inner states and outer incidents of our life, and especially in the Holy Mysteries… The subjective feeling of compassionate love becomes an objective power which restores the oneness of human nature that had been destroyed by sin, and which is transmitted from one human soul to others".[126]

     The confusion of concepts here is startling. Thus the metropolitan writes: "The salvation which Christ brought to humanity consists not only of the conscious assimilation of Christ's principle truths and of His love, but also of the fact that by means of His compassionate love Christ demolishes the partition which sin sets up between men" But what is the difference between "the conscious assimilation of Christ's love", on the one hand, and "His compassionate love" whereby He destroys the partition set up by sin? What is the distinction between the two loves?

     Again, we have already noted the very wide range of phenomena that the metropolitan includes under the heading of human nature: conscience, fallen and natural passions, the unity of the Church… Here he broadens the concept still further, but in an altogether inadmissible direction, defining it as grace: "The direct entrance of Christ's nature, of His good volitions into our nature is called grace" But grace is not human at all: according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, it is the uncreated energies of God, the "actions", so to speak, of the Divine nature.

     It is indeed grace – that is, the Divine energies of Christ – that unites and reunites men. But not only is grace not human nature – neither Christ's nor anyone else's. It also does not "reunite human nature" in the sense that the metropolitan would have it, for the simple reason that human nature, as opposed to human persons and wills, has never been divided. As persons we have been divided by sin, but we remain one in our common human nature.

     It is important to be precise about that in which men are divided by sin and are reunited by grace. They cannot be divided, according to St. Maximus the Confessor, by nature. They are divided in their moral capabilities – goodness and wisdom - which are not nature itself, but movements or modalities of nature: "Evil is perceived not in the nature of creatures, but in their sinful and irrational movement"[127] Again, St. Maximus writes: "[The devil] separated our will from God and us from each other. Diverting [man] from the straight path, [he] divided the image of his nature, splitting it up into a multitude of opinions and ideas"[128] Thus it is our wills, meaning our free choices, that are divided; it is not the nature of man that is divided, but the "image" of his nature, his "opinions and ideas".

     This point is well made by St. Maximus the Confessor in his Dispute with Pyrrhus: "Pyrrhus. Virtues, then, are natural things? Maximus. Yes, natural things. Pyrrhus. If they are natural things, why [then] do they not exist in all men equally, since all men have an identical nature? Maximus. But they do exist equally in all men because of the identical nature. Pyrrhus. Then why is there such a great inequality [of virtues] in us? Maximus. Because we do not all practise what is natural to us to an equal degree; indeed, if we did practise to an equal degree [those virtues] natural to us, as we were created to do, then one could be able to perceive one virtue in us all just as there is one nature [in us all], and that one virtue would not admit of a `more' or a `less'."[129]

      Only in one sense can we talk about human nature – as opposed to human persons or wills – being in a real sense divided. And that is in the sense of death. Death is the division of human nature – first the division of the spirit, God's grace, from the soul and the body, and then the division of the soul from the body. If human nature is understood as being unitary (and not as a composite of two natures, spiritual and material), then the division of the soul from the body at death does indeed constitute a division of human nature. (But our death was destroyed, as we have seen, not by the sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane, but by His Death on the Cross…)

     How, then, are we to understand the quotations cited by Metropolitan Anthony, which appear to assert that our human nature was divided – really, and not metaphorically. It will be sufficient to reconsider the quotation from St. Basil in order to see that a division of persons and not of nature was in question here. The monks who practise the coenobitic life do not literally reunite their cloven human natures: rather, they reestablish unanimity, unity of will, through the subjection of all their individual free wills to the will of the abbot.

     "Of this we will become convinced," writes Archbishop Theophan, "if we reproduce the passage in question in a fuller form. `That communion of life we call the most perfect,' says St. Basil here, `means the ascetics living according to the coenobitic rule that excludes private property and drives out contrariness of dispositions, by which all disturbances, quarrels and arguments are destroyed at the root, having everything in common, both souls and dispositions and bodily powers, and what is necessary for the nourishment of the body and for its service, in which there is a common God, a common purchase of piety, a common salvation, common ascetic exploits, common labours, common crowns, in which many constitute one and each person is not one but one among many. What is equal to this life? What is more perfect than this closeness and this unity? What is more pleasant than this merging of manners and souls? People who have come from various tribes and countries have broughtthemselves into such complete identity that in many bodies we see one soul, and many bodies are the instruments of one will. It was God's will that we should be like that at the beginning; it was with this aim that He created us. These men restore the primal goodness in eclipsing the sin of our forefather Adam; for there would be no divisions, no strife, no war among men, if sin had not made cleavages in the nature…  As far as they are able, they once again gather the human nature, which had been torn and cloven into thousands of pieces, into unity both with themselves and with God.  For this is the main thing in the Saviour's economy in the flesh – to bring human nature into unity with itself and with the Saviour and, having destroyed the evil cutting up [into parts], restore the original unity; just as the best doctor by healing medicines binds up the body that was torn into many parts'.

     "To every unprejudiced reader it is clear that in this passage the subject is the moral, or, more exactly, the grace-filled moral unity of the members of the ascetic coenobium with themselves and with God through the medium of one will, which in the present case is the will of the superior, who incarnates in himself the will of God. `Every good order and agreement among many,' says St. Basil in his sermon On the Judgement of God, `is successfully maintained as long as all are obedient to one leader. And all discord and disharmony and multiplicity of authorities is the consequence of lack of authority'. Apart from anything else, we are forbidden from understanding the restoration of the original unity of human nature in the metaphysical sense in which Metropolitan Anthony thinks of it, by the fact that we are here talking about the restoration of the original unity of human nature not only with itself but also with God. But not only not St. Basil the Great, but also not one of the Fathers of the Church ever permitted and could not permit any thought of an original unity of human nature with the nature of God, in the sense of a metaphysical, essential unity. Such a unity is possible only in the pantheistic world-view."[130]

     In any case, writes Archbishop Theophan, "Only in relation to the absolute Divine [nature] is the concept of nature used by the Fathers of the Church in an absolute sense, insofar as the Divine nature is absolutely one both in concept and in reality. But in relation to the units of created nature, and in particular to people, the concept of one nature is understood in the sense of complete unity only abstractly, insofar as every concept of genus or species is one, but in application to reality it indicates only the oneness of the nature of all the units of the given genus."[131]

    And he quotes St. John of Damascus: "One must know that it is one thing to perceive in deed, and another in mind and thought. In all created beings the difference between persons is seen in deed. For in (very) deed we see that Peter is different from Paul. But communality and connection and oneness are seen in mind and thought. For in mind we notice that Peter and Paul are of one and the same nature and have one common nature. For each of them is a living, rational, mortal being; and each is flesh enlivened by a soul which is both rational and endowed with discrimination. And so this common nature can be perceived in the mind, for the hypostases are not in each other, but each is a separate individual, that is, taken separately by itself, there is very much distinguishing it from the others. For they are distinct and different in time, in mind and in strength, in external appearance (that is, in form), and in condition, temperament, dignity, manner of life and everydistinguishing characteristic. Most of all they differ in that they do not exist in each other, but separately. Hence it comes that we can speak of two, three or many men. And this may be perceived throughout the whole of creation.

     "But in the case of the holy and superessential and incomprehensible Trinity, far above everything, it is quite the reverse. For there the community and unity are perceived in deed, because of the co-eternity [of the Persons] and the identity of their essence and activity and will, and because of the agreement of their cognitive faculty, and identity of power and strength and grace. I did not say: similarity, but: identity, and also of the unity of the origin of their movement. For one is the essence, and one the grace, and one the strength, and one the desire and one the activity and one the power – one and the same, not three similar to each other, but one and the same movement of the three Persons. For each of them is no less one with Itself as with each other, because the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one in all respects except the unbegottenness [of the Father], the begottenness [of the Son] and the procession [of the Holy Spirit]. But it is by thought that the difference is perceived. For we know one God; but in thought we recognize the difference – only in the attributes of fatherhood and sonship and procession, both in relation to cause, and to effect, and to the fulfillment, that is, form of existence, of the Hypostasis. For in relation to the indescribable Divinity we cannot speak of separation in space, as we can about ourselves, because the Hypostases are in each other, not so as to be confused, but so as to be closely united, according to the word of the Lord Who said: `I am in the Father, and the Father in Me' (John 14.11). Nor can we speak of a difference of will or reason or activity or strength or anything else, which may produce a real and complete separation in us".[132]

     Our conclusion, then, is that human nature is one, even in the fall, although only relatively, not in the absolute sense appropriate only to the Divine nature possessed by the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Sin is not a part of nature, but is a movement of the will of the individual person in a direction contrary to nature. Therefore it is our wills that have to be reunited by redirecting them in a direction in accordance with our nature, which redirection will bring them into unity with each other and with the will of God. This redirection is accomplished by our wills working in synergy with the grace of God, which is communicated to us in the sacraments of the Church, especially the Body and Blood of Christ.

     Metropolitan Anthony's theory is acceptable only if we interpret his term "nature" to mean the deified Body and Blood of Christ communicated to us in the Eucharist, and only if we interpret "the restoration of the unity of human nature" to mean the re-establishment of the unity of the wills of men both with each other and with the will of God. In the Eucharist the compassionate love of Christ is indeed transmitted to us through His deified human nature; and if our wills respond to this sacred gift (which is by no means "irresistible", and never violates the free will of any of its recipients), then we will experience the truth of the words: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (II Corinthians 5.17). But once again: this gift is the fruit, not of Gethsemane, but of Golgotha, not (or rather: not primarily) of the purely spiritual sufferings of Christ in the Garden, but of the Sacrifice of His soul and body on the altar of the Cross…

Part 8 - Original Sin

Part 9 - Conclusion: Love and Justice

NOTICE to VISITORS ABOUT our Web Page Content, OUR sending and receiving - E-MAIL Policies, Telephone calls and other Important Trivia

(A Sort of Rules of "Engagement" and "Disclaimer")

Click here for: Our Copyright Notice covering all of this website's contents.

"Prejudice Makes Prisoners of the Hated and the Hater"

"Show forth fruits of Repentance" (St. John the Baptist)

because...

"YOUR ACTIONS SPEAK SO LOUD about you,

that I can't hear what you are saying" (+Thaddeus)

Views expressed in various articles, news, and information

published or posted do not necessarily represent the views of

apostle1.com or other of those traditional

Orthodox Jurisdictions (Churches) hosted here.

Pascha (Easter) Is all the time

Click On Icon

    There are unscrupulous people on the internet these days.  Some of them are not who they claim to be and in order to disrupt honest spiritual pursuits, they are known to send out e-mail under someone else's name or the name of another church or jurisdiction with attachments.  Anyone can do this, if they want.  Some of them exist in Toledo, Ohio... Some in Texas... Others in Michigan, California and many other places... Some are "haters of truth" who follow (whether they are willing to admit it ) those who have sway over less educated or ignorant people... as their are also those who do not even know what they are doing because they seek glory to satisfy their own vanity and selfish pride to take over a church or jurisdiction of another, or to wreck havoc over those whom they hate without considering the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ. 

    If you should ever receive an e-mail with an attachment claiming to be from anyone at "apostle1.com" - "apostle1.org" or even "apostle1.net" - - - know that our policy is to not send out e-mail from any of our domain names with an attachment except to those only who know us.  Please note that apostle1.com news messages not include file attachments. If you receive an email not meeting these strict guidelines, please do not open it under any circumstances. Instead, forward it to apostle1.com (thaddeus@apostle1.com) so its contents can be examined by our various affiliates. Therefore, don't open it! If you receive any e-mail from apostle1.com, apostle1.org or apostle1.net and have never before communicated with us... even if you have communicated with us... verify, verify and again, verify.  And, We do not open e-mail that is not identifiable or known to us either.

Unless we know exactly from whom an e-mail comes... nothing is clicked on or opened, especially those with attachments!  You would be surprised from whom 'hate' e-mail arrives and what attempts and extremes they go to make their e-mails "look" official when it is a lone person(s)  who hate TRUTH and love lies, hate anything from being posted that involves TRUTH because they may be affected with exposure to the LIVING TRUTH of Jesus Christ's Love. 

Also: Hang Up Telephone Calls constantly get to you?

We get them all the time.  But one thing we do many are unaware of... We keep an automatic telephone log and then we turn them over to the same group who monitors and interacts with the hackers, etc.

It no longer matters if the caller telephones once in a day, every other day or every day or several times a week, once a week or for several months... All get logged, even those who think they have escaped notice by using the actual I.D. Caller number of "000-000-0000" which is has been used, even those who don't show up on caller I.D. as hang-ups now. With new technology being what it is it only takes one ring at a person's (receiving phone to activate some of the new technology being used which locks the caller's phone number in, even when they use by-pass alternate numbers to make shrewd calls).  We are advised one caller is facing terrorism criminal charges even though he used three different go-through numbers ranging all around the world, but were found to originate their call from California.  Hmmm.... what does this tell you?   Others, we are advised were found to be out of Michigan, Ohio, even Illinois and another state.

It is known that a telephone number showing up on some caller I.D.'s may actually be a telephone service provider phone number, yet... they too keep logs and information as to each individual cellular or local (their locale) phone usage... 

In the not-to-distant future, we intend to post some of those telephone numbers and, hopefully, persons, which constantly show up as "harassing hang-up" callers.  May be, you too have the same? 

Keep Watch!

Those who do such unscrupulous things, 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 or other jurisdiction(s) of the same or similar name of which we are, in some instances, their former MOTHER CHURCH (as is the same named Toledo, Ohio based, an offshoot, who had once been a part of us and unknowingly to our unworthy selves, were once a part of the clergy but they did not obtain permission to leave the jurisdiction they were under, according to Canon, and thus obtained for themselves re-ordination and consecrations, several times... and then using a variety of church names, including our own after they were defrocked and excommunicated, having more than three (3) times being excommunicated by other legitimate apostles/bishops); having joined in and with  "Independent" churches who have nothing to do with us or even true Orthodoxy.  We have the information on their numerous "Paper Church" names and name changes.  But the real issue is whether they were ever truly an ordained Priest and bishop?

It is true that when one is ordained to the priesthood, the old saying of "Once a Priest, always a priest forever..." holds true... But where there has been or is deception and fraud involved, the old saying is invalid altogether which is the stool kicked out from under any subsequent consecrations as a Bishop for the Episcopacy has then been obtained on a sheet of lies and therefore they are frauds, wolves in sheep's clothing.  The problem here is with civil authorities and agencies. 

Any documents a false one obtains from those who ordained him, including subsequent documents relating to consecrations; civil authorities never (or hardly ever) verify their validity and thus issue their own documents and errantly recognize the individual. 

These false sheep in wolf's clothing seek to go out of their way to character assassinate and disparage religious web sites who do not meet their own brand of standardization and those who know where the proverbial "bones are buried on them" which is evidence of the wolf not being "Orthodox" "Christian" or even "Catholic" no matter what their nomenclature corporate name may be.  The Toldeo, Ohio based same or similar named person/group under his/their so-called leader has been deposed, defrocked and excommunicated more than three different times by various bishops/apostles.  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.  It matters not now... whether they use the so-called name of "Athonite" "Benedictine" "Celtic" "Old Roman" "Old Catholic" - etc..  A name does not make one Christian. Their ultimate aim and goal is destruction to those from whom they had either originated from or gone through to obtain the same or similar named "church" they claim to hold to by the state's civil law in which they reside alone.  They are not a "Schema-monk" or even a true "monk" for they were deposed and excommunicated for violations of the Holy Rule they claim to subscribe to, giving and openly providing false misleading and inaccurate information about other more honorable clergy.  These 'wolves in sheep's clothing attract other nefarious and questionable persons whose aims are similar: for fame, image, power and glory, and if it should be that 'fortunes' come along, all the more is their power based.

    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 if it is from you." 

    If you are of another jurisdiction, you too could find that your parishioners, clergy and faithful might become subject to the same as we have recently found. 

    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, Jesus the Christ.  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".

  The Founding of Orthodoxy 

How Many Times

It is one's duty as a true Christian which rests upon the Orthodox Catholic Christian Faith established by Jesus Christ, that one continues on the path, the struggle in this life to: Learn the true meaning of Pascha (Easter) and the Life of Christ, His teachings and their importance for all who call themselves "Christian" which means "a follower of Jesus Christ":

He Is Risen Indeed

Click on either the above Icon or any of the following links to learn more!

Pascha -  Lenten Season - Easter

● Lent Message

● The Institution of Lent  ● Turning The Other Cheek  ● Hating One's Parents  ● Violence and the Kingdom  ● The Last Events of Christ 

● A word for the People of God

and Other Hard Sayings of Jesus Christ

● Who are the Modern Day Pharisees and Sadducees who abuse the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ?  ● What is a Safe Church

And More...

Apostasy Index

• About "Old Roman Catholicism" which include the Declaration of Utrecht of 1889 New

• APOSTASY & THE ROMAN JURISDICTION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

• The Great Apostasy

• America and the United Nations

• Day of the Lord and Signs of His Coming -  Covering

• About the "Oratory Catechism"

• A Review of the Oratory Catechism and Overview of Sedevacantism in General

• Responses to Review and Overview

• DECLARATION On John Paul II’s death, succession

• Who Decides in this war between Christ and Chaos?

• What Is The Indefectibility of the Catholic Church?

  Other Links - Other Articles of Importance

  About Pius XII

• Is Christianity Collapsing?

• Who are the Modern Day Pharisees and Sadducees who abuse the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ?

• ECUMENISM -- A PATH TO PERDITION

A Message from Our metropolitan Archbishop - UPDATED

A Very Special Message....

Our Primate's Message Archives - 2006

Our Primate's Message Archives 2004-2005

Go To: Apostasy & the Roman Jurisdicition of the Catholic Church 

Go To: Abouna Gegroi 2 cents worth  Go to: Daily Commemorations.

When Viewing a News Article click on the link to Return to "Home Page" or Daily News for 2006. For Daily/weekly News and Information Archives click on one of the follwoing:

2006 NEWS ARCHIVE

2005 News Archive

2004 news Archive

2003 News Archive.

About:

Apostle1.com, Apostle1.org and Apostle1.net

We are an educational, News-informational and research Web Site dedicated to providing such as befits those who seek things pertinent to the Orthodox Catholic Christian Faith and life.

Any good article or piece of information will be considered so long as it is not defamatory or slanderous toward an individual when not based on TRUTH or FACT, or which is altered out of context from its original publishing by recognized sources. All new articles submitted, after viewing and recommendations, are passed to our Editor, our Vladyka, +Joseph Thaddeus, OSB, SSJt., Ph.D.

“I prefer a defeat accompanied by humility to a victory accompanied by pride.”

                                                                               --An Elder

    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, Jesus the Christ.  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".

   "It would be better to have ten (10) true repentant X-felons who ask for and give true forgiveness than it would be to have one (1) non-x-felon or common person whose self-righteousness exceeds even the Pharisees, Sadducees, the gossip mongers, slanderers and un-repentant; for the repentant x-felon understands the true meaning of the Church's purpose as being the spiritual hospital." (siq) +Joseph Thaddeus, OSB, SSJt., Ph.D., Metropolitan Archbishop, Archabbot, Primate

Yes... "Prejudice Makes Prisoners of the Hated and the Hater..." (1992-Fr. Alan Stanford)

One can ask, "What part of 'Prejudice' and 'hate' do you not understand?  Are you a complacent person?  In light of the saying, examine yourself!  You may be surprised if you are honest with yourself for your soul may convict you before Jesus Christ convicts you in the times to come!

"When tested by some trial you should try to find out not why or through whom it came, but only how to endure it gratefully, without distress or rancor."

St. Mark the Ascetic.

"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalms 32:1-2
 

    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:

http://msn.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,116258,00.asp

Copyright Notice
 

This website is the property of the American Orthodox Church (AOC), North American Orthodox Church (NAOC) and the American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC). This website and all it's contents are under Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 by the American Orthodox Church (AOC), North American Orthodox Church (NAOC) and the American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC).

All Rights Reserved under International Copyright Conventions. No part or whole of this website may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information, storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from either the American Orthodox Church (AOC), North American Orthodox Church (NAOC) or the American Orthodox Catholic Church (AOCC). Information provided in any directory(ies) may not be recompiled into other directories or used as the basis for a derived work without explicit written permission.

U.S. Copyright Office

Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. S.E. Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
For permission to copy or use any of this material please contact us by using the E-Mail or the Postal Address located at the left of this page.

Regarding Copyrighted (c) Copyrighted Logos at this website:

All logos of this Website are copyrighted by their owners and Apostle1.com in California and/or New Mexico 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006  by the
American Orthodox Church, Inc. (California), North American Orthodox Church (New Mexico) and the American Orthodox Catholic Church Designed by Webfriar Ministries, and His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop  +Joseph Thaddeus (Stanford), OSB, SSJt., Ph.D.

Keep Up-To-Date by clicking on:

Quotes from Metropolitan Archbishop +Joseph Thaddeus, SSJt., Ph.D. Continuously updated

If You have a question that you wish to ask, please feel free to submit it.  However, may it be suggested that you review all previous questions for the Month and also the Archive of questions previously asked for your question may have already been answered. 

Click Here For Archive Quotes

Click Here for AOC HISTORY PAGES

Twenty First Century Desert Fathers

Who Are: The Thaddeans?

Lines of Apostolic Succession of His Eminence

 AOC CLERGY

In The Shadows

Suggested Reading:

Privacy Watch NOTICE to VISITORS ABOUT OUR E-MAIL, Telephone and Response POLICY - Updated

Saint Jude Thaddeus (Helper of the Hopeless) and  The Thaddean Fathers (SSJt.)

MAN: To Err, the Church and Holy Spirit

The True meaning of Repentance and forgiveness

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY

Is Christianity At The Cross Roads?

As The World Goes, So Goes The Church

Anomalies in Ecclesiology of Contemporary Orthodox Churches

Attempts at Coming to An Understanding of Orthodox Catholic Christianity

A Response to two articles: “Pedophilia Condoned (Approved) By Islam” & “Dalai Lama With Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Others"

-

GRAMMATA ON THE MEANING OF CANONICAL

The Definition and Meaning of "Orthodoxy"
 

Orthodox Catholic Christian Fasts, Feasts, and Daily Prayers

See the Main Page for Weekly-Daily listings/Commemoration's Page

To Change the Nation and the World

• Salt of Christians and Christianity

• America & the World - What is in Store..

• The Meat of Christianity

• The Seat of Moses, Its Powers and Perils

• Problems of Orthodoxy in America

• Anomalies in Ecclesiology of Contemporary Orthodox Churches

• Attempts at Coming to An Understanding of Orthodox Catholic Christianity

• THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH A most Important Article -  NEW

• Celibacy and the Priesthood In These Modern Times

• An Invitation to Dialogue

• Various Divine Liturgies

•  The 2005 Declaration of the Holy Synod of Bishops and Clergy

  of the American Orthodox Church / North American Orthodox Church / American Orthodox Catholic Church

•  Statement on Sexual Misconduct in the Church

  American Orthodox Church / American Orthodox Catholic Church / North American Orthodox Church

A Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology

PROPER ATTIRE FOR ORTHODOX CLERGY

Free Hit Counter

Home Page