- 2 days ago
Gal 3:27-2927 For as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ. 28 There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ [are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed], then you are Abraham's offspring and [spiritual] heirs according to promise.
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00:14The
00:28The title of this message is called A Brief History of How the West Changed the Sacraments
00:35and Why It is Important to Know. In our last reflection called The Mystery of the Ancient
00:43Faith, discovered in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, I had mentioned that a Part 2 will
00:50follow because we will continue tracing how the Great Schism of 1054 opened the path for the West
00:58to develop new doctrines and introduced additional practices surrounding the Eucharist. These shifts
01:06gradually produce a wide range of interpretations, customs, and theological positions that continue
01:14to shape Western Christianity today. If you had not the opportunity to hear that reflection,
01:21I sincerely encourage you to do so because I believe it is one of the most important of all
01:29since Holy Communion was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper as told in the
01:37four Gospels as well as by St. Paul. In this brief reflection of the mystery of the ancient faith
01:46discovered in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we course through what I call, in a nutshell,
01:53of what leads up to partaking of the nature of God, which is ultimately found in the mystery of the
02:02Sacrament of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. We discussed how the grace of God and how partaking
02:10of the divine nature of God and also to silence our minds, which is called hesychasm, and how important,
02:19above all, repentance is highly regarded as most vital and crucial. All of these are integral factors
02:28in partaking of the privileged cup of Holy Communion. We learned that St. Ignatius of Antioch
02:37was an apostolic father who lived in 082140 AD. His major contribution was his letter to the Ephesians
02:47where he calls the Eucharist the medicine of immortality. St. John of Damascus lived in 675 to
02:57749 AD and he was the last of the Greek fathers. His major work was called the Exact Exposition of
03:07the
03:07Orthodox Faith, which includes a full dogmatic treatment of the Eucharist as the true body and blood
03:15of Jesus Christ. And today also, there is a modern prolific writer whose name is Metropolitan
03:23Al-Aviv, whom I often refer to and whose books and contributions I highly respect and glean from,
03:31and he tells us, quote,
03:33The sacrament of Holy Communion is the sacrament of sacraments, the mystery of mysteries. It is the
03:41perfection of every sacrament and seal of every mystery. The Eucharist has a central significance in
03:49the life of the Church and of every Christian. It is not merely one of a number of sacred actions
03:56or
03:56means of receiving grace. It is the very heart of the Church, her foundation, without which the Church
04:04cannot be imagined. And he goes on to explain that the sacrament of the Eucharist was instituted
04:12by Christ at the Last Supper as related by all four evangelists, as well as by St. Paul,
04:19who says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23 through 26,
04:25For I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus Christ,
04:32on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it
04:38and
04:38said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the
04:47same manner,
04:47he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as
04:57often
04:57as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
05:04you proclaim
05:05the Lord's death until he comes. What we have just read is a command and not a suggestion for our
05:14spiritual edification. And the most important is the actuality of actually taking part or partaking of
05:24the divine nature of God. What our precious Savior did and gave us is to be carried out from that
05:33time
05:33He instituted this command up until our present day. St. Paul was speaking forth a holy tradition.
05:44The institution of the Eucharist took place during the Last Supper on the night before Christ's
05:52crucifixion, which occurred in the first century, specifically around 30 to 33 AD on the night before
06:00Christ's crucifixion. The Holy Eucharist is given before the Church is born around 29 AD, when the Holy Spirit
06:11descends upon all in the upper room. The two events are inseparably connected, but not simultaneous.
06:20Dear listener and followers, throughout all of my struggles and questions and doubts, at first regarding the
06:27Orthodox doctrines, her faith and life in the Church, these have slowly been answered and satisfied in my
06:36journey towards my new life in Orthodoxy. And I can honestly say that my search for the truth has been
06:44slowly discovered. And I too, I caution myself, I realize not only myself, but for others too,
06:53in that we can have a lot of knowledge about all these discoveries. And I emphasize that all these
07:01are important, of course. But as St. Paul says in his epistle, in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verses
07:081 through 2, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not loved. I
07:16have become a
07:17sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries
07:24and all knowledge. And though I have all faith, so I could move mountains. But I have not loved. I
07:33am nothing.
07:35You see, I am constantly reminded that love is our pursuit in what we are seeking in this most
07:43wonderful relationship and fellowship with our precious Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave all, he gave
07:50everything to have each and every one of us. And I want to point out and emphasize that in my
07:5828 years of
07:59teaching and preaching the Word of God, I have discovered the most important principle or criterion
08:07that was missing in my unfulfilled life as a Protestant Christian were the sacraments and especially the
08:16sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. I have been learning and I must say I have been cherishing as well
08:24that the sacraments and the fullness of God's grace are in the Orthodox Church. Newcomers and converts
08:32are encouraged to see that their past is as preparation for receiving the truths of this
08:39most precious and important fulfillment of their salvation in Jesus Christ. Now, having a little
08:48in a nutshell, as I like to reflect or call it, but on a background on part one, I did
08:55say it would be
08:55brief so that at this point we now need to look at the sacraments and traditions that were
09:02passed down or taught and changed in the West and why this is very important to understand.
09:10The following verse is very important, dear ones, that we do understand it. And it is found
09:17in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 15, where Apostle Paul exhorts,
09:251 Thessalonians 3, verse 15, where Apostle Paul exhorts, 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 15, where Apostle Paul
09:30and hold the traditions that were taught whether by word or our epistle. You see, what St. Paul is teaching
09:39here about the traditions of the Apostle or Holy Tradition, by contrast, is to be preserved by the Church,
09:48for God is its source. Holy Tradition is that which Jesus taught to the Apostles, which they in turn
09:57taught, the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And it is important in this Reflection,
10:05Part 2, that we frame a little history or background of this huge subject on how the West began to
10:14change
10:14what God had ordained in the beginning of the Church's early history. We're only going to cover a few
10:22highlights to get some semblance of a background. For the first thousand years of our history,
10:29the Church was essentially one. Five historical patriarchal centers, which comprised of Jerusalem,
10:38Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople, formed a cohesive whole which made up the Church,
10:47and they were in full communion with one another. You see, after the time of the Apostles,
10:55the Church remained united for many centuries. But beginning in the early medieval era, especially
11:03from the 8th to the 11th century, the Roman or Western Church began introducing new teachings and
11:11practices that slowly altered the original sacramental understanding that were preserved in the East.
11:20And just a side note here, when Orthodox writers or saints or councils speak of the West, they're using a
11:29very specific historical or theological abbreviated term. It doesn't mean all Western people or all Western
11:39Christians. It refers to a particular ecclesiastical and cultural reality that emerged after the Great Schism
11:48in 1054 AD. And this refers to the distinct post-Schism Church structure and theological mindset that formed the Roman
12:01Catholic Church world after 1054 AD,
12:05when they departed because of two major issues. These two major issues included Rome's claim to be a universal
12:16universal papal supremacy. And her addition to the filioque cause to the Nicene Creed,
12:25which is a formal statement of doctrine of the Christian faith adopted at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325
12:35to defend orthodoxy from Arianism,
12:38which is a belief that God created Jesus. You see, during the 8th and 9th century,
12:46which falls around 701 to 900 AD, it's usually important to note that these centuries fall squarely within the Middle
12:56Ages,
12:56sometimes called the early medieval period. And it was during this period of time that Western theologians
13:05began shifting the language of the Eucharist from the mystical and patristic understanding towards a more
13:12philosophical and legal categories. And this period marks the beginning of the West treating
13:19sacraments as things as things to be defined rather than mysteries to be lived. And by the Middle Ages,
13:28the 11th through the 15th century, the Western Church introduced several major changes. The most famous,
13:37I briefly just mentioned, in addition to the filioque, the creed in 589 AD, which affected the theology of the
13:51Holy Spirit,
13:52and therefore the sacramental life of the Church. Doctrinally, it alters the creed's teaching on the eternal
14:01origin of the Holy Spirit, and canonically, it was added without involving all parties and without the agreement of the
14:10whole Church.
14:12It is very important that we understand this change, dear ones.
14:17The filioque is a short phrase that Rome added to the creed which said,
14:26So instead of saying, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, Rome changed it to say,
14:35the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
14:41And why it matters, dear listener, is that Jesus Christ said,
14:46the Spirit proceeds from the Father. Listen to this.
14:51And we read this in John chapter 15, verses 26 through 27, which declares,
14:58But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,
15:03the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
15:07he will testify of me, and you also will bear witness,
15:12because you have been with me from the beginning.
15:16The Fathers of the Church taught that the Father is the only source in the Trinity,
15:23and adding, and the Son, changes how the Trinity works.
15:29And making this change was impossible, because no bishop, not even Rome, can change the creed.
15:37The filioque contradicts the apostolic teaching on the Holy Spirit unilateral addition itself
15:47was a break from the apostolic Church.
15:50At the same time, the West began to separate confirmation from baptism,
15:57delaying it until later childhood or adolescence,
16:01which broke the ancient unity of baptism, chrismation,
16:06and the Eucharist given together as one initiation into Christ.
16:11In the same era, the West changed the practice of communion by withholding the chalice from the laity,
16:21something unknown in the early Church.
16:24Confession also shifted from a therapeutic healing encounter
16:29to a more judicial system of penalties and satisfactions.
16:35Marriage became a view primarily as a legal contract,
16:40rather than a sacramental union blessed by a priest within the Eucharistic community.
16:46By the scholastic era, the 12th through the 14th century,
16:52Western theology increasingly relied on rational analysis
16:58rather than mystical experiential approach of the Fathers.
17:03This led to new definitions of sacraments,
17:07including the idea that only seven existed in a strict legal sense.
17:13The Eastern Church has always lived the mysteries as a unified sacramental life,
17:20not as a numbered list.
17:23And after the Great Schism in 1054,
17:26when the Roman Pope justified its actions with claims
17:30that from the Orthodox view amounted to self-justification for change,
17:37and these differences only deepened.
17:40Some of the key patristic voices spoke out against these changes.
17:46One of them was St. Cyprian of Carthage,
17:50who lived in the third century,
17:52and he taught that no bishop has the authority over others
17:57and the unity of the church is preserved through mutual concord, not domination.
18:04St. Ignatius of Antioch, in the first and second century,
18:09emphasized the unity of each local church around its bishop,
18:14but never taught that one bishop, Rome, governs all others.
18:20And St. Arrhenius of Lyons, second century, represented Rome's ancient role,
18:27but insisted that all apostolic sees or bishops share equal authority.
18:33And he rebuked Pope Victor for trying to excommunicate the East over Paschal controversy,
18:42showing that unilateral or one-sided papal action,
18:46as was previously mentioned,
18:49when St. Arrhenius of Lyons, who sharply rebuked Pope Victor,
18:54he reminded him that no bishop had the authority to sever communion
18:59with other apostolic sees or bishops over a difference in legitimate apostolic custom.
19:06The early church rejected his one-sided papal action,
19:11saying that all bishops and apostolic sees share equal authority.
19:17Well, the West continued to develop new doctrines as purgatory and indulgences,
19:24which reshaped the meaning of confession and anointed the sick.
19:28The Eucharist became surrounded by new practices such as
19:33elevation of the host high above his head for adoration,
19:39which reflected a shift in focus from participation to observation.
19:46This practice does not exist in the early church,
19:50and it is not a practice today.
19:53Now, finally, during the Reformation era in the 16th century,
19:59many Western groups rejected most of the sacraments altogether.
20:04Some of them only kept baptism and communion,
20:08while others reduced even these to symbolic acts.
20:12And this marks a complete departure from the sacramental worldview of the early church.
20:18Before the schism in 1054 A.D.,
20:23Catholic Church meant the undivided church.
20:27And in the first millennium, all local churches,
20:31which includes Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem,
20:37were all part of one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
20:42Catholic simply meant universal, whole, complete, and faithful to the fullness of the apostolic faith.
20:52The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that the Orthodox Church is the continuation of that same Catholic Church,
21:03which traces her birth and continuity from Pentecost to this present day.
21:09After Rome separated, it continued using the old name.
21:14And when Rome broke communion with the Orthodox Church through the events surrounding 1054 A.D.,
21:22it did not rename itself.
21:24It simply continued calling itself the Catholic Church,
21:29even though from the Orthodox perspective,
21:32it had departed from the Catholic fullness of the apostolic faith.
21:38The Orthodox Church remained the true Catholic Church.
21:42Rome kept the name, but not the reality.
21:47For the first thousand years of her history, the Church was essentially one,
21:52with five patriarchal centers again, I say them,
21:58including Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople,
22:04who all formed a cohesive whole and were in full communion with one another.
22:09And now today, nearly a thousand years later,
22:15the only four patriarchs remain intact, in full communion,
22:21maintaining that Orthodox apostolic faith inspired the New Testament record.
22:27This is truly astounding, dear listeners.
22:32Since this great schism occurred, with Rome breaking away,
22:37historians estimate that there are over 2,600 groups today
22:43who lay claim to the Church, or at least the direct descendants of the Church described in the New Testament.
22:50The Protestant Reformation occurred in the 1500s,
22:57a thousand years after the Apostles, and 500 years after Rome left Orthodoxy.
23:03Western Christians began protesting Rome and its doctrines and authority.
23:09And this all produced a second major family of Protestant churches,
23:14including Lutherans, Reformed Calvinists, who later split into many subgroups,
23:21Presbyterian, Methodists, Baptists, Anabaptists, Congregationalists.
23:27These groups rejected many Roman doctrines but kept Rome's theological framework,
23:34especially the Filioche and St. Augustine's view of grace and Western views of original sin.
23:44From these early Protestants came hundreds of later movements,
23:49which are too numerous to mention in this reflection today.
23:54For all of this, in learning the outstanding history of the Church, dear listeners and followers,
24:01I am not willing to risk my salvation when there is more to living in the fullness of God's wondrous
24:10and generous grace,
24:12His power and energies, which are able to restore us back to the place where our first parents, Adam and
24:19Eve,
24:20have enjoyed a pure peace and joy in the garden before they sinned.
24:25Yes, we must know this is a lifelong journey of personal salvation and transformation and ongoing repentance while living on
24:36this earth.
24:37But it is within Orthodoxy that faith of the early Church is preserved, whole, and where the grace and worship
24:47and teaching of that same Church remains unchanged.
24:52Since I have chosen this path, I feel like I have really come back home to where I truly belong.
25:00The longing and knowing that I felt for a good part of my years teaching the Word of God and
25:06pursuing the One whom my heart loves has been found and is still growing into something I have never expected
25:15nor can I truly explain.
25:17Dear listeners and followers, I invite you to come along with me as I continue to share my journey in
25:25this most wonderful ancient faith of Orthodoxy,
25:28which is still alive and lives in the continuity of our beginning since Pentecost 29 AD,
25:35and where you, along with me, can encounter the most beautiful fellowship and communion with our living God, our personal
25:44God,
25:45whose boundless love knows no end and who embraces all of mankind and calls each one of us into deep
25:54fellowship with himself.
25:56Please don't stay where you are.
25:58Please don't stay where you are.
25:59I invite you to come home and see and taste for yourself that the Triune God is inviting you,
26:06inviting me to a banquet of life, of healing, and to share in his uncreated light where every longing of
26:14the heart is met,
26:16and not with ideas or opinions, but with the very presence of God himself.
26:21guide us now.