Homilies on the Ecumenical Synods - The Fourth Ecumenical Synod (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

   Homilies on the Ecumenical Synods

The Fourth Ecumenical Synod (451 A.D.)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Last Sunday, beloved brethren, we saw how the Third Ecumenical Synod dealt with the heresy of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, how it condemned him and how it set terms for the faith in the God-man Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos, after an agreement between Saint Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch with the so-called "Ekthesis of Reconciliation" in 433.

However, after the death of these two Patriarchs (Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch) their fanatical disciples raised the issue, in consideration of the fact that both of them had departed from their positions, which they had already supported, and it now created problems in the Church.

These are Eutyches, Dioscorus and other Antiochian theologians. Eutyches taught that the Lord Jesus Christ had two natures before the union, but he confessed one nature after the union. That is, he said that after the union of the two natures, human nature was absorbed by the divine nature. This problem continued, because there was still confusion between nature and person, so that they considered the one person is connected with one nature.

The Christological Teaching of St. John of Damascus (Fr. John Romanides)

 

By Prof. John S. Romanides 

University of Thessaloniki

 

Having lived and written during the century following the Sixth Ecumenical Council, St. John of Damascus represents the Orthodox Theological Tradition, which was still living in the interpretive atmosphere created by the debates surrounding the Sixth Council. It is quite natural, therefore, that the Fathers of this Council, Sts. Maximus the Confessor and Sophronius of Jerusalem, should exercise a very strong influence on his teachings concerning the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

      

At the same time, the Damascene sees clearly from his vantage point the lines of terminological development from the Third Ecumenical Council through the Fourth and Fifth Ecumenical Councils within the framework of the Fathers of these Councils. At the same time, he is a master of the presuppositions of the Trinitarian debate enveloping the decisions of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils and sees clearly the complete interdependence or even identity, which exists between the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and Christology.

      

Homily One for the Epistle Reading on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers - Christian Behavior (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

(Titus 3:8-15)

In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul, as we heard today in the Apostolic reading, among other things, urges him to advise Christians (clergy and laity) to behave properly in society. It does not speak of an outward behavior, but of the result of the salvation that took place with the incarnation of Christ and experienced in their lives.

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - Empirical Theology (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

This Sunday is dedicated by the Church to the Holy Fathers who convened the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in Chalcedon in the year 451 AD, which confronted the heresy of Monophysitism. This is the heresy that claims that the two natures of Christ - divine and human - were united in one nature and in particular the human nature was absorbed by the divine nature. This view subverted the whole teaching of the Church, which maintains that the human nature is preserved in Christ even after its union with the divine nature.

The heresy of Monophysitism is a continuation of the great heresy of Arianism, which claimed that Christ is a creature and not God. The basis of these first heresies was that they tried to interpret the Person of Christ with logic. The important thing is that the heretics and all their like-minded people theologized using Greek philosophy and reflection, while the Fathers used the experience of the Prophets and Apostles, as expressed in Holy Scripture, but also as confirmed by their own spiritual, ecclesiastical experience. This is the basic difference between heretics and the Fathers. The heretics tried to interpret the relationship of the Father with the Word, and the relationship of the two natures in Christ, using philosophical presuppositions, while the Fathers knew from experience that the Word is God, because in His appearance to the Apostles and to them He shone like Light, like the sun. Thus, the Word has the same essence and energy as the Father and the Holy Spirit. Also, the union of the two natures in the Person of Christ became "unmingled", "unaltered", "indivisible" and "inseparable".

How We Came to Celebrate the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in July

On the Sunday that falls between July 13th and 19th, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod. Some commemorate only the Fourth Synod on this day, some the first four ecumenical synods, while others the first six ecumenical synods, or all the ecumenical synods. The history behind this commemoration is as follows.

On July 9, 518, the long reign of Emperor Anastasios, who was sympathetic to the Monophysites, came to a close, and the Orthodox Justin succeeded him on the throne. On Sunday July 15, the new emperor entered the Great Church of Constantinople, and Patriarch John II, accompanied by twelve prelates, was making his way through the throngs that crowded every corner. As he came near the raised dais where the pulpit stood shouts arose, "Long live the patriarch! Long live the emperor! Why do we remain excommunicated? Why have we not communicated these many years? You are Catholic, what do you fear; worthy servant of the Trinity? Cast out Severus the Manichean! O Justin, our emperor, you win! This instant proclaim the Synod of Chalcedon, because Justin reigns". These and other cries continued. The procession passed into the inclosure, but the excited congregation went on shouting outside the gates of the choir in similar strains: "You shall not come out unless you anathematize Severus", referring to the heretical Patriarch of Antioch. Patriarch John, having meanwhile gained time for thought and consultation, came out and mounted the pulpit, saying, "There is no need of disturbance or tumult; nothing has been done against the faith; we recognize for orthodox all the synods which have confirmed the decrees of Nicaea, and principally these three - Constantinople, Ephesus, and the great synod of Chalcedon".

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

Verses

Bright-bearing stars of the invisible heavens,
Illumine our hearts with your rays.

The Holy Fourth Ecumenical Synod took place in Chalcedon, near Constantinople, in the Church of Saint Euphemia, in the year 451, when Marcian was the Roman Emperor. 630 Bishops were present.

The Synod of Chalcedon was concerned, once again, with the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. The teaching arose that Christ's human nature (less perfect) dissolved itself in His divine nature (more perfect): like a cube of sugar in a cup of water. Thus, in reality, Christ had only one nature, the Divine. Hence, the term: Monophysites ("mono" - one, and "physis" - nature) Monophysitism overemphasized the divine nature of Christ, at the expense of the human.

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod: Gospel and Epistle Reading

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

Sunday That Falls Between July 13th and 19th

Prokeimenon. Mode Plagal 2.
Psalm 31:11,1
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous.
Verse: Blessed are they whose transgressions have been forgiven.

Προκείμενον. Ήχος πλ. β'.
Ψαλμοί 31.11,1
Εὐφράνθητι ἐπὶ Κύριον, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι.
Στίχ. Μακάριοι, ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι.

St. Paul's First Letter to Titus 3:8-15

English

Titus, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned. When I send Artemas or Tychicos to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful. All who are with me send greeting to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Historical Sources for the Miracle of St. Euphemia at the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

The Fourth Ecumenical Synod of 451 took place in the Church of Saint Euphemia in Chalcedon, where her sacred relics were kept. The Patriarch of Constantinople at this Synod was Anatolios, while the Pope of Rome was Leo the Great. Information about the miracle of Saint Euphemia comes from two letters: one from the the Synod to Pope Leo and the other from Patriarch Anatolios to Pope Leo. Though the passages are a bit obscure about the miracle, it says that the definition of faith was delivered by Saint Euphemia as her own confession of faith and confirmed by the holy Fathers present. It seems clear that Pope Leo already knew of the miracle, or it was common knowledge by the time these two letters were issued. The two letters are as follows, with the relevant information about the miracle highlighted:

Saint John II the Cappadocian, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ 520)

St. John II of Constantinople (Feast Day - August 25)

Verses

O how John the good has died,
The lamp of the Church of God has been extinguished!

Our Holy Father John was from Cappadocia. He was a Presbyter and Synkellos of the Church of Constantinople when in 518 he was elected to become the next Patriarch of Constantinople, succeeding Timothy I. It is said that he was chosen by Timothy I to succeed him, and Emperor Anastasios himself chose him.

He was ordained Patriarch on the third day of Easter on the 17th of April in 518. On July 9th that same year Emperor Anastasios died, and he was succeeded by Emperor Justin I. With two Orthodox leaders in Constantinople, this opened the door to immediately end the Acacian Schism which lasted thirty-five years, from 484 to 519, that divided the Eastern and Western Churches. The reunion was formalized on Easter, March 25, 519.

Saints Anastasios and Euxitheos, Bishops of Thessaloniki

Sts. Anastasios and Euxitheos of Thessaloniki (Feast Day - July 16)

Saint Anastasios became Bishop of Thessaloniki in 431. At the time he served as the vicar of the Roman Papacy. Popes Sixtus and Leo wrote to him. In 451 the Fourth Ecumenical Synod took place in Chalcedon, but he did not seem to attend and was instead represented by Quintillus of Heraclea, who signed the Acts of the First and Second Session on October 8th and 10 of 451. It seems that he reposed around the end of September in 451, because at the Third Session on October 13, 451 a presbyter named Andrew represented the Bishop of Thessaloniki who is now Euxitheos.

Saints and Feasts of the Sunday Between July 13th and 19th

 

Verses

The Six Synods defeated the factions,
Of the heretics, having divine words as a weapon.

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 
Holy Six Ecumenical Synods

 

Sunday of the Commemoration of the Holy Six Ecumenical Synods

 

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Six Ecumenical Synods: Gospel and Epistle Reading

 

Gospel Commentary for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Six Ecumenical Synods (St. Theophylact of Ochrid)

 

 Verses

 

 Bright-bearing stars of the invisible heavens,
Illumine our hearts with your rays.

 

 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the

Holy Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

 

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod: Gospel and Epistle Reading

 

How We Came to Celebrate the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in July

  

Gospel Commentary for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod (St. Theophylact of Ochrid) 

 

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod: The Struggle on Behalf of the Orthodox Phronema (Fr. Athanasios Mitilinaios)

 

Homilies on the Ecumenical Synods - The Fourth Ecumenical Synod (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)  

 

Homily One for the Epistle Reading on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers - Christian Behavior (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Two for the Epistle Reading on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers - The Heretical Man (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Homily One for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Theology of Fatherhood (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Two for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Apostles and Fathers as Lights of the World (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - Empirical Theology (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Four for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Light and the Lights (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Five for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

Homily Six for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod - The Knowledge of God (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

The Hymnographic Approach of a "Conciliatory" Ecumenical Synod

 

Holy Bishops of Nafpaktos Who 

Participated in Ecumenical Synods 

 

Encyclical on the Bishops of Nafpaktos Who Participated in Ecumenical Synods

Saint Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem (+ 458)

St. Juvenal of Jerusalem (Feast Day - July 2)

Verses

The memory of Juvenal I celebrate,
Whose divine memory Palestine carries.

Saint Juvenal , Patriarch of Jerusalem, occupied the throne of the Holy City during the years 420-458. During this period great luminaries of the Church enlightened the world: Saints Euthymios the Great (Jan. 20), Symeon the Stylite (Sept. 1), Gerasimos of Jordan (Mar. 4), and many others. In 451, on the see of Jerusalem being recognized as a Patriarchate by the Synod of Chalcedon, he became the first Patriarch of Jerusalem, though Cyril of Alexandria and Pope Leo I opposed the separation of Jerusalem from Caesarea and Antioch.

Sunday of the Commemoration of the Holy Six Ecumenical Synods

On the Sunday that falls between the 13th and 19th of this month [July], we commemorate the Holy Six Ecumenical Synods, namely the 318 God-bearing Fathers of the First Synod who gathered in Nicaea against Arianism in the year 325; and the 150 of the Second Synod who came together in Constantinople against the Pneumatomachs in the year 381; and the 200 at the Third who came together in Ephesus against Nestorius in the year 431; and the 630 at the Fourth in Chalcedon who came together against the Monophysites in the year 451; and the 165 of the Fifth Synod who came together against Origen and his followers in the year 553; and the 170 of the Sixth who came together in Constantinople against the Monothelites in 680.

Verses

The Six Synods defeated the factions,
Of the heretics, having divine words as a weapon.

Synaxarion of the Commemoration of the Miracle of Saint Euphemia at the Fourth Ecumenical Synod

On the eleventh of this month [July], we commemorate the Holy Great Martyr and All-Praised Euphemia, when she held the Tome of the Definition of the Faith of the Six-Hundred and Thirty God-bearing Fathers gathered in Chalcedon for the Fourth Ecumenical Synod.

Verses

To Euphemia.

The Martyr determined the definition while reposed,
Proclaiming the faith for which she contested with longing.

To the Synod.

The most-truthful incarnation of God the Word,
Was affirmed by Eutyches to be an apparition so he was deposed.

On the eleventh the definition was wondrously and firmly set by Euphemia.

A 6th cent. Description of the Church of Saint Euphemia in Chalcedon

The icon depicts the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod gathered in the
 Church of Saint Euphemia before the relics of Saint Euphemia.

The Church of Saint Euphemia in Chalcedon was the place of meeting for the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod in 451 AD. Below is a description of this church from the sixth century in the context of Evagrius speaking of the history of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod at Chalcedon. This church, which stood opposite the city of Constantinople, also contained the sacred relics of Saint Euphemia, which played a major role at the Synod after a miracle took place affirming the Orthodox faith, that is celebrated in the Orthodox Church on July 11th. The account below does not neglect to speak of her miracles, visions and relics, which apparently at one time produced "blood" or possibly myrrh that emitted a beautiful fragrance.

By Evagrius Scholasticus

(Ecclesiastical History, Bk. 2, Ch. 3)

The place of meeting was the sacred precinct of Euphemia, the martyr, situated in the district of Chalcedon in Bithynia, and distant not more than two stadia from the Bosporus. The site is a beautiful spot, of so gentle an ascent, that those who are on their way to the temple, are not aware of their immediate approach, but suddenly find themselves within the sanctuary on elevated ground; so that, extending their gaze from a commanding position, they can survey the level surface of the plain spread out beneath them, green with herbage, waving with corn, and beautified with every kind of tree; at the same time including within their range woody mountains, towering gracefully or boldly swelling, as well as parts of the sea under various aspects: here, where the winds do not reach them, the still waters, with their dark blue tint, sweetly playing with gentle ripple on the beach; there wildly surging, and sweeping back the sea-weeds and the lighter shell-fish with the recoil of its waves. Directly opposite is Constantinople: and thus the beauty of the site is enhanced by the view of so vast a city.

Saint Kalandion and his Unique Church in Cyprus

St. Kalandion (Feast Day - April 26)

At the village of Pano Arodes in the province of Paphos on the island of Cyprus, there is located the only church in the world that is dedicated to Saint Kalandion. It's the central church of the village and was built in the 18th century. Saint Kalandion is one of the Saints of Paphos who is unknown not only in the wider Greek world, but also in the other districts of Cyprus.

According to the Cypriot chronicler Leontios Machairas, who lived during the 15th century, this Saint is one of the Three Hundred Alamanni Saints who came to Cyprus in the seventh century when the Saracens conquered Palestine and Syria, countries that were then major centers of monasticism. Saint Kalandion was bishop of Antioch, and after losing his flock, he came to Cyprus along with Saint Agapios and Saint Barlaam, who decided to live from then on as hermits. According again to the historian Machairas, these three Saints lived as ascetics in the village of Arodes in Paphos. "...in Arodes there is Saint Kalandion, Saint Agapios and Saint Barlaam...".

Holy Hieromartyr Proterios, Patriarch of Alexandria (+ 457)

St. Proterios of Alexandria (Feast Day - February 28)

Verses

Proterios is slain by reeds,
Who sharply wrote with a reed against error.

Saint Proterius lived in Alexandria during the patriarchal tenure of Dioscorus (444-451), an adherent of the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches. Proterios fearlessly denounced the heretics and confessed the Orthodox faith.

Saint Auxentios of the Mountain (+ 470)

St. Auxentios of Mount Auxentios in Bithynia (Feast Day - February 14)

Verses

The mountain of Auxentios is like Carmel,
Where he appeared like Elias save for death.
On the fourteenth Auxentios shed this life.

Saint Auxentios was of Persian parentage but born in Syria, where his father had emigrated during the persecution of Shapur II. He came to Constantinople in the reign of Theodosius II (408-50) and obtained a commission in the imperial guard. Held in high-regard by the Emperor and by all his contemporaries on account of his piety and integrity, he enjoyed the friendship of men illustrious for their virtues and ascesis including Saint Marcian -- the future Steward of the Great Church (10 Jan.) -- Anthimos and Sittas, with whom he spent his days in fasting and prayer and nights in vigils, their faces wet with tears. They participated as often as they could in vigils at the Church of Saint Irene, which had been built by Saint Marcian, and they frequently went to the Hebdomon district to receive the counsels of John, a well-known stylite.

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake of 447 and the Snatching Up of the Child in the Air

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake and the
Snatching Up of the Child in the Air
(Feast Day - September 25)

Verses

Lifted on high a boy proclaims below,

The song thrice-holy that the Angels sing.

During the reign of Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450), the all-good God allowed by the judgement He knows, to give full assurance to mankind, first, of the common resurrection of all in the last days,* and second, how we ought to sing praises correctly to God. For this reason He allowed a terrible earthquake, and out of fear of this earthquake all the people of Constantinople, together with the emperor and the most holy Patriarch Proclus, as well as all the clergy, were found together outside in the field and they did litanies.** And since at that time there began the heresy of the Theopaschites at the instigation of the devil, who added to the Trisagion Hymn the words, "Who was crucified for us":*** for this reason suddenly a child was snatched up before them into the air.**** While everyone beheld this strange thing, with fear and terror they cried out for a long time, "Lord have mercy," and then once again the child was brought down by a cloud, and in a loud voice he revealed to all that the choir of Angels ascribe the Trisagion Hymn to God without the additional "Who was crucified for us," instead saying, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us." And the child, immediately after saying these things, delivered his soul into the hands of God, and the earthquake immediately ceased.*****

Saint Pulcheria, Empress of the Romans

St. Pulcheria the Empress (Feast Day - September 10 & February 17)

Verses

The Empress Pulcheria stands at Your right,

Chanting to You my Christ.

Saint Pulcheria was born was born on January 19, 399 and was the daughter of Emperor Arcadius (395-408) and his wife Eudokia, and her brother was Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450). At the death of his father in 408, and at a very young age, seven years old, Theodosius II became emperor under the tutelage of the eunuch Antiochus.