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THE VERY REV. OLOF H. SCOTT
PASTOR'S STUDY
PHONE (304) 346-0146

Question first appeared on February 6, 2005
This question follows up on your recent answer regarding the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Schism: 1) What is the correct role of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) under Orthodox teaching?; 2) If the Patriarchs were “Equal,” was the Bishop of Rome ever “First Among Equals” under Orthodox teaching?; 3) Is there a correct Orthodox theological basis to say that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is “First Among Equals,” or not?

When St. Peter answered Jesus’ question (“Who do you say that I am?”) with the response, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of haven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19)

These are the famous verses that indicate a “primacy” given to Peter among the disciples/ apostles.  It is Orthodox teaching that this primacy was one of “shared” authority among all the apostles.  Jesus gives the same authority to them after His resurrection, when He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22,23) Peter is understood to function as a “Chairman of the board.”

Additionally, Jesus uses a “play on words” in His proclamation regarding “Peter,” (Petros), and “rock,” ( petra ).  Peter’s “rock” is his confession, “You are the Christ...”  This is the “rock” upon which the Church is built.

The early councils of the Church attest to certain “primacy” to the Church of Rome (and the Pope), a primacy “analogous” to the one Peter had with the apostles.  But, for Orthodox Christians this “primacy” does not come somehow from St. Peter.  Indeed, St. Peter’s presence was more effective and better attested in Jerusalem and Antioch than in Rome .  The primacy given the Church of Rome comes from the fact that Rome was the capital of the Empire, and it was established in order to give the Bishop of Rome a greater authority in defending the interests of the Church before the pagan Emperors.  It is for this reason, long before the Empire was Christian, that the Church of Rome was “First among Equals.”

©Very Rev. Fr. Olof Scott, Sunday Bulletin, February 6, 2005

Question first appeared on February 20, 2000
I have a Pentecostal friend from down south who is offended by our funeral services. He says that by offering prayers for the deceased we are attempting to "pray them into Heaven." He says that once you leave your earthly body, you are one place or the other, and that all the praying in the world isn't going to make a difference one way or the other. I have answered him in a way I think is proper, but I'd love to hear your perspective and how you'd answer this.

In short, the Orthodox Church does not pre-judge how God will determine the disposition of each soul following death-God is the judge. We, therefore, continue to remember and pray for those who are no longer part of the Church "Militant," but are now part of the Church "Triumphant."

The Roman Catholic Church, following its schism with the Christian East, developed a different theology including Purgatory and a whole system of meritorious prayers and indulgences which may be applied to limit or shorten a soul's duration of suffering in purgation. Our theological understanding is quite different.

Question first appeared on April 2, 2000
Historically, the Catholic Church has asserted that one is justified by both faith and works. Lutherans and other Protestants believe that one is justified by faith alone. Recently the Catholic and Lutheran Churches have resolved part of this conflict. What is the Orthodox Church's stand on the relative roles of faith and works in one's life as a Christian?

It is a sad commentary that the Christian Church has split multiple times in the debate over faith and works. When people begin to focus on just certain parts of the whole revelation given in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, they can be drawn to false conclusions. Such is the case regarding faith and works. There are those who have carried their interpretations of each of these elements to such an extreme that they would appear to be antithetical. This is far from the truth.

Consider St. Paul's position regarding faith and works (Eph. 2:4-10):

"...God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in Ms kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we arc His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

St. James has this to say about the same subjects (James 2:14-26):

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble! But do you want to know, 0 foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. ' And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

St. Paul's and St. James' teachings on faith and works are not antithetical, but are one of emphasis. St. Paul stresses primarily the position of faith, but at the same time does not deny works, because he concludes the above with, "...we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

St. James stresses works, without which faith is not discerned.

The Orthodox Church has always stressed the balance of faith and works. By the Grace of God we are justified by faith and united to Christ and His Church. That union, however, by it's very nature, must result in good works.

Concerning faith and works, we have the following quotes from the writings of the Church Fathers:

St. Clement of Rome, (A.D. 92-101?)

"Why vim our father Abraham blessed? Was it not because of his deeds of justice and truth, wrought in faith?"

'-we, therefore, who have been called by His win in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, neither by our wisdom or understanding or piety, not by the works we have wrought in holiness of heart, but by the faith by which almighty God has justified all men from the beginning: To whom be glory forever, and ever. Amen. What, then, shall we do, brethren? Shall we cease from good works, and shall we put an end to love? May the Master forbid that should ever happen among us; rather, let us be eager to perform every good work earnestly and willingly."

St. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 150-211/216)

"When we hear, 'Your faith has saved you,' we do not understand the Lord to say simply that they will be saved who have believed in whatever manner, even if works have not followed. To begin with, it was to the Jews alone that He spoke this phrase, who had lived in accord with the law and blamelessly, and who had lacked only faith in the Lord."

Origen (A.D. 185-253/254)

"Whoever dies in his sins, even if he profess to believe in Christ, does not truly believe in Him; and even if that which exists without works be called faith, such faith is dead in itself, as we read in the Epistle bearing the name of James."

St. Cyprian of Carthage (+A.D. 258)

"You, then, who are rich and wealthy, buy for yourself from Christ gold purified in fire; for with your filth as if burned away in the fire, you can be like pure gold, if you are cleansed by almsgiving and by works of justice. Buy yourself a white garment so that although you had been naked like Adam, and were formerly frightful and deformed, you may be clothed in the white garment of Christ. And you who are a matron rich and wealthy, anoint not your eyes with the antimony of the devil, but with the collyrium of Christ, so that you may at last come to see God, when you have merited before God both by your works and by your manner of living."

Note: antimony was used on the eyes as a cosmetic; collyrium was a liquid eye-salve.  

Question first appeared on July 15, 2001
Once I read in a magazine article about all of the differences and similarities between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.  Could you expound on that subject?

Volumes have been written on this subject, and we have many texts available in our parish library and through our book store.  However, I will attempt to summarize the key differences.

Two main issues surrounded the Great Schism that split the Christian Church during the ninth through thirteenth centuries: 1) the Primacy of Peter, and 2) the addition of Afilioque@ to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed by the Western Church (Roman Catholic).

Regarding the first, by the end of the fourth century the Christian Church had five main centers or patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.  Rome, because it was the original capital of the Roman Empire, was given honor as Afirst among equals.@  Over the following centuries, the western half of the empire disintegrated slowly through various invasions by pagan tribes, and Rome was gradually isolated from the other four eastern patriarchates.  Add to that several strong and aggressive Roman bishops (popes) and the theology of the Primacy of Peter evolved in the west from Afirst among equals@ to AFIRST.@  The Christian east maintains that all bishops are equal and share in Peter=s primacy.  He was the first among the disciples, but he never exercised dictatorial power over the other eleven.

The phrase Afilioque,@ which means Aand the Son@ in Latin was first added to the creed in Spain in the fifth century.  The reason was to combat a resurgence of the Arian heresy in Spain by attempting to strengthen the statement, AAnd, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father (insert Afilioque@Band the Son), who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified...@  Although this addition was not initially accepted by the Roman Pope, within a century and a half the western church was reciting the creed with the Afilioque@ inserted and with the blessing of subsequent popes.  The Christian east protested that changes in matters of faith could only be made by an ecumenical council.  The west responded in accordance with their developing theology of Aprimacy,@ that the pope had the authority to make the change.

Since the Great Schism the differences in theology of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches have continued to expand.  The Roman doctrine of Apapal infallibility@ is a direct result of extrapolating the western interpretations given above to a logical conclusion.  More differences are a result of how each Church interprets the doctrine of AOriginal Sin.@  The Roman interpretation has resulted in a theology that=s produced their doctrines of the  AImmaculate conception@ of the Virgin Mary, Purgatory, Limbo, and bans on contraception for birth control to name a few.

Remember that there was no distinction between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church until after the Great Schism of 1054. Until then we refer to one united Church with two parts, Western and Eastern.

From Fr. Nicon Patrinacos' book, A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy: "A legal position has been gradually reached in the West by which all three ranks of priesthood, deacons, presbyters, and bishops, must be celibate. The earliest enactment to this effect is canon 33 of the Council of Elvira, about 306. Pope Siricius ordered celibacy in 386, an enactment that was repeated by Pope Innocent I (402-17). Similar legislation was passed in Africa extending celibacy even to subdeacons. Pope Leo the Great (440-61) forbade the higher clergy to put away their wives upon ordination; rather, they were to go on living with them as brother and sister. However, objections were soon raised and before. long Gallican councils refused to ordain married men before mutual vows of continence had been exchanged between them and their wives. The wives then retired to a monastery or were enrolled in the orders of widows or deaconesses. This remained the position of the Roman Church until a new enactment in 1917 forbade altogether the ordination of a married man."

The Christian East, however, developed a compatibility between the sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of ordination. Married men were admitted to all of the orders or priesthood from the beginning. It developed over time that the choice of marriage or celibacy by a candidate for any order of the priesthood was decided prior to ordination. By the time of the 4' and 5t^h centuries, unmarried clergy were more selectively considered for the role of bishop. However, there were still married bishops during this time, among which were Gregory (father of Gregory the Theologian) and Gregory of Nyssa (brother of St. Basil).0

Gradually, and as late as the 12th century, the Eastern church limited the order of bishop to candidates who were celibate. Examples of married clergymen who were raised to the highest offices in the Orthodox Church: the Ecumenical Patriarch John XlII (1316-20) was married and had children and his wife became a nun; Patriarch of Alexandria Nicholas (1935­39), John Martinos, Metropolitan of Gortyna (1901-19), and the well-known Patriarch of Jerusalem Damianos (1897-1931) were widowers.

©Very Rev. Fr. Olof Scott, Sunday Bulletin, May 12, 2002
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