APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, OR OLD TESTAMENT PRIESTHOOD? – Metropolitan of Strumica Naum
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When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18, 8)”
Why God-Man Christ utters these words, which are of life-saving significance for us today?
On this delightful day that is today, we find it very convenient to clarify these words of Christ, because today is the day of the Holy Apostles, and especially of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and we all boast that we are the heirs of their succession, that is, of the apostolic succession, which in essence is the Tradition of Christ. Are we really? Let’s check with a simple comparison.
The Holy Apostles did not wear any special vestments for the conduction of the Holy Liturgy. Today, we wear special, expensive clothes, and we even put royal crowns on our heads.
The Holy Apostles did not hold services in magnificent temples, but in ordinary homes. We are competing today for who is going to build a bigger temple, despite the fact that many people live in poverty.
The Holy Apostles did not use special sacred vessels (plates) for the services, but they used ordinary vessels which they could find near at hand. We, today, if they are not made out of silver and are not consecrated, do not even want to look at them.
The Holy Apostles, in the way they dressed, did not differ from other contemporaries. We are different; we even wear special marks in order to be recognised.
The Holy Apostles earned for their needs with their own hands. We, today, charge for our “services”, even though we are commanded by God: “Freely you have received, freely give.”
The Holy Apostles became everything to everyone, only to gain someone for Christ. We today identify ourselves with worldly schemes of human organization outside the Church: state, nation, party, and we help the demon destroy the souls of all those who do not conform to our schemes of identification – because we reject them.
The Holy Apostles had authority, i.e. inner spiritual capacity for the order they held. We, today, do not have it. We do not have an enlightened mind and the prayer of the mind in the heart (Jesus prayer), we are not deified.
The Holy Apostles wrote the rules (holy canons) according to which they themselves lived. We, today, violate or abuse them as a weapon against our neighbour.
The Holy Apostles died as martyrs for the sake of Christ. We, today, enjoy various pleasures. The Holy Apostles lived in unity and love, and we, today, do not. Etc., etc.
I am not saying that some of the aforementioned things are not good or unnecessary, such as church canons, temples, sacred vessels, vestments, etc. – on the contrary, but I say, together with the Holy Fathers, that there is nothing more sacred (important) than man and that all of those things are merely pedagogical means for the faithful to grow “ to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ “, also those things are not idols which should keep the faithful in spiritual slavery, and which enables us to exercise our external authority over the faithful people. At the coming of the antichrist, all of the aforementioned will naturally fall away.
Obviously, this comparison show us as dissimilar to the Apostles (first me), and very similar to the old testament priesthood – which rejected the God-Man Christ. Are the words of the God-Man Christ clear now: “ When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Most Holy Theotokos, enlighten our darkness and save us!
Metropolitan of Strumica Naum
12 / 07 / 2021
