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To: Kolokotronis; stfassisi; Missey_Lucy_Goosey
The Church proclaims the inspiration of the Fathers throughout the liturgical year in Apolytikia and Kontakia.

I don't doubt that the Orthodox believe this. This was never the view of the early church of which the Orthodox was suppose to be a part of. The church had a very set criteria for determining what should go into scripture and what shouldn't.

But your comment intrigues me. You don't believe St. Paul's or St. Peter's works to be any more or less inspiring than St. Cyril of Jerusalem? Is this correct?

10,159 posted on 10/31/2007 5:14:59 AM PDT by HarleyD
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To: HarleyD; stfassisi; Missey_Lucy_Goosey

“The church had a very set criteria for determining what should go into scripture and what shouldn’t.”

Well, actually, The Church didn’t, or at least it wasn’t the sort of standard everyone bought into. We here have been using the late 4th century as the time the canon of scripture was finalized, but of course that isn’t even close to true. Hebrews and Revelations were the subject of controversy for centuries after the 4th and the Protestants threw out the OT used by The Church for 1500 years in favor of the Hebrew canon. By the way, the writings of +Clement of Rome were read during the Liturgy for some centuries after his death as were the letters of +Ignatius of Antioch and +Polycarp. So far as I know, The Church NEVER stated that the works of the Fathers were not inspired of God; indeed, I don’t think even the Reformers went that far.

Your comment however, indicates to me that you misunderstand what The Church means by inspired. What The Church determined to be scripture is inerrant and inspired by God. Much of what The Fathers wrote and taught is likewise inerrant and inspired by God, but not all of it. No patristic writing is considered sacred scripture, but all patristic writings within the consensus patrum are beneficial to theosis.

The Church of course looks at scripture as part of the “medicine” with which The Church cures sick souls, a very important tool to be sure, but still only a “means to an end”. Bibliolatry is unknown in The Church unlike, for example, in Mohammedanism with the Koran which the Mohammedans believe was dictated by the moon god through an angel to Mohammed and thus is composed of the actual words of the moon god. That’s why they worship the Koran the way they do with the results we are all familiar with. This sort of attitude is not unknown among some Christian groups, though The Church would declare that heresy.


10,161 posted on 10/31/2007 5:59:36 AM PDT by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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