February: Day 12: Teaching 2: Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch

February: Day 12: Teaching 2:
Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch
 
(Stand Firm in the Faith!)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the fourth century, strife and various heresies disturbed the peace of the Church. In particular, the heresy of Arius, who denied the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father, spread. Rejected and condemned by the Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea, this heresy nevertheless found many followers. The Greek Emperor Constantius, one of the sons of Constantine the Great, was inclined toward Arianism and persecuted bishops who disagreed with him. Everywhere, enmity, revenge, and often bloody strife replaced the love and peace bequeathed by Jesus Christ.

In the midst of these difficult circumstances, Saint Meletios, who is celebrated today, a native of Armenia, formerly Bishop of Sebaste, was unanimously elected Archbishop of Antioch. The Arians, who were more numerous in Antioch than the Orthodox, also agreed to this election. They hoped to find a like-minded person in the new Archbishop, but they soon became convinced that they had been mistaken in their expectations. About thirty days after his election, Meletios preached in the church. All those present, Orthodox and Arians, eagerly awaited his exposition of his faith. Meletios clearly confessed the Orthodox faith, confirmed by Nicaea, the First Ecumenical Synod, that the Son of God is consubstantial and equal with God the Father, that He was not created, but eternally begotten of the Father and through Him all things were created. A great commotion arose among Meletios’s listeners. Angry cries from the Arians and joyful exclamations from the Orthodox were heard. The Arians saw that their hopes for Meletios were not justified. And very soon, through their intrigues, Saint Meletios was exiled. Several times after that, Saint Meletios returned to Antioch and was again exiled, depending on who was the emperor - the defender of Orthodoxy or the protector of the Arians. In 378, under the emperor Valens, Meletios returned to Antioch from his last exile. In 381, Saint Meletios presided over the Second Ecumenical Synod of Constantinople, assembled under the emperor Theodosius I against the Macedonian heretics, who falsely taught that the Holy Spirit was created by God the Father through the Son. The Synod confirmed the Orthodox teaching, determining to recognize God the Holy Spirit as consubstantial and equal to God the Father and God the Son, worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son. Saint Meletios died before the end of the synodal sessions. Saint Gregory of Nyssa honored his memory with a eulogy before the synod, and Saint John Chrysostom did the same afterward, when he received the priesthood.

II. a) Brethren, thus Saint Meletios teaches us by his life, to stand firm in the faith and firmly adhere to the teaching which is revealed to us in the word of God, which was brought from heaven by our Savior Christ and spread by His Apostles. Let everything that is revealed in the word of God be for us a holy truth, not allowing for any doubt, hesitation or perplexity. Let the unbelievers preach that everything was formed by chance, that man was created for sensual pleasures alone, that there will be neither eternity nor God's judgment. Let us leave it to the sons of perdition to think to their own destruction, but we will resolve all questions of faith on the basis and in the spirit of the word of God. Where are we from? Who are we? Why do we live? What will happen to us? Who is our God? How should we behave in our relationship with Him? - All this is clearly, simply, in the most satisfying and reassuring way decided in the word of God, decided once and for all, decided in a way that can never be decided anywhere. It is this sound teaching that we will adhere to and contrast with all the new and ancient inventions of the human mind. To those who assert that chance and fate govern everything everywhere, let us say, according to the teaching of the Savior: not a single bird will fall without the will of the Heavenly Father. How can anything happen in the life of a person without this will? To the opponents of authority, preachers of anarchy and tyranny, we say: there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist are established by God. To those who preach impunity for sins, who reject eternal torment, let us recall the words of the Savior about unrepentant sinners: "These will go away into everlasting torment."

b) Believing according to the Orthodox faith, try to be guided by this faith in your attitude to life. Let the world say: "live for yourself," and we will say: "how can I live only for myself, when my Savior Himself laid down His life for all, and commanded me to love my neighbor to the end of my life for him?" Let the world say: "live according to your own will, do not enslave your freedom to external commandments and statutes;" and we will say to such teachers: "I have been granted freedom, but not for sin, but for the free avoidance of sin, for the free service of God, freedom has been granted to me not so that I would abuse it, but so that I would use it for the good of my soul - not so that I would boldly and daringly satisfy every inclination of my flesh, the first movement of my feelings, but so that I would freely suppress these inclinations and feelings." Nowadays, easy acquisitions are considered nothing - the passion for gain in any way has become a common phenomenon, for many it serves as the goal of life, the subject of all thoughts and concerns. But for a believer to understand the full vileness of such a passion, it is enough to recall the words of the Apostle: "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content;" and the words of John the Baptist, spoken to the people: "Whoever has two coats, let him give one to him that has none." This means that not only do we have no right to unjustly appropriate someone else's property, on the contrary, we are obliged to give our last to the needy. Revengefulness is also not considered a sin now - it is, they say, the defense of one's honor. But such people forget what our Savior taught: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you; if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also."

III. Thus, let us oppose the anti-Christian opinions, views, and concepts of modern people with a strict Christian-evangelical view, and even better with life itself, which is fully consistent with the Gospel, and in all cases the way of acting is completely Christian, and we will stand firm in the faith, and our faith will be a living, active, God-pleasing faith. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.