(Continued) 👆
For example, the devil, who was created as the archangel, made a mistake. But the other angels didn't follow him because they know the Church is right. The wrong devil mislead Adam but all of Adam's children didn't follow Adam's path thinking that Adam was right. Adam realized his mistake and returned.
In the same way, the people of Noah's time were wrong, and Noah did not follow them thinking they were right. He opposed their ideas. The people of Lot's time were also wrong, and Lot did not say to those who were wrong, "You are right." Our fathers knew that individuals make mistakes, so they stayed where they were, and God continued to speak to them. Judas, one of the twelve apostles chosen after Christ became a man, made a mistake, and the apostles at that time did not say that Judas was right. Instead, they condemned his actions. The sons of the priest Eli were doing abominable things. One of these acts was to sleep with women in the holy place. These were the priests, and they were blaspheming. Even though the priests made mistakes, the Church itself was not wrong. God punished them for their sins, and caused the Ark to be captured by Zion, Eli and his sons to die in the same day. This illustrates that while individuals may commit abominable acts, the Church as an institution is not at fault.
Similarly, in the case of Judas, although he betrayed Jesus, the other apostles did not follow him and instead continued to spread the word of God. This highlights the fact that even though individuals within the Church may make mistakes, the Church itself is founded on the teachings of Christ and is therefore incapable of making mistakes.
In summary, while individuals may make mistakes and fall short of the values upheld by the Church, it is important to distinguish between the actions of individuals and the Church as an institution. The Church is founded on the word of God and the teachings of Christ, and is therefore incapable of making mistakes.
There may be priests who behave like this, selling their honor and denying what they believe. However, just because some individuals act this way, it is not right to say that the Church is wrong. We must look for those who are truthful, as Christ said, "I became sick for them without being sick so that I could bring them back."
In Hebrews chapter 13, verse 7, it says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." We should not look to Arius but to St. Cyril, not to the devil but to St. Gabriel. We should think about those who said, "The believers should not suffer while we are here. We must suffer before the believers."
The Church was founded on the blood of Christ. The mission and purpose of the Church is to convert and baptize the unbelievers. After that, it is to strengthen those who believe and are baptized, and then to sanctify those who persevere by receiving the holy body and the precious blood. The final task is to empower those who believe, who have received the holy body and the precious blood, and who are holy and persevering, to enter the kingdom of heaven. We must not forget that there are those who cause us to hate the true fathers of the Church. When we see fathers who are not true fathers, wearing the clothes of fathers, holding a cross, wrapped in shawls, and wearing robes, we should not be ashamed of our religion, but we should recognize that they do not represent the true Orthodox mothers and fathers, and they are not the fathers of the Orthodox believers.
(Continues) 👇