Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos: The Firstborn from the Dead

 

The Resurrection of Christ, the premier event in the mystery of the divine economy, gives us each year the opportunity to delve into this event and little by little to engage the mystery of the Resurrection with our own resurrection. Besides, this is the purpose for the establishment of the annual festive cycle of Pascha.

Met. of Nafpaktos Vlassios Hierotheos: The mystery and the process of death - Interview

1 Question: Tell us something about death, something that comes spontaneously to you, something you consider extremely important.

Answer:What comes spontaneously to mind is that death is a terrible mystery, as we chant in the funeral service, which is a poem by St. John Damascene. This is related to the fact that the soul is violently detached from the harmony of its union with the body. It is also a sad event, because it is related to man’s corruptibility and mortality which is manifested in all life.

In addition, it brings to my memory the Service of the Resurrection of Christ, which we Orthodox celebrate with splendour. We hold lit candles in our hands and sing triumphally the paean of victory: “Christ is risen from the dead, by death He has trampled down death, and on those in the tombs He has bestowed life”. This beautiful image shows our attitude towards life and death. We are corruptible and mortal, but we possess the “medicine of immortality”, which is the resurrected Christ. Employing modern terminology, we may say that by the incarnation of the Son and the union of human with the divine nature in the person of Logos, a “spiritual cloning” has taken place, our mortal nature has been united with the life of God. This is why death has changed its name and is now called dormition (falling asteep) and the places where the departed ones are buried are called cemeteries (“dormitories” in Greek), not burial grounds.

So, when I see people holding a lit candle and chanting “Christ is Risen” on the night of the Resurrection of Christ, I understand better that we should regard death as a process of passing from the “land of Egypt” to the “land of Promise”, from death to life, which takes place in Christ, and as a hope for our resurrection which again takes place in Christ. It would be very fortunate if we were to anticipate death in this position, holding the candle of the Resurrection and chanting “Christ is Risen”. After all, we are “ strangers and pilgrims” in this life, our true country is elsewhere. I am always impressed by the words of St Nikolaos Cabasilas (14th century) that while we live here on earth we are like an embryo in his mother’s womb, and at the moment of death we are born, we get out of that womb. This is why in the Orthodox Church the saints are celebrated on the day of their dormition or their martyrdom, not on the day of their physical birth.

2. Question: We understand from the Holy Scripture that there are two kinds of fear: a holy fear, which is fear of God and the beginning of wisdom according to the psalmist, and another kind of fear inspired by demons, which is pathological fear. To what category does the fear of death belong?

Answer: Indeed, there is a fear of God which is an energy of the grace of God and the beginning of salvation, that is, man fears/respects God and starts obeying His commandments, and there is a fear inspired by demons which causes anxiety and anguish. However, besides these two fears there is also another fear so-called psychological fear, which is related to a person’s insecurity and emotional inadequacy.

The fear of death means something different for each person. For secular and atheist people it is related to the course to “nothingness”, that is, they think that they leave the only existing world and end up in the nothingness of non-existence. This is something that does not exist for us Orthodox. For Christians, the fear of death is related to the soul’s departure from the world they know, the friends and relatives, and its entry into another world they do not know yet. They do not know how they are going to live, what will happen with God’s judgment which follows death. This is why hope and proper preparation is needed.

Of course, those Christians who have reached the illumination of the nous and deification and have been united with Christ transcend the fear of death, as exemplified by the life of the Apostles, the Martyrs and in general the Saints of the Church. In reading the Synaxaria we see phrases like: “on this day saint (so and so) is perfected in peace” or “is perfected by the sword”, etc.. It has to be underlined that in Greek the verb “teleioutai” means “is perfected”, is led to perfection, and differs from the verb “teleionei”, which means “ceases to exist”. We may also say that the life of the senses (“vios”) is terminated by death, while life (“zoe”) is perfected but not terminated.

What is important is that, with the spiritual life we live, we should defeat the fear of death and feel death as a path towards an encounter with Christ, the All holy Virgin and the saints.

3. Question: We know from the Holy Tradition that at a person’s death angels, saints as well as demons are present. What can you tell us about this?

Answer: From the teaching of Christ and the whole tradition of the Church we know that both angels and demons exist, and they are not personifications of good or evil, but individual beings created by God. Demons were angels who lost communion with God. Many saints proved worthy to see angels, as well as demons of temptation, while in this life.

According to the teaching of our Fathers, angels and saints, often even Christ and the All holy Virgin, appear to those about to die in order to support them, to strengthen them to avoid the fear caused by death. The demons also appear, especially when they are able to influence certain people because of their passions, and they demand power over their souls. We are reminded of this in the prayer to the All holy Virgin in the service of the Compline (“Apodeipnon”): “At the hour of my death, care for my miserable soul and drive the dark faces of evil spirits far from it”.

Hierotheos Vlachos and John Romanides

From the teaching of the church it is well known that each person has a “guardian angel” protecting him, and this is why there is a special prayer to the guardian angel in the service of the Apodeipnon. Fr. Paisios, a monk on the Holy Mountain, used to tell me that he would often see his guardian angel beside him and embrace him. He used to say that we must strive to reach salvation, so that our guardian angel, who has been to so many pains to protect us and help us in our life, may not go empty-handed to God, if we are not saved due to our indifference.

I remember with emotion that my father, when he entered the Church, would go to the northern gate of the holy Altar and kiss the icon of Archangel Michael and ask him to receive his soul in due time, when he had repented, protect it from evil demons, and lead it to God. Perhaps this prayer, among everything else, helped him have a good dormition and a happy, smiling face in the coffin.

4. Question: We read in the Holy Scripture that mercy has exceeded judgment. Does this mean that almsgiving absolves a multitude of sins?

Answer: We have to see what mercy means. In reality, mercy is the feeling of divine grace, the love of God. When we pray saying “Lord have mercy”, we ask God’s mercy, God’s grace. He who experiences divine grace is generous to his brothers with all sorts of charity, expressed by prayer, theological words, material contributions, and thus puts into practice the beatitude “blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew, 5,7). In this sense it can be said that the feeling of God’s mercy and almsgiving transcends judgment.

He who has been transformed spiritually and has been united with God does not fear judgment, for what Christ said applies to him: “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5,24).

According to the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, there are three judgments. The first occurs throughout our life , when we are faced with the dilemma of whether to follow the will of God or to reject it, when we have to choose between a good and an evil thought. The second judgment takes place when the soul exits the body, according to St. Paul’s words “people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment” (Hebrews, 9, 27). The third and final judgment will be at the Second Coming of Christ. The first judgment is important.

St. Symeon the New Theologian says that, when a person is united with Christ in this life and sees the uncreated Light, then the judgment has already taken place for him and he does not wait for it at the Second Coming of Christ. This reminds us of the words of Christ I mentioned above.

At this point I would like to repeat the saying by St. Basil the Great and other Fathers of the Church that there are three categories of those who are saved, that is, the slaves, who follow the will of God in order to avoid hell, the wage-earners who struggle to earn Paradise as a reward, and the sons who obey God’s will out of love for God. So, throughout our life we must advance spiritually and pass from the state of the slave to the state of the wage-earner and from there to the mentality of the son. This means to pass from fear and recompense to love. To love Christ, because He is our Father, our mother, our friend, our brother, our bridegroom and our bride. This way we transcend the judgment.

5. Question: Tell us something about sudden death.

Answer: The assessment of sudden death depends on each one’s viewpoint. For secular people, sudden death is good, accepted and desirable, because they will not suffer and they will not be tormented by illnesses and old age. For believing Christians, though, sudden death is bad, because they are not given the possibility to prepare better for their encounter with Christ and the heavenly Church. When someone visits a high-ranking official, he prepares accordingly. We should do the same with respect to our encounter with Christ.

Preparation, by repentance, is essential. This is why Father Paisios of everlasting memory used to say that cancer is a saintly illness because it has filled Paradise with saints, meaning that a long illness prepares people with prayer and repentance. According to the teaching of St. Maximus the Confessor, pain cures pleasure.

In any case, death is the most certain event. We see it around us, everything dies, all living creatures, our friends, our relatives. What is not certain and is unknown to us is the hour of death, when death will come. It may happen while sleeping,while walking, while travelling, while working, while entertaining ourselves, etc. This is why we should pray to God daily, as the Church does: “For the completion of our lives in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord”and “For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, let us ask the Lord”.

In the teaching of the holy Fathers we come across the truth that one of the greatest gifts a person can have is the daily “memory of death”. When this is maintained with the grace of God it leads man not to despair, hopelessness , psychological fear, but to inspiration, to prayer, creativity, even in human affairs, because he tries to finish his tasks and prepare properly. When we live each day as if it were the last day in our life, then even sudden death will find us ready.

6. Question: Which is the correct expression: the hour of death or the moment of death?

Answer: This depends on how one interprets the words “hour” and “moment”. In speech we often use the word “hour” meaning the moment. But I understand that your question refers to whether death is a process or a moment.

What can be said is that there is a process of death, that is, long illnesses lead man gradually to death, but the separation of soul and body takes place at a specific moment by the will of God.

This moment is important, because man’s mode of existence changes and we cannot know how it will be from then on. We know the state where the soul is attached to our body, which communicates with the creation through the senses. We do not know by experience what is going to happen then and how we will be. At present we usually see the world created by God, people, friends, the beauty of earth, not angels and demons. Then, however, the soul will not see through the senses of the body but will see what is presently invisible. This is why the saints want to be conscious and pray during the process of death, in order to leave this world with prayer and to have the strength and grace of God accompanying them.

We have to say that the privilege of being able to pray during these hours and receive communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, in order to be surrounded by the grace of God when the soul leaves the body, is eliminated in our days with so-called life support eguipment in Intensive Care Units. From a Christian viewpoint, the hour and moment of death requires an appropriate preparation, that is, confession, holy Communion, holy unction, prayer by family and frients our own prayer. However, in Intensive Care Units it is impossible to such an ecclesial-pastoral ministry. Thus, because of exercise modern techniques and drugs, in our days more and more people die not being conscious of what goes on at that hour and moment. This is an important problem. Modern medical methods pose a dilemma. “Prolongation of life or obstruction of death?”. With everything that is offered by medical science the question is: is our life prolonged so that we repent and devote it to God or is death obstructed, which creates a lot of pain, physical and existential?

In any case, it is a great blessing from God for someone to die surrounded by his beloved ones who pray and, above all, to die living in the Church, with holy Communion, prayer, the blessing of his Spiritual Father, the grace of God and the prayers of the saints. Our permanent wish should be a death like the one depicted in the icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos, with her in the middle surrounded by the love of Christ, the Apostles, the Hierarchs.

7. Question: Some people die unexpectedly. Is it true that God takes someone when his probability of salvation is at the maximum?

Answer: We Christians absolutely believe that we have been created by the God of love and that God directs our life, He gives life to us and He takes it when He considers it to be the right moment. We also know that God loves man whom He created and wants his salvation. Therefore, it is certain that God allows each man’s death to occur at the most appropriate moment.

Of course, God’s love does not abolish the freedom of man. Man has the ability to act positively or negatively, to respond to the love of God or to reject Him.

Since you said that some people die unexpectedly, I would like to remind you, that we should remember death continuously, we should not feel that we are going to live eternally on earth, because this is a spiritual sickness. There is an alternation between life and death, similar to the alternation between day and night. Modern molecular biology stresses that death is inextricably linked with life, because among the genes there are the genes of aging, which are found in the mitochondria. So, from the moment of our conception, death exists in the DNA, and we see death in our body with the death of cells and, generally, with aging, the passing of years, wrinkles, illnesses, everything which theologically is called corruptibility and mortality. We should not be myopic and behave like an ostrich.

In this process we should know that God did not create us to die, that death is a consequence of the sin of Adam and Eve, and that God loves us and cares for us. He is our affectionate father. It is not correct on the one hand to pray with the “Lord’s Prayer”, the well-known “Our Father”, and call God “Father”, and on the other hand to live as orphans.

8 Question: Orthodox faith attaches particular importance to repentance. We thank you Lord for giving repentance to us. Can repentance on the time of death be so great that a man is saved, even though he is burdened by great sins?

Answer: In our Orthodox Tradition it is known that sin is not somethimg moralistic it is ontological something, namely, the course from life according to nature to life contrary to nature. Thus, repentance is man’s return from life contrary to nature to life according to nature. With sin man lost his communion with God, with his brother and with the creation. With repentance he acquires this communion once again. So, repentance is associated with a progression in man’s liberation from everything enslaving him. The Fathers described this progression in three words: purification, illumination, deification and this is what is called therapy. This happens throughout life. Therefore, salvation is related to therapy. The physician of the body examines us, makes a diagnosis and recommends an appropriate therapeutic method which we should apply. The same holds true for the illness of the soul.

A confession at the time of death opens for man the way to salvation. If he did not have time to be cured spiritually, then the Church with its prayers helps man to salvation, bearing in mind that perfection is endless, it is a dynamic, not a static state.

Throughout our life we must have this “spirit of repentance”. We should consider how we were created by God and the point we have reached because of sin. If we read carefully the book of Genesis, according to the teachings of the Fathers of the Church, and see how Adam and Eve lived and what they became afterwards because of sin, then repentance will develop inside us.

So, someone who has the “spirit” of repentance throughout his life feels this repentance at the hour of death, and actually he feels it to a great degree. On the contrary, when he lives his life without repentance it is difficult to show repentance at the last moment.

My Gerondas, of everlasting memory, Metropolitan of Edessa Kallinikos lived continuously with the memory of death. When he was told by the doctors that he has a tumor in the brain, he confessed right away, he wrote his will, he prayed and had absolute faith to God, saying: “Perhaps God said to me “stop”. I don’t need you any more”. He would pray continuously saying “your will be done”. He gave himself up to God and had a peaceful and saintly end, similar to his whole life.

Therefore, even though there is a possibility for someone who had some spark of love for God in him to repent at the hour of death, we should repent when we are healthy, so as to have the ability to be cured, that is, to proceed from self-love to the love of God and love of men, to reach selfless love out of selfish love.

9. Question: After man’s death, what are the links between the soul and this world?

Answer: Although the soul is separated from the body, man’s hypostasis still exists. As we see in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man is conscious of his state, of his relatives who are still alive and he cares for them. Thus, after death, men care for their beloved ones and ask God for their salvation. All our prayers to the saints are based on this truth. Of course, this link between the soul and living persons is spiritual, not material.

In the book of the Revelation of St John which describes the celestial Divine Liturgy, one can see these relations of the saints with us and their prayer for all people living on earth. This is why our Fathers depicted in the Divine Liturgy this uncreated Divine Liturgy which takes place in the Heavens, in the uncreated Temple. In the Divine Liturgy we live the atmosphere of the heavenly Liturgy and we anticipate it.

We ourselves often feel the love and protection of the saints, as well as of those close to us who have departed from this world, and wish to meet them. A spiritual child of mine was very happy at the hour of death, because, as she said, she would meet this heavenly Church.

Therefore, the soul continues to live after its exit from the body, it is not led to non-existence. If a person lived in repentance during his life, then his soul after exiting the body will enter this heavenly Divine Liturgy and will pray, like a spiritual priest, for the whole world, and will wait for the resurrection of the body. Then the soul will enter the body so that the body too participates in this heavenly Easter celebration.

10. Question: What advice should we give to those close to us regarding our attitude to a person about to die on the day, or at the hour or the moment of death?

Answer: The process of death is very important for each man, because in front of him is the road to salvation or the road to eternal perdition. Unfortunately, in these circumstances, many people look only after the physical health of their relatives and friends without regard for their eternal course. This is why we should take care that a person who is about to die confesses, receives holy Communion, receives the grace of God through the sacrament of Unction and does everything that our Church has available. In particular, we should live the last moments of the life of our beloved one in prayer. We should consider not simply that we are losing our relative, our friend, but that he is moving from one way of existence (with body and senses) to a different way of existence, without body. So, intense prayer is what is needed at that time.

I remember the last moments of my Gerondas, I was beside his bed and could not offer anything else, I just prayed to God for his soul to be received by angels. An aunt of mine who was present thought that I was sad, as I concentrated and prayed. But I was just praying, because that moment is holy and crucial.

Overall, we must experience daily, as St. John Chrysostom says, that the present life is an “inn”. We entered this inn, we live, but we must take care to depart in good hope, without leaving anything here in order not to lose what is there. Furthermore, all of us Christians should realise that death has been defeated by the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ, that communion with Christ is a continuous transcendence of death and of the fear of death, that the exit of the soul from the body is a course towards the heavenly Church and the encounter with Christ, the All holy Virgin and the saints, that the soul will return to the body, and the body will be resurrected and live eternally, according to the way it lived on this earth. St. Maximus the Confessor writes that from the moment of death, and especially after the last Judgment, there are two possibilities: those who are in communion with Christ will live in “eternal well-being” and the rest in “eternal woeful being”. So, everyone will enjoy "eternal being". The difference is between “well” and “woeful”.

Therefore, our advice to the relatives and friends of those about to die is to have faith in Christ and confidence that we are not just citizens of this world, but we are travellers guided to our true country, which is heaven. Our citizenship is above in heaven. The desire for the heavenly land should overwhelm us.–

Neopatristic, metapatristic and contextual "theology" by the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos Vlachos

As one studies the texts of the Holy Bible and the Fathers, one realizes that the basis of Orthodox theology is God's revelation - as given to the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers - throughout the ages.

Characteristic of this is the beginning of the Epistle to Hebrews:  "Having spoken in many aspects and many ways in the past to the fathers and the prophets, at the end of these times God spoke to us in the Son" (Hebrews 1:1)

«Πολυμερώς και πολυτρόπως πάλαι ο Θεός λαλήσας τοις πατράσιν εν τοις προφήταις, επ' εσχάτου των ημερών τούτων ελάλησεν ημίν εν υιώ»

Thus, it is the Saints who are the divinely-inspired theologians, who formulate their experience in clauses, in order to safeguard it from heresy and distortion. Therefore, the "Oroi" (terms)-dogmas are an important element of our tradition and no-one can tamper with them without losing the pathway to his salvation.

An important phrase of the Hesychast Synod of the 14th century - as expressed in the Synodicon of Orthodoxy - is that our course is "according to the divinely-inspired theologies of the saints, and the pious conscience of the Church".

The Saints do not express their own theology; they only formulate with their particular charismas the revelation that they personally experienced in the Holy Spirit.  Not only can there not be an Orthodox theology outside of this perspective; in fact, the very foundation of salvation would be seriously imperiled.

When interpreting what the Apostle Paul had said about his being swept up into Paradise where he "heard ineffable words, which are not befitting a man to utter" (2 Cor.12:1-4), Saint Symeon the New Theologian said that those words were the illuminations of God's uncreated glory, and that they were referred to as "ineffable" because they could not be expressed perfectly by those receiving the experience of that revelation, as it is something beyond the measure of human nature and power.

Fr. John Romanides, when speaking about this subject, says that a revelation is given to Saints with ineffable words, and the Saints express it, as far as they are able, with created words, meanings and images, in order to teach other people so that they might walk the path of their salvation.

It becomes obvious that God's revelation is conveyed with the terms of each era, by the bearers of that Revelation - the true theologians - according to the definition provided by Saint Gregory the Theologian, that: "it is not for everyone [...] to philosophize about God [...] it is not for everyone, because it is for those who have been tested and who have lived in theory and before this, those who have at least cleansed both soul and body or are undergoing cleansing..."

These theologians - the deified ("theumens")  - are acquainted with God through experience; they recognize and respect all the precedent "God-seers" and they accept the terms that they had used.

Consequently, those who can - if necessary - make certain external changes are the true, empirical theologians, who have the same tradition as the precedent Fathers. The rest of us owe obedience to those "initiated through experience" and be guided by them.

In the "Hagiorite Tome", which is the work of Saint Gregory Palamas, there is mention that the dogmas are familiar to "those who have become initiated by experience", who have forsaken money, the fame that people seek and the bad pleasures of the body, all for the sake of the evangelical life. They have confirmed that forsaking, with their submission to those who have progressed to the measure of Christ, and, after having lived in sacred hesychasm with prayer, have become united with God in a mystical union with Him, and have thus become "initiated in things beyond the mind".

These are the true theologians of the Church, who possess the potentials to formulate theology. Apart from them, there are also those who become joined to the aforementioned, "through modesty and faith and caring towards them".

There is no other way to theologize in the Orthodox Church, because outside that theology, there only exist rumination, slogans and populism.  

Saint Gregory the Theologian, when observing "the current tongue-wagging and the same-day sages and the ordainable theologians" who are satisfied only with the desire to be wise, says: "I desire the highest philosophy and seek the extreme standard - according to Jeremiah - and wish to be only on my own".  Indeed, we are nowadays overcome with sorrow, because our era is filled with "self-ordained theologians" who teach Clerics and laity and create confusion in the people.

These introductory words are deemed necessary, for a better understanding of what follows.

1. «Palamist» and «neopalamist» theology

The 14th century was extremely important for the Church, because for the very first time, Orthodox theology confronted the West's scholastic theology, in the persons of Saint Gregory Palamas and Barlaam respectively.

In this dialogue, it became evident that Saint Gregory Palamas was the bearer and the expresser of the entire theology of the Church, from the first period of Christianity and up until his time, given that he expressed the teaching of the Apostles, the Apostolic Fathers, the major Fathers of the 4th century, of Saint Maximus the Confessor, Saint John of Damascus, Saint Symeon the New Theologian, e.a..  During this entire period, the theology of the Church is uniform, changing only in its external formulation in certain points, for the sake of various emergencies. That is why Saint Gregory was also characterized as a traditional as well as a new theologian.

Thus, the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas cannot be regarded as "Palamist" theology per se, but as the theology of the Orthodox Church, as expressed by him. The same is observed with the teachings of all the Saints.

Usually, heretics' views would take on the name of the person involved - for example "Arianism", "Nestorianism", "Paulicanism", etc..  It is therefore regarded as unseemly to name the teaching of Saint Basil the Great as "Basilist", of Saint Gregory as "Gregorianist", or of Saint John the Chrysostom as "Chrysostomist" etc.. and as such, it is equally inappropriate to name the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas as "Palamist" theology.

However, at a certain point in time, the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas was in fact characterized by some as "Palamist". It is my impression that in most cases the term had a derisive nuance, intended to demote his teaching and make it seem like a strange one and different to the theology of the Church.  There had even been theologians who in the past had actually written disparagingly about the overall hesychastic tradition expressed by Saint Gregory Palamas.

Eventually, the term «neopalamist» theology also appeared, in an attempt to re-formulate and re-interpret the theology of this major Father of the Church, for contemporary requirements. And this has created intense concern, because I believe that this is an endeavour to alter the teaching by Saint Gregory Palamas.

For example, a teaching of the Church on the relationship and the difference between Essence and Energy as expressed by Saint Gregory Palamas is analyzed, but, at the same time, the hesychast tradition is rejected as pietistic, which is in fact the path for a personal partaking of the uncreated energy of God.

And the question that is posed here is: How can a scientist discuss a theory, when he rejects a practice that confirms it? That is just as unscientific.  That is why, during "conciliar opining", those who do not accept the hesychast tradition as expressed by Saint Gregory Palamas and the "concurring monks" are excommunicated.

I have been aware of this mentality for many years now, on account of my preoccupation with the opus and the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas. That is why, when wishing to analyze his teaching and record my conclusions after many years, I did so on the basis of the lives of the sanctified Hagiorite Fathers, who continue to live that same hesychast tradition and experience that Saint Gregory Palamas had been acquainted with and had experienced himself, on the Holy Mountain.

Thus, the work that I composed has the title "Saint Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite".  This aroused the displeasure of certain circles who insisted on interpreting the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas in a contemplative, scholastic and philosophical manner.  One cannot however examine hesychast teaching independently of the space where it was experienced - and continues to be alive in, to this day. 

Consequently, the terms «palamist» and «neopalamist» theology belong outside the Orthodox Tradition and are a danger to the foundations of Orthodox theology.  

2. Neopatristic and metapatristic «theology»

The previous example shows how contemporary theologians behave and react towards the Tradition of our Church.  I have been in discussions with an Orthodox professor of biblical theology, who teaches at a University abroad but has been immensely influenced by Protestant ideas and who maintains that, since Christ is the Sun of justice, the Fathers are the clouds that hide the Sun, in which case, we must remove the clouds in order to be illuminated directly, by Christ.  This point of view is anti-Orthodox.

I therefore believe it was from within this kind of perspective that the terms "neopatristic" and "metapatristic" theology were coined. At first, the term "neopatristic" timidly appeared on the scene, supposedly for the reason that Patristic texts shouldn't merely be repeated, but rather that the "spirit" of those texts has to be traced and be conveyed into present-day circumstances - in other words, to examine how the Fathers would have addressed contemporary issues.

Despite the well-meaning intentions of some, this is a perilous move because in reality, the entirety of Patristic theology is undermined when impassioned individuals attempt to transfer the "spirit" of the Fathers into their own era.  An authentic transfer presupposes people who possess the same empirical knowledge - or at least are in contact with it.

Then followed the term "metapatristic" theology, inasmuch as it was considered that we no longer need the Fathers who had lived in other times, encountered other problems, confronted other ontological and cosmological questions, "a totally different worldview" and, consequently, who are unable to help us out in our own era.

I believe that the neopatristic and metapatristic theologies are reminiscent of a viewpoint according to which, Patristic theology was of value to its own era, and that later, Western scholastic theology became superior to Patristic theology, while the theology of contemporary theologians surpasses both Patristic theology and scholastic theology...

Views such as these constitute landmines in the foundations of Orthodox theology, because they are characterized by the heretical view of a progressive revelation of the Truth through the ages, and that the Church deepens into Revelation over Time, as opposed to the Orthodox teaching which clearly stresses that "all truth" was once-revealed, on the day of the Pentecost.

Thus, there is no deepening into the Truth over time, nor is there any progressive revelation of the Truth; only that the Church formulates that same, "once-revealed" Truth according to the problems of the time.

The appearance of the so-called neopatristic and metapatristic theology is attributed to certain theologians who had worked in the Western sphere, with Paris as the centre. They had embarked on dialogues with Western thought and had tried to give answers to the problems that they had encountered.

We owe much to those theologians - for example Vladimir Lossky - who had written theological works using the Fathers of the Church - and in fact the ones known as Neptic Fathers.  Among those theologians however, there are some who had expressed neopatristic, metapatristic and contextual theology.  We shall make a brief mention of some of those ideas:

There are mentions of an ecumenism which "should abandon verbal arguments, in order to be founded upon an experimental reality of salvation: by re-submerging those systems and ideas (which in the long run are nothing more than traces within the spherical experience of the Church), into the best that Her experience possesses".

Fanaticism is linked to the "confessional identity", which "constitutes, if not its seed, then at least the ground in which it is cultivated", and that is why there is word of reconstructing a house "with open doors, the new Jerusalem, the Kingdom", in which everyone will have a place.  And whosoever does not wish to toil for the construction of such a house should be removed, while the "key" to that house is the best thing that one could possess, and that which unites us.

Also being traced are common, "contextual" points between Christianity and Judaism, Islam and Hinduism-Buddhism. From within this perspective, "a new cultural mutation" must be attempted, and also (as stressed), "we Christians need to work hard on the prospect of this convergence. This is far more interesting, compared to arguing amongst ourselves."

"Metapatristic" and "contextual" ideas such as these are transferred into Greece in "middleman" style and are intended to either contradict the Fathers (who are regarded "museums" of the past), or to misinterpret Patristic passages, in order to incorporate them in the new mentality.

The assignment and the perspective of metapatristic and contextual theology is evident, in just how dangerous it is for the Orthodox Church, leading Her into a syncretism - not only in the way of life but also in the expression of the faith.  This in reality gives rise to doubt about the demarcation of the faith as done by the holy Fathers; in other words, it dismantles the entire theology of the Ecumenical Councils. This is a serious problem, which needs to be tackled ecclesiastically.

3. The "oroi" (terms) of the Ecumenical Councils and the living organisms

We all need to accept the basic position that the Church is a living reality; that She is the Body of Christ and the community of theosis and, subsequently, that the Church gives birth to Fathers - and not the Fathers who give birth to the Church. This means that every era is a patristic era, and that in every era there appear Fathers of the Church, who are "living organisms". 

However, these "living organisms" are not at all different to the precedent Fathers. Characteristically, when Saint John of Damascus - who lived in the 8th century - spoke of the Theotokos (=God-bearer , the one who gives birth to God) and repeated the words of Saint Gregory the Theologian: "...if one does not confess the holy Virgin as the Theotokos (God-bearer), he is without holiness", he commented: "These are not my own words, but they also are my words; for I have received this inheritance, from the theologically endowed theologian Father Gregory..."

In other words, Saint John of Damascus does not regard these words to be his, given that he had received them from Saint Gregory the Theologian who lived four centuries before him, but at the same time, he also regards them as his own words, because they were an inheritance - a "most theological inheritance"- which he received "from a theologian father" and verified.  Those who desire to be theologians acknowledge the true theologians, accept their teaching, render them their own fathers, and they inherit -through spiritual birth- their words as well as their godly lifestyle.

It is in this manner that spiritual life is passed on, from the past, during every era.  Just as biological life is transferred from generation to generation from living - not dead - parents, thus likewise is the in-Grace spiritual life, the true theology, transferred by living - not dead - spiritual organisms.  

When referring to the illumination of the angelic hosts on high "according to rank" by God - that is, "from the first legion to the second and then onto the next one and so on" - Saint Symeon the New Theologian says that the same applies to the Saints also. "...thus, those who are attached to the precedent saints who, from generation to generation had become saints by observing God's commandments, similarly become illuminated."   One becomes attached to the precedent Saints by observing God's commandments and becomes illuminated like they did. In this manner an uninterrupted chain is formed and every link is attached to the others with the Faith, with works and with love. 

With this patristic teaching, the following words of the Apostle Paul are interpreted:  "...for even if you have ten thousand educators in Christ, you do not have many fathers; in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I have begotten you."  (1 Cor.4:15) There is a difference between in-Christ educators and in-Christ Fathers.  Spiritual Fathers beget spiritual children through the Gospel - that is, through observance of Christ's commandments - whereas educators simply teach.

Those living in the same tradition enforce the evangelical commandments in their lives; they struggle against their passions in order to attain the partaking of God; they also achieve communion with the other Saints who lived before them and who likewise belong to the same tradition. A characteristic quote by the Fathers who endorsed the Hagiorite Tome: "These things we have been taught by the Scriptures; these things we have received from our Fathers; these things we have learnt, with our small experience."

In the Biblical-patristic tradition there is a difference between Prophets-Theoptes (God-sighters)-theologians and speculators, analogous to the difference that exists between prophecy and speculation. The Prophet Elijah cries out: "Behold, the Lord God Shabuoth takes away from Judea and from Jerusalem the powerful (man) and the powerful (woman) .....  and the prophet and speculator and elder..."  (Isaiah3:1-2)

On interpreting this passage, Saint John the Chrysostom makes the distinction between speculator and prophet: "Here, it seems to me that he (Isaiah) calls "speculator" the one who - out of much prudence - as well as out of an experience of things - ponders about the things to come", whereas prophecy is the Prophets' inspiration by the Holy Spirit: "For speculation is another thing, and prophecy another; the latter utters things in the divine Spirit, contributing nothing of his own, while the former, taking causes from things already happened, and activating his own prudence, foresees many things of the future, as much as befits a prudent person to foresee".  And he concludes: "But there is much in between the one and the other: as much as is the difference between human prudence and divine grace." And in order to justify that distinction, he indicates the difference between king Solomon and the Prophet Elisha.  

Christ had declared to His contemporaries: "Did you not read what was told to you by God, Who said 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Matth.22:31-32) For us Orthodox, God is not an abstract notion, nor is He an ideology; He is the one Who reposes in living organisms - the Saints - according to the words of the liturgical prayer: "God, the Holy One, Who reposes in saints..." and according to the hymn:  "the God of our Fathers" (not of ...meta-fathers); the God of living organisms who exist in every era.

He also points out that in our time, after so many studies, "we are ready to admit the eternal prestige of the 'Fathers', as well as the fact that the Church is not 'a museum of dead deposits, nor is She a research company".  The deposits are living ones - "depositum juvenescens" according to Saint Irenaeus. Faith is not an heirloom of the past, but rather 'the sword of the Spirit'...".  He furthermore confesses that the interpretation of the Holy Bible is done by the theology that is expressed by the Saints of every era.  "The Scriptures are in need of interpretation. They are revealed, in theology. And it is only possible through the bearer of the living experience of the Church."

Thus, in order for us to be Orthodox and possess the certainty of our salvation, there is no need for any neopatristic, metapatristic and contextual theology.  We need two things:  Firstly, to remain steadfast - as it is our duty - to the terminology of the Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils because that terminology constitutes a significant part of the Orthodox Tradition - the true and authentic consensus patrum - but also to remain firm in the revealed truth that was given to the Fathers.  Secondly, to seek "living organisms" who live within the "spirit of the Gospel and the Ecumenical Councils - in other words, those who observe the Orthodox prerequisites of the dogmas, in order to guide us correctly in the observance of the dogma.

Unfortunately, those who speak of neopatristic, metapatristic and contextual theology have a problem with both of these prerequisites - that is, with the terms of the Ecumenical Councils and with the "living organisms" of ecclesiastic life.

This is the reason they are vexed by the theology that fr. John Romanides expressed: it was because this important teacher had linked the genuine Orthodox theology of the Ecumenical Councils with contemporary hesychastic tradition; in other words, he linked theology with experience - the professorial chair with the hesychast retreat.

If theology is not expressed empirically it becomes speculation and it tires people, and if experience is not supported on the theology of the Ecumenical Councils it is merely a personal piety, which can possess "contextual" elements found in the other eastern traditions.   Fr. John Romanides appears as a nuisance to the speculators, the philosophizing theologians, who are possessed by the "speculative analogy" - in the words of Saint Gregory Palamas.

Furthermore, this is the reason that - in my opinion - certain contemporary, significant Hagiorite personages (such as the Elders Porphyrios, Paisios, Joseph the Hesychast, Sophrony Zacharov, e.a.) are doubted by some; the life and the teaching of such "living organisms" of ecclesiastic living are a nuisance to contemporary syncretistic theology.

In one of my speeches presented in the past for the purpose of documenting the theoretical teaching of the Church, I made use of texts by fr. Porphyry - a sanctified Hieromonk of our own time. I felt remarkably surprised when Orthodox theologians and Clergymen who were present had disagreed with my reference to words by fr. Porphyry, because according to their views, the Orthodox faith was being "ideologized".

My surprise was immense, because even in science, reference to people who produce an artistic or philosophical work is a token of its veridicality, but according to certain contemporary theologians, a reference to people who live the true Orthodox theology is regarded as ideologizing! I have transcribed this entire discussion; if it is ever published, the "deliberations of many hearts" will be revealed.

[...]

In conclusion, I believe that modern theology - which disengages itself from the Fathers and is expressed with sonorous terms, supposedly out of love for contemporary man - is dangerous for the Church and Her theology. It is truly a speculative method of theology - a populism that is practiced by "self-ordained theologians" on account of their incorrect interpretation of the term "regal priesthood".

Source:

Met. of Nafpatkos Hierotheos Vlachos: Christmas Tree and Orthodox Tradition

Capitalism’s Ideology By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos