St. Maximus's Confession and St. Artemije's Struggle for Orthodoxy

 St. Maximus's Confession and St. Artemije's Struggle for Orthodoxy

Chorbishop Maximus of Novo Brdo and Panonia  

Monastery of St. Nicholas of Myra, Loznica, near Čačak | June 2, 2024

Christ is risen!

Glory be to God, first and foremost, but also it is an honor and pleasure to greet with this all-victorious salutation this sacred assembly of God's people – the New Israel, the chosen generation, the holy nation, the people of His possession (1 Peter 2:9). As the Lord said through the mouth of Moses: "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy assemblies, these are My feasts" (Leviticus 23:2). And what we are to do at our holy assemblies, another sage of the Old Testament teaches us, saying: "Listen, children, to the instruction of a father, and attend that you may know wisdom... Hold fast to instruction, do not let it go; keep it, for it is your life" (Proverbs 4:1-13). Therefore, at these Christian gatherings of ours, the main goal is to hold fast to the instruction of the fathers, for in it lies our life. And thanks be to God, we have the instruction to hold on to. 

Thus, following such biblical teaching and wisdom, this year we are faced with a great task and goal, difficult in scope but easy in content. Our goal is, at least in outlines, to present the entire historical path of defending the Orthodox faith, and thereby the path of the Church, from the ancient Abbots Maximus of Chrysopolis and the Hellespont, to the newly-revealed Abbot of Crna Reka and later Bishop of Raška and Prizren, Artemije, with an emphasis on the harmony and continuity of their unified path.

"The Lord directs the steps of every man, and He delights in his way" (Psalm 37:23), says the king and prophet. All the more so, the Lord directs the steps of the historical path and life of His Church. And the steps of the Church are the steps of the holy saints of God within the Church. Therefore, we also measure our ways, our steps and paths by theirs, walking in accordance with the paternal legacy of St. Justin of Ćelije: to walk in step with all the saints. For this is the only path of the Church, the path of Christ, having been paved by those who belong to Christ – that is, by the saints, the grace-filled people, especially the confessors and teachers of the Orthodox faith. Thus, this task is difficult in scope, but easy in content, for it is easy, very easy, to demonstrate the spiritual harmony and patristic alignment of the path walked by St. Maximus the Confessor and the path walked by our blessed and holy Abba and Bishop Artemije, for in truth, it is one and the same path, the one and only path of Christ's truth, the path of the fathers, the path of the Church, and all our effort is to remain on it.

We will not present anything new here, avoiding the custom of those who invent novelties, from which the Church suffers today and always, but we will only remind of all the patristic foundation and justification for the position of our Diocese, its dogmatic-canonical foundations, upon which we have been established by our blessed Abba Artemije. As the holy Abba Maximus himself confessed in his time, saying: "I have no dogma of my own, but the common dogma of the universal Church. For I have introduced no new word that would be called my own dogma." [1]

The history of the Church is the history of the confession of the Orthodox faith, sometimes before a peaceful and pious flock, sometimes before godless tormentors, sometimes before blasphemous heretics. They have changed, but the truth of Christ in the Church and through the Church has always remained the same, one and only, whole, unbroken, though witnessed by the mouths and blood of many witnesses of Christ. Yet, those many confessed the faith as one, with one mouth and one heart. On this occasion, our intention is not to present some deep theological exposition, but rather something simple and easily understandable to both the learned and the simple, yet to all who stand in truth as faithful servants of Christ, with a special emphasis and reliance on the theological and confessional tradition of St. Maximus, so close to our blessed elder and so similar to his confessional struggle and path.

Today, there are many spiteful attackers, slanderers of us and the path we follow, many cynical questions and provocations directed against our Diocese, our confessional stance, and our path. These questioners-tempters and their questions do not seek to understand the truth, but solely to challenge the dogmatic and canonical position of us and our blessed elder, as well as our Diocese, our struggle for the faith of the fathers. We believe that it is precisely for this reason that God has made the path of our elder, our Diocese, and thus our own path, supported by God, almost identical—not only in essence but also in form—to the path, struggle, and confession that St. Maximus the Confessor trod. Hence, the patristic and God-inspired answers to all those unpatristic and uninspired, spiteful questions that have been directed at us, we will present here, not reasoning according to ourselves, but using the answers of St. Maximus the Confessor to the same questions that were directed at him then, as they are to us today. In doing so, by drawing a kind of dialogical-historical parallel, we will show that our holy elder and Abba Artemije, along with us together with him, has been and remains on the path of St. Maximus, and that means on the patristic path.

Therefore, let us begin this patristic and historical examination of ours.

Our holy elder, and also ourselves, are often questioned today by those of one mind in the ecumenistic delusion, asking in a tempting manner: who recognizes you, which local Church, or to which local Church do you belong? Just as, in the past, the heretics and scoffers asked St. Maximus the same: "To which Church do you belong: the Byzantine, Roman, Antiochian, Alexandrian, or Jerusalem?" To this, St. Maximus replied, stating to which Church he belongs, and said: "Christ the Lord called the universal Church the right and saving confession of faith. That is why He called Peter blessed for confessing such faith, and promised to build His Church on that confession." Therefore, the Church is the Orthodox confession of faith, and it is to this Church that we belong, repeating with St. Maximus his God-inspired and Gospel-based answer, and repeating, in theological meaning and content, the same answer of our holy elder Artemije, who once wrote: "We remain, for the time being, in the timeless Church (Διαχρονικὴ Εκκλησία – the Church throughout the ages), in communion with all the Saints, in service to God and our people." [2] This is the key moment of St. Maximus's ecclesiology, which is our greatest foundation and support in the face of today's onslaught of the ecumenistic heresy, which is actually an ecclesiological heresy because it alters the Orthodox understanding and God-inspired teaching about the Church. It is also crucial to highlight the paths of the heresy of Sergianism among today's followers of globalist Orthodoxy, known as ecumenism. The delusion of Sergianism and ecumenism, like many other heresies in the Church, is their supposed preservation of the Church solely in its external, manifest, non-essential sense, by maintaining only its administrative and institutional form, but completely at the expense of its dogmatized Orthodox confession of faith. St. Maximus insists precisely on this Orthodox confession of faith as the essential foundation of the Church. Therefore, ecumenists today supposedly aim to preserve the outward appearance and form of the Church of Christ while destroying its dogmatic foundation and core, that is, the Church itself.

Precisely for this reason, instructed by the patristic and pious understanding of the Church as the Orthodox confession of faith, we will safeguard its governance—its dogmatic essence—giving priority to it rather than to the institutional, administrative-bureaucratic form of the Church. This form must certainly be preserved, to the extent possible under given circumstances, but never at the expense of the Church's dogmatic correctness and purity. As can be seen from the answer of St. Maximus in his dialogue with the heretics of his time—similar to today's ecumenists—when he was accused of not being in communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and other patriarchs who had fallen into the Monothelite heresy, it is recorded as follows:

The eparch (a heretic) asked him: "Are you in communion with this Church or not?" The saint answered: "I am not in communion." The eparch asked: "Why?" The saint replied: "Because it has rejected the Orthodox Councils." The eparch said: "If our Church has rejected the Councils, why are they then listed in the calendar diptychs?" The saint responded: "What good is their name and commemoration when their dogmas have been rejected?"

Here, St. Maximus clarifies that it is of no benefit to the patriarchs and the clergy to nominally accept the Ecumenical Councils, when, through their heresy, they reject the faith of those councils—just as is the case with today's heretics, the ecumenists. They commemorate the Triumph of Orthodoxy, celebrate the memory of the holy councils and confessors of the faith, and even canonize St. Justin of Ćelije, the greatest anti-ecumenist among the holy fathers, yet in practice, they follow and adopt the ways and positions of the ecumenistic heresy. By doing so, the ecumenists betray the essential message and teaching of the holy fathers, the essential content of the Church’s holy councils, and thereby the very essence of the Church itself, which is contained in the unchanged Orthodox faith.

Therefore, this shell of mere external churchliness among the ecumenists and innovators is nothing but a dreadful simulation of the Church and church life, and a denial of the same, as it is deprived of the life-giving power of the true Orthodox faith. For outside of the correct faith of the fathers, an authentic Orthodox spirituality and life in the Church are unimaginable. That is, without Orthodox dogmatics, there can be no Orthodox ethics.

Therefore, the undeniable fact already becomes evident that the main tool of St. Maximus in his struggle to preserve the Orthodox faith was, first and foremost, the unambiguous, zealous, detailed, conscientious, precise, and meticulously diligent confession of the Orthodox faith, and secondly, the cessation of liturgical communion with the non-Orthodox. Of course, just as the ecumenists and innovators, followers of the liberal, relativistic approach to faith, tell us today that we are being overly meticulous in matters of faith, the same accusations were made against St. Maximus the Confessor, to which he responded: "It is absolutely necessary... to honor true belief with truth."

But here is how his struggle with the heretics unfolded: The venerable one was pressured in every way to accept the so-called Typos, the emperor's exposition of faith, full of Monothelite heresy, which falsely taught that there is only one will in Christ. St. Maximus would not accept this in any way. The heretics told him: "Accept the emperor's Typos, not as a reliable dogma of faith, but as a resolution of disputed matters, for it was written not as a dogma but as a solution... This was done so that difficult matters would become understandable and to prevent those refined expressions from harming the people."

Abba Maximus responded: "On the contrary, every person is sanctified by the confession of faith."

The patrician Troilus (a heretic) said: "The Typos does not reject two wills in Christ, but commands that everyone remain silent about it."

Abba Maximus replied: "To remain silent about a word means to reject it. For the Holy Spirit says through the prophet: 'There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard' (Psalm 19:3). Therefore, if a word is not spoken, it does not exist at all."

What do we observe from what we have read here? Both the heretics of the past and those of today consider the exact confession of the Orthodox faith to be unnecessary, as it supposedly harms people with its refined expressions! More precisely—it only harms human, earthly interests, in that time the interests of the Roman Empire, or the so-called Byzantine Commonwealth, and today, the globalist anti-empire, which forbids believing that the Orthodox faith is the only true faith in this world and all others. For, alas, by doing so, we disrupt the false peace and coexistence built on the liberal lie called tolerance, which tolerates sin, the devil, and falsehood—everything, everything, except the truth of Christ. That is why both the heretics of the past and those of today resort to a devilish solution, i.e., the claim that one should not debate about faith, enter into dogmatic details, or emphasize the differences between Orthodoxy and heresy, between Orthodox and heretics. Instead, they say, we should pray together, preach love, push aside the truth so as not to offend people, that is, heretics, and about God—there should not be a single word or the slightest concern not to offend Him.

And we have also heard what St. Maximus says about this—that a word left unspoken is the same as a rejected and non-existent word. Therefore, listen, all you Orthodox who remain silent, who, in the midst of the battle for faith, in the midst of the heretical storm in the Church, do not raise your voice, allegedly preserving church peace, but in reality, preserving your own comfort and material security. For it is blasphemous even to think that you care more about peace in the Church than the holy Abba Maximus, who considered the silence of the Orthodox faith to be a rejection of it, and regarded any peace outside the true faith of the fathers as a harmful loss, not a benefit for the Church. Moreover, here are his words of rebuke regarding that false peace in the Church, which is devoid of the true Orthodox faith:

Then they (the heretics) said: "...do not grieve the emperor, who composed that Typos, not to take away anything by which Christ is known, but for the sake of peace, to establish peace in the church, commanding silence about those matters that create discord." And the man of God, casting himself to the ground, replied with tears: "Let the good and God-loving emperor not be angered by my nothingness, for I cannot anger God by keeping silent about what He commanded to be spoken and confessed."

According to St. Maximus, then, to not confess the Orthodox faith publicly—today, that means not condemning ecumenism as heresy publicly—is the same as rejecting the Orthodox faith and showing that it is non-existent in the hearts of those who remain silent. It is not enough, therefore, to confess the Orthodox faith and turn away from the heresy of ecumenism only in one’s heart and behind closed doors, in such a hidden way, but rather, it must be done publicly, clearly, and openly. This is precisely what St. Maximus the Confessor emphasizes, as we will see in the continuation of his dialogue with the heretics.

Troilus (the heretic) said to him: "Keep whatever you wish in your heart; no one forbids you."

St. Maximus replied: "But the God of all did not restrict salvation to just a person’s heart, saying: 'Whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 10:32). And the divine Apostle teaches, saying: 'For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation' (Romans 10:10). Therefore, when God, His prophets, and the apostles command that the mystery of faith be confessed with words and voice, which brings salvation to the whole world, then it is not beneficial to impose that this confession be covered with silence, lest salvation for people be diminished."

It is clear, then, that for St. Maximus, to remain silent about one’s Orthodox confession of faith is to deny God. That is why, in another place, he asks: "For what excuse will I offer, not to God, but to my own conscience, if, for the sake of human glory and respect, which are in fact nothing, I renounce the true faith that saves those who love it?" [3]

The second powerful means against heresy that St. Maximus resorted to was the cessation of liturgical communion (concelebrating and partaking of communion) and administrative relations (obedience), as a traditional way of resisting heresies and their preachers, especially when such preachers hold high church ranks. This was done long before such a break in communion was canonically verified at the First-Second Council of Constantinople in the 9th century. It is the only language that heretics understood both then and now. For them, quoting the Gospel and the Holy Fathers is like whispering to the deaf. By accepting heresy, heretics trampled on both the Gospel and the Fathers—neither of these holds authority for them anymore, and they no longer understand the evangelical and patristic language, having become spiritually dull and deaf, like asps. Therefore, the decisive break in communion with them is the only effective means they truly understand.

This is what the great Abba Maximus did, and this is what the great Abba Artemije did for us, and we continue to do the same, following their noble example of confession. How difficult it was for the heretics at that time, seeing that St. Maximus refused to enter into communion and partake in the common liturgy with them, is evident in the following lines, where the heretical persecutors addressed him in this way: "Since all the East and those in the West, our opponents and schismatics, look to you and are rebelling because of you, refusing to unite with us in faith, may the Lord soften your heart with compassion, so that you join us, accepting the Typos that we have composed. For we are firmly convinced: if you join this holy Church of Constantinople, all those who have separated from us because of you and your teaching will come back to us."

What do we see from these lines? Then, as now, the heretics were not so much bothered by the confession of faith, the writings, and the preaching of St. Maximus, as they were by his cessation of liturgical communion with them. As the heretic-persecutors of that time themselves testified, following the example of St. Maximus, as a great theological authority, many ceased communion with the Patriarchal thrones of Constantinople and others that had fallen into the Monothelite heresy. Moreover, the heretics exposed themselves by calling the Orthodox, who broke communion with them due to heresy, schismatics. The same situation exists today. Whether we write or speak, it makes no difference to the ecumenist heretics—they neither fear God nor are ashamed of men. The only language they understand, the only serious action that makes them realize the spiritual mire and abyss they are in, is the complete cessation of all communion with them. And just as the heretics of old did, so too do today's heretics respond in the same way, calling us Orthodox, who refuse communion with them due to their heresy, schismatics.

Thus, for the heretics of that time, and by the same logic for those of today, St. Maximus and his followers were schismatics. But we, together with St. Maximus, repeat the words of St. Paul the Apostle: "Let us go out from their midst, bearing the reproach," i.e., the unjust accusation that we are schismatics, "bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:13).

Further unjustly judging St. Maximus, the heretics asked him again: "Do you not commune with the throne of Constantinople?" The saint replied: "I do not commune." They asked him: "Why?" The saint replied: "Because the representatives of this throne rejected the Four Holy Councils [4] by accepting the Nine Chapters composed in Alexandria, and then by accepting the Exposition written by Patriarch Sergius in this city, and recently by accepting the Typos—thus, by adopting their heretical writings. What they dogmatized through the Exposition, they rejected with the Typos, and thus cursed and destroyed themselves so many times over. Therefore, those who are accursed by themselves and excommunicated by the local council in Rome, and estranged from the priesthood—what Mysteries can they perform? And what Spirit descends upon those they ordain?"

Yet, the heretics continued their attacks on St. Maximus, saying:

Then Lord Sergius said: "Abba, it is difficult for everyone because many, seeing you, are breaking communion with the Byzantine Church." The saint asked: "Is there anyone who has declared that I commanded them not to commune with the Byzantine Church?" Lord Sergius replied: "The very fact that you do not commune is enough to turn many away from communion." To this, the man of God replied: "There is nothing more difficult and sorrowful than when a man's own conscience rebukes him, and there is no greater freedom than when a man's conscience does not accuse him. You are aware of the innovations that arose from the writings of Cyrus, the former patriarch of Alexandria, regarding the Nine Chapters, which the Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople adopted and confirmed, as well as other changes, additions, and violations of the holy Councils, committed by the chief priests of the Byzantine Church: Sergius, Pyrrhus, and Paul. These innovations are known to all the churches. And this is the reason why I, your servant, do not maintain communion with the Church of Constantinople."

Thus, St. Maximus simply reaffirms and persists in his position that one should not have communion with those who confess heresy, even if they are called emperors and patriarchs. By doing so, not only is the conscience of an Orthodox Christian not disturbed or troubled, but, as the great Abba says, the Christian conscience is preserved before God. Moreover, they accused St. Maximus of not even being a Christian, to which he responded: "You say that I am not a Christian, but God says that I am a Christian, and I remain so unshakably."

The last and perhaps the most venomous question that the heretics of that time spitefully posed to St. Maximus, and which today’s heretics direct at us with even more malice, is the following: "So, are you the only one being saved, and all the rest are perishing?" The saint answered them: "When in Babylon all people bowed down to the golden calf, the three holy Youths did not condemn anyone to destruction, for they did not look at others' deeds, but only at themselves, so as not to fall away from the true faith. Likewise, when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, he did not condemn those who did not pray to God as commanded by Darius, but he thought only of himself, caring for his own soul, and preferred to die rather than sin against God and be struck by his conscience for breaking God’s law. Therefore, may God forbid me from judging anyone or saying that only I will be saved. But as far as I am able, I am ready to die rather than trouble my conscience by sinning in any way against the Orthodox faith."

They asked him: "What will you do when the Romans unite with the Byzantines? For yesterday two envoys arrived from Rome, and tomorrow on Sunday, they will partake of the Holy Mysteries with the patriarch." The venerable one replied: "Even if the whole world were to partake with the patriarch, I will not. For I know that the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, hands even angels over to anathema if they preach anything other than the Gospel, introducing something new" (Galatians 1:8).

It is clear that the question of whether only he, or we, are being saved is rooted in humanism. This question carries within it a humanistic, parliamentary, Protestant perception of the Church, where the authority lies in the human masses, the majority, or the so-called voting machine, rather than in the truth of Christ and the Orthodox faith. Thus, the very question that heretics-ecumenists and their followers, supporters, pose to us today reveals a lack of healthy ecclesiastical consciousness and Orthodox ecclesiology, which understands the Church as a communion in Christ with all the saints who have lived throughout the ages, and with all those who stand Orthodox, rather than with those who are unholy and live today but believe falsely.

This question implies and pathetically suggests that the position of St. Maximus, and thereby ours, represents a kind of exclusivity, supposedly contrary to Christian humility. However, St. Maximus clearly distinguishes and distances himself from this pathetic and false humility, which is actually a cowardly abandonment of confessional and patristic boldness in standing firm in the faith, and a miserable following of the broad path of the majority, where no one is persecuted, nor are there any obstacles.

We praise the path of confession and, according to our small strength, follow it. We do not judge or condemn anyone, but we do condemn heresy, silence, and compromise with one's conscience in matters of faith, just like St. Maximus the Confessor.

And indeed, the leaders of the Churches are like angels, but we hear the terrifying words of St. Maximus, where he says that the Holy Spirit, not the Apostle Paul, even hands angels over to anathema if they teach differently than what the Gospel proclaims and what the Holy Fathers left us. By fully following the example, path, and manner of struggle of St. Maximus the Confessor, we also follow the path of our blessed elder and bishop, Artemije. We do all this according to the tradition of St. Justin of Ćelije, our true spiritual grandfather, for his tradition has been faithfully and unbrokenly preserved only in our Diocese, and he says that we need patristic and confessional boldness, especially in these days, so difficult for Orthodoxy and the Church of Christ. In vain do those who trample on his tradition adorn themselves with St. Justin today, for whoever does not uphold the tradition of St. Justin does not honor him either.

This magnificent assembly today, this lecture you are hearing, is an effort not for us to speak, but to give the opportunity for the words and deeds of the great theologian of the Church of Christ, St. Maximus the Confessor and martyr, to speak. He was deeply loved, respected, studied, and followed by our blessed elder, especially in these times when, in the face of the onslaught of heresy, it is not silence, cowardice, or faint-heartedness in the defense of the faith that should triumph, but the patristic and confessional boldness that St. Maximus the Confessor showed, and which our blessed elder, St. Artemije, upheld. And we, though of small strength, but with trust in God, strive to persevere on that same path.

Therefore, we will conclude this lecture not with our own words, but with the words of St. Maximus the Confessor, who, like a conclusion of both his and our message, says:

"Let the scandals be removed from the Church, which the aforementioned people (the heretics) have introduced! Let them be removed along with those who introduced them! Let the stumbling stone be cleared from the way, and you (heretics) walk the smooth path of the Gospel, cleansed of every heresy! And when I see that the Church of Constantinople is as it was before, then I too will be as I was before towards it, and I will renew communion with it without any prompting from men. But as long as heretical scandals remain in it, and hierarchs—scandalizers, no words or deeds will cause me to establish communion with them."

And we, gathered here, respond to his confessional words with - AMEN!

NOTES

1. The quotes of Saint Maximus and his dialogue with the heretics are taken from: Lives of the Saints for January, Archimandrite Justin Popović, Belgrade, 1972, pp. 651-672. The words in parentheses are ours.

2. Bishop Artemije, addresses: "Let it be known" - https://www.eparhija-prizren.org/neka-se-zna

3. At the same time, it is wonderful to see how, precisely on the foundation of the confession of the Orthodox faith, from such a spiritual basis, the great Abba Maximus draws his courage, strength, and fearlessness in the struggle of confession, saying to his persecutors: "I am not afraid of torments, since I piously honor God." Knowing, therefore, that the confession of the faith of the Fathers unites one with God.

4. At the time of Saint Maximus, only the first four ecumenical councils were officially recognized and accepted. Acceptance of and adherence to them was a sign of orthodoxy; that is why he refers to those councils as the measure of orthodoxy.

Original Serbian source:

https://www.eparhija-prizren.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VMS.pdf