On the Patristic distinction between “ailing” and “healthy” members of the Church

8. Testimonies from the Councils and Fathers regarding the division of the one Church into two flocks due to heresy and the uncondemned heretic, as "healthy" and "ailing," according to St. Basil the Great.

 

1. Testimony of St. Basil the Great from a letter referring to the Arians, stating: "Thus, in such a time, great effort and much diligence are required for the Churches to be benefited in some way. The benefit is for what was previously divided to be united." [852] And in another letter (Letter 92), he says:

"This is precisely where we especially need your assistance: that those who confess the apostolic faith, having dissolved the divisions they devised, may henceforth submit to the authority of the Church, so that the body of Christ may become complete, with all its members restored to wholeness..." [853]

"In Letter 92, in particular, which refers not only to the Church of Antioch but to the Churches of the East in general, he entreats the Westerners to help and to achieve, synodally, the dissolution of schisms 'so that the body of Christ may become complete.'" [854]

2. Testimony of St. Cyril of Alexandria from his letter "To… and fellow celebrant John… of Antioch" after "the reconciliations," stating:

"...and may He unite what has been divided and remove the scandals that have been scattered among us, crowning both our Churches and yours with harmony and peace." [855]

3. Testimony of the same Saint from his letter "To Father Maximian" of Constantinople, stating:

"Behold, behold, the divided members of the body of the Church have been united again with one another." [856]

4. Testimony from the address "By the Holy and Ecumenical Sixth Council to the most pious and Christ-loving Emperor of Constantinople," stating:

"What greater offering of gifts could you bring to God than a fervent demonstration of your love and faith toward Him and the peaceful state of the holy Churches achieved through you? For this reason, you have also undertaken great efforts, as you indeed have, striving for the unity of those who are divided. You reign righteously through Christ, and Christ, through you, grants peace to His Churches. He Himself has now stirred up your tranquility and kindled your zeal for Orthodoxy, leading you to convene this ecumenical council, so that the evil of the heresy that had recently arisen might be overturned and the proclamation of the truth affirmed. Thus, with this advance, the structure of the Church might be stable and unshaken.

"For, most wise emperor, you deemed it unacceptable that we should be in agreement and harmony concerning all else among ourselves, yet, concerning the most vital matter of our life, to tear apart and divide ourselves, even though we are members of one another and constitute one body of Christ through our shared belief and faith in Him and one another."

And further below:

"Under these circumstances, it was necessary for your Christ-loving gentleness to convene this most sacred and populous assembly, judging rightly to do both: to remove the cause of the divisions among the Churches and to draw what has been separated toward unity. For you, God-honoring ruler, could not bear to see the false teaching recently woven continue to tear asunder the garment of Orthodoxy, but, as instruments of the Spirit, you worked through and with us to repair what had been torn and restore it to its wholeness." [857]

5. Testimony of St. Tarasios from the Acts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, stating:

"For I see and behold the Church of our God Christ, founded upon the rock, now torn apart and divided..." (858)

6. Testimony of the Seventh Ecumenical Council from its letter "To the most pious... emperors Constantine and Irene," stating:

"That, having removed the division of the Churches, [859] we may draw what has been separated [860] toward unity..." [861]

7. Testimony from the Feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, referring to the second phase of Iconoclasm, stating:

"Seeing the greatest benefaction, let us clap our hands, as the separated members of Christ have been gathered together in unity, and let us praise God, who has established peace as ruler" (3rd troparion, 1st ode).

And it must be added that, just as during the historical periods preceding the convening of those Ecumenical Councils (the Third, Sixth, and Seventh), as well as during the time of St. Basil the Great, we observe two Churches (that is, two flocks; see below) due to heresy and the uncondemned heretics, the same applies to the periods preceding the convening of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (see p. 682), the Eighth Ecumenical Council (due to schism, see pp. 127ff.), and the Ninth Ecumenical Council (see pp. 497–498, 734–735).

According to the above, the Church is divided into two flocks, [862] one being the "healthy" and the other the "ailing," as they are called by St. Basil the Great (see documentation at the end of this section). In the latter, the disease, the plague of impiety, has been introduced, and what was once healthy has been transformed into an ailing part. However, the former has remained healthy precisely because of the separation it maintains from the latter. Attention must be paid here: there do not become two Churches; the Church is one, but the flocks become two, or two local Churches in a state of division.

To make this last point clearer, in the Holy Scripture, the Lord says: "And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My Church..." (Matthew 16:18). The Apostle Paul says: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28) Here, the reference in these two passages pertains to the One Church of the Creed.

In other passages, the Apostle Paul says: "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace..." (Acts 9:31), and elsewhere: "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you." (Romans 16:16) Here, the reference in these passages pertains to the local Churches, which collectively constitute the One Catholic Church of Christ, but each one is also the Catholic Church. Ultimately, this remains a mystery; nevertheless, "the Churches" have the meaning of the local Churches.

And we come to our own excerpts:

●        St. Basil the Great: "...the Churches... for those previously divided to be united."

●        St. Cyril: "both our Churches and yours."

●        Sixth Ecumenical Council: "to remove the division of the Churches and draw what has been separated toward unity."

●        Seventh Ecumenical Council: "that, having removed the division of the Churches, we may draw what has been separated toward unity."

●        Sunday of Orthodoxy: "the separated members of Christ gathered into unity."

Here, the term Churches signifies the local Churches being united or having been united; in other words, the flocks of these Churches being united or having been united into one flock (ceasing to be in division and non-communion).

And St. Tarasios: "...the Church of our God Christ, founded upon the rock, torn apart and divided..."

This signifies: I see the Church of God "torn apart" into two flocks or two local Churches that are non-communicant with one another.

Both of these parts perform mysteries as parts of the Church. St. Basil the Great and all the Orthodox regarded the [unjudged] Arians as possessing valid priesthood. The Third Ecumenical Council recognized the "congress of apostasy" [the party associated with Nestorius prior to his adjudication] as possessing valid priesthood. Similarly: the Sixth Ecumenical Council acknowledged Makarios (and others), the Seventh Ecumenical Council acknowledged the Iconoclasts, and the Confessional Synod of 843 acknowledged the Iconoclasts after the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The same occurred with the Fifth Ecumenical Council and the Nestorians of the West, the Eighth Ecumenical Council and the schismatic Ignatians, and the Ninth Ecumenical Council and the Barlaamites-Akindynists (see also regarding St. Maximos the Confessor and St. Gregory Palamas, pp. 92ff., 496).

The question is, what is the meaning of the ailment of one part, and why must we distance ourselves from it, even though it performs mysteries? The answer to this very delicate issue is given generally throughout the entire book, but also concisely in Chapter VII, "Final Conclusions" (see pp. 704ff.).

The designation of the two flocks of the Church as "healthy" and "ailing" according to St. Basil the Great is substantiated by the following:

"Which fulfills the image of those who distort the teachings of the Lord and are not genuinely instructed in the Word, but are corrupted by the teaching of the evil one, mixing themselves with the healthy body of the Church [the healthy body of the Church, referring to the Orthodox] so that, covertly, they may inflict their own damages upon those who are more intact" [863].

"The healthy part [understood as a portion of the Church, referring to the Orthodox] has sufficiently labored in defending the piety of the Fathers, being shaken by many and varied assaults of schemes, as the devil advances in his strategies. But, through your prayers, those who love the Lord, may the evil and deceitful heresy of the Arian impiety be extinguished, and may the good teaching of our Fathers, those who convened at Nicaea, shine forth, so that the glorification of the blessed Trinity may be fulfilled in harmony with the salvific baptism" [864].

"For indeed, this is the most pitiable of all, that even the part that seems to be healthy [understood as part of the Church, referring to the Orthodox] has been divided against itself... And for us, in addition to the open war waged by the heretics, even the uprising from those who seem to hold the same faith has brought the Churches to the utmost weakness" [865].

"Rather, we remain in the same order, while others are the ones constantly shifting positions [this refers to Eustathius of Sebaste], and now even openly deserting to the adversaries. You are not unaware of how much we valued communion with them while they were part of the healthy portion [understood as part of the Church, referring to the Orthodox]" [866].

"But you, our beloved and greatly desired, be physicians to the wounded and trainers to those who are healthy; healing what is ailing [meaning the sick portion of the Church, referring to the Arians], and anointing what is healthy [meaning the part of the Church that is Orthodox] with piety" [867].

"Stand firm in the faith; look upon the world and see that this ailing part [understood as a portion of the Church and referring to the Pneumatomachi] is small, while the rest of the whole Church, which has received the Gospel from one end of the earth to the other, belongs to this sound and uncorrupted teaching" [868] (see p. 583, and other related testimonies of the Heavenly Herald on p. 582) [869].

 

852. Letter 113, "To the Presbyters in Tarsus," year 372, BEPES 55, 142 / C2, 17 / EPE3, 252.

853. Letter 92, "To the Italians and the Gauls," written in autumn 371, BEPES 55, 124 / C1, 202-203 / EPE3, 90.

854. PETROS I., Unity and Division of Communion..., p. 150.

855. SMB1, 617 / MCC5, 304 / ACO1-1-4, 16.

856. SMB1, 630 / MCC5, 352 / ACO1-1-4, 34.

857. SMB3, 657-658 / MCC11, 660-664.

858. SMB3, 728 / MCC12, 1006 / ACO VII 2-3-1, 46.

859. "The universal sovereign and all-working, supreme life-giving nature, compassionate, philanthropic, and good, the originating Trinity, now glorified by us, grant us forgiveness of sins, peace to the world, and unity to the Churches," from the Ninth Ode of the Midnight Service in the Plagal Fourth Tone.

860. "O single sovereignty and three-radiant, triune divine monarchy, receive graciously Your hymn-singers and deliver them from sins, from trials and hardships, and swiftly grant peace mercifully to the Churches and unity," from the Ninth Ode of the Midnight Service in the Plagal Fourth Tone.

861. SMB3, 880 / MCC13, 404 / ACO VII 2-3-3, 860.

862. a) Letter of Pope Hormisdas (514–523) to Epiphanius (520–535) of Constantinople, in which, among other things, it is said: "...for there is hope that the remaining members, still divided, will strive for harmony in their proper body..." After the conclusion of the Acacian schism (519), this refers to those who had not yet reunited.

b) In the address delivered during the tenure of John II, Patriarch of Constantinople (518–520), at the conclusion of the Acacian schism, it is said: "Hoping through it (the right faith, editor’s note) to unite the Churches that had been divided."

c) Letter of Epiphanius, Bishop of Tyre, to the Synod convened in Constantinople (518) under Patriarch John II of Constantinople, which deposed Severus. Within it, it is stated: "And to unite the most holy Churches into the beloved and just union with Him (the Lord God, editor’s note)."

863. Homilies on the Hexaemeron, PG 29, 104BC / EPE 4, 188.

864. Letter 91, "To Valerian, Bishop of Illyria," BEPES 55, 121 / C1, 198 / EPE 2, 24.

865. Letter 92, "To the Italians and the Gauls," BEPES 55, 124 / C1, 202 / EPE 3, 90.

866. Letter 245, "To Theophilos, Bishop," BEPES 55, 307 / C3, 84 / EPE 2, 86.

867. Letter 242, "To the Westerners," BEPES 55, 297 / C3, 67 / EPE 2, 30.

868. "For in Antioch, even the healthy body of the Church was divided in two," Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Ecclesiastical History, PG 82, 1089.

"O good brother, because disputes have arisen among you (I say this, for one says, 'I venerate the icon of Christ as Christ Himself,' while the other refuses), I did not receive this without pain; knowing that these contentions, sown by the devil, tend to divide even the healthy part of Orthodoxy," Theodore the Studite, Letter 65 "To Naucratios, my son," PG 99, 1285-1288 / F 568, 1 / EPEF 18C, 30.

869. See also The Position of Uncondemned Heretics in the Church, Orthodox Objection and Testimony, 1, Jan. (2000), pp. 31ff.

 

Source: Η έννοια του Μολυσμού των Ορθοδόξων εκ της εκκλησιαστικής κοινωνίας μη καταδικασθέντων αιρετικών [The Concept of Defilement of the Orthodox from Ecclesiastical Communion with Uncondemned Heretics], by Hieromonk Eugenios, Thessaloniki, 2023, pp. 549-555.