13-19 sun day of the holy fathers of the seven ecumenical councils
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TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
WhichtheHolyChurchCelebratesontheSundayFallingBetweenJuly1319.1
OntheSundaythatfallsfromthe13thtothe19thofthepresentmonth,wechant
the Service to the Holy and Godbearing Fathers who came together in the Seven
EcumenicalCouncils, that is: theFirstCouncil, of the 318 Fatherswho assembled in
Niceain325tocondemnArius,whodeniedthattheSonofGodisconsubstantialwith
theFather;
the
Fathers
of
the
First
Council
also
ordained
that
the
whole
Church
should
celebratePaschaaccordingtothesamereckoning;theSecondCouncilofthe150Fathers
who assembles in Constantinople in 381 to condemn Macedonius, Patriarch of
Constantinople,whodeniedthedivinityoftheHolySpirit;theThirdCouncilofthe200
Fathers who assembled in Ephesus in 431, to condemn Nestorius, Patriarch of
1IntheRussianusage,onlythefirstsixCouncilsarecommemoratedtoday.
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TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
Constantinople, who called Christ amere man and not God incarnate; the Fourth
Council, of the 630who assembled inChalcedon in 451, to condemnEutyches,who
taught that therewasonlyonenature, thedivine, inChristafter the Incarnation,and
Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who illegally received Eutyches back into
communionanddeposedSaintFlavian,PatriarchofConstantinople,whohaddeposed
Eutyches; the FifthCouncil in 525, of the 165who assembled inConstantinople the
secondtime,tocondemnOrigen andTheodoreofMopsuestia,theteacherofNestorius;
theSixthCouncilin680,ofthe170whoassembledinConstantinopleforthethirdtime,
tocondemn theMonotheliteheresy,which taught that there is inChristbutonewill,
thedivine;andtheSeventhCouncilin787,ofthe350whoassembledinNiceaforthe
secondtimetocondemnIconoclasm.
TheResurrectionDismissalHymnandKontakionoftheToneoftheWeekDismissalHymn.PlagalofFourthTone
OSTglorifiedartThou,OChristourGod,WhohastestablishedourFathersas
luminousstarsupon theearth,and through themdidstguideusall to the true
Faith.OMostMercifulOne,glorybetoThee.
M
AnotherDismissalHymn.FirstToneWhileGabrielwassaying
Efaithful, letushonor theSevenHolyCouncils,*whichChristGod theWisdom
has
set
as
His
houses
seven
pillars;
*
through
them
we
have
all
received
unchanged*theundefiledtraditionsoftheFaith.*Asouranchor,weholdfasttotheir
rightdecrees,*whilecryinguntotheFathers:*GlorytoHimthatilluminedyouall.*
GlorytoHimthatmagnifiedyou.*GlorytoHimthathathstrengthenedtheOrthodox
Faiththroughyou.
Y
Kontakion.PlagalofFourthTone
HEpreachingof theApostlesand thedoctrinesof theFathersconfirmed theone
FaithintheChurch.Andwearingthegarmentoftruthwovenfromthetheologyon
high,she
rightly
divideth
and
glorifieth
the
great
mystery
of
piety.
TTexts:TheGreatHorologion1997TheHolyTransfigurationMonasteryBrookline,Massachusetts02445and
TheMenaion2006TheHolyTransfigurationMonasteryBrookline,Massachusetts02445IconcourtesyofTheHolyTransfigurationMonasteryBrookline,Massachusetts02445
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TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
The Icon Not Made By Hands
(SeeAugust16)
With
the
condemnation
of
Iconoclasm
at
the
Seventh
Ecumenical
Council
in
Nicea
787,
the350GodbearingFathersnotonlyexplicitlyconfirmed theprecedingSixCouncils
andtheirCanonsbutalso,sincetheytaughtnothingnew,reaffirmedineverydetailthe
content,bothwrittenandunwritten,ofApostolicTradition.
TheIconoftheHolyFace,ortheHolyNapkin,isthesummitoftheworkoftheholy
FathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils.Explicitistheconfirmationthatthemaking
ofholyIconsisperfectlyconcordantwiththeApostolicpreachingsincethegiftofthe
IconsconfirmsthetrueandnotimaginaryincarnationofGodtheWord(TheDefinitionoftheHolyGreatandOecumenicCouncil,theSecondAssembledatNice,quotedinTheSeventhGeneralCouncil,tr.J.Mendham;LondonWm.Ed.Painter,342Strand;1850,p.439).
TheFathers
meeting
at
Nicea
for
the
second
time
in
787
proclaim
that
all
that
the
ChurchteachesanddoesrestsuponholyTradition.WeaffirmthatwepreserveallthetraditionsoftheChurchwhichhavebeenhandeddowntousin
her,whetherwrittenorunwritten,without innovation;ofwhichone is the formationofrepresentative
images,whichisperfectlyconcordantwiththehistoryoftheevangelicalpreachingintheconformationof
thetrueandnotimaginaryincarnationofGodtheWord,andwhichconducesnolesstoedificationthan
theother.Forthosethingswhicharemutuallyillustrativeofeachotherhavemutuallytheirimpressions
fromeachother(Ibid,p.439).
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TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
WhentheApostlespreachedthatJesusChristhadfulfilledeachprophecycontained
in theCanonical Scriptures as found in theGodbreathed Septuagint relating to the
Messiah,theApostlesdeclareJesusChristtobetheexpectationofnations(Gen.49:11
LXX).SaintDavidseesChristsgloryandcriesout,Godshallcomevisibly,yea,our
God,andshallnotkeepsilence(Ps.49:3LXX).SpeakingwiththeambassadorsofKing
AbgarofEdessa,afflictedwithleprosy,theLordChristtakesawettowel,driesHisface
withit,andthenhandsitovertotheKingsartistwhowasunabletocapturetheLords
faceonpaper,suffusedasitwaswithlight.WhenthisNapkintouchedtheAbgar,the
Kingwas,exceptforaspotonhisforehead,healedofhisleprosybytheHolyNapkin.
IntheIconnotmadebyhandswenoeticallyadore,inverydeed,thehypostasis,or
person,of theSonofGod.WedonotseeHishumannaturealone;weseeHisdivine
andhumannaturesunconfusedlyunitedintheonehypostasisoftheSonofGod.Our
eyesbeholdChrist,LightofLight,TrueGodofTrueGod,begotten,notmade,onein
essencewith theFather.Through this iconour eyes are elevated to adore theHoly
Trinityfor
the
Holy
Spirit
is
also
consubstantial
with
the
Father.
TodaywebeholdtheSonofGodWhomAdamsawintheGardenofEden,andthen
lost sight ofHim through sin.Whenwe hear, By theWord of the Lordwere the
heavens established and all themight of themby the Spirit ofHismouth (Ps. 32:6
LXX),thewordsoftheProphetDavidproclaimthebeginningofallthingsinGodthe
Father,and theSon,and theHolySpirit.Wesee in the Iconof theHolyNapkinOur
ChristWho is Theanthropos, GodWho has forever unitedHimselfwith our humannatureinthewombofHisVirginMother,ourPanagia.Inherwombourbloodbecame
united,without anymingling,withhisBlood in such away that thismiracle of the
Incarnation,
never
to
be
repeated,
is
outside
the
power
of
either
human
thought
or
speech.We,byfaith,areHis,andHeisours.
OursoulsarecreatedbyourSaviourandthenunitedwithahumanbodyafterthat
bodyisformedinourmotherswomb.Everymotherswombholdsahumansouland
body,whosedestinyistobecomegod,afterGod,sosaytheholyFathers.
OurLordtookourhumanwillanduniteditwithHisDivinewillsothatthrough
thisunionourwillscanbedeifiedandsaved,first in theChurchsBaptismand then,
throughoutourlivesintheChurchsmyriadmysteries.AllthisHedidforusmenand
foroursalvation;Hediedourdeathsothat,inthemysteriesofChurch,wemaylive
HisLife.Owonder!ourdyinglifeistransfiguredbyandbecomesunitedwithHisown
lifegiving
Life.
We have spoken, in narrative form, of the victories of the first Six Ecumenical
Councils. In 787 the 350 Fathers of the SeventhCouncil atNicea confirm that these
doctrinesand the Iconof theHolyFacearegrounded inoneholyTradition.Wespell
out in the texts of theGospel thewonders of our salvation, andwe also show our
salvation in the first IconofChrist, theholyNapkin, toadyingworldso that it, too,
may be summoned to life in Christ. Our salvation comes from the true and not
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TheSundayoftheHolyFathersoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils
TheHolyOrthodoxMetropolisofBoston
imaginary incarnation of God theWord as the holy Fathers proclaim. The Holy
NapkinshowstoallthisApostolicTruth:ifHedidnottakefleshandbecome,inHisflesh,depictable,wecouldnotusecolorsandpaintHimaswedo.Hetrulytookourfleshandsowehaveicons.
TheKontakionoftheSundayofOrthodoxy,whichwaspennedontheverymoment
theSaintTheodora theEmpress (whose relicsare incorrupt inCorfu)proclaimed the
VictoryofOrthodoxy,closeswiththesewords:Asforus,confessingoursalvation,we
recorditindeedandword.
TheMandylion(theHolyNapkin)isarecordofoursalvationasadeed.Hebecameman,saySs.IrenaeusandAthanasiustheGreat,thatwemightbecomegod.HeisGod
bynature;wearegodsonlybyadoptionandgrace.HehumbledHimselftowrapour
flesharoundHiminthewombofHisVirginMother;Hetookafacethatwemightsee
HimfacetofaceanddrawuntoldpowerfromthevisionofHim.
MyheartsaiduntoThee:IwillseektheLord.MyfacehathsoughtafterThee;Thy
face,O
Lord
will
Iseek(Ps.26:9
LXX).
Beloved,
He
is
the
only
One
Who
loves
us;
He
wearsour face.HeopensHismouthand,withahumanvoice,speakswordswecan
understand.We do not hear claps of thunder from amountain, nor is our vision
darkenedbyclouds.Hewishestodrawnearinlove,sothatwemayrespondtoHimin
loveby puttingHim on in Baptism, andby eating and drinking Him in the holy
MysteriesofHisBodyandBlood.
Doesitcome to this...thatwecannotgetenoughofHim?Dowemake theChurch
ourhomeandourhomesaChurch? Therearemanyways inwhich toworkonour
Transfigurationhereso thatwhenHeappears, thosewho loveHisappearingwillbe
recognized
by
Him
by
their
likeness
to
Him.
May
that
likeness
be
a
likeness
in
every
way,lackingnothingofHiminussothatwemaybeabletoabidebeforethefaceof
Godintheagetocome(Ps.60:7LXX).
AndtoourGodbeglory.
Our Most HolyTheotokos of the Sign
Saint Gregory MonasteryKelseyville CA 95451