“ … vicious wolves will enter among you, not sparing your flock … . Therefore, be vigilant” (Acts 20: 29, 31)
Legends and tales about wolves permeate the world’s folklore. Most cultures also have some myth about werewolves, that is, people who, through a charm or curse, are transformed into wolves. This essay opens with Saint Paul’s warning against spiritual wolves who attack the doctrinal and moral integrity of the Church. This caution forms part of Saint Paul’s farewell admonition to the representatives and leaders of the churches of Asia Minor. We read from this exhortation on the last Sunday before Pentecost, the commemoration of the Fathers of the first Ecumenical Council.
The Apostle affirms his audience’s responsibility for the Church’s health and for her purity and propagation of her message. He likens those who assail her doctrine to wolves, and he rightly anticipates that some of these wolves may originate among the Church’s leadership, the bishops and clergy. “Even among you men will arise speaking perverse things in order to lure the disciples after them” (Acts 20: 30). The Church must guard against werewolves within, as well as wolves from outside.
This last must concern us. We share the obligation to defend the integrity of the Orthodox Christian Faith from those outside and inside who would forsake it, adulterate it, or dilute its force. We must be wary even of ourselves. The danger may be a subtle one: We may believe we are shielding the Church when, in our zeal, we are perverting or weakening her. The first line of defense for the Church is the spiritual strength of each of us, her members. The first place we must look for the seeds of heresy or schism is our own soul. By so doing we both cleanse ourselves and strengthen the Church. Saint John Chrysostom declares, “When we take heed to ourselves, then the flock also is the gainer.”
“Taking heed to ourselves” involves, firstly, anchoring ourselves to the essentials of the Gospel, the incarnation, death and Resurrection of Christ. Heresy usually arises from distortion of the truth, not from outright falsehood. Hence, Paul’s warning against those who “speak perverse things.” Our anchor must be Christ Himself, who He is and what He has done. This does not mean that other things in tradition – whether liturgical practices, spiritual disciplines, or moral principles – are optional, to be observed or not as is expedient. Rather, everything in the Church derives its significance and its value from the redeeming power of Christ made present by the Holy Spirit. We cherish our Tradition and traditions because they are shaped by the Spirit, and because they help Him to remold us in Christ’s image. We cleave to the Church’s Tradition because we find therein the message and means of salivation. We do not adhere to Tradition for its own sake, but because it shows us the way to the Kingdom of God. If we forget this, we risk becoming wolves.
We must also learn to rely on Christ Himself. He has entrusted the salvation of the world to our care; He has contrived our Church structure of bishops, priests, lesser clergy, and laity so that she may carry out that mission. But, while Christ has entrusted the Church to our care, He did not then leave us orphaned and defenseless (John 14: 18 – 20).
The Church is eternally His; He has purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20: 28). Chrysostom finds reassurance in this: “If He ‘purchased her with His own blood,’ He will assuredly advance in her defense.” Saint Paul, too, reminds us that the Spirit continues the divine oversight of the Church. “Care for yourselves and all the flock in which the Holy Spirit placed you as bishops.” Chrysostom again notes that the apostle may be addressing bishops, but he intends every Christian, clergy and laity alike, to heed his words: “Do not think that these words are spoken to us [clergy] only; for indeed this speech is addressed to you [laity] also ….”
The Holy Spirit Himself commissions us as defenders of the Faith. We must therefore always defer to His will in carrying out our duties. The Lord promised that even the gates of hell should never prevail against His Church. Ultimately, His providence, exercised through the Spirit, fulfills that promise, not our care and concern.
Sometimes our anxiety for the Church’s welfare and purity blind us to this truth. Many groups have fallen away which once claimed to be Christian and which were often quite close to us m doctrine. Sadly we sometimes hear their innovations parroted by fellow Orthodox, even hierarchs. When we hear such echoes, our concern for our Church turns to fear.
The Fathers tell us, however, that fear is the devil’s tool. God is perfect love, and “perfect love casts out fear …, and he who fears is not perfected in love” (I John 4: 18). Fear cannot lead to truth but only to sin and error. We lose our spiritual balance. We forget the central teaching of the God-man Jesus Christ in our rush to defend other elements of Tradition. Especially, we forget our Savior’s pledge to guide and protect His Church. We try to shoulder this burden ourselves. In our fear of what the world may do, we forget what Christ has done and will do. Then, paradoxically, we endanger the Church because we risk perverting her Faith as much as those whom we fear We risk becoming wolves ourselves.
Saint Paul did not make this mistake. He warned about wolves and spiritual perverts attacking the Church, but he also reassured us of the Lord’s protection and the Spirit’s oversight. “But now I commend you to God and to the message of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance with all those He has sanctified” (Acts 20: 32). Christ died for His Church; He rose to give her life; He sent the Spirit to gather her. He will preserve her to the end of time, when He will present her to the Father as His spotless bride. Christ’s love for His saints knows no limit. Saint Gregory the Theologian cites the Apostle’s quotation of our Lord, “It is better to give than to receive” (Acts 20: 35), and applies it to Christ Himself. “O the swiftness of His mercy! O the easiness of His covenant! His blessing is bought by you merely for willing it. He accepts the very desire as a great price. He thirsts to be thirsted for; He gives drink to all who desire to drink. He takes it as a kindness to be asked for the kindness. He is ready and liberal. He gives with more pleasure than others receive.” Our Master will never stint in His bounty toward His servants; our Bridegroom’s love for His Church will never cool.
Our Church faces many challenges and opportunities. Many things are stirring: new appreciation of our liturgical life and our traditions of personal spirituality, serious inquiry into Orthodoxy by non-Orthodox, renewal of monastic life in its ancient centers in Russia and Greece, the new energizing of American monasticism from those sources, new immigration from Europe. As we strive discern God’s will, let us hold fast to our holy Orthodox Tradition and be ever alert in the Church’s defense. Let us watch for the wolves and werewolves. Let us especially beware of the latter, because we may be seduced into their ranks. But, above all, let us remember that the essence of the Church’s teaching is the joy of the Savior’s Resurrection. May its beauty swallow up all our fears, and may our faith in Christ, the God-become-man, lead us toward His Kingdom of eternal peace and joy.
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