Theophan the Recluse on "Anathema"

Being it is the Sunday of Orthodoxy, when the service of the
anathemas is read, it seemed fitting to post the following
article by Bishop Theophan the Recluse, "What is an
`Anathema'?" It was translated from the Russian text
published in Pravoslavnaya Rus, #4, 1974.


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WHAT IS AN `ANATHEMA'?

Rarely does the Rite of Orthodoxy, which is now being
performed, take place without censures and reproaches on
somebody's part. And no matter how many sermons are given
explaining that the Church here acts wisely for the
salvation of her children -- still the malcontents just keep
repeating their line. Either they do not listen to the
sermons, or these sermons do not strike home as regards the
latters' perplexities, or perhaps they have formed their own
conception of this rite and do not want to abandon it, no
matter what you tell them.


To some people our anathemas seem inhumane, to others
constricting. Such charges might be valid in other
situations, but there is no way they can apply to our Rite
of Orthodoxy. I will clarify for you briefly why the Church
acts thus, and I think you yourselves will agree with me
that in so doing, the Church acts wisely.
What is the holy Church? It is a society of believers,
united among themselves by a unity of confession of divinely
revealed truths, by a unity of sanctification by divinely
established Mysteries, and by a unity of government and
guidance by God-given shepherds. The oneness of confession,
sanctification, and administration constitutes the rule of
this society, which is obligatory for anyone who joins it.
Membership in this society is contingent upon accepting this
rule and agreeing with it; remaining in this society is
contingent upon fulfilling it. Let us see how the holy
Church grew and how it continues to grow. The preachers
preach. Some of the listeners do not accept the preaching
and leave; others accept it and as a result of accepting it
are sanctified by the holy Mysteries, follow the guidance of
the shepherds, and thus are incorporated into the holy
Church -- they are churched. That is how all the Church's
members enter her. In entering her, they are mingled with
all her members, they are united with them, and they remain
in the Church only as long as they continue to be one with
them all.
From this simple indication regarding how the Church is
formed, you can see that as a society, the holy Church came
to be and continues to exist just like any other society.
And so regard it as you would any other, and do not deprive
it of the rights belonging to any society. Let us take, for
example, a temperance society. It has rules which every
member must fulfil. And each of its members is a member
precisely because he accepts and abides by its rules. Now
suppose that some member not only refuses to abide by the
rules but also holds many views completely opposed to those
of the society and even rises up against its very goal. He
not only does not himself observe temperance but even
reviles temperance itself and disseminates notions which
might tempt others and deflect them from temperance. What
does the society ordinarily do with such people? First it
admonishes them, and then it expels them. There you have an
anathema! No one protests this, no one reproaches the
society for being inhuman. Everyone acknowledges that thesociety is acting
in a perfectly legitimate manner and that
if it were to act otherwise, it could not exist.
So what is there to reproach the holy Church for when
she acts likewise? After all, an anathema is precisely
separation from the Church, or the exclusion from her midst
of those who do not fulfil the conditions of unity with her
and begin to think differently from the way she does,
differently from the way they themselves promised to think
upon joining her. Recollect how it happened! Arius appeared,
who held impious opinions concerning Christ the Saviour, so
that with these notions he distorted the very act of our
salvation. What was done with him? First he was admonished,
and admonished many times by every persuasive and touching
means possible. But since he stubbornly insisted upon his
opinion, he was condemned and excommunicated from the Church
-- that is, he is expelled from our society. Beware, have no
communion with him and those like him. Do not yourselves
hold such opinions, and do not listen to or receive those
who do. Thus did the holy Church do with Arius; thus has she
done with all other heretics; and thus will she do now, too,
if someone appears somewhere with impious opinions. So tell
me, what is blameworthy here? What else could the holy
Church do? And could she continue to exist if she did not
employ such strictness and warn her children with such
solicitude about those who might corrupt and destroy them?
Let us see -- what false teachings and what false
teachers are excommunicated? Those who deny the existence of
God, the immortality of the soul, divine providence; those
who do not confess the all-holy Trinity, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, the One God; those who do not acknowledge the
divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and our redemption by His
death on the Cross; those who reject the grace of the Holy
Spirit and the divine Mysteries which bestow it, and so
forth. Do you see what manner of issues they touch upon?
These are issues which are the very reason the holy Church
is the Church, principles upon which she is founded and
without which she could not be that which she is. Therefore
those who rise up against such truths are to the Church what
those who make attempts against our lives and our property
are to us in our daily life. Robbers and thieves, after all,
are nowhere permitted to carry on freely and go unpunished!
And when they are bound and handed over to the law and to
punishment, no one considers this to be inhumane or a
violation of freedom. On the contrary, people see in this
very thing both an act of love for man and a safeguard for
freedom -- with regard to all the members of society. If you
judge thus here, judge thus also concerning the society of
the Church. These false teachers, just like thieves and
robbers, plunder the property of the holy Church and of God,
corrupting her children and destroying them. Does the holy
Church really err in judging them, binding them, and casting
them out? And would it really be love for man if she
regarded the actions of such people with indifference and
left them at liberty to destroy everyone else? Would a
mother permit a snake to freely crawl up to and bite her
little child, who does not understand the danger? If some
immoral person were to gain access to your family and begin
tempting your daughter, or your son -- would you be able to
regard their actions and their speeches with indifference?
Fearing to gain a reputation for being inhumane and old-
fashioned, would you tie your own hands? Would you not push
such a person out the door and close it against them
forever?! You should view the actions of the holy Church inthe same way. She
sees that individuals of corrupt mind
appear, and corrupt others -- and she rises up against them,
drives them away, and calls out to all those who are her
own: Beware -- so-and-so and such-and-such people wish to
destroy your souls. Do not listen to them; flee from them.
Thus she fulfills the duty of motherly love, and therefore
acts lovingly -- or as you put it, humanely.
At the present time, we have a proliferation of
nihilists, spiritists and other pernicious clever ones who
are carried away with the false teachers of the West. Do you
really think that our holy Church would keep silence and not
raise her voice to condemn and anathematize them, if their
destructive teachings were something new? By no means. A
council would be held, and in council all of them with their
teachings would be given over to anathema, and to the
current Rite of Orthodoxy there would be appended an
additional item: To Feyerbach, Buchner, and Renan, to the
spiritists, and to all their followers -- to the nihilists -
- be anathema. But there is no need for such a council, and
there is no need either for such an addition. Their false
teachings have already all been anathematized in advance in
those points where anathema is pronounced to those who deny
the existence of God, the spirituality and immortality of
the soul, the teachings concerning the all-holy Trinity and
concerning the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you not
see with what wisdom and foresight the holy Church acts when
she makes us perform the present proclamation and listen to
it? And yet they say, "This is outdated." It is precisely
now that it is relevant. Perhaps 100 years ago it was not
relevant. But one must say concerning our time, that if a
Rite of Orthodoxy did not as yet exist, it would be needful
to introduce one, and to perform it not only in the capital
cities but in all places and in all churches: in order to
collect all the evil teachings opposed to the Word of God,
and to make them known to all, in order that all might know
what they need to beware of and what kind of teachings to
avoid. Many are corrupted in mind solely due to ignorance,
whereas a public condemnation of ruinous teachings would
save them from perdition.
Thus, the Church excommunicates, expels from her midst
(when it is said, "Anathema to so-and-so", that means the
same thing as, "So-and-so: out of here"), or anathematizes
for the same reason that any society does so. And she is
obliged to do this in self-preservation and to preserve her
children from destruction. Therefore there is nothing
blameworthy or incomprehensible about this present Rite. If
anyone fears the act of anathema, let him avoid the
teachings which cause one to fall under it. If anyone fears
it for others, let him restore him to sound teaching. If you
are Orthodox and yet you are not well disposed toward this
act, then you are found to be contradicting yourself. But if
you have already abandoned sound doctrine, then what
business is it of yours what is done in the Church by those
who maintain it? By the very fact that you have conceived a
different view of things than that which is maintained in
the Church, you have already separated yourself from the
Church. It is not inscription in the baptismal records which
makes one a member of the Church, but the spirit and content
of one's opinions. Whether your teaching and your name are
pronounced as being under anathema or not, you already fall
under it when your opinions are opposed to those of the
Church, and when you persist in them. Fearful is the
anathema. Leave off your evil opinions. Amen.
Bishop Theophan

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