May: Day 30: Venerable Isaac of Dalmatoi

May: Day 30:
Venerable Isaac of Dalmatoi
 
(It Is Impossible To Be Saved Outside of Union With the Church)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Isaac of Dalmatoi, celebrated today, who was named after the monastery he founded near Constantinople, lived in the fourth century, when the church was agitated by the false Arian teaching, during the reign of the Emperor Valens, a zealous champion of Arianism. At that time, famous men appeared in defense of Orthodoxy: Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian. But among the simple monks there were also many defenders of the true faith; Isaac belonged to their number. As soon as the news of the persecution of Orthodoxy reached his monastery, he left it and hastened to Constantinople, deeply grieving over the fate of the Orthodox and praying to God that He would turn the heart of the emperor to the truth and inspire him with mercy and justice. 

Valens at that time was waging war against the Goths, a people who lived along the Danube and were moving towards Constantinople. Isaac met the emperor as he was leaving the capital; the emperor was surrounded by a brilliant retinue and a large army. Isaac stood in the way and said, "Sovereign, order the Orthodox churches to be opened, and God will bless your path." The emperor did not pay attention to the Saint's words and continued on his way. The next day, Isaac caught up with Valens and, stopping him again, said, "Open the churches, sovereign, and the war will be prosperous for you, you will defeat your enemies and return in peace to your capital." This time, the Saint's words apparently had an effect on Valens; he thought about it, then turned to his confidants for advice. But those around Valens, mostly Arians, could not allow the emperor to make any concessions to the Orthodox, and they persuaded him not to listen to Isaac and to drive him away. And so it was done. But on the third day Isaac came to the emperor, seized his horse by the bridle, begged and admonished him, and finally began to threaten him with the wrath of God; but all in vain. Isaac's words irritated the emperor, and he ordered the monk to be thrown into a muddy ditch located at the edge of the road. Having freed himself from him in this way, Valens continued on his way. An angel miraculously saved Isaac from imminent death. And again Isaac appeared before the emperor and began to speak to him: "Jesus Christ granted me salvation and preserved my life, which you wanted to take from me. Once again I beg you: open the churches to the Orthodox, and if you do this, then, rest assured, you will return victorious." The unexpected appearance of a man who was already considered dead amazed the emperor. "What will happen if I do not open your churches?" he asked. “Then,” answered Isaac, “know that you will flee from the battlefield, pursued by the enemy, seek refuge, hide in a hut and be burned in it.” The emperor, embittered by this prophecy, called two of his confidants and ordered them to seize the monk, saying: “Take this lying old man, tie him up and keep him in prison until I, returning from the campaign, give him due punishment for his insolence.” 

Isaac was tied up and led to Constantinople, and the emperor continued on his way,and soon saw with his own eyes the fulfillment of what the monk had predicted. Although the Greeks fought the Goths long and bravely, they could not withstand their numbers and fled. The Emperor barely escaped from his pursuers and hid in a hut with a few soldiers; the Goths overtook him, set fire to the hut, and Valens perished in the fire. Some of the Greek soldiers, returning to Constantinople, did not yet know about the death of Valens: wanting to test Isaac, they said to him: "The Emperor is returning victorious, prepare to answer." - "It is not true," answered the monk, "seven days ago he was burned, as I predicted to him." A few days later the truth of Isaac's words was fully confirmed, and he was released from prison, and everyone began to show him great respect, as a prophet.

II. Christian brethren! Let this terrible manifestation of God's judgment over the heretic frighten us and confirm us in the good thought that without Orthodoxy, without union with the Orthodox Church, it is impossible to be saved.

We will cite a story from the life of the Holy Fathers about the fate that befalls people beyond the grave who do not have unanimity with the universal Church. Once, a certain elder named Theophanes came from afar to the hermit Saint Kyriakos (commemorated on September 29) to learn the strictest feats of monasticism. Enchanted by the elder's divine inspiration, Theophanes said: "Father! I would not part with you until death; but as a fellow member and like-minded person of the Nestorians, I must return to my brethren." But Nestorius, by whose name his followers were called, was a heretic condemned at the Third Ecumenical Synod for his incorrect teaching about the Son of God and the Mother of God. Hearing the name of Nestorius, Kyriakos trembled and, grieving over the destruction of his guest, began to beg him to join the Orthodox Apostolic Church. “The only way to your salvation,” said Kyriakos, “is to think and believe as the holy fathers thought and believed.” But Theophanes answered: “And all heretics also claim that a person can be saved only in their confession of faith. What should I, a wretched man, do after this? Everyone calls their teaching divinely inspired, but my mind is so weak that it cannot comprehend the truth and distinguish it from error.” Kyriakos, with Theophanes’ consent, began to pray in solitude for his perishing brother, so that the Lord would enlighten him. And so the next day Theophanes saw before him a godly but formidable youth who led him to a foul place where, on the instructions of a mysterious companion, Theophanes saw various heretics uttering groans and gnashing of teeth in unbearable torment. “This is the abode of those,” said the mysterious youth, “who reason impiously, and together with those who follow their teaching.”

From this example you see, brethren, that without unity with the Holy Orthodox Church in the teaching of faith and love there is no salvation for a person, even if he is good and pious, even if he tries to be virtuous, even if he imposes upon himself the feats of monasticism. The elder Theophanes, mentioned in the story, was pious and wanted to please God with the feats of monasticism; otherwise he would not have come from afar to the hermit to learn asceticism. And what then? Was this enough for salvation? No! The vision showed that what a person needs most for salvation is the right to believe and to be in unanimity with the Orthodox Church and to submit to it; otherwise nothing will save a person from eternal perdition. Let the heretics and our schismatics boast of their virtues, let them hope to receive salvation from their own deeds; let them assure themselves and others as much as they like that they serve God, that their prayer is pleasing to God and their deeds are accepted by God: without unity with the Church, neither by their faith, nor by their life, nor by their deeds, they will not attain eternal salvation, for their piety, deeds and even exploits, as having no basis in Orthodoxy, confessed by the one, holy, catholic, apostolic and universal Church, and are nothing other than artificial flowers hanging on a dry tree. A dry tree cannot have flowers, because there is no juice in it, it is deprived of life, it is dead, although for a time it stands on its root; so also a man who through wrong thinking in faith has separated himself from the Orthodox Church cannot acquire true virtues pleasing to God, cannot adorn himself with the flowers of a God-pleasing life, because he is deprived of the inner grace-filled power of the Holy Spirit, which produces in us good desires and actions and brings forth in us the God-pleasing fruits of Christian life. If, apparently, there is something good in him, if any visible virtues appear in his life, then all this is nothing other than artificial flowers hung on a dry tree - the product of human self-love, pride and pharisaic vanity; and with these artificial flowers, by virtue of their self-love, people often boast not only before people, but also before God. The Pharisee boasted before God of his virtues; but what happened? God condemned him (Luke 18:14), because his deeds were done out of self-love; and what is done out of self-love is not pleasing to God; for what is considered great and lofty among men is an abomination to God.

III. Therefore, brethren, do not be carried away by the vanity of various sectarians and schismatics, nor by the sweet-sounding words and externally ritualistic deeds of various vagabonds - wanderers, who, according to the word of the Savior, come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:16). They often sow tares among the wheat, and draw inexperienced people who are not established in the faith into their nets to their own destruction and that of those who listen to them. Unquestionably, both the true saving teaching that leads to God and the grace-filled power that we need for a God-pleasing life are found exclusively in the Orthodox Church, established on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and having as its head and cornerstone Jesus Christ Himself, who gave in His Church “some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceit” (Eph. 4:11-14).

Listen to the shepherds appointed in the Church, learn from them, live with them in peace, love and unanimity.

Strengthen your union and unity with the Church through constant visits to the temple of God, where prayers, supplications, petitions, and thanksgiving are performed for all people, and a bloodless sacrifice is offered for the living and the dead, for the salvation of all people.

Fulfill the Christian duty of Confession and Holy Communion as often as possible, so as not to linger in sins and thereby not to withdraw from communion with the Church; so that through union with Christ in the Mystery of Communion you may renew your spiritual and moral powers and receive the grace-filled powers for a God-pleasing life of piety. Amen.  

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.