By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Saint John of Euchaita is not only the one who received, by the grace of God, the appearance of the Holy Three Hierarchs in order to resolve the disagreement among the scholars of Constantinople about which of the three was the greatest, but also the one who was inspired to write “canons and troparia and encomia,” according to the Synaxarion. Indeed, today’s hymnography is, first of all, an encomium by the Saint of Euchaita praising the spiritual stature of all three Hierarchs, who were, among other things, “other angels in the flesh,” “gods by participation, because within them lived and spoke the only true God by nature,” “correctors of morals and stewards of souls, the common saviors of all, those who showed us models both of deeds and of words, the educators of life,” as well as “the great luminaries, the unshakable towers of the Church,” “those who received wisdom from God, like three other apostles of Christ.” There is no form of praise that the Holy Hymnographer does not employ in order to express, first, what he experienced visionarily and theoptically — namely, the presence of the Saints in his life — and second, their immense theological contribution to the life of the Church.
As to the first point: the supernatural experience of seeing the Saints in a vision is fittingly emphasized by the Saint. In order to underscore their equality, which was the main purpose of the vision, he uses expressions drawn from the union of husband and wife. “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder,” says the word of God; “those whom God has united in an equal union, let no human encomiast separate,” says the Hymnographer. He continues: “Considering them equal in their gifts, let him deem them worthy of equal hymns.” The comparison may seem excessive, but the Hymnographer relies on his personal experience and acts in obedience: he proclaims what the Saints — and therefore the Lord — told him. He then proceeds to another image to convey the same truth once more: “From heaven two great lamps illumine the whole world in succession, the sun and the moon. From the earth, however, in a far more manifest way, three identical and exceedingly great suns illumine the entire inhabited world, shining together: Basil, Gregory, John Chrysostom.”
And as to the second point: their immense theological contribution to the Church. The Hymnographer finds the opportunity to speak of the Saints’ struggle on behalf of the true faith — the preservation of the truth concerning the Holy Trinity. All three strove to manifest in its purity the revelation of Christ and the apostolic proclamation about God. For example:
“We were taught to theologize the Unique Trinity and received the tradition of hymning the Triadic Monad. We learned from the Fathers to worship one Nature in three hypostases.”
“The Son and Word of God was from the beginning co-eternal with the Father. The Holy Spirit co-existed with the Word of God, yet proceeding from the Begetting Father. A simple, consubstantial, co-natural Godhead, as the divine heralds, the Three Hierarchs, proclaim.”
The Holy Hymnographer, however, makes here an important clarification. Indeed, these Holy Fathers proclaimed what the Lord revealed and the Apostles preached; yet, with the wisdom given them by God and with the help, of course, of their human learning, they strengthened and safeguarded what the Apostles had preached in a simple manner, so that it would be invulnerable to the philosophical objections of their time. In other words, the truth revealed in Christ, the Holy Fathers sought to articulate with such powerful human reasoning that the various heretics would be unable to distort it with their empty talk. This was accepted by our Church through her mouth — the Ecumenical Synod — and through the conscience of the Church, the mindset of the faithful. They are therefore the ones who effected the synthesis of what we call “Hellenic Orthodoxy.” Hellenic Orthodoxy means the faith revealed by Christ, expressed through Greek categories and philosophical terms: Christianity as the content, Hellenism as the garment.
They did this because this was the challenge of their time: the faith had to be expressed through Hellenism. Their aim was not merely the preservation of Hellenism. What concerned them was the proclamation of the true faith, of truth itself — that is, Christ. In their era, however, the garment for expressing this truth was Hellenism. From this perspective, Hellenism was rebaptized and remains forever radiant precisely because of its union with the Christian faith. Thus, in one of the kathismata hymns of Matins, the Hymnographer says:
“Having received wisdom from God, like three other Apostles of Christ, by the word of knowledge you establish the dogmas by the power of the Holy Spirit, dogmas which earlier the Fishermen [the Apostles] set forth with simple words yet with understanding. For it was necessary that in this way our simple reverence also acquire firmness and constitution through you, most revered ones.”
From the above we also understand what our Church continually emphasizes when she refers to the Three Hierarchs as patrons of education: namely, that education for them was not exhausted in their worldly learning, which they possessed in abundance — what most people usually regard as education. Secular education, human wisdom by itself, or science, as even the ancient Greeks had already observed, “appears to be cunning rather than wisdom”; that is, it is not considered true wisdom but cleverness. For the development of reason alone, without the parallel cultivation of the heart, usually leads to destruction. The two world wars and all the upheavals in humanity up to the present day confirm the truth of this statement. For our Church, as is evident from the Three Hierarchs, true education is that which leads a person to such inner cultivation that he becomes a manifestation of Christ in the world. The vision of Christian education, which the Three Hierarchs constantly set forth, was “that Christ be formed in us.” That human beings might attain the image of the true Man revealed by Christ — for He is not only God, but also true Man.
Thus the Holy Hierarchs used human knowledge and wisdom in order to give solidity — meaning to strengthen and articulate in speech — the simplicity of the Apostolic proclamation. Saint John of Euchaita, the Hymnographer of the Saints, expresses it also in this way: “You became intelligent through earthly and worldly wisdom, glorious Fathers, but you acquired governance from divine wisdom, that is, divine wisdom guided and directed you. Therefore, like a handmaid, you wisely subjected worldly wisdom to the divine.” Certainly, science and every form of human knowledge and wisdom have their value, but only insofar as they help a person ascend toward God, something which, unfortunately, for many years now has been an open question in Greek education.
Thus the feast of the Three Hierarchs in our time remains suspended, unresolved. The education they set forth remains a constant challenge and a perpetual quest.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.