Often we can hear such a familiar concept as "Holy Father". But not everyone understands its meaning and what place is assigned to these God's "guides" in the Orthodox Church. Their writings are an integral part of Christian Tradition, but they are different from ordinary theologians. We will learn many interesting and surprising facts further from the article.
Who is it customary to call that?
Holy Father is an honorary title that appeared at the end of the fourth century. In the Orthodox denomination, from that very time, free interpreters of divine rules began to be called that, who made a significant contribution to the formulation of dogmatics, the writing of the canon of Holy Scripture, as well as to the teachings about the Church and liturgy. It is believed that such servants of the Lord are still distinguished by the orthodoxy of their faith and holiness throughout their lives. Also, some figures of the Middle Ages can be called such a church term. For example, such as Patriarch Photius, Gregory Palamas, Theophan the Recluse, Paisiy Velichkovsky and many others. At the present time, the official address "Holy Father" can beaddressed only to the monk. Informally, priests and deacons are also called so.
The emergence of the concept
The first mention in church terminology of such a thing as "Holy Father" can be seen in the letter of Athanasius the Great, addressed to African clergy, where he calls Dionysius of Rome and Dionysius of Alexandria so for their testimonies and teachings. After that, they began to call all church writers and teachers, but mostly bishops. Then such an appeal could be heard much more often. In this way, they pointed to the true servants of the Tradition of the Church in the field of her dogma. It is in this form that the concept of "Holy Father" has come down to our times. That is, when these servants of God are mentioned somewhere, it means that they are talking about precisely those predecessors who testified and represented the religion of the Church, and were also lawful bearers of sacred teaching.
Signs
But it is not enough just to understand the meaning of such an address as "Holy Father", one must also know by what criteria one can determine this God's messenger. He must be orthodox in his teachings, have authority in matters of faith, and his writings can give an accurate answer as to what should be the significance of Christian doctrine in the lives of people. Therefore, the church often denied various writers the right to be called Holy Fathers, because in their writings they deviated from the true faith. They also gave reasonsdoubt their permanence in relation to Christianity, even despite their services to the church and the degree of learning.
In addition, these theologians should have the holiness of life, that is, be an example for believers, pushing them to spiritual understanding and development. The most significant sign of the Holy Fathers is their veneration by the church. It can be expressed in many forms. For example, some illustrious men may be cited by the clergy as witnesses to the true faith of the apostles and base their own creeds on their writings. Another form of recognition may be that the works of other theologians are designated for reading in liturgical texts.
Authority
In contrast to the factors that define illustrious men, it is not entirely clear what significance is attached to their creations in the church in the modern world. It is known that in ancient times they enjoyed great respect, as evidenced by the epithets with which they were called. For example, in their address they could hear such appeals as “multi-colored stars”, “gracious organs”, “fed the churches” and others.
But in today's Christian teachings, they do not have such unconditional authority as in the old days. Their point of view on Orthodoxy cannot be more significant than the personal opinion of each believer. The creations of these theologians are not put on a par with the teachings of various prophets and apostles, but are considered simply as human works and reflections of authoritative church writers.
Wrong opinion
Many people, not knowing the true meaning of this ecclesiastical concept, think that priests should also be called Holy Fathers. But this judgment is absolutely unacceptable. So you can name only canonized husbands. The only way to address priests, including monastics, is: “Father such and such.” Bishops, archbishops, metropolitans and patriarchs are unofficially called "masters".
Famous icon
Who are these Orthodox theologians, we already understand. But what do they look like? One old picture of icon-painting depicts the Holy Father. Photos of this icon show that it has no equal in all fine arts in the world. We are talking about the famous "Trinity" by the artist A. Rublev, where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are drawn. But as to which one is who, there are several opinions. The first hypothesis is the one according to which Jesus Christ is depicted on the canvas, accompanied by two angels. It became most widespread in the fifteenth century.
The second opinion is this: the icon "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" directly depicts God in three images. But it was refuted by a disciple of Theophanes the Greek, brought up in the strictest traditions of worship. The third hypothesis is the most widespread. Many are sure that the icon "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" represents three angels in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity. The photo above shows that the figures on it are depicted with halos.and wings. And this serves as an argument in favor of this opinion. The fourth hypothesis, which has no confirmation, is that the icon depicts three ordinary mortals, representing the image of the Holy Trinity.
Honoring famous men
Although we often hear about the Holy Fathers in Christianity, the church is strongly opposed to them being given any kind of worship and ordered services in honor of them. Orthodox believe that such reverence can only be given to our Lord, and not to his faithful servants.
According to the Orthodox Church, they are mediators between God and people. Therefore, as many clergy believe, the veneration of the Holy Fathers can be humiliating in relation to Jesus Christ as the only intercessor between the Lord and the faithful. Thus, the Holy Fathers are historical and pious personalities, who must be remembered with awe, reverence and reverence, and spoken only with due respect. But we must remember that they cannot be addressed with prayers and requests.
