Saint John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church
  • Home
  • Orthodox Christian Faith
    • What we believe
  • Parish
    • Our Patron Saint - Saint John
    • Our History >
      • Where we were and where we are...
      • "Remember your leaders..." (Hebrews 13:7)
      • What's in the name?
    • Administration
    • Atrium - Christian Faith formation (Sunday School)
    • Chapel
    • Become a member!
    • Parish Library
    • Service request form
    • Donate
    • AmazonSmile
  • News
    • Sermons & Articles
    • Pictures & Videos
    • Looking Ahead to Next Sunday (LANS)
    • Weekly e-Bulletin
    • Service Texts
    • Quarterly Newsletter
    • Friends & Neighbors
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Useful Links
    • Choose Life!
    • Online Christian Bookstores >
      • St Vladimir's Seminary Press
      • St Tikhon's Seminary Press
      • Holy Trinity Bookstore, Jordanville
      • Eighth Day Books
      • Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery, WV
      • Nevsky's Books
      • Fr Daniel Sysoev Bookstore
      • Издательство Московской Патриархии
      • Магазин Сретенского Монастыря, Москва
      • Православный Книжный Магазин

A Christian Understanding of Freedom

11/24/2017

0 Comments

 
By Archbishop Dmitri (Royster)
Source: OrthoChristian.com
Picture
People generally use the word freedom in order to describe two things: the first and perhaps most persistent meaning of the term is simply lack of subjection to any kind of ownership or tyrannical authority, the lack of restriction of one’s actions, the absence of obstacles to self-determination or personal choices, the right to make up one’s own mind with regard to occupation, speech, assembly, religion and so on.
Naturally, this kind of freedom is entirely desirable and, in many ways, our very nation came into being out of a deeply felt need for this. Although our democratic system of government has experienced many pitfalls and defects, and throughout the course of our history we have not always been able to achieve perfect freedom in the sense just described, it is none the less true that few would question the desirability for such freedom. Men are still willing to make enormous sacrifices—their very lives at times—for the ideal of freedom.

Christian teaching lies at the very heart of such an ideal. And in spite of the ups and downs of Church history, wherein even the Church has seemed to be an accomplice to agencies and forces that would deny this kind of basic right to the human race, it would be inaccurate to say that the Christian Church in most of its classical forms teaches that men are not destined to be free in this very sense. It is incompatible with Christian teaching to maintain that man should be shackled with restrictions against his personal freedom to pursue a way of life to his own choosing.

At the same time it appears also that freedom is being increasingly applied to a kind of license which says that man is not to be subjected to any kind of restriction that is not to his liking. Even when the common good demands the contrary he is somehow to be free to "do his own thing." The blame for much of the disorder and confusion of our own times could perhaps be laid to this concept of freedom: the near capitulation of our legal system in face of demands for freedom to peddle pornography, to sell drugs, to defy the law enforcement agencies of the cities, etc.

In this particular article it is not our intention to dwell on the matter of freedom as described above, making this a plea for law and order. Rather, we wish to present a general account of the Orthodox Church’s understanding of freedom, in light of Christ’s work of redemption, His "breaking the chains of hell and overthrowing the tyranny of hades."

Jesus said, If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" And those who heard Him said, "We are Abraham’s seed, and we were never in bondage to any man, how sayest thou, you shall be made free?" And He answered, Verily I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin (1 John 8:31-34).

He said in another place, I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you should have known my Father also; and from henceforth you know Him, and have seen Him (John 14: 6-7).

Jesus Christ is the truth about God and the truth about man, since He is both God and man. God’s real nature is completely revealed in the Son of God, the Incarnate Word, and the whole truth about man, his worth, value and dignity, are realized and made manifest to man in the Son of Man, Jesus of Nazareth. And since man’s fundamental sin was and is godlessness or atheism, we then understand what is meant by the statement that "Christ came into the world to save His people from their sins."

An author once pointed out that, "Mankind is in bondage until Christ sets men free." St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans says, For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. But what fruit had you then from those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now set free from sin and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and as your end, life everlasting (6:20-22).

The deepest and most fundamental of the Church’s understandings of freedom is simply the freedom from sin and its wage or consequences. The understanding that Christ has given to men a freedom that cannot be taken away, no matter what the external circumstances of life may be, has provided the strength, the dynamism, the very life of the Church in the different periods of her bondage, her restrictions. There was the long three century persecution of the Church by the Roman Empire, and the very martyrs were witnesses and advocates of their freedom in Christ. The Moslem conquest and domination of much of the world that had been Christian, and the reduction of Christians to second-class citizenship, the restrictions against their proclaiming the Gospel, brought no despair to those who knew Christ and His truth. This lasted well into the nineteenth century in certain places. And in our own twentieth century, restrictions and persecutions, perhaps heavier and more severe than in any other time, in Communist lands failed to extinguish the light of Christian truth, and finally the most essential Christian freedom.

It is in Christ, as perfect Man, that man comes to the full realization of what it means to be in the image and likeness of God. For man’s freedom is an Icon, an image of the Divine Freedom itself.

It is just when our freedom lies within the "opus Dei," the work of God, that it does not cease to be true freedom. The Let it be to me according to thy word, of the Virgin at the Annunciation does not come from a simple submission to His will, but that very acceptance expresses the ultimate freedom of her being. In this sense, she was the first fruits of the intervention of God into human time and history, the first product of the Incarnation. She is the image of the Church, those who receive the Word of God and keep it, of those who would lose their life and gain it.

Christ, in becoming Incarnate, has permitted us, not to imitate, but to relive His life, to conform ourselves to His essence.

In each Christian’s response to God, in saying, "let it be to me according to Thy will," he identifies himself with the God-Man Christ, and in this way, the Divine Will, freedom comes as an expression of one’s own will. The will of God, His work, His freedom have become one’s own. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, says St. Paul (Galatians 2:20).
​
None of the foregoing is said to diminish or to negate in any sense the validity and importance of all human beings, especially Christians, to seek, to work for freedom in the usual earthly, if you will, sense of the word: social justice, equality, and the right to pursue, unrestricted, a better life here and now for the human race. The Christian, if he takes his commitment seriously, can never be guilty of putting restrictions in the path of others, of coercing, of forcing. On the other hand, what has been said is conceived as a reminder that much of the Christian world, my own Church, has a long experience of this, has lived under repression in places where freedom, justice, equality, and the right to differ, were given lip-service, but were not realities. The hope of Christians, their consolation is based on a higher freedom, which only God can give, which our Lord Jesus Christ showed us.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Administrator 

    Unless otherwise specified, the articles here are posted by Father Aleksey, who has no sense of humor and is extremely straight forward.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    9/11
    Abortion
    Adam's Rib
    Addiction
    Advent
    Akathist
    AmazonSmile
    American Saints
    Anaphora
    Announcement
    Annual Report
    Annunciation
    Apostles Fast
    Archbp Dmitri Royster
    Ark Of Salvation
    Asceticism
    Baptism
    Beheading Of Saint John
    Be Still
    Bible
    Bible Study
    Bishop
    Calendar
    Canaanite Woman
    Children And Life
    Christian Burial
    Christianity
    Christ Is Risen!
    Christmas
    Christmas Sermon
    Clay In The Hands Of God
    Clean And Unclean
    Coming Home
    Compassion
    Conception Of The Theotokos
    Confession
    Conform To Christ
    Conversion Story
    Converts
    Coronavirus
    Courage
    Creation
    Creed
    Cross
    Death
    Deny Yourself
    Depression
    Division Vs Unity
    Donate
    Donations
    Dormition
    Dormition Fast
    Doubting Thomas
    Drug Of The 21st Century
    Elected By God
    Eve
    Faith
    Fasting
    Father Alexander Schmemann
    Father Andrew Stephen Damick
    Father Chad Hatfield
    Father Lawrence Farley
    Father Sergei Kosich
    Father Stephen Freeman
    Father Thomas Hopko
    First Light
    Forgiveness
    Forgiveness Sunday
    Foundations
    Freedom In Christ
    Fullness Of Faith
    Funeral
    God's Invitation
    Gospel
    Grace Of Christ
    Great Flood
    Great Lent
    Grief
    Halloween
    Health & Happiness
    Help Wanted
    Hollywood
    Holy Friday
    Humility
    Icon Of Nativity
    Iconography
    Infant Baptism
    Interview
    Jesus Christ
    Journey
    Joy
    Keeping Kids Christian
    Kids And Faith
    Kids And Porn
    Kids Vs Technology
    Kiss Of Peace
    Kitchen Upgrades
    Knowing God
    Lamb Of God
    Lesson
    Life After Death
    Liturgical Commentary
    Liturgical Year
    Liturgy
    Living Together
    Lost Sheep
    Love
    Love Your Neighbor
    Maintenance
    Marked By God
    Marriage
    Mary
    Memory Eternal
    Mission Of A Parish
    Mission Of Orthodoxy
    Moral Compass
    Nativity Fast
    Nativity Of Christ
    Nativity Of Saint John The Baptist
    Nativity Of The Theotokos
    Newsletter
    New Testament
    New Year
    New Year Resolutions
    Normal?
    Nudity And Movies
    Orthodox Christianity
    Orthodox Church
    Orthodox Community
    Orthodox History In America
    Orthodox Saints
    Orthodox Wedding
    Orthodoxy & Catholicism
    Orthodoxy In America
    Orthodoxy Is Life
    Orthodoxy Is Not Religion
    Orthodoxy & Lutheranism
    Orthodoxy & Protestantism
    Paralytic
    Pascha
    Patience
    Patron Feast Day
    PayPal
    Pictures
    Pilgrimage
    Podcast
    Polemics
    Porn
    Porn And Brain
    Porn Is A Lie
    Porn Kills Love
    Power In Weakness
    Pray At Home
    Prayer
    Prayer Of St Ephraim
    Prayer Rule
    Prayers To The Theotokos
    Procession
    Pro-life
    Publican And Pharisee
    Reading Bible
    Relics
    Religion
    Repentance
    Resist Porn
    Royal Priesthood
    Sacraments
    Sacred Space
    Saint Alexander Hotovitzky
    Saint Alexis Toth
    Saint Herman Of Alaska
    Saint Innocent Of Moscow
    Saint James The Brother Of The Lord
    Saint John Chrysostom
    Saint John The Baptist
    Saint Juvenaly
    Saint Nicholas
    Saint Patrick Of Ireland
    Saint Peter The Aleut
    Saint Raphael Of Brooklyn
    Saints Peter And Fevronia
    Saint Theophan The Recluse
    Saint Thomas Sunday
    Saint Tikhon Of Moscow
    Salvation
    Sanctity Of Life
    Seal Of The Holy Spirit
    Search For Christ
    Self-care
    Sermon
    Seventh Day
    Sexual Revolution
    Sharing Faith
    Silence
    Sin
    Skillful Children
    Sower
    Sunday Of Orthodoxy
    Sunday Of The Blind Man
    Sun Of Righteousness
    Teaching The Faith
    Telling The Truth
    Temple Of God
    Temptation
    Thanksgiving
    Theophany
    Theotokos
    Thorn In Flesh
    Tolerance
    Tree Of Life
    Triumph Of Orthodoxy
    Unchangeable Christianity
    Unity
    Weakness
    Why Confess To A Priest
    Woman
    Words
    Youth Ministry
    Zacchaeus
    Антоний Сурожский
    Архим. Ианнуарий Ивлиев
    Вера и знание
    Воспитание
    Дети
    Иоанн Златоуст
    Исповедь
    Молитва
    Новый Год
    о. Александр Шмеман
    о. Ианнуарий Ивлиев
    Пасха
    Подготовка к исповеди
    Подготовка к Причастию
    Подготовка к Рождеству
    Пост
    Причастие
    Проповедь
    Проповедь
    Пятидесятница
    Рождественский Пост
    Рождество
    Современное поколение
    Троица
    Христос Воскресе!

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016

Picture

Jesus said to the crowds about John, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist. Yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(Luke 7:28)


Address

29 Weaver Street
​Little Falls, NJ 07424

Email

StJohn.Singac@gmail.com

Telephone

(973) 256-0314

Join our mailing list

* indicates required
Picture
Picture
Picture

Search our website

  • Home
  • Orthodox Christian Faith
    • What we believe
  • Parish
    • Our Patron Saint - Saint John
    • Our History >
      • Where we were and where we are...
      • "Remember your leaders..." (Hebrews 13:7)
      • What's in the name?
    • Administration
    • Atrium - Christian Faith formation (Sunday School)
    • Chapel
    • Become a member!
    • Parish Library
    • Service request form
    • Donate
    • AmazonSmile
  • News
    • Sermons & Articles
    • Pictures & Videos
    • Looking Ahead to Next Sunday (LANS)
    • Weekly e-Bulletin
    • Service Texts
    • Quarterly Newsletter
    • Friends & Neighbors
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Useful Links
    • Choose Life!
    • Online Christian Bookstores >
      • St Vladimir's Seminary Press
      • St Tikhon's Seminary Press
      • Holy Trinity Bookstore, Jordanville
      • Eighth Day Books
      • Hermitage of the Holy Cross Monastery, WV
      • Nevsky's Books
      • Fr Daniel Sysoev Bookstore
      • Издательство Московской Патриархии
      • Магазин Сретенского Монастыря, Москва
      • Православный Книжный Магазин