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Publican
Posts: 101
Joined: Nov 18, 2005
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 Posted:
May 11, 2007 - 11:23 AM |
 
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Hello,
I was reading Romans 13:1-5, where St. Paul speaks about submitting to authorities, and immediately I was interested to hear your viewpoints on how St. Paul's command should effect the church in Egypt and in the diaspora, and how it effects us personally. Keep in mind that at the time of the epistle, the emperor was Nero, a deranged despot and a zealous persecutor of Christians.
I think this issue relates to many of the discussions that have taken place on the forum recently.
God Bless.
| Quote: |
| 1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. |
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"Fight the battle for your Heart" -- St. Antony the Great
"Sit in the presence of the Lord every moment of your life, as you think of him and recollect him in your heart." -- St. Isaac the Syrian
The greater the Knowledge of God, the greater the Love, and the greater the Love for God the greater the Knowledge, the greater the Love, the greater the Knowledge, the greater the Suffering.-- St. Silouan |
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minasoliman
Posts: 1748
Joined: May 22, 2003
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| Posted:
May 13, 2007 - 07:04 PM |
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It's easier to speak about this verse if there was a Roman Empire that controlled almost the whole world, where most of Christianity was. But I'm not an Egyptian, even though both my parents are Egyptian. I'm an American, and my loyalty counts more towards the United States and her Constitution than Egypt. If I was in Egypt, I would be more loyal to Egypt than to the US. And that's the problem.
That's why it's in the Church's special interest to work with the government and support the government, but not to allow the government's laws and views to be expressed through Church authority and synods, which I consider a mixing of politics and church. We have to take this passage along with the famous passage of Christ to render to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to Him.
In Roman Christian history as well, we have to acknowledge, especially in Chalcedon, but way before Chalcedon, that Constantinople and Rome did a terrible mistake of mixing political factors with her own Church. They treated the emperors as high ranking clerical leaders. The emperor was to the EO's as the Pope was to Rome. It was ridiculous, and it caused schisms, and it also lead to neglect a huge part of Christianity in the Persian empire, India, China, Armenia, the Arabian Peninsula, etc, and a part of Roman Christianity that held her own ecclesiastical theology, like Antioch and Alexandria.
It's important to be loyal to government, but not for the government to interfere with our dogmas and faith in the Church (and vice versa--the Church should never interfere with government or have political leadership, like Rome used to have). The Church should have an extremely separate ecclesiology that is beyond political, governmental, and worldly boundaries, with Christ as her head. The role of politics is to protect human nature and to affirm human morals. The role of the Church is to protect the faith, dogma, love, evangelistic mission, and unity with Christ.
God bless. |
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