ينبغي أن نميّز إذاً بين جوهر الله وبين أفعاله الإلهية. فالإنسان لا يستطيع أن يعرف جوهر الله، إنما بإمكانه أن يعرف أفعاله أو قدراته التي لا تنفصل عن جوهره. ولهذا شبّهها الآباء بشعاع الشمس الذي يعمل خارج نطاقها (الشمس) مع انه غير منفصل عنها
By knowing God, we do not mean understanding Him logically, but rather a personal encounter with Him. When a person surrenders completely to God, desires to meet Him, and yearns for Him, and after passing through the dark cloud of ignorance, God comes to him, illuminates everything around him, and reveals Himself to him.
“What is truth?” This statement does not pose the question correctly. Truth is not a thing or an abstract concept, and so we cannot ask: “What is truth?” Truth is not a thing but a person, and the correct question should be: “Who is truth?”
مقدمة المؤلف: إن إقبال المؤمنين الأرثوذكسيين على الكتاب لذي بين أيديكم، ونفاذ طبعاته الثانية في وقت قصير، عائدان إلى تسبيح
زاد الأرثوذكسية الأب أنطونيوس آليفيزوبولوس نقله إلى العربية أعاد صياغته الأب قسطنطين يَنّي جورج اسبر 18 تعرف إلى كنيستك
The Church is of course “apostolic,” but it is also patristic. It is essentially the “Church of the Fathers.” These two “characteristics” cannot be separated, and because it is “patristic,” it is truly “apostolic.” The witness of the Fathers is more than a historical feature, more than a voice from the past.
“آباء الكنيسة” لم يتصرفوا كأفراد فقط، بل كرجال كنسيين، بالنيابة عن الكنيسة وباسمها. فهم الناطقون باسم الكنيسة ومفسِّرو إيمانها وحافظوا تقليدها وشهود حقيقتها وإيمانها ومعلِّمون بارزون، وعلى هذا الأساس يقوم سلطانهم!
The problem of the correct interpretation of the Bible remained acute until the fourth century during the Church’s conflict with the Arians, and it did not lessen in intensity than it was in the second century during the resistance of the Gnostics, the Sabalians, and the Montanists. All parties to the conflict resorted to the Bible, to the point that the heretics cited—and still do—its chapters and verses and resorted to its authority.
Christ himself belongs to this community as its head, not only as Lord and Master. He is not above the Church or outside it, for the Church is in him. The Church is not merely a community that believes in Christ and walks in his footsteps or according to his commandments, but rather the community that resides in him and in which he resides through the Holy Spirit.
The Church is the work of Christ on earth and is the image of His presence and dwelling in the world. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Church on the Day of Pentecost, which was represented by the Twelve and those gathered with them, He entered the world to dwell among us and to make His work more effective in us than before.
The Bible does not contain all the historical, legislative and devotional texts that exist, but rather a select few of them. This select few became authoritative through their use - especially in the liturgy - in the community and through the value given to them by the Church.
يُفترض بكهنة المسيح ألا يبشِّروا، من منبر الوعظ على الأقل، بأفكارهم الخاصة لأن الأيدي تُوضع عليهم في الكنيسة للتبشير بكلمة الله. فيُسلَّم إليهم إنجيل يسوع المسيح وتُودع عندهم الرسالة الخالدة والفريدة. لذلك يُنتظر منهم نشر “الإيمان الذي أُعطي للقديسين” وحفظه.
