When closely observing contemporary ecclesiastic life, at times I have noticed that what is being said and done in homilies and Conferences, “another gospel” is mostly being preached - other than the one preached by the Apostles, as read in the “Acts of the Apostles” as well as in their “Epistles”. We will take a brief look at the Apostle Paul’s Gospel and what the contemporary “other gospel” entails.

1. Apostle Paul’s Gospel

The Apostle Paul was called to the Apostolic office through the revelation by Jesus Christ Himself; he obtained spiritual theological experience of the Living Christ and was instructed to preach that Gospel. He was personally conscious of his mission – which is apparent in his Epistles. In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, he writes: “But I inform you, my brethren, of  the gospel which I preached to you, which you did receive, in which you also remained, and through which you are saved” (ref. 1 Cor.1:1). The Gospel is a sacred rite - not an external sermon. He writes: “...in being with Jesus Christ ministering to the nations, officiating the gospel of God” (ref. Romans 15:16). He is aware that he is a minister of the Gospel - and officiater for the salvation of people through the Gospel.

Through the Gospel He regenerates people, because in it is hidden all the in-the-Spirit life within the Church. He writes to the Corinthians: “For even if you have tens of thousands of educators in Christ, you do not have many fathers; and in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I have begotten you” (ref.1 Cor. 4:15). He regenerates people through the Gospel, thus acquiring spiritual children. What is the Apostle Paul’s Gospel that he officiates for the salvation of people? The basic point of his Gospel is that Christ is the Lord of glory, Who revealed Himself to the Prophets of the Old Testament, and Who at the appropriate time became enfleshed (ref. Galatians 4:4-5).

Secondly, the Church is the body of Christ, and Christians are the members of this glorious body. “He was given as the Head above all, of the Church - which is His body: the fullness of Him who completes all things in everything” (ref.Ephesians 1:22-23). This means the glory of Christ is the glory of the Church, and Christians, as members of the Church, partake of the glory of Christ’s divinity, with the various charismas (gifts) as enumerated by the Apostle Paul: “...and those who God placed in the church, firstly apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then powers, then gifts of healing, perceptions,  governments, the various languages...” (ref.1 Cor. 12:28). However, for one to be a member of the Church,  it must be done through Baptism, Chrismation, the Sacraments, but also with a charismatic life in general.

The Apostle Paul writes about the catharsis (cleansing) of the heart; that is, the purification of the passive part of the soul and the conversion of the natural forces, so that they follow their course according to nature. “So, having these promises, my beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, performing holiness in the fear of God” (ref. 2 Cor. 7:1).

Christ must be ‘morphed’ within us - that is, we must live according to Christ in all the actions of our lives. “My children, for whom I still grieve, until Christ is formed within you...” (ref. Galatians 4:19). We must live spiritually and not carnally, which means changing our entire inner state: “Walk in the Spirit, and do not enact the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are contrary to one another, lest you do those things if you so willed. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (ref.Galatians 5:16-18).

And when one passes through catharsis, the nous then returns from its diffusion into reason, passions and the environment and back into the heart where there is the unceasing prayer, then it becomes a child of God. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage once again in fear, but have received the Spirit of adoption, in Whom we cry out: ‘Abba the Father!’ This Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if we are children, then also heirs - heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ – for Whom we suffer together, so that we may also be glorified together”. (ref.Romans 8:14-17).

Of course, the main point of the Apostles' preaching, as well as of Christ’s, was "repent; for the realm of heaven is close" (ref.Matthew 3:2). The realm of Heaven is ‘theoria’ (vision) of the Uncreated Light and repentance, the prerequisite for participation being through purification, illumination and deification. Along general lines, this is Paul’s Gospel, with which he founded Churches, spiritually guided their members, directing them to a life in Christ. And this is the Gospel that was preached by the holy Apostles, the holy Fathers throughout the centuries; this is the Gospel that brought forth saints, confessors, martyrs, holy persons and ascetics.

2. Another gospel

With all the above in mind - which were mentioned very briefly - we have observed that many of the clergy, as well as theologians of our day, are also preaching another gospel.

The same phenomenon was observed during the time of the Apostle Paul.  Paul may have been preaching the Gospel of Salvation, however there were others who preached another gospel - hence his rebuking the Corinthians for accepting a gospel other than the one he had taught them: “I fear that perhaps - just as the serpent had deceived Eve with its cunning - your minds will also be corrupted in Christ by its simplicity.  Because if  one who comes and preaches another Jesus (whom we had not preached) or you accept another spirit (which you were not given), or another gospel (which you had not accepted), you will gladly tolerate that one.” (ref. 2 Cor. 11:3-4).

He also rebukes the Galatians for moving to another gospel, and even anathematizes them: “I wonder at how quickly you move away from the one who invited you in the grace of Christ- to another gospel, which is none other, unless there are those who disturb you and desirous of perverting the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we preached to you, let them be accursed" (ref.Galatians 1:6-8).

The Apostle Paul is also adamant in such a case, where - even if he himself or an angel were to come from heaven to teach 'another gospel' - they should be an anathema. These are harsh words, because 'another gospel' distorts the entire work of the divine incarnation of the Logos of God - as experienced within the Church. These words of the Apostle Paul are relevant in our time, when - as we have noticed - 'another gospel' is actually being preached, without the prereqiusites and the theology of Apostle Paul’s Gospel.

It has become clearly obvious that in our day, the teaching (with all its theological meaning) that man was created according to the image and to the likeness of God is being overlooked, in favor of the view that man is a person, in the sense that he has rights and the freedom of choice.  In reality, the teaching on ‘the image and the likeness of God', which is a basic point of certification of man's original purpose, is bypassed altogether.

Instead of the teaching pertaining to the creation of man according to the image and to the likeness of God, nowadays it is freedom that is constantly emphasized, also love without bounds, rights, erotica (even without any prerequisites), peace in society, the ecumenist perspective, relativism, etc. All these are a distortion of the theological concept regarding the image and the likeness, and the dismissal of the Gospel of Christ and the Apostles - and of course the introduction of  'another gospel'. Some topics will be submitted, which will be expounded in contemporary Conferences by Orthodox clergymen and theologians - who unfortunately will be evidencing that we have embraced influences that are foreign to the teaching of Christ, the Apostles and the Saints.

3. “Delusion” and “misleading” according to Saint Sophrony of Essex

Saint Sophrony the Hagiorite of Essex, in a homily to his monks during the last years of his life, had referred to this modern 'delusion' and 'misleading' (as he had characterized it).  He would say that he was concerned,  “lest they (the monks) who – by living in this world – would become victims to any delusion as regards the paths to our in-God salvation”.

He taught that whereas in the olden days, the Christian faith was common and children used to pray from an early age, “in our time, the upbringing of children is a very difficult problem” and this is explained by the fact that “our schools are dependent on the sphere of human reason and earthly interests. Because parents have lost their faith, children come to school and study theology the same way they study any other discipline: chemistry, physics, geography, language, etc. But this causes terrible damage, because they are accustomed to learning about God by using reason.” He points out that 'those who are familiar with the breath of the Holy Spirit, will realize that Aristotle's logic is not appropriate for theology.' Thus, children at a young age are 'not prepared to experience God.' And this constitutes a 'misleading'. They perceive God only as “abstract notions regarding God – more or less”.

Logic per se is not the problem; rather, it is the abandonment of the basic truth of our faith regarding the purpose of man; i.e., that man was created 'according to the image and according to the likeness of God' – which is so-called ‘logicalism’.  Saint Sophrony, however, says that “to us, the image lives from the very moment of our birth”; however, he asks himself: “What does the term ‘according to the likeness' mean, and how do we acquire and learn about the content of that likeness to God?' How does the fulfilled image of God live in the world? That is what is needed."  He then emphasizes that we must begin our spiritual life every day “by having as our first concern each day to not sin. With this ascetic struggle to not sin, our mind and heart and our entire being are cleansed of the fog of sin."

The “misleading” is done by a theology that is linked to logic-logicalism and is not inspired by the Holy Spirit - which is why he said disarmingly: “Therefore, when I leave you, I beg you to protect yourselves from this aberration by academic diplomas, which regard theology as an intellectual science and not as a spiritual experience." Saint Sophrony was not against theological studies and academic theology; he merely did not want this theology to overshadow the theology that is the fruit and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hence he asks: "Where did these schools lead us?"  And he answers: "They led us to constructing certain fabricated beings, who talk about things which they have never experienced.  So, where does this darkness in our Church come from?  Where did these schisms come from?"

And he also says, authentically: "I have already spoken to you many times, but the Spirit urges me to repeat these questions.  Before leaving you – and the end of my life is of course near – I would like you to not become trapped by the delusion that the modern world is suffering from - at the level of theology - so that no one will generate erroneous theories about God, which will divide the Christian world.  Just think about how - in the center of Geneva, at the World Council of Churches -  there are more than two hundred doctors of theology - with differing perceptions! Where does that come from? God is only One!”      (Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov), “Building the Temple of God in Us and in Our Brothers”, Vol. II, Holy Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Essex, England, 2013, pp. 302-310).

In our time, even within the Orthodox Christian world, there circulates a 'delusion' and a 'misleading', by which -without realizing it- we become 'victims of a delusion regarding the paths to our in-God salvation'. The main 'delusion' and misleading is the 'other gospel' that is supposedly being preached in the name of our modern era. Of course, we must confront contemporary events and problems, but it must be through the perspective of the 'Gospel of salvation' - the teaching of the Prophets, Apostles and Fathers, the tradition of the Church - and not differentiate from it.

And one point of differentiation between the 'Gospel of salvation' and the acceptance of ‘another gospel' is that we would be bypassing the entire teaching of the Church regarding 'the image and the likeness', as well as the overall theological and ascetic way of life, and instead, we would be concerning ourselves solely with 'the human person', with rights and individual freedoms. It is the 'delusion' and the 'misleading' from the way of the truth. It is 'another gospel'.

Translation by AN