The Holy Heretics

One of the curious details of church history is how surprisingly nasty some of our Fathers got in arguing against and denouncing those who later came to be known as "heretics" (those whose theological beliefs are inconsistent with Scripture and Tradition). A short example, the fifth century Father Cyril of Alexandria arguing against his nemesis Nestorius says of him: "What a servile mentality from a crazed brain that knows how to do nothing else but gabble." The scholarly euphemism for this style of writing is "polemics." Most of us might just say, "well that's pretty rude."

Of course the outcome of these "polemics" for the heretic is the dreaded "anathema," which means "let them be cursed." In other words, if you don't believe what we believe, you are cursed. A surprising amount of anathemas find there way into our creeds. We don't speak them on Sunday mornings, but historically they are there.

I am a firm believer that the Holy Spirit was present in the shaping of tradition, and the forming of the creeds, and that the Spirit indeed led the church into the right beliefs. I do believe, for example, that Cyril got it right and Nestorius got it wrong. The problem I am having is that, as I read some of these "heretics," I realize that they seem to have achieved a level of holiness that, at this point in my life, I could only hope for some distant day. Take the following quote from our old friend Jacob of Serug - denounced by the church as a heretic in the fifth century:

"O! hidden Word, which came down to the earth openly, give me of your wealth, that I may impart it amongst the poor. Lord most high, my mouth is insufficient for your praise: make a new mouth for me that it may proclaim your songs."

And this is just a sample . . . yet, the church has lost these writings because he has officially been declared "anathema." So the question is, what happened to Jacob? Because he got one thing wrong, was he malformed? Can you be mistaken in belief and yet still be formed after the character of Christ? Do you have to get every detail right to have the blood of Jesus cover you? And if you say no, where do we draw the line? Do those who don't believe Jesus is divine, for example, pass?

These are just thoughts that I am pondering as I am introduced to those outside the official walls of orthodoxy who seem to have figured out holiness in a way I - being on the inside of those walls - have not yet.