My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

"BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS, WHO COME TO YOU IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY THEY ARE RAVENOUS WOLVES. YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS" (Saint Matthew 7:15).

A very sound and wise advice and warning to all of us from our Lord Christ. These "false prophets" that our Savior mentions can easily deceive others, those imposters of virtue and piety are more dangerous than those who are evil outright. These are referred to in the secular world as "confidence men" or "con-men". One can find them in every walk of life, i.e., politics, religious leaders, educators, business, science, sales, etc.

Over its long history, the Church had to face many such dangerous people within it who sought to divide, corrupt, distort, revise, and undermine the teachings of our Christian faith. Faithful and following the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem AD 49, which set a precedent of tremendous importance for the government of the Church. The Orthodox Church is sometimes known as "the Church of the Councils," for it continues the practice of solving disputes and coming to a consensus through Councils. This council progresses through the stages of (v. 6), testimony (Vv. 7-12), decision (vv. 13-21), and adoption (vv. 22-29).

Those of you that know Church History know that the Church has never been free from disputes and dissensions, but nevertheless has maintained a way to resolve them in council. The meeting of bishops in council, with the participation of elders (presbyters) and knowledgeable laymen, continues to guide the Church to this day.

To this present day we, Orthodox Christians, venerate as Saints and we look up to them as the defenders of Orthodox Christianity, defenders of the only authentic Church of Christ. An excellent example is Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt.

Saint Athanasius, as well as the numerous other great holy Fathers of the Church, were known not only for their steadfast faith in Christ but also for their mega courage. Many of them were imprisoned, exiled, and even tortured for the faith. The Holy Fathers of the Church comprised the membership of the Ecumenical Councils and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit formulated the Dogmas (Creed) and Holy Canons of the Church.

The decisions of the Ecumenical Councils are the bedrock of the Church. No person or persons, no matter of their Church rank or office, can ever change what has been decided by the Ecumenical Synods. Such Ecumenical Councils the Church recognizes as seven in number. The Ecumenical Councils formulated precisely and confirmed a number of the fundamental truths of the Orthodox Christian Faith, defending the ancient teaching of the Church against the distortions of heretics. The Ecumenical Councils likewise formulated numerous laws and rules governing public and private Christian church life, which are called the Church holy Canons, and required the universal and uniform observance of them. Finally, the Ecumenical Councils confirmed the dogmatic statements of a number of local councils, and also the dogmatic statements composed by certain Fathers of the Church of example, the confession of faith of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neo-Caesarea, the canons of Saint Basil the Great and so forth. (Dogmatic Theology).

The Church fought the Arian heresy (325 A. D.) which persisted for a few hundred years. In the 5th century, there was a Patriarch of Constantinople by name of Nestorius, who was anathematized, his teaching was rejected and condemned. Over the many centuries, the Church has faced numerous heresies both from within and without. When we think of wolves that look like sheep, we think of the heretics who seek to devour the sheep, the faithful Orthodox Christians.

Our Lord Jesus Christ warns us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. The question, however, is, "how do you detect the wolf?" It really could be one who is a Baptized, Chrismated, communing Orthodox Christian in good standing-someone-maybe a layman - very well educated. Somebody that can talk for hours about Orthodoxy, and the history of the Church, and even the doctrines of the Church, can be very convincing. It could also be hierarch, a priest, lay-theologians, or professors. The wolves in sheep's clothing are not those without, but they are those within that are trusted, loved, admired, those we feel safe with, those that we respect, those that do not raise our suspicions.

Most of the sheep that you know as sheep are sheep. They are genuine. But some of the sheep that you know as sheep are actually disguised as sheep but underneath beats the heart of a bloodthirsty wolf who seeks your demise.

Our Savior says that the Christian that they can be "known by their fruits". We must be vigilant and alert and look and see whether what they say, and what they do, is in line with what the Holy Fathers have taught for 2,000 years before them. One has to look at their actions, their hidden agenda, their objective. They are lying, they are deceptive, they are manipulative, they are devious, and work in secret behind the scene. They detest the Holy Fathers, they ignore the holy Canons, they deliberately attack the Holy Tradition of the Church, they seek to revise its history so as to "modernize" it. These are true "wolves in sheep's clothing." They also seek to destroy the Orthodox Christian identity of the Church and to deform it. They are militant, radical, vicious and the enemies of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, the only authentic Church of Christ.

Be aware and be alert!

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things! - Saint John Chrysostom

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George