26. January 30 Feast of the Three Heirarchs

While I was flying back to earth with the eminent Archangel Michael as my (unnecessary) escort I continued to think about my conversation with the Holy Spirit. I had heard Him referred to as the Comforter and Counselor, but I did not feel so comfortable.

There are billions of humans down on that planet who have no awareness whatsoever of the dual nature of Jesus Christ and they seem perfectly fine. Many of them regularly file into thousands of churches and mosques and synagogues, or not, and have been for millennia. The Holy Spirit didn't speak to me of any consequences, but I still felt uneasy. A desire to be worshipped for Who He really is, sounded reasonable enough, but that part about a muddy river bothered me.

I had forgotten that angels read minds when Michael abruptly slowed down causing me to collide with him. Ouch!

"Are you, pipsqueak of an angel that you are, questioning God?!" shouted Michael.

Conflict-resistant I am but not easily intimidated, so I responded,"I think, that is, if I am allowed to think for myself," then I flashed him a sassy smirk, "that everything God said about wanting Jesus to be known as fully human and fully divine makes sense. But then why didn't He just plain say that? Why was He so angry? By the way, where are we going?"

"We are on our way to Euchaita in northern Asia Minor to visit the bishop there in 1084. Hurry up, we have wasted enough time. By the way, He was angry with you for bringing up those foolish heresies that caused so much division and death. Stop talking and fly."

Now I know why Michael is called the militant angel, so I promptly surged forward leaving him at least twenty wingspans behind me. Then, realizing that I didn't know how to get to Euchaita, I slowed down and let Michael take the lead.

We landed in a small room, dark and dusty, where a wrinkly old white-haired man was sitting in a chair conversing with an apparition of three men.

"What is going on here?" I asked Michael.

"The old man is the local bishop, John Mauropous. The three men are Saint Basil, Saint Gregory the Theologian (not Palamas, or Nyssa) and Saint John Chrysostom. His parishioners have been arguing about which of these three saints is the greatest, and John was praying to God for His opinion to end the argument once and for all."

Mauropous's face was red and hot, sweat blanketed his brow as he looked at Basil and said, "Surely, Basil, you are the greatest father of the Bride for your tireless battle against Arias, and for your example of great self-denial. I have read as many of your writings as I could; your exegesis is clear and well formulated; your liturgy is splendid. Surely, you are the greatest of all."

Saint John Chrysostom cleared his throat to be noticed, and on John's behalf Saint Basil

countered, "Have you met my brother John the "Golden Mouthed" archbishop of Constantinople? His liturgy is celebrated much more often than mine, and besides it is obvious to all that I could not ever match Chrysostom in either eloquence or in bringing sinners to repentance."

Then John Chrysostom interjected. "Not me. My brother the Naziansan surpasses me in the purity and and profundity of his homilies. Did you read his treatise on the Trinity? Surely He fathered the Bride with that piece alone."

Basil looked at Mauropus and then at his two brothers and said, "If the Bride of Christ, our One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, must have an earthly father to look up to, to guide the brethren with the light of truth, then let her father be a trinity of men, the three of us."

Hearing this Mauropous's face radiated with joy. Tears streamed from his old brown eyes and he bowed his head low before his guests, and whispered, "My Lord and my God. Your brilliance and majesty are beyond compare. Praise God in His sanctuary, Praise Him in his mighty firmament. Praise Him for His mighty acts. Praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of a trumpet, and the lute and the harp. Let everything that has breath praise The Lord." And then he thought to himself, I must tell the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos about this. He can declare a feast for the three fathers united, a trinity of Heirarchs."

As John was contemplating heavenly and then earthly matters, Michael and I saw the saints rise to fly away one by one. Basil turned and looked at me and said, "Come with us angel, I want you to see something beautiful."

So I followed him up and out of the room and thought to myself. "I wonder if there is anything on earth more beautiful than what I have already witnessed since I was banished from heaven?"

Scriptures concerning the knowledge of God, and why heresies are allowed to exist:

Matthew 11:27

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Matthew 11:26-28

Matthew 13:11

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Matthew 13:10-12

Luke 12:47-49

47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.