When the Church Seems Too Messy

During the liturgical Church year, the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council are commemorated. Those Fathers gathered in the year 325 when a major controversy was sweeping through the Church called Arianism. For several years, a priest named Arius was attracting people to his heretical way of theologizing. One of the biggest challenges with Arianism is that it simply made a lot of sense according to the way people thought back then. It seemed he was taking Christianity and making it work with what was – at that time – modern man’s sensibilities.

Finally, after years of discussion, the Church met in 325 A.D., held the First Ecumenical Council, Arius was deposed, and correct theology prevailed. It seems like the story has a happy ending, right?

But no, after Constantine died, many of the following emperors preferred Arianism and they would have good bishops deposed or exiled so that heretical bishops and priests would take their place. This went on for decades, with occasional good emperors allowing the true, Orthodox faith to make a comeback, and then a heretical emperor erasing all the progress after the good one reposed.

In the year 381, the 2nd Ecumenical Council was held. There, they affirmed the Orthodox faith, and once again, proclaimed Arianism (among other things) to be a heresy.

But Christians had to go through decades of turmoil between the years 325-381. Some of them, of course, died during that time and probably didn’t know who was going to win in the end. And even after the year 381, there were difficulties for decades more. In Western Europe, Arianism would be a problem for centuries.

So, what can we take away from this lesson? Sometimes it seems like the wrong people are in charge and the Church is a mess. But all we see is the brief little moment of history that we live in. Many of us grew up on TV shows in which everything is neatly wrapped up in 30-60 minutes. But that’s just not how life works, or how things have ever worked in the Church. Scandals, heresies, and controversies arise, people take different sides, and it can take years, decades, or even centuries for things to get sorted out.

So, if you look around and think that the Orthodox Church – or even Christianity as a whole – has issues, then, yes, you’re right. We do. But it’s almost always been that way in at least one area of the world, if not many areas, in which Christianity exists. Both the Apostles Paul and John wrote their epistles in response to issues in the Church. So, this has been going on even since the mid first century. The Devil hates the Church and is always doing what he can to create division – that’s why we call Satan the Devil. Diabolos means “divider.”

So if you’re feeling upset with the strife, divisions, and animosity between leaders in the Church, hang in there. Disruptions in Church life have existed since the beginning – because we’re all broken people in need of God’s healing. And sometimes the right way forward isn’t very clear to everyone. But through the Holy Spirit, God gently corrects the Church and puts her back on the right path. Christians have been persevering through these difficulties for many, many centuries — and so can we.

Featured image comes from a 12th century manuscript. Simon Magus is lifted toward the heavens by devils who eventually let him fall. St. Peter rebukes Simon, who is seen as the archetypal heretic. Courtesy of Getty Images. All rights reserved.