S
"THE APPEARANCES AT FATIMA
AND ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY"
(Orthodox Christian Witness, August 8/21, 1988)
"Orthodox Interest. According to Roman Catholic claims, between May and October of 1917, the Mother of God appeared six times to three children -- Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco - in the Portuguese village of Fatima. ... (page 80).
"... when one examines the events at Fatima in detail, it turns out that they were not primarily about Russia at all; rather, they presented or reaffirmed a number of distinctively Roman Catholic doctrines. One must consider these teachings as a whole in order to determine how an Orthodox Christian should view the whole event. (p. 81).
"Who appeared. First of all, it is actually not completely clear who appeared at Fatima. In the first appearance, the apparition made no claim at all to be the Theotokos. Jacinta first identified her as the Virgin Mary, but Lucia initially was doubtful about who the apparition was. In later appearances, the apparition did not always specifically claim to be the Mother of God, but rather spoke of itself, rather oddly, as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and the "Immaculate Heart of Mary." In the fifth appearance, the apparition told the children, "IN October our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world." This sounds strange to our ears, since it almost seems to imply that these "Ladies" are different people.
"What was Taught. The doctrines presented by the apparition are striking, since they reinforce many of the most unusual and extreme innovations of recent Roman Catholicism. They include the following:
"Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The primary purpose of the apparition was th encourage devotion to the so-called Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the second appearance, the apparition said, "Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart." This devotional practice is related to the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the twelfth century a revolution occurred in the devotional practices of the Roman Catholic Church; this revolution was inspired by the preaching of Bernard of Clairveaux and spread widely by Francis of Assisi. As attention was shifted from our redemption by the Resurrection of the Lord to a focus on the Passion of the Lord, and erotic element was introduced into worship and private devotion. The Lord came to be viewed as a companion, friend, and even husband/lover, as is reflected in the marriage imagery which was introduced into Western monasticism (in taking their vows, nuns went through a sort of wedding ceremony, complete with bridal gowns, wedding rings, etc., with the Lord as the groom.) This new devotion stressed the worshipper's individual union with his Mystic Lover, concentrating on the pain of the Lord's suffering and trying to arouse emotional feelings by focusing on His earthly life. Among the manifestations of this new approach to worship are the Feast of the Holy Name, special devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ, the Stations of the Cross, the meditations assigned to the decades of the Rosary, the Christmas "crib" and devotion to the "Baby Jesus" in general, and the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This latter cult focuses on one part of our Lord's physical body and separates the worship of the human nature of Christ from His Divine nature; for this reason it has never found any acceptance in the Orthodox Church, which encourages its children to worship the Lord in His Divine-human unity, not in each of the natures separately. Orthodoxy has also maintained a much more restrained and objective devotional approach to the Lord, trying to avoid sensuality, sentimentality, and emotionalism.
"Unfortunately, as the Roman Catholic doctrine of Mary has developed in recent centuries, it has tried to parallel every attribute of Christ with one in Mary, going even to the extreme of calling her the Co-Redemptrix of the world and suggesting that she shares in Christ's priesthood in some way. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is one more example of this tendency, paralleling the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But if the cult of the Sacred Heart is too dangerously overloaded with emotion, sentimentality, and sensuality for it to be acceptable to Orthodoxy, what can we say about an extension of this cult to the Theotokos? The problem here is that Roman Catholicism has lost the orthodox concept of the deification of all of those who participate in God's life-creating, sanctifying, and uncreated grace. The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant -- all, in fact, who are called to be saints and who struggle in this life that is in Christ -- participate in Christ's redemptive work. They are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." When the Church's orthodox doctrine of grace, salvation, and deification is forsaken for one which is carnal, erroneous, and distorted, then, inevitably, theological dislocations and aberrations will appear also in regard to the doctrines of the priesthood and redemption. This is especially evident with regard to the position of the Theotokos in Roman Catholicism, where here cultus clearly begins to border on Mariolatry. It is even more objectionable when particular bodily parts of Mary are singled out for particular devotion. (pp. 81-82.).
"In antiquity, there were two heretical sects -- the Antidicomarianites and the Collyridians. The first refused to honor the Theotokos at all and denied her perpetual virginity, the second made her equal to God. Concerning the later, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus writes that "certain women made small loaves and offered them in [Mary's] name in religious rites performed by women ... And in Sikima, the local villagers offer sacrifices in the name of the Maiden [Theotokos]." The Orthodox Church strives ever to preserve the truth, deviating neither to the right nor to the left, but walking on the straight and narrow way which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. St. Epiphanius writes that both of the extremes reflected in the doctrines and practices of these two aforementioned sects are "the teachings of the demons." "The harm", he writes, "that comes from both of these heresies is equal." We can see that, in regard to the Theotokos, the Protestants tend to reflect the views of the Antidicomarianites, whereas the modern Roman Catholics clearly resemble the Collyridians. Orthodoxy adheres to the middle way, venerating the Theotokos as the holiest of God's creatures and pouring out love for her, but not dishonoring her by falsely exalting here to the status of a goddess. By honoring her purity and holiness and by emulating in our own lives her total obedience to God, we show our true devotion to her." (p. 83).
Source: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (Eph. 4:5), Thirty Years of Witness to Orthodox Christianity. Boston, MA: 2001. Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston.
God save us all.
Through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, and through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, LORD JESUS CHRIST, Son of GOD, have mercy on us. AMEN AND AMEN. In Erie PA USA July 1, 2011 AD Scott R. Harrington
