The Church is separate and distinct from whatever state it exists under. Some governments are more ideal than others, yet none is inherently Orthodox.
As Orthodox Christians, we should be focused on living the Gospel, rather than romanticizing over how great things were under such and such empire, especially since none of us were alive at the time.
Christ is our object of worship, not popes and emperors. Just as the Church has no need of a pope, it can do just fine without an emperor. We can't live as Christians in the present if we insist on living in a pseudohistorical past.
St. Constantine granted official toleration of all religions with the Edict of Milan, a promise broken by the Council of Chalcedon, when half the world's Christians were excommunicated and persecuted by the state.
Regardless of whether their Christological views were heretical, an idea that contemporary Orthodox theologians and historians strongly dispute, non-Chalcedonians didn't deserve state persecution, and there is nothing Orthodox about endorsing such treatment.
The Byzantine Empire helped save Western civilization, by preserving high culture at a time when Western Europe was truly barbaric. That doesn't mean, however, that it was heaven on earth, as evidenced by the excesses and abuses of the imperial state.
If we are to trust not in princes and sons of men, in whom there is no salvation, that should include Orthodox emperors. Some have been recognized as saints, yet that is because of the lives they lived, not the office they held. Again, there is nothing inherently Orthodox about any system of government.
The sooner we stop shedding tears over such and such an empire's fall, the sooner we will look forward to the Kingdom of God. When Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world, Jesus did not deny that they belonged to him.
Luke 4
5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
John 18:36
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
As Orthodox Christians, we should be focused on living the Gospel, rather than romanticizing over how great things were under such and such empire, especially since none of us were alive at the time.
Christ is our object of worship, not popes and emperors. Just as the Church has no need of a pope, it can do just fine without an emperor. We can't live as Christians in the present if we insist on living in a pseudohistorical past.
St. Constantine granted official toleration of all religions with the Edict of Milan, a promise broken by the Council of Chalcedon, when half the world's Christians were excommunicated and persecuted by the state.
Regardless of whether their Christological views were heretical, an idea that contemporary Orthodox theologians and historians strongly dispute, non-Chalcedonians didn't deserve state persecution, and there is nothing Orthodox about endorsing such treatment.
The Byzantine Empire helped save Western civilization, by preserving high culture at a time when Western Europe was truly barbaric. That doesn't mean, however, that it was heaven on earth, as evidenced by the excesses and abuses of the imperial state.
If we are to trust not in princes and sons of men, in whom there is no salvation, that should include Orthodox emperors. Some have been recognized as saints, yet that is because of the lives they lived, not the office they held. Again, there is nothing inherently Orthodox about any system of government.
The sooner we stop shedding tears over such and such an empire's fall, the sooner we will look forward to the Kingdom of God. When Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world, Jesus did not deny that they belonged to him.
Luke 4
5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
John 18:36
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
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