THE CLERICAL QUESTION

[Monomakhos 1849]

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THE CLERICAL QUESTION; OR A THESIS UPON THE EXTREME OF CLERICAL SUBJUGATION BEFORE ELECTED OFFICE

 

Scribed by

FR. SERAPHIM OF LEORA

 

GODFREY’S TRIUMPH

1772

 

An icon depicting the Archaengul Michael (Micahelus) purging the servants of the Evil One during the last battle.

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Section I - The Extreme of Politics

Section II - Balance the Two Extremes

Section III – Seeking Office is Seeking Damnation

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| Section I |

 

Blessed is our Lord, always, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Glory to You, O Theós Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things; lifegiver and blessed divine maker of all things, take Your abode in us and cleanse us of every stain, and save our souls, O Good one whose law and mandate are the essence of all things. Amen. Let the words I write be without error and let the listener be cleansed of their impure thoughts.

 

As with many of my other theses published in the last years do I ramble on and on about how the world is becoming too secular. And this is not so simple a thing; but many faceted. It is secular in the life of men, who have abandoned virtue for comfort and vanity. It is secular in the politics of our nations, where career statesmen would advocate against faith, against virtue and against God. And so too does this plague of the secular mind; of the so-called Imperial spirit I touched upon in my writings prior, inflict its damages upon the institutions of our faith. Though, this infection, this damage done, is not something easily witnessed or discerned. We believe in the ideal of balancing the extremes. On one hand, you have those who might advocate for the complete and total severance of the Church from secular entities; to not ‘lower’ oneself to the folly of secular politics, that it is better to be detached from the world and to allow it to succumb wholly to the self-destructive nature of man, than to lend its stern and guiding hand in leading kings and emperors towards godliness. And then on the other, you have those who believe it prudent for shepherds of the faithful to adorn themselves in the vanity of secular office. To aspire not in guiding the people into good deeds and faith by the measure of their own piety and wisdom, but to instead build upon their throne of office by facilitating themselves as politicians who might hold in one hand the gospel of the Lord, and in the other, the flier declaring their worthiness to be appointed to term.

 

“Truth is not decided by a majority vote.” (Maxims 2:16)

 

How can it be suitable for a priest, ordained within the sacrament of our holy church, to throw himself before the mercy of the laity. It does not! The priesthood received their garments from Exalted Owyn, by the word of the Lord. Therefore, a holy father of our Church cannot and should not lower himself to be made at the mercy of popular will. It deprecates the station, and makes a mockery of the inestimable grace and burden that the priesthood is adorned with, and not only does it do these things, but it places a vulnerability on the Church in both reputation and spiritual bearing. For before the Lord, his sacraments, the holy word and the flock we shepherd, there is nothing upon this earth worthy of our attention. In looking towards the dogma of our Holy Church, it is written that the ministry shall be subject to the will of no sovereign but the High Pontiff. What then is a priest, who has one foot within the clergy and one foot outside it, in chasing after these modernistic democratic institutions which do not carry with them the same collegian bearing that separate, as an example, the Curia in the election of a Pontiff. To engage in election for secular political office is to offend the dogma of the Church, for then not only do you make yourself a subject of the masses (despite it being clearly inappropriate to answer to any sovereign but the God and his Vicar) but also open yourself to the vanities of secular politics. By engaging in this system, does one engage in what becomes little more than glorified pageantry vying for popularity through concession. There is no possibility of reconciling this as being a valuable quality of a servant of God.

 

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| Section II |

 

I would clarify in my rantings, as to not sound like Friar Boniface, in the misconception that I hold a complete and utter disdain towards priests acting with political bearing. I do not condemn it, for many of our Saints, Blessed and Venerable souls alike have conducted themselves in such a manner throughout the history of our Church. That is to say, I do not revile politics, as much as I do the extremes. To subject oneself to the judgement of any but the Lord God and his servants upon his earth, this is the path of a priest who entrusts himself to a life of spiritual waste. High Pontiff St. Lucien once said that when the clergy turn into laymen, that the laymen will turn into demons. When the priest becomes a man of the world, who subjects himself to the many vices, and to a path which does not befit the garments he is adorned with, then he becomes the Evil One’s candidate. We must avoid these extremes; extreme solutions never solve a problem. They always impart suffering onto our Church, as much as they do for those who hold the positions, for an extreme stance has a way of nailing people into place. Some people might ask, Father Seraphim, what difference does it make if a priest holds secular office in hand with religious? You cited High Pontiff St. Lucien, and he himself held a Prince-Archbishopric, is that not secular office? There comes a difference between the grant of a fiefdom, and the rise to an elected office. One is gifted by the sceptre. The other bartered for and won with pageantry and common ascent. There is too much importance attached to human glory, rather than the glory that awaits us in paradise, when we shall depart from the glory of men. God does not receive his glory from men, just as men of the cloth do not receive their glory from men. We place ourselves into the hands of the Lord alone. And certainly he who seeks salvation of the soul does not chase after high offices. To seek election is to thrust yourself into that office, and no matter the reasoning, it becomes nothing but a hindrance for you have then made yourself a subject of the office - of the masses, and not their shepherd.

 

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| Section III |

 

“Do not be afraid to resign all things to God, and all prayers to thy Patron Saint. For to be the abject slave of God, is greater than to be the Chamberlain of the Emperor himself, and we come to Him best through our Saints.” (Maxims 2:10)

 

There are some who, because of their life, should have been filled with happiness and sang glory to the Lord, despite having been delivered from all manners of discomfort by him, seek out responsibility and offices. And when they are not handed these things, they are given to fester in their indignation and anger, it damages the body and soul alike, yet they seek to enter the Skies through human glory rather than through God’s glory. The simple fact that we must accept is that those who chase after human glory will never be glorified by God. A man, and a priest especially, should never go out of his way to be given more responsibility. For to do so is to be burdened with every kind of worry; to chase these things is to admit that you are not content, and for that, that the evil of pride is eating away at your soul. No one should ever pursue an office for the sake of glory, for that reveals the advancement of spiritual waste, treading onward on this path of sickness that takes them further and further away from humility; the path upon which the Holy Fathers of our Church entered Paradise. And again will I say that responsibility can become a great detriment to a spiritual life. Those who wish to endeavor in their spiritual work and the glorification of the Lord should not seek them. Typically, those who do seek out these offices and posts are taken into the sin of egoism. They act for glory and not for the Lord. But those who do not comfort their egos, who allow peace to come to the souls that require help, and to those who might help them, can receive a peace in this life and for the life to come. This is to say, while the extreme of apoliticism proves itself as damaging to the flock at large who are left without that stern hand, the extreme of politicality, office seeking and subjugation to the will of the laity births an irrevocable destruction of the spirit and the virtues, which in turn imparts itself upon the faithful for in the absence of a faithful shepherd to guide them into the love of our Lord, they themselves become nothing but slaves to the passions. Take only the office that the Lord brings upon you, and no more.

 

“There is nothing so repulsive to iblees as humility: there is nothing so pleasing to God as lowliness.” (Maxims 4:15)

 

Most Glorious and Righteous Mother of Peace, Lady St. Julia, let the children of your womb and not out of your womb humble themselves in their path that the Lord has assigned them to walk. Allow the men you have watched since your ascension learn to seek not the riches and glory they may obtain from below but seek the crowns of gold in the heavenly kingdom of our Lord and God. Let them keep to the holy path of the Lord and not stray to seek pleasures of this world in an attempt to satisfy their sinful passions.

 

Please now, intercede on our behalf, for while we below are weak, you above are strong beloved of the Lord. 

 

Through the intercessions of our holy Exalted prophets, our holy and righteous Mother, Lady St. Julia, High Pontiff St. Lucien who foresaw the evil taking hold of our world, and all the saints, we pray to you most glorious Master to lead us once again into being your humble servants that we may spend our lives with you unto ages of ages. Amen.

 

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[JoanOfArc 4604]

Fr. Griffith offered a simple nod to Seraphim. Nothing else needed to be said.

[Axelu 4333]

A pious woman based in the imperious stronghold of inner Helena read the work staidly and with utmost care, muttering her approval.

[thesmellypocket 1859]

Pius of Sutica writes: "An excellent work by the gifted Father.

 

I must add, that the Father is confirmed in his view by the Third Golden Bull of Dibley and all the teaching of the Doctors. When Saint Daniel the Reader licensed clegymen being involved in politics, he was living in the time of Andyrk Vydra, of Saint Emma and Venerable Olivier: the height of feudalism. Very different for a clergyman to have a seat on a feudal government and for him to be in a democratic election. Indeed, the bull itself states: "the lord's council" he shall serve on - not democratic elections!"