Tag Archives: apostles

Are All Apostles? Are All Prophets?

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Bishops preaching–or about to preach–in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. Bishops, identified with both the apostles and the prophets, interpret the Scriptures and preside at the Eucharist; they serve as the principle of unity in the community and between communities that form the Church at large.



You are the Body of Christ, each member being a part God has arranged in the Church…. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? …. Avidly desire the greater gifts. (1 Cor. 12:27-30)

The gifts of the Holy Spirit have been hotly contested issues among the Christians in Corinth. Some people are proud that they have certain gifts–especially “tongues”–and look down their noses at other people who do not manifest these gifts. Some people are shut out of the community because they seem to be less “spiritual” than others. But the apostle insists that “tongues” is the least important of all the spiritual gifts and that–in any case–all the spiritual gifts are needed for the Body of Christ to function properly.

The gifts are not as easy to number and classify as some might think, either. To say that someone is a “prophet” does not tell us exactly how this person ministers to the community.

There are two types of prophets: those who predict the future and those who interpret the Scriptures…. There are also ‘prophets’ who are teachers, who teach children or young people.

St. Ambrosiaster, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles

St. Ambrosiaster points out that the apostles in each community, i.e. the bishop of a community, is also a prophet who must interpret the Scriptures. Being able to practice one spiritual gift does not exclude a person from other gifts at the same time.

Although the offices of prophet and apostle were similar or overlapped in some ways, they were also distinct. St. Ambrosiaster seems to presume the prophets were sedentary members of the community, staying in one place. On the other hand, in Syria authentic prophets were presumed to always be on-the-move and never stayed long in any one place. In fact, that was how a parish could distinguish between true and false prophets: the Didache (a handbook for local parishes from the same time as the New Testament) says that a true prophet would never stay in any one place for more than three days.

Not only are the gifts given for the well-being of any one particular community or parish. The gifts are given for the well-being of the Church as a whole.

The Corinthian church was not the whole body by itself but was part of a worldwide community of faith. Therefore the Corinthians ought to be at peace with the Church in every other place, if it is a true member of the body.

St. John Chrysostom, Homily 32 on the Epistles of St. Paul

Although the gifts might be given to the parish in Corinth, they had to be practiced in a way that did not only benefit the parish in Corinth but the other parishes in every city. Nowadays, we might say that the parish on East 17th Street had to realize that the gifts of the people in that parish were also to benefit the people in the parish on West 25th Street, as well as the people in parishes across the country.

While all the members of the community have differing gifts and everyone has a role to play in their local parish as well as in the larger Church as a whole, there is one gift that everyone in every parish is called to embrace and practice. The greatest of the spiritual gifts that St. Paul wants everyone in each parish to strive for is love.

Mary, Pentecostal Teacher of the Church

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17th century Icon of Pentecost (from the border of Russia and Finland)

Some icons of Pentecost show Mary the Mother of God in the centre, occupying the “Teacher’s Seat.” Mary was present at Pentecost; she is the ultimate exemplar of a Christian. With Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, the Holy Spirit acts within people, and through the saints, Christ is manifest in the world. Mary is therefore shown in the “teacher’s seat” as the best example we have, and the person on earth who most resembled Jesus Christ (both physically, as His mother, and spiritually as His disciple).

By the 9th century the Church came to recognize Mary as the Stella Maris, the Star of the Sea, an image reminiscent of sailors who would chart their course by the stars. Mary points the way to Christ.

The presence of the Apostle Paul in the icon, even though at that time he had not yet converted on the road to Damascus, hints that this icon is more than a purely historical picture. Sometimes, the evangelists Luke and Mark are also shown, despite also not having been present in the upper chamber at Pentecost. The gathering, then, is a representation of the Church. The Apostles are shown as equals, with no individual among them taking the central seat of authority. They are seated in a semi-circle, representing a unity and harmony similar to that found in Icons of the Holy Trinity. As in icons of the Holy Trinity, a semi-circle, rather than a full circle, is used so that we as observers are drawn into the unity.

See a Pentecost sermon that includes the role of the Mother of God here, preached at St. Matthew’s, Sheffield (a Church of England parish).

Sardonyx

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sardonyx

Onyx is a chalcedony quartz that is mined in Brazil, India, California and Uruguay. Originally, almost all colors of chalcedony from white to dark brown and black were called onyx. Today when we think of onyx we often preface the word with black to distinguish it from other varieties of onyx that come in white, reddish brown, brown and banded. A variety of onyx that is reddish brown with white and lighter reddish bands is known as sardonyx, from the Greek sarx (flesh) because of these flesh tones in the gem.

The name also comes from the Greek word onyx which means nail of a finger or claw. Legend says that one day while Venus was sleeping Eros/Cupid cut her fingernails and left the clippings scattered on the ground. Because no part of a heavenly body can die, the gods turned them into stone which later became known as onyx.

Sardonyx is said to grant intelligence and courage, dispel nightmares and meloncholy, and break curses. Sardnyx is one of the stones in the ‘Breastplate of Judgement’ of Aaron, described in the Bible (Exodus 28:15-30). Sardonyx is also included in the listing of the gems of the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:13) and is one of the gems the New and Heavenly Jerusalem is said to be built of (the book of Revelation).

One of the earliest writers to associate the symbolism of the gems given in Revelation  with the apostles is Andrew, bishop of Caeserea. He gives says the sardonyx represents James, the (step) brother of Christ, a son of Joseph from his first marriage.

During the Renaissance in Europe it was believed that this stone gave speakers eloquence when talking. In Ancient Greece people used to carve them into the shape of scarab beetles, a mythological creature that was believed to eat people! The gem also has many links with royalty and it is said that Queen Elizabeth I gave the Earl of Essex a large Sardonyx gold ring as a present.