Often in history, and most definitely today, we see what happens when people fail to seek truth, disregard facts, and therefore lack knowledge. Serious trouble ensues.
We’ll come back to that.
But before we get started: The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (The Meeting with Simeon) is on February 2. If you wish, at the bottom of this Post you can access my old Post on the subject, “The Groundhog who stole Candlemas” – the silliest thing I ever wrote, but it’s also quite serious.
Now, the subject at hand:
The Three Hierarchs
These great Fourth Century Fathers of the Church played pivotal rules in clarifying the meaning of the Scriptures and establishing the doctrines of the Faith as Christians have accepted them ever since. All were highly educated in the best universities or personally tutored by the best scholars of their day, both in classical learning and in theology.
Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, the Church’s greatest preacher, six hundred of whose popular homilies are extant today, defender of the poor, compiler * of the Anaphora of the Divine Liturgy most frequently used today in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- based on the version he brought with him from Antioch, which itself derived from much older tradition, going back to the beginning
Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, valiant defender of the Orthodox Faith, who established the Church’s monastic rule, another great champion of the needy, also compiler of the profound and gorgeous Anaphora of his Divine Liturgy, in my opinion the best summation of our salvation history that exists.
Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of
Constantinople, one of only three saints given that title, brilliant theologian, writer and teacher. When all the churches in Constantinople had fallen into Arian hands, his preaching and teaching restored The City to the Orthodox Faith.
During the Eleventh Century, some folks (who obviously had too much time on their hands) got to arguing about which of these Fathers was greatest. Factions developed: Basilians, Johannites, Gregorians. According to the story, the Three Fathers appeared in a dream to John Mavropoulos, Bishop of Euchaita, and told him (I paraphrase): “Look. We’re not arguing about it. We’re all equal. We are all servants of Jesus Christ.” And they directed that, to make the point, a feast day be instituted to commemorate all three at the same time. And so it was established, on January 30, 1084, under Emperor Alexis Comnenus, and the day has been celebrated ever since. Perhaps this helps explain why the Orthodox Church has rarely suffered from theological factions and parties – though God knows we find other things to argue about.
Sung by the Monks of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, Massachusetts
Troparion/Apolytikion for the Feast
“The three most great luminaries of the Three-sunned Divinity have illumined all the world with the rays of true and divine doctrines. They are the sweetly flowing rivers of wisdom, who with godly knowledge have watered all creation in clear and mighty streams. The great and sacred Basil, and the Theologian wise Gregory, together with the renowned John the famed Chrysostom of golden speech. Let us all who honor their divinely wise words come together honoring them with hymns; for ceaselessly they offered entreaty for us to the Trinity.”
Patrons of Learning
In the Greek Orthodox tradition, these Three Hierarchs are celebrated as patrons of education, learning and knowledge – and on this day Greek kids get the day off from school!
The following is part of a pastoral letter/encyclical issued on January 30, 2025 by His Eminence Elpidophoros, Greek Archbishop of America.
“The Three Holy Hierarchs understood that faith and reason are not opposed, but rather are in service to one another. In our current age, where we are faced with the challenges of Artificial Intelligence and increasingly disconnected interpretations of what is factually true, the example of the Three Hierarchs is much more than a mere reminiscence of past attainments. Now, more than ever, the methodology of the Three Hierarchs is needed to regain a well-founded and well-rounded approach to science, philosophy and their roles with faith. Their legacy … is a guarantee that we shall abide a people of the truth, even as the Lord Jesus Christ revealed that He came to our world ‘to bear witness to the truth’. John 18:37b Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, let us honor this day by reclaiming the wisdom of reason and knowledge… and put it in the service of the Gospel in order to share the blessing of our heritage and faith with the world.”
Greek Philosophers
On this day the Greeks also honor their great pre-Christian philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and others.
Why pagan philosophers on a Christian festival? Because, though Christianity’s foundations were Jewish and Semitic, quickly Christian theologians began to adopt words and concepts from Greek philosophy, using and “converting” them for the Church’s purposes. The Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian wrote that “The Word (Logos, λόγος) was made flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14 “Logos” was a concept first used by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus in the Fifth Century BC, later by Aristotle and others. “Logos” in Greek meant not only “word” but also the rational principle which undergirds the universe, which orders all things. John shockingly said the Man they had walked and talked with, Jesus Christ, is that Logos Who orders and holds the cosmos together, Who was made Man and dwelt among us.
Later the Fathers converted the Greek words for “essence” (“of one essence with the Father”) and “person” and much more.
This is why in the narthex of a few Greek churches and monasteries there are murals of Greek philosophers – without haloes, of course, because they only prepared the way for Christ. Note: Saint Justin the Christian Philosopher gets a halo.
Knowledge, Truth, Facts
We are living at a time when facts seem to be whatever people want them to be. No!
“You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.” *
- Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 2003. It’s also attributed to Bernard Baruch, James Schlesinger, Alan Greenspan and others. One would hope that everyone would agree!
Are there establishable facts? Of course. I am sitting here writing this Post. That is a fact. That I am now outside in this zero weather rolling in the snow is not a fact. It’s not true.
Let’s establish basic principles:
1 Facts matter. Truth matters. That’s obvious. If I step out into the street thinking a car isn’t coming, but it is… Believing what is untrue can get us into serious trouble.
2 To know truth does not require a person to get a doctorate. Please don’t listen to those who denigrate higher education. The Three Hierarchs certainly didn’t. However, to know facts we need only search and think. My Grandpa Fred (born in 1867, would you believe!) never finished high school, but he studied, searched, learned and thought. As my mother said, he could talk intelligently about almost any subject.
3 Jesus Christ, the Logos who undergirds all things, is The Truth and the source of all truth, not just “religious truth”. When people seek facts, truth – in theology, philosophy, science *, wherever – they seek Him, whether they know it or not. All truth comes from God. All truth is theological.
- I note that some people reject modern scientific discovery, except when they get sick and go to the doctor!
Today we honor the Three Hierarchs who, drawing on the Revelation in Jesus Christ and also on God-given reason, took us ever further into the mysteries of God.
However, astrophysicists who explore the unfathomably great cosmos also show us the glory and wisdom of God Who creates and orders it all. In the same way climatologists demonstrate that God’s earth is warming and thereby can predict the dangers awaiting God’s people (though in this country their research facilities are now being shut down). I hope the wisdom of American medical science is still producing vaccines which deliver us from various diseases. All this is of God.
Sometime soon let’s talk again about how to discover religious truth, among all the claims made today. However, “the whole world is in His hands” – not just the ecclesiastical world. So today let’s try to tackle another of the greatest sources of confusion about what is true.
What’s happening today: how to determine the truth
Brothers and sisters, do not believe everything you read *, everything you’re told, or even everything you see.“Seeing is not believing” any more.
- including in this Blog. I make mistakes. Please correct me when I do.
In the media, check various sources. Watching only one source is just laziness. What do politicians or political groups say: Is it consistent? in accord with known facts? Check out various “fact check” sites. Listen, read and learn for yourself. Pray God to guide you. This takes a little time. However, as my father often told me, “Don’t be one of the sheep”. Search. Learn. And think, brothers and sisters, think!
Lies, Lying, Untruths
All lies come from “the devil [who] does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
In other words, all who lie serve the devil.
Let a few verses from the Holy Scriptures tell us about lying:
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.” Proverbs 19:9
“You shall destroy those who speak falsehood.” Psalm 5:6
“No one who practices deceit shall dwell in My house; no one who utters lies shall continue before My eyes.” Psalm 101:7
“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” Proverbs 12:19
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Colossians 3:9-10
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25
Clear enough?
Today the Evil One is very busy. It is becoming more difficult to determine what is false and what is true. Here’s why:
1 Artificial Intelligence.
I hope we are not to the point yet where AI can take off on its own. I think people are still behind what shows up on AI. That means there are many liars in our midst.
Now, AI has its place. For example, it is doing wonders for modern medicine. Or when I want to find one of my old Posts, I turn to AI which locates it in seconds and analyzes it (correctly thus far), reminding me of things I once knew but have forgotten.
However, I occasionally check out YouTube to see what’s going on in the popular world. I first noticed the problem last fall. Not long after Leo XIV became Pope, I found a site which listed ten directives he had issued, some of which seemed quite odd. So I checked further. It was a lie, all of it. The Pope had done no such thing. Why did someone have AI create this? I have no idea. Sheer malice, I guess.
Brothers and sisters, when you turn to YouTube and other such sites, be very careful. Sometimes at the bottom in small letters, you’ll see “AI”. But sometimes you won’t. Please check out the information elsewhere before you believe it.
2 Internet “Influencers” who gather online groups of “disciples”, sometimes millions of them. Check out these people carefully, including the “Orthodox” ones. Some of them are making it up, just for the thrill of having power over others. Be very wary.
3 The present United States Government.
Why am I about to jump into politics? Because 1) I’ve followed the news closely ever since I was a kid. 2) I have family in Minneapolis, and I am just fed up with the lies and subsequent lawlessness and violence and dangers to ordinary people going on up there.
When politicians tell lies, it is not primarily a political issue. It is above all a moral issue of Satanic origin, with dangerous consequences for this country. I live in this country, and so does my family, and so do you.
When last Saturday a Minneapolis man was murdered by ICE agents, national government officials immediately announced, without evidence, that he was a “left wing domestic terrorist”. Another accused him of being an “assassin”, and the President called him an “insurrectionalist”. Lies. They did the same when ICE abducted a five year old boy. These days complete fabrications come from our government regarding many subjects.
A lying priest can nearly destroy a congregation. I could give examples. It is the same with government.
Before we go any farther, remember that Our Lord forbade us to judge people. Of course, peoples’ actions we can and sometimes should judge. Robbing banks or lying or abusing women, for example, are objectively wrong. But what is going on in peoples’ hearts and souls when they do these things we must not judge. Only God knows that. So does Mr Trump lie maliciously, or can he not remember or…? That we do not know.
You know – it is no secret – that President Trump speaks untruths very frequently. This has been documented by many sources for many years. Sometimes he later denies what he said. Sometimes he has his staff deny it for him, thereby lying themselves. Sometimes he insists that the lie was the truth.
Here are some examples. *
- I tried to find documentation from more conservative sources, but found none. In fact the top executive of one conservative network directed that they stop fact-checking the President because it was “bad for business.” See: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/29/fox-news-trump-fact-check-election-lies-dominion
162 lies or distortions in a single news conference: https://www.npr.org/2024/08/11/nx-s1-5070566/trump-news-conference
30,573 false of misleading claims during his first term: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FD/FD00/20240515/117301/HHRG-118-FD00-20240515-
Numerous recent mis-statements: https://krdo.com/news/2026/01/20/fact-check-trump-marks-one-year-back-in-office-with-numerous-false-claims/
Mr Trump’s lying has an extremely negative and dangerous effect on his friends and on our society. Here’s an easy example:
The 2020 American election
Everybody knows about this.
The noose was intended for Vice President Pence, without whom our democracy would have fallen.
Mob action endorsed by the Cross of Jesus Christ!
After breaking into the Capitol building, injuring and finally killing a Capitol police officer.
Alright. That was the easy, obvious case. It was wrong. Or was it?
At the time the insurrection was strongly condemned by most of our Senators and Congressmen. Little wonder. They fled for safety into crowded small rooms in the Capitol.
Most of the rioters were prosecuted and many sent to prison.
However, all have now been pardoned, without objections from Senators and Congressmen who have, uh, “changed their minds”. Why? Because the Lie continues. He still says he won.
The ultimate results of believing untruths
For many years, from my little corner, I have been warning about what is obvious: When people no longer agree about truth and facts, civilized society finally falls apart. A few years ago, I said we in America were almost to that point.
We have now reached that point.
Today American people have been fed so many non-facts, lied to by so many for so long, that we are divided into factions and can scarcely have rational conversations any more. If this keeps up, who knows what it will lead to?
Maybe we know.
This has happened before. When people have been lied to sufficiently and no longer know what to believe, then in order to hold society together, even good educated people can give up thinking and just obey a strong authoritarian leader. For example:
1 Nazi-ism
Germans turned to a secular authoritarian leader. I can remember adults hushing me up, listening to the radio in fear. We can still see it online: Adolf Hitler inspiring his “Brownshirts” to go out and raid Jewish homes and destroy their businesses. Hitler shouting to great crowds that the Jews were responsible for all that is wrong in the world, and therefore must be eliminated. The Nazi Gestapo working to eliminate all dissent. Both were responsible to Hitler alone, the authoritaritian ruler who promised his “Thousand Year Reich”. All based on what? no evidence, no facts whatsoever. It was all lies. They believed only because he said so. Yet great masses of people raised their arms in allegiance, crying “Heil, Hitler”.
When my wife and I visited “Onkel Hermann” in Germany in 1985, we met kindly German people, most looking and sounding like my father’s family – and like many people here in old Deutsch Wisconsin. I kept thinking “only forty years ago…”, and I wondered “Could this happen at home?” That haunted me ever after. It is no longer haunting me. It is frightening me.
Below: “Pro-American” Anti-Semitic Nazi Rally, Madison Square Garden, 1939 (Courtesy of PBS)
2 Communism
A different kind of case.
Russia and then Eastern Europe fell under the control of the Bolsheviks with their secular authoritarian ideology. Any who resisted, especially the Orthodox *, were forcibly put down, imprisoned, deported, killed.
- Authoritarian governments always need some enemy to unite the people against.
I remember when many (including some Americans) believed the lie, despite all the evidence – in the inevitability of Communism which would bring justice to mankind, even though Soviet “communism” (not really communism) had resulted in immense horrors, millions of deaths, and it was already failing economically.
I remember how we laughed, glad that we Americans would never fall for government propaganda like that, never accept government like that. That was then.
This is now.
In south Minneapolis, snow and ice still blanketed Nicollet Avenue when federal agents fanned out and started tackling heckling protesters on Saturday, about a block away from where Alex Pretti was shot and killed.
“Shame!” the protesters yelled. “Why did you murder another one of our neighbors?” they said. The agents charged, launching gas canisters, yelling at the protesters. “Get back!” “Get out of the street!”
The agents grabbed a protester who had only a painter’s mask covering his mouth and little else to protect himself from the gas. He gasped, choking for air as he was cuffed.
Standing in front of him was a federal agent armed with a grenade launcher, used here for launching tear gas or smoke. The agent also carried a Glock handgun with two spare magazines, a stun gun and a spare magazine for an AR-15-style rifle.
The detritus left behind tells the story of deep-winter protests in subzero weather: a warm hat, a shirt, Kirkland chewy bars and hand warmers.
Nestled in the snow were two grenades for tear gas and smoke. Without traditional policing tactics, federal agents rely on these tools to push back protesters and onlookers.
Another federal agent is seen with his grenade launcher almost at his shoulder. His equipment is not uniform. His outfit — including the patch on his helmet, Nike shoes and his vest’s camouflage pattern — mirrors a distinct look promoted by military influencers selling products to newer generations eager to define themselves.”
Courtesy of The New York Times
The Three Hierarchs
What can these great saints teach us today?
1 To think. As the Three Hierarchs did, use the mind God gave you. I’ve said before about religion: If anyone wants you to leave your mind at the church door and “just believe” – do not go in. The same is true with political movements and political leaders. There are many false shepherds. People: Think!
2 No human leader or system has all the truth. No Church Father, no Pope, no hierarch, no political leader, no president, no premier, no Founding Father, no political movement, no economic system, no philosophy. If any human being claims to have all the truth, all the answers… run the other way. Fast. To put absolute faith in anyone or anything merely human is idolatry.
When I was in Protestant seminary long ago, it was fashionable for students to be disciples of one or another particular Protestant theologian of the era: “Rudolf Bultmann is best”, “no, it’s Paul Tillich” or Karl Barth or whoever – just like in the Tenth Century. Someone asked me who I followed. In my “naivete” I answered, “uh… Jesus?” That’s still my answer.
For if Jesus Christ is indeed God Incarnate, if He is Himself “the Way, the Truth and the Life”, then we can seek all manner of truth of whatever sort, never fearing what we will find. For at the end we will always find Him. And if we intentionally lie or deny truth of any sort, for any reason, ultimately we deny Him.
Holy Hierarchs John, Basil, Gregory, Patrons of Learning and reason, knowledge and truth: pray for us today. We need it. Badly.
Next Week: Pre-Lent – The Prodigal Son
Week after Next: Pre-Lent – The Last Judgment
Thank you Father Bill. I would like to share with you a haiku (poem) that my husband wrote last weekend after Alex Pretti was murdered. Feel free to pass it on.
They shot him 10 times.
It was 10 degrees outside.
That is such cold blood.