"Following the Holy Fathers" by Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis

Ten highlights

Introduction.

A little while ago, I finished the book Following the Holy Fathers: Timeless Guides of Authentic Christianity by then-protopresbyter, now fr. Theodoros Zisis. I had been contemplating writing a review on the work, but upon further reflection, I felt that it might be better to give a “preview” into what the prospective reader will find if they choose to acquire the book (which can be purchased here). But more importantly, the reason for doing this is because while the book certainly discusses the teachings of the Fathers on matters including marriage, Scripture interpretation, philsophy, etc, what I found more fascinating are the different scholarly debates and controversies that Zisis weaves into his book, all with an aim of defending the Patristic tradition. The reader gets, in a sense, a different perspective on the Fathers than what you might otherwise get from other secondary literature, while arguably being more faithful to the Orthodox dogmas on them than other authors would be.

Each chapter discusses an individual father, going into detail about a particular aspect of their teaching. For example, Fr. Zisis has a chapter on St. John Chrysostom’s teaching on raising children, another on St. Gregory of Nysa’s affirmation of the superiority of celibacy over the married life, and so on. All of these chapters also discuss contemporary scholarship around the Fathers, and provide satisfying answers to different questions and objections that modernists may have. I think a book like this is incredibly important in our times, as it has become “trendy” in some circles of Orthodoxy to abandon the Consensus Patrum in favor of individual elders or professors. With that in mind, here are my ten highlights from Fr. Zisis’ book.

1. The Necessity of the Patristics

With a book whose title implies we should be “Following the Holy Fathers”, it’s important to establish from the outset why following them is necessary. The first chapter of Zisis’ work, titled “The Holy Fathers: An Inexhaustible Fountain”, does just that. It re-establishes some of the most important reasons for following the Fathers, such as Orthodoxy’s commitment to the twin pillars of Scripture and Tradition, the Father’s superiority in interpreting Scripture, etc. But Zisis also highlights other ways that the reader may not expect. For instance, Zisis highlights that they serve as an example for not just what an Orthodox Christian should be believe, also how he should act: “The greatest contribution of the Fathers to contemporary man, however, is their preservation of humanity’s true character: in them we are offered a glimpse of authentic humanity, of man as he ought to be” (Zisis, pg. 5). Furthermore, the Patristics don’t just teach us what the proper theology is, but more importantly, they teach how to theologize in the first place. Zisis provides several “marks” of authentic Patristic dogma, including the aim of theology being theosis, the necessity of the Church, and the balance of worldly wisdom with theology, to name a few (Zisis, pg. 17-19). Following the fathers is not just about having the right opinions; rather, it’s about how we approach the subject of God, and what our ultimate aim is. This chapter is a great launching point for the book and sets the tone for the rest of the chapters.

2. St. Justin Martyr: The Model for the Moderns

Zisis highlights in one of this chapters the philosophical journey of St. Justin Martyr. While he had been initially infatuated with the philosophical aspirations of the Neo-Platonists, he eventually returns to the Faith upon seeing the example of Christians, being impressed how strict the Christian moral code was and how fearless the early martyrs were in the face of death (Zisis, pg. 70). Zisis argues that St. Justin’s life and witness can serve as inspiration for modern truth seekers unsure of what the right path is:

“St. Justin serves as a spiritual guide, a model, for contemporary spiritual people, and especially for the youth, who search for truth amidst the many philosophies of our age. He and the kind of spiritual person we see today share a great resemblance: both are tireless in searching, both are lacking in fanaticism and prejudice, both are critical, both ask; both test. St. Justin did not categorically condemn the philosophies he encountered before he became a Christian, rather, he put them in their true perspective, understanding them to be imperfect, human creations which contain only seeds of the truth. Christianity is the fullness of the truth, the revelation of the Logos itself in the person of Christ. Justin thus points those who seek after the truth beyond every human philosophy; he points them even beyond Christianity as it is found in the world with all its flaws, to authentic Christianity. He points them to the very Christianity which enthused and fulfilled him; to a Christianity which makes theory practice; to a Christianity in which love, equality, temperance, and brotherhood are not simply teachings, but lived realities.” (pg. 71-72).

St. Justin not only shows the completeness of the Faith on an intellectual and philosophical level, but also in how its lived. Many conversions in the world of today- as in the world of yesterday- will happen not by argument, but by example. We should follow St. Justin in to to only proving Christianity, but also living Christianity.

3. St. Athanasius on the Psalms

In his chapter on St. Athanasius, Zisis highlights his Letter to Marcellinus on the Psalms, which serves as the Saints “guidebook” to how Christians should read the Psalms. The letter also points to the importance of the Psalms within the larger context of Scripture. The Psalms touch upon all of the important themes of the Old Testament while also hinting at the coming of Christ, all the while speaking to the individual believer on a deeply personal level (Zisis, pg. 80). A useful feature of Athanasius’ letter is that it points to Psalms to be read for many specific occasions, such as giving thanks to God, enduring afflictions, etc. (Zisis, pg. 81). I have found myself consulting the letter many times since originally reading it, and it is thanks to Zisis that I even encountered this letter to begin with. The letter itself can be found in full here.

4. St. Isaac the Syrian and Nestorianism

Fr. Zisis also has a chapter dedicated to Abba Isaac the Syrian, one of the most celebrated ascetics in the Orthodox tradition. While most of the chapter deals with Isaac’s monastic teachings, there is a section in the beginning of the chapter that heads off a potential concern some may have with the desert saint. Due to the location and time period that Isaac was born in, he was actually part of the Nestorian commuion, though, by what Zisis assumes to be the grace of God, Isaac never espoused Nestorianism in his writings (Zisis, pg. 147). In fact, not only is Isaac beloved by many Orthodox saints such as St. Gregory Palamas and St. Paisisos the Athonite, but even dedicated Nestorians looked at St. Isaac’s work with suspicion, with a now lost refutation of Isaac’s work having been authored by a Nestorian bishop (pg. 148). Zisis is not the only one who is working to defend the saint from false accusations. In the “Upcoming Releases” section of UncutMountain Press’s website, there is a book in the works titled St. Isaac the Syrian: The Slandered Saint, being written by John Fotopoulos, which should hopefully contribute to the work done here by Zisis in defending the venerable saint.

5. St. Photios beyond the Photian Schism

In the chapter “Saint Photios the Great: A Humanist?”, Fr. Zisis helps to clear up different misconceptions related to the Pillar of Orthodoxy and his approach to classical learning and the Orthodox faith. What Zisis does with this chapter is paint a more complete picture of St. Photios that many Orthodox may not be aware of. I was more familiar with Photios only through the context of the Photian Schism and apologetics related to the Filioque controversy. Yet Zisis shows the various works of Photios, including his Amphilocios, which answers different questions on points of Scripture, the Myriobiblion, which contains summaries of works that Photios read, and his letter to Prince Boris-Michael of Bulgaria called Concerning the task of Rulers, which covers political issues (pg. 186-189). Zisis’ chapter helps to round out the patriarch and put the saint’s lesser known accomplishments in a better spotlight.

6. Orthodox Commentaries on Homer?

Immediately following Photios, Zisis has a chapter on St. Evstathios of Thessaloniki, an Orthodox saint from the 12th century. The chapter highlights the saint’s life and different writings and deeds, but there was one work Zisis mentions that piqued my curiosity, that being Evstathios’s Comments on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (pg. 191). After looking online, I found that both texts are being translated into English, and it appears they are set to be complete by 2030 (at least for one of them). More information can be found here for the Odyssey commentary, and here for the Iliad one. I will keeping tabs on these translations. Homer was my introduction to classical learning and the liberal arts tradition, and I would love to see an Orthodox commentary on the texts, and from a saint no less!

7. St. Gennadios II Scholarios and St. Augustine

Fr. Zisis also helps provide an answer to a controversy that has plagued some corners of Orthodoxy, and that is the place of St. Augustine in the Tradition. In his chapter on St. Gennadios II Scholarios, Zisis points to Scholarios’s approach to the question of sainthood and error. Referencing Scholarios’s works such as Concerning the Procession of the Holy Spirit, Zisis highlights how Scholarios stresses that error does not cancel out one’s holiness. While its with the immediate context of St. Augustine and his affirmation of the Filioque, Scholarios points to different fathers whose sainthood is not in doubt even if they did not always express the Church’s dogma perfectly, such as St. Gregory of Nyssa’s affirmation of certain Origenist views, or the errors of St. Dionysius and Pope Damascus of Rome (Pg. 230-231). Yet while St. Scholarios affirms that St. Augustine erred in his teachings on the procession of the Holy Spirit against Latin theologians, he forcefully affirms Augustine’s sainthood, going as far as to say the following: “If one does not consider, or will not call Augustine a saint or blessed, let him be anathema” (pg. 234). I wish to write more on this topic in the future, but for now, its important to emphasize how the Orthodox tradition affirms Augustine’s place as a saint and Church Father, no matter what modernist “Orthodox” online or in popular books may tell you.

8. St Athanasios of Paros Defends Palamas.

If you are an Orthodox person who appreciates and values the theology of St. Gregory Palamas, thank St. Athanasios of Paros. Athanasios was born in the 18th century and was a contemporary of St. Nikodemus the Hagiorite. Athanasios helped to perform much needed scholarly work on St. Gregory Palamas, primarily by utilizing him to defend traditional Orthodoxy against ideas stemming from the European Enlightenment, which Athanasios believed was simply an extension of “Barlaamism” (Zisis, pg. 253). This was crucial to the “Pilokalic Renewal” movement happening at this time, which sought to protect traditional Orthodox teachings and practice from Enlightenment incursion. Palamas was central to Athanasiso’s work, and as such he worked tirelessly to translate and present Palamas’ work in a way that modern Orthodox would understand and could utilize in theological struggles with the heterodox. He translated Palamas’ In Defense of the Holy Hesychasts, and wrote numerous works on the great Pillar of Orthodoxy. This chapter helps provide a great inspiration for how to utilize the great fathers of Orthodoxy no matter what the time period or circumstances are.

9. St. Nikodemus the Hagiorite and Western Works

Saint Nikodmeus, like Athansios, was a staunch defender of Orthodoxy amidst the chaos of thelological confusion and innovation. However, he also saw value in certain heterodox works, taking what was good from them and altering problematic aspects to make them suitable for Orthodox use. The most famous example of course is Unseen Warfare, which was originally under the title The Spiritual Combat by a Roman Catholic named Lorenzo Scupoli (Zisis, pg. 269). St. Nikodemus also has another one of these works that I was not aware of. This work is called Spiritual Exercises, which, according to Zisis, is an augmented work by Nikodemus authored either by Roman Catholic saint Ignatius of Loyala, or another man named J.P. Pinamonti (Zisis, pg. 269). This second work is also significant with regards to how much Nikodemus added to the Latin original. Zisis points out that the initial work was only 30 pages; Nikodemus’s additions turn it into 650 pages (Zisis, pg. 270). I was not able to find an English translation of this work. However, what is most important is the fact that Orthodox saints recognized that there was value to be had in heterodox books

, albeit with modifications when need be. Zisis quotes St. Nikodemus’ comments on this possibility found in his Eortodromio: “We must hate and abhor the erroneous beliefs and illicit customs of the Latins and other heretics. However, should we find anything in them which they have understood correctly and which accords with the canons of the Holy Councils, then we ought not to hate and abhor this” (Zisis, pg. 271). I think this is an incredibly balanced approach that Orthodox should take when evaluating the traditions and works of other groups; not immediate rejection nor unreversed acceptance.

10. Orthodoxy under Isalm

The final chapter of Zisis’ book deals with the plight of Orthodoxy under Muslim rule and the martyrs that the Faith produced during this time. There is an interesting comment that Zisis quotes made by St. Nikodemus on what distinguishes these new martyrs from those during the days of Roman paganism. While St. Nikodemus believes that both sets of martyrs died for the cause of the Trinity, there was one substantial difference: “While the latter struggled against polytheistic idolatry which is an obvious impiety and one which cannot easily deceive the rational mind, the former struggled against uni-personal monotheism, a subtle impiety which can easily deceive the mind" (Zisis, pg. 301). As I mentioned in my last article, Islam can be a great temptation for today’s truth seeker, especially for one with a Christian background. Not only did these martyrs have to endure the physical pain of martyrdom, but they also had to struggle against a belief system that was far more credible and more similar to Christianity than crude idol worship. Nevertheless, these martyrs finished the race and earned their crowns of glory, and this chapter is a a great way to conclude the body of the book.

Conclusion

There was much of the book that I didn’t cover, and admittedly I struggled with what the “best parts” were that I should include for this list of highlights. That being said, the whole book is worth a read, and Fr. Zisis and NewRome Press should be commended for this wonderful book. I hope that anyone who reads this article and decides to get the book may benefit as much from it as I did.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner