Tradition, Councils and the Church in "The Commonitory" by St. Vincent of Lerins

And Why Every Orthodox Christian Should Read It

*Editor’s Notes: This edition of St. Vincent’s work has no printed page numbers, so I have determined placement of quotes as accurately as possible.

Introduction

If you were to walk into an Orthodox parish on any Sunday, and ask the converts “How did you convert to Orthodoxy?”, you are going to get a plethora of unique answers as to how they arrived at the Church. Yet for all of the different backgrounds, circumstances, and stories that we hear when speaking of the journeys of converts, there is often one thread you will see pretty universally across the board, that being some variation of “I began reading the early Church Fathers” and that led them to eventually find the Apostolic Church.

As I mentioned in my note yesterday, St. Ignatius of Antioch’s letters are often how one gets first exposed to the patristics. Many will read Ignaitus, Polycarp, Clement, Baranabas, Diogentus, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, etc before eventually moving on works related to more specific doctrinal issues and controversies. However, from my experience having been previously a Roman Catholic and now Eastern Orthodox, both communions could do a better job of utilizing our shared patristic patrimony.

At my Roman Catholic alma mater, our exposure to Church Fathers was very limited. We had one class that all students were required to take that taught them, but due to this class being one taught during our university’s study abroad program, it is certain that not all the material was read over the course of the semester. Even with what we did get shown, it was not much; We read Ignatius, Polycarp, filtered passages of Ireaneus, some of Augustine’s Confessions, and a few others, but that was it. Beyond that, you either had to take speciality classes (which were not often offered) or take the theology tracks, which barely taught additional patristic material because the sentiment was essentially, “we don’t need the Fathers because we have Aquinas and Newman”.

Orthodox treatment of the Fathers is, I have found thus far, much better. You will find the laity reading the Desert Fathers, St. Athanasius, the homilies of St. John Chrysostom, St. John Damascene, and many others. I also appreciate how even our most recently canonized saints have their writings saturated with references from the early Church. However, there are still some major gaps.

Often, Orthodox are well informed about the eastern patristics from Egypt, Palestine, Byzantium and Cyprus; but I have not found too many Orthodox who are just as appreciative of the early Church’s western patrimony in North Africa, Western Europe, and the British Isles. Leaving aside some misguided views of Augustine, it is a shame that the great works of people like the Venerable Bede, St. Cyprian, St. Pope Leo, St. Pope Gregory the Great, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, and St. Ildephonsus, to name a handful, are not as commonly read or highly regarded among the Orthodox. These men were exemplary models of the Christian life, both for their sound doctrine and their personal piety, and we would do right to utilize the treasure trove of wisdom we have available to us from our western forefathers.

One such forefather is St. Vincent of Lerins, a Gallic monk who reposed around the year 450. St. Vincent was alive to witness many controversies that had arisen within the Church, such as the dogmatic implications of the Council of Ephesus and the Church’s conflict with Pelagius. But most important of all is St. Vincent of Lerin’s writings, particularly his Commonitory, which defends the “Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith” against “the Profane Novelties of al Heresies” (this comes from the cover). St. Vincent covers a host of incredibly pertinent and relevant topics on the Christian faith in a very short book (more on this in a bit) and thus makes it, I think, a great work both for its accessibility and its content.

My views on this book are my own opinion. If you have questions as to whether you are in a right state to read it, please consult your spiritual father.

Reason 1: Practicality

As I mentioned above, a great strength of this book is its simplicity. St. Vincent speaks in a very straightforward manner; he has the remarkable ability to convey complex theological doctrines in a manner that is concise without watering down the subject’s content. And due to the wide breadth of topics he covers, the Commonitory is an excellent choice for obtaining a great overview of multiple important issues in the Church’s history.

Additionally, the Commonitory is very short. While the particular version I own from Veritatis Splendor Publications unfortunately does not have page numbers, I counted it out and it's roughly 120 pages of Vincent’s writing, minus the introduction and a few appendices at the end. Compare that to, for example, St. John Damascene’s On the Orthodox Faith, which is almost twice as long, not including the two other works from the larger Fount of Knowledge.

And lastly, the version I have from Vertitatis Splendor only costs a little under $6 on Amazon, which is practically free compared to how other Orthodox books cost nowadays. As such, it is an easy book to both understand and acquire.

Reason 2: Content

But probably the most important reason for reading this work as an Orthodox Christian is due to what St Vincent of Lerins discusses and writes about. Some of the subejects may be familiar to the reader, others not so much. But regardless, St. Vincent provides insights that are unique while also relying on the timeless wisdom of the Church. Below is an overview of some of the main themes addressed in the Commonitory.

“Antiquity, Universality, Consent”: Probably the most famous sentiment from St. Vincent is his insistence on the notion that true doctrine in line with the Catholic faith will meet three criteria, that being antiquity, universality, and consent. Very early on in the treatise, St. Vincent writes the following:

“For that is truly and in the strictest sense ‘Catholic’, which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if ion antiquity itself we adhere to the consistent definitions and determinations of all, or at least of almost all priests and doctors’”-pg. 7

Regarding Dissent: One may like the idea of this criteria but express concern over how to determine what meets that criteria, especially when there is an active conflict in the Church or if one of the ancients made an error. St. Vincent provides a procedure for how a Christian can determine if an opinion is in line with the True Faith:

“But what, if in antiquity itself there be found error on the part of two or three men, or at any rate of a city or even of a province? Then it will be his care by all means, to prefer the decree, if such there be, of an ancient General Council to the rashness and ignorance of a few. But what, if some error should spring up on which no such decree is found to bear? Then he must collate and consult and interrogate the opinions of the ancients, of those, namely, who, though living in divers times and places, yet continuing in the communion and faith of the one Catholic Church, stand forth acknowledged and approved authorities… he shall ascertain to to have been held, written, taught, not by one or two of these only, but by all, equally…”-(pg. 8).

St. Vincent’s emphasis on the Councils will be covered shortly, but is important to note two other key points; first is that fathers can be wrong about certain points. We as Orthodox can acknowledge the sancity and holiness of a Christian even if he was in error on certain doctrinal points. Despite siding with Pope St. Stephen in the baptism dispute with St. Cyprian, St. Vincent has no doubt about the Carthaginian martyr’s sainthood:

“For who is so demented as to doubt that blessed light among all holy bishops and martyrs, Cyprian, together with the rest of his colleagues, will reign with Christ…” -(pg. 22)

And secondly, St. Vincent seems to think that there could be a scenario where a large portion of the Church could be in error on a point of dogma, yet this obviously does not invalidate the Faith, but rather calls for a correct examination of the customs of the Church. The existence of those within Orthodoxy who may be mistaken on certain points of dogma should not be taken as a sign of the Faith’s lack of truth, as some anti-Orthodox polemicists will assert. St. Vincent recognizes this is something that can happen, and thus Orthodox need to be prepared to defend the ancient faith from dissenters, both internal and external.

The Role of Councils: There are multiple places throughout the Commonitory where St. Vincent stresses the conciliar nature of the Church. For instance, when discussing the best approach to interpreting Scripture, St. Vincent points to the General Councils as playing a crucial role in how a Catholic should read the Bible:

“And in antiquity itself in like manner, to the temerity of one or of a very few they must prefer, first of all, the general decrees, if such there be, of a Universal Council, or if there be no such, then, what is next best, they must follow the consentient belief of many and great masters”- pg. 97-98

For St. Vincent, the decrees of a General Council are the first place to go when questions arise as to what the Church believes on a given topic. If this does not suffice, then the general opinion of the Fathers is next step. What is important to note with both of these options is that the what the Body of Christ says as a whole is part of the equation as to what helps determine the truth of a given doctrine. This standard applies within councils itself. For example, when discussing the Council of Ephesus, St. Vincent stresses the multitude and geographical breadth of the men whose writings were used in the council as a sign of Ephesus’s truth.

Vincent first lists multiple individuals from the Church of Alexandria: St. Peter, a bishop of Alexandria, St. Athanasius, St. Theophilus, and St. Cyril. To then demonstrate wider Eastern acceptance, he points to the Cappadocians: St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Basil of Ceaserea, and St. Gregory of Nyssa. And should one think this was only an Eastern affair, St. Vincent points to epistles From St. Felix and St. Julius, both of whom were bishops of Rome. While St. Vincent refers to them as “the Head”, he says in the context of showing how “not only the Head, but the other parts, of the world also might bear witness to the judgement of the council”, listing both St. Cyprian of Carthage and St. Ambrose of Milan as other Latin witnesses (pg. 108). Not a bad lineup!

It also important to note something else; it is true that there are a few lines in the work where St. Vincent exalts the Bishop of Rome, thus agreeing with the Orthodox conception of Petrine Primacy. At the same time, he also consistently points to the universal consensus of the Church’s teachers and the Councils for determining dogma, not solely the Pope of Rome. In fact, the editors- despite the work being produced by a Roman Catholic publisher- provide a nuanced note at one point when St. Vincent uses the title “Apostolic See” to describe the Church of Rome:

“‘The Apostic See’ (Sedes Apostolica) here means Rome of course. But the title was not restricted to Rome. It was common to all sees which could claim an apostle as their Founder. Thus St. Augustine, suggesting a rule for determining what books are to be regarded as Canonical, says…' Let him follow the authority of those Catholic Churches which have been counted worthy to have Apostolic Sees; ie, to have been founded by Apostles, and to have been the recipients of Apostolic Epistles”’ -pg. 22-23

Citing another scholar named Bingham, the note ends thus: “Anciently every bishop’s see was dignified with the title of Sedes Apostolica, which in those days was no peculiar title of the Bishop of Rome, but given to all bishops in general, as deriving their origin and counting their secession from the apostles”- pg. 23

The Rule of Scripture: To say that St. Vincent has a high view of the Bible is more than an understatement. He points to the Scriptures as being the Catholic’s first source for confuting the Church’s ancient adversaries in the form of heretics and schismatics (pg. 107). Yet how one interprets Scripture is a matter that St. Vincent treats with the utmost caution.

St. Vincent dedicates two chapters to warn believers on how heretics will act like their master, that is the devil, by quoting from the Scriptures to trick Orthodox into adopting their pernicious beliefs. Commenting on Christ’s temptation from Satan in the Gospel of Matthew, St. Vincent writes the following:

“Warned by so important an instance of Evangelical authority, we may be assured beyond doubt, when we find people alleging passages from the Apostles or Prophets against the Catholic Faith, that the Devil speaks through their mouths. For as then the Head spoke to the Head, so now also the members speak to the members, the members of the Devil to the members of Christ, misbelievers to believers, sacrilegious to religious, in one word, Heretics to Catholics”- pg. 94

St. Vincent further interprets the phrase “sheep’s clothing” used to describe how “false prophets” will approach the Church to mean the practice of using quotations from the Old and New Testaments to give their novel teachings an imagined sense of truth (pg. 91). As such, the safest way for Christians to interpret Scripture is to rely on the ancient customs of the Fathers (noticing a pattern yet?), for “They must [Catholics] be very careful to pursue that course which, in the beginning of this Commonitory, we said that holy and learned men had commended to us, that is to say, they must interpret the sacred Canon according to the Universal Church and in keeping with rules of Catholic doctrine, in which Catholic and Universal Church, moreover, they must follow universality, antiquity, and consent”(pg. 97).

Orthodox reliance on Tradition to interpret Scripture does not diminish its place in the Church, but rather exalts it. Right interpretation of the Bible is crucial for one’s place in the Church and, by extension, one’s salvation. As such, the use of the Councils and the ancient customs of the Church helps one to know what the words of Scripture mean and thus determine correct dogma, especially amidst times of controversy over theological issues. Scripture and Tradition are not opponents, but rather allies.

Why Good Christians Become Heretics: St. Vincent goes into great detail examining the various “trials” the Church has undergone, specifically in the form of great heretics such as Nestorius, Arius, and Origen to name a few. But before this, St. Vincent explains why God would allow such prominent men to fall into error in the first place. Utilizing passages from the Book of Deuteronomy, St. Vincent explains that “The reason is clearer than day why Divine Providence sometimes permits certain doctors of the Churches to preach new doctrines- ‘That the Lord your God may try you’…’” (pg. 35).

As St. Vincent goes on to show in the proceeding chapters, many of the greatest heretics were very well educated and initially respected by the broader Church. Their fall was a test for God’s people to see whom they would choose to follow: Him, or man? (pg. 42). In each instance, the Church prevailed and condemned the novelties, even if some were decided by the wiles of the arch-heretic in question.

Development of Doctrine (?): The last theme may seem puzzling for some Orthodox. While St. Vincent is adamant about antiquity’s role as a standard for bringing truth to light, he also spends a chapter elucidating how true religion “progresses” in a certain sense. Starting from an individual example, St. Vincent likens the development of faith in one’s soul to the growth of a human body: While it attains a different size with growth and development, it fundamentally remains the same thing (pg. 80). The analogy that St. Vincent uses is to compare the further refinement of Church teaching is with that of the growing of wheat:

“From doctrine which was sown as wheat, we should reap, in the increase, doctrine of the same kind- wheat also; so that when in process of time any of the original seed is developed, and now flourishes under cultivation, no change may ensue in the character of the plant. There may be supervene shape, form, variation in outward appearance, but the nature of each kind must remain the same”- pg. 82

The Church’s teachings are like a field that is granted to us, the believers, as an inheritance. It must be cherished and taken care of, not sold for the highest bidder or altered at our will. St. Vincent actually declares that this is the primary purpose of General Councils, to take what was believed simply and to make it into something “believed intelligently” rather than fundamentally altering dogma (pg. 83-84).

For futher information about this topic, I would recommend three articles by Orthodox writer Craig Truglia, which will be listed at the end of the article.

Conclusion:

There is much more that St. Vincent writes about that I did not get to in this article, such as his explanation of doctrines like the Trinity and his exposition of some of St. Paul’s letters, thus why I encourage one to read the work in its entirety. Regardless, I hope what I have shown here today will encourage you, the reader, to read the work of this wonderful saint. I also hope that by reading him, you not only develop a greater appreciation for a work that I think is highly underutilized, but also a greater appreciation for the broader ancient western Church. The Latin Fathers have much to show us, but it is on us as Orthodox to listen.

May St. Vincent of Lerins and the Fathers of the West intercede for us to the Holy Trinity!

If you would like to purchase The Commonitory, you can do so here (paid link)

And here are the three articles from Craig Truglia:

1. On St. Dimitru Staniloae and Development of Doctrine

2. On Newman and Vincent

3. Explanation of Vincent’s conception of DD

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner