This Page Last Updated October 25^th, 2008 (new style reckoning)

 

Augustinianism

 

The arch-heretic, Augustine of Hippo, teacher of no fewer than 8 major heresies, has been a large cause of the many false Christianities of our times. He wrote in Latin and the Westerners have taken him in, hook, line and sinker. In the East today there is confusion also. The truth is never confusing, but with error confusion abounds. The modern Orthodox have commemorated him as a Saint, Blessed and Divine. Orthodox Saints have defended him, like Photios the Great and John of Shanghai, not very saintly of them.

We hold the faith of those we hold dear, like it or not. If we follow the example of those in error we are in error. We are not to stand in worship with those who are in falsehood, or with those who stand in worship with those who are in falsehood, unless we want to stay dead like all of them. The only hope of faith in love is to keep ourselves unspotted from the evils of this world like these.

(Some of the Heresies of Augustine)

Applied from:

The Voice of Orthodoxy in America, Volume 2, Number 3 - June 1998

Dormition Skete and Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, CO

This is my short review of the booklet above and the 8 items listed.

(1) The Filioque – At many places in the work On the Trinity Augustine teaches the Filioque (that the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son). We can only know what has been told to us by good authority, like “the Spirit of truth Who proceedeth from the Father” John 15:26. Contradictorily of good example his bad theological work explains things like, “the Spirit proceeds from the Son” while writing On the Trinity.

(2) Inherited Guilt – In the Enchiridion Augustine states that Adam, and in turn everyone else, are “in the bonds of inherited guilt”. I do not know where he got that idea but there can be no doubt that it was not a good source. Inheriting the guilt of another person is never suggested by those in Faith. Yes, there can be consequences, but not guilt, there is a big difference. To say otherwise is without support and contradictory to the truth. With the Soul and its Origin Book IV, Chapter 16 he says, “Even if there were within men nothing but original sin, it would be sufficient for their condemnation.”

(3) Redefining of Baptism – The true teachings of baptism state that the faithful, “are buried with Him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” Romans 6:4. Augustine says otherwise, that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, in his Tractates.  

(4) Predestination and Irresistible Grace – Double Predestination is another departure from what is right. Augustine says that for those going to “the Kingdom of God...none may be added or subtracted... [while the rest] depart with the inherited debt,” Rebuke and Grace. If God destined anyone anywhere how would He “not be willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 In his book On the Predestination of the Saints Augustine teaches that God “chose and predestined us that we might be so” and writes in the On the Gift of Perseverance, “The Gift of God” is that “No saint fails to persevere in holiness to the end”. What kind of love would there be if God irresistibly forced it upon those not capable of doing the good?

(5) The Disavowal of Free Will – To counter the Pelagianist heretics Augustine made the contrary and wrong idea that we have no free will. The writing, On Grace and Free Will, Chapter 41 explains, “God Himself converts the will of man from evil to good” and further that God disposes those who do evil by saying “He (God) turns them wherever and whenever He wills”. (Never mind real Orthodoxy which teaches synergy between God and mankind.)

(6) Confusion on Trinity; Essence and Energies – There are aspects to God that are important not to confuse. Augustine taught that, with regard to the Holy Spirit, there “has not been...enough discussion about the subject” On Faith and the Creed. The Symbol of Faith, and the Council that defined it, where not enough for this inventor. This is how and why he postulated the Filioque, but he even went farther than that in contradicting what God is. In the same work Augustine explains that the Holy Spirit is the “love between the Father and the Son” as the Romanides Page shows. Augustine has confused the essence and hypostasis and energies of the true Holy Trinity.

(7) Old Testament Created Theophanies – Augustine believed and taught that Christ was not present or active in Israel before the Incarnation. Augustine says, “All those appearances were wrought through a creature.  They were wrought by angels. Not only the visible things, but the world itself was wrought by angels.” On the Trinity, Book 3, Chapters 11, 22, 26. Augustine follows the heresies of the Manichaeans and the Gnostics on these points.

(8) Valid Heretical Baptisms – Augustine was full of very definite contradictions. Here is another quote of his, for illustration: “Heretics have lawful baptism unlawfully.”  From On Baptism, Book 5, Chapter 6.  St. Athanasios begs to differ with him, “There are many other heresies too, which use the words only, but not in a right sense, as I have said, nor with sound Faith, and in consequence the water which they administer is unprofitable, as deficient in piety, so that he who is sprinkled by them is rather polluted by the irreligious than redeemed.” from Discourses against the Arians, Discourse 1, Chapter 17. In agreement with St. Athanasios and showing the criminal minds of those who follow Augustine in this matter, St. Cyprian in his Epistle LXXIII to Pompey says, “Dearest brother, we must consider, for the sake of the Faith and the religion of the sacerdotal office which we discharge, whether the account can be satisfactory in the day of judgment for a priest of God, who maintains, approves and acquiesces in the baptism of blasphemers, when the Lord threatens and says, ‘And now, O priests, this commandment is to you. If ye will not harken, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to My name,’ saith the Lord Almighty, ‘then I will bring a curse upon your blessing’ Malachi 2:12. Does he give glory to God, who judges that remission of sins is granted among those who blaspheme against God?”

On Page 58 in this Voice of Orthodoxy edition on Augustine are given these words. “All of this, we hope, will give you good reason to judge this man and his teachings as unworthy of any veneration or reverence, for he has reaped much destruction upon our Holy Orthodox Church. Augustine is neither a saint, nor a Church Father.”

The booklet also gives references to different Saints that resoundingly echo the right understanding about Augustine. St. John Cassian took exception to Augustine’s views, others like St. Hilary of Arles, St. Honoratus hermit of Lerins, St. Gennadius of Marseilles, St. Faustus of Riez, the ecclesiastical writer Arnobius the younger and the Churches of Britain and Ireland. In 415 Palestinian bishops disapproved of Augustine’s views. Those who mistakenly called him “blessed” like Photios and Mark of Ephesus never studied Augustine. The Calvinist Patriarch Cyril Lukaris had his Augustinian book condemned by the Synods of Constantinople, Jassey and Bethlehem (Calvin said he could support himself totally on Augustine). As Peter the Great embraced the western ways he introduced Augustine to Russia. St. Gregory Palamas taught against the Augustine teaching of Predestination saying, “How do you participate in the divine nature if grace is not somehow an extension of It?” The final words spoken by Augustine at his death were a passage of the Pagan philosopher Plotinus which speaks loudly for Augustine’s heretical predisposition. After seeing “Augustine's Retractions” how can we say that Augustine corrected any of these monumental errors?

Another really sad thing is that for centuries modern Orthodoxy has returned a rather deaf ear to the truth by allowing people like Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain (1749-1809) to place Augustine’s name in the Greek Synaxaristes (June 15th). A troparion was also made by Michael Kritoboulos. The Greek and Russian Churches recognize and commemorate Augustine to this day.

I do not know how anyone could deny that Augustine has influenced the Western world in the bad ways of systematic scholasticism and through that brought this antichrist secularism we see everywhere around us.

Supremacy of the Pope is something else that people use Augustine to support: “Rome has spoken; the case is closed” (a summary of Augustine's Sermon 131:10). And there are things like total depravity which I have not really gone into very much that at some time I hope to do.

Augustinianism is not only accepting his many errors, but simply calling the unholy holy is. Saying that Augustine is a Saint when he ain't is big trouble. Recognizing him in commemoration is just as bad. Being in spiritual union with those who follow such falsehoods puts us in the same falsehoods.

I have other sources of information on Augustine if you are interested.

In the future I hope to also add a section dealing with Augustine’s misapplication of the “Wheat and the Tares” so be looking for that.

 

 

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