No Such Thing as Self Authority

Throughout the ancient world, and still in some places today, some leaders declare themselves the authority. They go by all sorts of names. Kings and emperors are the ‘nice’ names. They are also knows as dictators. There is no such thing as ‘self-authority’ in the Church.

At that time, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to Him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”  He answered them, “I also will ask you a question; now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”  And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’  But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”  So they answered that they did not know whence it was.  And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Luke 20.1-8

The Jewish leaders understood authority. Many of them had received their authority by the Romans. Some were legitimate leaders who had been chosen by Old Testament regulations and traditions. They all enjoyed being able to ‘point to’ where their authority originated.

So, when they came upon Christ, Who didn’t fit the pattern they were accustomed to, they frantically tried to discover where His authority originated. If it was ‘legitimate’ they were willing to follow Him. Since He refused to tell them, they turned against Him.

They weren’t far off in wanting to know the origins of His authority. The same thing takes place today, and has since Christ, in the Church. Nobody can declare themselves to have authority in the Church. In the Church authority comes from Christ, through the Holy Apostles.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Matthew 28.18

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 10.19

Through the centuries the authority of the Apostles has been transmitted through Ordination to the Bishops (overseers) of the Church. In Orthodox Christianity we take this truth seriously. We are obedient to our Bishops not because we are afraid, but because we trust the Holy Spirit.

The most blessed act of any Christian, beyond belief in Christ, is to be obedient to the Church. It is the only way we can be assured that we are not following our ‘own’ authority. Unfortunately, in our modern times a different sort of obedience has evolved, self-obedience.

After reading a few blogs and watching a few videos online we declare ourselves the authority of the Church. We use words such as heretics and schismatics without first submitting ourselves to the Church.

It isn’t that we don’t have free will to ‘chose’ who in the Church we should be obedient to. Free will is the ultimate gift from God. It seems our modern problem is that with no training either in the Scriptures or the history of the Church, we declare heresy around every corner.

We forget that we are not bishops. We forget that we have not been authority through ordination to be overseers. We forget that ‘rogue’ clergy in the Church have been a problem since the beginning. We have forgotten the first invitation from Christ to ‘deny ourselves. (Mark 8.34)

The solution isn’t to stop having faith in Christ. The solution isn’t to ignore questions in our hearts. The solution is to understand that WE are not the sole arbiter of truth in the Church. Truth in the Church is determined in a conciliar way. One person is not a council.

There may or may not be problems in the Church today. Chances are, historically speaking, that the Church will discover certain practices need to change. As faithful and obedient Orthodox Christians we must learn to trust the Church and bishops to ‘figure it out’ for us.

If you feel strongly that your priest or your bishop is teaching or living in a serious error, you wouldn’t be the first in history. Instead of thinking you always ‘know better’ try a bit of humility. Consider that you might be the one in error and choose obedience to the Church.

If you still feel strongly, then you should find a different bishop and be obedient to him. One thing I would caution you about though. Beware of ‘church hopping’ tendencies. If you are going from church to church, bishop to bishop, chances are even better that YOU are wrong.

If that’s the case, schedule Holy Confession ASAP. You can’t afford to remain a ‘self-declared authority’ of truth in the Church. There is no humility in self-anything. There is only pride.