Do heterodox have a guardian angel as well? (Eastern Orthodox perspective)
Upvote:8
Of course. God does not have one oekonomia for Orthodox Christians and another for non-Orthodox.
The Orthodox doctrine of guardian angels is witnessed in the Old Testament as well as in the teachings of Jesus, both of which precede the foundation of the Christian Church. The Psalms witness:
He shall give his angels charge over thee, to guard thee in all thy ways (Psalm 90:11 LXX; Q. 105, The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Philaret).
Christ taught that each one of us has a guardian angel:
Take heed that ye not despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father, Who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10; Q. 106, The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox Church).
The latter passage was spoken in regard to unbaptized Jewish children.
Regarding the applicability of Met. Philaret's catechism, he states that his catechism is addressed to "every Christian", not just Orthodox Christians (Question 1). Question 106 (and answer reads): "Has each one of us his guardian angels? Without doubt. Of this ye may be assured from the following words of Jesus Christ ..."
Furthermore, the more recent Orthodox Dogmatic Theology of Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky states (p.123):
The Orthodox Church believes that every man has his own guardian angel, if he has not put him away from himself by an impious life.
It was brought to my attention that a particular Russian Orthodox priest published on his website an explanation:
In the prayers for the making of a catechumen, we pray βYoke unto his/her life a radiant angelβ¦β From this point onwards, we certainly have a guardian angel who protects us in ways we cannot fully understand.
which leaves the impression that there is some Orthodox teaching that one only receives a guardian angel if one enters the Orthodox Church.
The statement is correct in explaining that our guardian angel protects us in ways we cannot fully understand upon entering the Church (although technically, catechumens are still "outside" the Church), but the priest would not have meant that one doesn't even receive a guardian angel until that point. There is a belief, however, that once one is joined to the Church, spiritual things change in many respects. Another Orthodox theologian, Dumitru Staniloae, writes:
In the Church, a communion is brought about not only among her visible members, but with the angels as well. The *sobornicity** of the Church takes in the angels too.
(* Sobornost is a slavic term meaning something like "spiritual community").
Evagrios the Monk wrote, as Fr. Dumitru quotes, "Know that the holy angels encourage us to pray and stand beside us, rejoicing and praying for us" ("On Prayer", The Philokalia, Vol. 1, p.65); and "If you pray truly, you will gain assurance; angels will come to you as they came to Daniel, and they will illuminate you with knowledge of the inner essences of created things" (Ibid.).
More post
- π No one has ever seen God or can see God, what were the colors John used to describe Him in Revelation 4:1-5?
- π Why do some Christians wear crosses?
- π What is the Biblical basis for a Heavenly Mother?
- π When was the Gospel of Mark written?
- π Can dogma ever be modified, and how does this relate to papal infallibility?
- π Can a Christian have clinical depression?
- π Provincial Superior as member of religious house
- π Rev 3:14. Jesus seems to be claiming to be a creature?
- π Is the Hail Mary a prayer?
- π Miracle of the loaves and fishes, multiplication or sharing?
- π Bible versions quoted in book - need copyright info on each or just the major one?
- π Does the Catholic's Trinity doctrine imply that the Unitarian God Multiplied into Three persons by Generating the other Two?
- π What is the Protestant understanding of the Greek "anamnesis" and "poieo" in Luke 22:19?
- π Are Catholics free to disagree about whether it is prudential to not forbid abortion by law?
- π Does Christianity allow for believing on someone else's behalf?
- π Where does this definition of humility come from, if not the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
- π Is it true that people in the Genesis and Exodus are only given promises for future blessings?
- π If Jesus Christ is supposedly part of the trinity how come he didn't even know when the hour would come
- π What do Protestant churches teach about the fate of deceased infants?
- π Why is Christ often shown with long hair in Christian iconography?
- π What is the Roman Catholic interpretation of John 3:16?
- π Why was it important that Isaac's wife be from within Abraham's family?
- π What is an overview of Protestant critiques of Swedenborgianism?
- π Why was Jesus baptised by John the Baptist?
- π How did literature contemporaneous to the New Testament understand the "Second Death"?
- π "Spirit"of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit?
- π Would Mormons accept communion, administered by a representative of another Christian denomination, as valid?
- π Why is the pace of the βorationβ in the Traditional Latin Mass so brisk?
- π Was Joseph Smith interested in and familiar with Kabbalah?
- π If Eastern Orthodoxy sees marriage as an eternal and unbreakable bond, why do they permit divorce?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Do heterodox have a guardian angel as well? (Eastern Orthodox perspective)
- π Have witches ever been executed by the Eastern Orthodox Church?
- π From the perspective of Roman Catholicism, what do Orthodox churches have to do to become "Eastern Catholic Churches"?
- π What objective, foolproof method do Eastern Orthodox have for working out which side is correct in the case of a Schism?
- π How is it that Georgian Orthodox Church are in full communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church when they have a different biblical canon?
- π According to Catholicism and/or Eastern Othodox, if we have Guardian Angels do we also have an assigned Demons?
- π Does the Eastern Orthodox Church have guidelines on which language to recite the Jesus Prayer in?
- π From the perspective of the theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church, how should Christians react to a political leader who fights the Antichrist?
- π What are the major differences between Eastern and Western Orthodox Christianities?
- π What is the ecclesiastical 'hierarchy' of the Eastern Orthodox Church?
- π What happens with a soul after one's death according to Eastern Orthodox doctrine?
- π When did Martin Luther lose his Apostolic succession according to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox ChurchΠ΅s?
- π Beatification/canonization process in Eastern Orthodox Church
- π Is the Eastern Orthodox Church independent from regional governments?
- π Is Eastern Orthodox Christianity against doing yoga or meditation?
- π Does Roman Catholic Church recognize some Eastern Orthodox Saints?
- π Why are the bread and wine mixed together in the Holy Eucharist during an Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy?
- π Why does the Eastern Orthodox Church dislike the idea that the Spirit proceeds from the Son?
- π According to Protestants, what "new" things has the Eastern Orthodox Church acquired over time?
- π What's the name of this doctrine and (when) did the Eastern Orthodox Church condemn it?
- π When were the Fasting Patterns of the Eastern Orthodox Church Established?
- π What is the Catholic response to the Eastern Orthodox view that the Immaculate Conception remove Jesus' ability to redeem all of humanity?
- π Is there one guardian angel for each person?
- π What did Luther think of the Eastern Orthodox and vice versa?
- π How can common believers in the Eastern Orthodox Church be sure that the Church's decisions are correct and not erroneous?
- π To whom do the Eastern Orthodox Church's believe the "Keys to the Kingdom" were given by Jesus?
- π Did Luther say he "might well have entrusted the whole affair of this [Eucharist] controversy to [Calvin] from the beginning"?
- π Do all Orthodox saints have their own akathist?
- π Questions about Eastern Orthodox infant baptism practices
- π Why does the Eastern Orthodox church forbid blind men from becoming priests?