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On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we celebrate the victory of the true faith against all heresies, which in fact, is the victory of God. In general, it is difficult to distinguish where man works and where God works. We know that God’s part is overwhelming. But He cannot work without man. Until man puts in his two cents, God cannot work. Then God will put in His talent, which is much more. But despite all of God’s power, nothing gets done without man’s two cents.

It is very useful to read the history of the great heresies, and of the last one (iconoclasm). We see there how hard, how demanding the victories against them were. And, how strong a faith the saints had to have for the victory to happen. We know, for example, that the First Ecumenical Council was held against Arianism, who could not accept the reality (inconceivable to the human mind) that there are two persons, the Son and the Father, of one essence and yet distinct. Therefore, to simplify, to “humanize”, Arius said that the Son is the first creature of the Father; the greatest of creatures; yet, created. But the Fathers of the First Synod strongly objected. They said Arianism was wrong. Then, for another 50 years, Arianism flourished and the Orthodox were persecuted. Saint Athanasius the Great of Alexandria led the main battle, but it was the Cappadocian saints, Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian, who finished it. Saint Basil never got to see the victory of Orthodoxy for himself. It was his friend, Saint Gregory the Theologian, that saw it.

This is how God works. He needs these people, seemingly few in numbers, but who hold the right point of view. Then He works, in His own time. And when He works, it all works out (see the victory over communism in Eastern Europe, or other victories of God in history).

One of God’s first victories, which we have in writing, is the exodus of Israel out from Egypt, through Moses. God sent Moses and said to him, “Bring my people out of slavery”; because the Egyptians were working them to exhaustion, and the Israelites could no longer serve God. Finally, led by Moses, they managed to get away. But the Egyptians pursued them, to kill them. And despite God’s promise – and God showed them! – that He would be with them, they often despaired and grumbled. They were always crying out to Moses, and Moses to God. God said to them, “I am with you, do not be afraid.” But they trembled nonetheless. The final episode was the crossing of the Red Sea. The Israelites saw the sea parting. That should have been enough for them to trust that God is with them. But when they saw that the Egyptians were coming after them through the middle of the sea as well, again they despaired. Only when the Egyptians were drowned in the sea, with all their weapons, did the Israelites sing songs of victory. A very beautiful song, which we also sing on Holy Saturday: “Let us sing unto the Lord, for He has been greatly glorified…”

This is also how it has been in our Orthodoxy, throughout history. Whenever God conquers through people, man shouts a song of victory. This is the Sunday of Orthodoxy: a song of victory. We too must sing our own “song of victory”, in our lives.

By analyzing God’s “victories” throughout history, we can understand what kind of faith we need to have in order to go through all the trials of life and see God’s work in our lives. God needs a faith inside man that will stand in the face of all threats, in the face of all evil. Man must have more faith in God than in the death that threatens him.

If we think about it, these “hard, demanding victories” are God’s only way of revealing Himself to us in a real, unequivocal way. When He shows us in our lives that He has delivered us from an impossible, hopeless situation, from certain death, then we know for sure that God has worked. This is how we get to know God. This is how we “hear His footsteps” in our lives. If He were to do what a stronger man, or a force of nature, could do, we would say after the victory: “Eh, it happened.”

We talked about God’s “victory.” In fact, any genuine encounter with God has these characteristics. On occasions when He reveals Himself in our life (for example, when we partake of the Holy Sacraments), we die a little beforehand. We will die to self-conceit or to people or to things, we will despair of ourselves. Only then does God reveal Himself. And He shows us that He is Almighty, that He is the Restorer, regardless of the damage or evil brought by the enemy. But He also shows us, again, how Good and Merciful and Loving He is. Again and again. He has shown it to us many times and is continually showing it to us. Especially in these times when even demonic power is very strong, He shows us that His power is much greater. But it takes people to activate it, it takes people of faith. And the level of faith we need to reach is the one St. Paul says about Abraham: faith beyond hope (cf. Romans 4:18). We must believe even when we have lost all hope. We must stay there, not run away. God needs that, a shred of faith that still stands. And with that shred, He acts. And when He acts, that’s it, everything gets resolved.

We must remain faithful to our God, not to tremble too much. We tremble, for we are human, but not so much that we run away from the battlefield. Let us stay there because God will strengthen us, will repair us, whatever the evil, whatever the problem (“Stay where God has thrown you”, as Father Iachint Unciuleac said). But he needs our faith and faithfulness. That’s how we grow, that’s how we mature, that’s how we become a light for those around us. May the good Lord help us to transform today’s victory of Orthodoxy into our victory from day to day.