Were Saint Symeon the New Theologian and Saint John of Kronstadt Charismatics?

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE WORD?

Both saints moved in the charisms. prophecies of the future, words of knowledge, visions and dreams, seers into the heavens, purveyors of the direct mysteries of God for specific current situations to individuals and churches. They are only two of the saints of God who did so. Were they charismatics? Is Christianity charismatic? The word charism is a greek word meaning "grace". "mata" means "gifts", i.e., chrismata means "grace gifts." Does God gift his church with gifts that are beyond the natural realm? Is the church supernatural? Is the Holy Spirit limited to only the natural? Is the church? Is not all of the body Christ gifted with charisms? If not, then is Christianity just like any other idealistic philosophical belief system?

WHO OWNS THE WORD?

The word, charismatic, has been usurped by the modern Montanist-influenced movement predominately seen in the protestant world.  Unfortunately, some Orthodox believers fail to understand that the word belongs to the church. It is scriptural. It is Orthodox. To be charismatic does not mean that one is part of the Charismatic Movement, which includes spiritualism, demonic influence, false prophets, satanic visions and manifestations, and false doctrines, promoted by men and women who are not under the authority or umbrella of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. To be charismatic means that the orthodox church is infused with the Holy Spirit and operates in the heavenly realms. In this way, and in this way only, will "the gates of hell not prevail against it."

WHAT IS CHARISMATIC?

First and foremost, salvation, being born again of spirit and of water, is charismatic. Indeed, all of the sacraments are charismatic. "The holy mysteries or sacraments in the Orthodox Church are vessels of the mystical participation in divine grace of mankind. In a general sense, the Orthodox Church considers everything which is in and of the Church as sacramental or mystical." 

So, too, the church, through it's individual members, operates in the charismatic gifts of ministry.

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."

"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"

Were any of these charisms temporary? Are any of these gifts void today? Only if the following has been accomplished...

"...Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"

IS "CHARISMATIC" A CURSE WORD?

Some Orthodox believers, do wrongfully use the word, charismatic, as a curse word to indict other Orthodox Christians. They are uniformed and deceived, when they assume that because an Orthodox person is graced with one of the more demonstratively supernatural ministry gifts, that they must be part of the satanic Charismatic Movement, or are in prelest and deception. They unwisely resist and even attribute such works to the devil. Such knee-jerk reaction is a perilous thing akin to blaspheming the Holy Spirit Himself. Safeguards are given to the church through it's Bishops and those with the charism of Discernment of Spirits, to root out false gifts, but individuals who, out of ignorance, pride, or other such fleshly persuasion, speak such judgement, are in danger themselves of judgement. Saint Symeon and Saint John were subject to such attacks as were other saints. Even Christ was accused: 

"This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

He replied with this warning:

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

ARE YOU CHARISMATIC?

If you are an Orthodox Christian, then, yes! You are charismatic, though it is advisable in the Western culture not to preface it with "I am a", lest the uniformed misunderstand. Rather, acknowledge that the Holy Spirit resides in you and it is through His charisms, indeed, in Him alone, that you live and move and have your being.

A PERSONAL REFLECTION

I am not permitted, nor do I desire to be identified with a specific ministry gift with which I am graced. I am satisfied, and so should you be, to know that He is the gift and all that He is is in you, and He has promised that "Greater things will you do than I have done."  I am also ever aware that I am a sinner and my soul is in constant need of redemption, healing and forgiveness. In my early days as an Orthodox Christian, I was ignorant of the ethos and culture which includes specific verbiage and semantics. I was surprised to learn that the words such as "Clairvoyant" and "Seer" were acceptable words when referring to related gifts, but the word "prophet", though it is as Orthodox a word as the former, carried with it connotations and provoked much misunderstanding. I was also unaware that such gifts are deemed by some to be rare. The rarity of these gifts may or may not be true. It is more likely that they are instead, rarely talked about by those who are thus gifted, because of contrition or fear of rejection. In any case, some have relegated these charisms to only cloistered monks and saints of old, and this is not true. My mistake came in creating a blog called Orthodox Prophets, as an outlet for those with such gifts to speak to the world. Rather than accomplish the intended purpose, the blog was perceived by some as a self-promotion. No one, bishop, priest, or laymen, friend or critic, ever spoke to the content of the posts because they could not see through the fact of the very existence of the blog. Out of deference to those to whom the blog was a stumbling block, I removed it from public view. God does not need me. He does not need you. He does not desire sacrifice, but a broken and contrite spirit, he will not despise. None of us are the saviors of the world. Salvation has already come and He is Christ Jesus. It is amazing, it is glorious, that He takes these mortal vessels, cleanses them, fills them with Himself, then pours out His ministry to the world. We have become partakers of His mysteries, His charisms, His charismata, for indeed, without his unmerited favor, none of us would subsist.

Oh... and yes, Saint Symeon and Saint John were charismatics!

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http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2011/08/quit-acting-like-baptist.html

http://journeytoorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2012/01/divination-and-prophecy.html

My Thanks And Appeal To My Attackers -Through The Words Of Saint Symeon

SAINT SYMEON'S ATTACKER, ANOTHER ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN, DID HIM MUCH HARM OVER A PERIOD OF 7 YEARS, TELLING LIES, RUMOR-MONGERING, CAUSING EVEN HIS MOST ARDENT SUPPORTERS TO TURN ON HIM--

THIS, HE WROTE AFTER BEING PHYSICALLY BANISHED FROM HIS MONASTERY-- 

A LETTER OF THANKS AND APPEAL FOR MORE OF THE SAME...

"...from your Symeon, who is in exile and being persecuted because of you... behold what grain the fields of your efforts and your words on God's behalf have yielded! See what glory and joy they have granted me, what crowns they have caused me to win, with what happiness they have filled me! For they have led me up to the summit of knowledge and have planted the feet of my intellect on the rock, and have caused me to be clothed in this rock [Christ] itself, from which I have the living water gushing forth in me, moving and speaking and encouraging me to write to you. This fills me with every delight and renders me completely unaware of the deadly trials around me. Like the three boys whom it kept from being burned in the furnace, it has thus also hidden me in its shelter and preserves me from grief and misery. For this I thank you and will never cease from thanking you and praying for you. So if you can do anything else to increase the happiness and glory of those who love you, please do not hesitate to do it, so that your reward may be multiplied and your recompense from God, who has set out the laws concerning these things, may be more abundant. Farewell."

EVEN WITH SAINT SYMEON IN EXILE, THE ATTACKER CONTINUED WITH MORE OF THE SAME...

ANOTHER LETTER FROM SYMEON...

"My good master...[you have] once again added more noble crowns of victory that I already have. How can I repay you for all that you, in your goodness, have done for me, your humble servant, for all that you continue to do, and that I know you will do again? For you have been my benefactor everyday for seven years already. How can I make amends to you when you are so zealous in these matters and know how to endow your friends so munificently with your sweet remedies? But, I beg you, do not halt your plans, do not give up your work! Add to them, if you will, things that, by their intensity, will make my sufferings even sweeter. For you have increased for me the light, the joy, the sweetness, everything that gushes forth in me in such a marvelous way in peace of my thoughts through the ineffable gladness of the Spirit. Please go on increasing these by all means, and, continuing to do what you do, unite me more swiftly with my beloved God, on whose behalf I willing bear everything and because of whom, as you see, I am enveloped by you in the chains of exile. Farewell. ...[Y]our Symeon, who, because of you, is in exile, stripped of all my possessions."

Divination And Prophecy

Is there a difference between divination and prophecy? 

The knee jerk reaction, of some orthodox Christians, to immediately attribute to demons anything having to do with the supernatural elements of the faith, is alarming. The alarm is not over the fact  that the church needs to be reminded that Satan roams to and fro, about the earth, seeking whom he may devour, and his sights are always set on the people of God, for Satan would diminish the capacity of the church to move through time, equipped with the demonstrated power of God. One of the ploys of Satan is to mimic the gifts of God. Moses saw this in Pharaoh's court, when the magicians were able to reproduce the staff-to-serpent trick. We see it also today, as there seems to be a satanic supernatural counterfeit gift to every one of God's gifts. Cloaked as an angel of light, Satan would lure seekers and orthodox faithful, by offering them supernatural demonstrations. Through this deception, Satan would have even the faithful following signs and wonders, which he controls. "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." This is indicative of the modern, so-called, Charismatic Movement. The end of this path is spiritual and physical death.  

There is another deceptive ploy, however, for which the alarm must be sounded, for its fiery dart is aimed at the heart of the Church. Alarming, is the propensity of some to so fear the satanic supernatural, that they ignore the fact that the Christian faith is inherently, divinely supernatural. In their initial, sincere effort to keep the false gifts out of the Church, they become unwitting emissaries of resistance to God's good gifts. In this, they have become unwitting emissaries of Satan.  Even with several biblical lists which contain specific, demonstratively supernatural gifts, that God instills in humans, and the clear warning from Saint Paul not to dismember the body by removing any gift, these emissaries relegate those gifts to another time or place. They suggest that such gifts are "not common" or are only seen in "very holy" people, such as monks, bishops, or those who have long since died, and never in contemporary laymen. To bolster this view, the emissaries, will quote their preferred Church Father, with little regard to the context in which the Father wrote. They will find Church Fathers who warn about deceptive supernatural practices or cults. They will ignore, or cast dispersion on saints such as Symeon the New Theologian, who was very specific concerning the ethereal means by which God communicates His will to the "brethren". Then, the emissary will add to their charge, many anecdotes of people who have been deceived, or a gifted person who turned out to be demonized. Some of these things may be factual, however, the emissary ignores the fact that no Church Father ever denied the existence, or operation, or dispensing of all of the gifts of the Spirit as God chooses.  The emissary's conclusion, and his core motivation, is the dogma that anyone who believes in, operates in, or supports the more demonstratively supernatural gifts today is demonized, and must be denounced and silenced. In this, the emissary does the work of Satan, when they attack the Holy Spirit's work in and through His people. The scripture says to "test the spirits to see if they be of God", but the emissaries ignore this God-given method of determining the origins of a gift, and go straight to denouncement.  The emissary, themselves, are deceived into thinking they are doing God's work, as they aggressively attack and isolate even orthodox Christians, making charges, judgments and character assassinations. They lump all supernatural gifts under the term, "charismatic movement", and, in effect, throw the authentic Gifts of God out with the proverbial bathwater, making the gifted person, suspect. In this, they feel justified to make public their accusations and have no remorse toward the destruction they do to the individual on whom they have set their sights. This is demonstrated most often in the attack on God's prophets in the Church. The emissaries will denounce the current authenticity of God's prophets by calling the gift, "divination". But, is there a difference between Satan's diviners and God's prophets?

Divination and Prophecy

"Similarities between inspirational divination and Old Testament prophecy ought never to be allowed to blind one to their radical and essential differences. It is true that both take into account the human instinct for secret knowledge, especially that appertaining to the future, and they agree in the conviction that such knowledge is possessed by certain spiritual beings who are willing, upon certain conditions, to divulge it, and that such secret information is imparted to special classes of men called diviners, seers, and prophets. But the likenesses end here. All the rest is in fundamental contrast.

The Old Testament prophet believed in a personal God. uniquely one, infinitely holy, righteous, and powerful, whose spokesman he claimed himself to be. When he spoke or wrote, it was by direct inspiration from the Spirit of God. "Thus saith Jehovah" was the authoritative formula that stamped his message with finality and infallibility of divine truth. The Greek and the Roman "soothsayer" (mantis), on the other hand, having no sublime ethical God, but gods many and lords many, went through various crude contortions, until he worked himself up to the necessary pitch of ecstasy, by music, drugs, sacrificial smoke, and similar helps. When, finally, in his insane excitement, he did speak, it was not truth by divine power, but error and deception by demonic cunning." (Unger, Biblical Demonology)

Rather than rightly divine the difference between God's prophets and Satan's diviners, the unwitting emissary for Satan challenges the very existence of the Holy Gift and those whom God has gifted. 

The test of a true prophet of God is very specific.

"You may be privately wondering, 'How are we to tell that a prophecy does not come from Yahweh'? When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been said by Yahweh. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. You have nothing to fear from him."

"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus, that spirit is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world"

The test of a false prophet is very specific,

 "...the prophet who presumes to say something in my name which I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die."

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

"At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. . . . For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time"

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets"

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping"

 ***

The work of the people of God, concerning prophets, is to, first, hear their words. Then, ask, "are their words true and do their words bear fruit?" Testing the truth of a "Thus saith Jehovah" word, often takes time, but Satan's unwitting emissaries are quick to speak and slow to listen. These emissaries, left unchecked, become the real enemies within the gates of the Holy Church, by calling unholy, that which God has called, holy. These emissaries are empowered by the Spirit of Jezebel. They would silence the prophets for they know that,

"...He Himself gave some to be prophets...for the Lord does nothing unless he reveals His instructions to His servants the Prophets." 

In these spiritually perilous times of great apostasy, when supernatural forces of darkness are being unleashed in an unprecedented manner, to deceive, "if it were possible", the very elect, God's prophets are anointed to expose and bring down the strongholds of the enemy and protect the body of Christ. They are diviners of God's will, equipped to root out the diviners of darkness. The irony exists in the fact that it is God's prophets who often expose the false prophets! Satan is working, through his unwitting emissaries, however, to cut of this vital gift, dismembering them from the body. Brethren, let it not be so!

"He who receives a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward."

*COMING NEXT: The Jezebel Spirit, enemy of the prophets of God, and infiltrator of the Church.

Related Articles: Is Orthodoxy Charismatic?