Today’s feast is a celebration of the teaching office of our faith. According to legend, the feast was introduced in the 12th century after a dispute broke out in Constantinople over which of the great teachers of the fourth century was more authoritative: Chrysostom, Basil, or Gregory. The writings and example of all three are highly influential in sacramental Christian thought, two of our traditional liturgies are named after Chrysostom and Basil (due to their influence on the shape of the anaphora). The legend goes, that in a moment of divine inspiration, Patriarch John had a vision of the three hierarchs each pointing to the other saying that their contribution to the life of the church was individually unique, and collectively of equal merit. John then instituted today’s feast commemorating all three thus the name “Synaxis (collection/gathering) of the Three Heirarchs”.

When we speak of “teaching” in this context what exactly do we mean? Certainly it is not the dry academic teaching many of us might experience in classrooms and university lecture halls. It must be something else – something compelling and engaging.

Our understanding of Christian teaching is not through the strictures of religious law, but through discerning grace; naturally this means there is a freedom of exploration and interpretation inherent in Christian teaching not always present in the prescriptions of a legal code. The incarnation is not about the black and white text of the law, rather it is about blazing the path of understanding the principles of the law – the ethics, and wisdom of the law – “embodied” in the person of Christ. Thus, when Jesus says, in today’s reading that he has not come to abolish, but to fulfil the law, he is pointing to the teaching example of his own actions. Christ is the point of origin of all Christian teaching.

Throughout his public ministry, Jesus would pull aside the disciples and explain a particular teaching moment to them (z.b. Lk. 8.9-15). When Paul visits Athens he is asked by the assembled philosphers and citizenry to explain his teaching (Acts 17. 16-34). When we consider the great minds of our faith, such as the three hierarchs, we see in their example, and their writings a conviction of the truth of Christ’s teaching. These figures and many like them lived the faith, through that life, and their sometimes vigorous engagement with others, they explored the meaning and value of its teachings and richest symbols, then endeavoured to explain it.

The Apostle writes in today’s reading (Heb. 13.8): “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Just as the later hierarchs, Chrysostom, Basil & Gregory endeavoured to understand and explain Jesus Christ and our relation to him, the earlier generations Ignatius, and Irenaeus for example understood the value of the wholeness of Christian teaching. Thus emerged the concept we now call Apostolic Succession. It was a quality control intended to ensure that the nascent church – which while ordered was not yet “institutionalised” as it would later become – was able to test and to check bad teaching, bad theology, and harmful examples in the life of the church – without resorting to secular means. There is a caveat though – just as it is a bishop’s responsibility to ensure that the teaching is handed on to the community whole, so too the community is responsible for choosing its bishops wisely. We in the OC/IC/ISM community, it must be said, have not done historically well on this count.

As the embodiment of “Christ in the World” we have a collective responsibility (wherein we each have a role) in passing on whole the teaching of our faith. Christian teaching because it has one starting point, that is Christ, has an internal continuity. We owe it to ourselves, to those who would seek to join us, and to those who will come after us, to become more conscientious about this fact and to cultivate among our communities (small and large) a culture of vigorous debate, rigorous standards of research and writing, quality art all expressing, and exploring this body of teaching we call the sacramental Christian faith.

The Apostle said (Heb. 13.7): “Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” It has often been asked what makes our tradition distinct from other Christian traditions. While I do not wish to see our communities attempt to re-live an artificial, idealised past, one thing that the Apostolic church had, that seems to have been lost in other churches, is the strong personal ties between communities, and within communities; accomplished through the teaching example of the early bishops, like Polycarp and Ignatius. Consider for a moment the emotion, and then the inspiration the disciples experienced at the death and resurrection of the Master. One need not read much of Paul’s letters to realise the deep sense of personal connection he enjoyed with those communities. When Polycarp was martyred the author of his martyrdom – who appears to have been an eye-witness – speaks eloquently of the esteem the community had for their bishop, because of his teaching, and the example of his life. These teachers embodied the teaching of our faith. They personalised it and brought it to life – just as Christ, through his life and example, personalised our relationship with God in a new way. When we therefore think of the teaching office of our faith we ought not be taken in by dry recitations of creeds and dogmas – rather we ought to “hear” the Gospel, and live, fully, richly, and engaged with one another. Only in this way can we hope to understand and develop an appreciation for the teachings of Christ.

Our tradition’s “structure” is, I’m pleased to say, loose enough to embody the spirit of this very personalised life of faith, in ways that other churches cannot achieve, and this makes our community distinctive. Through the personal interactions of our leaders in the movement, we build fellowship and understanding, we better embody the fullness of Christ in the World, we explore and explain the teaching of our faith, we winnow the chaff, and ensure that those who might join us are offered the best food (Heb. 13.19), and those who come after us, will do so confident and proud of their heritage.

Today we celebrate the teaching office of the faith as embodied by the life and work of the three hierarchs. It is not a dead office but a lively engagement among believers, it is not stifled but free flowing, neither is it fractured and chaotic – for it has as its beginning and its end, Jesus Christ.