“Many Shall Be Scandalized and Perish”

Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be scandalized and perish, but they that endure in the Faith shall be saved from under that curse. (Didache of the Holy Apostles, 16:5)

Τότε ἥξει ἡ κτίσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς τὴν πύρωσιν τῆς δοκιμασίας, καὶ σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ καὶ ἀπολοῦνται· οἱ δὲ ὑπομείναντες ἐν τῇ πίστει αὐτῶν σωθήσονται ἀπ΄ αὐτοῦ τοῦ καταθέματος.

Indeed, many are scandalized in our times with what might appear to be a weak Church without amazingly huge temples and numbers of the faithful that hit the million mark. They see True Orthodoxy as weak because instead of seeking the preserved Faith of the Holy Apostles and Fathers which is the most significant wealth of all, they use worldly criteria to judge what they think the Church is about. And yes, it might have been fantastic in the days of the Byzantine Empire (but don’t forget the many heresies and the hardships that the true faithful underwent during those particular times!) when the emperor attended Divine Liturgy and monasteries and churches were flourishing everywhere. We live in days of heresy and in the last times. We must be brave and put the purity of Faith above all worldly thoughts and concerns. Live in the Kingdom of God which might not seem at all impressive to the eyes of most. Being scandalized by outward attractions will be the fall of many. We don’t need to feel the exigency of imitating the status of any group that has not kept the Faith. The many will be scandalized and perish. The few shall endure and be saved in spite of the curse.