How Did the Heretics Fall?
How Did the Heretics Fall?
How did the heretics fall, in what they spread of heresies?
Heresy is a deviation from the faith — so how then did they deviate? Was it out of ignorance? A lack of understanding of doctrine? Was it the result of following wrong interpretations or being influenced by false teachings? Or was it all of these together?
Perhaps all these reasons exist, but there is a far greater cause than them all — pride, and the stubbornness and obstinacy that follow it.
So what are the manifestations of pride that lead to heresy?
1. The first sign of pride in a heretic is his astonishing self-confidence and self-importance: he never seeks counsel for whatever thought comes to his mind.
He believes he has no need for advice. Even if counsel is offered, he refuses it, convinced that his opinion is superior! Thus, being without a guide, he falls like the leaves of a tree, as the Scripture says.
2. The second sign of pride is his desire to present something new to the people — an understanding different from theirs. This novelty brings him fame and glory.
Perhaps the word “heresy” came from this — something new and unprecedented that the heretic invents, to show people that he understands more than they do, or that they have not yet reached his level of insight! Rejoicing in the strange and unfamiliar, he may read the writings of foreigners, presenting their ideas and arguments, unknown to believers. Thus, he convinces people with his thought, making them his followers, disciples, and spiritual children — rejoicing as their number grows. Astonishingly, he presents every new idea as if it were a firmly established doctrine, not a mere opinion subject to discussion or correction.
3. The third sign of pride in a heretic is his stubbornness and insistence on his own thought.
If a person errs in a theological idea and accepts correction when guided, heresy would not arise or spread. But it arises when one stubbornly insists on his opinion, refusing to turn back from his false ideas. He considers retracting his opinion to be submission, or an admission of fault — and his pride does not allow him to yield, be defeated, or confess error. So he persists, and becomes a heretic.
4. The fourth sign of pride is his attempt to defend his thought at any cost, using any means of persuasion, no matter how false.
He searches for a verse of Scripture, twisting its meaning to suit his desire; or he picks a text from the Fathers and Saints to “prove” his point, even if it does not support him, or was said in a completely different context. He might even use half a verse while hiding the rest — the trick of “one and a half verses” — ignoring other passages! His only aim is victory at any price, to prove his idea right, to convince others he is correct, that his faith is sound, that he is persecuted and misunderstood.
In reality, it is he who refuses to understand or be convinced because of pride. His entire effort is focused on victory, not understanding. His thirst for triumph deafens his ears and blinds his mind, hardening his heart — until he accepts nothing but winning. His self alone matters; faith becomes a sacrifice offered to this self.
He wishes to appear as a hero before his followers — the bold, defiant leader who never yields, who is “right,” who leads a certain movement, and who will show the world how he triumphs! A deluded thought deceives him — and through it, he deceives others.
5. The fifth sign of pride is his pursuit of popularity to support him.
If reason does not support him, he seeks the backing of crowds. He gathers people around him by any means — persuasion, deception, gaining their sympathy, or forming parties of loyalty and partisanship. He might even spread lies about those who oppose his heresy.
What matters to him is achieving popularity that strengthens his ideas — forming a faction or sect born of pride: the pride of self that wants victory, and the pride of self that refuses submission or admission of error.
6. The sixth sign of pride is his resistance even to those in authority.
To defend himself, he is ready to oppose everyone — regardless of their rank or position! He resists the priesthood, even his spiritual father and confessor, and all ecclesiastical leadership, even holy synods. His ego blinds him to all reverence and authority. For the sake of self, he resists — he neither listens, obeys, nor submits. Pride inflates him, arrogance destroys him, and he imagines that no opinion but his own is right. All others are wrong, and he alone is correct! He may even try to destroy everything that stands against him, so that his self remains — even amid ruins!
7. The seventh sign of pride is his delusion that he will surely triumph through his opposition, forgetting the downfall of all previous heretics.
How many heretics have passed through the long history of the Church, fighting her with all strength and violence — yet the Church still stands, hearing the Lord’s words:
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17).
But pride convinces the heretic that he can lead the Church in his own way! Pride whispers that the whole world will follow him, that people will pressure the Church for his sake, that faith will yield to pressure! He imagines he will become a hero, that his name will be on everyone’s lips. Poor man!
Then all these dreams evaporate. The heretic realizes he has lost himself — and led many others to destruction. The Lord will demand their blood of him. Instead of gaining fame, he has become a stumbling block.
He sees — too late — that it would have been better to humble himself, to turn back from his false thought and pride, to save both himself and those who followed him.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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