Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council: Matthew 5:14–19

The Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (Matt. 5:14–19) refers to the mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ and reveals the ethos of the Lord’s disciples. Jesus addresses His disciples with words that are not merely moral, but ecclesiological and soteriological. “You are the light of the world” does not denote human self-sufficiency, but the believers’ participation in the uncreated light of Christ. Just as He Himself said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), so now He calls His disciples to become bearers and witnesses of His light in the world. The Christian’s light is not his own possession, but a gift that springs from the grace of God and is manifested in a pure and humble way of life.

The image of a city set on a hill and of a lamp placed on a lampstand points to the presence and work of the Church in history. The Church is not a hidden reality, but a visible sign of salvation. The Holy Fathers shone because they did not hide the light of truth, but served it through Orthodox faith and the synodal consciousness of the Church. At the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the truth of Christ’s divine-human personhood was…