On Monday the Sixth week of Easter our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the first letter of the apostle John (2:1-11) entitled "The new commandment". Our treasure, which follows, is from the treatise On the Trinity by Didymus of Alexandria.
Didymus the Blind was a fourth century Christian theologian in the church of Alexandria where he taught for about half a century. Many of his writings are lost but some of his commentaries and essays survive. He was seen as an intelligent and good teacher.
Didymus became blind at the age of four before he had learned to read. He was a loyal follower of Origen and opposed both Arian and Macedonian teaching Despite his blindness, Didymus excelled in scholarship because of his incredible memory. He found ways to help blind people to read, experimenting with carved wooden letters similar to Braille systems used by the blind today. It was said Didymus recalled and contemplated information while others slept.
On the Trinity is a Latin book written by St. Augustine of Hippo to discuss the Trinity in the context of the Logos (the Word Of God).
The purpose of the first letter of the apostle John is to combat certain false ideas, especially about Jesus, and to deepen the spiritual and social awareness of the Christian community. Some former members of the community refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and denied that he was a true man. The specific heresy described in this letter cannot be identified exactly, but it is a form of Docetism or Gnosticism; the former doctrine denied the humanity of Christ to insure that his divinity was untainted, and the latter viewed the appearance of Christ as a mere stepping-stone to higher knowledge of God. These theological errors are rejected by an appeal to the reality and continuity of the apostolic witness to Jesus. The author affirms that authentic Christian love, ethics, and faith take place only within the historical revelation and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The fullness of Christian life as fellowship with the Father must be based on true belief and result in charitable living; knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable, and error in one area inevitably affects the other. Although the author recognizes that Christian doctrine presents intangible mysteries of faith about Christ, he insists that the concrete Christian life brings to light the deeper realities of the gospel.
