ST. VINCENT OF LERINS (MAY 24TH)

St. Vincent of Lerins

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

St. Vincent’s Canon

Today we celebrate the memory of St. Vincent of Lerins, monastic and scholar, from the Roman colony of Belgia, now in modern day France. He died in the year of the Council of Chalcedon, 451AD, having written apologies against Arianism, Appolonarianism, Nestorianism and the emergence of Monophysitism. He was known for his theological contributions in the new field of canonical interpretation in doctrinal matters, and tried to balance the legalistic mentality of the Roman Church with the philosophical approach of the Greek and Syriac speaking Churches. 

The “Vincentian Canon” is a famous quote from St. Vincent of Lerins work, thought to have been written against the extremes and ahistorical positions of Augustinianism, called the “Commonitoria” (A Memorandum). This work was written just three years after the Council of Ephesus, the Third Ecumenical Council. The core of St. Vincent’s doctrinal understanding can be summed up in the phrase: “semper, ubique, et ab omnibus”  (Always, Everywhere and by All), insisting that all doctrine must reflect what has been universally received, and not the personal interpretations, local variations or the regional differences that arise within the process of conversion to the Gospel and life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. This canonical rule of thumb is easily understood as the “Principle of Synodality” seen in the Conciliar Mind of the Church, expressed through the Ecumenical Councils, and ratified by universal reception and affirmation of doctrine in all Local, Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

St. Vincent’s witness is a badly needed within contemporary Christianity, as it plunges into whole-sale abandonment of tradition, innovation of doctrine and outright heresy, and forgets the Apostolic Deposit in favor of fashionable philosophies and secular interpretations. The only way that we may save English-speaking Churches in the Anglican Patrimony is by rediscovering and applying St. Vincent’s Canon to our doctrinal and liturgical understanding, and submitting to the Orthodoxy of Doctrine and Catholicity of Order that is reflected in St. Vincent’s approach. 

COLLECT

O God, who by thy servant Vincent of Lerins didst establish a sure rule for discerning the true doctrine of thy Holy Church, and didst grant unto him grace to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, being steadfast in the ancient paths and walking in the way of thy commandments, may hold fast that which hath been believed always, everywhere, and by all; and that thy Church in these lands, being restored in unity and holiness, may shine forth with the light of thy truth and the beauty of holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and ever. Amen.

May Christ hear St. Vincent’s prayers for us before His Heavenly Throne!