Orthodox Apologetics

Matthew 6:16 ¶Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

...that two whole months of total sexual abstinence await us...

Since therefore it is impossible to learn anything true concerning religion from your teachers, who by their mutual disagreement have furnished you with sufficient proof of their own ignorance, I consider it reasonable to recur to our progenitors (ancestors), who both in point of time have by a great way the precedence of your teachers, and who have taught us nothing from their own private fancy, nor differed with one another, nor attempted to overturn one another’s positions, but without wrangling and contention received from God the knowledge which also they taught to us.

Since therefore it is impossible to learn anything true concerning religion from your teachers, who by their mutual disagreement have furnished you with sufficient proof of their own ignorance,

ie, the Protestant pastors.



I consider it reasonable to recur to our progenitors (ancestors),

ie, the Church Fathers.



who both in point of time have by a great way the precedence of your teachers,

ie, the antiquity of the Church Fathers versus Protestantism's lack thereof.



and who have taught us nothing from their own private fancy,

Contra Protestantism's innate tendency of turning the individual believer into the sole authority & ultimate interpreter of Holy Writ...



nor differed with one another,

ie, the Patristic Consensus versus the plethora of various rival Protestant views, opinions, and interpretations.



nor attempted to overturn one another’s positions,

As opposed to what the founders of countless Protestant denominations have done throughout the centuries...



but without wrangling and contention received from God the knowledge which also they taught to us.

ie, the chain of transmission of Holy Tradition throughout consecutive or successive generations. (2 Timothy 2:2)