'The gates of hell shall not prevail' (Matthew 16.18-19)

[Brian B.]

All glory to our God and Lord Jesus Christ!

I have a question regarding this important Scripture relating to Orthodox ecclesiology:


I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:18-19).

I'm not interested here in the issues surrounding Peter, the rock, and the keys. Rather, what I'm specifically curious to know is how the Orthodox Church interprets the phrase, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." What, precisely, is the Orthodox understanding of "gates of hell"? And what, precisely, do Orthodox mean by "prevail" in this passage?

I already understand how Orthodox use the passage to justify the historic continuity and apostolic nature of the Church, so what I'm interested in understanding is the precise meaning and use of terms in the passage. Any assistance or references would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely in Christ,
Brian

[Kris]

Hi,

The venerable St. Bede gives us the following explanation of the "Gates of Hades":

The gates of Hades are depraved teachings, which by seducing the imprudent draw them down there. The gates of Hades are also the torments and blandishments of persecutors, which, either by frightening or by cajoling any of the weak away from the stability of the faith, open to them the entrance into everlasting death. But also the wrong-headed works of the unfaithful, or their silly conversations, are surely the gates of Hades, inasmuch as they show their hearers and followers the path of perdition. Many are the gates of Hades, but none of them prevails over the Church that has been founded upon the Rock. [Hom. 1.20, op. cit., 201.]


In short, the Church shall never depart from the Truth (the Rock upon which She is founded) and fall into heresy; nor shall She ever be rooted out by persecutors (the Romans, the Muslims, Communists, all tried but failed); nor shall She ever be destroyed by the "silly" works and conversations of the unfaithful, which we see everywhere in secular Western society.


It is also interesting to note that gates are defensive structures. So perhaps the use of the word "gates" is also a reference to the Church's triumph over death, God's "trampling down death by death."

In XC,
Kris

[Brian B.]

Dear Kris,

Thank you for your answer.

In Christ,
Brian

[Patrick Lee]

Here is what Blessed Theophylact has to say on the matter:

"The gates of hades are those persecutors who from time to time would send the Christians to hades. But the heretics, too, are gates leading to hades. The Church, then, has prevailed over many persecutors and heretics. The Church is also each one of us who has become a house of God. For if we have been established on the confession of Christ, the gates of hades, which are our sins, will not prevail against us. It was from these gates that David, too, had been lifted up when he said, "O Thou that dost raise me up from the gates of death." From what gates, O David? From those twin gates of murder and adultery."

[Brian B.]

Dear Jeff,

Thank you for your answer as well. :)

In Christ,
Brian