He represents the missing link between dogmatic denominational exclusive orthodoxy vs. revelation of divine truth through worship, piety, and ascetic life.
For you who don't know, Isaac "the Syrian", also called "Isaac of Nineveh", lived and wrote during "the golden age of Syriac Christian literature" in the seventh century. Cut off by language and politics from the Churches of the Roman Empire (now the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches after their schism) and branded "Nestorian," the Church of the East produced in isolation a rich theological literature which is only now becoming known to outsiders. Yet over the centuries and in all parts of Christendom, Isaac's works have been read and recommended as "unquestionably orthodox".
He is well read by Eastern Orthodox and Coptic (and other "Oriental Orthodox") clergy, monks, and laity. I heard that he was one of the favorites of his HH Pope Cyril (Kyrollos) VI.
Now, how to reconcile this with the partisans of "Noah's Ark" exclusive denominational salvation? I would be curious to see what the zealots have to say about this?
I bet some will come out and say blasphemous things like God speaks on devil's tongue. Perhaps, some will say he is inspired by God but "has no life" in him. He would belong to "another religion" per the stand of the Mount Athos guardians of orthodoxy or "Conservative Coptic Clergy" (don't want to name someone in particular). He has not formally accepted the "seven ecumenical councils" and he associated with the church of Nestorius who "divided the person of Christ".
Comments
Firstly, God gave His apostles authority when He made them Bishops upon the rock to build His church. The question is; that they all were proclaiming salvation by the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this salvation is a narrow path, then why have it broadened with each schism?
It is the death to man's dignity that is full of conflict. There are two major problems with loss of dignity and they impact enviroment and who we are. Because Adams exile meant the loss of hamony with God divinity.
Hamony with God's divinity is done by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. We know there are two works of the Holy Spirit and those are inspiration and sanctification. Those two works were given to the apostles and the church Fathers. Our dignity comes from them. Which means our environment has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit in which we bear our fruits. A big problem also with the fall of dignity is that it requires justification. Our narrow path is defended by saints like Saint Athanasius who said in his darkest hour, "If the whole world is against me, then I am against the world." So we dignify ourselves with him and the faith given him by the Holy Spirit that we remain in hamony with the inspiration and sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Those who dignify themselves to create their own environment that have deviated from the inspiration and sanctification of the Holy Spirit do not have the fullness of God's salvation and are prone to the fall of dignity with sin that they cannot justify.
We know that sin is separation from God and to live a spiritual life we look for its remission. Does the protestant faith have the fullness of God's salvation? No it doesn't because they only have two sacraments in which the Holy Spirit can sanctify. This is because they believe they have achieved eternal salvation by Christ dying on the cross. This is the dignity which they they protect and there will be no movement from this environment as long as they justify their faith. The Holy Spirit cannot sanctifiy to purify them from sin because they no longer have the sacrament of confession. So they retain sin because it hasn't been sanctified.
Our church is one that tries to live as an example of Christ, that He is in us as we in Him, but it is through the sanctification and inspiration of the Holy Spirit they we can obtain the fullness of God's salvation.