re: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church…”(Col 1:24)
With all due respect to Fr. Stephen Freeman - although admittedly, there is much speculation about the exact meaning of the passage above, if it means that Christ’s atonement was not sufficient without the church, then what do the previous verses mean(Colossians 1:21-23)?
“21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Paul is clear in the above verses “He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” If verse 24 means what the Friar means, then verses 21-23 make no sense.
“...means what the Friar means...”
There’s no friar involved here. The man is an Eastern Orthodox priest.
You need to follow the link, Fr. Stephen clarifies:
“Vodolazkin nowhere characterizes Laurus’ labors as a payment for sin. Indeed, the concept is foreign to Orthodox thought. It is an absence that is so profound that a Protestant professor of literature felt the need to supply it, and with it, distort a beautifully Orthodox novel.”