Articles for tag: conversion, Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis, Italy, Roman Catholics, Society of St. Paul

GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Whatever shines is not always gold

Editor’s note: This article is a personal account written by Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis about his experience in Italy in the early 1960’s. We publish this article with his consent.

I was not even 20 when my life changed. I became Roman Catholic! I was born and raised in Chania, Crete (Greece) into the Orthodox faith. In my last year of high school I studied Italian with a Franciscan monk. (Like my older brother and many other students we looked in those days to study abroad—Italy, Germany, England.) I even sung Panis Angelicus in his church. The nuns loved it. It never occurred to me to inquire into the RC faith. It was not my Church. I was Orthodox.

Emmanuel while serving in the Greek army.

I went to Italy to study engineering. Instead, in the middle of my second year I happened to walk into a religious bookstore run by the Daughters of St. Paul, a Roman Catholic religious congregation. I was immediately impressed by the religious fervor and zealous missionary spirit of these young, vibrant, educated, and intelligent nuns. This religious congregation was dedicated to spreading the word of God through the modern means of communication. The male congregation was called The Pious Society of St. Paul. A “family” of a total of ten congregations and institutes founded by Don James Alberione, who has now reached beatification (the last step before being declared a saint). They started their “apostolate” primarily in publishing, but soon they moved into recording, production of documentary movies—they even owned and operated radio and TV stations, and much more, all over the world.

After I found out about their mission I became convinced that they were living in the present, whereas we Orthodox lived in the past. What I witnessed in Italy was life-changing. I realized that they were carrying out The Great Commission (Acts 1:8). The goal is to reach the people where they are. When “Come to me” does not work, the good shepherd goes out to seek the stray sheep. The doors of our Orthodox churches were open, but empty of people, especially young people. I saw that the people of these organizations were on the right track, spreading the word in the only way possible: in the language and manner appealing to the culture of the time and place. I had not witnessed anything like it in our Orthodox lands. I was converted almost instantly. I abandoned my studies in engineering and, after a short trip back home to advise my parents of this turn in my life, and as it happens with many converts, I joined The Pious Society of St. Paul. On May 30, 1961, at age 19 and a half, I officially entered the RC Church. Shortly thereafter I took my temporary vows, with the intention of eventually becoming a monk and a priest. The irony is that when, at age 18, I was leaving Greece to go to Italy I was convinced Greece was in need of missionaries (now more than ever before).

Emmanuel (center) while preparing to become a Roman Catholic monk in Rome.

I was first at Ariccia, near the Pope’s summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, outside of Rome, in the beautiful Alban hills, then in Rome proper, near St. Paul “Outside the Walls.” I’ve seen two popes: John XXIII and Paul VI. I was in Rome during the Vatican II Council.

Like everyone else I was working, while studying the courses leading to the Licenza: philosophy, Latin and Italian languages and literature, etc. I worked as a proofreader. I also worked with printing machines and record presses. I was very happy at the Institute. Yet, something was missing. I prayed hard during the four years I stayed at the Institute of St. Paul. But life became less and less fulfilling. In private I was studying very hard, the Fathers and the history of the early Church. I just couldn’t reconcile certain beliefs and practices of the RC Church with what I was studying, particularly the primacy and infallibility of the pope. My superiors thought it was a matter of Roman rite—and that too played a role. They put me in touch with the Byzantine Catholics. They arranged for me to meet with the Melkite Patriarch Maximos IV. It was to no avail. Other dogmatic issues bothered me: Filioque, Immaculate Conception, Purgatory, rationalism, scholasticism.

I have found out that whatever shines is not always gold. I thought that if I stayed any longer I would suffocate. In the meantime my temporary vows were expiring. Soon I would have to take permanent vows. At that difficult juncture of my life I met with Archimandrite Maximos Agiorgousis (now the former Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh). He received me back paternally: “You were too young to know what you were doing.” Later he would tell me: “I saved you from the wolf’s mouth.” After staying a month close to him, I returned to Greece, where I served my two years in the Greek army, pondering all along what to do with my life.

My intention was to go to a monastery—an Orthodox monastery. I was thinking of St. Catherine’s, on Mount Sinai. But I was without a spiritual guide. I hesitated. So when my sister, who was married in Cleveland, Ohio invited me over, I went, to clear my head. A year and a half later, instead of cooling off, I met a Polish-American girl. Within six months we were married. I’d forgotten about my vocation. But not for good. Sixteen years later I found myself dissatisfied with my work in the insurance business. The old “calling” returned. With my wife’s consent, at age 45, I enrolled at Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, parting from my wife and our three children in St. Louis. With credits for previous studies at Cleveland State University, Oberlin College and The University of Chicago, and a very heavy load, I finished my theological studies in two years obtaining my Masters of Divinity “with distinction.”

Before I was even ordained a priest I was translating hymns from Greek to English, striving to render them in such a way as to preserve precisely the original melody. I have composed non-liturgical songs and hymns for children, who know next to nothing in English. I have written Orthodox Christmas plays for the youth. I’ve also written two liturgies for youth choirs. I always made all the services available to my parishioners—not only the Liturgies, but also Matins, Vespers, Supplicatory Canon, Complines. I also produced literature, for distribution in the narthex for free, for everyone, but particularly for inquirers.

It bothered me that as Orthodox we were content remaining an unknown entity in our own cities and neighborhoods. Then the Pauline Congregations came to mind and their “apostolate”: how they spread the word through the modern media of communications around the globe. However the difference between religious orders unified under a vote of obedience and us, disunited jurisdictionally, made our effort difficult. When I began to talk about making a unified effort to evangelize the people around us, I met resistance, both by our hierarchs and our fellow priests…

Read Part Two: “The parish: an evangelism center”

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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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“Lead us not into temptation”

https://tineye.com/search/30ead8e4250e106702a9f4b64e4c9f46d9f6f122/

In a televised interview the Pope gave on Dec. 5, 2017, he said that the words “lead us not into temptation” are wrong, because God does not lead us into temptation.

Instead, the Pope believes that a better rendering of what Jesus actually said would be “do not let us fall into temptation.” His words caused a great sensation.

I think the infallible Pope does not understand the Lord’s words, and the meaning of the prayer He left us, known appropriately as The Lord’s Prayer.

It is quite…tempting to accept the Pope’s explanation, except that it changes and corrects the Lord’s words, giving them the opposite meaning.

Unfortunately the Pope does not know Greek, and, being infallible, did not bother to consult those who do, or else he would know that the Greek eisenegkes means just that: indurre (in the Italian he spoke), lead into, bring in(to).

In our commentary The Heavenly Banquet, we noted:

“after much thought, it was left ‘do not lead us to temptation.’ [But] how can God lead us into temptation, put us in harm’s way?”1

These must have been the thoughts in the Pope’s mind, as they are in the minds of many of us. But the solution lies elsewhere, in the word “temptation.”

We went on to explain in our commentary:

“The Greek word peirasmos, rendered in English with “temptation,” comes from the verb peirazo, ‘to test [hard], to probe, to prove’ (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5, Acts 15:10, 1 Cor. 10:9, e.a.).

The Scripture is clear: ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire’ (James 1:13-14).

We nevertheless know that this life is a test, full of temptations. God allows them in order to strengthen us. How else will we merit the crown unless we become victorious over the temptations of life?”

We also made the following additional comments 2:

“We do not ask God not to trick us with beguilement in order to make us fall into sin—that’s Satan’s work! We ask God not to test us hard, not to put us to trial. With this prayer we confess our weakness, that we cannot overcome with our own strength alone the tests God puts in our way in order to strengthen us and test us like gold in the fire, but that we need His mercy and grace.

This is expressed, and explained, in the prayer that follows immediately after the Lord’s Prayer in the Liturgy of St. James: ‘And do not lead us to temptation, Lord, O Lord of power[s], who know our infirmity, but deliver us from the evil one and his works.’

Temptation strengthens us and gives us endurance and perseverance. Without temptations how are we going to prove ourselves victors? But we should resist, and ‘pray that we may not be overwhelmed by temptation.’ (Bishop Alexander)

As long as we are in this life, we are to expect temptation and suffering. As St. Anthony the Great († A.D. 356) said, ‘Take away temptation and nobody will be saved.’ Therefore, temptations are good! The Lord said they are necessary!: ‘Offenses (skandala) must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes’ (Mt. 18:6)!

‘We know that God does sometimes subject us to testing in order to lead us to salvation, but we know also that He does not permit us to be tested beyond our capacity, for, ‘No temptation comes upon you, which is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not allow that you be tempted beyond your ability, but with every temptation, He provides a way to overcome it…’’ (1 Cor. 10:13).”

My favorite rendering of “lead us not into temptation” remains the Today’s English Version (Good News Translation): “Do not bring us to hard testing.” The entire version is nothing short of inspired.

  1. (pp. 307)
  2. (p. 311)
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Eastern Catholics: Why compromise? Be Authentic!

Ukranian Church
A discussion I had with someone brought me to the webpage of St. Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church, located not too far from where I live. I would like to share a few remarks I wrote on an article I read there with the Eastern Catholics and anyone who cares about the subject. Here are two quotes from the article:
“In 1595, the Metropolitan of Kyiv and all local bishops signed the Union of Brest effectively breaking ties with the Church of Constantinople and entering into communion with the Pope of Rome while maintaining beliefs and customs.”

“We are an Eastern Catholic Church. We understand this to mean that we are orthodox in our liturgy, spirituality and theological outlook, while faithful to our communion, through membership in our local Church, with the Pope. ‘Orthodox’ is a Greek word that means ‘right believing.’ It is in that sense that we believe we can apply it to ourselves. It was this word that the Byzantine Church used to describe itself and those Churches in which it shared Communion including for many centuries the Church of Rome. However, we also acknowledge that the word has come to hold a technical meaning, namely to describe ancient, apostolic Churches that are not in communion with the Catholic Church. Hence, we speak today of the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Carpatho-Russian Orthodox etc.”

Here are my reflections on these statements:

So sad. So tragic—not to understand your own words, and actions. You must not realize it, but when you broke communion with the Church of Constantinople you didn’t break communion with a local Church, but with the entire Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, because there is only one Church. You decided to join a local Church (Church of Rome), which had already broken communion with the One Church (which includes the other four ancient patriarchates). In other words you joined a schismatic Church, becoming yourselves schismatic. How sad, not to realize it, and by realizing it return to the communion of the One and only True Church founded by Christ.

As if that weren’t enough, you joined in the heresies of the Roman Church as well. You claim to remain orthodox (true, correct, genuine), but unfortunately you are not. You don’t realize that either, and you won’t admit to your errors. Do you honestly believe that the pope of Rome is “First Among the Equal”? And if you believe that, do you really believe that the Pope accepts that? If you do, provide some proof, some evidence that the pope, any pope, has called himself “First Among Equals.” But if you cannot adduce any proof, why do you remain attached to a deception?

You accepted the light of faith, the illumination that comes from the holy mystery of baptism from your mother Church of Constantinople. How sad that you turned your back to her. How sad you have allowed politics to influence to abandon your mother Church and the communion with all the local Churches, which together constitute the One True Church of Christ. Why did you do that? For plain politics! You state so yourself: you broke communion because you were “oppressed by the Catholic Majority and living in fear of the newly-formed Patriarchate of Moscow and the political implications both would have on their Church, being considered second-class citizens and having very few rights.” What about your co-nationals and former brothers and sisters in the faith, who remained attached to the True Church? Are they second-class citizens? Did they suffer persecution? What evil has befallen on them? If none, why don’t you re-unite with them?

You claim that your theology is “the theology of the Orthodox Church.” Do you really believe that? The Roman Church accepted to take you under her wings and honor the articles you presented to her as conditions of your union (Union of Brest (1595), “Articles Concerning Union With The Roman Church”)1. What was your first requirement? “That the Holy Spirit proceeds, not from two sources and not by a double procession, but from one origin, from the Father through the Son.” Is this what the Nice/Constantinopolitan Creed says? Is this what the Greek Fathers say? Certainly not—and you know it. It is a compromise, on things that must not be compromised. It confuses the temporal mission of the Spirit (“through the Son”) with its eternal procession (“from the Father”-alone). The Filioque is a condemned heresy.2 And if you say, But we don’t recite the addition, I will retort, But you don’t condemn it either. So much so, you are in communion with those who do.

As you have compromised your Trinitarian faith you have also compromised everything else. Take holy baptism, for example. You say: “The water is blessed if the baptismal font is being used, if the baptism will be preformed in the minimal form (pouring holy water upon the head) these prayers are then omitted.” And again: “At each invocation the priest immerses and lifts the child out of the water. Otherwise, where customary, he only pours water over the head.) Isn’t this another compromise? Immersing or non immersing is all the same to you. But not to the True believers. Baptizein means dunk. This is what the True Church has done and continues to do.

You are proud that you have kept the holy Communion after baptism. Yet you state: “This Eucharist [that the infant receives after being baptized and Chrismated] does not affect the ‘First Communion’ as we’ve come to have with older children, for then it will be connected to the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession). At this time the child will begin receiving as an adult. The Sacrament of Initiation is now completed with the reception of Holy Eucharist. If the baptizand is an infant, the priest gives but a drop of the Precious blood, saying: Taste and see how good the Lord is. (Psalm 33)”3 Yes, you have kept the rituals of the True Church, but compromised, like everything else. Your de-latinization is slow coming. Even if you make progress in practices, it’s in theology where the battle will be the hardest. How are you going to fight liberalization and ecumenism?

I live near one of your churches. Ironically(?) it is called Epiphany of our Lord, in St. Petersburg, Florida.4 I say ironically, because our church of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral is in Tarpon Springs, called the Epiphany City, having acquired its name and fame from the ceremony of the feast of the Lord’s Holy Epiphany. I look at the webpage of this church. The Divine Liturgy is called mass (“Mass Schedule,” although below it says, “We celebrate the Divine Liturgy”—the classical compromise seen everywhere). It claims to celebrate the Divine Liturgy “in all its pristine beauty and majesty,” yet it invites Roman Catholics, who “may satisfy their Mass obligations” in their church. On the first page there is a Statement of the Roman Rite Diocese of St. Petersburg, but when you click on it, it tells you it’s dead. Below that, it carries this statement: “Jesus established the Kingdom of God. A kingdom is hierarchical and is authori-tatively (sic) dependent on the direct objective obedience of the King’s subjects; i.e. there must exist a chain of command.” Below it is a photo of Pope Francis. Any comment is superfluous.

At the very bottom of the first page—and of every page—in fine print, it says, “Thou art (Cephas) Peter and upon this (Cephas) rock I will build My Church – Know Peter – Know Jesus +++ No Peter – No Jesus (Mt. 16:18)”.

This does not require comment either, but let’s do it. So, we, the non-papists, who don’t “know” Peter (we are not under his “successor”) don’t “know” Jesus either, that is, He doesn’t “know” us; we have no communion with Him. This is your belief, and as long as this statement is there what you tell us is that we are lost souls, that our faith in Christ is to no avail—without the pope. That means that for almost five and a half centuries (from 1054 when East and West were separated, to your union with the pope in 1595) you too were lost souls and you were united with Christ only when you joined His vicar on earth. Is Christ absent to need of a vicar? Didn’t He say, “I am with you always” (Mt. 28:20)? Where is your faith in a vicar expressed during the first 1,000 years of Christianity? Then what you say above (“salvation is a matter of Union with God”) should really be restated: salvation is a matter of union with the pope.

You should know that no Father of the Church had your understanding of Mt. 16:18. Instead, the understanding of the Church has been that in a play of words (Petros-petra) Christ attests that the solid confession of faith expressed by “Rocky” is the foundation of His Church. Peter answered the Lord’s question correctly and in doing so he became a building block of Christ’s edifice, His Church. As he received the blessing, so does anyone who professes the same faith in Him, and thus also he or she becomes a stone in Christ’s edifice. Peter, and his “successors,” is not so unique. At least two popes made the wrong confession and were condemned by the Church. All the apostles were equal, they all received the keys, they all will sit on thrones—and anyone else who professes the same confession. Should we hope that the current pope may give the true confession of faith in Jesus Christ, Who alone is the foundation of the Church He promised to build?

These are just a few thoughts that I had as I was reading some material you have produced about your beliefs and your history. I could add many more important problems: crusades, Inquisition, Vatican state, not to mention the theological differences: purgatory, Immaculate Conception, indulgences, papal infallibility, created grace, and much more. How can you be in union with a Church that professes all that, even if you don’t? I address these words to you as an outsider. Maybe because I am an outsider I see things simply, maybe even simplistically. The fact is, there is no reason to remain attached to Rome. Free yourselves from the papal yoke. Rise above pettiness; end the un-Christian rivalry and strife that exists between you and your co-nationals; and return repentant to the mother Church. She will receive you with open arms. It is my wish that, emerged out of your turbulent past, once again you may become one nation, worshipping together as One Church—even as the True Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ.

  1. http://www.ewtn.com/library/councils/treatbr.htm.
    See also here, Appendix I.
  2. See George Dragas, “The Eighth Ecumenical Council: Constantinople IV (879/880) and the Condemnation of the Filioque Addition and Doctrine,” Greek Orthodox Theological Review 44 (1999).
  3. http://stjosephukr.com/mysteries/baptism/full-service-text
  4. http://epiphanyukrch.com
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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The Eternal Beauty of the Church

The following text is the Prologue of a book by the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St. Vlasios Ierotheos (Vlahos) (1990), written by the Roman Catholic theologian Antonio Ranzolin.1 Metropolitan Ierotheos praises this text, because in it, as he writes, “a Roman Catholic theologian pays tribute to the Orthodox Church, as she is expressed by the Fathers of the Church, and in a beautiful way praises the Christian tradition in which he grew up and lives.”2 Here is the Prologue that we translated into English from its Greek translation.3 We think the text will be reassuring to us Orthodox and will strengthen our faith in Christ and in His One Holy Church He founded.

The Church as “the Eternal Beauty”

Prologue to the Publication by Antonio Ranzolin

What appeal to a Roman Catholic reader can have a book about the Church written by an Orthodox? I will try to express what this book meant to me, its translator. I will try to underscore a few points of this book, which helped me to “re-focus” – allow me the term – on my values in relation to certain inconsistencies from which, it seems to me, sometimes my Catholicism suffers…

“The Church is always and only Christ-centered (not pope- centered, not patriarch- centered, not bishop- centered).”

First re-confirmed value

To talk and live the life of the Church having Christ as the starting point. We shouldn’t start from a pope, from a patriarch, from a bishop, no matter how significant he may be, no matter how evangelical he may be. Because the more a leader is followed, the more he becomes a moral authority. The Church is always and only Christ-centered (not pope- centered, not patriarch- centered, not bishop- centered). The Church is Christ- centered; that is why she is Spirit- centered. With the gifts and ministries of the Spirit assigned within her hierarchically appointed Ark, everyone is in the service of all, in an amazing universality and concord of the various expressions. With the gifts and ministries of the Spirit, which imprint on her Body the crucified and resurrectional love of Christ, a Body which thus becomes a Body of light, consolation and hope for the entire world, a holy Body, with Christ at the center, that is with the Spirit.

“The church is for man, because Christ is for man… The Church wants to make you god (!) in order to extend your possibilities to the infinite, the divine possibilities of love.”

Second re-confirmed value

The church is for man, because Christ is for man. And man is essentially a patient: his illness is his passions. The church is therefore a clinic, a hospital, not a court. You get in and the Mother Church nurses you. By the Word of Whom she is the custodian. With the mysteries of the uncreated Grace. And, if you want and you are seeking it, supports you with a spiritual father, a physician, who stands by you in your struggles, who takes you by the hand and leads you through a healing process through stages: initially with a persistent and long purification of the heart, then with the illumination of the nous, and finally, if and when God wills, with the ecstatic rupture of theosis (divinization). The Church wants to make you god (!) in order to extend your possibilities to the infinite, the divine possibilities of love. The Church wants to deaden within you your unnatural passions, in order to live within you the unique, holy, divine and life-giving pathos: love. Because God is Love…

Third re-confirmed value

“Sin is not so much transgression of a law. It is not an offense against God Who demands punishments and restitutions…”

Sin is not so much transgression of a law. It is not an offense against God Who demands punishments and restitutions… How many inaccuracies in this matter, if not true blasphemies, in so many prayers: “I have sinned and I deserve Your punishments and… I have offended You… I promise with Your help not to offend You any more.” Our sins do not offend God, Who is infinite love. They offend us: they distort our nature created according to His image… they make it sick, they do not let the original light of the Word, contained in it to shine. All the same, we consider the passions “natural,” while they are only pathological. The Church… always preaches, and always communicates to us physiology. She baptizes us in physiology, she nourishes us with physiology. That is, she baptizes us in Christ and nourishes us with Christ—always.

“Truth is not indifferent… In a general climate that relativizes everything and downgrades everything, it becomes more than ever prudent and urgent to reflect on the dogma and its fundamental value.”

Fourth re-confirmed value

Truth is not indifferent. It is not the same thing to believe in a God in three-hypostases or in a God in one hypostasis; in a Son born or in a Son created; in the Word Who assumed true flesh, suffered, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, or simply to believe in what appeared to be flesh, in an illusion, which only had a semblance of flesh, and so on. All this because faith is life. From a different belief comes, in a natural way, a different life, with different expressions and applications, and with different points of reference. This book places the reader before an orthodoxy of faith in its unchangeable character, about which wrote the holy Fathers, for which they struggled, and many of them tasted the bitterness of torture, imprisonment, exile and death. In a general climate that relativizes everything and downgrades everything, it becomes more than ever prudent and urgent to reflect on the dogma and its fundamental value—and this can be done in the school of those who have experienced the dogma, that is, those who have reached theosis. These are the ones who “contemplated” (“viewed”) the dogma face to face: in the Light, that is the Spirit, they saw the Light who is the Son, and through the Son they saw the Light Who is the Father. The dogma leads us to the knowledge through the triune fire of the Beloved.

“Theologians are not those who ‘know’ theology, but those who have met with the Risen Lord of theology, and who out of their experience can speak about God, or better to stammer something about the inexpressible Beloved.”

Fifth re-confirmed value

The theology of the Church is therefore an encounter. It is not a rational or “scientific” reflection upon the fact of revelation (where even an atheist—so it is said in certain circles—could do). Theologians are not those who “know” theology, but those who have met with the Risen Lord of theology, and who out of their experience can speak about God, or better to stammer something about the inexpressible Beloved. And once again here I will turn to a few distortions… When you meet God, you become a spring of theology, without having studied the famous Athenian wise men. The Church does nothing else than to prepare us for this encounter. She exists only for that. With grace and self-discipline, she guides you—if you follow her faithfully, if you will undertake the struggles she proposes to you—to the Pentecost. When you reach the Upper Room, the fire of the Spirit will descend upon you too, and this fire will guide you in the depths of the Mystery. You will be like Peter, John and Paul:4 “your” theology will coincide with theirs, because “your” own experience will resemble theirs. Nothing more, and nothing less.

“When we say Church, we mean a relationship that is inseparable from the faith, the correct faith, and similarly a faith which is inseparable from the Eucharist, which is the par excellence ecclesiastical act.”

Sixth re-confirmed value

When we say Church, we mean a relationship that is inseparable from the faith, the correct faith, and similarly a faith which is inseparable from the Eucharist, which is the par excellence ecclesiastical act. Here everything is recapitulated: from the creation till the end of the world, from protology to eschatology: everything is contained in this Cup and Bread. Everything: all beings and their meaning, all history and its meaning. Because the Incarnate Word, Who was crucified and resurrected, is the heart and meaning of every being; the heart and the meaning of history. It’s all there, at the altar of the Church…

Church, correct confession of the Faith, Eucharist: three elements in inter-penetration, embracing each other, coexisting and together giving a common testimony. Even the place where the Church celebrates the breaking of the bread of the Eucharist becomes a revelation: of God, of the world, of man. But also becomes a revelation of the Church herself, which is the unity between God, the world, and the human beings. Through her we enter the temple on the toes of our feet, we remove our shoes, to meet with the burning and unconsumed bush, the bush that sinks its roots into the sacred ground of the holy altar.

These are just a few of the elements that the translated text deposited in the heart of the translator. Elements – I believe – that are decisive for us to live – in a manner more “targeted” – the mystery of the Church.

I too became a student, as the catechists of Athens in the years 1989-90, who were listening to then Archimandrite and now Metropolitan Ierotheos. I too heard his speeches, and have brought them to you translated (seeking, among others, and finding, almost always, the exact patristic sources), and are now passed on to the reader: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant…

It is the hope that the reader will address these speeches, and thus he will start a dialogue with them, and examine his life. A new book always signals the beginning of one part of a common history between the writer and the reader.

Antonio Ranzolin
The Translator

This text in Greek: Holy Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Saint Vlasios

  1. Ἐκκλησία καί ἐκκλησιαστικό φρόνημα. He translated it into Italian, with the title, L’ Eterna Bellezza, Il Mistero della Chiesa (2017?), The Eternal Beauty, The Mystery of the Church.
  2. www.parembasis.gr
  3. We could not find online the original text in Italian, probably because the book has not been published yet.
  4. Out of respect for the author I pass on what he writes.
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Western Learning and Latin Influence in the Church — a talk by Fr. Seraphim Rose

theology-saint-john-maximovich

How is Western schoolbook learning different from divine knowledge? Fr. Seraphim Rose talks about the theology of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco.

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The Orthodox Witness website is published by Anthony Hatzidakis.

GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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How Patriarch Bartholomew is walking away from Christ

assisi-statement

Οn the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the annual World Day of Prayer for Peace organized in Assisi on Sept. 18-20, 2016, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew released a statement in Italian to “Avvenire,” a newspaper of the Catholic bishops of Italy, entitled, “That all may become one, ‘ut unum sint.’” This year’s theme was, “Thirst for peace: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue.” Before getting to the Patriarch’s message and my commentary I would like to offer a few introductory remarks.

At the first World Day of Prayer for Peace in 1986, 160 religious leaders were gathered, representing 32 Christian groups and 11 non-Christian religions, “spending the day together with fasting and praying to their God or Gods.” Pope Benedict in 2011 did not allow a common prayer, because he didn’t want to convey the impression “that theological differences have been reduced or are not consequential.” However, he concluded his own reflection saying, “In the name of God, may every religion bring upon the earth justice and forgiveness and life, love!”—a full syncretistic prayer, I should add. How could prayer be absent from an event that takes place for the very purpose of praying for peace? This year’s event gathered more than 450 religious leaders of different faiths.

Here follows the Patriarch’s statements and my commentary:

“It’s been 30 years since Pope John Paul II gave start to the Assisi events, events of contemplation and decisions for the religions that work and walk together toward global peace…

The heretical Pope gave the start to unite all the religions under him, and our Patriarch readily and foolishly ran after him. This initiative sounds noble and innocent, but it constitutes a great deception. In the first place, the Patriarch doesn’t call it for what it is. It is not convened to “work and walk together toward global peace,” but it is a “day of prayer for peace.” There is a problem right there, because Orthodox people are prevented from praying together with non-Orthodox, especially with non-Christians! Besides, I don’t think the mission of the Church is to “work and walk together (with the religions of the world) toward global peace.” St. John the Theologian said, “he who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” (1 John 2:6) Christ didn’t work, and His followers the Saints didn’t “work and walk together” with the religions of the world. The Lord said, “If any one serves me, he must follow me.” (John 12:26) Who does the Patriarch follow? Who does he serve?In the second place, reflect on this year’s theme, “Religions and Cultures in Dialogue.” What is the purpose of this “dialogue”? It is not so much about peace as it is “to walk together” with the religions of the world, united under the Pope, so “there shall be one flock and one shepherd”—not Christ, but the Pope! No acceptance of the same Shepherd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is needed. Everyone is free to believe whatever each one wants. Pope Francis is frantically working to unite all religions under him and create the One World Religion and the New World Order.

…This year, the 25th anniversary of our humble ministry on the patriarchal throne of Constantinople, we are glad we are able to be together with our brothers and our sisters of other denominations and communities of Christian faith,…

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Ps. 133:1). Indeed, our Patriarch should be glad to be together with his brothers, as the psalmist says. The problem is, these were not his brothers. Christians have always addressed as “brothers” those who share the same faith with them. The Apostle Paul explained to the Corinthians that when he urged them “not to associate with any (immoral man) who bears the name of brother,” he didn’t mean the “outsiders.” (1 Cor. 5:9.11.12) “Brothers and sisters” is equivalent to being all children of God, treated in another post. We address as “brothers” only those who are united with us in faith, having become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ and baptism (see Gal. 3:26-27). Instead, our Patriarch persecutes the true Orthodox, rejoicing in the company of non-Orthodox Christians.But it gets worse. The Patriarch knows that at this particular gathering he is not only among his “brothers” of various Christian denominations, but also among “brothers” of other faiths. Again, let us repeat: this gathering is for the Babylon of Religions and Cultures of the world to Dialogue. So the question arises: how does our Patriarch reconcile these efforts with the words of the Apostle: “Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor. 6:14-16) I would love to have an answer from our Patriarch.

…guided by our beloved Pope Francis, …

“Our”? “Beloved”? Aren’t these expressions of endearment going a little too far? “Pope”? So now we officially recognize the “usurper” (according to Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus) of the see of Peter as the legitimate Pope? “Guided”? Do we already accept the Pope as the first (primus), and follow him as our guide (pastor)? We do love everyone, as the Lord commands us, and we pray that everyone may come to the knowledge of truth, and thus be saved. But we should not give to heterodox (heretical and schismatic Christians) false hopes that being in heresy and schism (as they are), and being cut off from the Body of Christ (as they are) doesn’t matter. If we fail to evangelize them we fail in our mission.

…in a meeting and in a shared commitment—citing the Orthodox Divine Liturgy—“for the peace from above” and “for the peace of the whole world.” It is particularly appropriate that this international event is hosted by the Diocese of Assisi, the Franciscan family and our dear friends of the Sant’ Egidio Community.…

The following words written by blessed Elder, St. Paisios the Hagiorite about Patriarch Athenagoras are also applicable in this case:

“My writings are nothing more than an expression of my deep pain for the line and, unfortunately, the worldly love of our father Mr. Athenagoras. As shown, he loved another woman, who is modern, called Papal ‘Church,’ because our Orthodox Mother does not impress him, because she is very modest… With such an almost worldly love our Patriarch arrives in Rome. And while he should show love first toward us his children and toward our Mother Church, unfortunately he sent his love very far. The result was to comfort all his secular children who love the world and have this worldly love, but scandalize all of us, the children of Orthodoxy, young and old, who have fear of God.”

Patriarch Bartholomew is a faithful follower of his predecessor, Patriarch Athenagoras, who has fallen madly in love with “the great harlot” (Rev. 17:1), wallowing with her in the mud.

…We have recently witnessed this deep desire to heal our human community and protect our planet when the world mourned the loss of life and beauty in the earthquake that hit central Italy. We recognize, then, that peace is something for which we yearn with great passion and great pain.…

The Lord said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27) Our request in our services (quoted above by the Patriarch) is to receive “the peace from above.” Peace is a surety given us from Christ, which springs from our faith and hope in Him and His promises. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body” (Col. 3:15). Yet the peace the Patriarch so ardently pursues is a worldly peace. Instead of turning his eyes to heaven to seek “the peace from above,” he keeps them on earth, and together with “the religions that work and walk together toward global peace” he strives to achieve earthly peace with human means, thus turning his back to the “Prince of peace.” (Is. 9:6)

…Many of you are surely aware of how over the last 50 years there have been taken some extraordinary steps toward reconciliation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.…

This is the first of no less than four times the word “reconciliation” is used in this short statement. Unfortunately, the steps taken towards reconciliation are in the wrong direction. Do you know what our Patriarch means when he says reconciliation? As “unity in diversity.” There is only one way for reconciliation: for the Roman Catholics and all the heterodox to re-join the Orthodox (true) Church. Our Patriarch has not made a single step to encourage them to move in that direction. To the contrary, he tells his Roman Catholic “brothers” that they are fine where they are, the way they are, and that dogmatic differences are “misunderstandings.”

…We owe the start to the popes John XXIII and Paul VI, as well as to our predecessors, Ecumenical Patriarchs Athenagoras and Demetrios. Their vision has reminded us all of the urgent exhortation of the Lord to his disciples on the Mount of Olives, “that all may be one” (ut unum sint).…

Correction, Your All Holiness: It is not an “urgent exhortation” of the Lord, but a fervent request to His Father. Please, reread His words: “I am praying for them [His disciples]; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me… keep them in thy name…that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:9.11) Christ prays for His disciples, that they may “remain united” (Prof. P. Trembelas), that they may maintain the unity they already have – not strive to achieve a unity they don’t have. The unity prayed for is unity of faith and love. The Apostle Paul says, “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 6:23)

…However there is another reconciliation, a unity of action, which is concern for the suffering we see around us in the world.…

Here is the great apostasy, here is a radical departure from the Tradition of the Church. The Patriarch has cleverly devised another kind of reconciliation. A reconciliation not based on faith but on action. Unfortunately, this other unity is a human construct, which noble as it may be is not the main mission of the Church, but a deviation and a departure from the unity and the reconciliation Christ came to bring us: “God…through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself…and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:18-20) This should be our top priority, and especially the top priority of His All Holiness. This “other reconciliation,” the “unity of action” he pursues, constitutes the greatest threat for the faithful, because it bypasses the truth (that is Christ), acting on a purely human level. He should examine himself, if he faithfully carries out this ministry, this diakonia – if he is a true ambassador for Christ or His betrayer.

…Indeed the principle that underlies openness and dialogue is that all human beings, in the end, face the same challenges. Such dialogue draws people from different religions and cultures out of isolation, preparing them for coexistence and a relationship of mutual respect.…

So the “Great Commission” (“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20)) is marginalized and is being supplanted by the “principle,” “all human beings face the same challenges.” “Make disciples” is replaced by “mutual respect.” “In the end,” religions don’t make any substantial difference – the Orthodox Church included. The true Church founded by Christ is replaced by the belief in a “new humanity,” in a New World Order, promoted by the Patriarch’s guide, Pope Francis. (July 31, 2016 speech at the World Youth Day.) To both of them, one religion is the same as another. To remain firm in the faith the Patriarch calls it “isolation.” It is terrible to sacrifice our faith in Christ our true God on the worldly altar of the pseudo-religion of ecumenism and syncretism.

…This is why the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church said in its final message: “A sober interreligious dialogue helps to promote mutual trust, peace and reconciliation.” And the encyclical of the Council was even more specific: “We therefore urge all … regardless of religious beliefs, to work for reconciliation and respect for human rights, first of all through the protection of the divine gift of life. War and the bloodshed have to stop, and justice must prevail, so that peace can be restored.”…

Peace and peace and peace; again and again. But what is peace? It’s the same as truth: Christ, “the Lord of peace” (2 Thes. 3:16). Christ spoke clearly: “I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace.” (John 16:33) Yes in Him and in no one and in nothing else. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27) In all honesty, whose peace does Patriarch Bartholomew pursue, Christ’s or the world’s?Let us also point out the sober truth, that the Patriarch and his pseudo-council accepted other “heterodox churches,” as if the Lord has founded other churches, besides the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic, Orthodox Church. But that’s only the first step. The second step is to promote and achieve peace and reconciliation among all human beings, “regardless of religious beliefs.”

…This has also been our experience with Pope Francis on the island of Lesbos exactly five months ago, on April 16, 2016. That event was a concrete response of the Churches of the West and the East…

There are no “Churches of the West and the East.” We don’t subscribe to the heretical “two-lung” theory, which is called by Prof. D. Tselengidis “blasphemous.” The Joint Declaration of Lesvos stated that the aim of the participants is “to fulfill the Churches’ [note the plural] mission of service to the world.” The main task of the Church is not social welfare. Let’s not dilute its mission, which is the transformation of mankind and of the entire cosmos.

…to a tragic crisis of our world. At the same time, it was a powerful reaffirmation of how ecumenical relations can promote peace and human rights at a time when the world averts its gaze from extremism and victims of persecution or decides their fate in purely economic or national interests. The power of dialogue and ecumenical action is in starting to go beyond ourselves and what is ours, beyond our community, and our churches.…

We are not opposed to dialogue the aim of which is to proclaim the truth to those willing to hear it. But this kind of dialogue is opposed, even condemned (!) by the ecumenists. Instead, the dialogue they promote is “to go beyond ourselves and what is ours,” meaning to cease to believe that the Orthodox Church is the Church, the one and only Church founded by Christ. Doing so is what they call “isolation,” even extremism.

…It is to learn to speak the language of care and compassion. And it is to give priority to solidarity and service.

It is precisely here where our Patriarch mixes up his priorities and departs from his Apostolic Commission to be Christ’s witness “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Lord charged His Apostles to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that He commanded them (see Mt. 28:19-20). Is our Patriarch making disciples of all the religious leaders who were present in Assisi?

As we said in another post, our Patriarch does not even believe in making disciples of the Nations, as expressed in his statement: “The Orthodox Church does not seek to convince others on specific perceptions of the Truth or of the Revelation, nor does she seek to convert them to a specific way of thought.” This is not the Martyria that the Lord expects.

Both our Patriarch and like minded ecumenists need to take the Great Commission seriously and make their own St. Paul’s aphorism, “Woe to me if I do not evangelize!” (1 Cor. 9:16)

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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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The Fall of the Third Rome: Moscow Capitulates to Papism

russia capitulates to papism

Moscow, the bastion of Orthodoxy, the “Third Rome”, suddenly capitulated to the Old Rome, when his Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow embraced the pan-heresy of ecumenism. With a stroke of a pen, he turned his back on one thousand years of Orthodoxy in Russia, following Constantinople (New Rome) down the wide road (Mat 7:13).

The real import of the historic meeting that took place in Havana, Cuba on Feb. 12, 2016 between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was missed by the media, which focused mostly on the political, social and moral aspects of the meeting. For us, Orthodox Christians, the Joint Statement2 constitutes a betrayal of the Orthodox Faith.

Please follow their call to action:

We exhort all Christians and all believers of God to pray fervently to the providential Creator of the world to protect His creation from destruction and not permit a new world war.

It is a call to unity to all, Christians and non-Christians, to pray for peace, as if religious differences among them were of no consequence.

The document repeatedly stresses that we have “inherited” our differences from our ancestors. It sounds apologetic saying, it is not our fault, “we have been divided by wounds caused by old and recent conflicts.” Stating that our differences “in the understanding and expression of our faith in God” are due to “human weakness and of sin” is a blasphemy against the martyrs and confessors of our Faith.

Our theological differences are not trivialities. Peace seems to be above all—not our faith in the true God. They have both forgotten that the main role of the Church is to spread the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It assumes that all the “monotheistic” religions believe in the same God. Before a perceived common danger that threatens mankind, the religious leaders of the two largest Christian bodies appeal to us all to set aside our faith in Jesus Christ our true God, who died and rose from the dead and is worshiped with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and in the one and only Church He founded.

Our theological differences are ignored and are treated as trivialities, as egotistical pretensions before the threat of a world war. Peace seems to be above all—not our faith in the true God. They have both forgotten that the main role of the Church is to spread the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It seems our religious leaders have come up with a better gospel, that we are “brothers and sisters in Christ,” not in virtue of the one and only true baptism we have received in His holy Church, not on account of our great hope of salvation in Christ our Savior, but on account of our “shared spiritual foundations of human co–existence.”

Don’t be deceived: according to the Declaration it’s not our common faith that will save us, nor the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but our “common values uniting us, based on the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

I hope the Jesuit nuance is clear to everyone. It states that salvation comes not from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but from the human values that unite us.

The Declaration calls martyrs those Christians who have died giving witness to the truth of the Gospel, irrespective of their religious affiliation to “various Churches” (as if Christ founded many Churches). We Orthodox Christians venerate our martyrs, pray to them, we treasure their holy relics and build churches in their honor.

Our Church teaches us to honor only those who have died as martyrs professing the true faith. As for the rest, the Church treats them as pseudomartyrs.3 It is well known that the Church produced untold martyrs during the great persecutions. “Many even of the heretics in the time of persecution and of idolatry showed fortitude even to death, and were called martyrs by those who shared their beliefs.”4 The Church however directs us not to treat them as true martyrs and not to pray to them.5

The ultimate goal of the Joint Statement is the establishment of humanism, placing “fraternal co–existence among the various populations, Churches and religions” as the ultimate goal.

Are we then against any kind of cooperation with other Christian bodies? Can’t we meet and in common declare that we are against violence and terrorism, and that we are for world peace and religious freedom? Can’t we jointly express a concern about the conditions in the Middle East?

Yes, of course we can and we should, provided we leave out any dogmatic and ecclesiological statements that insidiously infiltrate the text and dilute and minimize our faith.

The ultimate goal of the Joint Statement is the establishment of humanism, placing “fraternal co–existence among the various populations, Churches and religions” as the ultimate goal. This sweeping statement alone should be sufficient for us to utterly reject the entire document.

With deep pain and sadness we admit that the Joint Declaration constitutes one of the most ecumenistic and syncretistic official statements agreed upon by an Orthodox hierarch.

What do the ROCOR bishops and theologians have to say about this capitulation?

  1. https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2016/february/documents/papa-francesco_20160212_dichiarazione-comune-kirill.html
  2. “False prophets,” Canon xxxiv of the Council of Laodicea (Rudder, 566).
  3. Interpretation of Canon ix of the same Council (Rudder, 555)
  4. Ibid.
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Is Reunification of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches Imminent?

reunification of orthodox catholic churches

Papa ante portas Novae Romae

Orthodoxy resisted recapitulation to the pope of Rome in the council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-45) rejecting this synod, even though, as a result, Constantinople fell under the hordes of the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Great Schism between Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Roman-Catholicism, dated from 1054, has remained to this day. Attempts to reunite the two Churches have intensified recently. Is reunification of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches possible almost a millennium later? Not only it is possible; it is imminent.

In an interview with the Austrian newspaper “Couriers” given on Nov. 13, 2014 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated: “Reunification of the Churches constitutes a duty of our time.” “The first steps were initiated in this direction 50 years ago by Pope Paul the Sixth and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras,” he added. He then called the theological differences between the Churches “misunderstandings and differences of opinion,” which “the official theological dialogue helped to eliminate.” 1

The Ecumenical Patriarch is ready to accept the pope’s primacy and universal supremacy. The other divisive doctrinal issues (Filioque, Purgatory, Immaculate Conception, etc.) are handled as “local traditions.” Everything is sacrificed in order to achieve unity. While many Orthodox people may consider this to be good news, others view such statements as a betrayal of their faith and a capitulation to Roman papacy. Few, however, dare to raise their voices openly. One of them is Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus.

On November 14, 2014 Metropolitan Seraphim issued a communiqué commenting on a statement by Pope Francis made on Nov. 5, according to which those Churches whose faithful and clergy are not visibly united with their bishops “and with the pope, in the One, Unique Church, which is ours, the hierarchal Holy Mother Church, are sick.”2 Since the pope is traveling to Istanbul on Nov. 28-30, for the patronal feast of the Church of Constantinople, the Metropolitan perceived the statement as a message addressed specifically to that Church, and was obviously offended by the term “sick” applied to the Orthodox Church.

The Ecumenical Patriarch should repudiate the conceited statement made by “the pope of peace” and should remind him of the Orthodox principle of primus inter pares, that is, that all bishops are equal, and any preeminence among them is honorific. But it won’t happen, because the Ecumenical Patriarch claims for himself an absolute primacy among the Orthodox bishops, as has been made clear in many recent pronouncements by him and others under him.

The sad truth is that ecumenism, a movement that has been fully embraced by the ecumenical patriarchate, has divided Orthodoxy. Soon the division will be in the open. It is feared that Patriarch Bartholomew may take an unwarranted step and declare the de facto union with the Roman Catholic Church without asking for a recantation of its errors (heresies) and without bothering to consult with the autocephalous sister Orthodox Churches. Let us stand well!

  1. www.greeknation.blogspot.com
  2. www.agioritikovima.gr
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