Two University Professors on the Ever-Memorable Fr. Theodoretos (Mavros)

Hieromonk Theodoretos — Eternal be his memory!

By Dimitris Hatzinikolaou,

Associate Professor of the University of Ioannina

 

On October 4, 2007 (N.S.), the Church of Christ, militant and under persecution, lost a true Christian, a confessor and fighter on the front line against the greatest enemy of Orthodoxy, the heresy of Ecumenism. The reference is to the well-known anti-ecumenist Fr. Theodoretos, Hieromonk. Fr. Theodoretos passed through this temporary world as a noble, guileless man, humble in heart like a child, kindly, gentle, disinterested, an untiring worker for the salvation of his fellow men and for the purity of the Evangelical and Patristic word, consistent in his words and deeds, and an uncompromising opponent of every distortion and every plot against Orthodoxy and Greece. Sorrow grips our hearts.

The writer came to know Fr. Theodoretos in the year 1999, when he felt that he had a duty to confess Orthodoxy in practice, which is of course the duty of every believer. Having perceived the betrayal and blasphemy against Orthodoxy of unprecedented magnitude, I began to ask theologians and others who were involved in ecclesiastical matters what ought to be done; and more specifically, whether I should perhaps join the Old Calendar Church. The theologians whom I asked emphatically said no, yet without establishing their opinion with substantial arguments. Instead, they referred me to the book of Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos entitled The Two Extremes: Ecumenism and Zealotry. After reading this book I was persuaded that I should not join the Old Calendar Church, but should wait “until the proper time.” Even worse, despite the gross ignorance that I had concerning ecclesiastical history and the Patristic teaching on the matter, I attempted to persuade other troubled persons to do the same, repeating the unsound arguments of Fr. Epiphanios. The end to this downward course was given by a certain brother who, when I proposed that he read The Two Extremes, replied as follows: “You should read The Antidote by Fr. Theodoretos!” This indeed I did. Other related books and articles followed. From among all these, the one that holds the first place in my soul is the book of Fr. Theodoretos entitled Dialogues of the Desert on Ecumenism (Second Edition, 2002). From that time, my communication with Fr. Theodoretos, the love with which he surrounded my entire family, the patience with which he guided me in theological matters, his reproof for my errors, his corrections of incorrect formulations in my articles—which I always sent to him for comments and corrections before submitting them for publication—were not merely precious, but decisive for me. The void left by his repose is impossible to fill.

Fr. Theodoretos, being an important theologian, cut off his own will and was perfected in obedience to his Elder, Fr. Kallinikos. In order to do this, he sacrificed a brilliant career at the University. (He was an assistant to Professor Markos Siotis when he resigned in order to become a monk.) For the sake of Christ, he despised all corruptible and transient things and devoted himself to obedience, prayer, fasting, the confession of the Orthodox Faith, the study and dissemination of the word of God (indeed at his own expense). As a knower of Patristic Theology, he left as a legacy an important body of writings, which summarizes the Orthodox teaching and Tradition regarding the confrontation of heresies and their adherents. This work can today easily be used even by non-theologians for confronting the heretical ecumenists and their defenders, who unfortunately multiply day by day. From the depths of our heart, we feel the need to exclaim: Hieromonk Theodoretos — eternal be his memory!

 

Hieromonk Theodoretos

By Petros Koutsoukos,

Professor of the University of Patras

 

 

At the end of the day of the leave-taking of the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross and, after the celebration of the Vespers of the feast and commemoration of Saint Kosmas and the twenty-six Venerable Martyrs with him who were martyred on Mount Athos for the Faith once delivered to the Saints (Sept. 21-22, O.S.), the Lord chose to call to rest His chosen and tireless laborer in His vineyard, the Athonite Hieromonk Fr. Theodoretos.

The timing of the departure of Fr. Theodoretos was anything but accidental. It coincided with feasts and commemorations of sacrifice and confession of the Truth.

In this way, the Lord of life and death perhaps wished to convey a message to us who remain behind: to underline the fact that the life of Fr. Theodoretos was a life of sacrifice and confession.

Such a life not only befits, but is also the duty of every pious and Orthodox Christian.

I consider myself particularly blessed, because I had many times the opportunity to meet, to converse, and to pray together with this venerable father.

However, I first came to know Fr. Theodoretos through his pen, and afterward I met him in person.

His writings—confessional in character, absolutely well-documented, written with scientific integrity and methodology—had made a particular impression on me, and I must confess that when I first met him, I was surprised by the childlike sweetness of his manner and the gentleness of his character.

One thing, however, was immediately evident—that which inflamed him, set him on fire, and could not be hidden: the Truth!

The Truth without conditions and without limits!

Such souls are a rare thing in our times.

This holy zeal of his was his wealth and the driving force of his life.

He loved Theology from his youth and soon perceived that this sacred science cannot be confined to academic lecture halls, where worldly turmoil is often disorienting.

He therefore abandoned every academic prospect and withdrew into the monastic schools of the Holy Mountain, choosing rather as his mentors in the science of sciences the professors of the Desert, and especially the Holy Kollyvades Fathers.

His progress did not delay in becoming evident through his struggles on behalf of the Truth. With the blessing of his Elder always, his cell became a pulpit against the pan-heresy of Ecumenism.

A powerful pulpit, because it was not only words, but above all action.

For this reason, the guilty and those in power were greatly disturbed (as the poet also says) and in the end punished him with exile.

The Athonite, the small, combative, confessional periodical—with all the difficulties involved in its publication—was for years a sleepless bastion, a shining beacon, a support for the struggling anti-ecumenists.

It was a particular joy for me when, during a pilgrimage of mine to the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration in Boston in 1986, I learned that three days earlier he had been ordained a hieromonk by the Synod of the Russian Church Abroad, which at that time was struggling against Ecumenism.

A new battlement, new struggles, greater responsibilities.

With special emotion I recall mystical services and Divine Liturgies in his little cell in Kapsala, where with sacred feeling he told me that there: “was the katholikon where the great Kollyvades Father, Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, chanted services and participated in sacred rites.”

With a view toward the summit of Athos, on the small balcony of his humble cell, I had the special blessing to listen to his sorrow over the indifference toward the Truth—an indifference that is becoming widespread.

He saw the readiness—though not always—for words, and the unwillingness for deeds—for action.

Fr. Theodoretos grieved deeply when he saw the decline of moral character—both among the clergy and the laity—when he saw the dulling of the Orthodox conscience, when he saw the godless letters that flood the schools and the minds of unformed children, to whom there is an attempt to convey the message that our ancestor is an animal and not the ancient Adam, as the Mother Church teaches with her infallible mouth.

For this reason, his last work, before the Lord called him to rest from his labor and sacrificial course, was addressed to the students—the Greek students, the future of our homeland.

A work—a cry of anguish—so that the lie may not pass into the tender hearts of our children.

His monastic life was not cloudless, nor did he live with the approval of his contemporaries, for he was concerned first with how to please the Lord.

He walked this path with consistency—the path which the Lord Himself first walked and afterward all the Saints, without any exception.

Looking at his radiant example, I would like to say to him very simply and humbly:

—You leave behind, Fr. Theodoretos, both for us who knew you and for those who will come to know you in the future through your unique writings, a legacy and an example to follow the Truth at whatever cost.

Your example reminds us that the first virtue for a Christian is the courage to confess the Truth.

For this reason, the Spirit of God, in the Apocalypse, emphasizes to us that “the lake burning with fire and brimstone shall be the portion of the cowardly and the unbelieving...” (Rev. 21:8), placing first the “cowardly.”

Courage indeed has a cost, and you, Fr. Theodoretos, paid that cost!

Yet by this you purchased an enviable place of rest, toward which you now proceed with rejoicing steps.

And we who remain behind become poorer by one martyr of the Truth; a battlement is emptied. Yet—mystery!—together with our sorrow we also have joy, because we sense the certainty that we acquire another battlement, this time in Heaven!

Another battlement of intercession before the Giver of the contest, so that we too may pass through the valley of weeping in piety and in the confession of the Truth, both in word and in deed.

Eternal be your memory, Confessor and Professor of the Desert, Fr. Theodoretos! Intercede for us!

 

Greek source: https://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2014/10/blog-post_4.html

 

Should “zealous” Christians fear hell?

By Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze) (+2018)

Source: О тайных недугах души [On the Hidden Ailments of the Soul]

 

 

A Christian who has chosen an incorrect path of inner life, one founded not on true repentance but on a certain hidden pride and, together with it, on other passions, does not always notice this himself; even all the signs of this illness may be so deeply concealed that only an experienced spiritual father will be able to detect it. In such a case it must be noted that those around him always notice something unhealthy in the actions of the deluded person sooner than he himself does; therefore, when we are reproved, we must always reflect and many times apply, measure this reproof to ourselves—it is entirely possible that it is not accidental.

In the spiritual struggle, how often the enemy strives to deceive us! The Holy Fathers say that evil spirits also employ such a device: they take away the instruments with which they inflamed our passions and, as it were, withdraw from the person; thus all battles subside and the ailments of the soul are not noticed at all. But when he relaxes and considers himself safe, then the enemy thrusts his poisoned arrow into some most vulnerable part of the soul, kindles within it some most burning hidden passion that has gathered new strength and thirsts for satisfaction. And then the unfortunate man cannot withstand the sudden uprising within himself of such a dark power and easily falls. But the evil spirits know another cunning as well: they may withdraw for a long time, even leaving behind in a person, after their departure, what seem to be the most saving and grace-filled dispositions of the soul—something like zeal for good deeds, for holy labors, ardent fervor for prayer, for fasting, for vigil; even a trembling desire to perform works of mercy, to love all people, to help the poor and rescue the unfortunate; even the strength of patience to endure at times reproaches and slander, the desire to speak humbly of oneself and to undertake certain labors of repentance, and the like. All this not only operates in a person without opposition from the demons, but they themselves also imperceptibly inflame and encourage such movements and dispositions of the soul—yet at the same time the evil spirits subtly touch our vainglory and in the depth of the heart continue to offer their incense to the idol of our pride. The demons seem to have withdrawn, but they carefully watch that this little flame of pride in our soul does not go out. And so: a person lives outwardly in an excellent manner—zealous, modest, truthful, merciful, non-possessive, as though conscientious in everything; he even sometimes grieves over his sins, sometimes even painfully experiences some small offense of his own; he thirsts for purity and perfection; he endures insults, performs many and many things that appear entirely worthy of virtue; yet at the same time that incense to another god—to the idol of the “I”—does not cease to burn in the depths of the heart, becoming thicker with each ascetic labor, and with every “good” deed feeding our pride more and more.

How then can this evil be avoided? Under every unreasonable undertaking of ours, though outwardly good in appearance, the demon of pride tries to place his own censer; the inexperienced Christian does not always know how to examine well what he relies upon at the very beginning of his activity, from what source the roots of this tree of his ascetic striving draw their sap, who in reality encourages these labors of his and appropriates them to himself. The matter is that the true good in us must have its foundation only in the evangelical commandments, and must be carried out either from fear, or from obedience, or from love for God (according to the spiritual height of our life), but in no way for anything else: not for the sake of ascetic striving itself, or “spirituality,” or “goodness” separated from the Gospel, or “morality,” or “holiness,” or even “perfection,” and other lofty virtues understood in an abstract way. Rather, we must strive to perform our deeds in such a way as to fulfill the will of God, having a single aim—to please God. Whatever good a person may do, he cannot place hope in any of it; he must always say: “I am an unprofitable servant; I have done what I was obliged to do, and I have done it weakly and negligently” (Luke 17:10). The commandments of God are so infinitely deep that none of us can fully fulfill them; but the more someone strives to fulfill them, the more he will see his own weakness, his own imperfection, the sinful corruption and estrangement from God within himself. From this awareness there remains for him only to humble himself without end, to reproach himself, until he says, like the Apostle Paul: “of sinners I am first” (1 Tim. 1:15); there remains for him only to hope in the mercy of God, recognizing in himself no merits whatsoever.

But it is not so in the case when a person has as the measure of his deeds not the infinite, but the limited, the earthly; then he assigns a value to his deeds, measuring their weight and significance. Then there arises a morbid zeal, an inconsolable sorrow even over his small lapses—from fear of losing something of his wealth. With such reliance upon his own labors, a person becomes in his own eyes a rich man who diligently gathers and multiplies good; every one of his feats, even the smallest good action, he immediately weighs and places into his storehouse—and this instead of the poverty commanded to us (that we should regard ourselves as completely poor in spirit)!

Such self-satisfied labors, of course, do not have the depth required of deeds truly dedicated to God; they, like those planted in shallow soil, have no roots in the depth of true faith, but their roots spread along the surface and drink the impure juices of various passions. Therefore, in order to understand upon what such ascetic striving rests, one must look not at its external feats, but at the inner self-perception: does a person truly consider himself a sinner, weak, unworthy—not only in words, not even merely with the mind or on the surface of feeling, but in the depth of the heart? There, does he sigh over himself, does he condemn himself, or does the triumph of a victor rejoice there, the joyful acknowledgment of his own significance and God-pleasingness? This can be clearly seen from the following: whether such a person considers himself perishing, fully deserving of the torments of hell and being in real danger of being condemned to go into this eternal hell, so that only by the mercy of God can he be saved, and not by any of his own virtues; that he needs many prayers on his behalf, and that his own deeds and prayers are not sufficient for salvation. But if such a “zealous” Christian, while calling himself sinful, nevertheless is quite firmly convinced that it cannot possibly happen that he would end up in the prisons of hell, having so many good deeds, then such a disposition of heart is a misfortune! A completely different example is given to us by the holy fathers, who even on earth had already attained an angelic state, could perform wondrous miracles, possessed the gift of foresight, had visions and revelations from God; yet when they were dying, they wept inconsolably over themselves and sincerely considered themselves condemned to hell.

When the time of the repose of the holy Abba Agathon had come, the brethren, noticing fear in his face, said: “Father! Do you also fear?” He answered: “Although I have tried with all my strength to keep the commandments of God, yet I am a man—and I do not know whether my deeds are pleasing to God.” The brethren asked: “Are you not certain that your deeds are pleasing to God?” The elder said: “It is impossible for me to be assured of this until I stand before God, for the judgment of God is one thing and the judgment of man another.” [47]

When the time of the repose of Abba Arsenius came, the brethren who were with him saw that he was weeping. The brethren said to him: “Father! Do you also feel fear?” He answered: “I do feel fear. The fear which I experience at this hour has been with me from the time when I became a monk.” [48]

[St.] Poemen the Great used to say to his brethren: “Believe me: where Satan will be cast, there I also will be cast.” [49]

For many years the elder [St.] Silouan bore lofty ascetic labors and endured many painful struggles with demons. Thus, one night, during the elder’s prayer, the evil spirits strongly harassed him and did not allow him to pray with purity. In sorrow and with pain of heart he cried out to the Lord, asking Him to teach him how he should pray and what he should do so that the demons would not hinder him. And he heard an answer in his soul: “The proud always suffer thus from demons.” “Lord,” said the elder, “teach me what I must do so that my soul may become humble.” And again, in his heart came the answer from God: “Keep thy mind in hell and do not despair.” After this the elder Silouan understood that the whole ascetic struggle must be directed toward the acquisition of humility. From that day his “favorite song,” as he himself expressed it, became: “Soon I shall die, and my wretched soul will descend into the narrow black hell, and there alone I shall suffer in the dark flame and will weep for the Lord: ‘Where art Thou, Light of my soul? Why hast Thou forsaken me? I cannot live without Thee.’” [50]

[St.] John Climacus relates that one ascetic monk, from the thought of death, would often fall into ecstasy and, as though deprived of his senses or struck by an epileptic seizure, was carried away by the brethren who were with him, almost without breath. [51]

To confirm the thought that we must always remain in repentance and contrition, the same father recounts the following frightening account: there lived in those regions a certain Stephen who, loving a desert and silent life, spent many years in monastic struggles and shone with various virtues, being especially adorned with fasting and tears. This father withdrew to the places of the hermits in order to undertake a harsher and stricter repentance, and there he lived for several years in an uninhabited desert. Before his death he returned to his cell. A day before his death he fell into ecstasy; with open eyes he looked now to the right and now to the left side of his bed, and as though being interrogated by someone, he said aloud before all who were present sometimes thus: “Yes, indeed, this is true; but I fasted for so many years for this.” At other times: “No, I did not do this; you are lying.” Then again he would say: “Yes, truly so, but I wept and served the brethren.” At times he objected: “No, you slander me.” To another charge he replied: “Yes, indeed so, and I do not know what to say to this; but God has mercy.” Truly it was a terrible and fearful spectacle, says St. John, this invisible and merciless interrogation; and what was most dreadful of all was that he was accused even of things that he had not done. Alas! the silent-dweller and hermit said of some of his sins: “I do not know what to say to this,” although he had spent about forty years in monastic life and had the gift of tears. Woe to me! Woe to me! Where then was the word of Ezekiel, to say to the interrogators: “In whatever I find you, in that I judge you, says God” (Ezek. 33:13, 16)? He could say nothing of the sort. And why? Glory to the One who alone knows. Some also said that in the desert he even fed a leopard from his own hands. During this interrogation his soul departed from the body; and it remained unknown what the decision and outcome of this judgment was and what sentence followed. [52]

The fathers also relate the following account: a certain clairvoyant elder came to a city when a monk highly esteemed by all was dying there. All the inhabitants of the city considered him a holy elder and greatly glorified him; they wept over his death, regarded it as a great loss for themselves, and many hoped through his prayers to be delivered from every temptation. The traveling clairvoyant monk was present at this event, and a terrible vision was revealed to him: he saw dreadful Ethiopians appear with tridents, and a voice was heard from on high: “Give him no rest, because he did not give Me rest for even one hour.” And so these Ethiopians, piercing the soul of the dying man with their tridents, drew it out and dragged it away. Peter of Damascus, a holy father of the eighth century, explains this case as follows: the cause of this was the monk’s exaltation of mind (pride), for if he had had other sins, he could not have concealed them from people, much less committed them every hour. But only pride can, through self-pleasing, conceal itself almost from everyone and even from the very person who possesses it, unless he is allowed to fall into temptations, by which the soul is exposed and comes to know its weakness and folly. Therefore the Holy Spirit did not find rest even for one hour in that wretched soul, because it always held this thought and rejoiced in it as in some good deed; because of this it became darkened like the demons. Not seeing himself as sinning, perhaps that man nourished within himself a single passion instead of others, and that one alone was sufficient for the demons, as being able to take the place of the other vices. [53]

There the holy Peter of Damascus also says: “No one will receive benefit from other virtues, even if he were to live in heaven, if he has pride, through which the devil, Adam, and many others greatly fell. Therefore no one should reject fear until he has reached the haven of perfect love and is outside the world and the body.” [54]

When Abba Macarius the Great came to the skete of Mount Nitria, a great multitude of brethren gathered to him. The elders asked him to speak a word of instruction to the brethren. He, weeping, said to them: “Brethren! Let your eyes shed tears before your departure to that place where our tears will burn our bodies.” All wept and, falling on their faces, said: “Father, pray for us.” [55]

“Now, during earthly life, often descend with your mind into hell, so that your soul and body may not descend there eternally,” taught St. Tikhon, Bishop of Zadonsk. [56]

Only this path—of self-condemnation, of distrust of oneself, of considering oneself the worst of sinners and worthy of every torment—the holy fathers recognized as saving and safe. Having chosen the correct path of spiritual life, it is in no way possible not to pass along the path of fear and trembling for one’s soul; all who were saved walked by it.

 

References

47. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov. Otechnik. p. 61, no. 25.

48. Ibid., p. 53, no. 16.

49. Ibid., p. 329, no. 21.

50. Elder Silouan. ch. 2, pp. 20–22.

51. John Climacus. Step 6, 17.

52. John Climacus. Step 7, 50.

53. Works of Peter of Damascus, book 2, discourse 24, pp. 127–128.

54. Ibid., p. 117.

55. Bishop Ignatius Bryanchaninov. Otechnik. p. 310, no. 7.

56. Ibid., p. 364, no. 24.

 

Online: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Lazar_Abashidze/o-tajnyh-nedugah-dushi/#0_7

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: A Prayer for Self-Awareness

 

O Lord! Grant us to see our sins, so that our mind, wholly drawn to attention to our own transgressions, may cease to see the transgressions of our neighbors—and thus may see all our neighbors as good.

Grant us to behold, in the light of Thy Grace, the many and various ailments living within us, which destroy the spiritual movements in the heart and introduce into it movements of blood and of the flesh, hostile to the Kingdom of God. Grant us the great gift of repentance, preceded and brought forth by the great gift of seeing our own sins.

Preserve us by these great gifts from the abysses of self-deception, which is revealed in the soul from its unnoticed and unrecognized sinfulness, and is born from the activity of lust and vainglory that it neither notices nor understands.

Keep us by these great gifts on our path toward Thee, and grant us to reach Thee, Who callest those sinners who acknowledge themselves, and rejectest those who consider themselves righteous; that we may glorify Thee eternally in eternal blessedness, the One True God, Redeemer of the captives, Savior of the perishing. Amen.

 

Source: О тайных недугах души, by Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze).

The Apostasy and Crisis of the Papal Hierarchy: An Orthodox Perspective

Nikolaos Romanos | March 13, 2026

 

 

The phenomenon that we have been observing in recent years in the world of Rome is deeply troubling. From an Orthodox perspective, it concerns the realization of an apostasy that was prophesied in the Holy Scriptures—from the Prophet Daniel to the Book of Revelation—and which is also repeated in the messages of the Panagia at Fatima and at La Salette: “Rome will lose the Faith and will become the throne of the Antichrist.”

Carlo Maria Viganò, former archbishop of the Papal Church, has repeatedly pointed out that the papal hierarchy has moved away from its spiritual mission. The authority entrusted to it, in order to serve the Mystical Body of Christ, has been transformed into a self-referential and abusive power, without legitimacy, and often contrary to the plan of the Lord.

This crisis is not merely a matter of institutional corruption or political maneuvers. It constitutes, above all, a spiritual crisis: the papal hierarchy cannot heal the wound for which it bears responsibility without deep repentance and a return to the truth of the Faith. Until then, its presence on the throne of Rome can be regarded only as tyrannical and self-referential, with serious consequences for the spiritual life of the faithful. We see that there are also pious Latin voices that cannot endure the degradation of the Vatican.

From an Orthodox standpoint now, this situation reminds us of the necessity of faith in Christ as Lord and King, and of the importance of preserving the truth of the Church without concessions. The crisis of the papal hierarchy may become for us, the Orthodox, an opportunity for spiritual vigilance and for a deepening in the faith, far from apostasy and corruption. Nevertheless, nothing of the sort appears to be evident. The morbid episcopocentrism seems to have invaded even our own circles.

 

Greek source:

https://orthodoxostypos.gr/%e1%bc%a1-%e1%bc%80%cf%80%ce%bf%cf%83%cf%84%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1-%ce%ba%ce%b1%e1%bd%b6-%e1%bc%a1-%ce%ba%cf%81%ce%af%cf%83%ce%b9%cf%82-%cf%84%e1%bf%86%cf%82-%cf%80%ce%b1%cf%80%ce%b9%ce%ba%e1%bf%86/

St. Anatole the Younger of Optina (+1922): A Prayer Against the Antichrist

 

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, deliver us from the seductions of the coming antichrist, abhorred by God and crafty in evil, and from all his snares. Protect us and all our Christian neighbors from his devious nets, keeping us in the hidden refuge of Thy salvation. Grant, O Lord, that our fear of the devil may not be greater than our fear of Thee, and that we not fall away from Thee and Thy Holy Church. But instead, grant us, O Lord, to suffer and die for Thy holy Name and for the Orthodox faith, and never to deny Thee, nor to receive the marks of the cursed antichrist, nor to worship him. Grant us, O Lord, day and night, tears and lamentation for our sins, and on the day of Thy dread Judgment, O Lord, grant us pardon. Amen.

Source: Orthodox Christian Prayers, edited by Priest John Mikitish and Hieromonk Herman, Saint Tikhon's Monastery Press, South Caanan, PA, 2019, p. 117.

Photios Kontoglou (+1965): To the Unionists

 

The desire of Your All-Holiness [Patriarch Athenagoras] and those with you that the Orthodox Church should be subjected to the Pope, and the inexplicable zeal on your part toward this, has filled our hearts with inexpressible sorrow, and despondency has seized us, according to the Prophet-King, because of sinners who forsake the law of God. Our ears still ring from hearing this dreadful thing.

The Orthodox flock has been divided, and you bear the blame. Some followed you upon the broad road that leads to destruction, while others remained firm and immovable in the Orthodox faith of their fathers, turning their faces away even from the mere thought that the Ecumenical Patriarch embraced and kissed the woman-faced Pope and was defiled by this abomination of impiety.

Those who followed you had already been beforehand judged that they would follow you, being material-minded, vain, faithless, arrogant, servants of foreigners, flatterers and those who are flattered. Therefore they hastened to gather themselves with the “world,” the sinful world of earthly comfort, of a life without hardships and struggle, believing only in “the city that now remains here, but not seeking the one to come,” as something nonexistent and not believable to them.

But the others, the faithful, remained in the land of poverty, of deprivations, of temptations, of persecutions, being certain that in the midst of them stands the Lord, Who said that His Church will be bound up with martyrdom, contempt, poverty, and mockery, which will be the recompense for the steadfast confession of those in this world. In their ears day and night resound the comforting words of Christ: “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Persecution, suffering, and death are the blessed lot of the true disciples of Christ. His all-holy mouth also said: “The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” How is it possible that there should be men of force and strugglers in the ranks of those who hastened to come to terms with falsehood, in order to live in quietness and in the enjoyment of worldly goods?

And you, the shepherds of the people—what kind of shepherds are you? The sheep which the Lord entrusted to you, behold, you deliver to the wolves. You associate with the rulers of this vain world, which is passing away, because you have envied their glory and not the glory of God. You have subjected the faith to sinful men of worldly desires, whose guide is Satan. You have surrendered yourselves and have handed over the sheep to the prince of this world, to him who possesses material power—gold, inventions, and machines which astonish the multitudes as miracles of the Antichrist. You have surrendered yourselves and have handed over the sheep to falsely named knowledge, “the empty deception,” which is taught in the lands of atheism and despair, where there exists not even the scent of eternal life and of true knowledge, the knowledge of God.

***

“Hear this, O priests, and give heed; listen attentively, for the judgment is against you” (Hosea 5:1).

“Woe to them, the shepherds have slumbered” (Nahum 3:18).

And this is so because you are not the good shepherds, those who sacrifice their life for the sheep and lead them to the fragrant meadows of immortal life. You are “hireling shepherds,” and according to the all-holy mouth of the Lord, “the hireling shepherd is not a shepherd” (John 10:12). You are hirelings of the rulers of this world, for whose glory and wealth you labor.

And since you are servants of such masters, you are armed with the weapons of violence, with which you threaten the faithful sheep of Christ, in order to force them to follow you.

But these blessed sheep await martyrdom as a deliverance and as an unfailing sign that they will receive the unfading crown from the Judge of the contest, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes! We are ready to bear witness with joy and gladness for the Orthodox faith, which we hold as a great treasure. We count ourselves blessed because we shall be persecuted and shall die for the sake of faith and truth.

Sharpen the sword of shame. Send forth the instruments of violence that accompany you, and with which apostasy is always fully armed. Already the blood-stained blade of violence has appeared, in order to sow terror in the holy hearts of the elders, the ascetics, and the hermits, who lived in trials, in deprivation, in the denial of their flesh, so as to please the Lord. The dreadful face of violence appears, like that of the mythical head of Medusa, in the sanctified Garden of the All-Holy Mother of God. And behind this terror stand you, “the hireling shepherds,” the thrice-enslaved servants of the rulers of the dark world of money, of atheism, of degeneration, and of every kind of licentiousness.

Tear apart the innocent and holy confessors, since you yourselves, the shepherds, have become wolves. Devour holy Orthodoxy within the Colosseum, in which stand the Caesars of today’s wicked atheism.

But it is now time for you to cast off the sheep’s skin, since it deceives no one any longer.
What you do, do quickly!

 

Source: https://katanixi.gr/fotis-kontogloy-pros-enotikoys/

 

St. George the Recluse of Zadonsk (+1836) on the Antichrist

 

The cunning and deceitful enemy, having learned of the future Second Coming of the Lord, will himself contrive to assume the likeness of His coming and to deceive mankind. For our Lord will appear upon the earth on bright clouds, like lightning. But the enemy will not come to the earth in this way, not upon a bright cloud; for he is darkness and an apostate.

He will be born from an impure woman—his vessel; Satan himself will not be born, but he will enter into the one who is born, and will appear as a thief, desiring to deceive all men with false piety. He will appear humble and silent, as it were hating unrighteousness and turning away from idols, honoring piety, loving the poor, kind, fair in appearance, very prudent and gentle toward all. He will especially honor the Hebrew language, for they await his coming. Moreover, he will perform miracles and signs and fearful wonders with great authority, craftily striving to please everyone so that he may more quickly be loved by many. He will accept no gifts, will not speak with anger, and will not appear despondent, but will always be cheerful and gentle.

Besides this, by every manner of teaching he will deceive the whole world unto death while he reigns as king. And when people from different nations see him so virtuous, surpassing others in beauty and strength, all will unite in one will and with great joy will make him king, saying among themselves: “Is there any other man so good and righteous?” The Jews especially will honor him and rejoice in his reign. He in turn will honor both their place and their temple and will appear in every way zealous for them.

When the serpent has become king upon the earth, these people will be his joyful champions; Edom again and Moab, and the sons of Ammon, will bow down to him joyfully as to their king and will be the first supporters, establishing his kingdom. And when his kingdom is quickly established, he will violently slay three great kings. Then he will exceedingly exalt himself in heart and will spew forth his serpent-like pride, bringing forth from his belly deadly poison to disturb the universe, stirring up the ends of the earth, afflicting all things and defiling many souls—no longer appearing as before pious and a lover of the poor, but always furious toward all, insolent, wrathful, enraged, disorderly, terrifying, and evil in character, hateful, abominable, unrestrained, deceitful, reproachful, shameless, striving to draw the entire human race into the pit of destruction. Exalting himself in madness, he will multiply dreadful wonders, showing them falsely and not truly; and he will deceive the whole world by apparitions and by magical sorcery.

He will boldly say: “I command you, mountain, now pass to this side of the sea,” and the mountain will at once move before the eyes of all the spectators. To another mountain, or to a very large island standing in the depth of the great sea, he will command it to come forth and stand upon the land, and immediately the waters will gather together. He will stretch out his hands and gather a multitude of reptiles and birds and will walk upon the abyss as upon dry land. And many will believe and will glorify him as a mighty god.

But those who always have God within themselves and whose hearts are enlightened will see with true and pure faith and will recognize him.

For all who possess the knowledge of God and understanding, the coming of the tyrant will then be clearly understood.

But for those whose mind is continually occupied with the things of this life and who love earthly things, this will be incomprehensible, for they are bound to the affairs of life. Even if they hear the word, they will not believe; rather, the one who speaks these things will be hateful to them. For this reason, the saints will be able to escape, since they have rejected all the sorrows of this life. Then the whole earth, and the sea, and the air will weep.

 

Russian source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Georgij_Zadonskij/razlichnye-zapiski-i-vypiski/#0_7

Elder Varnava of Gethsemane Skete (+1906) on Judging

 

The elder earnestly asks the sisters to avoid in their ordinary conversations all gossip, reproaches, and sometimes completely incorrect accusations of others in something sinful. In this matter we often act thoughtlessly. We have no authority to judge our neighbors, and indeed we very often cannot judge rightly.

“One brother,” the batiushka tells the sisters, “having lived in the monastery for many years, was inattentive to the duties of monastic life: at times he would be late for the Liturgy, at times he would oversleep for Matins… Everyone considered him negligent. Yet at his death, all noticed with amazement a certain extraordinary joy shining on his face, and they asked him:

“Why are you so cheerful? Are you not afraid to die? For you have always lived in negligence.

“No, I am not afraid,” he answered. “From the time of my entering the monastery I have judged no one and have borne malice toward no one. I have lived all this time with complete faith in the words of the Savior: judge not, and you will not be judged; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Now I have seen the Angels of God tearing up the record of my sins. Therefore, I depart into eternity with joy.”

From this it is evident, the elder explains, that one must not hasten to accuse even those who, apparently, are truly guilty, because it is always possible to condemn the innocent. And indeed, we cannot be judges of our neighbor, for we see him only sinning, but we do not see him repenting. Each of the sisters must diligently watch over herself, notice and root out her own faults and evil inclinations. Then no one will judge her neighbor—not only judge him—but will even consider him far better than herself.

But if any of you, noticing your sins and carefully observing your secret thoughts, should fall into despondency and despair, then she will sin doubly, for this very hopelessness is the greatest sin.

Therefore, our duty is to be patient in the endurance of sorrows and to be content with everything in life. Above all, you must not give any occasion for the dark spirits to attach themselves to us. Let this be your ascetic struggle: do not keep malice against your neighbor in your heart, as it is said, let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Eph. 4:26). Restrain your tongue so that you may not speak evil in anger against your neighbor. A spoken word cannot be taken back, and when it is uttered in anger it wounds the heart of one’s neighbor more sharply than a knife.

You have a habit: several of you gather together and begin to judge who lives well and who lives poorly. Strive, sisters, for God’s sake—I ask you—never to judge anyone. You see only those who sin, but you do not see their repentance; and sincere repentance is a second baptism. However great the sin may be, after contrition and sincere repentance it is forgiven, and that person becomes pure and pleasing to God. Do not look at the beginning, but at the end, which will show the outcome.

 

Russian source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Varnava_Gefsimanskij/duhovnyj-alfavit/

 

Conclusion from the Bulgarian classic, “Orthodoxy and Ecumenism”

By Archimandrite Dr. Seraphim (Aleksiev) (+1993), and

Archimandrite Dr. Sergiy (Yazadzhnev) (+2008)

 

 

Ecumenism, as we have become convinced, is not concerned with the eternal Heavenly Kingdom. At the center of its attention stand purely earthly, political aims. When we carefully examine the direction of its manifestations, we become convinced that it has, figuratively speaking, two faces. The first—the profane one—is intended for the broad, uninformed masses. Through it, ecumenism strives in every way to prove that its aims are exclusively peace-making, humane, and progressive, that the only motive guiding its activity is concern for the future of humanity. With great display and outward impressiveness, at meetings, sessions, symposia, and assemblies of the WCC, various pressing problems of our time are boldly raised and discussed—social, economic, ecological, political, demographic, and many others besides. Against the background of this noise, in which the stream of words seems to strive to conceal the real aims, through the press, radio, and television there is today formed a broad public opinion regarding the positive and socially beneficial activity of the ecumenical factors. Not a few unenlightened Orthodox Christians, deceived by the noise of this publicity, have regarded the ecumenical movement with approval and, through this naive goodwill, have contributed their share to the monstrous construction of the ecumenical Tower of Babel. May God forgive them if they have indeed done this out of naivety and ignorance!

All this is only one—the external side of ecumenical activity. Its harmfulness lies in its purposeful and systematic influence upon public consciousness, in the gradual replacement of centuries-old spiritual values, in their destruction or their skillful falsification.

The other—hidden face of ecumenical activity, which in detail is for now known only to those initiated into the “mystery of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:7), will be shown to some extent in the second part of this book. For vigilant Orthodox Christians this side is already sufficiently perceptible today through its numerous external manifestations. It reveals the true character of ecumenism, and in it, behind the seemingly Christian façade of this movement, its anti-Christian essence becomes visible. The preparation of the kingdom of the Antichrist and his coming—this is the real aim of its behind-the-scenes actions.

Immediately before the first coming of Christ, the divine providence, fulfilling the eternal plan for the salvation of man, through the instruments of a series of political-historical and cultural-social events, united the entire cultural world of that time within the boundaries of a single state—the Roman Empire. In a similar manner, at the end of the earthly ages, before the end of the world, the God-opposing devil will, in a cunning and deceitful way, attempt to unite the whole earth into a single world community. The aims of these two unifications, however, are diametrically opposed. By the first, the providence of God prepared favorable conditions for the wide spread of the preaching of the Gospel, which shone forth for the whole world through the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks to this unification, the apostolic feet traveled unhindered throughout the whole earth in order to carry everywhere the saving good tidings and to lay the unshakable foundations of the holy Church of Christ—this living God-man organism, not a human work but a divine one.

But with the world unification expected in the last times—a work of the infernal powers—the aim will be the creation of such conditions in which the Antichrist, this most cunning instrument of Satan through all the ages, will exercise an unheard-of tyrannical dictatorship over the entire world. He will rise up against God Himself and everything divine (cf. 2 Thess. 2:3–4) and will exert every effort to cast all humanity at the feet of the man-slayer Satan. The material benefits generously promised before his enthronement will be accessible only to his small criminal oligarchy, while the life of ordinary people—who will be subjected to the most terrible physical, psychological, and biological pressures—will no longer have any value.

Such will be the final result of the contemporary movements for unification in the economic, political, and religious spheres, so widely advertised in our days. And if the glorious Second Coming of Christ did not then put an end to this earthly hell, then, as the Holy Gospel testifies, no flesh—that is, not a single human being—would be saved (Matt. 24:22).

Woe, however, to those who today, consciously or half-consciously, build their efforts into the realization of these infernal plans. Even if some of them, upon seeing the events that follow, repent, how will they erase the terrible harm they have inflicted upon countless human souls through their sacrilegious assaults against the holy and God-revealed faith, which for centuries has been preserved and handed down from generation to generation by our forefathers, grandfathers, and fathers?

Today this entire perspective is carefully concealed from the sight of society. Yet the preparation for drawing it into the future apocalyptic events is proceeding at full speed. In it ecumenism has been assigned an important place. It must unite not only all “Christians,” but also establish connections with the other religions and with other world movements, as we shall see later. The WCC most officially declares in its constitution: “Cooperation with representatives of other religions is necessary.” [1]

Justifying their unacceptable concessions, the “Orthodox” ecumenists today speak of a “reasonable” or “healthy” ecumenism. Thus, for example, the Metropolitan of Athens Ieronymos called it in one of his statements. [2] With such softened and artificially embellished concepts it is intended to justify the participation of the Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement. But after everything that has been set forth thus far, can the Geneva ecumenism be called “reasonable,” when by its words and actions it contradicts that infallible divine reason inherent in the holy Church of Christ, which the holy Apostles acquired and about which one of them, speaking on behalf of all, declares: “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16)? Geneva ecumenism is neither reasonable nor healthy, because it not only fails to spread the “sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9), the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:3), but quite the opposite—it has the tendency to infect even the little flock of Christ (Luke 12:32) remaining on earth with doctrinal false belief and canonical injustice. If this is so, it is inappropriate to speculate with cunningly invented terms such as “reasonable” or “healthy” ecumenism and the like in order to justify participation in an ecumenism that is precisely unreasonable from the standpoint of divine reason and unhealthy. Truly reasonable and healthy is the teaching of the holy Orthodox Church of Christ, pure from doctrinal defects and canonical blemishes, which by its very nature, as the guardian of the God-revealed truth, is universal, because it is called to proclaim to the whole world the divine treasure entrusted to it from above. Whoever, as a living stone (1 Pet. 2:5), has been built into its God-man organism and consciously participates in its life of grace cannot participate in the Geneva ecumenism, which stands in complete contradiction to it and which we reject for the important political, canonical, liturgical, and other reasons set forth above.

In our time many have rushed to make a career through ecumenism. Our contemporary era is even called “ecumenical.” [3] The aspirations for unification today serve as the principal self-justification for all contemporary ecclesiastical betrayals. To stand aside from the ferment of the ecumenical movement is not only considered strange but to a great extent also dangerous for one’s peaceful earthly existence. We know well that with our anti-ecumenical conduct we risk bringing upon ourselves not only a series of unpleasant epithets such as “backward,” “narrow-minded,” “fanatics,” “schismatics,” but also directly exposing ourselves to persecution, according to the testimony of the holy Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 3:12).

Yet despite everything, for reasons of conscience and deep inner conviction, for reasons of faith and obedience to the true universal Church—the Church of the seven Ecumenical Councils—we cannot act otherwise.

It is understandable that the “Orthodox” theologians who have yielded to ecumenism do not approve of the behavior of the anti-ecumenists and, betraying their ecumenical “tolerance,” attack them with the indignation of people who supposedly work for the good of all humanity but are hindered in their activity by “narrow-minded” zealots of the old ways. This is seen precisely in the speech delivered by the now deceased Archbishop Athenagoras of Thyateira, representative of the Patriarch of Constantinople in England, on the occasion of his twentieth anniversary as a bishop. In his speech he vigorously defended the “irenic (peace-making) efforts” of Patriarch Athenagoras and of other primates of the local Orthodox Churches. Expressing indignation at the accusations directed against the ecumenists by certain Athenian theologians who strictly uphold Orthodoxy (for example, Professor K. Mouratidis), he—basing himself on the meetings of Patriarch Athenagoras with Pope Paul VI—boldly spoke of the march toward the “common chalice,” which these theologians characterize as heresy and apostasy from God, and he called their behavior “fanatical Phariseeism.” [4]

Such accusations may tomorrow be directed even against us. But they will not be able to divert us from the firm and fully conscious position we have chosen. Because:

1. We firmly believe both in the saving power of the holy Orthodox faith and that we will perish eternally if we betray it.

2. In taking our position against ecumenism we are guided both by our Orthodox feeling and by our Orthodox reason, which, with many arguments, supports us firmly in following the course we have chosen.

3. We also appeal to the history of the Church, from which we draw inspiration to follow unwaveringly the straight path of the holy and precious Orthodoxy, which today is treated so contemptuously both by its own and by outsiders.

For the present age of religious syncretism, we find an interesting parallel from the time of early Christianity. In a work by the French scholar Gaston Boissier, a specialist in the history of ancient Rome, [5] we read the following about the Church of Christ, which was subjected to severe persecutions already in the first centuries of its existence: “From the general agreement among all cults (in the Roman Empire—editor’s note) only two were excluded—Judaism and Christianity… All the religions managed to reach agreement by the way of mutual concessions. Only the Jews and the Christians, because of the character of their faith, could not accept this compromise.” This aroused strong anger against them in the Greek and Roman world. “Toward the Jews this hatred subsided only when they united with the pagans in order to persecute Christianity together.” Here the author recounts some very notable attempts through which the pagan world, not without the intervention of infernal powers, tried to attract Christians to its side. “Later attempts were made to bring God (of the Christians) into agreement with the others (the gods). Even the oracle of Apollo pretended to praise Him, and the philosopher Porphyry, although a zealous pagan, saw no difficulty in recognizing the divinity of Christ (see St. Augustine, The City of God, Book XIX, ch. 23). It is known that Emperor Alexander Severus placed His image together with the statues of Orpheus and Apollonius of Tyana in his household shrine, where he came every morning to pray to his gods. But this mixture caused horror among the true Christians.” To the promises and threats addressed to them by pagan philosophers, priests, and rulers, they responded with firm arguments from their sacred books and remained unshakable—even unto a martyr’s death—for the sake of their faith in the one true God, who in a wondrous way accomplished our salvation.

And today we are witnesses of the attempts of syncretistic ecumenism, through apparent recognition, material benefits, awards, and promises, to divert Orthodox Christians from the only saving Orthodox faith and to draw them into a destructive compromise. Unfortunately, however, that sacred horror is no longer present with which the ancient Christians rejected the very thought that their holy and undefiled faith might be placed on the same level as the crude pagan cults and that the Savior would take His place beside the impure idols of Apollo and Venus.

The majority of today’s Christians have at the center of their attention the arrangement of earthly life and the securing of earthly goods and pleasures. Ecumenism knows what to offer them: in the name of peace and the earthly well-being of humanity, let all faiths extend their hands to one another. This idea is seductive and is becoming increasingly popular. People want peace and earthly goods, and in their name, they are ready for every kind of religious compromise and religious syncretism. But that this is not pleasing to God, that it is forbidden by the Bible, by the sacred dogmas, and by the Church canons—this troubles them little. The important thing for them is only one: that religious disagreements be removed at the cost of every compromise and that an earthly “peace,” earthly “justice,” and earthly “happiness” be achieved, even if in this way one enters into conflict with God. But here something very essential is forgotten: in hostility toward the Living God and His divine truth, all attempts to establish earthly “peace,” earthly “justice,” and earthly “happiness” are doomed to failure. For “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

Today the ecumenists, like the ancient Roman pagans, are creating a new pantheon in which there is a place for every religious conviction. Orthodoxy also is welcome in this pantheon, provided only that it renounce its “claim” that it alone teaches the correct faith in God. If, however, it continues to emphasize its uniqueness and exclusiveness, then from being tolerated it becomes persecuted—and persecuted precisely by the Geneva ecumenism which has proclaimed “religious tolerance” as its fundamental principle.

What can we say about this misunderstood ecumenical “religious tolerance” or “tolerance,” which by no means wishes to remain within the limits of the good human relations prescribed to us by the Holy Church in the sphere of secular life? It is being imposed ever more insistently in the inviolable domain of faith, which is not subject to fleshly reasoning, in order to persuade the whole world that there is no difference between truth and falsehood (see Part II, basis 14, point “c”). Before this new idol of contemporary society, the Orthodox Church is today being compelled to sacrifice its exclusiveness and uniqueness. The thousand-year bearer of grace and truth must take a modest place among the 400 heretical denominations—those ever-multiplying offshoots of delusion.

But what does it mean for the Orthodox Church to renounce its exclusiveness and uniqueness? And what is it that makes it exclusive and unique?

It is God, Who dwells in her Theanthropic organism and guides her through the Holy Spirit!

It is the divinely revealed truth expressed in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, entrusted to her by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself—entrusted not to be distorted through corrections and additions according to someone’s taste, but to be preserved, like the apple of the eye, in its unchangeableness and purity.

It is the divine dogmas which sealed the Apostolic faith once and for all through the radiant struggle of the God-bearing Fathers, those holy instruments of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Church canons which have set eternal boundaries for safeguarding the sacred treasure entrusted to us.

It is everything that the Church has received, blessed, and venerated: the living and unceasing testimony in the Holy Spirit of the radiant and victorious martyrs and of our venerable and God-bearing Fathers, whose blood—shed before the throne of God in confession and martyrdom, or in unceasing ascetic struggles—today cries out to the Lord at the repulsive spectacle of universal apostasy.

Only when the Orthodox Church renounces all this sacred treasure of hers—only then can she renounce her exclusiveness and uniqueness. But this would mean that she renounces herself; that is, that she destroys herself! This is precisely what the ecumenists and their hidden inspirers demand of her! This is exactly what is aimed at through the shameful participation of the Orthodox in the God-opposing ecumenism, through the secretly prepared union at the highest level, through the backstage compromise between Orthodox and Monophysites arranged under the aegis of the World Council of Churches.

We are living in the terrible time of the Apostasy. Before our eyes the forces of evil—the “gates of hell”—are striving to prevail against the Church of Christ, shaking the eternal foundations of the faith. Horror seizes us when we see some local Orthodox Churches, which for centuries have been impregnable fortresses of the truth, standing only a step away from the fatal concelebration with heretics, on the very brink of the abyss of complete falling away from the Orthodox faith. All this happens because of our sins, by God’s permission, yet not without human will. We realize that with our weak hands we cannot stop the terrible avalanche of the Apostasy that rushes forward with dizzying force. But we can—this is what the word of God teaches us (see Rev. 18:4–5)—withdraw from it, so that we may not become participants in the sin of the profanation of God’s holy things.

We are convinced that, according to the immutable promise of Christ, the Orthodox Church will remain unshaken until the end of the world. Though small in number, yet supported by the grace of God, she will withstand the cunning and powerful attacks of her enemies. God, despite the immeasurably increasing apostasy from Him and from His holy Truth, will nevertheless preserve for Himself a remnant of people faithful to Him, who will not bow their knees to the ecumenical Baal (cf. 3 Kings 19:18).

For this very reason we have labored to gather here our arguments and considerations against the widely spread pan-heresy of ecumenism, nurturing the living hope that in the difficult contemporary circumstances we will prompt those who still thirst for God and for His righteousness to reflect deeply on the facts presented and, with full inner conviction and determination, to say together with us:

CAN WE, AFTER ALL THIS, BE ECUMENISTS?! — NO AND NO!!!

 

NOTES

1. Tsonevski, Il., T. Sabev. “The Fourth General Assembly of the WCC in Uppsala.” — In: journal Spiritual Culture, no. 55–6, 1969, p. 45.

2. Irenicon, — 4, 1971, p. 541.

3. See: Sabev, T. The Church-Calendar Question. Sofia, 1968, p. 3.

4. Irenicon, — 4, 1970, p. 559.

5. Boisier, Gaston. La Religion romaine d’Auguste aux Antonius. Vol. I. Paris, 1884, pp. 399–401.

 

Bulgarian source: https://bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/rr/lode/serafim-pravoslavie-ecumenism/13.htm

Full text of Православие и икуменизъм, Second Edition, published in Sofia in 1998:

https://bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/rr/lode/serafim-pravoslavie-ecumenism/index.htm

 

Papism-Ecumenism and the Duty of the Orthodox Christian

Aristeidis Daskalakis | March 10, 2026

 

 

“As the Church has received… so we proclaim” (Synodikon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council).

Words which no longer find wide application within the ranks of the Orthodox Church. We live in the age of concessions, of deviations, of insult toward the Divine, of the legalization of sin: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out” (Jn. 12:31). The ruler of this world shall be cast down from his authority. Yet the adversary, until the fulfillment of the prophecy, uses his instruments—rulers and shepherds—in order to harm humanity.

The state legislates—against God and against man. The governing Church often ratifies this or keeps a fish-like silence. The people are ignorant of the obligations that proceed from the Holy Tradition of the Church and from the Gospel. One drags another into a free fall toward the abyss of perdition.

The instigators are the various centers of power, whether political or religious. The great center of religious authority, the “Holy See (Sancta Sedes),” echoes and accelerates the plan of Zionism against humanity. The Vatican, synonymous with heresy, now resembles a supervising authority over the official Orthodox Church. It has already drawn it, through the dark movement of Ecumenism, into a whirlpool of disobedience to the will of God.

The Body of Christ, the Church, is being attacked. It is being attacked by dark forces, foreign centers of interests that pull the strings of humanity.

This demonic authority and the accompanying evils are permitted by God as a consequence of the fall and the alienation of humanity. The people of God are under persecution. They have sinned and are paying the price. An image of the fallen Greek-Orthodox people is constituted by the hierarchy of the Church.

We have become listeners to a new rhetoric about social responsibility, love for one’s neighbor, indiscriminate obedience, and economy. An “economy” that has ended up as lawlessness. Of a deluded episcopolatry and an absolute submission to the commands of authority.

We have seen sacraments being recognized among heretics. We have observed bishops presenting the Qur’an as a sacred book. Primates hiding their pectoral crosses before illegal migrants so as not to cause offense. We have been astonished by joint prayers, common prayers, and concelebrations of bishops of the Church of Greece with heretics, Muslims, and schismatics.

The pulpits have fallen silent. They have ceased to resound with the word of Truth. They no longer constitute launching points for the Orthodox struggle.

Instead, they have become echoes of governmental decisions and medical ultimatums.

And obedience to the Church is demanded. What is the Church? The hierarchy and the clergy? Is it not the people as well? What does Tradition teach us? Who was the Church?

Was it Saint Gregory Palamas or John XIV Kalekas, the Latin-minded one? Was it Saint Mark of Ephesus or Metrophanes II of Constantinople and the rest of the hierarchy? Was it Saint Maximus the Confessor or all the Patriarchates of his time? Was it Saint Cyril of Alexandria or Nestorius? Are not the saints models of conduct and imitation? Is not the Church also the triumphant one—the saints and Fathers who defined the dogmas?

What happens if the “church” (the official/governing one) becomes a fighter against Christ? What happens when it cooperates with, applauds, and promotes anti-Orthodox laws and practices?

The administration of the Orthodox Church, being secularized, often obeys indiscriminately the commands of the West. Of course, with notable exceptions.

We observe gatherings, conferences, common prayers, joint prayers, and finally concelebrations.

Papism, the offspring of schism, became the root of Enlightenment Europe, the principles of which constitute the negation of Byzantine civilization—of the East. It was based on myths and naïve forgeries, innovations originating from the childish ambitions of the barbarian tribes of the West to dominate the Christian world. It was a transaction between power and the church of the West—between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. The pope suddenly and unlawfully crowned Charlemagne as emperor, and the latter strengthened the former, serving him in ambitions of power and privileges against New Rome—Constantinople. This same pope had initially refused the invention of the Filioque, which came from Toledo in Spain. Nevertheless, the divergence had already begun, since a new empire in the West required a strong religious foundation in order to be established. And this was a differentiated Christianity, a heresy founded upon a multitude of forgeries: the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, the doctrine of infallibility, a different sign of the cross, the Eucharist with unleavened bread, the separation of Baptism and Chrismation, and many other innovations. There was a distortion and misunderstanding of the formulations of the Church’s experience, falsifications of history—things easily accepted by the illiterate people of the West—so that the consciousness of a different religion might be universally established, one that would support a new empire: the rival power of the Byzantine Empire.

The aim then was to serve political expediencies and religious ambitions. The aim today is the same, but on a greater scale. The empire of the West gives its place to a world dominion of centers of power, with the Church and faith used as a Trojan horse. The pope, the ruler of heresy, is placed as the head of a conglomeration of religions into which they also wish to cast Orthodoxy. Yet Orthodoxy is not a religion, but the revelation of Truth from the Creator of all things.

The catalyst is the Ecumenical movement, another invention of Papism, within which a large part of the official Orthodox Church has also been incorporated.

How can we converse and negotiate with the enemies of the Lord? How do we tolerate the pope appearing at services in the Holy Church of Church of St. George at the Ecumenical Patriarchate [at the Phanar]?

How do we tolerate papal clerics wandering about in the holy churches of our country, invited by metropolises and parishes?

What did the saints of our Church teach us? What legacy did they leave us?

A great defender of the faith and of dogma: Saint Nicholas of Myra.

Saint Nicholas of Myra took part in the First Council of Nicaea (in Nicaea in A.D. 325), where he distinguished himself for his wisdom and moral perfection. He stood out at the First Ecumenical Council against Arius, who taught and loudly proclaimed that Christ is not God, but a creature and a creation of God. At a certain moment, when Saint Nicholas saw that Arius was attempting to silence the bishops, moved by holy indignation he rose and delivered a strong slap to Arius. The reason that Saint Nicholas struck the heretic was not hatred or the rejection of love toward a human person (Arius), but steadfastness in his love for God. “A rule of faith and an image of meekness, a teacher of temperance…” begins the apolytikion of the saint.

This was not a passionate gesture, but the result of theological exactness, accompanied, however, by an inner experience, the counterpart of which we can find only in the scriptural account of the driving out of the merchants from the temple by the Son of God.

Holy Diadochos of Photiki, in the One Hundred Practical Chapters, emphasizes: “Anger, more than the other passions, disturbs and confuses the soul; yet sometimes it also benefits it greatly. For when we use it without agitation against the impious or the licentious, so that they may be saved or put to shame, then we add meekness to our soul, because we act in accordance with the purpose of the justice and goodness of God.”

Saint Nektarios emphasizes that: “By saying that the Pope is the head of the Church, he has expelled from the Western Church the Master of all, Christ, and thus the Western Church has remained a widow deprived of Christ.”

Saint Theodore the Studite continues: “If there are any monks in these times, let them show it in their deeds. And the work of a monk is to tolerate no innovation in the Gospel.”

Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite: “Heretics are called those whose difference immediately and directly concerns the faith in God; that is, those who are separated from the Orthodox in faith and dogmas and are entirely estranged.”

Saint Mark of Ephesus: “Flee the Papists as one flees from a serpent and from the face of fire.”

Saint John Chrysostom: “A correct life is of no benefit when the dogmas are corrupted.” (EPE 23, 492–494)

Saint John of Kronstadt: “There is no other Christian confession apart from Orthodoxy.”

Saint Ephraim of Philotheou: “He who does not believe according to the Tradition of the Church is an unbeliever.”

Saint Ephraim of Katounakia: “Ecumenism has a spirit of wickedness and is ruled by unclean spirits.”

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos: “Ecumenism, and the common market, one great state, one religion according to their measures. These are plans of devils. The Zionists are preparing someone as a messiah. There are also some who begin with a good intention. But when magicians, fire-worshippers, Protestants, and a whole crowd gather together—you cannot make sense of it—to bring peace to the world, how can they help? May God forgive me, these are the devil’s rags.”

These and many other things the saints of our Church confess concerning the pope and ecumenism.

In recent years we have become recipients or hearers of new terminology, terms, and neologisms—new words, or words with altered meaning or new interpretation: the famous dictionary of ecumenism.

Of the movement that is the Trojan horse which will allow the army of heretics and the deluded to dominate the global religious sphere. It is one aspect, one dimension of globalization.

This Trojan horse was constructed chiefly for the impregnable fortress of Orthodoxy. Its guardians are the Holy Fathers and Confessors, the exiled bishops who suffered greatly in exile, the Martyrs, the fragrant flowers of the faith, and the Apostles throughout the centuries. And this fortress has around it a wide and deep moat, filled with blood—the blood of the holy confessors—within which all the enemies of the faith are drowned who attempt to overthrow this fortress.

According to Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios, ecumenism is the final forerunner of the Antichrist. It is the heresy that recognizes truth in all heresies. For this reason, it is called a “pan-heresy” (Saint Justin Popović).

But what is heresy? It means the selection and preference of one part of the truth at the expense of the whole truth—the catholic (universal) truth. It is the opposite of catholicity. It absolutizes one aspect of the experiential certainty of the Church and thus inevitably relativizes all the others.

The Church reacted to heresies by marking the boundaries of its truth, that is, the living experience of the early Christian times. Originally, what today we call dogma was then called a Oros (definition), that is, a boundary or frontier of the truth.

The dogmas of today are the definitions of the Ecumenical Councils of the Holy Fathers of the Church. Those doctrinal decisions which formulate the soteriological truth of the Church, thus setting a boundary between this truth and its corruption by heresy.

What we call dogma today therefore appears when the experience of the ecclesiastical truth comes to be threatened by heresy.

About these boundaries Saint Basil the Great speaks: “Every boundary of the Fathers has been moved, every foundation and every stronghold of the dogmas has been shaken. Everything totters and is shaken, hanging upon a weak base” (Basil the Great, PG 32, 212–213).

And the Fathers defined the dogmas. They spoke in the Holy Spirit and overcame the heresies.

Today, of course, spiritual decay prevails, the defenses have fallen, and the gates of the fortress stand wide open. And unfortunately, the guardians are lacking—or they are few.

Ecumenism uses verbal weapons in order to touch the emotions of the faithful:

1) It tells us that we must love our neighbor. Within the framework of this love, therefore, and since we aim at the salvation of the heretic, we must love whatever new thing he proclaims and accept it. We love sinners, not sin. Nor do we love the official representatives of sinful people who legitimize sin (associations of homosexuals, parties of pedophiles, heretical organizations, etc.). We love each human being individually and personally because he is the image of God—but not groups of sinners, heretics, or deluded people. We will not legitimize sin for the sake of such a false love, a love alien to the one preached by Christ—a love from which Christ is absent.

In the Gospel the Lord tells us: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37–39), and “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30).

2) It accuses those who struggle against the destroyers of the patristic faith of judging and condemning sacred things. It tells us that the sinner must be covered. However, the Fathers dealt differently with the sinner and differently with the heretic. To all these Saint John Chrysostom replies: “The ‘Judge not, that you be not judged’ concerns life, not faith” (P.G. 63, 231–232).

Saint Theodore the Studite is categorical: “It is a command of the Lord that one must not remain silent in circumstances where the Faith is in danger. For He says, ‘Speak and do not keep silent’ [Acts 18:9], and ‘If he draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him’ [Heb. 10:38], and ‘If these should keep silent, the stones will cry out’ [Luke 19:40]. Therefore, when it concerns the Faith, it is not possible for anyone to say, ‘Who am I?’”

3) It tells us that we must not harbor hatred toward heretics, since the anti-heretical struggle supposedly breathes hatred and envy.

Saint John Chrysostom replies: “With my words I persecute not the heretic, but the heresy; I do not turn away from the man, but I hate the error and wish to draw him back” (PG 50, 701).

Did Saint Nicholas of Myra hate the man when he struck Arius? Was Saint Mark of Ephesus filled with hatred when, in a letter to Bishop Theophanes, he characterized the heretics as “wretches” and “scoundrels”?

Was Saint Kosmas of Aetolia a man of hatred when he cursed the pope?

Rather, they loved Christ greatly—more than man—and they could not endure the insult against His Person.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos tells us that “in order to pray together with someone, we must agree in the faith.”

And if we do not agree, then according to the Tradition and the canons of the Church this entails a penalty:

Canon 65 of the Holy Apostles:

“If any clergyman or layman enters into a synagogue of Jews or of heretics to pray, let him be both deposed and excommunicated.”

Canon 70 of the Holy Apostles:

“If any Christian brings oil to a temple of the pagans, or to a synagogue of the Jews during their feasts, or lights lamps there, let him be excommunicated.”

Canon 32 of the Local Council of Laodicea:

“That one must not receive blessings from heretics, which are rather absurdities than blessings.”

Canon 37 of the Local Council of Laodicea:

“That one must not receive festive gifts sent by Jews or heretics, nor celebrate together with them.”

Canon 33 of the Local Council of Laodicea:

“That one must not pray together with heretics or schismatics.”

From what we know, neither common prayer nor joint prayer is permitted, nor of course concelebration.

4) It insists that we must obey the episcopal authority, our spiritual father, the Synod, and so on. Even if this concerns immoral sin or heresy? Is indiscriminate and blind obedience characteristic of Orthodoxy?

Did not Paul the Apostle say: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8)?

Did not Saint Athanasius of Alexandria say: “If the bishop or the presbyter, who are the eyes of the Church, conduct themselves wickedly and scandalize the people, they must be cast out. For it is better to assemble in a house of prayer without them than with them to be cast, as with Annas and Caiaphas, into the Gehenna of fire”?

The holy Elder Philotheos Zervakos emphasizes: “Respect toward bishops, priests, and elders refers to Christ Himself. But if they are heretics, then we obey only God.”

5) It maintains that we alone do not possess the truth. It would be great arrogance to think such a thing. Then we would have to reproach Saint Maximus the Confessor, who alone and deserted (without even being a bishop), standing against the entire ecclesiastical power of his time (which then also greatly influenced the political authority), raised the banner of struggle and of non-communion without being intimidated. Was the saint arrogant? Were all the martyrs arrogant who suffered martyrdom because of heresies that today are recognized as churches?

6) Ecclesiastical academies or organized seminars are beginning to arise which teach ecumenism (as something beneficial).

In the second chapter of the decree on ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, in paragraph 10, it states:

“Theological courses, as well as the others, especially the historical ones, must be taught in an ecumenical spirit, so that they may correspond more accurately to the truth of the facts. It is indeed very important that pastors and priests possess theology developed precisely in this manner and not polemically, especially in matters concerning the relations of the brethren who are separated from the Catholic Church. For upon the training of priests depends to a very great extent the necessary education and spiritual formation of the faithful and of the monks.”

We are experiencing the transformation of theology. A new theology is being enlisted—the so-called post-patristic theology.

Academics are being enlisted in a frenzied struggle for career and distinction, and they openly preach heresy, deceiving clergy and people: “And there shall be false teachers among you, who shall secretly bring in destructive heresies” (the Apostle Peter — 2 Peter 2:1).

7)  It urges us toward economy. But what kind of economy is this which allows papists to attend services in Orthodox churches, priests to defend heresy, bishops to pray together, to participate in joint prayers, to announce the coming “common chalice,” and to permit heretics to enter the Holy Altar? Does this bring any benefit to the members or to the whole of the Church?

Characteristic in this regard is the incident that occurred during the patriarchate of Germanus II of Constantinople, when the Patriarchal Synod wished for a moment to appear lenient and to permit the Cypriot Hierarchy “by economy” to comply with certain terms imposed by the Latin conquerors. As soon as the decision became known, enraged crowds of clergy, monks, and laymen burst into the hall where the Synod was meeting and, after declaring that they considered this compliance a denial of the faith, demanded that the Patriarch revoke the decision. The Patriarchal Synod, respecting the conscience of the faithful people, withdrew the decision that had been taken by economy.

Today we have operated upon love with the scalpel of reason. Whatever is commanded to us by God passes through the sieve of reason—even love itself.

And the great evil comes when clergy—esteemed in the conscience of the flock—proclaim another “love,” one that has no place for God. A love that is subject to judgment, to dialogue, to discussion; that does not act within the world but acts together with the world; that surrenders to the spirit of the times, to the spirit of the devil; that is subject not to the control of conscience, but to that of reason.

Today the prophetic word is lacking—the cry of anguish of Saint John the Baptist, of Saint Kosmas of Aetolia, and of the blessed Augustine Kantiotes.

There is no time left for faith in God, for love toward the Lord. Priority is given to “love” for the neighbor. But this neighbor is our own self. In the person of others, we justify our own passions. Thus this false “love,” which grants forgiveness of sins to the unrepentant neighbor—and to ourselves—leads us to the precipice and to destruction, according to the saying: “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit” (Matt. 15:14).

This “love,” which accepts sin (and not the sinner in repentance) instead of casting it out, the new order of things in our Church—through popular and celebrated clerics—maintains and even increases.

A large part of the hierarchy now sleeps. Our saints have prepared us.

Saint John Maximovitch tells us: “In the last times evil and heresy will have spread so greatly that the faithful will not find a priest or shepherd to protect them from deception and to guide them toward salvation. Then the faithful will not be able to receive safe guidance from men, but their guide will be the writings of the Holy Fathers. Especially in that time each believer will be responsible for the whole fullness of the Church.”

Elder Gabriel of Dionysiou: “We owe obedience to our bishops and to our spiritual fathers when they rightly divide the word of truth. But when they do not rightly divide the word of truth and say heretical things, not only must we not obey them, but even if an angel from heaven should descend and tell us something contrary to what the Church teaches, we must not obey.”

I conclude with a saying of the holy and blessed Elder Athanasios Mitilinaios:

“Let us be vigilant people, studying the word of God, so that we may be able to protect ourselves. For today those who are appointed to protect you do not protect you.”

What is our duty, as lay people, being members of the body of the Church? Do we not all have the duty of correction, as the Gospel urges us? The Holy Fathers of Orthodoxy proclaim that even the last wheel of the cart bears responsibility.

All of us sinners? Is this correction perhaps a duty that completes the work of our repentance?

The Apostle of the nations speaks to us about correction. What kind of correction? Not condemnation, which is a sin: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:11).

Of whose works does he speak? Clearly of those who cause scandal. If the one who performs dark works is an official or a recognized public figure, then we must rebuke him publicly for provocative actions that harm and lead the flock onto dangerous paths—without, of course, publicly shaming him. We censure acts and situations, especially when those acts or actions are characterized by an anti-Orthodox scent of heresy, a scent of ecumenism and pan-religion. Silence is betrayal, especially when deeds and words distort the divine commandments and the word of the Gospel.

Let us follow the counsel of the divine Paul the Apostle, who tells us:

“Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light’” (Eph. 5:14).

(The rebuke for the manifestation of evil and the correction of the sinner must be made; for this reason the Holy Spirit also reproves and cries out to every sinner: Arise, you who sleep the sleep of sin, and stand upright from among the dead of sin, and Christ will enlighten you.)

And if some do not wish to listen, then: “Reject a heretical man after the first and second admonition” (Titus 3:10).

Observing the reaction of many leaders of the Church, we remember the words of the Gospel: “For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God” (John 12:43).

We must react. And if it is not we, others will be found, according to the words of the Lord: “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).

Let us not be influenced by the current of the age. Let us not be carried away by quantity, but by quality. Let the words of the great Fyodor Dostoevsky be engraved in our soul:

“If the whole world goes in one direction, and Christ in the other, I will go behind Christ.”

 

Greek source: https://ethnegersis.blogspot.com/2026/03/blog-post_10.html