In 2016, Protopresbyter Angelos Angelakopoulos, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, presented a paper entitled, “A Contribution on Issue of the Cessation of Commemoration.” In it, he explained the position of those who believe “the right, and at the same time, the obligation” (Blessed Nikodim Milaš ) of ceasing the commemoration of accused heretics is actually “optional” and not required of the faithful.
Elder Alypios of Kapsala, Mount Athos
Comments on the pamphlet "Contribution to the Issue of the Cessation of Commemoration" by Fr. Angelos Angelakopoulos, priest of the Holy Church of the Theotokos, Lofos Vokou, Piraeus (January 10, 2018)
August 2018
"The error of the shepherds [Ecumenists] is the shipwreck of those who commune with them" (Maximus the Confessor, P.G. 102, 698)
In this 31-page text, there is an “interpretation” of the sacred canons 15 of the First-Second Council and the 31st Apostolic canon. It states that St. Theodore the Studite ceased the commemoration of Patriarch Joseph. This is wrong, as St. Theodore ceased the commemoration of Patriarchs Tarasios and Nikephoros. It praises Fr. Epiphanios Theodoropoulos as a reputable and exceptional canonist, quoting from his book The Two Extremes, Ecumenism and Zealotry and concludes that Canon 15 is optional (meaning that whoever wants can apply it), not obligatory, and that the faithful can attend churches with priests who have Orthodox views even if they commemorate Ecumenist bishops. The book The Two Extremes has been refuted by the Athonite hieromonk Fr. Theodoretos in the book The Antidote, where all the heretical positions of Fr. Epiphanios are invalidated, as they lack Patristic testimony.
Fr. Angelos refers to what Metropolitan Augustinos Kantiotes wrote: “...when a clergyman openly preaches unorthodox teachings, a decision of deposition by a competent synodal court is not required.” In other words, he adopts the papal interpretation regarding the automatic loss of grace as soon as heresy appears [latae sententiae-tr.], and a synodal condemnation of the heretic is not necessary, whereas the sacred canons state that the council condemns the unrepentant heretic. This, of course, is in complete opposition and contradiction to what he supports, teaches, and professes in his text, because according to the above theory of Bishop Augustine Kantiotes, which Fr. Angelos seems to accept, Patriarch Bartholomew no longer performs valid Mysteries, and consequently, all those who have communion with him (e.g., Seraphim of Piraeus and others) automatically partake in his heresy and are also deposed. Therefore, Fr. Angelos commemorates someone who, according to him, is deposed, which results in him condemning himself and all those who commemorate such hierarchs as not having priesthood!!!
Fr. Angelos believes that the only clergy in Greece who correctly apply the cessation of commemoration are Fr. Theodoros Zisis, Fr. Nikolaos Manolis, and Fr. Photios Benzynias. When Fr. Theodoros Zisis ceased commemorating Anthimos of Thessaloniki, in the following days he attended a service at the Monastery of St. Nikodemos (in Igoumenitsa), where they commemorate the arch-heretic Bartholomew. This is uncanonical, and justifiably, Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki could depose him because this is not a walling-off from the heresy of Ecumenism, since Fr. Theodoros commemorated the arch-Ecumenist Bartholomew and has communion with those who commemorate Anthimos as Orthodox (like Seraphim of Piraeus and other "anti-Ecumenist bishops" who, in practice, accept the false council). Therefore, Fr. Theodoros' cessation of commemoration seems to stem from personal reasons, making him liable for legitimate deposition due to factionalism! Similarly, Fr. Nikolaos Manolis ceased commemorating Anthimos of Thessaloniki, and the following Sunday, during the Divine Liturgy in his parish, he was in the sanctuary praying with priests who were commemorating Anthimos of Thessaloniki. This cannot be called economy and pastoral discernment but is a betrayal of the faith. Fr. Photios Benzynias ceased the liturgy but not the commemoration; he stopped serving so as not to be accused of "setting up his own altar." Now, what has changed that he serves again?
Fr. Theodoros Zisis used to say that the Athonite monks who had separated (from the Church) were following exactness, while he was following economy. Now, why does he accuse us of creating a schism? What has changed since then? We have not changed anything and continue to apply the exactness of the Holy Fathers. Nothing less, nothing more.
When we commemorate an Ecumenist bishop, we share in the faith that he holds, regardless of what we ourselves believe. In the Divine Liturgy, we commemorate him as one who rightly teaches the word of truth, meaning we lie and, by communing in his faith, we ourselves become heretics. Canon 15 of the First-Second Council calls him "so-called bishop" because he has the grace of the priesthood (he has not been deposed by a council), but also "pseudo-bishop and pseudo-teacher" because he teaches false doctrine. Since (according to the above canon) those who have separated from the pseudo-shepherd and those who commune with him are worthy of honor, then those who commemorate him are the ones who create a schism in the Church and are worthy of condemnation and punishment. In Constantinople, during the time of the Iconoclast patriarch Anastasios (730-754), Christians — led by women — stoned the Iconoclasts at the Chalke Gate, reproving them, and were martyred.
The Church commemorates them on August 10th. Today, such actions are unfortunately characterized as rebellions, fanaticism, the works of Christians possessed by demons, who are outside the Church... On the contrary, those who await a council (e.g., the Iconoclast council of "Hieria," year 754 A.D.) continue to commemorate the enemies of God, just as Fr. Epiphanios Theodoropoulos, their teacher, did, and they consider themselves prudent, discerning, and within the bishop-centered Church.
It would be honest to say: "We do not want to be reproached, persecuted, lose our salaries and positions for the sake of truth, and that is why we do not separate ourselves," rather than justifying themselves by misinterpreting the Holy Canons and becoming heretics. They not only betray the Holy Fathers, but they also abolish the Orthodox patristic tradition, advising us to follow the insights of "God-inspired and charismatic elders," while discarding the solution provided by the Church itself through the Holy Canons by the Holy Spirit regarding what we ought to do in times of heresy, throwing it into the trash, and essentially abolishing the patristic tradition!
The optional interpretation of Canon 15 serves the Ecumenists and the lukewarm, indifferent, and cowardly Christians. In this way, bishops maintain their unity, which centers on themselves and not on the faith, while Christians free themselves from the pangs of conscience for the confessional struggle for the FAITH that they should be engaging in. The 33rd Apostolic Canon demands a thorough examination of the cleric's faith before any Orthodox Christian communes with him. If the canon were optional, the holy apostles would not have legislated such things, nor would there have been confessors in times of heresy. Today, we would not be Orthodox. The fire of the pan-heresy of Ecumenism is extinguished only with the obligatory interpretation of Canon 15 of the First-Second Council, which means walling-off (from heretics) and, with God's help, the convening of an Orthodox Council that will rectify the current evils.
St. Theodore the Studite shows us the path of good struggle that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven: “My body is parchment and my blood is ink, to always write NO to heresy. Both to have the Orthodox faith and to avoid communion with false teachers (Ecumenists). He who does not anathematize the heretical shepherd belongs to the same portion as him.” P.G.: 99, 953 and p. 1028b.
The Athonite monks who have walled-off do not consider the Mysteries of those commemorating Ecumenist shepherds to be invalid, but that they are deprived of sanctifying grace due to the heresy of Ecumenism, and for this reason, they cease communion with them. [That is, what grace they possess serves "unto their condemnation," not sanctification. -tr.] They have published this in printed materials, websites, and even in the newspaper Orthodoxos Typos.
In 1987, on Mount Athos, monks from the cells around Karyes and Kapsala, 42 elders in total, ceased commemorating Patriarch Demetrios (this was published on the front page of Orthodoxos Typos). At that time, the Athonites who were afraid to cease commemoration justified themselves by saying, "We do not have [enough-tr.] information to stop commemorating Patriarch Demetrios." The separated monks responded then: "The Holy Fathers, in the Ecumenical Councils, handed down Canons on what should be done when a problem arises, and they did not say that Christians should ask the spiritual fathers and elders of their time and that God will inform them!! The holy martyrs who ceased communion with the heretics before a council was convened—were they outside the Church? Whoever wishes to honor them and walk in their footsteps of confession must imitate them in walling-off."
The Most Holy Theotokos, when the Latin-minded came to Mount Athos to impose the Union of Lyons (1274 A.D.) with the Papists, said: "The enemies of My Son and Me are coming."
"He who communes with pseudo-shepherds and heretics becomes an enemy of God" (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1205)
The true faith, says St. Ignatius the God-bearer, is the vehicle that leads to God, while works (prayer, good deeds, etc.) are the path. One cannot be Orthodox if they commune with Ecumenists.
St. Anastasios of Sinai, in the book The Guide, says in the first question that a true Christian is a house of God, composed of correct doctrines and works of keeping the commandments of the Gospel.
The saints say that the Orthodox faith and works of love are the two wings that lift us to the kingdom of heaven. "The whole world is not worth a single soul that is kept undefiled from heretical communion and all evil." (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1205)
Many claim that Christians should wait for more people to be informed about the pan-heresy of Ecumenism before separating. The response of the Fathers is as follows: "You place the doctrine of unity above the doctrine of truth, and what happened to the Papists will happen to you, as they have reached this wretched state. Instead of protesting and separating immediately when the innovation appeared, they remained in condemned communion, and here are the results."
What is the benefit of having all the virtues and lacking the true faith? Likewise, what is the benefit of having precise faith without love for one's neighbor and a humble mindset? Whoever is poor in one or the other, let them enrich themselves by working accordingly.
The Ecumenists, by promoting miracles and spiritual struggles "within the Church," confuse the flock, which remains in guilty communion with them. St. Photius writes: "They fight against Christ [the Ecumenists] under the name of peace" (P.G.: 102, 873). And St. Basil the Great, in his 295th letter, says: "Faith is what saves us, working through love." In times of heresy, God's command through the Holy Canons and the Holy Fathers is "do not commune with heretical shepherds," meaning walling-off. "He who does not follow the commandments, by the measure of his inaction, demonstrates the degree of his unbelief and, accordingly, receives the deprivation of divine grace" (St. Maximus the Confessor, To Thalassios, Question 54).
"The Orthodox faith is considered the foundation from which every virtue is born" (St. Gregory of Nyssa, P.G.: 45, 588). The violator of the Holy Canons "is, by the Canons themselves, to be deposed (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 997) because by competent ecclesiastical authority, he is to be put to judgment." Until the condemnation of Nestorius, the Mysteries performed by him were considered valid, "none of those ordained by him were deposed" (St. Photius, P.G.: 104, 1224). Until the synodal condemnation of the Iconoclast pseudo-shepherds, both innovators and those adhering to Orthodoxy were said by the 7th Ecumenical Council to be in disagreement but still within the Church—some in favor of heresy, others in favor of Orthodoxy (Letter of the 7th Ecumenical Council, Mansi 13, 408).
The universal Church is infallible and invincible. However, the faithful or local churches can be defeated in matters of faith (through divisions, schisms, or falling into heresy). The Church "has been likened" to a field with wheat and tares. Those who err concerning the Orthodox faith and sin, but have not yet been judged synodally, are considered diseased members of the Church.
All the Ecumenical Councils were the fruit of the holy struggles of those who had walled-off.
Communion with shepherds who teach false doctrines brings defilement, makes one an enemy of God, and leads to eternal damnation (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1205 A, 1275 C, and 1665 A). "There is defilement even from the mere act of commemoration. A priest or bishop who commemorates a heretic [today, an Ecumenist shepherd] cannot be Orthodox" (1669 A). St. Theodore the Studite continues regarding defilement, writing: "As St. Athanasius commands, have no communion with heretics, nor with those who commune with the impious" (1393 A). Such communion, according to St. Gregory of Nyssa (P.G.: 44, 233), is a progression toward the worse, meaning eternal loss of the soul. Whereas holding fast to the Orthodox tradition signifies ascent to the kingdom of heaven (Triodion, Orthros of Holy Monday). St. Cyril of Alexandria writes to the Christians of Constantinople, who had no ecclesiastical communion with Nestorius (before the Third Ecumenical Council), blessing them for not being defiled: "You have kept yourselves spotless and unblemished, not communing with Nestorius, for he is not a shepherd but a wolf" (Mansi 4,1096).
"Whoever teaches unorthodox doctrines [like the Ecumenists] becomes defiled and will be led to the unquenchable fire, as will those who listen to him, commemorate him, and commune with him." (St. Ignatius the God-bearer, P.G.: 5,657)
"The acceptance of false doctrine is the murder of the soul" (St. Basil the Great, P.G.: 32, 525c). He who communes with or commemorates a pseudo-bishop is defiled, meaning his soul is darkened and he comes to the audacity of sin (becoming a liar, unjust, persecutor, etc.) (St. Basil the Great, P.G.: 30, 756c). "We should not commune with those who falter in the faith" (Epistle 266 of St. Basil). "Communion with false teachers is spiritual adultery" (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1176).
"Commemoration and communion with pseudo-shepherds defiles, just as one who breathes in a place filled with those suffering from a contagious [fatal] disease becomes ill. Association with the wicked transmits great evils to the soul." (St. John of Damascus, P.G.: 96, 353)
"I will always remain without communion with the Pope and with those who commune with him" (Patriarch Gennadios). "Where there is Orthodox faith, there is the Holy Spirit; where there is unbelief [i.e., Ecumenism], there is the evil spirit" (St. John of Damascus, P.G.: 96,533).
"A shepherd who does not teach the divine commandments with precision will be judged as a murderer for the loss of souls. Those who follow such a pseudo-shepherd will perish." (St. Basil the Great, E.P.E. 31,46)
If walling-off (from heretics) is optional, why do the councils and the saints speak of defilement and the death of the soul for anyone who remains in communion with pseudo-shepherds? Why do the Apostolic Constitutions (2.19) say that whoever follows pseudo-shepherds faces death and must flee from them to avoid eternal damnation?
Why does St. Gregory Palamas say that we should avoid those who do not accept the patristic interpretations (P.G.: 151, 421), just as he himself did not commemorate [Patriarch John XIV] Kalekas, if walling-off from wolf-shepherds were an optional matter? St. John Chrysostom cries out: "What are you doing, O man? You commune with those who despise the sacred laws?" (He does not say here that whoever wants may commemorate or commune with them!).
Those who commune with or remain silent regarding those holding perverted doctrines are worthy of great penalties and punishments (7th Canon of the 3rd Ecumenical Council).
The Council of 1351 in Constantinople, which anathematized Barlaam and Akindynos, legislates the cessation of communion not only with heretics but also with those who commune with them (Dogmatic and Symbolic Theology, Volume II, p. 271, John Romanides). In Deuteronomy it says: "Before you is the way of life [keeping the divine commandments, confession of faith, and cessation of communion with pseudo-shepherds] and the way of death [today, communion with the excommunicated Ecumenists]. Choose life!" (Deuteronomy 30:19).
"The fight against Ecumenism is already taking place by informing the clergy and laity about the pseudo-council of Kolymbari through books, conferences..." (Fr. Angelos Angelakopoulos).
No reason for walling-off! St. Basil the Great in his 92nd letter: "...the churches are deserted by the congregants, they flee from the churches... as if they were schools of impiety!" "The flock may be small, but it is not being led to destruction" (St. Gregory the Theologian).
The command for walling-off is so strong that anyone attempting to overturn it is subject, according to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, to deposition or excommunication (Canon 2, Sixth Ecumenical Council). The Third Canon of the Third Ecumenical Council justifies the faithful who separated from Nestorius before he was condemned synodally, which is why Nestorius excommunicated them.
Fr. Angelos justifies himself for commemorating his Metropolitan, Seraphim, because he claims that he does not preach heresy, is opposed to Ecumenism and the Council of Crete, and has written letters of protest to the Pope, Bartholomew, and Erdoğan, etc. However, as previously mentioned, the saints state the responsibility of those who commune with and commemorate Ecumenists. He concelebrates with companions in the pan-heresy of Ecumenism. Every Sunday of Orthodoxy, Seraphim of Piraeus anathematizes the Ecumenists by reading the Synodikon, yet he continues to commune with pseudo-shepherds, thereby anathematizing himself. "He who communes with one who is excommunicated shall also be excommunicated" (Canon 2 of the Council of Antioch). He praises Bartholomew by sending a gift to the Patriarch: a photograph of himself in an icon. "Those who dare to think or teach otherwise," says the Seventh Ecumenical Council, "or those who disregard the ecclesiastical traditions established by the impious heretics and invent some innovation, we order them to be deposed" (Definition of the 7th Ecumenical Council). Therefore, according to the Council, even those who despise the holy traditions are considered heretics!
Woe, however, to the so-called anti-Ecumenists, the only clergy in Greece who, according to Fr. Angelos Angelakopoulos, correctly apply the cessation of commemoration (see page 2 of the pamphlet in hand), such as Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, and others who share the same views. Not only do they not enter the arena of confession, but they also hinder those who wish to enter, allowing Ecumenism to advance more freely. Surely, St. Basil the Great must have had people like them in mind when he wrote: "In addition to the open warfare from the heretics, there is also the rebellion from those who appear to be Orthodox, which has brought the churches to the utmost weakness" (Epistle 92).
For decades, the "anti-Ecumenists" have been informing the flock... They acknowledge the disease (the pan-heresy of Ecumenism), but they never come to the cure (= walling-off). Positions, salary, worldly status, and glory cannot coexist with confession (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1364).
"Works of repentance without pious doctrines (commemoration and communion with Ecumenists) are not accepted by God." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 4, 2).
When King Jehoshaphat allied with King Ahab of Israel in war against the Syrians and returned to his house in Jerusalem, the prophet Jehu said: "King Jehoshaphat, do you help the wicked and have friendship with those whom God despises?" (2 Chronicles 19:1-3). To Jehoshaphat himself, for collaborating with the idolater Ahaziah, the prophet Eliezer said: "Because you have allied with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works, and your ships are broken..." (2 Chronicles 20:35-37). These things happened in the Old Testament to the people of Israel. We Orthodox are the New Israel, the flock of the Church. Friendship, cooperation (and even more so, joint prayer) with the impious provokes God's anger, making us captives of the devil. When the prophet Elisha was sick, King Joash of Israel visited him. The prophet told the king to shoot an arrow out of the window toward the ground, and this would be a "symbol of the Lord's salvation" — victory over Syria until the end. Joash shot three times, and the prophet was saddened and said: "If you had shot five or six times, you would have completely defeated Syria; now you will only defeat them three times" [and afterward, there will be captivity and all the evils that come with it]. (2 Kings 13:14-19).
These historical events are repeated for every Christian in the spiritual warfare. The enemies today, understood allegorically, are the demons who have captured and direct the heretics. The demons, through passions, wage war against people. If we do not "shoot the arrow" five or six times—that is, if we do not exert all our efforts in keeping the divine commandments, confessing the Orthodox faith, and maintaining separation from pseudo-shepherds (Ecumenists)—we cannot, with God's help, defeat our enemy, the devil, and we will be eternally with him. In times of heresy, this is the "wedding garment" (Orthodox faith, confession of truth unto death) for our entrance into the "Wedding of the Bridegroom," and works of love (= keeping the divine commandments) are the path that leads us to the house of the Bridegroom (that is, the Kingdom of Heaven). The first miracle of the Heavenly Bridegroom on earth took place at the wedding in Cana, where the Lord was with the Theotokos and His disciples. St. Maximus the Confessor, interpreting this allegorically, says: "The Bridegroom is the mind, the Bride is virtue. The Mother of the Logos is true faith." Just as the Theotokos is the mother of Christ according to the flesh, and the Logos is naturally the Creator as God, so in us, the Logos first creates faith, and afterward becomes the "son" of our faith (becoming incarnate through the practice of virtues), granting us the gifts of salvation. Without Orthodox faith (and the Logos being both God by nature and son by grace), we have no boldness before God.
[Fearful is the word! No boldness... meaning there is no salvation!] "Ascending towards God, let us omit none of the aforementioned things [=cessation of communion with pseudo-shepherds], so that by neglecting the faith, we do not hold it blindly [without the illuminations of the Spirit through works] and thus be justly condemned to endless ages..." (St. Maximus, P.G.: 90, 1277D and P.G.: 90, 400C)
"Many are those who speak, few are those who act. No one should distort the word of God due to their own negligence, but they should confess their own weakness while not hiding the Truth of God, so that we do not become guilty, both for transgressing the commandments and for misinterpreting [= misunderstandings, anti-patristic teachings] the word of God." (St. Maximus the Confessor, Fourth Century on Love, 85)
The great Athanasius says: "He who follows a pseudo-shepherd is led to damnation" (P.G.: 26, 1321).
We must not have ecclesiastical communion with those whose mindset we reject. (P.G.: 26, 1188)
Whoever speaks or teaches without patristic evidence speaks falsehood (P.G.: 26, 1132), and "he invents for himself things that ought not to be... saying things unworthy of God, and has an inexcusable judgment for his audacity" (P.G.: 26, 224 B). The Ecumenists and those who commune with them are controlled by the evil spirit (P.G.: 26, 376 C), and even when reproved, they do not stop, failing to see what they ought to see (P.G.: 26, 321 B C). The Holy Spirit remains with us as long as we preserve it through confession (P.G.: 26, 373 C). From the defilement of communion with Ecumenists comes darkness (= a depraved mind that does what is not proper... denying separation) (P.G.: 26, 477 C), and they lack the eyes to see the truth, as the martyr Kordatos said to the tyrant: "The truth seems dark to you because your spiritual eyes are blind."
"Flee from those who corrupt godliness. They have a soul aligned with the devil, so that you do not suffer eternal damnation." (P.G.: 26, 1257)
Together with the heretics, those who disagree in words but commune with pseudo-shepherd Ecumenists are condemned. (St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1049, 1164, 1205)
As the head is, so is the whole body (according to St. Theodore the Studite, P.G.: 99, 1553), emphasizing the responsibility and harm to the soul that comes simply from being in communion with a heretical shepherd. Obedience is true faith and a life filled with God.
Praiseworthy and God-pleasing unity is one: the true confession of the FAITH.
We strive to be outside the "church" that does not acknowledge its uniqueness but recognizes heretics as brothers in Christ.
Walling-off from such a "church" illuminates through the good confession of the Orthodox faith, which is the seal of the martyrs and the true sign of sincere love for God.
Words not accompanied by consistency and action move no one. Virtue that is indifferent to heresy is a false virtue, reminiscent of a shepherd who leaves the sheep to the wolf.
When we write, we must not forget what we do; these must always be in agreement.
The pan-heresy of Ecumenism reigns, and monks and shepherds remain guiltily silent. The confessionals of spiritual fathers have unfortunately become places that lull Orthodox consciences to sleep. They do not rightly divide the word of truth, but decapitate it, walking the path of perdition. (P.G.: 90, 1076 D)
Fr. Angelos and the "anti-Ecumenists" today prefer the quiet of guilty silence, not even considering the necessity of cutting ecclesiastical ties with their heretical leaders, in order to establish a blameless altar.
St. Mark of Ephesus writes in a letter to an Athonite abbot: "This is our boast, the good inheritance of our Fathers. With this, we hope to stand before God and receive forgiveness for our sins."
Elder Savvas of Kapsala (+1991) from Mount Athos used to say: "There are two paths: that of the hieromartyrs of Mount Athos who were martyred during the time of Patriarch John Bekkos (1276), and that of the bloated corpses of the monks from the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius, who concelebrated with the Latin-minded and remained incorrupt after death, a terrifying sight. Regarding the clergy who came at that time to impose union with the Papists, our Most Holy Theotokos said: 'The enemies of My Son and Me are coming...!'"
He who teaches contrary to the Orthodox patristic tradition offends the God-bearing teachers and the Orthodox Church, becoming responsible for the spiritual death of souls. (St. Athanasius, P.G.: 26, 1052 A)
It would be good for Fr. Angelos, before assuming the role of a teacher, to first learn what he is about to teach. With The Rudder, and the Holy Fathers as our guide, let us keep ourselves free from the God-separated communion of the pseudo-shepherds and false teachers, the Ecumenists, to the glory of Christ and the JOY of the angels (and the Theotokos). Amen. (Letter 207, St. Theodore the Studite)
Greek source:
https://www.agioritespateres.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/sxolia-eis-aggelakopoulo-11-09-2021.pdf
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