Elder Savvas Lavriotis: Sacramental Grace in the Churches which Accepted the Decisions of the Pseudo-Synod of Crete

The existence or non-existence of the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the Local Orthodox Churches that accepted Crete

Elder Savvas Lavriotis | December 4, 2016

 

With much love and respect for those who struggle and keep watch for the Right Faith, the vigilant Orthodox Christian fighters of Christ God, whom we glorify and praise in a devout manner, I wish to highlight an essential point that, with much inquiry from the great elders, who do not make themselves known to the world but have sent us, with blessed obedience, to convey to you their thoughts, illuminated through prayer and much counsel and humility, namely regarding the existence of the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Mysteries of the Local Orthodox Churches—whether God still works in the Mysteries performed by them or not. As we know, until the condemnation of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, the Holy and God-inspired Fathers of the Third Ecumenical Council accepted as effective all ordinations and services performed by Nestorius up until the moment of his condemnation and that of his heresy by the Holy Synod, even though he publicly preached heresy and imposed it by force and violence. Therefore, we also believe that in the Holy Liturgy performed in the Churches where Crete was signed, the Holy Spirit comes and transforms the bread into the Body and the wine into the Blood of Christ.

The Holy Communion, as you know, is given to some for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life, while to others it is given for condemnation. Christ is fire that enlightens some and burns others. The faithful who, knowing the blasphemy signed at Crete, receive the Most Pure Mysteries from the hands of those who signed at Crete, or from priests who commemorate the bishops who signed at Crete, or agree with Crete, thus encouraging the bishops who denied Christ at Crete, as if nothing had happened, those people partake of Christ to their condemnation, showing their indifference to the Truth of Christ, and by receiving Communion from their hands, they show that they share the same faith with the ecumenists and contribute to the spread of the ecumenist plague.

Those who, due to age, lack of understanding, or who are only now discovering the Church of Christ, those who are unaware of the great betrayal that took place, partake of Communion with reverence and fear of God, knowing nothing of the renunciation of the hierarchs through their signature at Crete, those partake for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life.

It is preferable that the faithful confessors, both monastics and laity, stay at home for Christ and arrange their order with tears, or travel hundreds of kilometers to continuously receive the Holy Mysteries from the hands of those who do not commemorate the hierarchs who accept the pseudo-council of Crete, rather than setting a bad example and encouraging those who have denied Christ. There are Local Churches that did not attend Crete: the Russian Church, the Bulgarian Church, the Antiochian Church, the Georgian Church, or metropolises from around the Orthodox world that publicly reject the pseudo-council of Crete, and at the same time there are priests who have ceased commemorating the hierarchs who attended Crete or accepted the pseudo-council of Crete. We should find the best solution for each case, and thus, if we have a Church that does not accept Crete, that does not accept the pan-heresy of ecumenism, let us take the Heavenly Bread as provisions, meaning let the laity partake of Communion at least every Saturday and Sunday, and the monastics three or four times a week if possible, unless we are bound by penances due to great sins (abortions, adultery, sorcery, etc.). This is the order of the Holy Fathers of the Kollyvades, who revived the patristic teaching and the command to commune frequently, if we have a Church.

The priests who have ceased commemoration should not judge or accuse those who have not stopped it but should receive them with much love at the Holy Liturgies and concelebrate with them, on the condition that during the concelebration, they do not commemorate the hierarch. The fathers who do not commemorate should not remain withdrawn and hidden but come forward to confess. The cessation of commemoration is only the beginning of the struggle and one form of it, not the end of the fight. Our duty is to confess continually. The priest who has ceased commemoration is obliged to make this public (the cessation of commemoration) and to inform his bishop to whom he belongs canonically. Otherwise, it is as if he has not ceased commemoration, and it holds no value as a confession. The priests who do not commemorate should not make distinctions among the faithful but should receive all with love.

The priests who do not commemorate should have love, mercy, much discernment, patience, and light. Just as God manages with love and waits for all to return to the Truth, so too should the non-commemorating fathers wait for everyone with love, ensuring that no spirit of strife, hatred, coldness, or other passions arise, for if these prevail, it shows that the sacrifice of non-commemoration was not pleasing to God. Confession without love, mercy, and discernment kills and leads to schisms and divisions.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, as St. Apostle Paul says. Not everyone can cease commemoration, not all the faithful have the same faith and strength to confess, not all have the same power of understanding; therefore, we should wait for everyone and be behind them all. Let us be the ones who are anathematized, let us be the most reviled, rather than lose a single soul, for which we will give an account before God.

Let us think about the purpose of our work (of ceasing commemoration and confessing), namely to return to the Truth, to soften the bishops, and to awaken their conscience through our sacrifice and the steadfastness of ourselves and the faithful people.

I pray with tears to God, for whom I labor in the wilderness of this Holy Mountain, and for whom, in obedience, I go out into the world to deliver the message of the fathers, as they have commanded me, that Christ the Lord, the lover of mankind, the Son of the Father before all ages, may keep you united in faith and love, for otherwise the dead letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Elder Savvas of Great Lavra
Holy Monastery of Great Lavra, Holy Mountain

 

Romanian source: https://ortodoxos.ro/mesaj-din-partea-lui-gheron-savva-legat-de-existenata-sau-non-existenta-harului-sfantului-duh-bisericile-ortodoxe-locale-care-au-acceptat-creta/