The Unity of the True Orthodox

Dionysios Polymenopoulos | November 16, 2019 | Patras

 

Reverend Fathers and beloved Brothers in Christ, it is now well known to all who are interested and follow events in the Church that our Orthodoxy is going through difficult times, which may in the near future develop into tragic moments for Universal Orthodoxy. Especially in recent years, after a long period of gradual estrangement of many within the wider realm of the Orthodox Church from the Orthodox spirit in both spiritual mindset and in ecclesiastical and personal practice. The heresy of Ecumenism has corroded and continues to corrode local Churches and the consciences of Shepherds and their flocks. The result is a substantial corruption of the dogmas of our Faith, innovations in the Faith and Worship of the Church, ecclesiastically uncanonical actions, divisions, schisms, disputes, rivalries, the introduction in large part of the secular spirit, disobedience to what the Saints and Fathers of our Church left us as a legacy, written with the blood of the Martyrs and the great labors of the True Servants of our Christ.

The recent major events—the "Council" of Crete and the Ukrainian Church problem—opened the eyes and drew the interest of many faithful, who in the past perhaps considered it excessive to engage with and stay informed about such Church problems. However, it also showed those, both clergy, monks, and laity, who were following these issues, how deep the problem is and how great the danger threatening our Orthodox Church. There are pockets of resistance to this course both in Greece and in other parts of the world, but the existence of divisions, rivalries, and often intense disagreements, even fratricidal conflicts, has rendered this resistance ineffective in defending the Orthodox Church. The isolation of many within their ecclesiastical jurisdiction or the group they follow hinders the unity of True Orthodox believers, resulting in the gradual progress of Ecumenism and the bitter fruits of this path.

As we wrote above, these are difficult times—something must change, something must be done. And we should not seek this only from others, but first from ourselves. The question immediately arises: have we realized the necessity of this unity of True Orthodox believers to the greatest extent possible? If yes, then we can find the path of our ecclesiastical duty; if not, then we risk this resistance gradually degenerating, and our duty to fight for the liberation of millions of faithful from the captivity of Ecumenism may bear no fruit.

Great hope filled the hearts of true Orthodox believers when, in recent years, they saw clergy, monks, and laity both in our country and abroad following the Orthodox walling-off, but this joy froze, and the numbers of those who walled-off decreased when they saw divisions and disagreements arise, and the separation of the walled-off into groups. Of course, in my opinion, there was also a serious problem regarding what each group understood by the term walling-off, which objectively functioned divisively. So, what did these divisions accomplish? They simply weakened the entire effort, and the ecclesiastical situation worsened.

What could be done, then? The fundamental problem could be discussed between the groups of walled-off believers, with goodwill from all, and resolved according to the Patristic consensus. What was not done then must certainly be done now, and with the initiative of the largest group of walled-off believers, so that there may be an agreement among at least the vast majority of the walled-off, not only in Greece but also in other Orthodox countries. If this happens, then other True Orthodox believers will follow the walled-off, and perhaps from Greece or some other Orthodox Churches, there may be bishops who will join those walled-off. The walled-off believers, if they unite in a God-pleasing way, will become the new Blood, the strong Blood, of the common Struggle. If they also gain bishops among them, or if not, at least a council to guide the Struggle, they will then be a force to be reckoned with in all directions. If they acquire episcopal leadership, or at least some form of leadership, depending on the development of ecclesiastical matters and the potential negative trajectory of Ecumenism in official Orthodoxy, they will be able to choose the future path of their spiritual course.

The need for the convening of a Pan-Orthodox Synod of True Orthodox believers is already present, but this Synod must be significantly representative and include as many True Orthodox as possible. Thus, in the future, the need for Unity among True Orthodox believers, regardless of whether they currently come from the New Ecclesiastical Calendar or the Old, will emerge. This necessary rapprochement will be extremely fruitful if it is done in an organized manner, with mutual acquaintance and discussion not just at an individual level, but more broadly, with representatives from both sides. Here, I believe that the majority of True Orthodox of the Old Calendar must properly prepare for this unifying course, both within the Old Calendar Church and with the walled-off believers, provided, of course, that there is a corresponding willingness from the leadership of the walled-off for such unity.

Personally, I do not know the will of the Lord on this serious matter, and I speak from a human and well-intentioned perspective. After all, no human being can match even the slightest degree of Christ's love for His Church.

With respect and in Christ's love towards all the Fathers and Brothers in the Lord,

Polymenopoulos Dionysios

Patras

 

Greek source: https://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2019/11/blog-post_16.html