Why the Council of Kolymbari [Crete] is Heretical

 

Monk Seraphim Zisis | January 4, 2018

 

Approximately one and a half years ago (June 2016), the so-called "Holy and Great Council" took place in Kolymbari, Crete, as scheduled, and caused great division within the body of the Church. The reason was that this Council formalized and ratified heretical views, primarily concerning ecclesiology (the teaching about the Church) in Orthodoxy, views that are ecumenist.

In the limited space of an article, I will attempt to summarize for the broader reading public some of the evidence of the treacherous deviation of this Council (hereafter I will refer to it as "Kolymbari").

 

What is Ecumenism and, in general, heresy

The term "Ecumenism" refers to the (pan)heresy that seeks an artificial, external union of different religious beliefs, not by the return of heretics to the Orthodox Church (the only Church), but through mutual theological concessions, both from Orthodoxy and from Christian heretics (or from those of other faiths, eventually), so that all are reduced to a – as far as possible – commonly accepted denominator of religious belief or practice. This heresy is cloaked under the pretense of "theological dialogues."

It must first be made clear that "heresy" consists of any deviation, however small, from Orthodox dogmas within the realm of Christianity, and not, as the Ecumenists say (e.g., Metropolitan John of Pergamon), in deviation only from the fundamental doctrines of the Symbol of Faith (the "Creed"). St. John of Damascus, for example, says that "whoever does not believe as the Tradition of the Catholic [i.e., Orthodox] Church does is an unbeliever" (PG 94, 1128a), while the Byzantine legal Code, summarizing the common understanding of all the Holy Fathers, states that "he who deviates even slightly from the Orthodox Faith is a heretic" (Rallis-Potlis, Vol. I, 261).

 

Kolymbari accepted the term "Church" for heretics

The contentious document of the Council of Kolymbari ("Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world") refers to Christian heresies as "Churches": "The Orthodox Church accepts the historical name of other heterodox Christian Churches and Confessions that are not in communion with it" (para. §6). This is in direct opposition to the Symbol of Faith, where our faith is confessed "in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church"; in the "Creed" it is taken for granted, in conjunction with Holy Scripture and Tradition, that in our One Church there is "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). In contrast, those whom Kolymbari referred to as "Churches" (Monophysites, Papists, Protestants, etc.) hold doctrines condemned as heretical by our Church over the centuries, from 451 to 879 and up to 1895 (thus, we do not share "one faith," the same – hence they are also called heterodox, "of another doctrine"). They even have a different method of baptism (sprinkling, supposed mental anointing, etc.).

The Ecumenists offered the justification that this word ("Church") here is a "courtesy address" or a "technical term" and does not carry its literal meaning. However, this is false. The Holy Fathers have warned us that we must seek the meaning that heretics conceal behind ambiguous or superficially correct terminology (e.g., St. Athanasius, PG 25, 545c.560ab). The other decisions of Kolymbari (as we will show below) reveal that the members of the Council of Kolymbari believe that salvation is at work in the heresies; therefore, they do not consider them heresies, but rather "Churches," albeit "different" or "somewhat deficient."

Furthermore, even if we accept that the term "Church" was used as a "courtesy address" or "technical term," inappropriately, this still demonstrates a heretical mindset, because the Holy Fathers warn that heretics attempt to "cloud" terminology, while the Orthodox always strive to clarify it and make it "univocal" (having only one meaning) so that the untrained are not deceived (St. Athanasius, PG 25, 561a & PG 26, 773d-776a).

 

Kolymbari accepted the "Toronto Statement"

In the contentious document of Kolymbari ("Relations..."), the "Toronto Statement" is mentioned by name and praised. This document was agreed upon in 1950 by the Orthodox and the other members of the so-called "World Council of Churches" (WCC, founded in 1948, which includes Orthodox, Protestants, and Monophysites). The Kolymbari document states (para. §19): "The Orthodox Churches that are members […] have a deep conviction that the ecclesiological conditions of the Toronto Statement […] are of fundamental importance for Orthodox participation in the Council," that is, in the WCC.

In the "Toronto Statement," although some correct ecclesiological clarifications are made, it is stated among other errors that: "The member Churches recognize that being a member of the Church of Christ is more inclusive than being a member of their own Church" (chap. 4, §3). Consequently, the "Church of Christ" is allegedly not limited within Orthodoxy, but there exists a Church (i.e., salvation) even outside Orthodoxy, in the realm of heresy, according to the "Toronto Statement.

 

Kolymbari ratified the heresies of the Assemblies of Porto Alegre, Busan, Balamand, etc.

Kolymbari, through the same aforementioned document ("Relations…"), praises the theological dialogues between Orthodox and heretics up to now, as it, for example, "positively values the theological texts issued by [the relevant Committee of the WCC…], which constitute a significant step in the Ecumenical Movement for the rapprochement of Christians" (para. §21).

This indirect ratification, even if it does not name the specific positions of these texts, nevertheless collectively endorses them. Let us not forget, moreover, that the Ecumenical Councils, the Quinisext (Canon 2) and the Seventh (Canon 1), granted ecumenical authority to the sacred Canons of the Local Councils without detailing them specifically.

A careful look reveals what unacceptable and heretical things have unfortunately been written in the most important of the texts of the "Theological Dialogues."

The Porto Alegre text (WCC, Brazil, 2006) states (paras. §§6-7) that "Each Church [whether Orthodox or the Protestant ones, etc., of the WCC] is the Catholic Church, but not in its entirety. Each Church fulfills its Catholicity when it is in communion with the other Churches […] Alone, we are impoverished," and that (§5) "there may be legitimately different formulations of the Church's faith," meaning that differences in doctrines are not harmful!

The Busan text (WCC, South Korea, 2013) states among many other errors that "we repent for the divisions among our churches and within them," which undermine "our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ" (para. §14). In other words, we repent that the Holy Fathers saved us from heresies by cutting them off from the Church!

The Balamand Agreement (Lebanon, 1993) between Orthodox and heretical Papists states (paras. §§13-14) that: "It is recognized by both sides that what Christ entrusted to His Church […] cannot be considered as the property of only one of our Churches. Within this framework, it is clear that any form of rebaptism is excluded." Also, that "the Orthodox and the Catholic Church mutually recognize each other as 'sister Churches,' jointly responsible for preserving the Church of God in faithfulness to the Divine Plan, especially concerning unity." Elsewhere, it is declared (para. §30) that "the responsibilities for the separation are shared" between Orthodox and Papists!

Nevertheless, the Council of Kolymbari (as a "proper" heretical Council) misleadingly declared that "the dialogues conducted by the Orthodox Church have never meant, do not mean, and will never mean any compromise on matters of faith. These dialogues are a testimony to Orthodoxy" (Encyclical, VII, §20).

 

Kolymbari rejected Orthodox improvement proposals

His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, who participated in the Council of Kolymbari but did not sign the problematic document in question, testifies in his detailed analysis ("The Decisions of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece on the Holy and Great Council and Their Outcome") that the following corrective (Orthodox) proposals of the Church of Greece were rejected (attention!) at Kolymbari (see Theodromia, Vol. 18, Nos. 3-4 [July–Dec. 2016], pp. 416-436):

(a) The Orthodox Church does not accept the validity of the sacraments of the heterodox (heretics), regardless of the manner in which they are received into the Church upon conversion.

(b) Orthodoxy understands "the union of churches" only as a return ("re-gathering") of others to Orthodoxy.

(c) The Orthodox Church does not view Herself as part of the "divided Christian world," that is, as a fragment of a unified mixture of Orthodoxy and heresy.

The rejection of all the above clarifications "sheds light" on what Kolymbari truly means by calling the heterodox-heretics "Churches." It considers them to be "Church," just as the Orthodox are.

 

Kolymbari denied our mission to heretics

In the same document of the Council of Kolymbari, it is written that dialogues are conducted while simultaneously "excluding any act of proselytism, uniatism, or other provocative action of confessional competition" (para. §23).

Let it be noted here that there is no mention of "forcible conversion," thus our simple effort to bring someone to Orthodoxy is implied. Indeed, the addition of the phrase "any confessional competition" makes it clear that we are generally renouncing the duty to lead others to Orthodoxy by criticizing their heresies, etc.!

On the contrary, the divinely inspired holy Canons command that any Bishop who does not attempt to convert heretics to Orthodoxy must be punished (Carthage Canons 131 and 132).

 

Kolymbari denied the Orthodox apologetic theology of the last millennium

St. Athanasius, the "Pillar of Orthodoxy," considers any Council that does not contribute to resolving either an urgent liturgical issue or a heresy to be problematic, and he adds: "What reasonable cause do the councils now instigated by them have? If some new heresy has indeed arisen […] let them state what innovations are in the terminology and who are its introducers" (PG 26, 689a). The Council of Kolymbari had neither the love nor the enlightenment to resolve the old calendar problem; nor did it condemn the heresies of Papism and Protestantism, much less Ecumenism, which includes and absolves them all. For example, it did not ratify nor accept as the 8th and 9th Ecumenical Councils the relevant preceding Councils of 879-880 and the mid-14th century (Hesychastic Councils). The words of St. Athanasius are fitting here: "Those who disdain the Council held against [the heresy], namely, that of Nicaea, what else do they want but for the views of [the heretic] Arius to prevail? For what else are they worthy, therefore, than to be called Arians and to bear the same penalty as those?" (PG 26, 1032a).

Therefore, in his time, as in ours, the heretics did not seek the condemnation of the Orthodox First (Ecumenical) Council of Nicaea but rather its silent bypassing or replacement and the substitution of its Creed with another, heretical council and an ambiguous creed (St. Athanasius, PG 25, 549a-c & 26, 808d). Similarly here, the Council of Kolymbari not only diligently avoided condemning recent heresies but also went so far as to call them "churches," thus proving itself to be equally heretical!

 

Instead of an Epilogue

From what has been discussed, the magnitude of the heresy of Kolymbari becomes apparent. The above heretical positions had been heard before, but now we have their formalization by a Council, along with the simultaneous launch of persecutions and threats against those of us who do not accept them. Thus, the words of St. Theodore the Studite on the escalation of heresy hold true: How is it said that they neither preach nor teach heresy, "even though they practically teach every day what they declared synodally and confirmed by anathematizing those who oppose the decision, i.e., their "condescension" [to these heretics]?" (PG 99, 1072b).

 

Source: Στῦλος Ὀρθοδοξίας, October 14, 2017.

Online: https://agiosiosif.gr/monachou-serafim-giati-ine-eretiki-i-synodos-tou-kolybariou-synoptikos/