A brief commentary on the “common cup” and the steps toward the unity of Orthodoxy with heterodoxy...

Protopresbyter Peter Heers

[Written in 2016, prior to the Pseudo-"Pan-Orthodox" Synod of Kolymbari, Crete.]

In response to the well-meaning concern, cultivated by certain Orthodox, regarding the "pan-heresy" of ecumenism (the ecclesiological-theological denial of the existence of one Church, which is the Orthodox Church), one often hears a curt reply: that “this will never happen,” “there is no chance that we will come into communion with Rome,” and so on. This reassuring manner aims to lull us into complacency and to focus our anxieties solely on the issue of the “common cup.”

In response to the well-meaning concern, cultivated by certain Orthodox, regarding the "pan-heresy" of ecumenism (the ecclesiological-theological denial of the existence of one Church, which is the Orthodox Church), one often hears a curt reply: that “this will never happen,” “there is no chance that we will come into communion with Rome,” and so on. This reassuring manner aims to lull us into complacency and to focus our anxieties solely on the issue of the “common cup.”

Nevertheless, neither now nor over the past 30 and more years has this been the point at stake; in reality, the current contentious issue is something else. Even if we never come into communion with any heterodox, the possibility of adopting a heretical ecclesiology is real.

Behold, a way to understand what is happening and how our enemy is preparing us to accept a heretical ecclesiology and, consequently, a false union. This is how I explain the situation to some of my parishioners: at this moment, the ecumenist mindset wants to make us believe that we are betrothed to Papist Protestantism, that is, to Catholicism. Thus, you often hear them say that we have the same faith but, unfortunately, we cannot yet commune together.

The next step is to recognize, in synod, that we are both “the church,” even though one side is more so than the other (depending on the point of view). This is equivalent to marriage, that is, to the recognition of the mysteries and of ecclesial character (ecclesiality). This is essentially what is achieved—though hesitantly and with double-speak—by the document “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World.”

From the moment the marriage is performed, it is a matter of time before the newlywed couple retreats inward and consummates the relationship. That is the common cup. Whether it comes a little later, sooner, or not at all, it does not matter much, because the marriage is the key that ends the separation. Do not fixate on the issue of consummation….

The recognition of the mysteries and of the “ecclesial character” is everything here.

Greek source: http://makkavaios.blogspot.com/2016/02/blog-post_23.html