Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Greece, Holy Synod in Resistance
Introductory Reflections
1. Since 1995, the Holy Synod in
Resistance has, by way of a special commission, closely followed and studied
the contemporary proliferation of “Antichristology” (issues surrounding the
“Antichrist”) and its dangerous side-effects. A fruit of this study is the
detailed memorandum of some seventy pages that was approved by the Holy Synod
in 2000, though, in anticipation of more auspicious circumstances, it was not
judged expedient to publish it forthwith.
2. In submitting this memorandum,
now, to the judgment of the conscience of the Church, we deem it necessary to
offer some introductory thoughts, in order,
• on the one
hand, to clarify the reasons for the relatively long delay in presenting our
findings;
• and, on the
other hand, to promote a fuller awareness of the gravity of contemporary
eschatological anxieties and the immediate danger that authentic Orthodox
eschatology will be altered, should the reasons for, and mentality underlying,
such anxieties gain acceptance.
3. Thus, in the first place, with
regard to our delay, we would like to make it clear that the original
instructions given to the special commission were to investigate the putative
connection between bar codes and the number 666, since the new national identity
cards [in Greece, that is] then in the production process were to carry bar
codes.
a. It was,
however, very easy to clarify this issue, that is, the existence or
non-existence of “666” on bar codes—which is purely technological in nature—on
the basis of scientific specifications regarding the production and operation
of bar codes. Therefore, we had good reason to expect that, by announcing the
truth that bar codes have absolutely no connection with the number 666, we
could provide the faithful with a feeling of relief that would, in turn,
diminish the intensity of their agony.
b. Nevertheless,
our investigation helped us to realize very quickly that the disquiet of the
faithful did not pertain exclusively to the relationship between bar codes
(and, more broadly, identity cards) and the number 666, but that this question
was simply the center around which there revolved a series of connected
problems and anxieties. If we did not deal with them as a whole, and give a
common answer to them, we knew that we would not, in the end, be helping our
flock to emerge from the confusion into which it had fallen, or protecting it
from similar situations in the future.
c. Another very
serious factor which delayed our work was that, with the passage of time, these
related problems, which needed to be addressed in common, were rapidly and
continually proliferating and were, furthermore, becoming so bedeviled by
arbitrary twists and turns that new horizons for investigation and scrutiny
were constantly opening up in our endeavor to arrive at a fuller cognizance and
understanding of this truly unprecedented, many-sided, and very complex
ecclesiastical and social phenomenon.
4. In the second place, and as a
corollary to the foregoing, with true anguish in Christ, and falling down
prayerfully before the guiding Grace of the Most Blessed Theotokos, we have
come face to face with the great seriousness of contemporary eschatological
frenzy and with the soteriological dangers entailed by an uncritical acceptance
of all of the misinterpretations, as well as the extra-ecclesiastical factors,
that such frenzy entails.
a. Our
investigation has made it abundantly clear that, after two millennia of its
life, our Most Holy Orthodox Church is passing through a period of what may be
called a “Third Wave of Eschatology,” which confirms with particular intensity
the many-sided crisis facing the Body of the Church and the distressing
realization that It has lost, or is liable to lose, those charismatic criteria
that would enable it to diagnose correctly and confront successfully the
challenges of history.
b. By way of
clarification, the period of the so-called “First Wave of Eschatology” covers
the first three centuries of Christianity: at that time, the historical
challenges (severe persecutions, the grave danger posed by the many-branched
heresy of Gnosticism, the laxity and secularization of Christian morality, and
the acceptance of divergent Messianic ideas from Judaism) contributed to an
adulteration of Orthodox eschatology.
• During this period, Chapter 20
of the Apocalypse was interpreted literally, and Christians awaited the
thousand-year reign, or interregnum [of Christ], as the redemptive conclusion
[of history]. Eminent figures in the Church unwittingly advocated Chiliasm
(Millennialism) as a fundamental teaching of the new Faith (Sts. Papias,
Justin, Irenæus, Methodios, Hippolytos, Victorinus, et al.).
c. The period of
the so-called “Second Wave of Eschatology” covers the gloomy centuries of the
Turkish Yoke: then, too, historical challenges (the collapse of the Christian
empire, slavery, degradation, Islamization, intense Roman Catholic propaganda,
and profound theological influence from the Protestant West especially)
contributed to a new attempt to distort Orthodox eschatology.
• During this period, attention
was focused on Chapter 13 of the Apocalypse, which was likewise given a
literal interpretation. The Pope and Papism and Mohammed and Islam (Latins and
Turks) were seen as the two “Beasts,” or even the Antichrist himself. Their
destruction and the simultaneous resurrection of the Orthodox Greek Empire were
again awaited as a thousand-year reign or interregnum. At a popular level,
prominent figures in the Greek nation cultivated these ideas as authentic
revelations.
5. Our study of the pathology of
the contemporary “Third Wave of Eschatology” lasted for two decades
(1980-2000), and has demonstrated its kinship, mutatis mutandis, with
the two preceding waves: now it is overwhelming historical challenges (a
dizzying advance in scientific achievements and their practical applications,
the unification of the world by way of globalization at many levels, the free
circulation of ideas, the rapid expansion of non-Christian beliefs and morals,
polymorphous syncretism, a profound secularization among Christians, the
shattering of age-old social norms, and a slavish acceptance of eschatological
ideas from Protestantism) that are contributing to a renewed effort to corrupt
Orthodox eschatology.
• During this period, Chapter 13
of the Apocalypse has yet again been accorded a literal interpretation.
Attention is now directed to the “mark” and the “number” of the Beast, and bar
codes and kindred automated electronic systems are seen as inaugurating the era
of the Antichrist, in which a moneyless economic system will prevail. In the
context of such a system, any card whatsoever will supposedly function as a
“mark” and “number of the Beast”; the European Union will become the first
“Beast,” and the super-computer in Brussels the second “Beast,” while the
Antichrist will be the President of the European Union, etc.
6. It is noteworthy that the
following are common characteristics of all three waves of eschatology:
a. A
misunderstanding of the true nature of the Apocalypse; namely, its metaphorical
and spiritual meaning.
b. An
unremitting endeavor to interpret the Apocalypse ad litteram.
c. The notion
that the Apocalypse constitutes a futuristic text, that is, a codified
collection of oracles or a prophetic chronology, disclosing specific historical
developments in the Church and in world history.
d. An attempt at
decoding or deciphering the symbols of the Apocalypse by means of historical
events in each given period.
e. The idea that
the Apocalypse was written for a specific epoch and pertains exclusively, and
is to be identified with, the period of each wave.
f. An endeavor
to interpret the Apocalypse in relation to an historical center: Rome and its
idolatrous Empire, Mohammed and the Ottoman Empire, Moscow and Gog or Magog, or
Brussels and the European Union.
g. The influence
of non-Christian (certain putatively Jewish) and heterodox (Protestant)
eschatological beliefs on the interpretation of the Apocalypse.
7. It is the firm conviction of
our Holy Synod that an unchecked process, over the course of many years,
involving the dissemination and admixture of non-Orthodox eschatological
beliefs (of popular and non-ecclesiastical provenance) has produced a lethal
combination, which has had a direct and deep influence on the faithful, has led
them into indescribable confusion, and is impelling them to adopt an
anti-ecclesiastical and antisocial ethos.
8. Even though the situation is
deteriorating on a daily basis, the experience of the two previous waves of
eschatology affords Orthodox Shepherds in our time—and especially those who, by
God’s mercy, are grounded in the Hesychastic and Eucharistic ethos of the
Church— a fruitful opportunity to act in a therapeutic spirit and to deliver
the faithful from eschatological anxiety through the promotion of Orthodox
eschatology, which sheds peace and which is centered on the renewal and
preservation of the Seal of the Lamb, the sole precondition for participation
“in the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).
9. These introductory thoughts
already refer to a rather broad set of issues that certainly cannot be dealt
with fully or in detail by such a concise report as this. We aim merely to
provide a preliminary pastoral approach to these matters.
a. For the time
being, we will dwell on crucial matters and undertake “a work of ministry”
(Ephesians 4:12), “lest that which is lame be put out of joint, but rather that
it be healed” (Hebrews 12:13), addressing ourselves in a clear and simple
manner to those faithful who are well-disposed.
b. Two other
pertinent works, both very complex and lengthy, which constitute the
operational basis and the theoretical foundation of the present memorandum,
will be submitted to the conscience of the Church after the publication of this
introductory report.
10. Since prayer, as the Holy
Fathers have taught us, is the path to Divine knowledge, and insofar as it is
only in “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Ephesians 1:17) that matters of
our Holy Faith, and especially those pertaining to the Apocalypse, can be
approached and understood, we have composed a prayer of supplication, so that
the faithful may commence and continue their study of the Apocalypse,
beseeching and seeking the Divine illumination of the Comforter.
Least among Bishops in the Lord,
† Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi,
Acting President of the Holy
Synod in Resistance
A Prayer of Supplication for the
Correct Understanding of What Is To Happen in the Last Times
O Lord, our God and Savior, Who,
in Thine ineffable goodness, didst humble Thyself and by the Œconomy of Thine
Incarnation didst return that which was lost to the bosom of Thy Father; Who
didst command us that we should be vigilant in prayer and in expectation of Thy
glorious Second Coming, wherein Thou shalt come to judge the living and the
dead and to transform all things, so that in a new Heaven and earth Thy
servants may enjoy Thine unending Kingdom in the Holy Spirit: Do Thou Thyself,
O Master, accept even now the supplication of us, Thy humble and unworthy
servants, enlighten our minds and hearts, that we may correctly understand and
unerringly interpret what is to happen in the last times according to Thy good
pleasure, that, by Thy Grace that bringeth peace, there may not be schisms in
Thine immaculate Bride, the Orthodox Church, but unity and sanctification in
harmony and love, and deem us worthy of that portion of the virgins who were
wise in vigilance and sobriety. By the intercessions of Thy Most Blessed Mother
and Ever-Virgin Mary, and of all Thy Saints. Amen.
***
❖ “For this reason, before we
undertake anything, and all the more so before we theologize, it behooves us to
begin with prayer, not in order to attract Divine Power, which is present
everywhere and yet nowhere, but in order to entrust ourselves to It and be
united with It through Divine reminders and invocations” (St. Dionysios the
Areopagite, On the Divine Names, Ch. III, §1, Patrologia Græca, Vol.
III, col. 680D).
❖ “May the Spirit lift the veil
from our eyes, that we may thereby on the one hand understand the wonders and
behold the Mystery of Christ through the mirror of the letter, and on the other
hand see the beauty of virtue that is manifested by the Prophets and which
summons us to enhance our moral life therewith” (St. Theophylact of Ohrid,
“Preface to the Exegesis of the Holy Prophets,” Patrologia Græca, Vol. CXXVI,
col. 576A).
***
Report:
The Orthodox Church and
Eschatological Frenzy: The Recent Proliferation of “Antichristology” and Its Perilous
Side-Effects - Proposals for Curing the Eschatological Fear of Marks (Seals)
and Numbers, A Memorandum from the Special Commission to the Holy Synod in
Resistance October 2010.
Online:
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