Ioannis N. Paparrigas | July 24, 2025
The Holy Metropolis of the G.O.C.
of Larissa brought to light an exceptional letter of Saint Chrysostomos of
Florina. Read it in full by clicking here:
[English translation: https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2025/07/unknown-historical-letter-of-holy.html]
In this letter, the Saint
expresses the crystal-clear ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church. We will note
the points of the letter that concern the subject we are addressing, also
making some comparison with various contemporary ecclesiological positions.
He himself states:
"Preaching before
the Churches, we stated that we cut off spiritual communion with the Archbishop
of Athens and the Hierarchs of like mind with him, because they proceeded
arbitrarily and without the consent of all the Orthodox Churches to the
calendar innovation, and because we do not wish to become partakers in the
responsibility for this innovation, for which very reason we appealed against
them before a Pan-Orthodox Council, the only competent authority to judge and
validly and definitively condemn them, since they persist unyieldingly in this
innovation.
"The uncanonical
and arbitrary innovation of the Archbishop and the like-minded Hierarchs, we
said, cannot affect the Orthodox character and identity of the Greek Church, in
which not only the innovating Hierarchs belong, but also we with our followers,
who above all continue the Orthodox History of the Autocephalous Greek Church,
preserving inviolate the sacred Ecclesiastical traditions and Orthodox
institutions. This precisely is also the reason why we did not recognize the
deposition carried out against us by uncanonical Hierarchs—whom we
renounced—and not by the Church, whose Orthodox identity we constitute, we who
preserve inviolate the Ecclesiastical traditions and the Orthodox institutions.
"We also, on
other occasions through our printed materials and publications, have declared
that for the uncanonical decision concerning the calendar made by the
Administrative Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the Church of
Greece, the responsibility does not lie with the Church of Constantinople and
of Greece, but with the Hierarchs who personally made the uncanonical decision;
and for this reason, we cut off ecclesiastical communion with them, having
appealed against them before a Pan-Orthodox Council, the only competent
authority to judge and to condemn them for this innovation.
"Woe if, because
of one uncanonical decision of the ruling [i.e., Official – tr. note] Synod,
the entire Church were to be held responsible—whose identity consists of the
whole of the Hierarchy, the Clergy, and the laity—and thrice woe if individuals
who did not participate in the uncanonical decision had the right, on account
of it, to declare the entire Church as schismatic.
"For in such a
case, every individual would constitute his own Church, considering as
schismatic every other Church whose one-sided and personal decision he himself
judged to be uncanonical and worthy of causing a schism in the Church. This
idea reeks of Protestantism, which, as the criterion for the correctness of
dogmas and of the Mysteries, holds not the judgment and decision of the synod
of the hierarchy, but the personal perception and judgment of the individual,
supposedly guided by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit."
Only a Pan-Orthodox Council is
solely competent to judge and validly and definitively to condemn them! And
the will of the Holy Spirit is manifested through the unanimous
decision of the Ecumenical Council, which represents the entirety of Orthodoxy.
What do the contemporary G.O.C.
teach? (Emphasis added)
“This necessity
becomes comprehensible from the fact that the True Church, as the actual Body
of Christ, is by Her very nature Catholic in the fullness of Truth, Grace, and
salvation, and that through Her Bishops She puts forth Synodal declarations in
the face of heterodox teachings and the global scandal that derives therefrom;
thus, She ought to pursue, on the one hand, the articulation of the Truths of the
Faith, for the delineation of the Truth in contrast to falsehood, and on the
other hand, the denunciation and condemnation of the error and corruption that
stem from heresy and heretics, for the protection of the Flock, confirming and
proclaiming the already existing degradation of heretics.” ([Section VII,]
paragraph 5 of the ecclesiological text of the G.O.C.)
“Synodal
condemnations do not cause the fall of the heretic, but first, they
denounce the heresy for the protection of the flock, and second, they ascertain
and proclaim the fall of the heretic, which already exists.” (Footnote
50 [which does not exist in the official English translation – tr.])
How then does it already exist,
since there has been no decision of a Pan-Orthodox or Ecumenical Council? How
is it that “Synodal condemnations do not cause the fall of the heretic,”
when the ever-blessed one states that the right to proclaim a Church as
heretical or schismatic and to strip Her and Her Mysteries of the Grace of
Christ was not given either to individual Hierarchs or to any
single local Church, but to the Ecumenical Council? How, then, does
it “already exist”?
You perceive the enormous
difference between the ecclesiological positions of the Saint in contrast to
those of the contemporary G.O.C.! Could this perhaps be the very reason why we
observe among the G.O.C. the phenomenon mentioned above? That is:
“For in such a
case, every individual would constitute his own Church, considering as
schismatic every other Church whose one-sided and personal decision he himself
judged to be uncanonical and worthy of causing a schism in the Church. This
idea reeks of Protestantism, which, as the criterion for the correctness
of dogmas and of the Mysteries, holds not the judgment and decision of the
synod of the hierarchy, but the personal perception and judgment of the
individual, supposedly guided by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. For
this very reason, there exist countless heresies and schisms [among the
Protestant churches...]”
The Saint also states:
"For this reason,
the Divine Apostles and God-bearing Fathers of the Church did not grant the
right to proclaim a particular Church as heretical or schismatic and to strip
It and Its Mysteries of the Grace of Christ, neither to individual Hierarchs
nor even to one local Church, but to the Ecumenical Council, whose unanimous
decisions are made by the inspiration of the All-Holy Spirit.
"Since these
things are so, a local Orthodox Church, due to any uncanonical decision of its
Administrative Synod, cannot be declared—no longer by dissenting Hierarchs who
constitute a minority of its Hierarchy, nor even by another local Church, even
a Patriarchal one—as heretical or schismatic, for this right is reserved by the
Divine and Holy Canons solely to the Ecumenical Council..."
Whereas the contemporary G.O.C.
say:
“More
specifically, with regard to the Mysteries celebrated in the so-called
official Orthodox Churches, the Genuine Orthodox Church does not provide
assurance concerning their validity or concerning their soteriological efficacy....”
[Section VI, paragraph 6]
“The Holy
Orthodox Church has never recognized—in an absolute sense and, as it were,
from a distance—either by exactitude or by economy, mysteries
performed outside Her, since those who celebrate or who partake of these
mysteries remain within the bosom of their heretical or schismatic
community.” ([Section VI] paragraph 4)
So then, which is this
heretical and schismatic Community, and which individuals or which local
Church—and by what right—has officially declared them heretical or
schismatic?
Furthermore, the G.O.C. say:
“All those who
preach or act contrary to correct confession are separated, as heretics, from
the Truth of the Faith and are excluded from communion with the Orthodox
Catholic Church, be they individual persons or communities, even if they continue
to function formally and institutionally as putative Churches and are addressed
as such.” ([Section I, paragraph 7).
When and by whom were they
proclaimed heretics, so that we may say they are “separated” and “have fallen
away,” while continuing to function even “formally” as so-called “Churches”?
What does Saint Chrysostomos
teach above?
“...[the Divine
Apostles and God-bearing Fathers of the Church] did not grant the right
to proclaim a particular Church as heretical or schismatic and to strip It
and Its Mysteries of the Grace of Christ, neither to individual
Hierarchs nor even to one local Church... nor even by another local
Church, even a Patriarchal one.”
Unfortunately, we remember that
the issue of the Mysteries brought many problems in that particular circle in
the past, whereas it should not have concerned them at all to the point of
writing “does not give assurance regarding their validity, nor regarding
their salvific efficacy,” because it is a matter resolved synodally!
(Acts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Migne PG 12, 1050). The Seventh
Ecumenical Council confirms what Saint Chrysostomos says!
He himself states finally:
“It is known
that Your Reverence, during our last session held at the house of the Most
Reverend President, on the occasion of the issue raised concerning the
re-anointing with Chrism of the New Calendarists by the Holy Bishop of
Bresthena, after a prior presentation of the matter by me and by the Most
Reverend President, agreed with us that it is neither Canonical nor sacred and
holy to repeat the Mystery of Chrismation for the New Calendarists, who have
not been proclaimed schismatics by a Pan-Orthodox Council, and You also signed
the relevant Protocol.”
Since the Saint tells us that it
is neither Canonical, nor pious, nor sacred to repeat the Mystery of
Chrismation for the New Calendarists, how do the contemporary G.O.C. dare
to repeat the Mystery of Chrismation uncanonically? And not only do they
repeat it, but even worse, they also rebaptize! Have the New Calendarists been
proclaimed schismatics or heretics by a Pan-Orthodox or Ecumenical Council and
we are unaware of it?
These few remarks are prompted by
the Saint’s letter and serve as a continuation of previous posts concerning
this subject.
Greek source: https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2025/07/blog-post_24.html
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