“Orthodox Uniates”: Dangers to the Church

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

July 8, 2025

 

At the funeral of Pope Francis, a group of cassock-wearers were heard chanting “Christ is Risen” in Greek, which impressed many [Greek] journalists, who were amazed because the entire world attending the funeral could hear the Greek language with this particular chant. They considered this very honorable. However, they did not know that these were Latin Uniates, whom the Vatican has in its fold and who are active in many Orthodox countries, to the detriment of Orthodox Christians.

The word Unia is a Polish-Latin word, which means union, and is an esoteric way of union between the Orthodox and Latins, regardless of doctrinal differences. The beginning of the Unia is considered to be the Lateran Synod of 1215, at which the Pope allowed the Orthodox East to keep their ecclesiastical customs, but to commemorate the Pope in the services and thus have communion with the Latins.

By a Papal Bull of Pope Innocent IV, in 1254, the Unia was permitted to the Eastern peoples. It is a unifying system, a “Trojan horse for the unification of the Churches,” beyond the dialogue for the resolution of doctrinal differences. In practice, it began to be applied with the Synod of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39. This unifying system misleads many Orthodox, because it operates in the heart of the Orthodox people, they have Byzantine churches, the Clergy are dressed in Orthodox vestments, the Divine Liturgy and the services are held in the same way as the Orthodox, only they commemorate the Pope and follow the teaching of the Latins, of the Vatican. Barlaam was a Uniate monk who presented himself as Orthodox, but had adopted and followed scholasticism, which is the firm dogmatic teaching of “Roman Catholicism.”

Saint Mark the Eugenikos, who fought in Ferrara-Florence and did not sign the pseudo-union, in his letter, referring to Orthodox who accept the doctrines of the Latins, while remaining in the Orthodox Church, he calls them “Graeco-Latins,” “Latin-minded,” “mixed-breed people like the Hippocentaurs in myth.” And he even writes, “Flee from them, as one flees from a serpent, whom they are like, or indeed are far worse, being Christ-mongers and Christ-sellers.” Indeed, he recommends, “Therefore, brethren, avoid them and avoid their company,” because they are “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.”

Therefore, those who chanted "Christ is Risen" in the Greek language during the funeral of Pope Francis were Uniates, who have all the Orthodox formalities, but belong to the Vatican and are misleading naive Orthodox or those who are ignorant of theological and ecclesiastical matters. In addition to these Uniates whom the Vatican accepts, today there are other peculiar Uniates who belong to the Orthodox Church, they are Orthodox theologians and clergy, that is, they do not belong to the Vatican, but are inspired by scholastic and neo-scholastic theology and differ from the decisions of the Ecumenical Synods.

They teach and behave as Orthodox, they are considered members of the Church, but they are Latin-minded, scholastic, they are “Orthodox Uniates”, who think that there are no theological differences between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican. These people are not only theologically illiterate, but they are also dangerous to the Church!

 

Greek source: https://parembasis.gr/index.php/el/menu-teyxos-347/8394-2025-347-07

English translation: https://www.mystagogyresourcecenter.com/2025/08/orthodox-uniates-dangers-to-church.html