"Yes indeed, but…"

Protopresbyter Dionysios Tatsis

 

The issue of Ecumenism particularly concerns the conscientious Christians, who ask from the clergy information and guidance. However, silence abounds out of opportunism and cowardice. Very few are those who publicly criticize the Ecumenists and express their opinion freely. And this is a very troubling phenomenon, because it reveals that there is no holy zeal and frankness. There is no spirit of confession and defense of our faith. Yet, we are not lacking in texts that point out the heretical teachings of the papists and the protestants. We have theologians, but we do not have confessors.

The problem is not in pointing out the differences with the heterodox, but in the criticism that must be directed towards our own Orthodox ecumenists, who develop troubling initiatives and equate our faith with that of the heretics. These ecumenists our wise theologians diligently avoid to criticize and to isolate. And this happens because they are the dignitaries of the Church and do not want to come into opposition with them. They do not want to displease the patriarchal circles, even though they disagree.

Thus time passes with compromises, private whispers, and silence. Their arguments are childish. They have as their rule the “Yes indeed, but…”, which finally means no to public reaction, no to dynamic disagreement, no to rejection of the various provocative manifestations. And all this, because they abound in discernment and God-given wisdom…

The tactic I describe is beloved also by many Athonite fathers and by almost all the Metropolitans of the Church of Greece. Thus, treacherous Ecumenism spreads everywhere and the Orthodox criterion is blunted. Soon our unsuspecting Christians will suffer complete confusion and will accept the Pope as they do the Patriarch, and the cardinals as they do the metropolitans!

 

Greek source: https://orthodox-voice.blogspot.com/2025/08/blog-post_98.html