Archimandrite Pavlos Dimitrakopoulos, Theologian
October 2, 2025 | Kythera
The distortion of the truth of
the Gospel is without doubt one of the most useful tools of the heretics for
the advancement of their delusion. Especially within the realm of the
pan-heresy of Ecumenism, the most dreadful heresy that has appeared to this day
in the historical course of our Church, as we have often pointed out in our
publications, the law of distortion tends to prevail everywhere—a fact which
the faithful people of God experience daily.
Clergy of all ranks, as well as
laity, corrupted by the poison of delusion, “being darkened in their
understanding and alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:18), and
“understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm” (1 Tim. 1:7), do
not hesitate to resort to fraudulent machinations and to distort passages from
Holy Scripture—without, of course, being able to support their erroneous
interpretations by the holy Fathers of our Church. Thus, the God-inspired word
of the Apostle is fulfilled in them: “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out
their own shame” (Jude 13).
It is important to emphasize in
this case that the repentance of these people is extremely difficult, if not
impossible, given that the pride and egoism by which they are possessed darken
their soul and do not allow them to realize the delusion in which they find
themselves, so as to repent. And if it so happens that they are also Bishops,
then the evil takes on tragic proportions, for these tragic episcopal figures
become the cause of the destruction of other souls as well. And then the
God-inspired word of Scripture finds full application: “They be blind leaders
of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”
(Matt. 15:14).
Such being the case, the things
we shall note below are not addressed to these victims of heresy, for whom the
word of the Apostle applies: “A man that is a heretic after the first and
second admonition, reject” (Titus 3:10), but rather to the faithful people of
God, and their purpose is to strengthen them in the truths of the Gospel.
Another aim of ours is to make
clear to the largely un-catechized (and thus unsuspecting) people of God the
destructive influence exercised by these tragic persons, who serve up the
ecumenist delusion camouflaged with the golden veneer of truth. Furthermore, we
seek to provide the faithful members of the Church with all those elements that
may help them discern the true shepherds from the false ones, according to the
word of the Lord: “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16).
From the long-standing experience
of over twenty years that I have acquired through my engagement with the
pan-heresy of Ecumenism, a first general observation which I hereby offer is
the fraudulent machination of inversion. That is, the attempt by these
individuals to portray those who denounce and overturn their delusions with
passages and testimonies from Holy Scripture and the holy Fathers as supposedly
being the ones in delusion and heresy, while they present themselves as
guardians of Orthodoxy. And when we invite them to inform us which heretical
teachings we have allegedly expressed, they have nothing clear and specific to
respond with. Finding themselves at an impasse, they resort to insults and
slanders. I could cite countless examples. I shall limit myself, for the sake
of brevity in space and time, to mentioning the recent example of His Eminence
Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larissa, who did not hesitate to accuse me with the
gravely serious charge of being a “promoter and advertiser of every heresy and
religion as though it were ‘truth,’” along with other similar accusations which
I omit. And when, in my reply, I requested that he inform me which are the
heresies and religions I supposedly promote and advertise, he was unable to
respond in his subsequent published text entitled “The dog returned…”. He
simply resorted to a new torrent of insults and slanders.
Another machination, particularly
concerning Bishops, is their anxious effort to promote their episcopal office
by every means, in order to justify their doctrinal errors and their trampling
upon the Holy Canons—especially since they know that they will never be
summoned to give account before earthly episcopal courts. By virtue of their
episcopal authority, they speak from a position of power as if infallible. They
invent foolish and simplistic arguments in order to demonstrate that they have
not violated the Holy Canons. And when someone dares to rebuke them and
silences them, they rage and gnash their teeth, being possessed by frenzy and
hatred against him. They launch attacks with gravely serious accusations, and
since they cannot substantiate them, they resort to a torrent of insults and
slanders, showing complete disregard for the grave scandal they cause to the
faithful people of God by what they say and do.
Among the passages from Holy
Scripture which they enlist in order to justify the insults to which they
resort is the pericope referring to the stern words of rebuke that Christ
addressed to the Scribes and Pharisees shortly before His Passion (Matt. 23:13–36).
They even invoke the passage of Paul’s defense before the Jewish Sanhedrin
(Acts 23:1–5), in order to counter the just reproof they receive when someone
dares to rebuke them for the unlawful or heretical things they say and do. Let
us, however, proceed in order.
First, let us clarify who the
Scribes and Pharisees of Christ’s time were. They were the religious leaders of
Judaism (along with the High Priests, who held exactly the same views)—the
spiritual guides of the people—whom Christ, however, characterized as “blind
leaders.” They were the ones who not only did not believe in Christ as the
expected Messiah, but also hated Him unto death. They accused Him before Pilate
as a “perverter of the people” (Luke 23:1), a “deceiver” (Matt. 27:63), etc.,
in order to obtain His death sentence. They were the first great distorters of
the truth concerning the Person of Christ, and thus the first great heretics to
appear in the life of the Church—perhaps even greater than Arius himself. For
while Arius denied the Divinity of Christ, he never went so far as to insult
Christ by calling Him a “perverter” or a “deceiver.” These, however, not only
reviled Him thus, but also crucified Him, rejecting in its entirety His
Messianic mission.
By reproving the Pharisees—and
indeed most sternly—Christ is essentially reproving the greatest heretics of
His time, giving all of us an example to imitate, according to the God-inspired
word of the Apostle: “leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps”
(1 Peter 2:21). According to the Apostle Peter, Christ left us a perfect
example to imitate, so that we may walk precisely in His footsteps. The duty to
reprove heresy is also emphasized by the Apostle Paul: “And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11). Therefore,
the reproof and refutation of heterodox positions or violations of the Holy
Canons is by no means condemnation—as we are ignorantly, recklessly, and
foolishly accused—but rather an imperative duty that proceeds from the very
conduct of Christ. Naturally, no one is exempt from such reproof—not even
Bishops. Hence, His Eminence of Larissa is in grievous error when he invokes
the stern rebukes of Christ and the dreadful “woes” He addressed to the Scribes
and Pharisees in order to justify the gravely serious accusations, insults, and
slanders he hurled against me, while at the same time being unable to
demonstrate in what sense I am supposedly a “promoter and advertiser of every
heresy and religion as though it were ‘truth.’” The “woes” of Christ support
the just reproof which we exercised regarding specific heterodox positions of
his and violations of the Holy Canons—and in no way do they support his own
insults and slanders.
The same applies to the word
“Satan” which He spoke to Peter. In this case, Christ reproves Peter most
sternly, because Peter (albeit in ignorance) was attempting to prevent Christ
from His path toward the Passion and to thwart the plan of the Divine Economy
in the Flesh. Just as Christ reproved the Pharisees because of the delusion in
which they were found, so also does He reprove Peter, because he too was now in
a state of delusion. The only difference is that Peter afterward understood his
delusion and repented, whereas the Pharisees remained unrepentant.
Let us now come to the other
passage invoked by His Eminence of Larissa—the incident of Paul’s defense
before the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1–5)—to which he resorts in order to
salvage the authority of his episcopal dignity, of which he boasts, considering
himself to stand “in the type and place of Christ.” In this matter, let us note
that a Bishop indeed stands “in the type and place of Christ” when he embodies
in his life the virtues of Christ, and especially the queen of
virtues—humility. Otherwise, he stands “in the type and place” of the old Adam,
the common forefather of us all. In this context, the question arises: Is it
fitting for a Bishop to boast that he stands “in the type and place of Christ”
when he happens to be burdened with violations of the Holy Canons, which have
been pointed out both by us and by the Coordinating Committee of the Faithful
of the Holy Metropolis of Peristeri? Or would it not be more fitting for him to
weep and mourn, seeking the mercy of God?
Concerning the incident mentioned
by Luke in the Acts (23:1–5), namely Paul’s defense before the Jewish
Sanhedrin, we observe the following: Paul, not having recognized the High
Priest of the Jews, protests against him with the phrase, “God shall smite thee,
thou whited wall,” because he had ordered him to be struck. “And they that
stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not,
brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak
evil of the ruler of thy people” (Acts 23:4–5). This is the incident invoked by
His Eminence of Larisa, protesting that I allegedly insulted, reviled, and
slandered him. However, as I have already demonstrated above, the most just
reproof which we exercised concerning specific heterodox positions of his and
violations of the Holy Canons can in no way be considered an insult, but rather
a necessary duty. If the claim of His Eminence of Larisa is valid, then we must
also accuse Christ Himself of having acted inappropriately and of having sinned
by launching those dreadful “woes,” “blind guides,” “whited sepulchres,” etc.,
against the religious leaders of His time—the Scribes and Pharisees. We must
likewise accuse the holy Protomartyr Stephen of the same sin, for having spoken
in such terms, ignoring the “Thou shalt not speak evil” of Acts, when he
addressed the High Priests and members of the Jewish Sanhedrin during his
defense with such stern expressions: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart
and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye”
(Acts 7:51). Nevertheless, the “Thou shalt not speak evil” of Acts is neither
in opposition to nor does it annul Christ’s “woes” or the “stiffnecked and
uncircumcised in heart” of Saint Stephen, for both are valid. And this is
because in certain cases the “Thou shalt not speak evil” of Acts applies, and
in others the “woes” of Christ and the “stiffnecked” of Saint Stephen. Unfortunately,
His Eminence of Larisa was unable to discern this essential distinction, with
the result that he believes he is entitled to insult everyone by virtue of his
episcopal office, while anyone who dares to reprove him for heterodox teachings
and violations of the Holy Canons falls into the sin of “Thou shalt not speak
evil” of Acts.
In conclusion, we call the
faithful people of God to sobriety, vigilance, and watchfulness, as we all
recognize that we are living in an inverted and perverted world, into which the
law of distortion has deeply penetrated—even within the sphere of the Church.
Only through sobriety and vigilance, and through unceasing prayer (so as to
receive illumination from above), will one be able to discern the true
shepherds from the false shepherds—allying himself with the former and
distancing himself from the latter. Reliable criteria by which he may
distinguish the one from the other are their fruits, according to the word of
the Lord: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:16).
Blessed repentance to all, and a
good struggle.
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