The Anti-Orthodox Policy of the Ecumenical Patriarch: The Council of Nicaea Celebrated by the Reception of Pope Leo XIV and Unionist Statements Instead of the Unaltered Faith

Hieromonk Lavrentie | December 2, 2025

 

 

Although the reception of the Pope and the honoring of the First Ecumenical Council (325) were intended to be held in the month of May, the events took place with delay, in recent days, to the indignation of the right-believing and sober Orthodox. It was a renewal of the betrayal of the faith as 60 years ago, when the then Patriarch Athenagoras received Pope Paul VI in order to lift the anathemas mutually. We hope that the echo is weaker, but not to be ignored.

Participants

As an important backstage maneuver, it should be noted that at the arrival of the Pope an important absence was that of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Patriarch Theophilos did not honor with his presence the invitation made a month ago in imperative terms: “It is unimaginable that the successor of James, the brother of the Lord, should be absent” from the “historic responsibility” of the “uniting of all.” The aim of bringing together the leaders of the five ancient Patriarchates (the former Pentarchy) — Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem — was not achieved. Fortunately, only Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria came, and unfortunately the other two important Churches nevertheless sent delegates.

In fact, the old Pentarchy today is composed of Churches that have either even lost the right faith (Rome), or the impressiveness given by the number of the faithful and by their place in society. Moreover, the Greek world (the Phanar and Alexandria) is in an open and harmful conflict with Moscow over the issue of the Ukrainian schism. Fortunately, Jerusalem, although also composed of Greeks, does not align itself with the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

In this way, a massive involvement of Orthodoxy through numerous Local Churches in unionist actions with the Catholics is avoided. Unfortunately, we do not have the benefit of a reaction of opposition from them either, but of a complicit powerlessness.

The Joint Pope–Patriarch Declaration

On the eve of the feast of St. Apostle Andrew, in a festive setting, Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo signed a joint declaration, in which certain points were addressed: a common Pascha, the desire for church union and ecumenical dialogue, the commemoration of 1,700 years since the First Ecumenical Council, the “common” Creed inherited by Orthodox and Catholics, following in the footsteps of their predecessors (Athenagoras and Paul VI), and the indispensable mention of the biblical quote “that all may be one.”

Although the previous Pope, Francis, had already decided that Pascha would be celebrated by the Catholics according to the uncorrected Julian calendar together with the Orthodox, the still ongoing exploration of solutions for celebrating together represents, in fact, a step backward on the part of Pope Leo.

The dialogue in the terms proposed is a false one because it seeks to bury the differences in order to arrive at a forced, external reconciliation. A sign of this coercion is also the mutual naming of Orthodox and Catholics as “sister Churches” in this document. In essence, dialogue must not be degraded to the level of a bargaining of the faith, because it is not to be haggled over.

The example of the predecessors who so-called lifted the anathemas in 1965 is given in order to be turned into a false benchmark and to consign authentic tradition to oblivion. As recently as the year 1868, the Ecumenical Patriarch of that time, Gregory VI, refused the invitation of the papists to participate in Vatican Council I. It was only Patriarch Athenagoras who was a transgressor of canons and tradition and the initiator of new customs when he participated in Vatican Council II more than a century later.

Perhaps the most important thing is that the Creed established at Nicaea and at the rest of the Ecumenical Councils is not an example of union and harmony with heretics, but precisely the opposite. The true unity of the Church is obtained through Orthodox confession and the expulsion of those who sow division against the right faith.

The service at which the Pope was also mentioned in the litany

Within a service for the reception of the Pope in the church of the patriarchal residence, a service was held and many remarked on the fact that the Pope was mentioned in the litany by the deacon together with the Patriarch. As far as I could understand from the video fragment, it is a prayer for both that their steps may be directed toward every good work, not a commemoration as Primates. Although this gesture is not permitted by the canonical and liturgical norms, like the entire visit of the Pope, this fact does not seem to be much more serious in comparison with the rest of the events.

The Pope’s visit – a new scandal

Although I personally hope that the Pope’s visit to Constantinople will not have very serious repercussions, as was taking shape with the ecumenist anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the event is an unfortunate one and establishes as custom and accustoms us to the evil of the violation of the canons that forbid friendly and liturgical relations with heretics. Participation in the Liturgy and the kiss of peace no longer astonish anyone.

Although visits by the Pope have also taken place in other Local Churches, it seems that in Constantinople the audacity toward acts of betrayal of the faith is greater than anywhere else. It is sad to observe that it is the people who still put a brake on the selling-out of the faith carried out by the hierarchy, among whom the Phanariots are the most lacking in faithful and the most without restraints.

 

Romanian source:

https://theodosie.ro/2025/12/02/politica-antiortodoxa-a-patriarhului-ecumenic-sinodul-de-la-niceea-celebrat-prin-primirea-papei-leon-xiv-si-declaratii-unioniste-in-locul-credintei-nealterate/