Yet another novelty: Anonymous Confession of Faith

Comment from A.T.:

The following confession of Faith is circulating on the internet, which, although correct in what it says, is lacking something: the names of those who sign it (what is written at the end are not names but titles and general references). The anonymous confession of Faith constitutes a novelty of our times and (unfortunately) instead of being a confession — that is, courage — it reveals cowardice and hesitancy. Indeed, we must also ask the following: since this Confession cites the teaching of St. Theodore the Studite "that communion with heretics, direct or indirect, constitutes participation in evil," then why does it not declare that it is breaking communion with the Ecumenists, since, as the confession rightly notes, "Ecumenism is the common name of all heresies — a pan-heresy"?

And one last thing: why is Metropolitan Tychikos shown as the image of the Confession, who, although indeed is being persecuted unjustly and uncanonically, nevertheless condemned the breaking of communion with heretics (walling off), that is, what the Confession teaches; and he also asked forgiveness from the Ecumenists and permitted mixed marriages (https://eugenikos.blogspot.com/2025/06/blog-post_6.html#more)?

 

 

Confession of Faith Against Ecumenism as a Pan-Heresy

Based on the Holy Scripture, the Sacred Canons, and the Voice of the Holy Fathers and Elders

 

The Orthodox Church is not a human construct, nor a religious organization that evolves according to the trends of the times. It is not the product of dialogues, agreements, or historical compromises. It is the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

The Church does not merely possess the truth; it is the manifestation of the Truth in the world, for its Head is Christ Himself.

Every attempt to relativize the truth of the Church, to equate it with delusion, or to present it as one among many “expressions” of Christianity is not simply a theological misstep, but a direct distortion of ecclesiological self-awareness. In this context, ecumenism is not a neutral or well-intentioned initiative of understanding, but a profound ecclesiological delusion, which has rightly been characterized by saints of the Church as a pan-heresy, because it encompasses and legitimizes all heresies.

***

1. Holy Scripture and the Uniqueness of the Church

Christ Himself spoke with absolute clarity:

“I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

He did not speak of churches, nor of branches, nor of different paths to salvation. The Church is one, just as Christ is one. The Apostle Paul proclaims it without any reservation:

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5).

Holy Scripture knows neither theological pluralism nor “partial truth.” On the contrary, it is absolutely categorical:

“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God” (2 John 1:9).

The stance toward heresy is not one of dialogue on equal terms, but of spiritual severance after admonition:

“A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject” (Titus 3:10).

This stance does not express hatred, but care for salvation, for heresy is not a mere opinion, but spiritual poison.

***

2. The Sacred Canons as Boundaries of Life and Salvation

The Sacred Canons of the Church are not administrative laws, but the fruit of the experience of the Holy Spirit within the body of the Church. They set clear and immutable boundaries:

• 45th Apostolic Canon: Deposition of clergy who pray together with heretics.

• 10th and 11th Apostolic Canons: Prohibition of ecclesiastical communion with those who are excommunicated.

• 33rd Canon of Laodicea: Explicit prohibition of prayer with heretics.

Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite interprets that the Canons are therapeutic commandments, which protect the body of the Church from delusion. Their violation does not lead to love or openness, but to ecclesiological dissolution and the loss of the distinction between the Church and heresy.

***

3. The Holy Fathers and the Rejection of False Union

Saint Mark of Ephesus, through his stance at the Council of Florence, became an eternal standard of Orthodox confession. He did not reject union, but he rejected union without truth. According to the Fathers, the Church does not unite with delusion; it calls delusion to repentance.

Saint Photius the Great demonstrated that even a single dogmatic innovation is sufficient to rupture ecclesiastical communion.

Saint Theodore the Studite taught that communion with heretics, whether direct or indirect, constitutes participation in evil, because faith is a way of life, not a theoretical position.

***

4. Saint Justin Popovich and the Pan-Heresy of Ecumenism

Saint Justin Popovich was absolutely clear:

“Ecumenism is the common name for all heresies – a pan-heresy.”

According to the Saint, ecumenism replaces the God-man Christ with an anthropocentric humanism, wherein salvation ceases to be the fruit of truth and becomes the result of coexistence and mutual concessions.

***

5. Saint Philotheos Zervakos – The Voice of Sobriety and Precision

Saint Philotheos Zervakos (†1980), a great spiritual father of Paros, was an authentic bearer of the patristic tradition in the modern era. In his letters and admonitions, he emphatically stressed that the Church is not saved through diplomacy, but through repentance.

He condemned every attempt to equate Orthodoxy with heresies and taught that true love does not conceal the truth. He underscored that silence in the face of delusion is not peace, but complicity, and that dogmatic compromises lead to the loss of grace.

For Saint Philotheos, heresies are not healed through dialogues without boundaries, but through return to the Church. Every other path leads to spiritual confusion.

***

6. The Contemporary Athonite and Patristic Witness

Saint Paisios the Athonite warned that ecumenism would present itself as love, but would bring confusion and a loosening of the faith.

Elder Seraphim Rose spoke of ecumenism as the antechamber of a global pseudo-unity.

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou taught that Orthodoxy is not called to be accepted by the world, but to remain faithful to Christ.

***

7. Love and Truth: The Orthodox Synthesis

“Love rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6)

Love without truth is an illusion. Truth without love is harshness. The Church holds both, without concessions, without fear, and without compromises.

***

8. Final Confession

Ecumenism does not lead to unity, but to the dismantling of the Orthodox conscience. The Church does not save because it adapts to the world, but because it remains faithful to Christ.

No union without common faith.

No dialogue without repentance.

No Church without dogmatic boundaries.

“Stand fast and hold the traditions” (2 Thess. 2:15)

 

Most Reverend and Venerable Abbots of Holy Monasteries,

Most Reverend Abbesses of Holy Monasteries,

Most Reverend Archimandrites,

Very Reverend and Devout Priests and Deacons

of Greece, Cyprus, and the Diaspora

(Europe, America, Australia, Africa, and Asia),

and the Pious Faithful of the Orthodox Churches

 

Greek source: https://eugenikos.blogspot.com/2026/02/blog-post_12.html