We must in no case yield and
accept things that are not Orthodox. The great Fathers of our Church, as we
know, waged great struggles. They labored greatly in order to keep the Church
at Her height. The Orthodox Church has been sealed. Neither subtraction nor
addition has any place. Nor the transposition of one iota, one acute accent,
from one syllable to another, for the meaning changes entirely, and a change of
meaning with respect to Orthodox positions is criminal.
The heresies are nothing other
than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Whatever is outside the circle of the
Orthodox Church is error. The Orthodox Church has not departed from Her
position; therefore, She has no need of concession. Today the heretics
say—those who, according to their own effort, take care to unite with
Orthodoxy—asking and demanding that Orthodoxy abandon certain positions, that
they also abandon theirs, and thus the “much-desired,” according to them,
“union” may take place.
The light did not depart from its
place in order to seek to return again. If they departed from the light, let
them seek it. The light exists, it shines throughout the world, and they must
return in repentance. Let them ask forgiveness from God and from the Church and
return to the former position which they had in the Church. If they were
correct and if their mindsets were salvific, the men who concelebrated with [Patriarch
John XI] Bekkos would not have become demons.
Therefore, we must guard
ourselves from Papism, which is nothing other than—not a heresy—but something
more, for they have left neither tradition, nor mysteries, nor dogmas standing
and correct. And the other doctrines, of course, and the other confessions are
grievously mistaken.
We, as Orthodox Christians, with
the unshakable testimonies, must hold firmly and without concession to our
Orthodoxy.
These great ascetics who spoke
with God give us such admonitions and commandments. Can we, with our cheap mind
and with our paltry spiritual condition, say why one thing and why another? It
is exceedingly proud to think such a thing. Rather, with humility we follow the
Fathers who examined matters so beautifully and set them in their proper place.
We must not set forth our own positions, for we shall certainly depart from the
correct positions.
And let us not give ear to what
is said on the part of the heretics, that they will achieve “union” by means of
a concession of Orthodoxy.
But they have left nothing
standing. They have no grace at all. Neither their services, nor their
mysteries—which are not mysteries—have any grace. They have nothing, whereas
the Orthodox Church is full of grace.
Taking down the vigil lamps… is
nothing!
To remove this from the Liturgy,
that from the Blessing of Waters, that from the Unction, that from Baptism,
this or that other thing… Does Orthodoxy not become corrupted by our
diminishing and removing and slightly secularizing the Church? Yes, so it is
said and so it appears. And yet, if we say that with respect to a dove, what is
it to remove one feather, to remove two—we are not removing flesh. The flesh is
intact; the bird remains whole. And yet, even without removing flesh from the
body of the dove, the dove will not live, for it is covered and lives not only
by the flesh but also by that with which it is clothed. Thus also the Orthodox
Church is not only the Gospel. We also have Tradition. We also have the
Ecumenical Councils. We also have the summits of the Fathers. We have the
authority of the great hierarchs. We have the tangible testimonies of grace.
Even a simple Blessing of Waters gives the Orthodox witness. It speaks of the
Orthodox Church, of the sanctifying grace which She has. Whereas a blessing of
waters performed by a heretic, after a short time, becomes foul.
Let us pray in our prayer that
our Orthodoxy may always stand at Her height, and let us pray for the men who
lead Orthodoxy, that they may hold Orthodoxy without concession.
Greek source:
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