The Ecumenist Alteration of the Ecclesiology of Saint John of Sinai

(The Hermeneutical Alteration at the Monastery of Bose)

Protopresbyter Dimitrios Athanasios | March 21, 2026

 

 

The spiritual inheritance of Saint John of Sinai, the author of The Ladder, constitutes a timeless foundation of Orthodox asceticism. However, in recent decades, institutions such as the Monastery of Bose in Italy—a center of international ecumenist meetings—engage in a systematic re-reading of the Saint, which, under the pretext of the “dialogue of love,” tends to alter his authentic ecclesiological identity. While Bose presents the Sinaite as a “common Saint” and a symbol of a vague ecumenical inclusiveness, the careful study of the sources reveals a Father who was an immovable guardian of Orthodoxy and of the distinction between truth and delusion.

A. Saint John of Sinai as Guardian of the Faith

In the Ladder of Paradise, Saint John defines with absolute clarity the boundaries of ecclesiastical life. In the 1st Step, he condemns as a transgressor whoever holds a “heretical faith against God,” characterizing heresy as a “perverted mode” of existence. For the Sinaite, heresy is not a simple disagreement, but a total corruption that renders man an enemy of God. This strictness reaches its peak in the 15th Step, where the fall into heresy is classified as the most serious sin after murder and the denial of God, demonstrating that its therapy requires the “surgical” precision of the Church and not a superficial coexistence.

The celebrated Discernment (26th Step), which ecumenist dialogue often presents as an instrument of “openness,” in the Sinaite functions as a separating instrument. The Saint teaches the cutting off from heretics after two admonitions, reserving long-suffering and instruction only for those who are willing to learn the truth. Indeed, in the 25th Step, he overturns every notion of “common spirituality,” declaring categorically that humility—the mother of the virtues—is impossible to dwell in a heretic, since it constitutes an exclusive privilege of the pious and faithful who have been purified within the Orthodox tradition.

B. The Ecumenist Presentation of Saint John of Sinai at the Monastery of Bose: A Critical Review

The Monastery of Bose in Italy has played a central role in bringing Saint John of Sinai back to the forefront of contemporary inter-Christian dialogue, organizing international conferences in 2001 and 2018. Through these initiatives, Saint John of Sinai was presented in a specific manner that aims at highlighting an “ecumenical spirituality,” which, however, often comes into conflict with the historical and ecclesiological reality of the Saint.

In the strategy of the Monastery of Bose, Saint John was positioned as a necessary connecting link that unites the Byzantine tradition with Russian monastic spirituality, as well as the East with the West. His presentation as a “common Father” was based on the fact that The Ladder was translated into Latin already from the 16th century, a fact that was used to establish a diachronic ecumenical resonance. In the Ecumenical Martyrology of the Monastery, the Sinaite is recorded as a saint who belongs to all Christian traditions, with the emphasis placed on the “catholicity” of his witness and on his practical teaching concerning inner stillness, which is considered applicable by every Christian, regardless of dogma.

The Ladder is not understood as a strict canonical text, but as a “manual of spiritual medicine.” This approach transforms Discernment from an instrument for safeguarding the truth into an “ecumenist tool.” Within the framework of the conferences, Discernment was presented as the ability to recognize the truth wherever it may exist and to be protected from delusion without, however, excluding the “other.” The eschatological perspective of the 30th Step concerning Love was projected as the common vision that transcends doctrinal differences, transforming love into an “eternal thing” that renders confessional boundaries secondary.

The Hermeneutical Alteration at the Monastery of Bose

The approach of the Monastery of Bose constitutes a highly selective reading of The Ladder. The “catholicity” and the “practical asceticism” of the Saint are projected, while his strict warnings concerning heretics are deliberately suppressed. In this context, Economy—which for the Sinaite is a missionary strategy of “kenosis” with the aim of the return of the one in delusion to the truth—is transformed into a “syncretistic practice” that forgives delusion in the name of an emotional love.

This transformation of Love (30th Step) into an end in itself, detached from the Truth, stands in full contradiction to the teaching of the Saint. The love of the Sinaite is the fulfillment of the law and the summit of a ladder that stands firmly upon the ground of Orthodox confession. The attempt of Bose to use Discernment as an “instrument of inclusiveness” ignores that for the patristic tradition—as also expressed by Saint Maximus the Confessor—the support of error is not love, but hatred toward man, since it keeps him far from the saving truth.

C. The Ladder as a Ladder of Orthodoxy

The presentation of Saint John of Sinai as a “bridge” between East and West by ecumenist circles constitutes an eschatological deception. The method of this alteration is based on the detachment of the Saint from his historical context and the transformation of missionary Economy into a syncretistic practice.

The authentic teaching of the Sinaite remains a unified, organic code wherein:

• The Ladder is the means of therapy of the soul exclusively within the ORTHODOX Church.

• Discernment is the instrument that distinguishes the light from the darkness.

• Love is the result of purification and not a justification for delusion.

The restoration of the authentic interpretation of the Sinaite is necessary for the preservation of Orthodox self-consciousness. The call of the Saint “Ascend, brethren” is not an invitation to a vague religious coexistence, but an exhortation for ascent from the darkness of delusion to the light of Truth.

The comparison between Saint John of Sinai and Saint Maximus the Confessor reveals a deep, organic unity in the Orthodox tradition, which is often falsified by contemporary ecumenist readings. For these two Fathers, love and truth are not two opposing concepts, but the two sides of the same coin: the salvation of man.

In the theology of Saint Maximus, love constitutes the crowning of liberation from the passions (apatheia). However, the Saint makes clear that true love for man is not identified with the acceptance of error. In his 12th Epistle, he characteristically warns: “I do not call it love, but hatred of man… for one to assist delusion.” This position is in complete accord with the spirit of Saint John of Sinai, who in the 26th Step of The Ladder defines “discernment” as the instrument that imposes reproof and, if necessary, separation from the unrepentant heretic. For both, the heretic is treated as spiritually ill. To affirm to the sick man that his illness is health is considered the greatest spiritual crime, since you deprive him of the only way of healing: the return to Orthodox Truth.

The concept of Economy (condescension) is recognized by both Saints, but always under strict conditions. Saint Maximus teaches a subtle balance: to be “meek and gentle” toward persons, but “combative and uncompromising” toward doctrines. Love must be directed toward the human person as the image of God and not toward the false doctrine that distorts him. Likewise, the Sinaite sets as an inviolable condition for every economy the “firmness in the faith” of the believer himself. He warns that if the Orthodox is not spiritually fortified, contact with delusion will not help the other, but will alter himself, transforming economy into a spiritual trap.

For Maximus the Confessor, heresy is defined as the “absence of the Logos.” Without right doctrine, life (ethos) disintegrates, since there is no foundation of truth. The Sinaite confirms this ontological reality in practice: he declares that in the soul of a heretic it is impossible for humility to dwell. Since humility is the “garment of Divinity,” it presupposes union with the Truth. The heretic, persisting in his “perverted mode” (1st Step), is trapped in a spiritual egotism that excludes divine grace.

The convergence of the two Fathers dismantles the contemporary narrative (of the Bose Monastery type) which presents love as “transcending” or relativizing the dogmas. The patristic stance is summarized as follows:

• Akriveia is the safeguarding of the “medicines” (dogmas) within the hospital of the Church.

• Economy is the wise administration of these medicines, adapted to the endurance of the patient.

• Alteration is the adulteration of the active substance of the medicines in order to make them “pleasant” to the wider public, an act which renders them ineffective and ultimately dangerous for salvation.

Within this theological perspective, strictness does not proceed from hatred, but from a profound concern for the true life of the other, rendering the Sinaite and Maximus timeless guides of authentic ecclesiology.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Sources of Saint John of Sinai

Saint John of Sinai, The Ladder: The principal source. Particular emphasis on the Discourses:

Discourse I: On renunciation (Definition of the faithful and of the transgressor/heretic).

Discourse 25: On humility (The impossibility of the existence of virtue in the heretic).

Discourse 26: On discernment (The method of reproof and separation).

Discourse 30: On love (Love as the fulfillment of truth).

Saint John of Sinai, Discourse to the Shepherd: On the presuppositions of Economy and the therapeutic responsibility of the spiritual guide.

B. Comparative Patristic Literature

Saint Maximus the Confessor, Epistle 12: The well-known position concerning “hatred of man” in the support of delusion.

Saint Maximus the Confessor, Chapters on Love: The connection of love with right faith and apatheia.

Saint Theodore the Studite, Epistles: On the precision of dogmas and the limits of ecclesiastical communion.

C. Contemporary Studies and Critique

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), Saint Silouan the Athonite: On the distinction between love for the enemy and the confession of the truth.

Protopresbyter Georges Florovsky, Themes of Ecclesiology: On the boundaries of the Church and the concept of “ecumenicity” in the patristic tradition.

Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou, World and Desert (Mount Athos, 2002): Collective volume with references to Sinaite spirituality and the critique of contemporary alterations.

Protopresbyter John Romanides, Patristic Theology: On the therapeutic method of the Fathers and its difference from Western religiosity.

D. Ecumenist Sources (For the study of the alteration)

Monastero di Bose, International Ecumenical Conferences on Orthodox Spirituality (Proceedings of the conferences of 2001 and 2018): For the understanding of the manner in which the Sinaite is presented in ecumenical dialogue.

Enzo Bianchi, The Ladder of John Climacus: A Spiritual Reading: The lens through which the Monastery of Bose interprets the Ladder.

 

Greek source: https://fdathanasiou-parakatathiki.blogspot.com/2026/03/bose.html