“What your bishops did against the unity of the Church, her greatest enemies did not do…”

Letter of Archbishop Leonty of Chile to the P.T.E.O.K. (the lay governing board of the G.O.C., which administered most of its parishes)

January 1967 [386]

 

For the new year 1967, I return your good wishes to you in response to your wishes.

Honorable and beloved children of Orthodoxy in Christ, Messrs. 1) Antonios Zoulias, 2) Christos Panagiotopoulos, 3) St. Konitsas, 4) I. Toutouzas, 5) Ap. Tzoannos, 6) G. Sarlanis, 7) Dim. Kontizas, 8) Kon. Komnios, 9) Theod. Danesis, 10) Georg. Ntampanlis, 11) Georg. Bournousouzis, 12) Soph. Anastasiadis, and all those of like mind, as many as are known and unknown to me, but known to the All-knowing God: from the depths of my soul, I wish upon you all the blessing of God, health, happiness, and success in all your God-pleasing works, unto the glory of God and the benefit of Holy Orthodoxy, which does not conform to the innovations of the present age, which are working its destruction, but on the contrary proceeds in accordance with all that the Holy Apostles, the God-bearing Fathers, the Martyrs, and all who pleased God handed down.

In your letter, you formulated your thoughts to His Eminence Philaret [of New York] [387] in the best possible way. I, as an individual, am in agreement with them, for they constitute the way in which Orthodoxy must live, without distinctions of nationality, of so many peoples, etc. If the enemies of Orthodoxy are united in their struggle against us, how much more should we be?

Through our division we become enemies of Christ and of His Holy Church. Unfortunately, these persons who received from me the rank in order to oversee the Church of God are strangers to these thoughts and are indifferent; they have forgotten all their oral and written promises to me, and they become causes of the destruction of the Church, pursuing only their own personal interests. When my involvement in your affairs is not advantageous to your bishops, then they slander me to our Holy Synod, and thus they changed the disposition of His Eminence Philaret, who, while at the beginning he was enthusiastic about you, now does not believe in your struggle, and has withdrawn and is no longer interested.

This is precisely what the self-seeking men pursued for their own advantage. They ought to have been confined to their monasteries for the evil they did to the Church; this ought to have been imposed upon them as a penance. What your bishops did against the unity of the Church, her greatest enemies did not do. Who could have foreknown that these men were going to become such, and above all the young Bishop Akakios [of Diavleia]? I think that God will punish him, not only in the life to come, but also in the present life, if he does not repent. [388] In the administration of the Church, the laymen too must participate, though on the condition that the precedence must belong to the bishops, for if the laymen assume the precedence, the result is the same destruction. The bishops do not have the right, according to the law of God, to govern the inheritance of God dictatorially, holding authority by force. For such a manner of administration turns out to their own harm, and not to the harm of those against whom they plot. You ask how you can get out of this impasse. My sole opinion is that a Pan-Hellenic Conference must be convened, with the bishops, His Grace Petros [of Astoria], the clerics, and the laymen. I see no other way out. If your bishops had not done the evil through telegrams and letters to our Holy Synod [ROCOR], I could have intervened and corrected the situation. For I have the right which your holy bishops gave me in writing after the consecrations, and they made me President at their first session. But they, having been sweetened by the taste of authority, set everything aside and do whatever they wish, sending slanderous letters to our Holy Synod; and thus, our bishops within it who are hostile towards me succeeded in having it forbid me this involvement of mine in the affairs of the Greek Church. In other words, they tied my hands from acting for the good of Orthodoxy. For this reason, it is not possible for other consecrations of bishops to take place, because instead of good, they will create disturbances and hostilities, both here and there.

My opinion is that the good faithful must intensify their fasts and prayers. And you must catechize the faithful and inform them about what your bishops have done and are doing, in order to prepare the Pan-Hellenic Conference, which will give a favorable end to your question.

When I wished to come, your bishops threatened me with the civil authorities, and after this they called Archbishop Seraphim from Chicago. For him there was no fear of the civil authority, because they knew that they are my enemies and that he helps them in their actions against me. But the Holy Synod [of ROCOR] did not permit even him to become involved in the affairs of your Church, since it had previously forbidden me. We ask: who is responsible for the creation of this abnormality? This is my thought, my tormenting one.

I greet and bless the clerics and monks.

Always your supplicant in prayer,
Archbishop Leonty

P.S. Why, then, were these bishops so good when they called me? Now they fear my coming to Greece, and above all Bishop Akakios, who dreams of becoming First Hierarch. But I believe that this will never happen. [389] I now greatly regret his consecration. But God knows that I sought the good for all of you, and I hope that God will neutralize the evil and unite you by His omnipotence.

 

For more information regarding the history of Archbishop Leonty and the G.O.C., see:

https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2025/06/manuscript-archbishop-leonty-and-greek.html

 

386. AKK [Archive of Konstantinos Komnios – trans.]. Without an exact date.

387. Not found.

388. Unfortunately, Archbishop Leonty was proven right, since Akakios of Diavleia was tormented before his death by a serious illness, as I myself ascertained during my visits to his Monastery. May he have repented, even at the eleventh hour, and may this become a lesson to the arrogant bishops who know only how to terrorize those who question their “infallibility.”

389. Another prophecy that was fulfilled.

 

Greek source: Η αλληλογραφία του Αρχιεπισκόπου Λεοντίου Φιλίπποβιτς με τους Έλληνες Παλαιοημερολογίτες (1961–1969), by Nikolaos Mannis, Athens, 2022, pp. 338-340.