One Non-Commemorator’s Opinion: “Comments on a post about Synodal Walling-off”

Protopresbyter Dimitrios Athanasiou | July 14, 2026

 

 

At the link https://katakomviki-ecclesia.blogspot.com/2026/07/1000_0625701760.html, a short article was published under the title: “They themselves admit that they are falsely walled off. Furthermore, although they invalidate their own beliefs, they nevertheless vindicate the G.O.C.”

[Translation of the original article: https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2026/07/concerning-errors-of-old-calendarists.html]

Regarding the views of Fr. Th. Z[isis] published in the article, we note the following:

A. On the one hand, Fr. Th. Z. says, “we will not make bishops of our own,” but on the other hand, he expresses the hope “that Orthodox Bishops may be found who will wall themselves off” (A GLARING CONTRADICTION). If the latter were to occur—if active bishops were to wall themselves off—then, from the perspective of those who have walled themselves off, this would not constitute the “founding of a new church” (as the G.O.C. are accused of doing), but rather the “healthy portion” of the already existing hierarchy reacting. In practice, however, the administrative outcome would be exactly the same: the creation of a separate, outside-of-communion synod.

B. The case of Artemije (formerly of Raška and Prizren).

Since Fr. Theodore and those with him wanted a bishop to lead the walling off, why did they not recognize Metropolitan Artemije, who had been deposed by the Serbian Patriarchate and who did exactly that? Fr. Theodore and other walled-off theologians maintain that Artemije proceeded with “uncanonical ordinations” (he ordained “chorepiscopi” without the approval of a synod), thereby creating de facto his own parallel hierarchy (a schism) in Serbia. The reality, however, is otherwise. Their refusal to “bow their heads” to Artemije demonstrates the impasse of their theory. Fearing that they might be characterized as schismatics by the official Church, they isolate themselves even from those bishops who took the very step that they themselves proclaim. IN THE END, WHO IS CAUSING THE SCHISM? THOSE WHO HAVE WALLED THEMSELVES OFF, or the [Ecumenist] PSEUDO-BISHOPS?

C. How can a “Church” exist without a Bishop? In Orthodox ecclesiology, the Bishop is the head of the local Church (“wherever the bishop is, there let the multitude also be,” Saint Ignatius the God-bearer). If the priests who have walled themselves off do not have a bishop of their own to ordain new priests, their movement is condemned to die out naturally with the death of the present priests. Consequently, their position—“we are within the Church, but we are not in communion with its bishops”—appears ecclesiologically untenable.

D. The view that a mere protest can move or convert a hierarchy whom those who have walled themselves off accuse of “Ecumenism, Freemasonry, sodomy, etc.” strains the bounds of realism: Historically, no governing Church has retreated or changed course because a small group of priests and laypeople ceased commemoration. On the contrary, the official Church usually proceeds with depositions, marginalizing the protesters. The heresy must be officially diagnosed and condemned by a Synod.

If, from the perspective of those who have walled themselves off, the leadership of the Church has fallen so deeply into heresy and moral disrepute, the hope that “they will repent because of a protest” seems utopian.

Fr. Theodore’s attempt to maintain a middle position (“both walled off, and without bishops of our own, and within the Church”) lacks practical viability and any historical precedent that would vindicate its effectiveness.

E. A walling off that remains “in limbo” (without a bishop) has an expiration date.

From a purely practical and structural standpoint, joining Artemije’s Synod (the so-called Administration of the “Diocese of Raska-Prizren in Exile”) would be the only consistent way forward for anyone who wishes to remain walled off without “returning” to the Patriarchate, for the following reasons:

1. It provides bishops for the ordination of new priests, ensuring that the Holy Mysteries will continue in future generations as well.

2. Both the Greek clergy who have walled themselves off and Artemije’s Serbs began from the same point of departure: the rejection of Ecumenism and of the decisions of the Council of Crete (2016).

3. They would no longer be isolated “islands” of priests, but members of an organized ecclesiastical structure.

F. From the standpoint of those who have walled themselves off, the answer is clear: the schism is caused by the heretical bishops. According to the Holy Fathers (such as Saint Maximus the Confessor and Saint Theodore the Studite), whoever preaches heresy “with bared head” (publicly and officially) places himself outside the Church, even if he retains his throne. Canon 15 of the First-Second Council expressly states that those who cease the commemoration of a bishop who publicly preaches heresy before a synodal determination:

“not only are they not subject to the canonical penalty... but they are worthy of the honor befitting the Orthodox, because they condemned not a bishop, but a pseudo-bishop and pseudo-teacher, and they did not rend the unity of the Church by schism, but hastened to deliver the Church from schisms and divisions.”

The bishops who accept Ecumenism, pray together with heretics, or signed the decisions of the Council of Crete (2016) have fallen away from the Faith. Consequently, it is they who have cut themselves off from the Body of Christ, regardless of whether they retain the administrative reins and the buildings. The faithful people and the clergy who wall themselves off merely safeguard Orthodoxy.

G. If we approach the issue in terms of absolute theological and practical consistency, it becomes clear that the only realistic and honorable way forward for those who have walled themselves off is their full incorporation into the Synod of Artemije and his successors. Every other intermediate solution merely prolongs their ecclesiological state of suspension. This choice of incorporation, despite the undoubtedly enormous personal and social cost that it entails, offers three decisive advantages that establish the viability of their struggle.

1. Ecclesiological Fullness. The Orthodox Church cannot exist as a “headless” body of faithful and priests, since the presence of the Bishop is an organic and inseparable element of ecclesiastical life. Incorporation into this particular Synod fully restores the necessary hierarchical structure (Bishop–Presbyters–Deacons) and guarantees the continuity of Apostolic Succession through future ordinations, preventing spiritual decline and a biological impasse.

2. This choice puts an end to the internal contradiction that afflicts the walling off movement in Greece. If someone truly believes and preaches that the bishops of the official Church are “pseudo-bishops” because of their acceptance of Ecumenism, then, by precisely the same logic, he is obliged to regard the depositions imposed by them as invalid, null and void, and devoid of divine grace. The refusal of communion with Artemije because of the “official” sanctions imposed upon him constitutes a glaring inconsistency. Incorporation into his Synod is the only position that brings actions into complete alignment with their professed beliefs.

3. Instead of a formless, isolated, and geographically dispersed group of priests that will inevitably slide into withdrawal into private life, discouragement, or, ultimately, tacit capitulation and return, incorporation creates a clear, cohesive, and organized ecclesiastical structure. This structure can withstand the pressure of time, organize parishes, catechize the faithful, and bequeath the anti-Ecumenist witness to future generations.

The theory of the “middle way” has exhausted its limits. For anyone who rejects a compromising return, joining forces with an existing anti-Ecumenist hierarchy, such as that of Artemije, is not merely an option, but the only path that preserves dogmatic and ecclesiological consistency in practice.

 

Greek source: https://fdathanasiou-parakatathiki.blogspot.com/2026/07/blog-post_65.html