In Defense of Metropolitan Cyprian (+2013): Historical Documents (Part 1)

Greek source: see Ἅγιος Κυπριανός, No. 191, November 1984, pp. 377–407.

 

 

The History of Our Initiative

Our Walling-Off for Reasons of Faith and Justice in the Year 1984

We find ourselves compelled to bring to public attention all the texts that explain with the utmost clarity the meaning of our recent ecclesiastical action.

Already, since last September [1984], we have been compelled, with sorrow of soul, to dissociate ourselves and to separate from our former fellow bishops for reasons purely of Faith and Justice.

The history of the matter, in brief, is as follows.

* * *

In 1983, the then President of our Holy Synod, Metropolitan Kallistos of Corinth, unfortunately circulated a booklet entitled Apologia, as well as a letter entitled Letter of Confession. Through these texts, the untenable ecclesiological view was unexpectedly proclaimed that every Orthodox Church which had adopted the calendar innovation of 1924 had lost Divine Grace prior to conciliar judgment.

Immediately thereafter (May 30, 1983, Church Calendar), we sent a letter to His Eminence Kallistos, in which we declared our opposition to his ecclesiological views (see below: Letter to His Eminence Kallistos of Corinth). We also submitted our Third Memorandum to the Holy Synod (May 31, 1983, Church Calendar), in which the untenable ecclesiological positions of His Eminence of Corinth were refuted (see below: Our Third Memorandum to the Holy Synod). From the outset, the Holy Synod expressed its opposition to its President, Kallistos, and endeavored to persuade him to retract his ecclesiological positions. When His Eminence of Corinth did not yield, he voluntarily withdrew from the presidency and ultimately severed himself definitively from the Holy Synod. The Holy Synod unanimously resolved that the ecclesiological issue should be studied further and in depth, and that the Christ-named flock should be informed by means of a relevant announcement.

Following this, we, as a matter of duty, devoted ourselves further and at length to the serious subject of Ecclesiology, and on August 10, 1984 (Church Calendar), we presented to our fellow bishops a relevant letter (see below: Our First Letter) and a brief treatise entitled An Ecclesiological Position Paper for Orthodox Opposed to the Panheresy of Ecumenism (see below). We also sent this treatise to all the hierarchs of the Patristic Calendar in Greece.

* * *

What is exceedingly strange in this case is that, unfortunately, for an entire year following the events involving His Eminence Kallistos of Corinth, the Holy Synod never addressed this most serious ecclesiological issue in any way whatsoever, although it had adopted a resolution concerning it. This therefore makes a most profound impression and raises enormous questions: When did the Holy Synod find the time—especially while we were absent in the United States—to judge our treatise synodally, and indeed to reject it, within the space of only a few days? Why has it now, belatedly, taken a negative position, when our views had long been known from our previous Memoranda? Did not the Holy Synod dismiss His Eminence Kallistos of Corinth because he disagreed with our position? Did not the Holy Synod thereby demonstrate that it agreed with our Ecclesiological Position Paper and disagreed with its former President? Since at that time it was in agreement with us, even to the point of removing the President of the Holy Synod who held a contrary view, how is it that it now suddenly disagrees—and without offering any substantiation?

* * *

Moreover, recently (in the summer of 1984), the Holy Synod, without our participation, attempted to enter into relations aimed at union with the hierarchs associated with His Eminence Gerontios [of Piraeus], but with two fundamental shortcomings: first, without establishing the correct ecclesiological foundations for union, and second, without removing the most serious causes that, in January 1979, had occasioned the dissociation from the aforementioned hierarchs and the formation of the new Holy Synod under His Eminence Kallistos.

We declared our opposition to this (see below: Our Second Letter). Our views concerning a union according to God of all the Orthodox hierarchs in resistance in Greece were not heeded. Unfortunately, criteria and sentiments prevailed that were not ecclesiastical and not in accordance with all-venerable Orthodox Tradition, but worldly—“of this present deceitful age.” A union not according to God, however, will sooner or later certainly cause a new division, which will in turn inflict further wounds upon the mystical Body of Christ.

* * *

Meanwhile, toward the end of last August, we traveled for a fortnight to our metochion in Etna, California, U.S.A. (August 28–September 12, Church Calendar), in order to consecrate the church of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory Palamas, having duly informed the Exarch, His Eminence Matthew of Oinoe. During this absence of ours, the Holy Synod met—strangely and in haste. Desiring by every means to marginalize us, so that it might unite in an anti-ecclesiastical and anti-canonical manner with the hierarchs associated with His Eminence Gerontios, it turned against us. It adopted decisions that were unjust, anti-canonical, invalid, and ecclesiologically without effect. It then suddenly published an unacceptable “Announcement” (p. 61) in the periodical Guardians of Orthodoxy (no. 50, July–August 1984) and sent us a relevant document (September 7, 1984; see below: The First Letter of the Holy Synod), which revealed the aims and dispositions of its authors.

Immediately thereafter (September 18, 1984, Church Calendar), we sent a reply to the Holy Synod in the form of an extensive letter (see below: Our Third Letter). In that letter, we denounced the unlawful and anti-canonical nature of our fellow bishops’ action and demanded that the reprehensible document be withdrawn. We also declared that, should this not occur, our letter was to be regarded as a canonical accusation against them for their established canonical offenses. Finally, we further declared that we were breaking communion with them for reasons of Faith and Justice.

The Holy Synod, unfortunately failing to awaken, once again proceeded unlawfully and anti-canonically to adopt further decisions and sent us a new letter (September 20, 1984, Church Calendar; see below: The Second Letter of the Holy Synod). We replied to this as well (September 23, 1984; see below: Our Fourth Letter) and emphasized in particular that “the breaking of communion with you for reasons of Faith and Justice is a real and accomplished fact.”

* * *

Thereafter, the former Holy Synod under His Eminence Anthony of Attica, having abolished itself and ceased to formally exist, since it “united” with the hierarchs of His Eminence Gerontios (October 21, 1984, Church Calendar). Consequently, any further interference by the “united” hierarchs in our episcopal work will be unlawful, anti-canonical, and therefore without value and without standing, because:

a) They are now members of another Synod—namely, the Synod under His Eminence Gerontios—which is distinct from the former Synod.

b) They have transgressed the Orthodox Faith and the Sacred Canonical Order.

c) A canonical accusation has been brought and lodged against them, as a result of which they stand under judgment.

d) We have severed communion with them for reasons of Faith and Justice and have been canonically and completely released from synodal ties with them.

* * *

His Eminence Giovanni of Sardinia agreed with our Ecclesiological Position Paper. He had been treated with gross contempt and was neither invited to take part in the Holy Synod nor informed by it of what was being plotted against us. He likewise dissociated himself from the former Holy Synod and aligned himself with us. The brother Romanian hierarchs under the Most Holy Metropolitan Glicherie also agreed with us ecclesiologically.

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that anyone who agrees with our Orthodox and Patristic Ecclesiological Positions may cooperate with us in the good struggle of Orthodoxy against the pan-heresy of Ecumenism. We invoke the boundless mercy of the Divine Founder of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the God-persuading intercessions of our Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and of all the Holy Fathers, that we may continue our sacred fifteen-year struggle against the heresy of Ecumenism until the Orthodox Faith triumphs. We also beseech the Lord of glory to inspire repentance in, and to forgive, those who brazenly and shamelessly dared to accuse our Orthodox anti-ecumenist struggle of… Ecumenism!…

At this point, we republish what we had written previously on the subject. We said at that time: “Finally, for the information of well-intentioned souls who are unaware of the facts, we have at their disposal documentary texts that demonstrate beyond all doubt our Orthodox mind and the sufferings we have endured, by the grace of the Lord, on account of our struggle against the pan-heresy of Ecumenism. These documentary texts have been circulated, and ignorance is inexcusable among the ‘experts’ of the ‘Genuine Orthodox’; to characterize them as slanderers is the mildest possible description!… May the Lord our God have mercy upon them and enlighten them as soon as possible!” (Reference the periodical Ἅγιος Κυπριανός, No. 179, November 1983.)

We sincerely never expected such a fall, in which—ostensibly in the name of the Faith—the destruction and defamation of persons, and indeed of churchmen, would be pursued for manifestly personal reasons and, unfortunately, out of envy. In this matter, out of regard for the reputations of our former fellow bishops, we remain silent. Following the example of our suffering Lord, we entrust them to the mercy of God and confine ourselves to publishing below the documentary evidence. From this evidence, the measure of the seriousness and ethos of our unfortunately fallen former fellow bishops—and the nature of their “decisions”—becomes manifest.

Phyle, Attica, November 1, 1984 (Church Calendar)
Feast of the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian

The least among hierarchs,
† Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle

 (To be continued.)