Our First Letter (to Metropolitan Anthony of Attica and Megara, successor of Metropolitan Kallistos of Corinth as Synodal President)
Prot. No. 103
August 6, 1984
Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Savior
Your Eminence,
May our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Founder of the Holy Orthodox Church, always unite us in His truth and love, by
the good pleasure of the Father and the grace of the Divine Comforter.
You will certainly agree that the
continually strengthening pan-heresy of Ecumenism demands a continuous,
consistent, lawful, and God-pleasing struggle against heresy.
To this end, insofar as it lay
within our ability, we studied in good faith the sources of the Sacred
Tradition of the Orthodox and set forth our conclusions under the title An
Ecclesiological Position Paper for Orthodox Opposed to the Panheresy of
Ecumenism.
Our sincere desire for the union
in truth of all those struggling against the pan-heresy of Ecumenism prompted
us humbly to communicate to Your Eminence the patristic positions on this
subject.
Our disposition is clearly not
contentious, and as human beings we may err. We shall therefore gladly await
your evaluations, observations, and any objections to our text—based, of
course, upon the Fathers—so that, by the grace of God, we may come to agreement
on the positions of Orthodox Ecclesiology.
We hope you will agree that
departures from Orthodox Ecclesiology have created the ever-growing tragedy
within the bosom of the Church in Greece, which has been divided since 1924.
We humbly believe that the
solution to this tragedy lies in adopting and applying wholly authentic
ecclesiological foundations in the sacred endeavor against heresy. Certainly,
every deviation in this matter introduces innovations into the good struggle against
innovation and causes schisms within the effort to avert the schisms produced
by heresy.
Awaiting your views in love and
prayer, I remain,
The least among hierarchs,
† Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle
Position Paper:
* * *
Our Second Letter
Prot. No. 104
Phyle, Attica, August 13, 1984
Feast of Saint Maximus the Confessor
To the Holy Synod of the G.O.C.
25 Koumoundourou Street
Athens 104 37
Your Eminence, Most Reverend President,
Holy Brethren,
You are, of course, aware that on
April 17/30, 1982, I sent a Memorandum to our Holy Synod in which I also spoke
of “the erroneous ecclesiological basis of our struggle.” Unfortunately, the
Holy Synod maintained silence on this matter. Following this, on May 26, 1982
(Church Calendar), I sent a second Memorandum addressing, among other things,
the same subject. Unfortunately, the Holy Synod once again maintained silence.
Strangely, one year later, the then President of the Holy Synod circulated a
booklet and a letter, dated May 24, 1983, concerning the ecclesiological issue
and containing positions contrary to the Fathers and to Tradition. As a matter
of duty, I then sent a third Memorandum to the Holy Synod on May 31, 1983, in
which Orthodox ecclesiological positions were set forth at greater length and
substantiated on the basis of the Holy Fathers. During the well-known meeting
of the Holy Synod held at that time concerning the issue occasioned by the then
President, it was stated synodally that the ecclesiological question should be
studied with a view to adopting and announcing a synodal decision.
Nevertheless, although more than a year has now passed, nothing has been done,
and silence has unfortunately once again been maintained on the matter.
Personally, however, I studied
the ecclesiological issue further and composed a brief treatise. I delivered
this treatise to you, together with a relevant letter, on August 10, 1984,
during the meeting of the Holy Synod which, because of my illness, had been
convened at the Holy Monastery of Saint Cyprian. As you know, among the matters
discussed at that meeting was the question of our union with the hierarchs
associated with His Eminence Gerontios [of Piraeus]. The treatise makes clear
that the basis of union is our agreement on the ecclesiological issue in
accordance with the Holy Fathers—that is, unity of Faith. For this reason,
Saint Athanasius the Great says that, in Orthodox Councils, questions of Faith
are placed first and settled first, and the other matters afterward.
Consequently, patristic agreement on the ecclesiological issue is not a matter
for future discussion, but both the basis and the realization of true union. By
Divine Grace, I have personally longed for and pursued this God-pleasing union
for years. By now, this issue, as a matter of Faith, should already have been
settled by us for the sake of union according to God and the wider good of the
Church. Therefore, to make myself clearer and to avoid any possible
misunderstanding, I am obliged to inform you, in the fear of God, that I am
unable to participate in an effort toward union [with the Synod of Metropolitan
Gerontios] unless an Orthodox agreement on the ecclesiological issue is
established as a fundamental condition, since, I repeat, this is a matter of
Faith.
I pray that, even now, the
necessity of Orthodox unanimity concerning the most serious issue discussed
above may be understood, for the salvation of souls, the peace of the Church,
and the glory of the Triune God.
The least among hierarchs,
† Cyprian of Oropos and Phyle
(To be continued.)
