From a Convention of Orthodox Clergymen and Monks Greece, April 2009
Those of us who by the Grace of God have been raised with the dogmas of piety and who follow in everything the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, believe that:
The sole path to salvation of mankind[1] is the faith in the Holy Trinity, the work and the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and their continuance within His Body, the Holy Church. Christ is the only true Light;[2] there are no other lights to illuminate us, nor any other names that can save us: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."[3] All other beliefs, all religions that ignore and do not confess Christ "having come in the flesh,"[4] are human creations and works of the evil one,[5] which do not lead to the true knowledge of God and rebirth through divine Baptism, but instead, mislead men and lead them to perdition. As Christians who believe in the Holy Trinity, we do not have the same God as any of the religions, nor with the so-called monotheistic religions, Judaism and Mohammedanism, which do not believe in the Holy Trinity.
For two thousand years,
the one Church which Christ founded and the Holy Spirit has guided has remained
stable and unshakeable in the salvific Truth that was taught by Christ,
delivered by the Holy Apostles and preserved by the Holy Fathers. She did not
buckle under the cruel persecutions by the Judeans initially or by idolaters
later, during the first three centuries. She has brought forth a host of
martyrs and emerged victorious, thus proving Her divine origin. As Saint John
the Chrysostom beautifully expressed it: "Nothing is stronger than the
Church... if you fight against a man, you either conquer or are conquered; but
if you fight against the Church, it is not possible for you to win, for God is
the strongest of all."[6]
Following the cessation
of the persecutions and the triumph of the Church over Her external enemies -
in other words, the Judeans and the idolaters - the internal enemies of the
Church began to multiply and strengthen. A variety of heresies began to appear,
which endeavored to overthrow and adulterate the faith once delivered, such
that the faithful became confused, and their trust in the truth of the Gospel
and traditions was debilitated. In outlining the ecclesiastical state of
affairs that was created by the dominance for over 40 years - even
administratively - of the heresy of Arius, Saint Basil the Great says:
"The dogmas of the Fathers have been entirely disregarded, the apostolic
traditions withered, the inventions of the youth are observed in the Churches;
people are now "logic-chopping" not theologizing; precedence is given
to the wisdom of the world, pushing aside the boasting in the Cross. Shepherds
are driven out, and in their place cruel wolves are ushered in, dispersing
Christ's flock."[7]
That which happened
because of external enemies - religions - also happened because of internal
ones - heresies. The Church, through Her great and enlightened Holy Fathers,
demarcated and marked the boundaries [perixarakose] of the Orthodox faith with
decisions by Local and Ecumenical Synods in the cases of specific, dubious
teachings, but also with the agreement of all the Fathers (Consensus Patrum),
on all the matters of the Faith. We stand on sure ground when we follow the
Holy Fathers and do not move the boundaries that they have set. The expressions
"Following after our Holy Fathers" and "Not withdrawing the
boundaries that our Fathers have set" are signposts for a steady course of
spiritual advance and a guardrail for [remaining within] the Orthodox faith and
way of life.
Consequently, the basic
positions of our Confession are the following:
1. We maintain,
irremovably and without alteration, everything that the Synods and the Fathers
have instituted. We accept everything that they accept and condemn everything
that they condemn; and we avoid communication with those who innovate in
matters of the Faith.[8] We neither add, nor remove, nor alter any teaching.
Even from the apostolic era, the God-bearing Saint Ignatius of Antioch in his
epistle to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna wrote: "Anyone who says contrary to
what has been decreed - even if he is trustworthy, even if he fasts, even if he
lives in virginity, even if he performs signs and prophesizes, let him appear
to you as a wolf in a sheep's hide, aspiring to the corruption of the
sheep." Saint John the Chrysostom, in interpreting the Apostle Paul's
words "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be anathema" (Gal. 1:9), observes that the Apostle
"did not say if they should proclaim something contrary or if they should
overturn everything, but that even if they should preach even the smallest
thing that has not been delivered to you, even if they should simply provoke
it, let them be anathema."[9] Upon announcing its decisions against the
Iconoclasts to the clergy of Constantinople, the 7th Ecumenical Synod wrote:
"We have followed the tradition of the Catholic Church, neither loosening
[the matters of faith] nor making any superfluous addition, but, having been
taught in the apostolic manner, we maintain the traditions we have received,
accepting and respecting everything that the Holy Catholic Church has received
from the first years, unwritten and written... for the true and straightforward
judgment of the Church does not make any allowance for innovations within Her,
or for attempts to remove anything. We, therefore, by following the laws of our
Fathers, having received Grace by the one Spirit, have duly safeguarded without
any innovations and reductions, all the things of the Church."[10]
Along with the Holy
Fathers and the Synods, we too reject and anathematize all the heresies that
appeared during the historical course of the Church. Of the old heresies that
have survived to this day, we condemn Arianism (still surviving, in the
pseudo-Witnesses of Jehovah) and Monophysitism - the extreme form of Eutychius
and the more moderate form of Sevirus and Dioscorus - according to the
decisions of the 4th Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon and the Christological
teaching of the great Holy Fathers and Teachers such as Saints Maximus the
Confessor, John of Damascus, Photios the Great and the hymns of our worship.
2. We proclaim that
Roman Catholicism is a womb of heresies and fallacies.[11] The teaching of the
"Filioque" - that is, the procession of the Holy Spirit AND from the
Son - is contrary to everything that Christ Himself taught about the Holy
Spirit. The entire chorus of Fathers, both in Synods and individually, regard
Roman Catholicism as a heresy because apart from the Filioque, it produced a
host of other fallacies, such as the primacy and the infallibility of the Pope,
the unleavened bread (host), the fires of Purgatory, the immaculate conception
of the Theotokos, created Grace, the purchasing of absolution (indulgences)...
it has altered nearly all of the teaching and the practice pertaining to
Baptism, Chrismation, the Divine Eucharist and the other Sacraments, and has
converted the Church to a secular State.[12]
Contemporary Roman
Catholicism has deviated even further than the medieval Latins from the
teaching of the Church, to the extent that it no longer comprises a continuance
of the ancient Church of the West. It has introduced a swarm of new
exaggerations in its "Mariology," such as the teaching that the
Theotokos is a parallel redeemer (co-redemptrix) of the human race. It has
reinforced the "Charismatic Movement" of Pentecostal (supposedly
Spirit-centered) groups. It has adopted eastern religious practices and methods
of prayer and meditation. It has introduced additional innovations into Divine
worship, such as dances and musical instruments. It has shortened and
essentially ruined the Divine Liturgy. With respect to Ecumenism it has set
down the bases for a unification of all religions (panthriskeia) with its
Second Vatican Council, by recognizing "spiritual life" in the people
of other religions. Dogmatic minimalism has led it to a diminishing of moral
requirements, on account of the bond between dogma and morality, resulting in
the moral failures of leading clergymen and an increase in moral deviations
such as homosexuality and pedophilia among clergymen.[13] By continuing to
support "Uniatism" - that caricature of Orthodoxy with which it
victimizes and proselytizes faithful - The Vatican is sabotaging the dialogue
and is contradicting its supposedly sincere intentions for union.
Generally speaking,
after the Second Vatican Council there has been a radical change in Catholicism
and a turn towards Protestantism, and even an adoption of various
"spiritual" movements of the "New Age."
According to Saint
Simeon of Thessaloniki, the Mystagogue, "Papism" caused more damage
to the Church than all the heresies and schisms combined. We Orthodox have
communion with the pre-Schism Popes and we commemorate many Popes as Saints.
However, the post-Schism popes have all taught heresy; they have ceased to be
successors to the throne of Rome; they no longer have Apostolic succession,
because they no longer have the faith of the Apostles and the Fathers. It is
for this reason that, as St. Symeon states, with each such pope, "not only
do we have no communion, but we also call him a heretic." On account of
their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit with their teaching of the Filioque,
they forfeited the presence of the Holy Spirit and therefore everything of
theirs is deprived of Grace.[14] Not one of their Mysteries (Sacraments) is valid,
according to Saint Simeon: "Therefore the innovators are blaspheming and
are far away from the Spirit, by blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, hence
everything of theirs is graceless, inasmuch as they have violated and have
demoted the Grace of the Spirit... which is why the Holy Spirit is not among
them, and there is nothing spiritual in them, as everything of theirs is new
and altered and contrary to Divine tradition."[15]
3. The same things
apply to an even greater degree to Protestantism, which as the offspring of
Papism has inherited many heresies, but has also added many more. It has
rejected Tradition, accepting only Holy Scripture (Sola Scriptura), which it
misinterprets; it has abolished the Priesthood as a unique Mystery (Sacrament),
as well as the veneration of the Saints and of the holy Icons; it has failed to
honor, or even, in some cases, slighted the person of the Most Holy Theotokos
(Mother of God); it has discarded monasticism; among the Holy Mysteries, it
accepts only Baptism and the Divine Eucharist, which are understood in a way
that deviates sharply from the teaching and the practice of the Church; it
teaches such things as absolute predestination (Calvinism) and justification
through faith alone. Furthermore, its more "progressive" sector has
introduced Priesthood for women and marriage between homosexuals - whom they
even accept into the ranks of the clergy. But above all, it lacks a proper
ecclesiology, because the Orthodox understanding of the nature of the Church
does not exist among them.[16]
4. The only way that
our communion with heretics can be restored is if they renounce their delusion
(plani) and repent, so that there may be a true union and peace: a union with
the Truth, and not with delusion and heresy. For the incorporation of heretics
into the Church, canonical precision (akriveia) requires that they be accepted
through Baptism.[17] Their previous "baptism," performed outside the
Church (without the triple immersion and emersion of the one being baptized in
water sanctified by a particular prayer) is in no way a baptism.[18] All
attempts at baptism outside the Church lack the Grace of the Holy Spirit (Who
does not remain within schisms and heresies) and as such, we have nothing in
common that unites us, as Basil the Great points out: "those who had
apostatized from the Church had no longer on them the Grace of the Holy Spirit,
for it ceased to be imparted when the continuity was broken...they who were
broken off had become laymen, and, because they are no longer able to confer on
others that Grace of the Holy Spirit from which they themselves are fallen
away, they had no authority either to baptize or to ordain."[19]
That is why the new
attempt by Ecumenists to push the idea that we have a common baptism with
heretics is unfounded. Indeed, upon this nonexistent baptismal unity they want
to base the unity of the Church, which supposedly exists wherever a baptism may
exist.[20] One enters the Church, however, and becomes Her member, not with
just any baptism, but only with the "one baptism," that uniformly
performed baptism, officiated by Priests who have received the Priesthood of
the Church.
5. As long as the
heterodox continue to remain in their errors, we avoid communion with them,
especially in common prayer. All those holy canons which address the matter of
common prayer are unanimous in prohibiting not only common officiating and
common prayer in the temple of God, but even ordinary prayers in private
quarters. The Church's strict stance toward the heterodox springs from true
love and sincere concern for their salvation, and out of Her pastoral care that
the faithful be not carried away by heresy. Whosoever loves, reveals the truth
and does not leave the other in falsehood; otherwise, any love and agreement
with him would only be counterfeit and false. There is such a thing as a good
war and a bad peace: "...for a praiseworthy war is superior to a peace
that separates one from God" says Saint Gregory the Theologian.[21] And
Saint John the Chrysostom recommends: "If you should see devoutness
infringed upon, do not prefer a oneness of mind to the truth, but stand fast
until death... in no way betraying the truth". And elsewhere, he
recommends with emphasis: "Do not accept any false dogma on the pretext of
love."[22] This stance of the Fathers was also adopted by the great
defender and confessor of the Orthodox faith against the Latins, Saint Mark of
Ephesus, who concluded his own Confession of Faith in Florence with the
following words: "All the teachers of the Church, all the Councils and all
the divine Scriptures exhort us to avoid heretics, and to refrain from
communion with them. Therefore, am I to disregard them all, and follow those
who under the pretense of a manufactured peace strive for union? Those, who
have counterfeited the sacred and divine Symbol of Faith (The Creed) and who
introduced the Son as the second cause of the Holy Spirit? [...] May this never
happen to us, benevolent Comforter (Paraclete), and may I never fall away from
my own duteous thoughts, but, by following Thy teaching and the blessed men who
were inspired by Thee, may I be added to my fathers, by bringing in, if nothing
else, this: devoutness."[23]
6. Up until the
beginning of the 20th century, the Church has steadfastly and immutably
maintained a dismissive and condemnatory stance towards all heresies, as
clearly formulated in the Synodicon of Orthodoxy which is recited on the Sunday
of Orthodoxy. Heresies and heretics are anathematized, one by one; furthermore,
in order to ensure that no heretics be left out of the anathema, there is a
general anathema at the end of the text: "Let all heretics be
anathematized."
Unfortunately, this
uniform, steady and unswerving stance of the Church up until the beginning of
the 20th century has begun to be progressively abandoned, following the
encyclical that was released by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1920, "Unto
the Churches of Christ Everywhere," which for the first time officially
characterized heresies as "churches"[24] that are not alienated from
the Church, but are familiar and related to Her. It recommended that "the
love between the Churches should above all be rekindled and reinforced, and
they should no more consider one another as strangers and foreigners, but as
relatives, and as being a part of the household of Christ and 'fellow heirs,
members of the same body and partakers of the promise of God in
Christ."[25]
The path is now open
for the adoption, the shaping and the development of the heresy of Ecumenism
wthin the sphere of the Orthodox Church - this "pan-heresy,"
initially of Protestant inspiration, now with Papal acceptance, which adopts
and legalizes all heresies as 'churches' and assaults the dogma of the One,
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This new dogma regarding the Church, this
new ecclesiology, is now developed, taught and imposed by Patriarchs and
bishops. According to this new teaching, no Church is entitled to demand for
itself exclusively the designation of the catholic and true Church. Instead,
each one of them is a piece, a part, and not the entire Church; they all
together comprise the Church.[26]
All the boundaries set
by the Fathers have fallen; there is no longer a dividing line between heresy
and Church, between truth and delusion. Heresies are also 'churches' now; in
fact, many of them - like the Papist one- are now regarded as 'sister churches'
to which God has entrusted, jointly with us, the care for mankind's
salvation.[27]
The Grace of the Holy
Spirit now also exists within heresies, and therefore their baptisms are - like
all the other mysteries - considered valid.[28] All who have been baptized into
a heretical group are now considered members of Christ's Body, the Church.
The condemnations and
the anathemas of the councils are no longer valid and should be stricken from
liturgical books. We are now lodged in the "World Council of
Churches" and have essentially betrayed - with our membership alone[29] -
our ecclesiastical self-awareness. We have removed the dogma regarding the One,
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church - the dogma of "one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism."[30]
7. This inter-Christian
syncretism has now expanded into an inter-religious syncretism, which equates
all the religions with the unique knowledge of and reverence for God and a
Christ-like way of life - all revealed from on high by Christ. Consequently, it
is not only the dogma of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in
relation to the various heresies that is being attacked, but also the
foundational and unique dogma of revelation and salvation of mankind through
Jesus Christ in relation to the religions of the world. It is the worst
delusion, the greatest heresy of all ages.
8. We believe and
confess that salvation is possible in Christ alone. The religions of the world,
but also the various heresies do not lead man to salvation. The Orthodox Church
is not merely the true Church; She is the only Church. She alone has remained
faithful to the Gospel, the Synods and the Fathers, and consequently She alone
represents the true catholic Church of Christ. According to the blessed Elder
Justin Popovitch, Ecumenism is a common name for the pseudo-churches of Western
Europe; their common name is "pan-heresy."[31]
This pan-heresy has
been accepted by many Orthodox patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, clergymen, monks
and laity. They teach it, "bareheaded," they apply it and impose it
in practice, communing with heretics in every possible manner - with common
prayers, with exchanges of visits, with pastoral collaborations - thus
essentially placing themselves outside the Church.[32] Our stance, per the
Conciliar canonical decisions and per the example of the Saints, is obvious.
Each one must now assume his responsibilities.
9. There are of course
collective responsibilities also, and chiefly in the ecumenistic conscience of
our hierarchs and theologians, towards the Orthodox people (pleroma) and their
individual flocks. To them, we declare with a fear of God and with love that
this stance of theirs and their involvement in ecumenistic activities are
condemnable from every aspect, because:
a) they actively impugn
our Orthodox-Patristic Tradition and Faith;
b) they are sowing doubt in the hearts of their flock and unsettle many,
leading to division and schism, and
c) they are luring a portion of the flock into delusion, and thus, to spiritual
disaster.
We, therefore, declare
that, for the aforementioned reasons, those who endeavor within this ecumenist
irresponsibility, whatever rank they may hold within the Church Body,
contradict the tradition of our Saints and are thus stand in opposition to
them. For this reason their stance must be condemned and rejected by the
entirety of the Hierarchy and Faithful.[33]
[1] See treatise by
Gennadius II Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople: "Regarding the only
way to the salvation of mankind," to George Scholarios "The complete
extant works - Oevres Completes de Georges Scholarios," Volumes I-VII,
Paris 1928-1936, publ. L. Petit - X. Siderides - M. Jugie, Vol. III, 434-452.
[2] John 8:12 "I
am the light of the world - whosoever follows Me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life." John 3:19 "The light had come to
the world and men loved the darkness rather than the light."
[3] Acts 4:12.
[4] 1 John 4:2-3:
"Every spirit that confesses Jesus had cometh in the flesh, is from God;
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ had cometh in the flesh, is
not from God. And this is what you have heard regarding the antichrist: that he
cometh and is now already in the world."
[5] See
"Didaches" (Teachings) of St.Cosmas of Aetolia, of I. Menounos,
"Cosmas of Aetolia teachings" (and biography), Tinos publications,
Athens, Didache A1, 37, page 142: "All faiths are false, counterfeit, all
of them the Devil's. This I realized as being true, divine, heavenly, correct,
perfect, both by my word and by your word: that the faith of the pious and
Orthodox Christians is good and holy, and that we must believe and be baptized
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
[6] "Homily prior
to the exile" 1, ΕΠΕ 33, 186.
[7] Epistle 90,
"To the most holy brothers and bishops in the West" 2, ΕΠΕ 2, 20.
[8] This refers to
those who provoke and innovate with regard to the Faith. It does not mean that
Orthodox Christians should have no contact with non-Orthodox in the context of
missionary outreach and witness, which would mean the cessation of all
evangelism, missionary work, sharing of our Faith, etc. -Ed.
[9] Galatians. 1, 9. To
Gall. Homily chapt. 1, PG 61, 624.
[10] Mansi, 13,
409-412.
[11] In our age of
"political correctness" this statement may seem outrageous and
unnecessarily inflammatory. It is, however, "soft" in comparison to
the writings of the Holy Fathers (e.g., note the language of St. Photios the
Great throughout his 10th-century treatise against the filioque clause, On the
Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit - and this was long before many other heresies
were introduced). The Holy Fathers have, for centuries, viewed the Roman
Catholicism as a womb of heresies, beginning with the adoption and promulgation
of the filioque clause.
Consider the following statements from another Confession of Faith from modern
times, the Patriarchal Encyclical of 1848: "As soon as [the filioque] was
introduced into the Churches of the West it brought forth disgraceful fruits,
bringing with it, little by little, other novelties, for the most part contrary
to the express commands of our Savior in the Gospel-commands which till its
entrance into the Churches were closely observed.... It drove the theologians
of the West, as its defenders, since they had no ground either in Scripture or
the Fathers to countenance heretical teachings, not only into
misrepresentations of the Scriptures, such as are seen in none of the Fathers
of the Holy Catholic Church, but also into adulterations of the sacred and pure
writings of the Fathers alike of the East and West."
Similar language is found in the the Patriarchal Encyclical of 1895:
"[B]ut the present Roman Church is the Church of innovations, of the
falsification of the writings of the Church Fathers, and of the
misinterpretation of the Holy Scripture and of the decrees of the holy
councils, for which she has reasonably and justly been disowned, and is still
disowned, so far as she remains in her error.... [A]s has been said before, the
Western Church, from the tenth century downwards, has privily brought into
herself through the papacy various and strange and heretical doctrines and
innovations, and so she has been torn away and removed far from the true and
orthodox Church of Christ." If some find the language of the
"Confession of Faith Against Ecumenism" offensive, they might
consider whether this is due to a lack of familiarity with the writings of the
Holy Fathers, and past confessional statements of the Orthodox Church. - Ed.
[12] Again, see the
Patriarchal Encyclicals of 1848 and 1895, which lay this out in great detail. -
Ed.
[13] The moral laxity
and decadence, even among the clergy, had already been noted at the beginning
of the 15th century, by Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki (see 'Dogmatic Epistle 16'
in D. Balfour, by Simeon of Thessaloniki (1416/17-1429) "Theological
Works," Vlatades Gleanings 34, Thessaloniki 1981, page 218: "And
furthermore, that they did not regard fornication at all entailing Hell, not
even among their priests, but instead, they would unscrupulously have
concubines and youths for fornication and would every day officiate."
Ibid, 15, page 216: "They also do not follow an evangelical lifestyle;
for, every kind of luxury and fornication to them is not a reprehensible matter,
nor anything else that is forbidden for Christians.") The moral decadence
that is observed of late even among the Orthodox clergy is the result of
liberalism which accompanies ecumenism and of secularism.
[14] The term
"Grace" is often misunderstood today. The Patristic teaching on the
subject was best expressed by our Venerable Father Diadochus the God-bearer,
Bishop of Photike in Epirus. As he writes in his Hundred Texts on Spiritual
Knowledge and Discernment: "Before holy baptism Grace encourages the soul
towards good from the outside, while Satan lurks in its depths, trying to block
all the intellect's ways of approach to the divine. But from the moment we are
reborn through Baptism, the demon is outside, Grace is within." And, in
our own days, Blessed Archbishop Seraphim of Sophia writes concerning the two
forms of Grace: "According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the Grace
of the Holy Spirit is manifest in two forms: firstly, as an external,
providential Grace, which acts in and throughout the lives of everybody,
enabling anyone to accept the True Faith; and, secondly, as an internal,
salvific Grace, which revivifies, redeems, and functions solely in the Orthodox
Church." Here the Confession refers to the latter form of Grace. The
general operation of the Holy Spirit among all men is not in question. - Ed.
[15] Dialogue 23, PG
155, 120-121. Epistle regarding blessedness 5, in D. Balfour, Simeon Archbishop
of Thessaloniki (1416/17-1429), "Theological Works," Vlatades
Gleanings 34, Thessaloniki 1981, page 226. These comments of Saint Simeon
should be interpreted on the basis of the Patristic teaching on Grace, as
referred to in note 14 above. - Ed.
[16] Here the
Confession speaks generally of Protestantism. Given that there are 26,000+ denominations,
it is impossible to make a succinct statement about Protestant tenets that
applies accurately to them all. The Confession is admittedly painting with a
broad brush, but these are all aspects of Protestantism that apply more or less
to all Protestant groups, unless otherwise specified as speaking to particular
confessions (such as Calvinism). - Ed.
[17] "Canonical
precision" or akriveia, is the norm, as it is most consistent with the
theological principles under-girding the Canons concerning Holy Baptism.
Nevertheless, the authors of the Confession would agree that, when canonical
presuppositions existed, "canonical dispensation", or oikonomia, has
been employed. It is also the case, however, that, in almost every case today,
those presuppositions (such as triple immersion) do not exist. - Ed.
[18] The reception of a
convert into the Church by oikonomia, when indeed it is done within the
canonical prescriptions and leads to the same end as akriveia, in no way can be
interpreted as altering Orthodox ecclesiology. Employing oikonomia in the
reception of non-Orthodox does not mean acceptance per se of non-Orthodox
mysteries. The acceptance per se of non-Orthodox mysteries by some Orthodox
representatives in the ecumenical movement is impossible to reconcile with
Orthodox ecclesiology and is to be rejected as contrary to the Orthodox Dogma
of the Church. - Ed.
[19] Canonical Epistle
Ά, To Amphilochios of Iconion, 1st Canon.
[20] In the text of the
9th General Convention of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil
in 2006, which was accepted by the representatives of the Orthodox churches and
was titled "Called to be the One Chuch," in paragraph 8 it states:
"All those baptized in Christ are united in His name." In paragraph
9: "That we all belong in common to Christ through baptism in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, gives the churches the possibility
and it invites them to walk together, even when they disagree. We assure that
there is one baptism, exactly as there is one body and one Spirit, one hope in
our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one God and Father to all of us (see
Ephes.4:4-6)." The Metropolitan of Pergamos John (Zizioulas) in his work
"Orthodox Ecclesiology and the Ecumenical Movement," Sourozh Diocesan
Magazine (England, August 1985, vol.21, page 23), had paved the way for this
position, by stating: "Within baptism, even if there is a break, a
division, a schism, you can still speak of the Church... The Orthodox, in my
understanding at least, participate in the ecumenical movement as a movement of
baptized Christians, who are in a state of division because they cannot express
the same faith together. In the past this has happened because of a lack of
love which is now, thank God, disappearing."
[21] Apologetics on the
flight to Pontus 82, ΕΠΕ 1, 176.
[22] To Romans, Homily
22, 2, PG 60, 611. To Philippians, Homily 2.1, PG 62, 119.
[23] Confession of faith displayed in Florence, in Documents relatifs au
Concile de Florence, II, Oeuvres anticonciliaires de Marc d'Ephèse, par L.
Petit, Patrologia Orientalis 17, 442.
[24] That is,
"churches" in a more or less real, ecclesiological way, implying
mystical union with the one, true Church of Christ, the Orthodox Church. - Ed.
[25] See I.Karmiris',
"The Dogmatic and Symbolic Monuments of the Orthodox Catholic
Church," vol. 2, page 958.
[26] One recent example
of this is found in the declaration of the 9th General Convention of the World
Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2006, which was accepted by the
representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches and was entitled "Called to
be the One Chuch." In section II, paragraph 6 of the document, which is a
common declaration of Orthodox and heterodox, we read: "Each church is the
Church catholic and not simply a part of it. Each church is the Church
catholic, but not the whole of it. Each church fulfils its catholicity when it
is in communion with the other churches." But, as it would be expected,
this "new dogma" takes on a wide variety of expressions, from
including only two churches, such as (in the "two lung" theory) Roman
Catholicism and the Orthodox Church, or three churches, as in the classic
Branch Theory of the Anglicans, or including many churches, as has been
expressed in the "invisible church" ecclesiology of the World Council
of Churches and the "baptismal unity" theory. That which binds these
various theories together is a rejection of "ecclesiological
exclusivism" and an ecumenism "of return." A sentiment that is
said often and by many, including Orthodox primates and hierarchs, is that
"a Catholic will not become an Orthodox and vice versa, but we must
approach the altar together" (Bishop Tichon, Diocese of Central and
Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria on his visit to the Pope, October
22nd, 2009; See http://www.zenit.org/article-27299?l=english).
[27] See joint
statement by Pope John-Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew during the latter's
visit to Rome on the 29th of June, 1995. The same had been proclaimed at an
earlier date by the Combined Theological Committee for the Dialogue between
Orthodox and Papists, in Balamand, Lebanon in 1993.
[28] The term
"valid" here means accepting heterodox baptism "per se", in
and of itself, apart from the Church, and has ecclesiological implications
which the kat'oikonomia reception of the non-Orthodox can never imply.
[29] This is a question
of methodology, the "essential betrayal" being an abandonment of the
patristic methodology of witness, wherein the Scriptural command, "a man
that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject" (Tit
3:10) is followed, if not in word than in spirit. Rather, we have
"lodged" ourselves in the World Council of Churches as full organic
members, even committing ourselves to dialogue without presuppositions or
limits. This disregard for patristic and scriptural guidelines to proper
witness inevitably has lead to a betrayal of the Church's self-understanding.
[30] Ephesians 4:5.
[31] Archimandrite
Justin Popovitch, Orthodox Church and Ecumenism, Thessaloniki 1974, page 224.
The passage draws on the 15th canon of the 1st -2nd Synod. The understanding behind the phrase "essentially placing themselves outside the Church" is clearly implied in the canon when it states: "For not bishops, but false bishops and false teachers have they condemned..." The 15th canon, although praising those who cease commemoration of their bishop, who is teaching heresy "bareheaded", does not make ceasing commemoration a requirement. It leaves the particular coure of action - based on the canons and councils and fathers - to the discretion of each. The Confession follows suit, clearly naming the heresy and calling all to appropriate response ("Our stance, per the Conciliar canonical decisions and per the example of the Saints, is obvious.), but leaving the particulars to each one's discretion ("Each one must now assume his responsibilities").
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