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Is Freemasonry Systemic in the Greek Orthodox Church?

October 7, 2020

James G. replies to the Orthodox Reflections article on Freemasonry

In the Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, Archbishop Sotirios has been named Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix in Greece, according to the last line in his Biography on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada Website The Grand Commander wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the order on the right chest.

O James G. απάντα στο άρθρο του <<Orthodox Reflections>> το οποίο βρίσκεται στο περί της Μασωνίας και του Οικουμενισμού στην Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία.

Στην Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία του Καναδά, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος ονομάστηκε Μέγας Διοικητής της Μασωνικής Στοάς Φοίνιξ, όπως γράφει η τελευταία γραμμή της βιογραφίας του που βρίσκεται στην Ελληνορθόδοξη Αρχιεπισκοπή του Καναδά. Ο Μέγας Διοικητής φοράει το έμβλημα της στοάς στο γιακά και το αστέρι της στοάς στο στήθος δεξιά.

The Order of the Phoenix in Greece was established on May 13, 1926 to replace the defunct Royal Order of King George the 1st. The order was retained after the restoration of the monarchy in 1935, and has its roots in Freemasonry as evidenced by its symbols which are borrowed from the Knights Templar (full name: The United Religious, military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta).

Η Στοά Φοίνιξ πρωτοδημιουργήθηκε στην Ελλάδα στις 13 Μαΐου το 1926 για να αντικαταστήσει την ανενέργητη Βασιλική Στοά του Bασιλέως Γεωργίου του Πρώτου. Η Στοά επικράτησε μετά από την αναστήλωση της Μοναρχίας το 1935 και είναι ριζωμένη στην Mασωνία. Στοιχεία είναι τα σύμβολα τα οποία η Μοναρχία δανείζεται από την Στοά των Knights Templar (full name: The United Religious, military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta).

Some sources suggest that the origins of Freemasonry are traced back to the builders of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem (with the purpose to someday rebuild it) but the time or place or reasons of its origin are not really known. What is known is that “organised” Freemasonry began in northwestern Europe on June 24, 1717 when four London lodges came together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St Paul’s Churchyard. On that day, these pre-existing lodges formed themselves into a Grand Lodge and elected a Grand Master (Anthony Sayer) and Grand Wardens. Today, Freemasonry is the largest worldwide secret society, spread by the advance of the British Empire.

Μερικές πηγές υποθέτουν πως η Μασωνία ξεκίνησε από την εποχή που οικοδομείτο ο Ναός του Σολομώντος της Ιερουσαλήμ (με το στόχο να ξανάοικοδομηθεί κάποτε) αλλά ο χρόνος, ο τόπος, ή οι αιτίες που ξεκίνησε δεν είναι γνωστές. Αυτό που γνωρίζουμε είναι ότι η Μασωνία πρώτοοργανώθηκε στην βορειοδυτική Ευρώπη στις 24 Ιουνίου το 1717, όταν τέσσερα Μασωνικά τμήματα στο Λονδίνο ενώθηκαν σε μία μπιραρία στο προαύλιο της εκκλησίας του Αγίου Παύλου. Εκείνη την ημέρα τα τμήματα αυτά οργανώθηκαν σε μία Μέγιστη Στοά και ψήφισαν ένα Μέγα Αρχηγό (τον Anthony Sayer) καθώς και Μεγάλοι Φύλακες. Σήμερα η Μασωνία είναι η μεγαλύτερη παγκόσμια μυστική κοινωνία η οποία ξαπλώθηκε διαμέσου της Αγγλικής Αυτοκρατορίας.

Freemasonry has its roots in the “Guild” system, which was an association formed for mutual aid and protection and for the furtherance of professional interests. They were a type of modern day ‘Union’ that controlled sectors of commerce, trade (wealth) and power. Guilds flourished in Europe between the 11^th and 16^th centuries and formed an important part of the economic and social fabric in that era.

Η Μασωνία έχει τις ρίζες της στο σύστημα της <<Συντεχνίας>>, σωματείο που δημιουργήθηκε για αλληλοβοήθεια, προστασία και για να προωθήσει επαγγελματικά συμφέροντα. Ηταν ένα είδος μοντέρνας <<ένωσης>> η οποία ήλεγχε πολλές εμπορικές συναλλαγές και πολιτικές εξουσίες. Τα σωματεία αυτά προόδευσαν στην Ευρώπη μεταξύ του 11ου και 16ου αιώνος και σχημάτισαν ένα σπουδαίο μέρος της οικονομικής και κοινωνικής ζωής.

To maintain power and wealth, Royalty also created a type of Guild by way of intermarriage. By keeping their power and wealth in the family, the Royal Guild became a type of “Order” in the same spirit as the Freemason movement. This explains why the freedom fighters of the Greek revolution who gave their lives to free the country from the Ottoman yoke, were persecuted by the European powers (Germans, French and British), who feared losing control of the imperial and colonizing system they had in place. A key figure was Klemens von Metternich (1773 – 1859 AD), an Austrian Diplomat of Royal lineage, who strongly opposed liberalism, nationalism and electoral reform. Instead of allowing Greece to form her own democracy, something she, herself, had invented, he and others like him, came to ‘help govern’ Greece by imposing a Monarchy, which was essentially an extension of the European “Guild” of Royal Families.

Για να διατηρήσουν τα πλούτη και την εξουσία τους, οι Βασιλείς δημιούργησαν και αυτoi ένα είδος σωματείου δια μέσου του γάμου, μεταξύ των οικογενειών των. Έτσι κρατώντας την εξουσία και τον πλούτο μεταξύ των οικογενειών των, το βασιλικό σωματείο έγινε κι αυτό ένα είδος βασιλικής στοάς με το ίδιο πνεύμα της Μασωνίας. Ετσι εξηγείται πως οι ήρωες της επαναστάσεως του 1821 οι οποίοι έδωσαν τη ζωή τους να ελευθερώσουν την Ελλάδα από την Ωθωμανική σκλαβιά, καταδιώχτηκαν από τις Ευρωπαϊκές Δυνάμεις (Γερμανία, Αγγλία, Γαλλία) οι οποίες φοβήθηκαν να μη χάσουν τον έλεγχο του αυτοκρατορικού και αποικιουρατικού συστήματος, το οποίο είχαν ιδρύσει. Πρωταγωνιστής του συστήματος αυτού ήταν ο Klemens von Metternich (1773 – 1859), ένας Αυστριακός δίπλωματης βασιλικής γενεάς, ο οποίος αντιδρούσε δυναμικά την φιλελευθερία, την εθνικότητα και την προεκλογική μεταρρύθμιση. Αντί να αφήσει την Ελλάδα να δημιουργήσει δική της Δημοκρατία η οποία εφευρέθηκε από τους Ελληνες, ο Metternich και άλλοι σαν κι αυτόν, ήλθαν στην Ελλάδα να <<βοηθήσουν (τάχα) την κυβέρνηση της>> επιβάλλοντας μία Μοναρχία η οποία ήταν μία επέκταση του Ευρωπαϊκου Βασιλικών Οικογενειών (Συντεχνιών).

With Metternich’s influence, Bavarian prince, Otto Friedrich Ludwig became first King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London. Popular heroes and leaders of the Greek Revolution, such as generals Theodoros Kolokotronis and Yiannis Makriyiannis, who opposed the Bavarian-dominated regency, were charged with treason, imprisoned and sentenced to death. They were later pardoned under popular pressure, while Greek judges who resisted Bavarian pressure and refused to sign the death warrants (Anastasios Polyzoidis and Georgios Tertsetis, for instance), were saluted as heroes.

Με την επιρροή του Metternich, ο Βαυαρικός Πρίγκιπας, ο Otto Friedrich Ludwig, έγινε ο πρώτος βασιλιάς της Ελλάδος το 1832 με τη Σύμβαση του Λονδίνου. Tότε δημοφιλείς ήρωες και ηγέτες της Eλληνικής Eπανάστασης, όπως οι στρατηγοί Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης και ο Ιωάννης Μακρυγιάννης, οι οποίοι αντέδρασαν στην Βαυαρική κυριαρχία, καταδικάστηκαν ως προδότες, εφυλακίστηκαν και καταδικάστηκαν εις θάνατον. Αργότερα ελευθερώθηκαν εξ αιτίας της πιέσεως του λαού και των δικαστών οι οποίοι αντιστάθηκαν στην Βαυαρική πίεση, αρνούμενοι να υπογράψουν την ποινή του θανάτου (όπως ο Αναστάσιος Πολυζωίδης και ο Γεώργιος Τερτσέτης ). Αργότερα, ο λαός τους ανακήρυξε ήρωες.

Britain and the Rothschild bank, who were underwriting the Greek loans, insisted on financial stringency. The Greeks were soon more heavily taxed than under Ottoman rule. According to the people, they had exchanged a hated Ottoman rule for government by a foreign bureaucracy, the “Bavarocracy” (Βαυαροκρατία). In addition, the regency showed little respect for local customs. As a Roman Catholic, Otto himself was viewed as a heretic by many pious Greeks; however, his heirs would have to be Orthodox, according to the terms of the 1843 Constitution. After several attempts, the Greek people finally succeeded in deposing Otto in 1862; but in 1863, Europe’s Great Powers elected George 1^st, Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, as King of the Hellenes. Greece transitioned from slavery to the Ottomans to pseudo-freedom under even the more powerful “Royal Guild.”

Η Αγγλία και η τράπεζα του Rothschild, που έδιναν τα δάνεια στην Ελλάδα, επέμεναν στην χρηματοοικονομική αυστηρότητα. Σύντομα οι Ελληνες πλήρωναν φόρους πιο αβάσταχτούς από τότε που ήταν σκλαβωμένοι. Ο λαός φώναζε ότι αντάλλαξαν τους μισιτούς Ωθωμανούς με Βαυαρους, για μια κυβέρνηση γραφειοκρατίας <<Βαυαροκρατίας>>. Επιπλέον ο βασιλιάς δεν σέβονταν τα Ελληνικά ήθη και έθημα ως Ρωμαιοκαθολικός, και πολλοί Ελληνες Ορθόδοξοι τον θεωρούσαν αιρετικό. Ωστόσο οι κληρονόμοι του βασιλιά έπρεπε να είναι Ορθόδοξοι σύμφωνα με το Σύνταγμα του 1843. Αργότερα, ύστερα από πολλούς αγώνες, οι Ελληνες πέτυχαν την εκθρόνιση του βασιλέως Otto το 1862. Oμως, το 1863 οι Μεγάλες Δυνάμεις της Ευρώπης επανέφεραν τον Πρίγκιπα Wilhelm of Denmark, τον Γεώργιο τον Πρώτο, ως επόμενο Βασιλέα των Eλλήνων. Η Ελλάδα μετεβλήθη από σκλαβιά των Ωθωμανών σε ψευτοελευθερία κάτω από το πιο δυνατό <<Βασιλικό Σωματείο>>.

The Monarchy was officially eliminated and exiled in 1974, but since then, Greece has seen the same handful of family names involved in Greek government, one generation after the next. Many of these politicians have been routinely photographed openly attending Rotary events and delivering the non-standard handshake to one another, eerily reminiscent of the “secret handshakes” frequently described and associated with Freemasonry. Having infiltrated many levels of Greek government and even the Greek Orthodox Church, the Freemasons also continue to run the Order of King George the 1st, which they, themselves, admit, on their official website.

Η Μοναρχία επίσημα εξαλείφθηκε και εξορίστηκε το 1974, αλλά από τότε οι ίδιες οικογένειες κυβερνούν την Ελλάδα από τη μία γενναία στην άλλη. Πολλοί από αυτούς τους πολιτικούς έχουν φωτογραφηθεί να παραβρίσκονται στις Μασωνικές εκδηλώσεις, π.χ. Rotary, και να δίνουν ένα διαφορετικό χαιρετισμό ο ένας στον άλλον, ο οποίος δυστυχώς, θυμίζει τις μυστικές χειραψίες οι οποίες σχετίζονται με την Μασωνία. Οι Μασωνοι εισχώρησαν μέσα σε πολλά τμήματα της Ελληνικής Κυβέρνησης, ακόμη και στην Ελληνορθόδοξη Εκκλησία. Επίσης οι Μασωνοι συνεχίζουν να διαχειρίζονται την Στοά του Βασιλέως Γεωργίου του Πρώτου οι οποίοι οι ίδιοι το ομολογούν στο δικτυακό τόπο τους <<Μεγάλη Στοά Ελλάδος Φοίνιξ>>.

Therefore, Greece has never been truly independent since the fall of Constantinople. It is small wonder that this small, yet prodigious country is still struggling since the devastating fourth crusade which left her dangerously vulnerable to the Ottomans followed by greater evils.

Επομένως η Ελλάδα ποτέ δεν ήταν ελεύθερη μετά από την άλωση της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Γι’ αυτό, το μικρό αλλά καταπληκτικό κράτος ακόμη αγωνίζεται από την καταστροφική Τέταρτη Σταυροφορία, η οποία την άφησε ευάλωτη επικίνδυνα στους Ωθωμανούς, και έπειτα σε μεγαλύτερα κακά.

There are many clues that someone is affiliated with Freemasonry. Words such as “grand master’, ’lodge’, ‘order’, ‘sash’ and so on, are usually associated with Freemasonry and have nothing to do with Orthodoxy. Freemasonry has incorporated the symbols and rituals of several medieval military orders in a number of Masonic bodies since the 18^th century at least. This can be seen in the “Red Cross of Constantine,” the “Order of Malta,” (received by Pope Francis in 2019) and the “Order of the Temple.”

Υπάρχουν πολλές ενδείξεις πως κάποιοι συνεργάζονται με την Μασωνία. Λέξεις όπως <<Μέγας Διοικητής>>, <<Τάγμα>>, <<Στοά>>, <<Ζώνη>> κ.τ.λ.π., συνδέονται συνήθως με την Μασωνία και δεν έχουν να κάνουν τίποτε με την Ορθοδοξία. Η Μασωνία έχει ενσωματώσει τα σύμβολα και τις τελετές πολλών Μασωνικών στρατιωτικών στοών σε πολλά Μασωνικά σωματεία, τουλάχιστον από το 18ον αιώνα. Αυτό μπορεί να το δει κανείς στον <<Κόκκινο Σταυρό του Κωσταντίνου>> στην <<Στοά της Μάλτας>> που έλαβε ο Παππάς Φράνσις το 2019, και στην <<Στοά του Τέμπλου>>.

Notice the similarity in the 8-pointed silver stars of the Order of Phoenix, the Royal Order of George Ist, and the Red Cross of Constantine. On the surface, a cross looks proper, but it is a common masonic practice to mix occult symbols with Christian ones. The phrase “ΙΣΧΥΣ ΜΟΥ Η ΑΓΑΠΗ ΤΟΥ ΛΑΟΥ” which means, “my strength is the love of the people,” in the middle of the cross on the Royal Order of King George 1st, gives away the underlying spirit which Holy Scripture calls us to examine. According to Holy Scripture, “The Lord is my strength and my shield” (Psalms 28:7) and “The Lord is the strength of my life” (Psalm 27:1). It is problematic when a Church leader, regards his strength as coming from the love of the people rather than from God.

Παρατηρήστε την ομοιότητα στις οχτώ μύτες των ασημένιων αστέρων της Στοάς Φοίνιξ, της Βασιλικής Στοάς του Γεωργίου Πρώτου, και του Κόκκινου Σταύρου του Κωσταντίνου. Στην επιφάνεια, ένας σταύρος φαίνεται σωστός, αλλά είναι μία κοινή Μασωνική πρακτική για να συνδυάζη απόκρυφα με Χριστιανικά σύμβολα. Η φράσις <<Ισχύς μου η αγάπη του λαού>> στο κέντρο του Σταύρου της Βασιλικής Στοάς του Γεωργίου Πρώτου, δείχνει το υποκείμενο πνεύμα το οποίο η Αγία γραφή μας καλεί να ερευνήσουμε. Σύμφωνα με την Αγία γραφή που λέγει <<Ο Κύριος μου είναι η ελπίδα μου και η δυναμις μού>> (Ψαλμός 28,7) και <<Ο Κύριος είναι η δυνάμις της ζωής μου>> (Ψαλμός 27,1), είναι πολύ προβληματικό όταν ένας Ιεράρχης ηγέτης της Εκκλησίας θεωρεί πως η δύναμη του προέρχεται από την αγάπη του λαού, παρά από τον Θεό.

Another symbol of Freemasonry is the 5-pointed star, which is found on the upper arm of the cross on the necklet of the Grand Commander’s Order of the Pheonix. As mentioned above, Archbishop Sotirios has been named Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix in Greece, which means he has been noted for furthering Masonic principles and ideals. However, according to the Church of Greece’s Official Statement in 1933, “Orthodox Christians must disavow the masonic movement and resign from it if they have joined in ignorance of its goals.” According to this website, Patriarch Athenagoras and Archbishop Iakovos whom Archbishop Sotirios regards as his mentors and heroes, were also Freemasons. “One needs only to read the Christmas 1967 statement of patriarch Athenagoras, or Archbishop Iakovos’ January 19, 1969 sermon at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to realize that they continually expounded Masonic doctrine which is opposed to sound Orthodox teachin g.” Is it by coincidence, therefore, that at the ordinations of the Canadian Auxiliary Bishops, Archbishop Sotirios named two of them, Athenagoras and Iakovos? The third, he named Bartholomew after our current Patriarch. It would appear, therefore, that the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, may also be affiliated with the Freemason society, by extrapolation, since Archbishop Sotirios also credited him with the selection of the three new Canadian Auxiliary Bishops.

Αλλο ένα σύμβολο της Μασωνίας είναι το αστέρι με πέντε μύτες το οποίο βρίσκεται στο επάνω μέρος του σταύρου του περιδέραιου του Μέγα Διοικητού της Στοάς Φοίνιξ. Οπως αναφέραμε, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος ονομάστηκε Μέγας Διοικητής της Στοάς Φοίνιξ στην Ελλάδα και έλαβε το περιδέραιο αυτό με το έμβλημά του. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι έχει αναγνωριστεί για την προώθηση των Μασωνικών αρχών και ιδανικών. Σύμφωνα με την επίσημη δήλωση (απόφαση Συνόδου) της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος το 1933, <<οι Ορθόδοξοι χριστιανοί πρέπει να απορρίψουν το Μασωνικό κίνημα και να παραιτηθούν από αυτό εάν έχουν ενταχθεί σε αυτό αγνοώντας τους στόχους των>>. Σύμφωνα με αυτόν τον ιστότoπο, ο Πατριάρχης Αθηναγόρας και ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Ιάκωβος, τους οποίους ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος θεωρεί ως μέντορες και ήρωες του, ήταν επίσης Μασωνοι. <<Χρειάζεται κάποιος να διαβάσει την Χριστουγεννιάτικη δήλωση του Πατριάρχου Αθηναγόρα, ή το κήρυγμά του Αρχιεπισκόπου Ιακώβου του 19/1/1969 στον καθεδρικό ναό του Αγίου Πατρικίου, για να συνειδητοποιήσει ότι ανέπτυσσαν συνεχώς την Μασωνική διδασκαλία που>> Είναι λοιπόν τυχαίο πως στις χειροτονίες των νέων Καναδών Επισκόπων, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος ονόμασε δύο από αυτούς Αθηναγόρα και Ιάκωβο; Τον τρίτο Καναδό Επίσκοπο τον ονόμασε Βαρθολομαίο για να τιμήσει τον Πατριάρχη μας. Μήπως και ο Πατριάρχης είναι συνδεδεμένος με την Μασωνία αφού ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Σωτήριος τον αναγνώρισε με την επιλογή των τριών Καναδών επισκόπων;

Freemasonry and “Royalty Guilds” have not only negatively impacted the country of Greece, but also, it would appear, the Greek Orthodox Church. It is small wonder, then, that the Greek Orthodox Church is in crisis.

H Mασωνία και τα <<Βασιλικά Τμήματα>> έχουν επηρεάσει αρνητικά όχι μόνο το κράτος της Ελλάδος αλλά, ως φαίνεται, και την Ελληνορθόδοξη Εκκλησία. Δεν είναι, λοιπόν, καθόλου τυχαίο ότι η Ελληνορθόδοξη Εκκλησία βρίσκεται σήμερα σε μεγάλη κρίση.

Pretending to be loyal to Christ, Freemasons refer to each other as “brethren.” An Orthodox Hierarch who is a Mason, addresses as “brethren” a congregation that believes in the Orthodox Holy Trinity. He also addresses as “brethren” the members of his Masonic Lodge, which dogmatizes the heretical notion that the “Master Architect of the Universe” is someone other than the Orthodox Holy Trinity. Therefore, when an Orthodox Hierarch who is a Mason says “brethren,” which of his two families is he addressing? To have “brothers” in two families implies two “fathers” – God and Satan.

Οι Μασωνοι προσποιούνται ότι είναι πιστοί στο Χριστό και ονομάζει ο ένας τον άλλον <<αδελφό>>. Ενας λοιπόν, Ορθόδοξος Ιεράρχης που είναι και Μασωνος ονομάζει <<αδελφούς>> τους εκκλησιαζόμενος Ορθόδοξους Χριστιανούς οι οποίοι πιστεύουν στην Αγία Τριάδα. Επίσης ονομάζει <<αδελφούς>> τα μέλη της Μασωνικής Στοάς η οποία δογματίζει ότι ο <<Μέγας Αρχιτέκτον του Σύμπαντος>> είναι κάποιος άλλος θεός. Επομένως όταν ένας Ιεράρχης Ορθόδοξος που είναι και Μασωνος λέγει <<αδελφοί>>, σε ποιά κατηγορία από τις δύο οικογένειες απευθύνεται; Το να έχει κανείς αδέλφια σε δύο οικογένειες συνεπάγεται ότι έχει και δύο πατέρες – τον Θεό και τον Σατανά.

The Biblical Barabbas, a thief and a murderer, was the embodiment of sin and the devil. It is prophetic that his name, “Bar” – “Abba” means “son” – “of the father.” Pilate presented the mob with a clear choice between Christ, the Son of the Heavenly Father, and Barabbas, whose sins and crimes had turned him into the proud son of Satan, “the ruler of this world.” (John 14:30) This is why Christ taught, “no man can serve two masters,” (Matthew 6:24) and why the official Orthodox Church has forbidden its members to join “secret” societies, deeming it an abomination. Nowadays, we see hierarchs openly advertising their affiliation with Freemason societies without shame, in violation of this regulation.

Ο Βαραββάς που ήταν ληστής και φονιάς, ήταν ενσωματωμένος με την αμαρτία και τον Σατανά. Το όνομα του ήταν προφητικό. <<Βαρ>> – <<αββάς>> σημαίνει <<ιός>> του <<πατέρα>>. Ο Πιλάτος παρουσίασε στον όχλο μία σαφή επιλογή – τον Χρήστο και τον Βαραββά, τον υιό του θεού και τον γιο του Σατανά, τον <<άρχοντα του κόσμου τούτου>>. (Ιωάννης 14,30) Δυστυχώς ο όχλος προτίμησε τον άρχοντα του κόσμου τούτου. Ο Ιησούς Χριστός όμως, μας εδίδαξε ότι <<κανείς δεν μπορεί να υπηρετεί δύο κυρίους>> (Ματθαίος 6,24), και γι’ αυτό η επίσημη Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία απαγορεύει τα μέλη της να συμμετέχουν σε μυστικές λέσχες όπου απεχθάνεται ο Θεός. Σήμερα, όμως, βλέπουμε Ελληνορθόδοξους Ιεράρχες να δημοσιεύουν ανοιχτά τις σχέσεις τους με Μασωνικές λέσχες, παραβιάζοντας τους κανονισμούς της Εκκλησίας, χωρίς ντροπή καμία.

Despite these warnings and admonitions, many find the promises of “belonging” to a “guild” that will provide worldly wealth and power very enticing. Judas’ betrayal of Christ for 30 pieces of silver (the cost of a slave back then) demonstrates that betrayal of faith and nation for personal gain is not something new. The notion that Masonic societies focus on “charity” is also highly questionable from a Biblical perspective. When Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver, even the murderous High Priests of the Temple considered it improper to put “blood money” back in the treasury and used it to buy a field for burying foreigners instead. Charity, therefore, cannot be used as a “mask” for betrayal and does not nullify sin. In addition, there is a scriptural warning about showing off one’s charitable contributions for the purpose of garnering rewards from people rather than God. Advertising one’s charity to others is contrary to Christ’s teachings and falls in line with “my strength is the love of the people,” rather than in the all-powerful God in Heaven.

Παρά αυτές τις προειδοποιήσεις, πολλοί βρίσκουν δελεαστικές τις Μασωνικές υποσχέσεις να <<ανήκουν>> σε ένα <<σωματείο>> που θα τους προσφέρει κοσμικό πλούτο και δύναμη. Η προδοσία του Ιούδα για 30 αργύρια (η τιμή ενός σκλάβου τότε) δείχνει πως η προδοσία της Πίστεως και Πατρίδος δεν είναι κάτι το καινούργιο. Το ότι τα Μασωνικά σωματεία προωθούν <<φιλανθρωπικά>> έργα είναι αμφισβητήσιμα από απόψεως της Αγία γραφής. Οταν ο Ιούδας επέστρεψε τα 30 αργύρια, ακόμη και οι δολοφόνοι Αρχιερείς του Τέμπλου θεώρησαν ακατάλληλο να επιστραφούν <<χρήματα αίματος>> στο ταμείο, και τα μεταχειρίστηκαν για την αγορά ενός κτήματος για να θάβονται οι ξένοι. Επομένως η φιλανθρωπία δεν είναι σωστό να χρησιμοποιείται ως <<μάσκα>> προδοσίας, και δεν ακυρώνει την αμαρτία. Επιπλέον η Αγία γραφή διδάσκει να μη επιδεικνύουμε τις προσωπικές μας δωρεές για να μας τιμούν και επαινούν οι άνθρωποι, αλλά ο Θεός.

Many a time, we have listened to Archbishop Sotirios’ sermons about the Orthodox Faith, in which he strongly supported national Greek pride and Hellenism. He spoke of these things with apparent conviction, but also with the full knowledge of the Masonic shackles on Greece and her present-day Orthodox Church, since he, himself, is a link in these chains. This is a clear conflict of interest and a violation of the Byzantine tradition of the ‘double-headed eagle,’ which symbolizes the Church and State looking in two different and independent directions, while united in one body.

Πολλές φορές ακούσαμε τα κηρύγματα του Αρχιεπισκόπου Σωτηρίου περί Ορθοδόξου Πίστεως, στα οποία υποστήριζε έντονα την Ελληνική εθνική υπερηφάνια. Μιλούσε με προφανή πεποίθηση, αλλά και με πλήρη γνώση των Μασωνικών δεσμών στην Ελλάδα και στην σημερινή Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία της, καθώς αυτός ο ίδιος είναι ένας κρίκος σ’ αυτές τις αλυσίδες. Αυτό είναι σαφής σύγκρουση συμφερόντων και παραβίασης της Βυζαντινής Παράδοσης του <<Δικέφαλου Αετού>> που συμβολίζει την Εκκλησία και το Κράτος να κοιτάζουν σε δύο διαφορετικές κατευθύνσεις ενώ ενώνονται σε ένα σώμα.

How can an Orthodox Hierarch accept a Masonic medal and the rank of Grand Commander without crossing a line? How can he maintain his dignity and freedom by serving two masters? It is clear which master such persons favour and which they despise, for they have compromised the Orthodox faith to favour those to whom they owe favours, in exchange for power, wealth and recognition – ‘medals of honour’ and ‘membership’ in modern-day guilds.

Πως μπορεί λοιπόν ένας Ορθόδοξος Ιεράρχης να δεχθεί ένα Μασωνικό μετάλλιο και τον βαθμό του Μεγάλου Διοικητή χωρίς να ξεπερνά τα όρια; Πως μπορεί να διατηρεί την αξιοπρέπεια και την ελευθερία του υπηρετώντας δύο κύριους; Eίναι ξεκάθαρο ποιόν κύριο προτιμά και ποιόν περιφρονεί εφόσον συμβιβάζει την Ορθόδοξη Πίστη για να κάνει χατίρια σ’ αυτούς που του χάρισαν σαν αντάλλαγμα δύναμη, πλούτο και αναγνώριση – μεταλλεία τιμής και συμμετοχή στα σύγχρονα σωματεία.

Greece, the cradle of Democracy and Orthodoxy, is a threat to the principles and goals of Freemasonry, which seems determined to destroy and replace her from within, with its attacks on her government and economy and its demonic ecumenist innovations – something which began many years ago and is now culminating in North America and Europe. If allowed to continue, Freemasonry will have the same ultimate effect on Greece and Orthodoxy as it has already had on Archbishop Sotirios and his Freemason predecessors and colleagues – ultimate heresy and corruption, which is already systemic in the Hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Η Ελλάδα, το λύχνο της Δημοκρατίας και της Ορθοδοξίας, αποτελεί απειλή για τις αρχές και τους στόχους της Μασωνίας, η οποία φαίνεται να είναι αποφασισμένη να την καταστρέψει και να την αντικαταστήσει από μέσα, με τις επιθέσεις της στην κυβέρνησή της, στην οικονομία της, και με τις δαιμονικές Οικουμενιστικές καινοτομίες, κάτι το οποίο ξεκίνησε πριν πολλά χρόνια. Εάν επιτρέψουμε στην Μασωνία να συνεχίσει, θα έχει το ίδιο τελικό αποτέλεσμα στην Ελλάδα και στην Ορθοδοξία με αυτό που ήδη είχε στον Αρχιεπίσκοπο Σωτήριο και στους Μασωνικους προκατόχους του και συναδέλφους του – δηλαδή, απόλυτη αίρεση και διαφθορά, η οποία είναι ήδη ενσωματωμένη με την Ιεραρχία της Ελληνορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας.

Tags: Archbishop Elpidophoros, Canada, ecumenism, fanatics, freemasonry, freemasons, Greek Archdiocese, greek orthodox bishop, heresy, Leftist Infiltration, martyrs, modernity, Orthodox Bishops, Orthodox martyrs, secret societies, Sotirios

The Orthodox Church of Today: What is Happening and Why, Part II

September 29, 2023

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Please click here for Part 1 of this article.

Imposter Bishops (continued)

God waits for the sinner to repent, but there is a limit to how long He will wait. When He gave Life and Freedom to all His logical creatures – the angelic powers and mankind – He also assigned accountability. While Lucifer and his bodiless followers were plotting their rebellion against God (which the All-knowing was always aware of) they were still members of the Church in Heaven – until they consummated their sin and were thrown out. That was the first mutinous persecution of the Church by Satan, and one third of the angelic powers who fell with him.

Satan’s rage against God and all of Creation – but especially His Church – has never diminished since. After Adam and Eve also sinned (and were thrown out of Eden), there has been war between Satan and God, with humanity as the battleground. Which of them wins over us depends on how we use our freedom. There have always been people in both camps, persecutions both without and within the Church. From Judas’ kiss to Diocletian’s bloody executions, followed by the Arians, the Nestorians, the Iconoclasts, the Crusaders, the Western schismatics, the Ottomans, and finally the Ecumenists of today – all these and many, many other assailants throughout Church history, have incessantly rocked the Ark of Salvation. And yet, despite the volleys of betrayals, massacres, heresies and prodigal bishops, the Church has and will stay the course with Christ at the helm.

We know this because Christ promised, “on this rock [of faith] I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). This never meant that the Church on Earth would find things easy. It meant that Christ’s Church, those in and of her, would never be overcome by the evil one. It is this rock-like faith that led millions to martyrdom. Just like Jesus, they won the war by dying. Their physical deaths did not end their membership in the Church, but further sealed it with their confession of faith. Despite the death toll of the early martyrs, the Church not only survived, but increased. These Christian martyrs understood Christ when He told Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). They knew that although they were in the world, they were not of the world either. They were sojourners on earth who strove for a permanent membership in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, if some of us lament the abysmal quality of some hierarchs in the Orthodox Church today, listen to what Christ said to His Disciples: “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil?” (John 6:70). Being the all-knowing God, and not interfering with the free will of His creatures, but giving them every opportunity to know Him and follow Him, Jesus knew in advance that Judas Iscariot, despite following Him closely for three years, would betray Him. He knew he would do it with a kiss and would not seek forgiveness, but would destroy himself. Christ gave Judas every opportunity to repent, but when Judas would not return to the Master, the Master used the devil to abolish the devil’s power over us by allowing his freely made choices to play out. Although one of the “twelve,” Judas did not cultivate the rock-like faith required for the gates of hell not to prevail against him. He succumbed to his final temptation, becoming “the son of perdition” (John 17:12). He was in the Church, but he was not of the church – a condition of the heart and mind that can apply to anyone, including bishops.

As She did from the very beginning, the Church continues Her struggle against both external and internal enemies. It is the “kissing” internal ones that pose the greatest threat to the flock, the ones that lie to the Holy Spirit when they say, “nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas.” The New Testament refers to such as these as Judaizers (refuted by St. Paul), the sexually immoral Nicolaitans (in Revelations), false teachers, false prophets and wolves masquerading in sheep’s clothing. While Papal heresies led to the Protestant Reformation in the West, the East struggled under the Ottoman yoke, keeping Orthodoxy alive by the light of the moon. During her occupation, many more new martyrs of the suffering Church on Earth were added to the Church in the Heavenly Kingdom.

About a century after the Eastern Church was liberated, Her hierarchs began yielding to the seductions of the West. Operating like papal “primates”, with their arbitrary innovations to the Faith, the more recent patriarchs of Constantinople, beginning with Joachim III and Meletios IV (Metaxakis) all the way to present-day Bartholomew, have been yearning after the new pan-heresy of unorthodox Ecumenism. This heresy aims to lead all faiths to one global religion, one all-accepting watered-down creed that accepts everyone’s god. This type of ecumenism, which can only be accomplished by destroying the Orthodox Church, has been the long-term plan of Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is a secret, neo-gnostic, occult religion, with its own theology, rituals and symbolism (icons). The higher levels have attracted many wealthy intellectuals who hold key positions in society and politics, including many religious and political leaders. Freemasonry rejects the Holy Trinity and anything having to do with faith, accepting only knowledge (gnosis) in the form of science or rationalism. They look upon faithful Christians with disdain, as those being “in the dark.” Ironically, the higher levels of Freemasonry still practice a form of faith in that they worship Lucifer as the “good god”, who enlightens and illumines his followers and strives to overcome the “bad” God, the Creator of matter. This is hypocritical because science and rationalism have everything to do with matter. Freemasonry is a form of idolatry, where the false god being worshiped is Satan, for God said, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7).⁶ Of course, people are free to worship any god they choose, and follow any lifestyle they wish, but anyone who claims to be Christian knows that they “cannot serve two masters” (Luke 16:13). If this is true for all Orthodox Christians, how much truer is it for Orthodox clergy?

The Greek Orthodox Church (in Greece, not Constantinople) officially condemned Freemasonry first in 1933, and again in 2014. Scholar and Monk Seraphim (Zissis) details how multiple Greek Patriarchs of Constantinople, like Joachim III and Meletios IV (Metaxakis), other Greek bishops, and Greek theologians were secret Freemasons who endorsed the early ecumenical movement and helped create the World Council of Churches (WCC) to promote it. Patriarch Joachim III was the first to name the Roman Catholics and Protestants “Churches” from an Orthodox perspective. Patriarch Meletios IV (Metaxakis) adopted the new calendar to align with the other “churches”, and was very interested in the Anglican church when most of their clergy were Masons. Political Freemasonry played a key role in the February 1917 Revolution in Russia, which established Communism, an ideology that heavily persecuted the Russian Orthodox Church.

In abuse of their honorary “ecumenical” titles, the Freemason patriarchs of Constantinople began exercising a papal type of authority, creating divides in the Orthodox Church. They did this by arbitrarily consecrating new bishops as autocephalous leaders in other countries and jurisdictions. Patriarch Bartholomew’s interference in Ukraine in 2019 was not the first example, nor will it be the last. In addition, Bartholomew threatened to break communion with the Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church in Greece if She did not transfer to his control 36 of her dioceses. The Church of Greece capitulated to prevent schism. Using similar means, he also absorbed many churches of the diaspora that were under the control of other patriarchates, who also conceded to prevent schism. This year, he has gone so far as to announce his intention to consecrate the dregs of rogue clergy, like Alexander Belya (planned to be the new bishop of Nicopolis) previously defrocked by ROCOR, and the divisive Theophan Koja, of whom the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania had grave concerns. Theophan Koja (now the new bishop of Philomelion) was no sooner consecrated when he recited the Creed with the Latin filioque at his consecration! Despite severe criticism, these two are being used by Bartholomew to create Slavic and Albanian “Vicariates” (under the American Archdiocese of Elpidophoros) based on the ethno phyletism of the laity, so as to absorb this flock and their temples into Bartholomew’s see.

What is this all about? It is about achieving the end goal of unorthodox Ecumenism, the child of the Constantinopolitan Freemason hierarchy, which they have been planning for over the past 100 years. April 20^th, 2025 is the much-anticipated calendar date when the Roman Catholic Easter and the Orthodox Pascha will coincide. It will mark the 1700^th year anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, and as Bartholomew and his bishops have already announced, their planned union of the Roman Catholic Church of the West to the Eastern Orthodox Church of the East, thereby symbolically annulling all previous Ecumenical Council decisions. This explains Patriarch Bartholomew’s global meddling in other Orthodox jurisdictions, his high-handed take-over of diaspora Churches, and his seemingly endless crowning of riffraff “Charlemagnes.”⁴ He rushes to non canonically expand as much as he can, the size of the Eastern Orthodox Church, while setting Her up for a devastating downfall in a false union with Rome. The mutinous patriarch of “shock and awe” hurries to bring as many followers as possible into perdition with him, as his father, Lucifer, did before him. On the North American continent, this would include all Greek Orthodox Churches of the American Archdiocese under colorful Elpidophoros, and all those of the Greek Canadian Archdiocese, controlled by sinister Sotirios. It would take too long to list the churches in Australia and other parts of the world that are in Bartholomew’s see.

If consummated, the result of this false union will be a schism similar in tragedy and trajectory to that of 1054, but the Freemasons don’t care because their goal is to destroy the Orthodox Church anyway. Patriarch Bartholomew told us so himself, when he was asked in 2021 how he felt when the Moscow Patriarchate severed full communion with the Phanar, because of his meddling in Moscow’s jurisdiction by granting autocephaly (independence) to the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This new “autocephaly” was an affront to the already established Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which was self-governing under the see of Moscow. The schism was hoped to be a temporary disciplinary measure to make Bartholomew recant and restore unity, but his response was – σκασίλα μου – he just didn’t care.

The Holy Fathers, on the other hand, cared a great deal about schisms. St. Irenaeus of Lyons, sums it up perfectly with these words: “He [God] shall also judge those who give rise to schisms, who are destitute of the love of God, and who look to their own special advantage rather than to the unity of the Church; and who for…any kind of reason which occurs to them, cut in pieces and divide the great and glorious body of Christ, and so far as in them lies, destroy it – men who prate of peace while they give rise to war.” Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer could not make it more clear in his Epistle to the Philadelphians: “Do not err, my brethren. If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” It is vital to note here that it is he who makes the schism that is the schismatic, which is why the faithful must not leave their schismatic church until after the schism is made, to remain blameless of this enormous sin.

Bartholomew and his predecessors justify their uncanonical activities by abusing their honorary title of “ecumenical” (which means universal) Patriarch, also expressed as “first among equals” (first in honor). Not long ago, Bartholomew went further by (uncanonically, of course) adopting the title “first without equal,” unprecedented in the Orthodox Church, but well known to the popes of Rome who invented it. This new title was defended in a 2014 essay by the incumbent American “orthodox” Archbishop Elpidophoros, who, in 2019, was rewarded with a hierarchy of his very own by his mentor … Bartholomew. Many of the papal heresies and fabrications that led to the Great Schism of 1054 are strikingly similar to those of the Constantinopolitan patriarchs during the past 100 years.⁴Bishops like these fully disregard that the Apostles never selected amongst themselves a “first among equals” let alone a “first without equal.”

Instead of working on the more important and pressing issues that concern the Church today, such as pandemic issues, abortion issues, contemporary morality issues or properly framed reunification issues, all of which should have “a return to Orthodoxy” as their basic tenet (this is proper Orthodox ecumenism); and instead of strengthening the bonds between existing Orthodox jurisdictions and resolving political and cultural differences that have divided some Orthodox Churches, the “first without equal” (in all manner of “shock and awe”) does the opposite. By “lording it over” all other patriarchates, he creates and widens inter-Orthodox rifts while focusing on “union” with the non-Orthodox, without any indication of their conversion to the Orthodox Faith from which they have tragically departed. Ecumenical dialogue has focused predominantly on “similarities,” opportunities for ‘economia’ (which should only be used for rare exceptions), and a “downplaying” and even avoidance of dogmatic differences. As they did in Kolymbari, Bartholomew and his bishops keep drifting into the most emetic of “lukewarm” arenas of the dilution of our Faith, which makes our Lord Jesus Christ so upset, He says, “I will vomit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Should this false union ever be consummated, he and his bishops will be thrown out of the Church by God Himself, like their father, Lucifer. Woe to the blind, complacent and lukewarm sheep who follow them into the abyss of an easy, convenient and false “Christianity.” The true Church will not follow these deceivers! She knows the voice of the Good Shepherd and will follow Him, staying the course.

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In the Name of “Love”

The Orthodox Church is essential, not only as the Ark of Salvation, but also as the spiritual hospital for the healing of the soul.¹ Spiritual growth and healing, however, can only be accomplished through the in-person (never virtual) sacraments of Holy Baptism, Repentance (Holy Confession) and Holy Communion. In the name of “love,” too many misguided “orthodox” bishops have disregarded these soul-saving tools, to enforce unprecedented political temple lockdowns and vaccine mandates – because these, and not Christ, will save us. In the name of “love,” they have embraced sexual immorality, and the non-Orthodox without calling anyone to repentance. They have even served Holy Communion with multiple spoons – because the “Giver of Life” spreads disease and death – and marched and celebrated under a rainbow flag, as did Archbishop Elpidophoros, twice, at Anglican St. Bart’s Cathedral, all in the name of “love,” for as they say, “God is Love”. Yes, that He is, but love without truth is a lie. God is Love and Truth. God is true Love, not an exhibition of “love” where “everything goes.” Love without Truth is not the Love of God, and lust is not love. God said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second [commandment] is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mark 12:28-34). In true Love, obedience to God and His commandments always comes first because He is Love and He is Truth. Christ also commanded us: “Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:9-17), which Christ did for us. True love is sacrificial. There is nothing lustful or selfish about it; and there is nothing sacrificial in lust.

In the name of “love,” these same bishops have denied the Power of God in the Holy Chalice; they have denied the flock access to the Holy Gifts; and they continue to deny to the non-Orthodox knowledge of the Truth, lest these convert and judge them. When did any of these “lovers” of ours risk their lives to commune the faithful during the lockdowns? When did any of them even conduct a litany for God to lift the pandemic? Are these “lovers” of sexual immorality and all its ideologies, now ready to lay down their lives for their LGBTQ+ “friends?” or is it because they secretly practice sexual immoralities together with them that they publicly support their sin? They haven’t left much to the imagination when a number of “orthodox” hierarchs are already known to have open and unrepented homosexual lifestyles. And even if they don’t, do they really think that they love the stray sheep more than God loves them?

In their arrogance, they forget that the fallen human condition (which includes theirs) cannot even begin to fathom the mystical depths of God’s Power, Mercy and Love. Theirs is more a love of the self and the body, manifested as lust, greed, and hypocrisy. In their self-serving delusions, they have lost the meaning of Love because the Holy Spirit has departed from them, and the “other” spirit has made its abode in them. Saint Peter warns about false teachers, like these bishops, who are unholy and communicate heresy. They are arrogant, sensual and greedy deceivers, denying accountability in their lives. Isolating themselves from Apostolic doctrine concerning Christ, they hold their own “private interpretations,” misconstruing doctrines and Holy Scripture (2 Peter 2:1-3). These are not the words of the author. These are the words of the Orthodox Study Bible.⁵

Homosexuality among the Eastern Orthodox hierarchy under the Constantinopolitan patriarchate, is more prevalent than meets the eye. It is rumored that “to become a bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church, one must be an ecumenist, a Freemason and a homosexual.” You must belong to the “other” club before you can belong to Bartholomew’s. This explains the ‘rogue clergy’ consecrations that we see taking place in rapid succession, the cowardice of established hierarchs who did nothing to spiritually support their flock during Covid, and the countless hushed up reports of open episcopal homosexuality, witnessed by scandalized laity, which this author is also privy to. Bishops such as these are not worthy of their ordination according to the impediments set out by the Holy Canons of the Church and they must be deposed.⁶ St. Paul said, “…an overseer [bishop] must be above reproach…” (1 Timothy 3:1-2), but if you are an imposter patriarch (bishop), you need other imposters worse than yourself, to support your agenda and not hold you accountable! The fish rots from the head!

Recent publication from our friends at Fordham University Press, home of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center which has extremely close ties to the Patriarchate of Constantinople

St. John the Theologian records Christ’s message to the bishop of the Church of Ephesus: …”but you have this in your favor, you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelations 2:6). In his book of homilies, Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios explains below:

“The Nicolaitans were gnosticizing heretics … Gnosticism did not die and will not die until the end of history …The Nicolaitans … had a very lax attitude towards idolatry and carnal sins…they had great difficulty accepting the commandments of God … more specifically, in the area of bodily sins. They were tremendously loose … specifically regarding the subject of abstinence or sexual control …

… Gnosticism attempts to create a melting pot of all the ideologies of all times. It is a mixture: a little philosophy, a little Christianity, a little Buddhism, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little idolatry. It is a smorgasbord of all religions [like unorthodox Ecumenism] that maintains the name of Christianity; but it is a Christianity of maximum distortion. They were classified as heretics because they attempted to give themselves a Christian garb, a Christian color, while their abuse and distortion of the Gospel was horrendous …

…Freemasonry is a revival of Gnosticism …neo-Gnosticism … They claim to have the light, the illumination, and the pathway to the depth of knowledge, the depth of wisdom, the depth of philosophy … [which are] the depths of Satan … [Their] hope [is] to destroy all religions and especially Orthodox Christianity.”⁷

“There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The Holy Apostles were painfully aware of spiritual dangers like Gnosticism, the oldest and most pervasive heresy in Christian history. Saint Peter warns, “be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:9). Saint Paul admonishes, “In their case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Saint John also writes, “We know we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

The Holy Apostles admonished and exhorted their flock to guard against the dangers of the secular world. Which Eastern Orthodox pulpit or encyclical today, warns the Church about the dangers that are being propagated by politicians around the world as “freedom and rights for all”? Which hierarch has urged their flock to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that [the Apostles] taught” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) because 2000 years of Orthodox Christian Tradition comes in direct conflict with “modern society’s teachings” in our schools, governments, and institutions around the industrialized world today? What bishop has taught our children that the Garden of Eden was lost because not everything is a “FREE FOR ALL,” but that God had placed a single restriction on mankind – to love and obey Him.

Certainly not those hierarchs who already serve two masters, hating The One and loving the “other.” Freemason “Grand Commanders” like Canadian Archbishop Sotirios, have never stood up to the slings and arrows that buffet the Church; they only capitulate to them, as they capitulated to Covidism, to unorthodox ecumenism, and to a false union with Rome in 2025, to strip Holy Orthodoxy down to Her “commonalities” with all other religions. Their goal, as we said, is to align all citizens of the world with one “common global religion,” the “other” master being “common” to all. The false union with Rome will not stop there; there will be many other false unions.

How do “orthodox” hierarchs fall for such deceit? Actually, they don’t. They are fully on board with the neo-Gnostic “system” that selected them and elected them, purposely “groomed” them in the cult of Freemasonry and “approved” them to fill the role in the way that enables their agenda. This is why in the last hundred years or so, the new hierarchy stopped consecrating hieromonks as bishops to succeed them, and craftily figured out how to remove the laity from the electoral process to select new hierarchs. With all arrogance, these present-day, neo-Gnostic Nicolaitans hijacked the Orthodox Church, and through the preferential ordinations of like-minded, lascivious jackals, they have multiplied their numbers to circumvent accountability, and to destroy the Church from within. Such as these shall be the new leaders of the harlot church. “…and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns…decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelations 17:3).

These harlot hierarchs will not heed the voice of the Good Shepherd because they neither love Him nor believe in Him. Willful, shameless and unrepentant sodomites and piranhas, “in the name of Jesus,” they extract and extort millions of dollars from the temples of a pious flock that naively funds them for the false unification of all religions and the destruction of Truth. What more evidence do we need? “[We]…know them by their [rotten] fruits” (Matthew 7:16)!

The Time is Near

When Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15), He was not exaggerating. These self-serving hierarchs are the neo-Gnostic wolves in sheep’s clothing against whom Saint Paul warned, “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith…” (1 Timothy 6:20-21); and “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Saint John also warned, “Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4) See how carefully the Holy Apostles trained and prepared those like Timothy, who they ordained as bishops to continue the Apostolic mission in service to the Church!

The faithful “Timothies”, in the Eastern Orthodox Church today, are tragically outnumbered by the “devils” and “liars” who have taken over behind an “orthodox” facade. Blinded by their lust for their true master, Satan, they despise the true Love of God. These duplicitous, high-ranking Freemasons repeatedly injure the Body of Christ, His Church, with their demonic innovations, arrogant power-grabs and hypocritical justifications to the sheep, who they also despise, claiming they are “orthodox” bishops who must be obeyed because they have the Apostolic succession through ordination, an ordination they desecrate, mock and usurp. They forget, or rather, they do not believe or care, that when the Pharisees puffed themselves up because they were descendants of Abraham, Christ responded, “…do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father. ‘ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matthew 3: 9-10).

If they do not repent, they will “bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1), as did all their wicked predecessors before them (2 Peter 2:4-22). The same holds true for the complacent, comfortable, lukewarm sheep that enable them. Over and over, God’s providence uses His enemies, just as He used “the son of perdition” to accomplish His purpose. Even if things seem they can get no worse, as they did from the foot of the Cross, that is when Christ will renew and purify His suffering Church, leading Her to glory, for He has built her on the rock of Faith and “…the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her” (Matthew 16:18).

It is very tempting to be scandalized by all that has been taking place in the Orthodox Church these days, but Christ said, “such things must come” (Matthew 6:8). Why? Because, even now, God is using the evil ones who are in but not of His Church to separate the sheep from the goats. According to His Divine Justice, everyone will use their free will to sort themselves out, like wheat from chaff, depending on who they follow. Will they follow the steep and narrow path of the Good Shepard, or will they follow the wide and easy path of Satan’s harlot church? See how the enemies of God cannot and will not destroy His Body, His Church! All they can do is leave and by doing so, they will create the schism. Therefore, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Those that do not know the voice of the Good Shepherd, those who are not of His flock, will all fall away. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19)

But as for us, “if we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:11-13). So, let us prepare ourselves. Let us find a trusted Orthodox spiritual father, even if he belongs to another jurisdiction, and seek advice from him; let us withhold our financial support from corrupt hierarchy who use our donations to promote their blasphemous agenda; let us worship in the temples of other Orthodox jurisdictions, but if that is not possible, remember that (until the false union takes place) God’s grace is still imparted to the faithful even if unworthy bishops are in charge. Do not abstain from the Divine Liturgy or from the Holy Gifts because of scandal; and do not be afraid of becoming spiritually orphaned. God will provide for his sheep. Above all, do not leave the Orthodox Church, for She is the Ark of Salvation, no matter how many “Judases” lurk inside. They will not be there for much longer and some of them may even repent.

When the traitors leave, the authentic Orthodox Church may become smaller, but having been cleansed, She will shine much brighter, and more faithful sheep will find Her and flock to Her; for She will reject all idolatry and immorality, all lies and falsehoods, all heresies and blasphemies. She will hold a proper and true Great and Holy Ecumenical Synod and will put everything in order, properly missionizing “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The sham church with her harlot bishops, will follow the globalists and ultimately the Antichrist.⁸ While the devil does his work, Christ is already revealing true and worthy priests and bishops that will properly guide the faithful; bishops who recognize and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, up the narrow path, leading His Church to the top of the mountain. There, the full number of saints (of whom God has foreknowledge) will be completed; and then, the history of the world will be ended by God, who will abolish all evil forever.

The time is near. Let us all correct ourselves. Let us “exhort one another daily…lest any of [us] be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Let us be vigilant, “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). While the enemies of God war against Him as they did from the beginning of time, let us steadfastly pray and study God’s word, choosing wisely, exercising repentance with patient endurance in these spiritually hard times (Hebrews 6:15). The Lord will win for us, provided we persevere like “a woman in travail” (John 16:21-23; Revelations 12:1-6), up the steep and narrow path, the only Path, in and of the only Church, the only Ark that leads to the Heavenly Kingdom. Let us be able to say “yes” to the Lord’s question, “…when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).

—Demetrios Georgiou

Do you support freedom of worship for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church? Then please read, sign, and share our petition supporting Metropolitan Onuphry and his Church.

References:

Fr. George Nicozisin. The Orthodox Church, A Well-Kept Secret – A Journey Through Church History. Light & Life Publishing Company, Minneapolis MN
The Orthodox Study Bible – New Testament and Psalms, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. Peter 2:1-3 (Footnoted Exegesis, pp 563-564)
Fr. Ted Bobosh. Canonical Ordination and Deposition https://frted.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/canonical-ordination-and-deposition/
Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios. Homilies on the Book of the Revelation, Volume One. Translation, Foreword and Notes by Constantine Zalalas, St. Nicodemus Publications, Bethlehem PA 2009 (Chapter 9, pp 133-134; Chapter 16 – Freemasonry – the Depths of Satan)
G.M. Davis, PhD. Antichrist: The Fulfillment of Globalization – The Ancient Church and the End of History. Uncut Mountain Press, 2022

Tags: apostles, Apostolic Succession, archbishop (aρχιεπίσκοπος), Archbishop Elpidophoros, authentic Orthodoxy, axios, bishop, bishop (επίσκοπος), Bishop Hermes, Chrismation, Christian persecution, Crete, defend the Faith, Demetrios Georgiou, Didache, early Christian Church, early church, Ecclesia, Ecumenical Patriarch, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Edict of Milan, elite, evangelists, faith, Fr. Dimitios Gagastathis, freemasonry, freemasons, global elite, Gnostic, Gnosticism, Godman, greek orthodox bishop, Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Holy Trinity, Joachim III, Kolymbari, Leftist Infiltration, martyrdom, martyrs, Meletios IV (Metaxakis), metropolitan (μητροπολίτης), Metropolitan Onuphry, mitre, modernity, Mystical Body, New Testament, Orthodox Bishops, Orthodox Christian persecution, Orthodox Church in Ukraine, Orthodox martyrs, Orthodox subversion, pastors teachers, patriarch (πατριάρχης), Patriarch Bartholomew, progressive Orthodoxy, progressivism, prophets, Russian Orthodox Church, Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia, St. Bart's, St. Bartholomew's, St. Basil the Great, St. Nektarios of Aegina, St. Paisios of Mount Athos, St. Philaret of Moscow, St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia, St. Sophia, syndiakonia, Trinity, tyranny, UOC, woke, wolves in sheep's clothing, Εκκλησία, συνδιακονία

Orthodoxy Needs Communication and Repentance

July 30, 2021

20 Comments

Fr. Demetrios has decades of experience as a priest. During his career, he has served under several bishops in more than one jurisdiction. He had reached out to us for technical assistance with a project he was working on. While we had him on the phone, we couldn’t help but ask him about the state of our Orthodox Church in the United States.

His response caught us by surprise. Fr. Demetrios said, “All we need in Orthodoxy is communication and repentance. That would fix everything.”

During the rest of the conversation, he explained what he meant. In his experience, most bishops were at least difficult, if not impossible, to communicate with. Often they have, at most, a small group of trusted advisors to whom they listen. Sometimes they only listen to a chancellor playing the role of “gatekeeper.” When mistakes are made, they are rarely acknowledged and repented of. Usually the goal is to just quietly “move on.”

As we talked, the truth of what Fr. Demetrios was saying became more and more apparent. Many of the problems we see around us are directly attributable to lack of communication and repentance.

Bishops are Largely Incommunicado

Fr. Demetrios explained to us that, in his experience, bishops are rarely interested in the opinions of their priests or the laity. We have seen multiple public confirmations of this. For example, most bishops did not ask for any input on how to deal with Covid at the parish-level. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon was thrilled that Bishop Anthony, via an administrative assistant, contacted him for his ideas 10 months into the pandemic:

As far as I know, this is also the first time, during these ten miserable months, an Orthodox bishop has asked for “creative ideas addressing this issue” from the local pastors of our congregations.

His advice was not heeded, but at least he was able to tender it. Via email. To an assistant. Did Bishop Anthony even read it? Or even a summary of it? Who knows?

A group of OCA priests wrote this in an article The Broken Covenant about the church lockdowns:

Without the sacramental rudders and moorings of the Church, the OCA bishops were cast adrift, as they tried to navigate the political landscape. They seemingly closed their minds to reason, as they closed the doors of the Church and they wanted no input from the priests fearing it would undercut their point of view.

The bishops didn’t want any input from the men directly serving in the parishes among the people. Or the people themselves. These bishops would rather be wrong in their suppositions, than to hear the truth from the local parishes. They were very out-of-step with many sheep in their flocks over the Church’s Covid response, and most still seem totally oblivious to that fact. You cannot govern in truth, if you refuse to hear it.

In addition to ignoring emails, phone calls, letters, and petitions, more than one Orthodox hierarch is known for blocking / unfriending anyone on social media who asks an unwelcome question or “steps out of line” in even the slightest way. On Twitter, whoever runs Archbishop Elpidophoros’ account is notorious for quickly blocking users, even priests, over seemingly trivial comments / questions. His Eminence even blocks accounts that have never contacted him on the basis of those accounts having interacted with blocked accounts.

Those wanting to have their concerns heard end up writing blogs, posting on their own social media, and signing petitions – all in the hopes of getting some episcopal attention. Orthodox Reflections came into existence for this very reason. As all private avenues of communication are cut off, there is not much choice besides going public. The lack of meaningful engagement and cooperation hurts and divides the Church. It also makes the men charged with making decisions and representing the Church look and sound completely tone-deaf.

Tone-deafness

In the secular world, before we issue a statement to clients or put out a press release, the text goes through multiple layers of vetting by different departments. Everyone brings their own expertise to bear. Much of our review effort is geared towards identifying ways any statement can be misconstrued. Anything you say or publish can instantly turn into a public relations nightmare. We could paraphrase Murphy’s Law a bit to say: Anything that can be misconstrued, will be. A good rule – don’t say and do things which can reasonably be misunderstood (or understood if that really is your point) as being contrary to your values and/or your previous commitments. Doing so provides ammunition to your enemies and demoralizes your supporters. In the Orthodox context, souls are literally on the line, so you had better be careful with what you say and do.

On a regular basis, bishops ignite firestorms. Sometimes it seems to be accidental. At other times, it is clear that they took controversial positions and steps on purpose, but it is hard to believe they were in any way prepared for the severity of the backlash that followed. If they listened to anyone at all in the preparation of their controversial texts or planning some of their controversial actions, then it was to individuals who agreed with them completely and looked at everything from the same perspective as the hierarchs. An echo chamber does not prepare you for contact with the real world.

The latest example was Archbishop Elpidophoros seemingly endorsing “many paths to God” and rejecting Christ as the only way to salvation: “When you elevate one religion above all others, it is as if you decide there is only one path leading to the top of the mountain.” We covered the speech here and here.

Of course, the unfortunate “new age” wording has already spawned many negative responses. Among them are humorous memes such as the one to the right.

In the best case, this speech was a blunder based on being completely tone-deaf to easily anticipated public reaction:

In my opinion, Archbishop Elpidophoros could have done a better job of bracketing his comment about having only one path leading to the top of the mountain, i.e., that he was talking about state-religion relations, not about theology in the usual sense. Loosely read, Elpidophoros’ mountain metaphor can be construed as an allusion to a universalist soteriology—an affront to Orthodoxy.

The Greek Archdiocese, so far, has not even attempted to explain the comments. At best, a major blunder. At worst, a case of using plausible deniability to advance heresy publicly. Either way, in a healthy organization with proper checks and balances, this speech would never have been given.

One has to pity priests and deacons in the Greek Archdiocese. Their own hierarchy makes their difficult jobs even harder, and then won’t even listen to their cries of pain.

More examples of tone-deafness abound. We’ll cover just a few:

Bishop Benjamin of the OCA sent a letter to his priests mandating that anyone not wearing a mask could not receive communion, and warning his priests, “If I learn you are not strictly observing these directives and one of your parishioners dies of COVID 19, I will not hesitate to suspend you.” This letter was received so badly in his parishes, that six months later members of the Diocese of the West are still complaining about it. Some referenced that letter as the last straw in their leaving the OCA.
Archbishop Paul (Gassios) of the Diocese of the Midwest suspended Fr. Mark Hodges after he legally participated in a Constitutionally protected rally, and suggested in a letter to the priest that he was “guilty by association” for having been in the presence of illegal activity. When contacted repeatedly, the chancellor of the diocese finally responded to state that Fr. Mark Hodges was not suspended for participating in the rally. Despite the fact that this suspension had become an international news story, the chancellor refused to comment on why Fr. Mark was suspended, if not for participation in the rally. So of course, as you can see from the comments on our coverage, a huge fight ensued among the Faithful all over the Internet concerning the justness of the suspension and the underlying causes. The diocese never clarified the reasons for the suspension. A few months later, it was quietly announced that Fr. Mark’s suspension had been lifted. No explanation was given as to what, if anything, had changed. All that bad blood between faithful Orthodox Christians, all that bad press coverage internationally, and just like that – it all gets dropped down the memory hole. The lack of transparency harms the witness of the Orthodox Church, and seems to be driven by bishops not realizing or not caring how much controversy their actions stir up among the Faithful.
Archbishop Elpidophoros publicly endorsed extending Orthodox communion to unconverted spouses to help keep those in interfaith marriages from leaving the Church. That might help those in that particular situation, though in a way that actually harms those unworthily receiving communion. However, even discussing opening communion to the non-Orthodox caused faithful Greek Orthodox to denounce the idea as heresy. The Greek Archdiocese has already lost a large number of attending members in the past year (maybe as high as 30% in some surveys). If this change is implemented, doubtless more will leave. Priests and Faithful in other jurisdictions quickly began openly discussing the possibility of full-blown schism. If the Archbishop is trying to keep ethnic Greeks in the “fold” of the Church, this is going to backfire horribly. How could the Archbishop possibly be so isolated that not one faithful Orthodox Christian was there to tell him, “This is a terrible idea!”
On the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew, June 11th, Archbishop Elpidophoros presided over a Divine Liturgy at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan. On July 3, he was back at St. Bart’s in a more personal capacity to visit with their rector, Bp. Dean E. Wolfe. St. Bart’s has been criticized as “ground zero for the queering of Manhattan.” This level of engagement looks very much like an endorsement of the Episcopal Church’s homosexual-friendly agenda. As one commenter summed up this pattern of behavior by Archbishop Elpidophoros, “We cannot but conclude that the archbishop is sending the wrong message to his faithful followers.” Not only did the Archbishop do these things, but he highly publicized them. Does no one at the level of the Archdiocese understand how badly these actions are received among faithful Orthodox Christians? Or what ridicule the Orthodox Faith is being subjected to by those outside of the Church?
A recent encyclical from Archbishop Sotirios of Canada asserted that supporters of a single communion spoon are “pagan.” That was not received well by the long-suffering Greek community in Canada, and will likely drive away even more people.
Archbishop Elpidophoros famously marched with Black Lives Matter over a year ago. At the time, we wrote an article questioning the Archbishop lending his moral authority to a group associated not only with violence but also with abortion on demand, Marxist economic policies, homosexuality, transgenderism, and the disruption of the nuclear family. Not surprisingly, the progressive Orthodox over at Fordham University roundly applauded the Archbishop for his march. Many faithful Orthodox Christians were scandalized by his words and actions. The Archbishop’s support for BLM has never looked good, but it looks especially bad now since the group issued a statement siding with the
Cuban Communist dictatorship against the brave people of Cuba who are in the streets demanding their freedom.
Even worse, in the middle of the pro-freedom protests, the Ecumenical Patriarch announced an official visit to Cuba this November at the invitation of the communist regime. This will be the EP’s second visit to Cuba. There is an Orthodox Cathedral in Cuba with the mosaic you see to the right of the EP receiving a key from mass murderer Fidel Castro. The plaque says, “THIS CATHEDRAL IS A GIFT FROM THE PEOPLE OF CUBA TO THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH AND TO ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW, FIDEL CASTRO RUZ -NOVEMBER 2003” Partnering with communists is not really a good look for Orthodox hierarchs, particularly when immortalized in a mosaic. A fact most normal parish priests and/or laypersons would be happy to inform the hierarchs of, if only they could.
His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, the former Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Kalavryta and Aigialeia in northern Greece, recently published a lengthy list of abuses of the Orthodox Faith including: sacraments of heretics being recognized, donating the Qur’an as a sacred book, common prayers and concelebrations of bishops with heretics, metropolises locking churches and threatening priests, masks in front of the Holy Altar, single-use disposable spoons for distributing of the immaculate Body and Blood of our Christ, and bishops prohibiting the sacrament of Confession. It was a blistering call to change course and repent.

Repentance is Needed

His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios also said in his article, “Wherever there is Orthodoxy there are wounds.” That is true all over the globe. But despite those wounds, most of the hierarchy simply goes on with business as usual. Most acknowledge only the pandemic, while ignoring any of the pain and suffering caused by the hysterical, harmful responses to it. The one exception we have seen is Archbishop Mark of Philadelphia and Eastern America (Orthodox Church in America) who at least seems to “feel our pain“:

The past year has truly been a rollercoaster ride for all of us and we need to be mindful and considerate of those suffering from isolation, fear, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and loneliness, as well as those who have lost loved ones. Additionally, divisions occurred as people lost the ability to discuss differing opinions on a variety of matters.

While a welcome acknowledgment that bad things have happened, the archbishop’s statement is hardly repentance for the role he, and his fellow bishops, played in the “rollercoaster ride.” This lack of repentance over the Covid responses, the political missteps, and the ecumenist scandals is frequently discussed among Orthodox Christians. The attitude of the bishops has caused some Orthodox Christians to stop attending liturgy or to switch jurisdictions.

This really can’t continue. The most sincere and holy hierarchs will find it within themselves to set a public example of repentance for their mistakes. We also recognize that there appear to be Orthodox hierarchs who are intentionally trying to change the Orthodox Faith – either out of conformity to the world (weakness) or under demonic influence. They need to be called to repentance and held to account, particularly by other hierarchs.

The people will forgive hierarchs who embrace public repentance and flock to them. To minimize future mistakes, the best hierarchs will commit themselves to open communication, accountability, and transparency. They will not always take the advice of their priests and laity, but they will at least give them a fair hearing and avoid openly scandalizing them.

Fr. Demetrios was quite right, all we need is communication and repentance.

Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America

Tags: anaxios, Archbishop Elpidophoros, Archbishop Paul, authentic Orthodoxy, Bishop Benjamin, Black Lives Matter, BLM, Bp. Dean E. Wolfe, clergy / laity rift, common spoon, communication, corona conflict, Ecumenical Patriarch, encyclicals, Fordham, Fr. Mark Hodges, Greek Archdiocese, guilty by association, homosexual propaganda, Leftist Infiltration, LGBTQ propaganda, memes, Orthodox Bishops, Orthodox jurisdictions, Orthodox PR, pagan, parish life, pride, repentance, Russian missionaries, St. Bart's, St. Bartholomew's, tone deaf, tone deafness, Twitter ban

Does ‘Greek’ Orthodoxy Support The Great Reset?

November 23, 2020

11 Comments

We’ve known for some time that the mortality rates for COVID are extremely low, and getting lower as doctors improve their treatment protocols. The virus has above a 99.95% survival rate for those under 70. See the bullet points in this article summarizing reasons why the virus is not nearly dangerous enough to justify the current hysteria, or even for most people to risk the side effects of a vaccine. Additionally, we’ve now been told by the New York Times that immunity for recovered patients can persist for a long time:

Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still have enough immune cells to fend off the virus and prevent illness, the new data show. A slow rate of decline in the short term suggests, happily, that these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time to come.

At this point, over 11 million Americans have recovered from mostly asymptomatic COVID-19. The true number is probably many times higher than that. There is now every reason to believe that those people are now immune to further infection. So herd immunity could be close, and maybe even reached in some areas. If such an immune response is possible, then vaccination which produces immunity is also possible, and we are being promised effective vaccines any day now. This is all great news!

Death rates are down from where they were. Hospitalizations are down, including less use of ICU beds. No hospital system is being “overwhelmed.” In fact, the only metric which is repeatedly causing alarm is the rise in “cases.” Headlines are screaming about a rise in “cases” across all media. But despite the massive hype, many people are beginning to question if “cases” are really something to panic over.

Top pathologist, expert in virology, and biotech CEO Dr. Roger Hodkinson said the following to government officials in Alberta during a zoom conference that was recorded and subsequently uploaded to YouTube:

I might know a little bit about all this. There is utterly unfounded public hysteria driven by the media and politicians, it’s outrageous, this is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public…. social distancing is useless because COVID is spread by aerosols which travel 30 meters or so before landing. Masks are utterly useless. There is no evidence base for their effectiveness whatsoever. Paper masks and fabric masks are simply virtue signaling. They’re not even worn effectively most of the time. It’s utterly ridiculous. Seeing these unfortunate, uneducated people – I’m not saying that in a pejorative sense – seeing these people walking around like lemmings obeying without any knowledge base to put the mask on their face… positive test results do not, underlined in neon, mean a clinical infection… I’m absolutely outraged that this has reached this level, it should all stop tomorrow.

As the doctor noted, positive tests do not indicate a “case” of anything. They indicate that viral RNA was found in a nasal swab. It may be enough to make you sick, but probably not. Note the current “case” of Donald Trump , Jr. who tested “positive” but is totally asymptomatic. And a positive result does not mean you are contagious. In general, it is extremely hard to have any confidence in any of the testing measures, as evidenced by the fact that Elon Musk could test positive two times and negative two times in the same day before declaring that something “bogus” was going on.

Positive tests without actual symptoms are not real “cases” the way we understood that term prior to our current COVID hysteria. So the “uptick” in cases, as most normal people and medical professionals have come to realize, is not an actual crisis. Nor are our “countermeasures” such as masks, lockdowns, curfews, etc. even effective in stopping what transmission is occurring. Rand Paul, medical doctor and Senator, made that clear when discussing his governor’s latest lock down measures:

“Let’s hope, in this case, the court will intervene,” Paul said. “I’ve been calling my governor for months ‘DWP,’ drunk with power, because he’s taken this power without any consent from the legislature.”

“…the edicts that are coming from the governor, and from the governor of Michigan, they’re completely arbitrary,” he said. “They’re not based in any kind of science. There is really very little objective science to prove that any of this works.”

As to the cloth mask mandates, Paul, a physician, said that studies show that they do not work and exist merely as an act of “theater.”

“They’re theater,” he said. “If you look at the cloth masks, 97% of virus-sized particles go through a cloth mask, so we’re kidding ourselves, and what it’s doing is it’s detracting from the one thing that could save and could really help us, and that’s the vaccine.”

“There’s about 10 different countries or venues, maybe 20, that instituted mandatory masks, and every one of them to a T, the infection rate or the COVID rate went up after the mask mandate,” Paul continued. “Now, this is just showing that … all these mitigation strategies — washing our hands, staying six feet apart — they really don’t work, frankly.

“Lock downs” do not work and the economic and social devastation they cause are way worse than a virus with such a low mortality rate. Even officials from the WHO have recently admitted that. So now we are 8 months into 15 days to flatten the curve, and it is clear that the United States and the world have wrecked our economies, expanded poverty, made people depressed and suicidal, abandoned our elderly in care homes to deaths of despair and neglect, threatened mass starvation, and destroyed our spiritual lives by reducing God to a “non-essential” hobby. All for no tangible benefits to combat a virus that almost 100% of the infected under the age of 70 will recover from, usually having had little to no symptoms. After recovery, they will have long-lasting immunity to reinfection.

This is why 35,236 medical professionals have signed the Great Barrington Declaration which states:

Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.

Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.

As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.

The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection.

Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal.

Do you see a theme here? The virus is not worth destroying our lives over. Get back to normal and focus on the vulnerable! Tens of thousands of experts have gone on record telling us to stop what we are doing and live our lives. The “experts” have spoken, and spoken, and spoken.

But outside of Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has become a bastion of common sense, politicians in almost the entire United States, and much of the world, are only listening to pro-lock down “experts.” Many American states are headed into a second severe lock down, even though many of those same places never fully re-opened to begin with. Canceling Thanksgiving, closing schools, closing restaurants to in-door dining, curfews, closing bars, closing gyms, closing churches, stay-at-home orders, limiting capacities severely at public events or outright banning them, mandating mask wearing even in your own home, limiting or canceling athletics, canceling Christmas even – most governors in this country are in a contest to become the biggest, most unconstitutional Scrooge in history.

The intolerant drive to suppress any and all fun in life seems like an unwanted revival of that historical scourge of America, Puritanism, which author H.L. Mencken described as, “The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” Transgender affirming, Gay-rights supporting, anti-God, anti-gun, pro-weed, and pro-abortion Puritans. Tell me you saw that coming. Thank you 2020 for yet another gift.

How on Earth could this be happening? How do we find ourselves being lorded over by power-drunk petty politicians and being lectured by a narcissistic dwarf called Dr. Fauci “to do what you’re told” as our society is fundamentally wrecked?

As one of my economics professors was fond of saying, “If the stated reasons make no sense, then they are probably a smokescreen.”

The Great Reset

Is The Great Reset the real reason so many powers-that-be are trying to destroy our civilization in order to build back better? And is their embrace of the globalist agenda the reason why Christian Bishops, Roman Catholic and Orthodox alike, are so quiescent as their churches are kept closed and their parishioners impoverished?

Time Magazine did a whole cover on The Great Reset, and the World Economic Forum has been talking about it for months. World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab even published a book on the subject. But it was not until a video went viral of Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, talking about the opportunity afforded by the pandemic for a “reset” that most of the world took notice. Trudeau made his statements during a September 29 video conference where he, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the convening of a “high-level” meeting to discuss how world leaders “could build a better, more equitable system that works for everyone” in the wake of the pandemic:

“This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset. This is our chance to accelerate our pre-pandemic efforts to reimagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change,” declared Trudeau.

“Building back better means getting support to the most vulnerable while maintaining our momentum on reaching the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals].”

Trudeau has since tried to say that The Great Reset is a conspiracy theory. Can it be called a conspiracy when it is a publicly acknowledged movement supported by very influential people who are all also echoing the same talking points? Trudeau’s remarks are eerily similar to those of Democrat former vice president Joe Biden and U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson. Joe Biden’s Official Presidential Transition Website is – buildbackbetter.com. On that site, we are promised that: “President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are confronting a pandemic, an economic crisis, calls for racial justice, and climate change. The team being assembled will meet these challenges on Day One.”

Former Presidential Candidate, Senator, and Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed The Great Reset as an opportunity to squelch the rise of populism around the word:

Former Secretary of State John Kerry attended a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum during which he asserted that a great reset was urgently needed to stop the rise of populism.

“The notion of a reset is more important than ever before,” Kerry said. “I personally believe … we’re at the dawn of an extremely exciting time.”

So The Great Reset is clearly a thing. But is The Great Reset a bad thing? Roman Catholic Archbishop Vigano, former Apostolic Nuncio, issued a warning about it:

A global plan called the Great Reset is underway. Its architect is a global élite that wants to subdue all of humanity, imposing coercive measures with which to drastically limit individual freedoms and those of entire populations. In several nations this plan has already been approved and financed; in others it is still in an early stage. Behind the world leaders who are the accomplices and executors of this infernal project, there are unscrupulous characters who finance the World Economic Forum and Event 201, promoting their agenda.

The purpose of the Great Reset is the imposition of a health dictatorship aiming at the imposition of liberticidal measures, hidden behind tempting promises of ensuring a universal income and cancelling individual debt. The price of these concessions from the International Monetary Fund will be the renunciation of private property and adherence to a program of vaccination against Covid-19 and Covid-21 promoted by Bill Gates with the collaboration of the main pharmaceutical groups. Beyond the enormous economic interests that motivate the promoters of the Great Reset, the imposition of the vaccination will be accompanied by the requirement of a health passport and a digital ID, with the consequent contact tracing of the population of the entire world. Those who do not accept these measures will be confined in detention camps or placed under house arrest, and all their assets will be confiscated.

It might be tempting to dismiss the Archbishop’s warnings as so much conspiracy mongering, if it weren’t for the niggling fact that almost everyday brings more announcements of technology that will play a role in the things he is warning about:

Recently, the United Nations had some big announcements that went largely unnoticed, including the rollout of a biometric digital wallet and an announcement that one of its specialized agencies The International Civil Aviation Organization is one step closer to an internationally recognized digital travel credential.

As reported by Biometric Update, this particular UN biometric digital wallet is intended for UN employees and it can be used for data related to human resources, medical status, travel, payroll and pensions.

The Great Reset for Dummies

Let’s look a bit closer at the details using information from The Great Reset for Dummies:

The Great Reset is a massively funded, desperately ambitious, internationally coordinated project led by some of the biggest multinational corporations and financial players on the planet and carried out by cooperating state bodies and NGOs. Its soul is a combination of early 20th century science fiction, idyllic Soviet posters, the obsessiveness of a deranged accountant with a gambling addiction—and an upgraded, digital version of “Manifest Destiny.”

The mathematical reason for the Great Reset is that thanks to technology, the planet has gotten small, and the infinite expansion economic model is bust—but obviously, the super wealthy want to continue staying super wealthy, and so they need a miracle, another bubble, plus a surgically precise system for managing what they perceive as “their limited resources.”

The goal is to count and then efficiently manage and control all resources, including people, on an unprecedented scale, with unprecedented digital anxiety and precision—all while the masters keep indulging, enjoying vast patches of conserved nature, free of unnecessary sovereign peasants and their unpredictability.

The reform in question is meant to disrupt all areas of life, on a planetary scale: government, international relations, finance, energy, food, medicine, jobs, urban planning, real estate, law enforcement, and human interactions—and it starts with changing the way we think of ourselves and our relationship with the world.

Much has been made lately of how politicians are so hypocritical in not obeying their own COVID rules. Governor Newsome and his maskless dinner party at a fancy French restaurant, even after chastising Californians to limit Thanksgiving festivities. Speaker Nancy Pelosi got a haircut at a salon in California, even though salons were closed there at the time. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a supporter of nationwide mask mandates, was photographed maskless in an airport and in the hallway of the Capitol. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser traveled to Delaware for a Biden victory party, but didn’t follow her own quarantine protocols upon return. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced new lockdowns, even though the previous week she had been whooping it up maskless on the street with a huge crowd to celebrate the Biden “victory.”

While the level of hypocrisy surely calls into question the seriousness of the “pandemic” and the effectiveness of the rules being flouted, a deeper question must be pondered. Is this just typical political hypocrisy, or is it the dawn of a new social order – one that will ensure the wealthy, and their lackeys, are free to do as they please while we, the serfs, struggle under severe restrictions? Once power is centralized in the hands of the technocratic elite, then to whom must the new master class answer?

As Vigano warned, this is not a grassroots effort. It is led by the top-tier of wealth and power in the world:

So, who are the people leading this, and how coordinated is this effort? From the looks of it, it seems to be the usual suspects: top capitalists of the world, historically wealthy dynasties from different parts of Earth, members of secular and religious royalty, billionaires, etc.—in other words, it’s the people who have enough money to feel like this world is theirs, the 0.0001%—and maybe also the people immediately under them who are seeking upward mobility. Some familiar faces, some faces we’ve never seen.

On the ephemeral side, the vision of the “resetters” is related to the futuristic ideas that were popular in the early 20th century, to the dream of a global corporate monopoly that propped up the bolshevik revolution of 1917, and to the overall crave of controlling the world with technology, something that was attempted and failed in the Soviet Union in the 60s—using the language very similar to today’s. On the concrete side, the Great Reset (which by the way is very well coordinated, to the extent that both Biden and Johnson are using the same coded words put forward by the WEF) grows out of the post-WWII efforts to maintain a “correct” power balance in the world, with “correct” financial interests reaping the benefits.

These elites don’t necessarily agree on everything, and in some ways compete with each other. But on the basics, there seems to be widespread agreement. No one at that the top seems to dispute Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, when he says, “A Better Economy Is Possible. But We Need to Reimagine Capitalism to Do It.”

Among the upper crust, the desirability of a total overhaul of society is not even controversial. In fact Sesame Street has teamed up with the World Economic Forum to make a podcast called The Great Reset: Resetting Education with Sesame Street in which Grover can be heard helpfully telling children, “Resetting the entire world. That is a very big job.” The partnership is also producing a series of videos to teach children about the vital importance of learning to live with the ‘New Normal’: wearing masks, maintaining six feet social distancing, gratefully accepting their vaccine shots, and getting used to not playing with friends in person but just meeting them virtually on a screen.

While the COVID angle may be new as of 2020, the “Global Reset” movement has actually been in business for quite awhile, but under the banner of combatting “Climate Change:”

Let’s not forget that prior to 2020, there has already been a very expensively organized fear narrative, supported by more or less the same players who are now pushing for the Great Reset. I am of course talking about the weaponized “climate change” narrative. And while there are plenty of environmental problems that need to be addressed asap, the corporate “climate change” movement has been strangely focused on messaging that roughly coincides with the messaging of the Great Reset campaign, serving their financial goals—and the funding trajectories also overlap. So it looks like the financial interests behind the Great Reset tried out to use the “climate movement” first but it didn’t generate the desired fear levels quickly enough… it’s not a hippie grassroots movement—even if a lot of individual people sincerely pour their souls into that.

Now, it is very possible that the environmental movement was good and honest when it just started—but a lot of it has been since hijacked, in a very stealthy way where the people on the ground don’t even realize whom they are serving.

It should not be surprising that discussion of COVID control measures quickly morph into discussions of “Climate Change.” The two concepts are inextricably linked as rationales for transforming the world we know, into the world the elites want to bring into existence. Whether out of a genuine concern for ecology, fear of the virus, desire to help the poor, or even just out of a loathing for the bad orange man, many people are acting as foot soldiers for a global movement that will ultimately enslave them.

For all of this to succeed, America has to be gotten out of the way:

Traditional America, now, is very much in the way of this. Its habit of generous consumption and free expression, its self-centered foreign policies, its sense of entitlement, and its big suburban houses are a no-go. A traditional, independent, strong America is an obstacle. I feel like there is an active effort to “even America out,” to co-opt its government, to destroy farms and small businesses—especially the ones that are not consistent with this all-digital future—and to bring down the entitled middle class, especially in “outdated” career paths. It feels like we are currently in the middle of a “color revolution,” a soft coup. Usually, American elites do it to other nations—but now it’s happening on the domestic soil. It feels like the Great Reset agenda, through its messengers and through its money, is shaping both the schizophrenic “COVID response” and the suddenly mainstream and well-funded, super corporate “social justice / climate” movement, which are all at this point intertwined in terms of messaging.

What if all the economic destruction around the lock downs were not an accidental by-product of trying to wrangle a virus, but were the actual point?

Greek Orthodoxy and The Great Reset

COVID, Climate Change, income redistribution, anti-populism, the need to “build back better,” the need to “reimagine” the economy, the need to erase borders and national sovereignty (particularly American), the need to manage things globally – the same “coded words” permeate our political, social, and even religious discourse now. As we have noted in multiple articles, Orthodox bishops associated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate (though most of the others have not done much better) have been particularly reluctant to push back against COVID closings of churches and other restrictions. The Greek Orthodox organizations have also, among all the Orthodox, made the most prodigious use of the “coded words” of The Great Reset.

Examples of the use of Great Reset-style language can be found in For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church which was a collaboration of scholars and theologians published earlier in 2020 and fully endorsed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew. We have published some excerpts below with emphasis added on the points most closely aligned with Great Reset concepts:

Neither, certainly, should Orthodox Christians fear the reality of cultural and social pluralism. Indeed, they should rejoice in the dynamic confluence of human cultures in the modern world, which is one of the special glories of our age, and take it as a blessing that all human cultures, in all their variety and beauty, are coming more and more to occupy the same civic and political spaces. The Church must in fact support those government policies and laws that best promote such pluralism.

The modern nation-state is not a sacred institution, even if it can at times serve the causes of justice, equity, and peace. Nor are borders anything more than accidents of history and conventions of law.

The developed world everywhere knows the presence of refugees and asylum-seekers, many legally admitted but also many others without documentation. They confront the consciences of wealthier nations daily with their sheer vulnerability, indigence, and suffering. This is a global crisis, but also a personal appeal to our faith, to our deepest moral natures, to our most inabrogable responsibilities.

An international free flow of labor, and with it the capacity of labor to organize on a global scale and thereby demand basic standards of employment in all labor markets, would make such exploitation very nearly impossible. Hence the unholy collusion between many transnational corporate interests and many states to make the free flow of labor across borders impossible, often by the most draconian means.

The effects of sin and of our alienation from God are not only personal and social, but also ecological and even cosmic. For instance, our often heedless consumption of natural resources and our wanton use of fossil fuels have induced increasingly catastrophic processes of climate change and global warming. Therefore, our pursuit of alternative sources of energy and our efforts to reduce our impact on the planet as much as possible are now necessary expressions of our vocation to transfigure the world.

This means that the issue of climate change is also an issue of social welfare and social justice. The Church calls, therefore, upon the governments of the world to seek ways of advancing the environmental sciences, through education and state subventions for research, and to be willing to fund technologies that might serve to reverse the dire effects of carbon emissions, pollution, and all forms of environmental degradation.

And the Church encourages the faithful to be grateful for—and to accept—the findings of the sciences, even those that might occasionally oblige them to revise their understandings of the history and frame of cosmic reality. The desire for scientific knowledge flows from the same wellspring as faith’s longing to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of God.

Great economic inequality is, inevitably, social injustice; it is, moreover, according to the teachings of Christ, a thing abominable in the eyes of God. Whole schools of economics arose in the twentieth century at the service of such inequality, arguing that it is a necessary concomitant of any functioning economy. And the Church must in every generation, remembering the example of the Church of the Apostolic age, ask of every society whether there are not effective means—and perhaps new economic models—by which it would be possible to achieve a more just distribution of wealth, and thereby a more radical commitment to the common good, of society and of the planet we all must share.

The Green Patriarch and the Greek Church (with some dissent) are totally on board with global solutions to arrest climate change, explore new economic models, and redistribute wealth. Localism is bad, as national governments can foment nationalism and/or populism. National sovereignty (particularly American) must yield to international institutions. Borders are mere lines on a map, and it is immoral to try and control the flow of migrants or refugees across them. Globalism is good. National cultures must make way for diversity, because the Church must support “pluralism” and open borders. One must wonder whether open borders, pluralism, and denunciations of nationalism are meant to apply to Greece as well as the United States. Actually, there probably isn’t much question of that at all. We are certain that the Greek academics and theologians who enthusiastically champion “Hellenism” and welcomed Biden as “good for Greece” are probably not being very even-handed in their desire for “pluralism.”

Please note in the Tweet above that the President of Greece, a country with massive economic problems and a potential war on the horizon with Turkey, was most excited about the U.S. rejoining the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under a new Biden Administration. There seems to be a trend here….

The Ethos document was written in 2019 and published early this year, so no mention of COVID exists. However, there is a ringing endorsement of vaccines, and not one mention of opposition to mandatory vaccination. The Ethos document gushes over scientific and technological progress. There are some cautionary words about the potential misuses of technology, but nothing about the potential for loss of privacy, surveillance, or censorship. Curiously, the authors did see fit to denounce the use of the Internet to spread “misinformation.”

Are we saying that the Ecumenical Patriarch is part of a global movement to reset the world? Archbishop Vigano said as much about Pope Francis, who is a very close friend and ally of Patriarch Bartholomew. Here is what we can say about the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Greek Archdiocese, and the Greek Orthodox Church:

Many writings, sermons, and communications frequently use the same “coded words” of social justice, income redistribution, Climate Change, anti-populism, open borders, etc. that are associated with The Great Reset.
Realizing many of the social and political goals espoused by Greek Orthodox organizations would make The Great Reset easier to carry out.
It is difficult to find writings, sermons, and communications that support concepts such as private property, right to self-defense, personal autonomy, right to privacy, vaccine freedom, local sovereignty, etc. that would make The Great Reset more difficult. This is despite the fact that other local Orthodox Churches and jurisdictions do frequently support and defend those very concepts.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate has close ties to many globalist organizations.
The Greek Archdiocese has gone above and beyond in enforcing COVID protocols. For example, masks are frequently required in GOA churches even when not required by local ordnances. Archbishop Elpidophoros and Archbishop Sotirios pushed multiple spoons for communion. The GOA has said almost nothing about even the most severe lock downs in California and elsewhere, going so far as to criticize those who did stand up for liberty.
Archbishop Elpidophoros marched with BLM, and practically endorsed Joe Biden for president during a prayer at the DNC.
The Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox Church are suspected of being under the influence of Freemasonry.

Even so, there is no way to know if the Patriarch and those affiliated with him are merely being influenced by those pushing The Great Reset, or if they are actively involved in the movement to bring it about. In truth, it probably doesn’t matter. These Greek organizations appear fully globalist in mentality, and are totally blind (willfully or otherwise) to the extremely sinister endgame of the global elites who seek to re-engineer our entire world in order to control it. For our own “good” of course. And consciously or otherwise, the Ecumenical Patriarch and his subordinates are helping to bring this Satanic vision about.

We are not saying that the Ethos is entirely wrong. There are many good points in the document, and in fact, we don’t even disagree with everything in the parts we excerpted. Nor do we think that everything is fine with the world the way it is. The world economy in its current state is unsustainable. We do need to do a much better job of making Christ manifest in our treatment of the poor and needy. Our natural environment does need better care. But at the same time, lofty and even Christian ideals are being put to the service of Satanic ends. The Orthodox Church can espouse reform in a way that doesn’t destroy our economies or leads to the strengthening of the transnational elite that seeks to enslave us all in the name of a better world.

The time is now to speak up, before it is entirely too late. End the lock downs, reject The Great Reset and pursue Christian ends through Christian means. Unfortunately, for those of us who are Orthodox, we will be in this fight without much of the Greek Church.

The editorial staff of Orthodox Reflections – members of the GOA, OCA, and Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

Tags: Archbishop Elpidophoros, Archbishop Vigano, authentic Orthodoxy, Bartholomew, Catholic inquirer, Ecumenical Patriarch, elite, fear, global elite, Great Reset, Greek Archdiocese, greek orthodox bishop, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Leftist Infiltration, lock downs, mask mandate, modernity, Orthodox fundamentalism, Pope Francis, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, technocrats, Theology, transnational elite

No Orthodox Papacy Means Stability for the Faith

November 17, 2020

8 Comments

One of the latest controversies in the Roman Catholic Church was sparked by director Evgeny Afineevsky’s documentary called Francesco featuring several interviews done with Pope Francis. Among the Pope’s statements that caused a stir was this legitimization of homosexual civil unions, “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they [homosexuals] are legally covered. I stood up for that.”

Immediately the Catholic faithful launched into a bitter war of words over what the Pope meant by his statements. As a non-Catholic, this is not an argument in which I am qualified to participate. However, there is one aspect of this lamentable situation which directly relates to my own Orthodox Faith. The Website Where Peter Is has as a slogan, “Where Peter is, there is the Church.” In other words, the Church is defined as the body of believers headed by the Pope and in communion with him. No Pope, no Church. Addressing the civil union statements, a writer on that site published an article entitled Has Pope Francis changed Church teaching on same-sex civil unions?

For the record, the author doesn’t believe he has. But from an Orthodox Christian perspective, that isn’t really the point. For us, the headline itself spells out the problem with the Papacy. Roman Catholics accept that the Pope could change Roman Catholic teaching on his own authority. That is why almost every word uttered by the Pope is parsed and argued over. If the Roman Church is defined by the office of the Papacy, then the Roman Catholic Faith appears to be whatever the “Vicar of Christ” says it is. Even if what the Pope says is not in fidelity to the historic teachings of the Christian Faith. Honest Roman Catholics admit this is the case, and they admit there is nothing that can be done about it.

Writing in Lifesitenews.com, Archbishop Vigano wrote the following:

If canonically it is unthinkable to excommunicate a Catholic for the mere fact that he wishes to remain so, politically and strategically this abuse would allow Bergoglio to expel his adversaries from the Church, consolidating his own power. And I repeat: we are not talking about a legitimate operation, but of an abuse that, despite being an abuse, no one would be able to prevent, since “the First See is judged by none” – prima Sedes a nemine judicatur. And since the deposition of a heretical Pope is a canonically unresolved question on which there is no unanimous consent of canonists, anyone who would accuse Bergoglio of heresy would be going down a dead end and would obtain a result only with great difficulty.

And it is exactly this, in my opinion, that Bergoglio’s “magic circle” wants to achieve: to reach the paradoxical situation in which the one who is recognized as Pope is at the same time in a state of schism with the Church he governs, while those who are declared by him to be schismatic for disobedience will find themselves expelled from the Church because of the fact that they are Catholic.

Bergoglio’s action is above all directed outside the Church. The encyclical Fratelli Tutti is an ideological manifesto in which there is nothing Catholic and nothing for Catholics – it is the umpteenth embrassons-nous [“let’s embrace”] of the Masonic matrix, in which universal brotherhood is obtained not, as the Gospel teaches, in recognizing the common fatherhood of God through belonging to the one Church, but rather by the flattening of all religions into a lowest common denominator that is expressed in solidarity, respect for the environment, and pacifism.

With this way of acting, Bergoglio is a candidate for “pontiff” of a new religion, with new commandments, new morals, and new liturgies. He distances himself from the Catholic religion and from Christ, and consequently from the Hierarchy and the faithful, disavowing them and leaving them at the mercy of the globalist dictatorship. Those who do not adapt to this new code will therefore be ostracized by society and by this new “church” as a foreign body.

On October 20 in Rome, Pope Francis prayed for peace along with representatives of the world religions: the motto of that ecumenical ceremony was “No one is saved alone.” But that prayer was addressed indiscriminately to both the True God as well as to the false gods of the pagans, making it clear that the ecumenism propagated by Bergoglio has as its goal the exclusion of Our Lord from human society, because Jesus Christ is considered “divisive,” “a stumbling stone.” This modern man thinks that he can obtain peace by leaving aside the One who said of Himself: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6). It is painful to note that this apostasy of formerly Christian nations is accompanied by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who ought to be the Vicar of Christ, not his enemy.

What a predicament to find yourself in. To be Catholic, you must be in communion with the Pope who is the “successor of Peter” and the “Vicar” of Christ. But the current Pope is a globalist heretic who is altering the faith, possibly even going so far as to create a new one under Masonic influence. To preserve the Catholic Faith, you must oppose the Pope’s innovations, as Archbishop Vigano does. But if you oppose the Pope, you risk no longer being Roman Catholic. The Pope can excommunicate you for your opposition, putting you outside the Church, even if your opposition is clearly grounded in the Apostolic Faith. And, there is no way to remove a Pope even if he is blatantly heretical. Sadly for Roman Catholic Traditionalists, there is nothing you can do because “the First See is judged by none” – prima Sedes a nemine judicatur.

From a traditionalist point of view, the next pope is unlikely to be any better than this one. Waiting this out then is likely to take decades or longer, assuming that a “Catholic” Pope could ever be elected again given the problems in the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Here is how one Roman Catholic Priest summed up the situation with the bishops after the release of the report on Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick:

This document is just another nail in the coffin of the moral authority and relevance of the episcopacy. They haven’t been relevant to the faithful for quite some time. I think it’s time for priests to now realize (if they already haven’t) that the bishops have abandoned us as well. Every priest is on his own (unless he has some friends he truly trusts).

You have written extensively about the decline of our culture and the impending persecutions. I agree with you. I believe it’s important to realize that these persecutions will come from everyone in power; including the hierarchy who will try to make peace with our persecutors, as we already see them doing with Biden. They are already selling out priests who speak out too strongly against moral evils. The threat to religious liberty in the Church is not particularly from the secularists; it’s from the bishops who refuse to speak out and will sacrifice their priests who disturb the fragile and imaginary peace they seek to maintain with the powerful in the culture.

The Papacy is lost to those who wish to maintain traditional Roman Catholic moral and theological teaching. The office now serves powerful, globalist interests. The parish priests, the good ones, are on their own. There may be a few good bishops left in the Roman Church, but they are not in control and do not constitute a substantial voting block in the College of Cardinals. But even if, at some point, the Roman Catholic Church could bring back a Pope John Paul II or a Pope Benedict XVI, the dilemma presented by the Papacy would still be unresolved.

If you got one Pope Francis, then you can obviously get another one. Nor does the Papal office have the best of histories in any case. Papal pretensions and innovations caused the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. A talented Orthodox priest gives a summary of many of the issues with Papal innovations in this video. Fr. Victor E. Novak, an Orthodox priest and convert from Roman Catholicism, wrote, “For a millennium, since causing the Great Schism in 1054, Rome has been the cause of division after division in the West, leading to the splintering of Western Christendom and ultimately to the secularization of the West.”

Roman Catholic Traditionalists are in an unsustainable situation long-term. They can’t wait out the crisis. As Archbishop Vigano has warned, Pope Francis is just getting started. The heresies will shortly get more blatant to the point that even the most die-hard defender of the Papacy will be unable to finesse an explanation. Traditionalists can’t resolve the crisis by either deposing the Pope or electing a new one. Which means at some point they must recognize the truth of the situation. They can preserve the Papal Office and their communion with it, or they can preserve their allegiance to the Christian Faith. They can’t save both.

Since you can’t be Roman Catholic without the Papacy, and it is maddeningly difficult to be Roman Catholic when the Pope obviously isn’t, the most logical course of action is to convert to Orthodoxy. As Fr. Novak wrote:

The Orthodox Church has never added to or subtracted from the “faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), and has never suffered a Reformation, Counter Reformation, or a Revolution as seen at and after the Second Vatican Council. There are no problems with liberal modernism in the Orthodox Church, no waffling on moral teachings, and no movements for women priests, liturgical innovation, or the definition of new dogmas. Despite having no “earthly head” and maintaining the primitive Christian decentralized ecclesiastical structure, the Orthodox Church remains fully united and hasn’t suffered serious schism since 1054. The Orthodox Catholic Church is today what she was 1,000 years ago, 1,500 years ago, 2,000 years ago.

Today, traditional Roman Catholics who enter the Orthodox Church can worship essentially as they always have, only in full sacramental communion and visible unity with the 300 million member Orthodox Catholic Church. Rather than looking back to the 1950s or to the Council of Trent (which isn’t even as old as the Protestant Reformation!) they can fully embrace the Faith and Order of the “Undivided” Church, the Faith of the Church Fathers, the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Canon of St. Vincent of Lerins.

And that is the message that many of us carry to the wonderful, Traditionalist Roman Catholics who are struggling. Christ is calling them home to the true Church and the true Faith, and many are answering that call. I believe more would, if they did not have a serious misunderstanding of the role of a divisive figure within Orthodoxy – Patriarch Bartholomew II of “Constantinople.” Far too many believe the Ecumenical Patriarch’s role is analogous to the Papacy, and that makes them reluctant to trade one problem with unchecked power for another. Fortunately for the Orthodox Church, while the Patriarch is a problem, he just isn’t a very important one.

Constantinople was only raised in status above a normal bishopric in 381 A.D. The 3rd Canon of the First Council of Constantinople spells out exactly why the Bishop of Constantinople was being elevated, “The Bishop of Constantinople, however, shall have the prerogative of honor after the Bishop of Rome because Constantinople is New Rome.” This was a political decision based on the facts on the ground in the Roman Empire at that time. Unlike the Bishop of Rome, there is nothing equivalent to the “Petrine Theory” that can lend credence to any expansive claims of authority made by Constantinople.

Further, the See of Constantinople was occupied by heretics or schismatics for over 230 years of its entire existence. Nestorius was Patriarch of Constantinople. Clearly, obtaining the office of Patriarch of Constantinople is no guarantee that a man is Orthodox in faith and/or morals. Despite that spotty record, however, the Orthodox Church as a whole has clearly endured and clearly preserved the Deposit of the Faith. That is because the nature of the Orthodox Church can be expressed thusly:

Basic to the ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church is the concept of conciliarity. The Church is, in fact, at her core always synod, the literal meaning of the word “Ekklesia.” The concept of conciliarity, i.e., the conciliar or synodal approach to managing the Church’s affairs, is not confined solely to convening various types of synods, but also includes every expression of ecclesiastical life. Through conciliarity, the nature of the Church as theanthropic communion in Christ is expressed. This is why any ecclesiastical practice which is not a result of conciliarity is a deviation from Orthodox ecclesiology.

The preservation of the Orthodox Faith does not depend on any one bishop. Which is why the modernists have such a loathing for the Orthodox Church – its decentralized structure practically defies meaningful infiltration.

Now, this does not mean that the Patriarch of Constantinople is not a problem. In the early 20th century, the Patriarchate appears to have been infiltrated by Freemasons, perhaps eventually so was much of the Greek Church. In the early 1920’s, Patriarch Meletios took control over the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and promulgated a new interpretation of Canon 28 of Chalcedon: the “barbarian lands” theory according to which all territories not part of another Orthodox Church belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. None of the other Orthodox Churches seem particularly convinced by that novel interpretation of a Canon that had been around since 451 A.D. Since that very, very recent time in history, the claims to authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch have steadily expanded. This has led to Patriarch Bartholomew interfering in the local affairs of various Orthodox Churches such as in Ukraine and Macedonia.

At the moment, Patriarch Bartholomew is making the case for himself becoming, essentially, an Orthodox Pope:

“We, Orthodox, must make a self-criticism and reconsider our ecclesiology if we do not want to become a federation of Protestant Churches,” said Patriarch Bartholomew.

According to Bartholomew, the problem of unity can be solved if it is recognized that there is a bishop in the Orthodox Church who is higher than other bishops and has exclusive power.

“Since in our ordination to a Bishop we swear to obey the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils, we must admit that in an indivisible Ecumenical Orthodoxy there is a “First” not only by honour, but a “First” with special responsibilities and regular powers entrusted by the Ecumenical Councils,” said the head of the Phanar.

There are secular forces that are pushing the Ecumenical Patriarchate forward in its ever more expansive claims. The United States has used the EP’s interference in Ukraine as an arm of its anti-Russian foreign policy. Greek supremacists want a way to push back against the larger, more powerful Russian Orthodox Church that they feel overshadows them. Modernists see centralization of power in the EP as the means to finally transform the Orthodox Church in the same ways that Pope Francis is changing the Roman Catholic Church. Many of these modernists are grouped around the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America based out of New York.

How likely is he to succeed in his quest for “Papal” powers? There is a much better chance of pigs becoming fighter pilots. The EP’s actions in Ukraine have already led to a schism with the Russian Church and the canonical Ukrainian Church, who together comprise the vast majority of Orthodox Christians in the world today. The canonical head of the Ukrainian Church, not the rogue body set up by Constantinople, is Metropolitan Onuphry. His Beatitude had this to say about Constantinople:

“This spiritual relaxation from Constantinople in preserving the purity of the holy Orthodox faith is the root cause of the schism that occurred in 2019,” he continues.

His Beatitude also points to the desire of the Phanar to give “to Caesar not only what is Caesar’s, but also what is God’s,” which was the cause of the fall of Constantinople and the destruction of the great Byzantine Empire.

“And today, the Constantinople ecclesiastical authorities are ready to accept any custom and law forbidden by God that the world offers, just to return Constantinople (now Istanbul) to its former glory, and to regain the authority the Church had in the heyday of the Byzantine Empire,” the Ukrainian archpastor continued.

“Theoretically, the break in Eucharistic communion, which occurred in 2019, could be healed, but for that, the respected Patriarch of Constantinople should behave with all as the first in honor and equal in authority. Unfortunately, His Holiness acts as the first both in honor and authority, but this is alien to the Orthodox spirit of conciliarity, by which the Orthodox Church has lived and lives,” His Beatitude concludes.

The Patriarch of Constantinople is a modernist tool of anti-Christian globalist forces the same as Pope Francis, of whom he is a huge fan. Patriarch Bartholomew’s attachment to Orthodox – Roman Catholic Ecumenism causes some Orthodox to worry that he will unite with Rome. Were he to do so, of course, some modernist “Orthodox” might follow him. On the other hand, such a move would be guaranteed to create a world-wide schism that would leave him practically alone. On his own, the Patriarch of Constantinople has a native congregation of a few thousand Greeks in Turkey, an island of monks, and some Greek “diaspora” churches scattered around the world. It is hardly a base of power. In fact, the Patriarch’s ability to meddle in other countries is only possible because of the support of secular powers such as the United States. Times change, worldly powers come and go, and priorities shift.

Let me illustrate, somewhat crudely, how little the Patriarch of Constantinople matters. Patriarch Bartholomew could marry his homosexual lover on the steps of the Vatican at a “wedding” co-officiated by the Pope and a Satanic High Priest, after which he could pledge eternal devotion to one of the Pope’s spare Pachamama idols – and the practical impact on the Orthodox Faith would be exactly nil. To be honest, the same thing could be said about any bishop, or even a synod of bishops. No one has the power to change the Orthodox Faith.

For many Orthodox around the world, the ambitions and pretensions of Patriarch Bartholomew are a pain to deal with. He and his representative in the United States, Archbishop Elpidophoros, can be unnerving, embarrassing, and downright infuriating. In Ukraine and other places, his intervention has led to many heart-rending tragedies. For those of us, who care about bringing people to the Kingdom, the Patriarch is a stumbling block of sorts. But his “power” and “influence” are severely limited compared to Pope Francis and that will always be the case. Pope Francis matters, just not in a good way. The Patriarch of Constantinople really doesn’t.

So for those of you looking for the authentic Christian Faith, you will find it in the Orthodox Church. As with any organization led by fallen men, we do have some personnel issues. The Church is a hospital for sick souls, after all. But our altars are pure, the faith is undefiled, and our decentralized structure is tailor-made to resistance in the modern world. There will always be Orthodox priests and Orthodox bishops, be they in catacombs or in cathedrals. And if one compromises the faith, there will always be another to take his place. While Christ is essential, no one man or one office ever is.

Please come home.

Nicholas – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Tags: Archbishop Vigano, authentic Christian Faith, Catholic inquirer, Christ, freemasonry, freemasons, globalism, journey to Orthodoxy, Latin Mass, modernism, modernist, original church, Orthodoxy, pachamama, papal innovations, papal power, Pope Francis, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism, trad Caths, traditionalist Roman Catholics, True Church

Assembly Orthodox Bishops Virtual Meeting

Are Orthodox Christian Bishops Afraid of COVID, the Government, or Both?

October 16, 2020

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President Trump, after recovering from COVID, was due to leave Walter Reed hospital when he Tweeted this message, “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” As an obese 74 year-old with a famously poor diet and a high-stress job, Trump has very publicly beaten the virus and in a short period of time. President Trump is also the man whose campaign has organized events across the country which gathered together tens of thousands of his most fervent supporters.

Through Trump’s actions we can confirm two very important things. First, COVID-19 is obviously not as deadly as the media and government scientists first led us to believe. President Trump is one of the most briefed men on the planet. He has the best medical experts in the world on speed dial. He is not interested in dying. And he wants to be re-elected president with all his heart. That would not occur if his campaign events were threatening his life and the lives of his voters. So, just like anyone else who has been paying attention, it is clear that President Trump is aware that COVID may be highly infectious, but for the vast majority of the American population, it is not a major life threat. The survival rates published by the CDC confirm an expected 99.98% survival rate for patients under 49, and even at 70 plus years of age a patient has a 94.6% chance of pulling through. Worldwide numbers indicate that COVID mortality is within the range of the seasonal flu.

The other thing Trump’s message of COVID defiance and his rallies without limits prove is that President Trump is certainly not an Orthodox Bishop in the United States. If he were, he’d be way more timid.

38 Successors to the Apostles just finished gathering, virtually of course, for the 10th annual meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA. Among other things, the bishops drafted A Message of Hope from the Assembly of Bishops. You can read the entire message at the link. The portions we would like to focus on are quoted below:

In our present circumstances, trying to hold a sensible middle ground between opposing forces of faithless reason on the one hand and spiritualized folly on the other is the greatest challenge of our time…. Certainly, our present physical separation from one another and spiritual isolation from the divine services have complicated our ability to navigate these troubled waters. It is not fitting for us, as Orthodox Christians, to add to the burdens of our brothers and sisters either by condemning them or by appeasing them with insincere flattery. Rather, we ought to honestly fulfill the law of God by bearing one another’s burdens, as the Holy Apostle Paul reminds us (cf. Gal. 6:2).

On the one hand, we suppose, it was good that the Orthodox bishops in this country finally, as a group, acknowledged that we have a few problems here. On the other hand, after reading through this multiple times, we kept asking ourselves, “Where’s the hope here again, other than in the title?”

President Trump is a secular leader, and one that is not noted for his deep and abiding faith in God. But even he was able to call upon us to cast off fear and live our lives. The Orthodox Bishops did not. Trump was bold and inspirational in a time of crisis, the Bishops are trying to hold a tepid “middle ground.” From the beginning of this crisis, Orthodox Christians have asked the bishops to evaluate the data on the virus for themselves and make wise, independent, transparent decisions. The choice has not been between “faithless reason” and “spiritualized folly.” Those words are deployed to merely cover the Bishops’ own fear of action.

Rather, as is even more abundantly clear today than ever, the choice has been between politically useful hysteria and protecting the well-being of our most vulnerable in society. Even WHO officials have now realized that lockdowns are doing the most harm to those who can least afford it. Dr. David Nabarro of the WHO has urged world leaders to stop using lockdowns as a primary virus control method, “Look what’s happened to smallholder farmers all over the world. … Look what’s happening to poverty levels. It seems that we may well have a doubling of world poverty by next year. We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition.”

Shouldn’t the Shepherds of Christ’s Church on Earth have something to say about a public health strategy that is doubling the rate of poverty and doubling child malnutrition? Opposing this doesn’t seem like “spiritualized folly” to us. And supporting such policies doesn’t appear to us to be any kind of reason, “faithless” or otherwise.

But there is even more evidence emerging that continuing to destroy economies and human lives over a virus with a close to 100% survival rate for those under 70 is a horrible idea. Over 6,000 scientists signed a petition calling for end of coronavirus lockdowns:

Over 6,000 scientists signed their names to a petition calling for an end to coronavirus lockdowns, citing the “irreparable damage” they have caused.

“As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection,” states the petition, which was signed by over 2,800 medical and public health scientists, over 3,700 medical practitioners, and over 60,000 private citizens, according to Newsweek. “Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.”

The petition continues: “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.”

“The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk,” the petition reads. “We call this Focused Protection.”

When the lockdowns began, many bishops and priests published letters saying that destroying jobs and closing churches was to help “the least of these” (Matthew 25:31). Those of us complaining about the lockdowns and the church closures were often accused of not caring about the vulnerable. We were told, in no uncertain terms, that we were putting money above human lives. Well, that was then and this is now. And now that 15 days to flatten the curve has turned into 7 months, it has become abundantly clear that the lockdowns and social isolation are hurting and even killing the most vulnerable in our society. And it needs to stop.

So why did the bishops not stand up for the least of these among us? Why can politicians and scientists speak out, but the men burdened with leading the Faithful simply keep quiet? Are they that afraid of a virus or the government, or both?

The bishops also noted, “our present physical separation from one another and spiritual isolation from the divine services.” Churches in many states, such as California, are still closed or severely constrained. Lawsuits are popping up all over on Constitutional grounds, and many churches are resisting the restrictions in a myriad of ways. This message was a perfect time for the Bishops to condemn restrictions on religious liberty, and declare once and for all that the Church is “essential.” They, of course, did no such thing which is how most of the Bishops have behaved since the beginning of this crisis. Not only will the Bishops not fight for California, they won’t stand up for Christian freedom of worship in even the mildest of language.

Thanks be to God that we have leaders in the Orthodox Church such as Abbot Tryphon who are willing to stand for the Church. Abbot Tryphon wrote the following in a recent article entitled The Church is THE Essential Institution:

Given the communal nature of the Church, it is particularly alarming our City, State, and Federal governments are using this Covid-19 pandemic to bar people from gathering in their temples for common worship. The importance of social interaction in the central square, as seen in traditional villages where the cafe life, together with the communal nature of the Church, were the primary source of fraternal interaction, demonstrate the danger facing a society that has ordered her people to remain apart, sequestered in their homes.

A nation that forbids her people from participating in corporate worship, is a nation that is doomed.
Isolated from others, the communal nature that is an important element in what it means to be human, is lost. As humans, we are meant to be together, for it is in our lives together that we grow in mind and spirit. It is in community that we learn to love God, and it is within the corporate gathering together for the Divine Liturgy, that we collectively hear the Word of God, and receive the Life-giving Body and Blood of Our Saviour.

It is high time we clearly let those who’ve decided that liquor stores, pot shops, and drug stores are by far less essential to the maintenance of our souls, then the Church. A nation that forbids her people from participating in corporate worship, is a nation that is doomed. It is clear that we have need for access to the food we need for physical sustenance, but the spiritual food needed for a healthy soul and body, makes the Church THE most essential institution in the land.

Like President Trump on the secular side, Abbot Tryphon boldly proclaims truth but from an Orthodox Christian perspective. Compare his prophetic boldness in crying out that a nation which forbids corporate worship is “doomed” with the Bishops’ “middle ground.” Who speaks for the historic witness of the Faith of the Martyrs – Abbot Tryphon or the Bishops?

The danger to our Faith extends past this current crisis. The Bishops’ continuing silence probably means that we are not taking steps to make our own plans as a Church for how to deal with any future crisis. The current policy of simply “comply” has been condemned as dangerous by other Orthodox leaders such as Archbishop Theodosy (Snigiryov) of Boyarka who said:

If the Church adopts a “whatever they say, we’ll do,” stance as its doctrine of responding to social problems, then in the near future, authorities in different countries will be able to close our churches, and deprive the faithful of the Liturgy under any humanitarian pretext—a pandemic, the danger of nuclear war, climate change, etc.

The Bishops missed more opportunities than just defending the vulnerable (while embracing actual science), and calling for an end to restrictions on Christian worship. The ongoing vaccine effort is alarming many with concerns about decreased safety protocols and possible side effects from the use of potentially dangerous new technology. The Russian Church has dealt with those concerns by proclaiming that patients have the right to voluntary, informed consent of all vaccines. Our American Bishops ignored this controversy in their message, even though it is being discussed daily and even featured in presidential debates.

The Bishops also failed to renounce the “new normal” and advocate unequivocally for a return to pre-COVID life, at least for those under 70 or otherwise not in high risk groups. 7 months in, we still have mask mandates, restrictions on travel, and experiments with “immunity” passports. As with lockdowns, the science does not support the need for the “new normal.” Recently, a survey conducted by over a dozen medical institutions for the CDC and published in Sept. 11’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed that 85% of those who contracted COVID-19 during July among the study group either “always” or “often” wore face coverings within the 14 days before they were infected. Just 3.9% reported never wearing a mask. And, of course, the data tell us that the overwhelmingly, vast majority of those who did get the virus will be just fine.

The uselessness of mask mandates has always been known based on prior experience with the flu. We have been writing about masks for months. Which makes us wonder why the vast majority of Orthodox parishes are still enforcing mandatory masks, even when many of their localities are not requiring them? When will the Bishops take a stand against the “new normal,” or does their reticence to do so mean that at least the 38 who signed off on this statement are on-board with it?

The Bishops’ message also said:

At the same time, this health crisis and the energy required to shoulder it have also given rise to an unhealthy increase of polemical opinion related to questions of science, medicine, and civil and ecclesiastical directives. As often happens when human passions erupt, such polemics have infected other areas of society as reflected in the rise in this country of racial tensions, ideological clashes, and political polarization… we are not called to base our lives upon the ephemeral convictions that are common in the realm of politics, economics, or ideology. Rather, we are called to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2), placing our trust in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and doing His Holy Will through our efforts to fulfill His life-giving commandments.

Many American cities have been rocked for months with violent riots. Innocent business and home owners have suffered billions in property damage. There is rampant, open speculation of increased mob violence after a possible botched election. But the Orthodox Bishops don’t condemn the violence while calling for calm and prophetically taking to task the politicians who have promoted the chaos? Why do the Bishops note our current distress, but somehow refer to all this chaos and destruction as “polemics“?

As Christians, of course we place our hope in the Gospel, just as the Bishops advise. But how can our leaders ignore what is happening around us? Not only are we beset by Marxist-led mob violence in the streets, but churches are being attacked and vandalized. Christians are being “cancelled” from their jobs and from society for the crime of merely standing up for the tenets of our faith. A Supreme Court nominee is being attacked for the crime of taking her Roman Catholic faith seriously. Yet our Bishops ignore all that and simply tell us to focus on Jesus Christ.

That is not bad advice, focusing on Jesus is always the right thing to do. But we need more out of our leaders to help us in the life we have to live prior to entering God’s Kingdom. What is happening to us now as a nation and as a Church matters, and the Bishops seem completely disconnected from our daily struggles.

It is estimated that 1 in 5 churches will close in the next 18 months. That crisis is reaching the Orthodox as well. The Greek Archdiocese has launched a COVID-19 Parish Recovery Initiative:

Many parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America have reported declines in weekly giving and stewardship donations due to the lengthy COVID-19 shutdown. Additionally, reports showcase the decline of attendance at holy services and ministries as well as technological challenges associated with delivery services and ministries virtually.

Millions of people are deeply disappointed in the way the Church (and the other “Christian” bodies in the US) has caved to COVID hysteria. They are lost, dejected and in need of guidance. They are staying home in droves, and they are keeping what money they have and not giving it to the Church. Our people need the kind of “spiritualized folly” that the Bishops condemn. They need the Faith of the Apostles and Martyrs, not the scribblings of academics too afraid to even meet their fellow Bishops face-to-face. By God’s Grace that boldness still exists within our Holy, Orthodox Church. May God grant that the Bishops catch the the fire of the Holy Spirit in their bellies and that it pours out into their preaching. Then maybe the leaders of our Faith will be capable of giving us a real message of hope over fear.

Nicholas, member Greek Archdiocese of America

Tags: Archbishop Elpidophoros, Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, authentic Orthodoxy, bare face is legal, bishop letter, corona conflict, fear, lock downs, mask mandate, masks, message, middle ground, Orthodox Bishops, Orthodox fundamentalism, Orthodox martyrs, spiritualized folly, surgical masks

The Scandal of Ecumenism – Greek and English

November 29, 2021

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The article was originally written in Greek, and translated into English. Click here to skip down to the English version.

Ο Σκανδαλισμός του Οικουμενισμού – Αναστάσιος Γεωργίου

Για μας τους Χριστιανούς Ορθοδόξους, ή ταυτότητά μας είναι ή Πίστις μας και η Oρθοδοξία. Όχι Oρθοδοξία «των παπάδων», όχι τῶν Οἰκουμενιστῶν επισκόπων … αλλά Ορθοδοξία του Χριστού, των Αγίων Αποστόλων, των Προφητών και των Αγίων Πατέρων. Αυτή είναι η Ορθοδοξία, για την οποία πρέπει όλοι μας να αγωνιζόμεθα καὶ εάν χρειασθεί να δώσουμε και τη ζωή μας ακόμη, όπως τα εκατομμύρια Μαρτύρων τής πἰστεώς μας.

Ο γνήσιος Ορθόδοξος Χριστιανός δεν παρασύρεται εις τὸν Οικουμενισμό, πού λέει ότι ο Παπισμός είναι εκκλησία, ο Προτεσταντισμός είναι εκκλησία και πρέπει να έχουμε συνεργασία και αγάπη … Ναι, αγάπη! Αγάπη όμως εν Αληθεία, διότι ή Παντοδύναμος Αγάπη συμπορεύεται πάντοτε με την αλήθεια. Ο Θεός διοχετεύει τη δύναμη τής Αγάπης Του, όταν προσκυνήται «ἐν πνεύματι και αληθεία» (Ιωανν. 4,24) Ως Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί αγαπούμε όλους καὶ επιθυμούμε να έρθουν σε επίγνωση της Αληθείας. Έτσι μας δίδαξε «Ο Θεός τής αγάπης». Δεν μισούμε τους ανθρώπους εξ’ αιτίας της αιρέσεως ή της απιστίας των, αλλά και δεν θα αγαπήσουμε ποτέ, μα ποτέ, την απιστία των ή την αίρεσιν χάριν των ανθρώπων, διότι θα αποξενωθούμε από τον Θεόν.

Ο Οικουμενισμός προσπαθεί να βρει κοινά σημεία πίστεως μεταξύ Ορθοδόξων και ετεροδόξων. Ποτέ δεν έλαβε υπόψιν τις βασικές διαφορές που υπάρχουν μεταξύ Ορθοδοξίας και Παπισμού. Διακηρύττει ότι και στις άλλες θρησκείες, ακόμη και στις μονοθεϊστικές, υπάρχει σωτηρία … Έτσι ανατρέπει την θεμελιώδη Χριστιανική πίστη, ότι «ουκ έστιν ἐν άλλω οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία» (Πραξ. 4,12) Ἐν ολίγοις, απορρίπτει τον λόγο τής Άγιας Γραφής.

Προχώρησε ακόμη και στο λατρευτικό επίπεδον. Στην Ασίζη, Ορθόδοξοι Ιεράρχες συμμετείχαν σε πανθρησκειακές εκδηλώσεις και κοινές συμπροσευχές και δοξολογίες με ετεροδόξους, και μάλιστα με Ιουδαίους και Μουσουλμάνους. Στην Καμπέρρα της Αυστραλίας (Ζ’ Γ. Συνέλευση Π.Σ.Ε.), οι Οικουμενιστές κάλεσαν σε συμπροσευχές ακόμη και ειδωλολάτρες, για να αποκτήσουν οἱ Ορθόδοξοι συνείδηση ότι κατά βάθος, μία εκκλησία, ή ένα τζαμί… αποβλέπουν στην ίδια πνευματική καταξίωση του ανθρώπου. Αυτό δεν είναι αυτόματη διαγραφή της εν Χριστώ σωτηρίας και του Ἁγίου Πνεύματος; Αν υπάρχει και κάπου αλλού δυνατότητα σωτηρίας, δηλαδή θεώσεως, τότε γιατί ή εν Χριστώ αποκάλυψη, προφητεία σαρκώσεως στην Π. Διαθήκη, και της ενσαρκώσεως στην Κ. Διαθήκη; Γιατί η Σάρκωση, ἡ Πεντηκοστή, ἡ Εκκλησία, ως Σώμα Χριστού και κοινωνία Αγίων; Αυτές οἱ πράξεις των Οικουμενιστών δεν φανερώνουν απόρριψη του Χριστιανισμού; Επίσης στην Γενεύη, ὁ Γενικός Γραμματέας του Π.Σ.Ε. Eugene Blake, κάλεσε τους ηγέτες όλων των θρησκειών σε μία ὑπερομολογιακή λειτουργία και προσευχή στον καθεδρικό Ναό του Αγίου Πέτρου, όπου ὁ καθένας προσευχήθηκε στη δική του γλώσσα και σύμφωνα με το τυπικό της θρησκείας του. Ἡ ενέργεια αυτή είχε σκοπό να συνυπάρξουν στην λατρεία του ίδιου Θεού.

Όλα αυτά γίνονται για τα συμφέροντα της Νέας Εποχής, και όχι γιὰ την «ἐν Χριστώ αλήθεια», τη ην «εν Αληθεία» ενότητα. Και όμως, το Ιερό Ευαγγέλιο του Χριστού διαψεύδει τις διάφορες προφάσεις και ενέργειες. Όταν οι Οικουμενιστές μας απορρίπτουν και μας περιφρονούν ως φανατικούς και φονταμενταλιστές, ότι δεν έχουμε «πέντε κλωνάρια μυαλό», να γνωρίζουν ότι απορρίπτουν και περιφρονούν τους Αγίους Αποστόλους και τους Αγίους της Εκκλησίας, τους οποίους μιμούμεθα. Αλλά απορρίπτουν και περιφρονούν και αυτόν τον Κύριον, ο οποίος μη θέλοντας να συνάξει οπαδούς θυσιάζοντας την αλήθεια είπε «Μη και ὑμεῖς θέλετε, ὑπάγειν» (Ιωάννης 6,48). Και δεν είναι μόνον αυτές οι προδοσίες των. Είναι πάρα πολλές που είναι δύσκολο να αναφερθούν σ ’αυτό το κείμενο, που γίνονται αιτία να διχάζεται το ποίμνιο της Εκκλησίας.

Αν αγαπούν τον Σωτήρα Χριστό και θυσιάζονται για την πίστη όπως οι προηγούμενοι Άγιοι Πατέρες, πρέπει να απορρίψουν τον Οικουμενισμό και να αντιμετωπίσουν σθεναρά τις δυνάμεις του κόσμου και τις μεθοδεύσεις του. Αλλ’ αυτό απαιτεί την αναβάπτισή μας στην Ορθόδοξη Παράδοσή μας, αλλά και την ενότητα όλων των Ορθοδόξων με την μετοχή στην άκτιστη Θεία Χάρη με τα Μυστήρια της Εκκλησίας. Η παρουσία της Ορθοδοξίας στο σύγχρονο κόσμο οφείλει να είναι πρωταρχικά Πνευματική και Λειτουργική. Η Θεία Λειτουργία, με όλη τη λατρεία μας, είναι ο σημαντικότερος θησαυρός μας, διότι περικλείει και διασώζει δυναμικά το φρόνημα και τη ζωή τῶν Ἁγίων μας, την πίστη και τον Θεϊκό νόμο και τρόπο της ύπαρξής μας. Αν υπάρχει κάτι το πολύτιμο εδώ εις την γῆν, για το οποίον αξίζει να δώσουμε τα πάντα και αυτήν την ζωή μας, είναι ἡ Ορθόδοξος Πίστη του Χριστού μας, τῶν Ἁγίων Αποστόλων, Μαρτύρων, Ιεραρχών, Οσίων, δικαίων καὶ πάντων τῶν Ἁγίων Πατέρων της Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας μας.

Βαδίστε, λοιπόν, στα ίχνη τους και πάψτε νὰ σκανδαλίζετε τον πιστό λαό οδηγώντας αυτόν εις την ανυπακοή και τον αποτειχισμόν. Δὲν ἀντέχει άλλο νὰ βλέπει την ισοπέδωση του Χριστού στην πράξη, με τις διάφορες θεότητες. Δεν αντέχει άλλο να βλέπει την ταπείνωση τῆς Ορθοδοξίας. Δὲν ἀντέχει άλλο να βλέπει να ταυτίζεστε με τις δυνάμεις του κόσμου, διότι αγαπήσατε «την δόξα των ανθρώπων μάλλον ἢπὲρ την δόξα του Θεού» (Ιωάννης 12,19). Τί κατάπτωσής! Αλήθεια, σεις οι «ποιμένες» σε ποιόν θεόν πιστεύετε; Τα έργα σας φανερώνουν ότι πιστεύετε στον θεό του Οικουμενισμού που δεν είναι άλλος παρά ο εχθρός του Χριστού, ο Αντίχριστος! Η μήπως δεν γνωρίζετε ότι ο Οικουμενισμός είναι παναίρεσις και οι υπηρετούντες αυτόν είναι αιρετικοί; Πως έχετε λοιπόν την απαίτηση υπακοής από το ποίμνιο, τη στιγμή που το οδηγείτε «στο στόμα του λύκου»;

To Ιερό Ευαγγέλιο μας συμβουλεύει να μένουμε μακριά από τους κακούς ποιμένες, διότι είναι «λύκοι άρπαγες» (Ματθ 7,15) Τα πιστά μέλη της Εκκλησίας του Χριστού, δεν πρόκειται ποτέ να δείξουν υπακοή στους ανάξιους ποιμένες του Οικουμενισμού. Θα μείνουν σταθεροί στην πίστη και θα αγωνισθούν σθεναρά κατά των θεοκάπηλων προδοτών της Ορθοδοξίας και των Πατερικών Παραδόσεων. Μετανοήσατε! Μη γίνεσθε αρνησίχρηστοι, αρνούμενοι το φρόνημα τῶν Ἁγίων Πατέρων οι οποίοι ποτέ δεν συνθηκολόγησαν με αιρετικούς και άρχοντας του κόσμου τούτου σε θέματα πίστεως,

αλλά υπέστησαν τρομερά βασανιστήρια, ακόμη και θάνατον. Ο Κύριος μας παρέδωσε ΜΙΑ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ, που ομολογούμε στο Σύμβολο της Πίστεως, και μόνον αυτή ή Εκκλησία του Χριστού έχει τη Χάρι να οδηγεί στη σωτηρία της ψυχής.

Καμία θρησκεία εκτός της Ορθοδόξου Χριστιανικής, και καμία Χριστιανική ομολογία δύναται να οδηγήσει στη σωτηρία. Αυτό διδάσκει το Ευαγγέλιο του Χριστού, το οποίο δυστυχώς σεις οι Οικουμενιστές με τα έργα σας το διαγράφετε. Σας παρακαλούμε! Μη γίνεσθε θεομπαίχτες! Μη παραπληροφορείτε το ποίμνιο του Χριστού! Μὴ συνεχίζετε να σκανδαλίζετε τον πιστό λαό. Το ποτήρι της υπομονής του ξεχείλισε. Φοβηθείτε το Θεό, πού σταυρώθηκε και για τη σωτηρία σας. Μετανοήσατε… Δεν είναι αργά.

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For us Orthodox Christians, our identity is the Orthodox Faith – not the “Orthodoxy of the priests,” or the Orthodoxy of Ecumenist Hierarchs… but the Orthodoxy of Christ, the Holy Apostles, the Prophets, and the Holy Fathers. This is Orthodoxy, for which we must all struggle, and if need be, even give our lives, as did the millions of martyrs who witnessed for the Faith.

The genuine Orthodox Christian is not drawn to Ecumenism, which accepts Roman Catholicism or Protestantism as true churches to whom we must show co-operation and love. Yes, we must love them, but we must love in Truth because Divine Love is always united with Truth. God sends the power of His Love when He is worshiped “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) As Orthodox Christians we love everyone, and we desire that they come to know the Truth. This is what the “God of Love” teaches us. We do not hate anyone because of their heresy or infidelity to Christ, but we will also never love infidelity or heresy for the sake of any person, because that will alienate us from God.

Ecumenism tries to find common ground between the faith of Orthodoxy and heterodoxy, never considering the fundamental differences between the two. Ecumenism proclaims that there is salvation in all religions, thereby overturning the very foundation of the Christian faith and rejecting the teachings of Holy Scripture, which states, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth … Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

Ecumenism even goes so far as to alter Orthodox worship. In Assisi, Orthodox Hierarchs participated in pan-religious events and joint prayers and eulogies with heterodox and even with non-Christians (Muslims and Jews). In Canberra, Australia, (6-3 General Assembly of the World Council of Churches), the Ecumenists even invited pagans and idol-worshippers to joint prayers to persuade the Orthodox conscience that deep down, a church is no different than a mosque in a person’s spirituality. How does this new belief not nullify our salvation in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit? If humanity’s salvation and theosis are possible elsewhere, then what is the purpose of the Old Testament Prophecies, the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, Pentecost, and the Church as the Body of Christ? Do these actions of the Ecumenists not demonstrate outright rejection of Christianity? Furthermore, in Geneva, the General Secretary of the WCC, Eugene Blake, invited the world’s religious leaders to a joint liturgy and prayer service at St. Peter’s Cathedral, where everyone prayed in their own language and according to their own confession of faith. The purpose of this was to unite everyone in common prayer to the same God, but not in truth.

All this is done in the interests of the New Age Movement, and not for “Truth in Christ,” or for unity “in Truth.” And yet the Holy Gospel of Christ rejects as false such actions and pretexts. When Ecumenists reject us, who uphold Holy Scripture, as fanatics and fundamentalists, they should realize that they not only scorn and reject the Holy Apostles and Saints of the Church, who we imitate, they even scorn and reject the Lord, Himself, who said. “will you also go away?” (John 6:67)

And yet, it is not only these betrayals which cause the flock to be divided, for there are too many others to be listed in this text. If our present-day hierarchs truly loved Christ the Saviour, they would act as did our Holy Fathers, by making sacrifices for the Orthodox Faith, rejecting Ecumenism, and vigorously opposing the idolatrous, blasphemous, and secular forces of this world. Such love demands a rebirth in Holy Orthodox Tradition, but also a unification of all Orthodox faithful through the Sacramental and Liturgical sharing of God’s uncreated Grace in the life of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy’s presence in today’s world must first be Sacramental and Liturgical, a salvific way of life that is found only in the Orthodox Church, the only vessel that can carry us safely through every storm. It is only within this Church that one finds the greatest treasure – the experience of Divine Liturgy and all its worship. This infinite treasure encompasses and preserves the fulness of the Christian Faith, the Mind of God and His Laws as expressed by the Apostles and Holy Fathers, the lives of the Saints, and the meaning of our very existence. If there is anything of unlimited value in this world that is worthy of every sacrifice, even our very lives, it is the Orthodox Faith, which was given to us by Christ, fought for, preserved, and passed down to us by His Holy Apostles, Holy Fathers, Martyrs, Saints and every righteous man or woman of our Holy Orthodox Church.

Therefore, follow in their footsteps and stop scandalizing the Faithful by leading us towards disobedience, heresy, and spiritual failure. We can no longer bear to watch the degradation and humiliation of Orthodoxy. We can no longer bear the belittling of Christ, the only true God, Whom you lower to the level of other false deities. Nor can we bear to see you consorting with the powers of this world, because you “love the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).

What a great fall for you! In which god do you “shepherds” believe then? Your works show that you believe in the god of Ecumenism, who is none other than the enemy of Christ, the Antichrist, the god of the New Age. Do you not realize that Ecumenism is a pan-heresy that incorporates all other past and current heresies? How, therefore, can you expect obedience from your flock, when you are leading us to the “jaws of the wolf”? The Holy Gospel warns us to stay far away far from bad shepherds, for they are “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15) The faithful members of the Orthodox Church of Christ, will never submit to the unworthy shepherds of Ecumenism. They will remain steadfast to the True Faith and will fight vigorously against the traitors of Orthodoxy and her Holy Traditions.

Repent, therefore! Don’t be obstinate in your denial of the phronema and mindset of the Holy Fathers, who never compromised the Faith with heretics and the rulers of this world. Instead, they preferred to endure torture and even death, to uphold The Truth. The Lord, Himself, gave us our Orthodox Church, which we confess in the Creed; and it is only this Church of Christ that has the Grace to lead us to salvation. No other religion or Christian denomination can do this because only Orthodoxy rightly teaches the Gospel of Christ, which you, Ecumenists, distort and undermine. Please stop deceiving the flock of Christ! Stop scandalizing the faithful! Our cup of patience has overflowed. Fear God, Who was also crucified for your salvation. Repent! … before it is too late.

Tags: anaxios, authentic Orthodoxy, ecemenism, false dieties, fanatics, Greek Archdiocese, heresy, Leftist Infiltration, martyrs, modernity, name above every name, Orthodox Bishops, Orthodox fundamentalism, Orthodox martyrs, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism

Shepherd, Know Your Sheep – Open Letter to Archbishop Sotirios

July 27, 2021

19 Comments

Below is a response from a Canadian Orthodox Christian to a recent encyclical from Archbishop Sotirios asserting that supporters of a single communion spoon are “pagan.” The full text of the Archbishop’s encyclical in Greek and English is published below this response. Click here to skip ahead and read it.

Your Eminence,

First and foremost, please do not combine the people that do not accept the existence of a Corona Virus or do not want to be vaccinated, together with the people that refuse to receive Holy Communion from multiple spoons. We are not the same. Most of the people that refuse to take Holy Communion with multiple spoons understand the Covid-19 problem and are fully vaccinated.

This brings us to the main issue. You are calling us idolaters because, to use your words, we have made the Lavida God and we worship the Lavida. You are wrong. We do not worship the Lavida. Worship belongs to God and God alone. Having said that, Christ’s body and blood cleanses the Lavida every time it is dipped into the Chalice. If you believe that anyone can get the virus from the Lavida, come out and say so. It looks like you are avoiding this issue because you know it is not true. Just like you cannot get the virus from Holy Communion because it is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, you cannot get the virus from the Lavida because it is cleansed every time it touches the Body and Blood in the Chalice. This is not just an opinion; it is clearly stated in the New Testament:

Matthew 8:2, Mark 1:40, Luke 5:12:

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Jesus did not become a leper – the leper was cleansed.

Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25, Luke 8:43-44:

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped . According to the law (Leviticus 15:27) the woman was considered unclean and any one that she touched her was also unclean.Yet, instead of Jesus becoming unclean, it was the woman that was cleansed.

St Dosetheos of Jerusalem in his Apology against the Protestants explains what we get with Holy Communion. In Holy Communion we have the same body of Christ, the one that was conceived by the Virgin Mary, the one that was born in Bethlehem, the one that was baptized in the Jordan river, suffered, was buried, resurrected, ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

The conclusion is this: Anything that touches Jesus or, anything that Jesus touches, is cleansed. Therefore, when the Lavida touches Jesus’ Body and Blood, it is cleansed even if it has a virus. You cannot get a virus by using the Lavida – unless you believe that Holy Communion is not the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. But again, when the clergy prays during the Divine Liturgy, he is asking God to “make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ” and “that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ”. Later he continues: “I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that this is Your precious Blood….” If you truly believe that, then you should not doubt that Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

If Paul’s handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them (Acts 19:12) and if the shadow of Peter was enough to heal the people (Acts 5:15) how can the Lavida which touches Christ’s Body spread a virus?

Now that we know that you will never get a virus from the Lavida the question is why change things? Why the introduction of multiple spoons?

Here are some possible explanations. You circulated the first two:

First, the government dictated it. They will issue fines or even close churches. This is wrong. The government has no authority to tell us how to take Holy Communion. It is called freedom of religion. They told us this over and over again. They insist we wear masks and keep proper distances in the church and we do that. If it was dictated by the government, then all Orthodox would have the same issue. How is it that the Old Calendar Orthodox, the Serbian, the Russian churches and so on, have no problem using the same Lavida ever since we had the virus and nobody is doing anything about it?

Second, nobody reported those other churches. This is wrong again. Not too long ago, the Toronto Public Health department visited one of the Old Calendar Orthodox churches here in Toronto and they only wanted to make sure they were wearing masks and keeping proper distances. Someone from the church asked them, “What about taking Holy Communion with the same spoon?” They answered, ”This is beyond our jurisdiction. We cannot tell you how to take Holy Communion.” In plain English, this means, “How you take Holy Communion is none of our business.”

Here is a third explanation: You, alone, wanted to change how Holy Communion is distributed and you used the virus as an excuse. Isn’t it true that this discussion was made in the Archdiocese cafeteria long before the virus came? Isn’t it true that in one of your speeches you proposed that the ladies who prepare the prosphoron should use some wine in the dough, thereby even changing the process of the Divine Liturgy? Isn’t it true that you have done all this and more because you are an Ecumenist and a decorated Freemason?

In your encyclical, you say: “By your selfishness you deprive yourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ.” You are wrong again. We do not deprive ourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ. We refuse to accept that you can get the virus from the Lavida. We take it from the other Orthodox churches that have kept the same method for thousands of years and there is nothing you can do about it. By the way, if some left the New Calendar Orthodox churches and went to the Old Calendar churches, consider yourself responsible for this. It was your unorthodox actions that drove them to this change.

Corona virus is not only a Canadian problem – it is all over the world. Can you explain why not thousands but millions of Orthodox continue to use one Lavida throughout the whole pandemic, and thank God they are doing just fine? Or is it true that we, in Canada, became the guinea pigs to see if the use of multiple spoons will be accepted by some and then you try to impose it on every Orthodox?

If you still believe that you can get a virus from the Lavida, ask yourself who the idolater is?

You are asking us to confess our sins and find the right spiritual father. We already do that. Thank God not all spiritual fathers are allowing themselves to follow your ideas. Confession is still private and you cannot pretend to know what goes on behind closed doors.

Also, let us not forget that most heresies started from the clergy and even patriarchs. You claim that archbishops, priests, elders, monks, nuns do not follow the right Orthodox spirit but that you do follow it. Isn’t that your own egotism?

Finally, you are asking us to repent and obey you. We repent every day, every hour, we never consider ourselves above anything or anyone. As for obeying, sorry but “We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). If you fear the Triune God, and not the Luciferian god, you, your Eminence, would do the same.

Respectfully,

Christopher Papadopoulos – Member of the Orthodox Church of Canada

June-July 2021 Viewpoint

Θεοποιείς την λαβίδα; Είσαι ειδωλολάτρης.

Do You Worship the Communion Spoon? Then You Are a Pagan.

Τι κρίμα; Δεν το καταλαβαίνεις και νομίζεις, ότι είσαι ο πιο ορθόδοξος. Φωνάζεις προς όλες τις κατευθύνσεις, ότι κατέχεις την αλήθεια. Χωρίς να το καταλαβαίνεις θεοποιείς τη λαβίδα. Η Θεία Κοινωνία είναι Σώμα και Αίμα Χριστού. Είναι φάρμακο αθανασίας. Η λαβίδα είναι ένα όργανο. Όργανο μετάδοσης της Θείας Κοινωνίας και τίποτε άλλο. Θεοποιείς τη λαβίδα; Είσαι ειδωλολάτρης.

Όλοι οι νεοφανείς αλάθητοι είναι ειδωλολάτρεις και δεν το καταλαβαίνουν. Φωνασκούν. Εμείς έχουμε την αλήθεια. Εμείς γνωρίζουμε καλύτερα. Εμείς είμαστε οι πραγματικοί ορθόδοξοι. Κανείς άλλος δεν ξέρει τίποτε. Ούτε οι κυβερνήτες. Ούτε οι γιατροί. Ούτε οι πατριάρχες. Οι αρχιερείς . Οι ιερείς. Όλα είναι σκευωρία. Όλα είναι του σατανά. Εμείς έχουμε την αλήθεια. Δεν χρειάζονται τα εμβόλια. Όλα είναι ψέματα.

Όλα είναι προπαγάνδα. Μην ακούτε τους επιστήμονες. Ακούστε μόνο εμάς. Εμείς είμαστε αλάθητοι. Ξεπεράσαμε τον Πάπα κι ας υποστηρίζουμε, ότι είμαστε ακραιφνείς ορθόδοξοι.

Τι κρίμα; Που είναι η ταπείνωση; Δεν βλέπετε, ότι έχετε εωσφορικό εγωισμό; Αυτά διδάσκει η ορθόδοξη πίστη; Αυτά εμπνέει το Άγιο Πνεύμα; Όχι. Όλα είναι της δικής σας φαντασίας. Όλα είναι γεννήματα του εωσφορικού σας εγωισμού. Δεν βλέπετε πως πολλοί που υπεστήριζαν αυτά προσεβλήθησαν από τον κορωνοϊό και πόσοι πέθαναν; Τίποτε δεν μπορεί να σας συγκρατήσει; Κρίμα.

Αρχιερείς, ιερείς, γεροντάδες, μοναχοί, μοναχές, άνθρωποι απλοί που νομίζετε, ότι είστε ακραιφνείς ορθόδοξοι, καιρός να το ξανασκεφτείτε. Όλοι πρέπει να ενεργείτε υπεύθυνα. Αυτό σημαίνει, ότι αναγνωρίζετε, ότι ο κορωνοϊός είναι πραγματικότητα. Αναγνωρίζοντας αυτό πρέπει να δίνετε το καλό παράδειγμα. Πρώτοι εσείς να εμβολιαστείτε. Να γίνετε το παράδειγμα και να οδηγείτε όλους στον εμβολιασμό. Να σωθούμε από την επάρατο αυτή ασθένεια του κορωνοϊού.

Με τον εγωισμό σας στερείτε τον εαυτό σας από το Σώμα και το Αίμα του Χριστού. Σκανδαλίζετε τους πιστούς τρέχοντας σε παλαιοημερολογίτες και σε άλλους που δεν ακολουθούν το σωστό ορθόδοξο πνεύμα για να εξυπηρετηθείτε. Αυτό εκτός από ασέβεια είναι και μη εμπιστοσύνη στον Σταυρωμένο και Αναστημένο Χριστό.

Συνέλθετε. Μετανοείτε. Αναλογιστείτε το κακό που κάνετε. Οδηγείτε τους εαυτούς σας στην κόλαση και παίρνετε κι άλλους στο λαιμό σας.

Ταπείνωση και σύνεση. Η ταπείνωση είναι η βάση όλων των αρετών. Η σύνεση είναι η συνισταμένη όλων των αρετών. Προσευχηθείτε. Ζητήστε τον φωτισμό του Αγίου Πνεύματος. Βρείτε σωστούς πνευματικούς. Εξομολογηθείτε. Κλάψτε για τις αμαρτίες σας. Ζητήστε από τον εύσπλαχνο Θεό την συγχώρεσή σας. Θα σας συγχωρέσει. Είναι πολυεύσπλαχνος. Αυτή είναι η πραγματικότητα. Όλα τα άλλα είναι δημιουργήματα του εωσφορικού εγωισμού σας.

What a shame that you refuse to understand this. You continue to think that you are more orthodox than others. You shout in all directions that you possess the truth. Without realizing it, you deify the spoon. Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ. It is medicine for immortality. The communion spoon is merely an instrument. It is a vehicle through which Holy Communion is given and nothing else. Do you worship the communion spoon? Then you are a pagan.

All of the newly proclaimed infallible are pagans without even realizing it. They howl that they have the truth. That they know better. That they are the genuine orthodox believers. That no one really understands what is happening in the world. Not the governments. Not the doctors. Not the patriarchs. Not the hierarchs. Not the priests.

For these people, conspiracy is everywhere. Everything comes from Satan. Only they have the truth. Vaccines are not necessary. Everything is a lie. It is all propaganda. They do not want us to listen to the scientists but to listen to what they have to say. They are the infallible. They have even surpassed the Pope, yet they claim to be genuinely Orthodox.

What a shame! Where is the humility? Can you not see your luciferian egotism? Is this what the Orthodox faith teaches? Is this what the Holy Spirit inspires? No. All of this is in your imagination. All of this is a product of your luciferian egotism. Do you not see that many who supported these ideas were infected with the coronavirus and some have died? Can nothing restrain you? What a pity.

Hierarchs, priests, elders, monks, nuns, ordinary people, all of you who think that you are more genuinely orthodox than the others, it is time to think again. You need to act responsibly. You need to recognize that the coronavirus is a reality. In recognizing this, you must set a good example for others. Be the first to get vaccinated. Become an example and lead everyone to get their vaccines. So we could finally save ourselves from this accursed coronavirus disease.

By your selfishness, you deprive yourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ. You scandalize the faithful by running to old calendarists and others who do not follow the true orthodox faith. This is not only disrespectful but also distrustful to the Crucified and Risen Christ.

Get a grip on yourselves. Repent. Think about the evil you are doing. You are leading yourselves to Hades and dragging others with you.

Think about humility and prudence. Humility is the basis of all virtues, and prudence represents the broader coherence, the resulting outcome of the virtues. You need to pray. To ask for the Holy Spirit to enlighten you. Find suitable spiritual fathers and confess. Cry for your sins. Ask the merciful God to forgive you. He will forgive you. He is merciful. This is the reality. Everything else is a product of your luciferian egotism.

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Tags: anaxios, Archbishop Sotirios, authentic Orthodoxy, clergy / laity rift, common spoon, communion, corona conflict, Covid-19, fear, heresy, lavida, Leftist Infiltration, mia lavida, multiple spoons, pagan, single lavida, single spoon, Sotirios, Theology, Toronto

Did Archbishop Elpidophoros Espouse Heresy at the Religious Freedom Summit?

July 16, 2021

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Archbishop Elpidophoros spoke on July 15th at the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington on the topic, “The Rising Tide of Religious Nationalism.” The speech, and the press about it, have already caused quite a stir. Full text of the speech is here. Below is the Tweet about it from the IRF official account:

Archbishop @Elpidophoros addresses the #IRFSummit about the dangers of “religious nationalism” and “nationalistic religion”, emphasizing the importance of cooperative efforts to instill democracy and freedom of conscience around the globe.

Archbishop Elpidophoros is part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is based in Turkey. Turkey, a nation with a long history of Christian persecution and genocide, has seen a rising tide of Islamic “religious nationalism” in this century. Given that context, we can easily understand the Archbishop’s participation in this summit and his choice of topic to address.

The summit included a pastor who spent two years in a Turkish jail for his faith. Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aykazian spoke about the dangers his nation faces from Muslim neighbors: “The safety and integrity of more than a thousand years of Armenian Christian culture are hanging by the slimmest of threads. We need to make the plight of Christian communities visible and concrete in the eyes of the world.” There was even a side event on the enforcement of blasphemy laws in mostly Muslim nations. For Orthodox Christians, this is an area of utmost concern as many of our brethren suffer under Islamic rule.

There is no inherent reason why the participation of Archbishop Elpidophoros in this summit should be controversial. Given the subject of the summit, the attendees, and the circumstances of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Turkey – we would have been surprised had the Archbishop not been a prominent attendee. Unfortunately, the content of his speech took a very controversial turn. The image below was Tweeted from the official account of the summit.

The quote looks very bad, and has already caused a firestorm on social media. It is very easy to read the Archbishop’s statement as a denial of the uniqueness of the Orthodox Christian Faith and an embrace of the heresy of “many paths to God.” More than a few Orthodox Christians have posted the picture along with Bible verses such as John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

This quote does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it appears to be only the latest example of the Greek Archdiocese’s lack of fidelity to the Orthodox Faith. The recent ecumenical efforts of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have been interpreted as a willingness to compromise with the world. The history of syncretistic Freemasonry (both in Constantinople and the Greek Church) makes people suspicious of anything that can be read as equating all religions.

It also doesn’t help calm fears that the Patriarch of Constantinople has a close relationship to Pope Francis, and often appears with him. Pope Francis has caused controversy by, among other things, signing a joint statement with the head of Egypt’s al-Azhar Mosque that proclaims “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” For the Pope’s trip to Morocco, the Vatican released an image that combined the cross with the crescent. Critics have branded the Pope’s efforts at Christian-Muslim dialog as an attempt to forge a new religion known as “Chrislam.”

Let us also not forget the whole “Pachamama” fiasco in the Vatican.

It is further troubling that on topics ranging from Covid to migration to Climate Change, opinions from those in and around the Ecumenical Patriarchate sound like endorsements of the New World Order / Great Reset. The close association with progressive academics, particularly those at Fordham, is also alarming. These academics want to fundamentally transform the Orthodox Faith, while simultaneously pretending they don’t.

So should this latest statement be understood as a rejection of Orthodoxy? Maybe. But something else entirely could be going on here. This could be an example of institutional survival becoming the mission, rather than spreading the Orthodox Christian Faith. The Patriarchate of Constantinople has almost no domestic flock left in Turkey. The Government of Turkey could easily dispose of the Patriarchate if it chooses to.

Archbishop Elpidophoros is likely the next Patriarch. He is absolutely committed to the Patriarchate’s survival in Turkey, as is Bartholomew, the current Patriarch. Everything they do, every word they utter, every alliance they enter – all of it is with the goal of preserving the Patriarchate. Which is why we believe that the Archbishop’s words at the summit should be interpreted in a Turkish context and not an American one. Given the situation in Turkey, and the summit’s goal of protecting religious freedom, the words of the Archbishop are most likely intended as an indictment of political Islam and not a rejection of Orthodoxy.

Especially since the paragraph right above the infamous comment is all about the theocracy in Iran.

On the other hand, we could look at some aspects of modern Iran, and find a distinct brand of “Religious Nationalism,” a full-blown attempt at theocracy by a seeming majority. But to see a spiritual basis for the State is to create a stratification of society along religious lines, a spiritual apartheid, if you will. The result is a monolithic society unyielding to diversity.

Is that part of the speech really about Iran, or is Iran used as a stand-in for the increasingly Islamicized government of Turkey? Either way, it seems that this very poorly worded paragraph was aimed mostly at Islam. A fact that might have been clear to those with a Near Eastern context.

Unfortunately, the Archbishop governs an Orthodox Church in the United States and made his remarks at a summit in Washington. In an American context, his words are seen as straight-up heresy. A fact that he probably did not even notice, given his fixation on Turkey. No one advising him appears to have noticed either. Or perhaps some did, but the statement being open to interpretation as equating all religions nicely fit their anti-Orthodox agenda. So they didn’t stop the train wreck when they could have.

In any case, Orthodoxy did not need this new controversy. The single-minded focus on the survival of the Patriarchate was already wreaking enough havoc. To curry favor with the American National Security establishment, and to gain a larger flock, the EP inserted itself into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This has led to immeasurable suffering among the Orthodox Faithful in that benighted country, while sowing divisions among Orthodox around the world. The situation is further complicated by the global popularity of Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. The Metropolitan is among the most admired Orthodox hierarchs in the world, and also among the most persecuted. His personal following ensures that the Ukrainian situation will not fade from the headlines any time soon.

In his speech, the Archbishop made some awful comments about the situation in Ukraine. Not to mention that he totally ignored the persecution of the canonical Church by the government in Kiev. At a summit dedicated to religious freedom. Go figure.

To gain allies and influence, the Patriarchate has been at the forefront of deeply controversial ecumenical engagements. To curry favor with global elites, the Patriarchate endorses progressive policy positions on practically every issue imaginable, and seems to signal LGBTQ+ friendliness at every opportunity. This leftist political and social engagement alienates many Orthodox Christians, whose pleas for moderation seem to fall on deaf ears.

All of this harms Orthodox witness in the United States. Greek Archdiocese priests, many of whom are very effective evangelists, complain that the Archbishop’s words and actions make their jobs harder. The situation isn’t doing anyone else any favors, either. Not only is the Greek Archdiocese the biggest jurisdiction in the United States, it is also the most visible. For us Orthodox Faithful, it is hard to know where the survival strategy ends and genuine heresy begins. The word “byzantine” comes to mind when sorting through all this.

In the end, there is probably no real difference in the impact of perceived heresy versus actual heresy.

While the Archbishop’s comments at the summit may not have been intentional heresy, they are at minimum a massive blunder that should have been avoided. Just one of many recent ones, unfortunately. Orthodox Christians in the United States deserve better than this. We deserve hierarchs whose focus is on the Orthodox Christian communities in this country. We may have that in some jurisdictions, but it is clear that the focus of the leadership of the Greek Archdiocese is not even on this continent.

Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America

Tags: anaxios, Archbishop Elpidophoros, authentic Orthodoxy, Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarchate, ecumenism, Greek Archdiocese, greek orthodox bishop, heresy, International Religious Freedom Summit, IRF summit, Leftist Infiltration, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Patriarchate Constantinople, political islam, Turkey

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