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The Heresy of Ecumenism and the Patristic Stand of the Orthodox

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The Heresy of Ecumenism and the Patristic Stand of the Orthodox M NUMBER IV IN THE SERIES “Every Landmark of the Fathers • Cyprian etropolitan Has Been Moved” Contributions to a Theology of Anti–Ecumenism The author of this work points out the heretical character of ecumenism and the legitimacy of the strug- gle against ecumenism which the Old Calendarist Or- thodox are waging. He also sets forth the secure Patristic boundaries of this anti–ecumenist endeavor, which validate it and pre- serve it from hazardous deviations. The ecumenists have upset the dogmatic and ecclesiological landmarks, the foundations and bul- warks, of the Orthodox Church. “Every landmark of THE HERESY OF ECUMENISM the Fathers has been moved; every foundation, every bul- wark of dogma has been shaken” (St. Basil the Great, Pa- trologia Græca, Vol. xxxii, col. 213a). However, according to the author, there lurks a danger for the Old Calendarist Orthodox anti–ecu- menists: their diverse oversights and excesses damage the credibility of their witness, since the “the right doc- trine of true religion” is capable of being distorted “in the direction of excesses or in that of deficiencies” (St. Basil the Great, Patrologia Græca, Vol. xxxii, col. 213c). The Heresy of Ecumenism In spite of this, we must continue the struggle against the panheresy of ecumenism with all might and and the Patristic Stand sacrifice, casting our hope on Divine Providence. of the Orthodox Front cover photo: The Basilica of St. Peter, the Vatican, on the • C.T.O.S. Patronal Feast of Rome, June 29, 1995. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople is empowered to bestow a joint blessing with Pope John Paul ii to the Papist congregation, on the basis of the official position of the ecumenists of the Phanar, that the Orthodox † Metropolitan Cyprian Church and Papism are “Sister Churches,” “working in the same of Oropos and Fili Field and in the same Vineyard of the Lord.” NUMBER IV IN THE SERIES Contributions to a Theology of Anti–Ecumenism The Heresy of Ecumenism and the Patristic Stand of the Orthodox by Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili • Translated by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna and Hieromonk Patapios CENTER FOR TRADITIONALIST ORTHODOX STUDIES Etna, California 96027 1998 Published with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Cypri- an of Oropos and Fili. Translated from the Greek original, ÑH a·re- siw toË OfikoumenismoË ka‹ ≤ PaterikØ stãsiw t«n ÉOryodÒjvn in SumbolØ stØn ÉAnti–oikoumenistikØ Yeolog¤a, Series B, Number 4 (Athens, Greece: Holy Synod in Resistance, 1998). library of congress catalog card number 98–73734 © 1998 by Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies All rights reserved isbn 0–911165–35–5 About the Author His Eminence, the Most Reverend Cyprian, Metropoli- tan of Oropos and Fili, is President of the Holy Synod in Resistance of the True (Old Calendar) Orthodox Church of Greece and Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Sts. Cypri- an and Justina in Fili (Athens), Greece. A spiritual son of the Blessed Philotheos (Zervakos), His Eminence was ton- sured a monk at the Monastery of St. John the Theologian on the island of Patmos. He subsequently founded the monastery in Fili under the jurisdiction of the State (New Calendarist) Orthodox Church of Greece, from which he separated in 1969, with the blessing and counsel of his spir- itual Father, because of its increased and unconscionable participation in, and support of, the World Council of Churches and the ecumenical movement in general. His Eminence, who holds the Licentiate in Orthodox Theolog- ical Studies and a Doctor of Theology degree honoris causa, is the author of many books and articles on ecumenism and Orthodox spirituality, which have appeared not only in the original Greek, but in Bulgarian, English, French, Russian, and Swedish translations. About the Translators His Eminence, the Most Reverend Chrysostomos, Arch- bishop of Etna, is Exarch in America for the Synod in Resis- tance and Academic Director of the Center for Traditional- ist Orthodox Studies at the St. Gregory Palamas Monastery in Etna, CA. A spiritual son of Metropolitan Cyprian, he re- ceived his graduate education in Byzantine history at the University of California and his doctorate in psychology at Princeton University, where he was a Preceptor in the De- partment of Psychology. His Eminence has also taught at 4Metropolitan Cyprian the University of California, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland University, and the Theological Institute of the University of Uppsala, in Sweden. The author of many arti- cles and books in psychology, Byzantine history, and Or- thodox theological thought, he has also translated a number of Greek Patristic texts, including the two–volume Ancient Fathers of the Desert. Hieromonk Patapios is a brother of the St. Gregory Pa- lamas Monastery and a Research Associate at the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies. He received the honors B.A. from Cambridge University in Classics and Philoso- phy, an M.A. in Philosophy from the Pennsylvania State University, the M.A. in Classics and the Master of Library Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and the Licentiate in Orthodox Theological Studies (with distinc- tion) from the C.T.O.S. He completed his Doctor of Theo- logy degree in Patristics at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, where he was a Newhall Teaching and Research Fellow. Articles by Father Patapios have appeared in St. Vla- dimir’s Theological Quarterly, The Eastern Churches Journal, and Orthodox Tradition. His popular monograph, A Study of the Ecclesiology of Resistance, was published in 1994. The Goal of This Series Ecumenists have noted with some uneasiness, of late, that the wave of opposition to ecumenism is be- coming ever–stronger within the bosom of the local Holy Orthodox Churches and that the communities of those standing in resistance to ecumenism are, through- out Orthodoxy, multiplying and uniting. The Orthodox ecumenists, in an effort to stem this pan–Orthodox opposition, have tried—in addi- tion to other things—to present as harmless (“neither here nor there”) the ecclesiological character of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and, more wide- ly, the ecumenical movement, appealing to the found- ing charter of this Geneva–based organization and to other of its official texts. In so doing, however, they commit the logical er- ror of petitio principii (to assume a premise before it has been demonstrated): the constitution of a country or the founding charter of an association (the WCC, pan–confessional in nature, is such an organization) is not interpreted “in a vacuum” (“ideationally” or “con- ceptually”), since neither is, as such, self–sufficient; that is, a constitution or founding charter cannot, whatever the case, be independently interpreted. Nor does it thoroughly and accurately portray the conditions in a country or association, except when it is placed in its more general social and operational context. The founding charter of the WCC and the “En- cyclical” on ecumenism issued by the Œcumenical Pa- triarchate in 1920 provide rudimentary evidence, not 6Metropolitan Cyprian only for the ecclesiological character of the Geneva– based WCC and, on a larger scale, of the ecumenical movement itself, but should be interpreted fully and clearly only within the general context of the pre–his- tory, inception, growth, and evolution of ecumenism. This is precisely the focus of the series at hand: to present the “unexplored” boundaries of the WCC and the ecumenical movement and to understand ecumen- ism from within its “essential core,” wherein there clearly holds forth a dogmatic, canonical, and ethical “minimalism” that is antithetical to Orthodoxy. The aim of this series is to show, by God’s Grace and in a sober and responsible manner, that the Hesy- chastic and Eucharistic presuppositions underlying our critical Orthodox stand before the ecumenical move- ment make it most profoundly clear that ecumenism constitutes a wholly new “ecclesiological position” and that, since 1920, we face an “ecclesiology of innovation” that has prompted a radical change in the theological outlook and consciousness of Orthodox ecumenists, as regards their acceptance of non–Orthodox [Christian] communions (as well as those of other religions). Those responsible for the series pray that the texts therein will have some impact and, indeed, that Or- thodox ecumenists will come to a quandary and turn about in their position, while there is yet time. It is our desire, too, that those Orthodox opposed to ecumen- ism will in the future work with greater earnestness, if, to be sure, they wish their opposition to be trustwor- thy and thus constructive, keeping in mind that anti– ecumenism is not an easy undertaking, but a distress- The Heresy of Ecumenism 7 ing exercise in discretion, love, and immersion into the words of the Fathers, entailing, as well, an effective stratagem in the face of the strong onslaught of those violent social developments which are basically the source (and which continue to be the “temptation”) of the ecumenical movement. “Convocations for Orthodox Awareness” The aim of the “Convocations for Orthodox Awareness,” which are organized by the Holy Monas- tery of Sts. Cyprian and Justina under the aegis of the Holy Synod in Resistance, is to inform the Faithful in a responsible and sober manner about the burning issues of our Faith, and especially about the deadly peril posed by the heresy of our age, the panheresy of ecumenism. To date, we have successfully organized the fol- lowing six “Convocations”: • The “First Convocation” (Sunday of Ortho-
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