Position Paper
First of all, I need to state that I am not making this statement in any official capacity; rather it is a clarification of my understanding of the reality of the situation that exists.
WHAT IS GRACE?
It is import to state that the definition of “grace” can vary from person to person. I speak specifically here of a salvific “something” that brings about an entrance into heaven. For instance, our Lord Jesus Christ tells Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Clearly something happens in the material of Holy Baptism that makes it into a salvific event under two elements: water and the Holy Spirit. These are necessary elements in orthodox baptism. We take countless baths during the course of our lives, but not everyone who is immersed in water is baptized. The element of the Holy Spirit must be in the water of baptism in order for the form to be complete. Likewise, our Lord states, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Clearly, not all bread and wine is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, it must be changed into such through the operation of the Holy Spirit called upon by the man ordained to do so properly.
However, each day in my prayers I say about the Holy Spirit, “Who art everywhere present and fillest all things.” Yet the Holy Spirit is not in every single puddle of water, nor is the He present in every single bottle of wine or loaf of bread making them Holy Communion. So, there is some difference between the way the Holy Spirit exists is all creation and what He does in the Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church to save Christians.
I like to use the metaphor of a birthday present to explain this: All of creation receives the birthday present of the Holy Spirit, however, like any present, there are multiple reactions that a free-will-possessing creation can have to the gift. One can take the gift, unwrap it, take it out of the box and use and rejoice in it. One could open the gift and upon seeing what it is reject it. One could, finally, take the gift home and put it in a closet or attic never to be opened. The gift is given by God, and the response does not diminish the gift no matter what.
DOES THE WORLD ORTHODOX HAVE GRACE?
There is an old saying, “Sin doesn’t put you out of the Church, but heresy does.” Saint Paul explained to his flock at Corinth that many of them were becoming sick and dying because they were receiving Holy Communion without proper preparation. He warns, “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are week and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:29-30). Obviously, simply being unprepared, unrepentant in your sins and receiving Holy Communion can be deadly. What must it be like for those who would eat and drink and be unturned from their heresy?
We as Christians believe that we serve a God of infinite mercy and love for mankind. Knowing this, how does it seem merciful for the Holy Spirit to be present in the bread, wine, water, chrism, etc. of heretics? How could we believe that God is being lovingly merciful to these people by helping them to heap more and more judgment upon their heads? Clearly, even for those Orthodox followers of Christ who are not properly prepared for the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, they become poisonous! I submit that indeed the only merciful thing for God to do is to refrain from being present in the sacraments of heretics. He does not violate people’s freewill, so He can’t force a heretic to return to the Church, but He needn’t participate in a compounding of his condemnation.
The World Orthodox is like a branch that has been cut off from the trunk of the tree. Initially, the branch still has green leaves. It is possible, if quick action is taken, that it can be grafted back to the trunk and eventually heals back together. However, as time passes the branch begins to dry up; the leaves turn brown and begin to fall off. There come a point where, no matter what steps are taken, the branch cannot be grafted back to the tree – it is dead.
It is difficult to tell where the World Orthodox are in this process, clearly they are cut-off. I can understand the hope of many in the True Orthodox Church who wish not to declare the branch dead just yet, indeed there will be many who leave that cut-off branch and return to the trunk in time. But we must rest assured that the sap, the salvific grace of the Holy Spirit, is not flowing in the separated branch. Whatever remained of their “sap” it is stagnant and drying up rapidly. The poor souls that are in it are not being nourished. The sacraments of the World Orthodox are like eating sawdust; it fills their bellies but contains no nutrients and they will starve to death relying on it.
Now, I know what many on this board will say- something that means the World Orthodox might not be heretics. I don’t know what canons you read, but the Orthodox ones that I have read seem crystal clear that those of the Orthodox who choose to pray with heretics and enter their synagogues to pray are themselves made guilty of the same by their actions. We don’t need an Ecumenical Council to declare people who hang out with heretics to be heretics due to their actions. These people are choosing to align themselves with heretics and the heathen, let them go. Love them, pray for them, but let them go, stop trying to concoct reasons why they still might have grace; they don’t.