The Saint Euphrosynos Cafe

Antonios wrote:

Khomes,

The internal struggles were by far the most difficult for me too. As far as whether a therapist would be helpful, that's beyond the scope of a few posts on an internet forum. However, I will stick my neck out a tad and suggest that any psychological struggles are, at least, largely exacerbated by the spiritual struggle you are currently engaged in. And have no doubt, you are engaged in a serious struggle for your soul and those of your family.

The priest you are talking to is right, God can make all things whole. But we must, for our part, accept the whole Truth. The Truth Himself is drawing you and the adversary is going to use all sorts of little tricks to keep you from Him. Remember the words of St Mark of Ephesus - “There can be no compromise in matters of the Orthodox Faith.”

After speaking with a lot of people about their journeys something that seems fairly common is a sort of "tipping point". A point where everything comes to a head and a decision needs to be made one way or the other. It sounds like you may be near one of these "tipping points".

Please know that you and your family are in our prayers.

In Christ,
Dcn Antonios

PS - I'll send you a PM shortly.

Oh this is all very frustrating for me. I am sick and tired of seeing ecuminism in the Church. I don't see why people thing that for some reason we need false union with heretics. We shouldn't be holding joint prayer services or any of that junk. What does it profit? It doesn't! It does not produce good fruit. It produces rotten fruit. I am so sick of trying to figure out which church to go to. I see some are way more ecumininistic than others. I go to a different church hoping it is more traditional. Well it was, for the most part... Until the Priest said that RC is a sister church and their baptisms are valid. :shock:

I am still unsure of the old calendar churches as a lot of wise elders and saints talked very negatively about the old calendar churches. Pray for me , that my souls my be saved...

Soul.... Only one. Lol

khomes wrote:

Oh this is all very frustrating for me. I am sick and tired of seeing ecuminism in the Church. I don't see why people thing that for some reason we need false union with heretics. We shouldn't be holding joint prayer services or any of that junk. What does it profit? It doesn't! It does not produce good fruit. It produces rotten fruit. I am so sick of trying to figure out which church to go to. I see some are way more ecumininistic than others. I go to a different church hoping it is more traditional. Well it was, for the most part... Until the Priest said that RC is a sister church and their baptisms are valid. :shock:

I am still unsure of the old calendar churches as a lot of wise elders and saints talked very negatively about the old calendar churches. Pray for me , that my soul my be saved

Hi

These elders and monastics whom you mention, is one of them Elder Paisios? If so, stay away from books about him and his sayings. He made several false prophecies which never came true, did weird things like asking one of his "spiritual children" for cigarettes, and then endorsed the New Calendar and the EP, who said that the RC is a sister church. Another politically correct "saint" is Elder Sophrony, who endorses a strange heresy that I will not mention here so as not to confuse you. Anyway, almost all of the recently glorified Saints cannot be trusted as they are more politically-correct "saints" than truly wise and godly saints. Among the recently canonized saints you can read about without feeling any strange vibrations are St. Nectarios of Aegina (+1920) and St. John of San Francisco (+1966). Also be careful about choosing books to read as the famed Greek Orthodox author, Father Anthony Coniaris, is also an ecumenist.

Remember that even the devil can work miracles and signs and wonders so as to confuse even the elect.

khomes wrote:

I am still unsure of the old calendar churches as a lot of wise elders and saints talked very negatively about the old calendar churches. Pray for me , that my souls my be saved...

I don't know much about these wise elders or saints who speak negatively about old calendar churches. I know Fr Seraphim Rose, St John Maximovitch, & St Philaret of New York thought positively about the Old Calendarists. Plus, there have been other Old Calendar Orthodox saints & holy people who recognized that we need to break communion with those who accept Ecumenism.

I know that there have been holy people in communion with World Orthodoxy, such as Fr George Calciu. But I think as the times go on & Ecumenism becomes more invasive in World Orthodoxy, such holy people will become fewer & fewer. I pray that this will lead more people into the Church.

Anastasios Hudson wrote an article about New Calendarist saints that may be helpful: http://www.anastasioshudson.com/corresp ... ar-elders/

Fr Seraphim explicitly said the Catacomb Church in Russia, ROCOR, and the True Orthodox of Greece (Old Calendarists) constitute the True Church of Christ. Also, one of his last articles he created was on the Old Calendarists of Romania, of whom he also spoke approvingly, and with whom we share Eucharistic Communion. In fact, we are the original Communion that was established in the 70's and the 90's:

The Russian Church Abroad
The Greek Old Calendarists
The Romanian Old Calendarists
The Bulgarian old Calendarists.

Still here.

In addition, Archbishop Averky and St John Maximovitch both asserted that the Old Calendarists of Greece and the Catacomb Church in Russia are the closest to each other in spirit.

Those are good posts, everyone.
Maria is right to not confuse him with The Name Worshippers - that's so complex for a new arrival to our midst.
Wow, I didn't know, or remember, about Elder Paisios' asking his spiritual children for cigarettes. What ??

I want to read that article on the New Calendar "elders", thanks for reminding us, Searn77.

The so called "Orthodox Church of America" OCA is a fallen graceless, practising ecumenism, synagogue of the so called "World Orthodoxy". This is the truth !