DEMETRIOS SKARTSIOUNIS, THEOLOGY PROFESSOR
"ORTHODOXY AND ORTHOPRAXIA*"
*Orthopraxia: from the Greek words“ορθή” & “πράξις” that means the right and pious, according the Christian teaching, behavior, act, moral.
After all these the outrageous and treacherous things, the concerned New- calendarists ask: "It is possible to accept the papal primacy, as understood and interpreted in the First Vatican Council?" Can we accept the pope as an infallible expression of the conscience of the Church, after he can remove even the Ecumenical Councils? "Could we accept a man in the Church as infallible? Since, Misters New- calendarists you memorialize the Uniates bishops and still follow all them, and you are agreeing, even if you do not confess it, you are active ecumenist misbelievers, it's like to sign you.
Understand it, what are the bishops, you are too. This teaches the orthodox doctrine and the patristic tradition. So and Professor Tselingidis, embittered, he writes in conclusion to the introduction: "From the early 20th century, the patriarch famous circular of 1920, became virtually aside the recommendation of St. Gregory Palamas in the Roman Catholic ... So it opened an another course, the inevitable consequence now "to go elsewhere, without (perhaps) to understand”. This “perhaps” did not need to write here, because what happens is knowledgeable on both sides.
Unfortunately, in the nets of the terrible heresy of ecumenism are not only New- calendarists who fell since 1924 through the introduction of the papal calendar to celebrates with the Latins and all heretics, but ecumenist demonstrated many old calendarists who have communion with the New- calendarists with ecumenists.
Our Church, which is by the grace of God, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, has nothing to do with ambiguous words of some false old- calendarists who support the "in potential future and not in action, which made great confusion and triggered and caused damage and cause since 1937 to the Church.
The scientific term “potential and are not practicing" (of Florinites) gave absolution to ecumenists, encouraged them to let loose and actually it is the bridge and the umbilical cord that connects those old calendarists with ecumenism.
The arbitrary and irregular change of calendar in 1924 and the violation on the sacred tradition of calendar in conspiratorial manner, that damage the Orthodox congregation, to celebrate with heretics ecumenist, this change is already cursed, not only by three Pan-Orthodox Synod of 16 century (1583, 1587 and 1593), but also the Saints Ecumenical Synods are preaching: "We ANATHEMATIZE those who added or removed something to what is deducted from the Catholic Church ". And as it is mentioned in the Encyclical of the Patriarchs of the Orient in 1848: “all those who innovate in heresy or schism wore anathema as a garment; even they are Popes, even they are Patriarchs, even clerics, even lay people, even from Sky Angel". Besides, the voice of St. Ignatius of Godbearing reminds us: Everyone who say despite the arranged, even credible or even fasts, even he is a virgin, even he does miracles, even he prophesies, you should consider him as hidden wolf in sheep’s thee, who dielectric the damage of sheep".
Pillar of the Church, of course, was the confessor Late Archbishop Matthew in the difficult years of the schism of New- calendarism- ecumenism, especially after the betrayal of the holy agon (struggle) of the Church of G.O.C.
Our Church, which today preserves genuine the apostolic faith and succession, we condemn all sects and the pan-heresy of ecumenism. Furthermore, we condemn any from the newer religious offshoot sects, as Masonry, Adventism, the novel iconoclasts, but any contract affecting the doctrine of the Trinity and blasphemies the Lord and God Jesus Christ.
All these, along with the materialistic way of life and happiness are the tentacles of modern Hydra, the pan-heresy of ecumenism, as the antichrist Anglican "branch theory", which preaches that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ is like a tree with many branches. The various "Christian denominations”, the heretical offshoots, according the blasphemous theory, is a branch of this tree, which shoots held part of the truth (!!!) and when they all come together, the unrepentant heretics with the Orthodox, then it will be reconstituted the Church of Christ!
On this blasphemous theory is based and the work of the "World Council of Churches”, by that heretics assimilate and disappearance the Orthodoxy. At ecumenists who disclose that the heretical teachings of the pope were not sentenced by sessions, we answer: We all know today that the papacy is heresy condemned by several synods of the Orthodox Church. Mention the main ones.
The Orthodox Church by the Synod of 867 condemned Latin foreign to orthodoxy teachings and innovations. A Great Synod in 879, in Constantinople, anathematized those who make the addition of Filioque to the Creed.
Latin falsehoods were condemned by Synod in 1054, when was made and the final schism.
Also Synod in Istanbul in 1440, Synod in Russia in 1441, Synod in Constantinople in 1484, condemned and disowned the false Synod of Florence because it did not consider the heretical innovations of the West and did the "Union".
Synod in Constantinople in 1722, condemned the Latin falsehoods and ruled that "Latins deceive the Orthodox, to earn the pious doctrines and drag them to the bottom of loss”. Synod in 1727, renounced of the Latins, old and new, and features them as "concoctions and offspring of bad mind".
Synod in Constantinople in 1838 strongly condemned the papacy, "as blasphemy against the Gospel’s truth and Luciferian error and away from God and the mace and innocent faith of Jesus Christ." Synod in 1848 condemned the papacy as heresy, which undo all the Ecumenical Synods through their shots. Synod in 1895 condemned the foreign to Orthodoxy teachings of the Pope as "overweening arrogance opinions”.
Also, particularly at the present day, Sunday of Orthodoxy, we are obliged to condemn anything that gives us the latest technology to serve us, and accompanied by bad- named number of the Antichrist (666). This is because the use of this number is prohibited by the Holy Apocalypse, as we addicting and leads us to the final and awful carving of false messiah, the Antichrist (Rev. XIII, 16-18).
This era, which was prophesized 2000 years ago by the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, the beloved disciple of Christ, is coming, slowly but steadily since the dark forces, the forerunners of the infamous Antichrist, drew most of the products with 666 and now began to conceive and the personal documents of people. That is, little by little, as prophetically said the Holy Fathers, we infect our addicting to use this hideous and bad- named number of the beast in order to buy or sell. The final stage of his seal course will be the incision in the right hand or forehead. However, the using the number 666 in our daily life should be our concern, because during the Holy Revelation, carving, name and number of the Antichrist (666) is equivalent to three things (Rev. XIII, 17). The 666 is not just a simple number, but a symbol and emblem of the Antichrist, and the cross are not two simple vertical lines, but the emblem of Christians, whom the demons tremble because is a symbol of sacrifice and triumph of the crucified Jesus Christ.
As Orthodox Christians we have the grace to resist bond, and if it's a blessed time, bear martyrs to the truth, denying any manipulation of the precursor of the Antichrist. The Lord Jesus Christ, as crowned by now millions of Martyrs ready to crown and the martyrs of our time.
Orthodoxy requires orthopraxia, as we believe, so we should live, because if the faith does not agree with our life, then faith is dead and we are not good.
The problem of our current Orthodox Christians is not to prove that the Pope is a heretic, or that the New- calendarists are in active ecumenist misbelievers, because it is patently clear. The problem is in orthopraxia. Here we all stumble, in the "everyone has fault" as the Bible says. This is because orthopraxia means sacrifices. So the issue of orthopraxia for everyone comes to hear what he wants. Wants to address this issue to be tailored to the measures. And it certainly has its explanation. Because the strong in faith wants to hear and bear others, the advanced other, and the weak other, the patient and a beginner other.
The strong in faith wants attained the bar and leave so happy and gone up, that is enhanced. The patient, however, threatens to leave unhappy, even scandalized. It should not be exhausting or despair patients to trust our brothers, let alone we should not judge them and criticize them. Instead, we should help them with love and prayer and not be triggered for any fall. We do not blame the others or to prevent the fall of the other to bless or to testify. Do not forget that John Chrysostom, the giant of the Orthodoxy, said that the biggest enemy is my John. The greater, therefore, enemy is ourselves!
Neither the acts that are not accompanied by the pious doctrine, God does not accept. In Orthodox tradition, doctrine and morals, faith and works, not considered separately but together. Faith and works are in the orthodox tradition of organic and indivisible whole. This teaches the Bible and the whole chorus of holy Fathers (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Symeon the New Theologian, etc.). Instead, the doctrinal error, heresy, the exception in the correct doctrines, destroys not only the correct knowledge of God, orthodoxy, but distorts and orthopraxia.
Basil the Great says writing to the bishops of the West about the persecution of the Orthodox by the Arians, states that the crime that is punished hard is now the "strict adherence to the paternal traditions."
The New Theologian Simeon, the Spirit- taught and by God learned man, saying characteristically that "all works and virtues of human beings that are made with no reference to Christ, who are in default of divine grace, serving demons, and through them the man is self- vindicated and demonized”.
St. Gregory of Nyssa writes: "The virtue of piety has two sides. The doctrinal and moral. So to be complete, the perfect and pious life in Christ, must reconcile doctrine and morals. The whole life of the believer, a member of the Church must be a constant struggle to meet the mandates of the Holy Bible.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is hidden in its mandate and accordingly found the implementation of orders from those who seek to teach us that the godly life consists of doctrinal piety and virtuous acts.
St. Maximus the Confessor tells us: “He who accepts God's command and applies, in him comes a secret society with the Triune God and is in him secret the Holy Trinity”.
In Orthodox tradition, doctrine and ethics are united; there are two versions of the same thing, as two sides of the same coin.
The consequences of separation of an moral doctrine is pernicious, because they distort and corrupt the spiritual life of members of the Church. The Church ceases to be "holy and immaculate" Bride of Christ, it loses its accuracy and purity of doctrine, purity of life and the relevance of morality, and thus ends up “church of evils”. So we instruct the Evangelist John, the disciple of love: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. V.10. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God for he that biddeth him God- speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II John 9-11).
In particular, the modern Orthodox Christians must guard against the offered amenities of the consumerist society of our time, which divert us from the "narrow and full of sorrows" street of the Holy Bible. The objective of increasing the living standards of our materialistic age should not be deceived by the Orthodox Christian responsibility and the desperate attempt by the pagans of our time. It is no exaggeration to say that the facilities of our times is the "saw" science, which saw off the cross that the Lord gave us. A typical example is the teaching which a brother sent us from abroad: an angel of Paradise gave to somebody a cross to a length of about 3 meters to transfer in three days against the hill and raised him. In this way he will win the Paradise. The first afternoon of the day he was tired. He looked around and saw a deserted farmhouse and a saw. He thought: Let's just sawn ease, also gave me tick, tick will deliver. This continued the next two days. Shortly before reaching the hill to raise the cross and won the coveted Paradise, encountered a deep gorge, which will be spent putting the cross as a bridge. But he saw again the cross evil and reckless. Did we do something similar and the present Christian with the facilities of our times?
The Way of the Orthodox Christian is known. It is close and full of sorrows street, which marched on foot to the Saints of our Church are tears, humility, prayer. Our lives, if we want to be not only by name but also really Orthodox Christians, should be heading towards the deprivation and not the comfort.
St. Isaac the Syrian tells us that the greatest sin is selfishness, is the worship of body, and the biggest virtue is the scorn of the rest of the body.
The qualities which are an indivisible unity are all necessary, since they reinforce one another. Those who despise a virtue, a command, is guilty of all law, says the Apostle James, the God- brother.
St. John Chrysostom tells us that virtue is to despise one all things in this world, think the Christian every time the future and recognize that all of humanity are shadow and dream. Virtue is to the Christian as well disposed towards as dead the delights and promises of this life.
The orthodox Christian must have prior eye only those that listed in spiritual benefit and salvation of his soul and not be anxious for the material and transient, according to the ratio of the holy Gospel: "Seek first, however, the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be granted to you”. "(Matt. VI, 33), Orthodoxy is in fact a denial of oneself, is left to the hands of God. It is God who gives us victory and we can become heirs claimed Him. The Christian virtues are not his achievement, but the fruit of grace and gift of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, only within the Church, through the life in Christ and of divine grace, we can achieve a "likeness", to become gods by grace. That is why the Saints distinguish and emphasize the difference between good, 'pious' people, and good, devout Christians. Another is good man and another good Christian. At the Synod in Cartagena stated that "Christians, who claim to do something alone, without reference to the divine grace of Christ, to be anathematized."
Surely in the world, writes St Maximus the Confessor, there are many who starve and are thirst and peacemakers and poor in spirit and bereaved, but not for the sake of Christ. Because, for example, there are now countless mourners, not for their sins, but because they lost loved ones, material things or anything valuable commodity. And there are also many who are ridiculous and insult, not for Christ's name, but for their vile and unspeakable acts.
Whatever made a Christian should be by the grace of God, what is virtue, must be in Christ and for the glory of Christ. Orthodoxy in practice is to remove the cross, is the struggle against the life of our passions and the devil. The gun of the Christian in this race is the Divine Grace of Christ. "You are by Grace saved",exclaims the Holy Apostle in letter to the Ephesians (Ephes. B, 5).
The Divine Grace shall obtain in continuous prayer the modern Orthodox Christian, scorning the sinful world, for the sake of Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ and our God we must have our time, because during the Holy Fathers, the time that is not devoted to Christ, is reserved for the devil. Let us realize how much mental damage caused by the media in the contemporary Christian. The devil, in the guise of information, steals our precious time, which sometimes will look in vain. Jesus is waiting to talk to Him, but we are busy in the cafe of Satan and enchanted by all sorts of sirens trying to seduce us. The orthodox Christian morality requires of us resist evil, requires violence throughout that "the kingdom of heaven hurry and they who hurry take it" (Matthew XI, 12). How such Orthodox Christian morality and television assertions are are contrary to God's will?
How requires and attempts the modern Orthodox Christian to combine Orthodox ethos and laughs and obscenities and indecent desires? How we can combine Christ and the devil? How we ask to live a schizophrenic Orthodox ethos, having Christ in the shoulder and the devil in his armpit? By what right are we judging and criticizing our brothers and to issue certificates to hell? And the worst, by what right, we charge the clerics? In sin are no vested rights. The orthodox Christian morality requires us to cut all links with the devil and the works thereof. The orthodox morality demands obedience and uncomplaining conformity in the holy will of God, requires sacrifices, requires to forget the cursed word "why" when we faced with the sorrows and tribulations, it requires daily and nocturnal our bother, according to St. Isaac the Syros required to fill the baptismal font of repentance as many tears as they were the water when we baptized. The Christian right is not triggered.
Our Church also hopes and expects to return the incorrect. Reset all, sincerely in contrite.
However, we will not distort the truth of Christ in the name of love, because love without truth is a scam.
Those who are touting and pretend to love the heretics more than the love of the holy Apostles and Holy Fathers are enemies of the truth of Christ, because they equate truth with falsehood, under the guise of love and betrayal are selling our holy Orthodoxy.
Do not forget that in the name of "love" is preparing feverishly Ecumenists the new religion of Antichrist.
“Let us Stay well, let us stay in the respect of God”!
Saints Metropolitans,
In these precursor difficult years, by the grace of God, you hold in your hands the helm of the ark of our holy orthodoxy.
The orthodox people, with the slogan Orthodoxy or death hopes and prays and hopes to you, and we are confident that you will preserve untouched by the end of the holy and immaculate orthodox stock.
Hence we proclaim clergy and people in today Sunday of Orthodoxy. "All things (what happened) against the ecclesiastical tradition and teaching and the teaching of Saints and Late Fathers that were innovated or after these that will be happen, anathema (Synodicon of the Holy and Ecumenical Seventh Synod).
As I finished the speech, repeating the words of the wise Brienne: "We do not deny our friend Orthodoxy, we do not lie to you ancestral reverence, we do not go leave you mother godliness. We were born in thee, in thee we live and in thee will repose". Also if the time invited it, a million times to die for you. And we cry with all the power of our souls:
ORTHODOXY or DEATH!
This is the faith of the Apostles.
This is the faith of the Fathers.
This is the Orthodox faith.
This faith kept the world. Amen!
