http://www.oodegr.com/english/anatolike ... erence.htm
CONCLUSIONS OF THE 25th PAN-ORTHODOX CONFERENCE OF THE DELEGATES OF ORTHODOX CHURCHES AND HOLY DIOCESES ON MATTERS PERTAINING TO HERESIES AND PARA-RELIGION
Some important excerpts from this Pan-Orthodox Conference. Note that this document will form part of the documents of the Great Council of Istanbul in 1916 as it was unanimously approved by ruling hierarchs from around the globe. In addition
1. The Conference considered the issue of disease and its therapeutic treatment ...
Orthodox anthropology, which the Orthodox outlook on the issue of disease and its therapy is based on, accepts that man is God's creation, comprised of two harmoniously united, albeit different, elements, the body and the soul. Man is not soul alone or body alone; he is “both together”.
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4. In various heretical, occultist and eastern religious groups we encounter different notions concerning disease and its origins, namely:
a) In the heretical groups within the broader spectrum of Protestantism, disease is understood either as the work of a punitive God, i.e. punishment incurred because of a person's sins, or strictly as the devil's work.
b) in the occultist groups of the “New Age” movement and in groups originating in Eastern religions, disease is understood as a “blockage” of the normal flow of energy (“Prana”, “Chi”, “Cosmic energy”, etc.) in the human body.
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5. The so-called “alternative therapies” are an application, in the field of healthcare, of conceptions of God, man and the world, which are characteristic of Eastern religions and of the “New Age of Aquarius”; therefore they should more properly be designated as “New Age Medicine”.
According to these groups, everything is energy, everything is One (Theosophy's claim that “All is One”) and everything is God. Based on this concept, they teach that by discovering his “divine Self” and by activating the mystic powers supposedly hidden inside him, man can heal himself. Self-healing is identified as the “release of blocked energy”.
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7. The so-called alternative therapies not only have occultist implications, but their very foundations are non-Christian and in fact lie in the realm of the occult. Most of them represent more than mere proposals for the therapeutic treatment of the body; they also promise the transition, through what they call “quantum leap”, etc., to the “New Age”, and the creation of a new type of man.
The Conference has reached the conclusion that these “therapies” (Angel Therapy, Ayurveda, Bach Flower Remedies, Aura Soma, Aromatherapy, Acupuncture, Bioenergy Therapies, Esoteric Healing, Craniosacral Therapy, Crystal Therapy, Homeopathy, Reiki, Reflexology, Shiatsu, pseudo-scientific psychotherapies, et al.) are founded on a worldview "serving as their background" which is contrary to and incompatible with the Orthodox faith
What are the others referred to as ET AL underlined above? Chiropractic, food supplements, vitamins and minerals, and herbology are definite candidates.
8. Their widespread dissemination is developing into a major social issue of a medical and pharmaceutical nature with moral, social and spiritual repercussions, which occasionally endangers human lives. It also causes serious spiritual and pastoral problems.
Since the State guarantees – notably through the Constitution – the legal right to health, which is put at risk by the aforementioned “therapies”, it ought to take practical steps, as well, in order to safeguard this right.
These “therapies” threaten to distort the Orthodox mindset. They are potential “bridges” that could bring unsuspecting Orthodox Christians in contact with Eastern religions and Occultism.
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9. The so-called “alternative therapies” or, according to the Medical Association of Athens “Unorthodox Treatment Methods”, in which a metaphysical energy is predominant, rely on obsolete and fictitious data.
All of these sections appeal to the emotions. Yes, even the prestigious Medical Association of Athens is mentioned because they can make more money if less expensive "Unorthodox Treatments Methods" are banned. Perhaps this is why this document has been written. It is another attempt at cradle-to-grave socialism and not religiously motivated at all.
This hysteria on the part of some clergy has already impacted me. I cannot use surgery and almost all pharmaceuticals because scientists employed by these firms are adding halogen ions (particularly fluoride) to make the drugs patentable. I am highly sensitive to all members of the halogen family since I was exposed to radiation as a child and was given potassium iodide. Thus, I use what yiayia recommends ... herbal teas, oils, and foods as my medicine. Years ago while I was still in World Orthodoxy, I mentioned this to a priest in the EP, and he just about flipped. Indeed, his eyes revealed his fear. He said, "Use of herbs is witchcraft."
Yet, God created herbs, grass (rice), fruits, and vegetables. And during Great Lent, when we read Genesis, we learn that what God has created is good.
