Discord Spillover Was "The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church"

[RocaRemnant]

Esphigmenou has made a choice to commemorate no bishop and pretend that there’s no GOC. They are “head-less.” They took their priesthood from the Kallinikos Synod and then abandoned them. What do they expect? They have no protection and no ties. If you want to do everything by yourself then good luck. Could’ve relied on legal ammo by saying they’re with a synod who identifies on paper as a heretical organisation but that’s not the case. They put themselves in this situation.

The old abbot Efthymios, a holy man, did not recognize the GOC schisms and was with all. He had only one priest, Methdoius. When he died, Methodius took over. He went immediately to GOC-K and had many new monks ordained priests. Now because of the Cyprianites they left GOC-K. If you call the monastery and you ask who they are with they will say word for word “we are with our abbot.” So that’s good for them.

If you don’t want a bishop, playing victim is the next best alternative.

I cannot sincerely believe this is the position of any senior cleric or Bishop in the GOC-K, but if it is, woe.

Attacking the abbot of Esphigmenou is really dangerous ground to stand on. That's all I'm going to say. And I don't mean in terms of any group online. I'm kind of referring to a higher authority.

It’s the unfortunate reality they’ve put themselves in.

[Suaidan]

No, no it wasn't. They've been persecuted by the EP since the 1970s, before there WAS a GOC-K. Substitute "Ecumenical patriarch" for GOC-K and see how that looks

[Suaidan]

And I really hope you have a priest blessing this new "down with Esphigmenou" idea so you aren't just wishing for True Orthodox monks to die or something

[Rumpelstiltskin]

It’s the unfortunate reality they’ve put themselves in.
[/quote]

I don't think it's fair to hold monasteries, especially on Mount Athos, to the same standard as laymen when it comes to joining a TO synod. As far as I understand, Mount Athos has always been decentralized in nature, historically. So forcing them to 'pick a side' (as in TO synods) as long as they are faithful to true Orthodoxy, that seems to be the important thing. It could be possible they are opting to wait until the GOC can heal it's own schisms and get itself together or something like that. I have no doubt they know what they are doing regardless, in these confusing times. Just my $0.02

[Niles_The_New]

Is militarized police, and attempted starvation, ever the way to treat monks, regardless of what bishop they commemorate, or don’t commemorate?

[Unseen.Warfare]

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“A monk is one who, being clothed in a material and perishable body, seeks to resemble incorporeal life and being. A monk is one who follows only the words and commandments of God in any time, and place, and action. A monk is the constant coercion of nature, the unflagging control of all feeling. A monk is one whose body is purified, whose mouth is pure, whose mind is enlightened. A monk is one who, grieving and pained in his soul, always remembers and contemplates death, whether in sleep or in wakefulness. The renunciation of the world is the willful hatred of all substance that is glorified by the world, and the rejection of nature, in order to receive those blessings that are higher than nature.”
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Mt. Sinai, 7th century





"Our battle is for truth and the true Orthodox way of life, which the Patriarch is attempting to silence." Abbot Methodios AP/CNN

“Keep an eye on your bishops as far as their Orthodoxy is concerned lest they go so far as to teach doctrines against the true faith or celebrate with heretics and schismatics." Gennadios II Scholarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, 1454 - 1464

[RocaRemnant]

And I really hope you have a priest blessing this new "down with Esphigmenou" idea so you aren't just wishing for True Orthodox monks to die or something

Nowhere did I ever indicate “down with Esphigmenou” I said they’ve made their situation much worse