The Ecumenist False Council of 2016

[Maria]

The MP has stolen relics from ROAC.

Yes, sadly this is true.

Were not some relics also stolen from the True Serbian Orthodox?

[Maria]

From what I have been reading, the Great Council may not occur this year due to disunity among the World Orthodox. It surely cannot be held in Turkey as Russia is still seething over their downed jet by the Turkish military.

This roughly translated article from Google Translate with a little last minute editing deals with the Great Council Agenda, which could impose a common date of Easter and the New Calendar on World Orthodoxy:

Highlighting in red is my emphasis to point out major uncanonical changes.
https://translate.google.com/translate? ... t=&act=url

The themes include these ten topics below:

1. Orthodox Diaspora.

2. The manner in which autocephaly is assigned.

3. The mode of administration of Autonomy in semi-independent Churches within the limits Autocephalous Churches like the Orthodox Church of Finland under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

4. Diptychs. The ordering of the autocephalous churches according to rank. Can the commemoration of the Primates of the churches change?

5. Shared Calendar issue. Some Orthodox churches still use the old Julian calendar (the Russian Orthodox Church, Jerusalem Church for example, while others such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Albania and others) have adopted the new Gregorian calendar. The Synod should
   promote a common practice.

6. Normal marriage impediments, especially in the case of inter-Christian marriages.

7. Fasting. The rules of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays should be changed?

1. Relationship of Orthodox Churches to the rest of the Christian world.

2. Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Movement.

3. Contribution of local Orthodox Churches in the prevalence of Christian ideals to peace, freedom, brotherhood and love among people and the removal of racial and other discrimination

These are serious issues which should concern all Orthodox Christians whether they are in World Orthodoxy or True Orthodoxy, especially the six items below:

#5 could enforce the New Calendar or the Anglican recommended Common Date of Easter on a regularly occurring Sunday of April.

#6 could relax the marriage impediments for inter-faith marriages between non-Christians and Orthodox Christians.

#7 seems to urge the relaxation or total elimination of the Wednesday and Friday fasts.

#8 seems to be a subtle promotion of the one world religion of the Antichrist.

#9 most probably continues to endorse the Ecumenical Movement.

#10 promotes the rallying calls of FREEMASONRY and its fruit, the French Revolution: Freedom, equality, brotherhood.

[Maria]

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/01 ... -take.html

This blog confirms that the Great Council will be held in Crete, unless something happens, and everything is still volatile.

(Note: this blog linked above is decidedly New Calendarist and anti-True Orthodox, so please read with caution)

Update: 2 (autocephaly), 4 (diptychs), and 5 (unilateral imposition of New Calendar) will be postponed until another pan-Orthodox council can be held.

[Maria]

Here is an article from First Things concerning the Great False Council of 2016.

The Future Pan-Orthodox Council: To Be or Not to Be?
by Paul L. Gavrilyuk
1 . 22 . 16

http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusiv ... -not-to-be

Significant road blocks include the positions of the Moscow Patriarchate on consensus and primacy.

... The Moscow Patriarchate has lobbied for a “consensus model” in all conciliar decisions. According to this model, the passing of any conciliar document or decision would require the consensus of the heads of all fourteen canonical Orthodox self-governing churches. ... In effect, the consensus model will render any decision extremely difficult, potentially paralyzing any new work of the Council. ...

... metropolitan John Zizioulas, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s senior spokesman in the international arena, and his Moscow counterpart, metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, have also had their measure of disagreements, not least of which is the matter of primacy. Metropolitan Alfeyev is weary of metropolitan Zizioulas’s account of primacy, which accords to the Ecumenical Patriarch an authority over the Orthodox East which approaches the authority of the pope over the Catholic West. ...

Enter another dispute, this time between the Patriarch of Antioch and the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

... in April 2013, the patriarchate of Antioch broke off communion with the patriarchate of Jerusalem over the dispute about the jurisdiction over Qatar territories, to which both churches lay claim ....

Then there is the matter of disputes concerning the Ukraine over which both the MP and the EP claim jurisdiction.

Finally, this article discusses the possibility of this council being declared an "Ecumenical Council," which is highly unlikely. Indeed, if this were to happen, it can only be done after the fact. However, there are conservative bishops who urge caution in even calling this council, Great and Holy.

In his December 28, 2015 address to the Orthodox clergy, metropolitan Onufriy claimed that since the seven ecumenical councils represent the fullness of the church’s teaching, the eighth council was not only superfluous, but also quite dangerous. The hierarch warned 700 priests present on the occasion that the Council represents a temptation that could lead to further schisms. The position of metropolitan Onufriy reflects the worldview of fundamentalist monastic elites, which reject the development of doctrine, regard with suspicion the church’s engagement of contemporary world, and oppose ecumenical dialogue on the grounds that it jeopardizes the “purity of Orthodoxy.”

Furthermore, there is unquestionable division between the fundamentalists who want to avoid changes and the liberal theologians who want this Great Council to be on a par with Vatican II.

Metropolitan John voiced his critique of Orthodox fundamentalism in no uncertain terms; he also repeatedly encouraged the scholars to publish their reflections on the subject of the upcoming pan-Orthodox Council. The theologians welcomed such a response, yet indicated their concern that it would be difficult for them to shape the conciliar decisions directly unless a workgroup of periti – theological experts similar to the ones that proved to be so influential at Vatican II – is allowed to assist the bishops in preparing the conciliar documents.

One danger seems to be surfacing and that is the discussion of the nature of man. The Renaissance glorified man instead of the Creator. This thought has progressed so much in the 21st century that man has now been elevated to that of creator, especially with scientists attempting to genetically modify the human DNA and create designer babies. The article, therefore, makes this understatement:

According to metropolitan Kallistos Ware, the central question of the twentieth century was the nature of the Church, whereas the central question of the twenty-first century is likely to be the nature of the human person.

[Maria]

Here is another article, published by Paul Gavrilyuk on Jan. 21, 2016

http://publicorthodoxy.org/2016/01/21/c ... x-council/

Paul lists three political reasons given for opposing this False Council of 2016:

1. "Some Orthodox leaders discern in the recent ecumenical discussion of different levels of primacy a veiled attempt of Constantinople to acquire the status of a soft-powered Eastern papacy."
2. "The Orthodox principle of sobornost’ (which may be rendered as “synodality,” “conciliarity,” or “catholicity”) states that no bishop, whatever his seniority, is above the assembly of the bishops and the people of God. ... The Council would have the impact of restricting such authority and troubling the status quo."
3. "the Council may have political implications for church-state relations" [where the] "conciliar process is likely to ... foster a more independent standing of the church in civil society."

So, political and spiritual leaders fear that the Ecumenical Patriarch like the Pope of Rome would be granted infallibility (primacy over spiritual matters), and supremacy (supreme powers over secular authorities and bishops when it comes to church governance).

Paul also lists some theological reasons, which, he said, are being voiced by extreme fundamentalists such as "metropolitan Onufriy Berezovsky."

The theological reasons for opposing the Council emanate from extremist groups within Orthodox circles, often associated with the monastic elites, who think and act with fundamentalist-like characteristics.

Here are the fundamentalist reasons commonly given:

1. "since the seven ecumenical councils express the fullness of the Orthodox faith, the eighth council is unnecessary"
2. It "can only lead to the perversion of the true faith and as such it represents a temptation"
3. and "that the eighth council could compromise the faith and lead to schisms."

For example, the "question of unity with non-Orthodox Christians is, ironically, to provoke a schism within Orthodoxy between those who find ecumenism acceptable and those who treat it as a dangerous heresy."

If the council were to proceed, then perhaps, True Orthodox Churches would benefit if the truth of this ecumenical deception were widely published, and if these fundamentalists were to come home to Traditional Orthodoxy the way Christ intended us to be. However, we can expect a political and spiritual backlash with severe persecutions and even martyrdom like those suffered by the True Orthodox Christians in Greece in the 30's, 40's, and 50's.

[Jean-Serge]

The synaxis of the world orthodox leaders is globally a success. The council will take place this year in the islan of Creta, beginning at Pentecost and lasting 10 days. It has been agreed that some topics will not be addressed like the calendar,the dyptichs and the proclamation of autocephaly. A great breakthrough is that the document ares supposed to eb made public quite soon, at the request of the Moscow Patriarchate.

[Maria]

The fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays will be greatly diminished as it is already on the agenda of this false council of 2016.

No doubt, this means that whenever a Great Feast of the Church such as the Nativity of our Lord, the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany), the Nativity of the Theotokos, Her holy Annunciation, the Holy Dormition of the Theotokos, and parish feast days fall on a Wednesday or Friday, then the World Orthodox will abolish the fast through economia and the parishioners will be allowed to eat meat. Currently, on those Great Feast days, fish is allowed, but not meat.

Note: this economia or dispensation from fasting is exactly what the Roman Catholics have been doing since the time of Pius XII or perhaps from the time of the late James Cardinal Gibbons of America as it was he who wanted to lighten the fast for Americans.