Cyprian wrote:I've experienced more of the same by being in HOCNA. Everyone hates us- even those who share the same confession of faith. So forgive me if I get a bit defensive.
Could you please share with us who exactly shares the same confession as HOCNA?
Thanks.
Any True Orthodox Church which doesn't believe that heretics have sacraments effectual for salvation (this is Ecumenism) share the same confession of the Orthodox Faith as the Holy Orthodox Church in North America. We differ only in pinpointing an exact date in which the New Calendarists lost grace.
The Synod in Resistence of Met. Cyprian of Oropos and Fili is the only Old Calendarist group which believes that the Ecumenists have grace, which makes them schismatics by their own definition. If World Orthodoxy is the Church, then yes, you should be in communion with all the historic Patriarchates and "fight from within." Yet, upon examination of the history of how the New Calendarist and Sergianist churches came about, it is clear that their formation had nothing to do with canonical order in even a rudimentary semblance. Meletios Metaxakis was elevated to the throne of Constantinople even though he was not the hierarch elected. He caused the first phyletistical schism in the United States, recognized the Living Church in Russia, and held a robber's council in Constantinople which caused an ecclesiastical schism over the Calendar Change. He used his contacts with the western powers to usurp the episcopal thrones of Athens, Constantinople, and Alexandria. He was planning on doing the same to the throne of Jerusalem, when he finally vomitted up his soul. To this day, all the hierarchs of the Greek patriarchates are appointed behind the scenes by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and not canonical election.
The Sergianist schism was entirely the invention of the Stalinist regime. The canonical hierarchs of the Russian Church elected St. Kyrill of Kazan as the successor to St. Tikhon. Met. Sergius Stragorodsky reported this election to the communist government, which resulted in these bishops being sent to their deaths. Sergius was never elected Patriarch, but appointed by a secular authority, which makes him and his successors schismatic.
The only reason these parasynagogues are recognized as the legitimate "canonical" sees of Orthodoxy, is because they have numerical majorities, money, magnificent cathedrals and other properties, and the backing of secular powers, which have agendas hateful to God.
These truths are dismissed with pietistic fluff by the enemies of the Church, who don't even address these issues, as they rip the mask off their lies. All the usual suspects who troll about this True Orthodox forum consider telling the truth as self-righteousness, although I've said nothing to insinuate myself as being a paragon of virtue or anything else. If you're "all for " proclaiming the Truth, THEN DO IT!