Visit of HOCNA clergy to St. Maximus Parish

[Catherine5]

Welcome to Ian, who sounds pretty smart. Except about choosing World Orthodox parish due to nearby.
Most of us here would no doubt suggest he look into a True Orthodox Church if he is wanting purity rather than comraderie. I.e, there wouldn't be the same parish spirit available if a TOC is nowhere near, but to not have to hear the Patriarch being commemorated along with Met Hilarion or Jonah, would be million times worth the sacrifice, in my opinion!

My feeling is to go to the right jurisdiction at the start. Don't sign up for World Orthodoxy thinking maybe to change sometime later at convenience...chances are, it won't happen as you will get locked in by social life, etc. and be loath to leave there. A particular type of emotionally vampirish parishioner is skilled at aggressively putting out energy to stop you from breaking away. Some cajole or use all sorts of subtle ploys to make you feel guilty for "abandoning" the parish. Some employ threats that you are consigning your soul to hell by joining "schismatics".

It's easier to start out right with a TOC of your choice. If worse comes to worse, you can change to a different TOC. But it's nowhere near like the jump from World Orthodox to True Orthodox.

The only thing you may have been reading out of date material on was Hieromonk Ambrose, but neither was I up to date. I was told by someone who spoke with a former spiritual child of his that he has had Alzheimer's disease for several years. I knew he had gone to a Greek facility or something around Chicago, but the news was being kept quiet clearly.
Perhaps that's why he was not fit for staying at that Holy Cross Hermitage and disappeared from the scene.
I actually am not surprised to hear this.
I don't know much about the Virginia monastery except that they unquestioningly went with the MP union, which does not endear them to me!
They have some glossy brochures, though. Perhaps some new sources of funding as a result of the union--???

Ian, was that movie good, the video they produced?
Can you tell me what is in it, I don't want to pay for a copy!

[Philoteus]

Visit of HOCNA clergy to St. Maximus Parish
http://www.hotca.org/index.php?option=c ... &Itemid=74
Friday, 28 August 2009 02:37

On August 10/23 Bishop Demetrius of Carlisle, together with two other priests of HOCNA, Fr. John Fleser and Fr. Peter Farnsworth, attended a festal Liturgy at St. Maximus parish in Owego, New York. At this celebration Metropolitan Pavlos awarded Fr. Thomas Marretta, the rector of St. Maximus, the office of Protopresbyter for his dedicated service to the Church as a priest for 30 years. Metropolitan Pavlos invited the clergy from Boston to attend as a sign of unity among the True Orthodox Christians; this being especially appropriate in view of Fr. Thomas’s long-standing friendship with the clergy of HOCNA and the fact that he was baptized into the Orthodox Faith at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston, MA. We wish Fr. Thomas Many Years on his reception of the honor of the protopresbytery, and pray that such demonstrations of brotherly support from other True Orthodox jurisdictions will become more frequent!

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It is quite unfortunate to learn that Met. Pavlos invited clergy from the heretical group "HOCNA" to one of their festal liturgies.  It is even more disturbing that HOTCA refers to the HOCNA as "True Orthodox Christians" and as a "True Orthodox Jurisdiction".  The leaders of HOCNA have shown no indication of repenting of any of their heresies, but rather they appear to be becoming more entrenched, as recent unorthodox articles published by the HOCNA's Met. Ephraim demonstrate.  

May we all pray that Met. Pavlos and Bp. Christodoulos return to their senses and abandon their planned path to unity with this heretical group.

One wonders if Bp. Christodoulos, or perhaps a spokesman acting on his behalf, would like to explain to us how it is that their churches in America are adorned with icons of the Holy Trinity, with the Beginningless Father depicted as an old man (The Ancient of Days), while the HOCNA has officially and very publicly declared these icons to be heretical, and will not adorn their assemblies with depictions of these types.  Is this some sort of old-calendarist ecumenism at work?  It appears to be that way.  Either these depictions are sacred, holy, and canonical, and ought to be venerated by the faithful, as has been the tradition of the Church dating back many centuries, or they are not!

Either HOCNA must repent of their slander of these sacred depictions, and abandon the Trinitarian heresies that accompany their unorthodox rejection of these icons, or, God forbid, the HOTCA will be forced to admit that these icons which have adorned many of their temples in America, and in their sister synod in Greece for decades, are kakodox!

It is naive to believe that these two groups can share any "unity" or "communion" together while holding diametrically opposed opinions with regards to the holy icons and other doctrines.  This is something we have come to expect from the anti-Christ inspired World Council of Churches, but not something that one would expect to learn from churches claiming to adhere to the Gospel teaching of "One Lord, one faith, one baptism."

It appears that HOTCA and HOCNA are content to proclaim a unity amongst themselves, while maintaining not One, but rather two faiths--one publicly and unabashedly opposed to the icons, and the other maintaining a long tradition of adorning their churches with said icons.

Kyrie eleison!

Old-calendar ecumenism is rearing its ugly head.  Unity cannot come at the expense of Truth.[/quote]

[b][u]BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER!!!![/u][/b]

[Anastasios]

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER!!!!

Sparrows? Or perhaps pigeons?