Vladyka Agafangel: Christ leaves Ukraine

from Internet Sobor

http://internetsobor.org/index.php/stati/avtorskaya-kolonka/mitropolit-agafangel-khristos-pokidaet-ukrainu

Metropolitan Agafangel:  Christ leaves Ukraine

Автор: Митрополит Агафангел. Дата публикации: 08 сентября 2023. Каå

At one time, ROCOR Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) wrote: 

“It would be better for us if the Moscow Patriarchate excluded us, and all of world Orthodoxy would separate from us; then some of our people would fall into apostasy, but the rest would become stronger." 

(letter to Alexander Kalomiros, dated April 29, 1975)

Fr.. Seraphim, wished for the complete separation of the ROCOR from the Moscow Patriarchate and the entire “world Orthodoxy,” as carriers of numerous heresies and untruths, so that the remaining Orthodox Christians would become stronger in their faith.

The truth of God is more valuable than crowds and wealth.  Retreat is happening everywhere, inexorably and inevitably, this is one of the providential patterns — the process established by God of separating the wheat from the chaff, to remove all that is fallen and sinful from the Holy Kingdom of Heaven.   We can only observe the inevitable pace of this retreat — the triumphant procession of vice and death in the midst of a collapsing and dying world.

* * *

Another such disastrous step is the establishment at the state level in Ukraine of dates for church holidays according to the new style.  It seems to many that there is nothing dangerous in this — just a change in the dates of some holidays.  But, in reality, this is another stage of moving away from Christ towards Hell.

Christ suffered for people and desires salvation for everyone, but, unfortunately, not everyone desires this salvation — not enough to change their personal life for the sake of it and live the opposite of what “everyone lives.”

Ukraine, which had been an Orthodox state since the 10th century and in all subsequent centuries, decided to finally reject Christ and finally become a secular state.  The first renunciation of Christ by our people was the falling away from the Christian, Orthodox Empire — participating, directly or indirectly, in the overthrow of the Orthodox Tsar.  Ukraine's second renunciation of Christ was the overthrow of the power of the Orthodox Hetman Pavlo Skoropatsky.  (гетмана: chief of Cossack army)  And now the third renunciation is the falling away from the Holy Tradition of the Ukrainian state as a whole, with the lukewarmness and indifference of the bulk of the people.

* * *

Why is the adoption of a new style at the state level a rejection of Christ for Ukraine?  Because this is a falling away from the Orthodox Tradition — bequeathed to us by the Holy Fathers of the Church.  By violating this Tradition, we break the continuity from the early, primal Church of Christ, and thereby break the Covenant with Christ Himself.  After all, this change concerns not only holidays — it concerns the entire church life, which must “shift” by 13 days from the life that the Church of Christ originally lived.  By accepting the Gregorian calendar (new style), first adopted by the papist heretics in 1582 (or the so-called New Julian calendar, which is essentially the same thing), the followers of the new calendar fall away from the inner sacred life of Christians faithful to Christ and Tradition, and become one with the world that has rejected God and lies in sin.

The Decree of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (also the 7th Apostolic Canon, 1st Canon of the Antioch Council) orders all Christians to celebrate Easter (of course, this also applies to other significant holidays) on one day.  Later, the 7th rule of the Second Ecumenical Council and the 95th rule of the Trullo Council directly called those who did not comply with this rule heretics.  That is, those who reject the calendar accepted by the Church, according to the resolutions of the Ecumenical Councils, are heretics.

Catholics who fell away from the Church of Christ in 1054 continue to this day to accept many innovations that move them further and further from the Church of the Holy Fathers.  One of these heretical innovations was the “correction of the calendar” in 1582.

The new calendar adopted by the papists in the very year of its appearance was rejected by the Ecumenical Patriarch, and then condemned by three Pan-Orthodox Councils (1583, 1587, 1593) “as a pernicious papal innovation.” These Orthodox conciliar decrees to this day directly excommunicate all “New Calendarists” from the Church.

* * *

Of course, Orthodox people in Ukraine will continue to live in the united spirit of the Church’s Patristic calendar.  But people of little faith now find themselves faced with a huge temptation - to make a mistake in choosing the path to their salvation, since outside the Church there is no saving grace of God.  Therefore, it is our duty to warn that any break with the Church, including in the form of the adoption of a new calendar, destroys a single mystical prayer life, and a community that has moved away from Her inner sacred life falls away from Christ.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote back in the 19th century: “The retreat is allowed by God: do not try to stop it with your weak hand.  Stay away, protect yourself from it: and that’s enough for you.  Get acquainted with the spirit of the time, study it, in order to avoid its influence if possible.” .

The Russian philosopher and representative of True Orthodox Christians, Alexei Losev, wrote: “Whoever has seen little evil fusses, fusses, fidgets, is horrified and killed.  But whoever knows that the whole world lies in evil is calm.”  Therefore, Christians should not be particularly worried about the fact that the world is approaching the end - this is natural and predicted in the Gospel.  We should isolate ourselves from the deadly breath of this world, and strive in Christ for the salvation of our souls.

* * *

Let us return to the words of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose): “It would be better for us if the Moscow Patriarchate “excluded” us, and all of “world Orthodoxy” would separate from us; then some of our people would fall into apostasy, but the rest would stronger" - let us separate ourselves from the untruth of this world, and become stronger in our faith in Christ, our only Savior. Nowadays, one should trust as little as possible external information contained in all kinds of sources of secular information, which, almost all, is aimed at deception, indoctrination and corruption of a person.

Nowadays, with special diligence, we should soberly listen and trust as much as possible to the teaching of the Church, which is the only thing that serves our salvation.

† Metropolitan Agafangel

August 26 / September 8, 2023

Comment

Agafangel 07/06/2021  Comment under a post of Fr. Seraphim's 4/29/75 letter to Dr. Kalomiros

http://internetsobor.org/index.php/istoriya/rptsz/arkhiv-rptsz/1975

     Representatives of the MP now present Fr.. Seraphim as a “liberal” and a “conciliator,” and not an opponent of the MP.  But many of his statements, like these words: “It would be better if the Moscow Patriarchate excluded us, and all of world Orthodoxy separated from us; then some of our people would fall into apostasy, but the rest would become stronger “ — puts him in the ranks of the most extreme opponents of the MP, and at the same time, an extreme opponet of “world Orthodoxy.”  And thank God!

Who could trust this man to teach about Russian culture?

Jordanville yesterday — Jordanville today

New Publication from Jordanville's Holy Trinity Church Supply store is a book on Russian culture, by Alexander Schmemann.  He was a co-founder of the OCA schism in the 1970s.  This new Jordanville publication is another sad indication that Jordanville has sunk down into world-orthodoxy.  Old Jordanville starting sinking in 2001 when Metr. Laurus Skurla took control.   He rewrote the entire curriculum of the seminary to make it acceptable to the MP.  Then, in 2007, Laurus' neo-Jordanville submitted to the ROCOR-MP union in 2007.  The book store has been going downhill ever since.

Check this out: 

   old Jordanville 1961

https://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2018/03/schmemann-liturgical-theology.html

"Liturgical Theology of Alexander Schmemann"

     by Archpriest Michael Pomazansky

   neo-Jordanville 2023

https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9781942699507/

Foundations of Russian Culture

     by Alexander Schmemann

In Jordanville's description of their new book offering, the last thing it boasts is, "(Alexander Schmemann) shows what Russia is grappling with in its struggle to find a synthesis that draws both from its own unique elements and its historical and ongoing interconnectedness with the “West” and the “East.”

In Archpriest Michael Pomazansky's essay, "Liturgical Theology of Alexander Schmemann," the first thing he laments is:  "In our tragic era when Russian theological science is nearly obliterated, the study of the Orthodox East has passed exclusively into the hands of Western theologians and historians."

At the same time neo-Jordanville is selling this new book, neo-Jordanville is also still selling the old original collection of Fr. Michael's essays which includes his essay warning us about Schmemann.

https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9780884651451.   I'm not sure what to think of that...  

So what is happening here?  I have a theory.  First,  ROCOR-MP, in order to go into the MP union in the first place, had to forget their Fathers.  They do not read or re-read the teachings of our most recent God-given teachers of ROCOR, like Archbishop Averky, Fr. Seraphim Rose, Archimandrite Constantine Ziatsev, Archpriest Fr. Michael Pomazansky.  Everything most important has been translated into English and published in the old Orthodox Life magazines (pre-2000) and the old Orthodox Word magazines (pre-1982).

Then, after ROCOR-MP forgot their Fathers in the first place, then they continued to forget their Fathers.  Even to the point where they have failed to re-read or study Fr. Michael's essays, even though this book is still readily available.  So is neo-Jordanville oblivious to the fact that they have contradictory materials for sale in their store?  I think so...  What is their stand?  What do they uphold? 

I think what they stand for and what they uphold was described by Archbishop Averky quite well when he accused his generation of blindly going, "Forward! Forward! To Antichrist!"* 

     *https://archbishopaverky.blogspot.com/2012/08/stand-fast-in-truth.html

I think it is because of "itching ears."  Because when there is always something new to process, then the old stuff gets buried, like an old unopened email at the bottom of the pile...  continual new stuff on top.  New stuff is a powerful distraction, so rather than heed the Fathers, they keep craving more and more new things.  This is the beginning of how somebody invites into themselves the possibility of mental illness or even possession.  Abp. Averky already, 50 years ago, said the world has gone mad...

Remember your instructors, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the end of their life... Be not led away with various and strange doctrines.  

Hebrews 13:7, 9

Remember Your Instructors 

   from Fr. Seraphim Rose: 

The "Right wing" of Orthodoxy in the future is likely to be divided into many small jurisdictions that will compete with each other and anathematize each other. For us it would be enough if our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia were able to stay safe and keep the right direction - without deviation to the left, as a reaction against the zealots. We must maintain a living contact with Russian clergy of the older generation, even if some of them seem to us too liberal, otherwise we just get lost in the zealot jungle which is growing up around us. First of all, of course, our teachers should be the pillars of the older generation: Archbishop John, Archbishop Averky (Taushev), Bishop Nektary and the like." 

  Letter to Alexey Young, Third Day of Trinity, June 2/15, 1976. 

Remember Your Instructors 

Fr. Seraphim Rose 

Orthodox Word Jan/Feb 1978

 

The true Christian faith, Holy Orthodoxy, is handed down from generation to generation, from instructor to disciple, from the Holy Apostles to our own day.  In our century we are experiencing a crisis of this unbroken Orthodox tradition: outwardly the Orthodox Church has been subjected to fierce persecutions with the open intent of liquidating her entirely; inwardly, Orthodox Christians have been losing the savor of Orthodoxy and finding "wisdom" from sources outside the Church's tradition.  Many are discovering – or rediscovering – Holy Orthodoxy today, but all too often this is chiefly an outward conversion that ends in an adaptation of Orthodoxy to the wisdom of this age, for want of real contact with its living tradition. 

Brethren stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word or by epistle of ours (II Thes. 2:15). The following names are a list of some of the instructors who have handed down the Orthodox faith and tradition to us in the Russian Church Outside of Russia in the 20th century, and particularly in the difficult years of the Diaspora.  While these fathers are of particular significance in our St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, they have been Orthodox instructors also, by their lives or writings or personal examples, to many others in the Church as well; and some of them are of universal Orthodox significance for our times.

 

There is a taint of abstract, self-assured "knowledge" in so much of today's "Christianity."  But we Orthodox Christians, who are not our own authority but have humbly received our Christianity from our fathers, should be foreigners to all intellectual re-interpretations" of our Faith.  Critics point to different kinds of Orthodoxy today – ecumenist, renovationist, charismatic, legalistic-canonical, and the rest – and ask us: And how do you believe?  To this question our first answer is: "We believe as our fathers believed and taught us, and through them we receive the teaching of the Apostles and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself."  All men being fallible, these fathers sometimes erred, and sometimes may even have disagreed among themselves; but the whole witness of them together can not be mistaken. 

And so, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, even in our most evil days, let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:1-2), knowing that these fathers who have begotten us spiritually through the Gospel (I Cor. 4:15) will not fail us in our hour of trial, and that the unbroken link which we have through Jesus Christ, and His authentic teaching will not be broken to the end of the age. 

It is appropriate for Orthodox Christians on the day of repose of the departed to commemorate them at the Divine Liturgy and offer memorial services for the repose of their souls. The date of the repose is indicated first in this list, and the year of repose after the names.*

Jan. 16/29 ARCHBISHOP APOLLINARY (1933)
     preserver of the canonical Russian Orthodox Church in America. 

Jan. 17/30 BISHOP SAVVY of Edmonton (1973)
     preacher of spiritual awakening and chronicler of the holy life of Archbishop John Maximovitch 

Feb. 6/19 ARCHBISHOP THEOPHAN of Poltava (1940)
     a leading theologian of the Diaspora, noted as an ascetic and man of prayer, who ended his days as a cave-dweller in the south of France. 

Feb. 11/24 ARCHBISHOP SIMON of Shanghai (1933) 

     missionary, ascetic, theologian, and miracle-worker. 

Mar. 8/21 ARCHBISHOP VITALY of Jordanville (1960) 

     printer-missionary in the tradition of St. Job of Pochaev, in Carpato-Russia, and in America. 

Mar. 17/30 ARCHBISHOP TIKHON of San Francisco (1963)
     strict ascetic and man of prayer, disciple of the holy elder Gabriel of Pskov, in the Optina tradition. 

Mar. 31/Apr. 13 ARCHBISHOP AVERKY of Jordanville (1976) 

     righteous Orthodox accuser of renovationism and ecumenism in the Church. 

May 8/21 METROPOLITAN ANASTASSY (1965)
     second Chief Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, known because of his sobriety and tactfulness as the "most wise". June 19/July 2 ARCHIBISHOP JOHN MAXIMOVITCH (1966) 

     ascetic, theologian, missionary, and miracle-worker. 

June 19/July 2 ARCHBISHOP LEONTY of Chile (1971)
     sufferer under Communism, supporter of the Greek Old Calendarists, righteous accuser of church injustice, who was granted to die on the fifth anniversary of the repose of his Abba, Archbishop John. 

July 28/Aug. 10 Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky (1936)
     first Chief Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, Orthodox, apologist and inspirer of church youth. 

Sept. 30/Oct. 13 ARCHIMANDRITE GERASIM of Spruce Island (1969) 

     guardian of the relics and memory of St. Herman of Alaska. 

Oct. 7/20 BISHOP JONAH of Manchuria (1925)
     disciple of Optina elders, educator of children in the Church's spirit, miracle-worker. 

Nov. 13/26 ARCHBISHOP IOSAPH of Canada and Argentina (1955) 

     missionary, disseminator of the monastic ideal, founder of Canadian sketes, miracle-worker. 

Also see:

https://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2009/08/holy-fathers-part-1.html

From The Orthodox Word, Vol. 10, No. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1974), pp. 188-195.

 * note from Joanna:  by giving us the dates of their repose, Fr. Seraphim is suggesting that we also remember to pray for them, not just to remember their instructions.  The reason for this is that these instructors are in heaven now, and they can help us in supernatural ways that by-pass the language barrier, and that by-pass any need for intellectual understanding.  They can help you acquire spiritual discernment.  We can read their names off the list when we pray for the souls of the departed in our daily morning prayers.  If we make it to heaven, surely we could meet them there, and we will recognize them, even though we never met them in person during our earthly life.

The Light of ROCOR

ROCOR brought holiness out of Russia and planted it here.

The Light of ROCOR

Questions About the GOC to Metropolitan Demetrius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaQeq4VVtzM

https://www.youtube.com/@OrthodoxTradition

https://app.box.com/s/eh686gf45dbck9cnr6fw7rfj1glvtv13

uploaded to YouTube July 2023

transcriber's note: Inserts aqua-greenish color text are mine. 

 ~Joanna

I think it's very important for people to think objectively, to have a little bit of critical thinking, perhaps open-mindedness as opposed to automatically just black-and-white, the book says this, and that's it. 

   

If somebody is sincere, they're going to be very cautious and careful about what they say and they believe; and they're going to understand something about what Fr. Seraphim Rose says concerning Orthodoxy of the mind and Orthodoxy of the heart.

I think that the tables have turned somewhat, and I see that there are certain apologists on the side of the modernistic jurisdictions who don't understand Orthodoxy of the heart.

      

Of course, I think we need to have Orthodoxy of the mind and Orthodoxy of the heart connected.

Because that would be the true application and true offering and true, reality, — a lived thing.

Which would show us, verify in us, the truth of where we are; and it would help us to understand that only through the Orthodox Faith can we receive sanctification (only) in the Orthodox Church.

Metr. Anthony Khrapovitsky says that, he says concerning heretics and people that are stubbornly opposed to the Church and Church order, that nothing that you say will convince them.  Even if One were to rise from the dead, as it says in Scriptures, you will not convince them.

We've spoken so much about this miracle that happened in 1925 concerning the Cross — people have a whole bunch of different reasons why they don't want to accept it, or perhaps they do accept it because you can't deny it, but they just look at it in a very different way from what the 2,000 people who were present saw and got from this miracle.

So I think that one has to fall on their knees a little more and ask God for illumination, lest we sin  And sometimes we have people who are spokesmen for these conservative modernists, if you will, who say that we should see what the saints say.

So, in my last video I quoted what some saints said, and we have more to say concerning that — God willing in the future we'll hear concerning that.

But to answer your question, I grew up in ROCOR, and eventually we joined some of these Greek Old Calendarists, and a lot of people basically saw a great link between the so-called Greek Old Calendarists and the ROCOR.  There's a link because first of all the ordinations came from ROCOR, but then ROCOR eventually totally recognized the Church of the GOC as a Sister Church.

And even right up until the end, just before the union with the Moscow Patriarchate, that's how they considered us.

In fact, to prove that we have living examples, in other words we have clergy (alive today) that joined us from the ROCOR basically on the eve of the union between ROCOR and Moscow Patriarchate with a canonical release from Vladyka Lavra (Metr. Laurus), who was very much for the union.

So I think that some people, at least, in ROCOR would probably – those who know their history – should probably be a lot more objective and understand us and who we are, because they know their old ROCOR.   And the old ROCOR most likely would not have been ready for this union with the Moscow Patriarchate.

And there are a number of reasons for that.

First of all, one of the things that the ROCOR hierarchs kept saying was that the Moscow Patriarch needs to repent, seriously, before any type of a reunion could happen.

And, although things are not as bad as they were during the Soviet time there was a great fall, and that's the way, this is the way that the ROCOR saw it.

And so, let me give you an example here:

Patriarch Kyrill, who's the present day Patriarch of Moscow, is seen in a photograph underneath a great big statue of Metropolitan Sergius (Stradgogosky), and he's standing together with President Putin. 

So, the  old rorocr would have a problem with that; they would not be able to stomach that.

Probably, I assume, that even some people in ROCOR-MP right now have a problem with that.  And as I said, those are the ones who probably know something about their history, and remember their old Fathers.

So we have people who have no connection with ROCOR that are quoting some of the ROCOR hierarchs, but really misrepresenting them, and not understanding their spirit.  Just not undertanding what ROCOR stood for.

   

ROCOR was a light.  ROCOR was the Church of Christ, and it was a shining light, because they brought holiness out of Russia and planted it here.

So, we have to recognize that — especially those of us in our sacred metropolis, here.

Because, as I've said many times before, the Church is not ethnic — that's what we believe, that's what my synod in Greece believes.  But the Church is local.  And so here, in our local metropolis, we had holy people.  And it behooves us to honor their memory.  And, by the grace of God, we try to.  So, be careful not to falsify facts. 

I can give you a few more examples:

We have an iconographer in our Church*  who's a monk, who's painting an icon of St. John Maximovitch – St. John of San Francisco – in an OCA church.*  

     *Church is capitalized when referring to a jurisdiction, but when referring to a parish the c is lower case.

And one of the older members of the church was upset about it.  And when he saw the icon he said, "Why are you putting a schimatic on our wall?"  That's how people saw ROCOR.

You can misrepresent it all you want, but all the (official, a.k.a "world orthodox") patriachates recognized the Patriarchate of Moscow under Metr. Sergius.

Although, the Patriachate of Serbia and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem had some sympathies towards ROCOR, still eventually they cut communion.  There was a time when they didn't have inter-commmunion.

And I know this from people –from monastics– who lived in Jerusalem; they told me that they never concelebrated.  The ROCOR clergy and the clergy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem never concelebrated.  There was intercommunion at the level of the lay people, but it never got to the point where the clergy concelebrated.

So this is significant because, today, there's a little bit of a different view about the history of ROCOR.  Now after so much time has passed, people just don't want to see St. John Maximovitch as a  schismatic.  With good reason — because he's a great saint of the Church.  He's one of the greatest saints of our last century.

But you can't rewrite history.  It is what it is.  And St. John Maximovitch felt very strongly about what I'm talking about here.

There were two particular things in ROCOR which stood out  which I think we should point out.

The first is that the ROCOR hierarchy absolutely insisted that they could not come into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, 'til the Moscow Patriarchate repented.  I repeat:  They would not join the Moscow Patriarchate until the Moscow Patriarchate repented.  I already mentioned about this statute.

The second thing which was stressed was they were optimistic.  They had great hope that Russia would be liberated.  And that the Church would be free again.  And that there would be a tzar.  And I truly hope, and I have the same optimism, perhaps one day the Lord will clear all this up.

And I don't think it's a joy – it shouldn't be a joy, for some people it is a joy (on both sides) – that we are not in communion.  It's sad for us that the ancient Patriarchates, right now, are preaching something quite different from what the Fathers of the Church preached.

We can talk about that in a subsequent video, but already there's a lot of information out about that.

We are talking about two distinct different voices:

– the voice of St. Mark of Ephesus (vs.) – the voice of the modern modernist bishop

(and similarly)

– the voice to St. Gregory of Palamas  (vs.) – the voice of the modern modernist bishop

And there's a lot of them.  There are a lot of modernistic, heretical bishops.

So, we brought up examples in the previous video of holy people.  And there are a lot more.

And ROCOR felt this kinship with the Greek Old Calendarist, because actually the Greek Old Calendarists had a few, it was not totally all of them, definitely we had some issues for awhile, but there were a few very holy men who were miracle-workers.  I'm talking about really serious miracle-workers.  If you were to read their lives, you read them as a life of a saint.

There's a little piece of information I'd like you to know, as well:

Fr. Ephraim, Elder Ephraim (Moraitis) of Arizona, also called us.  He called my predecessor, Metropolitan Pavlos years back,  and I have a clergyman who was present who was a witness.  He was actually in the room when Elder Ephraim called Metropolitan Pavlos, to ask him if he could be received into GOC. ("Elder" Ephraim also asked the ROCOR, around the same time, — I think circa 1985-1990)

Probably, if he went ahead with that, if he were to join us, you probably would have seen document coming out from him about our canonicity.  He probably would have defended it.  Because, it is a fact during the lifetime of Elder Ephraim, he did go back and forth a number of times.   (Actually, this vacilating is the tip of the iceberg.)

And also, when he came to America, he came through our parishioners,  people who belonged to our parish in Canada in Montreal; and they still belong to our parish.  And he didn't tell them no, don't go there because they're schismatics.

He knew a lot of our people.  Sometimes he would send people to us, sometimes he would send people to confess to some of our clergy.  Anyway, that is what happened.  

The ROCOR went to the point where they even believed, — some of the bishops. it wasn't all of them  and it wasn't all the people, but a lot of people in ROCOR, especially the Catacomb Church, especialy as time progressed,  because in the beginning you are trying to figure things out, a lot of people said the Moscow Patriarch was graceless.  Of course, the Moscow Patriarch (considered?) the Catacomb Church was graceless.

They were anathemitzing each other but truth is on one side.  

The thing that really surprises me is that — and I don't know if you can find this anywhere in the history of the Church — people who claim to be Orthodox so venomously, aggressively opposed to those who are actually saying the same thing with regards to  (...) being a heresy — at least up to a certain point we're saying the same thing, and just saying, oh, the're all schimatics.  Well, the ones who came from ROCOR are not.

And even the ROCOR-MP knows very well who we are

There are others, quite frankly, who are break-off groups from the new calendar modernistic jurisdctions.  And they just sort of set up shop and they treat the Church as their own personal franchise.  And then they call themselves the GOC with absolutley no relation to us.

And so somehow their scismatic groups, they're connecting with us.

No! they don't belong to us, they belong to you, they're schismatic groups of the new calendarist groups.

So, as I said in the beginning I think one needs to be very careful, lest we sin.  Let us be more cautious with our words.  Let us be more spiritual about our outlook.

Let us listen to what the saints have said, and in my own personal experience I've known holy people I believe to be saints for many good reasons.  And they were sanctified in the GOC.  

If you really feel that Orthodoxy is the truth, and if you really feel that the panheresy we're dealing with today truly is a panheresy; which is a different (new) term. 

Fr. Justin Popovic called it a "panheresy,"

I don't know if we've ever called a  heresy a panheresy in the past, I don't think so.

     (In 1998 Jordanville came out with a statement:  "Ecumenism is the most prevalent heresy of our times; and it is the most devastating heresy of all times.")

So, this is a unique situation, the Church is dealing with a very unique situation today.  Think about it.  And rather than just thinking like a lawyer, or a scribe or a pharisee; humble your heart, go on your knees, pray about it, ask the Lord for illumination.  And you'll see something very different.

You'll be a lot more careful with what you are saying.

Don't misinterpret things, and be very careful with hurling accusations.

Like this really strange accusation, because, like I said, I don't know if there's ever been a time where you see this aggressiveness from people who say that they're Orthodox against the people who are confessing Orthodoxy.

So they have to come up with something, so they're saying that we are Donatists.  How in the world do you make that connection?

Actually, sometimes I think that there are people in the modernistic jurisdictions that are Donatists.  And I'll tell you why.  At least moreso, it can apply to them moreso.

The Fathers always say that there's a difference between sin and heresy.  We have so many examples of that.  And here we're putting this Donatist claim.  Those of you who don't know what Donatism is, you're going to have to look it up.

Heresy is a totally different level.  The purpose for this separation is heresy – what we believe to be heresy.

Now, there are people in the modernistic jurisdictions, who basically say no these people, us, ("us" meaning we who are in the GOC) are schismatics, but we'll accept Elder Ieronymos is a saint.  But that sounds a little more linked to Donatism to me.

"No, but he was in communion with us."

You're lying.  You are lying.  He was sympathic (to world orthodoxy), but he was not under the new calendar Church.   Our bishops buried him, our bishops gave him Communion.

The priest who was his priest in Ægina, for years, just reposed a few months ago in his 90s.  He's our priest, Fr. Ignatius (Baffas?)   God rest his soul.  All he did was talk about Elder Ieronymos his whole life — miracle after miracle after miracle.

 

No, he was totally under our bishops, and quite frankly, at a time which was a little more ambiguous because we still didn't have at that time the official recognition of ROCOR.

Official recognition from ROCOR came a few years later.  But still there was the unofficial recognition of ROCOR, before the official recognition — meaning the documents which came up from ROCOR stating that we're Sister Churches.

Before that we had, of course, Vladyka Leonty, St. John Maximovitch, Vladyka Averky, Vladyka Nektary (Kontsevitch), Vladyka Savva, all came to my cathedral.  And St. John came a number of times.  And he stood on the throne.  And he prayed with us.  He blessed our cathedral and through our cathedral our entire metropolis.

So, please, do not lie.

May the lord give us understanding in all things, and may the Lord open up our minds and our hearts to at least be a little more open to the truth.

Through the prayers of our saints, saints of our days, may the Lord protect us all from evil and unite us to the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Amen.