New Heresies ( Metropolitan Augoustinos Kantiotes of Florina )

New Heresies by +Metropolitan Augoustinos (Kantiotes) of Florina[1]

“We will not deny you, beloved Orthodoxy” – Joseph Vryennios (St. Mark of Ephesus’ spiritual father)


Of late, certain theologians, under the influence of contemporary, world-wide currents, have begun to savour the words “ecumenicity”, “ecumenical spirit”, and “ecumenical movement”, as if they were hard-candy. Ecumenicity; what a beautiful word! And yet, behind these words, lay hidden a most fearful danger for Orthodoxy. What is this danger? We will show you by means of an example.
Imagine a woman, a woman faithful to her husband, a woman who will allow no third party to enter into their relationship, ever mindful of the promises which she had made before God and before men. She is a woman of exceptional beauty, drawing the eye of many a man. On account of her uprightness, however, anyone who dares to touch, or to proposition her, immediately meets with her anger. Should such a one persist, this honourable woman will deliver a strong slap to his face in order bring him to his senses.
Those men who are learned in this vile business, however, will try another method. These will try to uncover what it is that this woman likes; does she perhaps love poetry, or philosophy, or art? By means of these things the secret admirer will trap her. With great deftness he will begin having innocent conversations with her on those subjects that are beloved to her. “What a wonderful poem!”; “What a beautiful painting!”; “What a wonderful play!”; “How sweet a piece of music!” And thus begins the dialogue. Gradually the unsuspecting woman is lured into longer conversations with the deceiver who, while his tongue speaks of philosophy and art, his heart leaps at the hope of taking the woman for himself. Finally, after an air of great familiarity and mutual understanding has been achieved through these conversations, the door is opened to the foul deed, the shameful union. Just as the most-evil serpent succeeded in beguiling Eve by means of a simple conversation, in like manner the seed of shameful union was sown.
Did you catch what we are trying to say, beloved? We have spoken in a parable.
The woman concerning which we have spoken is our Orthodox Church. She is this beauty. She is the woman who, according to the Book of Revelation is “clothed in the Sun”, who wears “upon her head a crown of twelve stars”, and who has “the moon under her feet”.[2] It is the Orthodox Church which has remained faithful to the Lord, to the eternal bridegroom. It is she who has kept pure the tradition of the Lord and of the Apostles – both written and unwritten – in accordance with the God-inspired call to, “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.”[3] It is she, the Orthodox Church, which for nineteen centuries has fought the hard and bloody battle against various deceptions, against the various heresies which have sought to pollute and corrupt her holiness. One of the worst of these heresies is Papism, which, on account of its delusions, its authoritarian spirit, and its atrocities, caused the rise of Protestantism and the fracturing of all of Christendom. Yes, the Papists are heretics. The enemies of the Orthodox Church, including Papism to be sure, know well that she has persevered in the faith of her Fathers. Yet, having been persuaded through many examples that they cannot conquer that fortress which is Orthodoxy by means of a frontal attack, these enemies have recently begun trying by other means. They have begun a new war, a war of peace, a war worse than the Crusades. Do you not hear the voice of the serpent, seeking to corrupt the minds of Orthodoxy, leading us away from our simplicity?[4]
Here is what the serpent says: O, Orthodox Church! Why do you keep your distance? Why are you afraid of me? I am no dragon; I am a sweet angel bearing the message of love. I am not going to hurt you. Keep your dogmas and your traditions. Leave these things to the theologians…I invite you into my room to discuss other matters. Let us make a common stand against hunger, against poverty, against atheism, against communism, against war. Do these matters not move you? Does this proposition not excite you? Come then, let us begin our conversation on high, on the level of ecumenicity, on the level of mutual understanding. You will see just how beautiful our coming together can be!
O, Orthodox Church! Our suffering mother! Will you accept this proposition? Will you enter into dialogue with Papism? Can you not see the danger inherent in this proposition? That those who ineptly and unworthily represent you are creating conditions favorable to your enemies to such a fearful degree that you, without even taking notice, will fall into the arms of Papism. And what will follow then? A union, a pseudo-union, spiritual adultery, a most vile act; something which ought never to have occurred, and which will require centuries of repentance from those Orthodox who played the role of pimp for the Orthodox Church. The hour will come when these will sigh and say: “Let the language which we spouted concerning ‘ecumenicity’ and ‘mutual understanding’ cease; let these feet which ran to bring together Orthodoxy and wolves in sheep’s clothing become leprous; let these hands which signed ecumenical epistles and documents fall off!”
This, my beloved, is the famous ‘theory of ecumenicity’ which our leaders savour!



We repeat: the Ecumenical Movement, under whose umbrella gather all manner of heresies, represents a danger to the Orthodox Church. It deprecates the importance of the dogmas which, having been miraculously articulated in the brief definitions of the Ecumenical Councils, and which are the skeleton, the backbone without which the body becomes a limp and formless lump. It deprecates the Holy Canons, which the ecumenists call obsolete, rusty weapons. To put it concisely, the ecumenists deprecate the Orthodox Church as a whole, saying that it is self-centered, that it is a blasphemy for us to consider her to be the one true Church, possessing the genuine truth of Divine Revelation. Within this context the dogmas and the moral life, inseparably joined in the Orthodox Church, tend to evaporate, leaving behind nothing but a fraudulent version of love. The theory of ecumenicity, the theory which calls all different peoples to live together in the name of some tenuous peace, a theory supported within worldly and political circles in our century and which has already been applied to the spiritual sphere where compromise is unacceptable, will ultimately lead to conflict and turmoil, truly, to Babel.
Leaven, if it becomes contaminated, loses its ability to make things rise; Orthodoxy, the most excellent leaven, the leaven of truth, is capable of leavening the whole lump, but only so long as it remains unpolluted by foreign ingredients, so long as it remains pure. For this reason the followers of this theory of ecumenicity are the enemies of Orthodoxy. For this reason we do not hesitate to call this movement – the Ecumenical movement – a new heresy, from which the Orthodox Church must be protected.
In conclusion, during these critical moments when the Orthodox Church stands in danger, we call out to the faithful from our own watchtower: “Orthodox faithful! Remember that Church, of which you are children. Remember the rivers of blood our Fathers spilt to keep our Faith unadulterated; not one iota did they permit to be subtracted or added to our Faith. Remember the rallying cry of the heroes of the Revolution of 1821. These men – may their memory be eternal – struggled first for the faith, and then for their homeland. All of these heroes and martyrs – known and unknown – call to us from their graves: “Stand firm upon the bulwark of Orthodoxy!”
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[1] This article may be found under the title, “Νέα Άιρεσις” in the book, “Πνευματικά Σαλπίσματα Ορθοδόξου Ζωής και Ομολογίας” (Thessalonki: 2008), 109-114.
[2] Revelation 12:1-2.
[3] 2 Thessalonians 2:15.
[4] See 2 Corinthians 11:3. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Ecumenism is dominated by unclean spirits ( St. Ephraim of Katounakia, Holy Mountain )

Fr. Ephraim’s attestation to professor Demetrios Tseleggides

In what follows, I will say something that pertains to a personal deposition. I was associated for entire decades with Fr. Ephraim of Katounakia, of renowned ethos and conscience. Also renowned was the fact that he also possessed a “spiritual television”. As for me, I had gone to him on many occasions with the intention of posing certain very specific questions, in a specific sequence, and using my own vocabulary. When I did visit him, and without having posed any of my intended questions, he gave me his replies, in my intended sequence, and with my vocabulary. I am mentioning this as a personal experience; it is not an unprecedented phenomenon - it has been experienced by many others also.

There was one time when – as a young professor at the School of Theology at the time, about thirty years ago – I had mentioned the following to him. Given that the clime of Ecumenism has also been flourishing in the School of Theology - especially that of Thessaloniki - I had certain nagging problems and questions, because I could see it being represented by otherwise respected professors. Naturally, both my conscience as well as my learning had reacted against it, however, I desired – beyond my scientific status – to also obtain a charismatic reply, which is something that I did for many other issues.

So I asked him on the matter in hand - if he could tell me what kind of thing Ecumenism is.

He replied outrightly and without any difficulty:

«This question, my child, had also been posed by someone else, some time before you. I myself have been up here on these rocks for forty years... I have even forgotten my Greek (note that he had completed Middle School) and as such, I haven’t preoccupied myself with that issue. But, because I had to reply – seeing that I had been asked about it, and since I had no knowledge of the matter - I went to my cell and prayed, asking Christ to inform me what Ecumenism is. I received His reply, which was that Ecumenism has a spirit of wickedness and is dominated by unclean spirits».

So I asked him exactly how that was verified. He replied that «after praying, my cell became filled with an unbearable stench, which caused my soul to feel asphyxiated; I couldn’t breathe spiritually».

I asked him if that had been an extraordinary event for him, or if that was the way that Christ responds in analogous cases, and he assured me that «in all the cases that are involved with sorcery, with unclean spirits, that is the state in which He introduces me. Sometimes there is a spoken response, but in the present case, that was His answer and I have the absolute certainty that Ecumenism does not have the Holy Spirit, but the unclean spirit».

What I am saying at this moment one might say has the character of intentional impressions. But I want to inform you that I was overjoyed, because what the Elder had told me in person, I had also seen recorded by his pious retinue, who had published an honorary Tomos (Volume) about his person, his spirituality and his words. So it has been certified in there as well, but it has also been verified with other, trustworthy theologians, who likewise happened to have heard it personally.

I had not publicly mentioned this until now; but things have taken such a turn, that I am obliged to bring it up. Of course it had played a decisive role in my stance towards Ecumenism. As a professor, a scientist, I am naturally obliged in every case to examine the matter with scientific criteria and to substantiate my viewpoint scientifically – and that is what I do in my classes also, step by step; however, I regard this deposition to be significant, because it was delivered in a charismatic manner by a man who knew nothing about the issue. He had never read, never heard of it, and yet, he deposited his direct spiritual experience. I think that things speak for themselves here.

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* From the book «Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church - A Synod lacking in synodicity and Orthodox self-awareness», 80 pages, size 17x24 cm., publication by «Synaxis of Orthodox Romaics “Fotis Kontoglou”», Trikala, March 2016. This book is the transcript of the 3-hour program of the conversation between the manager of the Piraeus Church Radio Station, Mr. Lykourgos Markoudis and professor Demetrios Tseleggides

Translation by A.N.

   impantokratoros.gr

The Ecumenists are Co-responsible for the Abuse of the Gospel and the Perdition of the Heterodox ( Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis )

Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis
Professor Emeritus at Aristotle University
Thessaloniki


1. Papism and Protestantism have distorted the Gospel

Lately many members of the Church have been agonizing over the destructive and rapid development of the so-called inter-Christian relations of the Orthodox with the two big heresies of the West, Papism and Protestantism. Their concern has been expressed many times, this year with the composition of the well-known “Confession of Faith against Ecumenism” which was circulated and signed by many, and for the first time annoyed and disturbed those Ecumenists who are complacent and boast over the success.

The ambient policy and cultural atmosphere of globalization not only tends to erase geographical boundaries between nations, but also tends to tear down spiritual, cultural and religious boundaries. Its goal and vision is to level differences and individuality, to homogenize people in their beliefs and manner of life, to create a new type of person, without spiritual concerns and pursuits beyond this life, but for them to remain glued to this earth, in material prosperity and affluence. This serves two specific aims of the planners: people will reduced to simply being consumers, which will increase businesses’ material and economic profit and at the same time they will become slaves in their daily struggle to secure material goods, with their degree of leisure being in the hands of the powerful, so that through controlled economic crises or allocations they can keep people docile and obedient.

The second apparent aim is to place the Gospel of Christ and the Church, which constitute the only powers of resistance against materialism, at the periphery so that the new world can be governed not by Christ, but by the Antichrist. Only Christ conquered the temptation of Satan over material goods and preached that “man shall not live by bread alone” (Luke 4:4), prioritizing material and spirit, the world and God – He gave priority to God and to the spirit: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (Matt 6:33). And elsewhere, “for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

The Christian world of Constantine the Great, of New Rome – Constantinople, of Orthodoxy, in which the Third Rome, Moscow, participated spiritually, lived and put into practice this ascetic and perfecting teaching of the Gospel. Now it is to be replaced by the new world of materialistic America and Europe, or Pax Christiana by Pax Americana.

Papism, having separated itself from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, submitted to the temptations of Satan and was transformed into a worldly power with economic, dynastic, conquering, political pursuits, with dogmas and a way of life that have nothing to do with the life and teaching of the Gospel. As the great Russian intellectual Theodore Dostoyevsky powerfully said that Papism is not even Christianity; if Christ returned to earth, He would be judged and crucified by the holy inquisitors of Rome.

Those under the Pope perverted and distorted the Gospel. They did not serve as the light of the world and as the salt of the earth, for this they had no effect on the souls of the people of the West. The West, Europe and America, soon distanced themselves from untrustworthy Papism and became de-Christianized because “if the salt has lost its taste, wherewith shall it be salted?” (Matt 5:13). They threw out and rightfully trampled upon the pseudo-inscribed Christianity of the Pope.

Protestantism justly reacted against the arbitrariness and the deviations of Papism, though doing it alone without asking for help from the Church in order to return to the purity of Evangelical truth, without apostolic succession and the Grace of the mysteries (sacraments), in time being led to numerous divisions and teachings [some of] which even doubt the Resurrection of Christ, while they even justify “dishonorable passions” – as the Apostle Paul calls homosexuality in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans – as being on a level of a moral life,.

2. Double error: Inclusion with the heresies and a crutch of Papism

The planners of the New Age and Globalization want to unite us to and identify us with this distorted, abused and untrustworthy Christianity of Papism and Protestantism, [and create] a materialistic, earthly and worldly Christianity, so that the beneficial effect of the Gospel and of the Church cease in the world, so that people may not find the real Christ anywhere, so that we succumb to all the temptations of the devil, and thus establish the kingdom of the Antichrist. They have already succeeded in duping us and getting us to join in the pan-Protestant “World Council of Churches (WCC),” that is the World Council of Heresies and Fallacies. What a disgrace and shame! The Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, equated and put on the same level with the numerous Protestant shoots, each one of them claiming to be the true Church. In the end, is there one Church or many Churches? Are heresies also Churches? Never has the Church identified itself with nor has it ever been included among heretical groups and organizations. This is so not due to a lack of love, but so that it may help heretics to return through repentance, and at the same time protect the faithful from heresy. It truly preaches the truth when there is danger of heresy and awaits the response of those in error. If it identifies itself with them, where will they return? They will remain where they are if we accept, as some “Orthodox” maintain, that there is salvation and truth there too. We put all those heterodox who came to Orthodoxy in a difficult position, who, if they are not stable and convinced of their salvific steps, may become scandalized and disappointed.

Papism witnessed our entry into the World Council of Churches with joy and satisfaction because we left it the only purporter of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. However, unlike us, it does not forget that in the mid 15th century, the probable alliance of the Orthodox in the reformation coucils of Constantia (1414-1418) and of Basel (1431-1439), forerunning movements of Protestantism, would have led to the synodic system prevailing and would have voided the primacy of authority of the Pope. He does not only leave us with the Protestants, but he wants us with him against those Protestants who rejected [his] many innovations. And as he then misled us to disgraceful Ferrara-Florence, so that we would not strengthen the synodic reformation – that even reached the point of the Pope being defrocked by his own cardinals – he is doing the same thing even now. He leads us to dialogues of love with his candies that we are somehow “sister Churches” and we can discuss “on equal terms.” He continues, however, to consider us schismatics and ecclesiologically deficient, in order to lead us to the recognition of Papal primacy through Unia, whose condemnation at Freising-Munich by the plenary session of the Joint Committee for Theological Dialogue (1990) he buried and made disappear. With this one-sided action, which we quietly accepted without any protest, the Pope shows that even in the theological dialogue he does as he wishes as the First and as infallible. Therefore, why should we discuss, since the Vatican accepts only what is in its favor, while what is [beneficial] to us it rejects and makes disappear? We foolishly, like in Ferrara-Florence where we signed Unia, we repeat the mistake and we again become the crutch of Papism with the unacceptable article of Ravenna and the even worse draft plan of Cyprus concerning the primacy of the Pope.

We should note that within relatively the same conditions we are repeating the same mistakes, without learning from history. Greece and Cyprus, in order to be helped by the West and the Pope, sign yet again unacceptable articles of union, like at Ferrara-Florence (1438-1439). They accept and honor Pope, the pan-heretic and distorter of the Gospel, thus pushing away and distancing divine help and offending the Holy Martyrs and Confessors of the Faith. Constantinople, which tasted divine abandonment, is unfortunately leading us to activities of false union and to a new Ferrara-Florence, in the steps of the then Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea and not of Saint Mark of Ephesus (Evgenikos), distorting the Gospel and embracing the “grave wolves” of Papism and Protestantism. That is why vigilance is needed according to the advice of the Apostle Paul, who foresaw that, “Also of your own selves shall arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-31).

Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis