The
fathers of Esphigmenou struggle against the heresy of ecumenism which states
that there is no one church which possesses the Truth. The Orthodox Church believes, as the monks of
Esphigmenou Monastery believe, that the Church has never lost the Truth or its
unity. The Nicene Creed states the Orthodox Church’s dogmatic basis, “I believe
in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I believe in one baptism.”
Ecumenism rejects these fundamental truths of the church by teaching that
there are many churches and many baptisms.
The
beliefs of ecumenism and the beliefs of Orthodoxy are mutually exclusive. You can either believe in the Creed or
you can believe in ecumenism, not both.
By embracing ecumenism Patriarch Bartholomew has embraced a belief in
conflict with the teachings of the Orthodox Church. This is what the monks object to and what they wish
to discuss with the Patriarch. There is not a single saint of the
Church, ever, who believes in what Patriarch Bartholomew teaches and practices
with regards to ecumenism, and this has caused great concern on the part of the
monks. The Patriarch refuses to allay those concerns and refuses to engage in
constructive dialogue with the monks. He has, however, demanded an apology
in writing for questioning him.
In 2002, the Patriarchate sponsored 3 experts to draft a
paper describing the situation at Esphigmenou and to recommend a course of
action. This report arbitrarily disregards the Charter of Mount Athos and the
church cannons in an attempt to incriminate the monks of Esphigmenou,
threatening the very essence and survival of the region by trampling on the
autonomy enjoyed of Monasteries for 1,000 years. The prosecutions legal brief places blame on the Esphigmenou fathers on
the grounds that:
a) the
Esphigmenou monks ceased commemorating the Patriarch,
b) the
Monastery’s failed to comply with the Patriarchal committee’s and the Mt. Athos
Community’s 1974 and 1979 exile sentences, and
c) the
Monastery’s refused to participate in the institutions of the Mt. Athos
Community through representatives.
The commemoration of the Patriarch and his Synod is an
extremely important matter for which one must take into consideration, both the
Mt. Athos Charter, and the Rudder of the Orthodox Church. The regulations that
are inscribed in the Rudder have been promulgated by the Holy Apostles and the
Fathers of the Church through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and are
therefore immutable. What is more, one must take into account the centuries-long
tradition of the Holy Mountain.
We cannot enumerate all the erroneous views and deeds of the last three Patriarchs
here. It should suffice to say, however, that instead of being corrected, these
views and deeds continuously multiply. We will refer to only a few actions of
the current Patriarch that alienate him from the Orthodox Faith.
a. The unilateral
“lifting” of the anathema against the Roman Catholic Church in 1965.
b. The agreement
of Balamand, signed by representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stating
that “the Orthodox Church along with the Papal community have the same Apostolic
Succession and the same validity in their mysteries”, represents a deviation
from the Orthodox Faith.
c. The Patriarch
Bartholomew referring to the representatives of the Pope on November 30, 1998
said : “In view of the fact that one Church recognizes the other Church as a
locus of Grace, proselytization of members from one Church to the other is
precluded.” (See Εκκλησιαστική Αλήθεια, December 12, 1998) This implies that it
is not necessary to preach since we are really one and the same faith”.
Why are the monks
being evicted?
Mainly one reason –
they refuse to commemorate the Patriarch and as a show to others not to dare
dispute with the Patriarchate. Evidence of this is seen today, where bishops can
say and do anything contrary to the church teachings and get away with it as
long as they continue to commemorate the Patriarch. The monks struggle is for
truth and the true orthodox way of life which the Patriarch is attempting to
silence. The Cannons of the Church
require monks and others to cease commemoration if their Bishop preaches
beliefs that go against the teachings of the church. The monks are well within
their right to do this as have many other Greek, Serbian, Russian and Orthodox
Churches today.
What is the impact of
being called “schismatic”?
Unlike the Great Schism of 1054 where there were fundamental
differences of faith. The Patriarchate and others now use this
declaration as an extortionary tool to force people to obey him – not on matters
of faith. Some examples:
Over 25 churches in Australia have been declared as schismatic,
for the simple reason that they did not sign over the deed from their church
community to the Patriarchate.
