Ecumenical Patriarchate Intends to Hand Over Church Belonging to Patmos Monastery to Roman Catholics
(source) The Patriarchate of Constantinople is forcing the monastery in Patmos to give one of its churches to the Latins…
The unbelievable and unprecedented events which have recently transpired on the island of Patmos are largely unknown to the English-speaking world of the Orthodox Church.
The Patriarchate of Constantinople is pressuring the Monastery of Patmos and the faithful people to give over one of the churches to the followers of the Pope.
Below is a letter from the Abbot of the holy Monastery of Docheriou to the Abbot of the monastery on Patmos urging him to resist this betrayal of Orthodoxy and this trampling upon the holy canons of the Church, which forbid even entering heretical temples for prayer let alone giving an Orthodox temple for their use.
The original Greek letter is followed by an automatic translation into English.
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http://panayiotistelevantos.blogspot.com.cy/…/blog-post_22.…
Ο ΚΑΘΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ Ι. Μ. ΔΟΧΕΙΑΡΙΟΥ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΑΧΩΡΗΣΗ ΝΑΟΥ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΠΑΠΙΚΟΥΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΑΤΜΟ
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Επιστολή προς τον Ηγούμενο της Μονής Πάτμου Αρχι. Κύριλλο για την είδηση της παραχώρησης Ναού σε παπικούς, απέστειλε ο Καθηγούμενος της Ι. Μ. Δοχειαρίου του Αγίου Όρους, Γέροντας Γρηγόριος.
Η επιστολή του Καθηγουμένου έχει ως εξής:
Ἀγαπητὲ ἐν Χριστῷ ἅγιε Καθηγούμενε καὶ πατριαρχικὲ Ἔξαρχε τῆς παλαιφάτου Μονῆς τοῦ Εὐαγγελιστοῦ Ἰωάννου, ὁ νοῦς μου παραμένει ἀκόμη στὴν ἀγρυπνία τοῦ Θεολόγου καὶ τὴν Θεία Λειτουργία στὸ Καθολικό τῆς Μονῆς ἀπαρασάλευτος.
Σοῦ γράφω αὐτὸ τὸ μικρὸ γράμμα, γιὰ νὰ ἐκφράσω τὴν θλίψη μου καὶ τὸν πόνο τῆς καρδιᾶς μου ποὺ ἐπιμένει ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπός (εννοεί ο Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος) μας νὰ ἔχουν οἱ καθολικοὶ ἐκκλησία στὴν Πάτμο, χωρὶς νὰ ὑπάρχει πλήρωμα μὲ τὴν παπικὴ ὁμολογία. Ἀλλοίμονο ἂν ὅπου λούονται οἱ Φράγκοι, ἐπιτρέπουμε νὰ πηγνύουν καὶ ἱερά.
Τὸ δοῦλο Γένος, παρὰ τὶς δυσκολίες ποὺ συνάντησε, δὲν ἐπέτρεπε νὰ κτίζωνται ἱερὰ ἑτεροδόξων.
Καὶ ὅπου κατάφεραν καὶ ἔστησαν ἱερά, εἶναι σήμερα μία μεγάλη πληγὴ γιὰ τὴν περιοχὴ ἐκείνη. Ἡ πατούσα τοῦ πάπα εἶναι πολὺ μεγάλη. Σᾶς παρακαλῶ μὴν ἐπιτρέψετε οὔτε τὸ δάκτυλο τοῦ μικροῦ του ποδιοῦ νὰ πατήση ὁ πάπας στὴν Πάτμο.
Κρατῆστε…τὴν ὁμολογία τοῦ Θεολόγου, τοῦ ὁσίου Χριστοδούλου καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀπ΄ αἰῶνος Ἁγίων καὶ κεκοιμημένων πατέρων τῆς ἱερᾶς Μονῆς τοῦ Θεολόγου. Ὄχι στὴν Πάτμο τὸ μνημόσυνο τοῦ πάπα σὲ ναό, ὅποιος καὶ νὰ εἶναι αὐτός.
Δῶστε μία μαρτυρία σὲ ὅλη τὴν Ὀρθοδοξία ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς εἶναι ὁ σεσαρκωμένος Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δὲν δέχεται τὸν αἱρεσιάρχη τῆς Δυτικῆς σπείρας –γιατί εἶναι δύσκολο νὰ τὴν ποῦμε Ἐκκλησία.
Κι ἕνα ἄλλο πλήγωσε τὴν καρδιά μου, ποὺ ἀνοίξατε πόρτα ἀπὸ τὸ κάτω μέρος τοῦ Καθίσματος τοῦ ἱεροῦ Σπηλαίου, γιὰ νὰ διευκολύνεται ὁ κόσμος. Δύο σπήλαια ἔχουμε στὴν Ὀρθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία: τὸ σπήλαιο τῆς Γεννήσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ στὴ Βηθλεὲμ καὶ τὸ σπήλαιο τοῦ Θεολόγου στὴν Πάτμο.
Ὅταν κατεβαίναμε τὶς σκάλες, ὅλοι ζούσαμε μὲ τὸ συναίσθημα ὅτι πᾶμε σὲ Σπήλαιο.
Τώρα, μπαίνοντας ἐκεῖ ἀπὸ τὴν κάτω πόρτα, ὅλοι θὰ αἰσθάνωνται ὅτι μπαίνουν μέσα σὲ μία τρύπα τῆς γῆς.
Δὲν πειράζει ἂν κάποιοι ἀδυνατοῦν νὰ κατέβουν τὰ ψηλὰ σκαλοπάτια. Κανενὸς ἡ σωτηρία δὲν διακυβεύεται, ἂν δὲν προσκυνήση τὸ σπήλαιο τοῦ Θεολόγου.
Συμμαζέψτε τὸν τουρισμὸ ἀπὸ τὰ ἱερὰ καθιδρύματα, γιατί στὸ τέλος δὲν θὰ μείνη μοναχὸς οὔτε γιὰ νὰ ἀνάβη τὰ καντήλια τοῦ Θεολόγου.
Μὲ πικρία σοῦ τὸ γράφω καὶ μὴ μὲ παραξηγήσης, διότι ἐγὼ αἰσθάνομαι Πάτμιος μοναχός, δὲν αἰσθάνομαι Ἁγιορείτης, καὶ ὅ,τι πῆρα ἀπὸ τὸν πατρινὸ μοναχισμὸ τὸ κρατῶ ἀκόμη καὶ τὸ ἔχω σημαιάκι.
Μετὰ τῆς ἐν Κυρίω ἀγάπης,
ὁ Καθηγούμενος Δοχειαρίου Γρηγόριος
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The Abbot OF I. M. Docheiariou Regarding THE ALLOCATION OF a Sacred TEMPLE IN PATMOS to Papists
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Letter to the Abbot of the Monastery Patmos Archimedes. Cyril upon the news of the allocation of a church to followers of the Pope, sent by the Abbot of I. M. Docheiariou of Mount Athos, Elder Gregory.
The letter of Abbot as follows:
Dear in Christ holy Abbot and Patriarchal Exarch of Monastery of St John, my mind remains still on the vigil of theology and liturgy in the katholikon…
I’m writing this little letter, to express my grief and pain, in my heart, that the Archbishop (he means Patriarch Bartholomew) insists that the Roman Catholics be given a church in Patmos, without any confession of orthodox faith. Woe To us if the holy things are given over to the Franks.
Even when our race was enslaved, and we met so many hardships, heterodoxy was not permitted to build a temple.
And wherever they managed to build their sanctuaries, today those areas are suffering from this wound. The footprint of the Pope is very large. Please do not allow even the toenail of the Pope’s little toe to step on Patmos.
Keep the confession of the Theologian, of Blessed Christodoulos, of all the saints from all the centuries and departed fathers the Holy Monastery of the Theologos. The Pope’s name must not be commemorated in any church on the island, whatever that is.
Give testimony throughout the Orthodox world that Christ is the incarnate Word of God and He rejects the heresiarch of the Western band – because it is impossible to say church.
And another wounded my heart, do not open the door from the bottom of the Sacred Cave, to facilitate people. Two caves we have in the Orthodox Church: the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Theologian in Patmos.
When descending the stairs, all lived with the feeling that we go to Cave.
Now, entering there from the lower door, everyone will feel that enter through a hole in the earth.
It does not matter if some fail to descend the many stairs. No one’s salvation is not compromised if he does not worship in the Cave of the Theologian.
Clean up the tourism from the sanctuary’s foundations, because in the end monks will not stay even to light the lamp of the Theologian.
With bitterness I write you and do not misunderstand me, because I feel more a monk of Patmos than I do of Athos, and whatever I got from Patmian monasticism I carry it as a little flag.
The Abbot Gregory of Docheiariou
Is this being done to protect it from the Turks?
What nonsense–one church is not the entire Monastery. But hey, 1204, right?
(Here in Detroit every day is 1967, but that’s nothin’ compared to 1204….. not even 1453….)
I’ll own that. I screwed up the title.
“Woe to us if holy things are given to the Franks”.
The quote represents what’s deeply, deeply wrong in many Eastern Orthodox minds.
Sure, I respect the historical memory of the Orthodox. However, reality checks are still needed:
1. I’m not a “Frank”. I’m a Hispanic Catholic born in the New World. The only “Franks” I know are either in history books, or people named “Frank”.
2. I did not participate in the 4th Crusade. It’s not my fault. It’s not my sin. I haven’t inherited their sin. Make me responsible for my own sins, not those of others.
3. I do not sanction the results of the 4th Crusade, just as I don’t sanction the Japanese Shogunate. Not that it makes a difference.
4. If the Byzantines hadn’t embroiled the Crusaders in their damned intrigues, the Crusaders would not have made it to Constantinople in the first place. They were not innocent victims and bystanders here either, but that’s not remembered in their memories.
5. Why do we have to capitulate to Orthodox quasi-sectarian demands in order to earn the right to pray in Patmos? Where’s that in the Tradition?
The abbot needs to worry more about his own sinfulness than that of others.
If Eastern Orthodox monks will not stay to light the lamps, I, an Eastern Catholic will go.
Interesting development…papists are reading NFTU and making comments. Congratulations, NFTU staff, on your widening readership! In response to the comments below: The objection is not that the RC church is “bad” or “mean” because of 1204, and therefore the Orthodox do not “like” them, or that they have sins (who doesn’t?); the objection is that the Church cannot give consecrated church buildings to heretics. The good old fashioned Roman Catholic Church, the one that existed before Vatican II, had the very same belief. The real Catholics, the ones who actually believed in Catholicism and not some constantly changing hodgepodge of bizarre lovey-dovey post Vatican II ecumenistic doubletalk, would not go to Orthodox services, under pain of mortal sin, much less hand a Roman Catholic church over to the Orthodox, who were more often (and more accurately, from the RC viewpoint) labeled the “Greek schismatics.” “Frank” in the context of the letter above is not an ethnic denotation; it is a term the Orthodox, especially Greeks, apply to all RC’s, much as all Orthodox are called “Greeks” (or used to be) by Roman Catholic writers. Orthodox prefer calling RC’s “Franks” to calling them “Romans,” because the Orthodox are the ones who are actually Roman and catholic.