Epistle of RTOC Synod Concerning Moscow Council

Spread the love

From 24 to June 29, 2008 in the Moscow Cathedral the council of Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate took place, which once again confirmed the departure of the MP from the purity of True Orthodoxy. Many Orthodox pastors and pasomye in Russia and abroad, staying in the Moscow Patriarchate, pinned on this Cathedral last hope, sincerely expecting a holy beginning of the rejection of the contemporary heresies of ecumenism and sergianism and hoping to correct the MP bishops and return to the path of fidelity to True Orthodoxy, to domestic spiritual revival of the Moscow Patriarchate. However, did the Hierarchical Council of the MP respond to the hope, to the cries and petitions of the Russian Orthodox people?

The council not only confirmed to the faithful the continued apostasy of the MP, but also condemned those faithful Orthodox pastors, who in anticipation of the Council tried to draw the attention of the bishops and their flock to the pressing problems of the church and openly expressed their views on Orthodoxy and the MP’s continuing retreat from the truth of Orthodoxy.

Analyzing the acts of the Council, can confidently say that the ecumenical liberal party has finally won. Even the bishops of the ROCOR-MP, who a few years ago rebuked the heresy ecumenism, at the Cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate tacitly voted “for” condemnation of those who openly resisted MP in this heresy of heresies.

The so-called “God-fearing canonical commission”, based on the desterminations which the MP Council took action condemning, of opponents of the heresy of ecumenism, has shown its full theological-canonical insolvency and unholy beginning. The Board’s findings that the term “neo-sergiansm” “denigrates the ministry of the Holy Patriarch Sergius”, which “are untenable allegations of the inadmissibility of recognizing the unity of moral values in different religions”, that “the desire for religious isolation is a manifestation of divisive and sectarian consciousness”, that ” monarchy is a historical concept of relative importance “, that protests against the derogation of the MP “provoke schism, filled with the spirit of isolationism and extremism, push the Church of the conflict with state authorities and with representatives of other faiths”, are evidence of the distortions in the Moscow Patriarchate of Truth of Orthodoxy at the conciliar level, evidence that the process of apostasy good-beginning MP irreversible and the believer people taken last hope at correcting and healing MP.

Kyrill (Gundyaev), to defend the ecumenical prayer of Patriarch Alexy with Catholic cardinals in the Catholic cathedral in Paris, said from the podium on the first day of the Cathedral: “It should be pointed … to the possibility for Orthodox Christians to attend Orthodox worship”. This ecumenical appeal from the MP’s department of external relations has not only not been condemned, but received support from members of the Council.

The fact that the task to write the Conciliar “response” to Bishop Diomid– was assigned to Bp Hilarion (Alfeyev), the brightest of the MP’s liberal ecumenists, confirms that the liberal-ecumenical party in the Moscow Patriarchate finally won.

The voice of the flock was never heard!

Even the head ROCOR-MP Metropolitan Hilarion only timidly mention that (the MP) “probably needs to re-consider its position and actions in ecumenical activities (if for some reason it does not yet refuse to participate in them)”. But to speak openly rebuking the heresy of ecumenism rebuking was never done, and while voting for the imposition penance on the opponents of ecumenism, he voted to “abstain”. Nevertheless, he signed the conciliar document on the penance. It is an amazing act of hypocrisy for the bishop: abstain, but still undersign the
unlawful decision in the hope that it will not be made public. The remaining bishops of ROCOR-MP voted unanimously in favour. None of them voted “no”! Yet it is on them as bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia that many pastors and Orthodox believers in Russia pinned their hopes.

The question of sergiansm (which, as many now can see, was not eliminated in the MP and is now dogmatically justified) ex-ROCOR bishops at the Cathedral of MP was not affected even after the declaration “God-fearing canonical commission” that henceforth the term “loses its meaning”. The Bishops of ROCOR-MP, led by Metropolitan Hilarion, who were the last hope clergy and congregation of the ROCOR-MP, completely surrendered the position of historic Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on the issue of sergiansm. After the unanimous capitulation of the bishops of the ROCOR-MP, one can say with certainty that, with the finishing off of the clergymen, who would not commemorate the heretical actions of the patriarch, the MP’s Repression-Apparatus will take care of those who do not commemorate the ROCOR clergy.…

Of what should that justify an unjust Union of Church and non-state, glorfies the “ministry Patriarch Sergius” and complicity in the heresy of ecumenism, the holy beginning of MP Council testify again to flouting purity of True Orthodoxy on the part of the Moscow Patriarchate. A lawless condemnation Orthodox pastors at a Council where the participants themselves were condemned and outside the episcopal dignity, because they reaffirmed that they are not a true Council of the Orthodox Church, but a robber Coucil of usurpers and heretics. Therefore, Moscow’s Council on the law should be called a robber council, and his anticanonical “impositions of penance” null and void because its members, according to the holy canons, are themselves subject to ecclesiastical courts and condemned.

By its acts the hierarchs Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR-MP once again testified that they fall under the anathema imposed by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on ecumenism and the ecumenical heresy in 1983: “those who do not distinguish the priesthood and mysteries of the Church from those of the heretics, but say that the baptism and eucharist of heretics is effectual for salvation; therefore, to those who knowingly have communion with these aforementioned heretics or who advocate, disseminate, or defend their new heresy of Ecumenism under the pretext of brotherly love or the supposed unification of separated Christians, Anathema!

Canons 45 and 65 of the Holy Apostles expose bishops, presbyters and deacons, who pray with heretics or part of the Jewish synagogue or heretical prayer, to deposition or excommunication from the Church. Also, “everything that communicates with the excommunicated” (meaning a prayerful communion) — must be separated (Apost. 10; Antiochus. 2; you. Vel. 88).

The canons of the council of Laodicea (6, 33) prohibit heretics present during worship in the Church and even just to enter their temples. There should be no spiritual communication and “unity” with heretics while maintaining friendly relations to the people themselves-heretics in the hope of their treatment in Orthodoxy – that’s the meaning of many canonical rules in relation to heresy.

St Basil the great said: “If someone claims to practice the Orthodox Faith, but is in communion with those who contradict it, if for not preventing this communion with them, they should not even be brothers”.

As well St Theodore the Studite weites: “Forbidden are those to go the holy Orthodox to the Holy of Holies, and service of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, but have not ceased communicating with heretics and heresy. For if he, at least at the hour of death from a lifetime of sin and its attendant Sacred Mysteries, the Orthodox reconciliation can be done for him. But as he departed in communion with heresy, how can such a one be remembered in the Orthodox communion?” The Holy Apostle said: The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread. ( (1 Cor. 10: 16, 17). So heretical initiation through bread and chalice [of the] enemies causes one to acquire part of the Orthodox, and from all such communication is one body– someone else’s Christ “.

The 15th canon of the First-Second Synod of Constantinople, allowed for Orthodox the withdrawal of obedience the bishop or even before Patriarch before the conviction by council thereof, if those openly preaching heresy, “and condemnation of the Councils of the Fathers”. As well, the third canon of the Third council states that such a clergyman”we forbid… in any way to submit to the bishops who have already apostatized (very accurate expression!) or shall hereafter apostatize.

Unable to remain in unity with the Church of the Fathers – and simultaneously flouting the Fathers who established these rules and canons, unable to remain in unity with the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia – and at the same time renounce the world, as a holy martyr’s death requires. “to those who knowingly have communion with these aforementioned heretics or who advocate, disseminate, or defend their new heresy of Ecumenism “, deliberately cut themselves from the unity with the Universal Church of Christ, the Church’s condemnation and expose [themselves to] anathema.

We pray so that God gave strength and courage to continue without compromise and firmly stand in protecting the purity of Holy Orthodoxy those of orthodox pastors and pasomyh who recognizes the retreat of modern Moscow Patriarchate, not embarrassed anticanonical “prescheniyami” and “convictions” from the otstupnikov and heretics. We recall that our fellow Orthodox words of Prophet Isaiah: O my people, they that call thee blessed, the same deceive thee, and destroy the way of thy steps (Is 3:12), because it is a departure from a council of true bishops, such as the custodians of Orthodoxy of the time(“Right-belief”)- shamefully condemning Christ the Savior. And together with the Holy Apostles, we call upon you to heed the voice of God: “Go out from her (the whore of Babylon), my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:4)

Odessa, 19 June / July 2, 2008, St John (Maximovich), Archbishop. Shanghai and San Francisco

Chairman of the Synod of Bishops Archbishop Tikhon of Omsk And Siberia

Archbishop Veniamin, Black Sea and Kuban

Bishop Germogen, Chernihiv and Gomel

Bishop Stefan, Trenton and North-America

(Weak translation by NFTU/Thanks to Google, Prompt and Fr Vsevolod with help on a word)

Share/Bookmark
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x