The black flags of Athens and Athos

August 7th, 2013 by Charles Cameron

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.

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DoubleQuote Sources:

  • Golden Dawn black banner: IB Times

  • Monks’ black banner: Nikos Pilos

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    Posted in Charles Cameron, christianity, greece, monasticism, Specs, Theology, Uncategorized | 4 comments

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    1. Mr. X:

      August 8th, 2013 at 12:58 am

      Being able to visit the Holy Mountain is one of the greatest dreams of my life.

    2. zen:

      August 8th, 2013 at 5:20 am

      This reminds me a little of the dispute over the ultraconservative traditionalist-tridentine French Archbishop who was excommunicated by John Paul II

    3. Charles Cameron:

      August 8th, 2013 at 7:21 am

      Archbishop Levebvre. See SSPX, SSPV and sedevacantism. Naturally there are other “extreme” groups and individuals within and around Catholicism, see eg Catholic Womenpriests and Married Priests Now, also (the violence-approving, late) Rev. David Trosch.
      .
      Married Priests Now was founded by the one-time Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, who was (curiously, for a Catholic archbishop) married with the blessings of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.
      .
      Religion is, as Gerard Manley Hopkins would say, dappled…  and endlessly fascinating to those of us with a taste for it.

    4. Mr. X:

      August 8th, 2013 at 11:40 pm

      I cannot agree with the monks extreme position that all attempts at reconciliation with Rome (but only on Orthodox, not Roman terms of emphasizing common Chalcedonian doctrines rather than post-Schism innovations) are heresy. But neither can I call the person who sends riot police after them and falsely accuses them of terrorism an Orthodox Christian.