ORTHODOXY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST SEEKS NOT UNION BUT RETURN OF THOSE OUTSIDE

ORTHODOXY THE  CHURCH OF CHRIST

SEEKS NOT  UNION BUT RETURN OF THOSE OUTSIDE

These phrases show how well sober-minded Roman Catholics and Protestants  admire and glorify the Orthodox Church!

      The Church headed by the Godman, like Him, is both divine and human, it is a living Church having an active divine and human life. Each of us  walk into the holy church bearing our  human bodies and divine spirits, indeed to offer worship to God, but the worship is productive, helping us to be sanctified undergo a transition from carnal humanity to divine spirituality. Jesus Christ is the perfect man in the image and likeness of God which each one of us must become, by personal  ascetic struggle.  All these things are taught to us in the  Gospel and Epistle readings and the hymnology.  We cannot say that we are uninformed, the reason is our not caring. The holy mysteries supply the food for energy and power to complete this transition., as we  and we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, who , on the last day, will grant us eternal life out of His great and rich mercy.

    It is not possible to describe Orthodoxy in all its glory, for much of it is invisible, and seen by few. But here we are presenting the remarks of those outside of Orthodoxy.  Their description is truly amazing and some of us should be ashamed, knowing that they are outside the Church. Also amazing is that only a small minority of the praiseful commentators actually came into the Church.

     Quotations below  are from a book published in 1959 called NOSTALGIA FOR ORTHODOXY, by Reverend Archimandrite Elias Mastroyianopoulos.  It is a most unusual book because it quotes Protestants and Roman Catholics highly praising and glorifying Holy Orthodoxy!  We were pleasantly amazed at their descriptions of our holy Church, exalting it more than many of our own clergy and laity, who seek unity rather than return.

     When the prominent Protestant Christian leader John Mott (1865-1955) was passing through Athens in the nineteen fifties, his first words were: “Thank God, the world has never stopped looking at Athens.”

Then a Greek reporter asked him: “Have you any messages for the youth of Greece?”

     “The Orthodox youth? ,” Mott asked, and then added : “Yes I have: Before such a great opportunity God sends special tribulations. Stand by your doctrines. Protestantism has been torn by divisions. You have your doctrines that keep you united. Do not let them go!”

     What the non-Orthodox admire most in Orthodoxy is that she has kept the doctrine, the ethos, the worship and the polity of the early united Church, without adding or taking from it. From the Trinitarian doctrine to the veneration paid to the Saints and the Mother of God, the Eastern Church has remained loyal to everything in the ancient tradition.  For the theologians of the West today (1959), this is a discovery before which they stand in awe with emotion. 

     European scholars who have started a systematic study of the treasures of Orthodoxy, are not a few. In Germany there are special academic chairs where are given lessons on Orthodoxy. The Protestant Professor, Fritz Lieb, and the Roman Catholic Professors Q. G. Wunderle, have both taught from such special chairs.

     Here is how the Roman  Catholic Professor describes the beauty of Holy Orthodoxy: “Whoever visits an Eastern Church feels at once that he is in a place of mystery, that is, in a holy place, detached and separated from the world and flooded by the presence of God.”

WHY I ABANDONED THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

WHY I ABANDONED THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

by Bishop Paul Ballaster-Convolier  +1984

      Bishop Paul de Ballester-Convallier: A contemporary Neo martyr of Orthodoxy (25th anniversary of his martyrdom: 1984-2009)

     Two thousand and nine marked the 25th anniversary of the death as a martyr of the late Bishop Paul de Ballester-Convallier (1927-1984).  As a memorial to him we reprint here his article which explains why and how he was converted to the Orthodox Church from Roman Catholicism.

     The following article of the then Hierodeacon (monastic deacon) Fr. Paul Ballester-Convollier was published in two follow up articles by Kivotos Magazine (July 1953, p. 285-291 and December 1953 p. 483-485).  Previously a Franciscan monk who had turned to Orthodoxy, Bishop Paul was made titular Bishop of Nazianzus of the Holy Archdiocese of North and South America with its seat in Mexico City.  There he met with a martyr’s death.  The news of his death was reported on the first page of the newspaper Kathemerini (an Athens daily), Saturday, February 4, 1984) which says”   

THE GREEK ORTHODOX BISHOP PAUL WAS MURDERED IN MEXICO

     As it became known in Mexico City, before yesterday the Bishop of Nazianzus, Paul De Ballester of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, died.  He was murdered by a 70 year old Mexican, a retired military man who was suffering from psychiatric problems.  The funeral was attended by Archbishop Iakovos who was aware of the work of the active Bishop.  It should be pointed out that Bishop Paul was of Spanish origin and was received into the Orthodox Church as an adult. He excelled as a chief shepherd (Bishop) and author.  The Mexican authorities do not exclude the possibility that his murderer was driven to his act through some sort of fanaticism.  Bishop Paul was a native of Catalonia, Spain. He studied in seminaries in Athens and Halki, Turkey.  He was ordained in Athens as a deacon in 1953 and as a priest in 1954.  His ministry as a priest was first in Constantinople (1954-1959) and as a priest in 1954 and then in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (1959-1984).  In 1970 he was consecrated titular Bishop of Nazianzus (in New York) with its seat in Mexico City.  His work there as a churchman, university professor and voluminous author was brilliant and conspicuous, but unfortunately it was sealed with his premature death.  He was murdered at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy in Mexico City in 1984.  His funeral was attended by Archbishop Iakovos who praised the exceptional work of this vibrant Bishop..

This article will open many eyes to the complete folly of dialogue with the Pope’s operation.  The author discloses their erroneous claims to primacy and infallibility, reason alone for which Orthodoxy must shun them.

GOD – FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD!

GOD – FATHER  SON AND HOLY SPIRIT

THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD!

“And God said: Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good.”

“And God saw that it was good,”   indeed for only  good can come from God. For in all  the works of God there perfection and the complete absence of sin. Everything that God created is pure and remains sinless so long as it freely turns toward Him, not separated or in opposition. As creatures of God every one of us learning of His great goodness, should joyfully  desire to offer Him praises for He is worthy of all glory. Air, and sunshine, water and food, darkness and light, everything God made is good. Trees and flowers, animals and quadrupeds,birds and fish all show us the goodness of God.

     “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Alleluia!” (Psalm 150). Rejoicing and pious voices all over the world at all times give thanks to and praise the Lord, for His goodness and great mercy, realizing that God has made everything good.

     But God made man. Then why is it that man rises against man and nation rises against nation; why are there wars and rumors of wars? The answer is that all the evil in the world comes, not from God, but from sin in opposition to God. Sin causes the abuse of the freedom which God has given to some creatures.

     We know that sin transformed the brilliant angels who rebelled  into dark malicious demons. The Devil, by his own decision and action was changed, from an angel of light to a vessel of sin, with a desire to infect all mankind with his acquired poison  –sin.

     The Devil and the fallen angels who followed him, called demons, chose to  become evil and malicious and enemies of God and man. They hated the light and sought darkness, and hating the goodness of God, they fought against it with evil machinations. The first woman, Eve  being deceived by the Devil, she in turn deceived her husband and in this manner  sin entered the human race with all its horrors and evils and darkness.

     Sin brought a curse upon the human race causing the minds of men became confused and darkened and their wills made bad choices. The deadly poison of sin was first evidenced, by Abel’s thankful offering accepted by God, who rejected Cain’s unworthy sacrifice. Sin enticed Cain to slay his brother, virtuous and innocent Abel..

   If we look back at human history, and up to this day, we can clearly see the work of the evil one upon the race of man. All the evils that beset mankind are caused by sin and separation from the Logos of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Sin is a deadly poison that poisons all creation and the human race.

     Let us attribute to the good and kind God, all that He did for us out of His divine goodness, being grateful for only only good comes from God, who is the source of all goodness, and the only Giver of life.

     The Logos became incarnate and filled with grace and truth, as a sinless member of the human race, he showed by his existence in the flesh, the perfect man, God’s plan from the ages: “Let us create man in our own image and likeness.”  Among the faithful, God requires total fidelity in His own beloved Son and obedience to His commandments. For he sent our Lord Jesus Christ to be born of the Virgin Mary into the world to save the world. “For God so love the world that He gave His own beloved Son that whoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

DEATH AND HAPPINESS

DEATH  AND  HAPPINESS

      Most people desire happiness with high hopes that all will go well with them. A  young couple having been just married, saw their future as happiness being together at last.  The bride suddenly dies and their happiness dissolves. Another couple marry and have a child, and  a year later the child’s beauty fades and death takes her away. Filled with enthusiasm, having received his doctorate a young man, according to his plans now opens a business which turns out to be an immediate  success. He  greatly rejoices in this good fortune, but disaster strikes in the form a fast moving cancer. Death hovers over all mankind, causing fear that it will strike at anytime. So they rid themselves of this great reality by simply dismissing it from their mind. The fact remains that out of fear of death men have continue to go through terrible ordeals

THE GREAT DOCTRINE OF ORTHODOXY

Christ is risen from the dead!

“Away with Him! Crucify Him!” The Godman came into the world with the express purpose of freeing man from the death and the cause of death!   This is the most important event to be witnessed by mankind, how the death of Christ put death to death and granted the entire human race, the victory and the great mercy. Few deny the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, or that He died and was buried. He was placed in a new tomb and on the third day, the world would never be the same again, for those who saw Him, knew for certain that death did not hold Him, “for behold I was dead and am alive!”  The myrrhbearers were beside themselves with delight, not yet realizing the meaning of His Resurrection.   “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life.”

WHAT TOOK PLACE? 

Jesus Christ is the only sinless one, the only Godman, the only preeminent One, the only Head of the Body which is the Church.  Being sinless, under the law, He could not be put to death, for only sinful men could be legally killed. Jesus Christ battle was not against the wicked Scribes and Pharisees, but against their master, the evil one, who is the dragon and serpent, Devil and Satan. He had been holding the human race as prisoners through the authority of death, for man had chosen him in place of God. Man being subject to death lived in constant fear of death, inflicting death upon others to save his own miserable life.

  How did Jesus enter into battle and what were His weapons?  He humbled himself even to death on the Cross. He put death to death by submitting to it. The Cross was a trap that would strip him of his authority and power, That trap was sprung, when he put an innocent man to death. The Devil thought that he was putting a sinful man to death, not knowing that this man was also God. By unjustly putting Jesus Christ to death,  the Devil was stripped of his authority . Christ has conquered death! This is the most important event in the history of mankind, for here is the only solution to human happiness  – Jesus Christ! 

JESUS WILL NEVER DIE AGAIN

 “For we know that Christ being raised from the dead, will never die again.  Death no longer has dominion over Him. The death He died He died to sin, once, but the life He lives He lives to God.  So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:10-11). Our temporary present life of a hundred more or less years can be exchanged for a life that never ends, a life that the world cannot offer,  a life that in Christ is perpetual happiness, with no threat of death, sickness or accident. Death has been changed by the Resurrector Jesus Christ for instead of being a prisoner of death, we triumphantly shall follow Him through the door of death to eternal life in His Kingdom. This is the only true happiness, and for those who serve Christ there is no death but life everlasting.

THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY THE APOSTLES NOT ROME OR CONSTANTINOPLE

THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY THE APOSTLES

NOT ROME OR CONSTANTINOPLE

      We honor Peter and Paul and claim no authority from either one, for we are under the same authority  as them, Jesus Christ our Lord. Peter was the son of Jonas and brother of Andrew the First-called, of the tribe of Simeon and the town of Bethsaida. Among the disciples Peter first gave the clear expression of our faith, when he said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. To this very day this remains the foundation stone of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and is the necessary dogma that introduces every one into the Church.  Howe great was Peter’s love for the Lord, it increased over and over. But when the Lord went to His trial, Peter denied Him three times as the Master told him he would.  Christ corrected Peter with the threefold questions:; beginning with : “Peter, do you love me?

     The day of Pentecost changed everything for now Peter and all the disciples were fearless and Peter the gave his first sermon to the Jews, resulting in 3,000 souls being baptized and saved.  He preached the Gospel in Palestine and Asia Minor, in Italy and also in Illyria; Peter performed many wonder, healed the sick, and raising the dead.  He did battle with Simon the Magician and defeated him, and was condemned to death. Peter went to His death by crucifixion with great joy, and asked to be crucified upside down, and he went to receive his crowns of glory.


     Paul born in Tarsus of the tribe of Benjamin, was originally called Saul, and studied under the Pharisee Gamaliel.  He was wondrously brought to Christ by a brilliant and blinding light, and was told that he would preach to the nations.  Both Peter and Paul had great fear of God, without which there is not wisdom.

     Paul preached the Gospel to the uncircumcised gentiles or nations, while Peter was the preacher to the circumcised or Jews.  There is perfect harmony between the two when they both adhere to truth, for their Master is the Truth who came down from heaven. We Orthodox must never forget who we are. We are not a church but the Church. We are not a body of Christians, but we are the Body of Christ. We do not belong to Peter or Paul but the Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and God

     These two were important pillars of the Church, and Orthodoxy rejoices not in their rank or authority, but in their faithfulness and holiness of life. They radiate Christ wherever they went and their presence was similar to the presence of Christ who dwelled within them., being the reason for their great success. They did not "found" the Church of Romne or Constantinople, but the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

     Orthodoxy alone can bear the name APOSTOLIC, for it keeps the faith of the Apostles and follows their 85 Canons, which guide the Church on its journey to heaven. A most marvelous thing about the Church founded by the Apostles is that it also has remained one, having one baptism, one chrismation, one priesthood, one doctrine, one liturgical life. All partake of the one cup of bread and wine which became the body and blood of Christ. The one Lord is our Master and Head, the one Holy Spirit unified us and is our guide, as the one Father has established.

     This is the glorious Church of Peter and Paul.  This is the all powerful  Church against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail. This is the sacred Body of Christ and the Ark of Salvation. This is the only Church outside of which there is no salvation. Everything necessary for eternal life is found within her and is made available to everyone, no one being excluded.

   On June 30, we celebrate the Synaxis of the Glorious and All-praised Apostles. We also should remember how they gave themselves to Christ;

Peter was crucified upside down; 

Andrew was crucified; 

James was beheaded; 

John the Theologian did not die but was translated

Philip was crucified.

Bartholomew crucified, flayed and beheaded.

Thomas, pierced with five spears

Matthew, burned by fire.

James, Son of Alphaeus was crucified.

Thaddeus was crucified.

Simon the Zealot was crucified.

Matthias stoned, beheaded with an axe after death.  

Paul was beheaded.

THE GREAT HOLY APOSTLE PAUL

THE GREAT HOLY APOSTLE PAUL

     The Great Saint and Apostle Paul stands in a position where no one can resist the power of his words. Unbelievers, atheists, papists, protestants,  heretics and schismatics, in fact all those outside the Church are sternly rebuked  as enemies by the zealous example and teaching of this Apostle – the Apostle sent to the nations. 

1. Paul was not seeking Christ for he saw the advent of the Messiah as being  a more  futuristic event, which could be understood through the law. Paul’s main effort was to persecute and jail  those who accept the one who he believed, was a false Messiah.  With great zeal he headed for Damascus to seize and jail al those who followed the teachings of Jesus..

1.  In extremely great light Christ appeared and spoke to Paul while on the road to Damascus. Paul was beside himself in fear and trembling being filled with amazement, even to the point of asking the Lord then speaking: Who are you?

2.  Paul did not receive the Gospel from Peter or any of the Apostles, but from Christ himself. As the other Gospels are perfect, this too is a perfect Gospel

3. Paul firmly establishes what Orthodoxy has always accepted to the shame of the papists who claim they got their authority from Peter.  Paul shows that Peter never had the authority which they falsely attribute to him.

4. Paul, did not go to Jerusalem to report to Peter, but set out, not for Jerusalem but for Arabia. “I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither did I go up to Jerusalem to them who were Apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter” (Gal.1:16-18).

It is perfectly clear that no authority was vested over the others in Peter this being a papal innovation.  Christ himself assigned Paul his duties and the Holy Spirit was his guide. It is also clear for Christ sent Paul to Arabia where he preached for three years.

PETER NOT SENT TO THE NATIONS BUT TO THE JEWS

“But of those who seemed to be something, in conference added nothing to me. On the contrary when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcised was committed unto me, as the gospel of circumcision was to Peter, for He who wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the nations.”   Peter was not given to preach the gospel to the nations but only to the Jews or the circumcision.

Paul meets James, Peter and John, saying: they appeared to be pillars of the Church.

“Paul then rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy. “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed.  Fort before that James did eat with the gentiles, but when they were come he drew back and separated himself, fearing them which are of the circumcision. And the other Jews hypocritical did likewise, insomuch that Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all; “If you, being a Jew lives among the gentiles, knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by the works of the law, for by works of the law shall no man be justified.” 

The Jews believed that by keeping the law they could be saved, therefore they kept the law, and did it so well that they became proud.  They began to attribute their salvation to what they could do.  Quoting and justifying themselves by the terms of the law, they strove to keep the letter but failed to understand and keep the spirit.

THE GREAT PERSECUTOR OF CHRIST IS TRANSFORMED TO THE GREAT APOSTLE OF CHRIST.

THE GREAT PERSECUTOR OF CHRIST

 IS TRANSFORMED TO 

THE GREAT APOSTLE OF CHRIST.

      Paul the glorious Apostle was appointed directly by Christ to bear witness to Him before the nations of the entire  world.  He was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and was a citizen of Rome. His parents had him go to Jerusalem where he studied under Rabbi Gamaliel, He was related to Stephen the Proto-martyr. One of his friends was Barnabas who eventually became an Apostle of Christ. When Barnabas was enlightened by Christ, he incessantly prayed for Paul’s soul to come to truth.

     Paul learned well, endowed with a keen mind And eventually joined the ranks of the Pharisees. He became strictly zealous of their heritage, and outwardly displayed their piety. In the meantime the Apostles were preaching Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, and engaged in clashes with Pharisees and Sadducees, the latter rejected tradition and the immortality of the soul.

     Paul looked upon the preachers of Christ as enemies who were  breaking their sacred tradition. He disregarded Barnabus’ preaching of Christ and when Stephen the first martyr was suffering in martyrdom, Paul consented to his death.

     Paul not being  satisfied with the amount of followers of Christ he had imprisoned, received  papers from the high priest to the synagogues and , breathing bitterness against the new sect, he went on the road to Damascus, to bring even more to jail in Jerusalem.  These preachers who heralded the coming of the Messiah being Jesus Christ had to be stamped out, thus preserving  the traditions of the fathers.

     Saul was on his way to Damascus, when suddenly a light, powerful and blinding shone on him from the heavens. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me. Filled with amazement Saul asked, Who are you, Lord? The Lord said: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Saul in fear and trembling, asked: What will you have me do? The Lord said: Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do." (Acts 9:4-6). Soldiers that were with Paul were struck with amazement by the miraculous light, for they had stood silent and blinded, hearing the voice speaking to Saul but unable to see  it’s source.

     Doing as the Lord had told him, Saul arose and although his eyes were open he could see nothing, for his bodily eyes were blinded and his spiritual eyes were now being opened. He remained physically blind while in Damascus for three days, seeing nothing. In his deep repentance he ate nothings but continued in prayer that the Lord would reveal what was His will.

     "In Damascus was an apostle named Ananias, and the Lord appeared to him in a vision ordering him to seek out Saul, living in a house with a man named Judas, and enlighten the eyes of his body by touching them, and those of his soul by baptism. Ananias said: Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to your saints At Jerusalem, and he is here having much authority to seize and arrest all that call upon your name. The Lord replied: Go your way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name befo9re the nations and before rulers and kings and the children of Israel, and I will show him how many things he will suffer for my sake" (Acts 9:13-16).

     Ananias set out to do all that the Lord had commended, and he found Saul and laid his hands upon him, instantly it was as though great scales fell from his eyes and he recovered his sight, and rising up was baptized , and was filled with Holy Spirit, He immediate began to preach the Lord Jesus Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.  Those who heard him were astonished at the change in attitude of the former persecutor of the Church.

     Saul, however, filled with holy zeal, increased even stronger in faith caused many among the Jews in Damascus to believe through his proofs that Jesus is the Messiah who was promised.  The Jews than rose up in great anger, conspiring to murder   him, and set up a watch over the city gates, lest he escape them. Ananias, when he found out about the murderous Jewish plot, took him at night and let him down in a basket through a window of a house built into the city wall. 

     Paul, set out, not for Jerusalem but for Arabia. “I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither did I go up to Jerusalem to them who were Apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter” (Gal.1:16-18).

HOLY TRADITION OF THE TRUE CHURCH

  HOLY TRADITION 

OF THE TRUE CHURCH

“Therefore brethren, stand firmly, and hold the traditions which you have been taught whether by word or by an epistle”

(2 Thess. 2:15)

     The monks once asked Paisus the Great: “Speak to us Father, a word for salvation, and tell us how we must live to please God.” The elder replied: “Go and keep the commandments of God and hold firmly to the tradition of the Fathers.”  “the tradition of the Fathers” are the experiences of the saints, in the spiritual sphere, an experience grown immense in close to two-thousand years. The experience of thousands and thousands of holy men and women– an incredibly large storehouse, of wisdom and heap of proofs of every truth of Holy Scripture. And all this good, all this wisdom, all these proofs, have been cast aside by the Protestants!  O what unspeakable stupidity!  O, what an extreme poverty.   (The above verse is from Prologue of Ochrid 2 Page 334,335) 

    They have no communication with the Logos because they started additional churches to replace corrupt Rome, whom they erroneously thought was the true church which had become corrupted.

   The word used in the Holy Bible and translated as “tradition”, indicated that it has been “handed down to us”, to be preserved and handed to others by us. Everything is not found in written text, as the Protestant reformers assert claiming Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. But they distort   and oppose Scripture, doing great harm to the truth which commands us to Hold firmly the traditions, both oral and written, which we have received.

 The great wealth of Holy Orthodoxy is not to be found  in the Scripture alone., and neither the Papacy nor Protestants have access to this infinite wealth. Here is the infinite wealth before their eyes which fail to see. 

1. Jesus Christ being the Logos of the Father has in himself all that the Father has.                         

2. Jesus never uttered a single word in vain . Now hear the ending of the Gospel of St. John.

     “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should all be written, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. ” (John 21:25).  

The Evangelist is referring to oral speech and not scripture. The phrase “even the world itself could not contain” demonstrates the enormity and infinitude of all that Christ said, and this if to be found only in Orthodox Tradition

LIFE WITHOUT FAITH IN THE TRUE JESUS CHRIST

LIFE WITHOUT FAITH IN THE TRUE JESUS CHRIST

BETTER NOT TO HAVE BEEN BORN

     Our intellect  has human limitations and therefore can never ascend to the divine. But there is a spark of the divine in every human being, which is why we say that they are the image of God.  That voice is the small voice within us which challenges or praises us for decisions we freely make. This from the divine Mind, which unlike human intellect, knows everything and is the cause of all existence. From that divine Mind was sent to Orthodox Christians at Baptism, the Comforter and spirit of truth.

     Human intellect and reasoning, always ceases with death, blind to spiritual things.  Human reasoning cannot deal with spiritual matters, unsearchable wit the human eye.   Human reasoning is of the flesh and limited for it can know nothing about the spirit. Christ says: “The hour is come when the true worshiper’s of God shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.                                                   (John 4:23).

    Why is it that the most important aspect of Orthodox life is so thoroughly unknown in secular society? The aspect we speak about is that all the seculars follow human leaders and human teachers. In Orthodoxy however, we have no human leader for we follow the divine God man who is our Head and our King.  To make certain that we would not be led astray, He sent us the Comforter and Holy Spirit of Truth as our infallible Guide. These things are in accord with  God’s providence. He formed the Church to be His body, established Himself as Head and sent the Holy Spirit as Guide of the Church. He peoples His Church with rational sheep who having rejected the hireling and the false shepherds and follow only the true and Good Shepherd.

     For over twenty centuries the Church has glorified Saints, anointed with holy tears and myrrh the Orthodox faithful.  This is not an occasional event, but a repeated. It is not only original icons, but copies that emit myrrh. In Orthodoxy we have a special word for this constant event, and proof of divine presence. We call them Myrrh-streaming.  Orthodox Christians are not surprised, but are amazed during these frequent events, piously bowing to heaven and give thanks, deepening their repentance and love for Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The blind receive sight, the deaf made to hear, and wonders occur wherever these icons appear.  What joy it is to live an Orthodox Christian life. It takes us up and away from this world into the heavenly world, with the Cherubim, Seraphim and Thrones and all the Angelic hosts. If in this life we do not become closer to and the servants of Jesus Christ, it would be better not to have been born.

    Some of these icons have a long history such as the Iveron icon of Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is one account.

CHRISTIAN LIFE REGARDING ANGER

CHRISTIAN LIFE REGARDING ANGER

“It is never worthwhile to lose my temper.  

On the face of it, there is nothing in the world 

Over which it is worth losing your temper, 

For what is more valuable than the soul and its peace?  

This peace is destroyed by anger.  

When I am angry, I assume the role of slanderer 

And I fan the flames into a great blaze 

In my imagination of the offence of another.”

“If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.”

    The Pharisees were rebuked by Christ because of their hypocrisy, which caused them to appear to be what they were not and to possess what they lacked. They appeared to be humble but were arrogant. They appeared to be generous but were stingy. They appeared to be fasting but were gluttonous.  They did not know the virtue of sincerity. If anyone is genuinely thirsty let him come without hesitation to Christ, believing he will get what he seeks. Sincerity is the only possible approach to the riches of Christ, for He knows the minds of all men and gives to the humble but takes away from the arrogant.

    We very small-minded men whose knowledge is microscopic need to first understand how and why Christ teaches us and with great authority. What drew the fishermen to Him ? How did they know that He is the one sent by God and is God, performing His works.  It was by divine revelation.  “Flesh and blood has not revealed it to you but my  Father who is in heaven.”    Christ, being God is the source of everything being man is the perfection of man to which we must attain. We need look no longer, for in Christ we will find everything we need perfect in every way. “Mary has chosen the better part.”  We cannot approach Christ in a casual manner, but with awesomeness , trembling  and recognition of His majesty! Saint Paul teaches us this when he ecstatically exclaims:

“O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? O who has first given to Him, that it shall be requited to him again. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 

           

THAT THEY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE

THAT THEY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE

  In the past week or so, I used this blog to expose the terrible crimes of the pseudo-church, and the sordid character of those are reputed to be successors of Peter. and now we will attempt to shine forth  the beauty of Orthodoxy. Not with the shadowy light of ecumenism, but with the light of the truths  of Jesus Christ.

Christ prayer:   “Neither do I pray for these alone, but to them also that shall believe on me through their word; that they may all be one, as you Father are in me and I in you, that they may also be one in us. That the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you have given to me, I have given to them. That they may be one. I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that you have sent me and has loved them as you have loved me” (John17:20-23).

    It is impossible that Christ prays for the unity of heretics with believers, for He forbids this. Christ prays for  a unity in truth of minds, hearts and spirits. God is a Trinity united without confusion, three in one and one in three. The true Church is almost countless in number, but it is the one Catholic Church, having one Lord, one faith, one hope, and one Baptism by triune immersion. In Orthodoxy we concentrate entirely upon Christ and not on any patriarch or pope, for only Jesus Christ has preeminence. Jesus does not allow for any preeminence among His disciples. “Do not be called Teacher, for one is your Master Christ, and call no man Father upon earth for one is your Father." The unity in Christ includes one King, one Sacrifice, one Master, one Lord, one High Priest, one Savior, one Head, one Godman, one Theotokos, one Gospel, one true Church, one Creed, one Baptism, one Eucharist, one Pascha, one Body of Christ.

  

   
     The one Gospel is preached to every creature, being the Good News proclaiming that salvation has come into the world. The first purpose of preaching is to bring the believers to the Church and baptize them in triune Baptism. However when, they fail to baptize, they break Christ’s commandment, and  deprive those souls of the introductory saving mystery of the Church. Christ orders that everyone be baptized, not just those born of church families.  He specified the three necessary immersions, when He said: “Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Though many hear the Gospel, few care to carry out its purpose in its entirety. The New Testament is an agreement between God and each of us, which means that we are bound to it if we desire everlasting life.  If we break the covenant we break our hope for everlasting life. We must embrace all truth of Christ, and live by those truths, for Christ is the one Living Truth who came down from heaven and dwelt among us “full of grace and truth.”

WE SHOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER ORTHODOX UNITY WITH THE PAPACY?

WE SHOULD  NOT  EVEN CONSIDER 

ORTHODOX UNITY WITH THE PAPACY?

   There is some publicity in the world about church unity, praying together to the same god, working together in brotherly love, etc., and concerns relations of the Orthodox Church with the Papacy and  with others. The idea of unity may sound sweet to some, but in any form it always leads to a bitter end. For Orthodoxy and heresy can never unite into one. Why any proposed unity is beyond consideration is fundamental, because that which is unlike can never be the same. The Papacy has defined itself and it is what it is and will not change its dogmas.  The Orthodox Church which is the Bride of Christ and His Body will not change its dogmas and it is totally different from the Papacy.

     The Orthodox Church is a divine human institution, having as its Head  Jesus Christ,  it is guided by the Holy Spirit, and peopled by those who are baptized by the one triune immersion for the remission of sins, into the death and Resurrection of Christ.  It is the ancient Church which has remained the same. Orthodoxy, as is well known,  has remained true to the Apostles, kept firmly the dogmas of the Fathers and the Seven Ecumenical Synods. Orthodoxy cannot and does not have a second human head for the Godman Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church.  Patriarchs are simply bishops having the voting power of a single  bishop and they are not superior. St Paul says: “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the Head of the Church” (Eph. 5:23).  All the important dogmatic and  historical decisions of Orthodoxy, were made with the guidance, approval and cooperation of the Holy Spirit who rules the Church which is not a human institution.

     The original Roman church, when it was still Roman was once part of the genuine Catholic church, which produced many Saints and Martyrs,  but they were taken captive by different unscrupulous demagogues who sole purpose was the acquisition of worldly glory and tyrannical power. These leaders seized the church and led the masses into apostasy, and there it was no longer recognizable as a church, being mostly a seat of worldly tyrannical power. They  spilled much blood and tortured many people, lead people on Crusades, but lead no one to salvation.  (If anyone wants more detail:  Google “papal states”, “crusades”, and “inquisition”.) That this is true is verified by their own unbelievable dogmatic canons, the following were formulated by the Vatican Council of 1870. Ref. Decrees of Vatican Council on Faith and the Church, Chair of Unity Apostolate, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 7

Continued excerpts from:

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD

                                     – 7 

By Archpriest Basil M. Kherbawi

St, Nicholas Greek-Orthodox Cathedral

Brooklyn, NY

Published 1930

SOME REASONS WHY ORTHODOXY CAN NEVER UNITE WITH THE PAPACY

SYNOPSIS OF THE LIVES OF POPES

Continued:

    The Sultan of Egypt was fully justified in his reply to a letter of Pope Innocent IV: “We have received your epistle and listened to your envoy, He has spoke to us of Jesus Christ, whom we honor more than you honor.”

     Pope Clement IV left behind him a disgraceful name for world ambition and wanton cruelty. After his death the Chair of Peter was vacant for nearly three years. I suppose this is the longest period given to Christ to be the head of the church.  

    RJM NOTE: Pope Clement IV gave his support against the Orthodox Byzantines who had been under rule of the Latins forty seven years,  after the attack of the Crusaders in 1214.

     Pope Boniface VIII removed Pope Celestine V and took over his office. In this the Pontiff lived the spirit of Gregory VII and of Innocent III. He commenced his pontificate by asserting his right to adjudicate in all matters whatever in every part of the world. Albert of Austria had slain his competitors for the imperial crown and therefore sent to the Pope for the customary confirmation.  Pope Boniface VIII  replied to the messenger by putting the crown upon his head and exclaiming: “It is I who am Caesar – it is I who am emperor.” And from that time it became usual for the pontiffs to wear a double crown, indicating their temporal as well as spiritual supremacy, until the conceit of a later Pope added a third diadem to the bauble.

     RJM: Pope Boniface brutally arrested his predecessor who had fled. This inane Pope in the year 1296, issued a bull called Clericis Laicos, which divided the Papacy turning clergy and laity into enemies For in the bull Clericis Laicos he stated that  “the lay people are the enemy of the clergy”. After a temporary armistice, the latent enmity between the king and  the Pope broke out again. 

Pope Boniface VIII issued his Bull Unam Sanctam, this egomaniac’s arrogance is beyond description. His words betray his supreme self aggrandizement. “We declare state and define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human These are his own words, creature be subject to the Pope.”

     There seemed to be literally no limits to the arrogance of Pope Boniface.  As if he were more than human, he pretended to give and take away crowns and scepters by the mere expression of his will. . . . 

 The hands of Pope Nicholas V were stained with the blood of Porcari and nine of his confederates who were hanged from the battlements of St. Angelo. The crime of Stefano Porcari the noble and honorable Roman was that he urged his countrymen to ask the new Pontiff to give them constitutional liberty. 

     Pope Sextus IV who succeeded Pope Paul II had several illegitimate sons who, for enriching them, seized on the estate of one of the nobles of Romagna with the intention to confer them on one of these children, and the story of that trouble fills a volume.   The Pope formed a plot for the assassination for Lorengo’s whole family in revenge of him, because he interfered on behalf on the injured man. For two years this Vicar of Christ filled northern Italy with bloodshed and terror, and if it were not for the conqueror Turks entry into Italy and taken Otsanto, God alone knows what he would have committed of crimes and iniquities.

Pope Sixtus IV was succeeded only by Pope Innocent VII who was as feeble and indolent as his predecessor; his life was quite dissolute and his most earnest public wish was to enrich the seven children whom he publicly acknowledged as his own.

     The whole ten years of the pontificate of Pope Julius II were devoted to fraud and stratagems and deeds of violence and injustice, and bloody wars, in which he took personal part, forgetting the divine commandment: shall not kill.

   Philip the Fair, King of France had a long dispute with Pope Boniface VIII. The King imprisoned a bishop for committing treason, and wrote to the Pope desiring that the culprit might be suspended from office. The Pope got very angry and said in his reply to the King: “God has set me over the nations and kingdoms, to root out and pull down, to build and plant in His name.” 

     RJM: After reading this series it is obvious that the Papacy is absolutely contrary to Jesus Christ and his Gospel, There is no church among them, To even think of union is to deny Orthodoxy.  There is no grace sanctifying their sacraments. We must end the folly of intermarriage and recognition of their sacraments, for they do not exist.  Instead let us go after their stolen sheep and bring them into saving Orthodoxy.

The end of this series

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 6

(Continued) Excerpts from:

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD 6

By Archpriest Basil M. Kherbawi

St, Nicholas Greek-Orthodox Cathedral

Brooklyn, NY

Published 1930

SOME REASONS WHY ORTHODOXY CAN NEVER UNITE WITH THE PAPACY

SYNOPSIS OF THE LIVES OF POPES

Continued:

    German Emperor Frederick Barbarosa was compelled to seek reconciliation with Pope Alexander III. An interview took place between the two at Venice in 1177, and it is related that when the Emperor kissed the feet of the Pontiff he placed his feet on the Emperor’s neck. Apostrophizing himself in the language of the Scripture: “You shall tread upon the adder and the lion.” It was this same Pontiff also who first gratified the pride of the Roman clergy by parading the streets of Rome, having his horse led by two powerful monarchs, Emperor Henry of England and Louis of France, who reverently held the bridle while the Pope rode to his habitation.

  While Pope Celestine III was performing the ceremony of coronation for the Emperor Henry VI with all the usual solemnities, on the monarch’s bending of his knees before the Pop e, the proud Pontiff rudely kicked off the crown which he had just placed on the Emperor’s head, to show that he could, with equal ease, confer crowns and take them away, an instance of audacity to which history hardly furnishes a single parallel. To such a perfect contradiction had the Pope arrived of the example of Him whom they pretend to represent and who emphatically said: “Learn of me, for I am meek and humble in my heart.”

     Time fails us and space does not permit us to inscribe the details concerning “The Holy Inquisition” or the ecclesiastical tribunal established in the thirteenth century by Popes Honorius II, Gregory IX, and Innocent IV to try the heretics. Nor can we fully describe the terrible persecution of the Albigensians and the Waldenesians in which no fewer that a million lives were sacrificed, and thousands who escaped the sword were compelled to flee from the homes of their childhood and endure the horrors of poverty, with new forms of persecution. Pope Innocent III said in his bull to the nobles and princes who would take up arms in the cause of destroying the heretics: “We exhort you to destroy the wicked heresy of the Albigenses, and do this with more rigor than you would use toward the Saracens themselves”, promising the murderers seats of honor in Paradise and the full remission of their sins. From 1233 onwards to 1687, the severities of the inquisition, imprisonment, torture and the stake, continued to be inflicted on the Waldenses, supplemented by occasional “crusades”.

   The most notable of these took place in 1418, under Pope Innocent VIII, when among other barbarities a multitude of fugitives – men, women and children, were piteously smoked to death in an Alpine cave. We cannot dwell, either on the massacre of August 24th of 1572, known as the massacre of St. Bartholomew, which took place in France, a tragedy which has no equal in ancient or modern times, and which is written in dismal characters upon the annals of the French nation, and in the history of the church of Rome. We need not stain these pages with the particulars of that awful slaughter of seventy thousand unoffending and unresisting victims, some bent with age and venerable with hoary locks, others too young to have even lisped the prayers of a “heretical” church, the rivers of France were dyed with the blood of these innocent martyrs.

 Rome received the news of the direful massacre with loud demonstrations of joy, and it was momentarily expected in the “holy city.”  Cardinal Alessandrian exclaimed joyfully: “The king of France has kept his word,” and Pope Gregory VIII decreed that there should be public rejoicing to celebrate the event. High Mass was performed with every circumstance of pomp and splendor, and ere the wailing of the widows and orphans of France crying to heaven for vengeance had died away,

The solemn strains of the

Te Deum arose from the choir of St. Peter’s, thanking God for the accomplishment of the most monstrous crime which history records, and worst of all is, that the Pope caused a medal to be struck in memory of the dead, bearing on one side, the likeness of his own face, and on the other an effigy of the destroying angels, surmounted by the inscription: “Ugonottorom strages – “The slaughter of the Hugenots.” 

To be continued

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 5

(Continued) Excerpts from:

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 5

By Archpriest Basil M. Kherbawi

St, Nicholas Greek-Orthodox Cathedral

Brooklyn, NY

Published 1930

SOME REASONS WHY ORTHODOXY CAN NEVER UNITE WITH THE PAPACY

SYNOPSIS OF THE LIVES OF POPES

Pope Gregory and Emperor Henry IV continued:

    Because Henry ignored the Pope and his council’s decrees, the Pope became very angry and started by excommunicating the Emperor. There was dissatisfaction between the Emperor and the barons of his empire, that was to the advantage of the Pope, who addressed to the prelates and the princes a letter of advice, pointing out to them that this was the moment for electing a new sovereign.  In the same letter he referred to Emperor Henry, saying, if he were permitted to reign, he must be brought to obedience to the church, that he might “henceforth think of the holy church, not as a bond-maid subject to his will, but as a mistress set over him.”

  The haughty and indignant princes welcomed the Pope’s letter, and assemble at Tribur in the autumn of 1076 for conference, which was attended by legates from Rome who were men wisely chosen, and well trained for their task, Bishops from Germany, and barons from the whole empire, but Henry himself was not present.  The discussion continued for seven days; at last the council resolved that Henry’s continuance in power should solely depend on his reconcilement to the head of the church. If the sun should go down on him still an excommunicated person on the 23rd of February, 1077, his crown was to be transferred to another.  This sentence made the Emperor so completely dependent on his nobles, he had no choice but to submit; seeing no other way of obtaining relief, he determined upon a personal visit to the Pope, to beseech the pardon and favor of the Church.

     It was the depth of winter of such extreme severity that the Rhine was frozen over from November to April, and the road to Italy was in those days a bare track, often winding through the mountain passes, blocked up at this season with snow, and sometimes scaling the very ridge of the Alps, from which the snow never departs. . . . The emperor, himself on his hands and knees, slowly made his way from crag to crag. Not seldom the treacherous path failed them, and men were rolled headlong into the deep snow. The queen and her infant son were let down in the skins of slaughtered beasts, by means of ropes, and thus hardships which royalty rarely knows, the journey was accomplished and the imperial pilgrim found himself early in January, 1077, on the Italian side of the Alps.

     Upon reaching the Pope’s residence, he was made to stay for many days in the freezing weather, before the Vicar of Christ” would listen to a syllable of his petition. Ar last, after Henry was just reduced to the verge of despair, he received announcement that he should obtain absolution on one condition – his delivering up to the Pope his crown scepter, and other symbols of royalty, and confessing himself unworthy to bear the name of king, and above all that Henry should do penance in the castle yard before he should receive the pardon of Christ’s Vicar.  Finally the Emperor was permitted to appear before “his holiness”, the now triumphant and exultant Pope.  The gates of the castle were thrown open, and the royal; penitent stood in the presence of the haughty Gregory “From the terrible glance of whose countenance”, it has been told, “the eye of the beholder recoiled as from lightning.”  But the just Judge of the universe did not permit that cruel Pope to persist very long, with his misconduct.  Henry resumed his royal character, took up arms, and in October 1080, defeated and mortally wounded Rudolph, Duke of Snobia, who had been elected Emperor in his stead by order of the Pope. Then he went into Italy, deposed Pope Gregory and caused Guilbert, Archbishop of Ravenna to be elected Pope, by the name of Clement III, and Pope Gregory was exiled where he died.

To be continued

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 4

   (Continued) Excerpts from:

THE OLD CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD – 4

By Archpriest Basil M. Kherbawi

St, Nicholas Greek-Orthodox Cathedral

Brooklyn, NY

Published 1930

SOME REASONS WHY ORTHODOXY CAN NEVER UNITE WITH THE PAPACY

SYNOPSIS OF THE LIVES OF POPES

continued:

   Pope Benedict IX became enamored of the beautiful daughter of an Italian noble, he formally demanded her in marriage. Her father, pretended to be willing, but said he could only consent on condition that the Pope would abdicate his office,  hoping that the throne of the church would fall into his own hands, and that he might sit on it whom he pleased. But Benedict, though in nowise reluctant to part with the tiara, was determined to make the sacrifice a source of pecuniary profit.  He therefore selected a priest, named Gratianus, who had acquired considerable reputation which had proved so advantageous as to greatly enrich Rome for being more than usually religious, and to him he sold the supreme office of church leadership. There was a party who wished for reforms in the church and they aided John Gratianus to purchase the office, in the hope that he would become their instrument in accomplishing these reforms. At all events, said Gratianus, by his own confession, bought the triple crown, and Pope Benedict consecrated with his blood-stained hands this hopeful successor of the Prince of the Apostles by the title of Gregory VI.

    But poor Pope Benedict was yet doomed to disappointment. The father of the intended bride, mortified at the failure of his own schemes, refused to part with his daughter. And assuming that the papacy was still vacant, he nominated another, John, Bishop of Sabina, under the name of Sylvester III.  And now Pope Benedict, enraged at the trick that had been played upon him, resolved to retain the supreme power of the church. He therefore, continued his abode in the Lateran and continued to style himself the most holy Pope. The world beheld in astonishment, three pontiffs at once, living in different palaces, and officiating at different altars in the papal holy city – Benedict performing priestly functions at the Lateran, Gregory in St. Peter’s, and Sylvester in the church of Maria Maggiore. “The afflicted church”, to use the language of that time wedded at once to three husbands, witnessed the celebration of many rival masses in the metropolis of Christendom. 

    We have limited space and cannot narrate all the horrible things that these spiritual combatants  have done. The wars between the parties, the shedding of blood, and how the swords crossed over in battle over the tombs of the Apostles and Martyrs is something terrible. The dispute was at last settled by Henry III who convened a council of bishops and clergy at Sutria. At this council, Gregory  presented himself in the hope of receiving the imperial sanction to his claim of popery. He was compelled, however, to confess that his claim rested on no better ground than that of simony, and he with his rivals received one sentence of deposition.  At the return of Emperor Henry III to Germany, he took in his train the three deposed Popes. The new Pope took the name of Pope Clement II. This unfortunate Pope and his successor Pope Damasus both died of poison.

     The dispute between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV is a long story to tell. This Pope whose original name was Hildebrand. He was the first Pope to claim infallibility and who ordered that the name Pope should be applied exclusively to the Bishop of Rome. He also was a champion of Papal supremacy over temporal sovereignty.  He abolished the marriage of priests which he called fornication. The dispute between the Pope and the emperor will be continued.

RJM Note: This is no small thing.  This Pope gives no attention to Holy Scripture and overthrows the  decision of the Lord who established marriage as a holy and beautiful, saying: “It is not good for man to be alone!” Then He made woman for him.  A married priest is not living in fornication, and St. Paul clearly blesses the married state of even a bishop. The Pope is the forerunner of protestantism, interpreting the Scripture, not as the Fathers, but to agree with their corrupted and  inferior minds.

To be continued