Official Orthodoxy

by Bishop [now Archbishop] = Chrysostomos

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The move toward apostasy among many Orthodox in our day = grows out=20 of an incorrect understanding of the Church. Political = ecumenism=20 itself, the clearest expression of this misunderstanding, = rests on=20 the ignorance of our modernist theologians of the nature of = the=20 Church. This ignorance is not an academic one = alone=E2=80=94an ignorance of=20 the Fathers; it is also the result of a decline in = spirituality. For=20 to understand the Church, one must first understand the = spiritual=20 life which the Church serves.

Many of today=E2=80=99s modernists have covered over = their ignorance of=20 Orthodox ecclesiology by the creation of an "official" = Orthodoxy.=20 The idea of an official Orthodoxy is especially popular in = America,=20 where Greek Catholics returning to Orthodoxy have brought = with them=20 a neo-Papal view of the Church, which they adopted from the = Latins.=20 Many of the Protestant fundamentalists who have joined the = modernist=20 Antiochian Church also seek a definition of the Church which = rests=20 on "officialdom," partly in reaction to their correct = misgivings=20 about the self-styled church organization which they created = in the=20 name of Orthodoxy, the so-called Evangelical Orthodox = Church.

In reality, officialdom has no place in Christianity or=20 Orthodoxy. The Church of Christ did not become valid because = it was=20 recognized by the Roman Empire. Nor is an Orthodox Christian = authentic because he belongs to a "Patriarch." We are not a = Church=20 built on political principles or on papal assumptions. = Officialdom=20 in Orthodoxy is based on Apostolic Succession and on an = adherence to=20 Holy Tradition. It is a spiritual and charismatic thing, = since=20 Apostolic Succession and Holy Tradition describe the passing = on of=20 charismatic and spiritual power from Christ to the Apostles = to the=20 Church's, Hierarchs. Officialdom is not simply a statement = of an=20 historical and legal dimension.

In America, where adherence to Holy Tradition is = practically=20 non-existent and where spiritual maturity is indeed lacking, = there=20 is a frantic attempt by modernists to be official. Thus the = old=20 Metropolia, now the Orthodox Church in America, rushed off = to the=20 communist-dominated Patriarchate of Russia several decades = ago to=20 remove from itself the accusation of being uncanonical. The=20 Evangelical Orthodox Church, a purely bogus Protestant sect, = likewise entered into the Antiochian Church several years = ago, also=20 hoping to make itself an official Orthodox Church.

In the case of the old Metropolia, it was before these = moves an=20 Orthodox Church, and its clergy were clearly in Apostolic=20 Succession. It had a number of traditional communities, = spiritual=20 leaders with solid experience, and a tie to authentic Church = tradition. When it joined Moscow, somehow thinking it was = then=20 official, the Church was besieged by modernism. The calendar = was=20 changed. Innovation became the order of the day. A Church = which I=20 can remember as having old Priests who honored their = cassocks and=20 who took seriously their roles as imitators of the = Patriarchs=20 suddenly became a Church with clergy who can hardly be = distinguished=20 in appearance, and often in belief, from Roman Catholic = clergy. This=20 Church gained so-called officialdom at the cost of much of = its=20 Orthodoxy.

The Evangelical Orthodox Church was accepted by the = Antiochian=20 Archdiocese=E2=80=94an excessively modernist = jurisdiction=E2=80=94by every=20 innovation, even reaching to the irregular ordination of the = EOC=20 clergy. Its Faithful are largely uncatechized. Many of the = clergy=20 and Faithful have had no exposure to Orthodox traditions and = have=20 been taught to revile them as "ethnic" or "foreign." In the = name of=20 officialdom, the body of Orthodoxy has absorbed a foreign = element=20 which still accepts and teaches ideas which are wholly = inconsistent=20 with the experience of the Church. Officialdom has created a = kind of=20 Protestant Orthodoxy. Arid the sad victims of this false = creation=20 are the sincere EOC clergy and Faithful.

The official Churches here in America use their = officialdom to=20 try to silence us traditionalists, who stand in protest to = the=20 innovation, apostasy, and political ecumenism which assault = the=20 Orthodox Church. In a country where an "official" religion = is=20 non-existent, they even use the media to attack us True = Orthodox as=20 "not part of an official Patriarchate" or "separated from = the=20 official Church."

Let us examine this phenomenon for what it is. Recently I = read a=20 publication by "Orthodox People Together," a group which = promotes=20 unity among Orthodox. This is an admirable thing. But the=20 publication reads like a Bible tract from a fundamentalist = Church.=20 It is filled with talk about pastors, ministry, social = concerns, and=20 the like, but is rather short on references to traditional=20 monasticism, fasting, the ascetic traditions of the Church,=20 self-transformation, and the like. An editorial letter about = the=20 female diaconate, in fact, makes a strong and very important = plea=20 for the restoration of this vital service for women in the = Church.=20 But in so doing, it suggests that a liturgical role for the = female=20 deacon is not an important issue, as long as hospital calls = and=20 service to the Faithful are made her official duties. Can we = imagine=20 an Orthodoxy in which service to the Church relegates the = liturgical=20 life to a secondary position and social service to a primary = one?

There are modernist monasteries in this countries where = monastic=20 traditions are almost wholly unknown=E2=80=94though made-up = practices are=20 touted as "ancient" and "Athonite." Indeed, one monastery in = the OCA=20 is so marked by innovation that it even mocks many = traditional=20 Orthodox practices. While True Orthodox monastics spend = their days=20 in services, refrain from ever eating meat, have no personal = money=20 or bank accounts, practice strict obedience, and pray for = the world,=20 many of the modernists seek to create the kind of social = monasticism=20 in Orthodoxy which has destroyed this institution in the = Latin=20 Church. One wonders how official this modernist monasticism = is.

As Old Calendarist resisters, we are constantly assaulted = as=20 "uncanonical" and unofficial by the errant Mother Church of = Greece=20 and the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its Exarchates in = the=20 diaspora. Shaved Bishops, dressed like Roman Catholic = clerics,=20 sitting down to meals of steak and wine on fast days, turn = to us and=20 accuse us of being uncanonical. Embracing the heterodox with = ecumenical love and violating the Church's canons by praying = and=20 even communing with them, they turn to us and spit, calling = us=20 people without love.

Indeed, can these people be canonical just because the = Greek=20 State recognizes them? Or because the White House door is = open to=20 the representatives of the Greek Archdiocese in North and = South=20 America? Certainly not. Officialdom comes from spiritual = commitment=20 to the Church. And in this sense it is we True Orthodox who = are the=20 official believers. Were this not so, moreover, who would = cover the=20 sins of these New Calendarists and modernists? Who would = provide=20 them refuge when they come to their senses and seek = Christianity,=20 and not the world? Who would add to their rightful claims to = Apostolic Succession the complement which accrues to that = state:=20 spiritual achievement?

The goal of Orthodoxy is not unity in officialdom or = recognition=20 by the power of this world. It is the union of man with God. = And=20 where this is the one goal of Christians, they are by nature = united.=20 They come together in their strict adherence to the path = towards=20 salvation which has been set before us by Holy Tradition. = They need=20 no worldly gimmicks such as tracts, organizations, and = public=20 recognition to know who they are. They are known by their = deeds. And=20 they need no redefinitions of their Faith or of spiritual = life,=20 since they maintain communion with the myriad of Saints who = have=20 walked the tried and true path of Holy Tradition to = sanctity.

The official Orthodox whom we see in this country look = like the=20 heterodox and are fast coming to believe what the heterodox = believe.=20 They are becoming part of a world religion which will one = day demand=20 that they reject True Orthodoxy. We traditionalists have = tasted of=20 the first step towards that rejection in the unbelievable = hatred=20 that these preachers of ecumenical love have for us. Their = own=20 actions are a sign to us.

True Orthodoxy is official. It is official because its = contains=20 spiritual authenticity. All one need do is walk in our = Churches,=20 visit our monasteries, or live with our people to know that, = despite=20 our imperfections the spirit of authenticity rests with us. = All one=20 need do is visit the Churches and monasteries of the = modernists=E2=80=94the=20 few that have any monasteries=E2=80=94and see the = compromise, violations and=20 ignorance of tradition, innovation, and priorities of the = social=20 Gospel, to know their spiritual state. The lack of = authenticity=20 bursts forth clearly, cutting through even the sincerity = that=20 underlies some of this ignorance of and deviation from = Orthodox=20 practice.

Once one of our monks, a convert, recited from memory = Small=20 Compline in Greek. A visiting modernist monk, who had = earlier=20 expressed his admiration for us traditionalists but his = misgivings=20 about our separation from the official Church, was then = asked to say=20 the service in English. He was silent. He did not know the = service.=20 Nor could he properly bless a meal. Nor did he know the = proper way=20 to fast. Nor did he know any of the many unwritten practices = of=20 monastic tradition. I always, remember this young man when I = think=20 of officialdom and wonder if he knew how loudly his silence=20 spoke.

From Orthodox Tradition, Vol. VIII, = No. 2, p.=20 7

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Official Orthodoxy

by Bishop [now Archbishop] = Chrysostomos

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