Ukrainian schismatics promote unification of Orthodoxy and the papacy—Greek Metropolis of Piraeus

Piraeus, February 18, 2020

Photo: spzh.news Photo: spzh.news     

Through its relation with the Greek Catholic Uniates, the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” will prove to be a catalyst for the future unification of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, warns the Office of Heresies and Cults of the Church of Greece’s Metropolis of Piraeus.

His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus is known as a staunch defender of Patristic Orthodoxy and while the majority of his brother bishops in the Greek Church have passively gone along with the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s ill-conceived territorial grab in Ukraine, he has spoken out several times against recognizing the OCU, emphasizing the need for a pan-Orthodox council to resolve the problems created by Constantinople.

According to the authors of the new statement, published on the Metropolis’ website, “Ukrainian autocephaly is aimed at promoting the ‘unification of Churches,’ of papism and Orthodoxy.”

“At the first stage, the goal is to ‘unite’ the schismatics of Epiphany with the Ukrainian Uniates, in order to create a single Local ‘Church,’ which will include the Uniates and those who follow Epiphany,” the statement reads.

Svyatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Uniates, has publicly spoken of the goal of uniting the two “churches” in communion with both Rome and Constantinople, and Epiphany Dumenko has repeatedly spoke about the need to draw ever nearer to the Uniates.

“At the next stage, most likely, they will seek to absorb all Orthodox Churches that follow the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with all Uniate local ‘churches’ that will be subject to the primacy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the statement continues.

And finally, “in the third and final stage, the ‘unification’ of world Orthodoxy with heretical papism will be carried out through all these unitized hybrid ‘churches’ created at that time.”

The Metropolis’ Office of Heresies and Cults is confident that “’Orthodox’ and papists will submit to the Pope through the Ecumenical Patriarch. First in line will be the pope and immediately after him—the Ecumenical Patriarch.”

The statement also predicts that “the unification of world Orthodoxy with heretical papism will be officially formalized at the jubilee ‘Ecumenical Council’ in 2025 in honor of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council.”

The Metropolis recalls that “the schismatics of Epiphany are in very close relations and contacts with the Ukrainian Uniates,” and “Mr. Sergei Dumenko himself, as well as the ‘bishops’ around him not only develop relations of cooperation, but also pray together, as if they were the Uniate Orthodox ‘Church.’”

The statement also says that “The Phanar wants us as Orthodox to swallow communication with schismatics, so that we can swallow the lack of Apostolic Succession in their hierarchy. Gradually we will get used to our relations with the Uniates. And finally, we will take a step towards falling into the arms of the pope.”

In particular, the statement notes that Alexander Drabinko, one of two canonical hierarchs who abandoned the Orthodox Church to join the schismatics, recently prayed with Uniate heretics. “Hierarchs” and “clergy” of the OCU have openly concelebrated with Latin Catholics, Uniate Greek Catholics, Montenegrin schismatics, and Belarusian schismatics.

The statement also emphasizes that the OCU is heavily tied to the U.S. government and the radical nationalists at home in Ukraine.

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2/18/2020

See also
Comments
Theophan2/27/2020 3:43 am
Fr. Wiliam Keebler Jr: Actually the Church is still One. One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. And yes, the canons placed Rome as first See among equals. Nothing about the Pope ruling over the whole Church in there I'm afraid. Your absolute papal monarchy is found nowhere in the canons and is purely a medieval novelty. Fact.
Papist Fantasies2/22/2020 4:56 am
No, I do not see that hateful sentiment you claim in my statements, Homisdras. I am well aware of the event called "the massacre of the Latins" which is coming up in April. As I am well aware of every bit and detail of my history. As you say, that event was "quite complicated". Therefore, I will answer you in your own words. We atoned for our sins through the Ottoman occupation. We bid our time in Gods punishment and we survived. Now it is your turn. It is time now that you Roman Catholics atone for your sins and the sins of your forefathers which are long overdue. It is time you atone for the blood you have on your hands (and it is plenty). I will speak as a Greek here and I will speak the truth. It is not enough for you Latins in the West to suffer (and you will) under the rule of your new Islamic overlords who flood your lands and will soon rule over your lives. I am not satisfied with that. As a Greek, I want you to atone for the sins for your forefathers at the hands of Greeks like me. How is that for finger use? Your ecumenism and your unitates are just as welcome as your Pope, meaning not at all. Best keep your distance from the Orthodox. We don't want union with your Church unless you repent of your heresies and machinations. As you see, besides the theology we are separated by rivers of blood and I am not in the mood to embrace unrepentant heretics with the blood of my people on their hands. Neither am I in the mood to chew on unleavened bread and call it communion. Does my sentiment sound just a little too Byzantine for your taste, my Papist 'brother'?
Hormisdas2/21/2020 3:34 am
And you don't see that hateful sentiment as a problem Papist fantasies? People have been conquering one another since time immemorial, and by the way, the history of that event is quite complicated. Everything that led up to what occurred in 1204 as well as what resulted must also be taken into consideration. Let's not forget that 20 years before the Sack of Constantinople your beloved Emperor, Andronikos I Komnenos, massacred the Latin inhabitants of Constantinople by the thousands. This means that there is blood on Greek hands as well, so perhaps you should first atone of the sins of your forefathers before pointing fingers at others.
Thomas2/19/2020 7:57 pm
Papist fantasies: Amen. MariannevPoulis: No, as Nia stated, they are not even properly ordained clergy with the exclusion of Filaret, and the two defector bishops, Shostovky and Dumenko. Those three are schismatics. The OCA was granted autocephaly by its Mother Church, the Moscow Patriarchate. The bishops and clergy are all properly ordained.
Papist Fantasies2/19/2020 12:38 pm
I suppose that comment is for me. My statement may sound harsh to your ears and perhaps you didn't expect to find such a "medieval" voice in the twenty first century.. But, I like to disappoint. The fact that Christians of today prefer dialogue, good relations, and peace over the sword is proof of God's love among Christians. I don't see a problem with that. I do not see a problem when Orthodox Churches practice good relations with the Heterodox. Where I do see a problem with is this forced path we walk, where in order to maintain the illusion of uniting the body of Christ we have to make concessions thereby loosing our Orthodoxy in order to conform with the Heterodox Christians. With this reconciliation we are abandoning our own Orthodoxy and falling into heresy for practical reasons. No concessions means no union. The faith is not a transgenic mouse to be experimented with. If it were so then the Church would not have fought heresy as an organisms immune system fights a foreign infectious agent or a cancer cell. We do not change our faith to suit the world. Neither the Saints nor the Martyrs changed their beliefs to suit the world. They refused to conform with the laws of their pagan society and to sacrifice to the gods even upon pain of torture, persecution and death. We all live in a society we are told that "diversity is strength", where we are "stronger together". A society that celebrates diversity, syncretism and admixtures. We are taught separation is bad. Yet separations gave rise to everything from biological diversity down to your very faith. Had Paul not separated the Church from the poisonous environment of the Synagogue, Christianity might have yet been some obscure Jewish sect. You can reconcile, forgive, and love your brother and sister without making concessions to heresy, without bowing a knee to the Papacy, without accepting heresy, without altering your belief, without conforming to the world, without losing your Orthodoxy.
Zoe2/19/2020 9:29 am
WOW!! That was a very strong statement. So what happened to forgive your enemies? Jesus said, “forgive your enemies as I have forgiven you,” Where is God’s Love among Christians? Is it in words only, not in action? Jesus repeatedly says in the Gospels, “If you love Me you will honor My Commandments. Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus is asking us to love one another, not to condemn them. We are the Body of Christ, those who believe in the Sacraments, in the Holy Trinity and in the Holy Tradition of the Saints. I wished we had the Saints of the 3rd and 4th centuries to guid us because some of the Hierarchy have lost their spirituality and are misguiding their flock. Let’s face it, the divided Body of Christ is of the devil. Jesus left one Church and now it is divided in splinters. If we Christians Love Jesus and are willing to die for Him, we must try to reconcile for His sake and forgive. In our Liturgy we pray for the whole worlds salvation. How can we say that if we have no love or a forgiving heart? We are being hypocritical. God is Love and wants His creation to act in love and reconcile with love in their heart. Our final judgment will be on how much we have loved our brothers and sisters regardless of creed or nationality.
MariannevPoulis2/19/2020 8:58 am
Are the people the author is calling schismatics, really schismatics? Or are they just an independent diocese? Like the OCA here in America?
Nia2/19/2020 7:49 am
Why do you call them schismatic? They are not ordained properly. They are laymen in clergy outfits?
Thomas2/19/2020 7:10 am
Fr. William: What is your point? That is history. Rome has since become heretical. Papist fantasies: Of course the Greek people wouldn't accept such a thing, so please ask Patriarch Bartholomew why he is doing it. Ironic, that: He is trying to get the Greeks on board with his plans because they are supposedly the leading "ethnos" in Orthodoxy. But he is doing something very hateful to Greeks.
Papist fantasies2/19/2020 6:42 am
Far fetched the least, a wild fantasy at most. One hundred ninety nine years ago, the Greeks revolted to liberate their native lands and by extension all Greeks and all Orthodox from the Ottoman yolk. If one reads the writings the writings of Rigas Feraios and the Filiki Etairia, the Greeks were not only fighting for their freedom but they were fighting for the annihilation of the Ottoman state and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire. The Greek revolution originally planned uprisings in the entire Balkans in order to entice the Orthodox populations to revolt and join the Greek cause in the creation of a pan-Balkan, Orthodox state. Which is why the Greeks started their revolution in Moldavia and Wallachia, two months in advance of the major revolt in the Greek mainland. Historically the Greek state has never given up on the idea of restoring the Empire with its capital in Constantinople. An ongoing struggle and idea that every Greek who believes in his tradition passes down from generation to generation. Ever since the fall of the Empire in 1453. A fall that resulted directly from the actions of the Pope of Rome and the Latin West. The Latin West being the creation of the Germanic invasions which resulted in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. In the eyes of the Greek, the West which was historically led by the Pope ever since the time of Pepin and Charlemagne is an enemy of the Greek just as much as the Turk and the Muslim is to the East. The notion that the Greeks could ever possibly "unite" with the Pope is laughable and deeply insulting. In fact it is as insulting as those who float the idea that the Greeks and the Turks should willingly unite in one common "empire". The slow attrition and collapse of the Byzantine (Roman) Empire, was a direct result of the West, Roman Catholicism, and the Pope. All the territory lost, the 360+ years of Ottoman occupation and the blood spilled to liberate the Greek homelands are a direct result of 1204. So far as the Greek is concerned, there can never be reconciliation with the Pope and the Latins. Never. Even if the West embarks on a crusade to recapture Constantinople and hand it over to the Greeks. Even then, it will never be enough to wash away the blood spilled and the potential and time lost because of the actions of the Pope. Regardless of what modernistic new age facade and mask many Greeks wear, many Greeks of them rejoice at the sight of Rome burning to the ground or Venice sinking into the lagoon. The notion that Constantinople would subordinate itself to Rome is laughable. Centuries may pass, but the Greeks would never accept a papal tiara. Those who think otherwise are disillusioned and deceive only themselves. The Greeks will never be friendly towards the Pope, neither in a theological sense, neither in a secular sense. As St. Cosmas the Aetolian puts it and I come up with this from the top of my mind "Curse the Pope for he will be the cause of all evil."
Fr William Keebler Jr2/18/2020 11:05 pm
The Church was one prior to Photius and the canons list Rome first and Constantinople second. Fact.
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