“Ecumenism is an insidious satanic movement”—Met. Jeremiah of Gortyn

Gortyn, Greece, September 5, 2017

Photo: agionoros.ru

Metropolitan Jeremiah of Gortyn, of the Greek Orthodox Church, has addressed his congregation with a special message. The hierarch paid special attention to the issues of ecumenism and the preservation of an Orthodox identity, reports AgionOros.

“My brethren,” he writes, “you are Orthodox Christians, received in the font of holy Baptism from an Orthodox priest.” Expressing his zeal for the purity of the Orthodox faith, he exhorts his flock, “Hold fast to the Orthodox faith just as we received it from our fathers; that which our grandfathers and grandmothers followed.”

“There is an insidious satanic movement that wants to mix our true faith with false beliefs, change it, and lead us into deception,” the metropolitan warns his people. “This movement is called ‘ecumenism.’ It’s not just a heresy, it’s a malicious thinking that embraces all heresies and errors. It’s a ‘pan-heresy,’” Met. Jeremiah affirmed, echoing the words of the great 20th century Serbian theologian St. Justin Popović.

“Ecumenism is supported and promoted by the Pope of Rome,” the Orthodox bishop stated, expressing the conviction of many traditional Orthodox hierarchs and faithful throughout the world.

“Christians, let us hold fast to the Orthodox faith, let us defend it from the attacks of heretics, who come to our diocese; but to do this, you must know our faith, know its dogmas and great truths,” he said, encouraging his Orthodox faithful. Met. Jeremiah also exhorts his flock to read the Gospel daily, regularly attend Divine Liturgy, keep the Wednesday and Friday fasts, and to keep their homes full of prayer.

Met. Jeremiah has been a very vocal hierarch, constantly urging his flock to go deeper into the glorious Orthodox faith they received from their fathers.

“Do not leave me, my Christians! Do not leave me to struggle alone. This is not only my faith and not only my motherland. This is our common Orthodox faith and our common motherland—Greece. Our glorious nation, which has enjoyed thousands of years of glory, now is in decline, because we have turned away from the God of our fathers. And the Lord will finally take His grace from us, because we are trampling Divine law underfoot and surrendering the status of law to abomination,” said the metropolitan at the end of a December 2015 sermon, after homosexual civil partnerships were legalized.

He has also spoken out about the controversial documents of the 2016 Crete Council, asking, “When and where did the Holy Fathers call heresies and schisms ‘Churches?’ Nowhere and never!” Elsewhere, he stated, “The Crete Council should have clarified the situation (to protect believers from temptation) and should have publicly condemned the two main heresies of our times—papism and ecumenism.”