It is unacceptable and is rejected any division into main and secondary canons. Either we receive them all or not. The distinction comes from the cunning one. We must keep all of them strictly, otherwise we are not Orthodox anymore. The holy canons are inspired by God and nobody can change them.
(Nicholas, patriarch of Alexandria, Orthodox press, 15-9-1972)
- There is no holy canon, no canonic stipulation, the long history of the Church has no such example where the Church accepted the sacraments of those belonging to another confession.
(Archimandrite Ieronim Kotonis, The problems of the ecclesiastical oikonomia, p.200)
- Those who changed the true teaching do not have within themselves the Law of God, they do not have the faith in the Father and the Son, they do not have the life and salvation.
(Saint Cyprian)
- Anything opposes the truth, even if it is a tradition or an old custom, is a heresy.
- Any teaching opposing the truth taught by the Church, by the Apostles, by Christ and God must be considered mistaken.
(Tertulian)
- We believe in everything was taught by the Apostles, because the Apostles at their turn were taught by Christ and Christ was taught by the Father.
- Orthodoxy is that unique Church which as a faithful guardian of the evangelical faith did not change a thing from what it constitutes it, nor did it remove or add anything.
- Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the Ecumenical Councils and the Holy Fathers are the straight unique guides of the Truth and of the teachings of the Church, not the innovators, be they popes, patriarchs or archbishops.
- Woe to those who profane the Holy Faith with heresies or to those who accept the heresies.
(Saint Ephrem the Syrian)
- Let us guard ourselves with all our might so that we would not accept the communion of the heretics or give it to them, for not becoming partakers of the heresies and damnation.
(Saint John the Damascene, PG 94, 1149…)
- …if you accept the Catholics, Christ will mean nothing for you.
(Saint Job the Confessor)
- Remain steady and firm.
- As it is not possible to build a house without foundations or to cultivate a plant which has no roots in the ground, in the same way without the confession of faith we will have no avail. That one who does not confess the truth of faith in Christ is far from God and Christ will repudiate him. For this reason brothers remain faithful, be brave, steady and firm in word and deed.
(Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki, Theological Works, Thessaloniki, 1981, p.112)
- Weren’t you taught that in hard times every Christian is responsible for Christianity in its assembly? That every member of the Orthodox Church is responsible for the entire Church? That today the Church has enemies and is persecuted from the outside and the inside as well?
(The answer given by saint John Maximovici, †1966, to a spiritual son about an article he had written)
