Monk Theoclate from Dionysiou
Orthodoxy was founded in twenty centuries on the Holy Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils, the Holy Tradition and the blood of the martyrs and confessors.
The attempts of unification with the Catholics as long as they remain in their heresy and innovations represent for us a danger of dogmatic deflection, of nullification of the blood shed by our martyrs and of deflection from the teaching of our Holy Church.
The desired unification is for us the Orthodox something unbearable and if this is accomplished will erode the Orthodox spirit and become a spring of many evils.
The idea of unification and its practical consequences are disgraceful for us the Orthodox. In addition to this the Scripture forbids the fellowship with those of another faith. If the heresy is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which leads to the absence of his divine work, how will be possible the collaboration with those who are against the Holy Spirit? Our people will be in danger because of the relationships with the Protestant and Catholic carriers of demons. Many will convert themselves to Catholicism and Protestantism because by collaboration in time all the differences of the Holy Fathers will disappear.
Love is good but hate is better when it comes to faith; of course not to hate the people only their heretical ideas.
Christianity encourages love but recommends hate as well. Without a hate against the sin, virtue is not possible.
The measure of virtue is the hate against the sin, says saint Basil the Great. And if we have to hate the moral sin, we should hate even more the sin against the Holy Spirit.
Saint Nicodemus the Athonite clarified the attitude of the Orthodox towards the heretics writing : `We must hate and reject the heretical ideas and the wicked manners of the Catholics and of other heretics.`
We are not wiser or holier than those blessed men who hated heresy considering it the cause of perdition.
The mon are according to saint John Chrysostom the `kidneys of the Church`. The patriarch of Constantinople, saint Gregory the 6th says only beautiful words about the monastic order and considers it the shield of Orthodoxy. The heretics of nowadays – he writes in his circular from 1836 – for contaminating the true religion poured the microbes from their poisonous souls through a lot of twaddle against the vigilant Orthodox flock and they did everything to oppose and harm by their cunning plans the monastic order. But the wretched saw that within this order are found the speakers of truth and the guides of the Orthodox youth teaching them the holy dogmas and the right moral. This order has never contaminated the visible Church of Christ but has always enlightened it, glorified it, defended it and settled it by spiritual experience, dogmatic writings and good morals.`
(excerpts from the article Orthodoxy and Vatican of the periodical `Athonite Library`, Sot. Shoina Voios, no. 60, 1962)
Orthodoxy was founded in twenty centuries on the Holy Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils, the Holy Tradition and the blood of the martyrs and confessors.
The attempts of unification with the Catholics as long as they remain in their heresy and innovations represent for us a danger of dogmatic deflection, of nullification of the blood shed by our martyrs and of deflection from the teaching of our Holy Church.
The desired unification is for us the Orthodox something unbearable and if this is accomplished will erode the Orthodox spirit and become a spring of many evils.
The idea of unification and its practical consequences are disgraceful for us the Orthodox. In addition to this the Scripture forbids the fellowship with those of another faith. If the heresy is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which leads to the absence of his divine work, how will be possible the collaboration with those who are against the Holy Spirit? Our people will be in danger because of the relationships with the Protestant and Catholic carriers of demons. Many will convert themselves to Catholicism and Protestantism because by collaboration in time all the differences of the Holy Fathers will disappear.
Love is good but hate is better when it comes to faith; of course not to hate the people only their heretical ideas.
Christianity encourages love but recommends hate as well. Without a hate against the sin, virtue is not possible.
The measure of virtue is the hate against the sin, says saint Basil the Great. And if we have to hate the moral sin, we should hate even more the sin against the Holy Spirit.
Saint Nicodemus the Athonite clarified the attitude of the Orthodox towards the heretics writing : `We must hate and reject the heretical ideas and the wicked manners of the Catholics and of other heretics.`
We are not wiser or holier than those blessed men who hated heresy considering it the cause of perdition.
The mon are according to saint John Chrysostom the `kidneys of the Church`. The patriarch of Constantinople, saint Gregory the 6th says only beautiful words about the monastic order and considers it the shield of Orthodoxy. The heretics of nowadays – he writes in his circular from 1836 – for contaminating the true religion poured the microbes from their poisonous souls through a lot of twaddle against the vigilant Orthodox flock and they did everything to oppose and harm by their cunning plans the monastic order. But the wretched saw that within this order are found the speakers of truth and the guides of the Orthodox youth teaching them the holy dogmas and the right moral. This order has never contaminated the visible Church of Christ but has always enlightened it, glorified it, defended it and settled it by spiritual experience, dogmatic writings and good morals.`
(excerpts from the article Orthodoxy and Vatican of the periodical `Athonite Library`, Sot. Shoina Voios, no. 60, 1962)
