2009/03/23

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST (G.O.C.) AND THE SCHISMS

The unity and concord of believers, as said the Saint John Chrysostom in a word, attract more in the belief of God our brothers than the miracles! The Apostle Paul our desperate calls us for unity: «Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment». Epistle to Corinthians 1st, verse 10. Unfortunately, today the picture is tragic! The faithful are divided and do not constitute a unified body of Holy Church under the umbrella of the canonical Holy Synod of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece, whose president happens today His Eminence Bishop of Thiva Crysostom and the Church of Christ is facing a divide (see notes) along with the schism of New Calendar and the Heresies of Ecumenism.
The Bishop of Thebes and Levadeias Avramios (+2005) said about the schism and the strong need to resolve them: «The Orthodox Church asked to provide a response to the concerns and controversies, not evasions, not ground, but stability and purity, with real sincerity and genuine love and pain for the present and future. Because of the paramount task is to remain faithful to Christ and into this institutionalized.
Desirable and all our task is to preserve this resource, to remain faithful in per dogmas, stable, sound and firm on the faith, ready to declare to love our fellow man each well. Love, of course, understood that no means an Ecumenist-way unexamined acceptance, brotherhood and union after all unabashed schematics or elected or, finally, after all, situated outside the Orthodox Church (clergy and lay, the lower and upper). No that is, by association or a simple handshake burning the files, but by union and love in truth, cultivated by the Orthodox way, based in the Belief of Saint Fathers, building in the Church’s spirit, determining by the Holy Synod. The union must be the result of a genuine, healthy and fair settlement of existing differences between us.”
(The Metropolitan’s festal message. on the surface of the Lord Divine. “Thebaic Voice” No. 8 2005)
The Holy Church of Christ provides the «in LOVE and TRUTH» dialogue on the union in Christ: «... peaceful Consider what separates us so concerned with the peaceful end to the error, with the help of God having disclosed the truth . But if you do not, it disclosed in all that you are unfaithful people. » (Act V of the Cartagena Summit, Holy See Note 2 to the helm 99on rule of Cartagena Summit). Follow-up the Church has shown its faith in this dialogue by holding dialogues with the various separatist faction of Florina (Akakians better) but even in the past not hesitated to call in the dialogue the New Calendar «church» of Greece.
Wish all believers, to use the words of our Lord Jesus Christ by His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane just before His Holy Passion: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”!!! (John. Q '21).
NOTES
Three major rift afflicted (or harassed) the Church of Christ
1] In 1937 became the first major and tragic schism of former Metropolitans Chrysostomos of Florina and Dimitriados German, who distorted the Orthodox Admission, which declared in 1935 on their return to Genuine Orthodox Church of Christ since the Schism of new calendar. The Metropolitans are the G.O.C. initially declared the followers of the new calendar SCHISMATIKOUS and the Church of G.O.C. as normal and Original Church of Christ in Greece. Later then, in their public sermons, promotes the illusion that the followers of the new papal diary is sectary «active», as defined by the sacred rules for those who breach the sacred tradition, but «potential» (!) And that the issue of the New Calendar will be judged by future «Pan-orthodox summit», which will be done by themselves schismatic bishops and in communion with them! After desperate efforts of St. Matthew the Confessor (then bishop Vresthenis then together with the bishop Cyclades German eventually later joined the sect of former Florina, where he died) to return two bishops in genuine orthodox opinion and avoid creating divide, eventually the formerly Florina and Dimitriados (who eventually returned to sectary New Calendar «church») were cut off from the church as misbelief and expelled from the body of the Holy Church of Christ. In 1955 the formerly Florina Chrysostom died, and the fans had brought secretly into irregular bishops (new calendar and old calendar) in order to obtain «bishops» instead of come back to the normal Holy Synod of G.O.C. (which was created by the ordination of the blessed St. Matthew, Archbishop of Athens Confessor) under the late Bishop Demetrios of Thessaloniki Cancel (+1977). Later they split into several groups and «sessions» ie sectary conventicle as far, Kioussis Chrysostom, Kyprianou Koutsoumpa, Makarios Kavvakidi, Afxentiakon (as Maximou Vallianatou, «Aegina» Afxentiou. «America» Michael) etc. exploiters of wishful believers!
2] In 1995 became the second major schism of people supporting various heretical errors in images of saints, especially the Holy Trinity (Synthrono) and the Resurrection of Christ from the tomb and generally non-Byzantine icons (Russian-Classical) style, and which they regarded as heretical! These people, unfortunately, supported by the then Archbishop Andreas of Athens (1995 / +2005) and two other bishops (1995) in contrast to the majority of bishops of the Holy Synod; Metropolitans of Messinia Gregory (+ 2009), Attica and Megaridos Cancel Matthew (+2001), Fthiotida Theodossiou (+ 2002), Kozani Titus (+2002) and Thessaloniki Chrysostom (2002), who remained faithful to the holy traditions of Orthodoxy and wishful respect of all images of saints, according to the Sanctuary rudder. Then under Archbishop of the Church of G.O.C. Of Greece Andreas, the Holy Synod issued two circulars Pastorals (1991 and 1993) which overthrew the heretical doctrines and appointed honorary respect all the images of saints. Unfortunately, the tumult in the body of the Church continued, and continued support for the theories misbelief holy images from the same heretical lower clergy and laymen. The situation deteriorated when Archbishop, under pressure from the misbelief environment hamper the convergence of the Holy Synod, fearing the condemnation of Neoeikonomachon (so marked because of the non-acceptance of the Holy Icons, mentioned), many of whom belonged to the environment, by the majority of the Holy Synod. In May 1995 the Archbishop Andreas came from a majority of bishops of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church Helladic genuine temporary Holiday so, after a long time accommodation, to work smoothly again and the synodical institution. But then the Archbishop to discipline, made -in a coup way- no canonical ordination, because, according to the Holy Rules requires the blessing of the Bishop for the Ordination of new Bishop in the area of jurisdiction but apparently the new election is Archpriests of Participation all bishops of the Holy Synod. The transaction, which was designed to obtain «majority» 5 against orthodox Archpriests, tragically deepened the gap and led to the separation of genuine Orthodox Christians, with tragic consequences today for Genuine Orthodox Church of Christ! Finally in 1997, the Third Circular, the heretical position concerning the Holy Icons were anathematized Synodical.
3] Last in December 2002 with Archieratical Letter from the president of the Holy Synod Metropolitan of Messinia Gregory interrupted the communion with the metropolitan of Thessaloniki Chrysostom, because of the declaration of heretical theories that: 1) The Church is without start like Christ but this is not documented anywhere by saint fathers, 2) Christ (as person (with the theologian mean)) is without start, not only as God but also as man while Jesus Christ clearly has a start as man) in time, His birth 3) that the head of the Church is the Holy Trinity while the Bible clearly preaches in the letters of Apostle Paul that only Christ, as God-human is the head of the Church!
Also, in 2005 the Valor «Metropolitan» of Mesoghaia Kyrikos (former clergyman of the Church of Greece G. O. C.) seceded from the separatist faction, in reaction to the resignation of former Archbishop Andreas of the «Assembly» conventicler and the enhancement of the former Metropolitan Piraeus in «Archbishop» in 2003. In the environment of Kyrikos are the most fanatical new-iconoclasts. Few months before he joined two of unknown origin, the old calendar Romanian "bishops" (?). They created a new sectarian and anti-conventicle session, however it should be noted that the behavior of Romanian is particularly objectionable if they come to give substance to schism-heretical groups and failed to inform the general objective for the church to inform what actually the Genuine Orthodox Church is.