THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL: Discussion and News

11 Comments

1. Peter Poulapos on June 29, 2016 8:39 am

   Everyone should understand, without the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest Orthodox Church in the world today and without the churches of Antioch, Georgia and Bulgaria as well as other canonical churches not even invited, this “Tea Party” in Crete was just a “GREEK THING!” Not inclusive and certainly not a “GREAT” council. In fact, any decisions concluded in Crete are moot. As the ROC has said, Crete was a preparatory council for a REAL, INCLUSIVE ORTHODOX COUNCIL in the future.

   The BEST place for this council would be in the huge auditorium under Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, the “Third Rome!”

   Reply
2. Peter Poulapos on July 4, 2016 8:55 pm

   Calling ALL Orthodox Christians:

   The meeting in Crete was insufficient. Not ALL canonical Orthodox Churches were invited and the LARGEST Orthodox Church in the world, the Russian Orthodox Church did not attend. Neither did Antioch, Bulgaria and Georgia. As the ROC said, “Crete is a good preparatory meeting for a ‘complete’ worldwide Orthodox Church Council.”

   We call upon all Orthodox Christians to proclaim this as something that is needed immediately. To be held at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow and auditorium. Petition your bishops to make this a reality!

   Reply
   • Peter on July 4, 2016 11:07 pm

     Dear Peter,

     Are you asking the laity to petition their bishops? We’ve been trying to do this for more than 50 years in this country for a united autocephalous church without any positive results. Regrettably, there isn’t going to be a followup to this Cretan council. The status quo will prevail. So—live with it!

     Reply
     • Peter Poulapos on July 5, 2016 8:26 am

       Dear Peter:

       The answer to a united, autocephalous Orthodox Church has always been right in front of everyone since 1970! In 1961, SCOBA wrote in their minutes that they would work towards and establish a united, autocephalous Orthodox Church to be called, “The Orthodox Church in America.” Fr. Alexander Schmemann helped make this a reality in 1970 with the Metropolia granted autocephaly from the ROC in 1970. IMMEDIATELY, the protests began from Istanbul calling this “uncanonical” and a flurry of rejection documents flowed. YET, the Romanians joined the OCA; the Bulgarians joined; the Albanians joined and others. Orthodox unity in America has ALWAYS been opposed by the PHANAR. This recent meeting clearly shows that Istanbul ONLY wants unity in America under Istanbul. The OCA WAS NOT invited to attend; the false idea of the DIPTYCHS as a form of Church Organization is non-canonical; the Assembly of Bishops in every country reports directly to Istanbul and its minion bishops.

       So you see, UNLESS all the bishops stand up and grow a pair, this ridiculous control from overseas bishops, which is totally non-canonical will continue. Most of these bishops are worried their own salaries & pensions will dry up. So, until the American bishops get on the same page for independence & unity AND REJECT ALL OVERSEAS BISHOP’S CONTROL, this skata will continue. The answer has been here since 1970; now how about American bishops start to act more like our founding fathers of the American Revolution! Let me repeat, Orthodox Canon Law is clear, OVERSEAS BISHOPS HAVE NO AUTHORITY OUTSIDE THEIR OWN TERRITORY!

       Reply
       • Peter on July 5, 2016 5:56 pm

         Peter,

         The situation in America IS a mess. For example, in Chicago there’s a Greek Metropolitan, and Albanian Metropolitan, an OCA bishop, and a ROCOR hierarch. If we had a united church, then who stays and who goes? Now with the status quo, everybody’s happy and content.
         The OCA was given autonomy by the ROC during the Soviet era. But, there are parishes in the US that continue to be under ROC jurisdiction. Why? And, we still have ROCOR doing its thing despite making amends with the homeland.

         The Romanians are divided. Some have joined the OCA and others still adhere to the old country. It’s the same with the Albanians and Bulgarians too. So, enjoy the summer, go to church and light a candle occasionally, venerate the icons and stay cool. This is not worth getting upset over autocephaly because it will NEVER happen.

         Reply
3. Peter Poulapos on July 6, 2016 8:27 am

   Michalopulos Blog / Crete and the Globalist Agenda
   Crete and the Globalist Agenda
   July 4, 2016

   INTRODUCTION: EARLY IMPRESSIONS
   We here at Monomakhos were going to wait another week or so before we read the entrails of the Council of Crete. That’s because things were pretty opaque in the immediate aftermath. The only thing we had was a gut feeling that the globalist agenda was derailed –at least for the moment.

   And now, Antioch has spoken, calling what transpired in Crete neither “Great,” nor “Holy,” nor “Orthodox,” but merely a “preparatory council.” Things are starting to come into clearer focus.

   So why the boycott in the first place?

   Mainly because it had long been suspected that American, British and Israeli intelligence services were the most active in pushing for this Council to take place. In light of this, Moscow felt it had no choice but to throw a wrench in the machine. It did so by ensuring that other Churches led the boycott while it came in late in the game and delivered the coup de grace, effectively demoting it from a “Pan-Orthodox council” to a mere local one. That being said, we can be sure that despite it’s lack of substance, the Phanar and its eparchies will continue to give it more importance than is warranted. In short, it will become yet another lynch-pin in the Canon 28 mythology.

   At present, Your’s Truly is poring over the documents from the Council and the only thing I can say for sure is that –to my mind at least–there is less here than meets the eye. His Holiness did his best to consolidate his claim to preeminence within Orthodoxy but given the fact that four of the fourteen universally recognized autocephalous Churches weren’t there, it’s hard to see how Crete will have any binding authority.

   This in fact, is the opinion of “You Sunk my Vatican II,” an editorial recently published in Social Matter. The author, Mark Citadel, shows quite clearly how some Orthodox modernists were fervently hoping that Crete would serve as a kind of an Orthodox Vatican II –an attempt to drag Orthodoxy kicking and screaming into the modern world. All the stops were pulled out. Secular editorialists were assuring those of us who were reticent to get with the program. Didn’t we know that Pope Francis has over 30 million Twitter followers?

   For good measure the Patriarch of Alexandria tried to shame those Churches, daring them to “come off their thrones” and be a part of the people. This of course is particularly rich coming from Alexandria, which like all Greek-controlled Churches treats the native Christians among them as decidedly inferior. For good measure the Archbishop of Cyprus spoke in a most ungracious manner as well. And of course there was the LGBT community of Europe which wrote paeans to the bishops in Crete entreating them to welcome into the fold of Holy Orthodoxy.

   The stars in the modernist firmament were aligning rather nicely. Or so it seemed but neither Antioch nor Bulgaria nor Georgia nor Russia succumbed to their blandishments, while Serbia attended under duress.

   Citadel’s take is that for these people, Crete was a spectacular failure. Not only did they fail in universalizing this Council, their desire to make Orthodoxy a part of the New World Order, in the manner of the post-Vatican II Catholic Church was a failure as well. It’s an interesting perspective and I highly recommend that you take the time to read it for yourself. The fact that it uses as its template Vatican II and the Roman Church’s subsequent irrelevancy means that Citadel speaks to the heart of the matter.

   How easy it is under the present pontiff to forget that Catholicism was once a bastion against modernism in all its forms in that it saved Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Hungary from submission to the Bolshevist yoke. Under a stalwart pope like John Paul II, it helped bring down an evil empire. How times have changed; Rome has now succumbed to the Zeitgeist in almost every aspect where it counts.

   MY 2 CENTS
   When all is said and done, the fact that four –or five if you count the OCA– Churches chose not to attend means that Crete will be ephemeral. It’s certainly no “Pan Orthodox Council” by any stretch of the imagination, no matter what Dn John Chryssavgis says to the contrary.

   Case in point: if we are to believe the Phanar triumphalists, this means that the OCA has no autocephaly at all and is automatically remanded to Moscow. This of course is belied by Metropolitan Tikhon’s concelebration in Istanbul last February. He could not have been there as a bishop of a semi-autonomous archdiocese of Moscow, because he would have had to ask permission from Moscow to attend. And as he is not apart of the GOA, then who did he represent but an independent Church? At any rate, and despite the fact that there is a strong Phanariote impulse in certain precincts of Syossett, I’d be surprised if the Holy Synod of the OCA agreed with the Phanar’s understanding of its newly “codified” status.

   To be sure, the impression that Constantinople is the sole arbiter of autonomy in the Diaspora appears to be the Phanar’s only win –a fig leaf if you will. That being said, it is hard to see the various jurisdictions abiding by its directives, especially in the case of the replacement of superfluous bishops within a single city. According to this document, if there is a vacancy in an ethnic jurisdiction which is already served by a Greek ordinary, the non-Greek bishop is not to be replaced. This means that the ethnic parishes within that (vacant) diocese would be merged into the existing Greek diocese.

   I wouldn’t hold your breath on this one if I were you.

   For one thing, I see problems with this expectation ever coming to fruition under the current crop of GOA metropolitans in America. I imagine most would find it hard to believe that the Serbs (for example) would not elect another Serbian bishop for Chicago, or the Antiochians to not elect another Archbishop of New York when the time comes to do so. Or the Romanians to not elect another bishop for Detroit, and so on. We in the OCA haven’t been able to effect such a change in the ethnic dioceses within our Church and, given the fact that we are the only territorial Church in North America, the dissolution of the ethnic dioceses should be very easy to execute. That we have not been able to do so does not bode well for hopes of the Phanar-triumphalists.

   More will be said about the particulars as time goes on. For now, I want to concentrate on the modernist agenda and two men whose work seem to align with the globalist program. The men in question are Alex Rondos and Fr Alexander Karloutsos and, based on what we know, they worked feverishly to make Crete happen through their fundraising skills and their proximity to a certain globalist financier. Much of the information (but not all) which follows comes from Katehon.ru, a Russian think-tank closely allied with the Russian Orthodox Church.

   AGENTS IN PLACE: ALEX RONDOS AND ALEXANDER KARLOUTSOS
   According to Katehon.ru, both Rondos and Karloutsos are active in globalist circles and extremely close to the infamous financier George Soros. (Karloutsos actually lives next door to Soros in the Hamptons.) For those who may not know, Soros is a notorious speculator and financier, leaving much economic ruin in his wake. An atheist of little conscience, he actually bet against the English pound in 1992, causing Great Britain to be thrown into a recession.

   Alex Rondos is a United States intelligence asset who currently serves as EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa. Rondos, a Greek citizen, was born in 1954 in what is now Tanzania. He studied in the UK and was a correspondent for West Africa Magazine and then worked for Catholic Relief Services, an American Catholic non-governmental organization (NGO).

   In the 1980s, Rondos met with Soros and remains close to him to this day. Through Soros’ influence, Rondos was able to ingratiate himself into the Patriarchate of Constantinople and in 1992, he founded and headed the major emergency relief agency of the Patriarchate of Constantinople known as International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). Soon after founding the IOCC, Rondos made the acquaintance of Rev Alexander Karloutsos (of which more will be said shortly).

   According to Katehon, the IOCC served as a conduit for the flow of monies needed to finance the various “color coded revolutions” under the auspices of philanthropy. If true, this is shocking to say the least. All that is known for sure is that wherever Rondos and/or the IOCC is active, whether in Eastern Europe or the Middle East, pro-Russian governments tend to fall.

   Perhaps it’s just a coincidence. However Rondos’ biography is more complex; not only is he involved in the ecclesiastical sphere but he is active in secular NGOs as well. Congruent with his work with the IOCC for instance, Rondos created the Centre for Applied Non-violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) in 2004, while stationed in Belgrade. Shortly thereafter he served as an advisor to the ill-fated Mikhail Sakaashvilli, then President of Georgia, who upon the instigation of American neoconservatives, provoked war with Russia. (Whether Rondos had anything to do with this or not is presently unknown.)

   Rondos has also been active in Greek left wing politics. A friend of former Prime Minister George Papandreou (also a Soros protegee), he worked behind the scenes to prevent a rapprochement between Russia and Greece. The Greek government published a report accusing Rondos of using government money to fund one of his NGOs. (For the record, I try not to put too much stock in reports emanating out of certain foreign governments but am merely reporting what the Greek government itself published.)

   Rondos is also active within the World Bank and is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), an American think tank which actively promotes the globalist agenda. It may be nothing more than a coincidence but wherever he appears, pro-Russian regimes tend to fall and the neoconservative policy of American hegemonism proceeds apace. Whether this is by design or also under the direction of the Phanar is unknown as well. If true, then Soros and the Phanar are in active collusion and whose primary purpose is to weaken the autocephalous Churches of the Balkans and Syria.

   As for Alexander Karloutsos, he likewise is a friend of Soros. As one of the main spokesmen for the Council, it was Karloutsos who swatted down attempts by the Bulgarian and Russian churches to postpone the Council. According to Karloutsos, “there is no mandate to change or postpone and we are going to proceed. They asked for a pre-conciliar meeting on the 17th and we expect them to be here. We are the church of love and embrace everyone.” (Except the OCA it seems.)

   “Fr Alex,” as he is endearingly called by various and sundry people, is close to several Greek-American moguls and controls the purse strings of Faith: An Endowment for Hellenism and Orthodoxy. This clumsily named endowment is the largest single source of funds that flows to the Phanar. (In 2014, it gave $250,000 to refurbish the Olympic sized swimming pool at the Ionian Village.) Because of his control of this endowment, the word on the street is that he has more influence in the GOA than any of the metropolitans.

   According to Epikera a Greek news magazine, Karloutsos was instrumental in the overthrow of Archbishop Iakovos Coucouzis in 1996 because of his involvment in the Ligonier Conference. His contacts in the Greek government include Dora Bakoyiannis, Constantine Mitsotakis and other operatives within the Karamanlis family. He is also a link between conservative Greek politicians and the Bush clan. In this way Soros plays both ends against the middle: using Rondos to ingratiate himself among the Greek Left while use Karloutsos to influence the Greek Right.

   Karloutsos has done well by doing good, as the old cliche has it. He lives in a house estimated at $700,000 in the elite suburb of the Hamptons and his nearest neighbor (as mentioned earlier) is George Soros.

   Things get stickier from there. According to Turkish sources, Karloutsos is also close to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamist leader who resides in the United States and is active with American intelligence agencies. Gulen runs one of the largest construction firms in America and is a leading light of the Charter Schools movement. As such, his construction firm has benefited mightily from taxpayer monies awarded to it by the Department of Education.

   Because of these complicated and intertwining alliances, Karloutsos’ and Rondos’ circle of friends make the Patriarchate of Constantinople a “hostage” of the State Department. According to Katehon, “[Karloutsos’] participation in the organizing committee of the Council reflects the desire of the American special services to directly influence this Council.”

   Things are stranger than they seem at times. The apparent lack of good faith is stunning to say the least. All things considered, the engineering of the boycott of this Council by the Russians seems the best possible outcome.

   No doubt more will be said in the future as more information comes out.

   As to what this means for the Phanar and its continuing existence in a hostile environment time will tell. It is ironic that Patriarch Bartholomew, who began his archpastorate as an obstructionist in the service of a globalist program may well end it by being the victim of obstructionists who are opposed to the furtherance of this very agenda. All things considered, we can be glad that Crete will be soon forgotten.

   Reply
4. Peter Poulapos on July 6, 2016 10:43 am

   Peter:

   It is clear, everyone wants their OWN – so be it. So there are many bishops in Chicago, so what? Let them all take care of their own, HOWEVER, this does not mean they can’t sit in a Synod of an autocephalos, American Church as Orthodox Canon Law dictates. How many times does it have to be repeated, AN AMERICAN CHURCH FOR ALL NATIONALITIES IN AMERICA. Foreign bishops, canonically, have no authority outside their own territory.

   Reply
5. Peter Poulapos on July 8, 2016 7:52 am

   The “COUNCIL” was a nice “Tea Party” for 10 autocephalous churches without real substance. Without Moscow, the largest Orthodox Church in the world; Antioch; Georgia; Bulgaria and other canonical Orthodox Churches snubbed, this was a NON-INCLUSIVE gathering. WHY? Because Istanbul was controlling the agenda and pushing its own issues not the issues of worldwide Orthodoxy. It was as advertised, “THE SETTING UP OF AN EASTERN POPE.” Istanbul was usurping authority that was never given to it. The “First Among Equals” DOES NOT include setting up the DIPTYCHS as a form of church organization around the world where the Greek head of these Assemblies of Bishops reports to Istanbul. AUTONOMY and AUTOCEPHALY of Churches around the world IS NOT under the sole authority of Istanbul and its crony bishops.

   In the nut shell, here is what this is all about. Istanbul/Constantinople (Greek) is trying to maintain its standing within Orthodoxy as “First Among Equals.” This title has been totally misconstrued from its original meaning with Istanbul trying to usurp authority never assigned to it. Furthermore, there is NO BYZANTINE EMPIRE; there is NO EMPEROR; Istanbul maybe has 1,000 Orthodox. As the renowned late theologian Jaraslav Pelikan said when he returned from visiting the Phanar, “The lights are on, but nobody is home!”

   Now, on the other hand, the Russian Orthodox Church is the elephant in the room of Orthodoxy. Clearly the largest Orthodox Church in the world and on many issues is in opposition with Istanbul. The title of Moscow being, “The Third Rome” is probably appropriate and in reality, the Moscow Patriarch should be recognized as the NEW “First Among Equals.”

   So, it’s Greek vs Russia! Istanbul can’t win this, but it is trying to make a LAST STAND gathering all of its crony bishops to make rules for ALL of Orthodoxy. Russia won’t have it and neither should AMERICA!

   Reply
6. Peter Poulapos on July 14, 2016 10:40 am

   You know, since Istanbul treated the OCA like a NON-ORTHODOX entity and didn’t even invite the OCA to its “Tea Party” in Crete, why should the OCA participate in Istanbul’s Episcopal Assembly in the U.S.? What the Ep. Ass needs to do is go back to the rules of SCOBA. The hierarchs who lead the meeting are VOTED ON by all the bishops!

   Reply
7. Peter Poulapos on July 18, 2016 8:09 am

   https://orthodoxethos.com/post/athonite-fathers-call-for-rejection-of-cretan-council-and-cessation-of-commemoration-of-the-patriarch-of-constantinople

   ATHONITE FATHERS CALL FOR REJECTION OF CRETAN COUNCIL AND CESSATION OF COMMEMORATION OF THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

   An “Open Letter” from Athonite Fathers to the Holy Community of the Holy Mountain of Athos is calling for an immediate convocation of the governing body of Mt. Athos in order to condemn the “false council” of Crete and cease the comemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on Mt. Athos.

   OVER 60 Hieromonk and monks, with a disciple of Saint Paisios, Elder Gabriel of the Kelli of St. Christodoulos (Holy Monastery of Koutloumosiou) at their head, have written an open letter to the Holy Community of Mt. Athos calling upon the Abbots to reject the Council in Crete and stating their intention to cease commemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on account of his leadership in the “false council” at which the pan-heresy of ecumenism was given a green light and bolstered in word and deed.

   The Athonite Fathers briefly list 12 points of divergence of the Cretan Council from Orthodox Tradition and Faith, promising to return in the near future with an extensive analysis of council and texts in question. Referring to the controversial section 6 of the text “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World,” the Athonites see this as acceptance of the Papal-Latin parasynagogue as a “church”. Furthermore, as they point out, the text’s positive estimation of the decisions of the Dialogue with the Latins (especially the texts produced in Munich in 1982, Bari in 1987, New Valaam in 1988 and most particularly in Balamand in 1993) signifies acceptance, on the part of those bishops who signed the text in Crete, of the “ecclesial character, apostolic faith, authentic mysteries and apostolic succession” of the “Papal heresy.” “From this alone,” the Fathers write, “it is apparent that this Council has fallen away from Orthodox Faith and Confession.”

   With regard to the role played by the Patriarch of Constantinople in the promotion both of “the pan-heresy of ecumenism and in particular of the false council of Crete,” and the need for the Athonite community to cease his commemoration “until such a time” as the heresy is condemned, the Athonite Fathers write characteristically:

   “The Patriarch of Constantinople stands as the chief inspirer and promoter of the Synodical text and as such for us Athonite Fathers, but also for all Orthodox Christians, priests and laymen, he has been shown to be, in word and deed, a Heresiarch, as once was Arius, Nestorius, Bekko, etc., as distinguished clergy and theologians have clearly demonstrated. This is the case not only on account of [his promotion] of the pan-heresy of Ecumenism but also on account of [his promotion] of the Pan-thriskeia [religious sycretism], shown in and word and deed and through common prayer [with non-Christian religious leaders]. He teaches strange dogmas, unorthodox and anti-patristic, and thus, for this reason, according to the words of our Lord, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they known not the voice of strangers.” (Jn. 10:1-5)

   In conclusion, the Athonite Fathers write:

   “Holy Fathers, the Orthodox Church and Orthodox Christians have been declared undesirable and singled out for harassment. Already at the heretical false council of Crete all those Orthodox Christians who stand opposed to it and reject it, whether they be bishops, priests, monks or laymen, were characterized as “heretics,” “zealots,” and “hyper-Orthodox.” Will we allow this false characterization to pass into the popular conscience? With much humility, fear of God and love for our Orthodox Church we entreat you and ask that we may all stand together so that a truly Holy and Great Orthodox Council may be called in order to reject this false council [of Crete].

   Venerable and Respected Fathers of the Holy Community, Holy Abbots, 100 years of extreme oikonomia and tolerance of the ecumenist, latinizing, unionist Patriarchs and bishops has brought about a terrible erosion of faith and fed heretical deviations. The damage and corruption which has been brought about by this falsely-called “oikonomia” in the mindset of the Orthodox clergy and laity is of astounding proportions. We entreat you once again: struggle to guard the Holy Deposit of our Orthodox Church and Faith.”

   The full letter in the original Greek can be found here: http://aktines.blogspot.gr/2016/07/blog-post_62.html

   Reply
8. Peter Poulapos on July 28, 2016 8:05 pm

   So why did Crete fail? Simple; it was EXCLUSIVE! They decided who would attend (many Orthodox entities weren’t invited); they controlled agenda and what was addressed; the Bishop of Istanbul had everything under his own control. Is it any wonder Crete FAILED? FOOLS! Just like the Republicans in the U.S., they aren’t INCLUSIVE, but EXCLUSIVE. Why wasn’t the OCA invited????????? Who is the Bishop of Istanbul to think he can control all of Orthodoxy??? This isn’t the faith of the Apostles. This is Roman Catholicism. All the more reason the Bishop of Moscow needs to call upon an INCLUSIVE Pan-Orthodox gathering where ALL the canonical Orthodox are invited. AND, a Pan-Orthodox gathering of ALL CANONICAL ORTHODOX at Christ the Savior Cathedral, the MP should declare himself as the leader of the “Third Rome.”

   Reply

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