Immediately After Ecumenism Came Homosexuality

This article is from chapter 1 of the excellent booklet — Blessed Disobedience or Evil Obedience? — written by Archpriest Theodore Zisis. The full booklet is available via these links:

• Author's Foreword
• Chapter 1 - Immediately After Ecumenism Came Homosexuality 
• Chapter 2 - Blessed Disobedience or Evil Obedience? 
• Chapter 3 - The Holy Scriptures on Obedience 
• Chapter 4 - The Holy Fathers on Obedience
• Chapter 5 - Do We Have the Right to Speak?

Chapter 1

Immediately After Ecumenism Came Homosexuality

Objectively assessing the situation in which the Church finds itself today, it should be recognized that it has strongly deviated from Tradition, participating in the heretical ecumenical movement [16]. The result of which were other deviations. So, in the church environment there is a rapid decline in morals, many clerics completely abandon the Gospel and the patristic way of life, and a considerable part of the episcopate surrounded themselves with luxury, often surpassing even secular people in this.

All this, of course, is the result of a cooling of faith. However, the current close contacts of the Church with Catholics, the honors and receptions rendered to the Pope in Greece [17] and in other Orthodox countries [18], probably also give grounds for the adoption of the secular way of life of the Catholic clergy by many clergy and justify complete pleasure, devoid of Gospel and patristic ideals, in the “life” of some of our modern priests and archpriests.

More recently, we wrote that the pontiff came to Greece and stayed. It turns out that he still left. But, leaving Greece, he left us a great many "popes", of various sizes and dignity, everywhere planting Catholic peace. 

Especially frightening is the penetration into the church wall of the worst sin of Sodom - homosexuality. Such scandals, connected with the names of some hierarchs, which have been left without due attention and consideration over the years, without any spiritual healing, discredit honest presbytery and cause distrust of the word of the Church. Who will now believe in us, the shepherds, when we talk about modesty, non-possession, contempt for all worldly and earthly things, asceticism, abstinence and virginity?

However, most clergy had already stopped talking about it for a long time, because they themselves do not believe in all this. Others hypocritically proclaim themselves to be virtuous in words, but their deeds testify otherwise. 

God's terrible anger poured out on the Sodomites because of their sodomy, fire from heaven utterly burned Sodom and Gomorrah [19], wiping these ancient cities from the face of the earth. Angry words against homosexuality are contained in the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Romans, however, as in other sacred texts. Upon learning of the case of fornication between close relatives in Corinth [20], the apostle demands that the lascivious person be expelled from the church community so that his example does not become a bad leaven. How can we dare to judge the world, the apostle of tongues argues, when we ourselves leave sin untouched in the body of the Church? “But I wrote to you not to communicate with someone who, being called a brother, remains a harlot, or covetous, or an idolater, or an abusive one, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with this one don't even eat together. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. So cast forth the corrupt one from among you” (1 Cor. 5, 11–13). 

Could the apostle, however, like other disciples of Christ and the holy fathers, imagine that there would come a time when the gospel would be violated and God's law would have no power? That not only fornicators would not be excommunicated from the Church, but sodomites would also be allowed to ascend the throne, to touch sacred vessels with their unclean, nasty hands? Could the saints of God have thought that we would participate in the WCC and not only have a meal, but also perform joint prayers with pseudo-Christians, with representatives of the so-called churches that have fallen so far from the truth that they have begun to bless same-sex marriage?

Nowadays, our bishops do not dare to boldly fight against the sin of Sodom (which the preachers of the gloomy Western Renaissance try to impose on Orthodoxy), since they themselves trample the Gospel, tolerating sodomites, fornicators, and pedophiles in the church community and not removing them from the body of the Church.

Therefore, the pointed Church teaching against homosexuality ricochets back to those who dare to pronounce it, with the help of such a counterargument: “Why don’t you notice your shamelessness? Why don't you see a shameful, unnatural vice in your midst?”

Unfortunately, today church hierarchs prefer to maintain good relations with the powers that be, obeying their worldly plans - syncretic, globalistic, ecumenical, environmental and social (hypocritical in fact). They apparently forgot that there is nothing more valuable and precious than God and true faith; that only Christ is the Light of the world and that their most important ministry and mission is to testify, preach and reveal this Light, which invariably shines in the One Holy Catholic (Catholic) and Apostolic Church. And everything outside the Church is the “Pagan Galilee, a people sitting in darkness” (Matthew 4, 15–16), which should be brought to the light, and not left in the darkness of godlessness, error, and heresy.

No human can themselves be a source of light, they cannot emit their own light. Defiantly believing that he is emitting light, such a person will in fact only thicken the darkness. Even with regard to the greatest of those born of women, St. John the Baptist, the evangelist writes that “he was not light, but [was sent] to bear witness to the Light. He came for a testimony, to testify of the Light, that all might believe through it” (John 1, 7–8).

He who does not believe that salvation in Christ is possible only in the Church, but believes that it can be found in heretical gatherings, is not only not saved, but also constantly suffers in himself the chastening wrath of God: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3, 36).

Does the Light of Christ, which enlightens all and invariably shines in the Church, have something in common with the darkness of ecumenism, equalizing and equating all religions and confessions of faith? Do we prefer the ascetic, equal-to-the-angels and heavenly Forerunner, or the secluded and mundane ecumenical leaders? Will we obey them - through whom the ancient earpiece and tempter, who once whispered to Christ, whispers to us about earthly blessings, vanity and power?

We are no longer the light of the world, for we do not shine with the purity of our lives, nor the salt of the earth, for we do not protect the world from the increasing moral decay. And therefore, as spiritually unfit, we are despised and trampled upon by people: “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its strength, then how can you make it salty? It is no longer worth anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled upon by men”(Matthew 5:13).

Previously, our Church, our ascetic, holy and immaculate Orthodoxy, thanks to the virtuous life of Orthodox pastors, had the moral right to denounce the prodigal lifestyle of the Roman Catholic clergy, as, for example, did St. Simeon of Thessalonica the Mystagogue[21]: “And even fornication is not at all punished by their priests, but they openly have concubines and youths for debauchery, and at the same time they act as priests ... And they live a life contrary to the Gospel, because none of the pleasure and debauchery among them is subject to censure, and it is not considered to be something impermissible for Christians".

And today, our clergy, which have become a hotbed of sodomites and perverts, are already plagued with moral decay. The hierarchy, however, is not at all concerned about how to protect young people from seduction from the true path, or how to prevent all their communication with perverse personalities, especially in the church fence. Instead, it turns church justice against those who have a heartache for Orthodoxy, for its purity; it accuses them of disobedience and even of provoking a split of those who are faithful to Tradition. 

But can a statement of such facts, testifying to the ever-growing decline in morals among clerics, actually confuse and insult the believers, can it be a temptation?

Indeed, our remarks regarding matters of faith and church life worry many, and perhaps even depress them. But we raise these problems from the best of intentions and good intentions, and not because of any personal hostility to anyone. Honoring the episcopal dignity and good archpriests, we never incited anyone to split. And we don't intend to do this in the future either.

This article is from chapter 1 of the excellent booklet — Blessed Disobedience or Evil Obedience? — written by Archpriest Theodore Zisis. The full booklet is available via these links:

• Author's Foreword
• Chapter 1 - Immediately After Ecumenism Came Homosexuality 
• Chapter 2 - Blessed Disobedience or Evil Obedience? 
• Chapter 3 - The Holy Scriptures on Obedience 
• Chapter 4 - The Holy Fathers on Obedience
• Chapter 5 - Do We Have the Right to Speak?