The following is respectfully submitted in response to the commentary by his Eminence Archbishop Sotirios of Canada, “Are there Taliban in the Orthodox Church?”I am a Greek Orthodox Christian under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in the United States. I happen to believe that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is completely wrong to have intervened in Ukraine which happens to be under the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch is in fact “First among equals”as stated in the commentary.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate is part of the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church but is not above and beyond the authority of the universal Church. The Church founded by Jesus Christ existed for three and a half centuries before the Church of Constantinople was established as a Patriarchate at the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. The Ecumenical Patriarchate does not have the authority to dictate over the autocephalous and local Churches. The decisions of an Ecumenical Council are reached through consensus, the universal agreement of all.
If we are going to discuss the question as to whether there are “Taliban in the Orthodox Church” we might pose that question to the schismatic entity known as “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. This alleged “church” consisting of unconsecrated bishops, unordained priests, and defrocked clergy are not a Church but they could claim to be a sort of Taliban. This group has the backing of the political leadership in Ukraine as well as various neo fascist groups and militias who have been terrorizing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church for many years through acts of violence against clerics and laypeople and have forcibly seized Churches in complete violation of the spirit of love emanating from the Holy Gospel.
Church history has shown that Patriarchs, Bishops, and Priests, as well as laypeople are susceptible to heresy and other transgressions. This is why we have the Holy Canons which were ratified by the universal authority of the Church following the convening of the Seven Ecumenical and other Councils in Church history. The Patriarchate of Constantinople is answerable to Christ the head of the Church and to the universal Church as a whole. The infamous heretic Nestorios was a Patriarch of Constantinople who was deposed and condemned by the authority of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. It should be remembered that Saint Cyril of the Patriarchate of Alexandria was the true champion of Orthodoxy in the dispute with Nestorius.
Furthermore, during the iconoclastic crisis that raged for over a century the Emperor, Patriarch, and Bishops destroyed icons while the faithful (mostly women) and the monks protected and revered them. Are we to believe that the Patriarchs of Constantinople who destroyed icons were not heretics? The authority of the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787 AD which is commemorated during the first Sunday of Great Lent (the Sunday of Orthodoxy) exonerated those who resisted the heresy of the iconoclasts.
Finally, we have the example before us of the faithful of the Great Church of Constantinople who took to the streets to protest when they heard that the Emperor, Patriarch, and Bishops signed the Union of Florence in 1439. History has shown that in 1439 as in earlier periods of Church history the faithful were right to challenge their hierarchs. Orthodox Christians are obligated to defend the faith at all times and on those occasions when their hierarchs are in the wrong.
Theodore G. Karakostas
2 replies on “Letter to the Editor Orthodox Times”
To suggest those who disagree with you on Orthodox Church policy are ‘Taliban’ is inciteful and unworthy of an Archbishop of wherever-if Sotirios is indeed making that suggestion. Unlike some Churches the Orthodox Church has historically welcomed open and respectful debate, as it was respected in Pre-Christian times in the Hellenic states. When your arguments devolve to calling those on the other side of the debate nasty names, you’ve lost.
The Taliban remark was only the latest attacks against any one critical of the policies of Patriarch Bartholomew. People are being called fundamentalists, russophiles (?), and Greek critics are accused of being anti Greek!