GOC1935DiangelmaBeng

8/11/2019 GOC1935DiangelmaBeng

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TheSecondPublicCommunicationoftheHoly

SynodoftheG.O.C.in1935Recognizesthe

PatriarchatesofJerusalem,Antioch,Serbia,etc

In thebelowEncyclicalby the threeGOChierarchs, thestatement ismade that the

reasonwhytheNewCalendaristsareschismaticisbecausetheyseparatedthemselves

liturgicallyfromtheChurchesofJerusalem,Antioch,Serbia,etc,whochosetoremain

withtheoldcalendar.Insayingthis,itmeansthatthethreehierarchstillconsidered

theaboveOldCalendaristPatriarchatestobepartoftheChurch.Farremovedisthis

fromthefalsetheoryofBp.KirykoswhoclaimsthattheOldCalendaristPatriarchates

allfellin1924eveniftheyretainedtheoldcalendar.Bp.Kirykosreferstoanything

opposing

such

a

belief

as

Old

Calendarist

Ecumenism.

But

if

this

is

the

case,

then

Bp.KirykoshimselfhashisconsecrationfromthehandsofBishopMatthew,whohad

noproblem receiving consecrationfrom the hands of these three hierarchs, despite

theirclearlyopenOldCalendaristEcumenismexemplifiedinthebelowEncyclical

theypublishedinMay,1935,astheirofficialcommunicationtotheOrthodoxpeople.

PASTORALENCYCLICAL

oftheMostEminentMetropolitans

oftheAutocephalousGreekOrthodoxChurch,

Germanus

of

Demetrias,

Chrysostom

formerly

ofFlorina,andChrysostomofZacynth

.


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TothepiousOrthodoxGreekpeople,

TheFaithofourFathersisattrial.Theenemiesandmanyarecunninglurk

outsidetheNationalandEcclesiasticalbastions.Theywhobetraytheprecious

treasureof

our

National

and

Religious

ideology

and

cast

their

eyes

away

from

thevaluablepearlofOrthodoxymakeuseofeverytreacheryandmachination

to demolish the unshakeable bulwarks of our National and Ecclesiastical

glory and repute. Materialists, Communists, Chiliasts [i.e., Jehovahs

Witnesses],Theosophists,Masons,andothermanifold internalandexternal

enemies, undermine the unshakeable and unbreakable bulwarks of our

NationalandEcclesiasticalconstitutionandindestructiblepower.

Theseinsolentandcunningenemies,duetothetoleranceoftheStateandthe

inactivity

of

the

Church,

succeeded

in

penetrating

into

all

of

the

levels

of

Greek Society. These effluent haters of our National and Ecclesiastical

ideology, attempt, under the guise of progress and individual freedom, to

corrupttheNationalandEcclesiasticalconscienceofGreekSociety.Thuswe

ringthewarningbells.

Greek Orthodox civilians, awaken, be alert in regards to the unyielding

forefront of the Nation and the Church, so that these guileminded and

manifoldenemiesdonotdissipatethevaluabletreasureofourancestraland

gloriousheritage.Donotbe sluggish;donotbeafraidof imprisonment for

the sake of defending the endangered Orthodox Faith, and the National

Traditionswhichareeverywhereundermined.

The enemies are many and resourceful. The Churchs institutions are

unprotected, the Ecclesiastical bulwarks are defenseless, the National

Traditionsareignored,theNationalidealsareunderpersecution.

Andonthecontrary,thesouldestroyingteachingsoftheMaterialistsandthe

subversivedoctrinesof theCommunistsaremethodicalandpersistent.The

poisonousand

growing

net

of

the

different

antinational

and

antireligious

propagandaschoketheveryheartoftheNationandChurch.

The poisonous and malodorous fumes of faithlessness, of materialism,

destructive selfishness, fill the atmosphere of Greece to the point of

suffocation.

Unfortunately, the alleged resistance is inconclusive, the defense of the

Ecclesiastical institutions andNational traditions is lifeless and listless, the

struggleagainst

the

disease

causing

germs,

that

corrode

our

National

and

Ecclesiasticalorganism,ispowerlessanduseless.


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For this reason, the rampartsofourNational ideologyand thebulwarksof

Orthodoxybegan,oneaftertheother,tofalltothetorrentialandprecipitous

irrepressibilityofouropponents.

Theappointed

leaders

and

guardians

for

the

defense

of

our

National

and

Ecclesiastical Traditions, are fainthearted and do not have the courage or

gutstoresistheadon.Theresistanceanddefensecannotbeobtainedwithout

anationalpulseand loyalty to the idealsof thehomelandand the religion.

Werequire thatnationalandreligiouszeal thatour fathershad,withwhich

theyglorifiedtheChurchandNation.

TheleadersoftheNationandtheChurchshouldhavethatGreekgeniusand

that religiouspulse,bywhich theOrthodoxGreek race increased inworks,

being

reborn

in

the

baptismal

font

of

Hellenic

Christian

culture.

Yes,

faith

is

needed in struggles;weneedmoral solidity;weneed spiritual courage; an

ironwill,bravery,andunshakablehope,arenecessaryforthesuccessofthe

struggle.Theseareallqualifications thatarecreatedbyfaith inthe idealsof

thehomelandandthereligion.

But theappointedguardiansoftheEcclesiasticalramparts, lacking faithand

moral courage, not only fail to show the required resistance against the

opponents,notonlyfailtodignewtrenchesthatareabletocompeteagainst

thecontemporarypolemics,buttheyalso,withacompletelyclearconscience,

razetothegroundwhatevertheveteranstrugglersbuiltthroughourNational

andEcclesiasticalTraditions.Anexample is the recentlydisposedcitadelof

the Traditional Patristic Calendar, which, like an unbreakable barrier,

appreciablyseparatedtheOrthodoxfromthehereticsandinfidels.

ThecunningenemiesofOrthodoxytriedmanytimestodestroythisdefensive

bastion,buttheykickedtowardscenters.This isbecausetheyalwayshadto

confront the Doorkeepers and Housemaster of the Church, sleeplessly

watchingovertheunyieldingbastionsofOrthodoxy.

Indeed,theFathersoftheChurchwerethemselvesnotunawareoftheoryin

which theGregoriancalendarwasconsideredmoreperfect, timewise, than

theJulian.YettheyneverceaseddefendingtheTraditionalPatristicCalendar!

ThisisbecausetheyhonoredthetraditionoftheSevenEcumenicalCouncils

andtheperpetualpracticeoftheEasternOrthodoxChurch.Inasmuchasthe

HolyFathersof theFirstEcumenicalCouncil interlocked theJuliancalendar

withthePaschalCanon,theOrthodoxFestalCalendar,andtheSundayCycle

of Gospel Readings, it served as a component of Divine worship and a

unifyinglink

between

universal

Orthodoxy,

as

well

as

an

irremovable

bastion

againstheresyandinfidelity.


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Yet this irremovablebastionwas shatteredwithout a fight, andnotby the

ageoldenemiesofOrthodoxy,butby thoseappointedas itsguardians, the

EcclesiasticalDoorkeepersandHousemasters.

Forthis

reason,

the

current

administrators

of

the

Church

of

Greece,

breaking

apart theunityofOrthodoxy throughthecalendar innovation,anddividing

theOrthodoxGreeknation into twoopposingcalendarparties,didnotonly

break theEcclesiasticalTradition thatwas instilledby theSevenEcumenical

CouncilsandratifiedbytheageoldpracticeoftheEasternOrthodoxChurch,

but they also broke the dogma regarding the One, Holy, Catholic and

ApostolicChurch.Thus,thecurrentadministratorsof theChurchofGreece,

by their unilateral, uncanonical, and irresponsible introduction of the

Gregoriancalendar,torethemselvesofffromtheentirebodyofOrthodoxy,

anddeclared

themselves

inessence

[

]schismatics

compared

to

theotherOrthodoxChurches,whichstandupon thegroundof theSeven

Ecumenical Councils and the Orthodox institutions and traditions, and

upon the Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Serbia, Poland, the Holy

Mountain[ofAthos],theGodtroddenMt.Sinai,etc.

That these things are so, is also confirmed by the excellent lawyers,

theologians andprofessorsof theNationalUniversity,when it appointeda

committeetostudythecalendarissue,andoneofthemembershappenedto

be the [current]ArchbishopofAthens, [ChrysostomPapadopoulos],whoat

thattimewasaProfessorofEcclesiasticalHistoryattheNationalUniversity.

Here is what that Committee stated regarding the calendar issue: All the

OrthodoxChurches,eveniftheyareAutocephalousintheirinternaladministration,

do notfall apart because they are united to each other through the Dogmas and

SynodicalDecrees andCanonsNoOrthodoxAutocephalousChurch can separate

itselffrom therestandaccept thenewcalendarwithoutbecomingschismatic in the

eyesoftheothers.Accordingly,sinceHisBeatitude,theArchbishopofAthens,

throughhisownsignature,declareshimselfaschismatic,what furtherneed

dowe

have

of

witnesses,

so

that

we

can

prove

that

he

and

his

like

minded

hierarchshavemade themselvesschismatics,bybreakingapart theunityof

Orthodoxy through the innovation of the calendar, and splitting the

EcclesiasticalandNationalsouloftheOrthodoxGreekpeople?

This same Beatitude, in one of his works regarding the calendar issue,

commentingononeof theepistlesofEcumenicalPatriarchJeremias II,says

thefollowing:TheletterofPatriarchJeremiasIIindicatesinanexcellentmanner

theposition which the Orthodox Church immediately took against the Gregorian

modification

of

the

calendar.

The

Church

considered

it

yet

another

of

the

many

innovations of Old Rome, a universal scandal, and an arbitrary affront to the


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SynodicalCanonsandConstitutions.Thereformofthecalendarisnotonlyamatter

ofastronomybutalsopertainstotheChurch...Hence,thePopehadnorighttoreform

the calendar, [for in so doing] heproved that he esteems himself superior to the

EcumenicalCouncils.Consequently,theOrthodoxChurchhasnotbeeninfavourof

the

reform

of

the

calendar...

Apart from these violations of the canons, there are also important moral

issues,whichstemfromthatveryArchdiocese,requiringthecleansingofthe

clergyofeveryrank, for theelevationof theworkersof theChurchand the

increaseoftheprestigeoftheOrthodoxGreekChurch.

Therefore,weleaveituptotheOrthodoxGreekpeople,tojudgewhetherHis

Beatitude, the Archbishop, disagrees with himself, and whether or not he

tramples

the

Orthodox

Constitutions

and

Sacred

Canons,

and

whether

or

not

heisfittobethePresidentoftheOrthodoxGreekChurch,thehighestfeature

andthemostgloriouspost,whichismeanttoprotecttheOrthodoxChristian

andNationalideology.

Wealwaysdisagreedwiththisinnovationofthecalendar,butwesubmitted

tothedecisionofthemajorityofthehierarchybyecclesiasticaleconomy,on

theonehand,soastopreventanecclesiasticalschism,andontheotherhand,

becausewehadthehopethattheHierarchy,wantingtopreventthedivision

ofitsflock,wouldhavehastenedtoreturntotheOrthodoxcalendarcycle.

Butsincetheschismwascausedevenwithoutus,intherealmsoftheChurch,

betweentheOrthodoxChristiansthemselveswhobecamedividedbecauseof

thenewcalendar,andsincetheHierarchyafteranentiretwelveyearperiod,

notonlydidnottakeheedtoreturntotheOrthodoxcalendarforthesakeof

theunityoftheflockandthepacificationoftheChurch,butitalsopersecuted

theOldCalendarists!

Therefore,wewerecompelledbythesuggestionofourconsciences,todeclare

toHis

Beatitude,

the

Archbishop,

that

we

sever

every

communion

with

him,

because he is a Schismatic even according to his own confession, and we

makeaferventpetitiontotheportionoftheGreekpeoplewhoacceptedthe

newcalendaringoodfaith,thinkingthatthisisnotcontrarytoOrthodoxy,as

wasdeclaredby the innovativeArchbishopofAthens in thepast, that they

toodenouncetheGregoriancalendar,asunorthodox,andletustrumpetout

totheSchismaticArchbishop,thewordsofwiseJosephBryennius:Weshall

never renounce Thee, O beloved Orthodoxy! We shall never be untrue to thee, O

reveredtraditionoftheFathers!Weshallneverforsakethee,OMotherPiety!InThee

were

we

born;

and

in

Thee

do

we

live;

and

in

Thee

shall

we

repose.

And

if

the

times

require,weshalldietenthousandtimesforThee!


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+GermanusofDemetrias

+Chrysostom,formerlyofFlorina

+ChrysostomofZacynth

GOC1935DiangelmaBeng

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