Question 8

Do the actions of certain Patriarchs or Hierarchs justify the Greek Old Calendarists in being separated from World Orthodoxy?

If a Patriarch or any other Hierarch errs on a personal matter, then one cannot justify separating from him; but if a Hierarch openly preaches heresy, then it is mandated by the Holy Fathers that the clergy and laity separate themselves from that Hierarch, an act referred to as “walling-off” in the Fifteenth Canon of the First–Second Synod held in Constantinople in 861 under the Presidency of Saint Photios the Great (ca. 820–ca. 893). As to why the Greek Old Calendarists are not in communion with anyone in World Orthodoxy, this can only be understood if one objectively looks at this Holy Canon alongside the writings and actions of the Holy Fathers who dealt with the very issues of resistance and walling-off. First, there is a growing trend among “neo-theologians” and Orthodox Internet personalities who claim that this specific Canon has been misinterpreted by the Greek Old Calendarists and only applies to walling-off from Hierarchs who openly preach heresies that have already been officially condemned. But is Ecumenism not a heresy? Not only is it a heresy, but it is the worst of all heresies because it is a belief system that contains every false teaching and blasphemy that has been previously condemned. If the Holy Fathers of the Œcumenical Synods cut off individuals and their followers entirely for not upholding correct Christological or Triadological formulæ, what would they say about Hierarchs today who have negated the decisions of these Synods by accepting all heretics as living members of the Body of Christ? This is not an exaggeration in the least….