BISHOP AUGUSTINE N. KATIOTES

FORMER METROPOLITAN OF FLORINA

Anti-papal Discourses

“The piety, or godliness, handed down to us by out fathers we shall not deny…In this we were born, in this we were baptized, in this we associated, in this we live and in this shall we fall asleep (die): and if the occasion invites us, we shall die a thousand times in its behalf and no one shall be able to separate us from this true confession. Do not move eternal bounds, nor transpose ancient legislations…Until the end, brothers in Christ, let us remain firm in Orthodoxy, let us keep godliness/piety unbroken, unshaken, and let us keep the faith sure, let us reverence the fathers, let us venerate the saints, let us fear the Lord, and let us not betray our salvation. No one compels us, nor is forced obviously, if we ourselves do not apostasize (fall away) from the good membership of the Church. Let us, then, be manly and no one shall be able turn us over.

JOSEPH VRYENNIOS

(See, “THE SURVIVING WORKS”, “TA EVRETHENTA”,Vol. I, pp. 147,148, Leipsia, 1768)

Dedicated to the faithful children of the Orthodox Church struggling against papism, especially in the Hellenism abroad.

PROLOGUE

Since the time the patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras without the canonical decision of the Orthodox Church lifted the Anathema against the heretical papists and with frequent declarations and other activities hastened very quickly to the pope, to the orthodox world, and indeed to archbishoprics and metropolises which are dependent upon the Ecumenical Patriarchate, there was created a philo-papal and a philo-unionist climate, which reminds one of the climate prior to the fall of Constantinople. The philo-unionists then, hoping in the pope’s help for the saving of Constantinople, hastened to Ferrara and Florence and signed the false-union with the papists, being heavily pressured religiously, but also being played nationally, since essential help on the part of the pope for the saving of the Byzantine Empire was not given.

After the death of patriarch Athenagoras it was thought, that the philo-papal wave would dissolve. But unfortunately this continues to strike against the Orthodox Church, and indeed more powerfully. As events till today prove, apart from evilly cunning phrasal maneuverings papism has made no substantial step towards bridging the chasm between Orthodoxy and roman catholicism, and she remains unyielding in her errors/deceptions and heresies, and indeed in her insane dogmas concerning [papal] primacy and the infallibility of the pope. Nevertheless on the part of supposedly progressive orthodox, who are forgetful of the strict ordinances of Holy Scripture and the sacred Canons as regards relations with heretics, new openings are constantly being made towards papism. Now there prevails among many the opinion, that for the sake of unity the leader of the Christian world the pope must be recognized, whom his roman catholic followers even call living god! And a philo-papal spirit is especially observed in America and Australia.

The faithful children of the Church, which amidst an indifferent, apostasizing (falling away [from God]) and perverse generation, preserve the sensitivity and sense of the orthodox faith, are in a state of unrest from the philo-papal climate being formed and are asking to be informed well on the differences between Orthodoxy and papism. Now this unrest of the faithful children of the Church, the holiest of all unrests, which is in every respect justified and expressed through intense protests, provokes the powerful reaction of the philo-papal archbishops, metropolitans, bishops and priests of the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. And this reaction of the philo-papists reaches the point of the excommunication of faithful children of the Church! The persecution in our days of orthodox Christians reminds one of the persecutions of zealots of the orthodox faith during the abominable memory of the ecumenical patriarch John Bekkos.

Thus papism through meetings, co-prayers, concelebrations, exchange of gifts, and false-dialogues of papists with orthodox has succeeded in dividing the orthodox world again into unionists and anti-unionists, and the former to foster an antipathy for, to antipathize, hate and persecute the latter.

For the enlightenment and strengthening of the mentality of the pious/godly people our orthodox missionary brotherhood “The Cross” is reprinting and publishing in one issue, the present one, under the title “ANTI-PAPAL DISCOURSES”, five articles of the most reverend metropolitan of Florina, lord Augustine, the spiritual supervisor of the brotherhood. And for the avoidance of misunderstandings, for yet another time it is declared, that the union of the whole divided Christian world is the longing of all pious/godly Christians and a frequent prayer-wish of the Church, but the union, for it to be a true and holy union, gladdening earth and heaven, must not be supported upon the lie, upon falsehood, upon errors/deceptions and heresies, but must be supported upon the truth. Now the truth is the faith of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is the continuation of the Church of the first eight centuries. The Eastern Orthodox Church made no change to the dogmas of the faith of ancient Church. The roman catholics innovated and are in duty bound, are obligated, to set aside the innovations, so that the big obstacle for true union may be set aside.

(Anti-papal Discourses -Translated from the Original Greek)