Chapel of Sts. Elizabeth and Etheldreda

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, the first Christian King, realized that the Church of Christ was plagued with various (incorrect) dogmatic opinions of Arius, the protopresbyter of Alexandria. Constantine therefore organized in 325 AD the first Great Ecumenical Council at Nicea in Asia Minor. 318 God-bearing Fathers from all the ends of the Orthodox Christian world hurried to meet so as to deliver (protect) the Church from heresy. King Constantine was present throughout the council. Many of the Fathers that were present had suffered greatly for their confession in the name of Christ, during the reign of the previous King. Some had one eye removed, others had their noses or their ears cut off, others had their hands cut off or other injuries. The first day of this event was amazing, for at the day’s conclusion after the prayer, the earth trembled. This bore witness that the decisions made at the holy gathering, were not of the will of man, but by the very breath of the Holy Spirit.

The main topic of discussion was the Divinity of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, in other words Jesus Christ. The Holy Fathers were saying that Christ was the Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Arius though, was saying that while Christ was the Son of God, He was not begotten of the Father, but created by the Father at some point in time, that is, there was a time that He did not exist. Arius blasphemed against Christ, saying that Christ received flesh from the Virgin Mary only in appearance and not in actuality. Because Arius and his supporters used great and eloquent words, and the Holy Fathers were humble and not able to speak so eloquently, the Holy Fathers found themselves at the gates of the heretics.

Then, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycea, Nicholas, consumed with sadness, slapped Arius across the cheek. Arius reported this to the King and succeeded in having the Saint thrown in jail. There in the middle of the night, St. Nicholas of Myra was visited by Christ the Saviour and the Ever-virgin Theotokos. From them he received a golden Gospel Book and a golden weaved Omophorion (Pallium). The King, having heard about the miracle and seeing the miraculous gifts, released St. Nicholas.

Yet another Hierarch who participated in the Synod was St. Spyridon of Trimythus. Because the Saint was Cypriot, I believe that everyone here knows of the miracle he performed with the potsherd. [Translator’s note: St. Spyridon used a piece of potsherd to illustrate how one single entity (a piece of pottery) could be composed of three unique entities (fire, water and clay); a metaphor for the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. As soon as St. Spyridon finished speaking, the shard is said to have miraculously burst into flame, water dripped on the ground, and only dust remained in his hand.]

As glorious as the miracle is of the heavenly gifts that St. Nicholas received, equal is the miracle that St. Spyridon performed. Both gave courage to the pious to prevail over the heretics. Slowly-slowly, like this, the Holy Fathers—with the help of the Holy Spirit—triumphed. Although they were full of divine love towards others, with mercy and with tears in their eyes, they anathematized and removed Arius from the Synod as an enemy of the Son of God and an antichrist.

Later, the Fathers composed the Symbol of the Faith, and 20 canons, for the smoothing of the liturgical unity of the Church. They also decided that the Orthodox Church must follow the Julian calendar to the end of the ages, and they wrote a Paschalion, in other words, when Pascha was to be celebrated for every year till the end of time. Two of the Fathers reposed which caused the Synod great tears. The King placed the decisions of the Synod signed by the remaining 316 Fathers in the two reposed Fathers’ coffins. The morning of the second day, to the astonishment of all, they found the signatures of the 2 reposed Fathers on the documents, in other words 318 signatures.

Like we said in last Thursday’s homily, on the Ascension of Christ, it is a feast that concludes the cycle of the events of the Incarnate God, for the deliverance of mankind from death. Today the first Sunday after the Ascension, we commemorate those Fathers who preached and defended the truth, proclaiming that Christ the Son of God, was begotten of the Father before all ages, that He descended from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, that He was crucified, suffered, and was buried, and arose on the third day and ascended into the Heavens and sits at the right hand of the Father as "consubstantial [coessential or of same essence] with the Father."

For Orthodoxy, the First Ecumenical Council is a lighthouse which bestows light and sustains all of the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and the faithful, or whoever wishes to keep the truth of the Gospel. Today, more than ever before, the true faith is threatened by beasts more fearful than then. The Ecumenists, the New Calendarists, and the papophiles (pope-lovers) find themselves in a much worse state than the Arians. Is there in our days a St. Nicholas or St. Spyridon? Is there a saint to humiliate them by words alone, or with miracles, or with fear tactics? We are fooled by the convenient freedom which has been bestowed on us by those who tore the seamless tunic of Christ into a thousand pieces. Every one of us has an obligation to always remember the valour and faith of those who suffered danger to their lives to protect the Church from the poison of false brethren. Obviously we are joyous today, because we have inherited the true faith and we have the possibility of salvation. But lately, who struggles towards this? Do we? Definitely not! The Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils struggled for this, the Holy Confessors of ages past, for example: St. Photius the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople; St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica; St. Mark Eugenicus, Bishop of Ephesus; St. Cosmas the Aetolian; St. Nicodemus the Athonite; and many more. They never rested, day or night, from delivering the teachings and dogmas of the faith. They were bright lamps from whom their successors received the light of Orthodoxy.

Can it be that our descendants will have these examples from which to learn how they must keep the faith? The Saints were teachers of the world and we cannot even direct our own families. Do not think that for your children to be obedient to you, many words are needed. What are needed are many examples. But let us look what the father does. By the time he reaches church he smokes a cigarette. He enters the church for half an hour and then goes outside for another cigarette. At the end of Liturgy he rushes to receive antidoron. Then in the courtyard of the church, while in the company of others of like mind, he lights another cigarette. Do you think there is a bigger insensibility than this? What shall we call these people? Shall we call them Christians? Shall we call them zealots? What kind of Orthodoxy are they going to teach their children?

But enough about the father. Now let us look at what the mother does. When she comes to church, she has only one care: what to wear and how to decorate herself. She concerns herself with two things: how to not draw the attention of the clergy because she is not dressed properly, and for others to not form the opinion that she is not beautiful. Thus, one hangs earrings on her ears; another paints her nails; one wears several bracelets on her wrists; another, rings on her fingers. And, with child in hand, she comes to church. Once she enters the church, she remembers to wear her head cover. But she wears it in a manner where she must take it off, put it back on, over and over, until the end of the Liturgy.

Now if anyone thinks I am overdoing it, I will say a few words of St. John Chrysostom, from his homily "Regarding Herodias and Salome the Murderers of the Baptist." And if anyone opposes, they can complain to the Saint and not to me. Just like you do not like people saying things against you, I do not like it either. So, this is what St. John Chrysostom says: "Woman! You come to church with bright garments; you file (sharpen) your nails like a dragon; you hang metal on your hands, ears, and around your throat, like a slave, but you don’t think that your soul is black. Do you forget that you came here to cry, and not to display yourself?" In another homily of his, about the woman who washed the feet of Christ with myrrh, he says this: "The harlot that washed the feet of Christ with her hair should have washed His feet with her head-covering (scarf). But because she did not have one, she washed with her hair." Why though did she not have a head-covering? Because without a head-covering is how harlots roamed the streets! "Honourable women," says St. John Chrysostom, "from the moment the clergyman blesses their wedding, should not allow for the sun to ever see their hair." Firm words! But we must say them. If I, who am your Shepherd, do not say them to you, then who will tell you?

The Sixth Ecumenical Synod says: "The women who beautify themselves and cut their hair, or the man who cuts his beard and his moustache, cannot commune for one year. And if they die like this, God will not recognize them as His creation, because they have a demonic face, and are an icon of Satan, and are not ‘according to the image and likeness’ of their Creator." I do not say these things. I only repeat the words of the Holy Fathers, because if I don’t say these things to you, on the day of judgement, you will accuse me that I never told you. It is good for me to say these things, but it is better for you to listen and to apply these things, so that neither you nor I may be judged. I know that we live in the world and many say we must keep up with the times. But listen to what Christ said in today’s Gospel: "Holy Father, I ask on their behalf," and then, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine." So, we have heard that He does not defend the world but defends those that live in the world and want to do His will and not the will of the world. Maybe some people say, "God does not care about our looks (i.e., about clothes and beards), God cares about a clean heart." Yes, this is so. But a tree cannot bear fruit, if it first doesn’t sprout leaves. All of the trees sprout leaves easily, but few trees bear fruit. Like this, first do the things that are easy (i.e., practice the sprouting of leaves), so that you can later do the more difficult things (i.e., bear fruit). If you believe that you have a clean heart, you are deceived by the demons. Earlier Christians were not like that. The people today think that they are clever. The earlier Christians were smarter, and more educated than us. Now, the human culture grows in everything except wisdom. Brethren, because today we remember the Holy Fathers, this is why I remembered various teachings of these Fathers, even if [these latter teachings] are not dogmatic. For, just as knots are used to knit, so also do all Christian teachings complete Orthodoxy. If we undo a knot, slowly-slowly, we undo the whole knit. It is the same with the Christian. If he tramples on one small commandment, he will become negligent, from negligence he passes to apathy (i.e., lack of caring), and then, slowly-slowly, he loses Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is a pearl of great value. It is found with great difficulty but is easily lost. But whoever possess it, is the most blessed among people. This pearl is what must be given as an inheritance to our descendants (i.e., to our children).

Now we send our children to remote schools to be educated, where the name of the God of the Christians is never mentioned. There they are vaccinated with the atheist poison. I wonder: if they ever return, will they still find that sweet milk of strong faith which conquers the poison? And whose fault will this be? Theirs, because they went? Or ours, because we sent them? Which of these two is better: a) to live in the city with people and eat bread every two days; or, b) to live in the forest with the beasts and eat meat every day? I believe that in the city is better. There you are sure that you will eat a little bread every two days and will not die. In the forest, even though you are eating meat every day, every moment you are in danger of being devoured by the beasts. Thus, if we leave from the road of the demons and walk on the road of the Saints, we will have our daily bread, and we will be protected from the seven-headed beasts of Ecumenism and Papism: by the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the prayers of our Holy Fathers. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Gathered by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, with one mouth and one heart, we declare to all Orthodox Christians, where-so-ever they may be, and confess before God and men, the following:

a)In 1924 the introduction of the new Papist calendar, which was condemned and judged by the three Pan-Orthodox Councils of 1583, 1597 and 1593, and which served as the first step of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s entry into Ecumenism, caused a real schism triggered by clearly doctrinal, namely ecclesiological, reasons. Therefore the New Calendar “Churches,” formed in 1924 and afterwards, are schismato-heretical and the “mysteries” held by its celebrants are not recognized, since Divine Grace, according to the teaching of the Fathers, does not act upon schismatics. The Genuine Orthodox Christians, in 1924, remained faithful to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, adding nothing and omitting nothing, and thus continued and continue to be the faithful members of the Body of the Church of Christ, and they—both Clergy and Laity—represent and express Her.

b)The deviations from the above Confession – Ecclesiology by each of the false brethren caused various schisms, first of which was that of the former Metropolitan of Florina, Chrysostom, in 1937. These schisms have a Doctrinal – Ecclesiological cause, namely, the blasphemous theory regarding the so called “potential but not actual” schism of the new Papist calendar. A similar schism of ecclesiological nature is proven to have also occurred in the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania by the Old Calendarist group in Romania which received its succession of Episcopal ordinations from the New Calendarist, Galaction Cordun. This group accepted the Florinite cacodoxy and identified itself with the schismatic Florinite faction of Cyprian of Phyle, with which its successors and followers march. These ecclesiological deviations are condemned and averted by the local Genuine Orthodox Churches of Greece, Africa, Russia, Cyprus and Romania.

c)But the following newer schisms of 1995 and 2005 in Greece and Cyprus, absolutely have the same Doctrinal – Ecclesiological origins with that very Florinite schism of 1937, and essentially serve as the continuation, extension and broadening of the same. By all of these schismato-heretics, of 1995 and 2005, an attempt was made, albeit unsuccessful, to interrupt the Apostolic Succession, as much as with the failed “cheirothesia,” as with all the other traps and deceitful methods since 1971, and finally with their audacious and brazen en masse retreat, in 2003, from what was in essence and actuality a simple prayer of absolution into a “cheirothesia.” They pursued this, not only to disgrace the Apostolic Succession, but also to make the Confession – Ecclesiology baseless and void, and thereby the recently deceased New Calendarist Archbishop Christodulus could “resolve the old calendarist problem,” as he had planned.

This Confession, which we formulated unanimously at the first encounter and discussion between our local Churches about the topic of union, is the same Confession which our Fathers preserved in the midst of persecutions, “without innovation and without reduction,” and upon which we, as upon a firm foundation, stand. We also secured our unity and that of our flocks, in our Mother, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and through her we are preserved upright and unharmed by the innovators and heretics of the current ecumenistic apostasy.

Today, we also promise to preserve this Confession, and to also confess our common march, because this Confession, as “handed down by the holy Fathers” and according to the very Confession of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, is the most secure confirmation that we are strengthened to be genuine members of the Body of Christ and participants in His salvific divine Grace. According to St. Maximus the Confessor, “Christ the Lord called that Church the Catholic Church which maintains the true and saving CONFESSION of the Faith” (Minge P.G. 90, 132), and according to the Seventh Ecumenical Council, “whoever has this confession is a genuine son and participant of the Catholic Church.” The Church can even be “preserved among three persons,” according to the Holy Fathers.

We also officially declare this same Confession now, in order to confirm and seal the complete ecclesiastical unity of our local Churches, which we accommodated and declared after the discussions, verdicts and decisions of our Holy Synods of the local Churches of Greece, Africa, Russia, Cyprus and Romania.

We specifically DECLARE that:

a)We embrace, accept and confess whatever the Holy Apostles and God-bearing Fathers in the Ecumenical and Local Councils handed down to us to preserve, “adding nothing, and subtracting nothing”, because “he who accepts modernism or innovation denies the faith of Christ and falls under the eternal anathema”, according to the decision of the Pan-Orthodox Council of Constantinople in 1848. The Holy Apostles and our Holy Fathers, convened together in the Holy Spirit, gave unto us “that which they received” from Christ, therefore it is necessary and beneficial for us to preserve this sacred Heritage, because in the future we will need to “give our word” on the day of Judgment, that we have wholly preserved [that which we received]. Likewise in the present declaration we refer to the Confessions of St. Photius the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople, St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, and St. Mark Eugenicus, Bishop of Ephesus. The later bishops, clergy and fullness of the laity, also followed their path even until the contemporary confessors of the Genuine Orthodox Church, as much in Greece and Cyprus, as in Romania and Russia. Also following this Confession were the Blessed Bishops of Greece, Matthew I of Bresthena, Matthew II of Bresthena, Chrysostom of Messenia, Agathangelus of Tenus, Meletius of Attica, Bessarion of Tricala, Demetrius of Thessalonica, John of Thebes, Eumenius of Crete, Lazarus of Bresthena, Panaretus of Larisa, Gorgonius of Citrus, and, for the most part of his life (until he was misled at the end by his evil advisors), Andrew of Patras. Also following this Confession were the Blessed Bishops of Cyprus, Spyridon of Trimythus and Epiphanius of Citium; those of Romania, Victor of Bucharest, Nephon of Tomis and Clement of Iasi; and those of Russia, especially Joseph of Petersburg, Andrew of Ufa, Peter (Ladygin) of Glazov and Barnabas (Belyaev) of Pechersk, and several other New Martyrs and Confessors. We also, following their remnant and teaching and declaring their Confession to all, exclaim to them MEMORY ETERNAL.

b)We recognize the consecrations which occurred in Greece in 1935, 1948 and 1995 (we only refer to these dates because they constitute special stages in the history of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece), as dogmatically complete and perfect, Orthodox and Canonical, and not needing any “cheirothesia” or “prayer of absolution.” The decision of 1971, [prepared by the then Bishop Laurus Shkurla of Manhattan,] which occurred as a result of sly onslaughts against the Genuine Orthodox Confession and the uninterrupted Apostolic Succession, was never fulfilled in Greece, firstly because [the decision itself] was hidden by the Delegation [consisting of Bishops Callistus and Epiphanius and Fathers Eugene and Calliopius], and was only revealed much later by the Florinites, and, secondly, because it was never declared to be a cheirothesia, but rather, according to the statement of the Delegation and later by Metropolitan Philaret Voznesensky of New York, it was a simple prayer of absolution, [which was only accepted by our Synod] to nullify every argument of the Florinites, who refused to unite with the Church because of the “single-handed” [consecration]. This prayer of absolution was tolerated in Greece, because it had no relation to the dogmatic uprightness and fullness of the mystery of the single-handed consecration. But much later, especially from 2003 onwards, [various hierarchs and clergy of our Church,] “with bared head,” reconstructed the meaning of the prayer of absolution into a so-called “cheirothesia as upon schismatics,” thereby giving substance to the unsubstantial (according to the Church) “cheirothesia.” An example of this is the so-called “condemnation of the cheirothesia” enacted by those surrounding Nicholas (act no. 3280/28.11.2007), [who, in “condemning” the cheirothesia, have suggested that there actually was one to begin with, and have thereby] blasphemed against their own Apostolic Succession, which they have now denied. We, on the other hand, confess that the consecrations of 1935, 1948 and 1995 are complete and perfect, and we place under anathema all those who prate otherwise and attempt to cover up the “discharges” of the Drama Magistrate’s Court 46/91 and Piraeus Magistrate’s Court 54/76 [in which the leaders of today’s Gregorian and Nicholaitan factions, respectively,—while still members of the Church—secretly defended their orders in the local Magistrate’s Courts based on the so-called “cheirothesia” of 1971, a blasphemy which, no doubt, led to their later fall from the Church, in 1995 and 2005, respectively].

c)We, as genuine shepherds of the Church, therefore condemn and place under anathema both New Calendarist and Old Calendarist Ecumenism alike, as well as the schismato-heresies and blasphemies created by the above forms of Ecumenism, which vainly war against the Church of Christ. In particular, we condemn the Pan-heretical Encyclical of the Patriarchal Synod of Constantinople in 1920 and the false Pan-Orthodox Council under Meletius Metaxakis in 1923. We specifically condemn the schismato-heresies ensuing from the above, namely, that in Russia caused by Antoninus Granovsky and the Renovationists (1922), in Greece by Chrysostom Papadopoulos (1924), in the regions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by Gregory (1924), in Romania by Miron Cristea (1924), in Alexandria by Meletius Metaxakis (1926), in Russia by Sergius Stragorodsky (1927), and in Cyprus by Cyril III (1928). We also condemn the ensuing schisms in Greece by the former Bishop of Florina, Chrysostom Kavourides (1937), the former Bishop of the Cyclades, Germanus Varykopoulos (1943), the former Bishop of Corinth, Callistus Makris and his successor Cyprian Koutsoumpas (1977-1979), the former Bishop of Messenia, Gregory Roussis (1995), and the former Bishop of Piraeus, Nicholas Mesiakaris (2005). We also condemn the schism in Romania currently led by Blasius Mogarzan. All the above heresies and schisms were created by the dark and antichristian centers of Papo-ecumenism, and that which hides behind it, namely, Judaeo-masonry, which has been warring against the Church for 88 years. But, just as today’s Confessional Inter-ecclesiastical Council makes evident, “The Church is warred against, but she overcomes; she is insulted, but she stands most bright; she is rocked, but she does not sink; she receives blows, but she does not fall (St. John Chrysostom).” The slaughtered lamb of the Apocalypse rose victorious. For “they will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them (Rev. 17:14).” And “this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our Faith (1 John 5:4).”

Finally, by our current Synodical Act, we openly declare the always existing (according to our common Confession – Ecclesiology) UNITY between our local Churches, recognizing each other as brethren and fellow servants in Christ. Calling upon the Grace of the Holy Spirit, to heal anything ailing and fill anything missing, we seal our unity with an embrace in Christ, with a greeting, and with the Communion of our Lord’s All-immaculate Body and Blood from the same Cup.

In the year of our Lord, 2008.

The Holy and Sacred Pan-Orthodox Synod

+ CERYCUS, by the mercy of God, Metropolitan of Mesogaea and Laureotica
(First-Hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Greece and Diaspora).

+ MATTHEW, by the mercy of God, Metropolitan of Nairobi and all Kenya
(First-Hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa).

+ SERAPHIM, by the mercy of God, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine
(First-Hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Catacomb Church of Russia).

+ PARTHENIUS, by the mercy of God, Metropolitan of Citium and all Cyprus
(First-Hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus).

+ CASSIAN, by the mercy of God, Metropolitan of Bacau and all Moldavia
(First-Hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Catacomb Church of Romania).

+ GERONTIUS, by the mercy of God, Bishop of Vrancea.

Paschal Epistle

  “We celebrate the slaying of death,
the dethronement of hades, and
a new life of eternal renewal.”

Beloved brethren and children in the Lord,

We, your spiritual shepherds, have the habit of preparing and delivering “Paschal Epistles” during this time of the Bright and Joyous Resurrection. Many of these may have a deep meaning and are rich in theological and pastoral technicality, but are poor in regards to teaching one how to live spiritually and resurrectionally…

We tend to voice to one another our paschal greeting without making this greeting apply to our own personal death and resurrection.  And this is because the idea of “co-resurrection with Christ” is missing within us, even though this is the means whereby our Savior’s Resurrection lives within us. We are missing within us the “slaying of the hades of sinfulness” and the immediately followed “new life of eternal renewal.”

This mystery of the co-resurrection of mankind with the Risen Christ is the mystery of our salvation. And as a mystery it cannot be circumscribed, it cannot be analyzed. On the contrary, it can only be lived.  And this way of life means that the kingdom of sin is shattered within us, the locked gates of hades are broken, and only then does the light of the Resurrection shine within us. Otherwise, no matter how much we greet one another with “Christ is Risen,” and no matter how much we preach with our mouths and lips the response “Truly He is Risen,” if we yet remain in the tomb of indifference, evil, pride and lack of repentance, we remain outside of themystery of salvation.

In such a manner, although we say with great words, and although we print fantastic greetings, although we feel an apparent worldly joy, we do not meet the Risen Christ. On the contrary, we deny him by our evil actions. We, from the Royal Doors exclaim “Come receive ye the light, of the unwaning light,” and you all run to light your candles. And despite all of this, we remain for the most part in darkness. Because, if by our sinful life we extinguish the light within us, how overwhelming is the darkness? If our lips voice “we celebrate the slaying of death” and yet we live as though we are dead, hopeless and careless towards the spiritual things, and if we are not moved by the plea of St. Joseph of Arimathea to ask for the body of Jesus for burial, and if we are not inspired by the courage of St. Nicodemus and the bravery of the myrrh-bearing women, and if we remain in the tomb of denial and of faithlessness, then what use is it for us to say “Christ is Risen?”

How can we work towards our exit from the tomb of sinfulness?  How can we celebrate a true Pascha? Through co-resurrection! But first we must pass through the road of co-crucifixion. To walk with Christ towards Golgotha and be lifted up on the Cross with Him is of great necessity for the achievement of co-resurrection. And this walking with Christ and being lifted up on the cross with Him, receives its worth and becomes a reality only through humility and contrition. Even if we directly deny the Teacher, there is still a way of returning to the right road and walking with Him. For, after his third denial of Christ, upon hearing the cock cry thrice, St. Peter “went out and cried bitterly.”

Only the humiliated and brokenhearted know the road of repentance and contrition. And only those who have passed through their own personal Golgotha of humility and martyrdom (which in this case means repentance), and have reached the empty tomb, live resurrectionally and are given a foretaste of the inexpressible joy of eternity. Only those who know Christ in their lives as the “slain lamb” see him as the conqueror of death, because only they understand the meaning “he came victorious and that he may conquer.”

Beloved brethren, as always, even today the road towards Golgotha is the road that is directed by the true Church of Christ. Rather, the Church is the only road towards Golgotha. It is the only way towards Resurrection. It is the Church of the Cross and the Resurrection. They who remain as members of the Church, they who hold unadulterated and uncounterfeited the good Confession (that is, Orthodoxy, which cannot be understood without Orthopraxy, which is walking with and being crucified with Christ), only they indeed rise up to the martyric road of Golgotha, only they really celebrate the Resurrection, only they are deemed worthy of co-resurrection with Christ, and only they experience the reality of the Paschal greeting:

“Christ is Risen! – Truly He is Risen!”

Your fervent supplicant before the Risen Lord,

+ Metropolitan Cerycus of Mesogaea and Laureotica