Greek theologian warns of danger in union between OCU and Greek-Catholics
According to Fr. Arsenios Vliagkoftis, a respected Greek theologian and sectarian studies expert from the Monastery of St. Arsenios of Cappadocia in Halkidiki, clergy of the OCU possess a distorted ecclesiastical consciousness.
In an interview with the UOJ in Greece, he commented on the current ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine, describing members of the OCU as "schismatics" and warning of a dangerous drift from schism into outright heresy.
"With deep sorrow, I observe that the Ukrainian schismatics under Epifaniy Dumenko leadership maintain very close ties with the Uniates and even conduct joint liturgical services with them. This shows they do not have an Orthodox mind – their ecclesiastical consciousness is distorted," Fr. Arsenios said.
He emphasized that the creation of the OCU was a politically motivated attempt to strike at the canonical Church led by Metropolitan Onuphry.
"This whole scheme with Epifaniy Dumenko was constructed to strike a blow at the canonical Church. Its members were either irregularly ordained or defrocked – most of them do not even have valid priesthood," the theologian noted.
He lamented the schism between the Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates that followed the creation of the OCU, calling it "deeply bitter, unfortunate, and painful for all Orthodox believers."
Fr. Arsenios also warned of the growing influence of ecumenism and religious syncretism within the Orthodox world.
"Inter-Christian ecumenism teaches that all Christian denominations are roughly equal – the 'branch theory,' the 'two lungs' theory, and so on. Inter-religious syncretism goes further, saying that not only Christian confessions, but even different religions – Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam – are all more or less the same. These are demonic ideas," he stated.
Quoting St. Justin Popovich, he reminded that “ecumenism is the pan-heresy” and added: "Ecumenism is a demonic theory, claiming that there is truth and valid priesthood outside Orthodoxy – among Papists, Protestants. This is not merely a heresy. It is the pan-heresy. A demonic delusion."
As the UOJ previously reported, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (under the Ecumenical Patriarchate) recently claimed that all religions are myriads of paths leading to one God.
