The Sacred Synod
Of the Church of the T.O.C. of Greece
In Athens, the 18th of June, 2005 (Church Cal.)
It
is with great sadness that the Sacred Synod announces to the sacred
clergy, the monastic orders and the pious laity of the True Orthodox
Church of Greece that the Most Rev. Metropolitan of Mesogaia and
Lavriotiki kyr Kirikos has decided and acted upon his breaking of
spiritual and ecclesiastical communion with the Sacred Synod.
The
Sacred Synod was informed of this during its Meeting on 17/30 July,
2005, having heard read the document (Prot. No. 390/16-6-2005, ch.
cal.) sent to it by Metropolitan Kirikos which was given to the
Hierarchs during the session of the work of the Sacred Synod.
The
Sacred Synod of the Church of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece,
during its aforementioned regular Meeting, having met after being
called into session by its President, His Beatitude Archbishop Nicholas
of Athens (Prot. No. 3216/3-6-2005, ch. cal.) in the usual meeting
Chamber of the Sacred Synod in the Ecclesiastical Spiritual Center (8
M. Mpotsaris Street, Peristeri, Athens) with the
following present: His Beatitude the former Archbishop of Athens and
President of Patras kyr Andreas, their Eminences the Metropolitans
Pachomios of Argolis, Galaction of Peristeri, Tarasios of Verroia and
Naousa, Andreas of Theva and Levadeia, and Bishop Chrysostomos of
Philippi represented by the Very Rev. Abbot Archim. Stephanos, and its
Chief Secretary, the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Fr. Demetrios
Tsarkotzoglou, immediately took up, by exeption, the matter of the
breaking of spiritual-ecclesiastical communion with the Sacred Synod by
H.E. Metropolitan Kirikos.
The
Sacred Synod examined the cited document (Prot. No. 390/16-6-2005) from
H.E. Met. Kirikos, which he directs to all the Hierarchs and which he
has communicated to “all the Sacred Clergy, Sacred Monasteries and
Parishes in Greece and abroad” is which he declares directly that “my
humility, having no other Canonical and Orthodox choice, cuts off my
spiritual – eccleciastical communion, and I erase your names from the
Diptychs of the True Orthodox Church, because for a long time now you
have denied Her and you fight Her, having aligned yourselves with the
principles of Old-Calendarist Ecumenism, while you doubt and deny by certain actions and omissions Her Ecclesiology, as well as directly denying your unbroken Apostolic Succession.”
In
justifying in the cited document his “decision,” H.E. Met. Kirikos
cites only other letters and document of his, which is unacceptable as
anticanonical and unprecedented for a document which declares and makes
known such a serious matter as that of one bishop’s breaking of
spiritual-ecclesiastical communion with the Sacred Synod. But
to this unacceptable and anticanonical action of H.E. Met. Kirikos, and
upon the underlying matter, the Sacred Synod remains steadfast by its
canonical Decisions of the Sacred Synod of the Hierarchy of 1981 and
1983, as well as every testimony that it has been responsible and
trustworthy according to the Sacred and Divine Canons and the
ecclesiastical order in examining according to the defined canonical
manner.
In
addition, there is, beyond the inexcusable lack of clarity in the
presentation and expression of the justification, and in addition to,
and chiefly, the total lack of presentation of any cited Canons, to
which there is not even a reference, in justifying his “decision,”
which must be used to base such an action. But
in this anticanonical case, moreover, the things which H.E. Met.
Kirikos does cite, are not canonical reasons which justify the severing
of ecclesiastical – spiritual communion, which, when not justified by
the Sacred Canons, that is, not acting within the canonical boundaries
and the terms and conditions and presuppositions which are contained
clearly in the words of the Divine and Sacred Canons, then such an
action is considered the action of SCHISM in the Body of the Church,
and brings down the most severe ecclesiastical punishments upon all who
dare to act in such a way.
It
is characteristic that H.E. Met. Kirikos, while proclaiming himself and
projecting himself as a “confessor” and imitator of the true Confessor
and Pillar of Orthodoxy, the ever-memorable Archbishop of Athens
Matthew, has not really imitated him in any way, forgetting that “it is
not in letters (or in idle words) that our piety is shown, but in
actions” according to the teachings and tradition of the Holy Fathers. Wherefore,
H.E. Met. Kirikos has chosen to send together with his letter severing
his ecclesiastical communion with the Sacred Synod, a photocopy of the
Letter of 5/18 September, 1937 of the ever-memorable and Confessor
Hierarch Matthew of Vresthena, apparently to impress his recipients and
to create a “connection” by relating this document to his letter. A simple comparison, however, of the two documents shows the immense difference between them. And
this because in his letter of 5/18 September, 1937, the ever-memorable
Hierarch Matthew calls upon true matters of Faith, and basing himself
upon Divine and Sacred Canons which he quotes verbatim, he severed
every spiritual communion with the Bishops Chrysostom, formerly of
Florina, and Germanos of Demetrias. In contrast,
H.E. Metropolitan Kirikos of Mesogaia, without citing any true and
proven accusation against those with whom he severs communion, cites no
matter of Faith and bases himself on no Sacred Canon, cuts off
spiritual–ecclesiastical communion with the Sacred Synod of the Church
of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece. And
this while he himself is accused before Her of his anticanonical
actions, chiefly because of his support of a declared innovation in the
Faith, because of which in the past, as a diversion, he participated in
a protracted series of pretextual accusations against its Members.
In
inacting his “decision” to sever spiritual-ecclesiastical communion
with all the Hierarchs of the Church of the True Orthodox Christians of
Greece without canonical reason and without canonical justification of
his action, H.E. Met. Kirikos essentially severs and cuts himself off
not only from the Body of the Hierarchy, but also from the broader
Ecclesiastical Body, that is, the Church Herself, outside Which there
is neither Apostolic Succession, nor Episcopate, nor Grace, nor
Salvation according to the Holy Fathers of the Church.
For
this reason, the Sacred Synod of the Hierarchy of the True Orthodox
Church of Greece having ascertained these things, and having reasoned
together in the Holy Spirit, has decided to declare this Hierarch, His
Eminence Metropolitan Kirikos of Mesogaia and Lavriotiki, deposed from
his episcopal throne, denying to him any governing or spiritual
jurisdiction, and placing upon him the punishment of suspension from
performing any sacred service, until his repentance and return has been
ascertained by the Sacred Synod.
The
Sacred Synod calls upon all the faithful and exhorts them according to
the Holy Fathers “to be in blameless unity, that you might participate
in God,” (St. Ignatius of Antioch’s Epist. to the Ephesians, 4) fighting
the good fight of our Orthodox Faith and Confession as we received them
from our Holy Fathers and from him who followed them, the
ever-memorable Archbishop Matthew, in obedience to the Hierarchy of the
Church according to the ecclesiastical order and tradition, avoiding as
fire whatever contributes to division and separation, because “nothing
so angers God as division of the Church,” and “tearing the Church is
not less an evil than heresy.” (St. John Chrysostom, P.G. 62,85).
From the Sacred Synod of the Hierarchy.