SAINT PORPHYRIOS OF THE KAVSOKALYVITIS MONASTERY OF MT. ATHOS ORTHODOXY AND OTHER CHRISTIAN EXPRESSIONS

SAINT PORPHYRIOS OF THE KAVSOKALYVITIS MONASTERY

OF MT. ATHOS

 ORTHODOXY AND OTHER CHRISTIAN EXPRESSIONS

            “There is only one true Christian Church, the Orthodox Christian Church.  The spirit of faith that is proclaimed in this Church is the truth.  The other expressions of Christianity are a delusion and their teachings are in error. The Christian Truth is found in the Orthodox Christian Church.  There exist many lights in the world that we see that impress us.  But in reality, there is only one true light.  It is proper for a person to worship the only true God, our Lord Jesus Christ. The only truth concerning God is that which has been proclaimed from the beginning.

            The only Faith that unites all people is the Faith of Jesus Christ, and all of us should pray that all people in the world will come to this Faith.  This is the only way that the unity of Christianity will be accomplished.  It will not be accomplished by believing that all Christian expressions are the same and all the denominations are the same.  I pray that God will enlighten you to understand that our Church, the Orthodox Church, is not the same as other Christian expressions.”

Translated from the Greek by:

+Fr. Constantine J. Simones, Waterford, CT, USA, September 28, 2016, 860-460-9089, cjsimones300@gmail.com

A NOTE FROM THE TRANSLATER:

            Having lived the Orthodox Christian Faith for 84 years, I have come to understand the profound implications of the words of St. Porphyrios about the fullness of the Faith that is found only in the Orthodox Christian Church.  Living the Faith while encountering the storms and afflictions of life have taught me that Holy Orthodoxy is truly the Spiritual Hospital that Jesus meant it to be.  But in believing that the Orthodox Church is the only expression of Christianity that contains the fullness of the Faith that Jesus brought to the world, I do not believe that the healing presence of God does not function outside of Holy Orthodoxy.  We can never believe that our understanding of the Church hinders in any way the will of God in dealing with the inhabitants of our world the way He so desires.  We can never hinder the will of God.

            Abbot Tryphon, the Abbot of All-Savior Monastery, Vashon Island, Washington, says in his morning post what the Orthodox Christian Church is today.  “I have come to believe that Orthodoxy, if it is to thrive into the next century, must adhere to the ancient traditions and roots of the Faith that have set her apart from other expressions of Christianity.  The Church must proclaim the Good News of Christ in all its purity, so that the mystical and sacramental core of her very being be clearly seen by a world that so needs this ancient unchanging Faith.  The world must see by our differences that Orthodoxy offers the transformational healing that comes through the life of Christ’s Church.  By clinging to her ancient God-inspired Tradition, the Church takes seriously the mystical and sacramental roots of her divinely founded self.”

Proof of the powerful presence of God in the Holy Orthodox Church today is found in the multitude of Saints that it continues to produce in the 21^st century.  Saints Porphyrios, Paisius, Tsalikis, and Luke the Physician are just a few proving that the Holy Spirit continues to work powerfully in the life of the Church today.   May the Grace of Jesus Christ enlighten us all to understand the great treasure into which we have been born. + Fr. Costas J. Simones.

GLORIFIED IS GOD IN HIS HOLY SAINTS

ΔΟΞΑ ΤΩ ΘΕΩ ΕΝ ΤΟΙΣ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΥ

“Μία θρησκεία μόνον είναι, ή Όρθόδοξος Χριστιανική Θρησκεία.  Καί τό πνεύμα αύτό τό Όρθόδοξον είναι τό άληθές.  Τά άλλα πνεύματα, είναι πνεύματα πλάνης καί οί διδασκαλίες είναι μπερδεμένες.

            Ή άλήθεία είναι στήν Όρθοδοξίαν.  Ύπάρχουν πολλά φώτα πού βλέπει κανείς καί έντυπωσιάζεται, μά ένα είναι τό φώς τό άληθινόν.  Άξίζει νά λατρέψη κανείς τόν μόνον άληθινόν Θεόν, τόν Κύριον ήμών Ίησούν Χριστόν.  Οί άλήθιες τού Θεού όπως τές έχει πεί, άπό τήν άρχήν, αύτές είναι.  Δέν ύπάρχουν άλλες άλήθιες.

            Μόνον ή Θρησκεία τού Χριστού ένώνει καί όλοι πρέπει νά προσευχόμαστε νά έλθουν σ' αύτήν.  Έτσι θά γίνη ένωσις, όχι μέ τό νά πιστεύεις ότι όλοι είμαστε τό ίδιο καί ότι όλες οί θρησκείες είναι τό ίδιο.  Προσεύχομαι ό Θεός νά σάς δώση φώτισιν νά καταλάβετε ότι δέν έχει σχέσιν ή Θρησκεία, ή Όρθοδοξία μας μέ άλλες θρησκείες.”

Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΠΟΡΦΥΡΙΟΣ ΚΑΥΣΟΚΑΛΥΒΙΤΗΣ

ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΚΗΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ