A Rejoinder to Fr. Basil Gregoriates and an Apology for Breaking Communion with Ecumenist Bishops
In every age the devil tempts the faithful by various means: persecutions, foreign invasions, the lure of worldly seduction. Among his most effective snares are heresy and schism which, by separating Christians from the Church, lead them away from Christ and into spiritual deception and apostasy. Long is the list of heresies which have tried the Church over the centuries: Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Iconoclasm, Papism, Protestantism, and many others.
When I meet people from our more established parishes, they are often curious to hear about our missionary endeavors in North Carolina. Coming from parishes that have been in existence for some time, which gather to worship in full-fledged church buildings with chanters and a congregation made up of many mature Orthodox families, mostly of Greek background, with a smattering of converts, they are often surprised to hear about our work here and what life is like on the “frontiers” of Orthodoxy. With the dual aim of providing further information to our brothers and sisters in the other parishes, and increasing interest in missions so that others may become interested in entering this field, I have decided to compose a few words about our life here and experiences.
Q. This concerns a U.S. marriage. If the marriage is civilly annulled, what is the effect upon the Church marriage? Is it also annulled?