Why Do We Follow the Old Orthodox Calendar?

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Created on Tuesday, 29 November 2011 00:26

Why do we follow the Old Orthodox Calendar?

a Because based on it, the First Ecumenical Council established the Paschal Canon and appointed that the feast of Holy Pascha may fall anywhere from March 22nd until April 25th, while with the New (Papal) Calendar it can fall as late at May 8th.

b The Gregorian (Papal) Calendar has been condemned by three Pan-Orthodox Councils under Patriarch Jeremiah Tranos (1583, 1587, 1589)

c Through Synodal Patriarchal Encyclicals in 1593 Patriarchs Jeremiah of Constantinople, Sophronios of Alexandria, and in 1848 Patriarchs Anthimos of Constantinople, Hierotheos of Alexandria, Methodios of Antioch and Cyril of Jerusalem placed under serious penances whomever accepts the reform of the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Calendar.

d The change of the old calendar was prepared and imposed upon the Greek people by the certified Freemasons Chrysostom Papadopoulos (Metropolitan of Athens) and Meletios Metaxakis (Patriarch of Constantinople) in cooperation with the military coup of Plastiras-Gonatas without the assent of the other Orthodox Churches.

e It was suggested in the Encyclical of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1920 that the acceptance of a common calendar would aid the common celebration of all Churches. What it conceived of as “Churches” were all the heretical parasynagogues (Monophysites, Latins, Anglicans, Protestants and the rest of the cacodox) who, based on this encyclical are considered branches of the common body of the “divided Church”, thus paving the road for today’s syncretistic pan-heresy of Ecumenism.

What is Ecumenism?

Ecumenism, which is of Protestant inspiration, is a syncretistic movement of the 20th century which promotes the consolidation of all types of “Christian” heresies (Monophysites, Latins, Anglicans, Protestants etc,) through their cooperation at dialogues and meetings of the World Council of Churches, thus creating the pan-religion of the New Age, within the framework of globalization which prepares the arrival of antichrist. In order to achieve this they changed the calendar for the common celebration of all (1924). They lifted the anathemas and excommunication against the heretics of the West and have forged a secret union with them (Pope Paul IV & Patriarch Athenagoras 1965). They recognized the “mysteries” of the Western Papal pseudo-church as valid (Balamand 1993) considering it as a “Sister Church” and the second lung of the Church of Christ (perhaps with the Monophysites as the third lung?) Finally, they equated the One Only Church of Christ, the Orthodox Church with all of the degenerate pseudo-Churches which men created at the advice of the devil. (Porto Alegre – 2006 & Ravenna – 2007). Thus, today the Patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria have full communion with the Monophysites who have been condemned by the Fourth Ecumenical Council; the Phanariotes commune Roman Catholics and the Pope is commemorated by the deacon in the Patriarchal church of Constantinople as the canonical bishop of Rome.

The Ecumenists of the State Church and their joint-prayer and concelebrations with heretics:

a They believe that the Church of Christ is not only the Orthodox Church but it has been broken up into various “Christian” confessions and it must be recreated with the union of all (Orthodox, Catholic & Protestant) so that the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church may be once again as we confess in the Symbol of Faith. They deny and in other words they abolish the fundamental principal that the Orthodox Church is One holding the Truth of the Faith which guides us unto salvation. And just as Christ is One, so His Church is One as the body of Christ. For this reason there can never be division in the Church.

b They are self-condemned according to St. Paul and they have ceased to be true shepherds since the Holy Fathers forbid communion and joint-prayer in anyway with heterodox and heretics and impose serious penances on those who do such things.

c For more than 80 years now they dialogue with unrepentant heretics. St. Paul says “A man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject”. Let the modern-day Patriarchs and leaders of Ecumenism hear this. How many “admonishments” have they given them? Hundreds of meetings and endless contacts, discussions upon discussions, symposia, conferences, workshops and even cruises for “on board” discussions invented by today’s New Calendarist Patriarchs and Archbishops. And what have they accomplished? Today the heretics are much worse than they were before they started the dialogues. Not only have they failed to bring the heretics closer to Orthodoxy but the exact opposite has happened. The New Calendarists have drawn closer to the heretics and have become similar to them on many levels: the change of the calendar, the shortening of the services and mysteries, the adoption of sprinkling – or rather a foot-bath – in the Mystery of Baptism instead of triple immersion, degradation and utter disregard of fasting, modernization of the traditional dress and appearance of the clergy. The worst of all is the distortion of the Orthodox Church’s doctrines by adopting compromising theological phrases and ambiguous formulations. And what is the result? confusion, indifference and a complete relaxation of the Orthodox religious feeling of the faithful people who in earlier times were the guardian of the Faith. What is the consequence of all this? the loss of the soul’s salvation.

If St Paul lived today, the “enlightened” ecumenist “theologians” of the modern age would condemn him as a fanatic, regressive, fundamentalist “Old-Calendarist” because the Holy Apostles were not Ecumenists, they preached the Truth. They did not try to bridge the chasm between Truth and falsehood.

Who are the Genuine Orthodox Christians?

The Genuine Orthodox Christians sneeringly called "old calendarists" for 87 years endured cruel and inhuman persecution, exile, imprisonment, torture, the closing and sealing of their churches, the overturning of their epitaphia, the stripping and exile of their clerics and even death! And still today they endure the confiscation and closing of their churches and monasteries and various slanders. Why? Because the faithful of the Martyric Church of Genuine Orthodox Christians struggle, endure and persist with the help of God, not to change anything of their faith, to preserve undistorted the commandments of the Holy Apostles and the teachings of the Holy Fathers.

What is the conscientious Christian to do? Let the Saints speak.

“Even if very few remain united to the Truth and to Orthodoxy, they constitute the Church and the Body of Christ.” (St. Theodore the Studite) “Those who belong to the Church of Christ are those who are with the truth. Those who are not with the truth do not belong to the Church.” (St Gregory Palamas) “Those who pretend to confess the Orthodox Faith but maintain Eucharistic communion with the heterodox, if after being admonished they do not cease to have communion with them, not only must you not have Eucharistic communion with them but you must not even call them brethren.” (St. Basil the Great) “It is good to be peaceful with all, but at the same time to agree on those things which concern the upright faith. You should flee ecclesiastical communion with those who are excommunicated nor should you commemorate them, because they are false apostles, evil workers who simply dress as Apostles of Christ.” (St. Mark of Ephesus) “Do not accept any heretical dogma on the pretext of love.” (St. John Chrysostom) “If however the situation is concerning the Faith and the Traditions of our Church, then even he who is peaceful and quiet must war on their behalf.” (St Nicodemos)

That is why whoever wishes to save his soul must no longer remain passive, but must immediately sever all communion with the Ecumenists.

Source: «Νεανικός Ὀρθόδοξος Σύνδεσμος»