Statement of Archbishop John Concerning World Orthodoxy

As many of you know, there are many things going on within the world of Orthodoxy that we need from time to time to discuss. One among many things that presently concerns me as an Archbishop is the major statements made this past year by the leaders of certain prominent Patriarchates to indicate their desire to quickly acknowledge the Vatican false Church as in fact an Orthodox Church, and to establish some form of intercommunion therewith. As many of us that are converts have our origin within forms of Christianity from sources in Western Europe, our presence as an Orthodox Church within them is naturally extremely affected by such a possible turn of events. I do not want to hide from the Clergy my own concern that I regard this issue as an attempt by these Patriarchs to change the very meaning of the word Orthodox. While I always hope and pray that the Clergy will always treat all people with politeness and charity, I have to feel that such actions (which are described by one of the Patriarchs as : “much closer than anyone realizes”) will have to force us to reconsider the Orthodoxy of any within the Church that adopt such a dramatic redefinition of the Faith.

Also, three things that I find wrong with the theologies recently tolerated within the Patriarchates are:

1) the attempt to promote the branch theory of the Church;

2) the failure to recognize the complete Protestantization of the Vatican false Church, and

3) the toleration of Masonry as being compatible with Orthodoxy, and membership thereof being allowed even to the Clergy.