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Spitting in the Face of the Fathers: World 'Orthodox' Participation in the Papist Mass Following the Sunday of Holy Orthodoxy

Writer: Subdeacon Nektarios, M.A.Subdeacon Nektarios, M.A.

Subdeacon Nektarios, M.A.

 

In yet another unsurprising act of heretical ecumenism among the World "Orthodox" primates of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America, the respective first hierarchs—Elpidophoros, Tikhon, and Irinej—prayerfully participated in the heretical Papist Mass during the installation of Roman Catholic Cardinal Robert McElroy as the 8th Archbishop of Washington, D.C.

Archbishop Elpidophoros (GOARCH), Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA), Bishop Irinej (Serbian Patriarchate)
Archbishop Elpidophoros (GOARCH), Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA), Bishop Irinej (Serbian Patriarchate)

As reported by the Orthodox Observer—the media arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America—in a tagged post with the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations:


On March 11, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America attended the installation Mass of the eighth Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, His Eminence Cardinal Robert McElroy. He personally congratulated the newly-installed Archbishop. The ceremony, held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., included a service and procession of local and visiting Cardinals, Bishops and Clergy. Cardinal McElroy was installed by His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.


In early January, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal McElroy, then Bishop of San Diego, as Archbishop of Washington, and accepted the retirement of his predecessor Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington since 2019. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington includes Washington, D.C., and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s [1].


All of these pseudo-bishops from the three major World "Orthodox" jurisdictions remained throughout the entirety of the hierarchal Novus Ordo Mass. Each of them can be seen on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s YouTube channel participating in the blasphemous Creed of the Latins, the recitation of the Our Father, the polluted consecration of the Latin pseudo-mysteries, and, finally, giving the Kiss of Peace to the Papist clergy serving at their altar [2].


As all True Orthodox Christians know, this heretical ecumenist activity is absolutely contrary to the canons of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Yet without impunity, these false teachers and pseudo-bishops violate Apostolic Canon 45, Canon 64, and Canon 33 of the Council of Laodicea, which state, respectively:


Canon XLV: Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who has only prayed with heretics, be excommunicated: but if he has permitted them to perform any clerical office, let him be deposed [3].


Canon LXIV: If any clergyman or layman shall enter into a synagogue of Jews or heretics to pray, let the former be deposed and let the latter be excommunicated [4].


Canon XXXIII: No one shall join in prayers with heretics or schismatics [5].

 

Also in attendance at this Mass, standing alongside Bishops Elpidophoros, Tikhon, and Irinej throughout these liturgical events, were representatives of the ecumenically condemned Monophysite jurisdiction, as well as other non-Christian figures—including a female Jewish rabbi and a Muslim imam.


The Lord Himself has warned us of these false teachers in Scripture, saying: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits" (St. Matthew 7:15, KJV). Is this not proof enough that one cannot remain in communion with these unrepentant pseudo-bishops who not only preach another gospel but live by another gospel, another ethos, and another faith—one that is not truly Orthodox?


Saint Paul, in the Holy Scriptures, commands us: "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us" (2 Thessalonians 3:6, KJV).


Is praying inside a house of heresy, alongside Latin Papists, Monophysite Copts, Jews, and Muslims, walking orderly and according to tradition? God forbid! You must follow the example of the Holy Apostles and flee from these heretical bishops, as Saint Paul has commanded us to do.

In the very liturgical text of the Orthodox Church, in commemoration of the Holy New Hieromartyr Maximus Sandovich, we pray during Great Vespers:


Spurning the heresy of the Latins, thou didst flee to Mount Pochaev, the bastion of pure Orthodoxy; and with the holy hierarch Anthony as thy teacher, thou didst study the doctrines of piety and the dogmas of truth. And after thine ordination to the priesthood, thou didst return to thy native land, where thou didst nurture thy pious flock in the pastures of righteousness. Pray thou, that we all be saved [6].


How can these pseudo-bishops, in one breath, pray alongside Latin heretics, and in the next, stand at an Orthodox altar and recite prayers that condemn the very heresy of the Latins while praising the saints who fled from it?


Archbishop Elpidophoros Greeting the Pro-LGBT Cardinal
Archbishop Elpidophoros Greeting the Pro-LGBT Cardinal

In another liturgical text of our Church, in the service for the Twenty-Six Martyred Monks of Zographou, we pray:


Through communion ye became sons of God, O steadfast venerable spiritual athletes, and having denounced the vile delusion of the heresy of the Latins and been reduced to ashes by the fire, ye have been crowned by Christ with a twofold wreath.


Ode V

Canon I

With the power of the dogmas ye first cut down the heresy of the Latins, O wise ones; and were then murdered by them with fire. And having offered yourselves up fervently as sacrifices to the Lord, ye now join chorus with the angelic choirs, O ever-memorable ones.


Ode V

Canon I

That ye might receive everlasting life in the heavens, O most wise ones, ye gave your bodies over to temporal fire, denouncing the heresy of the Latins. Wherefore, rejoicing today, we celebrate your festival [7].


And lastly—worst of all—this Papist Hierarchal Mass, attended by the primates of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America, took place on March 11, 2025 (secular calendar)—just two days after the Sunday of Holy Orthodoxy.


On that very Sunday, we solemnly pray The Service of Supplication for the Conversion of Those Who Have Gone Astray and proclaim the Anathema, chanting:


To those who do not confess with heart and mouth that the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father alone, essentially and hypostatically, as Christ sayeth in the Gospel, ANATHEMA! [8].


These constant and blatant violations of Holy Orthodoxy—the preaching of another gospel and the living of another gospel by these pseudo-hierarchs—can no longer be tolerated. With this, I leave you with the words of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who teaches us, saying:


“Brethren, be not deceived. If any man follows him that separates from the truth, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and if any man does not stand aloof from the preacher of falsehood, he shall be condemned to hell. For it is obligatory neither to separate from the godly, nor to associate with the ungodly. If anyone walks according to a strange opinion, he is not of Christ, nor a partaker of His passion; but is a fox, a destroyer of the vineyard of Christ. Have no fellowship with such a man, lest ye perish along with him” [9].




 

References


[1]. “Archbishop Elpidophoros of America Attends Installation Mass,” Orthodox Observer Facebook Page, accessed March 14th, 2025, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15PHQwzwEd/


[2]. “Installation Mass of Robert Cardinal McElroy, 8th Bishop of Washington — March 11, 2025, National Shrine YouTube Channel, accessed March 14th, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgBxiYIzs34


[3]. The Canons of the Holy and Altogether August Apostles, “Canon XLV,” in Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Volume 14, ed. Philip Schaff & Henry Wace (Peabody: Hendrickson Publications, 1999), 597.


[4]. Ibid., 598.


[5]. The Canons of the Synod Held in the City of Laodicese, “Canon XXXIII,” in Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, Volume 14, ed. Philip Schaff & Henry Wace (Peabody: Hendrickson Publications, 1999), 150.


[6]. Subdeacon Nektarios Harrison, The History of Resistance: From the Apostles to the Twentieth Century (Washington, D.C.: Orthodox Traditionalist Publications, 2024), 246.


[7]. Ibid., 266.


[8]. “The Service of Supplication for the Conversion Who Have Gone Astray,” Holy Trinity Monastery Jordanville, accessed March 14th, 2025, https://jordanville.org/files/Articles/Anathemas.pdf


[9]. Epistle to the Philadelphians, “Chapter III.-Avoid Schismatics,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, ed. Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson (Peabody: Hendrickson Publications, 1999), 80.


 

Ecumenist Pseudo-Bishop Participants




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