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BEWARE THE LEAVEN OF HEROD AND THE PHARISEE

Uncanonical Or Not? Something very peculiar and alarming is happening in these United States today. For example, several Orthodox Churches who are a part of one of the five heretical Patriarchates under the banner of the Oecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople have taken an approach that is surely most uncanonical as regards their complete defiance of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. They claim that in "the northeastern Ohio areas of Cleveland, Euclid and Lorain are once again seeing the upsurge of uncanonical parishes and clergy, and, innocently, individuals are joining them only to later find out that neither their clergy nor the sacraments of Eucharist, Matrimony, Baptism or Holy Orders they have been receiving are recognized by canonical Orthodox Clergy. In order to be canonical, a church must stand in the TRADITION AND APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION of ALL other canonical Orthodox churches. REGARDING TRADITION: no parish or clergyman can abridge the Holy Canons to suit his purpose in such a way that it is outside the norms of traditional Orthodox practice, as defined in documentable historical precedent. That is: open communion cannot be practiced, fasts cannot be scorned or done away with; nationalistic phyletism cannot replace gospel evangelism, normative and canonized standards or morality cannot be disdained or blatantly ignored; nor can priests or bishops be elected by self appointment, popular vote of their congregation or ordained by clergy who are themselves uncanoncial because they are not in communion with one of the bodies below. REGARDING APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, all priests and bishops serving a parish must be under the jurisdiction of one of the following canonical groups that have maintained unbroken apostolic succession from the first century and mutually recognize the validity of each other's orders: the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Moscow, Serbia, Rumania, Bulgaria or the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America. Additionally, all canonical clergy must be presently in communion with the Ecumenical Throne of Constantinople, the "first among equals of canonical Orthodox churches." If they are not currently, even though they may have at one time been in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, they are NOT CANONICAL NOR ARE THEIR PARISHES OR DIOCESES. [NOTE: an important exception are the Oriental Orthodox Churches--in our area, the Armenian and Coptic Orthodox bodies. Presently, leaders of these churches and the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other canonical Eastern Orthodox Patriarchates are in open dialogue and full intercommunion will be forthcoming shortly. Neither of these groups has in any way transgressed either Holy Tradition or valid Apostolic Succession as is the case with the uncanonical churches herein described.] What does this practically mean for you? By joining an uncanonical parish you will isolate yourself from world orthodoxy, and your "fellow Orthodox Christian," and no sacrament you have received will possess any "grace touching unto salvation;" nor will you be able to commune in any other Orthodox church but that

2 uncanonical one you belong to--or in some cases its "federation" of churches. As a layman you will probably be baptized before gaining admission to a canonical church; minimally, you will be chrismated; you will need also to be married canonically, if you were married in one of these uncanonical churches. If you are a clergyman, you will be reduced to lay status,--perhaps even excommunicated--but always put under a period of penance and then and only then: maybe will you be considered for canonical Holy Orders". Go To: Vagante Bishops Truth of Orthodoxy Un-canonical or not?

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