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.But what will be done now by those whom the Holy Spirit hath made overseers, toshepherd the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28)?Will this false teaching, officially proclaimed in the name of the whole Church ofConstantinople, remain without protests by the Hierarchs of God? Will there be further,in the expression of St.Gregory the Theologian, the betrayal of truth by silence?Being the youngest of those who preside over the Churches, we had wished to hear thevoices of our elders before speaking out ourselves.But up to now this voice has not beenheard.If they have not yet become acquainted with the content of the "ThyateiraConfession," we entreat them to read it attentively and not to leave it withoutcondemnation.It is frightful that there might be referred to us the words of the Lord to the Church ofLaodicea: I know thy work, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold orhot.So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out ofMy mouth (Apoc.3:15-16).We now warn our flock and call out to our fellow brethren, to their faith in the Church, totheir awareness of our common responsibility for our flock before the Heavenly ChiefShepherd.We entreat them not to disdain our announcement, lest a manifest mutilation ofOrthodox teaching remain without accusation and condemnation.Its broad distributionhas moved us to inform the whole Church of our grief.We would wish to hope that ourcry will be heard.President of the Synod of Bishopsof the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of RussiaMetropolitan PhilaretDecember 6/19, 1975Day of St.Nicholas, Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia* "The Thyateira Confession, or The Faith and Prayer of Orthodox Christians," by HisEminence Athenagoras Kokkinakis, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain.Published with the Blessing and Authorization of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ofConstantinople, The Faith Press, 1975.Translated from the Russian text in Orthodox Russia, 1976, no.2, pages 1-3.31 32 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]