The Sunday of Orthodoxy: about Heresy, Heretics and Ecumenism

The Sunday of Orthodoxy
We hate heresy because heresies misguide souls away from God and towards hell; this is the chief reason behind the anathema on a heresy and its creators and promoters. Despite this, we love the heretics themselves and do not say that they will necessarily end up in hell, since there is a power that is able to save them from their delusions; this power is their conscience. Plus it is not always possible to know the secret workings of Grace that may be going on within a particular soul. Within the Church today, believers who fail to make this distinction between the heresy and the heretic tend to fall into one of two errors. The one group, in order to accept the heretic in the name of “unity” and “love”, glosses over and fails to condemn and reject the heresy. This is the error of ecumenism. The other side, in their effort to rightfully condemn the heresy, also rejects and condemns the soul under the spell of the heresy, the heretic. This is the error of hardhearted legalism. Just as the true Christian must hat
e the sin and love the sinner, he must also condemn the heresy and love the heretic.
This true path may be seen in the tradition of the Holy Fathers, as it is typified so beautifully here in the service of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, on the first Sunday of Great Lent.

The so-called ninia (= little children) of the Empress Theodora, the main personality which summoned the Synod of Constantinople in 843 to bring peace to the Church.

The priests hold holy relics while monks and pilgrims icons.

In the middle, the so-called ninia (= little children) of the Empress Theodora, given by Anna Palaeologina Cantacuzene. On the right are to be seen the relics of the St. Joseph the Hesychast.

A boy from Athonite Academy was 'cheated' by a monk to look at camera.

The procession is going around the church.

It was a joyfull atmosphere despite of everyone taking photographs with their phones.

The Abbot Ephraim reads a list of certain saints, confessors and heroes of the faith as well as certain pious emperors to each of whose names the people cry out: "Eternal Memory!"

A monk is just trying to see with his own eyes

At the end of procession the Elder Ephraim reads a long list of heretics of all kinds, to each of which the answer is: "Anathema".

Father Paisios of Vatopaidi holds the icon of St Paisios the Athonite.

The relics from left to right: St. Stephen the protomartyr, St. Panteleimon, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Gregory of Decapole

School boys from Athonian Academy enjoying their icons

The canon supervises the service assisted by a young boy from Athonian Academy

The end of the procession is held in the Katholikon (main church).

It is nice to see that most of the monks somewhat resemble of their saint in the icon. Here is father Gelasios (Greek: gelao - γελάω - means 'to laugh') with the icon of his saint: St. Gelasios from Ramet.

Movements

Great monks - great personalities