Archbishop Elpidiros and Father Alexander, I would be willing to bet that both are CURSED FREEMASONS..... The Church must purge out Miserable Freemasons from the fold.
As a woman, I feel compelled to speak on this and I hope more women do the same. We simply cannot let our beautiful church fall to the spirit of the age! Women need to remember and embrace the gifts that God has bestowed on us. We bring forth life and are called to nurture and support our families and our church families. And thank you Father for making me aware of the issue of blood. I did not know that. Thank you for defending our beloved church!
I converted from Protestantism. Left as a pastor to come to orthodoxy because it was THE CHURCH, ONE FAITH, the original faith. This is rampant among Protestants.
Thanks for speaking so openly on this, Father. Too often people tiptoe around these issues, even in the Church. God help us. My own Parish priest, luckily speaks sofly but firmly on this issue. The roles are given to us by God. We do much better when we embrace them. Even in the world.
1:42 As an Orthodox woman I don't want a woman priest, I'm content with abbesses and nuns as well as women saints. Just because one is a woman doesn't mean she can't be holy, hence the many women saints ☺️
Of course this is heresy. This is not what Orthodoxy is or does. This is shameful behaviour on the part of the scandalizing Elpidophoros. It’s not a game. He is confusing souls and like St. Paul told the Hebrews, he will give an account IN GRIEF and not in joy. And truly scandal will come, but WOE to them by which it comes!!! Thank you for your edifying, courageous words, Father. Bless! ☦️❤️📿
I m a greek who was wondering about that, if it was wrong or not so big deal to talk about, until i read some atheists write at newspapers awful things and trying to attack to Orthodoxy leaders supporting that priest. Then i realized that the action was evil and maybe even in purpose...
Thank you very much for this, Father Mikhail. I'm a Roman Catholic from the Society of Saint Pius X and I'm always for these issues to be tackled. We need to hold hands and stay strong against these serpents trying to get into the Holly Temple of God. I loved what you said about not swaying left or right for both those ways are poisonous but standing firmly our ground of righteousness in God for all mankind. Thank you.
@@drjanitor3747 Reject the authority of the pope?. Yes we do for the same reasons this video explains. No one can change the rules of God. Not even the pope. And if he does, then we reject him also.
@@neobogardif you reject the pope, why not become Orthodox? Not intending this in a sarcastic or rude manner, but it is a genuine question. You've broken with one of the main points of the Roman Catholic Church, and you want to maintain the ancient traditions of Christianity, so Orthodoxy seems like a logical choice.
@@podvizhnikband2775 That's a good question. I think the our purpose at the Society of Saint Pius X is to hold the mantle as the original Catholic Church and to eventually by Gods will replace the vatican by pulling Catholics towards us which is happening slowly. But I'm not against the idea of the Church becoming one which I think has to eventually happen with the way things are going. The true Catholics, Orthodox, Eastern and Asian churches unite under one roof.
@@neobogard by the "original Catholic Church," do you mean to make a new pope? Or to uphold the other theological teachings of Catholicism? What about Western Rite Orthodoxy?
I was conflicted about the calendar issue, but saw a 30 minute video about st. Joseph the Hesychast and elder Ephraim of Arizona explaining this and my heart was relieved.
I'm a Anglican,, but if i could i would convert to Orthodoxy tomorrow, i know how ever its a lot more involved than that i know, God Bless the Orthodox Church World Wide,, in Jesus name Amen.
The process of becoming Orthodox and the 'more involved' (ment) becomes simple and less intimidating when you break it down and see it as a process. If i may break it down: visit an Orthodox Church or monastery, talk to some people there (maybe make a friend), talk to the priest (very impt..make an appt if necessary), (have in mind your first goal to) become a catacumen for a time, be baptized & Chrismated Orthodox. If you're still breathing then you still have time. I became Orthodox at 27 yrs, my mother at 70 and my father at 74. Sending prayers & best wishes.(If you're there in England you could visit the Orthodox monastary there in Essex.. I've heard good things)
On June 10 Elpidophoros celebrated Vespers at an Episcopal church which flew the gay pride flag and had been celebrating Pride month. Why is there not an uproar from all priests and Bishops?
Dear friends. I totally concur with everything that is said here. This is a sign of the times. Satan is getting desperate,as he knows his time is nearing. As true Greek Orthodox Christians, we welcome the second coming of Christ. Please pray and stay true to our Orthodox religion. We do this, to defeat death, and live with our Heavenly Father in eternity. 🙏🙏🙏 ✝️✝️✝️
But what should we do, we can't leave the Greek church, who will defend it? We should all reach out to the Patriarch, maybe he will listen to our cries?
I am going to meet Archbishop Elpidophoros tonight at the Pan-Orthodox Vespers in Portland. I pray for his safety as I know that he is not overmuch loved in this community outside of the Greek Parishes.
His safety should Never be at risk by pious Orthodox Christians but he should definitely be removed from his position. He probably well liked in liberal Portland.
Lately I have seen a priest calling people with a dj set and techno. He mixes holy chants with techno. The pope approuved. This is where modernism leads. Please, orthodox church, dont be as weak as we are. We need to find a place and a church that doesnt change. Because most of us are lost. I put my faith in Christ but I suffer because of the catholic church. I couldnt find my home. I wont talk about protestant because they have been so far it is blasphemy. The Church flirts with LGBTQ religion.
«The clergy will be the worst and most impious of all.» - «The evil will come to you from the learned (educated).» - «The clergy will become like the laity, and the lay people like animals.» - «Hear my brethren Christians. Time will come when will not be this harmony, which is present, between the people and clergy. When a priest will go to a layperson’s home, as he will leave, they (the laypeople) will cense with incense. If he will sit on a bed, after his departure they will shake (clean) it. If the people encounter a priest on their way, they will come back and will not continue their way. » - «When you hear that the war was caught underneath (the south), then it will be soon.» - «If the war is caught underneath, you (Greeks) will suffer only a little. If it is caught from above (the North), you will be destroyed.» - «The rocks and the pits will be full of people.» - «After the (general) war, people will run half an hour to find a human and make him brother.» - «Curse the Pope, because he will be the reason.» - «A lot will happen. The cities will end up like shanty towns« - «The time will come when the Christians will rise up against each other.» - «You must have a cross on the forehead, in order to be recognized that you are Christians.» - «We will see and live Sodom and Gomorrah in our country« - «When the new children, who will be born, will be distorted so that they will not be able to know the true God, then the end will come« // Some of the prophesies of St. Kosmas Aitolos
We converted to Orthodox Christianity last year. Weve been attending a Greek Church, im worried for its direction. We are still so new, i wish there was a rocor in my area.
I’ve just begun to try to learn more about eastern orthodoxy, I have 1 church within 10 miles of me. It is a Greek Orthodox Church and I have attended 1 liturgical service(one week ago since writing this) on Pentecost. Should I be concerned about attending this church? I’m not familiar enough with orthodoxy to make judgements about the parish myself, but this seems like deeply concerning news. Edit: yeah, I heard organs and women singing(not certain of the latter’s context). So these are signs of corruption? Am I just out of luck? I am not sure what to do.
I don't think women singing (in a choir) at church is indicative of anything bad. On the use of organs I'm not so sure. Certainly any canonical Orthodox church is better than not going at all.
Attend Divine Liturgy and vespers, and leave the rest to God. As long as it is a canonical parish and the priest isn't teaching heresy, everything will be fine. I attend a Goarch parish (was baptized and chrismated there) and we have a young, solid, and very traditional priest. You'll find women chanting in just about every parish. There's nothing wrong with that at all.
I also attend a Greek Orthodox church. This is just a few select clergy who have been compromised. This has happened in every age. Satan tries to corrupt the church from within but will not succeed. My Goarch priest is amazing. Be careful not to let "Internet Orthodoxy" make you dislike one ethnicity or another. ROCOR and other churches are sometimes very anti-Greek. It's a human failing, not an actual truth. St. Paisios was in a dream I had, and that dream really influenced me to not listen to anti-Greek Orthodox talk on the Internet. My whole family, even my oldest teen, have now decided to become Orthodox thanks to the prayers of the Theotokos, St. Paisios and the wonderful preaching and witness of our priest.
@@seraphim3TN They have an organ but I've never heard it played. Like I said, it must be for weddings or something. That's a strange standard to me. Would you rather people be Orthodox or not? What if the priest is great and the people are great but they have an organ that's never played? We already have so few Orthodox churches in the US, why limit people from going to certain ones that aren't perfect in your opinion?
CHRISTOS ANESTI! As long as we have faithful Monks, the Church will thrive. The Monks are the shock troops against the legions of demons. Support them and pray for them and God will save the Orthodox Church, as HE always has!
After I converted under Constantinople in 1996 I wrote to Bart about getting close to Rome and what the west is, they have NO idea, embracing the pope rather than his brother Bishops of other jurisdictions ( sending John Zizizoulas as his vicar in Rome) It seems Elpi is cut from the same cloth :-( Lord, have mercy !!
As I new to Orthodox (I formerly an Anglican), I know that Orthodox Church never allow women become layperson, like my former church do. To me, I completely understand why Orthodox church never allow women become one because Tradition. The denominations after separated from Vatican allow this without knowing the Tradition of true church prohibited it. Correct me if I wrong.
Oh you better brace yourself. because there will come a day when critique on female altar servers will be deemed hate speech and mysogyny. There will come a day that priests are wearing rainbow phelonions. The exact same thing you said ...... was also sayd by roman catholics many many decades ago. They were absolutely convinced that there was NO WAY that woman could enter the sanctuary, touch holy vessels and to even hand out holy Communion. .... and look where the roman catholics are now. Modus operandi of the devil is to destroy things from the inside out. As Holy Orthodoxy is Christianity's last stronghold on earth .....all guns are aimed at the Orthodox Church now. The constantinople patriarchate has already fallen. And forces are very busy to try to make the Moscow patriarchate fall. We truely are living in the end times
I am studying it orthodoxy, and I like very much what you had to say, but I was wondering what is the problem with organs the Orthodox Church I have been listening to online they plan Oregon during part of their service
Thank you for this video. I've been hoping to see something on this topic. Initially, one of the reasons I was drawn to become an Orthodox Catechumen a few years ago, was discovering that tradition was upheld in the Church, or at least, it is widely expected to be. All of the Prot churches I had attended over the years were totally devoid of the Gospel and any nourishing spiritual food, it was very humanist/secular/worldly/Pop-Psychology based and the women were very liberal. I felt it was rotting the Protestant churches, it was rampant. Orthodoxy showed me another way and I pray the Church can remain faithful against the modern influence around us.
Thanks for sharing! The Church as a whole won’t fall away. But certain groups/jurisdictions can fall into schism. This happened with Rome and we see it with Constantinople, but the Church will never be defeated.
American Protestant Churches are driven by a belief in two gods, one for the Old Testament and one for the New. The one of the New Testament seems irrelevant to American Protestants. That is the main difference.
Absolutely disgraceful! that priest has automatically excommunicated himself. and ANY person who receives ANY sacrament from this "priest"is also automatically excommunicated
@@Goths-On-The-Beach yes i should have sayd it more precicely. Ofcourse innocent people who are not aware should not be excommunicated. But i think that if someone willfully and deliberately takes sacraments from a priest who openly commits heresy (and therefor automatically excommunicated himself) ... if a person is fully aware of that. i think that person also excommunicated himslf. It is needless to say that all of this does not apply to people who are not aware of what has happened. Orthodox people are only allowed to recieve sacraments from valid priests.
So you’re a donatist and this a heretic? Careful, don’t be so judgy. The priest is definitely wrong but we are all sinners. He is misusing the canons but you act as some sort of judge
The Patriarch will not be followed . It is not the first time in Orthodoxy that a hierarch goes rogue and the people of god in the holy church either bring them back through repentance or they get excommunicated.☦️☦️ We obey our Hierarchs in everything except in disobedience to God .
Fr I have a question with regards to innovation. How and where do Orthodox Christians in your view draw the line between tradition that is life giving ie. the sacraments, the priesthood etc, and on the other hand those traditions that are practical but ultimately inconsequential for the life of the Church ie which calendar to use? How does one discern where big T Tradition ends and little t tradition begins?
The calendar doesn’t effect the salvation of your soul. Prayer, repentance and reception of the Holy Mysteries does. Truth matters look for where the saints agree and in humility seek to be leas by their wisdom. It is as simple as that
@@living_orthodox forgive me Fr but i wasn’t trying to say that the old calendar is essential for salvation. I don’t believe that at all. I agree wholeheartedly that imitating the saints is the surest path. My question however is regarding how do we distinguish an inconsequential change from a harmful innovation?
@@enchantingamerica2100 if it against what the saints, fathers and elders have taught and done and do, avoid it. Little things like how Russians bow Vs Greeks or vestment styles (Russian/Greek), those don’t matter but female altar servers fly in the face of traditions and canons that have been around since the apostles. Reject it if it looks modern
Unfortunately in the Greek Church that I participate in the liturgy at, there are now women readers as well as the priest inserting "in the name of our fathers and mothers..." into the prayers of the liturgy.
i have cut myself accidentally while cutting the prosphora bread.. so what you are saying i would have to leave the altar...it was the case where i was the only acolyte.. how is this going to work.. the Father was aware i cut myself and had me go to find a bandaid.. are you saying we did wrong ?
If the blood doesn’t cease then yes, go and leave the altar. There was one young pious man who is becoming a monk who ran from the altar because he cut his finger. Better to play it safe.
I listened to it. I wish he would explain more that just blood and tradition as the reasons for women not in the altar. There’s pretty good biblical reference for why men are priests and women are not. I guess maybe he was just talking about altar servers and deacons. Maybe that’s harder to prove from the Bible Maybe there will be a deeper dive part 2
Thank you for explaining about the ‘one blood’. That is the clearest explanation of why women can’t serve at the altar that I’ve heard. It needs to be explained by priests everywhere. The innovations that you speak of have taken down the Roman Catholic Church. It isn’t just the Anglicans and the Lutherans. That’s why I’m studying the Orthodox Church. I want a church that remains true to Tradition.
That is partially true. Those who celebrate the predominant "New Mass" (fabricated in the late 1960s) are infected with modernism, and those churches are mostly atrophying or closing throughout the west. There is a resurgence of traditional Roman Catholicism, which celebrates the "Mass of the Ages" that continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
@@jeffbrewster7475 This same old, tiring, irrelevant idea pops up again… Uniatism doesn’t solve anything. Orthodoxy is far more than mere liturgical forms, and the fact that your response to someone earnestly looking for the fullness of truth and faithful tradition is a simple reduction of our entire Orthodox Christian tradition to just a service is indicative of how out of touch your position is with the wholeness and totality of true Christian religion. Uniates can imitate the smells and bells, as it were, all they want; the truth and grace that is present in its fullness only in the Orthodox Church is something they could never obtain, so long as they remain divorced from the true body of Christ and in communion with heretics.
@nuzzi6620 Glory to Jesus Christ! I regret I aroused your wrath but not sure what upset you. My main point was to address a half-truth about the Catholic Church. My secondary point was to simply state that Catholics dont need to leave Catholicism to experience Eastern Christianity. Frankly, many or most Catholics dont know that because they've been so poorly catechized. You responded with a pejorative of sorts, which is curious since you know nothing about me. I've never met an Eastern Catholic who identifies as a "uniate." We are simply Eastern Christians in communion with Rome and our worship and traditions virtually indistinguishable from most Orthodox churches. Most of us left the New Mass of the RCC to find a deeper faith untarnished by novelties and modernism and have a great respect for Orthodoxy. I pray that the Orthodox Church is successful in its efforts to resist the novelties and modernism that have infected the Novus Ordo rite of the Catholic Church. Peace.
Are female altar servers okay in a monastery? There is a Georgian monastery of nuns near where I live where one of the nuns serves the priest in the altar during the Divine Liturgy. Is that okay? And if so, why there but not in a regular parish?
Technically no. Sadly, there is a lot of confusion brought about by latinization and the attempts to expand the papacy. Many Orthodox countries have suffered this. I know of female monasteries where the nuns dare not too enter the altar and wait for the priests to come and serve.
@@living_orthodox You mentioned canons in your video. Do you know of any particular Church canons that explicitly deny females from serving in the altar? The monastery I mentioned my wife and I frequent every now and then and the sisters are incredibly pious, serious, and the place exudes humility. I find it difficult to believe they would be doing something egregious against the Church's Tradition knowing what I know about them. Thanks
@@justanotherlikeyou people can be humble and be in error. Honestly, people need to realize we priests aren’t search engines. I don’t have a photographic memory. The time you spent asking this here, you could Google and likely find an archive with these canons. One thing that is made clear in the Typicon is that no one but those who are ordained or able to be ordained should enter the altar. We also don’t bring female infants through the altar in the churching ceremony and that is according to ancient service order. Not everything that is Tradition is necessarily solely found in canons.
@@living_orthodox Forgive me, I wasn't thinking of you as a search engine, I just thought you might have in mind a particular canon of the Church since you mentioned it in your video. Also, regarding churching of infants, the Antiochian Orthodox do take infant girls into the altar. The Antiochian parish that my wife and I attend does it regularly, and we're part of the canonical Antiochian Orthodox Church under his Eminence Metropolitan Saba and his Beatitude Patriarch John X. Are the Antiochians wrong to do this, and if so why, since infant girls don't have a flow of blood yet?
@@justanotherlikeyou that’s a sad departure from tradition. Lord have mercy. Heresies also slip in by subtle changes and grow over time. In short, yes, they’re wrong.
I understand about Tradition, as I was baptized Greek Orthodox and am a practicing Melkite. I also understand your point on how the bishop is doing this for political reasons only. But, I have to admit , when I even hear words like “defiled”, it’s upsetting because it doesn’t even allow room for some change, which I do think the Church is allowed to do with the changing times. I’m not at all saying conform, give in…I’m saying change for the good. Sometimes as Orthodox Christians and of other Byzantine practices, we tend to focus so much on the hierarchy of the Church. And if I have legit questions as a member, how could Protestants or others on the outside not question? And I mean this respectfully, The Orthodox, the East & West can’t even agree. Maybe basics but..there’s still division. And to me that’s even more bothersome.
God doesn’t change. He’s perfect and if He required change, we would be in trouble. The Church should reflect its creator and the unchanging Truth of faith. Be wary of this modernist mindset that touts change as some higher good or principle. It is often a fall into evil.
I m protestant, and i think the great problem of contempory christianity is that a lot of people within the Church has already lost the true faith, their hearts have not really been crucified with Christ, buried in His death and ressurected in His Resurrection by the Grace of real Repentance, daily Confession and Surrender, and acceptance of The Grace and the power of Forgiveness! Their hearths are never Changed, nor their minds! They never experienced What the holy apostle said: not i live anymore , but Christ lives in me! The holy apostles, the holy prophets, because by this experience , their old man was eliminated bij Gods grace and sanctification, so that their dependance for joy on the satisfaction of their desires and expectations from this physical reality ( their enslavement) was replaced with unspeakable joy of communion of God ! By this gift of the fear of God, His not theirs Words,holy Thoughts, desires and emotions became theirs! The holy Spiriit said: the mystery or the Inner , that Whats secret or covered from God ( freely Translate) is for those who fear HIM ! So this is specialiteit true for the writers of the holy Scriptures , the prophets, the holy apostles and their disciples! And also the traditions of the holy martyrs. They were partaking in Gods inner knowledge, a knowledge only to be known by Christs way of repentance and faith through the liturgy of reconcilement given by His autority to holy apostles, and their succesors, the episcopoi and presbyteroi! Only real believers in the community of Christs body of all times have the grace to discern this knowledge of God! When churchpeople are never really crucified Whith Christ , they have not the true estimation of the depth and living and eternal value of the wholeness of the holy Scriptures for Gods Church for every time and place , Gods provisions for the body of Christ, unlimited in dunamis till the coming of Christ our Saviour and only King!
I used to be an Occultist and one of the choices I was inadvertently faced with, especially when it concerns with working with people of other beliefs, is this, If all beliefs lead to God and are true and special than nothing really is, and remembering the warning that I was issued by my old mentor, that I'm easily distracted by the shiny, what does that say about this specific Idea? If it's too good to be true, it most likely is, that being said, its shiny gussied up Atheism, that's all that it is.
You should not have to explain what you mean about 'defiling the altar' to any female orthodox, and if they did take offense to the phrase, then they truly need correcting by their spiritual father or priest. Orthodox should know already what this means and what the roles of the clergy are and why they are gendered as they are, and it is in no way offensive. It is beautiful.
Father, our parish priest is very soft on this issue and some older Greeks at our parish have pushed for girls participating more closely in the liturgy. in response our priest has allowed young girls to hold candles on the solea during the gospel reading and proceed with the priest in the great entrance. It's awkward for many of us, especially to us younger parishioners who value this faith not as an a cultural upbringing but a conscious decision through conversion. We value this religion and don't enjoy seeing it innovated on. How do you suggest approaching this issue? On one hand, I feel like I can do nothing. On the other hand I'm not comfortable doing nothing.
Same issue we are facing in the Roman Catholic Church… just recently was “women/female altar servers” considered now a new permanent “normal”. Pope Pius X called out and tried to fight the heresy of modernism, but it has infected the Roman Catholic Church as well.
Well according to vatican 1 you have to submit to everything your current popes have been doing. So please tell me how you can stay in a church with blatant contradictions that demands you submit to the craziness?
"The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has decided to restore the order of the diaconate for women. Under the leadership of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, the decision was taken at the October 8, 2004 meeting which brought together 64 bishops from throughout Greece."
I am a Pentecostal interested in studying the orthodox theology. Is the Orthodox Church interested in instructing Protestants so we could fill gaps about the apostolic succession and understand the faith a little better?
There’s plenty of resources online, if you like reading I recommend Fr Josiah Trenham’s book “Rock and Sand” If that doesn’t work for you then I think the best thing you could do (which you should do anyways) is go to your local Orthodox parish and speak to the local priest/bishop there and ask him your questions. God bless you, peace be with you. Glory to God!
Yesterday was Sunday nearest to Lazarus Saturday in East Orthodox Church when I discovered Archbishop Elpidophoros has new website that shows him welcoming one day ago Dimitris Koutsumpas leader Communist Party wishing each other Happy Easter and eleven days before that Gay Kasselakis of Greek Syriza Party who forgot to bring his same sex partner with him a shameful unrepentant partner who was also absent at Epiphany invitation this year at Phanar by his superior Modernist Bartholomew
@@living_orthodox there are a lot of people there, but I don't know how many are ordained as minor clergy atm, thankfully I don't think I've seen a female altar server at the parish, but I must be on my guard and I hope that this parish is good since it is the only one I can go to nearby that does liturgy in my language. I am currently attending St Mary's cathedral in Saint Paul Minnesota.
@@living_orthodox I just checked the clergy list and there is only one ordained reader listed (a man), so that was likely one of the church school directors.
Women cannot be ordained as readers. per definition. Women however sometimes can perform the duty of a reader. this is sometimes done in small parishes where there is no reader present and no suitable lay person to do the reading. it might happen that a lady, usually from the choir and with good reciting skills, does the reading instead. she is still not the reader nor ever will be one. She just does the reading for that specific moment out of neccesity. Kinda in the same way a priest might ask a person who is not ordained as an alttar server or acolyte to serve in the Altar. Or a priest asking an altar server to perform certain duties that usually is done by a hypodiakon....without being actually ordained as a hypodiakon
@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo Exactly. We don't have an ordained reader, and our subdeacon (who usually reads) can't be there every Sunday. We have an older woman from the choir read on occasion.
Do the Canons prescribe as well that when women have their menses they are not allowed to attend service or partake of the Holy Sacrament of Communion? I know that even as a young child i chose of my own sense of modesty not to.
They cannot partake of holy communion, due to certain sanitary items, they’re allowed to enter the Temple, but it’s perfectly fine to stay home and rest on those days too.
So elpidophoros wants to be the pope of the Orthodox church? I remember reading about others who tried from the church ranks to unite with catholics or change rules around and it didn't end up well for them from many points...
Ok so I attended this Greek parish, and I hope to start catechism in September since I’ve been in school this whole time I wasn’t able to last year as I thought but I will definitely be going this September but I didn’t know that there couldn’t be female readers, there was a girl who read like 1-3 months ago,I didn’t know woman/girls weren’t allowed to read;does this mean I can’t attend anymore?
It might not be indicative of anything bad. It could simply be that there was no ordained reader available and a woman from the choir performed the duty of a reader on that day. Speaking from experience in our parish (which is comparatively small) the duties of the reader are almost always done by a woman from our choir, but the woman herself is not an ordained reader and never will be. In my opinion you should continue to attend that parish.
Females cannot be tonsured as readers, but they can read. There's a difference. We have a woman who reads the epistle on occasion because we don't have a deacon, and the subdeacon travels one Sunday a month.
Would it be arrogant of me would it be Protestant like or pope-like if I as a layman say I will not partake of the Eucharist where heretics are prayed for as though they were good leaders? I don't know if in such a public form you would comment but I'd like to hear what you think I should do.
I just have one question which will perhaps help other Christians think through these troubling times. Do we accept Pauline doctrine ahead of the words of Jesus Christ? Or, since Pauline doctrine is an evolution of the Church, do we now stand to abrogate Corinthians Chapter 11? While it is true that traditions should be held on to as if we were fighting off the devil, we must also understand the social reality confronting the church: Christian women no longer veil themselves i.e. the laity sees Corinthians as irrelevant. Considering the discoveries or the many extrabiblical gospels in archeological digs, it would appear that the biblical narrative has been tampered with in the past (or improvised upon/interpolated as time went along). Theologically we as Christians face the following question which must be answered: 1) what was Christ's true message? 2) How does Pauline gospels comport with said messages? 3) What political ideas have been integrated into the church doctrine which are not biblical at heart and are therefore optional policies to modify (I can name a few such as the opposition to heschya or Christian meditation practices, but also opposition to the Russian traditionalist "Old Believers" faction. Brothers pray to Christ and study the Gospels carefully as though your life depends upon it. I beg you all to read the writings of the desert fathers and those of the Church doctors. With that understanding carefully think about the questions I have posed.
Fyi. This came up in a GO moms chat. Most were very against this modernism. But one thing is obvious- many have opinions that from ignorance. The issue of females in the clergy cane and went due to l over-arching culture of chastity.. both why they had female clergy (attending to females) and why they dissolved ( concerns of impropriety with male clergy) So despite that 2 ancient dicuments defibe orders for females ( Didaskakia and Barberini codex) the ontext is misding. We have a culture of ‘demanding equality’ not ‘what can I do for my church?’ Some of us are trying to re-catechize those who need it. Remembering always that Christ is the way- and He demanded nothing but suffered in all humility. It is sad that many miss this final lesson of His ministry.
You should be more upset about the slander against Christ and His Church. Ethnophylitism is something the Church rejects. I love the Greeks, but Orthodox Christians are my brothers and sisters and that should be how you look at this. It’s not a matter of being Greek. It’s about being an Orthodox Christian.
@@living_orthodox when I said Greek what I meant was members in the Greek church not the Greek people I apologize father I should’ve been more vigilant about what I was saying. And I do agree with you. This is a disaster for the entire church and it scares me that the true faith that I just discovered is under so much spiritual attack. I find it hard not to call loudly for depositions but I know I must pray for everyone involved and affected. Thank you for your videos father they have truly helped me in my journey of discovering the true faith and they keep me hopeful for the future. May God bless you and your family
My sister in law is Finnish and she told me she read the Orthodox Church there has been having their Pascha together with the Western Lutheran protestant Easter for some time. Would you tell me this true?
@@neilosbeverly7462 It's true. The reason for that is because, back in the 20s the Finnish government forced the Orthodox Church here to celebrate Pascha according to the Gregorian calendar, due to political reasons (in order to become an official church by law). Since then we have been kind of stuck in a limbo with the issue. Recently there have been some attempts to correct that error. There are many clergy, laymen and monastics who are saying we should return to the mixed/Julian calendar. The attempts haven't been successful thus far, but there is hope at least. Please pray for the Finnish Orthodox Church!
For an update, the priest in Athens was suspended by the Holy Synod of Greece. I posted this before but for some reason the algorithm blocked it.
Thank you for letting us know. Glory to God!
Archbishop Elpidiros and Father Alexander, I would be willing to bet that both are CURSED FREEMASONS..... The Church must purge out Miserable Freemasons from the fold.
Thank god!.. thanks for the update.
Thank God
God be praised. He should become a heretical Protestant if he wants a female deacon
Nothing novel, nothing new is needed. Jesus Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church, the same yesterday, today, and forever, amen.
Амин
As a woman, I feel compelled to speak on this and I hope more women do the same. We simply cannot let our beautiful church fall to the spirit of the age! Women need to remember and embrace the gifts that God has bestowed on us. We bring forth life and are called to nurture and support our families and our church families. And thank you Father for making me aware of the issue of blood. I did not know that. Thank you for defending our beloved church!
Exactly!
If we don’t distinguish ourselves from the world then we are no different from the world.
I converted from Protestantism. Left as a pastor to come to orthodoxy because it was THE CHURCH, ONE FAITH, the original faith. This is rampant among Protestants.
Thanks for speaking so openly on this, Father. Too often people tiptoe around these issues, even in the Church. God help us. My own Parish priest, luckily speaks sofly but firmly on this issue. The roles are given to us by God. We do much better when we embrace them. Even in the world.
1:42 As an Orthodox woman I don't want a woman priest, I'm content with abbesses and nuns as well as women saints. Just because one is a woman doesn't mean she can't be holy, hence the many women saints ☺️
Beautifully said! Thank you dear sister! May God bless you!
@@living_orthodox God bless you father, you are a light in this treacherous modern times!
“God will not be mocked” Amen. Thank you for this lesson.
Ty! A t shirt should be made saying :
God Will Not Be Mocked
Lord have mercy!!!! This is the one of many of Elpidophoros’ violations.Thank you for speaking clearly Father! ☦️☦️☦️
I’m so glad they suspended this man. He is obviously heretical and dangerous to the church body.
Of course this is heresy. This is not what Orthodoxy is or does. This is shameful behaviour on the part of the scandalizing Elpidophoros. It’s not a game. He is confusing souls and like St. Paul told the Hebrews, he will give an account IN GRIEF and not in joy. And truly scandal will come, but WOE to them by which it comes!!! Thank you for your edifying, courageous words, Father. Bless! ☦️❤️📿
My fiancée and I are converting to Orthodoxy soon in part due to your videos! Thank you father!
May God continue to guide you both!
I see by your nickname is : gay frogs.. What do you mean , saying fiancee?..
@@petrosmpampalis6097 it’s an old meme from 2016. I’m not gay my fiancée is a great woman
@@gayfrogs9705 May the Lord help you both, all your days!
Thanks,
@@living_orthodox 🚨Fr what’s your name??
Friend sent me this video.
Where are you - in Greece?
I m a greek who was wondering about that, if it was wrong or not so big deal to talk about, until i read some atheists write at newspapers awful things and trying to attack to Orthodoxy leaders supporting that priest. Then i realized that the action was evil and maybe even in purpose...
Very edifying. Thanks for mentioning us Bulgarians. 😊 No one ever mentions us.
Yes, no one knows we exist…
@@ryrocks9487 which might be for the best, in the end
@@LKRaider Depends what you mean by that LoL.
I mean.. Im Brazillian. Who cares. Lol. Representation is overrated.
@@zephyrr108 They're referring to the Church not racially.
The reason I began looking into the EO church was because it was unchanging- hearing this is a disaster! What a shame…literally!
Thank you for speaking on this 🙏
As a Catholic I empathize with our Orthodox brothers and sisters. Once modernism gets its hooks in, it is almost self sacrificial to get rid of it.
@@drjanitor3747 🙄
@@drjanitor3747found the sede
I read that the priest has now been suspended.
Good
suspended is not enough. ought to be defrocked and excommunicated imo.
Thank God for that, has there been any kind of statement made condemning those actions?
no, he has not, thank God!
Thank you very much for this, Father Mikhail. I'm a Roman Catholic from the Society of Saint Pius X and I'm always for these issues to be tackled. We need to hold hands and stay strong against these serpents trying to get into the Holly Temple of God.
I loved what you said about not swaying left or right for both those ways are poisonous but standing firmly our ground of righteousness in God for all mankind. Thank you.
@@drjanitor3747 Reject the authority of the pope?. Yes we do for the same reasons this video explains. No one can change the rules of God. Not even the pope. And if he does, then we reject him also.
@@neobogardif you reject the pope, why not become Orthodox? Not intending this in a sarcastic or rude manner, but it is a genuine question. You've broken with one of the main points of the Roman Catholic Church, and you want to maintain the ancient traditions of Christianity, so Orthodoxy seems like a logical choice.
@@podvizhnikband2775 That's a good question. I think the our purpose at the Society of Saint Pius X is to hold the mantle as the original Catholic Church and to eventually by Gods will replace the vatican by pulling Catholics towards us which is happening slowly.
But I'm not against the idea of the Church becoming one which I think has to eventually happen with the way things are going. The true Catholics, Orthodox, Eastern and Asian churches unite under one roof.
@@neobogard by the "original Catholic Church," do you mean to make a new pope? Or to uphold the other theological teachings of Catholicism? What about Western Rite Orthodoxy?
@@podvizhnikband2775any form of Catholicism is heresy. We pray they all convert to Eastern Orthodoxy. ☦️
I was conflicted about the calendar issue, but saw a 30 minute video about st. Joseph the Hesychast and elder Ephraim of Arizona explaining this and my heart was relieved.
If we’re doing what the world is doing then we are no different than the world in sin
Thank you Father! I’m still an Inquirer, but I really appreciate strong speakers on these matters while working into Christ’s Church.
Excellent videos Father, please keep them coming!
God Bless you Father for speaking out on this. We all need to hear it.
I'm a Anglican,, but if i could i would convert to Orthodoxy tomorrow, i know how ever its a lot more involved than that i know, God Bless the Orthodox Church World Wide,, in Jesus name Amen.
It’s never to late or too early to start :) there are ways to begin even if you live far away
@@living_orthodox im in nottinghamshire, there is a church near me in nottingham sadly never been, but would love to give it a go.
The process of becoming Orthodox and the 'more involved' (ment) becomes simple and less intimidating when you break it down and see it as a process. If i may break it down: visit an Orthodox Church or monastery, talk to some people there (maybe make a friend), talk to the priest (very impt..make an appt if necessary), (have in mind your first goal to) become a catacumen for a time, be baptized & Chrismated Orthodox. If you're still breathing then you still have time. I became Orthodox at 27 yrs, my mother at 70 and my father at 74. Sending prayers & best wishes.(If you're there in England you could visit the Orthodox monastary there in Essex.. I've heard good things)
I couldn’t agree more!!! Elpidoforos and Bartholomew are NOT leaders of faith we should listen to nor respect!!
Thank you for posting this.
Thanks Jeem! How have you been?
@@living_orthodox Very well, thanks be to God. And you?
On June 10 Elpidophoros celebrated Vespers at an Episcopal church which flew the gay pride flag and had been celebrating Pride month. Why is there not an uproar from all priests and Bishops?
There needs to be. Sadly, the laity have to lead the charge. That’s the only way they’ll listen.
God bless you, thank you for this message. We support you.
The church is small in light of the world, a remnant of God.
Dear friends.
I totally concur with everything that is said here.
This is a sign of the times.
Satan is getting desperate,as he knows his time is nearing.
As true Greek Orthodox Christians, we welcome the second coming of Christ.
Please pray and stay true to our Orthodox religion.
We do this, to defeat death, and live with our Heavenly Father in eternity.
🙏🙏🙏
✝️✝️✝️
But what should we do, we can't leave the Greek church, who will defend it?
We should all reach out to the Patriarch, maybe he will listen to our cries?
Thanks, we need more people speaking out.
I’m so happy to see you are bringing light to this topic! Glory to God for the truth will always come out, and deception will be exposed.
I am going to meet Archbishop Elpidophoros tonight at the Pan-Orthodox Vespers in Portland.
I pray for his safety as I know that he is not overmuch loved in this community outside of the Greek Parishes.
His safety should Never be at risk by pious Orthodox Christians but he should definitely be removed from his position.
He probably well liked in liberal Portland.
@@Ag-wu4mi
God is giving him time to repent.
He is an apostate! Kick this blasphemer out
Lately I have seen a priest calling people with a dj set and techno. He mixes holy chants with techno. The pope approuved. This is where modernism leads. Please, orthodox church, dont be as weak as we are. We need to find a place and a church that doesnt change. Because most of us are lost. I put my faith in Christ but I suffer because of the catholic church. I couldnt find my home. I wont talk about protestant because they have been so far it is blasphemy. The Church flirts with LGBTQ religion.
💖☦️📿 Amen, thankyou, and lets do this people!
«The clergy will be the worst and most impious of all.» - «The evil will come to you from the learned (educated).» - «The clergy will become like the laity, and the lay people like animals.» - «Hear my brethren Christians. Time will come when will not be this harmony, which is present, between the people and clergy. When a priest will go to a layperson’s home, as he will leave, they (the laypeople) will cense with incense. If he will sit on a bed, after his departure they will shake (clean) it. If the people encounter a priest on their way, they will come back and will not continue their way. » - «When you hear that the war was caught underneath (the south), then it will be soon.» - «If the war is caught underneath, you (Greeks) will suffer only a little. If it is caught from above (the North), you will be destroyed.» - «The rocks and the pits will be full of people.» - «After the (general) war, people will run half an hour to find a human and make him brother.» - «Curse the Pope, because he will be the reason.» - «A lot will happen. The cities will end up like shanty towns« - «The time will come when the Christians will rise up against each other.» - «You must have a cross on the forehead, in order to be recognized that you are Christians.» - «We will see and live Sodom and Gomorrah in our country« - «When the new children, who will be born, will be distorted so that they will not be able to know the true God, then the end will come« // Some of the prophesies of St. Kosmas Aitolos
Truly spoken from the heart. Who is this man?
We converted to Orthodox Christianity last year. Weve been attending a Greek Church, im worried for its direction. We are still so new, i wish there was a rocor in my area.
Excellent video.
That someone would do that is REALLY shocking. Thank you for the report.
Amen brother. Thank you for speaking out.
I’ve just begun to try to learn more about eastern orthodoxy, I have 1 church within 10 miles of me. It is a Greek Orthodox Church and I have attended 1 liturgical service(one week ago since writing this) on Pentecost. Should I be concerned about attending this church? I’m not familiar enough with orthodoxy to make judgements about the parish myself, but this seems like deeply concerning news.
Edit: yeah, I heard organs and women singing(not certain of the latter’s context). So these are signs of corruption? Am I just out of luck? I am not sure what to do.
I don't think women singing (in a choir) at church is indicative of anything bad. On the use of organs I'm not so sure. Certainly any canonical Orthodox church is better than not going at all.
Attend Divine Liturgy and vespers, and leave the rest to God. As long as it is a canonical parish and the priest isn't teaching heresy, everything will be fine. I attend a Goarch parish (was baptized and chrismated there) and we have a young, solid, and very traditional priest.
You'll find women chanting in just about every parish. There's nothing wrong with that at all.
I also attend a Greek Orthodox church. This is just a few select clergy who have been compromised. This has happened in every age. Satan tries to corrupt the church from within but will not succeed. My Goarch priest is amazing. Be careful not to let "Internet Orthodoxy" make you dislike one ethnicity or another. ROCOR and other churches are sometimes very anti-Greek. It's a human failing, not an actual truth. St. Paisios was in a dream I had, and that dream really influenced me to not listen to anti-Greek Orthodox talk on the Internet. My whole family, even my oldest teen, have now decided to become Orthodox thanks to the prayers of the Theotokos, St. Paisios and the wonderful preaching and witness of our priest.
if they're playing an organ, run away. drive across the State to another parish if you have to.
@@seraphim3TN They have an organ but I've never heard it played. Like I said, it must be for weddings or something. That's a strange standard to me. Would you rather people be Orthodox or not? What if the priest is great and the people are great but they have an organ that's never played? We already have so few Orthodox churches in the US, why limit people from going to certain ones that aren't perfect in your opinion?
CHRISTOS ANESTI!
As long as we have faithful Monks, the Church will thrive. The Monks are the shock troops against the legions of demons. Support them and pray for them and God will save the Orthodox Church, as HE always has!
Please stay with tradition! I am Romanian Orthodox and love the truth that the Orthodox Church speaks. Speak up against woke oppression.
These are the times where i need to remember that the gates of hell will not prevail Father.
But I did laugh when you said “his eminence… heh” 😅
Father bless awesome video.ty so much Father
Lord Jesus Christ son of God have mercy on me a sinner🙏🏿☦️
Isn’t the reason the new calendar follows the old one for Easter because they couldn’t get the holy light?
How is
Elpidophoros not removed
After I converted under Constantinople in 1996 I wrote to Bart about getting close to Rome and what the west is, they have NO idea, embracing the pope rather than his brother Bishops of other jurisdictions ( sending John Zizizoulas as his vicar in Rome) It seems Elpi is cut from the same cloth :-(
Lord, have mercy !!
God bless your courage dear sister. I am glad you did what you could
As I new to Orthodox (I formerly an Anglican), I know that Orthodox Church never allow women become layperson, like my former church do.
To me, I completely understand why Orthodox church never allow women become one because Tradition. The denominations after separated from Vatican allow this without knowing the Tradition of true church prohibited it.
Correct me if I wrong.
Everyone starts as a lay person, I think you mean acolyte or altar server.
Oh you better brace yourself. because there will come a day when critique on female altar servers will be deemed hate speech and mysogyny. There will come a day that priests are wearing rainbow phelonions.
The exact same thing you said ...... was also sayd by roman catholics many many decades ago. They were absolutely convinced that there was NO WAY that woman could enter the sanctuary, touch holy vessels and to even hand out holy Communion. .... and look where the roman catholics are now.
Modus operandi of the devil is to destroy things from the inside out.
As Holy Orthodoxy is Christianity's last stronghold on earth .....all guns are aimed at the Orthodox Church now. The constantinople patriarchate has already fallen. And forces are very busy to try to make the Moscow patriarchate fall.
We truely are living in the end times
Yes, it might be language barrier, all women are laypersons, or parishioners. They can't be clergy.
Keep fighting the good fight!
I am studying it orthodoxy, and I like very much what you had to say, but I was wondering what is the problem with organs the Orthodox Church I have been listening to online they plan Oregon during part of their service
Thank you for this video. I've been hoping to see something on this topic. Initially, one of the reasons I was drawn to become an Orthodox Catechumen a few years ago, was discovering that tradition was upheld in the Church, or at least, it is widely expected to be. All of the Prot churches I had attended over the years were totally devoid of the Gospel and any nourishing spiritual food, it was very humanist/secular/worldly/Pop-Psychology based and the women were very liberal. I felt it was rotting the Protestant churches, it was rampant. Orthodoxy showed me another way and I pray the Church can remain faithful against the modern influence around us.
Thanks for sharing! The Church as a whole won’t fall away. But certain groups/jurisdictions can fall into schism. This happened with Rome and we see it with Constantinople, but the Church will never be defeated.
American Protestant Churches are driven by a belief in two gods, one for the Old Testament and one for the New. The one of the New Testament seems irrelevant to American Protestants. That is the main difference.
Absolutely disgraceful! that priest has automatically excommunicated himself. and ANY person who receives ANY sacrament from this "priest"is also automatically excommunicated
You're correct on the first part,but we have to be careful not to fall into Donatism.
@@CosmicMystery7the priest was suspended. one step away from excommunication.
Second part just starts to effect every day normal worshipers who have done nothing wrong seems harsh.
@@Goths-On-The-Beach yes i should have sayd it more precicely. Ofcourse innocent people who are not aware should not be excommunicated. But i think that if someone willfully and deliberately takes sacraments from a priest who openly commits heresy (and therefor automatically excommunicated himself) ... if a person is fully aware of that. i think that person also excommunicated himslf.
It is needless to say that all of this does not apply to people who are not aware of what has happened.
Orthodox people are only allowed to recieve sacraments from valid priests.
So you’re a donatist and this a heretic? Careful, don’t be so judgy. The priest is definitely wrong but we are all sinners. He is misusing the canons but you act as some sort of judge
The Patriarch will not be followed . It is not the first time in Orthodoxy that a hierarch goes rogue and the people of god in the holy church either bring them back through repentance or they get excommunicated.☦️☦️
We obey our Hierarchs in everything except in disobedience to God .
Fr I have a question with regards to innovation. How and where do Orthodox Christians in your view draw the line between tradition that is life giving ie. the sacraments, the priesthood etc, and on the other hand those traditions that are practical but ultimately inconsequential for the life of the Church ie which calendar to use? How does one discern where big T Tradition ends and little t tradition begins?
The calendar doesn’t effect the salvation of your soul. Prayer, repentance and reception of the Holy Mysteries does. Truth matters look for where the saints agree and in humility seek to be leas by their wisdom. It is as simple as that
@@living_orthodox forgive me Fr but i wasn’t trying to say that the old calendar is essential for salvation. I don’t believe that at all. I agree wholeheartedly that imitating the saints is the surest path. My question however is regarding how do we distinguish an inconsequential change from a harmful innovation?
@@enchantingamerica2100 if it against what the saints, fathers and elders have taught and done and do, avoid it. Little things like how Russians bow Vs Greeks or vestment styles (Russian/Greek), those don’t matter but female altar servers fly in the face of traditions and canons that have been around since the apostles. Reject it if it looks modern
@@living_orthodox thank you for your response father ❤️
Unfortunately in the Greek Church that I participate in the liturgy at, there are now women readers as well as the priest inserting "in the name of our fathers and mothers..." into the prayers of the liturgy.
Move to Russian Ortodox Church
Well said ☦️☦️☦️
What is the name of this priest and who is his bishop?
i have cut myself accidentally while cutting the prosphora bread.. so what you are saying i would have to leave the altar...it was the case where i was the only acolyte.. how is this going to work.. the Father was aware i cut myself and had me go to find a bandaid.. are you saying we did wrong ?
If the blood doesn’t cease then yes, go and leave the altar. There was one young pious man who is becoming a monk who ran from the altar because he cut his finger. Better to play it safe.
I listened to it. I wish he would explain more that just blood and tradition as the reasons for women not in the altar. There’s pretty good biblical reference for why men are priests and women are not. I guess maybe he was just talking about altar servers and deacons. Maybe that’s harder to prove from the Bible
Maybe there will be a deeper dive part 2
St Paul speaks against women even speaking in the churches. It goes without saying they shouldn’t be serving.
Thank you for explaining about the ‘one blood’. That is the clearest explanation of why women can’t serve at the altar that I’ve heard. It needs to be explained by priests everywhere. The innovations that you speak of have taken down the Roman Catholic Church. It isn’t just the Anglicans and the Lutherans. That’s why I’m studying the Orthodox Church. I want a church that remains true to Tradition.
That is partially true. Those who celebrate the predominant "New Mass" (fabricated in the late 1960s) are infected with modernism, and those churches are mostly atrophying or closing throughout the west. There is a resurgence of traditional Roman Catholicism, which celebrates the "Mass of the Ages" that continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
I would also add that there are Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic churches that worship the same Divine Liturgies as the Orthodox.
@@jeffbrewster7475 This same old, tiring, irrelevant idea pops up again… Uniatism doesn’t solve anything. Orthodoxy is far more than mere liturgical forms, and the fact that your response to someone earnestly looking for the fullness of truth and faithful tradition is a simple reduction of our entire Orthodox Christian tradition to just a service is indicative of how out of touch your position is with the wholeness and totality of true Christian religion.
Uniates can imitate the smells and bells, as it were, all they want; the truth and grace that is present in its fullness only in the Orthodox Church is something they could never obtain, so long as they remain divorced from the true body of Christ and in communion with heretics.
@nuzzi6620 Glory to Jesus Christ! I regret I aroused your wrath but not sure what upset you. My main point was to address a half-truth about the Catholic Church. My secondary point was to simply state that Catholics dont need to leave Catholicism to experience Eastern Christianity. Frankly, many or most Catholics dont know that because they've been so poorly catechized. You responded with a pejorative of sorts, which is curious since you know nothing about me. I've never met an Eastern Catholic who identifies as a "uniate." We are simply Eastern Christians in communion with Rome and our worship and traditions virtually indistinguishable from most Orthodox churches. Most of us left the New Mass of the RCC to find a deeper faith untarnished by novelties and modernism and have a great respect for Orthodoxy. I pray that the Orthodox Church is successful in its efforts to resist the novelties and modernism that have infected the Novus Ordo rite of the Catholic Church. Peace.
@@jeffbrewster7475wrath? No, he spoke the truth. Love and truth cannot be separated.
Love this im exploring different avenues of Catholic Church
We Orthodox aren’t with the Roman Catholics. We are catholic in the proper meaning of the word. But we aren’t “Catholics”.
At first I thought this was current, then seen the posted date. Lord have mercy
Are female altar servers okay in a monastery? There is a Georgian monastery of nuns near where I live where one of the nuns serves the priest in the altar during the Divine Liturgy. Is that okay? And if so, why there but not in a regular parish?
Technically no. Sadly, there is a lot of confusion brought about by latinization and the attempts to expand the papacy. Many Orthodox countries have suffered this. I know of female monasteries where the nuns dare not too enter the altar and wait for the priests to come and serve.
@@living_orthodox You mentioned canons in your video. Do you know of any particular Church canons that explicitly deny females from serving in the altar? The monastery I mentioned my wife and I frequent every now and then and the sisters are incredibly pious, serious, and the place exudes humility. I find it difficult to believe they would be doing something egregious against the Church's Tradition knowing what I know about them. Thanks
@@justanotherlikeyou people can be humble and be in error. Honestly, people need to realize we priests aren’t search engines. I don’t have a photographic memory. The time you spent asking this here, you could Google and likely find an archive with these canons. One thing that is made clear in the Typicon is that no one but those who are ordained or able to be ordained should enter the altar. We also don’t bring female infants through the altar in the churching ceremony and that is according to ancient service order. Not everything that is Tradition is necessarily solely found in canons.
@@living_orthodox Forgive me, I wasn't thinking of you as a search engine, I just thought you might have in mind a particular canon of the Church since you mentioned it in your video. Also, regarding churching of infants, the Antiochian Orthodox do take infant girls into the altar. The Antiochian parish that my wife and I attend does it regularly, and we're part of the canonical Antiochian Orthodox Church under his Eminence Metropolitan Saba and his Beatitude Patriarch John X. Are the Antiochians wrong to do this, and if so why, since infant girls don't have a flow of blood yet?
@@justanotherlikeyou that’s a sad departure from tradition. Lord have mercy. Heresies also slip in by subtle changes and grow over time. In short, yes, they’re wrong.
God bless you and your family live Orthodoxy always
I understand about Tradition, as I was baptized Greek Orthodox and am a practicing Melkite. I also understand your point on how the bishop is doing this for political reasons only. But, I have to admit , when I even hear words like “defiled”, it’s upsetting because it doesn’t even allow room for some change, which I do think the Church is allowed to do with the changing times. I’m not at all saying conform, give in…I’m saying change for the good. Sometimes as Orthodox Christians and of other Byzantine practices, we tend to focus so much on the hierarchy of the Church. And if I have legit questions as a member, how could Protestants or others on the outside not question? And I mean this respectfully, The Orthodox, the East & West can’t even agree. Maybe basics but..there’s still division. And to me that’s even more bothersome.
God doesn’t change. He’s perfect and if He required change, we would be in trouble. The Church should reflect its creator and the unchanging Truth of faith. Be wary of this modernist mindset that touts change as some higher good or principle. It is often a fall into evil.
I m protestant, and i think the great problem of contempory christianity is that a lot of people within the Church has already lost the true faith, their hearts have not really been crucified with Christ, buried in His death and ressurected in His Resurrection by the Grace of real Repentance, daily Confession and Surrender, and acceptance of The Grace and the power of Forgiveness! Their hearths are never Changed, nor their minds! They never experienced What the holy apostle said: not i live anymore , but Christ lives in me! The holy apostles, the holy prophets, because by this experience , their old man was eliminated bij Gods grace and sanctification, so that their dependance for joy on the satisfaction of their desires and expectations from this physical reality ( their enslavement) was replaced with unspeakable joy of communion of God ! By this gift of the fear of God, His not theirs Words,holy Thoughts, desires and emotions became theirs! The holy Spiriit said: the mystery or the Inner , that Whats secret or covered from God ( freely Translate) is for those who fear HIM ! So this is specialiteit true for the writers of the holy Scriptures , the prophets, the holy apostles and their disciples! And also the traditions of the holy martyrs. They were partaking in Gods inner knowledge, a knowledge only to be known by Christs way of repentance and faith through the liturgy of reconcilement given by His autority to holy apostles, and their succesors, the episcopoi and presbyteroi! Only real believers in the community of Christs body of all times have the grace to discern this knowledge of God! When churchpeople are never really crucified Whith Christ , they have not the true estimation of the depth and living and eternal value of the wholeness of the holy Scriptures for Gods Church for every time and place , Gods provisions for the body of Christ, unlimited in dunamis till the coming of Christ our Saviour and only King!
I 100% disagree.
Dont be disguised by modernish. It is what happened to Catholic Church and now the disaster we suffer
Eine Frage, da es in diversen Quellen zu finden ist, gab es durchaus am Anfang weibliche diakone… Nur in Laufe der Zeit verschwand das allmählich
These girls were dressed in Deacon Vestments!!
I used to be an Occultist and one of the choices I was inadvertently faced with, especially when it concerns with working with people of other beliefs, is this, If all beliefs lead to God and are true and special than nothing really is, and remembering the warning that I was issued by my old mentor, that I'm easily distracted by the shiny, what does that say about this specific Idea? If it's too good to be true, it most likely is, that being said, its shiny gussied up Atheism, that's all that it is.
When the balance is upset between the anthropology of the Son of Man and the Theology of the Logos then such enormities are committed.
Couldn’t agree with you more, it’s rare to hear this unfortunately
You should not have to explain what you mean about 'defiling the altar' to any female orthodox, and if they did take offense to the phrase, then they truly need correcting by their spiritual father or priest. Orthodox should know already what this means and what the roles of the clergy are and why they are gendered as they are, and it is in no way offensive. It is beautiful.
God bless you father thank you
Father, our parish priest is very soft on this issue and some older Greeks at our parish have pushed for girls participating more closely in the liturgy. in response our priest has allowed young girls to hold candles on the solea during the gospel reading and proceed with the priest in the great entrance. It's awkward for many of us, especially to us younger parishioners who value this faith not as an a cultural upbringing but a conscious decision through conversion. We value this religion and don't enjoy seeing it innovated on.
How do you suggest approaching this issue? On one hand, I feel like I can do nothing. On the other hand I'm not comfortable doing nothing.
This happened in the roman church too now it became a norm
Same issue we are facing in the Roman Catholic Church… just recently was “women/female altar servers” considered now a new permanent “normal”. Pope Pius X called out and tried to fight the heresy of modernism, but it has infected the Roman Catholic Church as well.
Well according to vatican 1 you have to submit to everything your current popes have been doing. So please tell me how you can stay in a church with blatant contradictions that demands you submit to the craziness?
"The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has decided to restore the order of the diaconate for women. Under the leadership of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, the decision was taken at the October 8, 2004 meeting which brought together 64 bishops from throughout Greece."
Does this include if I get a paper cut and bleed very slightly?
Yes. Unless the bleeding stops, one shouldn’t have communion or serve the altar.
@@living_orthodox che cazzate
I know it’s supposed to only be vocals but can anyone tell me why organs are a problem?
Thanks
Ultimately it's because it's not the tradition passed down to us.
The voice is the only instrument created by God.
I am a Pentecostal interested in studying the orthodox theology. Is the Orthodox Church interested in instructing Protestants so we could fill gaps about the apostolic succession and understand the faith a little better?
There’s plenty of resources online, if you like reading I recommend Fr Josiah Trenham’s book “Rock and Sand”
If that doesn’t work for you then I think the best thing you could do (which you should do anyways) is go to your local Orthodox parish and speak to the local priest/bishop there and ask him your questions. God bless you, peace be with you. Glory to God!
Yesterday was Sunday nearest to Lazarus Saturday in East Orthodox Church when I discovered Archbishop Elpidophoros has new website that shows him welcoming one day ago Dimitris Koutsumpas leader Communist Party wishing each other Happy Easter
and eleven days before that Gay Kasselakis of Greek Syriza Party who forgot to bring his same sex partner with him a shameful unrepentant partner who was also absent at Epiphany invitation this year at Phanar by his superior Modernist Bartholomew
What do you think of female readers in the church? My oca parish had one read on the day of pentecost and I don't know why.
If there are men, then they should be the ones doing it. Especially if there are ordained readers present.
@@living_orthodox there are a lot of people there, but I don't know how many are ordained as minor clergy atm, thankfully I don't think I've seen a female altar server at the parish, but I must be on my guard and I hope that this parish is good since it is the only one I can go to nearby that does liturgy in my language.
I am currently attending St Mary's cathedral in Saint Paul Minnesota.
@@living_orthodox I just checked the clergy list and there is only one ordained reader listed (a man), so that was likely one of the church school directors.
Women cannot be ordained as readers. per definition.
Women however sometimes can perform the duty of a reader. this is sometimes done in small parishes where there is no reader present and no suitable lay person to do the reading. it might happen that a lady, usually from the choir and with good reciting skills, does the reading instead. she is still not the reader nor ever will be one. She just does the reading for that specific moment out of neccesity.
Kinda in the same way a priest might ask a person who is not ordained as an alttar server or acolyte to serve in the Altar. Or a priest asking an altar server to perform certain duties that usually is done by a hypodiakon....without being actually ordained as a hypodiakon
@@Herr_Flick_of_ze_Gestapo Exactly. We don't have an ordained reader, and our subdeacon (who usually reads) can't be there every Sunday. We have an older woman from the choir read on occasion.
God bless
Do the Canons prescribe as well that when women have their menses they are not allowed to attend service or partake of the Holy Sacrament of Communion? I know that even as a young child i chose of my own sense of modesty not to.
They cannot partake of holy communion, due to certain sanitary items, they’re allowed to enter the Temple, but it’s perfectly fine to stay home and rest on those days too.
@@living_orthodox Thank you 🙏 Father I heard you mention Ontario. May I ask where your parish is located as I am as well?God Bless☦️
@@1bonatsos His Parish is in London.
@@BecomeAnOrthodoxChristian Thank you. God bless. I wish I was closer. I live near Belleville and trying to find a good parish😔☦️🙏
@@1bonatsos I hope everything works out for you in that regard! I live in Hamilton. We have 10 Orthodox Parishes here.
Is this page eastern or Oriental Orthodox?please answer me.
It is eastern Orthodox (chalcedonian)
Hi what's the song's name in the beginning of the video
It’s Psalm 135, I actually have it on my channel for those who want to hear the whole thing
So elpidophoros wants to be the pope of the Orthodox church?
I remember reading about others who tried from the church ranks to unite with catholics or change rules around and it didn't end up well for them from many points...
I'm so glad I have found a home in the wonderful Orthodox country of Georgia. I think I will not return to the US.
There are altar girls regularly used in Antiochian churches that still exist in Lebanon and Syria.
How unfortunate
Ok so I attended this Greek parish, and I hope to start catechism in September since I’ve been in school this whole time I wasn’t able to last year as I thought but I will definitely be going this September but I didn’t know that there couldn’t be female readers, there was a girl who read like 1-3 months ago,I didn’t know woman/girls weren’t allowed to read;does this mean I can’t attend anymore?
It might not be indicative of anything bad. It could simply be that there was no ordained reader available and a woman from the choir performed the duty of a reader on that day. Speaking from experience in our parish (which is comparatively small) the duties of the reader are almost always done by a woman from our choir, but the woman herself is not an ordained reader and never will be. In my opinion you should continue to attend that parish.
Females cannot be tonsured as readers, but they can read. There's a difference. We have a woman who reads the epistle on occasion because we don't have a deacon, and the subdeacon travels one Sunday a month.
Don’t stop attending because we are all in the same position. This will pass. Not all Greek Orthodox priests agree with this change.
The priest can read. At my parish there’s no reader so he reads. Women are to learn in silence during the liturgy
Would it be arrogant of me would it be Protestant like or pope-like if I as a layman say I will not partake of the Eucharist where heretics are prayed for as though they were good leaders? I don't know if in such a public form you would comment but I'd like to hear what you think I should do.
@@pg618 depending on what you mean by this, it is indeed you being Protestantish in trying to be your own ultimate authority on the Church.
Keep our Church Ancient +CCCC+
I just have one question which will perhaps help other Christians think through these troubling times. Do we accept Pauline doctrine ahead of the words of Jesus Christ? Or, since Pauline doctrine is an evolution of the Church, do we now stand to abrogate Corinthians Chapter 11?
While it is true that traditions should be held on to as if we were fighting off the devil, we must also understand the social reality confronting the church: Christian women no longer veil themselves i.e. the laity sees Corinthians as irrelevant.
Considering the discoveries or the many extrabiblical gospels in archeological digs, it would appear that the biblical narrative has been tampered with in the past (or improvised upon/interpolated as time went along). Theologically we as Christians face the following question which must be answered: 1) what was Christ's true message? 2) How does Pauline gospels comport with said messages? 3) What political ideas have been integrated into the church doctrine which are not biblical at heart and are therefore optional policies to modify (I can name a few such as the opposition to heschya or Christian meditation practices, but also opposition to the Russian traditionalist "Old Believers" faction.
Brothers pray to Christ and study the Gospels carefully as though your life depends upon it. I beg you all to read the writings of the desert fathers and those of the Church doctors. With that understanding carefully think about the questions I have posed.
God will save his church , and every word He have said it will happen it will.
Amen
Where else will be go to die to self as our Lord did when we make the holy mass a reflection of ourselves and the outside world?!
Fyi. This came up in a GO moms chat. Most were very against this modernism. But one thing is obvious- many have opinions that from ignorance. The issue of females in the clergy cane and went due to l over-arching culture of chastity.. both why they had female clergy (attending to females) and why they dissolved ( concerns of impropriety with male clergy) So despite that 2 ancient dicuments defibe orders for females ( Didaskakia and Barberini codex) the ontext is misding. We have a culture of ‘demanding equality’ not ‘what can I do for my church?’
Some of us are trying to re-catechize those who need it. Remembering always that Christ is the way- and He demanded nothing but suffered in all humility.
It is sad that many miss this final lesson of His ministry.
This makes me enraged. I hate seeing my Greek brothers and sisters suffering in this time.
You should be more upset about the slander against Christ and His Church. Ethnophylitism is something the Church rejects. I love the Greeks, but Orthodox Christians are my brothers and sisters and that should be how you look at this. It’s not a matter of being Greek. It’s about being an Orthodox Christian.
@@living_orthodox when I said Greek what I meant was members in the Greek church not the Greek people I apologize father I should’ve been more vigilant about what I was saying. And I do agree with you. This is a disaster for the entire church and it scares me that the true faith that I just discovered is under so much spiritual attack. I find it hard not to call loudly for depositions but I know I must pray for everyone involved and affected. Thank you for your videos father they have truly helped me in my journey of discovering the true faith and they keep me hopeful for the future. May God bless you and your family
In the Finnish orthodox church we are having similar problems with some priests pushing this same narrative. I hope it never comes to that
My sister in law is Finnish and she told me she read the Orthodox Church there has been having their Pascha together with the Western Lutheran protestant Easter for some time. Would you tell me this true?
@@neilosbeverly7462 It's true. The reason for that is because, back in the 20s the Finnish government forced the Orthodox Church here to celebrate Pascha according to the Gregorian calendar, due to political reasons (in order to become an official church by law). Since then we have been kind of stuck in a limbo with the issue. Recently there have been some attempts to correct that error. There are many clergy, laymen and monastics who are saying we should return to the mixed/Julian calendar. The attempts haven't been successful thus far, but there is hope at least. Please pray for the Finnish Orthodox Church!