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Saint Ignatius of Antioch

Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church [Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8 (c. A.D. 110)].

Please pray for the Converts in Iran to be safe

DEFENDING THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS.

(Only 2½ Pages) please read

Guys please pray for the UK.

This post isn’t meant to refute Eastern Orthodoxy itself, but to call out the hypocrisy I’ve seen from many Eastern Orthodox online. There’s a pattern where they constantly point fingers at Catholics, yet ignore the three pointing back at them. One of their go-to tactics is to take a line from Vatican II and use it as ammo either to mock Catholics or to sway those who aren’t well-informed into thinking Eastern Orthodoxy must be the better option. But they’re operating on a faulty assumption: that if Rome is wrong, Eastern Orthodoxy is automatically right. That simply doesn’t follow logically.

One of the most frequently cited lines they use is the claim from Vatican II that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

Catechism of the Catholic Church #841:

“The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.”

Yes, the plan of salvation includes everyone, Muslims too. Christ died for the whole world. And yes, Muslims do worship the one God, but they do so in a false and heretical way. I’ll break this down in more detail another time, using scripture, Church Fathers, medieval theologians, and pre-Vatican II popes to show why this teaching isn’t actually a problem. It’s just basic natural theology.

The truth is, this is also the teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy. But many Eastern Orthodox today have sadly fallen into idolizing certain YouTubers with cult-like loyalty, taking their word over that of their own patriarchs. Instead of submitting to their bishops, they adopt a Protestant mindset and end up creating their own version of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Their biggest excuse from some Eastern Orthodox is to say that they their bishops are not infallible or that they have a different paradigm. But this reasoning doesn’t work. Whether they are infallible or not, these are still the authoritative teachers in the Eastern Orthodox Church. There’s no good reason for me to trust fallible YouTubers / lay-people to tell me about what Eastern Orthodoxy teaches over their own hierarchy. I’m encountering many of their own official sources saying that Muslims and Christians are worshipping the same God which tells me that this is the official teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church has never infallibly condemned the teaching that Muslims and Christians worship the same God as a heresy and they never will.

Also people doesn't need to be infallible to teachings binding. Artificial intelligence p0rn0graphy for example has never been infallibly condemned in the Orthodox Church but yet the Eastern Orthodox are still bound by their superiors to holding to the position that it's wrong.

And fun fact, the teaching that in regard to Muslims and Christians is infallibly binding for the Eastern Orthodox. I will get to that later.

This is from the official Russian Orthodox Church website which teaches Muslims and Christians have the same God

The Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations:

“Why does the Russian Orthodox Church maintain such close relations with the Muslim Ummah in and outside Russia? Because our fundamental values are alike. Orthodox Christians and Muslims strive to act according to God’s will. It is an essential principle of OUR life…We seek to preserve traditional, God-commanded form of family…Orthodox Christians and Muslims are called to uphold their moral values, live up to the ideals of good, love, mercy, justice and mutual respect. WE, Christians and Muslims, know and confess that God is the true Creator of the world and the Only Lawmaker. Where God is forgotten, there evil reigns.”

Notice that Muslims were not accused of worshipping a false god or a different god.

https://mospat(dot)ru/en/news/90360/

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, quoting from the Social Ethos Document (which was approved by several Eastern Orthodox clergy, including by those outside their own jurisdiction) teaches that the Eastern Orthodox position is that Christians and religious non-Christians worship the same God:

“As for other religions, the Orthodox Church takes encouragement from the words of the Apostle Paul to the Athenians at the Areopagus: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). From this the Church is given license to proclaim that the true God in whom all humanity lives and moves and has its being is worshipped by peoples everywhere, Christian and non-Christian alike.” (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Social Ethos Document, For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church)

https://www.goarch(dot)org/social-ethos

Eastern Orthodox Russian Patriarch, Krill holds to this belief:

“I know that there are Christians and Muslims, but each refers to the same God, the Creator, and in response to this we have the real God’s help.” (Source: On the day of the Resurrection of Christ, 16 April 2017)

Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew as well:

“It is our wholehearted hope and fervent prayer that the God of love – worshipped by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike – may prevail over the false idols of fanaticism and prejudice. May the compassionate Lord grant peace to all.” (Source: On Persecutions in Iraq, 14 August 2014)

One of the most popular Eastern Orthodox organizations called Ancient Faith Ministries, which operates with the approval of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, teaches the same thing:

“In one sense, it is true that everyone directing their prayers and devotions to the supreme deity is worshipping the same God for monotheism declares that in fact there only is one God and so there is no other deity up there to receive such prayers. Presumably that is what St. Paul meant when he declared that God is not the God of the Jews only, but also the God of the Gentiles also "since God is one" (Romans 3:29-30). (Source: Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?, Ancient Faith Ministries)

Eastern Orthodox saint Gregory Palamas (one of the greatest pillars of their faith) taught that Muslims and Christians worship the same God:

“At these [words], the Christians who happened to be there, seeing that the Turks [Muslims] were already getting irritated, signaled to me to finish my speech. Turning to a milder tone and smiling gently at them, I said again, ‘Had we, after all, been in agreement in our dialogue, we would be of one and the same faith, too.’ Then one of them said, ‘There will come a time when we will agree with each other.’ I consented and I wished even further that such a time may come quicker. […] Watch not to suffer anything like these ill-minded men; I do not mean in regard to their reverence of God (i.e., their faith in God), but rather in regard to their behavior.Take heed, therefore, not to be like them and find yourself on the one hand confessing that the virtues and the biblical injunctions are righteous, and on the other hand with your deeds breaking away from them…” (Migne’s PG 116: 808 – PG 150: 777–778 & 808 – PG 151: 551–656; Preserved by Philotheos (Kokkinos) of Constantinople [AD 1354–1374] in his “Vita” or “Encomion”)

Notice that Gregory Palamas doesn’t say Muslims give their reverence to a demon, a false god, or a different god. He explicitly states that they give their reverence to God. His main issue with Muslims wasn’t who they worshiped, but how they behaved.

Elsewhere Palamas said that the Muslims were addressing themselves to God and to no one else. He then lets them know that were addressing their prayers and exclamations to the Son unknowingly:

Gregory Palamas -

“He, rising up his hands, let out a cry and they responded even louder. He did this three times.
Then those who were set to do the burying take the box up on their arms and walk further down.