Antichristian spirit of the journal Meta

The religious journal Meta 8/09 has published an article entitled “Reply to the so-called Pidhirtsi fathers”. We add as to the title: We are not so-called Pidhirtsi fathers but duly consecrated bishops and we defend the orthodoxy of our Greek-Catholic Church.

The article brings shame not only on Meta but on its author, too, who creates the appearance of a high level of religious education though obviously he does not even have a master’s degree. God’s kingdom is not preferred for those who have so-called religious education. Unfortunately, it is right many of these who are authors and propagators of heresies nowadays. Today it does not automatically express true faith when somebody mechanically recites the Creed or the Only-Begotten Son. Likewise, it is no sign of true faith just to utter the phrase: “I confess as the one holy Catholic Church confesses.” Today, when the spiritual cancer of heresies has affected the whole organism of the Mystical Body of Christ, it is necessary to connect the true confession of faith with renouncement of the contemporary heresies which deny these truths of faith. In the present time of relativism it is necessary to clearly express what the person concerned understands by a certain word or term.

The essential question today is: Who is who? Who are the true shepherds and who are the shepherds – wolves – in sheep’s clothing? The norm for the true shepherds is the Gospel; the norm for the wolves in sheep’s clothing is heresy. When, for example, the shepherd speaks about pastoral care, it means to lead the sheep to salvation. When the “wolf” speaks about pastoral care, it means to kill the sheep. When the shepherd speaks about the Church, he means the Body of Christ. When the “wolf” speaks about the Church, he means the antipapal and heretical structure which parasitizes on the Body of Christ. In earlier times a certain term expressed a certain truth; however, nowadays owing to the influence of relativism everyone understands it as one likes.

Many heretics, on the basis of relativism, present heresies as the accepted doctrine of the Church! For instance the heresy of the “Christ of faith” who no longer is true God but, supposedly, a mere mythical figment of the community of the early Christians. This heresy is now being preached in almost all seminaries. However, it does not mean that this heresy is no more a heresy but a so-called evolution of the dogma or a new view. Heretics use inaccurate terminology (relativism) and thus give scope for questioning the faith. An example is L. Husar and his book “Discussions with His Beatitude L. Husar: On Postconfessional Christianity”. The author of the article, an apostate priest Orest Vilchynskyi, claims that he believes all that is believed by the Church, but on the other hand he is in full unity with the heresies of Card. L. Husar which deny this orthodox doctrine. This is relativism. L. Husar casts doubt on the eternity of hell, on the Divinity of Christ, on the Virginity of the Mother of God, approves of homosexuality, divines by pendulum etc. Without a single argument, Vilchynskyi declares that Husar’s heresies do not exist. The evidence should be that he studied in a Jesuit seminary: “I can judge professionally where there is a heresy and where there is not. Therefore I confirm that His Beatitude Lubomyr has not committed an offence of ‘heresy’, while your works contain thousands of them.” We have published 5 books in Ukraine. Let him point to one concrete heresy. All these books promote the true Catholic teaching, not darkness but light. The author has no argument to claim that L. Husar does not preach heresies and likewise no argument to claim that our works contain thousands of them. The author’s “argument”, however, is an artificial catalogue of fabricated, possible and impossible, heresies which he imputes to us without the least reason.

We quote: “You are lawbreakers, occultists, satanists, kabbalists, heretics, liars...”

Response: We are no lawbreakers, because we respect God’s law and even defend it! Concerning occultism, satanism, kabbalism and heresies, the fact is that nobody in Ukraine fights against this spiritual pathology so much as we do. This statement on the part of the author is an overt sin against the Holy Spirit. As for lies, it is the author who is a pattern as he publicly lies without shame and makes defamatory comments in every line of his article. The catalogue of “honorary degrees” and terms of abuse, which he imputes to us, does not refer to us but to the very author.

Quotation: “It is hard for me to forgive you God’s face covered with spittle, blasphemy against the Mother of God.”

Response: In another place the author claims that we regard the Mother of God as a goddess. And this is, according to him, our heresy. What is the reality? In fact, we point out that the disciple John accepted the Mother of Jesus through faith into his heart, which is expressed in the words “eis ta idia” in the Greek original of the Scripture. We emphasize that the words “Behold, your mother” of the dying Jesus are His testament for the whole Church, that means even for every disciple personally. And this is in accordance with the encyclical Redemptoris Mater as well as with the whole Church’s Tradition. In this hour of Jesus’ death it did not concern a mere physical acceptance of Jesus’ Mother into a house; it concerned a spiritual reality. Unfortunately, this reality is denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses and by the majority of Protestants. And it is denied by the author too. We say: It is necessary to accept the Mother of God as it was done by the disciple under the cross (eis ta idia), nothing more and nothing less. This is how it is explained even by Saint Ambrose, Doctor of the Church. Vilchynskyi declared that we must not accept the Mother of God; however, according to his words the Apostle John is thus the greatest heretic and blasphemer. The same Vilchynskyi forced the faithful at the end of the Divine Liturgy, by putting a concrete question, into accepting the heretic L. Husar.

Quotation: “I am not afraid of your curses... for you are excommunicated from the Church.”

Response: We as orthodox Catholic bishops are not excommunicated from the Church, but the author of the article is excommunicated because he is in unity with the heresies of ex-Cardinal L. Husar. He drew down on himself God’s anathema according to Gal 1:8. We just make this reality public. Therefore the apostate priest Orest Vilchinskyi need not be afraid of our curses because there are none, but he should rather be afraid of God’s punishment of anathema for a betrayal of Christ and His Mystical Body – the Church.

Quotation: “I will ask for His mercy, that He grant you the grace that you may recognize your errors and your malice and obtain salvatory repentance.”

Response: What hypocrisy! St. Catherine of Siena called such priests as the author O.V. devils incarnate. We are aware that as a result of original sin human nature of all mankind has been corrupted, so all men without exception constantly make errors and this spiritual poison in the soul (the old self) manifests itself in malice and corruptness. That is why we repeat again and again the need of conversion and repentance, which the heretics boycott. This is the only way to salvation. No theological phrases about love, unity or humanism can replace this vital need. And he who admits in humility this corruptness, sincerely fights against it, stands before God in truth and constantly repents has an assurance of salvation in Jesus! But he who blames only others is totally blind and therefore cannot see the need of conversion and repentance; such man already bears the signs of eternal damnation!

Heresy paralyzes the Mystical Body of Christ and so it is no more able to fight against moral decay. When heresy manifests itself outwardly, either in writing or by word of mouth, this is usually a sign that the spirit of heresy has already accomplished internal and moral decay of the Church. Those who are under the rule of the heretical system are then unable to call a heresy a heresy, because they are spiritually blind. They are unable to discern. Heresy has become their norm and the Gospel a mere phrase! The norm for them is dead Christianity with a so-called scientific, theological, psychological and philosophical level, and all that goes beyond this false norm is labelled by them with demagogic phrases: fanatics, disobedient, sect, schismatics, mentally ill etc. The aim of these traitors is to strike fear into the last remains of believers lest someone should be converted to living Christianity and they should lose the source of fame and income.

Quotation of Vilchynskyi: “You demand from me that I should renounce heresies of Cardinal Husar. But how can I renounce something that does not exist?”

Response: This is the evidence of blindness – that he himself is in heresy, which has become the norm for him and that is why he is no more able to see it. It is similar to an alcoholic or adulterer who no more considers his bondage to be something bad and says that it does not exist. But we whose norm is the Gospel and the doctrine of the Church immediately see the heresies and react to them. Every priest or religious who cannot discern these striking heresies of L. Husar proves that he is included in the heretical system which he serves. This is a quick distinguishing sign for converted believers to recognize who among the clergy is orthodox and who is a heretic.

Fruits: The author not only writes articles to order for Meta and for other ecclesiastical sources but also performs so-called spiritual retreats in this spirit and with the same aim. O. Vilchynskyi serves as an ideological worker and spokesman of the heretical system. For 50 minutes he was shouting from an old pulpit in the church in Probizhna at the contemplative sisters comparing them to women of easy virtue, calling them a sect similar to White Brotherhood and threatening that hell-fire is burning under their feet and that they have no hope of salvation if they cause such a split (i.e. separation from heresies and faithfulness to Jesus Christ). Some confused and fanaticized people opened up to these lies and started to behave towards the sisters accordingly. All who attended the Church were prohibited by him under penalty from communicating with the sisters or giving them anything. A few people were forbidden from receiving Holy Communion as a punishment. After having read his article in Meta the neighbours of another monastery of old sisters came down on them and declared them to be Muslims wherefore they were not going to help them any more and radically separated from them. How strong is the spirit of hatred and death which is brought in by the apostatical priest Vilchynskyi! These neighbours knew the sisters from the times of illegality and have always lived in harmony with them. And now, after reading this article, they consider them the greatest criminals and enemies of Jesus Christ and His Church. Those who do not go to church and thus do not fall under the influence of the priest-heretic are protected against this spirit of hatred, heresy and fear of conversion and true faith. These blatant lies and blackening have such power owing to the fact that they are uttered by a priest, and that very suggestively, and, moreover, they are wrapped in pious catchphrases, so a common believer opens up to this spirit of lie quite uncritically. If such lie was uttered by a common man, others would condemn him for committing defamation against God and against God-consecrated people.

Vilchynsky claims that in us “works the spirit of Antichrist and the spirit of Jezebel”.

Response: If we were to express the mean and insidious activity of the apostate Vilchynskyi and of the apostatical structure which he serves, we would not manage to do it so aptly as he did it himself. For it is not in us but in him and in the apostatical structure that the spirit of Antichrist and Jezebel works. The spirit of Jezebel liquidates true prophets and does not permit the way of conversion of the nation to God.

What meanness of the author – he mendaciously uses the worst terms of abuse against us and groundlessly defames us, whereafter he hypocritically adds that he forgives us and prays for our conversion. We ask: What from are we to be converted? Perhaps from the true faith to heresies, from Christ to Antichrist? From the love of God to the love of money? From the following of Christ to Church career?

We are not surprised that people who are in opposition to God and have the spirit of the world easily believe the false prophet Vilchynsky and start to hate us. But right this fact is a sign of our true faith.

We are addressing Meta and other religious journals and religious websites.

If the journal Meta and other Church’s media publish articles of such kind and with such spirit, one has to put essential questions: Who is responsible for this article in Meta? In whose interest and to whose order? Is it only the author of the article or the editor who is to blame, or is it the whole leadership of the so-called official UGCC which is under the sway of heresies?

Methods of lie and public defamation are similar to those of Communism when without any evidence innocent people were sentenced to the most severe punishments, even to death penalty. Far worse is the fact that this heretical leadership leads the seduced souls to the punishment of eternal death in hell. And all this is done by so-called virtue of obedience to the official Church which, however, through heresies rejected God’s truths which are necessary for salvation.

Bishops of the standing Synod of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church

+ Samuel OSBM

+ Metod?j OSBM

+ Markian OSBM

+ Eliáš OSBM   

                                                                                                                                                Lvov, 14th October 2009

Address: Synod of the UOGCC, 3 Sosnova St., Lvov - Bryukhovychi, 79491, Ukraine

www.community.org.ua; pidhirci.community@gmail.com