Talents used and abused
“The Kingdom of Heaven is as the Son of Man who travels within the various lands throughout earth; at the appointed time calling his ministers - investing to these numerous gifts according to their capabilities. Therefore he gave five of these gifts to one servant, two to another and one gift to another servant; thus he left them to gather until he returns! Hence, the one who was given five shared them with others at which he was given another five gifts. The servant who received two likewise shared and another two gifts were granted him, but the one who was only invested with a single gift kept that which he received to himself as though one who dug into the ground, hid and buried that gift so no-one could take it from him!” (Mat 25:14-18)
We may be aware of the frightening controversy happening within the orthodox world at the moment where once again the ethnic centred rather than Christ centred institutions are at odds with each other in the guise of canonical status! For those of you who may not be aware, the Orthodox Church present in Russia feels that the Orthodox Church present in Ukraine should not be given the chance to thrive in its own land because they are the majority and new Rome (new see of administration for the Orthodox Church in Slavonic lands). Let’s not mention the Kiev existed before Moscow!
However heretical the see of Constantinople is especially with their heterodox tendencies, one good aspect which is to their favour is the voicing of the opinion that the Orthodox Church should be allowed to function and flourish in the Ukraine; hopefully they may go a step further and come to rightfully recognize the same rights for the Orthodox Church in Macedonia! I doubt it due to the patriarchy in Constantinople being predominantly Greek and they don’t like the Slav Greeks especially in the north of the country (Greece) for a start!
The real problem and confusion which handicaps this, which buries the free gift of the Apostolic Faith given to each land is ethnic/national ties which as I have stated in previous blogs is THE CANCER IN ORTHODOXY! Hence, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox…..THERE IS NO SUCH THING!!!! Rather it is THE ORTHODOX CHURCH PRESENT IN: Greece, Russia, and Serbia, Romania etc.……Please see my Encyclical upon THE CHURCH for further information. Hence, unless these ethnic divisions and misrepresentations and I add canonical irregularities are overcome - it is like I once preached in a diaconal homily in the season of Holy Pascha (Easter): Although we sing Christ (the Saviour) is Risen….we really mean Alexander (the warlord) because national pagan ties are hard to break and to anyone who challenges this: It’s like sharks at the scent of blood!
Often times I have been asked: “Who is your Patriarch?” It’s a valid question due to how things have come to take place in the orthodox world. In the beginning there were five sees or rightfully called Metropolis (major city administrations) Jerusalem who is Mother of all Churches and James the Great sealed, Antioch which the Apostle Peter and his companions sealed, Alexandria which the Apostle and Evangelist Mark sealed, Rome which the Apostles sealed under the administrations of the Disciples Linus and Cletus, and of course Constantinople to which the Emperor Constantine built the new Rome under the administration of Metropolitan St Paul the Confessor 337-339AD! Therefore, Patriarchs, were a much later invention which uncanonically replaced a Synod of Bishops which ruled a territory and the Metropolitan (administrator) was the first amongst his brother bishops.
Thus, as the Church expanded, more metropolis were brought about….therefore the roman system of pope became predominant to which patriarchs emerged. Hence, we who are the Church of the Elder Tradition follow the metropolis set up…thus, amongst others the Metropolitan of Italy Basilio Grillo Miceli is my brother in Christ and first amongst us Apostles (bishops). Email me if you don’t get it! The Orthodox Church doesn’t work as one may think…there are many innovations that don’t belong!
Btw, when looking up Basilio on orthodox wiki etc.….the bias nut cases have slandered the poor man and made him out to be a complete clown – this is nothing new for the State Church (those who call themselves canonical and have broken various canons) gets a thrill to bin the elder tradition (old calendar churches) inventing all sorts of concoctions….after all, the Lord did say in around about way: “If you sign up – they will trash you!” Unless you experience orthodoxy you will never understand these unfortunate situations that may sound weird and ludicrous at the same time. I don’t blame you if you don’t want a bar of it! Nothing worse that the Lord’s Church turning into religious concentration camps due to all the inner fighting especially with bishops wanting to be the irregularity of pope in their territories!!!!!
Moving on, there are many of our people in HETRODOX CONFESSIONS (non-Orthodox) which have personally sort my council via raising concerns about what is been taught, where to go, and how ill-nourished they have become due to being deprived of grace! Yes, the Holy Spirit is present in all places and fills all things, but what a disgrace when that which supposedly mirrors the divine institution has bankrupt itself spiritually by wilfully handing over the agenda to false prophets that do not teach the Apostolic Faith; these rejoice in the opportunity given them to hijack the agenda of the Apostles! Therefore, walk away and don’t be afraid!!!
In these last few days it has been reported of such an occurrence and please read it for yourselves because there is nothing worse than listening to people, taking it for gospel and repeating it like parrots in sheer ignorance! Thus a man (supposed leader of a lay monastic ecumenical community) by the name of ENZO BIANCHI lives and preaches heresy (departure of doctrine) NEO ARIANISM (Arius an anathematized Egyptian presbyter 256-336AD) A distorted Trinitarian doctrine that holds Christ did not exist in the beginning. If one reads this gentlemen’s books which are circulating amongst the faithful and frightfully in formation centres, another heresy emerges NESTORIANISM (Nestorius an anathematized Metropolitan of Constantinople 428-431AD) A distorted Christological doctrine that holds Christ was not always divine – the same heresy that caused the Great Apostasy in the middle east; hence Jesus is a prophet!
In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Church present in Corinth, he (the correct translation) exhorts: “When you gather for the Anaphora, it is not simply partaking in the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup of wine, but the very proclamation and embodiment of the Lord’s mysteries until he returns!” (1Cor 11:26) Therefore, we gather in the Communion of Saints to offer the Anaphora we do not gather as a community which is Christian only in name in order to be stirred up by current issues, and listen to logic and wisdom according to worldly standards twisted as Christian scripture; this is not CHURCH! Nor should we condone such who have infiltrated the sacred office of presbyters regardless of rank and listen to blasphemy and May I remind you: “TO DENY JESUS CHRIST AS GOD is to defile the gift of the Incarnation which is THE SIN AGAINST GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT!”
When we read the Passion Gospels especially on the Holy Thursday night…we are brought back to the occurrences within the garden of Gethsemane, we may remember the phrase; “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” and the Lord knows we will continue to stuff up: that’s why he left us the mysteries (sacraments) in order for us to pick ourselves up each time we fall and NOT BEING ASHAMED!!!! Having stated thus, there is a warning also for us to remain in the Communion of Saints where he exhorts: “Watch yourselves and pray for strength and discernment at all times that you will not fall from my grace into error!” (Mat 26:41) Some translations may state Temptation as opposed to Error, but nonetheless, this POTENTIAL fall refers to us being on the lookout via safeguarding our Apostolic Faith and not blindly giving it away for the sake of commodity, compromise and last but not least convenience!
Some of you may query the picture I have chosen instead of an icon and may ask yourselves: ‘what on earth is this mad man thinking?’ another fundamentalist of some sort? A puritan perhaps?’ None of these! I don’t like fundamentalists for the fact that I suffered under such people in past positions, nor am I a puritan because what I am trying to do by the All Holy Trinity’s Grace and the Holy Synod’s approval is to allow Australia to have a most legitimate Apostolic Church which embraces our (Australian) ways and as we say in our own street talk; “without the bullshit!” where people can be themselves, not worry about who they are, who they are not, but just to come onto the Lord as they are because that’s all he wants us to be OUR SELVES and that’s how he loves us!
The picture portrays what the instituted church has become: desolate, arid, and abandoned – not that God abandons us, but we walk away and build constructions of our own which on the outside may mirror most wondrous cathedrals, (let’s not mention the Lord’s exhortation on white washed sepulchres) but inside its exactly like this church we see – all sorts of things are growing there because it’s been left untended too/rather, we have shooed God away because we want it our way! The Apostolic Faith has been with us for 2000+ years yet we still haven’t learnt that it must be God’s way not ours!!!!
When the Lord returned and asked for a summery from his ministers they all gave an account of their labours….the servant who buried the gift he received said onto the Son of Man: “I know you to be stern and you always cultivate where you have not worked and gather up where you have not even ministered. Hence, I was afraid and in spite I kept what you gave me to myself – now take it back because it’s yours!” At this the Lord was displeased and exhorted; “You are a very foolish and most lazy minister because you know I give freely and whatever I touch flourishes regardless. You should have invested what I gave you in order that when I returned the benefit for others would have accumulated!” At this He withdrew that which he gave him freely and deposited it with the minister who had originally received ten gifts. “Thus for those to whom I bestow and they minister well, I will surely add further gifts, but for those have little and do not use such, I will surely remove!” Hence, these unprofitable ministers shall be thrown out where the light of my presence does not radiate into the arena of those who despair!” (Mat 25: 19, 24-30)
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