It looks like the Uniates may be fulfilling their end of the bargain. Although, I must say that things are so confusing right now that I don’t know which “bargain” they’re upholding.
What you might not see in the graphic is a group of Uniates carrying a boatload of water for the State Department. You know, the whole “Russkies=bad/Ukies=good” schtick. More popularly known as the “send more money to Zelensky and send your sons and daughters too, so they can die in another useless war for democracy.”
But now they’ve taken it up a notch. They’re using altar girls and female subdeacons to help pull off their neoliberal stunt.
If you know anything about liturgical churches, you know altar girls are not something you typically don’t see (like ever) in the Orthodox Church. Far from it. And the Uniates, whatever else you can say about them (particularly the Ukrainian ones), are well-known for their liturgical rigor. None of this Novo Ordo guitar Masses for them. In fact, they’re above the whole Novus Ordo vs Latin Mass imbroglio that Pope Bergoglio inflicted on the Catholic world.
So what are they doing with altar girls?
Permit me to explain.
Because the Byzantine Rite is the result of a schism that occurred in the East some four centuries ago, it can’t be pigeon-hold between the dichotomy of the Novus Order and the Latin Rite. The Uniates have considerably more freedom within the Roman Catholic tradition to practice their rituals unhindered than do their Catholic brethren in the West. This freedom to be more liturgically rigorous has garnered them a grudging respect from their more conservative brethren. As a result, there is growing interest in this particular Rite, among the Tradcats, especially given the fact that Pope Francis is moving heaven and earth to outlaw the Latin Mass.
Unfortunately, it has also attracted the attention of certain Orthodox believers who have long cast their wistful eyes across the Tiber.
Case in point: In the video below, we are told by Michael Lofton (the host of this podcast) of an Orthodox priest who recently apostatized from the Orthodox Church. He gave his reasons in a homily during his final Divine Liturgy as an Orthodox priest.
What’s interesting about this story are the reasons the priest gave for this monumental decision, none of which stand up to historical scrutiny. Instead, one could say they were almost self-serving. Why do I say “self-serving?” Because the priest in question is not converting to Roman Catholicism, per se, but is instead converting to the Byzantine Rite, where he will also serve as a priest.
Or as he puts it, “I’m going to join an Orthodox Church [sic] which is in communion with the Bishop of Rome.”
Now, Lofton didn’t identify the priest or his jurisdiction. He was asked not to in order to spare him and his family from being doxed. Neither am I going to try and find out. Frankly, I don’t care; in fact, it’s just as well because we don’t need such malcontents in the Church. However, based on certain tidbits Lofton (perhaps unwittingly) revealed, I am fairly confident that he is of Ukrainian descent and was formerly a priest in the Ukrainian eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate here in America.
Mind you, this is all based on a hunch –I could be completely wrong–but it has been my experience that among Ukrainians, such conversions are not uncommon. We see this in Ukraine as well, where the Zelensky regime is working overtime to suppress the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in favor of the schismatic sect created by Patriarch Bartholomew.
The schismatic sect, which is headed by the so-called Metropolitan of Kyiv, “Epiphany” Dumenko, is clearly a front for the West’s Rainbow Marxist agenda. It is also quite sympathetic to the Uniates in that country, to the point of serving liturgies with the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. (At one point he claimed Bartholomew had made him the patriarch of Ukraine and he was going to bring the Uniates under his own omophorion.)
One could say that uniting with the Uniates was an unstated expectation of the autocephaly granted by Patriarch Bartholomew, who clumsily tipped his hand showing how on board he and Zelensky were with the West’s globalist agenda. In other words, the goal of legitimizing the schismatics was to unite the schismatics with the Uniates and kick the canonical Church out of the country. Zelensky has even outlawed the Old Calendar, so he’s greasing the skids to make formal Unia easier to accomplish.
Mind you, this is all by design. If you don’t believe me, please check out this recent essay from our friends over at Orthodox Reflections: https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-persecution-of-roman-catholic-bishop-strickland-is-a-warning-to-the-orthodox/
So here’s the punchline: Is it possible that Bartholomew has given the green light to his Ukrainian priests and bishops to serve with the Uniates here in the States? I think so. In fact, I would be willing to bet the farm that this is indeed the case. Expect more such conversions, and not only among the Ukrainians, but among those who push the Fordhamite agenda as well. Because reasons.
As to how this will all end, God only knows. One thing I can say for sure is that the schism Bartholomew initiated has not been been as seamless as he envisioned. It can’t be, because try as much as he and the Fordhamites wish, Orthodoxy is not a top-down ecclesial body. Suffice it to say that if he thought the rest of the Orthodox world would fall in line, he was gravely mistaken.
Here is the video I was referencing above:
Nothing is harder than speaking the truth. This requires constant reflection. I, myself, have not found any arrival point. I read your article twice to try and fully grasp the theological issue this priest faced. His letter was profound. He searched his heart and made the best decision he could for him and his family.
We see schisms all over nowadays in every direction we look. For myself, I have thought long and hard about the fractured one holy and apostolic church. The churches have been hammered by those in power who are using power to shape the world the way they want it to be. Of course, they will fail but there will be much suffering ahead. We are all walking together on this trail of tears. I have stepped back from the dance floor. I do what I can each day to inform others who don’t have the time or interest to research information that may inspire them to think deeply about what’s coming and what we must do to resist the stakeholders.
I hope this helps someone today.
“The Bible
This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter.
Here heaven is opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is given to you here in this life, and will be opened at the Judgment, and is established forever.
It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its contents.”
– Author unknown
As for me, I see the confused Greek Orthodox hierarchs as Pharisees lost in the “devil is in the details.” How can they pray? They are living in delusion.
I would quibble with the words, “a fractured one holy and apostolic church.” The Church is not fractured. It’s the people and institutions within the Church that are fractured.
You can attend liturgy anywhere and see the Church in it’s fullness. There is nothing truer than the Church. There is nothing stronger than the Church.
What we are doing here is scrapping the barnacles off the hull of a vessel that is completely intact and seaworthy.
Christ is the Church. The hierarchs bow to government. They are fracturing the Orthodox worldwide, instead of unifying them. I understand what you are saying.
Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Bridegroom and the Church is His bride.
Yes.
Corinthians12:12. NKJ
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Archbishop Gudziak’s cathedral in Philadelphia is named in honor of “the Immaculate Conception”—sounds more Roman than Orthodox to me.
Here’s a very interesting article posted on Romfea about the proceedings to the Cretan council. Click on the link in the article to download the document. It’s in Greek so will need to be translated:
Of note:
Without a doubt Bart knew that he was wrong going into Ukraine.
Yes, he did but he did it anyway.
I listened to the homily with care.
It mentioned the Primacy of Rome,
but not the Supremacy of Rome.
The former is not of itself a problem,
but the latter most certainly is.
And of course the elephant in the room,
the Filioque, was notable for its absence.
I fear this priest, far from finding the Church,
has run in completely the opposite direction.
Brendan, you are on to something. The Uniates have been sold a bill of goods going on centuries now. That said, they are autonomous and they justify their “Orthodoxy” by not saying the Filioque when the Creed is sung, and they dp believe in the primacy of the Pope (as opposed to Papacy) but a good question to ask at this point is: “are you then in communion with those who do believe those things? And if so, do you believe them?”
And does the Pope believe them?
Or does he read their communion
as evidence of their submission?
Well, when you say “Pope” we have to qualify that, don’t we? Frankie is as slippery as Bart, theologically speaking.
I find it very difficult to discuss theology with RCs.
They are all so indoctrinated with Papal Supremacy,
(and everything I say is interpreted in light of that)
that they seem unable to understand what I do say
As a result, they think I am simply being perverse
when I deny Papal dogmas, including the Filioque;
which (let us remember) Popes used to deny.
You really nailed that last one home.
Brendan, in my latest podcast (soon to be released), I actually discuss the Tradcat’s devotion to the papalist ideology, parenthetically so, because I endeavor to destroy the Canon 28/”universalist” Patriarch mythology.
I’m all ears (not pointy-ears however…)
I have several friends, former Reformed Protestants like myself, who were actively interested in Orthodoxy but landed in Eastern Catholic churches. The reasons why are complex—sometimes it comes down to liking the local Melkite or Romanian Catholic parish better than any nearby Orthodox ones. I think, though, that Eastern-rite Catholicism presents itself as a trifecta of being rooted in the catholic Christian tradition, being open to a broad swath of Christian history (not as insular or fractious as some wings of Orthodoxy), and at the same time being somewhat protected from the crazier extremes of contemporary Latin Catholicism.
But then I also have a couple of acquaintances who are converts to Orthodoxy from Byzantine Catholicism, and they report that there was something missing in their Eastern Catholic churches (its absence was more painful as the years went on) that they found in the actual Orthodox Church. But that “something” can be hard to pinpoint or describe.
I attended (but never communed) at a local Uniate parish myself several years ago, perhaps a total of six times give or take. The priest (who was a good friend of mine) was a former Lutheran pastor who loved Orthodoxy but his wife was adamant against him swimming the Bosporus, so he “split the difference” and got permission from the local Catholic bishop to open a Uniate mission. I must say that I so enjoyed the Ruthenian plain-chant, so there were aesthetic reasons.
But something wasn’t “right”. For one thing, in the hymnal, when we got to the Creed, the words “…and the Son” were scratched over. In the hymnal, the Pope was called “Ecumenical Pontiff,” little tings like that. IMHO, the people, who were nice, were trying too hard to be Orthodox. It was also a haven for one youngish homeschooling family who couldn’t stand the leftward drift of the Latin wing and were vocal about it. I heard a lot of disgruntlement about the Roman Church on an intermittent basis. A few things like that. In other words, I got a “neither fish nor fowl” feeling about that mission.
And then there are also some people who are Eastern Catholic because they like icons, but they also like the Rosary. (I’m sure that’s not entirely fair to the individuals I’m thinking of, but…)