When I read back on the various points in history where the Orthodox Church was threatened with tumult - The Advent of Communism, The Ottoman Invasion of Europe, The Rise of Islam, The Iconoclast Movement etc. I never dreamed that I would live through one of these periods myself. Yet, while I pray that my premonitions are wrong, I suspect that we are on the verge of another period of great strife.
Battle lines are being drawn in the sand, and the devil is yet again taking aim at Christ's Church on Earth. For those of us in the West, the pain will be greatest. I suspect that the following events will take place in the next few years:
- The Orthodox Church will Fracture along Greek and Slavic lines. This event has already begun. The Greek Church and Alexandrian Patriarchate will likely be excommunicated by the Russian Church this Friday, and the Church of Cyprus has all but announced that it too will recognize the EP. Antioch is wavering on the fence, and will too likely join the EP in time, and with the Russian Church encroaching on Georgian lands it seems possible that the Georgian Church will also back the EP. Meanwhile, the EP has encroached into the jurisdiction of the Czech Church and more schismatic churches are calling for recognition by the EP. Sadly, anyway that you look at these events, it is plain to see that there is a growing rift between the two main cultural groups of Orthodoxy.
- The Jurisdictional Issues in the West will only Get Worse. As we all know, the jurisdictional issues of the Orthodox Church outside of its traditional hearth have always been contentious, but these issues are likely to only get worse in light of the Orthodox fracture. Some groups will change jurisdictions, others will disintegrate and fracture, but the biggest issue will be with the rifts that come from the aforementioned Greek and Slavic split. As things stand, members of the Russian Church abroad are not allowed to attend Greek Churches, but as more mother churches take sides this problem will only grow. Soon, some jurisdictions will be completely isolated from one another, and parishioners will be left confused about where to go and who they can commune with. This would not be a problem if all the Orthodox parishes in say the United States were under a single jurisdiction, but alas, they are not.
- The Greeks Will be Tempted to Join Rome. Just as the Council of Florence almost reunited the two churches a millennia ago, with the EP getting close to Pope Francis and even participating in Roman Liturgics it seems possible that Bartholomew will begin a reproachment process with the Roman Church. This should come as no surprise to anyone, given the friendship of the two leaders and their past statements. For the EP, who is alone and isolated in Turkey, and who has seen his office's power wane over the years, this would be an amazing accomplishment to carry out. History would remember him as a great unifier, rather than a forgettable Wikipedia stub. Perhaps the Romans would also put pressure on the Turkish Government to restore the EPs power and institutions. It would be a win-win for Bartholomew.
- Converts Will be Disenfranchised. Lured to Orthodoxy by its unity, but its lack of a Pope. Many converts will become disenfranchised by the Church as it fractures. They will see it as being rife with politicking, power struggles, and insincerity. Already, people in the West are confused and scared by the events abroad, and in their weakened state the lure of false religion could become tempting.
- The Culture War will Continue. As all this is going on, the culture war will continue. The war on the unborn, on people of faith, and on moral values has been ongoing for some time and it will not stop anytime soon. While the church fights internally, the devil will continue to chip away at our young.
While I pray that none of this will happen, and while you will likely see it as alarmism, I am writing this so that we can focus on preparing. We must be prepared for this worst-case scenario, and our parishes and people must begin to talk about how we will preserve our unity even in the face of what is happening in the world. Now is the time to do this, let us not wait until it is too late.
Interesting. I'm not sure about what you are thinking will happen, but I've been following the prophesies of Saints Paisios, Joseph the Hesychast, and Elder Ephraim, and what's the closest event that seems to be in front of us is WWIII, with Turkey starting it. Here's what a spiritual son of Saint Joseph said about this whole thing:
J: There will be a war, and wars, and we will experience great difficulties. World power has now been seized by the Jews, and their goal is to annihilate Christianity. The wrath of God will be such that all those secret foes who are bringing about this state of affairs will be destroyed themselves. It is for this purpose, in particular, that the wrath of the Lord is being sent down: in order to destroy them, in one way or another. But this should not unduly frighten us, because we must always have hope in God. Because thousands, millions of martyrs, including our New Martyrs, suffered in exactly the same way, and we must be prepared for this and not be unduly frightened. There must be patience, prayer and hope in Divine providence, on out part. Let us pray for the renaissance of our Christianity after this war, after everything that awaits us, in order that the Lord might truly give us the strength to restore all this. But this evil will have to be endured.
P.: And how soon will Russia be reborn after that?
J.: Everything has now begun; now, there will be a great explosion. Following this, there will be rebirth.
P.: Many icons, now, are streaming myrrh. We have an icon of the Saviour, which is exuding blood.
J.: And here, in Greece, too, many are streaming myrrh. The word is that the Saviour is weeping, and the Mother of God is weeping, and the icons weep.
P.: They bring an icon, and there is a clump of blood on it, like this: it's a paper icon and so fragrant..., imagine. They took it in for analysis and it turned out that this was plasma.
J.: This is the beginning of these events, troublesome events, military ones... The movers and shakers of this evil are the Jews. They are being prompted to do this by the devil, in order to start this... in order to destroy the seed of Orthodoxy in Greece and in Russia. This will be their chief obstacle to world domination. And they nevertheless will compel the Turks to come here, to Greece, in order to begin their work; and Greece, although she has a government, does not, in reality, have a government, as such. She lacks strength, and the Turks will come here. This will be the moment when Russia, too, will move her forces, in order to repel the Turks. Events will develop thus: when Russia goes to Greece's aid, the Americans and NATO will attempt to prevent this, in order that there might be no union, no merger, between two Orthodox nations. They will also arouse other powers, such as the Japanese and others. There will be great slaughter upon the territory of the former Byzantine Empire. Of those who perish, there will be some 600 million, alone. The Vatican will also participate greatly in all this, in order to impede the growing role of Orthodoxy and prevent such unification. Thus will Divine providence find its fulfillment.
P.: Of course. All the prerequisites exist for this, for all these events. But there is also the fact that there is such opposition in the media. World hierarchs ... {illegible} .... And how long will the president maintain this line? Is it a good one that he is holding to now?
J.: God will permit the destruction of all those who are sowing these temptations, inappropriate contentography and drug addiction. And the Lord will so blind their minds that they will destroy one another without receiving any satisfaction therefrom. The Lord will permit this precisely in order to bring about a great purging. As concerns Putin, that time will not last long, and there will be an immediate war, and he will not be around for long. But, following this extensive cleansing, there will be a great renaissance of Orthodoxy, not only in Russia, but throughout the entire world; such a great surge of Orthodoxy. The Lord will extend His blessing, His Grace, just as had been the case in the first few centuries. Then, when people went to the Lord with an open heart... This will last for 3 - 4 decades, then the dictatorship of the antichrist will quickly set in. These are the terrible events that we must endure; let them not frighten us, because the Lord will shelter His own. Yes, we will surely experience difficulties, hunger, and even persecution and much else, but the Lord will not abandon His own. And those who are placed in positions of authority should compel their subjects to be with the Lord, the more; to abide in prayer, the more; and the Lord will shelter His own. The condition that will prevail following the cleansing will be one of a great renascence.
Also, my son watched a video the other day where Elder Ephraim visited a couple (spiritually--vision). They went to their priest about it because they were worried about splits in the Orthodox Church. He'd said to not worry, after the war (WWIII), amends between the Patriarchs would happen through an ecumenical council that will address many issues that haven't been addressed before. If I find the video, I'll post it.
Lastly, a group of college students were talking with Saint Paisios a year or two before he died (so in the early 1990s), and he, too, talked about this WW, and how Turkey was going to impede on Greece's waters and land, and Russia would come and defeat Turkey, etc. He also said Russia would return Hagia Sophia to the Greeks. He told the students that this will happen in their lifetime, not his. He pointed at one one and said he'd be helping to renovate/rebuild Hagia Sophia.
So, yes, things are coming about, if you've been following what's been going on with Turkey's aggression toward Syria, its invading Libya, and Russia helping to protect Syria and the Christians (Russia has been the savior in helping the Christians in the M.E. more than any other country). Been watching all of this closely on RT. It's terrible the amount of deaths that will occur from the upcoming war, but I can't help but long for those peaceful 3-4 decades (if these prophecies do come to fruition....I am more of the belief they will) for the sake of my children.