Dear,
Mrs. Vasoula Ryden's movement is not acceptable as an Orthodox movement, but it is especially ecumenical and leveling against the Truth, and based on the visions of Mrs. Ryden. On the occasional messages and insinuations that come to us, I owe from Christian love and for your protection, to inform you of the following:
1. The only true ecumenism is the one promoted on the basis of the Holy Canons of the Holy and Godbearing Fathers and according to the Ecclesiastic Tradition, on the subject of approach of the orthodox and heterodox, and for the return of the deceived to the Truth.
2. The Church is One, and is distinguished by common Faith and Baptism. According to the testimony of the Holy Bible there is "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism". Consequently, anyone not in harmony with the common Faith of the Church is outside the Church, even if one maintains some of her external characteristics. It is not possible for two equal Churches with different Faiths to exist, because God "is not God of disorder but of order" according to the Holy Bible itself. Therefore it does not exist a "House of the East" and a "House of the West" since the house of the west has departed from the common Faith of the Church of the Holy Ecumenical Synods. A simple reference by you on Theology, e.g. of Saint Gregory Palamas, will convince you about this. Except if by "House of the West" is meant the Orthodox Metropolises in the Western World.
3. Orthodoxy does not expect salvific "Sprouts" on earth, because she has the Paraclete (Comforter) residing within her, according to the Lord's promise, while she expects Jesus Christ only from heaven, as lightning, to bring the heavenly Kingdom. The expectation of an earthly Messiah and of an earthly Kingdom is characteristic of the New Age Occultists and of heretic millenarians, and all others who are proceeding to their deceit and acceptance of the Antichrist, disguised as Jesus Christ reigning on earth.
4. The visions of Mrs. Ryden, as she describes them in her early books, have no common characteristics with the visions of the Holy Fathers. The Godbearing Saints were granted visions of Christ after many years of crucified life, obedience, humility, prayers and fasting, double love for Christ and their neighbour and voluntary self obscurity, which Mrs. Vasoula does not exhibit, despite her departure from her earlier worldly life.
5. Our Holy Bible warns us that satan "transforms into an angel of light" to deceive. Circumstances where Christians and even monks have fallen victims to deceitful apparitions are fully recorded in the published article by Holy Monastery of Saint Nicodemos, "Gerondicon (Elders' sayings ) on dreams and visions".
We further know from the Holy Bible that "even if an angel from heaven would annunciate to us, something different than what has been handed over to us" by the Apostles " let him be anathema". For this, every annunciated (evangelized) union which ignores the salvific Truth of the Church cannot be acceptable and is cause of confusion and damnation, much more so when this is based on the spirit of our age, which seeks visions not in the "sounding boxes of the Spirit", the Holy Fathers, but in the visions of simple Christians, who proclaim themselves Prophets.
For this, I ask you to cease sending messages with such content and that you give yourselves to the study of the God inspired writings of the Holy Fathers, in obedience to an austere and Spirit-bearing Elder. Otherwise you are courting your perdition as well as of your followers.
With brotherly love and prayers.
Monk Seraphim.
Secretary at the Secretariat
of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
of Jerusalem
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