Encountering the Mystery

It seems that His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomaios has been busy lately. He's written another book, this time with a piercing and enigmatic title. To read an excellent review of his new book, along with a realistic assessment of Patriarch Bart's position and influence in the Orthodox Church, click here. Here are a couple of excerpts from the review.

First, let’s begin with the person of the Patriarch and why some readers, especially Orthodox Christians, might be reluctant to pick up Encountering the Mystery. Although the mainstream press – even the dust jacket of this book – claims the Ecumenical Patriarch is the “spiritual leader for the world’s over 200 million Orthodox Christians,” many Orthodox Christians view this as no more than a convenient label employed by the media, and encouraged by the Ecumenical throne, to add gravitas to his position among Church and world leaders from within a once-Christian-now-Muslim land.

Secondly, most times the Ecumenical Patriarch is found in the news it is because he’s fraternizing with someone who is not Christian, much less Orthodox. When he makes news it’s usually controversial. Especially when viewed through the lens of American Orthodox converts – many of whom have chosen, after great struggle, to leave Anglicanism or Roman Catholicism, even Islam – such encounters may seem unnecessarily compromising. If you’re going to allow yourself to be called the “spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians,” at least follow the tried and true script. For instance, again from the book’s dust jacket: “He is dedicated to advancing reconciliation among Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities, and is an active proponent of environmental causes.”

“Yes, but is he Orthodox?” comes the question.

For example, closer to home, what is he doing to help unite the Orthodox Christians in the United States? Is he a help or a hindrance to jurisdictional unity in America? If he is a help, let’s see some encouragement and action! If he is a hindrance, he need do nothing more than he is already doing.

If the answer is “Yes, of course the Ecumenical Patriarch is Orthodox!” then that’s good news. Would that His All Holiness would struggle to bring his own house into order before inviting us to a group hug with those outside the Faith, especially those who have for centuries tried to destroy it. However, Encountering the Mystery will do little to further the True Faith. I can’t think of a single Seeker to whom I’d recommend the book. There are certain chapters, well written, that pertain to the Faith. But what a pity that the whole book, from the “spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians” is not fitting for seeking souls.

I guess I'm not the only one who questions the motives of this patriarch, and I'm glad that I now have someone besides myself who publicly writes, In my opinion, to truly lead the Orthodox, he needs to get out of Turkey and speak the Truth or be willing to lose his own life for speaking the Truth in Turkey.

I've read an earlier book by this patriarch, though it's not exactly by him, entitled, Conversations with Patriarch Bartholomew. Reading it was what started me noticing his ambivalence and the poetic licence he takes with things uncompromisable, though he does it in such an entertaining way that you almost believe what he's saying. Aside from his books, watching how he operates his business, settled it for me that here was a man who must be carefully watched. Just as Pope Benny is a throw back to an earlier age of the papacy, so is Patriarch Bart a throw back to an age when "Byzantine" meant "duplicitous." I'm not likely to read his latest book, but I wanted to notice it, in case others should be forewarned.