Monday, March 10, 2008

Kosovo, another Orthodox wake up call

For me as a Greek Orthodox Christian, what has happened to Kosovo is a terrible loss, not only to my brother Orthodox Serbs, but to the world. Yet, it was expected. The Western powers, beginning with the popes of Rome, and down to the latest NATO aggression, have fought against and forcibly tried to assimilate the lands and peoples of Orthodoxy. Even Russia, the only large Orthodox country left, had to bow to their demands. Serbia as usual has been demonised by the world press, the Albanians lionised. This is all consistent with what Jesus Christ said, “They hated me for no reason, and if they hated me, they will hate you too, if they called me a devil, so they will call you.” I'm not now trying to emotionalise and lionise the Orthodox as if they were the only followers of Jesus. Admittedly, atrocities have always been committed by people on all sides. But if an impartial observer compares the histories of the Orthodox East and the Catholic-Protestant West, it's not hard to see which has been the more imperialistic and aggressive. Why does the West always want to put down the East? “Byzantine” means devious or hopelessly convoluted, in common parlance. Is it not surprising, then, that the West is now on the brink of disaster for abandoning their Christian roots? This is not even at the level of a political or sociological question. This self-betrayal is more basic, abandoning the foundation which gives the West the freedom to think and the power to act on what is right. Yes, more than the tragedy of Kosovo is coming towards us, something far worse than the Nazis, Fascists and Communists rolled into one. This was predicted by the Greek church fathers centuries ago. The enemy is, when all is said and done, Islam, the slayer of the soul.

The President caved in when he called Islam a religion of peace.
Why did he do this? Was he hoping to prevent a premature outbreak of jihad on the American continent? Was it anything more than just playing politics? It seems it was, just as he is playing politics and is prepared to sell out the English national character of the Union by welcoming in and encouraging Mexicans to immigrate and continue using Spanish as their primary tongue. Canada has already been lost by foolish, indeed traitorous, betrayal of the English civilisation in their country, and is now a Canuckistan.

As an Orthodox, I also am ashamed at the reckless and treasonable pronouncements of the patriarch of Constantinople, Patriarch Bart as we affectionately call him. Not only is he in bed with the Roman pope Benny, but he’s sold out to the “Green” ecology cultists and portrays himself as “the Green patriarch.” He sweet talks and accomodates the Muslims because he’s afraid of financial martyrdom. The Turkish government is constantly trying to seize more and more church properties in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey. But they’re just playing a “cat and mouse” game with him, just as he’s playing it with the pope and with us, his American and Oceanic flock (Aussies and New Zealanders belong to his jurisdiction as well). Besides doing these kinds of things, he persecutes the monks of Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos (the true center of Orthodox Christianity) and many of them have already died because of his embargo against them, no food, no drugs or medical supplies. The Greek government obeys him, and they’re enforcing the embargo. What’s the crime of these old men? They say the patriarch is a false ecumenist, betraying Orthodoxy and surrendering to the pope. It doesn’t matter that this charge is probably true. For us Orthodox, we at least have the traditional teaching that “the faith is guaranteed by the people, not by the leaders.” For us that means, if the leaders go astray, we just don’t pay them any heed, and they die. Then, hopefully we elect someone who understands what the true faith is, and helps us maintain it.

Let’s not ignore this wake up call. It’s not just Kosovo that is being stolen and destroyed, and it’s not just a political issue. This is part of the last act in the story of Christ’s suffering for humanity, His resurrection, and His second and glorious coming. Let Him find us as He left us, brothers! United, of one mind, one heart and one spirit, in the Word and the Mysterion. Pray for our brothers, all of them, martyrs for Jesus, suffering throughout the world, under the lash of Islam and other fascist régimes, as we wait together to be released from this world system, this kósmos of sin and death.

“Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)

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