SYNODICAL COMMITTEE FOR HERESIES
25th PAN-ORTHODOX CONFERENCE OF THE DELEGATES OF ORTHODOX CHURCHES AND HOLY DIOCESES
ON MATTERS PERTAINING TO HERESIES AND PARA-RELIGION
(Volos, Greece, 4 – 6.11.2013)
CONCLUSIONS
The 25th Pan-Orthodox Conference of the Delegates of
Orthodox Churches and Dioceses on matters pertaining to heresies and
para-religion, which was held under the auspices of His Beatitude
Hieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, in the Thessalia
Conference Centre at Melissiatika, Volos, from 4 to 6 November 2013,
hosted under the care of His Eminence Ignatios, Metropolitan of
Demetrias and Almyros, and presided by His Eminence Metropolitan
Anthimos of Thessaloniki, Chairman of the Synodical Committee for
Heresies, on the subject: “The problem of disease; heretical and occultist approaches”, following an extensive discussion on the presentations, has unanimously adopted the following Conclusions:
1. The Conference considered the issue of disease
and its therapeutic treatment, as perceived by the Orthodox Church on
the one hand and by contemporary heretical, occultist and eastern
religious groups on the other.
In order to understand the radical differences between these two
approaches to the issue, it is essential to have the necessary knowledge
of anthropology, which is presupposed in each case.
Orthodox anthropology, which the Orthodox outlook on the issue of
disease and its therapy is based on, accepts that man is God᾽s creation,
comprised of two harmoniously united, albeit different, elements, the
body and the soul. Man is not soul alone or body alone; he is “both
together”.
2. In accordance with the teachings of the Orthodox
Church, disease is related to man᾽s status as a created being and is an
aftermath of the fall, i.e., of man᾽s voluntary alienation from God, Who
is the source of life and incorruption. Man᾽s fall disrupted the
harmonious coexistence of body and soul and this disruption had
devastating consequences upon both.
3. The taking on of human nature by God the Logos
paved the way for the nullification of death and the salvation of man in
his entirety. The incarnation of the Logos and His victory against
death transformed suffering and disease into a “place” and “mode” of our
salvation. Henceforth, both suffering and disease constitute means of
redemption, if man makes the free choice to employ them in Christ.
4. In various heretical, occultist and eastern
religious groups we encounter different notions concerning disease and
its origins, namely:
a) In the heretical groups within the broader spectrum of
Protestantism, disease is understood either as the work of a punitive
God, i.e. punishment incurred because of a person᾽s sins, or strictly as
the devil᾽s work.
b) in the occultist groups of the “New Age” movement and in groups
originating in Eastern religions, disease is understood as a “blockage”
of the normal flow of energy (“Prana”, “Chi”, “Cosmic energy”, etc.) in
the human body.
5. The so-called “alternative therapies” are an
application, in the field of healthcare, of conceptions of God, man and
the world, which are characteristic of Eastern religions and of the “New
Age of Aquarius”; therefore they should more properly be designated as
“New Age Medicine”.
According to these groups, everything is energy, everything is One
(Theosophy᾽s claim that “All is One”) and everything is God. Based on
this concept, they teach that by discovering his “divine Self” and by
activating the mystic powers supposedly hidden inside him, man can heal
himself. Self-healing is identified as the “release of blocked energy”.
6. A number of “alternative therapies” under various
names suggest different ways for “releasing the blockages” of that
energy. Homeopathy, for example, advocates the use of potentized
homeopathic medicines; Acupuncture proposes the placement of needles at
proper points that, according to its practitioners, correspond to
“energy channels” in the human body, while other “therapies”, like
Reiki, recommend the “removal of blockages” “through the laying of hands performed by a highly spiritual person… who is actually a channel of universal energies…”.
In some of these “therapies” we even observe the practice of blending
Christian terms with occultist interpretations, as part of an attempt
to provide a theoretical validation of the way in which the method
supposedly works. Most groups employ scientific-sounding terminology,
with the intent to impress and mislead the unsuspecting public.
Others, like Homeopathy practitioners, claim that their “medicines”
can even treat passions of the soul, like selfishness, envy, wrath,
anger, etc., thus usurping the role and work of the Orthodox Church as
“spiritual infirmary”.
7. The so-called alternative therapies not only have
occultist implications, but their very foundations are non-Christian
and in fact lie in the realm of the occult. Most of them represent more
than mere proposals for the therapeutic treatment of the body; they also
promise the transition, through what they call “quantum leap”, etc., to
the “New Age”, and the creation of a new type of man.
The Conference has reached the conclusion that these “therapies”
(Angel Therapy, Ayurveda, Bach Flower Remedies, Aura Soma, Aromatherapy,
Acupuncture, Bioenergy Therapies, Esoteric Healing, Craniosacral
Therapy, Crystal Therapy, Homeopathy, Reiki, Reflexology, Shiatsu,
pseudo-scientific psychotherapies, et al.) are founded on a worldview
‒serving as their background‒ which is contrary to and incompatible with
the Orthodox faith.
8. Their widespread dissemination is developing into
a major social issue of a medical and pharmaceutical nature with moral,
social and spiritual repercussions, which occasionally endangers human
lives. It also causes serious spiritual and pastoral problems.
Since the State guarantees – notably through the Constitution – the
legal right to health, which is put at risk by the aforementioned
“therapies”, it ought to take practical steps, as well, in order to
safeguard this right.
These “therapies” threaten to distort the Orthodox mindset. They are
potential “bridges” that could bring unsuspecting Orthodox Christians in
contact with Eastern religions and Occultism.
9. The so-called “alternative therapies” or,
according to the Medical Association of Athens “Unorthodox Treatment
Methods”, in which a metaphysical energy is predominant, rely on
obsolete and fictitious data. They lack rigorous scientific methodology.
Furthermore, they are based on unverified principles, which normally
belong to the realm of fantasy. Since they do not take advantage of
modern scientific advancements and methods, they have been designated,
by official Greek and international medical bodies and associations, as
pseudo-sciences.
According to such medical bodies, any noticeable therapeutic effect
–if and when it occurs– is usually observed in auto-immune,
psychosomatic and neuro-vegetative disorders. It is caused by the
simulated medicine (placebo) mechanism, which is activated through the
power of suggestion. Classical Medicine, by contrast, is an applied
science, which is constantly advancing research and making progress,
thus offering substantial care to millions of ailing people.
10. The Conference also reviewed “therapies”
performed within groups of the broader Protestant spectrum
(Neo-Pentecostals, “Charismatics”, Christian Science, etc.), as well as
within Roman Catholicism to the extent that it has adopted such
“charismatic” Protestant practices. Alleged therapies in such circles
include a fair amount of on-demand “healings” (instances of fraud), a
type of show that not only fails to provide actual healing, but is also
heavily criticized by other Protestant communities.
11. Pseudo-therapies, whether of the Pentecostal or
the “New Age” type, are considered to be either cases of clandestine
fraud or phenomena caused by psychological suggestion, or bad imitations
of miraculous healings in the Bible, without ruling out the possibility
of demonic involvement. As such, they constitute signs of the
Antichrist.
What fundamentally distinguishes them from the miraculous healings
effected by Saints is that they are performed for the ulterior purpose
of misleading people away from Jesus Christ, the only true Physician of
our souls and bodies.
12. As God᾽s creation, man can only be complete and
find true healing by being fully united with Jesus Christ within the
Orthodox Church, as stated by the Church Fathers.
The Conference unanimously approves the Conclusions stated above and authorizes its Chairman to sign them.
The Chairman of the Conference
† Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki
The Delegates of Orthodox Churches:
The Ecumenical Patriarchate ‒ Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronos
The Patriarchate of Alexandria ‒ Metropolitan Proterios of Ptolemais
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem ‒ Archbishop Demetrios of Lydda
The Patriarchate of Russia ‒ Hegumen Theofan Lukiyanov
The Patriarchate of Serbia ‒ Bishop Porfyrios of Jegar
The Patriarchate of Romania ‒ Dr. Ciprian Streza
The Church of Cyprus ‒ Protopresbyter Demetrios Kostopoulos
The Church of Greece ‒ Protopresbyter Kyriakos Tsouros
The Church of Poland ‒ Protopresbyter Andrzej Lewczak
The Chairman of the Conference
† Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki
(Source: imglyfadas.gr)
