He said " The "Church of Greece's" jurisdiction ends at the borders of Greece."
This statement is absolutely untrue and clearly demonstrates ignorance on the subject beyond doubt.
For example the entire American continent has its own Archdiocese (Greek Orthodox).
http://www.goarch.org
The Orthodox Church is a flotilla of dependent bodies...like the Romanian Orthodox Church, Russian, Greek, Latvian, American...
They all form the Orthodox Church.
In America you will find Greek Orthodox churches, Romanian etc.The Greek Orthodox Church in my town does its ritual in English.
Their canons, rituals, ceremonies, creeds are the same. If there was a difference that church would not be Orthodox... Which is the very meaning of the word.
Try not to think of the Orthodox Church as you would about the different Protestant Churches which do defer from one another and are separate.
The Orthodox Church is quite the opposite of that.
THE APHORISM AGAINST FREEMASONRY
by Cyprianus, Archbishop of Cyprus
from 1815
Is equally adopted by all the churches which form the body of the Orthodox Church...very feverently still to this very modern day.
In fact, you don't have to dig too deeply to find the same exact anathema from all the churches which compose and make the Orthodox Church.
Again, Don't take my word for it...
You are very kind and noble to come to the defense of the "brother" above... But his profile indicates that he is not my brother and highly unlikely to be a member of any of the Orthodox Churches.
Regardless, the topic of discussion here is, if we may move on, that the Orthodox Church...the 2nd largest church in the world, has an anathema against our fraternity and they had it for a very long time and continues to be maintained and enforced to this day.
All you have to do is walk in any Orthodox Church or cathedral and ask a priest there about the subject.
I myself am a prime example of this...four of them came to my house to speak to me and my wife about it and demanded for me to denounce the "parasitical and invasive organism which is freemasonery" should I wish to continue communing there. The discussion was quite lengthy and lasted over several hours, but that was the essence of it.
Anyway I am tired of typing on my dinky iPhone here so I shall leave it at that.
Should you wish to continue discussing this topic please do so, but stop telling me to quit berating ignorance and stupidity because I will not, and if this continues to be pressed, this thread will deviate from the original topic of discussion which happens to be very interesting to a lot of folks on here...and that will be too bad.
I normally would not care if it was all a matter of opinion because we all have them, myself included. The anathema against freemasonery however on the part of the Orthodox Church is absolute and easily verifiable fact and that my brothers is the given and the pertinent subject of discussion here at hand.
I will say this...I do know one Orthodox priest down in Marin county that is very much aware of this issue, is not a mason, but does have a mason as a parishioner...and to me that is an applaudable revolutionary act.
Cheers!
Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App