The following letter was given on March 11, 1969 to the faithful from the Metropolitan's Residence (Metropolitan Ireney) on Syosset, Long Island, New York

The present bishops of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA, formerly known as the Metropolia) and the instructors at St. Vladimir's Seminary, Yonkers, New York, should be held accountable to follow that which has been laid down by their Church in previous years. Read the recent statements and articles in Saint Vladimir's Quarterly by these men and you will see, first hand, how they have deviated from the Orthodox faith.

May the faithful laity awaken to their responsibilities and demand their bishops and teachers adhere to the Orthodox faith. Ask your bishop or priest in the OCA why he no longer follows the guidelines once given by the hierarchs? Let me ask again the question, "Who has changed their Orthodox faith, those who follow the Julian calendar or the New Calendarists."

The Great Council of Bishops of the Metropolia considers it its duty to answer certain doubts and questions which have arisen concerning the so-called Ecumenical Movement.

In the last decades an awareness emerged in the entire Christian world that the divisions among Christians, the dispersion of Christian forces before the unbelievers, the absence of unity among those who confess the One, Lord Jesus Christ and worship One God, contradicts the prayer which our Lord himself used before his passion, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me" (John 17:21).

The Holy Orthodox Church has always prayed, and continues to pray indefatigably for the union of all. She accepts with joy every sincere movement towards that unity. She firmly believes that the Supreme Pastor and Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, desires that all who believe in him become one body and bear testimony to him through visible unity in faith, love and life. The Ecumenical Movement, inasmuch as it is inspired by sincere sorrow for the existing divisions among Christians, and by an equally sincere search to overcome those divisions, is, therefore, a good and positive manifestation. For this reason all the local Orthodox Churches take part in the work and activities of the Ecumenical Movement.

As for the other aspects of that movement, joint Christian action to help the hungry, the persecuted and refugees; judgment on political event, and efforts towards a more just society, the Orthodox Church, while recognizing that such activities are both useful and necessary, considers that they are by nature quite different from those endeavors which are directed towards achieving unity in faith. She also believes that all such questions must be solved not according to the categories of this world and its calculations, but in the spirit of Christ's truth which has no regard for persons.

The basic goal of the Ecumenical Movement, however, is the unity of all Christians in one, single body of grace. And here the Orthodox Church firmly confesses that such a genuine unity is founded, above all, on the unity of faith, on the unanimous acceptance of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition by all, as they are wholly and integregally preserved by the Church. Real love for brothers separated from us consists, therefore, not in silencing all that divides us, but in a courageous witness to the Truth, which alone can unite us all, as well as in a common search for the ways to make that Truth evident to all. Only in this way has the Orthodox Church always understood her participation in the Ecumenical Movement. We call ourselves and all others to that Divine Truth, not because it is "ours", but because the Church is founded on it and has as her mission to proclaim it to all men in order that all may be saved.

However, within the Ecumenical Movement there has always existed another understanding of unity, which seems to become more popular today. It recognizes virtually no importance at all in agreement in faith and doctrine, and is based on relativism, i.e., on the affirmation that the doctrinal or canonical teachings of the Church, being "relative", are not obligatory for all. Unity is viewed as already existing, and nothing remains to be done except to express it and strengthen it through ecumenical manifestations or services of all kinds. Such an approach is totally incompatible with the Orthodox concept of ecumenism.

The difference between these two approaches is nowhere better manifested than in the attitudes toward concelebration and participation in the sacraments among divided Christians. In the prayers and the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Divine Eucharist, is expressed the full unity, in faith, in life and in the common service to God and man, as given by God. Therefore, in the Orthodox teaching, every form of concelebration, i.e,. joint participation in liturgical prayer and especially in the Sacraments, with those not belonging to the Orthodox Church is inadmissible, for it would imply and express a unity which in reality does not exist. Such a concelebration is a self-deception and the deception of others, for it leads both the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox to the erroneous belief, creating the impression, that the Orthodox Church acknowledges something which in fact she does not acknowledge.

In view of all this, common prayer with non-Orthodox at brotherly encounters must always be clearly distinguished and formally separated from the liturgical life of the Church. The liturgy expresses the unity of the Church and not a human consensus in particular areas of human concern. Orthodox priests attending meetings, prayers or conferences together with non-Orthodox must never wear liturgical vestments, just as ministers of other confessions must not be invited to fulfill liturgical functions at any Orthodox service: marriage, funeral, Requiem service, Te Deum, etc. They should not be invited to stand in the sanctuary during the services. In general, any source of possible misunderstanding and misinterpretations must be avoided.

These rules are in no way expressions of antipathy towards the non-Orthodox. On the contrary, genuine love is incompatible with hypocrisy, with self-deceit and the deception of others, with the replacement of reality by fiction. No superficial sharing in externals and ceremonials can bring us closer to real unity for it obscures and betrays the sacred essence of unity.

In the free and tolerant American society, all paths are open for us to confirm the truth. May freedom and tolerance be not a pretext for indifference and irresponsibility, but a blessed condition for the achievement of truth and genuine unity in this truth.

As your Archpastors, we consider it our duty to tell you that it is our task to combine Christ's love with the Truth of Christ's Church. We call all of you to the genuine service of the holy task of reuniting all men in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you, "II Corinthians 13:13).