Archbishop Leonty (+1971) and the Greek Old Calendarists [part 8]

(Continue from here)

From the cover of issue 402 of the official magazine of the True Orthodox of Greece "The Voice of Orthodoxy". Contains letters of Archbishop Leonty in which he defends himself against many slanders. 

Defense of Archbishop Leonty and new maniacal attacks against him

The accusations against Archbishop Leonty continued by the obsessed Fr. Kalliopios, who in his periodical slandered the Archbishop as supposedly "Latin-minded" and an "ecumenist". The occasion was an earlier (in 1959) visit of Archbishop Leonty, as a representative of the Russian community in Venezuela, to the funeral of some high-ranking state official, who also happened to be a high-ranking Roman Catholic cleric (as was their custom to hold political offices as well), in order to convey the condolences of the Russian community. A photograph depicting Archbishop Leonty reading the leaflet about the life and activity of the deceased, which was distributed at the funeral, was presented by Kalliopios who discovered the photo, as well as by those who were quick to maliciously reproduce the news, as "official joint prayer with the heterodox" and the leaflet as a "liturgical book".

Archbishop Leonty, upon learning of the attacks against him, sent letters to the P.T.E.O.K. and the Holy Synod, along with an autobiographical letter, at the end of August, which were published in a special issue of the magazine "The Voice of Orthodoxy". [1] With these texts, he informs his Greek brothers about the situation regarding the controversial photograph, and also presents evidence from his life that proves his character.

He also relays that Metropolitan Anastasy asked him to apologize for the consecrations and that he will apologize at the upcoming Synod of the Hierarchy. He mentions that the performance of the consecrations not only disturbed the official Churches, but also the Vatican. He expresses the conviction that the work of the Genuine Orthodox is divine and not arbitrary; therefore, he recommends giving no credence to propagandistic fabrications, "whether they are of Matthew, or of the new-calendarists of the so-called official Church, or of Catholics, Protestants, or other enemies of the Orthodox Church."

Archbishop Leonty particularly emphasizes something else, very important for us today. He believes that the Patriarchates of the East, with the occupation of their thrones by Freemasons and modernists, are following the path of old and fallen Rome: apostasy and departure from true Orthodoxy.

The prototype autobiographical letter of Archbishop Leonty (in Russian).

However, the polemics of Fr. Kalliopios continued relentlessly, and in a new issue, [2] he published on the one hand a "Declaration" of a certain, first appearing - and immediately disappearing - "Pro-Orthodox [Φιλορθόδοξος] Brotherhood of ‘Photios the Great’”, and on the other hand, a malicious commentary on the autobiographical letter of Archbishop Leonty.

This "Declaration" contains the well-known basic accusations: a) that the consecrations were irregular, b) that they were the result of bribery (simony), and c) that there was ecclesiastical communion of Archbishop Leonty with the papists. Regarding these accusations, among other things, Bishop Akakios of Talantion responded in a letter in early 1963. In it, concerning the irregular consecrations, he mentions that in times of heresies, these are justified, bringing as a classic example Saint Eusebius of Samosata, who "left his province dressed in military clothes and traveled to various places of Phoenicia and the province, ordaining deacons, priests, and wherever there was no bishop, he consecrated others with the aim of promoting Orthodoxy." As for the allegations of "simony", he completely rejects this slander and states that if it were not prohibited by divine law [the appeal to the civil courts for ecclesiastical matters - see 1 Corinthians 6:1-6.], whoever invented such slander would be taken to civil courts. Finally, regarding the supposed ecclesiastical communion of Archbishop Leonty with the papists, he writes: "Regarding the ecclesiastical communion of Archbishop Leonty, I say the following. From what we know from our communication with him for about twenty days, we do not need more information, because we saw his Orthodox spirit and his opinion regarding the "Catholics" and other heretics. We see from his biography his pure and holy life. He did not attend the funeral of the Catholic Archbishop to pray, but formally attended to fulfill a certain social obligation, giving condolences to the government, which was present in full. In the opposite case, he would have had some distinctions of his priesthood, such as an epitrachelion, a small omophorion, etc." [3].

In the "Declaration," Archbishop Leonty is also considered as "deposed by the Mother Russian Church, which follows the old calendar"; and of course, he means the Sergianist pro-communist Church of that time, while Father Kalliopios hastens to emphasize at this point the "condemnations" of the Hierarchs of ROCOR as "Schismatics" by Metropolitan Sergius and Patriarch Alexy!

The commentary on Archbishop Leonty’s autobiography by Father Kalliopios teaches us that adherence to the old calendar alone is not enough to be Genuine Orthodox. In a distorted manner, he tries to tarnish Archbishop Leonty’s reputation. Mockingly rejecting his positions, he calls him with unprecedented hatred "Latin-minded, liar, hypocritical wolf in sheep's clothing, perjurer, opportunist, rebel, lover of money, simoniac…". Arbitrarily and without evidence, he also refers to the [funeral] leaflet held by Archbishop Leonty as a "prayer book" (to portray him as a participant in prayer), and he bases this on the following unbelievable logic: he couldn't have been reading a leaflet because "it would have been inconsiderate on his part, instead of listening attentively to the speeches, to be sitting and flipping through the leaflet!".

The attack by Fr. Kalliopios culminates and borders on perversion when he comments on Archbishop Leonty’s self-exile from the Soviet Union. Initially, he shamelessly slanders him (again without any evidence) by claiming that "he became a Bishop by order of the Gestapo of the Nazis." He accuses him of abandoning his flock to the mercy of the Bolsheviks, when it is historically proven that he was exiled along with his flock and lived with them in displaced persons' camps. 

The Archbishop Leonty in one of the "Displaced persons camps" in Germany (circa 1946) with his flock (Photo source: https://www.rocorstudies.org/). 

Moreover, he accuses Archbishop Leonty of being a traitor "even to his own faith since he did not remain to shed even his blood"; thus, he precisely uses the same accusation that was used by certain super-zealots (like Donatists) against Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, as well as by Melitios of Lycopolis [4] against Saint Peter of Alexandria, when these Saints fled their regions due to persecution. Saint Cyprian himself justified this stance in hagiographical terms [5] and later wrote: “When the day appointed for denying was gone by, every one who had not professed within that time not to be a Christian, confessed that he was a Christian. It is the first title to victory to confess the Lord under the violence of the hands of the Gentiles. It is the second step to glory to be withdrawn by a cautious retirement, and to be reserved for the Lord. The former is a public, the latter is a private confession.” [6]

Fr. Kalliopios's dishonest polemics continued over the following months. After sending yet another letter (on September 19) to the Protosynkellos of the ROCOR, Father George Grabbe, [7] he completed his downfall to the deepest depths of degradation that he could reach: he addressed a "Memorandum" to the innovative, and for decades persecuting the Old Calendarists, new calendarist Hierarchy, in which he demands from them - listen! - to "rule on the validity of the consecrations" performed by "the Latin-minded Bishop of Chile, Mr. Leonty," so as to "secure the Greek Orthodox world from any foreign infiltration, especially by individuals who, collaborating with the Nazis, became the agents of a myriad of humiliating trials for distinguished Greek Clergy"! [8]

However, as the blessed then-Archimandrite Petros Astyfides had already foreseen, “with the passage of time, all the difficulties and obstacles will be turned into a blessing, and every barrier will be completed and every ‘Kalliopian’ mountain will be humbled"... [9]

NOTES

[1] No. 402 / September 17, 1962.

[2] Archive of Bishop Talantion Akakios.

[3] “Orthodox Observer,” Nos. 9-10, Sept-Oct 1962.

[4] He created the Schism of the same name [the Melitians], which called itself the “Church of Martyrs".

[5] “When they persecute you in this city, flee to another” (Matt. 10:23).

[6] “On the Lapsed”, 3.

[7] In it, he wrote: "In any case we beg you for this our letter to give us answer on the following querries:

l) The Archbishop of Chili and Peru, Mr. Leontios Philippovits does he belong to your Church?

2) When he came in Greece some months ago and with the false Bishop Akakios Pappas having ordained Bishops, did they come here by order of your Synod? If not, what sanctions have been imposed to him and to the ordained by him, by your Synod?

3) The Archbishop Leontios Philippovits is he married?

We furthermore denounce you that the Archbishop in question has celebrated the ordinations in Greece in Simonian way having collected so thousand of dollars. And evermore he is Latin feelings taking part in Catholics celebrations." (All errors/typos in original)

[8] "Orthodox Observer", No. 13, Jan 1963.

[9] Cf. Isaiah 40:4. From a letter of Archimandrite Petros Astyfides to Akakios of Talantion (circa August 1961).

[Be continued]