An inquirer wrote in the following question concerning the Letter to the Editor which we quoted in a previous journal entry (“Orthodoxy: ‘Our Little Grocery Store’ For Sale”):

“The above article seems to put the blame on the atrocious decision at Holy Cross at the feet of an immigrant mind set. Would it be more accurate to put the blame at the feet of an ecumenist mind set?”

Here was our answer:

Ecumenism and Ethnicism, apparently opposed, are two sides of the same coin, somewhat like captialism and communism. Both philetism (or ethnicism) and ecumenism deny the catholicity of the Church; both serve to secularize the Church and turn its attention to this world. Yes, ethnicism is a secularizing force in the Church. Ecumenism is not opposed to the limitations ethnicism imposes on the Church, but rather aims at leaving each in his own place, but uniting them superficially, not in truth. The ethnic mentality which has been so deeply impressed on Orthodox mindsets for centuries has served to deny - in practice - the catholicity of the Church, setting up Orthodox Christians to accept that they are not “the whole”, but “a part” that needs to be completed, at least “horizontally”, if not “vertically”. In this way philetism has lead to ecumenism.

In the case of Fr. Clapsis’ rational for appointing a Jesuit this is very clear: we don’t want to be a little grocery store venture (an ethnic-only venture) but want to be “a part of the whole” (ecumenism’s pseudo-catholicity) and accepted by the world (secularism).  It is the immigrant mentality at the service of ecumenism. And it is quite a nature relationship, since both are worldly and both serve to deny the catholicity of the Church for the sake of this world. 

Posted on 07/06/05. Filed under: Ecclesia • Orthodoxy and Catholicity • Ethnicism and Ecumenism • • Email This Entry