Metropolitan Anthony: Unrepentant schismatics turn into heretics
The Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church spoke about two paths schismatics can take.
The dissenters, who are unwilling to admit their mistakes, most often pass into the category of heretics, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, noted in the film by Arkady Mamontov “Self-ordained”.
People in schism have two paths, Vladyka Anthony emphasized. One of them, leading to God, is repentance, admission of one's mistakes.
“The first way is repentance, when a person realizes his untruth and returns to the fold of the Orthodox Church,” said the Metropolitan. "The grace of the Spirit of God revives such a man."
There is another way, however, which the holy fathers often talk about. This path is disastrous, noted the UOC Chancellor.
“If the schism is not cured, then, unfortunately, most often schismatics fall into another category – the category of heretics,” he said. “If a person who has committed a sin realizes that this is the norm, then he will never be corrected. This is the path to destruction."
As the UOJ reported, the hierarch of the Greek Church believes that the Ukrainian schismatics should have returned to the canonical Ukrainian Church through repentance.
