A Review of Orthodox Fundamentalists: A Critical View
by Archbishop Chrysostomos
[Archpriest] John W. Morris, Orthodox
Fundamentalists: A Critical View. Minneapolis, MN: Light and Life Publishing, 1998. Paperback.
Father John Morris has, unfortunately, expressed deep disdain for Orthodox
traditionalism in general and the Greek Old Calendarists in particular. He has
characterized our Bishops in a rather vulgar way, even going so far as to call us cult
leaders. His writing certainly gives the impression that he has important things to say.
And he is obviously capable of good scholarship. But his book on Orthodox fundamentalism
(in effect, on us Orthodox opposed to ecumenism and modernism), which wholly
misunderstands and distorts our
ecclesiological and theological arguments,
suffers from those weaknesses that always beset scholarship wanting of objectivity. Father
Morris’ description of us as fundamentalists is, in the final analysis, a somewhat
ironic response to the fact that we have rightly pointed out that the ecumenical movement,
in which the author is an active participant, has its historical roots in Protestant
fundamentalism. His book will impress those with a cursory knowlege of the Fathers, of
ecclesiology, and of the history of the ecumenical movement. Though he does, once more,
make some good points, he takes on a complex matter in a simplistic way. A
publisher’s blurb about the book, which claims that the author "... presents the
truth [of Orthodoxy] in five chapters," speaks to this fact. Capturing Orthodoxy in
five chapters would be quite a feat.
Needless to say, we resisters to modernism and ecumenism do not believe, as Father John
has asserted, that the calendar and priestly dress—while important parts of the
tradition of the Church—are essentially dogmatic issues. Nor do we believe that the
Orthodox Church should live in isolation from other religious confessions. We do believe,
however, that Orthodoxy is not simply one "lung" in the multifaceted Body of the
Church, but the Church itself. We also believe that the Holy Spirit is made
manifest through the traditions of the Church—even seemingly insignificant
ones—and that we must consciously preserve them.
Finally, we consider ourselves part of the Orthodox Church and walled-off in resistance
from error and the compromised confession of the modernists. We do not, as these
ecumenists say so freely of us, declare them to be outside the Church.
Certainly some of them are not true believers (True Orthodox), are not true clergy,
and have removed themselves from the pale of Orthodoxy—and this not only by their
in-novations, but by their deep, enduring hatred of us traditionalists. Nonetheless, the
final course of modern Orthodoxy is yet to be revealed and it is our hope that many
modernists, including those blinded by personal animus, will one day see the light of true
belief.
In the meantime, let those who possess analytical skills carefully examine what we
teach and then objectively study books such as the one in question. An intelligent man
will see that this book attributes to us traditionalists things which we neither believe
nor teach. It is meant more to attack a perceived enemy, who has been "dressed to
kill," than it is to criticize our actual ecclesiology and thought. And this detracts
from the good that the book actually contains.
These are sad days. Orthodoxy has become a place where those who, finding no eminence
elsewhere, do so in Orthodoxy. And thus their love of words like "official," "mainstream,"
and "large," the verbal refuges of the
mediocre—an inappropriate and sad retreat, indeed, for someone as obviously gifted
and intelligent as the author of this book. Thus, too, the personal hatred for those of us
who call for a deeper and more authentic Orthodoxy, and especially among converts from
Western Christianity. Personal hatred taken to the point of writing books that distort and
misrepresent the teachings of one’s perceived antagonists represents a trend among
Orthodox polemicists—both modernists and traditionalists—which accomplishes
nothing. We must all work to avoid this trend.
From Orthodox Tradition, Vol. XVI, No. 2, pp. 32-33.
His Eminence encouraged those with analytical skills to carefully
examine Fr. John's claims. This site contains numerous articles which clearly set forth
the traditionalist Orthodox view (what he calls "fundamentalist" or
"Pharisaical") on a number of issues. Even superficial familiarity with them
will unveil the straw man which our author sets up. For more articles specifically dealing
with the concept of "fundamentalism" see Orthodoxy
and Fundamentalism The Fundamentalism of the Orthodox Ecumenists;
A "Reality Check" on
Cults and Fundamentalism; and The
Monastic Life. For an example of Fr. John's "scholarship" and ability to
reason in an Orthodox way about complex issues see Common
Misunderstandings on the Reception of Converts. The unnamed Priest in that exchange is
Fr. John.
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