"to make a schism in the Church is no less an evil than to fall into heresy." [my emphasis added]
So, even the appeal being made is falsely put, and by people supposedly educated in the faith.
I was just in a Catholic store, buying clerical gear, in Raleigh. Very nice people running it. One lady, who I learned was a nun (though, as now always, in ordinary attire, lest anyone think she might actually be a Bride of Christ, I fear), learned that I am Anglican and as I commented that, while once Roman and pre-Vatican II, I have become Anglican and pre-Tridentine. 'Ahh, the Dark Ages', she muttered. I muttered back, "The Light Ages to me, ma'am.".
It is the continuing wrangle and the strange immobility in the orthodox clergy that is making this another Dark Age and I agree with you both that this is a strangely Athanasian situation. My thanks to you both for this very informative and edifying exchange.
Well done, brothers.
In Christ,
Deacon Paul+
Thank-you for the kind words, Deacon. The evil of the revisionists and the credulity of the orthodox Anglicans who remain in communion with heretics is quite astonishing to me but as sionnsar and I have discussed before, the Orthodox concept of communion seems quite different from that of many Anglicans. The whole concept of "open communion" speaks volumes about this difference. Indeed, it is either the root of the problem in the AC or the prime "theological" justification for themanifold heresies which have been tolerated in the AC. For example, doesn't open communion excuse a failure to believe in the Incarnation, the Perpetual Virginity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Trininty and the Resurrection? Conversely, perhaps open communion is the result of these heresies or the reductio ad absurdam of the original compromises made in Anglicanism. I don't know the answer to this, but it is apparent that heresy is a malignancy which has been allowed to grow and spread in the Anglican Church for a very long time. As unpopular as it may be in the West, rigid orthodoxy in both praxis and belief in the Faith is absolutely necessary for the preservation of that Faith and the theosis of the People of God. Without it, everything just falls apart, the people stumble into sin, the Evil One rejoices and all creation groans.
On a happier note, a blessed and holy Feast of the Resurrection to you both. Xristos Anesti ek nekron, Thanato Thanaton patisas, kai tois en tois mnimasi, Zoin xapisamenos (Christ is risen from the dead, trampling Death by death, and bestowing life to those in the tombs!) my brothers!
http://goarch.org/en/multimedia/quicktime/Christ_is_risen.asp