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Added July 2008 Orthodox
Church of Greece: In 2001
the Committee on Heresies of the Holy Synod published the following decision regarding
Vassula Ryden (non-official translation from Greek):
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"The Committee, having examined the evidence, has reached the
conclusion that Vassula Ryden has expelled herself [*] from the Orthodox Church, although
she still presents herself as a member.
In addition it should be known that the Church periodical
"Dialogos" in its issues number 14 and 17 (...) has printed extensive reports
regarding Vassula Ryden's organization.
Vassula
asked the Greek Minister of Justice to bring to trial for slander and libel both the
Secretary of the Greek Orthodox Synodal Commission on Heresies, Fr. Kyriakos Tsouros, and
the Church publication. The trial was scheduled for 30 June 2000; however Ryden withdrew
the charge two days before the hearing." (Dialogos, issue number
25, page 32, 2001.)
[*]
The Greek text uses the word ekpései, which is of difficult translation. In
fact, some websites have translated it as "excommunicated". According to the
Orthodox source we consulted, the literal translation of the text would be: "she
threw herself out of the Orthodox Church". Another source suggested: "Vassula
Ryden is cut off from the Orthodox Church". The Committee is therefore stating that
Mrs Ryden excommunicated herself from her Church. From what we have been
able to gather, the main reason is that she does not act as an Orthodox faithful since she
does not respect canonical discipline, for instance by regularly receiving Catholic
Sacraments, which is considered a form of resigning from the Orthodox Church (see also: "May Vassula Ryden receive Holy Communion when
participating in Catholic Masses?").
We
include at the bottom of this page two of the Dialogos articles in Greek
regarding Mrs. Ryden and which are also available on the official website of the Greek
Orthodox Church www.ecclesia.gr:
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Cretan Archdiocese - September 2001. Issued
a press release warning against TLIG and discouraging people to attend a meeting where
Vassula was to talk, qualifying her of "anti-orthodox".
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Metropolite Mons. Damaskinos, Swiss diocese of the Ecumenical
Patriarcate of Constantinople. In 1996, Mons. Damaskinos declared that Vassula
Ryden, in the eyes of all those who are considered as the authentic bearers and continuers
of the tradition of the Orthodox Church, was opposing the conscience of that Church which
believes that Divine Revelation has been achieved once and for all through the Apostles.
He also criticized in that occasion the attitude of the seer, who had organized a broadly
advertised meeting on the same date that the Geneva Churches and Christian communities had
scheduled their annual gathering for the Christian Unity Week. More
Info (in French)...
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Patriarcate of Constantinople, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 1995, Fundacion SPES of Argentina asked the representative of the Greek Orthodox Church
in that country about the case of Vassula Ryden. The answer was given by Fr. Demonstenes
in the name of Mons. Gennadios Chrysoulakys. He stated that the Greek Orthodox Church does
not recognize any voice outside the established ecclesiastical hierarchy and if Mrs. Ryden
has something to communicate, she should do it through the hierarchy. More Info (in Spanish)...
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NEWJanuary
2010: Link to "Contra
Vassula Ryden" published on the blog A Catechumen's Tale. An
interesting analysis of Mrs Ryden's writings from an Orthodox perspective. Read here: http://catechumens-tale.blogspot.com/search/label/Vassula%20Rydén
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Coptic Orthodox Church Statement from His Eminence Abba Seraphim,
Metropolitan of Glastonbury, regarding Mrs. Vassula Ryden, August 2005: In
a General Memorandum to the clergy of the British Orthodox Church, His Eminence Abba
Seraphim offered the following guidance to the clergy and faithful:
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1. In receiving the sacraments at altars other than those of the
Orthodox Church [justifying this by quoting the Decree Orientarium Ecclesiarum of
Vatican II], Mrs Ryden is disregarding Orthodox canonical discipline
which forbids it.
2. Mrs Ryden should seek the canonical permission and
blessing of the local Orthodox hierarch having jurisdiction in each place, prior to
addressing public meetings, rather than act in the face of their sometimes
expressed opposition and criticism.
3. Until such time as a canonical Orthodox hierarchy is able to make a
detailed and full examination of the messages received by Mrs. Ryden, they should be
regarded with grave caution and their authority attributed solely to the
views and aspirations of Mrs Ryden herself, rather than any angelic, saintly or
divine source.
His Eminence Abba Seraphim also points out that Mrs Ryden has found
enthusiastic supporters among numbers of the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox clergy and
has often utilised the opportunities offered by 'Inter religious Pilgrimages' she
organizes (such as her ones to the Holy Land in March 2000 and to Egypt in October 2002)
to cultivate members of the local hierarchy, who are not always fully aware of all
her activities.
This memorandum was published in the www.britishorthodox.org website in
February 2006, with an extra note indicating that "the statement in the True
Life in God UK Newsletter No. 6 (November 2005) that His Eminence Abba Seraphim along with
H.M. Queen Elisabeth II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, 'sent us their good wishes for
the meeting' is untrue. An invitation was sent to Abba Seraphim and a reply sent
on his behalf stating that he had another engagement and would be unable to attend, but
asking to be kept on the TLIG mailing list and for copies of the documentation supplied to
be sent to other Orthodox hierarchs in the United Kingdom." (Read the entire
article in http://www.britishorthodox.org/113b.php
towards the end of the page).
In 2004, I received this critique from a Christian Orthodox who
accepted to have it published in my website. I finally do so here, with my apologies for
the very long delay.
A
critique of Vassula & True Life in God
by a Christian
Orthodox
JOHN 10: 1- 5
“I tell you the truth, the man who does
not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a
robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The
watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on
ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they
will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger's voice."
For over 15 years in
this age of the Internet Vassula has promoted her writings globally in many languages. If
her writings were of Christ, should not His sheep the world over have been flocking to
those writings?
Would
Christ choose a method of communication with mankind, automatic writing, that has a long
prominent history of use in the Occult?
Would Christ take
away the free will of someone by controlling their body to write in a script not their
own? The Divine Words of Christ are heard by His sheep regardless of the medium.
Would Christ be so
incredibly verbose, repetitive, ambiguous, wandering in focus, and given to expressing
Himself on mundane matters set within narrow time frames?
Would
Christ want to create an organization (TLIG) that was outside the Church, and give His
‘new revelation’ to an individual who becomes the main focus in the lives of the
organization’s members?
Would Christ
communicate in such a cryptic way that one needed to be privy to TLIG interpretations to
be able to understand His words?
Would God speak, as
“He” does in the samples shown below, to those who would understandably question
the writings of Vassula?
Would God’s new
messenger condemn those who would reasonably question her writings? See excerpt from a
letter to Vassula’s followers below.
Would a Christ
created organization exhibit the classic hallmarks of: a charismatic leader dispensing
mystical/esoteric knowledge to an insular group of “enlightened” people who see
any criticism from outside as being evil?
IF
CHRIST WERE COMMUNICATING THROUGH VASSULA WOULD HE NOT BE TELLING US THAT THE SALVATION OF
MAN IS NOT COMPLETELY FOUND IN SCRIPTURE AND SACRED TRADITION?
SAMPLES OF THE WRITING
The
following sample is taken from http://www.tlig.org/msg/vasb1060.html and that
document is titled: TO CONCEAL MY VOICE IS A MORTAL SIN MY SERVANTS ARE
FORMED FROM MY WORDS
………….to conceal My Voice
is a mortal sin; to sift Me through and through and scan Me is an abhorrent sin in
My Eyes; will your incredulity say one day: "but look, we did not know; we did not
know that we offended Your Mercy;" indeed you have offended My Mercy; not only have
you offended My Mercy but you have allowed the evil powers to gain ground and despoil the
House My Son bought with His Precious Blood, because of your incredulity; and how! how
ingeniously you get round My Words in order to justify your incredulity!.................
The following sample is
taken from http://www.tlig.org/en/news/2002-01-10/257/
being part of a letter to TLIG followers from Vassula. The letter in its entirety
is very revealing of the mind set of this organization
…………..Then
what follows is a reminder to all those who fearlessly persecute the merciful call
of God, even to call it evil, throwing mud on it that by doing so, they are blaspheming
the Holy Spirit, committing the unforgivable sin. This is what he says:
"Read our messages and stop being scornful or deaf when heaven speaks.
Lower your voices and you will hear ours. Think twice before you judge; think
more than twice before you condemn the works of the Holy Spirit. I shall not
spare anyone who mocks the Holy Spirit, blaspheming him outright". Then
he reminds us of what awaits those who blaspheme, "Justice will send them down to the
underworld"…………..
"Rulings of C.S. on sects for Vasoula Ryden
and
Panagiotis Toulatos"
Dialogos,
number
25, page 32, 2001
www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/dialogos/Dialogos25.pdf
 
“Vasoula Ryden… complains”,
by Rev. Protopresbyter Kyriakos Tsouros
Dialogos,
number 17, pages 21-23, 1999
www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/dialogos/17.pdf
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