Saturday, May 21, 2011

Vassula Ryden responds to her excommunication

1. Vassula  Excommunicated  -  A Response to This False Statement
by The Foundation for True Life in God, Geneva (Switzerland)

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has recently published, on its website a statement of condemnation regarding Vassula Rydén and True Life in God faithful of Greek Orthodox faith. A certified translation into English of the Greek original is below . It is to be noted that the Patriarchate has only expressed itself in Greek, leaving people of other languages to themselves.

The statement of the Patriarchate has been misinterpreted by some people who have publicly declared that Vassula has been excommunicated.
Such declarations are wholly untrue and do not accord with the Patriarchs statement which is not a decree of any description and does not refer to excommunication.

What the statement does is to accuse Vassula and the Orthodox TLIG faithful of acting in defiance or in breach, of Orthodox Christian Doctrine and Faith.  That is equivalent to an accusation of heresy. (A denial of or deviation from the doctrine of the Orthodox Church).  

The appropriate procedure for dealing with heresy is very clearly laid down in the Canon law of the Holy Church. The statement calls upon Vassula and her followers to discontinue the dissemination of the TLIG messages and to renounce their teachings in order to avoid the appropriate sanctions under the Holy Canons.  Under those Canons, the prescribed penalty for heresy is Excommunication (often called anathema) but, under the  Canonical procedures of the Church a decree of Excommunication can only be made after formal proceedings have taken place before the Ecclesiastical Courts or/and before  a Holy Synod.  Such proceedings involve a formal Complainant, a Defendant and Witnesses, and an appeal procedure (Hierarchical), regulated by Article 44.1 of the Charter of the Church of Greece

Only when this procedure has been exhausted, is the crime of transgression against the faith punished by Excommunication or sometimes by exclusion from the sacramental life of the Church for a temporary period.


There have been no proceedings for Excommunication instituted before the Ecclesiastical Courts or the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the case of Vassula Rydén. That is not surprising because the Holy Orthodox Church like the Catholic Church or the Anglican Church regards Excommunication as a last resort, an instrument to be wielded with great reserve and caution and only to be imposed after repeated warnings and discussions.  No such discussions have taken place between Vassula and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Vassula has already written to the Patriarch personally, to request that she and her Theologians enter into a proper dialogue with him. Her request is presently under consideration by the Patriarch.

Until due judicial process is established and concluded by the Church, any public comments stating or implying that Vassula and TLIG faithful have been excommunicated by the Holy Orthodox Church are wholly untrue and harmful to her and those members of TLIG  who are of the Greek Orthodox faith.

The present statement is published by the Foundation for True Life in God after due research into this matter. Its purpose is to prevent publication of further ill advised comments and to encourage correction of untruthful statements already published.


Geneva, May 2011
From a friend of the blog who asked not to be named. This woman is a heretic. She excommunicated herself. All the EP did was confirm this for the benefit of those who might have been confused.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Warning of Mrs Vassula Ryden by 4 Archbishops and 4 Bishops of the Province of Marseille
In Marseille,October 22 2011


http://nice.cef.fr/actu_anciennes.php?action=24u

Anonymous said...

I copy hereunder an English translation of the warning published by the Catholic Bishops of southern France regarding Vassula Ryden's visit to Marseille. The original text in French is published on the website of the Diocese of Marseille (http://marseille.catholique.fr/Mise-en-garde).


WARNING


Several sources have announced that on November 2011 Mrs Vassula Ryden will be coming to Marseille. The programme mentions conferences, Mass, deliverance and healing prayers.

The Roman Congregation for the doctrine of the faith has pronounced itself several times on her case, by emitting great reservations and not recognizing the supernatural character of her alleged messages. It advises Catholics not to support this person's activities by participating in her initiatives.

The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has recently pronounced itself in a similar way, since Mrs Vassula Ryden was a member of that Church.

The bishops of the Province of Marseille want to bring to the attention of the catholic faithful of their dioceses that this event is in no way connected to our Church. The acts of religious nature (Mass, deliverance and healing prayers) - if they take place - will be performed outside the communion with the Catholic Church.
In Marseille, October 22, 2011.

+ Georges PONTIER
Archbishop of Marseille

+ Christophe DUFOUR
Archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles

+ Jean-Pierre CATTENOZ
Archbishop of Avignon

+ François-Xavier LOIZEAU
Bishop of Digne

+ Dominique REY
Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon

+ Jean-Michel di FALCO LEANDRI
Bishop of Gap and Embrun

+ Louis SANKALÉ
Bishop of Nice

+ Jean BONFILS
Apostolic Administrator of Ajaccio