Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican pushing ecumenical unity with the Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostals, and Others: Syriac Orthodox want to be in communion with Rome
A reader sent me a link to the following:
Steps along path of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue
When officials of the Holy See made a pilgrimage through the Jubilee Holy Door this week, they were joined by an Orthodox theologian whose organization helped organize a major Catholic-Orthodox conference on the Council of Nicaea.Around 5,000 people attending the Jubilee of the Holy See processed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday, June 9, led by Pope Leo XIV.
As they entered, they passed by a plaque that memorialized an encounter in 1967 between Pope St. Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople. The inscription says they prayed “for the restitution of full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.”
Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, President of the International Orthodox Theological Association, joined the Vatican employees on their pilgrimage to mark the 2025 Jubilee year.
Speaking to Vatican News, Dr. Gavrilyuk said the historic meetings between the Pope and the Patriarch were “incredibly important steps towards Church unity,” which his organization hopes to continue.
He attended the Jubilee of the Holy See “to offer my gratitude to God and also to listen to the Pope’s wise words about Christian unity and reconciliation.”
The conference on the 1,700th anniversary of Nicaea looked beyond the Council as a historical event, focusing on the future of unity in the Church.
“When we speak about the Church of the Third Millennium, the hope and expectation was that this would be a Church that in fact would enjoy, especially as far as Catholics and Orthodox are concerned, full communion,” he said. “And that of course means partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ at the same table.” 06/11/25 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-06/nicaea-council-orthodox-catholic-dialogue-paul-gavrilyuk.html
Steps towards ecumenical unity are being taken.
Notice that one of the Orthodox groups is officially ready to unite:
Syriac Orthodox Church ‘ready to unite’ with Latin Church, Catholic bishop says
June 11, 2025
In the most prominent front-page article in L’Osservatore Romano’s June 10 daily Italian edition, a retired Latin-rite bishop in Turkey is quoted as saying that “the Syriac Orthodox Church is ready to unite with the Latin” Church.
The Syriac Orthodox Church (CNEWA profile) is among the Oriental Orthodox churches that ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451). https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=65948
So, the above may help motivate others to do some version of the same. There is a Roman Catholic prophecy that a pope will “reunite the Eastern to the Western Church.” Pope Leo XIV may be that pontiff.
On some of the podcasts I have been a guest on, I have stated that I believe that the Church of Rome will want to push for unity on the date of Easter with the Eastern Orthodox, as that was something that the Greco-Roman Catholics supported at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
Now, notice the following:
At ecumenical symposium, Pope Leo XIV says Catholic Church open to universal Easter date
Jun 7, 2025 / 11:45 am
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said the Catholic Church is open to establishing a common date of Easter among all Christian churches, echoing one of the aims of the Council of Nicaea that met 1,700 years ago.
The pope spoke to participants of the symposium “Nicaea and the Church of the Third Millennium: Towards Catholic-Orthodox Unity,” which took place this week at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. …
This week’s symposium focused on the themes of faith, synodality, and “the date of Easter,” Leo said. The lattermost issue was “one of the objectives” of the ancient council.
“Sadly, differences in their calendars no longer allow Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, causing pastoral problems within communities, dividing families, and weakening the credibility of our witness to the Gospel,” the pope said.
“Several concrete solutions have been proposed that, while respecting the principle of Nicaea, would allow Christians to celebrate together the ‘feast of feasts,’” the Holy Father said.
“In this year, when all Christians have celebrated Easter on the same day, I would reaffirm the openness of the Catholic Church to the pursuit of an ecumenical solution favoring a common celebration of the Lord’s resurrection,” the pope said. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264611/at-ecumenical-council-pope-leo-xiv-says-catholic-church-open-to-universal-date-of-easter
In my book titled The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV? I have the following:
Leo XIV will be ecumenical. …
From May 20, 325 A.D./C.E. to August 325, the Roman Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicea. One of his political objectives was to get ecumenical unity in certain matters. In 2025, there are meetings to mark the 1700th anniversary of this, which are expected to include ecumenical discussions.
Pope Francis had expected to participate. So we would expect that his replacement, Pope Leo XIV, to get involved somehow in this. Actually, before the conclave to elect Pope Leo XIV was called, Patriarch Barthlomew of Constantinople extended an invitation for the next pope to attend the 1700th anniversary of Nicea. Like Emperor Constantine, Pope Leo XIV would like to ecumenical reconciliation for religious and political reasons.
Within a week of becoming pontiff, Pope Leo met with eastern Catholic churches (see Pope Leo XIV met with ‘Churches of the East’–what did 1st century Christians believe?). He urged them to hold fast to their traditions–yet sadly, they changed from the original faith (watch: Original Church of the East).
His appeal towards unity is NOT limited to Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox and the churches that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.
Notice also the following from:
World Council of Churches, Pentecostal World Fellowship come together at conference
Pentecostals and ecumenicals, often perceived as distant from each other, have met during the Pentecostal World Conference in Helsinki, Finland. …
In a message to the 27th Pentecostal World Conference, WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay, a Reformed minister, reflected on the theme of the conference, “Go &Make,” describing it as both timely and deeply challenging. …
The Joint Consultative Group affirmed several key theological insights, including that diversity should reflect the communion of the triune God; …
Pillay said in his address, “Our world longs for spiritual and moral renewal.
“Your gatherings here in Helsinki – focusing on theological education, missions, and unity – testify to the Pentecostal movement’s global vitality and commitment,” he said.
“In particular, I celebrate the contributions of the Christian Unity Commission, through which Pentecostal churches are working collaboratively with other Christian traditions.”
Pillay also mentioned the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea this year.
“This historic milestone offers a moment for all Christians to reflect on the foundational confessions of our faith and to renew our commitment to visible unity,” he said.
“As you reflect, pray, and share during these days, may you feel the embrace of the global Christian community walking alongside you.” https://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/world-council-of-churches-pentecostal-world-fellowship-come-together-at-conference/61268.htm
Yes, the move towards unity among the trinitarians is not limited to the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics.
Related to the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics, the June-July 2007 edition of The Journal: News of the Churches of God contained an edited version of the following article:
Orthodox Should Reject Unity With Roman Catholics
Most people in the Churches of God (COGs) know relatively little about the Eastern Orthodox Church (Orthodox). Because the similarities of some of its practices with those of the Roman Catholic Church, recent pontiffs have attempted to take steps to attempt to restore unity between the two groups. Yet few realize that the Orthodox have many teachings that have similarities to COG doctrines.
The Great Schism
In 1054, there was a separation of the Orthodox churches from the Roman Church. Although many historians feel that political considerations played the deciding role, two main doctrinal reasons are cited for this separation, which the Orthodox refer to as “the great schism”.
The first was the authority of Roman bishop. Essentially the Orthodox position was (and remains) that there were “five churches that comprised the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the Great Schism”. These five were the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem (the other Orthodox churches, like the Russian, Serbian, etc. all hold similar doctrinal positions, but simply are not considered to have the prestige of “original Apostolic authority” ), plus the Roman Catholic Church.
After Roman Pontiff Leo IX exceeded what the Orthodox considered to be his jurisdiction (he excommunicated Cerularius, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople, who in turn excommunicated Leo IX), the Orthodox felt that the Church of Rome separated from their communion and the two groups have been officially separated ever since. This is something that recent pontiffs have attempted to change.
The second issue had to do with the “filioque clause” of the so-called Apostle’s Creed. The Orthodox position is that the Romans changed the Creed to include the statement that the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the Father and the Son“, whereas it originally stated that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father previously according to the Orthodox.
It may be interesting to note that Catholic scholars have claimed that the Orthodox have had no saints since the Great Schism. Notice:
The Greek Church once brilliant with many saints produced no more saints after the schism…learned Greeks fled to western Europe bringing with them the culture of the decadent schismatic church and caused a partial return to paganism in the Renaissance period…The final result of the Greek Schism appears in Communism, which is a complete return to unbelief and barbarism (Kramer, Herman Bernard. The Book of Destiny. Nihil Obstat: J.S. Considine, O.P., Censor Deputatus. Imprimatur: +Joseph M. Mueller, D.D., Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, January 26, 1956. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1975, pp. 52-53).
It should be noted that the Greek Orthodox Church does not agree with the above and tend to be aghast when they learn of it. Similarly, notice how the same Roman source indicates that the “scourge” of called Wormwood in Revelation 7:10-11 has to do with the Greek schism:
Verses 19 and 11
The scourge announced by the third trumpet…the idea if “WORMWOOD” indicates that the Third Scourge to be the GREEK SCHISM…It has carried away from Christendom approximately one third of the membership of the true Church. Schism is not heresy but…As disobedience, it perverts the source of spiritual life into sources of spiritual death…
The description in the Apocalypse fits the Greek Schism in every detail (Kramer, Herman Bernard. The Book of Destiny. Nihil Obstat: J.S. Considine, O.P., Censor Deputatus. Imprimatur: +Joseph M. Mueller, D.D., Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, January 26, 1956. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1975, pp. 201,203,205).
The Orthodox do not believe that the schism carried their people away from Christendom. But that is historically how many Catholic leaders have viewed the situation.
But What About the Church of God?
Possibly because the Orthodox tend to rely more on Greek writings (the New Testament and nearly all of the early Christian writings were in Greek) and not Latin, plus the fact that its leading Patriarchate (Constantinople) is in Asia Minor, the Orthodox have many doctrines that the Roman Catholic Church does not teach, but that the COGs generally do teach.
What are the differences between the Orthodox and the Catholics? What are the similarities between the … Church of God and the Orthodox?
Here are twelve such doctrines:
1. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, reject the Roman Catholic notion of purgatory.
2. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, number the ten commandments as they originally were and not as the Roman Catholics number them.
3. Many (though not all) of the Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, believe that God has a plan of salvation that can occur at the time of the final judgment. Yet, the Roman Church rejects the idea that salvation can be available after the first death.
4. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, do not believe that God’s plan will result in most being lost or that it is a plan of terrorism. This differs from the Roman Catholic view of eternal torment.
5. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, believe in baptism by immersion. The Roman Catholics usually employ sprinkling.
6. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, believe in “the responsible use of contraception within marriage”. The Roman Catholic position is far more limiting.
7. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, reject “the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin”. That is a Roman Catholic dogma.
8. The Eastern Orthodox, like many in the Church of God, agree that “the final goal at which every Christian must attain: to become god”. The Roman Catholic teaching in this area is less than clear.
9. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, teach that presbyters (which they call “priests” but the COG calls “elders”) can be married. The Roman Church requires celibacy for all presbyters, even though that was not its original position.
10. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, teach that “Christians must always be ‘People of the Book’ “. Yet, throughout history, the Church of Rome has tended to place more emphasis on non-biblical sources for much of its doctrines.
11. The Eastern Orthodox, like the Church of God, do not observe Ash Wednesday. The Church of Rome added this observance in the Middle Ages from non-biblical sources.
12. Neither the … Church of God nor the Orthodox believe that the jurisdiction of Rome has any real bearing on apostolic succession. Yet, the Roman Church has officially claimed that apostolic succession was lost by the Orthodox and others when they stopped accepting the jurisdiction of Rome:
Regarding the Greek Church, it is sufficient to note that it lost Apostolic succession by withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the lawful successors of St. Peter in the See of Rome. The same is to be said of the Anglican claims to continuity (O’Reilly, Thomas. “Apostolicity.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907).
While there are certain ceremonial similarities (as well as differences) between the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, if the Orthodox really wish to become “the people of the book” they need to reject all non-biblical doctrines and not enter into greater unity with Rome. There are too many differences in doctrine between the Catholics and the Orthodox for unity without major compromise.
The Romans Now Want the Orthodox
The … Roman Pontiff (Benedict XVI) has repeatedly stated that he wants unification with the Orthodox Churches (e.g. Pope tells Cypriot Orthodox leader he holds ‘firm hope’ for Christian unity. Associated Press – June 16, 2007) and certain Orthodox leaders seem to favor it (e.g. Alexy II Favors Ecumenical Ties: Says Orthodox-Catholic Partnership Is Important. Zenit – June 15, 2007). The previous pontiff (John-Paul II) referred to the Romans and the Orthodox as the “two lungs” of the church.
However, the Orthodox may wish to be aware of a Catholic prophecy concerning this. Around 1202 the Roman Catholic Abbott Joachim prophesied:
A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical throne, under special protection of the angels. Holy and full of gentleness, he shall undo all wrong, he shall recover the states of the Church, and reunite the exiled temporal powers. As the only Pastor, he shall reunite the Eastern to the Western Church…This holy Pope shall be both pastor and reformer. Through him the East and West shall be in ever lasting concord. The city of Babylon shall then be the head and guide of the world.
Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall forever preserve her spiritual dominion, and shall enjoy great peace…(Cited in Connor, Edward. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Manterey-Fresno. Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, pp. 31-32).
Biblical prophecy states that there will be a major unifying religion that it calls “Babylon the Great” (Revelation 17:5)–but one that the Bible warns against.Catholic-Orthodox unity will not be good for either group.
The Orthodox (and all others) need to heed the Bible and:
“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4-5).
The Orthodox, individually, need to reject unity with Rome. Orthodox-Catholic unity will not be a good thing.
The plain truth is that if those in the Orthodox churches will study their Bibles, they will find a lot more doctrines that the Bible and the COGs hold in common than they will in the Bible and the Roman Church. On the unification issue, nearly all of the American and South African Orthodox members I have had contact with oppose unity with Rome. Yet, much of the Orthodox clergy in other areas seem to support it.
The fact that the COGs and the Orthodox trace their histories through cities other than Rome is also something that the two groups have in common.
Furthermore, if they look into their roots, the Orthodox will also find that the VAST MAJORITY of professing Christians in Asia Minor (an area where the Orthodox also trace their history) did not even accept the Trinitarian doctrine until the latter half of the fourth century, because they held a Semi-Arian view of the Godhead (the view that the Father and Son are both God, but that the Holy Spirit is not) similar to that held by most COGs.
Why It Matters
Truth is important. And sadly, many will be misled in the future with what the Bible calls signs and lying wonders.
Notice what one Orthodox writer has wisely warned against:
Peter Jackson (20th century): To which Mary are Muslims and Protestants being drawn?… Rome began to see her more and more as a “goddess,” a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity…Today, as heterodox Christians become more and more ecumenist and work toward creating a “One World Church,” the search has begun for a Mary of universal recognition, one who will appeal not only to those who bear the name Christian, but apparently to Muslims and others as well, just as attempts are likewise being made to identify the “new Christ” with the Muslim concept of their coming Mahdi and with the Messiah still awaited by the Jews. This, of course, will be no Christ at all but the antichrist (Jackson P. ORTHODOX LIFE., No. I, 1997., Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. pp. 18-22. http://fr-d-serfes.org/orthodox/theotokos.htm viewed 05/04/09).
The time of Antichrist is near (please see Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?). Neither the Orthodox nor the Catholics of Rome should follow apparitions that claim to be Mary (see Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions) for false unity.
While most of us in the COGs recognize that there will be massive religious unity with some form of Catholicism at the time of the end, we need to be getting the warning message out to as many who will listen. And that certainly should include trying to reach as many of the 250,000,000 people who claim ties to the Orthodox churches.By recognizing that there actually are some doctrinal and historical similarities between the groups, I believe that those of us in the COGs will be better able to explain our positions in a manner that people like the Orthodox will better be able to relate to. Since the recent overtures by the Roman Pontiffs will give some within the Orthodox churches reason to consider their affiliation, I believe this is an excellent time to try to reach them.
The fact is that the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch is interested in ecumenical matters with Pope Leo XIV, and vice versa. Ecumenical steps are happening.
Notice some other statements in my book The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?:
Abbott Joachim (died 1202): A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical throne, under special protection of the angels … he shall recover the states of the Church, and reunite the exiled temporal powers. As the only Pastor, he shall reunite the Eastern to the Western Church … Through him the East and West shall be in ever lasting concord. The city of Babylon shall then be the head and guide of the world …
Even though the Bible warns against end time Babylon (cf. Revelation 18:4; Jeremiah 50,51), Abbot Joachim is trying to teach that it is good. …
Here are some Roman Catholic warnings about the type of unification that some look forward to:
Michal Semin: Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of nations…The European Union is intent on destroying nation states, suppressing national identities and borders, so that we can happily live in an always progressing supra-national community of EU faithful.
Priest O’Connor (20th century?): This final false prophet will be a bishop of the church and will lead all religions into becoming one.
Priest H. Kramer (20th century): In the vision of the Seer now appears a second beast rising out of the earth, having two horns like a lamb but speaking like a dragon…In other places he is called the false prophet … This prophet may re-establish the pagan Roman Empire and build the “Great Harlot”, Babylon … The False Prophet … will persuade all infidels, apostates and apostate nations to worship and adore him … Antichrist “sitteth in the temple of God” (2 Thes. II. 4). This is not the ancient Temple in Jerusalem … this temple is shown to be a Catholic Church … The False Prophet will proclaim the resurrection of the Roman Empire.
Thus, while some Roman Catholic prophecies praise a new religious order, many others indicate that a new type of ‘Catholicism’ will be false to that religion and not be good for Europe. This also seems to be consistent with an Eastern Orthodox understanding of the last false religious power coming from Rome:
Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos (20th century): The army of Antichrist is made up of the worldly powers, mainly the Roman Empire, symbolized by the two beasts and the harlot woman (Rev. 11:7; 13:1-17; cf. Dan. 7:11-12) … The final confrontation with evil is presented in chapters 19 and 20…The war is waged by the beast and the false prophet. Both of these are organs of Satan, representing the political and religious authority of Rome (Rev. 13:1-18).
Whatever new order that the Great Monarch (who is to be crowned the leader of the Roman Empire according to other writings) implements with Rome will not be faithful to the teachings of Christ or His original faithful followers.
Therefore a “false pope” is expected, and a great loss of Catholic members to his religion is prophesied. Might this be in the works now? Could Pope Leo XIV work for this?
While Pope Francis took ecumenical steps, could Pope Leo XIV be the one that will seal unity with the Eastern Orthodox Catholics?
He may well be.
What I wish he would do, is to heed the following scripture–which is shown below from two Roman Catholic translations of the Bible:
3 Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3, DRB)
3 My dear friends, at a time when I was eagerly looking forward to writing to you about the salvation that we all share, I felt that I must write to you encouraging you to fight hard for the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people. (Jude 3, NJB)
If Pope Leo XIV would really do that, it would be an exciting and great course of action.
He hinted that the churches of the east, that are in communion with Rome, should do that–and they should.
But the Church of Rome, as well as all other churches, should do so as well.
That said, in May of 2009, my wife Joyce and I visited the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople –the leading “see” within the world of the Eastern Orthodox.
The Above Building is Where the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Meets with Dignitaries
(Photos by Joyce Thiel–Bob Thiel shown in the first photo)
Here is some of what I posted about that back on May 16, 2009 (https://www.cogwriter.com/news/prophecy/orthodox-must-reject-unity-with-the-roman-catholics/):
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went to Istanbul and visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople–the leading “see” within the world of the Eastern Orthodox. Unlike Vatican City, this place is not particularly impressive. After seeing the Church of St. George there, we privately met with a staff member who gave us a tour of the area where the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople (currently Bartholomew I) meets with dignitaries.
The staff member (who was a Greek-American who used to live in San Diego) told us that when Pope Benedict visited in November 2006, one of the Pope’s aides told one of the Patriarch’s aides that if the Orthodox would accept Roman supremacy, that the Catholics would accept pretty much all of the Orthodox doctrinal differences (such as the so-called filioque clause of the so-called Apostles Creed).
While the Orthodox officially accept the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, according to the staff member we met with, they are still adamant that they will not accept Roman supremacy and the related governmental ramifications. But the Bible and I disagree with the Orthodox on this point as we in the Living Church of God believe that unity with Rome is inevitable.
Perhaps I should add here that there is a fringe Catholic private prophecy warning against the Catholics making this deal with the Orthodox. Notice the following:
Priest Paul Kramer “The errors of Orthodoxy and of Protestantism will be embraced by that false church, it will be an ecumenical church because the Anti-Pope will be recognized by the world — not by the faithful, but by the world — by the secular world and the secular governments. The Anti-Pope will be recognized as the legitimate Pope of the “church,” and the legitimate head of the Vatican State. That “church” will be united with all the false religions. They will be united together under the universality of the Masonic umbrella. In that motley ecumenical union will be the established religion of the so-called civilized world. This is how we will get into the time of great persecution such as the world has never seen (Kramer P. The Imminent Chastisement for Not Fulfilling Our Lady’s Request. An edited transcript of a speech given at the Ambassadors of Jesus and Mary Seminar in Glendale, California, September 24, 2004. THE FATIMA CRUSADER Issue 80, Summer 2005, pp. 32-45 http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr80/cr80pg32.asp viewed 4/06/08).
Not only am I convinced that the deal will occur, there are other Catholic prophecies in favor of this deal. Notice the following:
Abbott Joachim (died 1202)…A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical throne, under special protection of the angels. Holy and full of gentleness, he shall undo all wrong, he shall recover the states of the Church, and reunite the exiled temporal powers. As the only Pastor, he shall reunite the Eastern to the Western Church…This holy Pope shall be both pastor and reformer. Through him the East and West shall be in ever lasting concord. The city of Babylon shall then be the head and guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall forever preserve her spiritual dominion, and shall enjoy great peace…At the beginning, in order to bring these happy results, having need of a powerful assistance, this holy Pontiff will ask the cooperation of the generous monarch of France (Great Monarch)… A man of remarkable sanctity will be his successor in the Pontifical chair. Through him God will work so many prodigies that all men shall revere him (Connor, Edward. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno; Reprint: Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, pp. 31-33).
Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser (Born in the 17th century, in Germany) …God will bind Satan for a number of years until the days of the Son of Perdition…there will be an ecumenical council which will be the greatest of all councils. By the grace of God, by the power of the Great Monarch, and by the authority of the Holy Pontiff, and by the union of the most devout princes, atheism and every heresy will be banished from the earth. The Council will define the true sense of Holy Scripture, and this will be believed and accepted by everyone (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 40).
I suspect that the Catholics will make some type of deal with the Orthodox resulting in an acceptance of certain Orthodox doctrines, while allowing the Orthodox to come in with a little more autonomy than other Catholics. However, when the false prophet (apparently the final pontiff) begins to do miracles, then the Orthodox will end up accepting full Vatican authority.
The Orthodox staff member and I also discussed the Ukraine. He told me that while the Patriarchate of Constantinople deferred to Russian administration of the Ukraine during the time of the Soviet Union, that Constantinople used to administer it and is having talks with the Ukraine to try to get this to occur. If this does occur, it may be one of the reasons that the Russian Orthodox may not enter into the type of unity with Rome that the bulk of the Orthodox will. (The Russian Orthodox walked out of one “unity” meeting last November, see Eastern Orthodox: Pope #1; But Russian Orthodox Unclear).
Anyway, I thought it was interesting that the way I have tended to see Greco-Roman unity with Rome and the Orthodox, other than the Russians, seems to be happening. And as this process continues, we are getting closer to the time of the end.
Those wishing to see some of the rest of Constantinople (including the Church of St, George and the Hagia Sophia) should click on Joyce’s Photos of Constantinople.
Since then, the calls for unity between the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics, as well as the Protestants, have intensified.
Doctrinal compromise is expected.
That will NOT bring true unity of faith.
Some items of related interest may include:
Early Christianity in Edessa and the Church of the East Could there have been Christian leaders there? Might Judas of Jerusalem went there? Could Macarius have been a faithful Christian?Here is a link to a related sermon video: Original Church of the East.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV? This 154 page book has biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies related to the last pope, an antipope who will be the final Antichrist. It is also available on Kindle: The Last Pope of the Malachy Prophecies: Do Biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies Point to Pope Leo XIV?-Kindle.
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