Pope Greets New Ukrainian Archbishop, Ecumenism Still Goal

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Bendict XVI greeted the new archbishop in Ukraine and ecumenism is still a goal:

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 31, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is assuring his prayers for the new head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Pope greeted the major archbishop at the end of the general audience Wednesday.

Archbishop Sviatoslav Schevchuk, 40, was installed last Sunday. He had been the apostolic administrator of the Eparchy of Santa María del Patrocinio in Argentina…

Representatives of the three Orthodox Churches of Ukraine were at the enthronement service Sunday. The majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox, separated into three Churches, one united to the Russian Orthodox Church, another under the patriarch of Kiev, and a third, the Autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Archbishop Schevchuk greeted each of the representatives and has affirmed his hopes that his ministry will further rapprochement between the Churches, such that “the difficult period in our relationship remains in the past.”

Patriarch Gregorios III Laham, patriarch of the Greek Catholic Melkite Church, was also at the enthronement liturgy.

He noted his belief that his Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church “are both called to carry out a very significant role in ecumenical work, since they are the two biggest Byzantine Rite Churches in full communion with Rome.” http://www.zenit.org/article-32185?l=english

Pope Benedict has made many making positive overtures towards the Orthodox. His goal remains ecumenical unity and presumably his new Archbishop in Ukraine is expected to be of some assistance with that.

While many in the Church of Rome wish ecumenical unity with the Eastern Orthodox Catholics, Biblical, Catholic, and Orthodox prophecies seem to have parts that warn against such ecumenical unity (though some Catholic/Orthodox prophecies look forward to it).

Notice carefully the following Catholic prophecy:

Frederick William Faber (died 1863):…Antichrist…Many believe in a demonical incarnation—this will not be so—but he will be utterly possessed…His doctrine as apparent contradiction of no religion, yet a new religion…He has an attending pontiff, so separating regal and prophetic office (Edward. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno; Reprint: Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, p. 87).

That prophecy, which is in a book with an official imprimatur from a Catholic bishop (as well as others), suggests that there soon may be a change to the “Catholic” religion that will make it the religion of the final Antichrist.

Also notice the following warning from a Catholic nun:

Anna-Katarina Emmerick (October 1, 1820): The Church is in great danger…The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks are to spread everywhere. I now see that in this place (Rome) the (Catholic) Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for the destruction, even the clergy. A great destruction is now at hand…

(April 22, 1823): I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was admitted in it in order to be united and to have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church (Dupont, pp. 66, 71).

Various events around the globe suggest that people of many faiths are getting to the point where they are likely to accept some type of ecumenical religion.

Here is a warning from a Roman Catholic priest:

Priest Paul Kramer (21st century): 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. (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 4/15/08)

Some Orthodox look forward to this, but also expect an antipope near then:

Helen Tzima Otto (20th century): We have been told time and time again through the prophets that the Great Monarch and Papa Angelorum…will convene the 8th Ecumenical Council, which will reunify all Christians…The Emperor will spend three years waging wars against the non-Christian nations…{later will be} the end time schism of the Roman Catholic Church of the End Times and the rise of an antipope. (Tzima Otto, pp. xxv, 103, 122)

Apparently the “non-Christian nations” will be those that do not desire to be part of the ecumenical church that is to form.

Notice information from a Roman priest:

Father O’Connor quotes from Holy Scripture, the stunning prophecies of St. Vincent Ferrer, Pope St. Pius X, St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Eudes, Sr. Lucy of Fatima, Pope Pius XII and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Father explains how God will and is punishing the world for sin, and that the Fathers of the Church all wrote that the False Prophet would be a Catholic Bishop who will become an invalid anti-pope while the real Pope dies a cruel death in exile. (REIGN OF THE FALSE PROPHET. Catholic Treasures. Audio ITEM #20104. http://www.catholictreasures.com/cartdescrip/20104.html 03/02/09)

Now there is an 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). (Gerasimos, Bishop. At the End of Time: The Eschatological Expectations of the Church. Holy Cross Orthodox Press. October 5, 2004, pp. 28-29)

So, there are both Roman and Orthodox Catholic writings that warn against some type of future unifying developments.

Some type of global religious unity is prophesied in scripture before Jesus returns (Revelation 13:4,8) and not in a favorable light. All should be cautious about where current ecumenical hopes and talks will lead.

Some articles of related interest may include:

Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics The talks for unification involve compromise and the apparent rising up of a changed religion that no one should accept.
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?