But to think so is either extreme naivety based on ignorance, or a definitely malicious distortion of the truth.
If we turn to the history of the Christian Church and take the trouble to become thoroughly familiar with it calmly and impartially, without any prejudice, we will easily become convinced that only Orthodoxy is true Christianity - that Truth to which, in His own words, the incarnate Only Begotten Son of God came to earth to testify.
The eternal enemy of human salvation, the devil, as we know, even in the manger, plotted to destroy our Savior, in order to hinder Him from accomplishing the work of our salvation. When he failed, he turned his full malice against Him, using as his weapons the pride, vanity, lust for power, and ambition of the Jewish high priests, elders, scribes, and Pharisees. When these evil schemes too crumbled and his very power was trampled by the Resurrection of Christ, he, first through the Jews and then through the pagans, launched a brutal and bloody persecution against the followers of Christ, hoping to wipe Christianity from the face of the earth.
But these enemy plots were not successful either; on the contrary, Christianity became the dominant religion in the then-cultured Greco-Roman world. The cunning enemy, however, did not lose heart from the defeats he had suffered.
He then raised a new battle against the Christian faith, which he hated – against that Divine Truth which the incarnate Son of God brought to earth for the salvation of people – a battle incomparably more difficult and dangerous.
At his instigation and inspiration, people, seduced by him through pride and ambition, began among Christians themselves, within the Church of Christ itself, as the holy Apostle Paul had foreseen, to stir up disputes about faith, various disagreements and divisions, putting their own, purely human conjectures and considerations in place of the Divinely revealed Truth.
Thus, heresies and schisms arose , which threatened to undermine from within the life-giving and saving power of Christ’s teaching for people, replacing the Truth with lies.
To expose and condemn these heresies, false teachings and schisms, the guardians of Divine Truth, the successors of the Holy Apostles, the Bishops began to gather at Councils - Local and Ecumenical, so that by universal "conciliar reason" they could clarify and explain once and for all for all Christians the obligatory and immutable teaching of the Church, establishing how they believed everywhere , what they always believed , what everyone believed (St. Vincent of Lirin ).
It was then that the true Christian faith – the right faith, in contrast to the heresies and sects that also called themselves “Christian”, began to be called “Orthodox”.
So, this is what Orthodoxy is!
Orthodoxy is the pure and unadulterated Truth, brought to earth for the salvation of men by Christ the Savior; it is the authentic Teaching of Christ on faith and piety (life according to faith), preserved in all its purity and integrity, set forth by the Holy Apostles in Holy Scripture , carefully explained and interpreted by their legitimate successors—the Apostolic Men, the Holy Fathers, and the Teachers of the Church—in the Sacred Tradition of our Orthodox-Catholic (that is, Ecumenical) Eastern Church, which alone, having changed nothing in this teaching, is to this day, in all fairness, called the "Orthodox Church."
Unfortunately, in our time, the living interest in the sublime truths of faith and their correct understanding, and especially their application to life, commonly called “piety,” has been so lost that many sincerely think that the whole difference between Orthodoxy and other confessions lies only in rituals, and since “rituals,” they say, “are a secondary matter, and God is One, then what difference does it make which faith one belongs to, as long as one believes in God and is a good person.”
This is a fashionable, common opinion. But is it true?
God is One, Christ is One, but for some reason there is not one faith; there are many different faiths .
If God is One, then can all these different faiths be equally true and, therefore, equally saving? After all, if "God is One and Christ is One," then doesn't this obligate all sincere believers in Christ to have everything pertaining to their faith and piety be one: identical, not different?
This is precisely the truth that the Word of God affirms when it says: “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all” ( Eph. 4:5-6 ). Did the Lord really create many different Churches?
Didn’t He say clearly and definitely: “I will build My Church (precisely one Church , and not many different churches!) – and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” ( Matthew 16:18 )?
Can we really consider these words of our Savior to be false, unjustified, blasphemously admitting that “the gates of hell” nevertheless “overcame the Church,” dividing it into many different churches?
No way! We will not allow ourselves to commit such terrible blasphemy against the Son of God!
Only one - one single Church was founded by the Incarnate Only-begotten Son of God for the salvation of people: it alone, founded by Him Himself, and not by ordinary sinful people, has always existed, exists now and will continue to exist until the end of time.
You just have to firmly believe in this and not be too clever!
And it is from this “crafty wisdom” that such a multitude of all sorts of false churches and “denominations” have come into being, which hotly and self-confidently declare a claim to possess the Truth, without having it, and often preach obvious lies and all sorts of fabrications that flatter the corrupted human heart.
The True Church is all Truth, and there is not, and cannot be, in It any shadow of any lie or error.
Individual members of the Church, right up to the highest-ranking hierarchs, may sometimes, relying only on their own reason, make mistakes and be mistaken, but the entire Church as a whole – never.
She, and She alone, the True Church, is Infallible, because Her Head, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, abides in Her until the end of the age ( Matthew 28:20 ), and the Holy Spirit inspires and guides Her ( John 14:16-17 ).
This assertion of ours is not unfounded, for it is based on the clear teaching of the Word of God: “The Church of the Living God is the pillar and ground of the Truth” ( 1 Tim. 3:15 ), so says the great Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Anyone who lies or falls into error is immediately cut off from the Body of the Church by the invisible Judgment of God, falls away from Her, thereby losing hope of salvation, and can again be reunited with Her only through sincere repentance.
Therefore, no lie is inherent in the Church and is not tolerated within Her. Therefore, there can be no dissent, no disagreement, no divisions within Her.
The Holy Apostle Paul speaks clearly about this when he instructed the first Christians:
“I urge you, brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned, and avoid them” ( Rom. 16:17 ).
“Be like-minded, have the same love, be of one accord, of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit” ( Phil. 2:2-3 ).
What does the now-fashionable "ecumenism" movement look like, in light of this very clear and categorical teaching of the Word of God? Isn't it a complete lie, alien to the true Church and intolerable within Her?
While demanding complete unanimity and one-mindedness among Christians, the Word of God speaks just as clearly and categorically about how true Christians should treat false heretical teachers who distort the true teachings of the Church:
“A heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject” ( Titus 3:10 ).
Is this how modern “Christians” act – or are they “ashamed” of the demands of the Word of God, as “outdated,” “out of date,” and not “progressive” enough?
That is why all these “ecumenists” and all kinds of modern “unifiers” are lying about the Truth , trying to combine the incompatible: “Truth with lawlessness, Light with darkness, Christ with Belial, the faithful with the unbeliever” ( 2 Cor. 6:14-15 ).
What can we say, then, about the hierarchs, leaders, and spiritual directors of modern Local Orthodox Churches who have joined the "ecumenical movement" and become full members and active participants in the "World Council of Churches"? Do they still have the right to consider themselves Orthodox?
We are not even talking about a whole series of canonical rules of the Orthodox Church that prohibit prayerful communion with heretics, for which excommunication from the Church is prescribed, and for bishops and clergy - defrocking (see Apostolic Rules 45, 46 and 65 and the Council of Laodicea 32, 33 and 37), for many now believe that the canons in general have “fallen behind” the far “advanced” life and that they must all be abolished or remade so that there are no restrictions for anyone and everyone can do whatever he pleases for his own pleasure.
And if we take into account that many of the leaders of these churches, representatives of the hierarchy and clergy, not to mention ordinary laypeople, are now even joining anti-Christian organizations or openly proclaiming the atheistic, God-fighting power as “the power from God,” which must be obeyed “not out of fear, but out of conscience,” placing themselves in complete service to the enemies of Christ and making themselves their obedient tool, then it becomes downright scary!
What have we come to?!
And is it possible to close our eyes to all of this and carelessly lull ourselves and others, assuring them that there is nothing special about it, that this is how it has always been?
Something may have happened, but not like this, not on such a huge, all-encompassing scale, when there is almost no healthy space left, and an honest, sincere Christian does not know where and with whom to go, who he can trust.
Unable to simply destroy the Church after a protracted, centuries-long struggle, dark satanic forces have in our day, with particularly fierce energy, attacked the Church, attempting to take control of it from within, in order to use it, through its pliant ministers, for their own ends. The decline of faith and true Christian love contributes to this, while the vain pursuit of publicity, vain fame, and the search for material gain directly contribute to these satanic plans.
And so, as a result, we have the sad picture that we are now observing: salt lost its savor
Many people forget in our time that the Church is not some earthly, human institution, but a Divine institution, whose highest purpose is the salvation of souls into eternal life, that in it there is no place for any kind of "politics" or "diplomacy" and it is not permissible to dissemble, trampling on conscience, in the name of any purely earthly goals, even if they are covered by false slogans of "peace for the whole world"; "the common good" and even imaginary "Christian love" and "humility", which is now so fashionable.
All this modern falsehood and hype and passion for some kind of “high politics” and “secret diplomacy”, to which not only ordinary but also the highest servants of the Church are now being intensively drawn, set themselves the task of nothing other than preparing the future world domination of the Antichrist, who must lead a single (united from all the religions of the world) false church and a single world (united from all nationalities) state.
Let us submit, like obedient children, to the saving inspiration of our mother, the Church! Let us fill our memory with the image of God's Judgment.
This is the Church's response to those foolish "smart-heads" who refuse to hear talk of the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ, and the Last Judgment, arbitrarily declaring that "there's no need to frighten people needlessly," that "this, they say, is incomprehensible to modern people," and that it supposedly "produces not a positive, but rather a negative effect!" (?!). The Church of Christ sees this differently.
And if we take into account what is happening now with Orthodox Christians in the so-called “free world,” where “ecumenism” reigns and where almost everyone has already united in the so-called “World Council of Churches,” then one cannot help but agree that such a more accurate designation: “truly Orthodox” is appropriate here as well – in contrast to those who, calling themselves “Orthodox,” have in fact already renounced Orthodoxy, retaining only the outward appearance of it.
It is necessary to remember and know: the true Church of Christ cannot proclaim and affirm any kind of lie or enter into fellowship or cooperation with the enemies of Christ!
And therefore, all those bishops, clergy and laity who participate in this lie and in one way or another are friends and cooperate with the enemies of our Lord and Savior are “Orthodox” only in name.
And again and again, we involuntarily recall the truly prophetic words of our wonderful Russian saint.Theophan the Recluse of Vyshensky, that in the last times “the Christian name will be heard everywhere, and churches and church ranks will be visible everywhere, but all this is only an appearance, while inside there is a true apostasy” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Thessalonians, p. 192).
Are we not already seeing something similar?
After all, Orthodoxy is not something abstract. Orthodoxy is not only faith, but also a life lived by faith —a life in accordance with faith, which is usually called piety.
And so, it is quite characteristic that all these modern ecumenist modernists, who still call themselves “Orthodox,” with some kind of self-satisfied frivolity, reject all the ascetic ordinances of the Holy Church, in which the spirit of Orthodox piety is most fully and vividly expressed, such as, for example, the feat of abstinence, fasting of soul and body.
Let us strive for the feat that expresses the essence of our Orthodox Christian faith—the feat of imitating Christ in bearing the cross and self-crucifixion. And by striving lawfully, as the Word of God teaches, let us endure all things for the Truth, not deviating from it, as many do today, out of cowardice or self-interest.
And let us firmly remember: where there is no feat, where there is no standing for the truth, there is no Orthodoxy - there is no true faith in God and in Christ.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Averkij_Taushev/istinnoe-pravoslavie-i-ego-vragi-v-sovremennom-mire/