Are Eastern Catholics part of the Antichrist's system? One crazy priest thinks so. 

I went to Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Pocheav and St Andrew Edinburgh Scotland ,how beautiful it is ❤🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿☦️✝️⚜️

As Roman Catholic, looking at the Orthodox Church, I see it as the second lung of the church. I was told by a friend that If I was interested in the Eastern part of Christendom, to look at the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church.

St. Irenaeus of Leon pray for us through the merits of Christ Jesus. ☦

Thank you for your staunch defense of Uniatism and clearly articulating the errors of our sadly schismatic brethren.

Nailed it!

Glory forever! Thank you, Father.

I had a Greek Orthodox father and an Irish Catholic mother. Unity is normal and God's will. Despite the differences over one thousand years, human sinfulness rots the church structures and often blots out grace, holiness and charity. This is an awesome video. Many thanks from someone who has lived and 'battled' this fight my whole life.

I was raised Uniate. Once I saw the nationalism and now globalism, I converted to Orthodoxy. I stand with Kievan Rus. So many Ukrainians who have come to America really have stepped away from Kievan Rus and want the West. So tragic.

I am in absolute agreement as far as these "zealous" converts to Orthodoxy are concerned. They truly represent a spirit that can hardly be identified with the Spirit of God, but rather show the same symptoms that the prophet Jonah showed around the Ninevites; something that I call the "Pharisee Syndrome" and that is certainly doing a lot of damage. I think I can say that I fully agree with all the criticisms that have been made as far on Fr. Lynch's interviews and statements and on all those who act similarly to him. These are indeed not sincere exponents of true Orthodoxy and certainly every Christian should be careful with these wolves in sheep's clothing. That being said, I believe that for the sake of honesty, one should not condemn something, and at the same time be doing the same thing, only this time directed at another Christian tradition. Although the assertions that Father makes in this video about the (ab)use that some make of principles like Sola Scriptura and tradition may apply to some of the evangelical (charismatic) groups, such as the Assemblies of God (where Fr. Lynch comes from), it would not apply at all to Magisterial (historic) Protestantism. None of these, and I can speak from Confessional Lutheranism, teaches or incites to the private interpretation of the Scriptures or similar about the use of Tradition. That is why there is such a thing as the Book of Concord (which is confessed to be a perfect exposition of the Scriptures) and in it the testimony of the Scriptures and of the Church (including the Church Fathers) is gathered to support the teachings in the content. The study of the Scriptures is encouraged to be done congregationally and in the end everything has to be evaluated and judged by the Prophetic and Apostolic Writings (Word of God). A Lutheran, when thinking of Ecclesiology, understands that preaching the Word of God automatically involves preaching the Church, both in a pure and unaltered way. Also in my opinion, the assertion made here about communion between churches and Christian unity is too overloaded with emotion and enthusiasm, so much so that it loses objectivity. The Orthodox do believe in the visible Church as the body of Christ, they simply confess that Rome is like the branch that has broken off from the vine. It is for that very reason that in Rome there is no Orthodox Patriarch, but it is respected that this is the Bishop of Rome, which, together with the Latin church is in a state of schism. Nor do I agree with the fact that within the communion of Eastern churches there is so much confusion about "who is in communion with whom", nor do we see anything that has not always existed in the Church (I believe that already in the second/third century the churches of Rome and Antioch had interrupted communion between them; being reestablished some time later). Even when communion is interrupted between two Patriarchates, this does not affect the other Patriarchates within the Orthodox communion, which can continue in communion with those Patriarchates involved in some kind of dispute between them. As stated in the video, they understand that the union of the visible Church occurs in a spiritual way, union in faith and doctrine beyond being reduced to a bishop (to which there is no testimony in the Scriptures, no matter how much the Pontiff insists on it). This form of unity also guarantees the independence of each jurisdiction and territory. Something that has always been so since the times of the primitive church and that is reflected in the many local councils that have been held prior to the schism. Nor do I consider it consistent to say that the Orthodox cannot call a Great Council because there is no Pope or Emperor to convoke it. Examples of this being possible is the Council of Jerusalem (17th century). This does not imply that these local synods have not continued to be celebrated, some examples are those of the Russian Orthodox Church. Another thing that has seemed to me a little inconsistent, as well as somewhat hypocritical, is the criticism made in relation to the situation in Alexandria and the different Patriarchates functioning on this territory, being that Rome itself has its own Coptic "section" in Egypt and in other countries like Ethiopia or Eritrea in communion with the Vatican. Places that already have an Orthodox representation and that is really the historical one of the place. We are all guilty of this sin. I also dare to question the claims always made by those in communion with the Bishop of Rome, that he guarantees or represents Christian unity, when within the very walls of the Latin church there are many internal divisions, namely the traditionalists (driven by a sectarian spirit), confusing cases such as Levfebre and his followers or the current situation with Der Synodale Weg in Germany and the LGTBQ agenda that has been promoted in these lands for years. Not to mention, the depth of the divisions within the Latin church that have been exposed after the publication of Fiducia Supplicans. I am not an expert in the history surrounding the Union, beyond what I was researching when I was considering the possibility of joining one of them, but what I can say is what I always had in mind about it: "it was not fundamentally wrong, but it was fundamentally incomplete".

People are often so wishy washy and fickle, molding themselves constantly to the current cultural climate, that when someone actually sticks to their guns and says something in alignment with their deepest convictions, we’re a bit shocked. The Orthodox Church sees itself as THE Church, not a mere denomination. We believe Rome has erred in separating from us and has sadly continued on a trajectory further and further away from the historic Faith. This isn’t a new stance and shouldn’t be a surprise, it’s always been the EOC’s position. I’m not surprised when a Catholic insists on Papal infallibility or when they say the East has strayed. It’s the position of the Catholic Church. There’s no (or least shouldn’t be) hate, or judgement; only sadness at our continued separation. I would love nothing more than a reunion based in truth and fidelity to the Faith “once for all delivered to the Saints”.

Father Zechariah is my priest and I assure you that he speaks only in love.

I hate to say this but I have strong feelings that we Catholics are experiencing just as much confusion and chaos because of our pope. God has a plan and we may not know all details but we do know the ending

Father Jason I believe there is next year at Nicea a Council which will be attended by Bartholomew and Francis ,Father Heer is pouring cold water on it .

What are your thoughts on Father Mar Mari?

Father, when are you coming to give a talk at St. Marys Byzantine Church in Indiana?

I have been studying orthodoxy trough debates and discussions and reading myself some of the saints and i see what you mean totally. I wanted to become catholic, its hard to decied it when the pope has prayed in a mosque and some strange things in the counsil of trent and vactican 2 i am currently lutheran struggling hard to find a church that is theologically consistent and just consistent in every manner. seeking spiritual guidance and help i havent got in the lutheran church i have been alone about this since my conversion to christianity i have been from baptist end times christians and reached more rational lutheranisme, and its insanely diffecult it feels as if my whole soul depends on it. so im struggling pray for me.

(253 A.D.) Bishop Cyprian: “Throne of Peter, the chief church, the Romans.” (Epistle 54:14) “One Church, one chair… another altar cannot be set up, nor a new priesthood… whoever gathers elsewhere scatters.” (Letters 43[40]:5) “Serpent (Satan) invented heresies & schisms he might corrupt the truth.” (De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate 1, 3-4) (e.g., orthodox, protestants etc.,)

This is the third comment that I am trying to post, since this video is directed at me, Fr. Zechariah. It is rather sad that my other brief and respectful comments have been removed, for whatever reasons. You are free to disagree with my premise, but I would like to invite people over to my blog, the Inkless Pen, to read my own words on the subject, the first article is called "The unity of Christ and the collective of antichrist." subsequent articles are linked from there. That seems reasonable since you've opened up a discussion about this subject. The reader will see that I reference historical information and in the second article a number of Papal statements. Of course, the philosophical/historical interpretation I apply may be disagreed with, but that is a different subject. I've left the direct link out, as that may have been a reason my other comments were removed. Thank you again for the designation of "a crazy priest." All the best to you. I'll thank Fr. Jason for allowing this comment to remain, in the spirit of dialogue. Thank you.

You are so right ,father.Those protestant converts to "orthodoxy" are real pain in the neck.And are carring to be like that ,when they return back to calvinism after being done with "exotics".

Is agree with the first 8 minutes, but then you ended up straw manning and presenting a bastardized image of the Orthodox Church.

Please do more of these half hour teaching videos, they are excellent!

Thank you so much for responding to this Protestant Priest, Father Lynch, Father! I'm disgusted withis GIGANTIC Online So Called, Orthodox Voice, that is in fact, for the most part coming from Former Protestants. Not to name call, all thought that is what I am doing, I call them: Patristic Protestants. This voice IS the loudest voice on line for Eastern Orthodox Apologetics and Polemics, maybe not so much for the Oriental Orthodox, perhaps. They are the reason as to why I don't think I'll ever be able to become Orthodox, as attracted to, and as home that I feel withe practice of Eastern Christianity.

I tend to very much like the content on their channel. But I was listening to this video of theirs in the background, with an open mind to the subject matter while I worked on something, and eventually I felt a chill. As if there was something unholy about my continuing to listen to his polemic, perhaps because I wasn’t giving it my undivided attention and I wasn’t using my full faculties of reason to prevent certain ideas from invading my internal ethos. So I turned it off, knowing discerning spirits to be a power we all possess and have a responsibility for. Thanks be to God you are responding to this Father Jason. I feel a fortitude in a place in my conscience where I was otherwise unsettled. I hope the message is received and that it can play a small but important part in the overall witness towards Our Lady of Fatima, and the eventual conversion of Russia.

Some important truths here. Thank you, Father. I love the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Although I'm a Roman convert. Beautiful liturgy! However, i also know where Fr Lynch is coming from. This papacy is hugely problematic and horribly political.

I enjoyed this video, thank you for taking the time to create it. I attended both Orthodox and Catholic Catechism, but in both cases I chose not to be baptized and formally join either church. I was raised Protestant and have not felt "at home" in any of the three major churches. I love and believe the Holy Bible but find every group strays away from it at some point and fills in the blanks with human wisdom. I randomly attend two Catholic Churches, one Protestant, and two Orthodox Christian. By avoiding dogma, debates, and apologetics I have found the inspiration I needed to love the Holy Father, Son, and Spirit without reservations and guilt. I pray for all of you and again, thank you Father.

I asked a Russian Orthodox priest if his Church is guided by the Holy Spirit. He replied "Indeed, it certainly is guided by the Holy Spirit." I followed up by asking him to explain the change in Orthodox Church teaching on contraception. He replied " You got me, there is no good answer."

I am only apart of the laity in the Orthodox Church but what he said is not far from what I would say, or what many contemporary saints have had to say. Imagine a church that portrays it self as the true church in every shape and form and even confesses the beliefs of said church at first glance but once you remove the veil it is something completely different, this is the example of wolf in sheep's clothing. To be an orthodox Christian is not merely an eastern expression of the faith it is also to adhere to the doctrines and dogmas set in place by our fathers before us. Uniate churches do not even recite the filioque in their creed during liturgy. Why? you confess the filioque you commemorate pope Francis and you adhere to all dogmas of the Roman Catholic church. Your church is not Orthodox, and it will never be Orthodox for as long as it is not in communion with a canonical Orthodox Church. I would expect a Roman Catholic to say the same thing about western rite Orthodoxy, that doesn't afflict me in any way they are being consistent to their beliefs and convictions. Why do you expect us to call you "byzantine" Catholics our brethren if you reject our church as heretical. Why are you even concerned with what an Orthodox priest has to say about an Orthodox Christian belief. YOU ARE CATHOLIC! I assure you that most Orthodox Christians either "zealots" as you so call them, or a faithful laity uninvolved with the internet will tell you the same thing this priest has to say. Your church is that of a wolf in sheep's clothing a fruit of the antichrist. That being said I hope you nothing but the best, and pray for your repentance and consequential forgiveness In The name of The Father The Son and The Holy Spirit, amen.

We have modern Orthodox saints who, I believe, would agree with Fr. Zechariah on this issue. I think it's misguided and unfair to disparage convert priests as "zealots" and to declare your lukewarm "Orthodox friends" as the guardians of the faith.

It's not "Protestants on steroids"......this Fiducia Suplicans edict released by the RCC on 12/18/23 is heterodox. Blessings for those in mortal sin is beyond horrific

You are a hypocrite, sir. You claim that Father Zechariah is misrepresenting Eastern Catholics and then you turn right around and claim that converts to Orthodoxy from Protestantism are in someway flawed or deficient or not really Orthodox. They are different in a bad way from those who you claim to know that have been Orthodox for generations. What a sweeping generalization that is obviously false and ridiculous to say the least.

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Way to go Father Jason! Blessings to our Orthodox Christians…. COME HOME… our churches united to Rome and St Peter await you!

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is not a puppet church Metropolitan Onuphry has spoken out against the war from day one they continue to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine the UOC is not under Moscow they severed those ties in 2022 please do your research as well Father.

“Spiritual snake oil “😂 love it! Father Jason, you’re the man!

No I think Fr Zachariah is right. The Body of Christ has ALWAYS been one. It does not need to be created, it needs to be joined and submitted to. Anglicans and Eastern Catholics have good intentions I believe, but it really is a hard sell to alot of people that the Church actually failed. It’s either the Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church. Those are the only options.

It is a totally mythology that Fr. Zechariah and those like him are merely disaffected Protestants with an axe to grind. In Orthodoxy we follow saints who were guided by the Holy Spirit and are not to blindly follow academic Ecumenists with no holiness and no signs of being guided by the Holy Spirit. We do not have a Papal view that ordination or consecration imparts any kind of infallibility. There are many good books, especially from Uncut Mountain Press on the Papacy and how the saints have viewed it over time, the most comprehensive text being “The Orthodox Patristic Witness Concerning Catholicism” which has the testimonies of countless saints (most of whom were not converts) regarding the Papacy. On Uniatism, St. Paisius Velichkovsky, also not a convert, expressed the Orthodox understanding in a letter to a Uniate priest, urging him to not delay entering the Orthodox Church lest he repose a Uniate and be counted among the unbelievers at the judgment: “Further, all the holy ecumenical teachers who have interpreted the scripture as if with one mouth say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and nowhere have they written that He proceeds from the Son also. Thus, if the Uniates think exactly like the Romans in such a serious heresy, what hope do they have for salvation, unless they openly renounce this Spirit-fighting heresy and become united again with the Holy Orthodox Eastern Church? "Spare neither property nor relatives if they do not wish to listen to you, but by all means save your own soul from perdition; because there is nothing more needful for you than the soul for which Christ died. but in fleeing, do not look back in your heart for the sake of swiftly perishing possessions; It is better for you to remain in poverty than to blaspheme the Holy Spirit as the Romans blaspheme Him. Depart and flee from the Unia as speedily as possible, lest death overtake you in it and you be numbered among the heretics and not among the Christians. And not only go away yourself, but advise others to go away also, if in your conscience you know that they will hear you. And if they will not hear you, then at least depart yourself from the nets of the enemy and be united in soul and heart with the Holy Orthodox Church, and thus, together with all the faithful holding the inviolate faith and fulfilling the commandments of Christ, you will be able to be saved." From “Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky: The Man Behind the Philokalia,” pp. 201-202

Excuse me father, but you rather missed the point in your attack on Father Lynch. He never said anything mean-spirited towards you or your religion. Orthodoxy is a closed faith. I understand that's not your belief, but you've gone beyond disagreeing with his argument to being intolerant of him and his beliefs. And yet despite making this argument that he has declared himself the sole authority on Orthodoxy for simply repeating the teachings of the church and the Orthodox saints, you have set yourself to be the sole interpreter as to what Orthodoxy is and what Orthodoxy believes. And yet, no practicing Orthodox would agree with you that Orthodoxy is this open faith you claim it to be. You're just not correct about that, at all. And the rest of your video further demonstrates how little you actually understand about Orthodox Christianity as a faith because you're not correct about any of that either. And no before you say it, I'm not a protestant, I'm a former catholic and this type of behavior is one of the major reasons why I left catholicism. You make an argument to an Orthodox leader, they say "interesting let's explore this together" and they will respectfully do so. But Roman catholics are filled with such anger everytime you bring up anything they cannot immediately understand or refute. It's a very anti-Christian attitude. There's no need for that father. Please be respectful in your responses and set a trend to do so. Only when we can communicate properly with our fellow man can we truly walk in the ways of Christ. God bless father