Thanks for the info. It doesn’t surprise me. Jones doesn’t want to go to the “meta-level” as it were. As far as I know, the Orthodox are of divided opinion as to the extent of the validity of the Roman Mass and its communion. For example, it has one of the oldest Canons in Christendom. The Roman Mass (Missale Romanum) is definitely an expression of piety and ancient tradition, despite the filioque and communion with bread alone and other innovations. The New Mass (Novus Ordo Missae) of Paul VI is pure heresy though. It is full of masonic references. Msgr. Bungini, the architect of the Novus Ordo mass, was thought to be a Freemason. The most awful part of the New Mass is the Offertory, when the priest says: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.” This is almost a direct translation of the Rabbinic Jewish blessing over the wine glass: “Baruh ata Adonai, meleh ha-olam, borei p’ri ha-gefen.” It’s a mockery of the original Roman mass. Moreover, “work of human hands” is pure blasphemy. It’s as if man affects the “transubtantiation” of the wine into the blood of Christ. There are plenty of other examples of this. Masonic rituals are full of hermetic symbolism. And the Masonic religion believes in hermeticism. So for the Masons, to insert their gnostic spirituality into the New Mass would be a supreme feat. Lex orandi lex credendi. I believe that the new mass in invalid. I spoke to an Orthodox monk who was a former Catholic priest. He said that the worst innovations of the New Mass are the priest facing the people and especially communion in the hand. “Communion in the hand” is almost like host desecration. And all the other liturgical innovations are truly heretical and blasphemous sacrilege. I know many Catholics who converted to Orthodoxy. I couldn’t take the Novus Ordo mass seriously, especially after discovering its background and true nature through my research. I overcame by Catholic biases, repented, and converted to Orthodoxy. I would rather be in schism with Rome and Orthodox than celebrating a heretical New Mass under an apostate Pope and New World Order agent who prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, etc. Nevertheless, the Roman Church does good work in Africa and other places. Better Catholicism than pagan indigenous religions. Sadly, the Orthodox have largely failed as missionaries. Jones gets obsessed with the minutia. It’s not a cultural struggle, it’s a spiritual struggle. The New Mass destroyed the faith of millions of good Catholics who simply stopped going to church on Sunday. I believe that that was the secret intention of the New Mass, to make Catholics indifferent to their faith, to turn the Roman mass into a Protestant celebration of the “Lord’s Supper.” I couldn’t take it seriously as a young man and stopped going to church. The last time I went to confession and received communion in the Roman church was when I was in high school. It was a life-changing experience to receive the holy mysteries in the Orthodox Church. I hope I am not saying this to be proud but merely as an expression of my disagreement with Jones and his ilk who want to pretend that broken-down car of the Novus Ordo mass can still be fixed if the priest has the “proper intention.” I am afraid it can’t. And then what happens? You are not worshipping, but a piece of bread, which is tantamount to idolatry. In the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, to paraphrase the story of the Russian emissaries who visited Haghia Sophia before the conversion of Saint Vladimir the Great, “we did not know whether we were on earth or in heaven.” The Divine Liturgy is an earthly image of the divine worship in heaven, and the closest one can come in this life to witnessing the eternal liturgy in heaven.

Dear Dr. Jones,

I am a Roman Catholic convert to Orthodoxy, particularly Russian Orthodoxy, from an Eastern European country with a history of hostile relations with Orthodoxy. The Catholic church in Poland, Lithuania and Croatia can be just as xenophobic as the the Orthodox local churches, so it is unfair to characterize the Russian church, for example, as backsliding into “xenophobic obscurantism” or however you put it. Anyway, the VERY IMPORTANT point that I want to make is that you mischaracterize the nature of the Council of Florence. Saint Mark of Ephesus torpedoed the Union. Interestingly, Saint Mark of Ephesus came to Florence with a strong desire for Union. However, upon seeing the dishonesty of the Latin clerics, who misinterpreted the writings of the Holy Fathers, who insisted on excluding Greek sources, etc., he became a staunch defender of the Orthodox position. This is a common theme among the Orthodox: the arrogance and cunning of the Latins. Don’t be so condescending. The Catholic message to the Orthodox is: you are schismatics, primitive and backward. Our message to you is: don’t be so haughty, renounce heresy, repent for your sins, and join us in fraternal love. The Reformation as a political movement was the result of the worldly nature of the Papacy, coinciding with the Gregorian reform and other heretical innovations. Intellectually, it is the result of Scholasticism, which entered Europe through Muslim Spain and inspired “sola scriptorum.” Scholasticism reduced faith to a barren intellectual exercise. I recommend you read about the debates between Saint Gregory Palamas and Barlaam. A church not built on the Rock of Christ, which in a way can be seen as an analogy to Orthodoxy, eventually erodes. Read about the Catalan Capuchin friar turned Orthodox monk, Father Paul de Ballaster, who converted to Orthodoxy after his Capuchin confessor told him not to read the Holy Fathers after de Ballaster discovered documents in the monastery archive condemning those who insisted that Saints Peter and Paul were equal in apostolic rank. The Latin positions simply do not hold water. But the Latins always resort to casuistry rather than looking in the mirror and examining their errors. It’s sad really that pride prevents Catholics from being honest about their history. My Catholic complexes were an obstacle to conversion for many years, even though I knew that Orthodox were correct. There is good in the Catholic Church, but as an institution, it has been destroyed. Western Christendom is more or less dead. The revival. of the Russian Church is a sign for the good, although unfortunately, many remnants of Bolshevism remain. Many Orthodox believe that the Orthodox Tsar is the “katehon” mentioned in II Thessalonians. Even Cardinal Newman interpreted the “katehon” in a similar way, as the “power that restrains” meaning the secular rule of the Christian monarch. Ideally, church and state work together, which is the concept known as “symphony” in Orthodoxy. in Catholicism, the church became the state, the Pope became a worldly ruler. In today’s world, the state becomes the church, as seen with the current plandemic. For all the inherent flaws of worldly rule, in the Orthodox church, Emperor and Patriarch work together. Many Orthodox believe that Saint Tsar Nicholas II was the “katehon,” whose cruel martyrdom opened the way for the spirit of Antichrist to advance as never before. All the sovereign Christian monarchies fell. Republicanism and secular democracy, a reflection of masonic hermeticism, took over. Read how the Masons in Portugal assassinated King Carlos in 1908. Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination was also apparently a masonic plot. “Destroy throne and altar” is the masonic motto. Of course the Masons and esoteric Jewish plutocrats worked in tandem. The work of Monsignor Jouin is instructive in this regard. I sympathize with traditionalist Catholic monarchists who understand, as do many Orthodox, why monarchy is important. There are many Orthodox prophecies that one day, God will send a Tsar to Russia, (not Putin), which will lead to a renewal of the Christian order. With a Christian commonwealth, not the fake decadent monarchies in Europe, maybe there will be a restoration. I know Dr. Jones that you don’t like “conspiracy theories,” but I recommend the work of traditional Catholics such as Randy Engel, Craig Heimbichner and others. There are truly demonic forces ensconced in the Roman Curia and the upper echelons of some Orthodox local forces, infiltrators who want to pervert the liturgy as they perverted the Roman mass. May we be worthy to see the restoration of Christian monarchy and may we see the Orthodox Tsar on his throne, putting fear into the hearts of the unbelievers and mockers of God. Saint Mark of Ephesus, pray for us, and thank you for that simple gesture of not signing the Union. I will pray for you Dr. Jones. I like your work on the role of the “you know who” in destroying American and European culture. God bless you for all your hard work and good faith and sacrifice over all these years. You could have been a conformist and bowed down to the liberal scoundrels in academia, but a little bit like Saint Mark of Ephesus, you stuck to your principles. God bless you for that. Sincerely, Orthodox Sinner