St. Paisios the Athonite on joint prayer with heretics

The post quotes St. Paisios the Athonite on the subject of common prayer between Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox. It contrasts two situations. In the past, the Holy Fathers waged a great struggle so that the Orthodox faith would shine in splendor, and they sought to prevent any association with heretics. Today, the author says, Orthodox Christians are told they must take part in joint prayers with heretics, Buddhists, fire-worshippers, and even Satanists, and are urged to join common prayers and assemblies.

Those who promote this call it a presence. The author questions what kind of presence this is, and says that people explain everything away with human reasoning and justify what cannot be justified. The quote is attributed to St. Paisios the Athonite, and the post carries tags for Christianity, Orthodoxy, the Church, faith, and the Church Fathers.

The post is short and presents one side of the ecumenism debate: it does not describe any specific event, council, or named person beyond the saint quoted, and it does not develop an argument beyond the contrast between the Fathers' stance and current practice. Readers opening the thread will find a short quotation raising the question of whether Orthodox participation in interfaith prayer is defensible, framed by the author as an abandonment of the Fathers' struggle to keep the faith separate from heresy.