My Case Against GOC HOTCA
I used to be an Old Calendarist and part of the GOC HOTCA. I left the entire Old Calendarist system in 2013. However, I still recognize the old Julian calendar. I ask the reader to be objective, to set aside any bias, and to engage the evidence and cited sources. Saint James instructs Jewish Christians in the diaspora: “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” (NIV, James 2:1). Consider, a sick church makes you the problem for pointing out its problems. If I get demonized in anyway, this should raise a flag in your mind. If this GOC is unhappy with this article and my videos, they have no one to blame but themselves, since they generated the problem. They need to be mature and own up to their errors. I did this group no wrong. This is who they really are, as opposed to the facade that they are presenting to the Orthodox world. An Old Calendarist clergyman read my article, and wrote me the following:
…“Reading your blog about the GOC-K is legitimately disturbing even if half of those charges are true. I am now of the conclusion that if people are willing to put up with that much lunacy and not just leave, they must really, really hate the memory of Archbishop Auxentios or the Western Rite. I'm not going to bother inviting you to our Church again (I presume I'll either get a questionnaire or insulted, so I'll pass) but I really don't understand how people have THAT much tolerance of obvious wrongdoing and don't blast it from the housetops. I guess that's the advantage of being in the "least canonical True Orthodox body" possible: we don't have much of a "reputation" to protect so we can have real accountability. Interesting read!”
THE GOC’S 2002 ENCYCLICAL VIOLATIONS
For many years the GOC-K has violated their own 2002 Encyclical, which categorically prohibits their clergy communing New Calendarists and people they consider heretical. The reason given in the encyclical is that these people receive communion (in GOC churches) as a consuming fire and to their own condemnation. This encyclical is a matter of public record for anyone to access and read. I quote the relevant section in the video below. Communing New Calendarists was also forbidden by the Greek Old Calendarist Protocol 13 (issued in 1950) and Protocol 1191 (issued in 1974). Metropolitan Cyprian Koutsoumpas was deposed because he communed New Calendarists. The decisions of the TOC of Greece declared New Calendarists graceless in 1935, 1950, 1974 and 1991. So what is Met. Pavlos and his clergy doing communing them?
A zealot from Greece told me that the GOC (Kallinikos) church gives communion to New Calendarists 100 percent of the time in Greece, and 90 percent of the time in America.
Esphigmenou Monastery mailed me a post card stating that they were aware that Met. Pavlos gives communion to New Calendarists, and that they believe it is wrong, but that he’s not a heretic. I disagree, because communing New Calendaists implies ecumenism. Pavlos is an Old Calendarist ecumenist. The tree is known by it’s fruit, not by something written on a website.
The GOC priest Father Steven Allen once stated that if I am waiting for a time when all their priests will stop giving communion to New Calendarists, I'll be waiting a long time. He led me to believe he was against this practice, but did it himself.
Metropolitan Ephraim of HOCNA once told me that what I reported about the GOC in another video agrees with his own experience—that the GOC says one thing, but does another.
The RTOC Bishop Stefan once told me that he was reluctant to go into communion with the GOC (Pavlos) church because of the fact they commune New Calendarists.
The Old Calendarist historian Dr. Vladimir Moss once told me that if I ever witnessed a GOC priest giving communion to a New Calendarist at a GOC monastery I was once considering joining, than to leave the monastery.
Metropolitan Pavlos’ own words:
"At Saint Markella's [Pavlos' church] thousands of our Greek people attend services. But I have a problem of conscience because they are the spiritual children of Bartholomew, all of them. They belong to the Church of Bartholomew. I belong to the Church of Chrysostom who has specifically stated that we are not to provide the mysteries to those who follow the new calendar. Yet I provide the mysteries to the followers of the new calendar." (Interview given to Theodore Kalmoukas of the National Herald, which was printed in that paper's issue of Tuesday, May 24, 1994.).
[Mettropolitan] "Pavlos candidly admits that he provides the Mysteries to those who follow the new calendar innovation. This policy continues to this day." (The Struggle Against Ecumenism, p. 123).
Effective pastors MODEL the behavior they want to implement in their parishes.
I want to inform the reader that Metropolitan Pavlos punished one of his priests (Fr. John Somers) for refusing to give communion to a heretic named Ted Lagen. Click on this article for details.
In this video I quote the relevant parts of the 2002 Encyclical, which the GOC has violated on a massive scale in Greece and America
THE PROBLEM OF BISHOP SERGIOS BLACK
When I was an Old Calendarist, the GOC Bishop Sergios pushed me away from his parish for my faithfulness (not unfaithfulness) to the 2002 Encyclical. My only crime was that I was true to the GOC’s 2002 Encyclical, and defended the church from those who disobeyed it. I have copies of Sergios’ correspondences. He asserted that since I am against the GOC giving communion to heretics, it would not be good for me to be in a church I believe to be heretical. Bishop Sergios erected a strawman argument and then tore it down. I didn’t claim the GOC was heretical, I only adhered to their 2002 Encyclical, which categorically prohibits their clergy communing people they claim are heretics and schismatics. Further, I reported this to the GOC priest Maximus (more on this below). Bishop Sergios directed me to the Old Calendarist Archbishop Gregory of Colorado (I still have his email), which the GOC-K does not even recognize. When I spoke with the GOC priest Fr. Maximus about this, he said in response to the reason Bishop Sergios had given, “That’s false. Most of the people in the GOC are against their clergy communing heretics...he'll have to answer to God for it." Fr. Maximus encouraged me to relocate to be closer to his own monastery, and even arranged for me to roommate with a woman named Helen. I had a cordial phone conversation with her, but I declined to move in, because I was receiving Orthodontist treatment for two impacted teeth, and wanted to complete the process at my location. A zealot monk on Mt. Athos wrote me (mentioning Bishop Sergios by name) stating that there are clergy who conflict, quarrel, divide, push people away who are repentant, and he said that these clergy do not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The interesting thing about this, is the fact that I did not inform this monk about this story, but he somehow found out.
Bishop Sergios’ Canonical Violations
According to canons 6 and 7 of Laodicea, the only people under strict akriveia that cannot enter churches are heretics. A catechuman can enter during the first part of the Mass, but not the second. Excommunicated people (which I was not), are permitted to stay in the narthex. From the A.D. 475 "Ancient Statutes of the Church" from Gaul, we read: "That bishops should prevent no one from entering the church and hearing the word of God --- whether he is a pagan or an heretic or a Jew --- up to the Mass of the Catechumens." (Canon 16). So, unless I was formally excommunicated for some serious sin (like heresy, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, schism, etc), and had received formal notice by word of mouth from a Bishop, or written letter, I had the right to stand in the nave of the church at Sergios monastery. Since I was never formally excommunicated, and there was never any trial or conviction proving my guilt on anything, Sergios' prohibition was canonically void and illegal. A bishop cannot push someone away from a church because of a personal grudge. They are bound by the canons. These canons are from regional councils, but they reflect the mind and tradition of the Church.
Canon 6 of the Second Ecumenical Council gives people the right to report a bishop if they believe they have been wronged. I reported Sergios’ to other GOC bishops, but was ignored. Canons 17 and 18 of the Council of Antioch deals with a bishops negligence. Both Metropolitan Pavlos and Metropolitan Demetrius are guilty of negligence.
I reported Bishop Sergios to Metropolitan Pavlos and Metropolitan Demetrius, but was completely ignored. At no time did the leaders of this GOC ever apologize or offer to speak with me about my concerns, and there was a real lack of Christian love and empathy. The thing that always stood out with them is their inability to commiserate. My suspicion is that they are unhappy about my video critiques, but that a cult mind-frame prevents them from communicating that reason to me, and that they are too arrogant to admit that they’ve seen the content. They would rather have enemies than humble themselves by communicating their motive.
Bishop Sergios also pushed three families away from the GOC! A HOCNA Member named Timothy wrote me these words:
"But the worst part of everything is the not allowing of the return of one who is repentant. Not allowing them to be able to partake of the Holy Mysteries, etc. I know of three other families whom Bishop Sergios refused to allow to join the HOTCA. Upon learning that Bishop Sergios and Met. Moses left HOCNA, and joined themselves to the Kallinikite sect, a small family of three petitioned to be received. They were denied. Another larger family who had left Bishop Sergios when he was still with HOCNA, wanted to join the HOTCA under Bishop Sergios, but he refused to let them. Also, another family of 8 had waited 4 months without so much of a lifting a finger to allow them to participate in church life within his diocese. You are not alone. Of course it was God's will to save you and the others the pain and suffering of having to leave Bishop Sergios again because of his heresies today, especially that of the God-fighting heresy which includes the belief in created grace, and God's divinity as not being God, but some created thing of God's."
When I visited Bishop Sergios' monastery, one of the monks encouraged me to stay a few days longer, and encouraged me to move closer to the monastery. He also gave me money for gas (which I did not ask for), and said he would mail me a copy of an icon of Christ I liked in the church. It never arrived. It appears that Bishop Sergios prevented him from sending it. This alone is selfish and revealing. What ever happened to Christ's teaching on love, including our enemies? Christ also taught, "For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matt. 5:46). Why not be an example of piety and obedience to Christ?
I also want to relate to you that during those days, I sent Bishop Sergios a small video clip of me asking him if Vitamin D-3 was allowed during a certain fast. He never answered. He should have been delighted that I was so concerned about observing the fast so meticulously. This is Bishop Sergios Black.
A HOCNA monk told me that in the past when Bishop Sergios’ had requested that they send him people (or someone) to visit, and they refused, he gave them the cold shoulder.
Several years ago I spoke on the phone with Cappy Larson of the (now defunct) POKROV website which used to have articles on clergy misconduct. She used to attend a parish under Bishop Sergios. Using her words, she described him as a nut, a nut job, a jerk, a piece of work, dysfunctional, she said he lies through his teeth, he likes to be the center of attention, and she told me to stay far away from him. Cappy also told me that they (POKROV) received complaints about Bishop Sergios when he was in HOCNA. She also said that Bishop Sergios lied in court, in order to defend his friend, the homosexual Fr. Michael Rymer. Cappy wrote:
"The attorney said that they got a good settlement for Father Michael's victim because of the lies Sergios Black was caught in in his deposition. Even when Father Michael himself was coming clean with the truth, Sergios Black was still giving the party line."
Excuse me, but lying under oath is a crime called perjury!
A HOCNA monk told me that Bishop Sergios exposed his chest to a man at his monastery, and a post online (forwarded to me from Cappy Larson) said that Bishop Sergios' homosexuality was well known when he was in the OCA. Bishop Sergios is just another Fordham homosexual. A HOCNA member told me that Bishop Sergios will never forgive a person who questions him. How Christian and monastic is that?
Sent to me from Cappy Larson:
"This is not proof of anything but the following did appear on a public discussion forum:
"Dear Mr. "Haralambos the Greek", or is it "Fr. Haralambos"? a resident at Mr. Metropolous's phony "monastery"-? Your "Bishop Sergios-Black" for one example, had to quickly flee his OCA Berkeley, California monastery, and fly hastily to your monastery, and join your HOCNA, and why? Because the very night before his hasty plane flight to you, he had...molested a young male retreatant, in his Berkeley OCA monastery as the boy was asleep in his bed. This caused such an uproar, that Fr. (Mr. David Black, his born name)...needed to get out of town FAST, to prevent his arrest. And, his homosexual reputation while he was in his old OCA, was well known to many. Now, he is where he belongs, apparently. You HOCNA folks made him one of your "bishops", not long after. As to anyone labeling everyone in your HOCNA as evil or as co-guilty in the sins of your "elder"...NO! I don't. But, that still does not make your "church" a valid local-Orthodox church, not at all. The innocent people in your midst, need to flee from your organization, that's the remedy. About "Greeks", I couldn't care less what ethnic roots/personal identity ANY person has. But, my sole question to YOU, Haralambos, is...again: Are you automatically defending a guilty man, because he is a fellow-Greek? If so, your defense of him is utterly invalid, it is biased and flawed. Can't you find a better monastic community and jurisdiction to belong to?"
If I had to guess I would say the above is true, because of the amount of detail provided and the emotional tone of the writer. I think there has been a cover-up (with hush money?) but this is speculation. Bishop Sergios was reported to the authorities, but they could not do anything since no victim has come forward. My suspicion is that the parents of the abused child were indoctrinated into believing that they are being bad Orthodox Christians if they report Bishop Sergios. I will quote Steven Hassan: “They are never to criticize a leader, but criticize themselves instead.” (Combatting Cult Mind Control, p. 64).
BISHOP CHRISTODOULOS VIOLENTLY ATTACKS A HOMELESS MAN
Several years ago the GOC Bishop Christodoulos had an altercation with a homeless man named Marineas, and attacked him with a shovel, damaging his nose. The GOC was sued for this and settled out of court. This was related to me in person by the GOC priest Maximus. Apostolic Canon 27 requires that a bishop who strikes someone with his hand (not to mention a shovel) is to be deposed. But like the modernists who disobey the canons, the GOC disobeyed this canon. St. Paul states: "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; (1 Timothy 3:2-13). A bishop must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick tempered, not violent. He should be self-controlled. (see Titus 1:6-9). A bishop should not be soon angry and not a striker. (see Titus 1:7). Since Bishop Christodoulos is Metropolitan Pavlo’s nephew, I suspect that he was given preferential treatment (Nepotism). Bishop Christodoulos is a former movie producer and actor of pornographic films. The GOC priest-monk Maximus told me in person that Bishop Christodoulos is not regarded highly in the GOC, and he said something to the effect that Bishop Christodoulos is impatient with people. It is appropriate to mention here Rule № 55 of the Holy Apostles, “If any clergyman should insult a Bishop, let him be deposed from office.”
MORE IMPROPRIETY IN METROPOLITAN PAVLOS
The former GOC priest Athanasios witnessed Metropolitan Pavlos with his pants pulled down in front of Bishop Christodoulos. When Pavlos realized that he was seen by a third party, he hurried into the bathroom. Question: Why run and hide if nothing unusual was occurring? Fr. Athanasios reported this incident to the then Archbishop Chrysostom Kiousis, and he instructed Fr. Athanasios not to relate this incident to anyone.
METROPOLITAN PAVLOS SLANDERS A FELLOW PRIEST
Metropolitan Pavlos slandered Archimandrite Gregory when Gregory was a priest in good standing in the GOC, by submitting a forged document into the archives of the ROCOR, claiming that Archimandrite Gregory confessed to homosexual activity with Fr. Panteleimon of HOCNA. The reason for the slander was due to a letter Archimandrite Gregory had written, encouraging the church not to ordain Pavlos to the episcopacy, for several reasons, one of which was the fact that Pavlos had a history of communing New Calendarists. Sometime after the slander, Metropolitan Pavlos had a stroke and was left partially paralyzed, including the arm that forged the slander. In the hospital, in the presence of another GOC priest, Fr. Komnenos (not sure on spelling), Pavlos wept and claimed that the stroke was punishment from God for the slander. Please note, it was Pavlos himself who gave the interpretation of the stroke. When Pavlos was invited to admit to the slander in writing, he declined. To this day, Metropolitan Pavlos and Bishop Christodoulos are maintaining this filthy slander. This fact alone is 100 percent proof that Metropolitan Pavlos is an evil fraud. You should know that a psychopath will actually believe he is still a good person even after he has murdered someone. I am not saying Pavlos is a psychopath, but I do entertain the notion. See my article below on 6 signs of a toxic person. The Old Calendarist historian Dr. Vladimir Moss is convinced by the documentation supplied by Archbishop Gregory that Pavlos did in fact slander Gregory. (I am also). But remember that it was Pavlos himself who admitted to the slander. Pavlos doesn’t seem to have conviction of his sin, and he receives Communion, knowing that he is an unrepentant, filthy liar. Liars end in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8).
MY PRIVACY WAS VIOLATED
My Orthodox right to privacy and confidentiality was violated by the GOC. I had once clarified previously confessed sin to Fr. Maximus through email. But one day Bishop Christodoulos accidentally emailed me from Fr. Maximus’ email account. He said it was an accident and that he meant to email me from his own email account. It was never made known to me that Bishop Christodoulos had access to Fr. Maximus’ email account. Bishop Christodoulos is one of the the last people in the GOC that I would want having access to my personal information. I trusted Fr. Maximus. When I asked him for an explanation, I was ignored, and never heard from him again. A healthy person/group would have apologized and explained the situation. I would argue that a cult mind frame prevented these people from opening-up, communicating their motive, and behaving like normal, decent human beings. Everything has to always be secretive, mysterious, complex and difficult with cults. I am not saying this GOC is a cult, but I believe they exhibit cult behavior. In the Roman Catholic Church, a priest that breaks the seal of confession is subject to excommunication.
THE GOC GOES INTO COMMUNION WITH THE SYNOD IN RESISTANCE
I actually predicted this before I even knew they were in dialogue. The GOC-K went into communion with the Old Calendarist Synod in Resistance, under Met. Cyprian. This is another example of Old Calendarist contradiction, because when the ROCOR-Vitaly went into communion with the Synod in Resistance, the GOC broke communion with the ROCOR (but only after they sent the deposition papers of Met. Cyprian to the ROCOR). The ROCOR eventually terminated their own union with the Synod in Resistance. When I asked a ROCOR priestmonk why they terminated their union with the Synod in Resistance, he replied, "They are not what they claim to be.”
FATHER MICHAEL AZKOUL FALSIFIES PATRISTIC MATERIAL
The GOC priest Michael Azkoul resorted to deception by falsifying patristic material in his attack on the doctrine of the aerial toll-houses. This is proven in the book, “The Departure of the Soul According to the Teaching of the Orthodox Church.” (see pp. 823-874). Falsifying patristic material is exceedingly impious.
BISHOP MOSES AND HOMOSEXUALITY
According to the source given below, Moses' brother Elias stated that Moses was sexually involved with Fr. Pantaleimon for many years. If true, according to the Canons Moses is disqualified from being a clergyman. See the second paragraph from the bottom, through this link: http://hocna.info/HorrificTragedies.shtml
FATHER ANASTASIOS HUDSON CHEATS ON HIS WIFE
Father Anastasios Hudson was a GOC priest, and committed adultery with another woman. He was subsequently removed from the priesthood. Further, one time I sent him some theological questions, but he refused to answer. He said he thought I was trying to bait him. Notice his mentality? I would argue that a cult mind-frame forced him to question my motives, and to assume the worst in me. Everything always has to be difficult and mysterious with a cult. This GOC is not a cult, but I believe they sometimes think like a cult. The Cult Education Institute gives this warning sign of a potentially unsafe religious group/leader: "No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry." I have asked questions from the worlds foremost experts in theological areas (all of whom are heterodox), and they never once questioned my motives. But like normal, decent, human beings, they just answered the questions.
METROPOLITAN DEMETRIUS’ STRANGE CONDUCT
When Metropolitan Demetrius was with the HOCNA, he did the traveling since Metropolitan Ephraim was not able due to health reasons. There used to be a few families in Texas who were members in HOCNA, and were setting up a mission. One family asked Demetrius for permission to visit the local OCA parish on the weekends, because they didn't have clergy visits of their own. He granted permission. Soon those families joined the OCA, since they figured they must be acceptable since they had a blessing to attend services, etc. This is another example of the seemingly endless contradictions, hypocrisy, and disobedience we see in the Old Calendarist paradigm. Praying with "heretics" is forbidden by Orthodoxy. Either Demetrius did not consider the OCA heretical, or he didn't care about the rules of Orthodoxy. Just because he decides to bless something, doesn’t mean God approves of the blessing.
MORE LYING FROM A GOC BISHOP
I once called a GOC monastery, asking to speak with Met. Demetrius. The monk that answered said he was there, and handed the phone to him. But the man who received the phone denied being Demetrius, and he told the monk to go away. This is another example of dishonesty and deception. The bishop I spoke to (who I believe to have been Met. Demetrius or Bishop Christodoulos), was trying to overpower my voice, telling me repeatedly to leave them alone. This was so immature and selfish. Instead of showing Christian love and working with me about my concern, he exhibited hostility and tried to over power my voice. I eventually disconnected the phone, after calling him a fraud several times.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The leaders of this GOC group do not think in a Christian way. They think more like Fascists. There was a real lack of Christian love from these people. Studies of infant development suggest that babies who do not receive expressions of love will be less able to receive or express love to others during their lifetimes. (Balswick, The Family p. 243). Additionally, GOC HOTCA is guilty of disobedience, impropriety and running roughshod. I was genuinely shocked by the things I experienced with the GOC and RTOC, and asked Jerjis, an Old Calendarist medical doctor that I have corresponded with for several years if the things I experienced with these groups were real, and he replied: “The evil you perceive is real.” Yes, it is real. The facts are the facts. Like a cult, naturally GOC clergy are going to be biased toward each other. A dog can have an owner that is a murderer and a criminal, but no matter how bad the owner is, the dog will always be biased toward his owner and protect him at all cost. You can’t get objectivity and accountability with a cult. The GOC-K is not a cult, but I do believe they exhibit cult behavior. Groups like this never seem interested in resolving problems they create and reconciling with people; instead, they seem to have this incessant need to create enemies. A ROCIE lay-woman once wrote me these words: "I agree with you about Orthodoxy and cults. It is very difficult for a monastery to avoid becoming "cult-like" -- exhibiting many characteristics of cults. Especially in these evil times. I have seen some Orthodox parishes also become extremely cult-ish. I don't know the answer, I don't know how to safeguard against it... except for us an individuals to be careful not to participate in any cult-like behaviors."
Recommended article on the warning signs of potentially unsafe religious groups/leaders: https://culteducation.com/warningsigns.html
Problems I have found with bad clergy who profess Orthodoxy: They never admit when they are wrong, they run roughshod over their people (meaning they completely ignore the opinions, rights, or feelings of others), they never resolve problems they create, they never apologize to people they hurt, they never repent (except perhaps to themselves). Everything is restricted to formal church ritual (i.e. Forgiveness Sunday), where their "righteousness" is put on public display. But they seem to miss the whole point of the Forgiveness Sunday ritual. When you are used to feeling special and having people bow to you, kissing your hand, and following your every order, this can lead to a sense of entitlement and superiority. Questioning a narcissist is considered the deepest betrayal. I am not accusing all these men of narcissism, but I believe many are. They want everyone to uncritically accept everything they do, even when they contradict Church teaching, or they will throw you under the bus. This attitude is totally unchristian.
Seven ways narcissists make victims look like the villain
See my articles linked below exposing Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery, and on Why the TOC is not True Orthodoxy (a response to Fr. Maximus Marretta).
BIBLICAL HELP FOR THE GOC-K
Concerning the lack of accountability in the GOC, I have already cited canons. The Bible itself has much to say about justice and accountability, but I will skip these references for the sake of brevity. However, I do want to quote a few passages on the necessity of defending the innocent.
Proverbs 31: 8-9: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of those who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 82:2-4: How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 17:5: He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
These people lack Christian love. They only love those who love them. But Christ asked, “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” (Luke 6:32).
SINCE I WAS WITH THE GOC, I WAS MORALLY AND BIBLICALLY OBLIGATED TO GUARD THE FAITH (THE 2002 ENCYCLICAL)
The whole congregation was instructed to guard the ordinances that St. Paul delivered to them. (1Cor. 11:2).
The Prophet Malachi spoke against unfaithful priests. (Malachi 1:6;2:9).
The Prophet Malachi rebuked social injustice. (Malachi 3:5).
The Prophet Zecharia spoke against sham leaders (Zecharia 10:2-3).
Rejection of sham leaders. (Zecharia 13:2-6). Justice was important to Zecharia. (Zecharia 7:4-10).
The Prophet Hosea pointed out covenant violations (See Hosea 4:1-11. )
THE GOC LACKED CHRISTIAN LOVE
As previously noted, there was a real lack of Christian love from the GOC. I want to remind these people of Scriptural teaching. This is not an exhaustive treatment.
According to Christian teaching, a Christian is to put the spiritual, psychological, and material needs of his brother, neighbor, and enemy before his own. Your fellow man is always more important than yourself. Below is a list of several relevant Scriptural passages.
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment...Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. (Matt. 5:22-24).
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Phil. 2:4).
Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. (1Cor. 10:24).
If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual restore him gently. (Gal. 6:1).
No one should wrong his brother. (1Thess. 4:6).
It is better not to do anything that will cause your brother to fall. (Rom. 14:21).
But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. (1Cor. 8:9).
Initiate dialogue regularly with the depressed person though frequent phone calls and intentional contact. (see Pro. 16:21).
Help the weak, be patient with everyone. (1Thess. 5:14).
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:4).
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. (Pro. 3:27).
A friend loves at all times. (Pro. 17:17).
Encourage one another daily (Heb. 3:13).
St. Paul called love the greatest virtue (1Cor. 13:13).
In humility consider others better than yourself. (Phil. 2:3).
Honor one another above yourselves. (Rom. 12:9-10).
Love thy neighbor as thy self. (Matt. 22:39).
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Matt. 7:12).
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? (1 John 3:17).
Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? (Matthew 12:11).
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (1 Peter 1:22).
Honour all men. Love the brotherhood... (1 Peter 2:17).
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: (1 Peter 3:8).
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8).
The story of the Prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
The parable of the one lost sheep. (Matthew 10:18-14).
The parable of the lost coin. (Luke 15:8-10).
A priest should imitate the High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses since he is "a merciful and faithful high priest." (Heb. 2:17) who is able to "sympathize with our weaknesses." (Heb. 4:15).
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1John 3:10).
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matthew 5:46).
Christians should not be a stumbling block to others. (see 1 Cor. 8-10 and Rom. 14:1-15:13).
In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes incompetent shepherds of his flock, comparing his own competence with their incompetence.