In a message to the 36th Pan-Orthodox Conference in Corinth, Greece, Patriarch Daniel addressed the challenges posed by magic, astrology, divination and other forms of contemporary pseudo-spirituality.
His Grace Bishop Siluan, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Hungary, represented His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel at the Conference and conveyed the patriarchal message to the participants.
In his message, the Romanian Patriarch emphasised that authentic spiritual life is grounded in faith, prayer, repentance and participation in the sacramental life of the Church.
He also called for stronger catechetical work, so that Christians may distinguish the truth of the Gospel from misleading promises of knowing the future or finding easy solutions to life’s difficulties.
The conference brought together Orthodox representatives to reflect on contemporary pastoral challenges and strengthen cooperation among the Churches.
Please find the English and Greek versions of the text below.
The Orthodox Church and the Challenges of Contemporary Pseudo-Spirituality
With great joy in Christ the Lord, we received the invitation to participate in the 36th Pan-Orthodox Conference on Heresies and Para-Religions, organised by the Metropolis of Corinth of the Orthodox Church of Greece, from 3 to 5 November 2026.
The theme of this year’s conference, “Magic, Divination, Astrology and the Prediction of the Future”, is highly relevant to the entire Orthodox Church and to the contemporary world, because secularisation and humanity’s estrangement from God have encouraged the spread of practices and beliefs that seek to replace authentic faith with magic, astrology, divination and other forms of pseudo-spirituality.
At the same time, these phenomena constitute a serious pastoral challenge, as they create confusion in the lives of Christians and distance people from authentic and living communion with God.
Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition consistently testify that the future of the human person rests in God’s hands, and that knowledge and fulfilment of His will are attained through faith, prayer, repentance and participation in the sacramental life of the Church.
Therefore, any attempt to discover the future through occult means or to acquire power through magical practices represents a departure from the true faith and a turning away from genuine spiritual life.
In this context, the pastoral ministry of the Orthodox Church is called to identify and counter such errors through the clear proclamation of Orthodox teaching and the intensification of catechetical activity.
Particular attention must be given to presenting the teachings of the faith in an accessible and convincing manner, so that the faithful may distinguish the truth of the Gospel from deceptive messages that falsely promise knowledge of the future and easy solutions to life’s problems.
Thus, the organisation of this Pan-Orthodox conference provides an opportunity for fraternal communion and theological reflection on contemporary pastoral challenges, contributing to the strengthening of the witness to the Orthodox faith and the development of cooperation among the Orthodox Churches in defending the truth of the Gospel and serving the salvation of the faithful.
We congratulate the organisers of this Pan-Orthodox conference and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that this academic, spiritual and pastoral event may bear abundant fruit in the life of the Church, strengthening the faith, enlightening the faithful and furthering the Church’s pastoral and missionary ministry.
With paternal blessing and a fraternal embrace in Christ the Lord,
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Μήνυμα τοῦ Μακαριωτάτου Πατριάρχου τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ρουμανικῆς Ἐκκλησίας κ.κ. Δανιήλ, πρὸς τὴν ΛΣΤ΄ Πανορθόδοξον Συνδιάσκεψιν διὰ θέματα αἱρέσεων καὶ παραθρησκείας, τὴν διοργανουμένην ὑπὸ τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μητροπόλεως Κορίνθου τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ἀπὸ τῆς 3ης ἕως τῆς 5ης Νοεμβρίου 2026:
Ἡ Ὀρθόδοξος Ἐκκλησία καὶ αἱ προκλήσεις τῆς συγχρόνου ψευδοπνευματικότητος
Μετὰ ἐξαιρέτου χαρᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐδεξάμεθα τὴν πρόσκλησιν ὅπως συμμετάσχωμεν εἰς τὴν ΛΣΤ΄ Πανορθόδοξον Συνδιάσκεψιν διὰ θέματα αἱρέσεων καὶ παραθρησκείας, τὴν διοργανουμένην ὑπὸ τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μητροπόλεως Κορίνθου τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, κατὰ τὸ χρονικὸν διάστημα ἀπὸ 3ης ἕως 5ης Νοεμβρίου 2026.
Τὸ θέμα τῆς ἐφετινῆς Συνδιασκέψεως, «Μαγεία, μαντεία, ἀστρολογία καὶ πρόγνωσις τοῦ μέλλοντος», εἶναι ἐξόχως ἐπίκαιρον διὰ σύμπασαν τὴν Ὀρθόδοξον Ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τὸν σύγχρονον κόσμον, καθόσον ἡ ἐκκοσμίκευσις καὶ ἡ ἀπομάκρυνσις τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐνόησαν τὴν διάδοσιν πρακτικῶν καὶ ἀντιλήψεων, αἵτινες ἐπιχειροῦν νὰ ὑποκαταστήσουν τὴν γνησίαν πίστιν διὰ τῆς μαγείας, τῆς ἀστρολογίας, τῆς μαντείας καὶ ἄλλων μορφῶν ψευδοπνευματικότητος.
Συγχρόνως, αἱ ἐκδηλώσεις αὗται συνιστοῦν σοβαρὰν ποιμαντικὴν πρόκλησιν, διότι προκαλοῦν σύγχυσιν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν τῶν χριστιανῶν καὶ ἀπομακρύνουν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπὸ τῆς γνησίας καὶ ζώσης κοινωνίας μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Ἡ Ἁγία Γραφὴ καὶ ἡ Ἱερὰ Παράδοσις μαρτυροῦν σταθερῶς ὅτι τὸ μέλλον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εὑρίσκεται εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ δὲ γνῶσις καὶ ἡ ἐκπλήρωσις τοῦ θελήματος Αὐτοῦ ἐπιτυγχάνονται διὰ τῆς πίστεως, τῆς προσευχῆς, τῆς μετανοίας καὶ τῆς συμμετοχῆς εἰς τὴν μυστηριακὴν ζωὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας.
Διὰ τοῦτο, πᾶσα προσπάθεια γνώσεως τοῦ μέλλοντος δι᾽ ἀποκρύφων μέσων ἢ ἀποκτήσεως δυνάμεως διὰ μαγικῶν πρακτικῶν ἀποτελεῖ παρέκκλισιν ἀπὸ τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως καὶ ἀπομάκρυνσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθινῆς πνευματικῆς ζωῆς.
Ἐν τῷ πλαισίῳ τούτῳ, τὸ ποιμαντικὸν ἔργον τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας καλεῖται νὰ ἐντοπίζῃ καὶ νὰ καταπολεμῇ τοιαύτας πλάνας, διὰ τῆς σαφοῦς ὁμολογίας τῆς ὀρθοδόξου διδασκαλίας καὶ τῆς ἐντατικοποιήσεως τοῦ κατηχητικοῦ ἔργου.
Ἰδιαιτέρα προσοχὴ πρέπει νὰ δίδεται εἰς τὴν παρουσίασιν τῆς διδασκαλίας τῆς πίστεως κατὰ τρόπον κατανοητὸν καὶ πειστικόν, ὥστε οἱ πιστοὶ νὰ δύνανται νὰ διακρίνουν τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἀπὸ τὰ παραπλανητικὰ μηνύματα, τὰ ὁποῖα ὑπόσχονται, κατὰ τρόπον ἀπατηλόν, γνῶσιν τοῦ μέλλοντος καὶ εὐκόλους λύσεις εἰς τὰ προβλήματα τῆς ζωῆς.
Οὕτως, ἡ διοργάνωσις τῆς παρούσης Πανορθοδόξου Συνδιασκέψεως ἀποτελεῖ εὐκαιρίαν ἀδελφικῆς κοινωνίας καὶ θεολογικοῦ προβληματισμοῦ ἐπὶ συγχρόνων ποιμαντικῶν προκλήσεων, συμβάλλουσα εἰς τὴν ἐνίσχυσιν τῆς ὁμολογίας τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀνάπτυξιν τῆς συνεργασίας μεταξὺ τῶν Ὀρθοδόξων Ἐκκλησιῶν, πρὸς ὑπεράσπισιν τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου καὶ διακονίαν τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν πιστῶν.
Συγχαίρομεν τοὺς διοργανωτὰς τῆς παρούσης Πανορθοδόξου Συνδιασκέψεως καὶ προσευχόμεθα πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, ὅπως ἡ ἐπιστημονικὴ αὕτη, πνευματικὴ καὶ ποιμαντικὴ συνάντησις ἀποφέρῃ πλουσίους καρπούς εἰς τὴν ζωὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πρὸς στερέωσιν τῆς πίστεως, φωτισμὸν τῶν πιστῶν καὶ περαιτέρω ἀνάπτυξιν τοῦ ποιμαντικοῦ καὶ ἱεραποστολικοῦ ἔργου Αὐτῆς.
Μετὰ πατρικῆς εὐλογίας καὶ ἀδελφικοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Κυρίῳ ἀσπασμοῦ,
† ΔΑΝΙΗΛ
Πατριάρχης τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ρουμανικῆς Ἐκκλησίας
Photo: Diocese of Hungary
