The Council of Constantinople was a pan-Eastern Orthodox council held in Constantinople between August 29, 1872, and September 16, 1872, in response to the schism within a part of the Bulgarian ecclesiastical hierarchy. All the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs of the time participated in it. The council pronounced anathema on phyletism, which means the idea that ecclesiastical jurisdictions should be delineated not on territorial but national lines. The council also condemned racism.
The council is recognized as authoritative within the entire Eastern Orthodox Church.
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During the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire faced challenges, notably with the independence of Greece. [1] In 1856, the Ottoman Empire attempted reforms in its governance system. During the Tanzimat period, the Ottoman Sultan officially assigned the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople the role of representing the Rum Millet. [1] This sparked a crisis within the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as dissenters opposing the Ottoman Empire and the state of affairs within the Rum Millet could now consider the patriarch and the patriarchy directly responsible since he became their official representative. [1]
In particular, Bulgarian nationalists strongly opposed the situation within the patriarchy, where the vast majority of bishoprics were held by Greeks, especially in Bulgaria. [1] They were also in conflict with the Greeks over financial matters concerning the payment of debts to the Ottoman Sultan. [1] Between 1858 and 1860, the Greek National Assembly convened to address some of the contentious issues related to the Rum Millet, but these efforts did not yield results. [1]
After having his demands rejected, Metropolitan Hilarion of Makariopolis decided to enter into schism; he ceased commemorating the Patriarch of Constantinople during the Easter celebration in 1860. [1] [2] Up until this point, he had been the bishop appointed by the patriarchate in one of its Bulgarian-language parishes in Constantinople. [1] He presented himself as the 'leader of a de facto-created Bulgarian church' and was swiftly deposed by Patriarch Joachim II. [1] Two of the Bulgarian bishops who followed him were also deposed, namely Paissy of Plovdiv and Auxentius of Durrës. [1]
Between 1860 and 1866, numerous negotiations were initiated between the two parties, but they led to no resolution. Furthermore, the arrival of the new Russian ambassador, Ignatiev, further complicated the matter. [1] This move toward independence was also supported by the Grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Ali Pasha Rizvanbegović. [1]
In reality, the intervention of external political actors displeased the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which would have preferred the issue to be resolved within an Orthodox framework. [1] The patriarch contemplated convening an ecumenical council to address the Bulgarian question. In 1868, Ali Pasha encouraged Bulgarian bishops to secede from the patriarchate; three of them joined the already deposed bishops, and other bishops who had joined the schismatic Bulgarian Church in the meantime. [1]
In 1872, the Holy Synod of the patriarchate decided to make one final attempt to resolve the crisis by proposing the creation of a Bulgarian exarchate. [1] However, the proposal included political autonomy for the Bulgarians, which displeased the Ottoman Empire, leading to the prohibition of the proposition. [1] The rebellious Bulgarian bishops then decided to elect their own exarch, Anthim I. [1] [3]
To address this situation, Anthimus VI of Constantinople decided to convene a council involving the other Orthodox patriarchates. [2] The council took place in the Saint George Cathedral of Constantinople between August 29, 1872, and September 16, 1872. [2] In addition to the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the Archbishop of Cyprus attended, and the council was joined by twenty-five metropolitans and bishops, including two former patriarchs of Constantinople. [2] [4] The position opposing the Bulgarian Church and phyletism quickly gained the majority of bishops and participants. [2] [5] However, Patriarch Cyril II of Jerusalem fled at the end of the first session, as he did not wish to conflict with Russian interests, among other reasons, given his extensive lands in the Russian Empire. [2] [6]
After deliberations, the council chose to condemn the Bulgarian schism completely. [2] [7] [8] According to the council, the rebellious bishops adhered to a new heresy within the Orthodox Church, phyletism, meaning nationalism applied within the Orthodox Church. [9] In particular, the council was greatly troubled by the fact that the schismatic bishops had attempted to create parallel ecclesiastical hierarchies exclusively for Bulgarians, while Orthodox bishops were already present in those areas, such as Constantinople. The council saw this as a violation of Orthodox canonical law [2] [7] [9] [10] and an ecclesiological heresy. [9] [11] The general idea of phyletism is that ecclesiastical jurisdictions should be based not on territorial but on national lines. [11] [12] [13] In its proclamation of faith (oros), the council declared: [14] [15] [16]
[So,] The ethnic egoism that will develop in each of the "national" Churches will stifle religious sentiments to such an extent that it will hardly be permitted for one of these Churches to watch over and cooperate with the other as Christian duty requires. [...] and the dogma of the Church being "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" receives a mortal blow. [...]
We repress, blame, and condemn phyletism, i.e., distinctions of races, disputes, emulation, and national divisions within the Church of Jesus Christ, as opposed to the doctrine of the Gospel and the sacred canons of our blessed fathers who support the Holy Church and maintain in good order the Christian community they guide on the path of divine piety. II. We declare, in agreement with the sacred canons, those who admit this phyletism and dare to establish new phyletic assemblies based on this principle as real schismatics, alien to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Therefore, we declare schismatic and alien to the Orthodox Church of Christ all those who have separated themselves from the Orthodox Church, who have set up a separate altar, and who have formed a phyletic assembly; i.e., [the prelates whose names follow].
The council considered phyletism and racism as "racial aggregations", "new glories", and "modern corruptions". [17] Racism was thus also targeted and condemned by the council. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
Although the schism persisted, after this council, the position of the rebellious bishops and their Church became complicated. [3] Despite achieving independence, they remained separated from the other Orthodox Churches for 70 years. [3] In 1945, an agreement was reached between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Bulgarian Exarchate to resolve the issue and reintegrate the Bulgarians into the Eastern Orthodox Church. [3] [22]
The council is recognized as authoritative within the entire Eastern Orthodox Church. [23] [24] [25]
However, despite this recognition many Eastern Orthodox Churches developed attitudes that could be characterized as phyletist in the 20th century, [26] [27] [28] particularly the Russian Orthodox Church [13] [29] and the Georgian Orthodox Church, [30] but not exclusively. [28] [31] The council was used within the Eastern Orthodox Church in the context of controversies related to the ideology of the Russian world , as seen in the Volos Declaration [32] [33] or during the Pan-Orthodox Council. [14] [34] [35]
Phyletism is generally considered to have increased throughout the 20th century despite the condemnation by the council, [36] [37] [38] especially in the ecclesiastical management of Eastern Orthodox communities in the diaspora. [38] [39]
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as primus inter pares, a title formerly given to the patriarch of Rome. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly known simply as the Orthodox Church is a communion composed of up to seventeen separate autocephalous (self-governing) hierarchical churches that profess Eastern Orthodoxy and recognise each other as canonical (regular) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches.
Autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The status has been compared with that of the churches (provinces) within the Anglican Communion.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was one of the three major Eastern Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church began in 1917 during the dissolution of the Russian Empire as part of the Ukrainian independence movement and in order to restore the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that existed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1620–1685 and was annexed by the Moscow Patriarchate without approval of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and the oldest Slavic Orthodox church, with some 6 million members in Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2 million members in a number of other European countries, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It was recognized as autocephalous in 1945 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate is an Orthodox church in Ukraine, and self-identifies as the successor to the original Kyivan Ruthenian Patriarchate. It came into existence in 1992, and had the largest number of Orthodox Christian followers in all of Ukraine for most of its primary existence.
The Patriarch of All Bulgaria is the patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The patriarch is officially styled as Patriarch of All Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. Patriarch Neophyte acceded to this position on 24 February 2013.
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid, or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church claims ecclesiastical jurisdiction over North Macedonia, and is also represented in the Macedonian diaspora. The primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is Stefan Veljanovski, the Metropolitan of Skopje and Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia.
The Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate, also referred to as the Turkish Orthodox Church, is an unrecognized autocephalous Eastern Orthodox organisation based in Turkey, descending from Turkish-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians, the Karamanlides, with approximately 47,000 members. It was founded in Kayseri by Pavlos Karahisarithis, who became the patriarch and took the name of Papa Eftim I, in 1922.
The Archbishop of Ohrid is a historic title given to the primate of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The whole original title of the primate was Archbishop of Justiniana Prima and all Bulgaria.
Phyletism or ethnophyletism is the principle of nationalities applied in the ecclesiastical domain: in other words, the conflation between church and nation. The term ethnophyletism designates the idea that a local autocephalous church should be based not on a local (ecclesial) criterion, but on an ethnophyletist, national or linguistic one. It was used at the local council held in Constantinople on 10 September 1872 to qualify "phyletist (religious) nationalism", which was condemned as a modern ecclesial heresy: the church should not be confused with the destiny of a single nation or a single race.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, also called Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. It is one of 16 autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, 15th listed in diptych.
The Eastern Schism, also known as the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism, is a schism between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which began on 15 October 2018 when the former unilaterally severed full communion with the latter.
In 1996 a schism between Moscow and Constantinople occurred; this schism began on 23 February 1996, when the Russian Orthodox Church severed full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and ended on 16 May 1996 when the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate reached an agreement.
On 5 January 2019, Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, signed the tomos that officially recognized and established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and granted it autocephaly (self-governorship). The events immediately leading to the grant of autocephaly were:
On 15 October 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church broke the communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate because of a dispute concerning the canonical jurisdiction over Ukraine. This led to the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism. Numerous Orthodox churches took position concerning the dispute over the canonical jurisdiction over Ukraine, whether before or after this schism.
The schism between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and part ofitsMetropolis of Kiev and all Rus occurred between approximately 1467 and 1560. This schism de facto ended supposedly around 1560.
A Declaration on the "Russian World" Teaching, also known as the Volos Declaration, is a 2022 theological statement issued by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and signed by more than 1600 theologians and clerics of the Eastern Orthodox Church in opposition to Russian Orthodox teachings following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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