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The Confession of Dositheus
(Eastern Orthodox, 1672)
Dennis Bratcher, ed.
A Synod of Eastern Orthodox Churches was called in Jerusalem in 1672 to
refute the position of Cyril Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had published a Confession in
which he attempted to express Orthodox beliefs in terms of the
predestination beliefs of Calvinism. From a Reformation
perspective, he had also challenged some of the important religious
practices of the Eastern churches, such as the veneration of icons and
prayers to the saints. Orthodox leaders contended that
the Confession of Cyril was a forgery perpetrated by Calvinists to
spread their influence among Eastern churches. They presented quotations
from known writings of Cyril to show that he had not held the
positions expressed in the Confession. In addition, they argued
that the Confession was not an official pronouncement by an Orthodox
Patriarch.
The Synod of Jerusalem of 1672 soundly rejected any further attempts
at reformulation of Orthodox teachings and strengthened Orthodox beliefs
against both the Protestant Reformation and Catholicism. The Synod
produced its own confession, the Confession of Dositheus (Patriarch of
Jerusalem), in which point by point it refuted Cyril's' eighteen points.
In addition it added four catechetical style questions that defended the
restriction of reading and study of Scripture to the priests, defended
the role of tradition, as well as
a lengthy defense of the veneration of icons and prayers to the saints.
The version here is adapted from The Acts and Decrees of the Synod
of Jerusalem, translated and edited by J. Robertson, 1899. The
original documents of the Synod contain several other chapters that
outline the controversy and the basis for reaching its conclusions. The Confession below is excerpted from Chapter 6. The
footnotes of the original document have been omitted, except for the
biblical references in braces, which were footnotes in the original and
are included here in the body of the text. Adaptations include
updating archaic language and sentence structure, with some explanatory comments included in brackets
and notes.
-Dennis Bratcher, ed.
The Confession of Dositheus
Dositheus, by the mercy of God, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, to those that ask and inquire concerning the faith and
worship of the Greeks, that is of the Eastern Church, how it thinks
concerning the Orthodox faith, in the common name of all Christians
subject to our Apostolic Throne, and of the Orthodox worshippers that
are sojourning in this holy and great city of Jerusalem (with whom the
whole Catholic Church agrees in all that concerns the faith) publishes
this concise Confession, for a testimony both before God and before man,
with a sincere conscience, and devoid of all dissimulation.
Decree 1
We believe in one God, true, almighty, and
infinite, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the Father
unbegotten; the Son begotten of the Father before the ages, and
consubstantial with Him; and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father,
and consubstantial with the Father and the Son. These three Persons in
one essence we call the All-holy Trinity, — by all creation to be ever
blessed, glorified, and adored.
Decree 2
We believe the Divine and Sacred Scriptures to be
God-taught; and, therefore, we ought to believe the same without
doubting; yet not otherwise than as the Catholic Church has interpreted
and delivered the same. For every foul heresy accepts the
Divine Scriptures, but perversely interprets the same, using
metaphors, and homonymies, and sophistries of man’s wisdom, confounding
what ought to be distinguished, and trifling with what ought not to be
trifled with. For if [we were to accept Scriptures] otherwise, each man
holding every day a different sense concerning them, the Catholic
Church would not by the grace of Christ continue to be the
Church until this day, holding the same doctrine of faith, and
always identically and steadfastly believing. But rather she would be
torn into
innumerable parties, and subject to heresies. Neither would the Church
be holy, the pillar and ground of the truth, {1 Timothy 3:15} without
spot or wrinkle; {Ephesians 5:27} but would be the Church of the
malignant {Psalm 25:5} as it is obvious the church of the heretics
undoubtedly is, and especially that of Calvin, who are not ashamed to
learn from the Church, and then to wickedly repudiate her.
Wherefore,
the witness also of the Catholic Church is, we believe, not of inferior
authority to that of the Divine Scriptures. For one and the same Holy
Spirit being the author of both, it is quite the same to be taught by
the Scriptures and by the Catholic Church. Moreover, when any man speaks from himself he is liable to err, and to deceive, and be
deceived; but the Catholic Church, as never having spoken, or speaking
from herself, but from the Spirit of God — who being her teacher, she is
ever unfailingly rich — it is impossible for her to in any wise err, or
to at all deceive, or be deceived; but like the Divine Scriptures, is
infallible, and has perpetual authority.
Decree 3
We believe the most good God to have from eternity
predestinated unto glory those whom He has chosen, and to have
consigned unto condemnation those whom He has rejected; but not so that
He would justify the one, and consign and condemn the other without
cause. For that would be contrary to the nature of God, who is the common
Father of all, and no respecter of persons, and would have all men to be
saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth {1 Timothy 2:4}. But
since He foreknew the one would make a right use of their free-will, and
the other a wrong, He predestinated the one, or condemned the other. And
we understand the use of free-will thus, that the Divine and
illuminating grace, and which we call preventing [or, prevenient] grace, being, as a
light to those in darkness, by the Divine goodness imparted to all, to
those that are willing to obey this — for it is of use only to the
willing, not to the unwilling — and co-operate with it, in what it requires as necessary to salvation, there is consequently granted
particular grace. This grace co-operates with us, and enables us,
and makes us to persevere in the love of God, that is to say, in
performing those good things that God would have us to do, and which His
preventing grace admonishes us that we should do, justifies us, and
makes us predestinated. But those who will not obey, and co-operate
with grace; and, therefore, will not observe those things that God would
have us perform, and that abuse in the service of Satan the free-will,
which they have received of God to perform voluntarily what is good, are
consigned to eternal condemnation.
But to say, as the most wicked heretics do and as
is contained in the Chapter [of Cyril's' Confession] to which this
answers — that God, in predestinating, or condemning, did not consider
in any way the works of
those predestinated, or condemned, we know to be profane and impious.
For thus Scripture would be opposed to itself, since it promises the
believer salvation through works, yet supposes God to be its sole
author, by His sole illuminating grace, which He bestows without
preceding works, to show to man the truth of divine things, and to teach
him how he may co-operate with it, if he will, and do what is good and
acceptable, and so obtain salvation. He takes not away the power
to will — to will to obey, or not obey him.
But than to affirm that the Divine Will is thus
solely and without cause the author of their condemnation, what greater
defamation can be fixed upon God? and what greater injury and blasphemy can
be offered to the Most High? We do know that the Deity is not tempted with
evils, {cf. James 1:13} and that He equally wills the
salvation of all, since there is no respect of persons with Him. we do
confess that for those who through their own wicked choice, and their impenitent
heart, have become vessels of dishonor, there is justly decreed
condemnation. But of eternal punishment, of cruelty, of
pitilessness, and of inhumanity, we never, never say God is the author,
who tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that
repents. {Luke 15:7} Far be it from us, while we have our senses,
to believe or to think this; and we do subject to an eternal anathema those
who say and think such things, and esteem them to be worse than any
infidels.
Decree 4
We believe the tri-personal God, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit to be the maker of all things visible and
invisible. The invisible are the angelic Powers, rational souls, and
demons, — though God did not make the demons what they later became by
their own choice, — and the visible are heaven and what is under heaven.
Because the Maker is good by nature, He made everything that he made very good {cf.
Genesis 1:31}, and cannot ever be the maker of evil. But if there
is any evil, that is to say, sin, that comes about
contrarily to the Divine Will, in man or in demon, — for that evil is
simply in nature, we do not acknowledge, — it is either of man, or of
the devil. For it is a true and infallible rule, that God is in no way
the author of evil, nor can it at all by just reasoning be attributed
to God.
Decree 5
We believe that all things, whether visible or
invisible, are be governed by the providence of God. Although God foreknows
evil things and permits them, yet in that they are
evils, He is neither their contriver nor their author. When evil things
occur, they may be over-ruled by the Supreme Goodness for something
beneficial, not indeed as being their author, but as engrafting onto
them
something for the better. And we ought to adore, but not curiously pry
into, Divine Providence in its ineffable and only partially revealed
judgments. {cf. Romans 11:33} . Even though what is revealed to us in
Divine Scripture concerning [the providence of God] as being conducive to eternal life, we
ought honestly to search out, and then unhesitatingly to interpret the
same agreeably to primary notions of God.
Decree 6
We believe the first man created by God to have
fallen in Paradise, when, disregarding the Divine commandment, he
yielded to the deceitful counsel of the serpent. And as a result hereditary
sin flowed to his posterity; so that everyone who is born after the
flesh bears this burden, and experiences the fruits of it in this
present world. But by these fruits and this burden we do not
understand [actual] sin, such as impiety, blasphemy, murder, sodomy,
adultery, fornication, enmity, and whatever else is by our depraved
choice committed contrarily to the Divine Will, not from nature. For
many both of the Forefathers and of the Prophets, and vast numbers of
others, as well of those under the shadow [of the Law], as well as under
the truth [of the Gospel], such as the divine Precursor, and especially the Mother of God the Word, the ever-virgin
Mary, did not experience these [sins], or such like faults. But only what the
Divine Justice inflicted upon man as a punishment for the [original]
transgression, such as sweats in labor, afflictions, bodily sicknesses,
pains in child-bearing, and, finally, while on our
pilgrimage, to live a laborious life, and lastly, bodily death.
Decree 7
We believe the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to have
emptied Himself, {cf. Philippians 2:7} that is, to have taken
into His own Person human flesh, being conceived of the Holy
Spirit, in the womb of the ever-virgin Mary; and, becoming man, to have
been born, without causing any pain or labor to His own Mother after
the flesh, or injury to her virginity, to have suffered, to have been
buried, to have risen again in glory on the third day, according to the
Scriptures, {cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3,4} to have ascended into the
heavens, and to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. Whom also
we look for to judge the living and the dead.
Decree 8
We believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be the only
mediator, and that in giving Himself a ransom for all He has through His
own Blood made a reconciliation between God and man, and that Himself
having a care for His own is advocate and propitiation for our sins.
Notwithstanding, in [our] prayers and supplications unto Him, we say the Saints
are intercessors, and, above all, the undefiled Mother of the very God
the Word; likewise, the holy Angels — whom we know to be set over us —
the Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, Pure Ones, and all whom He hath
glorified as having served Him faithfully. We also count with those the
Bishops and Priests, as standing about the Altar of God, and righteous
men eminent for virtue. We learn from the Sacred Oracle that we should pray one for another, and
that the prayer of the righteous avails much, {James 5:16} and that
God hears the Saints rather than those who are steeped in sins. And not only are the Saints while on
their pilgrimage regarded as mediators and intercessors for us with God,
but especially after their death, when all reflective vision being done
away, they behold clearly the Holy Trinity in whose infinite light they
know what concerns us. Just as we do not doubt that the Prophets while
they were in a body with the perceptions of the senses knew what was
done in heaven, and so foretold what was future; so also that the
Angels, and the Saints become as Angels, know in the infinite light of
God what concerns us, we do not doubt , but rather unhesitatingly
believe and confess.
Decree 9
We believe that no one can be saved without faith. By
faith we mean the right notion that is in us concerning God and divine
things, which, working by love, that is to say, by [keeping] the
Divine commandments, justifies us with Christ; and without this [faith]
it is impossible to please God.
Decree 10
We believe that what is called, or rather is, the
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in which we have been taught to
believe, contains generally all the Faithful in Christ, who, being still on their pilgrimage, have not yet reached their home
in the Fatherland [heaven]. But we do not in any wise confound this Church which
is on its pilgrimage with that which is in the Fatherland, because it
may be, as some of the heretics say, that the members of the two are
sheep of God, the Chief Shepherd, {cf. Psalm 94:7} and hallowed
by the same Holy Spirit. For that [confusing the heavenly and earthly
Church] is absurd and impossible, since the
one is yet militant, and on its journey; and the other is
triumphant, and settled in the Fatherland, and has received the prize.
Since a mortal man cannot universally and
perpetually be head of this Catholic Church, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is head, and Himself
holding the rudder is at the helm in the governing of the Church through
the Holy Fathers. And, therefore, the Holy Spirit has appointed Bishops
as leaders and shepherds over particular Churches, that are real
Churches, and consist of real members [of the Catholic Church]. These
authorities and heads [were not appointed] by abuse, but properly, and look
unto the Author and Finisher of our Salvation, {cf. Hebrews 2:10;
12:2} and refer to Him what they do in their capacity of heads.
But along with their other impieties, the
Calvinists have imagined this also, that the simple Priest and the High
Priest [Bishop] are perhaps the same; and that there is no necessity
for High Priests. [They assert] that the Church may be governed by some Priests,
and that not [only] a High Priest but a [simple] Priest also is able to ordain a
Priest, and a number of Priests to ordain a High Priest. They affirm in lofty language that the Eastern Church assents to this
wicked notion — for which purpose the Tenth Chapter was written by Cyril
[Confession of Cyril Lucaris]— we explicitly declare according to the mind which has
obtained from
the beginning in the Eastern Church: —
That the dignity of the Bishop is so necessary in
the Church, that without him, neither Church nor Christian could either
be or be spoken of. For he, as a successor of the Apostles, having
received in continued succession by the imposition of hands and the
invocation of the All-holy Spirit the grace that is given him of the
Lord of binding and loosing, is a living image of God upon the earth,
and by a most ample participation of the operation of the Holy Spirit,
who is the chief functionary, is a fountain of all the Mysteries
[Sacraments] of the Catholic Church, through which we obtain salvation.
And he is, we suppose, as necessary to the Church
as breath is to man, or the sun to the world. It has also been
elegantly said by some in commendation of the dignity of the High
Priesthood, “What God is in the heavenly Church of the first-born, {cf.
Hebrews 12:23} and the sun in the world, that every High Priest is in
his own particular Church, as through him the flock is enlightened, and
nourished, and becomes the temple of God.” {cf. Ephesians 2:21}
It is obvious that this great mystery and dignity of the
Episcopate has come down to us by a continued succession.
For since the Lord has promised to be with us always, although He is
with us by other means of grace and Divine operations, yet in a more
eminent manner does He make us His own and dwell with us through the Bishop as chief functionary and through the divine Mysteries
[sacraments] is united
with us. The Bishop is the first minister, and chief
functionary, through the Holy Spirit, and does not allow us to fall into
heresy. And, therefore [John] of Damascus, in his
Fourth Epistle to the Africans, said that the Catholic Church is
everywhere committed to the care of the Bishops. Clement,
the first Bishop of the Romans, and Evodius at Antioch, and Mark at
Alexandria, were acknowledged successors of Peter. Also [acknowledged]
is that the
divine Andrew seated Stachys on the Throne of Constantinople, in his own
stead; and that in this great holy city of Jerusalem our Lord Himself
appointed James, and that after James another succeeded, and then
another, until our own times. And, therefore, Tertullian in his Epistle
to Papianus called all Bishops the Apostles’ successors. To their
succession to the Apostles’ dignity and authority Eusebius, the [friend]
of Pamphilus, testifies, and all the Fathers testify, of whom it is
needless to give a list. The common and most ancient custom of the
Catholic Church confirms this .
And that the dignity of the Episcopate differs from that of the simple Priest, is
obvious. For the Priest is
ordained by the Bishop, but a Bishop is not ordained by a Priest, but by
two or three High Priests, as the Apostolic Canon directs. And the
Priest is chosen by the Bishop, but the High Priest is not chosen by the
Priests or Presbyters, nor is he chosen by secular Princes, but by the
Synod of the Primatial Church of that country, in which is situated the
city that is to receive the ordinand, or at least by the Synod of the
Province in which he is to become a Bishop. Or, if the city should choose
him, it does not do so absolutely, but the election is referred to the
Synod. And if it appear that he has [been chosen] agreeably to the
Canons, the [Bishop] Elect is advanced
by ordination by the Bishops, with the invocation of the All-holy
Spirit. But if not, he whom the Synod chooses is advanced .
The
[simple] Priest, indeed, retains to himself the authority and grace of the
Priesthood, which he has received; but the Bishop imparts it to
others also. And the one having received the dignity of the Priesthood
from the Bishop, can only perform Holy Baptism, and Prayer-oil,
minister sacrificially the unbloody Sacrifice*, and impart to the people
the All-holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, anoint the
baptized with the Holy Myron [Chrism oil], crown the Faithful legally
marrying, pray for the sick, and that all men may be saved and come to
the knowledge of the truth, {cf. 1 Timothy 2:4} and especially
for the remission and forgiveness of the sins of the Faithful, living
and dead. And if he be eminent for experience and virtue, receiving his
authority from the Bishop, he directs those Faithful that come unto
him, and guides them into the way of possessing the heavenly kingdom,
and is appointed a preacher of the sacred Gospel.
[Ed. Note: In Catholic and Eastern theology, the
Eucharist is not just a symbol or memorial of Christ's death, but is an
actual participation in the sacrifice of Christ, a manifestation of that
one sacrifice but without the shedding of blood, that is, "unbloody."
This is the doctrine of "Transubstantiation" in which the substance of
bread and wine are truly changed in the Eucharist into the reality of
the body and blood of Christ.]
The High Priest is
also the minister of all these, since he is in fact, as has been said
before, the fountain of the Divine Mysteries and graces, through the
Holy Spirit, and he alone consecrates the Holy Myron [Chrism oil]. And the
ordinations of all orders and degrees in the Church are proper to him;
and in a primary and highest sense he binds and looses, and his
sentence is approved by God, as the Lord hath promised. {Matthew 16:19}
And he preaches the Sacred Gospel, and contends for the Orthodox
faith, and those that refuse to hear he casts out of the Church as
heathens and publicans, {cf. Matthew 18:17} and he puts
heretics under excommunication and anathema, and lays down his own
life for the sheep. {cf. John 10:11} From which it is apparent,
that without contradiction the Bishop differs from the simple Priest,
and that without him all the Priests in the world could not exercise the
pastorate in the Church of God, or govern it at all.
But it is well said by one of the Fathers, that it
is not easy to find a heretic that has understanding. For when these
forsake the Church, they are forsaken by the Holy Spirit, and there remains in them neither understanding nor light, but only darkness and
blindness. For if that had not happened to them, they would not have
opposed things that are most plain; among which is the truly great
mystery of Episcopacy, which is taught by Scripture, written of,
and witnessed to, both by all Ecclesiastical history and the writings of
holy men, and always held and acknowledged by the Catholic Church.
Decree 11
We believe that members of the Catholic Church are all
the Faithful, and only the Faithful, who, truly having received the
blameless Faith of the Savior Christ from Christ Himself, and the
Apostles, and the Holy Ecumenical Synods, adhere to the same without
wavering, although some of them may be guilty of all manner of sins. For
unless the Faithful, even when living in sin, were members of the
Church, they could not be judged by the Church. But now being judged by
her, and called to repentance, and guided into the way of her salutary
precepts, though they may be still defiled with sins, for this only,
that they have not fallen into despair, and that they cleave to the
Catholic and Orthodox faith, they are, and are regarded as, members of
the Catholic Church.
Decree 12
We believe that the Catholic Church is taught
by the Holy Spirit. For he is the true Paraclete; whom Christ sends
from the Father, {cf. John 25:26} to teach the truth, {cf.
John 26:13} and to drive away darkness from the minds of the Faithful.
The teaching of the Holy Spirit, however, does not directly illuminate
the Church, but
[does so] through the holy Fathers and Leaders of the Catholic Church. All Scripture is, and is called, the word of the Holy
Spirit, not that it was spoken directly by Him, but that it was
spoken by Him through the Apostles and Prophets. In like manner the Church is
taught indeed by the Life-giving Spirit, but through the medium of the
holy Fathers and Doctors (whose rule is acknowledged to be the Holy and
Ecumenical Synods; for we shall not cease to say this ten thousand
times); and, therefore, not only are we persuaded, but do profess as
true and undoubtedly certain, that it is impossible for the Catholic
Church to err, or at all be deceived, or ever to choose falsehood
instead of truth. For the All-holy Spirit continually operating through
the holy Fathers and Leaders faithfully ministering, delivers the
Church from error of every kind.
Decree 13
We believe a man to be not simply justified through
faith alone, but through faith which works through love, that is to
say, through faith and works. But [the idea] that faith can fulfill the
function of a hand that lays hold on the righteousness which is in Christ,
and can then apply it unto us for salvation, we know to be far from all
Orthodoxy. For faith so understood would be possible in all, and so none
could miss salvation, which is obviously false. But on the contrary, we
rather believe that it is not the correlative of faith, but the faith
which is in us, justifies through works, with Christ. But we regard
works not as witnesses certifying our calling, but as being fruits in
themselves, through which faith becomes efficacious, and as in
themselves meriting, through the Divine promises {cf. 2
Corinthians 5:10} that each of the Faithful may receive what is done
through his own body, whether it be good or bad.
Decree 14
We believe man in falling by the [original]
transgression to have become comparable and similar to the beasts; that
is, to have been utterly undone, and to have fallen from his perfection
and impassibility, yet not to have lost the nature and power which he
had received from the supremely good God. For otherwise he would not be
rational, and consequently not a human. So [he still has] the same nature in
which he was created, and the same power of his nature, that is
free-will, living and operating, so that he is by nature able to choose
and do what is good, and to avoid and hate what is evil. For it is
absurd to say that the nature which was created good by Him who is
supremely good lacks the power of doing good. For this would be to
make that nature evil — what could be more impious than that? For the
power of working depends upon nature, and nature upon its author,
although in a different manner. And that a man is able by nature to do
what is good, even our Lord Himself intimates saying, even the
Gentiles love those that love them. {Matthew 5:46; Luke 6:32} But this
is taught most plainly by Paul also, in Romans 1:19,
[actually Rom 2:14] and elsewhere expressly, saying in so
many words, “The Gentiles which have no law do by nature the things of
the law.” From which it is also apparent that the good which a man may
do cannot truly be sin. For it is impossible for that what is good to be
evil. Although, being done by nature only and tending to form the natural
character of the doer but not the spiritual, it does not itself
contribute to
salvation without faith Nor does it lead to condemnation,
for it is not possible that good, as such, can be the cause of evil. But
in the regenerated, what is wrought by grace, and with grace, makes the
doer perfect, and renders him worthy of salvation.
A man, therefore, before he is regenerated, is able
by nature to incline to what is good, and to choose and work moral good.
But for the regenerated to do spiritual good — for the works of the
believer being contributory to salvation and wrought by supernatural
grace are properly called spiritual — it is necessary that he be guided
and prevented [preceded] by grace, as has been said in treating of
predestination. Consequently, he is not able of himself to do any work worthy of a
Christian life, although he has it in his own power to will, or not to
will, to co-operate with grace.
Decree 15
We believe that there are in the Church Evangelical
Mysteries [i.e., Sacraments of the Gospel Dispensation], and that
they are seven. For a less or a greater number of the Mysteries we have
not in the Church; since any number of the Mysteries other than seven is
the product of heretical madness. And the seven of them were instituted
in the Sacred Gospel, and are gathered from the same, like the other
dogmas of the Catholic Faith.
For in the first place our Lord instituted
Holy Baptism by the words, “Go and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit;” {Matthew 28:19} and by the words, “He that believes and
is baptized shall be saved, but he that does not believe shall be
condemned.” {Mark 16:16}
And that of Confirmation, that is to say, of
the Holy Myron or Holy Chrism, by the words, “But ye — tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” {Luke
24:49} With which they were endued by the coming of the Holy Spirit, and
this the Mystery of Confirmation signifies; concerning which Paul also
wrote in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. 1, and
Dionysius the Areopagite more explicitly.
And the Priesthood by the words, “This do ye for My
Memorial;” {Luke 22:19} and by the words, “Whatever you bind and
loose upon the earth shall be bound and loosed in the heavens.” {Matthew
18:18}
And the unbloody Sacrifice by the words, “Take, eat; This is My Body;” {Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; and cf.
Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 2:24} and, “Drink all of It; This is My
Blood of the New Testament;” {Matthew 26:27; and cf.
Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 2:25} and by the words, “Unless
you eat
the Flesh of the Son of Man, you do not have life in yourselves.”
{John 6:53}
And Marriage, when, having recited the things which
had been spoken thereof in the Old [Testament], He, as it were, set His
seal thereto by the words, “Those whom God hath joined together,
do not let man put asunder,” {Matthew 19:6} and this the divine Apostle also calls a great Mystery. {Ephesians 5:32}
And Penance, with which is joined sacramental confession, by
the words, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if
you retain the sins of any, they are retained." [NRSV];
{John 20:23} and by the words, “unless you repent, you will [all]
likewise perish.” {Luke 13:3,5}
And lastly, the Holy Oil or Prayer-Oil
is spoken of in Mark, {Mark 6:13} and is expressly witnessed to by the
Lord’s brother. {James 5:14}
And the Mysteries consist of something natural, and
of something supernatural; and are not bare signs of the promises of
God. For then they would not differ from circumcision — what could be worse
than that [idea]? We acknowledge them to be, of
necessity, efficient means of grace to the receivers. But we reject, as
alien to Christian doctrine, the notion that the integrity of the
Mystery requires the use of the earthly thing [i.e., depends
upon its reception]; for this is contrary to the Mystery of the Offering
[i.e., the Sacrament of the Eucharist], which being instituted by
the Substantial Word, and hallowed by the invocation of the Holy Spirit,
is perfected by the presence of the thing signified, specifically, of the Body
and Blood of Christ. And the perfecting of it necessarily precedes
its use. For if it were not perfect before its use, he that receives it
wrongly could not eat and drink judgment unto himself;
{1 Corinthians 11:26,28,29} since he would be partaking of mere bread
and wine. But now, he that partakes unworthily eats and drinks
judgment unto himself; so that not in its use, but even before its use,
the Mystery of the Eucharist has its perfection. Moreover, we reject as
something abominable and pernicious the notion that when faith is weak
the integrity of the Mystery is impaired. For heretics who renounce their heresy and join the Catholic Church are received by the Church;
although they received their valid Baptism with weakness of faith.
Wherefore, when they afterwards become possessed of the perfect faith,
they are not again baptized.
Decree 16
We believe Holy Baptism, which was instituted by
the Lord, and is conferred in the name of the Holy Trinity, to be of the
highest necessity. For without it none is able to be saved, as the Lord
says, “Whoever is not born of water and of the Spirit, shall in no
way enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens.” {John 3:5} And, therefore,
baptism is necessary even for infants, since they also are subject to
original sin, and without Baptism are not able to obtain its remission.
Which the Lord showed when he said, not of some only, but simply and
absolutely, “Whoever is not born [again],” which is the same as
saying, “All that after the coming of Christ the Savior would enter
into the Kingdom of the Heavens must be regenerated.” And
since infants are men, and as such need salvation, needing
salvation they need also Baptism. And those that are not regenerated,
since they have not received the remission of hereditary sin, are, of
necessity, subject to eternal punishment, and consequently cannot
without Baptism be saved. So that even infants should, of necessity, be
baptized. Moreover, infants are saved, as is said in Matthew;
{Matthew 19:12} but he that is not baptized is not saved. And
consequently even infants must of necessity be baptized. And in the Acts
{Acts 8:12; 16:33} it is said that the whole houses were baptized, and
consequently the infants. To this the ancient Fathers also witness
explicitly, and among them Dionysius in his Treatise concerning the
Ecclesiastical Hierarchy; and Justin in his fifty-sixth Question, who
says expressly, “And they are guaranteed the benefits of Baptism by the
faith of those that bring them to Baptism.” And Augustine says that it
is an Apostolic tradition, that children are saved through Baptism;
and in another place, “The Church gives to babes the feet of
others, that they may come; and the hearts of others, that they may
believe; and the tongues of others, that they may promise;” and in
another place, “Our mother, the Church, furnishes them with a
particular heart.”
Now the matter of Baptism is pure water, and no
other liquid. And it is performed by the Priest only, or in a case of
unavoidable necessity, by another man, provided he is Orthodox, and has
the proper intention to Divine Baptism. And the effects of Baptism are,
to speak concisely, firstly, the remission of the hereditary
transgression, and of any sins of any kind that the baptized may have
committed. Secondly, it delivers him from the eternal punishment, to
which he was liable, as well for original sin and for mortal sins he may
have individually committed. Thirdly, it gives to the person immortality; for
in justifying them from past sins, it makes them temples of God.
And it cannot be said that there is any sin which may have been
previously committed that remains, though not imputed, that is not washed away through Baptism,
For that were indeed the height of impiety, and a denial, rather
than a confession of piety. Indeed, truly, all sin existing, or
committed before Baptism, is blotted out, and is to be regarded as never
existing or committed. For the forms of Baptism, and on either hand all
the words that precede and that perfect Baptism, do indicate a perfect
cleansing. And the same thing even the very names of Baptism do signify.
For if Baptism is by the Spirit and by fire, {Matthew 3:11} it is
obvious that it is in all a perfect cleansing; for the Spirit cleanses
perfectly. If it is light, {Hebrews 6:4} it dispels the darkness. If
it is regeneration, {Titus 3:5} old things are passed away. And what are
these except sins? If the baptized puts off the old man,
{Colossians 3:9} then sin also. If he puts on Christ,
{Galatians 3:27} then in effect he becomes free from sin through
Baptism. For God is far from sinners. This Paul also teaches more
plainly, saying: “As through one [man] we, being many, were made
sinners, so through one [are we made] righteous.” {Romans 5:19} And if
righteous, then free from sin. For it is not possible for life and
death to be in the same [person]. If Christ truly died, then remission
of sin through the Spirit is true also. Hence it is evident that all who
are baptized and fall asleep while babes are undoubtedly saved, being
predestinated through the death of Christ. Forasmuch as they are without
any sin; — without that common [to all], because delivered from it by
the Divine laver, and without any of their own, because as babes they
are incapable of committing sin; — and consequently are saved. Moreover,
Baptism imparts an indelible character, as does also the Priesthood.
For as it is impossible for any one to receive twice the same order of
the Priesthood, so it is impossible for any once rightly baptized, to be
again baptized, although he should fall even into myriads of sins, or
even into actual apostasy from the Faith. For when he is willing to
return unto the Lord, he receives again through the Mystery of Penance
the adoption of a son, which he had lost.
Decree 17
We believe the All-holy Mystery of the Sacred
Eucharist, which we have enumerated above, fourth in order, to be
that which our Lord delivered in the night in which He gave Himself up
for the life of the world. For taking bread, and blessing, He gave to
His Holy Disciples and Apostles, saying: “Take, eat; This is My
Body.” {Matthew 26:26} And taking the chalice, and giving thanks, He
said: “Drink you all of It; This is My Blood, which for you is being
poured out, for the remission of sins.” {Matthew 26:28} In the
celebration of this we believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be present. He
is not present
typically, nor figuratively, nor by superabundant grace, as in the other
Mysteries, nor by a bare presence, as some of the Fathers have said
concerning Baptism, or by impanation, so that the Divinity of the Word
is united to the set forth bread of the Eucharist hypostatically, as the
followers of Luther most ignorantly and wretchedly suppose. But [he is
present] truly
and really, so that after the consecration of the bread and of the wine,
the bread is transmuted, transubstantiated, converted and transformed
into the true Body Itself of the Lord, Which was born in Bethlehem of
the ever-Virgin, was baptized in the Jordan,
suffered, was buried, rose again, was received up, sits at the right
hand of the God and Father, and is to come again in the clouds of
Heaven; and the wine is converted and transubstantiated into the true
Blood Itself of the Lord, Which as He hung upon the Cross, was poured
out for the life of the world. {John 6:51}
Further [we believe] that after the consecration of
the bread and of the wine, there no longer remains the substance of
the bread and of the wine, but the Body Itself and the Blood of the
Lord, under the species and form of bread and wine; that is to say,
under the accidents of the bread.
Further, that the all-pure Body Itself, and Blood
of the Lord is imparted, and enters into the mouths and stomachs of
the communicants, whether pious or impious. Nevertheless, they
convey to the pious and worthy remission of sins and life eternal; but
to the impious and unworthy involve condemnation and eternal punishment.
Further, that the Body and Blood of the Lord are
severed and divided by the hands and teeth, though in accident only,
that is, in the accidents of the bread and of the wine, under which they
are visible and tangible, we do acknowledge; but in themselves to remain
entirely unsevered and undivided. Wherefore the Catholic Church also
says: “Broken and distributed is He That is broken, yet not severed;
Which is ever eaten, yet never consumed, but sanctifying those that
partake,” that is worthily.
Further, that in every part, or the smallest
division of the transmuted bread and wine there is not a part of the
Body and Blood of the Lord — for to say so were blasphemous and wicked —
but the entire whole Lord Christ substantially, that is, with His Soul
and Divinity, or perfect God and perfect man. So that though there may
be many celebrations in the world at one and the same hour, there are
not many Christs, or Bodies of Christ, but it is one and the same Christ
that is truly and really present; and His one Body and His Blood is in
all the several Churches of the Faithful; and this not because the Body
of the Lord that is in the Heavens descends upon the Altars; but
because the bread of the Prothesis* set forth in all the several
Churches, being changed and transubstantiated, becomes, and is, after
consecration, one and the same with That in the Heavens. For it is one
Body of the Lord in many places, and not many; and therefore this
Mystery is the greatest, and is spoken of as wonderful, and
comprehensible by faith only, and not by the sophistries of man’s
wisdom; whose vain and foolish curiosity in divine things our
pious and God-delivered religion rejects.
[*Ed. Note: GK: prothesis, "setting forth," in
Orthodox churches the liturgical act of preparing the bread and wine for
the Divine Liturgy or Eucharist.]
Further, that the Body Itself of the Lord and the
Blood That are in the Mystery of the Eucharist ought to be honored in
the highest manner, and adored with latria [Gk: adoration or
worship*]. For one is the adoration of
the Holy Trinity, and of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Further, that
it is a true and propitiatory Sacrifice offered for all Orthodox, living
and dead; and for the benefit of all, as is set forth expressly in the
prayers of the Mystery delivered to the Church by the Apostles, in
accordance with the command they received of the Lord.
[Ed. Note: The Greek term latria refers to the
highest form of adoration or worship and is directed only to God, as
opposed to dulia, "veneration" of the saints, and hyperdulia,
"highest veneration" of Mary.]
Further, that before Its use, immediately after the
consecration, and after Its use, What is reserved in the Sacred Pixes*
for the communion of those that are about to depart [i.e. the
dying] is the true Body of the Lord, and not in the least different
from it; so that before Its use after the consecration, in Its
use, and after Its use, It is in all respects the true Body of the Lord.
[Ed. Note: Pixes: a container in which the consecrated
bread for Communion is placed so that it can be taken to those who
cannot leave home.]
Further, we believe that by the word
“transubstantiation” the manner is not explained, by which the bread and
wine are changed into the Body and Blood of the Lord, — for that is
altogether incomprehensible and impossible, except by God Himself, and
those who imagine to do so are involved in ignorance and impiety, — but
that the bread and the wine are after the consecration, not typically,
nor figuratively, nor by superabundant grace, nor by the communication
or the presence of the Divinity alone of the Only-begotten, transmuted
into the Body and Blood of the Lord; neither is any accident of the
bread, or of the wine, by any conversion or alteration, changed into any
accident of the Body and Blood of Christ, but truly, and really, and
substantially, doth the bread become the true Body Itself of the Lord,
and the wine the Blood Itself of the Lord, as is said above.
Further, that this Mystery of the Sacred Eucharist can be performed
by none other, except only by an Orthodox Priest, who has received his
priesthood from an Orthodox and Canonical Bishop, in accordance with the
teaching of the Eastern Church. This is compendiously the doctrine, and
true confession, and most ancient tradition of the Catholic Church
concerning this Mystery; which must not be departed from in any way by
such as would be Orthodox and who reject the novelties and profane
vanities of heretics. But necessarily the tradition of the institution
must be kept whole and unimpaired. For those that transgress, the
Catholic Church of Christ rejects and anathematises.
Decree 18
We believe that the souls of those that have fallen
asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each has done; — for when they are separated from their bodies, they depart
immediately either to joy, or to sorrow and lamentation; though
confessedly neither their enjoyment nor condemnation are complete. For
after the common resurrection, when the soul shall be united with the
body, with which it had behaved itself well or ill, each shall
receive the completion of either enjoyment or of condemnation.
And the souls of those involved in mortal sins, who have not
departed in despair but while still living in the body,
though without bringing forth any fruits of repentance, have repented — by pouring
forth tears, by kneeling while watching in prayers, by afflicting
themselves, by relieving the poor, and finally by showing forth by their works their love towards God and their
neighbor, and which the Catholic Church has from the beginning rightly
called satisfaction — [their souls] depart into
Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have
committed. But they are aware of their future release from there, and
are delivered by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the
Priests, and the good works which the relatives of each do for their
Departed; especially the unbloody Sacrifice benefiting the most; which each offers particularly for his relatives that have
fallen asleep, and which the Catholic and Apostolic Church offers
daily for all alike. Of course, it is understood that we do not know
the time of their release. We know and believe that there is deliverance for such from
their direful condition, and that before the common resurrection and
judgment, but when we know not.
Question 1
Should the Divine Scriptures be read in the
vulgar tongue [common language] by all Christians?
No. Because all Scripture is divinely-inspired and
profitable {cf. 2 Timothy 3:16}, we know, and
necessarily so, that without [Scripture] it is impossible to be Orthodox at all.
Nevertheless they should not be read by all, but only by those who with
fitting research have inquired into the deep things of the Spirit,
and who know in what manner the Divine Scriptures ought to be searched,
and taught, and finally read. But to those who are not so disciplined, or
who cannot distinguish, or who understand only literally, or in any
other way contrary to Orthodoxy what is contained in the Scriptures, the
Catholic Church, knowing by experience the damage that can cause,
forbids them to read [Scripture]. Indeed, tt is permitted to every
Orthodox to hear the Scriptures, that he may believe with the
heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation
{Romans 10:10}. But to read some parts of the Scriptures, and especially
of the Old [Testament], is forbidden for these and other similar reasons. For it is the same thing to prohibit
undisciplined persons from reading all the Sacred Scriptures, as to
require infants to abstain from strong meats.
Question 2
Are the Scriptures plain to all Christians that
read them?
If the Divine Scriptures were plain to all
Christians that read them, the Lord would not have commanded such as
desired to obtain salvation to search them; {John 5:39} and Paul
would have said without reason that God had placed the gift of teaching
in the Church; {1 Corinthians 13:28} and Peter would not have said of
the Epistles of Paul that they contained some things hard to be
understood. {2 Peter 3:16} It is evident, therefore, that the Scriptures
are very profound, and their sense lofty; and that they need learned and
divine men to search out their true meaning, and a sense that is right,
and agreeable to all Scripture, and to its author the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, those that are regenerated [in Baptism] must know the
faith concerning the Trinity, the incarnation of the Son of God, His
passion, resurrection, and ascension into the heavens. Yet what concerns
regeneration and judgment — for which many have not hesitated to die —
it is not necessary, indeed impossible, for them to know what the Holy
Spirit has made apparent only to those who are disciplined in wisdom and
holiness.
Question 3
What Books do you call Sacred Scripture?
Following the rule of the Catholic Church, we call Sacred Scripture
all those which Cyril [Lucaris] collected from the
Synod of Laodicea, and enumerated, adding to Scripture those which he
foolishly and ignorantly, or rather maliciously, called Apocrypha;
specifically, “The Wisdom of Solomon,” “Judith,” “Tobit,” “The History of the
Dragon” [Bel and the Dragon], “The History of Susanna,” “The Maccabees,” and “The Wisdom of Sirach.” For we judge these also to be with the other genuine Books of
Divine Scripture genuine parts of Scripture. For ancient custom, or
rather the Catholic Church, which has delivered to us as genuine the
Sacred Gospels and the other Books of Scripture, has undoubtedly
delivered these also as parts of Scripture, and the denial of these is
the rejection of those. And if, perhaps, it seems that not always have
all of these been considered on the same level as the others, yet nevertheless these also
have been counted and reckoned with the rest of Scripture, both by
Synods and by many of the most ancient and eminent Theologians
of the Catholic Church. All of these we also judge to be Canonical
Books, and confess them to be Sacred Scripture.
Question 4
How ought we to think of the Holy Icons, and of
the adoration of the Saints?
Since The Saints are and are acknowledged to be intercessors by the
Catholic Church, as has been said in the Eighth Decree, it is time to say that we
honor them as friends
of God, and as praying for us to the God of all. The honor we pay
them is twofold. According to one manner which we call hyperdulia* we
honor the Mother of God the Word. For though indeed the Theotokos [Gk: "godbearer,"
a title for Mary] is servant of the only God, yet she is also His Mother, having
borne in the flesh one of the Trinity. Because of this also she is hymned as
being beyond compare, as well as above all Angels as Saints. This is why
we pay her the adoration of hyperdulia.
But according to the other
manner, which we call dulia [Gk: "veneration"], we adore or rather
honor, the holy
Angels, Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, and, finally, all the Saints.
Moreover, we adore and honor the wood of the precious and life-giving
Cross on which our Savior underwent this world-saving passion, and the
sign of the life-giving Cross, the Manger at Bethlehem, through which we
have been delivered from irrationality, [an allusion to the manger out
of which the irrational animals eat their food -translator] the place of the
Skull [Calvary], the life-giving Sepulcher, and the other holy objects
of adoration; as well the holy Gospels, as the sacred vessels by which
the unbloody Sacrifice is performed. And by annual commemorations, and
popular festivals, and sacred edifices and offerings; we do respect and
honor the Saints. And then we adore, and honor, and kiss the Icons of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the most holy Theotokos, and of all the
Saints, also of the holy Angels, as they appeared to some of the
Forefathers and Prophets. We also represent the All-holy Spirit, as He
appeared, in the form of a dove.
[Note: Gk: dulia, "veneration"; hyperdulia
is "highest veneration", a reference specifically to the veneration of
Mary]
And if some say we commit idolatry in adoring
the Saints, and the Icons of the Saints, and the other things, we
regard it as foolish and frivolous. For we worship with latria
[Gk: adoration] the only
God in Trinity, and none other; but the Saints we honor for two reasons: firstly, for their relation to God, since we
honor them for
His sake; and for themselves, because they are living images of God. But
that which is for themselves hath been defined as of dulia. But the holy
Icons [we adore] relatively since the honor paid to them is referred
to their prototypes. For he that adores the Icon, through the Icon adores the prototype; and the
honor paid to the Icon is not at
all divided or at all different from [the honor paid to the one who] is
portrayed,
and is done unto the same like that done unto a royal embassy.
And what they adduce from Scripture in support of
their novelties does not help them as they think, but rather we agree. For we, when reading the Divine Scriptures, examine the
occasion and person, the example and cause. Therefore, when we
contemplate God Himself saying at one time, “You shall not make for
yourself any idol, or likeness; neither shall you adore them, nor serve
them;” {Exodus 20:4,5; Deuteronomy 5:8,9} and at another, commanding
that Cherubim should be made; {Exodus 25:18} and further, that oxen and
lions {1 Kings 7:29} were placed in the Temple, we do not rashly
consider the seriousness of these things. For faith is not in assurance; but,
as has been said, considering the occasion and other circumstances we
arrive at the right interpretation of the same; and we conclude that,
“You shall not make for yourself any idol, or likeness,” is the same as
saying, “You shall not adore strange Gods,” {Exodus 20:4} or rather,
“You shall not commit idolatry.” For so both the custom prevalent in
the Church from Apostolic times of adoring the holy Icons relatively is
maintained, and the worship of latria [Gk: adoration] reserved for God alone; and God
does not appear to speak contrarily to Himself. For if the Scripture
says [absolutely], “You shall not make,” “You shall not adore,”
we fail to see how God afterwards permitted likenesses to be made, even
though not for adoration. Therefore, since the commandment concerns
idolatry only, we find serpents, and lions, and oxen, and Cherubim made,
and figures and likenesses, among which Angels appear, as having been
adored.
And as to the Saints whom they bring forward as
saying that it is not lawful to adore Icons, we conclude that they
rather help us since they in their sharp disputations inveighed both against those that adore the holy
Icons with latria [Gk: adoration], as well as against
those that bring the icons of their deceased relatives into the Church.
They subjected to anathema those that so that, but not against the right
adoration, either of the Saints, or of the holy Icons, or of the
precious Cross, or of the other things that have been mentioned, especially since the holy
Icons have been in the Church, and have been
adored by the Faithful even from the times of the Apostles. This is
recorded and proclaimed by very many with whom and after whom the
Seventh Holy Ecumenical Synod puts to shame all heretical
impudence.
It is clear that
it is appropriate to adore the Holy Icons, and what have been mentioned
above. And it anathematises, and subjects to excommunication, both those that adore the
Icons [themselves] with latria [Gk: adoration] as well as those that say that the
Orthodox commit idolatry in adoring the Icons. We also, therefore, do
anathematize with them such as adore either Saint, or Angel, or Icon,
or Cross, or Relic of Saints, or sacred Vessel, or Gospel, or anything else
that is in heaven above, or anything on the earth, or in the sea, with
latria [Gk: adoration]; and we ascribe adoration with latria to the only God in Trinity.
And we anathematize those that say that the adoration of Icons is the
latria [Gk: adoration, here as worship] of Icons, and who adore them not, and
honor not the Cross, and
the Saints, as the Church has delivered.
Now we adore the Saints and the Holy Icons, in the manner declared.
We portray them in adornment of our temples, so that
they may be the books of the unlearned, and so that they may imitate the
virtues of the Saints; and for them to remember, and have an
increase of love, and be vigilant in always calling upon the Lord, as
Sovereign and Father, but [also] upon the Saints, as his servants, and our
helpers and mediators.
And so much for the Chapters and Questions of
Cyril [Lucaris]. But the heretics find fault even with the prayers of the pious
unto God, since we do not know why they should maliciously malign the Monks
only. Prayer is a conversation with God and a
petitioning for such good things as are suitable for us, from Him of whom we
hope to receive. We also know that it is also an ascent of the mind to God and a pious
expression of our purpose towards God, a seeking what is above, the
support of a holy soul, a worship most acceptable to God, a token of
repentance, and of steadfast hope. Prayer is made either
with the mind alone, or with the mind and voice, thereby engaging in the
contemplation of the goodness and mercy of God, of the unworthiness of
the petitioner, and in thanksgiving, and in realizing the promises
attached to obedience to God.
It is accompanied by faith, hope, perseverance, and observance of the commandments.
And, as
already said, it is a petitioning for heavenly things, and has many
fruits, which it is needless to enumerate. It is made continually,
and is accomplished either in an upright posture, or by kneeling. And so
great is its efficacy, that it is acknowledged to be both the
nourishment and the life of the soul. All this is gathered from
Divine Scripture, so that if any ask for demonstration of it, he is
like a fool, or a blind man, who disputes about the sun’s light at the
hour of noon, and when the sky is clear. But the heretics, wishing to
leave nothing that Christ has enjoined unassailed, carp at this also.
But being ashamed to impiously maintain these things concerning
prayer openly, they do not forbid it to be offered at all, but are
disturbed at
the prayers of the Monks. They act this way in order to raise in the
simple-minded a hatred towards the Monks, so that they may not endure
even the sight of them, as though they were profane and innovators, much
less to allow the dogmas of the pious and Orthodox faith to be taught by
them. For the adversary is wise as to evil, and ingenious in
inventing malicious attacks. Therefore, his followers also — such as these
heretics especially — are not so much anxious about piety, as desirous
of always involving men in an abyss of evils, and of estranging them into
places that the Lord does not take under his care. {cf.
Deuteronomy 11:12}
They should be asked, therefore, what are the
prayers of the Monks? If they can show that the Monks do anything
entirely different from themselves, and not in accordance with the
Orthodox worship of Christians, we also will join with them, and say,
not only that the Monks are no Monks, but also no Christians. But if the
Monks set forth particularly the glory and wonders of God, continually and unremittingly at all times, as far as is possible
for man, proclaim the Deity, with hymns and doxologies; now singing parts of Scripture, and now gathering hymns out of Scripture,
or at least giving utterance to what is agreeable to it, we must
acknowledge that they perform a work apostolic and prophetic, or
rather that of the Lord.
Therefore, we also, in singing the Paracletikê, the Triodion, and the
Menĉon* [Menaion], perform a work in no way
unbecoming Christians. For all such Books talk about the Diety as one,
and yet of more than one personality, and that even in the Hymns, some
gathered out of the Divine Scriptures, and others according to the
direction of the Spirit. In order that in the melodies the words
may be paralleled by other words, we sing parts of Scripture. Also
moreover,
that it may be quite plain that we always sing parts of Scripture, to
every one of our Hymns, called a Troparion, we add a verse of Scripture.
And if we sing, or read the Thecara [Threasury], or other prayers
composed by the Fathers of old, let them say what there is in these
which is blasphemous, or not pious, and we will prosecute
these [Monks] with them.
[Ed. Note: The Paracletike, the Triodion, and the
Menĉon are books of liturgy used in Orthodox worship.]
But if they only say that to pray continually
and unremittingly is wrong, what have they to do with us? Let them
contend with Christ — as indeed they do contend — who said
in the parable
of the unjust judge {Luke 28:2} that prayer should be made
continually. He taught us to watch and pray, {Mark 13:33} in order to
escape trials, and to stand before the Son of man. {Luke 21:36} Let them
contend with Paul in the Chapter of the
First [Epistle] to the Thessalonians [5:17], and elsewhere in many
places. I refrain from mentioning the divine
leaders of the Catholic Church from Christ until us. For it is
sufficient to put these
[heretics] to shame [to point out] the accord of the Forefathers, Apostles,
and Prophets concerning prayer.
If, therefore, what the Monks do is what the
Apostles and Prophets did and, we may say, what the holy Fathers and
Forefathers of Christ Himself did, then it is manifest that the prayers of
the Monks are fruits of the Holy Spirit, the giver of graces. But the
novelties which the Calvinists have blasphemously introduced concerning
God and divine things, perverting, mutilating, and abusing the Divine
Scriptures, are sophistries and inventions of the devil.
A futile effort, too, is the assertion, that the Church
cannot appoint fasts and abstinence from
certain meats without violence and tyranny. For the Church, acting most rightly, carefully appoints prayer and
fasting for the mortification of the flesh and all the passions. Of
this, all the Saints have been lovers and examples. It is through this
that our adversary the devil {cf. 1 Peter 5:8} is
overthrown by the grace from on high, together with his armies and his
hosts, and the race {cf. 2 Timothy 4:7} that is set before the pious
is the more easily accomplished. In making these provisions the
undefiled {cf. Ephesians 5:27} Church everywhere uses neither
violence nor tyranny, but exhorts, admonishes, and teaches, in
accordance with Scripture, and persuades by the power of the Spirit.
And to what has been mentioned a certain fellow at Charenton — we mean the
previously mentioned Claud* — adds
certain other ridiculous objections against us, and unworthy of any
consideration; but what has been said by him we regard as idle tales.
We consider the man himself as a trifler and altogether illiterate.
For from [the time of] Photius there have been vast numbers in the Eastern Church,
and are now, well known for wisdom, theology,
and holiness, by the power of the Spirit. And it is most absurd [to
argue] that because certain of the Eastern Priests keep the Holy
Bread in wooden vessels, within the Church, but outside
the Bema** [sanctuary -translator] hung on one of the columns, that therefore
they do not acknowledge the real and true transmutation of the bread
into the Body of the Lord. For that certain of the poor Priests do keep
the Lord’s Body in wooden vessels, we do not deny. For truly Christ is
not honored by stones and marbles, but asks for a sound intent and a
clean heart.
[*Ed. Note: a reference to part of the longer document
not included here.]
[**Ed. Note: bema, a raised platform at the front
of Orthodox churches on which the altar is located.]
And this is what happened to Paul. “For we have,”
{2 Corinthians 4:7} he says, “the treasure in earthen
vessels.” But where particular Churches are able, as with us here in
Jerusalem, the Lord’s Body is honorably kept within the Holy Bema of
such Churches, and a seven-light lamp always kept burning before it.
I am tempted to wonder if it is possible that the
heretics have seen the Lord’s Body hanging in some Churches
outside the
Bema, because perhaps the walls of the Bema were unsafe on account of
age, and so have arrived at these absurd conclusions. But they did not
notice Christ portrayed on the apse* of the Holy Bema as a babe
[lying] in the Paten*.* If they did, they might have known that the Easterns do not represent that there is in the Paten a type, or grace,
or anything else, but the Christ Himself; and so believe that the Bread of
the Eucharist is nothing else, but becomes substantially the Body Itself
of the Lord, and so maintain the truth.
[*Ed. Note: the apse is the semicircular part of
the church, often in three parts, that lies beyond the altar.]
[**Ed. Note: a Paten is a plate that holds the bread used for
Eucharist or Communion; in Orthodox services, only a portion of this
bread (called the Lamb) is used for the Divine Liturgy.]
But concerning all these things it has been
treated at large and most lucidly in what is called The Confession of
the Eastern Church, by George, of Chios, from Coresius in his
[Treatises] concerning the Mysteries, and of predestination, and of
grace, and of free-will, and of the intercession and adoration of
Saints, and of the adoration of Icons, and in the Refutation composed
by him of the illicit Synod of the heretics held on a certain occasion
in Flanders, and in many other [Treatises]; by Gabriel, of Peloponnesus,
Metropolitan of Philadelphia; and by Gregory Protosyncellus of Chios in
his [Treatises] concerning the Mysteries; by Jeremias, the Most Holy
Patriarch of Constantinople, in three dogmatic and Synodical
Letters to the Lutherans of Tubingen in Germany; by John, Priest, and
Economus of Constantinople, surnamed Nathaniel; by Meletius Syrigus, of
Crete, in the Orthodox Refutation composed by him of the Chapters and
Questions of the said Cyril [Lucaris]; by Theophanes, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, in his dogmatic Epistle to the Lithuanians, and in
innumerable other [Epistles]. And before these it has been spoken most
excellently of these matters by Symeon, of Thessalonica, and before him
by all the Fathers, and by the Ecumenical Synods, by ecclesiastical
historians too; and even by writers of secular history under the
Christian Autocrats of Rome, have these matters been mentioned
incidentally; by all of whom, without any controversy,
the aforesaid were received from the Apostles; whose traditions, whether
by writing, or by word, have through the Fathers descended until us.
Further, the argument derived from the heretics also confirms wht has
been said. For the Nestorians after the year of Salvation, 428, the
Armenians too, and the Copts, and the Syrians, and further even
the Ethiopians, who dwell at the Equator, and beyond this towards the
tropics of Capricorn, whom those that are there commonly call Campesii,
after the year ... [The date is wanting in the text -translator] of the
Incarnation broke away from the Catholic Church; and each of these hath
as peculiar only its heresy, as all know from the Acts of the Ecumenical
Synods. Although concerning the purpose and number of the Sacred
Mysteries, and everything that has been said above — except their own
particular heresy, as has been noted — they entirely believe with the
Catholic Church. As we see with our own eyes every hour, and learn by
experience and conversation, here in the Holy City of Jerusalem in
which there either dwell or are continually staying temporarily, vast numbers of
them are as well learned, such as they have, as are illiterate.
Let, therefore, idle speech and innovating heretics
keep silence, and not try [as] against us cunningly to bolster up
falsehood as all apostates and heretics have ever done, by stealing some
sentences from the Scriptures and the Fathers. Let them
say this one thing only, that in contriving excuses {cf.
Psalm 140:4} for sins they have chosen to speak wickedness against God,
{cf. Psalm 74:6} and blasphemies against the Saints.
EPILOGUE
Let it be sufficient for the reputation of the falsehoods of the
adversaries, which they have devised against the Eastern Church, that
they allege in support of their falsehoods the incoherent and impious
Chapters of the said Cyril [Lucaris]. And let it be
for a sign not to be contradicted {cf. Luke 2:34} that those heretics
have unjustly make maliciously false statements against us, as though they
spoke the truth. But let it be for a sign
to be believed, that is for reformation of their innovations and for
their return to the Catholic and Apostolic Church, in which their
forefathers also were of old, and [who] assisted at those Synods and contests
against heretics, which these now reject and revile. For it was
unreasonable on their part, especially as they considered themselves to
be wise, to have listened to men that were lovers of self and profane,
and that spoke not from the Holy Spirit, but from the prince of lies,
and to have forsaken the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,
which God hath purchased with the Blood of His own Son, {cf.
Acts 20:28} and to have abandoned her. For otherwise there will overtake
those that have separated from the Church the pains that are reserved
for heathens and publicans. But the Lord who has ever protected her
against all enemies, will not neglect the Catholic Church. To Him be
glory and dominion unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
In the year of Salvation 1672, on the 16th [day] of
the month of March, in the Holy City of Jerusalem: —
I, Dositheus, by the mercy of God, Patriarch of the
Holy City of Jerusalem and of all Palestine, declare and confess this to
be the faith of the Eastern Church.
-Dennis Bratcher,
Copyright ©
2018, Dennis
Bratcher, All Rights Reserved
(No copyright claims are made for the text of the original document.)
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