Holy Canons Related to Ecumenism
On Praying with Heretics
Canon XLV of the Holy Apostles
"Let any Bishop, or Presbyter, or deacon that merely joins in prayer with heretics
be suspended, but if he had permitted them to perform any service as Clergymen, let him be
deposed."
Canon LXV Of the Holy Apostles:
"If any clergymen, or laymen, enter a synagogue of Jews, or of heretics, to pray,
let him be both deposed and excommunicated."
Canon IX of Laodicia (Also approved by the Ecumenical Synods)
"Concerning the fact that those belonging to the Church must not be allowed to go
visiting the cemeteries or the so called martyria of any heretics, for the purpose of
prayer or of cure, but, on the contrary, those who do so, if they be among the faithful,
shall be excluded from communion for a time until they repent and confess their having
made a mistake, when they may be readmitted to communion."
Canon XXXIII of Laodicia
"One must not join in prayer with heretics or schismatics."
The Extraordinary Joint Conference of the Sacred Community on Mount Athos
April 9/22, 1980 | Full Text
3. Theological dialogue must not in any way be linked with prayer in common, or by
joint participation in any liturgical or worship services whatsoever; or in other
activities which might create the impression that our Orthodox Church accepts, on the one
hand, Roman Catholics as part of the fulness of the Church, or, on the other hand, the
Pope as the canonical bishop of Rome. Activities such as these mislead both the fulness of
the Orthodox people and the Roman Catholics themselves, fostering among them a mistaken
notion as to what Orthodoxy thinks of their teaching.
On the Date for Celebrating Pascha
Canon VII of the Holy Apostles
If any Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon celebrate the
holy day of Easter before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be deposed.
Canon I of Antioch
As for all persons who dare to violate the definition of
the holy and great Synod convened in Nicaea in the presence of Eusebeia, the consort of
the most God-beloved Emperor Constantine, concerning the holy festival of the soterial
Pascha, we decree that they be excluded from Communion and be outcasts from the Church if
they persist more captiously in objecting to the decisions that have been made as most
fitting in regard thereto; and let these things be said with reference to laymen. But if
any of the person occupying prominent positions in the Church, such as a Bishop, or a
Presbyter, or a Deacon, after the adoption of this definition, should dare to insist upon
having his own way, to the perversion of the laity, and to the disturbance of the church,
and upon celebrating Pascha along with the Jews, the holy Synod has hence judged that
person to be an alien to the Church, on the ground that he has not only become guilty of
sin by himself, but has also been the cause of corruption and perversion among the
multitude. Accordingly, it not only deposes such persons from the liturgy, but also those
who dare to commune with them after their deposition. Moreover, those who have been
deposed are to be deprived of the external honor too of which the holy Canon and God's
priesthood have partaken.
See also the Sigillon of 1583 which
anathematized the Gregorian (Papal) Calendar.
On Separating from Heretical Hierarchs
From St. Basil's first canon
Schisms is the name applied to those who on account of ecclesiastical causes and
remediable questions have developed a quarrel amongst themselves. Parasynagogues is the
name applied to gatherings held by insubordinate presbyters or bishops, and those held by
uneducated laities. As, for instance, when one has been arraigned for a misdemeanor held
aloof from liturgy and refused to submit to the Canons, but laid claim to the presidency
and liturgy for himself, and some other persons departed with him, leaving the catholic
Churchthat is a parasynagogue.
Apostolic Canon XXXI
"If any Presbyter, condemning his own bishop, draw people aside and set up another
altar, without finding anything wrong with the Bishop in point of piety and righteousness,
let him be deposed, on the ground that he is an office-seeker. For he is a tyrant. Let the
rest of clergymen be treated likewise, and all those who abet him. But let the laymen be
excommunicated. Let these things be done after one, and a second, and a third request of
the Bishop."
Interpretation (of Ss. Nikodemos and Agapios):
"Order sustains the coherence of both heavenly things and earthly things,
according to St. Gregory the Theologian. So good order ought to be kept everywhere as
helping coherence and preserving the established system, and especially among
ecclesiastics, who need to know their own standards, and to avoid exceeding the limits and
bounds of their own class. But as for Presbyters, and Deacons, and all clergymen they
ought to submit to their own Bishop; the Bishops, in turn, to their own Metropolitan; the
Metropolitans, to their own Patriarch. On this account the present Apostolical Canon
ordains as follows: Any presbyter that scorns his own bishop, and without knowing that the
latter is manifestly at fault either in point of piety or in point of righteousnessthat
is to say, without knowing him to be manifestly either heretical or unjustproceeds to
gather the Christians into a distinct group and to build another church, and should hold
services seperately, without the permission and approval of his bishop in so doing, on the
ground of his being an office-seeker he is to be deposed; since like a tyrant with
violence and tyranny he is trying to wrest away the authority which belongs to his bishop.
But also any other clergymen that agree with him in such apostasy must be deposed from
office too just as he must; but as for those who are laymen, let them be excommunicated.
These things, however, are to be done after the bishop three times gently and blandly
urges those who have seperated from him to forgo such a movement, and they obstinately
refuse to do so. As for those, however, who seperate from their bishop before a synodical
investigation because he himself is preaching some misbelief and heresy publicly, not only
are not subject to the above penances, but have a right to claim the honor due to Orthodox
Christians according to c. XV of the 1st & 2nd.
Canon XV of the 1st & 2nd
"The rules laid down with reference to Presbyters and Bishops and Metropolitans
are still more applicable to Patriarchs. So that in case any Presbyter or Bishop or
Metropolitan dares to secede or apostatize from the communion of his own Patriarch, and
fails to mention the latter's name in accordance with custom duly fixed and ordained, in
the divine Mystagogy, but, before a conciliar verdict has been pronounced and has passed
judgement against him, creates a schism, the holy Synod has decreed that this person shall
be held an alien to every priestly function if only he be convicted of having committed
this transgression of the law. Accordingly, these rules have been sealed and ordained as
respecting persons who under the pretext of charges against their own presidents stand
aloof, and create a schism, and disrupt the union of the Church. But as for those persons,
on the other hand, who, on account of some heresy condemned by holy Synods, or Fathers,
withdrawing themselves from communion with their president, who, that is to say, is
preaching the heresy publicly, and teaching it bareheaded in church, such persons not only
are not subject to any canonical penalty on account of their having walled themselves off
from any and all communion with the one called a Bishop before any conciliar or synodical
verdict has been rendered, but, on the contrary, they shall be deemed worthy to enjoy the
honor which befits them among Orthodox Christians. For they have defied, not Bishops, but
pseudo-bishops and pseudo-teachers; and they have not sundered the union of the Church
with any schism, but, on the contrary, have been sedulous to rescue the Church from
schisms and divisions."
Comments on the First-Second Synod found in the Life of St. Photios the Great
by the eminent Serbian scholar and Saint, Hieromonk Justin (Popovich) of Chelije (From
Saint Photios, On the Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit, trans. by Holy
Transfiguration Monastery (Studion Publishers, 1983):
Maintaining his meekness, his love for order, and the canons of the Church, St. Photios
called a second Council to convene in the Church of the Holy Apostles in the spring of
861* with the approval of Emperor Michael. This assembly later came to be known as the
First-Second Council. Many bishops, including the representatives of Pope Nicholas, were
in attendance. All confirmed the determinations of the holy Seventh Ecumenical Council,
once more condemning the iconoclast heresy, and accepted Photios as the lawful and
canonical patriarch. At this Council, seventeen holy canons were promulgated with the
purpose of bringing disobedient monks and bishops into harmony with ecclesiastical order
and tradition. The disobedient monks were expressly forbidden to desert their lawful
bishop under the excuse of the bishop's supposed sinfulness, for such brings disorder and
schism to the Church. The holy Council added that only by a conciliar decision could the
clergy reject a bishop whom they thought to be sinful. This rule was adopted in direct
response to those unreasonably strict monks who had separated themselves from their new
Patriarch and his bishops. The holy Council, however, did distinguish between unreasonable
rebellion and laudable resistance for the defense of the faith, which it encouraged. In
regard to this matter it decreed that should a bishop publicly confess some heresy already
condemned by the Holy Fathers and previous councils, one who ceases to commemorate such a
bishop even before conciliar condemnation not only is not to be censured, but should be
praised as condemning a false bishop. In so doing, moreover, he is not dividing the
Church, but struggling for the unity of the Faith (Canon Fifteen).
* The footnote reads: "This Council together with that of 869 are
considered the First-Second Council, whose canons are accepted by the Orthodox
Church."
On Obedience to the Canons
Canon I of the Second Ecumenical Synod
"Let not the Symbol of Faith be set aside
but
let it remain unchanged: and let every heresy be given over to anathema
"
Canon VII of the Third Ecumenical Synod
"Let no one be permitted to bring forward, or write
or compose a different faith besides that defined by the holy Fathers who assembled with
the Holy Spirit in the city of Nicaea. And whoever dares to compose a different faith, or
present, or offer [one] to those wishing to turn to the knowledge of the truth
let
such, if they be bishops or belong to the clergy, be alien-bishops from the episcopate,
and clerics from the clergyand if they be laymen, let them be given over to
anathema."
Canon I of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod
"We have acknowledged it as just to keep the canons
of the holy Fathers set forth at each synod till now."
Excerpt from Divine Prayers and Services of
the Catholic Orthodox Church of Christ, compiled and arranged by the Late Reverend
Seraphim Nassar (Englewood, NJ: Antiochian Archdiocese of N. America, 1979), p. 1031.
Now since the Church is one, and that oneness consists
primarily and universally of perfect agreement in Orthodox doctrines, it necessarily
follows that all those who do not conform to those Orthodox doctrines, whether by addition
or omission, or by any innovation of their own, thus changing the truth, are outside this
one Holy Church, as one may also ascertain from a review of the sixth and seventh canons
of the Second Ecumenical Council, and the first canon of St. Basil
the Great.
Canon I of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod, in Trullo
"
we decree that the faith handed down to us
by the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, the divinely chosen Apostles, and, further,
by the three hundred and eighteen holy and blessed Fathers
who assembled in Nicaea,
be preserved inviolate from innovations and changes
Likewise, we also maintain the
confession of faith proclaimed by the one hundred and fifty holy Fathers, who assembled in
this reigning city under the great Theodosius, our emperor
Likewise, we also
seal
the teaching set forth by the two hundred Godbearing Fathers, who assembled
the first time in the city of Ephesus under Theodosius, our emperor, the son of
Arcadius
"Likewise, we also confirm in Orthodox manner the
confession of faith inscribed by the six hundred and thirty divinelychosen Fathers in
the provincial city of Chalcedon under Marcian, our emperor
And further, we also
recognize as uttered by the Holy Spirit the pious utterances of the one hundred and
sixtyfive Godbearing Fathers, who assembled in this reigning city under Justinian, our
emperor of blessed memory, and we teach them to our posterity
And we bind ourselves
anew to preserve inviolably
the confession of faith of the Sixth Synod that came
together recently under our emperor, Constantine of blessed memory, in this reigning
city... Speaking briefly, we enact that the faith of all of the men who have been
glorified in the Church of God...be kept steadfastly, and that it abide until the end of
the age unshaken, together with their divinely handed down writings and dogmas... If
anyone at all does not maintain and accept the aforementioned dogmas of piety, and does
not think and preach so, but attempts to go against them: let him be anathema, according
to the decree previously enacted by the aforementioned holy and blessed Fathers, and let
him be excluded and expelled from the Christian estate as an alien."
Canon I of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod
"For those who have received the priestly dignity,
the inscribed canons and enactments serve as testimonies and directions, which we, gladly
receiving, sing together with the divinely inspired David unto the Lord, saying: In the
way of Thy testimonies have I found delight, as much as in all riches (Psalm 118:14).
Likewise, Thou hast ordained as Thy testimonies... righteousness for ever; give me
understanding and I shall live (Psalm 118:138, 144). And if the prophetic voice commands
us to preserve the testimonies of God forever, and to live in them, then it is manifest
that they abide indestructible and unshakeable. For Moses the Godseer also speaks thus:
It is not fitting to add to them, nor is it fitting to take away from them (Deuteronomy
12:32). And the divine Apostle Peter, boasting in them, cries: which things the angels
desire to look into (I Peter 1:12). Likewise the Apostle Paul also says: But though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed [literally, let him be anathema] (Galatians 1:8). Inasmuch
as this is true, and attested unto us, rejoicing over this, as one that has found great
spoil, we receive the divine canons with delight, and we maintain wholly and unshakably
the enactment of these canons set forth by the allpraised Apostles, the holy trumpets of
the Spirit, and by the six holy Ecumenical Synods, and those assembled locally to issue
such commandments, and by our holy Fathers. For they all, being enlightened by one and the
same Spirit, ordained what is beneficial. And whomever they give over to anathema, those
we also anathematize; and whomever to expulsion, those we also expel, and whomever to
excommunication, those we also excommunicate; and whomever they subject to penances, those
we likewise subject."
Eighth Proceeding of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod
Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova
et Amplissima Collectio [1960], vol. 3, p. 416). Quoted by Dr. Constantine Cavarnos
in Orthodox Tradition and Modernism, p. 37.
"If anyone breaks any ecclesiastical tradition, written or
unwritten, let him be anathema"
From the Synodicon of the Holy Spirit
Note: This is subtitled, "A confession and proclamation of the Orthodox piety of
the Christians, in which all the impieties of the heretics are overthrown and the
definitions of the Catholic Church of Christ are sustained. Through which the enemies of
the Holy Spirit are severed from the Church of Christ." This Synodicon (a
decision, statement, or tome either originating from a synod possessing conciliar
authority) is attributed to Patriarch Germanos the New (1222-1240).
"To those who scorn the venerable and holy ecumenical Synods, and who despise even more their dogmatic and canonical traditions;
and to those who say that all things were not perfectly defined and delivered by the synods, but that they left the greater part mysterious,
unclear, and untaught, ANATHEMA."
"To those who hold in contempt the sacred and divine canons of our blessed
fathers, which, by sustaining the holy Church of God and adorning the whole Christian
Church, guide to divine reverence, ANATHEMA."
"To all things innovated and enacted contrary to the Church tradition, teaching,
and institution of the holy and ever-memorable fathers, or to anything henceforth so
enacted, ANATHEMA."
The Example of St. Maximus the Confessor
From The Life of Our Holy Father St. Maximus the Confessor
The life of Saint Maximus is also
instructive for us. Saint Maximus, though only a simple monk, resisted and cut off
communion with every patriarch, metropolitan, archbishop and bishop in the East because of
their having been infected with the heresy of Monothelitism. During the first imprisonment
of the Saint, the messengers from the Ecumenical Patriarch asked him,
"To which church do you belong? To
that of Byzantium, of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, or Jerusalem? For all these churches,
together with the provinces in subjection to them, are in unity. Therefore, if you also
belong to the Catholic Church, enter into communion with us at once, lest fashioning for
yourself some new and strange pathway, you fall into that which you do not even
expect!"
To this the righteous man wisely replied,
"Christ the Lord called that Church the Catholic Church which maintains the true and
saving confession of the Faith. It was for this confession that He called Peter blessed,
and He declared that He would found His Church upon this confession. However, I wish to
know the contents of your confession, on the basis of which all churches, as you say, have
entered into communion. If it is not opposed to the truth, then neither will I be
separated from it."
The confession which they were proposing to
the Saint was not Orthodox, of course, and so he refused to comply with their coercions.
Furthermore, they were lying about the See of Rome which, in fact, had remained Orthodox.
Some time later, at his last interrogation by the Byzantine authorities, the following
dialogue took place:
The Saint said, "They [the Patriarchs
of Constantinople and Alexandria and all the other heretical bishops of the East] have
been deposed and deprived of the priesthood at the local synod which took place
recently in Rome. What Mysteries, then, can they perform? Or what spirit will descend upon
those who are ordained by them?"
"Then you alone will be saved, and all
others will perish?" they objected.
To this the Saint replied, "When all
the people in Babylon were worshipping the golden idol, the Three Holy Children did not
condemn anyone to perdition. They did not concern themselves with the doings of others,
but took care only for themselves, lest they should fall away from true piety. In
precisely the same way, when Daniel was cast into the lion's den, he did not condemn any
of those who, fulfilling the law of Darius, did not wish to pray to God, but he kept in
mind his own duty, and desired rather to die
than to sin against his conscience by transgressing the Law of God. God forbid that I
should condemn anyone or say that I alone am being saved! However, I shall sooner agree to
die than to apostatize in any way from the true Faith and thereby suffer torments of
conscience."
"But what will you do," inquired the
envoys, "when the Romans are united to the Byzantines? Yesterday, indeed, two
delegates arrived from Rome and tomorrow, the Lord's day, they will communicate the Holy
Mysteries with the Patriarch. "
The Saint replied, "Even if the whole universe
holds communion with the Patriarch, I will not communicate with him. For I know from the
writings of the holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares that even the angels would be
anathema if they should begin to preach another Gospel, introducing some new
teaching."
As history has demonstrated, Saint Maximuswho
was only a simple monk and not even ordainedand his two disciples were the ones who
were Orthodox, and all those illustrious, famous and influential Patriarchs and
Metropolitans whom the Saint had written against were the ones who were in heresy. When
the Sixth Ecumenical Synod was finally convened, among those condemned for heresy were
four Patriarchs of Constantinople, one Pope of Rome, one Patriarch of Alexandria, two
Patriarchs of Antioch and a multitude of other Metropolitans, Archbishops and Bishops.
During all those years, that one simple monk was right, and all those notable
bishops were wrong. (pp. 60-62)
Other quotes from The Life
Those who first defended and dissmeninated the heresy of the
Monothelites were Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria (630-643), and Sergius, Patriarch of
Constantinople (610-638), and even the Emperor Heraclius himself, who was drawn into this
heresy by them. Summoning local synodsCyrus in Alexandria and Sergius in Constantinoplethey confirmed this
heresy, distributed their decrees everywhere, and corrupted the entire East. Saint
Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, alone opposed this heresy and did not
accept the false teaching. Saint Maximus, seeing that the heresy had penetrated even
into the royal palace and had corrupted the Emperor himself, began to fear lest he
also should be corrupted, following the example of the many... He set out for Rome,
preferring to live with Orthodox men who firmly preserved the Faith. (p. 2, 4,
emphases mine).
[At the urging of Saint Maximus the] Pope convened his bishops, one
hundred and five in number, with Abba Maximus in their midst. This was the Lateran Council
(A.D. 649): it reviewed the errors of Cyrus, Sergius, Pyrrhus, and Paul, and also the
Emperor's heretical confession. The false teachings were anathematized, and the Pope wrote
to the faithful in all places, confirming them in their Orthodoxy, explaining the errors
of the heretics and warning them in every way to be on their guard against them. (p. 7)
Then Theodosius began to speak, "The Emperor and the Patriarch wish
first of all to find out from you why you withdraw yourself from communion with the Throne
of Constantinople."
Saint Maximus replied, "You know the innovations which were
introduced twenty-one years ago in Alexandria, when Cyrus, the former Patriarch of that
city, made public the Nine Chapters which had been approved and confirmed by
the Throne of Constantinople. There have also been other alterations and
additionsthe Ekthesis and the Typosdistorting the definitions of
the Synods. These
innovations were made by the foremost representatives of the Church of
Byzantium, Sergius, Pyrrhus, and Paul, and they are known to all the churches.
This is the reason why I, your servant, will not enter into communion with the Church of
Constantinople. Let these offenses, introduced by the aforementioned men into the Church,
be removed; let those who have introduced them be deposed; and then the path to salvation
will be cleared of all barriers, and you will walk on the smooth path of the Gospel,
cleansed of all heresy! When I see the Church of Constantinople as she was formerly, then
I will enter into communion with her without any exhortation on the part of men. But
while there are heretical temptations in her, and while heretics are her bishops, no
word or deed will convince me ever to enter into communion with her." (19-20,
emphases mine)
To this Abba Maximus replied, "To keep silence about a word means
to deny it, as the Holy Spirit says through the Prophet, 'There are no tongues nor words
in which their voices are not heard' (Ps. 18:3). Therefore, if some word is not said, then
it is not a word at all4."
Then Troilus said, "Have whatever faith you please in your heart;
nobody forbids you."
Saint Maximus objected: "But complete salvation depends not on the
faith of the heart alone, but also upon confessing it, for the Lord said, 'Whosoever shall
deny Me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven' (Matt.
10:33). Also, the divine Apostle teaches: 'For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation' (Rom. 10:10). If,
then, God and the divine Prophets and Apostles command that they mystery of faith be
confessed in words and with the tongue, and this mystery of faith brings salvation to the
whole world, then people must not be forced to keep silence with regard to confession,
lest the salvation of people be hindered." (p. 29)
The Example of St. Mark of Ephesus
He addressed the faithful on the day of his repose. This is an excerpt:
Concerning the Patriarch I shall say
this, lest it should perhaps occur to him to show me a certain respect at the
burial of this my humble body, or to send to my grave any of his hierarchs or
clergy or in general any of those in communion with him in order to take part in
prayer or to join the priests invited to it from amongst us, thinking that at
some time, or perhaps secretly, I had allowed communion with him. And lest my
silence give occasion to those who do not know my views well and fully to
suspect some kind of conciliation, I hereby state and testify before the many
worthy men here present that I do not desire, in any manner and absolutely, and
do not accept communion with him or with those who are with him, not in this
life nor after my death, just as (I accept) neither the Union nor Latin dogmas,
which he and his adherents have accepted, and for the enforcement of which he
has occupied this presiding place, with the aim of overturning the true dogmas
of the Church. I am absolutely convinced that the farther I stand from him and
those like him, the nearer I am to God and all the saints, and to the degree
that I separate myself from them am in union with the Truth and with the Holy
Fathers, the Theologians of the Church; and I am likewise convinced that those
who count themselves with them stand far away from the Truth and from the
blessed Teachers of the Church. And for this reason I say: just as in the course
of my whole life I was separated from them, so at the time of my departure, yea
and after my death, I turn away from intercourse and communion with them and vow
and command that none (of them) shall approach either my burial or my grave, and
likewise anyone else from our side, with the aim of attempting to join and
concelebrate in our Divine services; for this would be to mix what cannot be
mixed. But it befits them to be absolutely separated from us until such time as
God shall grant correction and peace to His Church. [as quoted in The
Orthodox Word, June-July, 1967, pp. 103ff.]
See also: St. Mark of Ephesus
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