Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has repeatedly visited Russia. But in 2018, Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople was severed. What is the Church of the New Rome - the Ecumenical Patriarchate?
A few words about the historical role of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its position in the contemporary Orthodox world.
The historical role of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
The creation of a Christian community and an episcopal see in Constantinople (before 330 AD - Byzantium) dates back to apostolic times. It is inextricably linked with the activities of the holy apostles Andrew the First-Called and Stachy (the latter, according to legend, became the first bishop of the city, whose Εκκλησία continuously increased in the first three centuries of Christianity). However, the flourishing of the Church of Constantinople and its acquisition of world-historical significance are associated with the conversion to Christ of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great (305-337) and the creation by him shortly after the First Ecumenical (Nicene) Council (325) of the second capital of the Christianizing empire - New Rome, which later received the name of its sovereign founder.
A little more than 50 years later, at the Second Ecumenical Council (381), the bishop of New Rome received second place in diptychs among all the bishops of the Christian world, yielding since then in the primacy of honor only to the bishop of Ancient Rome (canon 3 of the aforementioned Council). It is worth noting that the Primate of the Church of Constantinople during the period of the Council was one of the greatest fathers and teachers of the Church - St. Gregory the Theologian.
Soon after the final division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern parts in Constantinople, another equally angelic father and teacher of the Church shone with an unfading light - St. John Chrysostom, who occupied the chair of the archbishop in 397-404. In his writings, this great ecumenical teacher and saint outlined the true, enduring ideals of the life of Christian society and formed the unchanging foundations of the social activity of the Orthodox Church.
Unfortunately, in the first half of the 5th century, the Church of New Rome was desecrated by the Heretic Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius (428-431), who was overthrown and anathematized at the Third Ecumenical (Ephesus) Council (431). However, already the Fourth Ecumenical (Chalcedon) Council restored and expanded the rights and advantages of the Church of Constantinople. By its 28th canon, this Council formed the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which included the dioceses of Thrace, Asia and Pontus (that is, most of the territory of Asia Minor and the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula). In the middle of the 6th century, under the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565), the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553) was held in Constantinople. At the end of the 6th century, under the outstanding canonist, St. John IV the Faster (582-595), the primates of Constantinople for the first time began to use the title "Ecumenical (Οικουμενικός) Patriarch" (at the same time, historically, their status as bishops of the capital of the Christian empire was considered the basis for such a title - ecumene).
In the 7th century, the see of Constantinople, through the efforts of the crafty enemy of our salvation, again became a source of heresy and church troubles. Patriarch Sergius I (610-638) became the founder of the heresy of Monothelitism, and his heretical successors staged a real persecution of the defenders of Orthodoxy - Saint Martin the Pope of Rome and Saint Maximus the Confessor, who were eventually martyred by heretics. By the grace of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681) convened in Constantinople under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine IV Pogonates (668-685) destroyed the Monothelite heresy, condemned, excommunicated and anathematized Patriarch Sergius and all his followers (including the Patriarchs of Constantinople Pyrrhus and Paul II, as well as Pope Honorius I).
Saint Maxim the Confessor
Territories of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
In the 8th century, the patriarchal throne of Constantinople was occupied for a long time by supporters of the iconoclastic heresy, forcibly implanted by the emperors of the Isaurian dynasty. It was only through the efforts of the holy Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople (784-806) that the Seventh Ecumenical Council was able to stop the heresy of iconoclasm and anathematize its founders, the Byzantine emperors Leo the Isaurian (717-741) and Constantine Copronymus (741-775). It is also worth noting that in the 8th century the western part of the Balkan Peninsula (dioceses of Illyricum) was included in the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In the 9th century, the most prominent patriarch of Constantinople was the "new Chrysostom", St. Photius the Great (858-867, 877-886). It was under him that the Orthodox Church for the first time condemned the most important errors of the heresy of papism: the doctrine of the descent of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son (the doctrine of the “filioque”), which changes the Creed, and the doctrine of the sole primacy of the Roman pope in the Church and of primacy ( superiority) of the pope over church councils.
The time of the patriarchate of St. Photius was the time of the most active Orthodox Church mission in the entire history of Byzantium, which resulted not only in the baptism and conversion to Orthodoxy of the peoples of Bulgaria, the Serbian lands and the Great Moravian state (the latter covered the territories of modern Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), but also the first ( the so-called "Askold's") the baptism of Russia (which took place shortly after 861) and the formation of the beginnings of the Russian Church. It was the representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople - the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles missionaries, enlighteners of the Slavs Cyril and Methodius - who defeated the so-called "trilingual heresy" (the supporter of which claimed that there were some "sacred" languages, in which only one should pray to God).
Finally, like St. John Chrysostom, St. Photius in his writings actively preached the social ideal of Orthodox Christian society (and even compiled for the empire a code of laws imbued with Christian values, the Epanagoge). It is not surprising that, like John Chrysostom, Saint Photius was persecuted. However, if the ideas of St. John Chrysostom, despite persecution during his lifetime, after his death were nevertheless officially recognized by the imperial authorities, then the ideas of St. Photius, which were disseminated during his lifetime, were rejected shortly after his death (thus, accepted shortly before the death of St. Epanagoge and not entered into force).
In the 10th century, the Asia Minor region of Isauria (924) was included in the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, after which the entire territory of Asia Minor (except Cilicia) entered the canonical jurisdiction of New Rome. At the same time, in 919-927, after the establishment of the patriarchate in Bulgaria, under the omophorion of the latter, almost the entire northern part of the Balkans (the modern territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, part of the territory of Romania, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina). However, the most important event in the church history of the 10th century, without a doubt, was the second Baptism of Russia, carried out in 988 by the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (978-1015). Representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Church, which until 1448 was in the closest canonical connection with the Tsaregrad Patriarchal Throne.
In 1054, with the separation of the Western (Roman) Church from the fullness of Orthodoxy, the Patriarch of Constantinople becomes the first in honor among all Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches. At the same time, with the beginning of the era of the Crusades at the end of the 11th century and the temporary expulsion from their thrones of the Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem, the bishop of New Rome began to acquire an exclusive church status for himself, striving to establish certain forms of canonical superiority of Constantinople over other autocephalous Churches and even to the abolition of some of them (in particular, the Bulgarian one). However, the fall in 1204 under the blows of the Crusaders of the capital of Byzantium and the forced relocation of the patriarchal residence to Nicaea (where the patriarchs resided from 1207 to 1261) prompted the Ecumenical Patriarchate to agree to the restoration of the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church and the granting of autocephaly to the Serbian Church.
The recapture of Constantinople from the crusaders (1261) did not, in fact, improve, but rather worsened, the real situation of the Church of Constantinople. Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (1259-1282) headed for union with Rome, with the help of anti-canonical measures, handed over the reins of power in the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Uniates and perpetrated cruel persecution of supporters of Orthodoxy, unprecedented since the bloody iconoclastic repressions. In particular, with the sanction of the Uniate Patriarch John XI Vekka (1275 - 1282), there was an unparalleled defeat by the Byzantine Christian (!) Army of the monasteries of Mount Athos (during which a considerable number of Athos monks, refusing to accept the union, shone in the feat of martyrdom). After the death of the anathematized Michael Palaiologos at the Blachernae Council in 1285, the Church of Constantinople unanimously condemned both the union and the dogma of the “filioque” (adopted 11 years earlier by the Western Church at the Council in Lyon).
In the middle of the 14th century, at the “Palamite Councils” held in Constantinople, the Orthodox dogmas on the difference between the essence and energy of the Godhead were officially confirmed, which are the pinnacles of truly Christian knowledge of God. It is to the Patriarchate of Constantinople that the entire Orthodox world owes the rooting in our Church of these saving pillars of the Orthodox Faith. However, soon after the triumphant establishment of Palamism, the flock of the Ecumenical Patriarchate again faced the danger of a union with heretics. Carried away by the addition of a foreign flock (at the end of the XIV century, the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church was again liquidated), the hierarchs of the Church of Constantinople at the same time exposed their own flock to great spiritual danger. The weakening imperial government of the Byzantine Empire, which was dying under the blows of the Ottomans, in the first half of the 15th century again tried to impose subordination to the Pope of Rome on the Orthodox Church. At the Ferrara-Florence Council (1438-1445), all the clergy and laity of the Patriarchate of Constantinople invited to its meetings (except for the unshakable fighter against the heresy of St. Mark of Ephesus) signed an act of union with Rome. Under these conditions, the Russian Orthodox Church, in pursuance of Canon 15 of the Holy Twofold Council, broke off its canonical connection with the Patriarchal See of Constantinople and became an autocephalous Local Church, independently electing its Primate.
Saint Mark of Ephesus
In 1453, after the fall of Constantinople and the end of the existence of the Byzantine Empire (to which papal Rome never provided the help promised against the Ottomans), the Church of Constantinople, headed by St. she threw off the bonds of the union imposed by heretics. Moreover, soon after that, the Patriarch of Constantinople became the civil head (“millet-bashi”) of all Orthodox Christians living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. According to the words of contemporaries of the events described, “The patriarch sat down like a Caesar on the throne of the Basils” (that is, the Byzantine emperors). From the beginning of the 16th century, other Eastern patriarchs (Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), in accordance with Ottoman laws, fell into a subordinate position for four long centuries to persons occupying the Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople. Taking advantage of this kind of situation, many of the latter allowed tragic abuses of their power for the Church. Thus, Patriarch Cyril I Lucaris (1620-1623, 1623-1633, 1633-1634, 1634-1635, 1635-1638), as part of a polemic with papal Rome, tried to impose the Protestant doctrine on the Orthodox Church, and Patriarch Cyril V (1748-1751 , 1752-1757) by his decision changed the practice of accepting Roman Catholics into Orthodoxy, departing from the requirements established for this practice by the Council of 1484. In addition, in the middle of the 18th century, at the initiative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Ottomans liquidated the Pech (Serbian) Patriarchy and the Orchid Autocephalous Archdiocese, which provided care for the Macedonian flock (created back in the time of St. Justinian the Great).
However, one should not at all think that the life of the Primates of the Church of Constantinople - the ethnarchs of all Eastern Christians - was "truly royal" under Ottoman domination. For many of them, she was truly a confessor, and even a martyr. Appointed and dismissed at the arbitrariness of the sultan and his hangers-on, the patriarchs, not only by their position, but also by their lives, were responsible for the obedience of the oppressed, oppressed, robbed, humiliated and destroyed Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire. So, after the beginning of the Greek uprising of 1821, on the orders of the Sultan's government, fanatics belonging to non-Christian Abrahamic religions, on Easter Day, 76-year-old elder Patriarch Gregory V (1797 - 1798, 1806 -1808, 1818 - 1821) were brutally murdered. , who became not only a holy martyr, but also a martyr for the people (εθνομάρτυς).
Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church
Oppressed by the Ottoman sultans (who also bore the title of “caliph of all Muslims”), the Church of Constantinople sought support primarily from the “Third Rome”, that is, from the Russian state and the Russian Church (it was the desire to gain such support that prompted the consent of Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople to establish in 1589 the Patriarchate in Russia). However, soon after the aforementioned martyrdom of Hieromartyr Gregory (Angelopoulos), the hierarchs of Constantinople made an attempt to rely on the Orthodox peoples of the Balkan Peninsula as well. It was at that time that the District Council Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs of 1848, the Orthodox people (whose representatives were integrated into the highest bodies of church administration of all the Eastern Patriarchates during the Ottoman period) was solemnly proclaimed the guardian of truth in the Church. At the same time, the Church of Greece liberated from the Ottoman yoke (the Greek Church) received autocephaly. However, already in the second half of the 19th century, the hierarchs of Constantinople refused to recognize the restoration of the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church (having come to terms with it only in the middle of the 20th century). Similar problems with recognition from Constantinople were also experienced by the Orthodox Patriarchates of Georgia and Romania. However, in fairness, it should be noted that the restoration of a single autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church at the end of the second decade of the last century did not meet with any objections from Constantinople.
A new, first in the 20th century, dramatic page in the history of the Church of Constantinople was associated with the stay on Her Patriarchal Throne of Meletios IV(Metaksakis), who occupied the chair of the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1921-1923. In 1922, he abolished the autonomy of the Greek Archdiocese in the United States, which provoked a division in both American and Greek Orthodoxy, and in 1923, by convening a "Pan-Orthodox Congress" (from representatives of only five Local Orthodox Churches), he led through this unforeseen the canonical structure of the Orthodox Church, the organ decided to change the liturgical style, which provoked church turmoil, which subsequently gave rise to the so-called. "Old Style" split. Finally, in the same year, he received schismatic anti-church groups in Estonia under the omophorion of Constantinople. But the most fatal mistake of Meletius IV there was support for the slogans of "militant Hellenism", that after Turkey's victory in the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1922. and the conclusion of the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 became one of the additional arguments for justifying the expulsion from the territory of Asia Minor of the almost two million Greek-speaking flock of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
As a result of all this, after the departure of Meletios from the see, almost a hundred thousand Orthodox Greek community of Constantinople (Istanbul) became almost the only support of the Ecumenical Patriarchal Throne on its canonical territory. However, the anti-Greek pogroms of the 1950s led to the fact that the Orthodox flock of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey, as a result of mass emigration to date, with a few exceptions, has been reduced to several thousand Greeks living in the Phanar quarter of Constantinople, as well as on the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara and on the islands of Imvros and Tenedos in the Turkish Aegean. Under these conditions, Patriarch Athenagoras I (1949-1972) turned for help and support to Western countries, on whose lands, mainly in the United States, the vast majority of the almost seven million (at that time) flock of the Church of Constantinople already lived. Among the measures taken to gain this support was the lifting of the anathemas imposed on the representatives of the Western Church who broke away from Orthodoxy in 1054 by Patriarch Michael I Kirularius (1033-1058). These measures (which, however, did not mean the abolition of conciliar decisions condemning the heretical errors of Western Christians), however, could not alleviate the situation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which was dealt a new blow by the decision taken by the Turkish authorities in 1971 to close the Theological Academy on the island of Halki. Shortly after the implementation of this decision by Turkey, Patriarch Athenagoras I died.
Primate of the Church of Constantinople - Patriarch Bartholomew
The current Primate of the Church of Constantinople, His Holiness Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, was born in 1940 on the island of Imvros, was consecrated bishop in 1973, and ascended the Patriarchal throne on November 2, 1991. The canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Constantinople during the period of its administration of the Church essentially did not change and still includes the territory of almost all of Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Crete (where a semi-autonomous Cretan Church exists under the omophorion of Constantinople), the Dodecanese Islands, Mount Athos (also enjoying certain ecclesiastical independence), as well as Finland (the small Orthodox Church in this country enjoys canonical autonomy). In addition, the Church of Constantinople also claims certain canonical rights in the administration of the so-called "new territories" - the dioceses of Northern Greece, annexed to the main territory of the country after the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. and transferred by Constantinople in 1928 to the control of the Greek Church. Such claims (as well as the claims of the Church of Constantinople to the canonical subordination of the entire Orthodox diaspora to it, which have no canonical grounds at all), of course, do not find the positive response expected by some Constantinople hierarchs from other Orthodox Local Churches. However, they can be understood based on the fact that the vast majority of the flock of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is precisely the flock of the diaspora (which, however, still constitutes a minority among the Orthodox diaspora as a whole). The latter also to a certain extent explains the breadth of the ecumenical activity of Patriarch Bartholomew I, who seeks to objectify new, non-trivial areas of inter-Christian and, more broadly, inter-religious dialogue in the rapidly globalizing modern world.
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
The certificate was prepared by Balytnikov Vadim Vladimirovich
Some historical (including hagiographic and iconographic data) testify to the veneration of this emperor in Byzantium along with Constantine the Great, who was named after him.
Interestingly, it was this heretic patriarch who, with his “canonical answers” (about the inadmissibility of Christians drinking koumiss, etc.), actually thwarted all the efforts of the Russian Church to carry out a Christian mission among the nomadic peoples of the Golden Horde.
As a result, almost all Orthodox episcopal sees in Turkey became titular, and the participation of the laity in the implementation of church administration at the level of the Patriarchate of Constantinople ceased.
Similarly, attempts to extend its ecclesiastical jurisdiction to a number of states (China, Ukraine, Estonia) that are currently part of the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate do not find support outside the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Reference: In September 2018, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the Synax with a statement about the interference of the Russian Church in the affairs of the Kiev Metropolis. In response to this, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at an extraordinary meeting decided: “1. Suspend the prayer commemoration of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the service. 2. Suspend concelebration with the hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. 3. Suspend the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in all Episcopal assemblies, theological dialogues, multilateral commissions and other structures chaired or co-chaired by representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. 4. To accept the statement of the Holy Synod in connection with the anti-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine.” The Russian Orthodox Church has severed Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Orthodoxy is one of the main offshoots in Christianity, officially taking shape in the territory. Byzantium after the split of the church in 1054. Eastern and. Western. Has millions of followers, mostly in the countries of nah. Eastern. Europe,. Middle. East. Received in IV in the status of the state religion, having settled it from the imperial power (the Catholic Church distances itself from political power, trying to stay on the bottom of it), made it a zealous supporter of traditional dogma and cult. Unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy does not have a single church center. If the Catholic Church is an international interpretation of canons, rites and holidays, then in Orthodoxy national features dominate: each of the churches produces its own tradition, has its own holidays. For example, for the Ukrainian church. The Intercession is a great holiday, in the Russian church calendar it is nothing special, in the Georgian one it does not exist at all.
At the heart of the Orthodox doctrine -. Sacred. Scripture (Bible). Saint. Translation (decision of the ecumenical and local councils of the 5th-8th centuries, the work of the church fathers). Creed (recognition of the trinity. God, the incarnation of the atoning sacrifice. Jesus. Christ, afterlife veneration, also the recognition of the church as an intermediary between. God and people). Visiting temples, praying, observing fasts, sacraments are of particular importance for Orthodox believers. A special role belongs to the cult of saints, church holidays, and wearing icons. Orthodoxy recognizes baptism, communion, chrismation, confession, marriage, priesthood. The consecration of the oil and divine services object to Catholic dogmas about the filioque, purgatory, and infallibility. Popes. Rimsky and Ita in.
The first Orthodox centers, which subsequently began to control the activities of believers in large areas, became independent church formations. With decay. The Roman Empire they formed in. Alexandra her. Antioch,. Constantinople and. Jerusalem. The centrifugal forces acting in Byzantium, accelerated the weakening of interdependence between these territories, as a result of which each church center became independent in the Orthodox world. Over time, Orthodox churches arose in other regions, acquiring independence in religious and church life.
There are fifteen autocephalous and several autonomous Orthodox churches in the modern world. According to the traditional list (diptych), each of them occupies a precisely defined place in the structure. Ecumenical Orthodoxy. In addition to them, there are other Orthodox church formations that, for certain reasons, are not included in this list.
Churches of Universal Orthodoxy
Ecumenical Orthodoxy encompasses all Orthodox Churches that unswervingly adhere to the principles of dogma, the norms of church canons, have much in common in the ritual and cult sphere, while maintaining certain specifics regarding the language of worship, worship and rituals, architecture, structure and appearance of the clergy. The formation of autocephalous churches was caused by their desire to free themselves from guardianship. Constantine of the Polish emperor and patriarch. They were the first to achieve autocephaly. Constantinople,. Antioch,. Alexandria and. Jerusalem Orthodox churches, which were then in the eastern part. Roman Empire (IV vt.).
Orthodox Church of Constantinople. Traditionally, it takes the first place in the structure. Universal Orthodoxy. According to the decision. Second. Ecumenical. Cathedral (Constantinople, 381). The bishop of Constantinople took second place in "honor" among Christian bishops after. Rimsky. In the Orthodox world, and now he is considered "the first among equals among equals."
The see of Constantinople arose after its foundation by the emperor. Constantine. And a new capital. Roman Empire on the site of an Asia Minor town. Byzantium (second quarter of the 4th century)
Yielding authority to other Christian centers, she strengthened her position due to the fact that from 330 c. Constantinople was the capital. Roman Empire. At the time of the fourth (Kydonian Hulk). Ecumenical Council (451) Bishop. Constantinople already possessed the patriarchal dignity. Positions were especially strengthened. Constantinople after the fall in the 7th century. Alexandria,. Antioch t a. Jerusalem churches due to the conquest of their territories by the Arabs. Thanks to the efforts of the missionaries, the Byzantine version of Christianity, and hence the influence. Constantinople extended to. Eastern and. Southeast on. European Europe.
However, at the end of XI in position. The Church of Constantinople in the Orthodox world began to weaken. First, as a result of oppression by Western Christians, when in 1240 these crusaders took possession of Constantinople. And after the conquest. Byzantium by the Ottoman Turks, the position of the church was even more complicated since then it was forced to be in a Muslim environment, caring primarily about self-preservation. Only in 1923, after the conclusion of an agreement on Greek-Turkish friendship, its situation was normalized and lost.
time. The Church of Constantinople unites up to 65 thousand believers. In the territory. Turkey, it has 6 dioceses, in countries. Western. Europe,. Asia,. Northern and. South. America,. Australia - 23, as well as 10 people and 2 women's monasteries. Photos of the clergy, church leaders and theologians are being prepared. Higher theological school in Brooklyn and the academy Harrison (USA). to jurisdiction. The Church of Constantinople also belonged to. Finnish Autonomous Orthodox Church. Cretan Orthodox Church and Mt. Athos in Greek.
It has been headed by a patriarch since 451, whose power does not extend to the leaders of other Orthodox churches. They act under the patriarch. Sacred. Synod and working commissions. The official printed organ is the journal "Orthodoxy"
Included in. World. Council. churches. Often between her and Discussions arise in the Russian Orthodox Church regarding reluctance. Moscow Patriarchate to grant autocephaly or autonomy to the national churches existing in it.
Alexandrian Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest churches and is considered the birthplace of monasticism. The beginning of its history reaches in the II century, when c. Egypt founded an episcopal see. As is the head. K. Constantinople, primate. Alexandrian Orthodox Church at the time IV. The Ecumenical Council had a patriarchal title. Its historical development is not much different from other Orthodox churches. On the move. In the 5th century, Christians living in Egypt, divided into Orthodox and Monophysites (Copts). At the end of the first half of the 7th century, the territory inhabited by believers belonging to the Patriarch of Alexandria was conquered by the Arabs, and in the 16th century by the Ottoman Turks. This fettered the activity of the church, weakened its influence in the Christian world (in the middle of the 19th century, it united less than 2 thousand believers).
time. The Church of Alexandria has up to 30 thousand believers, its jurisdiction extends to the entire African continent. V. Egypt has 5 dioceses, up to 50 churches, outside - 9 dioceses, more than 100 churches. Since 19956 in Odessa has a courtyard with a temple. Trinity in the church belong to 3 monastery,. Higher Theological and Pedagogical Seminary, several schools, a charitable society. Library based. Patriarchate of Alexandria p racue. Institute of Oriental Studies. The official printed organ is the Pantenosuot;Pantenos magazine.
The primate of Alexandria has a title. His Beatitude. Dads. Patriarch. Alexandria and all. Africa. His residence is located in Alexandria. At. The patriarch is active. The Holy Synod, which includes all the ruling bishops. Refers to the World. Council. Churches.
Antiochian Orthodox Church. Its name comes from the former capital. Syria m. Antioch - at one time an outstanding center of Christian theology, the place of the secret cathedrals of the first Christians. After. Cathedral of Chalcedon (451) Bishop. Antioch, along with the bishops of other Christian centers. East received the title of patriarch.
Historical path. The Church of Antioch is marked by turbulent events that have negatively affected its position in the Orthodox world. In the 5th century, it separated from it. Chaldean church, in the VI century - Copts (monofizita). From the 7th to the 10th century Antioch was owned by the Arabs, and in the 11th-13th centuries it fell under the yoke of the crusaders. Another blow was dealt to it in the 13th century by the Egyptian Mamluks (warriors-slaves of Turkic and Caucasian origin, of which the guard of the Egyptian sultans consisted), and in the 16th century the Turks enslaved. That's when the name disappeared. Antioch, but the name appeared. Antakya. And before that, the patriarchal residence was moved to. D amask to. Damascus.
Constant oppression and poverty. The church of Antioch led to the fact that for several centuries it was the object of pressure from outside. Constantinople and. Jerusalem Patriarchates. Only at the end of XI IX in her position began to improve. Now. The Church of Antioch has 22 dioceses: 6 - c. Syria, 6 - c. Lebanon, 1 - c. Iraq, 3 - c. Turkey, 6 - on. the American continent, up to 400 temples, 20 monasteries,. Belmentsky theological academy (near metro station Tripoli), a seminary and several colleges. Issues 6 magazines and bulletins. The official organ is the magazine "An-Nakhrt; An-Nakhra".
The patriarch who heads the church has a title. His Beatitude. Patriarch. Great. Antioch and everything. East. His residence is in the capital. Syria -. Damascus. At. The patriarch is active. The Holy Synod, which includes the ruling bishops. Antiochian Orthodox Church is a member. World. Council. Churches.
Jerusalem Orthodox Church. She is considered the mother of all Christian churches, because her jurisdiction is extended in the area where Christianity originated. Since ancient times, n%. The Jerusalem church was laid on boviazki to preserve the places of worship of Christians. For this purpose, 326 r was created. Svyatogrobsky. Brotherhood.
By the XVI, the Orthodox were the absolute rulers of Christian shrines, until the influence of Catholics and representatives of other Christian churches spread over them at the present time in the main shrine of Christians - the temple. C. Resurrection - Orthodox, Catholics, Copts, Virmeno-Gregorians, etc. come. However, according to tradition, only a representative can be the rector of the temple. Jerusalem church. Except the temple. Resurrection, on the territory of the Orthodox monastery of St. The tomb, owned by the brotherhood, are other Christian shrines. The most important among them is the mountain. Calvary and. Coffin. Lord. There is also a residence here. Patriarch, who has the title of st. His Beatitude. Patriarch. Saint. Grad. Jerusalem and all. Palestine
At. The patriarch is active. The synod, which includes all the bishops and several archimandrites: there cannot be more than 18. The church has two metropolias and one archdiocese, 23 churches, 22 male and 5 female monasteries. The Sinai archdiocese, which has an autonomous status and significant independence from the supreme power, is its center. Monastery of St. Catherine, famous for its library of manuscripts and the most historical monuments. The abbot of the monastery has the episcopal rank and the title of archbishop. Under his tutelage are 15 households. Egypt. Turkey,. Greece,. Lebanon and pas. Cyprus. Total. The Jerusalem church has over 50,000 believers. Official publication - magazine "New. Zion" Subject. World. Council. Church. For the sake of. Churches.
Georgian Orthodox Church. It began its history in the 4th century. The process of active Christianization of the Georgian population, and subsequently the constitution of the Orthodox Church, is associated with the names of St. Nina and the king. Miriana. Already at the beginning of the 4th century in the central part. Georgia -. Christianity was the state religion of Kartli.
In V the archbishop of the church was subordinate. Patriarchate of Antioch. political association. Georgia in 487 as king. Vakhtang. And it was accompanied by the proclamation of autocephaly. Georgian Orthodox Church. The chief next to her was the Catholicos, whose chair was located in the then capital - m. Mtskheta. From the ninth to the eighteenth century Several Catholicoses acted in Georgia at the same time, but he was always the main one among them. Mtskheta. The flight of many cataclysms shook the country and tangibly affected the life of the church. This was manifested not only in the loss of its centralized control, but also in attempts to introduce fire worship - serving God in the fire (VI-VII centuries) and Islam (XVI-XVIII centuries), in the repeated destruction of Orthodox shrines and the oppression of Orthodox believers by the conquerors-warriors.
According to. Treaty of St. George in 1783, Georgia was included. Russian Empire, a. The Georgian Orthodox Church was subjugated. Holy Synod. The Russian Orthodox Church's head of state is the title of member of the synod. Over time, the position of the Catholicos was abolished, since in 1811 Gruzno was formed on the territory. Georgian exarchate. Only after. During the February (1917) revolution, the local clergy revoked the autocephaly of their church. The Moscow Patriarchate recognized autocephaly. Georgian Orthodox Church only in 1943-1943 p.
Now the church has 15 dioceses, uniting up to 300 communities. The clergy are trained by the Seminary and the Theological Academy (Mtskheta). The management of the church is catholicos with the title. Holy and. His Beatitude. He is. Patriarch of all ie. Georgia,. Archbishop. Mtskheta and. Tbilisi. It works with him. Holy Synod of all the ruling bishops and the patriarchal vicar (deputy). The official printed organ is "Jvari. Vazisa" ("Cross wine. City vines"). Refers to the World. Council. Churchdo. All-worldly. For the sake of. Churches.
Serbian Orthodox Church. Its history goes back to the 9th century, when, at the request of secular rulers, Greek priests were sent to her. Education. Serbian diocese dates back to the last quarter of the 9th century. In 1219 p. The Serbian Church was recognized as autocephalous, and since 1346 - as a patriarchy. However, it soon fell into disrepair, since at the end of the XIV century. Serbia came under the rule of the Turks. The Serbian Church was subjugated. Patriarch of Constantinople until 1557, having existed independently in the structure. Ecumenical Orthodoxy for another two centuries, it again falls into dependence on. Constantinople as a metropolis. Only in 1879 did he regain his autocephalous autocephaly.
As well as. Serbian Orthodox Church on the territory of the former. Yugoslavia, there were other Orthodox churches: c. Montenegro,. Bosnia,. Herzegovina and. Macedonia. After formation in 1918 p. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes begins the formation of a unified one. Serbian Orthodox Church, which ended in May 1919, and the next year the patriarchate was restored. In years. During the Second World War, the Serbian Orthodox Church adhered to a consistent anti-fascist line.
The instability of the political union of the peoples that were part of. Yugoslavia, in the post-war years also affected the affairs of the church. In the 50s of the XX century, an autonomous one arose in its composition. Macedonian. Orthodox. Churches va, proclaimed itself in 1967 autocephalous.
Serbian Orthodox Church on the territory of the former. Yugoslavia had 21 dioceses c. Yugoslavia and 7 outside it, almost 2.3 thousand churches, more than 1.5 thousand priests, 180 monasteries and up to 8 million believers. Priests are trained by the theological faculty. Belgrade University and four seminaries.
Leads the church. Patriarch. Serbian, archbishop. Pech, Metropolitan. Belgrade-Karlovatsky. His residence in Belgrade. Supreme ecclesiastical authority -. Synod of Bishops, consisting of the Patriarch and four of their diocesan bishops. The official printed organ - the magazine "Glasnik" is a member. World. Council. Church. For the sake of. Churches.
Romanian Orthodox Church. This is one of the largest Orthodox churches, uniting almost 16 million believers. Its history is connected with foreign enslavement and dependence on. Patriarch of Constantinople Rhatta.
Christianity in modern territory. Romania arose in the 5th century, and in the 14th century there were two metropolises here. Autocephalous. The Romanian Orthodox Church became only in 1865 due to the unification of the principalities. Wallachia and. Moldova, which ended in 1862 with the formation. Romanian state. But. The Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized autocephaly only 20 years later. Since 1919. Romanian. The church has the status of a patriarchy, and its head has a title. His Beatitude. Patriarch of all. Romania, viceroy. Caesarea. Cappadocia, Metropolitan. Ungro-Walachian, archbishop. Bucharest. His residence is located in Bucharest. It works under the patriarch. The Holy Synod of all bishops, which meets once a year, as well as a permanent synod, consisting only of the Metropolitan Metropolitan.
According to the church charter and councils of the rightful tradition, national church assemblies operate, consisting of members of the synod and representatives of the clergy and laity elected by believers from all dioceses. The highest administrative and executive body of the church is elected for a four-year term. National Church Assemblies. The National Church Council, which includes three representatives of the clergy and six laity.
In the territory. The Romanian Church has 13 dioceses, united in 5 metropolias, its jurisdiction extends to Orthodox Romanians living in the countries. Western. Europe,. Northern and. South. America,. austro rally i. New. Zealand. Structural divisions with different status USA,. Hungary and the former. Yugoslavia. The church has more than 8 thousand churches, 133 monasteries. The official printed organs are the magazines "Romanian Rights of the Orthodox Church", "Orthodoxy" and "Theological Studies" in addition to religious ones. The Romanian Orthodox Church also performs state-political functions, since it is not legally separated from the state. Is a member. World. Council. Churches. Є a member. All-worldly. For the sake of. Churches.
Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Christianity in modern territory. Bulgaria began to spread in ancient times. However, a mass baptism took place in 864 for the king. Boris is an active supporter of her autocephaly. Bulgarian church. First (in 870) she was granted autonomy within. Patriarchate of Constantinople. The church became autocephalous only in 919 due to the strengthening of the state. Bulgaria period. The first would be the Bulgarian kingdom. Constantinople recognized. The Bulgarian Church had autocephaly and patriarchal dignity only in 927, but political dependence. Bulgaria from. Byzantium led to the return of its church in 1010 to the status of an archbishop and the renewal of Greek dominance in it. During. At the end of the 12th century in the second Bulgarian kingdom, a patriarchal see was founded in the town of Tarnovo, which protected national interests. Next to it acted and the archbishop's cathedra. Ohrid, which remained under Greek influence with the German influence.
From the 14th century. The Bulgarian Church is experiencing new oppression, which was a consequence of the conquest. Bulgaria by the Ottoman Turks who tried to eradicate Christianity
Renaissance. The Bulgarian Church became a component of the general process of national revival. However, he was slowed down by the strongest Greek influence. Confrontation between believing Bulgarians and. The Patriarchate of Constantinople ended with the formation of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870, and two years later with the restoration of autocephaly. Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which Constantinople recognized only in 1945. In 1953 the head of the church was given a title. Patriarch. It works with him. Holy Synod composed of four metropolitans. One of them is in charge. The Supreme Church Council of two clerics and two laity, issues of inter-Christian relations and economic activity fall within its competence.
The Bulgarian Church has more than 6 million believers. In the territory. Bulgaria has 11 dioceses, almost 3200 churches, more than 120 monasteries. In Sofia there are a theological academy and a seminary. Outside. Bulgaria, she has her dioceses in. USA and. Canada,. South. America and in Australia, several parishes in. Hungary,. Romania and. Austria. V. Istanbul is located. Bulgarian church governorship, and c. Moscow -. Bulgarian courtyard. The official organ of the church - the magazine "Church Herald" is a member. World. Council. Church. For the sake of. Churches.
Cypriot Orthodox Church. It operates on the territory. Cyprus close to Islamic, Catholic and Protestant religious institutions. Belongs to the apostolic churches. Its founder is considered the apostle a. Barnabas, and the beginning of existence - 47 AD.
In the process of becoming. The Cypriot Orthodox Church had to fight not only with Jews and pagans, but also with. Antioch Church. The independence of her church was recognized only in 431. Ephesus Cathedral and and confirmed. Church of Constantinople in 488 r.
From the middle of the 6th c. Cyprus was under the rule of the Arabs, which led to a significant decline in the church. After the elimination in 965 of the Arab dominance. Cyprus was conquered in 1191 by the crusaders, who, together with the western European feudal lords, planted Catholicism here. The persecution of the Orthodox population and the humiliation of the church hierarchy by the Roman Catholic Church changed into brutal pogroms by the Ottoman Turks, who ruled. Cyprus since 1571. Over time, the Turks changed their attitude towards the Cypriot Orthodox Church, giving its head the powers not only of the head of the church, but of the entire Greek community of the island.
During the period of English domination. Cyprus (1878 - 1960). The Cypriot Church led the liberation struggle. In 1974, she received full independence and organizational independence.
The head of the church bears a title. His Beatitude. Archbishop. New. Justinians and everything. Cyprus. His residence is in the capital of the republic. Nicosia. The composition of the synod, acting under the patriarch, includes all the ruling and bishops. The church has more than 400 thousand believers. It includes 6 dioceses, more than 500 churches, 6 male and 9 female monasteries, more than 40 schools of various profiles and a theological seminary. The official organ is the magazine "Apostle. Barnabaol. Barnabas".
The Cypriot Orthodox Church is an influential social and political force, owns a fourth of the agricultural land, a monopoly on the production of mineral fertilizers. Refers to the World. Council. This. Erkov.
Helladic (Greek) Orthodox Church. For more than 1100 years it has been in the composition. Patriarchate of Constantinople, its autonomous development began in the 19th century with a decline. Ottoman Empire. Including uvals, the national liberation movement of the peoples oppressed by it. The uprising in Greece in 1821 was headed by the Orthodox hierarchy, he was blessed by the archbishop. Patraska -. Hermarman.
The consequence of these events was the actual autonomization. Helladic dioceses. Patriarchate of Constantinople. After the proclamation Greece an independent state (1822), their independence is strengthened, and the Orthodoxy is proclaimed "the dominant religion of the kingdom of Greece" Toli raised the question of status. As a result of complex political vicissitudes, in 1833 the Greek Church was proclaimed autocephalous, one to which the rules existing in the church were instituted. Concerning. The Greek Church was deprived of the opportunity to communicate with other Orthodox churches for 17 years, since none of them recognized it as an autocephalous. The situation returned to normal only after. Local Cathedral. Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1850, which decided to grant. Greek Church of autocephalyerkvі autocephaly.
According to. Constitution of 1975,. The Greek church is separated from the state. It has 77 dioceses, since 1922 they have been called metropolitans, and all the ruling bishops have the title of metropolitans, it owns 7.5 thousand churches and almost 200 monasteries. Territorial jurisdiction extended to the peninsula. Peloponnese and mainland. Greece. Its center is located in Athens. Supreme governing body -. The Holy Synod, composed of all the ruling bishops, Permanent Holy Synod and. The General Church Assembly, which includes delegates from the dioceses. The Permanent Holy Synod, which unites 12 members, is headed by the head of the church, who has a title. Archbishop cop. Athens and all. Hellas. Yelladi.
Church cadres are trained at special faculties. Athensky and. Thessalonian universities, as well as seven theological institutes and eight seminaries. The Church publishes many publications. The official organ of the synod is the magazine "Ecclesia" Included in. World. Council. Churches. For the sake of. Churches.
In Ukraine there are two currents of Greek Orthodoxy -. Greek Orthodox Church (2 communities) i. True Orthodox Church. Greece (1 community)
Albanian Orthodox Church. The first mention of Christianity c. Albania belongs to the III century. However, the establishment of Christianity and the formation of church structures here took place slowly. The first episcopal frame was founded only in the 10th century, later it was transformed into a metropolis, having several dioceses in its composition. From IV to her communities were under jurisdiction. Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and from the other half of the XVIII century - under control. Patriarch of Constantinople. Only after receiving. Albanian independence in 1932, the church was proclaimed autocephalous.
For a long time due to the proclamation of the former leadership. Albania's "atheistic state" the church existed in a depressed state. The ban on its activities was not lifted in the last years of the 20th century. With the democratization of Albanian society, church structures began to revive. plays a significant role in this. Albanian diocese, which is in the composition. Autocephalous. Orthodox. Churches in Americaqui in. America.
Polish Orthodox Church. Mass spread of Christianity c. Poland began in 966 and is associated with the name of the prince. Meshko (Mechislava). Baptism. Poland according to the Latin rite caused a confrontation between Catholicism and Orthodoxy "pits.
In the XII century in the cities. Holme and. Przemysl, which then belonged to the Galicia-Volyn principality of Kiev. Rus, was founded by the Orthodox eparchy, and in 1840 -. diocese of Warsaw. First proclamation. The Autocommittee of the Ephalia of the Orthodox Church c. Poland (1921) had few political reasons and was not recognized. Russian Orthodox Church, under whose jurisdiction was the Orthodox population. Poland. Only in 948 was she given autocephaly, which was recognized by other Orthodox churches. Modern. The Polish Orthodox Church has 5 dioceses, 21 deaneries and more than 200 parishes, has three monasteries, 311 churches and a chapel.
Church cadres are preparing. The Christian Theological Academy is a higher interfaith educational institution and a theological seminary. Printed publications - the magazine "Vedomosti. Autocephalous. Orthodox Church", which is an official body, and the newspaper "Tygodnik. Podleski" The church is headed by a bishop who has a title. Metropolitan. Warsaw and all. Poland. His residence is located in Warsaw is located at. Warsaw.
Orthodox Church. Czech Republic and Slovakia. The emergence of Orthodoxy in the territory of modern. Czech Republic and Slovakia is associated with the activities of enlighteners. Cyril and. Methodius. Mass baptism of nations. Great. Moravia began in 863. Subsequently, these lands became the arena of confrontation between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. In the early 20s of the XX century, it was formed here. Czechoslovakian. Orthodox. Church floor jurisdiction. Serbian churches and In years. World War II, the Nazis defeated it. The reason was the active support of the anti-fascist movement Rukh by the church.
In the post-war period, the restoration of church structures and their full-fledged activities began. First, an exarchate was created, and in 1951 autocephaly was proclaimed. Czechoslovak Orthodox Church. In our time, the church has more than 150 thousand believers, up to 250 parishes, united in 4 dioceses. The head of the church is the metropolitan, whom he elects. The cathedral. He is a title. His Beatitude. Metropolitan. Prague and all. Czech Republic and Slovak ini. Under it, there is a synod and. Metropolitan Council. The official organ is the magazine "Voice of Orthodoxy" The Metropolitan's residence is located in. Prague located in Prazi.
Autocephalous Orthodox Church c. America. In the United States, there are up to two million Orthodox Christians under jurisdiction. Constantinople,. Antioch,. Romanian and. Moscow Patriarchates c. There is also. Romanian Diocese, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church,. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and other church structures do not recognize the superiority of the respective patriarchs over themselves.
The spread of Orthodoxy in the north of the American continent is associated with names. Valaam monks who arrived on about. Kodiak in 1794. One of them is an old man. Herman, who devoted forty years of his life to missionary work, is revered as a saint. Hermann. Alaskan.
The first diocese in the lands. America was founded in 1840. Its development is associated with the name of the bishop. Kamchatsky,. Kurilsky and. Aleutian. Innokenty, the future metropolitan. Moscow. after sale. Rus so. Alaska (1867) Both states accepted jurisdiction. Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) over local parishes and church institutions. The first Orthodox parishes in the territory. The United States emerged in the 1860s. The strengthening of Orthodoxy is associated with the migration of the population from the European part. Russian Empire. In 1898-1907. The American diocese was headed by the future. Moscow Patriarch. Tikhon. Even then, the question arose of a significant expansion of its autonomy.
After 1917 Orthodox church structures c. America became the subject of controversy between. ROC and. Ecumenical Patriarch. Melentius IV, who tried to subdue all the Orthodox churches of the Diaspora. However, it is obligatory with the decisions of the All-American Council c. Detroit (1924) on the basis of the former American diocese was established. Temporary metropolitan district.
In the 30s of the XX century. The USA is taking shape. American diocese. Church Abroad and the Exarchate. Moscow Patriarchy, under spiritual guardianship. ROC. Subsequently, already for political reasons, a third church jurisdiction was formed, also subordinate. ROC. In years. World War II saw opportunities for the unification of these three centers, however. The Church Abroad did not agree to this. Revived. The American Metropolis immediately raised the question of autocephaly, which it received from. ROC in 1970. This created a threat of absorption by it of other Orthodox jurisdictions, and then led to the non-recognition of the autocephaly granted to Zatz and kavlenima by Orthodox churches.
Now the autocephalous Orthodox Church in. America has more than 500 parishes, 11 bishops and 550 priests, trained by two theological seminaries and an academy. The head of the church bears a title. His Beatitude. Archbishops. New York,. Metropolitan of all. America and. Canada. His residence is in New York. The official organ is the newspaper "Orthodox. Church. Church".
Russian Orthodox Church. It is the largest among modern local Orthodox churches. In the diptych (traditional list of churches) it ranks fifth. He considers the introduction of Christianity to be the beginning of history. Kievskaya. Russia at the end of the X century. However, at the time it worked. Kiev Metropolis, which was formally dependent on. Church of Constantinople. Northeast Territories. Kievskaya. Russia was christianized much later.
Transfer of the church center from. Kiev first in. Vladimir-on-Klyazma (1299), and then c. Moscow (1325) was associated with decline. Kiev as a result of the Mongol-Tatar invasion and fortification. Moscow State. In 1354, the Patriarch of Constantinople agreed to the transfer of the center. Kiev Metropolis, but on condition that. Kiev will remain "its first throne and first chair of the federation."
result of the struggle between Moscow and. The Lithuanian states in 1458 were divided. Kiev Metropolis on. Lithuanian (Kiev) and. Moscow. All this time, until the end of his stay at the Metropolitan's chair. Jonah, set in 1448 without consent. Constantinople, the Moscow metropolitans bore the title of "Kiev and all. Russia" Only a successor. Metropolitan Jonah. Theodosius began to be called "Moscow and all. Russia" It is 1448 that is considered the beginning of autocephaly. Moscow Metropolis. But the metropolitans Kiev department continued to appoint. Constantinople. Moscow and. The Kiev metropolia developed independently from one to the end of the XVII century and one to the end of the XVII century.
With strengthening. Moscow state, especially when. Ivan. Grozny, her claims to a special place in the Orthodox world began, in connection with which the doctrine of Fr. Moscow as the third. Rome. In the 1680s, secular authorities made several attempts to approve c. Moscow Patriarchal See. She achieved this goal in 15899.
After the political subjugation of the Ukrainian lands. Russia. The Moscow Patriarchate swallowed it up. Metropolis of Kiev, which gradually became an ordinary diocese. ROC
Since 1921, Ukrainian Orthodoxy has existed as an exarchate. Moscow Patriarchy. At the same time, Orthodox church structures of a national direction also operate, the most influential among which was the Ukrainian one. Autok is a cephalic Orthodox church. The modern national-religious awakening in the Orthodox environment of Ukraine forced. The Moscow Patriarchate should be given some independence to Orthodox structures. In the official December amoti of the Moscow Patriarch, handed over to the Synod. UOC October 28, 1990, it was said what to be. The UOC is "independent and self-governing" This gave the right. The UOC independently resolve personnel, financial and economic issues, create dioceses. However, the head of the church -. Metropolitan Kiev and all Ukraine should be elected by the Ukrainian episcopate, a. The Moscow Patriarch only blesses the yogi.
Being independent in management. The UOC appealed to the clergy. ROC with a request to grant it full canonical independence - autocephaly. However, as you know, the Bishops' Cathedral. The ROC refused. The UOC is trying to do it. Anna get full independence. Wherein. The ROC constantly demonstrates the desire to keep. UOC in the sphere of its influence.
Leads. The Russian Orthodox Church is a patriarch who has a title. Patriarch. Moscow and all. Russia. It works with him. Holy Synod. Primate. The UOC is a permanent member. Holy Synod. ROC. The administrative structure of the church includes four levels: parish, deanery, diocese, patriarchy. The only exception is. UOC i. Belarusian exarchate. Foreign dioceses, separate deaneries and parishes, since 1990, are also subordinate to the patriarchy. The church has a three-stage system of spiritual education - parish schools, seminaries and academies. Location of central governing bodies. ROC -. Svyatodaniliv Monastery in Moscow. The ROC is a member. World. Council. Churchdi. Churches.
Chapter:
CHURCH PROTOCOL
2nd page
DEVICE AND HIERARCHY
OF THE UNIVERSE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Spiritual guidance for those truly established in the holy Orthodox faith:
- questions of believers and answers of the holy righteous.
The Gospel tells how on the fortieth day after His Resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven in glory, commanding His disciples: “Go, make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I commanded you "(Mt. 28, 19-20).
These words of the Savior of the world contained the main goal of the great apostolic ministry to which the former fishermen of Galilee were called. Addressing the gospel preaching to the peoples and tribes that inhabited the Roman Empire, the apostles began to create the first Christian communities.
The principle of catholicity, i.e., the unity of many believers in Christ, underlies the existence of the Christian Church, since the very word "church" (Greek - εκκλησια) is literally translated as a public, people's assembly.
Over time, the number of Christians multiplied. Not being able to constantly personally participate in the life of the communities, the disciples of Christ began to elect for them from among the newly converted spiritual leaders - presbyters. Above those who devoted themselves to the service of God, the apostles performed a special prayer with the laying on of hands, calling on the chosen ones the grace of the Holy Spirit. This action, which is one of the seven sacraments of the Christian Church, was later called ordination.
Almost from the very beginning of the existence of the Christian Church, a three-level hierarchy of clergy has been formed in it, consisting of deacons (servants of help, who were assistants to presbyters), presbyters and bishops, who occupy a dominant position, being the bearers of the highest spiritual authority. Bishops are entrusted with the instruction of the people in the faith, the performance of divine services and the administration of the Church.
The Canons of the Holy Apostles, one of the oldest collections of church canons, indicate that hierarchical consecration, i.e., elevation to the episcopal rank, is performed by three or at least two bishops. Starting from the 5th century, the bishops were elected mainly by representatives of monasticism, which at all times in its mass preserved the purity of the Orthodox dogma intact.
Initially, the bishop, like the presbyter, led the prayer meetings of only one Christian community. But when the number of communities increased, bishoprics (current dioceses) were formed - church districts under the spiritual authority of one bishop.
The Christian communities of the provinces of the Roman Empire, created by the bishops of large metropolitan cities, obeyed them, recognizing their authority and supremacy. The first bishops who headed them began to be called metropolitans. The clergy and faithful of one episcopate, headed by a canonically appointed bishop, constitute a small local Church.
For various historical and political reasons, these small Churches united into larger entities - this is how the Local Orthodox Churches arose. From the middle of the 5th century, the word "Patriarch" (from the Greek πατριαρχης - father of the clan) was first used in church documents as a hierarchical title of the leading bishops of the largest church regions.
The canonical territories of the Patriarchates were administratively divided into "dioceses", which consisted of several metropolitan districts, which in turn consisted of several bishoprics. The bishops who ruled them were subordinate to the metropolitans, and the metropolitans were subordinate to the Patriarchs. This practice exists in many Local Churches today.
Under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great, the rise of Constantinople as the second Rome begins - the new eastern capital of the Roman Empire and the church and administrative center. In the 6th century (under St. Patriarch Mina, 536-552), the First Hierarchs of Constantinople assumed the title of Ecumenical Patriarchs.
The 36th canon of the Trullo Council, held in 691-692, established the "order of honor" of the first five Patriarchates: Roman, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem (after the falling away of the Western Church, their number decreased to four). Primates of other Local Orthodox Churches were subsequently added to this list.
The highest ecclesiastical legislative and judicial authority in the Orthodox Church is the Ecumenical Council - an assembly of bishops representing all Local Churches. Presbyters and deacons may take part in these Councils as experts (and if they represent absent bishops, then with a casting vote).
In church history, there are seven Ecumenical Councils, at which the main provisions of the Orthodox dogma were fixed, as well as canonical and disciplinary norms were developed. In the periods between the Ecumenical Councils, Councils of the episcopate of the Local Church - Local Councils - were held to consider the dogmatic and canonical problems of one church area.
At present, the Ecumenical Church is administratively-territorially divided into Autocephalous and Autonomous Local Churches.
The Autocephalous Church has an independent source of power; its bishops themselves elect and appoint their First Hierarch. The Autocephalous Church, while maintaining doctrinal and liturgical unity with all other Local Churches, has the right to sanctify chrism, canonize saints, and compose liturgical rites.
All Patriarchates are large Autocephalous Churches, the primates of other Autocephalous Churches are metropolitans or archbishops.
The Autonomous Church is endowed with lesser rights, being administratively and judicially dependent on the kyriarchal (dominant) Local Church, which granted autonomy to this ecclesiastical region. The Chiriarchal Church approves the charter and the first bishop of the Autonomous Church, and also grants her holy chrism. Interchurch contacts of the Autonomous Church are also carried out through the kyriarchal one.
The position of each Local Orthodox Church is determined on the basis of a diptych - a list in which the First Hierarchs of the Churches are indicated by the importance of their sees. The rank of the cathedra depends mainly on the time when the Local Church received autocephaly, while those of them that were created directly by the apostles of Christ take precedence.
In Russia, the Patriarchate was established in 1589 under Tsar Theodore Ioannovich. The enthronement (ordaining) of the first Patriarch of Moscow, St. Job, took place with the participation of Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II, who was in Russia to collect alms. The Council of 1590, held in Constantinople with the participation of the Primates of the Churches of Constantinople, Antioch and Jerusalem, approved the "chrysovul" - the charter laid down by Patriarch Jeremiah on the appointment of the Patriarch to Moscow. The Russian First Hierarch was given the fifth place in honor after the Eastern Patriarchs.
At present, the Ecumenical Orthodox Church includes nine Patriarchates, six Autocephalous and three Autonomous Churches (see).
During the joint ministry of the First Hierarchs of the Local Churches, their seniority is determined by the diptych. The titles of the First Hierarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Churches may seem excessively pompous and lengthy to our contemporaries, but we must remember that they were formed in ancient times and bear the imprint of the events of church history.
The diptych is headed by the Primate of the Local Orthodox Church of Constantinople, bearing the title: His Holiness Archbishop of Constantinople - New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch. The jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Finland, headed by the Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland.
The primates of the ancient apostolic sees are: His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; His Beatitude Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East; His Beatitude Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine. The Jerusalem Patriarchate includes the Sinai Archdiocese as an autonomy, which has its Primate with the title of Archbishop of Sinai, Faran and Raifa.
The fifth place in the diptych from the 16th century is occupied by the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church - the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He is followed by His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi. The title of Catholicos has been borne by the Georgian First Hierarchs since the 5th century, having received it from the kyriarchal Church of Antioch: this was the name of the First Hierarchs of the Local Churches, territorially located beyond the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire.
Independent church structures in Southern Europe were formed in the early Middle Ages, but their canonical status was finally recognized by the Ecumenical Church only in the 19th-20th centuries. The diptych includes: First Hierarch of the Serbian Local Orthodox Church - His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia, Archbishop of Pech, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovatsk; Romanian Church - His Beatitude Patriarch, Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntena and Dobruja; His Holiness Patriarch of Bulgaria.
The title of the Primate of the Cypriot Church reflects the events of church history of the 7th-8th centuries. In the 2nd half of the 7th century, under Emperor Justinian II, the Orthodox community of ancient Cyprus, led by the Primate Archbishop John, fleeing from the Arab conquerors, left the island and moved to the province of Hellespont (the ancient name of the Dardanelles region), to the city of Justinianopolis founded by the emperor ( New Justinian).
The Council of Trullo, with its 39th canon, retained the rights of the Autocephalous Church for this community and bestowed on its First Hierarch the title of Archbishop of the city of New Justiniana. In 747, the Cypriots returned to the island, but the memory of their stay in the Hellespont was preserved both among the people and in church terminology: the Primates of the Cypriot Church retain the official title of His Beatitude Archbishop of New Justiniana and all of Cyprus to this day.
The Greek Church is the only Local Orthodox Church headed not by the Primate, but by the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy - an analogue of our Bishops' Council. His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Hellas is only the chairman of the Synod.
This situation is similar to the one in which the Russian Orthodox Church was in the "synodal period", however, the Archbishop of Athens has the right to represent his Church in external contacts.
The synodal system of government arose in the Greek Church in the 19th century, when it was withdrawn in 1834 from the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople under the Greek king of German origin, Catholic Otto I. His advisers (Protestants by religion) recreated in Greece the same model of coexistence of Church and state, which by that time had already been tested to some extent in Russia: the king was considered the head of the Church, and the Synod included its official, in terms of authority corresponding to the Russian Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod.
In 1850, the Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a Tomos on the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Greece, which only contributed to the final approval of the synodal system in Greece (by the law of July 9, 1852), which laid the foundation for the life of the Church of Greece from the very moment of its formation and still exists: for The Liturgy after the words “Remember first, Lord” in the Church of Greece commemorates the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy, while in other Churches their Primates are commemorated (however, the synodal system originally established here later evolved towards strengthening the significance of the first hierarch).
Further along the diptych are His Beatitude the Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, His Beatitude the Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland, His Beatitude the Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. On January 1, 1993, the Czechoslovak Republic was divided into two independent states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but the canonical authority of a single Local Church extends to their territory.
The Orthodox Church in America was originally under the canonical subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose missionaries brought Orthodoxy to the North American continent back in the 18th century. It was not until April 1970 that autocephaly was granted to this Church. Its First Hierarch is His Beatitude Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada.
The diptych is completed by His Beatitude Archbishop of Tokyo, Metropolitan of All Japan. The Japanese Orthodox Church is included in the Moscow Patriarchate on the rights of autonomy.
In Russia, the commemoration by name of the Primates of the Churches at the “Great Praise” and the “Great Entrance” is performed only at the Liturgy celebrated by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, while the First Hierarchs of the Autonomous Sinai, Finnish and Japanese Churches are not commemorated.
It should be noted that the aforementioned diptych adopted in the Russian Orthodox Church differs from that which exists in the Patriarchates of the Orthodox East - Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria. In it, the First Hierarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church occupies the ninth place, and the Primate of the American Church is absent. These discrepancies are due to a number of historical reasons.
What an Orthodox Christian Should Know:
THE MOST NEEDED ABOUT THE ORTHODOX FAITH OF CHRIST
He who calls himself a Christian must, with his entire Christian spirit, fully and without any doubt accept Symbol of faith and truth.
Accordingly, he must know them firmly, because you cannot accept or not accept what you do not know.
Out of laziness, out of ignorance, or out of unbelief, one who tramples and rejects due knowledge of Orthodox truths cannot be a Christian.
Symbol of faith
The Symbol of Faith is a brief and accurate statement of all the truths of the Christian faith, compiled and approved at the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils. And whoever does not accept these truths can no longer be an Orthodox Christian.
The entire Creed consists of twelve members, and each of them contains a special truth, or, as they also call it, dogma Orthodox faith.
The creed reads like this:
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1. I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. |
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“Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, and say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you; ()
Sim By His Word Christ gave people a way to test the truth of the Christian faith of everyone who calls himself a believing Christian.
If this Word of Christ or as otherwise stated in Holy Scripture, you question or try to interpret allegorically - you have not yet accepted truth Holy Scripture and you are not yet a Christian.
If, according to your word, the mountains do not move, you have not yet believed enough, and the true Christian faith is not even in your soul. with mustard seed. With very little faith, you can try to move something much smaller than a mountain with your word - a small hillock or a pile of sand. If this fails, you must make many, many efforts to acquire the faith of Christ, while absent in your soul.
By this the true Word of Christ check the Christian faith of your priest, so that he does not turn out to be a seductive servant of the insidious Satan, who does not have the faith of Christ at all and falsely dressed in an Orthodox cassock.
Christ Himself warned people about many false church deceivers:
“Jesus answered and said to them, Beware that no one deceives you, for many will come under my name and say, I am the Christ, and they will deceive many.” ()
THE UNIVERSE CHURCH - the one church, or Catholic, or Catholic, is the church that unites all true believers, regardless of nationality, place or time of their residence. V.c. calls itself the Orthodox Church, for only she, according to Orthodox theologians, has preserved the true faith. United V.c. unites separate and independent churches - Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Russian, etc. All these churches are considered as parts of a single V.Ts. have one head - Jesus Christ, one spirit of faith and grace. Apparently, this unity is expressed by the same confession, communion in prayers and sacraments. However, private (non-universal) churches may lose the light of true faith. V.c. cannot fall away from faith and fall into error, because, as Orthodox theologians affirm, Christ and the Holy Spirit, who guides her to the truth, are with her, and therefore she is called the pillar and ground of the truth (I Tim. 3:15).
The focus of the highest hierarchical power in V.ts. are the Ecumenical Councils. However, after the falling away of the Roman Church from V.ts. Councils ceased to be essentially Ecumenical, therefore the Orthodox Church recognizes the decrees of only the first seven Ecumenical Councils, and only these decrees are steadily observed in Orthodox churches.
After the division of the single Christian Church into Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, the concept of V.ts. increasingly rare in Orthodox theological literature.
In Russian philosophical literature, the concept of V.ts. acquired a special sound after the works of Vladimir Solovyov, in which V.ts. regarded as a single Christian church uniting all Christian denominations.
V.ts., as I understood it Solovyov, is the true Church of Christ, led by the Ecumenical Councils. “The objective truth of faith has a universal character,” writes Solovyov, “and the true subject of faith must be consistent with its object; and therefore the subject of true religion must necessarily be universal. True faith cannot be the lot of an individual person in his isolation, but only of all mankind in his unity; an individual can be a participant in it only as a living member of the universal body” (Soloviev Vl. Russia and the Universal Church. M., 1911, p. 203). From the point of view of Solovyov, it is realistic to reunite humanity in the V.Ts. only love as a force that overcomes individualism is capable. “Love, which has to create a religious feeling of the human race, or V.Ts., must go beyond nationality and have as its object the totality of human beings” (Ibid., p. 204). Since it is impossible to love everyone at the same time, therefore love for all must be concentrated on love for one - this is love for Christ, "infallibly determined by the voice of one (the Pope). Outside of this unity, as we have already seen, the opinion of the multitude may be erroneous, and even the faith of the elect may remain vague” (Ibid., p. 208). Solovyov was not embarrassed by the idea of the falsity of the thesis of the infallibility of the Pope; for him, the role of the Pope as an organ of unity for all believers in Christ was more important. “The universal church is founded on truth, established by faith. Truth is one, and therefore, true faith must be one. And since this unity of faith is not really and directly given in the totality of believers (for there is no unity of all in matters of faith), then it must remain in the lawful power of a single head, the guarantee of which is divine help and which is accepted by the love and trust of all believers. Ibid., p. 209).
As can be seen from the above statements of Solovyov, he understood V.ts. as a church organized along the lines of the Roman Catholic Church. Solovyov was so carried away by the idea of the unity of all Christian churches that he did not pay attention to the dogmatic differences between the Eastern and Western churches. For him, the idea of unity was important, which would “hover” over all confessional differences, over all national and historical features. And in this striving for unity, he saw a lot of value in the centralized organization of Catholicism, which in its social and political activities ensures the unity of believers, regardless of their national and state isolation.
Solovyov's idea of "all-Christianity" led to ignoring confessional differences. Analyzing views F.M. Dostoevsky, Solovyov focuses on Dostoevsky's thought that true Christianity is all-human unity in one global common cause, and the great mission of reconciliation of East and West fell to the lot of Russia, and the very abolition of the dispute between Slavophilism and Westernism means the abolition for the time being in the idea of the centuries of historical discord between East and West, a discord that led to an unnatural struggle between kindred faiths. Hence Solovyov's understanding of V.ts. as a universal church, in which “the division of mankind into rival and hostile tribes and peoples must completely disappear” (Soloviev B.C. Soch. In 2 vols. T. 2. M., 1998. P. 304).
Dictionary of philosophical terms. Scientific edition of Professor V.G. Kuznetsova. M., INFRA-M, 2007, p. 94-95.
The title of Archimandrite Leonid's book does not contain the word "Guide", although he himself calls his work that way. This is explained by the fact that the book already at the time of publication went far beyond its outwardly utilitarian purpose. Today, "Old Jerusalem and its environs" is in demand by archaeologists, liturgists, art historians, historians, all those interested in the history of Jerusalem and the Holy places. Created as the author's scientific product, the book of Archimandrite Leonid has become today an independent source and an excellent "Guide" for studying the Russian pilgrimage, history, culture, religion, topography and life of Jerusalem in the 50s of the XIX century.
Greek Patriarchy in Jerusalem
The site of the ancient patriarchal chambers. - The rights of the Greeks to the possession of holy places. – The current buildings of the Patriarchate. – Five churches inside it. - Cells. - Patriarchal Synod. - Patriarch's house. - Officers. - Library. - The morals and degree of education of the inhabitants of the Patriarchate.
The Greek Patriarchy, or the Patriarchal Monastery of Sts. Equal-to-the-Apostles kings Constantine and Helena, according to local tradition, now occupies the place of Nikodim's garden. The Orthodox Patriarchs, as the legitimate guardians of the main shrine of Jerusalem, created by the Equal-to-the-Apostles kings of the Eastern Empire Constantine the Great and his mother Helena, originally (until the time of Jerusalem's conquest by the crusaders) lived near the temple itself. Our oldest pilgrim-writer Abbot Daniel, describing the Greek Church of the Resurrection of the Lord, says: “The essence of her chambers is spacious, and in those chambers the Mount Patriarch lives.” When the Orthodox Patriarch was forced by the invasion of the crusaders, from their violence, a thousand times bitterer than the Muslim yoke, to retire to the limits of Constantinople, then his upper chambers were occupied by the Patriarch of Latin, appointed by the Pope ... Subsequently, when God's Providence put an end to the dominion of the crusaders in Palestine , and at the same time, the power-hungry and selfish possession of the Jerusalem shrine of the Latin clergy ended, the conqueror of Jerusalem Saladin (according to the testimony of Eastern writers) returned the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to its rightful owners, the Greeks and Orthodox Arabs; but the ancient patriarchal chambers, like other buildings that were in the possession of the Latins, became the private property of the conquerors. This house, called Chaté, whose main facade overlooks the street leading from the Judgment Gate upwards to the Latin monastery, and still attracts with its majesty and bears the obvious stamp of antiquity. Part of its lower floor, supported by heavy buttresses (on the south side), is turned into the city's grain shops, where the surrounding Arabs pour tithes from all the zhit they sow, experiencing both the collection and delivery of a lot of oppression, for which there is no judgment on earth. Above the shops are several empty huge halls inhabited by wild pigeons, and further in the chambers adjacent to the very dome of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the Arab efendi (honorary local residents) lives. Between the domes of the Holy Sepulcher and the Greek Church of the Resurrection, one of his chambers, occupied by a harem, was squeezed in. Until recently, there was a free exit from this chamber to the upper terrace of the temple, but the former vicar of the Patriarch, Metropolitan Misail, with an intensified petition from the local Turkish authorities, forced this passage to be laid, and now only a few small windows. According to city rumors, the owner would like to sell this attractive property for Christians, but, realizing its importance, asks an unassailable price; but it is more likely that the Turkish government will not allow it to be sold, knowing that this will create new difficulties in the religious strife.
I happened to be in the above-mentioned room - it is quadrangular, oblong, with one small window to the south, according to Turkish custom lined with sofas along the walls, which serve as a bed for those who live in it at night. The owner of the house, during our visit, without ceremony praised his hospitality, likening himself in this virtue to Abraham, and said that the whole city could testify to the justice of his words. The essence of the matter lies in the fact that he gives shelter to Mohammedan hajji, rewarding the gratuitous reception of several poor with sufficient compensation from the rich.
The house of this effendi with a minaret adjacent to it occupies a place on the right side of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (on the north). On the other side of the temple (south), near the Gethsemane courtyard, there is another mosque, also with a minaret. Thus, the temple, containing the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha, is seen between two Muslim mosques and minarets: a view involuntarily reminiscent of the Crucified on Golgotha between two robbers. Tradition says that over time, “when the times of the tongue are fulfilled,” the owner of the house, who in relation to the temple takes the place of the cross of the prudent robber, will turn to Christ, and the mosque standing on the left side of the temple (on the site of the Omar prayer) will remain until the end a monument of hardening in sight of everlasting truth.
The disputes of the Latins about their rights to the shrines of Jerusalem, disputes that our newcomers to the Holy City will involuntarily hear about, prompt us to touch slightly on the question: on what do the Greeks base their rights to the possession of the Holy places?
From the history of the Jerusalem temple, we have seen that its patrons were the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and the mother, the holy Empress Helena. The Latins do not recognize the great emperor as a saint, not loving him because he moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople, named Constantinople after him. Here is the first and by no means indisputable right of the Greeks, as descendants of the ancient Byzantines, to the possession of the Holy Places - it is, so to speak, a hereditary right. From the time of Constantine to the beginning of the Crusades, the Romans constantly appear in Jerusalem as strangers, as guests, received by the real hosts fraternally, friendly before the separation of the churches, and after separation, tolerant only out of necessity. The Crusades, which began at the end of the 11th century, marked the beginning of the right that the Latins stubbornly continue to dispute with the Greeks - the right of conquest. In 1093, animated by the exclamation: “God wills it,” the crusaders took possession of the Holy City, and upon entering it, their first order was to elect their Patriarch from the Roman clergy. The legitimate Jerusalem Patriarch Simeon was forced to retire and died an exile in Cairo; Greek bishops were also replaced by Latin ones, and legitimate pastors were forcibly expelled from their dioceses. The Patriarchs of Jerusalem who followed Simeon, before the expulsion of the crusaders from Jerusalem, had a stay in Constantinople.
Of the Orthodox monasteries, only one Lavra of St. Sava, as later our Holy Trinity Lavra, remained an unshakable stronghold of Orthodoxy, and its abbot, as can be seen from the legend of our first pilgrim writer Daniel, after the removal of the Orthodox Patriarchs and bishops from the Holy City, was the only representative of the Orthodox under the first Jerusalem kings, starting with Gottfred.
The historian of the Crusades, Wilhelm, Bishop of Tyre, eloquently describes the extreme corruption of the morals of the so-called knights of the cross, the ambition and intrigues of the higher clergy, the quarrels of the Patriarch with the knights of the temple - in a word, everything about which it was already impossible to say: "God wants it" - and indeed , "The God of vengeance did not hesitate to eat." Less than 100 years have passed since the conquest of Jerusalem by the crusaders (88), it again fell under the rule of the Mohammedans: in 1167, Sultan Saladin entered it, and the crusaders left, preceded by the Latin Patriarch Heraclius with all the clergy, taking with them the church utensils of the Holy Sepulcher and treasures whose value God alone knew, as the Arab chronicler says. Christians of the Orthodox confession from the Greeks and Sirians again came into possession of the Holy Places and enjoyed much greater freedom in celebrating worship under Saladin than under the Latin kings, who hampered the Orthodox for the sake of their Latin clergy.
The third crusade gave rise to new troubles: in 1204, the crusaders captured Constantinople, took it by storm, and betrayed it to fire and sword. The holy temples were plundered; Sophia Cathedral and other churches were robbed and some turned into stables; the legitimate emperor with the Patriarch retired to Nicaea. Baldwin, Count of Flanders, appointed emperor, was crowned in the St. Sophia Church by the new Latin Patriarch Thomas, the crown of the Greek emperor, to the kingdom of Byzantium. After that, for about half a century, the Latin empire held on in Constantinople. Jerusalem also fell into the hands of the Crusaders for a time, and the Orthodox Patriarch was also immediately expelled from it and the Latin Patriarch was installed. But the dominion of the Latins in the Holy City did not last long - Jerusalem was soon again "delivered to the trampling of the tongues" and from the XIV century to the present, by the providence of God remains in the possession of the infidels, "until the time of the language ends." The Holy City has since only seen the replacement of one Muslim dominion by another. The Mamluk sultans lost their power in the internecine strife that lasted two and a half centuries, and finally their kingdom fell under the blows of the Ottoman troops, whose power was firmly established on the ruins of the holy empire of Constantine. The first conqueror of Syria and Palestine from the Ottomans, Sultan Selim, having visited the Holy City and being met at the gates of the city by the Orthodox Patriarch Dositheus with all the clergy, spoke affectionately with the saints and elders of Jerusalem: he gave them from himself akhtinama, or a covenant of goodwill, which determined that all the cloisters and churches were in the power of the Patriarch, and he would take precedence in all spiritual rites over other confessions, and all the clergy would be excluded from the universal tax - harach. This is also confirmed by the testimony of the Latin modern Carmelite pilgrim Nicola Huen, who visited the Holy City in 1487. He says that the Greeks at that time were numerous in the Holy City and owned, as now, the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, the cathedral church and many other shrines. The brotherhood of the Latins consisted of only 24 monks, who then lived in their monastery in Zion. Although the son of Selim, Sultan Soliman, confirmed to the Orthodox Patriarch Dositheus and the clergy the favorable decrees of his father, but according to the testimony of the historian of the Holy City, Patriarch Dositheus, the Orthodox clergy since the fall of Constantinople (in 1453) was in distress. The patriarchs and bishops themselves were then elected from among the native Arabs, who, due to their inexperience in business and extreme lack of education, brought the Palestinian church into complete decline. Poverty reached such an extent that worship was performed in linen vestments, with iron trikiriya and copper vessels, and church dignitaries had to eat the labors of their hands. The cession of numerous monasteries belonging to the Orthodox to the hands of the Gentiles dates back to this time, and the invasion of these latter into the cherished Orthodox sanctuaries by bribing the greedy Turkish authorities - this is the second pillar of the right on which the Latins and Armenians now rely in their claims. Eloquently describing this period, the author of the history of Jerusalem speaks of the then state of Orthodox society in Jerusalem as follows: “The local Arabs, envious of the Greeks, feared that they would not exclusively take possession of the Holy places, and taking advantage of their decline, after the patronage of the Byzantine emperors ceased for them , strictly observed that none of the Greeks was consecrated not only to the patriarchs, but even to the bishops. This situation continued for about a hundred years, until the hierarchship of Herman, a native of the Sea. Having studied the Arabic language perfectly in Egypt, he was accepted as a deacon in a patriarchal monastery, where he was first considered a natural Arab, and then, due to his extraordinary talents, he was unanimously elected to the chair of the Holy City, the successor of Patriarch Dorotheus. Herman began again, little by little, to consecrate bishops from the Greeks during his long hierarchship, and with the death of the last member of the synod of Jerusalem from the local Arabs, he made it a rule that no one should dare to consecrate any of the Arabs to the bishopric of the throne of Jerusalem. This rule has been observed since then with such strictness that even today not only bishops, but even all hieromonks and hierodeacons are of Greek origin; the local residents of Syria are not entrusted with any economic position in the Palestinian monasteries. To strengthen this rule, Herman also decreed that the inheritance of the Greek clergy in Jerusalem should always remain with the Holy Sepulcher (that is, not pass on to relatives). With the election of Herman, the Greeks of his kin began again to visit the holy places in multitudes and enrich them with their offerings; he himself went to Constantinople and other places to collect alms, often visited the regions beyond the Jordan that belonged to his flock, because there, namely in the fortified city of Karak, a large and richest part of the Orthodox inhabitants of Jerusalem took refuge, during the rule of the Mamluks.