Outline and Summary of Fr. Alexander Lebedeff’s “The Fruit of Evil: The Origin and Nature of the Moscow Patriarchate” (1994)

  

 

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Author: Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff (ROCOR)
Original Russian title: Плод лукавый. Происхождение и сущность Московской Патриархии
Publication: 1994
Source: Complete Russian text (Internet Archive)

I. General Overview

Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff's The Fruit of Evil is a historical and ecclesiological critique of the Moscow Patriarchate, written from the perspective of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) before its reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007.

Its central thesis is that Sergianism—the subordination of ecclesiastical authority and the Church's public witness to an atheistic government—did not originate with Metropolitan Sergius's Declaration of 1927. Rather, it developed from revolutionary and Renovationist currents already present among portions of the Russian clergy before the Bolshevik Revolution.

According to Lebedeff, the Moscow Patriarchate, as a Soviet-era ecclesiastical administration, inherited important elements of the ideology and personnel of the earlier Renovationist movement, which had attempted to replace the canonical Russian Church under Patriarch Tikhon.

The author develops three interconnected arguments:

1. Historical: The ideological and institutional foundations of the Soviet-controlled ecclesiastical administration predated 1927.
2. Canonical: Metropolitan Sergius exceeded his legitimate authority as Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens and made decisions contrary to the canonical order of the Church.
3. Ecclesiological: The deliberate concealment of persecution, public praise of persecutors, and identification of the Church's interests with those of an atheistic state constituted a fundamental betrayal of the Church's mission.

The book is not simply an account of Soviet persecution. It attempts to demonstrate that the official Moscow Patriarchate adopted an ecclesiastical ideology incompatible with the witness of Patriarch Tikhon, Metropolitan Peter, the New Martyrs, and the confessors who resisted Soviet interference.

An important qualification: The archived edition includes a strongly polemical editorial preface by Peter Budzilovich, criticizing Lebedeff's subsequent support for reconciliation with Moscow. This preface is not part of Lebedeff's original argument. The book itself dates from 1994, whereas the editorial commentary reflects developments surrounding the 2007 reconciliation.

II. Detailed Outline of the Work

Part One: The Historical Roots of Sergianism

1. The Nineteenth Century

Lebedeff traces the origins of the crisis to reform movements within the Russian Church during the nineteenth century.

He distinguishes between legitimate aspirations for ecclesiastical renewal and the introduction of ideas foreign to Orthodox tradition.

The principal developments include the growing influence of Western liberalism and socialism, dissatisfaction with the bureaucratic Synodal system established under Peter the Great, and demands for greater ecclesiastical independence and conciliar governance.

Both Slavophiles and Westernizers favored reform, although their objectives differed significantly.

2. The Reign of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II

The author describes how the movement for ecclesiastical reform developed into competing tendencies.

Moderate reformers advocated restoring the Patriarchate and revitalizing ecclesiastical life. Radical reformers proposed married bishops, second marriages for priests, liturgical innovations, and substantial changes to Church government.

More dangerous, in Lebedeff's estimation, were the revolutionary priests, often described as the Red Priests, who openly supported socialist and revolutionary movements.

He particularly emphasizes Archpriest Alexander Vvedensky and the Union of Democratic Orthodox Clergy and Laity.

Lebedeff argues that the revolutionary clergy already possessed the ideological foundations of what subsequently became Sergianism.

The All-Russian Council of 1917–1918 ultimately rejected the more radical proposals and restored the Patriarchate, electing Tikhon.

3. The Church under Patriarch Tikhon

This section establishes the standard against which Lebedeff judges the subsequent Moscow Patriarchate.

He presents Patriarch Tikhon as a confessor who refused to subordinate ecclesiastical truth to political expediency.

Among the documents examined are Tikhon's denunciations of Bolshevik violence, his opposition to the seizure of ecclesiastical property, his condemnation of the murder of the Imperial Family, and his appeals for repentance.

Particular attention is paid to Tikhon's instruction that clergy should abstain from partisan political activity while remaining steadfast in their confession of the Faith.

The central distinction is between legitimate civil obedience and the surrender of the Church's spiritual independence.

For Lebedeff, Tikhon's position demonstrates that the Church could refrain from political opposition without endorsing the ideology of its persecutors.

4. The “Most Holy Counterrevolution”

Lebedeff uses Soviet archival materials, especially the published writings of Cheka official Martin Latsis, to demonstrate how the Bolshevik authorities regarded the Orthodox Church as a counterrevolutionary enemy.

These documents describe the surveillance and persecution of monasteries, bishops, and priests.

An important feature of this section is that some of the evidence comes directly from publications issued by the Soviet authorities themselves.

Lebedeff uses these documents to counter subsequent claims that the Bolsheviks did not systematically persecute religion.

5. The Appearance of the “Soviet Church”

The first practical attempt to establish a Soviet-controlled ecclesiastical administration occurred in 1922 through the Renovationist movement.

Lebedeff describes the seizure of central ecclesiastical administration while Patriarch Tikhon was under arrest and the establishment of the Renovationist Higher Church Administration.

He emphasizes the cooperation of several prominent hierarchs, particularly Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), who recognized the Renovationist administration as canonically legitimate in the 1922 declaration commonly called the Memorandum of the Three.

Other clerics who subsequently occupied important positions in the Moscow Patriarchate also participated in, or supported, this movement.

For Lebedeff, this represents a crucial historical connection between the Renovationists and the later Sergianist administration.

6. “I Wrote This for the Authorities, but You Sit and Work”

This section examines the relationship between Patriarch Tikhon and the Russian ecclesiastical administration abroad.

Lebedeff discusses the controversial 1922 order concerning the dissolution of the Higher Church Administration Abroad.

He explains why the Russian bishops outside Russia questioned whether the document represented Tikhon's freely expressed wishes.

He also examines Metropolitan Sergius's September 1926 letter acknowledging the practical impossibility of directing émigré ecclesiastical affairs from Moscow.

This correspondence is used to defend ROCOR's right to maintain independent administration under exceptional circumstances.

7. The Spurious “Testamentary Epistle” of Patriarch Tikhon

Lebedeff challenges the authenticity of the statement published shortly after Tikhon's death in April 1925, supposedly expressing support for the Soviet government.

He relies especially on Protopresbyter V. P. Vinogradov's testimony and analysis.

The arguments include the absence of persuasive evidence that Tikhon signed the document, irregularities in its presentation, and the failure of Metropolitan Sergius to invoke it when defending his own Declaration in 1927.

Lebedeff concludes that the statement was fabricated or manipulated to provide Patriarch Tikhon's authority for an ecclesiastical policy he had not actually endorsed.

He nevertheless acknowledges that Patriarch Tikhon sometimes made concessions under pressure. His argument is that these concessions never extended to accepting the ideological position subsequently adopted by Sergius.

Part Two: The Canonical Crisis of 1925–1927

8. The Steadfastness of Metropolitan Peter

After Tikhon's death, Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) became Patriarchal Locum Tenens.

Lebedeff presents him as the faithful continuation of Tikhon's ecclesiastical policy.

Metropolitan Peter rejected the Soviet government's attempts to dictate appointments, control ecclesiastical administration, condemn the Russian bishops abroad, or compel submission to the Renovationists.

His refusal resulted in imprisonment and prolonged exile.

Lebedeff contrasts Peter's willingness to suffer with Sergius's subsequent concessions to the authorities.

9. Primates, Locum Tenentes, and Deputies

This is one of the most important canonical sections of the book.

Lebedeff examines the arrangements established for governing the Russian Church when its legitimate primate was imprisoned or otherwise incapacitated.

He considers the relationship between Patriarchal Locum Tenentes and their deputies, including Metropolitans Cyril, Agathangel, Peter, Sergius, and Joseph.

His principal argument is that the authority of a deputy cannot be considered identical to that of the primate he temporarily replaces.

He also identifies canonical difficulties in the emergency arrangements themselves, referring to Canon 23 of Antioch and the prohibition against bishops appointing successors during their lifetimes.

Although the extraordinary measures were understandable under persecution, their ambiguities allowed disputes over authority.

Lebedeff particularly criticizes Metropolitan Sergius's conduct in 1926, when Metropolitan Agathangel sought to assume the position of Locum Tenens with Metropolitan Peter's approval.

Sergius refused to relinquish control.

For Lebedeff, this constitutes evidence of Sergius's usurpation of ecclesiastical authority.

10. The Betrayal of Metropolitan Sergius: His Declaration

The Declaration of July 16/29, 1927, marks the decisive turning point.

Lebedeff argues that Sergius abandoned Patriarch Tikhon's principle of ecclesiastical independence and instead identified the Church's interests with those of the Soviet state.

He also examines the requirement imposed upon Russian clergy abroad to declare loyalty to the Soviet government.

In his interpretation, Sergius crossed the boundary between permissible accommodation to civil authority and ecclesiastical subservience to a government hostile to Christianity.

Moreover, Sergius reorganized the hierarchy, removed or transferred bishops opposed to his administration, and attempted to secure ecclesiastical control through government-supported measures.

11. The Voice of the True Church: Reactions to the Declaration

Lebedeff documents the objections raised by confessing hierarchs, including Metropolitan Cyril (Smirnov), Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh), Bishop Victor (Ostrovidov), Bishop Damaskin (Tsedrik), and the imprisoned bishops of Solovki.

Their objections concerned both the substance of the Declaration and Sergius's canonical authority to issue it.

Particular attention is given to the Solovki bishops' epistle, which rejected the identification of the Church with the Soviet government and its claim to protect religious liberty.

Lebedeff also discusses the 1929 decree of Sergius's Synod declaring the Mysteries of various noncommemorating clergy invalid.

He considers this action a grave abuse of ecclesiastical authority directed against confessors who rejected Sergius's policies.

Significantly, he quotes Metropolitan Cyril's 1934 letter affirming the sacramental reality of the Mysteries celebrated by canonically ordained Sergianist clergy, while distinguishing between those who received them innocently and those who knowingly participated in the ecclesiastical wrongdoing.

Part Three: The Ideology of the Soviet Church

12. The Ideology of the Soviet Church

This is principally an introductory section announcing the author's next objective: to demonstrate the ideological continuity between the Renovationists and the Moscow Patriarchate.

Rather than relying solely on their historical associations, Lebedeff compares their official pronouncements.

13. Justifications of the Decree Separating Church and State

The author compares the Renovationists' praise of the Soviet government's 1918 decree with subsequent statements by the Moscow Patriarchate.

He examines official publications from 1942, 1958, and 1987.

In these publications, the Soviet decree is portrayed as liberating the Church from its previous dependence on the Imperial government.

Lebedeff argues that this interpretation deliberately ignores the reality that the decree facilitated confiscations, repression, and state interference in ecclesiastical life.

He concludes that both the Renovationists and the Moscow Patriarchate promoted essentially the same official narrative.

14. Praising the Leaders; Denying Persecution and Rejecting the New Martyrs

Lebedeff documents the praise offered to Soviet leaders by representatives of the Renovationist movement and the Moscow Patriarchate.

He compares Metropolitan Evdokim's public tribute following Lenin's death with Patriarch Alexy I's statements following Stalin's death in 1953.

He also contrasts these with Patriarch Tikhon's much more restrained expression of condolences following Lenin's death.

The author then examines repeated official denials of religious persecution.

He regards these denials as especially serious because they implicitly accused persecuted clergy and faithful of having brought punishment upon themselves through political misconduct.

In Lebedeff's view, this amounted to a betrayal of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.

15. Combining the Incompatible

Lebedeff argues that Soviet ecclesiastical policy attempted to reconcile fundamentally incompatible religious and political principles.

He examines Renovationist assertions that socialism fulfilled Christian ideals, followed by similar statements from representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate.

He extends this criticism to the Patriarchate's participation in the Ecumenical Movement.

Among the examples discussed are Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyayev)'s remarks at the World Council of Churches assembly in Canberra in 1991 and Patriarch Alexy II's address to Jewish religious leaders in New York that same year.

Lebedeff interprets such statements as evidence that the habit of subordinating doctrinal truth to external considerations had survived the collapse of Soviet communism.

Part Four: Conclusions

16. Conclusion: The Nature of the Moscow Patriarchate

Lebedeff summarizes his historical argument by contrasting two ecclesiastical approaches:

The Church of the Confessors	The Soviet Church
Defends ecclesiastical independence	Subordinates administration to state interests
Publicly acknowledges persecution	Denies or minimizes persecution
Accepts suffering rather than compromise the Faith	Justifies compromise as necessary for survival
Honors those persecuted for Orthodoxy	Condemns or marginalizes opponents of Sergianism
Preserves the distinction between Church and atheistic state	Identifies the Church's interests with those of the state

He concludes that the Moscow Patriarchate is the spiritual successor of the Renovationists rather than the faithful continuation of Patriarch Tikhon's ecclesiastical principles.

Nevertheless, the final appeal is directed toward repentance and the restoration of ecclesiastical truth.

17. Afterword

Lebedeff explains that his research began during his graduate studies at Yale University between 1973 and 1976.

He examined early Soviet newspapers, particularly Izvestia, together with archival materials concerning the Russian Church.

He acknowledges numerous ROCOR hierarchs and theologians who influenced his ecclesiastical outlook, including Metropolitan Philaret, Metropolitan Vitaly, Archbishop Averky, Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky, and Bishop Gregory Grabbe.

These acknowledgments place the work firmly within the traditional anti-Sergianist perspective of ROCOR during the twentieth century.

III. Particularly Important Ecclesiological Points

Several arguments deserve closer attention because they concern more than the historical responsibility of individual hierarchs.

1. Sergianism is principally an ecclesiological problem

Lebedeff does not understand Sergianism as merely obedience to an oppressive state.

The problem arises when ecclesiastical authorities adopt the state's interests as those of the Church and subordinate the Church's witness to an ideology contrary to Christianity.

Civil obedience, administrative accommodation, and political neutrality are not necessarily condemnable.

The decisive issue is whether the Church sacrifices its freedom to confess the truth.

This distinction explains why the author defends Patriarch Tikhon's occasional compromises but condemns Metropolitan Sergius's Declaration.

2. The distinction between legitimate ecclesiastical authority and its abuse

Lebedeff insists that canonical authority has definite limitations.

Metropolitan Sergius's position as Deputy Locum Tenens did not authorize him to reorganize the entire Church, impose a new ecclesiastical policy, or disregard the judgment of senior hierarchs.

This is particularly important because the opposition to Sergius was not simply a revolt against ecclesiastical obedience.

In Lebedeff's account, the protesting bishops defended the legitimate canonical order against the unauthorized exercise of authority.

3. The validity of Sergianist Mysteries

This is perhaps the most interesting passage for a careful examination of the book's ecclesiology.

Lebedeff quotes Metropolitan Cyril's February 1934 letter, in which the latter explicitly acknowledges that the Mysteries celebrated by properly ordained Sergianist clergy are truly saving Mysteries for faithful people who approach innocently and without knowledge of the ecclesiastical wrongdoing.

Cyril nevertheless maintains that these same Mysteries become a matter of judgment and condemnation for clergy and communicants knowingly participating in that wrongdoing.

The distinction is therefore between:

• The objective reality of the Mysteries.
• Their saving reception by those acting in good faith.
• The spiritual responsibility of those who knowingly participate in an ecclesiastically compromised administration.

This is not the position that separation from Metropolitan Sergius automatically rendered every Mystery performed by his clergy invalid.

Indeed, Lebedeff condemns Sergius's own 1929 decree declaring the Mysteries of noncommemorating clergy invalid.

There is, however, an important qualification. After quoting Cyril, Lebedeff speculates that Cyril might have judged the Sergianist Mysteries differently in 1994, given the Moscow Patriarchate's subsequent involvement in Ecumenism and cooperation with the KGB.

This is Lebedeff's conjecture, not Metropolitan Cyril's recorded position.

Consequently, while Lebedeff's overall conclusions concerning the Moscow Patriarchate are extremely severe, this passage should not be represented as an unqualified demonstration that all its Mysteries were automatically devoid of grace.

4. The distinction between institutional corruption and the possibility of repentance

Despite his categorical condemnation of Sergianism, Lebedeff does not finish by insisting that reconciliation or restoration is intrinsically impossible.

Instead, he demands the renunciation of the false principles upon which, he argues, the Soviet ecclesiastical administration was built.

He writes:

Only the rejection of its false ideology and sincere and open repentance can transform the creation of the godless authorities—the Soviet Church in its very essence—into a true and Orthodox Church.

This is a translation of the substance of his concluding statement.

His prescribed remedy is therefore not simply an administrative reorganization or the replacement of compromised hierarchs.

It is the explicit repudiation of Sergianism as an ecclesiastical principle, accompanied by genuine repentance.

IV. The Appendices

The book contains ten documentary appendices, which constitute an important part of its historical value.

Appendix	Contents
1	Patriarch Tikhon's message of January 1, 1918
2	Appeal of the All-Russian Council concerning the Decree on Freedom of Conscience
3	Patriarch Tikhon's appeal concerning the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
4	Patriarch Tikhon's appeal to repentance
5	Patriarch Tikhon's message to the Soviet government, October 13/26, 1918
6	Extracts from Martin Latsis's Two Years of Struggle on the Internal Front
7	Documentary material concerning Tikhon's alleged testamentary epistle
8	The Epistle of the Solovki Bishops
9	Metropolitan Sergius's Declaration of 1927
10	Patriarch Alexy II's address to a gathering of rabbis in 1991

Of particular importance for the historical controversy are Appendices 7, 8, and 9, which allow the reader to examine the documentary basis of the dispute between the confessing bishops and the Sergianist administration.

V. Overall Assessment

The book's strongest contribution is its attempt to establish a historical and ideological continuity between three movements:

Revolutionary clergy before 1917

Socialist sympathies, radical reform, and cooperation with revolutionary movements

Renovationist movement, beginning in 1922

Government-supported ecclesiastical administration claiming canonical authority

Sergianist administration, beginning in 1927

Preservation of traditional Orthodox externals combined with state-directed ecclesiastical policy

Lebedeff's proposed ideological genealogy, rather than an assertion that the three organizations were institutionally identical.

This interpretation is more ambitious than the familiar assertion that Metropolitan Sergius compromised with the Soviet government in 1927.

It makes Sergianism the culmination of an existing movement rather than an isolated response to persecution.

The work has several notable strengths.

First, it employs contemporary documents, including Soviet newspaper accounts, Renovationist declarations, ecclesiastical correspondence, and the writings of confessing hierarchs.

Second, it acknowledges that Patriarch Tikhon made concessions under persecution, preventing an entirely simplistic contrast between an uncompromising Tikhon and a compromising Sergius.

Third, it raises serious canonical questions concerning Sergius's authority as Deputy Locum Tenens.

Finally, it preserves Metropolitan Cyril's important distinction between the validity of Mysteries and the spiritual consequences of knowingly participating in ecclesiastical wrongdoing.

There are also limitations. Lebedeff writes as a polemicist and advocate, not as a detached historian. His thesis that the Moscow Patriarchate was fundamentally the successor of Renovationism is a particular historical and ecclesiological interpretation. Ideological similarities and overlapping personnel do not, by themselves, establish that the two ecclesiastical administrations were canonically or institutionally identical.

Likewise, the argument that Patriarch Tikhon's testamentary epistle was forged must be distinguished from the broader evidence of Soviet interference. The former requires its own documentary evaluation.

The book also reflects the situation of the early 1990s. Its judgments about the Moscow Patriarchate's recognition of the New Martyrs and its relations with the Soviet state belong to that historical moment and cannot simply be applied unchanged to subsequent developments.

VI. Final Summary

The Fruit of Evil presents the rise of Sergianism as a profound ecclesiastical tragedy in which the Russian Church's legitimate leadership was progressively subjected to the control of an atheistic state.

According to Lebedeff, the tragedy began before Metropolitan Sergius's Declaration of 1927, through the emergence of revolutionary clergy who regarded political transformation and ecclesiastical renewal as complementary objectives. These tendencies found institutional expression in the Renovationist movement of 1922, which attempted, with Soviet assistance, to supplant Patriarch Tikhon's canonical administration.

When Renovationism failed to win the confidence of the faithful, the Soviet authorities obtained a more effective instrument through Metropolitan Sergius. By preserving traditional Orthodox forms while demanding unconditional political loyalty and accepting governmental interference, Sergius established an administration that Lebedeff regards as spiritually continuous with the earlier Renovationists.

Against this development, Lebedeff sets the witness of Patriarch Tikhon, Metropolitan Peter, Metropolitan Cyril, the Solovki bishops, and the other confessors who refused to justify persecution or surrender the Church's freedom.

The decisive question is not whether bishops should obey civil authorities, but whether they may sacrifice ecclesiastical truth for the supposed preservation of ecclesiastical institutions.

The author's ultimate conclusion is that no administrative survival or outward institutional prosperity can justify abandoning the truth. Genuine ecclesiastical restoration requires repentance, the repudiation of Sergianism, and a return to the confessional principles exemplified by the Russian New Martyrs.

One especially significant feature of the work is that its historical condemnation of Sergianism does not rest exclusively upon a theory of automatically invalid Mysteries. The author reproduces Metropolitan Cyril's more carefully differentiated understanding, even while personally suggesting that subsequent developments may have aggravated the original ecclesiastical crisis.

For that reason, the book is valuable not only as a historical indictment of Soviet ecclesiastical policy, but also as a source for examining the canonical and ecclesiological reasoning of the Russian confessors who opposed Metropolitan Sergius.

For an English translation of this work's conclusion, see:

https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2024/12/fr-alexander-lebedeff-essence-of-moscow.html

Outline and Summary: The Course of the Anti-Ecumenist Walling-Off Movement in the 21st Century

[This is a summary of a fascinating firsthand account, written in Greek, of the efforts to organize anti-Ecumenist forces within the Official Church of Greece before and after the pseudo-Council of Crete. Written by the late New Calendarist theologian Panagiotis Simatis—a longtime supporter of Hieromonk Euthymios Trikaminas—it is not without personal biases and prejudices, but it does offer one man’s insider’s perspective on the failed efforts to unify the movement and muster the collective courage to put into practice what the Fathers taught concerning separation from those who publicly preach heresy. — Blog Admin.]

 

Author: Panagiotis Simatis (Παναγιώτης Σημάτης)
Greek title: Ἀνασκόπηση τῆς πορείας τῆς Ἀποτειχίσεως κατὰ τὶς ἀρχὲς τοῦ 21ου αἰῶνος
English title: A Review of the Course of Walling-Off During the Early 21st Century
Publication: Republished April 20, 2024, on the blog Ομολογία. The editor notes that Simatis died on February 24, 2023, and that the article had appeared previously.

[Text source: https://apotixisi.blogspot.com/2024/04/21.html]

I. General overview

This is a historical and ecclesiological assessment of the Greek anti-Ecumenist movement, particularly the clergy, monks, and laity who opposed Ecumenism within the official Church of Greece and eventually confronted the question of cessation of commemoration under Canon 15 of the First-Second Council of Constantinople.

Simatis writes from the perspective of an advocate of walling-off who is deeply disappointed by the movement's fragmentation.

His central argument is that the anti-Ecumenist movement suffered from two opposing problems:

1. Excessive hesitation: Influential anti-Ecumenist clergy repeatedly condemned Ecumenism but postponed separating from bishops they regarded as openly preaching heresy.
2. Excessive zeal and ecclesiological innovation: Some of those who eventually walled themselves off adopted increasingly extreme positions concerning the Church, the Mysteries, the Old Calendar, and ecclesiastical communion, thereby dividing the very movement they intended to strengthen.

Simatis maintains that neither approach adequately follows Orthodox canonical tradition.

The article is therefore more than a historical narrative. It is an attempt to recover a coherent ecclesiology of walling-off that avoids both accommodation of Ecumenism and the creation of rival ecclesiastical factions.

An important qualification is that this is a strongly polemical, firsthand account, rather than an impartial institutional history. Simatis quotes documents, correspondence, and conversations, but also attributes motives to individuals and makes assessments that must be distinguished from independently established facts.

II. Detailed outline of the article

1. The beginnings of the organized anti-Ecumenist movement (2001–2009)

Simatis begins with the opposition generated by Pope John Paul II's visit to Athens in 2001.

He describes the mobilization of Athonite monks, theologians, priests, Orthodox associations, and laypeople against the Ecumenical Patriarchate's increasing contacts with Roman Catholicism.

Particular importance is assigned to the Synaxis of Orthodox Clergy and Monks (Σύναξη Ὀρθοδόξων Κληρικῶν καὶ Μοναχῶν), whose prominent members included:

• Fr. Theodoros Zisis
• Fr. Georgios Metallinos
• Other university theologians, archimandrites, and monastics.

The movement initially enjoyed considerable support.

A major achievement was the 2009 Confession of Faith Against Ecumenism, which reportedly attracted more than 30,000 signatures.

However, Simatis emphasizes a fundamental inconsistency.

The clergy repeatedly declared that communion with Ecumenist bishops must eventually cease, yet almost none acted upon these declarations.

He cites Fr. Zisis's statements from 2001, various anti-Ecumenist declarations, and the 2006 open letter of Athonite monks as evidence that the need for walling-off had been recognized long before the Council of Crete.

Simatis characterizes the continued reliance on lectures, declarations, and publications as an ineffective χαρτοπόλεμος—a paper war.

2. The Synaxis of Gatzéa and its unwillingness to implement walling-off

One of the article's principal targets is the Synaxis associated with the Holy Trinity Monastery in Ano Gatzéa, near Volos.

According to Simatis, its leadership initially appeared prepared to implement Canon 15 but repeatedly postponed action.

He identifies several explanations:

• Fear that walling-off would divide the Synaxis.
• Concern over the financial consequences for married parish priests.
• Fear of losing access to churches and congregations.
• Concern that laypeople might join Old Calendarist jurisdictions.
• A preference for waiting until conditions became more favorable.

Simatis believes that these practical considerations became excuses for inaction.

He especially criticizes Fr. Zisis for acknowledging the theological necessity of walling-off while allowing concern over the Synaxis's organizational unity to postpone its implementation.

He also recalls Professor Ioannis Kornarakis's criticism of the movement for substituting statements and publications for concrete ecclesiastical action.

The underlying accusation is that the leadership increasingly prioritized the survival of its association over its stated ecclesiastical principles.

3. The earlier walling-off movement surrounding Fr. Euthymios Trikaminas (2007–2013)

Simatis then discusses the smaller movement that developed around Fr. Euthymios Trikaminas.

Fr. Euthymios had opposed Ecumenism for years and was deposed by an ecclesiastical court of the Church of Greece in 2007.

Simatis regards this deposition as unjust.

He recalls that Fr. Zisis had previously praised Fr. Euthymios's anti-Ecumenist struggle.

In 2011, Orthodox laypeople associated with Fr. Euthymios formally ceased ecclesiastical communion with their bishops and published The Walling-Off of Orthodox Faithful.

This declaration articulated several important principles:

• Walling-off is undertaken in accordance with the 31st Apostolic Canon and Canon 15 of the First-Second Council.
• Those who wall themselves off remain within the Orthodox Church.
• They do not establish a new ecclesiastical faction or join a G.O.C. Synod.
• The Mysteries of bishops who have not yet been synodically condemned remain valid.

Simatis presents this declaration as an attempt to establish a canonical basis for walling-off without adopting extreme zealot positions.

He also recounts an important development involving Metropolitan Artemije of Raška and Prizren.

After reviewing Fr. Euthymios's situation, Artemije reportedly recognized his priesthood and supported his continued celebration of the Mysteries. The two concelebrated in Serbia in March 2013.

This provoked objections from members of the Gatzéa Synaxis, including Fr. Ioannis Fotopoulos and Fr. Zisis.

Simatis condemns their reaction as inconsistent with their earlier support for both Artemije and Trikaminas.

4. The first divisions: The Old Calendar question

Simatis identifies the first significant internal rupture among the walled-off faithful as arising from discussions with Fr. Georgios Angelakakis and Fr. Stavros Vaios.

These priests maintained that proper walling-off required adopting the Old Calendar.

Simatis disagrees.

Although he recognizes the Old Calendar as belonging to Orthodox tradition, he argues that the calendar question should not be imposed as a prerequisite for resisting Ecumenism.

He fears that conflating the two issues would unnecessarily alienate faithful who were already struggling to understand the canonical basis of walling-off.

His fundamental distinction is between opposition to heresy and rejection of a liturgical calendar change.

The 1924 calendar reform, in his understanding, was objectionable, but did not itself automatically remove an Orthodox Local Church from the Church.

5. Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus and the controversy over Canon 15 (2012–2014)

Simatis strongly criticizes Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus and his Metropolis's Office for Heresies and Para-Religions.

He describes Seraphim as publicly anti-Ecumenist while remaining in ecclesiastical communion with those whose activities he condemned.

A particular controversy arose when Fathers Pavlos Dimitrakopoulos and Angelos Angelakopoulos challenged Fr. Euthymios's interpretation of Canon 15.

At issue was whether Canon 15 establishes an obligation or merely permits the cessation of commemoration.

The Piraeus Metropolis organized a conference on this question on November 27, 2014.

Simatis alleges that the event was one-sided and excluded meaningful participation by those defending Fr. Euthymios's position.

His criticism extends to anti-Ecumenist clergy who, in his judgment, defended the institutional position of the Piraeus Metropolis rather than supporting those who had already walled themselves off.

6. The Council of Crete and the revival of walling-off (2016)

The Council of Crete in June 2016 represents a turning point in the article.

Simatis maintains that the Council's decisions vindicated earlier warnings concerning Ecumenism.

He particularly discusses the walling-off of Athonite monks, including Monk Savvas the Lavriote.

In November 2016, a group of Athonite fathers published a Confession of Faith announcing the cessation of Patriarch Bartholomew's commemoration.

Their declaration expressly rejected both the establishment of a new Church and affiliation with an Old Calendarist episcopal faction.

Simatis initially welcomes their action as a much-needed development.

However, divisions quickly emerged concerning whether walling-off should be regarded as mandatory and whether continued communion with clergy who commemorated Ecumenist bishops could be permitted through economia.

He also discusses Professor Dimitrios Tselengidis's withdrawal of his signature from the Gatzéa Synaxis's declaration when it became clear that the statement could be understood as supporting individual cessation of commemoration.

For Simatis, the controversy demonstrated the enduring reluctance of influential theologians to support walling-off in practice.

7. The major rupture: Fr. Zisis and the Athonite fathers (2017)

This is one of the most important episodes in the entire account.

Fr. Nikolaos Manolis and Fr. Theodoros Zisis announced their own cessation of commemoration in February and early March 2017.

Other priests, including four from Crete, also took similar action.

The movement appeared to be acquiring momentum.

An inter-Orthodox conference was subsequently organized in Oreokastro for April 4, 2017, to condemn Ecumenism and the Council of Crete.

Fr. Zisis initially intended to participate, but a disagreement emerged with the Athonite monks over the pastoral application of walling-off.

Fr. Zisis maintained that where faithful could not find a priest who had ceased commemorating an Ecumenist bishop, they might, through economia, attend services celebrated by a commemorating priest.

The Athonites insisted on akribeia and argued that communion with such priests must be avoided.

Fr. Zisis withdrew, and several other clergy associated with him also declined to participate.

Simatis identifies this disagreement as a decisive rupture.

He considers both sides partly responsible, but criticizes the Thessaloniki clergy particularly for refusing to engage in a common theological discussion.

He argues that the dispute should have been settled through a common Synaxis instead of the creation of competing groups.

The conference nevertheless reportedly attracted more than 1,200 participants.

8. Attempts at reconciliation and the appeal of the laity

Following the Oreokastro controversy, Simatis recounts a number of attempts to preserve cooperation.

On July 26, 2017, several walled-off priests concelebrated at the Monastery of Saint Paraskevi in Milochori, Eordaia.

Participants included Fathers Ignatios, Paisios Papadopoulos, Euthymios Trikaminas, and Modestos Diasakis.

Monk Savvas was present, but Fr. Zisis was absent.

Subsequently, more than 300 faithful signed an appeal asking all walled-off clergy in Greece to assemble and establish a common ecclesiastical position.

Simatis regards this appeal as particularly important because it arose from the pastoral needs of the laity.

He believes that the clergy's rivalries left many faithful without clear spiritual direction or access to priests with whom they could conscientiously commune.

9. The rapprochement with the G.O.C. and the ecclesiology of the Old Calendar (2017–2021)

A substantial portion of the article concerns the growing sympathy of some Athonite monks and walled-off clergy toward the Old Calendarist movement.

Simatis discusses in particular:

• Monk Savvas the Lavriote
• Fr. Paisios Papadopoulos
• Fr. Chariton
• Fr. Epiphanios the Kapsaliote
• Fr. Alypios

He argues that several of these individuals began adopting positions associated with the G.O.C.

He objects especially to the contention that the 1924 calendar change was itself the decisive rupture with Orthodox tradition.

His ecclesiological argument rests on several distinctions.

First, the New Calendar was introduced unilaterally and improperly, but this did not automatically nullify the ecclesiastical status of the Church of Greece.

Second, the other Orthodox Local Churches continued ecclesiastical communion with the Church of Greece despite the calendar reform.

Third, the Church historically tolerated differences in calendar observance without necessarily rupturing communion.

Fourth, Simatis maintains that the subsequent emergence of separate Old Calendarist episcopal jurisdictions represented a new ecclesiastical problem.

He particularly criticizes Fr. Paisios Papadopoulos for seeking episcopal consecration from Old Calendarist bishops in the hope of becoming a connecting link between the Old and New Calendar movements.

Simatis regards the establishment of another episcopal structure as an ecclesiologically unacceptable solution to the crisis.

He also challenges attempts to defend parallel episcopal jurisdictions by appealing to earlier historical divisions, such as the Antiochian schism or the controversy between Patriarchs Photios and Ignatios.

10. The problem of the validity of the Mysteries

This is arguably the article's most significant theological discussion.

Simatis rejects the theory that an Orthodox bishop or priest who publicly teaches heresy automatically loses the grace of priesthood and the validity of his Mysteries before synodal condemnation.

He distinguishes between:

• A bishop who teaches heresy but has not yet been canonically condemned.
• A bishop who has been formally examined and condemned by the competent ecclesiastical authority.

He appeals particularly to the historical example of Nestorius, whose heretical teachings were condemned, but who was not treated as having automatically lost his episcopal status before the Council of Ephesus.

For Simatis, walling-off is a legitimate and necessary act of resistance, but it does not constitute a private judicial deposition of the offending bishop.

He also rejects the idea that the Church itself becomes defiled merely because some of its members teach heresy.

Rather, those who teach or knowingly accept false doctrine incur spiritual defilement; the Church herself remains holy.

11. Simatis's disagreement with Fr. Euthymios Trikaminas

This section is particularly revealing because Simatis had previously been a supporter of Fr. Euthymios.

He criticizes what he understands to be Fr. Euthymios's position that the Mysteries of Ecumenist clergy should be regarded as valid only κατ’ οἰκονομίαν.

Simatis considers this formulation dangerous because, in his interpretation, it presupposes that the Mysteries are intrinsically invalid and are merely treated as valid through pastoral concession.

He insists that an individual priest cannot exercise such authority over the validity of the Mysteries of other Orthodox clergy.

He explains that this disagreement, together with deteriorating health, contributed to his decision to relinquish responsibility for the blog Walling-Off and Patristic Tradition.

Nevertheless, he continues to express respect for Fr. Euthymios and reports that the priest was willing to accept the judgment of a common Synaxis of walled-off clergy.

This is an important indication that Simatis does not regard his theological disagreement with Fr. Euthymios as necessarily justifying permanent ecclesiastical separation.

12. Other forms of extremism within the movement

Simatis also criticizes Fr. Angelos Angelakopoulos, who ceased commemoration in April 2020.

He argues that Fr. Angelos moved from a restrictive interpretation of walling-off, which had previously defended Fr. Zisis, to an excessively rigorous position that condemned many other walled-off priests.

He objects to individual priests appointing themselves judges of the canonical legitimacy of their fellow clergy.

Another example concerns Fr. Euphrosynos of Saint Sabbas Monastery.

Simatis rejects his teaching that COVID-19 vaccination constitutes receiving the Mark of the Antichrist and results in irreversible spiritual condemnation.

Although Simatis himself expresses opposition to the vaccination, he regards the claim that vaccinated Christians cannot repent or be saved as contrary to Scripture and Orthodox tradition.

These examples serve his broader argument that resistance to Ecumenism must not become an excuse for introducing new dogmatic assertions or condemning others without canonical authority.

13. The concluding appeal for unity

Simatis concludes by lamenting the fragmentation of the anti-Ecumenist movement.

He attributes its failures to inadequate theological preparation, excessive obedience to ecclesiastical authorities, fear of persecution, personal ambitions, and competing ecclesiological theories.

He calls for the walled-off clergy to meet in a common Synaxis, examine their disagreements in the light of Scripture, the Fathers, and the Canons, and establish a common course of action.

The proposed unity is not unconditional: it must exclude positions that contradict Orthodox tradition.

He also calls for an end to prolonged recourse to economia in maintaining communion with Ecumenists and those who knowingly remain in communion with them.

III. The principal ecclesiological positions of the author

The article's theological argument can be summarized in the following comparison.

Question	Simatis's position
Ecumenism	A heresy against which Orthodox Christians must actively resist
Canon 15	Walling-off is the necessary canonical response to publicly preached heresy, not merely an optional measure in the present circumstances
Cessation of commemoration	Does not constitute departure from the Church or establishment of another Church
Synodal condemnation	Necessary before declaring heretical clergy canonically deposed
Validity of Mysteries	Mysteries of uncondemned Orthodox clergy remain valid, notwithstanding their heterodox teachings
Ecclesiastical communion	Communion with Ecumenists and those knowingly sharing in their error should be avoided
Pastoral economia	Should not become a permanent justification for continued communion
Old Calendar	Part of the received tradition, but not an indispensable prerequisite for canonical walling-off
G.O.C. jurisdictions	Their separate episcopal structures cannot simply be accepted as the solution to the present crisis
Ecclesiastical authority	Individual priests and groups cannot arrogate to themselves the authority of an Orthodox Synod
Reconciliation	Requires common deliberation, humility, repentance, and conformity to patristic tradition

IV. Three especially important observations

A. Walling-off does not automatically entail the invalidity of Mysteries

This is the strongest and most consistently developed ecclesiological principle in the article.

Simatis argues that the ecclesiastical status of a bishop cannot be determined solely by an individual believer's recognition of his doctrinal errors.

He distinguishes the spiritual danger of communion with a heretical bishop from the canonical question of whether that bishop has lost his priesthood.

Consequently, he maintains that faithful may be obliged to separate from a bishop whose preaching endangers their salvation without thereby possessing authority to declare his ordinations and Mysteries null.

In effect, he distinguishes cessation of communion from synodal deposition.

B. Simatis rejects the transformation of walling-off into a new ecclesiastical jurisdiction

For him, the act of walling-off is fundamentally defensive.

It is intended to protect Orthodox faith and ecclesiastical communion from heretical innovation.

It is not a mandate to establish a new Church, assemble competing episcopal hierarchies, or create independent ecclesiastical organizations.

This explains his criticism both of Old Calendarist jurisdictional solutions and of individual clergy who attempt to determine unilaterally which other walled-off priests remain canonical.

C. He believes the Church's synodal character must be preserved even during ecclesiastical crisis

Simatis repeatedly insists that clergy who have separated from heretical bishops remain accountable to the Church's canonical and conciliar tradition.

The authority of the Fathers does not transfer unrestricted jurisdictional powers to individuals who cite their writings.

His proposed common Synaxis is therefore not simply a means of improving relations. It is his practical attempt to restore collective ecclesiastical discernment.

There is, however, a distinction worth maintaining: such a gathering of clergy could facilitate agreement and examine patristic evidence, but it would not automatically possess the authority of a duly constituted episcopal Synod.

V. Assessment of the article

The work is valuable for reconstructing the internal history of the Greek anti-Ecumenist movement, particularly from approximately 2001 to 2022.

Its particular strengths are its preservation of contemporary statements, correspondence, disagreements, and testimonies that might otherwise be difficult to assemble into a coherent historical account.

Nevertheless, several qualifications are necessary.

First, Simatis tends to interpret the hesitation of prominent clergy as a failure of courage or willingness to suffer. Although that is his judgment, their expressed pastoral and canonical concerns deserve examination on their own terms.

Second, the question of whether Canon 15 makes cessation of commemoration obligatory or permits it without requiring it is not resolved simply by asserting that one interpretation is patristic and the other is not. This is precisely the canonical dispute that divided the movement.

Third, his argument concerning the Old Calendar contains an important distinction between an objectionable reform and an ecclesiastical separation caused by that reform. That distinction deserves independent historical investigation.

Fourth, his criticism of the Athonite fathers concerning the validity of the Mysteries sometimes goes beyond their quoted wording. Their statement that one must not declare Mysteries invalid before synodal judgment does not necessarily imply uncertainty about whether any valid Mysteries exist. His interpretation of that statement should therefore be treated as an argument, rather than as the only possible reading.

Finally, his account of Fr. Euthymios Trikaminas's theory of validity κατ’ οἰκονομίαν would benefit from comparison with Fr. Euthymios's own complete explanation rather than relying exclusively on Simatis's characterization.

VI. Final summary

The overarching theme of this article is that the Greek anti-Ecumenist movement failed to achieve the unity and effectiveness that many of its supporters initially expected.

Simatis sees this failure as the result of two successive developments.

The first was the refusal of many prominent anti-Ecumenist clergy to move from theological protest to actual cessation of commemoration. Although they repeatedly condemned Ecumenism, they hesitated to accept the practical consequences of their declarations.

The second was the fragmentation of those who eventually practiced walling-off. Disagreements over the obligatory character of Canon 15, communion with commemorating priests, the Old Calendar, parallel episcopal jurisdictions, and the validity of the Mysteries produced competing groups and mutual accusations.

Simatis's proposed remedy is a return to the canonical and synodal tradition: separation from publicly preached heresy, rejection of private declarations of invalidity or deposition, avoidance of new ecclesiastical factions, and a common gathering of clergy to resolve disputes.

The most consequential theological conclusion is that a bishop's public adherence to heresy justifies cessation of ecclesiastical communion before his synodal condemnation, but does not by itself establish that he has already been canonically deposed or that his Mysteries have become invalid.

This distinction forms the foundation of Simatis's attempt to oppose both accommodation of Ecumenism and extreme zealot ecclesiology.

For research into contemporary Orthodox walling-off movements, the article is particularly useful because it records the evolution of positions held by Fathers Theodoros Zisis, Euthymios Trikaminas, Savvas the Lavriote, Paisios Papadopoulos, and others, demonstrating that the divisions were not merely personal but concerned fundamental questions of ecclesiology, sacramental validity, and canonical authority.

 

Generated by ChatGPT on October 25, 2026.

Outline and Summary of “The Ecclesiastical Calendar as a Criterion of Orthodoxy” (1935)

 

Author: Metropolitan Chrysostomos (Kavouridis), formerly of Florina
Original Greek title: Τὸ Ἐκκλησιαστικὸν Ἡμερολόγιον ὡς Κριτήριον τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας — Ἀπολογία πρὸς τὴν Ὀρθόδοξον Ἑλληνικὴν Συνείδησιν
Date: July 1/14, 1935
Place of composition: Holy Monastery of Saint Dionysios of Olympus, during his exile
Length: 53 pages in the attached PDF [as published in The Complete Works, Vol. 1, of Metropolitan Chrysostomos Kavouridis].

General summary

This work is one of the foundational documents of the Greek Old Calendar movement and an important primary source for understanding the ecclesiology of Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Florina during the events of 1935.

It constitutes a theological, canonical, historical, and personal defense of his decision, together with Metropolitan Germanos of Demetrias and Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Zakynthos, to cease recognizing the authority of the governing hierarchy of the Church of Greece and undertake the pastoral care of Orthodox Christians adhering to the traditional ecclesiastical calendar.

Its central thesis is that the ecclesiastical calendar is not merely a means of calculating dates but an established expression of Orthodox ecclesiastical Tradition, liturgical unity, and fidelity to the Church's canonical order.

According to Chrysostomos, the unilateral calendar reform of 1924 was an ecclesiastical innovation carried out without the consent of the Orthodox Churches as a whole. It consequently created a rupture within Greek Orthodoxy and endangered the unity of the entire Orthodox Church.

He maintains that fidelity to Orthodoxy is determined neither by the numerical majority of bishops nor by possession of the official ecclesiastical administration, but by adherence to the dogmas, canons, and traditions received from the Fathers and the Seven Ecumenical Councils.

The work has a particularly important ecclesiological dimension: Chrysostomos distinguishes the Church itself from the hierarchs administering it, and he distinguishes a hierarchy's alleged schismatic condition from a formal synodal condemnation. These distinctions form an essential part of his justification of the Old Calendarist resistance.

The article is also a detailed historical defense of the 1935 episcopal movement. Chrysostomos discusses the failed attempts to secure a peaceful resolution, the formation of the Old Calendarist Synod, the consecration of four bishops, and the subsequent ecclesiastical trials, depositions, and exile of the three original hierarchs.

His fundamental objective, as he presents it, is not to establish a new Church but to preserve the Orthodox tradition of the Church of Greece and ultimately restore ecclesiastical unity.

Detailed outline

The divisions below follow the argument of the work; they are not chapter headings supplied by the author. Page references correspond to the uploaded PDF.

1. Prologue: The inviolability of ecclesiastical Tradition (pp. 1–7)

Chrysostomos begins by comparing major historical events in the life of nations with decisive events in the Church. The Orthodox Church preserves its identity through adherence to the doctrines, canons, and traditions established by the Apostles and the Holy Fathers.

He identifies Meletios Metaxakis and Archbishop Chrysostomos Papadopoulos as the principal architects of the calendar reform and attributes the ensuing division to their unilateral initiative. He also discusses the position of Churches that retained the traditional calendar and the prospect of a future Ecumenical Council judging the innovation.

2. The events leading to the episcopal declaration of 1935 (pp. 7–10)

The author recounts the growth of the Old Calendar movement after 1924, the persecution of its clergy and faithful, and the unsuccessful protests of bishops within the official Church of Greece.

He describes the declaration of May 27, 1935, by Germanos of Demetrias, himself, and Chrysostomos of Zakynthos, through which they repudiated the governing Synod and assumed pastoral responsibility for the Old Calendarists.

Greek Calendar as a Criterion of Orthodoxy .pdf

3. The theological and canonical objections to the reform (pp. 10–13)

Chrysostomos criticizes the 1923 Constantinople congress, arguing that it lacked genuine Pan-Orthodox representation. He appeals to the sacred canons governing feasts and fasts and maintains that allowing individual Local Churches to alter common traditions independently introduces a Protestant principle into Orthodox ecclesiastical government.

He also explains the subsequent establishment of the Old Calendarist Synod, the consecration of four bishops, and the intervention of the civil authorities.

4. The government's intervention and the three purposes of the episcopal movement (pp. 13–18)

Chrysostomos recounts the bishops' arrest, ecclesiastical condemnation, and exile, arguing that the government improperly enforced an unjust ecclesiastical judgment.

He identifies three purposes of their movement: reuniting the divided Orthodox faithful, removing the Archbishop of Athens from office, and purifying the clergy of unworthy elements.

Significantly, he considers the calendar question the canonical basis for their action, while acknowledging that the other two matters required judicial proceedings.

5. Refutation of the charge of rebellion against the Church (pp. 18–21)

The author maintains that the identity of the Church is not determined by the numerical majority of bishops but by fidelity to Orthodox doctrine and Tradition.

He invokes the Arian controversy to demonstrate that a minority of hierarchs can preserve Orthodoxy even when the majority departs from it. Consequently, he argues, resistance to an erring hierarchy is not necessarily rebellion against the Church.

6. Refutation of accusations of foreign influence (pp. 21–27)

Chrysostomos rejects allegations that the Old Calendarist movement was instigated by foreign religious interests. Instead, he argues that the calendar reform benefited Western Christianity by bringing Orthodox liturgical practice closer to that of Roman Catholics and Protestants.

He develops a broader argument concerning the relationship between Greek civilization, Orthodoxy, and the historical character of Eastern and Western Christianity. This portion is strongly polemical and reflects the author's understanding of Hellenic religious identity.

7. Responsibility of the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate (pp. 27–38)

This is one of the most historically substantial portions of the treatise.

Chrysostomos reproduces correspondence from 1924 to argue that Archbishop Chrysostomos Papadopoulos was the principal driving force behind the calendar change and that the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was persuaded to accept it despite the opposition of other Orthodox Churches.

He also distinguishes the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an ecclesiastical institution from the twelve-member governing Synod that implemented the reform.

He explicitly maintains that the hierarchs responsible for the innovation were declared schismatic as persons, rather than as representatives of the Church itself.

8. The relationship of the calendar to Orthodoxy (pp. 38–44)

This is the work's principal systematic theological argument.

Chrysostomos maintains that the calendar has a direct relationship to ecclesiastical Tradition, the liturgical order, the sacred canons, and the Paschalion, and an indirect relationship to the dogma of the unity of the Church.

He presents seven reasons for considering the innovators schismatic, focusing on unilateral changes to the festal cycle, violations of canonical order, and the disruption of liturgical unity.

9. Defense of the bishops' repudiation and consecrations (pp. 44–49)

Returning to the events of 1935, Chrysostomos argues that the bishops repudiated an uncanonical synodal decision, not the Orthodox Church.

He emphasizes that they left open the possibility of reconciliation and refrained from liturgical action for ten days while awaiting a peaceful settlement.

Only after the governing Synod dismissed two of the bishops and instituted proceedings against them, he says, did they organize their own Synod and proceed with episcopal consecrations. He disputes the jurisdiction and legitimacy of the ecclesiastical court that condemned them.

10. Concluding reflections on ecclesiastical and national renewal (pp. 49–53)

The author broadens his discussion into a criticism of the political, social, and intellectual forces he believes undermine Orthodox Christianity.

He condemns Freemasonry, Communism, and forms of secular modernization, interpreting the ecclesiastical crisis as part of a wider struggle concerning Greek national and religious identity.

He concludes by encouraging steadfastness in defending ecclesiastical and national traditions.

Principal ecclesiological teachings

Several important theological positions emerge from the text.

1. The Church must be distinguished from its governing hierarchy

Perhaps the most important statement occurs on page 37:

«ἐκηρύξαμεν τούτους Σχισματικοὺς ὡς πρόσωπα καὶ ὄχι ὡς ἐκπροσώπους τῆς ἐννοίας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας.»

In English:

We declared them schismatic as persons, and not as representatives of the concept of the Church.

This distinction is fundamental to his argument.

Chrysostomos does not identify the entire Church of Greece or the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the particular hierarchs responsible for the calendar reform. He maintains that their actions cannot necessarily be attributed to the Church itself.

Indeed, on pages 35–37 he insists that the twelve-member Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not possess the authority of the entire patriarchal hierarchy to decide a matter of general ecclesiastical significance.

Thus, he attempts to preserve the institutional and historical continuity of the Orthodox Church while repudiating the actions of particular bishops.

2. He distinguishes an existing schismatic condition from future formal condemnation

This is especially evident in the Prologue, pages 5–6.

Chrysostomos states that hierarchs of Churches retaining the traditional calendar already regard those who introduced the Western calendar as schismatic in substance, notwithstanding their continuing official relations.

He then predicts that a future Ecumenical Council will formally declare the innovating Churches schismatic unless they abandon the reform.

His argument therefore contains a distinction between:

• The present condition of those responsible for the innovation, whom he already calls schismatic.
• A future formal, authoritative ecclesiastical judgment by an Ecumenical Council.

He does not maintain that no schismatic condition can exist before synodal condemnation. Neither does he present a prior Ecumenical Council's condemnation of the new-calendar Churches as an accomplished fact.

Rather, his reasoning anticipates a future definitive synodal judgment on a rupture that he considers already to have occurred.

3. Orthodoxy is not determined by numerical majorities

Pages 19–21 contain a particularly clear exposition of this principle.

Chrysostomos argues that the number of hierarchs supporting a position cannot determine whether that position is Orthodox.

He appeals to the Arian controversy, when a large proportion of the hierarchy embraced error while a minority remained faithful.

His reasoning is that the Church's identity depends upon fidelity to the apostolic and patristic inheritance, not upon the changing opinions or numerical strength of its administrators.

Accordingly, he rejects the contention that three bishops must necessarily be schismatic simply because they oppose the majority of the Greek hierarchy.

4. The calendar is an ecclesiastical, not an astronomical, criterion

This teaching is stated with particular clarity toward the conclusion, on page 51.

Chrysostomos distinguishes the scientific calculation of time, which belongs to astronomers and mathematicians, from the ecclesiastical regulation of feasts, which serves the unity of the Church.

The decisive question for him is not which calendar is astronomically more accurate.

Rather, it is whether an individual Local Church may independently alter the inherited festal order and thereby disrupt the common liturgical life of the Orthodox Churches.

His argument therefore rests principally upon Tradition, canonical authority, and ecclesiastical unity, rather than upon the scientific superiority of the Julian calendar.

5. The calendar has an indirect connection with dogma

On pages 38–41, Chrysostomos makes an important distinction.

He acknowledges that the unity of the Church is founded principally upon unity of faith and divine worship.

Nevertheless, he insists that faith and worship are not merely intellectual or theoretical realities; they must also be lived and expressed.

Consequently, when Orthodox Christians celebrate the same mysteries of salvation at different times, the common practical expression of ecclesiastical unity is impaired.

This is why he argues that the unilateral calendar reform has an indirect relationship with the dogma of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

He is not claiming that thirteen calendar days constitute a new dogma. His position is that the unilateral alteration of established ecclesiastical practice violates the common expression of Orthodox unity.

6. A bishop's ecclesiastical authority is not unlimited

Throughout the treatise, Chrysostomos rejects the proposition that a bishop or governing Synod may introduce ecclesiastical innovations simply because it possesses administrative authority.

He considers the sacred canons and decisions of the Ecumenical Councils binding upon the hierarchy.

On pages 35–37, he applies this principle directly to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, maintaining that the permanent governing Synod exceeded its competence.

This is a significant expression of his understanding of synodality: ecclesiastical authority must operate within the bounds of the received Tradition and the canonical constitution of the Church.

7. The Old Calendarist movement was intended to preserve, not establish, the Church

Chrysostomos repeatedly describes the 1935 episcopal movement as a defense of the Orthodox Church against innovations introduced by its administrators.

He does not claim that the Orthodox Church ceased to exist in 1924 and was newly created in 1935.

Instead, he presents the bishops' action as a continuation of the Orthodox ecclesiastical tradition within Greece.

His justification for the establishment of the Old Calendarist Synod rests upon his contention that the existing ecclesiastical administration had departed from that tradition and refused reconciliation.

This is particularly important when interpreting his defense of the four episcopal consecrations.

Important qualifications

Two points deserve emphasis in any careful study of this treatise.

First, the work does not provide a developed doctrine concerning the sacramental validity of the Mysteries celebrated by New Calendar clergy. Although Chrysostomos describes the innovating hierarchs as schismatic, and argues that they have separated themselves from the Catholic pleroma of Orthodoxy, he does not systematically address whether their ordinations, Eucharists, or other Mysteries are invalid.

Consequently, one cannot establish from this document alone that he taught the automatic cessation of sacramental grace following the calendar innovation. Equally, his forceful language about schism should not be softened into a claim that he considered the change merely an insignificant disciplinary irregularity.

Second, the text is an apologetic and polemical document. Its historical narrative, accusations of manipulation, claims about foreign interests, and predictions concerning future Ecumenical Councils are the author's contentions. The document establishes what Chrysostomos argued in July 1935, not that all his historical allegations or canonical interpretations were independently verified.

Overall assessment

The most significant contribution of this work is its attempt to reconcile three propositions that might otherwise appear difficult to hold together:

1. The calendar innovation of 1924 constituted a serious, canonically impermissible rupture in Orthodox ecclesiastical life.
2. The Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate must not simply be identified with the particular hierarchs who introduced or accepted that innovation.
3. Orthodox bishops have a responsibility to resist an unlawful ecclesiastical administration, while maintaining that their ultimate objective is the restoration of unity in the Orthodox Church.

For studying Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Florina's ecclesiology, pages 35–43 are particularly important. They contain his distinctions between the Church and its administrators, personal culpability and future synodal judgment, and ecclesiastical Tradition and the unity of faith.

Pages 46–48 are also especially valuable because they explain the canonical reasoning he employed to justify the actions of the three bishops, their rejection of the governing Synod's jurisdiction, and the subsequent episcopal consecrations.

In conclusion: This treatise portrays Chrysostomos of Florina not as the founder of a new ecclesiastical institution claiming to replace the historical Orthodox Church, but as a hierarch who believed he was defending that Church against the unlawful actions of its administrators. At the same time, his willingness to declare the innovators schismatic and independently organize an episcopal Synod shows that his resistance went considerably beyond a protest confined to cessation of commemoration.

That tension—between continuity with the historical Church, repudiation of particular hierarchs, and the establishment of a separate episcopal administration—is the central ecclesiological question raised by this important document.

 

Generated by ChatGPT on October 25, 2026.