The “faction” of Saint Gregory the Theologian and the Correct Meaning of the Ecclesiology of St. Chrysostomos of Florina

Ioannis N. Paparrigas | September 21, 2025

 

 

We received a comment in response, which concerns an excerpt from our article here:

https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2025/09/blog-post_88.html

[English translation: https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-ecclesiology-of-saint-chrysostomos.html]

The comment is as follows:

“There existed in the past a period during which almost the entire Hierarchy of the Byzantine State was swept away into the heresy of the accursed Arius, along with the Byzantine polity, during which the concept of Orthodoxy within the Official Church was represented by a small faction of Orthodox in Constantinople who had not been defiled by the pollution of Arianism. This faction was under the pastoral care of Gregory the Theologian, who, in the chapel of St. Anastasia, thundered against the heretical and soul-destroying doctrine of Arius through sermons breathing the fervent and divine fragrance of Orthodoxy. Gregory the Theologian and his faction not only did not constitute a separate Church by breaking ecclesiastical communion with the Arianizing Hierarchy, but also, as being Orthodox, later served as a pledge for the return of the whole Church into the enclosure of Orthodoxy, through the rejection of the Arian heresy and foul false doctrine.

Therefore, given that the essence of the Church is constituted by the Orthodox spirit and not by form and number, it is self-evident that we are the ones who constitute and represent the ancient and uninnovated Church of Greece, as continuators of the patristic traditions and Orthodox institutions, and not the innovating Hierarchs, who constitute the form and the number.”

(Metropolitan Chrysostomos, formerly of Florina, Remarks on the Amendments to Articles 1 and 2 of the Draft Constitution of the Committee for the Revision of the Constitution of Mr. K. Tsatsos, Member of Parliament for Athens, Athens 1949)

Response regarding the provisionality you wrote about.

First of all, let us remind that in our article

https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2024/09/blog-post_24.html

[English translation: https://orthodoxmiscellany.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-selective-use-of-fathers-danger-to.html],

we had mentioned:

“The isolation of a passage from the broader context of a text or from the entirety of a writer’s work leads to a distorted image of its original meaning. The words of the Fathers, as well as those of any other writer, acquire meaning within the specific historical, cultural, and theological framework in which they were formulated. When they are detached from this framework, they are turned into fragmentary phrases that can be interpreted in many different ways, often diverging from the original intention of the author…”

“The selective picking of passages from the texts of the Fathers constitutes a serious violation of the integrity of the original message. When one chooses only those passages that agree with his prejudices or ideological convictions, he distorts the image of the Church’s teaching. In this way, the Fathers of the Church are turned into hostages of modern ideologies, while their rich and multifaceted teaching is reduced to a collection of excerpts serving particular purposes. This not only violates the coherence of the texts but also leads away from the true theological and spiritual understanding of the Patristic teachings.”

Based on the above, indeed, the phrasing of Saint Chrysostomos of Florina, if isolated from the entirety of his ecclesiological teaching, can be used as a weapon by distorters to support the claim that “we are the Church.” However, the correct interpretation, based on the entirety of his ecclesiological teaching, is clear!

Saint Chrysostomos does not mean that the “faction” of Saint Gregory the Theologian was a different Church, but that within the fullness of the Church, this small faction remained unshaken in the right faith, while the greater part—the falsely witnessing Hierarchy—was in error. The Saint clarifies this explicitly: “not only did they not constitute a separate Church.” On the contrary, they remained within the One Church, persisting in the right faith, and later served as a pledge for the restoration of the entire Church.

Saint Chrysostomos of Florina saw as his mission the guarding from within the Church of Greece until the convocation of a Pan-Orthodox Council. He did not teach a schismatic ecclesiology, but patience and witness within the bosom of the Church.

He speaks of the Orthodox mindset as the essence of the Church, not of external foundations, factions, or schisms. He teaches that the Church is expressed in the Orthodox, even if they be few; he does not teach that the few establish a “new Church.” And this distinction is fundamental.

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Translated from comments on the author's Facebook:

Dimitrios Katsouras:

I ask in good faith and sincerely: What does "within the fullness of the Church" mean? Does the Church have one fullness, and (one) portion of this single fullness is heretical, while (another) portion is Orthodox? Because if this is the case, then what is the reason for the non-communion of the Orthodox with the heretics? To have them return to Orthodoxy (the Orthodox Faith) while remaining within the Church?

Ioannis Paparrigas:

The Church, as the Body of Christ, is one and indivisible. However, within the boundaries of the Church, there may be individuals or even local Churches that temporarily abandon the correct faith. This is clearly seen in the ecclesiastical history.

The Orthodox interrupt communion with heretical bishops, but they do not create a new Church. This interruption is an educational and confessional measure, so that the misguided may return to the correct faith.

Therefore, when I say "within the fullness of the Church," I mean that Orthodoxy remains within the One Church, even if many bishops or even the people are misled; the Church is not identified with the administration, nor with the number, nor with the form, but with the Orthodox mindset.

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Greek source: https://entoytwnika1.blogspot.com/2025/09/blog-post_21.html