“The one and the Truth constitute the majority”

 

On matters of faith and Spirit-bearing ecclesiastical organization, decisions taken by majority vote—or even unanimously—have no value or significance if they come into opposition and conflict with the dogmas and canons of the Church. In such cases, the principle applies absolutely: “The one and the Truth constitute the majority.” On the basis of this principle, Orthodoxy has been preserved throughout the ages, and heresies and schisms have been crushed. It is enough to recall what occurred during the decades-long dominance of the Arians in the fourth century, when the majority or even unanimity of numerous councils—proven to be robber councils or false synods—took the side of Arius’s heresy and stood against Orthodoxy. The Great Fathers of the Church not only did not submit to the decisions of these false synods, but raised their stature upon the ramparts of Orthodoxy, like Saint Athanasius the Great. Perhaps the most striking case in Church history, it confirmed in the most triumphant way that “the one and the Truth constitute the majority.” If Saint Athanasius the Great had conformed to the principle of majority rule and had submitted to its uncanonical and unorthodox decisions, he would have betrayed his office as a true Orthodox Hierarch and Bishop, whose highest mission is the defense—even unto death—of the Sacred Deposit entrusted to every true bishop, revealed by the Crucified God of Love and Truth. And then, instead of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, what would be celebrated would be the triumph of heresy—and in place of Saint Athanasius the Great, Arius would be glorified!

 

Greek source: Η μεγάλη προδοσία, 1973-1993, του αρχιεπισκόπου Σεραφείμ, by Professor Konstantinos Dor. Mouratidis, Orthodoxos Typos, Athens, 1993.