The Validity of Orthodox Mysteries and Spiritual Defilement through the Commemoration of a Heretical Bishop.

Protopresbyter Dimitrios Athanasiou | December 28, 2025

 

 

To examine the subject, which concerns baptized Orthodox Christians, we must consider the following:

A. What constitutes a valid Mystery, and what are the conditions for participation in a valid Mystery by Orthodox Christians.

B. When the Mystery acquires salvific dimensions.

C. What spiritual defilement means and how it arises.

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A. The fundamental theological principle is that the true celebrant of the Mysteries is Jesus Christ Himself through the Holy Spirit. The priest merely lends his hands and voice (“Thou Who offerest and art offered…”).

A Mystery is considered valid if the following conditions are met:

1. The officiating clergyman has a canonical ordination.

2. The rite established by the Church is observed.

3. The spiritual purity of both the celebrant and the participant.

The Fathers emphasize that the valid celebration of the Mysteries is connected not only with ritual correctness, but also with the spiritual purity of the celebrant (that there be no impediments to the priesthood) and of the participant. For example, Saint John Chrysostom writes that Holy Communion is a union with Christ, and no one should commune as a sinner or heretic without repentance.

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B. In Orthodox theology, the Mystery acquires soteriological dimensions (that is, it contributes to the salvation and deification of man) when it is not merely a ceremonial act, but a true encounter between God and man that transforms existence.

The basic conditions for a Mystery to possess a salvific character are the following:

1. Synergy (Divine Grace and Human Will)

The Mystery does not act “magically.” What is required is synergy — that is, the offering of the uncreated Divine Grace by God and the free acceptance and Orthodox faith of man. Without repentance and the sincere disposition of the believer, the Mystery remains ineffective for his salvation.

2. Faith as a Bond with the Mystery

Orthodox faith is not merely an intellectual assent, but a confession that incorporates man into the Church. Without it, participation in the Mysteries — especially in the Holy Eucharist — is not permitted, as the Mystery is the seal of already existing Orthodox faith and not a means for its attainment.

3. Active Spiritual Life: Faith must be accompanied by works and repentance in order to be “salvific.”

4. In Orthodox ecclesiology, the commemoration of the Orthodox bishop by the priest during the celebration of the Mysteries is not a mere formal procedure, but a fundamental condition for their validity and salvific dimension.

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C. The Mystery is considered “defiled” when it is performed outside the boundaries of Truth (heresy) or outside the boundaries of Order (schism/deposition), as well as when the believer participates in it with a conscience opposed to the will of God.

The commemoration of a bishop who preaches heresy “with bared head” (openly and publicly) is considered by many Fathers to be communion with delusion/error [πλάνη, pláni].  The believer who consciously follows a heretical bishop is in danger of corrupting his Orthodox mindset. Commemoration signifies unity of faith. If the bishop is a heretic, commemoration creates an ecclesiological illusion. It presents heresy as a part of the Church. This, according to Saint Theodore the Studite, constitutes “communion with darkness,” because the Divine Eucharist cannot conceal doctrinal deviation.

Participation in Mysteries where a heretical bishop is commemorated may remain “institutionally” valid (until synodal condemnation), but becomes spiritually dangerous. The believer is called to preserve the “Orthodox discernment” and to place faith above administrative conformity, since the Church is constituted by Confession and not merely by institution.

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D. There are two kinds of heretical bishops: those who have been judged by Orthodox Synods and deposed, and those who are heretical but have not been judged by an Orthodox Synod. Both cases are referred to ecclesiastically as excommunicated. When a bishop preaches doctrine contrary to the dogmas of the Church, and according to the 15th Canon of the First-Second Council, if the heresy has already been condemned by previous Synods, that bishop is essentially considered “excommunicated” by the very truth of things, even prior to the formal synodal act.

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E. Within the framework of Orthodox Ecclesiology (as it is also analyzed in contemporary theological studies), a heretical bishop is considered to “defile” — not in a magical sense of the word, but in an ecclesiological and soteriological manner.

This “defilement” is manifested on three levels:

1. Defilement of Confession (False Witness)

The greatest “defilement” is the distortion of the Truth. Since the Church is constituted upon right faith, the bishop who preaches heresy introduces a “foreign body” into the teaching.

• When a priest commemorates such a bishop, he falsely affirms that this bishop “rightly divides the word of truth.”

• This false confession defiles the spiritual integrity of the local church, as the Divine Eucharist is celebrated upon falsehood and not upon Truth.

2. Spiritual Defilement of the Faithful (Communion with Delusion)

According to the Fathers (such as Saint Theodore the Studite), communion with a heretical bishop is not a mere administrative act, but a spiritual participation in his delusion. The believer who consciously follows the heretic is “defiled” because he accepts as true something that is false. This alters his Orthodox discernment (the sensibility of faith). While the grace of the Mystery may remain institutionally valid (until synodal condemnation), the believer who accepts the heresy ceases to cooperate with the grace, resulting in the Mystery not acting salvifically for him.

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F. According to the strict patristic line, defilement is transmitted through commemoration and communion (participation in the Mysteries):

1. From the Bishop to the Priest: Through the commemoration of the name of the heretical bishop.

2. From the Priest to the Faithful: Through the participation of the faithful in the Liturgy where the heretic is commemorated, and through the acceptance of his teaching.

To avoid this defilement, the Church provides for walling-off (15th Canon of the First-Second Council). The breaking of communion with the heretical bishop is not schism, but spiritual disinfection: the faithful and the clergy cut off contact with the disease (heresy) in order to remain healthy members of the Body of Christ.

Summary: The heretical bishop defiles because he transforms the Mystery from a “manifestation of truth” into an “act of blind obedience” to delusion, thereby endangering the salvation of those who consciously follow him.

He who communes with the excommunicated is himself excommunicated.

In summary:

Those who accepted that the meaning of “he who communes with the excommunicated shall himself be excommunicated” applies also to a heretic not yet condemned by a synod are the following:

Saint Athanasius the Great, the monks of Tabennisi (and behind them all the monks and ascetics of Egypt, such as Venerable Theodore the Sanctified), Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Melania the Roman, Venerable Sophronius Patriarch of Jerusalem, Saint Nicephorus the Confessor Patriarch of Constantinople, Venerable Theodore the Studite, Saint Joseph Patriarch of Constantinople and the Synod that signed the relevant text, Venerable Meletius of Galesion, Saint Athanasius Patriarch of Constantinople, Joseph Bryennios, Saint Mark of Ephesus, and the Holy Dositheus Patriarch of Jerusalem. Finally, all the Saints, according to Venerable Theodore the Studite and Holy Dositheus.

The Fifth Ecumenical Council explains why the heretic must not be regarded as being in communion with the Orthodox: because the Mysteries are defiled through communion (commemoration) with the heretic. The term “defilement” here does not mean the removal of the essence of the priesthood nor the non-existence of the Mysteries. From the interpretation of the Fifth Council, it follows that the principle “he who communes with the excommunicated shall himself be excommunicated” applies also to a non-deposed (“not yet condemned”) heretic.

This principle must not be interpreted as applying only after excommunication, as the official interpreters claim, but also before it, as is evident from the apostolic and patristic testimonies that have been presented.

First Millennium:

This commandment was observed by the flock of the Orthodox during the periods of: Saint Athanasius the Great, Saint Basil the Great, and Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople. During this era also lived Venerable Theodore the Studite, for whom the matter likewise concerned the Holy Hierarchs Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Notable too was the contribution of Saint Melania the Roman, who confirms the observance of the principle even in regard to uncondemned heretics. According to Venerable Theodore, this commandment pertains to all the Saints up to his time, and its observance by all constitutes a consensus Patrum — a common acceptance by the Fathers.

Second Millennium:

Leaders of this period were Saint Joseph, Patriarch of Constantinople, Joseph Bryennios, Mark of Ephesus, and Meletius of Galesion.

The principle “he who communes with the excommunicated shall himself be excommunicated” remained in force during this period as well, not only regarding communion with the Papists but also with uncondemned heretics, as is evident from the acceptance of the letter of Saint Basil the Great to the “Monastics” and from the application of the principle by Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

In sum, this principle constitutes an ancient and patristic tradition, that is, a consensus Patrum, and it is a commandment that originates from great figures of holiness and has remained unchanged throughout the centuries, even to our own time.

 

[Further information can be found in the book (in Greek) by Hieromonk Eugenios, “The Concept of Defilement”…]

Greek source: https://apotixisi.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-post_28.html