| The Russian Orthodox Church, faithful to the centuries-old canonical tradition, has always defended and continues to defend the equality of the local Orthodox Churches and the independence of each local church from the other local churches in internal government. “The mockery of the sacred institution of autocephaly”, expressed in granting autocephaly to a group of Ukrainian schismatics, has become one of the sad consequences of the distortion of Holy Tradition upon which for centuries the life of the Orthodox Church has been built as a family of local churches independent of each other in matters of internal government. 7. The unilateral revision by the Patriarchate of Constantinople of acts that have significance for establishing legal precedents. In laying claim to supposed powers within the Orthodox world, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has not hesitated to revise unilaterally the historical acts that have significance for establishing legal precedents in relation to the local Orthodox Churches and their canonical boundaries. This approach contradicts the canonical Tradition of the Church by violating, in particular, the 129 th (133th) canon of the Council of Carthage and the 17 th canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council. These canons do not admit of the possibility of revising already established ecclesiastical boundaries which had never been disputed for many years. An example of the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in violating the present church canons would be the “renewal” of the Tomos of the Patriarch of Constantinople Meletius IV on 7 th July 1923, which, without the knowledge and consent of the Patriarch of All Russia Tikhon, received into the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople the autonomous Estonian Orthodox Church, which was then part of the Patriarchate of Moscow. After the restoration in 1944 in Estonia of the legitimate jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate the Tomos of 1923 was forgotten. On 3 rd April 1978 an act by the Patriarch of Constantinople Dimitrius and the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople declared the Tomos to be “invalid”, while Constantinople’s activities in Estonia were said to be “finished”. Nonetheless, on 20 th February 1996 the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, under the presidency of Patriarch Bartholomew, gave a new interpretation to this decision in stating that in 1978 “the Mother Church ... declared the Tomos of 1923 to be invalid, that is to say, having no validity at that time on the territory of Estonia, then part of the Soviet Union, but did not cancel or annul it, or deprive it of its power.” Now Patriarch Bartholomew and his Synod have declared that “the renewal of the Patriarchal and Synodal Tomos of 1923 is valid.” |
| The false mode of knowledge chosen by the first hypostases of the human race – Adam and Eve – claims to link knowledge with a purely natural aspect of being, and therefore reaps the rewards of corruption by nature, excommunicating (‘κενωθντας’ – literally ‘exhausting’) a person from knowing God and making him unreasonable (λογον). 36 Obviously, this does not imply a complete loss of rationality, but the direction of its dynamics, depending on the selected mode of existence and cognition. 37 Patristic thought inseparably connects the origin and development of the created intelligent existence with the hypostatic unity and the vector of free personal will. 38 St. Gregory Palama also notes that the lack of distinction between the multiple uncreated energies would lead, in particular, to the negation of the freedom of will as concerns both created beings and the Creator Himself. 39 This idea maintains the relationship between the hypostatic freedom of volition and cognition and the internal structure of uncreated energies reflecting the ‘hypostatic structure’ of existence. On Man’s Knowledge of His Own Nature and That of the Outside World as Leading to the Knowledge of God St. Athanasius considers the process of human cognition of his own nature throughout his life journey 40 and cognition of God by man in himself as in a reflection. 41 Human capability of cognizing God based on our conformity to Him is also discussed by St. Basil. 42 Again, this fact compels us to relate the cognitive process not only to the intellectual nature of human race but also to the hypostatic element in order to avoid the tautological thesis of the mind coming to know itself as well as to draw an analogy between hypostatic-natural integrity of human ontology and that of their Creator. Of importance for our theme is also a theological idea of the original, starting from the moment of creation, human conformity to the Logos, the plan of Whose incarnation is the highest prototype of human duality, including not only created nature but also uncreated energies. The likeness of the first and of second Adam in complexity and synthetic character of hypostatic being, in fact, is the key to solution of the problem of the knowledge of God consisting in the incomparability of the created and uncreated nature. Patristic thought also draws our attention to the fact that all creatures bear the imprint of their ‘Father Superior’ – the Logos, through Whom they were brought into being, hence even natural knowledge of the surrounding world can lead man to the cognition of the hypostasis of the Logos and through Him –– also of His Father. 43 Similarly, the activity, the fruit of labor of an individual human hypostasis enables to know the wisdom thereof. 44 On the Knowledge of Difference between Species through Sets of Idioms and Potential Unlimitedness of a Hypostatic Idiom Series |
| Attending the festive reception were the mother superior of Convent of the Conception abbess Juliania (Kaleda), the mother superior of the Saints Martha and Mary Convent abbess Elizabeth (Posdnyakova), the secretary of the Department of External Church Relations for inter-Christian relations hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), the representative of the Coptic Church in Moscow hieromonk Daoud el Antoni, the representative of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism and inmate of the Sretensky stauropegic monastery hieromonk Agathangel (Divlatov) and coworker of the DECR S.G. Alferov. At the request of abbess Victorina the guests spoke about the history and contemporary life of Coptic monasticism and answered the sisters’ numerous questions. The abbess shared her personal memories of her visit to the ancient monasteries of Egypt in November of 2018 as part of a delegation of monastics of the Russian Orthodox Church. The guests then went on a walk around the historical centre of the Russian capital, visiting the Monastery of the Saviour-Beyond-the Icons, Red Square and Christ the Saviour Cathedral, and then met with the faithful of the Coptic parish in Moscow. The delegation’s visit continued on 22 nd August as they set off for the metropolitanate of Yaroslavl. Making up the delegation were: the father superior of the Monastery of Saint John in el Alamein in the Egyptian province of Matrouch bishop Discoros as head of the delegation; the administrator of the diocese of Luxor bishop Joseph; the auxiliary of the diocese of Luxor bishop Joachim; the father superior of the Monastery of the Holy Martyr Thomas and the Monastery of the Holy Martyr Victor in Hadab in the province of South Sinai bishop Thomas; the father superior of the Monastery of Saint Pachomius the Great in the province of Aswan bishop Arsenius; the secretary of the Patriarchal residence in Alexandria archpriest Abraham Emil Nagi; inmate of the Monastery of Saint Pachomius the Great hieromonk Anthony el Bahomi; the dean of the Monastery of Saint Paul of Thebes in the eastern desert of the Red Sea hieromonk Cherubim anba-Pula; inmate of the Monastery of Saint Paul of Thebes hieromonk Poemen anba-Pula; Patriarchal advisor Doctor Anton Milad; and coworker of the Coptic Patriarchate and special representative for church construction Doctor Adel Elmenchavi. |
| 4.Fidas, Ecclesiastical History of Russia, pp. 335: The Metropolitan of Kiev served as president of the All-Russian Council of 1917 at which the patriarchal institution was reestablished in Russia. 5.Fidas, Ecclesiastical History of Russia, pp. 348-349 and idem, “The Russian Church,” ΘΗΕ 10 (1965), p. 1077: Of particular importance and, indeed, with inter-Orthodox participation is the Council of 1945, which drafted the administrative regulation of the Church of Russia. Prof. Fidas writes, “Taking part in the Synod of 1945 were Patriarch Christophoros of Alexandria, Patriarch Alexander of Antioch, the ‘Patriarch-Catholicos’ of the Church of Georgia Kallistratos, the representative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Metropolitan Germanos of Thyateira, the representative of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Athenagoras of Sebasteia, the representative of the Serbian Church, Metropolitan Joseph of Skopje, Bishop Joseph of the Church of Romania, etc. … The Synod also drafted the “Administrative Regulation of the Church of Russia.” According to Article 19 of the Regulation, the Metropolitan of Kiev participates as a permanent member of the Standing Synod! Does there exist the slightest reservation in good faith that the Metropolitan of Kiev does not depend on the Church of Russia, according to the unanimous decision of the Churches above? 6.Fidas, “The Russian Church,” ΘΗΕ 10 (1965), p. 1077: among the eparchies of the Church of Russia is Kiev and all Ukraine, as well as all the monasteries of Ukraine! From the above historical facts cited by Prof. Fidas himself, it is clear that in recent centuries the Orthodox in Ukraine have participated in all facets of the ecclesiastical life of the Patriarchate of Russia (monachism, theological schools, administration, including the Holy Synod, persecutions, etc.) and not in that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In the works: Nicephoros, Metropolitan of Kykkos and Tellyria, The Contemporary Ukrainian Question and its Solution according to the Sacred Canons (Nicosia: Study Center of the Sacred Monastery of Kykkos, 2020), p. 34ff; Priest Anastasios Gkotsopoulos, Ukrainian Autocephaly: A Contribution to Dialogue (Thessaloniki: To Palimpsiston, 2019), pp. 15-36; idem, “Ukrainian Autocephaly: An Invitation to Ecclesiastical Unity or an Invitation to the Unity of the Church?,” homily given on January 1, 2020, available as a pdf in Greek here, pp. 4-7, there are many facts (most of which from Constantinople!) that demonstrate the fullness of the canonical jurisdiction of the Church of Russia in Ukraine. |
| Further reading: Priest G. Dyacheko, Lessons and examples of Christian Faith, St. Petersburg, 1902, p. 349-351.//Compare: St. John Climacus, On the Memory of Death, Homily 6 (9), Ladder of Divine Ascent, Sergiev Posad, 1908, p. 72-73. Blessed Theophilactus of Bulgaria, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Ch. 14), Blagovestnik, Commentary on the Holy Gospels, St. Petersburg, without date, p. 250. St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Book of Genesis, Homily 50 (451), Works, Volume 4, Book One, St. Petersburg. 1898. p. 548. St. Theophan the Recluse, C ommentary on the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, Moscow, 1893, p. 474-475. On separating the memory of death into two spiritual strengths see: N. Vasiliadis, Sacrament of Death, Holy Trinity - St. Sergius Lavra, 1998. p. 268-275. The Life of St. Anthony the Great, Lives of Saints, Book Five, January, Moscow, 1904, p. 536.//Compare also with: St. Ephrem the Syrian, Prayer 38, On the memory of death. Works, Part 4. Holy Trinity - St. Sergius Lavra, 1900, p. 454.//St. Ephrem the Syrian, Moral and Spiritual Works, 88 – On the memory of death, on virtue and on riches, Works, Part Three, Holy Trinity - St. Sergius Lavra, 1897, p. 116-117.// Ancient Paterikon, set out in chapters, Chapter 5 (33), Various stories regarding curtailing the spiritual warfare arising against us, Moscow, 1899, p. 81. St. John Climacus, op. cit., p. 75.// Ancient Patericon, set out in chapters. Chapter 11 (19): ‘On the need to be constantly vigilant’, Moscow, 1899, p. 209. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, On True Christianity, Discourse LXXXVIII, Works, Volume 2, Book One, Moscow, 1889, p. 48.//St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Discourse LXXXXIX, Op. cit., p. 48-49. St. Theophan the Recluse, ‘Lesson by the grave of one’s neighbour’, Thought and contemplation, Moscow, 1998, p. 206-207. Examples of the memory of death from the lives of saints: The Life of John the Merciful, Lives of Saints, Book Three, November, Moscow, 1902, p. 291. On John the Merciful see: S. Destunis, Lives of Saints: Compiled on the basis of the Great Menaion Reader and other books, November, St. Petersburg, 1892, p. 63-70).//Life of Holy Martyr Zelenetsky (Velikolutsky), Lives of Saints, Book Eight, April, Appendix, Moscow, 1906, p. 362.// Historical dictionary of saints, glorified by the Russian Church and certain pious people of faith venerated at the local level, St. Petersburg, 1862, p. 159-160.//V.N. Ilyin, St. Seraphim of Sarov, New York, 1971, p. 57-58. |
| 2. It is on this basis that it is essential to develop in all directions inter-Christian co-operation for the protection of human dignity and the preservation of peace so that the peace-keeping efforts of all Christians may become more relevant and effective. 3. The general recognition of the lofty value of the human person may become the cause for wider co-operation in the field of peace-keeping. The Orthodox Churches are called upon to help in religious dialogue and co-operation, and as a result of this to overcome all manifestations of fanaticism for the strengthening of friendship between peoples, the triumph of freedom and peace throughout the world for the good of each human person, regardless of their race and religion. Of course, this co-operation excludes both syncretism and the attempt of one religion to dominate over all the others. 4. We are convinced that as laborers together with God (I Cor. 3:9) we can develop on local, national and international levels joint service for the good of humanity with all peoples of good will that strive for a peace that is pleasing to God. This ministry is a commandment of God (Matt. 5:9). 2. Freedom and Responsibility . 1. One of the loftiest gifts of God to the human person both as a concrete bearer of the image of a personal God and as a member of a community of persons in the unity of the human race by grace reflecting the life and communion of the Divine Persons in the Holy Trinity, is the gift of freedom. " He Who created the human person in the beginning made him free and autonomous, limiting him solely by the laws of the commandment " (St. Gregory the Theologian, Homily 14 , On Love for the Poor , 25. PG 35, 892A). Freedom allows the human person to ascend to spiritual perfection, yet at the same time includes the danger of disobedience, the abandonment of submission to God and through this the fall, the tragic consequences of which is the existence of evil in the world. 2. The consequence of this evil are the imperfections and shortcomings which predominate in modern-day life: secularization, violence, moral laxity, negative phenomena such as narcotic and other forms of dependency that can be seen in certain young people, racism, the arms race, war and the social catastrophes that result from it, discrimination against certain social groups, religious communities and whole peoples, social inequality; the limitation of human rights in the field of freedom of conscience, in particular religious freedom, disinformation and the manipulation of public opinion; economic backwardness, the disproportionate redistribution or complete absence of the essentials of life, the hunger of millions of people, the forced deportation of populations and the trade in human beings, the uncontrolled use of genetic biotechnologies and the end of human life – all of this causes infinite anxiety in the life of modern-day humanity. |
| Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, Michael D. Peterson Скачать epub pdf Appendix Orthodox Churches of the World (1996) The Church of Constantinople His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch The Church of Alexandria His Beatitude Parthenios, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa The Church of Antioch His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East The Church of Jerusalem His Beatitude Diodoros, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine The Church of Russia His Holiness Aleksy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia The Church of Georgia His Holiness Ilia, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtshet and Tbilisi The Church of Serbia His Holiness Pavle, Archbishop of Pech, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Patriarch of Serbia The Church of Romania His Beatitude Teoctist, Patriarch of All Romania, Locum Tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia, Archbishop of Bucharest The Church of Bulgaria His Holiness Maksim, Patriarch of Bulgaria The Church of Cyprus His Beatitude Chrysostomos, Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus The Church of Greece His Beatitude Seraphim, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece The Church of Albania His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania The Church of Poland His Beatitude Basil, Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland The Church of Czech and Slovakia His Beatitude Dorotheus, Archbishop of Prague, Metropolitan of the Czech and Slovak Republics The Orthodox Church in America His Beatitude Theodosius, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada Autonomous Churches The Church of Sinai His Beatitude Damian, Archbishop of Sinai and Raithu The Church of Finland His Eminence John, Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland The Church of Japan His Eminence Theodosius, Archbishop of Tokyo, Metropolitan of All Japan Bibliography Contents I. General A. Bibliographies, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias B. Survey Works C. Periodicals D. Yearbooks, Annuals, and Newspapers |
| Tweet Нравится Book Launch of Fr. Peter Heers " " The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church " On Wednesday December 9, 2015 the Canadian Hellenic Orthodox Missionary Fraternity of Toronto of Apostle Paul held a book launch in their Toronto Apostle Paul Orthodox Christian Bookstore for Protopresbyter Peter Heers' new book " The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church, " which examines in depth in light of Orthodox Patristic teaching both the historical and theological road leading to the new ecclesiology promulgated at the Vatican II Council and the ecclesiology of the Council itself. A video of the book launch can be viewed below, as well as the words of several important and notable Orthodox Church personalities today in praise of Fr. Peter's essential new book, available from Uncut Mountain Press : Fr. Peter Heers’ book, The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II , is remarkable in every way. . . . I want to congratulate the author, for he labored on his subject with objectivity and sobriety and has presented us with an important work which assists us all, especially when, due to our lack of time and many responsibilities, we are unable to have access to the sources. The book is written in an academic manner, that is, objectively, as the tradition of the Fathers of the Church designates. Father Peter worked methodically, examining both the theological currents which preceded the Second Vatican Council and the context within which the council itself labored. Moreover, he studied in depth the texts of the council and the analyses of various theologians that followed the council. Having read this as a dissertation many times and as closely as possible, I have come to understand how papal theology became estranged from Orthodox patristic theology and tradition; how the views of papal theologians with regard to baptism and ecclesiology developed from Blessed Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and subsequent theologians; and how this line of thinking evolved through a variety of decisions and finally arrived at the Second Vatican Council, which then produced a new ecclesiology. |
| Compare with: Book of Rules of the Holy Apostles, Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils and Holy Fathers With Explanatory Notes Compiled by Priest Georgy Grabbe, Parts 2 and 3; Question 14 and the response to it by Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria. Montreal: Publishing House of the Fellowship of St. Job of Pochaev, 1974, p. 255.//For the attitude of the saints to mentally ill people who committed suicide see: The Life of our Holy Father Parthenius, bishop of Lampsacus, Lives of Saints, Book Six, February, Moscow, 1905, p. 128. On the courageous endurance of any life circumstances: The Life of our Holy Father among the Saints Macarius of Egypt, Lives of Saints, Book Five, January, Moscow, 1904, 598-601.// The Life of our Holy Father Ephrem the Syrian; Lives of St. Gury, Archbishop of Kazan and St. Barsanuphius, Bishop of Tver, Lives of Saints, Book Two, October, Moscow, 1904, p. 75-76. On how people committing suicide justify their actions see: Priest. G. Dyachenko, How suicides justify making attempts on their life and how other people justify suicide once it has been committed, Helper and Protector, Examples of Christian consolation for those unhappy and sorrowing, Part One, Moscow, Published by the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery, 1993, p. 322-325. The Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow, 2001, p. 100.//On the fault of surrounding people in the act of suicide see: the life of Holy Father Pachomius the Great, Lives of Saints, Book Nine, May, Moscow, 1908, p. 497. On religious feeling and belief in God as means of preventing suicide see: Professor A. Smirnov, ‘Suicide and the Christian View on Life’, The military and naval clergy Herald, No. 9, St. Petersburg, 1914, p. 348.//George Sand, Contes d’une grand-mère, St. Petersburg, Publishing House of I.V. Gubinsky, without date, p. 5-6. St. Theophan the Recluse, Letter 583, Collected Letters, Fourth Edition, Moscow, 1899, p. 58-59. See collected volumes: The Works of our Father among the Saints Theophan the Recluse, Collected Letters, Edition III and IV, Published by the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery and “Palomnik” publishing house, 1994.//Compare also: St. Theophan the Recluse, Letter 301, Collected Letters, Second Edition, Moscow, 1898, p. 160-161. See collected volumes: The Works of our Father among the Saints Theophan the Recluse, Collected Letters, Edition I and II, Published by the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery and the “Palomnik” publishing house, 1994. |
| The aesthetic consciousness of the Church Fathers is considered in the context of the formation of their general philosophical and theological views. The author discusses the formation of the fundamental propositions of the Christian doctrine (concerning God, the incarnation of Logos-Christ, the creation of the world, the sophijnost " of the creation, the concept of love, the problem of the relationship between the human person and the Church etc.) and the place and role of aesthetic ideas and phenomena in the formation of these. The book consists of two parts. The first part is dedicated to the aesthetic-culturological ideas of the early Church Fathers (the 2 - 3th c. apologists): Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius. The author traces their Graeco-Roman and Middle East sources, in particular the elements of Ciceronian aesthetics (whose influence on the Latin Fathers was substantial), the aesthetic ideas of Philo of Alexandria, the teaching on beauty of Plotinus, the Old Testament ideas of Sophia, art, the creation of the world and artistic activity etc. However, the main attention is focused on the birth of new Christian aesthetic consciousness on the basis of the " aesthetics of negation " (an attitude towards pagan artistic culture), in particular, on the understanding of art, artistic activity, imitation, image, likeness, symbol, sign, allegory, the beautiful and the sublime. The author demonstrates the change of aesthetic preferences in the new culture as compared to the ancient. Many ideas and principles of the apologists in the Latin world were developed by one of the most celebrated Fathers of Western Christianity, St.Augustine. The second part of the book is dedicated to the detailed analysis of his aesthetic system (perhaps, a unique system of such kind in Patristics). Here the author demonstrates the role that aesthetic phenomena and paradigms have in the Augustinian historiography and his teachings on being, cognition and the Church. The rather detailed Augustinian concepts and ideas of the universal order, number and rhythm, the beautiful (and its numerous laws such as harmony, commensurability, likeness etc.), artistic activity, the Christian understanding of art (and especially rhetoric and music - the meaning of jubilatio), his theories of the sign and aesthetic perception have formed a solid foundation for Western European medieval aesthetics. Moreover, some of the questions examined by Augustine are still important for contemporary aesthetics. |
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