ORTHODOX DOGMAS AND ANATHEMAS

[d9popov]

THE DEFINITION OF FAITH
THE FOURTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (A.D. 451)

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; the same [is] perfect in Godhood [Deity] and also perfect in manhood [humanity]; truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and body; one in essence with the Father with regard to Godhood, and one in essence with us with regard to manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten, before all ages, of the Father according to [His] Godhood, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God [Theotokos], according to [His] manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and Only-Begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the Holy Fathers has handed down to us.

Ἑπόμενοι τοίνυν τοῖς ἁγίοις πατράσιν ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖν υἱὸν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν συμφώνως ἅπαντες ἐκδιδάσκομεν, τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν θεότητι καὶ τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀνθρωπότητι, θεὸν ἀληθῶς καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἀληθῶς τὸν αὐτὸν, ἐκ ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ σώματος, ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, καὶ ὁμοούσιον τὸν αὐτὸν ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, κατὰ πάντα ὅμοιον ἡμῖν χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας· πρὸ αἰώνων μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθέντα κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν τὸν αὐτὸν δἰ ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου τῆς θεοτόκου κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν Χριστόν, υἱόν, κύριον, μονογενῆ, ἐν δύο φύσεσιν, ἀσυγχύτως, ἀτρέπτως, ἀδιαιρέτως, ἀχωρίστως γνωριζόμενον· οὐδαμοῦ τῆς τῶν φύσεων διαφορᾶς ἀνῃρημένης διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, σωζομένης δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἰδιότητος ἑκατέρας φύσεως καὶ εἰς ἓν πρόσωπον καὶ μίαν ὑπὸστασιν συντρεχούσης, οὐκ εἰς δύο πρόσωπα μεριζόμενον ἢ διαιρούμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν υἱὸν καὶ μονογενῆ, θεὸν λόγον, κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν· καθάπερ ἄνωθεν οἱ προφῆται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ κύριος Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐξεπαίδευσε καὶ τὸ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῖν καραδέδωκε σύμβολον.

Adapted from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds2.iv.i.iii.html.

[d9popov]

CONFESSION OF FAITH BY SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA AND ARCHBISHOP JOHN OF ANTIOCH

We confess, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, consisting of a rational soul and flesh; begotten, before the ages, of the Father according to His Deity [Godhood], and in the last days, for us and for our salvation, [begotten] of Mary the Virgin according to His humanity [manhood], being of the same essence with His Father according to His Deity, and being of the same essence with us according to His humanity; for there was a union of two natures. Therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of this unmixed union, we confess the Holy Virgin to be Mother of God; because God the Word was incarnate and became man, and from this conception He united the temple taken from her with Himself. For we know that theologians take some things of the Evangelic and Apostolic teaching about the Lord as common, as pertaining to the one person, and other things they distinguish as pertaining to the two natures, and attribute the lofty ones to God on account of the Deity of Christ, and the lowly ones on account of His humanity [they attribute to His humanity].

Ὁμολογοῦμεν τοιγαροῦν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, θεὸν τέλειον καὶ ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐκ ψυχῆς λογι­κῆς καὶ σώματος· πρὸ αἰώνων μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθέντα κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, ἐπ' ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν τὸν αὐτὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμε­τέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ τὸν αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, καὶ ὁμοούσιον ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· δύο γὰρ φύσεων ἕνωσις γέγονε· δι’ ὃ ἕνα Χριστόν, ἕνα υἱόν, ἕνα Κύριον ὁμολογοῦμεν. κατὰ ταύτην τὴν τῆς ἀσυγχύτου ἑνώσεως ἔννοιαν ὁμολογοῦμεν τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον θεοτόκον, διὰ τὸ τὸν θεὸν Λόγον σαρκωθῆναι καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς συλλήψεως ἑνῶσαι ἑαυτῷ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς ληφθέντα ναόν. τὰς δὲ εὐαγγελικὰς καὶ ἀποστολικὰς περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου φωνάς, ἴσμεν τοὺς θεολόγους ἄνδρας τὰς μὲν κοινοποιοῦντας ὡς ἐφ’ ἑνὸς προσώπου, τὰς δὲ διαιροῦντας ὡς ἐπὶ δύο φύσεων· καὶ τὰς μὲν θεοπρεπεῖς κατὰ τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὰς δὲ ταπεινὰς κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα αὐτοῦ παραδιδόντας.

http://symbole.gr/chrtoms/dogma/1149-symv3oec

[d9popov]

FIFTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (553)

ANATHEMAS AGAINST THE DOCTRINES OF ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE ORIGENISTS

1. If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration [apokatastasis] which follows from it, let him be anathema.

2. If anyone shall say that the creation [τὴν παραγωγὴν] of all rational things includes only intelligences [νόας] without bodies and altogether immaterial, having neither number nor name, so that there is unity between them all by identity of substance, force, and energy, and by their union with and knowledge of God the Word; but that no longer desiring the sight of God, they gave themselves over to worse things, each one following his own inclinations, and that they have taken bodies more or less subtle, and have received names, for among the heavenly Powers there is a difference of names as there is also a difference of bodies; and thence some became and are called Cherubim, others Seraphim, and Principalities, and Powers, and Dominations, and Thrones, and Angels, and as many other heavenly orders as there may be, let him be anathema.

3. If anyone shall say that the sun, the moon and the stars are also rational beings, and that they have only become what they are because they turned towards evil, let him be anathema.

4. If anyone shall say that the rational creatures in whom the divine love had grown cold have been hidden in gross bodies such as ours, and have been called men, while those who have attained the lowest degree of wickedness have shared cold and obscure bodies and have become and are called demons and evil spirits, let him be anathema,.

5. If anyone shall say that a psychic [ψυχικὴν] condition has come from an angelic or archangelic state, and moreover that a demonic and a human condition has come from a psychic condition, and that from a human state they may become again angels and demons, and that each order of heavenly virtues is either all from those below or from those above, or from those above and below, let him be anathema.

6. If anyone shall say that there is a twofold race of demons, of which the one includes the souls of men and the other the superior spirits who fell to this, and that of all the number of rational beings there is but one which has remained unshaken in the love and contemplation of God, and that that spirit has become Christ and the king of all rational beings, and that he has created all the bodies which exist in heaven, on earth, and between heaven and earth; and that the world which has in itself elements more ancient than itself, and which exists by themselves, viz.: dryness, damp, heat and cold, and the image [ιδέαν] to which it was formed, was so formed, and that the most holy and consubstantial Trinity did not create the world, but that it was created by the working intelligence [Νοῦς δημιουργός] which is more ancient than the world, and which communicates to it its being, let him be anathema.

7. If anyone shall say that Christ, of Whom it is said [in Scripture] that He appeared in the form [nature] of God, and that He was united before all time with God the Word, and humbled Himself in these last days even to humanity, had [according to their expression] pity upon the various falls which had appeared in the spirits united in the same unity [of which He Himself is part], and that to restore them he passed through various classes, had different bodies and different names, became all to all, an Angel among Angels, a Power among Powers, has clothed Himself in the different classes of rational beings with a form corresponding to that class, and finally has taken flesh and blood like ours and has become man for men; [if anyone says all this] and does not profess that God the Word humbled Himself and became man, let him be anathema.

8. If anyone shall not acknowledge that God the Word, of the same substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and Who was made flesh and became man, one of the Trinity, is Christ in every sense of the word, but [shall affirm] that He is so only in an inaccurate manner, and because of the abasement [κενώσαντα], as they call it, of the intelligence [νοῦς]; if anyone shall affirm that this intelligence united [συνημμένον] to God the Word, is the Christ in the true sense of the word, while the Word is only called Christ because of this union with the intelligence, or that the intelligence is only called God because of the Word, let him be anathema.

9. If anyone shall say that it was not the Divine Word made man by taking an animated body with a rational and intelligent soul, that He descended into Hades and ascended into Heaven, but shall pretend that it is the Mind [Νοῦς] which has done this, that Mind [Νοῦς] of which they say he is Christ properly so called, and that he has become so by the knowledge of the Monad, let him be anathema.

10. If anyone shall say that, after the resurrection, the body of the Lord was ethereal, having the form of a sphere, and that such shall be the bodies of all after the resurrection; and that after the Lord Himself shall have rejected His true body and after the others who rise shall have rejected theirs, the nature of their bodies shall be annihilated, let him be anathema.

11. If anyone shall say that the future judgment signifies the destruction of the body and that the end of the story will be an immaterial nature, and that thereafter there will no longer be any matter, but only spirit [νοῦς], let him be anathema.

12. If anyone shall say that the heavenly Powers and all men and the Devil and evil spirits are united with the Word of God in all respects, as the Mind (Νοῦς) which is by them called Christ and which is in the form [nature] of God, and which humbled itself as they say; and [if anyone shall say] that the Kingdom of Christ shall have an end, let him be anathema.

13. If anyone shall say that Christ [i.e., the Νοῦς] is in no wise different from other rational beings, neither substantially nor by wisdom nor by his power and might over all things but that all will be placed at the right hand of God, as well as he that is called by them Christ [the Νοῦς], as also they were in the feigned pre-existence of all things, let him be anathema.

14. If anyone shall say that all rational beings will one day be united in one, when the persons [hypostases] as well as the numbers and the bodies shall have disappeared, and that the knowledge of the world to come will carry with it the ruin of the worlds, and the rejection of bodies as also the abolition of [all] names, and that there shall be finally an identity of the knowledge [γνῶσις] and of the person [hypostasis]; moreover, that in this pretended restoration [apokatastasis], spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the feigned pre-existence, let him be anathema.

15. If anyone shall say that the life of the spirits [νοῶν] shall be like the life which was in the beginning while as yet the spirits had not come down or fallen, so that the end and the beginning shall be alike, and that the end shall be the true measure of the beginning, let him be anathema.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xiii.x.html

**

᾿Αναθεματισμοὶ κατὰ τῶν ὠριγενείων δοξασιῶν: Κυρωθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει πέμπτης οἰκουμενικῆς συνόδου

1. Εἴ τις τὴν μυθώδη προΰπαρξιν τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ τὴν ταύτῃ ἑπομένην τερατώδη ἀποκατάστασιν πρεσβεύει, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

2. Εἴ τις λέγει πάντων τῶν λογικῶν τὴν παραγωγὴν νόας ἀσωμάτους καὶ ἀύλους γεγονέναι δίχα παντὸς ἀριθμοῦ καὶ ὀνόματος, ὡς ἑνάδα πάντων τούτων γενέσθαι τῇ ταυτότητι τῆς οὐσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ ἐνεργείας καὶ τῇ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν Λόγον ἑνώσει τε καὶ γνώσει, κόρον δὲ αὐτοὺς λαβεῖν τῆς θείας θεωρίας καὶ πρὸς τὸ χειρον τραπῆναι κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐπὶ τοῦτο ῥοπῆς· καὶ εἰληφέναι σώματα λεπτο­μερέστερα ἢ παχύτερα, καὶ ὄνομα κληρώσασθαι διὰ τὸ ὡς ὀνομάτων οὕτω καὶ σωμάτων διαφορὰς εἶναι τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων· καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τοὺς μὲν χερουβὶμ τοὺς δὲ σεραφὶμ τοὺς δὲ ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσίας ἢ κυριότητας ἢ θρό­νους καὶ ἀγγέλους καὶ ὅσα ἐστὶν οὐράνια τάγματα γεγονέναι τε καὶ ὀνο­μασθῆναι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

3. Εἴ τις λέγει τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὴν σελήνην καὶ τοὺς ἀστέρας, καὶ αὐτὰ τῆς αὐτῆς τῶν λογικῶν ἑνάδος ὄντα, ἐκ παρατροπῆς τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον γεγονέναι τοῦτο ὅ περ εἰσίν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

4. Εἴ τις λέγει τὰ λογικὰ τὰ τῆς θείας ἀγάπης ἀποψυγέντα σώμασι παχυτέροις τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐνδεθῆναι καὶ ἀνθρώπους ὀνομασθῆναι, τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς κακίας ἐληλακότα ψυχροῖς καὶ ζοφεροῖς ἐνδεθῆναι σώμα­σι καὶ δαίμονας ἢ «πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας» εἶναί τε καὶ καλεῖσθαι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

5. Εἴ τις λέγει ἐξ ἀγγελικῆς καταστάσεως καὶ ἀρχαγγελικῆς ψυχικὴν κατάστασιν γίνεσθαι, ἐκ δὲ ψυχῆς δαιμονιώδη καὶ ἀνθρωπίνην, ἐκ δὲ ἀνθρωπίνης ἀγγέλους πάλιν καὶ δαίμονας γίνεσθαι, καὶ ἕκαστον τάγμα τῶν οὐρανίων δυνάμεων ἢ ὅλον ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἢ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω ἢ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω καὶ τῶν κάτω συνεστηκέναι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

6. Εἴ τις λέγει διττὸν πεφηνέναι τὸ γένος τῶν δαιμόνων, συγκρο­τούμενον ἔκ τε ψυχῶν ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ ἐκ κρειττόνων καταπιπτόντων εἰς τοῦτο πνευμάτῶν· ἕνα δὲ νοῦν ἐκ πάσης δῆθεν ἑνάδος τῶν λογικῶν ἀκί­νητον μεῖναι τῆς θείας ἀγάπης καὶ θεωρίας, ὃν Χριστὸν καὶ βασιλέα γεγο­νότα πάντων τῶν λογικῶν παραγαγεῖν πᾶσαν τὴν σωματικὴν φύσιν οὐρα­νόν τε καὶ γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν μέσῳ· καὶ ὅτι ὁ κόσμος πρεσβύτερα τῆς ὑπάρξεως αὐτοῦ στοιχεῖα ἔχων ἐνυπόστατα, ξηρόν, ὑγρόν, θερμόν, ψυχρόν, καὶ τὴν ἰδέαν πρὸς ἣν ἀπετυπώθη, οὕτω γέγονε· καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἡ παναγία καὶ ὁμοούσιος τριὰς ἐδημιούργησε τὸν κόσμον καὶ διὰ τοῦτό ἐστι γενητός, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ νοῦς, ὅν φασι, δημιουργικὸς προϋπάρχων τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὸ εἶναι αὐτῷ τῷ κόσμῳ παρέχων γενητὸν ἀνέδειξεν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

7. Εἴ τις λέγει Χριστὸν λεγόμενον ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχειν καὶ πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων ἑνωθέντα τῷ θεῷ Λόγῳ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν κενῶσαι ἑαυτὸν πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἐλεήσαντα τὴν –ὥς φασιν– γενομένην πολυσχεδῆ κατάπτωσιν τῶν τῆς αὐτῆς ἑνάδος, καὶ ἐπαναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς βουλόμενον διὰ πάντων γενέσθαι καὶ σώματα διάφορα μεταμφιάσασθαι καὶ ὀνόματα κληρώσασθαι, πάντα πᾶσι γεγενημένον, ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἄγγελον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν δυνάμεσι δύναμιν καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις τάγμασιν ἢ εἴδεσι τῶν λογι­κῶν ἁρμονίως ἑκάστοις μεταμορφῶσθαι, εἶτα παραπλησίως ἡμῖν μετασχη­κέναι σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος καὶ γεγονέναι καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἄνθρωπον, καὶ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν θεὸν Λόγον κενωθῆναί τε καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

8. Εἴ τις μὴ λέγει τὸν θεὸν Λόγον τὸν ὁμοούσιον τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ καὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, τὸν σαρκωθέντα καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, τὸν ἕνα τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος, κυρίως Χριστόν, ἀλλὰ καταχρηστικῶς διὰ τὸν –ὥς φασι– κενώσαντα ἑαυτὸν νοῦν, ὡς συνημμένον αὐτῷ τῷ θεῷ Λόγῳ καὶ κυρίως λεγόμενον Χριστόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκεῖνον διὰ τοῦτον Χριστὸν καὶ τοῦτον δι᾿ ἐκεῖνον θεόν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

9. Εἴ τις λέγει ὅτι οὐχ ὁ Λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ σαρκωθεὶς σαρκὶ ἐμψυχωμένῃ ψυχῇ λογικῇ καὶ νοερᾷ κατελήλυθεν εἰς τὸν ᾄδην καὶ πάλιν εἰς τὸν οὐρα­νὸν ὁ αὐτὸς ἀναβέβηκεν, ἀλλ' ὁ παρ' αὐτοῖς λεγόμενος νοῦς, ὃν ἀσεβοῦντες λέγουσι κυρίως Χριστὸν τῇ τῆς μονάδος γνώσει πεποιημένον, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

10. Εἴ τις λέγει ὡς τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐξ ἀναστάσεως σῶμα αἰθέριόν τε καὶ σφαιροειδὲς τῷ σχήματι, καὶ ὅτι [τὰ] τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐξ ἀνα­στάσεως ἔσται σώματα, καὶ ὅτι αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου πρῶτον ἀποτιθεμένου τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ σῶμα καὶ πάντων ὁμοίως εἰς τὸ ἀνύπαρκτον χωρήσει ἡ τῶν σωμάτων φύσις, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

11. Εἴ τις λέγει ὅτι ἡ μέλλουσα κρίσις ἀναίρεσιν παντελῆ τῶν σωμάτων σημαίνει, καὶ ὅτι τέλος ἐστὶ τοῦ μυθευομένου ἡ ἄυλος φύσις, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι τῶν τῆς ὕλης ὑπάρξει ἀλλὰ γυμνὸς ὁ νοῦς, ἔστω ἀνάθεμα.

12. Εἴ τις λέγει ὅτι ἑνοῦνται τῷ θεῷ Λόγῳ οὕτως ἀπαραλλάκτως αἵ τε ἐπουράνιοι δυνάμεις καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὁ διάβολος καὶ τὰ πνευ­ματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ νοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος παρ᾿ αὐτῶν Χριστὸς καὶ ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων καὶ κενώσας –ὥς φασιν– ἑαυτόν, καὶ πέρας ἔσεσθαι τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

13. Εἴ τις λέγει ὡς οὐδὲ μίαν παντελῶς ἕξει ὁ Χριστὸς πρὸς οὐδὲ ἓν τῶν λογικῶν διαφοράν, οὐδὲ τῇ οὐσίᾳ οὐδὲ τῇ γνώσει οὐδὲ τῇ ἐφ' ἅπαντα δυνάμει ἢ ἐνεργείᾳ, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἐκ δεξιῶν ἔσονται τοῦ θεοῦ, καθά περ ὁ παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς Χριστός, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῇ παρ' αὐτῶν μυθευομένῃ προϋπάρξει ἐτύγχανον, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

14. Εἴ τις λέγει ὅτι πάντων τῶν λογικῶν ἑνὰς μία ἔσται τῶν ὑποστά­σεων καὶ τῶν ἀριθμῶν συναναιρουμένων τοῖς σώμασι, καὶ ὅτι τῇ γνώσει τῇ περὶ τῶν λογικῶν ἕπεται κόσμων τε φθορὰ καὶ σωμάτων ἀπόθεσις καὶ ὀνομάτων <ἀν>αίρεσις, <καὶ> ταυτότης ἔσται τῆς γνώσεως, καθά περ καὶ τῶν ὑποστάσεων, καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῇ μυθευομένῃ ἀποκαταστάσει ἔσονται μόνοι γυμνοὶ <οἱ νόες>, καθά περ καὶ ἐν τῇ παρ' αὐτῶν ληρωδουμένῃ προϋπάρ­ξει ἐτύγχανον, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

15. Εἴ τις λέγει ὅτι ἡ ἀγωγὴ τῶν νοῶν ἡ αὐτὴ ἔσται τῃ προτέρᾳ, ὅτε οὔπω ὑποβεβήκεσαν ἢ καταπεπτώκεσαν, ὡς τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι τῷ τέλει καὶ τὸ τέλος τῆς ἀρχῆς μέτρον εἶναι, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω.

http://symbole.gr/chrtoms/dogma/1153-fides04

[jdigrande]

Thank you d9popov for the extensive quotes from the confessions of faith.

The True Orthodox should amend the Synodikon to admit the council of 1285 and canonize St. Gregory of Cyprus who wrote the Tomos in 1285. He, St. Gregory Palamas and Photius the Great should be on the same ikon since they fought the Filioque and the Latins over a 450 year period. This addition and its acceptance should be a uniting act between the True Orthodox just like acceptance of the anathema against Darwinism that RTOC has just enacted should also be a uniting act.
It took the Greeks 950 years to canonize St. Photius the Great in 1848 so a similar process should ensue for St. Gregory of Cyprus. It was Latin control of all publishing and formal higher education after 1453 that kept Blachernae (1285) out of the Synodikon.
The true Orthodox have to act like they are the true church by changing the Synodikon as if the World Orthodox do not exist. They do not exist spiritually.

[Orthodox in Michigan]

Thank you d9popov for the extensive quotes from the confessions of faith.

The True Orthodox should amend the Synodikon to admit the council of 1285 and canonize St. Gregory of Cyprus who wrote the Tomos in 1285. He, St. Gregory Palamas and Photius the Great should be on the same ikon since they fought the Filioque and the Latins over a 450 year period. This addition and its acceptance should be a uniting act between the True Orthodox just like acceptance of the anathema against Darwinism that RTOC has just enacted should also be a uniting act.
It took the Greeks 950 years to canonize St. Photius the Great in 1848 so a similar process should ensue for St. Gregory of Cyprus. It was Latin control of all publishing and formal higher education after 1453 that kept Blachernae (1285) out of the Synodikon.
The true Orthodox have to act like they are the true church by changing the Synodikon as if the World Orthodox do not exist. They do not exist spiritually.

These are very interesting topics and great points , I applaud what the rtoc did about Darwinisn, it would make things more direct and people could get on board where the true church is and stand .

On the point of confession d9 quoted point 1 and 2 about the symbol of faith and one baptism, here is where i find it very hard to believe or accept how any true church in orthodoxy can say this without 100% certainty that it means what it says , no true baptism unless in the church and one true church , any bishop that will confess that should first act on it in true word and practice , meaning there cannot be other visible churches with the same sacraments and beliefs with out visible communion share and same grace and be visibly divided it makes no sense and nor did the early fathers of the church accept that nonsense.
That ultimately is not orthodox nor would the above mentioned saints agree.

[Maria]

Thank you d9popov for the extensive quotes from the confessions of faith.

The True Orthodox should amend the Synodikon to admit the council of 1285 and canonize St. Gregory of Cyprus who wrote the Tomos in 1285. He, St. Gregory Palamas and Photius the Great should be on the same ikon since they fought the Filioque and the Latins over a 450 year period. This addition and its acceptance should be a uniting act between the True Orthodox just like acceptance of the anathema against Darwinism that RTOC has just enacted should also be a uniting act.
It took the Greeks 950 years to canonize St. Photius the Great in 1848 so a similar process should ensue for St. Gregory of Cyprus. It was Latin control of all publishing and formal higher education after 1453 that kept Blachernae (1285) out of the Synodikon.
The true Orthodox have to act like they are the true church by changing the Synodikon as if the World Orthodox do not exist. They do not exist spiritually.

These are very interesting topics and great points , I applaud what the rtoc did about Darwinisn, it would make things more direct and people could get on board where the true church is and stand .

On the point of confession d9 quoted point 1 and 2 about the symbol of faith and one baptism, here is where i find it very hard to believe or accept how any true church in orthodoxy can say this without 100% certainty that it means what it says , no true baptism unless in the church and one true church , any bishop that will confess that should first act on it in true word and practice , meaning there cannot be other visible churches with the same sacraments and beliefs with out visible communion share and same grace and be visibly divided it makes no sense and nor did the early fathers of the church accept that nonsense.
That ultimately is not orthodox nor would the above mentioned saints agree.

This is precisely why I have moved this discussion into Intra-TOC private discussions.

The True Orthodox Church of Greece under Archbishop Stephanos believes that it is the One True Catholic and Orthodox Church of Greece. They use chrismation when receiving someone with a correct baptism but who has left the GOC for whatever reason, and then has returned. They also use chrismation to rectify a correct baptism used by those in Kallinikos' synod - correct in that the baptism was done with threefold immersions with all the body members totally submerged (every hair too). Otherwise, all are received by Holy Baptism according to tradition.

Archbishop Gregory of Colorado and Monk Kyrikos of Greece receive all by baptism, not accepting any baptism not done by world orthodoxy or those who call themselves True Orthodox. This does not mean that they are the True Church as both left their original church in an act of schism.

[jdigrande]

So in the event that someone wanted to convert from another True Orthodox Church like RTOC- they would have to be baptized in the GOC?