The Kollyvades ( el, Κολλυβάδες) were the members of a movement within the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

that began in the second half of the eighteenth century among the monastic community of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

, which was concerned with the restoration of traditional practices and opposition to unwarranted innovations, and which turned unexpectedly into a movement of spiritual regeneration. As Bishop

Kallistos of Diokleia Kallistos Ware (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia ( gr, Διόκλεια Φρυ� ...

succinctly points out: The movement derived its name from the

Kollyva Koliva, also spelled, depending on the language, kollyva, kollyba or colivă, is a dish based on boiled wheat that is used liturgically in the Eastern Orthodox Church for commemorations of the dead. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, koliva is bl ...

(boiled wheat) which is used during

memorial services A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

. Its proponents were Athonite monks who adhered strictly to

Holy Tradition Sacred tradition is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to the theology of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian churches, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority o ...

, and insisted that memorial services should not be performed on

Sundays The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s. The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...

, because that is the day of the Lord's Resurrection, but rather on

Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...

, the usual day for the commemoration of the dead. They were also in favor of frequent reception of

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

, and practiced unceasing

prayer of the heart The Jesus Prayer,; syr, ܨܠܘܬܐ ܕܝܫܘܥ, translit=slotho d-yeshu'; syr, label=Amharic, Geez and Tigrinya, እግዚኦ መሐረነ ክርስቶስ, translit=igizi'o meḥarene kirisitosi. "Note: We are still searching the Fathers for t ...

. The terms ''“Kollyvades”'', ''“Kollyvistai”'', and ''“Sabbatianoi”'' were epithets which were originally meant sarcastically as bitter insults, however over the passage of time these contemptuous appellations became a title or badge of honor.
The Kollyvades Movement and the Advocacy of Frequent Communion
'' In: Hieromonk Patapios and Archbishop Chrysostomos
Manna from Athos: The Issue of Frequent Communion on the Holy Mountain in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries
Vol. II in the Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies series. Ed. Rev. Professor Andrew Louth and Professor David Ricks. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2006. The leaders of the movement were Neophytos Kafsokalyvitis (1713-1784), Saint Makarios (Notaras) of Corinth (1731-1805), Saint

Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain Nicodemus the Hagiorite or Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain ( el, Ὅσιος Νικόδημος ὁ Ἁγιορείτης; 1749 – July 14, 1809) is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was an ascetic monk, mystic, theologian, and phi ...

(1749-1809), and Saint

Athanasios Parios Athanasios Parios ( el, Ἀθανάσιος Πάριος; 1722–1813) was a Greeks, Greek hieromonk who was a notable theologian, philosopher, educator, and hymnographer of his time, and one of the "Teachers of the Nation" during the Modern Greek ...

(1722-1813).

History

Commemorations of the dead

The movement arose in 1754 out of a dispute within the Skete of St. Anne at Mount Athos when a group of monks objected to the scheduling of the commemoration of the dead on Sunday, the day that represented the Resurrection and Christ's victory over death, instead of Saturday or weekdays as it had been according to ancient custom. Other monks held that the commemoration of the dead has a Resurrection theme in every Liturgical celebration. While much animosity developed between the groups, the movement of the Kollyvades, as they became known, became part of an attempt to address deficiencies in spiritual life that had arisen in the Church since Byzantine times. The first response from Constantinople to the issue of Sunday commemorations of the dead came in the form of a letter from Patriarch Theodosios II in 1772, wherein he stated that those who performed Saturday memorials did so appropriately in conformity with ancient tradition, whereas those who performed them on Sundays ''“ouch hypokeintai krimati”'' (do not sin). This attempt at reconciliation having failed, the Patriarch’s successor, Samuel I Chatzeres (1773–1774), issued a Synodal Encyclical (1773) directing all monastics to adhere to the policies enacted by their monasteries and avoid strife over the issue of commemorations. Once more, this tactic, also in the spirit of compromise and aimed at a reconciliation of the two factions, failed. Therefore, a Synod was convened in 1774 at the Koutloumousiou Monastery, on Mount Athos, at the order of the Oecumenical Patriarch. It was composed of two former Patriarchs of Constantinople, four retired Metropolitans, two active Metropolitans, and two Bishops from Thessaloniki. There were also about two hundred monks present at the convocation. The Synod declared that all of those who did not accept the Synodal Encyclical of 1773 were subject to

anathema Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...

. Despite this determination, the controversy went on. Thus, in 1776, yet another Synod was convened in Constantinople, under Patriarch Sophronios II, at which the Patriarch of Jerusalem and sixteen other hierarchs were also present. It was declared by the participants that memorial services could be celebrated on either Saturday or Sunday, and that the issue was not to be discussed further. It was at this Synod that St. Athanasios Parios, Neophytos Kavsokalyvites, and St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, among others, were excommunicated. These individuals were of course subsequently vindicated.

Frequent communion

In addition to the issue of following proper ritualistic traditions, there was a concern for return to a Eucharistic-centered spirituality and to the precepts preached by the

Hesychasts Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took it ...

of the fourteenth century. The Kollyvades movement strove for a rediscovery of

Patristic theology Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

and a liturgical life that included frequent communion. The movement came under assault by many at Mount Athos and elsewhere, attacks that became, at times, vicious and beyond what one would expect from monastics and clergy of any rank. In 1819 a Council at Constantinople endorsed the views of the Kollyvades fathers that

should be partaken of regularly by clergy and faithful alike.

Kollyvades Fathers

* St.

Kosmas Aitolos Kosmas the Aetolian, sometimes Cosmas the Aetolian or Patrokosmas "Father Kosmas" ( el, Κοσμᾶς ὁ Αἰτωλός, ''Kosmas Etolos''; born between 1700 and 1714 – died 1779), was a monk in the Greek Orthodox Church. He is recognized as ...

(† 1779), who traveled throughout Greece trying to return the peasants to their faith, and preached frequent communion. * Neophytos Kavsokalyvites († 1784), who preached throughout the Balkans and reposed in Romania. * St. Paisios Velitchovsky († 1794), who published the Slavonic version of the Philokalia, which greatly influenced the Optina Elders. * St. Makarios (Notaras) of Corinth († 1805), author of “On Frequent Communion.” * St.

(† 1809), author of the “Evergetinos,” “Philokalia,” “The Rudder,” “Christoethia,” the “Synaxarion,” and “On Frequent Communion.” * St.

(† 1813), author of several works against the Western Enlightenment movement within Greece, and in favor of frequent communion. * St. Nicephorus of Chios († 1821), disciple and biographer of St. Athanasius of Paros. * St. Arsenios of Paros († 1877),Great Synaxaristes :
Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἀρσένιος ὁ ἐν Πάρῳ
'' 31 Ιανουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ. who preached frequent communion and was also a schoolteacher, and the spiritual father of St. Nectarios of Aegina.

Anti-Kollyvades activists

* Bessarion of Rapsane († 1801). * Theodoretos of Ioannina († 1823), a monk of the Skete of St. Anne, where the Kollyvades movement first began.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* Charilaos S. Tzogas. ''Η περί μνημοσύνων έρις εν Αγίω Όρει κατά τον ΙΗ΄αιώνα.'' Θεσσαλονίκη, 1969. :: (PhD Thesis. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Επιστημονική Επετηρίς της Θεολογικής Σχολής, Παράρτ. Αριθμ. 3). :: (http://phdtheses.ekt.gr, http://hdl.handle.net/10442/hedi/23473); (https://web.archive.org/web/20190914090730/http://hippo.lib.uoa.gr/); (http://www.lib.auth.gr) *
The Kollyvades Movement and the Advocacy of Frequent Communion
'' In: Hieromonk Patapios and Archbishop Chrysostomos
Manna from Athos: The Issue of Frequent Communion on the Holy Mountain in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries
Vol. II in the Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies series. Ed. Rev. Professor Andrew Louth and Professor David Ricks. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2006. 187 pp. *

Christos Yannaras Christos Yannaras (also Giannaras; el, Χρήστος Γιανναράς; born 10 April 1935) is a Greek philosopher, Eastern Orthodox theologian and author of more than 50 books which have been translated into many languages. He is a professor ...

.
The Kollyvades Movement and the Spiritual Regeneration of Orthodoxy
'' In: Orthodoxy and the West. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2006. pp.115-117. *
St Athanasius Parios
'' Commemorated on June 24. OCA - Feasts and Saints.

External links

* Dr. Marcus Plested.

'' The Friends of Mount Athos Book Reviews, 2006. * ttp://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/04/synaxis-of-holy-kollyvades-fathers.html The Synaxis of the Holy Kollyvades Fathers Full of Grace and Truth Blogspot. Friday, April 24, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kollyvades Movement 18th-century controversies 18th-century Eastern Orthodoxy Athonite Fathers Christian theological movements Christianity and death Eastern Orthodoxy-related controversies Eastern Orthodox spirituality History of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece 18th century in Greece