The Synod of Jerusalem is an
Eastern Orthodox synod held in 1672. It is also called the Synod of Bethlehem.
The synod was convoked
and presided over by
Patriarch Dositheus of Jerusalem. The synod produced a
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
referred to as the ''Confession of Dositheus''.
Background: Cyril Lucaris
In 1629, a small book in Latin, attributed to
Cyril Lucaris
Cyril Lucaris or Loukaris ( el, Κύριλλος Λούκαρις, 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638), born Constantine Lucaris, was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Candia, Crete (then under the Republic of Venice). He later bec ...
, the
Patriarch of Constantinople, and commonly referred to as the ''Confession of Cyril Lucaris'', was published in
Latin at
Geneva. It contained an eighteen-point summary of beliefs that conformed with Calvinist teaching. French, English and German translations appeared in the same year. A
Greek version called ''Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith'' appeared in Constantinople in 1631 or 1633.
Lucaris was accused of adopting in this book
Calvinistic views and asserting that Calvinism was in fact the faith of the Eastern Church. His E. Orthodox defenders claim that the book was a forgery. Cyril himself verbally denied authorship, but did not disavow it in writing.
Cyril Lucaris died in 1638.
Lucaris' ''Confession'' was condemned by the
1638 synod of Constantinople and the 1642
synod of Jassy.
Name, date and location
The Synod of Jerusalem is also called ''Synod of Bethlehem'', because the synod took place at the
Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity,; ar, كَنِيسَةُ ٱلْمَهْد; el, Βασιλική της Γεννήσεως; hy, Սուրբ Ծննդեան տաճար; la, Basilica Nativitatis is a basilica located in B ...
at
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...
.
It is also possible that the synod is referred to as Synod of Bethlehem because
Patriarch Dositheus of Jerusalem summoned it on the occasion of consecrating said Church of the Nativity in 1672.
The synod was summoned in March 1672
and then took place the same year.
Synod and decisions
The synod rejected the doctrine of the
Protestant Reformers, and also attempted to "articulate the dogmatic heritage of
astern
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Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodoxy in face of the dispute between
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestants". The synod "defined
astern
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Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodox
dogma in areas at issue in the Western
Reformation".
The Synod refuted the ''Confession'' of Lucaris article by article.
The synod affirmed "the teaching role of the church and therefore of
tradition against Protestant ''
sola scriptura''". The synod also affirmed "the role of
love and
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
, and therefore of
deeds, in
justification". The synod affirmed the seven
mysteries (
sacraments) and that those are not "merely symbolic or expressive"; moreover, the synod affirmed that the
Christ was truly present in the eucharist and taught this by using the
Greek equivalent to the
Latin ''
transubstantiatio'',''
'' ''
metousiosis'' (μετουσίωσις).
The synod also "confirmed the
canonicity of the
deutero-canonical books of the
Old Testament, rejecting the
Protestant shorter,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
canon".
The synod also rejected the theses of
unconditional predestination and of
justification by faith alone
''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, f ...
.
The Synod affirmed that the
Holy Ghost
For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Grudem ...
proceeds from
God the Father alone and not
from both Father and Son.
Signing
The
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
of the synod are signed by Dositheus, his predecessor the
ex-patriarch Nectarius, six
metropolitans and
bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
, the
Archimandrite
The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...
of the
Holy Sepulchre, Josaphat, and a great number of other archimandrites,
priests,
monks, and
theologians
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
. There are sixty-eight signatures in total. The
Church of Russia was represented by a monk, Timothy.
Acts of the synod
The
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
of the synod are dated 20 March 1672; they bear the title: ''Christ guides. A shield of the Orthodox Faith, or the Apology composed by the Synod of Jerusalem under the Patriarch of Jerusalem Dositheus against the Calvinist heretics, who falsely say that the Eastern Church thinks heretically about God and Divine things as they do''.
The first part begins by quoting the text: "
There is a time to speak and a time to be silent", which text is explained and enlarged upon at length. It tells the story of the summoning of the synod, and vehemently denies that the Eastern Orthodox Church ever held the opinions attributed to Lucaris. To show this, the relations between the
Lutherans and
Jeremias II of Constantinople
Jeremias II Tranos (c. 1536 – 4 September 1595) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times between 1572 and 1595. Life
Jeremias Tranos was born in Anchialos, from an influential Greek family. The exact date of birth is not kno ...
are quoted as well as the acts of former synods (
Constantinople and
Yassy). An elaborate attempt is then made to prove that Lucaris did not really write the famous ''Confession''. To do this the ''Confession'' is compared clause by clause with other statements made by him in sermons and in other works.
In chapter ii, the synod declares that in any case Lucaris showed the ''Confession'' to no one, and tries to find further reasons for doubting his authorship.
Chapter iii maintains that, even if Lucaris had written the confession attributed to him, it would not thereby become a
confession of the faith of the Eastern Orthodox Church, but would remain merely the private opinion of a
heretic
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
.
Chapter iv defends the Eastern Orthodox Church by quoting her formularies, and contains a list of
anathemas against the perceived heresies of the ''Confession'' of Lucaris.
Chapter v again tries to defend Lucaris by quoting various deeds and sayings of his and transcribes the whole decree of the synod of Constantinople of 1639, and then that of Yassy (''Giasion'') of 1641.
Chapter vi gives the
decrees of this synod in the form of a "Confession of Dositheus". It has eighteen decrees (''horoi''), followed by four "questions" (''eroteseis'') with long answers. In these, all the points denied by Lucaris' ''Confession'' (relationship between the Church and the Bible, Eastern Orthodox understanding of predestination, cult of saints, sacraments, the
Real Presence
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
There are a number of Christian denomin ...
, the
liturgy, liturgy being a real sacrifice, etc.) are maintained at great length and in the most uncompromising way. A short epilogue closes the acts. Then follow the date, signatures, and seals.
Aftermath
Protestant writers say that the strong hostility toward Protestantism of the synod was the product of the
Jesuits, of the
French ambassador at that time,
Olivier de Nointel, and of other Catholics who were undermining the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In their correspondence with the 18th-century
Non-Juror Anglican bishops, the Eastern Patriarchs insisted on acceptance of the Synod's teaching on transubstantiation.
Importance
The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' called the confession of the Synod of Jerusalem "the most vital statement of faith made in the Greek Church during the past thousand years."
The
1910 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' states the decrees of the synod "have been accepted unreservedly by the whole
astern
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Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodox Church. They were at once approved by the other patriarchs, the
Church of Russia, etc.; they are always printed in full among the
symbolic books of the
astern
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Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodox Church, and form an official creed or declaration in the strictest sense, which every
astern
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Terms
* Abaft (preposition ...
Orthodox Christian is bound to accept."
Protestant scholar
Philip Schaff wrote: "This Synod is the most important in the modern history of the Eastern Church, and may be compared to the
Council of Trent. Both fixed the doctrinal status of the Churches they represent, and both condemned the evangelical doctrines of
Protestantism. Both were equally hierarchical and
intolerant, and present a strange contrast to the
first Synod held in Jerusalem, when 'the
apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
''and
elders'',' in the presence of 'the brethren,' freely discussed and adjusted, in a spirit of love, without
anathemas, the great controversy between the
Gentile and the
Jewish Christians."
References
External links
''The Confession of Cyril Lucaris''(als
*
{{Biblical canon
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
1672 in Christianity
1672 in the Ottoman Empire
17th-century church councils
Christianity in Jerusalem
17th century in Jerusalem
Christianity in Bethlehem