The Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs is a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

issued in May 1848 by the four Eastern

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

s of 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 vi ...

, who met at Council in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. It was addressed to all Eastern Orthodox Christians, as a response against Pope Pius IX's '' Epistle to the Easterners'' which had been issued in January (1848). The encyclical was solemnly addressed to "All the Bishops Everywhere, Beloved in 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.Gru ...

, Our Venerable, Most Dear Brethren; and to their Most Pious Clergy; and to All the Genuine Orthodox Sons of the

One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinop ...

." The encyclical explicitly denounces the ''Filioque'' clause added by Rome to the Nicene Creed as a

heresy 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 ...

, censures the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

for missionizing among Eastern Orthodox Christians, and repudiates

Ultramontanism Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...

( papal supremacy). It also describes the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

as being in

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

, heresy, and schism. In the course of all this, it notably makes reference to the Fourth Council of Constantinople (879-880) as being the eighth

ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

Signatories

Patriarch Anthimus VI of Constantinople Anthimus VI, (original name Joannides, 1782 – 7 December 1877) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for three periods from 1845 to 1848, from 1853 to 1855 and from 1871 to 1873. He was born in Kutali Island in the Sea of Marmara an ...

* Pope and Patriarch Hierotheus II of Alexandria * Patriarch

Methodius of Antioch Methodius (1771–1850) was Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch (May 25, 1823 – July 6, 1850). Little is known of Patriarch Methodius' life. In May 1848, Methodius was a signatory, with the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, and Jerusale ...

* Patriarch Cyril II of Jerusalem * The

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

in Constantinople * The Holy Synod in Antioch * The Holy Synod in Jerusalem

References

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External links

Full text of the Encyclical
{{Authority control East–West Schism 19th-century Christian texts 1848 in Christianity 19th-century Eastern Orthodoxy 1848 documents Letters (message) Filioque

Signatories

See also

References

Sources

External links