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The Sygillion of the Pan-Orthodox Council of Constantinople, 1583.

 

SIGILLION
of the Pan-Orthodox Council of Constantinople, 1583
To all the genuine Christian children of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ of the East in Trigovyst and in all places, be grace and peace and mercy from Almighty God.

Not a little distress took possession of that Ark of old, when, storm-tossed, it was borne upon the waters; and if the Lord God, remembering Noah, had not in His good will calmed the water, there would have been no hope of salvation in it. In a like manner with the new Ark of our Church, the heretics have raised up a relentless war against us, and we have deemed it well to leave behind the present tome against them so that with the things written in it you may be able more surely to defend your Orthodoxy. But in order that the document may not be burdensome to simple people, we have decided to set forth the entire subject to you in simple speech as follows:

From old Rome have come certain persons who learned there to think like Latins; and the bad thing is that from being Byzantines born and bred in our own parts, they not only have changed their faith, but they also battle the Orthodox and true dogmas of the Eastern Church which Christ Himself and the divine Apostles and the Holy Councils of the Holy Fathers delivered to us. Whereupon, having cut them off as rotten members, we order:

I) Whosoever does not confess with heart and mouth that he is a child of the Eastern Church baptized in an Orthodox manner, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, essentially and hypostatically, as Christ says in the Gospel, although He proceeds from the Father and the Son in time, let such a one be out of our Church and let him be anathematized.

II) Whosoever does not confess that in the Mystery of Holy Communion laymen should commune from two kinds both of the precious Body and Blood, but says that it is enough to receive only the Body, for the Blood is also there, even though Christ has spoken and has given each one separately, and they do not keep it, let such be anathematized.

III) Whosoever says that our Lord Jesus Christ at the Mystical Last Supper used unleavened bread as do the Hebrews and not leavened bread, that is, raised bread, let him be far from us and under the anathema as one who thinks like a Jew and as one who introduces the doctrine of Apollinaris and of the Armenians into our Church, on which account let him be anathematized a second time.

IV) Whosoever says that when our Christ and God comes to judge the souls together with the bodies, but comes in order to decide only for the body, anathema to him.
V) Whosoever says that when they die the souls of the Christians who repented in this life but did not do their penance go to purgatory – which is a Greek myth – where fire and torment purify them, and they think that there is no eternal torment, as did Origen, and give cause by this to sin freely, let such a one have the anathema.

VI) Whosoever says that the Pope is head of the Church and not Christ, and that he has authority to admit into Paradise with his letters, and can forgive as many sins as will be committed by one who with money receives an indulgence from him, let such a one have the anathema.

VII) Whosoever does not follow the customs of the Church which the seven Holy Ecumenical Councils have decreed, and the Holy Pascha and calendar which they enacted well for us to follow, but wants to follow the newly-invented Paschalion and the new calendar of the atheist astronomers of the Pope; and opposing them, wishes to overthrow and destroy the doctrines and customs of the Church which we have inherited from our Fathers, let any such have the anathema and let him be outside of the Church and the Assembly of the Faithful.

VIII) We exhort all pious and Orthodox Christians: remain in those things which you learned and in which you were born and bred, and when the times and circumstances call for it, shed your very blood in order both to keep the Faith given us by our Fathers and to keep your confession. Beware of such people and take care, that our Lord Jesus Christ help you. May the blessing of our humility be with you all. Amen.

The 1,583rd year from the birth of the God-man, Indiction 12, November 20th.
+JEREMIAS of Constantinople
+SYLVESTER of Alexandria
+SOPHRONIOS of Jerusalem
And the rest of the bishops of the Synod who were present

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The violators of the Holy Institutions of the Orthodox Church.

 In times, there is an effort on behalf of the Ecumenists “Orthodoxs” to undermine our Orthodox Testimony and our opposition to their innovative course. To accomplish their goal they often use various excuses and characterizations. They say that their participation in the Ecumenism is targeting the unity of the faith which the Gospel indicates and that the Papal calendar which they have accepted, constitutes an astronomical correction. Thus, they characterize us as malevolent, backward, stubborn, uneducated zealots of the Orthodox faith but without awareness, being schismatics or heretics e.t.c.

    Thus, for the devout Orthodox Christians whom listen to all these excuses to understand the reason which we do not accept to align with the ecumenists and the defiers of the Orthodox tradition, we display below the most important canons of the Orthodox Church. These canons like all the others were not made from us but were defined by the Holy Apostles and the blessed Fathers of the Church.

    The very worst is that these canons of the Orthodox Church are also being accepted by the innovative “Orthodoxs”, but they only hold those canons which do not oppose their pursuits.

 

1) 45th Apostolic Canon:

“Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, that merely joins in prayer with heretics, be excommunicated: but if he has permitted them to perform any service as clergymen, let him be defrocked”.

    This canon with clarity declares that the Orthodox clerics whom are praying with heretics to be excommunicated. If in any case allow to heretics to perform any holy ceremony those Orthodoxs to be unfrocked.

    The Ecumenists “Orthodoxs” pray with heretics? Of course they are. Today they even have established common ceremonies to pray.

 

 2) 10th Apostolic Canon:

“If anyone prays, even in a private house, with an excommunicated person, let him also be excommunicated.”

    Uncompaniable here means the person who is outside of the Church that is him who is excommunicated. This canon thus declares that even if a faithful prays in a house with an uncompaniable this faithful to be excommunicated.

    The Ecumenists “Orthodoxs” very often pray together with the uncompaniable and excommunicated from the Church, heretics.

 

3) 65th Apostolic Canon:

“If any clergymen, or layman, enter a synagogue of Jews, or of heretics to pray, let the first to be defrocked and the other to be excommunicated.”

    This canon declares, that for no reason a faithful can pray in a Hebrew synagogue or in a heretic temple. If anyone does this, this canon dictates, that if he is a cleric to be unfrocked, if he is a secular to be excommunicated.

    This canon nevertheless does not prevent the Ecumenists “Orthodoxs” to pray in heretic temples.

 

4) 46th Apostolic canon commands:

“We order any Bishop, or Presbyter, or deacon that has accepted any heretic’s Baptism or sacrifice, to be defrocked; for what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath the believer with an infidel?”

    The heretic priests do not have any priesthood, according with the 68th Apostolic canon and the similar ones. This Canon commands that if any Bishop or Presbyter or Deacon accepts the baptism or any other ceremony of heretics, to be unfrocked.

    The ecumenists however accept the mysteries of the heretics since they perform mixed marriages which are forbidden by the 72nd canon of the 6th Ecumenical Synod.

 

 

5) 1st canon of the Antioch Synod:

“Let anyone that dares to paralyze the term of the holy and great Synod which it was constituted in Nikea during the presence of his devoutness Godliked King Constantine, concerning the feast of the salvating Pascha, to be excommunicated and outcasted from the Church…”

    This canon concerns the change of the calendar. At the 24th of February of 1852, the Pope Gregory XIII arbitrarily replaced the calendar (Julian) which the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Synod had instituted with a new one which was created by his astrologers. In his honor this new calendar was named Gregorian. Thus, besides the up to that time anathemas (12 of them) that the Orthodox Church had enforced in the Catholic Church, they were also condemned from this 1st canon of the Antioch Synod and all the other mutual canons.

 

6) Synodical condemns of the papal calendar:

a) At 1583 in the Constantinople, when the Patriarch of Constantinople was Ieremias II the Tranos, a year after the insertion of the Papal calendar in the West, Pope’s act was condemned from the Synod that took place, being there not only the Synodic Metropolitans but also the Patriarch Silvestros of Alexandria and the Patriarch Sofronios of Jerusalem.

The decision precisely defines:

“Siggilio of Patriarchical narration of encyclical of the Orthodox Christians everywhere, about not to accept the new Paschalion or Calendar of the innovative menologion, but to remain in the principial and well phrased by the holy (318) three hundred and eighteen Godbearing Fathers of the Holy Ecumenical and First Synod with penance and Anathema.

Year since Jesus Christ αφπγ’ (1583)

12th of Indiktionos 20th of November

Patriarch Ieremias II of Constantinople

Patriarch Silvestros of Alexandria

Patriarch Sofronios of Jerusalem

and the rest of the Archpriests being present in the Synod.

 

b) At 1593 in the Constantinople when the Patriarch of Constantinople was Ieremias II. The Synod’s attendees and deciders were the Patriarch Meletios of Alexandria representing also the Patriarch Ioakim VII of Antioch, the Patriarch Sofronios IV of Jerusalem and forty other Archpriests. The Synod issued 20 canons or chapters. The 8th canon condemned for second time the papal innovation of the calendar.

    It is as it follows:

 

Toward disposing the New Calendar

that is about the Latin’s innovation of the Pascha.

“We decided to keep unmoved the appointed by the Fathers Holy and Salvating Pascha…Whoever dares to paralyze the terms of this Holy feast of the Salvating Pascha, is to be Excommunicated and Outcasted from the Church of Christ.”

Patriarch Ieremias II of Constantinople

Patriarch Meletios of Alexandria

Patriarch Ioakim of Antioch

Patriarch Sofronios of Jerusalem

and the rest of the Archpriests being present in the Synod.

 

c) Also at 1848 Patriarch Anthimos of Constantinople summoned a Patriarchical Synod in which were gathered, the other three Patriarchs, Ierotheos of Alexandria, Methodios of Antioch and Kirilos of Jerusalem along with twelve more Bishops.

The encyclical which was issued by the Synod states among others the following:

…”We hold the confession which we received pure (sincere) by elder men, disregarding every innovation which is narrated by the Devil. He who accepts innovation considers insufficient the already preached Orthodox faith. But this (the faith) being complete is already sealed, not accepting neither additions or subtractions or alterations thus if someone does these and even if one dares either to act or advice or even think these, he already had denied the faith of the Christ, he already willingly was casted in the eternal anathema…..Thus every innovative or heretic or in schism willingly have wore what the psalmist said ‘curse as a clothe…’ ”.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimos

Patriarch Ierotheos of Alexandria

Patriarch Methodios of Antioch

Patriarch Kirilos of Jerusalem

and the rest of the Archpriests of the Synod

 

d) At 1904 when Patriarch of Constantinople was Ioakim III with an encyclical which was expressing the opinion of all the Orthodox Churches, the Gregorian calendar was condemned and any idea of reforming the Julian calendar was denied.

“…reverent and solid is that which through the centuries is preserved by the Church’s approval: the eternally acting Paschalion. The leaping by thirteen days of the Julian calendar and of our hagiology, which we vouchsafe intact, is unacceptable for any reason, either ecclesiological or scientific…”

After these condemning acts against the Roman Catholics concerning the calendar change, at 1924 some autonomous “Orthodox” Churches accepted the innovation of the Pope and imported the condemned (anathematized) calendar reformation in the worshiping life of the Church. Perhaps some will say that those Churches changed the calendar and not the Paschalion. This is a trap for the naive. Because, the calendar and the Paschalion are bonded together in the Church. Nevertheless what is the meaning of accepting the Gregorian calendar and to continue keeping the Julian Pascha? First that they altered the traditions of the Holy Fathers concerning the Julian calendar and the Paschalion since they admit that they added another calendar, which means that the 1st canon of the Antioch Synod is in effect for them. Second, the Paschalion circle of the Church is being disturbed. For example after the feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14th of September) the second Sunday we start reading the Gospel of the Evangelist Luke. Since the newcalendarists celebrate the Universal Exaltation of the Holy Cross with the Gregorian calendar that makes the reading of Luke to start earlier and finish earlier (evangelical readings are being removed). Also from the Paschalion circle is depending the fasting of the Holy Apostles which many times is being nullified because of the Gregorian calendar.

 

Finally someone may ask. There are Churches which didn’t changed the Julian calendar but they kept it. Indeed there are, but they have fallen from the Orthodox faith because they participate in the Ecumenism. Bearer of the Orthodoxy is only the Church which is not participating in the Ecumenism nor has changed the Julian calendar.

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