A Common Error

 

--Editorial

A Common Error in Understanding the Genuine Orthodox Church History.

 

There seems to be great confusion regarding the ecclesiastical validity of certain Orthodox Churches, between so-called “Canonical” Churches and “Genuine” Churches; how many believe the Genuine Orthodox Church left the canonical Orthodox Church to create their own. This is what we shall examine here.

 

In 1924, the bishops of the Church of Greece, under Archbishop Chrysostom (Papadopoulos), implemented the calendar change discussed at the "Pan-Orthodox Congress" of 1923. In response, Metropolitan Germanos of Demetrias, retired in protest. The "Old Calendarist" movement arose to oppose the adoption of the Revised Julian calendar. The movement was sustained by Athonite monks that encouraged the rejection of the calendar change, hundreds of parish clergy that refused to recognize the calendar change, as well as dozens of monasteries throughout Greece. Lay groups and brotherhoods formed to keep the use of the Julian calendar alive, despite state persecution.  In 1925, perhaps the most well-known phenomenon in the Old Calendar movement occurred: a large cross over an secret Old Calendar Church in 1925 during the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, witnessed by approximately two thousand people, including police intent on arresting the clergy of the group, many of whom converted that night. [Source: GOCWiki]

 

This was a grassroots movement of clergy, monastics and laity.  They collectively recognized the error of adopting the Gregorian Calendar (fixed feasts) outside the normal procedures of Ecclesiastical Tradition as witnessed in the Seven Ecumenical Councils in the Church’s history. 

Terms such as "in resistance" or "walled off" are appropriate for this movement since they were not yet led by any of the Hierarchy. They relied upon Canon 15 of the First-Second Synod of 861, which was presided over by St. Photios the Great.  This canon was established in the wake of the Iconoclast Error.  In fact, the “marrying” the Gregorian Papal Calendar to the Orthodox Paschalion was itself iconoclastic.  This grassroots movement of Patristic faithful continued for ten years before they received archpastoral leadership.

In 1935, three bishops of the State Church of Greece: Metropolitans, Germanos of Demetrias, the former Metropolitan of Florina, Chrysostom (Kavouridis) and Chrysostomos (Demetriou) of Zakynthos declared Chrysostom (Papadopoulos) the Archbishop of Athens as schismatic.  These three hierarchs in unity declared:

 

"Those who now administer the Church of Greece have divided the unity of Orthodoxy through the calendar innovation, and have split the Greek Orthodox People into two opposing calendar parts. They have not only violated an Ecclesiastical Tradition which was consecrated by the Seven Ecumenical Councils and sanctioned by the age-old practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church, but have also touched the Dogma of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Therefore, those who now administer the Greek Church have, by their unilateral, anticanonical and unthinking introduction of the Gregorian calendar, cut themselves off completely from the trunk of Orthodoxy, and have declared themselves to be in essence schismatics in relation to the Orthodox Churches which stand on the foundation of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Orthodox laws and Traditions, the Churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Serbia, Poland, the Holy Mountain and the God-trodden Mountain of Sinai, etc....That this is so was confirmed by the Commission made up of the best jurists and theologian-professors of the National University which was appointed to study the calendar question, and one of whose members happened to be his Blessedness the Archbishop of Athens in his then capacity as professor of Church History in the National University...Since his Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens has by his own signature declared himself to be a Schismatic, what need do we have of witnesses to demonstrate that he and the hierarchs who think like him have become Schismatics, in that they have split the unity of Orthodoxy through the calendar innovation and divided the Ecclesiastical and ethnic soul of the Greek Orthodox People?"^[5]

 

The moment Archbishop Chrysostom (Papadopoulos) of Athens set forth this alien calendar into the practice of the Church, by this very action, he and his co-innovators had set themselves outside the Mystical Body of Christ.  Meanwhile, the three aforementioned Hierarchs bore witness of the true Church and continued with the divine Grace of the Holy Spirit being the Life of the Church.

 

It cannot, therefore, be said that the Old Calendarists established their own Church.  They are the faithful continuation of the original and genuine Holy Catholic Apostolic and Orthodox Church of Christ as had been preserved since the Apostles by the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, and locally by the State Church of Greece, until the time of the calendar innovation.  We cannot call this Church of Greece the State Church of Greece because such was a secular recognition that the Old Calendarists would not be granted, nor would they have wanted.

 

So why are the Old Calendarist referred to as “Genuine” and “True”?  Both these words are translated from the Greek, Gnisios. This word was adopted by the Old Calendarist only for the purpose of avoiding confusion between themselves, the Gnisios Church of Greece, and the State Church of Greece.  Gnisios, Genuine, True or whatever it is in any other language is only an adjective not a noun. 

 

Hopefully, it is clearer to the reader that the State Church of Greece and every other local Orthodox Church that had adopted the Calendar Innovation ---and by extension Ecumenism for which the calendar innovation was a tool--- has by its own actions lost grace.  Conversely, the (Genuine) Orthodox Churches are the actual continuation of the Holy Church of Christ graced by the Holy Spirit. Ì