Eastern Orthodox Christianity This page intentionally left blank Eastern Orthodox Christianity The Essential Texts Bryn Geffert and Theofanis G. Stavrou New Haven and London Published with assistance from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund. Copyright © 2016 by Bryn Geffert and Theofanis G. Stavrou. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. offi ce) or [email protected] (U.K. offi ce). Set in Sabon type by Newgen North America. Printed in the United States of America. 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This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents List of Sources in Eastern Orthodox Christianity: Supplemental Texts xiii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxv Map of the Concentration of Eastern Othodoxy, 2010 xxvii Part I Origins and Metamorphoses Beginnings, Scripture, and Patristics 3 New Sect 7 Letter of Ignatius to the Smyrnians (ca. 107–110) 8 Governor Pliny to Emperor Trajan on “Christians” (ca. 112) 11 New Church—Constantine and Constantinople 15 Eusebius, Life of Constantine (late 330s) 26 Incarnational Theology and Arian Controversies 40 Theodoret’s (ca. 393–457) Account of the Arian Controversy 42 Arius Explains His Doctrine to Alexander of Alexandria (320) 49 Athanasius on the Incarnation (ca. 318–335) 50 The Creed of Nicaea (325) 59 v vi Contents Reaction 62 Julian the Apostate (361–363) Mocks Christianity 62 Trinitarian Debates 72 Gregory of Nyssa on the Trinity (ca. 390) 73 Priests and Bishops 81 John Chrysostom on the Role of Priests (ca. late 370s– early 380s) 81 Early Monasticism 87 Sayings of the Desert Fathers (mid-500s) 91 The Life of Pachomius (n.d.) 98 St. Basil (ca. 330–379) to Gregory of Nazianzus on Monastic Ideals (n.d.) 105 Communal vs. Solitary Life in the “Lausiac History” (ca. 419) 108 Christianity and the Byzantine State 111 Justinian on Imperial Authority over the Church (ca. 535) 111 Maximus Confessor (ca. 580–662) on Imperial Power and the Church 114 Patriarch Photios on the Powers of the Patriarch (ca. 880) 115 Basil I’s Epanagoge on the Rights of Emperor and Patriarch (ca. 880) 116 Holy Fools 119 Life of the Holy Fool Father Simeon (ca. 642–649) 120 Eastern Trends in Christian Theology 130 Dionysius the Areopagite (400s–500s) on Knowledge of the Godhead 134 Maximus Confessor on the Incarnation and Unity with God (early 640s) 140 Maximus Confessor on the Purpose of God’s Church (ca. 628–630) 145 Marriage and Women in the Early Church 147 Tertullian to His Wife (ca. 200–206) 149 John Chrysostom on Women 152 Holy Women 156 Life of St. Maria/Marinos (500s or 600s) 157 Life of St. Maria of Egypt (ca. 600s) 161 Contents vii Part II Growth and Schisms Holy Objects 171 Tale of the Holy Places, of the City of Constantine (ca. 1389–1391) 172 Miracle of the True Cross (ca. 545) 174 Relics in Constantinople (ca. 1105 or 1106) 176 St. Sophia as a Miraculous Church (early 1200s) 177 Missions to the North: Balkans and Rus’ 178 Kliment Okhridski (ca. 840–916) on Kirill, Missionary to the Slavs 187 The Glagolitic Alphabet 190 Iconoclastic Controversy 192 John of Damascus (ca. 676–749) Defends Icons 194 The Iconoclastic Views of Leo V (813–820) 204 Hesychasm 206 Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) on Hesychasm, Prayer, and Deifi cation 209 Great Schism 218 Claims of the Roman See 222 St. Jerome to Pope Damasus on the Chair of St. Peter (375) 224 Council of Rome on the Bishop of Rome’s Role in Legal Disputes (378) 225 Gregory Nazianzus on the Bishop of Rome (382) 226 Council of Rome on the Primacy of Rome (382) 226 Pope Innocent on the Prerogatives of the Roman Church (416) 227 Theodore the Studite (759–826) on the Pentarchy and Roman Authority 228 Archbishop Niketas on Roman Primacy (1136) 230 Thomas Aquinas on Papal Power (1258–1264) 231 Pope Boniface VIII on the Spiritual Authority of the Papacy (1302) 232 Filioque 234 Patriarch Photios Condemns Rome over the Filioque (867) 235 Charlemagne and the Pope Assert Themselves 236 Charlemagne to Pope Leo III on Relations with the Papacy (796) 240 viii Contents Account of Charlemagne Being Crowned Emperor (late 900s) 241 Einhard on Charlemagne, Constantinople, and Rome (ca. 817–836) 242 Anathemas of 1054 242 Cardinal Humbert’s Anathema against Patriarch Michael I (1054) 244 Edict of Michael I and the Synod of Constantinople (1054) 246 Fourth Crusade 248 Anna Komnenos on the Franks (ca. 1148) 249 Crusader’s Criticism of the Greeks (ca. 1148) 250 Niketas Choniates (ca. 1155–1215) on the Sack of Constantinople 251 Council of Ferrara-Florence 255 Patriarch of Constantinople Objects to Kissing the Pope’s Foot (1438) 257 Resolutions of the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1439) 258 Greek Participant at Florence Describes Disputes (1438 or 1439) 260 Muscovite Reaction to Ferrara-Florence (1437–1441) 261 Fall of Constantinople 263 Account of the Ottoman Siege of Constantinople (early 1600s) 263 Rise of Islam and Turkish Expansion 266 Muslims Appear in Palestine (ca. late 700s to early 800s) 271 Apocalyptic Prediction of the Rise of Islam (ca. 640) 272 Fictional Disputation between a Monk and an Arab (early 700s) 273 Pact between Christians and Their Muslim Occupiers (800s) 275 Rise of the Moscow Patriarchate 277 Filofei Argues That Moscow Is the Third Rome (ca. 1510) 279 Muscovite Response to the Fall of Constantinople (ca. 1533–1541) 280 Account of Establishing the Moscow Patriarchate (1589) 281 Patriarch Jeremiah on the Glory of the Moscow Patriarchate (1653) 282 Contents ix Part III Modernity and Upheavals Byzantine Rite Catholics 287 Konstantin Ostrozhsky on the Union of Brest (1595) 291 Metropolitan Ragoza’s Edict on Brest (1596) 291 Edict of the Orthodox Dignitaries at Brest (1596) 294 Letter from a Participant at Brest (1596) 294 Edict of Mikhail Ragoza (1596) 295 Peter the Great’s Reorientation of Russian Orthodoxy 297 Patriarch Ioakim on Prerogatives of the Church (1690) 297 Manifesto Creating the Ecclesiastical College or Holy Synod (1721) 299 Oath of the Holy Synod (1721) 301 Ecclesiastical Regulation (1721) 302 Engaging the West through Creeds 306 Confession of Patriarch Dositheos and the Synod of Jerusalem (1672) 312 Popular Piety and Popular Practices 322 Parish Issues a Certifi cate of Election for a New Priest (1684) 324 Agreement between Church Elders and a Priest (1686) 325 Village Priests’ Reports on Religious Practices of the Peasantry (1853) 325 Reports on Peasant Action against Witches (1879) 330 A Critique of the Rural Clergy (1858) 333 Ivan Pryzhov Ridicules Holy Fools (1865) 337 Anthropological Account of Religious Practices among the Peasantry (1906) 340 Orthodoxy under Ottoman Rule 347 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) 354 Complaints about Corruption and Oppression in the Church (1796) 356 Patriarch Anthimos of Jerusalem Demands Allegiance to the Ottomans (1798) 357 English Chaplain Recounts the Conversion of a Muslim (1819) 359 The Greek Revolution and Orthodox Nationalism 362 The Greek Government to the Christian Powers of Europe (1822) 363