Primary source material
Primary source material Cyril Lucaris' Confession of Faith In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Cyril,
Patriarch of Constantinople, publishes this short Confession to help those who wish to know about the faith and religion of the Greeks, that is, the Eastern Church, testifying before God and human beings with a clear conscience and without hypocrisy.
Chapter 1.
We believe in one true God, the Almighty, in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is unbegotten; the Son is begotten of the Father before all ages, of the same essence as the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father by the Son, and has the same essence as the Father and the Son. These three persons in one essence we call the Holy Trinity, and the Trinity should be blessed, glorified, and worshipped by all creation.
Chapter 2.
We believe that Holy Scripture has been given by God, and that its sole author is the Holy Spirit. We should believe this without question, for it is written, "We have a more sure word of prophecy, to which you do well to pay attention, as a light shining in a dark place." We believe that the authority of the Holy Scripture is above the authority of the Church. It is very different to be taught by the Holy Spirit and to be taught by a human being; for a human being through ignorance can err, deceiving and being deceived, whereas the Word of God does not deceive nor is deceived, and cannot err. Indeed it is infallible, and has everlasting authority.
Chapter 3.
We believe that God most gracious has predestined His elect to glory before the creation of the world. This was not based on their works; there was no other impelling cause behind this election, apart from God's good-will and mercy. Likewise before the creation of the world, He rejected whom He would reject. Concerning this act of reprobation, if you look at the absolute decrees of God, His will is the cause; but if you look at the laws and principles by which good order exists in the world, which God's providence
employs in governing the world, then His justice is the cause, for God is both merciful and just.
Chapter 4.
We believe that the one triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the Creator of all things visible and invisible. The invisible things are the angels; the visible things are the heavens above and everything beneath them. Because the Creator is good by nature, and cannot do any evil, He created all things good. If there is any evil, it flows either from the devil or from humanity. It should be a fixed principle with us that God is not the author of evil, and that sin cannot with any good reason be reckoned to Him.
Chapter 5.
We believe that everything is governed by God's providence. We should adore this providence rather than inquire into it. Because providence is beyond our grasp, we cannot truly understand its reason from the things themselves. Therefore we consider it better to practise silence in humility, rather than speak a multitude of words that do not edify.
Chapter 6.
We believe that God's first-created man fell in paradise. This was because he turned from God's command and surrendered to the deceitful word of the serpent. This is the wellspring of original sin in Adam's descendants, so that no human being is born according to the flesh without bearing this burden and experiencing its fruits in his life.
Chapter 7.
We believe that Jesus Christ our Lord made Himself of no account, that is, He took human nature into union with His own substance. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary Ever-Virgin, was born, suffered, died, was buried, and rose in glory, so that He might bring salvation and glory to all who believe. We look for Him to come again to judge both the living and the dead.
Chapter 8.
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of His Father.
There He intercedes for us, carrying out by Himself the function of a true
and legitimate High Priest and Mediator. From there He looks after His people and governs His Church, beautifying and enriching her with many blessings.
Chapter 9.
We believe that no one can be saved without faith. Faith is what justifies in Christ Jesus. The life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ obtained this faith for us, the Gospel makes it known, and without it no one can please God.
Chapter 10.
We believe that the catholic Church is made up of all true believers in Christ, both those who have left this world and are in heaven, and those who dwell on earth and are still on the way to heaven. No mortal human can be the Head of this Church. The Head is Jesus Christ alone, and He holds in His own hand the rudder and government of the Church. However, since there are on earth particular visible Churches, each one of them has one leader. He is not strictly called the head of that particular Church, but he can loosely be called the head in the sense that he is the chief member of it.
Chapter 11.
We believe that the members of the catholic Church are holy, chosen for eternal life. Hypocrites are excluded from the number and the fellowship of this Church. In particular visible Churches, however, tares may be found in the midst of the wheat.
Chapter 12.
We believe that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and teaches the Church on earth, for the Spirit is the true Counsellor, whom Christ sends from the Father to teach the truth and to drive away darkness from the minds of the faithful. It is certainly true that the Church on earth is capable of erring; it may choose falsehood instead of truth. From this error, mortal man does not set us free, but only the light and teaching of the Holy Spirit sets us free, although this may take place through the means of the Church's faithful ministers and their labours.
Chapter 13.
We believe that humanity is justified by faith and not by works. However, when we say "by faith", we understand the corresponding object of faith, namely the righteousness of Christ. Faith grasps this like a hand, and applies it to us for our salvation. This is not detrimental to good works, because truth itself teaches us not to neglect works; they are necessary means to testify to the reality of our faith, and to confirm our calling. But human weakness shows that that our works are not themselves sufficient to save us, nor can they enable us to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, nor can they bestow salvation by their merit. No, it is the righteousness of Christ applied to the repentant soul which alone justifies and saves faithful people.
Chapter 14.
We believe that free will in the unregenerate is dead, because they can do no good thing—whatever they do is sin. In the regenerate, however, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the will is energized and truly works, although not without the help of grace. So in order that a person be born again and do good, prevenient grace is necessary. Without this, human nature is injured, having received as many injuries as he received who fell into the hands of thieves when travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho. By himself, then, a person can do nothing.
Chapter 15.
We believe that the Church's Gospel-sacraments are those the Lord ordained in the Gospel. There are two. Only these have been delivered to us, and He who ordained them delivered to us no others. Further, we believe that the sacraments are made up of the Word and the Element, that they are seals of God's promises, and that they confer grace. But in order that the Sacrament be complete and whole, an earthly substance and an outward action must go along with the use of that element ordained by Christ our
Lord. It must be joined with a true faith, because lack of faith harms the wholeness of the sacrament.
Chapter 16.
We believe that baptism is a sacrament ordained by the Lord. Unless a person has received it, he has no communion with Christ, from whose death, burial, and glorious resurrection the whole force and efficacy of
baptism flows. Therefore we are certain that for those baptized in the form which our Lord commanded in the Gospel, both original and actual sins are remitted, so that everyone who has been washed in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is regenerate, cleansed, and justified. Concerning the repetition of baptism, we have no command to be rebaptized, and therefore we must refrain from this indecorous thing.
Chapter 17.
We believe that the other sacrament ordained by the Lord is what we call the eucharist. For on the night that the Lord offered up Himself, He took bread, blessed it, and said to the apostles, "Take, eat, this is My body." And when He had taken the cup, He gave thanks and said, "Drink of this, all of you. This is My blood which is shed for many; do this in remembrance of Me." And Paul adds, "For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you show the Lord's death." This is the untainted and lawful institution of this wonderful sacrament. In its administration, we acknowledge the true and certain presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. That presence, however, is the presence which faith offers to us, not that which the invented doctrine of transubstantiation teaches. For we believe that the faithful eat the body of Christ in the Lord's Supper, not by breaking it with the teeth of the body, but by apprehending it with the sense and feeling of the soul. For the body of Christ is not the visible element in the sacrament. Rather His body is what faith spiritually apprehends and offers to us. From this it follows that, if we believe, we eat and partake, but if we do not believe, we are destitute of the entire fruit of it. We believe, therefore, that to drink the cup in the sacrament is to partake of the true blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the same way that we said about the body. As the Author of the sacrament commanded about His body, so He commanded about His blood. This command should not be dismembered nor mutilated, according to the fancy of human judgment. Indeed, the institution should be observed as it was delivered to us. So when we have partaken of the body and blood of Christ worthily and have concluded our communion, we confess ourselves to be reconciled with God, united to the Head of the body of which we are all members, with sure hope that we shall be co-heirs with Him in the future
Kingdom.
Chapter 18.
We believe that the souls of the dead are either in blessedness or in condemnation, according to what each one has done. As soon as they leave the body, they go either to Christ or to hell. For as a person's condition is at his death, so he is judged. After this life, there is neither ability nor opportunity for repenting. In this life there prevails a season of grace, so that those who are justified here will not be punished hereafter. But those who die without being justified, are consigned to eternal punishment. This makes it clear that the fable of Purgatory should not be given room. In truth it is appointed that each one should repent in this life, and obtain pardon of his sins by our Lord Jesus Christ, if he would be saved. Let this conclude our Confession.
We suspect that this short Confession of ours will be "a sign spoken against" by those who take pleasure in vilifying and persecuting us.
However, our trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we hope He will not abandon the cause of His faithful people, nor allow the rod of iniquity to rest heavy on the fortune of the righteous.
Avvakum's sufferings An imperial edict arrived, decreeing that I be removed from Tobolsk, because I had spoken from the Scriptures and denounced Nikon for his heresy. I also got a letter from Moscow, which said that two of my brothers, who lodged in the Tsarina's quarters in the palace, had died of plague, along with their wives and their children, and indeed many others of my relatives and friends. God had outpoured the vials of His wrath on Russia, and yet the miserable troublemakers did not repent; they kept on making trouble in the Church. Neronov had frequently admonished the Tsar, saying, "Three judgments will fall in consequence of the split in the Church: plague, war, and division." This has now this very day occurred. But the Lord is gracious; after chastening us to bring us to repentance, He pardons us; after healing the maladies of our souls and bodies, He will grant us peace. My hope and trust are in Christ, I wait for His mercy, and I look for the resurrection of the dead!
Again I sailed off in my ship, in accordance with the vision I have already recounted. I went to the Lena River. When we came to Yeniseisk, another imperial edict ordered me to go to Dauria, which is some 20,000 versts26 from Moscow; the edict gave me over to Athanasy Pashkov and his troops. He was in charge of 600 men. Pashkov was a violent man (I was
handed over to him for my sins), who burned, whipped, and tortured people endlessly. I had frequently tried to stop him, but I had at last fallen into his clutches. He had received from Moscow the command of Nikon to make my life miserable.
Once we departed from Yeniseisk, while we were coming to great Tunguska River, there was a storm that nearly destroyed my ship; full of water, it was adrift in the middle of the river, its sails ripped. Everything except the deck was inundated. My wife, looking indecent because she had no head-covering, dragged the children out of the water; raising my eyes heavenward, I cried out: "O Lord, help us and rescue us!" By God's will, a wind blew us toward the shoreline. The story is too long to tell. Two men from another ship were hurled overboard; they drowned. After we had got ourselves back into a settled state of mind on the shore, we continued our journey.
The Shaman rapids were now approaching, and we encountered a group of other people sailing on the river. In their company were two widows, one of them around 60 years old, the other even older; they were making their way to a convent to become nuns. Pashkov wanted them to force them to go home and get married. But I told him: "According to Church law, it is not right to make them marry." Rather than listen to what I said, he lost his temper and started torturing me. Once we arrived at the Long Rapids, he began forcing me out of the ship, saying: "It's your fault that the ship isn't making good speed, you heretic! Off with you into the mountains! You don't belong among Cossacks."
Alas for my fate! The mountains were steep, the woods were thick; those cliffs were like a great wall—you could snap your neck just looking up at them! Huge snakes inhabit these mountains; scarlet-plumed geese and ducks fly above your head, and dark ravens and drab-coloured jackdaws…
Pashkov wanted to throw me out into these mountains, to dwell among the birds and the beasts. I penned a brief letter to him, beginning thus: "O man, have the fear of God in you! Fear Him who sits above the cherubim, who watches over the deep! The powers of heaven and all created things tremble in His presence, including humankind. Only you scorn Him and upset the order of things!" And so my letter went on. I put quite a lot into that letter, and then I had it delivered to him. Some 50 men ran towards me, seized my ship, and towed it to Paskov—he was some three versts away. I made some
porridge to feed the Cossacks, those poor souls; they both ate and trembled together, and some of them shed tears of pity for me.
Once my ship had been towed to the shoreline, executioners grabbed hold of me and escorted me into Pashkov's presence. There he stood, his sword in his hand, and quaking with anger. He asked: "Are you a proper priest or a deposed one?" I replied: "I am archpriest Avvakum. Speak! What do you want from me?" He bellowed like a savage beast and hit me, first on one cheek, then on the other. Then he struck me on the head, knocking me down. As I lay there, he grabbed his battle-axe, and hit me on the back three times. Then he ripped away my garment, and his men gave me 72 lashes on the back. I cried out: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, come to my aid!"
These words I kept on repeating, and Pashkov was deeply provoked because I did not add: "Have mercy." As each lash of the whip struck me, I said the prayer. And then, in the course of the flogging, I cried out: "That's enough of this whipping!" Pashkov ordered the men to stop flogging me.
Then I asked him: "Do you know why you whipped me? Do you know why?" So he ordered his men to strike me in the ribs. Then they released me. I shuddered and collapsed.
Pashkov had me put in the ship carrying the ammunition; they chained my hands and feet, and tied me to a beam. It was autumn, and all night the rain fell on me, as I hung exposed to the deluge. During the flogging, I had not felt any pain, owing to my prayer. Now, though, as I hung there, the thought came into my mind: "Son of God, why did You allow me to undergo such a hard thrashing? Did I not speak up for Your widows? Who shall judge between You and me? While I was doing sinful things, You did not bring such brutal afflictions on me. Now, I do not know how I have sinned to deserve this." O what righteousness I flaunted! I, another foulsmelling Pharisee, dared to challenge the justice of the Lord! Job was able to use such words because he was righteous and blameless. Also he did not know the Scriptures, because Job dwelt outside the realm of God's Law in heathen land; he only knew God through creation. But me, I am first of all a real sinner; secondly, I have the sustenance of the Law, being buttressed in all things by the Scriptures that say, "Through much tribulation we must enter the Kingdom of God." And yet I had done such a foolish thing as flaunt my righteousness! Alas for me! Why did the ship not sink and take me with it?
My bones now began to throb, my veins tightened, my heart failed me, and I came close to death. But the men blew water into my mouth, and I once again drew breath. I repented before the Lord. The Lord in His sweetness is gracious; He forgets our former sins when we repent. Once again, all my pain vanished.
From The Life of Archpriest Avvakum by himself
The Confession of Dositheos Decree 3 We believe that the supremely good God has eternally predestined to glory those whom He has chosen, and has given over to condemnation those whom He has rejected; but not in such a way that He would justify the one, and give over and condemn the other, without reason. That would contradict the nature of God, who is the universal Father of all; He has no favourites, and desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. However, since He foreknew that some would make a right use of their free will, and others a wrong use, He predestined the one, and condemned the other.
We understand the operation of free will as follows. God's illuminating grace, which we call prevenient grace, is by God's goodness bestowed as a light on those in darkness, that is, on all those who are willing to obey it
(for it is of benefit only to the willing, not the unwilling) and cooperate with it in what it requires as needful for salvation. After this, there is granted particular grace, which cooperates with us, enables us, and makes us persevere in the love of God, that is to say, in performing the good works that God wishes us to do, and which His prevenient grace exhorts us to do, and justifies us, and puts us among the predestined. But those who will not obey and cooperate with grace, and therefore will not observe the things
God wishes us to perform, and misuse in Satan's service the free will that God gave them that they might perform willingly what is good: these are given over to eternal condemnation.
To say, however, as the most wicked heretics do—and as we find contained in the Chapter corresponding to this27 —that God, in predestining or condemning, had no sort of regard to the works of those predestined or condemned: this we know to be profane and ungodly. It would make
Scripture contradict itself, since it promises the believer salvation through works, yet supposes God to be its only author, by His illuminating grace alone, which He bestows without preceding works…
But to affirm that God's will is solely and causelessly the author of their condemnation, what greater slander can be fastened on God? What greater insult and blasphemy can be offered to the Most High? For we know that God is not tempted by evil, and that He equally wills the salvation of all,
since there is no favouritism with Him; and we confess that for those who, through their own wicked choice and their unrepentant heart, have become vessels of dishonour, there is justly decreed condemnation. But we never, never say that God is the author of eternal punishment, cruelty, ruthlessness, and inhumanity, for He tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. Far be it from us, while we have our senses, to believe or to think such things! We pronounce an eternal anathema on those who say and think such things, and we regard them as worse than unbelievers.
Decree 13 We believe that a person is not merely justified through faith alone, but through a faith that works through love, in other words, through faith and works. But the idea that faith acting like a hand lays hold of the righteousness that is in Christ, and applies it to us for salvation: this we know to be far from all Orthodoxy. In that case, faith would be within everyone's grasp, so that no one could miss salvation, which is obviously false. On the contrary, we believe that it is not the corresponding object of faith, but the very faith that is in us, which justifies us through works before Christ. And we regard works not as witnesses that vindicate our calling, but as fruits in themselves, through which faith becomes effective; through the divine promises, our works in themselves merit that each of the faithful may indeed receive what is done in his own body, whether good or bad.28
The regime of Patriarch Nikon as seen by a visiting Greek To judge by what we saw of the top men of Russia, they have little fear of the tsar, nor do they feel much awe of him. The one they more exceedingly fear is this patriarch [Nikon]. The patriarchs who went before him did not meddle at all in affairs of state; this man, however, by his astuteness, understanding, and knowledge, is adept in every art and craft concerning matters both of Church and state, in fact of all secular matters, owing to his having once been married, and his prior familiarity with the world at large.
After completing his business with the visiting dignitaries, his custom is to turn once more to the icons, chanting "He is worthy" a second time. Then he blesses his visitors, sends them away, and sets off ahead of them to the church. For he never leaves off church service three times a day and night, in addition to assisting at the mysteries29 and at vespers. On most days he celebrates the mysteries himself. On entering the church, and on leaving it,
many people present him with cholofilat—accounts of their circumstances and business. They do this because no one can get an interview with him in his quarters, except the top people who see him in the mornings.
Beneath his array of chambers there are seven halls of justice, where seven judges hold court, accompanied by a battery of clerical officers. Each hall of justice is relevant to specific matters. One of the halls is given over to monks and convents, where all their cases are judged. Another hall is given over to the clergy; here, each man coming to be ordained priest, wherever in all Russia he is from, presents himself, along with testimonials from the inhabitants of his area. The ruler of this court, a monk who is also the patriarch's treasurer, piles up these testimonials until there are some 20 or 30 applicants. Then he takes the testimonials to the patriarch. The applicants stand before the patriarch, who walks around them carrying a service book. If any of them can read it easily, the patriarch signs a certificate for him, approving him. If anyone cannot read the book easily, the patriarch rejects him. In this matter the patriarch's authority is as great as the tsar's. Many of these applicants for the priesthood have travelled from as far away as a thousand versts, from Siberia and other regions.
Neither the patriarch himself, nor any of the other top dignitaries in the Church, gets any financial contribution from his flock. They are paid directly from imperial funds. They also tax their priests, according to rank, on an annual basis.
Another court deals with inheritances. Here the patriarch claims ten per cent, on top of what the judge and his clerks take. Everyone being ordained as a parish priest also has to pay heavy fees…
Previously, no one could become an archimandrite30 except by the tsar's decree, nor could an archimandrite be deposed save by the tsar. This man
[Nikon] has overturned that rule; he now appoints or dismisses anyone he wishes, without asking anyone else about it. If God removes His protection, and unleashes His anger on anyone, it is surely the ecclesiastic who is guilty of any lapse or fault in the presence of the patriarch, or whom he knows has got drunk, or been lax in attending prayers. Such a man is instantly banished by the patriarch's command. The convents of Siberia use to be empty, but since coming to power, the patriarch has populated them with archimandrites, and top priests, and drunken miserable monks. If any priest has committed a fault, the patriarch instantly takes the black cap off his head, which is tantamount to disqualifying him from the priesthood. If the
patriarch ever relents and pardons the offender, it has to come from his own personal will, because he does not permit anyone to intercede for offenders.
In fact, other than the tsar himself, there is nobody with sufficient courage to intercede with him! He has been so infuriated with a good number of his clergy, that he has had them shaved bald, and banished them along with wives and children to Siberia, where they spend their days in a very miserable life. By such harshness, the patriarch makes everyone afraid of him, and his word is law.
Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo The Travels of Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch, written by his Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo
1 Spelt Loukaris in Greek.
2 The belief that the the divine and human natures of Christ blended into a single divine-human nature. See Volume One: The Age of the Early Church Fathers, Chapter 12.
3 For the Council of Florence, see Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter 9, section 4.
4 The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar, first promulgated by pope Gregory
XIII in 1582. It was then adopted by Western European nations—by Britain in 1752. The Gregorian calendar was more accurate in its timing of the spring equinoxes. It meant that in adopting the Gregorian calendar, a country had to skip a number of days—10 in the 16th century
(11 by the time Britain adopted it). Many Protestant countries resisted adopting the Gregorian calendar from anti-papal feeling. So did many Eastern Orthodox countries, along with a sense that that it was more important to keep the traditional Christian calendar out of reverence rather than adopt the new one for the sake of technical accuracy.
5 For the controversies surrounding the filioque clause, see Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter
3, section 4. The Latin word means "and from the Son". It was added by the Western Church into the Nicene Creed's statement on the procession of the Holy Spirit, which originally said simply that He proceeds from the Father. The East stuck to the original version of the Creed, arguing that the Spirit does not proceed from the Son within the eternal Trinity, but at most proceeds through the Son in the experience of salvation: the Father remains the ultimate source.
6 See Chapter 2, section 2.
7 Modern Orthodox scholars who support this view include one of Orthodoxy's most influential
20th century theologians, Vladimir Lossky; the distinguished Orthodox historian, Nicolas
Zernov; and Orthodoxy's most successful communicator and popularizer in the Englishspeaking world, Kallistos Ware.
8 Some modern Orthodox scholars essentially take this view, although expressing it more politely; they are listed in Hadjiantoniou's Protestant Patriarch (London: Epworth Press, 1961), p. 103.
9 The evidence of Cyril's private letters to Protestant friends is presented in various sources:
Hadjiantoniou's Protestant Patriarch, Sir Steven Runciman's The Great Church in Captivity
(Cambridge: CUP, 1968), George A. Maloney's A History of Orthodox Theology since 1453
(Belmont, Massachusetts: Nordland Publishing Company, 1976).
10 It should be noted that Cyril distinctly rejected transubstantiation. Despite Western misunderstandings, however, transubstantiation is not a characteristically Orthodox way of
understanding the real presence; Orthodox language equivalent to transubstantiation in the 16th18th centuries stems from Romanizing influences.
11 This, however, was also a common Protestant view in the 17th century. See the defence of Mary's perpetual virginity in the systematic theology of Francis Turretin, one of the greatest and most influential of the Reformed theologians of that era. For Turretin, see Chapter 2, section 1.8.
12 In ch. 10 of the Confession, Cyril says that "particular visible churches" each have a "chief", who is "the principal member" of that church, who is, albeit improperly, called the "head" of that church. In ch. 12, he uses "mediatorial" language of all the clergy, in the sense of mediators of truth.
13 See Chapter 6, section 4, for Jesuit Pelagianism and the storms of contention it aroused even within the Roman Catholic Church.
14 There is evidence in Cyril's Confession that he was not espousing an Augustinian
"fundamentalism". In ch. 14, Cyril uses both "dead" and "wounded" imagery for the fallen will.
The analogies are incompatible from a logical standpoint, and "wounded" is the more synergist of the terms. Also, even when speaking of predestination, Cyril insists in ch. 3 that the fate of the lost is not arbitrary but due to justice on God's part, while in ch. 4, he places an unusual stress on God's not being author of sin. These seem like the Orthodox element in his synthesis.
15 As explained in Volume Three: Renaissance and Reformation, Chapter 2, section 3. Tradition 1
= critical reverence for tradition (the Reformation Protestant view). Tradition 2 = authoritarian reverence for tradition (the Roman Catholic view, at least prior to the Second Vatican Council).
Tradition 0 = no reverence for tradition (often the modern evangelical view).
16 Some Reformed theologians have attributed a Spirit-given indefectibility to the Church with respect to the fundamentals of the faith, appealing to 1 John 2:26-7.
17 Hence perhaps the use of both "dead" and "wounded" imagery in his treatment of the human will, as previously noted. This should not, however, be interpreted as doctrinal relativism on Cyril's part, else he would surely not have refused so utterly to shift his ground on the filioque clause.
18 For Photius, see Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter 3, section 4.
19 A view shared by many modern Greek Orthodox.
20 The Polish monarchy initially forbade the College to teach theology or philosophy, but soon relented.
21 The term "menaion" has other and wider meanings than this within Orthodoxy; Tuptalo's
Menaion was specifically a calendar of readings on the lives of Russian saints.
22 Protestant readers should remember that the Orthodox priesthood is normally married.
23 See Volume Two: The Middle Ages, Chapter 6, section 3 24 Paul is comparing Nikon's ecclesiastical police with the notoriously brutal personal troops (the Janissaries) of the Ottoman sultan.
25 See Chapter 1, section 2 for cameos of these figures.
26 A verst is an archaic Russian unit of distance, approximating to 3,500 feet or 1.07 kilometres.
27 Chapter 3 of Cyril's Confession.
28 This assertion of merit is "as far from all Orthodoxy" as anything Cyril is alleged to have said!
29 The eucharist, routinely called "the mysteries" in the East.
30 Head of a monastery.