The Encyclical Letter of St. Mark of Ephesus.doc

The Encyclical Letter of

St. Marc of Ephesus To All Orthodox Christians on the Mainland  and in the Islands.

ROMIOSYNE

OSTON !"#$

The Encyclical Letter of

St. Marc of Ephesus To All Orthodox Christians on the Mainland  and in the Islands.

ROMIOSYNE OSTON !"#$

2

The Encyclical Letter of Marc of Ephesus

JULY 1440

To All Orthodox Christians on the Mainland and in the Islands.

From

Mark, Mark, Bishop Bishop of the Metropo Metropolis lis of Ephesus Ephesus—R —Rejo ejoice ice in Christ Christ!!

To those who have ensnared us in an evil captivit—desirin to lead us awa into the Ba"lon of #atin rites and domas—could not, of course, completel accomplish this, seein immediatel that there was little chance of it$ %n fact, that it was simpl impossi"le$ But havin stopped somewhere in the middle—"oth the and those who followed after them—the neither remained an loner what the were, nor "ecame anthin else$ For havin &uit 'erusalem, a firm and unwaverin faith—and et "ein in no condition and not wishin to "ecome and to "e called Ba"lonians—the thus called themselves, as if " riht, ()reco*#atins,+ and amon the people are called (#atiniers$+

-nd so these split people, like the mthical centaurs, confess toether with the #atins that the .ol /pirit proceeds from the /on, and has the /on as Cause of .is e0istence, and et toether with us confess that .e proceeds from the Father$ -nd the sa toether with them that the addition to the Creed 1of the Filio&ue2 was done canonicall and with "lessin, and et toether with us do not permit it to "e uttered 1Besides, who would turn awa from what was canonical and "lessed32$ -nd the sa toether with them that unleavened unleavened "read is the Bod of Christ, Christ, and et toether with us do not dare to accept it$ %s this not sufficient sufficient to reveal their spirit, spirit, and how that it was not in a &uest for the Truth—which Truth—which,, havin in their hands, the 3

"etraed—that the came toether with the #atins, "ut rather from a desire to enrich themselves and to conclude not a true, "ut false, union3

But one should e0amine in what manner the have united with them4 for everthin that is united to somethin different is naturall united " means of some middle point "etween them$ -nd thus the imained to unite with them " means of some judment concernin the .ol /pirit, toether with e0pre e0press ssin in  the the opin opinio ion n that that .e has has e0is e0iste tenc ncee also also from from the the /on$ /on$ But But everthin else "etween them is diverent, and there is amon them neither an middle point nor anthin in common$ 'ust as "efore, two diverent Creeds are uttered$ uttered$ #ikewise, there are cele"rated cele"rated two #ituries, #ituries, diverent diverent and discordant one with the other—one with leavened "read, the other with unleavened "read$ 5iverent also are "aptisms—one performed with triple immersion, the other with (pourin+ over the head from a"ove4 one with anoi anoint ntin in  chris chrism, m, the the othe otherr comp comple lete tel l with withou out$ t$ -nd -nd all all rite ritess are are in everthin diverent and discordant one with the other, alon with the fasts, church usaes, and other, similar thins$

6hat kind of unit is this, when there is no apparent and clear sin of it3 -nd in what manner have the united with them, desirin also to preserve their own—for in this the were unanimous—and at the same time not followin the traditions of the Fathers3

But what is their own (wise+ opinion3 (7ever,+ the sa, (has the )reek Church said that the .ol /pirit proceeds from the Father alone$ /he has said said simp simpl l that that .e proc procee eeds ds from from the the Fath Father er,, thus thus not not e0clu e0cludi din n the the participation of the /on in the procession of the .ol /pirit$ Therefore—  the sa—"oth "efore and now we e0hi"it unit$+

a"surdit! -las, what "lindness! "lindness! %f the )reek Church—havi Church—havin n -las, what a"surdit! received it from Christ .imself and the .ol -postles and Fathers—has said that the /pirit proceeds from the Father, "ut has never said—for she has received this from no one—that the .ol /pirit proceeds from the /on, then what else does this sinif than that she affirms that the .ol /pirit proceeds from the Father alone3 For if .e is not from the /on evidentl, .e is from the Father alone$

4

5o ou know what is said concernin the (eneration3+8 +Beotten of the Father Father "efore all aes$+ 6ould anone add here (of the Father alone3+ alone3+ 9et it is precisel thus, and in no other wa, that we understand it, and—if need "e—will e0press it$ For we have "een tauht that the /on is "eotten of none else, "ut onl of the Father$ Therefore, too, 'ohn of 5amascus sas—  on "ehalf of the whole Church and all Christians—+6e do not sa that the .ol /pirit is from the /on$+ -nd if we do not sa that the /pirit is also from the /on, then it is apparent that we thus sa that the /pirit is onl from the Father4 therefore, a little "efore this he sas8 (6e do not call the /on :Cause,;+ and in the ne0t chapter, (The sole Cause is the Father$+

6hat more3 (7ever, ever,++ the the sa, sa, —and that in connection with the theolo of the .ol /pirit, "lasphem aainst 6hom is the reatest of all perils—then it is clear that the are heretics, and we have cut them off as heretics$

6h do we anoint with chrism those of them who come to us3 %s it not clear that it is "ecause the are heretics3 For the seventh canon of the /econd Ecumenical Council states8 -s for those heretics who "etake themselves to ?rthodo0, and to the lot of thos thosee "ein "ein  save saved, d, we acce accept pt them them in acco accorda rdanc ncee with with the the su"j su"joi oine ned d se&u se&uen ence ce and and cust custom om88 -ria -rians ns,, and and Mace Macedo doni nians ans,, and and /a"" /a""at atia ians ns,, and 7ovati 7ovatians ans,, those those callin callin  thems themselv elves es Cathar Catharii 1(@uri 1(@uritan tans+2 s+2 and -riste -risteri ri 1(Best 1(Best+2, +2, and the Auarto Auartodec decim imans, ans, otherw otherwise ise known known as Tetradi Tetradites tes,, and -pollinarians we accept when the offer li"elli 1recantations in writin2, and anathematie ever heres that does not hold the same "eliefs as the Catholic and -postolic Church of )od, and are sealed first with hol chrism on their forehead and their ees, and nose, and mouth, and ears, and in sealin them we sa8