The Origin of the Title “Ecumenical” for the Patriarch of Constantinople by Blessed Dositheus of Jerusalem
Judgment on the title “Ecumenical,” which is given to the Patriarch of Constantinople by Blessed Dositheus of Jerusalem
From Book 10 of the Dodecabiblius
Judgment on the title “Ecumenical,” which is given to the Patriarch of Constantinople by Dositheus II Notaras, Patriarch of Jerusalem
(Manuscript in the monastery of St. Sava, near Jerusalem, 10 books part 2, chapter 2, countries. 734 et seq.)
The title Ecumenical was given for the first time to the Pope at the Council of Chalcedon, not by the fathers of this council, but by some of those who were offended [by Dioscoros], in their petition to him. This council not only did not recognize this title, but it kept completely silent about it. As the demand of Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, proposed to this Council, that there is an ancient custom for the Patriarch of Antioch to sue at Jerusalem, was left by him without satisfaction: so he did not confirm the announcement of the Alexandrians that the Pope is the Archbishop and Patriarch of the Ecumene. Therefore, this council in its message to the Pope called him only the Archbishop of Rome, but no more. As for the Patriarch of Constantinople, the name “Ecumenical” was first given to him at the council that was under [Patriarch] John the Cappadocian, not by random people who called the Pope that way, but by the fathers sent from the apostolic sees of Antioch and Jerusalem, and then the synod in Constantinople.
The second time the Pope of Rome was called Ecumenical was during the stay of Pope Agapitus in Constantinople by archimandrites and some monks who cried out against Severus and the heretics who were with him. And the Archbishop of Constantinople, from the time of the aforementioned council under the Cappadocian, no longer ceased to retain this name. Therefore, his successors: Epiphanius, Anthimus, Menas, and Eutychius, in novellae and edicts of Justinian the Great, are called Ecumenical Patriarchs.
The third time this title was given to the Pope was at the Sixth Ecumenical Council by Emperor Constantine [Saint Constantine IV “the New”], but not exclusively to him alone; for this sovereign wrote to him in the so-called Summons: “To the most holy and blessed Archbishop of Old Rome and the Ecumenical Pope Agatho”: — but at the same time he wrote to the Constantinopolitan in the Summons: “To the most holy and blessed Archbishop of New Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarch George” — So wrote the autocrat. But the Council, in its message to Agatho, did not call him Ecumenical, but only: “the most holy and blessed Pope of Old Rome.” — Moreover, during the 8th Act of the same council, the fathers, being asked by the Emperor whether they accept letters sent from Rome, and answering in the affirmative, did not call the Roman Archbishop “Ecumenical,” but only gave him the title of Pope. Also during the second act of the 7th Council, after reading the letters of the Pope to the Emperor and to the Patriarch of Constantinople, the fathers answered in the affirmative to the question of the locum tenens of the Pope, Peter, whether these messages were accepted by them, but everyone called the Roman only the most holy Pope; Most of them called Tarasius the Ecumenical Patriarch. But even during the third act, during the reading of the letters of the Archbishop of Constantinople to the Eastern Patriarchs, and the letter of the eastern bishops to Tarasius, and the conciliar charter of Saint Theodore, Patriarch of Jerusalem: — the fathers of the council, having accepted these, almost all, in their interviews, called Tarasius the Ecumenical Patriarch, as they called him and all the bishops of the Eastern apostolic thrones in their letter to him, placed in the 3rd act of this council. However, both the 7th Council and Tarasius, writing to Pope Adrian, did not refer to him as Ecumenical, but only the most holy and blessed brother and co-celebrant, the Pope of Old Rome.
And so, those who called the Pope “Ecumenical,” the same and in even greater numbers also called the Patriarch of Constantinople “Ecumenical”; sometimes for the jealousy of these saints and for their greatest and sincere concern for the good of the Catholic Church; sometimes, according to one custom, and not according to the rules or according to some other accepted definition, judicial (γραφικοῦ) or conciliar, or paternal. In vain does the Pope worry, and Anastasius condemns the Holy Council for the word “Ecumenical,” saying: “If anyone takes this word in such a sense that it means the main authority in the universal Church, he is clearly the forerunner of the Antichrist.”
The name “Ecumenical” is given because of the control of a great part of the Ecumene [Inhabited World]. The witness to this is the council which was in [the Church of] Holy Wisdom. It said that the Antichrist is not called Universal on account of the fact that he rules over a large part of the Ecumene, but because he is the one who desires to own the entire universe.
At the Fourth Council, as can be seen from its 3rd act, some Alexandrians, Deacons Theodore and Ischirion, Athanasius the Presbyter and Sophronius the Christian, having filed petitions against Dioscorus in a synod, wrote in them: “to the most holy and blessed Ecumenical Archbishop and Patriarch Leo, and to the council.” Thus, at the Council of Chalcedon, the Pope was for the first time called Ecumenical, but not by the fathers of the council, but by some of the petitioners.
If not all, then the majority of the most blessed Popes, from the apostolic age to the Fourth Council (451), worked very hard to establish the divine and Catholic dogma. And Pope Leo worked harder than all his predecessors.
- During the Council of Ephesus (431), when Dioscorus acted very cunningly and impiously when he wrote to Emperor Theodosius, and, not being heard by him, he begged with tears to Valentinian, the Emperor of Rome, and his wife and mother; and they wrote to Theodosius to convene the most numerous Ecumenical Council to cancel and replace the previous illegal acts. Again they did not heed him; but he did not stop, but by all means and with all his heart [Leo] tried to affirm the divine dogma.
- Dioscorus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, was a heretic, while the Saints of Antioch and Jerusalem, being forced by him, signed to affirm his superstitions. Consequently, the ever-memorable Leo alone fought against all the heretics of the Ecumene, having a fiery zeal for God and love for His Church.
- After the death of Emperor Theodosius, he did not let his eyes sleep, until, by exhortations, requests and other suggestions, he persuaded Emperor Marcian to convene the Holy Council in Chalcedon. True, Anatolius of Constantinople helped him in this matter; but still, after God, he was the most active organ [of the Church] until the council was formed. For all this, he received from the Emperor the chairmanship of the council, was considered great here and was named Archbishop and Patriarch of the Ecumene for no other reason and for some purpose, but only because he had care for all the Churches.
But even in Constantinople, from the time of the construction of this city to Justin of Thrace, many Patriarchs were very charitable and chosen men, and Church historians, many of the fathers, and the acts of holy councils testify to this. Such was John the Cappadocian, truly great and surpassing almost all the Patriarchs who preceded him, although he ruled the church for only one year and ten months. Just as Pope Leo acted under Theodosius and Marcian, so did John under Justin of Thrace. Just as he, the real giant (γίγας) of the Church, standing up for her, helped her by having managed to convene a council in Chalcedon with advice, exhortations and prayers from the Emperor, and by his power reestablished Orthodoxy. So this one restored piety, which had been persecuted by three Emperors: Zenon, Basiliscus, and Anastasius, in the course of 44 years and almost perished in Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch; but at the council, Pope Leo overcame the heretics. He reconciled and united the Churches of Rome and Constantinople, which had been separated for so many years, and he was the first to introduce into the diptychs (commemoration books) the Four Holy and Ecumenical Councils and the blessed Pope Leo.
As for Jerusalem, although Orthodoxy survived there, the Patriarchs suffered a lot from Anastasius and Severus, and with the help of the Cappadocian, they received help from Emperor Justin. This same John the Cappadocian, having convened a council in Constantinople, tried with all his might to exterminate heresy and establish Orthodoxy. The clerics of Antioch and Orthodox Byzantines found out about this and nominated him to take care of the throne of Antioch, and he was the first to be named Ecumenical Patriarch in 518 AD, writing in a petition: “To His Holiness and Beatitude Archbishop and Ecumenical Patriarch John and the abiding holy synod,” and expressing clearly the following: “we implore your holy synod to stop the evil that has befallen our Church and almost the whole East, deliver us from this villain (Severus), do not forget us and do not despise our petitions, report all this to our most pious Emperors, and incline their benevolence to provide for us.”
The synod in Constantinople said to John:
“Our Lord, most holy and blessed Father of Fathers, Archbishop and Ecumenical Patriarch John, many years. With one voice, you overcome the darkness of those people so that they, inflamed with zeal for God, urgently ask your blessedness to go up to the pulpit and preach about the right faith, for which you have always fought and strive.”
The people cried out:
“Many years to the Emperor, Empress, and Patriarch! Why do we remain without communion for so many years? Why can’t we join? From your hands we want to take communion!”
“Hey (ἑἑς), go up to the pulpit! Hey, convince your people! You are Orthodox: whom should you be afraid of, you who are worthy of the Trinity? Proclaim again the holy council. Justin Augustus, proclaim again the Council of Chalcedon. Cast out Severus, this New Judas and prostitute of the Trinity. Christian brethren are one soul! There is faith! So be it!”
The Patriarch replied:
“Beloved! You know my labors, which I took up while still a presbyter; but even now I have fought for Orthodoxy, and I will fight to the death. So there is no need to be indignant or cry out; for nothing has been diminished from the right faith, and no one dares to curse Holy Council; and both this and the other three Holy Councils, we accept.”
He, after a long speech, said: “Following the divine canons and holy fathers, we consider Severus an alien … and anathematize him.” — After this, the Ecumenical Patriarch took the diptychs and ordered that four Holy Councils and the names of Euphemia, Macedonius, and Leo be entered there.
The people concluded:
“Blessed be God, for He visits His people …….. John”
Jerusalem and its synod thanked John the Cappadocian and his synod for condemning the heretics.
The bishops of the second Syria, who suffered much from Severus, also thanked him with letters. John the Cappadocian assisted Pope Hormisdas in everything, put an end to the affairs of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch, and sent all the acts to Rome, Jerusalem, Tyre, and other places for information, and at the local council he revived the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon, and both this and the other three councils and introduced the evangelical Leo into the diptychs. Therefore, he was called not only Ecumenical, like Pope Leo, but also the father of fathers, and not from some four petitioners, like Leo, but from the synod and the entire eastern administration. However, the name Ecumenical was adopted to him not in any other sense and not for another purpose, but in the same way as it was given to Pope Leo, that is, for his care of all the churches.
There were eleven popes after Leo; but none of them was called Ecumenical until 536, when the ever-remembered Pope Agapitus arrived in Constantinople. Then in this city there were monks from Syria, from the three Palestines, and they cried out against Severus and his followers, and against the heretic Anthimus, Patriarch of Constantinople. They called Agapitus the Ecumenical Archbishop, because he fought for Orthodoxy with a fiery heart and with active evenness. After Agapitus there were six Popes until Saint Gregory the Dialogist; but again, none of them was called Ecumenical by anyone. Although Pope Vigilius was present in Constantinople at the Fifth Council, he was not respected, and was even expelled for disagreeing with them.
After the Cappadocian, in 519, Epiphanius, the priest of the local Church, became Patriarch of Constantinople, and served as Patriarch for 16 years and 3 months. And he is called Ecumenical by Justinian inthe 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Novellae. After him, Anthimus, Bishop of Trebizond, was Patriarch of Constantinople, and ruled the Church for 10 months. And he was given the name of the Ecumenical, in Novella 16 of Justinian. After Anthimus, there was Menas, then Eutyches, and John. And these were also called Ecumenical.
John the Faster was not satisfied with the fact that only those who wished to do so, in their letters, called him Ecumenical, but he the first one began to sign [his name with the title]: Ecumenical Patriarch. It is not surprising if Epiphanius, after John the Cappadocian, was called Ecumenical, for he was also zealous for Orthodoxy: but why were Anthimus the heretic and many other Patriarchs of Constantinople like him also have this title? — Accordingly, it was the custom as was the case with worldly authorities. In a similar manner, the Egyptian kings were called Ptolemies, and the Roman ones were called Caesars, even though not all of them were similar in valor to the first Ptolemies and Julius Caesar: so, according to this custom, the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Rome, the successors of John and Agapitus, were called Ecumenical especially since they ruled a very large part of the Ecumene. When the Patriarch of Constantinople George (679) agreed with the opinion of Emperor Constantine the Bearded [Constantine IV the Younger, not Constans II the Bearded] regarding the convening of an Ecumenical Council to unite the two Churches — Rome and Constantinople; then the Pope, doubting that some innovation would not appear at this council in pleasing the people of Constantinople, begged this sovereign to maintain fairness (ἰσότης). On this occasion, the Bearded [the Younger] wrote to him in an official letter that he would support equality by all means, and both bishops, Roman and Constantinopolitan, for their zeal for the unity of the two patriarchal thrones, were called Ecumenical.
At the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Emperors, Patriarchs, and all the fathers of this holy council predominantly called Tarasius the Ecumenical Patriarch.
The debate of Gregory the Dialogist and John the Faster
After the blessed repose of Eutychius in 582, John the Faster became Patriarch of Constantinople, and he served as Patriarch for 13 years and 5 months. He was the first to sign [his name with] Ecumenical: — it was by the will of God, as some say, since it was already expected for the bishop of Rome to fall away, and the bishop of Constantinople to remain the first, or, more justly, by God’s allowance, and the foreknowledge of the appearance of temptations and divisions in the Church. Then Pope Pelagius II and after him Pope Gregory the Dialogist demanded that John the Faster abandon this title; but he did not listen to them. The Dialogist wrote about this to Emperor Mauritius and other Patriarchs, but without success. In a letter to Mauritius, he expressed that he who wants to be called universal is the forerunner of the Antichrist; and he wrote to his apocrysiary Savinian that he should not have any contact with the Faster. However, one must know that the Dialogist and the Faster were separated by ambiguity. For the name universal is understood in two ways. If we apply it to the entire Catholic Church in such a way that it will be ruled by one bishop, then the Dialogist is right: if it only recalls the custom that began from the time of the Cappadocian and designates a large part of the Ecumene, then John the Faster is right.
At the Third and Fourth Ecumenical Councils, and in some synodal epistles, also at the councils of the Cappadocian and Mina, and in many other writings, the Emperors were called Kings of the Earth, Sea, Universe, and of every people and tribe rulers; so for example in Evagrius (book 3, ch. 17) Zenon is called the Ruler of the Universe. The Emperors were called so because they ruled over a significant part of the universe. A similar custom, after the Cappadocian, was the reason that both Patriarchs (Roman and Constantinople) were called Ecumenical.
The four Catholic sees [Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem] even before the Council of Nicaea, according to tradition and custom, had advantages and high honor in the Church, but only for the importance of the cities, and not for any other reason. At the Council of Nicaea, they also received benefits according to the canons: which was also granted to the Patriarch of Constantinople at the second Ecumenical Council. So the privileges were given to them and approved by the canons and Ecumenical Councils. Therefore, they are indestructible, immutable and unchanging, so that if the Bishop of Alexandria or another who called himself Pope, or Ecumenical Patriarch, and the Roman and Constantinopolitan — only bishops; then these titles would not have given them preference. For the canons are stronger than praises, titles and big names [For this cause, the Patriarch of Alexandria was called “Pope” but was still only second in honor after Cosntantinople]. So if the Cappadocian was called the Ecumenical Patriarch, and the Roman Hormisdas was not called that: it does not yet follow from this that the first became higher than the second. However, none of the Patriarchs, except for Constantinople, can be called Ecumenical. This would be contrary to the Acts, the enduring efficacy and venerability of the Ecumenical Councils (ταῖς πράξεσι καί ἐνεργείαις καί ἀποδοχαῖς), which, according to the mind of Saint Gregory the Dialogist, Justinian the Great, Emperor Leo the Wise, and according to the Catholic Church, are revered on a par with the Holy Gospels. Yes, and no new Ecumenical Council, for whatever reason, can legitimize anything contrary to the Acts and decisions of the Seven Holy Ecumenical Councils regarding faith, deanery, sacraments, rank relations and titles of Patriarchs. If he had decided on this, then the council would not have been holy, but sinful, crafty, violent, robbery and completely lawless. And God forbid that such a nasty gathering ever take place in the Eastern Church. Anathema to everything that is done and will be done contrary to the teaching, decree and tradition of the holy fathers.
Troparion of Blessed Dositheus - Tone 1
When thou didst inherit the Throne of the Mother Church / the Holy Apostle James didst thou imitate / in calling the Church to one accord / to expel the errors arising from Calvin the Iscariot / and protecting the Orthodox from across the whole world / thy divine illumination saw them set free from the enemy / wherefore O Blessed Dositheus // We entreat thee to pray that our souls be saved.
Kontakion of Blessed Dositheus - Tone 8
Let us hymn the luminary of the Man-Befriending God / the pious protector of the faith, / who didst follow the footsteps of Holy Palamas / who art honored as the Guardian of the Lord’s Sepulchre / who fought the darkness of error. / His wisdom spread to men as fire through leaves. / Therefore seeing him adorn the Heavens as he adorned the Church, / we keep his holy memory. / Him do we beseech to intercede for us, // that our souls find mercy!
