Autocephaly ( Greek: αὐτοκεφαλία “self- heading ” from αὐτός “self” + κεφαλή “head”) is the status of a local church , implying its administrative independence from other local churches. The autocephalous church is headed by a bishop , who may have the title (dignity) of the patriarch , archbishop , or metropolitan .
The autocephalous church in the modern sense is a local Orthodox Church with a territory recognized after it, on which, according to canon law, other local Churches should not operate. The Autocephalous Church is neither hierarchically nor administratively part of another Orthodox Church. The status of autonomy differs from autocephaly in that the primate of the autonomous Church after election must be approved (ordained) by the patriarch of one of the autocephalous Churches.
Content
History and Perspectives
The oldest known lists of dioceses of the Church of Constantinople , probably dating back to the 7th century, contain a completely different use of the term “autocephaly” than the one we are used to. Here, “autocephalous archbishops” are those bishops who report directly to the primate, as opposed to “dependent bishops” who were subordinate to the local metropolitans. That is, the archbishop of Constantinople was directly subordinate to the archimandrite of Antioch despite the primacy of honor before him.
From the point of view of the Moscow Patriarchate , the exclusive prerogative of the autocephalous church is the right to independently make peace . From the point of view of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the right to make peace belongs to the Patriarch of Constantinople, in conjunction with representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches .
The right to grant (gain) autocephaly, as well as the very content of the term autocephaly, is not clearly and definitively defined in Orthodoxy and is the subject of disagreement between the Department of Constantinople and other local churches [1] .
The proclamation of autocephaly was one of the most problematic issues discussed during the preparation of the Pan-Orthodox Council . The preliminary discussion of the issue in July 2016, after the Pan-Orthodox Council, was outlined by Archbishop Job (Getcha) :
The study of the issue began with the idea that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was the only patriarchy in the Orthodox world that has the right to grant autocephaly, both for historical and canonical reasons. Because in history, all the new autocephaly that appeared since the 16th century, with the advent of the Russian Orthodox Church to the present day, are the former territories of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to which he granted autocephaly. And for canonical reasons, because the Ecumenical Patriarchate takes first place in the Orthodox world. <...>
It came to the issue of signing the Tomos . From history, we know that the Tomos were signed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who, after his signature, puts the word “Proclaims”. Because the Ecumenical Patriarch, as the first, as the head of his Synod, he proclaims autocephaly. And the members of the Synod of the Church of Constantinople simply signed it without a single word. Because the chapter proclaims, while others simply confirm with their signature that this is an official, valid document. And Constantinople wanted to adapt this practice and say: "The Patriarch of Constantinople signs the Tomos with the word" Proclaims ", and other primates, as previously members of the Synod, simply put their signature on it according to the order of the Orthodox diptychs." There was a discussion again, and again a new demand: “No! Other patriarchs should also add a word after their signature. ” And Constantinople again compromised. And he said: “Well, then we will do it this way: the Patriarch of Constantinople signs and puts the word“ Proclaims ”, and the other patriarchs sign and put the word“ Proclaims ”- on the basis of the liturgical service.” After all, when the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the first one, which we consider to be forthcoming in the service, always serves, and the others will serve. <...>
Representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate did not agree with this word “Proclaims”. They wanted every patriarch to sign with the word "proclaims." And here the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not agree. <...> Only one person can proclaim, while others who are with him can proclaim. But everyone cannot proclaim in his own way. And on this, this issue was blocked. <...> For Constantinople, this means that the issue of autocephaly now remains the status quo, as it was at the very beginning of its consideration [2] .
Ultimately, the issue was excluded from consideration by the Pan-Orthodox Council.
See also
- Autocephalous Church
- Orthodox Church in America
- Autocephaly of the Russian Church
Notes
- ↑ From the speech of Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) following the meeting of the Patriarchs in Odessa // Independence. - October 3, 1997.
- ↑ Archbishop of Telmis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Job (Getcha): "The territory of Ukraine is the canonical territory of the Church of Constantinople . "
Literature
- Autocephaly // A - Questioning [Electronic resource]. - 2005. - P. 148. - (The Big Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 1). - ISBN 5-85270-329-X .
- Autocephalous Church // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Autocephalous // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Documents on the granting of autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church in America // “ Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate ”. - 1970. - No. 5,6
- Tsypin V.A. Autocephaly // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2000. - T. I. - S. 199-202. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-006-4 .