December 1748-1751 A.D. Cyril V—Constantinople’s 222nd;
Denied Validity of Armenian & Romanist Baptisms and Sacraments;
Re-Baptism Required; See of Nicomedia; Engaged Enlightenment Writers; Exiled to Sinai But Restored
Cyril V of Constantinople
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Cyril V
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Church
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In office
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28 Sept 1748 – end May 1751
7 Sept 1752 – 16 Jan 1757 |
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Predecessor
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Successor
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Personal details
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Died
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27 July 1775
Mount Athos |
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Metropolitan of Nicomedia
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Cyril
V Karakallos (Greek: Κύριλλος Ε΄ Καράκαλλος) was Ecumenical
Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from 1748 to 1751 and from 1752 to 1757.
A controversial figure, often
blamed for his ideas about the baptism,[1] in 1755 he issued the Oros,
a canonical document which, superseding the previous use of accepting Christian
converts by Chrismation, stated
that all non-Orthodox (including Catholic) baptisms were not valid and all
converts needed to be re-baptized.[2]
Contents
Life
Cyril was born in Dimitsana,[3] in the Peloponnese. Still
young, he was taken captive during the Ottoman–Venetian War
(1714–1718) and after his release he went to Patmos where he became a monk. In Patmos he also continued his studies but he was
expelled by the school for behavior issues before graduation.[1]
In 1737 he was appointed Metropolitan of Meleniko and in 1745 he was promoted to the See of Nicomedia.[4] On 28 September 1748 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople for the
first time in place of Paisius II,[5] even if some days before he had sworn to Paisius that he would not try to
depose him.[6]
As Patriarch Cyril had three
priorities: the recovery of the patriarchal finances, the fight against
Catholic positions and the instruction of the monks. To improve the finances he
raised taxes on the metropolitan bishops and relieved the little parishes: this
action was quite successful but made him unpopular among the bishops. He
strongly supported the need to re-baptise all converts, and especially women,[7]because he considered the Armenian and Catholic baptisms as not valid. These positions created discontent among the metropolitans,
who deposed him in May 1751 and reinstalled the moderate Paisius II in his
place. Cyril retired on island ofHalki, near Istanbul.
Cyril however was supported by
a large portion of the populace, both because of his regulations on taxes and
because of his opposition to the Catholic Church. In this regard Cyril was
helped by the thaumaturgic and demagogic monk Auxentios[6] who preached strongly against the Catholics and instigated riots which
culminated with a violent assault on the Patriarchate and the seizure of
Paisius himself.[7] The riots were crushed, but the Ottoman authorities requested the deposition of Paisius and,[6] in exchange for a considerable amount of money (45,000 piastres[8]:166), appointed Cyril V, who was reinstalled on 7 September
1752.
With regards to the
instruction of the monks, Cyril established in 1749 the Athonite Academy on Mount Athos, and in
1753 he called the eminent theologian and scholar Eugenios Voulgaris to guide it. However the Enlightenment ideas of Voulgaris were too modern for the monks,
and he had to resign in 1758.[6]:220
The opposition to Cyril was
led by the Metropolitan of Proilavo (Brăila in Romania) and future Patriarch, Callinicus. After
Cyril ordered Callinicus into exile in the Sinai, the latter took refuge in
the French embassy in Istanbul. Here Callinicus obtained a
large amount of money which were given to the Sultan Osman III and resulted in Cyril's second and final deposition on 16 January 1757.[7]
Cyril was exiled to the Sinai, and later under Serapheim II he was allowed to move to the skete of Agia Anna on Mount Athos. In 1763
he returned to Constantinople to attempt a restoration to the patriarchal
throne, but he was promptly and forcibly taken back to Agia Anna, where he died
on 27 July 1775.[1]
The Oros and the validity of baptisms
From the beginning of his
reign Cyril took a stand against the validity of the Armenian and Catholic baptism, and consequently of all their other sacraments. This view
was known as Ana-baptism,
a term and a doctrine unrelated to the Protestant Anabaptism. The issue
was rooted by the heavy anti-Catholic polemic typical of the 18th century,
probably fed by the alarm caused by Catholic proselytism. Its main
representatives were Eugenios Voulgaris, the lay Eustratios Argenti and the thaumaturgic and demagogic monk Auxentios, who was able to stir up anti-Catholic mobs.[7]
The issue of the validity of
baptisms arose after the Ottoman–Venetian War, when the Venetian-ruled Peloponnese was
reconquered by the Ottoman Empire. The
Ottomans ruled the Christians through the millet system and subjected the Catholics to the civil authority
of the Patriarch of Constantinople, causing numerous conversions to Orthodoxy.
Cyril's actions to require the re-baptism of converts was due both by his
fierce anti-Catholic position and by his sincere desire to provide what he
considered to be a valid baptism.[6]
As of 1752 Cyril ruled that in
any case the Armenian and Catholic converts should be re-baptised. The Holy Synod met on 28 April 1755 and formally voted against Cyril's position,
considering it an innovation not envisaged by the ancient canons and contrary to the liturgical praxis. At this point Cyril exiled the members of the
Holy Synod who were contrary to his view.[7]
In June 1755 Cyril issued a
circular letter with title "Anathema of those who accept papal
sacraments", and a month later he issued the formal order "Oros
(Tome) of the Holy Great Church of Christ" which required the
re-baptism in any case for any converts. The Oros had at least seven editions[8]:197 and was edited a year later by the so-called Constantinople Council of 1756 with the signatures of Patriarch Matthew of
Alexandria, and of Patriarch Parthenius of Jerusalem.
It is important to note that
the lack of validity of non-Orthodox baptisms was not declared in relation to
the "heretical" doctrines of the other Churches, but simply as a
consequence of baptisms not performed in strict accordance with the Orthodox
uses, i.e. with a triple full immersion by an Orthodox priest or believer.
Not a single Eastern Orthodox Church, except the Greek churches, accepted the Oros.[9] The Russian Orthodox Church went on following the previously adopted canons,
which recognized baptisms performed in the Catholic and Lutheran Churches as
valid and did not repeat them.[9] The Oros was never formally retired, but since
the beginning of 20th century the Greek Orthodox Church authorized different forms of reception for the
converts.[2] The Oros is still today deemed as binding by
some conservative Orthodox circles.[10]
According to scholar C.A.
Frazee, the Oros, rather
than the 1054 events, marked
the true East–West Schism.[11]
Notes
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Moustakas Konstantinos. "Kyrillos V of
Constantinople". Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. Retrieved
18 June 2011.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Meyendorff, John (1981). The Orthodox Church : its
past and its role in the world today. Crestwood, N.Y: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.
pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-0-913836-81-1.
5. Jump up^ Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate. Wildside Press LLC.
p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4344-5876-6.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Runciman, Steven (1985). The Great Church in captivity. Cambridge University Press.
pp. 357–9. ISBN 978-0-521-31310-0.
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Frazee, Charles (2006). Catholics and sultans :
the church and the Ottoman Empire, 1453-1923. London: Cambridge University
Press. pp. 160–2. ISBN 0-521-02700-4.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Papadopoullos, Theodōros
(1952). Studies and documents relating to the history of
the Greek Church and people under Turkish domination. Brussels. pp. 166, 197.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b Ambrosius Pogodin. "III, The decision of the Constantinople Council of
1756". "On the Question of the Order of Reception of Persons into the
Orthodox Church".Vestnik Russkogo Khristianskogo Dvizheniya (173 I-1996 and 174
II-1996/I-1997). Retrieved 20 June 2011.
10. Jump up^ Meyendorff, John (1975). Christ in Eastern Christian
thought. Crestwood, N.Y: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-913836-27-9.
11. Jump up^ Frazee, Charles (1997). World History the Easy Way: A.D. 1500 to the present. Barron's Educational Series.
p. 105.ISBN 978-0-8120-9766-5.
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