St. Cyril Lucaris - "Tomos" Against Latin Innovations (1615)
Cyril, by the grace of God, Pope and
Patriarch
of the Great City of Alexandria and
"Judge of the Universe" [1]
To all of the Orthodox Christians of
the world, Clergy and Laity, who are genuine children of the Holy Catholic and
the Apostolic Church of the East, who for the truth of the Gospel rightly turned
away and rejected every empty word and addition of the heretics and the Latins,
who cunningly wage war against our Orthodox Faith,
Grace be upon you and peace and mercy
from the Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Great turmoil had overtaken that old
Ark, when it rocked violently and faced the waves in the waters where it was
sailing, at a time when by divine concession the heavenly waterfalls sent
torrential rains and almost threatened those inside the Ark. And there seemed
no hope to those who were in it that they would find salvation, if God did not
remember the helmsman Noah and did not agree to calm the waters. I believe these
are symbolic of the troubles that have now befallen the new ark, that is, our
Church. We do not expect these sufferings to cease, unless God wills to silence
and destroy these wicked cascades, which devour even the most wholesome souls. For
those who envied the deep peace of the Church in this city waged a relentless
war against us and tried to disturb the tranquility here. Since, therefore, we
intend to leave this present Tomos against them, so that you all may be
fully armed and, with what is written in it, be able to defend your Orthodoxy
more securely against such enemies, we considered it right to present the
entire matter to you in simple language so that the text is not unclear to the
less educated, which is as follows.
Some arrived from ancient Rome who
learned there to believe as the Latins. And the unfortunate thing is that from the
Romans [2], the offspring and essence of Roumeli, whose parents perhaps never
saw a Frank, by going to Rome, they not only changed their faith, but also opposed
the true doctrines and Orthodoxy of the Eastern Church, which was delivered to
us by Christ Himself, the holy disciples of the Savior, and the councils of the
Holy Fathers. Because we are going to depart from here, we implore your love to
stand firm in your piety and your Orthodoxy. And do not let such Latin-minded people
and corrupters of your consciences capture your attention at all, but as
heretics and enemies of your salvation, keep them far from you when they meet
you and speak against what we write in the following. But you should believe as
such:
1. Anyone who does
not confess with his heart and mouth, and whoever is called a “Roman” [Ρωμιὸς, Romiós]
and a child of the Eastern Church, and is baptized as a Christian in the Roman manner
like us [3], but does not confess that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the
Father, in terms of essence and hypostasis, and that as to His temporal
manifestation [being sent], He proceeds from the Father and the Son; whoever
does not make this confession but says that the Spirit proceeds from the Father
and the Son [Filioque], let that person be outside of our Church and not
have communion with us, and let them be anathema.
2. Whoever does not
confess that in the Mystery of Communion both the laity and the clergy should
partake of the precious and immaculate Body and Blood, but insists that only
the immaculate Body should be partaken by the laity, and not the Blood, let
them be outside the Church and anathema. And with this, whoever says
that it is sufficient to receive only the Flesh [of Christ], because it also
contains the Blood, despite the fact that Christ separately delivered each one,
but they do not observe it, let them be anathema.
3. Anyone who says
that our Lord Jesus Christ at the Mystical Supper had unleavened bread like the
Jews, and not leavened bread, let them be far from us, and let them be anathema,
because he has the opinion of the Jews and of Apollinaris, and introduces the
doctrines of the Armenians into our Church. For this reason, we say a second
time: anathema.
4. Anyone who says that
when a Christian dies, his soul is definitively judged and does not wait for
the General Judgment as our Lord tells us in the Holy Gospel, let them be anathema.
And whoever says that when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge, He will not
come for the souls, but will come to judge only the bodies, anathema.
5. Anyone who says
that the souls of Christians who repented in this world, but did not complete
their penance, go when they are separated from the body to a purgatorial fire,
which is flames and punishment and torment, which is a pagan notion, let them
be anathema. For they give Christians the freedom to sin.
6. Anyone who says
that the Pope of Rome is the head of the Church and not Christ, let them be anathema.
Whoever opposes these, in order to
overthrow and annul them, let them be anathema.
You, my Christians, I beg you for the
sake of the Lord and for the sake of your soul, to beware of these wolves,
whoever they are, and to read this Tomos often in the Church, so that
you know the points in which they try to wage war against you. All their lives
they have learned nothing else than how to oppose us, the Orthodox Christians,
so that corruption and suffering will once again come upon our race of Romans. But
let us remain steadfast, not heeding their words, and let us pray to God not to
lead us into temptation regarding our faith; yet, when need arises, the shedding
of a man’s blood for his piety is very sweet. However, God will not allow the
matter to reach that point, so that our opponents remain powerless and, by the
grace of Christ, ignorant and blind.
In any case, be watchful and cautious
of such individuals. May our Lord Jesus Christ assist you, bless you, and grant
you a peaceful state. Along with this, the prayers of my mediocrity be with all
of you. Amen.
NOTES
[1] This title, like other
similar titles of the patriarchs, was simply honorary without literally
implying any secular authority.
[2] As we said, the Greeks until
the 19th century called themselves Romans, while the followers of the Pope of
Rome were called Latins and Franks. Roumeli was the name of the Greek area.
[3] It refers to Baptism by immersion, as opposed to the Latin sprinkling.
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