LEO OF SUPPORT OF THEODORET,

DIOSCORUS OF ALEXANDRIA'S SUPPORT

OF EUTYCHES
AND LIFTING OF ANATHEMASI

JOHN S. ROMANIDES

This not a paper about the technical question about how one
lifts anathemas, either those of Dioscorus and his followers by the
Chalcedonians, or those of Leo and the Chalcedonians by the
ental Orthodox. What we are here concerned with is the
already presented by this writer as far back as 1959-60 and especially
1964 that both Leo and Dioscorus are Orthodox because they agree
with St Cyril of A1exandria, especially with his Chapters,
though both had been considered heretical by the other side here
represented. We do not intend to present new this matter,
but to aspects we already presented at Aarhus 1964. But we
intend to present the issues at stake such a way as to throw light
the problem before us with the expectation that specialists
canon law may find the way to lift anathemas pronounced by Ecu-
menical or/and local Councils without a
It is unfortunateIy also possible to make a clear distinction be-
tween the Fathers of the 5th and following centuries of both sides and
their nominal followers today. This is so because the modern Ortho-
dox both sides officially agreed with doctrinal statements they
participated producing along with Latin and Protestant scholars jn
the WCC. We will make some this question the
second part of this paper. We will do this the light of the fact that
we are the process of re-uniting , not necessarily with the Fathers
of our traditions, but 1) with what has perhaps
incompIetely of these traditions or 2) with what may be
a distortion of what were to a point our histories Biblical and

1. paper before the Orthodox and Orienta! Orthodox Consultation

held Switzerland from 1 to 6 1993.
480 John S. Romanides

Patristic Traditions. the Chalcedonian side much effort has been

expended for some time now getting rid of the non-Biblical Franco-
Latin Augustinian presuppositions which found their way into its theol-
ogy and sometimes even practice, especially because of the so-cal-
led reforms of Peter the Great. However, there are indications that
something similar has crept the Oriental Orthodox tradition also,
if one may judge by WCC doctrinal documents like and Con-
fessing the One Faith and by papers produced other dialogue con-
texts. This writer is not aware of official rejections of such WCC
statements except those made by the late Gerasimos Konidaris
of the Church of Greece.
We thus divide this paper into the titles: «1. The Fathers» and
Today's descendants of the Fathers».
FATHERS2
We take Leo of Rome as representative of the problems of unity
between us which were created the Chalcedonian side and Diosco-
rus as representative of what had been done the Oriental side. It is
around these persons that the central events revolved which produced
the final division which we have inherited between us. The point
history where we seem to be at present is that of the lifting of the
anathemas against Leo and the Council of Chalcedon, which means
the cleaning of the slate the Chalcedonian side, with the same
holding true about Dioscorus and his followers the Oriental Ortho-
dox side. clear Dioscorus of doctrinal error should mean the
clearing of the slate for those of his followers to be rehabilitated also,
as far as the patristic period is concerned. Leo of Rome has
folowers so to speak of the Orthodox side need of being
cleared. It would also seem that agreement that both Leo and Diosco-
rus were doctrinally Orthodox would then put the problem of their
restoration a non-Christological doctrinal plane, but a canonical
plane. such a case the reversal of condemnations by Ecumenical

2, This presentation will be better understood

the !ight of this writer's studies: 1)
«St.Cyril's One Physis or Hypostasis of God the Logos Incarnate and Cha!cedon»,
The Greek Orthodox The%gica/ Review, 2 Winter 1964-65; «Does Cha/ce-
don Divide Unite?» Edited by Paul Gregoios, William Lazereth, Nikos Nissiotis,
WCC, 1981, 50-75; «Christ East and West», edited by Paul R. Fries
and Tiran Nersoyan, Mercer Press, 1987, 15-34. 2) «High!ights the
Debate Theodore of Mopsuestia's Christo[ogy», The Grcek Orthodox The%gica/
Reviw, 2 (1959-60), 140-185.
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of AJexandria 481

and local Councils can be dea1t with as canonical, rather than doc-
trinal problems.
whether this today's Orthodox and Oriental
Orthodox is a separate question. That this is so is due to the fact that
there are -strong indications that today's Orthodox and Oriental
Orthodox doctrinal positions which are not those of the Fathers
of either the first Three, or of the Ecumenical Councils.
The keys to clearing historical misunderstanding between us
are the facts 1) that the one side Dioscorus supported Eutyches,
who was finally realized to be a heretic by Dioscorus himself the
Oriental Orthodox side, and 2) that the other side the fact that
Leo supported Theodoret whose Christology is indeed heretical and at
the time not that of Leo himself which sufficiently agrees with
the Chapters of Cyril.
Leo and Theodoret
Theodoret's heretical Christology is especially clear his attacks
against Cyril's Chapters. These attacks were indeed considered
heretical by all the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council except
by the Jegates Pope Leo Rome. This is cJear from the fact that
the Fathers ChaJcedon accepted Theodoret's condemnation by the
CounciJ Ephesus 449 in spite Leo's refusaJ accept it. The
Fathers the CounciJ ChaJcedon paid no attendon Leo's opin-
ions on the matter and refused to seat Theodoret as a member the
CounciJ since he was stiJJ under the condemnation Ephesus 449.
He was aJJowed to sit onJy as accuser Dioscorus. The Council of
Chalcedon lifted Theodoret's excommunication of 440 when he
finally anathematised Nestorius and accepted the Third Ecumenical
Council and the Chapters of Cyril at session Ibas of
Edessa was also likewise cleared of his condemnation at sessions
and
Here we are faced with a Pope Leo who knowingly or wilfully or
unknowingly supported a heretical and yet unrepentant Theodoret of
Cyrus. Theodoret was allowed by unknown means to quietly manifest
his «repentance» for the first time, though attending the Council
as an accuser, by becoming a member of the committee which
was appointed to examine the Tome of Leo to see if it indeed agrees
with the Chapters of St. Cyril. The list of the opinions of the
members of this committee are recorded the minutes and they
unanimously found close examination that the Tome of Leo agrees

3 31
482 John S. Romanides

with Cyril's Chapters. Among the names listed is that of

doret. other words Theodoret finally found that Cyril agreed with
Leo his patron and He was 1atter re-united to the Church
as just mentioned.
this writer pointed out his paper at Aarchus 1964, Ephe-
sus 449 was still part of Roman Law and had to be dea1t with item by
item, i.e by not rejecting certain of its decisions, but a1so by
accepting certain of its declsions. The refusa1 of the Pope of Rome to
accept Ephesus 449 and the request of some bishops that the emperor
be asked to strike out this Council in toto from its 1ega1 standing was
rejected by the imperia1 commissioners. Two of the items of Ephesus
449 which were accepted at Cha1cedon were the condemnation of
both Theodoret of Cyrus and Ibas of Edessa.
It was understood that John of Antioch's reconci1iation with Cyril
of A1exandrla and his acceptance of the Third Ecumenica1 Council
wlth the Chapters was done beha1f of all bishops of the
Patrlarchate of Antloch. after the death of John 442, his
successor Domnus allowed Theodoret to 1ead a against the
Third Ecumenica1 Counci1, especially after the death of Cyril
444. Thus lt fell to Cyril's successor, Dioscorus, to 1ead the defence of
Orthodox doctrlne against Theodoret and his companions.
Pope Ce1estlne had died right after the Third Ecumenica1 Counci1
432, succeeded by Sixtus who was turn succeeded by Leo
440. Leo rejected the condemnatlons by Ephesus 449 of not F1a-
of Constantinop1e and Eusebius of Dory1aeum, but a1so of the
Nestorlan Theodoret of Cyru s. Failing to distinguish between the two
Orthodox bishops and the Nestorlan Theodoret, Leo seems to
used the occaslon 10 assert the authorlty of his see. But by so doing
he reduced doctrlne 10 a 1esser than the papa1 authority of
Rome. Dioscorus like manner a1so asserted the papa1 authority of
Alexandrla.
It ls important to note that Theodoret's profession of the faith of
Cyri1 and the Third Ecumenica1 Counci1 at sesslon of the Council
of Cha1cedon was accompanied by much hesitatlon his part and
eplscopa1 cries of «Nestorlan» against him. This ls a c1ear proof that
had Dioscorus accepted 10 appear before the Council and face Theo-
doret his accuser, he would certain1y been c1eared his fight
against this Nes10rlan enemy of Cyril. He would been found at
1east doctrinally, if not canonically, excusable for his excommunlcation
of Leo upon approaching Cha1cedon and 1earning that the 1egates of
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 483

Pope Leo were insisting that Theodoret must participate as a member

of the Council. Leo insisted this spite of the fact that Theo-
doret had never yet accepted the Third Ecumenical Council, the
Twelve Chapters of Cyril, the condemnation of Nestorius, or the rec-
onciliation of 433 between John of Antioch and Cyril of AJexandria.
seems that the Chalcedonian Orthodox must let these facts sink into
their heads and take them seriously.
This is why the Council of Chalcedon upheld the excommuni-
cation of Theodoret by the Ephesine Council of 449. Therefore, Dio-
scorus was legal1y and canonically correct excommunicating Leo for
his support of Theodoret before the Council of Chalcedon. Ephesus
449 was still before the Council of Chalcedon a part of Roman Law
spite of Leo of Rome. From a purely doctrinat viewpoint the Pope
of Rome was guilty of supporting a Nestorian and a vigorous enemy
of the Twelve Chapters, which were the basis of the doctrinal decision
of the Third Ecumenical Council. John of Antioch and his own Third
Ecumenical Council of 431 had condemned and excommunicated the .
Cyrilian Third Ecumenical Council because its doctrinal decisions
were summarised Cyril's Twelve Chapters. But then 433 John
and his bishops accepted the Third Ecumenical Council with the
Twelve Chapters and condemned Nestorius. Therefore before the
Council of Chalcedon 451 Theodoret was under condemnation by
the Roman Laws of both Ephesus 431 and 449, Ephesus 449 was not
yet the process of being repealed or accepted as was finally done
item by item . Thus Chalcedon did not repeal the condemnations of
Theodoret and 1bas by Ephesus 449. the contrary, Chalcedon
enforced these decisions against both and required that both must
repent for their actions against Cyril and the Third Ecumenical
Council, accept Ephesus 431 and their own condemnation by Ephesus
449, and to ask forgiveness. other words Chalcedon completely
supported Dioscorus these questions.
However, Chalcedon would have required that Dioscorus explain
his actions regard to Leo's excommunication and may have either
accepted or rejected the action or else at least appreciated a good
reasoning behind them. We will never know since Dioscorus refused
to argue his case against Leo and Theodoret before the Council. Had
he done so he may have come out top, especially since most of the
bishops were Cyrilians.
However, Dioscorus could not be exonerated from his condem-
nations of Flavian of Constantinople-New Rome and Eusebius of
484 John S. Romanides

Dorylaeum for not accepting Christ «from two natures one nature»
which was the «Orthodox» tradition of Alexandria, but not that of all
the Churches as Cyril himself explained his letters to his friends
when explaining that by speaking of two natures Christ one may
distinguish them thought alone. any case both Flavian and Euse-
bius were fina11y justified their actions against Eutyches by Diosco-
rus, his bishops and a11 Oriental Orthodox.
The question is now raised whether there were substantial
grounds for Dioscorus' excommunication of Leo of Rome. It would
seem possible to argue that this excommunication was some-
what like that of Cyril's excommunication of Nestorius when the latter
refused to subscribe to the Twelve Chapters. Cyril did this with the
fu11 support of the Pope Celestine of Rome. But the case before us
451 we have Pope Leo of Rome himself who is being excommuni-
cated by Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria. The reason behind this is the
simple fact that Pope Leo was reality repudiating His predecessor's
support of Cyril's Twelve Chapters by supporting a fanatic enemy of
Cyril and his Twelve Chapters.
The realization of the implications about support for Theo-
doret are interesting indeed view of those who support Franco-
Latin Papal theories about the magisterium of their medieval papacy,
The Criteria
1964 1 pointed out that the fundamental criterion of Orthodox
Christology was the acceptance of the fact the Logos Who is consub-
stantial with His Father became Himself consubstantial with us by His
birth as man from His mother, the Virgin Mary, contrast, the Nes-
torian position was that Christ is a person who is the product of the
of the two natures Christ. For Nestorius and Theodoret
to 451) it is not the Logos Himself Who became by nature man and
consubstantial with His mother and us. For both of them the very
idea that the Logos could be united to His human nature by nature
meant that He was united by a necessity of His divine nature. Thus
for Nestorius and Theodoret the one nature of the Logos is consub-
stantial with the Father and the created nature of the Logos is con-
substantial with us. The Logos did not become man and son of Mary
by nature and the Virgin Mary did not become the mother of the
Logos incarnate. The basic question was not whether one accepted
two natures or one nature Christ, but whether one accepted that
the Logos Himself, Who is consubstantial with His Father, became
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 485

Himself consubstantial with his mother and us without confusion,

change, separation, division, etc.
Neither Nestorius nor Theodoret accepted that the Logos
Himself became consubstantial with his mother and us and was born
and died as man.
and Eutyches
Theodoret was a heretic before Leo got involved with him, and
he remained a heretic all the time that he was being supported by
Leo. Just after Chalcedon Leo wrote a letter to Theodoret about
their common victory they had won at the Council of Chalcedon, yet
the very same letter complained about Theodoret's tardiness
rejecting Nestorius. other words Leo supported Theodoret during
all the time that he had not one confession of the Orthodox faith to
his credit. The first time that he came close to a confession of the
Orthodox faith was when he became a member of the committee, we
have already mentioned, which found that Leo's Tome agrees with
Cyril's Twelve Chapters. Evidently he was made a member of this
committee order to create grounds for satisfying Leo's insistence
that he must have his way about Theodoret or there will be
Council of Chalcedon.
Now we compare Leo's support for Theodore with Dioscorus's
support of Eutyches.
1) Theodoret not only showed sign whatsoever that he agreed
with the Third Ecumenical Council before Chalcedon, but the
trary rejected it and continued to fight against its Twelve Chapters of
St. Cyril and refused to condemn Nestorius.
2) the contrary Dioscorus supported Eutyches the basis of
his confession of faith that «Christ is consubstantial with his mother».
Whether this confession is genuine or not, or reality an act of
penance, the fact remains that Dioscorus defended a Eutyches con-
fessing a Christology which was not exactly that for which he was
condemned. This writer brought this confession to light his paper at
Aarhus 1964. This corrected or perhaps falsified confession of faith
was the basis which Dioscorus accepted to defend Eutyches against
false accusers. any case this means that Chalcedon did not con-
demn the faith of Dioscorus. He was condemned only because he
excommunicated Leo and refused to appear before the Council to
defend himself. It is within this context that Anatolius of New Rome-
Constantinople opposed the effort of the imperial commissioners to
486 John S. Romanides

have Dioscorus condemned for heresy. Anatolius clearly declared that,

«Dioscorus was not deposed because of the faith, but because he ex-
communicated Lord Leo the Archbishop and although he was
summoned to the Council three times he did not come ».
It has been pointed out that what Anatolius is perhaps only saying
here is that Dioscorus' faith had not been examined and for this rea-
son he had not been condemned for his faith. But it seems that Dio-
scorus' faith was possibly proven by the confession of faith by which he
restored Eutyches to communion. Eutyches had been condemned as
denying that Christ consubstantial with us. F1avian two times con-
fesses to the emperor that Christ is consubstantial with his mother.
Now it is supposedly proven that Eutyches is agreement with Fla-
vian who had him condemned.
After his condemnation by the Home Synod of 448 Eutyches ap-
pealed to the emperor, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Thessaloniki.
He argued among other things that the acts had been falsified .
order of the emperor the Review Council of 449 was convened
examine Eutyches' contentions. There we find among other things the
following the minutes: The Presbyter and Advocate John told the
Patrician and examining magistrate Florentius that when 448 he was
sent to summon Eutyches to the Synod order to testify, Eutyches
told him that «Christ is consubstantial with his mother even though not
with Florentius said that «this is not to be found either your
memorandum or your report». John answered «This he told me
while speaking only with me, that he does not have a consubstantial
flesh with us, but with his mother». Then the Patrician said, «Did you
forget what you heard, and for this reason this is not to be found
the memorandum which you composed»? John answered, «Because
the most reverend deacons with me did not hear what was told to me
private, for this reason did not put it the memorandum».
the face of these remarks it could be argued that Eutyches
agreed with F1avian. But this Patriarch is not recorded as ever denying
that Christ is consubstantial with us, although there could be the pos-
sibility that he believed this. Eutyches had confessed that, although
Christ is not consubstantial with us, His mother is. the case of Euty-
ches we end with a contradiction. Since Christ is consubstantial with
His mother and His mother is consubstantial with us, it would stand to
normal reason that Christ should be consubstantial with us also. It
seems that behind such contradictions are either a forgery or an unbal-
anced personality.
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 487

The backbone of the Orthodox tradition is the fact that the

gos became consubstantial with us. There can be doubt that Diosco-
rus agrees with this fact and so could be accused of being a
monophysite along with Eutyches.
It seems that Eutyches was trying to follow the fathers in his own
way, but was not doing a good job. Then some like Dioscorus
undertook to guide him, but to But neither Dioscorus
himself nor any other of the Oriental Orthodox Fathers followed
Eutyches the way Leo followed Theodoret like a pet a leash.
Flavian and Eusebius
At Ephesus 449 both and Eusebius accepted Cyril's One
nature of the Logos incarnate, the Third Ecumenical Council and its
Chapters of Cyril. Dioscorus accused them of contradicting
and Cyril by using this formula wrongly by speaking about
two natures after the union instead of one. 50 they were condemned
because they insisted that when the uncreated nature (or also hyposta-
sis Cyrilian usage) of the Logos became by nature flesh or
carnate, the two natures out of which Christ was composed, became
one nature (or hypostasis). this natural and hypostatic ac-
cording to Cyril, the human nature or hypostasis of the Logos was
neither suppressed, absorbed nor changed and became united by na-
ture to the Logos without separation, and change. Cyrilian
usage the two natures or hypostases are distinguished into two in
thought alone. contrast the Orthodox traditions of Rome, of New
Rome and of Antioch used the two natures out of which Christ is
composed in the incarnation exactly like AJexandria, but speak about
two natures distinguished thought alone. other words both tradi-
tions agree what the incarnate Logos is constituted of, created and
uncreated natures, the uncreated being from the Father and the
created nature from the Theotokos. other words whether one says
two united natures distinguished in thought alone, or one nature out
of two natures distinguished in thought alone, one is professing the
same reality.
433 Cyril accepted that both sides were saying the exact same
thing. Dioscorus came to the conclusion that Theodoret was
escaping from a just condemnation for his real heresy by hiding it
behind the possibility of not saying two natures, but of thinking
of two separately acting natures which he had been also doing.
the key to Thedoret's heresy was not this, but the fact that
488 John S. Romanides

for him, for Nestorius, for Theodore of Mopsuestia, for Arius, for
Lucian, and for Paul of Samosata (the philosophical great-grandfather
and grandfather of all the former)3 God is united to the creature only
by will and energy and never by nature. For all of those just men-
tioned that which is related or united by nature does so by necessity
and not by the freedom of wi1l 4•
One may conclude that Dioscorus can be defended his actions
against Leo . He is to be fully complimented for his fight against
Theodoret. actions against Flavian and Eusebius can be explained
as primari!y motivated by his desire to defend the faith against Nesto-
rianism to such a point that he came at least very close to abandoning
Cyri!'s reconciliation of 433 with John of Antioch. The use of the
Alexandrian formula «One Nature or Hypostasis Incarnate» by Fla-
vian and Eusebius were technically wrong as such, since they used it
not its correct historical context. However , from the viewpoint of
the 433 reconciliation between Cyril and John, this formula could also
be used as was done by Flavian and Eusebius, but only so long as its
original usage made clear also. either Flavian nor Eusebius
understood this, and this what got Dioscorus hot under the collar.
He was correct when he protests that both contradicted themselves
when using this formula. But he could have let them use it also the
light of 433.
Chalcedonian and Severians at New Rome 531/35
The roots of so-called Neo-Chalcedonianism
At this conference the Severians supported that Eutyches was
indeed a heretic and that Dioscorus accepted him as one repentant
and finally confessing the faith that Christ is consubstantial with His
mother. They seemed not troubled that Eutyches had denied that
Christ is consubstantial with us. They defended Dioscorus' action
against Flavian and Eusebius because they contradicted themselves
when saying «One nature of the Logos Incarnate» and at the same
time insisting «two natures after or their Hypatius, the
spokesman for the Chalcedonians, was exasperated at the logic of the

3. Dogmatics Thessaloniki 1973.

4. See John S. Romanides, the Debate Over Theodore of Mopsue-
stia's Christology», The Greek Orthodox Theo!ogica! Review, 2 (1959-60),
140-185.
5. Mansi 817-834; Patro!ogia Orientalis, 192-196.
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 489

Orientals by which they justified Dioscorus' defence of the supposedly

penitant Eutyches, but refused to accept the Orthodoxy of Flavian and
Eusebius. The conference deteriorated into a fundamentalistic debate
about which tradition had the correct terminology, a sanctified tradi-
tion of debate which reached right to Aarhus 1964. The Severians
insisted that «from two natures» was only correct and that two
natures» is only wrong. The Chalecodian side claimed that both are
correct.
But the main cause why misunderstandings could never be re-
solved was the fact that neither side at this meeting had ever read and
studied the minutes of Chalcedon. The Severians accused Chalcedon
of not accepting Cyril's letter to Nestorius with the Twelve Chapters.
Hypatius answered that Chalcedon had accepted it as part of the
Third Ecumenical Council. But the reason why Chalcedon supposedly
did not use this letter was because Cyril speaks of two hypostases
especially Chapter 3. other words oral traditions about Chalce-
don had begun replacing the minutes of the Council both sides so
that arguments began to be formulated the basis of heresay.
This opened the way to the position that the Tome of Leo had
supposedly become the standard of Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. This was
followed by the position that the Fifth Ecumenical Council returned
to Cyril's Twelve Chapters order to please the Non-Chalcedonians.
Having studied at Yale University under specialists the History of
Dogma, one may appreciate the shock this writer had , while preparing
for Aarhus 1964, when he saw the minute's of Chalcedon the de-
bate about whether the Tome Leo agrees with the Twelve Chapters
of Cyril. Hypatius' claim that Chalcedon supposedly avoided the use
of Cyril's Twelve Chapters because it uses hypostasis as synonymous
with physis, obliges one to realize that Chalcedon did such thing ,
since Cyril became the judge of Leo's Orthodoxy. So Chalcedon ac-
cepted both the Alexandrian tradition of terms, and also that of
Rome, Cappadocia and Antioch.
It is important that every effort should be made to get rid of the
distortians of doctrinal history being caused by the so-called Neo-
Chalcedonianism of the Fifth Ecumenical Council.
11. TODAY'S DESCENDANTS OF FATHERS
One must emphasize that acceptance of the Three Seven
Ecumenical Councils does not itself entail agreement faith. The
Franco-Latin Papacy accepts these Councils, but reality accepts not
490 John S. Romanides

one of them. like manner there are Orthodox, since Peter the
Great, who reality do not accept the soteriological and Old
Testament presuppositions of these Councils. the other hand those
of the Oriental Orthodox, who have not been Franco-Latinised im-
portant parts of their theology, accept the first three of the Ecumeni-
cal Councils, but reality accept all Seven, a fact which has now
become clear recent agreements.
The determining element in the above fluctuations is the fact that
the Carolingian Franks learned to interpret the first two Ecumenical
Councils through the eyes of Augustine. Then the rest of the Seven
became wagons of the same train drawn by the same locomotive. The
bishop of had neither the slightest understanding of the Arian,
Eunomian and Macedonian positions about the Holy Trinity and the
Incarnation, nor of the Fathers who opposed them. Neither he nor
the Franco-Latins ever realized that each heresy condemned by the
Seven or Nine EcumenicaI Councils was an attack the Biblical
experience of i1Iumination and gIorification. each case fallen man
was imagined to be instructed and saved by a creature: a) either by a
created Logos, or b) by a created Spirit's created energies, or c) by a
created Spirit/AngeI. But Augustine's salvation by created grace, i.e.
by his created gIorifications the Old and New Testaments or by his
created Pentecostal tongues of fire, or by his fires of hell and outer
darkness or by created heavenly glory, are all the same pagan reaI-
ities. Indeed all these Augustinian creatures which reveaI and save
both the Old and New Testaments come into and pass out of exis-
tence after each of their specific tasks has come to pass. The CounciI
of 1341 condemned these teachings the person of Barlaam the
Calabrian not knowing that this tradition was initiated by Augustine
and was accepted by the Franco-Latin tradition. It was conHnued by
the Reformers and is to be found Bible Commentaries today.
The reality of the matter is that the difference between Augustine
and Ambrose, who baptised the former, became the difference be-
tween the Franco-Latin and the Roman tradition, both East and West.
The basic difference between the Franco-Latin and Orthodox tra-
ditions is that not illumination or justification takes place this
life, but that glorification or theosis does also. Today's Orthodox must
retum to the Fathers who see both these stages of cure already the
Old Testament and completed Christ and Pentecost. This wouId be
the essential patristic basis for our going forward our coming into
organic since this is a fundamental presupposition the Bible
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 491

accepted and clearly expounded by our the Fathers, especially by those

of the Three and Seven Ecumenical
Illumination/justification and glorification/theosis both the Old
and New Testaments have nothing to do with mysticism. The Fathers
reject spiritualities based the so-called liberation from earthly
copies of transcendental realities and its quest for union with non-
existent universals the essence of God. The Fathers clearly reject
universals and condemn efforts to unite with them as figments of the
imagination and tricks of the devil. Here is a basic patristic foundation
for agreeing with those Protestants who agree with Luther's revolt
against Franco-Latin monasticism. Many Orthodox assume that Lu-
ther 's revolt against monasticism was an attack Orthodox spiritu-
ality. understand this reality is the main key to our participation
such efforts as the WCC.
Luther's rejection of entis, i.e. universals, made the Bible
the only basis of speaking authoritatively about God. But the Fathers
go further by rejecting analogia fidei, the identity of the words and
concepts about God, even the Bible, with God Himself. The inspi-
ration of the Bible does not make it revelation itself, but a guide to
glorification, which is revelation . Even the words of Christ themselves
are guides to and not themselves glorification or revelation. Christ
prays that His disciples and their disciples may see His Glory (John
17), but He does not describe His glory. The foundation of heresy is
the confusion of the Bible with revelation whereby one tries to
understand God by meditation and speculation BiblicaI texts. Since
all of one's words and concepts are from one 's environment, such
meditation and speculation ends up being a closed circle within
createdness. Only by accepting the witness of the prophets that there is
similarity between the created and the uncreated and that «it is
impossible to express God and even more impossible to conceive Him»
that one submits to the cure of purification, illumination and glorifica-
tion.
This raises the question about the validity of Systematic or Dog-
matic Theology and its distinction from Pastoral Theology and the re-
lation of both to so-called Christian Ethics. Within the context of the
cure of purification and illumination of the heart and glorification
these theological disciplines do not really exist. The very fact that one 's
spirit must return to the heart emptied of both good and bad thoughts
order to be occupied only with prayer that the intellect may be
occupied with its normal activities does not allow such divisions of
492 John S. Romanides

labour. What is left is cure of oneself in communion with others as

expessed the gospel of Christ with which He Himself inspired His
friends even before His incamation.
Such documents as «Confessing the One Faith» are distortions for
our Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed its present form. It must be
completed by the fact that «God, whom one has ever seen» (John
1:18), has indeed revealed Himself to the prophets of the Old
Testament His uncreated Messenger even before His incarnation.
see the Angel of the Lord is to see God Himself Who sends Him. «The
only begotten Son, He Who is the bosom of the Father, He reveals».
As the prophets saw and heard God His Messenger, so now also he
who sees and hears His incarnate Messenger sees and hears God
Himself. She who gave birth to Christ gave birth to Logos the
flesh. They who crucified Christ crucified the Logos Himself the
flesh. who believes me does not believe me but him who
sent me, and he who sees me sees him who sent me». (John 12:44-45).
«Lord, show us the Father... He who sees me has seen the Father».
(John 14:8-9). This identity between the uncreated Messenger of God
the Old Testament and the incarnate Logos the New Testament is
the key to a correct appreciation of the Three, Seven and Nine Ecu-
menical Councils (879, 1341) of the Orthodox Church.
From the viewpoint of both the Old and New Testaments and the
Fathers, correct faith the Lord of Glory is not a religion, but the
rejection of religion. Religion is a sickness with confuses words and con-
cepts taken from one·s environment with God and transforms them into
the idols that they are. This is exactly what most so-called theologians,
pastors and faithful do. The faithful who are not at least the state of
illumination may seem better than members of other religions, but may
be even morally worse. Such evaluations may be to the point within the
context of the negative role religions seem to be playing today.
discussion and agreement about the dangers of analogja entls, analogja
fldej and the fanatic they tend to breed within Christianity and other
religions may be a helpful and useful corollary to our work together.
It would seem that we must train ourselves patristically to be ready
to examine with our Protestant and Latin friends whether Sola
and Sola fjde want to say what may be described as the Patristic Sola
Pentcoste. Each theosis, i.e. glorifiation, is the extension of Pentecost
the lives of our saints to which nothing can be added or improved upon.
The basic question which we must ask ourselves is whether we are
descendants of our Fathers Christ, or have we become part of the
Leo of Rome and Dioscorus of Alexandria 493

Augustinian tradition? Who are and what are the so-called Orthodox
who longer identify Christ with Who Who appeared to
Moses the burning bush, and the «Angel of Great Council» Who
appeared to Isaiah?
have not once come across a document of the WCC which
the Orthodox have made known Who Christ is the Old Testament.
tried to do this at the Rhodes meeting «Confessing the Crucified
and Risen Christ Social, Cultural and Ethical Context today»
4-11/1/88. explained that one has the right to explain and
comment the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed without reference
to the reasons why the Fathers composed the Creed and how they
explain the Creed. insisted that both the Arians and Eunomians
agreed with the Fathers that Christ the Old Testament is the Angel
of the Lord, the Angel of Great Council, etc. who appeared to the
prophets; that the difference was that for the Fathers the Logos/Angel
is uncreated and that for these heretics he was created. Augustine
rejected this identity of this Angel of the Lord with the Logos,
thinking that the Arians believed that the Logos was seen by the
prophets and that His visibility was the main argument by which they
proved that .the Logos is created. presented the meeting with pa-
tristic texts. The paticipants voted the approval of my suggestions. But
subsequently nothing appeared the New Revised Version . But that
the Lord of Glory of the Old Testament was born as man from the
Theotokos6 and was crucified is the foundation of all the doctrinal
descisions of all our Ecumenical Councils . Who God 's name are
running the Orthodox show the World Council of Churches?
If we believe as our Fathers that Christ is the Lord of Glory Who
appeared to the prophets and made them His friends, and if we are
supposed to also see His Glory and become his friends, as clearly
prayed for by Christ John 17, then do the lifting of anathemas
have some meaning.

6. Here page 53 «Mary is Theotokos, the mother of him who is also God ...»
For thc Mary is the mother of God.