Buffet Orthodoxy: Old-Calendarists Grab Anathemas They Like & Dump the Rest

Old Believers split over rituals; Old-Calendarists split over calendars. Different props, same play: schism by preference. Why do they think the 1583 Council of Constantinople matters for us today?

When the Stoglav Council met in 1551, St. Macarius of Moscow and a synod of bishops were trying to protect the Church from innovations they thought may have come from Latin (Roman Catholic) influence, including anathemas for shaving, singing the triple-alleluia, and using the three fingered sign of the cross.

When the Council of Constantinople met in 1583, Patriarch Jeremias II and a synod of bishops were trying to protect the Church from innovations coming from Latin (Roman Catholic) influence, including an anathema for Rome’s change of the calendar.

So: same fear, different flashpoints. And an obvious question follows:

Are the decisions of these two councils binding upon us today?

When sifting through the numerous Orthodox church councils that have taken place throughout history, and when gauging people’s responses to these councils, I have noticed a predictable pattern:

1. “Yes! This is the final word! This is the teaching of the Church for all time!” — This is the response usually heard from a person who likes what the council teaches.

2. “No. That’s just a local council. If it’s not an Ecumenical Council, then it’s subject to error. We don’t have to follow it today.” — This is the response usually heard from a person who doesn’t like what the council teaches.

If we’re honest, that’s not theology — it’s team sports. And the loudest cheering section lately? Old-calendarist groups in the GOC orbit.

Why Old-Calendarists Love 1583 (and why that raises problems)

Judging by responses from various GOC old calendarist sects, they really like the council of 1583. If you were to ask their opinion, they would say, “Yes! That council is authoritative and binding upon us all!” Indeed, they even include this council in the GOC Confession of Faith. They like that this council condemned the new Gregorian calendar, and dictated that the Orthodox Church should continue using the older Julian calendar. Subsequent councils were held in Constantinople in 1587 and 1593, echoing the same condemnation.

Of course, this naturally leads to some questions for the GOC Christian:

• Why are we bound by the council of 1583, but not by the council of 1551?

• Why should we be upset about the Greek church changing the calendar, yet not upset about the Greek church changing the rules regarding shaving, singing in church, and making the sign of the cross?

Let’s rewind to see what the 1551 council actually said.

Stoglav Council: two-fingered sign of the cross, double alleluia, and no razors

In 1551, St. Macarius of Moscow called the Stoglav Council, which solemnly ruled on many important issues. This council of Orthodox bishops made the following declaration:

“Whoever does not make the sign of the cross with two fingers, as Christ did, let him be cursed.”

For six hundred years, Russian Orthodox Christians had represented the Trinity by joining their thumb, ring finger, and pinky. Then, representing the divine and human natures of Christ, they used the index finger and middle finger to make the sign of the cross “with two fingers”, as noted above.

This is the way Russians had learned the sign of the cross from the Greeks when they embraced Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century, and they had kept it unchanged ever since.

Meanwhile, between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Greek Orthodox Church had gradually started allowing an innovation — making the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of with only two.

By the year 1551, some bishops had become concerned that this innovation might spread into Russia, so at the Stoglav Council, they anathematized the new three-fingered sign of the cross.

This council of bishops was determined to protect the Church against any new heresies, so it also anathematized some other things.

“All Orthodox Christians should say the double alleluia, with ‘Glory to Thee, O God’ as the third. This is as the holy universal and apostolic churches have received and handed down, and not to say the triple alleluia... where they added ‘Glory to Thee, O God’ as the fourth. This practice is not Orthodox tradition but a Latin heresy, for they do not glorify the Trinity but make it into four”

Shaving was banned as well, since it, too, was considered to be “Latin” and therefore “heretical”:

“The sacred rules also prohibit all Orthodox Christians from shaving their beards and mustaches... the practice of shaving is a Latin and heretical tradition... God Himself spoke to Moses about this, the holy apostles forbade it, the holy fathers cursed it, and the church excommunicates those who practice it.”

St. Macarius of Moscow and an illustrious synod of Orthodox bishops made these solemn decrees at the Stoglav Council in 1551.

And Still the Changes Came…

If you walk into almost any Orthodox church today — including one of the schismatic GOC churches — it’s not uncommon to see people making the three-fingered sign of the cross, singing the triple alleluia, or perhaps even being clean shaven. Unless you are a member of one of the Old Believers sects, none of these things are considered to be a dogmatic departure from the Orthodox Christian faith.

During the first few centuries of the Early Church, it appears that they made the sign of the cross with only one finger. Then somewhere around the fourth and fifth centuries, it became common to use the two-fingered sign of the cross. Evidence suggests that the three fingered sign of the cross may have been introduced in Rome somewhere around the 9th century, soon spreading to Greece during the 11th to 13th centuries. (Rome didn’t officially abandon the three-fingered sign of the cross and require their modern open-palm sign of the cross until years later, in 1569.)

After the 1551 Stoglav Council, its ruling lasted for nearly two centuries. Then a new council of bishops reversed course, and decided to prohibit the two fingered sign of the cross altogether. Numerous Russian Orthodox believers were scandalized, and thus the Old Believer schism was born. They thought it was better to split up the church, rather than to make the sign of the cross with three fingers.

After the 1583 Council, its ruling lasted even longer, until the early 1920s. During the intervening centuries, the new Gregorian calendar had spread to numerous countries across the world, and there no longer remained any nations that were using the Julian Calendar. The old calendar had completely fallen into disuse, except within the Orthodox Church. In the early 1920s, a Greek Orthodox Patriarch sent out a letter, conveying his intention to cease using the Julian calendar, and to start using a newer calendar instead. Then he convened a local council where multiple Orthodox bishops agreed with him, and the new calendar was implemented in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Over the next few decades, bishops in numerous other jurisdictions agreed with this move. Some jurisdictions, such as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Romanian Orthodox Church, started using the new calendar themselves. Other jurisdictions, such as the Russian Orthodox Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church, continued using the Julian calendar, but remained in full communion with the churches who had switched to the new calendar.

Overall, hundreds of Orthodox bishops went along with the change, agreeing that a change in calendar is not a change in dogma.

Meanwhile, the GOC and other old calendarist sects took it upon themselves to tear the church apart, creating a schism — much like the Old Believers had done in 17th century Russia.

Parallel Schisms, Parallel Logic

To this day, there are still little groups of old believers, avoiding communion with everyone else, imagining themselves to be the only true Orthodox Christians remaining on earth.

To this day, there are still little groups of old calendarists, avoiding communion with everyone else, imagining themselves to be the only true Orthodox Christians remaining on earth.

Both of these groups place great priority upon various non-dogmatic practices which were once common in the Orthodox Church, but which are less common today.

Both of these groups place great priority upon certain councils of bishops which met in the 1500s, decreeing what they felt would be best for Orthodox Christians living in the 16th century.

Honest Questions for the Sake of Consistency

I truly don’t understand why the old calendarists don’t join the old believers. Indeed, it raises all sorts of questions:

• If old calendarists are horrified by the calendar innovation, why aren’t they equally horrified by previous innovations regarding shaving, singing, and the sign of the cross?

• If it’s OK to split up the church over the calendar, why wasn’t it OK for the old believers to split up the church over the sign of the cross?

• If it’s OK for us to ignore the 1551 Council, why can’t we also ignore the 1583 Council?

• Centuries later, if it’s OK that numerous Orthodox bishops rejected the 1551 Council and decided not to follow it anymore, why is it a problem that numerous Orthodox bishops have likewise rejected the 1583 Council, and have decided not to follow it anymore?

If you’re going to claim one council is forever binding while waving off another, you owe the Church a principled reason — one that isn’t just “I like this one better.” The Orthodox Faith isn’t a buffet.