the same law was repeated: "The Orthodox Church of Hellas acknowledges our Lord Jesus Christ as its Head. It is inseparably joined in faith with the Church of Constantinople and with every other Christian Church of the same profession, but is autocephalous, exercises its sovereign rights independently of every other Church, and is governed by the members of its Holy Synod."[1] Copies of these laws were duly sent to Constantinople and to all the other Orthodox Churches. Naturally the Œcumenical Patriarch was indignant that his subjects should so coolly throw off his authority without having even consulted him. So he first refused to acknowledge the Greek Holy Synod at all. Among the Greeks, too, a large party resented the whole uncanonical proceeding.
In 1849 the Greek Government, anxious to get the Patriarch's consent to what it had done, sent him the Order of St. Saviour that it had just founded, and a friendly message from the "Church of Hellas." The Patriarch (Anthimos IV, 1840–1841, 1848–1852) took the Order, and then said he knew nothing about a Church of Hellas. However, Russia and the other Orthodox Churches, always willing to humble the Phanar, acknowledged this new sister and insisted on his doing so too. So in 1850 Anthimos held a synod which published the famous Tomos (decree). The Tomos did recognize the Greek Church as autocephalous, but, still anxious to assert some sort of authority over it, prescribed the way in which it must be constituted. It especially forbade any interference of the State in Church affairs and added an amusing tirade against Erastianism.[2] It also insisted that the Patriarch should be named in the Holy Liturgy throughout Greece, that the Holy Chrism should be sent from Constantinople, and that the synod should submit all important questions to the Patriarch.[3] This Tomos excited great indignation among the nationalist Greek party. They had determined to have nothing more to do with the Phanar at all. Theoklitos
- ↑ Kyriakos, iii. p. 160.
- ↑ One wonders what would happen if the Phanar ever dared to talk like this to the Church of Russia.
- ↑ This is just the case of the causæ maiores that among Catholics have to go to Rome. It is very curious how the Œcumenical Patriarch always tries (though quite futilely) to be a Pope.
