§ 91. c) The Supreme Central Organs in the Present-day Autonomous Autocephalous Churches
c) The supreme central organs in the present-day autonomous autocephalous churches.
The councils that make up the supreme central authority in the present-day autonomous regional churches are either permanent or periodic, that is, either they exist continuously, or they meet only at fixed times of the year. Into the competence of some of these councils fall all matters, both those of faith and liturgy and those of church administration, while in some churches these matters are divided, so that the first—that is, matters of faith and liturgy—are governed by the council of bishops, or synod, while the second—that is, matters of church administration—are governed by a council in which laymen also take part.
Permanent church councils exist in the four Eastern patriarchates, in the Russian church, and in the church of the Kingdom of Greece; periodic ones—in all the other autonomous churches, except the Archbishopric of Sinai and the metropolitanate of Cetinje, in which, because there are no other bishops, the supreme church administration is exercised by the respective high priest together with his clergy.
I. PERMANENT CHURCH COUNCILS.
1. In the Patriarchate of Constantinople[1], the holy synod takes charge of all church affairs (εἰς ὅλας τὰς πνευματικὰς ὑποθέσεις). It consists of 12 hierarchs under the presidency of the patriarch. All the hierarchs of the patriarchate have the right to be members of the synod periodically for two years, and each year half of the synod’s members change, so that no one member may remain in the synod for more than two years, after which he returns to his own eparchy. All members of the synod have equal rights in the synod’s decisions; but nothing may be decided without the patriarch, just as the patriarch himself can do nothing without the synod, to whose judgment he too, like the other hierarchs, is subject. The synod holds its sessions three times a week. It has its own seal, made up of six parts, of which one each is kept by six hierarchs, members of the synod who remained in the synod from the previous year, while the handle of the seal is kept by the patriarch, so that without the knowledge of these seven persons the seal cannot be affixed to any synodal document, and consequently no official document can be issued from the synod, since every one must bear the synodal seal. Attached to the synod are two secretaries, first and second, but without the right to vote; there also exists a skeuophylax for the safekeeping of the patriarchal treasury.[2]
For conducting the economic affairs of the patriarchate, and likewise for the exercise of jurisdiction in matters of a civil character, there exists the mixed council (μικτὸν συμβούλιον), which is made up of 12 members: 4 hierarchs and 8 distinguished laymen, under the presidency of the senior member among the hierarchs, or, when the patriarch attends the council, under his presidency. The term of the council’s members is two years, and each year half withdraw and are replaced by new members. The lay members of the council, who are all residents of Constantinople, receive no salary for their service. The council holds its regular sessions twice a week; and at least two-thirds of the members must be present for a session to be validly held. Every official document must bear the council’s seal, which is made up of three parts, of which one is kept by the hierarch-members, two are kept by the lay members, and the key (κλείς) by the president.[3]
2. In the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem there exists in each, attached to the respective patriarch, a holy synod, made up of the corresponding number of hierarchs; and these synods conduct all the spiritual and church-administrative affairs of the patriarchates.[4]
3. In the Russian church[5], the supreme central body is the Most Holy Governing Synod (святѣйшій правительствующій синодъ). By the ukase of 9 July 1819 it is made up of seven persons, of whom one, the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, is called “первенствующій членъ” (“first member”), while the others are called either “члены” (“members”) or “присутствующіе” (“those present”). These “members” are usually metropolitans, and enjoy permanent membership in the Synod, while the “those present” are eparchial bishops who are summoned to take part in the Synod’s sessions for some fixed period. When fully assembled, the Synod holds its sessions three times each week. Into the Synod’s competence fall all the spiritual as well as the church-administrative affairs of the whole Russian empire.[6] — Attached to the Synod there exists an Ober-Procurator (оберъ-прокуроръ), who is “блюститель за исполненіемъ законныхъ постановленій по духовному вѣдомству” (“guardian of the fulfilment of lawful enactments in the ecclesiastical department”). Taking part in the Synod’s work, he clarifies the laws and supplies all the data necessary for the question in hand to be resolved in the sense of the existing laws. The Ober-Procurator is the intermediary between the sovereign and the Synod, and conducts all the Synod’s external business. For this he has a special deputy (товарищъ оберъ-прокурора),[7] as well as his own particular chancellery.[8] For conducting economic affairs there exists a special Synodal economic administration, which is in direct dependence on the Ober-Procurator.[9] Dependent in turn on the Synod there exists a Учебный Комитетъ (“Educational Committee”), which deals with questions of instruction and pedagogy and, by means of inspections, oversees teaching and discipline in all the theological institutions of the Russian empire. This committee is made up of nine members, clerical and lay, and, when needed, other persons from among recognized scholars and pedagogues are added to it. For the committee’s resolutions to have legal force, they must be approved by the Synod.[10]
The seat of the Synod is at St. Petersburg, and dependent on it there exist two auxiliary offices, one at Moscow and the other at Tiflis. The first is called the Moscow московская синодальная контора (“Synodal Office”), and stands under the administration of the Metropolitan of Moscow, its members being two bishops and the archpriest of the Moscow Dormition Cathedral (Успенскій соборъ). Into the competence of this office falls the care of the three great synodal courts with their churches in Moscow and of the stavropegial monasteries.[11] Much more important than this is the грузино-имеретинская святѣйшаго правительствующаго синода контора (“Georgian-Imeretian Office of the Most Holy Governing Synod”). Under the presidency of the Exarch of Georgia, this office is made up of three archimandrites—two from Georgia and one from Imeretia—and one protopriest. Subordinate to it are three eparchial bishops: of Imeretia, Mingrelia, and Guria—and it conducts all the spiritual and church-administrative affairs concerning the Georgian-Imeretian district, under the supreme administration of the St. Petersburg Synod.[12]
For the sake of preserving the purity of the faith, and so that no books contrary to that faith might be spread through print, there exists, attached to the Synod, the “духовный цензурный комитетъ” (“Spiritual Censorship Committee”), on which several other provincial committees in turn depend, the chief among them being those attached to the theological academies of Moscow, Kiev, and Kazan.[13]
4. The supreme church authority in the Kingdom of Greece[14] is made up of the synod of the Church of Hellas (ἱερὰ σύνοδος τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος). It is made up of five members with equal right to vote, all of whom are hierarchs, and among whom one is president, this always being the Metropolitan of Athens. The other four members change every year and return to their eparchies, being replaced by others, though individual members may remain for a second year as well. The synod’s annual working period begins on 1 September. Attached to the synod is a royal commissioner (βασιλικὸς ἐπίτροπος), who takes part in all the synod’s sessions, but without the right to vote, and who signs, after the synod’s members, all the synod’s documents. The synod’s business is divided into internal (ἐσωτερικά) and external (ἐξωτερικά). Internal business is conducted by the synod independently of the political authority; external business, jointly with the political authority. To internal business belong: the faith, Christian morals, divine worship, church teaching, and church discipline; the rest belongs to external business.[15]
II. PERIODIC CHURCH COUNCILS.
a) Strictly ecclesiastical councils:
1. In the church of the Kingdom of Serbia the supreme authority is made up of the council of bishops (архијерејски сабор). By the law of 31 December 1882, this council was made up of: the metropolitan, all the eparchial bishops, two archimandrites, and one archpriest from each eparchy.[16] Today, by the law of 1900, the council of bishops is made up—as it was under the law of 1862—only of the eparchial bishops under the presidency of the metropolitan, or, when there is no metropolitan, or he is prevented from carrying out his duty, he is replaced in the presiding office by the eparchial bishop senior by consecration. The recording secretary of the council of bishops is the secretary of the Great Spiritual Court. The council regularly meets once a year, in spring or autumn, at Belgrade, and, when needed, also extraordinarily, at any time of the year, with the knowledge of the Minister of Education and Church Affairs. For the council’s resolutions to be valid, the president and at least two other members must be present at the session. The council’s canonical decisions are executive of themselves, while the rest require royal confirmation. Into the competence of the council of bishops fall all matters concerning the faith, Christian morals, church ritual, the education of the clergy, the teaching of Christian doctrine in secular schools, priestly discipline, the organization of eparchies, parishes, and monasteries; besides this, the council of bishops elects the eparchial bishops, confers church dignities on worthy clerics, administers church funds and bequests in favor of churches, monasteries, and church literature, maintains the bond and unity in dogma and worship with the other autonomous Orthodox churches, and no law or regulation concerning the Serbian church and clergy may be issued, nor an existing one altered, without the prior hearing of the council of bishops. As a church-judicial authority, the council of bishops hears and adjudicates all mutual disputes between eparchial bishops and metropolitans, all offenses of bishops and metropolitans committed in their episcopal duties, and, finally, the marital disputes of the king and members of the royal house.[17]
For church-judicial matters there exists, as a court of appeal, the Great Spiritual Court (велики духовни суд), made up of: a president, five regular members, five honorary members, and a secretary; among both the regular and the honorary members, one is an archimandrite, while the remaining four are married priests. The president is a bishop elected by the council of bishops for one year. The members of the Great Court are appointed by royal decree for three years. This court meets twice a year, and, for its sessions to reach valid decisions, the president and four members must be present. The Great Spiritual Court reviews, approves, alters, and annuls the decisions and judgments of the eparchial spiritual courts, adjudicates disputes over the competence of individual church authorities, decides on the recusal of the president and members of the Great Spiritual Court, and, finally, decides on the recusal of individual eparchial spiritual courts, in which case it determines which eparchial court shall try the matter. The decisions and judgments of this Great Spiritual Court are executive, and are carried out by the competent church and civil authorities.[18]
2. The supreme authority in the church of the Kingdom of Romania is made up of the holy synod.[19] By the law of 14 December 1872, the synod is made up of both metropolitans (of Bucharest and of Iași), of all the eparchial and all the titular bishops. The president is the Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia, and when he is absent, the Metropolitan of Moldavia; failing him too, the bishop senior in service. At the synod’s sessions the Minister of Church Affairs also attends, but only with a consultative vote; and if that minister is not of the Orthodox faith, another, Orthodox, minister replaces him. The synod deals with all church affairs: spiritual, disciplinary, and judicial. The synod meets twice a year, in autumn and in spring. The synod’s decisions in spiritual-judicial questions have full force of themselves, while the rest of its decisions are subject to the sovereign’s confirmation.[20]
3. For the Bukovina-Dalmatia metropolitanate, the highest constitutive organ in matters of church administration and spiritual jurisdiction is the Metropolitan Synod. This synod is made up of: the metropolitan, as president, and the eparchial bishops. If the metropolitan, or an eparchial bishop, is prevented from attending, they may be replaced in the synod, with a corresponding written mandate, by church dignitaries from the respective eparchies, and in the first case the presiding place in the synod is taken by the bishop senior in service. Both the metropolitan and the eparchial bishops have the right to bring to the synod’s sessions one church dignitary each, but only with a consultative vote. The synod meets once a year, and, if there is no urgent business, it need not meet every year. With regard to the geographic position of this metropolitanate, the synod regularly holds its meetings in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Vienna, though, by agreement between the metropolitan and the eparchial bishops, it may also meet in another place. Into the synod’s competence fall all matters concerning the faith, Christian morals, church ritual, priestly discipline, spiritual institutions, and spiritual jurisdiction. The synod’s decisions are submitted for the sovereign’s approval, except those concerning the faith, Christian morals, and spiritual jurisdiction, which become binding of themselves.[21]
4. In the Archbishopric of Cyprus the church is governed by a synod, which, under the presidency of the archbishop, is made up of three eparchial bishops. It meets each year after Easter, and its competence is determined by the general canonical regulations.[22]
5. In the Karlovci metropolitanate[23] there exists, for dogmatic and strictly spiritual affairs, as the supreme authority, the council of bishops (архијерејски синод), made up of the metropolitan, as president, and all the eparchial bishops. The competence of this synod, after the royal rescript of 1868, is much restricted, and besides matters of faith and spiritual discipline, the synod’s competence extends only to the election of eparchial bishops, the appointment of archimandrites, and matters concerning the theological seminary. The imperial commissioner also belongs to the synod, having the right to take part in all the synod’s sessions, except those in which matters of faith and strictly spiritual affairs are discussed, and when the synod elects bishops.[24] The synod is convened by the Karlovci metropolitan in writing, after obtaining the sovereign’s consent thereto; and it must regularly meet once each year.[25]
6. In the Sibiu metropolitanate, by the organic statute of 1869[26], there exists, for dogmatic and strictly spiritual affairs, a council of bishops (архијерејски синод), made up of the metropolitan, as president, and the eparchial bishops. The metropolitan is obliged to convene the synod once a year, and the eparchial bishops are obliged to attend the synod’s sessions. Into the synod’s competence falls: a) to subject to canonical examination the candidate whom the eparchial assembly has elected bishop; b) to discuss all questions concerning faith, the sacraments, and rites; c) to see to the piety and morals of the clergy and the people; d) to see that the theological and pedagogical institutions correspond to their purpose; e) to give instructions as to the qualities that candidates for the priesthood and for teaching must have; and f) to preserve the freedom of the church and defend it against every attempt by anyone to disturb the peace and sanctity of the church.[27]
7. The supreme church authority in the Bulgarian exarchate is made up, by the statute of 14 May 1871 and by that of 13 January 1895, adapted for the Bulgarian principality,[28] of the святыйтъ синодъ (“Holy Synod”), which, under the presidency of the exarch, consists of four eparchial bishops, elected by all the eparchial bishops. Their term of service lasts four years, after which period they are replaced by another four bishops. The synod meets regularly once a year, beginning from the second week after Easter, and extraordinarily, when there is need. The synod’s competence includes: a) the election of the eparchial bishop from between two candidates proposed by the eparchial assembly; b) all matters concerning faith, Christian morals, and church ritual; c) priestly discipline; d) the education of the clergy; e) spiritual censorship; and f) final adjudication in spiritual matters, in matrimonial matters, and in disputes among clerics.[29]
b) Mixed church councils.
Following, presumably, the example of the mixed council introduced in 1860 in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in which council eight prominent laymen, together with four hierarchs, are permitted to conduct the supreme administration of the church’s economic affairs and of the affairs of national education, similar mixed councils have in more recent times been introduced, following that example, in three regional churches: the Karlovci, the Sibiu, and the Bulgarian. Except that in these mixed councils, in the said regional churches, the canonically fixed boundary of the relation between the hierarchy and the people (§ 53) has been overstepped, and laymen have been granted, in church matters, such rights as they cannot have according to the fundamental constitution of the Church. The Constantinopolitan patriarchal mixed council was occasioned by the position of the Orthodox church in the Ottoman empire, when, by the firman of Sultan Mehmed II, immediately after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, the Patriarch of Constantinople was recognized as having, besides spiritual, also civil jurisdiction over all Orthodox Christians in the empire. This civil jurisdiction could naturally not be exercised by the synod alone, and so already in the 15th century a special dicastery was formed, to which the patriarch would summon several skilled jurists, so that, together with several clerics from the patriarchate, and under his presidency, they might conduct the civil affairs of the Orthodox subjects of the empire. This same dicastery was also entrusted with the care of economic matters concerning the building and adornment of churches and the respective charitable institutions, as well as with matters of national education. This privilege of the patriarch, of civil jurisdiction over the Christian subjects of the Ottoman empire, already existed in 1860, when the mixed council presently existing in its current form was established, just as the same privilege exists today, and this mixed council today still judges all civil matters of the said subjects, just as it conducts the care of the material means for building and maintaining churches, schools, hospitals, and all the other public charitable institutions. Besides this, everything else concerning church administration belongs to the patriarchal synod and to the administrative organs subordinate to it, in which the members are solely and exclusively clerics. — The Constantinopolitan mixed council could not be adduced as the model according to which the respective councils in the said regional churches were constituted, still less when one compares the competence of these councils with that of the Constantinopolitan one, and sees that in that council the laymen (apart from civil-judicial matters) have as much influence in church affairs as they have in a properly ordered church guardianship (tutorship), whereas in the councils of the said regional churches the laymen have a decisive vote in these very same matters. And this is no longer in keeping with the fundamental teaching of Orthodox church law concerning the significance of the lay element in church administration and concerning the relations between the hierarchy and the people in the Church.
Since the respective state authority has sanctioned by law the existence of the said mixed councils, which as such exist and function today, we must mention them here.
1. In the Karlovci metropolitanate, the conduct of church-administrative affairs and of those concerning schools and church-school endowments belongs to the National Church Assembly (народно-црквени сабор), which is made up, under the presidency of the Karlovci metropolitan, of all the eparchial bishops and 75 deputies: one-third of the clerical and two-thirds of the lay estate. The vice-president is elected by the assembly from among the lay deputies. The imperial commissioner has no influence on the assembly’s deliberations, nor in the adoption of resolutions. The assembly regularly meets every third year, and is convened, after obtaining the sovereign’s approval, by the Karlovci metropolitan, or, if the metropolitan’s see is vacant, by the Metropolitan Church Council.[30]
The conduct of current business falling within the competence of the National Church Assembly is entrusted to the Assembly Committee (саборски одбор), which is made up of 9 members: the metropolitan, as president, one bishop, two clerical members, and five lay members. These members are elected by the assembly from among its own body, and their substitutes are elected in the same way. When the metropolitan is prevented from attending, the respective bishop, or his substitute, presides in the committee; and the vice-president is elected from among the lay members by the committee itself. The mandate of the Assembly Committee lasts for the whole assembly period, and in any case until it is replaced by a new committee to be elected by the assembly. For a resolution to be adopted, the presence, besides the president, of at least four members is necessary. The Assembly Committee regularly meets four times a year at the seat of the metropolitanate; and extraordinary sessions are convened as needed by the president or his substitute. Minutes of the sessions of the Assembly Committee are submitted, in transcript, to the president of the Hungarian ministry. The president and members of the Assembly Committee are answerable to the assembly for their work. The recording secretary of the committee is the national-church secretary.[31]
For spiritual-judicial matters there exists, as an appellate authority, the Metropolitan Church Council (митрополитско-црквени савјет),[32] made up of: the metropolitan, as president, two bishops, three further clerical members, three lay members, a registrar acting as recording secretary, and a fiscal officer. These last two have no deciding vote. The metropolitan appoints the vice-president; the episcopal assessors are elected by the synod, six clerical and lay assessors are elected by the National Church Assembly, and the fiscal officer is appointed by the council itself. The recording secretary is the national-church secretary. The council’s competence is that prescribed by the “consistorial system” for the metropolitan court of appeal,[33] namely, as the final appellate authority in all judicial questions concerning both priestly discipline and matrimonial disputes; then, as the court of first instance in suits against eparchial bishops and eparchial consistories; and, finally, into the council’s competence fall all matters concerning the faith, church ritual, and the observance of legal regulations by the clergy. The Metropolitan Church Council regularly holds its sessions twice a year, and, if needed, more often, at the seat of the metropolitan.
According to the task of the National Church Assembly, to which, among other things, belongs the conduct of matters concerning schools and school endowments, there exists, as a central administrative authority, the National School Council (народно-школски савјет). By the school regulation of 2 July 1872, to this council falls the administration and oversight of all elementary and continuation Serbian national schools, as well as oversight of those higher educational and instructional institutions that receive support from the national endowments. This council is made up of the chief referent for Serbian national schools and six other members. Its president is the metropolitan, the vice-president is elected by the council, and the members by the National Church Assembly; its recording secretary is the national-church secretary. The chief school referent is elected by the assembly and confirmed by the sovereign. The National School Council holds its sessions as needed, either at the call of its president, or at the request of three members. The National School Council, as well as the chief school referent, are answerable to the assembly for their conduct.[34]
2. In the Sibiu metropolitanate, by the aforementioned organic statute of 1869, there exists a National Church Assembly (народно-црквени сабор), made up of the metropolitan and the eparchial bishops, then of 90 deputies, namely 30 of the clerical and 60 of the lay estate. The president of the assembly is the metropolitan, and, when he is prevented, the bishop senior in service. Deputies are elected for three years. The assembly is convened by the metropolitan, or, if the metropolitan’s see is vacant, by the metropolitan consistory, after prior notice thereof to the sovereign. The assembly meets every third year. Into the assembly’s competence falls: a) care for the preservation of religious freedom and the autonomy of the Orthodox Romanian church; b) the administration of all matters concerning the church, the school, and the church-school endowments; and c) the election of the metropolitan and of the president of the metropolitan consistory.[35]
The supreme administrative and judicial organ is the Metropolitan Consistory (митрополитска консисторија). It is made up of the metropolitan, as president, of the eparchial hierarchs, and of the necessary number of honorary assessors, elected by the assembly from among its own members of both estates. This consistory is divided into three sections: the strictly church section, the school section, and the trustee (epitropal) section. In all sections the president is the metropolitan. The church section is made up of six assessors, all of the clerical estate, while the other two sections are likewise made up of six assessors each, but so that one-third is of the clerical and two-thirds of the lay estate. For all three sections there is one secretary, then one fiscal officer, and, for matrimonial matters, one legal counsel. The church section decides, as an appellate authority, all clerical disputes; the school section conducts the supreme administration and oversight of all confessional schools and institutions; while the trustee section administers those funds that belong to the metropolitanate as such. The Metropolitan Consistory also holds general sessions, in which the members of all sections take part, and at these sessions it elects the secretary and fiscal officer, and undertakes what is necessary for convening the National Church Assembly and for the election of deputies to the assembly.[36]
3. In the Bulgarian exarchate there exists the Exarchal Council (екзархійскій съвѣтъ), made up of the exarch, as president, and six prominent laymen, elected by the clergy and people from all the eparchies of the exarchate, and confirmed by the government on the exarch’s proposal. The term of the council’s members lasts four years, after which new members are elected. Into the exarchal council’s competence falls: a) schools; b) the building of churches and charitable institutions; c) the administration of church property; d) the review of the annual accounts of all churches and monasteries; and e) the adjudication of the civil aspect of matrimonial disputes.[37]