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Greek Orthodox Catechism
Constantine Callinicos, London, 1926
Part I. Dogmatical, 11. The Government of the Church
Who governs the Church?
Christ, of course, Who is her Head. “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. iii. 11.) But as Christ is at present invisible to the Church Militant, although in substance united with her “alway even unto the end of the world,” (Matt. xxviii. 20), therefore the Clergy, who are endowed with His Spirit and trace their origin to Him, govern His Church on earth as His visible representatives. The Clergy are the successors to the Apostles, who were directly appointed by the Lord; and to the Clergy would apply equally well the words of our Saviour to the Apostles:—“He that heareth you, heareth me, and he that rejecteth you, rejecteth me.” (Luke x. 16). And when it concerns a special diocese, her highest visible authority is her Bishop. When it is a question of a local Orthodox Church, such as the local Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, or that of Alexandria, or of Antioch, or of Jerusalem, or the autocephalous Church of Greece, or Russia, or Serbia, or Roumania, etc., her highest visible authority is her Local Synod, viz.:—the assembly of all the Bishops of the locality, who meet together for the purpose of giving opinions on local questions which may arise. When it is a question of the whole Orthodox Church, spread throughout the world, its highest visible authority is the Oecumenical Council, viz.:—the full meeting of all the Bishops of all the Orthodox communities, assembled from Constantinople, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Serbia, Roumania, etc., in order to solve questions which may be troubling the Pan-Orthodox conscience. No Bishop of the Orthodox Church concentrates in himself alone the highest authority for the whole Orthodox Church, or demands submission from the other Bishops. Archbishops, Metropolitans, Patriarchs are honorary titles, indicating perhaps wider spheres of jurisdiction, or a more splendid historical past, but not a domination of the one over the other.
So, then, the Church is not governed absolutely?
No. In the same manner, as the choice of the twelve and only Apostles from among the many followers of Christ excludes from the Church the so-called “general ministry,” which is equivalent to “ecclesiastical anarchy,” so does the equality among the twelve Apostles reject any idea of a spiritual supremacy of one of them over the others. The constitution, bequeathed to us by the Lord, is Aristocratic, and not either Autocratic (one man’s rule) or Ochlocratic (mob’s rule). The Apostles were all equals, therefore, their successors also are equals, and none of them can claim primacy. If Peter received from the Lord the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, in order to bind and loose sins, it was also said equally of the other Apostles:—“Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John xx. 23.) If Peter is called “the stone” on which the Church was built (Matt. xvi. 18), the other Apostles were called equally foundation stones of the Church, of which Jesus Christ Himself is the chief Cornerstone. (Eph. ii. 20; Rev. xxi. 14.) Nowhere in the Gospel does Peter receive any special office. He is mentioned first in the list of the Apostles, but this primacy is not one of supremacy, but one of strict enumeration. Indeed, at the Apostolic Council at Jerusalem in 51 A.D., the Apostle Paul chided the Apostle Peter for not keeping the true faith, while the latter’s personal theories were disregarded. (Gal. ii. 11—14.) And this fact shatters the Romanist doctrine of Papal Supremacy, as well as that of Papal Infallibility, which was invented some fifty years ago. For, if the Pope is infallible, how then could Peter, who, according to the Latins, was the first Pope, err in the Council? But was Peter ever really the first Pope of Rome? History mentions Linus as being the first Pope of Rome. On the other hand, the historian Eusebius informs us that Peter was the founder of the Church of Antioch. Nevertheless, the Patriarch of Antioch never attempted to take precedence of his brother Bishops.