Constantinople synod of 1484
A Constantinopolitan synod under Patriarch Symeon rejected the Florentine union and published a rite for receiving Latin Christians by chrismation. Dragas distinguishes the anti-Florentine Horos issued in 1482 from the reception service published in 1484.
Historical context
This gathering belongs to the long reception of Florence after the fall of Constantinople. The rite records one historical practice; later Orthodox jurisdictions have not applied a single reception practice in every time and place.
Key points
- The council addressed the Florentine union decades after its proclamation in 1439.
- Read the reception rite as a historical text in its pastoral setting.
- The synod's status differs from that of an ecumenical council.
Scripture
- 1 Timothy 3:15 — An editorial ecclesiological connection to the Church as pillar and ground of the truth; the quoted service question does not cite this verse.
Primary sources
In the question concerning Florence, the priest asks the candidate to:
The 1484 reception service asks a returning Latin Christian to reject the Synod of Florence. Subsequent rubrics prescribe confession of the Creed and chrismation.
consider null and void the Synod, which was previously summoned in Florence of Italy
Passage context and translation
The service's priest asks the candidate to reject Florence; the candidate's answer rejects the synod. Later rubrics prescribe recitation of the Creed followed by anointing with holy Myrhon. Dragas distinguishes the earlier anti-Florentine Horos of 1482 from publication of this reception service in 1484. This excerpt is a question in that service; the rites of reception have varied across later Orthodox jurisdictions.
Before the excerpt
Do you reject and do you
After the excerpt
and those fraudulent things,
Full article
The synod of 1484 and the reception of Florence
The council held at Florence in 1439 proclaimed a union between representatives of the Greek and Latin churches. Its proclamation did not produce lasting acceptance in the Orthodox East. Mark of Ephesus became an important figure in the opposition to the union. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 changed the political setting, but it did not erase the ecclesiastical disagreement.
George Dragas distinguishes two stages under Patriarch Symeon: a synod in 1482 issued a Horos denouncing Florence, and the gathering of 1484 published a service for receiving Latin Christians by chrismation. The service itself asks the candidate to reject Florence, then prescribes confession of the Creed and anointing with holy Chrism. These texts address both the standing of the attempted union and the practical question of reception into Orthodox communion.
The reception rite is historical evidence for a particular synodal decision. It should not be stretched into a claim that every Orthodox church has used the same rite for every convert in every century. Practices of reception have varied in later Orthodox life. Likewise, the synod of 1484 matters for the reception of Florence without being one of the seven ecumenical councils.
Read the evidence
George Dragas's study and translation of the reception service gives an entry point into the 1482 Horos and the rite published in 1484. The quoted question belongs to that service rather than to a separate opening synodal decree. Read the translated text alongside its editor's explanation, keeping the historical document distinct from the modern commentary. Follow the app's Florence and Mark of Ephesus records to trace the earlier stages of the dispute.