Changes

==Churches "in resistance"History=====Greece===These churches refrain from In 1924, the [[bishop]]s of the [[concelebrationChurch of Greece]] with implemented the calendar change discussed at the mainstream pan-Orthodox churchescongress. In protest, but do not consider themselves the former [[schismPrimate]]aticof the Church of Greece, nor have they declared a break in [[full communion|communionGermanos of Demetrias]] with , retired in protest. Lay groups and brotherhoods formed to keep the use of the Julian calendar (or the "Orthodox calendar," as they prefer it to be called) alive, despite state persecution (Greece was an Orthodox country, and the mainstream churches. They will also commune Church enjoyed certain privileges from the faithful state) and finally, in 1935, three bishops, certain that waiting for a reversal of those churchesthe calendar change was irresponsible to their flocks, immediately declared their separation from the official Church and declared that the calendar change was a schismatic act.

* ====The Florinite/Matthewite Schism====By the 1940's, two parties had formed within the Church of Greece: the [[Holy Synod in ResistanceFlorinites]] ("Cyprianites"under Metropolitan [[Chrysostom of Florina]])* and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of RomaniaMatthewites]]* (under Bp. [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church Matthew of BulgariaBresthena]]). The issue had been the former's vacillation on whether the mysteries of the State Church were still grace-filled. Both sides had their respective justifications for their positions, and both were violently persecuted by the state. The Matthewites were holding a more consistently applied position. That they labelled the Florinites as a whole as opportunists who were trying to ingratiate themselves with the state was unfortunate, and not altogether true for the followers of Metropolitan Chrysostom, and so the parties became psychologically distinct.

==Churches which are "walled off"==These churches refrain from both [[concelebration]] and [[full communion|communion]] We will deal first with the mainstream Orthodox churches, regarding the hierarchies major divisions of the official churches to Florinites, since their divisions have apostasized generally been larger and placed themselves outside Orthodoxy. The view of these Old Calendaristsmore permanent in nature, commonly self-designated as "True Orthodox" towards official Orthodox priests and laity variesthen the Matthewites.

====Divisions within the Florinites====After the death of Metropolitan Chrysostom, the Florinites had no bishops, and Metropolitan Chrysostom advised his flock to go under the protection of the Matthewite bishops. Fearing the repercussions, however, the Florinites opted to seek a new hierarchy and appealed to Bishops of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] to help them. In 1960, Archimandrite Akakios Pappas was made a bishop for these communities without the official blessing of the ROCOR by Archbishop Leonty of Chile and Bp. Theophilos Ionescu, a Romanian New Calendar Bishop under the ROCOR. Later Bp. Akakios and Bp. Theophilos made 5 more bishops, and they proceeded to elect Auxentios of Patras to be their new leader as Archbishop of Athens. The Church ROCOR under Metropolitan Philaret eventually recognized the validity of Greecethe secret consecrations in 1969.

In 1924, the Bishops All of the Church current divisions of Greece implemented the calendar change discussed at the pan-Orthodox congress. In protest, the former Primate Florinites come from one of the Church of Greece, Germanos of Demetrias, retired in protest. Lay groups and brotherhoods formed to keep the use of the Orthodox calendar alive, despite state persecution (Greece was an Orthodox country, and the Church enjoyed certain privileges from the state) and finally, in 1935, three Bishops, certain that waiting for a reversal of the calendar change was irresponsible to their flocks, immediately declared their separation from the official Church and declared that the calendar change was a schismatic act.below:

A great deal has been written on the True Orthodox Church of Greece, as it came to be called, and some '''The Auxentios Synod''': The First Florinite Synod of the writings available on them will be listed at the end of this paper. We will define the major groupings within the True Orthodox Church of Greece below. The Florinite/Matthewite Schism. By was fraught with problems by the 1940's1970s, and two parties had formed within major separations occurred during the Church lifetime of Greece: the Florinites (under Metropolitan Chrysostom of Florina) and the Matthewites (under Bp Matthew of Bresthena)Archbishop Auxentios. The issue had been the former's vacillation on whether the mysteries of the State Church were still grace-filled. Both sides had their respective justifications for their positionsHowever, and both were violently persecuted by the state. In actual fact, the Matthewites were holding the Church's position consistently. That they labelled the Florinites as a whole as opportunists who were trying to ingratiate themselves with the state few doubt that Archbishop Auxentios himself was unfortunate, and not altogether true for the followers of Metropolitan Chrysostom, and so the parties became psychologically distinct. In the end, a real physical division was formedsaintly character, whereas albeit a real doctrinal division ended: Bishop Matthew singlehandedly consecrated another Bishop, and together they made more new Bishops. After the death of Bishop Matthew, however, Chrysostom of Florina reaffirmed the decision of 1935 declaring the New Calendar State Church as schismaticpoor bishop. Recently there have been attempts to rehabilitate his memory (The reasons for this are unclear, and speculations give various answers.Archbishop Auxentios died in 1994) In any case; his synod, barely held together by the Matthewites proceeded to elect Archbishop Agathagelos to the rank of Primate of Athens in 1958. We will deal first with the major divisions of the Florinites1980's, since their divisions have generally been larger and more permanent in nature, and then dissolved after his death into the Matthewitesthree jurisdictions listed below.

Divisions within '''[[True Orthodox Church of Greece (Florinite)|The Kiousis Synod]]''': Amidst charges of maladministration, the Florinitesmajority of the Florinite synod chose a new leader in Archbishop Chrysostom (Kiousis), who demonstrated rather effectively that the True Orthodox in Greece were a force to be reckoned with. Choosing to take on the Greek legal system, court cases were held where it was demonstrated that the Old Calendarists of Greece were not schismatics. Though their public reputation had been tarnished over decades, their legal existence was, and is presently, safe. The synod of Chrysostom of Athens is today the largest synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece.

After the death '''The [[Holy Synod in Resistance|Synod-in-Resistance]] of Metropolitan ChrysostomCyprian of Fili''': While this church's official [[ecclesiology]] is peculiar, the Florinites had no Bishops, amount of work that Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and Metropolitan Chrysostom advised his flock synod have done to go under assist True Orthodox throughout the protection of world is impressive, and must be noted. The church itself is rather small, but has been very effective in presenting intellectual arguments against the Matthewite BishopsNew Calendar State Church. Fearing It is headed by another defector from the repercussionsAuxentios Synod, howeverCyprian (Koutsoumbas) of Fili, the Florinites opted to seek and holds a new hierarchy and appealed to Bishops unique ecclesiology of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR, see “Outside Russia“sick