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'''Old Calendarists''' are small separatist communities formed Orthodox Christians in Greece, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria and elsewhere after that oppose the adoption use of the Revised Julian liturgical calendar (which is essentially the Gregorian calendar combined with the Orthodox Paschalion) in the early 20th century. Citing the 16th -century anathemas against the Gregorian calendar issued by three endemousa (or "Patriarchal") synods and Pan-Orthodox Synods in Constantinople, as well as various condemnations by multiple local synods, they have become some of the most vocal critics not only of the new liturgical calendar, but of [[ecumenism]] in general, which is seen as the ultimate cause of the calendar revision.
In 1921, a council was called in Athens, led by Metropolitan [[Germanos of Demetrias]], the Vice-President of the Holy Synod, deposing Archbishop [[Meletios_IV_(Metaxakis)_of_Constantinople|Meletios (Metaxakis)]] of Athens, who had previously known for ecumenical activity, for recognizing the revolutionary Venizelos government in Greece[http://orthodoxwiki.org/Meletios_IV_(Metaxakis)_of_Constantinople#Archbishop_of_Athens]. In a bizzare twist, Meletios was recognized as Patriarch of Constantinople on November 21, 1921, where he began his programs anew, though previously his candidacy was declined by the Holy Synod of Constantinople in 1912.
In 1923, a "Pan-Orthodox Congress" was held under the presidency of Meletios which comprised members-- six Bishops, two laymen, and an archimandrite-- of a few of the local Churches (none of the members of the Pentarchy save Constantinople sent representatives). [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastassy]] of the Russian Church Abroad attended its initial meeting, having been in the area, declared that the Synod had given him no instructions on the matter, and soon departed. In total, less than half of the local Churches were represented by so much as a layman. (see [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/photii_2.aspx Bishop Photii of Triaditsa, "The 70th Anniversary of the Pan-Orthodox Congress", Orthodox Life, 1&2, 1994]). The purpose of the meeting was to implement the suggestions of the 1920 document, along with other uncanonical changes which were largely rejected, such as the elevation of married men to the Episcopate and the remarriage of widowed priests (sessions three and four). Finally, the Anglicans were present at the final meetings in the person of former Bishop Gore of Oxford, where it was decided that nothing stood in the way of reunion. In response, a five-member commission in Greece (of whom then Archimandrite-- and later Archbishop-- Chrysostom Papadopolous of Athens) determined to study the question of the use of the New Calendar and determined "''Not a single one of them [local Orthodox Churches] can separate from the others and adopt the New Calendar without becoming schismatic in relation to the others.''" (''Journal of the Government of the Greek Kingdom'', chapter 1, 24/25. 1. 1923, No. 8, see also ''OEM'', 1989, Chapter 17, p. 73, as noted in [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/photii_2.aspx Bishop Photii].)
====The True Orthodox Church of Greece====
[[Image:1925cr1.jpg|thumb|110px|An artist's rendering of the appearance of the Sign of the Cross near Athens, 1925]]
In 1924, the [[bishop]]s of the [[Church of Greece]], under Archbishop Chrysostom (Papadopolous), implemented the calendar change discussed at the panPan-Orthodox congress Congress of 1923. In response, Metropolitan [[Germanos of Demetrias]], retired in protest. Lay groups and [[brotherhoods]] formed to keep the use of the [[Julian calendar]] alive, despite state persecution (Greece was an Orthodox country, and the Church enjoyed certain privileges from the state).
In 1925, perhaps the most well-known phenomenon in the Old Calendar movement occurred: a large cross over an secret Old Calendar Church in 1925 during the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, witnessed by approximately two thousand people, including police intent on arresting the clergy of the group, many of whom converted that night.[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/cross-in-athens.html]
From April 23rd to April 26th 1935 the ordination of four new bishops took place. Ordained were the Archmandrites: Germanos (Barikopoulos) as Bishop of Kyklades, Christoforos (Hatzis) as Bishop of Megaris, Polycarp (Liosis) as Bishop of Diavleia, and Bishop Matthew (Karpathakes) of Bresthena).[http://www.hotca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:the-change-in-the-calendar-of-the-church-of-greece&catid=23:goc-history&Itemid=71]
====The Florinite/Matthewite schism====
By the 1940s, two parties had formed within the Church of Greece: the [[Florinites]] (under Metropolitan [[Chrysostom (Kavourides) of Florina]]) and the [[Matthewites]] (under Bp. [[Matthew (Karpathakis) of Bresthena]]). The schism originated in Metropolitan Chrysostom's hesitation to consider the mysteries of the State Church as graceless, whereas the adherents of Bishop Matthew (the "Matthewites") maintained the rigorist position: that State Church was schismatic and therefore graceless.
We will deal first with the major divisions of the Florinites, since their divisions have generally been larger and more permanent in nature, and then the Matthewites.
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 with the title of Bishop of Talantion for these communities without the official blessing of the ROCOR Synod by [http://www.roca.org/life_of_archbishop_seraphim.htm Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago] and Bp. Theophilos Ionescu, a Romanian New Calendar Bishop under the ROCOR. The following year, the ROCOR elected and ordained Archimandrite Petros Astyfides as Bishop of Astoria in order to serve as archpastor of the Greek Old Calendarist immigrant communities in the United States and Canada. Later Bp. Akakios of Talantion and Archbishop Leonty of Chile (ROCOR) ordained five more bishops in Greece. Thus in 1961, Akakios of Talantion became the new First-Hierarch of the restored Florinite Synod. He died, however, in 1963. The Synod thus proceeded to elect Auxentios Pastras, Bishop of Gardikion, to be their new leader as Archbishop of Athens. The ROCOR under Metropolitan Philaret eventually recognized the validity of the secret consecrations in 1969.
'''The Auxentios Synod''': The First Florinite Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece was fraught with problems by the 1970s, and two major separations occurred during the lifetime of Archbishop Auxentios. However, few doubt that Archbishop Auxentios himself was of a saintly character, albeit a poor bishop. Recently there have been attempts to rehabilitate his memory (Archbishop Auxentios died in 1994); most of his synod, barely held together by the 1980s, dissolved after his death into the three jurisdictions listed below. In 1986, Auxentios was removed from the Archdiocese of Athens and the leadership of the Old Calendar Church of Greece by a majority the Florinite bishops on account of a series of controversial episcopal ordinations conducted in the early 1980s with his apparent consent. Having the support of the dissenting minority of bishops, Auxentios proceeded to re-form his Synod. He died in 1994, having failed to reconcile with the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostom. The remaining parishes of the Auxentios Synod, however, elected Archbishop Maximos of Kephalonia as president in 1995. However, after a series of questionable ordinations and maladministration by Archbishop Maximos, the Auxentios Synod dissolved in the mid 1990's. In 2006, clergy and a bishop (Metropolitan Athanasios of Larissa) from the Auxentios Synod reconciled themselves with the main body of the Old Calendar Church in Greece and were admitted into the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostom. In North America, the parishes loyal to Auxentios under the American Bishops organized around Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston (HOCNA), left the Synod, and elected Makarios of Toronto as locum tenens of the see of Athens. Since 2008, HOCNA has been in a cordial dialogue with the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostom in hope of establishing closer ties.
'''[[Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (Florinite)|The Synod of Archbishop Chrysostom of Athens]]''': Amidst charges of maladministration, the majority of the Florinite synod chose in 1986 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 nearly two decades of divisions, their legal existence was, and is presently, safe. The synod of Archbishop Chrysostom of Athens is represents today the largest synod main body of the True Orthodox Church of Greece.
'''The [[Holy Synod in Resistance|Synod-in-Resistance]] of Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili''': While this church's official [[ecclesiology]] is peculiar, the amount of work that Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and his synod have done to assist True Orthodox throughout the world is impressive, and must be noted. The church itself is rather small, but has been very effective in presenting intellectual arguments against the New Calendar State Church. It is headed by another defector from the Auxentios Synod, Cyprian (Koutsoumbas) of Fili, and holds an ecclesiology of “sick" and “healthy" churches, thus avoiding the repercussions that inevitably follow referring to the majority as subject to a schismatic body. Their ecclesiology is considered heretical by some of the more rigorist elements of the True Orthodox, although they were only officially condemned on an ecclesiological basis by the Synod under Archbishop Chrysostom of Athens. In 2008, the Synod in Resistance and the Synod of Archbishop Chrysostom met for a number of high-profile meetings in the hope of developing closer ties.[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/E1a4028AnakoinosisDialogoy2-08.pdf]
'''[[Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (Lamian Synod)|The Makarian Synod (Lamian Synod)]]''': In 1995, a resistance faction of six bishops formed within the synod of Chrysostom (Kiousis) and separated itself over what they claimed to be a series of canonical infractions, headed by Metropolitan Kallinikos of Lamia. The charges related to the trial of Metropolitan of Thessaloniki Euthymios (Orphanos), who had been charged with moral infractions, and the election of Bishop Vikentios (Malamatenios) of Avlona as Metropolitan of Peiraeus. By early 1997, the bishops headed by Kallinikos of Lamia had fragmented into three groups, one of which reconciled with Archbishop Chrysostom (Kiousis). A second group, Paisios Loulourgas (Met. of America) and Vikentios Malamatenios (titular Bp. of Avlona), submitted to the Ecumenical Patiarchate. Later that same year, Kallinikos of Lamia and Euthymios of Thessaloniki proceeded to ordain five [[bishop|titular bishop]]s in an attempt to create a new synod. In 2003, they finally decided to elect a primate, and elected Makarios (Kavakides) of Athens. A good deal of their membership was then lost, as many who did not see themselves as separate from the Kiousis synod were forced to decide between the two.
For all the negative press the Matthewites have received over the years due to the strictness of their position, their church has been strangely free from long lasting schisms. Only two separations are worthy of note from the main body, and while they had the potential to destroy the unity that exists within the Matthewite True Orthodox Church of Greece, they did not. The first Primate of Athens selected by the Matthewites was Agathangelos of Athens, who reposed in 1967. Andreas of Athens, one of the original three bishops made, was elected to the primacy in 1972; unitl his death in 2005 he was one of the oldest and longest-reigning of Orthodox bishops in the world. ''Divisions within the Matthewites''
'''[[True Orthodox Church of Greece (Matthewite)|The Synod of Archbishop Nicholas]]''': In February, 2003, Archbishop Andreas of Athens retired, and Archbishop Nicholas of Athens, considered by many to have a progressive vision for the Matthewite church, was elected. Extremely popular with younger Matthewites, Archbishop Nicholas seems generally poised to keep the Matthewite synod united. However, it has been advanced that Archbishop Andreas retired in violation of the canons.
'''[[Genuine Orthodox Church (Matthewite)|The Synod of Metropolitan Kirykos]]''': Originally not a schism proper, Metropolitan Kirykos and two other bishops of the synod refused to recognize the retirement of Archbishop Andreas or the enthronement of the new Archbishop, but continued to remain a member of the Synod of Archbishop Nicholas. Finally, in 2005, after several attempts, the Synod of Abp Nicholas endeavored to depose Metropolitan Kirykos, who has since added five Bishops to his Synod in a number of countries.
==Romania======[[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania|The True Orthodox Church of Romania]]====
In 1924, Metropolitan Miron of the Church of Romania introduced the New Calendar for use in the Church. Although most Romanians accepted the change, the skete of the Protection of the Theotokos in northern Moldavia rejected it. In 1925, led by Hieromonk Glicherie, some of the brethren left the skete to start an Old Calendarist group. When, in 1926 and 1929, Metropolitan Miron ordered Pascha to be celebrated according to the Gregorian Paschalion, a large number of faithful, including Russian émigrés, left the Church of Romania and joined the Old Calendarists. By 1936, the Old Calendarists numbered about 40 parishes. Beginning in 1935, at the order of Metropolitan Miron, the Old Calendarists were under persecution. By 1940, ten Old Calendarist priests had died in prison, and all of the Old Calendar churches had been shut down. Hieromonk Glicherie was imprisoned, but, at the beginning of World War II, released. By 1950, with the release of Hmk Glicherie and other priests from prison, many of the churches were rebuilt. In 1955, Metropolitan Galaktion left the Church of Romania to serve the Old Calendarists, and immediately ordained new priests and deacons. However, he was soon arrested, and placed under house arrest in Bucharest. While under house arrest, Metropolitan Galaktion consecrated three other bishops, including Hmk Glicherie, who, in 1957, became the Metropolitan of the True Orthodox Church of Romania. Since 1980, the Synod has been in full communion with the Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece presided by Metropolitan Kallistos of Corinth, then with the Holy Synod in Resistance presided by Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili. The Synod also maintains communion with the Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria, headed by Bishop Photii. From 1994 to 2007 there was full communion with the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia (ROCOR), but with the rapprochement between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, communion with the ROCOR was severed.
The majority of the faithful are in communion with the Synod in Resistance (see "Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili" above) and the Romanian Old Calendar Orthodox Church, but are an autonomous Church - The Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria - and comprise a few dozen parishes under Bishop Photii of Triaditsa.
===Greece===
*[[Florinites]]
**[[Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (Florinite)]] ("Chrysostomite | Synod"), under of Archbishop Chrysostom of Athens]]**[[Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (| Makarian/Lamian Synod)]], under Archbishop Makarios of Athens** [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] ("Cyprianites"| Cyprianite Synod), a [[Florinites|Florinite]] church ''([http://orthodoxwiki.org/Old_Calendarists#Churches_.22in_resistance.22_or_.22walled_off.22 In Resistance-- see above])
''
*[[Matthewites]]
**[[True Orthodox Church of Greece (Matthewite)| Synod of Archbishop Nicholas]], under Archbishop Nicholas of Athens**[[Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (Matthewite)]], under | Synod of Metropolitan Gregory of Messinia]]
===Romania===
===Bulgaria===
===Western Europe===* [[Holy Synod of Milan]] (Unclear whether "In Resistance" or not) ===North America=== These are divisions and the dioceses of larger Synods in other continents. North America:*[[Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America]], under Metropolitan Pavlos Diocese of Astoria, the "Chrysostomite" Metropolitan Diocese for America*[http://milansynodusa.org American Archdioceses] of the [[Holy (Synod of Milan]] Archbishop Chrysostom)
*[http://ctosonline.org The Center For Traditionalist Orthodox Studies:] Spiritual and monastic center for the Synod in Resistance in the U.S.
*[http://www.orthodox-christianity.net/ Matthewite Parishes in America under Abp Nicholas of Athens]
===Groups claiming "Autonomous" status within America===
These are bodies which claimed independence from their parent churches.
*[[Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA), under Metropolitan Makarios of Toronto
*[[Genuine Orthodox Church of America]], under Archbishop Gregory of Denver
==Sources==
*[http://www.geocitiesorthodoxchristianbooks.com/joesuaidendownloads/trueorthodox/trueorthodoxchurch234_NEW_ZION_IN_BABYLON_PART_2.html The True pdf| Vladimir Moss, ''New Zion in Babylon: A History of the Orthodox Churchthroughout the World in the Twentieth Century'' (2010), Part II]*[http://www.orthodoxchristianbooks.com/downloads/217_NEW_ZION_IN_BABYLON_PART_3.pdf| Vladimir Moss, ''New Zion in Babylon: A Brief Overview] History of the Orthodox Church throughout the World in the Twentieth Century'' (major portions of text used by permission2010), Part III]
==External links==
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodox-tradition/ Paradosis: The Original Internet E-mail Forum for Traditionalists]
* [http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/ The Euphrosynos Café: A Portal and Forum for all Old Calendar Orthodox Churches]
**[http://euphrosynoscafe.com/map/ Map of some Old Calendarist parishes in the West]
===Relevant Articles===
*[http://www.hotca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=203%3Athe-calendar-question&catid=50%3Aorthodox-awareness&Itemid=62| Fr. Basil Sakkas, ''The Calendar Question''.]
*[http://www.hotca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78%3Athe-problem-of-conservative-new-calendarism&catid=50%3Aorthodox-awareness&Itemid=62| Fr. Maximos Marretta, The Problem of Conservative New Calendarism".]
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/eldergabriel_calendar.aspx Abbot Gabriel of Dionysiou Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece], on the calendar issue and the Old Calendarists
*[http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/anti-patristic-stance-old-calendarist-zealots.aspx| Anti-Patristic: The Stance of the Zealot Old Calendarists] by Monk Basil of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregory (Grigoriou), Mount Athos]
*Old Calendarist Responses to the above link:
**[http://www.hotca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=236%3Awhy-the-true-orthodox-are-truly-orthodox&catid=50%3Aorthodox-awareness&Itemid=62| Fr. Maximos Marretta, 'A Rejoinder to Fr. Basil Gregoriates and an Apology for Breaking Communion with Ecumenist Bishops.]
**[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Annals_en/E2d029barnes.pdf| Synod in Resistance]
===JurisdictionsOfficial Websites===* [http://www.rpac.ru// Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church]* [http://www.roacusa.org/ Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in America]* [http://www.ecclesiagoc.gr/ Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece], official | Official website of Chrysostomite the Synodof Archbishop Chrysostom of Athens]** [http://www.hotcasynodinresistance.org/ Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America], diocesan Official website of the Metropolis of America (Chrysostomite) * [http://www.ortodoxakyrkan.se/ Swedish Exarchate of the Holy Synod in Resistance]
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