1629–1672

Confessions of Faith in the Orthodox East: Lucaris, Mogila, and Dositheus

Patriarch Cyril Lucaris of Constantinople had previously been accused of Calvinism in Poland. Against Catholic influence he relied on English and Dutch diplomacy. In 1629 he issued his "Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith." Deposed seven times, Lucaris was murdered in 1638. That same year a Constantinople council anathematized him as a "new iconoclast." The Synod of Iași (1643) condemned his confession for its "attachment to Calvinist heresy."

Meanwhile Peter Mogila, who became Metropolitan of Kyiv in 1633, composed an "Orthodox Confession." It was accepted by the patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch. The confession showed strong Latin influence. A similar private confession was also written by Metrophanes Kritopoulos.

In response to Lucaris, Patriarch Dositheus of Jerusalem prepared eighteen articles. They were approved by the councils of Jerusalem and Constantinople in 1672. It was the first time in centuries the East had formally defined its biblical canon and doctrine of the seven sacraments.