October 10, 2025 - First articulated by Justinian I, emperor from 527 to 565, and embodied in the liturgical life of Constantinople, symphonia sought harmony without coercion and stewardship without domination.

Symphonia (harmony) is an important feature of Orthodoxy, making a close connection between church and state easier than in the West because the relationship is not presumed to be adversarial.

November 3, 2011 - Most Orthodox patriarchs are not appointed by the corresponding · state authorities; still in some cases they need government approval · in order to take their offices, e.g., the Patriarch of Constantinople · needs to receive such from the Turkish government. In this sense, ... Patriarch Daniel refers to symphony as harmony.

May 18, 2023 - This term implies harmony in relations between the church and state. The synonymous term synallelia stresses a complete synergy and mutual penetration between the symphonic partners. Novella 6 from Emperor Justinian’s Corpus iuris civilis explained this harmony as ‘the greatest gifts that ...

August 7, 2024 - As an ethical ideal grounded in the pursuit of social harmony and concordance amongst distinct voices, symphonia can be re-conceptualized as implying a more robust and polyphonic understanding of its purview, whereby symphonia may serve as the foundation of an Orthodox Christian multiculturalism. In Byzantium, symphonia was proposed as an ideal model of Church-State relations between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Emperor.

October 28, 2025 - While the Church maintained theological ... developed the concept of symphonia, a harmonious cooperation between church and state, each in its own sphere but working together for the common good....

The origins of the Orthodox doctrine of the Symphonia of the Church and State, or rather Church and Kingdom (Empire), can be found even in the Epistles of the holy Apostles. But, in fact, it is not only about the state, but also about the Emperor.

September 9, 2013 - 4. Doctrinal questions find further clarification in the testimony of the Fathers. Though their “significance [comes] after Scripture, liturgy, and councils,” the writings of the Fathers are an integral part of the symphonic harmony of the ...

August 5, 2020 - He believed that a spiritually and morally regenerated leadership in the Orthodox Church would greatly contribute to the spiritual and moral elevation of the people on the one hand, and to the progress of the State in all of its endeavors on the other. He was particularly interested in those who held an episcopal throne.

Those in touch with God in their souls, both on earth and in heaven, feel the harmony of peace that often is expressed in song. For many millennia thoughtful people sensed and shared in a bond uniting religion, philosophy, mathematics and science ...

The concept of conciliarity, i.e., the conciliar or synodal approach to managing the Church's affairs, is not confined solely to convening various types of synods, but also includes every expression of ecclesiastical life. Through conciliarity, the nature of the Church as theanthropic communion in Christ is expressed. This is why any ecclesiastical practice which is not a result of conciliarity is a deviation from Orthodox ecclesiology.

An Orthodox Christian production studio We are a team of laymen dedicated to producing high-quality content that draws directly from the wisdom of the Eastern Orthodox Church. We believe that the words of the Holy Fathers and Mothers are just as relevant today as they were in centuries past, ...

The role of the bishop is pivotal in upholding the unity and communion of the Church. The bishop acts as a unifying figure, ensuring that synodality is exercised in a way that preserves harmony and coherence. Hierarchs, in collaboration with their fellow bishops, clergy, and laity, make decisions that promote the spiritual well-being of the faithful and safeguard the teachings of the Church.

Orthodox Church and the international context of sacred music here and abroad. Thus, in a broad sense, our Church has adopted the combination of chant and · harmony, especially when these are united and interwoven by the same traditional,

December 3, 2001 - Recent decades have seen a renewal of ecumenical spirit and dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The Byzantine Empire never fully recovered from the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Over the next two centuries, it entered a precipitous decline in both territory and influence. In 1453, a much-diminished Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Empire, ending what was once the most powerful state in the Orthodox Christian world, if not in all Christendom.

August 4, 2020 - There is no reason for Orthodox Christians to shrink back from the language of sacrifice, ransom, and debt payment found in the Bible and many Fathers of the Church. There is soteriological harmony present when we see salvation as a progression ...

The Orthodox-Roman Catholic Bilateral Consultation in the U.S.A. issued "An Agreed Statement On The Church" in 1974 which describes the basic premise of "communion ecclesiology": "The Church is the communion of believers living in Jesus Christ and the Spirit with the Father.

May 14, 2022 - The main content of the research is the analysis of the institutionalization of the Russian Orthodox Church’s (ROC’s) political and religious interaction with the modern Russian state. The methodological basis for the research is the institutional approach. In the course of the research the attention is focused on the concept “secular” as a norm within which there is a standard regulation of political and religious interaction.

. . . 12 Perhaps there is no better description of liturgical harmony than that which is conveyed in these words, and no clearer distinction between how the East and West views sacred music.