User:M.A.Spinn/Synod of Qarqafe

Synod of Qarqafe
Date1806
LocationMonastery of St. Anthony of Qarqafe, Beirut, Lebanon
Convoked byGermanos Adam
PresidentAgapius II Matar
AttendanceNine bishops, two priests, two religious superiors
TopicsChurch reform, adaptation of the Synod of Pistoia
Accepted byMelkite Greek Catholic Church from 1806–1835
Disputed by


The Synod of Qarqafe was a council of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church held in 1806. The synod adapted and ratified propositions of the 1786 Synod of Pistoia. It would be formally condemned in 1835 by Pope Gregory XVI in the bull Melchitarum Catholicorum Synodus.[1]

History edit

The Synod of Qarqafe was convoked by Germanos Adam, the Melkite Archbishop of Aleppo. Adam was educated at the College of the Propaganda in Rome and a friend of Scipione de' Ricci, by whom he was introduced to Gallican and Jansenist ideas. As archbishop, Adam began issuing pamphlets affirming Gallican propositions on the authority of the Pope and conciliarism. [2] Despite being criticized by Pope Pius VII and Maronite patriarch Joseph Tyan, he was defended by his own patriarch, Agapius II Matar.[3] Adam would ultimately be forced to recant these propositions and accept the bull Auctorem fidei before his death in 1809.[4]

The Synod of Qarqafe began on 23 July 1806 at the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Qarqafe, in the Diocese of Beirut. It was attended by bishops Basil of Tyre, Athanasius Matar of Sidon (the brother of the patriarch), Makarios of Acre, Agapios Kanyar of Diyarbakir (Amid), Basil Jabali of Ferzol (Beqaa Valley), Joseph of Homs, and Benediktos of Baalbek. Two priests, George Nassar of Egypt and Michael Mazloum were present, and the acts were signed by Macarios Tawil and Ignatius Arkache, superior generals of local religious orders. The acts of the synod were formally approved by Joseph Tyan and the Roman apostolic visitor Luigi Gandolfi.[5]

Roman interventions between 1812 and 1835 led to the condemnation of the works of Germanos Adam, the recanting of the propositions of the synod by most of the synod fathers, and the final condemnation of the synod by Pope Gregory XVI.[6]

Decrees edit

The Acts of the Synod of Qarqafe are divided into three sections and issued over one hundred canons dealing with the topics of ecclesial discipline, sacraments, and the ecclesial hierarchy.[7][8]

Legacy edit

Pope Pius IX issued the encyclical Quartus Supra in 1873 to the Armenian Catholic Church, accusing the Armenian Catholic bishops who opposed his intervention in their hierarchy of adhering to the Synod of Qarqafe.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ Charon, Cyril (1998). History of the Melkite Patriarchates: Volume 1: Pre-Modern Period (869-1833). Fairfax: Eastern Christian Publications. p. 110–120. ISBN 1892278014.
  2. ^ Charon, 1998 & p. 102.
  3. ^ Charon, 1998 & p. 102–104.
  4. ^ Charon, 1998 & p. 102–109.
  5. ^ Charon, 1998 & p. 112-113.
  6. ^ Charon, 1998 & p. 115–120.
  7. ^ Greek-Catholic Diocese of Aleppo (1806). Acts of the Synod of Qarqafe. Aleppo: Greek-Catholic Diocese of Aleppo. p. i–xii. {{cite book}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  8. ^ Welter, Hubertus (1911). Tomus Quadragesimus Sextus Synodi Melchitarum, 1712-1902. Paris: Expensis Huberti Welter, Bibliopolae. p. xxi–xxiii.
  9. ^ Pope Pius IX (1873). "Quartus Supra (On the Church in Armenia)". Papal Encyclicals Online. Retrieved 21 July 2023. However soon afterwards, in the year 1806, the so-called Antioch Synod met at the monastery of Carcapha in the diocese of Beirut. The Pistoian Synod, which had already been condemned, quietly and deceitfully influenced the synod in many matters. This synod reproduced several statements, in part verbatim and in part ambiguously expressed, even though these had been condemned by the holy Roman See. Still other statements smacked of Baianism and Jansenism, and disturbed the position of the Church by their opposition to ecclesiastical power, sound doctrine and the approved discipline of the Church. This Synod of Carcapha published its decrees in Arabic in 1810 without reference to the Apostolic See; as a result, it occasioned complaints from many bishops and was finally censured and condemned in an Apostolic letter by Gregory XVI.[35] He bade the bishops derive the norm of their rule and teaching from the other ancient councils long approved by the Apostolic See. If only the errors in which it abounded had come to an end when the synod was condemned! But such wicked teachings did not cease to creep secretly throughout the East, waiting for the right moment to emerge into common view. Despite an unsuccessful attempt about twenty years ago, the new Armenian schismatics have now daringly brought this about.

External links edit