CONSTANTINE THE GREAT AND THE CEREMONIAL OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
Abstract
The terms ecclesiastical order and ceremonial procedure mean the unwritten and written rules that govern, shape, record, and secure the ecclesiastical customs and practices in the Orthodox Church. This paper will argue that Constantine the Great significantly contributed to the genesis of ecclesiastical ceremonial procedure through the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, and his work was continued by his successors in the following Ecumenical Councils. More specifically, with letters (κλητήρια γράµµατα) the emperor invited metropolitans and bishops to come to Nicaea. The letters-invitations informed the bishops of the exact date and place that the Council would meet. Moreover, Constantine as the organizer was responsible for covering the travel and accommodation expenses of the participants in the Council. The imperial ceremonial procedure was not confined to a static repetition of dry protocol. On the contrary, it offered a vision, a representation of the heavenly order and of the ideals of decency, good behaviour, clarity and harmony. For Constantine the Great not only called the Council, but he ensured the Council’s smooth conduct. Consequently, the ceremonial procedure that started with Constantine the Great at Nicaea was continued in the Ecumenical Councils that followed. But most importantly, the same ceremonial procedure is being applied today, in various conferences, pan-orthodox, inter-Christian etc, convened by the Ecumenical Patriarchate - as primus inter pares, showing the contribution of Constantine the Great to the genesis of the ecclesiastical ceremonial procedure.
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