Iasi (Jassy), Synod of (1642)
DAN SANDU
The Synod of Iasi (also referred to as the Council of Jassy) was convened by Prince Vasile Lupu of Moldavia and was held from September 15 to October 27, 1642. The purpose of the synod was to counter certain Catholic and Protestant doctrinal errors which had infiltrated Orthodox theology and to offer a comprehensive Orthodox statement on the truth of faith. At the time, the Confession of Faith, attributed to the Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril Lukaris, was circulating in Europe. It deviated sharply from the Orthodox faith.
Peter Moghila (1596–1646), the metropolitan of Kiev, wrote Expositio fidei (Statement of Faith, known also as the Orthodox Confession), a description of Christian Orthodoxy in a question and answer format. This treatise had already been approved by a synod held in Kiev, yet two doctrinal issues it mentioned, considered to be of Western Catholic origin, had not been agreed upon, namely the existence of Purgatory and the moment of the transformation of the gifts of bread and wine into the Lord’s body and blood. Accordingly, Moghila’s Expositio fidei was reviewed and amended at the Synod of Iasi by Orthodox scholars of theology and the synod of bishops. It became the most authoritative statement on Orthodox doctrine for centuries afterwards. After its revision by the synod the text was translated into Greek by the theologian Meletios Syrigos.
The Expositio was approved by the ecumenical patriarchate at the synod held on March 11, 1643 and subsequently by the other historical patriarchal sees: Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. In 1696 Patriarch Hadrian of Moscow described the Expositio fidei as “inspired by God»
The Synod of Iasi did not stand out in terms of the number of participants or the attendant ceremonies; nevertheless it was a highly effective meeting attended by prominent theologians, bishops, and heads of Orthodox theological schools and monasteries. It was the most significant international event in the Orthodox world of the 17th century because of its approval of the Statement of Faith, which became fundamental for establishing the Orthodox world’s attitude to Reformation thought. The major contribution of the synod was the restoration of unity in the Orthodox Church through the promulgation of an authoritative statement agreed upon by all the major sees.
SEE ALSO: Cyril Lukaris, Patriarch of Constantinople (1572–1638); Moghila, Peter (1596–1646); Romania, Patriarchal Orthodox Church of
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Eliade, M. (1987) The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 11. New York: Macmillan.
Plamadeala, A. (1981) Eveniment mondial la Iasi: Sinodul din 1642 (International Event at Jassy: The Synod of 1642), in Dascali de cuget si simfire romaneasca (Teachers of Romanian Feeling and Thought). Bucharest: Enciclopedica. Plamadeala, A. (2002) Sinodul de la Iasi fi Petru Movila: 1642–2002). Iasi: Trinitas.
Ware, K. (1997) The Orthodox Church. London: Penguin Putnam.