The canonical question of ecclesiastical diptychs

This article by Grégoire Papathomas examines the canonical question of ecclesial diptychs within the contemporary Orthodox Church, that is, the order of precedence of the Churches in their liturgical commemoration. Drawing on an ecclesiological and canonical study, it analyzes the progressive distortions introduced into the structure of the diptychs from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to the present day. The author argues that ethno-phyletism, an ecclesiological legacy of the second millennium, constitutes the principal cause of current disagreements over the taxis of the Orthodox Churches. He shows that unilateral modifications to the conciliar diptychs, notably through the attribution of honorary patriarchal titles to national autocephalous Churches, have given rise to two divergent lists incompatible with the canonical Tradition. The contribution of the article lies in the rigorous distinction between the conciliar diptychs of the first millennium, which are inalienable, and the Orthodox diptychs of the second millennium, and in the formulation of concrete canonical proposals in view of the future Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.