Declaration of His Eminence Archbishop Antoine

This article publishes the official declaration of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, Exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, dated March 31, 1966. It is a canonical document responding to the decision of the former Russian Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to declare itself unilaterally independent following the dissolution of its canonical status by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in November 1965. The main idea is that this self-declaration of independence constitutes a schismatic act, since Orthodox canon law recognizes only autocephaly and autonomy, both of which require the agreement of the mother Churches. The theological contribution lies in a rigorous ecclesiological analysis: the Orthodox Church being a single Body and not a federation, any unilateral break compromises membership in the fullness of Orthodoxy. A supplementary letter clarifies that the declaration pronounces no excommunication.