An example of proto-ecumenism: the orthodox pannychida for French king Louis XVI

Publié le 14 mars 2024 par Theophylactère

Louis XVI by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis

Many people in the orthodox world think that ecumenism is a recent phenomenon that started in the 1920s. Its main consequences are common prayer with heretics, recognition of the heretics' mysteries, intercommunion with heretics etc.

However, even before the 1920s, we can find some events, with sometimes an importance higher to what we see currently. We'll call this proto-ecumenism. At this stage, we are not able to study this phenomenon in detail and cannot fully explain or understand it. What are its causes ? Religious indifference, branch theory (belief that all christian churches are split in branches that are all legitimate), latinophily, or even secret conversion to catholicism, sentimentalism etc. So, at this stage we'll only list examples and cases that are related to this proto-ecumenism.

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Here is a first example. According to orthodox tradition, the pannychida can be served only for deceased orthodox and catechumens. Theodore Studite is a witness of this practice as he criticized the fact of doing pannychidas for people who defined themselves as orthodox but attended as the same time heretic services.

"Regarding this, we are currently receiving critics because we forbade an orthodox to mention in the sacred service for the deads, according to the divine initiation, a person who said he was orthodox but attended continuously the heresy [...] Since he died atteding the heresy, how could he be inserted in the orthodox communion ?" (Translated from French Saint Théodore le Studite, in Petites Catéchèses, numéro 129).

Following Napoleon's defeat, on March 29th 1814 (old style), April 10th in the civil calendar, a pannychida as held on the current Square of Concord in Paris (Place de la Concorde), in memory of Louis XVI, at the request of he Tsar Alexander 1st. There are few detailed information about this on the Internet. Here is an article in Russian that treats about the topic. We can read the following. :

В 1814 году (29 марта по старому стилю) в Париже на месте казни короля Людовика XVI была проведена православная поминальная панихида.

« Это было сделано по велению императора Александра I, вступившего во французскую столицу после поражения Наполеона.

10 апреля в 1814 году в Париже на месте казни короля Людовика XVI была проведена православная поминальная панихида ».

Link: https://knowhistory.ru/date/4/10/v-1814-godu-v-parizhe-na-meste-kazni-korolya-lyudovika-xvi-byla-provedena-pravoslavnaya

Translation

"This was done on order of the emperor Alexander I who had entered in the French capital following Napoleon's defeat.

On April 10th, 1814, by order of the emperor Alexander I, on the place of execution of the kink Louis XVI, an orthodox pannychida was held"

As a member of the orthodox cleargy, would you have taken part to it?