The History of the Council of Florence

By Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies and Ivan N. Ostroumoff

Book Overview

"...it was no sincere, holy desire of the peace in the Church; but strange, worldly motives, which impelled the emperor and pope to undertake the reinstation of the ancient peace between the Latins and Greeks... Can a work, begun with such motives, and executed by such [underhanded] means, be blessed and sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit?" -- Ostroumoff In the 15th century, as the Byzantine Empire crumbled and the Latin West pursued spiritual domination under the guise of unity, a deceptive and unholy alliance was forged at the Council of Ferrara-Florence. Pressured by desperation and ambition, the emperor and the pope conspired to impose a false union between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism--a betrayal of the Faith cloaked in the rhetoric of peace but rooted in worldly calculation and theological corruption. This book lays bare the spiritual and political rot at the heart of that council, revealing the coercion, deception, and apostasy that drove its proceedings. Only one hierarch resisted to the end--Metropolitan Mark of Ephesus, the solitary confessor who stood against the tide of compromise. "We cannot accept the Latins," he boldly declared, "for they are not only schismatics, but heretics as well." Featuring a newly translated text of St. Mark's Confession of the True Faith delivered at the Council, historically annotated footnotes, and in-depth commentary drawing sharp parallels to the modern heresy of ecumenism, this work stands as a solemn warning to Orthodox Christians: heresy is not healed by diplomacy, and the Faith must never be traded for political advantage. Also included are the Horos of the Eighth OEcumenical Council of 879, and essential writings of St. Mark--his Encyclical, letters to Monk Theophanes and St. Gennadios Scholarius, and his final address before his repose. This is not merely the record of a council--it is the testimony of a spiritual struggle that continues to this day. The Orthodox must never forget: what was attempted at Ferrara-Florence is being attempted again by the modern Ecumenical Patriarchate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F6MVMF9P
• ISBN13: 9798281526531
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 210 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"