Rock of doubt

Title of the book with the content of the first and second parts.

1. The first chapter: In explaining the introduction to what happened between Ignatius and Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople.

2. The second chapter: On the statement of the gender of Ignatius

3. The third head: In the statement of the Photius series

4. The fourth head: Against the slander against Photius that he was a eunuch.

5. The fifth chapter: describing Photius and his vast knowledge of all sciences and the honor he was given in the kingdom.

6. The sixth chapter: On the election of Ignatius to the throne of Constantinople, and on the disagreement that occurred between him and some of his bishops at the beginning of his patriarchate, and his cutting off of Gregory, Bishop of Syracuse, from his rank.

7. The seventh chapter: On the harm that Ignatius suffered from the aforementioned Gregory and many others, including Photius.

8. The eighth chapter: Concerning the events between Ignatius and Bardas, the king’s uncle, who, because of his unjust divorce of his wife and because of the ugliness of his life, was forbidden by the patriarch to participate in the holy mysteries, and Bardas, in revenge for this, seeks to remove him from his throne.

9. The ninth chapter: What happened to forcefully remove Ignatius from his throne, and what the king reported in his letter to the Pope.

10. The tenth point: He asks Photius to accept the patriarchate, and because of his refusal to do so, he imprisons him and forces him to do so.

11. The eleventh chapter: On the change of the friends of the excommunicated Ignatius, who were at first fond of Photius and then completely separated from him and demanded the return of Ignatius to the see.

12. The twelfth point: That the reason for the clergy’s hatred and dislike of Photius was his elevation from the rank of laymen to the patriarchal seat, and how Photius was sorry for the bad events against Ignatius.

13. The thirteenth head: In the letter sent by King Michael to Pope Nicholas to send deputies on his behalf to distinguish the case between Ignatius and Photius, and in a letter written to him by Photius to inform him only of his elevation to the throne of Constantinople, and to send him the confession of faith according to the ancient custom.

14. The fourteenth chapter: In the aforementioned letters, the Pope takes the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Church, extend his authority over it, and subject it to his rule. So Photius decides in a council in Constantinople in the presence of the Pope’s apostles at that time.

15. The fifteenth point: The Pope finds it difficult how the Hungarians became in the Council of Constantinople contrary to his wishes, and he shows himself an enemy of Photius and a defender of Ignatius. Then in the letter he wrote to Photius he opens the discussion of his call for ecumenical leadership, and shows his clear purpose in attracting matters to him from foreign parties.

16. The sixteenth point: That the Pope gathers to himself in Rome a large group of Western bishops, and refutes the decrees of the Council of Constantinople and acts against them, and curses and excommunicates Photius, and by his correspondence incites a great dispute among the Eastern bishops, and accepts the sinners who fled from Constantinople to Rome because of the punishment for their sins in order to accomplish his purpose through them.

17. The seventeenth head: That the anathemas and curses of Pope Nicholas against Photius were despised in the East because they were sent from the place of foreign judges, but the king annulled the imaginary authority requested by the Pope and sent him a letter to that effect.

18. The eighteenth point: That the Pope responds with an arrogant answer against the king’s letter, in which he returns to sayings from the divine book in order to support his call for leadership over all the Christian churches, and this is denied by the Easterners who declare that the Church of Rome does not have this leadership, neither from our Lord Christ nor from his holy apostles, but rather was honored only for the sake of the kings in it, and that the honor was transferred with the kingdom to Constantinople.

19. The nineteenth chapter: King Michael deceives his uncle Bardas and suddenly removes him, and takes Basil of Macedon in his place as his partner and assistant in the affairs of the kingdom.

20. The twentieth chapter: The Pope decides to send messengers to King Michael to request some heinous and completely insulting matters for his royal status and for the Church of Constantinople. The king finds this very difficult, and forbids the messengers from entering the kingdom’s borders except under certain conditions written in their own handwriting. The messengers then return to their sender.

21. The twenty-first chapter: That after the Bulgarian king and his people returned to Christian faith and obeyed the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Pope deceived them with a bad craft and attracted them to his Roman throne.

22. The twenty-second chapter: The aforementioned matter became very difficult in the city of Constantinople, so the king gathered a large council to restrain the pope and prevent him from these inventions of his, so he ruled against him and cut him off from the church’s communion, and two bishops were sent by the council to inform him of this.

23. The twenty-third chapter: Basil the Emperor, out of fear of King Michael, tried to kill him at night, but he preceded him and killed him, took possession and settled there. Then he exiled Photius and brought Ignatius from exile and installed him on the patriarchal throne.

24. The twenty-fourth chapter: That King Basil, after deposing Photius and appointing Ignatius in his place, errs, as King Michael did, in delegating this matter to the government of Pope Nicholas. The Pope rejoices indescribably at having repeatedly received the opportunity he had been seeking to rule over the Church of Constantinople, but before the arrival of the two ministers he is removed from the midst by death and is succeeded by Hadrian.

25. The twenty-fifth head: That Adrian, the new pope, will do with energy what his predecessor Nicholas had intended in the above-mentioned case, and condemn Photius and curse him with all his co-religionists, and that all the works which Photius had done against Nicholas in the Council of Constantinople will be burned with fire, and many other things he will condemn and do in this manner, and then he will flatter King Basil to make a council in Constantinople so that they may do as he had done in Rome, and the king will do likewise.

26. The twenty-sixth chapter: Concerning what the aforementioned council did against Photius, the chief advocate of the Church, whom the Holy Spirit had appointed bishops in it.

27. The twenty-seventh chapter: That Photius and the bishops who were with him answered the questions of the council, as those standing in the freedom of Christ against the yoke of the papal slavery, and the council cursed them in general, and especially Photius, whom they hurled many curses at, while he defended with the shield of faithfulness and patience all their protected arrows.

28. The twenty-eighth chapter: That the council burns with fire the works of the previous council in which Pope Nicholas was cursed and some of their letters, so the whole council, and the pope achieved his purpose against the advocates of the freedom of the Eastern churches.

29. The twenty-ninth chapter: On the three things that happened in this council, which never happened in any other council, and on the usurpation that the papal deputies use with all the Latins against the council, and the forgery made by the two absent patriarchs, and how the scribes, in deposing and cutting off Photius, signed not with ink and in a style suitable to the servants of Christ, but against him in person, as the predecessor of Theodore, Pope of Rome, gave them a decree in which he wrote against the monotheists.

30. The thirtieth point: That the bishops regretted the publications they had written in the council. And that the king, when they begged him, wanted to take them from the papal representatives secretly, but he could not do so. Then the representatives went to Rome, but while they were going, they fell into the hands of thieves and lost all their papers and everything they had.

31. The thirty-first chapter: On the state of Photius in exile and the cruelty of his enemies towards him, to bring sorrow upon his misfortunes.

32. The thirty-second chapter: That God Almighty, who holds the hearts of kings in His hand to incline them wherever He wills and comforts the humble, turned King Basil from hatred for Photius to his ancient love.

33. The thirty-third chapter: In the death of the great opponents of Photius, Adrianus II, Pope of Rome, and Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and in that John, the new Pope, showed his eagerness, not without his predecessors Nicholas and Adrianus, to seize the privacy of the See of Constantinople and subject it to his government, the need was urgent for the Popes, as if the Lord of the harvest had promised them that he would not send out workers for his harvest, except from the followers of the Roman See, while King Basil also installed Photius in the See of Constantinople.

34. The thirty-fourth chapter: That King Basil should make a union with Photius and Pope John who accepts him, and annul the council which Hadrian made against him in Rome, and also the one which was made against him later in Constantinople.

35. The thirty-fifth chapter: On the statement of the works of the council held in Constantinople after the union of Patriarch Photius and Pope John.

36. The thirty-sixth chapter: Pope John found it difficult to accept, after his kind words and blessings, the Council of Constantinople and Photius, and they left him the Bulgarian diocese to add to his Roman throne, and upon his death he would be succeeded by Pope Marinus I, and after Marinus Hadrian III, and this cursed Photius and the Council, and so did Pope Stephanus VI, so King Basil wrote to the Pope refuting the innovated Roman authority, and then the king died, and as for his successor Leo, he exiled Photius, who shortly after died in exile.

37. The thirty-seventh point: The Pope seeks to repeatedly interfere in the affairs of the Diocese of Constantinople and subject it to his Roman throne, which the people of the East do not accept. Pope Formosus requests a Bulgarian diocese, but the Easterners never and definitely accept his request.

38. The thirty-eighth chapter: That from this eagerness to preside in the Church of Rome and from the desire to preserve their freedom in the Eastern churches, as the Holy Spirit established their bishops in them to shepherd God’s flock, the great gulf that existed at that time between the Easterners and the Westerners occurred.

39. The thirty-ninth point: That the union between the Eastern and Western churches was not possible because the popes who worked hard for it intended nothing but to expand their leadership and global greatness.

40. The fortieth chapter: Pope Gregory takes an opportunity from the events between the Latins and the Romans to renew the effort to unite the Church of the East with the See of Rome.

41. The forty-first chapter: On the negotiations that took place in the city of Nicaea in Bithynia for the union of the churches, and the desired result did not come from it.

42. The forty-second chapter: On the negotiations that took place for the union of the two churches during the time of Pope Innocent IV.

43. The forty-third chapter: In various incidents in various ways in the times of Theodore Lascaris II, his son John, and Michael Palaeologus, the kings of the Romans, during the rule of the Latins in Constantinople.

44. The forty-fourth chapter: The Pope incites the kings of the West against Michael, the king of the Romans in the East. As for Michael, he seeks reconciliation with the Pope in every way. When he considers the king’s fear and harassment, he tells him that it is not possible except on the condition that he submits to him.

45. The forty-fifth chapter: That the new Pope Gregory X converts all his acquaintances to the wrath of His Excellency King Michael, and forces him and all the people of his kingdom to submit completely to the Roman throne.

46. The forty-sixth chapter: King Michael, thinking that he would rid himself and his kingdom of his aggressive enemies, decided to please the Pope.

47. The forty-seventh chapter: On the statement of the violence and falsehood that King Michael used with everyone to force them to obey his will in the submission of the Eastern Church to the Western.

48. The forty-eighth chapter: On the king’s expedition by sea to the assembly in Lugdunum, and on what happened to them during the journey and after their arrival at the assembly and their return to the king.

49. The forty-ninth chapter: That the Pope, after the reconciliation of the churches took place at the Council of Lugdunum, did not help King Michael in his harassment, but rather did the opposite, while the king strove to frustrate his enemies in other ways.

50. The fiftieth head: After the death of Nicholas, Pope Martinus IV was elected. This was far from seeking to reconcile the churches, but rather he was more likely to remove him by excommunicating King Michael without a valid reason, in consideration of the King of Sicily, who became the reason for his election. King Michael incites against the Pope, then by concluding a pact with the King of Aragon and uniting their armies against the King of Sicily, security and protection are obtained. After a short while, King Michael dies, and his son Andronicus revolts against everything his father had done against the freedom of the Eastern churches.

51. The fifty-first chapter: That the result of these long papal disputes to gain control of the Patriarchate of Constantinople became the cause of the weakness of the Roman Empire and all the churches of our Lord Christ in the East, through the victory of the Ottoman kings in every direction. Despite all this, the Pope’s heart did not soften towards the calamities of the people of God, which were of this magnitude. Rather, when the Roman king sent messengers to him, beseeching him to urge the Latin kings to help him, he only moved his tongue to ask for the submission of the king and his people to the Roman throne.

52. The fifty-second chapter: The Pope is like a father whose son asks him for bread and he gives him a stone, or asks him for a fish and he gives him a snake. The Romans ask him for help against the enemies of the Christian religion, so he sends them two bishops to argue with them about the issues that have been pending for a long time between the Eastern and Western churches.

53. The fifty-third chapter: In explaining the state of the Romans that requires a summons, from outside there are fighters and from inside there are fears, from one side there is the attack of the Sultan of Islam to control their kingdom, and from the other side there are the tricks of the Pope to rule their church.

54. The fifty-fourth chapter: That the king, after sending ambassadors twice, goes himself to the Pope seeking help against the enemies, and returns in a state of even greater disappointment than before, and the authority of Islam greatly restricts him in various ways?

55. The fifty-fifth head: In it, King Manuel himself addresses the kings of France and England, calling for help, for by God’s leave he was not able to help them.

56. الرأس السادس والخمسون: في أن بعد المجامع الصائرة في باسيلية وقسطنطينية التي كانت تبطل سلطة الباباوات، يجمع البابا افجانيوس مجمعاً في إيطالية يقصد به ابطال الذل الصائر للباباوات في ذنيك المجمعين. ويقتني صيتاً جديداً بجذبه الروم إلى الكرسي الروماني، فيحضر فيه الملك يوحنا واخيه والبطريرك وأخرين كثيرين، لكن ما صارت لهم نتيجة لا من البابا ولا من أحد الملوك التابعين كرسيه، ففي اثناء هذه المسامحة العجيبة الرهيبة بعد انقراض بقية مملكة الروم ضاعت أيضاً القسطنطينية، المدينة المحبوبة، رومية الجديدة، وأما العتيقة فما انفعلت بهذه الشدائد العظيمة مع أن بسببها كانت الشرور التي أفرعت من ذلك “أصل المرارة”، حرص باباواتها العديم الشبع للترأوس على كنائس الشرق.

الكتاب الثاني – في الخمسة قضايا التي تختلف فيها الروم واللاتينيين خاصةً. وهي: أولاً رئاسة البابا، ثانياً انبثاق الروح القدس، ثالثاً الفطير، رابعاً المطهر، خامساً سعادة القديسين.

1. The first issue: the presidency and infallibility of the Bab

1. The first chapter: Introduction to the speech on the presidency of the chapter

2. The second point: In the three statements that the Pope’s followers say about him. That is: First, that he has absolute authority from God in spiritual and worldly matters, second, that he is without error and his commands are inspired by the Holy Spirit, third, that he is the master and king of the whole world, then in the clear response to each of these statements individually.

3. الرأس الثالث: في المواضع الإنجيلية الثلاثة التي يعوجونها اتباع البابا ويوردونها إثباتاً لسلطانه المطلق. وهي قول سيدنا المسيح لبطرس، أولاً: “أنت بطرس على هذه الصخرة ابني بيعتي”، ثانياً: “أعطيك مفاتيح ملكوت السموات، وما ربطته على الأرض يكون مربوطاً في السموات، وما حللته على الأرض يكون محلولاً في السموات”، ثالثاً: “ارع خرافي، ارع غنمي”.

4. الرأس الرابع: في تصحيح معاني المواضع السالف ذكرها، وفي بيان أن “الصخرة” ليست اقنوم القديس بطرس، بل إقراره بلاهوت المسيح.

5. الرأس الخامس: في بيان معنى قوله: “مفاتيح ملكوت السموات”. وأن سلطان الربط والحل ما منحه المسيح لبطرس وحده، بل ولجميع الرسل أيضاً دفعتين، اي قبل تألمه، وبعد قيامته.

6. الرأس السادس: في بيان معنى القول: “ارغ خرافي، ارع غنمي”. وأن سيدنا بقوله هذا لبطرس ما جعله بمفرده راعياً مطلقاً مسكونياً لجميع الأغنام الناطقة، بل ردّه لوظيفته الأولى بين أخوته سائر الرسل.

7. The seventh point: Did our Lord, with his previously mentioned words to Peter, intend to honor him alone or the rest of the apostles with him as well?

8. The eighth point: That Saint Peter had no authority over the rest of the holy apostles of our Lord, but was only honored by being given precedence as the eldest brother over the rest of the brothers, and not as a father who has authority over his sons, or a teacher over his disciples, or a master over his servants.

9. The ninth point: That Peter had more authority than the rest of the apostles, and even if he had precedence in honor, the Bishop of Rome would not benefit from this at all, nor would he have precedence over the rest of the bishops whom Peter and Paul and the rest of the apostles appointed in the various parts of the world.

10. The tenth point: That we must examine why and where it came to be, that is, the Roman Church and its bishop were formerly in a special dignity.

11. The eleventh point: That our Lord Christ did not distinguish any of his apostles with a rank over a particular city, or other places greater or lesser, and that the designation of archbishop, patriarchs, and metropolitans was later introduced into the Church of Christ for appropriate reasons that will be explained.

12. The twelfth point: That the ancient Christians, in establishing boundaries and governments between the churches for the sake of preserving order, followed the custom of the Roman kingdom, and for this reason, since ancient Rome was the kingdom, its bishop was honored with greater honor than the bishops of other cities, and for no other reason. And that, accordingly, the bishop of Constantinople, the new Rome, was later honored with equal honor.

13. The thirteenth point: In response to the advocates of the Pope, that he is above the councils, and an absolute ruler in all church issues, and without error in matters of faith, and that their statement is in general without support, and that the Pope is only like one of the other patriarchs in everything.

14. The fourteenth principle: That the ecumenical council assembled according to the canons is the representative of the universal Church, and is superior to all, even to the Pope himself. And that the council is without error in matters of faith in Christ, as long as it makes the Holy Scriptures its foundation.

15. The fifteenth point: That the office which our Lord Christ bestowed upon Peter alone, but upon all the apostles, they bestowed upon their successors, the bishops in every place, who are the purifiers of the Christian Church. Therefore, if a bishop dies, he has no successor, but a number of bishops come together and make him his successor, and the pope does not make his successor pope, but after his death the cardinals, as the purifiers of their church, elect a successor for him.

16. The sixteenth point: That the Pope was not considered in the past to be without error nor higher than the council, because when heresies appeared they were not convinced by the opinion of the Pope, but rather they gathered a council to distinguish the issue according to the word of God, and that in some councils the Pope was not present nor his deputies.

17. The seventeenth point: In another proof, which is that the popes are not above the councils nor are they free from error, and that the Roman popes fell into thousands of errors, and the councils judged them, and also they removed them from their seats and installed others besides them.

18. The eighteenth point: On the claim of the Pope’s followers that he has authority not only in spiritual matters, but also in worldly matters, even over all the kings of the earth. And in responding to this claim with clear proof that it is one of the greatest forms of idleness.

19. The nineteenth point: That Christ abstained from entering into worldly affairs, as did his holy apostles, and that worldly affairs are only for kings and their high officials.

20. The twentieth chapter: The objection to what preceded in the previous chapters shows that what the Latins say about the greatness and authority of their pope is without support and without truth. Even if one of the holy fathers wrote to one of the Roman popes and praised him excessively, this would not result at all and absolutely in that excessive and exceedingly superior presidency that the popes themselves assign to themselves.

2. The second issue: In emergence

1. The First Head: On the Emanation of the Holy Spirit

2. The second point: The best way to distinguish in this issue is to explain how the universal church was exploring the opposing opinion before the separation of the Eastern and Western churches, and to leave the tangled arguments that can never be straightened out.

3. The third chapter: In explaining how this issue occurred in the ecumenical council that met in the fourth century in Constantinople, in order to explain the Christian creed on the nature of the Holy Spirit against Macedonius.

4. الرأس الرابع: في بيان كيف كان يقرأ قانون الإيمان في الكنائس الشرقية والغربية في الدهر السادسر، اي من غير زيادة “والابن”.

5. The fifth chapter: In explaining how Pope Leo III, when he had made a serious examination of this matter, removed the addition, and ordered that the Creed be read without it, and lest it should also be repeated later, he ordered that it be written on two silver tablets, one in Greek and the other in Latin, free of any addition.

6. The sixth point: That there should not have been any change in the law of faith after the Eastern and Western churches accepted it and taught it long ago, for a period of time of this amount.

7. The seventh point is that what was said at what time, and why this addition was included in the Creed in the West, and most likely it is that the Church of Rome accepted it in the ninth century.

8. The eighth point: In the aforementioned issue and in the weak and cold answer that the Westerners gave in the Council of Florence when they were asked why this addition was made to the Creed.

9. The ninth chapter: In explaining the sayings of our Master in the Gospel, which are mentioned in this issue from one side and the other, and contemplating them.

10. The tenth point: Why must we agree on the Creed as handed down to us by the Holy Ecumenical Councils, and that the Orthodox are not to blame in this matter, because they have preserved the Creed without any change.

3. The third issue: In the unleavened bread

1. The first point: Westerners use unleavened bread in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, while Easterners use leavened bread. This is the third difference between them.

2. The second point: If we examine what type our Lord Christ used in delivering His holy mysteries, that is, whether He delivered them in leavened bread or in unleavened bread, and about the ancient first delivery of the Church, we will know which is more correct and more obligatory.

3. The third point: It is thought that the Latins began to offer unleavened bread in the Holy Eucharist in the Western Church around the eleventh century.

4. The fourth point: The Latins themselves, who use unleavened bread in the Holy Eucharist, do not criticize the Easterners at all for their use of leaven, nor do they say that it is new.

4. القسم الرابع: في القضيتين الرابعة والخامسة، أي من أجل سعادة القديسين والنار “المُطهِّرة”.

1. Chapter One: Mentioning the Latins’ saying that God has arranged three places for the souls of the deceased, namely Heaven for the righteous, Hell for the wicked, and Purgatory for those who died in repentance but did not have time to work its law and fulfill divine justice.

2. الفصل الثاني: في المطهر ومسامحات البابا والجوبيليوم. وأنها خزينة البابا ومُخترعة منه لأجل “فائدة مستقبحة” فقط، وتضر المسيحيين مالاً ونفساً. ولا تخدم سيدنا المسيح، بل بطن البابا والكارزين بتعاليمه.

3. الفصل الثالث: في أنه يجب لنا أن نوقر تعليم الكنيسة القديم، وأن التعليم من أجل “المطهر” هو بغير استناد على كلام الله.

4. Chapter Four: On the statement of the opinions of some ancient church teachers regarding the state of souls after their departure from their bodies until the time of our Lord’s coming to the final judgment.

5. Chapter Five: On the statement of the Holy Book regarding Heaven and Hell. And also on the statement of some teachers regarding the state of souls after their separation from here.

6. Chapter Six: That the Latins cannot prove their opinions about purgatory from the divine books, nor from the holy fathers.

7. Chapter Seven: On the third state of souls after death.

8. Chapter Eight: What is the purpose of the Holy Church in its arrangement of annual feasts for the martyrs and other departed saints and its commemoration of them in prayers?

9. Chapter Nine: What is the duty of all Christians during this life to be prepared for death?

10. تنبيه للقارئ المسيحي في باباوات رومية وسلطنتهم. وفي البادرية المرسلين منهم. وفي أن التفاوت البعيد بين هؤلاء والذين ارسلهم سيدنا المسيح ورسله القديسين، هي مثل “الهوتة العظيمة” الصائرة بين ابراهيم والغني.

الكتاب الثالث – في التفاوت في بيان اقوال الرومانيين في سلطنة البابا مع جواب تلك الأقوال. وأنهم يمنحونه ما لم يكن للقديس بطرس ابداً وقطعاً.

1. Chapter One: That Saint Peter was equal in authority in his position with the rest of the apostles, and that from this it is clear that the Pope is not higher in his authority than the rest of the patriarchs.

2. Chapter Two: That Saint Peter did not have a special talent or function on his own, but rather he was equal in talents and functions as a whole to the rest of the apostles.

3. Chapter Three: In response to the eight demands made by the Romans to support Saint Peter, and by which they want to show the unity of the papal presidency and his superiority in authority.

4. الفصل الرابع: في الرد على قول الرومانيين، اي من حيث أن الرب قال لبطرس وحده “ارع خرافي، وأنا طلبت من أجل ألا ينقص إيمانك، وأنت متى رجعت ثبت إخوتك” هو وحده سيد كل الرسل، والمتقدم عليهم. ولذلك بابا رومية هو سيد جميع البطاركة ورؤساء كهنة المسكونة.

5. Chapter Five: On the denial of those ranks which the Pope’s followers give him and assign to him.

Download the book