Kyrillos Lavriotis of Patras – “Exegesis on the Apocalypse” (1817)

Kyrillos Lavriotis of Patras (also known as Cyril Lavriotos, or Cyrille Lavriotis) was a Greek monk born around 1741. Around 18 to 20 years old he was tonsured a monk and entered the monastery of St. Lavra near the town of Kalavrita, which is located in the the Northern Peloponnesse region of Greece. He had the title of hieromonk in 1789 and then that of an archimandrite in the year 1817. Around the year 1770 he was captured by the Albanians who had invaded the Peloponnese as they persecuted and Christians there and burned down the towns. Kyrillos managed to survive and was held in captivity until a large sum was paid by the monastery. He fled to Constantinople and from there he left for Bucharest where he remained until his death in the year 1829. In his writings he speaks of receiving a masters degree but we do not know the nature, duration or location of his studies. Based on writings about him it is certain he was a knowledgeable historian with a passion for history books. He worked tirelessly even with difficult living conditions and unhealthy dwellings of his students. During his 45-year stay in Bucharest, he mad few friends and many adversaries with the politicians, rich elites and religious men, due to his stubbornness and quarrels and debates. He worked as a cantor in the church to help pay for his material needs. He also copied and annotated the works of older authors, but many of these writings perished in a fire which destroyed the convent of St. John the Baptist around the year 1820. But his various manuscripts on the Exegesis on the Apocalypse survived either the fire or the destruction by his political and religious enemies.

Opening Prologue by Kyrillos On his Exegesis

“Herein lies the interpretation of the beloved Theologian’s Revelation. It is interpreted not without a lot of pain, not without the most care and perseverance and the greatest thought to the glory of the triune God, one and only, but a fable of the afflicted and oppressed by the tyrannical and vile multitude of the tyrants in Christ, my brothers. For they define the sufferings by resting and from the depths of the soul, and we sympathize with them and wish for the release of the sufferings as they desire to learn it. This prophetic book and glory, the resurrection of our corpse is near, even though the words of education are infinite, all the students are grouped together, he is almost forty years old as a teacher of his fellow students and at the end of his life, he is finally commenting on the to the second and ninetieth and seven hundredth salvation thus upon the thousand. (…)

This long-term thesis is not under a few obstacles, and because, as he said, ignorance also prevented me from being able to discern the meaning of the words and the syntax of the words, let alone their deepest sense, but to these also my many and sufferings are a sin, the sight of my intellect not a little killing, and my physical weakness often paralyzing the tone of my willingness. For all these, and the debt of my evil body’s expedients, they did not in the least hinder my soul; for I had to worship fiercely continuously, as if I were becoming a scribe, and who taught foreign languages ​​to the sons of lords, who were quite naughty, and who were sitting in my seat of little composition of water. The theological Bible is single and simple in phrase and uncomplicated in word, as it should not be, it is interpreted, zero of the inner speakers cooperate with me, very many begged, for theory and criticism of what is written, and not one of the Ephesians has touched me, not a word better than them has been heard .

Because these people who are so disrespectful with a shameful form of insanity, surrounded by such and such, in spite of those who are in the end and the most honorable of the citizens, do not differ from the frenzied ones. And thus, with him, acting under all circumstances, and being traditionally called and preached, perhaps under the help of the Lord, I reached the end of the interpretation of the Bible of the Theologian. And the lenient ones are also grateful so that he did not aim at the shortcomings of the grammatical art, but the truth from the previous and the following everywhere preying on the meaning of the Bible. Above all, to God in the Holy Trinity alone be the glory of all, and for me, a sinner, to his goodness, fervently pray, as if mercy were born to me on the day of the terrible judgment.

But the interpretation proves to be an excellent way of living, these and indeed I see them; for just as the births in a rational soul to the games born from them have an erotic nature, so also the self-implantation of the mind is naturally adjacent to its own reasons and is born by being given. And as to those imposters of all things unsightly, their children are unsympathetic to those who are beautiful in all things good, so also my words, always foul and always unspeakable, do not seem to be the mouths of reason and knowledge, nor do they appear absent from the rectitude detractors. Because it is not. For as an ostrich with one of its feet tied and standing hastily on the ground is crushed, so our mind, without life, having acquired the knowledge and theory of the higher, ascends, sitting under the many and body- and soul-destroying passions, sitting on the hammers. it is broken even to them converging If you judge me, do not neglect the holy and wise men to correct this interpretation. “If they see in it that they blaspheme the faith of the Eastern Church, and are afflicted by the judgment of the Holy Spirit, those who go forth shall attack the proper thing, whom he also curses eternally, not we, but the arch-devil, as a nation I disapprove unfortunately, because it applies where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them, and I also of those against me: for the schemes of mortals are cowardly and their schemes are uncertain.

Many pains passed away, perhaps by God’s will and reason. In Bucharest” [2]

Overview and dating of Kyrillos’ Revelation Commentary

Kyrillos wrote an Interpretation or Exegesis on the Apocalypse between 1792 and 1821, titled: “Κυρίλλου Λαυριώτου ἀνέκδοτος ἑρμηνεία εἰς τὴν ᾿Αποκάλυψιν. He writes that his Exegesis on the Apocalypse had “drawn upon him the wrath of intellectual circles in the Wallachian capital, who not only refused him all help and all access to their libraries, but also called him mad, deranged. and dead dog.” [1]. The Exegesis of the Apocalypse by Kyrillos Lavriotis constitutes the most voluminous commentary ever written in the Greek language. It consists of 5,256 pages of handwritten commentary divided into eight volumes. He made approximately a dozen copies. The 11th manuscript remains unpublished to this day but remains safe in the library of the School of Theology at the University of Athens. Argyriou[1], Dyovouniotis[2] and Fitrakis[8] have examined, analyzed and printed portions of his commentary. He began to copy the eleventh version on June 11, 1817 in Bucharest and finished it on May 30, 1821.

Kyrillos read the Book of Revelation for the first time around age 40, around the year 1781 to 1782, after escaping captivity. It was at that time he finally understood that the liberation of the Eastern Orthodox Christians was getting very close to realization. He began working on the commentary around the year 1792 or 1793, saying “the resurrection of the dead body (of Christ) is very near.” He says the Book of Revelation can only be understood in light of historical events, and Kyrillos lived a a time where the Greek subjugation and liberation were taking place. His commentary contains an impressive wealth of information and commentary on the coming judgments and events for the people of that time period. It seems that he borrowed some of his global vision from the world, admittedly, from the Interpretation of Theodoret of Ioannina, and it became the central core to his own commentary. His own interpretation of History is more limited in scope to the interpretation of the events of the present. This could explain the disappearance of the first ten copies.

Kyrillos critics would deny the authenticity of Revelation, or that St. John the Theologian was not even the author. Such a difficult book that the most eminant doctors of the Church had never dared to comment on the prophecies contained in the book. So then how could Kyrillos Lavriotis, a poor “mad” monk without solid and extensive theological training, claim that he penetrated the impenetrable mysteries of God and that he knew how to interpret the Apocalypse? Kyrillos would respond that while the Book of Revelation is certainly a very difficult text to understand, nonetheless, the Apocalypse is a prophetic book through which God reveals to men what must happen to the Church between the first and the second parousia of Christ. The Book of the Apocalypse is a summary of the whole Bible but God reveals to the Apostle John the revelation of future historical events but also the reality of the final resurrection, the final judgement and future life. One of the main exegetical principles he bases his interpretation on, and this is repeated throughout the commentary, is the fact that the prophecies contained in Revelation can only be understood retrospectively, in light of fulfilled events. This is the main reason why the doctors of the ancient Church did not dare to comment on the Book of Revelation. And if they did offer a commentary, they did not know how to give a correct interpretation to each and all of John’s visions that were to be fulfilled far into the future. Kyrillos says: “It is the unfolding of events, or else it is time that will make us know the truth on this subject.” His comment seems to mirror St. Andrew of Caesarea’s idea on the proper interpretation to the mark of the beast when he said – “Time and experience will reveal to sober researchers the precision of the number and the other things written about it.”

The Historical Context of Revelation

Kyrillos Lavriotis viewed chapters 2 to 20 of the Apocalypse to describe the history of the Church from the first to the second parousia of Christ. And we can only understand the prophetic content of the Johannine visions retrospectively, in the light of events (i.e. after the prophecy is fulfilled). He also states that the visions of St. John the Theologian are allegorical texts and not to be take literally. It is only through the proper understanding of Revelation’s symbols and various descriptions of the material and spiritual world and taught through the key scripture verses, that St. John had wanted to reveal to the Church what was to happen throughout its whole history. However, another key principle to Lavriotis interpretation is he does not fully embrace the over-allegorizing of the passages of Revelation and takes a literal verse-by-verse rendering of the text, but he seems to offer a balanced ‘middle ground’ approach between literal and allegorical interpretations of the verses, such as his visions of the two witnesses or the seven churches tend to be more of a typographical or allegorical application of those symbols.

Lavriotos in the division of chapters of the Apocalypse in to three heptads describes how Revelation foretells of three great conquests of Mohammed and Islam which would grow exceedingly great to conquer Asia, from the southern region to the northern regions and from the great Euphrates river over to the European coasts. These three conquests enabled Mohammed to cause the name of the Holy Trinity to disappear from these vast regions. The seven sacraments and seven churches and the teaching of the four Gospels were replaced by its own morality and dogmas and its blasphemous and corrupting altering of the “times and laws”. The second heptad starting with Revelation 9 and ending with Revelation 15. It first starts where the Papacy come forth in Revelation 9, as the Pope deploys his wickedness not only against Mohammed/Islam but also against the Orthodox Church and Byzantine Empire. Both the Papacy with his three great expeditions (the Crusades) and the Ottomans with their repeated attacks, finally succeed in putting to end the reign of Orthodoxy. Babylon is fallen. But Revelation 14 and 15 reveal that there are signs that the destruction of the Papal and Islamic beasts are in progress, and that the first resurrection of the Orthodox is pending. The third heptad begins with Revelation 15 to the end of the book. It describes the progressive weakening and final fall of the enemies of Christ associated with the two beasts. There is then progressive increase in the power of the faithful Christians. This view by Kyrillos certainly is in line with postmillennialism, that is of the ‘byzantine’ form of Postmillennialism regarding the eventual restoration of Orthodoxy and the Church.

Revelation chapters 1, 2 and 3 are addressed to the seven Churches of Asia and contained within those chapters is a brief, high-level summary of what must occur within the Church between the two parousias of Christ. His summary of the seven Churches symbols the churches as follows:

• Church of Ephesus is the Patriarchate of Rome
• Church of Smyrna is the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
• Church of Pergamum is the Patriarchate of Constantinople
• Church of Thyatira is the Patriarchate of Antioch
• Church of Sardis is the Patriarchate of Alexandria
• Church of Philadelphia is the Autocephalous Church of Eastern Iberia (Armenia)
• Church of Laodicea is the Patriarchate of Russia

Kyrillos identifies the Church of Constantinople with Pergamum, the throne of Satan designates the Ottoman power established over Constantinople, and with Smyrna and death of Antipas it symbolizes the Eastern Christians subjugation and martyrdom to the Turks and suffering for their faith in Christ. Antipas designates the same historical reality of the deaths of the two witnesses killed by the beast which arises from the Abyss in Revelation 9:7. Their killing took place during the time of the capture of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453 AD and the complete collapse of the Byzantine empire. And the eating of meat served to idols and those who prostitute themselves represent the Orthodox converts to Islam and embrace Ottoman power for personal material gain. The promises of Christ giving a white stone with a new name engraved on it will be fulfilled at the future establishment of a universal Orthodox empire.

In Revelation chapter 6, Kyrillos Lavriotos says the following regarding the seals[1]: “The opening of the first seal reveals the nation of the true believers and true orthodox Christians; this nation will always be fought against by the ungodly nations but it will never be completely destroyed. The opening of the second seal reveals the nation of polytheists and idolaters and their leaders fighting against the faithful. The opening of the third seal reveals the crowd of prelates, priests and monks announcing the Gospel to the peoples, sanctifying the faithful and fighting against the infidels and the impious. The opening of the fourth seal reveals all the heretics who appeared up to the time of the sixth ecumenical council (680 – 681), the most important of whom were Arius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Origen, the Monophysite Dioscurus and the pope Monothelite Honorius. The opening of the fifth seal reveals iconoclasm, that of the sixth the Papacy and that of the seventh Islam.” With respect to his interpretation of the first three seals, Kyrillos follows the identification of Saint Anastasios Gordios and his commentary on Revelation. For the remaining four seals, he follows the interpretations of Metropolitan Jean de Myra and Theodoret of Ioannina. Thus Revelation chapters 2 to 6 are related the proclamation of the Gospel to the world and a summary of the whole history of Orthodoxy between the two parousias of Christ.

Revelation 7 to 13 begins with four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, to send the two beastly systems to attack the Orthodox empire of Constantinople and to attack and exterminate the Christians. The appearance of the two beasts and enemies starts the beginning of a new period of persecution for Orthodoxy. The seven trumpets announce the progressive weakness of the power of the Eastern Orthodox church, and the increase of hte tyrannical power of Muhammed and the Papacy. Revelation 9 he sees the Papacy deploying wickedness not only against Muhammed but also against the Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Empire. Kyrillos interpretation of the seven trumpets are as follows:

• First Trumpet – Domination of of Mohammed over Asia and regions of the middle east ruled until that time by the Emperor of Constantinople
• Second Trumpet – Conquests of the succeeding Caliphates in countries located in the West
• Third Trumpet – Conquests of the muslims on the countries to the South and North and complete domination of four parts of Asia.
• Fourth Trumpet – One-third of Orthodox Christians convert to Islam.
• Fifth Trumpet – The Pope’s expeditions (Crusades) against the Muslims reigning over the Holy Places and the Latin reign over Constantinople
• Sixth Trumpet – The Establishment of the Ottoman Empire and its domination over Asia Minor and its expansion into Europe up to the Gates of Constantinople.
• Seventh Trumpet – The Fall of Constantinople and the compelte disappearance of the Orthodox Empire of hteEast, at the very moment when the tyrannical power of the Ottomans reached it s apex.

Revelation chapters 10, 11 and 12, Kyrillos says: “We see the Church of Christ attacked on its right by the Muslims and on its left by the Papists but without ever ceasing to defend itself and to announce the word of the Gospels (…) From chapter 8 to chapter 13, the seven angels of the trumpets announce what must happen to the Church from the tyranny of the first Mohammed until the capture of Constantinople by Mehmed II, that is to say the sufferings which the Orthodox had to endure from the Muslims and Papists until the complete destruction of the Eastern Orthodox Empire.” The capture of Constantinople by Mehmed II the Conqueror is symbolized by the killing of the two Witnesses (Rev 11:7). It marks the new direction of the two witnesses to wage a new battles against the two beasts – Islam and the Papacy.

Lavriotis summarizes Revelation 13 to 15: “On chapters 13, 14 and 15, the Church is still in struggle against the Ottomans and the Papists. But Christ comes to help him and pours out on his enemies the seven cups designating the military power of Russia. Already in chapter 10, the mighty angel who placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth, this angel designated the power of the orthodox empire of Russia which fights on the one hand the impiety of the Pope and on the other the tyranny of Mahomet in order to prevent them from completely eliminating the corpses of the two Witnesses (the laity and the clergy) of subjugated Eastern Orthodoxy. On the other hand, chapter 14 constitutes the continuation and development of chapter 9. In the latter section of Revelation 9 are related, on the one hand the expeditions of the Pope against Palestine, Syria and Constantinople (the Crusades), on the other hand the conquests in Asia and Europe of Othman and his successors until at the capture of Constantinople. In chapter 14, we see the angel, on the one hand inviting the Latins to repentance, on the other announcing the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. As the two Beasts had gone on the assault for the extermination of Eastern Orthodoxy, God wanted to put two other Orthodox empires in their path. The first, that of Russia, will fight the two Beasts until the complete destruction of their power and the establishment of the millennium. The second, that of restored Eastern Orthodoxy, will reign over the whole world during the period of the millennium” [1]

In Revelation chapter 12, John presents the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Woman Clothed with the Sun. She wears on her head a crown of 12 stars, representative of the 12 articles of the creed, formulated by the first two ecumenical councils and containing the Christian doctrine in its entirety. The 12 stars hence give birth to the man child. The moon under her feet designates all of the enemies of the church trampled upon, the Jews, Muslims, Papists, Protestants and atheists. The dogmas of the Orthodox faith were formulated in the pain of childbirth because of the many heresies. The first five ecumenical councils took place before the appearance of Islam in the 7th century. The Eastern Orthodox Church was able to give birth to a perfect man child before fleeing to the desert (recall the Desert Fathers of Egypt and the start of the monastic movement in the church). It was able to solidify all of the dogmas of the faith and is moral doctrine before undertaking the evangelization of the Serbs, Bulgarians and Russians who until the tenth century, lived in the wilderness and the desert of idolatry. The Woman is the most important symbol of the Church in the Apocalypse. And it symbolizes the Eastern Orthodox Church. Kyrillos insists a great deal that the length of the pregnancy (nine prophetic months) identifies with the period of the ecumenical councils which ended in the ninth century. The child born (i.e. the man-child, God-Man or Theanthropos) at the end of the nine months of pregnancy is therefore perfectly constituted, perfect God and perfect Man.

The vision of the Dragon in Rev 12 and the two Beasts in Rev 13 describe the same historical reality. The Dragon in heaven is Islam set out to conquer the Eastern Orthodox empire. The Seven Heads designate Muhammed and his Seven Caliphate successors as the head of Muslim power, while the ten horns designate the emirs of the provinces that covered the same area of Daniel’s first 3 beasts of Rev. 13:2. The Dragon sweeping away a third of the stars of the sky represents the forcible conversion to the religion of Islam.

The Second Beast in Revelation 13:11-18 represents the Papacy. The two horns symbolize his temporal and spiritual power. The power of the Pope is equal to that of Mahomet as stated in Revelation 13:12. Kyrillos states: Both are identified as dragons, corrupting demons, destructive enemies of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Pope leads the earth to adore the Beast, he pushes the Orthodox Christians, some to embrace atheism, others to convert to the Muslim religion. If the Ottoman power had not established itself on the throne of Constantinople, all the Orthodox, including the Russians, would have been led to embrace the papist faith. To be convinced of this, it would suffice to recall the living conditions of the Orthodox in the regions formerly occupied by the Venetians and the Franks, or to look at the efforts made at the present time by the Latin missionaries inside the Ottoman Empire. There is currently no Orthodox Church in the West, except those of Vienna and Venice tolerated for the needs of traders” [1].

He also writes: “The Pope apostatized the Eastern Church after the iconoclasm, under the reign of the emperors Basil the Macedonian (867-886) and Leo the Wise (886-912) and under the patriarchate of Photius (858-867 and 877-886). Subsequently, the Pope also apostatized the Orthodox empire and established another empire, then ten aristocratic and democratic kingdoms and states.” (…) “The Pope wanted to rise above everything that bears the name of God; he proclaimed himself God and demanded to be worshiped, as if he himself were a God. The Pope sat on the sanctuary of God: during the Crusades, he seized the patriarchal throne of Constantinople and transformed the Church of St. Sophia into a place of worship for the papist religion.”

Lavriotis follows a well established tradition in Greek Orthodoxy for the calculation of the number of the beast all the way back to the 13th century. His calculations are presented below:

The 666 calculations and titles included in the figure are “Mahomet” ant its successor “Othman” (Ottoman Islam), and the other Western Beast 666 calculation is the “Lateinos” (representing the Papacy and Luther-Calvinism). The 666 calcuations of Μοαμέτις, Οτμάνες and Λατεῖνος are well known in the Byzantine East since based on old manuscripts of Revelation in the Greek Orthodox monasteries (see footnote 17: Allen, G. V)

Regarding Revelation 16, 17 and 18, it demonstrates the promises of God’s punishments upon the two enemies of the Church. Lavriotis interestingly interprets the prostitute as Islam and the Ottoman Empire, and Constantinople as Babylon (ie. “New Rome”). The Seventh vial is particular designates the complete destruction of Islam and the Papacy. Revelation 18 describes the destruction and fall of Constantinople. In his study of Revelation 17, Lavriotis says that the famous prostitute is Islam, and that the fall of Babylon designates the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. But he also affirms that the punishment of the seventh bowl (XVI, 17-21) will fall not only on the Turks and the Westerners but also on the Orthodox who would not have repented of their bad conduct. In the millennial reign only the sincere and pure orthodox will participate.

Lavriotis interprets Revelation 19 to describe the complete destruction of all of the enemy powers of the Church, namely Islam, the Papacy, Protestantism and Atheism. This chapter is dedicated to the great eschatological battle when the Orthodox emperor of the East will come to destroy, with the help of Christ and by his faithful servants and army, all of powers of Islam, Papacy and Protestantism.

Revelation 20 refers to the first death of all of the enemies of the church through the definitive annihilation of the Papacy and Islam. It also refers to the first resurrection of the faithful, their liberation. Christ is present there in an invisible way (i.e. as we say”Christ is in our midst”) and lends a strong hand to the emperor. Christ leads the emperor to convene an eighth ecumenical council to put an end to all heresies and establish the millennium which will be a prelude to the parousia of Christ. In the opening of the first seal (VI, 1-2), the white horse and the one who rode it symbolize the preaching of the apostles and the formulation of dogmas by the doctors of the Eastern Church. Now the horseman was holding an are, he was given a crown and he went away victorious and to win again: the Eastern Orthodox Church will therefore always come out victorious in the struggles against her enemies and this until the end. In Revelation 19:19, this same horseman appears engaging in the final combat against the Beast, against the kings of the earth and against their armies.

The Two Witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11

Kyrillos believed the two witnesses were allegorical representations of “clergy” and “laity” (i.e the bishops and monks) clothed often in the East in black sackcloth. They are the ones after all who gave “testimony” in the “great city” of Constantinople before the Ottomans came and killed the two witnesses with the fall of the City in 1453 AD. He says: ” “Those who maintain that the two Witnesses designate Elijah and Enoch are numerous, especially among our intellectuals, among those who know Homer by heart, who have studied Thucydides thoroughly and who are familiar with all the work of Aristotle and Plato. I myself was of the same opinion, faithfully following the tradition of the ancient Church. But when I began to penetrate the hidden meaning of the Book of Revelation, I understood that the two Witnesses are two thirds of the faithful, namely the Orthodox clergy and people who were not affected by the plagues of the trumpets”. This view would also be adopted by Apostolos Makrakis in his Interpretation of Revelation in 1881. Basically, Kyrillos’ argument borrows from Theodoret of Ioannina as well as Metropolitan John Lindos of Myra for the emphasis on Orthodox doctors, prelates, and councils being the identifying classes of two witnesses clothed in black sackcloth who defended with the holy “fire” or divine truths out of their mouths the testimony of the nature of Christ as fully God and fully man.

Kyrillos Lavriotos very often returns to this discovery, because the resuscitation of the two corpses is closely linked to the liberation of enslaved Orthodoxy and the establishment of the millennium. The whole vision of the Two Witnesses (Rev. 11) indeed describes the history of the Eastern Orthodox empire (the Holy City) and of the Church of Constantinople (the temple of God) at grips with their enemies. , Islam (the Beast rising from the Abyss) and the Papacy (the Star which fell from heaven to earth). The two Witnesses therefore designate sometimes the people and the clergy of the East, sometimes the spiritual power (Church) and the temporal power (empire).

Kyrillos says in the Exegesis: “The two Witnesses symbolize at the same time the doctors of the Church, the Orthodox emperors, the patriarchs, the metropolitans, the archbishops, the bishops, the monks, all the civil and military dignitaries and all the Orthodox scholars, all those who, for a very long period designated by the 1260 days, knew how to prophesy, that is to say, to formulate, promulgate and defend orthodox dogmas and morals” (…) “They are all the people and all the Orthodox clergy, all those who knew how to show the same moral conduct and the same religious fervor as the prophets” (…) “.

The “1260 years” of Apostacy per the Day/Year Principle

It appears that Kyrillos also was a supporter of a 1260 year tribulation based on the measurable “times statements” of Daniel and Revelation. He writes: “In the Book of Revelation, several periods (Rev 10:6) of the reign of Islam are proposed, the ten days (Rev 2:10), the half-hour (Rev 8:1), the forty-two months (Rev 11:2 and Rev 13:5), the 1260 days (Rev 12:6), three and a half days (XI, 9), time, times and half a time (XII, 14) (,). The forty-two months (XI,2) during which the pagans will tread the Holy City designate the duration of the reign of the Muslims over the Eastern Orthodox world from the appearance of Muhammad in 585 until the complete destruction of the Ottoman power in 1845 (585 +1260 = 1845). Daniel had predicted that the Muslim power would last 1290 years, but it seems that God shortened the sufferings of the Orthodox by thirty years. However God did not want to reveal to men the day and the precise hour of the collapse of the Antichrist.” Elsewhere, he says the year 576 is proposed as being that of the appearance of Muhammad, and the year 1834 as that of his disappearance. The three and a half days designate the duration of the reign of the Ottomans over Constantinople. (Note: This idea was proposed by Apostolos Makrakis as well in his 1881 commentary). Kyrillos says: “A similar duration is predicted by the prophet Isaiah (chap 21:16) when he announces that the power of Kedar will last for a mercenary year. These two periods expire, one (1453 + 350 = 1803) with the Serbian insurrection (1800), and the other (1453 + 366 = 1819) with the uprising of the Greeks (1821). The resuscitation of the corpses of the two Witnesses has therefore begun and the end of the reign of the Antichrist is very close. However, it would be madness to seek to know the exact date of the fall of the two Beasts and the resurrection of the two Witnesses.”

The Millennium

Kyrillos Lavriotis was deeply interested in the imminent liberation of the enslaved Orthodox and even more so in the establishment of the millennium which was to follow immediately. It is interesting to note, that like some of the other Greek Orthodox commentators of the Post-Byzantine Exegetical Movement, that Kyrillos Lavriotos believed in a future 1000 “millennial reign” of Christ. Asterios Argyriou in his Les exégèses [1] says: “Indeed, never has another Greek commentator of the Apocalypse defended with such force nor described with such clarity and precision the establishment of the millennium.” Except Kyrillos and the other Post-Byzantine authors were certainly not traditional “chiliasts” or premillennialists who believed Christ would be visibly present on earth during the 1000 years. Kyrillos, like the other Post-Byzantine authors, believed in a future 1000 reign or symbolic period of Orthodoxy on earth. So in a sense they were millenarians and post-millennialist. But not like the theonomic postmillennialists of the west today, who are more like “optimistic amillennialists”. It is more of the older historic postmillennialists who believe a golden age of Christianity will arrive after a long period (1260 years) of tribulation upon the church.

Kyrillos examines the prophecies of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 to show the restoration of the empire which was taken away by the Little Horn, where the stone become a great mountain and the judgment of the Little horn coincides with the kingdom set up by the coming restored Orthodox Empire and monarchy. In his interpretation of Daniel 7, he sees that Daniel 7:9 symbolizes Christ and the Son of Man while Daniel 7:13 also symbolically designates the Orthodox king coming to establish the millennium. Verse 11 of the same chapter refers to the annihilation of the Papist and Lutheran-Calvinist powers (the Beast) as well as the Muslim power (the little horn). The expression for a time, and times and half a time (VII, 25) indicates the duration of the reign of the little horn over the saints of the Most High, over Constantinople. At the expiration of this period, all empire, honor and kingdom will be conferred on the Son of Man (7:14), on the Orthodox king, the chosen one of God. And his kingdom will not be destroyed (Dan 7:14) for the duration of the thousand years. “The Orthodox Emperor, on the one hand, will free the people of God from the tyrannical rule of the Turks and the corrupting propaganda of the Papists and Lutheran-Calvinists, on the other hand, he will invite all non-Orthodox peoples to come embrace true faith in Christ. Those who conform to it will reign with him as priests and kings (Rev. 1:6 and 20:6).

Thus, from the point of view of the neo-Greek eschatological writers during the Ottoman period, it should be noted that Kyrillos Lavriotis is the only millenarian author in the fullest sense of this term. He believed a revived kingdom will last a thousand years and this reign (of Christ) will extend over the entire universe. Its founder will be the a poor selected king whom Christ will elect among the oppressed Orthodox peoples. His ideas were undoubtedly influenced by the Orthodox prophecies from the Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition. In his description of the millennium, Lavriotis talks at length about the eighth ecumenical council (an event foretold and predicted by St. Tasarios). On the other hand, the main arguments of his millennial doctrine is based above all on Revelation chapter 20 of the Apocalypse and on the Daniel 2/7 visions.

CONCLUSIONS ON KYRILLIOS INTERPRETATION

For Kyrillos, the real enemies of the Orthodox Church are Islam and the Papacy, the Two Beasts of Revelation 13. The battles that the Orthodox Church has fought is still being waged and will come to a completion in a future appointed time. The capture of Constantinople is the defining moment between the period of decline of the church and the period of its future restoration. The period of decline is defined by Revelation chapters 7 to 13 up to the death of the two witnesses and fall of the great Christian capital (that “great city”, Rev 11:8, after the two witnesses finished their “testimony” of the man-child with the seven ecumenical councils). The period of resurrection and restoration are then defined by Revelation chapters 15 to 20.

Kyrillos’s conception of Church History can be summarized within the text of the apocalypse with the decoding of the seven trumpets and seven bowls. It begins with the reign of the Universal and One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and ultimately ends with the universal reign of the same church, that of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The coming Seventh Vial will pour out the resurrection of the two witnesses and the establishment of the millennial reign of Christ, as foretold in the great Orthodox prophecies found in the Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition. Perhaps even the greatest modern Greek prophet St. Kosmas Aetolos foretold this event in the Anonymous Prophecy of 1053 AD. If this authentic prophecy comes to completion, then we are assured that Eastern Orthodoxy will thus emerge victorious from its battles against the two enemies, Islam and the Papacy, and then a thousand-year universal reign of Orthodoxy will be established on the earth BEFORE the second parousia of Christ. That is, a true postmillennial world after 1260 long years of tribulation… of the resurrection of the true Body of Christ – Holy Orthodoxy.

Thy Kingdom Come… on Earth as it is In Heaven!

-Jonathan Photius

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

1. Asterios Argyriou, Les exégèses grecques de l’Apocalypse à l’époque turque (1453-1821). Esquisse d’une histoire des courants idéologiques au seindu peuple grec asservi. Thessaloniki, 1982
2. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, “Kyrillou Lavriotou’s Anecdote Interpretation in the Apocalypse” Ecclesiastical History, Proceedings of the Academy of Athens, pp. 36-44 (January 29, 1931)
3. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, The Interpretation of the Revelation of Cyril of Patreus, Theologia 22, p. 446-462, p. 568-576 (1951). see http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/theologia/archive.asp?eti=19501959
4. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, The Interpretation of the Revelation of Cyril of Patras. Religious knowledge and his judgments about various persons Theologia 24. p. 345-374, p. 504-519 (1953)
5. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, The religious knowledge and judgments of him regarding the interpretation of the Revelation of Cyril of Patras, Theologia 25, p. 47-57 (1954)
6. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, Historical news from the interpretation of the Revelation of Cyril the Patriarch, Theologia 26, p. 441-444, p. 541-547 (1955)
7. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, Historical news from the interpretation of the Apocalypse of Cyril of Patreus (III) Theologia 26, p. 23-31, p. 181-95, p. 357-66 (1956)
8. Αστ. Αργυρίου, ‘Οι ελληνικές ερμηνείες στην Αποκάλυψη κατά τους χρόνους της τουρκοκρατίας’, [‘The Greek interpretations of the Apocalypse during the times of the Turkish rule’], Επιστημονική Επετηρίδα Θεολογικής Σχολής Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης, 24 (1979), p. 359, 361.
9. Argyriou A., The use of the historical method as a preeminent method of interpretation Apocalypse during the times of the Turkish occupation, in: The Apocalypse of John. Philological, historical, hermeneutical, theological problems. Recommendations of the 6th meeting of Orthodox Biblical Theologians, Nicosia. September 26 – October 3, 1991, 65-77
10. Argyriou A., A Georgian Emperor for the future resurrected orthodox empire, Phasis. Greek and Roman Studies, 2-3, 2000, 41-50.
11. Marios Hatzopoulos, Οι Ίβηρες στην ελληνική εσχατολογική σκέψη. Σχόλια σε ένα κείμενο του Αστέριου Αργυρίου [The Iberians in Greek eschatological thought. Comments on a text by Asterios Argiris], Phasis: Greek and Roman Studies 15-16 (2012-2013), Proceedings of the international conference Greece – European identity – Georgia, 27-29, June, 2012 – Tbilisi, Georgia, pp. 305-324
12. Marios Hatzopoulos, From Resurrection to Insurrection: ‘Sacred’ Myths, Motifs, and Symbols in the Greek War of Independence, Roderick Beaton – David Ricks(eds), The Making of Modern Greece: Nationalism, Romanticism, and the Uses of the Past (1797–1896), 2009.
13. A. Fitrakis, Catalog of the manuscripts of the Theological Study of the University of Athens, Athens, 1937, pp. 3-13
14. Vasilios N. Makrides, “Orthodoxy and Politics: Russian-Greek Relations in the Time of Catherine II”, in: Claus Scharf (Hg.), Katharina II., Rußland und Europa. Beiträge zur internationalen Forschung, Mainz 2001, 85-119
15. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, Ai en ti eimineia tis Apokalypseos tou Kyrillou tou Patreos thriskevtikai gnomai kai kriseis avtou peri diaphoron prosopon, in: Theologia 24 (1953), S. 504 – 519 , hier S. 506.
16. Konstantinos Dyovouniotis, Istorikai eidiseis ek tis ermineias t is Apokalypseos tou Kyrillou tou Patreos, in: Theologia 26 (1955) , S. 441- 444 , hier S. 443.
17. Photius, J., The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Book of Revelation. Eastern Light Publishing, Sheriden WY, ISBN 978-1-949940-02-2, (2018)
18. Boldisor, Adrian (2016). Orthodoxy and Islam in the 18th Century. The Place and Role of Dimitrie Cantemir in this Period. Revista Mitropolia Olteniei 3 (9-12):86-95.
19. Iliana Zarra, Ioaninna, “The synthesis of a new iconography under the stimulus of emerging Greek liberation”, p.74, Series Byzantinna X (2012)
20. Sotiropoulos, Neilos. The Coming Sharp And Two-Edged Sword, Holy Monastery of Simon’s Petra, Holy Mount Athos, Greece, (1973)
21. Apostolos Makrakis, Interpretation of the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Hellenic Christian Education Society, Chicago, IL, 1948
22. Allen, G. V. (2020) An anti-Islamic marginal comment in the Apocalypse of “Codex Reuchlin” (GA 2814) and its tradition. In: Karrer, M. (ed.) Der Codex Reuchlins zur Apokalypse: Byzanz – Basler Konzil – Erasmus. Series: Manuscripta Biblica (5). De Gruyter: Berlin; Boston, pp. 193-198. ISBN 9783110674118
23. Evangelia Amoiriaou, History of the Interpretation of “the number of the beast” (666) (Rev. 13:18). From Exegetical Memoirs on Revelation from the 2nd to the early 19th century in the Eastern Church. Doctoral Theses submitted to the Department of Theology of the Theological School of A.P. Thessaloniki (1998)