ABSTRACT
The Confession of Dositheus defines Orthodox theology over against Protestantism. It is the most important Orthodox confession of recent centuries, though it does not have the status of the early creeds. This creed was produced by a synod convened in Jerusalem in 1672 by Patriarch Dositheus. The occasion for the creed was the work of Cyril Lucaris, who had been elected Patriarch of Alexandria in 1602 and of Constantinople in 1621. Lucaris was strongly influenced by Protestantism and especially by Reformed theology. His Protestant predelictions aroused not only the opposition of his own people but also the opposition of the Jesuits who were active in Constantinople. Lucaris was finally strangled by the Turks, who thought he was guilty of treason. Dositheus, by the mercy of God, Patriarch of Jerusalem, to those that ask and inquire concerning the faith and worship of the Greeks.
