Eastern Orthodox Q&A

[Eleventh Doctor]

Who would issue anathemas on behalf of the church as a whole if not the bishops?

Also if we look to the Fifth Ecumenical Council we see another example of bishops excommunicating the pope, so there are precedents.

[jehoshaphat]

They excommunicated the pope without all the bishops there. The council was called by Emperor Justinian I which is why the pope didn't attend. He was excommunicated because he didn't attend and approve the things they agreed on. He later condemned what the council condemned which made the council valid. The reason things like that happened was mostly because of bad diplomats and advisors.

[Eleventh Doctor]

No council has ever had all the bishops, you know that. The council was called by the Emperor in conjunction with the bishops, like every other council that the pope did send legates and tomes to so that isn't the reason he didn't attend. He later condemned what the council condemned because he didn't want to be excommunicated, the council was already valid before the pope decided to sign onto the condemnation. Bad diplomats and advisors weren't the cause since for the fifth council the pope was literally down the block from the council the entire time, he could have attended and chose not to and was excommunicated for his pettiness.