Here is the initial news story on the possible new exarchate. The complete article is here.
May 23, 2008 (OCA News) - Sources close to Syosset confirm that four priests of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America's (ROEA) Joint Dialogue Commission (JDC) presented a plan to the OCA's Synod of Bishops meeting on May 14th whereby the ROEA would leave the jurisdiction of the OCA in the near future. The plan envisions the 80 + parishes of the ROEA uniting with the 40 + parishes of the much smaller Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Two Americas (ROAA). The new "Romanian Exarchate" would have "optimal autonomy" under its own elected Metropolitan but would receive its chrism from Bucharest, not Syosset. The mechanics of the proposed 'unification' are as yet unclear, although contrary to widespread rumor, a vote will not be taken at the next ROEA congress, to be held over the Fourth of July weekend in Grass Lake, Michigan.
The OCA responded with:
SYOSSET, NY (OCA Communications) - In response to inquiries regarding recent developments in the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, the OCA Chancery has released the following statement.
"The question of the relationship between Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America and the Patriarchate of Romania is long standing, going back several decades. Currently, the ROEA, the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada, and the Patriarchate are in dialogue concerning their future relations. This was discussed at the 2008 Spring Session of the OCA Holy Synod, but no statements have been issued either by the Holy Synod or by the Romanian Episcopate concerning the nature or outcome of this discussion.
"A decision on the part of the Romanian Episcopate to unite with the Romanian Archdiocese, and thus with the Patriarchate of Romania, would need to be made by the clergy and faithful of the Episcopate. At that point the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America would need to affirm the free decision of the Romanian Episcopate."
Posts
JF - What are your thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand it looks like the Romanians are getting out of Dodge in the wake of a some serious internal OCA situations... Otherwise it might be just as wise for the non-OCA Romanians to join the much larger (on paper) OCA...
On the other hand, nationalism is so big, I can see (though I am somewhat disheartened by it) that many would jump at the chance to ditch a good working relationship and jurisdictional unity for their day in the sun as a singular ethnic jurisdiction.
Is it phyletism or is it a response to the scandals in the OCA hierarchy. It could be both, neither, or something else entirely. I find value in a single Orthodox jurisdiction for North America or the US, but many big hitters (Met. Kallistos for example) don't see it as immediate a concern. Does there need to be yet another body in the US or is it the pride of having an identifiable organization of ones own? My quick thought is: things are either moving towards a unified system or they are moving towards ethnic/national Churches. If they are moving towards a unified system then this is a step backwards, but if we assume that the Romanians and others in the near future are looking to do the same for themselves then this is par for the course and to be expected.
ReplyDelete