Russian True Orthodox Church & the Greek Old Calendarists

11/10/2009 (ROCOR United) - As reported in various news sources, the proposed mutual recognition between the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece and the Russian "True Orthodox" Church of Tikhon Paeschnik has been rejected by the Greeks. Sensing the danger of entering into communion with the uncanonical RTOC, the Synod of Chrysostomos II has decided it will not go ahead with the proposed concelebration on the 26th of November. The Greek Old Calenderists owe their recent hierarchical canonicity to ROCOR who assisted them with episcopal consecrations in the 1960's.

The news comes as severe blow for the struggling RTOC sect which was illegally set up in 2002 by 2 rebel bishops, Lazar and Benjiman, who had left ROCOR after their failed coup against the retired Metropolitan Vitaly in Mansonville. Lazar and Benjiman fled to Russia where they unilaterally and uncanonically consecrated new "bishops" including now RTOC head Tikhon Pasechnik. A sources close to the RTOC said that Pasechnik was privately "gripped with rage" and accused the Greeks of a "gross betrayal". The RTOC has a small presence in Europe and Australia and was able to influence the ROCOR Lesna Convent in France into their organization in 2007. The organization falsely claims to be a continuation of the Russian Catacomb Church and is closely associated with various Russian ultra-nationalist and pro-Nazi publications providing links off its main website.

The decision further highlights the degree of ecclesiastical fragmentation within the many splinters of the so-called "True Orthodox" movement as well as their many disputes and divisions over issues such as akriveia or oikonomia.