Thursday, December 12, 2013

Orthodox Church of Czech Lands & Slovakia splits

Apologies for the machine translation.


(Portal-Credo) - DOCUMENT: official hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia split into two jurisdictions. Statement of Archbishop Simeon Brno-Olomouc Orthodox clergy and believers throughout the church community.

Warn the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia about the fact that after today (09.12.2013) the Holy Synod, I was the only representative of our canonical Orthodox Church. The remaining members of the Holy Synod meeting today, unfortunately, acted in contradiction to the holy canons, which led to a confrontation with the current High Representative for our church and thus to exercise a split in the bosom of the Orthodox Church.

I am in a strong disorder of their actions and I dare say that this situation is not caused by me. Such a result would not and do not bear responsibility for it. Only wanted to solve problemmu vacant Prague archbishopric department in the sense that I was recently pronounced in two open Pastoral Epistles. Their content in the familiar church. Assume that the remaining members of the Synod decide to create an unfavorable situation and do not want to openly violated because the canonical and constitutional principles that led to the split.

I warn you that message during the last meeting of the Synod, which was posted on the Internet pages (http://pravoslavnacirkev.cz) contains false information.

I ask all our other clerics and all the Orthodox faithful of our Church to recognize the Archbishop stopped Rostislav, Archbishop and Bishop George Jehoiakim for Canonical Orthodox spiritual leaders, and closed to and supported only the canonical bishop of our church who, after today's events, I'm just. I'm sorry that the other members of the Synod have chosen the path of confrontation and division. I will make every effort to calm the current turbulent situation. Will go exclusively dear saint of the Orthodox tradition and canons of the holy fathers, and will ask for help from other Local Churches, primarily - the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
I am confident that in this way, with God's help, will be able to overcome not only the critical situation, but at the same time the problems encountered in our church since April this year.

I ask all the clergy, priests to worship when, as a canonical bishop remembered, until the period when this situation is resolved, only my name. Thus, each such worship is in spiritual unity with the canonical Orthodoxy.

As a pastor I ask you: refrain from any ecclesiastical communion with schismatic bishops.

With persistence, being your shepherd, please keep the unity of the church, and the church throughout the body seek to follow the path of the patristic tradition in canonical unity, catholicity with the other Orthodox Churches by global, primarily with His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

In the near future, the Holy Synod will convene in order to remedy the situation and will inform the public about the church the further course of events

With pastoral blessing

and love in Christ

Your

+ Simeon

Archbishop of Olomouc, Brno

Metropolitan manager

Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia

4 comments:

  1. If you go to the link provided in the article and scroll down the page you can find the Synod's version of events. If nothing else it sheds more light on the nature of the dispute.

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  2. So have Moscow or Constantinople weighed in yet? It sounds like they had people there.

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  3. From what I'd read representatives of both Constantinople and Moscow sat in on the session of the Holy Synod at which Archbishop Simeon was removed as locum tenens, so if that's true they're presumably on board with what's going on and Vladyka Simeon needs to submit...

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  4. Look at the photographs now on the mospat.ru site of the installation of the new Archbishop - it is clearly a takeover by Moscow. This follows a pattern - think of Sourozh, the Cathedral in Nice, the constant attempts to undermine the Exarchate in Paris. Moscow does not deserve to be considered a canonical Orthodox Church on account of its unbrotherly behaviour which is inspired, not by God, but by the political plans of Mr. Putin.

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