Fr. John Whiteford has announced the below. I can only say that this is one of the best things to happen to the American Church in recent history. Not only is he a gifted scholar he is also a pastorally adept cleric with a strikingly refreshing and powerful verve for evangelism. A simple search of this blog for his name will show how much he has accomplished as will even a perfunctory Google search. Axios! Axios! Axios!
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The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church just approved the election of Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg) as bishop. Here is a machine translation of the Russian text.
You can read about Bishop-Elect Irenei here.JOURNAL № 52
CONSIDERED the approval of the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on election Archimandrite Irenaei (Steenberg) bishop of Sacramento, Vicar of the Western American Diocese.
Reference:
In accordance with paragraph 17 of Chapter XI of the Constitution of the Russian Orthodox Church, the norms of the Charter apply to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in view of the Act of Canonical Communion of 17 May 2007.
In accordance with the Act of Canonical Communion of 17 May 2007: "The bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are elected by her Council of Bishops or, in cases stipulated by the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the Synod of Bishops. The election is approved by canonical norms by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. "
July 1, 2016 the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church elected Archimandrite Irenaei (Steenberg) bishop of Sacramento, Vicar of the Western American Diocese. July 6, 2016, His Grace Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York Hilarion addressed to His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill with the request to approve the decision of the Holy Synod.
RESOLVED:
To approve the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on election Archimandrite Irenaei (Steenberg) bishop of Sacramento, Vicar of the Western American Diocese, leaving the place and time of his ordination to the discretion of the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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That is good news. Axios!
ReplyDeleteso.. "self-ruled" ROCOR cannot elect bishops on their own without the acceptance from the HQ?
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Antiochians can nor can the bodies in the US attached to the Greeks (Ukrainians and C-Rs).
Deleteso much for ROCORs claiming they kept their independence and peculiarity after being reintegrated into the MP. they were swallowed without washing down
DeleteUs bodies attached to the Turks (what Greeks) do not have enough bishops to consecrate new themselves without asking anyone for help
Deletethe UOC on the other hand can elect their bishops on their own
There is such a thing as tact and mutual respect among friends; why shouldn't there be among hierarchs?
DeleteA husband 'can' buy a car without asking his wife, but that would be disrespectful, with your reasoning the husband has no rights and the wife is a dictator.
ROCOR could very easily elect a bishop without so much as a memo to the MP, but then what would be the point of the reconciliation they fought so hard to achieve?
We are so quick to judge others harshly while giving ourselves the benefit of every doubt.
If ROCOR is OK, then synod in Moscow can elect people that sell candles for each their parish. My point is there is no "self-ruledness" in that at all.
DeleteROCOR is fully self-contained with two main exceptions: our chrism comes from Moscow, and the Holy Synod of Russia has to ratify our bishops-elect. Since ROCOR is part of the Church of Russia, the Russian synod has to have some degree of authority as to their own membership. If we didn't have to have Russian Synodal approval, then we'd be autocephalous, which we aren't.
DeleteI don't believe they're likely to disapprove any bishops-elect, though.
the UOC is not autocephalous (only sel-ruled) yet it does not need such acceptance
DeleteIt’s all there in the Act of Canonical Communion signed in 2007:
ReplyDelete7. The bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are elected by her Council of Bishops or, in cases foreseen by the Regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, by the Synod of Bishops. Such elections are confirmed in accordance with canonical norms by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Axios!
ReplyDelete