(OCA) - The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, meeting under the presidency of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon via teleconference, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, issued the following communique:
At numerous points in recent years, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has reiterated its commitment to the unity of Orthodox Christians in North America, in fulfillment of the charge given to the Orthodox Church in America in the Tomos of Autocephaly, the witness of the canonical tradition, and the command of the Lord Himself, who wills that His followers be united together in a bond of love as He and His Heavenly Father are.
This Sunday, October 3, prior to the meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops that will begin next week in Washington, DC, the Executive Committee of the Assembly will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington. With one accord, the Holy Synod rejoices that His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy with the heads of the Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States and members of the Executive Committee: His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Christian Archdiocese of North America, His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, and His Grace Bishop Saba of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in North America; together with His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa, Secretary of the Assembly.
The Holy Synod also gives thanks to God and confirms the decision of His Beatitude to accept the invitation from the Moscow Patriarchate to travel with a delegation in November to Moscow, in order to celebrate the seventy-fifth birthday jubilee of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. In doing so, the Holy Synod reaffirms the fundamental relationship between the Orthodox Church in America and the Russian Orthodox Church, and the warm ties that these two Churches share.
The Holy Synod states once again, unequivocally, that it desires and intends to maintain full communion with all the universally recognized autocephalous Orthodox Churches. Further, the Holy Synod exhorts the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America fervently to offer prayers that the unity and communion of Orthodox Christians throughout the world be restored, and that all schisms be resolved according to the canonical tradition and discipline of the Church.
Thursday, September 30, 2021
OCA synod on jurisdictional ties
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Has His Beatitude Met. Tikhon been watching the actions and reading the words of AB Elpidophoros lately?!?
ReplyDeleteProbably not. They just don't learn. Probably just as bad as celebrating with schismatics.
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ReplyDeleteNone of this is surprising. The OCA has been extremely consistent all along, maintaining good relations with everyone. The OCA has also conveniently avoided the controversy surrounding Ukrainian autocephaly, because the EP has no interest in the OCA getting involved, much less recognizing the OCA's autocephaly!
ReplyDeleteWhen you try to be everything to everyone, you accomplish being nothing to anyone.
ReplyDeleteGuess they are taking the “sticking their heads in the sand” approach rather than actually addressing the problem.
I hardly think that choosing not to go into schism but rather advocate for counciliar resolution is a "head in the sand approach".
ReplyDeleteOn one hand the OCA is hardly a stranger to other churches establishing jurisdictions on "its turf" per say, nor is it a stranger to accepting schismatic clergy into its fold. (ie Abshp Lazar Puhalo for example).
I suspect that it has actually quietly turned down requests to co-serve with the new Ukr Hiearchs until the issue is resolved. (especially given current Moscows modus operandi).
I get that some say that the Greek sphere is now "without grace", but the same hiearchs coserved with Jerusalem and Antioch during there spat and breaking of communion over territory, nor did they apply this over Georgia. MP received questionable defrocked ROCOR clergy, and received other schismatic and viganty groups in the MP without baptism just as they accuse EP. Even if MP is in the "right" in Ukraine, dont buy the rhetoric, the MP does not really want a full schism. Only a small very conservative faction that mimic the old calendar split (ie certain ROCOR and conservative MP elements) really fully believe that the Greeks are now not Christian, and Ukraine is the excuse not the primary reason.
I was suprised to learn that ROCOR, through Holy Trinity Publications, was translating and publishing the work of Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos on the Ecclesial Crisis in Ukraine. They were after all in communion with schismatics for many years until their reunion with the Patriarchate of Moscow in 2007 when the schismatics severed communion and they do also interfere in the affairs of other local churches even today so self awareness at least would demand greater reservation when attempting to teach the rest of the Church ecclesiology.
DeleteWhen Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos II commemorated the primate of the UOC, Metropolitan Nikiforos strongly objected and demanded that the matter be examined by the holy synod. Request granted and the Archbishop was ultimately vindicated but Nikiphoros refused to accept the decision of the synod, publishing this book with lightning speed.
In the book, Metropolitan Nikiforos argues that the Church of Cyprus needs to delete article 81 of its charter which grants the right to the Ecumenical Patriarch to hear appeals from Cypriot bishops. The Metropolitan had actually accepted the charter in its entirety in 2010 but once the implications for Ukrainian autocephaly were understood, he changed his mind and no longer wanted the Ecumenical Patriarch to hear appeals. The Moscow propagated narrative suggests that Constantinople has evolved a papalized self understanding of its role within the Church and that its patriarch essentially has no greater authority than a village priest, meanwhile here we have Moscow's main ally in Cyrpus embarassingly having previously formally concurred that the Ecumenical Patriarch has significant privileges that no other bishop has.
The Holy Synod of OCA is right to steer clear of the politics while promoting unity and maintaining communion with all Orthodox Churches. Worthy!
Disagree. The OCA needs to grow a spine and call out the uncanonical Church destroying actions of Constantinople. They are concelebrating with an Archbishop who writes about EP Bartholomew being first without equal as he supports the schism that was created in Ukraine...a schism that continues to fracture the Church. Pitiful.
DeleteI was surprised that Holy Trinity published Metropolitan Nikiforos' book myself. Yes, I bought it and read it. It's a real howler and one of the most transparently ridiculous pieces of trash propaganda ever printed. In my estimation, Holy Trinity Publications has come down a few notches for this, but I still love their other publications.
DeleteOn the contrary...that book is one of the most important and sobering renderings of the situation. This pious Bishop spells out with great clarity, the reasons why no Orthodox jurisdiction should be recognizing the destructive schism created by EP Bartholomew. I thank God for Holy Trinity Publications.
DeleteThat's convenient that you set aside this bishop as pious one. I'll remind you that he delivered a sermon calling covid vaccines "a blessing from God" whereas you call them a "demonic inoculation" that "delusional" bishops promote. You cannot have it both ways.
DeleteWe are all sinners. He is a pious Bishop. I do not set him aside. There are many pious Bishops. He is absolutely right on the horrific schism caused by the EP. He is absolutely wrong IF he called the demonic inoculations "a blessing from God".
DeleteThere ya go Marcele. Feel better now?
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DeleteWe all have our dirty linen,,,however riding the fence has little merit, for what happens when the saw is taken taken to it?
ReplyDeleteEventually hard choices will have to be made. Pray that God's Will be done.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lipper, your seeing the Patriarch Bartholomew as a modern St. Mark of Ephesus is the real howler. How nice that would be if it were true.
ReplyDeleteBoris, we'll see what happens in Moscow come November. It seems Russia's basic ploy is to invite as many heads of Orthodox churches as they can under the pretense of celebrating Patriarch Kirill's 75th birthday. The next day, with all those foreign bishops present, the Church of Russia will have a synaxis of all their bishops that affirms the decisions of their Holy Synod from last month. Oh wait, isn't that an Orthodox Church Council? Well, it's certainly a very underhanded approach to calling a council and one that smells of a Third Rome papacy. Kudos to Patriarch Bartholomew for saying no to Moscow's attempts at a Third Rome.
DeleteAs usual Joseph...your prediction is extraordinarily delusional.
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ReplyDelete"None of that happened, and it played out like a normal EP visit"
ReplyDeleteExcept for him sneaking through back doors and avoiding the throngs of people from the canonical Church who wanted to know why he supports their persecution.
"I don't believe that the Moscow Patriarchate wants a Church schism."
It's too late. Constantinople already caused a massive schism.
"The EP has moved on"
LOL! Yeah. Sort of like a scorched earth policy.
"Any more aggression or division is Moscow's doing."
Wrong again Dave. The aggression continues against the canonical Ukrainian Church as parishes continue to be raided and parishioners are beaten.
"They don't have to set up a parallel structure in Africa"
They'll have to accept those clergy from the Church of Alexandria who cannot, in good conscience, accept the fact that their Patriarch supports schism.
"The man was in a foreign country, with people who are angry with him. You expect him to go out and face a hostile crowd in the open air with no security checks?"
DeleteNonsense. They wanted answers as to why he supports and instigates their persecution.
"Asserting "schism" doesn't necessarily make it true."
Um...invading the territory of another canonical Church and normalizing a bunch of schismatics (the same people that he had already agreed were outside the Church on numerous occasions)...and them making them the "real" Ukrainian Orthodox Church...I think that qualifies as a schism.
"It is only the Moscow Patriarchate that has removed itself from the process."
Pay attention. These things take time. Others will follow as the EP continues its descent into apostasy.
"Scorched earth? Not really."
Yes. Really. He set in motion a schismatic nationalist group which raids canonical Churches and beats their parishioners...then he walks away and says its all in your hands now. Scorched earth.
"I can't believe the MP news machine on this stuff."
It pales in comparison to the EP propaganda machine.
Hey Dave, I have some prime real estate in the Everglades to sell you.
"You can disagree, of course, as is your right."
DeleteOf course I disagree. And I believe that the EP should be deposed for what he did. I have seen your tired old arguments many times...apples and oranges. But in the end, I believe none of this will matter because I think the EP will unite with Rome...then all the Churches will have a choice to make. The grey areas will be gone.
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Delete"unless Moscow also decides to break from the rest of the church like Rome did in 1054, which is unlikely"
ReplyDeleteYes...very unlikely...because it is Constantinople that will break away.
Mikail, seriously, what are you going to do when the other autocephalous churches get tired of bowing down to Moscow? There are now four autocephalous churches that recognize Ukrainian autocephaly. More will undoubtedly follow, especially if Moscow opens up shop in Africa. It's just Moscow that's making the threats, and the other autocephalous church will soon get tired of this.
DeleteYou don't understand, Joseph. The other autocephalous churches are going to support Moscow.
DeleteI wonder if the two gents above can read or speak Ukrainian. I can and Russian too, though English is my first language. The MP was corrupt when it was controlled by the Soviets, and those of us in the free world were right not submitting to them then. And the MP was wrong to seize Ukrainian Catholic parishes, but again, they were controlled by the Soviets. But the union with Rome was imposed by misrepresentation and force. The Roman Catholic Poles created the unia; it came back to bite them in the rear when so many Ukrainian Catholics sided with the Nazis against the Poles. Ask a Pole, don't take my word for it.
ReplyDeleteWhere was the EP when the Soviets starved some eight million Ukrainians to death in the home made famine of 1933? Where was the concern for Ukraine then? Where was the "first above equals" when the bitter divisions tore apart Orthodox Serbs in the diaspora starting in the 1960's and lasting almost thirty years? Why was a church dominated by Soviets ok, but a revived Russian church is a threat? Perhaps Rome and Constantinople need to realize that they aren't dealing with illiterate peasants anymore. I am sure you all will spin all this out to show the EP as defender of the faith. As I said before, if only this were true.
BorisJojicj, the recent visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine was at the invitation of Vladimir Zelensky, its democratically elected President. How can I argue against that? The Orthodox Church has usually viewed herself as the servant of the state, as St. Paul exhorted in his Epistle to the Romans. So it's the fact of Ukrainian national independence (now 30 years old) that gave reason for the EP to even consider revoking the 1686 tomos that previously had delegated ecclesial authority to Moscow. This was not even a considered possibility before, especially when Ukraine was still part of Russian sovereignty.
DeleteThe ecclesial dispute over Ukraine's jurisdiction is now only 30 years old. Yes, there are still many Ukrainians who would prefer Ukraine be part of Russian territory, and there are still many Ukrainians who would prefer to remain in the Moscow Patriarchate. That's fine. Yet those Ukrainians who prefer to be in an independent Ukrainian church shouldn't be denied, especially since Ukraine has recognized national independence.
By the way, I'm glad to hear that you can read all the Russian spin in its original language.
I've sometimes wondered how the Ukraine divide will settle out in, say, 50 years, if none of the schisms we like to talk about happen (may God prevent a real schism). I can imagine that Ukraine will settle gradually into a two-jurisdiction reality, consistent with how Orthodoxy now works over much of the world, whatever we think about that. Multi-jurisdictional arrangements feel like a mess, but they seem to be the emerging reality, and even those who speak most strongly about the importance of territorial bishops are OK with setting up ethnic eparchies etc. as suits their pastoral concerns.
DeleteWell stated Palomnik. The breakup of this Eastern Orthodox church started out slow, a 1000 year momentum where both Moscow and the Greeks still believed in double eagle Orthodoxy (fore example the 'Holy mount' where it figures prominently to this day and they still recon time as the Romans did). During this time Orthodoxy believed, and partly lived, a "conciliar" ecclesiology - one that in fact however relied on Empire in as the cultural ground to give it reality. Geographic, political, and cultural isolation/circumstances insulated various Orthodox Churches (Arab,Greek, Slav) from the cultural, political, and religious revolutions that so deeply effected the western church.
DeleteThings have changed rapidly, even drastically for the Orthodox in last 100 years or so. The cultureal and political isolation is gone, and the double edge sword of (Orthodox) immigration to the modern west and the modern west's cultural being imposed upon the formally isolated east is revealing the fiction of our ecclesiology being "concilior" in any real sense. This brings out a contradiction, in that despite our explicit understanding that phyletism is false to the Gospel and our own Tradition, in reality (i.e. "ontologically") Orthodoxy is now fundamentally phyletistic (i.e. "jurisdictional"), mostly because that is what it actually has been for a 1000 years and all it can be in its current existential situation given its ecclesiastical momentum and commitments. Yet, most Orthodoxy are in denial about this on some level.
So I agree with you that all this is "the emerging reality", but I also assert that it is obvious that it has been emergent for a long long time...