People have emailed asking if he went through the normal release process. No. If ROCOR considers the entire Ecumenical Patriarchate to be in schism, then what good is a canonical release from a non-canonical Church?
This story started making the rounds in Russian, then in Ukrainian, then in English. I expect it to be passed around for some days to come.
(ROCOR) - Priest Mark Tyson, Rector of Holy Dormition Church in Bluefield, WV, transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, as reported by Interfax. He writes that he celebrated his last Divine Liturgy in his former church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate, and “will no longer commemorate Patriarch Bartholomew.”
“My conscience will not allow me to stay… I decided simply but firmly to ‘walk away’ and unite in communion with the suffering Ukrainian Church, which was marginalized by the puzzling actions of Patriarch Bartholomew… A few days ago, the Patriarch, whom I devotedly and prayerfully honored over more than two decades, took the unprecedented step towards restoring the canonical status of a troublesome band of defrocked and discredited [former] clergymen in Ukraine,” wrote the clergyman to his ruling bishop.
The priest emphasized that “the amoral and uncanonical actions of Patriarch Bartholomew in Ukraine has enabled violence towards the canonical Church.” In Fr Mark’s opinion, the conflict is growing.
“Before our very eyes, an ecclesiastical civil war is developing… and our Patriarch gave his official approval. The new and independent ‘church’ he created consists of idolaters. They worship not the Holy Trinity, but a false God called ‘free Ukraine,’” he writes.
The Constantinople Patriarchate declared its intention to unilaterally grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and appointed its own exarchs. As a result, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed its decisive protest against these actions and adopted a decision to cease concelebration with hierarchs of the Constantinople Patriarchate. An analogous decision was made by the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia called upon the primates of the Churches to a pan-Orthodox discussion of the situation in Ukraine. The unilateral and uncanonical actions of Constantinople have been condemned by almost all the heads of the Local Churches.
On October 11, 2018, the Synod of the CP adopted the decision to rescind the anathema of the heads of two uncanonical churches in Ukraine—Philaret of the “Kiev Patriarchate” and Makary of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church, and expressed its desire to return the Kievan Metropoliate to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, negating the “legal obligation of the Synodal letter of 1686, which granted the Moscow Patriarch the right to appoint the metropolitan of Kiev.”
The Synod of the ROC then adopted the decision to break Eucharistic communion with the Constantinople Patriarchate. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia supported the decision of the ROC on the Ukraine and Constantinople matter.
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The Greeks burned all the bridges years ago. They are self serving and their actions in this debacle are unacceptable. When will the Greeks grant autocephaly to the Macedonians?
ReplyDeleteYes he sidestepped the awkward issue.
DeleteAn impulsive and foolish act indicative of a mind more occupied with fantasies than with family and parish. And as long as other churches are in communion with both the MP and EP, the assertion that the EP is schismatic leads like a falling row of dominoes back to the MP itself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your general point- the MP's "abolition" of Georgian autocephaly in the 19th century is far more outrageous than what the EP is doing- but it's a bit of a stretch to claim that Korea and Indonesia are EP territory.
ReplyDeleteA brave, truth-loving man, may god bless him and his ministry
ReplyDeleteHe admits in the interview that Russian missionaries were the first to arrive in Korea. There is no basis for asserting that it is EP territory.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian mission in Korea had ceased to be following the expulsion of the Russian Orthodox priest by the Korean authorities. This followed the actual physical expulsion of the priest from the church by his own Korean flock after he raised the Soviet flag within the temple. There were also complaints that he allegedly neglected them in favour of the Russian parishioners. It’s an ugly story that Metropolitan Ambrosios kindly and wisely left out.
ReplyDeleteSo the Orthodox mission in Korea was dead until several decades later when missionaries from the EP arrived at the request of the Koreans. On the basis of St. Paul’s example of not building on the foundation of another, the Metropolitan’s assert is correct.
A number of inconsistencies in the position if the Moscow Patriarchate were pointed out in a precious discussion. But the most troubling one of all for me is the claim that the schismatic Ukrainians are graceless. On the one hand, the Basic Principles of the Russian Church document (1.17) states: “the Orthodox Church does not assess the extent to which grace-filled life has either been preserved intact or distorted in a non-Orthodox confession, considering this to be a mystery of God’s providence and judgment” while on the other they tell us that our Ukrainian Orthodox brothers who are cut off from the MP due to political circumstances and now the Ecumenical Patriarch (and perhaps even every member of the EP) are graceless. The position of the MP is based on political concerns rather than spiritual realities.
ReplyDeleteIt says "priests" in title, but it's only been one so far, correct?
ReplyDeleteTypo.
DeletePerhaps we should all remember his beatitude Metropolitan Onufrey in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteFilaret is a married man,hence he violated his monastic vows. I did not condemn him. He condemned himself. Deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI never said he WASN'T a child of God. I hope he does repent. Perhaps you heard about the deacon that St. Basil the Great deposed for fornication. The deacon eventually was able to work miracles. When he pointed this out to St. Basil, the saint replied, "That is between you and God. But I cannot allow you to serve because you have scandalized the faithful.
ReplyDeleteThe former Metropolitan is the one who caused scandal. Your Patriarch is neither a Tsar nor a Pope that he can overturn a Synod of Bishops who defrocked the ex-Metropolitan.
Why on earth did Constantinople receive Byzantine Catholic clergy as priests or deacons, yet they had to re-ordain and re-consecrated bishops who came over from the Old Calendarists?
I happen to be a Monarchist for all Orthodox countries, Ukraine, Serbia, Russia,etc. I'm not all that fond of Russia's President, nor am I anti-Ukrainian. But it is Filaret who injected politics into the situation. He was passed over for Patriarch of Moscow. He probably would be Putin's best friend if he had been chosen.