OrthodoxWiki - User contributions [en]

Monastery of the Glorious Ascension (Resaca, Georgia)

2010-11-02T02:24:09Z

Aleks:

{{monastery|
name=Holy Monastery of the Glorious Ascension|
jurisdiction=[[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in North and South America|Jerusalem]]|
type=Male monastery|
founded=1977|
superior=[[Archimandrite]] Nazarios|
size=2 [[monk]]s, 1 [[novice]]|
hq=Resaca, Georgia|
language=English, Arabic|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar]]|
feasts=[[Ascension]]|
website=[http://www.monastery.org/ Official site]
}}
The '''Monastery of the Glorious Ascension (Resaca, Georgia)''' is a [[cenobitic]] [[monastery]] under the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in North and South America]].

The monastery, popularly known as ''Ascension Monastery'', is located in Resaca, Georgia, about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta along I-75, near Dalton. The monastery was founded in 1966 and was received into the [[Orthodox Church in America]] in August 1977. In 1980, the Brotherhood moved from Mississippi to Resaca, Georgia. After 20 years in the OCA, the Brotherhood entered the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR).

In 2003, after receiving a canonical release from Metropolitan Laurus of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR), the Ascension Monastery was received into the Patriarchate of Jerusalem from the [[ROCOR]] and made part of the [[Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre]], which is the Brotherhood from the Monastery of Mar Sabbas in the Judean Desert that is responsible for maintaining and protecting the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)|Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] and other holy sites and shrines in the [[Holy Land]].

The superior of the monastery is [[Archimandrite]] Nazarios (since 2005).

On [[December 31]], 2005, Hieromonk Nazarios was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and was installed as superior of the monastery by His Eminence [[Archbishop]] [[Damaskinos of Jaffa]], Epitropos of the Holy Sepulcher in America.

Following the dissolution of the parishes of the Jerusalem Patriarchate in North America and the establishment of the [[Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA]], the monastery was once again received into the [[ROCOR]] in October of 2010[http://picasaweb.google.com/104287538655252417112/BeingReceivedIntoROCOR#].

==External links==
*[http://www.monastery.org/ Monastery website]
*[http://www.monasteryproducts.org/ Commercial site]

[[Category:American Monasteries|Glorious]]
[[Category:Monasteries|Glorious]]

Talk:Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-12T07:53:57Z

Aleks: /* "Slap-Editing" */

=="Slap-Editing"==

While this was probably an honest error because it was listed improperly and generically under "jurisdictions" (which is my fault), I must again plead that if Old Calendarist and traditionalist jurisdictions are not regarded as "vagante" so we should do our best to fix pages, but not change the claims of this or that jurisdiction within that "Old Calendarist" subsection.

Applying "soi-disant" on a page for a jurisdiction itself (or worse, the term "vagante") is not educational and of little use.--[[User:JosephSuaiden|JosephSuaiden]] 15:04, December 10, 2008 (UTC)

This is not "Slap-Editing". First of all, the "episcopal" titles that you have listed are incorrect, and I attempted to fix them. Second of all, we have something called "Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias." We should provide our readers with accurate information from the point-of-view of MCB.
Now, an episcopus vagans is defined as a "person who has been consecrated as a Christian bishop outside the structures and canon law of the established churches and is in communion with no generally recognized diocese. Also included are those who have in communion with them a group so small that it appears to exist solely for the alleged bishop's sake." The Sekachev branch of the Russian Catacomb Church 1. consecrated bishops outside the structures and canon law; 2. is not in communion with any generally recognized diocese; and 3. has such a small membership that it appears to exist solely for the bishops' sake. Thus, it meets the qualifications of episcopi vagantes.
As far as the other "bishop" of the PSCA, it is a convention (also in the RTOC article) to list the ranks of their "bishops" at the time of their suspension by a Mainstream body. If the individual was defrocked, then we should list their secular name, as they have lost any priestly or monastic rank. If the individual unilaterally asserts an additional title, we list that title as "soi-disant" -- self-asserting.

If we are going to cover schismatic entities on OrthodoxWiki then we should give accurate information about them to our readership. If I declare myself as the Metropolitan of St Petersburg tomorrow, that does not entitle me to be listed on OrthodoxWiki as the Metropolitan of St Petersburg. I can, though, be listed as Aleks Andreev, soi-disant Metropolitan of St Petersburg. --[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 13:34, December 11, 2008 (UTC)

: Bodies such as this have been traditionally treated differently on OrthodoxWiki than those who have no historical connection to the mainstream Orthodox Church. That is the key distinction. A bishop does not instantly become an ''episcopus vagans'' by virtue of a breach in communion that is not even two years old. (See: [[Independent Orthodox churches]].) Old Calendarist groups have always been treated differently on OW than ''episcopi vagantes''. Conflating them to be the same thing is a disservice both to them all readers.

: Even with bodies that have either no historical connection to Orthodoxy or a long-broken one, we do not treat them as you suggest here, Aleks. (For instance, we do not call the current Pope of Rome simply ''Joseph Ratzinger''.) Remember that we are writing an encyclopedia, not a polemic. It is enough to state simply in the article that the body or person in question is not recognized by the mainstream Orthodox Church.

: This standing tradition on OW (not quite a policy as such) is probably worth codifying into an actual policy page as part of the [[OW:SM]]. I'll put that on my to-do list. —[[User:ASDamick|<font size="3.5" color="green" face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">Fr. Andrew</font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <small>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]] <font face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">('''[[User:ASDamick/Wiki-philosophy|THINK!]]''')</font></small> 15:04, December 11, 2008 (UTC)

:: I am not calling ''episcopus vagans'' Bishop Agafangel of the ROCOR-PSCA. I am calling the two bishops of the Sekachev movement vagantes. They do not appear to have any historical connection to mainstream Orthodoxy or any legitimate claims to Apostolic succession.

:: At the same time, I think we ought to indicate the title of the individual in question when he was suspended or deposed. There is a difference between the Pope of Rome and Bishop Agafangel. No one in the Orthodox Church suspended or deposed the Pope. Bishop Agafangel is a suspended bishop who then unilaterally accepted the title of Metropolitan. I agree that a clear policy should be codified in the [[OW:SM]].--[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 07:53, December 12, 2008 (UTC)

Talk:Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-11T13:45:15Z

Aleks: /* "Slap-Editing" */

Talk:Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-11T13:34:30Z

Aleks:

Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-10T08:23:40Z

Aleks: /* History */

The ROCOR-PSCA (Provisional Supreme Church Authority) is a body composed of parishes of the ROCOR who refused to enter into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in May of 2007. Like the ROCOR before the union, they have maintained communion with the Synod in Resistance under Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and their sister Churches. The current head of the jurisdiction is Metropolitan [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa]].

==History==

By mid-2006, a number of ROCOR parishes had made clear that they wanted no part of administrative union with the Moscow Patriarchate, retaining the status quo as it had been for most of ROCOR's existence. When it became clear that the union had de facto occurred, various Bishops were consulted for what should be done in such a case.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. There were claims that Bishop Daniel had been placed under a form of house arrest on some internet journals[http://elmager.livejournal.com/56905.html].

In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and thus would have no part of union.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], with whom ROCOR was in communion until their impending union with Moscow was accepted fact, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Abbot Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York and
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) as Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

On September 4, 2008, the PSCA received "into its communion" two [[episcopi vagantes]] from the [[Russian Catacomb Movement (Sekachev faction)|Seraphimo-Gennadian (Sekachev) branch of the Russian Catacomb Church]]. On November 19, 2008, the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, called what it termed the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, in reference to the Four All-Diaspora Council of the [[ROCOR]], which overwhelmingly supported reconcilliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Among other decisions, the council elevated Bishop Agafangel to the rank of [[Metropolitan]].

==Dioceses==

The current structure of the ROCOR-PSCA is as follows:

*Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky), ''soi-disant'' Metropolitan of Odessa and Tauria, First-Hierarch of the ROCOR-PSCA
*Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of Ottawa and Eastern America
*Hieromonk Sophroniy (Musienko), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of St Petersburg and Northern Russia
*John Zaitsev, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Buinsk and the Volga
*Afanasy Savitsky, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Vologoda and Velikiy Ustiug
*Abbot George (Kravchenko), ''soi-disant'' Bishop of Bolhrad
*Archpriest Igor Hrebinka, ''soi-disant'' Bishop Joseph of Washington

==External Links==

[[http://www.ruschurchabroad.com Official Site]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-10T08:19:57Z

Aleks: /* History */

The ROCOR-PSCA (Provisional Supreme Church Authority) is a body composed of parishes of the ROCOR who refused to enter into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in May of 2007. Like the ROCOR before the union, they have maintained communion with the Synod in Resistance under Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and their sister Churches. The current head of the jurisdiction is Metropolitan [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa]].

==History==

By mid-2006, a number of ROCOR parishes had made clear that they wanted no part of administrative union with the Moscow Patriarchate, retaining the status quo as it had been for most of ROCOR's existence. When it became clear that the union had de facto occurred, various Bishops were consulted for what should be done in such a case.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. There were claims that Bishop Daniel had been placed under a form of house arrest on some internet journals[http://elmager.livejournal.com/56905.html].

In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and thus would have no part of union.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], with whom ROCOR was in communion until their impending union with Moscow was accepted fact, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Abbot Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York and
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) as Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

On September 4, 2008, the PSCA received "into its communion" two [[episcopi vagantes]] from the Seraphimo-Gennadian (Sekachev) branch of the Russian Catacomb Church. On November 19, 2008, the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, called what it termed the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, in reference to the Four All-Diaspora Council of the [[ROCOR]], which overwhelmingly supported reconcilliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Among other decisions, the council elevated Bishop Agafangel to the rank of [[Metropolitan]].

==Dioceses==

The current structure of the ROCOR-PSCA is as follows:

*Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky), ''soi-disant'' Metropolitan of Odessa and Tauria, First-Hierarch of the ROCOR-PSCA
*Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of Ottawa and Eastern America
*Hieromonk Sophroniy (Musienko), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of St Petersburg and Northern Russia
*John Zaitsev, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Buinsk and the Volga
*Afanasy Savitsky, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Vologoda and Velikiy Ustiug
*Abbot George (Kravchenko), ''soi-disant'' Bishop of Bolhrad
*Archpriest Igor Hrebinka, ''soi-disant'' Bishop Joseph of Washington

==External Links==

[[http://www.ruschurchabroad.com Official Site]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-10T08:17:21Z

Aleks: /* Dioceses */ added episcopal titles, to correspond with MCB

The ROCOR-PSCA (Provisional Supreme Church Authority) is a body composed of parishes of the ROCOR who refused to enter into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in May of 2007. Like the ROCOR before the union, they have maintained communion with the Synod in Resistance under Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and their sister Churches. The current head of the jurisdiction is Metropolitan [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa]].

==History==

By mid-2006, a number of ROCOR parishes had made clear that they wanted no part of administrative union with the Moscow Patriarchate, retaining the status quo as it had been for most of ROCOR's existence. When it became clear that the union had de facto occurred, various Bishops were consulted for what should be done in such a case.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. There were claims that Bishop Daniel had been placed under a form of house arrest on some internet journals[http://elmager.livejournal.com/56905.html].

In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and thus would have no part of union.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], with whom ROCOR was in communion until their impending union with Moscow was accepted fact, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Abbot Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York and
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) as Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

On November 19, 2008, the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, called what it termed the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, in reference to the Four All-Diaspora Council of the [[ROCOR]], which overwhelmingly supported reconcilliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Among other decisions, the council elevated Bishop Agafangel to the rank of [[Metropolitan]].

==Dioceses==

The current structure of the ROCOR-PSCA is as follows:

*Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky), ''soi-disant'' Metropolitan of Odessa and Tauria, First-Hierarch of the ROCOR-PSCA
*Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of Ottawa and Eastern America
*Hieromonk Sophroniy (Musienko), ''soi-disant'' Archbishop of St Petersburg and Northern Russia
*John Zaitsev, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Buinsk and the Volga
*Afanasy Savitsky, ''Episcopus vagans'' of Vologoda and Velikiy Ustiug
*Abbot George (Kravchenko), ''soi-disant'' Bishop of Bolhrad
*Archpriest Igor Hrebinka, ''soi-disant'' Bishop Joseph of Washington

==External Links==

[[http://www.ruschurchabroad.com Official Site]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Russian Orthodox Church Abroad - Provisional Supreme Church Authority

2008-12-10T08:07:25Z

Aleks: /* History */ add info on fifth adc

The ROCOR-PSCA (Provisional Supreme Church Authority) is a body composed of parishes of the ROCOR who refused to enter into communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in May of 2007. Like the ROCOR before the union, they have maintained communion with the Synod in Resistance under Metropolitan Cyprian of Fili and their sister Churches. The current head of the jurisdiction is Metropolitan [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa]].

==History==

By mid-2006, a number of ROCOR parishes had made clear that they wanted no part of administrative union with the Moscow Patriarchate, retaining the status quo as it had been for most of ROCOR's existence. When it became clear that the union had de facto occurred, various Bishops were consulted for what should be done in such a case.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. There were claims that Bishop Daniel had been placed under a form of house arrest on some internet journals[http://elmager.livejournal.com/56905.html].

In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and thus would have no part of union.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], with whom ROCOR was in communion until their impending union with Moscow was accepted fact, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Abbot Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York and
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) as Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

On November 19, 2008, the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, called what it termed the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, in reference to the Four All-Diaspora Council of the [[ROCOR]], which overwhelmingly supported reconcilliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Among other decisions, the council elevated Bishop Agafangel to the rank of [[Metropolitan]].

==Dioceses==

The current structure of the ROCOR-PSCA is as follows:

*Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Tavrich, First-Hierarch of the ROCOR-PSCA
*Bishop Andronik of Ottawa and Eastern America
*Bishop Sophroniy of St Petersburg and West Russia
*Bishop Ioann of Buin
*Bishop Afanasy of Vologod
*Bishop George of Bolgrad

==External Links==

[[http://www.ruschurchabroad.com Official Site]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

George (Schaefer) of Mayfield

2008-12-09T06:14:02Z

Aleks: /* Links */

His Grace '''Schemabishop George (Schaefer)''' is [[Bishop]] of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, vicar of the Eastern-American diocese of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

== Life ==
The future bishop George was born on [[May 25]], 1950, in Belleville, Illinois. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1968 and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972. In 1974 he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarios in honor of Saint Makarios the Great. He joined the Russian Church Abroad in San Francisco in May 1975 and entered [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in September 1975.

On Christmas, [[January 7]], 1975, Makarios was made a novice by Archbishop [[Averkiy (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averkiy (Taushev)]]. As a novice his obediences in the [[monastery]] were working in the farm and cemetery. After a few years in the monastery he was made a riassophor [[monk]] on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979 and [[tonsure]]d to the small schema on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. He was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[subdeacon]] on Palm Sunday of the same year. In 1980 he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary .

Fr Mitrophan was sent to [[Mount Athos]] by [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus]] in June of 1981. He was tonsured to the great schema by [[Hieromonk]] Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mt. Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986, Fr George returned to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] and started working on the Printshop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 1998. He assumed editorial duties on Orthodox Life in 1992, which he fulfills to this day.

Fr George was ordained a [[hierodeacon]] on the feast of St. Michael, 1986 and a hieromonk on Palm Sunday, 1987. In September 1998 he was elevated to the rank of [[hegumen]] and [[archimandrite]] on Labor Day, 2005.

In 1994 he was appointed as economos Holy Trinity Monastery and made dean of Holy Trinity Monastery in 2007. He is the author of several articles and translations published in Orthodox Life. Translated several sayings of the Optina Elders published in the book “Living Without Hypocrisy”, published by HTM Press in 2006. He also served as confessor and spiritual father of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia, the largest English-language monastery of the ROCOR.

In May 2008, the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The [[Holy Synod]] of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in June 2008. On [[December 7]], 2008, Archimandrite George was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] to the episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel of Montreal and Canada]], Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter of Cleveland]] and Bishop [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|John of Caracas]]. Bishop George's place of residence is at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia.

== Links ==
* [http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_2.html Biography of Bishop George]
* [http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_1.html Archimandrite George's Speech at his nomination as bishop of Mayfield]

[[Category:Bishops|George]]

George (Schaefer) of Mayfield

2008-12-09T06:13:16Z

Aleks:

His Grace '''Schemabishop George (Schaefer)''' is [[Bishop]] of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, vicar of the Eastern-American diocese of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

== Life ==
The future bishop George was born on [[May 25]], 1950, in Belleville, Illinois. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1968 and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972. In 1974 he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarios in honor of Saint Makarios the Great. He joined the Russian Church Abroad in San Francisco in May 1975 and entered [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in September 1975.

On Christmas, [[January 7]], 1975, Makarios was made a novice by Archbishop [[Averkiy (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averkiy (Taushev)]]. As a novice his obediences in the [[monastery]] were working in the farm and cemetery. After a few years in the monastery he was made a riassophor [[monk]] on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979 and [[tonsure]]d to the small schema on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. He was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[subdeacon]] on Palm Sunday of the same year. In 1980 he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary .

Fr Mitrophan was sent to [[Mount Athos]] by [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus]] in June of 1981. He was tonsured to the great schema by [[Hieromonk]] Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mt. Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986, Fr George returned to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] and started working on the Printshop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 1998. He assumed editorial duties on Orthodox Life in 1992, which he fulfills to this day.

Fr George was ordained a [[hierodeacon]] on the feast of St. Michael, 1986 and a hieromonk on Palm Sunday, 1987. In September 1998 he was elevated to the rank of [[hegumen]] and [[archimandrite]] on Labor Day, 2005.

In 1994 he was appointed as economos Holy Trinity Monastery and made dean of Holy Trinity Monastery in 2007. He is the author of several articles and translations published in Orthodox Life. Translated several sayings of the Optina Elders published in the book “Living Without Hypocrisy”, published by HTM Press in 2006. He also served as confessor and spiritual father of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia, the largest English-language monastery of the ROCOR.

In May 2008, the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The [[Holy Synod]] of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in June 2008. On [[December 7]], 2008, Archimandrite George was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] to the episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel of Montreal and Canada]], Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter of Cleveland]] and Bishop [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|John of Caracas]]. Bishop George's place of residence is at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia.

== Links ==
[http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_2.html Biography of Bishop George]
[http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_1.html Archimandrite George's Speech at his nomination as bishop of Mayfield]

[[Category:Bishops|George]]

Church of Russia

2008-12-08T14:13:09Z

Aleks: sp

{{church|
name=Patriarchate of Moscow[[Image:Russia logo.gif|center|Church of Russia]]|
founder=[[Apostle Andrew]], St. [[Vladimir of Kiev]]|
independence= 1448 |
recognition= 1589 by [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]] |
primate=[[Kyrill (Gundyaev) of Smolensk|Metropolitan Kyrill]], ''Locum Tenens''|
hq=Moscow, Russia|
territory=Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, some former Soviet republics|
possessions=United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Western Europe, China|
language=[[Church Slavonic]]|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=90,000,000[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17]|
website=[http://www.mospat.ru/ Church of Russia]
}}
The '''Church of Russia''', also referred to as the '''Moscow Patriarchate''', is one of the [[autocephalous]] Orthodox churches, ranking fifth after [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]], and [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]. It exercises [[jurisdiction]] over Orthodox Christians in Russia and the surrounding Slavic lands as well as [[exarchate]]s and patriarchal representation churches around the world. It also exercises jurisdiction over the autonomous [[Church of Japan]] and Orthodox Christians in China. The most recent Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was His Holiness [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] until his death in 2008.

==Jurisdiction==
According to the statutes of the Russian Orthodox Church, its jurisdiction includes persons of Orthodox confession living on the [[canonical territory]] of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, and also Orthodox Christians living in other countries who voluntarily join the jurisdiction.

This includes these self-governing churches:
*The [[Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)|Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]]
*The [[Latvian Orthodox Church]]
*The [[Moldovan Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church of Moldova]]
*The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]
*The [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]]

The self-governing churches receive their [[chrism]] from the Patriarch of Moscow and exercise their activities on the basis of patriarchal [[tomos]]. This claim of jurisdiction is disputed by other Orthodox churches in a number of cases (particularly in Estonia and Moldova, as well as in the [[diaspora]]; there are also major schismatic elements in Ukraine that want an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Ukrainian church), due mainly to the changing shape of the boundaries of Russia. The canonical territory of the Russian church is not clearly defined—the 1593 Council of Constantinople which confirmed its [[autocephaly]] defined it as the territory of "Moscow, Russia, and all the Northern Lands."

==History==
{{cleanup}}
According to tradition, St. [[Apostle Andrew|Andrew]] the First-Called, while preaching the [[gospel]], stopped at the Kievan hills to bless the future city of Kiev. But it was [[Photius the Great|Photius]], Patriarch of Constantinople (858-861‚ 878-886), who first initiated missionary work on a large scale among these Slavs.

===[[Conversion]] of the Slavs===
The Kievan-Rus' empire (present day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia) was blessed with the work of Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]] [[Equal-to-the-Apostles]], the [[Illuminator]]s of the Slavs. Although their work was around 863 in Moravia (roughly equivalent to the modern [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia|Slovakia]]), the benefit was to all the Slavic lands (particularly [[Church of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Church of Serbia|Serbia]], Ukraine, Belarus' and Russia).

===The Kiev period (988-1237)===
Cyril and Methodius not only brought Christianity in a common language, they brought Byzantium. The Slavs received a fully articulated system of Christian doctrine and a fully developed Christian civilization. The age of the [[Ecumenical Councils|Seven Councils]] was complete and the doctrines of the [[Trinity]] and the [[Incarnation]] had already been worked out. Because people were preached to in their own tongue, and of taking services in Slavonic, they truly could make Christianity their own.

Around 864 Patriarch Photius sent a bishop to Kiev(capital of present day Ukraine), but this was stopped by Oleg, who assumed power at Kiev (the chief Rus' city at this time) in 878. Christian ideas from Byzantium, Bulgaria, and Scandinavia, still came into Kievan-Rus'.

In 954 Princess [[Olga of Kiev|Ol'ha (Olga) of Kiev]] was baptized. This paved the way for what is called the greatest events in the history of the Ukarainian and Russian church, the baptism of [[Vladimir of Kiev]] and the [[Baptism of Rus']] in 988. Olga's grandson Vladimir (reigned 980-1015) was converted to Christianity and married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor. Orthodoxy became the State religion of Rus', and eventually Russia until 1917. (Rus' was not completely converted to Christianity at this time, and the Church was at first restricted mainly to the cities, while much of the countryside remained pagan until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.)

The 10th and 11th centuries majestic churches and monasteries were built. St. [[Anthony of the Caves]] brought the traditions of [[Mount Athos|Athonite]] monasticism to Rus' (present day Ukraine) in 1051.

The Orthodox Church during the Kievan period was subject to Constantinople, and until 1237 the Metropolitans of Rus' were usually Greek. The Rus' Church continues to sing in Greek the solemn greeting to a bishop, ''eis polla eti, despota'' ("Many years to you, Master"), in memory of the days when the metropolitan came from Constantinople. Most of the rest of the bishops were native Ukrainians or Russians.

===Mongol Tartars over Russia (1237-1448) ===
In the 12th century, the period of feudal divisions, the Kievan-Rus' Church (present day Ukraine) remained the only bearer of the idea of unity of the people, resisting the centrifugal aspirations and feudal strife among Rus' princes. Even the Tartar invasion, this greatest ever misfortune that struck Rus' in the 13th century, failed to break the Orthodox Church. The Church managed to survive as a real force and was the comforter of the people in their plight. It made a great spiritual, material and moral contribution to the restoration of the political unity of Russia as a guarantee of its future victory over the invaders.

Also, at this same time, the Grand Duke Alexander of Novgorod, won a great victory on the banks of the Neva' over the Swedes, who had been incited by the Pope to conquer Russia for the Latin Church.

The Russia which emerged from the Mongol period was a Russia greatly changed in outward appearance. Kiev never recovered from the sack of Batu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, in 1240, and its place was taken in the fourteenth century by the Principality of Moscow. It was the Grand Dukes of Moscow who inspired the resistance to the Mongols and who led Russia at Kulikovo. The rise of Moscow was closely bound up with the Church. When the town was still small and comparatively unimportant, [[Peter of Moscow|Peter]], Metropolitan of Russia from 1308 to 1326, decided to settle there; and henceforward it remained the city of the chief hierarch of Russia.

(This period in the history of the Russian Church included [[Alexander Nevsky]] and [[Sergius of Radonezh]], both saints.)

[[Image:Rublev Trinity.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Hospitality of Abraham]]]]Russian principalities began to unite around Moscow in the 14th century. The Russian Orthodox Church continued to play an important role in the revival of unified Russia. Outstanding Russian bishops acted as spiritual guides and assistants to the Princes of Moscow. St. Metropolitan [[Alexis of Moscow|Alexis]] (1354-1378) educated Prince Dimitry Donskoy. He, just as St. Metropolitan Jonas (1448-1471) later, by the power of his authority helped the Prince of Moscow to put an end to the feudal discords and preserve the unity of the state. St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]], a great ascetic of the Russian Church, gave his blessing to Prince Dimitry Donskoy to fight the Kulikovo Battle which made the beginning of the liberation of Russia from the invaders.

During these years, Russian painters indigenized the iconographic traditions which they had received from the Eastern Christian Empire. Icon painting flourished above all among the spiritual children of Saint Sergius. One of the finest of all Orthodox icons, from the artistic point of view, the Holy Trinity Icon, by Saint [[Andrei Rublev]] (1370?-1430?) is from this period.

===Autocephalous Russian Church===
Liberating itself from the invaders, the Russian state gathered strength and so did the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Church became independent from the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. Metropolitan Jonas, installed by the Council of Russian bishops in 1448, was given the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.

The Russian Church thus gained its independence, more by chance than from any deliberate design. Hitherto the Patriarch of Constantinople had appointed the head of the Russian Church, the Metropolitan. At the [[Council of Florence]] the Metropolitan was a Greek, Isidore. A leading supporter of the union with Rome, Isidore returned to Moscow in 1441 and proclaimed the decrees of Florence, but he met with no support from the Russians. He was imprisoned by the Grand Duke, but after a time was allowed to escape, and went back to Italy. The chief [[see]] was thus left vacant; but the Russians could not ask the Patriarch for a new Metropolitan, because until 1453 the official Church at Constantinople continued to accept the Florentine Union. Reluctant to take action on their own, the Russians delayed for several years. Eventually in 1448 a council of Russian bishops proceeded to elect a Metropolitan without further reference to Constantinople. After 1453, when the Florentine Union was abandoned at Constantinople, communion between the Patriarchate and Russia was restored, but Russia continued to appoint its own chief hierarch. Henceforward the Russian Church was self-governing, but its autocephaly was not ratified by the rest of the Church until 1589.

After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, there was only one nation that saw itself as capable of assuming leadership in Eastern Christendom. The growing might of the Russian state also contributed to the growing authority of the autocephalous Russian Church. To the Russian people, it was a sign from God, that at the very moment when the Byzantine Empire was ending, they themselves were throwing off the few remaining vestiges of Tartar control. To them, Moscow became the [[Third Rome]], a status never acknowledged by the remainder of the Church but nevertheless which served to inspire Russian Orthodox Christians.

===Non-Possessors ===
Saint [[Nilus of Sora]] (Nil Sorsky, 1433?-1508), a monk from a remote hermitage in the forests beyond the Volga, launched an attack on the ownership of land by monasteries. Saint Joseph, Abbot of Volokalamsk (1439-1515), replied in defense of monastic landholding. This became known as the dispute between the "Possessors" and the "Non-Possessors". (Note that both are saints of the Church.)

As the "Third Rome", the tsar derived his power and right to rule from being God's chosen representative on earth. So, to keep his status, he needed to protect and promote the church. In the Byzantium tradition, the relationship between the church and the state acted as a check on the power of the tsar. The metropolitan and the tsar were equals, and the metropolitan had the right to censure the tsar. The dispute between the Possessors and the Non-Possessors challenged this idea because about a third of the land in Russia belonged to monasteries at this time.

The Possessors and the Non-Possessors held different views about the role the church should play in society and in politics. When the Possessors triumphed, the church gained the right to wealth at the expense of political influence. The tsar became superior to the metropolitan, and could now interfere in secular matters of the church. The tsar was cut off from any source of accountability.
Also, behind the question of monastic property lay two different conceptions of the monastic life, and ultimately two different views of the relation of the Church to the world. The Possessors emphasized the social obligations of monasticism. Monks argued that they did not use their wealth on themselves, but to care for the sick and poor, to show hospitality, and to teach. To do these things efficiently, monasteries needed money and therefore they must own land. (Possessors emphasized unity in preaching and worship, beauty and dignity in ritual.)

The Non-Possessors argued on the other hand that almsgiving is the duty of the laity, while a monk's primary task is to help others by praying for them and by setting an example. To do these things properly a monk must be detached from the world, and only those who are vowed to complete poverty can achieve true detachment. Monks who are landowners cannot avoid being tangled up in secular anxieties, and because they become absorbed in worldly concerns, they act and think in a worldly way. (Non-Possessors were more concerned with freedom in religious practice and taught that God was most pleased with a simple, contrite heart, even in the absence of an elaborate Liturgy. They were the scholars and mystics, who upheld evangelical poverty.)

===Russian patriarch===
While the Russian people sympathized deeply with the afflictions of their brethren in Constantinople, they did not have sufficient military strength to come to their relief.

In 1588 the Grand Duke Theodor applied to the Patriarch of Constantinople for permission to form a new Patriarchate for the Russian people. The question was referred to the other Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and they all decided that, although the Councils had established five Patriarchates, the exact number was not a matter of divine right, but of ecclesiastical convenience, and consequently, the request could be granted.

In 1589 Metropolitan Job of Moscow became the first Russian patriarch, and the autocephaly of the Church of Russia was officially acknowledged by the Church. The patriarchs of the ancient churches recognized the Russian patriarch as the fifth in honor, defining the [[canonical territory|canonical boundaries]] of the Church of Russia as being that of the Russian Empire.

===Reforms===
When [[Nikon of Moscow]] was the primate, the Russian Church was engaged in introducing alterations and amendments into its service books and rites. A great contribution to this was made by Patriarch Nikon, a bright personality and outstanding church reformer.
During the Tartar rule, many mistakes had been made in the service-books, through the ignorance of scribes. Nikon carefully corrected and restored the rites, comparing them with the Greek service books, and introduced many practical reforms. But his zeal made him many enemies, so that at last this great and good man died in exile.

===Old Believers===
The reforms caused the separation from the Church of those who ignorantly and blindly supposed that the corrupted service-books were divinely inspired. Some [[clergy]]men and [[laity|lay people]] were perhaps more hesitant about accepting the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon and were anathematized by the church authority. These groups became known as the [[Old Believers]], many of whom have now been subsumed into the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

===The Synodical Church (1700-1917)===
The beginning of the 18th century in Russia was marked by sweeping reforms carried out by Peter I. The reforms did not leave the Russian Church untouched. After the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, Peter I delayed the election of the new Primate of the Church because he did not want another Nikon. He established, in 1721, a collective supreme administration known as the Holy and Governing [[holy Synod|Synod]]. The constitution of the Synod was not based on Orthodox Canon Law, but copied from the Protestant ecclesiastical synods in Germany. Its members were not chosen by the Church but nominated by the tsar; and the tsar who nominated could also dismiss them at will.

The Holy Governing Synod was constituted at St. Petersburg, and consisted of twelve members; four archbishops, six archimandrites, and two arch-priests. This body, was presided over by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, but subject to the tsar. The Holy Synod rendered an annual account of its affairs through a lay procurator, who in fact governed the Russian Church. Whereas a patriarch, holding office for life, could perhaps defy the tsar, a member of the Holy Synod was allowed no scope for heroism: he was simply retired. The Synod remained the supreme church body in the Russian church for almost two centuries.

In the Synodal period, the Church paid a special attention to the development of religious education and mission in the provinces. Old churches were restored and new churches were built.

The Holy Synod consisted of the most influential metropolitans, archbishops and bishops. Moscow itself was administered by a territorial archbishop, combined with Vladimir (1721-1745), with Sevsk (1745-1764), with Kaluga (1764-1799), and then by a metropolitan after it was combined with Kaluga (1799-1917).

The early Synodical period is sometimes represented as a time of decline, with the Church in complete subservience to the State. It was a time of ill-advised westernization in Church art, Church music, and theology.

The Synodical period of the nineteenth century, far from being a period of decline; it was a time of great revival in the Russian Church. People turned away from religious and pseudo-religious movements in the contemporary West and fell back once more upon the true spiritual forces of Orthodoxy. With this revival in the spiritual life went a new enthusiasm for missionary work, while in theology, as in spirituality, Orthodoxy freed itself from a slavish imitation of the West.

During this time, the Russian Church was divided into fifty-eight dioceses, with a bishop at the head of each. These bishops were divided into three metropolias. They were in Kiev, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

===The Russian Church (20th century)===
Early in the 20th century the Russian Church began preparations for convening an [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|All-Russian Council]]. But it was to be convened only after the 1917 Revolution. Among its major actions was the restoration of the patriarchal office in the Russian Church. The Council elected Metropolitan [[Tikhon of Moscow]] Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1917-1925). St. Tikhon of Moscow exerted every effort to calm the destructive passions kindled up by the revolution.

When in 1921-1922 the Soviet government demanded that church valuables be given in aid to the population starving because of the failure of crops in 1921, a conflict erupted between the Church and the new authorities who decided to use this situation to demolish the Church to the end. By the beginning of World War II the church structure was almost completely destroyed throughout the country. There were only a few bishops who remained free and who could perform their duties. Some bishops managed to survive in remote parts or under the disguise of priests. Only a few hundred churches were opened for services throughout the Soviet Union. Most of the clergy were either imprisoned in concentration camps, where many of them perished, or hid in catacombs, while thousands of priests changed occupation. World War II forced Stalin to mobilize all the national resources for defense, including the Russian Orthodox Church as the people's moral force. This process, which can be described as a "patriotic union", culminated in Stalin's receiving on September 4, 1943, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergiy Stragorodsky]] and Metropolitan [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexy Simansky]] and [[Nicholas (Yarushevich) of Kiev|Nikolay Yarushevich]].

==The Russian Orthodox Church today==
{{stub}}
The Russian Orthodox Church claims about 26,000 parishes. Out of these, more than 50% (14,700) are in Ukraine.[http://www.risu.org.ua/library/doc/MP_canter.pdf]

== Modern Writers ==
*[[Nicholas Afanasiev]]

==See also==
*[[List of Primates of Russia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Russia.html#Moscow HostKingdom]
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 DECR Communication Service] Communication service of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate

==External links==
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 Church of Russia] official website in English
*[http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Patriarchia.RU] official portal of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian only)
* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: The Orthodox Church of Russia] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar

*[http://www.risu.org.ua/library/doc/MP_canter.pdf Canonical Territory of the Moscow Patriarchate: An Analysis of Contemporary Russian Orthodox Thought], by Fr. J. Buciora, Ph.D. (a paper criticizing the actions of the MP outside Russia)
*[http://www.orthodoxa.org/GB/orthodoxy/canonlaw/russianterritory.htm The Russian Canonical Territory], from the website of the [[Church of Estonia]] (a paper critical of the MP's actions in Estonia)

{{churches}}

[[Category:Jurisdictions|Russia]]

[[el:Ρωσική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία]]
[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa de Rusia]]
[[fr:Église de Russie]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă]]
[[ru:Русская Православная Церковь]]

Church of Russia

2008-12-08T14:11:03Z

Aleks:

{{church|
name=Patriarchate of Moscow[[Image:Russia logo.gif|center|Church of Russia]]|
founder=[[Apostle Andrew]], St. [[Vladimir of Kiev]]|
independence= 1448 |
recognition= 1589 by [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]] |
primate=[[Kirill (Gundyaev) of Smolensk|Metropolitan Kirill]], ''Locum Tenens''|
hq=Moscow, Russia|
territory=Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, some former Soviet republics|
possessions=United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Western Europe, China|
language=[[Church Slavonic]]|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=90,000,000[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17]|
website=[http://www.mospat.ru/ Church of Russia]
}}
The '''Church of Russia''', also referred to as the '''Moscow Patriarchate''', is one of the [[autocephalous]] Orthodox churches, ranking fifth after [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]], and [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]. It exercises [[jurisdiction]] over Orthodox Christians in Russia and the surrounding Slavic lands as well as [[exarchate]]s and patriarchal representation churches around the world. It also exercises jurisdiction over the autonomous [[Church of Japan]] and Orthodox Christians in China. The most recent Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was His Holiness [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] until his death in 2008.

==Jurisdiction==
According to the statutes of the Russian Orthodox Church, its jurisdiction includes persons of Orthodox confession living on the [[canonical territory]] of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, and also Orthodox Christians living in other countries who voluntarily join the jurisdiction.

This includes these self-governing churches:
*The [[Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)|Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]]
*The [[Latvian Orthodox Church]]
*The [[Moldovan Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church of Moldova]]
*The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]
*The [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]]

The self-governing churches receive their [[chrism]] from the Patriarch of Moscow and exercise their activities on the basis of patriarchal [[tomos]]. This claim of jurisdiction is disputed by other Orthodox churches in a number of cases (particularly in Estonia and Moldova, as well as in the [[diaspora]]; there are also major schismatic elements in Ukraine that want an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Ukrainian church), due mainly to the changing shape of the boundaries of Russia. The canonical territory of the Russian church is not clearly defined—the 1593 Council of Constantinople which confirmed its [[autocephaly]] defined it as the territory of "Moscow, Russia, and all the Northern Lands."

==History==
{{cleanup}}
According to tradition, St. [[Apostle Andrew|Andrew]] the First-Called, while preaching the [[gospel]], stopped at the Kievan hills to bless the future city of Kiev. But it was [[Photius the Great|Photius]], Patriarch of Constantinople (858-861‚ 878-886), who first initiated missionary work on a large scale among these Slavs.

===[[Conversion]] of the Slavs===
The Kievan-Rus' empire (present day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia) was blessed with the work of Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]] [[Equal-to-the-Apostles]], the [[Illuminator]]s of the Slavs. Although their work was around 863 in Moravia (roughly equivalent to the modern [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia|Slovakia]]), the benefit was to all the Slavic lands (particularly [[Church of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Church of Serbia|Serbia]], Ukraine, Belarus' and Russia).

===The Kiev period (988-1237)===
Cyril and Methodius not only brought Christianity in a common language, they brought Byzantium. The Slavs received a fully articulated system of Christian doctrine and a fully developed Christian civilization. The age of the [[Ecumenical Councils|Seven Councils]] was complete and the doctrines of the [[Trinity]] and the [[Incarnation]] had already been worked out. Because people were preached to in their own tongue, and of taking services in Slavonic, they truly could make Christianity their own.

Around 864 Patriarch Photius sent a bishop to Kiev(capital of present day Ukraine), but this was stopped by Oleg, who assumed power at Kiev (the chief Rus' city at this time) in 878. Christian ideas from Byzantium, Bulgaria, and Scandinavia, still came into Kievan-Rus'.

In 954 Princess [[Olga of Kiev|Ol'ha (Olga) of Kiev]] was baptized. This paved the way for what is called the greatest events in the history of the Ukarainian and Russian church, the baptism of [[Vladimir of Kiev]] and the [[Baptism of Rus']] in 988. Olga's grandson Vladimir (reigned 980-1015) was converted to Christianity and married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor. Orthodoxy became the State religion of Rus', and eventually Russia until 1917. (Rus' was not completely converted to Christianity at this time, and the Church was at first restricted mainly to the cities, while much of the countryside remained pagan until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.)

The 10th and 11th centuries majestic churches and monasteries were built. St. [[Anthony of the Caves]] brought the traditions of [[Mount Athos|Athonite]] monasticism to Rus' (present day Ukraine) in 1051.

The Orthodox Church during the Kievan period was subject to Constantinople, and until 1237 the Metropolitans of Rus' were usually Greek. The Rus' Church continues to sing in Greek the solemn greeting to a bishop, ''eis polla eti, despota'' ("Many years to you, Master"), in memory of the days when the metropolitan came from Constantinople. Most of the rest of the bishops were native Ukrainians or Russians.

===Mongol Tartars over Russia (1237-1448) ===
In the 12th century, the period of feudal divisions, the Kievan-Rus' Church (present day Ukraine) remained the only bearer of the idea of unity of the people, resisting the centrifugal aspirations and feudal strife among Rus' princes. Even the Tartar invasion, this greatest ever misfortune that struck Rus' in the 13th century, failed to break the Orthodox Church. The Church managed to survive as a real force and was the comforter of the people in their plight. It made a great spiritual, material and moral contribution to the restoration of the political unity of Russia as a guarantee of its future victory over the invaders.

Also, at this same time, the Grand Duke Alexander of Novgorod, won a great victory on the banks of the Neva' over the Swedes, who had been incited by the Pope to conquer Russia for the Latin Church.

The Russia which emerged from the Mongol period was a Russia greatly changed in outward appearance. Kiev never recovered from the sack of Batu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, in 1240, and its place was taken in the fourteenth century by the Principality of Moscow. It was the Grand Dukes of Moscow who inspired the resistance to the Mongols and who led Russia at Kulikovo. The rise of Moscow was closely bound up with the Church. When the town was still small and comparatively unimportant, [[Peter of Moscow|Peter]], Metropolitan of Russia from 1308 to 1326, decided to settle there; and henceforward it remained the city of the chief hierarch of Russia.

(This period in the history of the Russian Church included [[Alexander Nevsky]] and [[Sergius of Radonezh]], both saints.)

[[Image:Rublev Trinity.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Hospitality of Abraham]]]]Russian principalities began to unite around Moscow in the 14th century. The Russian Orthodox Church continued to play an important role in the revival of unified Russia. Outstanding Russian bishops acted as spiritual guides and assistants to the Princes of Moscow. St. Metropolitan [[Alexis of Moscow|Alexis]] (1354-1378) educated Prince Dimitry Donskoy. He, just as St. Metropolitan Jonas (1448-1471) later, by the power of his authority helped the Prince of Moscow to put an end to the feudal discords and preserve the unity of the state. St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]], a great ascetic of the Russian Church, gave his blessing to Prince Dimitry Donskoy to fight the Kulikovo Battle which made the beginning of the liberation of Russia from the invaders.

During these years, Russian painters indigenized the iconographic traditions which they had received from the Eastern Christian Empire. Icon painting flourished above all among the spiritual children of Saint Sergius. One of the finest of all Orthodox icons, from the artistic point of view, the Holy Trinity Icon, by Saint [[Andrei Rublev]] (1370?-1430?) is from this period.

===Autocephalous Russian Church===
Liberating itself from the invaders, the Russian state gathered strength and so did the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Church became independent from the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. Metropolitan Jonas, installed by the Council of Russian bishops in 1448, was given the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.

The Russian Church thus gained its independence, more by chance than from any deliberate design. Hitherto the Patriarch of Constantinople had appointed the head of the Russian Church, the Metropolitan. At the [[Council of Florence]] the Metropolitan was a Greek, Isidore. A leading supporter of the union with Rome, Isidore returned to Moscow in 1441 and proclaimed the decrees of Florence, but he met with no support from the Russians. He was imprisoned by the Grand Duke, but after a time was allowed to escape, and went back to Italy. The chief [[see]] was thus left vacant; but the Russians could not ask the Patriarch for a new Metropolitan, because until 1453 the official Church at Constantinople continued to accept the Florentine Union. Reluctant to take action on their own, the Russians delayed for several years. Eventually in 1448 a council of Russian bishops proceeded to elect a Metropolitan without further reference to Constantinople. After 1453, when the Florentine Union was abandoned at Constantinople, communion between the Patriarchate and Russia was restored, but Russia continued to appoint its own chief hierarch. Henceforward the Russian Church was self-governing, but its autocephaly was not ratified by the rest of the Church until 1589.

After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, there was only one nation that saw itself as capable of assuming leadership in Eastern Christendom. The growing might of the Russian state also contributed to the growing authority of the autocephalous Russian Church. To the Russian people, it was a sign from God, that at the very moment when the Byzantine Empire was ending, they themselves were throwing off the few remaining vestiges of Tartar control. To them, Moscow became the [[Third Rome]], a status never acknowledged by the remainder of the Church but nevertheless which served to inspire Russian Orthodox Christians.

===Non-Possessors ===
Saint [[Nilus of Sora]] (Nil Sorsky, 1433?-1508), a monk from a remote hermitage in the forests beyond the Volga, launched an attack on the ownership of land by monasteries. Saint Joseph, Abbot of Volokalamsk (1439-1515), replied in defense of monastic landholding. This became known as the dispute between the "Possessors" and the "Non-Possessors". (Note that both are saints of the Church.)

As the "Third Rome", the tsar derived his power and right to rule from being God's chosen representative on earth. So, to keep his status, he needed to protect and promote the church. In the Byzantium tradition, the relationship between the church and the state acted as a check on the power of the tsar. The metropolitan and the tsar were equals, and the metropolitan had the right to censure the tsar. The dispute between the Possessors and the Non-Possessors challenged this idea because about a third of the land in Russia belonged to monasteries at this time.

The Possessors and the Non-Possessors held different views about the role the church should play in society and in politics. When the Possessors triumphed, the church gained the right to wealth at the expense of political influence. The tsar became superior to the metropolitan, and could now interfere in secular matters of the church. The tsar was cut off from any source of accountability.
Also, behind the question of monastic property lay two different conceptions of the monastic life, and ultimately two different views of the relation of the Church to the world. The Possessors emphasized the social obligations of monasticism. Monks argued that they did not use their wealth on themselves, but to care for the sick and poor, to show hospitality, and to teach. To do these things efficiently, monasteries needed money and therefore they must own land. (Possessors emphasized unity in preaching and worship, beauty and dignity in ritual.)

The Non-Possessors argued on the other hand that almsgiving is the duty of the laity, while a monk's primary task is to help others by praying for them and by setting an example. To do these things properly a monk must be detached from the world, and only those who are vowed to complete poverty can achieve true detachment. Monks who are landowners cannot avoid being tangled up in secular anxieties, and because they become absorbed in worldly concerns, they act and think in a worldly way. (Non-Possessors were more concerned with freedom in religious practice and taught that God was most pleased with a simple, contrite heart, even in the absence of an elaborate Liturgy. They were the scholars and mystics, who upheld evangelical poverty.)

===Russian patriarch===
While the Russian people sympathized deeply with the afflictions of their brethren in Constantinople, they did not have sufficient military strength to come to their relief.

In 1588 the Grand Duke Theodor applied to the Patriarch of Constantinople for permission to form a new Patriarchate for the Russian people. The question was referred to the other Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and they all decided that, although the Councils had established five Patriarchates, the exact number was not a matter of divine right, but of ecclesiastical convenience, and consequently, the request could be granted.

In 1589 Metropolitan Job of Moscow became the first Russian patriarch, and the autocephaly of the Church of Russia was officially acknowledged by the Church. The patriarchs of the ancient churches recognized the Russian patriarch as the fifth in honor, defining the [[canonical territory|canonical boundaries]] of the Church of Russia as being that of the Russian Empire.

===Reforms===
When [[Nikon of Moscow]] was the primate, the Russian Church was engaged in introducing alterations and amendments into its service books and rites. A great contribution to this was made by Patriarch Nikon, a bright personality and outstanding church reformer.
During the Tartar rule, many mistakes had been made in the service-books, through the ignorance of scribes. Nikon carefully corrected and restored the rites, comparing them with the Greek service books, and introduced many practical reforms. But his zeal made him many enemies, so that at last this great and good man died in exile.

===Old Believers===
The reforms caused the separation from the Church of those who ignorantly and blindly supposed that the corrupted service-books were divinely inspired. Some [[clergy]]men and [[laity|lay people]] were perhaps more hesitant about accepting the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon and were anathematized by the church authority. These groups became known as the [[Old Believers]], many of whom have now been subsumed into the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

===The Synodical Church (1700-1917)===
The beginning of the 18th century in Russia was marked by sweeping reforms carried out by Peter I. The reforms did not leave the Russian Church untouched. After the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, Peter I delayed the election of the new Primate of the Church because he did not want another Nikon. He established, in 1721, a collective supreme administration known as the Holy and Governing [[holy Synod|Synod]]. The constitution of the Synod was not based on Orthodox Canon Law, but copied from the Protestant ecclesiastical synods in Germany. Its members were not chosen by the Church but nominated by the tsar; and the tsar who nominated could also dismiss them at will.

The Holy Governing Synod was constituted at St. Petersburg, and consisted of twelve members; four archbishops, six archimandrites, and two arch-priests. This body, was presided over by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, but subject to the tsar. The Holy Synod rendered an annual account of its affairs through a lay procurator, who in fact governed the Russian Church. Whereas a patriarch, holding office for life, could perhaps defy the tsar, a member of the Holy Synod was allowed no scope for heroism: he was simply retired. The Synod remained the supreme church body in the Russian church for almost two centuries.

In the Synodal period, the Church paid a special attention to the development of religious education and mission in the provinces. Old churches were restored and new churches were built.

The Holy Synod consisted of the most influential metropolitans, archbishops and bishops. Moscow itself was administered by a territorial archbishop, combined with Vladimir (1721-1745), with Sevsk (1745-1764), with Kaluga (1764-1799), and then by a metropolitan after it was combined with Kaluga (1799-1917).

The early Synodical period is sometimes represented as a time of decline, with the Church in complete subservience to the State. It was a time of ill-advised westernization in Church art, Church music, and theology.

The Synodical period of the nineteenth century, far from being a period of decline; it was a time of great revival in the Russian Church. People turned away from religious and pseudo-religious movements in the contemporary West and fell back once more upon the true spiritual forces of Orthodoxy. With this revival in the spiritual life went a new enthusiasm for missionary work, while in theology, as in spirituality, Orthodoxy freed itself from a slavish imitation of the West.

During this time, the Russian Church was divided into fifty-eight dioceses, with a bishop at the head of each. These bishops were divided into three metropolias. They were in Kiev, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

===The Russian Church (20th century)===
Early in the 20th century the Russian Church began preparations for convening an [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|All-Russian Council]]. But it was to be convened only after the 1917 Revolution. Among its major actions was the restoration of the patriarchal office in the Russian Church. The Council elected Metropolitan [[Tikhon of Moscow]] Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1917-1925). St. Tikhon of Moscow exerted every effort to calm the destructive passions kindled up by the revolution.

When in 1921-1922 the Soviet government demanded that church valuables be given in aid to the population starving because of the failure of crops in 1921, a conflict erupted between the Church and the new authorities who decided to use this situation to demolish the Church to the end. By the beginning of World War II the church structure was almost completely destroyed throughout the country. There were only a few bishops who remained free and who could perform their duties. Some bishops managed to survive in remote parts or under the disguise of priests. Only a few hundred churches were opened for services throughout the Soviet Union. Most of the clergy were either imprisoned in concentration camps, where many of them perished, or hid in catacombs, while thousands of priests changed occupation. World War II forced Stalin to mobilize all the national resources for defense, including the Russian Orthodox Church as the people's moral force. This process, which can be described as a "patriotic union", culminated in Stalin's receiving on September 4, 1943, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergiy Stragorodsky]] and Metropolitan [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexy Simansky]] and [[Nicholas (Yarushevich) of Kiev|Nikolay Yarushevich]].

==The Russian Orthodox Church today==
{{stub}}
The Russian Orthodox Church claims about 26,000 parishes. Out of these, more than 50% (14,700) are in Ukraine.[http://www.risu.org.ua/library/doc/MP_canter.pdf]

== Modern Writers ==
*[[Nicholas Afanasiev]]

==See also==
*[[List of Primates of Russia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Russia.html#Moscow HostKingdom]
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 DECR Communication Service] Communication service of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate

==External links==
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 Church of Russia] official website in English
*[http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Patriarchia.RU] official portal of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian only)
* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: The Orthodox Church of Russia] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar

*[http://www.risu.org.ua/library/doc/MP_canter.pdf Canonical Territory of the Moscow Patriarchate: An Analysis of Contemporary Russian Orthodox Thought], by Fr. J. Buciora, Ph.D. (a paper criticizing the actions of the MP outside Russia)
*[http://www.orthodoxa.org/GB/orthodoxy/canonlaw/russianterritory.htm The Russian Canonical Territory], from the website of the [[Church of Estonia]] (a paper critical of the MP's actions in Estonia)

{{churches}}

[[Category:Jurisdictions|Russia]]

[[el:Ρωσική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία]]
[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa de Rusia]]
[[fr:Église de Russie]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă]]
[[ru:Русская Православная Церковь]]

George (Schaefer) of Mayfield

2008-12-08T12:21:28Z

Aleks: /* Life */

His Grace '''Schemabishop George (Schaefer)''' is Bishop of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, vicar of the Eastern-American diocese of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

== Life ==
The future bishop George was born on May 25, 1950, in Belleville, Illinois. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1968 and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972. In 1974 he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarios in honor of Saint Makarios the Great. He joined the Russian Church Abroad in San Francisco in May of 1975 and entered Holy Trinity Seminary in September of that year

On Christmas, January 7, 1975, Makarios was made a novice by Archbishop [[Averkiy (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averkiy (Taushev)]]. As a novice his obediences in the monastery were working in the farm and cemetery. After a few years in the monastery he was made a riassophor monk on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979 and tonsured to the small schema on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. He was ordained a subdeacon on Palm Sunday of the same year. In 1980 he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary .

Fr George was sent to Mt. Athos by [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus]] in June of 1981. He was tonsured to the great schema by Hieromonk Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mt. Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986, Fr George returned to Holy Trinity Monastery and started working on the Printshop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 1998. He assumed editorial duties on Orthodox Life in 1992, which he fulfills to this day.

Fr George was ordained a hierodeacon on the feast of St. Michael, 1986 and a hieromonk on Palm Sunday, 1987. In September 1998 he was elevated to the rank of hegumen and archimandrite on Labor Day, 2005.

In 1994 he was appointed as economos Holy Trinity Monastery and made dean of Holy Trinity Monastery in 2007. He is the author of several articles and translations published in Orthodox Life. Translated several sayings of the Optina Elders published in the book “Living Without Hypocrisy”, published by HTM Press in 2006. He also served as confessor and spiritual father of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia, the largest English-language monastery of the ROCOR.

In May 2008, the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in June 2008. On December 7, 2008, Archimandrite George was consecrated to the episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel of Montreal and Canada]], Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter of Cleveland]] and Bishop [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|John of Caracas]]. Bishop George's place of residence is at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia.

== Links ==
[http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_2.html Biography of Bishop George]

George (Schaefer) of Mayfield

2008-12-08T12:19:28Z

Aleks: created

His Grace '''Schemabishop George (Schaefer)''' is Bishop of Mayfield, Pennsylvania, vicar of the Eastern-American diocese of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

== Life ==
The future bishop George was born on May 25, 1950, in Belleville, Illinois. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1968 and then attended Southern Illinois University from 1968 to 1972. In 1974 he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto, California, and given the name Makarios in honor of Saint Makarios the Great. He joined the Russian Church Abroad in San Francisco in May of 1975 and entered Holy Trinity Seminary in September of that year

On Christmas, January 7, 1975, Makarios was made a novice by Archbishop [[Averkiy (Taushev) of Syracuse|Averkiy (Taushev)]]. As a novice his obediences in the monastery were working in the farm and cemetery. After a few years in the monastery he was made a riassophor monk on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1979 and tonsured to the small schema on Friday of the First Week of Lent, 1980, and given the name Mitrophan in honor of Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. He was ordained a subdeacon on Palm Sunday of the same year. In 1980 he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary .

Fr George was sent to Mt. Athos by [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus]] in June of 1981. He was tonsured to the great schema by Hieromonk Chrysostomos of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mt. Athos and given the name George in honor of Saint George the Great-Martyr.

In February, 1986, Fr George returned to Holy Trinity Monastery and started working on the Printshop of Saint Job of Pochaev in 1986, where he worked until 1998. He assumed editorial duties on Orthodox Life in 1992, which he fulfills to this day.

Fr George was ordained a hierodeacon on the feast of St. Michael, 1986 and a hieromonk on Palm Sunday, 1987. In September 1998 he was elevated to the rank of hegumen and archimandrite on Labor Day, 2005.

In 1994 he was appointed as economos Holy Trinity Monastery and made dean of Holy Trinity Monastery in 2007. He is the author of several articles and translations published in Orthodox Life. Translated several sayings of the Optina Elders published in the book “Living Without Hypocrisy”, published by HTM Press in 2006. He also served as confessor and spiritual father of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia, the largest English-language monastery of the ROCOR.

In May 2008, the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR elected Archimandrite George as Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed the election in June 2008. On December 7, 2008, Archimandrite George was consecrated to the episcopal office at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel]] of Montreal and Canada, Bishop [[Peter (Lukianov) of Cleveland|Peter]] of Cleveland and Bishop [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|John]] of Caracas. Bishop George's place of residence is at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, West Virginia.

== Links ==
[http://www.jordanville.org/news_081207_2.html Biography of Bishop George]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-12-07T13:01:20Z

Aleks: /* Vicar bishops */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has eleven [[bishop]]s serving nine [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and two candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]] of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Archimandrite [[George (Schaefer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Hegumen [[Jerome (Shaw)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Holy Synod in Resistance

2008-11-22T20:58:43Z

Aleks: /* Status */

The '''Holy Synod in Resistance''' or '''True Orthodox Church of Greece''', also called the '''Cyprianites''', are a resistance, [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendar]] synod which separated from the [[Church of Greece]], regarding the latter as being in error.

== History ==
In 1979, a [[schism]] occurred in the Synod of the [[Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece]] (GOC), or the "Florinites." Metropolitan [[Callistos of Corinth]] and Metropolitan Anthony of Megara had become dissatisfied with the administration of Archbishop Auxentius, who had irregularly received priests from New Calendar jurisdictions with questionable reputations. Callistos and Anthony [[ordination|ordained]] eight other [[bishop]]s, declared Auxentius to be deposed, and registered their synod as the [[Church of Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece]] (GOC, so-called "Kallistiakoi", or Callistites).

In 1980, the synod entered into communion with the Synod of the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]]. However, in 1983 the synod disintegrated. Metropolitan Callistos quit the Synod because of a disagreement on the question of grace in New Calendarist sacraments, Bishop Maximos of Magnesia and two others returned to the Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Greece under Archbishop Auxentios. The rest, Matthew of Oinois, Kalliopios of Pentapolis, and Kallinikos of Achaia, returned to the synod in 1985 under the presidency of Metropolitan Gerontios of Peiraeus, after the first removal of Archbishop Auxentios.

Two members of the disintegrated synod, Bishops [[Cyprian of Fili]] and Giovanni of Sicily, organized the Holy Synod in Resistance.

== Ecclesiology ==
Unlike the other [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] Greek jurisdictions, the Holy Synod in Resistance has a markedly distinct [[ecclesiology]]. While opposed to [[ecumenism]] and the [[New Calendar]], the synod maintains that the 1974 declaration was an error and that the [[Church of Greece]] and other [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions have grace, despite the [[anathema]] against the [[New Calendar]] issued in the [[Sigillion of 1583]]. To support this view, the synod points to the views expressed by the father of Greek Old-Calendarism, Metropolitan [[Chrysostomos of Florina]].

==Status==
From 1994 to early 2006, the synod had been in full communion with the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR), though relations have cooled recently because of the recent negotiations between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia]]. As of February 2006, the synod severed communion with the ROCOR. The synod continues to maintain communion with the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie). In 1993, the synod ordained, and maintains communion with, Bishop Photii of the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]].

On 17 November 2007 the Synod entered into a [http://ruschurchabroad.com/eng071116.pdf "Memorandum Regarding Principles of Coöperation Between the Greek and Russian Anti-Ecumenists"], which defined its relationship with the "Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad" [http://ruschurchabroad.com/engindex.htm] under Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa|Agafangel]], who has departed into schism from the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].

==Structure==
The synod has five [[diocese]]s, including the Metropolis of Oropos and Fili, the Archdiocese of Etna (California), the Diocese of Sydney and New South Wales, the Diocese of Nora (Italy), and the Diocese of Luni (Italy). There are also missions in Austria, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic, Georgia, South Ossetia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Uganda, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Serving and praying in the synod's parishes, missions, and monasteries are 74 [[priest]]s (including 17 [[hieromonk]]s and 57 married priests), 15 [[deacon]]s, 43 [[monk]]s and 60 nuns.

There is also one publication house, the [http://users.sisqtel.net/sgpm/ctos/ Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies].

==External links ==
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/ Official Website]
*[http://users.sisqtel.net/sgpm/ctos/ Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies (Etna, CA)]
*[http://users.sisqtel.net/cse/ Convent of Saint Elizabeth the New Martyr (Etna, CA)]
*[http://www.saintedwardbrotherhood.org/ The Saint Edward Brotherhood (Brookwood, Surrey, UK)]

=== Hierarchs ===
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/CyprianOF.html Cyprian, Metropolitan of Oropos and Fili, President of the Holy Synod in Resistance]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/ChrysostomosEtna.html Chrysostomos, Archbishop of Etna (California), Member of the Synod]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/ChrysostomosSydney.html Chrysostomos, Bishop of Sydney and New South Wales, Member of the Synod]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/MichaelNora.html Michael, Bishop of Nora (Sardinia), Member of the Synod]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/SilvanoLuni.html Silvano, Bishop of Luni (Italy), Member of the Synod]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/GeorgeAlania.html George, Bishop of Alania]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/ChrysostomosChristianoupolis.html Chrysostomos, Bishop of Christianoupolis]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/AuxentiosPhotiki.html Auxentios, Bishop of Photiki]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/AmbroseMethoni.html Ambrose, Bishop of Methone]
*[http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/JohannesMakarioupolis.html Johannes, Bishop of Makarioupolis, Assistant for Missions in Sweden]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Old Calendarist Jurisdictions]]

[[fr:Église orthodoxe de Grèce - Saint Synode en résistance]]

Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa

2008-11-22T20:53:07Z

Aleks:

His Grace Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky) was ruling bishop of Odessa and the Crimea, overseeing the parishes of the [[ROCOR|Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]] in the Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. Following the signing of the [[Act of Canonical Communion]] between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Agafangel left the jurisdiction of the ROCOR and declared himself the head of a new jurisdiction called the [[PSCA|Provisional Supreme Church Authority]] (PSCA). He was subsequently suspended by the ROCOR Synod for disobeying lawful authority and inciting schism.

== Life ==
Michael Ivanovich Pashkovsky was born November 22, 1956, in Odessa, Ukraine. There he graduated from Odessa Pedagogical Institute. On August 31, 1991, he was tonsured a monk receiving the name Agafangel. On September 1, 1991, he was ordained hierodeacon and on September 8 - hieromonk. The ordinations were carried out in Moscow, Russia, by Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), a Russian catacomb bishop secretly ordained by the [[ROCOR]] Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava of Cannes]].

In 1992 he became rector of the Saint Natalia and Adrian (now Saint John of Kronstadt) church in Odessa, Ukraine.

On March 27, 1994, Agafangel was consecrated a bishop at the Holy Emperor Constantine Cathedral in Suzdal, Russia, by Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), Bishop Valentine (Rusantsev), and Bishop Thedore (Gineevsky). At that time these bishops had separated from the [[ROCOR]] and organized their own paraecclesiastic organization called the "Free Russian Orthodox Church". Neither the [[ROCOR]] Synod of Bishops, nor any of the local churches, recognized Agafangel's consecration as valid at the time.

However in February 1995 the bishops dissolved the "Free Russian Orthodox Church" and requested to be reaccepted into the [[ROCOR]]. Upon a trial period of one year, the [[ROCOR]] Synod, acting in the spirit of oikonomia, accepted Agafangel's ordination as valid. In 1996 he was appointing ruling bishop of Simferopol and the Crimea.

Following the retirement of ROCOR First-Hierarch [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Metropolitan Vitaly]], Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko) followed the aged Metropolitan into his self-proclaimed [[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]. Initially, Bishop Agafangel supported Archbishop Lazar. However, at the 2001 Bishop's Council he supported the [[ROCOR]] Synod and voted for [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metropolitan Laurus)]] as First Hierarch.

Since 2003, Bishop Agafangel was an active critic of the ROCOR's dialog with the Moscow Patriarchate. On the other hand, he signed the epistle of the 2006 Council of Bishops supporting the reconciliation process. Yet following the Synod's approval of the Act of Canonical Communion in 2006 he publicly stated that he "does not support the document approved by the Synod". On October 16, 2006, he clarified his position, stating that "we are not separating from the Synod led by Metropolitan Laurus ... however, as an extreme measure, we are suspending commemoration of the First Hierarch at services." A subsequent meeting of the Synod of Bishops ordered Bishop Agafangel to resume commemorating the First Hierarch or face suspension; Bishop Agafangel complied with the order. In the run-up to the signing of the Act, the Synod ordered Bishop Agafangel's transfer to the diocese of Buenos Aires and South America, which he accepted in principle but did not carry out in practice, citing visa difficulties and the health of his elderly mother.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], a faction of Old-Calendar Greeks, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as soi-disant Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York. Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) was also consecrated soi-disant Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

Critics have accused Agafangel of political motives. In December 2006, Archimandrite Benjamin (Trepaliuk) accused Agafangel of a "pathological hatred of Russia, its authorities, and its people" and of collaborating with the American Central Intelligence Agency. Archimandrite Benjamin claimed that Agafangel believes the CIA to be "the most human organization in the world", which "cares for the good of all people." Others point to the suspended bishop's friendship with John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, as "ties with the [US] State Department," as well as his active support of the administration of Ukrainian President Victor Yuschenko, seen by many Russians as a "CIA puppet."

Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa

2008-11-22T20:43:27Z

Aleks: New page: His Grace Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky) was ruling bishop of Odessa and the Crimea, overseeing the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in the Ukraine, Belar...

His Grace Bishop Agafangel (Pashkovsky) was ruling bishop of Odessa and the Crimea, overseeing the parishes of the [[ROCOR|Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]] in the Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. Following the signing of the [[Act of Canonical Communion]] between the ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Agafangel left the jurisdiction of the ROCOR and declared himself the head of a new jurisdiction called the [[PSCA|Provisional Supreme Church Authority]] (PSCA). He was subsequently suspended by the ROCOR Synod for disobeying lawful authority and inciting schism.

== Life ==
Michael Ivanovich Pashkovsky was born November 22, 1956, in Odessa, Ukraine. There he graduated from Odessa Pedagogical Institute. On August 31, 1991, he was tonsured a monk receiving the name Agafangel. On September 1, 1991, he was ordained hierodeacon and on September 8 - hieromonk. The ordinations were carried out in Moscow, Russia, by Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), a Russian catacomb bishop secretly ordained by the [[ROCOR]] Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava of Cannes]].

In 1992 he became rector of the Saint Natalia and Adrian (now Saint John of Kronstadt) church in Odessa, Ukraine.

On March 27, 1994, Agafangel was consecrated a bishop at the Holy Emperor Constantine Cathedral in Suzdal, Russia, by Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), Bishop Valentine (Rusantsev), and Bishop Thedore (Gineevsky). At that time these bishops had separated from the [[ROCOR]] and organized their own paraecclesiastic organization called the "Free Russian Orthodox Church". Neither the [[ROCOR]] Synod of Bishops, nor any of the local churches, recognized Agafangel's consecration as valid at the time.

However in February 1995 the bishops dissolved the "Free Russian Orthodox Church" and requested to be reaccepted into the [[ROCOR]]. Upon a trial period of one year, the [[ROCOR]] Synod, acting in the spirit of oikonomia, accepted Agafangel's ordination as valid. In 1996 he was appointing ruling bishop of Simferopol and the Crimea.

Following the retirement of ROCOR First-Hierarch [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Metropolitan Vitaly]], Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko) followed the aged Metropolitan into his self-proclaimed [[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]. Initially, Bishop Agafangel supported Archbishop Lazar. However, at the 2001 Bishop's Council he supported the [[ROCOR]] Synod and voted for [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metropolitan Laurus)]] as First Hierarch.

Since 2003, Bishop Agafangel was an active critic of the ROCOR's dialog with the Moscow Patriarchate. On the other hand, he signed the epistle of the 2006 Council of Bishops supporting the reconciliation process. Yet following the Synod's approval of the Act of Canonical Communion in 2006 he publicly stated that he "does not support the document approved by the Synod". On October 16, 2006, he clarified his position, stating that "we are not separating from the Synod led by Metropolitan Laurus ... however, as an extreme measure, we are suspending commemoration of the First Hierarch at services." A subsequent meeting of the Synod of Bishops ordered Bishop Agafangel to resume commemorating the First Hierarch or face suspension; Bishop Agafangel complied with the order. In the run-up to the signing of the Act, the Synod ordered Bishop Agafangel's transfer to the diocese of Buenos Aires and South America, which he accepted in principle but did not carry out in practice, citing visa difficulties and the health of his elderly mother.

Following the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, Russia, on May 17, 2007, Bishop Agafangel declared that he did not accepted the document and would "continue to abide by the previous Bylaws of the ROCOR, considering any actions of the Moscow Patriarchate to be unlawful." He accused the Moscow Patriarchate of "sins of sergianism and ecumenism." On May 22, 2007, Bishop Agafangel issued a statement that he and Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel of Erie]] were organizing a Provisional Supreme Church Authority for those who "have remained in the ROCOR", citing authority of Ukase No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, dated November 20, 1920. While Bishop Daniel had previously expressed reservations about the Act of Canonical Communion, there is no evidence that he ever intended to break with the [[ROCOR]] Synod; rather, the elderly vicar for the care of Old-Ritualists continued to remain in communion with Metropolitan Laurus. In practice, Agafangel found himself alone, supported by a handful of clergy and the majority of his parishes in Ukraine, which had refused to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

On May 20, 2007, the members of the [[ROCOR]] Synod, meeting in Moscow, suspended Bishop Agafangel for inciting schism, disobeying lawful authority, and refusing transfer to the Buenos Aires cathedra.

At an emergency meeting of the [[ROCOR]] Synod on June 28 and 29, 2007, issued a "final letter of warning" to Bishop Agafangel, calling on him to cease all schismatic activity. The Synod also approved the suspension of Abbot Andronik (Kotliaroff), head of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, and other clerics that supported Agafangel. However on December 7, 2007, with the aid of bishops from the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]], a faction of Old-Calendar Greeks, Agafangel carried out the consecration of Andronik (Kotrliaroff) as soi-disant Bishop of Richmond Hill and New York. Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) was also consecrated soi-disant Bishop of Saint Petersburg and Northern Russia. These ordinations marked the final breach of the new organization, calling itself the Provisional Supreme Church Authority, with the ROCOR synod.

Critics have accused Agafangel of political motives. In December 2006 a former clergyman, Archimandrite Benjamin (Trepaliuk) accused Agafangel of a "pathological hatred of Russia, its authorities, and its people" and of collaborating with the American Central Intelligence Agency. Archimandrite Benjamin claimed that Agafangel believes the CIA to be "the most human organization in the world", which "cares for the good of all people." Others point to the suspended bishop's friendship with John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, as "ties with the [US] State Department," as well as his active support of the administration of Ukrainian President Victor Yuschenko, seen by many Russians as a "CIA puppet."

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-11-22T19:37:14Z

Aleks: /* Suspended bishops */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has eleven [[bishop]]s serving nine [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and two candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]] of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Archimandrite [[George (Schaefer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Archpriest [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Odessa|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-11-18T12:16:53Z

Aleks: /* Vicar bishops */ Schaefer has one 'f'

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has eleven [[bishop]]s serving nine [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and two candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]] of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Archimandrite [[George (Schaefer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Archpriest [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago

2008-11-18T12:03:41Z

Aleks: fix box

His Eminence, Archbishop '''Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago''' is the Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago and Detroit of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]. He was appointed to the [[see]], succeeding the reposed Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov) in 1987.

==Life==
Nikolai Mikhailovich Gamanovich was born on [[December 19]], 1926 in the village of Novaya Maiyachka of Kherson Province of the U.S.S.R. the site of which is now within the nation Ukraine. His father, Mikhail, was a blacksmith. His mother’s name was Lumilla. The family included five younger siblings: three younger brothers and two younger sisters. While his parents had him baptized, he was not able to attend many church services because the Soviets had closed most of the churches near them. In the face of the Soviet programs of collectivization and expropriation of property from prosperous owners, Nikolai’s family left their village to wander until they settled in the village of Fedorovka. Here Nikolai attended a four year school before going on to an eight year school in the village of Kucheryvo-Volodimirov.

As an aftermath of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi forces in 1941, Nicolai became a victim of the Nazi practice of taking young men to work as forced laborers in Germany. At fifteen years of age, Nicolai was one of fifteen young men from his village sent to Germany as an ‘’ostarbeiter’’ (east-worker). In Germany, he initially worked in Berlin in a truck factory where he was under constant guard. Later, he worked on a farm and then at a cemetery. When he was assigned to working at the cemetery, he was transferred to a ‘’Ostavsky’’ labor camp that was free of guards and where the workers were required to use public transportation to work assignments. During this time Nicolai was able to attend church services from time to time. In 1944, during a visit to church, Nicolai met Hieromonk Kyprian (Pizhov) of the St. Job of Pochaev Brotherhood.

Fr. Kyprian was in Berlin as the Pochaev Brotherhood had fled Slovakia before the advancing Soviet Red army. Having read some books of the Lives of the Saints that belonged to his grandfather, Nicolai expressed the desire to join the brotherhood. On [[February 3]], 1945, Nicolai left the labor camp, illegally, and was accepted [[Archimandrite]] Seraphim to begin the spiritual labors of [[monasticism|monastic]] life, Five days later Nicolai and his monastic companions fled Berlin for southern Germany, going to an area that was taken by the American army. From southern Germany he and his monastic companions proceeded to Switzerland in August 1945.

On [[September 23]], 1946, Nicolai was [[tonsure]]d a rassaphore [[monk]] and given the name Alypy. Later in 1946, Alypy and his companions traveled to the United States, to the [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York. At the monastery, monk Alypy undertook the study of [[iconography]] under the tutorship of Fr. Kyprian who was renowned as an [[iconographer]]. On [[March 19]], 1848, Alypy was among a group of three monks, the other two rassaphore monks were [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]] and Flor (Vanko), who were tonsured mantia monks by Abp. Vitaly (Maximenko). On [[December 3]], 1950, monk Alypy was [[ordination|ordained]] to the [[diaconate]] by Metr. [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Anatassy (Gribanovsky)]]. On [[July 4]], 1954, hierodeacon Alypy was ordained to the [[priest]]hood by Abp. Vitaly.

Graduating from [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]], Fr. Alypy remained to teach. Among the several subjects he taught were [[Church Slavonic]] and Greek. He also wrote a grammar on Church Slavonic that was published by the Monastery in 1964. This book has been subsequently been reprinted and translated for English language students. Fr. Alypy continued his education at Norwich University, graduating in 1970 with a Master’s degree in Russian language. During this period Fr. Alypy was very active as an iconographer. His work covered many churches including the iconography of Holy Trinity Cathedral at Jordanville, the Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Sign in New York City, St. Sergius Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, and later, the new Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1974, [[Igumen]] Alypy, was nominated to the episcopate by the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, and on [[October 20]], 1974, he was consecrated Bishop of Cleveland, [[vicar]] of the [[Diocese]] of Chicago, Detroit and Mid America. The [[consecration of a bishop|consecration]] of Bp. Alypy was led by Metr. [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]] and assisted by Abp. Seraphim (Ivanov), Abp. [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly (Ustinov)]], and Bp. Laurus (Skurla). During the few years before Abp. Seraphim’s death in 1987, Bp. Alypy administered the Diocese of Chicago. After his death Bp. Alypy was appointed as ruling Bishop of Chicago. In 1991, Bp. Alypy was elevated to Archbishop.

In 1994, Abp. Alypy was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia, and New Zealand. However, The Australian government was reluctant to grant Abp. Alypy a permanent resident status due to health issues. Also, the faithful of the diocese, especially from his Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, petitioned earnestly appealing to keep Abp. Alypy as their bishop. Considering these conditions, the Synod of Bishops decided that Abp. Alypy would remain as Bishop of Chicago.

During the ensuing years, Abp. Alypy led the revitalization of the life of the diocese that he had begun earlier with the construction of the new Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral in 1990. He led a diocese of three cathedral parishes and some twenty parishes in the mid-west area of the United States, as well as five monasteries, three male and two female.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=—|
title=Bishop of Cleveland ([[ROCOR]])|
years=1974-1987|
after=[[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Seraphim (Ivanov) of Chicago|Seraphim (Ivanov)]]|
title=Archbishop of Chicago, Detroit and Mid America ([[ROCOR]])|
years=1987-Present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

==Source==
*[http://www.roca.org/archbishop_alypy.htm Life of Archbishop Alypy (Gamanovich)]

[[Category: Bishops]]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-11-18T11:59:51Z

Aleks: /* The Episcopacy */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has eleven [[bishop]]s serving nine [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and two candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]] of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Archimandrite [[George (Schaeffer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Archpriest [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-11-18T11:55:22Z

Aleks: /* ROCOR Today */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 9 [[bishop]]s serving 9 [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and three candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]], '''[[Locum Tenens]]''' of the the Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]]. Bishop of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Bishop-Elect [[George (Schaeffer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Bishop-Elect [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-11-18T11:32:14Z

Aleks: /* ROCOR Today */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.

There are twelve ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 9 [[bishop]]s serving 9 [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and three candidates for the episcopacy.

===Ruling bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]], '''[[Locum Tenens]]''' of the the Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gramanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

===Vicar bishops===
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]]. Bishop of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Bishop-Elect [[George (Schaeffer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Bishop-Elect [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

===Retired bishops===
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

===Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate===
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

===Suspended bishops===
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

===Reposed bishops===
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York]] (reposed on November 21, 1985)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

Moldovan Orthodox Church

2008-09-23T09:48:32Z

Aleks: /* Current Autonomy */ marked for cleanup (I'll get on it soon).

{{diocese|
name=Orthodox Church of Moldova|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1401|
bishop=[[Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chisinau|Vladimir (Cantarean)]]|
see=Chişinău|
hq=Chişinău, Moldova|
territory=Moldova (including Transdniestria)|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], Romanian|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=2,000,000|
website=[http://www.mitropolia.md/ Official Website]
}}
The '''Moldovan Orthodox Church''' (Officially: '''Orthodox Church of Moldova''', Russian: Православная Церковь Молдовы, Romanian:
Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova) is an autonomous entity of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] with canonical jurisdiction in Moldova, including the disputed region of Transdniestria.

It should not be confused with the Metropolis of Bessarabia, an autonomous part of the [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]] with jurisdiction in Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers the Metropolis of Bessarabia as an uncanonical entity.

Moldova has a total population of 3,388,000, 76.1% of whom identify themselves as Moldovans (national census of 2004). A census in the early 1990s showed 90% of the citizens of Moldova marked themselves as Orthodox Christian.

==Short History==

From 1373 to 1401 Moldavia was a self-ruled church until Ottoman conquest.

From 1401-1812 the territory was part of different eparchies of the Patriarchate of Constantinople which in turn was responsible to the Ottoman Sultanate. From 1791 to 1812 the territory was part of the Moldovo-Wallachian Exarchate of Constantinople.

From 1812 to 1918 the territory constituted the Chisinau Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its first Metropolitan was Gavriil (Banulescu-Bodoni). Its last metropolitan was Anastasios, the future first-hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

From 1918 to 1940 the territory constituted part of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia during the existence of Greater Romania.

From 1940 to 1992 the territory constituted the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova of the Church of Russia.

In October 1992 the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova was granted autonomy by the Church of Russia.

==Current Autonomy==
{{cleanup}}

In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, a significant part of the population{{weasel word}} wanted reunification with Romania rather than independence{{fact}}. They were encouraged by Romanian authorities, and by the Church of Romania{{fact}}. The Church of Romania revived the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, granted it autonomous status and gave it authority over (part) of Moldova and other areas.

In October 1992 the [[Church of Russia]] granted autonomy to the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova which holds the vast majority of the Orthodox population, parishes, monasteries, and churches in Moldova. This Metropolis is usually now known as the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1,080 parishes. The Metropolis of Bessarabia, has about 84 parishes within the nation of Moldova. The [[Old Believers|Old Rite]] Russian Orthodox Church make up approximately 3.6% of the population.

The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Vladimir, who is one of the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has four eparchies: Chisinau, Tiraspol and Dubasari, Edinets and Briceani, plus Cahul and Comrat. Church languages are Romanian and Slavonic. Church music is Byzantine and Russian. Entities are 1080 parishes, 30 monasteries, 1 academy, 2 seminaries.

The autonomous Metropolitanate of Basarabia is said to have 30 to 84 parishes in Moldova, the Odesa region of Ukraine, and the Chuvash region of Russia in the Ural mountains. It was founded by the bishop of Balti, Petru (Paduraru) in 1992, with the support of the Church of Romania. It was also supported by political parties opposing independence for the Republic of Moldova. It considers itself to be the heir of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia which existed in 1918-1940 during the period of Greater Romania.

Conflict continues between the Church of Romania and the Church of Russia over Moldova and other areas.

==External links==
*Source: [http://www.antiochian.org.au/content/view/505/50/ Moldovan Orthodox Church]
*[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24423.htm US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2003]
*Wikipedia: [[w:Moldova|Moldova]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Dioceses]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

Theodosius (Ivashchenko) of Seattle

2008-09-10T06:36:05Z

Aleks:

'''Bishop Theodosius (Ivashchenko)''' is the Bishop of Seattle, [[Vicar]] Bishop of the [[Diocese]] of Western America ([[ROCOR]]).

Bishop Theodosy (Ivashchenko) studied at the Kiev Institute of
Technology before attending Kiev Seminary, becoming a [[monk]], and being ordained [[Hieromonk]]. He served a [[parish]] 60 km. from Chernobyl, Ukraine for two years before being transferred to the Holy Land, where he served at monasteries on the Mount of Olives and in Hebron. After moving to the USA and living in a [[monastery]] in Minnesota for several years, he came to
San Francisco and was assigned to serve at St.Tikhon’s Russian Orthodox Church. Fr. Theodosius was also a teacher at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Russian School and at St. John’s from 2001 to 2008.<ref>[http://stjohnsacademysf.org/files/FacProfiles6.pdf St. John of San Francisco Academy Faculty Profiles 2007-2008, 5-16-2008]</ref> He was elected [[bishop]] in May 2008 <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2008/5enmhukaz.html Official Website of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad: May 16, 2008, Decrees of the Council of Bishops.]</ref> , and this election was confirmed by the [[Holy Synod]] of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 23rd.<ref>[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodox-rocor/message/8831 Interfax, June 23, 2008:The Synod of the Russian Church has, for the first time, confirmed the election of bishops for ROCOR, translated by Fr. John Shaw]</ref>

Bishop Theodosius was consecrated on [[September 7]], 2008, at the Cathedral of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow". Officiating at the consecration were His Eminence [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Metropolitan Hilarion]] of Eastern America and New York; His Eminence [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Archbishop Mark]] of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain; His Eminence [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Archbishop Kyrill]] of San Francisco and Western America; their Graces [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Bishop Gabriel]] of Montreal and Canada; [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Bishop Michael]] of Geneva and Western Europe; [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Bishop Peter]] of Cleveland; and [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|Bishop John]] of Caracas.

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]]|
title=Bishop of Seattle (ROCOR)|
years=2008|
after=—}}

[[Category:Bishops]]

Theodosius (Ivashchenko) of Seattle

2008-09-10T06:35:32Z

Aleks:

'''Bishop Theodosius (Ivashchenko)''' is the Bishop of Seattle, [[Vicar]] Bishop of the [[Diocese]] of Western America ([[ROCOR]]).

Bishop Theodosy (Ivashchenko) studied at the Kiev Institute of
Technology before attending Kiev Seminary, becoming a [[monk]], and being ordained [[Hieromonk]]. He served a [[parish]] 60 km. from Chernobyl, Ukraine for two years before being transferred to the Holy Land, where he served at monasteries on the Mount of Olives and in Hebron. After moving to the USA and living in a [[monastery]] in Minnesota for several years, he came to
San Francisco and was assigned to serve at St.Tikhon’s Russian Orthodox Church. Fr. Theodosius was also a teacher at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Russian School and at St. John’s from 2001 to 2008.<ref>[http://stjohnsacademysf.org/files/FacProfiles6.pdf St. John of San Francisco Academy Faculty Profiles 2007-2008, 5-16-2008]</ref> He was elected [[bishop]] in May 2008 <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2008/5enmhukaz.html Official Website of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad: May 16, 2008, Decrees of the Council of Bishops.]</ref> , and this election was confirmed by the [[Holy Synod]] of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 23rd.<ref>[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodox-rocor/message/8831 Interfax, June 23, 2008:The Synod of the Russian Church has, for the first time, confirmed the election of bishops for ROCOR, translated by Fr. John Shaw]</ref>

Bishop Theodosius was consecrated on [[September 7]], 2008, at the Cathedral of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow". Officiating at the consecration were His Eminence [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Metropolitan Hilarion] of Eastern America and New York; His Eminence [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Archbishop Mark] of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain; His Eminence [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Archbishop Kyrill]] of San Francisco and Western America; their Graces [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Bishop Gabriel]] of Montreal and Canada; [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Bishop Michael]] of Geneva and Western Europe; [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Bishop Peter]] of Cleveland; and [[John (Berzins) of Caracas|Bishop John]] of Caracas.

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]]|
title=Bishop of Seattle (ROCOR)|
years=2008|
after=—}}

[[Category:Bishops]]

Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn

2008-08-06T22:05:13Z

Aleks:

[[Image:Stefanos of Tallinn.jpg|frame|right|Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallinn and All Estonia]]
His Eminence [[Metropolitan]] '''Stephanos (Charalambides) of Tallinn''' and All Estonia is the current [[primate]] of the [[autonomous]] [[Church of Estonia]]. He has held this position since 1999.

{{stub}}

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=see created|
title=[[Church of Estonia|Metropolitan of Tallinn (EP)]]|
years=1999-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

==External link==
*[http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/hierarchs/constantinople/estonia/current.htm#stephanos_charalambites_metr_tallinn His Eminence Stephanos] at the Orthodox Research Institute

[[Category:Bishops]]

John (Bērziņš) of Caracas

2008-07-20T22:36:29Z

Aleks: consecration

His Grace '''John (Bērziņš)''' (Latvian: Jānis (Bērziņš), Russian: Иоанн (Берзинь)) is [[Bishop]] of Caracas, Venezuela, and administrator of the [[diocese]] of South America for the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]] (ROCOR).

His Grace was born Pēteris Bērziņš on [[March 16]], 1957, in Cooma, Australia, of [[Church of Latvia|Latvian Orthodox]] refugees, Leonid (1921-1996) and Margarita (b. 1924) Bērziņš. He grew up in Cooma and graduated with a philological degree from the Australian National University. [[Vladyka]] John is fluent in ancient Greek and Latin.

In 1982, he entered [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York, and enrolled in [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]]. He graduated from the [[seminary]] in 1985. He was [[tonsure]]d to the mantle on [[March 16]], 1985, by [[Archbishop]] [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus of Syracuse and Holy Trinity]] and [[ordination|ordained]] [[hierodeacon]] on [[April 12]], 1987, also by Abp. Laurus. From 1992-1996, he served as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the [[Holy Land]]. In 1994, he was awarded the gold [[clergy awards|pectoral cross]] by Abp. Laurus. From 2001-2005, he served again as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land. In September 2005, he was elevated to the rank of [[hegumen]] by His Eminence [[Metropolitan]] Laurus. From 2005 to 2008, he ministered to Ss. Sergius and German of Valaam Community of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America. In May 2008, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR designated him as candidate for the Caracas cathedra.

Hegumen John was consecrated Bishop of Caracas on [[June 21]], 2008, at the [[Old Believers|Old-Rite]] Church of the Nativity in Erie, Pennsylvania. Officiating at the consecration were His Eminence Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion]] of New York and Eastern America, His Grace Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel]] of Erie, and His Grace Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter]] of Cleveland.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires]]|
title=Bishop of Caracas ([[ROCOR]])|
years=2008-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

==Source==
*[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2008/6enberzins.html Curriculum Vitae of Hegumen John (ROCOR website)]

[[Category:Bishops]]

Moldovan Orthodox Church

2008-06-23T23:39:27Z

Aleks: sp

{{diocese|
name=Orthodox Church of Moldova|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1401|
bishop=[[Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chisinau|Vladimir (Cantarean)]]|
see=Chişinău|
hq=Chişinău, Moldova|
territory=Moldova (including Transdniestria)|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], Romanian|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=2,000,000|
website=[http://www.mitropolia.md/ Official Website]
}}
The '''Moldovan Orthodox Church''' (Officially: '''Orthodox Church of Moldova''', Russian: Православная Церковь Молдовы, Romanian:
Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova) is an autonomous entity of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] with canonical jurisdiction in Moldova, including the disputed region of Transdniestria.

It should not be confused with the Metropolis of Bessarabia, an autonomous part of the [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]] with jurisdiction in Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers the Metropolis of Bessarabia as an uncanonical entity.

Moldova has a total population of 3,388,000, 76.1% of whom identify themselves as Moldovans (national census of 2004). A census in the early 1990s showed 90% of the citizens of Moldova marked themselves as Orthodox Christian.

==Short History==

From 1373 to 1401 Moldavia was a self-ruled church until Ottoman conquest.

From 1401-1812 the territory was part of different eparchies of the Patriarchate of Constantinople which in turn was responsible to the Ottoman Sultanate. From 1791 to 1812 the territory was part of the Moldovo-Wallachian Exarchate of Constantinople.

From 1812 to 1918 the territory constituted the Chisinau Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its first Metropolitan was Gavriil (Banulescu-Bodoni). Its last metropolitan was Anastasios, the future first-hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

From 1918 to 1940 the territory constituted part of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia during the existence of Greater Romania.

From 1940 to 1992 the territory constituted the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova of the Church of Russia.

In October 1992 the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova was granted autonomy by the Church of Russia.

==Current Autonomy==

In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, a significant part of the population wanted reunification with Romania rather than independence. They were encouraged by Romanian authorities, and by the Church of Romania. The Church of Romania revived the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, granted it autonomous status and gave it authority over (part) of Moldova and other areas.

In October 1992 the [[Church of Russia]] granted autonomy to the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova which holds the vast majority of the Orthodox population, parishes, monasteries, and churches in Moldova. This Metropolis is usually now known as the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1,080 parishes. The Metropolis of Bessarabia, has about 84 parishes within the nation of Moldova. The [[Old Believers|Old Rite]] Russian Orthodox Church make up approximately 3.6% of the population.

The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Vladimir, who is one of the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has four eparchies: Chisinau, Tiraspol and Dubasari, Edinets and Briceani, plus Cahul and Comrat. Church languages are Romanian and Slavonic. Church music is Byzantine and Russian. Entities are 1080 parishes, 30 monasteries, 1 academy, 2 seminaries.

The autonomous Metropolitanate of Basarabia is said to have 30 to 84 parishes in Moldova, the Odesa region of Ukraine, and the Chuvash region of Russia in the Ural mountains. It was founded by the bishop of Balti, Petru (Paduraru) in 1992, with the support of the Church of Romania. It was also supported by political parties opposing independence for the Republic of Moldova. It considers itself to be the heir of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia which existed in 1918-1940 during the period of Greater Romania.

Conflict continues between the Church of Romania and the Church of Russia over Moldova and other areas.

==External links==
*Source: [http://www.antiochian.org.au/content/view/505/50/ Moldovan Orthodox Church]
*[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24423.htm US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2003]
*Wikipedia: [[w:Moldova|Moldova]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Dioceses]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

Moldovan Orthodox Church

2008-06-23T23:37:17Z

Aleks: sp

{{diocese|
name=Orthodox Church of Moldova|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1813|
bishop=[[Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chisinau|Vladimir (Cantarean)]]|
see=Chişinău|
hq=Chişinău, Moldova|
territory=Moldova (including Transdniestria)|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], Romanian|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=2,000,000|
website=[http://www.mitropolia.md/ Official Website]
}}
The '''Moldovan Orthodox Church''' (Officially: '''Orthodox Church of Moldova''', Russian: Православная Церковь Молдовы, Romanian:
Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova) is an autonomous entity of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] with canonical jurisdiction in Moldova, including the disputed region of Transdniestria.

It should not be confused with the Metropolis of Bessarabia, an autonomous part of the [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]] with jurisdiction in Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers the Metropolis of Bessarabia as an uncanonical entity.

Moldova has a total population of 3,388,000, 76.1% of whom identify themselves as Moldovans (national census of 2004). A census in the early 1990s showed 90% of the citizens of Moldova marked themselves as Orthodox Christian.

==Short History==

From 1373 to 1401 Moldavia was a self-ruled church until Ottoman conquest.

From 1401-1812 the territory was part of different eparchies of the Patriarchate of Constantinople which in turn was responsible to the Ottoman Sultanate. From 1791 to 1812 the territory was part of the Moldovo-Wallachian Exarchate of Constantinople.

From 1812 to 1918 the territory constituted the Chisinau Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its first Metropolitan was Gavriil (Banulescu-Bodoni). Its last metropolitan was Anastasios, the future first-hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

From 1918 to 1940 the territory constituted part of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia during the existence of Greater Romania.

From 1940 to 1992 the territory constituted the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova of the Church of Russia.

In October 1992 the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova was granted autonomy by the Church of Russia.

==Current Autonomy==

In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, a significant part of the population wanted reunification with Romania rather than independence. They were encouraged by Romanian authorities, and by the Church of Romania. The Church of Romania revived the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, granted it autonomous status and gave it authority over (part) of Moldova and other areas.

In October 1992 the [[Church of Russia]] granted autonomy to the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova which holds the vast majority of the Orthodox population, parishes, monasteries, and churches in Moldova. This Metropolis is usually now known as the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1,080 parishes. The Metropolis of Bessarabia, has about 84 parishes within the nation of Moldova. The [[Old Believers|Old Rite]] Russian Orthodox Church make up approximately 3.6% of the population.

The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Vladimir, who is one of the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has four eparchies: Chisinau, Tiraspol and Dubasari, Edinets and Briceani, plus Cahul and Comrat. Church languages are Romanian and Slavonic. Church music is Byzantine and Russian. Entities are 1080 parishes, 30 monasteries, 1 academy, 2 seminaries.

The autonomous Metropolitanate of Basarabia is said to have 30 to 84 parishes in Moldova, the Odesa region of Ukraine, and the Chuvash region of Russia in the Ural mountains. It was founded by the bishop of Balti, Petru (Paduraru) in 1992, with the support of the Church of Romania. It was also supported by political parties opposing independence for the Republic of Moldova. It considers itself to be the heir of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia which existed in 1918-1940 during the period of Greater Romania.

Conflict continues between the Church of Romania and the Church of Russia over Moldova and other areas.

==External links==
*Source: [http://www.antiochian.org.au/content/view/505/50/ Moldovan Orthodox Church]
*[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24423.htm US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2003]
*Wikipedia: [[w:Moldova|Moldova]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Dioceses]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

Moldovan Orthodox Church

2008-06-23T23:36:37Z

Aleks: cleanup

{{diocese|
name=Orthodox Church of Moldova|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1813|
bishop=[[Vladimir (Cantarean) of Chisinau|Metropolitan Vladimir (Cantarean]]|
see=Chişinău|
hq=Chişinău, Moldova|
territory=Moldova (including Transdniestria)|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], Romanian|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=2,000,000|
website=[http://www.mitropolia.md/ Official Website]
}}
The '''Moldovan Orthodox Church''' (Officially: '''Orthodox Church of Moldova''', Russian: Православная Церковь Молдовы, Romanian:
Biserica Ortodoxă din Moldova) is an autonomous entity of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] with canonical jurisdiction in Moldova, including the disputed region of Transdniestria.

It should not be confused with the Metropolis of Bessarabia, an autonomous part of the [[Church of Romania|Romanian Orthodox Church]] with jurisdiction in Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church considers the Metropolis of Bessarabia as an uncanonical entity.

Moldova has a total population of 3,388,000, 76.1% of whom identify themselves as Moldovans (national census of 2004). A census in the early 1990s showed 90% of the citizens of Moldova marked themselves as Orthodox Christian.

==Short History==

From 1373 to 1401 Moldavia was a self-ruled church until Ottoman conquest.

From 1401-1812 the territory was part of different eparchies of the Patriarchate of Constantinople which in turn was responsible to the Ottoman Sultanate. From 1791 to 1812 the territory was part of the Moldovo-Wallachian Exarchate of Constantinople.

From 1812 to 1918 the territory constituted the Chisinau Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its first Metropolitan was Gavriil (Banulescu-Bodoni). Its last metropolitan was Anastasios, the future first-hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

From 1918 to 1940 the territory constituted part of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia during the existence of Greater Romania.

From 1940 to 1992 the territory constituted the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova of the Church of Russia.

In October 1992 the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova was granted autonomy by the Church of Russia.

==Current Autonomy==

In the lead-up to the independence of Moldova, a significant part of the population wanted reunification with Romania rather than independence. They were encouraged by Romanian authorities, and by the Church of Romania. The Church of Romania revived the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia, granted it autonomous status and gave it authority over (part) of Moldova and other areas.

In October 1992 the [[Church of Russia]] granted autonomy to the Metropolis of Chisinau and Moldova which holds the vast majority of the Orthodox population, parishes, monasteries, and churches in Moldova. This Metropolis is usually now known as the Moldovan Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has 1,080 parishes. The Metropolis of Bessarabia, has about 84 parishes within the nation of Moldova. The [[Old Believers|Old Rite]] Russian Orthodox Church make up approximately 3.6% of the population.

The head of the Moldovan Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Vladimir, who is one of the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Moldovan Orthodox Church has four eparchies: Chisinau, Tiraspol and Dubasari, Edinets and Briceani, plus Cahul and Comrat. Church languages are Romanian and Slavonic. Church music is Byzantine and Russian. Entities are 1080 parishes, 30 monasteries, 1 academy, 2 seminaries.

The autonomous Metropolitanate of Basarabia is said to have 30 to 84 parishes in Moldova, the Odesa region of Ukraine, and the Chuvash region of Russia in the Ural mountains. It was founded by the bishop of Balti, Petru (Paduraru) in 1992, with the support of the Church of Romania. It was also supported by political parties opposing independence for the Republic of Moldova. It considers itself to be the heir of the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia which existed in 1918-1940 during the period of Greater Romania.

Conflict continues between the Church of Romania and the Church of Russia over Moldova and other areas.

==External links==
*Source: [http://www.antiochian.org.au/content/view/505/50/ Moldovan Orthodox Church]
*[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24423.htm US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2003]
*Wikipedia: [[w:Moldova|Moldova]]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Dioceses]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow

2008-06-23T23:13:06Z

Aleks: /* Criticism */ succession box

[[Image:alexeyII.jpg|frame|right|Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia]]
His Holiness [[Patriarch]] '''Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow''' (born [[February 23]], 1929) is the current Patriarch of Moscow and the head of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

==Life and ministry==
He entered Leningrad Theological [[Seminary]] in 1947, and graduated in 1949. He then entered the Leningrad Theological Academy (now [http://www.spbda.ru/english/index.php Saint Petersburg Theological Seminary]), and graduated in 1953.<ref name="official bio">[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?mid=99&lng=1 Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Biographical Note], Biography, on the Moscow Patriarchate's official website.</ref><ref name="encbrit">''Encyclopedia Britannica Online'', s.v. Alexis II, http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005644/Alexis-II 1/19/2008</ref>

On April 15, 1950, he was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]] by Metropolitan Gregory (Chukov) of Leningrad, and on April 17, 1950, he was ordained a [[priest]] and appointed [[rector]] of the [[Theophany]] church in city of [[w:Johvi|Johvi]], Estonia, in the Tallinn Diocese. On July 15, 1957, Fr. Alexei was appointed Rector of the Cathedral of the [[Dormition]] in Tallinn and [[Dean]] of the [[W:Tartu|Tartu]] district. He was elevation to the rank of Archpriest on August 17, 1958, and on March 30, 1959, he was appointed Dean of the united Tartu-[[W:Viljandi|Viljandi]] deanery of the Tallinn diocese. On March 3, 1961, he was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] in the Trinity Cathedral of [[Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra]].<ref name="official bio" />

On August 14, 1961, he was chosen to be the [[Bishop]] of Tallinn and Estonia. On June 23, 1964, he was promoted to [[archbishop]]; and, on February 25, 1968, at the age of 39, to [[metropolitan]].<ref name="encbrit" />

From 1986 until his election as Patriarch, he was Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad. After the death of [[Pimen I (Izvekov) of Moscow|Patriarch Pimen]] in 1990, Alexei was chosen to become the new Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was chosen on the basis of his administrative experience, and was considered "intelligent, energetic, hardworking, systematic, perceptive, and businesslike."<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p. 85.</ref> He also "had a reputation as a conciliator, 'a person who could find common ground with various groups in the episcopate.' "<ref name="nd86">Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p. 86.</ref> Archbishishop Chrysostom (Martyshkin) remarked, "With his peaceful and tolerant disposition Patriarch Aleksi will be able to unite us all."<ref>''Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii'', No. 10 (October), 1990, p.16, quoted in Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p. 284.</ref> Patriarch Alexei II was "the first patriarch in Soviet history to be chosen without government pressure; candidates were nominated from the floor, and the election was conducted by secret ballot."<ref name="encbrit" />

Upon taking on the role of Patriarch, Patriarch Alexei became a vocal advocate of the rights of the church, calling for the Soviet government to allow religious education in the state schools and for a "freedom of conscience" law.<ref name="encbrit" /> During the attempted coup in August 1991, he denounced the arrest of Mikhail Gorbachev, and anathematized the plotters.<ref name="encbrit" /> He publicly questioned the junta's legitimacy, called for restraint by the military, and demanded that Gorbachev be allowed to address the people.<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p. 96.</ref> He issued a second appeal against violence and fratricide, which was amplified over loudspeakers to the troops outside the Russian "White House" half an hour before they attacked.<ref name="nd86" /> Ultimately, the coup failed, which eventually resulted in the break-up of the Soviet Union.<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Westview Press, 2003), p. 97.</ref>

Under his leadership, the [[New Martyrs]] and [[Confessor]]s of Russia who suffered under Communism were [[glorification|glorified]], beginning with [[Elizabeth the New Martyr|the Grand Duchess Elizabeth]], Metropolitan [[Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Kiev and Gallich|Vladimir of Kiev]], and Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd in 1992.<ref name="ware">[[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Timothy Ware]], ''The Orthodox Church'', new ed., (London: Penguin Books, 1997), p. 164.</ref> In 2000, the All-Russian Council glorified Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] and his family, as well as many other New Martyrs.<ref>Sophia Kishkovsky, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/16/europe/16russ.php?page=2 Russian Orthodox Church is set to mend a bitter schism], ''International Herald Tribune'', May 16, 2007; [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0008f.html#31 Second day of bishops' council: Nicholas' canonization approved], Communications Service, Department of External Church Relations, Moscow Patriarchate, 14 August 2000.</ref> More names continue to be added to list of New Martyrs, after the Synodal Canonization Commission completes its investigation of each case.<ref>Maxim Massalitin, [http://www.pravoslavie.ru/enarticles/040106180408 The New Martyrs Unify Us: Interview with Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov, participant of the All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference in Nyack (December 8-12, 2003)], Pravoslavie.ru, December 13, 2003.</ref>

Despite his age, Patriarch Alexei II is quite healthy and leads an active political life. He is frequently seen on Russian TV, conducting Church services, and meeting with various government officials.

==Name==
His name (secular 'Алексей, clerical Алексий) is transliterated from the Cyrillic alphabet into English in various forms, including Alexius, Aleksi, Alexis, Alexei, Alexey, and Alexy. When he became a monk, his name was not changed; this departure from custom was common in the Russian Church in Soviet times.

==Criticism==
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union there have been accusations that Patriarch Alexei had ties to the KGB, which resulted from documents which allegedly came from the KGB's archives in Estonia, and which refer to Patriarch Alexei with the code name "Drozdov."<ref>See for example, ''The Wall Street Journal'', [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB118469533202469128-lMyQjAxMDE3ODE0NzYxOTc1Wj.html 'Cold War Lingers At Russian Church In New Jersey'] December 28, 2007.</ref> It should be noted that it was very unusual for any person to be referenced in KGB documents prior to 1980 without a similar code name, regardless of an affiliation with the KGB. Patriarch Alexei has always denied that he was a KGB agent,<ref>"Official spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy Father Vsevolod Chaplin labeled such reports as 'absolutely unsubstantiated' in a Wednesday interview with Interfax. 'There is no data indicating that Patriarch Alexy II was an associate of the special services, and no classified documents bear his signature,' he said. 'I do not think that direct dialogue between the current patriarch and KGB took place,' Father Vsevolod continued. However, 'all bishops communicated with representatives of the council for religious matters in the Soviet government, which was inevitable, since any issue, even the most insignificant one, had to be resolved through this body. It is quite another matter that the council forwarded all its materials to the KGB,' he said." [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0009b.html Moscow Patriarchate Rejects Times Report of Alexy II'S Collaboration with KGB, Sept 20, 2000 (Interfax)]. "Chaplin, the church spokesman, said in March, 'Nobody has ever seen a single real document that would confirm the patriarch used his contacts with Soviet authorities to make harm to the church or to any people in the church.' " [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0205e.html Russia's Well-Connected Patriarch, ''Washington Post'' Foreign Service, 23 May 2002]; "Father Chaplin said: 'In recent times many anonymous photocopies of all sorts of pieces of paper have been circulated. In none of them is there the slightest evidence that the individuals we are talking about knew that these documents were being drawn up, or gave their consent. So I don't think any reasonably authoritative clerical or secular commission could see these papers as proof of anything.' " Russian Patriarch 'was KGB spy', ''The Guardian'' (London), February 12, 1999.</ref> and the authenticity of the documents in question have been disputed on the basis on the basis that they use anachronistic fonts which did not exist at the time the document ostensibly originated from, and that the Estonian government fabricated the documents in order to discredit the Russian Orthodox Church.<ref>Alexey Chumakov [https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?A2=ind0010A&L=ORTHODOX&P=R3102 Agent Drozdov?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

Professor Nathaniel Davis pointed out: "If the bishops wished to defend their people and survive in office, they had to collaborate to some degree with the KGB, with the commissioners of the Council for Religious Affairs, and with other party and governmental authorities."<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p. 96. Davis quotes one bishop as saying: "Yes, we—I, at least, and I say this first about myself—I worked together with the KGB. I cooperated, I made signed statements, I had regular meetings, I made reports. I was given a pseudonym—a code name as they say there... I knowingly cooperated with them—but in such a way that I undeviatingly tried to maintain the position of my Church, and, yes, also to act as a patriot, insofar as I understood, in collaboration with these organs. I was never a stool pigeon, nor an informer."</ref>

Patriarch Alexei has, however, acknowledged that compromises were made with the Soviet government by bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate, and publicly repented of these compromises.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/patalexei.htm Has the MP Repented?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

:''"Defending one thing, it was necessary to give somewhere else. Were there any other organizations, or any other people among those who had to carry responsibility not only for themselves but for thousands of other fates, who in those years in the Soviet Union were not compelled to act likewise? Before those people, however, to whom the compromises, silence, forced passivity or expressions of loyalty permitted by the leaders of the church in those years caused pain, before these people, and not only before God, I ask forgiveness, understanding and prayers."''<ref>From an interview of Patriarch Alexei II, given to "Izvestia" No 137, June 10, 1991, entitled "Patriarch Alexei II:—I Take upon Myself Responsibility for All that Happened", English translation from Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), p. 89. See also [http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch|John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco]], December 31, 2007.</ref>

According to Nathaniel Davis, when asked by the Russian press about claims that he was a "compliant" bishop, "Aleksi defended his record, noting that while he was bishop of Tallinn in 1961, he resisted the communist authorities' efforts to make the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city a planetarium (which, in truth, they did do elsewhere in the Baltic states) and to convert the Pyukhtitsa Dormition nunnery to a rest home for miners."<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995) ,p. 89f.</ref> Official records show that the Tallinn diocese had a lower number of forced church closings than was typical in the rest of the USSR during Patriarch Alexei's tenure as bishop there.<ref>Nathaniel Davis, ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'', (Oxford: Westview Press, 1995), fn. 115, p. 272.</ref> Metropolitan [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Kallistos]] (Timothy Ware) notes, "Opinions differ over the past collaboration or otherwise between the Communist authorities, but on the whole he is thought to have shown firmness and independence in his dealings as a diocesan bishop with the Soviet State."<ref name="ware" />

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John (Alekseyev) of Tallinn|John (Alekseyev)]]|
title=Metropolitan of Tallinn and Estonia|
years=1961-1986|
after=[[Cornelius (Yacobs) of Tallinn|Cornelius (Yacobs)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Anthony (Melnikov) of Leningrad|Anthony (Melnikov)]]|
title=Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad|
years=1986-1990|
after=[[John (Snychev) of St Petersburg|John (Snychev)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Pimen I (Izvekov) of Moscow|Pimen (Izvekov)]]|
title=[[List of primates of Russia|Patriarch of Moscow]]|
years=1990-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?mid=99&lng=1 Biography on the official site of the Moscow Patriarchate]
*[http://orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/hierarchs/russia/current.htm#aleksii_patr Listing] at the Orthodox Research Institute
*[[w:Patriarch Alexius II|''Patriarch Alexius II'' at Wikipedia]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Patriarchs of Moscow]]

[[es:Alexei II (Ridiger) de Moscú]]
[[fr:Alexis II (Ridiger) de Moscou]]

Cornelius (Yacobs) of Tallinn

2008-06-23T23:08:29Z

Aleks: succession box, sp, and some reorganization

[[Image:Cornelius.jpg|right|Metr. Cornelius]]His Beatitude '''Cornelius, [[Metropolitan]] of Tallinn and All Estonia''' (secular name Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Yacobs) is the head of the [[Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)|Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate]].

==Life==
He was born on [[June 19]], 1924, in Tallinn into the family of a Russian army colonel. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the family had emigrated to Estonia. In 1943, he finished school and served as a psalm [[reader]] in the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Tallinn. On [[August 19]], 1945, he was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]] by Paul (Dmitrovsky), Archbishop of Tallinn and all Estonia, and later, on [[February 8]], 1948, he was ordained a priest by Isidore, Bishop of Tallinn and all Estonia. He was appointed rector of St Mary Magdalene Church in Haapsalu. In 1951 he graduated from the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Seminary (by correspondence).

From 1951 to 1957 he belonged to the [[clergy]] of the Vologda [[diocese]]. On [[February 27]], 1957, he was arrested by the KGB and charged for "anti-Soviet agitation" (due to his possession of religious books and conversations with believers). On [[May 16]], 1957, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He served his sentence in the political camps of Mordovia (Dubravlag). On [[September 12]], 1960, the Supreme Court of Mordovia reduced the sentence to five years, and then by the court's resolution he was released from custody ahead of time and put on probation. (He was rehabilitated on [[October 14]], 1988). In November 1960 he came back to Estonia and became rector of John the Forerunner Church in Tallinn.

On [[July 20]], 1990 at the first meeting of the [[Holy Synod]], chaired by His Holiness Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II of Moscow and all Russia]], he was appointed [[Bishop]] of Tallinn, vicar to His Holiness the Patriarch. On [[August 21]], 1990, he took [[monasticism|monastic]] vows in the Monastery of the Dormition at Pechery near Pskov and obtained the name of Cornelius; on [[September 6]], 1990 he was elevated to the rank of [[archimandrite]].

On [[September 15]], 1990, he was ordained a bishop at the Cathedral of St. [[Alexander Nevsky]] in Tallinn. The chirotony (laying on of hands) was done by His Holiness Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia; Metropolitan Tikhon of Helsinki (Finnish Orthodox Church), Bishop Evgeny of Tambov and Michurinsk, Bishop Victor of Podolsk, and Bishop Lev of Novgorod and Staraya Russa. Upon the decision of the Holy Synod to grant autonomy to the Estonian Orthodox Church, he became the head of the Estonian church, with the title of Bishop of Tallinn and all Estonia. In 1995 he was elevated to the rank of [[archbishop]].

On [[November 6]], 2000, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Tallinn and all Estonia.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei (Ridiger)]]|
title=Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia|
years=1990-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

==Source==
*[http://www.orthodox.ee/indexeng.php?d=clergy/primate From the official website of the Orthodox Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)], used with their kind permission.

[[Category:Bishops]]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-06-23T22:41:23Z

Aleks: /* The Episcopacy */ episcopal titles for bishops-elect announced

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are three ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.

There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 9 [[bishop]]s serving 9 [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and three candidates for the episcopacy.

Ruling bishops:
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]], '''[[Locum Tenens]]''' of the the Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

Vicar bishops:
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop-Elect [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Bishop-Elect [[George (Schaeffer)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Mayfield, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.
*Bishop-Elect [[John Shaw]]. Candidate for Bishop of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America.

Retired bishops:
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

Suspended bishops:
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

Former bishops:
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

John (Bērziņš) of Caracas

2008-06-23T16:11:17Z

Aleks: succession box added

His Grace '''John (Bērziņš)''' (Latvian: Jānis (Bērziņš), Russian: Иоанн (Берзинь)) is [[Bishop]] of Caracas, Venezuela, and administrator of the [[diocese]] of South America for the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]] (ROCOR).

His Grace was born Pēteris Bērziņš on [[March 16]], 1957, in Cooma, Australia, of [[Church of Latvia|Latvian Orthodox]] refugees, Leonid (1921-1996) and Margarita (b. 1924) Bērziņš. He grew up in Cooma and graduated with a philological degree from the Australian National University. [[Vladyka]] John is fluent in ancient Greek and Latin.

In 1982, he entered [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York, and enrolled in [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]]. He graduated from the [[seminary]] in 1985. He was [[tonsure]]d to the mantle on [[March 16]], 1985, by [[Archbishop]] [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus of Syracuse and Holy Trinity]] and [[ordination|ordained]] [[hierodeacon]] on [[April 12]], 1987, also by Abp. Laurus. From 1992-1996, he served as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the [[Holy Land]]. In 1994, he was awarded the gold [[clergy awards|pectoral cross]] by Abp. Laurus. From 2001-2005, he served again as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land. In September 2005, he was elevated to the rank of [[hegumen]] by His Eminence [[Metropolitan]] Laurus. From 2005 to 2008, he ministered to Ss. Sergius and German of Valaam Community of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America. In May 2008, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR designated him as candidate of Bishop of Caracas.

Hegumen John was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] Bishop of Caracas on [[June 21]], 2008, at the [[Old-Rite]] Church of the Nativity in Erie, Pennsylvania.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires]]|
title=Bishop of Caracas ([[ROCOR]])|
years=2008-|
after=''incumbent''}}
{{end box}}

==Source==
*[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2008/6enberzins.html Curriculum Vitae of Hegumen John (ROCOR website)]

[[Category:Bishops]]

Talk:Church of Estonia (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

2008-06-23T16:03:49Z

Aleks: /* The "other" Church of Estonia */

=="Apostolic"==
I've noticed that the word "apostolic" has been removed several times from the title of this church. The reason I keep adding it is that the church's official name in Estonian, '''Eesti Apostlik-Õigeusu Kirik''' (which is also on the official website[http://www.eoc.ee/]), clearly includes the word "apostolic" in it, and so does a scholarly reference site[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=33]. Why, then, does it keep getting removed? {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 16:08, January 11, 2006 (CST)

== The "other" Church of Estonia ==

I think perhaps there is some confusion regarding this article. The [[Church of Estonia]] article is about the autonomous entity whose primate is confirmed by the Ecumenical Patriarch. It's been edited recently to refer instead to another entity, but there really ought to be two separate articles. Links already exist for this other entity, the exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate, and it's waiting for an article to be written: [[Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate)]]. We invite this other article to be written, but it should not replace the existing article. Thank you for your contributions! —[[User:ASDamick|<font size="3.5" color="green" face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">Fr. Andrew</font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <small>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]]</small> 17:41, May 30, 2007 (PDT)

From the standpoint of "Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias", this article ought to be renamed to Church of Estonia (Ecumenical Patriarchate) if the other is Church of Estonia (Moscow Patriarchate). Otherwise, it seems like OrthodoxWiki is "endorsing" one jurisdiction over another. Note, that no one in the world, except the EP recognizes the "Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church". --[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 01:05, June 22, 2008 (UTC)

: The reason for the difference in naming is that the EP's Estonian church is not regarded by the EP as a constituent part—rather, the EP regards the Estonian church as autonomous, having the same status as Finland, Sinai, etc. The MP, however, regards its Estonian church as being essentially an integral part of the MP, in contrast with the [[Church of Ukraine]], which it regards as autonomous. Thus, the distinction.

: I'd be interested to see a citation on the EP's Estonian church's recognition—many of the ancient churches tend to follow the EP's lead on such matters. Do we have something published which indicates the position of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Greece, Cyprus, etc.? —[[User:ASDamick|<font size="3.5" color="green" face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">Fr. Andrew</font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <small>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]] <font face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">('''[[User:ASDamick/Wiki-philosophy|THINK!]]''')</font></small> 20:26, June 22, 2008 (UTC)

:: See my response on [[User_talk:ASDamick|Fr Andrew's talk page]].--[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 16:03, June 23, 2008 (UTC)

Talk:Church of Estonia (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

2008-06-23T16:03:04Z

Aleks: /* The "other" Church of Estonia */

Talk:Church of Estonia (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

2008-06-23T16:02:48Z

Aleks:

User talk:ASDamick

2008-06-23T15:57:12Z

Aleks: /* My Apology and request for Help */

<div class="boilerplate" id="stub" style="margin: 0 auto; text-align: center; background: #EEEEEE; padding: 0 10px; border: 1px solid #CCC; width: 60%; align: center">'''Fr. Andrew''' is currently reserving the right to make his wiki-contributions extremely sporadic.</div>

* [[/Archive 1|Archive 1]] (Dec. 18, 2004 - June 17, 2005)
* [[/Archive 2|Archive 2]] (July 5, 2005 - Dec. 15, 2005)
* [[/Archive 3|Archive 3]] (Dec. 23, 2005 - Aug. 2, 2006)
* [[/Archive 4|Archive 4]] (Aug. 10, 2006 - May 29, 2008)

----

== "Church" v. "church" ==

I understand "the Church" v. "a church" when it comes to a parish. However, I thought that one could also have "a Church" meaning an entity such as the [[Church of Russia]]. Currently, that article (Jursidiction section) mentions: "This includes these self-governing Churches:" Is this wrong? (I would appreciate it if you would add some clarification to the [[OrthodoxWiki:Style_Manual#Capitalization|Style Manual]] on this so I can refer back to it.) Thank you. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 15:05, June 2, 2008 (UTC)

==Vandalism 10June08==
Figured just after I did it... :/ ...Wonder if there's a way to have a setting where all of an editors edits can just be mass-reverted? — by [[User:Pistevo|<font color="green">Pιs</font><font color="gold">τévο</font>]] <sup>''[[User talk:Pistevo|<font color="blue">talk</font>]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|<font color="red">complaints</font>]]''</sup> at 11:56, June 10, 2008 (UTC)

* Thank you very much, Fr. Andrew. It's just my duty.--''[[User:Θεοδωρος|<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #082567">Θεόδωρος</span>]]'' 12:02, June 10, 2008 (UTC)

I've noticed you are able to delete particular edits from the revision history. I think [[Pope Saint Dioscorus I of Alexandria (Coptic POV)]] still needs help (or just to be transferred to OrthodoxSource and deleted here), but I'd like to know how to delete selected edits, and what the "undo" button does ... without harming an actual article. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 19:47, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

:Thank you. I hadn't even noticed the (show/hide) link until you pointed it out. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 22:15, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

::Hmm. Poking it doesn't seem to work in this case. I can rollback to the previous edit, or I can undo, but each option seems to deal with single edits, when I want to go back several edits. I have tried several times to copy and paste from an [http://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Pope_Saint_Dioscorus_I_of_Alexandria_(Coptic_POV)&oldid=60734 older edit], but I think that there may be too much data. I feel uncomfortable transferring this article to OrthodoxSource, because I don't know whether we have the right to use most of the material from this article (most of it seems to be from [http://www.coptichymns.net/module-library-viewpub-tid-1-pid-384.html this article]). In any case, if you can get the article restored (I give up), I think it needs a significant amount of cleanup. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 22:52, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

== Help on Code ==

Hi, I have looked through the various Help Files but there doesnt seem to be one that teaches you (or define) how to use the parameters (and what these are) for code. I have been working on putting a {{ }} together but I want to collapse my table. Do you know of a reference I cna read to educate myself on this code? and what will work on OrthodoxWiki? [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 02:58, June 12, 2008 (UTC)

:Do you know if the {{#if:}} are supposed to work on OrthodoxWiki? They work on Wikipedia -- [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

== Recruitment of "expert" ==

Hi, I wanted to ask you to help me ... I am hoping that at this point in time, the number of people who go to OrthodoxSource is limited to ...two, three at the max ...because it will get crazy before a nice sensible 'framework' is put in place ... anyway, can you pop over to Orthodox Source for a moment ... and take a look at what I have started to do and please dont freak out ... I am pretty computer savvy .. the only problem is I am having difficulty with the #if code ... which is messing up the format for this template [http://www.orthodoxsource.org/Template:Author ''Development of Template for "Author" definitions"''] which is a key template to get this site up and running. Keep it quiet that I am working on that site because otherwise too many people will start sticky beaking into it and modifying things without the framework finishing ... -- [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

So, who should I recruit??? See, my development so far ... I want someone to work with! Any ideas? [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

== take a look .... ==

http://orthodoxsource.org/Author:Raphael_Hawaweeny

==Existing structure==
Thanks on the revert on my addition to the "graduates". I like to follow the existing structure a best I can. A few times I've noted what appears to be more than one path, usually over using similar titles for articles and categories that I think adds confusion in navigating. At this time I can't remember my "examples!" Multiple paths may be necessary sometime, but my intent is to work within the present structure and keep the structure simple to follow. [[User:Wsk|Wsk]] 14:09, June 18, 2008 (UTC)

==PSCA==
PSCA = "Provisional Supreme Church Authority [of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]", aka the "Agathangelites" -- the latest schismatic jurisdiction to emerge in Ukraine. I'll get a brief article about them up. {{unsigned|Aleks}}

==Stuff==
1. I am not trying to live in '''"bubble" world''' where only I can edit and only I can do as I please ... so, please dont go inferring that I should "bugger off" and start my own wiki if that is what I want ...

2. I am not upset because you deleted the DVD articles, or Category links (because I make OW mistakes) I never said that so please dont infer that. I am/was upset with the overall revert you made to the OrthodoxSource Main Page. That was a significant (rv) and I just would have liked the opportunity to have been treated like an equal in that case - drop me a conversational note giving me a warning that you intend to do it. That was what upset me, ''''the fact you didnt think I was worth discussing it in the first place'''

3. I tend to get defensive with you because from Day One you have been pretty abrupt with me on just about every occassion ... so that pattern has made me feel like '''you dont think I am worth discussing with in the first place''' - even if you do talk to me ... it has been talking "down" on occassions, little comments in the past "highlighting" my weaknesses have made me feel inferior ... and have made me feel that everyone has a superior grasp of "English", I dont ... so ... I do note, that you are so willing to be "patient" with me; Wow, how awesome that you can exhibit ''patience'' with me? how good does that make me feel?

It doesnt matter. The point is, I dont seem to do it right in here. So, goodbye from today. I wont contribute to OW anymore if you all think that my contributions lack 'quality", what is the point of wasting my time and yours? - [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 04:52, June 19, 2008 (UTC)

: See my response on your [[User talk:Ixthis888|talk page]]. —[[User:ASDamick|<font size="3.5" color="green" face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">Fr. Andrew</font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <small>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]] <font face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">('''[[User:ASDamick/Wiki-philosophy|THINK!]]''')</font></small> 05:00, June 19, 2008 (UTC)

== My Apology and request for Help ==

I want to apologise for coming across (in written text) as such a cry baby ... I guarantee you I get frustrated that I can not explain myself simply and quickly and appropriately and I know you are a cool priest but I do get upset on big ticket items because all i want is the opportunity to discuss ... In any case, accept my apologies for going all huffy yesterday. I still stand by the fact I will not contribute to OW any longer since I feel that I am a nuisance rather than a help. However, in OS I really do want to contribute to developing the framework/skeleton (ie. Set up all the codes and the worksheets) that can then be "filled" with the revelant Bibliographical lists by others (or even me). To do that, I really need someone to talk with over in the OS wiki. At the moment, I want to discuss a framework for Liturgical Texts (BEFORE) I go ahead and set up the entire code/framework .... Can you help me? [http://www.orthodoxsource.org/OrthodoxSource:Discussion DESIGN of Liturgical Text Portal] - [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 00:35, June 20, 2008 (UTC)

== Estonian "Issue" ==

Father:

Evlogeite!

Regarding your comments about the Estonian Church. You write:
"The reason for the difference in naming is that the EP's Estonian church is not regarded by the EP as a constituent part—rather, the EP regards the Estonian church as autonomous, having the same status as Finland, Sinai, etc. The MP, however, regards its Estonian church as being essentially an integral part of the MP, in contrast with the Church of Ukraine, which it regards as autonomous. Thus, the distinction."

Please explain to me, what the difference in status is between the Ukrainian and Estonian Churches (MP). It seems to me that both have the same status within the MP. The Primate of the Ukrainian Church is confirmed by the Moscow Patriarch; so is the Primate of the Estonian Church (MP). Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Church serve in the Council and Synod of the Russian Church; so do hierarchs of the Estonian Church (MP). In fact, the Metropolitan of Kiev is an ex officio permanent member of the Holy Synod in Moscow. The Ukrainian Church receives its chrism from the Moscow Patriarch; so does the Estonian Church (MP). The name of the Patriarch of Moscow is elevated at services in the Ukrainian Church and in the Estonian Church before the names of the Metropolitans of Kiev and Tallinn, respectively.

Thus, I see no difference between their status as "integral parts of the MP" or not. I do not know what the status of the Estonian Church (EP) is within the EP. However, it seems to me that, for matters of OrthodoxWiki:

1. If the Ukrainian Church is listed as an autonomous church with unrecognized autonomy in the box of autonomous / autocephalous churches, so too should be the Estonian Church (MP), alongside the Estonian Church (EP). This is already happening on the French version of the project.

2. There should be two articles. One called "Church of Estonia (EP)" and one called "Church of Estonia (MP)". The article "Church of Estonia" ought to be a disambiguation page. Doing otherwise may be construed as taking sides in a canonical debate.

Yours in Christ, --[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 15:56, June 23, 2008 (UTC)

User talk:ASDamick

2008-06-23T15:56:40Z

Aleks:

<div class="boilerplate" id="stub" style="margin: 0 auto; text-align: center; background: #EEEEEE; padding: 0 10px; border: 1px solid #CCC; width: 60%; align: center">'''Fr. Andrew''' is currently reserving the right to make his wiki-contributions extremely sporadic.</div>

* [[/Archive 1|Archive 1]] (Dec. 18, 2004 - June 17, 2005)
* [[/Archive 2|Archive 2]] (July 5, 2005 - Dec. 15, 2005)
* [[/Archive 3|Archive 3]] (Dec. 23, 2005 - Aug. 2, 2006)
* [[/Archive 4|Archive 4]] (Aug. 10, 2006 - May 29, 2008)

----

== "Church" v. "church" ==

I understand "the Church" v. "a church" when it comes to a parish. However, I thought that one could also have "a Church" meaning an entity such as the [[Church of Russia]]. Currently, that article (Jursidiction section) mentions: "This includes these self-governing Churches:" Is this wrong? (I would appreciate it if you would add some clarification to the [[OrthodoxWiki:Style_Manual#Capitalization|Style Manual]] on this so I can refer back to it.) Thank you. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 15:05, June 2, 2008 (UTC)

==Vandalism 10June08==
Figured just after I did it... :/ ...Wonder if there's a way to have a setting where all of an editors edits can just be mass-reverted? — by [[User:Pistevo|<font color="green">Pιs</font><font color="gold">τévο</font>]] <sup>''[[User talk:Pistevo|<font color="blue">talk</font>]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|<font color="red">complaints</font>]]''</sup> at 11:56, June 10, 2008 (UTC)

* Thank you very much, Fr. Andrew. It's just my duty.--''[[User:Θεοδωρος|<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #082567">Θεόδωρος</span>]]'' 12:02, June 10, 2008 (UTC)

I've noticed you are able to delete particular edits from the revision history. I think [[Pope Saint Dioscorus I of Alexandria (Coptic POV)]] still needs help (or just to be transferred to OrthodoxSource and deleted here), but I'd like to know how to delete selected edits, and what the "undo" button does ... without harming an actual article. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 19:47, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

:Thank you. I hadn't even noticed the (show/hide) link until you pointed it out. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 22:15, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

::Hmm. Poking it doesn't seem to work in this case. I can rollback to the previous edit, or I can undo, but each option seems to deal with single edits, when I want to go back several edits. I have tried several times to copy and paste from an [http://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Pope_Saint_Dioscorus_I_of_Alexandria_(Coptic_POV)&oldid=60734 older edit], but I think that there may be too much data. I feel uncomfortable transferring this article to OrthodoxSource, because I don't know whether we have the right to use most of the material from this article (most of it seems to be from [http://www.coptichymns.net/module-library-viewpub-tid-1-pid-384.html this article]). In any case, if you can get the article restored (I give up), I think it needs a significant amount of cleanup. —[[User:Magda|<b>magda</b>]] ([[User_talk:Magda|talk]]) 22:52, June 11, 2008 (UTC)

== Help on Code ==

Hi, I have looked through the various Help Files but there doesnt seem to be one that teaches you (or define) how to use the parameters (and what these are) for code. I have been working on putting a {{ }} together but I want to collapse my table. Do you know of a reference I cna read to educate myself on this code? and what will work on OrthodoxWiki? [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 02:58, June 12, 2008 (UTC)

:Do you know if the {{#if:}} are supposed to work on OrthodoxWiki? They work on Wikipedia -- [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

== Recruitment of "expert" ==

Hi, I wanted to ask you to help me ... I am hoping that at this point in time, the number of people who go to OrthodoxSource is limited to ...two, three at the max ...because it will get crazy before a nice sensible 'framework' is put in place ... anyway, can you pop over to Orthodox Source for a moment ... and take a look at what I have started to do and please dont freak out ... I am pretty computer savvy .. the only problem is I am having difficulty with the #if code ... which is messing up the format for this template [http://www.orthodoxsource.org/Template:Author ''Development of Template for "Author" definitions"''] which is a key template to get this site up and running. Keep it quiet that I am working on that site because otherwise too many people will start sticky beaking into it and modifying things without the framework finishing ... -- [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

So, who should I recruit??? See, my development so far ... I want someone to work with! Any ideas? [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]]

== take a look .... ==

http://orthodoxsource.org/Author:Raphael_Hawaweeny

==Existing structure==
Thanks on the revert on my addition to the "graduates". I like to follow the existing structure a best I can. A few times I've noted what appears to be more than one path, usually over using similar titles for articles and categories that I think adds confusion in navigating. At this time I can't remember my "examples!" Multiple paths may be necessary sometime, but my intent is to work within the present structure and keep the structure simple to follow. [[User:Wsk|Wsk]] 14:09, June 18, 2008 (UTC)

==PSCA==
PSCA = "Provisional Supreme Church Authority [of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]", aka the "Agathangelites" -- the latest schismatic jurisdiction to emerge in Ukraine. I'll get a brief article about them up. {{unsigned|Aleks}}

==Stuff==
1. I am not trying to live in '''"bubble" world''' where only I can edit and only I can do as I please ... so, please dont go inferring that I should "bugger off" and start my own wiki if that is what I want ...

2. I am not upset because you deleted the DVD articles, or Category links (because I make OW mistakes) I never said that so please dont infer that. I am/was upset with the overall revert you made to the OrthodoxSource Main Page. That was a significant (rv) and I just would have liked the opportunity to have been treated like an equal in that case - drop me a conversational note giving me a warning that you intend to do it. That was what upset me, ''''the fact you didnt think I was worth discussing it in the first place'''

3. I tend to get defensive with you because from Day One you have been pretty abrupt with me on just about every occassion ... so that pattern has made me feel like '''you dont think I am worth discussing with in the first place''' - even if you do talk to me ... it has been talking "down" on occassions, little comments in the past "highlighting" my weaknesses have made me feel inferior ... and have made me feel that everyone has a superior grasp of "English", I dont ... so ... I do note, that you are so willing to be "patient" with me; Wow, how awesome that you can exhibit ''patience'' with me? how good does that make me feel?

It doesnt matter. The point is, I dont seem to do it right in here. So, goodbye from today. I wont contribute to OW anymore if you all think that my contributions lack 'quality", what is the point of wasting my time and yours? - [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 04:52, June 19, 2008 (UTC)

: See my response on your [[User talk:Ixthis888|talk page]]. —[[User:ASDamick|<font size="3.5" color="green" face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">Fr. Andrew</font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <small>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]] <font face="Adobe Garamond Pro, Garamond, Georgia, Times New Roman">('''[[User:ASDamick/Wiki-philosophy|THINK!]]''')</font></small> 05:00, June 19, 2008 (UTC)

== My Apology and request for Help ==

I want to apologise for coming across (in written text) as such a cry baby ... I guarantee you I get frustrated that I can not explain myself simply and quickly and appropriately and I know you are a cool priest but I do get upset on big ticket items because all i want is the opportunity to discuss ... In any case, accept my apologies for going all huffy yesterday. I still stand by the fact I will not contribute to OW any longer since I feel that I am a nuisance rather than a help. However, in OS I really do want to contribute to developing the framework/skeleton (ie. Set up all the codes and the worksheets) that can then be "filled" with the revelant Bibliographical lists by others (or even me). To do that, I really need someone to talk with over in the OS wiki. At the moment, I want to discuss a framework for Liturgical Texts (BEFORE) I go ahead and set up the entire code/framework .... Can you help me? [http://www.orthodoxsource.org/OrthodoxSource:Discussion DESIGN of Liturgical Text Portal] - [[User:Ixthis888|Vasiliki]] 00:35, June 20, 2008 (UTC)

Father:

Evlogeite!

Regarding your comments about the Estonian Church. You write:
"The reason for the difference in naming is that the EP's Estonian church is not regarded by the EP as a constituent part—rather, the EP regards the Estonian church as autonomous, having the same status as Finland, Sinai, etc. The MP, however, regards its Estonian church as being essentially an integral part of the MP, in contrast with the Church of Ukraine, which it regards as autonomous. Thus, the distinction."

Please explain to me, what the difference in status is between the Ukrainian and Estonian Churches (MP). It seems to me that both have the same status within the MP. The Primate of the Ukrainian Church is confirmed by the Moscow Patriarch; so is the Primate of the Estonian Church (MP). Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Church serve in the Council and Synod of the Russian Church; so do hierarchs of the Estonian Church (MP). In fact, the Metropolitan of Kiev is an ex officio permanent member of the Holy Synod in Moscow. The Ukrainian Church receives its chrism from the Moscow Patriarch; so does the Estonian Church (MP). The name of the Patriarch of Moscow is elevated at services in the Ukrainian Church and in the Estonian Church before the names of the Metropolitans of Kiev and Tallinn, respectively.

Thus, I see no difference between their status as "integral parts of the MP" or not. I do not know what the status of the Estonian Church (EP) is within the EP. However, it seems to me that, for matters of OrthodoxWiki:

1. If the Ukrainian Church is listed as an autonomous church with unrecognized autonomy in the box of autonomous / autocephalous churches, so too should be the Estonian Church (MP), alongside the Estonian Church (EP). This is already happening on the French version of the project.

2. There should be two articles. One called "Church of Estonia (EP)" and one called "Church of Estonia (MP)". The article "Church of Estonia" ought to be a disambiguation page. Doing otherwise may be construed as taking sides in a canonical debate.

Yours in Christ, --[[User:Aleks|Aleks]] 15:56, June 23, 2008 (UTC)

John (Bērziņš) of Caracas

2008-06-22T22:06:59Z

Aleks: source

His Grace John (Berzins) (Latvian: Jānis (Bērziņš), Russian: Иоанн (Берзинь)) is Bishop of Caracas, Venezuela and administrator of the diocese of South America for the [[ROCOR]].

His Grace was born Pēteris Bērziņš on [[March 16]], 1957 in Cooma, Australia, of [[Church of Latvia|Latvian Orthodox]] refugees, Leonid (1921-1996) and Margarita (1924- ) Bērziņš. He grew up in Cooma and graduated with a philological degree from the Australian National University. Vladyka John is fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin.

In 1982, he entered Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, and enrolled in Holy Trinity Seminary. He graduated from the seminary in 1985. He was tonsured to the mantle on March 16, 1985 by [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Archbishop Laurus of Syracuse and Holy Trinity]] and ordained hierodeacon on April 12, 1987, also by Archbishop Laurus. From 1992-1996, he served as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land. In 1994, he was awarded the gold pectoral cross by Archbishop Laurus. From 2001-2005, he served again as father-confessor at Gethsemane Convent in the Holy Land. In September 2005, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen by His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus. From 2005 to 2008, he ministered to SS Sergius and German of Valaam Community of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America. In May 2008, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia designated him as candidate of Bishop of Caracas.

Hegumen John was ordained Bishop of Caracas on [[June 21]], 2008, at the Old-Rite Church of the Nativity in Erie, Pennsylvania.

== Links ==
[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2008/6enberzins.html Curriculum Vita of Hegumen John (ROCOR website)]

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

2008-06-22T22:03:26Z

Aleks: /* The Episcopacy */

{{diocese|
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |
type=Semi-autonomous|
founded=1922|
bishop=[[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]], First Hierarch|
see=New York|
hq=New York, New York|
territory=United States, worldwide|
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|
music=[[Russian Chant]]|
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]
}}
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[diocese]]s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[diaspora]].

==History==
===Formation and early years===
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.

Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres. To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].

On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])

===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>

After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.

===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)

It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>

===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia.

This did not prevent all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.

===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.

There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:

:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>

Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:

:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>

ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this point in a letter to the 1974 All-Diaspora Sobor of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.

Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the Act of Canonical Communion by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.

In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without immediate success. However, there was mutual recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signaled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.

This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.

On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>

In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>

Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "[[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Unity]]," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}

On September 6, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Subsequently on September 11, 2006, the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>

Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.

===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are three ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.

There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].

In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.

==Ecclesiastical status before 2007==
Until the reconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR was in relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].

Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. In others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.

ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Diptychs|diptych]]."<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html A Regular Session of the Synod of Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.

As of 2007, with the reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR is now in communion with [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|all of mainstream Orthodoxy]] by virtue of its incorporation into the Moscow Patriarchate.

==The Episcopacy==
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 9 [[bishop]]s serving 9 [[diocese]]s throughout the world, two retired bishops, and three candidates for the episcopacy.

Ruling bishops:
*Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Archbishop of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]], '''[[Locum Tenens]]''' of the the Diocese of Buenos Aires and South America
*Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Mid-America
*Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain
*Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America
*Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Montreal and Canada

Vicar bishops:
*Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers
*Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese
*Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
*Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas, Administrator of the Diocese of South America
*Bishop-Elect [[Theodosius (Ivashchenko)]]. Candidate for Bishop of Seattle, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America.
*Bishop-Elect [[George (Schaeffer)]]
*Bishop-Elect [[John Shaw]]

Retired bishops:
*Bishop [[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe
*Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese

Bishop transfered to Moscow Patriarchate
*Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Domodedovo, Patriarchal Vicar for the service of the parishes in Russia which had been under ROCOR

Suspended bishops:
*Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]], suspended. Formerly bishop of Odessa and the Crimea

Former bishops:
*Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)
*Metropolitan [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev]] (reposed on May 22, 1965)
*Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]] (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)
*Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York]] (reposed on March 16, 2008)
*Archbishop [[Vitaly (Maximenko) of Jersey City]] (reposed in 1960)
*Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco]] (reposed on July 2, 1966, glorified as a saint on July 2, 1994)
*Bishop [[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston]] (reposed on February 15, 2002)
*Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed on September 13, 2005)

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)

*[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Moscow Patriarchate Dioceses]]

[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă din afara Rusiei]]

John (Bērziņš) of Caracas

2008-06-22T21:59:45Z

Aleks: created

Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires

2008-06-22T21:52:49Z

Aleks: /* Biography */

His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop '''Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America''' was the [[ROCOR]] [[bishop]] of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his repose on [[September 13]], 2005.

[[Image:bishopalexander.jpg|left|frame|Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America]]
== Biography ==
Bishop Alexander was born Alexander Vasilievich Mileant in Odessa, Russia in 1938. During the Second World War his father disappeared at the front, and his family, fleeing the Bolsheviks, went to the West. They lived in Prague, in Rome, and finally in Buenos Aires, where the young Alexander received his primary education and then completed a seven-year electro-technical school. He worked as a machine draftsman for several companies. He then enrolled in Buenos Aires University.

From the age of 8, Alexander served as an altar boy under [[Archbishop]] Panteleimon, then under Archbishop Afanassy, who took him under his wing and gave him three years of formal theological training. Vladyka Afanassy possessed a great theological library. Wishing to read the works of the Holy Fathers in the original, Alexander first learned modern Greek, then ancient Greek.

At the end of 1963, Alexander enrolled at [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in Jordanville, New York, which he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in 1967. A year earlier, Archbishop [[Averky (Taushev)]] [[ordination|ordained]] him to the [[deacon|diaconate]], and during Great Lent, Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]] of blessed memory ordained him to the [[priest]]hood and sent to Protection of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, where he served as [[rector]] for 31 years. From 1971-1985, Fr Alexander led several youth pilgrimages to Greece and the Holy Land. While spiritually nourishing his flock, Fr Alexander continued his scientific education, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics in 1978, then a Master’s Degree in Electronics, and finally, in 1983, an Engineer’s Degree from the University of Southern California in Communications. He worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA. His lay work enabled Fr Alexander to become an expert in computers, which in turn helped him publish numerous missionary pamphlets which enjoyed great popularity in Russia and abroad. Today there are over 300 brochures published in Russian, English and Spanish on Orthodox Christianity.

In 1995, Protopriest Alexander was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] in Holy Trinity Monastery and given the name ''Alexander'' in honor of Holy Martyr Archbishop [[Alexander of Kharkov]], who died in prison in 1939 (until then, Fr Alexander bore the name of St [[Alexander Nevsky]], on whose feastday he reposed).

On [[May 28]], 1998, [[Archimandrite]] Alexander was consecrated a [[bishop]] at the Synodal Cathedral in New York and appointed Ruling Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America.

After a lengthy and heroic battle with cancer, Bishop Alexander reposed in the Lord on the night of [[September 12]]-13, 2005. [[Pannikhida]] services were held at the Holy Trinity Church in Oxnard, California. On [[September 18]], 2005, his coffin was brought to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York, where, on the following day he was burried.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John (Legky)|John (Legky) of Buenos Aires]]|
title=Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America (ROCOR)|
years=1998-2005|
after=[[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]]}}
{{end box}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fatheralexander.org/ Bishop Alexander's Website]
*[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/ Holy Trinity Orthodox School]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html His Grace Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America Reposes]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[es:Alejandro (Mileant) de Buenos Aires]]

Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires

2008-06-22T21:51:43Z

Aleks: /* Biography */ succession box

His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop '''Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America''' was the [[ROCOR]] [[bishop]] of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his repose on [[September 13]], 2005.

[[Image:bishopalexander.jpg|left|frame|Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America]]
== Biography ==
Bishop Alexander was born Alexander Vasilievich Mileant in Odessa, Russia in 1938. During the Second World War his father disappeared at the front, and his family, fleeing the Bolsheviks, went to the West. They lived in Prague, in Rome, and finally in Buenos Aires, where the young Alexander received his primary education and then completed a seven-year electro-technical school. He worked as a machine draftsman for several companies. He then enrolled in Buenos Aires University.

From the age of 8, Alexander served as an altar boy under [[Archbishop]] Panteleimon, then under Archbishop Afanassy, who took him under his wing and gave him three years of formal theological training. Vladyka Afanassy possessed a great theological library. Wishing to read the works of the Holy Fathers in the original, Alexander first learned modern Greek, then ancient Greek.

At the end of 1963, Alexander enrolled at [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Seminary]] in Jordanville, New York, which he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in 1967. A year earlier, Archbishop [[Averky (Taushev)]] [[ordination|ordained]] him to the [[deacon|diaconate]], and during Great Lent, Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]] of blessed memory ordained him to the [[priest]]hood and sent to Protection of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, where he served as [[rector]] for 31 years. From 1971-1985, Fr Alexander led several youth pilgrimages to Greece and the Holy Land. While spiritually nourishing his flock, Fr Alexander continued his scientific education, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics in 1978, then a Master’s Degree in Electronics, and finally, in 1983, an Engineer’s Degree from the University of Southern California in Communications. He worked in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA. His lay work enabled Fr Alexander to become an expert in computers, which in turn helped him publish numerous missionary pamphlets which enjoyed great popularity in Russia and abroad. Today there are over 300 brochures published in Russian, English and Spanish on Orthodox Christianity.

In 1995, Protopriest Alexander was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] in Holy Trinity Monastery and given the name ''Alexander'' in honor of Holy Martyr Archbishop [[Alexander of Kharkov]], who died in prison in 1939 (until then, Fr Alexander bore the name of St [[Alexander Nevsky]], on whose feastday he reposed).

On [[May 28]], 1998, [[Archimandrite]] Alexander was consecrated a [[bishop]] at the Synodal Cathedral in New York and appointed Ruling Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America.

After a lengthy and heroic battle with cancer, Bishop Alexander reposed in the Lord on the night of [[September 12]]-13, 2005. [[Pannikhida]] services were held at the Holy Trinity Church in Oxnard, California. On [[September 18]], 2005, his coffin was brought to [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]] in Jordanville, New York, where, on the following day he was burried.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John (Legky)|John (Legky) of Buenos Aires]]|
title=Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America (ROCOR)|
years=1998-2005|
after=[[John (Bērziņš]] of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)}}
{{end box}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fatheralexander.org/ Bishop Alexander's Website]
*[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/ Holy Trinity Orthodox School]
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html His Grace Bishop Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires and South America Reposes]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[es:Alejandro (Mileant) de Buenos Aires]]

File:Bishopalexander.jpg

2008-06-22T21:47:56Z

Aleks:

bishopalexander
{{fairuse}}
[[Category:Images of Hierarchs]]

Constantine (Essensky) of Richmond

2008-06-22T21:43:02Z

Aleks: succession box

{{orthodoxyinaustralia}}
The Right Reverend '''Constantine (Essensky)''' was the Bishop of Richmond in the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Bishop of Brisbane within ROCOR's [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Diocese of Australia and New Zealand]] between 1967 and 1976.

{{stub}}

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]]|
title=Bishop of Brisbane (ROCOR)|
years=1967-1976|
after=[[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]]}}
{{succession|
before=—|
title=Bishop of Boston|
years=1978-1981|
after=[[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston|Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky)]]}}
{{succession|
before=[[Nikodim (Nagaev) of Richmond|Nikodim (Nagaev)]]|
title=Bishop of Richmond|
years=1981-1985|
after=[[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]]}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Orthodoxy_in_Australia]]

Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh

2008-06-22T21:37:53Z

Aleks: /* Life */ succession box

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Archbishop '''Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh''' (1920-2007) was the ruling [[bishop]] of the [[OCA]] [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of Western Pennsylvania]] and of the OCA [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Prior to his service in the OCA, he was the sole hierarch of the [[ROCOR]]'s [[Bulgarian Diocese in Exile]] during its twelve-year existence.

==Life==
Abp. Kyrill was born Ilia Yonchev on [[February 26]], 1920, in Panaguriste, Bulgaria, the son of Mancho and Anna Yonchev. He attended the St. John of Rila Theological Seminary in Sofia, Bulgaria, graduating in 1940. He was [[tonsure]]d to [[monk|monastic]] orders on [[January 19]], 1941, and given the name Kyrill. On the next day he was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]]. He was ordained to the [[priest]]hood in April 1943.

Fr. Kyrill attended the St. Clement of Ochrid School of Theology. After graduating in 1944, he was appointed instructor of theology in the [[seminary]] in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and also was appointed [[abbot]] of the Bachkovo [[Monastery]]. As the abbot, he participated with other Bulgarian leaders helping protect the Jewish population of Bulgaria from actions of the Nazi occupation against the Jews during World War II.

Following World War II, Fr. Kyrill attended advanced studies in theology and philosophy in Bern, Switzerland. With the communist takeover of Bulgaria, Fr. Kyrill, in 1950, immigrated to the United States where he was soon assigned as pastor of St. George Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Toledo, Ohio, as part of the [[Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia|Bulgarian Eastern Diocese of North and South America and Australia]]. Fr. Kyrill was elevated to the rank of [[archimandrite]] on [[December 6]], 1959.

In 1964, Metr. Andrei of the Bulgarian Diocese petitioned the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Bulgaria]] for his return to the Bulgarian episcopacy and to continue to lead the [[diocese]] in America. With the return of Metr. Andrei and his diocese to the Church of Bulgaria, a group under Fr. Kyrill broke with Metr. Andrei and joined the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia ([[ROCOR]]) as the [[Bulgarian Diocese in Exile]].

On [[August 9]], 1964, Kyrill was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] by ROCOR as Bishop of Toledo and Toronto of the Bulgarian Diocese in Exile. On [[December 20]], 1976, Bp. Kyrill and his diocese broke from the ROCOR and joined the [[Orthodox Church in America]] (OCA), with Kyrill appointed as the ruling bishop of a Bulgarian diocese under the OCA. In October 1977, Bp. Kyrill was appointed ''[[locum tenens]]'' of the [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of Western Pennsylvania]]. In 1978, Bp. Kyrill was elected the ruling bishop of the Pittsburgh diocese, which he led for the next 29 years. He also continued to lead the OCA's Bulgarian Diocese. In 1992, he was raised to the dignity of [[archbishop]].

During his tenure as head of the Pittsburgh diocese, Abp. Kyrill served as a member of the OCA Lesser [[Synod]] of Bishops, the [[Canonization]] Commission, and the Board of Theological Education. He was also a trustee of [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]].

Abp. Kyrill reposed on [[June 17]], 2007, after a period of failing health. His funeral services were conducted on [[June 21]] and [[June 22|22]], 2007, at the St. Alexander Nevsky [[Cathedral]] in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. At the time of his death Abp. Kyrill was the longest-serving Orthodox hierarch in America.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Andrei (Petkov)]]|
title=Bishop of Toledo and Toronto<br>[[Bulgarian Diocese in Exile]] (ROCOR)|
years=1964-1976|
after=[[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]]}}
{{succession|
before=''see created''|
title=Bishop of Bulgarian Diocese<br>(OCA)|
years=1976-2007|
after= —}}
{{succession|
before= Amvrossy (Merejko)|
title=Archbishop of Pittsburgh<br>(OCA)|
years=1978-2007|
after= —}}
{{end box}}

==Source==
*''The Orthodox Church'', Vol 43/No 3, Summer 2007, p. 30.

==External link==
*[http://oca.org/News.asp?ID=1265&SID=19 Funeral services for Archbishop Kyrill announced]

[[Category:Bishops]]

Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva

2008-06-22T21:36:02Z

Aleks: /* Life */ succession box

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva''' is the Bishop of Geneva and Western Europe in the [[ROCOR|Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]. He was appointed ruling [[bishop]] of this [[diocese]] by the Council of Bishops in 2006.

==Life==
The future Bp. Michael was born on [[March 29]], 1943, in Paris, France to the family of Don Cossack Vasiliy Semenovich Donskoff. He received his education in France and completed the 10-year Russian school of A. M. Osorgina where he studied the Law of God, literature, Russian language, and history. Between 1965 and 1966 he completed his military service, where he served in the medical corp. In 1966 he received the Diplôme de Moniteur des Colonies de Vacances, which allowed him to become an instructor in Orthodox youth camps, directing youth camps in France and Austria. In 1994 and 1995 he also directed youth camps in Russia. At the same time he worked in hospitals and reanimation clinics in Paris.

In 1979 he was [[tonsure]]d [[reader]] by Abp. [[Anthony (Bartoshevich) of Geneva|Anthony (Bartoshevich)]]. In 1980, he was [[ordination|ordained]] sub-deacon. In 1981, he was ordained [[deacon]] by Archbishop Anthony and in 1991 he was ordained a [[priest]]. On Bright Friday of 1996, he was tonsured a [[monk]] by [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Metr. Vitaly]] and on Thomas Sunday he was elevated to the rank of [[abbot]]. On the feast of Ss Peter and Paul that same year he was consecrated [[bishop]] of Toronto, [[auxiliary bishop|vicar]] for the administration of the Montreal and Canada diocese. At the Council of Bishops in 2006, he was transferred to the Geneva and Western European Diocese.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]|
title=Bishop of Toronto (ROCOR)|
years=1996-2002|
after=''see dissolved''}}
{{succession|
before=[[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston|Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky)]]|
title=Bishop of Boston (ROCOR)|
years=2002-2006|
after=—}}
{{succession|
before=[[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]]|
title=Bishop of Geneva and Western Europe (ROCOR)|
years=2006-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category: Bishops]]

Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva

2008-06-22T21:33:59Z

Aleks: /* Life */

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva''' is the Bishop of Geneva and Western Europe in the [[ROCOR|Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]. He was appointed ruling [[bishop]] of this [[diocese]] by the Council of Bishops in 2006.

==Life==
The future Bp. Michael was born on [[March 29]], 1943, in Paris, France to the family of Don Cossack Vasiliy Semenovich Donskoff. He received his education in France and completed the 10-year Russian school of A. M. Osorgina where he studied the Law of God, literature, Russian language, and history. Between 1965 and 1966 he completed his military service, where he served in the medical corp. In 1966 he received the Diplôme de Moniteur des Colonies de Vacances, which allowed him to become an instructor in Orthodox youth camps, directing youth camps in France and Austria. In 1994 and 1995 he also directed youth camps in Russia. At the same time he worked in hospitals and reanimation clinics in Paris.

In 1979 he was [[tonsure]]d [[reader]] by Abp. [[Anthony (Bartoshevich) of Geneva|Anthony (Bartoshevich)]]. In 1980, he was [[ordination|ordained]] sub-deacon. In 1981, he was ordained [[deacon]] by Archbishop Anthony and in 1991 he was ordained a [[priest]]. On Bright Friday of 1996, he was tonsured a [[monk]] by [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Metr. Vitaly]] and on Thomas Sunday he was elevated to the rank of [[abbot]]. On the feast of Ss Peter and Paul that same year he was consecrated [[bishop]] of Toronto, [[auxiliary bishop|vicar]] for the administration of the Montreal and Canada diocese. At the Council of Bishops in 2006, he was transferred to the Geneva and Western European Diocese.

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=''see created''|
title=Bishop of Toronto (ROCOR)|
years=1996-2002|
after=''see dissolved''}}
{{succession|
before=[[Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky) of Boston|Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky)]]|
title=Bishop of Boston (ROCOR)|
years=2002-2006|
after=—}}
{{succession|
before=[[Ambrose (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambrose (Cantacuzène)]]|
title=Bishop of Geneva and Western Europe (ROCOR)|
years=2006-present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category: Bishops]]