Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

ROCOR and OCA

1 byte added, 12:01, June 17, 2005
m
no edit summary
|Election of Metropolitan Laurus as First Hierarch of ROCOR.
|}
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
'''The ROCOR and the OCA''' have a complicated history of cooperation, rivalry, and sometimes outright hostility. These two [[jurisdiction]]s, the '''[[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]''' (ROCOR) and the '''[[Orthodox Church in America]]''' (OCA), both have their origins in the [[Church of Russia]] (a.k.a. the ''Moscow Patriarchate'' or ''MP''), and their histories as clearly distinct and identifiable entities both stem from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in the early 20th century.
==1917-1946: A Tale of Two Histories==
In examining the historical accounts published by both bodies, a notable discrepancy comes to the fore. The OCA's histories describe the OCA as being the direct heir to the original Russian missionary work in Alaska and thus as the heir to Russian jurisdiction in America, especially seeking to dissociate itself from the ROCOR. In Bishop Gregory Afonsky's book about the history of the OCA 1917-1934, he says that "The Metropolia... has never been part of the Karlovtsy Synod in Exile"[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/bookrev_woerl.aspx]. Further, on the OCA website in the section regarding the 6th All-American Sobor of 1937 in New York, the claim is made that the ROCOR actually was made part of the Metropolia, confirming a 1935 agreement made in Serbia between the Metropolia's primate and the ROCOR synod:
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
:Moreover, Metropolitan THEOPHILUS had traveled to Serbia where, under the leadership of the Serbian Patriarch, an agreement was signed by the leading hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) along with other exiled Russian hierarchs throughout the world forging a peaceful coexistence. Under this agreement, the American Church was to retain her administrative autonomy while maintaining close relations with the ROCOR Synod and being accountable to it only in matters of faith. The parallel jurisdictions of the Metropolia and ROCOR were thus eliminated and the four ROCOR hierarchs in North America along with their clergy and parishes were integrated into the Metropolia. The vote of the Sixth Sobor on this loose affiliation with the ROCOR was as follows: 105 for, 9 against, 122 abstentions. The large number of abstentions reveals that there was much apprehension on this issue at the council. However, in approving the matter, the council delegates showed respect and obedience to Metropolitan THEOPHILUS' primatial leadership.[http://www.oca.org/doc-aas-06-synopsis.asp?SID=8]
interwiki, renameuser, Administrators
13,552
edits

Navigation menu