Australian diocese breaks communion with ROCOR [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

Live Journal ^ | 25 May 2007 | Several Signators

[Teófilo]

№512: Решение Заседания Австралийской Епархии РПЦЗ

THE DECISION OF THE MEETING OF THE «WIDOWED» AUSTRALIAN DIOCESE

OF THE «WIDOWED» ROCOR 28 BISHOP STREET, BOX HILL, MELBOURNE

5/18 May 2007

Memory of Great Martyr Irene

In connection with the signing yesterday of the «Act of canonical communion», the entry of a part of our ROCOR into the « sergianist » entity known as the «Moscow Patriarchy» and falling into a complete subservience to it, we—the clergy and the supporting flock—of the AUSTRALIAN diocese consider that such an act by our Synod, taken contrary to the will of the fullness of our Church Abroad, as manifested at the Sobor, is not obligatory for all members in good standing of ROCOR and forces us to terminate our subservience to the Synod of Metropolitan Laurus who has left the ROCOR.

The joining of the Synod of Metropolitan Laurus to the schismatic «Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy», that continues its membership in the World Council of Churches, as well as perpetuates its heresy of ecumenism which was adjudged by ROCOR and anathematised in 1983, in effect constitutes the joining of heretical schismatics with the departure of the Synod of Metropolitan Laurus from the Church Abroad into a « sergianist » schism and the creation of a schism within the Church Abroad.

Following the Rule 33 of the Holy Laodocian Council which forbids the faithful to pray with a heretic or an outcast schismatic, we are forced to suspend all prayerful communion with Metropolitan Laurus, his bishops and his clerics, who have created the schism in our Church Abroad.

The merger with the “Moscow Patriarchy”, undertaken by a part of our church, does not resolve the question of the wholeness of the Russian Orthodox Church, which can be effectively decided only by a free Land Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Therefore, all of us assembled here do consider the action undertaken by the Synod as inadequately grounded in canons and premature, and do hereby resolve:

1. To remain true to the current statute and by-laws of ROCOR.

2. To ask the bishops remaining true to God and His Holy Church, the Bishop Agafangel of Odessa and the Tauride and the Bishop Daniel of Erie, Vicar of the First Hierarch, to take our “widowed” diocese under their protection.

3. To ask the bishops remaining true to the traditional course of ROCOR to form the Temporary Supreme Church Authority (as per St.Tihon’s Ukaz №362) before the creation of a new Synod of ROCOR at the Fifth All-Diaspora Sobor.

Signatures:

HIEROMONK JOHN SMELIC
BARBARA EVSUKOFF
ANDREW SHERBA
VICTORIA CHERBENA
AMMIA CASTELLANI
MARY MARCZYK
CATHERINE ALEXEEFF

Signatures by telephone:

KONSTANTINE SOUPROUNOVICH
VERA SOUPROUNOVICH
NADIA SACHAROV
OLGA OLEINIKOV
IRENE MILOVANOVICH
TANIA MILOVANOVICH
JOHN MILOVANOVICH
LYDIA CHERBENA
PAUL CHERBENA

Of parishes :

CATHEDRAL of PROTECTION of MOTHER of GOD 6 OXFORD STREET, COLLINGWOOD, MELBOURNE .
CATHEDRAL of PROTECTION of MOTHER of GOD 1 ALBION STREET, BRUNSWICK, MELBOURNE .
CHURCH of MARTYRS of VILNUS 8 WILLIS STREET, YARRAVILLE, MELBOURNE.

Telephone: 61 438 381 708
Email: fatherjohn@aapt.net.au
Language: English

[Teófilo]

A diocese and several parishes in Australia is objecting the reunion between ROCOR and the Russian Orthodox Church lead by the Patriarch of Moscow and announced their secession by appealing to ancient disciplinary canons.

Forgive me if I sound flippant, but just like Luther appealed to Scripture, any one can appeal to the canons to justify schism and separation. In the absence of a supreme ecclessiastical tribunal that would arbitrate disputes, these schisms are automatically self-justified, drawing their legitimacy from the letter, if not the spirit of the ancient canons.

Well, let's see and hope not that internal pressures within ROCOR undo the agreement.

[Teófilo]

PING!

[Macoraba]

Reminds me of the Catholic sedevacantist squables!

[Kolokotronis]

We’ll see more of this as the months pass but not on a large scale. Most everyone has been expecting this.

[vladimir998]

Look at how many women signed. Interesting, no?

[A Sombra]

The ROCOR Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, ruled by Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral), is comprised of some 40+ parishes, monasteries, missions, etc.

This group of one clergyman, several laypeople, and a few churches (how can a church sign onto a document? if the entire congregations of these churches are signing onto this, where are the clergy pf thesde churches??) are CLAIMING to be the Australian Diocese -”widowed,” which in this parlance, means without a Bishop-as they claim their Bishop is in schism for agreement to the union with the Moscow Patriarchate.

SO-in opposition to the few people signing onto this “widowed diocese” proclamation, are the Bishop, 40+ parishes and their clergy and lay members of the ROCOR Diocese of Australia and New Zealand.

IN SHORT, this article seems to me to be much ado about nothing!

[A Sombra]

SO-in flagrant disagreement with the headline, NO ROCOR DIOCESE BROKE COMMUNION WITH ROCOR!!! Only a small gro of laypeople and one clergyman-which is quite a different kettle of fish!