Three Greek priests join the RTOC Synod - June 2015

[igor]

Announcement from the Chancellery of Synod of Bishops

At the Bishops’ Conference, which took place on 06/19 until 07/20 in June of this year, with the participation of Archbishop Tikhon of Omsk and Siberia,President of the Synod of Bishops of the RTOC, Archbishop Benjamin of Chernomorsk and Kuban, Vice-Chairman of the Synod, and Bishop Stefan, of Trenton and North America, and which was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection in the City of Worcester, MA, USA, the Synodal Podvorie of the RTOC in North America, and after interviews and careful study of the petitions and personal documents submitted by certain clergy of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, having determined their motives to come under the temporary omophor of the Synod of Bishops of the RTOC, in terms of their confession of Faith, and until the restoration of the hierarchy of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, a decision was made regarding the acceptance of said petition of the Greek clergy.

In fulfillment of this decision, on 08/21 of June of this year, during the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection, in the City of Worcester, MA, USA(the Synodal Podvorie in North America), the following clergy were received under the omophor of the RTOC:

1. Archimandrite Philaretos (Klimatikis), Athens, Greece
2. Archpriest Sotirios Prasinos, Rhodes,Greece
3. Priest Savvas Pizanios, Sydney,Australia

Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Tikhon of Omsk and Siberia, along with Archbishop Benjamin of Chernomorsk and Kuban, and clergy from Russia, North America, Greece and Australia.

In this manner, the Synod of the RTOC has made a step in the restoration of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, of which the current hierarchy has departed from the unadulterated confession of Faith following its union with the Greek Synod in Resistance on March 10/23, 2014.

Protopresbyter Victor Melehov, Secretary
Synod of Bishops
Russian True Orthodox Church

Fantastic news for the Greek nation.
Now they have three orthodox priests .
One per 4 millions of Greeks.
RTOC, have you lost your marbles ?

[Barbara]

Why are you sneering, Igor ?
Surely there is a need for both RTOC and GOC of Stephanos to have various far flung areas as part of their jurisdictions.
While not ideal in a perfect world -- I see nothing wrong with that.

Please correct me if so.

[igor]

Barbara,
The founders of RTOC Arb Lazar and Bp Benjamin
had been in joyful communion with SIR since 1994 for many years.
I presume they maintained " unadulterated " confession of faith
since they never repented. Why can't GOC -K do the same ?
It's not even funny any more.

[Jean-Serge]

I am afraid a new true orthodox bishop in Greece will not clarify the situation. If the RTOC thinks that GOC-K is in heresy, why don't they consider the option the matthewites? Add to this this bishop would have very few faithfuls, not even 1,000, I guess...

The previous remark of Igor is true and is developped by Father Henoch in his article : http://nftu.net/opinion-rtoc-reasoning-union/

[Maria]

I am afraid a new true orthodox bishop in Greece will not clarify the situation. If the RTOC thinks that GOC-K is in heresy, why don't they consider the option the matthewites? Add to this this bishop would have very few faithfuls, not even 1,000, I guess...

The previous remark of Igor is true and is developped by Father Henoch in his article : http://nftu.net/opinion-rtoc-reasoning-union/

Indeed, please see the very enlightening comments by viewers and Father Enoch at the same link posted above.
Here is just one brief exchange of the many that followed Fr. Enoch's essay.

Marlon Scott to HmkEnoch • 4 days ago

I've read and re-read this opinion piece, and I even tried to argue against it unsuccessfully. It succinctly communicates everything I've tried to say about critics of the Union.

How does this RTOC statement:
'Since RTOC is not the fullness of the Local Russian Church, but only one part of the Russian Church, the RTOC Synod of Bishops can not make a final judgment on the grace of the sacraments, or lack of grace in the MP.'

...differ from this GOC-K statement?
'...with regard to the Mysteries celebrated in the so-called official Orthodox Churches, the True Orthodox Church does not provide assurance concerning their validity or concerning their soteriological efficacy...'

These statements are virtually similar. I just don't get how the RTOC is unable to judge the MP since it isn't the fullness of the Russian Church, but they can somehow judge the True Orthodox Church in Greece.

I can only conclude again that the GOC under Archbishop Stephanos is correct.
The GOC joined in communion with the ROCOR in 1971 hoping to rectify the uncanonical position of Auxentios, but left ROCOR in 1976 and issued its own anathema against Ecumenism when it became clear to them that ROCOR's Anthony of Geneva was a "Cyprianite" who concelebrated with New Calendarists.

[igor]

Not that it matters , but contrary to popular belief
Abp Antony of Geneva as well as his successor Bp Seraphim( Uglov)
were adamantly against the union with SIR. Abp Antony was pro MP and KP
but could not stand old calendar Greeks.
1994 Rocor Council protocols give some idea on Abp Antony's views.
Also, does anybody have a proof of SIR clergy ever concelebrating with New Calendar priests
or bishops?
I am aware of accusations of giving communion to New Calendarists made against both
SIR and GOC- K.

[Maria]

Not that it matters , but contrary to popular belief
Abp Antony of Geneva as well as his successor Bp Seraphim( Uglov)
were adamantly against the union with SIR. Abp Antony was pro MP and KP
but could not stand old calendar Greeks.
1994 Rocor Council protocols give some idea on Abp Antony's views.
Also, does anybody have a proof of SIR clergy ever concelebrating with New Calendar priests
or bishops?
I am aware of accusations of giving communion to New Calendarists made against both
SIR and GOC- K.

Back in the late 1990s, I was attending ROCOR parishes in Los Angeles.
Occasionally, SiR priests would come and serve the Divine Liturgies when ROCOR priests were on vacation.
And as long as members of the OCA laity went to confession beforehand to one of the ROCOR or SiR priests, they were given communion by them. ROCOR and SiR priests made the strange comment that an OCA priest could not concelebrate with the ROCOR or SiR or receive the sacraments from an ROCOR or SiR priest, but that the OCA laity could freely receive communion if they had permission from their OCA priest, who was following the New Calendar. The reason given was that the OCA was not under the EP or the Antiochian Patriarchs, both of whom followed the New Calendar. However, if a member of the Greek or Antiochian laity were to approach either an ROCOR or SiR priest, they could not receive communion or any of the sacraments because they were New Calendarists. Yet, OCA New Calendarists priests were concelebrating with Antiochian and Greek (EP) Orthodox New Calendarists priests.

So, figuring out this logically. If an ROCOR or SiR priest gave communion to a member of the OCA laity, whose New Calendarists OCA priests concelebrated with New Calendarists GOARCH and Antiochian priests, doesn't this indicate that there was intercommunion going on with the New Calendarists?