The Saint Euphrosynos Cafe

If you look back at what I wrote, I never actually accused Elder Theodore of being a "false elder". I'm just not convinced that he was a confessor.

Secondly, I'm not viewing things "through the lens of the Matthewite situation in Greece". I'm Canadian.

Thirdly, I don't consider Archbishop ...

I don't know Metropolitan Marks ancestry, I do know that most Rocor Bishops trace their lineage back to the Ukraine not Russia. Metropolitan Hilarion and Metropolitan Nicholas are specifically


He's German and well known for being the first convert Bishop on the ROCOR (MP) Synod. Russian Wiki ...

haralampopoulosjc wrote: ↑Thu 17 July 2025 8:24 am

I never accused you of lying, Father. I'm just glad to see that you're providing some sources.

Didn't think you were. I just generally "steelman" opposing arguments, as the kids say. If I'm wrong, at best I'm mistaken, but at worst I'm lying. So I just go with the worst assumption.

P.S. I regularly cite 20-25 million as an average because True Orthodox generally seem to historically stand at around 10-15% of the general Orthodox population in Orthodox countries and like Haralampos I usually assume they have similar demographic trends, although the last 5 years have been very ...

Based on the sources that I've cited, the approximate number is around two to three million True Orthodox worldwide, which is more or less on par with the number of Old Believers worldwide.

It doesn't help our credibility when we inflate our numbers to appear larger than we are either.


Based ...

haralampopoulosjc wrote: ↑Tue 15 July 2025 11:24 pm

Okay, but was Volodymyr still a valid Patriarch?

I don't know about canonically; I know he was a real confessor and spent prison time in Soviet jails. So he's clean in my book.

Not really. Look, I don't want to offend anyone at the Abbey or in the Autonomous Metropolia, but Patriarch Volodymr of Ukraine was the predecessor of Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate, correct?

The most common understanding of the death of Patriarch Volodymyr was ...