Hello everybody !
I was baptized ROCOR last year and have made friends with people from the OCA. Now I have a question that no one seems able to answer. It is this: What is the difference between the OCA and other Orthodox churches and where did OCA originate?
sophia
Hi, Sophia.
Short answer: after the Russian Revolution messed everything up, some bishops fled the communists. Others were already abroad in established dioceses. For awhile, they worked together, but sin separated some. The OCA and ROCOR came out of this separation. Thankfully, relations between the two are improving greatly as we speak.
Disclaimer: Many older posts were made before my baptism and thus may not reflect an Orthodox point of view.
Please do not message me with questions about the forum or moderation requests. Jonathan Gress (jgress) will be able to assist you.
Please note that I do not subscribe to "Old Calendar Ecumenism" and believe that only the Synod of Archbishop Kallinikos is the canonical GOC of Greece. I do believe, however, that we can break down barriers and misunderstandings through prayer and discussion on forums such as this one.
anastasi
Can you elaborate a little more, please? I'm still confused about the difference.
I thought the ROCOR was the only official body of Russian Orthodoxy outside of Russian when they escaped, blessed by Pat. St. Tikhon.
Who was already outside? Who was their bishop/patriarch? Where can I find a detailed description of this body of Orthodoxy?
The OCA was with the ROCOR for sometime, but then they decided to split over reasons that appear not to include reasons of heresy. They went to the EP asking for autocephaly and were told to go to the MP as the EP 'knew" the MP would not give them it. Well the MP said no until the OCA were about to submit in obedience to the ROCOR again, but the MP, fearing this, gave them autocephaly.
This article from Fr. Alexander Lebedeff might help explain some of the difference:http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/amer_jur.aspx
Joasia
There were many many sincere people in the OCA at that time (and now), so I'm sure no one means to paint with too big of a "Schismatic" brush, as thought to condemn everyone and do so wholly and finally... but what Nicholas said sounds about right. There was lots of chaos in Orthodoxy in the 20th century, and the OCA took what it thought was a path out of the chaos (getting itself recognized as autocephalous). Some say that was a good thing, some say it was not. In the coming weeks I'll be posting (on the Russian-Orthodox Journal thread) what OCA members themselves said about the MP in the years leading up to the granting of autocephaly.