Declaration of Bishop Daniel of Erie

Priest Siluan · Post by **Priest Siluan** » Fri 8 June 2007 3:56 pm

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHT REVEREND DANIEL, Bishop of Erie, on forming of a Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority of the Church Abroad

May 9/22 2007
Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas

In connection with the canonical crisis which occured in ROCA, which was caused by the joining of the First Hierarch, the Synod and virtually all Diaspora bishops, safe for Agafangel, bishop of Tavria and Odessa and me, bishop Daniel of Erie, to the Moscow Patriarchy, and the loss by the First Hierarch of the right of being a Primate (prava Predstoyatel' stva),

Taking into account that since Metropolitan made a schism, enough time has passed, but open declarations by the other bishops of ROCA, against the Act of abolishing the canonical order of ROCA, did not appear,

I, bishop Daniel, following Ukase 362 p.3 of His Holiness Patriarch, the Holy Synod and the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of the Orthodox Church of Russia from 7/20 of November 1920 and fulfilling the duties delegated to me by the Ukase, I declare that today, 9/22 of May 2007 I, on the rights of the oldest bishop by ordination, formed a Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority (PSEA) of ROCA composed of the bishops remaining in the Church Abroad - I, bishop Daniel of Erie, and Agafangel, bishop of Tavria and Odessa.

In connection with the poor state of my health, I will not be able to actively take part in the restoration of the canonical order of ROCA, the management of the PSEA, the convocation and carrying, with the rights of President of the Fifth All-Diaspora Council.

I voluntarily delegate my rights for this constructive endeavour to the Right Reverend Agafangel, who will be obliged to keep me posted on activities, but foremost, he must listen to the voice of the Church - the voice of the clergy and laypeople. In connection with that, for participation in the administration of the Church, I commission to reinstate, at the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of ROCA made of clergy and laypersons.

If God allows, I would joyously participate, together with bishop Agafangel, in the Hirotoniyas of new bishops for the Church Abroad, but I would like to draw for this important endeavour, our brethren - the Greek Metropolitan Cyprian, the Romanian [Metropolitan] Vlasie and the Bulgarian [Bishop] Photii.

For that cause it is necessary to restore immediately full Eucharistic Communion with the Old Calendar Synods, and to conduct joint meetings with them in the future.

I do not rule out the possibility of reinforcement of the episcopate of ROCA with [bishops] from the Russian groups which have left ROCA recently, and even from the MP.

It seems to me, that the admission of bishops in their present order is possible for all of the aforementioned structures, except for RTOC (Russkaya Istinno-Pravoslavna ya Cerkov', Russian True Orthodox Church - the "Tikhonites" ). Regarding the breadth of economy, in each particular case it is difficult to say, but in general, we should admit from the MP the way it was accepted for them before, and from the Autonomous Russian Church and Mansonville - through supplementing of hierarchical ordinations.

I entrust the Right Reverend Agafangel with sending out as a Circular letter from my name the given Declaration to all the Dioceses of ROCA for the administration in the necessary cases.

Bishop Daniel of Erie
9/22 of May 2007.
Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas

Грешник · Post by **Грешник** » Fri 8 June 2007 11:57 pm

Is there any info in English as to the parishes that the ROCOR has in the USA as this would prove helpful both to the faithful and the growth of the Map.

Priest Siluan · Post by **Priest Siluan** » Sat 9 June 2007 12:32 pm

We should still be cautious with the ROCOR (Daniel-Agafangel) Parishes, because if they will join to the Kyprianites or not etc... Because one of the politicians of the Cafe was to list only the Jurisdictions with a "strict ecclesiology"

Good it would be that all the TOC Russian Jurisdictions join in a one Jurisdiction, sadly the Kyprianites qre conspiring against it, they are attempting that RTOC and ROCOR (Daniel-Agafangel) join them but they reject to "the fanatics and sectarian of Mansonville and Suzdal." RTOC looks for join with ROCOR (Daniel-Agafangel), but it rejects Mansonville and they even do not any mentions about ROAC, but Bishop Daniel rejects RTOC and he believes that the Kyprianites should help them in the new ROCOR (D-A) cherotonias instead of the others TOC Russian Jurisdictions (As ROCiE and ROAC), although he would accept in their orders (as true Bishops) the Bishops of ROAC an ROCiE, if they wanted to join to ROCOR (D-A), while he doesn't recognize the RTOC bishopric at all. On the other hand the ROAC bishops stays quiet and they not even mention the other Russian TOC Jurisdictions in their last Epistle, some people say that the position of the ROAC bishops is that they think that they are the true continuators of ROCOR, since Bishop Gregory (Grabbe) gave them the torch from ROCOR to FROC/ROAC in 1995, then all the other "parts" of ROCOR who left the Lavrites after this date should recognize ROAC and join it, they should also repented for not recognizing that ROAC was always right as for that ROCOR from 1995 (or before) had left the "right path" and it was joing to the MP and all the Russian TOC jurisdictions would should "eecognize" to ROAC like pioneers and respect it.

In my humble opinion the situation in the True Russian Church (I am including all her "parts" or jurisdictions) seems even worse than that after the Revolution.

I hope God may grant humility to all the Russian Hierarches (although many of them speak very much about humility and Christian Love, while they attack to other "parts" of the Russian Church simply for bitterness or for personal reasons), because without humility and without repent there won't be unity, neither true Christian love.

rafael.daher · Post by **rafael.daher** » Sun 10 June 2007 7:06 pm

Fr. Siluan, bless!

I totally agree with you. Seems to me that, saddly, Vladyka Daniel is near of the kiprianist ecclesiology. Seems strange too the fact of he is more condescent with the MP than with True Russian Churches, like he say about the reception of MP clergy and about ROAC clergy.

StephenG · Post by **StephenG** » Tue 12 June 2007 6:37 pm

I have heard from a senior Old Calendarist source in Greece that Bishop Daniel may have repudiated this declaration, it having been made under pressure from opportunists around him? Anyone know any different?

jckstraw72 · Post by **jckstraw72** » Wed 13 June 2007 1:13 pm

I have heard from a senior Old Calendarist source in Greece that Bishop Daniel may have repudiated this declaration, it having been made under pressure from opportunists around him? Anyone know any different?
A wanderer, trying to discern truth from falsehood

i cant remember where, but i definitely read something about that -- Bishop Daniel saying he just wants to be left alone, and he should never have signed what he signed.

what is with Cyprianiate ecclesiology? whats wrong with it? i know nothing about it.

GOCTheophan · Post by **GOCTheophan** » Wed 13 June 2007 1:38 pm

jckstraw72 wrote:
what is with Cyprianiate ecclesiology? whats wrong with it? i know nothing about it.

Met Kyprian was defrocked by the State Church of Greece, who he believes are the Church of Christ. Met Kyprian was defrocked by the Florinite wing Old Calendarist Church of Greece who he also believes are the Church of Christ. They are the Church of Christ but neither has an Apostolic authority to bind or lose. Infact Met Kyprian seems to believe that that part of the Church's power has vanished off the face of the earth- hence his rejection of the 1983 anathema aganist the ecumenist heretics. He believes that both the Old Calendarists and the New Calendarists are sick parts of the Church- but the Church of Christ cannot be sick, that is saying the Holy Spirit is sick. So for all their worldly educational achievements professing themselves to be wise they have become fools by coming up with a new heresy- Kyprianism.

The Kyprianites are tiny in Greece and the only Old Calendarist group not haressed by the Masonic state there. However they have access to a lot of money. Two people- one a Matthewite and the other a Florinite- have suggested that they are a creation of the Greek goverment. One of the first things Met Vitaly did on breaking free from what had become New ROCOR was breaking Communion with Met Kyprian's group and issuing a most brillant critque which explains everything.

Theophan.