True Orthodox Unity

[Cyprian]

Dear Cyprian, I beg your forgiveness! I did not intend to offend you or to divert anything toward you! I hope you will forgive me for not being circumspect in examining my words before posting them!

Dear Ephrem,

I did not think I was owed an apology, but nonetheless I accept your request for forgiveness, and ask for yours in return.

I only meant to say that it would be best, and in good charity, to request this information from Vladyka directly. Since I personally suspect that Vladyka is innocent of these suspicions, it seems prudent to me that he be given opportunity to defend his actions before words against him, even only suspicions, are posted on the internet (where things like this often lead more simple-minded people to confusion).

Fr. Mark tells us that the circumstances in which your Vladyka left the GOC (Matthewite) synod of Abp. Andreas, and entered into monastic submission to Gregory, has been explained to his satisfaction. You add that you, "personally suspect that Vladyka is innocent of these suspicions". Well if this is the case, and there is nothing to hide, then I don't understand the agitation caused by my inquiries? Why can't Fr. Mark just pass along to us the satisfactory explanation that was given to him? Why do I need to bother your Vladyka, who seems to be quite busy, as we are told he is abroad, traveling in Greece? You would think it would be common knowledge among informed members of ROAC as to why your Vladyka departed from his previous jurisdiction, when he was still a priest, prior to his tonsure and consecration.

[Cyprian]

Dear Cyprian,

I again wish to stress that it is not proper for you as a laymen (unbaptized or baptized) to impugn a bishop in public.

Greetings Fr. Mark,

It seems that, in the sense in which you accuse me of impugning your bishop, it would not be right to do in private any more than it would to do it publicly. So I am left to conclude that my questions are not the problem per se, but rather the fact that some folks in the ROAC don't want certain aspects of the history of their bishop to be made public, and so I am admonished to discuss this only in private. I don't consider my asking perfectly reasonable and legitimate questions, surrounding non-personal history of your bishop, to be impugning him. I am left with the impression that if I discussed this with your bishop privately, and I did not find his explanation satisfactory, and then explained why on a public forum, that I would be then accused of "betraying his confidence," by revealing details from a private conversation. So either way, the intent seems clear.

The questions I am asking are not of a personal nature, so why should they be private? They regard why your bishop, when he was a priest, departed from the communion of his bishop and synod, and then joined himself to a notorious schismatic and heretic in Colorado. These questions are solely related to the canons and matters of the Faith. I assure you, if I knew how to obtain an answer from the current GOC synod of Abp. Nicholas (formerly under the presidency of Abp. Andreas), I would simply request from them why (the then) Fr. Michael departed their synod. I don't know of any public declaration by either the GOC of Greece (Matthewites) or the ROAC as to why Fr. Michael left. I don't know if Fr. Michael left of his own accord, or was expelled, or what. It's all just some mystery that everyone seems to want to gloss over and pretend never happened.

I can assure you that the Holy Canons and Tradition of our Church prohibit this. If you are that interested, then get the answers to your questions directly from Vladyka Andrei. It has been explained to my satisfaction.

Thank you. I can assure you that the holy canons do not allow for a priest to just pack up and leave his bishop and synod without permission, either. So either Fr. Michael was given a canonical release to leave, or at least a blessing, or he was not. If the circumstances surrounding Bp. Andrei's departure have been explained to your satisfaction, why can't you simply pass along that info to me and the rest of the board?

I can tell you that we categorically reject the Western scholastic notion of Original Sin, and maintain the teachings of the Holy Fathers with regards to Ancestral Sin. I have a recording of myself answering that question on our parish website that you can download and listen to here: http://www.roacusa.org/SaintPeter/htdoc ... /about.htm

I was referring to a scholastic denial of original sin, maintained by certain old-calendarists purporting to be Orthodox, not the Roman Catholics.

Likewise, as far as St. Augustine of Hippo is concerned, ROAC is unanimous with the teachings of the Church that people are declared Saints because of their God-pleasing faith and the evidence and miracles that attest to such.

Excellent.

However, there is no denying that many of his early writings are the basis for several Roman Catholic and Protestant heresies.

I am sorry, but I cannot accept this. Many heretics twist and pervert sacred Scripture in an attempt to justify their erroneous teachings. Should we then fault the holy Scriptures? By no means. Rather, we hold accountable those who do not use them aright. Likewise, there are some who are not of an Orthodox mindset, cut-off from grace, like the aforementioned Roman Catholics and Protestants, who do not use St. Augustine's writings, as well as those of other holy father's, aright. The fault is with them, not St. Augustine or any other holy father. Are you familiar with St. Photios's Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit?

This is because he went beyond that which the Church had defined,

Haven't we all? Who can claim to not have engaged in speculation (theologumena), at one time or another, when it comes to matters of the Faith? We are all human, and subject to failings.

coupled with a lack of theological training

This is an inaccurate statement. Out of curiosity, would you like to share with us the extent of your theological training, Fr. Mark?

At the end of his life he retracted these things and wished to set himself in line with the Holy Fathers and Tradition of the Church.

The Blessed Augustine sought always to tread the path of holy tradition, at all times, subsequent to his conversion to the true Faith, not merely at the end of his life.

None of this has any bearing on his sainthood, they are just unfortunate facts about some of his writings.

Yes, and the same could be said about the writings of a number of other saints.

When I am asked about him, I explain the nuances of what others did with his writings rather than tearing him down as a man. It is improper to speak ill of the dead and certainly sinful to speak ill of the Saints.

Which brings us back to Gregory of Dormition Skete, who manifests great insolence towards the confessors and saints, especially St. Augustine, whom he categorically rejects. This brings into question why he was ever made a bishop of the ROAC in the first place, and further, why Fr. Michael after he departed from the GOC (Matthewites) chose to enter his monastery in obedience to him.

Cyprian, I am glad to hear that you admit that you know little about ROAC and have never talked directly to us.

I have kept my communications toward ROAC in the public realm, since my inquiries regarding the ROAC all pertain to matters of the Faith. Matters of the Faith do not need to be discussed in private.

Let me be the first to offer for you to talk to me personally as well. ...This underlines my point about True Orthodox unity. We all need to pick up the phone and actually call each other and ask our questions and confirm the viewpoints of others. Believe me, when I have a question about other groups, I call people, I don't post open challenges on the internet.

Thank you for the offer. Oftentimes in the past, I've found that holding private converse with others has tended to lead to gossip, and talk which focuses on church politics and personal failings rather than on matters of the Faith. Most people are only concerned with talking about people, places, names, and faces, and are not all that interested in serious discussions pertaining to the Faith. So I tend to remain aloof from such connections, as I don't find them to be all that profitable.

[Cyprian]

Dear Cyprian, Bishop Andrew (Andrei aka Igumen Andrew), as far as I know and he has stated in his bio, he has been among the Russian Orthodox abroad for some thirty years. Could it be another Fr Michael of the GOC which you are referring. Bishop Andrew was ordained a priest by blessed Met. Philaret in ROCOR. And he was not ordained "Michael".

Greetings Macrina,

Here is the biography that once appeared on the ROAC website. Notice how the biography merely glosses over the entire period between 1986-2004 by simply stating that Fr. Michael united with "churches of the Greek Old Calendar Movement."

Father Andrew (Maklakov), formerly Fr. Michael Maklakov, was born in 1953, the first of six children. He was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and wanted to enter the service of the Church from an early age. At the age of fourteen he entered the Carmelite Order and studied in their minor seminary. However, after the changes of Vatican II, he transferred over to the Ukrainian Uniate branch of Roman Catholicism. At the age of twenty, he was sent to Rome to study for the priesthood. However, after one year there, he became aware of Orthodoxy, and returned to the United States.

With the blessing of Archbishop Averky Taushev, he was baptized in Jordanville in 1975. A year later he became acquainted with Archbishop Andrei Rimarenko, who asked him to become his cell attendant, with whom he stayed until Vladika's blessed repose. Vladika Andrei instructed him in the Russian language, pastoral and dogmatic theology, and prepared him for the priesthood. Vladika Andrei sent him to Metropolitan Philaret for his examinations, which he passed. After the repose of Archbishop Andrei, Michael joined the US Air Force, and married Susanna Dickinson. They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara. After his military service, Michael was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Gregory Grabbe on August 2/15, 1982. On the feast of Dormition of that same year, he was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Philaret at the Novo Diveevo Convent.

Father Michael's first assignment was at the Cathedral of the Ascension in Glen Cove, New York. Besides the parish work that he did there, he served as the Administrator of Diocesan Property for the Eastern American and New York Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. He also taught religion in the St. Sergius High School. He was also asked to move and reorganize the Synodal Candle Works from the Synod building in Manhattan to the Diocesan headquarters in Glen Cove.

In 1984, he was elevated to the rank of Archpriest and was transferred to Rome, Italy. A year and half later, he was transferred to Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1986, and in the years that followed, due to the turmoil within the ROCOR caused by Metropolitan Vitaly, Father Michael would strive to maintain the traditions he had learned from Archbishop Andrei by uniting with churches of the Greek Old Calendar Movement.

In 1999, Fr. Michael's wife of 19 years, who suffers from bipolar affectation disorder (manic depression), took his children and left him. Father Michael waited for her return for four years. However, after she married another man, he resolved to enter the monastic life and began searching for an appropriate place where he might realize this desire that had been with him since his childhood. His search ultimately led him to Dormition Skete and his return to the Russian Orthodox Church, under the omophorion of Metropolitan Valentine of Suzdal and Bishop Gregory of Denver, of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church.

Father Michael was tonsured into monasticism by Bishop Gregory of Denver and Colorado on the Feast of the Lord's Meeting in the Temple, in the Cathedral of the Dormition, on February 2/15, 2004, being given the name Andrew, after the First Called Apostle. We wish Father Andrew success and God's grace in his new vocation, serving the Church of God.

[Cyprian]

Greetings Romaric,

Yes, I was referring to the concept of original sin as in fact an ancient dogma of the Church, which has been denied or distorted in recent times by certain teachers of Orthodoxy, both Russians and Greeks, both Old and New Calendarists. Abp. Theophan of Poltava wrote of this errant teaching regarding original sin:*

“His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony in his Catechism gives a new interpretation of the cited words of the Apostle Paul, and, in accordance with this interpretation, put forwards a new teaching on original sin, which essentially almost completely overthrows the Orthodox teaching on original sin.”

Archbishop Theophan, The Patristic Teaching on Original Sin, in Russkoe Pravoslavie, № 3 (20), 2000, p. 20 (in Russian).

*The above quotation in English, is courtesy of an article written by Vladimir Moss, called "The Mystery of Redemption"

[Macrina]

Dear Cyrpian, Thank you for that info. ,the only thing I am confused about now from your info, is that the article you've posted states Met. Philiret ordained him, but it doesn't say as Fr Andrew. So I assume that he kept his legal name of Michael until he was tonsured as a monk by Gregory in 2004 (I don't think Gregory had yet been deposed), which is the same year that Gregory was deposed by ROAC according to their Protocols. If I remember I will ask Bishop Andrew myself when he visits the weekend after Thanksgiving.

While I am sure that we cannot know every thing that occurs among clergymen. I do not believe that there was or is any ill intent on Bishop Andrew's part. And there is a continual strand of his connections with the Russian Orthodox even among the GOC.
Metropolitan Valentine has known Metropolitan Pavlos (GOC) for many years (Bishop Andrew and Metropolitan Valentine visited with him in 2007 I believe, just a friendly visit, nothing formal). Metropolitan Valentine also knew Metropolitan Pavlos' uncle, Metropolitan Petros. There are likely other friendly relations that we are not all aware of. But that does not mean that there are any formal declarations of such matters. I only post this so you will understand that there have been relations there.

I also bear in mind that when some "news" was posted before Gregory was deposed, it was prepared by Matushka Anastasia who was Gregory's secretary and daughter. And perhaps she also was not fully informed of all news especially if it was informal.

[Macrina]

Dear Cyprian, I had a lovely Sunday with Bishop Andrew today. And I remembered to ask him about the GOC. He was never with the GOC. He was with the Matthewites after Copenhagen. He then waited some 4 years in the U.S. for a response from them and never received any. It was at that time that he went to Dormition Skete and was received by Gregory.
This is what he told me and others today.