TEN QUESTIONS ON THE ORDINATION OF BISHOP AKAKIJE OF SERBIA

[Ekklisiastikos]

That's what you say, but why should I believe your assertions rather than the assertions of Bp Akakije's supporters? And your arguments in any case rest on the assumption that the Greek GOC is the ultimate arbiter, when the whole point of the Akakijans' case is that the Greek GOC does not have the authority to make these kinds of decisions for Serbia. In any case, basing this whole business on obscure questions of legality shows a radical misunderstanding of the Church.

There is a huge difference between assertions and facts! The Holy Synod through its encyclical speaks with facts.

Every jurisdiction has broken the rules, but we don't conclude from this that the Church has disappeared. What matters is that the true faith is still being preached and that we believe God continues to send His Spirit down on us, no matter how many rules we break.

We dare anyone to find a single canon that the GOC Synod of Metropolitans has broken on the Serbian matter.

If I did, and if I lived in Serbia and had to make a choice, I would make a decision based on who I believed would be a genuinely good bishop.

You mean based on your own personal sentimental criteria? If you ask us we can name ten pious and loving and caring and "genuinely good" (whatever this means) "GOC" bishops who are totally uncanonic and their ordination is totally against the Holy Canons!

[Suaidan]

That's what you say, but why should I believe your assertions rather than the assertions of Bp Akakije's supporters? And your arguments in any case rest on the assumption that the Greek GOC is the ultimate arbiter, when the whole point of the Akakijans' case is that the Greek GOC does not have the authority to make these kinds of decisions for Serbia. In any case, basing this whole business on obscure questions of legality shows a radical misunderstanding of the Church.

There is a huge difference between assertions and facts! The Holy Synod through its encyclical speaks with facts.

You can prove for a fact that the only people going supporting Bp Akakije are his relatives? I thought the Novi Stjenik monastery went with him; isn't Mother Efrosyne an American?

Every jurisdiction has broken the rules, but we don't conclude from this that the Church has disappeared. What matters is that the true faith is still being preached and that we believe God continues to send His Spirit down on us, no matter how many rules we break.

We dare anyone to find a single canon that the GOC Synod of Metropolitans has broken on the Serbian matter.

Well, I believe we've already discussed one at length-- the delay of making a Bishop for the people outside one's normative canonical territory is inexcusable. It actually allows them to appeal to other Bishops.

If I did, and if I lived in Serbia and had to make a choice, I would make a decision based on who I believed would be a genuinely good bishop.

You mean based on your own personal sentimental criteria? If you ask us we can name ten pious and loving and caring and "genuinely good" (whatever this means) "GOC" bishops who are totally uncanonic and their ordination is totally against the Holy Canons!

And we can name a dozen more, and so on, and so on. It's all a big circle. I agree fully with Jonathan. But if you'd like to, let's all throw Bishops at each other and see what happens. I personally think it's a waste of time, because these are all rehashed arguments.

No one's hands are clean, so let's appeal to God for mercy and instead of talking about how "we are the canonical Orthodox and they are not" let's start BEING by doing right-- and stop pretending we are the rightest of the right. And that's how we'll be right. That is my opinion. Alright? Alright.

[Priest Siluan]

From Facebook:

Archimandrite Philaretos Klimakitis: I cannot believe that people in Serbia would be against Bishop Akakije's ordination. He is the founder of your local Church. He brought the light to you! Someone even told me that they question his morals. Haven't we tired on discussions about morality? I am more tired hearing groups talking about being "clean" than I am about scandals. Only God knows these things. St. John Chrysostom tells us that Christ's words "judge not, lest ye be judged" is applicable to everything but to matters of the faith. So your new Bishop is perfect in matters of the faith. Also having lived in the same house as he during his youth, I knew him them to be a most modest, moral man of prayer. Am I to believe that he as a youth was so refined and now he is not---Never! Dear Serbian brothers and sister, please rejoice in the ordination of the man who saved you all from the hell of the ecumenists and pray for him, but most of all support and love him!

Archimandrite Philaretos Klimakitis: Do people realize what the then Father Akakije went through to establish True Orthodoxy in Serbia. He put his chest against the o so powerful Serbian Patriarchate. He worked, he taught. I can assure you all that from the very beginning no "synod" really cared about him or his work. His only mistake was that he hid from his flock the indifference that these people had for his missionary zeal.

Father Philaretos was who tonsure Bishop Akakije to the Great Schema.

[Ephrem]

Archimandrite Philaretos Klimakitis: I cannot believe that people in Serbia would be against Bishop Akakije's ordination. He is the founder of your local Church. He brought the light to you! Someone even told me that they question his morals. Haven't we tired on discussions about morality? I am more tired hearing groups talking about being "clean" than I am about scandals. Only God knows these things. St. John Chrysostom tells us that Christ's words "judge not, lest ye be judged" is applicable to everything but to matters of the faith. So your new Bishop is perfect in matters of the faith. Also having lived in the same house as he during his youth, I knew him them to be a most modest, moral man of prayer. Am I to believe that he as a youth was so refined and now he is not---Never! Dear Serbian brothers and sister, please rejoice in the ordination of the man who saved you all from the hell of the ecumenists and pray for him, but most of all support and love him!

That settles it for me!

[Alexandros]

but why should I believe your assertions rather than the assertions of Bp Akakije's supporters ?

Because we are not talking about simple assertions, but about Canons.
The Akakijanite group (about 100 people in total that includes women & children, and is largely comprised of family and friends of Fr/Bp Akakije)
that support the uncanonicaly ordained Fr/Bp Akakije, consitute a schismatic group, not a Synod.

I personally don't know any of these people.
If I had known Fr Akakije personally, I would be better able to decide whether he was a brave struggler
for the true faith and a natural leader, as his supporters say, or a devious and ambitious cult-leader, as his opponents say

We do. Very well in fact.
Fr/Bp Akakije was once my spiritual father, and Vladimir Moss is my godfather.
The only people following him is a very small group of people (max 100), largely comprised of family and friends

If I did, and if I lived in Serbia and had to make a choice, I would make a decision based on who I believed would be a genuinely good bishop.

It is not a matter of personal preference, but a canonical issue.

But since I don't know him, I don't presume to make judgments about him or this matter,
and frankly I don't think it's the business of anyone outside Serbia, or at least any layman, to make such judgments.

Following this line of logic, then since we do not live in Constantinople, we are not able to make judgements if Bartholomew is preaching ecumenical heresies.
(especially since we are laymen, as you pointed out)

Truth of the matter is that although each case for all the schismatic (and/or heretical) groups

• that have placed themselves outside of the True Church as a direct consequence of their actions -
  is an individual case in study they all share a common point. .... They are all in denial of it.

The Akakijianites (similar to other schismatic groups)
are in breach of Canons and have placed themselves outside of the True Church.
(in their particular case, Canon 31 of the Holy Apostles,
Canon 18 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council and Canon 34 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council)

As aforementioned -although each group is different - they all are in denial of their position.

Our most Holy Synod has expanded on this in the encyclical
http://www.ecclesiagoc.gr/en/announceme ... 489-serbia
http://www.ecclesiagoc.gr/el/anakoinwse ... 89-serbian
http://www.ecclesiagoc.gr/el/anakoinwse ... 89-serbian

Although we are not allowed to pray with them, I am sure we can pray for them

[jgress]

Alexandros, I understand that because of V Moss' membership of your parish you and the others were forced to make a decision about this. But what about the canons that the Greek GOC synod broke concerning their responsibility to provide a bishop for the widowed church? It's not self-evident just from the canons that your side is right. Now, if I personally knew Fr Akakije, I would be able to tell whether he was a suitable candidate for bishop or not. If he were suitable, then I would say your side is abusing its authority in attempting to control the election of a new bishop outside the territory of the Greek church. That is a decision that only the faithful of the Serbian GOC can make. If he were not suitable, and if it were true that only a minority of Serbian GOC faithful support him, then I would say your side is right to be reluctant to consecrate him and to look for a suitable candidate elsewhere, even if Fr Akakije is technically right that the Greek GOC does not have jurisdiction in Serbia.

But I can't make that decision because both sides are asserting that they have the support of the majority of GOC faithful in Serbia. In addition, Fr Akakije points out that the position of his opponents is that the Greek GOC has jurisdiction in Serbia until such time as they decide to cede jurisdiction to the Serbs, when the reality according to the canons is that the jurisdictional limits of the Greek church had already been decided ecumenically and cannot be changed by the Greek church alone, which would mean that his opponents have no legal basis to continue to appeal to the authority of the Greeks. Instead, all the GOC Serbian faithful together should vote on Fr Akakije's suitability without interference from Greece, and then maybe it would be apparent whether Fr Akakije really has popular support in Serbia itself.

[Ephrem]

I thought the Novi Stjenik monastery went with him; isn't Mother Efrosyne an American?

I'm pretty sure she's a native Serb. When I met her she couldn't speak fluent English. There is at least one novice at the monastery who is American, though. Mother Euphrosyne is related to one of the Serbian priests, and their paternal mother is a nun at Novi Stjenik as well, but other than that none of the sisters are related to my knowledge.

No one's hands are clean, so let's appeal to God for mercy and instead of talking about how "we are the canonical Orthodox and they are not" let's start BEING by doing right-- and stop pretending we are the rightest of the right. And that's how we'll be right. That is my opinion. Alright? Alright.

There is a lot to this, I think.