Lydia wrote:Nope. HOCNA does not require its members to believe in Awake, Sleeper. (Not sleepers)
I know many clergy and laity that reject it.
Bishop Ephraim has stated many times publicly (as I can personally attest) that this is his opinion.
I also know that the Toronto parishes left for other reasons than this. Bishop Moses and Bishop Sergios had other issues, too.
HOCNA has embraced heresy and fallen from the True Orthodox, no doubt. But, what happened, why and when are much more complicated and layered that this. Oh, the stories I could tell...
Blue color is my emphasis.
Other than heresy and schism, people cannot leave a church for "other issues." If they do, then they become schismatics themselves and are outside of the church. Once a local church has fallen into schism and heresy, and the bishop is complicit in it as Met. Ephraim was with his belief in Awake, Sleeper and in Name Glorifying or Name Worshiping most certainly there will be other issues. Because once a local church has fallen into schism and heresy, then they lack sacramental grace, and slowly but surely, they will begin to produce bad fruit as was seen in Elder Panteleimon's serious fall and his ultimate reduction to the status of a simple monk.
And what Philaret is saying is also correct. The history of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA (also known as HTM, HOCNA, or HOMB) was schismatic from the very beginning and perhaps, just perhaps, Elder Panteleimon's fall from grace could be attributed to this underlying schism.
Note that in the late 1970s, the GOC (currently under Archbishop Stephanos) had stated that their reason for leaving ROCOR was the pan-heresy of Ecumenism as proven by the heretical concelebrations of Anthony of Geneva with the EP. Interestingly, when HTM left ROCOR in the 1986, they appeared to give the same correct reason for leaving as the pan-heresy of Ecumenism perhaps even plagiarizing the GOC documents. However, HTM only presented one of their many smokescreens as their real underlying reason was not heresy but the eminent obfuscation of the sexual abuse acts committed by Elder Panteleimon against his own monks. Thus HTM committed a schismatic act in breaking with ROCOR just as ROCOR was trying to bring HTM before a spiritual court.