He is referring to Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko) and Bishop Veniamin (Roussalenko). Member of the Catacomb group of Bishop Varnava (Belaev, +nineteen sixty five) in Russia, he was in contact with Archbishop Leonty (Filippovich, of ROCOR,+1971) since nineteen sixty two. Archbishop Lazar was consecrated to the episcopate "under the utmost secrecy" in Russia by the ROCOR in 1982; this only became public in 1989. Became part of ROCOR officially when ROCOR opened parishes in Russia, named Bishop of Tambov and Oboyansk in 1990, of Tambov and Morshansk in 1991. In nineteen ninety four he assisted in the consecration of three bishops in Russia with Bishop Valentin (Rusantsov) without permission from the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR and then was subsequently retired by the Synod. It gets rough after that, I think he was back and forth a few times, then split again after the Metropolitan Vitaly retirement -uh- festivities. Bishop Veniamin (Roussalenko) I believe was Archbishop Lazar's kellenik. A little bird told me that Metropolitan Vitaly liked him, and wanted him made a Bishop. He was consecrated in the now infamous burg of Mansonville in November 1990 by Metropolitan Vitaly and then Bishop Hilarion (Kapral, now ROCOR Archbishop of Australia). I think Bishop Veniamin stuck around during all the trials and tribulations concerning Archbishop Lazar, but he, too, split after the Metropolitan Vitaly retirement -uh- festivities. Seems to me that these two have their own thing going now, possibly called the "Rusyn Orthodox Church." Seems like I ran across a website the other day...but who can remember? It seems there was much ado over the ROCOR picking this Lazar as "their boy" when they got things going in Russia. An interesting aside-from "Black Hundred: The Rise of the Extreme Right in Russia"-"Lazar paid an 'official' visit to the right wing weekly 'Den' in early 1992, in the course of which the usual invocations of the 'Protocols (of the Elders of Zion)', the Masons, and the Satanists were made...while Lazar invoked the authority of Christ, on several occasions he also based himself on the teachings of Hinduism concerning karma. His appearance left the impression of a man whose mental balance was less than complete....some thought Lazar intentionally fraudulent, but it was also possible that he was manipulated by (to use Russian right wing language) 'sinister forces'.......Next Archbishop Lazar made a dramatic appearance at the meeting of Otchizna, one of the National Bolshevik and military groups that mushroomed at the time. 'There are so many clever people here,' he declared. 'Why dont we simply seize power?' The Archbishop, in brief, called for a coup and civil war, which irritated the meeting's organizers who thought it -at the very least-untimely...." (p. two hundred thirty)
This Archbishop Lazar has never had anything whatsoever to do with the "Parisian Jurisdiction."
michael woerl
