GOC-Kallinikos Begins Discussions w/Romanian Slatioara Synod

[Alexandros]

=====================================
Representatives of the GOC-Kallinikos visited the Romanian Old Calendar Church seated in Slatioara.
The first hierarch of this Synod is Met. Vlasie.
In the past 2 years there seems to be increasing contact between the GOC-K
and representatives of the various Synods connected with the Synod in Resistance in Greece.
As is known, the Romanian Old Calendar Church does not seem
to accept the ecclesiological position of the SiR that the Patriarchates
have the grace of the Mysteries

(since the Romanians either baptize or chrismate those coming to them from the Romanian Patriarchate).

http://nftu.net/goc-k-begins-discussion ... slatioara/

http://impc.gr/index.php?option=com_con ... Itemid=808

[Maria]

The following was sent to me via email from Father P. Carras:

• From Monday Sep. 3/16 to Wednesday Sep 5/18 a representation of the Church of the G.O.C. of Greece headed by His Eminence, Metropolitan Gerontios of Piraeus and Salamis and made up of His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attica and Boeotia, and His Grace, Bishop Photios of Marathon, Chief-Secretary of the Holy Synod traveled to Bucharest, Romania to meet with Metropolitan Vlasie (Blasios), the First-Hierarch of the Church of the G.O.C. of Romania, and his fellow bishops with whom they discussed issues of common interest.

  The the G. O. C. Church of Romania is located primarily in Moldavia, but is also found in many other parts of Romania. The faithful are estimated to number close to one million, making it the largest True Orthodox Church in the world. Their magnificent parish churches, in traditional Romanian style, serve immense numbers of families, and crowds of twenty thousand faithful are not unusual at special gatherings at the Church's center in Slătioara. The Holy Synod consists of ten hierarchs. There are 130 parishes, 34 monasteries, convents, sketes and kesychatera. The synod has 45 Hieromonks, 115 married Priests, 26 Deacons, 260 Monks and 510 Nuns. The Cœnobitic Monastery of the Transfiguration in Slătioara numbers about one hundred monks and serves as a spiritual center for the Romanian Old Calendar Faithful.

  As part of their visit to Romania, our bishops had the opportunity to visit churches and monasteries.
  Photos of this visit are available at the Eparchial Synod's site: http://www.hotca.org/news/miscellaneous ... to-romania

This Romanian jurisdiction is the world's largest. This is awesome.

[Jean-Serge]

In fact, this was visit and not a formal opening of discussions for communion between the two synods.Regarding the number of faithfuls, I checked in the results on 2002 census in Romania and they made no difference between the different types of orthodox. So difficult to say if it is one million that seems very high.

[Maria]

In fact, this was visit and not a formal opening of discussions for communion between the two synods.Regarding the number of faithfuls, I checked in the results on 2002 census in Romania and they made no difference between the different types of orthodox. So difficult to say if it is one million that seems very high.

Since Romania was sorely oppressed by the godless communistic forces, and many of its faithful went into the catacomb church, it would be understandable that the size of this catacomb church would be larger now that there is religious freedom and that people would trust this church more.

[Jean-Serge]

This church details its ecclesiology in English here : http://www.mitropoliaslatioara.ro/eclesiologia.php

The rest of the website is in Romanian but the automatic translator may help: http://www.mitropoliaslatioara.ro/index.php

[Maria]

This church details its ecclesiology in English here : http://www.mitropoliaslatioara.ro/eclesiologia.php

The rest of the website is in Romanian but the automatic translator may help: http://www.mitropoliaslatioara.ro/index.php

Thank you for posting this link. I was confusing Romania with the horrible godless situation found in other communist countries as my Romanian sister-in-law was barely able to escape Romania with her baptismal certificate sewn into her coat lining. Although she was baptized, she was not raised as a Christian and still does not understand nor live the basics of Christianity. Apparently, the Romanians did not suffer under communism as much as other areas. Wasn't Albania the worst afflicted?

[StephenS]

I recall that a lovely Romanian priest used to serve Divine Liturgies at St Dunstan's in the West, in the City of London. One day he disappeared. On enquiry I learnt that the authorities in Romania sent him a message saying his father was dying. He returned into the arms of those authorities for whom the story of a dying father was a ruse.

The persecution was severe there as various testimonies attest to. Sadly for many years Romania was seen in the West as more moderate. To the extent the president was even at one point a guest of the Queen.