Appeal to the ROCA Pan-Diaspora Clergy Conference
Appeal to the Pan-Diaspora Conference of the Clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
We appeal to your conscience asking you to petition your hierarchs to request the termination of legal actions persecuting those that cherish the spiritual values and testaments of Patriarch St. Tikhon, of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, and of our First-Hierarchs: Antony, Anastassy and Philaret.
The physical abuse of Metropolitan Vitaly in 2001 has been replaced by legal actions of ROCOR(L) against the elderly monks and nuns of ROCOR(V) with the aim to extract them out of their monasteries.
With this respect, Metropolitan Vitaly (who has just turned 93) is been harassed with legal questioning. Similarly, sick abbess Eugenia (92 years old) is been tormented with her sister nuns of the Convent of our Lady of Vladimir in California (you can read more about this at http://www.rocie.org/articles/93/1.html ).
The lawsuits were launched by the Synod of ROCOR(L) via their bishops, as well as other parties.
You can familiarize yourself with the information about one of these
lawsuits at http://www.russianorthodoxchurchinexile ... vent1.html.
As we understand, there have been five (5) lawsuits launched since 2001, two (2) of which have been terminated, and three (3) are still active.
In this Appeal we do not touch upon neither the questions of religion, nor Church etiquette, nor the Canons. We simply beg the participants of this Pan-Diaspora Conference to come to the defense of the elderly and honored people, whose only fault is that they refuse to renounce their whole life’s principles.
We appeal to your conscience and are asking you to show mercy and help stop the persecution of the elderly.
Nov. 24/Dec. 7 2003
St. Martyr Catherine
Members of the Church of the Holy Tsar Martyrs in Toronto, Canada
Members of the Cathedral of St. Vladimir in Edmonton, Canada