VERTOGRAD
Orthodox Journal
Newsletter No. 4, Wednesday, December 22, 2004. 8:55 P.M.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Passing of 27 Year Old Acolyte of Moscow ROAC Parish
- ROAC Priest in Stavropol Evicted from His Home at the Request of the Local Moscow Patriarchate Bishop
- The Rector of "Chrysostomite" Church in England Falls Seriously Ill
- Fire in Karelia Church Of ROCOR (V)
TRUE ORTHODOX NEWS
PASSING OF 27 YEAR OLD ACOLYTE OF MOSCOW ROAC PARISH
(Vertograd: Moscow)
On December 17, as a result of an unsuccessful heart operation, Vladimir Izmailov, the altar server of the Church of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas and All New-Marytrs of Russia, passed away at the age of 27. The official burial service for the newly-departed servant of God Vladimir was performed on the 19th of December, the feast of St Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra by Fr Michael Ardov. The body was accompanied to the cemetery by Hieromonk Arkady (Ilyushin), the parish priest.
As was noted during the funeral sermon by Fr. Michael, Vladimir was a man who lived a righteous life, a great rarity even in the Church in our corrupt days. Even his website on the Internet was devoted to preaching True Orthodoxy.
Many clerics and parishioners could not hold back tears during the funeral and farewell to the departed.
ROAC PRIEST IN STAVROPOL EVICTED FROM HIS HOME AT THE REQUEST OF THE LOCAL MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE BISHOP
(Vertograd: Kursavka, Stavropol Region)
Persecutions continue against clerics of the Russian Church in the Stavropol region. Now being a member of a ROAC is the all that is needed to be persecuted.
MP Bishop Theofan (Ashurkov) has successfully orchestrated an eviction from the apartment of priest Andrei Fedyunin, the rector of the ROAC parish of the village of Kursavka. In June of 1999, Fr. Andrei and a number of the parishioners of the St Michael Church in the village of Kursavka left the Stavropol diocese of the MP, after serving in the parish for more than five years. During Fr Andrei's service in the MP local authorities granted the family a permit to live in a specified local residence. When Fr. Andrei withdrew from the MP there were no questions of the legality of the stay in their home. But soon after the passage of Fr. Andrei into the Free Russian Church was publicized in the local press, articles began to appear about "American sectarians" taking over the Kursava village temple, courtesy of the MP's Stavropol diocese.
In 2001, the parishioners of the local MP church concocted a statement under advisement from Kursavka's village administration, where it was determined that a direct transfer of residential property was needed for the MP community, which happened to be the same property where Fr. Andrei lived with his family for five years. Of course, they "forgot to inform" the priest of this fact, leaving him no time to seek any legal recourse prior to this decision. Priest Andrei Fedyunin repeatedly turned the procuratorship of the Andropovsk region of Stavropol with complaints of illegal actions on the part of the village administration, but the procuratorship found nothing illegal in these actions. Meanwhile, the MP St. Michael Parish filed a motion to the court evicting Fr Andrei from from the apartment he lived in. In response, Fr. Andrei filed a counter-motion arguing that the building transfer to the MP was illegal, but in the course of two years, nothing was done.
Assigned this past year to the MP's Stavropol diocese, Bishop Theofan (Ashurkov) turned to the deputy representative of the President of the Southern federal region, Korobeynikov (a native of s. Kursavka) with the request to assist taking the apartment occupied by Fr. Andrei "by any means". In spite of all their difficulties, the parishioners of ROAC's St Vladimir Church in Kursavka and their rector, Fr. Andrei, believe that the small community of the Free Russian Church, with God's help and through the might of prayer, will overcome all disorganization and oppression in which it finds itself.
THE RECTOR OF "CHRYSOSTOMITE" CHURCH IN ENGLAND FALLS SERIOUSLY ILL
(Vertograd: Guildford, Great Britain)
Hieromonk Augustine (Lim), the rector of the St. Michael Parish (of the "Chrysostomite" Synod of the Greek Old Calendar Church) in Guildford, England, is extremely sick. Fr. Augustine ceased to serve two months ago. On November 28, he was hospitalized with suspicion of having cancer. In the hospital the diagnosis was confirmed, and Fr. Augustine was discovered to have cancer of the lymph nodes, a malignant tumor of spinal cord and tuberculosis.
In spite of such incredible pain, Father Augustine stably endures the disease, jokes about it and tries to spiritually support those surrounding him.
Father Augustine, born in Singapore, was baptized and ordained in 2000 and 2001 in Suzdal, and later was appointed as the rector of St. Michael parish of the ROAC in Guildford. In 2003, under the guidance of the parish warden, the parish and priest passed over to the jurisdiction of the Synod of Chrystostom (Kiousis) of Athens.
We request our readers to remember in their prayers the suffering priest of God, Hieromonk Augustine.
ROCOR (V) NEWS
FIRE IN KARELIA CHURCH OF ROCOR (V)
(Vertograd: Mech-i-Trost, Moscow)
The Holy Archangel Michael Church of ROCOR (V) in Reboli, Karelia has been completely destroyed by fire. Divine services are being held at a temporary accomodation. The parishioners want to erect a new temple at the previous location. The rector, Fr. Stephan Krasovitskiy is directly appealing with a request for aid. Information on sending donations can be found at http://www.livejournal.com/users/vershillo/8402.html
(C) Vertograd, 2004. http://www.vertograd.blogspot.com/
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