VERTOGRAD
Orthodox Journal
Newsletter No. 24, Tuesday, May 31, 2005. 1:20 P.M.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Theological Commission of ROAC Meets in Suzdal
ROAC Priests Persecuted by MP and FSB in Bryansk
THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION OF ROAC MEETS IN SUZDAL
(Vertograd: Suzdal)
The first session of the theological commission of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church which was formed by the Hierarchical Synod of ROAC in October of 2004, took place in Suzdal at the diocesan house on Vasilievsky Street on May 20-21, conducted by the chairman of the commission, the administrator for the ROAC Synod, Archbishop Theodore of Borisovsk and Otradnoe, with the participation of Bishop Ambrose, Archpriest Arcady Makovetsky, Hegumen Theophan, and Alexander Soldatov, the editor in chief of "Vertograd" Orthodox Journal. Bishop Sebastian of Chelyabinsk and Archpriest Michael Ardov could not attend.
Hegumen Theophan, secretary for the hierarchical commission and headmaster of the Suzdal Church School, was selected to be the secretary for the the commission. The commission implored the Hierarchical Synod with a petition to add to its membership Sergey Surovov, the warden of the Moscow Temple of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas and New Martyrs of Russia, and to include as consultants Hegumen Gregory (Lourie), as well as two American clerics: Protopriest Victor Melehov and Hegumen Andrei (Maklakov).
After hearing the report of Alexander Soldatov "about the need to call a Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church", the commission unanimously judged to inform the Sobor that such should occur at least once a year. With minor changes, the report was accepted as a resolution of the commission and was directed to the Hierarchical Synod. In the resolution, details concerning canonical justifications and proofs from Church history are detailed to support the the authors' positions, as well as responding to counter-arguments against such a convocation. The resolution in particular notes that the Sobor alone is the supreme source of power in the ROAC and that only it has the power to form a Hierarchical Synod. The members of the commission recognized financial difficulties as a basic obstacle to the convocation of the Sobor. Discussion was held to distribute a Synodal message about a special collection to be held for the Sobor, and Alexander Soldatov was placed in charge of determining the cost.
The commission also accepted two important reports about the "spiritual-canonical status of the Moscow Patriarchate and other World Orthodox Churches" and the "General Principles of reception into the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church of clerics and laity of World Orthodoxy". The documents originally began development back in 2001, but were stopped by an unprecedented legal campaign against Metropolitan Valentine. Concerning the first declaration, the report argues that the MP was first three-times schismatic and then heretical since 1961. However, in this case the report notes that it cannot determine the final fall of the MP from the boundaries of the Church and it is clear that the whole ecumenical "world Orthodoxy" are outside the gates of the Church and that "no real mysteries can exist there". An amendment to the report has a list of heretical communities of "world Orthodoxy" and other "false-Churches" that call themselves Orthodox. Concerning the second, the general principles of reception, the theological commission introduced some alterations, such as chierothesia of clerics of ecumenical churches that were ordained before this report is approved. According to the report, the reception of those joining must, after approval, be as follows: all must be received either by second rite (and done in this way those in the sacred dignity remain in their orders) or, for those whose baptism was in any way doubtful or chrismated in a "non-canonical" manner, must be conditionally baptized.
The theological commission recognized the need to begin contacts with TOC groups in other jurisdictions and countries. A report on this theme was assigned for preparation to Alexander Soldatov and Olga Mitrenina. The Sobor will also be confronted by the commission about inserting saints from other TOC jurisdictions into the calendar of the ROAC, as well as several saints of the Russian Church. The reports will be prepared by Bp Ambrose and Nun Martha (Senina). Techincal and theological information about the INAS and digital ID's will be prepared by Fr Arkady Makovetsky, who also requested an initiative to propose liturgical changes to the Sobor.
Hegumen Theophan further proposed to the commission the need for the adoption of the Sobor an extensive "confession of Faith of the Russian Orthodox Church", to which special attention will be given to the Church's relation to heresies, false doctrines and some modern-day social phenomena. The commission decided to present to the Sobor a Synodicon of Orthodoxy updated by Hegumen Theophan.
Fr Michael Ardov, who for good reasons could not arrive to the session, transmitted to the theological commission a request to judge about healthy people recieving the sacrament of anonting of the sick, such as those who can arrive in good health to Church. The commission charged Fr Michael to prepare an appropriate report for the following session.
The Commission accepted these as the preliminary projects of the agenda of the Sobor, which will now go to the Hierarchical Synod for approval. The second session of the theological commission of ROAC will begin in Suzdal on June 22.
ROAC PRIESTS PERSECUTED BY MP AND FSB IN BRYANSK
(Portal-Credo: Bryansk)
Three priests of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church in the Bryansk province are dealing with slander and pressure. At the end of 2004, three priests-- Michael Dudarev, Victor Zemlyakov and Oleg Yevseyev--left the Bryansk diocese of the MP and went into the Diocese of Tula-Bryansk of ROAC.
After Fr Michael Dudarev applied to the Justice Department to legally register the parish with ROAC, the religious advisor to the governor of the Bryansk region, A. Gavrikov, arrived at his house. From then they explained, after calling ROAC and its First-Hierarch rough names, that although ROAC is legally registered, it is "outside the law" and that the FSB is wholly concerned with its liquidation. The basic argument of the advisor against ROAC was that after leaving the MP for the "schismatic American Church (ROCOR), anti-Russian elements began to enter into its ranks so as to pull down and disintegrate Russia through the destruction of the Russian Church, work on the USA and on behalf of V. Vezhensky". Gavrikov began to threaten that if they didn't change their minds that the FSB would investigate them. "You don't know who you are working against", said the official, "Theophylact has a door to the President's office. He will crush you. Think about your children..." (Fr Michael has three, and Fr Victor four children, one named Theophylact, named for the local Bishop of the MP.) Gavrikov then promised to "show FSB documents and older judicial matters" against Metropolitan Valentine.
After this encounter the recorder refused to accept the standard parish registration, registered in many other regions, and the press began a campaign of slander against ROAC and the clergy who joined it. At the orders of the Diocesan adminstration of the MP, the local newspaper "Voskhod" published a series of articles against the priests, First-Hierarch and ROAC as a whole. When Fr. Michael arrived to the editorial staff with a demand to print an answer to these rough attacks, he was told that the "sole legal church" was the MP, and therefore the newspaper will support only it.
Several times the clerics were offered proposals to return to the "mother Church" with promises of rewards like gold crosses and titles, et cetera, but when this didn't work, the priests' former Bishop, Theophylact, began to preach sermons from the pulpit about the dissenters and their "American masters-- the enemies of Russia", asserting that the "departed" priests are deprived of their dignity and anathema. For zeal in propagating this slander the director of the Temple in Surazh was even awarded the rank of protopriest. Bryansk diocesan papers printed slanderous articles against ROAC. The director of the men's monastery in Svenskeyeo, Archimandrite Nicodemus, even sent out a letter to the local media.
Strong pressure was applied to the district administrator V.N. Konovalenko, so he would step back from an impartial approach and begin to participate in hunting down clerics objectionable to the MP.
Meanwhile the Division of Justice repeatedly returned parish by-laws, requiring corrections, points and commas. All this time, the priests were forced to drive around Bryansk for 200 km. Nevertheless, during April 2005. Fr Michael was able to register his Entrance of the Theotokos parish in Dalisitsy. As a whole the registration cost 7000 rubles (about $250) - a significant sum for such persecuted Christians.
The adviser of the regional governor declared the "quarantine" of the Surazh region as a "schismatic zone". Simultaneously about 20 priests of Bryansk diocese of the MP were illegally forbidden by bishop Theophylact to serve since they could not pay their diocesan dues in time. In the Bryansk diocese, and in the majority of the diocesesof the MP, total corruption reigns. Clergy are forced to live according to the principle: "you want to serve - you pay, if you do not pay - get lost".
Perceptible support for the persecuted priests was shown by the deputy of the Province, S.A. Kurennaya , who was tragically killed during February 2005. When the Bryansk diocese of the MP directed to the local Duma with the requirement to forbid the registration of communities ROAC in the Bryansk province and to do everything for the suppression of their activity, S.A. Kurennaya pointed out the illegality and unconstitutional nature of the request, and to do so, had to have a three-hour conversation with the religious adviser of the governor, Gavrikov, and two officers of FSB.
(C) Vertograd, 2004--2005. http://www.vertograd.blogspot.com/
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