The Shepherd, March 2007
NEWS SECTION, 2
ROCA’s ARCHBISHOP Kirill VISITS ENGLAND
IN MID-FEBRUARY, His Grace Archbishop Kirill of San Francisco and Western America visited England for a ten-day period. He served at the Church of the Dormition on Harvard Road, London, for the Sundays of Meatfare and Cheesefare. During the week, he visited the other two ROCA parishes in England: St Elizabeth in Birkenhead, and St John the Wonderworker at Felixstowe, where he celebrated the Great Feast of the Meeting of the Lord. It was the first time in many a long year that these two parishes had been blessed with an episcopal visit.
On the Saturday of the Ascetics, he visited the sisters at the Convent of the Annunciation in Willesden, where he spent over two hours, and then came on to Saint Edward’s at Brookwood. Unfortunately, Fr Alexis was not here to greet him on that occasion, having been detained by visiting the mission at Ryde, but the next day, after serving at the Convent, he called in to greet and speak with the Archbishop at Harvard Road.
The move of three former ROCA communities to the Synod in Resistance immediately after Christmas naturally provoked some surprise and even hurt among some people who have elected to remain with the Church Abroad. It appears that the diocesan conference held for the ROCA participants in mid-January fanned the flames of latent animosity. The visit of His Grace Archbishop Kirill was manifestly one of understanding and an attempt to soothe the hurt that had earlier been inflamed. His visit and kind words were greatly appreciated both by the sisters at the Convent and by the members of our Brotherhood.
ARCHBISHOP MARK CRITICISES CONSTANTINOPOLITAN PATRIARCHATE
THE PROBLEMS in relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople arise because of the latter, Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany (ROCA) said, according to a Interfax posting from Paris on 16th February. He said he meant Constantinople’s “perpetual interference in Russian affairs.” “Their interference has become large-scale since 1917, the year of the Bolshevik Revolution, when they started meddling with the Russian matters, and it goes on in Estonia and Ukraine,” the Archbishop told the participants of the conference held earlier in Paris and engaged with issues of re-union of the Russian Orthodox Church’s two parts. The Archbishop expressed his hope that “those who were responsible for that would come to their senses and find in themselves enough strength to correct this untrue way.”
ARCHBISHOP MARK CALUMNIATED
POSTINGS on the web have erroneously reported that when he visited the Sisters of the Convent of the Annunciation in January, Archbishop Mark of Berlin & Germany stole their antimins and struck one of the nuns. It is true that he removed the antimins from their Holy Table and took it with him, but this was not in any way an act of theft because the antimins was his to take, and at the time of his visit the Sisters had already left his jurisdiction and placed themselves under the spiritual protection of Metropolitan Cyprian. As for the accusation that the Archbishop struck anyone, it is patently untrue. We do not know the source of these allegations.
Our own Synod in Resistance communities in England have also been misrepresented on websites. A Dr Magerovsky, who has never contacted us to ascertain the truth, has stated on one: “The present proprietors of ROCOR parishes and monasteries are now very concerned that their properties will be seized ‘legally’ by the MP. This is why the St Edward Brotherhood and its sister monastery, the Annunciation Convent, have recently bolted from the ROCOR. They have prime real estate in London which they wish to keep.” This is simply not true. We “bolted” from ROCOR only because in all conscience we could not accept the MPROCOR rapprochement, which had already been agreed upon by our former hierarchs. Furthermore the Brotherhood has no real estate, prime or otherwise, in London or anywhere else. 
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