THE CHEQUERED PROGRESS OF THE ROCA-MP RAPPROCHEMENT, 2
This splendid news was accompanied by news that the Holy Trinity Parish in Oxnard, California, which, as we reported in our last issue has also transferred to the Synod in Resistance, is to be sued. Their lawyer issued a press release on 17th April, stating: “ROCOR’s answer was to sue the Oxnard church and claim that ROCOR’s Archbishop owns all of the local church property. In addition, ROCOR cruelly sued the Greek Orthodox synod providing emergency pastoral care to Holy Trinity’s members, and its archbishop personally. Holy Trinity is deeply saddened by this turn of events, but is prepared to defend the property its members sacrificed to buy and build. Church Warden Michael Avisov explains, ‘It was the members of Holy Trinity, not ROCOR, who bought and built this church. ROCOR has never contributed any funds to our church or its maintenance.’” We ask prayers for these parishioners now under threat.
News reached us on 24th April, that Father Peter Fomin of the ROCOR parishof the Blessed Virgin of Vladimir in Rocklea, Brisbane, Australia, has al so left the Church Abroad and was placing himself under the omophorion of the Synod of Archbishop Tikhon of Omsk (Russian True Orthodox Church). Thus, he is the fifth priest in the Australian diocese of ROCOR to leave. Apparently, there were unpleasant scenes in the church when Fr Peter first commemorated Archbishop Tikhon, and the deacons serving with him stopped the Liturgy. We have seen reports both from those who support Fr Peter and those who wish to remain with ROCOR, and it is impossible to ascertain exactly who was responsible for these distressing and unedifying events.
E-mails from members of the Blessed Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) Memorial Society report that 85 ROCOR clergymen (of the approx 500 worldwide) have signed their intention to leave the Russian Church Abroad if the union goes through, although as these signatories are anonymous we have no way or knowing whether this figure is true, or whether indeed they will stand by their word.
On 25th April, a “Sorrowful Epistle” by Archbishop Tikhon was published on the internet, addressed to the ROCOR clergy and laity. It is extremely long and in places the Archbishop perhaps states his case too strongly and vehemently. He suggests, for instance, that ROCOR is now outside the Church. However, he does address many of the issues that the rapprochement process has revealed and which its most ardent proponents seem to want to remain hidden and unaddressed. He does this with a measure of clarity and insight, and although we might not agree with his position entirely, his letter is helpful in clarifying a situation which seems to have been made unnecessarily murky.
