Methodology:
As there was no opportunity to hold a meeting to put the matter to parishioners, Archbishop Mark’s letter of 12/25th October was posted on the church notice board and that in the hall at Brookwood. It was published in the magazine, “The Shepherd” (November issue) and on the Brotherhood website, and sent to parishioners who do not subscribe to the magazine and to those scattered members of the ROCA faithful (mostly elderly Russians) who appear to have been cut off from the pastoral ministrations of the London Church and who turn to the Brotherhood for pastoral care. Announcements in church were made on Sundays drawing attention to the Archbishop’s letter. Responses to the letter were invited from all these people. Although Fr Alexis discussed issues with people and tried to answer their questions, he attempted not to influence their decisions and on several occasions refused to suggest for whom they should vote.

Response:
The delegate from among the clergy: The majority of our people, even among those who disagree with the views that he has published about the rapprochement, approved the selection of Father Andrew Phillips as the clergy delegate from Britain, for the reasons outlined in the Archbishop’s letter.

With one exception, none of our people supported the appointment of Fr Vadim Zakrevsky as a delegate, and many objected to it strongly. This was not primarily because of any perceived personal fault in Fr Vadim, but for two principal reasons:-
a) Fr Vadim is largely unknown to our communities. He has visited the Convent and Brookwood during episcopal visits to this country, but is otherwise completely unknown to our people.
b) Fr Vadim was apparently the delegate from the British Diocese at the earlier Nyack Conference, but we were not informed of this fact nor how he was selected. Neither before attending the conference did he contact any of our communities to see how they felt about matters, nor after his return did he report to either our clergy or our lay people what had happened at the conference. Our people felt that if he were to be a delegate at the 2006 Council, we might similarly be left without any representation at the Council or even any information about the proceedings of the Council.
c) A minority of people (perhaps a third), most not from the congregation at Brookwood, but from that at the Convent and at Ryde, suggested that Fr Alexis should be the delegate from Britain, because he is the longest serving priest here (28 years) and knows most of the communities and parishes throughout the country. He, himself, is pleased that this was a minority selection and is unlikely to receive episcopal approbation.