The Documents of
the Conference of
which took place on July 10, 2007,
in the
Epistle
Protocol
Lecture given by Archpriest Valeriy
Alekseyev
Epistle
…If
the public so desires, it can come pray with me.
If it does not, there is nothing to be done –
I will pray alone.
If
I assemble enough followers, then our church group
will
establish some organizational structure…
From
an interview with Patriarch Tikhon,
after
his release from detention,given to a
reporter of
the Russian news agency, June15/28, 1923.
An Epistle
of the conference of
to all faithful members of the Russian Church Abroad
Gathered here in the
Church of the Holy Trinity in the God-fearing city of New York, the Russian
Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA) parish representatives make known their sorrow
and concern regarding the decision of a part of our Church to join the Moscow
Patriarchate, which continues to engage in ecumenism and sergianism. This sorrow is made even more severe, as this
decision was made in contradiction to the sobornost
of our Church, the decision of the Pastoral conference in Nyack, the IVth All-Diaspora Council, and without the approval of a
corresponding declaration of the ROCA Bishops’ Council, and even by violating
the regulations of the Bishops’ Synod.
It was undertaken in ways foreign to
We share the sincere
desire of all faithful members of our Church to see a united Russian Orthodox
Church. We desire no less, though, to see
the
In these
circumstances, we believe it is essential to keep our Church free from serving
the spirit of the this world, as we recognize only one
Master – our Master, Jesus Christ. The
Provisional Supreme Church Authority of
the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, made up of members chosen by us, has as its
goals to organize the canonical order of our dioceses and parishes and to
prepare for the convening of the Vth All-Diaspora
Council, which will reinstate the canonical foundation of our Church.
For us at this time,
the preservation of our
We consider it possible to
begin a dialogue with representatives of the other parts of
Again, let us remind all our
faithful members that our main task is the restoration, regulation and
strengthening of the life of our dioceses and parishes. We must emerge from this difficult period
with honor, so that we may continue to witness true Orthodoxy to the world, as
the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has always done with such success.
May God help us in this
calling!
Conference
Chairman,
Most Reverend Agafangel,
Bishop of Taurida and
Temporary Ruling
Bishop of the Zaporozhiye,
Buenos-Aires and
South American Dioceses
Conference
Members
Protocol
Protocol
Of the Conference of
Attendees:
Most Reverend Agafangel, Bishop of Taurida and
Clergy and Monastics: Hegumen Andronik (Kotlyarov); Hegumen Georgiy (Kravchenko); Archpriest Valeriy Alekseyev; Archpriest Gregoriy Kotlyarov; Archpriest Igor Hrebinka;
Archpriest Vsevolod Dutikow;
Archpriest Sergey Klestov; Archpriest Gregory
Williams; Archpriest Konstantin Busygin; Archpriest
Aleksey Mikrikov; Hieromonk
Sofroniy (Musienko); Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko); Fr. Leonid Plyats; Fr.
Vladimir Petrenko; Fr. Nikita Grigoriev;
Fr.
Victor Dobrov;
Fr. Sergey Serzhanov; Fr. Daniel Meshter;
Fr. Dimitri Weber; Protodeacon Job Shemerov; Hegumena Aleksandra (Chernyavskaya); Sister Maria (Shikluna).
Laypeople: Sub-deacon Dimitri Dobronravov; Reader Dimitri Serzhanov;
Reader Daniel Olsen; Reader Sergey Paychek; Princess Bagration, Irina S.; Prof. Rodzianko,
Oleg; Rodzianko, Tatiana; Volk, Alexander; Vorsa, Vasiliy; Gerasimovich, Georgiy;
Gontscharow, Dimitri; Dimitriev, Peter; Jarkoff, Peter; Kotlyarov, Mark;
Dr. Magerovskiy, Evgeniy; Mutilin, Alexander; Rosnianskiy,
Galina; Wells, Marina; Wohlsen, Victoria; Chertkoff, Nicolai; Schidlovksy,
George; Yarmolinets, Vadim;
Yakhno, Alexander; Dobrov, Vladislav; Dutikow, Irene.
Secretaries:
Hieromonk Arseniy
(Manko)
Fr. Victor Dobrov
Conference Agenda:
1.
Defining
the geographic boundaries and names of the administrative districts and the
appointment of their administrators and deans.
2.
Establishment
of the ROCA PSCA
3.
Nominate
candidates to occupy the unfilled bishopric cathedras.
4.
Lecture
by Archpriest Valeriy Alekseyev.
5.
Regarding
the convening of the Vth All-Diaspora Council.
6.
On
relations with the other parts of
7.
On the
financial status of the church.
8.
On the
establishment of official sources of information.
9.
Establish
the members of the ROCA PSCA.
The Conference began at 9:00 AM on June 27/July10,
2007, in the
The Chairman announced he received greetings from the
Synod of the True Orthodox Christians (Metropolitan Cyprian and Metropolitan Chrysostomos) and
The secretaries of the conference: Hieromonk
Arseniy (Manko) and Fr.
Victor Dobrov.
The Chairman opened by
noting the importance of this Conference.
He underscored the total
primacy of the Conference and that the future course of action for the Church is
to restore the dioceses on the basis of the ROCA standards and all the conciliar decisions of
The Conference Chairman explains that since there are
several
parishes or priests, and others that have only one
or a few parishes, it is not possible to have a bishop or an administrator in
such dioceses at the moment. Therefore,
he proposes to combine several of these dioceses into administrative districts
and select administrators for them.
The clergy point out that there is
an existing tradition in
Fr. Leonid Plyats
says the question of administrators depends on the possibility of ordinations
of new bishops.
Fr. Viktor Dobrov
speaks of the need to register the Eastern American diocese to
facilitate the resolution of disputed church property.
The Chairman says we must consult
with lawyers and retain the upper hand in legal cases.
The Treasurer of the Eastern American
diocese, Mark Kotlaroff, discusses the legal
ramifications and also relayed the results of consultations with lawyers, which
had already occurred. He agrees with the
Bishop and underlines the need to go further in these matters, and also,
establish an administer for the Eastern American
diocese.
Fr. Serge Serzhanov
speaks of the need to create new districts as a way to preserve the old names
of the church institutions.
Fr. Viktor Dobrov
says there are no problems registering the diocese under their old names and it
is vital that we only use the old names.
Fr. Leonid Plyats
agrees and proposes to solidify these dioceses by electing new heads for the
existing dioceses.
Archpriest Gregory Williams points
out the importance of spiritual and pastoral needs above questions of church
property.
Archpriest Igor
Hrebinka relates the history of the districts which
existed in the 1950’s which are similar to those proposed by Bishop Agafangel.
The Chairman says it is important
not to go past the boundaries of this Conference and not discuss matters which
are and remain prerogatives for the districts and dioceses and their
leadership.
Archpriest Vsevolod
Dutikow asks what lawyer should be retained to help
resolve the disputed property.
Dr. Evgeniy
Magerovskiy proposes a lawyer, who has experience in
such matters.
The Chairman speaks of the need for
the Eastern American diocese to have their own meeting as soon as possible to
discuss such matters.
Dr. Oleg Rodzianko
speaks of the need to discuss the re-establishment of the
Archpriest Gregori
Kotlaroff, Archpriest Vsevolod Dutikow,
and Fr. Victor Dobrov speak of the issues in
Create the Eastern American administrative district,
which will temporarily include the Eastern American,
Chicago-Detroit, Western American, and
Canadian dioceses.
Hegumen Andronik (Kotlaroff) will be the
Administrator of the Eastern American administrative district.
Fr. Victor Dobrov
will be the Secretary of the Eastern American administrative district.
Archpriest Georgiy
Petrenko will be the Administrator of the South
American administrative district.
The clergy in
Create the Central Russian administrative district,
which will include the
Archpriest Valery Kravits will be the Administrator of the Central Russian
administrative district.
Hieromonk
Nikon (Iosta) will be the Dean of diocese of
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) will be the
Administrator of the diocese of
Hieromonk
John (Shmelts) will be the temporary Administrator of
the diocese of Australia-New Zealand.
Parishes in Europe and
Regarding the creation of a
Sister Maria (Shikluna) speaks
of the urgent requirement for a church body to tend to the spiritual/pastoral
needs of those in
Archpriest Gregory Williams speaks of
the difficulties facing parishes which do not speak Russian, of the urgent need
to address these issues, to provide translations of documents and publications,
and establish an all-English
Hegumen Georgiy (Kravchenko) proposes to
create a
Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko) cites a passage
from the Decision of the All-Russia Pomestniy (Local)
Sobor of 1917-1918, which includes a separate
Decision regarding this question. He
also speaks of creating a two-level
Archpriest Vsevolod
Dutikow mentions the previous work of the ROCOR
mission in Africa and supports the creation of a
Archpriest Gregory Williams repeats
his view of the non-Russian tradition and services.
The Chairman proposes to install the
ROCA Mission under the guidance of the PSCA Chairman.
Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko) adds that the
PSCA Chairman should be in charge of the
To create a ROCA Mission.
The ROCA PSCA Chairman will be the Chairman
of the
The Mission Co-Chairman for the
The Mission Co-Chairman for parishes and
groups following the Russian tradition will be Hieromonk
Arseniy (Manko).
The Mission Co-Chairman for parishes and
groups following the non-Russian tradition will be Archpriest Gregory Williams.
The ROCA Mission should be registered in
the
The Diocesan Mission in the Honor of Holy
Martyr Joseph, Metropolitan of Petrograd, currently attached to the ROCA Odessa
diocese should merge legally into the ROCA Mission, which will require the
necessary re-registration.
Candidates for ordination as bishops.
Fr. Victor Dobrov reported
that Hegumen Andronik
(Kotlyarov) was elected as a candidate at the
diocesan
meeting of the Eastern American
Diocese.
Hegumen Andronik (Kotlyarov), at the
request of the Conference attendees, related his biography and answered
questions.
The Conference
attendees discussed the possible title of the future bishop.
3.
Decision:
To
name Hegumen Andronik (Kotlyarov) as the candidate for bishop’s ordination for the
Eastern American Diocese with the title of “Bishop of Washington (D.C.) and
3. Discussion:
Candidates for ordination as bishops.
The Chairman spoke of how Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) was selected for ordination as bishop at the
general meeting of the ROCA parishes in
Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko), at the request
of the Conference attendees, related his biography and answered questions.
The Conference
attendees discussed the possible title of the future bishop.
3. Decision:
To
name Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko) as the candidate for bishop’s ordination with the
title of “Bishop of St. Petersburg and
Where and when
their ordinations will take place will be decided by the PSCA.
The Chairman
added that all attempts should be made to fill all other vacant cathedras. It may be necessary to dissolve some of the
dioceses. The current Conference does
not have the authority to make such a decision.
For now, the Bishop asks that everyone consider who else may be suitable
for ordination as bishop. It would be
desirable to have 5 bishops ordained before the Vth
All-Diaspora Council so that they can make up the new Synod. That is why the orphaned diocese and
administrative districts should hold meetings and decided who will be their
bishops. It is not necessary for the
candidate to be from that diocese.
Note: A list of the ROCA dioceses: Western America, Chicago-Detroit, Eastern
America,
4.
Discussion:
Archpriest Valeriy Alekseyev gave a speech
on the current state of
4.
Decision:
Archpriest Valeriy Alekseyev’s speech will be added to the Protocol.
5.
Discussion:
Regarding
the convening of the Vth All-Diaspora Council.
The Chairman
proposes to hold the Vth All-Diaspora Council from
October 20 to 26, 2008. Bishop Agafangel pointed out that only active members of
The Conference
had some reservations regarding the date and membership qualifications for the
Council.
Archpriest Vsevolod
Dutikow read an appeal to the Conference from the
clergy of the Argentine diocese.
5.
Decision:
To hold the Vth
All-Diaspora Council from October 20 to 26, 2008. The Pre-Council Commission will decide the
location of the Council. The members of
the Commission will be approved by the ROCA PSCA, based on candidates selected
at the ROCA diocesan conferences and meetings of
The location of the Council will be announced no later than 6
months before its start.
The procedures and how the Council will be held will be
determined by the Pre-Council Commission and approved by the ROCA PSCA.
The appeal
from the clergy of the Argentine diocese will be added to the Protocol.
6.
Discussion:
On
relations with other parts of
Bishop Agafangel explains that currently there are: the Russian
Orthodox Autonomous Church – ROAC – headed by Metropolitan Valentin
(Rusantsov); the Russian True-Orthodox Church – RTOC
– headed by Archbishop Tikhon (Pasechnik);
the Russian Orthodox Church – RusOC – headed by Metropolitan
Anthony (Orlov); the Russian Orthodox Church Outside
of Russia – ROCOR(V) – headed by Archpriest Zhukov; and the Russian Orthodox
Church Abroad – ROCA – headed by Bishops Vladimir (Tselishchev)
and Anastasiy (Surzhik). Any other movements or “fragments” of Russian
Orthodoxy, whether founded by themselves or separated from the groups listed,
cannot be considered to have primacy from
From those listed
above, ROAC, RTOC, and RusOC, decided against calling
themselves the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, which then makes relations with
them difficult. While, within ROCOR(V), there are many internal conflicts which cannot be
resolved.
The Chairman
relates how the ROCOR Synod used to practice the banishment of those who
opposed the union of ROCOR and the MP.
Because of that, the decision of those who left ROCOR prematurely should
not be condoned, but understood in human terms, since one cannot expect
limitless patience from people.
The Bishops spoke
of his experiences during the last few years.
His Eminence,
Bishop Agafangel, proposes to return to the policies
of Metropolitan Vitaliy (
The possibility
of some of the “fragments” participating in the Council was discussed. Various opinions were heard.
Fr. Leonid Plyats believes there ways to approach the current
divisions. He envisions recognizing the
“Suzdal” and “Tikhon”
ordinations, as long as those groups enter into Eucharistic communion, but stop
short of a full merger.
Fr. Victor Dobrov disagrees with Fr. Leonid Plyats. He asks the Conference not to take
irreversible steps regarding a premature merger.
Archpriest Valeriy Alekseyev supports Fr.
Victor Dobrov.
Fr. Dimitri Weber
opposes ordinations of
Archpriest
Gregory Williams supports the plan of action proposed by Fr. Victor Dobrov.
Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko) stresses the need to be very careful when accepting
“other” bishops and to maintain a strict limit of how many “other” bishops are
let in.
Hegumen Georgiy Kravchenko advocates a “middle road,” which would not
prevent them from joining, but will also not dilute the church. There was a proposal to create a temporary
church court within the PSCA and elect its members.
Fr. Dimitri Weber
again expresses his opposition to the possibility of bishops of the Synod of
Resistance being involved in the future life of our Church.
Fr. Leonid Plyats supports the involvement of the Synod of Resistance,
as he considers them part of the
Archpriest
Gregory Williams proposes to distinguish the ecclesiology of the personal
opinions of certain bishops and metropolitans from that of the official Synods
and Churches. The pastor advises against
breaking relations and not making the mistake of rupturing relations with the
TOC, and that we should learn more of their views and relate it to our own
ecclesiology.
6. Decision:
To unite the
parts of ROCA based on Bishop Agafangel’s idea: “The reason and goal of uniting the parts of
the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is to preserve the Russian Church Abroad in
the state in which it existed under our hierarchs of blessed memory –
Metropolitans Anthony, Anastasiy, Philaret
and Vitaliy.
That is why we may unite only with those who wish to remain in, or those
who want to partake of, the spiritual legacy of the Church Abroad, and through
this legacy, to be a part of the Sacred Tradition of the Universal Church.”
Consider it possible to enter into dialogue with the parts based on this
concept, but to remember that we must strengthen and enlarge our Church. That is why these matters must be decided
carefully, on a case by case basis, concerning clergy, and bishops even more
so, especially those who helped our Church in the past.
7.
Discussion:
Regarding
funds for the church.
The Chairman proposes to
continue the
The Chairman adds
it is essential to have complete transparency regarding the budgets of church
bodies at all levels for their current members.
The Chairman
stresses the need to all those assembled of maintaining a church fund.
Archpriest Igor Hrebinka believes it is vitally important to establish a
vertical church structure as soon as possible from the parish level to that of
the PSCA.
Yuriy Iliodorovich Schidlovsky relates
how the ROCOR church fund was handled.
7. Decision:
Task Mark Grigoryevich
Kotlyarov and Dimitri Borisovich
Gontscharow to work up a proposal for a church fund, and to spread the word to
all parishes to support the Church.
8.
Discussion:
Establishing
official sources of information.
The Chairman proposes
the creation of a central Internet and print publications of the ROCA PSCA,
which will foster Church unity and make current information readily available
to clergy and laypeople.
Fr. Sergey Serzhanov supports the creation of an Internet site.
Archpriest Vsevolod Dutikow offers to create
and maintain a
8. Decision:
Continue having an official printed publication for our Church
– “Church Life.” Establish and approve a editorial board for the publication.
Start an official Internet website for our Church. Take steps to have the site available in
English, French, and Spanish.
Leave it to the ROCA PSCA how best to establish these sources
of information.
9.
Discussion:
The
election of the ROCA PSCA.
The Chairman
proposes to elect the members of the ROCA PSCA based on the following: the ROCA
PSCA Chairman will be the only bishop in the group, and the ROCA PSCA members
will elect the administrators of the dioceses and districts. The ROCA PSCA Secretary will not be a member
of the ROCA PSCA and Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko) is proposed.
9. Decision:
The Provisional
Supreme Church Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad will be made up
of: His Eminence Agafangel, Bishop of Taurida and
ROCA PSCA members: Hieromonk Sofroniy (Musienko), Archpriest Valeriy Kravets, Archpriest Georgiy Petrenko, Hieromonk John (Shmelts). The ROCA PSCA Secretary will be Hieromonk Arseniy (Manko).
When the ROCA PSCA meets
will be decided by the ROCA PSCA Chairman.
Send an Epistle on behalf of
the Conference to all the faithful members of the Russian Church Abroad.
The Conference concluded at
19:00 on July 10, 2007, with the singing of the prayer, “Truly you are worthy…”
Conference
Chairman
Conference
Secretary
Conference
Members