OCA

Catholic Online: Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America Suddenly Resigns His Office: Why?

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Unbeknownst to most Orthodox, Met. Jonah was the voice of Orthodoxy in the other Christian communions. His words reached into Baptist meetings, Episcopal assemblies, even the Vatican. He traveled these halls effortlessly because he held to the simple teaching of the Gospel but in the fullness of the Orthodox moral tradition. That enabled him to be heard by our non-Orthodox brethren and strengthen them at the same time for he was able to impart a depth and wisdom that many were looking for but had yet to discover.

Met. Jonah’s successes, as well as the genuine fondness and respect shown him by Christians of other communions, shows us that Orthodoxy can speak to the larger culture and that it has some very important things to say. It also shows, as his forced retirement this week makes clear, that the afflictions borne by other other communions afflict us as well.

From the article:

There is another element in this which is of immediate importance, and directly follows on the above. As was written about by Robert Terwilliger, a great Anglican divine of the 20th century, there is a coming realignment within Christianity, one which we can already see the strains of. Whenever schisms happen within the Church, they are generally because certain individuals lead a group out of the Church, being disobedient to the Faith and Doctrine, and refusing to submit to the authority of the hierarchy, which is trying to discipline them and call them to repentance.

What is happening now is somewhat different: a split between those who hold to traditional, biblical faith as interpreted by the Fathers of the Church and the ecumenical councils; and those who espouse a secularized belief, subject to the rationalizations of the scholars according to contemporary philosophy, who dismiss the Fathers and the Councils as no longer relevant, who dismiss the moral teachings of the Scriptures and Fathers as culturally relative. This could be called, by one side, a break between traditional Christianity and post-modern worldly philosophy. Or it might be labeled as the freeing of people from fundamentalist oppression to the light of their own reason.

Source: Catholic Onine | By. Dn. Keith Fournier

There is a radical cultural shift away from traditional Christianity, toward something unrecognizable

I followed with great interest and Christian hope the work of Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America. His passionate stance for the rights of our first neighbors in the womb and efforts to promote alliances between faithful Christians – Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical and Protestant – have set him apart. His compelling personal faith journey from an Anglican background into the Orthodox Church, by way of the fathers of the Church, is personally inspiring. I am a revert to the Catholic Church and walked a similar road through the apostolic Fathers home to Rome many years ago. Why did he suddenly resign?

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – I have followed with great interest and Christian hope the work of Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America. His passionate stance for the rights of our first neighbors in the womb and efforts to promote alliances between faithful Christians – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant – have set him apart. His compelling personal faith journey from an Anglican background into the Orthodox Church, by way of the fathers of the Church, is personally inspiring. I am a revert to the Catholic Church and walked a similar road through the apostolic Fathers home to Rome many years ago.

Last month the Primate gave an address to the leaders of the Anglican Church in North America, who gathered in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. He showed his prophetic insights into the common struggle which faithful Christians must engage. Here are a few excerpts:

“There is another element in this which is of immediate importance, and directly follows on the above. As was written about by Robert Terwilliger, a great Anglican divine of the 20th century, there is a coming realignment within Christianity, one which we can already see the strains of. Whenever schisms happen within the Church, they are generally because certain individuals lead a group out of the Church, being disobedient to the Faith and Doctrine, and refusing to submit to the authority of the hierarchy, which is trying to discipline them and call them to repentance.”

“What is happening now is somewhat different: a split between those who hold to traditional, biblical faith as interpreted by the Fathers of the Church and the ecumenical councils; and those who espouse a secularized belief, subject to the rationalizations of the scholars according to contemporary philosophy, who dismiss the Fathers and the Councils as no longer relevant, who dismiss the moral teachings of the Scriptures and Fathers as culturally relative. This could be called, by one side, a break between traditional Christianity and post-modern worldly philosophy. Or it might be labeled as the freeing of people from fundamentalist oppression to the light of their own reason.”

“This is not the protestant/catholic divide; it is not the evangelical-charismatic vs. mainline divide. It cuts across all communities in the West, even affecting the Orthodox and Roman Churches in some degree. As Anglicans, you are no strangers to this: it is the reason you are here, and not in TEC. It is creating a massive realignment within Christianity; those who hold to the traditional Scriptural and patristic Faith and discipline of Orthodox Catholicism; and those who reject it, criticize it, and I will add, as you well know, persecute it. You and the ACNA are part of that realignment.”

“There is a radical cultural shift away from traditional Christianity, toward something unrecognizable. The “Secularists” (for lack of a better, non-pejorative term) reject the virgin birth of Christ, the resurrection, even His Divinity; that His words are recorded in the Scriptures and that the Scriptures are even relevant to our days; rather they are oppressive and keep humans in darkness. Another Episcopalian bishop, a certain Mr. Spong, wrote that “Christianity must change or die,” referring to traditional orthodoxy, espousing the radical secularization of the Episcopal Church and all Christianity. It is my prediction that it is not the Orthodox Churches that will die.”

“Solzhenitsyn said that “what the Soviet death camps could not do, Western secularism is doing more effectively. In Russia, 20 million died in the last century as martyrs for the Orthodox Faith, and countless millions of others were thrown in the gulag, for standing up against militant secularism. Many perished because they resisted the Renovationists whose schism distorted the Orthodox Faith. Whether you call it Soviet atheism, or Western secularism, it is the same enemy.”

“Our battle is against secularism. His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for us to stand together against this enemy. This is the realignment: to stand together for the faith once delivered by Christ to the Apostles, and thence to the Bishops, without alteration, without change, without revisions; against those who would submit their faith to the current of the age, the wisdom of this world. We must stand together, and we cannot stand alone. Even the immense Roman Church is buffeted by the militant secularists, who defy authority and criticize that which they know not, and we can see in this country how increasingly fragile their unity is.

“Brothers and sisters, we must embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ, the foolishness of the Gospel, the wisdom that is not of this world. We must rejoice in the salvation that God has given us in His Son Jesus Christ, who was crucified for us and rose from the dead. We glory in His Resurrection, and await His Coming Again. We must overcome the divisions that separate us, so that we can stand united in one mind and one heart, confessing that God has come in the flesh to raise us to heaven. We must live according to the moral and ethical commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ enshrined in the Gospel, and reject sin and recognize its corruption.

“This is the orthodox faith of the Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils and the undivided Church. We will have to accept the scorn and derision of those who are of this world, even those who call themselves brethren, being cast out of their synagogues and ridiculed, sued in civil courts, and count all things as worthless that we have lost for the sake of Christ. This, my friends, is our cross. We have to support one another in bearing it. The closer we come, the greater our mutual support will be, and we will not lose heart, or forget that Christ has already won the victory: He has overcome the world. By accepting to go by way of His Cross, we too will share in His Victory.”

Readers of my articles will quickly see why I took such hope in the work of this young Orthodox Metropolitan. You will also see why I am saddened to report that he has resigned his office. Here is the official statement:

Metropolitan Jonah tenders resignation

SYOSSET, NY [OCA]

In a letter addressed to the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops dated Friday, July 6, 2012, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah tendered his resignation as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America. His Beatitude composed and signed the letter at his residence in Washington, DC, in the presence of Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor. On Saturday, July 7, the letter was presented to the Holy Synod in the course of a conference call in which all of the hierarchs participated, except His Eminence, Archbishop Alejo of Mexico City. The text of His Beatitude’s letter reads as follows.

“To the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

“Brothers,

“As per your unanimous request, as conveyed to me by Chancellor Fr. John Jillions, I hereby tender my resignation as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and humbly request another Episcopal assignment. I had come to the realization long ago that that I have neither the personality nor the temperament for the position of Primate, a position I never sought nor desired.

“It is my hope that due consideration will be made for my financial situation, both in any interim and in consideration for any future position. I am the main financial support for both my parents and my sister, beyond my own needs.

“I will appreciate your consideration in this, and beg forgiveness for however I have offended you, and for whatever difficulties have arisen from my own inadequacies and mistakes in judgment. Asking your prayers, I remain faithfully yours,

Metropolitan Jonah, Archbishop of Washington

I invite our readers around the globe to pray for Metropolitan Jonah and for the Orthodox Church in America. His letter seems to depict a sadness of spirit. It also raises a number of questions and concerns. I would welcome any further information and insight into this story and what prompted his resignation. I haver reached out to friends in the orthodox Church whom I deeply respect. Sadly, the reports emerging in the blogosphere indicate there may be more behind the former Metropolitan’s decision. For example, former Catholic become Orthodox Christian Rod Dreher opined

“They finally got him. What they don’t understand is that they probably signed the OCA’s death warrant in so doing – not because Jonah was necessarily an exceptional metropolitan (he had his problems as an administrator, and though a very good man, was temperamentally ill-suited for the job), but because the sleazy, corrupt way the Synod has handled this from the beginning shows them to be a pack of ravening wolves.”

Those are very harsh words. Pray for authentic peace for the Orthodox Church in America and pray for Metropolitan Jonah. Finally, pray that his successor continues to stand propehtically and courageously in this age which cries out for authentic collaboration between those who bear the name Christian.

Get Religion: Covering Warfare in a Byzantine Maze – Literally

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Terry Mattingly’s advice for journalists about the coup in the OCA. A key quote:

Of course, it is “politics” when an Orthodox leader defends the church’s doctrines in public. It is not “politics” when liberal activists inside the church work to silence the voice of the church, while quietly lobbying in seminaries and elsewhere to redefine those same doctrines.

H/T FrJohnPeck.org

Source: Get Religion | By Terry Mattingly

It goes without saying that I have received quite a bit of email from GetReligion readers, and others, wanting to know my take on last Friday’s resignation, and now the ongoing humiliation, of Metropolitan JONAH of the Orthodox Church in America. In a way, this news was rather shocking, yet not all that shocking because the bitter infighting between the OCA’s old guard and its idealistic young leader has been building for more than a year.

If you need a refresher course on the borders of this truly Byzantine scandal, then click here for the large Washington Post Sunday Magazine feature on the early stages of the fighting.

For journalists, I would also recommend the following essay, “Same Sex Marriage and the Revolt Against Metropolitan Jonah,” published by Father Johannes Jacobse at the doctrinally-conservative American Orthodox Institute…

[…]

Read the entire article on the Get Religion website.

OCA Holy Synod of Bishops Expresses Solidarity with Coptic Church in Egypt

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Source: Orthodox Church in America

The witness and mission of the Coptic Church in Egypt have their origin in apostolic times. Today, the Coptic Church of Egypt is the largest Christian Church in the Middle East. Under the leadership of His Holiness, Pope Shenouda, the Coptic Church is a dynamic and active Church, with significant and effective work in education, youth work, and social work.

While the Coptic Church has experienced limitations to its work in the context of the Muslim majority of Egypt, the present time presents special challenges. In the midst of the changes in Egyptian political life during the last months, some of which are positive, there are aspects of current developments which make the Coptic Church vulnerable to discrimination and even violence.

For this reason, the Lesser Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, has issued a Statement of Support for the Coptic Church of Egypt. This statement will be sent to the Embassy of Egypt in Washington, DC, to the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations, and to government authorities in Egypt. In addition, the statement will be shared with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The text of the statement reads as follows.

Statement of Support for the Coptic Church in Egypt

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America expresses its solidarity with the Coptic Church in Egypt at this time of significant transition in Egyptian society. This time of transition is a time of hope as well as a time of anxiety. The people of Egypt and Egypt’s religious communities hope for a future of justice and peace. For justice and peace to prevail, all Egyptians must enjoy equality before the law.

The Coptic Church has faced unjust limitations and discriminatory practices. This means that the Coptic citizens of Egypt have been denied justice. One of the examples of this denial of justice is seen in the denial of approval for the building of churches. In such discriminatory practices administrative decisions based on existing regulations play the key role.

There also have been periodic occurrences of violence against Coptic Christians – violence killing and wounding many Copts. In this violence the key role has been played by religious extremism found in some groups of the Muslim majority in Egypt.

The building and maintenance of Justice and peace in Egyptian society will be at great risk if Egyptians and the religious communities to which they belong are not equally protected under the law.

In this regard work on the constitution of Egypt is critically important for the future of the country, and indeed for the future of the Middle East. Equality of Egyptian Christians under the law does not undermine the religious faith of Muslims. Rather, equality under the law protects all citizens and opens the road to peace, justice, and mutual respect between Muslims and Christians.

The Orthodox Church in America will remain in solidarity with the yearning of Egyptians for peace and justice and will continue to offer prayerful support and solidarity to the Coptic Church.

OCANews.org: +Jonah Placed on Leave of Absence by Synod [CLOSED]

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Metropolitan Jonah

This report is from OCANews.org and recently posted. Obviously there is a significant degree of tension between Syosset (OCA headquarters) and Met. Jonah. I don’t know the ins and outs of the OCA, but it appears that this report, given the extensive detail, was probably prepared for publication before the suspension (the part beginning with “How Did This Happen?” reads as if it was carefully constructed and edited; it would have taken considerably more than a few hours to write). In any case, the story is taking shape.

• Fate of Fr. Garklavs, Chancellor, as yet unconfirmed

According to a report from Geneva on the Greek website Romofea.org late last evening, citing “exclusive information” from unamed sources, Metropolitan Jonah has been removed as the Primate, and Archbishop Nathaniel has been named Temporary Administrator by the OCA Synod of Bishops. Earlier in the day the retired Bishop of Los Angeles, Tikhon posted a short note on the web saying “Metropolitan Jonah…. has been given the “Bishop Nikolai’ treatment——mandatory leave of absence. Archbishop Nathaniel Popp has been named to temporarily fill the spot of First Hierarch.Bishop Melchizedek has been named as Chancellor, replacing the Archpriest, Alexander Garklavs.” Neither story has been confirmed or denied by OCA.org.

OCANews.org has, however, confirmed with mulitple sources that Metropolitan Jonah has indeed been placed on a leave of absence, and that indeed +Nathaniel has been named as a temporary replacement. However, the fate of Fr. Garklavs is as yet unclear. According to sources close to Syosset, Bishop Michael (Dahulich) was to travel to Syosset this morning to discuss the Synod’s decisions with Fr. Garklavs. (Fr. Garklavs returned from Santa Fe yesterday before the Synodal retreat was concluded.) Bishop Melchizedek, named by +Tikhon as Garklav’s replacement, was unavailable for comment as he is currently on a train travelling back to Pittsburgh from Santa Fe.

How Did This Happen?

The decision of the OCA Synod, composed of six diocesan bishops and two diocesan Administrators ( who participate, but do not yet vote), gathered for their annual pre-Lenten retreat, to ask the Primate to step aside, is a shock, but not a surprise. Since his enthronement some 26 months ago Metropolitan Jonah has experienced growing trouble in his own diocese, refused the advice and professional counsel of official Church committees, increasingly refused to cooperate with the governing bodies of the OCA (including the staff in Syosset and the Metropolitan Council), alienated several sister Orthodox Churches, and finally, challenged the Synod itself. Multiple attempts by his staff, the Metropolitan Council and its members, individual bishops, and finally the Synod itself, to intervene with the Metropolitan, personally and corporately over the past 18 months failed to convince him to alter his leadership style, decisions, practices or actions – actions that, in the eyes of many in positions of responsibility in the OCA were causing irreparable harm to the structures and status of the OCA.

The Fight Over – and With – Syosset

Three events in January-February 2011 brought his increasingly problematic leadership to the crisis point. With the advent of the new year the Metropolitan, who had long proclaimed in public that the atmosphere in Syosset had become “toxic”, expressed his desire to replace the Chancellor, Fr. Alexander Garklavs, with a person of his own choosing, and then quickly move the administration to Washington DC. (The Metropolitan Council has previously voted unanimously not to fund any move to DC at this time, nor entertain consideration of such until after the Strategic Plan was developed, following the Seattle All-American Council in November, 2011.) The Metropolitan’s long-standing antipathy to Fr. Garklavs (who was frequently charged with telling the Metropolitan that his wishes could not be fulfilled immediately due to financial, statutory or legal considerations) was well known. The Metropolitan had often floated the name of Fr. David Brum (Metropolitan Theodosius’ and Metropolitan Herman’s former Secretary, who the SIC report described as part of Kondratick’s “inner circle”) as a possible replacement, as well as the name of Fr. Joseph Fester (Fr. Kondratick’s former Secretary) whom he recently appointed Dean of the Washington, DC cathedral.

However, the appointment of the officers of the OCA (Chancellor, Secretary, Treasurer) according to the OCA Statute, rests with “…the Synod, upon recommendation by the Metropolitan Council” – not the Metropolitan himself. Members of the Synod, it is reported, attempted to dissuade the Metropolitan from precipitous action at this time, pointing out that the Metropolitan Council would not look kindly on such changes now, especially since the DC move had been discussed at length already. And to remove Fr. Garklavs, especially under a cloud of conflict, would be a potentially crippling blow to the OCA just 7 months from an All-American Council. It was suggested to delay such a decision until after the AAC, when, according to tradition, the Metropolitan nominates new officers for the upcoming triennium, and an orderly transition would be possible.

Nevertheless, in mid-January, the Metropolitan publicly called for a “Special Synodal Committee “to meet on February 3rd in DC, which in the words of the OCA press release was to discuss “….a variety of issues associated with a possible move of the Orthodox Church in America’s Chancery to Washington, DC”. Privately, the Metropolitan, Bishop Benjamin (a member of the Special Synodal Committee”) and Fr. Garklavs actually met with a candidate suggested by +Jonah as a replacement for Fr. Garklavs.

The meetings did not go very well for the Metropolitan. After the meeting another OCA press release was issued stating :“A report (on the feasibility of moving to DC) will be prepared after a complete and thorough study,” which will then “….be presented to the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council for review and guidance. No deadline has been established for issuing the report.” Moreover, the replacement candidate, another priest with close ties to Kondratick, withdrew his name from consideration.

The Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisory Committee Report

The second event was even more potentially serious. Since its establishment in 2009 as part of the settlement with Reader Paul Sidebottom in the wake of the EEOC ruling regarding events in Alaska (Read that story here) the OCA Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisory Committee (SMPAC) has labored to create a new policy and establish better practices throughout the OCA regarding the handling of sexual misconduct issues. Its members, all appointed by Metropolitan Jonah, include its Chairman, Fr. Alexander Garklavs, Fr. Eric Tosi – OCA Secretary; Frs.Theodore Bobosh (Metropolitan Council) and Michael Matsko (a licensed forsenic sexual misconduct investigator) ; Protodeacon Peter Danilchick (Metropolitan Council) ; Dr. Nikita Eike (a clinical pyschiatrist) ; and Mr. James Spencer, Esq, the lawyer who represented Mr. Sidebottom.

According to sources close to the Committee, the Committee has discussed mass resignation in protest at least twice in the past year due to the actions – and inaction – of Metropolitan Jonah regarding these issues. In both instances, Fr. Garklavs has been outspoken in dissuading the Committee from such a course, citing the “harm” it would do to the Church. Rather than resign, the Committee has spent the last weeks writing a confidential report on Jonah’s actions, and inactions, addressing their concerns to the Synod.

This multi-page report, signed by all the Committee members (including Fr. Garklavs and Tosi)was emailed to the Synod on February 10, 2011. Among the topics covered were issues relating to the allegations against Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa, (read about those allegations here); issues surrounding Fr. Symeon Kharon, a monastic who, together with and a group of nuns from Greece, was brought by the Metropolitan to start a monastery in the DC area; issues surrounding Archimandrite Isidore (Brittain); the Committee’s concern with the Metropolitan’s unilateral appointment of an investigator for clergy sexual misconduct they felt was unqualified; and other, related concerns. The highly critical report suggested no specific action by the Synod, but warned the OCA was courting pastoral, legal and professional troubles if the Metropolitan’s actions – and inaction – were allowed to continue unchecked.

Confrontation in Syosset

The Metropolitan received the report while he was in Dallas with Russian Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfayev) for a performance of Alfayev’s Oratorio. Upon reading the SMPAC Report, an angry Jonah abandoned +Hilarion, and flew back to New York on a “red eye” to confront Fr. Garklavs, who he felt was “behind” this Committee’s criticisms, and was “disloyal” because he did not share the Committee’s confidential report with him privately before it was sent to whole Synod. In the middle of the night +Jonah ordered Fr. Garklav’s access to his computers at Syosset shut down as well as his email account. The following afternoon, Friday, February 11th, taking Bishop Michael (Dahulich) as a witness, +Jonah went to Syosset and attempted to fire Fr. Garklavs, sacking him for “insubordination”. Fr. Garklavs refused to accept the dismissal – citing the provisions of the Statute – and appealed to the whole Synod. Garklav’s was then told by the Synod that he would be allowed to attend the episcopal meeting in Santa Fe in 10 days to explain his actions – as would +Jonah. Stymied, +Jonah restored Garklav’s computer access.

Jonah’s Anger Continues

+Jonah, however, was not finished. He also moved against Bishop Benjamin, who he felt was behind growing criticism of him on the Synod. Jonah instructed Fr. Jensen, the new Sexual Misconduct investigator for the OCA (the one whom the SMPAC had expressed reservations) to immediately launch an investigation of Bishop Benjamin, on the basis of allegations contained in letters attributed to the disgraced Bishop Nikolai of Sitka – letters that had heretofore been laregely ignored since there were first posted on the internet months ago.*

Meanwhile, the SMPAC members , learning of +Jonah’s retaliatory action against Fr. Garklavs, began discussing filing Ethics charges against +Jonah under the Best Practices Whistleblower provisions, standards which +Jonah himself had signed. Several members of the MC began similar preparations to be offered at their meeting in two weeks.

+ Jonah’s Report From Russia

These events – +Jonah’s attempted move to Washington, the SMPAC report, the attempted firing of Garklavs, the investigation of +Benjamin – were not the only things roiling the waters for the OCA Synod. For many in the OCA governing circles, Jonah’s own report of his actions during a January 2011 trip to Moscow, offered in an early February report to the Synod, were as troubling as his inactions discussed in the SMPAC.

+Jonah originally billed this trip as an “official visit”, meaning he claimed he was invited by the Russian Church. When challenged as to whether the Russians would invite him for the third time in 18 months, +Jonah revised his statement saying that it was “semi-official” insofar as he planned to meet with Metropolitan Hilarion and the Patriarch. He later admitted that it was not at the latter’s invitation, but at his own request. Moscow, in its press release, described the visit as “private”.

The Synod expressed its concern at yet another “private” meeting between the three, especially in light of the Metropolitan recent statements that the OCA should consider “redefining” autocephaly in favor of rejoining the Russian Church with “maximal autonomy”. The Synod then ordered Bishop Melchizedek of Pittsburgh to accompany the Metropolitan to Russia, as the “eyes and ears” of an skeptical Synod to make sure +Jonah, as they say, did not “give away the store”.

He did not – but in his report to the Synod about the trip +Jonah did tell how he envisioned his store – the OCA – to look in the future.

• The Metropolitan stated that he told Patriarch Kyrill that the “biggest challenges” the OCA faces “…are ecclesiological: the challenge from within, of an ecclesiology understood through the lens of the 1917 Council and academic theology, a democratic interpretation of Conciliarity combined with a strong anti-episcopal Congregationalist mentality.”

• The Metropolitan claimed to have garnered the Patriarch’s approval that there should be “only one agenda” in the OCA – “the Metropolitan’s” – and that it was “the duty” of the Synod to support him.

• The Metropolitan then described his hopes for a monastery in the Washington DC area the “goal and purpose” of which would be “the preparation of bishops and other leaders of the church” through cooperation with the Patriarchal Department of External Affairs and the Graduate Program (Aspirantura) in Moscow. It would be, in Jonah’s words, “a tremendous opportunity for co-operation with Moscow”.

• The Metropolitan concluded his report by stating that, given the above, it was his “right” to chose his own senior staff, so as to be able “to be surrounded by loyal young men.”

Clearly, +Jonah’s report raised more questions than it answered.

• What was the real purpose of +Jonah’s proposed new monastery in DC? Did creating a Washington monastery in conjunction with the Russian Church’s Department of External Relations mean that young Russian monastics would be trained for leadership service in the OCA? Did that mean that the preparation of bishops and other leaders of the OCA would now also occur in Moscow as well? What, then, if any, is the role of the three OCA seminaries in training our future leaders? Or are future leadership opportunities to be simply for monastics in the OCA +Jonah envisioned?

• Is it true to say there should be only “one agenda”, that of the Metropolitan, in the OCA, and that it is the “duty” of the Bishops to support it?

• Is it wise for any leader, let alone an Orthodox Primate, to demand as a “right” to be surrounded by “loyal young men”, who offer “unquestioning support”? What would such “unquestioning support” have meant for his 2009 plan to merge St. Tikhon’s Seminary with St. Vladimir’s Seminary? Or for his 2010 notion that the autocephaly of the OCA is “relative,” and that the OCA should “redefine“ it as “maximal autonomy” with the Moscow Patriarchate instead? Or for his 2011 attempt to replace the staff and move the OCA Chancery to Washington, DC without even seeking consensus?

• Does +Jonah really think that the All American Councils represents “congregationalism”, or that our diocesan councils, or our parishes council, are rampant with“anti-episcopal” feeling? Was he really that out of touch with OCA history, traditions and policies?

• What happened to the man who boldly stated in 2008 that the Church “had been raped” by its two previous Metropolitans, and that “Authority is responsibility”, thereby promising a new day?

It turns out he holds, in private, exactly the same autocratic views as his predecessors – without their commitment to an independent OCA.

Showdown in Santa Fe?

Taken together – for both reports appeared in early February – as well as Jonah’s attempted firing of Garklavs and investigation of Bishop Benjamin – the Synod was forced to finally deal with the “issue” of Metropolitan Jonah – rather than deal with a planned agenda, which included +Jonah’s idea to restructure all the dioceses.

Not that this was the first time +Jonah was the major topic of conversation, though. Over the past two years the Metropolitan Council has had two (as one colorful MC member described them) “Come to Jesus” meetings with the Metropolitan concerning his actions/inaction. The Synod, according to sources close to the Synod, had already had more than that number.

And now , yet another. The question that faced the Synod, this time, was not just +Jonah’s poor decisions, for which he offered constant denials, and when confronted, the constant excuse of “lack of training” and “lack of experience”, but rather, his constant refusal to perceive any concerns, or even any restrictions on his actions, apart from his own desires.

For example: in Lent 2009 the Metropolitan made controversial comments concerning the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Dallas during a Sunday of Orthodoxy service. The comments attracted world-wide attention via YouTube, and severely damaged OCA-Constantinople relations, to the point the new Metropolitan’s planned trip to Istanbul was cancelled, OCA participation in the then-upcoming Episcopal Assembly was curtailed, and the OCA forced to apologize for the remarks.

When asked to explain why he did such a thing the Metropolitan denied he said anything untoward, and when challenged, stated he was misunderstood and that what was heard was not what he intended. And yet, in fact, it was what was exactly what he intended. It only later emerged that the Metropolitan had been repeatedly warned by senior advisors in the OCA not to make those specific remarks for fear of precisely what did, in fact, happen. He had his agenda and would not be deterred.

And so, too, with his refusal to even visit Syosset during much of 2009 -2010, his plans for moving to DC, his plans for the DC monastery, the unilateral signing of the Manhattan declaration, etc., etc.,etc.

The growing fear among the governing bodies of the OCA was that +Jonah would not change – but that he could not change. And that was not sustainable.

The Synod Decides

Thus the Synod gathered in Santa Fe on Monday, February 21st, at a luxury spa resort hotel chosen by the Metropolitan (La Fonda, overlooking the Plaza) to decide Garklav’s fate, and that of +Jonah, and beyond them, the fate of the OCA. +Jonah was well aware his Metropolitanate was in serious trouble as he flew to Santa Fe. Last week at the Diocese of the South’s Pastoral Conference in Mississippi the Metropolitan spoke openly to the assembled clergy and laity that “a small group” was seeking to “replace” him.*

That “small group” turned out to be the Synod of the OCA.

-Mark Stokoe

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Moscow granted authocephaly to the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church, Constantinople later approved

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An interesting fact just brought to my attention: Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church was first granted autocephaly by Moscow and only later was the autocephaly accepted by Constantinople. Constantinople’s claim that Moscow had no authority to grant autocephaly is inconsistent with its own practice it appears.

From the Wikipedia article on the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church:

After World War II the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia began its recovery without its beloved bishop. On December 9, 1951, the Patriarch of Moscow granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Czechoslovakia, though this action was not recognized by Constantinople, which regarded the Czechoslovakian church as being autonomous under its authority. The Patriarch of Constantinople later granted a tomos of autocephaly on August 27, 1998.

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