Comments on: ROCOR-OCA: Time to heal?

By: George Michalopulos

George Michalopulos — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:31:23 +0000

Yeah, Michael, I guess you’re right.

By: Michael Bauman

Michael Bauman — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:10:24 +0000

Persecution won’t bring unity either, IMO. It will produce an ‘official’ church and a catacomb church. Given the Slavic, esp. the ROCOR experience in such things I expect them to become increasingly important.

By: George Michalopulos

George Michalopulos — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:54:06 +0000

I remember asking Matthew Gallatin speak last year. (Highly recommend him btw.) I asked him if there would ever be jurisdictional unity in the US and he said only if there was persecution of the Church.

By: Michael Bauman

Michael Bauman — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:18:32 +0000

If the GOA and the AOCA continue in the path of self-destruction, we all may be joining these guys one way or another.

By: George Michalopulos

George Michalopulos — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:25:37 +0000

Scott, from where i stand, ROCOR is definitely the leading Orthopractic jurisdiction in the West. To be fair to my own jurisdiction, I don’t feel that we in the OCA fall much farther behind. (This is based on my own observation as a Greek-American who was a stranger to both.) But kudos all around. I also saw on ROCOR’s website where the OCA is turning over its last remaining parish in Australia to ROCOR. That’s sounds like a goodwill gesture to me. What’s your take?

By: Scott Pennington

Scott Pennington — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:03:36 +0000

Well this is odd to the max.

While I am sure that there is some bad feeling between some of those in the OCA and in ROCOR, they are in communion. So “propose methods of healing the separation” indicates to me that the separation to overcome is their separate existence as two different jurisdictions. Since neither the OCA nor the MP seem to have any intentions of returning the OCA to some autonomous status (if that is even possible), it appears to me that OCA and ROCOR may be planning to discuss terms about merger as an American Orthodox Church. This would certainly solve the canonical problem of the MP having an autonomous province on territory given to the OCA when it was granted autocephaly.

My only caveat here, and it is directed to ROCOR, is that I strongly encourage them not to compromise their stance in traditional orthopraxis. We don’t need one of the true lights of orthopraxis in the US to lose ground.

Other than that, Alleluia!

By: George Michalopulos

George Michalopulos — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:36:08 +0000

Speaking as somebody who has always had a great deal of respect for ROCOR, it appears to me that as in the case of the late +Laurus of blessed memory, this church is headed by sober individuals who are again acting in good faith.

I still search in vain for the ROCOR’s text regarding the recent (hastily-executed) visit of the GOA to Jordanville. It appears to me that this was just a publicity stunt by the GOA at the behest of the Phanar and that it has come to be viewed as such by Jordanville.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:25:41 +0000

If by, “heal”, it is meant that this is the momement for the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad reclaim its heritage as the descendants of the original Russian Orthodox missionaries of 1794, then, yes, IT IS TIME.