Moscow hopes that such a meeting will address the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine and specifically the powers claimed by the Ecumenical Patriarch in granting autocephaly to the OCU. The Moscow Patriarchate has been hoping for a second Amman-type meeting, and it has not happened. Second, it may be the hope of the Moscow Patriarchate that its action will alarm the primates of other Orthodox Churches and cause them to conclude that a meeting of the Orthodox primates is now absolutely necessary to resolve the worsening situation in the Orthodox world. Thus, today’s action constitutes a stern warning to other Local Orthodox Churches not to recognize the OCU. First, the Moscow Patriarchate wishes to demonstrate how far it will go if other Local Orthodox Churches recognize the OCU. Why is the Moscow Patriarchate doing this? I do not have any inside information, but the following speculation may be a rationale for today’s action. On October 8, 2021, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch issued a statement which included the following: “The Synod Fathers considered the challenges facing Orthodoxy in the contemporary world, and stressed the importance of preserving the unity of Orthodoxy, respecting the canonical tradition of the Church, and avoiding anything that would exacerbate existing disputes, potentially transforming these disputes into larger and more consequential divisions in the one body of Christ.” Today’s action by the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate certainly is a major escalation of the dispute arising from Ukraine and does in fact greatly exacerbate the existing dispute. In recruiting African parishes, it is possible that the Moscow Patriarchate indicated that it would give more authority to native African clergy. The theory of the Moscow Patriarchate appears to be that the Patriarchate of Alexandria has fallen into schism because of its recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), and therefore all of Africa is now territory open to canonical Orthodox churches. The new Diocese of North Africa includes 31 nations and is to be headed by a bishop with the title, “Bishop of Cairo and North Africa.” It therefore covers territory which was part of the Patriarchate of Alexandria since its inception. The two new dioceses established today encompass every African nation without exception. There was some speculation that the Moscow Patriarchate might limit its new organizations to those parts of Africa where there is not a long history of the presence of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. The Holy Synod did not engage in any half-way measures. Under today’s resolution, these six stavropegic parishes are incorporated into the new dioceses. They are located in Morocco (Rabat and Casablanca), Tunisia (Bizerte and Tunis), Egypt (Cairo), and South Africa (Johannesburg). A representative of the Moscow Patriarchate’s DECR stated there are a total of six such Russian Orthodox parishes in Africa. Also, the Holy Synod had decided on December 26, 2019, to remove “from the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church located on the African continent” and to place them under the personal jurisdiction of Patriarch Kirill. As you recall, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate at its meeting on September 23-24, 2021, instructed Archbishop Leonid of Vladikavkaz and Alania to study thoroughly “the numerous appeals of the clergy of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus with a request to accepting them under the omophorion of the Moscow Patriarchate” and to submit proposals to the Holy Synod with respect to these appeals.
Today’s resolution does not come as a total surprise. 100, including the preamble and actual resolution, is pasted below.
#JOSIP DABRO BIOGRAFIJA FULL#
The Moscow Patriarchate also accepted under its jurisdiction “102 clerics of the Patriarchate of Alexandria from eight African countries.” The preamble to the resolution stated: “Today, no less than a hundred parishes of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, headed by their rectors, have declared their desire to join the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church.” A Google translation of the full text of Journal No. Today, December 29, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate adopted a resolution creating two dioceses and an exarchate in Africa.
0 kommentar(er)
