Synodal Secretariat for Inter-Orthodox Relations
Синодальный секретариат по межправославным отношениям
Re-posts or re-publication of news from the Dioceses of the ROCOR, or other sources, relating to the inter-Orthodox relations of the Church Abroad.
12 December 2025
During its regular winter session, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR established a commission to study the life, legacy, and veneration of Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose). The commission is to be headed by His Grace Bishop James of Sonora, Vicar of the Western American Diocese.
The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has issued a statement warning about dangerous trends in contemporary Russia, relating to the rise of God-opposing ideologies reminiscent of those prominent in the Soviet period of the twentieth century.
The statement can be read in full on the Synod’s web site, here in ENGLISH:
https://www.synod.com/synod/eng2025/20250605_ensynodstatement.html
And here in RUSSIAN: «Заявление Архиерейского Синода касательно возвращения идеологических подходов ХХ века в России»:
https://www.synod.com/synod/2025/20250605_synodstatement.html
As reported on the website of the Holy Synod:
At its regular Paschal session, held this year in London, the Holy Synod of the ROCOR addressed issues relating to the former nun Vassa Larin and to the Archpriest Peter Heers.
Relating to Dr Larin, the Synod reported:
“The archpastors reviewed the correspondence of His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse with Varvara Georgievna Larina, formerly Nun Vassa, in which His Grace informs her of the removal of her cassock and veil for disobedience. The Synod confirmed Bishop Luke’s decision prohibiting the former Nun Vassa from wearing monastic clothing (thus removing her from the ranks of the monastics) and using the name given at her tonsure, as well as from representing herself as a nun of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in her statements.”
Further, the Synod reported:
“Regarding the case of Archpriest Peter Heers, the Synod resolved to remind the clergy and faithful that he is not blessed to serve, preach, or give lectures in parishes, monasteries or other institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia until his canonical status is clarified.”
15 January 2025: The First Hierarch of the Church Abroad, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, has issued a statement regarding the on-line activities of Nathanael Kapner, relating to the latter’s personal postings on the Internet outside of any blessing from the Church. The statement notes that: ‘postings and comments on social media platforms by Brother Nathanael do not reflect the position or thoughts of the Synod of Bishops and ROCOR in general.’
The full statement from Metropolitan Nicholas can be viewed in the attached PDF file, below.
9 JANUARY 2025: As the small group of defrocked former clergymen in Colchester England continues to perpetuate the falsehood that they remain Orthodox clergymen and that the building on Military Road in Colchester remains an Orthodox Church, it is hereby reiterated that these individuals were defrocked from the ranks of the clergy by the Holy Synod of Bishops in February 2022, having been suspended during the year previous; and that neither they, nor any of the ‘sacraments’ that they purport to celebrate, are canonically Orthodox. Such false sacraments do not bear the grace of the Church; any faithful who, being misled, have had their children or themselves baptised in this context should swiftly find an actual Orthodox parish where a true baptism can be performed by an actual priest.
The group persists in its claims that the clergy and parish were received into the Romanian Orthodox Church. These claims are false, since the group was never released to the Romanian Church — as was confirmed in writing to the Primate by the local Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and no subsequent claims, alterations of opinion or other actions change this simple fact. Claims that they had previously been canonically released by the Paris Archdiocese are also false: the machinations involved in the attempt at the same, which never had canonical status, were in due course formally and publicly rescinded by that Archdiocese, to whom these clerics never canonically belonged. Claims that the Paris Archdiocese had authority to release them to anyone else are similarly false, since these men were never in the canonical jurisdiction of that Archdiocese.
Orthodox ecclesiology has functioned since the earliest days of the Ecumenical Councils on a simple premise, that a clergyman may only be received into another Diocese or jurisdiction one he has been granted canonical release by his current Bishop. The group in Colchester was never released, and therefore no claims of reception by another — whatever documents or arguments may be put forward — carry any canonical weight whatever. If by deception or other means members of this group convince other Church entities that they have some canonical status (and we have seen photographs of at least one of these non-priests receiving communion in a different jurisdiction, as if he were a priest), then the sin is upon both them and any who intercommune with defrocked clerics; but this does not change their defrocked status — it only adds to the sin of the sorrowful matter.
Finally, in confirmation of the Gospel premise that a tree is known by its fruits, it has recently once again been observed that members of this group, intent on schismatic self-legitimisation, are engaged in scandalous, defamatory and libellous attacks on various members of the hierarchy and clergy, especially via social media. This excessive vitriol is a sure sign of the non-Church nature of the group and their activities, who choose to spread obvious lies and otherwise denigrate those who will not substantiate their false claims, rather than seek repentance.
We call upon the former clergymen in question to at long last cease with their falsehoods and self-willed, anti-church actions, and find repentance and peace; and for all pious Orthodox Christians to avoid the scandalous circumstances of that former Orthodox parish with diligence.
Those who wish additional information may review various announcements previously made on this matter on this site:
To the Flock and to All Concerned Persons,Concerning the Persecution of Christians in Ukraine
Conscience does not permit me to remain silent over the grave and new injustices being wrought in the sacred land of Ukraine, adding sorrow upon sorrows as the grief of war is now conjoined with the tragedy of the most extraordinary and heartless persecution of Christians taking place in many parts of the country. While such persecution has been a reality already for many years, it has reached a pitch in recent days with new injustices being enacted in flagrant violation of Ukrainian law and international conventions on human rights.
In the present season of Great Lent, all Christians are called to examine their hearts and consciences, to discern what is good and what is sinful within themselves and in the world around them. In such a period of tragedy, this is all the more essential. Our position against the war presently being waged between Russia and Ukraine has been clear from the outset: bloodshed is evil, warfare is always a sign of man’s degradation, and the current war, which forces brother to draw his own brother’s blood and pits Orthodox Christians against fellow Orthodox Christians, ought to be opposed by all those of Christian conscience. I renew my appeal for all clergy and faithful of our Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe to continue in the path of aid that has been exemplified so powerfully amongst you since the war began: continue operating food banks in the parishes, to aid refugees; continue to raise funds and material supplies for those suffering in Ukraine itself; continue to welcome refugees from the war into your communities, homes, schools and hearts; continue to show love and piety towards all who are suffering. Work for peace in all things; pray without ceasing for the bloodshed to end.
Yet we cannot permit the tragedy of war to excuse, or render us blind towards, the appalling persecutions taking place within Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by the pious Metropolitan Onuphry and his brotherhood of faithful hierarchs and clergy, strive for nothing but to worship God in peace and care for all the people of their homeland with open hearts and a simple, powerful faith. Yet in response to their apolitical love, they are receiving the most vicious attacks. Attempts by outside entities to politicise Church life by falsely linking the autonomous Ukrainian Church — which is independent and not under the thumb of any foreign entities — to political, military or state powers abroad is as false as it is malicious; attempts to set up a new ‘Ukrainian’ false Church, under the influence of a patriarchate in Turkey and flagrantly political in orientation, is deceptive and a wound to Christ and His flock. And in the current days, even the peace-loving monks of the Dormition Lavra in Kiev are being threatened with eviction: having already been evicted from one part of the monastery just before the Nativity of Christ, the monks are now threatened with complete expulsion from the monastery grounds by the end of the present month. The incorrupt relics of the saints kept in the monastery — most of whom laboured and toiled spiritually in Ukraine — are being referred to by Government officers as ‘museum exhibitions’; schismatic false-Orthodox individuals are being brought in to desecrate Holy Altars with profane, non-Orthodox rites in mockery of the Church; priests are being evicted from nearby parish churches; peace-loving leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being groundlessly, illegally sanctioned; hierarchs are being intimidated with deprivation of citizenship and deportation, seminarians with eviction from their schools and academies, and the faithful with the stripping away of their canonical Church life.
Brothers and sisters, the last time the world saw such heinous persecution of Christians, the last time we heard such blasphemous words and witnessed the promulgation of such lies and and open hatred, was in the Soviet period — which, I call all to remember, was that of the fiercest persecution against Christians the world has ever witnessed, producing more martyrs for Christ in the twentieth century than in nearly the whole of Christian history before it. Shall the world stand by now, silently, as the same begins again in the twenty-first? Can any human person, whatever his or her personal religious beliefs or political persuasion, claim to stand for peace in the face of war, and at the same time pass over in silence the attacks and evils being undertaken against innocent Christians who have nothing to do with the war, but are being made its victims in even greater degree by persecutions within their own homeland? The monks of the Lavra are not politicians, they are not enemies of any state or any people; they are humble individuals who have chosen a life of self-renunciation in following God, preserving the spiritual heritage of a site that has been sacred to Ukrainian Orthodox Christians — and Orthodox all across the world — for more than a millennium. They pray for all; they care for their fellow countrymen and pilgrims. The rise early in the morning to sing songs of praise to God Who created the world in peace; they stay awake late into the night in long vigils, praying for that peace and the reign of God’s mercy.
I call upon all those with any means of acting, to act in support of those being so unjustly persecuted before the eyes of the whole world. Continue to oppose the war, and join to this goal the earnest need to stop these tragedies. Speak to your political representatives, and make them aware of what is taking place and the need to put an end to it. Telephone your members of parliament, senators and congressmen; speak in contexts where you yourselves can raise the awareness of such matters. Appeal to all and to any who will hear, that peace must reign, freedom of religion must be protected, and the propagandist use of a tragic war to justify additional tragedies cannot be tolerated.
To all pious Christians, above all I exhort you to pray. Pray to our Almighty God that He will work a miracle amongst His pious flock in Ukraine. Pray that He will strengthen Metropolitan Onuphry and all the leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Pray that He will comfort the suffering faithful. Pray that they will feel the support of our love and the openness of our hearts to be united to them in their suffering.
And to the faithful children of this Diocese, I instruct that every parish is to serve a moleben with the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God — to whose dormition the Kiev Lavra is dedicated — every week with immediate effect, lifting up at its end the prayer for the end of civil strife in the Ukrainian lands. Those faithful who cannot make it into the churches for the service should pray it in their homes, in front of their holy icons, with their family and children gathered around them. Those who can do so every day, should make this sacrifice for our brethren. And on Wednesday 29th March, the day on which the Ukrainian state has said it will enforce its eviction of the monks from the Lavra and on which the Church especially repents through the recitation of the Great Canon of St Andrew, every parish is to serve a moleben to all the saints of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, with the prayer offered on bended knee; and every faithful Christian should be encouraged to fast strictly for the entire day. By prayer and fasting, the good intentions of the pious shall be heard by our loving God.
May God save His people, and bless His inheritance!
+ Irenei
Bishop of London and Western Europe
5 / 18 March 2023
Пастве и всем неравнодушным лицам, О гонениях на христиан в Украине
Совесть не позволяет мне молчать о тяжких и новых беззакониях, творимых на священной земле Украины, которые прибавляют печаль к печали. Ибо скорбь войны соединилась ныне с трагедией необыкновеннейших и бессердечнейших гонений на христиан, происходящих во многих уголках страны. Хотя такие преследования были реальностью уже много лет, в последние дни они достигли своего очередного апогея, когда новые беззакония совершаются с грубым нарушением украинского законодательства и международных конвенций по правам человека.
В текущее Великопостное время все христиане призваны испытывать свое сердце и совесть, различая в себе доброе и также греховное — и более ясно воспринимать то же самое в окружающем их мире. Наипаче же это необходимо в нынешнее трагическое время. Наша позиция против войны, которая сейчас ведется между Россией и Украиной, с самого начала была ясна: кровопролитие есть зло, война есть всегда признак деградации человека, а нынешней войне, которая заставляет брата проливать кровь своего брата и стравливает православных христиан против единоверцев-православных, должны противостоять все добропорядочные христиане. Ко всем священнослужителям и верующим нашей Великобританской и Западно-Европейской епархии я вновь обращаюсь с призывом продолжать путь помощи, который так сильно проявился среди вас с начала войны: для поддержки беженцев продлевать в приходах работу продовольственных банков; не останавливать сбор средств и материалов для пострадавших в самой Украине. Продолжайте принимать беженцев с войны в свои общины, дома, школы и сердца; продолжайте проявлять любовь и благочестие ко всем страждущим. Стремитесь к миру во всем; непрестанно молитесь, чтобы прекратилось кровопролитие.
Тем не менее, мы не можем допустить, чтобы трагедия войны оправдывала или делала нас слепыми к ужасающим преследованиям, происходящим в Украине. Украинская Православная Церковь, возглавляемая благочестивым митрополитом Онуфрием и его собратьями – верными архиереями и духовенством, ни к чему иному не стремится, кроме мирного поклонения Богу и заботы обо всех людях своей родины с открытым сердцем и простой, твердой верой. Однако в ответ на свою аполитичную любовь они подвергаются самым жестоким гонениям. Попытки внешних субъектов политизировать церковную жизнь, ложно связывая самоуправляемую Украинскую Православную Церковь — которая независима и не находится под контролем каких-либо иностранных образований — с политическими, военными или государственными силами за границей, столь же лживы, сколь и злонамеренны. Под влиянием патриархата из Турции попытки создать ложную «украинскую» Церковь, с откровенно политической направленностью, вводят многих в заблуждение и ранят Христа и Его паству. В нынешние дни даже миролюбивым монахам Свято-Успенской Киево-Печерской Лавры угрожают выселением: невзирая на выдворение насельников из верхней части монастыря, совершенное накануне Рождества Христова, монахам Лавры теперь грозит полное изгнание с ее территории до конца текущего месяца. Хранящиеся в обители реликвии и нетленные мощи святых, большинство из которых духовно подвизались и молились на территории современной Украины, чиновники именуют «музейными экспонатами». Раскольнические лжеправославные личности привлекаются для осквернения святых алтарей нечестивыми, неправославными обрядами в насмешку над Церковью. Священников изгоняют из близлежащих приходских церквей. Безосновательно, незаконно подвергаются санкциям стремящиеся к миру иерархи Украинской Православной Церкви. Архиереям угрожают лишением гражданства и высылкой, семинаристам — выдворением из школ и академий, а верующим — лишением Канонической церковной жизни.
Возлюбленные братья и сестры! Последний раз, когда мир видел подобное гнусное преследование христиан, последний раз, когда мы слышали такие богохульные изречения и были свидетелями распространения такой откровенной лжи и ненависти, был советский период, который, я призываю всех вспомнить. Это было самым свирепым гонением на христиан, которое когда-либо видел мир, в результате чего в ХХ столетии было совершено истребление мучеников за Христа больше, чем почти за всю предшествовавшую историю Христианства. Должен ли мир теперь стоять молча в стороне, когда то же самое начинается вновь в веке ХХI-м? Может ли какой-либо человек, какими бы ни были его личные религиозные или политические убеждения, заявлять, что он отстаивает мир перед лицом войны, и в то же время умалчивать о нападениях и злодеяниях, совершаемых против невинных христиан, которые не имеют ничего общего с войной, но становятся ее жертвами в еще большей степени, подвергаясь гонениям на собственной родине? Монахи Лавры не политики, не враги ни государства, ни народа; это смиренные люди, которые избрали жизнь самоотречения в следовании за Богом, сохраняя духовное наследие места, которое более тысячелетия было священным для православных христиан Украины и православных христиан всего мира. Молясь за всех, заботясь о земляках и паломниках, поднимаясь рано утром, чтобы петь хвалебные песни Богу, сотворившему миру мир; они бодрствуют до поздней ночи в долгих бдениях, молясь об этом мире и Царстве Божьего милосердия.
Я призываю всех, у кого есть какие-либо средства для воздействия, выступить в поддержку тех, кого так несправедливо преследуют на глазах всего мира. Продолжайте противостоять войне и присоединяйтесь к высокой цели остановить эту трагедию. Поговорите со своими политическими представителями и дайте им знать о том, что происходит, и о необходимости положить этому конец. Позвоните своим членам парламента, сенаторам и конгрессменам; говорите в контексте, в котором вы сами можете привлечь внимание к таким вопросам. Взывайте во вся и ко всем, кто услышит, что должен воцариться мир, свобода вероисповедания должна быть защищена, а пропагандистское использование трагической войны для оправдания новых трагедий является недопустимым!
Всех благочестивых христиан я, прежде всего, призываю молиться. Умолим нашего Всемогущего Господа, чтобы Он сотворил чудо среди Своей благочестивой паствы в Украине. Молитесь, чтобы Он укрепил митрополита Онуфрия и всех иерархов Украинской Православной Церкви. Молитесь, чтобы Он утешил страждущих. Молитесь, чтобы пребывающие в притеснениях верующие почувствовали поддержку нашей любви и открытость наших сердец, чтобы соединиться с ними в их страданиях.
Всем верным чадам нашей Епархии благословляется еженедельно в каждом приходе незамедлительно совершать молебен с Акафистом Божией Матери, Успению Которой посвящена Киевская Лавра, вознося в конце молитву о прекращении междоусобиц на украинской земле. Те верующие, которые не могут попасть в храмы на службу, призываются молиться у себя дома перед святыми иконами, в кругу семьи и детей. Те, кто может делать это каждый день, должны принести сию жертву за наших братьев. В среду, 29 марта, в день, когда украинское государство назначило выселение монахов из Лавры и в который Церковь особо раскаивается чтением Великого Покаянного канона св. Андрея Критского, каждый приход должен отслужить молебен Отцам Печерским с коленопреклоненной молитвой. Следует поощрять каждого верующего к держанию строгого поста в течение всего дня. Молитвой и постом добрые намерения благочестивых христиан да будут услышаны нашим любящим Господом.
Спаси Боже люди Твоя и благослови достояние Твое!
+ Ириней
Епископ Лондонский и Западно-Европейский
5 / 18 марта 2023 г.
From the website of the Western American Diocese:
At the beginning of Great Lent, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev & All Ukraine, called upon and blessed the faithful to fulfil a special rule of prayer for peace. The rule is as follows: throughout the fast read the 45th and 90th Psalms, do 12 full prostrations, and read the Lord’s Prayer daily, for peace in the Ukrainian Land. With the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill we are posting the TEXT of this “Rule for Peace” for the members of the Western American Diocese and website visitors.
30 May 2022:
The official web site of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has published multiple reports on the funeral and burial services of the newly-reposed First Hierarch of the Church Abroad, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, who departed to the Lord on 16th May 2022.
RUSSIAN: https://www.synod.com/synod/2022/20220523_mhfuneral.html
ENGLISH: https://www.synod.com/synod/eng2022/20220523_enmhfuneral.html
RUSSIAN: https://www.synod.com/synod/2022/20220526_mhburial.html
ENGLISH: https://www.synod.com/synod/eng2022/20220526_enmhburial.html
30 MAY 2022:
In light of the falsehoods continuing to be circulated by the small group of defrocked former-clergymen headed by Mr Andrew Phillips in Colchester, England, communications between the canonical hierarchy of the Local Orthodox Churches in the region were concluded earlier this month, to ensure all Orthodox Churches correctly understand the reality of the situation.
In brief summary, claims continuing to be made by the group, to have been received into the Metropolitanate of Western and Southern Europe of the Patriarchate of Romania, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif, are categorically untrue. None of these individuals has any canonical connection to the Romanian Patriarchate, nor do any of them remain clergymen. That none of these individuals were canonically released to the Romanian Patriarchate or Metropolitan Iosif’s archdiocese, nor been canonically received by him, has been confirmed directly by Metropolitan Iosif to the Secretary of Inter-Orthodox Relations of the ROCOR on 26 February 2022; reconfirmed by His Eminence’s secretary on 6th March 2022; and reaffirmed in written correspondence from His Eminence Metropolitan Iosif to the now newly-reposed First Hierarch of the Church Abroad, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, on 20th March 2022. The letter being circulated by the individuals in question, dated 18th February 2022 and written by a priest in the Romanian Church, falsely claiming their reception, has been rebutted by Metropolitan Iosif himself; it was rashly issued by the priest when the Metropolitan had been open to the potential of receiving these individuals, before he had been duly informed of their uncanonical situation, but for obvious reasons never constituted a canonical reception (Metropolitan Iosif’s explanation of this has been duly communicated to all Orthodox bishops of the region).
The actual situation regarding these individuals has already been communicated and has not changed: they were found guilty of canonical violations by an Ecclesiastical Court on 21st October 2021 and their defrocking was confirmed by the Holy Synod on 28 February 2022. In continuing to pretend to be clergyman and impiously feigning to celebrate the sacraments, they have gone beyond their defrocking and excommunicated themselves, in accordance with Apostolic Canon 28. It is essential to stress to all Orthodox Christians that no ‘sacraments’ performed by these defrocked individuals bear the grace of the Church: any ‘baptisms’, ‘marriages’ or other rites performed by them are not Orthodox Sacraments, and faithful caught up in their deception should at once seek an Orthodox Church where these Sacraments can be authentically performed for them — most urgently, the actual baptism of any children or adults who may have been falsely ‘baptised’ by these defrocked individuals. Moreover, faithful Orthodox Christians who attended ‘services’ at the hands of defrocked individuals thereby themselves enter into schism and excommunicate themselves (cf. Canons 2, 4 of Antioch), and must repent of such actions through Holy Confession before they can again receive the Sacraments in an Orthodox Church; and any clergy who concelebrate with such defrocked persons are themselves subject to defrocking (Apostolic Canon 11; cf. Canon 6 of Gangra). For the sake of the souls of the faithful, we continue our fervent prayer that these individuals will cease in their falsehoods and non-Orthodox actions.
From the website of the Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem:
2 January 2022:
Following upon the recent celebration of the 800th anniversary of the birth of St Alexander Nevsky, the Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem of the ROCOR, the Right Reverend Archimandrite Roman, shares information on the Alexander Compound, in the historical center of Jerusalem, opposite the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with the Church of St Alexander Nevsky, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem as part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and is rightfully one of the most important churches in the Russian Diaspora.
After the restoration of canonical communion between the Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007, the name of the Patriarch of Moscow is commemorated at each Liturgy that is celebrated in the Church of St Alexander Nevsky. The Head and the clergy of the ROCOR Russian Ecclesiastical Mission continue to regularly conduct divine services in this church at the Threshold of the Judgment Gate, which is sacred for Russia and the Russian people and which has been under the omophorion of the ROCOR for more than 100 years.
С сайта Духовной миссии в Иерусалиме:
2 января 2022 г.:
После недавнего празднования 800-летия 800-летие со дня рождения святого благоверного князя Александра Невского глава Русской Духовной Миссии в Иерусалиме РПЦЗ архимандрит Роман делится информацией об Александровском подворье с храмом Александра Невского, в историческом центре Иерусалима напротив храма Гроба Господня возвышается, которое находится в ведении Русской Духовной Миссии в Иерусалиме в составе Русской Православной Церкви Заграницей, и по праву является одним из самых главных храмов Русского Зарубежья.
После восстановления канонического общения Зарубежной Церкви с Московской Патриархией в 2007 году имя Московского патриарха поминается за каждой Литургией, которая совершается в храме святого Александра Невского у Порога Судных Врат. Начальник и духовенство РДМ продолжают регулярно совершать богослужения в этом святом для России и русского народа храме у Порога Судных Врат, и которое уже более 100 лет находится под омофором РПЦЗ.
From pravoslavie.ru:
21 December 2021:
2021 has been a year of many significant dates and anniversaries in the life of the Russian Church Abroad. Among these is the 15th anniversary of the IV All-Diaspora Council, which became a key moment in the process of restoring the unity of the Russian Church, lost in the 1920s. Archpriest Victor Potapov, Rector of St John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and a participant in those events, recounts how the discussions preceding the unification took place, how sharp differences of view were raised within the ROCOR itself, and how they were eventually overcome.
Read Fr Victor’s full account (in Russian) on pravoslavie.ru.
21 декабря 2021 г.:
В жизни Русской Зарубежной Церкви в 2021-м году случилось немало знаменательных дат. Одна из них – 15-летие IV Всезарубежного Собора, который стал ключевым моментом в процессе восстановления единства Русской Церкви, утраченного в 1920-е годы. О том, как проходило обсуждение вопроса о предстоящем объединении, как неожиданно возникли резкие противоречия внутри самой РПЦЗ и каким образом удалось их устранить, рассказал участник тех событий, настоятель собора Святого Иоанна Предтечи в Вашингтоне протоиерей Виктор Потапов.
From the website of the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe:
SATURDAY 5 / 18 DECEMBER 2021: His Grace Bishop Irenei has written to His Holiness Porfirij, Patriarch of Serbia, as well as to the clergy and faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western Europe, on the occasion of the repose of the soul of their Archpastor, Bishop Luke (Kovacevic), who died yesterday on 4 / 17 December 2021.
С сайта Великобританской и Западно-Европейской епархии:
СУББОТА, 5 / 18 ДЕКАБРЯ 2021 г.: Его Преосвященство епископ Ириней написал Его Святейшеству Порфирию, Патриарху Сербии, а также духовенству и верующим Сербской Православной епархии Западной Европы по случаю упокоения души их архипастыря епископа Луки (Ковачевич), скончавшийся вчера, 4 / 17 декабря 2021 года.
From the website of the Holy Synod:
On December 8-9, 2021, under the auspices of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God ‘of the Sign’ and presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the first in-person session of the Synod of Bishops since December 2019 was held in New York City. Taking part in the meeting of the Synod were His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany; His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada; His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe; and His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan.
On Tuesday evening, December 7, after the Divine Services in St Sergius Chapel on the ground floor of the Synodal Residence, Bishop Nicholas, Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, hosted a reception in honour of the First Hierarch and visiting archpastors.
Metropolitan Hilarion opened the assembly the next morning, congratulating the hierarchs on the 100th anniversary of the 1st All-Diaspora Council, held in Sremski Karlovci, Yugoslavia, in November 1921. Metropolitan Hilarion expressed his pleasure at the possibility of the first in-person session of the Synod since the beginning of the pandemic.
Having approved the agenda, the Synod members heard a report by Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem of the Russian Church Abroad, on matters relating to the ROCOR’s monasteries in the Holy Land; on the recent feast-day celebrations at St Alexander Nevsky Podvorie at the ‘Russian Excavations’ in Jerusalem; and on renovation work being carried out at the Orthodox school in Bethany. Concluding his report, Archimandrite Roman proposed that the archpastors encourage their clergymen to go to the Holy Land for retreats, to lead pilgrimages to the holy sites, and to conduct Divine Services there and support the monastics.
Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe, Synodal Secretary for Inter-Orthodox Relations, then spoke on events in the Orthodox world. During his extensive report, the uncanonical actions of Metropolitan Jean of Dubna, who has illegitimately claimed to have received a number of clergymen of the Russian Church Abroad without their canonical release, were considered; and the decisions of the Ecclesiastical Court of the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe regarding these clergymen were also reviewed. His Grace then spoke of his recent visit to the Archangel Michael Parish in Cannes, France, which is under the rectorship of Priest Antony Odaysky, who was awarded the gold pectoral cross by the Synod of Bishops. Bishop Irenei expressed hope that this large and active parish will soon return to its church building, following a court ruling in Grasse in November, confirming that the Archangel Michael Church belongs to Russia.
Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Vice President of the Synodal Youth Department, then spoke on youth ministry, after which the Synod blessed the convening of a gathering of youth from the parishes in North America, to take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. The gatherings will be held at St George Church on June 13-19, 2022.
The Synod of Bishops also deliberated on various matters of Church administration and discipline, and heard the intercessions of the Synod members for ecclesiastical awards for their clerics and laity.
The gathering concluded with the festal Divine Services in the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady ‘of the Sign’, on the occasion of its Altar Feast of the Kursk-root icon, during which the members of the Holy Synod consecrated the Right Reverend Archimandrite Job (Bandmann) as Bishop of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Dicoese. Throughout the festal services, the Synodal choir, under the direction of Vadim Gan, sang liturgical music composed by musicians of the Russian Church Abroad.
On Saturday, 11 December, the newly-consecrated Bishop Job celebrated his first hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the cathedral.
The next sessions of the Synod of Bishops will convene on 22 February, 2022.
8-9 декабря с.г. под святым осенением Коренно-Курской иконы Божией Матери и председательством митрополита Восточно-Американского и Нью-Йоркского Илариона, Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви, состоялось первое с декабря 2019 года очное заседание Священного Архиерейского Синода Русской Зарубежной Церкви. В работе этого заседания приняли участие митрополит Берлинский и Германский Марк, архиепископы Сан-Францисский и Западно-Американский Кирилл, Монреальский и Канадский Гавриил, епископы Лондонский и Западно-Европейский Ириней и Манхэттенский Николай.
Во вторник вечером, 7 декабря, после богослужения в нижней церкви Синодальной резиденции епископ Манхэттенский Николай, заместитель Секретаря Архиерейского Синода, дал прием в честь Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви и прибывших архипастырей.
Открыв на следующее утро заседание, Высокопреосвященнейший митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский Иларион, Председатель Архиерейского Синода, поздравил Преосвященных архиереев с юбилеем 100-летия I Всезарубежного Собора, прошедшаго в Сремских Карловцах (Сербия) в ноябре 1921 года. Его Высокопреосвященство выразил радость по поводу первой за два года пандемии братской встречи архипастырей.
Приняв повестку заседания, Преосвященные члены Архиерейского Синода выслушали сообщение архимандрита Романа (Красовского), Начальника Русской Духовной Миссии в Иерусалиме (в составе Русской Зарубежной Церкви), о положении дел в ее обителях на Святой Земле, о прошедшем накануне престольном празднике Александровского подворья на «Русских Раскопках» в Иерусалиме и о ремонтно-строительных работах, проводимых в Вифанской школе. В конце своего выступления архимандрит Роман предложил архипастырям направлять свое духовенство на Святую Землю для отдыха, совершения паломничества по святым местам, несения чреды служения и поддержания монашествующих.
Затем епископ Лондонский и Западно-Европейский Ириней, Секретарь Архиерейского Синода по межправославным отношениям, выступил с сообщением о событиях в православном мире. Во время пространного доклада Его Преосвященства были рассмотрены неканонические действия митрополита Дубнинского Иоанна, незаконно принявшего ряд клириков Русской Зарубежной Церкви без канонического отпуска. Были рассмотрены и определения Духовного суда Великобританской епархии по делам этих священнослужителей. Затем Преосвященный Ириней рассказал о своем недавнем посещении Архангело-Михайловской приходской общины в Каннах (Франция), которая окормляется священником Антонием Одайским, награжденным правом ношения золотого наперсного креста Архиерейским Синодом выдаваемого. Его Преосвященство выразил надежду, что эта большая и активная община в ближайшее время вернется в свой храм, т.к. в ноябре текущего года суд в Грассе постановил, что Архангело-Михайловская церковь в Каннах принадлежит России.
По докладу протоиерея Андрея Соммера, заместителя председателя Синодального отдела по работе с молодежью, Архиерейский Синод постановил созвать съезд молодежи приходов Северной Америки в Солт-Лейк-Сити (Юта, США). Съезд пройдет при Георгиевской церкви в этом городе с 13 по 19 июня 2022 года.
Архиерейский Синод также рассмотрел различные церковно-дисциплинарные и административно-хозяйственные вопросы, а также и ряд ходатайств Преосвященных архипастырей, представивших своих клириков и прихожан к церковным наградам.
Заседание завершилось торжественными богослужениями престольного праздника Знаменского собора. В пятницу, 10 декабря, за Божественной литургией Преосвященные члены Архиерейского Синода совершили архиерейскую хиротонию архимандрита Иова (Бандманна) во епископа Штутгартского, викария Германской епархии. Во время этого богослужения Синодальным хором (регент – В.С. Ган) исполнялись духовные сочинения и гармонизации композиторов Русской Зарубежной Церкви.
В субботу, 11 декабря, в Знаменском соборе новый архипастырь совершил свою первую Божественную литургию архиерейским чином.
Следующее заседание Священного Архиерейского Синода состоится 22 февраля 2022 года.
From the website of the Synod of Bishops:
To His Beatitude
ONOUPHRY
Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Your Beatitude, Vladyka:
We heartily greet Your Holiness with the important 31st anniversary of your fervently graceful episcopal service!
On this important day for you, we hasten to assure you that the fervent prayers lifted by you for the strengthening and bolstering of Holy Orthodox Christianity are very dear to us, and that your Primatial staff of service profoundly consoles all Orthodox Christians, most of all, of course, the flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The virtuous qualities you possess are not shared by everyone, only by a few infrequent people—people mostly with a broad, warm, responsive heart, with strictly Christian upbringing instilled from early childhood. With these important qualities, you bind like cement the growing edifice of the Church and thereby grant her the possibility of rising ever higher, shining with the grace-filled light of Christ’s truth amid the darkness of temptation and the tribulations of this world.
Therefore, we, your fellow servants in the Vineyard of Christ, prayerfully wish you to continue to rightly teach the word of truth and with the same rare youthful energy that you employed to lead up to this time, desiring for you good health and strength and boldness of all powers in the hope that the Lord will lead you to see even more infrequent important dates to the glory of God and the good of the canonical Church on the holy land of the Kievan cradle!
Asking your holy prayers, we have the honor of assuring you of our devotion and love in the Lord,
+ HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia,
President of the Synod of Bishops
+ MARK
Metropolitan of Berlin and Germany
+ KYRILL
Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America,
Secretary of the Synod of Bishops
+ GABRIEL
Archbishop of Montreal and Canada
+ IRENEI
Bishop of London and Western Europe
+ NICHOLAS
Bishop of Manhattan,
Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops
From the website of the Holy Synod:
On the feastday of St Michael the Archangel, His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Stavropegic Parish of St Michael in Cannes, France. With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and Rector of the parish, Vladyka Irenei conveyed the festal greetings of the Metropolitan and the whole of the Holy Synod to the parishioners of Cannes, and headed the Vigil and Divine Liturgy in honour of their heavenly patron, co-served by the clerics of the parish, Priest Anton Odaisky and Priest Mark Lopnevs.
At the Little Entrance, Vladyka bestowed the Gold Cross upon Priest Anton, in recognition of his long years of priestly service.
Following the Divine Services, His Grace greeted the faithful and enjoyed a long repast with them in the nearby hall. Expressing his hope that the recent decision of the French courts would now pave the way for the parish’s swift return to its beautiful church building, after a protracted period of dispute by false claimants to the property, Vladyka commended the community for its steadfast faith, perseverance and patience, all of which will be mightily rewarded by God.
В праздник святого Архистратига Михаила Преосвященный епископ Лондонский и Западно-Европейский Ириней совершил Божественную литургию в одноименном приходе в Каннах во Франции, имеющем статус непосредственного подчинения Председателю Архиерейского Синода. По благословению Высокопреосвященнейшего митрополита Илариона, Первоиерарха Русской Зарубежной Церкви – настоятеля прихода, владыка Ириней передал прихожанам Канн праздничное приветствие от Митрополита и всего Архиерейского Синода, а также возглавил Всенощное бдение и Божественную литургию по случаю престольного праздника в сослужении клириков прихода иерея Антония Одайского и иерея Марка Лопнева.
На Малом входе за многолетнее священническое служение Матери-Церкви владыка возложил на иерея Антония золотой наперсный крест.
После богослужения Его Преосвященство приветствовал верующих и провел с ними длительное общение во время трапезы, состоявшейся в ближайшем к храму помещении. Выражая надежду на то, что, после длительных споров со стороны ложных претендентов на собственность, недавнее решение французских судов откроет путь для скорейшего возвращения прихода в красивое историческое храмовое здание, Владыка поблагодарил общину за ее непоколебимую веру, стойкость и терпение, выражая уверенность, что все это будет обильно вознаграждено Богом.
Synodal Secretariat for Inter-Orthodox Relations 
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