https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Maximos&feedformat=atomOrthodoxWiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T19:47:31ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Church_of_Russia&diff=51474Church of Russia2007-05-23T17:16:37Z<p>Maximos: /* External links */</p>
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<div>{{church|<br />
name= Patriarchate of Moscow|<br />
founder= [[Apostle Andrew]], St. [[Vladimir of Kiev]]|<br />
independence= 1448 |<br />
recognition= 1589 by [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]] |<br />
primate=[[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Patriarch Alexei II]]|<br />
hq=Moscow, Russia|<br />
territory=Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, some former Soviet republics|<br />
possessions= United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, China|<br />
language=[[Church Slavonic]]|<br />
music=[[Russian Chant]]|<br />
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|<br />
population=90,000,000[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17]|<br />
website=[http://www.mospat.ru/ Church of Russia]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Church of Russia''', also referred to as the '''Moscow Patriarchate''', is one of the autocephalous Orthodox churches, ranking fifth after [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]], and [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]. It exercises jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in Russia and surrounding Slavic lands, as well as [[exarchate]]s and patriarchal representation churches around the world. It also exercises jurisdiction over the autonomous [[Church of Japan]] and Orthodox Christians in China. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is currently His Holiness [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]].<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
{{cleanup}}<br />
According to tradition, St. [[Apostle Andrew|Andrew]] the First-Called, while preaching the [[Gospel]], stopped at the Kievan hills to bless the future city of Kiev. But it was [[Photius the Great|Photius]] Patriarch of Constantinople (858 – 886) who first initiated missionary work on a large scale among these Slavs. <br />
<br />
===[[Conversion]] of the Slavs=== <br />
The Kievan-Rus' empire (present day Ukraine, Belarus and Russia) was blessed with the work of Ss. [[Cyril and Methodius]] [[Equal-to-the-Apostles]], the [[Illuminator]]s of the Slavs. Although their work was around 863 in Moravia (roughly equivalent to the modern [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia|Slovakia]]), the benefit was to all the Slavic lands (particularly [[Church of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Church of Serbia|Serbia]], Ukraine, Belarus' and Russia).<br />
<br />
===The Kiev period (988-1237)=== <br />
They not only brought Christianity in a common language, they brought Byzantium. The Slavs received a fully articulated system of Christian doctrine and a fully developed Christian civilization. The age of the [[Ecumenical Councils|Seven Councils]] was complete and the doctrines of the [[Trinity]] and the [[Incarnation]] had already been worked out. Because people were preached to in their own tongue, and of taking services in Slavonic, they truly could make Christianity their own. <br />
<br />
Around 864 Patriarch Photius sent a bishop to Kiev(capital of present day Ukraine), but this was stopped by Oleg, who assumed power at Kiev (the chief Rus' city at this time) in 878. Christian ideas from Byzantium, Bulgaria, and Scandinavia, still came into Kievan-Rus'. <br />
<br />
In 954 Princess [[Olga of Kiev|Ol'ha (Olga) of Kiev]] was baptized. This paved the way for what is called the greatest events in the history of the Ukarainian and Russian church, the baptism of [[Vladimir of Kiev]] and the [[Baptism of Rus']] in 988. Olga's grandson Vladimir (reigned 980-1015) was converted to Christianity and married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor. Orthodoxy became the State religion of Rus', and eventually Russia until 1917. (Rus' was not completely converted to Christianity at this time, and the Church was at first restricted mainly to the cities, while much of the countryside remained pagan until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.) <br />
<br />
The 10th and 11th centuries majestic churches and monasteries were built. St. [[Anthony of the Caves]] brought the traditions of Athonite monasticism to Rus' (present day Ukraine) in 1051.<br />
<br />
The Orthodox Church during the Kievan period was subject to Constantinople, and until 1237 the Metropolitans of Rus' were usually Greek. The Rus' Church continues to sing in Greek the solemn greeting to a bishop, ''eis polla eti, despota'' ("Many years to you, Master"), in memory of the days when the Metropolitan came from Constantinople. Most of the rest of the bishops were native Ukrainians or Russians.<br />
<br />
===Mongol Tartars over Russia (1237-1448) === <br />
In the 12th century, the period of feudal divisions, the Kievan-Rus' Church (present day Ukraine) remained the only bearer of the idea of unity of the people, resisting the centrifugal aspirations and feudal strife among Rus' princes. Even the Tartar invasion, this greatest ever misfortune that struck Rus' in the 13th century, failed to break the Orthodox Church. The Church managed to survive as a real force and was the comforter of the people in their plight. It made a great spiritual, material and moral contribution to the restoration of the political unity of Russia as a guarantee of its future victory over the invaders. <br />
<br />
The Russia which emerged from the Mongol period was a Russia greatly changed in outward appearance. Kiev never recovered from the sack of Batu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, in 1240, and its place was taken in the fourteenth century by the Principality of Moscow. It was the Grand Dukes of Moscow who inspired the resistance to the Mongols and who led Russia at Kulikovo. The rise of Moscow was closely bound up with the Church. When the town was still small and comparatively unimportant, [[Peter of Moscow|Peter]], Metropolitan of Russia from 1308 to 1326, decided to settle there; and henceforward it remained the city of the chief hierarch of Russia. <br />
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(This period in the history of the Russian Church included [[Alexander Nevsky]] and [[Sergius of Radonezh]], both saints. )<br />
<br />
[[Image:Rublev Trinity.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Hospitality of Abraham]]]]Russian principalities began to unite around Moscow in the 14th century. The Russian Orthodox Church continued to play an important role in the revival of unified Russia. Outstanding Russian bishops acted as spiritual guides and assistants to the Princes of Moscow. St. Metropolitan [[Alexis of Moscow|Alexis]] (1354-1378) educated Prince Dimitry Donskoy. He, just as St. Metropolitan Jonas (1448-1471) later, by the power of his authority helped the Prince of Moscow to put an end to the feudal discords and preserve the unity of the state. St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]], a great ascetic of the Russian Church, gave his blessing to Prince Dimitry Donskoy to fight the Kulikovo Battle which made the beginning of the liberation of Russia from the invaders. <br />
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During these years, Russian painters indigenized the iconographic traditions which they had received from the Eastern Christian Empire. Icon painting flourished above all among the spiritual children of Saint Sergius. One of the finest of all Orthodox icons, from the artistic point of view, the Holy Trinity Icon, by Saint [[Andrei Rublev]] (1370?-1430?) is from this period.<br />
<br />
===Autocephalous Russian Church===<br />
Liberating itself from the invaders, the Russian state gathered strength and so did the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Church became independent from the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]. Metropolitan Jonas, installed by the Council of Russian bishops in 1448, was given the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia. <br />
<br />
The Russian Church thus gained its independence, more by chance than from any deliberate design. Hitherto the Patriarch of Constantinople had appointed the head of the Russian Church, the Metropolitan. At the [[Council of Florence]] the Metropolitan was a Greek, Isidore. A leading supporter of the union with Rome, Isidore returned to Moscow in 1441 and proclaimed the decrees of Florence, but he met with no support from the Russians. He was imprisoned by the Grand Duke, but after a time was allowed to escape, and went back to Italy. The chief [[see]] was thus left vacant; but the Russians could not ask the Patriarch for a new Metropolitan, because until 1453 the official Church at Constantinople continued to accept the Florentine Union. Reluctant to take action on their own, the Russians delayed for several years. Eventually in 1448 a council of Russian bishops proceeded to elect a Metropolitan without further reference to Constantinople. After 1453, when the Florentine Union was abandoned at Constantinople, communion between the Patriarchate and Russia was restored, but Russia continued to appoint its own chief hierarch. Henceforward the Russian Church was self-governing, but its autocephaly was not ratified by the rest of the Church until 1589.<br />
<br />
After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, there was only one nation that saw itself as capable of assuming leadership in Eastern Christendom. The growing might of the Russian state also contributed to the growing authority of the autocephalous Russian Church. To the Russian people, it was a sign from God, that at the very moment when the Byzantine Empire was ending, they themselves were throwing off the few remaining vestiges of Tartar control. To them, Moscow became the [[Third Rome]], a status never acknowledged by the remainder of the Church but nevertheless which served to inspire Russian Orthodox Christians.<br />
<br />
===Non-Possessors ===<br />
Saint [[Nilus of Sora]] (Nil Sorsky, 1433?-1508), a monk from a remote hermitage in the forests beyond the Volga, launched an attack on the ownership of land by monasteries. Saint Joseph, Abbot of Volokalamsk (1439-1515), replied in defense of monastic landholding. This became known as the dispute between the "the Possessors" and the "Non-Possessors". (Note that both are saints of the Church.)<br />
<br />
As the "Third Rome", the tsar derived his power and right to rule from being God's chosen representative on earth. So, to keep his status, he needed to protect and promote the church. In the Byzantium tradition, the relationship between the church and the state acted as a check on the power of the tsar. The metropolitan and the tsar were equals, and the metropolitan had the right to censure the tsar. The dispute between the Possessors and the Non-Possessors challenged this idea because about a third of the land in Russia belonged to monasteries at this time. <br />
<br />
The Possessors and the Non-Possessors held different views about the role the church should play in society and in politics. When the Possessors triumphed, the church gained the right to wealth at the expense of political influence. The tsar became superior to the metropolitan, and could now interfere in secular matters of the church. The tsar was cut off from any source of accountability.<br />
Also, behind the question of monastic property lay two different conceptions of the monastic life, and ultimately two different views of the relation of the Church to the world. The Possessors emphasized the social obligations of monasticism. Monks argued that they did not use their wealth on themselves, but to care for the sick and poor, to show hospitality, and to teach. To do these things efficiently, monasteries needed money and therefore they must own land. (Possessors emphasized unity in preaching and worship, beauty and dignity in ritual.) <br />
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The Non-Possessors argued on the other hand that almsgiving is the duty of the laity, while a monk's primary task is to help others by praying for them and by setting an example. To do these things properly a monk must be detached from the world, and only those who are vowed to complete poverty can achieve true detachment. Monks who are landowners cannot avoid being tangled up in secular anxieties, and because they become absorbed in worldly concerns, they act and think in a worldly way. (Non-Possessors were more concerned with freedom in religious practice and taught that God was most pleased with a simple, contrite heart, even in the absence of an elaborate Liturgy. They were the scholars and mystics, who upheld evangelical poverty.) <br />
<br />
===Russian patriarch===<br />
In 1589 Metropolitan Job of Moscow became the first Russian patriarch, and the autocephaly of the Church of Russia was officially acknowledged by the Church. The patriarchs of the ancient churches recognized the Russian patriarch as the fifth in honor, defining the [[canonical territory|canonical boundaries]] of the Church of Russia as being that of the Russian Empire.<br />
<br />
===Old Believers===<br />
When [[Nikon of Moscow]] was the primate, the Russian Church was engaged in introducing alterations and amendments into its service books and rites. A great contribution to this was made by Patriarch Nikon, a bright personality and outstanding church reformer. Some clergymen and lay people were perhaps more hesitant about accepting the liturgical reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon and were anathematized by the church authority. These groups became known as the [[Old Believers]]', many of whom have now been subsumed into the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].<br />
<br />
===The Synodical Church (1700-1917)===<br />
The beginning of the 18th century in Russia was marked by sweeping reforms carried out by Peter I. The reforms did not leave the Russian Church untouched. After the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, Peter I delayed the election of the new Primate of the Church because he did not want another Nikon. He established, in 1721, a collective supreme administration known as the Holy and Governing [[holy Synod|Synod]]. The constitution of the Synod was not based on Orthodox Canon Law, but copied from the Protestant ecclesiastical synods in Germany. Its members were not chosen by the Church but nominated by the Emperor; and the Emperor who nominated could also dismiss them at will. Whereas a Patriarch, holding office for life, could perhaps defy the Tsar, a member of the Holy Synod was allowed no scope for heroism: he was simply retired. The Synod remained the supreme church body in the Russian Church for almost two centuries. <br />
<br />
In the Synodal period, the Church paid a special attention to the development of religious education and mission in the provinces. Old churches were restored and new churches were built.<br />
<br />
The Holy Synod, consisted of the most influential Metropolitans, Archbishops and Bishops. Moscow itself was administered by a territorial Archbishop, combined with Vladimir (1721-1745), with Sevsk (1745-1764), with Kaluga (1764-1799), then Metropolitan, combined with Kaluga, (1799-1917).<br />
<br />
The early Synodical period is sometimes represented as a time of decline, with the Church in complete subservience to the State. A time of ill-advised westernization in Church art, Church music, and theology. <br />
<br />
The Synodical period of the nineteenth century, was far from being a period of decline, it was a time of great revival in the Russian Church. People turned away from religious and pseudo-religious movements in the contemporary west, and fell back once more upon the true spiritual forces of Orthodoxy. With this revival in the spiritual life went a new enthusiasm for missionary work, while in theology, as in spirituality, Orthodoxy freed itself from a slavish imitation of the west. <br />
<br />
===20th century the Russian Church=== <br />
<br />
Early in the 20th century the Russian Church began preparations for convening an [[All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918|All-Russian Council]]. But it was to be convened only after the 1917 Revolution. Among its major actions was the restoration of the patriarchal office in the Russian Church. The Council elected Metropolitan [[Tikhon of Moscow]] Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1917-1925). St. Tikhon of Moscow exerted every effort to calm the destructive passions kindled up by the revolution. <br />
<br />
When in 1921-1922 the Soviet government demanded that church valuables be given in aid to the population starving because of the failure of crops in 1921, a conflict erupted between the Church and the new authorities who decided to use this situation to demolish the Church to the end. By the beginning of World War II the church structure was almost completely destroyed throughout the country. There were only a few bishops who remained free and who could perform their duties. Some bishops managed to survive in remote parts or under the disguise of priests. Only a few hundred churches were opened for services throughout the Soviet Union. Most of the clergy were either imprisoned in concentration camps, where many of them perished, or hid in catacombs, while thousands of priests changed occupation. World War II forced Stalin to mobilize all the national resources for defense, including the Russian Orthodox Church as the people's moral force. This process, which can be described as a "patriotic union", culminated in Stalin's receiving on September 4, 1943, Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergiy Stragorodsky and Metropolitan Alexy Simansky and Nikolay Yarushevich.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[List of Primates of Russia]]<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Russia.html#Moscow HostKingdom] <br />
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 DECR Communication Service] Communication service of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?lng=1 Church of Russia] official website in English<br />
*[http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Patriarchia.RU] official portal of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian only)<br />
* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=17&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: The Orthodox Church of Russia] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar<br />
<!--- * [http://www.pravos.org/index.htm Commission Dialogue Moscow Patriarchate-Church outside Russia] ---><br />
*[http://www.orthodoxa.org/GB/orthodoxy/canonlaw/russianterritory.htm The Russian Canonical Territory], from the website of the [[Church of Estonia]]<br />
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{{churches}}<br />
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[[Category:Jurisdictions|Russia]]<br />
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[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă]]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Talk:Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_Russia&diff=44024Talk:Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia2006-12-29T18:37:19Z<p>Maximos: Rapprochement with Moscow</p>
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<div>I'm not sure how the Monks of HTM being "English speakers" is germane to becoming responsible for communication and publications. Did they become responsible for '''English language''' material? If so, the article should reflect that. If there is some other link, that should be noted. Otherwise, the clause about them being speakers of English is irrelevant, I think, and should be omitted.<br />
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Many thanks to the anonymous editor who helped with this article. You should consider getting an account so we know whom to thank next time. --[[User:Basil|Basil]] 13:46, 16 Jan 2005 (CST)<br />
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:The anonymous editor is a monastic friend of mine and something of an expert on ROCOR history. I asked him to help with the article.<br />
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:I think the issue regarding English language stuff is because the ROCOR bishops of the time were mainly in the US but largely not very good with English. --[[User:ASDamick|Rdr. Andrew]] 19:34, 16 Jan 2005 (CST)<br />
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::I could tell he was an expert. Very helpful. Please thank him for us. And thanks for the clarification. --[[User:Basil|Basil]] 15:14, 17 Jan 2005 (CST)<br />
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== "Sources close to the synod" ==<br />
<br />
In the "Rapprochement" section, recent edits were made with statements based on "sources" close to the synod. Unless these sources can be cited, it's really not much more than rumor. If there's no one on record as saying something, it makes it quite hard to justify inclusion of such material. &mdash;[[User:ASDamick|<font color="blue"><b><i>Dcn. Andrew</i></b></font>]] <sup>[[User_talk:ASDamick|<font color="red">talk</font>]]</sup> <sup>[[Special:Randompage|<font color="blue">random</font>]]</sup> <sup>[[Special:Contributions/ASDamick|<font color="black">contribs</font>]]</sup> 18:04, May 26, 2006 (CDT)<br />
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== Rapprochement with Moscow ==<br />
<br />
I suspect that this section will need a major revision/rewrite once ROCOR and Moscow repair their communion, which is slated to take place on May 17, 2006 in Moscow. The Rapprochement section here could be rewritten as a closed narrative as opposed to an ongoing news event. Certainly there will be a bit more news surrounding the event and the ongoing relations between the two, but as the act of canonical communion becomes a reality and is enacted, I suspect that much on this page will have to be rewritten. What do you all think?</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_Russia&diff=42164Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia2006-11-02T02:21:54Z<p>Maximos: /* Rapprochement with Moscow */</p>
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<div>{{diocese|<br />
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|<br />
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] (estranged)|<br />
type=Semi-autonomous|<br />
founded=1922|<br />
bishop=[[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metr. Laurus]]|<br />
see=New York|<br />
hq=New York, New York|<br />
territory=United States, worldwide|<br />
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|<br />
music=[[Russian Chant]]|<br />
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|<br />
population=150,000|<br />
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Orthodox Church]] formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Formation and early years===<br />
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.<br />
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Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres.To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].<br />
<br />
On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])<br />
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===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===<br />
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}<br />
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<br />
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After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.<br />
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===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===<br />
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] following sexual abuse scandals regarding the monastery's leadership. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)<br />
<br />
It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (again regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<br />
<br />
===After the Soviet Fall===<br />
Since the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR has maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia, which has not improved relations.<br />
<br />
This has not prevented all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.<br />
<br />
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland. It now has about 100 worshiping communities in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Currently four bishops oversee these parishes. Two of them broke with Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] in New York in April 1994. They founded their own temporary administration called the ''Free Orthodox Church of Russia'' and ordained three additional bishops. They were reconciled in November 1994, and the ordination of the three new bishops was declared invalid. However, some tensions remain.<br />
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===Rapprochement with Moscow===<br />
Since the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement has been occurring between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits have been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and it is generally believed that the restoration of [[full communion]] is imminent.<br />
<br />
In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without success. However, there was mutal recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signalled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee has now met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.<br />
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This possibility of rapprochement has led to [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name.<br />
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On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].[http://www.mospat.ru/text/e_news/id/9553.html][http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html]<br />
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In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."[http://www.sobor2006.com/more2.php?id=99_0_3_0_M45] <br />
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Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "Act of Canonical Unity," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, involves, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}} <br />
<br />
On September 6, 2006 The Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act. [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html] Subsequently on September 11, 2006 The Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act. [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html] Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time. [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977]<br />
<br />
Both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia published on their respective websites the final full text of the Act of Canonical Unity [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html] with all relevant supporting documents [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html] [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html] on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, all that remains left for each to do is work out the confirmation and enactment, which is expected to take place sometime in 2007. [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=2208]<br />
<br />
===ROCOR Today===<br />
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are five ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.<br />
<br />
There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].<br />
<br />
In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], headed by Hegumen Andronik (Kotliaroff), which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.<br />
<br />
==Ecclesiastical Status==<br />
ROCOR is currently still in ambiguously relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintains good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].<br />
<br />
ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] is not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] has been suspended. In others, concelebration is active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches are welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There has never been a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace does not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.<br />
<br />
ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprial of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the diptych." [http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html] The ROCOR still maintains communion with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza. Many of the clergy and the faithful of ROCOR believe the Cyprianites to be [[schism]]atics and that [[concelebration]]s with them should be severed, though this attitude does not extend to the Old Calendarist jurisdictions of Romania and Bulgaria.<br />
<br />
==The Episcopacy==<br />
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 13 [[bishop]]s serving 11 [[diocese]]s throughout the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ruling bishops:<br />
* Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Ruling Bishop of the Syracuse-Holy Trinity Diocese, ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' of the Eastern part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago and Detroit|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Detroit<br />
* Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain<br />
* Archbishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]<br />
* Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America, Locum Tenens of the Western part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Ishim and Siberia<br />
* Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]] of Odessa and the Crimea<br />
* Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe<br />
<br />
Vicar bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar of the President of the Synod of Bishops for the service of Old Believers<br />
* Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Manhattan, Vicar Bishop of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Vicar of the Chicago Diocese<br />
<br />
Retired bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Ambroise (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambroise (Cantacuzène)]], Retired, formerly of Geneva and Western Europe<br />
* Bishop [[Varnava (Prokofiev) of Cannes|Varnava (Prokofiev)]], Retired, formerly of Cannes, Vicar for the Western European diocese<br />
<br />
Former bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed [[September 13]], 2005 [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html])<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)<br />
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)<br />
*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=49&IndexView=toc The Eastern Christian Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (by Ronald Roberson, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar)<br />
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]<br />
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)<br />
<!--- * [http://www.pravos.org/index.htm Commission Dialogue Moscow Patriarchate-Church outside Russia] ---><br />
*[http://www.sobor2006.com/ IV All-Diaspora Council] (official site)<br />
<br />
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Vitaly_(Ustinov)_of_New_York&diff=40700Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York2006-09-26T01:44:46Z<p>Maximos: </p>
<hr />
<div>His Eminence the Most Reverend '''Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York''' was the first hierarch of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] from 1986 to 2001 (ROCOR). His Eminence reposed in the Lord at the age of 97 at Holy Transfiguration Skete in Mansonville, Quebec on September 25, 2006. [http://www.synod.com/synod/2006/9metvitaly.html 1]<br />
<br />
<br />
{{stub}}<br />
<br />
{{start box}}<br />
{{succession|<br />
before=&mdash;|<br />
title=Bishop of Montevideo<br>(ROCOR)|<br />
years=1951-1954|<br />
after=&mdash;}}<br />
{{succession|<br />
before=&mdash;|<br />
title=Bishop of Edmonton and Western Canada<br>(ROCOR)|<br />
years=1954-1957|<br />
after=[[Sava (Sarachevich) of Edmonton|Sava (Sarachevich)]]}}<br />
{{succession|<br />
before=[[Panteleimon (Rudyk) of Montreal|Panteleimon (Rudyk)]]|<br />
title=Archbishop of Montreal and Canada<br>(ROCOR)|<br />
years=1957-1986|<br />
after=&mdash;}}<br />
{{succession|<br />
before=[[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]]|<br />
title=First Hierarch of ROCOR|<br />
years=1986-2001|<br />
after=[[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]]}}<br />
{{succession|<br />
before=&mdash;|<br />
title=First Hierarch of ROCE|<br />
years=2001-2006|<br />
after=&mdash;}}<br />
{{end box}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Bishops]]<br />
[http://www.example.com link title]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_Russia&diff=40261Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia2006-09-12T14:20:42Z<p>Maximos: /* Rapprochement with Moscow */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{diocese|<br />
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|<br />
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] (estranged)|<br />
type=Semi-autonomous|<br />
founded=1922|<br />
bishop=[[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metr. Laurus]]|<br />
see=New York|<br />
hq=New York, New York|<br />
territory=United States, worldwide|<br />
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|<br />
music=[[Russian Chant]]|<br />
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|<br />
population=150,000|<br />
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Orthodox Church]] formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Formation and early years===<br />
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.<br />
<br />
Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres.To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].<br />
<br />
On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])<br />
<br />
===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===<br />
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}<br />
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<br />
<br />
After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.<br />
<br />
===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===<br />
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] following sexual abuse scandals regarding the monastery's leadership. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)<br />
<br />
It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (again regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<br />
<br />
===After the Soviet Fall===<br />
Since the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR has maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia, which has not improved relations.<br />
<br />
This has not prevented all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.<br />
<br />
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland. It now has about 100 worshiping communities in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Currently four bishops oversee these parishes. Two of them broke with Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] in New York in April 1994. They founded their own temporary administration called the ''Free Orthodox Church of Russia'' and ordained three additional bishops. They were reconciled in November 1994, and the ordination of the three new bishops was declared invalid. However, some tensions remain.<br />
<br />
===Rapprochement with Moscow===<br />
Since the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement has been occurring between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits have been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and it is generally believed that the restoration of [[full communion]] is imminent.<br />
<br />
In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without success. However, there was mutal recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signalled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee has now met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.<br />
<br />
This possibility of rapprochement has led to [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name.<br />
<br />
On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].[http://www.mospat.ru/text/e_news/id/9553.html][http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html]<br />
<br />
In May 2006, the ROCOR met in its IV All-Diaspora Council, which was held at Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, California. The council consisted of clergy and lay delegates from all dioceses of the ROCOR, and adopted a resolution, expressing "great hope that in the appropriate time, the unity of the Russian Church will be restored upon the foundation of the Truth of Christ, opening for us the possibility to serve together and to commune from one Chalice."[http://www.sobor2006.com/more2.php?id=99_0_3_0_M45] <br />
<br />
Following the IV All-Diaspora Council, the Council of Bishops of the ROCOR was held. According to sources close to the council, it generally agreed with the text of the proposed "Act of Canonical Unity," but remitted it back to the Committee for Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate to rework certain aspects of the document.{{citation}} The exact nature of the elements to be worked out is unclear, but, according to sources close to the Synod of Bishops, involves, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}} <br />
<br />
On September 6, 2006 The Synod of Bishops of ROCOR decreed their confirmation and approval of the revised Act of Canonical Unity and instructed the Commission on Discussion with the Moscow Patriarchate to work jointly with the Moscow Patriarchate to work out details of the official signing of the Act. [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html] Subsequently on September 11, 2006 The Synod of Bishops of ROCOR published on ROCOR's website a clarification of their decision to confirm and approve the Act. [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html] Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia acknowledged the work of the commissions and declared that the act of reunification, while moving in the right direction, will take time. [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977]<br />
<br />
===ROCOR Today===<br />
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are five ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.<br />
<br />
There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].<br />
<br />
In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], headed by Hegumen Andronik (Kotliaroff), which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.<br />
<br />
==Ecclesiastical Status==<br />
ROCOR is currently still in ambiguously relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdiction]]s. It maintains good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].<br />
<br />
ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] is not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] has been suspended. In others, concelebration is active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches are welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There has never been a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace does not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.<br />
<br />
ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a letter from Metropolitan Cyprial of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the diptych." [http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting.html] The ROCOR still maintains communion with the Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie and with Bishop Photii of Triaditza. Many of the clergy and the faithful of ROCOR believe the Cyprianites to be [[schism]]atics and that [[concelebration]]s with them should be severed, though this attitude does not extend to the Old Calendarist jurisdictions of Romania and Bulgaria.<br />
<br />
==The Episcopacy==<br />
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 13 [[bishop]]s serving 11 [[diocese]]s throughout the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ruling bishops:<br />
* Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Ruling Bishop of the Syracuse-Holy Trinity Diocese, ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' of the Eastern part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago and Detroit|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Detroit<br />
* Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and of Great Britain<br />
* Archbishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]<br />
* Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America, Locum Tenens of the Western part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Ishim and Siberia<br />
* Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]] of Odessa and Tauria<br />
* Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Geneva and Western Europe<br />
<br />
Vicar bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar President of the Synod of Bishops for the Old Believers<br />
* Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Manhattan, Vicar Bishop of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese, Administrator of parishes in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands<br />
* Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Vicar of the Chicago Diocese<br />
<br />
Retired bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Ambroise (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambroise (Cantacuzène)]], Retired<br />
<br />
Former bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed [[September 13]], 2005 [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html])<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)<br />
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)<br />
*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=49&IndexView=toc The Eastern Christian Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (by Ronald Roberson, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar)<br />
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]<br />
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/svassasobor.htm "Glory be to God, Who Did Not Abandon His Church": The Self-Awareness of ROCOR at the Third All-Diaspora Council of 1974], by Nun Vassa (Larin)<br />
<!--- * [http://www.pravos.org/index.htm Commission Dialogue Moscow Patriarchate-Church outside Russia] ---><br />
*[http://www.sobor2006.com/ IV All-Diaspora Council] (official site)<br />
<br />
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Harold_of_England&diff=29034Harold of England2006-04-18T18:47:52Z<p>Maximos: /* Norman Conspiracy with the Pope */</p>
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<div>King '''Harold II of England''' (ca. 1022 - [[October 14]], 1066) was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. He was the son of Earl Godwin of Wessex, succeeded St. [[Edward the Confessor]] to the throne of England, but served as its king for less than a year, dying on the field of battle at Hastings in southern England in 1066, when England was invaded by William the Bastard ("the Conqueror"), Duke of Normandy. He ruled from [[January 5]], 1066 to [[October 14]], the day of his death. He is regarded by many Orthodox Christians as a [[passion-bearer]] or even [[martyr]] and as the last Orthodox king of England.<br />
[[Image:Harold.jpg|right|frame|Harold II Godwinson of England<br>(Bayeux Tapestry)]]<br />
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==Life==<br />
===Early years===<br />
Harold's father was Godwin, the powerful Earl of Wessex. Godwin was himself a son to Wulfnoth Cild, Thane of Sussex, and had married twice. His first marriage was to Thyra Sveinsdóttir (994 - 1018), a daughter of Sweyn I who was king of Denmark, Norway, and England. His second wife was Gytha Thorkelsdóttir who was a granddaughter to the legendary Swedish viking Styrbjörn Starke and great-granddaughter to Harold Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway, father of Sweyn I. This second marriage resulted in the birth of two sons, Harold and Tostig Godwinson, and a sister, Edith of Wessex (1020 - 1075) who was Queen consort of St. [[Edward the Confessor]].<br />
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Created Earl of East Anglia in 1045, Harold accompanied Godwin into exile in 1051 but helped him to regain his position a year later. When Godwin died in 1053, Harold succeeded him as Earl of Wessex (a province at that time covering the southernmost third of England). This made him the second most powerful figure in England after the king.<br />
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In 1058 Harold also became Earl of Hereford, and he replaced his late father as the focus of opposition to growing Norman influence in England under the restored Saxon monarchy (1042 - 1066) of [[Edward the Confessor]], who had spent more than a quarter of a century in exile in Normandy. <br />
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He gained glory in a series of campaigns (1062 - 1063) against the ruler of Gwynedd, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, who had conquered all of Wales; this conflict ended with Gruffydd's defeat (and death at the hands of his own troops) in 1063. About 1064, Harold married Edith, daughter of the Earl of Mercia, and former wife of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. By Harold, Edith had two sons - possibly twins - named Harold and Ulf, both of whom survived into adulthood and probably ended their lives in exile. Harold also had several illegitimate children by his famous mistress (or wife, according to Danish law), Ealdgyth Swan-neck (or "Edith Swan-neck" or "Edith Swanneck").<br />
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===1066===<br />
In 1065 Harold supported Northumbrian rebels against his brother Tostig who replaced him with Morcar. This strengthened his acceptability as Edward's successor, but fatally divided his own family, driving Tostig into alliance with King Harald Hardrada ("Hard Reign") of Norway. <br />
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Upon Edward the Confessor's death ([[January 5]], 1066), Harold claimed that Edward had promised him the crown on his deathbed, and the Witenagemot (the assembly of the kingdom's leading notables) approved him for coronation as king, which took place the following day, [[January 6]].<br />
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However, the country was invaded, by both Harald of Norway and William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, who claimed that he had been promised the English crown by both Edward (probably in 1052) and Harold, who had been shipwrecked in Ponthieu, Normandy in 1064 or 1065. It was alleged that, on the latter occasion, William forced Harold to swear to support his claim to the throne, only revealing after the event that the box on which he had made his oath contained holy [[relics]]. After Harold's death, Normans were quick to point out that in accepting the crown of England, Harold had perjured himself of this oath.<br />
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Invading what is now Yorkshire in September, 1066, Harald Hardrada and Tostig defeated the English earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria at the Battle of Fulford near York ([[September 20]]), but were in turn defeated and slain by Harold's army five days later at the Battle of Stamford Bridge ([[September 25]]).<br />
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Harold now forced his army to march 240 miles to intercept William, who had landed perhaps 7000 men in Sussex, southern England three days later on [[September 28]]. Harold established his army in hastily built earthworks near Hastings. The two armies clashed near Hastings on [[October 14]], where after a hard fight Harold was killed and his forces routed. According to tradition, and as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye. Whether he did, indeed, die in this manner (a death associated in the middle ages with perjurers), or was killed by the sword, will never be known. Harold's wife, Edith Swanneck, was called to identify the body, which she did by some private mark (the face being destroyed) known only to herself. Although one Norman account claims that Harold's body was buried in a grave overlooking the Saxon shore, it is more likely that he was buried in his church of Waltham Holy Cross in Essex. <br />
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After the Conquest, some of Harold's family fled to Kievan Rus', where his illegitimate daughter Gytha of Wessex married Vladimir Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kievan Rus', and is ancestor to dynasties of Galicia, Smolensk and Yaroslavl, whose scions include Modest Mussorgsky and Peter Kropotkin. Consequently, the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] allegedly recently recognized Harold as a [[martyr]] with [[October 14]] as his [[feast day]].<br />
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==Legacy==<br />
A cult of hero worship rose around Harold and by the 12th century legend says that Harold had indeed survived the battle, had spent two years in Winchester after the battle recovering from his wounds, and then traveled to Germany where he spent years wandering as a pilgrim. As an old man he returned to England and lived as a hermit in a cave near Dover. As he lay dying, he confessed that although he went by the name of Christian, he had been born Harold Godwineson. Various versions of this story persisted throughout the Middle Ages, and have little claim to fact.<br />
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Literary interest in Harold revived in the 19th century with the play ''Harold'' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1876) and the novel ''Last of the Saxon Kings'' by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1848). Rudyard Kipling wrote a story, ''The tree of justice'' (1910), describing how an old man who turns out to be Harold is brought before Henry I of England. E. A. Freeman wrote a serious history in ''History of the Norman Conquest of England'' (1870-1879) in which Harold is seen as a great English hero. By the 21st century Harold's reputation remains tied, as it has always been, with subjective views of the rightness or wrongness of the Norman conquest.<br />
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==Saint Harold?==<br />
===The Basis for Sainthood===<br />
The question of Harold's sanctity is a bit complex. History records that he led a moral life and was an honest and dutiful ruler for the English people. There probably is not, however, enough evidence of his personal sanctity based on the general conduct of his life in order for him to be numbered publicly among the saints.<br />
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Another question with regard to many western [[saint]]s is the period in which they lived. That is, do they count as Orthodox saints of the old western Church based on living before the [[Great Schism]]? Regarding the British Isles, what is known about the state of the Church there at that time is that subsequent to the Norman Invasion in 1066, church life was radically altered. Native clergy were replaced, liturgical reform enacted, and a strong emphasis on papal church control was propagated. As such, it is probably safe to say that, prior to 1066, the church of the British Isles was Orthodox, and the Normans brought the effects of the Great Schism to British soil. As such, it is probably proper to regard Harold as having been an Orthodox Christian.<br />
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The principle question regarding Harold's sanctity is whether he died as a [[passion-bearer]] (one who faces his death in a Christ-like manner) or even a [[martyr]] at Hastings. The defense of England was certainly being undertaken for political and nationalistic reasons&mdash;Englishmen had no desire to be ruled over by a foreign king (having experienced it before), so they gladly followed their native monarch in defense of their homeland. Yet did they also die for their faith?<br />
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===Papist Invaders versus Orthodox Christian Natives===<br />
Before he set out from Normandy, William had had a difficult time in getting his own Norman barons to follow him in his quest to gain the English crown. Most considered it suicide, if only because of the difficulty in making the crossing over the English Channel in the relatively primitive boats that they used. Thus, William had a problem in terms of gaining military assistance in his campaign. The solution to that problem was presented by one of his advisers, Lanfranc, a Lombard abbot and monastic teacher who had previously helped gain papal approval of William's uncanonical marriage to his wife, Matilda.<br />
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Lanfranc's solution (for which he was eventually awarded the position of Archbishop of Canterbury after the Conquest) came in the form of casting the invasion as a crusade to bring the English church into submission to the [[papacy]]. David Howarth, in his ''1066 The Year of the Conquest'', explains:<br />
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:The invasion should not be seen as a merely secular conquest; its highest aim should be, or appear to be, the reformation of the English church. It should become a crusade, a holy war to bring back an errant church to Rome. Lanfranc himself, or the Norman church as a body, was willing to bring accusations against the church of England (p. 100).<br />
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Whether the English church was indeed errant can be debated. As with much of the Church at the time, corruption was certainly present, but that was by no means unique to England or therefore deserving of military invasion. Indeed, even considering how remote England's church was from Rome, it had for nearly 200 years collected and sent to Rome the offering known as ''Peter's Pence'', and it had always encouraged pilgrimage to Rome by English Christians. As such, the church in England had been remarkably loyal to Rome. Howarth continues:<br />
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:Perhaps its principal sin was merely to be different: much of its scholarship and all of its pastoral work were in English instead of Latin, and it was easy for other churchmen to suspect that schisms and heresies were hidden by such a barbarous language. But finally, whatever was said against it, the fact remained that the English then were a devoutly religious people and were satisfied on the whole that their church provided for their spiritual needs (ibid.).<br />
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===Norman Conspiracy with the Pope===<br />
Despite the rather shaky grounds on which accusations of English ecclesiastical disloyalty were founded, this was the reason for the invasion which was submitted to the Pope. It was probably something of an afterthought for William's plan, and certainly neither William nor Lanfranc were in a position to judge the English church. Yet the excuse was precisely what the invaders&mdash;and the Pope&mdash;needed to further their cause, as Howarth says:<br />
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:To William, it gave a chance of solving the problem of raising an army: he could promise land and booty to men who took part, but in a holy war the church could promise something more&mdash;salvation. To Lanfranc, it gave a chance to offer the Holy See an expansion of power it had been seeking in vain... Lanfranc could therefore ask for papal blessing of William's invasion and offer something in return: William's claim could be submitted to the judgement of the Pope. This would be the first time a pope had been asked to adjudicate a disputed royal succession, and would create a precedent of enormous importance to [Cardinal] Hildebrand... And the present Pope, as it happened, had once been [Lanfranc's] student at [the monastic college of] Bec (p. 101).<br />
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Hildebrand had previously been at the head of efforts to disentangle the election of popes from secular politics, thus bolstering the power and solidity of the papacy. (He was eventually elected pope himself, styled Pope Gregory VII, and is a saint in the [[Roman Catholic Church]].) Such an opportunity as Lanfranc's proposal presented to increase the papacy's influence over secular politics could not be missed. Being the most skilful politician at the Vatican, he saw to it that a papal court was held in Rome ("without the slightest reference to the facts," says Howarth on p. 102) at which Harold was entirely unrepresented. As Howarth says:<br />
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:It is not recorded whether he was invited to send an advocate, but it is very unlikely. To ride from Rome to Bosham [where Harold was in England] and back again to Rome suggests a month on the road, and nobody was prepared to waste as much time as that. If he had been invited, he and the witan would certainly have answered, quite correctly, that the choice of a King of England had nothing to do with the Pope (p. 102).<br />
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The court ruled against Harold, and the Pope<br />
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:accepted that William's purpose was to reform the church, he sent his blessing on this holy endeavour, a papal banner to carry into battle, and a ring for William to wear on the expedition which contained a relic of St Peter himself. There was one condition: it was understood that William would hold England as a vassal of the Pope. William had not the least intention in the world of doing anything of the sort; but he accepted the ring and the banner and said nothing. And those, as things turned out, were the most powerful weapons he took to England (ibid.).<br />
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===''Harold Rex Interfectus Est'': Harold's Defeat at Hastings===<br />
[[Image:Harold_dies.jpg|right|thumb|300px|''Harold Rex Interfectus Est''<br>"King Harold is killed"<br>(Bayeux Tapestry)]]<br />
After Harold had returned from his brilliant defeat of Harald of Norway in the north of England, he learned quickly of the Norman invasion. He'd been suspecting it for some time, but it fell hard on the heels of victory at Stamford Bridge that he would have to defend his country in the south, as well.<br />
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Upon his return to southern England, he soon received word from William's forces that he had been excommunicated by the Pope and that the Normans carried papal blessing to invade England. All evidence suggests that this news utterly demoralized King Harold. While he had been a powerful commander against the Norsemen, upon hearing news of the alleged excommunication, he declared, "May the Lord now decide between William and me" (Howarth, p. 164), and before going to battle, "the terrible rumour was starting to spread that the King was excommunicated and the same fate hung over any man who fought for him" (ibid., 165).<br />
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Records of how the battle actually went suggest that instead of the dynamic fighting force Harold had inspired just days before, the English mainly stood in one place and were slaughtered. Harold had been transformed by his betrayal by the Pope, and his defeat by William (which from a purely military standpoint was by no means assured) marked the end of the ecclesial distinctiveness of the English church and its subsequent capitulation to Rome under Norman rule. Lanfranc himself, as Archbishop of Canterbury, led the Latinization and Normanization of the English church, while William brutalized the English people.<br />
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===Harold's Cultus===<br />
Although history's record of Harold's defeat can be interpreted to suggest that King Harold and his men died in defense of the Orthodox Christian faith, aside from the undocumented allegation that the [[Church of Russia]] has glorified him, there is no record of a [[cultus]] developing around Harold. This fact is not necessarily evidence against his place among the saints, especially since the Norman domination of the English church would have utterly squelched the liturgical veneration of the fallen Saxon king.<br />
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In our own day, however, some Orthodox Christians&mdash;especially those who venerate the saints of the British Isles&mdash;have begun to regard Harold as being truly a saint, that he and his men died defending their land from invasion by a foreign faith. Perhaps we may someday see a service written to him and popular veneration grow in the Orthodox Church, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians.<br />
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==Sources==<br />
* ''1066 The Year of the Conquest'' (1977) by David Howarth (ISBN 0880290145)<br />
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*[[Wikipedia:Harold II of England]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Lanfranc]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Norman Conquest]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:William I of England]]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/ocet55.htm Excerpt from: Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition]<br />
*[http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/AngloSaxon/FallOrthodoxEngland.htm The Fall of Orthodox England] by Vladimir Moss<br />
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[[Category:Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Saints]]<br />
[[Category:Emperors and Kings]]<br />
[[Category:Saints]]<br />
[[Category:Featured Articles]]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Talk:Holy_Synod_in_Resistance&diff=26861Talk:Holy Synod in Resistance2006-02-24T17:18:16Z<p>Maximos: </p>
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<div>I've just read this on ROCOR's news page: "On February 21, the Synod of Bishops (ROCOR) examined the latest letter received from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili and the Holy Synod of Resistance, in which it was declared that their Synod fully and decisively ceased all ecclesiastical communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. According to this letter, last year the name of His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus was "struck from the diptych." As a result, the Synod of Bishops decreed to recognize as sundered our communion with the Synod of the Resistance under Metropolitan Cyprian, which will be reported to the Heads of the Old-calendar Churches of Rumania and Bulgaria by a clerical emissary of the Russian Church Abroad."</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_Russia&diff=23016Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia2005-12-15T17:08:08Z<p>Maximos: /* Rapprochement with Moscow */ punctuation cleanup</p>
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<div>{{diocese|<br />
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|<br />
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] (estranged)|<br />
type=Semi-autonomous|<br />
founded=1922|<br />
bishop=[[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metr. Laurus]]|<br />
see=New York|<br />
hq=New York, New York|<br />
territory=United States, worldwide|<br />
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|<br />
music=[[Russian Chant]]|<br />
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|<br />
population=150,000|<br />
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ ROCOR]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Orthodox Church]] formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution.<br />
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==History==<br />
===Formation and early years===<br />
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.<br />
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Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres.To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].<br />
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On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])<br />
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===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===<br />
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}<br />
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<br />
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After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.<br />
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===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===<br />
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] following sexual abuse scandals regarding the monastery's leadership. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)<br />
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It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (again regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<br />
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===After the Soviet Fall===<br />
Since the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR has maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia, which has not improved relations.<br />
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This has not prevented all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.<br />
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After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland. It now has about 100 worshiping communities in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Currently four bishops oversee these parishes. Two of them broke with Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] in New York in April 1994. They founded their own temporary administration called the ''Free Orthodox Church of Russia'' and ordained three additional bishops. They were reconciled in November 1994, and the ordination of the three new bishops was declared invalid. However, some tensions remain.<br />
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===Rapprochement with Moscow===<br />
Since the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement has been occurring between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits have been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and it is generally believed that the restoration of [[full communion]] is imminent.<br />
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In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the Moscow Patriarchate sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without success. However, there was mutal recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signalled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, visited Moscow and met with Patriarch Alexei. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee has now met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.<br />
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This possibility of rapprochement has led to [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name.<br />
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On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].[http://www.mospat.ru/text/e_news/id/9553.html][http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html]<br />
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===ROCOR Today===<br />
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are five ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.<br />
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There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].<br />
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In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], headed by Hegumen Andronik (Kotliaroff), which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.<br />
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==Ecclesiastical Status==<br />
ROCOR is currently still in ambiguously relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdictions]]. It maintains good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].<br />
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ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] is not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] has been suspended. In others, concelebration is active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches are welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There has never been a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace does not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.<br />
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ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In recent years, the relationship with the Cyprianite synod has been strained, and ROCOR has reportedly received threatening letters from the synod of Metropolitan Cyprian regarding the rapprochement between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, which both Russian bodies regard as an internal matter of the Russian church. Many of the clergy and the faithful of ROCOR believe the Cyprianites to be [[schism]]atics and that [[concelebration]]s with them should be severed, though this attitude does not extend to the Old Calendarist jurisdictions of Romania and Bulgaria.<br />
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==The Episcopacy==<br />
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 13 [[bishop]]s serving 10 [[diocese]]s throughout the world.<br />
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Ruling bishops:<br />
* Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Ruling Bishop of the Syracuse-Holy Trinity Diocese, ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' of the Eastern part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago and Detroit|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Detroit<br />
* Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain<br />
* Archbishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]<br />
* Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America, Locum Tenens of the Western part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Bishop [[Ambroise (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambroise (Cantacuzène)]] of Geneva and Western Europe<br />
* Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Ishim and Siberia<br />
* Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]] of Simferopol and Crimea<br />
<br />
<br />
Vicar bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar President of the Synod of Bishops for the Old Believers<br />
* Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Manhattan, Vicar Bishop of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Boston|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Boston, Vicar of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Vicar of the Chicago Diocese<br />
<br />
<br />
Former bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed [[September 13]], 2005 [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html])<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]<br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)<br />
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)<br />
*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=49&IndexView=toc The Eastern Christian Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (by Ronald Roberson, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar)<br />
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]<br />
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]</div>Maximoshttps://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_Russia&diff=22908Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia2005-12-14T02:06:44Z<p>Maximos: /* Rapprochement with Moscow */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{diocese|<br />
name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|<br />
jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] (estranged)|<br />
type=Semi-autonomous|<br />
founded=1922|<br />
bishop=[[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Metr. Laurus]]|<br />
see=New York|<br />
hq=New York, New York|<br />
territory=United States, worldwide|<br />
language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|<br />
music=[[Russian Chant]]|<br />
calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|<br />
population=150,000|<br />
website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ ROCOR]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Orthodox Church]] formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Formation and early years===<br />
In 1920, the Soviet government had revealed that it was quite hostile to the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]. Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], Patriarch of Moscow, issued an ''[[Ukaz No. 362|ukaz]]'' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate organize and govern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.<br />
<br />
Among most Russian [[bishop]]s and other hierarchs, this was interpreted as an authorization to form an emergency [[synod]] of all Russian Orthodox hierarchs to permit the Church to continue to function outside Russia and provide spiritual care for nearly three million Russian emigres.To add urgency to the synod's motives, in May of 1922, the Soviet government proclaimed its own "[[Living Church]]" as a "reform" of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].<br />
<br />
On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia gave their blessing to the establishment, in Serbia, of a Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, the foundation of ROCOR. In November of 1922, Russian Orthodox in North America held a synod and elected Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] as the primate of an autonomous Russian exarchate in the Americas (also known as the ''Metropolia'', which eventually became the [[Orthodox Church in America]]). Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States erupted between the patriarchal exarchate, ROCOR (sometimes known as "the Synod" in this period), and the [[Living Church]], which asserted that it was the legitimate (i.e., Russian-government-recognized) owner of all Orthodox properties in the USA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]])<br />
<br />
===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===<br />
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}<br />
In 1927, ROCOR declared "The part of the Russian Church that finds itself abroad considers itself an inseparable, spiritually united branch of the Great Russian Church. It does not separate itself from its Mother Church and does not consider itself autocephalous," indicating that ROCOR considered itself to speak for all of the Russian Orthodox outside of Russia. The Church Abroad also considered itself to be the free voice of the enslaved Mother Church in the Soviet Union.<br />
<br />
After the end of World War II, the [[Church of Russia|Patriarchate of Moscow]] broached the possibility of reunification between Moscow and ROCOR, presumably at the behest of the Soviet government, which had adopted a more conciliatory attitude towards religion during the war and was presumably trying to capitalize on its wartime alliances to win a more respectable position internationally. This was not deemed possible at that time by ROCOR, given that Russia was still under communist dictatorship and the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.<br />
<br />
===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===<br />
In the 1960s, ROCOR took under its care [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] (today the principal [[monastery]] of [[HOCNA]]) after the latter had broken communion from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] following sexual abuse scandals regarding the monastery's leadership. At some point later, they gradually assumed responsibility for much of ROCOR's external communications and publications. (The monks of Holy Transfiguration were English-speaking and the ROCOR bishops in America mainly were not.)<br />
<br />
It is believed by many that the allegedly sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which frequently misrepresented the official policies and views of the Synod of Bishops. In the early 1980s the hierarchs of the Synod began to correct and censor the narrow-minded and incorrect views of the followers of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Subsequently this group broke communion with ROCOR (again regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadership), styling themselves the [[HOCNA|Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA). They became affiliated with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]], a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke from the [[Church of Greece]]. According to Fr. Alexey Young (author of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), the association of ROCOR and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCOR.<br />
<br />
===After the Soviet Fall===<br />
Since the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR has maintained its independence from the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] on the grounds that the Church inside Russia had been unacceptably compromised. Some accusations went so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR also attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia, which has not improved relations.<br />
<br />
This has not prevented all communication, however. For many years there had been unofficial and warm contacts between the two groups. In 2001, the Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation was over purely political matters. ROCOR's response expressed concern over continued Muscovite involvement in [[ecumenism]], which was seen as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, this was far more friendly discourse than had been seen previously.<br />
<br />
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland. It now has about 100 worshiping communities in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Currently four bishops oversee these parishes. Two of them broke with Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] in New York in April 1994. They founded their own temporary administration called the ''Free Orthodox Church of Russia'' and ordained three additional bishops. They were reconciled in November 1994, and the ordination of the three new bishops was declared invalid. However, some tensions remain.<br />
<br />
===Rapprochement with Moscow===<br />
Since the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement has been occurring between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits have been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and it is generally believed that the restoration of [[full communion]] is imminent.<br />
<br />
In October 2001 Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]] and the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]] sent a letter to the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia calling for reconciliation, but without success. However, there was mutal recognition of grace in the sacraments of each church. Then, in November 2003, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia consisting of three bishops and two priests paid an official visit to the Moscow Patriarchate. This signalled a warming in relations, and in May 2004 for the first time since the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] visited Moscow and met with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Patriarch [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]]. The two church leaders established a joint committee to examine ways to overcome the division between their churches. This committee has now met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.<br />
<br />
This possibility of rapprochement has led to [[schism]] from ROCOR, taking the self-retired Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly]] (Metropolitan Laurus's predecessor) with it (regarded by many in ROCOR as having been abducted by the schismatics). The resultant body refers to itself as the ''[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]]'' (ROCE/ROCiE), though it often still uses the ''ROCOR'' name.<br />
<br />
On [[June 21]], 2005, it was announced simultaneously by both the ROCOR and the MP on their respective websites that rapprochement talks were leading toward the resumption of full relations between the ROCOR and the MP and that the ROCOR would be given the status of [[autonomy]].[http://www.mospat.ru/text/e_news/id/9553.html][http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html]<br />
<br />
===ROCOR Today===<br />
ROCOR currently has over 400 [[parish]]es as well as [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 40 countries throughout the world, served by nearly 600 [[priest]]s. In North America, it has approximately 133 parishes in the US and 22 in Canada. There are five ROCOR communities in the United Kingdom and 21 in [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]. There are also roughly 100 communities which owe allegiance to ROCOR in Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union.<br />
<br />
There are five ROCOR monasteries for men and women in North America, the most important and largest of which is [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)]], to which is attached ROCOR's seminary, [[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary]].<br />
<br />
In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], headed by Hegumen Andronik (Kotliaroff), which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries.<br />
<br />
==Ecclesiastical Status==<br />
ROCOR is currently still in ambiguously relative [[Eucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, not always exchanging [[full communion]] with the majority of Orthodox [[jurisdictions]]. It maintains good relations, intercommunion, and [[concelebration]] with the [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], and the [[Church of Sinai]].<br />
<br />
ROCOR's status with regard to [[full communion]] is not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] has been suspended. In others, concelebration is active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches are welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There has never been a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace does not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of Holy Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.<br />
<br />
ROCOR formerly maintained communion with a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (True Orthodox Church of Greece, so-called "Cyprianites"), the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania]] (Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In recent years, the relationship with the Cyprianite synod has been strained, and ROCOR has reportedly received threatening letters from the synod of Metropolitan Cyprian regarding the rapprochement between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate, which both Russian bodies regard as an internal matter of the Russian church. Many of the clergy and the faithful of ROCOR believe the Cyprianites to be [[schism]]atics and that [[concelebration]]s with them should be severed, though this attitude does not extend to the Old Calendarist jurisdictions of Romania and Bulgaria.<br />
<br />
==The Episcopacy==<br />
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has 13 [[bishop]]s serving 10 [[diocese]]s throughout the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ruling bishops:<br />
* Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Skurla)]] of New York and Eastern America, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Ruling Bishop of the Syracuse-Holy Trinity Diocese, ''[[Locum Tenens]]'' of the Eastern part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Archbishop [[Alypy (Gamanovich) of Chicago and Detroit|Alypy (Gamanovich)]] of Chicago and Detroit<br />
* Archbishop [[Mark (Arndt) of Berlin|Mark (Arndt)]] of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain<br />
* Archbishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion (Kapral)]] of Sydney, [[Diocese of Australia and New Zealand (ROCOR)|Australia and New Zealand]]<br />
* Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and Western America, Locum Tenens of the Western part of the Diocese of Montreal and Canada<br />
* Bishop [[Ambroise (Cantacuzène) of Geneva|Ambroise (Cantacuzène)]] of Geneva and Western Europe<br />
* Bishop [[Evtikhii (Kurochkin) of Ishim|Evtikhii (Kurochkin)]] of Ishim and Siberia<br />
* Bishop [[Agafangel (Pashkovsky) of Simferopol|Agafangel (Pashkovsky)]] of Simferopol and Crimea<br />
<br />
<br />
Vicar bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie|Daniel (Alexandrow)]] of Erie, Vicar President of the Synod of Bishops for the Old Believers<br />
* Bishop [[Gabriel (Chemodakov) of Manhattan|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]] of Manhattan, Vicar Bishop of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Boston|Michael (Donskoff)]] of Boston, Vicar of the Eastern American and New York Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart|Agapit (Gorachek)]] of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese<br />
* Bishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Cleveland, Vicar of the Chicago Diocese<br />
<br />
<br />
Former bishops:<br />
* Bishop [[Alexander (Mileant) of Buenos Aires|Alexander (Mileant)]] of Buenos Aires and South America (reposed [[September 13]], 2005 [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/news05/balexdeath.html])<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]<br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)<br />
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)<br />
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)<br />
*[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=49&IndexView=toc The Eastern Christian Churches: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (by Ronald Roberson, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar)<br />
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]<br />
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]</div>Maximos