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Orthodox Church of France

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[[Image:Kovalevsky-Maximovitch.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Bp. [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis]] and St. [[John Maximovitch]] in 1964]]After some years of isolation, Kovalevsky's group came under the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] between 1959 and 1966, and Kovalevsky himself was consecrated with the title of Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire de Saint-Denis]] in 1964. During this time, the Eglise Orthodoxe de France received considerable encouragement from St. [[John Maximovitch]] (who was ROCOR's representative in Western Europe at the time), and his death in 1966 was a serious blow to these French Orthodox Christians, who had enjoyed an influential and holy advocate in St. John.
Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate's Western rite withered and came to an end, but Bishop Jean's church continued to thrive, though after St. John's death in 1966, they were again isolated from the other churches. Bishop Jean died in 1970, and then in 1972 the [[Church of Romania]] took the Eglise Orthodoxe de France under its [[omophorion]]. Gilles Bertrand-Hardy was consecrated as Bishop [[Germain (Bertrand-Hardy) of Saint-Denis|Germain de Saint-Denis]], and the restored Gallican rite became the regular liturgy used in the many small French Orthodox [[parish]]es established throughout France. In 1993, after a lengthy conflict with the Romanian holy synod regarding alleged canonical irregularities, the church again found itself in isolation from the other Orthodox churches by the withdrawal of Romania's protection for the churchand the formal deposition of Bishop Germain by the Holy Synod. The Romanian patriarchate established a [[deanery]] under Bishop Germain's brother Archpriest Gregoire to minister to those parishes formed by the priests and laity that chose to stay with Romania.  Some years later, after a great scandal caused by the revelation inside the E.C.O.F of the marriage of the so-called Bishop Germain with a divorced woman, other priests and parishes led by Archpriest Jean-Pierre Pahud left the French Church and formed the ''Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental'' (UACORO) (the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations). After asking the Romanian Holy Synod which canonical status was Bishop Germain's after 1993 separation, the Secretary of the Holy Synod published a document confirming Bishop Germain was suspended "a divinis" (deposed) and reduced to the laity state, so this group left the E.C.O.F and began negotiations with the [[Church of Serbia]] to be taken under its omophorion. Talks officially began in September of 2004.[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.co.uk/Petroc/Michael04.htm] The intended outcome of these negotiations is that the UACORO be accepted as part of the Church of Serbia's Diocese of France and Western Europe.[http://www.spc.yu/Vesti-2004/12/14-12-04-e.html]This was done in May of 2005. Priests and faithfuls were accepted, not as a group or a deanery, instead of the french deanery of Romanian Orthodox Church, but were received one by one. Their main parish is in Asnières, near Paris.The E.C.O.F is now a little group of clergy and faithfulls, led by "Bishop" Germain (Gilles Bertrand Hardy) without any relationships with the canonical Orthodox Church in France.
Some years later, other priests and parishes led by Archpriest Jean-Pierre Pahud left the French Church and formed the ''Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental'' (UACORO) (the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations) and began negotiations with the [[Church of Serbia]] to be taken under its omophorion. Talks officially began in September of 2004.[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.co.uk/Petroc/Michael04.htm] The intended outcome of these negotiations is that the UACORO be accepted as part of the Church of Serbia's Diocese of France and Western Europe.[http://www.spc.yu/Vesti-2004/12/14-12-04-e.html]
==External links==
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