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It is believed by many that the alleged sectarian spirit of ROCOR came into its flowering during this time and under the influence of this monastery, which has subsequently broken formerly maintained communion with ROCOR a few [[Old Calendarist]] jurisdictions, including the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (again regarding allegations True Orthodox Church of sexual abuse by the monastery's leadershipGreece, so-called "Cyprianites"), styled itself the [[Holy Old Calendar Orthodox Church in North Americaof Romania]](Synod of Metropolitan Vlasie), and became affiliated with the [[True Old Calendar Orthodox Church of GreeceBulgaria]] (Bishop Photii). In 2006, communion with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]]was suspended, after the ROCOR Synod received a Greek Old Calendarist group which broke letter from Metropolitan Cyprian of Oropos and Fili stating that Metropolitan Laurus' name had been "struck from the [[Church of GreeceDiptychs|diptych]]. According to Fr"<ref>[http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2006/2ensynodmeeting. Alexey Young (author html A Regular Session of the Synod of ''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: A History and Chronology''), Bishops is Held]</ref> Relations with the association Synod of ROCOR Metropolitan Vlasie and Holy Transfiguration Monastery resulted in deep damage to ROCORwith Bishop Photii of Triaditza were subsequently severed as well.
===After the Soviet Fall===Since the end As of 2007, with the [[Soviet Union]]reconciliation with Moscow, the ROCOR has strived to maintain its independence from the is now in communion with [[Church List of Russiaautocephalous and autonomous churches|Russian Orthodox Churchall of mainstream Orthodoxy]]. One ground cited is that by virtue of its incorporation into the Church inside Russia had permitted itself to be unacceptably compromised. Some accusations go so far as to claim that the entire hierarchy within Russia were active KGB agents. ROCOR has attempted to set up missions in post-Soviet Russia, which has not improved relationsMoscow Patriarchate.
This has not prevented all communication. In 2001, the Synod ==The Episcopacy==: ''See '''[[List of the Patriarchate bishops of Moscow and ROCOR exchanged formal correspondence. The Muscovite letter held the position that previous and current separation were purely political matters. ROCORRussian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]'''''The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia currently has thirteen [[bishop]]s response is that they were worried about continued Muscovite involvement in serving nine [[ecumenismdiocese]] as compromising Moscow's Orthodoxy. Neverthelessthroughout the world, this has been far more friendly a discourse than previous decades have seenalong with one retired bishop.
Since the election of ===Ruling bishops===* Metropolitan [[Laurus Mark (SkurlaArndt) of New YorkBerlin|LaurusMark (Arndt)]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process Berlin and Germany* Archbishop [[Kyrill (Dmitrieff) of rapprochement has been occurring between ROCOR San Francisco|Kyrill (Dmitrieff)]] of San Francisco and the Western America* Archbishop [[Church Gabriel (Chemodakov) of RussiaMontreal|Gabriel (Chemodakov)]]. Multiple visits have been exchanged between hierarchs of Montreal and other clergy Canada* Archbishop [[Peter (Loukianoff) of both churches, Cleveland|Peter (Loukianoff)]] of Chicago and it is generally believed that the restoration Mid-America* Bishop [[John (Bērziņš) of Caracas|John (Bērziņš)]] of Caracas and South America* Bishop [[full communionIrenei (Steenberg) of London|Irenei (Steenberg)]] is imminent.of London and Western Europe
This possibility of rapprochement has however led to ===Vicar bishops===* Bishop [[schismTheodosius (Ivashchenko) of Seattle]] from ROCOR. The resultant body refers to itself as of Seattle, Vicar of the ''Diocese of Western America* Bishop [[Russian Orthodox Church in ExileGeorge (Schaefer) of Canberra]]'' of Canberra, Vicar of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand* Bishop [[Nicholas (ROCEOlhovsky)of Manhattan]] of Manhattan, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America* Bishop Alexander of Vevey, though it often still uses Vicar of the ''ROCOR'' title.Diocese of Western Europe* Bishop Luke of Syracuse, Vicar of the Diocese of Eastern America* Bishop James of Sonora, Vicar of the Diocese of Western America
ROCOR's status with regard to ==See also==*[[full communion]] is not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and certain other Orthodox churches, though [[concelebrationOCA]] has been suspended.
Minor changes to reflect the election of Metropolitan Nicholas as protohierarch of ROCOR since the repose of Metropolitan Hilarion.
{{diocese|name=Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia|jurisdiction=[[Church of Russia|Russia]] |type=Semi-autonomous|founded=1922|bishop=[[Nicholas (Olhovsky) of Manhattan|Nicholas (Olhovsky)]], First Hierarch|see=New York|hq=New York, New York|territory=United States, worldwide|language=[[Church Slavonic]], English, German|music=[[Russian Chant]]|calendar=[[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|population=480,000<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1206001825245730.xml&coll=2 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Metropolitan Laurus, helped reunify Russian Orthodox Church], Thursday, March 20, 2008</ref>|website=[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm ROCOR]}}The '''Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia''' (also called the ''Russian Orthodox Church Abroad'', ''ROCA'', ''ROCOR'', ''the Karlovsty Synod'', or ''the Synod'') is a semi-[[autonomy|autonomous]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Orthodox ChurchMoscow Patriarchate]] originally formed in response against the policy of Bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. The ROCOR exists overlapping with previously existing [[Soviet Uniondiocese]] soon after s of the Moscow Patriarchate throughout the [[Bolshevik Revolution|Russian Revolutiondiaspora]].
==History==
===Formation and early years===
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 ''[[ukaseUkaz No. 362|ukaz]] '' (decree) that all Russian Orthodox Christians abroad currently under the authority and protection of his Patriarchate seek protection organize and guidance elsewheregovern themselves independently of the Mother Church, until such time that the Patriarchate would again be free.
Among some 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 Russiaand 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]].
On [[September 13]], 1922, Russian Orthodox hierarchs in Serbia established 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 AmericaNew 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]]). This led to Although the hierarchs of the Metropolia participated as full equals in the Synod Abroad, eventually a three-way conflict in the United States among erupted between the Exarchatepatriarchal 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]])
===The Church of the Refugees (1922-1991)===
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}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.<ref>For more on how ROCOR viewed its relationship to the Mother Church, see [http://web.archive.org/web/20030430123024/http:/orthodoxinfo.com/resistance/mpmother.htm Is the Moscow Patriarchate the "Mother Church" of the ROCOR?] by Protopresbyter Alexander Lebedeff, December 28, 2007</ref>
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 dictatorshipand the Church was still persecuted and controlled by the atheist authorities.
===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR===
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]]. 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.)
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 (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.<ref>For more on the history of this schism, see [http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/hocna_facts.htm Articles for those who wish to know the Truth about the Panteleimonite Schism and the so called "Holy Orthodox Church in North America"], December 28, 2007</ref>
===After the Soviet fall===
After the end of the Soviet Union, ROCOR 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.
This did not prevent 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.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued to establish itself in its homeland, although today, all of those parishes are either reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, or have gone into schism with one "Free Russian" group or another.
===Views on the Moscow Patriarchate===
After the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius of 1927, there were a range of opinions regarding the Moscow Patriarchate within ROCOR. A distinction must be made between the various opinions of bishops, clergy, and laity within ROCOR, and official statements from the Synod of Bishops. There was a general consensus in ROCOR that the Soviet government was manipulating the Moscow Patriarchate to one extent or another, and that under such circumstances administrative ties were impossible. There were also official statements made that the elections of the patriarchs of Moscow which occurred after 1927 were invalid because they were not conducted freely (without the interference of the Soviets) or with the participation of the entire Russian Church.<ref>See, for example, [http://www.stvladimirs.ca/library/concerning-patriarch-pimen.html Resolution of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Concerning the Election of Pimen (Isvekov) as Patriarch of Moscow, September 1/14) 1971], December 27th, 2007</ref> However, these statements only declared that ROCOR did not recognize the Patriarchs of Moscow who were elected after 1927 as being the legitimate primates of the Russian Church -- they did not declare that the Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate were illegitimate bishops, or without grace. There were, however, under the umbrella of this general consensus, various opinions about the Moscow Patriarchate, ranging for those who held the extreme view that the Moscow Patriarchate had apostatized from the Church (those in the orbit of Holy Transfiguration Monastery being the most vocal advocates of this position), to those who considered them to be innocent sufferers at the hands of the Soviets, and all points in between. Advocates of the more extreme view of the Moscow Patriarchate became increasingly strident in the 1970's, at a time when ROCOR was increasingly isolating itself from much of the rest of the Orthodox Church due to concerns over the direction of Orthodox involvement in the Ecumenical Movement. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, there wasn't a burning need to settle the question of what should be made of the status of the Moscow Patriarchate, although beginning in the mid 1980's (as the period of Glaznost began in the Soviet Union, which culminated in the ultimate collapse of the Soviet government in 1991), these questions resulted in a number of schisms, and increasingly occupied the attention of those in ROCOR.
There are certain basic facts about the official position of ROCOR that should be understood. Historically, ROCOR has always affirmed that it was an inseparable part of the Russian Church, and that it's autonomous status was only temporary, based upon [http://www.pomog.org/index.html?http://www.pomog.org/ukaz.htm Ukaz 362], until such time as the domination of the Soviet government over the affairs of the Church should cease:
:"The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an indissoluble part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and for the time until the extermination in Russia of the atheist government, is self-governing on conciliar principles in accordance with the resolution of the Patriarch, the Most Holy Synod, and the Highest Church Council [Sobor] of the Russian Church dated 7/20 November, 1920, No. 362."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/english/pages/regulations/rocorregulations.html Regulations Of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Confirmed by the Council of Bishops in 1956 and by a decision of the Council dated 5/18 June, 1964], first paragraph, December 28, 2007</ref>
Similarly, [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Metropolitan Anastasy]] wrote in his Last Will and Testament:
:"As regards the Moscow Patriarchate and its hierarchs, then, so long as they continue in close, active and benevolent cooperation with the Soviet Government, which openly professes its complete godlessness and strives to implant atheism in the entire Russian nation, then the Church Abroad, maintaining Her purity, must not have any canonical, liturgical or even simply external communion with them whatsoever, leaving each one of them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council (Sobor) of the future free Russian Church."<ref>[http://www.orthodox.net/articles/anastasy-will.html The last will and testament of Metropolitan Anastassy, 1957], December 28, 2007</ref>
ROCOR viewed the Russian Church as consisting of three parts during the Soviet period: 1. The Moscow Patriarchate, 2. the Catacomb Church, and 3. The Free Russian Church (ROCOR). The Catacomb Church had been a significant part of the Russian Church prior to World War II. Most of those in ROCOR had left Russia during or well before World War II. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred immediately after World War II—most significantly that with the election of Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow|Alexei I]], most of the Catacomb Church was reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate. By the 1970s, due to this reconciliation, as well as to continued persecution by the Soviets, there was very little left of the Catacomb Church. [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]] made this point in a letter to the 1974 [[All-Diaspora Councils|All-Diaspora Sobor]] of ROCOR, in which he stated that ROCOR should not "show solidarity with a mysterious, sinless, but also bodiless catacomb."<ref>[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/cat_1974.aspx The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974], The Orthodox Word, Nov.-Dec., 1974 (59), 235-246, December 28, 2007.</ref> The fact that the catacomb Church had essentially ceased to exist was de facto recognized when, as Communism was about to finally collapse in Russia, ROCOR began to establish "Free Russian" parishes in Russia, and to consecrate bishops to oversee such parishes, and never recognized any alleged Catacomb bishop as having a legitimate episcopacy.
Finally, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union precipitated a crisis in ROCOR, because the very reason that had initially resulted in its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate had been removed, and so the basis of the consensus that had previously united ROCOR began to unravel. There were those who did not believe that the Moscow Patriarchate was yet free from the control of the KGB, and that in any case they had not sufficiently renounced the policies of Metropolitan Sergius. There were also those who believed that regardless of the political situation in Russia, that the question of Ecumenism had become sufficient grounds for continued separation. But after the August 2000 All-Russian Sobor of the Moscow Patriarchate, in which the MP officially condemned the Branch Theory of Ecumenism, and also renounced in principle, if not in name, the policies of Metropolitan Sergius, the question of reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate become an unavoidable question that had to be resolved, one way or another.<ref>[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/statusquo.htm Status Quo, ROCOR?], December 28, 2007.</ref>
===Rapprochement with Moscow===
[[Image:Laurus alexii signing.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The signing of the [[Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|Act of Canonical Communion]] by Patr. Alexey II and Metr. Laurus]]
After the election of Metropolitan [[Laurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus]] as First Hierarch of ROCOR in 2001, a steady process of rapprochement occurred between ROCOR and the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Multiple official visits were been exchanged between hierarchs and other clergy of both churches, and the date for restoration of [[full communion]] was officially announced by both sides.
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 immediate success. However, there was mutual 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 signaled 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 met successfully on several occasions, working out the details of intercommunion between the two Church bodies.
This possibility of rapprochement led to a small [[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. A few other communities have also broken off from ROCOR, some joining with Greek [[Old Calendarists|Old Calendarist]] groups.
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]].<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/01newstucture/pagesen/articles/docs.html Documents Developed at the Joint Sessions of the Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on Discussions with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Discussions with the Moscow Patriarchate.]</ref>
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."<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/5ensobresolution.html Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]</ref>
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 Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate|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, it involved, among other things, property issues in the Holy Land.{{citation}}
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.<ref> [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktko.html The Synod of Bishops Makes a Decision on the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/9enaktexplanantion.html Clarifications on the Negotiation Process and the "Act on Canonical Communion"]</ref> 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.<ref> [http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=1977 Unification of Orthodox Church with its branch abroad will not be fast - Alexy II]</ref>
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 <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_akt.html Act of Canonical Union]</ref> with all relevant supporting documents <ref>[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/engdocuments/enmat_addendum.html Addendum to the Act of Canonical Communion], [http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/eng2006/11ensummation.html Summation of the Joint Work of the Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate]</ref> on November 1, 2006. The Act having been approved by both the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, was formally signed in Moscow on May 17, 2007, followed by a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, bringing the ROCOR into the Moscow Patriarchate.
===ROCOR Today===
ROCOR currently has 349 [[parish]]es and 21 [[monastery|monasteries]] for men and women in 32 countries throughout the world, served by 462 clergy. The distribution of parishes is as follows: 152 parishes and 8 monasteries in the United States; 42 parishes in Germany; 31 parishes and 4 monasteries in Australia; 21 parishes and 3 monasteries in Canada; 22 parishes in Indonesia; and a handful of institutions in France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South America, and New Zealand.<ref>[http://www.synod.com/ Source: Official ROCOR parish directory]</ref>
There are twelve 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]].
In concert with the [[Church of Jerusalem]], ROCOR also oversees the [http://www.jerusalem-mission.org/ Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem], which acts as caretaker to three holy sites in Palestine, all of which are monasteries. ===Holy Transfiguration Monastery and ROCOR=Ecclesiastical status before 2007==In Until the late 1970sreconciliation with Moscow in 2007, the ROCOR took under its care was in relative [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (BrooklineEucharist]]ic isolation from much of the Orthodox world, Massachusetts)not always exchanging [[full communion]] (today with the principal majority of Orthodox [[monasteryjurisdiction]] of s. It maintained good relations, intercommunion, and [[HOCNAconcelebration]]) after with the latter had broken communion from [[Church of Serbia]], the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Church of AmericaJerusalem]] following sexual abuse scandals regarding , and the monastery[[Church of Sinai]]. Before the reconciliation, ROCOR's leadershipstatus with regard to [[full communion]] was not entirely clear-cut. There was never a formal declaration of a break in communion made between ROCOR and most other Orthodox churches, though in many dioceses [[concelebration]] had been suspended. At some point laterIn others, concelebration was active. A formal declaration of breaking communion with the OCA was issued by the members ROCOR Synod after the Moscow Patriarchate issued the Tomos of this monastery Autocephaly to the OCA. (See: [[ROCOR and OCA]].) Generally Orthodox Christians from all local Orthodox churches were given responsibility for much welcome to the chalice in ROCOR churches. There was never a declaration from the ROCOR synod that grace did not exist in the [[New Calendar]] jurisdictions, in spite of statements to the contrary by the followers of ROCOR's external communications and publicationHoly Transfiguation Monastery in Boston when they were still with the Synod.
===Retired bishops===
* Bishop [[Michael (Donskoff) of Geneva|Michael (Donskoff)]]
* Bishop [[Jerome (Shaw)]]
==Ecclesiastic StatusFirst Hierarchs==ROCOR is currently still * Metropolitan [[Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev|Anthony (Khrapovitsky)]] (reposed on August 10, 1936, in ambiguously relative Sremsky Karlovtsy, Serbia)* Metropolitan [[EucharistAnastasy (Gribanovsky) of Kishinev|Anastasy (Gribanovsky)]]ic isolation from much (reposed on May 22, 1965)* Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of the Orthodox worldNew York|Philaret (Voznesensky)]] (reposed on November 21, not exchanging 1985)* Metropolitan [[full communionVitaly (Ustinov) of New York|Vitaly (Ustinov)]] with the majority of Orthodox (reposed on September 25, 2006, in Mansonville, Canada)* Metropolitan [[jurisdictionsLaurus (Skurla) of New York|Laurus (Škurla)]]. It maintains good relations with the (reposed on March 16, 2008)* Metropolitan [[Church Hilarion (Kapral) of SerbiaNew York|Hilarion (Kapral)]] and the (reposed on May 16, 2022).* Metropolitan [[Church of JerusalemNicholas_(Olhovsky)_of_Manhattan|Nicholas (Olhovsky)]].
==Notes==
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>
==External Linkslinks==
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/ Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, Russian)
*[http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/englishsynod/ indexeng.htm Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia] (Official site, English)
*[http://www.roca.org/ ROCA: A collection of Russian Orthodox Materials] (Unofficial site)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/roca_history.aspx History of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad], by St. [[John Maximovitch]]
*[http://gnisios.narod.ru/bisrocor.html Bishops of the ROCOR]
*[http://www.synod.com/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 [[Vassa (Larin)|Nun Vassa (Larin)]]
<!--- * [http://www.pravos.org/index.htm Commission Dialogue Moscow Patriarchate-Church outside Russia] --->
*[http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/voicesofreason.htm Voices of Reason], a collection of articles in response to those who oppose the reconciliation of ROCOR with the MP
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