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The ROCE was led by Metropolitan [[Vitaly (Ustinov) of New York]], who had retired as the primate of the ROCOR, but passed away on [[September 25]], 2006. Upon the formation of the ROCE Metr. Vitaly was declared by it to have been retired forcibly by his enemies in ROCOR. According to their description of events, he then removed to Canada, where he governed the ROCE. It is contrarily claimed by critics of this jurisdiction that the aged Vitaly was kidnapped and was essentially a figurehead, being unfit for [[bishop|episcopal]] governance. Courts in Canada and New York have rejected this claim after taking into account multiple court-mandated psychiatric evaluations.<ref>New York Supreme Court, Part 34, Index No. 500180/2001, Chemodakov v. Oustinow, p. 11</ref> LIE: The actual video footage of the abduction can be seen on youtube and other sources. However, it should be noted that the erratic behavior of Metropolitan Vitaly caused several factions of the ROCE to claim at various times the very thing that they denied earlier&mdash;namely, that the metropolitan was being taken advantage of by unscrupulous people, and so various epistles, actions, or ukazes should be ignored. <ref>For example, on the "official" ROCE site that is under the control of Anthony Orlov, we find [http://www.mansonville.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=97&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 this statement] claiming that a "group of common thugs led by L. D. Rosnyansky [had] isolated the First Hierarch against his will from his Assistant and members present at the Sobor..." (August 16, 2006)[http://www.mansonville.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=97&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0]; and then on [http://www.mansonville.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=95&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 this page], we find claims that the metropolitan was being taken advantage of by these same people, and that these people managed to get Metropolitan Vitaly to sign documents he would not have agreed to.[http://www.mansonville.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=95&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0] It should be noted that these "thugs" are the same people who talked Metropolitan Vitaly into leaving the ROCOR Synod immediately after the election of Metropolitan Laurus, which he had taken part in, and initially approved of.[https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?A2=ind0111A&L=orthodox&P=R6638&D=1&O=D&m=54423] Then on the rival "official" web site of the ROCIE, we find [http://www.rocor-v.com/rocor/roceofficial.html this letter], in which a group of bishops in Russia are condemned for having somehow "managed to acquire [Metropolitan Vitaly's] written blessing to perform their proposed episcopal elevations and to create an ecclesiastical administration in the form of some sort of parallel Synod", which the group in Mansonville did not consider to be authoritative, because the Metropolitan acted on his own, having again been taken advantage of by unscrupulous people (August, 21 2002).[http://www.rocor-v.com/rocor/roceofficial.html] See also [http://www.rocor-v.com/rocor/man720.html this page], April 20 2002. All of this is very much like what occurred in the last couple of years that Metropolitan Vitaly was First Hierarch of ROCOR. In synod meetings he would sign on to statements, and then subsequently issue epistles taking back what he had said, only to again contradict his epistles at the next Synod meeting.[http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/voicesofreason_old.htm]</ref>.