Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Theophilus (Ionescu) of Sèvres

20 bytes added, 19:18, April 1, 2014
Biography
Bishop Teofil assisted Archbishop [[Seraphim (Ivanov) of Chicago|Seraphim (Ivanov)]], 1897-1987) of [[Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America (ROCOR)|Chicago, Detroit, and Midwest America]] consecrate a bishop for the Greek Old Calendar Church, Bishop [[Akakios (Pappas)]] the Elder, of Talantion, on [[December 19]], 1960. He also assisted Archbishop John (Maximovich) to consecrate a bishop for the Western Rite French Orthodox Church in 1964, Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire (Evgraf Evgrafovich Kovalevsky, 1905-1970) of Saint Denis]].
‘Metropolitan’ Pangratios (Vrionis, of ill repute) claims Bishop Teofil was one of his co-consecrators in 1970. However, there were no witnesses to this ‘event’ other than Pangratios and those he claimed consecrated him. Conveniently, all were deceased when Pangratios revealed their names. During the conference of the academic society Daco-Romania, on [[December 6]], 1970, Bishop Teofil commemorated Pope [[Paul VI]] and the Romanian Uniate Bishop Basile Cristea, who attended the Liturgy, during the Great Entrance. He also commemorated among the reposed the deceased Romanian Uniate Bishop [[:ro:Iuliu Hossu|Jules Hossu ]] of Cluj-Gherla.
When Metropolitan [[Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York|Philaret]] (Georgy Nikolaevich Voznesensky, 1903-1985), First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, demanded an explanation, Bishop Teofil attempted to justify his actions by claiming that he had done it "in the name of ecumenism and as part of the fight against the Patriarchs of Moscow and Bucharest, who have appropriated the point of view of the regime and are without faith and are even criminals, in that they have perpetuated the assassinations and the persecutions against the Greek Catholic [Uniate] Church of Romania, under the false pretext of aiding their integration into the Orthodox Church". Having been reproved by the Synod of the Church Abroad (it might be explained here that the Romanian Diocese of the Church Abroad, as well as the Bulgarian Diocese under Bishop [[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev]], later joined [[OCA]], 1920-2007), and the American Orthodox Mission under Archbishop [[James (Toombs) of Manhattan|James (Toombs, +1970) of Manhattan]], were all granted a wide ranging autonomy], Bishop Teofil "evolved in a manner more and more contradictory".

Navigation menu