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Responses to OCA autocephaly

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The '''[[autocephaly]] of the [[OCA]]''' came into being with the signing of a [[tomos]] of autocephaly by Patriarch [[Alexei I (Simansky) of Moscow]] on [[April 10]], 1970. This status has been recognized by the Orthodox Churches of Bulgaria, Georgia, Poland, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but either ignored or rejected by others.
==Responses to OCA Autocephalyautocephaly==ALEXIS IThe autocephalous Orthodox churches that recognize the OCA as autocephalous are the [[Church of Russia]], Patriarch which granted the tomos of Moscow and All Russiaautocephaly, signed a the [[tomosChurch of Georgia]] granting , the [[autocephalyChurch of Bulgaria]] to , the [[Orthodox Church in Americaof Poland]] on and the [[April 10Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]], 1970.
The Those autocephalous Orthodox Churches churches that recognize have not recognized the OCA as autocephalous autocephaly but which have not opposed it are the [[Church of Russia]], which granted the tomos of autocephaly, the [[Church of GeorgiaAntioch]], the [[Church of BulgariaSerbia]], the [[Church of PolandRomania]], and the [[Church of the Czech Lands and SlovakiaAlbania]].
Those The autocephalous Churches that have not recognized churches which oppose the OCA's autocephaly but which have not opposed it are the [[Church of AntiochConstantinople]], the [[Church of SerbiaAlexandria]], the [[Church of RomaniaJerusalem]], the [[Church of Cyprus]], and the [[Church of AlbaniaGreece]]. However, these Churches recognize the OCA as a canonical church and their representatives concelebrate services with OCA clergy.
The autocephalous Churches who oppose the OCA’s ===Documents containing responses to OCA autocephaly are the [[Church of Constantinople]], the [[Church of Alexandria]], the [[Church of Jerusalem]], the [[Church of Cyprus]], and the [[Church of Greece]]. However, these Churches recognize the OCA as a canonical Church and their representatives concelebrated at the Divine Liturgy for the enthronement of Metropolitan [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman]] as Primate of the OCA in 2002.===
==Byzantine Responses==The '''Byzantine primary documents detailing the response to the [[autocephaly]] of the [[OCA]]''' consisted primarily in a number of letters and statements made in the early 1970s by the ancient autocephalous [[patriarchate]]s of the [[Orthodox Church]]—the Churches of [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]]Jerusalem, Cyprus and [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]—along with the [[Church of Greece]]. Like most autocephalous Orthodox churches worldwide, the Byzantine churches rejected the grant of autocephaly by the [[Church of Russia]] to the American Metropolia (the former name of the OCA), and with the leadership of Patriarch [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople]], issued various responses detailing canonical, historical and practical arguments against the grant. The primary documents detailing these churches' response were published initially in the ''Orthodox Observer'', the official publication of the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]], and published in 1972 in book form as ''Russian Autocephaly and Orthodoxy in America: An Appraisal with Decisions and Formal Opinions''. The book also includes an introductory essay by Archbishop [[Iakovos (Coucouzis) of America]], a ''Prolegomena'' Fr. Nicon D. Patrinacos, and an appendix by Metropolitan Emilianos, permanent representative of the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] at the World Council of Churches. The authors of the responses of the Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Greece are Pope Nikolaos, Patr. Elias IV, Patr. Benedictos and Abp. Ieronymos, respectively, the [[primate]]s of their respective churches. (All page references below are from this volume.)
Most of the arguments detailed below are shared in the responses of all the churches and of the other essays included in the volume, but the Churches of Constantinople and Greece give the most detailed comments (pp. 30-44 and 53-67, respectively).
*Recognition of autocephaly normally takes time but eventually always comes.
*The OCA's autocephaly promotes Orthodox unity in America.
*The OCA has many migrant churches within it: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Georgian, etc.
*The OCA is the second largest in America (first is the Greek Orthodox Church, third is Antiochian)
*The OCA is the fastest growing jurisdiction
*The Metropolitan of the OCA is humble.
==Arguments against OCA autocephaly==
*Russian Orthodoxy remains disunified on American soil, remaining under three jurisdictions; the OCA's autocephaly failed to produce unity even for the Russians.
*The issue of unity in the [[diaspora]] had already been referred to the agenda of an upcoming Great and Holy Synod of the Orthodox Churches. Moscow's unilateral move was an affront to the community of the Church. "For this reason we are at a loss to explain the haste shown by the Russian Orthodox Church in announcing as Autocephalous a relatively small section of the Russian Orthodox Diaspora in America, and conferring upon this Church a title disproportionate with reality, after having only recently recognized her jurisdiction" (p. 43).
*The name "The Orthodox Church in America" is a misnomer, as the body only comprises a minority of Orthodox faithful in America and is not representative of Orthodox America, but mainly represents a certain subsection of Slavic Orthodoxy in America (particularly ex-Uniate, Russianized Carpatho-Russians).
*Moscow's act creates confusion regarding the true nature of canonicity.
*Moscow's act is an attempt to extend Soviet influence into America (p. 20).
==Sources==
[[Category:Ecclesiology]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
 
[[ro:Reacţia la Autocefalia OCA]]
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