Mark Harrison
21-05-2007, 08:48 AM
I am afraid that I still do not have time to post at length. I did want to say, however, that I watched the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion and the Divine Liturgy at Christ the Saviour Cathedral with abundant joy on Wednesday evening (Kodiak is a full 12 hours behind Moscow). What an absolute joy! "How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity." Well, I could go on with increasingly less eloquent words, but I'm sure you get the picture.
I am wondering what happens next in practical terms? Officially, I suppose the answer is that nothing particular happens, and someone like Fr. Alexander Lebedeff would be asking me, "What would you expect to happen?" That's the problem: I'm not sure. Still, I can't ignore the gut feeling that now that the "blessed event" has taken place, there will be practical consequences, and not just for ROCOR.
Am I now allowed to partake of the Holy Mysteries in a ROCOR parish? I heard a rumour (and that's all it is) that ROCOR was not committed to being in communion with New Calendar jurisdictions. I am not sure that was a choice they had, or if the implications of reconciliation with Moscow included being in communion with those with whom Moscow is in communion. Although ROCOR is retaining an autonomous status, it is now part of the "pomyestnaya russkaya tserkov" the "local Russian Church." Refusing concelebration with those with whom the Patriarch does concelebrate would seem to be a contradiction, but perhaps I have not thought this through well enough. If there is concelebration, it follows that there is eucharistic communion. Anything else would be totally incomprehensible.
In the last year since the All-Diaspora Council approved going ahead on the path toward reconciliation, the situation in the OCA has grown steadily worse instead of better. While liturgically "by the book" it was very odd hearing the name of Metropolitan HERMAN read in the diptychs at the Liturgy on Ascension, but also the resounding "Many Years" for each ROCOR hierarch with their titles. I understand, of course, the awkwardness of the situation, and do not have any problem with it. I am only pointing out that the commemorations highlighted that situation. After all, if +HERMAN is considered the primate of a local autocephalous church, then +BENJAMIN, not +KIRILL, should be commemorated as Bishop of San Francisco. But in this sad world of ours, things are as they are, and we must focus on the joy that hatred has been overcome by love - again, and work toward straightening out the anomalies. What the liturgical commemorations suggested was that the MP is continuing to recognise the autocephaly of the OCA in terms of following the customary protocols and not interfering, but that is as far as it goes. Given the sad state of the OCA, how long can that last? Evidence so far suggests that the Russian Church inside Russia and outside of Russia is going to keep out of the OCA's business in every formal sense. But what about pastoral cases? What is going to happen when individual lay people, or whole parishes, or even an entire diocese decides that enough is enough and approaches ROCOR or the MP? Effectively, whether or not it was intended, has the MP not undermined the autocephaly of the OCA? That may not be such a bad thing. I know many people who won't shed a tear if the OCA goes belly up. Many people in the OCA have been happy about the restoration of unity in the Russian Church. Although the consequences of that restored unity for the OCA may all be unofficial, I suspect they will be there.
Likewise, how will ROCOR work with other jurisdictions in the lands where it has eparchies? It has been my strong impression for sometime now that for the Russians this has been a matter of internal healing. ROCOR has had a difficult time getting many of its people to accept the reconciliation. The recent depature of the Lesna Convent, which had long been rumoured, is evidence of this, as are the departures reported on this web-site of other ROCOR communities in Great Britain. The Russian Church, I think, will need time to heal the wounds. Much has been accomplished, and yet this is really only the beginning. The hierarchy and clergy in the Patriarchate and in ROCOR will need time to learn to effectively work together. That process has already begun with projects like the counselling centre in Beslan, a joint project between Archbishop MARK of Berlin and the local bishop, but it will really take time. Imagine what it would be like if the United States and Great Britain were to come again under a single government. Even after a hundred years of friendship and cooperation, the everyday realities would be tough. So, is ROCOR likely to be part of any efforts toward decreasing the number of jurisdictions in North America, Western Europe and Australia?
If Fathers David or Raphael, especially, or anyone else who might have something constructive to add, care to offer any thoughts, I'd love to hear them, though I can't guarantee how quickly I'll reply. I'll check back here in a couple of days. I am sorry this post is kind of rambling. My mind is more on a paper from which I am taking a little break.
I am wondering what happens next in practical terms? Officially, I suppose the answer is that nothing particular happens, and someone like Fr. Alexander Lebedeff would be asking me, "What would you expect to happen?" That's the problem: I'm not sure. Still, I can't ignore the gut feeling that now that the "blessed event" has taken place, there will be practical consequences, and not just for ROCOR.
Am I now allowed to partake of the Holy Mysteries in a ROCOR parish? I heard a rumour (and that's all it is) that ROCOR was not committed to being in communion with New Calendar jurisdictions. I am not sure that was a choice they had, or if the implications of reconciliation with Moscow included being in communion with those with whom Moscow is in communion. Although ROCOR is retaining an autonomous status, it is now part of the "pomyestnaya russkaya tserkov" the "local Russian Church." Refusing concelebration with those with whom the Patriarch does concelebrate would seem to be a contradiction, but perhaps I have not thought this through well enough. If there is concelebration, it follows that there is eucharistic communion. Anything else would be totally incomprehensible.
In the last year since the All-Diaspora Council approved going ahead on the path toward reconciliation, the situation in the OCA has grown steadily worse instead of better. While liturgically "by the book" it was very odd hearing the name of Metropolitan HERMAN read in the diptychs at the Liturgy on Ascension, but also the resounding "Many Years" for each ROCOR hierarch with their titles. I understand, of course, the awkwardness of the situation, and do not have any problem with it. I am only pointing out that the commemorations highlighted that situation. After all, if +HERMAN is considered the primate of a local autocephalous church, then +BENJAMIN, not +KIRILL, should be commemorated as Bishop of San Francisco. But in this sad world of ours, things are as they are, and we must focus on the joy that hatred has been overcome by love - again, and work toward straightening out the anomalies. What the liturgical commemorations suggested was that the MP is continuing to recognise the autocephaly of the OCA in terms of following the customary protocols and not interfering, but that is as far as it goes. Given the sad state of the OCA, how long can that last? Evidence so far suggests that the Russian Church inside Russia and outside of Russia is going to keep out of the OCA's business in every formal sense. But what about pastoral cases? What is going to happen when individual lay people, or whole parishes, or even an entire diocese decides that enough is enough and approaches ROCOR or the MP? Effectively, whether or not it was intended, has the MP not undermined the autocephaly of the OCA? That may not be such a bad thing. I know many people who won't shed a tear if the OCA goes belly up. Many people in the OCA have been happy about the restoration of unity in the Russian Church. Although the consequences of that restored unity for the OCA may all be unofficial, I suspect they will be there.
Likewise, how will ROCOR work with other jurisdictions in the lands where it has eparchies? It has been my strong impression for sometime now that for the Russians this has been a matter of internal healing. ROCOR has had a difficult time getting many of its people to accept the reconciliation. The recent depature of the Lesna Convent, which had long been rumoured, is evidence of this, as are the departures reported on this web-site of other ROCOR communities in Great Britain. The Russian Church, I think, will need time to heal the wounds. Much has been accomplished, and yet this is really only the beginning. The hierarchy and clergy in the Patriarchate and in ROCOR will need time to learn to effectively work together. That process has already begun with projects like the counselling centre in Beslan, a joint project between Archbishop MARK of Berlin and the local bishop, but it will really take time. Imagine what it would be like if the United States and Great Britain were to come again under a single government. Even after a hundred years of friendship and cooperation, the everyday realities would be tough. So, is ROCOR likely to be part of any efforts toward decreasing the number of jurisdictions in North America, Western Europe and Australia?
If Fathers David or Raphael, especially, or anyone else who might have something constructive to add, care to offer any thoughts, I'd love to hear them, though I can't guarantee how quickly I'll reply. I'll check back here in a couple of days. I am sorry this post is kind of rambling. My mind is more on a paper from which I am taking a little break.