Редакция Православного альманаха
«Романитас»
Протоиерей Иосиф Сандерленд, благочинный
Западно-Американский, присоединяется к ИПЦ Греции под омофором Митр.Каллиника
Протоиерей Иосиф Сандерленд, стоявший у истоков организации структур Русской Зарубежной Церкви в Изгнании, покидаеn де-факто более не правящего Митр.Виталия, использующегося ныне филетистами-киприанитами как ширма для своих амбициозных, не церковных и весьма личных разногласий с Митр.Лавром. Редакция «Романитаса» доводит до своих подписчиков подлинный текст его скорбного и твердого заявления.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Many of you have enquired over the last few months concerning the sad
state of affairs in the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile. Protopresbyter
Victor Melehov and I published two Appeals in part to
answer these questions, and to try according to our ability to avert the
disaster that now afflicts the ROCE. I
subsequently published a reply to Bp. Vladimir’s dissemination across the
Internet of an Ukaz banning me from the performance
of my duties as Dean of
It must be crystal clear by now that the ROCE is simply a schism from
the ROCOR. The French have made very
clear that their only objection to Met. Lavr and his
Synod is their personal grievances against Bp. Ambrose, who was assigned their
ruling bishop. The French and their
followers clearly have no ecclesiological or theological differences from the
ROCOR because they steadfastly refuse to condemn Cyprianism
as heresy. Indeed, their stated
objections to Met. Cyprian are of an ethnic and personal nature, and border on philetism, a condemned heresy.
Even their objections to the rapprochement between the ROCOR and the MP
have no theological basis because they accept the same theology – grounded in Cyprianism – that the MP is in
fact the ROCOR’s
To date, no bishop of either the ROCOR or the ROCE has offered
repentance for this act. Thus, the
French and their followers can cite no cogent or compelling reason for breaking
when they did and how they did. They simply
attempted to mask their actions in sophistry because they understood they were
wrong. I made a mistake believing what
they said and in joining them. I ask
your forgiveness for this, and for anything I said or did to mislead you into
following the ROCE schism.
The fact is the ROCE is neither credible nor canonical. They condemn themselves. Bp. Vladimir, the French and their cohorts
violently objected to our Appeals, even lying in their pathetic attempt to
claim they did not know Fr. Victor’s biography when they accepted him. The thrust of their argument is that no one
has the right to question the actions of their hierarchy, and that we erred in
publicizing their illegal, uncanonical and egregious
actions. However, their own statements
published widely when they contended with the ROCOR contradict this
opinion. So do the Holy Canons and the
Traditions of the Church. If Fr. Victor
and I are wrong in what we said and did, then the French and their followers
stand self-condemned and deposed by the ROCOR, lacking any authority other than
as laymen. If they were correct in
similarly publishing their appeals to the ROCOR, than they now stand
self-condemned as violators of the Holy Canons and breakers of the Faith, or
outright heretics. Either they were
wrong to challenge the ROCOR hierarchy then or they are wrong now to chastise
us for the same thing. They can’t have
it both ways.
Moreover, the 3rd Ecumenical Council decrees that a bishop who retires
and is replaced “shall have the name, and the rank, and the communion of the
episcopate on this condition, however, only, that he shall not ordain, and that
he shall not take and minister to a Church of his own individual authority; but
that [he shall do so only] if taken as an assistant, or when appointed, if it
should so chance, by a brother and fellow-bishop, in accordance with the
ordinance and the love which is in Christ” (Canonical Letter Concerning Met. Eustathius of Pamphylia). Met. Vitaly’s circumstances match
this, and indeed, he has been living as a retired hierarch since he left
Beyond this (assuming they are canonical), the bishops of the ROCE have
provided no spiritual direction, leadership or pastoral care to the flock
entrusted them. The 36th and 58th
Apostolic Canons declare that a bishop who fails to undertake the care of the
people committed to him should be excommunicated and deposed, and Ukaz No. 362 of Patriarch Tikhon
instructs the faithful without a bishop to seek a neighboring bishop. The 46th Apostolic Canon decrees a bishop who
acknowledges heretics have Grace be deposed and the 15th Canon of the 1-2nd
Council instructs the faithful to flee heretics, even before a Council condemns
those heretics. Rather than address any
of these issues or the crisis in which the ROCE has wallowed for the past 18
months, the leaders of the ROCE have chosen to expel us from their midst.
Given all of this, and taking direction from the letter the Holy
Hierarch Metropolitan Philaret addressed to
Archbishop Auxentios and signed by eleven ROCOR
hierarchs on 18/31, December, 1969 (please see attached), the St. Joseph of
Petersburg parish and I have placed ourselves under the hierarchal protection
of his Beatitude, Metropolitan Kallinikos and his
Synod who, recognizing the legitimacy of Archbishop Auxentios,
continue the Apostolic lineage of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, and the
Orthodox Ecclesiology which we had been previously taught in the ROCOR under
the presidency of our Holy Hierarch, Metropolitan Philaret. And they bring love and peace to our souls.
Archpriest Joseph
1/14 May 2003
ROCOR Recognition of the Synod of
the TOC of
18/31 December, 1969
To His Beatitude Auxentius,
Archbishop of the Church of the
True Orthodox Christians of
Your Beatitude,
Your Beatitude’s fraternal letter of
The many trials which the Orthodox
Church has endured from the beginning of its history are especially great in
our evil times, and, consequently, this especially requires unity among those
who are truly devoted to the Faith of the Fathers. With these sentiments, we
wish to inform you that the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church
Abroad recognizes the validity of the episcopal
ordinations of your predecessor of blessed memory, the reposed Archbishop Akakios, and the consequent ordinations of your
May the blessing
of God rest upon all the clergy and faithful of your Church, especially during
the coming days of the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The President of the Synod of
Bishops
+Metropolitan Philaret
The Members:
+Nikon, Archbishop of
+Seraphim, Archbishop of
+Vitaly,
Archbishop of
+Anthony, Archbishop of
+Averky,
Archbishop of
+Anthony, Archbishop of
+Sabbas,
Bishop of
+Nectary,
Bishop of
+Andrew, Bishop of
+Laurus,
Bishop of