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Copyright 2008 Aleksandr Andreev.
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About the Author
Aleksandr Andreev was born in Riga, Latvia, but raised in the United States. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, where, in 2008, he graduated Summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University with a B.S. in Economics and Mathematics. He is currently a Fulbright Fellow at Saint Petersburg State University in St Petersburg, Russia; his research focuses on a wide set of issues in Russia’s economic transition, including healthcare service provision, disability, the labor market, and urban planning and transportation networks.
Mr. Andreev has been an active member of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia since childhood. He also directs the Ponomar Project. In his leisure time, Mr. Andreev enjoys travel, reading, and music. He is fluent in Russian, English and French and has working knowledge of Arabic.
Mr. Andreev may be reached by clicking here.
FYI I sent the following to orthodoxnews.com
Orthodox News Contact Us Response
[Private information deleted -A.A]
Dear Editor:
This is in response to: Regarding the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate’s Efforts to Establish a Metropolitanate in the U.S – Archpriest Peter M. Dubinin, July 12, 2008
Archpriest Dubinin wrote:
“Glory to Jesus Christ. I continue to read reports in reference to the efforts of the Romanian Orthodox patriarchate to establish a Romanian Orthodox metropolitanate in the United States of America. Incredible! It amazes me how the Orthodox Church continues to trip and stumble its way through life. Called by God to be His Body; charged to be one as He is one, that the world might know the Father sent His Son into the world for its salvation. Yet, the members of the Body continue to insist on their own course, their own will in opposition and subsequently in defiance to the head.”
And just what is their own course, their own will in opposition and subsequently in defiance to the head? Please read on:
“What I state in reference to the Romanian Orthodox patriarchate, I can say about the Russian Orthodox patriarchate in reference to its recent reconciliation with ROCOR. Perhaps an eventual movement of ROCOR into the Orthodox Church in America is part of the plan, but I have yet to hear of such a thing. That ROCOR continues to exist as one of the jurisdictions in North America along with all the other ones … “
Aye – there’s the rub! You, Father, have yet to hear of any kind of eventual movement of ROCOR into the Orthodox Church in America, because any such assimilation would deny the essence of what ROCOR is: The Russian Church Outside of Russia.
Are you unfamiliar, Father, with our Orthodox “representation” churches? The OCA itself has one in Moscow. This OCA presence in Moscow is in no way comparable to “one of the jurisdictions in North America along with all the other ones”! It allows the Church in America to have a presence in Moscow, much as do embassies at the governmental level. I don’t intend to labor the point which is certainly patently obvious. And I hardly see how it can be labeled an insistence on the part of “the members of the Body … on their own course, their own will in opposition and subsequently in defiance to the head”!!! That really is a bit much.
Sincerely, Laura Jones
[Editor's note: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is not a representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in North America. The Moscow Patriarchate has a representation in North America: the Patriarchical Parishes in the USA. The ROCOR is a self-governing portion of the Russian Orthodox Church with canonical jurisdiction in North America.
There is no reason for the ROCOR to "move into" the OCA. The ROCOR's canonical status is recognized by every other Orthodox Church. The canonical status of the OCA is not recognized by other Churches. Why should ROCOR go from being canonical to being uncanonical?
The issue with the Romanians is slightly different. The Patriarchate of Bucharest claims it has a right to exercise canonical jurisdiction over Romanian parishes in North America. There is, however, no historical justification for such a claim. Bucharest's canonical territory was clearly defined in 1885 as the territory of the Romanian Kingdom. It had no parishes in North America prior to 1918. -A.A.]
Hi Typiconman! I wish you would send “Bartholomew Yushenko rewrite history” to orthodoxnews! What follows is their latest post on the subject, and it is right at the bottom of the site so everyone scrolling down to the end will read it. I mean, not to worry, Bart is no more than our anti-Christ du jour – but he can be very pesky nevertheless. In Christ, Laura
Regarding the Activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine and Other Places – Archbishop Lorenzo di Palermo, UAOC
July 25, 2008
I am writing in response to the news article in which a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate complains about the activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine and other places. The issue is this: if the Moscow Patriarchate would make efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine (and in other countries where there are autonomous Churches under its omophor), then there would be no need for Constantinople to intervene. In Ukraine there are three Churches: the Autonomous Church under Moscow (primate: Met. Volodymyr) which has many church buildings but not the majority of the people; the Patriarchate of Kiev whose primate (Pat. Philaret) has been condemned by Moscow (for political reasons – that is clear) but which has tens of millions of faithful; and the Autocephalous Church (under Met. Mefodiy) which, though the smallest, has recently grown from 980 churches to over 2,000. Almost 40 million Orthodox Christians live in a situation in which there are three jurisdictions (two supposedly non-canonical – whatever that means) and no unity among them, because Moscow only requires the “submission” of the two Churches not under its hegemony and does nothing to create conditions whereby true Christian unity can be achieved. What we are dealing with here are questions of power and control. The Russian Church, as usual, thinks only of its ecclesial/political power (wrapped up in pious phrases) and not of the true unity of the Church of Christ. Whatever work Constantinople does to bring about unity in Ukraine and in other places (hopefully one day in America as well) is to be praised and not conedmned. We say this to Moscow: put aside your pride and power games and help resolve the problems or stay out and let others do the job.
In Christ,
+Archbishop Lorenzo di Palermo, UAOC
Hi typiconman! I think it is of interest that the comment/suggestion I submitted to orthodoxnews in response to the indicated item has not been posted. Regards, Laura Jones
Speak the Truth! – Orthodox Christians for Accountability
August 1, 2008
http://www.orthodoxnews.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=EditorialsOpinion.one&content_id=17151&CFID=114698087&CFTOKEN=531444
By The Hon. Edward Bearse
===================================
Comments/Suggestions:
Laura Jones’ response to “Speak the Truth!”
To the Hon. Edward Bearse:
I, Laura Jones, will gladly speak the truth, and most emphatically. I am in a superb position to do so. I had a very expertly programmed (by myself) computer and printer stolen from me by – well, whoever Fr. Dn. Eric Wheeler was working for at the time, it was to him that I handed it over. As I did so, he exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glistening with anticipation, “Have you calculated how much that will bring on the [Russian] black market?” I was too stunned to mumble, “Why, no, Father Deacon, such a thing never came into my head! I programmed it for a professor at the Leningrad Theological Academy! When one of our monks directed me to turn it over to you, I supposed this was because you would expedite its delivery to this professor!” But by the time I finished thinking this, he had slammed closed the trunk of the stretch limousine and driven off.
A few days later I myself went to Russia, having intended to present the system which I had – not without considerable effort, this was back in the days when each element of a foreign language system, especially one with a different orthography, had to be individually located, acquired, and then programmed into the whole – built for my friend the theology professor. Of course he had not heard hide nor hair about the system, nor had anyone else. I made a very thorough search all over Russia, but never did I come across the merest clue as to what had transpired. Although I did learn quite a lot, and for being so knowledgeable I was subsequently twice excommunicated from the OCA.
So I am well placed to inform you, your Honor, about the manipulations of the former OCA chancellor, one Robert Kondratick, who victimized our former metropolitan, taking advantage of the metropolitan’s failings to aggrandize himself – to the tune of this sum you are concerned with in your post, “Speak the Truth!” Kondratick also shamelessly played one Orthodox jurisdiction off against another, doing untold damage to the Church’s ability to carry out her sacred mission. To Kondratick, the only things sacred are his bank account and his political machinations.
Our present metropolitan, Met. Herman, with a skill that could only be divinely inspired (especially in the face of Kondratick and his cabal) managed to have the former metropolitan retired and himself – canonically and with all due process – elected metropolitan. Also, with minimal instability within the Church – and this in spite of the unrelenting and unrelentingly malicious attacks of Mark Stokoe – Met. Herman has replaced almost the entirety of the leadership within the OCA. Our two seminaries in the “lower 48” have been completely overhauled, and the egregious situation in Alaska, which can only be laid at the feet of R. Kondratick, is now at last being compassionately addressed and resolved.
The situation in Alaska came to a head (I know because I reported on the matter myself, the only person doing so, and for this incurred my first excommunication) – so this situation came to a head when the former metropolitan point blank fired the truly beloved, and justly so, then bishop in Alaska, and sent up a replacement who was personally unfit for the office, and was thoroughly disliked and rejected by the Alaskans. The burden of my reporting was that this is fundamentally uncanonical, as reflected in the fact that in our Orthodox ordination services, the people to serve whom the candidate is being ordained cry out “Axios”, meaning “worthy” during the service. The ordination was in Alaska itself, and almost all of the OCA bishops went up to Alaska and participated in the charade, although one, who was versed in canon law, did not attend. At the time during the ordination service to call out “Axios” a former student of the Alaskan seminary cried out “Unaxios”, meaning unworthy. He was unceremoniously dragged out of the church, and I was told that the bishop who had refused to attend (no doubt anticipating what occurred) stated that this would invalidate the ordination. When all the brouhaha was over, I was told on very good authority that Kondratick, still of course chancellor at that time, said: “Well, we certainly learned our lesson!” Was the lesson that at the very least canonical procedures should be observed? No, Kondratick continued, according to this report, “Next time we will ordain the bishop BEFORE we send him out to his see.”
So that pretty much brings us up to date. From your post I see – no offense to you personally, your Honor – that our inimical “friend” M. Stokoe has evidently run out of malcontents in our own Orthodox Communion, so that he is reaching out to one who is not even in Communion with our Church, but describe himself thusly: “I have not converted. I am only a seeker. The scandal may well prevent me from converting in an institutional sense.” While we appreciate your serious study of Orthodox theology, your Honor, this does not, according to the canons and practices of our Church, suffice to make you “about 90% Eastern Orthodox theologically”, and most especially since your allusions to Eastern Orthodox theology betray an egregious failure to indicate even an awareness of the most fundamental teachings of our Church upon which all the rest depends.
I have, your Honor, spoken the truth most emphatically, undeterred by considerations of whether it will resonate pleasantly or unpleasantly with those who read this post.
What I suggest to all concerned is that at this point the OCA be allowed to cut its losses and move on. Robert Kondratick has been unfrocked and – most generously, I would say – given a job in which he cannot continue his malicious manipulations but is accorded a modest but sufficient salary.
Do you honestly think, your Honor, that putting a dollar figure on all the millions, maybe more, that Kondratick siphoned into his own pocket over the years – not to mention the agony of soul he cruelly inflicted on those who fell under his sway – is really worth what this would cost the OCA in terms of the necessary freedom to carry on the mission that God has entrusted to His Church?