In Ukrainian Autocephaly: An Awkward Spot for the OCA Giacomo Sanfilippo writes:

We would be hard pressed not to see the OCA [Orthodox Church in America] as the handmaiden of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In Ukrainian Autocephaly: What Says the OCA? we wondered how much longer it would take the OCA to respond officially to the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), granted January 5-6, 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate but anticipated well in advance.

Today the OCA has come down firmly on the side of the Kremlin and its Patriarchate.

In the following  Archpastoral Letter—which reads as if it were written by Moscow’s Department for External Church Relations—this stands out most conspicuously:

…the creation by the Patriarchate of Constantinople of an ecclesial body consisting of two schismatic groups, the convening of a ‘Unification Council‘ which recognized these groups as a new and unique body and which also elected for it a Metropolitan for Kyiv, and, most recently, the proclamation of a form of autocephaly for this new body by the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

This suggests that the OCA not only rejects the autocephaly of the OCU, but also communion with the OCU.

We note the tragic irony that, while almost none of the Orthodox Church recognizes the autocephaly of the OCA almost a half-century after its unilateral grant by the Soviet Patriarchate, not one autocephalous Church has broken communion with the OCA. Yet the OCA declines to offer the same compassion to the OCU.

This Archpastoral Letter is rife with so much that is problematic and downright false. Further commentary may follow in the days ahead.

Archpastoral Letter of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America
Concerning the Situation of the Church in Ukraine
January 28, 2019
01/013

January 28, 2019
01/013

To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America,

The Holy Synod of Bishops addresses this archpastoral letter to our flock to provide guidance with respect to current events in world Orthodoxy that may be occasioning questions, confusion, or even scandal within our communities in North America.  The immediate cause of these questions, confusion, and scandal are found in the recent developments that have taken place in Ukraine. A broader cause of confusion and misunderstanding may also be found in the underlying disagreements about ecclesiology, territorial jurisdiction, and canonical principles, which continue to erupt not only with reference to Ukraine but also to other geographic areas. Read More

Orthodoxy in Dialogue is sharing this article with our readers to provide a clear sense of the national security concerns which underlay Ukraine’s relentless quest for the independence of its Church from the Moscow Patriarchate—an ecclesiastical apparatus which has consistently flaunted its relationship of “Byzantine symphonia” with the Kremlin and its imperialist geopolitical aims.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is about to enter its sixth year, but many remain in denial over the true nature of the conflict. There is still widespread international reluctance to acknowledge the global significance of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, leading to a preference for the kind of euphemistic language that blurs the lines between victim and aggressor. This ostrich-like approach to the realities of the new Russian imperialism was on display during German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’s recent visit to Kyiv, where he called on “all sides to contribute to de-escalation.”

Maas was apparently untroubled by the absurdity of urging Ukraine to de-escalate its own invasion and dismemberment. Indeed, it says much about the current climate that one of Europe’s top diplomats felt comfortable coming to the capital of a country fighting for its life and delivering a lecture on the need for moderation. Read More

Bishop Amvrosios (Lenis) of Kalavryta and Aegialea

Addendum 8/18/19: See Greek Orthodox Bishop Convicted of Hate Speech Resigns.

A Greek Orthodox bishop has been sentenced on appeal to seven months in prison for inciting violence against homosexuals and abuse of his office, Greek media reported Monday.

Bishop Amvrosios, whose [secular] name is Athanasios Lenis, labelled gay people the “dregs of society” and called on his followers to “spit on” and “blacken” them in a written address in 2015.

The 79-year-old cleric had been charged with public incitement to violence and abuse of ecclesiastical duties, but was found not guilty and released by a court in the Peloponnesian town of Aigio in March last year. Read More

The website of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) notes that today marks the sixth anniversary of Metropolitan Tikhon’s enthronement as Primate.

This reminded me that, in December 2012, fresh back from four years of atheism, and having just read the news of His Beatitude’s upcoming enthronement and the pricey banquet to follow, I sent him the following heartfelt email. He never responded.

It was intended not as disrespectful of Metropolitan Tikhon (I had no opinion of him at the time), but as an appeal to act less like an emperor and more like a shepherd—more like Christ—in his new primatial ministry.

I share my email now as an urgent appeal to all Orthodox Patriarchs, Metropolitans, Archbishops, and Bishops everywhere. The portion of Christ’s Flock entrusted to each of you needs true shepherds after the likeness of the Good Shepherd.

Enthronement of Metropolitan Tikhon. January 27, 2013.

December 21, 2012

Dear Metropolitan Tikhon:

In view of the dismissal in disgrace of the last three metropolitans of the Orthodox Church in America, one looks for a preliminary sign, any sign, that you will fare better than they, and that your primatial ministry will be cut from a different fabric from theirs.

It has been many years since I last attended a hierarchal liturgy, but I remember them well. When at last the omophorion is placed upon your shoulders, you are reminded in the midst of the congregation of your most fundamental duty to us, that of being an imitator of the Good Shepherd who leaves behind the ninety-nine and sets out in search of the one. Read More