Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville NY
Today, the Holy Synod of the ROCOR is electing a new First Primate. There are three main contenders with a realistic chance of winning.
Archbishop Hilarion Kapral of Sydney (1948- ) is the favourite in many eyes. He is of Ukrainian background from Western Canada and received his monastic formation and theological training at Jordanville. If this were an election taking place in the old conditions of isolation, I would concur. However, one must never forget that Moscow has a veto in the process. Hilarion may be considered too closely tied to Jordanville and Moscow wishes to curtail its independence and wilfulness (as was shown by the explicit orders of Metropolitan Juvenaly to ban all OCA clergy from the funeral of Vladyki Laurus). In addition, Hilarion does not wish to leave Australia. One must remember that Jordanville controls most of the information flow in the ROCOR, therefore, Hilarion Kapral may be a lesser figure than the one painted by certain Holy Trinity Monastery circles. It would not be surprising to see Hilarion elected, but, it would surprise me less to see another get the prize.
Archbishop Mark Arndt of Berlin (1943- ) is, perhaps, the ROCOR bishop most closely tied to Patriarch Aleksei, as His Holiness sent his condolences regarding Vladyki Laurus via Vladyki Mark. He is a convert of German nationality with a monastic formation in Serbia and theological education at the theological faculty in Belgrade. He has the advantage of being non-Jordanville in Moscow’s eyes. Again, does Vladyki wish to leave Western Europe? Do recall that a candidate may refuse election (this holds true for Hilarion Kapral, or any other candidate, for that matter)…
Archbishop Kirill Dmitriev of San Francisco (1954- ) is the “dark horse” in this election. He is of Russian background from San Francisco and received his monastic formation in the Holy Land and his theological education at St Vladimir Seminary in Crestwood NY(!). He is known for his uncompromising stance towards the schismatics who left the church after 17 May, and his views concerning the moribund OCA are as harsh.
Who shall cross the finish line first? God alone knows, I don’t. However, I am not going to hold my breath waiting for an announcement today. The ROCOR website is known for its laggardliness in posting news, so, we may not know until tomorrow. May God guide the bishops.
Vara Drezhlo
Monday 12 May 2008
