ROCOR Remembers the Guardian of the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God

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On Saturday, the ROCOR marked the anniversary of the death of José Muñoz-Cortes, the guardian of the miraculous Montréal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Hundreds of believers from all over the USA and Canada gathered at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville NY (the ROCOR’s main monastery). Clergy served pannikhida and an akathist at the monastery cemetery in honour of Brother José, murdered 20 years ago in Athens. Believers put dozens of candles that burned for several hours at Brother José’s grave. One of the ROCOR’s main holy objects… the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God… was present at all the services. Amongst the believers was Angela Muñoz-Cortes, the sister of José Muñoz-Cortes. In an interview with us, she said:

In October 1982, I witnessed how the icon of the Mother of God began to glow in my brother’s house. I saw the miraculous flow from the icon, which happened at night. It woke up José with its strong odour. He didn’t know what it was. José thought that a friend who lived with him at that time used some cologne. Then, he saw the oily stains on the icon and thought that his friend carelessly poured oil on it. José wiped the icon, but soon the spots reappeared, then he realised that it was myrrh. My brother took the icon all over; it became one of the main holy relics of the Russian diaspora for fifteen years. He was very fond of the people that he met in parishes throughout the world. He was open to everyone and tried to help everyone.

José Muñoz-Cortes was a Chilean who converted to Orthodoxy in his youth at the Russian church in Santiago. In 1982, monks on Mount Athos gave him the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which in a few months began to exude myrrh, and continued to do so regularly for almost fifteen years. Brother José was brutally murdered on 31 October 1997 in Athens, then, the icon disappeared. Presumably, the day before his death, he gave it to friends. Believers believe that the icon returned to Athos. The ROCOR Eastern American Diocese has set up a commission to collect documents for the glorification of Brother José. Ten years after the disappearance of the Montreal icon, in 2007 in Hawaii, a smaller copy, the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, appeared, which exudes myrrh to this day. Believers believe that in this way the Montréal image returned to them.

29 October 2017

Dmitri Zlodorev

RIA Novosti 

https://ria.ru/religion/20171029/1507761157.html

See also:

Metropolitan: ROCOR Commission collects documents for the glorification of José Muñoz-Cortes

First Hierarch of the ROCOR: We don’t sense problems from ordinary Americans

ROCOR thinks that the meeting of the Patriarch and the Pope of Rome didn’t bring together two churches

Bishop Peter Lukianov Cleaning House in Missouri… Long Overdue… Monomakhos Chock Fulla Shit, As Per Usual

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Monomakhos is all at-tizzy about a situation in a ROCOR parish in House Springs MO. Supposedly, Vladyki Peter is persecuting the parish, stealing the property, and handing it over to a dippy nun of doubtful provenance. However… the truth is somewhat more prosaic.

Originally, the monastic brotherhood at Wayne WV (Holy Cross Monastery) started here many moons ago. Opponents of Fr Kallistos started a shitstorm with Vladyki Alypy… as we all know, the brotherhood moved to Wayne and prospered (they reburied Fr Kallistos in WV earlier this year). Fr Christopher Stade took over… somewhat of a rigorist, he came into Orthodoxy in Greece via the Matthewite schism. Eventually, he ended in the ROCOR; Alypy ordained him without Orthodox seminary formation. Stade was a disaster. The parish in St Louis MO (St Basil) under Fr Martin Swanson is full of those who had to leave the toxic House Spirngs parish and the Stade idiocracy.

Alypy liked the Stades and the Stades adored Alypy. That hasn’t been the case with Peter Lukianov; he acts like a bishop and he rules the diocese, he visits his parishes… laying down the law in those that have problems. Alypy was a terrible administrator; this problem parish, like many others, just festered for many years. Now, Peter runs the diocese; it’s easy to put the blame on him, since Alypy swept everything under the rug. A few years ago, Vladyki Peter finally got the parish to sign over the deed to the diocese (that should’ve happened years ago). Slowly, the diocese sorted out the mess. Recently, Vladyki Peter refused to appoint another rector; he gave the antimens to Fr Martin in St Louis, so that Fr Christopher couldn’t serve (he’s incapacitated and unable to serve, really). Since there’s a functional parish in St Louis with a new church building, this older, more problematic, one is just an unnecessary redundancy.

There are two residential buildings on the property in House Springs…the parish uses both as rental properties. The starosta/caretaker lives in one. Down the hill is an apartment building, which (in theory) could house monastics. For the record, the generous former parishioner who purchased and donated all the land to the parish has belonged to St Basil parish in St Louis for many years. They “rent” the apartments to bring income into the parish. Unfortunately, reports have it that they have a bunch of freeloaders who don’t pay anything, who rarely come to church, and who trash the place. The word has it that some are “illegals”. They were legal at first, but their visas or passports expired, so, now, they exist here off the map. The whole situation is screwy.

Therefore, we have a dying parish with a decent property in need of a major cleanup, both in terms of property and personnel. Rumour has it that they offered the property to JP, but he didn’t want it (which is proof positive that he’s not honest and sincere about “founding a monastery”). Honestly, no one has any idea why the diocese is giving this Nun Eisodia this property (indeed, if that’s the case… it could be just another Monomakhos fairytale); she’s unstable and just plain weird. However, if he’s trying to found a monastery here, Vladyki Peter is just trying to fill a vacuüm by turning a “white elephant” property into a monastic community. In the end, as the Ruling Bishop of the Diocese, if Vladyki Peter wants to dissolve a parish, it’s within his power to do so.

In short, Monomakhos fucks up again… spectacularly, in public, and shamelessly. I’d like to see the bishops sit on that bunch of asshats. They do no vetting… there’s no fact-checking. I got my reports from sources… then, I vetted and checked them. The only things here are the things that I could verify from more than one source. I’d advise all comers to stay out of this dispute. It’s obviously a tussle between Vladyki Peter and the Stade family. Let the Church sort it out, in the person of the Ruling Bishop of the Diocese. Vladyki Peter has had to sort out the mess that Vladyki Alypy left him… much as Vladyki Antony Medvedev had to clean up the mess left by St Ioann. Yes, St Ioann was a holy man, but he sure wasn’t an administrator and institution builder. Vladyki Antony was such… he put the SF Diocese on a very firm footing indeed. In like manner, I confide that Vladyki Peter will do likewise. The Stades and the Monomakhos lot will vilify him… much as Platina vilified Vladyki Antony for mucking out the shit-spattered byre there. So be it. God willing, history will record Vladyki Peter as a conscientious ruling bishop… much as Vladyki Antony was.

Monomakhos screws up again… is that a surprise? Christ is STILL with His Church… He always will be.

BMD

15 November 2015. A Blast from the Metropolia Past…

Frs Dmitri Ressetar, Kohanick, and Kuby in Jersey City NJ in the pre-World War II period.

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Fr Daniel Ressetar (son of Fr Dmitri) with the Icon of the Mother of God “of Tikhvin” (1967?), Harrisburg PA

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Archbishop John Garklavs of Chicago and the Midwest with the Icon of the Mother of God “of Tikhvin” (1967?), Harrisburg PA

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Another image of the Icon of the Mother of God “of Tikhvin” visit in Harrisburg PA (1967)

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If we don’t know where we came from, we can’t know where we’re going. Most of the loudmouth konvertsy voices on the internet know nothing of the REAL history of the Church here, nor do they have a clue about who the real heroes and villains were. They don’t know who Bishop Kip was, they haven’t heard of anyone other than Schmemann, Seraphim Rose, and the “Evangelical Orthodox” set. Well, if it hadn’t been for the spadework by the pioneers, none of those people would have mattered… ordinary working people and the priests who served them founded our Church… not the rich, not the powerful, not the people in the “big house on the hill”.

I honour what our forebears did. THEY founded the Church, but they get no credit on worthless chatter-sites such as Monomuckos. Keep this in mind… our Church did NOT begin in the “right” suburb… it did NOT begin amongst the garden party set. Our Church started in countless mine and mill towns off-the-beaten-track. Our Church started in obscurity. It didn’t have anyone like Freddie M-G or Rod Dreher in it… but it did have thousands of ordinary Joes and Marys who built up the Church that we have today. THEY ARE THE REAL HEROES.

I will NEVER stop saying such until the day I die. Grasp the real… not the phantasmagorical… that’s where God is…

BMD

27 October 2015. Seraphim Storheim Out as Bishop… OCA Dithers and Does Nothing Further

Have a care with Paffhausen… he supported (and probably still supports) this nasty jabronie…

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Firstly, here’s the official OCA statement and a reply to that statement. Commentary will follow.

BMD

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During their annual spring (sic) session in Detroit MI on 19-23 October 2015, the members of the OCA Holy Synod of Bishops canonically deposed retired Archbishop Seraphim from the status and all sacred functions of the episcopacy, removing him from the ranks of the clergy, and returning him to the status of a lay monk.

PASTORAL LETTER TO ARCHDIOCESE OF CANADA

23 October 2015

To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Archdiocese of Canada:

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America concluded its Fall Session, held during the past week in Detroit MI. One of the most difficult tasks of that meeting was the convening of the Synodal Court in Windsor ON to hear the case of the former Archbishop of Ottawa and Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim. After much prayerful and intense deliberation, the Synodal Court determined that Archbishop Seraphim should be deposed from the episcopacy, removed from the ranks of the clergy, and returned to the status of a simple monk.

The Holy Synod made this decision with much sorrow, but with the conviction that it was a necessary action both for the salvation of the now Monk Seraphim and for the preservation of the good order and stability of the flock of Christ. At the same time, we offer our prayers for the victims, their families, and all those who have been affected by the events surrounding this case. We acknowledge the anguish that has been expressed by many who love and support their former pastor and understand that some may feel that our actions were unfair. Nevertheless, every bishop, as the shepherd of his flock, is called upon to place his own needs in the second place and to provide care to all, especially those who have been wounded or hurt in any way. Sexual abuse is a sad reality of our fallen world, one that destroys the lives of many victims and is a manifestation of the brokenness of our world that is in need of healing.

The bishops have a God-given responsibility to address the wounds of those suffering and to help bring them to healing. We are bound to this primarily by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by the canonical tradition of the Church. Therefore, we must always take allegations seriously and respond in the proper pastoral way for all concerned. We express our love and concern for all the faithful of the Archdiocese of Canada, which has endured much turmoil over the past several years because of this difficult situation. We ask you to exercise discernment in processing these events and, above all, to have recourse to prayer, so as to not be weighed down with emotion, but rather seek to attain the peace of Christ.

May our merciful and loving God strengthen all of us to do His will in all things and to preserve in our hearts the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is everywhere present and fills all things.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Tikhon Mollard

Archbishop of Washington

Metropolitan of all America and Canada

24 October 2015

OCA.org

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-renders-decision-concerning-archbishop-seraphim

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Canada: Convicted Orthodox Archbishop Defrocked; Victims’ Group is Grateful

Finally, his synod defrocked a Canadian archbishop criminally convicted of child sexual abuse. As a support group for victims, we’re grateful for this decision, but we’d like to see the bishops do more. According to the OCA official website, this past week, the OCA Holy Synod removed Archbishop Seraphim Storheim, once the highest-ranking clergyman in Canada for the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), from the priesthood.

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-renders-decision-concerning-archbishop-seraphim

http://oca.org/PDF/NEWS/2015/2015-1024-canada-pastoral-letter.pdf

As leading figures in SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), we’re grateful that the OCA finally applied the mandates of its sexual misconduct policy to Storheim.

http://oca.org/PDF/sexual-misconduct/2014-04-PSP-Sexual-Misconduct.pdf

Section 10.05(B)

However, the victims’ group wants church officials to do more. Melanie Jula Sakoda, the Orthodox Christian Director for SNAP explained:

I’m grateful that the OCA has permanently removed Archbishop Seraphim from ministry. It was the only option according to their guidelines. However, I think the faithful and the public need more from the synod.

Sakoda pointed out that SNAP wrote to the bishops on 23 July 2015, following Storheim’s release from prison. In that letter, the group not only asked the synod to defrock Storheim, they also asked them to:

• Inform the faithful and the public of the archbishop’s current whereabouts and any restrictions imposed by the Canadian government
• Use their authority to restrict Storheim’s access to children and parishes
• Caution and alert families at risk, particularly, those who believe the archbishop was wrongfully convicted and who may put children at risk to demonstrate their trust in Storheim.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/canada_convicted_orthodox_archbishop_released_from_prison

Cappy Larson is the other Orthodox Christian Director for SNAP. She added:

The synod still needs to make public what they know about the conditions of the former archbishop’s release from prison. If Fr Seraphim, as monks are addressed in the Orthodox Church, is residing in an OCA facility, the bishops need to make sure that he’s forbidden to be alone with minors and that he only attends services where authorised. Even if the Canadian government didn’t impose any restrictions on the former archbishop, the Church can go the extra mile to protect kids who may not understand the significance of his change in status… “Fr Seraphim” is still a potent title to a child.

Finally, the Executive Director of SNAP, David Clohessy, urged the bishops to have church officials reach out to every parishioner in Canada, reminding them that they mustn’t put children at risk:

There are people in the archdiocese who believe that the former archbishop was wrongfully convicted. These “true believers” may not see any danger in allowing their young ones to interact with Fr Seraphim, but the bishops have a responsibility to do what they can to prevent this from happening.

http://archbishopseraphim.org/

Sakoda concluded:

The OCA has a moral duty to continue to monitor Fr Seraphim and to alert and caution families who may be at risk.

26 October 2015

Melanie Jula Sakoda

SNAP Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

http://www.snapnetwork.org/convicted_orthodox_archbishop_defrocked_victims_group_is_grateful

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This is a colloquy between a respected Cabinet Member and me (I’m in plain type):

This smells like the Centre’s doing… he’s not a “retired bishop” or other such rot. Moscow said, “He’s out”, and Tikhon thumped his forehead and said, “Your wish is my command”. That’s why he got the white hat… he’d do as they told him, without trouble. A secular court convicted him of a felony, which are grounds for deposition. Gnarly world, ain’t it? The older I get, the less it surprises me, but, by God, there’s a lot of repeated bullshit, isn’t there? Now, the question is, where is Storheim going?

I don’t think Storheim is going anywhere. He’s been living somewhere now, and I’m sure he still has supporters who will continue their support. Don’t know if, as a Canadian, he contributed to the OCA Pension plan. If he did, he most likely will get those benefits. We don’t have numerous monasteries around, so that’s no choice. Moreover, since we do have “unaffiliated” monks running around, my guess is that he’d just continue as a private citizen in Canada.

Here’s a FB colloquy (I’m in plain type):

They didn’t answer any questions… where is he going to live? Shall he have access to kids?

Exactly.

There are too many “hyperclericalists” out there. The priests I know aren’t like that… but there are those who encourage it… they’re usually bad to the bone…

Yes, it’s usually a danger sign for a priest to encourage this behaviour.

(Serious proposal, not a joke) Perhaps, we should give him a one-way to the Mountain… that would solve it neatly. Ergo, it won’t happen. If I remember rightly, that’s how ROCOR handled a distasteful situation in the 80s.

I agree… send him to Mt Athos… but please keep him away from kids… I’m not saying any of this to be nasty or punitive, but we should keep him away from children for their sake and for his sake too. Since he’s a convicted sex offender, he may have restrictions put upon him by the Government of Canada.

In short, the OCA answered NO questions, save for announcing his deposition from the clergy. It’s the usual muddle and kerfuffle… I’ll say that the ROCOR hasn’t a better track record… Sam Greene and Podmo, anyone? The OCA should have announced:

The Canadian government put the following restrictions on Seraphim Storheim:

(list of restrictions)

To comply with the spirit of these restrictions, We order that Monk Seraphim live at X Monastery in X. We order that he have no contact with minors. We order that Monk Seraphim spent the rest of his life in prayer and repentance.

This didn’t happen. The OCA didn’t announce where he’d be, what restrictions he’s under, and it didn’t order him to avoid contact with minors EXPLICITLY. Jillions is an incompetent boob… but he has First Family connections and he’s sweet in Lyonyo’s circles. I just hope that no minor child gets hurt. That’s the real world consequence of such shit.

Pass me the jug… the world is gnarly, I know, but must it be such so often and so blatantly?

BMD