V R Legoida: “It’s not Correct nor Acceptable to Call It an Ecumenical Council”

Mount Athos, The Holy Mountain: The Orthodox Vatican (from the Slavonic Epic, nr 17)

Alfons Maria Mucha

1926

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Vladimir Legoida, head of the MP Synodal Information Department (SINFO), expanded on what came about at the meeting of the First Hierarchs and representatives of the Local Churches held last week at the HQ of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Phanar in Istanbul. The main purpose of the meeting was to prepare for an all-Orthodox Sobor. Legoida related that the Church reached consensus on convening a Sobor in spring 2016, saying, “The MP delegation, headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Gundayev, played a crucial role in this. The meeting decided to increase preparations for holding a Sobor. This autumn, a special commission composed of one bishop and one advisor from each autocephalous Local Church will begin work. By the spring of next year, the commission will pave the way for the opening of an all-Orthodox Pre-Sobor Conference. It’ll agree upon the final issues to be addressed and be the final step towards an all-Orthodox Sobor”.

“One should note that the First Hierarchs and representatives of the Local Churches unequivocally supported the MP’s position that we should reach all decisions at any future all-Orthodox Sobor by consensus only. This means that if a decision lacks the support of even one Local Church, the Sobor won’t accept it; all decisions must have unanimity to be valid. This is according to ancient Church tradition, this characterises and distinguishes catholicity from recent parliamentary democracy, where decision-making is through the principle of majority. What’s more, this Sobor is important as a living example of how to restore inter-Orthodox communication, long complicated by various factors”. Answering a question whether the upcoming Sobor is an Ecumenical Council, Legoida explained, “Some call the upcoming Sobor a Holy and Great Council; some call it an all-Orthodox Sobor. It’s not correct nor acceptable to call it an Ecumenical Council. The last Ecumenical Council was in Nicaea in 787, and there’s been no more Ecumenical Councils since then. After the schism of 1054, the Latins continued to hold councils, which they called ‘ecumenical’. However, the Church doesn’t recognise them. We expect that the future all-Orthodox Sobor in 2016 would include the First Hierarchs and representatives of all recognised autocephalous Orthodox Local Churches“.

12 March 2014

Patriarchia.ru

MP official website

http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3603789.html

Editor’s Note:

I left “Sobor” in the original Russian for a reason. Firstly, all Russian Orthodox in the diaspora know what a “sobor” is… it’s a meeting held to thrash out matters of Church governance, not doctrinal issues. That’s true of this meeting, as well. There’s MUCH less to it than what EP and papist sources are trumpeting in various fora and media. GIVE HEED TO THE SECTIONS IN BOLDFACE. Read them with care… there be plenty of fresh and steaming cowpats in that there field. When one adds to that Balashov’s recent comment on the number of autocephalous Churches, one can realise that this Sobor is far from a done deal.

One last thing, Antioch and Czechia/Slovakia weren’t at the late meeting… y’know, we need CONSENSUS for ANYTHING to fly… can you catch my drift?

BMD

17 September 2013. OCA Makes Big Deal Over “Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America”… IMPORTANT Issues Left Silent… I Wonder Why

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On oca.org, they made a big deal over a so-called “Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America”. This is nothing but an EP-sponsored talk-shop. It generates tons of wind, issues pretty position papers, and does nothing of practical import, save for publishing a pretty group photo. It does serve one purpose… it’s a venue where the contestants in the EP/MP Great Game can meet and palaver… it’s much like a Cold War Summit in that regard. In short, it’s not important at all… but do note that oca.org made it sound like it was such… in a pathetic attempt to pump up the shaky position of the OCA.

Note how oca.org pumped up an EP-financed-and-run centre at Chambésy–Genève and a so-called “Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference” (mistranslated into English, since we’re of Russian background, it should be “Fourth Pre-Conciliar all-Orthodox Conference”; we shouldn’t be pandering by using constructions derived from Greek). Firstly, the EP centre at Chambésy is inactive, shuttered for four years, as the Greek government defunded it. That was its major source of funds, so, the centre closed down for all practical purposes (it’s formally-open, but there’s been no conferences since 2010). You can see where oca.org is sucking up to the EP… if they were loyal to the MP, they’d point up the fact that centre was a dead duck and a sham.

Secondly, the so-called Fourth Pre-Conciliar all-Orthodox Conference was phoney baloney. These conferences have been going on since the ‘60s with no practical result whatsoever. There’s going to be NO Eighth Council any time soon… there’s no one to call it! The Roman Emperor called all of the Seven Councils; today, there’s no Christian Emperor to call the council, ergo, there can be no Council. The Ecumenical Patriarch has NEVER had the ability to call Ecumenical Councils; he’s NOT the “Orthodox Pope”. In short, there’s not going to be an Eighth Council any time soon (or any time later), so, one can see that’s nothing but SVS wind and bullshit, 100 percent pure, straight from the Ivory Tower.

Thirdly, there’s going to be NO resolution of the canonical situation in the diaspora. Besides the EP, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, and Romania all share a common position… they don’t accept the legitimacy of the OCA as an autocephalous Local Church, they see the OCA as the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America… they don’t accept it as being the Territorial Church at all (neither does the MP, as it’s never given up its claim to North America as its canonical territory). The OCA is the odd man out, everyone knows it, and do note that the service for this so-called “Assembly” was at the ROCOR cathedral.

Lil’ Mizz Ginny isn’t a good spin doctor. She attempted to spin it… but you can see her laziness. The post sounds like an EP press release; she didn’t even rewrite it to make it look like it came from Syosset. The OCA should fire her… but they won’t, they’re sucking up to the konvertsy for some odd reason (probably, they’re the only group that attends to the noxious treacle that issues from SVS).

Crazy world, ain’t it? It hasn’t gotten any saner in the last 24 (nor is it going to in the next 24). Do note that there wasn’t any mention of the Syrian Golgotha in the post (nor in any other on oca.org). Our brethren are dying, killed by American government-supported militant fighters, but our Church here is silent. That’s EVIL… none dare call it treason and blasphemy (although it’s both, in spades).

Remember Ma’loula… the OCA doesn’t, take heed of that fact (and DO follow the money)…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Albany NY

1 October 2012. A Point to Ponder. Symphonia… It’s What the Church Teaches

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With all the arrant bullshit swirling over HH and President Putin, it’s time to interject some reality here. The Church teaches Symphonia… the cooperation of Church and State, each in its proper sphere, but with each influencing the other and each checking the other’s excesses and errors. Don’t forget, the Emperor called all seven REAL Ecumenical Councils… NOT the Pope of Rome, NOT the Patriarch of Constantinople, NOT any cleric at all. That’s why we can’t have an Eighth Ecumenical Council until a believing Orthodox Emperor calls one. In any case, there’s no crisis in the Church similar to the Great Christological Heresies today. We have serious problems, to be sure, but they’re “wheat n’ tares“, not Arianism, Gnosticism, Nestorianism, or  Monophysitism. Those cut to the heart n’ soul of the Faith… today’s problems affect the “members” of the Faith… that is, they’re serious, they need attention (or it’ll affect this-or-that portion of the Church), but it isn’t the inner sanctum of belief.

HH and President Putin cooperate. That’s all to the good! Trust me, HH isn’t going to turn over the Church to the State. In any case, HH isn’t a government minister, and VVP isn’t a pastor. Use the good-sense that God gave you and get your mind right.

BMD

What I Wrote Someone Who Didn’t Like the Word “Fuck”…

 

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I write ’em as I see ’em. I’m not criticising YOU or your attitudes. We’re VERY different people. That’s what makes the world go ’round. In any case, the OCA‘s unravelling, and it isn’t pretty… nor is it edifying. The word I used was appropriate for such a situation. I’ve never seen the like in my life, and I hope never to again after this situation blows up. I don’t find it pleasant or to my taste at all. It’s a fucked-up mess, and I’m saying that from the heart. I now know what the time of the Great Christological Heresies was like… we’re living through such now. God do help us all…

BMD