Voices from Russia

Sunday, 16 September 2018

16 September 2018. Bart Ups the Ante… HH Sees Him and Raises the Bet

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Bart has upped the ante. He named two “exarchs” for the Ukraine. Note well that neither is from the Ukraine…. one is from Canada, the other from the USA. That is, both are under the direct control of the CIA. If they don’t do what Langley wants them to do, well, they’ll have an “accident”. HH saw this bet and raised it. The MP has withdrawn from all inter-Church bodies that include the EP. No MP clergy will concelebrate with EP clergy. Communion is still intact, as the EP hasn’t yet declared its interlopers in the Ukraine a proper Church body yet. If that happens, well, all grounded sources agree. It’d cause a schism that wouldn’t heal in our lifetime.

The OCA is a deer in the headlights. It’s utterly discombobulated and shitting itself in fright. SVS and some of the konvertsy favour the EP…. most of the real ethnics favour the MP. Tikhon Mollard is supine and voiceless. I’ve no doubt that both parties are working on him. The EP can’t offer much… but the MP could pull the Tomos if Mollard proved recalcitrant. If that happened, many of the parishes would go under Moscow. However, no one knows what’s going to happen. I don’t know; no one does. No matter what, this is an existential crisis for both world Orthodoxy and for the OCA. All wait to see what’ll happen.

BMD 

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Monday, 4 June 2018

Pope Francisco Spoke Against Encroachments on Integrity of Russian Church

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On Thursday, Pope Francisco Bergoglio said at a meeting with a group of Russian clergy that the Roman Catholic Church is in favour of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church in the wake of Ukrainian President P A Poroshenko’s plan to institute an independent local [national] Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Ilarion Alfeyev, the chief of the MP OVTsS, led the group visiting the Vatican. The Pope of Rome said:

I want to confirm most of all in front of you, dear brother, and before you, that the Catholic Church will never allow an attitude of division to be born on its own. We’ll never allow it; we don’t want it. In Russia, there is only one Patriarch, yours. We won’t have another. Unification as a method isn’t acceptable in relations between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians at the current stage and only a sisterly dialogue between these two denominations of Christianity is possible. The Catholic Church, the Catholic Churches, shouldn’t interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, not even in political matters. This is my position and the position of the Holy See today. Those who meddle don’t obey the Holy See.

At the end of April, the Verkhovnaya Rada supported President Poroshenko’s appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew Archontonis of Constantinople, who has the titular status of “first amongst equals” in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to a “united” Orthodox Church in the Ukraine. The global Orthodox Christian community recognises only one canonical Orthodox community in the Ukraine… the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of to Moscow Patriarchate. Operating simultaneously are another two bodies, unrecognised by global Orthodoxy… the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of to the so-called Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

In the meantime, experts and analysts say that Poroshenko’s aspirations received substantial backing from the so-called Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Eastern Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite), which is under the Vatican. Earlier this month, Metropolitan Ilarion told NTV that Archbishop (sic) Svyatoslav Shevchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Uniates “repeatedly stated his support of the project for a unified Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church, while saying that the unity of this Church should be built on the successor of St Peter, that is, the Pope of Rome”.

31 May 2018

TASS

http://tass.com/society/1007457

Editor:

Francisco is telling the Uniates to cool it. However, they’re refusing to obey him. They’ve taken the CIA’s shilling for years; they more listen to Washington than to Rome. The Uniates don’t care what Francisco wants… their leadership are fanatics, as is the leadership of the so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox”. Ukrainian nationalists are evil… they push an agenda mired in falsehood and lies. The Habsburgs sicced these nutters on the world… the Austro-Hungarians have the blame for starting this kerfuffle (they wanted to weaken Russia… it led to their death camp at Thalerhof). Don’t forget, the Uniates blessed the SS, as did the so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox”. They’re unrepentant of that… hell, they’re proud of it! Ponder that… ponder it well…

BMD

Monday, 1 February 2016

EP Apologised to the UPTs/MP for the Unauthorised Interference of its Bishops in the Ukraine

00 metr onufry. 11.05.15

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On 29 January, Metropolitan Onufry Berezovsky of Kiev and all the Ukraine said in a speech at a local Archpastoral Sobor that the EP promised not to send any emissaries to the Ukraine without consent from the UPTs/MP Holy Synod. He noted that the MP delegation raised the issue of unauthorised visits by EP elements raised during the Synaxis of First Hierarchs of the Local Churches at Chambésy. EP representatives promised that there’d be no more unauthorised visits to the Ukraine by their clergy and that there’d be no further concelebration with schismatics.

31 January 2016

SPZh Union of Orthodox Journalists

http://uoj.org.ua/novosti/sobytiya/konstantinopolskiy-patriarkhat-izvinilsya-pered-upts-za-samovolnyy-priezd-ego-arkhiereev-v-ukrainu

Editor:

Interesting, this… a victory for the MP. Indeed, the EP had to retreat on all fronts to get its notional “Sobor”. The meeting will be in Crete, NOT Istanbul. My sources told me that the MP didn’t want a meeting in a venue bugged by Langley (“Bart kisses Biden’s ass”, as one source at the Centre told me). No doubt, the pro-Russian Greek government will vet the venue, which means that the SVR, NOT THE CIA, will bug the premises. The calendar is OFF the agenda. The date of Easter is OFF the agenda. Sources tell me that autocephaly and autonomy are also effectively off the agenda. Now, the real rumpus will start… the MP will demand the seating of the OCA. Is it a bargaining chip or is it a dealbreaker? Perspirin’ minds wanna know…

As for me, I believe that a bootless meeting will take place… empty platitudes and windy bullshit. HO-HUM…

BMD

Sunday, 19 July 2015

Antioch’s Response to Jerusalem Over Qatar Turf War

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A few days ago, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem published a statement “sincerely and truthfully informing our sister Orthodox Churches and its flock” of certain points that contain no truth about its attack on territory canonically and historically belonging to the pastoral care of the Patriarchate of Antioch according to Orthodox order. The first item summarises the history of the emergence of the Qatar parish until the naming of an archbishop for it. It says in the begging of the historical narrative that it “responded to an invitation by the Christians of Qatar, a geographical territory within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction”, while in reality it is part of “All the East”, the title of the Patriarchate of Antioch since the establishment of the first five Apostolic Patriarchates. Every observer of Church history knows that the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in Chalcedon in 451, decided “out of reverence for the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection” to elevate the city of Jerusalem, which at the time was a diocese subject to the Patriarchate of Antioch, to the rank of patriarchate. Over the course of time, Antioch gave her some of her territory so that she could have a patriarchal existence. We could mention, for example, that Haifa remained a diocese of Antioch until the 18th century.

The statement mentions that services for the Christians of Qatar began “in house churches” and that “the Patriarchate of Antioch had no presence” there. The least that one can say about this is that it is a truth meant to express a falsehood. Services began in homes… specifically, in the home of the American ambassador, who at that time was Orthodox… because Qatar hadn’t yet started to permit Christian religious services. This is what prevented the Church of Antioch, in the person of the shepherd of the diocese overseeing Qatar, Metropolitan Constantine Papastephanou, from providing regular liturgical services. However, he made numerous visits to Qatar, during which he held liturgical services.

If the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the support of the American ambassador, was for years only able to provide regular liturgical services in homes and not in a designated building, then how can she allow herself to admonish her sister Church of Antioch and appropriate what is hers? Does not ecclesiastical, canonical and brotherly practise… not to simply say love… not require her to ask permission to provide religious services for the faithful living in that country, as the Russian Church did when she sought permission from her sister Church of Antioch to build a church in Sharjah for the Russians who are very numerous in the United Arab Emirates? Indeed, this is what happened. Today, at liturgies in the UAE, the Russian priest, in accordance with Orthodox tradition, commemorates the Patriarch of Antioch alongside the Russian Patriarch, which is recognition on the part of his Church that it’s serving its believers on Antiochian territory. Then, we should wonder whether providing religious services to the faithful through a priest, a brother from a sister church, gives this church the right to consider the territory her own, to consecrate a bishop for it and to regard it as a dependency? Such a thing only happens between conflicting colonial powers! In addition to this, it accuses the Antiochian Church of ethnophyletism, when Antioch serves all Orthodox in the Gulf of various nationalities, using Arabic, Greek, and sometimes Russian and Romanian in the Divine Liturgy. In North America and Australia, she uses English and the proportion of converts of non-Arab background is reaching fifty percent. In South and Central America, we’ve translated the divine services into Spanish and Portuguese.

This statement falsely and slanderously accused the Church of Antioch, which God has preserved from the temptation of ethnophyletism and has worldwide acclaim for the significant role she continues to play in realising Orthodox ecclesiology, of “placing the question on an ethnic-racial basis”. Go ahead and laugh. We’ve really reached the end of times! You’ll laugh even more when you learn that Jerusalem’s statement bases its accusation on a letter that doesn’t exist, attributed to Patriarch Youhanna X, that puts into his mouth words that no Orthodox person with even a modicum of sanity has ever said. They claim that he is demanding pastoral oversight of the Orthodox in Qatar because he “represents the Orthodox Community in all Arab countries, including for example Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Egypt, Bahrain, the Emirates, and Iran”. Is Iran an Arab country? We hadn’t heard about this. They’ve exchanged Persian for another language!

Likewise anyone who is in the least familiar with ecclesial reality knows that Egypt and all Africa belongs to the Patriarchate of Alexandria whose foundation is attributed to the Holy Evangelist Mark and is an ancient apostolic patriarchate having the second place after Rome, before the foundation of Constantinople, which it continues to hold today among the Orthodox. As such, it goes ahead of Antioch, which holds the third place among the Orthodox. As for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, she cares for the city of Jerusalem and, as we mentioned above, with time, Antioch gave it dioceses in present-day Palestine and Jordan. Among them are ten dioceses in present-day Jordanian territory that belonged to the diocese of Bosra, which the Patriarch of Jerusalem suddenly woke up and started regarding as belonging to his patriarchate. If not for the need to defend the right and honour of the Church, we would shy away from talking about these shameful realities.

The most hurtful thing is the false accusation that the Patriarchate of Antioch is lying. This is unprecedented behaviour even for countries in conflict with each other, so how can it happen in the Church of Jesus Christ? The statement goes so far as to deny the agreement reached in Athens at the Greek Foreign Ministry in early summer 2014. Even uglier than that, it invokes “the testimony of the delegates of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of the Directorate for Churches”, of course, to confirm the non-existence of this agreement, which the Greek media announced at that time. How far has the Church of Jerusalem, the “Mother of Churches”, sunk and why is there this frantic effort to occupy the territory of a sister church?! Instead of practising the words of the Apostle, “Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?” we find our brother practicing the following saying, “Who is weak and I do not devour him?” It is really a bitter farce, in the face of which words are useless. Whoever said, “Among the Orthodox, active love has become a dull tune”, was right. It’s no wonder then that other religious communities have become a haven for those fleeing the hell of those who claim to be the “Mother of Churches”. You’re truly a stranger and an outcast in Your own Church, O Lord! Worst of all, the statement closes by declaring kindness and gentleness that impose continued “commemoration of the sister Orthodox Church of Antioch, for the sake of the unity of the Orthodox Church”. As if the unity of the Church were a superficial unity achieved through commemoration alone, apart from truth and love. What unity is this apart from truth!? What unity is this in falsehood and slander?! What unity is this through bullying, using every means that belongs to this world, except the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!? Do we still wonder why people are fleeing the Church?

Metropolitan Saba Isber

18 July 2015

Antiochpatriarchate.org

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