During
the beginning of October of this year, certain Internet publications appeared
with unreliable information regarding the summer meeting of the Synod of
Bishops of the RTOC in Krasnodar. Based
upon an earlier decision, the Synod does not publish the minutes of its
meetings. Therefore, the published
materials and opinions regarding the decisions of the Synod are without
documentary basis. The Synod expresses
its surprise and regret that such a major religious news portal could be so
mistaken as to not check its sources before publishing a slanderous article,
and later this information was used in the publications of other authors.
The Synod
of Bishops of the RTOC officially announces:
1. The Synod has made no decisions made regarding
a new petition “for the suffering Russian land and its Christ-loving army.”
The
Synod of Bishops has not expressed any support for the DNR, the LNR, or the
Ukrainian Army. Regarding the question
of “Christ-loving warriors (soldiers),” it should be understood that in our
Church there are faithful on both sides of the warring conflict in the
Ukraine. People request prayers, and ask
how to pray in such circumstances. Among
the parishioners of our Church in the Ukraine there may be families, which have
relatives involved in this conflict on both sides. Because of this, it was decided to pray for "the
calming of strife, discord, bloodshed and internecine warfare, because of our
sins."
Obviously,
this does not imply the army or the government of either side. This is, in fact, a prayer for all true
Orthodox Christians involved in this conflict, and also for the innocent
suffering residents, including the elderly, and the women and children living
in this war zone.
Regarding
the prayer, published on the official site of the Synod in February of 2014 at
the very beginning of the conflict, it needs to be said that the wording in the
text of the prayer “about the Christ-loving army” has caused some confusion
among the flock. Because of this, the
Synod is prepared to review the wording so as to properly express our position,
namely “about the Christ-loving warriors (soldiers).”
2. Hegumen Elia Empulev was not summoned to the
meeting of the Synod. He did not attend
the meeting of the Synod, nor did he send a written report. Granting Hegumen Elia the rank of
Archimandrite was not a Synodal decision.
The decision to grant him the rank of Archimandrite was made by his
ruling hierarch in June of this year during the altar feast day of the
Cathedral in Omsk.
Archimandrite
Elia's presentation at the “All-Russian Meeting of Adherents to the Purity of
Orthodoxy,” organized by the MP, was without a blessing, as was his video
presentation. Speeches and publications
of Archimandrite Elia are not to be considered the voice our Church.
3. The assertion that Protopresbyter Victor
(Melehov) is "the Exarch of the RTOC to North America" does not
correspond to the actual state of affairs.
Reasoning regarding the logic of the conclusion of Protopresbyter Victor
Melehov’s article, “A Commentary on the
Union Between The GTOC and The Greek Synod in Resistance (Cyprianites),” is an
arbitrary interpretation by the criticizing author. The Synod does not share such “logic.”
4. Regarding Bishop Germogen, the Synod
confirmed its previous decision retiring Bishop Germogen with the right to
serve in the parishes of the diocese.
Since it was planned to discuss Bishop Germogen’s situation at the
Synod, it was decided to invite him to the final confirmation of his
status. At the conclusion of the Synod
meeting, Bishop Germogen was invited to concelebrate in the festive liturgy.
The Synod
calls upon the clergy and flock to not get involved in the "news"
from dubious sources outside of the Church, to not succumb to provocations, but
instead to stand firm in the Faith, and remain faithful to Christ's Church and its
hierarchy.
Source (in Russian): RTOC Synod Official Website
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