Decree of the Assembly
of the Widowed Eastern-American Diocese
of the Widowed Russian Church Abroad
May 5/18, 2007
Memory of the Great Martyr Irina
In connection with the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion on the Feast Day of the Ascension of the Lord on May 4/17 of this year, and the joining of a part of the Church Abroad in the structure of the sergianist Moscow Patriarchy, and its canonical subordination to it, occurring yesterday, we - the priests of the Eastern-American Diocese and those laypeople who support us, consider this action of our Synod, which was taken in violation of the Conciliar opinion of the body of our Church Abroad, to not be binding for the faithful members of ROCA.
The merger with the MP(Moscow Patriarchy) undertaken by a part of the Church Abroad is not a solution to the question of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church. This matter can only be resolved by the Church’s independent Local Council, as was called for in the Conciliar Resolution of the IV All-Diaspora Council.
With Metropolitan Laurus' Synod having joined the Moscow Patriarchy; which is in schism from the Local Russian Orthodox Church, which lacks a Prelate with Apostolic succession, which causes it to be in schism from the Universal Church, which continues its membership in the World Council of Churches and the participation in the heresy of ecumenism, constitutes a joining with heretical schismatics and the departure of Metropolitan Laurus' Synod from the Church Abroad into the sergianist schism, thereby causing a schism in the Church Abroad itself.
According to the 33rd rule of the Holy Laodicean Council, which forbids Orthodox faithful to pray with heretics or apostate-schismatics, we are compelled, with a painful heart, to cease our prayerful communion with Metropolitan Laurus, his bishops and clergy, who have perpetrated schism in the Church Abroad, and release ourselves from subordination to the Synod of Metropolitan Laurus, which went from ROCA into schism.
Therefore we, the undersigned, having considered the action taken by Metropolitan Laurus' Synod to be unfounded canonically, premature and life-threatening, hereby declare:
1. To remain based in the existing Status of the ROCA .
2. To ask the
bishops remaining faithful to the traditional course of ROCA to form a
Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority (PSEA), to convene a Vth All-Diaspora Council, and reinstate the ROCA
Synod,
which has ceased to exist.
3. To ask Agafangel,
Bishop of Buenos Aires and South America , who also governs the Crimean
Diocese, and Daniel, Bishop
of Erie, to take our widowed Diocese under their care.
4. To give a
blessing to the clergy of the Diocese to allow the following form of
liturgical
commemoration:
“His
Eminence, the Most Reverend Agafangel,
Bishop of
South America and Buenos Aires ,
governing the Eastern-American Diocese.”
5. The Diocesan
Assembly elected the Synodal Presbyter
Viktor Dobrov for the position of
secretary-administrator of the
Eastern-American Diocese, as well as two assistant
secretary-administrators:
from the clergy - Protopriest Sergey Klestov, from the laypeople - Petr
Nikolayevich Koltypin.
6. The Diocesan
Assembly proposes that the PSEA consider the candidacy of the
most-honorable
Abbot Andronik Kotlyarov
for Ordination as a Bishop.
Signatures:
Archpriest Gregoriy Kotliarov
Archpriest Wsewolod Dutikow
Archpriest Sergey Klestov
Priest Viktor Dobrov
Hieromonk Evtikhiy Dovganyuk
Priest Sergey Serzhanov
Priest Ilya Gan
(who added his signature
on May 6/19)
Alexander Volk
(parish warden)
Olga Kozinskaya (parish warden)
Oleg Rodzianko (The Society of the Revniteli
of the Memory of Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky)
Petr Koltypin (The Society
of the Revniteli of the Memory of
Metropolitan Anthony
Khrapovitsky)
Evgeniy Magerovskiy
(The Society of the Revniteli
of the Memory of Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky)
The names of those not attending, who expressed a desire to add their signatures, and who authorized those present to sign for them:
Archimandrite Andronik
Kotlyarov
Archpriest Igor Hrebinka
Archpriest Alexy Mikrikov
Priest Nikita Grigoriev
Hieromonk Savva Bogdan
Hieromonk Ilya Sheptitsky
Priest Daniil Meshter
Protodeacon Job Chemerov
While the Diocesan
Assembly met in the city of Nyack ,
NY, similar assemblies took place throughout the Eastern-American
Diocese at
the same time in other deaneries. The resolutions of these local
assemblies,
conducted by trusted persons who support the present Decree and
Resolution,
will be sent separately by them, including all signatures, to Bishop Agafangel.
+Reverend Viktor Dobrov