Sunday, August 07, 2005

New president chosen in the ROCOR(V)-TROC (True Russian Orthodox Church Lazarie brunch)

(Church Bulletin - Vertograd, Odessa (Ukraine))

An extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops of a “branch” of ROCOR(V), which had been headed by Archbishop Lazar (Zhurbenko), took place in the town of Veliky Dal’nik, Odessa province (Ukraine). On July 7th, on the feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John, following the Divine Liturgy and a panikhida for Schema-Archbishop Lazar, elections were held for a new president of the Synod. By majority vote taken during secret balloting, the choice fell upon Bishop Tikhon (Pasechnik) of Omsk and Siberia, the youngest in rank of all the bishops.

The next day, Bishop Tikhon was raised to the rank of Archbishop. The rite of elevation was performed by Archbishop Benjamin of the Black Sea and Kuban, Bishop Dionysi of Novgorod and Tver, Bishop Germogen of Chernigov and Gomel, and Bishop Irenei of Verna and Semirechensk.

By a decision of the Synod, the orphaned Odessa-Tambov diocese was transferred temporarily to the administration of Archbishop Benjamin (the vicariate of Voronezh-Tambov with parishes in Russia is assigned to him) and Bishop Germogen (the parishes in the Ukraine).

Igumen Paul (Goncharov) was assigned as rector of the cathedral church of St. John of Kronstadt in Odessa. The parishes of Odessa province were assigned to a newly founded Odessa deanery.

The archiepiscopal residence where Archbishop Lazar formerly lived, together with its house church dedicated to the Derzhavnaya (She Who reigns) Icon of the Mother of God, was given the status of synodal metochion. According to the last will of Vladyka Lazar, the men’s skete will remain at the synodal metochion.