Saturday, November 25, 2006

Another Bishop is Ordained in the RocOC under Met Anthony (Orlov)

(Portal-Credo.Ru – Vertograd, Moscow)

Archimandrite of ROCOR(L) Ioann (Zinoviev) was received to RusOC under Met Anthony (Orlov) and consecrated bishop of Zaporozhe and Malorossia on November 24, 2006 in Sherbinka (Moscow region). Bishop Ioann has become the sixth bishop of RusOC, four of them have been ordained within the recent four months.

The consecration took place in accordance with a decision of the Synod of RusOC, which met shortly before it. All the bishops were present except for Victor Pivovarov, who delegated his voice to Met Anthony (Orlov). The Synod also established a new diocese of Malorossia, which includes Ukraine and Moldova (this area belonged to the diocese of Bishop Victor before).

The service started at 6 A.M. and not more than 10 people were present at the consecration (RusOC does not have too many people or parishes). After the service and consecration there was a dinner, that Met Anthony did not participate. He was leaving Russia, where he spent more than a month.

A newly ordained Bishop Ioann has already been a bishop before. He had been a bishop of Kiev Partiarchate, which was not recognized when he was received to ROCOR in 2003. He was received to ROCOR as an Archimandrite, that was his latest rank in Moscow Partiarchate where he had been before. The decision of his new hierarchical consecration in RocOC formally contradicts the previos decision of that Church (dated by Nov 3) to re-baptise and re-ordain any clergy that got their ranks in Moscow Partiarchate.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Archbishop Anthony (Orlov) Becomes the First-Hierarch of a Russian (Rossijskaya) Orthodox Church

(“Mech I Trost” – Portal-Credo.Ru – Vertograd, Moscow – St.-Petersburg)

Archbishop Anthony (Orlov) was elected a First-Hierarch of the ROCOR(A) at the Sobor of this church in the village of Scherbinka (Moscow region, Russia) on November 2-4.

A new hierarch — Bishop Athanasy of Nizhni Novgorod and Ural — was consecrated at the first service of the Sobor on November 2. He took participated the Sobor along with Archbishop Anthony (Orlov), Archbishop Victor of Cuban and South Russia, Bishop Damascene of Central Russia and Bishop Stephan of Ust-Sysol and Northern Russia.

The new First-Hierarch of this church Metropolitan Anthony will have the title of Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, and the church will have the name of a Russian (Rossijskaya) Orthodox Church, as was decided at the Sobor. It has five bishops and about ten priests now.

In his first sermon the new First-Hierarch emphasized that contemporary Russia “is run by intruders and foreigners”, whose aim is “to destroy Orthodoxy in Russia”.

“Pray at the walls of Moscow Kremlin for riddance of the enemies that are still here”, — Metropolitan Anthony said to those in church.

“I will not rule the Church from abroad, I will come often”, Metropolitan Anthony promised.