Declaration of The Right Reverend Daniel, Bishop of Erie, on forming of a Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority of the Church Abroad
In connection with the canonical crisis which occured in ROCA, which was caused by the joining of the First Hierarch, the Synod and virtually all Diaspora bishops, safe for Agafangel, bishop of Tavria and Odessa and me, bishop Daniel of Erie, to the Moscow Patriarchy, and the loss by the First Hierarch of the right of being a Primate (prava Predstoyatel' stva),Taking into account that since Metropolitan made a schism, enough time has passed, but open declarations by the other bishops of ROCA, against the Act of abolishing the canonical order of ROCA, did not appear,
I, bishop Daniel, following Ukase 362 p.3 of His Holiness Patriarch, the Holy Synod and the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of the Orthodox Church of Russia from 7/20 of November 1920 and fulfilling the duties delegated to me by the Ukase, I declare that today, 9/22 of May 2007 I, on the rights of the oldest bishop by ordination, formed a Provisional Supreme Ecclesiastical Authority (PSEA) of ROCA composed of the bishops remaining in the Church Abroad - I, bishop Daniel of Erie, and Agafangel, bishop of Tavria and Odessa.
In connection with the poor state of my health, I will not be able to actively take part in the restoration of the canonical order of ROCA, the management of the PSEA, the convocation and carrying, with the rights of President of the Fifth All-Diaspora Council.
I voluntarily delegate my rights for this constructive endeavour to the Right Reverend Agafangel, who will be obliged to keep me posted on activities, but foremost, he must listen to the voice of the Church - the voice of the clergy and laypeople. In connection with that, for participation in the administration of the Church, I commission to reinstate, at the Fifth All-Diaspora Council, the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of ROCA made of clergy and laypersons.
If God allows, I would joyously participate, together with bishop Agafangel, in the Hirotoniyas of new bishops for the Church Abroad, but I would like to draw for this important endeavour, our brethren - the Greek Metropolitan Cyprian, the Romanian [Metropolitan] Vlasie and the Bulgarian [Bishop] Photii.
For that cause it is necessary to restore immediately full Eucharistic Communion with the Old Calendar Synods, and to conduct joint meetings with them in the future.
I do not rule out the possibility of reinforcement of the episcopate of ROCA with [bishops] from the Russian groups which have left ROCA recently, and even from the MP.
It seems to me, that the admission of bishops in their present order is possible for all of the aforementioned structures, except for RTOC (Russkaya Istinno-Pravoslavna ya Cerkov', Russian True Orthodox Church - the "Tikhonites" ). Regarding the breadth of economy, in each particular case it is difficult to say, but in general, we should admit from the MP the way it was accepted for them before, and from the Autonomous Russian Church and Mansonville - through supplementing of hierarchical ordinations.
I entrust the Right Reverend Agafangel with sending out as a Circular letter from my name the given Declaration to all the Dioceses of ROCA for the administration in the necessary cases.
Bishop Daniel of Erie
9/22 of May 2007.
Translation of the Relics of St. Nicholas
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