Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Moscow Patriarchate is Trying to Institute Legal Proceedings against Bishop Diomid Who Was Speaking against Ecumenism

(Lenta.Ru — Vertograd, Anadyr)

Bishop Mark of Moscow Patriarchate who was appointed as a temporary head of Chukotka Diocese is trying to put criminal liability to the former ruler of that Diocese Bishop Diomid, who spoke openly against a number of violations of the hierarchy of Moscow Patriarchate. So, Moscow Patriarchate is violating the cannon that prohibits to sue church members to settle the interchurch matters.

Bishop Mark condemns Bishop Diomid of stealing all the documents of the dioceses including the accounting and tax documentation. "According to the modest estimation the general amount of income that was not registered equals not less than 8 to 10 million rubles per year only for one church building in Anadyr," Archbishop Mark says. So, Archbishop Mark condemns Bishop Diomid of stealing about 1000 dollars from only one parish everyday. That is completely impossible because Chukotka Diocese is one of the poorest in Moscow Patriarchate and it was hardly making this amount in several months.

Archbishop Mark has also reported about the "felony" to the Regional Representative of the President Oleg Safonov who asked the police "to investigate this information by the most detailed way."

Moscow Patriarchate is definitely trying to imprison Bishop Diomid or at least to keep him confined to his distant region, far away from the main population. They are purposely avoiding addressing the questions of ecumenism, etc. that he raised.