Analysis of the OCA Enthronement

A critical analysis of the OCA Enthronement of their new Met. Tikhon (Mollard):/Moscow insults OCA!

     http://www.monomakhos.com/lessons-from-the-enthronement-of-met-tikhon

{Information found on OCA loyalist-member, George Michalopulos's Monomakhos blog:}

*With a few of my added explanatory notes and brackets, etc. for better clarity.

Rd. Daniel

Lessons from the Enthronement of [New OCA Metroplitan] [sic] Tikhon (Mollard)

January 29, 2013 6 Comments

Let’s see how Syosset spins this one. Michael S: grab your megaphone! Carl: you, Diogenes, Phil R Up and Tom Paine grab your pompoms! “All together now: On Syosset! On Syosset! The Restoration is complete! / Now we throw Jonah out onto the street!” (Sung to “On Wisconsin!)

==================================

IntroductionWe have all seen the pictures of the enthronement (or installation) of the OCA latest First Hierarch, Metropolitan [sic] Tikhon. A bevy of pictures were posted on the OCA website trying to portray the event as a success and although the Syosset spin machine tried its best to list almost every person who was there, not that many showed up. The enthronement Liturgy was not much better than average Sunday Liturgy just a couple of years ago at St. Nicholas Cathedral and it was not nearly the attendance at Metropolitan Herman or Metropolitan Jonah’s respective enthronement Liturgies.

Here is the list of Orthodox bishops and who they represented as reported by the OCA website on January 27, 2013:

Among the guest hierarchs and clergy representing sister Orthodox Churches were His Eminence, Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, who represented His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia; His Eminence, Archbishop Dimitri, Metropolitan of Batumi and Lazeti, North America and Canada, who represented His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos Patriarch Ilia of All Georgia; His Grace, Bishop Nicholas of Brooklyn, who represented His Eminence, Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; His Grace, Bishop George of Mayfield, who represented His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia; and Archpriest Aleksa Michich, who represented His Holiness, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia and His Eminence, Archbishop Mitrophan. [Editor's note: nobody from the GOA was there.]

A Brief History of the Last Two OCA Enthronements

By way of comparison, the OCA reported this about the enthronement of Metropolitan Jonah on December 28,2008:

Among the guest hierarchs and clergy that were able to attend the Enthronement were His Grace, Bishop Mercurius, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, who represented His Eminence, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Patriarchal Locum tenens of the Church of Russia, His Grace, Bishop Ilia of Philomelion, representing His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania, and His Eminence, Archbishop Abel of Ljublin and Kholm representing His Beatitude, Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland.

Hierarchs from North American jurisdictions taking part in the Enthronement included His Eminence, Metropolitan Christopher of the Serbian Orthodox Mid-western Diocese, His Eminence, Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada, His Grace, Bishop Thomas of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and His Grace, Bishop Jerome of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

In addition to visiting hierarchs, we welcomed Fr. Mark Arey, the ecumenical officer of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, who represented the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archpriest Jan Polansky, representing the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and Archimandrite Kirill Hovorun who represented the Church of Ukraine.

Also, We were also honored to have with us the Russian Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency, Mr. Sergei Kislyak…

And to draw a circle on the last three enthronements of OCA Primates, here is who came to Metropolitan Herman’s enthronement as reported by the OCA website on September 7, 2002:

Among the concelebrating hierarchs representing the sister Orthodox Churches were His Grace, Bishop Savas, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Patriarchate of Constantinople; His Grace, Bishop Georgios, Patriarchate of Alexandria; His Grace, Bishop Demetri of Jableh, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Patriarchate of Antioch; His Eminence, Archbishop Damaskinos of Jaffa, Patriarchate of Jerusalem; His Eminence, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and His Grace, Bishop Mercurius of Zaraisk, Patriarchate of Moscow; His Eminence, Archbishop Nicolae, Romanian Orthodox Church in America and Canada,Patriarchate of Romania; His Beatitude, Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland and His Eminence, Archbishop Abel of Lublin, Orthodox Church of Poland; His Grace, Bishop Simeon, Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; His Eminence, Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo, Autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan; and His Eminence, Archbishop Avgustin of Lviv and Galicia, Autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. Other Churches were represented by clergy.

Every Orthodox Church in the world was represented at Metropolitan Herman’s enthronement.

Success or Failure?It is clear that the latest enthronement was not a success – and success being defined as a show of support by other Orthodox Churches for the OCA. Another way to look at it is,

Orthodox Churches represented at Metropolitan Tikhon’s enthronement:

• The Orthodox Church of Russia
• The Orthodox Church of Serbia
• The Orthodox Church of Georgia
• The Antiochian Archdiocese in North America
• The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
• and of course all the hierarchs of the OCA.

The Orthodox Churches not represented at the enthronement:

• The Orthodox Church of Constantinople
• The Orthodox Church of Alexandria
• The Orthodox Church of Antioch
• The Orthodox Church of Romania
• The Orthodox Church of Cyprus
• The Orthodox Church of Greece
• The Orthodox Church of Albania
• The Orthodox Church of Poland
• The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia

The declining representation displayed at the Tikhon usurpation enthronment is unmistakable. Even the response to Saturday’s enthronement banquet was poor. The banquet room was downsized from a room for 500 guests to a room for 150 guests and that number was not reached. Even more embarrassing is that of the 140 +/- that did show up, only 60 bought tickets, the rest got free tickets to fill the room! 

Even More Bad News:

But maybe the biggest blow to the OCA was that His Eminence,[MP] Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, who represented His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill[Gundaev] of Moscow and All Russia; His Eminence,[Georgian Patriarchate] Archbishop Dimitri, Metropolitan of Batumi and Lazeti, North America and Canada, who represented His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos Patriarch Ilia of All Georgia and His Grace,[ROCOR/MP] Bishop George [Schaffer]  of Mayfield, who represented His Eminence, [ROCOR/MP] Metropolitan Hilarion [Kapral] First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia,[ROCOR/MP]. at the conclusion of the enthronement Liturgy, left the cathedral and  walked next door and offered their personal greetings to [former] [ forcibly retired], Metropolitan Jonah {Paffhausen]. Observers noted that Lefty [OCA Archpriest Leonid] Kishkovsky [a bigshot in the OCA's Syosset Administration] was livid at this affront. (What a capstone to a [his] miserable career in ecumenism.)

After their meeting with Jonah, they left DC and did not attend the Enthronement Banquet.  

So this is the very tenuous starting point for the new and improved post-Jonah OCA. The OCA Synod met on Monday to deal with their new reality and their increased isolation here in North America and around the world. The ironic thing is that although Tikhon has been placed in a gilded cage of Kishkovskyite manufacture, he really has the ability to break free from his chains. After all, what is Syosset going to do? Replace yet another Metropolitan?

==============================================

*Correction: to my recent sharing of the 'Two Reports' on this enthronement, where I mistakenly stated that it was the MP New York St. Nicholas Cathedral that gifted new Met. Tikhon with relics of 3 French saints.  It was actually the OCA's Washington DC St. Nicholas Cathedral that gave him those 3 relics.

Rd. Daniel.