from Australia

ROCA News from Australia 

Great and Holy Tuesday, Holy Week:

Glory to Thy Long Suffering, O Lord, Glory to Thee!

From: http://sinod.ruschurchabroad.org 

28.04.13. В Мельбурне (Австралия) прошло пастырское совещание, в котором приняли участие администратор Австралийской епархии игумен Иоанн (Шмельц), игумен Андрей (Ерастов), протодьякон Василий Якимов и дьякон Небойша Миркосич. На совещании обсуждались вопросы регистрации, взаимодействия и дальнейшей жизни наших приходов в Австралии. Также обсуждался предстоящий визит в Австралию Митрополита Агафангела. Совещание прошло в мирной и конструктивной обстановке.

28.04.13: In  Melbourne, Australia was held a pastoral meeting which was attended  by the Australian Diocesan Administrator, Fathers, Abbot John (Schmelz), Abbot Andrew (Erastov), Archdeacon Basil Yakimov, and Deacon Nebojsa Mirkosich. The meeting discussed the issues of: registration, networking, and the future life of our parishes in Australia. Also discussed was the upcoming visit to Australia of Metropolitan Agafangel. The meeting was held in a peaceful and constructive spirit.

Why Orthodox believers are converting to Heterodoxy

• Why Orthodox believers are converting to other Christian denominations

         http://indrus.in/society/2013/05/05/why_orthodox_believers_are_converting_to_other_christian_denomination_24509.html

Christ Is Risen!  Mon, May 6, 2013

Yes, Fr. Eugene, I may share this excellent article. Thanks for it.

It affirms what other sources have been saying.

Of course, too, what is not mentioned here, is that (some) Russians who want a purer/more traditional  Orthodoxy ( free from government control and corruption), than that of the MP's tainted/questionable/enslaved to the government version, are moving to the sundry anti-MP Orthodox jurisdictions, all over Russia. And that includes MP clergy and laity.

These are Russians who want to stay/be Orthodox, but who cannot see that reality in the corrupt/state dependent MP organization., which is nothing but a religious-propaganda  entity, to proclaim to all: ......[But, GOD blesses the government! and thus to go against it is going against GOD! (& Mother Russia)....yata, yata, yata.

Otherwise, it is almost surprising that such truthful reporting, as this,  is getting out, ( still), but....one difference between  the current

Russian Federation and the past official soviet system, is that...so far, there is ...still...SOME measure of  honest reporting.,... which those in power do not like or want!... plus also, the level of civic ferment and dissatisfaction with both the government and the MP, is growing and growing.

I do not think, that it can be stopped or silenced.

Also, what is not mentioned here, are the many many bizarre/cultic/Russian-Pagan culture manifestations...i.e. present Russia is one big LUNY BIN of weird amalgamations of Christianish  and pagan practices and sects., many in very Russian molds.

Also, not mentioned here, is the hard fact, that a large part of the Russian population there, are confirmed atheists, -the results of all those years of official atheism. (yet who,,often label themselves, 'Orthodox' when pushed...or if such is to their social advantage..)

But, I am not surprised that many are turning to Prot or RC (or Buddhist, or whatever), entities, rather than the corrupt official state church,...which anyone can easily see, is but a tool of those  neo-soviet  puppets, ruling and ruining the country, sitting in the Kremlin., or. sitting on the Patriarchal throne.

And even though, to leave the MP causes much hardships and persecutions, still...presently, more and more ARE doing this....and many others want to do so.

So much so, that the various/fractured  anti-MP jurisdictions do not have enough clergy to serve them all.

By the way, one strong reason for villages to leave the MP, is ..corruption, and the fact that IF that village does not come up with regular LARGE monetary payments to the church...they are denied a priest/and/or are closed, etc...or denied permission to open a parish at all.

Everything in the MP there is: money and property and power...nothing else....well other than the outward appearance of Orthodoxish rituals and public customs, etc., i.e. the FRONT of that Orthodox-look.

Many sincere and thoughtful Russians, are more prone to trust foreign religions, than any native/Russian church.

They have become very soured and cynical about their entire country, past and present, and they see no good future for it, or themselves,  either.

Putin and his KGB pals, are helping this public cynicism.

That is why there is a tremendous brain-drain of the younger most educated Russians, who CAN emigrate out.

But for the larger masses of poorer Russians, they cannot afford to leave.

Daniel

Christ is Risen!

.

Antiochians teach against the Toll Houses

Euphrosynos Cafe post
Antiochean Met. Philip endorese (still in Arabic) book which attacks The Toll Houses 

Antiochian Archdiocese endorses Dr. Adnan Trabulsi

by Maria » Sat 27 April 2013 6:49 pm

In a letter dated Fall 2011, Metropolitan Philip has endorsed a book by Dr. Adnan Trabulsi, Beyond Death, which presents what Met. Philip calls "a compelling case against the theory of 'Toll Houses.'"

http://constans_wright.tripod.com/officialnotolls.jpg

Sing praises unto our God

Comment: This is shared, simply, (& regardless of this parish's jurisdiction), because it is a very decent example of Carpatho/Rusyn-("Little Russian"), chant, including the use of congregational singing, long a traditional part of this Orthodox chant tradition.

This service done, mostly,  in English.

Some have labeled this chant, 'Yushorodsky' or, 'Galichany' chant, 'Prostopeniyeh', or some other local variations, native mostly to  the Carpathian Mountain region.

(And yes, the Ukrainian & Rusyn-Uniates have stolen this chant from us, and they too use it).

Congregational singing, is a very spiritually powerful,  traditional/time honoured and of ancient origins,  expression of Orthodox Christian worship, (which means, that EVERYONE in the church is actually participating in the worship, not just the clergy and the choir!), while the readers and clergy still chant their own appointed parts, unfortunately this  sacred tradition of the congregational participating, has been almost entirely lost in the Great Russian tradition (for a variety of complicated historical causes), and in a number of other local Orthodox usages.

In America, however, is it very useful, especially with our national  local native language, English, as it  INCLUDES everyone, in the worship of Almighty God, with fervour and with UNDERSTANDING, not just the clergy and the choir, 'doing their thing'.

Rd. Daniel

"Sing praises unto our God, SING PRAISES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sERjAkw4jro

Gundychaev praises RocorMP Abp. Kyrill-Dmitrieff

Praise to Archb. Kyrill-Dmitrieff of San Francisco from "Patriarch Kyrill-Gundaev"

MOSCOW: June 7, 2012
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russian Congratulates His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America on the 20th Anniversary of His Consecration

To Your Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America:

I send my sincere congratulations to you on this important day in your life—the 20th anniversary of your episcopal consecration.

Having chosen the difficult path of monasticism, you wholly devoted yourself to God and to serving His Church. Even as you fulfill your monastic vows, you have strived to perform all the obediences lain upon you earnestly and have merited from the Lord “grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name” (Romans 1:5).

For two decades now you have humbly carried the burden of archpastoral service in the Diocese of San Francisco, taking care that your flock travels upon the path to salvation unhindered, maturing in love for Christ and neighbor.

I prayerfully wish for you good health, spiritual peace, patience and assistance from the All-Giving and Merciful Master in your episcopal responsibilities to the glory of God and the benefit of the Mother Church.

With love in the Lord,

+KIRILL,
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA

from two persecuted flocks

Two (English translated) Statements from our ROCA flocks under persecution: in Udmurtia and Pal'niki Village: 

(Kindly translated by our Bulgarian brother in Sofia, Vladimir Djambov):

Category: Unending persecutions against Orthodox Russians, who are fleeing the Stalin created KGB run, 'Moscow Patriarchia', by both the Russian Federation authorities and in conjunction with the employees of the Moscow Patriarchia:

On Holy and Great Wednesday , HOLY WEEK, 2013

First Situation: 

((Our brothers and sisters, under persecution, but full of faith and hope. )) 

Palm Sunday in the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas Church in Udmurtia (PHOTOS) 

Correspondent: priestmikhail incl. April 30, 2013. Published in the ROCA (Views: 10) 

Tags: ROCOR, Russia, Udmurtia

Palm Sunday Sermon to their flock, of our Udmurtia priests: 

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” [John 17:11]. 

With these words our Lord Jesus Christ prayed before the onset of His sufferings on the cross. 

How wonderful unity is! This is a great power! But it is important that we are united not by a[ny] ghostly earthly wisdom but by the Divine Truth. 

How pleasant to look at faces, bearing the stamp of faith, hope and love! This here is what should unite true Orthodox Christians in the apostatic XXI century. 

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

Second Situation: 

Statement vis-à-vis the situation around the parish in the village Pal’niki orthodoxy_news 

April 30th, 0:14 The original has been sourced from priest_mikhail in: Statement vis-à-vis the situation around the parish in the village of Pal’niki 

On Lazarus Saturday, April 27, 2013, members of the Orthodox community of the house of worship in honor of the [Holy] Protection of the Mother of God, [in the] village of Pal’niki, Zavyalovo District, Udmurt Republic, addressed in writing the First Hierarch of the Russian [Orthodox] Church Abroad, Metropolitan Agafangel with the following words: 

“Your Eminence, Most eminent Vladyka, we humbly ask you to take our parish under your omophorion and to write down [attribute] the parish of the [Holy] Protection prayer house with the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas Church, in [s. – district?] Zavyalovo. 

We want in purity to confess Holy Orthodoxy in a true Orthodox Church. This decision has been taken unanimously at a meeting of our community.” 

With the blessing of the First Hierarch of ROCA church life in the community of the faithful in the village of Pal’niki has began to revive. 

However, immediately after the decision of the parish meeting there began a strong pressurizing by Sergianist clergy, who had earlier refused to minister to this community bearing no tangible income. 

Parishioners started receiving various kinds of threats, warnings and promises for retaliation acts on the part of organizations [which are] quite distant from religion, in case they dare celebrate Pascha [Easter] together with the ROCA clergy. 

We believe that such [course of] action on the part of our opponents is illegal and contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. But we hope that secular leaders shall not take the path on which they are being pushed by obscurantists persevering in Sergianism. 

We would like to note that we do not interfere in the life of the Moscow Patriarchia and of other confessions, we are not calling on anyone to [make] hurt our opponents. On the contrary, we respect the freedom of will of every man. We would like to see such tolerance also in relation to our faithful. It is with words [that] one has to fight words, and not resorting to the cudgel of violence. 

The members of the new community [congregation] of our Church are honest working men and women, law-abiding citizens, and no one has the right to rape their conscience. 

Metropolitan Agafangel conveyed in a phone conversation his words of encouragement and blessing to the [Holy] Protection community of the village of Pal’niki, reminding the Savior’s admonition: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all 

manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matt. 5. 11-12). 

Archpriest Sergei Kondakov, Archpriest Michael Karpeev, Priest Alexander Malyh and members of the parish council of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas Church.