ALL CLERGY OF THE RUSSIAN TRUE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA JOINED THE ROCOR(ASA)
Portal-Credo.ru, 21 August 2018
Five clergymen of the Russian True Orthodox Church (Russkaia Istinno-Pravoslavnaia Tserkov—RIPTs) in Australia joined the local diocese of one of the "branches" of the ROCOR [Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia], its official website reported on 19 August. The diocese is headed by Bishop of Yarraville and Australia-New Zealand Andrei (Erastov).
The ukase regarding the clergy's joining was signed by Bishop Andrei back in late July. The ROCOR(ASA) was joined by the mitered Archpriest Mikhail Konstantinov, mitered Archpriest Aleksii Mikrikov, priest Petr Fomin, priest Daniil Laptev, and deacon Valentin Zhezlov.
Along with them, the ROCOR(ASA) was joined by the parishes of the churches of the Holy Archangel Michael in Blacktown (Sydney) and the Iberian Mother of God in Brisbane. After the death of the rector of the church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Archpriest Ioann Stukach, in the spring of 2018, the priest Sergii Medetsky was sent from Khmelnitsky of Ukraine for retaining the church within the jurisdiction of the synod of the RIPTs. At the present time, the parish is divided into two unequal parts: the supporters of separation from the RIPTs and their opponents.
In recent years, the RIPTs has adopted a number
of strict doctrinal
documents that deny the canonical validity of the sacraments of
the churches of
"world Orthodoxy." The ROCOR(ASA), which separated in 2016 from
the
ROCOR(A) [Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Agafangel)],
holds to a more
moderate ecclesiology. The abbreviation of this "fragment" of the
ROCOR was formed from the names of the hierarchs who constituted
it: Archbishop
Andronik, Archbishop Sofrony, and Bishop Andrei. There is no
formal hierarchy
or synod of the ROCOR(ASA); Archbishop Andronik is the senior in
order of
consecration. The ROCOR(ASA) is in eucharistic communion with
Bishop of Trenton
and North America Stefan, who earlier separated from the ROCOR,
along with
parishes in the U.S.A. and Canada, and took under his omophorion
the majority
of parishes in the Russian Federation and Ukraine that also wished
to separate
from the synod of the RIPTs, a Portal-Credo.ru correspondent
recalls. (tr. by
PDS, posted 21 August 2018)
Related article:
Leader
of dissident branch of ROCOR reports persecution in Ukraine
July 27, 2018
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