To: Priest Georgy Serafimovich Kochetkov, temprarily suspended from priestly service, cleric of Moscow
Archprist Oleg Fedorovich Klemyshev, dean of churches of Sretensky region and acting rector of the church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Pechatniki, Moscow
Parish assembly of the same church
Priest Mikhail Vladimirovich Dubovitsky, cleric of the same church
copy to: Confessor Archprist Vladimir Zhavoronkov, Moscow
Director and parish council of the church of the icon of the Lifegiving Spring Mother of God in Tsaritsyn, Moscow
Pursuant to the completion of the work of the commission we appointed for investigating the incident which occurred during the liturgy in the church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Pechatniki, 29 June 1997, and the determination by that commission that violence and insult actually were committed against the priest Mikhail Dubovitsky, and also the determination that the causes of this lay in the systematic display of arbitrariness on the part of Fr Georgy Kochetkov both in the liturgy and in other activity of the parish he heads, which served to violate the peace of the church and foment a situation of conflict, as well as scandal not only for Orthodox people but also for those who are searching for a path to the church, we consider it advisable:
1. To suspend from clerical service the priest Georgy Kochetkov, the former and acting rector of the church, who was responsible for the commission of the violence and other above-mentioned actions, and who in accordance with the ninth canon of the Two-fold Council, eighteenth canon of the Chalcedonean Council, thirty-fourth canon of the Council in Trullo, and others is subject to expulsion from clerical rank, and who to the present time has not acknowledged his guilt nor repented, until he repents, guided by the principle of good church order and not severity. We shall be able to review the question of the possibility of his future clerical service only after he acknowledges his guilt and repents.
2. Persons who committed violence and outrage against Fr Mikhail Dubovitsky, S.I. Matveev, A.M. Kopirovsky, A.M. Boikov, G.A. Chuev, G.I. Yakuntsev, and D.S. Gasak, who have refused to repent and who deny their guilt, are barred from church communion, in accordance with the fifty-sixth apostolic canon. We shall be able to consider removal of this sanction only after they have made confession of their deeds to the diocesan confessor in Moscow.
3. Persons who participated directly in the insults and humiliating actions and expressions against Fr Mikhail Dubovitsky, O.V. Romanov, V.K. Kott, V.E. Maksimovsky, R.I. Sokolinsky, V.M. Kulygin, and A.D. Vasilevsky, who have not acknowledged their guilt and repented their deeds are forbidden to participate in the church-liturgical life (reading, singing, service at the altar, membership in the parish assembly, etc.), in accordance with the fifty-sixth apostolic canon, until they make confession to the diocesan confessor of Moscow, and they are forbidden to partake of the Holy Christian Mysteries.
4. The choral conducter of the above-named church, A.E. Vinogradova, who did not obey the instructions of a priest who was serving and thereby created tension within the parish is placed on notice that in the case of a repetition of this behavior she will be barred from participation in the conduct of services in any Moscow church.
5. The priest Mikhail Dubovitsky, a cleric of this church, who committed certain arbitrary actions during a nontraditional conduct of the liturgy in that church, is relieved of his post and appointed to the clerical staff of the church of the icon of the Lifegiving Spring Mother of God in Tsaritsyn, Moscow, under the direction of an experienced confessor-rector.
6. Archpriest Oleg Klemyshev, the acting rector of Dormition church in Pechatniki, is confirmed in the post of rector of this church and at the same time appointed president of the parish council as well as trustee of the parish educational institutions and brotherhoods (in place of Fr. G. Kochetkov).
7. At a session of the parish assembly, which is to be conducted under the presidency of our vicar, the rector of the church will be charged with the task of making changes in the composition of the parish assembly, removing from it persons who have been excommunicated from the church and received other sanctions, and reelecting the supervisory offices of the parish that were implicated in the growth of the conflict situation that arose in the church which was impermissible for an Orthodox parish.
Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, Alexis
9 October 1997
no. 4520
(tr. by PDS)
source: Pravoslavie v Rossii