Author: Guardians of the Vatra – Aparatorii Vetrei
May 26, 2009
Esteemed Vatra Episcopate Hierarchs, Clergy and Church Members:
Some of you have received the attached “Open Letter” signed by 31 lay leaders of the Vatra Episcopate, in which they ask for more facts and evidence in regards to the possibility of our Episcopate placing itself under the jurisdiction of the Church of Romania. The following facts, evidence and information are presented as a contribution to this process. (The “Open Letter” is also available on the website www.roeanews.info , a website established by concerned Episcopate members.)
Since 1951, our Vatra, the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America -ROEA-has been a free and independent voice in the lives of Romanian-Americans; a Church not subject to, nor under the authority of a foreign Church nor of a foreign Government, but part of an independent Orthodox Church in America (OCA). All that we are is now under attack. Currently, ongoing discussions with Bucharest’s representatives in America, the Archdiocese based in Chicago -ROAA- (which is under the authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church -BOR), are taking place for the purpose of having us place ourselves under the authority of Bucharest as well. These discussions have been handled solely by Joint Dialogue commissions (JDC’s); not only have parishioners been excluded from the process, but even the Episcopate Council.
These talks have produced more than one “Proposal“, all of which have been promoted at one time or another by the two JDC groups and the Romanian Patriarchate as the best means to a unity-end, but which, in reality, if enacted, would create a new subservient “Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate”, through which we would lose our status as a free and independent Church and, instead, become subject to the sole authority of the Romanian Patriarchate and, by extension, to the Romanian Government which funds the Church. Thus, we would become a state-controlled Church of a foreign country.
At the last Episcopate Council meeting prior to the 2008 Episcopate Congress, our JDC group insisted that our Episcopate Council approve a resolution that, if it had been approved, would have resulted in the immediate loss of our independence and instead, would have forced our subservience to the dictates of Bucharest. Having been forewarned, the Episcopate Council blocked this attempt by the JDC and instead, solicited, as a first step, that complete and accurate information be presented on the issue of unity, and thus, the “Due Diligence” process was instituted.
As requested in the “Open Letter” signed by 31 lay leaders of this Episcopate, discussion regarding the possibility of our becoming subservient to the Romanian Orthodox Church must now become an informed and open discussion among concerned Vatra Episcopate members, prior to any further action by our Episcopate on this issue. We must now hear from the Parishes. This debate needs to take place, and this, without rushing the process, always following proper procedure as outlined in our civil and church laws, going through the checks and balances as foreseen in our Constitution and By-Laws, respecting the legal basis of our Episcopate as established by the courts in the 1950’s, being aware of the impact that our decisions may have on the OCA and other Orthodox Churches, and understanding the consequences of possible actions.
This unity-discussion process should not be exclusionary and must not be carried out in secrecy:
- It should be clear that Hierarchs, clergy and laity together, have a fundamental religious responsibility and moral right to participate in the future direction of our Vatra Episcopate and that our time-honoured right here to free speech be encouraged and attempts at silencing us be stopped.
- All material facts must be shared, if we are to participate in valid opinion making and decision making.
- Frank discussions on our possible subservience under the Romanian Patriarchate cannot be separated from an understanding of what would happen to a free Orthodox Church in America if we abandon the OCA, our Mother Church of over 40 years. What of our allegiance to the OCA, or our Hierarch’s and clergy’s signed oaths of loyalty?
- Each parish/ mission since 1950 has had the option to join our Vatra Episcopate in the OCA, or become part of the Romanian Patriarchate (BOR) Archdiocese. This includes all those formed after 1989. The vast majority of parishes/ missions have already voted with their feet, choosing the Vatra-OCA over the BOR Archdiocese. Who has the right to over-ride that vote? Certainly not pro-unity supporters whose ‘arguments’ are misleading statements, or who falsely question our canonicity, and then promote non-Orthodox solutions based on ethnic origin – phyletism.
- Given the suspicions of Securitate collaboration (see www.roeanews.info article called “Church & Securitate”) isn’t it prudent to obtain Securitate files on all ROEA clerics, even ROAA ones, as part of the Unity issue & Due Dilligence?
- If any vote on unity is to take place, it must start at the parish level and this, only after full, complete and accurate information is presented to each parish and its members. A unity based on misinformation and secrecy is no unity.
- Finally, we should all have faith that only a fully informed Vatra Episcopate membership body, Hierarchs, clergy and faithful together, will make the right decision. Anything else is not Orthodox and not acceptable here.
A foreign Patriarchate; a foreign mentality. We cherish our Right to Vote here, but in Romania, Patriarch Daniel’s first official act was to abolish the laity’s time-honoured right to a 2/3’s representation in electing all bishops. Worse, this was enacted by a vote of Romania’s Holy Synod alone – the laity did not even vote on the abolition of their own rights! Protests? With this autocratic mentality, Bucharest, and only Bucharest, will dictate the meaning of any document it signs. Guarantees? It is a smokescreen to debate whether the new Metropolitanate would be “with” or “under” the Romanian Patriarchate, since there is no “maximally autonomous” Church in the world. An autonomous one is subservient to the entity which grants it autonomy. Such a church exists at the pleasure of its Autocephalous Church, and has as much or as little Autonomy as it is granted by it, at any point in time. All decrees or contracts between the two are unenforceable, since no Orthodox Church would interfere in the internal matters of another Patriarchate, and no Court would review internal decisions of a Hierarchal Church. Everything depends on Trust. Can we trust BOR as we trust the OCA?… No.
Listen to some of Bucharest’s false claims. On July 6, 2008 the Patriarchal news agency announced the “Union of the ROEA and ROAA under the Orthodox Church of Romania”. Also, on July 6, 2008 statements made by our Vatra’s Bishop Irineu at the consecration of Bucharest’s ROAA Cathedral in Chicago, resulted in many people believing that the unity of our Episcopate and Bucharest’s ROAA did occur under the Romanian Patriarchate. This was confirmed in Chicago by the ROAA’s Archbishop Nicolae and by Metropolitan Laurentiu Streza, the Romanian Patriarchal envoy to the event. On July 8, 2008, after the Patriarchal news agency was informed that this was not true, the Patriarch himself, in his address to the Holy Synod of BOR affirmed that, “Unity between the 2 dioceses in North America has been achieved”. As late as Jan. 8, 2009 the Patriarchal news agency still claimed that “the two Romanian Orthodox Eparchies in America and Canada decided in 2008 to unite under the canonical and spiritual administration of the Romanian Orthodox Church… The new structure is called the ‘Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of both Americas’.” Repeating a lie does not make it true, but untruths are repeated in Bucharest and here, yet “our” own “representatives” say nothing to contradict the lies. Why?
Contrast the above with the OCA’s newly-elected Metropolitan Jonah’s statements. “A culture of intimidation is alien to Christ… This demon needs to be exorcised… Hierarchy is only about responsibility. It’s not all this imperial nonsense… We don’t need foreign despots. We are the only Orthodox Church that does not exist under the thumb of a State…“Metropolitan Jonah also tells the Bishops of the Old World: “There is an American Orthodox Church. Leave it alone… You have to give us the freedom to take care of our own Church, in our own country, in our own culture … We can’t allow our Church to be controlled by people who have no appreciation of our [North American] culture…” Isn’t the OCA where we belong; in the Church which has cradled us for 40 years without us ever having questioned the common trust we have in each other?
If we allow ourselves to become subservient to the dictates of Bucharest, then our Church will no longer be free; rather it will become part of a foreign state Church, run from abroad under the controlling hand of the Romanian Patriarchate and by extension, the Romanian Government which pays Hierarchs and clergy. The “maximally autonomous” Metropolitanate has not even been formally created and interference by Patriarchal delegates and threats of new parallel Church structures (Exarchates) under Bucharest have already begun to appear. What awaits us, once they have us? We shudder to think… The October 2008 Orthodox Brotherhood Conference held in Cleveland included a Forum on the “Unity” proposal. For the first time in our Vatra Episcopate, the unity issue was openly debated. As the debate progressed and facts became known, pro-unity sentiment evaporated. Since then, fair unity discussions have been discouraged and, in some cases, prohibited. The pro-unity proponents understand that the more the people know, the less chance there will be for Bucharest-control of our Episcopate. One-sided, pro-unity conferences are their answer, but fair debate based on full disclosure is required.
A new website, www.roeanews.info was launched to inform OCA-Vatra members about the Unity issue. Informed decisions are impossible without complete and accurate facts, especially since this decision has far-reaching implications for us and our Church here. As well as providing news and documentation, this website elicits readers to share their knowledge so that all may be better informed about this issue. Unhappily, the information provided so far by the Vatra Episcopate, the Romanian Archdiocese, BOR and the JDC’s, sounds more like pro-unity verbiage rather than full information on which decisions can be based; this website is attempting to fill that void. Also, no vote on Unity should occur until the full “Due Dilligence” process is complete. All this should be taken seriously, since a “unity” process (voting at both Episcopate Congresses), a timeline (July 2009) and an outcome (BOR approval of new Metropolitanate) are already being presented in certain circles and newspapers (see www.roeanews.info article entitled “A Step Towards Unity…”) as a “done deal”, without regard to our Episcopate Council and without regard to the rights of Parishes/missions and members.
We must be fully informed; we must protect our right to speak; we must protect our right to vote. This is the goal of this website and the letters we mail out. Your help is requested. We ask all the OCA-ROEA clergy and the faithful, who see this website as useful, to pass on its existence to their Congress Delegates, Council members and all church members.