Rev. Hieromonk Enoch
Abbey of the Holy Name, N.J., USA
TOC Metropolis of N & S Americas & British Isles
This is an ofttimes discussed question. As the semi-autonomous
synod whose president is Met. Hilarion (Kapral) of New York, commonly referred to
as ROCOR, or, for our purposes, ROCOR-MP, allows various forms of Western rite,
this is an important issue.
On the widely read ROCOR-MP western rite list, Occidentalis (which list many
memebers of Orthodox West participate on, or are members of), it was reported
and confirmed that Bp. Jerome (Shaw) of Manhattan, had taken in a small German
monastic community. This has also been reported on in other sources:
The controversy surrounds many things. One important issue is whether the
photos of the Abbot, Fr. Thomas, and another priest, serving with a woman
acolyte, reflect the practices of this community. While, one understands that
sometimes photos can be very deceiving (such as, for example, one event I
recall in which a woman in a black dress in a photo was mistaken as wearing a
cassock!), this is a different case.
Now, the argument can be made, that, since this photo was taken in prior to
this monastery joining the MP, then what took place prior has little or no
bearing. And, to some extent, that is true; if they have renounced this
behaviour. Obviously, women are not to serve in the sanctuary/altar as acolyte,
and wear albs/sticharions; women are not even to set foot in the Holy Place,
unless they are nuns in a convent and have to, of absolute necessity, clean the
Holy Place. Even in the old Roman Catholic Church, where in some convents where
women aided the priest in his functions, the nuns would stay grilled off, and
would hand the priest things through a grill, so as to never violate the
precept of them entering the sanctuary.
So, does the ROCOR-MP continue to allow women acolytes to serve during the
Liturgy at Fr. Thomas' small community?
Many ROCOR-MP clergymen, including the very prominent internet apologist and
writer, Fr. John Whiteford, has on the Occidentalis list vocally criticized Bp.
Jerome (Shaw) for his allowance of many of these deviations. This has led to
open conflict and trading of accusations between Bp. Jerome and several
ROCOR-MP clergy and laity. Some prominent ROCOR-MP persons have criticized the
taking in of the monastery as it would hurt ROCOR's new found ecumenical
relationship with the Roman Catholic Church ( a relationship which Pat. Kyril
and others, such as Met. Hilarion (Alfeyev) have been keen on maintaining).
Others have said that they had little confidence in the monastic community's
head, Fr. Thomas, as it has only been recently that he has apparently changed
his convictions wholesale; after having attempted vigorously to join the Roman
Catholic Church.
Bp. Jerome even prominently criticized Bp. Peter of Cleveland for his
opposition to Bp. Jerome and Met. Hilarion's Western Rite initiative. Bp.
Jerome saying that Bp. Peter, while apparently opposed to the ROCOR-MP Western
Rite, had not problem bragging about his excellent relations with the Roman
Catholic cardinal of Chicago. This quickly spiraled down to additional
accusations about about the personal lives of individual clergy who were
opposed Bp. Jerome's manner of promotion of Western rite in ROCOR.
The issues of clergy education were brought up. In this context, Fr. Anthony
Nelson and Fr. John Whiteford, as well as other prominent members of ROCOR-MP,
asked publicly what the education and testing requirements for clergy being
taken in under Bp. Jerome were. When they and other perceived that they had not
received an answer, they pressed the issue.
The manner in which a sitting and prominent Bishop of the Moscow Patriarchate
(Bp. Jerome), who is a close associate and friend of Met. Hilarion, could
engage in open and hostile polemics and insults on an internet forum with
prominent ROCOR-MP clergy and laity is truly astounding. Bp. Jerome even let
know that his promotion of Western Rite was actively militated against by other
ROCOR bishops, like the above Bp. Peter. Matters were complicated even more, as
other prominent ROCOR members began to promote that the Russian Church Abroad
should completely accept the position that the Roman Catholic Church has true
Sacraments. There has also been discussion of Pat. Kyrill's anti-western rite
views (since he views it as analogous to Uniatism).
To me, it seems evident that the Western Rite in ROCOR serves a few purposes.
One is the fulfilling of the personal wishes and desires of several prominent
ROCOR clergy and hierarchs, who may actually have a sincere desire for
evangelization and the promoting of other Orthodox Liturgies, in an attempt to
spread what they perceive to be Orthodoxy. Others, however, view ROCOR-MP
Western rite vicariate, as a means by which they can quickly enter 'official
Orthodoxy', and be ordained, whereas, they would have had to undergo a more
rigorous procedure elsewhere; the fact that the Western rite will probably be
actively suppressed in the future will be of little concern to them, as they
had only wanted to be with the 'in crowd' to begin with, the vicariate was the
quickest means to that goal. It seems also, that, many new WR ROCOR clergy are
also using the vicariate to promote their own brand of syncretistic theory with
Roman Catholicism; though, these theories and doctrines are widely promoted by
the Phanar and the other Patriarchs nevertheless. Yet, the vicariate serves as
a useful springboard, as it allows the promotion of late post-schism and other
Roman Catholic practices.
Yet, it must also be recognized, that, there are a number of ROCOR individuals,
who promote Western Rite for less than clear means, or indeed, for nefarious
purposes that have nothing to do with any of the above. As the years since the
formal union of the majority of the ROCOR Synod with the Moscow Patriarchate
draw on, the pro-unionist bias that has subsisted in the World Patriarchate hierarchy
since the inauguration of the ecumenical movement is becoming more prominent.
Yet, many in ROCOR who want badly to prepare the majority of the laity for such
an out and out full union, realize that, western rite, while surviving some
purpose in this (most importantly, the closer it can come to either the Novus
Ordo or the Tridentine, the later of which is receiving something of an upsurge
of sorts in the Roman Church), in the long run, will be against one of the main
goals of the Sergianist Patriarchate of Moscow: the control of the Uniate
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine.
After all, if ROCOR, which is an
arm of the MP, has and promotes a Western rite, this would seem to stall talks
to absorb the Greek Catholics; on the other hand, if ROCOR can increase the
size of its Western rite communities sufficiently (though, perhaps not
drastically, as that could get out of control even for them, i.e., the recent
fiasco in central America), they can possibly be used as a bargaining chip in
discussions with Rome. If the MP gets what it wants, the Western rite would
ultimately be suppressed, and, such would be little concern for the vicariate
clergy who used the WRV (western rite vicariate) as means of gaining greater
legitimacy. As I've noted before, it is also highly probable, that a
suppression move will come quicker, especially after the repose of Met.
Hilarion; such a suppression could easily be used in the ecumenical discussions
between the MP and the Vatican. The MP would state it was an act of good will,
and could threaten to revive the matter quickly if the Vatican should refuse to
budge in its bargaining posture in their ecumenical discussions.
Whatever the case may be, it is evident that the ROCOR clergy and laity, who
have various motives in this endeavor, are going at each other’s throats.
Source: OrthodoxWest
Discussion Yahoo! Group #21642
